bdj610's Topps Baseball Card Blog

It is Official. It was Confirmed Before, But Now I Know for Sure that...

2009-11-20T17:50:00.001-06:00

I am a big league dunderhead.

Thanks to commenter Brady James, not for pointing this not so new fact about myself, but because he asked if I had the Paul Molitor SP card from U & H (which by the way, I don't...), I realized that I left Molitor off not only from my wantlists (on both my last post and the wantlist on the sidebar), but also from this article.

I should really, really learn how to count. There are 25 SP's, and I only jotted down 24 on the list. When I get home tonight, I will update the above post with this little factoid:

#UH65 Joe Mauer, #UH65b Paul Molitor.

To answer Brady James, no, I still need the card. If you have it, please let me know. Thanks for the heads up. I'm going to go lie down now.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

I Might Not Be Able to Go to the Sun-Time Show This Weekend...

2009-11-20T13:00:00.002-06:00

And I feel horrible about it. As has been the case for most of the summer, money has been tight, and priorities shifted. Money that would have normally been set aside for cards and the Hobby have gone to other, more important things.

But a couple of weeks ago, thanks to a bit of good timing, a bit of extra cash, and a much needed day off, I finally bought some cards that I've been waiting to get for some time. I now have master sets (base and basic insert sets) for both the 2009 Topps Updates and Highlights and 2009 Topps Allen & Ginter sets.

The 2009 Topps U & H set I purchased includes all 330 base cards, the 30-card Propoganda set (beautiful by the way), the 50-card conclusion to the Turkey Red continuity set, the 25-card conclusion to the Ring of Honor set, both 25-card Toppstown and Toppstown Gold sets, and the 25-card conclusion to the Legends of the Game set. That's 510 cards. I also bought a few U & H packs at Target and got one of the exclusive Legends cards (Roger Maris #LLG24).

So all I need now are the following cards and SP's and I can call my 2009 Topps Baseball set done (write these cards down and see if you have them please...):

2009 Topps MLB Short-Prints Series 2:

#353b Cal Ripken, Jr.
#475b Mike Schmidt
#476b Juan Marichal
#490b Nolan Ryan
#495b Brooks Robinson

2009 Topps Updates & Highlights Short-Prints:

#47b Duke Snider
#48b Roger Maris
#52b Bo Jackson
#65b Paul Molitor
#71b Rogers Hornsby
#71c Ryne Sandberg
#98b Honus Wagner
#103b Wade Boggs
#148b Tris Speaker
#150b Ty Cobb
#153b George Sisler
#186b Christy Mathewson
#198b Cy Young
#232b Nolan Ryan CAL
#232c Nolan Ryan NYM
#250b Johnny Mize NYY
#250c Johnny Mize NYG
#253b Reggie Jackson CAL
#253c Reggie Jackson OAK
#260b Willie McCovey
#281b Jimmie Foxx
#318b Rickey Henderson
#325b Frank Robinson
#330b Babe Ruth BSB
#330c Babe Ruth BOS

2009 Topps Walmart Legends of the Game Series 2:

LLP12 Jackie Robinson
LLP13 Babe Ruth
LLP14 Honus Wagner
LLP15 Lou Gehrig
LLP16 Nolan Ryan
LLP18 Thurman Munson
LLP20 George Sisler

2009 Topps Walmart Legends of the Game U & H:

LLP21 Babe Ruth
LLP22 Rickey Henderson
LLP23 Roger Maris
LLP24 Nolan Ryan
LLP25 Reggie Jackson
LLP26 Steve Carlton
LLP27 Tony Gwynn
LLP28 Paul Molitor
LLP29 Brooks Robinson
LLP30 Wade Boggs

2009 Topps Target Legends of the Game Series 2:

LLG13 Babe Ruth

2009 Topps Target Legends of the Game U & H:

LLG21 Rickey Henderson
LLG22 Ozzie Smith
LLG23 Babe Ruth
LLG25 Nolan Ryan
LLG26 Reggie Jackson
LLG27 Frank Robinson
LLG28 Ryne Sandberg
LLG29 Steve Carlton
LLG30 Johnny Bench

Meanwhile, the 2009 Topps Allen & Ginter set I now own consists of the 350 base cards (with all SP's), the 25-card Highlight Sketches set, and the 75-card National Pride set (I just concern myself with the regular-sized insert cards, I don't have the room or storage capabilities for the minis or the big cards). That's another 450 cards I now own.

I also was able to snag the five card retail-exclusive Rookie Variation cards (numbered JCP1-JCP5...must have been a JC Penney thing). The cards are of:

JCP1 Rick Porcello, Tigers
JCP2 David Price, Rays
JCP3 Koji Uehara, Orioles
JCP4 Colby Rasmus, Cardinals
JCP5 Jordan Schafer, Braves

After going over the numbers, I can now change the number of cards in the "bdj610's Official Card Collection Count Stands At" section to 44,621 cards and counting.

Wait, that doesn't sound right. The last count had the collection at 43,657 cards. I just added 966 cards to the collection. How did I wind up two cards short???

(taking a minute to double check figures...)

Okay, I see it. I did add 966 cards to the collection, but I miscalculated the number of series 2 SP's in the 2009 set (I have 12 of the 17 cards, not 14 as I had on the my spreadsheet). So the adjusted, and correct total now stands at 44,621.

So while I have some cards to put in binder sheets this weekend, I'm still ticked that I now don't have any extra funds to go to the show. And I could have used the show to whittle down the SP's. Oh well.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

P.S. If anyone has any hobby factory sets (or if the Holiday Factory sets are out), and don't want the bonus Rookie cards, could you please let me know if you would be willing to send them my way too??? Between the two sets, there should be twenty cards total. jba

Card # 9 Now Officially Belongs to...

2009-11-19T13:22:00.002-06:00

Last week, I mentioned that Topps reserved six cards for the AL and NL award winners that were going to be announced this week. Now we know who gets card #9.

Congratulations to Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants for winning the National League Cy Young Award (for the second consecutive year). While he was considered one of the favorites to win the award, he had some stiff competition, especially with two St. Louis Cardinal teammates also vying for the award.

Card #9 will now be of Lincecum, the Giants' All-Star ace who started the ASG for the NL and also led the league with 261 K's to go with a 15-7 record and 2.48 ERA, (100 points, 11 first-place votes), who beat out a field that included Cardinals teammates Chris Carpenter (94, 9) and Adam Wainwright (90, 12 first-place votes), Javier Vasquez of the Braves (3), and Dan Haren of the Diamondbacks (1).

Let the debates continue. Did your guy win???

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's End of Year MLB All-Star Teams: 1991 Edition

2009-11-18T12:00:00.004-06:00

It's now 1991, and I've just survived my freshman year in high school. By the time I named my 1991 End of the Year All-Star Teams, I was now the theatre's construction manager, as well as an extremely busy sophomore. I followed baseball a bit more closely over the summer, and as usual, the Cubbies didn't fare so well, although that other team had a good year. It was also the year that two last place teams the year before, met in the World Series for the very first time (Twins and Braves).

As I mentioned in my last All-Star introduction post, when it came to picking teams in the early 90's, all it involved was using the players from the actual All-Star Game, and plugging in the holes as needed to fill out the rest of the positions. So while it was not yet picking the best of the best yet, the players chosen for my 1991 teams deserved to be there. There are 10 pitchers on each team (six starters, four closers), and because the 1992 ASG would be in San Diego, there was no DH needed. So the rosters contracted to 34 players per team.

Let's cut to the chase. Without further ado, for the first time online, I am proud to introduce my 1991 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams (in alphabetical order by position):

(Ignore the blank space. On feeds and on other blog sites like Sculu, it all looks normal, but on Blogger, the space remains...)

