Gavin Lux... Fairfield Re-Packs... 2020... Whatever...

 

I started sorting my 2020 cards early this year. Since I haven't been able to supplement my collection via retail packs, this year has seen most acquisitions come from a Hobby Shop. (A 1988 Donruss set was NOT among them. This box is just the temporary home of my near-complete 2020 Stadium Club set.) Which isn't bad at all, don't get me wrong. I'd much rather my collecting dollar go there than to any Targets or Walmarts. However, I simply miss being able to grab some jumbo packs with my bread, socks and cat food.

Speaking of food...

The sun has gone down on Famous BBQ in Coon Rapids.

Giving this place it's proper write-up will take longer than I'd like. My history there is more as a bystander, than customer. Some of that story is done right now, but a lot of it isn't. Either way, it will take more time to get talking about Abandoned BBQ ready. It’ll happen soon enough, so don't get your brow all furrowed!

Now enter this story…

2020 has been a mess for everything, including the baseball card hobby. Besides the pack flippers hoarding all the current retail product, now another branch of my collecting fun has been cut off from it's Junk Wax fix... All the local Walgreens have been bereft of Fairfield Re-packs for almost two months now! So I've been going to pick up a prescription and leaving with just a prescription. Very disappointing...

Last weekend, I had to pick some more pills up and found six new Fairfield Re-Packs, next to the Pokemon cards in the Walgreens toy aisle. I bought five of them, not wanting to be greedy. The next day, I found myself in a different Walgreens, and found four more Fairfield Re-Packs! This time I took all four, giving me a total of 9 new Fairfield Re-Packs to dig through!

By this point in collecting via Fairfield Re-Packs, I'm down to keeping less than 20% of each box. Each of these 9 boxes had a pack of 1992 Upper Deck inside. (I got TWO more David McCarty cards!) I've seen most of the junk wax that are inside (with a couple rare exceptions you'll read about soon) far too many times, so there's little from 1987-1993 worth keeping. But there are still quite a few gems to be found.

Since the BBQ story I wanted to tell is no where near finished, let me tap that baseball card well for the:

Top 21 Cards from Last Week's Packs of Fairfield Re-Packs!

Starting with Number 21!

#21 1982 Topps Jim Bibby

Bibby makes the tail end of the Whatever because his last name is a lot like the first two syllables of BBQ. Okay, that's a stretch, but I was looking for a decent segue. Though, it stands on it's own merit. I like 1982 Topps, and that green background works nicely with those awful Pirates uniforms of the day.

#20 1989 ProCards Jeff Tackett

The Rochester Red Wings are currently the AAA team for the Minnesota Twins. Back in 1989, they were affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles. Tackett would go on to play several seasons with the Orioles, but what sold me on the card was the bleachers behind him. Hopefully Rochester (NY) has upgraded their stadium in the last 30 years.

#19 1992 Skybox Orsino Hill 

Seeing this former prospect’s name always made me think of Arsenio Hall. Hill never made the majors, which I am disappointed by. You'd think the potential for awesome fan chants would have made him a fan favorite in the -then- Oakland-Alameda County Stadium.

Hey Rob, how do you feel about the Oakland A's employing a cheap knock-off of an early 1990's talk show host?

Roo, Roo, Roo! 

Moving on...

#18 1992 Action Packed Manny Mota

These Fairfield Re-packs were very heavy on Manny Mota. Each of the 9 boxes had a 1991 Swell Baseball Greats card, along with several other Manny Mota cards. All with the Dodgers, except for one of them...

#17 1992 Score Mel Rojas

Believe it or not, there was still a 1992 Score Expos card I needed.

And got!

#16 1993 Ultra Walt Weiss

Congrats to the Miami Marlins for not only making the playoffs,  but for actually winning a series! They've come a long way from the Skull-Crushing teal days of 1993-94, which is still a fun look to see on cards. You've gotta admit, Junk Wax Era Marlins cards definitely stand out from the stack.

#15 2002 Donruss Classics Gabe Kapler

Always liked this set. Former Rockies outfielder, future Phillies manager, current SF Giants manager.

Not bad...

#14 1991 Topps Toys R Us Robin Ventura

I think I need a copy of this box set. 

#13 1991 Topps Toys R Us Chris Nabholz

Actually, two of them. One to keep and one to break.

#12 2010 Topps Whatever This Is Justin Morneau

Mike at Mike's Sports Cards in Englewood sold me this complete 50 card set, back in 2010. I don't remember the specifics on it, but I don't think they were issued in standard packs. May have been a card store exclusive giveaway set, or a retail exclusive set. The answer isn't hard to find, but I'm feeling lazy tonight. So let’s just move on...

