Here's a head scratcher...

Have you ever gone through your boxes of cards and said what is this?? I was going through some of my boxes of junk cards looking for some cards to send out soon and came across a couple that made wonder about. Our first specimen is this fine 1998 Topps offering of Jeff Montgomery.

I'm not totally sure where Topps was going with this except that Jeff is a closer so as a "fireman" he needs an extinguisher? I thought those guys had trucks and big hoses, not that little thing.

The next one was also a Kansas City Royal. The funny thing is, that I never remember Gibby being with the Royals. I present to you Kirk Gibson in all his 1992 Donruss glory as a Royal.

This lead me to look up his career to see how long I missed him being in KC. Turns out it was only 1991, but did you know that he also played for a short time in 1992 with the Pirates? Here's the proof:



courtesy of bing images

 I'm sure I'll find more later on, but I thought somebody might get a chuckle out of these.

I feel like Elvis

I feel like the King but in a good way. You see there was a definite theme to the few gifts I got for Christmas this year. I had a very BLUE Christmas but it all was to my liking. I just might be ready for the game on New Year's Day.

GO BLUE!!!!

Doing some Donruss

Not long ago, I saw another blog list out by each different card maker their wantlists. I cleaned up the old checklists and everything in order again. Donruss was kind enough to make 504 base cards for the Mariners, and I currently own ALL 504 OF THEM!!!

Updated 6/7/13
Current 504/504(100%)


THIS RUN IS DONE!! ALL DONRUSS ARE ON BOARD!

Find me some Fleer

Here is the second installment in the I need these cards to make the big set be done. Fleer lasted as long as Donruss did. While they did many different variations, I'm only intersted in their flagship cards. There was 747 base cards from Fleer for the Mariners from 1981-2007. Now I own them all!!!


.









Updated 7/7/13
Current 747/747(100%)


I OWN THEM ALL!!

THIS RUN IS COMPLETE!!!

Settling a Score

While they didn't last as a card maker for very long, they had an impact in the 1990's. The first card company of the "junk wax" era was also it's first casualty. During their run from 1988-1998 Score made 313 base Mariner cards. I currently own ALL of these cards!!!!

Updated 4/12/13
Current 313/313(100%)

THIS RUN IS COMPLETE!!!!!

Unearthing some Upper Deck

The year was 1989. It was my year to graduate from high school and get into the world. A new card company had decided to join the overloaded baseball card market. They would change the industry. From the start in 1989 until their end in 2010 Upper deck made some cards. As far as the Mariners go, they made 575 cards for the team, including their first card which is still sought after. I currently own ALL the cards from Upper Deck, meaning I currently am finished with this one and am closer to finishing the project!!!

Updated 4/12/13
Current 575/575 (100%)

THIS RUN IS COMPLETE!!!!!

Completion, and coming soon...

First, I want to throw out a couple of thank yous to some guys for cards. The first goes out to Jeff of 2x3 Heroes. I put up the last post asking for someone to help me find a man in my life. Jeff stepped and brought me Kevin Millwood to complete me. OK, maybe he helped me complete the 2012 Topps I needed.

The next would go to what I hope is a new reader in Michael. I recently saw a post on Wrigley Wax about a big old box of cards he got from reader named Michael. Michael was kind enough to send me the one card out of the Heritage high # set of Hisashi Iwakuma. While it's not a set I collect, I'm always open to new M's cards.

My last thanks goes out to my main Michigan man Dennis of Too Many Verlanders. While I was at odds with him for a few days while I was rooting for the Giants in the World Series, we never disagree on our love for the Wolverines. Dennis was cleaning out some cards, and I claimed his Mariners. In that stack I found two 1998, and one 1999 Fleer card to help shave down the Mariners Super Set. GO BLUE!!

The final thing to chew on, is the coming soon. Coming soon will be a new and updated wants list of each maker for the Super Set. I know that I am down to needing less than 200 cards from all 5 of the big company's base and traded sets over the years. I'm really hoping that after the holidays, I can work on getting this thing done, hopefully during Spring Training and before the season starts so I can focus on the 2013 cards. I know it can be done, because all you wonderful guys and ladies out ther have helped me so well before.

Desperately Seeking Kevin...

If you are like me and are a child that grew up in the 80's you would definitely remember this movie:

you must admit, Madonna was hot back in the day...

