Say Something Nice About the Houston Astros!
Leaving the Houston Astros after the 2021 season, Correa signed an opt-out filled 3 year contract with the Minnesota Twins (a signing that shocks me to this day). Through cancelled contracts and bad medical reports, that was eventually turned into a 7 year contract for $234 million.With option years that could be tacked on at the end. One of the key players in the 2017 sign stealing scandal, now plays for my team.
The Astros held a press conference when spring training opened in February, 2020. Among the players attempting to save face, Correa said: "We were wrong for everything we did in 2017. It's not what we stand for. It's not what we want to portray as an organization, and we were definitely wrong about all that and we feel really sorry. We affected careers, we affected the game in some way, and looking back at it, it was just bad."
Yeah... It was...
Writing a story about the Houston Assholes -I mean the Houston ASTROS- and NOT mentioning the 2017 sign stealing scandal, would be rather irresponsible of me. So I'll briefly summarize it and move on. If you're reading this, chances are this isn't news, and you've likely formed your own opinion. I'm not going to try and change that.
So I stole this graphic that shows what Major League Baseball found during their investigation. Which was set off when former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers detailed the sign stealing scheme to Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich, of The Athletic. A story breaking the scandal was published in November 2019. This triggered an MLB investigation, which confirmed in January 2020, the Astros illegally used a camera system to steal signs during the 2017 regular season and postseason.
Major League Baseball punished the Astros with a $5 million fine, and stripped them of their first and second round picks in the 2020 and 2021 MLB drafts. They also suspended Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, field manager A. J. Hinch, and Red Sox manager Alex Cora (the Astros bench coach in 2017) for the 2020 season. No players were punished, because MLB granted them immunity in exchange for their cooperation. Most importantly, the Astros retained their 2017 World Series championship title. Despite many calling for it to be stripped from them.
As far as I was concerned, it really didn't mean a whole lot, in the big picture. I was far more offended by MLB turning a blind eye to the steroid era. Or the actions of some ownership groups pocketing their revenue sharing money, instead of using it on team payroll. Which is still a big problem today. (Looking at you Pittsburgh... Support Skenes AND your fans.) So this is a thing that happened. I thought it was shitty, but not the worst thing to happen in baseball. I believe that to some degree, every team will look for an edge to win a game. That's the way it is.
The Astros got caught.
I'm positive that did not end cheating in MLB.
Moving on...
The purpose of this story isn't to just take a steamy dump on the Astros.
But rather to celebrate them?
In early March of this year, I was wrapping up the "final sort" of all my Los Angeles/California/Anaheim Angels cards.
Resulting in two and three quarter albums worth of Angels albums. One album of "Stars" (Nolan Ryan, Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson, Vladimir Guerrero, Albert Pujols, Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout), and an album and a third of stars, rookies, inserts and commons that I liked, placed in chronological order. Going back to 1962 Topps, through the 2024 releases.
Which is the plan for every team.
I will then put together a "Keep Box". Duplicates or singles that didn't make the album cut, but that I still wanted.
All penny sleeved or Top Loadered, as needed.
Then another box of the stuff I'm parting with. A "Sell Box", if you will. Best case scenario is selling (or trading) these as a lot. These two boxes are not yet final. After sorting these teams cards in my spare time, for months, I need to step away from them for perspective. I'm going to revisit the "Keep Box" and likely find a decent amount to add to the "Sell Box".
Finsihing off the Angels meant 1 team down, 27 teams to go!
The math checks out because: 30 teams in Major League Baseball, minus the Twins, Rockies and Expos (who are sorted separately), plus the Nationals. The Washington Nationals do not get special treatment, despite their history.
I tried... But it's just not the same.
Since I was trying to figure out my sorting method for this much specific bulk, I was using the Angels to develop a template to follow in the future. Now that I have a solid plan, it's time to summon the Astros!
Supervisor Harley demands a Whatever...
And who could say no to that face?
This Whatever isn't supposed to represent the absolute best of the Houston Astros cards I'm keeping. Only a selection of what I wanted to write about. If I were to go with "best" (resale value), there would only be about five names appearing on this list. And who wants to read that?
Bad enough this is about the Houston Astros...
So without further delay, here is the...
Top 97 Houston Astros Cards that I Feel Like Talking About!
Starting all the way back with #97!
Oh no...
#97 - 2013 Triple Play - Matt Dominguez
I once declared that any time I did a Whatever that included a card from this set, it will ALWAYS rank DEAD LAST. That is how I feel about this abomination of a card set. When I pulled it from one of too many sealed packs, stuffed inside a PressTine Shohei Ohtani themed Repack, I suggested that Matt Dominguez sue Panini for printing this.
2013 Topps - Matt Dominguez
The I found this...
Baseball cards have done you wrong, Matt.
#96 - 2020 Topps Gallery - Framber Valdez
Sketches of players on cards are often hit or miss. In 2020, Topps put out the Gallery set, featuring some of the oddest choices of drawings. This one in particular speaks "Painting for Beginners", or something that hangs in a high school art show. That didn't make it to the district show, and stayed hanging in the hallway until someone drew a dick on it.
Maybe high school is different now...
#95 - 2011 Topps - Clint Barmes
He was a favorite of mine from his Rockies days.
I have no memories of his Houston Astros days.
Tie - #94 - 1968 Topps - Joe Morgan
Ranking this high only because it's a 1968 Topps card of a Hall of Famer. Even with the crease.
But this has to be about the most boring photo of Joe Morgan to appear on a Topps card.
Tie - #94 - 1969 Topps - Joe Morgan
But Topps liked it so much, they used it again for the 1969 set!
They even tried to clean up that blob floating above his head.
Although the only thing they succeeded in was blurring it more.
#93 - 2014 Topps - Jesse Crain
Here's an interesting one... Crain was drafted by the Minnesota Twins, in the second round of the 2002 MLB Draft. He had a decent run coming out of the bullpen for the Twins, during our first round playoff losing streak, from 2004-2010. After the 2010 season, he signed with the Chicago White Sox as a free agent. His run with the White Sox was even better than what he did for the Twins. Then he got hurt...
Crain was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in July 2013, but never appeared in a game. After the 2013 season, he signed a free agent contract with the Houston Astros. But he wasn't able to play. However, Topps decided he needed a card to represent the 0 games he pitched as an Astro, by making it look like he was. Topps actually did a pretty good job here.
Unfortunately, Jesse Crain couldn't come back from his injuries, and never appeared in a game after his trade to Tampa.
#92 - 1972 Topps - Dave Roberts
Now compare the uniform modification Topps did on Jesse Crain, to how they made an Astros cap out of a San Diego Padres cap. (Ignoring the Padres brown and yellow, still on the collar. That H inside the star, stands for HILARIOUS!
#91 - 1990 Donruss - Steve Lombardozzi
Former platoon second baseman for the Minnesota Twins, for parts of 1985-1988. He never hit much, outside of a very important .417 average in the 1987 World Series. He didn't hit very well with Houston either.
1990 Donruss are so ugly...
******
Back to starting my Astros card sorting, with the initial gathering of source material.
First off would be pulling the pre-sorted Houston cards, from three different sets of monster boxes.
The first set of six boxes rest on a rolling metal shelf my Dad welded together in the late 1990's. Boxes on these shelves were first put together in 2002-2003. They contain cards from 1974 to 2005, and were greatly condensed from my aborted first attempt at this "Final Sort". Over the course of 15 or so months, I'd put together albums for the 27 teams, with cards I wanted to keep from 1974-2005.
