**Heartbreaking Cards will be taking a break for a while as I'll be living abroad in Ukraine and Eastern Europe for roughly a year. I'll be regularly posting on my travel blog [Use My Camera] and my food blog [Marvel With A Mango].**
**In this series we strive to prove the universal truth that every baseball player holds some kind of record.**
Brady Anderson had the special ability to get hit by pitches. He was so good at it in fact he became the first American League player to be hit by a pitch twice in an inning.
I present this card comment free, you can decide what to think about it. It is from Topps in their Toxic High School set from 1991. I opened a pack of this stuff over on A Pack To Be Named Later today and this card is from another pack that I had.
**In this series we strive to prove the universal truth that every baseball player holds some kind of record.**
And now a few words about Walt Dropo. [Let me make a quick aside here...any Mystery Science Theater fans out there? Every time I read or write about Walt Dropo I'm always reminded on Dropo the Martian from the great Christmas movie Santa Clause Conquers The Martians. Dropo!]
For three games during the 1952 season, Walt Dropo was the greatest offensive baseball player the world has ever seen. One July 14th Walt went 5 for 5 against the Yankees. The next day, Walt and the Tigers would play a double header against the Senators. In Game 1, Walt went an unbelievable 7 for 7. This gave him 12 straight hits which no player had ever done before. In Game 2, Walt went 4 for 5 which ended the consecutive hit streak but set another record by recording 16 hits over three games.
Mahlon played for the Philadelphia Stars and Homestead Grays in the 40's and 50's.
2010 Topps Allen and Ginter #104 Mahlon Duckett Mini
Earlier this month there was talk of the Giants buying out the remaining part of Barry's huge contract and parting ways with him. But since then nothing has happened on that front and Barry looks to be the #4 pitcher in the rotation for the World Champs.
2011 Topps Allen and Ginter #296 Barry Zito Mini
One of the great lost tracks of the 60's group, The Zombies is the song "Telescope (Mr. Galileo)" which is pretty much a song about Marty McFly's dad looking at women through a telescope.
2010 Topps Allen and Ginter #116 Galileo Galilei Min
For all players who weren't Yankees, Pee Wee has the record for most World Series games for one team.
2009 Topps 206 #177 Pee Wee Reese Mini
I don't think Gorgeous George gets the all-time great credit he deserves. He had the record for most hits in a season and had the consecutive game hitting streak...yet it took four ballots for George to get in the Hall of Fame.
2009 Topps 206 #300 George Sisler Mini
Forget Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann is back from Tommy John surgery and tearing up Spring Training...but it sounds like Jordan will be on a season inning limit so he might not get to the great season that he could have.
Derrek Lee has been bouncing around the league these past few seasons going from the Cubs to the Braves to the Orioles and with each new Topps set we get another uniform...some with a little airbrushing. Where will be be by Allen & Ginter's release?
**In this series, we do rookie cards and nothing else.**
If there is one area of my collection that is most lacking it is my rookie card collection. I can't quite explain why I never really card about collecting the rookie cards of my favorite players but I just never did when I was first collecting cards as a kid. This series will attempt to right those wrongs as we will focus on rookie cards and nothing else. For today's entry we have Jim Abbott's rookie cards from 1988 Topps Traded.
Jim was one of the stars of the 1988 USA baseball team that won the Gold Medal at the Olympics...well, it wasn't an official gold medal because baseball was a demonstration sport that year. Jim was the winning pitcher in the championship game, leading him to be drafted as the 8th pick in the 1988 draft.
I didn't collect last year's Allen and Ginter set and so I only recently realized the existence of this great card:
2010 Topps Allen & Ginter #286 Revolving Door Mini
And so what will be this year's Revolving Door Card? We have about four months to figure it out. 2011 is the 50th anniversary of the introduction of Ken of Ken & Barbie so there might be a chance they honor Ken and his missing parts. Leave your best guesses as a comment to this post and I'll create some of them as hypothetical cards.
There was a great article/column in the Seattle Times a few days ago about Mariners Senior Advisor and baseball great Ted Simmons. Ted has had a long playing career [20 seasons] and a career nearly as long as a general manager or executive for a whole host of teams. Through all that Ted has yet to be apart of a championship team. And to be honest, I hope he isn't really expecting that championship with the Mariners anytime soon.
