Unexpected Awesomeness

After a long day of school today, I was really looking forward to getting away from students and coming home to relax. Sure, sitting on the couch watching King of Queens and waiting for the family to get home wouldn't cure all of my ills, but it was a start. I made the very wise decision of checking the mail on my way in and came across a bubble mailer. Happy happy, joy joy.

However, panic quickly sunk in. I haven't been on eBay in weeks, so barring a late night sleep walk purchase, it wasn't a card I bought. I've sent out some cards lately, but hadn't set up any trades, so again I was stymied. Perhaps I had set up a trade and completely forgotten about it. I would need to scour my e-mails and try to figure it out. In the end, a simple inspection of the mailer revealed that these cards were sent from the UK and that means one man. John from The Pursuit of 80's(ness).

What really made this package a bit of Unexpected Awesomeness is that it was completely unsolicited. John and I completed a trade back in February and this one was accompanied by a note telling me that he had accumulated another stack of Halos so he wanted to send them along. I of course, gladly accept.

Now just for you, here's an exclusive peak at the loot.


I love packages like this because I always end up with cards I don't have, but also cards from sets I've never gotten a card from. This Shawn Wooten Opening Day card is an example of that. I'm certain I've never opened a pack of Opening Day, mainly out of complete disinterest, but at the same time I really like getting these cards in trades and lots.


I've never really understood why a magazine gets its name slapped on a card like Sports Illustrated and Fleer did here or why ESPN had cards with Upper Deck. That being said, this is a pretty slick looking card, so I'm cool with it.


What was the obsession that Topps had with gold bordered cards for some time? I like the look of this, but that may be in part because of Percy's patented face clinch.


Seriously, the gold border thing was a little out of control. Awesome action photo of Jimmy Edmonds though.


Nothing brightens a day quite like floating heads.


This card is pure Mo. It combines his two loves, baseball and the shiny rainbow lights of a strip club.


This card is great on many levels. The high leg kick, the image being raised off the cardboard and the fact that I have no idea what Topps "tMB" is.


When did Bengie Molina transition from great defensive catcher who could hit for a decent average and was slower than a senior citizen to the best offensive player on his team?


I really, really, really miss Ersty. Really.

Thanks so much John for the Halos. After a long day, this was definitely a great way to soothe the pain.

Go Halos!

Fave 4: St. Louis Cardinals

After a rather pedestrian Heritage box last night, I'm ready to get back into the groove of the Fave 4s. Up today, the first National League entrant, the Cardinals of St. Louis.

The Cardinals are a team that I've never been able to dislike. I'm a fan of the hats, I'm a fan of the uniforms, even the powder blue, and for the most part I like their players to at least some degree. Coming up with the Fave 4 Cardinals wasn't too difficult as the top few jumped right into my head. The only conflict for me, the former Halo factor. It is strong with this one.

1. Ray Lankford

I'm a HUGE Ray Lankford fan. It started with his rookie cards in the early '90s and it continued throughout the decade as he produced consistently for the Cardinals. With over 200 homeruns and 200 stolen bases in his career, he wasn't the most powerful or speedy, but he did both pretty well. I always enjoyed watching him and just felt like Lankford looked like a major leaguer. To this day, I still have stacks of Lankford cards and binder pages filled with his cards.


2. Jose Oquendo

They get no better than Jose Oquendo, a man who played all 9 positions on the baseball field and once struck out Deion Sanders looking in a 17-1 blowout loss. I was always fascinated by this guy's versatility and it reminded me of playing little league. All of us could line up pretty much anywhere on the field and it wouldn't make much of a difference. Whether I was at 3rd base or Catcher, I was essentially going to play at the same level. Much respect to Jose for keeping it old school and doing whatever it took to be on the field.

3. Bernard Gilkey

When I think of my days watching the Cards, I first think of Ray Lankford, but then I think of the Nard dog, the man who was supposed to combine with Lankford in a young outfield and dominate the NL. It never really materialized as Gilkey was traded to the Mets and had his best season with them, but I will always think back fondly on the outfield of Lankford and Gilkey. Too bad right field was manned by guys like Felix Jose and Mark Whiten

4. Albert Pujols

This guy is just an amazing hitter and I can't imagine not at least respecting the way he plays. I don't find myself actively rooting for Pujols, but I can't help but enjoy watching him at the bat. He may go down as the greatest hitter of our generation and I can only hope that the steroid stain that has become a part of so many players' legacy will not effect him as well.

