Happy Fifth Anniversary to Gellman and Sports Cards Uncensored!!!

When I first joined the Hobby Blogging Community almost five years ago, there really weren't many people in the collective pool. The idea of blogging about sports cards was relatively new, and outside of Ben Henry, not too many people knew that there were people writing independently about sports cards.

Back then, Chris Harris was still seething over a squirrel card and the rapid rise of "gimmicks." Dayf was focused more on getting his Chippers than drawing ponies. Curious collectors had their minds blown to find a woman writing about sports cards...and learn that her daughter shared the same passion. A collector in Miami was waxing poetic about his Jose Canseco card collection before taking advantage of the medium and blowing it to massive heights. Some guy was writing about Orioles cards, another about White Sox cards, a third about Reds cards. A certain Owl hadn't begun his night shift at this time. But before I started my site, another one had just begun what would become one of the most popular, and most controversial, Hobby blogging sites around. That would be Sports Card Uncensored.

Long time readers know this, but for those who just joined the community recently, let me describe SCU. Set in a black background, with an avatar of an angry "South Park" character wearing a Vikings jersey, Sports Card Uncensored was the true Anti-Beckett (no offence to VOTC). Gellman didn't like what the Number One Source of the Hobby had become: a publication that was supposed to be the guiding the collector had turned into a mouthpiece for the companies themselves. It was always sunshine and happiness coming out of the pages of the magazine, and any "controversial" topics like counterfeits, and the scammers who make them, were virtually ignored. There had to be some kind of balance. Someone who was not afraid to discuss issues in the Hobby that the established media did not want to touch.

Oh yeah, did I mention that his writing was not for the faint of heart or easily offended? The language he would use could peel paint off an old barn (hence UNCENSORED).

It got to the point where his messages about the established media did get the attention of the Number One Source of the Hobby. Let's just say that the parties involved just didn't get along very well. But whatever transgressions occurred between both sides, one thing became clear: the voices of independent collectors were starting to grow, and would only get louder as technology would improve. The Hobby blogs were starting to take a chunk of the readership away from established Hobby sites and as readership grew, so did the reputations of the bloggers leading the way. Among those leading the charge was our man Gellman.

Regardless of whether or not he brushed people the wrong way with his words, his message was clear: that there were two sides to this Hobby, and the other side isn't all positive. He wrote about how easily cards could be forged and exposed many a scam artist. He discussed how to tell whether a relic card has been altered. He made it a point to spot fakes and educate the collector on how to shop for high end cards without getting scammed. Did that cause people to retaliate against Gellman? Perhaps, but he has shown time and time again that critics and con artists would not slow him down as he continues his crusade to expose the underside of the Hobby. Gellman has had his share of nasty opponents, from the guy that created a Fake Gellman account on Twitter, to some website that was going to be take over as the "Premier Sports Card Industry Blog." All these people did was try to raise the ire of Gellman. Fortunately for his fans, that never happened.

Gellman has also been a strong advocate for the Hobby Blogging Community. He was the man who initiated the first "Blog Bat Around" which united different Hobby bloggers to write about a common theme. It has been a while since the Community last had a good Bat Around. Sigh. He also became an inspiration to aspiring bloggers and never hesitated to throw a piece of advice to newbies.

Over the years, Gellman has toned down the profanity (at least I haven't seen any lately on his posts), his website has changed backgrounds from black to white (easier to read), and although he still doesn't take advertising, he has made connections with the major manufacturers in the Hobby. His contest, celebrating five years in the Blogging Community has prizes contributed by Topps, UD, and even Panini. While he was once a major thorn on their sides, and still wails on them mercilessly when he sees a product he doesn't like, it is because of him that the companies now understand that collectors have a voice and when inspired, will take their opinions to the information superhighway to let whoever is listening know what they think.

Not only has Gellman's site changed, but so has the man himself. Long a diabetic, he has raised money through SCU for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and participated in a number of walks. He even went through surgery to take off the weight he gained because of diabetes. He got married before the end of 2008, and he and his wife became the parents of a baby boy in 2010. He and his family even moved from the comforts of LA (he and his wife are native Minnesotans) to San Antonio, Texas. But all the while, the site's popularity grew, and sometime this year (or was it last), he reached his 1,000,000th hit.

I actually met Gellman at the National the last time it came to Chicago. Reputation aside, you couldn't find a nicer guy to talk to. Genuine, really cares about the collectors and is really happy to see how much blogging about collecting cards has grown since the days he first started. He was there to help with the Freedom Card Board booth, and even took the time to text me to let me know when he was in the area so I could meet him. I don't think I got any pictures with him (otherwise it would have been up by now), but again, his internet persona is 180º from who he is in person. I know in the very beginning of our journeys (I started this humble little blog two months after he did) that we disagreed on a number of topics, but I respected him for standing up for and defending his opinions. I always hoped that the feeling was mutual.

So congratulations Gellman! Thank you for all you've done for the Hobby Blogging Community. You are a great asset to the Community and one of the best resources the Hobby turns to for information with a dose of attitude to boot. Rest assured that when the day comes that your site reaches its sixth month of inactivity, it will be automatically enshrined into the SCBR Hall of Fame.

I just hope that won't be in the very near future.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

2013 MLB.com Fantasy Preview Sponsored by 1977 Topps Baseball.

It is around this time that I will get an e-mail from a reader reminding me that MLB.com has their fantasy preview section up. It's close to spring training, and all the baseball fantasy magazines, baseball preview magazines (which by the way, I didn't buy last year for the first time since 1994...will get to this later) and Who's Who in Baseball are now in the stores, so it's not surprising that the official MLB site is getting their fantasy site up and running too.

In past years, MLB.com has been using old baseball card designs for each player profile, whether it was real or a very close facsimile. And this year, the 1977 Topps baseball design is being featured. But before we show this year's effort, let's look back to past designs used by the site for their fantasy profiles.

This was last year's (2012) player profile pilfered from MLB.com's fantasy review. It looks like the 1986 Topps Baseball was featured except 1986 Topps used circles for the player's position, not square ones as in the above example. But comments by readers of last year's post indicated that it just may depend on the browser used because some saw circles while others (like me) saw squares.


