The 30-Day Baseball Card Challenge: Day #9

Tony, the wonderful writer of the “Off Hiatus Baseball” blog, started a fun activity based off the “30-Day Music Challenge” that Twitter users were taking. The list of challenges looks like this:

Today, we’ll continue with Challenge #9: One of your favorite cards from the 1950’s.

While working on this challenge, I realized something. My collection of cards from the 50’s is SEVERELY lacking. In fact, I could only find three cards from that decade in my collection. How is that even possible? I guess those cards don’t just fall accidentally into your lap, and I haven’t had the desire to chase any down. But, I have been working on a collection of Red Sox Hall of Famers, trying to get a Red Sox card from their playing days of every player in the Red Sox Hall of Fame. Obviously this quest will never be completed. I feel safe saying that a vintage Babe Ruth Red Sox card will never be in my collection. There are also a few turn of the century guys whose card are pretty unattainable unless I can find I card ripped in half and glued to a scrapbook. But, this goal has allowed me to add some cards that make the 11-year old me very happy. Like this one.

If you told 11-year old me that he would one day own a card from the 1952 Topps set, he would have laughed and laughed and laughed. Nobody actually had those cards. I mean, a friend’s dad was rumored to have a few, including multiple Mantles. But even that was as much legend as anything I could confirm as being true. 

But, now, here I am holding an actual 1952 Topps card in my hands. (Ok. Ok. It’s trapped in that case, so I’m holding a case in my hands. I’m pretending it’s still the same thing.) My collection contains a 1952 Topps card. It’s still fun to think about.

Another nice thing about the HOF collection is that it makes me chase down at least good players. So, rather than a common ’52 I have Parnell here. Obviously he had a decent Red Sox career, including being an all-star in ’49 and ’51. But for this post, the real draw in the ’52 Topps card.

And the fact that I own one.

Voting for Visitors!

Technically, the Miss Massachusetts Competition doesn't start until June 30. But, the online voting is already going on!

You can cast your vote for People's Choice, right now at the Miss MA website! Just click the link, and follow the People Choice voting! Each vote is just a $1 donation, and you can vote as often as you'd like! Help send one of the contestants on their way to the Miss America Pageant!

I know what you're thinking. There are so many wonderful candidates, how on earth do you know who to vote for? Well, I can't give you the answer. But, maybe I can narrow it down for you?

As it happens, six wonderful women competing for the Miss Massachusetts title are also visitors to Section 36! So, why not pick one of those? Or, all six? After all, if they're amazing enough to appear on this blog, they must be worthy of your vote!

Remember who they were?

Sara Achorn - Miss Plymouth County
Summer Foley - Miss Brookline
Sherene Iskander - Miss Cranberry Country
Lyndsey Littlefield - Miss South Coast
Samantha McGraw - Miss Collegiate Area
Emily Thomas - Miss Cambridge

So, go pick your favorite (or your favorite six) and cast your vote.

And check in at the end of the month to see if another Section 36 visitor will take home the crown!

Drew Pomeranz, or Greg Maddux?

I'm not a major league pitcher. That should be pretty clear. I don't have a deep understanding of pitching nuances. So, I don't feel too bad about being a little confused.

I've always said that dominance from a power pitcher was easy to recognize. I knew when Pedro was having a good game. (That was easy, if he was on the mound he was having a good game.) You could tell when Josh Beckett was on fire. You know that Chris Sale is as dominant as they come. I can tell that Craig Kimbrel is on a roll. Those are easy. You watch the batter look completely overmatched. You see them flail about wildly. You see them walk back to the dugout dejectedly. You don't have to understand baseball to see how good they are.

It's different with the "pitch to contact" dominance. I've always said that I didn't realize that Derek Lowe had a no-hitter going until around the sixth inning. It's hard to pick up dominance from a series of ground balls to third. Or Koji. How was he dominating by inducing all those popups? Or Greg Maddux?

I understand the concept. If you throw the ball right down the middle, the hitters will hit it a long way. If you paint the corners, and keep them off balance, they'll still hit the ball, but it will be a weak grounder or soft pop-up. 

But, then, what do you do with Drew Pomeranz?

He had a game last night that I wouldn't call dominating. After all, he threw 120 pitches in 5 innings. But, he only gave up the one earned run. He struck out seven, and walked two. A pretty good line, actually. But, 120 pitches in five innings??

He threw a lot a pitches. He had a lot of long at-bat, which is why he had so few walks. So, the batters were fouling the ball off a lot. Which means, he was pitching to contact...but not enough contact?

Where is that middle ground? Does he need to throw the ball more towards the middle so the batters can hit it into fair territory? Does he actually need to be less effective? Does he need to put the ball closer to the plate? Is it fooling batters too much?

Because, like I said, he wasn't exactly wild. His strike percentage was better than Joe Kelly's. About the same a Craig Kimbrel. He was just throwing a lot of strikes. A lot of pitches.

So how does he find that line? Seven strikeouts is actually damn good for five innings. So, it's not like that's a problem. It's the other pitches. The ones that are too good to hit fair but not good enough to swing and miss. How does he fix that? How does he get them to ground out on the third pitch instead of the thirteenth? Does he need a better "out" pitch so that he's striking out more than 12.6 batters per nine innings? That seems like a lot to ask. Would a better out pitch get him to that point sooner? Do we want him striking out more batters than that? I don't know what the answer is.

So I really hope he does.

The 30-Day Baseball Card Challenge: Day #8

Tony, the wonderful writer of the “Off Hiatus Baseball” blog, started a fun activity based off the “30-Day Music Challenge” that Twitter users were taking. The list of challenges looks like this:

Today, we’ll continue with Challenge #8: A card that reminds you of a family member.

A comedian once did a bit about football parents. He talked about all the work a father puts in with his son to make him a football star. All the hours playing catch. All the hours running routes. Finally, the kid makes the NFL, scores his first touchdown, looks right into the camera and waves, "Hi Mom!"

I feel like that. Because even though my father was a much bigger part of my collecting upbringing, this card reminds me of my mother.

(yup, another Fleer Red Sox 100th)

You see, my mother grew up just down the street from Birdie. She was actually friends with his daughter. So, really, any Birdie Tebbetts card would remind me of her. This just happens to be the only one I own.

The key story that came from living a couple houses from a Red Sox player? My mother had several older brothers. Brothers at the right age where Birdie would bring home baseballs for them. Autographed by the team. Being boys about that age in the late forties, those baseballs weren't stuck on their shelf in an acrylic box. Nope they used them to play baseball. Good thing there weren't any good players on the Red Sox in the late forties.

Damn.

Let's just say that I looked over every nook and cranny of my grandfather's house hoping that a ball would have somehow rolled into a hole behind a bookcase or something. No luck.

But, I suppose, if every kid who lived next to a ball player actually saved the dozen or so Ted Williams signed baseballs they had...they wouldn't be worth anything today.

So, that's why this card reminds me of my mother. And my uncles.

And why I cringe a little every time I see it.

The Section 36 Store is OPEN!

I know what you've all been thinking. You saw all the pictures of people wearing the most amazing tank tops and thought, "How can I get one of those for myself?" Unfortunately, the answer was, "You can't."

Until now!

That's right. I heard your thoughts, as creepy as that sounds, and gave you exactly what you wanted. The chance to get your own tank top!

But, that's not all. No no no.

You can also get a standard t-shirt, and several other styles. It's almost too good to be true.

How am I doing this? I'm getting some help. The reason it took so long for me to offer the shirts again was the cost, and the inventory. So, I got the good people at Tee Public to help me out. I'll be selling the shirts through their website, directly to you! This allows me to offer more variety than I ever thought possible, while still keeping the costs as low as I can.

Which allows me to offer this beauty:

Oooooh.

And, remember the variety I spoke of earlier?

Obviously, the plan is to add several more designs. But, for now we'll start with this classic. If you'd like one, click on this link. This one. Here. 

Of course, once you have your shirt, send me a picture wearing it! You can be added to the list of cool folk.

Can't wait to see them!