Just Commons Day 2

Yesterday I showed off some cards I got recently from Just Commons.  Here is some more.

Time for another JustCommons package

If I have one complaint about Just Commons, its that it takes a while for them to process.  For me it usually takes a week before they finally ship.  I'm fine with it most of the time, but in this instance I was under a deadline.  As I mentioned yesterday, it was my friends birthday and one thing he was looking for was the complete set of the 2015 First Pitch cards.  He is like me, we don't like spending a lot for cards.  I found some complete sets for $10 and that was too much I thought.  Long story short, through some work I found all the cards for under half that.  The last 3 I needed were in this package.  As it turns out, I didn't scan them, but I did scan the rest of what I got.  Here are the first batch.

I got lots of Montgomery's but no Gentry's

After a good nights sleep the agitation of Saturday is gone and the day is anew.  Now it is nightfall and My Royals won today, and so did the Chiefs.  Things are looking up.  I also won a couple auctions on Listia, so I can't complain today.

I figured I would show off more cards from my massive Just Commons package I got and as the title implies, I got a lot of Jeff Montgomery cards.  The Gentry part was just because I needed a title and couldn't think of anything else clever.  I once saw Montgomery Gentry onstage about the time they were starting to make a name for themselves.  I was at a festival and as we were leaving, they just hit the stage.  I stayed for an extra 20 seconds just to say I saw them.

Anyways, lets look at some cards.  I have other cards too, so if Jeff Montgomery isn't someone you're interested in, scroll down a bit more.

I don't remember this particular Donruss set when it first came out.  I think it was 1995 and my main source of getting cards at that time was my dad and uncle, and the 1994 strike left such a sour taste in their mouths, they stopped collecting.  It would be a year or two before I would get cards again, so this one is new to me.  If I had it when I was younger I would be in love with the set, but as it stands, its okay.

Next is Pinnacle.  I like this card, not just because of the black border, but because it has a nice photo.  I didn't get a lot of Pinnacle cards growing up either.  Topps and Score seemed to be the cards for sale around here, and there wasn't too many card shops around.

I'm not too fond of the Flair card, but I got it because I didn't have any and I didn't see a picture of it before I got it.  It was cheap enough, so I did alright.  I think I would like it better if it didn't have the second photo in the background.

This Bowman card I thought I had.  It looks very familiar to me, maybe I had it the first time I had a collection.  Anyways, since Bowman wasn't very prevalent in these parts, it always seemed special to get one. Until about a year or two ago, that still seemed to be the case, but now Bowman is easier to get.  I like the design of the card, a bit basic, but still nice.  I'm not too fond of the picture though.

The bottom row has some crazy ideas for cards.  We begin with the 80's style portrait know as Studio.  I actually like the design but it could be because I remember those portrait styles, so it brings back memories.

Next is a card I have seen a few times on other blogs, and liked enough to seek it out finally.  The idea is a bit cartoon-ish, but it was a nice enough idea.  Closers are known as firemen by some (for the record, I never considered them that, but whatever floats your boat), so they thought it would be cool to have Monty as a Fireman.  That or they planned on making a calender and decided not to and had extra pictures.  Maybe that was their initial idea.  This probably sold better.

I remember this card when it first came out and I loved it.  I'm a sucker for patriotic cards, and being a child, I loved it.  Today, while still cool, I'm not sure why it works for a baseball set.  Slapping a flag on a card doesn't really make sense unless the card is showing interaction with the player.  Oh well, I still might go after the set.

The last card is just a base card from Donruss.  I remember this card too, and I liked the design of the set.  It was a full picture, and even had a second picture on the front that didn't disrupt the main photo.  Plus the second picture was inside a shape resembling home plate.  A solid addition to my collection.

A couple more Monty's, these both appear to be spring training photos.  The first one is from Stadium Club.  I was able to get a few Stadium Club cards as a kid, and I liked how they didn't have borders.  I also liked the old Stadium Club logo.  Overall, I like this card, so I'm glad I got this card cheap.