Honorable Mentions:
The ex-Halos


I was happy that both of this guys won a championship a few years back with the Cardinals, but the feeling was bittersweet. I always have a tough time with the players who have left my team, no matter what the circumstances.

Pedro Guerrero

I preferred him as a Dodger, but he did have a couple of seasons with St. Louis that stand out.

Ozzie Smith

Ozzie will forever be one of those players that I respect, but just never made it into my heart. He was an amazing defensive player and certainly his home run against the Dodgers in the NLCS will never be forgotten by Cardinal fans, but I'm still amazed that he had 7 seasons in which he couldn't muscle even one ball out of the park. Kinda amazing.

One NL team down, a number more to go. The Cardinals will forever be Ray Lankford's team to me, no matter how many other Hall of Famers they produce. Lankford 4 Life.

Go Halos!

My Introduction to the 90s: Jim Edmonds Part 3

In an earlier post I explained why you'll be looking at these cards, check it out here - I Have a Confession

For the final card in my look back at the 90s for the first time, the Jim Edmonds edition, there really was no debate on my part about which card to save for last. I'm pretty sure this will become a card that defines me at some point.

I'm simply in awe. When I came across this card at the shop in the midst of all the other Edmonds cards, I stopped, took a deep breath and could only think one thing..."What in the hell is this?!"

Without further ado, the scan.


I know what you're thinking, the scan sucked. That's why I quickly broke out the digital camera in an attempt to do this card justice.


Honestly, this is a card that can only truly be appreciated in person.
1997 Metal Universe.

Ummm...here's the thing...well...crap I have no idea how to describe this card or how to even start. Jim Edmonds has some kind of hawk on his shoulder as he looks to the sky after popping one up to the catcher. The hawk or owl or whatever fine feathered friend that is, appears to be gold plated. Amazing!

I may be mistaken, but perhaps Jim is just a big fan of mythology and that's actually Bubo the owl from Clash of the Titans on his arm.


What's even better than the hawk perched on Edmonds shoulder mid pop-up swing? The hawk that is about to get massacred by an Edmonds's fly ball in the upper right hand corner. I'm not sure why he's attempting to take down one hawk while proudly displaying another on his arm, but I like it. A lot. I'd go into the purple and green colored background, but it's just not necessary. The image says it all.

The card doesn't seem to make sense, the design is just garish, but I'm starting to figure out that this what made 90s cards so unique. I'm a little jealous of all of you who have had these sitting around in your binders and boxes for the last decade.

I love you Metal Universe and I must find more of you.

Go Halos!

My Introduction to the 90s: Jim Edmonds Part 2

In an earlier post I explained why you'll be looking at these cards, check it out here - I Have a Confession

So my Marty McFly-like look back to the 90s for the first time continues with Part 2 of Jim Edmonds stack. 4 more cards that delight and confuse.


This appears to be a 1995 Pinnacle card.

I'm not Mario, the king of all baseball card blogs, but I do appreciate this effort from Pinnacle. I've picked up a few Pinnacle cards in various Garret Anderson lots and the foolish purchase (or two) of a repack box and I've always been drawn in by the photography. This is no exception.

This image is both awesome and depressing as an Angel fan. Just the moment in time feel alone makes this great photo, but it's the depressing aspects that pull me in too. First, there's only one reason for Jim to be pulling himself up on the wall, clearly Chuck Finley has given up another of his team high 21 home runs. While that's certain to put a frown on the face of any Angel fan's face, it's the background of this shot that is much too familiar for us fans from the 90s. The left field seats are as always empty. It didn't matter if they offered these seats as a discount and called it the family section or tried to force kids to sit there on Little League Day, no one wanted to sit there. This is just one of the many reasons why the Angels were the biggest winners when the Rams moved to St. Louis and the Big A could be all about baseball again.


Next up is a 1996 Pinnacle Zenith card. (I think.)