American League

First Basemen

Cecil Fielder, Tigers
Mark McGwire, Athletics
Rafael Palmeiro, Rangers

Second Basemen

Roberto Alomar, Blue Jays
Julio Franco, Rangers
Steve Sax, Yankees

Third Basemen

Wade Boggs, Red Sox
Paul Molitor, Brewers
Robin Ventura, White Sox*

Shortstops

Felix Fermin, Indians*
Ozzie Guillen, White Sox
Cal Ripken, Orioles

Outfielders

Harold Baines, Athletics
Joe Carter, Blue Jays
Ken Griffey, Jr., Mariners
Dave Henderson, Athletics
Rickey Henderson, Athletics
Kirby Puckett, Twins
Tim Raines, White Sox
Ruben Sierra, Rangers
Danny Tartabull, Royals*

Catchers

Carlton Fisk, White Sox
Brian Harper, Twins*
Mickey Tettleton, Tigers

Pitchers

Rick Aguilera, Twins*
Roger Clemens, Red Sox
Dennis Eckersley, Athletics
Bryan Harvey, Angels*
Jimmy Key, Blue Jays*
Mark Langston, Angels
Jack McDowell, White Sox*
Jack Morris, Twins
Jeff Reardon, Red Sox
Scott Sanderson, Yankees*

Manager:

Tom Kelly, Twins

The Starters:

1B: Fielder
2B: Alomar
3B: Boggs
SS: Ripken
OF: Griffey, Jr.
OF: D. Henderson
OF: R. Henderson
C: Fisk
P: Morris

*First-Time All-Star

National League

First Basemen

Will Clark, Giants
John Kruk, Phillies*
Eddie Murray, Dodgers

Second Basemen

Delino DeShields, Expos*
Juan Samuel, Dodgers
Ryne Sandberg, Cubs

Third Basemen

Howard Johnson, Mets
Terry Pendleton, Braves
Chris Sabo, Reds

Shortstops

Tony Fernandez, Padres
Barry Larkin, Reds
Ozzie Smith, Cardinals

Outfielders

George Bell, Cubs
Bobby Bonilla, Pirates
Brett Butler, Dodgers*
Ivan Calderon, Expos
Andre Dawson, Cubs
Tony Gwynn, Padres
Felix Jose, Cardinals*
Paul O'Neill, Reds*
Darryl Strawberry, Dodgers

Catchers

Craig Biggio, Astros
Benito Santiago, Padres
Mike Scioscia, Dodgers

Pitchers

Tom Browning, Reds
Rob Dibble, Reds
Tom Glavine, Braves*
Pete Harnisch, Astros*
Dennis Martinez, Expos
Ramon Martinez, Dodgers
Mike Morgan, Dodgers*
John Smiley, Pirates*
Lee Smith, Cardinals
Frank Viola, Mets

Manager:

Bobby Cox, Braves

The Starters:

1B: Clark
2B: Sandberg
3B: Sabo
SS: Smith
OF: Calderon
OF: Dawson
OF: Gwynn
C: Santiago
P: Glavine

Eighteen players are first-time all-stars (9 for the American League, 9 for the Nationals). One-person teams on my 1991 rosters include the Brewers (Molitor), Indians (Fermin), Mariners (Griffey, Jr.) Orioles (Ripken), Royals (Tartabull), Giants (Clark), and Phillies (Kruk). The Dodgers send seven representatives to the NL roster, leading both leagues. The Athletics, White Sox (Chicago bias rules!!!), and Reds each send five players to their respective squads.

As always, seven regular games (10,000 simulations each, six with the same starting pitchers, one where lineups and starting pitchers change), and one All-Star Game will be simulated during the course of the week. I hope to have the results of all the games by the end of the week.

Now it's time for me to create the .DAT files before getting the games set. You know, putting my imagined All-Star Teams to the 'net, and the added fun of simulating games with them, is really rejuvinating. And a whole lot of fun. I'm actually enjoying this.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's 1990 End of Year All-Star Teams Simulated Games Results

2009-11-18T09:00:00.007-06:00

I have finally finished simulating the All-Star Games using my 1990 End of Year All-Star Teams. And the results are pretty surprising.

Just like the first three times, I simulated seven games (six series between starters, and one series where the lineups, starting rotations changed on a daily basis), by playing each one 10,000 times.

The first six games I simulated used each starting pitcher on both sides at least once, and all position players started a minimum of two games each. Here are the results:

Game 1: NL vs. AL, Jack Armstrong vs. Bob Welch. The NL wins 5,138 games out of 10,000 simulations (using a DH).
Game 2: NL vs. AL, Neal Heaton vs. Dave Steib. The AL wins 5,806 games (using a DH). Big highlight was a game where Rob Dibble struck out 21 batters pitching 12 innings of relief (only in a simulation can this happen...I don't understand why...)
Game 3: AL vs. NL, Bret Saberhagen vs. Ramon Martinez. The NL wins 5,216 games. Martinez pitched 14 no-hitters.
Game 4: AL vs, NL, Roger Clemens vs. Dennis Martinez. The AL wins 5,375 games.
Game 5: AL vs. NL, Chuck Finley vs. Frank Viola. The NL wins 5,029 games in a very close series.
Game 6: NL vs. AL, Jack Armstrong vs. Randy Johnson. The NL wins 5,450 games (using a DH). The reason why Armstrong started this series was that I only had five starters in the NL rotation while the AL had six.
Game 7: NL vs. AL, anything goes. The AL wins 5,207 games (using a DH).

So the NL wins the regular series 4 games to 3. For the official All-Star Game, I decided to just simulate one game and one game only. The starting pitchers were Armstrong and Welch and I let them pitch two innings (unless they struggled badly). The rest of the pitchers would get one inning each (unless they struggled badly). The position players were replaced every three innings. No pinch hitters here, (as in previous tries, the pinch hitter is taken out of the game). The DH's (Ron Gant of the NL and Dave Parker of the AL) were never replaced.

The starting lineups, first for the National League (I'm using 1991 Topps cards because these are the cards I used to imagine my All-Star teams):

Now the American League starting lineup:

Here is the result:

The 1990 NL All-Stars beat the 1990 AL All-Stars by a final score of 9-5.

The box score is below (Just click on the picture to take a closer look.

The scoring plays were like this:

Bottom 3: Ramon Martinez pitching. Ken Griffey, Jr. grounds out to Chris Sabo (5-3). Rickey Henderson singles. Steve Sax strikes out. Mark McGwire walks, Henderson advances to second. Dave Parker hits a home run, Henderson scoring, McGwire scoring.

Top 4: Dave Steib pitching. Ryne Sandberg walks. Will Clark doubles, Sandberg advances to third. Andre Dawson singles, Sandberg scoring, Clark advances to third.

Top 6: Chuck Finley pitching. Tony Gwynn reaches first on an error by Brook Jacoby (E5). Ron Gant doubles, Gwynn advances to third. Bobby Bonilla doubles, Gwynn scoring, Gant scoring. Tim Wallach grounds out to Julio Franco (4-3), Bonilla advances to third. Barry Larkin singles, Bonilla scoring. Gregg Olson pitching. Benito Santiago reaches first on an error by Gregg Olson (E1), Larkin advances to second. Lonnie Smith hits a home run, Larkin scoring, Santiago scoring. Doug Jones pitching. Roberto Alomar grounds out to Alan Trammell (6-3). Eddie Muray hits a home run.

Bottom 6: Jeff Brantley pitching. Ivan Calderon walks. Alan Trammell singles, Calderon advances to second. Brook Jacoby walks, loading the bases. Carlton Fisk hits into a double play (5-4-3), Calderon scoring, Trammell advances to third, Jacoby out at second on the force out. Ellis Burks singles, Trammell scoring.

Top 7: Dennis Eckersley pitching. Tim Wallach hits a home run.

Your starters, Jack Armstrong and Bob Welch. Lonnie Smith is the MVP.
In the actual All-Star game using many of the players who participated in this simulation, the scoring was held to a minimum (helped by the rain). This was not the case in the simulation. If this game actually existed, the MVP would have definitely been Lonnie Smith (1-3, 1 hr, 3 rbi's to put the game away for good). Dennis Martinez earns the win, Chuck Finley suffers the loss, and this is the first simulation that I was able to get all 68 players in the game.

If you want to see the .DAT files that I used (I still don't know how to download these onto the blog , so please just take a look at the screen caps below). If anyone can e-mail me instructions, please do so at bdj610@hotmail.com. Below is the NL .DAT file, then the AL .DAT file:

Now that the 1990 All-Star Games are officially over, at noon today, I will introduce the 1991 End of Year All-Star teams. Simulations for games with those rosters to come hopefully by Sunday night.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Card # 155 Now Officially Belongs to...

2009-11-17T13:16:00.002-06:00

Last week, I mentioned that Topps reserved six cards for the AL and NL award winners that were going to be announced this week. Now we know who gets card # 155.

