April 29, 2011
The New Guy...
Thanks for the wonderful introduction, Ben. If you missed it, you can scroll down to the previous post. I guess I should probably tell you a little bit about myself:
Travis "PunkRockPaint" Peterson - Fan of the San Diego Padres
Height: 6' 1" Weight: Fluctuates Throws: Right Bats: Right
Home: San Diego, California Born: Sept. 6, 1973
As you probably could have guessed, I like baseball cards. My collection is a little bit eclectic. Aside from any and all Padres cards, I have a few players that I specifically collect. As a life long Padres fan I love Tony Gwynn. I also hold a special place in my heart for Bip Roberts. From there, my collection takes a bit of a turn. I collect players with funny names: Dick Pole and Pete LaCock in particular. I also hoard cards of (what's a nice way to say it?) strange looking players: Don Mossi and Rowland Office are two of my favorites.
I am not a great writer. What I can bring to The Baseball Card Blog is my other hobby. I create custom cards. Making new cards based on some of the hobby's favorite designs is one of my greatest passions.
I am a big fan of the local music scene here in San Diego. Designing show posters, album covers, and t-shirts is how I got my "punk rock" design ethic. My style is anything but punk, but my methods for creating custom cards certainly goes against the establishment. Microsoft Paint is my design platform of choice (hence the "Paint" in PunkRockPaint.) Although much more time consuming and difficult to work with, the program came free with my computer. Hey, it was free. I definitely love getting something for free.
That's really all you need to know for now. I'll try to post as often as possible; showing you some new ideas for old baseball cards.
Here's an idea for a card set that both Ben and I have been thinking about for some time:
TBCB Muppets - #1 Beaker
You can click on the custom cards to see more detail.
Design based on: 1956 Topps #39 - Don Mossi
It is great to be part of such a talented team. I don't typically make the backs for my custom cards, but since I'm new I figured I had better give you a little extra effort. I can't wait to do some more of these cards for you. Any recommendations?
The Baseball Card Blog welcomes a new contributor: Travis from PunkRockPaint
Dear Gentle Reader,We are excited to announce that Travis from Punk Rock Paint will be joining Ben and Mike as a regular contributor to The Baseball Card Blog.
In our estimation, Travis' creative design sensibility and skill are unparalleled in the realm of baseball card art, with his stellar custom graphics for Big Lebowski, Lost, and Star Wars sets, among others, as testaments to this fact.
But what really sets his work apart is his sense of history and appreciation not just for the history of the game of baseball but also for the art, design, and printing standards throughout the history of trading card production.
If you are unfamiliar with Travis' artwork, definitely check out his personal blog (linked above).
Please join us in welcoming Travis to The Baseball Card Blog!
April 28, 2011
April 27, 2011
The Heckler's Wife's Comeuppance: On Poor Records & Broken Schnozzolas
Doug Brocail, 1994 Fleer
I don’t know, man. It doesn’t look like Doug Brocail gets a lot of force behind those pitches. Maybe this card is misleading, but this pitch looks like it’s coming in for a smooth landing in the left field bleachers. Am I wrong?
Doug was thrown into the fire in 1993, his first Major League season.
According to the back of this card, Doug Brocail spent the better part of eight—eight—seasons in the minors before being called up for good in ’93, so he was thrown into the fire in the sense that he was brought along slowly and steadily until the organization felt he was adequately ready to compete at the Major League level. Firefighter!
I got sidetracked. Allow me to repeat my original question. Ahem … Am I wrong?
Gopher balls were his Achilles heel,
Despising children was the pediatrician’s Achilles heel.
Having no Achilles tendon was the runner’s Achilles heel.
Not having Internet access was the blogger's Achilles heel.
although he deserved better than a 4-13 mark.
