Night Owl Cards

Not that I needed reminding, but I read a New York Times story the other day about how it's been 30 years since the Dodgers won the World Series. Orel Hershiser was interviewed for the story and he was talking about how people still come up to him on the regular to thank him for 1988. This was the magic of 1988, he said. You win the World Series once and you'll be remembered fondly for the rest of your days. As a broadcaster for the Dodgers, Hershiser said that he wanted this year's team to experience what he does. They came so close last year, one game away, and they could have easily won the whole thing, They deserve to know what that's like. Now that the Dodgers are in first place, I think now is as good a time as any for them to win the Series. Last year's season of domination didn't work, so how about if they get in through the side door, after a season of injuries, hitting slumps and bullpen blowups? Granted, there's the matter of one week...

We officially have ourselves a World Series. I was happy the Dodgers won last night for obvious reasons. But I was also happy because five-game World Series make me sad. With the exception of the 1988 Series -- again for obvious reasons -- five-game Series just don't represent the competitive spirit we like to see from baseball's finale. Six- and seven-game Series are usually more memorable. And at least with a four-game sweep, you know that one team really, really cares. I will be a wreck for the rest of the Series, in a continual state of suspense and agony. It will be Serious business. However, one thing will sustain me, other than the thought of a Dodger championship, and that is the thought of the Dodgers appearing in 2018 Heritage's World Series subset. I mentioned a few posts ago that the 1969 Topps World Series subset is my favorite WS subset of all-time, by far. And since Heritage next year will pay homage to the '69 set, we'll see the Dodgers and A...

Tonight is the 29th anniversary of the famed Game 6 of the 1986 World Series (yes, I know the card refers to Game 7, trust me, Game 6 is mentioned on the back). I just happen to be in the middle of determining which World Series feature night cards. Obviously, not all World Series were played at night, so I can eliminate anything prior to 1972. And for the next five or so years that followed, it's still an easy task. Topps featured World Series cards in its base sets every year in the '70s up until 1979. (You can find my tired rant about what happened afterward). And there's a night card involved each of those years. After 1978, it gets tricky. The '79 and '80 sets don't recognize the World Series. Any night World Series card I find from the 1978 or 1979 Series will have to come from some retro set that pays homage to a photo from that Series. I'm thinking of the Willie Stargell card in this year's Stadium Club, for example, which I believe is...

Today is the first full day of fall. Fall means a lot of things, especially here in the Northeast. Leaves changing (yes, it's already begun), the furnace kicks on (yup, that, too), apple pie (yum) and hockey (I told you, it's the Northeast). But there is really only one true highlight of the fall and that is the World Series. The World Series is the first thing that I think of when someone mentions the fall. And it's appropriate that the primary nickname for the World Series is the "Fall Classic". (This is an example of using the wonderful word "classic" properly. Don't muddy up such a great word by using it to dress up your fly-by-night high school basketball tournament). We're still a number of weeks away from the Fall Classic, but the seasonal change has put me in the mood for the postseason. And to prepare for the upcoming festivities, I pulled out 10 classic cards of the Fall Classic. These are all from my collection and they'...

I'm hoping people can clear something up for me since I no longer attempt to complete current Topps flagship sets. Has Topps returned to the days of representing every game of the previous World Series with a card? That would be welcome news. I have to ask because ever since I noticed this possibility -- with the 2012 Topps flagship set -- I haven't been able to come up with an answer because I don't have all the cards in the set ... and I'm too lazy to look it up by other means. So I'm hopeful, but also cynical. This is what I have from this year's set, including the Jon Lester Game 5 card. So that's Game 1, Game 5 and Game 6, all Red Sox victories. This falls in line with the World Series cards that I have from 2012 and 2013 Topps flagship. Cards of only games won by the eventual Series champions. In 2012, I have cards of World Series wins only by the Cardinals. And in 2013 I have cards of World Series wins only by the Giants. That lead...