Astros cards from the Dad Shelf Monster Box.
The problem with those albums was they were still too heavy. If I already had 2-3 albums for each team, that didn't include anything past 2005, this would get out of control. The only way to do this big project is to get everything together and then decide what to do with it.
The second set of pre-sorted Monster Boxes are apartment housed in a shelf I picked up in the final hours of Pal's Sports Cards. These boxes are filled with cards from 2006-2019. Sleeved duplicates from those years, as well as cards that were pulled from my previous album storage plan. I'd been keeping albums in chronological order until I decided to switch to sorted by team, in 2022. I had albums set up from 1957 through 2019. Typically around 15% of a set would be put in pages. Just the cards I liked. All the 1974-2005 stuff was covered already, so these boxes were filled with 2006-2019 cards.
Astros cards from the Pal's Shelves.
Of course there are exceptions to that timeline. As new cards came in, they'd get added to whatever set of boxes was nearby. Always keeping it chronological. I spent too much time doing that in the first place to get careless now!
The final set of Monster Boxes are sitting on my office floor. (Well, raised off the floor by an inch, because that's smart.) These Floor Boxes are from all the unsorted cards new cards from packs ripped between 2020 through 2024. And new singles I bough from all years. Plus the complete and near complete sets I decided to break up, in the name of reducing my collection by a serious amount.
Astros cards from those Floor Boxes.
Now that the Monster Boxes have been harvested for Astros, it's time to get back to the Whatever...
#90 - 1996 Donruss - Dave Magadan
1996 Donruss were better, except for what scans as a big black box. For some poorly thought out reason, they took all of the important information, like team, position, jersey number, typeset them in wacky fonts, then Tetrised them to fit in a foil square. Terrible execution, where the rest of the card is designed well.
#89 - 1997 Ultra - Pat Listach
The 1992 American League Rookie of the Year never again lived up to his slightly below average award winning season.
#88 - 1977 Topps - Houston Astros - Sea Water Green Parallel
Back in 2010-2011, I wanted to bolster my supply of 1960's and 1970's cards. I had some stars, but I wanted to sort some bulk commons. Obviously I wouldn't be going down to the store to pick up 10 packs of 1973 Topps, any time soon. But I wanted to experience what it would be like to rip a bunch of 40+ year old packs. Only not that at all... A few times over that year, I ordered several bulk lots of mixed pre-1980 singles, off of the ebays. Well over 7000 cards for less than $200 combined.
Most of it was in less than ideal condition, but I found a lot of of treasures that I probably wouldn't have added to my collection. Several hundred cards of Hall of Famers, and many more superstars, rookies and local heroes. It was exactly what I was looking for, as I was able to add in some great vintage to the various wings of my collection.
Mixxed in with a few hundred 1977 Topps I bought, was this Houston Astros team card, in clearly abused condition. Even if someone hadn't scribbled all over it with a green marker. Part of the joy of searching all of this cards came from finding stuff like this. For whatever reason, some kid took exception to this single card, and decided it needed to be a different color.
I applaud your tastes. There's far too much orange going on here!
#87 - 1994 Bowman - Domingo Jean
I can't write a Houston Astros Whatever, and not include Domingo Jean.
Read my 1994 Bowman story, and it'll tell you why.
#86 - 2009 Topps Heritage - Aaron Boone
Absolutely didn't remember the Yankees current manager was briefly an Astro. He signed a one year contract with Houston, in December 2008. In March 2009, Boone needed open heart surgery. After rehabbing, he made his Astros debut in September, 2009. He got into 10 games with Houston, but did not get a hit in 14 plate appearances. He retired after the season.
#85 - 2016 Donruss Dominator Blue - Jose Altuve
It never really bothered me that Panini cards are unlicensed. The lack of logos is fine, and understandable given MLB's long standing desire of keeping Topps (and now Fanatics) a monopoly. Even though I hate it. So while Panini isn't really viable competition, it's at least an option that wouldn't otherwise be there. (I still miss Upper Deck...)
My biggest problem with Panini is a lot of their designs are just lazy. They own all of Donruss' logos and trademarks, even using the original Donruss logo. So you may as well use them. "Dominator" was an insert line in mid-1990's Donruss baseball and hockey releases. They were typically nice looking, with foil printing that was fairly cutting edge for its time. After all the corporate sales and license issues, some 20 years later, the Donruss Dominator just isn't very eye popping. Rounded white rectangles dominate the space on the card, but don't inspire any sense of the domination the featured player is supposed to induce. (Doesn't help when the player is only 4'6"...)
Still serial numbered... Still all sorts of foiley... Just boring and disappointing.
#84 - 2006 Bowman Chrome - Koby Clemens
Koby Clemens was initially one of the biggest names in an underwhelming class of 1st Bowman Cards, for the 2006 set. Well, his last name was... Houston's 8th round pick in the 2005 MLB Draft, bounced around the minors and independent baseball until 2014. He never hit enough to become a prospect, and topped out in AAA.
Koby's youngest brother Kody, came up with the Tigers a few years ago. He was traded to the Phillies after the 2023 season, and was in a roster crunch a few weeks into the 2025 season. He was traded to the Twins for money, because we suddenly found ourselves in a shortage where there used to be a surplus. Kody Clemes has played second base, first base and left field (sometime all three in the same game), which is exactly what we needed him to do. Watching him hit his first Twins home run in Fenway Park, with his father and entire family watching from a Fenway suite, was pretty cool. Kody's hitting has been a pleasant surprise. While I don't expect him to post an OPS in the .800's all season, he's providing a jolt of offense that this team was absolutely lacking from his predecessors.
Looking at you, Julien and Miranda...
#83 - 2006 Fleer Tradition Diamond Tributes Jersey - Roger Clemens
Here comes dad... I don't like Roger Clemens. Hell of a pitcher, who may or may not have achieved some of his results with chemical enhancement. He also was kind of an asshole. I remembered the crap he pulled with Mike Piazza, in the late 1990's/early 2000's. Although I wasn't watching a Yankees/Mets rivalry all that closely, from Denver. A few weeks ago, I watched the "Rivals" Vice TV show on Clemens vs Piazza. After watching that, I no longer felt like Clemens was kind of an asshole.
He was an absolute asshole.
#82 - 2007 Topps - Jason Jennings
Former Rockies starting pitcher, who actually won the (2002) NL Rookie of the Year award. As a Colorado Rockies Starting Pitcher... During peak steroid era.... In his first major league game, Jennings pitched a complete game shutout against the New York Mets. Hitting a home run in that game as well. The only time in Major League history a player has done that. With the NL now using the DH, and the way pitchers are handled today, it's likely that record will never be matched.
Putting that together made me a huge Jennings fan, but he never matched his earliest success. The Rockies traded him to Houston after the 2006 season. From that point, ineffectiveness and injuries saw him out of the game by 2012. Last appearing in the majors, with the Texas Rangers in 2009.
#81 - 2010 Topps - Houston Astros Team Card
This one has a choo choo!
#80 - 1995 Collectors Choice SE - Craig Biggio
I do love cards that picture a piece of that day's current technology, for the time capsule view they provide. This camera was likely state of the art, 30 years ago. And probably cost more than I make in a year. (Then vs now, at least.) And in that last 30 years, technology has moved fast enough to where I now have a better quality camera in my shirt pocket. Even that is over 7 years old now.
