Bad Wax

The spring of 1986 is when I got back into card collecting after a 3 year hiatus while my hormones demanded that I pay more attention to girls.  Once I had a nice girl my friend Frank convinced me to start buying cards again.  So this started in 1986 but went full blown in 1987.  The cards that made the 1987 set so exciting was the amazing collection of rookies.  The 1986 rookie class in both the AL and NL were insanely good.  I’ve previously spoken about Cory Snider and Mark Eichhorn, but today I want to reflect on Danny Tartabull.

This is the card I will always associate with Tartabull.  Although he is only barely known as a Mariner (even though he broke into the league with them), it still remains one of my all time favorite cards.  If you recall (or maybe you don’t, I’m old as hell if you remember correctly) he was traded for slew of bottom of the rotation / crappy relievers to the Royals which even at the time I thought was nuts.  I mean it didn’t matter in the long run because no one even went to the games in Seattle at that time.  As a Royal though his career really took off.  He hit 0.290 with 124 home runs and 425 RBIs in five full seasons.

Then he signed with the Yankees.  Not the 1995 – 2012 Yankees that valued highly paid players, no the 1992 Yankees where Stienbrenner ruled with an iron fist and when you didn’t perform well, he called you out and so did the Yankee fans.  They spent a huge amount (at the time) 5 years / $27 million, hmmm they were even overpaying players back then.  Thinking back, maybe it wasn’t so smart to sign a 29 year old for big money for more than three years.  Predictably, he did well for two seasons and then just fell apart.  Really though if you think about it, he hammered the ball through his prime years and then slowed down, in other words it’s what should be expected.

He would go on to have one more big season after being traded twice to the White Sox where he slugged 27 homers and had 101 RBIs.  He only scored 58 runs though which is the second lowest total of any hitter who had 100 RBIs or more.  Towards the end of that season he broke his foot and it never healed properly.  The Phillies signed him for one more season but the foot kept him from being productive and after three games he called it a career.  Overall I think he had a nice career, it’s a real shame that he’ll always be remembered for his final three seasons with the Yankees. He does have one certified autograph card from the 1997 Leaf set.  It can be had for $1 on eBay.

Do you remember Danny?  What did you think of his career?

I am doing this post specifically for bobbum because he (or she) feels that I post too much hockey.  Even though I’ve only posted like 10 posts about hockey of the past two months, apparently that is too much hockey for bobbum, MY BAD.

Now that I’ve addressed his (or her) concerns I can focus on the real reason for this post that got wiped out last night.  First, Scott Boras is awesome.  How he can generate a 200+ million dollar contract for a player with absolutely no other suitors is beyond me.  The only ace he had in his pocket was a $20 million, one year contract from Milwaukee.  Have the Tigers ever heard of bargaining? They didn’t really have to give him 9 years or $23.5 million a season.  I think and this is just me snowballing that Dombrowski could have negotiated a 5 year $100 contract with ease.  Of course nothing is easy when Mike Illitch gets involved.

Illitch got to see Fielder as an 12 year old, blasting out homers in batting practice at old Tiger Stadium and has wanted him on the team since.  When Victor Martinez went down with injury, it was just a natural to bring him home to Detroit (he grew up in nearby Grosse Pointe).  So how is this going to work with two of the top first basemen in the league on your team?  I am assuming since Prince is a mountain with arms (5’11″, 275lbs.) and not really know for his defensive ability, he will spend some serious time DHing.  However, can you see him as a DH (as a 27 year old mind you) for the rest of his career?  In one way, it’s not a bad idea, minimizing any injuries that can occur, while allowing him to completely focus on hitting (which he is quite good at).  On the other hand, are you wasting his talent (as defensively unsure as he is) by having him sit on the bench when your team is in the field?

I’m sure that Both he and Cabrerra will both be splitting 1B and DH duties, but it does make you wonder what is in store for Cabrerra (maybe a move back to third base).  Ironically, both men have serious eating issues (they love to eat that is), so what happens as they get older and their body breaks down because of the excess weight.  Name me the last 250lb + guy (hitter now, we know there are a ton of fat pitchers), that played exceedingly well into their mid – 30s? I can think of maybe two, Gwynn and Puckett, although I can’t be sure of their weight.

