Sunday, October 11, 2009

Trading Post: Budget Baseball Cardboarding

Yesterday I went with the compa to Target. I'm usually not along for those trips, but we were out and I had to stop by Lowe's to get wood to build compa a table anyway, so I went.

Theoretically I have nothing against large retail spaces, apart from the crowds, the cheap plastic goods, and the jackbooted abuse of labor that goes one behind the scenes. Example: I once worked 3rd shift at a (insert name of big box retailer here) stocking shelves. Not only did management lock us in the store (um...major fire safety hazard) but while we worked two guys on the other end of the store were stripping stains off of the floor with bleach. Fun times at minimum wage all around! No one ever said anything because, even 12 years ago in some parts of the country, the job you have is the job you have and if you protest...they'll just find someone else who IS willing to work under those conditions. It's no wonder why a lot of those places require a "training course" which is actually 5+ hours of anti-union propaganda: unionization would kill those places if employees had one iota of leverage.

But I digress...So, they had Goodwin Champions and Ginter in nice, non-ripped blaster boxes, and it was killing me. I opening a single box of Heritage way back when this year, but since I've ripped zilch, nada. AND I'm with the compa, so I know better than to ask or even try to slip one of those bad boys in the cart. Crisis averted, for the moment, and I keep telling myself: 48 cards for $20 when all you want are certain players (Crawford, Price, Gomes) that you could score some great scratch of on the 'bay for much less. The budget for the month is shot, so I'm waiting till Nov at this point anyway.

Long story short: no cards for me.

But them I get home, and cards from Chris over at Budget Baseball Cardboarding are in the mail, which is MUCH better than the $20 blaster because a) it's a horse trade we hammered out over email, which is like the new card shop only without the attitudes and dudes in jerseys who have no idea who Virgil Trucks is and no cards of Kevin Slowey and b) it's ONLY dudes I want in the package, no cards of rock stars, bigfeet, dead presidents, or UD's golden anniversary.

First up: a 2009 Topps Walmart CC (which I didn't have) and which will wait for later.

Next: 1987 Fleer Update Glossy Fred McGriff, "The Crime Dog."
Now, I was one of the folks that came out in favor of McGriff in Troll's HOF context a while back, and let's be clear: I've yet to see a coherent case put together as to why he's NOT a HOFer. Sure, he's short of 500 HRs with 493 lifetime. But in addition to the HRs he's got a .377 lifetime OBP, .886 OPS, and those are over 19 seasons. The Bill James sniff tests have him as a borderline candidate, but for me the point is that he's one of the greatest hitters of the 90's, a guy that brought power and average to the table. And if you're worried about 'roids, McGriff never ballooned physically or put up the gaudy numbers of his peers, so I'm guessing he was either a) clean or b) had the good sense to retire in 2004 before he could be implicated in any of that dirt.

Personally, Atlanta acquiring him from SD back in 1993 was one of the better mid-season pickups ever, and he was the power in the 1995 WS run. Atl let him go in 1997 (to the Rays of all teams!) and in many ways has been looking for a 1B ever since (sorry Capt'n Canuck).

And finally: 1974 Topps Fergie Jenkins.
That ain't the crop, folks, the card was printed at an odd angle, which makes it pretty awesome as far as I'm concerned. It's also an incredibly strange card to begin with: Fergie was sent over from the Cubs in 1973, which I'm guessing explains the utter lack of team insignias. This was originally a terrible picture taken when he was a Cub, but it becomes the ideal shot of him playing for the Rangers because it includes no Cubs references and involves no shoddy airbrushing. Problem solved! Also, if anybody has one, the last '76 Topps card I need is the Fergie 1976 Traded, so I'm willing to deal!

Thanks again, Chris, great trade. Have a great Sunday everybody!

1 comment:

  1. AWESOME MCGRIFF!

    I have the regular 87 Fleer Update but not the glossy. Definitely a card I need to get my hands on. Sooo good!

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