Just Commons abides, Pt. 2

In case you weren't listening, I recapped Part 1 of my latest Dude-approved Just Commons order a couple days ago.

Between 2015 Topps, mini-collections, and Fleer Tradition, you could actually draw a fairly straight line between the cards I showed in that post. Which, as you know, isn't the way I usually do things around here.

Well, buckle up, because I'll be getting back to my roots in the second and final part of this order. In true dime box fashion, I actually discovered the card you see above by complete accident. I stumbled upon it thanks to a Jorge Posada-related mistake I made not too long ago.

As usual, Jeets is the first one to greet his Yankee teammate at home.

Minis of all shapes and sizes.

The Coco was the only Topps Mini I included in this order, and I think you know why. And, although I have a tendency to shy away from late '80s Fleer minis, I can't pass up my main man Teke.

Especially for just a dime.

There he is again, in perhaps the most "Teke" card ever made.

Don't ask me how, but I'd somehow never gotten my hands on a copy of Tekulve's 1988 Fleer issue. I was a little embarrassed about putting it on my Dime Box Dozen list, to tell you the truth. Thankfully, Just Commons was there to pick up the slack.

The Cey was also a former Dime Box Dozen member. I went years thinking that I had all the '81 Fleer singles I needed, but I guess that wasn't the case.

It never is.

How 'bout one more from Teke?

If you're an O-Pee-Chee junkie like myself, then Just Commons is the place to go. They have the best selection of OPCs I've ever seen, bar none. It extends from the late '70s all the way up through the early '90s.

The Murcer and Johnstone were a quarter each, and the others were just a dime a pop. Seriously, Just Commons is O-Pee-Chee paradise.

I could've easily gone a little insane with the OPCs, but luckily I was able to control myself.

Same goes for these.

Metal Universe might be the wackiest baseball card set ever issued. I'm really not sure who the intended market was for these things. I mean, would kids really get a kick out of them? My ten-year-old self probably would've been horrified.

With the possible exception of 1995 Fleer, these are about as '90s as it gets. I hope to open a box of these puppies one day, if I can find one cheap enough.

Trust me, the scans don't do them justice.

Although Topps Gallery was a big part of a past Just Commons order, a few gems managed to slip through the cracks.

I own a couple hundred Kenny Lofton cards, but this one is right up near the top of the list.

Even though Collector's Choice only lasted five years, its legacy live on in history.

I always seem to slip in at least a handful into every passing Just Commons order. To me, the brand captures a lot of what's missing from today's hobby...but that's another topic for another post.

In the meantime, I'll just be marveling over the greatness of Joe Randa.

You just couldn't stay away, could you, Collector's Choice?

It's hard to tell for certain, but that ball certainly looks to have plunked Eric Young. Ball's dead, runner's out.

The Brian Jordan is another great card from the never-ending 2006 Upper Deck checklist.

Palm trees, American flag, colorful ads on the outfield wall...it's Spring Training at its finest.

Mr. Jordan makes another appearance in this Ultra-specific pairing.

The Ultra post I wrote a couple weeks ago inspired me to track down a few more diamonds in the rough from the forgotten brand. That's Brian Jordan in catcher's gear, despite the fact that he never played an inning of professional baseball as a backstop.

The Brown looks to be a terrific shot from the aftermath of his 1997 no-hitter. It set me back a whole quarter.

Worth every penny.

Besides the Jeff Bridges card I showed in Part 1, the Sandberg was my most expensive buy from this order.

At 54 cents, it was still a bargain for a rare card of Ryno as a Phillie. Still, I couldn't help but feel a little regret, given that Jeff and I found about ten copies of it tucked into those nickel boxes from a couple weeks ago.

While the Ryno was the most notable, it wasn't the only "short term stop" I added to my collection. That Pacific card is just my second of Jeff Kent as an Indian. He spent a whopping 39 games in Cleveland in 1996.

Good ol' Pacific.

Am I right?

I can tell you from first-hand experience that anything Pacific-related is darn near impossible to find at card shows. Nickel boxes, dime boxes, quarter boxes, doesn't matter. Pacific is pretty much lost to history as far as most vendors are concerned.

Again, thank goodness for Just Commons.

A brand like Pacific doesn't deserve to get left out in the dark.

I can't possibly write a coherent transition from Pacific to these two, so here you go.

You'll have to excuse Juan Gonzalez while he has a Manny moment. And have a gander at Dante Bichette doing some tee work. (Don't think you can hide from me, balding guy in blue shirt checking his cell phone.)