#11 2016 Topps Colorado Rockies Team Set Nolan Arenado

Each of the $5 Fairfield Re-packs that I picked up last week had an assortment of singles from various 2016 Topps Team Sets. You know the ones, the front looks like the standard 2016 Topps base card, but the card backs have a team specific prefix, and number to 17. I got one Colorado Rockies card in each re-pack. No complete set, but a few duplicates. 

I got Arenado and two Charlie Blackmon... YAAAAAAY!

And I got Jose Reyes... BOOOOOOOOO!

Each of those $5 Fairfield Re-packs also had a RIDICULOUS amount of 2016 Topps Minnesota Twins team set singles inside. This picture doesn't even show all of them. I was able to make two complete 17 card sets, and still have a ton of duplicates, triplicates and tenplicates of each player. Including a hefty fist full of Max Kepler rookie cards!

But I''ll admit, if I wasn't a Twins fan, this would have really pissed me off!

#10 1989 ProCards Danny Sheaffer

Former Red Sox, Indians and Cardinals catcher also logged significant time for the 1993 and 1994 Colorado Rockies. Sheaffer also played for the AAA Portland Beavers, in the Minnesota Twins organization, for the 1991 and 1992 seasons, but never appeared in a major league game for the Twins. Safe to say, Sheaffer was a direct beneficiary of MLB's 1993 expansion.

#9 1996 Topps Dante Bichette

As was Bo's father!

(I needed this card for my Rockies binders.)

#8 1987 Donruss Opening Day Tom Brunansky

Of all the Junk Wax Era semi-mainstream oddball sets, I think I want the 1987 Opening Day set the most. I like the concept. The starting lineup, plus pitcher, on Opening Day 1987 for all (then) 26 teams. The red border fits in nicely with the theme Donruss was going with. Black for the base set, blue for the Highlights set and green for The Rookies set.

#7 1990 Best Tim Pugh

I really like 1990 Best Minor League cards. So many great outfield signs and personalized scoreboard photos... Who cares if they're blurry and dull!

#6 2002 Bowman Grady Sizemore

I think I already have this card... But those palm trees make it worth owning multiple copies. 

One of the top prospects traded for Bartolo Colon!

#5 2006 SPx Anderson Hernandez Rookie Signatures

For some reason, I will always remember Anderson Hernandez as the example player used in the 2006 Beckett Baseball story explaining the new MLB Rookie Card logo. So that's kind of cool to get his autograph as a Fairfield Re-pack hit. Plus that's an interesting signature. There's a lot going on in that signature. First off, you have a nice, tight A, then some squiggles and loops, with an orphan parenthesis and some extra scribbles underneath the stretched out U. Wonder how his signature looked on the other 998 cards?

#4 2010 Bowman Platinum Brad Lincoln Auto/Jersey

Of all the bizarre Pirates uniform combinations over the years, I don't recall ever seeing a red pinstripe on grey. So this has to be a minor league relic. Which is fine, autographed jersey cards are always cool, regardless of who they're from. Would be cooler if it was a better prospect on a better team, but for a Fairfield hit, I'm not complaining!

Here's an old box of Turtles.

It used to hold tinsel for our X-Mess tree!

#3 2003 SPx Phil Seibel Auto/Jersey

The Re-Packs are feeling generous with Auto/Jerseys today! Actually from the 9 boxes, I managed to pull 5 autographed cards. Totally obliterating the Fairfield hit ratio of 1 in 4. These three here, plus a 2009 Bowman Aaron Cunningham (Athletics) and a 2013 Bowman Sterling Courtney Hawkins (White Sox). This was actually the second copy of the same Hawkins autographed card I've pulled from a Fairfield Repack this year, As far as Phil Seibel goes, I don't know much about him. He obviously didn't have a long major league career. But this is a pretty sweet card.

#2 1994 Upper Deck All-Time Heroes Manny Mota

Played in only 31 games for the 1969 Expansion Montreal Expos, before getting traded (with Maury Wills) to the LA Dodgers for Ron Fairly and Paul Popovich. Despite this brief blip in franchise history, Mota is recognized in this set of heroes and legends of baseball, as a Montreal Expo. That rules Upper Deck! You did a lot of things right along the way. Please come back to MLB! We need real competition in the baseball card market.

And the number one card in the Last Week's Fairfield Re-Pack Top Whatever is...

#1 1993 Donruss Doug Simons

How can a junk wax era common rank higher than several autographed jersey cards? 

