400th Post

I've reached another milestone here at Nine Pockets:  

400 blog posts!  

Because I add content here each Sunday, 400 posts means this blog has been rolling along for almost eight years now. And that's a lot of content. 

 

I guess if you break it down, some of it has been nostalgia, some of it has been custom cards, some of it has been completed sets, and so on. Ultimately, it shows that trading cards have been a bigger part of my life than I thought. Back when I started this blog in 2018, I couldn't have imagined that I'd find so much to write about. 

In any case, and as usual with these milestone posts, I wanted to tie in some cards using a sports-related milestone of some kind. 

The first thing I thought about was baseball players who batted .400. However, there haven't been many of those—none from our modern time, in fact. So I next thought about a few players who nearly batted .400: Tony Gwynn (.394 in 1994), George Brett (.390 in 1980), and Rod Carew (.388 in 1977). 

 

However, we're celebrating 400 blog posts here, and 394, 390, and 388 just don't do enough of a job to mark the milestone. Thankfully, I found something soon after:

 

Players who've batted .400 across an 80-game stretch.

 

That's essentially half a season. After a little bit of research, here's what I found:

 

 

Name	At-Bats	Hits	Average	Date Range
George Brett	315	137	.435	5/30/1980–10/1/1980
Ichiro Suzuki	349	149	.427	6/30/2004–9/27/2004
Wade Boggs	332	138	.416	6/26/1985–9/22/1985
Tony Gwynn	327	133	.407	4/9/1997–7/15/1997
Larry Walker	302	123	.407	4/9/1997–7/14/1997
Rod Carew	310	126	.406	4/16/1977–7/17/1977

Man, that 1997 season was something else. Larry Walker and Tony Gwynn both took their .400 batting averages well into July. Walker finished the season at .366, while Gwynn ended up at .372.

 

It goes to show you how much harder it is to keep up that .400 pace for another 80 games.

 

Regardless, it's an impressive feat. And because this is a trading card blog, here are examples of what collectors would have been pulling from packs while the guys listed above were swinging such hot bats:

 

 

1980 Topps #450 George Brett, 2004 Bazooka Stand-Ups #18 Ichiro Suzuki, 1985 Topps #350 Wade Boggs

 

1997 Topps #410 Tony Gwynn, 1997 Topps Stars #1 Larry Walker, 1977 Topps #120 Rod Carew

I should note that the table shown above only represents a partial list. Nomar Garciaparra, Todd Helton, and John Olerud also accomplished the feat, as well as other legends like Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente. (The most recent player to do it appears to be Joey Votto, from June to October of 2016.)

 

And I'll leave it there. Milestone achieved.

 

Whether you've been visiting this blog from the start, reading it today for the first time, or anything in between, I'm sending my thanks. I hope you've enjoyed doing the reading as much as I've enjoyed doing the writing.

 

Here's to more great trading card and blogging milestones all around!

Completed Set: 1982 Topps Baseball

 

If you loved watching Major League Baseball and collecting cards of your favorite players, you probably felt some relief as the calendar changed from 1981 to 1982. And that's because 1981 was a bit helter-skelter for a fan like you.

 

There was the MLB player strike, which wiped out almost two months of the season—right in the middle of summer, no less. That might have left you feeling disgruntled and disenchanted about baseball.

 

On the other hand, two new trading card companies, Donruss and Fleer, entered the arena. If you were a baseball card fiend, this would have flipped your emotions to the opposite end of the spectrum. 

 

On the other, other hand, it turned out that the debuts from Donruss and Fleer left a little bit to be desired. The card stock for Donruss in particular felt quite thin and cheap, and both companies seemed to have trouble generating consistent, high-quality photographs. So now if you were that baseball card fiend, you might have been frustrated again. Feels like quite the roller-coaster ride.

 

So yes, when 1982 rolled around, maybe you were ready to put 1981 behind you. The strike was over, baseball was back in full swing, and Donruss and Fleer were ready for their second efforts.

 

I wonder if Topps was worried about that. Did they feel like they needed to step up their game with the new competition getting a second crack at it? 

 

Let's look at some cards from my newly completed set and find out.  

 

 

As always, Topps made sure to include some classic poses. Nothing but good vibes here. Baseball is all about green grass, sunny skies, and happy players.

 

   

 

You'll also find a lot of headshots in the 1982 set. Some of them are quite pleasant, like Palmer, Lynn, and Garner. . .

