A Cracked Bat: Part 3

The third part of the cards Julie sent my way came in last week.. I will admit last week wasn't the best for me, so I apologize for not saying anything sooner. 

Anyway.. More Expos!

Sets like Archives, Lineage, and Heritage are great for keeping the Expos alive. Of course, with those you generally see the same guys: Raines, Dawson, Carter.. I'd love to see guys like Steve Rogers, Andres Galarraga, Moises Alou, and Larry Walker in Expos colours. I was amazed Topps found a Pedro Martinez photo to use as an Expo in this year's Archives. 

OPC Premier is an interesting set.. I know I've said it before, but I prefer the first year over the second year. I believe they did a 1993 set as well, but I've only seen a couple cards from it. 

The Circa cards.... Can you tell they're Fleer?? 

Hey speaking of Gary Carter, here he is, I believe from this year's Archives. 

More Circa as well. The three shown here can definitely tell the "Throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks" mentality they used for design in the mid 90s. 

Terrmel Sledge and Nick Johnson represent the darkness and a grey area.. 

They are from 2005.. Fleer had photos of the guys in Expos uniforms, but has that evil Nationals Logo on the bottom. (I'm sorry, Nationals fans... I just don't like the way the team moved. I also don't like how they selectively use the history of the Expos.) 

Anyway.. Thank you Julie!!! Assuming we avoid a postal strike and I get the motivation to continue my sorting, I hope to get something together for you.. Maybe I can use a possible strike to get motivated to sort... I don't know... We'll see.. 

Archives

I was amazed when I went to Walmart last week.. 

They actually had Archives in stock.. They also had some Bowman and other product available, but Archives.. I was shocked.. SHOCKED.. 

So I bought some.. 

I like the cards this year. I'm on the fence on whether or not I want to try to complete the set or not, but it may be something I look into. 

Goose Gossage's card looks more like a yearbook photo than a baseball card one.. 

Hey! I have a Canadian here.. Joey Votto is always nice to get. 

Nice Rookie History card with Jeff Bagwell. Also nice to see guys like Catfish Hunter and John Smoltz. 

This year, as we all know, Archives has The Sandlot inserts. I don't think it would be something I'd chase even if I go for the set. 

Some nice names here, otherwise.. Tommy Lasorda, George Brett, Warren Spahn.. 

Jack Morris shows up in a card that looks like it could very well be from 1977. 

I'm amazed... Shocked... That Topps acknowledged Pedro's time as an Expo here. Most of the time I see cards of him it's as a member of the Red Sox or Mets. 

So there's the blaster I bought.. I'll probably buy some more at some point. 

Trying to be Clever Sometimes Just Doesn't Work

As hard as I tried to come up with a clever title today.. It didn't work.. 

So I'm just going to get into it.. lol

Julie from A Cracked Bat reached out to me on Twitter asking for my address because she had some Expos to send me. Because of that wonderful imaginary line that is the border, trades can be trying at times. 

Anyway, she said she was going to send three PWEs to me. So far, I've received two of the three.. Oddly enough, I received the second before the first.. 

So... What was in those wonderful envelopes? 

I love the 1994 Triple Play. I think 1993 and 1994 were my favourite designs, but I just never had a chance to get either of them.. That said, I would like to find the set for both now.. 

I didn't notice it until now, but that first photo has three cards of players signing something. Dave Martinez, Cliff Floyd, and John Wetteland. 

You can tell the Skybox cards were put out by Fleer at this point, since the Fleer set from that year looks almost identical. 

Love those Donruss Press Proofs too.. 

A couple shinies here with Gridzielanek and Barrett. 

Finally.. I showed this card on my Twitter feed. I'm a sucker for minor league cards. This is amazing. It's a 1990 Best and really for a 1990 card, it's just amazing.. Love it. Full card photo. The Jacksonville Expos logo on the hat..

I'm looking forward to the third one to grace my doorstep sometime over the week.. Thank you Julie! I hope to be able to put something together for you. 

Cards in the Mail.. Who would have Guessed?

Well, today I got home from a long day at work and found not one, not two, but three packages with my name on them.. 

They contained cards! Even better!

First up was a 6 card Listia win from CrazieJoe. He just had the seller send them to me directly. I let him know I received them today.. 

1976 Expos.. Aren't they.... Glorious??? 

Though, I'm sure the Fred Scherman is an airbrush job. Looking up, he was with the Astros and Expos in 1975.

The second was a trade on the Trading Card Database from 49ants.

1979 Expos! I'm down to three needs for the team set there. 

I really like the blue uniforms. I think I'm in a minority when I say if the Expos ever come back, they need to have blue road uniforms. And the hats... 

The third package I'm going to show tomorrow, I think.. 

I have to say I'm really happy these came in.. Thanks!

A Forgotten Canadian

In this current sort, I came across a guy I either forgot was Canadian, or just didn't know he was.. 

That man's name is Dave Shipanoff.. 

He played 26 games in the majors for Philadelphia in 1985. His only major card issue seems to be 1986 Donruss/Leaf. *checks TCDB* Nope.. He also had a 1986 Fleer card made. The rest are regional and minor league issues. 10 cards total.. And those are probably going to be tough to find. 

Anyway.. Mr Shipanoff is from Edmonton Alberta and was signed by the Blue Jays as an Amateur Free Agent in 1980, since Canadian players weren't subject to the draft in those days. 

He worked his way through the Jays system until he was traded with Ken Kinnard and Jose Escobar for Len Matuszek on April 1, 1985. 

He played 26 games for the Phillies and spent the rest of 85 in the minors in Portland. 1986 was more time in Portland. 1987 he signed with the Angels and was assigned to Triple A again... This time.. In Edmonton. 

Not sure what he's up to or where he is now, but I just wanted to cover a guy I did not know was Canadian.. 

Labour Day And What It Means

Today is Labour Day. 

For me, that means it's the last day of summer before going back to work tomorrow. This weekend entailed calling the parents of the kids on my route, letting them know when the Big Yellow Monstrosity will be by to get their little darlings. 

It also means it's September, the final month of the season. For some teams, it means excitement. For others, it's a merciful end of a bad season.. 

This year... As a Jays fan... It's indifferent.. I almost don't expect the Jays to win many games at this point. That's what comes with being 31 games out of first, I guess.. 

But the other thing that this weekend has brought is a return to my trading activity on the Trading Card Database.. As I've been entering cards to trade, I've had a bunch of new trades come in. 

My card desk is almost sort of organized... 

And I have an update on my Million Expos Project..

As of right now, I have 2009 Expos cards. That just factors in the Topps Umbrella and O Pee Chee. 

And just because I can.. Here's a random John Gibbons Coaching card.. lol This is from a 2002 Jays team set.