The Stars Are Out: April 2019

That's right: for another year of blogging, I'll be doing customs of notable first pitches throughout the MLB. We had some pretty good ones last year, so I'll try and keep things at the same standard. And seeing as April had some nice results, I think it'll be another good year of these.

I'll start with the obvious one: Mariano Rivera made history by becoming the first-ever unanimous HOF inductee, because nobody could even dispute that man's talent. He's enshrined in Cooperstown this summer, and he's having a great year so far. So why WOULDN'T the Yankees grab Mo for a first pitch early on in the season? I mean, as you can see here, he's definitely still got it.

Similarly, recent HOF-inductee Jack Morris had a modest homecoming in Toronto, where he won his final of three World Series rings. In two seasons in Toronto, he notched 20 wins once and surpassed 100 strikeouts twice. Even for a guy who's better known in Detroit, the Toronto fans sure love him, and i'm glad they had him in town to throw out a first pitch.

As we seem to be on a streak of former players turned-HOFers, Lee Smith had a welcome homecoming to Chicago, where he made a name for himself as a dominating, intimidating and powerful closer. For someone like him, who was considered borderline for many years, this must be a joy and a thrill, and I'm glad he's still beloved in Chicago.

Meanwhile in LA, the Angels fans still have a lot of fondness for their perennial All-Star and team hero, Bobby Grich. And as you can see by this fun pose, he still seems pretty happy to be there. You could argue that his prime years were with Baltimore, but with the Angels Grich had a better average, hit more for power, and became more of a fan favorite.

And then there's a more recent fan favorite like Justin Morneau, who isn't too distant of a memory in Minnesota fans' eyes, but seeing as his teammate Joe Mauer just retired, should begin to steer towards deification on that wall of fame. The guy snagged an MVP in a year where it was basically Jeter's to lose, hit home runs into the postseason, and only left when he knew the team wouldn't be screwed without him. Class act, and deserves the applause he's getting here.

Shifting now to a slightly-more-obscure former player, Billy Bean threw out a first pitch on LGBTQ+ night at PETCO Park, commemorating his decision to come out as an acting player. I know that Bean's fame is less about ability and more about queer identity, but even if it is just that, it's nice that he's getting recognition, rather than scorn. After what he must have gone through, he deserves it.

Shifting to other sports, here's a shot of one of the biggest sports figures in contemporary Philadelphia history throwing one out at CBP. As someone who's witnessed him play, I'll confirm it: AI is still huge, still gets applause, and is still beloved in Philly, even after leaving or retiring due to an issue with his kid or whatever. He delivered when it meant something, and without him, we never would have had Embiid and Simmons and those guys. So of course his first pitch is gonna be huge.

Just as the dust from the NFL draft settles, here's a shot of Parris Campbell, back when he was known for being a star receiver in Ohio, throwing one out for the Reds. Since then, he's been drafted in Round 2 by the Colts, and hopefully will get some reps during his rookie year.

...and if you want to count pro-wrestling as a sport, here's WWE superstar Braun Strowman dealing one out in Milwaukee. I was gonna say this must mean he's a Milwaukee native, but seeing as he only recently threw out a first pitch for the Astros...maybe he's just campaigning for something? I don't know.

We'll end on some acting personnel. First of all, Jamie Foxx, yes THAT Jamie Foxx, was in Philly for Jackie Robinson day. Which...is kinda weird, seeing as he's from the Dallas metropolitan area. Whatever, he's an amazing actor, I'll take it. Good to have anyone in Philly.

And now for some Cubs. Kumail Nanjiani wrote and starred in the very funny The Big Sick, and now he's ending up in several studio pictures, which is deserved. Plus, like every other moderately funny person these days, he's from Chicago.

Noah Wyle was on ER longer than anybody else from the original cast, did Falling Skies, and now is doing another procedural on CBS. He is a TV man through and through, and thankfully he's still welcome in his hometown of Chicago.

Jon Favreau has done so much that it's hard to pinpoint one thing he should be known for. He was in Swingers? He's Happy Hogan in the Iron Man movies? He directed The Jungle Book? He's showrunning the new Star Wars series The Mandalorian? It's really hard, because he's good at most things. And, hence the theme, he is a Cubs fan.

Speaking of Star Wars...

...we'll end on this guy.

This is Joonas Suotamo. He's incredibly tall, incredibly friendly, and he's been playing Chewbacca onscreen since 2015. He was in town for Star Wars Celebration earlier this month, so of course he stopped by Wrigley, got a ton of applause and wookie roars, and threw out what I can only assume was a cool first pitch.

