Reds announce stadium giveaway bobbleheads

Yesterday was National Bobblehead Day, and the Cincinnati Reds celebrated by announcing the bobbleheads scheduled for giveaways during the 2019 season. All six bobbles will feature Hall of Famers who spent time with the Reds.

• Ernie Lombardi – May 18. “The Schnozz” was a Veterans Committee selection in 1986. A slow-running catcher, Lombardi twice led the NL in batting average.
• Joe Morgan – June 1. “The Little General” was a first-ballot selection by the BBWAA in 1990, receiving 81.8% support. He led the NL in offensive WAR every year from 1972-1977, and won back-to-back MVP trophies to go with his back-to-back World Series rings in 1975 and 1976.
• Barry Larkin – June 15. Larkin was a 12-time All-Star, 9-time Silver Slugger, and 3-time Gold Glover, and he won the 1995 NL MVP. It took three tries, but the BBWAA finally elected him in the 2012 Hall of Fame vote.
• Tony Perez – July 27. Perez appeared on nine Hall of Fame ballots before finally getting the call in 2000. He was inducted with his Big Red Machine manager Sparky Anderson and 1975 World Series rival Carlton Fisk.
• Johnny Bench – August 17. When Bench’s name appeared on the BBWAA ballot, there was no doubt that he would be inducted. The question was how many would vote for him. As it turns out, only 16 voters declined to check Bench’s name.
• Ken Griffey Jr. – September 7. Junior is different than all the others on this list because he is more known for his time with the Mariners. But he has always been a hometown Kid, and I’m glad to see him included.

I love all these players, but already have bobbleheaded likenesses of at least four of them, so I am not sure if I will try to attend any of these games. If I do, it will likely be for Lombardi…wait…nope…gotta work that day. Maybe Griffey? Nope…working that day too. Maybe I’ll try to swing a shift trade with a co-worker.

Since I already have the other four in one fashion or another, I doubt I will attend those games. It costs a lot of money to go to a big league game, even at the cost-friendly Great American Ballpark. I will peruse the rest of their promotional schedule and pick another game or two to attend.

If I had my druthers, I would have chosen Bid McPhee, Edd Roush, Eppa Rixey, and Tom Seaver. The team is celebrating the diversity of uniforms throughout the year, why not show some more diversity of uniforms through the bobbles? I already know the answer. Bench and Griffey will sell more tickets than Roush and Rixey, and it’s always all about the money.

I’m anxiously awaiting the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum’s giveaway announcement. I have not been a member for a couple of years, but if the giveaways appeal to me, I may join again in 2019.

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Some hobbies are way too expensive

I love vinyl. I’ve picked up loads of used vinyl at record shops and antique stores in the Cincinnati area (where I live), Knoxville (a yearly trip), and Bowling Green (on my way to my son’s college). Generally I don’t spend more than $10 on a title, and that’s only if I really want the record and haven’t seen it elsewhere. For the most part, though, I like to stick with the bargain bins and keep most purchases under $5. I’ve found some great releases in those bargain bins, including The Guess Who, Merle Haggard, and Frank Sinatra.

Sometimes I click around on Amazon to see what some of my favorite albums would cost on vinyl, and it blows me away. In the same way that some baseball cards are ridiculously out of reach, I never expect to own any of these vinyl releases, as much as I would like to hear them in all their clicky-and-poppy glory.

