[Eric72]

I’d like to give some public praise to a fellow board member. BlueSky (hi, Marty) saw my set building progress and offered to send me the two cards pictured below. No charge, no strings, just an unexpected and generous gift. Thank you VERY much, Marty. I really appreciate your generosity.

The first card is #59, Jose Santiago. The portrait shows a young hurler who appears quite happy. The expression of joy spreads over his entire face, highlighted by an ear-to-ear grin. Not surprising, really. After logging nearly 1,000 innings in the minors, he was finally in the big leagues. The action shot is (to me) the picture perfect vision of pre-game activity at the ballpark. There are the first stirrings of warm-ups taking place on the edge of a sun-drenched field. Santiago is in the foreground, loosening up his pitching arm. Other players have taken the field; however, are mostly staying near the stands. It's almost as if they're reluctant to kick things into high gear this early in the day. A few fans are visible in the stands, "early birds" seeking autographs perhaps.

In contrast, there is nearly no activity shown on the card of Jack Crimian. The Athletics right-hander is warming up on a seemingly empty field. The color palette used by the artist is darker, as though the day being portrayed was an overcast one. The portrait is that of a man for whom happiness is presently quite elusive. His smile, if it can be categorized as such, is thin and forced. The expression in his eyes is rather hard to read; however, it certainly doesn't evoke feelings of joy and excitement. Perhaps Crimian was pondering the career 9.36 ERA he had racked up in the Major Leagues entering the 1956 season.

# # #

I’m beginning to feel a sense of accomplishment - I'm getting close to being 20% of the way towards completing the 1956 Topps set. Pacing myself and taking the time to thoroughly enjoy each card has been a blast. I’m looking forward to possibly adding a graded HOFer or two, most likely in the 4-5 range, in the near future.