Featured cards: 2009 Topps Heritage High Numbers Jesus Guzman #602 and Travis Ishikawa #637

Jesus Guzman, who was signed by the San Francisco Giants as minor league free agent - hopes he gets an extended opportunity in the Major Leagues in 2010 after finally reaching the Major Leagues for a cup of coffee this past year.


Travis Ishikawa put together a middling season as a rookie in 2009 - the first baseman got a 12 game, 24 at-bat cup of coffee in 2006, played in 33 games and got 95at-bats in 2008 and I guess was still eligible to be a rookie since he was named on Topps' Rookie All-Star team this past year.

Featured card: 2009 Topps Heritage High Numbers Everth Cabrera #568

San Diego Padres' shortstop Everth Cabrera may turn into a pumpkin in 2010 - but an unknown commodity coming into 2009, as a Rule 5 pick from the Colorado Rockies, he put together a solid rookie season.

It isn't a stretch to say, Cabrera's biggest moment in his rookie year - was hitting a walk-off grand slam home run against Francisco Rodriguez and the New York Mets last August.

Featured card: 2009 Topps T-206 Josh Hamilton #266

Instead of trying to mess around with loose packs and blasters, not even being able to complete a set in process and ending up with doubles, triples, et al - I picked up a hand-collated complete set of 2009 Topps T-206 for the price of around two blaster boxes, probably a few bucks more.

As I go through the cards to talk about [like others here and there] - there was no way this Hamilton card was going to escape my notice.

A quick story I remember is I'm in Surprise Arizona this past year, trying to get Texas Rangers' autographs in spring training - Hamilton was signing autographs for fans and as he was moving from one section of the railing to the other, I think he actually chipped his tooth trying to hold up a soda can.

That is my Hamilton in-person story for the year - it is fitting Topps gets a picture of Hamilton balancing a bat with his teeth, because it seems to capture who he is.

Featured card: 2009 Topps Heritage High Numbers Jim Thome #650

This image used for Thome maybe a preview of at least one type of image Upper Deck will be using in 2010 to skirt past the issue of not being licensed by Major League baseball - it seems like the image is boring because Thome is looking out at something, maybe towards the end of his career and he is just in a daze.

I will not try to foist any sort of significance on the 'retro-style' card since it is one I assume pictures this brave, old-school, heroic baseball warrior at the twilight of his successful baseball career - I do wonder if the original image used actually pictured Thome with the Dodgers or it was created from a White Sox image.

If 2009 was his last Major League season - he ended it as a pinch-hitter on one leg instead of this guy who'd emerged big and strong through his prime years with the Cleveland Indians.

The card will probably go with the rest of the Thome cards I've collected over the years and now are stored away - among the cards of players with the last names starting with a 'T.'

Featured card: 2009 Topps Heritage High Numbers Xavier Paul #668

Xavier Paul probably will not have an opportunity to get significant playing time in the Major Leagues, at least with the Dodgers - with Manny, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier patrolling the outfield at Dodger Stadium, along with Juan Pierre still lurking as a valuable [if generously overpaid] fourth outfielder.

Paul has put up solid, but unspectacular numbers in the minor leagues and made his Major League debut in 2009 - his upside is he is only going to be 25 next year and he is cheaper than Pierre, who could be traded to a team willing to take on a chunk of his salary.

Though Paul's 2009 Topps Heritage High Numbers card has the MLBPA Rookie Card logo, his first card was [#77] in the 2003 Bowman Draft set - as a collector, I still consider the 2003 Bowman Draft card as his true rookie card, since it came out before the MLBPA Rookie Card rules were introduced.

Featured card: 2009 Topps Heritage High Numbers Jake Fox #588

This past season, Jake Fox burst upon the baseball scene in Chicago with eye-popping numbers [check out his splits] - he posted in June and July.

However Fox bottomed out the last several months and finished the 2009 season with a .259 batting average with 11 home runs and 44 runs batted in - it seemed like he could hit for a bit of pop [.468 slugging percnetage], but obviously wasn't going to be in the Chicago Cubs' future plans when he was traded with Aaron Miles to the Oakland Athletics for three prospects.

Though he is playing for a division opponent - I will interested to see how Fox does in Oakland if given a legitimate opportunity to play every day [at the very least get 400-450 at-bats as a DH perhaps].

Featured card: 2009 Topps Heritage High Numbers Clay Zavada #540

I had a Heritage High Numbers chop shop going once I started going through the 185 card base set - trying to break the set down and figuring out what I'm going to do with each card.

One of the cards I was glad to finally have in-hand features Arizona Diamondbacks rookie Clay Zavada - his journey to get the big leagues and his moustache have turned him into a fan-favorite of sorts.

2009 Topps Heritage High Numbers SPs

I picked up a Heritage High Numbers base set with none of the shortprints listed - so from a list I found here, I was figuring out which SPs I may have possibly wanted [in bold/italics] and would like to pull in loose packs, just to have in-hand.

