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by Phoenix Desertsong, Sports Nut  Super Bowl 53 belonged to the New England Patriots and Tom Brady, but a major part of the Patriots success came from Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman. The wide receiver joined the New England Patriots in the 7th round of the NFL draft after playing quarterback in college. Since then, he’s become one of Brady’s favorite targets and his talent was on full display in Atlanta as the Patriots beat the Rams 13-3. Obviously, being Super Bowl MVP is a big deal, so Julian Edelman rookie cards became a hot commodity right away as his MVP award was announced. Cardboard Connection has a great list of the top Julian Edelman rookie cards. But, if I had to pick one, I would certainly pick the 2009 Topps Platinum #159. With only 8 PSA 10 copies in existence, the Julian Edelman Topps Platinum Rookie Card has room to grow. The day after the Super Bowl, raw copies of this card were receiving bids exceeding $40. It’s a nice-looking rookie card and the Topps Platinum Edelman RC has a refractor version, as well as a white refractor, and a platinum refractor numbered to 1549.  But, while not a “true” rookie card, the 2010 Topps #325 Julian Edelman also saw quite a jump in demand after Super Bowl 53. Bids exceeding $10 were being seen on eBay for this base card. By late August 2019, they were still selling for $10! As of this writing, only a couple of PSA 10 copies exist. One was listed for $199 right after the Super Bowl. There's also a Gold version of this card that sold graded PSA 10 for $40!
The 2010 Topps is still a nice “budget” option and a great card for Julian Edelman card collectors to own. Of course, because the 2010 Topps card is far more common, the 2009 Topps Platinum likely remains the better investment, along with the other serial-numbered and autographed Edelman cards on the market. What’s your favorite Julian Edelman Rookie Card?
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by Phoenix Desertsong, Sports Nut  2006 Topps Co-Signers Ozzie Smith & Michael Young Autograph Card Michael Young may never reach the Baseball Hall of Fame, but he did have a memorable career, the majority which was spent with the Texas Rangers. Despite strong fielding percentages and high batting averages, though, Young is seen by many analytically-inclined baseball fans as an overrated player. Still, the career .300 hitter was overall a slightly above-average hitter and while he was below average defensively at second base, he wasn’t that bad at his natural position.
For me, what really hurt Young’s overall value was being forced over to shortstop, where he was far below average, and later to third base where he was comparatively even worse. To be fair, the one year Young won the Gold Glove at shortstop, he was actually 9 runs above average by TotalZone’s measure, although he was -4 runs below average by Defensive Runs Saved metrics. But in the baseball card hobby, we don’t really care about defensive statistics unless your name is Ozzie Smith. But, Smith also added considerable value on the basepaths with stolen bases. To be fair to Young, he only stole 90 bases in his career, but was only caught 30 times. Sure, that doesn’t touch Ozzie’s 580 SB, against only 148 times caught. Ozzie also spent most of his career with the Cardinals, a team that’s always done very well in the card collecting world. While Michael Young isn’t a player with expensive cards, he’s still an interesting, inexpensive target for baseball card collectors. In fact, he shares some high-end targets with a Hall of Famer and a future Hall of Famer. Let’s take a look at the best Michael Young baseball cards, from his rookie cards, autograph cards, and other memorabilia cards. Michael Young Rookie Cards 2000 Topps Traded #T46 Michael Young Michael Young’s first rookie card is the 2000 Topps Traded #T46. It’s often available for $2 or less and shows him with his first team, the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays would trade Young in July of 2000 along with Darwin Cubillan for pitcher Esteban Loaiza. It wasn’t a horrible trade, but the Jays would probably regret it. Graded examples of this card are extremely rare, with only about 60 of each in PSA 9 and PSA 10 condition. Despite many being listed, they don’t sell that often. This set is mostly known for the Miguel Cabrera rookie card, of which there are 1677 graded PSA 10 copies. Interestingly, it’s a set full of decent rookie cards, including Adam Wainwright and Adrian Gonzalez. The Chrome versions of 2000 Topps Traded, however, are much more plentiful for Michael Young, with about 125 of each PSA 9 and PSA 10 available. Like the base Traded graded copies, they simply don’t sell very often, despite being listed plenty often. Michael Young Autograph and Memorabilia Cards2006 Topps Co-Signers Ozzie Smith / Michael Young Dual Autograph Card #CS-83 Prices range from $7.50 to $17.50 for this card! Michael Young also features on a couple other of Co-Signers cards with Nolan Ryan and Kevin Millwood. 2005 Topps Pristine Power Core Game Used BAT KNOB #MY Michael Young #’d to 5 Easily the best memorabilia card of Michael Young out there is the Game-Used Bat Knob from 2005 Topps Pristine. Only 5 copies were ever printed, and one sold for over $30 in January 2019. Other Interesting Michael Young Baseball Cards 2003 Donruss Team Heroes #525 Michael Young As a set full of some decent autograph cards, 2003 Donruss Team Heroes is a fairly valuable baseball card set. The Michael Young base card #525 is worth around $1 but the glossy version is worth $2 or more, as are most glossy base cards in the set. There’s also a version numbered to 20 which is valued at over $15. Overall, it’s a set you should be looking into, even if not specifically for Michael Young cards. 2006 Topps Changing Faces - Michael Young w/ Hank Blalock, Kevin Millwork, Mark Teixeira, and Nolan Ryan If you’re a big Texas Rangers fan, this is a particularly interesting subset of the Co-Signers set. None of them are worth much over $10, but they are cool looking cards. They are also serial-numbered to various amounts, including some #’d to 25. The Nolan Ryan would be my favorite here, as the Ryan Express is a huge hobby favorite. 2008 Topps Update Black #UH127 Michael Young / Derek Jeter #’d to 57 While not a memorabilia card, this card numbered to only 57 copies features Jeter, a future Hall of Famer. For that reason alone, this card can fetch north of $10. In the same set is a Black parallel base card of Michael Young #635 also numbered to 57 copies that can command about $2. The card he shares with Jeter seems like an easy investment to me. Investing in Michael Young Baseball Cards While Michael Young was a pretty good player who had some truly All-Star seasons, and is remembered fondly by many Texas Rangers fans, Michael Young baseball cards are among the coldest in the hobby. While there are many graded examples of his Topps Traded rookie cards, they simply don’t find buyers often. Even cards that he shares with Hall of Fame or future Hall of Fame talents tend to sell on the low side. If you’re looking to make money on your investment in Michael Young cards, the best way to go is to buy one of those cards he shares with Derek Jeter, Nolan Ryan, or Ozzie Smith - all hobby favorites. Numbered relic cards are also a nice investment, since they can be had for cheap, and they can later be sold as part of a player collection. As with any hobby, you should invest in what you like. If you’re a Rangers fan, or believe Michael Young is a player worth collecting, he’s not a bad choice. He’s just not going to bring much return on your investment in the future. by Phoenix Desertsong, Sports Nut  1992 Topps Stadium Club Bob Tewksbury Digging through all those generally worthless “junk wax” baseball cards of 1987 to 1993, you’ll occasionally find a card that commemorates a great season of a not so famous player. However, to celebrate Bob Tewksbury becoming the Mental Skills Coach of the Chicago Cubs, we take a look at his finest season, which happens to fall right in the Junk Wax era. In building a “Junk Wax Dynasty” it’s important to consider Tewksbury’s 6.4 WAR season with the 1992 St. Louis Cardinals.