I am kind of feeling the same way, but I'm seeking a MAN! Thanks to the wonder of social media, I received a package yesterday that contained 6 of the 7 cards I needed from 2012 Update. This is not the first time that I have received cards from friends on Facebook. The same guy had previously sent me all the remaining cards I needed to finish both 1969 and 1970 Pilots cards, and some Mariners that were needed too. I know that some one must have an extra one of these lying around that maybe they can spare?:

Perfect Season Denied!!

I will be at work today because of not working on the holiday and won't get to watch the game live. I think this is a true statement of what this game will mean this year and moving forward:

I think with Coach Hoke and that guy in the red coat will become like the legend of Bo and Woody from back in the day. My prediction for the game:

GO BLUE!!!

Dawgs don't like Cats

Today we settle the bragging rights in the state for another year. We all know that Dawgs are better than cats(Cougars) in every way shape and form!

GO DAWGS!!

Hit the road, Jack!!

I have been waiting for this day since the middle of the 2010 season! The three letters that have escaped the Mariners for so long finally came yesterday: DFA!!

Say it with me, Chone Figgins you are out of here!! The Donkey days are no more. While it wasn't a Bill Bavasi signing, it was as bad as some of his. I think we've learned our lesson about picking through the Angels scrap heap with Scott Spiezio, Jarrod Washburn, Jeff Weaver, and Chone Figgins. 10 days to trade(ha,ha), release, or outright him to the minors. Goodbye Donkey!!

Back in the Saddle

I'm sure most of you have forgotten about me. I know that I have been a very poor blogger lately. I'm sure you all know the way life works. Working 10-12 hours daily, your son being in two to three sports at the same time, and a wife that doesn't really like, understand, or support my hobby. Not only does life take up most of my time, but I have only been able to look at the Internet for the last month on my phone. One morning my computer decided to revert back to it's factory settings. All my files were there, but getting back online and resetting everything is a pain.

I have decided that now that baseball season is over, I can really start to focus on what I want to do with my collections, and maybe try to thin out some of these extra cards. One thing I would really like to wrap up is 2012 Topps. I know that it's been out for a while and I still need 7 cards from Update to put this last season's Mariners to bed:

18 Tom Wilhelmsen
90 Michael Saunders
92 Chone Figgins
187 John Jaso
204 Jesus Montero
245 Erasmo Ramirez
303 Kevin Millwood

Besides those cards for 2012, I am down around 200 total cards needed to fill out the nearly 3400 base cards of the Mariners since starting in 1977. I'm thinking I might have to break down and hit up some sites and buy these cards if I can't find them soon. It is a personal goal to get the Super Set done so I can focus on player collections. In the next few weeks or months, I'm hoping to have definitive want lists for my three player collections, and any new players that my son decides he wants to collect. The players on those lists:

Willie Stargell
Dale Murphy
Alvin Davis

Tim Lincecum(Andrew's collection)

The other order of business probably starting in the next year is to really try to focus on my Angels in the Desert collection. I think I am about half way on getting that one done, but it will be my second priority after I can hopefully get the Mariners Super Set done. Let's hope my work schedule will start to slow down soon, and I can get back to more regular posts, and hopefully I can get some trading done to work on my projects!!

Love it, hate it

Last night was a night of emotions watching baseball. I had to love it that Joe Girardi decided to sit A-Rod and his .083 average to pinch hit for him. While the Mariners fan in me wants the Yankees to always lose, I can't help but root for good guys like Raul Ibanez. What does he do last night but keep them alive only to win win later. I have never had anything but good vibes for Rauuuuuul!


Also I couldn't help but watch my west coast teams including the Oakland A's. I thought they were done last night and what do they do but come back in the 9th to stay alive. Today's games should be fun for all fans out there.

It's that time...

I'm sure you all have run out the stores and have found all kinds of Update cards to your heart's delight. Sometimes out here in the Northwest, things move at a different pace. Yes the LCS's have them, but good luck trying to find it anywhere else. Since the new series is out and I continue to not want hundreds more cards that I don't want or need cluttering up my life, I once again ask for your help. The Mariners have 9 cards featured n the Update set this year. I need these cards to add to the Mariners Super Set that is getting closer to completion.