The final Monty card has him wondering "is the mullet still an acceptable haircut?"  It's a Pinnacle card I had once, but had to get again.  I like the design, but don't have much more to add about it.

Okay, what else do I have, let's see...

Here are some Fleer Focus cards from 2001.  We will start with the back.  I like the back, it has all the basics, and give you stats.  I think they could have added a little more writing on the back, but that's just me.

The front design isn't one of my favorites.  I don't like photos that look like they are pasted on a background.  This just doesn't work for me.  I am happy I have them as it inches me closer to another complete team set.  It also allowed me to add another Johnny Damon to my collection.

Okay, one final batch of card tonight.

This is a 1994 Ted Williams set.  It isn't one I ever had, but noticed a few cheap cards so I got them.  The designs are all over the place, so I'm not sure if I really like them.  I thought it was odd to have both current and former players in the same set.  The Michael Tucker card really just doesn't fit in.  I do like the Frank White cards though.  I would like to add more of his cards to my collection.




OK, I think that will wrap it up today.  I have likely one or two more batches of cards from this package, then I will show off some recent Listia wins I've gotten in the mail.  I also have plan on another Card Hall of Fame to add sometime this week, and maybe even some Flea Market goodies.  Thanks for reading and have a great week.

I miss the 90's

I miss the 1990's- the music, the movies, the tv shows, and most importantly the baseball cards.  They seemed more magical, and a heck of a lot cheaper.  Even today you can buy cards from that era fairly cheap.  Not that I needed to, but a few months ago I bought a box of Free Willy 2 cards for five bucks.  I will open the packs sometime in the future and post the results.

Today though we are back to talking about my huge order I got from Just Commons.  Yesterday I showed a couple team sets I completed, and today I will show a couple more.  Since these are bigger sets, I won't show all the cards.

We begin with the set I told you I loved yesterday and a few other times- 1994 Score.  I am a fan of black border cards, so this one is easily one of my favorites.  They may show dings and smudges better, but to me they just look bordered pieces of art.

The first card is of Kaufmann Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals.  Obviously you knew that, but I just wanted to reiterate it.  Maybe I still haven't gotten out of my high school days of the late 90's and like to add words to make my writings seem more full.  I'll try to stop that.  It's amazing to look at this card though and think of how much the Stadium has changed in 20 years, but looks almost the same.  I have been to the K 3 times in my life (twice in 1994, one was a rainout), and it still looks amazing.  I never understood why teams need new stadiums all the time when they could save the money to make renovations.  The Braves are getting a new Stadium soon, their old one is 25 years old.  I AM OLDER THAN THEIR STADIUM!  UGH!

Let's move on, next is 1993 draft pick Jeff Granger.  Even in the 90's the Royals made good draft picks.  They had a great farm system, they just couldn't keep them.  Much like today though, the Royals also made some sure-fire picks that were more backfire than surefire.  I only showed this card to show how dedicated I am to completing team sets.  Maybe I'm too harsh, It's been 20 years, I can't even remember if he was good or bad.  He couldn't have been as bad as Tony Coggin or some of the early to mid 2000's relief pitchers we had who couldn't throw.

Phil Hiatt!  My man!  We have the same first name... well not really, Phil is short for Phillip which is my middle name, but it is what I go by.  I'm not sure if that is the reason I liked Phil Hiatt or not.  In my remembering the 90's there are quite a few players I can't remember if they were any good or not.  That's what 29 years of not making the playoffs does- these guys are all a blur.

Now this I should remember- THE ROYALS HAD A THREE-HEADED PLAYER ON THEIR TEAM IN 1994!  Oh, wait, that's Chris Gwynn.  All I remember about him was that he was related to Tony Gwynn (I had to look up that they were brothers).  Too bad Chris wasn't as good as Tony.  According to wikipedia, the Royals traded for him and Domingo Mota and sent Todd Benzinger to the Dodgers.  Two years later Gwynn signed elsewhere... the Dodgers to be exact.  Whatever! (To the younger readers, Whatever was a big catchphrase in the 90s, I'm not hip anymore so I don't know if it is still used).

