u/Justa_Guy_Gettin_By

Braves lost, Caps lost, now it all comes down to Brock and the Niners...

One of those cards which is absolutely even better in hand. 1997 new pinnacle museum collection.

Mr. Padre and the Moose. Whether it's a base card or the spectrum parallel, these just slap IMHO. I'm picking them up like hotcakes.

Yes, even in this INSANE market for KGJ you can still find some fun stuff in the virtual value bin. And I don't normally think twice about Reds Griffey but this one made me flip the script.

Say hello to Braves legend and 1948 ROY, Al Dark. Known better for his time with the Giants, I had no idea. He also got 3rd in MVP votes that year, though Stan the Man absolutely earned it.

And third place for that ROY vote? Some guy named Richie Ashburn who I heard was okay.

I've had several fun mail days mixed in the chaos, and as part of that I am behind on some thank you posts.

However, tonight I'm showing off a little side quest I've been on...1998-99 SPx Finite Jordans. There may not be a more cost effective way, even in this INSANE market, to get a serial numbered playing days MJ on a nice looking card. Upper Deck Black Diamonds are another favorite of mine for that reason.

I'm up to 6 so far for the set, after these 3 came in recently. And yes there are bigger ones I'll never touch. 😭 I'll settle for filling a 9 slot binder page.

Hey man, was that a short joke?!

Oh naw bro, you know that's beneath me. I wouldn't stoop to that level.

Because why not another 58 auto? Plus it's a new opportunity to learn the story of a not well known player. As is often the case with non stars, the off the field stuff is much more interesting. Couple snippets from the SABR bio. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Lenny-Green/

In the off-seasons, Green was often invited to team functions and promotional events. In early 1964, he ranked tops among the players in a bowling tournament. He was also one of four Twins players named to an in-house committee to study the problem of planning for racially integrated housing arrangements at their Orlando spring training locale.

The Red Sox were the last major-league team to integrate, in 1959, and there were strong suspicions that there was an unspoken racial quota in place. Larry Moffi and Jonathan Kronstadt report a story from Earl Wilson: “When the Red Sox acquired two black players, pitcher John Wyatt and outfielder José Tartabull, on June 6, Wilson told his black roommate, Lenny Green, that there were now too many black players [seven] on the ball club. Although the remark was made half in jest…to no one’s surprise, the phone rang the next morning.” Wilson and Joe Christopher had been shipped to Detroit for Don Demeter and a player to be named later. A week later, Julio Navarro was named as that player. Now Green became a big help to one of the other black players, rookie George Scott. The two become roommates after Wilson left. Scott says, “He was definitely a tremendous help to me…trying to get me to recognize the curve ball and all of that. Lenny was not only good for me, Lenny was good for the Red Sox. He was one of them guys who knew where he was in baseball, and knew what he could do in baseball. And he’d just stretch out and help as many guys as he possibly could. And it wasn’t only the black guys.” Scott thought Green would have become a coach or manager had he played in a slightly later era.

It is criminal how long it took, and now we hear the sobering news of his illness, but Roger Craig now has a gold jacket and is among the legends where he belongs.

Seeing all the other 49ers icons from that dynasty hanging out together has been a lot of fun. But today is about the first member of the 1000/1000 club. Before Marshall and Christian, there was Roger.

Between Andruw Jones and now this, it feels like some small form of justice is finally being served in this crazy world.

Slowly moving down the line on a 50s run for Warren Spahn, today's addition comes from 57 Topps.

I'm thinking next stop should be either 53 or 58. We'll see what happens!

Little bit of history on this throwback Thursday. One of the more famous brawls involved these two on June 13, 1957.

https://www.nytimes.com/1957/06/14/archives/doby-hits-ditmar-is-put-out-of-game-dropo-slaughter-and-martin-also.html

Larry Doby was the first black player to confront a pitcher after a close call to the head by Art Ditmar. No official confirmation that it was racially motivated, but I'm sure some choice words were sent in both directions afterwards.

As the fray escalated, the 6'5" Dropo came to defend his teammate Doby, pulling Yankees off of him. Enos Slaughter got involved too, and ended up with a jersey torn to shreds. It got pretty wild apparently.

Five total players and personnel—including Slaughter, Dropo, Doby, and Billy Martin—were ejected from the game.

As always, this place rocks.

I received an extremely kind and well packaged gift from one of our own. Chock full o' Braves, Caps, and a Terp. With a mix of old school and new, this package definitely pulled through!

Despite an unremarkable career, I picked up this seemingly random 56 common because the image was remarkable, at least to me. And as is tradition, that sent me to Wayne Terwilliger's SABR bio. It's a great read but I handpicked some sections for you all to skim.

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Wayne-Terwilliger/

In August 1943, two months after his 18th birthday, Terwilliger was ordered to report to boot camp in San Diego. After boot camp, he trained to be a radio operator and a machine gunner in an amphibious tank unit. In March 1944 he was assigned to the 2nd Armored Amphibian Battalion of the 2nd Marine Division, where he learned to operate amphibious tanks. Their role was to lead the way for the infantry assault on the Pacific Islands the military needed for airstrips. Terwilliger saw heavy action on Saipan, Tinian, and later Iwo Jima.

Playing baseball in the Marines had helped Terwilliger’s confidence and he developed into an outstanding second baseman who hit about .350 in college. In 1947 the Terwilliger-led Western Michigan team twice beat Michigan State and its future Hall of Famer Robin Roberts.

In the summers during college Terwilliger played for the semipro House of David team in Benton Harbor, about 50 miles from Kalamazoo. In addition to playing in the semipro Michigan-Indiana League, the club also played a number of exhibition games against barnstorming Negro League teams.

He went on to be a minor league manager, and later a coach, all the way up until 2010. Only Connie Mack had managed ball at a more advanced age.

Altogether, Terwilliger spent 62 years in professional baseball before retiring to his home in Weatherford, Texas, to play golf. Four years later he made news when, tired of sitting at home, he re-entered the workplace in 2014 at age 88, going to work sacking groceries at a local grocery store. Terwilliger passed away in 2021 at the age of 95.

The guy worked his whole life, and clearly loved baseball. So he deserves a spot in the vintage card binder. Thank you for your service Wayne. 🫡

Okay folks I need some advice. I have one mag case free and three different MJs to potentially take that spot. Which one makes the cut? All three of these are from my childhood collection.

After this I need to rearrange the display case with a fresh look. And yes, there will be some MJs.

I'm not at National, and all the heat everyone is posting has me wanting to shake things up with my display case. Because the next best thing to getting a bunch of amazing stuff for the PC is freshening up the eye candy you already own in your home office.

If you've been around you'll recognize some cards I've posted here before, but probably also see something new to you. While it could be done many ways my general vibe is:

Top row - pre Topps era

2nd row - 52 Topps (as required per Skelly)

3rd row - autos

Bottom row - miscellaneous (gifts from the wife, OPC, VZ, and non baseball)

Next time I'm feeling up to rearrange things I'll do a poll 😎

Took weeks to come in but worth the wait.

1999 Pacific Aurora - Complete Players HoloGold /25

HOF #6 and #11 overall from the set. How far this journey will go is anyone's guess.

And yeah, the JSA sticker on the card is not ideal, but the price was right. It'll do just fine.

It's Friday. It's Frank. You know the drill.

3 OG refractors: 1 atomic, 1 insane 96 season, and 1 lesser known Braves legend

It's funky

It's shiny

It's home