Two more cards from 1996 and a blog milestone!

For the previous three days I have blogged three cards a day from 1996. I still have more cards from that year and I've picked two today that will take this blog up to 800 cards.

Card Number 799: Pinnacle Zenith, 1996; #91

This is the pinnacle of scanning nightmares - a black shiny card. In retrospect, scanning it on a black background wasn't the smartest move. The display of fanned out bats in the background makes this card distinct.

On the back there is a 'hit location chart'!

Pinnacle made a point of doing data differently on their cardbacks. This visualisation is very informative. Tony didn't score many homers but they almost all went out beyond right field. He used to spray the ball all over the outfield, so clearly he just didn't quite have the power to get it over the wall in left field. This cardback is definitely worth ten bonus points.

Also, I'm not sure if this is deliberate, but the card number is the reverse of 19. 

Card Number 800: Pinnacle Zenith, 1996 #150

Another black shiny card! The last 20 cards in the 150-card set were the 'Honor Roll'. Tony had card number 150, which was the last card in the base set.

The other names listed on the Honor Roll all had cards in this subset too.

This is a nice card to illustrate Tony's place in the game during his 90s peak - his zenith, if you will - and also to show some of the cards produced during the baseball card industry peak as well. Pinnacle went to the wall a couple of years later as the hobby contracted, although it lives on now as one of Panini's many acquired brands. 

This brings me up to 800 cards on the blog. When I reached 700 cards back in July, I wasn't expecting to complete another century so quickly. But I still have lots of cards waiting to be blogged and am back into the daily posting routine which I hope to keep up throughout the winter!

Total: 800 cards

A sneak peak ahead

I'm excited because at the weekend a package turned up that I'd been anticipating for a while. There were about 50 Tony Gwynn cards inside and 23 of them were ones I didn't yet have. The cards are mainly from the 1980s, and I've decided that next week's blog posts will have a theme. Next week will be Eighties Week here on Point 394.

In the purchase were two pin badges. I haven't decided yet whether to blog about them because they're badges, and I'm trying to keep the focus of the blog on baseball cards. Maybe when I run out of cards to blog about, I'll move on to them.

In the meantime I'm not going to let a post go by without including at least one card. This was one of the few cards from the 90s in the joblot that I didn't already have and it's another "last card in the set".

Card Number 475: DonRuss, 1996; #550

This checklist at the end of the set lists itself on the checklist but doesn't mention Tony.

Checklists don't tend to be included in sets any more. In this case DonRuss used the checklist to highlight Tony's 1000th career run. However, I would query that date. 

According to Baseball Reference, Tony didn't score a run on 7th May that year. It was the final game in a series where the Padres were swept convincingly by the Giants. Tony picked up a run the following day in the first game of a series against the Dodgers. 

I've reached a point where I just don't trust the facts I read on baseball cards any more.

There's a picture of Tony on the back as a watermark behind the checklist as well. 

One of the great things about checklists is finding names of otherwise forgotten baseball players that stick out for some reason. Like the onomatopoeic Eric Plunk (#479), or the player who could be perennially lonely, Duane Singleton (#549). It's not always a good idea to look these guys up though. I did that recently with Chuck Knoblauch (#536) only to find he has had an unhappy life after baseball. It's best to let them live on as eye-catching names on a checklist.

Total: 475 cards

Forgotten Fleer - Tony the Gamer

Happy Halloween! No tricks here, just some treats of the cardboard kind!

Fleer cards from the start of the 21st century are always slightly surprising when they appear in job lots (like most of these did for me), mainly because they released a large number of sets that only lasted for a year. In 2000 they released a range called "Gamers". That's a term that's become far more common in the intervening twenty years and it feels odd that the Gamers range isn't linked to computer games. 

It was a reasonably pricey range ($3.99 for 5 cards) and had lots of bat relics to collect. It also had short printed rookie cards and a 15-card insert series dedicated to Cal Ripken Jr. There were two other 15-card insert series as well and Tony had a card in each.

Card Number 447: Fleer Gamers, 2000; #90

Tony's base card in the set. I think this does look like the cover of a computer game.

The cardback is laid out a bit differently to a lot of cards. The career totals are easy to read. It's also very orange.

Card Number 448: Fleer Gamers, 2000; #120

The last 10 cards in the set were players in the "Fame Game" (whatever that was). Tony actually had the final card in the set, #120. 

The filmstrip edging up the side are a rare design element on a baseball card. It's a foilboard card hence the dark scan.

Tony's credentials for Cooperstown on the back took a slight dent when his career batting percentage dropped by .01 after his final season. He has also since been passed by 4 players on the all-time hits total ranking.

Card Number 449: Fleer Gamers, 2000; #10CG

"Change the Game" was one of the 15-card insert series, along with "Dominators". Tony actually had a card in both series.

This card is a shiny foilboard that scans blue. I like the effect.

It has a very simple (and very orange) cardback. It references Tony's batting style. He was well known for swinging at the first pitch, and often connecting. The hours of preparation studying video of pitchers paid off and he often knew exactly where the ball would be thrown.

He also was a "tough out" - Tony very rarely struck out and only ever struck out three times in a game once in his entire career.

And a bonus card...

Card Number 450: Fleer Game Time, 2001; #49

Gamers got changed to Game Time in 2001 (but kept the font for the logo). This 121-card set was another relic-heavy expensive set. There were two insert series as well (including the bizarrely-named "Sticktoitness" insert series), but Tony didn't feature in either one. This base card was his sole appearance in the set, although there was a memorabilia card with a game-worn uniform patch.

There was an unusual choice of photo montage on the front with a small version of Tony dwarfed by a large version of the same image of Tony. A small cameo shot is obscured behind a grid.

The back, by contrast is more traditional, with a truncated stats box and no write-up.

Fleer have added the year under their logo as well, which gets this card a bonus point, but otherwise there is very little to make this card stand out.

Total: 450 cards

Tuesday Twins - the silver signature series

In 1994 through 1996 Upper Deck decided to release every single card in their sets with 'silver signature' versions that included printed signatures in foil. Here are the 1994 versions of Tony's base card. 

In today's post, here are some more 'twins'

Card Number 255: Upper Deck Collector's Choice Special Edition, 1995; #27

Card Number 256: Upper Deck Collector's Choice Special Edition - Silver Signature, 1995; #27

I've scanned these together as they came in the same bulk lot. The silver foil signature doesn't show up well.

The backs are completely identical, and explain how close Tony came to scoring .400 in 1994. They also compare his statistics with Ted Williams's record-setting season in 1941. It's noticeable how Tony had fewer at bats than Ted when those seasons are compared head-to-head. Tony was coming into form in July and early August before the player's strike ended the season prematurely. Whether he could have topped .400 for the season is one of those great 'might have been' questions.

Card Number 257: Upper Deck Collector's Choice, 1996; #760

Card Number 258: Upper Deck Collector's Choice - Silver Signature, 1996; #760

I didn't scan these cards together, which is one reason why I have literally only just noticed that the Silver Signature card has a silver border as well.

Tony was still only on 6 batting titles back in 1996. He got his seventh that year.

There is no difference between the cardbacks, although the one I have without a signature has a slight dirty smudge on it.

There's a concise summary of Gwynn's career to date on the cardback as well. At least it makes the checklist more worthwhile to collect.

So far, this is the first Tony Gwynn card in my collection to be the final card in a set. He's been #1 a few times, but not the ultimate card!

Total: 258/394