 

 

  

 

. . .while others are of the "invading my 16 inches of personal space" variety. How close was the photographer actually standing to these players when he clicked the shutter? Bonus points to Mike Ivie for almost showing a smile there, despite the encroachment. 

 

 

 

Good-mannered ballplayers like Mr. Ivie seemed abundant back then. Just check out these three guys, always happy to sign an autograph.

 

  

 

Sometimes pros would even just chat it up with the fans. You've got to love that level of accessibility.  

 

 

  

 

Speaking of which, they were always ready for an interview with the local or national broadcast team. (How great are those microphones, by the way?)

 

And you know what? All that pro-player coolness rubbed off on us Little League kids.

 

  

 

We couldn't wait to put a donut on our bat and swing it around. When we were all warmed up, we'd hold the top of the bat and bang the knob on the ground to shake the donut off. Total boss move.

 

 

 

 

Then we'd take a knee in the on-deck circle and study the opposing pitcher. Also a total boss move. 

 

 

 

  

  

And if we ever did get to the big leagues, we'd have to know how to sign our names. Interestingly, 1982 Topps showed us that we had some options. On the left, Tito Landrum signed with his actual full name, Terry Lee Landrum. In the middle, future Boston Celtics star Danny Ainge was a bit more formal, going with Daniel M. Ainge. And on the right, Shooty Babitt highlighted his nickname by signing as Mack "Shooty" Babitt. (It's notable that this was the last time Topps would add facsimile autographs to cards until their 1989 Bowman release.)

 

 

 

So, we had the weighted donuts. We had the pose in the on-deck circle. We knew how we were going to sign our names. If only we had some stylish satin jackets like these three guys, we'd be all set! 

 

On the subject of style, let's talk about the card design a little bit. I think Topps did pretty well here, and stayed a step ahead of Donruss and Fleer in the originality and creativity departments. Those racing stripes bring some good action down the left side of the card and across the bottom. And even though the colors don't often match the team colors, I'm totally fine with it. You have browns and oranges that hearken back to the '70s, plus some neon-type magentas and cyans that would soon take hold in the '80s. (Just think about MTV, Miami Vice, windbreakers, and Swatch watches, and the colors used in this set will start to make good sense.)

  

Something else that makes good sense is the "In Action" subset. It's where the racing stripes really put in the work. Just check out George Brett's version on the right side below, and follow his name down from the top left of the card.

 

 

 

George Brett (zoooooooom) in action!

 

I added the base card there because this is how you'd see both cards in a binder. In other words, Topps decided to number each player's In Action card right after his base card. There are a whopping 40 In Action cards in all, and they're sprinkled throughout the set. You'll find many big stars, such as Mike Schmidt, Reggie Jackson, Johnny Bench, Steve Carlton, and Rich Gossage.

 

And the subset isn't the only place you'll find action. 

 

 

  

 

Some of the base cards captured it pretty well, too. I really like all three cards above, but my favorites are the next two when they're arranged side by side.

 

 

 

Do you remember this little dance between pitcher and runner? 

 

It happened all the time back then, especially with young, fleet-footed phenoms like Rickey and Raines in the league. When runners like those guys reached first base, pitchers would look over there again and again, and throw the ball over there again and again too, until the crowd started booing. To heighten the suspense of the almost inevitable stolen base attempt, TV broadcasts would even put up a split screen, with the pitcher on the left side, and the runner on the right. We couldn't wait to see that runner finally make a break for second base. It was glorious.

 

You know what else was glorious back in 1982?

The uniforms. 

 

 

 

 

The script "Giants" font in San Francisco. The wacky polo shirts with huge lapels in Chicago. Pittsburgh's mustard yellows and pillbox hats. The tequila sunrise stripes in Houston. The Rangers' powder blues, and that classic logo of the baseball wearing a cowboy hat. The Swinging Friar. All glorious. I didn't even include the Mariners' trident "M" logo, which is just as fantastic.

  

There are also some nice rookies in the 1982 set.

 

 

Righetti, Smith, and Stewart had excellent careers. Smith is a Hall of Famer.

 

But this guy takes the cake.

 

 

  

If I were to create a list of the most iconic rookie cards of the 1980s, I think Mr. Ripken's card would be in my top 5.

 

  

Now here's a card back.

 

 

Topps gets a pretty good score for legibility here, with the dark blue text on top of light green. Add some bonus points for the cartoon and the baseball facts that run across the top. They do push the card number down to a somewhat inconspicuous area, but I think it's fine.

 

Let's get to the subsets now.   

