DonRuss Odds and Ends

Blogging this year has settled into a routine for me. Cards arrive. I log them on Trading Card Database. I scan them and file the scans in folders on my computer arranged by manufacturer.  Then I file the cards in my binders, which are also arranged by manufacturer. I started with almost 200 scanned cards arranged this way, then back in June I added another 240 cards. So I have been working through them ever since, all the while adding to them.

However, I am now drawing near the end of my stash of unblogged card scans. I seem to be left with several unrelated cards that don't really go together. Today I'm going to close out my DonRuss folder with three cards that have yet to feature on here. Some of them have been waiting months for their chance to star on the blog, while all the cards around them in the folder have been picked. At last their day has arrived.

Starting with the oldest card, which arrived most recently.

Card Number 556: DonRuss Baseball's Best, 1988; #154

This is a from a 336-card 'factory set' that was released towards the end of the 1988 season. According to BaseballCardPedia, the orange and black borders mean it's sometimes referred to as the Halloween Edition.

The unremarkable photo on the front (which is channeling Topps's uncanny knack of using a photo that shows neither the player's face or name), is matched by the unremarkable back. It's different to the regular base cards, however as the stats box is portrait-oriented, rather than landscape.

Card Number 557: DonRuss, 2001; #24

Somehow, I hadn't blogged this base card before. It's from Tony's final season. The star patterns in the background are cool.

The back has another photo of Tony. This is his 'running the bases' expression and he's got one dipped shoulder, so I suspect this photo is a cropped action shot.

Card Number 558, DonRuss Leather & Lumber, 2004; #124

This was a relic-heavy set where DonRuss literally cut up anything to stick in cards - balls, gloves, bats, jerseys, you name it. The ordinary cards were just filler to pad out the packs in-between the relics. This card was sent to me by Rodney just after I launched the blog.

It's a nice photo of Tony tipping his batting helmet to the crowd on the front.

The back has a succinct write-up highlighting another aspect of Tony's game. In the first half of his career he was an extraordinary base-stealer.

The one line stats box makes perfect sense for a retired player.

So that's my DonRuss file empty for the time being. I'm sure there will be some more along at some point, maybe even some cards released in 2021!

Total: 558 cards

Holding out for a Hero

Hero may be an over-used word these days, but I think it's perfectly applicable to use it when referring to Tony Gwynn. A couple of card companies have thought the same.

Card Number 130: DonRuss Team Heroes, 2004; #357
This was a nice looking set that was mainly of the then-current players with a bonus retired player for each team. Tony was the natural choice for the Padres.

All the cards gave a little summary of the current status of the team and the team stat totals for the previous year. On the Padres cardbacks the write-up mentions Petco Park, which opened for the 2004 season.

The generic blurbs also mention Padres former stars, which means that Tony Gwynn's name is on all 13 cards featuring Padres players. I have not yet reached a level of insanity when I would include those in cards I am chasing.

Card Number 131: Upper Deck Baseball Heroes, 2008; #147
This is another set with a mix of contemporary players and retired stars.

Nothing to complain about here, with the 1984 uniform and a photo of young Tony. There's a mention of his .394 batting average in 1994 on the back.

Tony featured on another card in this set on a card he shared with Cal Ripken Jr. There were three other Padres with their own cards in the 200-card set - Jake Peavy, Greg Maddux and Kevin Kouzmanoff (a highly rated young star in 2008, who unfortunately burned bright and fast). Peavy and Maddux also shared cards in the set with players from other teams.

[For those interested in this sort of thing, these are the first cards from 2004 and 2008 to feature on this blog.]

Total: 131/394