Congratulations to Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals for winning the American League Cy Young Award. While he was considered the favorite to win the award, he had some stiff competition, especially with three 19 game winners in the AL.

Card #155 will now be of Greinke, the Royals' All-Star ace who led the AL with a 2.16 ERA to go with a 16-8 record, (134 points, 25 first-place votes), who beat out a field that included Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (80, 2), Justin Verlander of the Tigers (14, 1), CC Sabathia of the Yankees (13 points), and Roy Halladay of the Blue Jays (11).

Let the debates continue. Did your guy win???

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Need Another Reason to Collect the 2009 Topps Legends of the Game Cards???

2009-11-16T17:12:00.002-06:00

According to this article from Symbian Developers Journal, Topps and a company called GetFugu, Inc, are joining forces, using GetFugu's "See It, Say It, Find It, Get It" vision, voice and location recognition services to enhance the "Legends of the Game" cards in 2009 Topps Baseball Series 1, Series 2 and Updates and Highlights.

Utilizing GetFugu's image recognition service, baseball fans who use their mobile device to capture an image of one of the enhanced cards will get additional information from the web relevant to that card. GetFugu's application will send the individual to the player's Wikipedia page, to the Topps' online store or to Topps on Ebay.com to purchase classic Topps products.

If this works with the Legends cards, who knows what will happen in 2010? And you thought those Legends cards were just made to utilize Topps' license with CMG players...

For more information about GetFugu, Inc, here is their website: http://www.getfugu.com/.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

More Things Added to 2010 Topps Baseball Series I

2009-11-16T16:48:00.002-06:00

It's a slow news day, but Topps has decided to put out a bit more information about the product that will be unleashed to the masses around January 18, 2010. While most of the information is pretty much "old news," here are some tidbits that I thought were interesting, courtesy of the number one source in the Hobby:

Okay, so the "Cards Your Mother Threw Out" insert set is a reprint set that will appear 1:3 packs of regular (1:1 jumbo). The backs of each card will present a brief summary of the history of that year's design and certain quirks about that year's set (I am so looking forward to the 2006 Alex Gordon explanation). What I noticed today was that there will be a card "BACK" variation (called appropriately enough "The Cards Your Mom Threw Out Original Backs") to each of these cards which will come 1 per box, meaning these will be a lot harder to find. So if you want a set of cards that features the reverse of every year's Topps card from 1952 onwards, this is the set for you.

Other 1 per jumbo pack insert cards will include cards from the Legendary Lineage Past and Present (1:4 regular), Turkey Red (2007 design, 1:4), The History of the Game (great baseball moments, 1:6), Tales of the Game (quirky baseball moments, 1:6), Peak Performance (1:4), and When They Were Young (cards of current players as kids, 1:6). So add the gold parallel cards (1 in every pack, regardless), and the Toppstown card (also 1 in every pack regardless) and that means every jumbo pack will include 9 insert cards. Let's hope that every jumbo pack comes 39 per pack, otherwise it's not going to be easy to get a full base set (330 cards) from a box of 12 jumbo packs.

With the Yankees winning the World Series, it's all Yankees, all the time as Topps will include:

Yankees World Champion Autographs (5) #'d to 50.
Yankees World Champion Relics (15) #'d to 100.
Yankees World Champion Autographed Relics (5) #'d to 50. HOBBY & HTA ONLY

And finally, Topps has announced their plans with WalMart and Target. We get the blaster boxes with manufactured patches again. But more importantly, we're going to see the return of 1951 Topps Red Backs and Blue Backs. Each series (1, 2, U & H) will be 15 cards each, featuring stars from the past and today, with packs at WalMart getting the blue backs, and packs at Target getting the red backs.

Hey, it's only Monday. Can 2010 come any sooner???

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

P.S. The card of David Wright is included just to see if a couple of ladies out in New Mexico still read the blog. And while I initially thought it looked like he had grown his hair, it looks like the lights from the scoreboard made the clean cut third baseman's hair a lot longer than it really is. jba

Card #'s 235 and #275 Now Officially Belong to...

2009-11-16T15:16:00.004-06:00

Last week, I mentioned that Topps reserved six cards for the AL and NL award winners that were going to be announced this week. Now we know who gets both card #'s 235 and #275.

Congratulations to both Andrew Bailey of the Oakland Athletics and Chris Coghlan of the Florida Marlins for winning the American League and National League Rookies of the Year Awards. Until the announcements were made this afternoon, it was anybody's guess as to who would win either award, as both leagues had many worthy candidates.

Card #235 will now be of Bailey, the Athletics' All-Star closer (88 points, 13 first-place votes), who beat out a field that included Elvis Andrus of the Rangers (65, 8), Rick Porcello of the Tigers (64, 7), Jeff Niemann of the Rays (21 points), Gordon Beckham of the White Sox (10), and teammate Brett Anderson (4).

Card #275 now goes to native Floridian Coghlan, the Marlins left fielder and leadoff hitter (105 points, 17 first-place votes). He beat out ten other players for the award, including J. A. Happ of the Phillies (94, 10), Tommy Hanson of the Braves (37, 2), Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates (25, 2), Casey McGehee of the Brewers (18, 1), Randy Wells of the Cubs (3 points), Garrett Jones of the Pirates (2), Everth Cabrera of the Padres (1), Dexter Fowler of the Rockies (1), Gerardo Parra of the Diamondbacks(1), and Colby Rasmus of the Cardinals (1).

So begins a wild week were debates will come fast and furious. Did your guy win???

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

It's Awards Season

2009-11-13T14:31:00.002-06:00

With the World Series now over, and the Hot Stove League starting to warm up, we are now at the throngs of handing out the big awards. Now, earlier this week, MLB announced the winners for both the Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers, and as soon as the season ended, Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals and Aaron Hill of the Blue Jays were voted by their peers to be the NL and AL Comeback Players of the Year respectively.

So next week, the Cy Young, the Rookies of the Year, and the Most Valuable Player award winners will be announced (along with the Managers of the Year). As they have done in recent years, Topps will be including cards honoring the six award winners in their 2010 Topps Series I product. But of course, since they don't know who's going to win, they left the cards TBD (to be determined). So, unless the checklist somehow dramatically changes, here are the card numbers assigned to the Award Winners:

#009 NL Cy Young Award Winner
#155 AL Cy Young Award Winner
#172 AL Most Valuable Player
#235 AL Rookie of the Year (although for some reason, the checklist has Neftali Feliz here. Hmmmmmmm...)
#275 NL Rookie of the Year
#327 NL Most Valuable Player

It should make for an interesting debates when we round out the Series I checklist with next weeks announcements. Already, there has been arguments for and against the winners of the Gold Gloves and Silver Slugger Awards. I can't wait to read the shouting matches when these six are announced.

Then again, I'm still waiting on the All-Star Rookie Team.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Veteran's Day Thanks.

2009-11-11T12:00:00.001-06:00

On behalf of the staff of this humble little blog, I would like to thank all those who have either served, are currently serving, or will be serving their country shortly, for the sacrifices you've made for all of us so we may live our lives freely.

Regardless of how we feel about the wars our country is involved in, we all should take time to think about the brave men and women, whether stationed around the country, or around the world, representing our country, representing our people, doing the things that many of us could only imagine. They deserve our respect.

To all in the Armed Forces (the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard)...Thank You!!!

To make this post semi-baseball card related, I wrote about a little insert set from 2007 Topps called Distinguished Service. It's worth a read if you have the time.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's End of Year MLB All-Star Teams: 1990 Edition

2009-11-11T09:00:00.000-06:00

We're finally into the 1990's. By the time I named my 1990 End of the Year All-Star Teams, I was balancing high school homework and working as a lackey in the theater department. I followed baseball a bit more closely over the summer, and watched as the defending NL East champs wrote in their season. But the real All-Star Game was at Wrigley, and while I wasn't at the actual game, my aunt who lives on Addison allowed us to watch the game from her place. And we all know what happened at the game that night, right???

While I am still learning more about the game (I started picking up books about the history of baseball at this time too), when it came to picking teams in the early 90's, all it involved was using the players from the actual All-Star Game, and plugging in the holes as needed to fill out the rest of the positions. So while it was not yet picking the best of the best yet, the players chosen for my 1990 teams deserved to be there. There are 10 pitchers on each team (six starters, four closers), and because the 1991 ASG would be in Toronto, each team included a DH. So the rosters expanded to 35 players per team.