 

 

Besides the In Action cards, you'd get the standard Batting & Pitching Leaders, which featured a team checklist on the back. (This was often a nice way to find your favorite stars on a card other than their base card.)

 

 

 

Topps also gave us the League Leader cards, which featured the National League and American League leader in various categories.

 

 

And finally, you had a few Highlight cards to start off the first page of the binder, the standard checklist cards, and the All-Star subset. I like how all the subset cards tie in some variation of the racing stripe theme. 

 

Oh, and there's one other notable thing.

 

 

Inside every 1982 Topps wax pack you'd find one sticker for that year's sticker album! The company selected one or two players from each team—48 players in all—and printed a special "albums coming soon" message on the back. This was excellent cross-marketing. (They did a similar thing with their football set that year, as well.)

 

And that's 1982 Topps baseball. I think the company put forth a pretty solid effort with this set. Good colors, good content, and very reliable. Just what baseball fans and card collectors needed at the time. I'm happy to have completed it!

 

How about you readers and fellow collectors? What are your thoughts on this set?

 

Share in the comment section, and thanks for reading!

 

BBA: The Blogger National 2026

It's been ages since I've been to a card show. I'd probably have to go back to the monthly versions that my collecting buddy and I used to attend at the local Holiday Inn, back in our high school days. 

 

But with all the current excitement about cards out there in the world, I'd have to imagine that there are a few shows within a reasonable driving distance of my current home. I think I'll do some research to find out. It might be fun to feel that card show energy again.

 

In any case, one thing I certainly wasn't going to do last week was travel to Chicago for the National Sports Collectors Convention. That would be like jumping straight into the deep end of the pool. Or a huge lake. Or the middle of the ocean. 

 

Thankfully, Matt from Cards over Coffee has once again set up a blog bat-around for those of us who've stayed at home, but want to share our recent trading card acquisitions. So far I've seen at-bats from The Chronicles of Fuji and from John's Big League Baseball Cards. 

 

Because it's been a full week since the actual National wrapped up, it means I'm a little late to the party here. But let's just imagine that I finally made it home from Chicago, recovered from the whirlwind of trading card activity, and now I'm ready to share my acquisitions from recent mail days that enormous showroom floor.

 

 

 

First, I found a few 1993-94 Ultra hockey cards for my set build, which is almost complete. My favorite of the bunch is this early Paul Kariya card, featuring him skating for Team Canada.

 

 

 

 

 

In a TCDB trade, I picked up a couple of older hockey cards for another build. The 1974-75 O-Pee-Chee WHA hockey set is small, but the cards can be somewhat pricey, especially if you're a stickler for condition. However, I love the design, not to mention all the super-cool defunct teams and jerseys on display, and I'm getting closer to wrapping up the set.

 

 

 

 

In a separate TCDB trade, I added a trio of pitchers for my 1979 Topps baseball build. Set completion is a bit further away with this one, but I've been picking off some decent players here and there, and I'll keep chipping away at it.

 

 

 

 

 

A few months ago, I wrote a Favorites Box post about Mike Pagliarulo's 1985 Topps rookie card. "Pags" was one of my favorite players back then, so much so that he's pretty much the only guy I ever had a player collection for. That blog post rekindled some collecting energy—enough for me to check my TCDB account to see how many different Pags cards I had. Turns out I was ranked in second place overall, with 112!

 

And with the addition of the Topps Tiffany trio you see above, that number has gone up to 115. Am I starting up a player collection again for the first time since I was a kid? We'll see. 

 

  

 

Next, I wanted to share a fun addition to my wax pack collection. These three packs were listed online for a decent price, and as an '80s kid who played NES games with gusto, I couldn't pass them up. (Side question: Does anyone else enjoy a good wax pack wrapper variation as much as I do?)

 

 

 

 

  

And finally, back to hockey. Fellow collector Stuart, from the S.R. '75 Cards blog, recently sent me some sticker backs from the 1988-89 O-Pee-Chee set. They're much appreciated, my collecting friend! I'm putting together a return package for you.

 

 

And those are my recent pick-ups. If you haven't taken a swing at this blog bat-around, why not give it a go? 

 

Thanks for starting it up, Matt!  

High School Hockey Trophies (Or, the Glory Days)

A few months ago here on the blog, I shared an image of the one Little League trophy that I managed to hold onto for all of these years, along with a picture of young Gregory Ninepockets in the batter's box. The trophy was a little bit weathered from years spent in garages and attics, but I was able to clean it up pretty well, and now it resides in a much more pleasant, temperature-controlled environment.

