2018 Sportlots purchases: the (mostly) new guys

Here we are in the middle of January 19 and I still have lots of 2018 purchases to show off!  Get ready for a bunch of Sportlots posts as I catch up on those over the next week or two, both here and on TMM (there's even one of those already up this evening).

Today I'll be looking at a bunch of guys who are making their debut among my PCs, with the exception of two I added late last year.  These are all guys that I eventually found out were Michigan Baseball alumni and therefore started chasing.  If that's not interesting enough for you, well, you might like the fact that just about every card in this post is of the vintage variety.

We'll start off with pitcher Jim Burton.  A Rochester Hills, Michigan, native, Burton was originally drafted by Detroit in '67 but headed to Ann Arbor, then went to the Red Sox in the first round four years later.  Good choice.  He appeared in just 30 games over the 1975 and '77 seasons and was out of pro ball after spending 1978 in the Mets' system.  I was able to find both of his regular issues from OPC and Topps produced in 1976 so he's done as far as those are concerned, though I have a couple optional SSPC issues I can chase.

John Herrnstein was one of a number of multi-sport athletes to star for the Wolverines.  In his case football was a family affair, and he did quite well for the team as a FB and LB in the late 50s before a knee injury steered him towards the diamond full time.  He spent most of his five-year Major League career with the Phillies before being traded twice in 1966 (Cubs, then Braves), once as part of the deal that brought HOFer Fergie Jenkins to the Cubs.  You can see his final issue from 1966 Topps above, and he appeared in that set the three previous years as well.  It'll be tough to track down his first two and final two cards, though:  the former are multi-player RCs with Willie Stargell and Dick Allen and the latter are 2015 Topps Heritage Real One autographs!

Here comes a player to spur Jeff's interest:  a Wolverine/White Sox combo.  Pitcher Mike Joyce is a Detroit native from around the same time as Herrnstein that signed with the South-siders after his college career.  And like Burton he pitched in just 31 games over a couple seasons (1962-63).  Card-wise you can find him on his 1963 Topps RC, seen above, another from that brand the following year, then once again, a couple versions of Topps Heritage's Real One autos, this time out of the 2013 product.

Meanwhile, Frank Kostro actually debuted here last month when I found a buyback of the very card you see above, his '68 Topps base.  I have four others of his to track down, including a '63 Topps multi-player RC, though fortunately that won't be quite as expensive as Hernnstein's.

Catcher Tom Lundstedt is the player of interest here on the four-player RC you see from '74 Topps, though the Brewers' Charlie Moore definitely had the best career of the bunch.  Like Foote to his left, Lundstedt was a first round choice in 1970, selected by the Cubs.  The Iowa native saw his career fizzle out after spending 1973 and '74 on the North Side and 1975 with the Twins.  Like Burton above his cards are limited to OPC and Topps issues from the same year, 1974, so I'm a card away from completing his "run".

If Bob Reed's name sounds familiar that's because the Topps version of the 1970 OPC card you see up there was included in a Fuji trade package that made me realize there were way more Michigan guys for me to collect.  Yet another Wolverine/Tiger, he was a Detroit second-rounder in 1966 and would pitch in 24 games for the team between 1969 and '70.  Aside from the two 1970 cards I now own he also appears in both sets made the following year, and I plan to track those down before long.

Getting back to the newbies, Dick Wakefield, who can be seen on oddballs from '79 TCMA and '89 Score Rookies to Remember (the mini hologram) was apparently quite a character.  After just a year with the Wolverines he eventually signed with the Tigers (!) in 1941.  In the years before the draft you could garner a huge bonus if you were good enough, and Wakefield had plenty of interest, becoming a "bonus baby", a title bestowed upon others such as Sandy Koufax.  He got to play a bit that year, came back up in '43 with an excellent campaign, served in the military, and spent 1944 and 1946-49 with Detroit.  His wartime bet that he'd beat Ted Williams in multiple batting categories...didn't go well at all for him.  Three games each for the Yankees (1950) and Giants ('52) concluded his career.  I have an interesting challenge on my hands as I need to chase his 1949 RCs from Bowman and Leaf!