Let's cut to the chase. Without further ado, for the first time online, I am proud to introduce my 1990 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams (in alphabetical order by position):

(Lots of space here when I added the table. On feeds and on other blog sites like Sculu, it all looks normal, but on Blogger, the space remains...)

American League

First Basemen

Cecil Fielder, Tigers*
Mark McGwire, Athletics
Rafael Palmeiro, Rangers

Second Basemen

Julio Franco, Rangers
Steve Sax, Yankees
Lou Whitaker, Tigers

Third Basemen

Wade Boggs, Red Sox
Brook Jacoby, Indians*
Kelly Gruber, Blue Jays

Shortstops

Ozzie Guillen, White Sox
Cal Ripken, Orioles
Alan Trammell, Tigers

Outfielders

George Bell, Blue Jays
Ellis Burks, Red Sox*
Ivan Calderon, White Sox*
Jose Canseco, Athletics
Ken Griffey, Jr., Mariners*
Rickey Henderson, Athletics
Bo Jackson, Royals
Kirby Puckett, Twins
Robin Yount, Brewers

Catchers

Sandy Alomar, Indians*
Carlton Fisk, White Sox
Lance Parrish, Angels*

Designated Hitter:

Dave Parker, Brewers*

Pitchers

Roger Clemens, Red Sox
Dennis Eckersley, Athletics
Chuck Finley, Angels
Randy Johnson, Mariners*
Doug Jones, Indians
Gregg Olson, Orioles*
Bret Saberhagen, Royals
Dave Steib, Blue Jays*
Bobby Thigpen, White Sox
Bob Welch, Athletics*

Manager:

Jeff Torborg, White Sox

The Starters:

1B: McGwire
2B: Sax
3B: Boggs
SS: Ripken
OF: Canseco
OF: Griffey, Jr.
OF: Henderson
C: Alomar
DH: Parker
P: Welch

*First-Time All-Star

National League

First Basemen

Will Clark, Giants
Mark Grace, Cubs*
Eddie Murray, Dodgers*

Second Basemen

Roberto Alomar, Padres*
Tommy Herr, Mets
Ryne Sandberg, Cubs

Third Basemen

Chris Sabo, Reds*
Tim Wallach, Expos
Matt Williams, Giants*

Shortstops

Shawon Dunston, Cubs
Barry Larkin, Reds
Ozzie Smith, Cardinals

Outfielders

Barry Bonds, Pirates
Bobby Bonilla, Pirates
Kal Daniels, Dodgers*
Andre Dawson, Cubs
Lenny Dykstra, Phillies*
Tony Gwynn, Padres
Kevin Mitchell, Giants
Lonnie Smith, Braves*
Darryl Strawberry, Mets

Catchers

Greg Olson, Braves*
Benito Santiago, Padres
Mike Scioscia, Dodgers

Designated Hitter:

Ron Gant, Braves*

Pitchers

Jack Armstrong, Reds*
Jeff Brantley, Giants*
Rob Dibble, Reds*
John Franco, Mets
Neal Heaton, Pirates*
Dennis Martinez, Expos*
Ramon Martinez, Dodgers*
Randy Myers, Reds
Dave Smith, Astros*
Frank Viola, Mets

Manager:

Jim Leyland, Pirates

The Starters:

1B: Clark
2B: Sandberg
3B: Sabo
SS: Smith
OF: Dawson
OF: Dykstra
OF: Mitchell
C: Scioscia
DH: Gant
P: Armstrong

Twenty-nine new players are first-time all-stars (12 for the American League, 17 for the Nationals). One-person teams on my 1990 rosters include the Twins (Puckett), Yankees (Sax...this would be unheard of today), Astros (DSmith), Cardinals (OSmith), and Phillies (Dykstra). Both the Athletics and Reds send five representatives on the AL and NL rosters respectively, leading both leagues (figures, since both teams went to the World Series that year). The White Sox, Cubs (Chicago bias rules!!!), Dodgers, Giants, and Mets each send four players to their respective squads.

As always, seven regular games (10,000 simulations each, six with the same starting pitchers, one where lineups and starting pitchers change), and one All-Star Game will be simulated during the course of the week. I hope to have the results of all the games by the end of the week.

Now it's time for me to create the .DAT files before getting the games set. You know, putting my imagined All-Star Teams to the 'net, and the added fun of simulating games with them, is really rejuvinating. And a whole lot of fun. I'm actually enjoying this.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's 1989 End of Year All-Star Teams Simulated Games Results

2009-11-10T09:00:00.002-06:00

I have finally finished simulating the All-Star Games using my 1989 End of Year All-Star Teams. I'm getting a whole let better now that I kinda know what I'm doing (I'm sure by the time I'm done, I'll be an expert...wishful thinking).

Just like the first two times I ran these, I simulated seven games (five series between starters, one series with the full rotation but one regular lineup, and one series where the lineups, starting rotations changed on a daily basis), by playing each one 10,000 times.

The first five games I simulated used each starting pitcher on both sides at least once, and all position players started a minimum of two games each. Here are the results:

Game 1: AL vs. NL, Dave Stewart vs. Mike Scott. The NL wins 5,939 games out of 10,000 simulations.
Game 2: AL vs. NL, Chuck Finley vs. Orel Hershiser. The NL wins 5,806 games.
Game 3: NL vs. AL, Joe Magrane vs. Nolan Ryan. The AL wins 5,498 games (using a DH). Nolan Ryan pitched 16 no-hitters.
Game 4: NL vs, AL, Rick Reuschel vs. Mark Gubicza. The AL wins 5,453 games (using a DH). Tony Gwynn had hitting streaks of 30, 32, 41, and 42 games.
Game 5: NL vs. AL, John Smoltz vs. Greg Swindell. The NL wins 5,661 games (using a DH).
Game 6: AL vs. NL, each SP started 2,000 games. The AL wins 5,197 games.
Game 7: AL vs. NL, anything goes. The NL wins 5,190 games.

So the NL wins the regular series 4 games to 3. For the official All-Star Game, I decided to just simulate one game and one game only. The starting pitchers were Stewart and Scott and I let them pitch two innings (unless they struggled badly). The rest of the pitchers would get one inning each (unless they struggled badly). The position players were replaced every three innings. No pinch hitters here, (as in previous tries, the pinch hitter is taken out of the game...I couldn't figure out how to double switch here), but the game did ask me if I wanted to make double switches (to which the response was YES!!!)

The starting lineups, first for the American League (I'm using 1990 Topps cards because these are the cards I used to imagine my All-Star teams):

Now the National League starting lineup:

Here is the result:

The 1989 NL All-Stars beat the 1989 AL All-Stars by a final score of 9-3.

The box score is below (Just click on the picture to take a closer look.

The scoring plays:

Bottom 1: Dave Stewart pitching. Eric Davis triples. Ryne Sandberg grounds out to Wade Boggs (5-3). Will Clark singles, EDavis scoring. Tony Gwynn reaches on an error by Boggs, Clark advancing to second. Howard Johnson reaches on an error by Cal Ripken, Clark scoring, Gwynn advancing to third. Kevin Mitchell hits a home run, Gwynn scoring, Johnson scoring.

Top 2: Mike Scott pitching. Mark McGwire walks. Wade Boggs grounds into a double play to Ryne Sandberg (4-6-3), McGwire out. Ruben Sierra hits a home run.

Top 5: John Smoltz pitching. Steve Sax singles, reaches second on an error by Tim Raines (E8). Bo Jackson strikes out. Rickey Henderson singles, Sax advancing to third. Tony Fernandez singles, Sax scores, Henderson advancing to second.

Bottom 5: Mark Gubicza pitching. Larking flies out to Rickey Henderson (7). Von Hayes singles. Bobby Bonilla grounds out to Gubicza (1-3), Hayes advancing to second. Pedro Guerrero doubles, Hayes scoring.

Bottom 6: Doug Jones pitching. Craig Biggio reaches on an error by Don Mattingly (4-E3). Tim Burke strikes out. Tim Raines singles, Biggio advancing to second. Both runners advance via passed ball by Terry Steinbach. Tom Herr singles, Biggio scoring, Raines advancing to third. Mike Henneman pitching. Barry Larkin grounds into a fielders choice to Steve Sax (4-6), Raines scoring, Herr out at second.