This was what the player profiles looked like in 2011. The pictures used were an homage to 1983 Topps Baseball...except 1983 Topps used round frames for the headshot on the corner, not square ones as in the above example.


This is from 2010. MLB.com used the 1987 design for the fantasy preview.


The great 1984 Topps design was used in 2009.


The 2008 preview featured the 1980 Topps design.


And so did the preview from 2007. But notice how the cards are "aged?" The bent corners and the weather worn borders?


For 2006, it's the 1985 design. The actual pictures were not appearing when I was first digging around for the site. It showed the design, but no picture (guess you should use your imagination). Upon hitting the link this year, it hasn't changed.


And here is the preview snapshot for 2005. They brought us all the way back to 1976 with this one. What's cool is that when you click on the position, the drawing of the player on the bottom left of the card appears above the position list.

So now ladies and gentlemen the 2013 player card used for MLB.com's fantasy preview:

Let's compare the Mike Trout card used above to an actual 1977 Topps card:



As you can see from the example, the letters on the team name, although thinner than on the actual card, utilize a similar font.  The pennant that holds the player position seems to be the focal point of the profile card as Topps uses it for the player ranking (Trout being #1, Bobby Jenks is #845, the last person listed).  Obviously, there is no facsimile signature on the profile card.

I said it before, and I'll say it again.  Baseball cards were the fantasy preview magazines BEFORE there were such things. The cards had stats, a brief bio, a clear picture of the player (in many cases anyway), and it was all contained in a portable 2½" x 3½" piece of cardboard. Of course, thanks to magazines and the Internet, the cards are no longer used as a primary resource. But they're still around, and thanks to MLB.com, baseball cards still serve a purpose.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

A New Blog: bdj610's All-Time All-Star Team Tournament

No, I'm not giving up on this dog and pony show of a blog. It may seem that I've not posted much, but it doesn't mean that I'm not anticipating 2012 Topps Series 2 coming out in a couple of weeks. And there is a possibility of doing another Pack Break Week featuring 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen and the new 2012 Topps Archives product (plus whatever extra packs I can find at the nearby Target).

Anyway. Remember how I mentioned that through the years at the end of each season (at least the last 25) that I would create a pair of End-of-the-Year All-Star Teams (one for the National League, one for the American League)? Remember how I used the Strategic Baseball Simulator (or SBS) to fulfill my childhood fantasies of determining which of the two teams would win in a head-to-head competition?

Well it's time to find out, taking a line from Iron Chef, "Which All-Star Team will reign supreme??!" I would like to know:

• Which team would win if the starting pitchers were Greg Maddux of 1995 vs. Randy Johnson of 2001?
• How well would Pedro Martinez of 1999 do against a lineup that consists of 2010's Robinson Cano, Paul Konerko, and Jose Bautista?
• Could 1987's Andre Dawson and Darryl Strawberry outslug 1998's Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire?
• Could the Nolan Ryan from 1989 strike out Albert Pujols of 2006?  
• How well could the Ichiro of 2001 fare against a pitching staff that would include Roger Clemens, Mark Langston, and Dennis Eckersley of 1992?

I created a new blog on Wednesday, May 30, 2012, called bdj610's All-Time All-Star Team Tournament (http://bdj610allstars.blogspot.com/).  Thanks to the SBS, I am going to reintroduce 24 pairs of All-Star Teams (from 1987 through 2010) and put them through head-to-head simulations to determine which of my imagined rosters is the best of all time.  All 48 teams will compete against each other (NL vs NL, AL vs AL) in a 162-game season.  There will be four divisions of six teams per league.  At the end of the 162 game season, the top four teams in each division will advance to a head-to-head tournament that will ultimately end with one team from the NL taking on one team from the AL in a final seven series simulation (each 10,000 games) to determine an ultimate winner.

Through the use of the Baseball Card Cyber Museum (thanks John McAnally), I will introduce every player on each of the teams through their proper year's Topps card.  If you read any of my simulation results, you'd know that I used the following year's cards to represent the previous year's teams (for example, cards from the 1991 Topps set were used to introduce players from my 1990 All-Star Teams).  This time, each team will get their own post and as an example, the 1987 All-Stars will be introduced with their 1987 Topps (or Topps Traded cards).  Speaking of the 1987 All-Star Teams, you can click on these links to see cards of all 72 players and managers from the my 1987 National League and American League squads.

Read the introduction if you have the time.  The madness is explained in a bit better detail there.  

I do hope to get this done by the end of the 2012 MLB season.  Join me on this latest journey as I indulge in what started as a childhood fantasy that has now, thanks to the internet, become reality.  May the best team win.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Retired But Relevant Section Added to the Sports Card Blogroll

Sorry for the lack of posts. In fact, I think this is the first time I've written on here in May. This humble little blog will be 4-years-old very soon, a long time for a Hobby Card Blog.

I've been very busy these last few weeks. Yes, I've bought cards (I found the Cubs and the two All-Star Team retail sets and will go over them soon). If you catch the Facebook patch on the sidebar of the blog, you'd see that last week, my daughter (the big Derrek Lee fan) and her dance troupe won gold at the Starbound National Dance competition, and we got to watch her perform. I'm so proud of her. But I digress.

At the end of April, I updated the Sports Card Blogroll. The glitches, as you probably had read on here, have finally been fixed and I've been busy adding a number of new blogs to the site. But I also had to remove a few, including one that caught a lot of people's attention: '75 Topps (it's far out man). First came the comments:

Maybe a new list for blogs which have a start and finish, like the '75 Topps blog. He 'finished' it, but it's a great resource and a great read. Like Dickens, these are like serial novels, but they do end, yet continue to exist and serve.

Then from 30-Year Old Cardboard:

I agree with Anonymous, completing a set-based blog is a major accomplishment. Maybe creating a 'retired blogs' section would be a good idea? I would hate to see that blog just disappear...

Finally, an e-mail from friend of the blog Mark Aubrey:

I'm going to petition you to add the "1975 Topps (it's far out, man)"blog to the Sports Card Blogroll Hall of Fame section. I think thatis on par with the 88 Topps Cards blog.

It won't be updated and it really is a work.

What a dilemma.  What should I do???

