World Series Bound

 Hello friends!

Last night the Toronto Blue Jays did something they haven't done since 1993: Advance to the World Series. 

The Series starts Friday in Toronto and from what I'm hearing, there's quite the price gouge going on. 

A lot has changed in the 32 years between World Series Appearances by the Jays. 

The team was sold to Rogers Communications. In 1993, you'd find maybe 80 games televised. Most of them on TSN, but also on CBC or CTV. Now unless it's a streaming exclusive, all games are on Sportsnet. 

So many players and personnel have come and gone.. 1993 had the wonderful Tom Cheek and Jerry Howarth on radio. Now, I couldn't even tell you who broadcasts the radio side. 

TV was another matter altogether. With three networks sharing rights, you had multiple teams. One of them, oddly enough was Buck Martinez and Dan Shulman. 

Now, it's Dan and Buck with Joe Siddall or Dan's son subbing in the odd time. 

The Stadium has changed. The former SkyDome (though people still call it that) is now the Rogers Centre. 

Here's what it looked like early in its lifespan and now. 

Now.. 

There have been 88 players who batted in a Dodgers and a Blue Jays uniform.

53 have pitched in both. 

Some of the names you may know: 

Others who I'm not going to hunt for cards of include Ron Fairly, David Wells, Max Scherzer, Brandon Morrow, John Axford, Alfredo Griffin, Tom Candiotti, Tom Hutton, Jeff Kent, Fred McGriff, Hun Jim Ryu, Devon White, Jim Gott, Mark Guthrie, Bill Singer, Dave Stewart, and Pat Venditte. 

Now.. Obviously, I want the Jays to win. This may be the only series other than the Jays/Yankees series I'd be upset if the Jays lose. 

The Series starts Friday... WORLD SERIES, HERE WE COME.. 

Game 7

 Hello friends!

Tonight is game 7 of the ALCS. The Jays are 0-1 historically in Game 7s.. The only other time the Jays played in a Game 7 was the 1985 ALCS. They had a 3-1 lead going into game 5.. And lost games 5, 6, and 7.

Tonight, it's Shane "Don't call me Justin" Bieber vs George Kirby. The winning team faces the Dodgers. 

Now, here's where I'll probably shock or make you wonder if I'm a doppleganger.. 

While I want the Jays to win. They are my team obviously, I wouldn't be upset with the Mariners winning. They are an interesting team. What I do know is I'd like whoever makes it from the 1977 expansion series to beat the Dodgers in the World Series.

Blue Jays Win

 Hello Friends!

So last night the Blue Jays beat the Yankees in the ALDS to advance to the ALCS. This was after having a not so great game in Game 3 and a bullpen game for Game 4. 

There were many that were convinced the Yankees would end up winning the series. That the first two games were flukes. It's typical to be overlooked by Yankee and, sometimes, Red Sox fans.. I'm curious if anyone else is underestimating the Jays... 

Now, the Jays wait to see who they'll face. It could be the Tigers or the Mariners. 

If it's the Tigers, it's a renewal of the rivalry the teams had in the 80s. From the time the Jays became good until the Tigers aged out, the East had the Jays and Tigers as a heated rivalry. 

1987 the Jays lead the division until the final week. In that week, Tony Fernandez broke his elbow in a game against the Tigers. The Jays lost out the season.. 

1984, the Tigers got off to that huge lead. 1985 the Jays won the division. 

Overall, from 1977 to 2025, the Jays are 251-215 against the Tigers. 

The other option is the Mariners. 

The expansion cousins of the Jays, though there were puppeteers trying to finesse the Jays to be given to Washington instead. The whole idea of appeasing the politicians to keep them from looking into baseball's antitrust exemption. 

Seattle, of course, got the Mariners after the Seattle Pilots were so poorly financed they were bought and moved to Milwaukee after one season. It didn't help they were also playing in a horrid stadium (kind of like what the Jays played in originally) But they were given a promise of an expansion team if they got a stadium built, mainly to appease the Washington State politicians blustering about the antitrust exemption.. 

Unlike the Jays, the Mariners took a long time to find success on the field. While they're still waiting for their first World Series appearance, it's nice to see them winning more games than they're losing lately. 

Now, head to head, the Jays are 228-209 against the Mariners, but the Mariners hold a 2-0 record in the playoffs against Toronto. 

Either way, the matchups can be interesting. Either way I'm saying "GO JAYS!"

Card Show Virginity Lost

 Hello friends!

Today, as the title suggests, was my first card show ever attending. It was the first show the organizer put on in the area. They normally do them in Ajax, but heard Peterborough was an untapped market, so they decided to run one today.. 

As you can see, they're planning another one next month. From what I'm gathering, they want to do a couple test shows to gauge interest on whether or not they continue. 

I wanted to take a pic inside the hall, but I didn't really want to because I didn't want to get anybody too clearly on camera. It's a conference room in the same building as one of the arenas in town. It used to be known as the Evinrude Centre, but is now Healthy Planet Arena. 