US18 Tom Wilhelmsen
US84 Eric Thames
US90 Michael Saunders
US92 Chone Figgins
US187 John Jaso
US204 Jesus Montero
US236 Lucas Luetge
US245 Erasmo Ramirez
US303 Kevin Millwood

Good luck to the eight teams remaining in the playoffs, and thanks in advance for helping me get these cards in the binder. Also, if you have extra Mariners cards laying around, I do need about 200 cards still to fill out the Super Set. Just look them up by maker over on the right, and maybe we can work out a deal so I can finish off all the binders someday. Thanks again!!

Gone, but not to be forgotten

As you may or may not have heard, we recently lost one of our own. This guy wrote two blogs and gave us lots of good stuff.

I wanted to put up a few Vintage Sportscards, and add a some 1973 Topps Photography in his honor.

We will miss you Chris!!

Perfect History

When was the last time there was two perfect games in the same stadium in the season?? When was the last time a time a team was perfected only to throw their own perfect game in the same season?? If you answered never you would be incorrect. Those statements were true until about 3:30 PM on the west coast today. The Mariners are young, and sometimes look like they might have some promise to come in the future. They had a superstar that really never connected with the fans and was traded to the Yankees earlier this year. There is a Mariner player that is loved throughout the Northwest.

He is a homegrown talent that is in his 8th season as a Mariner. As he has continued to get more mature, he has found ways to connect with the fans only to fuel the love fest. He loves his fans on Twitter, has fun with his alter ego Larry Bernandez, continues to embrace the King's court sections in the stadium during home games when he pitches, and doesn't hide by making believe that he doesn't speak the language. All the work that he does on and off the field were rewarded today. King Felix gave 21,889 fans at a sun soaked Safeco Field the honor of watching him pitch the 23rd perfect game in MLB history. While I missed the game due to having to work to continue living a modest lifestyle. The text alerts were coming and I was excited even though I couldn't see or hear the game. You can guarantee that I am watching the replay right now as I type. Here's to hoping that we will continue to watch The King continue to expand his already fabulous career in a Mariner uniform.

Today is all about Royal Perfection!!!

Some picks after buying new kicks...

Yesterday ended up being kind of a guys day. My wife had to attend a funeral for a co-worker, and that left the boy and me to our own devices. After taking him to the golf course and taking my butt whooping from him, the kid shot 37 for nine holes while I shot a 63. We were deciding what to do for the rest of the day, knowing we should clean around the house. We decided to take a drive in mom's car and head out to find him soccer cleats for the upcoming fall season. After a trip to Dick's and finding a reasonably priced pair, it was off the the University book store. The two of us were like kids in a candy store, because the was Husky purple and gold everything. I decided to pick up a new Nike purple sweatshirt and he got himself a new UW case for his iPhone.

We both decided after watching the Blue Angels fly over for a short time, and that mom wasn't going to be home for a while still and even though the air conditioning was on at home on a 90 degree day we didn't want to just sit on the couch. Being not but a few miles from our favorite and only card store we decided to make a run up there. The guy that runs it, Don has got to be one of the nicest owners around. He seems to always have what you are looking for, and usually at a pretty reasonable price. If you look at DJ's website, I think you might be able find something you want too. After a little more than an hour of going through the 4/$1 Mariners boxes, I was making out like a bandit for the Super Set. I was able to knock 2012 off my list, and also get Donruss and Score down to not needing much to complete those makers too. One card I bought two of was this not only for the binder, but also for my PC of his:

When I was looking around for any last minute tidbits I might have missed( I didn't even look at 3/4 of the store), I saw a couple of Mother's cookies cards of Alvin's and thought I know I don't have them what the heck for a quarter. The best part was when I got home and was checking one of them out closer and low and behold look what I found!

A beautiful 1985 card from the year after winning the AL Rookie of the Year, and it is signed in ball point pen!! How awesome is that, especially for a big AD fan. Not to be outdone, my son found a card he really wanted. If you don't remember, when he plays sports he always wears #8. He has done that ever since watching the DVD's of the 1979 World Series and falling in love with Willie Stargell. It has gotten to where everyone in all his sports calls him Pops. He saw this card and fell in love with it, and how could I say no to an early 14th birthday present to the boy. He is now the proud owner of this card of the late great Willie:

All in all, I think I might have dropped $40 for over 100 cards, but it was totally worth it for the time we spent together and the fun we had. I'm proud to say I'm getting closer to wrapping up the Mariners Super Set. Do you think you could help out and get me closer to finishing this thing? I will get the want lists updated by maker today to insure I have the right needs out there. 



