Card Stacks Blog: Baltimore Orioles

Showing posts with label Baltimore Orioles. Show all posts

Monday, July 27, 2015

Changing Teams

Players staying with one team for their entire major league career is becoming increasingly rare and nearing impossible in baseball today. For me that's always been the dream, to have my favorite players finish their careers where they started. It's happened in the past, in multiple sports. Reggie Miller spent all 18 years of his NBA career with the Indiana Pacers. Tim Duncan will end up retiring as a Spur after spending his whole career in San Antonio.

This guy did it too, spending 21 seasons with the Orioles.

And this guy, spending 19 years with the Braves.

I've got high hopes for Freeman, but chances are he won't make it his whole career with the club.

Even rarer is a guy who goes from your favorite team to your other favorite team the following season. But that's exactly what happened with Nick Markakis. Great Heritage card, by the way.

Markakis is having a great season with Atlanta. He's not hitting for power after coming back from neck surgery, but I would expect some power to return next season. He's hitting .286 with 1 home run and 32 RBIs for the Braves so far. He's hit leadoff and is currently hitting third in a power lacking Braves lineup.

He returns to Baltimore today as the Braves take on the Orioles at Camden Yards. He and former teammates admit it'll be weird seeing him return in a Braves uniform. Hoping he has a successful series against his old team. And maybe he'll finish his career with Atlanta, only playing for my two favorite clubs. One can dream.

Monday, April 20, 2015

Diggin' the Donruss

Reading a post from The Junior Junkie on 2015 Donruss inspired me to pick up 3 of the 30-card packs at a recent trip to target. I wouldn't rank either the 2014 or 2015 sets among my favorite base sets, but they're new baseball cards and chances to pick up some of my favorite players on the cheap. The 2015 set design is definitely a step up from the 2014 design. To me, these 30-card packs for $4.99 are a bargain, with all the inserts you get.

I was pleased with the mix of young stars, veterans, and legends.

The McCutchen to me is the best looking card in this group. Was pleased to pull a Yasiel Puig, as well.

Some of the star base. Panini did a nice job on the Ortiz as far as hiding the absence of logos.

Can't go wrong with cards of these three. Really like the Bo Jackson, in particular.

And of course I had to show what I pulled of Orioles, Braves (not one base!), and Kershaw.

The inserts, though, are where this product really shines. The Diamond kings scan great and might be my favorite of the bunch.

Nice to pull these of some exciting young players. I expect Michael Taylor to have a great big-league career once he is able to stay in Washington. It appears he might be heading back to AAA when Denard Span returns for the Nats. But his guy will get his shot and I expect him to do well.

These didn't scan well for me, but again it's hard to go wrong with the number of inserts you get in these 30-card packs. These look a whole lot better in person than in the scan. Always exciting to see some of the more sought after guys in the hobby show up in your packs- Abreu in this case.

Can't go wrong with inserts of these three All-Timers.

This was one of my favorite type of inserts, but again they didn't scan too well for me. I really like the colors on the Altuve. My biggest mistake in my fantasy baseball league was cutting this guy early last season (I'm ashamed to admit it). He started off slow and to be honest I hadn't heard of him, and I had Robinson Cano as well at 2nd. Probably my biggest mistake of the fantasy baseball season.

Excited to see how Rusney Castillo does for the Red Sox, and was surprised to see him included in the set, but glad to have pulled his 'The Rookies' card. He'll start off his season in AAA when he returns from injury.

Here's a random mix of the remaining inserts. All three of these are sharp, and I always appreciate shiny cards. The first two are definitely that. Upton's started off the season strong for the Padres. Was sad to see him traded but the Braves starting off better than expected have made me feel a lot better about the rebuild.

And I was pumped to see a relic appear in my last pack! Jake finished 8th in Rookie of the Year voting last year and has started off well through 3 starts for the Rays in 2015.

While I didn't pick up too many of my player collection guys, hopefully I added some cards that other collectors will want. These inserts are awesome and look even better in person than the scans show. Was glad to pull several young stars in these breaks, and as always, there's nothing like opening a fresh pack of cards.

Anyone got any inserts from this set of my guys?

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

High Heritage

Before this season I didn't know that Topps releases an Update set for Heritage, called Heritage High Number. This year's High Number set is 100 cards, and each set purchased comes with an on-card autograph. Of course being a Heritage lover, particularly of this year's set, I was pleased to see that this product exists. While I didn't purchase an entire set, I did pick up a handful of cards.

Obviously I had to add a group of Orioles from the set. Schoop I've talked about several times already on this blog. Excited to see how he develops.