Let's see. O-Pee-Chee, Collector's Choice, Ultra, Pacific. Hmm. I get the feeling I missed something.

Can you help me out, Juan?

Oh, yes.

Stadium Club. Another staple of the Just Commons inventory.

I don't think I need to preach about Stadium Club anymore. I think most of you have pretty much heard the sermon by now.

Besides awesome photography (as usual), this quartet has a few fine cameos as well. That's Terry Steinbach behind the plate on that Sandy Alomar card. Steinbach's spectacular 1999 Fleer Tradition single made an appearance in Part 1 of this mini-series.

The Williams features a cameo from the late "Wavin' Wendell" Kim, and John Olerud gets some screen time on that Mark Grace. Two of my favorites on one card.

Jason Kendall's too cool for cameos, thank you very much.

I guess it's fitting that such a crazy card would close out this wacky Just Commons order.

This photo would be awfully haunting out of context. As you might know, Wade Boggs was known for eating chicken before every ballgame during his storied career.

Wait.

Even with the context, it's still pretty creepy.

At fifty cents, Mr. Boggs was one of the "high-dollar" buys of this huge 240-card purchase, my biggest Just Commons order to date.

A big thanks to my mom is in order, her generous and thoughtful gift certificate paid for most of this massive stack of cardboard. Now, if you'll excuse me, a long session of filing, sorting, and organizing awaits.

See what happens when you let me loose on Just Commons?

Do you see what happens?

Just Commons abides, Pt. 1

As fate would have it, a huge Just Commons order wound up on my doorstep the day before I attended my big birthday show.

So, as if organizing, sorting, and filing through 800-plus nickel, dime, etc. finds wasn't enough, I had another 240 cards from my latest Just Commons order on my plate as well.

It's easily the biggest purchase I've ever made on the site, although the majority of it was paid for by a twenty-dollar gift certificate I received from my mom at Christmas. I surprised myself by being able to hold onto it for nearly two whole months before spending it.

Much of this order was centered around picking up the remaining 2015 Topps singles I needed. I love busting packs as much as the next guy, but Just Commons really is the way to go for, well...commons. I snagged the remaining 80 or so singles from my want list for around ten bucks all together. That would've bought exactly two 36-card rack packs from Target.

The only 2015 Topps insert I purchased was the above Jeff Bridges "First Pitch" issue. Now, I know Bridges has been in many other fantastic films...but let's face it. He is, and forever will be, The Dude.

This card really tied my order together.

While it was kind of overlooked by the daring design, 2015 Topps really did feature a lot of fine photography.

Whether horizontal or vertical, there's a lot to love here.

This was the most expensive base card of the bunch, setting me back a whopping 50 cents.

It hasn't gotten as much pub as Jeter's landmark card #1 in the checklist, but this is a beautiful sub-sunset issue (if I may use such a term) of Jeets. It won't go down as his official final tribute since it's technically a checklist card, but it's historic nonetheless.

As if that wasn't enough, it's a terrific addition to my "tip of the cap" mini-collection.

Speaking of which...

...I can't let a Just Commons order go by without doing some serious mini-collection damage.

I seem to say this time and time again, but Just Commons has the greatest selection of mid-to-late '90s cards you'll find. Given the jarring amount of mini-collection hits that era seemed to produce, that suits me just fine.

You get two Bips for the price of one on this awesome multiple-exposure shot from 1996 Upper Deck.

Stadium Club, fittingly, is a mini-collection goldmine.

Disclaimer: Dime Boxes apologizes for reminding you (once again) of MLB's egregious "Turn Ahead the Clock" promotion.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

A couple for the "autograph" and "anthemic" archives.

Carlos Febles is right up there on the Most Obscure Guys I Collect list.

With mini-collections brings responsibility.

While I bought a ton of 2006 Topps and 2008 Upper Deck, I still managed to ignore a lot of fantastic cardboard since I wasn't yet chasing "award show" or "tip of the cap" cards at the time. Part of my duty here in 2015 is to track down all those lost treasures.

Just Commons helps me accomplish that.

I loaded up on double dips with this order.

My favorite of this bunch has to be the '98 Stadium Club Durham centerpiece.

It's the rare shot in which both middle infielders are suspended in midair.

I didn't slouch with the throwbacks, either.

One of the things I love most about collecting these retro jerseys is the number of different eras they represent. You've got turn-of-the century throwbacks (A's), Negro League throwbacks (Tigers, Braves, Mets), throwbacks to defunct teams (Browns/Orioles), and many, many others.

There's never a dull moment when you turn back the clock.