#79 - 2000 Pacific Invincible - Jose Lima
2000 Pacific Invincible was a strange set. Each pack gave you 4 (if I remember right) base cards, and 1 of these "insert" cards. The blue background is a translucent plastic, intended to mimic the sky. Which would look a lot better if it wasn't dominated by a design that eats up too much of the surface. Base cards looked completely different, as they were made to resemble a deck of playing cards.
#78 - 2010 Upper Deck - Darin Erstad
Completely forgot Darin Erstad finished his career with the Houston Astros. His two seasons there were so unremarkable (.252/.297/.353 over 492 plate appearances) that it's easy to forget he wasn't still with the Angels. Who weren't doing anything themselves.
#77 - 1999 UD Choice - Moises Alou
Those big gold star jerseys the Astros used to wear were so un-Astros-like.
More important with what's going here is the long time Montreal Expos left fielder, is playing against the Expos in Spring Training.
#76 - 1998 Leaf Rookies & Stars - Moises Alou
I like this Alou card better, because I like 1998 Leaf Rookies & Stars, exponentially more than 1999 UD Choice. Not sure who the Astros are playing in this Spring Training game. Doubt it's the Expos.
#75 - 2009 Goodwin Champions - Ivan Rodriguez
Got this out of a Fairfield Re-pack, as I never bought any 2009 Goodwin Champions by Upper Deck, because I didn't like them. The photo popping out of a water color nature scene may have been novel 100 years ago, but it did nothing for me. That said, Ivan Rodriguez didn't even play a full season with the Astros, and this is my favorite of his few Astros cards.
#74 - 1991 Upper Deck Final Edition - Kenny Lofton
After the 1991 season ended, Upper Deck released their own "series 3', but they called it Final Edition. Which was sold as a stand alone 100 card box set. It was an excuse to print cards of more rookies, such as Kenny Lofton and Ivan Rodriguez. Plus another bunch of superstars, with both starting lineups for the 1991 All Star Game. Added to the 700 card base set, and the 100 card "high numbers" set, Upper Deck gave the 1991 season better coverage than Topps did.
And Kenny Lofton absolutely should be in the Hall of Fame.
Before getting to #73, looking at an Upper Deck card of this era reminds me of something...
1992 Upper Deck - Houston Astros Hologram Sticker
Really hoped it would have scanned better than this... Maybe it's the aging, jaded, Gen-X'er in me, but holograms were cool.
They've seemed to have gone away over the past two decades.
I'll have to remember that this should go in an album, when I get to that point.
******
Where we at on all that sorting?
Now that I've gathered together Astros from the three sets of Monster boxes, it's time to settle in and commence to combining them in order...
Key to the process is the Sorting Tray Box. Shown here with my custom inverted semi-rigid Year Dividers. After I quit using those semi-rigid card guards, I still find use for them as dividers. As I combine all of the pre-sorted stuff, these will keep everything in order. They'll just get added to as I go.
First up will be the removing of cards from the old Astros albums I put together a few years ago.
Which will amount to about 2200 cards, just from two plus albums
Since those albums start at 1974, I have to tap into the "Vintage Albums" to pull out the Astros and Colt .45's from there. In the case of Houston, I don't have much in the Vintage Albums, because I rarely bought a pre-1974 Astros card on purpose. So sorting these were easy. Throw them in the front of the pile. (That $60 Top Loader in back is NOT an Astros card... It's empty because the card I paid $60 for -a 2024 Bowman Draft Luke Keaschall Printing Plate- was moved to a One Touch.)
Last part of the recipe is to sprinkle in the 200 or so Astros commons I'd set aside years ago. These were kept because I either liked the player or the picture, but they have little value, and I didn't like them enough to put them in an album. And I still don't like them enough to let them stay warm inside a comforting penny sleeve...
And then there's the combined Astros from the monster boxes I covered earlier.
Now all of this will be combined into one box, sorted by year, then brand.
Because that's what I want.
Whatever...
#73 - 2012 Topps Gold Foil - Dallas Kuechel
Beardless Kuechel is a strange sight.
I'll keep a parallel just for the novelty of it.
#72 - 2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces - Nolan Ryan
I'm overly critical of art cards. I did like the "canvas" feel of the card stock used for this set, and I loved the simple -yet elegant- use of gold foil, but some of the paintings are slightly off. The set is filled with paintings of (somewhat) familiar photos. And that right hand is a big buzzkill for a key Hall of Famer in the set.
ENHANCE!
Not to get too picky, but there's something all sorts of not right with Ryan’s right hand. And/or the baseball in it. The baseball appears to be egg shaped, and his fingers look like they are coming out of the wrong parts of his palm.
#71 - 1994 Finest Refractor - Doug Drabek
Loved everything about 1993 Finest. 199 of the best players in baseball. A set that was actually rare. Groundbreaking in that it brought "Refractor" parallels to the hobby. So what does Topps do for a follow up? Two series featuring 440 players who play baseball... Not the Finest when nearly half of the league made the list. Rich Batchelor was NEVER one of the 440 best players in baseball... Yet here he is in the set... Guessing Topps like his thick framed nerdy glasses?
As far as my other two points about Finest 1993 vs 1994, they can both be summed up in the same story.
Rare? Baseball cards were such slow sellers in 1995, that the "Treat Company" (pre-cursor to MJ Holdings, for big box retail sports card distribution) was blowing out hobby boxes of 1994 Finest, at the local WalMarts, for $39.99 a box. FAR below release price. I bought two of them before they were gone.
Refractors? For 1993 Finest, you got one per box. Someone did the math and came up with an estimated 241 copies of each of the 199 in the set. For 1994 Finest, each box would have 3 Refractors inside. When I ripped both boxes of Treat Re-pack WalMarts Hobby Boxes of 1994 Finest, BOTH boxes had a Refractor parallel inside EVERY pack! Well, thank you Topps or Treat! I appreciate what I got, but it proves the inferiority of 1994 Finest vs 1993 Finest.
Yes, I did pull a Rich Batchelor Refractor...
But he's a St. Louis Cardinal, so you get Doug Drabek instead. He made the cut of 199 for 1993 Finest, so I'll allow it.
#70 - 1991 Stadium Club - Jeff Bagwell
Bagwell looking like he needs a sammich, way back in 1991...
Not saying it was anything other than PB&J, but he also seemed to double in size during the 1990's...
And I can't add anything more to my fond memories of 1991 Stadium Club, that my early 2018 story didn't cover.
#69 - 2021 Finest Refractor - Zack Greinke
I like Zack Greinke. Wish he would have pitched for more teams I didn't hate. Tough to rank him as one of my favorites, with all that Dodgers, D-Bags and Assholes, on his resume...
#68 - 2021 Stadium Club Chrome Gold - Luis Garcia - Autograph
Okay... Autographed rookie card, serial numbered out of 50. Guess I have to root for this guy. Thankfully, the addition of the pitch clock took away his little dance before throwing each pitch. Technically it wasn't against the rules, so he got away with it. Then they made a rule. Not against it, but around it...
#67 - 2000 Bowman Chrome TV Refractor - Lance Berkman
These were listed as 1 in 60 packs (roughly 3 boxes), but I seemed to get one in every box I bought. And I actually bought a lot of 2000 Bowman Chrome. And because it's the Astros, a staggering 4 of those "rare" TV Refractor inserts, were Houston Astros. I didn't ask for that.
