Today, we’ll continue with Challenge #4: A Rookie Card of one of Your Favorite Players
Hmm. This was a tough one. Mostly because, as usual, I made it hard on myself. As you probably know, my favorite all-time player is Pedro Martinez. I’m sure I’m not along in that. Pedro was one of a kind. But, the problem with his rookie card? Not only is it not the most exciting card, but it shows him as a member of the LA Dodgers. How on earth can I feature a Dodgers card in this topic? I then thought about another former Dodger, Nomar Garciaparra. He came up through the Red Sox system. But, his first card has that pesky Team USA designation. That wouldn’t do at all.
It kept going this way. Manny Ramirez? An Indian on his rookie card. David Ortiz? The Twins. I supoose that leaves my with the new core. But, do I want to feature Andrew Benintendi’s rookie card from the current year? That’s not much fun.
Then, it was so obvious that I’m annoyed I didn’t think of it earlier. Phil Plantier. Plantier joined the Red Sox in 1990 like he was shot out of a rocket. He was the next start for the Red Sox. It was obvious. Thankfully, most card companies were able to include him in their 1991 products. But, which one to choose? This one was an obvious choice.
Like many people, I bought a lot of 1991 Donruss. To my never-ending delight, I always seemed to pull a Phil Plantier rookie. They were coming out of every pack. When does that ever happen? Sure, getting 5-10 cards of some guy over the course of a year isn’t anything spectacular. But to pull 10 copies of a card you really want? Of the newest hotshot rookie of your favorite team? Of your clear choice for favorite player? The pull those cards over and over? That never happens.
But, it happened with the 1991 Donruss Phil Plantier.
I love baseball cards, but that is probably not a surprise. I also loved basketball cards...even NCAA basketball cards. In 1991 memorabilia was king for so many of us. There was a great card store in Orleans, MA that I was just discussing with my brother a few weekends ago. He didn't seem to remember that store....Odd that he had a sense memory from the store that peddled incense down the street, but I was not remembering the place where he always wanted to go desperately visit. Anyway, long story short, my point was there really are no baseball card shops any more. There are card shows in people's garages and in Knight of Columbus halls, but nothing like these stores of yore that sold Beckett's magazine, boxes and packs of cards, and were filled with glass display cases filled with special cards like the rookie card you wrote about it. I don't want to go to a specialty show or a dollar store to buy cards. It takes the whole fun out of the experience.
ReplyDeleteLol. No love for Sam Horn, Mike Greenwell, or Mo Vaughn?
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