Anybody seen my cards?

Not too long ago, I put out a request for help in collecting 2012 Topps Mariners. Unfortunately, I didn't have very good information on what cards were in Series 2 for my beloved losers. Here is the updated list of Mariners I still need for the Super Set:

#378 Brandon League
#397 Hector Noesi
#430a Felix Hernandez
#430b Felix-Larry Bernandez
#484 Hisashi Iwakuma
#526 Casper Wells
#537a Ichiro
#537b Ichiro- Sunglasses
#548 Charlie Furbush
#606 Mike Carp
#627 Justin Smoak
#645 Kyle Seager

If you have any extras of any of these cards I would appreciate them. This has worked well the last few years for me and has kept me from continuing to buy pack after pack hoping to get the few Mariners I need to keep me happy. Thanks in advance to all my fellow bloggers!!

Holy Freakin' Crap!!

I don't have much time, but I wanted to give a big shout out to Joe who runs Friars on Cardboard. I recently won a contest he was holding for a handmade 1/1 card. Do I care about Robert Fick? No not in the slightest. This card is beyond awesome!!

I borrowed TTG's photo

It is basically 3 or 4 cards cut and put together with a huge piece of Fick's jersey inside it. I must say I fully admire your dedication to above and beyond Joe. Also included were some cool Mariners cards, a couple of which I needed. They were even packaged in there own little cool case that was hand decorated. I can't say thank you enough, and I have a nice stack of Padres cards ready for you to hopefully go out in the next few days, if I can get off work and make it to the post office befor they close.

Thanks to the TTG!!

Got any spare chan..cards??

It is that time of year again. I decided to wait a little while for everyone to run to their local stores and card shops and get their fix of new Topps cards. As I have done since the 2010 run of cards, I'm asking/begging you for your extra Mariners in series 2. All I want to do is get the few that came out in base card form to add to the Super Set of Mariners cards. Could you help out a fan of a not very good team collect these cards:

#378 Brandon League
#397 Hector Noesi
#430a Felix Hernandez
#430b Felix- Larry Bernandez
#526 Casper Wells
#537a Ichiro
#537b Ichiro- Sunglasses
#548 Charlie Furbush
#627 Justin Smoak
#645 Kyle Seager

An early thank you to all the bloggers out there who I know will help out and make this happen. You pull me through every year and I appreciate it!!

A must for all of mankind

As we all know our friend, the great Fuji-San, is holding his annual contest. What card do you think is a must have? I came up with a couple. First off, I think you should own any card from my favorite set that I am blogging about:

Now you don't have to own Charlie's card here, but you have to have at least one from the 1979 Topps set. It is a classic, and my first set I ever saw. I'm also of the opinion that this is the greatest set ever made for a few colorful reasons. You had cards with black, blue, green, and red players names:

Another reason is the awesome team cards like this one:

I say go out and get yourself some 1979, and 1980 Topps cards today!!

Definitely not HOF'ers...

It is sad to say that probably is no one close to having even a sniff of the Hall of Fame in this Mariners lineup. These guys are more schizophrenic than Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. They have had a perfect game against them at home, scored 21 runs against the Rangers, just threw a no hitter at the Dodgers, and now this. That's right, they lost a Felix Hernandez start to the Padres, and get shut out last night for two losses in a row to a lowly team in the San Diego Padres (sorry Padres fans for the description).



I'm sure you see this and think this guy is a HOF'er, and he is. The reason why I took his picture is it is being used by our friend Matthew at Number 5 Type Collection. His blog has hit the 4 year mark and he is holding a contest. Click on the name of his blog to go there. While I admit I don't pimp too many contests because everybody does it and the blog world get overrun with pimp posts. I wanted to rant about the Mariners first anyways.

Also, for all of those who didn't stay up or were in bed out east, a big Congratulations to Matt Cain. Matt threw the first perfect game in Giants history last night. It was fun to flip back and forth to watch him pitch last night. It is a nice sight to see for the faithful that brave the weather at AT&T Park. Way to go to Matt Cain and the Giants!

HISTORY!!!

For those of you that don't live out here on the West Coast, you were asleep when it happened. That's right folks, that's the manual scoreboard from Safeco Field last night. The Mariners worked together to NO-HIT the team with the best record in baseball.