• Alice Cooper, Along Came a Spider, $1396.48. The shock rocker’s best album since at least the late 1980s, maybe even since the glory days of the 1970s. Features a harmonica performance by Ozzy Osbourne and a killer guitar solo from Slash. Yet, I will never buy it at the current price (although, it does have free shipping!!!).
• Van Halen, A Different Kind of Truth, $179.98. I was fortunate to find the first five original VH releases at reasonable prices, and received the remastered 1984 for my birthday last year. (Actually, come to think of it, the debut was a Christmas gift along with the turntable three years ago). ADKOT is another story. The record was panned by many, but I love how it reaches back into the vault and updates some old riffs that were used on demos in the 1970s. But at this price, I’ll have to stick to the shiny compact disc version.
• Van Halen, Balance, $419.78. Sammy’s last full album with the band is the only Van Hagar production I really enjoy. “Can’t Stop Loving You,” “Don’t Tell Me (What Love Can Do),” “Feeling,” “Not Enough,” and “Take Me Back (Deja Vu)” all rank among my favorite Van Halen songs. I really hope I stumble across this in a bargain bin someday (or even for $10), because I’m not dropping four Benjamins and a Jackson regardless of how much I like it.
• Cinderella, Still Climbing, $89.99. I was fortunate to find Cinderella’s debut, Night Songs, a few years ago for about $8, and I snatched it up immediately. Still Climbing, the band’s last album from 1994, has been more challenging to track down. It didn’t perform well on the charts or on radio as grunge had brainwashed everyone by the time it hit stores. The 21st century price tag is just a little out of my range.
• Mill Vanilli, Girl You Know It’s True, $65.55. I can hear the groans. I don’t care if the guys in the picture didn’t actually sing the songs, they are still great pop songs. This is one of my go-to albums for “take me back to the easy breezy days of being a young teen in the late 1980s.” But at nearly seventy bucks? Nope.
• Stone Temple Pilots, Core, $699.99. This album was huge in 1993, but by that time vinyl was on the outs. Everyone was listening to CDs or cassettes. I’m not sure if it was even released on vinyl in the 1990s. The “collectible” reissue from 2013 is currently going for $700. Insane.
• Black Label Society, Mafia, $70.90. Zakk Wylde’s side-band has changed lineups frequently over the years, but with ten studio releases under the BLS moniker since 1999, it is a force to be reckoned with. My favorite album from Zakk and friends is 2005’s Mafia, which includes “In This River,” a touching song frequently dedicated in concert to Wylde’s best friend Dimebag Darrell of Pantera, who was killed in a shooting in 2004.

Some of these albums may get reissued, and hopefully I’ll be paying attention when that happens so I can buy them for about $20. In the meantime, I’ll just have to stick to my CDs and Amazon’s streaming service.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

What did you get for Christmas? I think this may be the first year in a long time that I didn’t get any baseball cards for Christmas, though a friend did gift me a nice stack of Topps Now and Living Set cards a couple of weeks ago. Does that count?

For those who received Amazon gift cards, what are you going to get?

I will probably pick up a few more Masters of the Universe Funko Pops, and since I just cleared some space on my bookshelves, maybe a new book or two.

Whatever you gave or got, I hope you had a great holiday season and that you were able to spend it with loved ones.

Yes, Cincinnati, there is a Santa Claus…

…and he works for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Reds completed one of the biggest trades in recent franchise history when they acquired Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood, Matt Kemp, and Kyle Farmer from Hollywood for a couple of prospects and Homer Bailey‘s contract. Baseball-reference.com was quick to update the first three’s mugshots, too.

Puig has already updated his Twitter emoji and Snapchatted a selfie wearing a black Reds hat over the weekend.

Merry Christmas everyone! Thank you to all my friends in the blogosphere and on Twitter that have traded cards and communicated with me in 2018. I’m looking forward to a great 2019 on the field and on the blog!

Christmas gift ideas for your Zeppelin fanatic

I didn’t run out of ideas when doing my “Christmas gift ideas” posts, but I’ve had other things going on. I appreciate all who have clicked on the links so far, as I get a tiny kickback from Amazon and can put it toward things that I really shouldn’t be spending actual money on…but “gift card” money, that’s a whole different ballgame. Even if you don’t buy the products I post, if you click one of my links before browsing and making your purchase I get a little credit.

Perhaps the biggest hard rock band of all time is Led Zeppelin, and not without reason. Not only is “Stairway to Heaven” a masterpiece, but nearly every song on the first four or five albums is perfectly put together (even if they were not all written by the band). For these lists, I’ve made three sections. First we have other projects of the members of Led Zeppelin. Second we have artists that sound like they were inspired by Plant, Page, Jones, and Bonham. And in many cases, they were. Finally, tribute albums to one of the greatest classic hard rock bands in history.

Zeppelin members’ other projects

• Lead singer Robert Plant has released numerous solo albums; the most recent is 2017’s Carry Fire. He also collaborated with Zep-mate Jimmy Page and classic rock guitarist Jeff Beck in 1984 on The Honeydrippers, Volume One. In 1994, he joined Jimmy Page for an MTV special and released No Quarter, followed by Walking Into Clarksdale in 1998. In 2007, Plant teamed up with bluegrass singer Alison Krauss for Raising Sand.
• Guitarist Jimmy Page’s post-Zeppelin output is not as straightforward as Plant’s. He started by recording the soundtrack for Death Wish II, but that one is going to cost you a pretty penny as it is no longer in print. His only non-soundtrack solo album, Outrider, did not perform well. One other soundtrack was recorded for Kenneth Anger’s Lucifer Rising, but is not currently available unless you want to drop nearly $400 on the vinyl. In 1985, Page contributed to Roy Harper’s Whatever Happened to Jugula? 1985 also saw the self-titled debut of The Firm, a supergroup featuring Page, Bad Company/Free vocalist Paul Rodgers, bass extraordinaire Tony Franklin, and then-future-AC/DC drummer Chris Slade. A follow-up record was release by The Firm in 1986, Mean Business. In 1999, the guitarist joined the Black Crowes for two shows; most of those recordings were released in 2000 under the title Live At the Greek, but singer Chris Robinson was not enthused about the performance.
• Bassist John Paul Jones wrote the soundtrack for the movie Scream For Help, which also includes contributions from Page and Yes vocalist Jon Anderson. In 1994 he appeared on the album The Sporting Life with Diamanda Galas. Jones has also released two solo albums, Zooma (1999) and The Thunderthief. In 2009, Jones joined a supergroup with Josh Homme and Dave Grohl; unfortunately only one album has been released, the self-titled Them Crooked Vultures. Lastly, Jones contributed to two records released by the band Seasick Steve, You Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks and Hubcap Music.

