Pick me a player - the first one

 I have 137 different players in my keepers with at least 10 cards.  The players are listed at the end of this post.  In an effort to get myself posting more consistently, I invite the first commenter on this post to choose one of the players below and I will post 5 of the most interesting cards I have of that player as the subject of another blog post.  Then on that post, the first commenter can pick another player and when I get around to it, I will post 5 cards of that player, and so on. 

So who will be my first commenter/player picker on this post???  Additional comments are welcome, but only the first one will be the player featured on the next post.

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The first player picked to be featured in this series was picked by Rod from Padrographs, and is......

Tony Gwynn!!

Right now, I have 60 Gwynns in my keepers.  The newest are from 2020 (you will see a few of those in this post) and the oldest is from 1983 (you will also see one of those in this post).  I have 8 serial numbered cards of Gwynn.

First, a few that didn't make the final 5 cut...

These 6 all tickle my fancy for one reason or another.

-The 'Breakers' card looks a lot more dynamic in hand than in the scan.  I guess that's all I have to say about it.

-I really like the all green background of the Stadium Club card, with the hopping Gwynn showing off his athleticism.

-Die cut cards have always been up my alley, and the @LG card is a strange example.

-The 'College Years' card is from 2005 Topps Pristine Legends.  I've loved it since I first saw it.  I wish it was the refractor version!

-Another Die-cut, though it might be hard to tell.  The designs around the word 'Cuts' are actually cut through the card.

-1984 Donruss was extremely hard to find in my area when I was a kid.  So cards from that set speak to me.

OK, on to the five cards I selected...no particular order.

1. 1996 Finest refractor

I wish the scan caught the refractoriness of the card a little better.  Love me older refractors!!

2. 'The Classic'.  The first Gwynn card I ever saw, and the one I most associate with him.

I also have several variations of this card, like cards from Archives sets, manufactured pins etc.  And of course, these three, which were actually gifted to me by Rod, the sponsor of this post!!

3. 1998 Donruss 'Diamond Kings' insert.  

Well I am the Diamond King!!  But I really like this set, they are designed in a classy sort of way to my eye.  And numbered /10000, which for the time was pretty rare. 

4. The only 'hit' in the post, from 2001 SP Game Bat Edition.

The sepia and design go really well with a Padres player.  Solid card.

5. My favorite Gwynn.  1997 Topps Gallery 'Gallery of Heroes'.

I really love this set, any player, not just Gwynn.  I also love, want, collect the subsequent 'Gallery of Heroes' sets from 1998, 1999, 2000, 2013, 2021 and 2022.  If you have any of those from any of the years, let me know, I would love to trade for them.

So what player is next??  First commenter gets to pick a player that is not crossed off from this list:

Aaron Judge

Adley Rutschman

Adrian Beltre

Al Kaline

Albert Belle

Albert Pujols

Alex Rodriguez

Andre Dawson

Andruw Jones

Babe Ruth

Barry Bonds

Barry Larkin

Bo Bichette

Bo Jackson

Bob Gibson

Bobby Witt Jr.

Boog Powell

Brooks Robinson

Bryce Harper

Buster Posey

Byron Buxton

Cal Ripken Jr.

Carl Yastrzemski

Carlton Fisk

Chase Utley

Chipper Jones

Clayton Kershaw

Cody Bellinger

Corbin Carroll

Corey Seager

Dale Murphy

Darryl Strawberry

Dave Parker

David Ortiz

David Wright

Dennis Eckersley

Derek Jeter

Don Mattingly

Don Mossi

Duke Snider

Dwight Gooden

Eddie Murray

Edgar Martinez

Eric Davis

Felix Hernandez

Fernando Tatis Jr.

Francisco Lindor

Frank Robinson

Frank Thomas

Freddie Freeman

Gary Carter

George Brett

Greg Maddux

Gunnar Henderson

Hank Aaron

Harmon Killebrew

Ichiro Suzuki

Ivan Rodriguez

Jacob DeGrom

Jeff Bagwell

Jim Palmer

Jim Rice

Jim Thome

Joe Mauer

Joe Morgan

Joey Votto

John Smoltz

Johnny Bench

Jose Altuve

Jose Canseco

Juan Gonzalez

Juan Soto

Julio Rodriguez

Justin Verlander

Ken Griffey Jr.

Kirby Puckett

Lou Brock

Luis Arraez

Manny Machado

Manny Ramirez

Mariano Rivera

Max Scherzer

Mickey Mantle

Miguel Cabrera

Mike Piazza

Mike Schmidt

Mike Trout

Mookie Betts

Nolan Arenado

Nolan Ryan

Ozzie Smith

Paul Goldschmidt

Paul Molitor

Pedro Martinez

Pete Alonso

Pete Rose

Phil Niekro

Randy Johnson

Reggie Jackson

Rickey Henderson

Roberto Alomar

Roberto Clemente

Robin Yount

Rod Carew

Roger Clemens

Rollie Fingers

Ronald Acuna Jr.

Ryne Sandberg

Salvador Perez

Sammy Sosa

Sandy Koufax

Scott Rolen

Shohei Ohtani

Stan Musial

Stephen Strasburg

Steve Carlton

Steve Garvey

Ted Williams

Thurman Munson

Todd Helton

Tom Glavine

Tom Seaver

Tony Gwynn - picked by Rod

Vladimir Guerrero

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Wade Boggs

Warren Spahn

Will Clark

Willie Mays

Willie McCovey

Willie Stargell

Xander Bogaerts

Yadier Molina

Yogi Berra

Yordan Alvarez

Zack Greinke

Pick me a player #1

I did a count on my keepers today.  I have 137 different players in my keepers with at least 10 cards.  The players are listed below.  In an effort to get myself posting more consistently, I invite the first commenter on this post to choose one of the players below and I will post 5 of the most interesting cards I have of that player to be the subject of another blog post.  Then on that post, the first commenter can pick another player and when I get around to it, I will post 5 cards of that player, and so on.  I won't post these more than a couple of times a week max, but it should hopefully get me going again, and posts with more actual content will be right around the corner, right?  We'll see.

