It is November First

     And I wait to bring this up until November first because today's Fernando Valenzuela's birthday. 5:00 on his birthday, but better late than never. Valenzuela passed away on October 22nd, so I know it's a bit of a wait, but I wanted to give him a small tribute on his actual birthday.

    The first card I got of El Toro was his 1990 Fleer card. 

    Valenzuela put up impressive numbers in his 17-year career, accumulating 173 wins and an ERA of 3.54. He won the Cy Young Award and the Rookie of the Year in the same season, 1981, when at the age of 20 he pitched to a 2.48 ERA and went 13-7 in the strike-shortened season. He helped the Dodgers win the '81 World Series, defeating the Yankees. Thus Fernandomania was roused, and Valenzuela took off from there.

    In 2003, Valenzuela took a role in the Dodgers Spanish broadcasting booth and was partners with his interpreter. He spent more than 20 years as a broadcaster before stepping away due to health.

    Fernando's number, 34, is retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers, who defeated the Yankees again in the World Series. Dodgers fans and baseball fans in general will miss the  pitcher from Mexico.

    I'm afraid I don't know all that much about Fernando Valenzuela. But I hope I knew enough to give him a good tribute. He deserves one.

You are not requred to start over, but you are required to keep going.

                                                                                        -Fernando Valenzuela

Fall Classic Games 3 - 5: Freddie Kills...But So Do Errors

     Let's face it; we all know what happened in these games. Right? Let me just make sure I'm not wrong. Anyway, I've lost my train of thought, so these are my takeaways from each game. (Warning: This post is going have an extremely different feel to it.) Buckle up y'all.

    This time, I didn't watch any of game three, due to being places at the time of the game. I watched a lot of game four. But, I watched all of the fifth game, and had a very mixed experience with that one. 

Game 3: Game 3 of the good ol' World Series was a story of Freddie Freeman. Again. If you're a Dodgers fan, you must be really happy. If not, then you're probably not too happy. Clarke Schmidt pitched a little bit less than idealy, and Aaron Judge continued to be confuddled by the Dodger pitching staff. The Dodgers ended up winning 4-2, and had a chance to sweep on Tuesday.

Game 4: Freddie Freeman. Yet again. Coming into the game, Freddie had the highest slugging percentage in World Series history at .853, and when he went yard in the first inning, extended his Fall Classic home run streak to six games, also a record. The tide turned when, of all people, Anthony Volpe hit a grand slam to make the game 5-2 in favor of New York (that kid has talent). Gleyber and Austin Wells also hit homers. And Aaron Judge finally got a hit, which happened to be off of Brent Honeywell Jr. who was actively getting shellacked. Maybe that heats things up for the next game(s)? Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that fans assaulted Mookie Betts to take the ball out of his glove. They got in trouble.

Game 5: I wrote this one while actively watching the game, which is why it's longer and more detailed. In the first inning, I totally called a rejuvenated Aaron Judge two-run bomb. When he stepped in the box I said, 'Here comes the Judge tank,' and he did it first pitch. Jazz went yard the very next at-bat, and totally showed up Jack Flaherty. Moving on to the fifth inning, Yanks up 5-0.
    Alright, I don't care who it is, no major league team can ever make that many errors and mental mistakes in one inning. Between dropped flies, throwing errors, and missing covering first base, the Yankees gave the Dodgers 5 free runs (and I mean free: 0 earned runs) to tie the game. I hate errors. Watching them hurts. Nonetheless, Gerrit Cole ended up going 6 2/3 innings in 108 pitches. The statline is definitely an interesting one with 5 unearned runs (cringe), but at least he left with a 6-5 lead. 
    After the ninth inning, I gotta tell you two words: errors kill. This could have been a 6-2 game, but instead, it's 7-6. I'm not trying to bag on the Yankees, believe me. I was rooting for them. But that fifth inning was really painful. 
    On the bright side, Freddie didn't hit a homer this game. So the streak ends.

    

    I donned my 2023 Rangers World Series hat for the ninth inning of game five, knowing that it could my last day of the Rangers being reigning champs. It's kind of sad what happened to them this season, but I know they can, and believe they will make it up next year and have a postseason run. However, that's a conversation for another day. For now, the Dodgers are the champions. And I thought it was gonna be the Padres......

    It comes as no surprise to anybody that Freddie Freeman wins the World Series MVP. An enormous walk-off homer in game one followed by three more in the next three games makes for an obvious choice. But, since I've posted cards of him in a bunch of posts these last days, I'm afraid it's time for Walker Buehler and Tommy Edman.

I'm afraid I got nothing special for these guys, just base cards from years past

    You know what Gerrit Cole, you can get a feature on this post too. You're a work horse. You deserve it.

    Though I wasn't exactly rooting for the Dodgers to win, I am kind of glad that the series is over, because I was starting to get sick of writing these game recaps. After I wrote the first one I was going to keep on though, even though these wore fairly boring to write, and probably boring to read. I have a few decent posts in my queue to be released into the world in the near future.

   

    Post Script:
    Tomorrow's post will mark my third in as many days, which I don't typically like to do, but the post tomorrow is one I really want to do, and it can only be done tomorrow. You'll get it when you see it. Anyway, thank you for reading, have a great rest of the week, and happy collecting!

