Larger than life cards

In the same box as the NASCAR autographs from my last post, I also had a similar envelope of 8x10 baseball cards. These were in a thing in the mid ‘90s, as several brands had packs that came with one 8x10, and then a few standard-sized cards.

I only remember buying one actual pack of these at a card show, hoping to get the Tino Martinez 8x10 in 1997 Studio. I ended up with Chipper Jones.

As for the Zenith cards, I have no idea where these may have come from. I don’t recall buying packs of these. Maybe I got them at a card show? The first is the base 8x10, and the remaining two are the Dufux version, which are actually pretty cool looking. Baseballcardpedia.com informs me that there were two 8x10s in each pack, a base and a Dufex. 

Again, I have no clue where these came from, but I’m glad I have them after all these years. They are very cool, and the Dufex cards would make for some very interesting wall art.

NASCAR autographs from long ago

Did you know that the NASCAR Playoffs are currently going on right now? All of our eyes are focused on MLB, and rightfully so, but NASCAR and their ever-evolving playoff format are in full swing as well.

Admittedly, I don't follow very closely in 2017. I know general storylines, but not much else. However, growing up, I was a big fan, especially of Dale Earnhardt Sr. In the mid-90s, I sent a bunch of TTM requests to NASCAR drivers, and the success rates were always very high. I don't believe I ever sent a SASE either. The teams were kind enough to handle the postage.

A few months ago, I rescued some old bins of mine from my parents attic, and basically transferred them directly to my attic. In one of the bins, I found a few old envelopes of signed photos, and was happy to find all of my NASCAR autographs preserved and in great shape.

I definitely received some of the sport's biggest stars at the time, and the Earnhardt is certainly one that I treasure.

Here are the others:

Signed by both Derrick Cope and Bobby Allison

And while not a NASCAR driver, Bryan Herta used to send signed photos via email requests.

Pretty cool to look back on these, and I'm glad I saved them from over 20 years ago.

There was once a world where...

...Cliff Floyd was the subject of his own insert set.

Interesting, eh?

This is not a knock on Cliff Floyd. He enjoyed a stellar career. 25+ WAR, .278 average, 223 homers, and an All-Star appearance. Not bad at all!

But it is a little hard to believe that he had his own 5-card insert set. It came courtesy of 1994 Signature Rookies. I'm sure I received this set as part of some mail order grab box I ordered as a kid. A lot of these types of sets came in those.

And while the print runs were high, Signature Rookies were some of the first to stamp their cards with a print run and make them feel rare or exclusive.

It was a five card set, banking on him being a can't-miss prospect. Signature Rookies often missed, as a lot of their sets included Ruben Rivera over Jeter, and other guys like Floyd, Billy Ashley, and Darin Erstad.

Here is the rest of the five-card set. I really like the card of him signing autographs in a minor league stadium.

 

It comes so Naturally

I think many of us collectors share similar traits. We can't remember what we had for breakfast or forget one of the three items we went to the grocery store for, yet we can recall exactly where we were when we got a particular baseball card.

Recently, I came across this set that I own: 1994 Pinnacle Naturals. This was a 25-card set that came in a box, as well as with a serial number showing me what a rare set I had.

I remember when I got this set. It was the summer of 1996, when I was between 6th and 7th grade.

I had traveled with a friend and his family to Rochester, NY for a few days to stay with some of his family members. I remember playing wiffle ball in their yard, and going for ice cream with my friend's dad when my buddy went to bed for the night after a teenage fight with his parents.

As we loaded up the car to leave for Rochester, his dad handed us an unopened box of 1996 Bazooka baseball cards. We split the packs in half, and I set my watch alarm to go off every 10 minutes. When it did, we opened a pack.

On our way home from Rochester, we stopped at some sort of outlet shops, and my friend and I went into some random toy store within the outlets. There, we found a few card-related items. We split a box of 1993 Upper Deck to open for the rest of the ride home, and I bought this:

A 1994 Pinnacle Naturals boxed set.

I doubt it ran me more than $5-7, but I definitely wanted it after seeing it in Beckett a few times. I remember being torn about whether or not to open it, but ultimately, I caved and opened it up.

I remember the cards feeling very cold to the touch. They still do. And while the checklist is decent, I can't help but notice no Yankee. No Mattingly or Williams or Boggs or O'Neill. I thought that was a curious choice. Undoubtedly, I would like the set even more if the Yanks were represented.

I'm glad to stay I still have the set intact, and in the box. And I still have the memories that go along with it.

Now if I could only remember to take out the recycling tonight...

50!

I probably wouldn't have believed you if you told me during spring training that Aaron Judge would join the 50-HR club this season. I've seen many Yankee fans say they would have been happy if he hit .250 with 25 HRs. By all accounts, that would be a very successful first full campaign.

But to hit 50 and break Mark McGuire's (j/k, I know it's McGwire, but it's been funny seeing how many people have misspelled his name on Twitter over the last day) record? I wouldn't have thought.

And on the flip side, to have Cody Bellinger break the NL rookie HR record as well? Quite the feat for the young sluggers. Juiced ball or not, it's an impressive accomplishment.

As I've previously mentioned, I've been a bit addicted to adding Aaron Judge Topps NOW cards. However, my one complaint is how many of them look exactly the same.

That's why I liked this one from Citi Field, honoring a blast he hit there. Most of the time, the cards are a close up of the at bat, but I like mixing it up a little.

I'm sure today's card featuring his 50th will be a close-up of the at bat, but I'd love it if it were the curtain call he received after breaking the record.

Here are a few more Judge's that have come in over the last few weeks. Not much variety, but I'm still glad to have them.

This would have been a cool front.

Congrats to Aaron on his historic season!

You're too Kin(d)

I received a surprise envelope earlier this week from Kin of I Feel Like a Collector Again, and from the well-known Twitter handle @beansbcardblog.

I actually have a few Russ Davis cards to send his way, but he struck first and sent me this beauty that I didn't have.

That, my friends, is a '96 Studio Gold parallel. Kin told me that card had resided in Texas for the last 20 years or so, and I'm glad it has finally made it's way up to New Jersey as the newest card in my Tino collection.

This card brings me to 820 different Tinos, and 63 from 1996.

Thanks so much, Kin. Please give him a follow on Twitter and check out his blog.

Bam Bam

There are some guys that are nearly automatic TTM signers, yet for whatever reason, I have had trouble getting a response from them. Two of those guys are currently with the San Francisco Giants - Hensley Meulens and Dave Righetti. I have sent both multiple requests, without success.

I can finally check off Sir Hensley Meulens, as he returned my three cards signed over the weekend. I sent these in July, so about two months time.

Meulens was a big prospect for the Yankees, although never really transferred his minor league success to the Majors. He played for the Yankees from 1988-1993, then with the Expos in '97 and the D-backs in '98. Can't say I recalled him playing for the latter two teams. He played in Japan from 1994-96.

Since 2010, Bam Bam has served as the hitting coach for the Giants.

I'm happy to have these back, and hope I can add Righetti soon too!