Flu, flu, go away

I intended to post these cards last week. They have been in my possession for ten days, thanks to Twitter trader and Yankee fan @Molorange . But last week the flu hit me, and it hit me hard. I didn’t want to look at a baseball card or do much on the computer. I have finally turned the corner, and I’m ready to show off a few highlights.

In addition to the stack of Billy Hamilton above, Joe hit me with some ugly ’90s cards. I don’t understand the love for Bowman’s Best. Neither does Pokey Reese.

Nor do I get the love for Leaf cards. These cards are just awful. Don’t believe me? Just ask Pete Schourek.

Well, not all Leaf cards are awful. Leaf Preferred cards look pretty cool. Reggie Sanders always looks cool.

Thankfully, we left much of the hideousness of the 1990s behind when we entered the 21st century. Check out these sweet cards of Hall of Famer Tony Perez.

I miss Johnny Cueto. Can you imagine how much of a threat the Reds could be if they still had the starting pitchers of a few years ago?

Thank you for the Reds cards, Joe. Sorry it took so long to post them.

Happy Reds birthday, Pokey Reese!

June 10, 1973

Pokey Reese was a two-time Gold Glove winner at second base for the Reds in 1999 and 2000, and he wasn’t terrible at the plate in 1999 either. He batted .285 with 167 hits, and showed his baserunning abilities by swiping 38 bags. The Reds traded Pokey to the Rockies on December 18; the Rockies turned around and traded him to the Red Sox the next day. Two days after that trade, he became a free agent and signed at the end of January with the Pirates. After two seasons in Pittsburgh, he again found himself on Boston’s roster, and won a World Series ring with them in 2004, his last season in the big leagues. Reese played a handful of games in the Seattle farm system in 2005, and then was out of baseball for two years before attempting a comeback with the Nationals franchise.

Fun cards, part 2 (the autographs)

As mentioned earlier, I printed some of my created “fun cards” and sent them to the players for autographs. I would print two copies and asked them to sign one, telling them they could keep the other. In my experience, cardstock worked much better than glossy photo paper for the printing. Here are a few of those autographed “fun cards” (click on a thumbnail for a larger image)…