Artists that sound an awful lot like Led Zeppelin

• Greta Van Fleet is the band getting a lot of attention right now, as they should. They have taken the rock world by storm and don’t appear to be slowing down. From the Fires was released last November, and Anthem of the Peaceful Army had an October release this year. Watch this band closely as their star is still on the rise.
• Rival Sons have been around for several years, but is just now starting to gain some traction in the mainstream. You may have heard “Do Your Worst” from the soon-to-be-released Feral Roots on the radio, but the title track from 2011’s Pressure and Time really exhibits the Zeppelin connection.
• Wolfmother‘s debut over a decade ago exploded on the scene, but then the band imploded. Three more albums have been released since the debut, but none have sold as well.
• Zebra gigged for years playing Zeppelin songs before releasing their self-titled debut in 1983, and while there are some enduring classics on the record, it is not a cover-to-cover masterpiece like most of Zep’s catalog.
• Kingdom Come is often cited as a hair metal version of Led Zeppelin, and Lenny Wolf’s vocals were certainly reminiscent of Robert Plant. The songwriting isn’t going to land them in the Rock Hall, but Kingdom Come has proven to be popular enough to release thirteen albums since 1988.
• Whitesnake may be the most all-around Zeppelin sound-alike. David Coverdale’s vocals are spot-on. Whoever is playing guitar, be it John Sykes or Steve Vai or Doug Aldrich, does a great job laying down some Jimmy Page-like riffs.
• Coverdale/Page may have been a slap in Robert Plant’s face for refusing to do a Zeppelin reunion in the early ’90s. Guitarist Jimmy Page recruited David Coverdale, one of the most Robert Plant-ish singers around, to record an album of new tracks. The band probably would have lasted more than just one album had Page been able to convince John Paul Jones or Jason Bonham to participate.
• Speaking of Jason Bonham, he had a band in the late ’80s and early ’90s called Bonham featuring a Robert Plant clone, Daniel MacMaster, on vocals. Their most popular (and most Zeppelinish) song was “Wait For You” from 1989’s The Disregard of Timekeeping.

Tribute albums

• In the Name of My Father: The Zepset (Live from Electric Ladyland) by the Jason Bonham Band
• Un-Led-Ed, 5,000,000*, It’s Not Unusual and other releases by Dread Zeppelin
• Great Zeppelin: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin by Great White
• Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin featuring performances by 4 Non Blondes, Hootie and the Blowfish, Sheryl Crow, Stone Temple Pilots, Big Head Todd And The Monsters, Duran Duran, Blind Melon, Cracker, Helmet With David Yow, Rollins Band, Never The Bride, and Robert Plant & Tori Amos
• No Quarter: An All-Star Tribute to Led Zeppelin featuring Dweezil Zappa, Walter Trout, Pat Travers, Rick Derringer and members of Thin Lizzy, Motorhead, Rainbow, Deep Purple, Great White, Wet Willie, Nazareth, Toto, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Warrant, and Foreigner
• World’s Greatest Metal Tribute to Led Zeppelin featuring members of Iron Maiden, Candlebox, Slaughter, Cinderella, L.A. Guns, Quiet Riot, Faster Pussyct, Warrant, Bang Tango, Mötley Crüe, Love/Hate, BulletBoys, Hurricane, Kix, and Great White
• A Tribute To Led Zeppelin: Livin, Lovin, Played featuring acoustic renditions by female singers Nikki Boyer, Patricia Maertens, Aya Peard, Leslie King, Katherine Ramirez, Terra Gold, Melissa Quade, Kirsten Laiken, Kimberly Bosso, Lisa Ferguson, Tracy McMillan, and Mor Koren
• Songs of Led Zeppelin All Blues’d Up (This Ain’t No Tribute Series) featuring Eric Gales, Matt Tutor, Derek Trucks, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Otis Rush, Magic Slim, Billy Branch, James Cotton, Chris Thomas King, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Joe Louis Walker, Otis Clay, Carl Weathersby, and Robert Lockwood Jr.
• Pickin’ On Zeppelin featuring bluegrass performances by Dennis Caplinger and Mark Thornton
• The String Quartet Tribute to Led Zeppelin
• Dub Tribute to Led Zeppelin