The 1992 Cardinals didn’t do much; at 83-79, they placed 3rd in the NL East. Ozzie Smith, Ray Lankford and even Bernard Gilkey were all-star level players that year, but it wasn’t quite enough for them to make the playoffs. Tewksbury pitched like an ace that year, and he never again had a season quite like it, although he was decent in 1993 (2.7 WAR) and had two 3+ WAR years with the Twins at the end of his career. Interestingly, FanGraphs sees Tewksbury’s 1993 season more favorably than his 1992 season. That’s because FanGraphs uses FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) for its WAR calculation rather than ERA. But for purposes of “Junk Wax Dynasty” we are focusing on results, which is why we’re using Baseball Reference’s ERA/RA9 (Runs Allowed/9) based WAR. FanGraphs has Tewksbury’s 1992 season being worth 4.0 WAR and his 1993 season at 4.3 WAR, thanks to an inflated BABIP (batting average on balls in play). One thing that FanGraphs does show us, though, is that Tewksbury was probably a better pitcher than his Baseball Reference page may suggest. On Baseball Reference, Tewksbury was worth 21.3 wins in a 13 year career, 10 of those full seasons. But FanGraphs sees him as worth 31.3 wins. That’s because in his “worst” years, he actually pitched better than the results would suggest. Tewksbury only had a career strikeout rate of 4.04 K/9, but a walk rate of merely 1.45 BB/9. He rarely gave up homers (0.71 HR/9), but with a batting average of balls in play of .300, he relied heavily on his defense. His career ERA of 3.92 belied an FIP of 3.65. So, in reality, he was actually a slightly-above average pitcher who just had some bad luck with defense behind him. In retrospect, Tewksbury’s 1993 season is actually better peripherally than his 1992 season. In 1992, he had a strikeout rate of merely 3.52 K/9 but a walk rate of only 0.77 BB/9. His strand rate was a high 80.8% and his BABIP only .257, which are big reasons why his 2.16 ERA was a mirage compared to his 3.14 FIP. His 1993 season featured a 4.09 K/9 and a 0.84 BB/9. But he suffered from a .316 BABIP and a more “normal” 70.3% strand rate (career 68.5%). Still, Tewksbury was actually the pitcher that a lot of teams thought that he was, a workhorse that kept you in games. Suffice it to say, the Yankees should’ve never traded Tewksbury for Steve Trout to the Cubs. Unfortunately for Tewks, he didn’t pitch well for the Cubs and spent a lot of time in the minors until the Cubs let him go and the Cardinals picked him up. He pitched quite well for the Cardinals at AAA, and the rest is history. If you’re looking to build a team with players from only 1987-1993, consider adding a 1992 Bob Tewksbury to your pitching staff. Heck, even a 1993 Bob Tewksbury would make a fine fourth or fifth starter. At the very least, you know he’ll do all he can to keep you in the game. He was definitely a mentally skilled pitcher, and perhaps, was actually pretty underrated in his time. by Phoenix Desertsong, Sports Nut  1987 Fleer #131 Dale Mohorcic Rookie Card Relief pitchers are hardly a big deal in the baseball card hobby. Of course, guys like Dennis Eckersley and Lee Smith have their fans and collectors. But, a lot of the best relief pitchers out there, even the most consistent, don’t have much of a following. Still, when you’re building a dynasty baseball team out of cards from the Junk Wax era from 1987-1993, it’s good to find some diamonds in the rough, guys like Dale Mohorcic.
Who? Sure, Dale Mohorcic was never a household name. But in 1987, his efforts in relief for the Texas Rangers earned him 3.1 Wins Above Replacement for the Texas Rangers. That was a follow-up to a decent 1986 in which he earned 2.2 WAR. I’m sure you won’t hear people wax nostalgic about Dale, but he did have a couple of pretty good seasons as far as results are concerned. Of course, with a strikeout rate of 4.3 K/9, that leaves a lot of your success up to the defense. Mohorcic’s FIP of 3.98 and FanGraphs WAR of 1.0 in 1987 (and 0.9 WAR in 1986) gives you more of an idea of the pitcher Mohorcic really was. Indeed, both his 1986 and 1987 seasons were fluky. He had a strand rate of 81.1% in 1986 and 80.1% in 1987, both of which are very high. He also had a BABIP of only .248, which is crazy low - although it was a more sustainable .295 in his good 1986 season. So, who is Dale Mohorcic? Where did he come from, and what happened to him? Dale Mohorcic the Journeyman Mohorcic began his quest through the minor leagues began in the short-lived independent Northwest League with the Victoria Mussels. He was the ace of their staff in 1978 with a 2.02 ERA! Dale caught the attention of the Toronto Blue Jays, who purchased his contract. He was underwhelming in their farm system, though, and was released. The Pirates were intrigued by Mohorcic, though, as a reliever. He actually enjoyed a fine season in 1980 mostly as a closer. The Pirates held onto him until after the 1984 season, trying him again as both a starter and a reliever, but he never really caught on. They let him go before the 1985 season. He caught on again with the Texas Rangers and enjoyed a decent 1985 season in relief at AAA. He returned in 1986 and found his way to the majors. After his strong 1987 season, he scuffled early on in the 1988 season. The Rangers decided to move on from him, deciding to try out Mitch Williams - who himself would struggle but become a pretty good pitcher soon after. Williams himself would be traded to the Cubs after the season in an otherwise underwhelming package for Jamie Moyer and Rafael Palmeiro, The Rangers won that trade. The Yankees picked up Mohorcic for Cecilio Guante, formerly a pretty strong reliever, but he only gave the Rangers 0.3 WAR for the rest of 1988 and 1989. Mohorcic, on the other hand, actually pitched very well for New York, and gave the pinstripes 0.8 WAR in only 22 and two-thirds innings. He was dreadful in 1989 though, being “worth” -1.2 WAR. Mohorcic even spent time in the minors, where he actually pitched very well. Probably because of those good minor league innings, he did catch on in 1990 with the Montreal Expos, pitching well at AAA, and had OK results with 0.6 WAR in 53 innings with the big club. He hung up his cleats after that. Dave Mohorcic as a Closer? To be fair, Mohorcic isn’t really someone you’d consider a prototypical closer type pitcher. He walked guys liked a power pitcher, but struck out guys like a finesse pitcher. When he limited the walks, he was pretty successful. But, like a lot of relief guys that pitched to contact, you rely so much on the defense that it’s hard to stay consistent for long periods of time. Mohorcic hearkens back to the old days of grinding out game after game. This is before bullpens became more specialized. You were either a mop-up guy or a back-end guy like a set-up man or a closer. Mohorcic gained a reputation in the minors as being a shutdown relief pitcher. While he didn’t blow anyone away with peripheral stats, it’s actually possible that Mohorcic could’ve kept pitching and ate some late innings for a few more years. For my Junk Wax dynasty, I’d consider Mohorcic as a great candidate to serve as a middle reliever or a late inning guy strictly against right-handed batters in a 3+ run game. His platoon splits weren’t great (.247/.309/.364 against RHB and a whopping .305/.351/.446 against LHB). This was a guy who tied Mike Marshall for the major league record of pitching in 13 straight games. It’s hard not to want a guy like that on your team. He showed up and gave his best. In an age of bullpen specialization like today, he’d actually probably have fared a lot better.  1987 Topps Traded #97T Randy Ready In Junk Wax Dynasty, we look at players from the “Junk Wax” era of baseball cards and find the hidden gems from 1987 to 1993. For this installment, we take a look at the career year of a San Diego Padres utility player by the name of Randy Ready.
