Night Owl Cards

These are the things we do during the offseason while waiting for the new cards to come out. I've got a new series on the blog. I don't know how long it will last or how often it will occur. It might be a one-and-done deal. But it's interesting to me right now, and that's all that matters. Right? Right. My favorite album of the past year, by any large unit of measurement you prefer to use, is "El Camino," by the Black Keys. Phenomenal stuff. Every song kills. And like an idiot, I've downloaded half the album song by song, instead of buying the whole thing, which would have been much more efficient. But this blog is about baseball cards, of course. So, in order to match baseball cards up with my love of this album, and of music in general, I decided to see if I could find a card to match the song title of each song on the album. It's a nice, mindless exercise in nonsense, perfect for the offseason and perfect (*throat clearing noise*) for whe...

We have moved past the period when current or future major league players would serve in the military. The Vietnam War period of the late '60s/early '70s is the last time references to military service commonly appeared on cards. You'll probably never see it again. But as a child, it was nothing to see "In Military Service" on the back of baseball cards. The early '70s was a time of change for ballplayers. While hippies and other counter-culture club members were everywhere in the '60s, it took ballplayers a little while to catch up with everyone else. So, the early '70s was a crazy mix of humanity on the ballfield, as evidenced by these 1973 Topps cartoons: Some players served in the military. So others could have the freedom to enjoy their degenerate, freaky music. Or chase skirts. Or marry in high school. Or be really, really creepy. But there were other straight arrows on the field in '73. Brainiac types. Working-class ...

I admit I am quite enjoying the fact that the Padres are not in the playoffs. I knew they weren't good enough, and I didn't appreciate their fans laughing at my Dodgers. Unfortunately, the Padres' demise benefited a team that I despise even more. I dislike the Giants so much that I am actually rooting for the Braves, an activity I can remember participating in maybe two other times in my life. Ick. But that's the way the postseason works sometimes. You root for some strange teams, and you hate yourself when it's over. Recognizing that the Padres and my team, the Dodgers, are now both battling for tee times on Southern California golf courses, I've decided to dedicate my next "team colors" post to San Diego. What the hell. Let's let bygones be bygones. That is, if you can consider ripping a team's choice of colors as patching things up. San Diego is one of those teams that did a complete team color overhaul in midstream. Normally, I...

Ed Brinkman, a heck of a fielder but not much of a hitter, died on Monday at age 66 of a heart ailment, according to friends (wikipedia says it was lung cancer complications) . News of his death was released Wednesday. Brinkman was a Cincinnati kid and a high school teammate of Pete Rose. He played mostly for the Senators and Tigers. He was one of those starting shortstops that could probably only exist during the 1960s and '70s (other examples: Mark Belanger, Enzo Hernandez). He hit .224 during a 15-year career. This is Brinkman's 1968 Topps card. It's the yellow team letter variation, so it books* for $50 in mint condition as opposed to $2 for the white team letter variation (*gratuitous book value reference!). Ah, the good old days, when gas was cheap, music was groovy, and Topps' errors were unintentional.