Bottom 8: Jeff Russell pitching. Darryl Strawberry walks. Shawon Dunston strikes out. Mike Scioscia reaches on an error by Joe Carter, advancing to second, Strawberry advancing to third. Willie Randolph grounds out to Lou Whitaker (4-3), Strawberry scoring, Scioscia advancing to third.

Top 9: Mark Davis pitching. Jeffrey Leonard strikes out. Joe Carter singles to right, reaches second on an error by Andre Dawson. Ozzie Guillen singles, Carter advancing to third. Jeff Russell singles, Carter scoring, Guillen advancing to second.

Kevin Mitchell is the MVP, thanks to his 3-run homer in the first.
After the drubbing at the hands of the AL the year before, the NL comes back with a vengeance in this game. If this game actually existed, the MVP would have definitely been Kevin Mitchell (1-2, 1 home run, 3 rbi's). Orel Hershiser earns the win, Dave Stewart suffers the loss, and the only players who didn't get in the game were pitchers Bobby Thigpen from the AL and Joe Magrane from the NL.
If you want to see the .DAT files that I used (I still don't know how to download these onto the blog , so please just take a look at the screen caps below). If anyone can e-mail me instructions, please do so at bdj610@hotmail.com. Below is the AL .DAT file, then the NL .DAT file:

Now that the 1989 All-Star Games are officially over, on Wednesday, I will introduce the 1990 End of Year All-Star teams. Simulations for games with those rosters to come hopefully by Sunday night.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

The NFL Players Association Will NOT Renew Topps License for 2010.

2009-11-09T17:09:00.003-06:00

Yes, this is a baseball card blog, but because it is related to the company whose products I collect, it's big news.

The number one source in the hobby has reported that the NFL Players Association will not renew Topps License for 2010.

The current deal with Topps, Upper Deck, and Panini runs until February, 2010, and who is to say what happens in 2011 and beyond.

But here is the thing:

Just like in MLB, there are two distinct marketing arms in the NFL, NFL Properties and the NFL Players Association. There was a time in the early 90's that Topps didn't have a license from the NFL Properties, yet still produced cards as they were licensed by the NFLPA. I think now that the licenses have reversed because there has been no official word from NFL Properties regarding this matter. Just because the Players Association is cutting Topps off doesn't mean that they are totally out of the NFL card business yet. If however, NFL Properties says they are no longer going to work with Topps, then all is lost.

Regardless, this is a blow to Topps for sure. How much of an impact, though, remains to be seen.

This should make one specific blogger extremely happy though. And he knows who he is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's End of Year MLB All-Star Teams: 1989 Edition

2009-11-06T09:00:00.003-06:00

It's now 1989, and it's a big year for baseball in Chicago. Don Zimmer's Cubs were the talk of the town, and the White Sox were mired in last place in a seven-team American League West (take a moment for that to sink in...). I'm still new to this concept called baseball, and while I'm getting to know more and more about the players, I'm still influenced by outside sources when it comes to naming my end of the year All-Star teams. It actually isn't until the early part of 1990 that I finally get around to naming my teams.

The main source of influence when it came to picking teams was actually the 1990 Panini sticker album. I was still crazy about sticker albums then, and as I didn't see Topps come out with one for the 1990 season, the Panini album was a good alternative. All the Panini regular player stickers were the same size as the Topps stickers from the year before, and none were the "half size" pictures. They were all large. Panini even included a little caption stating "All-Star" somewhere near the player's name. And I will have to admit that most of the players on the lists you see below were named All-Stars by Panini. Now whether they were actually All-Stars during the 1989 ASG or not I can't recall. All I do remember is that every team had an All-Star named by Panini, and to get the rosters up to 34 members, I did stick to the same formula as the year before when it came to roster sizes (3 each for the infield spots, 3 catchers, 9 outfielders, 9 pitchers), but because the 1990 ASG was coming to Wrigley Field, I took out the DH spot and replaced it with a 10th pitchers spot (which broke down to five starters, and five closers).

Let's cut to the chase. Without further ado, for the first time online, I am proud to introduce my 1989 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams (in alphabetical order by position):

(Lots of space here when I added the table. Don't know why...)

American League

First Basemen

Wally Joyner, Angels*
Don Mattingly, Yankees
Mark McGwire, Athletics

Second Basemen

Julio Franco, Indians
Steve Sax, Yankees
Lou Whitaker, Tigers

Third Basemen

Wade Boggs, Red Sox
Gary Gaetti, Twins
Kelly Gruber, Blue Jays*

Shortstops

Tony Fernandez, Blue Jays
Ozzie Guillen, White Sox*
Cal Ripken, Orioles

Outfielders

Harold Baines, Rangers
Joe Carter, Indians
Rickey Henderson, Athletics
Bo Jackson, Royals*
Jeffrey Leonard, Mariners
Kirby Puckett, Twins
Ruben Sierra, Rangers*
Devon White, Angels*
Robin Yount, Brewers

Catchers

Carlton Fisk, White Sox
Terry Steinbach, Athletics*
Mickey Tettleton, Orioles*

Pitchers

Chuck Finley, Angels*
Mark Gubicza, Royals
Mike Hennemann, Tigers*
Doug Jones, Indians
Dan Plesac, Brewers
Jeff Russell, Rangers*
Nolan Ryan, Rangers*
Dave Stewart, Athletics
Greg Swindell, Indians*
Bobby Thigpen, White Sox*

Manager:

Frank Robinson, Orioles

The Starters:

1B: McGwire
2B: Franco
3B: Boggs
SS: Ripken
OF: Puckett
OF: Sierra
OF: Yount
C: Fisk
P: Stewart

*First-Time All-Star

National League

First Basemen

Will Clark, Giants
Glenn Davis, Astros
Pedro Guerrero, Dodgers

Second Basemen

Tommy Herr, Phillies
Willie Randolph, Dodgers
Ryne Sandberg, Cubs

Third Basemen

Bobby Bonilla, Pirates
Howard Johnson, Mets
Tim Wallach, Expos

Shortstops

Shawon Dunston, Cubs
Barry Larkin, Reds
Ozzie Smith, Cardinals

Outfielders

Vince Coleman, Cardinals*
Eric Davis, Reds
Andre Dawson, Cubs
Tony Gwynn, Padres
Von Hayes, Phillies*
Kevin Mitchell, Giants*
Dale Murphy, Braves
Tim Raines, Expos
Darryl Strawberry, Mets

Catchers

Craig Biggio, Astros*
Benito Santiago, Padres
Mike Scioscia, Dodgers*

Pitchers

Tim Burke, Expos*
Mark Davis, Padres
John Franco, Reds
Orel Hershiser, Dodgers
Jay Howell, Dodgers
Joe Magrane, Cardinals*
Rick Reuschel, Giants*
Mike Scott, Astros
John Smoltz, Braves*
Mitch Williams, Cubs*

Manager:

Don Zimmer, Cubs

The Starters:

1B: Clark
2B: Sandberg
3B: Johnson
SS: Smith
OF: Davis
OF: Gwynn
OF: Mitchell
C: Santiago
P: Scott

Twenty-four new players are first-time all-stars from the previous year's teams (14 for the American League, 10 for the Nationals). One-person teams on my 1989 rosters include the Mariners (Leonard), Red Sox (Boggs), and Pirates (Bonilla). The Dodgers have five representatives on the NL roster, leading both leagues. The Athletics, Indians, Rangers, and Cubs each send four players to their respective squads.

Very veteran-heavy teams on both sides. Had I known better, players like Fred McGriff, Ken Griffey, Jr., and even Jerome Walton would have made it onto either team. But again, Panini influence and a tendency to stay with players I was already familiar with keeps the teams above where they are.

Seven regular games (10,000 simulations each, five with the same starting pitchers, two where lineups and starting pitchers change...since I have only five starters...a home and home battle where anything goes), and one All-Star Game will be simulated during the course of the week. I hope to have the results of all the games by the end of the week.

Now it's time for me to create the .DAT files before getting the games set. This is a lot of fun. Why didn't I think of this sooner?

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's 1988 End of Year All-Star Teams Simulated Games Results

2009-11-05T09:00:00.001-06:00

I have finally finished simulating the All-Star Games using my 1988 End of Year All-Star Teams. Now that I have enough practice with it, using the SBS has been so much fun. And I didn't even get that "Error: Box Score 70" that plagued me the last time.