How many Randy Ready cards from 1987 were put into bicycle spokes? Probably a lot. Funny thing is, utility infielder Randy Ready actually had a career year in 1987. According to Baseball Reference, his performance that year netted the San Diego Padres 5.8 Wins Above Replacement. To put that in perspective, that’s the same number that a young Barry Bonds put up that year. Considering that the Padres acquired Ready in 1986 for a player to be named later that had a career War of -0.1 WAR, the Friars were quite pleased with his performance. Before we get into that career year, though, it’s important to know what was going on in Randy’s life at the time. This dude dealt with tragedy the year before.. Check this out: “On June 13, 1986, the day Ready played his first game as a Padre after having been acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers, [Randy’s wife] Dorene collapsed on the floor of their home in Tucson. She was unconscious for 7 to 10 minutes. During much of that time, her brain was deprived of oxygen.” Oh, boy. That ended Ready’s season right there, so he could go be with his wife and three young sons. His wife had suffered a heart attack that left her with permanent brain damage, and she never recovered from it, So, Randy and his sister Cindy had to raise the children. Later, it would be found that some diet pills that his wife was prescribed were what gave her the heart attack. A few years later, a jury awarded the family more than $25 million in a settlement. Of course, that eventual money couldn’t make up that loss. Baseball became Randy’s escape. So, it makes what happened that next season even more special. Ready was a patient hitter who regularly walked more than he struck out. But in 1987, his bat exploded for a .309/.423/.520 batting line for a .943 OPS. That's a 153 OPS+ or 53 percent above league average. He hit a career high 12 home runs and batted in 54 runs. He added 7 steals but was caught three times, so he only added a bit of value there. In 1987 he played second base, third base, left field, and right field. Ready was a steady average fielder at both second and third base and a bit below average in the outfield. But in 1997, Ready was worth 5 Total Zone runs above average in only 52 games at second base and 3 runs above average at third. He was even 3 runs above average in left field in only 16 games, partly thanks to an outfield assist. In all, he amassed 1.2 defensive WAR. Unfortunately for Ready, a lot of this success was due to a .325 batting average on balls in play. His .211 ISO or isolated power was backed up by career highs in doubles with 26 and triples with 6. He'd never show that level of power again. So, with eventual career marks of .280 BABIP and .127 ISO, this was a major outlier. Was Randy Ready in 1988? Ready was not bad in 1988 but he would be traded to the Phillies along with John Kruk for outfielder Chris James. Obviously, Kruk would go on to be very good. But, it got worse for the Padres. James would be OK, but the Padres would trade James along with Sandy Alomar and Carlos Baerga for Joe Carter. Alomar and Baerga would go on to be very good for the Indians, and even Chris James had a strong year in 1990. Of course, Joe Carter was a good player, but he went on to be terrible for the Padres. So, he was flipped along with Roberto Alomar (future hall of famer) for infielder Tony Fernandez and Fred McGriff. McGriff would be good, but Fernandez would be underwhelming offensively. Imagine if the Padres had Kruk, both Alomar, Baerga, and Ready still… Somewhat hilariously, Fernandez would be part of what could have been an unassisted triple play started by - you guessed it - Randy Ready! Fernandez would actually never be the player he was in Toronto again (with 2.2 WAR in 1991 and 1.1 WAR in 1992), but he would end up having a late career resurgence, ironically with Toronto in 1993, with Cleveland in 1997, and again very ironically with TORONTO in 1998 and 1999. Of course, the Padres only got one good year out of Wally Whitehurst (2.7 WAR). Man, the Padres made a lot of bad moves… Anyway, back to Randy... Randy Ready and the Rest of His Career Anyway, Ready was never quite as good again after 1987. It’s not hard to imagine why, though, especially with what he had to deal with in his home life. His last really good year was 1991, in which he posted a 1.3 WAR in only 76 games. In that year, he hit .249/.385/.322 for a roughly league average .707 OPS. That batting line included a dreadful .207/.294/.207 (.501 OPS) against right-handed pitching, but a .265/.418/.367 (.785 OPS) against lefties. The rest of Ready’s career was plagued by some inconsistency with the glove - having some good defensive seasons and some bad - that overshadowed his strong plate discipline. The good news is, he stuck around in the majors until 1995 and played in Japan for a year in 1996. But looking back now, the real thing that held Ready back from being an above-average super utility player were his platoon splits. Career vs RHP: .246/.341/.356 - .697 OPS in 1180 PA Career vs LHP: .271/.375/.415 - .790 OPS in 1308 PA In today’s analytically driven game, Ready would have been strictly a platoon bat that could play second base, third base, and the outfield corners. He would’ve probably been worth 1.0-1.5 WAR in part time duty and perhaps he would’ve settled in at one position, either at second or third base with occasional starts in Left Field or Right Field against a left-handed pitcher. He was also not utilized nearly as much as a pinch hitter as he likely should have, especially in the National League. Still, he cobbled together a decent career as a 25th man, which is hardly something to sneeze at. It’s just interesting that he wasn’t utilized better. Randy Ready as a Coach and Manager Randy never really left the game, either. He returned to the game as a minor league manager in 2002 and served as the Padres hitting coach for a bit. That stint as hitting coach proved disastrous as the Padres had one of the worst lineups in baseball. Was that his fault, though? Probably not. Anyway, he has continued in the game as a minor league coach and manager. In 2017, he became a minor league manager in the Marlins system. Ready is definitely well-liked in the game. The teams he’s managed have often made the playoffs and he’s been an overall winning manager. It’s a shame that his playing career really only had a couple of bright spots (1987 and 1991), but he did have quite a ride. So, the next time you come across a Randy Ready baseball card, especially from 1987 or 1991, don’t be so quick to dismiss them. In fact, he’s the top utility player in my Junk Wax Dynasty. He deserves to be remembered, even if it’s just for that amazing 5 WAR season in the wake of family tragedy. by Phoenix Desertsong  Baseball fans love talking about career years for their favorite players. The 2018 A’s had a lot of good years from a lot of their players. But one of those players, Marcus Semien, had a lot better season that his baseball card stats would suggest. In fact, what drove Semien’s career year success was not his offensive stats, but rather his defensive stats.
According to FanGraphs, Marcus Semien compiled 3.7 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) in 2018. This beat his 27 home run “breakout” season in 2016, in which he earned 2.1 WAR. So, what took Semien from an average major league shortstop to an above average one? The key to his value lay in drastically improved defense at shortstop. Marcus Semien has always hit for power. But he’s always suffered from low batting averages (career .249 BA), low on-base percentages (career .319 OBP), and erratic defense. He actually wasn’t bad on defense in 2015, but he was “worth” -15 defensive runs between 2016 and 2017. So, what changed? Marcus Semien and His Improved Defense and Defensive Stats A lot of people are skeptical of defensive statistics, as they tend to fluctuate significantly from season to season. However, consistently excellent defenders and consistently bad defenders usually are bore out over the course of a player’s career. Erratic defenders are harder to pinpoint. As we’ve learned over the years, defense is actually a quantifiable asset. It comes down to what plays a player “should” make. In his career through 2018, these were Semien’s defensive stats broken down by the likelihood of a play being successfully made: Impossible (0%) 0% Remote (1-10%) 0% Unlikely (10-40%) 11.3% Even (40-60%) 15.7% Likely (60-90%) 61.1% Routine (90-100%) 95.9% In 2018, these are his numbers Impossible (0%) 0% Remote (1-10%) 0% Unlikely (10-40%) 12.5% Even (40-60%) 21.1% Likely (60-90%) 61.9% Routine (90-100%) 96.8% While those percentages are definitely better than his career averages - which are boosted by his 2018 numbers - they don’t seem like that much. Still, all you need are a handful of made plays in those 10-40% and 40-60% ranges to make a big difference in your defensive value. Those numbers made Semien worth 9 Defensive Runs Saved and 6.4 UZR/150 (Ultimate Zone Rating per 150 games played). That’s well above-average, although not quite Gold Glove calibre. But what stands out about Semien’s year is how my OOZ (Out of Zone) plays he made: 133. Previously he had made 106 in 2016. His RZR (Revised Zone Rating) was .869, far above his career average of .803, which includes 2018. This is definitely an improved defensive player. Will he keep this up? It’s completely possible, as defense is a skill that can be learned and improved over time. Marcus Semien Batting in 2018 For a career year, you’d expect Semien to have a breakout with the bat. That’s not what happened at all. Marcus Semien had a batting average of .255, right in line with his career stats. His on-base percentage was merely .319 and his slugging percentage a fairly low .388. That’s not a great batting line. However, as he plays in Oakland, notoriously not a good pitcher’s park, that batting line of .255/.319/.388 is nearly league-average. He also was a positive on the basepaths with 14 stolen bases, although he was caught 6 times. There are a couple of interesting things to point out, however. Semien saw more pitches at the plate in 2018 than ever before in his career: 2881. He also saw far more balls, 1102, than ever before. He also hit more line drives and fly balls than ever before, and had a career high 19 infield hits. Is Marcus Semien Poised for a Better 2019? When you see improvements across the board like this, it’s very likely you have an improving player. Marcus Semien is only 28 years old and in his prime. The Oakland A’s may enjoy even better results from their shortstop moving forward. If he’s able to produce even half of the defensive value that he did in 2018, he could be an above-average shortstop going forward. While StatCast seems to think that Semien was a bit lucky with only a .299 expected on-base average (xwOBA) and .329 expected on-base average on contact (xwOBACON), he also had more batted balls in 2018 than ever. If Semien squares up just a few more fastballs going forward, this is a sneaky good, very underrated player. While Marcus Semien may not be your first choice at shortstop for a fantasy baseball team, or even your fourth or fifth, he’s possibly not seen his best year yet. by Phoenix A. Desertsong, Staff Writer, Healer & Advocate  Photo by tyler hendy from Pexels Over the past fifty years, the popularity of golf has grown dramatically. The game of golf has created legends like Greg Norman, Arnold Palmer, and Tiger Woods. Golf is also responsible for the beautiful courses at Augusta, Pinehurst, and Doral’s Blue Monster. So, what has made golf become so popular?