This might've been my favorite of all the mini-collection gets from this Just Commons order.

Broken bat cards are relatively hard to find. They're not nearly as prevalent as, say, double dips or throwbacks. But, in the rare case that I do find a new one, they never fail to make my jaw drop.

In a rare gem from late '90s Donruss, we get a fantastic shot of the aftermath of a broken bat. If you look closely, you can even see the little chips hovering in midair from the bat's explosion.

That's pure cardboard art right there.

This card has a very Titanic-ish "draw me like one of your French girls" feel to it.

It's so awesomely bad that I absolutely had to buy it. If nothing else, Mr. Moyer triggered yet another new discovery in the wide world of baseball cards.

After stumbling upon this image, I was curious to see what else 1999 Fleer Tradition had to offer. I'd found cards from the set here and there over my collecting lifetime, but not really enough to form a steadfast opinion on it.

What I found, however, was nothing short of legendary.

It left me wondering how I hadn't discovered the greatness of '99 Fleer Tradition before.

Every single Just Commons order I place seems to enlighten me on a new set. That honor definitely went to Tradition this time around.

Between golf carts, Pepsi ads, jugglers, bubbles, and so much more, I found a few dozen cards that were right up my alley. (Some of the ones Just Commons had in their inventory were actually Millennium parallels, as noted by the little baseball decal in the bottom-right corner of a few of these.)

Just when you think you have it all covered, something like 1999 Fleer Tradition comes out of the woodwork.

Ah, who am I kidding?

I'll never have it all covered.

I've come to grips with the fact that no matter how hard I look, gems like this Terry Steinbach will always be floating around somewhere in the cardboard universe. My job is to track down as many as humanly possible.

Though Steinbach isn't a "binder guy," this was probably the best Tradition card I found in this lot. I can't even begin to explain how much I enjoy this very Graduate-esque shot. To quote Dumb and Dumber, I like it a lot. (Okay, I'll stop with the movie references.)

Baseball photography is an art, and Fleer Tradition captures that in full force.

Still, as much as I enjoy Tradition, mini-collections, and 2015 Topps, they were only the tip of the iceberg with this latest Just Commons order.

I'll let you insert your own Big Lebowski quote here, because I can't choose just one.

Dude.

Top five for Minnie

This has not been a good year for Chicago baseball so far.

First we lost Mr. Cub, and now Minnie Minoso. The "Cuban Comet" passed away at the reported age of 90 on Sunday. (His exact age is debated due to a lack of proper birth documentation.)

I don't know if the news of Minoso's passing will receive the nationwide attention that Ernie Banks's did, but Minnie was just as big of a personality in the city of Chicago. The news of his death made yesterday a pretty gloomy day for me.

I had the pleasure of seeing Minoso in the flesh at the first of two White Sox games I attended last year. You can see him there next to (now former) Sox outfielder Alejandro De Aza as part of a special pre-game ceremony. The Cuban great was only about twenty rows away from where I was sitting.

I felt honored just being in the same ballpark as the guy.

One of my earliest baseball memories involved Minnie.

Back when I was about seven or eight years old, my mom picked up a copy of Minoso's book at a garage sale for a dollar. (The book itself is pretty tough to find these days.)

I don't recall if my mom bought the book knowing that it was autographed or not...but, yeah, the copy she found was actually signed by Minnie himself inside the front cover. I don't think I ever read it, largely because I was too stunned at the autograph to go any further. (Although I plan on giving it a read soon.)

I can't say for certain, but that experience might've been my introduction to Minnie Minoso.

I've been a devout fan of the guy ever since.

Saturino Orestes Armas (Arrieta) Minoso was one of the first Cuban ballplayers to play in the bigs. He actually broke in with the Indians in 1949, but he broke the White Sox color barrier when he was dealt to Chicago two years later.

Minoso's first few cards, including his '52 Topps rookie, list him under his given name, Orestes.

After fifteen years of greatness in the bigs, though, no one knew him as Orestes.

He was Minnie to fans and friends alike.

Although he made brief stops with other teams (Indians, Senators, and Cardinals), Minoso was, first and foremost, a beloved member of the White Sox. He loved the city of Chicago, and the city of Chicago loved him right back. He was, by all accounts, a true ambassador for the game of baseball.

Sadly, his cards are fairly sparse, as companies have pretty much ignored him as of late. You can probably count the number of cards he's had issued in the last ten years on one hand. He's not as well-recognized in the card community as, say, Ernie Banks. But he should be.

Still, since I'm not great at writing these teary tributes, I thought I'd honor the "Cuban Comet" the only way I know how.

