Digital into Reality

This past week I purchased another eTopps card for my collection. For the past few months I was keeping an eye on a 2005 eTopps Griffey card that was listed on eBay. While I have a few eTopps Reds cards in my collection, I was on the fence as to whether or not I should pull the trigger and purchase this card. The card arrived yesterday and I'm glad that I decided to pick it up. This card is fantastic! While there's no serial numbering on the back of the card, the seller did include the eTopps "certificate of authenticity" that stated it was a genuine eTopps card and the production run

Marty Brennaman Autographed Baseball

Marty has been the Reds radio announcer for the team since 1974. For thirty years he called play-by-play with former Reds pitcher Joe Nuxhall until Nuxhall's retirement from broadcasting in 2004. Some of the most notable events in Reds history that Brennaman has called include: the Reds World Series victories in 1975, 1976 and 1990, Pete Rose's 4192nd hit, Tom Browning's perfect game, and Ken Griffey Jr. 600th career home run. Marty was the recipient of the Ford C. Frick award in 2000 for major contributions to the game of baseball. 

Wily Mo Pena Bobblehead

This bobblehead was given out to fans on June 8, 2005 when the Reds took on the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays. I still miss Tampa Bay being called the Devil Rays...something about Devil making a team sound dark and sinister and we all need sinister teams in major league baseball. The Reds won this game in a slug fest and it was a fitting ending as Pena himself launched a two run homer in the bottom of the ninth to win the game for Cincinnati. Pena made his major league debut with the Reds on September 10, 2002 and singled in his first major league at-bat. During his stint in Cincinnati, Pena shared time in the outfield with Ken Griffey Jr., Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns. Pena was with the Reds until the spring of 2006 when he was shipped to Boston for Bronson Arroyo. Not a bad trade for the Reds if you ask me.

2006 Reds Autographed Team Bat

Not many things are as cool to me as an autographed team baseball....but an autographed team bat is the next best thing. I picked up this Rawlings Big Stick autographed bat a few years ago for a little more than the price of a couple of blasters. Although the bat wasn't signed by Griffey and Dun, it does have some of my favorite past and present players such as: Aaron Harang, David Weathers, Bronson Arroyo, Brandon Phillips, Jason LaRue, Tom Hume, Billy Hatcher, and Jerry Narron. Although the Reds weren't a great team in 2006, for me this is a cool thing to have in my collection.

2005 Studio

While I've been busy trying to knock out my 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen set, I've started on another set endeavor, the 2005 Studio set. I was a big fan of Studio when it came out in 1991 and while it held a special place in my collecting heart, I couldn't put in on the same pedestal as the 1991 Topps Stadium Club set. When I started dabbling in the hobby again in 2002 I was disappointed with what had happened to Studio. I wasn't impressed with their designs and was sad at what had become of this novelty set. However, in 2005 that changed when I saw what Donruss released. The card backgrounds are fantastic with the city skylines that are used on most of the cards in this set. In addition, I like how Donruss decided to use a sepia style in this design as compared to standard color photography. If I had one gripe with the set, it would be that I miss how Donruss didn't have the player's hobbies and interest or their hero. It's that quirky stuff besides a player's stats that I'm able to connect with.

Ken Griffey Jr. Bobblehead

Here's my last post of 2011 and with it....the last post of bobblehead month on the Cincinnati Reds Baseball Card Collector blog. What better way to wrap up than with a sure-fire soon to be hall of famer......Ken Griffey Jr. I was so excited when Junior decided to come and play ball in Cincinnati. Unfortunately, injuries led to many disappointing seasons with him on the DL. Anyway, the Reds decided to honor Griffey on May 24, 2005 with his very own nodder. Again the Reds gave out 30,000 of these bobbleheads to fans in attendance. Fans were treated to a great game as the Reds won in extra innings 4-3. Griffey was traded from the Mariners to the Reds on February 12, 2000 for Brett Tomko, Mike Cameron, Antonio Perez, and Jake Meyer. While with Cincinnati, Griffey was a three time all-star (thirteen total) and was the 2005 National League Comeback Player of the Year. I won't mention his other accomplishments (number of Gold Glove, Silver Slugger awards, etc.) since it makes me sad to see what he couldn't completely accomplish in Cincinnati what he did in Seattle. I will say that it was great to see Junior pass 600 Home Runs while he wore a Reds uniform. The Kid will always have a special place in my heart since he too was from Cincinnati and had the sweetest swing I have ever seen.