One of the major benefits to playing golf is simply being outside. Playing golf allows you a full body workout, so it’s actually very good for your health. Of course, golf is also known for its slow pace, which is actually a plus when networking with business colleagues or good friends. The leisurely pace is actually a plus for lovers of the game. Also, golf is a game that you can never quite perfect, so there’s always something new to get a little better at. Over time, you can watch the improvements on your scorecard. The drive to get a little better at each and every aspect of the game is what keeps golfers playing for decades. I Don’t Know a Thing About Golf! That’s OK! Here’s the basics of golf. The game of golf is player on an 18-hole course. Each hole is assigned a number called a “par.” The par is the number of tee shots that it should take to put the golf ball in the hole by a professional golfer. This number is decided based on the difficulty and length of each hole. A typical par ranges from 3 to 6. In golf, the fewer shots, the better. The object of the game is to at least “make par.” We’ll get into the specifics of scoring in a bit. Types of Golf Shots There are many different types of golf shots. There are tee shots, also known as drives, which happen at the beginning of the hole. There are fairway shots, which are shots made from the fairway towards the green, where the hole is. As you approach the green, you make short shots known as chips. Finally, when you’re on the green, you make shorter shots known as putts. For each kind of shot, there are different golf clubs that you use. Knowing which clubs to use in certain situations, and making the right shots, is the entire challenge of the game of golf. Golf Course Hazards Each hole on a golf course has its own unique hazards. Golf course hazards can include sand traps, bodies of water, and trees. These hazards are all strategically placed by the golf course designers to serve as a challenge on each given hole. It’s recommended that beginner golfers choose courses to play that have fewer hazards. How to Score in Golf On the scorecard, you actually want as low a score as possible. That means if you get the ball into the hole in six shots on a par six course, you’ve been successful on that hole. If you get the ball in one less shot than par, such as five shots on a par six hole, you get a birdie, which is a plus one on your score card. But, if you get the ball in the hole in seven shots on a par six hole, you get what’s called a “bogie” or a +1 on the scorecard. That’s right. Golf is a game where you actually want a low score. Most amateur golfers get plenty of “bogies,” but that’s OK. After all, most golf courses are created with experienced golfers in mind. But pro golfers are known to score a good number of birdies on many courses. Some golfers even get “eagles” or two shots below par, on some holes. The rarest scores are known as the “albatross,” which is three shots below par, and the legendary hole-in-one. The albatross is extremely rare and a hole-in-one is far, far rarer. In golf, each player keeps their own score. It’s as simple as marking down the number of total number of shots taken at each hole. At the end of the course, each player adds up their scores from each hole. The lowest number among the players is the winner.... It’s OK to Fail Badly as a Beginner Golfer If you want to take up golf, it’s very important that you don’t take yourself too seriously as a beginner golfer. It’s a very difficult game to pick up and play well. While the pro golfers make it look extremely easy, it’s really not. The game of golf is different for each person, and it’s discovering what makes you feel comfortable and fairly successful at the game that makes golf such a popular sport. Taking beginner golf lessons is a good idea. These lessons will help you develop your golf swing, which is a little different for everyone. While no one ever truly perfects a golf swing, getting into a good swing early on certainly a plus for your future success at playing golf. Of course, remember that golf is just a game. It can get extremely competitive for a sport with such a leisurely pace, though. Just remember to enjoy the outdoors and the company of your fellow golfers. by Phoenix Desertsong  On May 24th, 2018, card collector Adrian Proietti bought a PSA 10 Derek Jeter rookie card from PWCC through eBay for $99,100. This Derek Jeter card is from the highly sought-after 1993 Upper Deck SP set. Ironically, Adrian was offered a similar card, also PSA 10, ten years ago for $25,000, which he turned down. While that price sounds extremely high, it came only a week after another Derek Jeter rookie card sold for $54,576. At nearly $100,000, Adrian’s purchase was the highest price ever paid for a modern baseball card. With Derek Jeter a likely shoo-in for the 2020 Hall of Fame class, just how high will Derek Jeter rookie card prices go?
Sure, other modern-era sport cards have fetched higher prices, but they’re in basketball and football. You may have heard of LeBron James rookie cards and Tom Brady rookie cards selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. They, too, are graded by PSA/DNA, the leading card grading company in the world. Beckett Media also has a highly-regarded grading system, known as BGS. There are a few other grading companies, but none are as highly regarded. When graded and authenticated by PSA or Beckett, cards always fetch a higher price than ungraded "raw" cards. For those unfamiliar with card grading, a PSA Gem Mint 10 or BGS Pristine 10 is the best you can get, a perfect example of a card in perfect condition. There are very few 10’s of any given card. At the time of the $99,100 sale, there were only 22 PSA 10 Derek Jeter rookie cards in existence. PSA said that they had graded 560 as a 9, or mint, and over 8000 graded as an 8, or near-mint. The SP foil rookie card of Derek Jeter is particularly tough to get in high grade as foil cards tend to show wear and/or damage far more easily than nonfoil cards. While the differences between PSA 8, PSA 9, and PSA 10 may not be obvious to casual observers, they make a huge difference when it comes to collectible value. This makes sense because, of course, who doesn’t want their collectibles to be in perfect condition? There are also just so few cards worthy of a PSA 10, which is what makes them so rare. Even cards pulled straight from packs and immediately stored in a soft sleeve then hard plastic sleeve (also known as a top-loader) often grade as an 8 and sometimes a 9. The only things that determine the price of graded cards are the scarcity of a given graded card and how much someone is willing to pay for it. Graded vintage baseball cards have been selling for big numbers for years, even those PSA 7 and below. But with how many cards are being printed today, grading is really the way to distinguish one card from another. Grading has always made cards valuable, and now they’re more valuable than ever. So, just how high will the prices go on graded rookie cards? Even rookie cards from the “junk wax” era of baseball cards from the late 80’s to early 90’s are worth a few bucks if they’re graded highly. But the 1993 Upper Deck Baseball SP set is far from being a junk wax set. Sets since then have continued to have lower print runs on purpose to make the cards purposely more scarce. With a resurgence in baseball card collecting and sports card collecting in general, we could be seeing rookie cards of other stars start selling for six figures. Unsurprisingly, there was a bit of a run on this particular card, but there are still fine examples out there for sale if you have the cash. You can find similar Derek Jeter rookie cards, graded and otherwise, for sale on Amazon, eBay, and the like. Who do you think will have the next high priced rookie card?  Original Image by Joel Dinda, used under Creative Commons. Edited with Pixlr Express. Aaron Small has one of the best baseball stories you'll hear. It took him sixteen years bouncing back and forth between the minor leagues and multiple Major League teams to finally find success at the Major League level. Whenever he'd start to find success, injuries and front offices would set him back. When he did finally get a real shot, he won his first ten games as a pitcher in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. Although he was out of Major League baseball after a poor season in 2006, it was still quite a rollercoaster of a career.
Small's Early Career Aaron Small played both baseball and basketball in high school. He was great at both, but decided to focus on baseball, ultimately. At South Hills High School in West Covina, California, Small actually played baseball with Jason Giambi, Jason's brother Jeremy, and Cory Lidle. (He'd play with Jason later in the Major Leagues, in fact.) Small was drafted in the 22nd round by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1989. He would get into one game for the Blue Jays in 1994, after a decent season in the minors. In that game, Aaron gave up two runs, including a home run, in 2 innings. He'd be traded for a player to be named later to the Florida Marlins. His 1995 minor league season, exclusively out of the bullpen, was another good one. He actually enjoyed some success in 7 games for the Marlins, but he walked 6 batters in 6 innings, which demonstrated control issues, The Marlins would put him on waivers, where the Oakland Athletics would pick him up and give him another shot. Small's Early Success Small's next Major League chance came after a 1996 season in which he mostly started games. While his ERA wasn't great (4.29), his control had improved, 83 strikeouts to only 28 walks in 120 innings. These peripheral stats prompted Oakland to give him a major league chance. He bombed as a starter in 3 games, but regained himself as a reliever. To Oakland's credit, they gave Small another chance in 1997! Besides one successful minor league start, Small spent the year in the Oakland bullpen as a mop-up man. While he was at the back of the bullpen, he got into 71 games and pitched 97 innings. His control issues returned, with 40 walks to 57 strikeouts. Still, he was effective enough to provide 1.3 Wins Above Replacement of value while eating some innings. That is nothing to sneeze at. Small's Rollercoaster Begins The 1998 season is when the rollercoaster really got started. He bombed for the A's to the tune of a 7.24 ERA in 24 games. He was put on waivers, and the newly formed expansion team Arizona Diamondbacks picked him up. Once again, he found his 1997 form and was decent in 23 games. His 8 walks in 32 innings were acceptable. He was worth 0.3 WAR to them, after being "worth" -0.9 WAR to Oakland. Then, he bombed in Spring Training for the Diamondbacks and was released. He wouldn't taste the Major Leagues again until 2002. Injuries and ineffectiveness would plague him during that time. He bounced between the minor league teams of the Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Anaheim Angels, and Atlanta Braves. There was a ray of hope in 2001, though. After bombing with the Angels' AAA team, the Atlanta Braves gave him another chance as a relief pitcher, and he did well. While he didn't make the Majors, the Braves gave him another shot in 2002. Injuries destroyed his season and he floundered yet again as a starter. Returning to the pen, he showed enough to get into one Major League game for the Braves. He gave up two runs in one-third of an inning, while walking two. So, after being let go by the Braves, he caught on with the Cubs. But he was cut at the end of Spring Training. Fortunately, the Florida Marlins came calling. They wanted to use him as a starting pitcher. While he was knocked around in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, some success at AA, and very solid walk-to-strikeout numbers prompted the Marlins to keep him around in 2004. He had a better season, but when he got his Major League callup, he lost his pitch control once again and bombed. Small's Last Chance? Would he get another