The whole thing generated a pretty strong sense of nostalgia, and it pushed me a few years forward on Memory Lane. Here's the brief story.

From the very start, I was a baseball kid. Every spring, the prospect of a new Little League season generated that special combination of nervousness and excitement inside of me. I loved to play, and practice, and learn. Baseball was just a huge deal for me. But during my last year of Little League, I met a new friend who introduced me to another sport: Ice hockey. And I took a shine to it. 

Now I was well aware that baseball was—and always would be—my first love. So it wasn't like I was going to ditch it completely for hockey, or anything. However, this new friend and all his brothers played hockey all the time. Whenever I went over their house, it was hockey everywhere. Equipment bags everywhere. Sticks everywhere. Jerseys everywhere. I started to really enjoy being in that environment, and learning as much as I could about the game. I even started collecting hockey cards for the first time! 

On top of that, I began playing the sport—first in the street, wearing sneakers, and then on rollerblades. By the time 9th grade came around, that was it. I was hooked, and ready for high school–level ice hockey. Full equipment and everything. Thanks to a generous and hard-working mom and dad, I did play four full years of high school ice hockey. 

And so, after finishing up that post about the Little League trophy, I thought back to those high school hockey days. I knew I had some awards from that time tucked away in a box somewhere. 

That's where this post comes in. Because I found them.

Now before you scroll down and start assuming too much about my hockey skills, I'll tell you that these awards came from a recreational county league that anyone could join. Our high school didn't have a hockey team, and although the county did certainly have travel teams, I'd only been playing the sport for a couple of years at that point, and didn't quite have the abilities to match those guys. A few of them played in our rec league for fun, and I really had to be on my game if I wanted to keep up with them on the ice. You could tell they were on a different level.

Anyway, here's the fun stuff that I found in the box, year by year. 

 

 

 

Freshman Year

 

 

1991-92 All-Star Game Plaque

The "Executive Classic" is the name the league used for its annual all-star game. I think most seasons there were between 6 and 8 teams in the league, and each coach submitted the names of a few players for the all-star game. I was very happy to be selected my first year, and it was nice of the league to hand out a little plaque like this one to each player who participated. The plaques are fairly small—around 5 inches by 7 inches.

 

 

Sophomore Year

I didn't find an all-star game plaque for the 1992-93 season, and I really don't remember whether or not I was selected. I do know that I didn't deal with any injuries or missed games, so maybe I had an off year, or maybe our team had a lot of good players that season who were selected in front of me. 

 

 

 

Junior Year 

 

 

1993-94 All-Star Game Plaque

Back in the saddle for the all-star game. You can see that the league changed up the plaque design a little bit. And that's not all for my Junior year. Check this out:

 

 

 

1993-94 All-Star Game MVP Plaque

I was the the all-star game MVP! If I remember right, I had 2 goals and 1 assist in a victory for our side. And my Junior season was even better still, because. . .

 

 

 

 

. . . our team won the league championship! 

I really don't remember a whole lot about the season in general, but I do remember that we had an excellent squad, which included a couple of travel team players. And although I don't remember the final score of the championship game, I think it was pretty close for the first couple of periods.

  

 

 

Senior Year 

 

 

1994-95 All-Star Game Plaque

I wrapped up my high school playing days with another all-star game appearance. A couple of my classmates were rec league all-stars over the years, as well. It always felt great to represent our high school in that way.

 

And playing with those classmates is what I remember the most about those days. There were four or five of us in the same grade who all loved the sport, and we joined the rec league year after year. From what I remember, the league always tried to place us on the same team, which made things really fun. The day after a game, we'd get together in school and talk about how we played, and who we were playing next. The fact that we were such a small group only made it more special.

As for that friend who introduced me to ice hockey a few years prior? He was one of those classmates on the team. We ended up developing such good chemistry on the ice that we often played together on the same forward line. And guess what else? He was a card collector like me. That made things even more fun! 

Here are a few cards that we would have been excited to find in packs around that time.

1991-92 Upper Deck #21 Teemu Selanne, 1991-92 Upper Deck #AW9 Mario Lemieux, 
1993-94 Topps Premier Black Gold #7 Wayne Gretzky

They take me right back to those high school hockey days. And I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but how cool is it that a few little pieces of cardboard can help preserve such great memories? I only wish we documented more of our hockey experiences and kept more physical mementos from that time.

 

What about you readers and collectors? 

If you played any sports or were part of any clubs in high school, do you still have some trophies, awards, or other mementos?

 

I want to hear some stories! Share in the comment section.