Here's the back of the hologram card in case you're interested.

This comprehensive post goes from "B" to "Z", as in pitcher Bill Zepp.  Another Detroit-born guy, Zepp didn't sign after he was taken by Boston in 1967 (7th round), plus Detroit failed to sign him in '66, and he landed with Minnesota the following year.  After pitching in just four contests in 1969 he went a solid 9-4 in 1970, then was included in a deal that found him in Detroit for the final 16 games of his career in '71.  As you can see above I landed his Topps base from that year, and once I buy his OPC version plus his '70 Topps three-player RC I'll own his run.

I hope you enjoyed this vintage-y look at a bunch of new baseball PCs I'm chasing, and I'll be back to more familiar territory soon so stay tuned!

12/1/18 card show report: Saturday shopping

This past Saturday's monthly show was a return to the norm for me in that the vast majority of what I picked up will be heading out in upcoming packages instead of going to my PC.  I mention that because the opposite was true last month.

Though I had more time on my hands than I did in November I think I stayed for around the same duration, meaning I was much more efficient.  Besides that I was quite happy with the results:  80 quarter cards, 12 that were $1 apiece or six for $5, and five $2 pickups.  For those of you that don't feel like doing the math that adds up to $40 and the seller, cool dude that he is, asked for $35.

So I was thrilled to add more nice fodder to my Christmas card packages that will be going out later this month.  I'll probably talk about those a bit more in a future post, but right now it looks like I'll be  getting something under the trees of around 20 of you, so stay tuned.

As for me, I've got four cards headed to my PCs to show off here and a lone addition over on TMM, so don't forget to check that out as well!

Here's that quartet for your viewing pleasure:

We'll start off with Gibby on an insert I was unfamiliar with:  Calling the Shots, a manager-centric set from a product I do know well, Panini's 2013 Hometown Heroes.  Kirk finished a bit under .500 over parts of five seasons managing Arizona, including a 94-68 record and playoff appearance in 2011 that earned him NL Manager of the Year honors.  Consecutive 81-81 finishes preceded a terrible 2014 that spelled the end of his career as a skipper, but it was still fun to see a former Tiger leading a team.

That card you see of Tony Gwynn is a base offering from Topps' 2014 Museum Collection, yet another of their high-end products geared toward breakers (though aren't they all at this point?).  I definitely wouldn't have wasted money buying it in any unopened form but do think the base set looks quite nice.  Still, give me the Pinnacle version of Museum Collection any day!

Frank Kostro is a brand new name here but he won't be unfamiliar for long as he's one of several Michigan Baseball alumni soon to join my collection after I scoured Baseball Reference to turn up such players I'd missed.  As a matter of fact, the Pennsylvania native has my favorite pedigree:  a Wolverine who debuted with the Tigers!  He spent most of his career, which spanned a good part of the 60s, with the Twins, and amassed five Topps/O-Pee-Chee cards I'm chasing.  The first addition to his PC, though, isn't part of that mainstream checklist, but is instead a 2017 Topps Heritage buyback of his '68 Topps base.  Normally I wouldn't throw a buck at a buyback like this, but I hold a higher opinion of the Heritage versions compared to the much less useful Million Card Giveaway and Rediscover Topps garbage.  Expect to see a bit more of Kostro in the future as I chase his cards.

Last up is the Iron Man on a relatively recent release.  While it doesn't hold a candle to the heyday of its original run, 2017's version of Topps Gold Label still looks quite nice.  A couple differences between this version and the originals:  it eschews the thicker card stock, and notes the version (in this case Class 1) up front instead of on the back, though that's difficult to see in this scan.  "Class 1" runs perpendicularly near the left edge, so it's very clear which variation this is.

For now I have nothing else in-hand to show off but within a few weeks I should have new items from COMC and Sportlots, plus news of Christmas Cards, so stay tuned!