Eric Davis Bobblehead

I picked up my 40th and FINAL bobblehead today, Eric Davis. This is my first Dr. Pepper bobblehead and it's fantastic. There were only 10,000 of these nodders given out on July 20, 2002 when the Reds faced the Mets. Cincinnati lost that game by a score of 8-7. I'm glad that I've finally added this bobblehead to my collection at a price I could stomach. Most of those listed on eBay were $70 or more but I was able to buy this for just a little more than half of that. now I just have to wait for this to show up in my mailbox.

Stick a Fork In It!

This project is done! This past week I was able to purchase the last two 1991 Topps Desert Shield cards I needed for my Reds team set: Paul O'Neill and Eric Davis. I was a bit surprised how much Eric the Red set me back because he was just as much as the Barry Larkin cards I had purchased earlier. Not only that but I had only found a total of 3 Davis cards online. Talk about slim pickings. I'm glad I finally put this project to bed. Without further ado, here are the last two cards. If you're interested you can view the complete 1991 Topps Desert Shield Reds team set here.

1985 Reds Team Ball

I love autographed team balls. There's just a sense of aura that surrounds them. Maybe it's because I feel like I have a piece of history that's tied to a team at a particular moment of time. Or maybe it's the beauty of having multiple signatures gracing a ball that's been passed from teammate to teammate as they scribe their John Hancock. I've made it a goal to have some autographed Reds team balls in my collection and I'm very content with what I have thus far. One of my favorite team balls is 1985. This was the year that Pete Rose rejoined the Reds as player/manager (something you don't see anymore, but I wouldn't mind if it were to happen again). This was the year that Rose passed Ty Cobb claiming the mantle of "Hit King". Some other prominent signatures on the ball include the following Reds greats: Tony Perez, Tom Browning, Eric Davis, Dave Parker, John Franco, Ron Oester and Mario Soto. I've included some additional pics below. Sorry if they're a little blurry, that's the best I could do with the phone on my camera.

1997 Topps

The 1990s were a disappointment I think for Topps, and nothing says disappointment like 1997. If 1996 wasn't bad enough then Topps just had to make sure 1997 was a washout as well. I don't know if it was just the massive glut of cards that were on the market at the time that lead many manufacturers releasing product hoping to sell a couple of packs to whomever, or perhaps it was the lingering effect of the 1994 strike that made them not care about what they released. Whatever the case, I'm glad that I went on card collecting hiatus from 1994 to 2001 and missed many of these dismal releases. There's just so much wrong with the 1997 Topps set that I don't know where to start. I wasn't too impressed with the photos The ghosted green border just doesn't do it for me. It's almost like the photo's border was bleached by the sun and caused fading. Not only that, but you also have a lack of information on the card front. Just the player name and a team logo. Where's the position Topps? I will say that I think the back of the card looks better than the front. I like how Topps used the light green and yellow boxes for the player stats and info. Sure it looks like a lot of grass on the back, but what's baseball without grass? Favorite Reds card from 1997 - Reggie Sanders. I liked Reggie for the short time he wore a Reds uniform. He was a great outfielder and a nice complement to other Reds other outfielders of the early 90s (Paul O'Neil, Eric Davis, Billy Hatcher, and Roberto Kelly to name a few).

1991 Topps

Were any of you like me when Topps announced in 1991 that they would be giving away cards the company had produced for the past 40 years by seeding them in packs of their latest product? I knew I had to buy boxes of this stuff hoping to get a Mays, an Aaron, or even a Mantle card. Needless to say, I didn't get anything except maybe about three complete sets from the boxes I busted open. But it sure was fun! I like this set. From the simple clean white border to the "40 years" logo on the front and back of the card. All in all, I think Topps did a great job with this set compared to Fleer, Donruss, and Score at the time (although they couldn't touch Upper Deck...but then again who could?) In addition, Topps sent some of these cards over to our troops in the Gulf during Desert Shield, although the only difference with those cards and the regular issue are the gold leaf Desert Shield logo that graces the front of the card. Not sure if I want to try and complete that team set or not. Anyway, I still think about going on eBay one weekend and buying a box just to bust and see who I get. Sure, there's a ton of it out there and it's not worth much. But isn't that what makes this hobby fun? Just opening a pack of cards and seeing what you got.

More Autographed Baseballs

Aside from my autographed team baseballs and the three baseballs from individuals affiliated with the reds that weren't players (Marty Brennaman, Marge Schott, and Hal McCoy), here are the other autographed baseballs in my collection as well as a rundown of why I have them:
Tom Browning - Only Red to throw a perfect game
Johnny Vander Meer - Only pitcher to ever throw back to back no hitters
Chris Sabo - 1988 National League Rookie of the Year
Tommy Helms - 1966 National League Rookie of the Year
Eric Davis - Tied for most grand slams in a month (3)
Frank Robinson - 1956 National League Rookie of the Year and Hall of Famer
Barry Larkin - 1995 National League MVP, 12 time All-Star and future Hall of Famer
Ken Griffey Jr - future Hall of Famer
Joe Nuxhall - youngest player ever in professional baseball (15 years 10 months 11 days old)

Although Robinson (and probably Griffey) was elected to the Hall of Fame not as a Red, he did spend time with the club and made it in to my collection.

1985 Topps

This is by far my most favorite Topps cards of the 1980s. I don't know if it's the large rectangular logo that's slanted on the bottom of the card or the green backs where the player stats are displayed. No matter....to me they're just plain cool. I remember back in the early 90s when the Davis rookie card was averaging around $10 bucks a pop in the monthly Beckett price guides. Of course, growing up in Cincinnati, it was almost impossible trying to grab a Davis rookie card for less than $15 from my favorite card shop on Beechmont Avenue on the east side of town. Those were the days :)