In 1993, Doug Brocail gave up 16 home runs in 128.1 innings pitched, with a 4.56 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He deserved better than a 4-13 record because … he was a nice person? Screw it—let’s give him the Cy Young. I mean—and we’ve been over this ad nauseam—win-loss records for pitchers might be the worst statistic to understand how that pitcher pitched, so, I guess, it might as well be arbitrary. In the interest of fairness, it would have been nice to see some MLB record-keeper come across Brocail’s 4-13 record, yell in frustration, “He doesn’t deserve this!’ and furiously scribble in its place, “7-10.”
What else, Wikipedia?
On September 13, 2004, Brocail was involved in an ugly incident at the McAfee Coliseum, when his Texas Rangers were playing the Oakland Athletics. His rookie teammate Frank Francisco, angry at fan Craig Bueno for heckling Brocail about his stillborn child, hoisted a folded chair into the stands, striking Bueno's wife and breaking her nose.
I remember this, but I either never knew the details, or somehow forgot. Now, I’m not saying that tossing a folding chair is any way for a person to react who is not immersed in a professional wrestling match, but, I mean … I don’t know, ya’ know? And, like Brocail’s 4-13 1993 record, Mrs. Bueno did not deserve to get smashed in the nose with a folding chair. Although, I kinda sorta think that a person deserves some minor physical trauma for voluntarily attending games with—much less marrying—a person who heckles players about such things. I mean, if you are, or are married to, any sort of sports heckler, you deserve to get hit with something once in a while, is all I'm saying. This is just something I believe in, and will be part of my platform when I run for office in 2012.
Yes, I’m throwing my hat into the fire, as the saying goes. My running mate is Frank Francisco. Challenge us. I dare you.
April 25, 2011
The Psycho Eyebrows of Sam McDowell
Gimme cards of guys lookin' mean. Not living legends who didn't get the memo to maybe not wear the blue workshirt and blazer to the photoshoot because the photographer couldn't find his lasers backdrop. Is it just me or does anyone out there wish Larry Bird would grow out the shag mullet again? I felt like it all went downhill when he got the close-cropped cut back in 1989 or so. Seriously... why would you settle on a photo this boring for a subset called Heroes of Sport? 
Gimme cards of guys who've been shot at.
Gimme cards of guys chewing tobacco together––
Gimme cards of guys with photo-stat heads who would gladly kick your ass if you asked them nicely.
Or cool, calm Pitching Partners by day, hepcat cardsharps by night.
Or you know what? Just gimme any card starring psycho eyebrows.
April 20, 2011
Tranberg-Brand Cheese
Mark Tranberg, 1994 Bowman
Here is Mark Tranberg, player of baseball and major league hopeful. I haven’t turned this card over yet, but I have a gut feeling, just by looking at Mark Tranberg, that dude throws straight cheese. Probably—and this is just a guess—the hardest thrower in the bigs. Tran. Berg. Cheese. Hit me!
“In the pros, everybody throws harder than I do,” says Tranberg
Okay, so I was wrong. We’re off to a questionable start here. Still though, I like the guy. He looks—and I don’t throw this term out there liberally—nice. If it were 1993, and I wrote for say, The Los Angeles Times, I would totally do a feature on Mark Tranberg of the Philadelphia Phillies. I would title it, “On the Mark for a Shot at the Majors: Baseball : Mark Tranberg didn’t earn respect when pitching at Dominguez Hills, but he is earning victories in Philadelphia’s farm system.” It would be the longest and best title ever written, and potential readers wouldn’t even really have to read the ensuing article, but I would write it anyway.
When he wasn’t selected {after his junior season}, Tranberg was told it was because his fastball was only about 83 m.p.h.
I mean, yeah … that is something that, in many cases, will not get you drafted to be a major league pitcher. I understand that there are pitchers who can do a lot with less stuff—and Tranberg had done just that in the minors, and was drafted the following year—but as they say in redundancyland, “83 miles per hour is 83 miles per hour.”
What to do?