Just like the last round using the '87 teams, I simulated seven games (six series between starters and one series where the lineups, starting rotations changed on a daily basis), by playing each one 10,000 times.

The first six games I simulated used each starting pitcher on both sides at least once, and all position players started a minimum of two games each. Here are the results:

Game 1: NL vs. AL, Orel Hershiser vs. Frank Viola. The AL wins 5,707 games out of 10,000 simulations (using a DH).
Game 2: NL vs. AL, Dwight Gooden vs. Mark Gubicza. The AL wins 5,948 games (using a DH).
Game 3: AL vs. NL, Roger Clemens vs. David Cone. The NL wins 5,031 games.
Game 4: AL vs, NL, Dave Stewart vs. Danny Jackson. The NL wins 5,253 games.
Game 5: AL vs. NL, Bruce Hurst vs. Tom Browning. The AL wins 5,221 games.
Game 6: NL vs. AL, Bob Knepper vs. Teddy Higuera. The AL wins 7,238 games (using a DH).
Game 7: NL vs. AL, anything goes. The AL wins 6,001 games.

So the AL beats (in dominating fashion in some cases) the NL 5 to 2 in the regular series. For the official All-Star Game, I decided to just simulate one game and one game only. The starting pitchers were Hershiser and Viola and I let them pitch two innings. The rest of the pitchers would get one inning each (unless they struggled badly). The position players were replaced every three innings. No pinch hitters here, (as in previous tries, the pinch hitter is taken out of the game...I couldn't figure out how to double switch here). The DH's (Dale Murphy of the NL and Harold Baines of the AL) were never replaced.

The starting lineups, first for the National League (I'm using 1989 Topps cards because these are the cards I used to imagine my All-Star teams when not using the Topps sticker backs):

Now the American League starting lineup:

Here is the result:

The 1988 AL All-Stars beat the 1988 NL All-Stars by a final score of 12-4.

The box score is below (Just click on the picture to take a closer look.

The scoring plays were like this:

Top 2: Frank Viola pitching. Andre Dawson singles. Gary Carter singles. Runners advance on a Mike Greenwell error. Bobby Bonilla grounds out to Viola (1-3). Ozzie Smith walks. Andy VanSlyke reaches on a fielders choice, Smith out at second (5-4), Dawson scoring.

Top 4: Bruce Hurst pitching. Gary Carter doubles. Bobby Bonilla flies to Rickey Henderson (7). Ozzie Smith lines out to Tony Fernandez (6). Andy VanSlyke hits a home run, Carter scoring.

Bottom 4: David Cone pitching. Harold Reynolds reaches on an error by Rafael Palmeiro (E7). George Brett grounds out to Barry Larkin (6-3). Harold Baines walks. Dave Winfield strikes out. Robin Yount walks, loading the bases. Paul Molitor singles, Reynolds scoring, Baines scoring, Yount out at third (8-3).

Bottom 5: Tom Browning pitching. Carlton Fisk walks. Tony Fernandez doubles, Fisk to third. Rickey Henderson singles, Fisk scoring, Fernandez scoring. Reynolds flies out to Tony Gwynn (8). George Brett doubles, R. Henderson scoring. Harold Baines flies out to Kirk Gibson (9), Brett moving to third. Dave Winfield singles, Brett scoring.

Bottom 6: Danny Jackson pitching. Paul Molitor grounds out to Barry Larkin (6-3). Carlton Fisk grounds out to Vance Law (5-3). Tony Fernandez singles to right, reaches second on an error by Kirk Gibson. Rickey Henderson singles, Fernandez scoring. Harold Reynolds doubles, R. Henderson scoring.

Top 8: Doug Jones pitching. Benito Santiago singles to center, reaches second on an error by Joe Carter. Howard Johnson fouls out to Geno Petralli (2F). Shawon Dunston singles, Santiago scoring.

Bottom 8: Bob Knepper pitching. Cal Ripken walks. Dwight Evans triples, Ripken scoring. Lou Whitaker walks. Mark McGwire walks, Whitaker to second, loading the bases. Harold Baines singles to left, reaches second on an error by Barry Bonds, Evans scoring, Whitaker scoring.

Your starters, Orel Hershiser and Frank Viola. Rickey Henderson is the MVP.
Compared to the 1987 simulation, this was a blowout of epic proportions, not helped by Bob Knepper's collapse in the 8th (which may somewhat coincide with the 7,238 wins the AL got when he started 10,000 games). If this game actually existed, the MVP would have definitely been Rickey Henderson (2-2, 3 rbi's). Dave Stewart earns the win, Tom Browning suffers the loss, and the only players who didn't get in the game were relievers John Franco from the NL and Jeff Reardon from the AL.

If you want to see the .DAT files that I used (I still don't know how to download these onto the blog , so please just take a look at the screen caps below). If anyone can e-mail me instructions, please do so at bdj610@hotmail.com. Below is the NL .DAT file, then the AL .DAT file:

Now that the 1988 All-Star Games are officially over, on Friday, I will introduce the 1989 End of Year All-Star teams. Simulations to come hopefully by Sunday night.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Coming Soon to a Store Shelf Near You...

2009-11-05T00:30:00.000-06:00

Congratulations to the New York Yankees. They have just won their 27th World Series title. And because of this, Topps will be making the above product available to the masses (in the New York area anyway...).

And so the 2009 Major League Baseball season finally ends.

Heat up the Hot Stove folks...it's time to see what the Free Agent market holds!!!

And after today, everyone is 0-0.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Would Anybody Like to Buy This for Me???

2009-11-04T12:00:00.001-06:00

I'm not one to beg or grovel on this blog, but I saw this auction on the Bay today and, in totally reckless wishful thinking, thought I'd link the auction on here and see if anybody would be willing to buy this for me.

Topps Updates 25 Card SP Variation Set

It's only going for the ridiculously low BIN price of $339.99 (plus $9.95 shipping...)

Want to see what the cards look like???

It would save me the time and agony (and also the money since ideally you'd be buying this for me out of the kindness of your heart).

Please???

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

P.S. No, I'm not expecting anybody to buy this for me (unless you the readers really want to, that's fine...I would totally appreciate it). I'm just pointing out this option for anybody who has the dough and not the time and patience to build the set one card at a time. jba

The People Have Spoken...Bring Back the MLB Debut Set!!!

2009-11-03T07:00:00.000-06:00

Whether it is because I left the poll open for so long, or there are a lot of readers feel strongly about the issue, but apparently many agree with me that they would like to see the return of the MLB Debut set.

A total of 128 people voted on this issue. Here are the results:

89 people (69%) would like to see a Topps Major League Debut set featuring players who debuted in 2009.
23 people (17%) on the other hand, did not.
10 people (7%) don't really care either way.
5 people (4%) gave up, considering that UD has Weiters locked up anyway.

It's funny that since the announcement was made that Topps was now the exclusive baseball card company for MLB, nothing has been said regarding how many baseball products Topps will be making in 2010, or what (if any) changes are there to the Rookie Card rule. These are the only things I can think of that would hold back a set of this caliber.

Hopefully one day, we'll see the return of the Debut set, giving those players who might never again play in the big leauges a chance at cardboard immortality. Thanks to all who voted.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

A Preview of What is to Come on the Blog!!!

2009-11-02T17:35:00.002-06:00

Now that Halloween's over (which marks the first day in more than three years that I didn't sit in front of a computer in a 24 hour span), and the World Series is almost over (unless by some miracle the Phillies wake up and remember that winning feeling), it is time to figure out what's coming up in November on this humble little blog.

You've hopefully read the first post of the month, honoring the baseball players who passed away in 2009 and are now playing in the cornfields of Iowa (in a figurative sense). Here is what else to expect this month:

More All-Star Teams from the past (and the results of simulated games if they did play against each other...the 1988 results are coming soon).
The deadline to turn in your guesses for the All-Star Rookie Team contest has passed. I am no longer accepting entries. To those who submitted their guesses, thank you very much. As soon as the official team is made public, winners will be announced here soon after.
Barring any unforeseen monetary issues, I am going to buy a jumbo box of 2009 Topps U & H (as well as a complete master set on the Bay if possible). Box breaks and the shortprint begging will commence.
I am going over the old Beckett Magazines (I have not forgotten this task...). E-mails will be going out to those who had previously inquired about certain magazines. I do have a whole run of Beckett Baseball magazines from 2000 until when they stopped the monthly presses (to that multi-sport thing), so if you're looking for a particular issue (excluding the Rookie Rolodexes, or the special Topps issue from 2001...I'm keeping those), send me an e-mail with your request and an address, and it's yours.
The monthly comment mailbag will return, with lots of comments to review and questions to answer.
Any news that gets my attention will be posted here.