Fun Cards: “Baseball Immortals” Lee Smith

Lee Smith should have been inducted into the Hall of Fame a long time ago. He was the all-time saves leader when he retired, since passed by Mariano Rivera (who will likely be inducted this year) and Trevor Hoffman (inducted last year). Yet he never received more than 50% from the BBWAA. And that is why we need the Veterans Committee.

I know a lot of people are upset about Harold Baines (I’m not one of them), but the BBWAA is far from perfect and some players deserve a second look from a different body of voters. I’m especially glad Alan Trammell got that second look this past year, and I’m glad Smith is getting the nod in 2019. It will likely be a long time before a relief pitcher gets considerable attention by either the BBWAA or the VC after 2019, and I’m okay with that as I think the position—particularly how it is utilized today—is overrated by many.

While I was digging around for a photo to use, I came across this awesome custom 1980 Topps Lee Smith card at “Cards That Never Were.”

Fun Cards: “Baseball Immortals” Harold Baines

To say I was shocked when I clicked on the White Sox Cards blog this morning would be an understatement. It took a moment to register that Steve was talking about the actual National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum located in Cooperstown, and not a team Hall of Fame or perhaps the St. Michael’s High School Hall of Fame. While I have said in the past that I would not be upset by Harold Baines‘ induction, I never expected it to actually happen.

I’m still not mad.

Baines was a solid player for twenty-two seasons. He collected 2866 hits, good for #46 all-time and just 134 short of the “magic number.” As his former manager Tony La Russa said, “If it wasn’t for the strikes, he would have had 3000 hits.” The same argument is made by Fred McGriff apologists, so why shouldn’t it apply to Baines?

Every player ahead of Baines on the all-time hits list is in the Hall of Fame, save the permanently ineligible (Pete Rose), still active or recently retired (Adrian Beltre, Ichiro Suzuki, Albert Pujols), or steroid-implicated players (whose names I would rather not mention).*

I’m not mad that Baines will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019, and I hope that his induction may pave the way for other borderline cases such as Dale Murphy and Dave Parker.

* Update: Omar Vizquel actually has 11 more hits than Harold, and I had overlooked him initially. Vizquel received 37% from BBWAA voters last year, and is eligible for nine more ballots as long as he does not drop below 5% support.

Christmas gift ideas for bookworms

I’m glad I can read. So many books published over the years have made an impact on me, both as a child and as an adult, it would be impossible to list them all. I recommend starting a library, however small, of books that you love and add to it at least once a year (more if possible). If you have small children, start a library for them with Dr. Suess and Curious George and Little Golden Books. If you have grade school kids, grab some Harry Potter or Percy Jackson books. For high schoolers…well, good luck. I’m blessed with children who love to read, but I know others really struggle getting teens to sit down with a book.

Take a look at the list below. Some of these suggestions are for younger readers, while others are intended for more mature minds. What is missing from your library? What books would you add to the list?

• The Ralph S. Mouse Complete Set: The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Runaway Ralph, and Ralph S. Mouse by Beverly Cleary
• Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
• Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
• A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
• Falling Up by Shel Silverstein
• The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
• The Baseball Card Adventures by Dan Gutman
• Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark Box Set by Alvin Schwartz with illustrations by Stephen Gammell
• The League of Seven by Alan Gratz
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• A Separate Peace by John Knowles
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Complete Tales and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe
• The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft edited by Leslie S. Klinger
• Night Gallery and Night Gallery 2 by Rod Serling

Christmas gift ideas for Thundercats fans

I mentioned Thundercats yesterday, so I might as well throw a few ideas out there that the Thundercats fan in your life will love.