Another Print for the Man Cave

So I scored another print for my Cincinnati Reds Man Cave yesterday. I was able to pick up this panorama of Cinergy Field (which will go nicely with the panorama of Great American Ballpark I purchased a few weeks ago). I'm still keeping an eye out for a Cincinnati Enquirer Griffey HR 600 newspaper that I can pick up for a lot less than this http://www.ebay.com/itm/CINCINNATI-REDS-KEN-GRIFFEY-JR-600-HR-ENQUIRER-6-10-08-/300316968944?pt=US_Baseball_Fan_Shop&hash=item45ec4947f0. I'm also looking to score a couple of Reds pennants as well. But my most ambitious purchase will be a seat from Crosley Field to go with my stadium seats from Cinergy Field.

2005 Topps

One of the last Griffey cards to feature him in a Red's uniform. Although he was prone to injury when he was in Cincinnati, he was still one of my most favorite players to watch. Amazing athletic abilities and the sweetest swing I've ever seen. I like the 2005 Topps set. I think it's a nice balance of information and photography on the front. Topps did a great job ensuring that the photos weren't buried underneath the logos and text. The white border kept the design crisp and clean. Very conservative! I also like the fact that Topps decided to include the Sporting News cards that graced their sets of the 50s and 60s. A nice touch to a past era when card collecting was so much simpler. If I had one complaint about the 2005 Topps set, it's the fact that the team name is included twice on the front of the card....along the bottom and running down the left side of the card. That's a bit of redundancy that they could have and should have avoided.

2002 Topps

2002 was the year I decided to get back into the hobby. After taking a hiatus of nine years, the collecting bug hit me again after I moved from Cincinnati to Cleveland and I found a local card shop in Brunswick. I had no idea what I missed being away from the hobby for so long. All the product, inserts, relic cards, autographs... it just blew my mind. With so much out there I was tempted to start collecting Upper Deck since I briefly dabbled with them in 1990 by buying a ton of packs from a long gone hobby shop in Cincinnati. But in the end I stayed with Topps since the pack prices were affordable and I like the design of the card. The gold border was something I hadn't seen before on a standard base issue. The photography and team logos were so sweet compared to the early 1990s, when I left the hobby. But what really did it for me in 2002 was seeing Griffey's Topps card. Being a Reds fan, it was something I thought I would never see. The hometown hero sporting the same threads his dad did a few decades earlier. The sweet swing the kid always had. So many things Topps did right with this set and it helped to rekindle a passion for a hobby that I once thought too old to be a part of.

2000 Topps

Ok, so it's not white... but it is silver! It's also the first year card that Griffey is in a Reds uniform. Sure, things didn't quite pan out the way they should have when he left Seattle to come home to Cincinnati, but we were lucky enough to have one of the games greatest players grace us with his presence for a little while when he wasn't on the DL. Topps did a decent job with this set. I like the photography they used for both the front and back of the cards. The team logo and player's name at the bottom of the card, along with the team color that's used as an accent is a nice touch. Out of all the cards in the 2000 Topps set, my favorite would have to be the Griffey. Sure, I might be biased, but I love the way he's about to snag a fly ball over his shoulder Willie Mays style. Very cool!

2004 Topps

I don't know why I like this set, I just do. Maybe it's because the cards have a nice clean white border. Or perhaps it's that the photography is nice and the lettering doesn't overpower the card. Actually, I think the real reason is because of the little mirror image of the player at the bottom of the card. Seriously?! What were they thinking when the put that down there? Was someone in the art department playing hangman and noticed a blank area on the card and said "Hey, I've got a great idea!" If Topps would have just left that off the card I think it would have been a perfect design, but no such luck. Too bad, so sad :( Anyway, this is my most favorite Red's card in this set. I love how Griffey's making that leaping catch. Reminds me of the prime years of his life when it seemed like he was always on the highlight reel of Sportscenter every night. Those were the days.

2006 Topps

I love chrome. I love it on classic cars. I love it on household fixtures. I love it on baseball cards. I guess that's why I love the 2006 Topps cards as much as I do...for the chrome. I think Topps did a great job with this set from the red white and blue border, to the great photography, to the use of chrome in the team and player name. Not only that, but the set does have "The Kid" still as a Red. Next to Rose and Larkin, Griffey is my third most favorite Red even though he was banged up a lot and wasn't able to post numbers in Cincinnati that he did in Seattle. No matter. I think the only other way this set could have been better would have been to have Mr. Redlegs as part of it!

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.