I have to say, for someone with anxiety issues and general people issues, it wasn't too bad.. I was able to focus enough to not get overwhelmed. I did describe it as a mix of people and chaos.. One vendor I told that to liked that description.. 

So I guess you'd like to see what I picked up, eh? 

First on my show list are two sets. 1991 Gold Leaf Rookies and the 1985 Blue Jays team set. I got them both for $20 total. They were half off the sticker price. 

I got this at another table. The first table I went to, actually.. I picked out a stack of 30 cards. They were $1 each or 7 for $10, I think. I got the stack for $30.. Now looking at this Hill card, I'm wondering if I stumbled on an autographed card that cost me less than a buck? 

The actual cards have no sigs, so.... 

Another vendor I bought from had some vintage (including 60s-80s OPC... I hope he's back in November. I'd like to see what he has there)

I already have the Parrish Topps but it helps to the Million Expos.. As did a few pickups I had here. 

One the Wallach Collector will never have.. *manaical laugh* 

I'm not really actively collecting the DKs, but I couldn't really pass up early 80s DKs. They're purty.... 

I didn't know this one existed so when I saw it I pounced.

A guy who never panned out. 

Again, I'm not actively collecting these, but I just liked the look of it. Who knows. This and the other DKs I picked up might end up finding homes elsewhere.. 

I didn't know I had this one already but Million Expos!

Something I've never seen before. These are panels of three stickers that came from Hostess chips in 1990. I must find the rest now.. 

Matt Brash. These are the first two cards of his that I've actually catalogued as having, so.. 

I know I got the panel, but when I saw the individual for a buck, why not?

Lots of Can-Con here.. Myles Naylor is the latest of the Naylor brothers to be drafted. Josh on the Mariners, Bo on the Guardians, and Myles in the A's system. Now if only they all played the same position.. 

I knew for a fact I didn't have that yellow Clement.. 

A couple Vlads to end it off.. 

So overall, the experience was interesting. I did spend the entire amount I allotted myself, though it will end up biting me in the ass later this month when it comes to groceries and other incidentals.. 

(My imposed limit was $60, which included the $5 entry fee) 

AL East Champions

 Hello friends!

Sunday was the end of the regular season for MLB. Quite a few races and seeding came down to the final day. 

The Jays and Yankees went into Sunday in an effective tie. The only way the Jays could not be the division winner was to lose against Tampa and the Yankees win.. 

Both teams won. In prior years, it would mean game 163. A win or go homegame to determine the champ. This year, they used a tie breaker system. The Jays, by virtue of winning the season series, had the tiebreaker. 

As a result the Jays are off till the weekend. This is their first division title since 2015. 

Ottawa Stadium

 Hello Friends!

Today I want to revisit a series I was doing a while back about stadiums. I've been reading the book From Bytown to the Big Leagues. 150 Years of Baseball in Ottawa

It struck me as odd how baseball never really took off in Ottawa like it did elsewhere in Ontario and Quebec. 

The site I want to talk about today is Ottawa Stadium, built in 1993 for the Ottawa Lynx. 

There were a few sites suggested for the park, but the spot above was chosen. 

Almost as soon as the Lynx left in 2007, suggestions to replace the stadium were floated. They included a concert venue, a casino, A Convention Centre, or retail and office space.

Ultimately they decided to keep the stadium and renovate it. 

The Ottawa Rapidz moved in for one season before declaring bankruptcy. Another team was set to replace them in the CanAm League but the team never got off the ground. 

In 2009 talks were again floated to either dismantle the stadium or renovate it to be able to use it year round, including Winterlude, the Ottawa winter festival. 

In 2010, the Intercounty Baseball League voted to have a team in Ottawa. That team, the Fat Cats, had to pay for other teams' accomodations due to the distance from the rest of the league (For example, Ottawa is about a four hour drive from Toronto) The team tried to get that reduced or changed but the league wouldn't change their terms. The lease of the stadium also jumped to an unreasonable amount. 

Around the end of the Fat Cats, the city of Ottawa was trying to make the city and stadium attractive to a Double A Team. 

Instead of getting a Double A team, they got a Can Am League team, the Ottawa Champions. 

In 2020, the Can Am League merged with the Frontier League. That, plus the covid issues, meant Ottawa had no team in 2020. 

The Frontier League ended up having a team in Ottawa, called the Titans. The Titans still play in the Frontier League today

So.. Who all played here??

Ottawa Lynx (IL) 1993-2007

Ottawa Rapidz (CAL) 2008

Ottawa Fat Cats (IBL) 2010-2012

Ottawa Champions (CAL) 2015-2019

Ottawa Titans (FL) 2022-present

The stadium had a number of names: 

JetForm Park 1993-2002

Lynx Stadium 2002-2007

Ottawa Baseball Stadium 2008-2015

Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park 2015-2021

Ottawa Stadium 2022-present

Obviously, this was not the first park used in Ottawa.. I think next time I do one of these, I might just look at the first park used for professional baseball in the Nation's Capital, Lansdowne Park. 