686 Aaron Hill (SP)
687 Adam Dunn (SP)
688 Andrew McCutchen (Rookie)(SP)
689 Ben Zobrist (SP)
690 Chris Tillman (Rookie)(SP)
691 Bobby Abreu (SP)
692 Brett Anderson (Rookie)(SP)
693 Chris Coghlan (Rookie)(SP)
694 Colby Rasmus (Rookie)(SP)
695 Elvis Andrus (Rookie)(SP)
696 Fernando Martinez (Rookie)(SP)
697 Garret Anderson (SP)
698 Gary Sheffield (SP)
699 Gordon Beckham (Rookie)(SP)
700 Huston Street (SP)
701 Ivan Rodriguez (SP)
702 Jason Bay (SP)
703 Jordan Zimmerman (Rookie)(SP)
704 Ken Griffey Jr. (SP)
705 Kendry Morales (SP)
706 Kyle Blanks (Rookie)(SP)
707 Tommy Hanson (Rookie)(SP)
708 Mark Derosa (SP)
709 Matt Holliday (SP)
710 Matt LaPorta (Rookie)(SP)
711 Trevor Cahill (Rookie)(SP)
712 Nate McLouth (SP)
713 Trevor Hoffman (SP)
714 Nelson Cruz (SP)
715 Nolan Reimold (Rookie)(SP)
716 Orlando Hudson (SP)
717 Randy Johnson (SP)
718 Rick Porcello (Rookie)(SP)
719 Ricky Romero (Rookie)(SP)
720 Russell Branyan (SP)

2009 Topps T-206 pack break with A Polar Bear

2009 Topps T-206 retail [$2.99 each / one pack at Target] - I was able to find a sealed box on the shelf and had to go through the pomp and circumstance of having it opened up [to grab just a lone, lonely pack because it was all I could afford to pick up], so it wouldn't seem like I was doing something shady.

Pack #1
106 Jeff Francis - great start, a card of a guy who hasn't played in about a year or more.
179 Roy Oswalt - had an off-year, but typically regarded as an 'ace.'
235 Yovani Gallardo Polar Bear mini base card parallel - according to the listing on the pack, Polar Bear parallels are found one in every 10 packs.
74 Greg Golson thick gold filler card- not pictured.
171 David Wright - this card is sort of ugly, it looks like Wright is grimacing with his eyes closed as he is following through.
130 Honus Wagner - probably the main reason the legacy of the T-206 lives on through the 21st century, never mind he is probably considered the best shortstop in the history of the game.

Card shop pick ups from the quarter bins

I picked up 10 common cards [of not so common players] for a quarter each plus tax - none of the cards make or break any collection, but nice to pick the particular cards up cheaply.

2009 Topps Heritage Erick Aybar #90 - finished eighth in the AL batting race this past season, should be Chone Figgins' replacement at the top of the Angels' lineup if he continues to refine his plate discipline.
2009 Topps Unique Red Chipper Jones #15 - serial #'d 0207/1199
2009 Topps Unique Zack Greinke #90
2009 Topps Unique Albert Pujols #100
2009 Topps Unique Red Kurt Suzuki #101 - serial #'d 0057/1199
2009 Topps Unique Ichiro #125
2009 Topps Unique Evan Longoria #145
2009 Upper Deck SP Authentic Evan Longoria #3
2009 Upper Deck SP Authentic Adrian Gonzalez #74 - perennially underrated.
2009 Upper Deck SP Authentic Everth Cabrera #146 - emerged as a star rookie shortstop for the San Diego Padres this past season.

Cal Ripken Jr. / Billy Bean book find

I ended up at an outlet book store and found an autographed copy of one Cal Ripken's books - I wasn't going to buy anything at the book store, because I was sort of saving the $20 I had in my pocket for a 2009 Upper Deck Series I/Series II/Update blaster box, but broke down because the copy I had was a-u-t-o-g-r-a-p-h-e-d.

Ripken maybe signing his way onto Bob Feller territory, but still commands a hefty fee [maybe around $100 for a flat] to sign anything - through Ironclad Authentics for example.

On a related, but other end of the spectrum - I picked up a paperback copy of that Billy Bean's memoir as well, which is a poor man's Ball Four from a closeted ex-player's perspective.

What resonated, the first time I read bits and pieces of it is hunger of a ballplayer to stick in the pros and really the desperation he realizes - to play for himself instead of others.

The struggle to be a professional may not be the most important part for people to identify with and the obvious topic in the memoir besides a former baseball player talking about his professional career - is as compelling, maybe even more so, considering the facts in-hand.

Besides Bean dealing with his double life - his memoir gives the average person a real, unadulterated look [no matter how unflattering] at baseball players [particularly as they climb up the ladder].

