General All Purpose Baseball Card Thread

[batmagadanleadoff]

So I'm surfing the Cardboard Gods website and my not so random whims lead me to this piece about the Mets and Jesus Alou. And eventually, I notice that in his 1976 Topps card (pictured alongside Wilker's piece), Jesus is wearing a Mets home jersey without a front uniform number, which might, might be plausible if he were photographed during Spring Training. But he's at Shea. Any explanations?





OE: And his cap looks strange too. Is the interlocking Giant style "NY" embroidered on his cap -- as it should be, or "patched" on, like some of the the kinds of caps made for kids and infants back then? Did Jesus get that get-up from the souvenir shop?

[batmagadanleadoff]

I think I figured most of it out, but not the patch on cap thing. I'll post my theory tomorrow morning, meanwhile giving any other interested poster a crack at this one.

[Benjamin Grimm]

It's a mirror image.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: It's a mirror image.

That's right. The letter "N" on Alou's cap is reversed. The diagonal stroke that connects the two vertical strokes on the "N" runs in the wrong direction. The front uni digit #2 (Alou wore 23) is also, necessarily, reversed. This means that Alou, who appears to be batting right-handed on his Mets card, as he should be, actually posed batting left-handed for the Topps shoot. Alou pranked the photographer.

[A Boy Named Seo]

^ That right there's a trip.

Unrelated to anything, I saw this book used the other day for just $16 and shoulda bought it, but I'm saving all my pennies at the moment. If you happen to see it, there's tons of weird, neat, beautiful images from Japanese baseball cards and related/similar-style memorabilia. Thinking of going back to look for it.





Pitcher & catcher? Ahem.

[Edgy MD]

Winter training in Japan is a brutal intensive gymnastics regimen, and I'm guessing you're looking at an image from there.

[seawolf17]

Thanks for reminding me about that book; I had wanted to check that out. Just submitted a library request.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Topps' 2012 set is here:




2012 Topps '87 Mini's:

[batmagadanleadoff]

[Edgy MD]

Why is there a Jason Isringhausen card?

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

Edgy DC wrote: Why is there a Jason Isringhausen card?

The set usually reflects the prior year. I like that there's an Izzy card.

I bought some packs today and snagged a Wright and Justin Turner. Will post them later.

[Edgy MD]

Yeah, I guess. I like to think that in my world, there'd be an equal number of cards circulated for all active players showing them on their current team. The minute a guy is added to the roster, his cards get integrated into the distribution network. The minute he's removed from the roster, they stop shipping him.

It's 2012. It's do-able!

[Frayed Knot]

batmagadanleadoff wrote:

And we have the year's first Dickey Face photo !!

[Ceetar]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Edgy DC wrote: Why is there a Jason Isringhausen card? The set usually reflects the prior year. I like that there's an Izzy card. I bought some packs today and snagged a Wright and Justin Turner. Will post them later.

There should be a Castillo and a Perez then too right?

[batmagadanleadoff]

Why is there a Jason Isringhausen card? The set usually reflects the prior year. I like that there's an Izzy card. I bought some packs today and snagged a Wright and Justin Turner. Will post them later.

Current sets reflect prior years only because of production deadlines.




But Reyes signed with Miami one day after Pagan was traded to SF. So you would think that if Topps could produce a current Reyes card, then why not one for Pagan? I don't have an answer, but I know that Reyes's Miami card was not produced in the same quantities as Pagan's Mets card. The Reyes card is an extremely short (limited) print: it's fetching $200+. Topps probably made a special exception for Reyes because he's a superstar still in his prime. Anyways, so long as Pagan plays somewhat regularly this season, Topps will likely produce a Pagan/Giants card for its update set at the end of the season.

[Edgy MD]

And that's all why I'm all like, "Deadlines, shmeadlines. It's 2012. Printing is easy."

That's all cover for laziness and arbitrary distribution manipulations.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I hear ya. It ain't 1972 no more.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

This might sound like a dumb question but where do you buy baseball cards nowadays? I bought most of mine at Al's Luncheonette but that was 37 years ago.

[Edgy MD]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I bought most of mine at Al's Luncheonette but that was 37 years ago.

Is that the same as Al's Diner --- trashed by Al Leiter and after the game six playoff loss?

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: This might sound like a dumb question but where do you buy baseball cards nowadays? I bought most of mine at Al's Luncheonette but that was 37 years ago.

Target, Walmart and other big box stores usually have them. Not quite the same as riding my bike town to the corner store in Massapequa Park and getting a rack pack for 50 cents and having a pile of cards to show for it!

Rack packs now are $500 with only 36 cards.

I used to build sets by buying packs and trading doubles with friends who collect. Now I buy a couple packs when they first come out because I can't help myself, but buy the factory set when it comes out around the All-Star Game.

[Benjamin Grimm]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Rack packs now are $500 with only 36 cards.

So each card costs only $13.89? That's a bargain, even though it doesn't come with a stick of gum!

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Yeah, that's an awful lot.

[DocTee]

I like that the Mets cards reflect the "new" uniform color scheme-- hardly any black visible, save for the Wright "throwback" card.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: metsguyinmichigan wrote: Rack packs now are $500 with only 36 cards. So each card costs only $13.89? That's a bargain, even though it doesn't come with a stick of gum!

At BJ's and Costco, it's $700. But on the plus side, they're gigantic cards.

[Edgy MD]

This is all jocularity about a misplaced decimal point, right?

[Benjamin Grimm]

Edgy DC wrote: This is all jocularity about a misplaced decimal point, right?

I sure hope so!

[stevejrogers]

DocTee wrote: I like that the Mets cards reflect the "new" uniform color scheme-- hardly any black visible, save for the Wright "throwback" card.

Unfortunately,

[Edgy MD]

An athlete, an athlete, and the pudgy goofy kid we kept.

[G-Fafif]

Edgy DC wrote: This is all jocularity about a misplaced decimal point, right?

Jocularity, jocularity, jocularity!

[Ceetar]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: This might sound like a dumb question but where do you buy baseball cards nowadays? I bought most of mine at Al's Luncheonette but that was 37 years ago. Target, Walmart and other big box stores usually have them. Not quite the same as riding my bike town to the corner store in Massapequa Park and getting a rack pack for 50 cents and having a pile of cards to show for it! Rack packs now are $500 with only 36 cards. I used to build sets by buying packs and trading doubles with friends who collect. Now I buy a couple packs when they first come out because I can't help myself, but buy the factory set when it comes out around the All-Star Game.

I maxed out my credit card to buy one. I got a Lucas Duda (which I could see through the pack before I opened it) but no other Met, unless you count Nolan Ryan in 1981.