Mount Rushmore...NL West

I've always loved the "Mt. Rushmore" discussions.  Don't know what that is?  It's thinking  hard on who would be the four faces on each team's Mt. Rushmore, or better explained, the four biggest icons from each team.  I think I will do this for the next week or so.  There will be one rule with my Mt. Rushmore's for each team:  A player can only be on one Rushmore.  For example:  I could easily put Nolan Ryan on the Rangers, Astros, or Mets...but, he will only be able to go on one.

So, let's get crackin'.  We're going to start with the National League East.


Los Angeles/Brooklyn Dodgers:  Sandy Koufax, Jackie Robinson, Fernando Valenzuela, and Duke Snider.

Defense:  Koufax and Robinson need no defense.  Each of those two defined their position during their time period.  Both were easily selected to the Hall of Fame.  Duke Snider was a masher and was widely considered one of the best ball players of his era.  Therefore, I feel that I don't need to justify having the Duke on here.  Now, Fernando.  Yes, some of you may be able to skewer me for adding Fernando but the man was awesome.  Many of you don't remember how good he was...YouTube him.  You'll see.

Arizona Diamondbacks:  Luis Gonzalez, Mark Grace, Curt Schilling, Jose Valverde

Defense: It's hard to put up a Rushmore Four for a fairly new team.  1998 really wasn't all that long ago.  So, it's kind of hard to give four faces of the franchise.  Luis was the Diamondbacs.  He just defined what that team was and is.  A class act that will never sniff the Hall of Fame.  Grace was a gamer and people loved him.  Schilling, even though he made his legacy in Boston, was a force in the World Series vs. the Yankees.  He was great on this team and he would never make the Boston Rushmore.  Valverde...I was having trouble of thinking of anyone better.  Thoughts?

San Francisco/New York Giants:  Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and Orlando Cepeda.

Defense:  This list needs absolutely no defending.  If you disagree with any of these then you need to read some history.  OR stop following baseball...the NBA is calllllliiiiiinnnnngggg.

Colorado Rockies:  Todd Helton, Larry Walker, Troy Tulowitzki, Dante Bichette

Defense:  Another new-ish team.  However, the Rocks weren't that hard to find four guys who defined what the team is.  Helton should be a HO'Fer...Rookie of the Year, Silver Sluggers, blah blah blah.  Todd is the MAN (capital MAN) in Colorado.  Walker and Bichette were also great players during their times on the Rockies.  Lots of RBI's and lots of HR's....were they both clean during this time?  Well, that's another debate for another time.  Finally, Tulo...it's quite strange to put a current player on a Mt. Rushmore list but Troy is the real deal.  He is destined for greatness.

San Diego Padres: Tony Gwynn, Dave Winfield, Trevor Hoffman, Gary Sheffield.

Defense:  Gwynn is the face of the franchise in San Diego and probably the most consistent hitter that I have ever seen play.  Winfield played on a number of other teams but his chances for making a Rushmore were the best in San Diego.  So, here he is.  Same with Sheffield.  Sheff was a friggin' phenomenal hitter.  Just awesome.  Right behind Mariano Rivera, when it comes to closers, is Trevor Hoffman.  He was that good.

Well, that's the NL West Mt. Rushmore's.  There are some really good players on that list.  Mays, Bonds, Schilling, Helton...etc.  The NL West has seen some great players but...the good news is that the other divisions have seen far greater.  Stay tuned for the rest of the list.

Don't agree?  Email or respond and we can debate...defend your team!  Defend your favorite player!

ON DECK:  AL WEST

Getting With The Times...I Guess

Hey people.  Just thought I would throw it out there that Can't Hit The Curve has joined the Twitter-universe.  We figured it was just time to get with it, get hip, and all that bullshit.  Actually, it seemed like an effective (cost-effective, mostly) way to get the word out there about the ol' homestead...or site.  So, give us a follow.  I'm still learning how to get shit done on the Twitter site so give me a few days and we'll be jammin'.

Follow us:  @Canthitthecurve

Cheers!

2014 Topps

Hey!  Topps is always first.  They're the grandaddy of this here trading card biz so they reserve the right to go first with their releases.  Actually, I'm awful sure that it doesn't have much to do with respect.  More like:  Topps is friggin' smart to release their newest flagship set every year BEFORE spring training.  I think they are the only company that releases something new before the start of the season but I could be wrong wrong wrong.

Anyway, since the regular old Topps set is fairly affordable, I bought five packs at the LCS.  So, I left with fifty cards and didn't feel dirty or have serious buyers remorse about this purchase.  Topps prices their flagship set appropriately so the whole process of buying and collecting is...gasp!...Fun!  Amazing, I know.

There's a little more gloss to this year's card.  This could be problematic for those collectors who like to hit the streets or the mail to get their cards signed.  But, to me, this is a minor drawback.  The cards themselves look good...they went with the white border again (good!).

Here's a short run-down of some of the stuff you'll find in the 2014 version...actually, there is no short version.  Go to this here link to see it all.

I can at least tell what I got in my five packs.  I got 50 cards.  A number of regular old base cards, a number of rookies, and a handful of "future stars" (is this a new subset...it seems to be vaguely reminiscent of Upper Deck), 1 Tampa Bay player (Cobb), 2 of the red hot foil inserts, a Bo Jackson die-cut mini, Gary Carter and Cal Ripken Jr "Upper Class", and a Paul Goldschmidt Power Player card.  Overall, it was fun.  This is what collecting is supposed to be like.

