It's here!

That's the box of 2011 Ginter that I ordered. And yes, I will be competing in Gint-A-Cuffs this time around. Colbey has gone out and set the first mark - 197 points. Will that hold up? We shall see. Expect an excruciatingly slow reveal from some folks - like me. I'll be opening the packs three a day (got to make them last!) but revealing them every other day.

Stay tuned...

I've managed to accumulate a stack of ToppsTown cards (haven't we all?) from 2009 to 2011, which I put together last week when cleaning up my collection.

The thing is, I don't want them. At all. I'd just toss them in the bin, but I can bring myself to do something like that to baseball cards, no matter how unwanted.

Does anyone want/need any of these cards? Send me an e-mail or leave a comment. Maybe this can be the start of a larger trade, who knows?

Well, I'm feeling incredibly productive - I've finished my Ken Griffey Jr. PC page. That's three down, one to go. Unfortunately, I've saved the biggest for last, and given how long the Junior page took (not long, but tedious, so I didn't work on it straight through), I'm not looking forward to Ichiro since that collection is twice as big as the Griffey.

Anyway, my Junior cards are catalogued and up on the site. The link, as always, is available on the right-hand side of the website. It now points to the Junior PC page instead of the White Sox project page, which is still at the top. I also have some Junior cards (as well as cards for the other three) that are sitting in my CheckOutMyCards account and aren't listed on any of the player collection pages. I really should get those cards shipped to me. It's been a year since I bought some of them, for crying out loud!

What do you think, should I add the pictures from COMC onto the page? Or should I just stick only with the cards I have on hand in my binders?

During my last eBay buying frenzy, I picked up a strange little set for 99 cents. Card No. 1 featured Ken Griffey, which is why I got the set. I figured I could put that card in the bottom right-hand slot of a binder page of my Griffey, then put the other nine in a page behind. While I realise this might offend some of your sensibilities, frankly, I'm not losing any sleep over this.

I scanned the whole set it while scanning in my Griffey cards (news flash! - I'm now done scanning in all of my PC cards!). So here, I present to you, the 1989 All-American Promo Cards set. A giant among card manufacturers, to be sure.

 

 

A couple of things - first, AAPC's attempts to hide MLB logos makes Upper Deck's attempt 21 years later look positively professional. I don't think AAPC even tried, or cared. Secondly, the choice of players seems strange - Griffey was in his rookie season, and appears to be the reason for the set since he has two of the ten cards. If you can figure out rhyme or reason behind the other eight players, please let me know. Jim Abbott was also included as a rookie. However, the back of his card lists "1988 Pitching Record" then says "No Major League Stats". However, the back of Griffey's cards say "1988 Batting Record" then list his numbers for the San Bernardino Spirit. Plus, they got the number of runs wrong.

Look carefully at the back of this card:

The blurb says Altherr was born in Germany, but the stats say he was born in Arizona. So which is it?

I've completed my second Player Page, the one that lists my Felix Hernandez collection. I've also scanned in all of my Ichiro cards but haven't started work on that page yet. Remember that picture of my desk? Well, I would like to get that cleared off by tomorrow, which means more scanning and less typing. The good news is, scanning is an excellent activity to do when doing other things, such as listening to the Tour de France in the background.

The Reds game will be shown live tomorrow morning (Friday evening USA time) so I am looking forward to watching that. Looks like an early start for me tomorrow.

You can find my King Felix collection by clicking at the link on the top of this page or the sidebar on the right-hand side.

It's Bastille Day, the French national day. I'm currently watching the Tour de France, where the malliot jaune is being worn by a Frenchman, Thomas Voeckler.

Did you know that there are nine Major League Baseball players who were born in France? Here's profiles of the three whose baseball cards are in my collection.

Steve Jeltz was born in Paris on May 28, 1959, and is perhaps best known for his exploits with the Phillies throughout the 1980s. He also holds most of the career records for players born in France, including most singles, doubles, triples, RBI and games played. But it's not all sunshine and lollipops - Jeltz also holds the record for most career strikeouts by a French-born player. His most famous game came in 1989, when the Phillies faced the Pirates in Pittsburgh. After the Buccos put up a 10-spot in the first inning, the game seemed over. However, Jeltz, who entered the game as a substitute, led an improbable comeback. A switch-hitter, he became the first Phillie to hit a home run in the same game from each side of the plate. Even more remarkable, Jeltz had exactly five home runs in his career - and two of them came in that game! After seven seasons in Philadelphia, Jeltz finished his career with the Royals in 1990.

Charlie Lea was born on Christmas Day, 1956, in Orléans. No, not New Orleans, but the town that the Big Easy is named after. Old Orleans, if you prefer. Lea spent most of his seven-year big league career in Montreal, so you'd imagine that he felt right at home. Except that Lea grew up in Memphis, then starred at Memphis State, and even played his Double-A ball with the Memphis Chicks. Lea's career highlight came in 1981, perhaps the année miraculous of Montreal baseball history. On May 10, Lea pitched a no-hitter against the Giants, becoming the first Expo not named Bill Stoneman to pitch a no-no (Dennis Martinez and his perfect game was the third and final Spo to accomplish the feat). In 1984, Lea made his only All-Star appearance, being named the starter for the National League (over players such as Fernando Valenzuela and Dwight Gooden) and picked up the win. Sadly, he wrecked his elbow, and missed both the 1985 and 1986 seasons. He pitched one inning for the Expos in 1987 before finishing his career with the Twins in 1988.

Perhaps the best-known and most successful French-born major-leaguer is Bruce Bochy. Bochy, of course, is the manager of the defending champion Giants. He became the first (and only) European-born manager to win a title, as well as the first to manage in the World Series when his Padres won the NL pennant in 1998. Bochy's father was in the Army, which explains why Bruce was born in Landes-de-Boussac in central France. Bochy first broke into the big leagues with the Astros in 1978, but it is with the Padres that he acheived the most fame. Prior to becoming the Padres manager, his most notable feat was perhaps being the catcher on the field when Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb's all-time hit record. Bochy also holds the career record for home runs by a French-born player, with 26 circuit clouts.

As a manager, Bochy led the Padres to the post season four times, winning the NL pennant in 1998. After leaving San Diego for the Giants at the end of the 2006 season, Bochy has proven to be a steady hand on the wheel, mentoring young Giants pitchers such as Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner.

Six other major leaguers were born in France, all of whom played parts of one or two seasons, most in the dead ball era. They are Ed Gagnier, Claude Gouzzie, Paul Krichell, Duke Markell, Larry Ressler and Joe Woerlin.

As I write, the day's racing in the Tour de France has come to an end, and although Sammy Sanchez, a Basque, won the stage, Thomas Voeckler has kept his overall lead and will wear the yellow jersey again tomorrow. Vive La France! Joyeux le 14 de julliet!