Night Owl Cards

I recently picked up this card, which was very key because I believe I now have at least one card of every major league baseball player that I have interviewed. And I wasn't going to do one of these BWG posts if I didn't have the player's card. A lot of people probably haven't heard of or don't remember Alan Benes. He's the younger brother of Andy Benes, the former Padres pitcher, who is featured in the large mug shot on the card. Both Alan and Andy pitched together with the Cardinals in the late 1990s, and that's when I talked to Alan, up in Montreal. Alan was well-spoken, as a lot of pitchers are, and was happy to sit down at his locker and talk to me. But what I want to write about here, concerning Alan, is a brief comment on "prospecting." I am not a prospector at all. I've said that before. I have no interest in "who might be a star." And I've already mentioned how much I despise "speculation." I believe it may be ...

I figured it would be timely to feature Mark Sweeney as the latest player on the Brush With Greatness thread. Sweeney recently retired to become a coach with the Dodgers. And I also just received this card from Matt F. of Heartbreaking Cards . The addition of the Sweeney Topps Black card means I need just four Topps Black Dodgers from Series 1: Ramirez, Park, Pierre and Blake. That's pretty good for not seeing a single blaster of the stuff in my neighborhood. The bloggers take good care of me. Anyway, I came away from my conversation with Sweeney as impressed by him as any other baseball player I have interviewed. I am not surprised at all that he became a coach. He seems like one of those players who absolutely loves everything about the game of baseball. I think he'll be involved in baseball until he takes his last breath. Some people get Mark Sweeney mixed up with Mike Sweeney, who was the longtime Royals star and now plays for the Mariners. But Mark was a part-time player ...

I know the Dodgers are 17 hours away from their biggest game in 20 years, but I'm still in a Cardinals frame of mind. Which may lead you to ask why one of Cardinals fans' LEAST favorite moments is being displayed in this post. Wasn't this the Chavez catch off of Scott Rolen in the sixth inning of Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS? Didn't Chavez then convert the catch into an inning-ending double play? Well, yes and yes. But, admit it, it's one of the best catches you will ever see in a postseason game. I'm not going to dive off the deep end like some New Yorkers and proclaim it the greatest catch ever, but it's in rare company. And, secondly, Cardinals fans, you know what happened three innings later. Things turned out pretty well, didn't they, Yadier? 2007 Upper Deck featured several cards from the all-night playoff series between the Mets and Cardinals. It'd be cool if there was more of that in future sets (I've seen very little of Upper Deck's base ...

Sad news today, folks. George Kissell, a St. Louis Cardinals legend and one of the most respected, if not the most respected coach in all of baseball, died this morning as a result of injuries suffered in an automobile accident on Monday night. Kissell, who died at age 88, was -- no exaggeration here -- a titan of the sport among baseball people. The way that fans look up to Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays, that's how people who play and manage in professional baseball look up to George Kissell. Like I mentioned in the previous post, Kissell grew up in a town near where I live. I was lucky enough to have a conversation with him. He truly loved the game, probably more than almost anyone on the planet. I'm sad that he won't be around anymore. I'll miss you, George. Baseball will miss you, too.