If you haven't read the blog, Night Owl, who already is a prolific writer and number one on many blogger's reading lists, did a great job with profiling every card from the 1975 Topps set.  Breaking every down card into a ton of different and unique categories (down to the grouping of two-colored borders), he gave each card a glowing biography.  The blog itself even reads like a book just of the iconic '75 Topps set.

Now the problem.  Is the blog Hall of Fame Worthy?  The Blogroll presently contains three blogs in the HOF section.  These blogs will never be removed from the SCBR ever.  All three were placed on the HOF section because the blogs and the writers broke new ground.  They were influential to a number of writers (including yours truly) and inspired us to dive into the Hobby blogging pool.  88 Topps Cards was the first blog enshrined into the SCBR HOF.  I wrote the reasons why almost three years ago.  Andy, who wrote the blog, gave each card in both the regular and traded 1988 Topps sets its own day in the sun.  And it was a pioneer in that nobody else had done a blog about one entire set and, up to that point, done so to completion.  The fact that his site still gets more than a thousand readers a month, more than three years after the blog ended is a testament to what a incredible reference the site is and an influence to many who have dared to create a blog focused on one specific set.  Want to know how challenging a blog of this magnitude is?  Andy was working on a blog for the 1978 Topps set, but was not able to finish it (to his credit though, he did manage to complete a blog for the 1988 Score Traded set, and was working on another card blog before giving up on the genre altogether).

So back to the point?  Is the '75 set blog HOF worthy?  Perhaps.

Should every blog that focuses on a specific set manage to be completed be included into the HOF section of the blogroll?  No.

I mean, even that 88' Score Traded blog managed to be completed, but it's not HOF worthy (nothing against it Andy...even if it highlights Score cards).  Just like debates regarding which players should be inducted into real HOF's or not (and please, I don't want to get into any arguments here), I know that whatever I decide to do, I'll get called out on it.  For now, I am not going to put the '75 blog on the HOF section (the writer is still active, and is presently working on not one, but TWO set blogs to go with his eponymous blog).

So before you get out the torches and pitchforks, I have come up with a compromise.  I have added a new section to the blogroll called "Retired, but Relevant."  It is not going to be part of the main page, but instead on the sidebar just underneath the HOF section.  The blogs added to this section will never be removed (but they will also not count towards the active blog roster).  I am going to add the '75 Topps blog to this site as it is still extremely relevant (and as a completed blog should be linked in perpetuity on the blogroll anyway).  I have added five other blogs to this section as while they are no longer active (save for probably one...), they make great reference sites, especially because of the subject matter.  This is probably where completed set blogs will be going when the time comes (note that I said COMPLETED set blogs...if you were working on one and didn't finish, it probably won't be going here).  So along with the '75 Topps blog, I am adding the Red Hearts Cards blog to this section.

Yes, the set contains only 33 cards.  Yes, the set consists of cards found as a premium that came included with cans of dog food.  But when a small, hardly recognized set that came out in 1954 could score both Mickey Mantle and Stan Musial while Topps could not, (and Bowman didn't have Musial in 1954 either), you have an incredible looking set.  Yes, the writing about each card is brief compared to the '88 and '75 Topps cards (understatement), but he completed the now 58-year-old set (and none were reprints).  So that goes there.

Also, I've always wanted to put the sites that were created after the now popular Ginter Codes were solved.  Jason Wong (2008), Nick Jacoby & Mike Gellner (2009), Jacoby & Company (2010), and the trio of Guillaume,  Frank, and Ryan (2011) each cracked the Ginter Codes AND wrote blogs explaining how they did it.  Instead of having to search for each one, I thought what better way than to have them added onto the blogroll in one easy to find location?  So all four of the solution blogs have been added to this new section as well (honestly, the 2011 answer blog isn't retired, but I highly doubt that the boys will be writing on there any time soon).

So there you have it.  A compromise.  I'm not saying that the '75 Topps blog isn't HOF worthy.  It's just that I wanted to save that section for the truly inspirational, the truly unique, the truly pioneering blogs of this Hobby (and they managed to reach six months of inactivity at one point or another).  The three blogs inducted into the HOF meet that criteria (along with 88 Topps Cards, the other two blogs are The Baseball Card Blog and Dinged Corners).  There are handful of blogs that, when the time comes, will be added to the HOF some day.  But for now, the membership remains at three.

I thank all who left comments regarding Night Owl's '75 Topps blog.  I invite all of you to tell me what blogs should be included in the R & R section of the blogroll.  Certainly the six I picked are worthy of inclusion.  But I leave it up to you to tell me if I'm missing any other blogs that are no longer on the active blogroll that should be added back into this new section.  Send me e-mails at bdj610@hotmail.com or leave comments on this humble little blog and tell me what you think.

This makes three straight posts on here about the SCBR.  Maybe one day, I might want to start talking about cards again.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

2012 MLB.com Fantasy Preview...Sponsored by 1986 Topps Baseball...Almost...

I received an e-mail from Friend of the Blog Philip Melita regarding his thoughts on 2012 Topps. Specifically:

"OK, so the duplicate “3B” seems to be an honest Microsoft Excel mistake, but what’s with the “W” instead of “BB” for both hitters and pitchers? Now pitchers have two “W” columns on the back, one for Wins and one for Walks. I understand the Walks are near the Strikeouts, but it still strikes me as unnecessarily confusing. And “SP” for “SLG” and “S” for “SV” were a bit jarring as well."

Agreed. It may have been mentioned in many blogs about the dissatisfaction with the inconsistent stat headers. Why did Topps decide to change these now? Although it would not be the first time The Company has done this, having two stat headers under W (for both Wins and Walks) can be confusing at first glance. Funny though, that the RC pitchers still have the BB header for Walks. Personally, I don't think they should have changed these in the first place. And maybe, just maybe, this will be corrected in Series 2 and beyond. But this would be one of the few things that would make me wonder "What??!" (as in "What Was Topps Thinking??!")

He also happened to mention that MLB.com has their annual fantasy player reviews up on their site. And once again, each player's bio comes with a picture in the guise of a baseball card. This time, MLB pays tribue...kinda...to 1986 Topps. You'll see what I mean in a minute.