#66 - 2019 Topps 1984 Anniversary Bat - Carlos Correa
This card sat in Pal's Astros team bin for a while. I'd debated it it for that $5 tag, on quite a few visits. Despite being an Astros player that I didn't like, it's a cheap bat card of a star, and it's based on 1984 Topps. A set I did like. Finally pulling the trigger on my visit the next day after Correa signed with Minnesota. Correa won me over for not just leaving the Astros, but leaving them for one of the most unexpected teams in the game. I'll never be the biggest Carlos Correa fan, but I like watching him play shortstop and he has moments at the plate. Overpaid? Yeah, but only due to injury. When he's healthy and producing, I have no problem with the artificial strain the Pohlad family likely views his contract.
#65 - 1994 Ted Williams Card Company - Bob Watson
The Ted Williams Card Company was a great concept that came at the wrong time. Probably way ahead of it's time, because I believe that concept would have worked in today's market, if it reflected today's market. Problem was it debut in 1993, when nostalgia wasn't nearly as big of a business as it is now. The 1994 set came out around the same time as the players strike set in. So a cold concept coming at when the game (and hobby) couldn't get colder... Which is why there was no 1995 Ted Williams Card Company set.
#64 - 2015 Panini Prizm Red Xfractor - Chris Carter
I know it's not called an Xfractor. It's Panini. Who knows what they were calling this pattern of foil treatment in 2015. It's numbered to something I forget. His Baseball Reference page pictures him wearing a Twins cap? Didn't expect to see that... Better do some reading... Before the 2018 season, Carter signed a minor league contract with the Angels. Less than 2 months into the season, the Angels sold his contract to the Twins. Less than 2 months after that, the Twins released him. He didn't appear in the majors in 2018, and signed with the Mexican Baseball League. Where he's still playing today.
#63 - 1998 Leaf Rookies & Stars Greatest Hits - Jeff Bagwell
A cool thing about 1998 Leaf Rookies & Stars is that all of the insert card sets are serial numbered. I should start scanning the backs as well, so I'd remember what the number was when I wrote about them, months after doing the scanning...
#62 - 2019 Bowman Chrome Refractor - Korey Lee
1st Bowman card of an Astros draft pick who is now an injured White Sox catcher. So you leave the Astros and go to the worst (non-Rockies) team in baseball, then you get hurt. Meanwhile, the White Sox make trades for the Angels top catching prospect (Edgar Quero) AND the Red Sox top catching prospect (Kyle Teel). So where does that leave you?
#61 - 1981 Donruss - Joe Morgan
For the last 6 months I have been trying to figure out what happened with my 1981 Donruss story. I posted it on January 31, 2018. On the first day, it had about 150 hits. Over the next 6 years, it maybe got another 200 views total. Something happened in December 2024, involving 1981 Donruss and Four Baggers... As since then, my 1981 Donruss Top Whatever story, has well over 3,000 hits. I can't explain what brought that on.
To compare, in early January, 2018. I posted a similar story about 1981 Fleer. And no one gives a crap. To date, that story has only 335 views. 1981 Donruss? 3791 views.
Is 1981 Donruss really 11 times better than 1981 Fleer?
My humble opinion is that 1981 Fleer is probably about 6 times better than 1981 Donruss. No... 5 times better.
But I guess the internets have spoken, and they've declared it's 1981 Donruss in a landslide.
Whatever...
#60 - 2001 Topps Gold - Jose Vizcaino
Besides the fact that I can't read the name Jose Vizcaino and not hear a drunken Harry Carrey mispronouncing it, this was one of my favorite cards from 2001 Topps. You’ve got Vizcaino taking bating practice in front of a bunch of middle aged folks in their golfing casual attire. Including the guy standing behind the fence, wearing a pair of baggy mom-jorts.
I should probably rank this card higher…
#59 - 2022 Panini Mosiac Blue Prizm - Jose Altuve
Even unlicensed, the colored Mosiac Prizm parallels are nice.
And I sure seemed to get a large amount of Astros from the packs I ripped.
#58 - 2013 Topps - Jose Altuve
Houston loves to throw back to the late 1970's Astros uniforms.
They're definitely not for me, but I can see why they'd have their fans.
#57 - 1976 Topps - J.R. Richard
Not sure if they completed the look with throwback orange on orange, satin jackets...
J.R. Richard's story is a tragic one. Drafted in the 1st round (second overall) of the 1969 MLB Draft, he was promoted to Houston in 1971. The Astros took his development very carefully, limiting his innings until the 1975 season. Over the next 6 seasons, he became one of the best starting pitchers in baseball. After dominating the first half of the 1980 season, Richard started having arm fatigue. Tests didn't find the problem, and he tried to pitch through it. During pre-game warm-ups, on July 30, 1980, Richard collapsed in the outfield. He suffered a massive stroke, due to a blood clot in his neck. J.R. Richard tried for several years but could not return to baseball, officially retiring in 1984.
#56 - 1989 Upper Deck - Craig Biggio
Some day I'll write my story about 1989 Upper Deck.
Great memories of my first hand-collected set.
#55 - 2019 Topps Opening Day Mascots - Orbit
Mascot cards were just about the only redeeming factor for Topps Opening Day.
#54 - 2016 Topps Heritage Baseball Flashback - Eddie Matthews
Until I pulled this card from a 2016 Topps Heritage pack, I had no idea the long time Braves third baseman, played for the Astros. Atlanta decided they had enough of him and sent him to Houston, on December 31, 1966. Happy New Year! With 493 home runs after the 1966 season, Matthews was within reasonable reach of his 500th career home run. But the Braves just said "nope." Why wouldn't you want to cash in on a milestone like that? Especially considering the Braves had just moved to Atlanta, from Milwaukee, in 1966. Guess it made sense to someone at the time, but not a move I would have made.
Eddie Matthews hit his 500th career home run in July 1967. It came off fellow future Hall of Famer, Juan Marichal, at Candlestick Park, in San Francisco. A month later, the Astros traded him to the Detroit Tigers. He retired after the 1968 season. And was a Hall of Famer, five years later.
Pretty safe to say, Eddie Matthews, the Houston Astro, wlll make the New Baseballcardland Wall of Albums.
If I had to make an educated guess, I'm getting closer to assembling those albums...
The smaller groups of pre-sorted cards were broken down into blocks of years (left side of picture), then filed in with the groups of cards in the center. This picture was from combining cards from 2018.
The final sorted Houston Astros Monster Box. Minus Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio. Had too many of their cards to fit, so they're temporarily stored outside of this picture, in a separate box. With everything sorted by year, it was now time to figure out where each year's cards would end up...
Reusing the Sorting Tray with four new categories: Albums (as in, these cards are going there), Sleeves (for duplicates I'm keeping, or stuff not albumworthy), Commons (non-stars that are not even sleeveworthy), Sell (or just get rid of). There's also spaces for stars kept separate. Nolan Ryan, Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio, in case it's not apparent. At the time of this picture, I had finished 1988 and was starting the 1989 stack. Fronted by a few 1989 Donruss Craig Biggios.
Poor Joe Rudi was misplaced in a sea of Assholes...
He gets his own compartment, until I reunite him with his late 1970's teammates. I did keep a handful of Joe Rudi cards.
Whatever...
#53 - 2009 Topps - LaTroy Hawkins
Never would have imagined that LaTroy Hawkins would have lasted 20 years in the Major Leagues. Top prospect of the Twins in 1994, he was given several chances to become the ace that Minnesota sorely needed. Starting didn't work out, but his career took off with a move to the bullpen. After serving as the Twins closer for a couple years, Hawkins moved onto the Cubs as a free agent. He then went on to play another 10+ seasons, for seemingly every other team in baseball.