Halos saying adios to Chone Figgins

It is a bummer Chone Figgins is about to sign a four-year, $36 million dollar contract with the Seattle Mariners - it is a credit to Figgins he made himself the Major League player he has been when healthy.

It is also a credit to the Angels organization to see ability and develop Figgins as a professional ballplayer - after trading the immortal Kimera Bartee to get Figgy in a 'minor transaction' in 2001.

I liken Figgins to Tony Phillips - without the drug problems, which had been exposed in Phillips' second stint as an Angels back in 1997.

Figgins may not hit for double digit home runs, but is a high-energy, high on-base, high average top-of-the-lineup hitter - who can hit the ball in the gaps for doubles and triples.

Figgins is probably the best defensive third baseman in the American League, not named Adrian Beltre - even though experts continue to flirt with the idea his ability to play several positions is one of his most attractive traits as a player.

As for the Angels, Brandon Wood is going to be given the first opportunity see what he can do at third base - he was the Angels' top prospect at the position for the last four or five years, though he hasn't gotten an extended opportunity to prove himself as a big league regular. Though a shortstop at points in his professional career, sliding over to third base seems to be a natural transition for a big and strong guy like Wood already is, with allowances to fill out a little more in his prime.

Barring a trade, the Wood situation is going to play out like the Kendry Morales situation for the Angels - hopefully at 25, Wood can find a way to stick in the Major Leagues and go onto have a breakout season.

Wood is probably going to be the Angels player I'm going to be closely watching the most next year - if he doesn't live up to the hype as the next great hope in Anaheim, he could be another George Arias.

Making sense of my player collections - something to gnaw about during the winter time

Player binders - a lot of my base cards/inserts featuring 'notable' players are stored in binders.

Picking up a small grouping of players' cards [coming out of a pack or from a stack put together from a show or card shop] - to put them away in binders seemed like a ritualistic process I enjoyed.

Now, I don't want to make it more work for myself - however, I may make some gradual changes over time, so I can organize the cards in a relevant way they will last as long as I'm collecting.

The most important goal is to get away from the 'storage aspect' and make the my collection of individual players cards more of a true display - so I can look through the binders like a book instead of a place to dumb my base cards/insters.

I don't want to change things up entirely - I still would like to maintain some order and familiarity.

A.) ABC order by player - doesn't quite work because I don't want it to be too rigid; I probably do need to label binders to figure out whose cards are featured in each particular one.
B.) Realignment - maybe binders need to be updated as far as whether or not I care about collecting a particular player's cards anymore by default. Meaning I might have been picking up cards of a players might not be a personal favorite, but once was an all-star for example. Now the player isn't as relevant and maybe my interest has waned.
C.) Space issues - I store two cards in one nine-pocket sheet as long as I feel like the cards will not damage each other. In many instances, I will store one card in a pocket, if the card is an insert/parallel or rookie/first-year card.
D.) Particular arrangement of cards featured on one nine-pocket plastic sheet - I want to say it doesn't matter [as far as putting them by year, by type, et al], because I don't want to move the cards around too much in order to account for any possible updates.

Personal favorites
I freed up one binder housing a partial set from a 2004 Topps Traded break a while ago, to store my assorted Vladimir Guerrero, Tim Salmon and Jim Edmonds cards - the cards are in no discernable order, but it will have to do.

A.) I'd planned to add seven other 'personal favorites,' but Guerrero, Salmon and Edmonds actually filled out the binder - so those three represent my favorite players.

Realignment
For another, particular binder holding players' cards I've collected for the last five or six years - I realigned the order and also move daround players.

A.) Players' cards removed from binder and place into A-Z archives box - none are 'personal favorites' and basically there is no compelling reason to keep these guys' cards in binders at this point.

Ellis Burks
Brian Giles
Jason Kendall
Kerry Wood
Edgar Renteria
Pat Burrell
Steve Finley
Bartolo Colon

B.) Players' cards added to binder - cards of these some of these players were once stored in a binder, but were displaced.

Carlos Zambrano - from my semistars box
Albert Belle - he is sort of irrelevant these days, but was a beast when he was playing.
Andy Pettitte
Greg Maddux
Mike Lowell
Roy Halladay
Johan Santana - from my semistars box

C.) Holdovers from original binder arrangement

Todd Helton
Adrian Beltre
Roy Oswalt
Lance Berkman
Joe Mauer
Nolan Ryan
Randy Johnson
Curt Schilling
Mike Sweeney
Kevin Millwood
Carlos Lee
Carlos Beltran

D.) New order of players' cards for one particular binder

Todd Helton
Adrian Beltre
Roy Oswalt
Lance Berkman
Carlos Zambrano
Joe Mauer
Albert Belle
Andy Pettitte
Greg Maddux
Nolan Ryan
Randy Johnson
Curt Schilling
Mike Sweeney
Mike Lowell
Roy Halladay
Kevin Millwood
Johan Santana
Carlos Lee
Carlos Beltran