Steve Pearce had by far the best season of his career in 2014, proving to be a steady contributor on a team that had gaps throughout due to injury. Pearce, capable of playing multiple positions, ended up playing a career high 102 games, hitting 21 home runs while hitting .293. Glad to pick up my first card of this guy.

Zach Britton pitched in 71 games for the Orioles in 2014, notching 37 saves while keeping a 1.65 era. He struck out 62 batters compared to 23 walks. What a nice transition from starter to closer. Another case of adding my first card of a player to my collection.

Here's the back of the Schoop card. I appreciate how the back combines minor and major league stats.

Here's the likely Braves starter at catcher on opening day, Christian Bethancourt. Even though Evan Gattis was likely to move to left field, trading him confirmed what we already knew, that Bethancourt is going to get consistent playing time to start the 2015 season. Bethancourt looks the part of Braves catcher of the future, but it will take some time for him to get polished. I would think getting regular playing time will only help there.

Mookie Betts made the jump to Boston in 2014 to complete his quick rise to the majors. He played in 52 games for the Red Sox, batting a very solid .291 with 5 home runs and 18 runs batted in. Betts will get regular playing time in 2015, and it's amazing how far he has come in such a short time since I saw him play for the Greenville Drive in 2013. Excited to see how he will perform in 2015. This guy is only 22 years old.

And I'll finish this post up with a Virginia Tech Hokie, Jesse Hahn. I was thrilled to see Hahn show up in the set. He looked to be in a pretty good position with the Padres, where he was likely to get regular starts in 2015. The Padres traded Hahn to the Oakland A's in December. We'll see if he can find a spot in the A's pretty solid rotation. So glad Topps included Hahn in this set since he was left out of Topps Update.

Did you know that Hahn played basketball in high school too? Makes me even more of a fan.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Better Late Than Never- to the Stadium Club Party

We all have changes we would make to the card industry if we were in charge. Make fewer sets, make less expensive products, make larger sets, put out more on-card autographs and get rid of stickers, these are a few things I wouldn't mind seeing. For all the things I'd like to change, there are several sets a year that card companies knock out of the park. Heritage for example. Come on, you knew that was coming. Even if it's hobby-only, Stadium Club is another one of those sets.

First the non-Orioles. Love this Freeman card with the team celebrating... a walk off hit, perhaps? With some other Braves stars being traded, I'm so glad Freeman is the one sticking around.

The best pitcher in the game, or that's what I'll argue, at least.

Good luck on the Mariners, Nelson. They can certainly use the bat!

I've seen this one posted on several blogs, has to be one of the best photos in the set.

With losses of some outfield bats, the O's need Chris Davis to have a bounceback 2015.

Looking forward to seeing how Schoop develops over the next several years. Surely he can improve on his .209 batting average from 2014.

And this guy can't get back on the diamond soon enough. Need a big season from Manny to make up for some of the roster changes going into 2015. Hopefully he's back for opening day!

This is the real Iron Man, not some guy in a metal suit.

I'm close to an Orioles team set, only missing #83 Brooks Robinson and #177 Eddie Murray.

Stadium Club finishes 2nd in my 2014 set rankings, just behind 2014 Topps Heritage and in front of 2014 Finest. The card backs on Stadium Club aren't that exciting to me, but the photography is good enough to carry it to the 2nd spot.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

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.

Monday, January 5, 2015

Christmas Break Highlights

I rarely open packs these days, instead opting to purchase individual cards online or get them in trades. I was pretty much giddy when I found my stocking filled with a stack of packs of baseball and basketball cards. It was a special time opening these with my wife. I thought I would share some of the highlights from the packs.

Some inserts and parallels from Topps Series 2, Update series, and Donruss Series 2. I enjoy seeing the red parallels and would like to pick up some of these of my teams. I am thinking the Braves will look pretty sweet. As unexciting as the Donruss base cards are, the inserts and parallels are impressive.

Up next some Braves from Donruss Series 2. I included the Bonifacio as the Braves traded for him in August. He hit an unimpressive .212 with the Braves in 41 games, but the whole offense was a mess the second part of the season so can't get too down on him. He hit .279 for the Cubs before the trade. These are my first cards of Simmons and Bonifacio.

New cards for me of Chris Davis and Chris Tillman from Donruss Series 2. Hoping Chris Davis will bounce back in the new year. Looks like the Orioles and Tillman are talking extension. This is only the second card of Tillman in my collection.