#52 - 1990 Bowman - Dan Schatzeder
Former Expos relief pitcher, and member of the 1987 Minnesota Twins World Championship team, Schatzeder was winding down his career with the Astros. He signed as a free agent in 1989, and had a down year. Coming back in 1990 was far better, but he was done in 1991. After a few games with the Kansas City Royals, they released him. He signed with the Mets a few days later, and they released him shortly after that.
But he got a 1987 World Series ring!
#51 - 1981 Topps - Joaquin Andujar
This was one of the very first 1981 Topps cards I had, very early into my collecting days.
Not this copy. Which is in much better shape.
And this one isn't great.
Now we're going way back to before the Astros were one of the most disliked teams in baseball... Back to when this was just an expansion team, named after a gun. Playing in a temporary wooden ballpark, tucked in the corner of a massive parking lot. The center of that lot is where their new stadium is under construction. (Shown here in 1964.) Once the Astrodome opened in 1965, the team renamed themselves after their new house. Leaving their guns outside to deteriorate in the hot Texas sun.
For a short time after the Astrodome opened, Houston players would work out inside Colt Stadium, to acclimate themselves to hotter weather on the road. Eventually they were chased out by the rattlesnakes claiming the field as theirs. The playing surface found other uses, including Monsanto engineers testing their new "AstroTurf". Months were spent driving cars and riding horses on the synthetic surface, to test the durability. Once the Astros realized they couldn't grow real grass inside the Dome, the turf tested in Colt Stadium replaced the dying real grass inside. In order to hide the (previously) brightly colored red and blue seats, the entire stadium was painted gray, so it would blend in with the parking lot. It continued to bake under oppressive conditions for years. The field eventually used as storage for unwanted stuff from the Astroworld theme park (which was closed and demolished in 2005), on the other side of the massive parking lot.
#50 - 1963 Topps - Dave Guisti
I only have a handful of Houston Colt .45's cards. Since it's Houston, I'm not buying any Colt singles unless they have a good shot of the gun jersey. Or a nice piece of Colt Stadium in the background. This card has both! From pictures on the Googles, Giusti would be standing on the bullpen pitching mound, down the third base line. The left field bleachers are behind him on this card. Being a 1963 card, this photo would have been taken the year before, in Colt Stadium's opening season.
#49 - 1964 Topps - Carl Warwick
A photo taken from roughly the same spot along Colt Stadium's foul lines.
This photo is of the right center field scoreboard, years after the final game played here.
Maybe the Googles can tell us what happened next, to Colt Stadium?
In 1971, Colt Stadium had a tax lien on it, and was sold to the owners of the Algodoneros del Unión Laguna, a team in the Mexican League. Over the next four years, the temporary stadium was dismantled and shipped in pieces, to Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico. Unión Laguna used the stadium between 1975 and 1981. In 1981, the owner of Unión Laguna, sold the team to the Union of Oil Workers of the Mexican Republic, who moved the franchise to Tampico, Tamaulipas. The stadium was dismantled again and moved to Tampico. The franchise moved after the 1985 season, but they left their temporary stadium behind. The Mexico City Tigers bought the stadium, and had planned on moving it to use as their new home ballpark. Until they took a closer look at the structure and found it had been weakened by extreme weather and three separate assemblies and tear downs. The former Colt Stadium was finally scrapped out. Seats found uses at parks and play grounds around Mexico. There may be pieces of the old Houston Colt Stadium being used somewhere in Mexico today. That would be really hard to track down if you tired...
In an ironic Twist, the expansion NFL Houston Texans of Houston, Texas, got a new football stadium built for them in the parking lot of the Astrodome. (Just like Colt Stadium before it). The old NFL Houston Oilers, moved to Tennessee, in 1996. The Astros moved out in 2000 (for "Enron" Field). After increasingly fewer dates, the Houston Astrodome was completely closed to the public, due to code violations, in 2009. Today, the Astrodome is used for storage. Just as Colt Stadium was. Now the Astrodome is borrowed by it's NFL neighbor. Unlike Colt Stadium, the Astrodome is considered a historic monument. So it's not likely to be sold to Mexico, but it likely can't be fully demolished either.
The history of Houston's ballparks is more interesting than any Astros team.
And that's what I've learned while writing this story!
Whatever...
#48 - 1987 Topps - Houston Astros Team Leaders
Yogi Berra in a Houston Astros uniform is a definite oddity.
Thank you for this card, Topps!
#47 - 1998 Bowman - Lance Berkman
Must have preferred the action shot of Berkman's second Bowman card, compared to his 1997 Bowman, for some reason. That one featured him sitting in his Astros uniform, outside the Astrodome, leaning on his truck. Which would have made much more sense than this one. That's an oversight on my part. His 1997 Bowman card should have probably ranked higher than #47, as well...
#46 - 2019 Bowman Chrome Refractor - Cristian Javier
Javier's career was progressing nicely, until he caught a case of Tommy John Surgery last spring. Recovery will cost him most of the 2025 season. But hey! This serial numbered Refractor is really cool!
#45 - 2008 Upper Deck - Kazuo Matsui
Personal favorite on the 2007 World Series losing Colorado Rockies. Kazuo played second base for only a season and a half in Colorado, but he put up the best numbers for his MLB career, while in Denver.
#44 - 1999 Fleer Tradition - Carl Everett
Kinda miss that style of satin windbreakers on baseball players. Although that big sleeve star is kind of weird.
#43 - 2014 Bowman Draft Ice - Mark Appel
Mark Appel was a possible first overall pick, going into the 2012 MLB Draft. He was picked at #8, by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but did not sign with them. First overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft, Appel battled injuries and ineffectiveness, then was traded to the Phillies, where that didn't improve. Before Spring Training started in 2018, Appel announced he was stepping away from baseball. Leaving a return open-ended, but the Phillies retained his rights. His attempted comeback in 2021 saw him back in AAA for the Philadelphia. He re-signed for the 2022 season, and was promoted to the Major Leagues for this first time, on June 24, 2022.
Those 6 games amount to his total time in Major League Baseball.
#42 - 2006 Bowman Originals Prospects Blue - Hunter Pence
At some point I still plan on telling the disappointing story of ripping a box of 2006 Bowman Originals. As much as all 12 of the autographs were garbage, I did get some decent base cards, headlined by Clayton Kershaw. This blue parallel (serial numbered to 99) isn't too bad either.
#41 - 2021 Topps Silver Pack - Justin Verlander
Loved the 2021 Topps Silver Pack cards so much!
The first blaster of 2025 Topps Heritage I ripped, had a Justin Verlander photo variation inside.
That has nothing to do with this, but I didn't feel like talking about Justin Verlander, either.
#40 - 2017 Topps Chrome Freshman Flash - Alex Bregman
I bought very little 2017 Topps Chrome, just a couple of retail packs. And this Alex Bregman was in one of them. Even as a rookie, I knew I didn't like Bregman. Or the Astros. It was only 2017, and the Astros were already starting to become the team they were predicted to be after years of tanking and bulking up on high draft picks. Some worked out and some didn't.
But there wasn't a whole lot of Mark Appels mixed in with the Bregmans, Correas, and this guy...
#39 - 2019 Bowman Chrome ROY Favorites - Kyle Tucker
Drafted just 3 slots after Bregman, it took a little longer for Tucker to establish himself. Because he wasn't there, Kyle Tucker doesn't have the garbage can stench on his accomplishments. And it may become easier to like Tucker since he's no longer and Astro. We'll see where he signs as a free agent, after this season. For some reason, I'm seeing the San Francisco Giants in Tucker's future.
Sorry Cubs fans...
