Card Cameos: Beware The Cameo Wormhole

Brace yourselves.

In my big box o' christmas goodies, I was able to find a couple of nice Tigers cameo cards from the early 90s that came as a pleasant surprise such as this nice little shot of Sweet Lou:

1994 Stadium Club #236 Juan Bell featuring Lou Whitaker

In contrast to many of the cameo shots I like--crucial action shots, nice Tigers pictures, unexpected player situations or pairings--this card is great for one reason and one reason alone: Juan Bell. I think the picture of him says it all. As a cameo shot then, this is pretty bland. Lou Whitaker is partially in frame, in a situation that doesn't appear to make much sense for a second baseman--is he putting down a tag? No. Why isn't Bell Sliding? What is going on here? The result is that we get a little bit of Lou and some flip-up sunglasses, but nothing to write home about.

So then why the cameo post? Please take your anti-head-asplode pills now.

1994 Pinnacle #281 Lou Whitaker

Heads intact?

Two cards. Same year. Two different brands. Same Two Players. Reverse Cameos. The wormhole has opened.

Card Cameos: 1999 Topps Stadium Club #41 Cruz and Ripken

Last week I briefly mentioned my favorite card from the Thorzul group break and promised an explanation. Well, it is a Tigers cameo, which is my new favorite pet thing to pay attention to. This one doesn't allow for the level of detail of the first two, which, in my own admission was a bit overkill, but I may like it even more. Let's take another look:

1999 Topps Stadium Club #41 Deivi Cruz (& Bill Ripken)

When I first saw this card, I wondered, "man, who is that at second base?" It looks a little like...yep. Billy Ripken. Perhaps I'm more attuned to it now that I live in Baltimore, where Bill makes the occasional appearance on the radio (where he is quite entertaining, by the way). But I think it's because he has also become a semi-regular on the MLB network during their Baseball Tonight-style show. Anyway, a quick search revealed what I already knew. Bill Ripken was on the Tigers briefly in 1998 and that he wore #14. Check.

But this card is important for another reason. For all intents and purposes, there are only 2 cards of Billy Ripken in a Tigers Uniform: He's in 1998 Ultra and 1998 Pacific, and I don't have either card. Well friends (and Ripken family collectors--you've got to be out there somewhere) now you've got another one to chase. This rather nice Stadium Club card of Deivi Cruz features Bill as well.

Curtis Granderson Into The Record Books

The Tigers are scratching and clawing their way towards a playoff spot, and over the last two days Curtis Granderson has come out of hiding to help out in whatever way he can. I'm not sure that anyone would say that he's had an Illustrious career...

2007 UD Black #IL-GC Curtis Granderson/Coco Crisp Illustrious Dual Auto (#17/50)

...Uh, ok I guess some people were willing to make this claim in 2007, but the rest of us realize that we're watching a player who is still coming into his own.

Yesterday that meant going 3-6 with a triple, three RBIs (one on each of his three hits) and 2 Runs. The Triple the other way was this close to being a Home Run, but couldn't quite make it, meaning we were treated to a sight that has been so prevalent the last few years:

2008 Topps Finest #95 Curtis Granderson Gold Xfractor (#08/25)

By the end of the night the Tigers had pulled together a huge comeback and stayed two games ahead of the white-hot Twins. Enter Sunday's series finale in Chicago. Granderson was in the game in his customary leadoff spot when Crack

2009 Detroit News Inserts Curtis Granderson

A leadoff homerun. Sound familiar? Maybe you've heard me talk Granderson the leadoff home run machine before. Sure enough, unless I'm mistaken (we're mid-game so none of the post game stories have been written yet) Granderson now rests atop the ALL TIME list for leadoff home runs by a Detroit Tiger, with his 24th (his 28th HR of the season).

Oh, but that's not all. In case that fine moment isn't enough, his record setting home run just happened to be his 100th of his career.

2008 Topps Finest #FM-CG Curtis Granderson Finest Moments Gold Xfractor (#08/25)

I know Curtis is modest guy, but that seems like two good reasons to raise your arms up and celebrate. With his bat seemingly getting hot at the right time, we may be treated to some spectacular fall colors in Detroit, and I think that slowly but surely (and despite a lot of the negativity surrounding him this year) people will realize that Granderson is a one-of-a-kind anchor for this franchise.

2008 Topps Stadium Club Curtis Granderson Sketch Card (1 of 1)

This bounty of cards was the culmination of me getting behind schedule on scanning and posting (shocker), with these packages having trickled in over the last few months.

No Small Feat

Despite an otherwise pedestrian 1-4 day (with a walk), Curtis Granderson nabbed his 20th stolen base of the season, giving him his second 20-20 season of his short career. In so doing, Granderson joins Kirk Gibson(4 times) and Alan Trammell (twice) as the only other players in the history of the Detroit Tigers Franchise to go 20-20 in more than one season. This is all the more notable considering that the Tigers have the fewest steals and fourth fewest attempts in the American League. David Mayo of the Grand Rapids Press runs it down and looks at the prospect of a 30-30 season, which would be the first in Tigers history.

To commemorate, a pair of recent acquisitions to highlight the feat. First you get the steals...

2008 Topps Stadium Club #6 Curtis Granderson First Day Issue

Then you get the power...