Oh, the horror. The wacky baseball bats background, the pure 90s workout shirt/garbage bag and yes the Jimmy Edmonds coiffure. The photographer couldn't have waited a moment or two for Jim to put the helmet on?
Pinnacle with great outfield photo 1 - Pinnacle with Edmonds pompadour 0


1996 Bowman's Best

Holy crap! A set that I've heard of. I'm not sure when the Bowman's Best set began or even much about it's history, but it does bring to mind something that saddens me about my hiatus from collecting. I never got to experience chrome and refractors in the way other collectors did. By the time I got back into the hobby, chrome was everywhere and it just sort of overwhelmed me. As for this card, nothing about it is spectacular, but I find it appealing. Not sure why, I just do. I think that's good enough justification.


Circa '97 (?)

Finally, a card that just absolutely bewilders me. I have no idea what's going on here. Edmonds is written at the top in a hot pink comic book style font. Jim is engulfed by green stalactites or stalagmites or maybe it's blades of grass. I honestly am clueless and I'm pretty sure I would have felt this way in 1997 as well. Anyone with an explanation, I'd love to hear it.

Maybe the best part of this card is the quote from Edmonds on the side, "I'm a hard-nosed player...I got a bad rap in the Minor Leagues, and I've done everything I could to prove them wrong."

This card leaves me with so many questions. Who is the "them" that Jim is proving wrong? How many other players have cards where they're quoted telling the world what their supposed negative qualities are?

I'd love to see the Barry Bonds card were this set to be put out in 2006. "I'm a hard worker...I got a bad rap for injecting myself and becoming a hulk of a human being over the last decade. But I just keep up my surly attitude and don't really give a crap about them."

I'm starting to realize that I missed out on way too much during the 90s.
The final Edmonds card is coming up very soon. It is absolutely the Pièce de résistance!

Go Halos!

My Introduction to the 90s: Jim Edmonds Part 1

In an earlier post I explained why you'll be looking at these cards, check it out here - I Have a Confession

My look back at the 90s for the first time (not sure if that makes sense) begins with Jim Edmonds. From 95-98 Jim had 4 great seasons for the Angels and his glove as much as his bat won over the fans. Although he's now better known as a Cardinal after his trade for Adam Kennedy in 2000, he still holds a place in my heart.


I'm not gonna pretend to know what this card is. To the best of my detecting skills I believe it's a 1996 Fleer E-XL.

Where to start with this "beauty"? The raised border with its semi-rough texture reminds me of the current Masterpieces cards, without the classiness. What really mucks up this card is the flowery, foily silver stamping of the team and player name in the corner. Topping off the card is the word "LAUNCHED" written down the side. Being unfamiliar with this set I don't know if each player had their own word or if there were 20 words spread throughout the entire set. I don't want to like this card, but everytime I look at it, it grows on me a little bit.


Next up, 1995 Score...it's shiny.

I'm used to my Score being pretty simple and definitely not shiny. My last experience with Score was probably 1992, the cards were shine-free and fairly plain, but I'm ok with that.


As for this 1995 Score, I love the image. Jim Edmonds, future Gold Glove center fielder making the stretch at first base. As for the green and gold border...I guess an A's fan probably loves the look of this set, but the rest of us are left with cards that just don't match up.


For the final card of the night, I had to go Sport Flix. Are you kidding me? How the hell did Sport Flix survive or get resurrected for a card in 1996? I remember only being able to find packs of this when I was a very young lad on vacation in a tiny Nebraska town where my Great Uncle lived. While they gave me hours of headaches, I was kind of into these cards, but I quickly gave up on them. As for this Edmonds card, the images are pretty nice. One of Jim after contact and another sliding into home. But what were they thinking with the wording at the bottom. First we have Jim (Angels logo) Center Field under the picture and then in true Sport Flix technology, they decided to have Edmonds morph into "299 Total Bases". Uhhh, thanks for the pointless stat. Luckily it only took me six minutes and two advil to read that. Wow.

So there you have it, My Introduction to the 90s has begun. More will definitely be on the way, including what is now the centerpiece of my Jim Edmonds collection. You won't want to miss it.