by   R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

In anticipation of Curt Schilling's likely induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021, I began collecting numerous Curt Schilling cards. I own several of his rookie card - from 1989 Donruss - already, but I wanted to collect more of his cards in general. His time with the Boston Red Sox helped lead to two World Championships in 2004 and 2007. Schilling was a key member of both teams wrapping up a Hall of Fame-worthy career.

Here I will show you some of his Red Sox cards that I have collected through Check Out My Cards, better known as ComC.

Click or tap on the picture of each card to see its listing on ComC!

While this may not be the best card from this 2007 Topps Moments & Milestones series, it was so dirt cheap that I decided to pick it up. It is serial numbered to 150 copies, so there is some manufactured scarcity to it. I'd be best off picking up his card for his 200th strikeout (or #203).

I feel like this subset would've been better left to honoring just the Moment or Milestone itself. For example, just have a card with 203 strikeouts, numbered to 200 (or even 203!) I think that would be a lot more fun and collectible.

I've always been fond of these throwback designs to the earliest baseball card sets. 2007 Upper Deck Goudey Big League in particular is a fun set to collect.

Like with 2007 Upper Deck Goudey, I appreciate the nod to the earliest of tobacco baseball cards. The T205 set is particularly highly sought after by vintage collectors,  and I certainly appreciate Topps' homage to that classic set. It's especially fun to collect cards of future Hall of Famers like Schilling with cards designed like this.

In retrospect, the 2005 season did not go nearly as well for the Red Sox as the 2004 season did (of course). It would be the year of the other Sox team - the White Sox - to blow past the Red Sox in the first round of the playoffs to win their own first World Series in nearly a century. Part of that had to do with Schilling only being available out of the bullpen for 2005. Still, this Upper Deck First Pitch Pennant Race card is a cool card, as of course, the Sox were in the pennant race all season long.

Even the base cards in 2006 Ultimate Collection are serial numbered! This Curt Schilling card is numbered to 799 copies. In my opinion, serial numbered cards of Hall of Famers or future Hall of Famers are always worth grabbing if the price is right.

2005 Donruss Zenith is a cool set, but what makes this Curt Schilling card especially interesting to me is that it's card #1 of the base set. It's not serial numbered, but it's fairly rare for a base card.

What is your favorite Curt Schilling card?

by  R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

In 2010, Topps created a series of cards called “Cards Your Mom Threw Out” featuring vintage Topps cards with either a new “CMT” back or the original back. These are actually fairly sought after cards by collectors, especially those with the original backs. For me, as a Red Sox fan, the Luis Aparicio CMT-138 is one that’s a nice card to have, as 1973 was not only the last hurrah for “Looie,” but also a pretty good season overall.

Aparicio came to Boston before the 1971 season for second baseman Mike Andrews and infielder Luis Alvarado. Andrews had some nice years for Boston, and would have one more good year in 1971 before fading away. Alvarado never did much of anything. 1971 was a down year for Aparicio and was actually worse than replacement level according to Baseball-Reference Wins Above Replacement (-0.5 WAR). He’d rebound in 1972 to be a league average shortstop (2.0 WAR). But 1973 was a nice final season for the future Hall of Fame shortstop.

In 1973, Aparicio hit only  .271/.324/.309 with the bat, which wasn’t too good, but he did walk more than he struck out and added 13 stolen bases. He was only caught once, too. During the season he passed the 500 SB milestone to finish with 506 steals. Besides his value on the base paths, Aparicio was worth a whopping 11 runs above average according to TotalZone. That was after being “worth” -8 runs in 1971 and -4 runs in 1972. In his career, Aparicio would be worth 149 runs above average over 18 seasons. He won nine Gold Gloves in his career as an elite defender.

Luis Aparicio’s original 1973 Topps card is hardly a pricey one. You can find one graded PSA 8 for under $10 and one in PSA 9 for around $20 to $25. There are only 8 PSA 10 1973 Topps Aparicio cards, and those can fetch several hundred dollars. Aparicio would also have a 1974 Topps card.that are actually similarly priced, with only 4 PSA 10 copies currently graded. Luis Aparicio’s later cards with the Red Sox aren’t super expensive, but since he’s a Hall of Famer who made a living with his speed and glove, he’s worth adding to any vintage baseball card collection.

