Hitting the Gaps Part 1

Part of being a player and team collector is that as hard as you try to keep up with the latest releases, you fall behind, and in most cases WAY behind. I'm starting a series here called 'Hitting the Gaps', where I will share a collection of cards that fills in some gaps in a player or team collection of cards. The first covers a handful of Freddie Freeman cards from 2015 and 2016 that I'd missed to this point.

Sometimes the Topps base set cards are the ones that get overlooked. I didn't have a copy of 2015 Topps Freeman from Series 1 so I picked it up. Next to it is a Topps Chrome refractor version. I already had the base chrome version so all three of these are now sitting in a row in my player collection binder. The last card here is an insert from 2015 Allen & Ginter. The back of this one documents Freeman's MLB debut on September 1st, 2010.

What's interesting about this card is it not only hits on Freeman's debut but other notable MLB firsts on that day.

The 2016 Bowman's Best refractor scanned really well. Beautiful card. The plain Chrome versions of cards never scan very well, but at least Freeman shows up well here. I had the Bowman base version from the 2015 set, but now the Chrome version is sitting next to it in the binder. Topps Bunt was a product I was excited about but never saw any packs in stores. They might seem plain to some but I am a fan of these navy uniforms.

I had Opening Day, base Topps, and Topps Gold. Now I've got over half a page of this design with the Chrome base card and the Topps mini version to add to them. Still room for more parallels!

Great design on this 2015 Topps insert. Freddie is finally getting some help in the Braves lineup which started producing pretty well towards the end of last season. Freeman is still the heart of the order, though.

This Inspired Play insert pairs two of my all-time favorite first basemen on the same card. Add Klesko and we'd have the top three.

2017 Topps doesn't qualify as a gap yet, but it's just as satisfying to add it to the binder. My favorite insert set from 2017 Topps by far, and really the only one I was excited to see show up in my blaster box. 

I pretty much stick to base cards, inserts and affordable parallels as far as cards I go after for player collections, and while there's still plenty left to pick up from the last few years, this stack makes a good dent.

Adding to the Crime Dog Stack

I've posted McGriff cards from my collection previously showing him in non-Braves uniforms. While some of his best years statistically were in Atlanta, he only spent four full seasons and part of another with the Braves out of his major league career spanning 19 years. While I certainly appreciate the Crime Dog in a Braves uniform, I'm not going to limit my collection to those years. 

McGriff's first post-Atlanta stop was Tampa, where he played from 1998 to 2001 and then again in 2004. Definitely like the Devil Rays logo better than the current Rays. I guess a change was warranted after failing to win more than 70 games under the Devil Ray name. McGriff had his fifth and final all-star season in 2000.

Maybe my favorite card in this stack, McGriff spent the 2003 season with the Dodgers, playing in 86 games. He hit 13 home runs for the Dodgers, getting him within 10 home runs of 500 for his career. 

I missed out on the Bowman Heritage run. It looks like there are a few years of old Bowman that didn't get a modern set printed for them. Is this a brand that could be brought back?

Great design, great card. While he looks sharp in Dodger blue, can't beat a uniform with a tomahawk that didn't scan as well.

I recently learned that McGriff is in a front office role with the Braves as a special assistant to baseball operations. Maybe that will lead to a larger role with the organization as the team continues to build for the future.

Talked About So Much, but Still Underrated

Stadium Club photography is talked about all over the blogosphere and it's now the identifying feature of a modern Stadium Club set. While it's widely discussed, the photography is far and away better than any other set that I still think it's underrated.

I just picked up my first cards from 2016 Stadium Club the other day, but I realized I hadn't even posted about a stack of 2015 Stadium Club I picked up last year! 

Will the Braves rotation ever get back to where it was in the mid-90s? Seems unlikely, but they are trying with all the young pitchers the team is accumulating.

For the second year in a row, Adam Jones has a memorable card in Stadium Club. In 2014 it was flags with Jones running onto the field.

The All-Star, MVP candidate, and first-round pick and 'captain' of my fantasy baseball team this year.

I love a good sliding shot. First one I can remember featuring Freeman, although it's possible there's another out there.

 Another young pitcher having a solid year for a first place team. Notice the tongue.

My second-round pick for my fantasy baseball team, and my favorite player in the game today. These horizontal shots are great.

Definitely missing this guy this season. Erick Aybar has been pretty painful to watch.

Another of the more memorable cards from this Stadium Club release, I'm sure. Best pitcher in the game.

He may not be an 'ace' on every team, but he's our ace and all-star. He's also one of only three starters listed on the active roster as of Friday when this post was written. Sad times for the Atlanta rotation.

Wish I had thought of this card for a July 4th post. Perfect way to end things in this one. 

Crime Dog Stacks

As you may know, I chose a Fred McGriff mini as my #WalletCard, and while I'll share a number of posts on what the Crime Dog is up to, I wanted to share some recent McGriff additions to my collection.

While I prefer to see McGriff in a Braves uniform, I'm not going to exclude pre and post-Brave cards from my collection, especially when they are sweet minis like these from 1989 Topps. The first above and last below (oops), is his Mini Leaders card.

Just looking at Fred's stats from his years in Toronto, it's amazing that he didn't make an All-Star team in any of his last three seasons there, considering he hit over 30 home runs and his lowest season batting average was .269. In 1989 he even finished 6th in MVP voting for the AL. I guess it makes more sense when you look at who was at first base for the American League that year, Mark McGwire and Don Mattingly. Luckily his All-Star seasons were coming in San Diego, Atlanta, and even Tampa Bay.

The second mini is from 1989 Topps UK minis, and I really like the design on this one. Wouldn't mind seeing a modern set designed off of this. If this has been done and I've missed it, somebody tell me!

We're hitting almost everywhere the Crime Dog played in the post, as we start off with a Padres card from 1992 Donruss, of the McDonald's MVP variety. McGriff is one of 26 that make up this checklist. Cal Ripken Jr. also has a card in this set, which I'm now adding to my wantlist. I'm finding that acquiring cards like these is becoming one of my favorite parts of collecting. The back of this card is pretty sharp, too.

I was pleased to see McGriff show up on the 2014 A&G checklist, too.

Now that I've gotten started here with McGriff I just don't want to stop, so I'll hit some of his later other career stops.

In 2001 Fred was coming off an All-Star appearance in 2000. He was traded mid-season to the Cubs. Here we have a gold parallel from 2001 Topps that shows Fred's signature swing. 

In 2001 at 37 years old, McGriff combined for 31 homers and 102 runs batted in while hitting .306. This is my only McGriff relic, from 2001 Topps Traded & Rookies 

Part of what inspired this post was seeing some discussion on McGriff's Hall of Fame credentials. For now, he'll continue to Await the Call. 

And now that I'm over 10 cards of McGriff in hand, I think I can call it a player collection.

Ultra Exciting

One of my goals for 2015 is to keep track of cards in my player collections. Adding onto this I want to keep up with any sets I am trying to complete. The first of such sets is 1999 Ultra. The Ultra brand has always been a favorite of mine. One of my best memories of sports cards is opening packs of 1994-95 Ultra basketball with my dad. What a great set that was. I wanted to put together an Ultra baseball team set together, and I'm quite fond of the 1999 design. I'm keeping track of what I have on my What I Collect page. Let's go through some Orioles and Braves from the 1998 season!

First up, Brady Anderson, a three-time All-Star. How did you hit 50 home runs and knock in 110 runs in 1996? And only 11.6 at-bats per home run. Anderson struggled in 1998 hitting just .236 but had a bounce back year in 1999.

Great card of Mike Mussina. I can't decide what I like better from this set, the text used for the player names or the photography. 

I appreciate the card backs showing stats for the player's entire career. The Did You Know? facts are pretty interesting too. Mussina played multiple positions on his high school football team and was offered a scholarship to kick at Penn State. I'm guessing not too many major league pitchers can dominate like Mussina on the diamond and also kick a 60-yard field goal. The card says '60-year field goal'. Guess that one slipped past editing. Still love the card!

Sadly this Graf isn't in the best shape on the surface. If I find another copy of this one I won't mind replacing it. Graffanino came up in the Braves system playing three years for the major league team before being released in 1999. He played several infield positions and was a good contact guy.

Michael Tucker came to the Braves in a trade before the 1997 season along with Keith Lockhart for Jermaine Dye and Jamie Walker. I was sad to see the 23 year old Dye go to the Royals after seeing him in Richmond the year before. Back to Tucker... he spent 2 years with the Braves before being traded to the Reds along with our next Brave...

Denny Neagle. I always enjoy seeing shots of players signing for fans, and I enjoyed watching Neagle while with the Braves. He had one incredible All-Star season for Atlanta in 1997, going 20-5 with a 2.97 era, finishing 3rd in Cy Young voting.

And a nice shot of the Big Cat making contact. The photography in this set is pretty great. I'd argue it's the strongest photo of the group. What a season he had for the Braves in 1998, hitting 44 home runs and batting in 121 runs. He missed all of 1999 battling non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and came back with a strong 2000 season, winning Comeback Player of the Year. While he was only with the Braves for a few seasons, the Big Cat is one of my favorites.

And while he's pictured in a Devil Rays uniform, I couldn't pass up picking up this Fred McGriff. I am certainly not going to limit my Crime Dog collection to Brave uniforms only. I know I'm not alone in thinking McGriff should get consideration for the Hall of Fame. Sadly it doesn't look like it will happen based on his recent percentage of votes.

Crime Dog in my Wallet

I'm sure you are all aware of the Wallet Card wave going on in the card blogosphere, and this is me jumping in. 

When I saw the idea, I knew I wanted to participate, but I also remembered I had recently purchased a smaller wallet that won't hold a normal sized card. This meant I was looking for a mini-card, which limits the pool from my collection. 

For the player, it didn't take me long to decide that I wanted to carry a card of Fred McGriff around with me in my wallet. I can't think of a player more fitting than the Crime Dog. Snooping around in my wallet? Crime Dog appears!

This is the card I was originally going with. It's got McGriff's signature post-swing and he's in a Braves uniform. But it's not a mini.

After some searching, I decided to go with this recent McGriff!

This one will do just fine, a 2014 Topps 89 Mini die-cut. What will the Crime Dog get into in 2015? Stay tuned!