I did it

     I've been wanting to do it for a whole few days now, and yesterday I finally did: I joined TCDB.

    Considering how much help they've given me, like telling me what on earth that Jacob deGrom card I had was (silver pattern foilboard), I think it'll be a beneficial relationship. I haven't listed any cards on it yet, and when I start it will be a very slow process. 

(Random card from the 2023 binder, though this one seems fitting. Freddie's kinda been historic)

    Well, just wanted to throw a post out there since the Yankees won last night and therefore I can't post on the World Series yet. It's a shortie today. Enjoy the rest of your week, and happy collecting. My collecting may get happier....I've already messed around on the website while seeing what it's like.

Fall Classic Games 1 & 2: Freddie for MVP

    Alas, I'm a dirty liar. It's baseball. I watched it. Most of it. I watched the entire first game of the World Series, and then most of the second game. Here are my personal recaps from them.

    

    The first game was a tale of (in my opinion) bad managerial decisions and a suffering bullpen. Nestor Cortes hadn't pitched in 37 days. That's typically the way it goes, I guess. I jokingly mentioned the intentional walk of Mookie Betts, and then it actually happened.

    I call it anticlimactic that the Yankees went through the free pass of Mookie, because Freddie Freeman deposited the very next pitch into the right field pavilion. Dang it. It was the first walk-off grand slam in (at the time) 696 World Series games.

    It also stinks that Juan Soto didn't have the best game on his birthday. You win some, you lose some.

    I had even less hope for the Yankees in Game 2. Carlos Rodon had been decent in the regular season, but he wasn't an ace. Yoshi Yamamoto is getting overpaid for a reason. He shut down the offense of the Yankees for 6 1/3 innings, his only blunder being a Juan Soto home run. Meanwhile, Tommy Edman went yard, and I called the second Freddie tank. After all Freeman's been through this year between his son's scary illness and the ankle injury, I'm kinda glad he's doing what he's been good at for so long.

    I left sometime in the fourth or fifth inning to practice dancing Footloose (I don't even know why I mention this), and came back somewhere in the last three innings. I saw Shohei get hurt attempting to steal second, which was a little bit frightening (hope he's alright). After a scoreless inning out of Mark Leiter Jr, the score was 4-1 in favor of the Dodgers, going into the ninth inning.

    Then Blake Treinen came on again, and instantly got himself into trouble. Juan Soto (who hit a homer earlier in the game), singled and then reached second on a wild pitch. Aaron Judge struck out again for the first out before a really weird Stanton RBI single off of third base. A Chisholm single followed, and then one of those classic Anthony Rizzo 'this pitch is inside so I'm gonna be on first base' plate appearances. This loaded the bases for Anthony Volpe. 

    Let me just say that I've never been more disappointed in a player when I have very little rooting interest in a game. That strike three pitch was so outside that I don't think he could have hit it with a 39 1/2 foot pole.

    And now, for the most anticlimactic portion of the game: Blake Treinen is pulled and Alex Vesia comes in to shut the door. Down to their last out, with the bases loaded, the Yankees send Jose Trevino to pinch-hit for Austin Wells. 

    He flies out on the first pitch, and that was all she wrote. 4-2 Dodgers.

    I know I said that I wasn't going to watch most of the World Series, but since it was on antenna, I was unable to hold back. Sure I was rooting against both these teams, I won't deny that. There is a ton of star-power in this series, which is definitely appealing. But the main reason for my watching is this: it's baseball. Whether or not you like the teams, this is the championship for this whole year of baseball. The rules may be less than ideal, and same with the teams, but this is the game that I've been with since I was in diapers. 

    So, I watched it. I will probably continue to watch most of it. But, maybe we can have the Rangers in the World Series next year for that adrenaline boost and the rooting interests. Please?

    Thanks for reading my very poorly written recaps, have a great start to the week, and happy collecting!

Those Nice Nippon Cards From Walmart.....

     Yeesh, this was a while ago by now. But yes, I was in Walmart when I found this nifty pack of 2021 Nippon cards for under eight bucks, so of course, picked it up.

    I don't remember exactly how many cards it came with, but considering my unwillingness to trade them to a friend (ha ha), I bet it was the fourteen I possess now. I was actually not going to make this a post at all, but, well, changed my mind. And now we're here.

    I really like these cards, but of course, have the same beef with the 2021 design. I like that the patterns match each other up when the cards are side-by-side, but the print is too small and the front of the cards are a little bit boring. However, I actually like the look of them better on the Japanese cards.

    We got three pitchers to start things off. And look who's in the middle, it's Kodai Senga! The 'u' in his name on the card threw me off a little, but it's the same pitcher. After an awesome rookie season that saw Senga end second in Rookie of the Year voting and seventh Cy Young voting, he only made one start this season due to injuries. 
    On the right we see 24-year old Kaima Taira, who has a 2.03 ERA as a reliever in seven seasons in Japan (1.94 in the Nippon Professional Baseball League), striking out about 10 batters per nine innings.