Being a popular Baseball Hall of Fame player, Frank Thomas rookie cards have become quite popular. There's the 1990 Topps Frank Thomas No Name error baseball card that's been known to sell for quite a bit. But the Topps #1 Draft Pick card is not the most valuable Frank Thomas rookie card. There's the 1990 Leaf #300 Frank Thomas RC. Not only is it a nice looking card, but you can put some money in the bank if you happen to pay Beckett Media or PSA to grade it!

One BGS 10 (Pristine) Leaf Frank Thomas Rookie Card snatched $706 in August of 2017. As one of the more popular Hall of Famers in recent years, it's not surprising that this card fetched a high price. But, it's not a price that you'd expect for a 1990 baseball card that is simply a base card! But, the pose is great and the overall card design is clean and simple. It's very attractive to collectors.

That auction just shows how highly sought after 10's are from collected. Another 9.5 also graded by Beckett only fetched about $110 by PWCC auctions on eBay. It was still well worth getting the card graded. That's no number to sneeze at, but it's no $700! Likewise, a PSA 10 of the same card fetched only $77 by PWCC. In 2018,  $70 to $80 was the going price for PSA 10 copies of this card, with plenty of eBay sales at that price point.

But in late 2018 and early 2019, PSA 10 Frank Thomas rookie cards started eclipsing the $100 mark in auctions on a regular basis. Considering there are a ton of PSA 10 copies out there (3035 PSA 10 examples as of 2/9/2019), that's quite a jump in price. Of course, his demand makes sense, as he hit over 500 home runs and hit over a .300 batting average in his career (.301) - both milestones that card collectors appreciate.

In PSA 9 graded condition, however, there are over 9200 (!) PSA 9 copies out there. Because of the sheer volume available on the market you're lucky to get $25 for a PSA 9 copy. At about $10 to $20 a card, depending on how many cards you submit at once, grading isn't cheap. But, grading IS worth it for this particular 1990 Leaf Frank Thomas card if you can get it in a PSA 10. Due to essentially breaking even (or worse) on getting a PSA 9 back instead of a PSA 10, collectors are willing to pay a substantial premium for an already slabbed PSA 10 example.

So, what if you don't want to put the time and money into grading? Well, the great news is you can find this card raw under $5 in mint condition! Even better, you can find the entire 1990 Leaf set for $20 or less. The  set also has a Sammy Sosa rookie card that collectors are still buying today. If you do decide to grade the 1990 Leaf Frank Thomas, since there's a discount on grading more cards at once, there are other cards to consider submitting:

• #12 Roger Clemens
• #21 Nolan Ryan (HOF)
• #25 Greg Maddux (HOF)
• #63 Mark McGwire
  
• #91 Barry Bonds
• #98 Ryne Sandburg (HOF)
• #125 Bo Jackson
• #154 Tony Gwynn (HOF)
• #160 Rickey Henderson (HOF)
• #178 George Brett (HOF)
• #180 Joey (Albert) Belle RC
• #197 Cal Ripken Jr. (HOF)
• #237 John Olerud RC
• #245 Ken Griffey Jr.
• #265 Nolan Ryan (No Hit King) HOF
• #297 David Justice RC

Many of these cards can fetch $10 or more as graded PSA 10 examples. There are a few other Hall of Famers in the set, such as Eddie Murray, as well.

Frank Thomas continues to be a beloved, charismatic former ballplayer long after his Hall of Fame induction in 2014. While you may not be able to build a retirement fund around his most popular rookie card, it definitely is looking like a strong investment in any baseball card collection. So, thanks, Frank Thomas, for making the 1990 Leaf baseball set worth collecting!