Visual Media

• Original Series: Season 1, Volume 1
• Original Series: Season 1, Volume 2
• Original Series: Season 2, Volume 1
• Original Series: Season 2, Volume 2
• 2011 Reboot

Music

• 2011 Series Soundtrack Composed by Kevin Kliesch

Books

• A Cat’s Tail (One-Shot Comic)
• Reclaiming Thundera
• The Return
• Dogs of War
• Hammer Hand’s Revenge
• Enemy’s Pride
• He-Man/Thundercats
• Thundercats/Battle of the Planets (One-Shot Comic)
• Superman/Thundercats (One-Shot Comic)
• Origins: Heroes and Villains (One-Shot Comic)
• Origins: Villains and Heroes (One-Shot Comic)

Toys and Collectibles

• Funko POP! [Most of these are retired figures and insanely expensive. If you buy these for people on your list, tell me how to become your friend!]: Lion-O, Lion-O (flocked, 2014 SDCC Exclusive), Panthro, Cheetara, Tygra, Snarf, or Mumm-Ra
• Funko Savage World [Beware of the quality of these figures, as several reviews state they break as soon as they are taken out of the package!]: Lion-O, Panthro, Mumm-Ra, or Slithe
• Funko Vynl: Lion-O + Mumm-ra or Panthro + Cheetara
• The Loyal Subjects Blind Box
• Series 1 (2012 SDCC Exclusive), Series 2, Series 3, or Series 4

Attire

• Thundercats Logo T-shirt
• Thundercats Characters T-shirt
• Mumm-Ra Logo T-shirt
• Lion-O Infant Onesie
• Feline Rhapsody T-shirt
• Thundercats Logo Baseball Cap

Other odds & ends

• Sword of Omens
• Sword of Omens (Dagger-sized)
• Lion-O’s Claw Shield
• Panthro’s Nunchucks
• Tygra’s Whip
• Light Switch Cover
• Sword of Omens Keychain
• Logo Keychain
• Snarf Keychain

Coming Soon…

• Perfect for fans of parodies like Garbage Pail Kids: Thunderbrats Trading Cards

Christmas gift ideas for fans of old-school Hanna-Barbera cartoons

Today’s cartoons just don’t have the same soul. I loved Saturday mornings as a kid, filled with cartoons before heading to the park to play baseball. While He-Man and Thundercats were some of my favorite shows growing up (and still today, to be honest), neither came from the powerhouse of kids’ cartoons Hanna-Barbera. William Hanna and Joseph Barbera were responsible for some of the most memorable animated shows, from Scooby-Doo to the first ever primetime cartoon, the Flintstones. But there were so many others that don’t receive the recognition they deserve. Here are a few that filled me with nostalgia as I scrolled through Amazon.com:

• Atom Ant
• Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels
• Dastardly & Muttley in Their Flying Machines
• The Herculoids
• Hong Kong Phooey
• The Huckleberry Hound Show
• Jabberjaw
• The Jetsons
• The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show
• The Secret Squirrel Show
• Shirt Tales
• Thundarr the Barbarian
• Top Cat
• Wacky Races
• The Yogi Bear Show

Scooby-Doo has had a number of reboots through the years, so many that the gang warrants its own separate list:

• Scooby-Doo Where Are You! (Seasons 1 and 2 from CBS) and (Season 3 from ABC)
• The Best of the New Scooby-Doo Movies (these are the ones with guest stars like the Harlem Globetrotters and Batman and Robin)
• The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour
• The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo
• A Pup Named Scooby-Doo (Season 1) and (Seasons 2-4)
• Ultimate Scooby-Doo 15 Movie DVD Collection with Bonus Lunchbag & Mini-Figurine
• Scooby-Doo Laff-A-Lympics
• Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo
• What’s New Scooby-Doo?
• Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue
• Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated
• Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!

If you want something that is specifically geared toward the holidays, consider these Christmas specials:

• A Flintstone Christmas Collection
• Yogi’s First Christmas
• Yogi Bear’s All-Star Comedy Christmas Caper
• Hanna-Barbera Holiday Triple Feature (with the Flintstones, Smurfs, and Yogi)
• Hanna-Barbera Christmas Classics Collection (A Christmas Story, The Town Santa Forgot, Casper’s First Christmas)

If you don’t feel like gluing yourself to a television set for all those cartoons, maybe you would like to read instead. DC Comics did a special crossover featuring some of their biggest superheroes teaming up with the likes of Dyno-Mutt and Space Ghost. DC Meets Hanna-Barbera was released last year, and Volume Two will be available on Christmas Eve this year!

So you don’t want to watch, and you don’t want to read… you just want to play? Funko has you covered! Check out all these Funko POP Hanna-Barbera figures available:

• Blue Falcon
• Benny the Ball
• Dynomutt
• Huckleberry Hound
• The Jetsons: George, Jane, Judy, Elroy, Astro, and Rosie
• Quick Draw McGraw
• Snagglepuss
• Top Cat
• Wally Gator