2009 Topps TTT43 Curtis Granderson Toppstown Gold

I wouldn't mind if Granderson piles on the numbers to end up on the 2010 version of this card either.

2009 Upper Deck #437 Detroit Tigers Team Leaders

This Just In: 2008 Stadium Club Photographer's Proof Gold

The (brief) countdown continues: Here's number 299.

2008 Topps Stadium Club #6 Curtis Granderson: Photographer's Proof Gold

I've written about this card before and here happily present one of its rarer parallel versions. Unfortunately, I think that the "Photographer's Proof" portion detracts from the overall aesthetic of the card, by adding a bulky, opaque graphic on the side of the card. This Gold version is numbered to 50. Interestingly, I've been able to add both photographer's proof cards to my collection, but neither of the nicer looking base card (#/999) or the 1st Day Issue with its sparkling stamp on the front. Undoubtedly, the proof cards are rarer, but perhaps people are more willing to unload them because they don't look as nice? Wishful thinking, I'm afraid. People are more willing to unload the proof cards because they think that they're worth more, so they find their way on to eBay while the regular card sits in a box never to see the pages of my binder. Sigh.

That's it. We are one card away from the 300th unique Curtis Granderson card in my collection. I know what it is, and it is making its way through the mail as we speak. Any guesses from readers out there? Feel free to peruse my collection to help give you ideas of what might be on its way.

Sketch Card Shenanigans

It was bound to happen wasn't it? Just when sketch cards restored my confidence in the "1 of 1", Stadium Club had to go and screw it all up. In my post on 2008 Stadium Club, I included a picture of the sketch card that had sold on eBay earlier in the week. I did not mention that the sketch card had sold a few months earlier, at a higher price, and that I was surprised that somebody was flipping it so soon. It turns out, this was a different sketch card (I vaguely remember the first one having yellow accents--very nice looking as sketch cards go). I know this, because during the course of my daily perusing of eBay, I found...a 1 of 1 Sketch Card from Topps Stadium Club!

Oh no. Oh yes. Each sketch card is a "1 of 1" because each is hand drawn by a different artist. However, there is no record at all of how many sketch cards there are per player. By my count, Granderson is up to three.

I wonder if this is just Stadium Club, or if the regular Topps issue will be afflicted by this as well. In other words, is this new Ty Cobb sketch card from 2009 Topps (currently on eBay) a 1 of 1, or just a 1 of a few? If I were somebody who paid a premium on a 1 of 1 card, I would be pissed. I understand that these cards are different, but they are no less different than the multitude of parallels out there. At the very least, it would be nice to know how many artists produced sketch cards, or how many sketch cards there are for each player. You can still make them 1 of 1 cards (they are each individual pieces of "art" after all), but Jesus, give us collectors a chance.

Ultimate Checklist: 2008 Topps Stadium Club

The highly anticipated return of Stadium Club featured Curtis Granderson on Card #6. Earlier this month, Dinged Corners issued a challenge to those who believed that there was a Stadium Club card that could top the one that they found of David Wright. Being brand-new to blogging at the time and not wanting to miss a chance to sing the praises of Curtis Granderson to the rest of the collecting world I submitted a compelling case for this card:

"#6: Curtis is on the run. His pants are already dirty, despite clearly being on first base. It is cold outside, and only the most hard-core fans have stuck around on this cold Michigan spring evening. Curtis has used his telepathic powers to fool the first baseman into going in the opposite correction of him. The two have created a visual chalice—Da Vinci Code style—a fact that did not go unnoticed by the photographer who wished to convey the religious-like power that Granderson embodies. His fingers are taped, his socks are up and his neck is weighed down by magic titanium power necklaces, as if to say not even broken fingers, extra weight and good style can stop me from taking third base before the ball gets out of the infield. The background exudes vintage baseball stadiums, three different shades of green, with a bright yellow line that makes you wonder why oh why replay was ever needed.

Curtis’ eyes are on the prize. He is already looking at the third base coach despite barely being past the first baseman. He is going to score. He knows it. You know it. The kid in the red with his arms up knows it—and he hasn’t even gotten to second yet."

Well, I knew that there were nicer cards than #6, but I did my best. Sadly, no other bloggers were swayed by my oratorical gem.

It turns out that Stadium Club is a simple release for Curtis. Card #6 come in Base (#/999), First Day Issue, Blue Photographers Proof (#/99), Gold Photographers Proof (#/50), Platinum Photographers Proof (1/1) and Printing Plates. The "gem" of the set is a 1 of 1 Sketch Card, which actually just sold on eBay this week for $36. I like the design and concept of the sketch card, but I think, in general, they tend to look a little plain. However, since it's a 1 of 1 I'll swipe the image and put it here for posterity. Also, word on the street is that cards divisible by 3 have different pictures for their base cards and 1st day issue cards--something that has made collecting cards (especially rookie cards) a bit of a pain. I haven't confirmed this, but now that I think about it I haven't seen a non-first day issue or photographers proof of #6 at all. Has anybody else?

Anyway, that's it for Stadium Club, short and sweet. I haven't gotten my hands on any of these cards, but they certainly seem like the kind of cards that a player collector would be happy to have.

UPDATE: After doing a little more research, the beckett checklist says that the regular "base" card is #/999 while the First Day Issue card is unnumbered. That change has been made, but it sounds like there may be some additional trickeration that Beckett isn't up on.