Updated 2/9/2019

Gaylord Perry is one of the most well-traveled Hall of Fame pitchers of all time. Of course, he spent most of his illustrious career with the San Francisco Giants (1962-1971), but also played for the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, New York Yankees (for only 10 appearances), Atlanta Braves, Seattle Mariners, and the Kansas City Royals. He won over 300 games in his career with a career 3.11 ERA. Gaylord compiled 93.7 WAR in his 22 seasons, more WAR than Steve Carlton or Bob Gibson.

Perry didn't strike out a ton of guys (5.9 K/9), but didn't walk many guys, either (2.3 BB/9). He just knew how to keep hitters off balance and how to pitch complete games (303 of his 690 career starts were complete games.) He pitched over 300 innings in a season six times in his career. His durability and consistency were extraordinary and he continued to be an effective pitcher even after turning 40. He will be best remembered as a Giant (37 WAR), but he was actually even better as an Indian (29 WAR in half of the innings pitched).

Thanks for an amazing career, Gaylord Perry.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons user Ghetto9678

Not much more can be said about legendary pitcher Greg Maddux, who was a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame in 2014, which was his first season of eligibility. To say he is a paragon of pitching excellence would be an understatement, and his career Wins Above Replacement (WAR) total of 106.8 ranks 25th on Baseball-Reference surrounded by guys like Frank Robinson, Mike Schmidt, and Lefty Grove.

However, Maddux didn't dominate by striking guys out. He wasn't an extreme ground-ball pitcher, either. He simply didn't walk guys and induced weak contact by keeping hitters off balance. No one has been better in the game at doing that since Maddux, and anyone would be hard-pressed to repeat his long trend of excellence.

He started out fairly well with the Cubs, but it was after signing for some big money with the Atlanta Braves in 1993 that his best years began. From 1993-2003, he amassed 66 WAR, for an average of 6 WAR per season. That is a pretty ridiculous peak, and that's not even including his 9.2 WAR year with the Cubs in 1992. Even after leaving Atlanta in 2004 and returning to the Cubs, Maddux was still an above-average pitcher in 2004 and 2005. He would only have one more truly good season, 2008 with the Padres (2.6 WAR), but that was mostly due to arm fatigue from pitching all of those thousands of innings over such a long period of time.

It should also be noted that Maddux had quite a postseason career, as well, due to all those years with those many Braves playoff runs. While he wasn't the most dominating pitcher, he had a career 3.27 postseason ERA in 198 innings, but an 11-14 record due to an incredible lack of run support.

Greg Maddux is one of the greatest pitchers that has ever played the game of baseball. I was lucky to see many of his starts on TBS in my youth and will never forget the impeccable command he had with his pitches and his amazing ability to read hitters and keep them off balance. He definitely deserved his Hall-of-Fame induction in Cooperstown!

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Joining Ron Santo in the 2012 Baseball Hall of Fame class, Barry Larkin is enshrined forever in Cooperstown after a nineteen-year career that spanned from 1986-2004. During that time, he helped the Reds win the 1990 World Series, became the first ever shortstop to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a season, and played his entire career in a Cincinnati Reds uniform. As a hitter, he regularly walked more than he struck out, and in the field was a capable shortstop.

Statistically, as far as shortstops go, he stacks up pretty well against his Hall-of-Fame counterparts, with a career line of .295/.371/.444 for an above average OPS of .815 of in over 9000 plate appearances. He did not reach any of the major milestones that many Hall of Famers have, such as 3000 hits, but he did hit 198 home runs (an excellent number for a shortstop) and racked up 379 stolen bases. It's also likely that if he had not missed significant parts of several seasons that his numbers would have finished considerably closer to many of his now peers in the Hall of Fame such as Luis Aparicio and Ozzie Smith.

Larkin Compared to His Hall of Fame Peers  

While Larkin's traditional counting statistic totals of hits, home runs, RBI and stolen bases aren't nearly as “sexy” as those of his Hall of Fame peers, especially those of Ernie Banks and Cal Ripken Jr. (although Cal played third for the last quarter of his career). Larkin’s numbers are certainly very respectable and notable for any ballplayer, especially one who played nearly two decades of Major League Baseball. Interestingly enough, however, he actually has a better career OPS than Cal Ripken (who has a .787 mark) and one very close to Ernie Banks (with a mark of .833). Yes, Banks hit over 500 home runs, and Cal certainly was a middle of the order power hitter. Larkin was a prototypical lead-off hitter, and with his high on-base skills and base-running abilities, he produced about the same as those two icons in a somewhat different way.

