Night Owl Cards

It's interesting how athletes from the past are remembered and whether they remain in the public conscious or not. Hall of Fame players usually survive in baseball conversations long after they've played because they've been immortalized in Cooperstown. Then there are players who didn't reach the Hall but were still very good and somehow, some way, are still remembered. Players like Dick Allen, Rusty Staub, Vida Blue and Mickey Rivers live on decades later as younger generations pick up on their legacies. Then there are all-stars like Bert Campaneris, who almost never get discussed anymore. There is just one memory of Campaneris that younger fans most assuredly know. I don't even need to mention it. You know what's coming, even if Lerrin LaGrow didn't . But there was much more to Campaneris than one momentary loss of reason. A couple of months ago, when watching old baseball games on youtube hadn't gotten old yet, I was watching a World Seri...

It's finally time to officially name the best Topps Lou Brock card of the '70s. I've left the results over on the sidebar for awhile, but since most of you probably look at this thing with your phone I don't know if you've even seen them. After 57 votes, the top three are as follows: No. 3 - 1970 Lou Brock, 9 votes No. 2 - 1977 Lou Brock, 12 votes No. 1 - 1976 Lou Brock, 26 votes Congratulations to 1976 Topps Lou Brock, that is if I'm able to wish an inanimate object congratulations! It easily won selection as the best Brock Topps card of the '70s and will be added to the Best of the '70s tab when I get a free moment. I wholeheartedly agree with this choice, and it doesn't matter to me if this is an old photo, it's just too classic of a '70s card. Here is the full voting rundown: 1976 Brock - 26 1977 Brock - 12 1970 Brock - 9 1979 Brock - 3 1971 Brock - 2 1974 Brock - 2 1975 Brock - 2 1973 Brock - 1 1972 Brock...

When I was a kid, there were few baseball athletes that were as big of a deal as Lou Brock. I had just missed out on Hank Aaron surpassing Babe Ruth for the all-time home run record in 1974, so when Brock passed Ty Cobb for the all-time stolen base record in 1977, that was the big "all-time" mark of my childhood. And it was a major deal. I remember the newspaper layout when Brock broke the record in late August of that year. Large headline, large photo, top of the page. All during my first few years of following baseball, Brock was treated with reverence, a perpetual all-star, a World Series hero, a topic of paperback biographies, a certain Hall of Famer. Indeed, Brock did make it into the Hall of Fame on his first try in 1985. And nobody raised an eyebrow. It's only been in the last decade or two that Brock has come up in discussions about "marginal Hall of Famers." Brock's stats aren't treated kindly by sabermetrics. His on-base percentage, ...

I have a lot of items to tie together today. And it's a holiday weekend, so I'll try to make this brief. First, gaze your eyes upon this beauty (like you can turn away, I scanned this mega size so you wouldn't miss it). I received this from Matthew , who found it at the National. It's a Nu-Card Baseball Hi-Lites card from 1960, meaning it's not your average size. It's 3 1/4-by-5 3/8 large. (The 1961 cards are standard size). It's also the "black-letter" variation as most of the cards feature headlines with red type. The first 18 cards are printed with red type or entirely in black, like this one. You can read the write-up on the bottom if you like. Only a sports editor like me would cringe over the way it's written. As you know, I love newspaper-themed cards and any new version that I get makes me want to set up a display of newspaper-style cards. But don't start sending me more. I'd have to clear any grand display with other ...

I don't have a lot of nice things to say about the new play at the plate rule. Some call it the "Buster Posey rule," and although I never need an excuse to dislike a Giant, this just gave me ammunition that will probably last a lifetime. But Posey isn't the first player to lead to the creation of a new baseball rule. It's happened a few times. And it's happened regarding violence on the basepaths, too. In 1978, baseball created a rule that required base runners who are attempting to break up a double play at second base to make an attempt to touch second base in the process. This was created because of what the Royals' Hal McRae did in the first game of the 1977 ALCS as he landed a cross body block on the Yankees' Willie Randolph well beyond second base. How far beyond? Well this screen capture pretty much explains it: You can see second base in the middle of the picture. And McRae, bottom, and Randolph, top, aren't anywhere near it. ...