Donnie Baseball Whale - Reeled In!

[MattyC]

Pretty amped about this acquisition. A card long-shrouded in mystique that really made it interesting to me over the years.

Someone over on the PSA boards came up on a real find of a few copies a ways back, but there are still only 29 in all grades.

Very few cards to chase from this era, which is another thing that drew me to it...

[Zach Wheat]

Nice....do you have a scan of the back?

Z Wheat

[tulsaboy]

What in the heck is that???

[HasselhoffsCheeseburger]

Nice. Got a checklist for the set?

[ALR-bishop]

Special edition Topps single card issue. Here is mine, freed from Bondage. Although if mine were in a 10 I guess I would leave it there too

[JBird]

man look at those stats. if only the guy never had any back issues.

[KCRfan1]

As most of us do, I remember Mattingly busting on to the scene. What a player! The owner of the card shop I would go to back in the day, told me of a customer who only bought ( invested ) Mantles and Mattinglys. Nothing but good memories about that card shop, the owner, and his stories.

[MattyC]

Those stats there are just ridiculous.

All that power WITH average AND minimal K's! That's why Brett was my next favorite player.

Donnie Baseball was such a focus of the hobby for that moment. His 84D and 84T cards produce Pavlovian reactions in my brain-- I swearI get happier and time travel to childhood when I see them.

It's a shame so few cards from that era are scarce, but this is one of them.

PS: SWEET CARD AL! Glad I now am in the ownership club

[tulsaboy]

So who here thinks he should be in the Hall? For that period of time almost no one was better all-around.

[MattyC]

Great topic. Here's what I think:

If Puckett is in, Mattingly should be in. Puckett was great, but winning a WS should not be a prerequisite. That's a team function. Mattingly over Puckett if I'm making a team all day.

I long ago gave up any respect for the Hall because of the men who decide on entry. These "writers" make baffling decisions and the subjectivity and personal ax-grinding that inform their decisions really turns me off. To think several didn't vote for Maddux? That's a travesty. Or McGriff would be a lock with 7 more homers, but at 493 he's not worthy? They scream roids on Bagwell and Piazza, essentially convicting someone without proof? But look at a player like Molitor who reached new, almost anomalous heights late in his career, and post-1987. And I love molitor's game.

Just too many illogical calls on the sports writers' collective part, for me to revere any institution run on their taste and decisions.

[RobertGT]

Awesome card!

I grew up in North Jersey and Mattingly was and still is my favorite player. I never saw a sweeter left-handed swing - Taylor made for Yankee stadium. And of course there's the famous popcorn incident :
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OvSmfyRc3pM

[71buc]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Great topic. Here's what I think:

If Puckett is in, Mattingly should be in. Puckett was great, but winning a WS should not be a prerequisite. That's a team function. Mattingly over Puckett if I'm making a team all day.

You would build a team by picking Mattingly, a first baseman, over Puckett a centerfielder? Puckett was the best centerfielder of that generation. His average offensive numbers are very similar if not slightly better than those of Mattingly and he played a premium defensive position. I will admit a bias as I despise all things Yankee. (other than #2 & #42) Nonetheless, Mattingly over Puckett is crazy talk in my humble opinion.

That's a very cool card by the way.

[4815162342]

Originally Posted by MattyC

... Someone over on the PSA boards came up on a real find of a few copies a ways back, but there are still only 29 in all grades. ...

If there's one thing you can depend on from 80s and 90s baseball cards, it's that the word "scarce" does not apply.

Here's another 32 just waiting for the laser cutter:


http://www.ebay.com/itm/201015207854

[MattyC]

That would look awesome framed on my office wall-- is it for sale?

[BenG76]

Since its a Topps card I am curious at to why there is no Yankees logo on his hat. That seems sort of odd.

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by MattyC

That would look awesome framed on my office wall-- is it for sale?

On Ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1988-Special...item2ecd70a7ae

[MattyC]

Thanks for the link. Seeing as the back is blank-- and thus they're of no use to any nefarious types with the aforementioned laser cutter, hopefully the price is negotiable 2k is a bit steep.

Regarding the lack of Yanks logo, that's what makes the card so interesting; clearly there was a license issue-- even though Topps had the license, some think perhaps the card was intended for foreign/global distribution and thus only Topps' mlbpa license, which covered player likenesses, applied.

[bn2cardz]

It isn't mine. Good luck with negotiations.

[MattyC]

Oh, didn't mean to intimate it was yours-- was just thinking out loud. Tough to price sheets like that, as opposed to regular cards with VCP and such. I once saw a set of 75s in sheets, looked awesome framed.

[4reals]

here's one that just sold:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1988-TOPPS-D...p2047675.l2557

The guy described it as the only one in existence, haha, guess he was wrong. I'm sure the buyer isn't laughing now that he sees another listed.

[MattyC]

That signed sheet at least has the sig (looks good from here), and the backs. Though the blank back sheet is clearly in better shape. Framed I'd take the signed one though.

[HasselhoffsCheeseburger]

Originally Posted by 4815162342

If there's one thing you can depend on from 80s and 90s baseball cards, it's that the word "scarce" does not apply.

Tell that to the guy looking for a Mike Greenwell Blue Chips

[ALR-bishop]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

The card from the Movie Sluggers Wife What about Roy Hobbs

[MBMiller25]

Matt, Great addition, your passion for collecting is second to none. I love seeing it!

Rare or unrare, I could care less, I still LOVE collecting the 80's cards. i started collecting in 1987, and the first stuff I bought was 87 Topps. This was at the height of McGwire hitting 49 HR and Canseco cards blowing up. I have obviously branched out to everything from prewar cards to mostly Post War HOF rookies now, but I still buy the 80's wax and purchase the occasional 80's/90's graded card as it takes me back to simpler times when I was a kid selling blow pops and now N laters in middle school for .25 each to be able to buy a wax box each week to rip and trade cards with my friends.

As an aside, the 25 in my user name and also my email address is because my favorite player as a kid was Mark McGwire and he wore #25.

[ALR-bishop]

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=...hway&FORM=IGRE

[Julz24]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Pretty amped about this acquisition. A card long-shrouded in mystique that really made it interesting to me over the years.

Someone over on the PSA boards came up on a real find of a few copies a ways back, but there are still only 29 in all grades.

Very few cards to chase from this era, which is another thing that drew me to it...

Awesome pickup. I have never seen or heard of one before this thread.

I still love 80's cards. I just bought a box of '85 Topps and haven't decided if I should open it or not...

Okay, I really mean...

when I should open it!

[MattyC]

Thanks man! 85 is a blast to open-- so many awesome cards in that set. Love the saberagen, Orel, Eric Davis, Corey Snyder, oddibe. So many sleeper favorites from back in the day.

[savedfrommyspokes]

Originally Posted by rgpete

The card from the Movie Sluggers Wife What about Roy Hobbs

Any ideas as to where the image on Palmer's card was taken? Does not appear to be the old AFCS....it almost looks like the Braves AAA team's park in Richmond. It has been a while since I have seen the movie, but I remember a lot of scenes in AFCS.