The post title isn't actually a reference to a song that is now 30 years old (how?!?), but instead to a really nice insert card released by Topps a mere 5 years ago.
Card Number 126: Topps, 2015 (Archetypes Insert); #A-17
The photo on the front has been edited to make it look like its been drawn or painted, which gives it quite an ethereal quality.
The back talks about Tony's bat control. It really was no accident that he made so many hits in his career and very rarely struck out. Tony was a placement hitter, not a power slugger, and he aimed to steer the ball down the gaps in the infield.
Tony was active when the great craze for hitting home runs hotted up in the late 90s. His contemporaries like Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa were smashing the ball out of the park on a regular basis and breaking record after record. It appears from what people have said about him, that Tony went through more than one period of introspection regarding his hitting wondering whether he should chase more home runs. Whether he could have done that without the steroids that provided many of the big hitters with their power is an unanswerable question.
Happily, Tony decided to stick with the controlled hitting, which is why he retained such a high career batting average title and so many hits. Placement is a skill gained through hard work and there are no short cuts. The legacy of the power hitters who attracted the headlines during Tony's latter career is tainted because so many did take short cuts through using performance enhancing drugs.
Total: 126/394
Wow. I guess it's been five years since I last sold cards on eBay. When these inserts came out, I found a bunch without foil. I kept a few like Rickey and Gwynn... but listed the rest on eBay. I can't remember how much I made, but people paid a very nice premium for these misprints.
ReplyDeleteBy the way... your blog inspired me to head over to Sportlots and pick up a few cards... including that 1988 Donruss All-Stars card. I ended up grabbing a ton of late 80's and early 90's Gwynn singles I didn't have.