Next up a few cards from Topps Update of Braves who are no longer with the team. Floyd started 9 games for the Braves during May and June before having elbow surgery. He signed a one-year deal with the Indians last month. And David Carpenter pitched 65 games in relief for the Braves with a 3.54 era and 3 saves. He was just recently traded to the Yankees along with Chasen Shreve for pitcher Manny Banuelos, who seems worthy of taking a chance on at just 23 years old.

Lastly from Topps Update, my first card of Rubby De La Rosa. How does he fit into my collection, you ask? He was the starting pitcher for the Red Sox in the game my wife and I saw at Fenway on our honeymoon back in June. Rubby got the W for the Red Sox, who won 1-0 on a sac fly from Mike Napoli. I was sad to see Rubby traded to the Diamondbacks with Allen Webster for pitcher Wade Miley. I think the Diamondbacks will be glad to have him as a back of the rotation starter.

I pulled some base cards of some stars as well such as Jose Abreu and Yasiel Puig. I appreciate any chance to open packs, and them being a Christmas gift from my wife made opening them even better.

Hope you all had a great Christmas and spent lots of time with your loved ones. Have a great 2015!

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Yes, I'm Writing About Heritage Again

I was flipping through my binder, which needs to expand into three binders by the way (Braves/Orioles/Other), and I realized I only owned 3 cards from this year's Heritage release, and none of them Orioles. This. Had. To. Change. And so in my latest package from Just Commons, I got a start on an Orioles team set.

I can't get enough of these cards, not the Orioles home uniforms, not the Orioles banner waving, not the staged poses, not even the beautiful blue sky.

First cards in the collection of Gausman, which can be expected as he only appeared in the majors starting in 2013. But J.J. Hardy? I guess I didn't see Hardy as someone who would be sticking around, but with a three year extension, appears I was wrong.

I like Heritage so much I couldn't stop at the major league release. I had to dip into the Heritage Minors set as well, picking up my first card of Tommy La Stella, Atlanta's likely second baseman going into next year. La Stella was 2nd on the team in average with runners in scoring position in 2014, second only to Jayson Heyward, per this article.

Christian Walker got some at bats in Septembers for the Orioles, after playing 95 games in AA Bowie and 44 games for AAA Norfolk. He hit a combined 26 homers in the minors and looks promising.

I've got my eye on some other cards from the Heritage Minors set, so those may show up here on the blog soon. La Stella also has a card in 2014 Update.

Something tells me I'm not done with the 2014 Heritage set yet.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Bowman Chrome Card Backs

In previous posts I've ranked Topps Heritage as my top base set for 2014, and with the season coming to a close, chances are slim that Heritage will be topped. If I had to rank card backs though, 2014 Bowman Chrome would best that list.

I admit that the Orioles playoff run has led me to favor them slightly in my recent pickups over my other wants, and I think it's understandable. A recent lot of Bowman Chrome from Just Commons reflects that tendency.

The away Orioles uniforms are my favorite in baseball right now, followed by the Braves alternate navy uniforms. So that's led me to go after some team sets for this memorable O's squad. Let's start with the guys that played in the playoffs.

And the guys I wish could have played against the Royals.

Now for those card backs I was referring to. Stats are nice, but graphics combined with stats are where it's at.

Maybe my favorite graphic on these card backs, the Spray Chart. Look at all those arrows for Chris Davis, showing all 53 of his HRs from 2013. Looks like the most went to right center.

Schoop, being a rookie, gets minor league organizational ranks, stats compared the average, and some 'insight', which is a random stat. So this card back would suggest that Schoop has some power despite batting near the bottom of the O's order this season.

And for Machado we see how he hit against left and right handers in 2013. Look at those averages up and in!

While I've been focusing on Orioles lately, I'm still picking up non-Orioles that fit in my Braves and player collections. Really excited to see what Alex Wood will do in 2015.

Freeman basically feasted on right handed pitching in 2013 based on the right graphic.

And my second favorite back behind the HR spray chart, the strikeout chart for Kershaw. Look at all those swinging strikeouts against the curve.

Very impressed with these card backs, and the fronts aren't bad either. This moves Bowman Chrome into 2nd on my 2014 set rankings. Here's the top 5...

1. Topps Heritage
2. Bowman Chrome
3. Gypsy Queen
4. Allen & Ginter
5. Topps Chrome

I moved Ginter above Topps Chrome after getting a lot of Ginter in recently.

NBA season starts tonight, coinciding with the potential World Series clinching game, and although the NBA kickoff may not excite too many of you out there in the baseball card realm, it's one of my favorite times of year. I am expecting the excitement to wear off fairly quick this year, as it looks like the Pacers will be mediocre this season. Good luck to whoever you're cheering for tonight, whether it be baseball or basketball!

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