Archives Vs Original

 Hello Friends!

A couple posts ago, I wondered about how many cards in Archives that showed a retired player used a design they appeared on when active. 

That has been percolating in my head since then. So today I'm taking a look at 2018 Archives and showing the instances where a player has a card and comparing it to their original. 

(Does that make sense?)

Perfect example here. This card above is the 1959 Hank Aaron card. 

This one is the 2018 Archives version. The colour is different, the logo used for the team is different. They also added the "er" to Outfield. And a Trademark.. 

The facsimile signature is different too, with Henry on the original and Hank on the Archives. 

This was rather weird to me. The only Larry Doby card I could find in 59 was this teammates card with Minnie Minoso and Rocky Colavito. 

He did get a solo card in Archives though. 

Sandy Koufax in 59. I want to say it looks like the picture was taken somewhere near the mountains. The Dodgers logo is interesting here too. 

In Archives, they have Koufax back in Brooklyn. Somehow I think they do this with the Dodgers shown in the 59 portion.. 

Ol' Red... I hate trying to remember how to spell this guy's last name. He was a Brave in 59

In Archives he's a Cardinal. I think that's where he's better remembered. I know the Cards have used the interlocking StL for much of their history, but for some reason the one in the logo spot looks out of place. I can't really describe it. 

Duke Snider. Another Dodger. I want to say it at least looks like it's in a stadium. Maybe Spring Training? 

In the Archives version, again he's back in Brooklyn. Looks like Ebbets Field. 

Warren Spahn has the same thoughts going on here for me as the Aaron above with the logo. 

It looks like he's listening intently to someone.. 

The famed posed picture for Archives here. I wonder if they ran the photo through editing software to make the photo less washed out. 

Finally for the 59 portion, Hoyt Wilhelm. In 59 he was an Oriole. 

In Archives, he's a White Sox. (Sock?) I like the old style logo being used here as opposed to the modern interlocking Sox. 

The next design used was 1977. I honestly have a love/hate relationship with 77. Expansion Jays but at the same time, it's a bland set to me.. Anyway..

1977 Bench has the All Star banner on it. The letters are nice and squished together and Bench is looking like he's ready to do damage to a baseball. 

Archives shows a posed swing from Spring Training I believe. Also, is it me, or does it seem like the facsimile autos are much larger on the Archives compared to the originals?

Brett was an all star as well. Much easier to read than the NL All Star banner. 

Archives shows, to me, an older Brett. The autos have changed quite a lot between the original and Archives. 

Willie McCovey 1977 

Is it me, or does it look like he added a smiley face to his last name? I see a small C, then two dots, and the curve of the end of the M under the dots. c:)

The Archives one shows the 'Stick.. I wonder if it was taken one of the years they had artificial turf.. Possibly, since it had the turf field from 1970-1978. I really like the photo here and the Smiley is even more noticeable in the signature used.. 

Brooks Robinson 1977. Could be Memorial Stadium? In any event, posed photo. 

The Archives card again shows a posed photo, but with the vacuum cleaner attached to his left hand. Again, I think it's Memorial Stadium. Another one I really like. 

Bruce Sutter in 1977 was a rookie.. This was his rookie card. He was a Cub. 

Archives has Bruce looking like Grizzly Adams and as a Cardinal. 

Don Sutton in 1977. Either that's a Spring Training photo or they decided to have him pose on someone's farm.. 

Archives shows Sutton staring intently for phantom signs. 

1977 Dave Winfield. Some of the Padres uniforms were interesting. I liked the ones they used here and the early 80s.. 

Archives with another nice photo of Dave. 

Robin Yount in 1977. Rob Yount?

Archives. He looks so young here. I'm also not quite used to the "M" logo being used. Ah well.. 

The final design being used was 1981

1981 Carew. All Star. 

Archives. I think aside from the added letters to the position (First Baseman rather than First Base) this one looks the closest to the originals.. 

Reggie All Star in 1981. 

Archives shows a pre-at bat Reggie. 

Fergie Jenkins in 1981. He was a Ranger. 

In Archives, they threw him on the Cubs. I know he's better known as a Cub, but there are other teams he played for. 

Joe Morgan in 1981 was a member of the Astros. I forget that the Astros wore white uniforms on the road as well at the time.. 

Archives shows Morgan as a Red. As with Fergie above, he's best known as a Red, but there are other teams he played for that would be nice to see represented. 

Tony Perez was a Red Sox player in 1981. 

Archives shows him as a member of the Reds. 

Nolan Ryan in 1981. Member of the Astros. 

Archives. Showing him as a Ranger. 

Finally Willie Stargell. Now, since Willie was a Pirate his whole career, I'm not going to say much. I am disappointed they didn't use the same hat design for the Archives version. That would have been really cool. 

So there you have it. The guys who showed up in Archives in the same card design as one they appeared in during their playing days. These were all from 2018 Archives. I know there are other years to look at and I may just do that if there's interest.