That's all for April. Hopefully we'll get some good ones during this month.

On the Veteran's Committee Picks: That's....Intriguing

So...good day for Chicago.

Two names, out of 12, were chosen by the Veteran's Committee for the Baseball Hall of Fame. One of them, Lee Smith, is definitely supported by me. Smith has been in my binders for years, he's been a perennial pick on the blog's HOF ballots, and he's one of the most dominant closers of all time. Like Goose Gossage, Smith was one of those pitchers that would just get on the mound and dare you to hit him. He's also one of those pitchers that was on fire no matter where he played, though he's going in as a Cub, and he's remembered most fondly by Cubs and Cardinals fans.

Smith I could have called. I didn't know it'd take this long, but Lee Smith is a Hall of Famer.

Harold Baines, though? That one didn't really occur to me until he got voted in last night. Harold Baines was a fantastic hitter, a wonderful DH, and a gifted home run hitter, who was, rightfully, a legend in Chicago and Baltimore, was a part of those great A's teams of the early 90s, and hit well into his forties. I always considered him a member of the 'Hall of Very Good' despite some support from bloggers out there.

Now...here's what I have a problem with. Baines is a career DH, essentially, and a great one at that. But...as a DH, I don't think Baines was as good as Edgar Martinez, who still hasn't been voted in. Does this Baines decision means 2019 induction is inevitable for Edgar? Or does it mean it's not happening? It'd be cool to have Edgar and Baines go in together, which is just as cool as Mariano Rivera going in alongside Smith (and that is happening, FYI). But...I dunno, something makes me slightly uneasy about the fact that Baines was voted in slightly before Edgar was, even if Edgar was the better player. I'm not completely there on that.

Still...these are some solid picks, and better than some run-of-the-mill administrator inductees (and thank the gods Steinbrenner didn't get in). I'll look forward to adding them to my HOF binder.

JustSplurging

(Blows dust off of scanner)

I did make a few JustCommons purchases during the school year, but due to my lack of a scanner, never got a chance to post any results. Thankfully, I got a nice sampling of cards today from JC. I'll say this is probably the most eclectic mix I've gotten from them. You can go wild on that site. I must have gone 'oh, they have some of THIS set?' about forty times (though a bit disappointed over the lack of 2010 National Chicle, as I need to complete that set ASAP).

I can separate these cards I got, which includes that awesome shot of Dave Stewart from '94 Score above, into a few very simple groups.

Junk Wax Era cards of players I collect:

Look at Orel.

LOOK AT HIM.

That's a pretty awesome card of a pretty awesome player. I'm just beefing up my Orel collection this year, as I have a ton of Orel Dodger cards, but not enough from the later half of his career. Also, the guy went to my high school.

He was one of the many guys I wanted to nab in terms of early 90's cards.

Molly was another one.

As a rule, anybody in the HOF automatically goes into my HOF binder, and I automatically collect any dufex-era-on cards of them that look cool. Molly is one of those guys I have a lot of respect for, and he's probably be in my binders even if he wasn't in the Hall. I also adore the 90's UD Checklists.

A bunch of early Vizquels. I forgot how cool the '94 Bowman design looked, especially in scans. Plus, the '93 UD one is a great shot.

The three stages of late-career Goose: Pre Japan, Post-Japan, and Somebody-Get-Me-Out-Of-Here.
Mariner Goose looks pretty horrified to be a part of the '95 Fleer design. He's not alone.

A rare card of Carlton Fisk playing first base. That's pretty odd. Great shot, though.

Two more natural positions for Carlton. Reminds me I need some more '92 Pinnacle in my collection. Such a cool set. So simple, too.

I've been collecting a lot more Jack Morris, too. Great pitcher. Veterans committee will definitely get him into Cooperstown. Because he deserves it.

In other news, Eddie Murray is freaking awesome. Yesterday was the anniversary of his 500th home run. I love all four of these sets, too. The Flair one actually came from another source (which I'll get to one of these days), but fit the theme.

One more awesome shot of Murray from a '92 UD checklist. Just awesome.

The three stages of early-era McGriff. Funny thing is I have a ton of Brave McGriffs, and not too many Blue Jay or Padres ones...for the binder that is.

Two horizontal Padre-era McGriff's. I love the UD checklist. So cool.

A quartet of Edgars. Yeah, if this guy doesn't make it to Cooperstown, then, to quote Russell Hantz, there is a flaw in the game. I do really dig the '93 Bowman one. Great shot.