By making a list, of course.

Here, in all their glory, are my five favorite Minnie Minoso cards.

#5 -- 1964 Topps #538 Minnie Minoso

We start, oddly enough, with Minoso's sunset card. (Kind of...but more on that later.)

Minnie was on his last legs by the time this one hit the streets. He'd already had a few mediocre years with the Senators and Cardinals by the time he rejoined the White Sox in '64. I don't know this for sure, but I'm guessing that Minoso wanted to end his career in Chicago, the city he loved so much.

He played in just 30 games with the '64 Sox, but Topps was gracious enough to grant him a card that year nonetheless.

I couldn't have been happier when I picked it up for a couple bucks at a show last year.

#4 -- 1958 Topps #195 Minnie Minoso

This card and I go back a long ways.

I bought it at one of the first shows I attended after getting back into the baseball card game, likely around 2005 or so. I don't recall exactly what I paid for it, but it was part of a big bin full of discount vintage. I trotted it around in my hands all day after that.

I can't say I remember a ton about my life in 2005, but the memory of digging up this card for my budding collection is a moment that will stay with me forever.

#3 -- 1955 Bowman #25 Minnie Minoso

When we're talking classing designs, 1955 Bowman has to be right near the top for me.

It was one of the first vintage sets I ever fell in love with. Although I'm sure some would disagree, the color TV look is an iconic one in my book.

Minnie's card from the set fell into my hands for a mere four bucks at a show a couple years ago. He seems to be caught in between a bunt and a swing here. Not the most conventional shot, but still beautiful.

Anything from 1955 Bowman is always beautiful.

#2 -- 1956 Topps #125 Minnie Minoso

This was another four-dollar pickup from a card show last year.

I usually have to stop and think about buying anything that costs more than two or three bucks, but this one was a no-brainer. It's Minoso on one of the all-time best Topps designs, complete with a terrific action shot. It's also the first time Topps listed him as "Minnie."

With any other player, a card this spectacular would probably be #1 on the list.

#1 -- 1977 Topps #232 Minnie Minoso RB

But not Minnie.

In 1976, the White Sox brought Minoso back to take a few at-bats with the big club at 53 years young. Part of it was obviously a publicity stunt, since Minnie hadn't played in the bigs since 1964.

I'm sure Minoso was all business, though. Heck, he even managed to knock out a solid single in one of his eight at-bats in '76, making him the oldest player to get a hit in the majors and netting him his very own "Record Breaker" card in the following year's Topps checklist. (The record still stands, by the way.)

Though Topps has a long and storied string of these fantastic "Record Breaker" issues, this is far and away the best one in their catalog. It's one of my favorite cards of the '70s...and one of my favorite cards ever, now that I think of it.

My dad, like so many others of his generation, remembers Minoso's comeback well. In a way, Minnie endeared himself to a whole new era of baseball fans with those eight at-bats in 1976.

The Sox brought him back for another couple of games in 1980, but he didn't get a hit. Although it should be noted that he managed to put the ball in play in each of his two at-bats.

At the age of 57, no less.

It's always tough when baseball loses a member of its family, but it's even tougher when that ballplayer was such an icon of the city you love so much. All I can say to the White Sox this year is to go out and win one for Minnie.

Rest in peace, Mr. Minoso.

The dime box frankenset, Page 53: Numbers 469-477

We have ourselves a good old-fashioned tie.

Last week's frankenset page saw a fierce battle between Rob Murphy (and his trusty laptop) and the action-packed Tom Griffin. Murphy held an early lead, but a late surge by Griffin forced a tie. Both are deadlocked at 15 votes a piece. (For what it's worth, I voted for Murphy.)

As has been the tiebreaker protocol thus far, I ask the first three people who care to comment on this post to leave their choice between Murphy and Griffin. The first card to receive two of those three tie-breaking votes will take the crown.

I'll update this post once the deadlock is broken.

EDIT: We have a winner!

Win -- 1990 Upper Deck #461 Rob Murphy (15 votes + tie-breaking vote)

Place -- 1973 Topps #468 Tom Griffin (15 votes)

Show -- 1996 Upper Deck #462 Luis Sojo (5 votes)

On that note, let's jump into our next frankenset page.

We're back to eight nominees this week, as I still haven't found a worthy member to occupy the #470 slot.

Let's take a look at the contestants.

1998 Fleer Tradition #469 Heathcliff Slocumb

Showing off the hops at Spring Training. 

1991 Upper Deck #471 Shawn Boskie

This Bud's for you.