As I sat on my couch last night I decided to watch the game since I don't get to see the Dodgers very often. While Kevin Millwood has been up and down at best for the M's, I thought there was a chance for the hometown 9 since they weren't facing one of the top of the rotation guys. Millwood actually looked like he was special last night right out the gate. Kevin was perfect through 4 innings, but walked Juan Rivera to start the 5th. No big deal the no hitter was still intact. Kevin got out of that inning and cruised in the 6th. The replays look like he did something on the final strikeout of the 6th, and after the first warm up toss in the 7th he was done. There was a small scare with an error and a runner on 2nd in the 7th inning, but wiggle off the hook did the Mariners. In the bottom of the 7th the M's get two on, and my choice for the Mariners All Star this year gets a single off the shortstop's glove to give Seattle a 1-0 lead.

Two walks and a sacrifice fly get the Dodgers in business with 1 out and runners at 2nd and 3rd. Somehow the bullpen comes through and gets out of the inning with a little help by "Donkey" Chone Figgins making a nice catch in left. It was then "closing time for the Bartender" Tom Wilhelmsen. Tom throws 9 pitches, gets the 3 outs and the Mariners make history. Was Dee Gordon out on the play in the 9th? I still can't say for sure, but I guarantee you the umpire didn't want to be roasted like Jim Joyce for a close call either way in the last inning.

The Mariners combined to use six pitchers to get the no-no, and because Millwood didn't get the decision because of the right groin strain it went to an unlikely guy. Just one week ago on June 1st the Mariners called up rookie Stephen Pryor from AAA Tacoma. Because Pryor got the final out in the top of the 7th inning, his first MLB win comes in the form of a no hitter. Let's see what the Mariners can put together tonight against Clayton Kershaw. GO MARINERS!!!

The GREATEST 21 EVER!!

That's right folks I said the greatest ever! I know what you are thinking, how can some other guys that wore #21 not be the greatest? That's because they didn't play for the Mariners. I decided in honor of the Mariners scoring 21 runs on the Rangers the other night, I wanted to put up a card of the greatest #21 to wear Mariners colors. Here is the first card I pulled of Alvin from a pack of 1985 Topps:

While Alvin Davis never got the national recognition he deserved minus the 1984 Rookie of the Year, he was a great player and person. Alvin went to John W. North High School in Riverside, CA and then attended Arizona State. He quickly made his way to the Mariners and never looked back. AD would spent 8 seasons as the Mariners anchor at 1st base and was always a solid hitter in the lineup. He would spend a brief time with his hometown California Angels at the end of his time, but he will always be "Mr. Mariner." One Mariner I think is really coming into his own this year is Kyle Seager. I think this kid has a shot at the All-Star team in Kansas City soon.

Are they clueless?

Today the Mariners decided to activate Miguel Olivo from the DL.

 Someone had to be moved to make room for a third catcher. Can someone tell me why in the hell the move was to option to Casper Wells to AAA Tacoma? Casper has been doing pretty well in the field, and is hitting at a decent clip when he's given the chance.

Why not rid ourselves of the $9M albatross in Chone Figgins? Manager Eric Wedge said that at this time ridding ourselves of "Donkey" was not an option. The guy can't hit and does nothing but ride the pine. I thought this rebuilding thing was about seeing young guys and having them continue to develop. I hate to sound like a Debby Downer, but I'M TIRED OF WATCHING LOSING BASEBALL!! I know we have won 5 of our last 6, but this is a head scratcher. I hope this works and we can start a good series against the Halos.

Playing like Big Dawgs

Just a quick way to go to my son and his team. The FBC Dawgs are a 13U Sandy Koufax team this year. They had hit a bit of a rough road lately being on 8 game losing streak. My son got to take the bump for their second game yesterday. He hit a 325' RBI triple in the 4th inning and went 3 for 5 for the game. He did pitch a CG for 7 innings only going for 83 pitches. He gave up 4 runs on six hits, walked one and had 6 K's. In the bottom of the 7th with one out, he got a single, stole second, got to 3rd on a errant pick off attempt, stayed at third on a infield single, and scored the walk off run on a grounder to the shortstop.

Hopefully this is the momentum they need to finish the second half of the season strong. The Dawgs are on Twitter and Facebook. Yes folks, we are purple and gold like the Washington Huskies since our manager did play baseball for the UW.

GO DAWGS!!