As far as saber-metric stats like WAR are concerned, Larkin racked up nearly 71 WAR during his 19-year career, a number very comparable to Ernie Banks’ 74 WAR or Ozzie Smith's 70. Ripken's WAR total is nearly 100, but he also played in more games than Larkin, hit for more power, and was actually an even slicker fielder (by current fielding metrics) than the career Cincinnati Red. From WAR totals alone, it's pretty clear that Larkin belongs in the Hall.

Barry Larkin Compared to the Other Candidates for the Class of 2012  

Of those that didn't make the cut for the Hall of Fame induction this year, Jeff Bagwell probably should have joined Larkin. Long time workhorse pitcher Jack Morris was not far behind in voting, and nearly joined Barry in Cooperstown. Tim Raines, certainly one of the more underrated players of his time, earned enough votes for another shot at the Hall in 2013.

Barry Larkin was inducted along with the late Ron Santo, who was elected earlier in 2012 by the Veterans Committee. Of course, Santo passed away several years ago now, and many fans are upset that this honor came posthumously. There are many people on both sides of the argument on whether Santo should be in the Hall of Fame or not. While he wasn't known as a huge offensive player, he played in a pitcher's era and still hit 342 home runs and had a well above average OPS of .826, a number very similar to Larkin's. He also was, like Barry, a good, if not spectacular, defensive infielder (although shortstop is certainly a tougher position to field than third base.) So if Larkin made it into the Hall, Santo certainly deserves to be there, as well.

Looking Ahead to the Class of 2013  

Barry Larkin's Hall of Fame induction was certainly not a huge shock to anyone, as all of the other candidates had their fair share of doubters, besides Bagwell who may make it one day, simply on the strength of his domination as a hitter. However, Bagwell did play during the steroid era, and though by all accounts he was clean, he very well could end up being snubbed a spot in the Hall because of the cheating of his peers.

Bagwell, Jack Morris, and Tim Raines all have a lot of competition in 2013, however. This will be the first year on the ballot for Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mike Piazza, Sammy Sosa, Curt Schilling, and Craig Biggio. It's pretty much a safe assumption that Biggio will eventually make it in. Piazza may take some time to get in because of steroid allegations, but I think most fans agree he belongs in the Hall. Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and Sammy Sosa likely will never get in for various reasons, none of which had to do with on-field performance.

Curt Schilling had a great career, and won two of the biggest World Series in recent memories (the 2001 Diamondbacks win against the Yankees and the 2004 Red Sox victory) plus a third in 2007 with the Red Sox. He may sneak in because of those memorable moments and the fact he could easily have more wins on his record if he hadn't pitched for some awful Phillies squads. He also was hands-down a far superior pitcher to Jack Morris. Just look at Schilling's stats versus Jack Morris' stats. There is really no comparison.

So congratulations to Barry Larkin on a well-deserved induction. While this year's choice was a fairly easy call, next year will be quite controversial.

(Thanks to Baseball Almanac's list of Hall of Fame Shortstops (pre-Larkin induction) for helping with this fascinating research. I also must thank Fangraphs as always, for their comprehensive player database with all the stats you could ever want. Also, Baseball Reference continues to be the go to source for many things baseball.)

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Roy Halladay was one of the best pitchers in baseball at one time. In 2003 and 2010, Halladay won the Cy Young Award and was in the conversation in 5 other seasons. Over his 16 year career, he's pitched over 2700 innings with a 3.38 career ERA, 203 wins with a solid 3.58 K:BB ratio. While he's never had particularly high strikeout rates (only 6.9 K/9 in his career) he's been very good at getting groundballs (54% career) and induces plenty of weak contact.

