Miscuts: Hall of Fame Edition

Today I baked alive at Brimfield Flea Market in Brimfield, Massachusetts. If you've never been there, it's 17 open fields strung along Route 20, which for three weeks of each year are crammed full of leathery-skinned antiques dealers, junk collectors, hoboes, drug addicts, and certified weirdos. And a good time is had by all.

This year I went twice (July and September), each time filling up on weird stuff. July's big score was an uncut sheet of Wacky Packages from 1979. This time around I brought home a safe deposit box from an old bank, which coincidentally is the perfect size for holding baseball cards.

I also scored on miscut cards. On top of the major haul from Scott in New Jersey (more on Scott's Haul in a later post), these cards are helping make miscuts my next big 'thing.' And just my luck, all three of the miscuts I found today feature Hall of Famers.





Truthfully, the Reggie miscut is kind of lame, as it's almost impossible to determine the identity of the player on the other card. It's obvious that Jeff Newman is the other player on the Jenkins card simply because the back is cut so that his name is on there. The other player on the Carlton card (really the best card I found today) is Sudden Sam McDowell (#720). It's interesting to note that McDowell is not in the Hall of Fame, though he was 11 strikeouts away in 1967 from leading the AL in K's for six consecutive seasons (1965-1970), and he was traded practically straight-up for Gaylord Perry in 1971.

The 792: #201 - #250

Time to retreat back under my rock. May I present the next fifty numbers of The 792, starting with card #201.

201. Vince Coleman, Record Breaker, 1986
You want a memorable baseball scandal? Vince Coleman, a crowd of fans and a handful of firecrackers.

202. Steve Carlton, Record Breaker, 1981
I believe this is the Carlton record breaker with him in a batting helmet. I always thought that Carlton in a helmet looked like Miss Finch, the villain from Follow That Bird. If you're not familiar with Follow That Bird, it was part of a trilogy of Sesame Street movies (though the only one that had a theatrical release). OK, there was no trilogy, but the other two are: Big Bird Goes to China and Don't Eat the Pictures.

203. Blue Jays Future Stars, 1982 (RC)
How do you argue with Jesse Barfield's rookie card? Especially when one of the other guys on the card is named Boomer Wells? You don't.

204. Ron LeFlore/Rodney Scott, Record Breaker, 1981
205. Tony Perez, Record Breaker, 1986
206. Andy Van Slyke, 1984 (RC)
207. Ozzie Smith, Record Breaker, 1981
208. Champ Summers, 1985
209. Dickie Thon, 1981
210. Steve Carlton, 1980
211. Mike Pagliarulo, 1989
212. Broderick Perkins, 1984
213. Dave Stewart, 1982 (RC)
214. Angels Team, 1980
215. Mark Langston, 1987
216. Tony LaRussa, 1983
There is no way you can pass up a shot of a dazed LaRussa.

217. Chris Codiroli, 1987
I always thought that in the off-season Codiroli was a Statler Brother.

218. Doyle Alexander, 1985
219. Cecilio Guante, 1987
Guante was always a favorite of mine. Mostly because he looked like he had led a hard life, like he escaped a De Beers diamond mine or was an actual pirate.

220. Tom Seaver, 1981
221. Joe Cannon, 1980
222. Ron Hassey, 1980 (RC)
Only one catcher has caught two perfect games. Can you name him?

223. Lloyd Moseby, 1982
224. Wayne Tolleson, 1987
225. Ramon Martinez, 1989 (RC)
Yeah, Ramon Martinez! Who knew you'd be the brother with less talent? This card was unstoppable in 1989.

226. Manny Sanguillen, 1981
Another of my favorite cards from a great, underrated set.

227. Jamie Moyer, 1987 (RC)
228. Tom Lawless, 1986
229. Phillies Leaders, 1983
230. Dave Winfield, 1980
231. Pirates Leaders, 1988
232. Alan Trammell, 1980
233. Gregg Jefferies, 1989 (RC)

The Top 5 Cards of 1989
1. Ken Griffey, Jr., Upper Deck
2. Billy Ripken, Fleer
3. Dale Murphy Reverse Negative, Upper Deck
4. Gregg Jefferies, Topps
5. Ken Griffey, Jr. Fleer & Donruss (tie)

234. Lou Whitaker, 1981
235. Andre Dawson, 1980
236. Frank Eufemia, 1986
237. Rusty Kuntz, 1982
If you're not familiar with this card, head over to Cardboard Junkie in the next few days and check it out. It features a photo of Rusty signing an autograph. Who wouldn't want a ball signed 'Rusty Kuntz'?