chance? Fortunately, yet another team, the New York Yankees, saw some promise. He would start out at AA in 2005 for the Yankees and move up to AAA. His ERA wasn't good at all, 4.83 between the two stops, but his strikeout-to-walk ratio was solid: 24 strikeouts to 9 walks. The Yankees gave him a spot start on July 20th. He was OK, allowing 3 runs in 5 1/3 innings, and picked up the win. His next game was out of the bullpen on July 23, and he pitched a scoreless inning. His success was about to begin. The Yankees gave him another start on July 28. He gave up 3 runs again, but this time pitched seven innings, and picked up another win. Although he struck out only a single batter, he walked none and scattered six hits. On August 5, he pitched an even better game: 6 2/3 innings allowing only 1 run on 7 hits and 2 walks. He only struck out 2 batters, but pitched out of trouble on multiple occasions. He won that game. However, the next start on August 10th was his best yet. He struck out seven batters in seven innings, allowing only a single run With only four hits and two walks, Small's command of the game was clearly improving. Small's next four games would be out of the bullpen. He would pick up the win in the first of those four by pitching a scoreless inning. His next game would actually be his worst yet, blowing a lead after a poor inning. The Yankees inevitably lost that game, although he wasn't charged with a loss. He followed that up with a rather poor outing in 2 2/3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and a walk. However, the Yankees won that game. The fourth of those games was actually in relief of an uncharacteristically bad outing from Mike Mussina. Small pitched OK in four innings, although he gave up 3 walks and a hit, but no runs. He would earn the win in that game as the Yankees came back and won. Small's Success Continues Small's season only got better from there. His next start was a complete game shutout! His next three starts weren't that great, allowing 4 runs in two of them and 5 runs in another. However, the Yankees offense exploded for a total of 29 runs in those games, so he won them all. This gave him 9 wins on the season, out of nowhere. His second to last start of the season was a bit sad for Small, because he pitched brilliantly for 6 2/3 innings without allowing a run. But after walking none, giving up only four hits and recording three strikeouts, he pulled from the game. The Yankees went on to lose the game 7-4. Small's final start of the 2005 season was a mixed bag. He only gave up 2 runs, but allowed 5 walks and 4 hits, including a home run. But four strikeouts and a little bit of luck allowed him to win that game, too. He finished the season with 10 wins. However, the season wasn't actually over for the New York Yankees. Aaron Small would get one more appearance: Game 3 of the American League Division Series. Unfortunately, it wasn't a good one. He'd follow an ineffective Randy Johnson out of the bullpen and gave up the 2 runs that proved to do in the Yankees in Game 3 against the Angels – taking the loss. The Angels would go onto win that series. It wasn't really Small's fault that they lost the series, but it was a sad way to end what was a magical season for him. Small's Big Payday The good news for Aaron Small, however, was that his 2005 efforts would be rewarded. He would earn $1,200,000 for the 2006 season. This was big money for someone who'd spent most of his career in the minor leagues and had endured financial hardship on numerous occasions. Small's 2.7 WAR in only 15 games was incredible, the same amount of value that an above-average Major League pitcher would offer a team in an entire season of work. That looked to be an immense bargain for the Yankees, but it was more money than Small had ever seen in one place. It was good timing for that payday, too, as 2006 would be Small's last in the Major Leagues. A mix of ineffectiveness and injuries would spell the end of Small's baseball career. He would be "worth" -0.7 WAR. He would start only 3 games for the Yankees in 2006 and only 11 total games. Aaron would never win another game in the Majors, although he would have a couple of decent starts in 2006. Small would be designated for assignment and spend the rest of his season in AAA. Small would be nearly as bad in his 8 starts and 3 relief appearances in the minor leagues, as well. He would be released by the Yankees after the season. Before the 2007 season, the Seattle Mariners did give Small a minor league contract with a big league invite to spring training. But it didn't work out, and Small hung it up for good. Small's Other, Even Bigger, Miracle Story His big league "field of dreams" baseball story is definitely one worth telling. But then, in 2009, Small had an even better story when he miraculously recovered from a near-fatal case of encephalitis. He was in a coma for eight days. It was so bad that he had to learn to walk again. Miraculously, he would recover and be able to live a full life! A devout Christian, Aaron Small would tell you that his Christian wife, Macy, and God were his greatest benefactors throughout his career. He likely also believes that it was divine intervention that saved his life in 2009. Whether or not you believe in the power of prayer, his wife's support and his faith in his own abilities as a pitcher definitely were major factors in his eventual success. The goodwill of the Yankees fans that watched his incredible 2005 season probably helped, too Many of them turned up at the last Old Timer's Day at the Old Yankee Stadium to cheer for him. His rollercoaster career, flash-in-the-pan, and return to life are definitely things worth cheering for! After baseball, Aaron Small became a leader at the Fairview Baptist Tabernacle in Sweetwater, Tennessee. He and and his wife minister to students. It's no surprise that he's remained devoted to his faith and family. He's a good guy who finally got rewarded for all of those years playing the game he loved. Aaron, we wish you and your family well! by Phoenix Desertsong  Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons user Aaron Caldwell Tigers great Alan Trammell was a great shortstop. Yet, the Tigers great was still in the conversation for the Hall-of-Fame until 2018 when he was finally inducted by the Hall of Fame Veterans Committee. Meanwhile, his double-play partner, second baseman Lou Whitaker, was no longer eligible to be voted in traditionally due to a lack of support from the Baseball Writers Association voters.
Not only is this sad for Tigers fans, but he is more deserving of being in the Hall-of-Fame than most of his second base peers, including 2011 inductee Roberto Alomar. While he could still enter the Hall through a Veterans Committee decision, it's clear that he's been snubbed for too long. Was Lou Whitaker Unfairly Snubbed in the Hall of Fame Voting? A sponsor of Lou Whitaker’s Baseball-Reference page brings up an excellent point. Alomar had an adjusted OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of 116 over his career with 7 teams. Whitaker also had an adjusted OPS of 116 over his career with only one team. They both played about 2300 games and Whitaker amassed 69.7 WAR compared to Alomar’s 63.5 WAR in 12 fewer games. Like Alomar, Whitaker was a Gold Glove-caliber defender and won three Gold Glove Awards. Alomar won 10 Gold Gloves, but compiled only 2.4 defensive WAR. Whitaker had 15.4 defensive WAR. Of course, both second basemen spent much of their careers alongside plus defensive shortstops. Alomar had Cal Ripken in Baltimore and Omar Vizquel during his Cleveland years. Whitaker had Trammell alongside for virtually his entire career. It’s likely that Vizquel actually made Alomar look even better than he was. But it’s a pretty clear consensus that Alomar was a great glove man. Still, according to the statistics, Whitaker was even more valuable on the defensive side of the ball. The main reason that Whitaker isn’t in the Hall of Fame is that, to put it simply, he’s a quiet, humble, low-key guy. He never seemed incredibly concerned about being in the Hall, actually saying that if he didn’t make it the first time to not bring his name up again. Obviously, writers remembered this and most left him off of their ballots. Of course, this was just Whitaker’s humility. But his play should’ve been enough to earn him a place, right? Alomar and Whitaker By the Numbers With statistics like WAR (wins above replacement) only now becoming mainstream, baseball card statistics (Average, HR, and RBI) have long been the deciding factors in who is chosen for the Hall of Fame and who’s not. But Whitaker’s and Alomar’s “counting numbers” are relatively the same – 244 HR, 1084 RBI and 2369 hits for Whitaker and 210 HR, 1134 RBI, and 2724 hits for Alomar. None of those are the “shoo-in” numbers, as no major milestones like 300 HR or 3000 hits were reached by either of them. The extra 300 hits do help Alomar’s case, but not incredibly so. Alomar’s career OPS was higher than Whitaker’s, .814 to .789, but the only real baseball card stat where Alomar had the edge was in career batting average (.300 to .276). Their on-base percentages were very similar, Whitaker at .363 and Alomar at .371. Slugging wise, Alomar also had the edge, .443 to .426. So offensively, Alomar had an edge, but not outrageously so. The Hall-of-Fame Value of Gold Glove Awards Really, the only advantage that Alomar had over Whitaker was his ten Gold Gloves. But after doing some research on Fangraphs.com, it appears that Alomar was not quite the glove man that people believed. For his career, his Total Zone rating was -3. That means Alomar's defense was worth a total of 3 runs below average over his career. By Total Zone, Whitaker was worth 77 runs above average. According to Total Zone, Alomar only had three truly very good seasons at second: 1998 with the Orioles and 1999 and 2000 for the Indians. Most of the time, Total Zone had him being worth negative runs in almost every other season that he played. In any case, Alomar is definitely still worthy of being in the Hall of Fame. But if he is, then the runs that Whitaker saved on defense put him in the same exact category as Alomar, especially as both had career batting lines 16% above league-average. Alomar was always a higher-profile player on some extremely good teams, however, and so he was seen as a much better player by the writers. It’s incredible to see just how much better Whitaker was on defense than Alomar, according to the numbers. But, considering Alomar added more value on offense, they’re fairly equal. In any case, Lou Whitaker belongs in the Hall of Fame. Hopefully, the Veterans Committee fixes this mistake in the future. How Much is a Lou Whitaker Baseball Card Worth? While most of Lou Whitaker's baseball cards don't have the same value as his Hall-of-Fame double play partner Alan Trammell, he does have a very valuable rookie card. That is, if that card is flawless! The 1978 Topps Rookie Stars 2nd Baseman #704 rookie card features Lou Whitaker along with Garth Iorg, Dave Oliver, and Sam Perlozzo. In graded PSA 9 condition, this card was selling for as low as $40, although in late 2018 to early 2019, one PSA 9 copy sold for $67 and another one for $92. PSA 10 Gem Mint copies of the Lou Whitaker rookie card are rare (PSA only has 45 tens in their population report) and a flawless PSA 10 copy sold for a staggering $999 in January of 2019. Other PSA 10 copies have sold in the past for over $650. PSA 8 copies are much more affordable, though, often at a price point of $30 or less. There were near-mint lots of the card available on eBay for a similar price. The demand is definitely there for the Whitaker rookie card, even though he's not in the Hall of Fame. Without a doubt, Whitaker being inducted into the Hall of Fame by one of the Era voting committees would do great things for his baseball card values. While his rookie card is the only valuable Lou Whitaker baseball card, the price on high-grade examples of his 1978 Rookie Stars card keeps growing! 
Photo Credit: chainstogains.com via Flickr
The baseball card collecting hobby (and sports card collecting in general) is still alive and well! There are plenty of great, regularly updated baseball card blogs out there worth reading. So, after finding that many sports card blog lists were very outdated, I decided to put together a blogroll of my own!
Please do not hesitate to let me know if any of these blogs are no longer available or are inactive (no new posts for months.) Also, feel free to suggest new blogs for the list! Thanks in part to the Sports Card Blogroll by bdj610 on Blogger for pointing me to many of these blogs! Updated 8/29/19 A Pack to Be Named Later - http://apacktobenamedlater.blogspot.com/ A Penny Sleeve for Your Thoughts - http://pennysleevethoughts.blogspot.com/ Deals with a lot of older baseball cards, plus football cards, basketball cards, and non-sport cards. Angels in Order - http://angelsinorder.blogspot.com/ Baseball Card Breakdown - http://baseballcardbreakdown.blogspot.com/ Baseball Cards Come to Life - http://borosny.blogspot.com Baseball Dime Box - http://baseballdimebox.blogspot.com Baseball Every Night - http://baseballeverynight.blogspot.com/ Beckett News - http://www.beckett.com/news/ Because it’s Beckett Cards on Cards - http://cardsoncards.blogspot.com/ Collecting Cutch - http://collectingcutch.blogspot.com/ CrazieJoe’s Card Corner - http://craziejoescardcorner.blogspot.com/ Daily Autograph - http://www.dailyautograph.com/ Diamond Jesters - http://diamond-jesters.blogspot.com Dodgers Blue Heaven - http://www.dodgersblueheaven.com/ Foul Bunt - http://foulbunt.blogspot.com From a 1980’s Baseball Card Collector - http://80sbaseballcardcollector.blogspot.com/ Johnny’s Trading Spot - http://johnnnystradingspot.blogspot.com/ Nachos Grande - http://fanofreds.blogspot.com/ A blog about baseball cards, the Cincinnati Reds, and Barry Larkin Night Owl Cards - http://nightowlcards.blogspot.com/ Actually runs a lot of baseball card set blogs, too, like 1985 Topps. Old Sports Cards - https://www.oldsportscards.com/ Also covers basketball & football One Million Cubs Project - https://www.onemillioncubs.net/ An epic project in which Beau Thompson aims to collect 1,000,000 Chicago Cubs cards! Pack War - http://packwar.blogspot.com/ SABR Baseball Cards - sabrbaseballcards.blog Section 36 - http://section-36.blogspot.com/ Shoebox Legends - http://shoeboxlegends.blogspot.com/ Sport Card Collectors - http://sportcardcollectors.blogspot.com/ Sport Cards from the Dollar Store - http://buckstorecards.blogspot.com/ The Collective Mind - http://thecollectivemind.blogspot.com/ The Radicards Blog - http://www.radicards.com/ The Shlabotnik Report - https://shlabotnikreport.wordpress.com/ Writes about other sports cards and music, as well. The Topps Archive - http://toppsarchives.blogspot.com/ This blog features all sorts of Topps cards, including non-sports oddities. The Yount Collector - http://theyountcollector.blogspot.com/ Topps Blog - https://www.topps.com/Blog Upper Deck Blog - http://upperdeckblog.com/ Because it’s Upper Deck Wax Pack Gods - http://waxpackgods.com/ When Topps Had (Base)Balls - http://whentoppshadballs.blogspot.com/ Wrigley Wax - http://wrigleywax.blogspot.com/ Again, please leave a comment if you have an active baseball card blog you’d like to see added. by Phoenix Desertsong  Teddy Higuera was a left-handed starting pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers for several years between 1985 and 1994. However, he wasn’t very effective after 1990 due to injuries. Still, he was so good early on in his career that he racked up over 30 WAR (Wins Above Replacement). Hardcore Milwaukee Brewers fans are more than happy to collect baseball cards from all across his career.
Unfortunately, most Teddy Higuera cards are only worth dimes. However, there are a few that are worth over a dollar. The best modern Teddy Higuera baseball card with collectible value is the 2016 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Teddy Higuera Autograph #FFA-TH. They sell on eBay for a few dollars. If you're purely looking for rookie cards, the best Teddy Higuera baseball card you'll find is the 1985 Topps Traded Tiffany. Higuera also has 1985 rookie cards in base 1985 Topps Traded and 1985 Fleer Update. Another valuable Teddy Higuera card is the 1987 Sportflics #11, which he shares with Roger Clemens and hall of famer Jack Morris. While these 3D cards look extremely dated now, they are still very collectible. If you're looking for something a bit more mainstream, his 1987 Donruss Super Diamond Kings insert card. Other Teddy Higuera baseball cards worth collecting include:
Are there other players from your favorite team that you like to collect?  Many offices enjoy holding pools come football season, but who wants to waste time drawing all those squares and brackets? Free printable office football pool square grids and brackets can be a great time-saver, especially if your office has a good number of people participating. Football office pools can be a great way to enhance community spirit and teamwork within the workplace. Co-workers often become friends and this is something they can enjoy together outside of the responsibilities of work.
At PrintYourBrackets.com, you can find a wide selection of free printable football office pool charts. Brackets for both NFL and NCAA are included. Get square grids of 25, 50, or even 100. These include square grids for any game, NFL playoff squares and brackets, and even square grids for the Superbowl. If you also happen to be a basketball fan, this is a great resource for those grids as well. Upon visiting PrintOfficePools.com, you'll see printable office football pool square grids sorted by weeks. There are options for preseason, season, playoff football pools, NFL 33 football pools, as well as NCAA football. There even are assorted options that allow for up to four winner squares. Look around for brackets and squares on your other favorite sports as well, such as basketball. It may be football season as you're reading this, but before you know it, March Madness will be coming around. DocSports.com is another great place to find free printable football office pool square grids and brackets. In addition to the free office pool squares, there also are instructions and rules, just in case some co-workers are unsure. Also stay tuned to Doc's Sports for the latest football updates, including football picks and sports betting advice. Like the other sites above, if football is not the only sport you need office pool grids or updates on, Doc's is the place to go. There is a large selection of printable brackets here. For a quick solution to your office football pool needs, visit PrintableTournamentBrackets.net. With a simple click, you'll have your free printable office football pool squares in no time. The options for tournament brackets are plenty. Here you'll find single elimination brackets, double elimination brackets, office pool grids, Super Bowl tournament brackets, and more. If you don't find what you need, there even is a way for you to suggest it to the publishers of the site. *I originally published this via Yahoo Contributor Network  It's almost time for the NFL 2020 Super Bowl and many businesses will be looking for printable Super Bowl office football pool squares. Sure, someone could make one by hand, but it's much easier to print one from a ready-made template. Thankfully, there are some good ones online.
PrintYourBrackets.com has a variety of free printable Super Bowl office football pool squares to choose from. These are great for 2019 or any year, as these particular printable templates don't have dates or team names, but instead a spot for the AFC and the NFC. The options available include the 100 squares printable template, the 50 squares printable template, and the 25 squares printable template. DocSports.com is another great place to find free printable Super Bowl office football pool squares. Doc's Sports has been providing sports info to fans since the 70's. With the help of the internet, that ability has grown. Get free printable 2019 Super Bowl squares, as well as instructions on how to play. Doc's Sports also offers other useful information and resources for football and other sports. SuperBowlSquares.org allows you to choose from several options for your free printable footballs squares. The basic grid is 10 x 10 squares and you may also choose to have 2 or 4 sets of numbers. There is also a grid with 5 x 5 squares, for which you may choose the optional 2 or 4 sets of numbers. These printable office football pool squares are great for any football game, including the 2019 NFL Superbowl. *Updated on February 3,2019 to reflect the current Super Bowl. Some links have been changed for relevance.  Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
by Dennis Townsend, Contributing Writer
On January 17, 1942, Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and by the time he was 12 years old, he took up boxing so that he could defend himself in his neighborhood. He became so good at his craft that he entered the Golden Gloves and won the title. That led him to the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Italy where he won the Gold Medal for which he was truly proud. That is until he returned to Kentucky and was refused service in a white restaurant. It upset him so much that he threw his gold medal into the nearby Ohio River. But that episode didn't discourage him nor diminish his confidence in his boxing abilities, and on February 25, 1964, the now 22 year old boxer took on the current heavyweight champion at that time, Sonny Liston. Predicting victory over the “big ugly bear” as he called Liston, was a taste of what was to come from this brash young fighter, and some figured that it was just high spirited talk. That “talk” proved to be a prophecy of what was to come as he defeated Sonny Liston in 8 rounds. As Liston laid on the canvas, the new champ, Cassius Clay, looked down upon him, as shown in the now famous photo on the cover of Sports Illustrated that year, as to say “it’s my time.” As he ran around the ring, he started shouting the headline that would be quoted in newspapers around the globe, “I shook up the world.” Shortly after winning the title, he joined the religion, Nation Of Islam, and their leader, Elijah Muhammad gave Cassius Clay a new name, and he was now to be called Muhammad Ali. In 1966, he refused to be drafted into military service during the Vietnam war because of his religious beliefs, and after losing his appeal June 20, 1967, he was stripped of his title, and banned from boxing for three and a half years. His reason for not going to war raised a few eyebrows when he said that he “will not go 10,000 miles to fight other brown people to further promote white slavery when brown people in the United States are treated like dogs.” He returned to the ring in 1971, but lost to then champion Joe Frazier in the first of 3 championship bouts. He regained the title from Frazier in the 1974 rematch. With his colorful quotes, bold predictions and his undeniable boxing talent, Ali revolutionized the sport of boxing with sheer power and the magnetism of his personality. Sports Illustrated named him Sportsman Of The Century, and when he retired in 1981, his record stood at 56 wins and 5 losses. In 1984 he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, and now at 71, he is in his third decade doing battle with his most formidable foe. And while we may not see it, in his mind he still floats like a butterfly, and I for one will always call him “Champ.”
DLTPONCH33
by Dennis Townsend, Contributing Writer  When I first saw Danica Patrick about 10 years ago, I was watching a sports show about auto racing on television. It was a show that she was hosting, and at that time, I had no clue that she was a driver. It was 6 months later that I found out that she was driving Indy style cars in the Indy Racing League.
She soon had a contract driving for Andretti Racing, driving Indy cars, and I was amazed. I am a NASCAR fan and have been for quite a while, so I never watch the Indy Car Racing League unless it’s the Indianapolis 500. Since you don’t see many women driving race cars, and the Indianapolis 500, which is known as The Great American Race was coming up, I figured this would be a good time to check out Danica just to see if she could really drive. I was, to say the least, impressed with the way she handled that car going over 200 miles per hour. An Indy car can go as fast as 240 mph, and the car is made of a lightweight material called "carbon fiber". When you have a crash going over 200 mph in a carbon fiber car, there’s not much left, and Danica had no fear. Not to mention that she was racing with men who sometimes can be a little disrespectful of a woman in a man’s game. One thing I did notice about her that I thought was beneficial because she was racing with men, she has a temper, and will not back down to anyone. She was raised just outside of Chicago, Illinois, and grew up racing "go carts", and when I first saw her on T.V. she looked good enough to be a model. Come to find out, that’s what she does when she’s not racing. She was only the second woman to lead laps at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and after about 5 years with the Indy League, she decided to make the jump to NASCAR. When you start in NASCAR, you must first run in what’s called the Nationwide Series. And since she has been a spokesperson for the web site GoDaddy.com for quite awhile, they have traveled with her throughout her racing career. They were with her during her time in Indy Cars, and moved right to the Nationwide series with her. Since sponsorship is a big part of any race team, if you bring your own sponsor with, you can just about be assured that you will get hired on any race team if you have a reasonable amount of talent. She was fortunate to be picked up by J.R. Motor Sports which is run by Dale Earnhardt Jr., in 2012 to run the Nationwide Series. After that first year, which had it’s ups and downs, she was ready to move up to the big show known as the "Sprint Cup" series. She signed on with Tony Steward and became a part of the Steward / Haas Racing stable in 2013. And yes, she still has GoDaddy.com as her sponsor, and 2 year ago, she became the first woman to win the pole position and lead a lap at the famed Daytona 500. So while it may be tough competing in a mans world as a woman, it can be done even going 200 miles per hour. So if you get the chance to see a Sprint Cup Race, be on the lookout for the lime green GoDaddy.con Chevrolet, and watch a "fast woman" at work.. DLTPONCH33 Photo courtesy of ZAP2IT.COM  by Dennis Townsend, Contributing Writer
The NFL draft is over and while it was a fast and furious event of deal making and give and takes, as we all saw in the Kevin Costner movie, Draft Day, it was also time to answer a pretty big question. And if you think I was talking about who got Heisman Trophy winner, Johnny (Football) Manziel, I’m sorry to say you’re wrong. The big question was who would draft the first openly gay football player, Michael Sam, and bring change to the National Football League. Well, that question was answered in the seventh round when the St. Louis Rams selected the Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year. While playing for Missouri, his coaches and players all kept his secret until he decided to disclosed it to the media earlier last year. And to prove that it was not a distraction to either him or the team, he went on to have the best year in his college career. While waiting to get the call, Michael Sam was at the home of his agent, Joe Barkett, and naturally, ESPN, and the NFL Network had camera’s there and at the ready to capture the big moment. Sam had family and friends there as well as his partner and when the call finally came, the 6-foot-2, 255 pound defensive end teared up and gave his boyfriend a kiss on the lips and a long hug. Now while we all knew about the relationship, we thought we could sanitize ourselves from actually having to see a show of affection between Sam and his partner, it seemed to me that he might have jumped a little too far outside the closet with the kiss. ESPN and the NFL Network had their camera’s there just so they wouldn't miss an opportunity to solidify the facts. And just to show everyone that he is comfortable with who he is, after having some cake, he again gave his boyfriend a kiss. Now the critics say that it was not a sure thing that he would be drafted not because he’s gay, but because of what he had to bring to the NFL. They say that he is too short to play defensive end in the NFL, and slower than most outside linebackers, a position he would have had to transition to in the pros. The mere fact that he was selected 249th overall out of 256, made people wonder if he would be able to even make the grade. Well, I guess that's a question that's been answered with his recent termination from the Dallas Cowboys practice squad. That's where he wound up after he was released from the Rams. Did he get a fair shot? He says that he did get a fair shot, and he will also tell you that he still plans on playing football in the NFL. One thing's for sure, he has broken the ground to enable all gay football players to stick a foot outside of the closet if that's what they wish to do. And with the recent rulings by the courts across this country legalizing gay marriages, it won't be long before the whole gay subject will be passé. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia commons.com by Phoenix Desertsong  Is Pedro a Hall-of-Fame Pitcher? Yes! As one who grew up watching the exploits of Pedro Martinez on the mound for the Boston Red Sox, I can tell you without a doubt that he is the greatest pitcher I have ever watched. I can quote a bunch of numbers from Baseball Reference that are pretty impressive. But there are others that will say he only had five truly elite seasons. Looking at the raw numbers, that argument could certainly be made. Overall, over 18 seasons of Major League Baseball, Pedro accumulated 409 starts (219-100 W-L), 3154 strikeouts against 760 walks (4.15 K/BB per 9 innings) and 82.6 WAR. Pedro's Early Career Pedro began his MLB career with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1992. He had one start and one relief appearance. In 1993, he was given a full-time bullpen job. While he did make 2 starts, he appeared in 65 games overall, and over 107 innings, he recorded 119 strikeouts, but also collected 57 walks. All in all, Pedro was worth almost 3 WAR just as a reliever. He clearly had talent, and looked like he deserved a shot to prove himself in the starting rotation. That chance would happen not in Los Angeles for Pedro, as he was traded to the Montreal Expos for second baseman Delino Deshields. This proved to be a steal for then General Manager Dan Duquette of Montreal. In 1994, the strike-shortened season, Pedro was a part of a pretty good Expos team, and made 23 starts with decent results. He finished with a 3.42 ERA, As a 22-year old, though, he was still a bit raw. He walked fewer batters than he had the season before, he also hit 11 batters. As it would turn out, though, it was because Pedro was never afraid to pitch inside, something that would make him a very special pitcher. In 1995 and 1996, Pedro was a good, if not spectacular pitcher for the Expos. He was solid, but still struggled with his command a bit. Still, it was clear he had the talent to be an ace, something that in 1997 finally was realized. The Greatest 5 Pitching Seasons on Record? Pedro's first truly dominant season in 1997 was one of the most dominant seasons on record for any pitcher. This included 13 complete games and 4 shutouts. His baseball card stats were phenomenal: 17-8, 1.90 ERA in 241 1/3 innings with 305 strikeouts against only 67 walks (for an 8.7 WAR according to Baseball Reference.) This earned him his first of 3 Cy Young awards. This dominant led the Boston Red Sox to trade for Pedro after that season, surrendering top pitching prospects Carl Pavano and Tony Armas Jr. While his first season in Boston was nothing like his 1997 season, he still finished second in Cy Young voting. His numbers were definitely ace-worthy as well: 19-7, 2.89 ERA (63% below league average), 251 strikeouts to 67 walks, and was worth 6.9 WAR to Boston. He would be worth 45 WAR more to the Red Sox over the next six seasons (including an injury-plagued 2001 season). Four of those seasons may be four of the best pitching seasons (especially with the high-powered offenses of the American League) of all-time. The next two years, 1999 and 2000, would be the two best of Pedro's career. In 1999, Pedro had a win loss record of 23-4 in 29 starts with 5 complete games. He led the league with a career high 313 strikeouts against only 37 walks, a rare feat to be sure. He was worth 9 and a half wins that year to the Red Sox (9.5 WAR). The next season in 2000, he had a record of 18-6 again in 29 starts, but an even lower ERA and 284 strikeouts against 32 walks. He won the Cy Young Award in the American League both seasons. In 2000, he had the highest WAR of his career (11.4 WAR), adding about 11 wins to his team that year. To put a WAR of 11.4 in perspective, Babe Ruth had a 11.5 WAR in 1920 and an 11.4 WAR season in 1924, Lou Gehrig had a 11.5 WAR in 1927. The last pitcher to post a WAR total that high was Roger Clemens in 1997 with 11.8 WAR for the Blue Jays. The only other pitchers beside Walter Johnson in the 1910's and 1920's to post higher single-season WAR totals are Dwight Gooden (13 WAR in 1985), Steve Carlton (12.1 WAR in 1972), and Bob Gibson (11.7 WAR in 1968). Johnson, Gibson, and Carlton are in the Hall of Fame. For awhile, it appeared Gooden could have been, as well, were it not for his personal issues. Pedro would have an injury-marred 2001, but still managed to start 18 games and produce a 4.9 WAR. It's very likely barring the injury he could have had yet another Cy Young Award caliber season. He would return to form in 2002, however, with a 20-4 record and a 2.26 ERA (best in the league) and a 6.2 WAR. However, it was clear that the injury had taken its toll on his strikeout rate, as he struck out "only" 239 batters in 199 innings. His walk rate was still excellent, however, as he walked only 40 in those innings. But he would not win the Cy Young Award that year, or in fact, ever again, as he lost the crown to Barry Zito. Looking at the numbers, however, Zito was not really as good as Pedro. Zito won 3 more games and made 5 more starts. He didn't strikeout as many as Pedro (182) and walked more (78) in 229 innings (only 30 more than Pedro). In 2003, Pedro had the last of his 5 most dominant seasons. For a second straight season, his strikeout rate fell slightly and he walked a few more batters than usual. Still he went 14-4 (a record very deceiving because he received a great deal of no-decisions that year) with 2.22 ERA in 29 starts. He did increase his WAR total, however, with a mark of 7.8 WAR. He'd never reach that mark again.  The End of Pedro's Dominance Without a doubt, 2004 marked the end of Pedro's run of dominance. While he was still a 5 WAR pitcher, he was clearly nowhere near the ace that he once was. Curt Schilling assumed that role that year with his 7.5 WAR. Schilling won 21 games against 6 losses, and Pedro won 16 against 9 losses. While win-loss record is not always indicative of true pitching performance, in Pedro's case, he was becoming inconsistent. A 3.90 ERA was not a number you would see from Pedro. It would actually come out to be the third highest season total of his career. After the season, the Red Sox and Pedro decided to move on, and Pedro signed a lucrative four year deal with the New York Mets. In 2005, on paper, Pedro looked great for the Mets. But for the first time since 2005, he failed to strike out at least a batter per inning, although he walked fewer batters than in 2004. He was still an ace, though aging. But in 2006, the wheels began to fall off. He only pitched 137 innings in 23 starts and had a roughly league average 4.48 ERA. He was still a "good" pitcher, but his overall dominance was clearly gone and his arm began to really bother him at that point. 2007 would be a relatively lost season for Pedro, him having only 5 starts, although he pitched fairly well in those starts. In 2008, everything fell apart for Pedro and in twenty starts was practically a replacement-level scrub (-0.5 WAR). That looked like the very end for Pedro.  However, in the later half of 2009, Pedro decided to make a comeback with the Phillies. After doing fairly well in the minors, he was called up to the big club and made it into the playoffs. While he wasn't spectacular down the stretch for the Phillies, he was certainly useful, and won his only start in the NLCS. However, the Yankees beat him in both of his starts in the World Series on their way to the World Series title. That was the end for Pedro.
Pedro Compared to Other Hall of Famers Pedro's career 80.5 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) puts him in 51st place all-time. In and of itself, that's a pretty special accomplishment. This puts him on par with Robin Roberts (career 80.1 WAR) and not far off from Gaylord Perry (career 84.5 WAR) and Steve Carlton (career 84.6 WAR). As all of those pitchers are in the Hall of Fame, Pedro's in very good company. Even if you don't buy into the WAR statistic, looking at the career numbers of Roberts, Perry, and Carlton show that they pitched many more starts than Pedro. For Pedro to be able to amass the same Career WAR as pitchers with 600+ starts in only 409 starts is very impressive. Also, take into account that a good chunk of those later starts were with him wearing down considerably. Even though he had five truly dominant seasons, he also had five or six pretty good ones, on which most teams he would be considered an ace or at least a #2 starter. Consider that he had 5 out of this world seasons and 5 All-Star level seasons on top of that, you could say that Pedro really had 10 very good years overall. He gave his teams tons of value whenever he pitched, except for that dismal 2008 season with the Mets. Even taking his lost season and that into account, he basically produced the same value as his potential Hall-of-Fame peers in far fewer starts. Ryan Roberts had 609 starts over 19 years. Perry had 690 starts over 22 years. Carlton had 709 starts over 24 years. Pedro generally out-performed Roberts in 200 fewer starts and did almost what Carlton and Perry did in 300 fewer starts. Baseball fans can all agree that Roberts, Carlton, and Perry were all great pitchers that belong in the Hall of Fame. While he isn't quite to the level of Bert Blyleven (89.3), Randy Johnson (96.3) or Greg Maddux (101.6), he's in the neighborhood. So by the overall numbers overall, he was probably the fifth best pitcher of his era, if you include Roger Clemens 100+ career WAR. But no one had 5 seasons like Pedro did. No one dominated the baseball scene the way he did. Watching Pedro pitch was watching a masterpiece almost every time he took the mound. The memories alone are probably what make us think he was the greatest of all time. As we can now see, his top seasons most certainly were among some of the greatest of all time for pitching (by WAR standards). However, he's not quite the greatest of all time. He's still worthy of being in there, and in 2015, Pedro would indeed become enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first chance. Since retiring, Pedro continues to work with young pitchers and does commentary on baseball broadcasts for TBS. Thanks for such an awesome career, Pedro! Photo credits: All pictures courtesy of Wikimedia Commons |
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