Halladay compiled 65.9 WAR according to Baseball-Reference, which exceeds the total of Hall-of-Fame pitchers Bob Feller, Juan Marichal, and Hal Newhouser. FanGraphs agrees with this total with an even higher number, 67.6 WAR, which is based on his career 3.39 FIP. It goes to show that both the traditional ERA and sabermetric FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) metrics both agree he has been an exceptional pitcher over his career.

Halladay's 2012 wasn't wonderful, but even then he was still worth 2.5 WAR according to FanGraphs. His 2013 was pretty disastrous, however, compiling a -0.8 WAR. As it turned out, Halladay threw his last Major League pitch in 2013. The Steamer projection systems still saw Halladay being able to pitch 25 starts at a 3.8 FIP (3.9 ERA) level, compiling about 2.2 WAR. In early 2014, however, he decided to hang them up, signing a one-day contract with the Blue Jays to officially retire with Toronto. In any case, Halladay is definitely Hall-of-Fame material.

Tragically, however, in 2017 Roy was killed in a plane crash in the Gulf of Mexico while piloting his own private plane. Even more tragically, it was found during Roy's autopsy that he had died with several suspicious drugs in his system. Whatever reasons for those drugs to be in his system, it was a very untimely death for someone who was only 40 years old. He left behind a family and  a good position as a mental coach for the Blue Jays' young pitchers.

Roy became eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019. He was  elected posthumously on his first ever ballot. Perhaps a good part of that was out of respect for his untimely passing. In any case, though, Roy Halladay belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Thanks for the memories, Roy.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Eight games. Eight wins. The Kansas City Royals have won every single game that they have played this postseason: the Wild Card Game against the Oakland Athletics, three straight games against the Los Angeles Angels in the American League Division Series, and now four straight against the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Championship Series. After winning Game 4 by a score of 2 to 1, the Royals are going on to their third world series in team history, and their first since their victory in 1985. That team included the likes of George Brett and Bret Saberhagen. Most people expected some resistance from each the Angels and the Orioles, but the Royals extremely underrated pitching staff – which carried them to 89 wins during the regular season – came through when it mattered most.

Of course, the bullpen trifecta of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis, and closer Greg Holland was a bit part of why the Royals won all of these games. Anytime you only need six solid innings from your starter, and you go into the seventh inning with a lead with those guys in the bullpen, you’re not going to lose many games. Most people picked the Orioles to win this series, but you can’t win any series without producing offense. As Pedro Martinez pointed out in the TBS pre-game show, the absences of Chris Davis, Manny Machado, and Matt Wieters – three of their best hitters - truly did show when their line-up needed them the most. Machado and Wieters suffered season-ending injuries early on, and Chris Davis was suspended late in the 2014 season for the use of amphetamines – after already not having one of his better years.

It helps that the Royals had some offensive stars during the postseason on a team that isn’t known for their hitting prowess. Eric Hosmer led the way with a 1.370 OPS coming into today’s game (.462/.563/.808) with two home runs and seven runs batted in in 26 at-bats. But it’s been team speed (13 stolen bases in the post season against only 3 times caught stealing) that’s been the big difference. Also, the Kansas City defense, though it committed over 100 errors during the regular season, have shown their true prowess throughout the series with outfielders Alex Gordon and Lorenzo Cain and shortstop Alcides Escobar leading the way with fantastic plays.

While the Orioles were basically in every game, the Royals bullpen was simply too much. As the TBS commentators pointed out at the clinching game’s conclusion, power pitching beats power hitting, and the meat of the Royals bullpen is all power. The Orioles lost Game One 8-6 (in a surprising slugfest), Game Two 6-4, and Game Three 2-1. Every game was decided by two runs or less, an area which is something that the Royals have excelled in all season.

At this time, Game 4 of the National League Championship Series between the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals is yet to be played. Both would make a great matchup for the Royals who will be opening the World Series at home in Kauffman Stadium, due to the American League winning the World Series home field advantage during the 2014 All-Star Game. The Royals definitely look like the team to beat this year, and after I picked the Orioles to win in six games, I really find myself with no choice but to ride the hot hand and pick the Royals in five.

The Royals are the team of destiny. Now they just have to #takethecrown.