1991 Topps #472 Kirt Manwaring

Another awesome appearance from Kirt Manwaring, the likely MVP of this frankenset. 

1994 Upper Deck #473 Jody Reed

Not the biggest fan of the 1994 UD design, but there sure are a lot of nice horizontals in this set. 

1991 Stadium Club #474 John Russell

Eat my dust, says John Russell. 

1992 Leaf #475 William Suero

A fantastic double dip for a guy who played in just 33 big league games. 

1971 Topps #476 Dal Maxvill

Double dipping the vintage way. 

1994 Score #477 Kevin Reimer

This week's page closes with a prime example of the faux-back.

The polls are now on the sidebar, and remember to help break last week's tie!

Happy voting!

Card coma

I'm here to tell you that a "card coma" is a perfectly legit medical excuse.

It's a shame that most employers/college teachers still don't recognize it. I tried to use my card coma to get off of school this week, but nobody bought it.

Come on, people. After hours of buying, sorting, and filing Sunday's card show finds, how can I be expected to perform any other daily duties? (That doesn't even mention the mega-Just Commons order I received last Saturday, which I'll be featuring on the blog next week.)

Still, after plowing through a coma-induced week of school, I'm starting to come out of it. It's time to move on from Sunday's show and do other things. Things like, say, featuring more great cards I've received from fellow bloggers. (It feels like ages since I've done a trade post.)

The excitement of posting about another terrific batch of cardboard I received from Weston of "Fantastic Catch" has started to pull me out of my card coma today.

Facemask shots are usually good for that.

There were player collection hits abound in this trade package.

At this point, I'm not sure what else I can say about my appreciation of Vladimir Guerrero and Josh Reddick. I've covered about every possible angle already. I'm tapped out.

But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate all the Vlad and Reddick cards people send me.

Because I do.

Weston has dropped quite a few trade packages on me in the past.

One thing I love about the stacks he puts together is the fact that he included a lot of cards from long-forgotten sets, like these two bat-themed singles. 2000 Bowman Draft? 2005 UD Pros and Prospects?

Without Weston, I wouldn't have had a prayer of finding these two cards here in 2015.

I'm torn on how to feel about that Lankford.

I'm Mike Scioscia fan and all, but it is kind of funny to see someone running up his face on the Dodger Stadium outfield wall.

At first, I thought the Ross was some kind of photo variation short-print. Turns out that it's just Ross's standard base card from last year's Topps Update.

See, not all the quirky shots have to be limited to photo variations.

If you want quirky, look no further than minor league cards.

Willie Greene isn't about to let the chilling cold stand in the way of his pack of sunflower seeds. A name like Michael Goodnight (yes, he's a pitcher) is the catch phrase-crazed announcer's dream. I can hear it now.

Strike three looking! MICHAEL SAYS GOODNIGHT!

It's too bad the guy was completely out of baseball last year.

With a name like that, he seemed destined for the big time.

When someone specifically attaches a note that says "Look him up," I look the guy up.

I'm both glad and sad that I did, because I otherwise wouldn't have known about the tragic story of Evan Chambers.

Chambers was a third-round pick by the Pirates in 2009. Sadly, after a few years in the minors, he passed away in his sleep at the age of 24 in December 2013.

I feel honored to own a card of the guy.

Sorry to get all somber on you there in a simple trade post.

But I know mini-collections are always good for a pick-me-up. Weston threw quite a few of those into this trade package.

We start with this play at the plate of Miguel Montero, one of the newest Cubs. I'm actually more intrigued by the Morgan Ensberg cameo here (the subject of one of my oldest player collections), since the former third baseman never had an official card released during his days with the Padres.

I guess I'll have to settle for this.

More from the mini-collection archives.

I'm pretty sure the card on the left is my first-ever "college pitcher at the plate" shot.

I'm not one to play favorites, but I think throwbacks are right near the top of the list with my mini-collections.

I love when people find new retro jerseys to send me. Especially ones of greats like Griffey and hometown heroes like Bobby Jenks.

Jenks even has the portly physique of a lot of pre-war ballplayers.

Since Weston is a big Cardinals fan, I guess it's fitting that we'd close with The Wizard.

This double dip is one of the finest Ozzie Smith cards I've seen, and we even get Dodger Stadium in the backdrop as a bonus.

I can feel the card coma slipping away already. But it wasn't looking good for most of the week, I'll tell you.

Next time you feel a little overwhelmed by the amount of cards on your sorting table, just tell your boss you're feeling a card coma coming on. It's a perfectly reasonable excuse.

I'm sure they'll be happy to give you the day off.