#38 - 1992 Pinnacle Team 2000 - Jeff Bagwell
The first time I saw the Team 2000 insert set in 1992 Pinnacle jumbo packs, I was blown away. You got three of them in each pack. These were really nice insert cards from a fairly underrated set. It was fairly large, two 40 sets, one in each series of 1992 Pinnacle. Team 2000 would represent players they felt would be stars in the year 2000. Still 8 years away, at that time.
Pinnacle was right about many of them. But not on many others...
#37 - 1999 Bowman's Best Atomic Refractor - Mitch Meluskey
According to wrapper listed insert odds, Atomic Refractors fell 1 in 62 packs of 1999 Bowman's Best. Serial numbered to 100 cards, that translated to one Atomic Refractor in roughly every third Hobby box. There were no retail. I happened to be at Mike's Sports Cards in Englewood, shortly after it was released, in August 1999. I had fresh pizza taxi money in my pocket, and wanted to rip a higher tier wax box than I was used to. 24 pack boxes were selling for $89, which was pretty hefty for my card budget at the time.
I was rewarded with an Atomic Refractor of Astros catching prospect, Mitch Meluskey. So I wanted him to become an every day starter, and potential All Star. Well... According to Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Lineups, Meluskey punched teammate Matt Mieske in the face during batting practice, before a game in the summer of 2000. For his rookie season, Meluskey put up a very good slash line of .300/.401/.487. But his defense, and perhaps the fight, caused the Astros to cut bait. He was traded to the Detroit Tigers after the season, but missed all of 2001 and half of 2002, with injuries. He couldn't come back from them, and was out of baseball a few years later.
So this card isn't really retirement fund material... I still like it.
#36 - 2022 Topps Chrome Club Plaques - Jose Altuve
I'm including this card just because I love the design.
Still don't like Altuve.
#35 - 2024 Topps Heritage Chrome Blue Sparkle - Alex Bregman
Of course when I buy a retail box promising 3 parallel cards I want, specifically because of the appearance of those 3 promised parallels, one of them would have to be Alex Bregman...
#34 - 2004 Upper Deck Season Highlights - Roger Clemens
2004 Upper Deck didn't carry it through the entire set, as they did in 1997, but I love the little date notation at the bottom corner of this card (hmmmm....). Looking back at this card 20 plus years later, that little note with the date, tells a much more complete story about what was going on, than just the photo alone. Also like the shot of the ballpark in the background. With Roger wearing his new Astros colors, looking all press conferencey and stuff.
Oh, and thanks for making your kid, Rog... Kody has been a huge part in salvaging the 2025 Minnesota Twins season!
#33 - 2016 Topps Chrome Refractor - Carlos Correa
Yet another of the great minor hits pulled from WalMarts retail packs of 2016 Topps Chrome, in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.
Absolutely didn't like 2016 flagship Topps, but loved the Chrome set... That's weird...
#32 - 1979 Topps - Houston Astros
Really cool photo of the team lounging on a people-mover, out in front of the Astrodome. Lone Star State of Texas flag flown in the background, in case you didn't know this was Texas.
The expansion Houston Colt .45's were founded by an investor group, led by Judge Roy Hoffheinz, a former Houston mayor. Judge Roy Hoffheinz is a very Texas name. Anyways... His vision of the team playing under a domed stadium, is what sold MLB on awarding a franchise to Houston. Which needed a dome given the heat, humidity, mosquitoes and frequent rain. Hoffheinz's domed stadium (funded by the county) was a well constructed building that was functional, durable and came in at a very cost-effective $38 million. Even adjusting for inflation, that's a deal.
So that's the exterior... What's it look like on the inside?
#31 - 1994 Score - Houston Astros
Was a big fan of the 1994 Score team checklist cards. A shot of the playing field, with as much of the stadium as could be included, was nice to see in a card set. Take note Topps... This is a better use of a team card than two guys in a matching uniform, high-fiving.
This photo is obviously taken after the 1988 renovation, which removed the "Astrolite"animated scoreboard, in favor of wrap-around, upper deck seating in center field. Also removed was Judge Roy Hoffheinz' tacky seven floor apartment in right field. Increased seating capacity for football wasn't enough to entice the Houston Oilers, who wanted a dedicated facility of their own. So of course, the Astros started grumbling as well...
How goes that sorting?
To make room in the big box o' Astros, I slowly started putting the new albums together, after I figured out a five year block. I'd finished the section of Craig Biggios, and was starting the section of Jeff Bagwells. With a big buncha boxed Bagwells buried beyond binder, because bitch. Berkman's Bowman isn't (I just couldn't keep it going...) a common in any sense of the word. That far back compartment was also being used for the "This needs to be Top Loadered" zone. I haven't yet made a custom semi-rigid divider for that.
Here's the new Astros album pages. Minus the 200 or so cards tacked on the end of an Angels album. A far better presentation than I had put together a few years back. Guess the effort in reworking them was worth it.
Astros Albums complete, they go on a shelf in New Baseballcardland.
May as well bring those A's albums up...
Whatever...
#30 - 2005 Topps Chrome Update Red XFractor - Willy Tavares
Serial numbered to something under 100, that is a pretty random number. I'd look it up, but I already put the Astros cards away. Just not worth that kind of effort to dig it out again. Pulled this card out of a 2005 Topps Chrome Update Hobby box, purchased at Twins Fest, in January, 2006. Tavares would be traded to the Rockies in that late 2006 deal for Jason Jennings, I talked about earlier. Jennings flamed out, while Tavares ended up being a key piece in a World Series (losing) team.
#29 - 1999 Stadium Club - Randy Johnson
My favorite non-Jeff Innis pitcher of all time, went an astonishing 10-1, with a 1.28 ERA, in 11 games with the 1998 Houston Astros. Who was traded from the Seattle Mariners, on July 31, 1998. Really bummed me out too. He was supposed to stay in Seattle and pitch the Mariners to a World Series victory. So he, Griffey, Edgar, Buhner, ARod and the rest of that gang would have a ring, to really send the Kingdome out with a bang...
I learned of the trade while having a few beers with a former co-wroker, at Punch & Judy's (the name of this bar, back in 1998). I'd worked with him at the Cherry Knolls 66, when I first moved to Colorado. He also managed the meat department at the Wild Oats Natural Grocery Store, I worked at for a few months in 1997. A few night's earlier, I'd stopped in at a different Phillips 66 gas station, and he working the register. We talked for a bit, he asked how Overpriced Art School was going. Knowing I was attending for Graphic Design, he asked if I'd help him with a project he was working on. We agreed to meet up that Friday night.
He had an idea to develop a piece of land up in the mountains, and was looking for me to put together an informational packet of the proposal. Up first was to diagram the land and where the buildings would go. We discussed it and made notes and crude sketches on a yellow legal pad. (For convenience, he wrote in red, I stuck with black.) I never once asked any of the logical questions about "Do you actually have/own this land?" and "Can you actually fund this idea?" Guess I was too busy catching SportsCenter on the Jumbotron, announcing that last minute MLB trade deadline deals. Headlined by Randy Johnson to Houston.
"Can you seriously have the budget to build an indoor skydiving park on your little campground?"
As far as the scribbles above? Nothing ever came of it. I started putting something together in Adobe Illustrator, then I never heard back from him. Chalked it up to him possibly getting traded to a mountainous area in Arizona. So it was just a night of two former coworkers, having some beers while trying to make reality from a pipe dream. I've had worse nights.
Thanks to the Randy Johnson trade, I'll always remember it!