I've written about these before. So here's a quick review (I tried to go back and find older fantasy previews, but I could only go as far back as 2008:


This was last year's (2011) player profile pilfered from MLB.com's fantasy review. It looks like an homage to 1983 Topps Baseball...except 1983 Topps used round frames for the headshot on the corner, not square ones as in the above example.


This is from 2010. MLB.com used the 1987 design for the fantasy preview.


The great 1984 Topps design was used in 2009.


The 2008 preview featured the 1980 Topps design.


And so did the preview from 2007. But notice how the cards are "aged?" The bent corners and the weather worn borders?


For 2006, it's the 1985 design. The actual pictures were not appearing when I was first digging around for the site. It showed the design, but no picture (guess you should use your imagination). Upon hitting the link this year, it hasn't changed.


And here is the preview snapshot for 2005. They brought us all the way back to 1976 with this one. What's cool is that when you click on the position, the drawing of the player on the bottom left of the card appears above the position list.

Here is a snapshot of what you will see when you click on this year's analysis:

It's the right idea. You have the black and white borders that are iconic of 1986 Topps. The team name lettering is a bit small (and just white on everybody) but it looks close to what a 1986 card looks like (the player name? Way off!) The position? Totally off thanks to the square floating inside the picture instead of a circle. Otherwise, it's a virtual baseball card.



See, this is what a 1986 Topps Baseball Card is supposed to look like. You'd like to think that if Topps is the exclusive MLB card that there would be no problem with MLB using their designs.

I said it before, and I'll say it again.  Baseball cards were the fantasy preview magazines BEFORE there were such things. The cards had stats, a brief bio, a clear picture of the player (in many cases anyway), and it was all contained in a portable 2½" x 3½" piece of cardboard. Of course, thanks to magazines and the Internet, the cards are no longer used as a primary resource. But they're still around, and thanks to MLB.com, baseball cards still serve a purpose.

Play ball.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

SCBR Maintenance on an Off-Day.

It's a nice day out, so I thought I'd take the day off from work. Actually, I had a number of unused vacation days left before the holiday cut-off, so I thought I'd use one now. Anyway, I'm at the local library (computers are much faster here) and figured now is as good a time as any to do the monthly Blogroll report.

If you have been following John Bateman's Donruss 1982 blog, he recently listed in his opinion the 20 Greatest Sports Card Blogs of All-Time. He even put this blog in at number 16 on his list. Anyway, I had asked if I could post his list on the Sports Card Blogroll, of course crediting him for making the list. He said sure, and now his list is on the sidebar right along the top of the blogroll, with all 22 (yes, there were two ties) blogs that made his list. While I wasn't surprised about his number one choice, he did bring up during the countdown (loosely stating this...I can't find the actual quote" that the best times in the Hobby Blogosphere so far was in 2009. I have to agree with that statement. It was during that year that blogging about sports cards was starting to gain relevance. And a number of the blogs on his list are mostly to thank for the Hobby to take notice. The voices of these independent thinkers gave fresh perspective to the Hobby we all enjoy that we weren't getting from mainstream media. Some blogs may have rubbed the establishment the wrong way, others selflessly promoted the positives. But it can not be denied the influence that the bloggers had on their readers, even inspiring them to begin their own blogging journeys.

At the end of last month's maintenance, the blog was down to about 336 active blogs. In November, sixteen Hobby blogs were either added or returned to the active roster, bringing the SCBR up to a new high of 352 blogs (were you celebrating when I tweeted that we reached 350???). Think of it. 350. We're halfway to the 400 mark. Of course, I'm removing blogs today thanks to 6 months of inactivity, but that number can only go up in time.

So here we go. Here are the blogs being removed due to 6 months of inactivity:

• Closet Full of Cardboard
• cheap wax fix
• the middle child
• Jeremy's Custom Cards
• BA Benny's Pack Rip Cafe
• Football Card Fool
• MidWest Cardboard
• 1972 Football Cards
• First Day Issue: Baseball Cards and the Never Ending Pursuit of Everything Ken Griffey Jr.
• Totally Cecil - The Cecil Fielder Card of the (Every Other) Day
• Dave and Adam's Sports Card Blog - News and Information on Sports Cards.
• Sports Card Radio Blog

Ouch. Twelve blogs. While that's not a record for most being removed, it does take some of that 350+ blogs wind out of the sails. Okay, so with 12 blogs out, we are down to 340 blogs on the active roster for a gain of +4.

As always, if you, or someone you know, is or are planning on, writing a blog about the Hobby of Sports Card collecting, please feel free to contact me at bdj610@hotmail.com so your site can be added to the Sports Card Blogroll. If you're site is one of the ones being removed, or has been inactive or off the blogroll and you plan on getting your blog up and running again, let me know that as well. Keep on keeping on. Enjoy the journey.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Something Happened While Planning to Clean Up the Blogroll

It's almost the end of the month.  I've been stalling as long as I can before making the decision to turn on the heat in our house.  I know that the last sentence isn't providing any comfort to those of you out in the east coast, or even in the Rockies.  I've seen pictures of snow and the damage it's caused so far.  So my diatribe about turning on the heat, and thus keeping it on until late March or early April, is kind of moot and irrelevant at this point in time.  So to those who can even read this in those areas, you're in my thoughts and prayers.

But speaking of relevance, it's also the time of the month where the Sports Card Blogroll needs to be maintained.  Before I get into that, though, I need opinions.

The Cardboard Connection, a hobby news website that came along right around the time this humble, little blog started, has been growing as of late.  You know that the Connection has acquired Card Corner Radio (the home of Doug Cataldo and Rob Bertrand...that's the guy who runs VOTC...and their weekly Friday night broadcasts for more than ten years).  You probably know that they recently merged with Hobby message board Card Collector's World.  But did you know that CC has also purchased the Sports Card Blog Directory?  No, not Mario's first attempt at a site with all the Hobby blogs in one place.  And it certainly isn't the SCBR, but the intent is there, and there are plans to add more sites to it.  Not that I'm complaining (heck, the site gave this dog and pony show a ten-star rating) about it.  But Cardboard Connection reaches 12,000 people per day.  I'm lucky to get 100 hits, and maybe ten of those are googlebots.