That's should keep me busy until the holidays. I hope. Until next time...

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

As Today is November 2, 2009...

2009-11-02T17:01:00.002-06:00

November 2 is traditionally All Souls Day. It is the day where we celebrate the lives of family and friends who have passed away. Many will go to cemeteries and pray, many will even picnic on the grounds. It is not really a day of mourning, but a day of reflection. Remembering those who we strongly miss.

Personally, I would like to honor my grandparents, Felix Anama, Leonor Filoteo Anama, Gloria Y. Nichols, Ruben S. Menguito, Sgt. Clinton H. Nichols. As well as countless great aunts and uncles too numerous to list.

Today I want to remember the seven souls who died on January 8, 1993, at the Brown's Chicken in Palatine, Illinois: Michael C. Castro, Rico Solis, Thomas Mennes, Marcus Nellsen, Guadalupe Maldonado, Richard Ehlenfeldt, and Lynn Ehlenfeldt.

I would like to remember the people I've met over the years who left us too soon: Shannon McNamara, Linda Beyer, Gail Leff.

On behalf of my wife, I would like to honor her grandparents, uncles, and especially, her mother (since I have not asked for my wife's permission to do so, I am not adding their names here presently...this may change).

Finally, I would like to take a moment to remember the families, the loved ones who were left behind.

Now that the personal side of the blog has been taken care of, I would also like to take time to remember 78 more people. Between 11/02/2008 and 11/01/2009, 78 people who can lay claim to playing major league baseball, passed away. Many lived long productive lives, even after their careers ended. Others, tragically, either passed away before their potential could be fully reached or before they could enjoy the fruits of their retirement.

On this night, I take time out of my humble little baseball card blog to remember:

Preacher Roe	11/9/08
Herb Score	11/11/08
Floyd Weaver	11/17/08
Tom Burgess	11/24/08
Randy Gumpert	11/25/08
Andy Tomasic	11/27/08
Red Murff	11/28/08
Sal Yvars	12/10/08
Nick Willhite	12/14/08
Dave Smith	12/17/08
Dock Ellis	12/19/08
Nino Bongiovanni	1/6/09
Dave Roberts	1/9/09
Frank Williams	1/9/09
Preston Gomez	1/13/09
Mike Derrick	1/14/09
Craig Stimac	1/16/09
Bill Werber	1/22/09
Len Perme	1/24/09
Eddie Lyons	1/25/09
Roy Johnson	1/26/09
Gene Corbett	1/28/09
Bob Scherbarth	1/31/09
Ramon Hernandez	2/4/09
Gabe Gabler	2/7/09
Ted Uhlaender	2/12/09
Ben Flowers	2/18/09
Joe Tepsic	2/23/09
Tom Sturdivant	2/28/09
James Atkins	2/28/09
Eduardo Rodriguez	3/6/09
Ed Wolfe	3/8/09
Joe Pactwa	3/10/09
Elmer Weingartner	3/15/09
Whitey Lockman	3/17/09
George Kell	3/24/09
Johnny Blanchard	3/25/09
Earle Brucker	3/28/09
Herman Franks	3/30/09
Nick Adenhart	4/9/09
Gene Handley	4/12/09
Mark Fidrych	4/13/09
Ed Blake	4/15/09
Ron Cash	4/22/09
Danny Morejon	4/27/09
Jack Lohrke	4/29/09
Dom DiMaggio	5/8/09
Bill Kelso	5/11/09
Johnny Schaive	5/11/09
George Williams	5/14/09
Frank Dasso	6/8/09
Jack Littrell	6/9/09
Bill Lillard	6/9/09
Ray Hamrick	6/9/09
Woodie Held	6/11/09
Hal Woodeshick	6/14/09
Dusty Rhodes	6/17/09
Gene Patton	6/25/09
Jay Kleven	6/30/09
Jessie Hollins	7/9/09
Alec Distaso	7/13/09
Jim Kirby	7/17/09
Carl Willey	7/21/09
Luis Quintana	7/27/09
Cal Ermer	8/8/09
Davey Williams	8/17/09
Jackie Collum	8/29/09
Jack Phillips	8/30/09
Buddy Blattner	9/4/09
Lonny Frey	9/13/09
Purnal Goldy	9/21/09
Del Bates	9/24/09
Don Thompson	9/28/09
Humberto Robinson	9/29/09
Barry Lersch	10/4/09
Brian Powell	10/5/09
Larry Jansen	10/10/09
Herman Reich	10/22/09

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Whoever Wins the World Series...

2009-10-29T10:22:00.002-05:00

For the first time since 2005, Topps has the honor of producing the World Series set.

Since 2004, the winner of the World Series has been honored with a 55-card box set, which included players, managers, League Playoff highlights, and World Series highlights, and the eventual MVP's.
Topps made the 55-card sets for the 2004 Red Sox and the 2005 White Sox, with that other company producing sets for the 2006 Cardinals, 2007 Red Sox, and 2008 Phillies. This year's winner will get a 27-card set in the blister packs similar to the 15-card team sets that came out earlier this year. They look pretty good. Check out scans of what the Phillies and Yankees World Series sets are going to look like.

Remember, these are only preview scans. The losing team is not getting the set treatment (or are they???). The World Series set will retail at $9.99 and final checklists are still going to be determined.

May the best team win. Either way, collectors are going to have fun with this set. At a little over $10.00 with tax, I just hope these make it to Chicago.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's End of Year MLB All-Star Teams: 1988 Edition

2009-10-27T09:00:00.001-05:00

Last year, I gave a brief history as to why I create End of the Year All-Star teams. Basically it was because I was 13 years old, still new to baseball, new to baseball card collecting, and was fascinated by the 1989 Topps sticker backs. Growing up, I was familiar with collectible stickers and albums, and I somehow managed to get my hand on the 1989 Topps Sticker Album and a lot of the stickers. But I was intrigued by the players featured on the backs of the stickers. The players who appeared on the backs were All-Stars. The top three players at each position (1b, 2b, 3b, ss, 9 of, c, rhp, lhp, closer). And I would imagine games played by these All-Stars, acting the plays out with the cards on my bed (I had a checkered bedsheet, so it sort of resembled a baseball diamond). And fair warning, almost all of the players on the rosters below are from this set.

I say almost, only because while the 33 players on the American League team had players from all 14 teams, the National League side only had 11 teams represented. The one team missing was the Atlanta Braves. To offset this slight (because even then I believed that every team had to have a representative) I went to the Atlanta Braves page, and picked a player whos sticker I could use to cover one of my extra cards. It had to be a full sticker, not one of those half stickers. I thought that the two players with the full stickers represented the stars of the team. So my choices were Dale Murphy or Gerald Perry. Because Murphy had the better power statistics (24 HR's and 77 RBI's compared to Perry's 8 and 74) in 1988, I picked him over Perry. So Dale Murphy's sticker was placed over an extra card and included in my "set," and eventually, my All-Star team.

But this gave me another problem. I now had 34 players on the NL side, and 33 players on the AL side. What was I to do? The same thing. Pick a player who had a full sticker and add him to the set. But who? Because I lived in Chicago, I thought it should have to be a White Sox player. So onto the page with the White Sox team. The two "stars" were Carlton Fisk and Harold Baines. Now because Fisk already had a card in the set, I placed the Baines sticker onto the back of another card. Now my "teams" were complete.

Just like when I "created" my 1987 All-Star teams, I wasn't totally familiar with the best players in baseball (yet), so for me, this assembly of all-stars would have to do. Looking back now, I know I could do much better. But as before, I am not about to revise anything now, especially since I still have my notes from when I first wrote them down.

So without further ado, for the first time online, I am proud to introduce my 1988 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams (in alphabetical order by position):

(Lots of space here when I added the table. Don't know why...)