The good thing about Just Commons is the fact that I know I didn't pay more than about 10 cents for those cards.  Not too bad when I need to complete a set.  Let's see what else was in the set.

We go to the heavy hitters now.  Brian McRae is first.  I always thought he was a solid player but I'm not entirely convinced he held a job in KC for so long because his dad was the manager.  After Hal was gone, and Brian was on his own, he didn't exactly set the world on fire.

If you collect cards just for the pictures, then you should start a collection of Kevin Appier cards.  I swear, he has so many different facial expressions, its like a new one on each card.  I liked Appier a lot and in the later years I felt he got a bad rap.  His record was horrible, but so was his run support.  It seems like if he gave up one run, the Royals didn't score.  If the scored 5 runs, he would have an off night and give up 6 runs.

I just wanted to show off this Stan Belinda card.  He is putting a lot of effort into throwing a pitch that is going backwards.  Stan is another guy that is a blur to me after all these years.  I do like the patch he has on his sleeve though.

Finally we have ole Ham.  Good thing he had decent power, because as evidenced by this photo, he couldn't run the bases for crap.  It looks like he is trying to swim to first.  I'm starting to think that Score had an agenda against the Royals in 1994 to find the most candid photos they could.  At least it gives me happy memories for a mostly dismal period in Royals history.  However, if the ill-fated strike didn't happen, KC had a shot at the playoffs in 1994.

Alright, maybe 1994 Score was a bad set to showcase first.  Let's try another year.  How about... 1993 Score.

Let's start with the back design first.  I like this design.  In 2014 it may seem blah, but in 1993 this was crisp (am I saying that right, I told you, I'm not up on today's slang).  It has stats, picture, logo, and even a biography.  Can't ask for much more.  Mike Macfarlane was a fine catcher,  I think a bit underrated by league standards, but he did a good job.

Kevin Koslofski is another players that had some buzz on him but never quite lived up to it.  I don't remember him being that skinny though.  Maybe if he added some weight he could have added some more power and stayed around longer.

Greg Jefferies was a guy that I liked.  How could you not like him with him wearing those 90's shades? Seriously, I was a fan of his even when he didn't play in Kansas City.  I'm not sure if I have any other cards of him in a Royals uniform, so I like it for that reason alone.

Rusty Meachem is next.  The 90's might have been the last time we had really cool names in baseball.  Sure some cool names pop up today, but how many people named Rusty play?  At least Kansas City still has Rusty Kuntz as a coach.  Meachem on the other hand also looks really skinny in this photo.  If nothing else, you can't say the Royals were shooting up the steroids or else they wouldn't look like someone Sally Struthers would want you to sponsor on TV at 2 in the morning (sorry kids, its another 90's reference).

What else we got?

Jeff Conine had an interesting career. At least it was to me.  He was a Royal, then became a Marlin, then later on became a Royal again.  He was also somehow a MVP of an All-Star game.  I'm not sure why I became a fan of his, but I always was.

Another guy I seemed to always like was Michael Tucker.  This card seems out of place in this set, but I guess they needed a way to differentiate draft picks.  Tucker was a solid player, but as his career progressed, I started rooting for him less. 

1993 would be the final set for George Brett.  He had two cards in the set.  I already had one, but I needed this one.  I would have preferred not having the background on the card, but its still a nice card.  I am having a problem now because in addition to collecting the team sets, I keep my Brett cards in another part of my binder.  I'm not sure if I should keep them as team sets or not.  The same problem comes about with my Johnny Damon cards.

Final card of the day is David Howard.  David was a very reliable player for Kansas City.  He wasn't the best, or the coolest, but the most consistent.  I have a few of his cards including a couple of his minor league cards.  I can't wait to finish more sets with him in them.

Okay, so with these last two posts, I have completed 4 team sets in my collection.  Next time I will show various cards I got that don't complete a set, but gets me closer.  Thank you for reading and have a great night.