1981 Cincinnati Reds Team Signed Baseball

34 Signatures total on this team ball: Johnny Bench, Ken Griffey, Ron Oester, Mario Soto, Joe Price, Paul Householder, Eddie Milner, Vic Correll, Ray Knight, Harry Spilman, Junior Kennedy, Joe Nolan, Doug Bair, George Foster, Jay Howell, Frank Pastore, Sheldon Burnside, Mike LaCoss, Charlie Leibrandt, Paul Moskau, Sam Mijias, Dave Tomlin, Dan Driessen, Dave Concepcion, Hector Cruz, Dave Collins, Tom Seaver, Geoff Combe, Bill Bonham, Tom Hume, Bruce Berenyi, Don Werner, Rick Auerbach, Cesar Geronimo

Autographed Mini Home Plate

One of my favorite items I have in my Reds collection is this mini home plate autographed by George Foster and Ken Griffey. I wanted to try and get the starting eight of the Big Red Machine autograph this piece as well as Sparky Anderson, but with Sparky's passing, that's no longer possible.  Regardless, I'm still hoping to still get some of the members of the Machine sign the plate.  Foster was the 1977 National League MVP and a five time all-star for the Reds. As for Griffey, he was a three time all-star for the Reds. There's only one issue I have and that's displaying this mini-home plate with the rest of my collection. I'll probably build a custom display case for it since I don't feel like spending $40 on a case when I could put that $40 towards baseball cards.

1975 Topps

With the playoffs in full swing, I decided to write about one of the greatest teams to take the field... The Big Red Machine. Sure, I'm not old enough to remember them playing baseball, but I have seen the highlights, read the books, and listened to countless stories from others how they were a force to be reckoned with. Carlton Fisk can have his game six home run. Doesn't matter much since Cincinnati won game 7 and the series. I like the 1975 Topps cards. The two tone border was a nice change up for Topps. I also like the player facsimile autographs on the front of the card and the 3-D rendering of the team names at the top of the card. The little all-star stars on the bottom are a little cheesy, but that's something I can overlook. I guess the main reason I like this set is because it features the Big Red Machine in their prime. Rose, Bench, Morgan, Perez, Griffey, Concepcion, Foster, and Geronimo! It doesn't get much better than that.

Did I mention I collect autographs too?!

In addition to collecting Topps Cincinnati Reds baseball cards, I'm also collecting autographs of past and present players. One of my most favorite successes is the great eight of the Big Red Machine (Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, Ken Griffey, Cesar Geronimo, Dave Concepcion, George Foster) and their manager (Sparky Anderson). Although I was born in 1975 and never witnessed the Big Red Machine play, that doesn't mean I can't admire the awesome achievements they made and their dominance of the National League in the mid 70s. Carlton Fisk can wave his arms all he wants......they still lost the 1975 World Series to the Machine.....one of the best teams to ever take the field.