1977 Topps Cloth Stickers #43 Ted Simmons
And now for some 3-D Ted:
1979 Kellogg's 3-D Super Stars #2 Ted Simmons
Of course my being a fan of Ted Simmons all relates to his time with the Brewers and Harvey's Wallbangers.
1985 Topps #318 Ted Simmons
It might just be my imagination or does the '73 set have more of these catchers squatting cards than the average set.
1973 Topps #85 Ted Simmons
Before there was Tim Lincecum, there was Ted Simmons.
Between 1995 and 1999, the cruel fiends at Topps locked each Finest card behind a stifling prison of plastic. It is my duty, along with all other sworn members of the "Free The Finest Society", to work tirelessly to rid the world of those dreaded words, "Peel and Remove Protective Coating."
Here are the result of a recent trade with the Milwaukee Southpaw of The Common (Card) Man. I sent him some 2011 Diamond inserts and, in return, he took five minis off my Kimball needs list.
Between 1995 and 1999, the cruel fiends at Topps locked each Finest card behind a stifling prison of plastic. It is my duty, along with all other sworn members of the "Free The Finest Society", to work tirelessly to rid the world of those dreaded words, "Peel and Remove Protective Coating."
I've talked a pretty big game with my past entries in the Free The Finest series but I've never really freed any big cards or anything worth beyond $1.00. While this isn't a rookie refractors they do get a book value of about $6.00. But I think the card is so much better with the plastic removed...
Before:
1997-98 Topps Finest #136 Kevin Garnett
And after being freed:
And Sir Charles looks so fresh and so clean too...
**In this series we strive to prove the universal truth that every baseball player holds some kind of record.**
I love it when a card does all the work for me...Willie set the record for most at-bats in a season with 705. At the time it was the major league record and it stayed that way until Jimmy Rollins beat it 27 years later...So Willie has been reduced to just holding the American League record but it is still a record nonetheless.
**In this series we highlight some of my latest additions to my political card collection.**
These first two cards were a part of a trade I did with Justin of the Justin's World. I sent him my Ronald Reagan First Pitch card and he sent me an Obama and Nixon. Not a bad deal I would say.
2011 Topps Opening Day #PFP-5 Barack Obama First Pitch
2011 Topps Opening Day #PFP-10 Richard Nixon First Pitch
Justin also took a Campaign match-up off my needs list which puts me at missing only one of FDR's elections.
**In this series, we strive to collect a master set of all of Vic Power's cards.**
The back of this card highlights the 22-game hitting streak that Vic had during the 1958 season. It is still one of the Indian's longest streaks but falls behind Sandy Alomar Jr's 30-game hitting streak from 1997 for the team record.
Here's the front of the card...I would probably rank this one in the top 5 of my favorite Vic cards.
About a month and half ago Billy Butler signed a contract extension with the Royals through 2015. After trading Zack Greinke, it's good to see that the Royals don't intend to get rid of every fan favorite. Billy has become the Royals' best hitter and will undoubtedly be the Royals only All-Star game representative...unless this turns out to be Alex Gordon's year...where have I heard that before?
**In this series we strive to prove the universal truth that every baseball player holds some kind of record.**
This next record is a great one because it is held by two of baseball's best players. The record itself is also one that we hope all players strive to break in their career: most consecutive seasons with one team. The record is held by both Brooks Robinson and Carl Yastrzemski with 23 seasons with one team. Brooks set the record first by playing from 1955 to 1977 with the Orioles. Yaz tied the record six season later retiring in 1983 after playing with the Red Sox since 1961.
The player with the current longest streak is Chipper Jones who has been with the Braves since 1993 making 2011 his 18th season.
**Beware Dear Reader as you are about to cross paths with the frightening but all too common Pack From Hell.**
There is something that is more disappointing with bad packs of Heritage as opposed to Allen & Ginter and I think it has everything to do with the mini. No matter how many doubles of Hubertus Wawra you pull you at least have that mini to make things all better. Heritage doesn't have that and plus they don't even have gum anymore. When the highlight of the pack is Jered Weaver you know where the pack is from.
Here's the front of the card...I would probably rank this one in the top 5 of my favorite Vic cards. 
There is something that is more disappointing with bad packs of Heritage as opposed to Allen & Ginter and I think it has everything to do with the mini. No matter how many doubles of Hubertus Wawra you pull you at least have that mini to make things all better. Heritage doesn't have that and plus they don't even have gum anymore. When the highlight of the pack is Jered Weaver you know where the pack is from. 