Anyway, CC had a recurring feature about...Hobby Blogs.  And in September, they featured five of the more influential blogs of the past and present.  I say that only because one of the articles was about the now defunct Wax Heaven, which isn't even known as that in its current form (it's now called Card Collector Digest).  The other four were Hobby Blog staples Bad Wax, Stale Gum, SCU, and the original Baseball Card Blog.  And that was it.  Nothing more, and nothing since.  So I sent a note to Mike Smeth, the man responsible for Cardboard Connection,and mentioned, to the effect off, "there are a lot of blogs out there that are written by very passionate collectors who deserve the same recognition."  Fortunately, my ego didn't get in the way by mentioning this place. But I also mentioned that I noticed that the SCBR, which used to be on the front page of his site was replaced by this Sports Card Directory.

He sent a nice reply stating that he had just taken over the Directory.  Okay, that I'll understand.  It's his site, he can put a link to it on CC.  It's his right to do so.  But he also asked if I was interested in joining forces, combining the roster of the SCBR with the graphics of his new acquisition.  He even offered me the admin rights to maintain the site. I gave my response to him, saying that I was willing to allow him to get the sites on the SCBR for the Directory, and would help in any way I could (I'm no programmer).  But I'd rather have the SCBR still running as a separate site.  After all, it is a BLOGROLL, and should remain its own site.  I have not heard back from him since.  As wishy-washy as that reasoning sounded, what do you think I should have said or done?  I'm not totally against the idea of the Directory (after all, there are others out there), but I still want the blogroll to exist in its current form.

Back to the point. There weren't that many blogs added to the SCBR this month.  In fact, of the four that I did add this month...okay, the four I added today, two were making their return to the active roster.  Last month, there were 337 blogs listed.  Adding the four brings us up to 341. Slow month for sure.  Here are the blogs being removed due to six months of inactivity:

• USA Future Watch
• CHUCK'S USED CARDS
• Sports Locker
• Offy's Sports Site
• The Sports Card File (it looks like our favorite Hobby insider has bailed on his second attempt at this blog.  He's still active on Twitter though).

That's five blogs being removed, so our final total brings us down to 336 heading into November, a net loss of -1.  Not as bad as I feared.

Oh, there's one more thing.  Last month, I said that there was one blog that was going to reach six months of inactivity, and if that blog did get to that point, I was not only going to remove it from the active Blogroll, but I would also add the site to the Blogroll Hall of Fame. It would the third blog ever enshrined, and the first since Ben Henry's Baseball Card Blog to be inducted.  Sure enough, it made it to six months.  And if I actually had the time to do this post earlier this week, I would have done it. 

But then suddenly, something wonderful happened.

SHE CAME BACK!!!

If you don't know the blog I'm talking about, the pronoun "she" should be a dead giveaway.  It's none other than one of the Hobby Blogging Community's legends, Dinged Corners!!! 

Yay!!!

Dinged Corners is back!!!

One of my personal favorite blogs of all time, she's back.  She is a true Hobby blogging pioneer, and one of the people I'd go to for advice when I first started out in this mad, mad world.  She and her daughter, Lucy, have a very unique perspective when it came to baseball card collecting.  It was always about smiles, nice players, old technology, and witty observations about the cards and the players on them.  And some kind of fascination with the Mets that I haven't figured out yet.  She had been posting less frequently, due to...who cares??!  She's back and relevant again.  Welcome back, Patricia (and Lucy, wherever you are).  You've been missed.

But what does that mean on that "one blog will be added to the Blogroll HOF" stuff?  Well, why not?  There certainly isn't a blog more deserving for enshrinement right now than this one.  So even though Dinged Corners has not been removed from the Sports Card Blogroll, the site will now be added to the Blogroll Hall of Fame that's on the sidebar. 

So as always, if you, or someone you know, is or are planning on, writing a blog about the Hobby of Sports Card collecting, please feel free to contact me at bdj610@hotmail.com so your site can be added to the Sports Card Blogroll.  If you're site is one of the ones being removed, or has been inactive or off the blogroll and you plan on getting your blog up and running again, let me know that as well (Hockey Card Heaven did just that earlier this week).

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

What Happened in August...or How I Spent My Vacation

Last August, I wound up in Portland, OR, for work.  This August, I spent a weekend at the Dells of Wisconsin.  With absolutely no Internet access (the computer at the place we were staying was slower than my computer at home), and barely any phone reception (unless we were either downtown or at the nearest Wal-Mart), my family and I remained disconnected from the rest of the world while on vacation.

And let me say that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.  Did I miss any important news in the Hobby world???

Now, Wisconsin Dells is definitely a tourist trap.  With mini golf courses, waterparks galore, roller coasters, museums (Ripley's is there, and some place called the Torture Museum??!), and fudge shops as far as the eye can see, the reason why this place even exists kind of gets lost in the shuffle.  I was here for the Dells, the rock formations carved by the glaciers.  If you've never been up there, you have to go on one of the boat tours (or the Ducks) that take you on the Wisconsin River to see these.  Pictures below.

Black Hawk Rock

Stand Rock.  A dog jumps back and forth on this formation.

Going through Witch's Gulch.



Chimney Rock...or as the tour guide called it "Stack of Pancakes Rock"



All this carved by a glacier millions of years ago...or that's what the guy said.



From where we were sitting, this looked like a piano.




Preacher's Rock...or Pulpit Rock. Can't remember which.


While trying to figure out where to eat for lunch on Saturday, I found myself looking at a shopping guide.  The first shop listed was All-Time Sports and Gifts.  That's right...

A SPORTS CARD SHOP!!!

Just one block south away from all the commotion that is Broadway (the main street of downtown Wisconsin Dells), sits a card shop that has been open for eighteen years.  The shop even has their own tourist flier (the same ones used to advertise the boat rides, museums, and other attractions).  I had to stop in and check the place out.

The slogan of the store is "Not Just Another Card Shop." And it truly isn't.  Yes, they have their share of Packers and U of Wisconsin stuff.  But they display items of teams and colleges from nearby states (fair share of Cubs, Sox, Bears, Tigers, Twins, Vikings, Lions, etc) to make tourists feel a bit at home.  The displays had your usual array of rookie cards, relics, autos, and a bit of vintage to boot.  On the other side were complete sets from the last three decades (if I had a bit more money, I'd have bought those). 

