Halo Cards Come to Life!

It started with a challenge from Bo at Baseball Cards Come to Life! and it ended with Bo receiving a mess of Yankees from me and yours truly receiving a gaggle of Halos from Bo, plus a couple of much coveted Yankee cards.

While getting Angel cards is the highlight of most any package I open, this one was slightly different. I loved all of the various Halos, but what I most coveted were Several Yankee cards and an A's card. The horror, I know. But there is a reason for such madness and his name is Luis Polonia.


The lone Oakland card in the bunch, but it's a beauty. They're too large for most holders, they mess up my stacks and organization, but these cards are absolutely irresistible, especially when they are accompanied by the visage of Polonia.


The beginning of the Yankee cards. These card look eerily similar to...


This card. Same uniform with dirt stains, same stadium, same stache, different angle.


The backs of these cards are odd as above the stats, one stat is written out in gold. For Luis, that stat is .696 Stolen Base Pct. Uhhh...is that even good?


I've never liked the shrunken down photo in the corner of these cards. A big step down from 93 UD.


Great photo on front, great stat on back. "Went hitless in consecutive starts only once all season". It seems a bit innocuous at first, but it sums up Luis...relentless!


Bonus Yankee card featuring Halo Luis. Love the cameo card!

Now on to the Halos. It would take me three weeks to show off all of the Halos that Bo sent along, so here is a sampling.


Brian Downing Revco card. One has to wonder if perhaps Revco was supplying my boy Downing with some muscle juice. The man is a beast.


Not exactly the photo you're hoping shows up on your baseball card.


Only 21 games as an Angel, but apparently this guy made an All-Star game with the Jays.


Devo's eyes suggest that he has hit a dribbler about 6 feet in front of the plate.


Never produced in the way Angels fans had hoped he would, but I still have a soft spot for the guy.


See facial expression.


First, I love 88 Score even though it doesn't really have any of the elements I normally love in a card design, but that can be discussed later at more length. Best part of this card is how the swing and photo look so great until you look between Johnny's legs and notice the plume of dirt that is the result of smnashing the ball directly south.


F U Brian Fuentes. I miss you Percy. Sure K-Rod was great, but Percy and the tongue were legendary. The new guy just plain sucks. Of course the whole bullpen is atrocious, so he kinda fits in well.

Thank you Bo, for the Halos of course, but also for the addition of some Yankee cards featuring my homeboy Luis. You sir are a gentleman, even if the team you root for is pure evil. haha I keed, I keed.

Go Halos!

Fave 4: Toronto Blue Jays

For most of my Fave 4s, the first couple have been obvious to me and then after that I've had to think about the players that will fill in the last couple of spots and at times I've had to go back and forth between two players for the last spot. Rarely have I found myself with a list of 8 or 9 deserving players who I liked from a particular team. For some reason, the Toronto Blue jays fell into this latter category.

Although the Blue Jays were winning championships in the early 90s, I certainly never classified myself as a Blue Jay fan. I didn't have a problem with their success, but I wasn't bowled over by it either. The thing about the Blue Jays for me is that they are completely inoffensive. I've never rooted against them and because of that I've come to like a number of their players through the years. It helps that they play in the AL East and aren't the Sawx or the Yanks. That and the Canadians are generally a peaceful group who say funny things like aboot and eh.

After much deliberation and card searching, I came up with Fave 4 and it was definitely one of the most difficult of all.

1. Fred McGriff

It started with the infamous "Boner" card above, as my friends and I called it. It continued with the nickname The Crime Dog. But ultimately, my love for McGriff was born out of that prodigious lefty swing. McGriff is one of the most likable and easy to root for guys around. Although McGriff bounced around to a number of different teams, ultimately I remember him and most admired him as a Blue Jay.


2. Carlos Delgado

Although he came up as a catcher, Delgado has become one of the great power first basemen of the last couple decades. Delgado was one of the few players who kept the Blue Jays relevant for a number of years. He was a good Marlin for a year, a productive Met for the last few, but to me he was a stud Blue Jay and my #2 Fave.

3. Roy Halladay

Very few current day players have made my lists for the team they are currently playing for, but Halladay is an exception. He is also one of the few pitchers who have made these lists. This guy is as good as it gets on the mound these days, a mainstay on fantasy teams and you've always gotta root for a Yankee killer.

4. Jesse Barfield

This was one of the toughest decisions yet and I'm sure as soon as I hit "Publish Post" I'll be rethinking it, but I'm ok with that. Barfield was a free swinger with power, but most amazing was that arm. He had an absolute hose out in the field and any time I watched him play, I was just praying that someone would test him. I've read and heard stories about Clemente's arm, but of course never witnessed it, so to me Barfield almost filled that role.

Honorable Mentions:
(They are aplenty)
Tony Fernandez and Roberto Alomar


2 slick fielders who were traded for each other, along with McGriff and Joe Carter. Alomar was one of the great second basemen of our day and just missed making this list. Although I try not to let what players did with other teams influence my decision, I just feel like the end of his career was so unremarkable that I've lost some of the love for him.

Glenallen Hill

Spiderman. A terrible case of arachnaphobia, combined with what can only be described as tremendously poor defensive skills and pretty good bat, made Glenallen a guy I always followed.

Devon White

Devo, a favored Angel and a great defensive center fielder who showed off all his skills on the biggest stage.

Vernon Wells

Another current day player who I really enjoy watching. It started out when I drafted him onto a fantasy team in 2002 and he had a break out year. Since then, I've always followed Wells and wished him the best.

The list is extensive and I think I'm pleased with the rankings, but that could change at any moment. The Blue Jays definitely go down as one of the most inoffensive teams around and it's hard not to have a soft spot for the boys up in America Jr.

Go Halos!