Three Blylevens. I'm still a bit puzzled as to why he got inducted into the Hall of Fame, but I'm not arguing. I'll still collect his cards.

Topps' Final Tribute card for Blyleven. One I'd been looking for for a while. Great shot, too.

Gary Carter made a nice few appearances in my JC order. Interestingly enough I only got one card of him as a Met. I love getting cards of great players in unfamiliar unforms, which is why I wanted to get cards of him as a Giant and Dodger. I was looking for his '93 Topps issue for a while. And that Pinnacle one might be the best of his final year.

However, Lee Smith was definitely the star of this portion of the package. I've been collecting Lee Smith forever, and he's one of the greatest closers of all time (and a perennial HOF sunb). I got cards from every portion of the last leg of his career, from his Boston days...

...to his career-defining year or so as a St. Louis Cardinal...

...to the last legs of his career. That '97 Circa one is so frenzied that I love it. The '96 Score one is the best, though. He looks so happy.

Okay, now onto another part of the package:

Recent Sets I Thought Would be Cool to Get Some of:

I've always been a fan of Donruss' Diamond Kings sets. When I heard they'd be returning with Panini, I had mixed thoughts...and it didn't help that the reviews were generally meh. I still wanted to get a few cards from it, so I got a smattering, including this admittedly awesome shot of Robby Cano.

As you can see, the set loses a lot without logos, but it's still got the right Diamond Kings idea, and the cards still have that patchwork feel. Besides, there are some standouts, occasionally, like the Utley.

But still, as this was a Donruss product, there was really only one reason for me to venture in...

...and that's Ichiro Freaking Suzuki.

I think I heard somewhere that he's coming back to Topps, signing a new contract and all of that. I'm very happy about that, but still, I'm gonna sweep up as many of his Panini cards as I can, because...it's Ichiro. You have to. And for the record, this card looks pretty damn cool.

However, I didn't stop at Diamond Kings.

I heard some of the most glowing reviews about last year's Topps Finest, so I had to snap up some commons. And yeah, it's a pretty well-designed set, popping off with color and blending the shot into the design. Very, very impressive.

I got a little over 20 of these. These 9 are just the ones I'm showing. Very, very cool stuff. Probably the best Finest set in over a decade. Extra points for the Sale.

An Ellsbury because he's awesome.

That leads to our final segment for today...

Awesome Insert Roundup:

JC has a ton of nice  inserts from the last decade or so of Topps/Assorted other products. They had a slew of Gypsy Queen inserts, which, in my opinion, are the best part of that product. Nice to pull a Beltre-as-a-Dodger every once in a while.

I got nine inserts dedicated to awesome pitching over the years. Pretty nice that I could get a Bob Feller card for the same price as a Trevor Bauer card. What a world we live in.
Also, that Halladay is a nice one.

I've always been a huge fan of the Propaganda Posters from 2009 Topps. Probably my favorite insert set of the last few years. So, I got a couple I needed. Bottom row- Maryland special.

This is the nicest of the bunch. Best part is he's only gotten better since his monstrous 2009 season.

A trio of cards from my second favorite insert set of 2015. Those throwbacks are just too cool.

Oh, I bet you want to know what my favorite insert set of 2015 is...

First Pitch. No contest.

I've toyed with the idea of making customs of celebs throwing out the first pitch for the longest time now. Paul Rudd as a Royal was practically BEGGING for one.

Jon Hamm's a pretty big deal already, as he's a great SNL host and a very nice actor. But putting him on a baseball card, in a Cardinals uniform? Genius.

Four other favorites. Ulrich's a must, especially as a music fan. Kevin Hart, regardless of the fact that I don't find him very funny, looks great in an 80's Sox uni. Chelsea Handler looks like she's having a great time at Wrigley. Maroney had to have been a cool one.

I picked up Jeff Bridges, Tom Morello and Macklemore earlier this year, and I still need to nab an Eddie Vedder and a Jack White, as well as a few others from Series 2 (Chris Pratt much?)

However...I did happen to take home the best card from First Pitch with this package...

Take it in, true believers.

Stan Lee, one of my all time heroes, the man who's made an appearance in almost every Marvel movie, created some of the most famous Superheroes of all time, and has inspired me to create amazing, and fun worlds. And he's on a baseball card. In a Giants uniform.

This is the best baseball card I've pulled so far this year. So awesome. So wonderful.

That's it for the JustCommons haul for today. There's a bit more to show, but, it's for another day. Besides....you know that huge, awesome set that came out last week? Well...I got some of it, and I got quite a bit of it.