#28 - 2006 Bowman Sterling Refractor - Jimmy Barthmaier
I bought one pack of 2006 Bowman Sterling and did pretty good, with a Cole Hamels autographed jersey card being my pack hit. Barthmaier also showed up. While he never made it to the Major Leagues with Houston, he did make 3 starts with the 2008 Pittsburgh Pirates. And that was about it. Still, the Bowman Sterling Refractor is a damn nice looking card!
Too bad the mini-box that pack was inside, has almost the same value as the Barthmaier...
Good thing I kept it!
#27 - 1995 Stadium Club Power Zone - Jeff Bagwell
Another really nice looking insert, from the post-Junk Wax Era.
Loved finding these in packs of 1995 Stadium Club, back in the day.
#26 - 2003 Leaf Limited Silver Spotlight - Roy Oswalt
Some sort of parallel, serial numbered to 100. Picked it up for $2, during the last days of Pal's Sports Cards.
#25 - 2021 Bowman Chrome Draft Black & White Mini-Diamonds - Jeremy Pena
Was a big fan of the Black & White Mini-Diamond parallels that replaced the prospects autograph in the Light boxes of 2021 Bowman Chrome Draft. I'll take cards like this over an autograph of a High A first baseman that strikes out in 35% of his plate appearances.
Unless it's Aaron Sabato...
Then I'll pay $25 for a Orange Shimmer Autograph for a guy who cant hit the ball.
#24 - 1964 Topps - Rusty Staub
Staub started his career playing home games in the extreme heat and humidity of Colt Stadium, then a few years later found himself playing home games in the cold and extreme conditions at Jarry Parc, in Montreal. Of course an Astros card with a bowling trophy, of a future Montreal Expos legend, is going to rank pretty high on my list. Too bad this is a road photo... I want more Colt Stadium on cards!
#23 - 2011 Topps Chrome Refractor - Brett Wallace
Might say I like this card in the flagship release, better than the Chrome Refractor. Everything that made made that photo great, is altered by the Chromey Refractorness. Not to its benefit, in this case.
#22 - 2016 Topps Archives - Billy Wagner Fan Favorites Autograph
Wrote about this card not too long ago. Actually I didn't. Scanned the card, and showed it in my Todd Helton and Joe Mauer Hall of Fame Whatever, but had virtually nothing to say about it.
Great signature though!
#21 - 2021 Stadium Club Chrome Refractor - Carlos Correa
One of my favorite Refractors of the Astros pile. It just works with the photo. 2021 Stadium Club Chrome was a fun set, and I ripped a bunch of it.
#20 - 2000 Topps Chrome All Star Rookie Team - Dwight Gooden
Picked this up from July 2021 Valley West Card Show, a few years back. And the image of seeing long time New York Met and Yankee, as a Houston Astro, is still jarring. Almost as nonsensical as Dwight Gooden, the Cleveland Indian, or Dwight Gooden, the Tampa Bay Devil Ray!!!
#19 - 2006 Topps Chrome Black Refractor - Andy Pettitte
Black Refractors are always cool.
Even if it's a Houston Astros card.
#18 - 2011 Bowman Platinum Autograph - Delino DeShields Jr.
Fairfield Re-pack hit that endlessly pleased me. DeShields Jr. was a Houston Astros first round pick (8th overall) in 2010, so he was still a big time prospect in 2011. Delino DeShields Sr. was a former top pick (1987) of the Montreal Expos, and their second baseman from 1990-1993, when he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Pedro Martinez. Delino DeShields Jr. didn't have the long productive career that his father did. Junior appeared in parts of 7 seasons for the Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds.
#17 - 2001 Bowman's Best - Roy Oswalt
Part of the bounty returned on my failed "Find a Joe Mauer Autograph Hunt", from Englewood's own, Mike's Sports Cards, back in 2005. 2001 Bowman's Best were nice looking cards, in their first year of the "One Autograph or Game Used Bat Card per Pack" gimmick.
#16 - 1997 Bowman's Best Refractor - Jeff Bagwell
Pulled from a pack of inside one of a few 1997 Bowman's Best hobby boxes that came from Mike's.
Was so convenient to have a great card store mere blocks from my crappy apartment!
#15 - 1994 Pinnacle Museum Collection - Billy Wagner
Feels like I wrote about this card not all that long ago.
So I'm not doing it again.
#14 - 2003 Bowman Chrome Refractor - Jeff Kent
Not a Black Refractor parallel, but a Refractor parallel of a black bordered base card. Just a great looking card, either way. Pulled from a $4 retail pack, in one of the Englewood area big box stores. Back when cards in general were printed at much lower quantities in both hobby and retail, yet Bowman Chrome was sold in Targets and WalMarts.
Never liked Jeff Kent, but he absolutely should be in the Hall of Fame.
#13 - 2020 Topps Silver Pack - Nolan Ryan
I'm a sucker for Topps Silver Pack cards. Getting those two 4 card Topps Silver Packs inside the Topps Hobby Jumbo Boxes I used to buy from 2018-2023, was typically the best part of buying a Hobby Jumbo Box. Typically a 100 card set, and you only can get packs when you but a Topps box, and those packs are only 4 cards deep. In order to fully appreciate them, you have to buy singles. Like this Nolan Ryan, that I paid $5 for... I'm pretty generous when it comes to these cards. No matter the year. Although the two years (2017 and 2022) they went with 1987 Topps as a design was a bit redundant.
#12 - 2023 Topps Silver Pack - Hunter Brown
The 1988's hit a very satisfying wave of nostalgia.
And this Hunter Brown guy seems to be developing into a decent starting pitcher... Shrewd pick up for $1!
#11 - 1998 Upper Deck - Sean Berry
"Hey Sean... Are you almost ready to have your 1998 Upper Deck card photo taken yet? It's almost 9:30pm! These people want to go home!"
So tell us... What became of the cards that didn't go into albums?
Glad you asked!
Here's the results of the new Astros Commons Box.
Bonus points if you correctly guess what I used to pack the empty space in the box.
I'm not telling and you'll win nothing.
Here's the combined Angels and Astros Keep Box. All sleeved or Top Loadered.
Looking at the 2000 plus cards in this box is almost disappointing. I'd hoped this box would be smaller, based on my feelings about both teams. After a bit more time passes, I'll go through these again and likely drop at least 500 of these. The rows are pretty heavy on 2021-2025 cards, and I know there's not nearly this many worth keeping.
Plus, the Athletics and Blue Jays are coming up. Both teams will be heavier on the keep side. Conversely, after that is the run of Braves-Brewers-Cardinals-Cubs-DBags-Dodgers-Giants-Guardiandians, where the sell box should get pretty heavy. And will see-saw, because I'm planning on keeping more of the Mariners-Marlins-Mets-Nationals run. At least the Nationals wont have any pre-2005 cards (sigh...), so that wont be as significant for additions.
The combined Angels and Astros Sell Box.
Yeah... That's not nearly enough...
A more time consuming (and petty and stupid) aspect of putting the sell box together is my sudden need for sleeve sorting. Going through more than six decades of Houston Astros cards has pointed out that I have some very ugly and non-uniform penny sleeves, spread throughout my collection. As I'd assume many people do. So I'm taking (wasting?) the time to swap out the penny sleeve on a sell card, if it will improve on any penny sleeves in my keep box.
For this reason alone, I'm staring down a YEARS long process, considering I started the Angels in January...
Whatever...