"His fastball was just average," Verhoeven said. "It was just a little bit short. So I got in touch with (former major league catcher) Bob Boone, who I've kept in contact with, and he put me in touch with a guy named Bill Pewett to work on picking up his velocity."
That is literally the last paragraph of the article. What a cliffhanger! We are only left to make an educated guess as to what transpired next:
John Verhoeven, the pitching coach at Cal State Dominguez Hills and former Angel and Minnesota Twin pitcher: Mark, let me break it down for you—you don’t throw the ball fast enough. There, I said it. Tough love. But here’s the deal. I got in touch with former major league catcher Bob Boone, who I still keep in touch with, and every now and then we keep in touch, for example, this particular instance which I am specifically referring to.
Mark Tranberg: Okaaaaay …
Verhoeven: So yeah, we keep in touch, the two of us. Anyway, I figured if anybody could help you throw harder, it would be former major league catcher Bob Boone. Well, turns out, Bob Boone passed me off to some guy named Bill Pewett, and he—Bill Pewett, not Bob Boone—is going to help you with your velocity. The two of you meet tomorrow morning on the mound of a deserted high school baseball field.
The next day ...
Bill Pewett: Name’s Bill Pewett. Got a PhD in velocity and a Master’s in kicking ass. Let me see what ya’ got, kid.
Mark Tranberg throws a pitch. Anonymous man wearing a sombrero and holding a radar gun clocks the pitch at 83 m.p.h.
Pewett: Okay. Alright. Now here’s what I want you to do. Throw a pitch again, but this time, throw the ball faster.
Mark Tranberg throws a pitch, which is clocked at 83 miles per hour.
Pewett: Hmmm. Okay, well, that’s a wrap for today. Meet me back here in three weeks and in the meantime, work on what I told you.
April 13, 2011
The Benzinger Identity
Todd Benzinger, 1989 Fleer
Not to get all corny and stuff, but this—right here—is exactly how I would look, always, if I played Major League Baseball for a living. I would wear this exact smile on my face at all times, even during my at-bats. Of course, after batting .000 (but slugging .000) and having my smile become a source of discomfort for the more jaded players, I would be outright released. It would all be worth it, though. It would all be worth it.
Also, Matt Damon is slated to loosely portray Todd Benzinger in an upcoming action film called The Benzinger Identity, in which Todd Benzinger gets screwed over by the intelligence operation of the Red Sox front office, and seeks revenge by hitting home runs and killing a bunch of people and also he knows ju-jitsu. It has nothing to do with The Bourne Identity franchise.
Now, I know a little bit about Todd Benzinger, but not a lot. And by not a lot I mean barely anything. I am excited to find out more. You? Good.
DID YOU KNOW? Made successful move from outfield to first base in 1988 …
Wowzers! The move from outfield to first base has left a trail of broken careers and broken men. It’s totally different, mostly because there are no bases in the outfield, so you’re pretty much learning baseball from scratch. Todd Benzinger’s move from the outfield to first base was successful in that he literally did not die doing it.
70 RBI most ever in pro career …
Todd Benzinger’s 70 RBI are the most RBI that Todd Benzinger ever hit in Todd Benzinger’s pro career? That is crazy.
I am bored. Let’s go to Toddy Beezee’s Wiki page, yo.
As a member of the Red Sox, Benzinger is legendary
Hold on. I just want to cut it off there for a second. Let it sink in. Marinate. Take a breath. Now … I’m all for using terms loosely—I am legendary at using terms loosely—but, regardless of how this sentence achieves completion, this sentence is false.
for his clutch hitting during the Sox’ 1988 “Morgan Magic” run,
Surely, every true Red Sox fan joyously recalls the “Morgan Magic” run of 1988, which witnessed the team win 12 games in a row under then-interim manager Joe Morgan, who was not the real Joe Morgan (a good quality to have in a baseball decision-maker), but a regular ol’ white dude—a run that culminated in the team not winning the World Series that had eluded them since the year of 1918. Years and years of almost unbearable heartache were brushed aside when the team won 12 consecutive games one July, and at the forefront of this resurgence was Red Sox legend Todd Benzinger, who, as this card points out, hit .394 with a runner on 3rd base. I am getting goosebumps.
particularly his 10th inning walk-off HR on July 20th, 1988. This has been called “The Benzinger Game” by some Red Sox enthusiasts.