The store owner, Dan, had just cracked open a 2011 Topps Factory set (WHAT??!).  He sells plaques, and needed the cards for them.  I thought he had opened the All-Star set, so I asked him if he had the bonus cards.  Alas, I was wrong, as he showed me five Red Parallel cards (two Cardinals, two Indians, and one Russell Martin).  On an extremely limited budget, I bought a Beckett and two packs of Topps 2.  The prices were reasonable, and as much as I would have liked to buy a pack of Lineage, I couldn't afford to spend any more than I had (the Dells is a tourist trap if I hadn't mentioned it enough already). 

The packs didn't have much to write about, short of a Kris Medlen diamond parallel and a Diamond Giveaway card (still need number 12...anybody???  ANYBODY???).  Let's see what I won.

• 2XB4GBBWp = 1973 Topps Steve Arlin #294 = Cincinnati Reds Diamond Ring

I'm never going to get up to 45 rings at this point.  I'm just happy to get anything.

But now that I am back to civilization, and the kids are just about a week away from going back to school, I'm just glad that things will be going back to normal soon (depending on the definition of normal).

I'm going to make an effort to post a bit more often now.  There are things that need to be done before the end of the baseball season...like:

• The Topps 300 (and then some...).  You remember this little project that I started last November as a response to Topps' own 100-card selection show to determine their Topps 60?  Well, I need to start adding all the choices made by commenters and start the voting process to determine the greatest Topps cards as chosen by the Hobby Blogging Community.
• Adding more to the 2011 Topps Archives Project (the year is almost over!!!)
• Getting ready for the end-of-the-year run of posts that include the annual All-Star Rookie Team prediction contest and the 2011 End of the Year All-Star Teams.
• My National summary.  Everybody else did theirs.  Now it's my turn.

That should be a start.  Let's hope for a great finish. 

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Using My Vacation Time Wisely

It seems that I accumulated more than three weeks of paid vacation time at work.  And unfortunately, I have a history of not using them all during the course of the year.  So since Tuesday, I have been on vacation from work.  It's been nice so far.

On Tuesday, the family and I went to Six Flags Great America and now that the kids are old enough (and my son is tall enough), we were finally able to ride some of the bigger roller coasters together.

Wednesday was a do nothing day (except I did do some grocery shopping).  Thursday was my son's ninth birthday.  Even with everything that my son has gone through (and trust me, he's been through quite a lot), he is still one happy, but not so little anymore, boy.  We spent most of the day at home, he wanted and had breakfast in bed, and even birthday cake made from scratch.

But today, I am just staying home again.  We cleaned up the fish tank (it's been a full year since we did it last time...when I was on vacation then too).  And now besides typing, I am finally, FINALLY, putting my 2011 Topps Series 2 cards in the binder.  Let's see:

• 330 base cards
• 59 60-Years of Topps cards (regular backs, so glad Topps isn't continuing this series in Updates and Highlights...at least that's what I noticed in the sell sheets anyway)
• 50 Kimball's Champions cards
• 50 Topps 60 cards
• 50 ToppsTown cards (I do have to visit the place again...it's been a while)
• 30 Diamond Duos cards
• 25 Diamond Stars cards (love the sparkly)
• 15 Blue Diamond (Walmart) cards
• 15 Red Diamond (Target) cards
• 9 Topps Diamond Giveaway Code Card (need #12...anybody???  Can be used...Really!!!)
• 7 Before There Was Topps cards
• 1 Topps Attax Ad card (yes, I'm including this card as part of my set)
• 1 Andre Dawson 1985 Original Back (thanks Glenn)
• 1 Christy Mathewson SP (thanks Glenn again) replacing the Jim Palmer SP

If my math is correct, that should be 643 cards. So adding 643 to the main number in the sidebar of 47,853 cards, increases the total number of cards in my official card collection to 48,496 cards...and counting.

During the National, I plan on bringing my want list and a bunch of cards in the event people want to trade.  I'm nearby, so it's not like I'd have to make a long trek back and forth. 
One more thing before I forget, I finally have 16 virtual rings in the Topps Diamond Anniversery Giveaway.  With 15 different rings, I now have a Skinit code to redeem for my cell phone.  Now my daughter was with me when I was creating the custom skin for my Pantech Pursuit phone.  So she saw me pick out this design:



This is what my cell phone will look like when the Skin comes in.

 Please don't send me letters telling me what you think about the design. I am not a graphics artist, and I couldn't use a baseball card or the Topps logo here (although the company has designs for every major sports team in MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL - except the new Winnipeg Jets - and even MLS).  In hindsight, I know I could have done better, especially with the logo.  But that is what is coming, and I can't wait to see it, especially how that bdj610 logo looks (yes, it's dark...but red isn't my color).

But again, my daughter saw me work on this and now she wants one for her phone.  So I am going to ask the Hobby Community for help here.  If you redeemed more than 15 rings and DON'T PLAN on using your Skinit redemption code, please send me an e-mail at bdj610@hotmail.com and provide the code so my daughter can customize her phone.  Thanks.

Well, it's time to get to work.  But until this evening, when I make the monthly changes to the Sports Card Blogroll, I'll be putting these cards in sheets and into my album.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Live from Wheeling Donuts, a Two Pack Break of 2011 Topps II



Two Packs of 2011 Topps Series 2.  What's in them?  Let's find out!!!


I was writing this post and sent it at 3:57 p.m. via my cell phone.  However, it seems to have been lost during transmission.  Here it is again.

So I found myself having to take the day off because I had to take my son to the doctor's office (I only found out about it yesterday but forgot all about it until we got the phone call to remind us of it).  Afterwards we found ourselves going to my family's latest business endeavour, Wheeling Donuts.

My family has been in the bakery business for a very long time, starting with my grandmother (who I have mentioned a bit in this humble, little blog).  My family also ran a bakery in Winnetka for a number of years, moving to Wilmette for a couple of years, before having to call it quits.  Since then, we have also opened a small cookie and cupcake shop at a mall, first in Northbrook, then in Skokie.  But we've decided to get out of the mall and in August, will open the shop at a new location in Park Ridge, IL.  You can visit the site of Mrs. A's Cupcakes and Cookies by clicking on the hyperlink.