So who will be my first commenter/player picker on this post???  Additional comments are welcome, but only the first one will be the player featured on the next post.

Aaron Judge

Adley Rutschman

Adrian Beltre

Al Kaline

Albert Belle

Albert Pujols

Alex Rodriguez

Andre Dawson

Andruw Jones

Babe Ruth

Barry Bonds

Barry Larkin

Bo Bichette

Bo Jackson

Bob Gibson

Bobby Witt Jr.

Boog Powell

Brooks Robinson

Bryce Harper

Buster Posey

Byron Buxton

Cal Ripken Jr.

Carl Yastrzemski

Carlton Fisk

Chase Utley

Chipper Jones

Clayton Kershaw

Cody Bellinger

Corbin Carroll

Corey Seager

Dale Murphy

Darryl Strawberry

Dave Parker

David Ortiz

David Wright

Dennis Eckersley

Derek Jeter

Don Mattingly

Don Mossi

Duke Snider

Dwight Gooden

Eddie Murray

Edgar Martinez

Eric Davis

Felix Hernandez

Fernando Tatis Jr.

Francisco Lindor

Frank Robinson

Frank Thomas

Freddie Freeman

Gary Carter

George Brett

Greg Maddux

Gunnar Henderson

Hank Aaron

Harmon Killebrew

Ichiro Suzuki

Ivan Rodriguez

Jacob DeGrom

Jeff Bagwell

Jim Palmer

Jim Rice

Jim Thome

Joe Mauer

Joe Morgan

Joey Votto

John Smoltz

Johnny Bench

Jose Altuve

Jose Canseco

Juan Gonzalez

Juan Soto

Julio Rodriguez

Justin Verlander

Ken Griffey Jr.

Kirby Puckett

Lou Brock

Luis Arraez

Manny Machado

Manny Ramirez

Mariano Rivera

Max Scherzer

Mickey Mantle

Miguel Cabrera

Mike Piazza

Mike Schmidt

Mike Trout

Mookie Betts

Nolan Arenado

Nolan Ryan

Ozzie Smith

Paul Goldschmidt

Paul Molitor

Pedro Martinez

Pete Alonso

Pete Rose

Phil Niekro

Randy Johnson

Reggie Jackson

Rickey Henderson

Roberto Alomar

Roberto Clemente

Robin Yount

Rod Carew

Roger Clemens

Rollie Fingers

Ronald Acuna Jr.

Ryne Sandberg

Salvador Perez

Sammy Sosa

Sandy Koufax

Scott Rolen

Shohei Ohtani

Stan Musial

Stephen Strasburg

Steve Carlton

Steve Garvey

Ted Williams

Thurman Munson

Todd Helton

Tom Glavine

Tom Seaver

Tony Gwynn

Vladimir Guerrero

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Wade Boggs

Warren Spahn

Will Clark

Willie Mays

Willie McCovey

Willie Stargell

Xander Bogaerts

Yadier Molina

Yogi Berra

Yordan Alvarez

Zack Greinke

I got some Mo(re)

 At the most recent card show, three distinct things of interest happened.  Here they are

1. I found the only basketball card in an entire dime box of baseball cards, and it ended up being the only card I bought.  That's pretty unusual, because, while I do collect basketball cards, I always hit baseball first, as they are my priority.  So to go through a whole baseball dime box and only buy the one basketball card in there was quite a trip.  Here is the card I bought:

Mr. McClung is not even really an NBA player.  But I do really like this card, from 2023/24 Topps G-League.  I think it is the first I have ever seen of him in person.  He definitely added back into the recent dunk contests some of the same feelings of excitement that I used to get waaaay back when Spud, Dominique and Michael were in it.  I appreciate that, as many of the years since then have been kind of duds.  Not all of them of course, but maybe more meh years than good ones.

2. Out of the blue, one of my favorite dealers asked everyone at his table, "anyone like Gregg Jeffries?".  We all looked at each other, and I finally said, 'I remember liking him back in the day'.  He reached under the table and pulled out this:

And gave it to me on the spot for free.  I have no idea what it's history is, but it looks and feels legit.  Not exactly sure what I will do with it, but as a pack rat kind of collector, it's pretty cool!

3. I made a stack

The same dealer always wants you to make a stack and then he will give you a price.  I don't like doing that, I like knowing the prices up front.  But this time, I made a small stack of about 10 cards, and hoped for a good price.  I was hoping for less than $20, and when he offered $10, I happily took it.  

I'll only show 2 cards, the ones I found most interesting.  This first one may or may not even be a card, I am not sure.  What is shown in the picture is card sized, but whatever is in it, is somewhat smaller, but feels like it's probably a mini card.  Does anyone know what this is?

Here is the back...

I'm betting this is not anything valuable, but it is fun and was cheap.  Any assistance in identifying it would be appreciated.  And I guess any advice on if I should open it.  I am leaning toward opening it.

And the other card I got in the stack, and the reason I feel like it was a good deal:

Mariano RC!!  Not a reprint, and as far as I can tell, a legit copy, not a fake or anything.  To get this, along with 9 other cards for $10 was great!!

So it has been a long time since I posted.  I do have some posts I hope to make soonish, and several lined up around the holidays.  Hopefully I can get off my lazy butt and get er done!