1956 Topps Bill Sarni #247 pick up

This was the oldest card in my COMC delivery and was purchased because I wanted something random and vintage to add to the mix - I now have this 65-year old Topps card where I can make out the familiar image of the MLB icon, Jackie Robinson as a 'bonus baby,' making a cameo on another player's card.

Bonus babies collection - a visual guide

I grabbed 18 'bonus babies' cards for my mini-collection sampler - bonus babies which are probably referred to as 'cameo' cards, pictures a star player on a common player's card.

I like stumbling upon them because it's like an easter egg most collectors wouldn't pay attention to while flipping through loose cardboard - for a player to count as a 'star' cameo, an all-star appearance is considered as well as whether a player has had some name recognition through points of his MLB career.

Probably the most difficult aspect collecting these cards besides finding them in the first place are the inconclusive images - who is exactly pictured on the background of certain players' cards when the focus is on the player who is listed on the card?

Most of the time the obscured player in the background is who I assume it is - but when the image is blurred, there is some doubt at times.

Vintage find - 1971 Topps Chris Short #511

On a whim, I rummaged through a dollar box of vintage cards at the card shop - it's not like the box on the counter is new and the remaining vintage beaters of common players stored in the box are just uninteresting to me.

However, I got this card, since I've vaguely been aware of Pete Rose lurking as a baserunner in the background - the card may still be in the same box five years from now, but I don't have to worry about needing to add it to my bonus babies [or star cameos on common players' cards] mini-collection.

1995 Pinnacle Jose Valentin #127

I may have been browsing a dealer's listings on eBay when I discovered this Valentin card with what looks to be a Roberto Alomar cameo - while it's not for my Angels frankenset, I picked up the 'nicer' Museum Collection parallel for my 'bonus babies' mini-collection, consisting of star players' cameos on common players' cards.

Overwhelmed at the card shop

I just started digging through quarter boxes from past years and I couldn't stop picking out cards - even when I had to cut down the number of cards I wanted to pick up, there were a few others that replaced the ones I'd put away.

Awesome outfield action

1999 Fleer Ultra Willie McGee #58 - he was a very good ballplayer for a long time and it looks like he stuck it out as a fourth outfielder / semi-regular type in his last four MLB seasons.

1999 Fleer Tradition Rickey Henderson #133 - in his late 30's, he was still as spry as he was in his prime.

2003 Upper Deck Dave Roberts #189

2002 Fleer Ultra Chris Singleton #160

1999 Fleer Ultra Andruw Jones #25 - he was an athlete in his prime, too bad he got fat in his 30's.

1999 Fleer Ultra Carl Everett #22

1999 Topps Stadium Club Vladimir Guerrero #80 - the ball is actually by his feet.

1999 Topps Stadium Club Jose Canseco #32 - by this point, his athleticism was gone and all he had were his bat and his roids.

1998 Topps Orlando Merced #119

1999 Fleer Ultra Tony Gwynn #59

Awesome action - these were the silly cards

1992 Upper Deck Minors Adam Hyzdu #244 - juggling

1992 Upper Deck Minors Jimmy Haynes #168 - has some odd frisbee thing

1999 Topps Stadium Club Chan Ho Park #112 - I love this card

Awesome action and misc

1999 Upper Deck Encore Jeff Cirillo #50 - I wonder what he is putting into his water cup.

1992 Upper Deck Minors Juan De La Rosa #73 - losing his bat

1999 Fleer Ultra Mike Lansing #8 - looks like a play where he grabs the ball and gestures to the umpire to perhaps record the force out at second base.

1999 Fleer Ultra Otis Nixon #44 - love the face guard

2002 Fleer Ultra Ryan Klesko #148 - on a knee

1992 Upper Deck Minors Tarrik Brock #189 - x2

Bonus babies - cards where a star player appears on a more common player's card,

1999 Upper Deck Choice Damion Easley #86 - Rickey Henderson

1999 Upper Deck Ray Durham #66 - Rickey Henderson

1998 Topps Kevin Polcovich #79 - Larry Walker

1999 Topps Vinny Castilla #199 - shares the card with Dante Bichette and Todd Helton

2002 Fleer Ultra Bret Boone #120 - Ivan Rodriguez

1999 Fleer Ultra John Wetteland #3 - Ivan Rodriguez

Star on star cameos - a new collecting topic?

1999 Fleer Ultra Albert Belle #78 - I want to make a distinction whenever I find a card of a star player [like Frank Thomas does on Belle's card] popping up on another star's card.

Inking it up - seeing pro ballplayers sign autographs affirms the belief that it is still a thing, even if reality dictates it's harder to have a moment with any number of them.

2003 Upper Deck Mike Cameron #313

2003 Upper Deck Sean Burroughs #466

2003 Fleer Ultra Jeffrey Hammonds #187

1999 Upper Deck Encore Eric Davis #75

Pitchers hitting

2003 Upper Deck Vicente Padilla #237

2002 Fleer Ultra Mike Hampton #69 - I count cards showing pitchers running bases, having bats in their hands and basically pitchers doing 'hittery' things in this collection.

2003 Fleer Ultra Mike Hampton #26

1999 Topps Stadium Club Rick Reed #31

2003 Fleer Tradition Update Glendon Rusch #U136

1999 Topps Stadium Club Kevin Tapani #101

1999 Topps Stadium Club Andy Ashby #133

Tools of ignorance and misc

2002 Fleer Ultra Brandon Inge #75 - maybe symbolic of the early 2000's Detroit Tigers teams

1999 Topps Stadium Club Brady Anderson #127 - looks like a play at plate where the catcher has to apply a hard tag on a incoming runner [Anderson] who doesn't slide.