Wheeling Donuts has been around for 16 years or so, and starting June 1, my family took over the business.  So it's a lot of work, but it looks to be very good for my family.

But I digress.

On Sunday, I bought two packs of the latest product to hit the shelves, 2011 Topps Series 2.  Something to tide me over until I find that master set on the Bay.  And what better place to do a pack break than at a donut shop? 

Just bear with me, will you? I mean you read (hopefully) my post up to this point (probably wondering where the text was if you came here a while ago).  So here is what came the packs of cards.

Pack #1 included the following cards (rip):

• Chris Tillman, Orioles #636
• Brett Myers, Astros #428
• Brandon Beachy, Braves, RC #446
• Neftali Feliz, Rangers, ASRT #600 (All-Star Rookie Team...deserved it...but Topps had to fit that Strasburg kid somehow)
• Livan Hernandez, Nationals #451
• Raul Ibañez, Phillies #656
• Hank Aaron Red Diamond #RDT30
• Lou Brock Kimball's Champions #KC-76
• Craig Biggio 1993 60 Years of Topps #60YOT-101
• Travis Snider, Blue Jays #382
• David Freese, Cardinals #452
• Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals #660

Pack #2 offered the following cards (tear):

• Phil Coke, Tigers #391 (someday there will be a guy named Pepsi in the big leagues...BOOK IT!!!)
• Fernando Rodney, Anges #581
• Jason Hammel, Rockies #338
• Brad Emaus, Mets RC #427
• Casey McGehee, Brewers #608
• Bobby Abreu, Angels #528
• Tulowitzki/Jimenez Diamond Duos #DD-22
• Joe Mauer Diamond Stars #DS-3
• Nick Hundley, Padres #384
• Mark Teahan, White Sox #565
• Mike Fontenot, Giants #577
• Brad Hawpe, Padres #572

So there you have it.  Possible highlights of the pack break include the McGehee card (with the retro uniform), the Joe Mauer Diamond Stars card (sparkly), the Hank Aaron Target card (one down, 14 to go..yeesh), and the Craig Biggio card (which I'll be writing about on a later post).

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Topps Website Now Up to 2011 Standards.

It has been..oh...almost nine years since Topps updated their website (or so it seemed).  Information was never updated, checklists were a hassle to read, and did I mention that information or content was never updated???

Even the Topps Message Boards, the first message boards I joined when I had Internet access, was becoming a problem.  Over the years, the "New Message Boards" had become infested with spammers and many of the locals (like me) were getting sick of them.  I even posted my displeasure to Mr. Mike Mader, the guy that had just been named Topps' Social Media guru.  He mentioned that sooner or later, that the Topps Message Boards, "in their current form, will most certainly be eliminated."  And at the beginning of March, there was no longer a Topps Message Board.  The links to the TMB would send you over to the eTopps Message Boards, which was an entirely different society in their own right.  Now, I joined the eTopps site just to see what was going on but I never posted.  The few hardcore TMB'rs have signed on to eTopps' boards, and are starting to get used to the place.  Sadly, I won't be one of them.  Good luck to you fellas, and as "Keep on Trading."

Which leads me to today's revelation.  I sent my e-mail to Mr. Mader almost a year ago, and even then, he said the site was going to go through a "major redesign."  Almost a year after he responded to my e-mails, Topps website has been relaunched.  And the changes are staggering!!!

From checklists that feature all of Topps' base cards from 1952 to now (still a work in progress) that even shows scans of said cards, to backgrounds that are appropriate to the site content (Topps Attax' page shows...Topps Attax in the background for example).  Links to ToppsTown, the Diamond Giveaway, are easy to find.   

And to show that the TMB is no longer available, there is no link that directs you to a "community."  You'd have to access eTopps.com to get to the message boards.  Now Mader did say that the Topps Facebook pages, whether it be Topps' main FB page or Topps Cards FB page, can serve as a message board of sorts.  And yes, people have placed their comments on there (and on twitter as well), so Topps now reaches a lot more people now than ever before.

But overall, the site looks fantastic.  Congrats to Mike Mader and company on a job well done.  I'm going to enjoy visiting the site and playing around with the checklists (when they're finished of course). 

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Okay Blog Writers, Cough Up Some Money If You Want to Stay on the Blogroll!!!

I'm really low on funds.


I need money if I want to keep up with this crazy Hobby of ours.


I have skipped paying my bills so I can pay for my cards, and now my choices have come back to haunt me.


I will admit it.


I'm broke.


So how am I going to make some extra money??? I know.


There are 302 blogs in the Sports Card Blogroll going into April. That's 302 people that have gotten free publicity from my blogroll. Yes, I said that people can use the Blogroll, but I didn't expect it to grow the way it has. These guys are getting traffic from MY SITE. And I want to be compensated.


That's it.


Starting right now...every blog on the blogroll has to pay me $10.00 a month to stay on the blogroll. Ten dollars a month isn't too much to ask. I deserve remuneration for having your precious blogs on MY BLOGROLL!!!

And I know who gets the most traffic from my site...I check these things all the time. I will e-mail those people and they will have to pay me extra if they want to keep their high ratings. And if you send me a bit more money, I might just give your blog more exposure on the roll.


Overall, I'm tired of being stepped on here. You all OWE ME!!! AND YOU WILL ALL PAY!!! AND YOU WILL...


Yeah right...Happy April Fools' Day everybody!!!


Sincerely,


JayBee Anama

If You Want to See All 60 Sparkly Cards in Series 1 Together...

This is Ryan Braun's Sparkle card (2011 Topps #1). Want to know where to see the rest?
Give thanks to friend of the blog, eBay rival, and all around good guy Craig Parker. Because he took time out of his busy day to put together images of all 60 cards that have those lovely sparkles that I mentioned on this post late last week.

Because I have not asked formal permission to use his images, I highly recommend going to Craig's website http://www.mytoppscards.com/sparkles. Not only are there images of the 60 cards for your perusal, but he also circles where the sparkly thing is on each card. So that when you're searching through your cards (yes, it turns out that these things can be found in retail packs...although I didn't get any in my packs), you will know exactly where to look. Many can be found rather easily. Others, not so much.