#10 - 2019 Bowman's Best Future Foundations Gold Autograph - Seth Beer
I was so excited to pull this serial numbered, die-cut insert out of the 2019 Bowman's Best Hobby Box, that cost no where near what a 2024 Bowman's Best Hobby Box does. He had no one blocking his path in Houston, then he was traded to the D-Bags (for Zack Grienke), and had less of a chance at a starting job. I was still excited. Even puled a Seth Beer photo variation, out of 2022 Topps. (Which was one of the LAMEST photo variations I've ever seen Topps print. Just a head shot. Nothing at all going on in the background.) Still, that card had potential to be more than a couple bucks to someone trying to acquire all the photo variations. Probably not a whole lot of Beer collectors... All this was irrelevant because Beer couldn't hit major league pitching.
May have had better luck in Milwaukee...
#9 - 2017 Optic Blue Autograph - Teoscar Hernandez
Probably stands as the best card I've ever pulled from a Fairfield Re-pack. Not out of a Re-packed pack, but from the loose cards packed into the Re-pack. At the time I found it in the $4.99 Walgreen's box, Teoscar was just starting to establish himself as a Blue Jay. So it didn't seem all that out of the ordinary to find an autographed rookie card of someone who was looking like yet another failed prospect, at the time it was packed in the Re-pack. Today, Teoscar is simply one of every All-Star player on the Dodgers.
I am so sick of the Dodgers.
But this card is a definite keeper today.
#8 - 1988 Score Rookie & Traded - Craig Biggio
1988 was my first real year in card collecting (after dabbling a bit in 1987). It was also the first year of Score, as a card company. Score was my favorite set of the year, because the card backs were filled with information. Wasn't too wild about the design, but I learned a lot from reading them. Each pack was a small book. It was the perfect current starter set for a budding collector.
I'd also grown fond of the year-end Rookie/Traded/Update boxed sets. After buying the same 660-792 cards all year, I loved seeing new players on that design. Or players wearing different uniforms, compared to their card in the regular set. Since multiple series wasn't a thing yet, there was usually a lot to update.
#7 - 2022 Topps Museum Collection Momentous Material Autograph - Yulieski Gourriel
If you squint, it looks like Gourriel drew a little car! And I actually spent $15 on a Houston Astros card, just because I liked the look of it. Actually, this might be the Houston Astros single card that I have spent the most money buying, in the history of my collection.
#6 - 2019 Topps Silver Pack - Jeff Bagwell
One of the 4 card Topps Silver Packs inside the 2019 Topps Update Hobby Jumbo Box contained this 8 months pregnant Jeff Bagwell, wearing a 1981 throwback. The bright white over the dark background, with the Silver Packfraftor effect, makes this an incredibly nice looking card of a Hall of Famer. Whom I've never really cared about.
#5 - 1982 Donruss - Nolan Ryan
How about another Hall of Famer, wearing the current Astros uniform in 1981.
I think of all the Nolan Ryan cards released while he was an active Astro, this is my favorite.
#4 - 1995 Bowman's Best Refractor - Billy Wagner
1995 was a weird year for collecting. The strike obliterated the Junk Wax Era, and card sales plummeted. Bowman's Best was one of many brands that suffered from slow sales. Much to my benefit. I was able to buy a bunch of it, relatively cheap. 1995 Bowman's Best had a very strong class of 1st cards. (Headlined by Vladimir Guerrrero. I pulled a Vlad Refractor from a stack of discounted packs from Blaine Shinders, in January, 1996.) This Billy Wagner came from those same packs. Unfortunately, it's not his first. That was in 1994 Bowman's Best. I pulled his Refractor parallel from those packs as well.
So why isn't the the 1994 card at #4?
Because the 1995 Bowman's Best card design is just so much better.
#3 - 1994 SP Holoview Red - Jeff Bagwell
1994 SP Holoview Red are my all time favorite insert set.
I wrote a piece about them, shoehorned into my 1993 Finest Refractors story, from several years ago.
The Holoview Blue set isn't too shabby either...
#2 - 2022 Topps Chrome Blue Refractor Autograph - Kyle Tucker
Pack pull from Pal's back in the Summer of 2022. I'd stopped in for some reason, on my way to work, picked up a few loose packs of 2022 Topps Chrome. Wasn't expecting much, but pulled this autograph from one of them. Pretty rare to stumble into an autograph from loose packs, and have it not be some cup of coffee getting rookie, but an actual All Star!
Before we get to number one, let's throw in an honorable mention...
2021 Topps Heritage Autographed Box Topper - Yordan Alvarez
The first hobby box of 2021 Topps Heritage I bought came with this jumbo-sized Yordan Alvarez autographed Box Topper card, on top of the cards. Thankfully wrapped in its own cellophane, because I never know how to store oddly sized stuff like this. I've never taken this card out of it's cellophane wrapper. I don't think they make penny sleeves for cards this large (if they did, they'd probably have to be called nickel sleeves), so the wrapper holds it in place, protecting the corners, in the 5" x 7" Photo Top Loader I'm using to keep it safe.
According to the information I found online, regular oversized Box Topper cards are limited to 1,000 copies of each player. Autographed Box Topper parallels are unnumbered, but "less than 25 copies" of each autographed Box Topper exist. I didn't find any recent completed sales for this card, but I did find one on sale for $170.
That's pretty cool...
Something else that was pretty cool, happened just as I was finishing the first draft of this story.
My place of employment has been replacing our old Macintosh computers, with new machines. The old ones were purchased in 2017. Once everything was tranferred over and our new machines were all up and running, we were asked if we wanted to take our old computers home!
You have no idea how big a deal this is...
First off, I finally have the available disk space to properly sort out my old external hard drive. I've simply been adding files to it, since I bought it (now) 14 years ago. I know there's a ton of duplicate images and unlabeled photos, that can finally be organized, easily. Second of all, I'll finally be able to use the internet on a non-Windows box! Research wile writing will no longer have to be done on my phone, or in my office in the basement! An even bigger deal, this story will be the first in Four Baggers history to be uploaded on the new old Mac!
I don't see this spot by the couch being the permanent home of my new/old computer, but as long as I'm sorting digital files, it'll probably stay.
Unless Supervisor Harley knocks it off my coffee table...
Well, before I lose even more time to consolidating multiple copies of pictures of that abandoned gas station on Coon Rapids Blvd., I need to finish this Whatever. I'm at least a week behind when I wanted to have it finished.
So the number one Houston Astros card in my collection is...
#1 - 2020 Panini Chronicles Legacy Autograph - Yordan Alvarez
You know, an autographed 1 of 1 rookie card of a superstar, pretty much has to be #1...
I've written enough about this card in the past. From pulling it from a hobby box of 2020 Panini Chronicles, to this card causing me to become a half-hearted Yordan Alvarez fan. I guess if I have to cheer for an Astros player... Alvarez wasn't even there when all that trash can banging went on. And he doesn't come across as douchey as some of his teammates.ß
So congrats Yordan, you win the Whatever!
I know it's prestigious...
Now that I've finished sorting the Angels and the Astros, I'll move on to the next team in alphabetical order, the Philadelphia/Kansas City/Oakland/Sacramento/Las Vegas?? Athletics!
Say, Super A's Fan Rob... How do you feel about putting the Angels and Assholes behind, so I can focus energy on a team worthy of a massive 7000-8000 card sort?
I figured you'd feel that way!
And with that, I think I've said more than enough about the Houston Astros...
Any of you guys got something to say back?
Yeah? Well F. U. too buddy!
Maybe they were pounding out Morse code on those can.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of cheating - Jeff Bagwell looks so skinny on that card I wonder how he got bigger...Hmmm