The Tigers should be in good shape though (round is a shape right? I kill myself sometimes) as from their 3 and 4 hitters they could be looking at 0.285 combined average with 75-80 homers and nearly 200 runs batted in.  Also there has only been one other time when one team had two hitters with over 200 career home runs who were both under 30. Oddly enough it was in Milwaukee with Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron.  So on the plus side I think that Detroit has locked up the AL Central for the next 5 years and maybe that is worth dropping $24 million a year annually for the next 9 years, but the big question is, can Fielder live up to the contract?

I think he can, at least for the first 6 years and really that’s all that’s important from this deal.  He should end up with over 500 homers for his career and more than likely that will be accomplished as a Tiger. As far as his cards go they run anywhere from $25-$45 signed and for a player with a contract over $200 total that is a pittance (see Ryan Howard, Pujols, and A-Rod).  His stuff has always sold for cheaper than it should mainly because his teammate, the Hebrew Injector Ryan Braun (I can say that cause I’m Jewish) has gotten more attention and has more valuable cards.  He is a must buy right now.  I don’t know if he will ever hit 50 homers again, but it’s going to be fun watching him try to do it as a Tiger, just like his old man used to.

I was trying on coming up with a new custom cut design.  I had always wanted to do one using a tobacco brand so I created my own brand, Killer Bee Tobacco.  Then I had to come up with a bold but simple design for the card, here is what I came up with:

I’m sure there will be people that don’t like it and that is OK, but overall I think it’s a fun way to make a tobacco cut.

Wendel Clark

Clark is considered one of the toughest guys in hockey in the 1980s and 1990s.  He left his mark on the game as a Toronto Maple Leaf and although he isn’t one of the top PIM guys, there was no avoiding him on the ice.  He had a very rough and tumble demeanor and could change the momentum of the game with one of his patented checks.  Not only was he a brute when he played, but he also could score.  He was four goals shy of the 50 goal club during the 1993-94 season.

In an time when goons were supposed to be just that, Clark was kind of a renaissance man.  I mean we are talking about a 2000+ PIM and 700+ point guy.  He also is a member of the first family of enforcers, his brother had almost 3000 PIM io his minor league career and his cousin Joey Kocur racked up over 2500 PIMs.  He is also the cousin of Barry Melrose.  At one point in their careers all three played for the Red Wings although Melrose and Clark didn’t play at the same time.

As for the game used, it’s very bland and white to boot.  I like the card design but when you get a plain white jersey it does take away from the card.  In my opinion, they should have gone with the blue jersey.  That being said, Clark is a big draw on eBay and even the white jersey cards have been known to go for $5.  So far with the box I really am impressed as this just went from 3.5 stars out of 5 to a solid 4.0 stars.

Below is possibly one of the biggest hits in hockey history, never ever skate with your head down!

What do you remember best about Wendel Clark? Is this card good or bad?

Terry Ruskowski

I have to admit after seeing this autograph, I had to scratch my head.  Terry played a little before my time so I never really knew him as a player.  He played the prime of his career for the WHA with Houston and Winnepeg.  In the WHA he was not only a very physical player but also a very solid contributor, amassing over 70 points in 3 of this 6 WHA seasons.  Once he shifted over to the NHL he was asked to be even more of a physical player.  He is still the only player in hockey history to be named captain of four teams (Aeros, Blackhawks, Kings and Penguins).

After his playing career was over he moved on to becoming a coach, first for Laredo then Rio Grande Valley both of the CHL.  He has been a very successful coach and a big part of both communities that he has coached in.  I found a good video of him as an enforcer in the NHL, this particular one was versus a very young Marty McSorley:

His autographs seem to be popular on eBay right now.  It looks like most of his autographs are falling around the $5 – $7 range.  I’ve seen a couple of these cards on eBay right now and all of them are being bidded on.  Of the five autographs in the box, this is the one I am least impressed with.  However 4 out of 5 autographs were awesome! So far the box is a four out of five stars in my book.  Tomorrow starts the review of the relic cards.