Thank you Craig for doing this. Somehow, I wouldn't be surprised if you managed to win them all.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

2011 MLB.com Fantasy Preview...Sponsored by 1983 Topps Baseball...Sort of...

Last year, Philip Melita sent me an e-mail telling me that MLB.com's fantasy preview website is using the 1987 Topps Baseball design to feature all the players. And on my post last year at this time on this subject, we reviewed the website's past fantasy previews (from as far back as 2005 anyway as that was the furthest that was available in their archives). To review, check out these scans (this is if you didn't click on the link to last year's article):


This is from 2010. MLB.com used the 1987 design for the fantasy preview.


The great 1984 Topps design was used in 2009.


The 2008 preview featured the 1980 Topps design.


And so did the preview from 2007. But notice how the cards are "aged?" The bent corners and the weather worn borders?


For 2006, it's the 1985 design. When I was digging around for the site last year, it showed the design, but no picture (guess you should use your imagination). Upon hitting the link this year, it hasn't changed.


And here is the preview snapshot for 2005. They brought us all the way back to 1976 with this one. What's cool is that when you click on the position, the drawing of the player on the bottom left of the card appears above the position list.

So for the seventh year of MLB.com's fantasy preview, once again, the picture profile for each player utilizes a Topps card design. Sort of...

Here is a snapshot of what you will see when you click on this year's analysis:


At first glance, the baseball card design being used is Topps' 1983 effort. But something just doesn't look right. And I don't mean the lack of a Topps logo on the card.


That's what's amiss. The Topps design used a circle frame for the small picture. What's being used on the preview? That's right...a square.

What??!

You'd like to think that if Topps is the exclusive MLB card that there would be no problem with MLB using their designs. But if that isn't the case, you sure could have fooled us.

I have said recently that baseball cards were the fantasy preview magazines BEFORE there were such things. The cards had stats, a brief bio, a clear picture of the player (in many cases anyway), and it was all contained in a portable 2½" x 3½" piece of cardboard. Of course, thanks to magazines and the Internet, the cards are no longer used as a primary resource. But they're still around, and thanks to MLB.com, baseball cards still serve a purpose.

Play ball.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's Topps Baseball Card Blog Presents: The Topps 300 (and then some...)

At 7:00 p.m. CST, I invite you to visit a new site sponsored by this humble little blog called:

The Topps 300 (and then some...).

Right now, there are 40 posts (one from each year from 1951-1990, the rest will come later). Please feel free to view each one, make any comments (see the blog's mission when you get there), and let me know what you think.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

A Preview of The Topps 300 (and then some...)

Making it's debut on Sunday, November 14, at 7:00 p.m. CST is a new blog by the writer of bdj610's Topps Baseball Card Blog. It is my attempt to invite the Hobby Blogging Community to create their own list of the best Topps Baseball Cards of the past 60 years (1951-2010).

Above is a screen capture of what one of the posts will look like (so now you'll at least know what my choices are for the Top 5 cards from the 1957 Topps set. I invite the readers to comment on the five and include a card taht I may have missed onto what will eventually become the ballot for the best 1957 card of All-Time by the HBC.

Stay tuned for more as it develops.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Meet the Possible Contenders for the 2010 Topps All-Star Rookie Team

It's been a long season for Chicago baseball fans. Whether one roots for the Northsiders or the Southsiders, we just can't wait for this season to end. And as usual, both teams found ways to break our hearts. At least the Cubs knew to disappoint us early enough not to be a factor, but those darn White Sox are letting us down at the wrong time.

Well with the season almost mercifully over, it's just about the right time to think about which ten players will make Topps' Annual All-Star Rookie Team and thus have that rookie cup appear on their cards. I'm curious as to why the new silver cup logo (seen here below), didn't make it onto cards of the players in series 2? Will they bring back the gold standard???

Kind of creepy looking, isn't it???

Well, just like last year, MLB.com is keeping tabs of how well this year's rookie crop is doing with their Top Rookie Tracker. But this time, it looks like there are a lot more players that MLB is keeping tabs on this time around (when I last looked, even Tyler Flowers of the White Sox, who only appeared in three games at the time I first did my research, was on the list). So while there are many, I will condense the list of players by position to those who have played for most of the year.

Many on the list are strong contenders for his league's Rookie of the Year award. And believe it or not, the players on the list they have provided stats for well represent each of the positions Topps uses for their Rookie All-Star team (1b, 2b, 3b, ss, three outfield, c, rhp, lhp). With that said, unless somebody comes up with a strong finish in September, here is what should be the list of contenders for the 2010 Topps All-Star Rookie Team:

First Basemen:
Ike Davis, NYM
Gaby Sanchez, FLA
Justin Smoak, SEA

Second Basemen:
Scott Sizemore, DET
Neil Walker, PIT

Third Basemen:
Pedro Alvarez, PIT
David Freese, STL
Chris Johnson, HOU
Danny Valencia, MIN

Shortstop:
Reid Brignac, TBR
Starlin Castro, CHC
Jason Donald, CLE
Alcides Escobar, MIL

Outfield:
Roger Bernadina, WSH
Brennan Boesch, DET
Chris Carter, NYM
Tyler Colvin, CHC
Jason Heyward, ATL
Austin Jackson, DET
Jon Jay, STL
Michael Saunders, SEA
Mike Stanton, FLA
Jose Tabata, PIT

Catchers:
Alex Avila, DET
John Jaso, TBR
Lou Marson, CLE
Buster Posey, SFG

Right Handed Pitchers:
John Axford, MIL
Jhoulys Chacin, COL
Wade Davis, TB
John Ely, LAD
Neftali Feliz, TEX
Daniel Hudson, CWS
Mike Leake, CIN
Carlos Monasterios, LAD
Alfredo Simon, BAL
Drew Storen, WAS
Stephen Strasburg, WAS
Mitch Talbot, CLE

Left Handed Pitchers:
Madison Bumgarner, SFG
Jaime Garcia, STL
Brian Matusz, BAL
Jon Niese, NYM
Hisanori Takahashi, NYM
Jonny Venters, ATL

Am I missing anybody? Please let me know so they can be added to the lists above. Start drafting your picks for the All-Star Rookie team now folks. A contest will be in the offering here soon (I promise...)

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama