I Was There: Pre-and-Post-9/11 in New York

This is Part IV of a series (and a contest) that was introduced here.

Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees, Yankee Stadium, 9/10/2001, Rainout: Clemens Stuck at 19-1
Tampa Bay Devil Rays @ New York Yankees, Yankee Stadium, 9/25/2001: Baseball Back in the Bronx

It started raining Monday afternoon, September 10. But, along with 50,000 other fans, I expected, or at least hoped, that it would let up enough to get the ballgame in. It was the kind of game you don't give up on lightly. The race for the division title had long since lost any drama. But even with the Red Sox thirteen games behind the Yankees, any visit by their arch rivals to Yankee Stadium was an event, and this was to be the last such opportunity of the year. Making things even more interesting, longtime Boston ace Roger Clemens was to take the mound for the Yanks that night, trying to improve his record to an unprecedented 20-1.

But the rain didn't let up. After two soggy hours of waiting, the game was called.

Games between the Yankees and Red Sox routinely last four hours or more, so even with the long wait in vain for baseball I got home a good deal earlier than expected. I was between jobs at this point in my life, but I had a fairly consistent daily routine. And the earlier-then-expected night meant an early jump the next morning. Each day I would hop on the subway from my apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and head to downtown Manhattan to go to the gym, followed by coffee, bagel and the New York Times on a park bench facing the Hudson River. The subway exit was in the basement of the World Trade Center. The gym was two blocks away. The park bench was in front of the Winter Garden. None of those things would exist by the end of the day.

I was in the shower, getting ready to slip into this familiar routine when my roommate started knocking and shouting something through the bathroom door. I was out of the shower in time to see the second plane hit the World Trade Center on television. Like most of the rest of the world, I spent the day watching the events unfold on TV. It wasn't long after the towers collapsed that the ash began to accumulate on the building entrance's awning outside of my second-floor apartment window.

A lot of people had it much worse that day, obviously. My best friend had to dodge flying airplane parts as he was fleeing from the building when the second plane hit. He and I were both lucky compared to thousands of victims and their families. But the following days were very strange times to live in the City. When they finally resumed flying, airplanes in the sky brought with them a sense of anxiety. Being underground in the subway was no longer a comfortable feeling. But sitting around indoors was also nerve-wracking. By Thursday night, I had to do something, so I volunteered at a staging area for emergency food and supplies in Bryant Park. But by this point it was becoming clear that it was highly unlikely that survivors would be found, so there was nothing at all to do during my overnight shift.

It felt at the time as though there would never be a return to normalcy. Baseball was very welcome when it resumed. I wasn't there at Shea Stadium when the Mets went back to work. In light of Pizza's historic homer, I naturally wish I had been. But when my friend Kevin said let's go when the Yanks come back, I was wholeheartedly in.

I wasn't a Roger Clemens fan at the time, and my opinion of him today wouldn't be surprising to anyone. I wish this story involved someone worthy of respect and admiration, instead. But that's life. And it didn't get much more real than 9/11, so I suppose it's appropriate, in a way.

Clemens had won that 20th game the week before in Chicago, and was on the mound to face Tampa Bay in the Yank's return to the Stadium. Security was high. Everyone was searched thoroughly. Police were everywhere, firearms prominently displayed. I've been to games where there's a buzz in the stadium because of circumstances on the field. On this night, the buzz was simply about being there, about being anywhere in public with a large crowd at a high-profile event. It may seem somewhat silly now, but it really felt like there was some risk involved in being there.

The game itself didn't go well for the home team. Hal McRae's Devil Rays scored two runs in the first, and behind Tanyon Sturtze they never looked back in a 4-0 win. But, of course, this was another of those rare times when just being there was bigger than the game. And victory, of a sorts, did come in the seventh inning when the score between the Red Sox and Orioles became final. The 12-7 Boston loss clinched the American League Eastern Division for the Bombers. The Yankees were going to the post season. Everything was back to normal. Almost.

As for the Surreal Seven contest, we ease our way into a leaderboard. I would be hesitant to award Al a victory here if it were going to effect the final standings, because he's a little vague with his guess of "9/11 New York." In fact, if I were a betting man, I'd say he most likely had the Piazza/Mets game in mind. But, like I said, it's not going to effect the final standings, so I'll happily award a win, just to get the leaderboard up and running:

SURREAL SEVEN STANDINGS	Correct Guesses	Difficulty Points
Al Kawamoto	1	4
Nick @ Dime Boxes	0	0
Bo @ Baseball Cards Come to Life!	0	0
Marcus @ All the Way to the Backstop	0	0

Congrats to Al for getting on the board. Now that the ice is broken, I have a feeling we're gonna see some action in the final days of this contest. And, speaking of contests, stay tuned. More free cards a'comin'.

42: A Mini-Collection Guide

This mini-collection has three layers:

First of all, we have the Godfather of the collection, Jackie Robinson, himself. Got the '54 Topps from my Cousin Craig to fill that order. Check.

The second layer is the Grandfathers. These are the thirteen players who were wearing 42 when Jackie's number was retired, and therefore were allowed to continue to do so. I want one card of each player in which their number 42 is showing. So far I've been able to cross nine of the thirteen off of the list:

1997 Topps Mariano Rivera NYY #256

1997 Donruss Butch Huskey NYM #222

1992 Topps Mo Vaughn BOS #59

1996 Topps Tom Goodwin KCR #39

1995 Fleer Buddy Groom DET #55

1998 Topps Jason Schmidt PIT #445

1998 Topps Kirk Rueter SFG #359

2002 Topps Jose Lima DET #542

1998 Upper Deck Collector's Choice Scott Karl MIL #151

I'm still looking for Dennis Cook, Mike Jackson, Lenny Webster and Marc Sagmoen. I know cards exist of the first three with the number showing. But I'm 99% sure that there's no card of Sagmoen with #42 visible, so I'll settle for any card featuring him with the Rangers (I know of only '97 Fleer and Fleer Ultra, off hand).

By the way, I can't let that '95 Fleer Buddy Groom get lost in the shuffle. I hate that set. Hate it with a passion. But this is a great card. The composition, the colors, the emphasis of the number 42... excellent. If mini-collecting has the ability to help find something positive from 1995 Fleer, it's paying benefits already.

As with the others I've discussed recently, this Mini-Collection can now be found over on the sidebar, or you can click here to take a quick peek. If you do, you'll see that there's still only one card from the third (and ongoing) layer of this collection, which consists of players wearing #42 on Jackie Robinson Day. There probably aren't that many of them, and they can be hard to spot unless you're making a conscious effort to look for them. I'm really curious to see just how prolific or exclusive this collection turns out to be.

That leaves just one more mini-collection guide, and then I'm off and running. Thanks for reading (and keep your eyes peeled, por favor!).

Marlins Catch: Pack #3

What's this? Find out here.

Returning, more or less, to our regularly-scheduled programming, it's time again to take a look at highlights from another "pack" of Marlins that were caught and released by Kerry from Cards on Cards. This package was all about recent Topps product.

Opening Day 2011 looks a lot different than September 2013, which is great from a Dodgers fan perspective...

2011 Topps Opening Day Rickey Nolasco FLA #211
2011 Topps Opening Day Hanley Ramirez FLA #8

From clean and legible, though slightly dull and with a huge logo that draws away too much attention, to glossy and shiny and (unlike many years) only slightly less legible '11 flagship cards. In this case it's the end of the line for a couple of stars. Not superstars. But stars, nonetheless.

2012 Topps Javier Vazquez FLA #458
2012 Topps Update Mike Cameron FLA #US141

Vazquez was a double-digit winner in each of the final twelve years of his big-league career, finishing with over 2,500 strikeouts. Cameron, seen here doing what he did best, with verdant midsummer Wrigley ivy as a backdrop, was a three-time Gold Glove Award winner, a man who was traded for Ken Griffey, Jr., and smasher of four home runs in a single game. With a player like Mariano Rivera, you get a season-long goodbye. With solid players like these two, you just look up a year or two later and notice that there aren't any new baseball cards of them. The old cardboard bestows an opportunity for deserved remembrance.

Sometimes, however, it's simply all about the aesthetics.

2012 Topps Update Michael Dunn FLA #US215

Why were there so many years when Topps limited itself to base cards of a vertical orientation? I'm glad they seem to have gotten over this unnecessary challenge to artistic excellence.

2009 Topps Cameron Maybin FLA #398

But here's a pretty sweet vertical card, too (complete illegibility of the player's name notwithstanding). The future Padre uses two hands to (presumably) complete his running catch on a fine spring day, neatly framed by the warning track and post of the chain-link outfield fence. A card this warm will soon draw envy from those of us in areas prone to the occasional snow flurry as the days grow shorter. But for now, bring on the autumn chill, because we all know what that means...

...though certainly not for the Marlins this year.

I haven't been sharing the blog love much lately, being all Random and in flux around here, so let's take a moment to give a shout out (the kids don't say that anymore, do they?) to a couple o' new kids on the blog.

First of all (and I probably should have mentioned this earlier because the break is about to close), Chris over at View from the Skybox has a pretty sweet 2012 Panini Prizm group break going on, so pop over there quick to see if there's a team you like still available.

Baseball Card Breakdown is a spiffy new blog, and they're currently trying to give away some cards, including one that's had the pleasure of sitting on a pizza. (You'll just have to go check it out.)

And finally, here's a plug for The Chronicles of Fuji, which looks to be a really fun read. It's a selfish plug, because it's gonna get me more entries in his current contest, but it's a quality blog so I can endorse with integrity. Go check it out.

Turtlenecks: A Mini-Collection Guide

1955 Topps Jim Gilliam BRO #5

Let me start by saying that I don't want every card in which a player is wearing a turtleneck. Wait, let me rephrase that. I do want every card. Period. But I won't consider every card of a player wearing a long-necked undergarment to be worthy of a place in this mini-collection. There are a lot of cards of players wearing something that looks like a turtleneck. Most of these are subtle. This collection ain't about subtle. If you find yourself asking the question, "Is that really a turtleneck," then the chances are good that it's not a card for The Turtleneck Collection. This one is not about quantity, it's about quality.

Granted, the distinctions will be arbitrary, entirely in the eye of the collector (me). But if we take a look at what's made the cut so far, some semblance of a general criteria might become more clear. To do this, we need just look to the sidebar for the brand-spankin'-new Mini-Collections links (or you can cheat and simply click here).

I'll wait...

Okay, you back yet? Pretty obvious turtleneck action, right? Although I'd say the Griffey is borderline. Lots of players were wearing that type of long-necked undershirt around that time. But, particularly with that close-up shot, and with the shadows falling in such a way as to emphasize the extra fabric in the neck region, it makes the cut. (Plus, superstar status has its privileges.)

Let's see a few examples of cards that don't make the cut. These cards made me take a closer look. The players are wearing undershirts with higher-than-usual necklines. They might technically be turtlenecks. But, ultimately, I found myself deliberating enough to raise doubt, so they don't go in the collection.

1990 Topps Traded Wax Bob Patterson PIT #88T
1974 Topps Dick Allen CHW #70

Does NOT Make the Cut

Does NOT Make the Cut

They both may be wearing turtlenecks, but they just don't stand out enough for me. Patterson is just too far away for the long neck to really make an impression. For an action shot to make the cut, it's got to be spectacular. Allen doesn't have much of a neck to cover, and yet there's plenty of exposed neck-flesh there, so it's just not good enough. (Now, if this were a glasses collection...)

Then there's this:

1990 Donruss Brian Meyer HOU #648

Does NOT Make the Cut

This is friggin' awesome, right? It's a lot of bonus fabric in the neck region. But it's not a turtleneck, so it ain't in this collection. I know that's obvious. I just wanted to show the card. It might be the best card in this horrendous set. I would love to own one of those jackets, myself!

Here are some things that can help to increase a card's chances of making the collection: exceptional height and/or bulkiness, a neck that's so long that the fabric has to be folded down upon itself, an area so large that a logo or team name can be prominently displayed on it... basically everything that Joe Carter's fabulous Toronto winter gear has going for it. That's why he's the collection's honorary host.

Here are a few more cards (which you just saw if you looked at the collection page) that are among those that have made the cut.

1993 Topps Scott Fletcher MIL #97
1992 Upper Deck Dave Henderson OAK #172

Fletcher's turtleneck is wrinkly, folded over, and has a logo on it. He's looking up to the sky, affording us a great view of the collectible garment. A pretty obvious call. Henderson's is borderline. But it has just enough bulk, and the advantage of contrasting color, to push it into the winner's circle. Ultimately, this is something upon which no two people will always agree. But it's my collection, so that's not really a problem. I know it's Random, but that's really what it's all about, so just go with it.

Before closing this out, I have to mention that the Junior Gilliam card that opened the post is yet another card from my Cousin Craig's childhood collection. That makes three awesome vintage cards for three different mini-collections, including '54 Topps Hoyt Wilhelm for Getting a Grip and, of course, the '54 Topps Jackie Robinson that leads off the 42 Collection. You'd think that he gave me hundreds of cards, but only a handful survived... you guessed it, his mother throwing them out. That whole 2010 Topps theme would have definitely struck a chord with him. You've already seen most of Craig's Gifts, with a few exceptional exceptions to come. Thanks again to Craig for his generosity, and to his mom (my Aunt Jackie) for sparing a few gems.

Two People, One Grip

I'm getting together pages to warehouse my mini-collections. I sort all of my cards into alphabetical order by player, so my mini-collections are virtual. You can view the first of these by going to the Mini-Collections links on the sidebar, or by taking this handy shortcut.

Putting together the Getting a Grip collection page, I realized that there's another specialized subset in this collection. It's not uncommon to see cards with more than one pitcher showing a grip, such as this one:

2009 Topps Desert Heat: Brandon Webb/Dan Haren ARI #157

That's really nothing different, though. Just posing with a grip, the same as it would be if only one player were pictured.

However, there's something different that can happen with two people on a card:

1992 Upper Deck Nolan Ryan Team Checklist TEX #92

Two people, one ball, two grips. Odd. Random. Cool. In fact, all three examples that I've found so far are really cool, in their own way. That artwork of Ryan showing a kid how to grip the ball is priceless. It's the kind of card I would have scoffed at as a kid. It would have smacked of the uncool. But as those of you with kids are probably reminded on a regular basis, you lose your cool when you become an adult. Or at least it becomes somewhat inverted, so your adult cool has little to do with your childhood cool. That's what's happening here.

But this is something else entirely:

1992 Upper Deck Bob Ojeda (with Tommy Lasorda) LAD #666

This card just cracks me up. You have to remember that I grew up watching Tommy Lasorda's act. The guy was a real piece of work. Here the old lefty pitcher (0-4 lifetime major league record) is trying to show 12-year veteran Bobby Ojeda how to pitch. The best part about this is the bemused look on Ojeda's face. Lasorda's his manager, so he can't just tell him to buzz off. But you know he wants to. You can see it in his face.

1986 Donruss Knuckle Brothers: Phil Niekro/Joe Niekro NYY #645

This one has a couple of great things going for it, in addition to its qualification for Getting a Grip. It celebrates the knuckleball, the great circus pitch that turns big-league hitters into clueless amateurs. The other, of course, is that it's about family ties, which are always fascinating to baseball fans. Most of us would have loved to be good enough at the game to be paid to play it, but the odds against possessing the skill and experiencing the good fortune necessary to make that a reality are long, indeed. That a pair (or more) of brothers, or a father and son (and perhaps a grandson or two) manage to accomplish the feat is a thing of wonder. Fabulous card, happily included in Getting a Grip.

Getting a Grip: A Mini-Collection Guide

Okay, the four mini-collections have been revealed. Before this thing gets out of hand let's take a closer look at the particulars of each collection. I'm going to start with Getting a Grip because it's the biggest, most complicated, and my favorite of the four.

2013 Panini Triple Play Cartoon Stickers Knuckleball Grip #6

Reducing it to its simplest description, this is a collection of cards about gripping the ball or featuring pitchers showing their grip on the ball. I emphasize "showing" because that's the key. Appropriately, I'm going to show you some examples of cards that go into this collection.

1992 Pinnacle Randy Tomlin Grips PIT #606

The Panini sticker above and this entire Pinnacle subset are the most obvious and fundamental type of card for this collection: cards about grips.

2002 Topps Jon Lieber CHC #169
2012 Topps Heritage Francisco Cordero CIN #194
2009 Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee Black Chan Ho Park PHI #416

These are the archetypal Getting a Grip card. The grip is the focal point of a posed shot. It was a very popular pose for pitchers in the 1950s, and it's a staple of modern Allen & Ginter sets. The pitcher may be holding the ball out in front of him, beside him, behind his head... anywhere, as long as he's posing and purposefully showing his grip on the ball.

1990 Topps Andy Hawkins NYY #335
1992 Upper Deck Jack Morris MIN #315

Unless the pitcher is taunting a batter by showing him what's coming, action shots aren't going to show up in this collection because pitchers don't show their grips during game action. However, they do sometimes show their catchers what type of pitch they're throwing while warming up, giving us a pseudo-action card type that does make it into Getting a Grip. It doesn't matter if the grip is being shown directly to the camera, as long as it's being shown.

Now let's take a look at a few cards that do not go in this collection:

2003 Donruss Francisco Rodriguez ANA #39
2003 Donruss Juan Cruz CHC #254

NOT Getting a Grip

NOT Getting a Grip

This gives me a chance to show two more great samples from Nick's recent trade package. As fabulous as they are, and as much I love having them, they don't belong in the Getting a Grip collection. K-Rod is posing, and you can see his grip on the ball, but he's not showing the grip. That's why Juan Cruz here, as with any action shot of a pitcher in his delivery, also does not qualify for this mini-collection, despite the fabulous view of his (palmball?) grip.

Finally, there are two specific types of cards that are about getting a grip, and therefore make this collection. There are two (legal) things that pitchers do to help get a grip.

2005 Topps Total Eric DuBose BAL #479

They use a rosin bag. So that's part of Getting a Grip.

1954 Bowman Virgil Trucks CHW #198

The other thing they do is rub up the baseball. So that's also part of Getting a Grip. Incidentally, Virgil Trucks is another of Craig's Gifts, the surviving portion of my cousin Craig's childhood collection that he gave to me back in the 1980s. Thanks again, Craig!

So that's Getting a Grip. Hopefully this was more informative than confusing. Considering that it was written by me, that's probably wishful thinking, but one can hope. I'll give it one more brief try:

Getting a Grip Includes:

• Cards about grips
• Cards with pitchers posing and showing grips
• Cards with pitchers warming up and showing grips to their catchers
• Cards with pitchers using the rosin bag
• Cards with pitchers rubbing up the baseball

I guess I could have just put it that way in the first place. But this blog just wouldn't be the same if I didn't ramble semi-coherently for much longer than necessary, would it?

Mini-Collecting: Mmmmmm... Doughnuts!

Okay, this this is the last mini-collection for now. I can't resist doughnuts. Feel free to send the real thing. But in lieu of fried dough, baseball cards featuring doughnuts is the next best thing.

1988 Topps Tom Lawless STL #183

Of course, I don't mean real doughnuts (although if such a card exists, it will definitely earn a featured spot in this collection). What I mean is the small weighted ring that is sometimes used on a bat by hitters warming up in the on deck circle. Ironically, scientific research has shown that using doughnuts actually decreases bat speed at the plate. Scientific research has shown similar results relating to actual doughnuts, as well.

One of the features that's in the cards for the future of this blog (assuming it survives the fickle finger of fate) is the Fat Guy Hall of Fame. If you're sensing a theme here, you're right. Just as I spent my youth pretending that collecting baseball cards was a serious endeavor, I also spent that time pretending that I wasn't fat. Just husky. Maybe a little chubby. But I'm an adult, and I can handle it now. I'm fat. So I like to see fat guys succeed at baseball. And, I like doughnuts.

Hence, the Mmmmmm... Doughnuts! collection. Grab a hot cup o' coffee and enjoy.