238. Jose Rijo, 1985 (RC)
This might be the only card of Rijo where he's standing still and not holding a SuperSoaker.

239. Rick Miller, 1981
240. Nolan Ryan, 1981
241. Danny Heep, 1987
242. Rick Mahler, 1987
243. Bob Boone, 1989
244. Cardinals Team, 1980
245. Jim Rice, 1989
This guy was so strong that he snapped a bat in two on a checked swing.

246. Mets Leaders, 1984
247. Terry Harper, 1986
248. Storm Davis, 1988
249. Larry Cox, 1981
This is probably one of the ugliest cards in existence. The yellow border. The powder blue Mariners uniform. And Frank Zappa, er, Larry Cox looking tired and bored in his catcher's crouch.

250. Dwight Gooden, 1986
If #249 shall be remembered for its ugliness, #250 shall forever be one of the most beautiful. Like a tornado about to strike, this is Gooden in his glory.


For the complete 792 experience, view card scans in numerical order at Cardboard Junkie.

eTopps Cards That Never Were

The real title of this post is Ben Sells Out, Part 2.

Back in January, Topps got in touch with me about helping them checklist a set for eTopps. Needless to say, I was torn. Working for and/or with Topps has been a lifelong dream, and yet here I was, routinely poking fun at their sets and being critical of their products. Lucky for me, they had no stipulations that I had to follow for participating (like no bad-mouthing the company). I think I've kept up my part of the deal over the past seven months; I've not held back with criticism of the situation surrounding Topps, nor about any of their products I've found fault with.

It's probably no big deal, but just so everything is out in the open, I wasn't paid. Actually, that's not true. They paid me in baseball cards, which may sound dumb to most people (my girlfriend thought it did), but I found kind of fun. But enough about my involvement.

If you read SCD, you've probably seen the ads for the all-encompassing VIP tickets offered at The National in Cleveland. Part of that package are a handful of cards from this eTopps set, dubbed the Cards That Never Were. I think the ones at The Nat are going to specially stamped or something. The ones available through eTopps are like other eTopps cards. I think the biggest difference is that these cards will be in that year's original design and (hopefully) won't be plastered with the gaudy eTopps logo.

Here's the official line on the product (I didn't write this):


Introducing eTopps "Cards That Never Were"!

eTopps has gone back in history and created a classic collection of cards that never were! Each card has a unique story and all together the collection will be an instant classic. The collection will include:

* The ultimate tribute card: a 1952 Topps Joe DiMaggio!
* A stunning 1952 Topps Ted Williams and 1954 Topps Stan Musial card! Both players had exclusives with Bowman in the early 50's and as a result did not have Topps cards. Now you can own them!
* Whitey Ford left baseball to serve his country in the Korean War; as a result Whitey never had a '52 Topps card. Now you can...
* Nolan Ryan broke into the Big Leagues in '66 with the Mets, but it wasn't until '68 that Nolan got his rookie card. Now you can get his '67!

All cards will be sequentially numbered and delivered on beautiful eTopps technology. We will offer autographs on many of these cards, which will make them even more special!

The Cards That Never Were will be offered starting Monday August 6th at 1pm EST. The collection will be offered weekly and over time so please be sure to visit eTopps often!


And while Topps didn't end up going with all the guys and issues I had proposed (I still think a 1951 Bowman DiMaggio would be cool, and a 1966 card of Masanori Murakami would go over huge right about now, what with the renewed interest in all things Japanese baseball), the checklist they did decide on is pretty strong, plus there will be autographed versions available. There are 12 subjects in the set, including the ones pictured in this post.

The set doesn't officially debut until August 6th, offered through the eTopps site.