To highlight the silliness of this tidbit, I stopped a random Red Sox enthusiast on the street yesterday and asked him if he remembers “The Benzinger Game.”
His reply: “Are you serious, dude? July 20th, ’88. I was supposed to be there. Had to sell the tix cause my bee-otch girlfriend at the time wanted to celebrate the third month anniversary of our second kiss. Watched the game on the TV at Smitty’s while she yapped about something. But yeah—10th inning jack to extend Morgan’s Magic? I mean, how could I possibly forget that? Benzinger was a legend, man. Still is. I named my second son Todd because of that game. You know the guy hit .394 with a runner on third that year, right?”
Did you know?
Then he punched me in the face for calling him a Red Sox “enthusiast.”
April 06, 2011
X Marks the Spot-On Defense
Mark Langston, 1996 Upper Deck "Defensive Gems" series
The reason I got into baseball card-collecting in the first place was to acquire as many cards as possible that featured pitchers who field well.
I ask, rhetorically only, because the obvious answer is a resounding NO: Is there anything more exhilarating in baseball than a pitcher who fields his position adequately? (Sidebar: I enjoy the term “fields his position” because I never want to get confused and think we are talking about how a guy fields a different position that he does not play.) I mean, weak ground ball back to the pitcher? I’m on the edge of my seat! Will he get there in time? Should he, out of fear of throwing it away, underhand it to first? Granny-style!!! Boo-yah! Oh, and ground ball to the first baseman? WILL YOUR PITCHER REMEMBER TO COVER FIRST???? Arggghhhh! Also, pop-up somewhere in the infield? Who is going to point into the sky in order to bravely alert his infielders that the ball is somewhere in the sky? “Look up, a-holes! I’m not getting it—I’m the pitcher! I could fall off the mound!” The pitcher is the center fielder of the infield, if the center fielder was not allowed to go near a ball in play because he was an accident waiting to happen, and if the center fielder was directly responsible for the ball being in play because he doesn’t have a strikeout pitch.
Anyhoo, I especially craved cards that highlighted a pitcher’s ability to field—DEFENSIVE GEMS—yet showed them not playing defense. The dichotomy takes my breath away. That is why this is my favorite card in the whole world, for the purposes of this post.
All I know is this: If I’m a cameraman, and I ever have the outstanding good fortune to snap a portrait of a major league pitcher renown for his solid fielding, there’s only way I’m doing it—from the ground up, and that pitcher is crossing his arms. X-it, Langston!
BAM! In your face, lukewarm defensive pitchers! The only thing I would change here is that instead of a glove and ball, Mark Langston would be holding in one hand a wad of cash (his cash; I am broke—I’m a cameraman) and a bottle of Absolute in the other. On the bottle of Absolute, I would cross out “Mandarin” and write in permanent black marker, “Defense.” More:
When the subject of great fielding pitchers comes up,
Let’s be honest—when doesn’t this come up? It’s the only thing I talk about at parties. Also, I haven’t been invited to a party in four years.
Mark’s name is usually at the top of the list.
Usually? Dude only has SEVEN gold gloves. What an intro. When people talk about an obscure thing, sometimes they bring up this person. Wow! Where can I continue reading about this?!
Seven Gold Gloves
(’88-89, ’91-95)
In 1990, Mike Boddicker caught a ground ball in his hat and did a cartwheel to first base, wowing the voters. (Also, Langston had retired from baseball to play basketball that year, but finished second in the voting anyway.) In 1995, Langston has 26 errors, two of which caused his pants to fall down, but the voters went on name recognition alone.
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