This is the back of the Senga card. Obviously, I can't read the words, though the stats aren't very difficult to figure out.

    The first two players on this row are major-leaguers; we see Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida, who has looked pretty good in the MLB across his 248 games. We also see Masahiro Tanaka, who pitched seven years with the Yankees, acquiring a 78-46 record and a solid 3.74 ERA in that time. He was an all-star in 2019. He is still pitching professionally in Japan at the age of 35, though he will be 36 on November first.

    No major leaguers in this one, though we have Munetaka Murakami, who through seven years in Japan has a .272/.395/.543 slash line with 241 home runs in 934 games. At 24 years of age, the slugging third baseman will be eligible to play in the majors after the 2025 season, and that seems to be his goal. I would look out for him, and will definitely be paying close attention to him.

    Again, no major leaguers, but we have a solid player in Eigoro Mogi, who in 915 games owns a .272/.350/.418 slash line. I also have a rookie card of pitcher Ryuta Heinai, who has a 12-16 record and 4.06 ERA across 197 1/3 innings.

    We end with a couple more players, and a rookie card of Masashi Itoh. Itoh has pitched four seasons in Japan, and has a 37-26 record and 2.73 ERA.  

    Favorite Card: I gotta go with Kodai Senga. He's looked great at the big league level (though injuries devastated him this year), and he has a great picture for the card.

    Least-Favorite Card: Eigoro Mogi's card is a little bit boring. Not much of an action shot out of the utility infielder. 

    A few of these guys are really young and performing well in Japan. I wonder if any of them will get the big league call and join the majors (with either the Dodgers or the Yankees, coincidentally). I don't know all of the rules for foreign players, other than being 25 years of age to come over, and I'm not going to look it up at the moment.

    Looking back at these cards reminds me of when I used to be able to watch Nippon games on my television. Those were the glory days (though we usually only watched a few innings). Maybe I'll see if I can find them on TV again. I'd be interested for sure.

    Speaking of foreign players, rising star Yoshinobu Yamamoto is slated to start Game 2 of the World Series, behind Game 1 starter Jack Flaherty. I could go into detail about the filthy talent this kid possesses, but that would take a whole other post. And, sadly enough, I don't have any of his cards.

    Hopefully this World Series will be an exciting one. Have a great rest of the week, happy collecting, and, as always, thanks for reading. I'm out.

Well, we got a world series....

     Don't get me wrong, this is a clash of the titans; one seed on one seed, team y team. But, alas, I was rooting against both these guys. Apologies to the numerous Yankees and Dodgers fans out there; I come in peace. But ay caramba, couldn't the Tigers at least have made it?

    

    I think I'll be rooting for the Yankees on this one, for the same reason I was rooting for the Mets before; for the sake of a friend who's a die-hard fan.    

    Well, hopefully this will at least be an entertaining series. Both of these team like to hit homers. I don't know, but it may come down to which team provides the most longball. My money's on a Dodgers World Series, but considering that I was wrong on most of my predictions for the playoffs, the Yankees are probably going to win. 

    

    If any of my readers are fans of either of these teams, good luck to you and your squads. As for me, maybe next year the Rangers will make a rebound or the Tigers or Giants will do something interesting (yes, believe it or not, it wasn't long ago when I was a hard-core Giants fan; not expecting much from then).

    Y'all have a great start to the week, happy World Series, and happy collecting! 

Zack Gelof in 200 words

     I've been facing the fact for a while now that I needed more material for the blog. I was thinking of doing player-bios in the off-season, which I thought would be fun, but when it comes down to it, I don't know that I'll be able or more likely willing to do it. Therefore, I figured I'd shorten it. The brief careers of my favorite players in 200 words, no more, no less. These will be using the word count format, so slash lines count as three whole words. Let's see how this goes....

    I'll only do this first mini-bio for now, and see how it goes down with the readers, and then progress to more in the off-season. I hope y'all enjoy!

    We'll start with the 200-word career of one of my favorites, Zack Gelof. 

    Zack Gelof was born October 19th, 1999 in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The second baseman was drafted in the second round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft by the Oakland Athletics. Gelof played 203 minor league games from Rookie Ball through AAA, slashing .291/.379/.503 in that time with 38 homers and 142 RBIs, eventually earning himself a spot on the big-league club in July of 2023. He also played for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic that year. Gelof impressed in his initial 69 major league games, slashing .267/.337/.504 with 14 home runs and 14 stolen bases. He looked like a ray of hope for the Athletics going into 2024, and looked promising in Spring Training. However, an injury and a sophomore slump led to a disappointing campaign in which the second baseman hit .211 with 17 homers and 49 RBIs in 138 games, and a league-leading 188 strikeouts. I both hope and think that he has what it takes to turn things around next year, but he has to keep the strikeout rate down and stay healthy. He may also need time to adjust to a new field. As always, only time can tell.

    There we go, 200 words exactly. Hopefully as I go along the quality of writing will improve, and I will be able to include more personal things rather than just statistics. Moving forward I will keep it to just 200 words for the whole post, with no introductions or conclusions at the end.

    Let me know what y'all thought of this one, and, as always, have a great rest of your week, happy collecting, and good luck to your playoff squad.