Burning A-Rod (or Free Alex Rodriguez Cards)

Hey.  I have a stack of Alex Rodriguez cards I am getting ready to burn.  Actually...I'm not.  But, in honor of his recent suspension I am willing to dole out small packs of 7-10 A-Rod cards to whoever wants them.  I just ask for a couple stamps to send them...

Just send me a message to let me know.

Also, a waaaayyysss back I promised an autographed card to a reader.  But, due to some computer glitches I never got to send that card and now I can't remember who it is.  So, who are you stranger?  Send me an email reminder.  I didn't totally forget about you...just forgot for a while.  I'm super sorry and will make it up to you, I swear.

Thanks for reading and if you want freebies, give me a shout!

2103 Panini Prizm Perennial Draft Picks

It seems like the only things I review around here are Panini and Topps.  I guess that can be attributed to the fact that both still have product lines that are somewhat affordable.  This is something that cardmakers have forgotten...or willingly ignored.  People, especially in times of economic turmoil, have less money.  However, in recent years card companies have put out more and more hundred-dollar-a-box (or pack!) high end bullshit that I cannot justify spending.  I guess I'm not a true collector.

Anyway, went to the LCS to talk with the guy about scaling my collection back to just Hall of Famers and present/former Tampa Bay Rays players.  Gotta make room, you know.  So, I walk out with a couple of Rays autographed singles (Alex Cobb, Jake Odorizzi, Heath Bell) and two packs of 2013 Panini Prizm Perennial Draft Picks.  Opened 'em up:  no autos, one blue, and a whole stack of guys I haven't heard of yet.  That's the thing with draft pick cards...you don't always know what you got!

Here's a little breakdown about the set:   The boxes retail for 79 bucks a box, 20 packs in a box, six cards in a pack.  That, in itself, is not too bad.  Each box also guarantees Four autographs, Six parallels, and Three inserts.  Very not bad, at all.

The cards themselves are run-of-the-mill Prizm.  Nothing spectacular but really not too off-putting, either.

For the price, I would definitely recommend the Panini Prizm Perennial Draft Picks line.  It's economical AND you may actually get a little bit of a value from your purchase.  Now, who knows...in six or seven years are these cards going to hold up value-wise?  That really cannot be determined by a low-level goofball like myself.  We will just have to wait and see!

Head on over to Cardboard Connection for a checklist of the Panini.


Oh yeah...my two packs had twelve cards.  They were (in no particular order):  Vincent Vasquez, Adalberto Mondesi, Ryan Boldt (Prizm), Eugenio Suarez, Brian Navarreto, Luis Torrens, Chance Sisco, Orlando Castro, Jonathan Denney (Blue #'d to 75), Carter Hope, Garin Cecchini, Ryan Boldt.

Pretty Interesting: Topps Contracts

Now, here's something that I think is fairly unique and pretty cool in the world of baseball memorabilia.  Topps, the venerable granddaddy of baseball cards, puts expired and signed contracts up for sale in it's web store.  These are true 1/1's (for those of you that are into that sort of thing).

When a player signs a contract with Topps it gives the company the rights to use the players name and image in promotion of the company.  In turn, Topps shoots over cash.  It's really not a bad deal for both parties but I assume that Topps come out on top in the end.  Anyway, these contracts do have expiration dates and when these dates hit the contracts are null and void.  That's when Topps them up for sale for collector nerds like you and me.

Anyway, I just thought I would share.  Here's a link to those contracts at Topps.  Even if you don't buy one head over to take a look, they are all pretty interesting.

Brand-spanking-new Hall of Famers

It seems like they've been talking about this Hall of Fame vote forever now.  By "they", I mean sportscasters on the radio.  By "forever", I mean...forever.  But, there is now a new class getting ready to into the Hall at Cooperstown.  This time there will actually BE a class.  Remember that time there was no one to induct?  Yeah, that sucked.

Greg Maddux could not be more deserving.  Simply one of the best pitchers ever.  He looked so damned inoffensive that I'm sure batters were like "Yo dork, throw me the dang ball" or whatever.  But, he made them all pay.  Maddux was a beast.  A little beast...but, a beast nonetheless.

For a Braves-centric Hall of Fame Class, we had to have Tom Glavine go into the hall with Maddux and long time manager Bobby Cox.  Glavine was a good one, too.  He deserves to be in.  I even think his "lost years" as a New York Met didn't hurt his chances too badly.  It may have cost him a percentage point or two, but that's ok.  It hurt to see Tom Glavine in another uniform.

Speaking of Hurt.  The Big Hurt, Frank Thomas, will join these other two as the lone hitter in the group.  I saw Frank when I was in college and he was in Spring Training.  He was a behemoth, like seriously, I think that he was a giant.  Anyway, a buddy of mine leaned against Frank's car and this dark look came over his face and I thought my pal was going to get seriously Big Hurt. Frank was one of may favorite hitters and could really kill the ball.  The fact he got in on the first ballot even with all of the injuries he had during his career is truly amazing.

So, congrats to Thomas, Glavine, and the Mad-Dog.  A great Hall of Fame Class this year.

Oh...and next year Craig Biggio will finally make it.  He missed by 2 votes!  That...well, that just sucks.