When I flipped this over going through the re-pack, amongst all the other junk wax drek that surrounded it, I stopped and stared in disbelief. I had completely forgotten that Doug Simons had a brief 5 1/3 inning run, over 7 games, with the 1992 Montreal Expos. Only Donruss gave him an Expos card to commemorate his time served. Until this day, I'd never seen it before. I thought I had a complete 1993 Donruss Expos team set. I would imagine (since I'd never pulled it from a pack) that any reference to it on the checklists I read, would have just assumed Doug Simons was a New York Mets card.

Doug Simons was the Minnesota Twins 9th Round Draft Pick in 1988, and put up decent numbers as a left-handed starter for the Twins. Reaching AA Orlando in 1990, at the age of 23. For some reason, Simons was left unprotected in the 1990 Rule 5 Draft. I remember being baffled by this in December 1990. Armed with knowledge gleaned from copies of Baseball America, purchased at Shinders. Along with all sorts of Junk Wax, back in the day.

The New York Mets picked Simons in that draft, meaning he would have to stay on the Mets active roster the full 1991 season, or be returned to the Twins. The Mets did keep him in the major leagues all year. Using him in relief, and getting some results. Simons was only 24, and skipping any time in AAA, so he was likely in over his head. Playing the full season would give Simons rookie cards in all the 1992 sets, plus some in 1991 update sets.

For the 1991 season, a line of 2-3, 5.19 ERA, 42 games, 38 strikeouts in 60 2/3 innings. A 1.22 WHIP shows some real promise that he could develop into a quality relief pitcher. Apparently, the Mets gave up on Simons during 1992 Spring Training, flipping him to the Montreal Expos for Rob Katzaroff. A speedy outfielder who never made the major leagues. A transaction I have zero memory of.

After three disastrous appearances with the Expos in April 1992 (composite 5 hits, 2 walks and 8 earned runs in 1/3 of an inning, giving him an unheard of ERA of 216.00!), he was optioned to the AAA Indianapolis Indians. Spending the rest of the AAA season pitching as both a starter and reliever for Indianapolis. He received a September call-up to Montreal and fared only slightly better. Going 0-0, 23.63 ERA, due to giving up 15 hits in those 5 1/3 total inning. Simons spent 1993 and 1994 with the AAA Ottawa Lynx, in the Expos system.  He was never called back to the majors, but kept trying with the Royals and Astros until 1996.

But I never remembered he was an Expo. So this card made my day!

I mean, it's still no 1988 Fleer Bruce Ruffin...

And I guess that will wrap all this up for now. I've covered everything I set out ton and now it's time to do something else. Since I've run out of things to write about, it's time to get back to that abandoned BBQ story planning...

Oh yeah... Gavin Lux!

As I said, I'd begun sorting all the 2020 baseball cards I've gotten this year. The first round of which is to pull out Twins and Rockies (and Expos) cards, for their respective binders. During the same weekend the Fairfield Re-packs were re-found in this area, I stumbled into a small amount of 2020 Allen & Ginter blasters at the local Targets. I bought two of them and split the packs with my mom. 

Not only was finding some 2020 retail product semi shocking, but one of the packs contained this...

2020 Topps Allen & Ginter Gavin Lux Mini Autographs Black Parallel 7/25

The 7/25 foil stamping at the bottom is next to impossible to read on this scan. But more importantly, at one in 6,211 packs! I beat the pack flippers! When they go to resell their plunder in a couple years, with the draw of rare cards of the biggest name 2020 rookies, I've already claimed one of the top possible prizes. $80 for an Allen & Ginter blaster, that was sitting on the shelf next to this one... Chances are there’s not a Gavin Lux Mini Autographs Black Parallel 8/25 inside...

Ha!

So I've now added another massive Los Angeles Dodgers hit to the collection. Let me state again that I HATE the Dodgers after all those years in Colorado. Watching the Rockies flail helplessly against the Blue Scourge, season after season. And of course I'll have to watch them in the World Series again, because 2020 hasn't sucked enough...

But what I need right now is for Gavin Lux to hurry up and become a Hall of Famer.

Do it Lux!

Go be a Hall of Famer! Do it now!

Be a Hall of Famer right NOW Lux!!

Go Rays!

******

2020 claims another retail victim.

The Crapids JC Penney, in the Riverdale Shopping Center, less than a mile from my house, has closed it’s doors. Opening in 2003, the large, single level department store couldn’t survive the pandemic. Their last day of business was October 18, 2020. Of course I wandered through the entire store with my camera on the last day it was open, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t…

Last December, Laura spent around 3793 hours inside this JC Penney's, doing her X-Mess shopping. I wandered around the entire store, taking pictures of all the retail. No idea what I would do with them, because a fully stocked and busy store isn’t all that interesting to look at. But now that the place has permanently closed, I can match the pictures from last year along with the pictures from yesterday, and I have a brand new story!

To write at a much later date.

I’m going to go do something else now...