2003 Fleer Ultra Ivan Rodriguez #152

2003 Fleer Tradition Update Jason Simontacchi #U11 - x2

1992 Upper Deck Minors Skeets Thomas #95 - broken bat shot

2013 Topps Prime football Jimmy Graham #74 - I think because he was doing it so much, dunking a football over the goal posts now result in a penalty.

1985 Fleer Star Stickers George Bell #39

I'm pretty sure the 'obscured' player behind George Bell is Reggie Jackson - I was randomly browsing through eBay when I spotted this and while it's worthless, I want this sticker for my bonus babies collection.

Card shop finds - loose 2013 Topps Update cards

#US 21 Junior Lake 

#US 45 Joey Terdoslavich - Emerald parallel 

#US 51 Brett Marshall 

#US 137 Yoervis Medina - Target Red parallel

#US 243 Marwin Gonzalez - x2 

#US 263 Austin Romine - Gold parallel serial #'d 1810/2013 - bonus baby / cameo by Mariano Rivera.

#US 267 Nick Tepesch 

#US 267 Nick Tepesch - Emerald parallel 

#US 278 Jose Alvarez 

#US 302 Yan Gomes - Gold parallel serial #'d 1302/2013 

#US 329 Henry Urrutia - Target Red parallel

2012 Topps Casey Kotchman #289

I want to make a joke that I've lost track of where former Angel phenom Casey Kotchman is going to be playing in 2012 - it looks like he'll be playing for the Cleveland Indians after a 'bounce back' season last year.

I like the 2012 Topps card because it features Derek Jeter as a 'Bonus Baby' - a search on Getty Images confirms Jeter's cameo appearance on Kotchman's card.

The actual image used used for the card

Related image that confirms the Yankee baserunner's identity

Related image

First collecting topics cards added in 2010

1991 Pacific Nolan Ryan # 40 - pitchers hitting

2005 Topps Cracker Jack Roger Clemens #70 - pitchers hitting

2003 Fleer Patchworks Jeff Bagwell #74 - bonus baby / cameo by Barry Bonds

By the end of 2009, I hope to have picked up 500 new collecting topics cards featuring various characteristics - I'm looking for cards with personality because there is nothing like finding a 'fun card' with a unique image or characteristic that is not going to cost much more than a nickel or a dime.

A.) Bonus babies – cards featuring star players who make cameos on mostly common players' cards.

B.) Inking it up – cards featuring players signing autographs.

C.) Unique shots/awesome action – baseball, basketball, football, hockey. Can be posed.

D.) Awesome outfield action – cards featuring players leaping, diving, jumping to grab the ball. Can be posed.

E.) Tools of ignorance – cards featuring catchers, maybe the hardest working players on the field.

F.) Facial hair – cards featuring players who are wearing beards, goatees, porn-mustaches, et al. 

G.) High-toppers – cards featuring players players sporting high-top socks.

H.) Grips – cards capturing pitchers' grips during their delivery. 

I.) Unique backs – cards detailing something a fun fact or a feat. 

J.) Two-sport stars – cards of professional athletes who've been known to have played in other sports. 

K.) Cult baseball players/unique feats – cards of baseball players who were considered quirky, a good quote, a little kooky, looney, attracted a unique fanbase, some notoriety or have actually done something unique on the field.

L.) Hats-off – cards featuring players without their hats on.

M.) Players smiling – cards featuring players smiling or hamming it up for the camera.

N.) Pitchers hitting – cards featuring pitchers hitting, running the bases or wearing batting helmets, about to step up to the plate.

O.) Retro uniforms – cards featuring players wearing turn back the clock jerseys/uniforms.

P.) Broken bat shots – cards featuring hitters breaking their bats. 

Q.) Beyond the glory – cards featuring players who have battled addictions, battled career threatening injuries, mental problems, et al.

R.) Uncorrected errors – virtually worthless, but still unique to have a card with a name mispelled or a card with the wrong player pictured, et al. 

S.) Steroid Era / PEDS – cards of players who were busted, suspected, reported, outed, et al. 

Collecting topics that can go on forever – 

A.) Bloodlines [actual and loosely related] – cards featuring players who are related to another player as a cousin, father-son, stepson, wife, odd bloodlines [a player is related to someone in another sport or non-sport endeavor], et al.

B.) Local players [Orange County, California] – cards featuring players local to the county, high school or college. 

C.) Nations – sorted by country

D.) Infamous – all sorts of professional athletes who have been known [or not known] to have done something notable in their careers.

Featured cards: 1992 Topps Stadium Club

Topps' sophomore effort may have as impressive and/or better images than their first release in 1991 - the problem for me was Topps turned Stadium Club into a bloated 900 card set, issued in three series of 300 cards. It was the first Stadium Club product I remember picking up with some sort of regularity, but it also became this monster, clusterF of a set littered with unproven players and players who'd be the 25th man on a roster. It should have remained a 600 card set like the initial release in 1991, but Topps thought they could capitalize on the initial popularity of the 1991 set.

The Van Slyke [card #232] features a very nice horizontal shot of Van Slyke diving with a head first slide at third base - you can see Pittsburgh Pirates' then third base coach Gene Lamont kneeling to see what will happen as third baseman Tim Wallach of the Montreal Expos presumably awaits the throw from the cutoff man. The only reservation is the photographer is able to catch Lamont and Wallach's butts lined up with the image of Van Slyke's impending slide.

The Hoiles [card #161] features a play at the play - we don't know if the runner is safe or out as he crashes home, kicking up dirt as Hoiles is looking for the baseball.

Surhoff [card #117] looks like he is making the throw on a pickoff as Ken Griffey Jr. tries to get out of the way - I can eat up 'bonus babies' or common cards featuring cameos by stars all day long.