American League

First Basemen

George Brett, Royals*
Don Mattingly, Yankees
Mark McGwire, Athletics

Second Basemen

Julio Franco, Indians*
Harold Reynolds, Mariners
Lou Whitaker, Tigers

Third Basemen

Wade Boggs, Red Sox
Gary Gaetti, Twins*
Paul Molitor, Brewers*

Shortstops

Tony Fernandez, Blue Jays
Cal Ripken, Orioles
Alan Trammell, Tigers

Outfielders

Jose Canseco, Athletics
Joe Carter, Indians
Dwight Evans, Red Sox
Mike Greenwell, Red Sox*
Dave Henderson, Athletics*
Rickey Henderson, Yankees
Kirby Puckett, Twins
Dave Winfield, Yankees
Robin Yount, Brewers*

Catchers

Bob Boone, Angels*
Carlton Fisk, White Sox
Geno Petralli, Rangers*

Designated Hitter

Harold Baines, White Sox

Pitchers

Roger Clemens, Red Sox
Dennis Eckersley, Athletics*
Mark Gubicza, Royals*
Teddy Higuera, Brewers*
Bruce Hurst, Red Sox
Doug Jones, Indians*
Jeff Reardon, Twins*
Dave Stewart, Athletics*
Frank Viola, Twins*

Manager:

Tony LaRussa, Athletics

The Starters:

1B: Mattingly
2B: Franco
3B: Boggs
SS: Trammell
OF: Canseco
OF: Greenwell
OF: Puckett
C: Boone
DH: Baines
P: Viola

*First-Time All-Star

National League

First Basemen

Will Clark, Giants*
Glenn Davis, Astros*
Andres Galarraga, Expos

Second Basemen

Juan Samuel, Phillies
Ryne Sandberg, Cubs
Steve Sax, Dodgers*

Third Basemen

Bobby Bonilla, Pirates*
Howard Johnson, Mets*
Vance Law, Cubs*

Shortstops

Shawon Dunston, Cubs
Barry Larkin, Reds*
Ozzie Smith, Cardinals

Outfielders

Barry Bonds, Pirates*
Eric Davis, Reds
Andre Dawson, Cubs
Kirk Gibson, Dodgers*
Tony Gwynn, Padres
Kevin McReynolds, Mets*
Rafael Palmeiro, Cubs*
Darryl Strawberry, Mets
Andy Van Slyke, Pirates*

Catchers

Gary Carter, Mets
Mike LaValliere, Pirates*
Benito Santiago, Padres*

Designated Hitter

Dale Murphy, Braves

Pitchers

Tom Browning, Reds*
David Cone, Mets*
Mark Davis, Padres*
John Franco, Reds
Dwight Gooden, Mets
Orel Hershiser, Dodgers
Danny Jackson, Reds*
Bob Knepper, Astros*
Randy Myers, Mets*

Manager:

Tommy Lasorda, Dodgers

The Starters:

1B: Galarraga
2B: Sandberg
3B: Bonilla
SS: Smith
OF: Dawson
OF: Strawberry
OF: Van Slyke
C: Carter
DH: Murphy
P: Hershiser

For these teams, you will notice that there are only nine pitchers. This will be the only year that I will have nine pitchers on either team. The tenth pitcher spot was replaced by the designated hitter spot. And as we go on later through the years, you will notice that while the tenth pitcher's spot is on every year, the DH alternates every even year until 2007.

Thirty-six new players are first-time all-stars from the previous year's teams (16 for the American League, 20 for the Nationals). One-person teams on my 1988 rosters include the Angels (Boone), Blue Jays (Fernandez), Mariners (Reynolds), Orioles (Ripken), Rangers (Petralli), Braves (Murphy), Cardinals (Smith), Expos (Galarraga), Giants (Clark), and Phillies (Samuel). The Mets have seven representatives on the NL roster, leading both leagues. The Athletics, Red Sox, Cubs, and Reds each send five players to their respective squads.

Based on the ringing success of the 1987 All-Star Game simulations, I am going to do the same thing with these two rosters. Seven regular games (10,000 simulations each, six with the same starting pitchers, one where lineups and starting pitchers change), and one All-Star Game will be simulated during the course of the week. I hope to have the results of all the games by the end of the week.

Now it's time for me to create the .DAT files before getting the games set. This won't take long.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

2010 Topps Series 1 Sell Sheets are Live!!!

2009-10-26T10:50:00.002-05:00

The sell sheets for the now highly anticipated 2010 Topps Baseball Series 1 product is now live!!!

They are really selling the point of being MLB's exclusive baseball card manufacturer. And though the images were already shown last week, it's nice to see how it all fits on the sell sheets.

Product information can be found here:

The initial checklist (subject to change...) can be found here:

Product goes live the week of January 18th, 2009, until otherwise noted. I can't wait.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's 1987 End of Year All-Star Teams Simulated Games Results

2009-10-26T09:00:00.001-05:00

I've been slowly but surely learning how to play the SBS simulation game, using my 1987 End of Year All-Star Teams. I've figured that the best way to determine which team wins would be to simulate seven games (six series between starters and one series where the lineups, starting rotations changed on a daily basis), by playing each one 10,000 times. The simulations go really fast, and unless you get that dreaded "Error: Box Score 70," play goes well without a hitch.

The first six games I simulated used each starting pitcher on both sides at least once, and all position players started a minimum of two games each. Here are the results:

Game 1: AL vs. NL, Bret Saberhagen vs. Rick Sutcliffe. The AL wins 5,454 games out of 10,000 simulations.
Game 2: AL vs. NL, Roger Clemens vs. Dwight Gooden. The NL wins 5,219 games.
Game 3: NL vs. AL, Orel Hershiser vs. Mark Langston. The NL wins 5,358 games (using a DH).
Game 4: NL vs. AL, Mike Scott vs. Jack Morris. The NL wins 5,127 games (using a DH).
Game 5: NL vs. AL, Fernando Valenzuela vs. Bruce Hurst. The NL wins 5,535 games (using a DH).
Game 6: AL vs. NL, Mike Witt vs. Sid Fernandez. The NL wins 6,174 games.
Game 7: AL vs. NL, anything goes. The NL wins 5,257 games.

But what about an actual game where everyone gets in, just like a real (before 2002) All-Star Game? Well, after multiple attempts, I finally figured out how to set it up so that I can use the other starting pitchers in the bullpen (it involved removing the games started number from the other pitchers...don't worry, I backed everything up). For the official All-Star Game, I decided to just simulate one game and one game only. The starting pitchers were Saberhagen and Sutcliffe and I let them pitch two innings. The rest of the pitchers would get one inning each (unless they struggled badly). The position players were replaced every three innings. No pinch hitters here, (as in previous tries, the pinch hitter is taken out of the game...I couldn't figure out how to double switch here).

The starting lineups, first for the American League (I'm using 1988 Topps cards because these are the cards I used to imagine my All-Star teams. You will see going forward that I use the following years cards for the previous year's teams):

Now the National League starting lineup:

Here is the result:

The 1987 NL All-Stars beat the 1987 AL All-Stars by a final score of 2-1 on a ninth inning walk off home run by...Ozzie Virgil!!!

The box score is below (Just click on the picture to take a closer look.

The scoring plays were like this:

Top 1: Rick Sutcliffe pitching. Rickey Henderson doubles. Cal Ripken flies out to Dawson (9). Wade Boggs walks. Runners advance on wild pitch. George Bell walks, loading bases. Dave Winfield walks, Henderson scoring.

Bottom 5: Bruce Hurst pitching. Bo Diaz hits a home run.

Bottom 9: Jay Howell pitching. Ozzie Virgil hits a home run.

Diaz hits a game tying home run in the fifth, Virgil hits the walk-off in the ninth.
A very low scoring affair indeed. If this game actually existed, the MVP would have definitely been Virgil. The rest of the NL staff didn't even allow a hit after the second inning, and no AL batter reached base after the third inning. The NL batters on the other hand, had eight hits, but just couldn't get the runs home. Lee Smith takes the win. Jay Howell takes the loss, and the only players who didn't get in the game were relievers Dave Righetti & Tom Henke from the AL, and John Franco & Steve Bedrosian from the NL.

If you want to see the .DAT files that I used (I still don't know how to download these onto the blog , so please just take a look at the screen caps below). If anyone can e-mail me instructions, please do so at bdj610@hotmail.com. Below is the AL .DAT file, then the NL .DAT file:

Now that the 1987 All-Star Games are officially over, on Tuesday, I will introduce the 1988 End of Year All-Star teams. Simulations to come by Sunday night.

Hopefully by the end of next week, I'll have some U & H to break (or buy on the Bay...)

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama