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I was so enamored by the excellence of Greg Maddux that I pretty much overlooked his teammates, Glavine and Smoltz, both pretty decent pitchers in their own right. I was late to the boat when it came to collecting both of them and that's on me because they are both Hall of Fame pitchers. Tom won 164 games during the 1990s second only to Maddux, won 20 games in a season five times and was a two-time Cy Yong Award winner. A 9-time All-star with a World Series Championship to his credit made him a first ballot Hall of Famer. As of today I have 682 different Tom Glavine cards in my collection. Here are nine of them.

       
1986 Southern League All-Stars Jennings #23 Tom Glavine (An early minor league card of Tom.)
1998 Finest Refractors #228 Tom Glavine
2001 SPx Winning Materials Update Trios #MGJ Greg Maddux/Tom Glavine/Andruw Jones (Pictured with a couple of his teammates from those great 90s Braves team.)

       
2002 Fleer Focus JE Century Parallel #30 Tom Glavine/147
2002 Topps Pristine Fall Memories #TG Tom Glavine Jsy B
2003 Leaf Limited Timber #65 T.Glavine Braves A

       
2004 Upper Deck Authentic Stars Jersey #TL Tom Glavine
2007 UD Masterpieces Captured on Canvas #GL Tom Glavine
2008 Topps Allen and Ginter Mini Black #315 Tom Glavine

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In 2013 my son married after enlisting in the Navy. He was sent to several locations before winding up in Norfolk, Virginia where he still resides. Although he's no longer "in" the Navy, he works for a subcontractor working on the Navy helicopters. Here are nine cards from that year that I've scanned from my collection.

       
2013 Finest 93 Finest All-Star #DJ Derek Jeter
2013 Topps Chrome X-Fractors #1 Mike Trout
2013 Topps The Greats Red #TG24 Sandy Koufax (I was very pleased when I pulled this card from a pack of 2013 Topps and it was serial numbered 25/50. Then I noticed a crease all the way across the center of the card. Joy immediately turned to disappointment. Damn pack searchers! I sent the card back to Topps along with a note explaining why I was upset and they sent me this card as a replacement. It's the same card only numbered 26/50.)


2013 Topps Toys R Us Purple Border #2 Derek Jeter (In April I bought a pack of Heritage and a pack of Opening Day at my local Target and then went across the street to Toys R Us and bought one pack. I pulled two Jeter base cards from the Heritage pack, one featuring him and his teammate Robinson Cano, I pulled his Blue parallel from the Opening Day pack and this Purple from the TRU pack. Four Jeter cards from three packs in one Jeter-ific day!)
2013 Topps Toys R Us Purple Border #294 Mike Trout/Adrian Beltre/Miguel Cabrera (Another of my Toys R Us pulls. Three future Hall of Famers on one card.)
2013 Topps Tribute Commemorative Cuts Relics Red #AB Adrian Beltre

       
2013 Topps Tribute Retired Remnants Relics #RC Roberto Clemente (This relic of one of my all-time favorite players made its way into my collection courtesy of bamyanks.)
2013 Topps Update #US259 Nolan Arenado RC
2013 Topps Update #US290 Christian Yelich RC

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I still collect Sammy Sosa. I don't think he will ever be inducted into the Hall even though he is a member of the 600 home run club and is the only player to ever hit 60 or more home runs in three different seasons. He was a superstar for the Cubs and holds their all-time home run record but suspicions of steroid use has kept him out of Cooperstown. He is adamant that he never used illegal substances but he was named in the Mitchell Report. While he played he racked up seven All-star appearances, six Silver Slugger Awards, two Home Run titles and two RBI titles as well as a MVP Award. To date I have 1611 different Beckett recognized Sammy Sosa cards in my collection. Here are nine of them.

       
1989 Baseball America AA Prospects Best #AA29 Sammy Sosa
1999 Aurora Kings of the Major Leagues #3 Sammy Sosa
1999 Finest Prominent Figures #PF12 Sammy Sosa SLG

        
2001 SP Game Bat Milestone Piece of Action Milestone #SS Sammy Sosa
2001 Upper Deck All-Star Heroes Memorabilia #ASHSS S.Sosa Jsy/2000
2002 Cubs Topps Best Moments #8 Sammy Sosa/2002 Topps/August 16th (This card was given away at Wrigley Field for a Cubs game on August 16th, 2002.)


2002 UD Piece of History #59 Sammy Sosa SP (A short print from UD's 2002 Piece of History set.)
2002 Upper Deck All-Star Home Run Derby Game Jersey #ASSS1 Sammy Sosa
2005 Diamond Kings Materials Gold #56 Sammy Sosa Bat-Jsy/50

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Lots of players go on to become announcers and play-by-play guys after their playing days are done. Some like Joe Garagiola, Tony Kubek, Bob Uecker and Tim McCarver eventually make their way to the Hall of Fame on their announcing merits as opposed to their playing prowess. Today I am showing nine cards of announcers, analysts and broadcasters.

       
1986 CBS Radio Sports #NNO Ernie Harwell (Harwell spent 42 of his 55 broadcasting years calling play-by-play for the Detroit Tigers. He was rewarded with the Ford C. Frick Award in 1981 along with enshrinement into the Hall. This card is unrecognized by Beckett but was one of a five-card set that was distributed to CBS radio network stations in 1986, one of which I worked at.)
1989 Pacific Legends II #209 Jack Brickhouse ANN (Brickhouse was a longtime announcer in Chicago covering games for both the Cubs and White Sox as well as the Bears and Bulls. Brickhouse collapsed and fell ill while preparing for the funeral of fellow broadcaster Harry Caray in 1998 and died later in that same year.)
1993 Cardtoons #62 Harry Scaray (This cartoon card of Harry Scaray is obviously Harry Caray. Caray spent 25 years in St. Louis doing games for the Browns and Cardinals before spending a year with the A's then another 27 years in Chicago covering White Sox and then Cubs games. He was known for his big glasses, calls of "Holy Cow!", wielding a fishing net to catch foul balls and is credited with the singing of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch.)

       
2001 Reds Kahn #30 Marty Brennaman ANN/Joe Nuxhall ANN (Brennaman was sometimes controversial in his comments as the long-time voice of the Cincinnati Reds. He called Hank Aaron's record-tying 714th home run in his first game as a Reds broadcaster. Nuxhall was a former Reds pitcher who is probably best known as the youngest player to ever appear in a Major League game when he pitched for the Reds in 1944 at the age of fifteen. This card is also unrecognized by Beckett and probably came in a package of Kahn's sandwich meat.)
2003 SP Legendary Cuts Etched in Time 175 #ME Mel Allen (Allen was known as "the Voice of the Yankees" broadcasting their games for parts of four decades until he was unceremoniously fired by the team. He would then go on to be the first host of "This Week in Baseball". This cool card actually features a wood inlay on it and is serial numbered to 175.)
2004 National Pastime National Treasures Gold #9 Peter Gammons/88 (Peter Gammons is a sports writer, media personality and musician who has contributed as an analyst for ESPN on their Baseball Tonight, SportsCenter and Sunday Night Baseball programs.)

         
2012 Panini Cooperstown Voices of Summer #4 Jack Buck (Best known for his work broadcasting St. Louis Cardinals games, Buck has been recognized by the Baseball, Pro Football, Radio and St. Louis Cardinals Halls of Fame. I should mention his reading of his For America poem at Busch Stadium just prior to the Cardinals first game following the 9/11 attacks. His son, Joe, has picked up his microphone and carries on the broadcasting tradition.)
2013 Panini Cooperstown Green Crystal #65 Vin Scully (Scully is arguably the most-loved broadcaster of all time having done games for the Dodgers for 67 seasons. He had a comfortable and relaxing delivery.)
2017 Topps MLB Network #MLBN28 Heidi Watney UPD (I first became aware of Watney when she was working as a sideline reporter for NESN during Red Sox games. She has since moved on and up through the ranks and is now the host of Quick Pitch for the MLB Network. She was the first runner-up in the 2002 Miss California USA pageant and is the only broadcaster depicted here who is not in the Hall of Fame.)

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Ryne Sandberg came up as a shortstop with the Philadelphia Phillies and had one hit (at Wrigley Field) in six at bats for them before he was traded along with Larry Bowa to the Cubs for Ivan DeJesus in one of the most lopsided deals in MLB history. Imagine Sandberg and Mike Schmidt batting back-to-back in the Philadelphia lineup. He would become a perennial All-star and Gold Glove Award winner with ten straight All-star appearances and nine consecutive Gold Glove Awards. He has a Home Run title to his credit and a MVP Award to go with his Hall of Fame plaque. I currently have 777 unique cards of "Ryno" in my collection. Here are nine of them including some rookies, some relics, some short prints and an auto.

       
1983 Donruss #277 Ryne Sandberg RC
1983 O-Pee-Chee #83 Ryne Sandberg RC (The Canadian version of his rookie card.)
1985 Topps #713 Ryne Sandberg AS Autographed (In person auto not obtained by me.)

       
1997 Pinnacle Museum Collection #99 Ryne Sandberg
2004 Greats of the Game Forever Game Jersey Logo #RS Ryne Sandberg
2006 Greats of the Game Cubs Greats Memorabilia #SA Ryne Sandberg Bat

       
2006 SP Legendary Cuts Legendary Materials Gold #RS Ryne Sandberg Jsy/225
2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions #7b Ryne Sandberg Night SP (A short print variation from Upper Deck.)
2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini #78B Ryne Sandberg SP/With bat

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In 2014 my daughter graduated from high school and I became a grandfather as my son's daughter was born in Norfolk, Virginia. Here are nine cards from my collection all released in 2014.

       
2014 Stadium Club #140 Mookie Betts RC
2014 Topps Archives Stadium Club Firebrand Autographs #FBIR Ivan Rodriguez (This card is made of wood.)
2014 Topps Chrome Update #MB19 Jacob deGrom RC

       
2014 Topps Chrome Update #MB20 Mookie Betts RC
2014 Topps Tribute Tribute Traditions Autographs Sepia #TTJP Jim Palmer
2014 Topps Update #US26A Mookie Betts RC


2014 Topps Update #US50A Jacob deGrom RC
2014 Topps Update #US57 Jacob deGrom
2014 Topps Yellow #103 Miguel Cabrera/Joe Mauer/Mike Trout LL (This card was originally in my Mauer collection until I stopped collecting him. Then I moved it to my Cabrera collection but now it resides in my Trout collection.)

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Next up is the only player to have his number 42 jersey retired by every team in Major League Baseball. Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 making him the first African American to play Major League Baseball in the modern era. He played for one season in the Negro Leagues making the All-star team before embarking on a ten-year MLB career which saw him win Rookie of the Year honors, a Batting Championship, two Stolen Base titles, a MVP Award, a World Championship and six more All-star appearances. His stellar character led him to be an important ambassador in the Civil Rights movement after his playing days were over. As of this posting I have 382 unique Beckett recognized cards of Jackie. I've already showed you my vintage and game-used cards of him but here are nine more from my collection.

       
1961 Nu-Card Scoops #428 Jackie Robinson
1979 TCMA 50'S #291 Jackie Robinson
2001 Topps Gold #783 Jackie Robinson GM

       
2002 Ultra Fall Classic #37 Jackie Robinson
2003 Diamond Kings Silver Foil #160 Jackie Robinson RET
2003 SP Legendary Cuts Etched in Time 400 #JR Jackie Robinson


2007 SP Legendary Cuts #113 Jackie Robinson LL
2011 Topps Cognac Diamond Anniversary #80B Jackie Robinson
2011 Topps Heritage #140B Jackie Robinson/Wraps Up Hall Of Fame Career SP

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Today I am going to post nine cards from my favorite modern set and my second favorite set of all-time after the 1970 Topps set. I love the look of the 2000 Pacific Prism set and all of the parallels that mirror it. I thought that if I ever complete a rainbow of any player, I hoped it would be from this set. In addition to the attractive base set, there are 14 different parallels. Drops Silver, Holographic Blue, Holographic Gold, Holographic Mirror, Holographic Purple, Pebbly Dots, Premiere Date, Rapture Gold, Rapture Silver, Sheen Silver, Slider Silver, Texture Silver, Tinsel Silver and Woodgrain Silver. Some of them are a bit difficult to identify. Some are serial numbered on the fronts. Beckett lists others as being serial numbered even though there are no numbers on the cards. Including inserts, I have close to 200 cards from this set. If you have any parallels of players I collect available to trade, please contact me as I would like to add them to my collection, if I don't already have them. Here's a look at nine of the parallels from my collection.

       
2000 Pacific Prism Drops Silver #99 Derek Jeter
2000 Pacific Prism Holographic Gold #14 Greg Maddux
2000 Pacific Prism Holographic Mirror #133 Ken Griffey Jr.

       
2000 Pacific Prism Holographic Purple #128 Barry Bonds
2000 Pacific Prism Rapture Gold #97 Roger Clemens
2000 Pacific Prism Rapture Silver #20 Cal Ripken

        
2000 Pacific Prism Slider Silver #136 Alex Rodriguez T3
2000 Pacific Prism Tinsel Silver #29 Sammy Sosa
2000 Pacific Prism Woodgrain Silver #122 Mark McGwire

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Holy Cow! Next up is Phil Rizzuto. "The Scooter" followed thirteen years with the Yankees with forty years in the broadcast booth. A slick fielder known for his "small ball" playing style, Phil was a member of seven World Championship teams in ten trips to the fall classic during his thirteen year career resulting in numerous World Series records for shortstops. He was a five-time All-star and an AL MVP. The rest of America got a taste of Phil's play-by-play skills due to his cameo on Meatloaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light". I currently have 187 different cards of Phil in my collection. Here's a look at nine of them.

         
1952 Wheaties #BB8A Phil Rizzuto/Action (This card was cut from a Wheaties cereal box in 1952.)
1955 Bowman #10 Phil Rizzuto
1955 Topps #189 Phil Rizzuto

       
1956 Topps #113 Phil Rizzuto
1983 Topps 1952 Reprint #11 Phil Rizzuto
2001 Bowman Heritage '48 Reprints Relics #BHMPR Phil Rizzuto Seat B (This card features a chip of wood from a stadium seat in Yankee Stadium.)

       
2005 Upper Deck Hall of Fame Green #58 Phil Rizzuto
2011 Topps Diamond Anniversary #330B Phil Rizzuto SP
2014 Panini Hall of Fame Crusades Red #76 Phil Rizzuto

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In 2015 I lost my job at the NBC affiliate that I had worked at since 1985. I was about one month short of 30 years, producing commercials and directing local newscasts. We were told that we would no longer be producing the news and that our (big) sister station in Portland would be taking that over from us. I directed the final newscast in the station's history and then was sent home unemployed. I was told that I no longer "fit into their plans". Today there are two employees in the building at that station that had about 60 employees when I started there. It made for a rough end of the year for me as I immediately started looking for something else and found that people enjoyed interviewing me and hearing about what I had done but weren't calling me back. Here are nine cards from that year that I have in my collection.

       
2015 Panini Cooperstown Induction Signatures Green #8 Bruce Sutter/10 (Numbered 7/10)
2015 Topps #616B Kris Bryant Facing Left/Factory Set (I got this in my factory set.)
2015 Topps Five Star Autographs #FSATG Tom Glavine (This card made it's way into my collection from limitedbaseballcards.)

       
2015 Topps Mini Red #317 Clayton Kershaw BH (Phillies_Joe threw this in as an extra in a trade I made with him for some 2015 Topps Minis. It's numbered 3/5!)
2015 Topps Tribute Relics Green #TRMTR Mike Trout
2015 Topps Tribute Relics Orange #TRDJ Derek Jeter


2015 Topps Tribute Relics Orange #TRJD Joe DiMaggio (All three of these beautiful Tribute relic cards came from bigdaddyq.)
2015 Topps Update #US82 Francisco Lindor RC
2015 Topps Update Snow Camo #US227 Mike Trout