One of my favorite baseball card sets is 1988 Score. The cards have crisp action shots. At the time, that was unusual—most sets featured a lot of static portrait shots, players staring blankly at the camera like they were getting their driver’s license renewed.

But Score’s 1988 set looked different because Score treated the photography like the star of the card. Lots of bold, action shots, and a printing/layout treatment that emphasized the photo. The design is clean: a colored border with a thin inner white frame around the photo. The set used six different border colors and a restrained nameplate/graphic treatment so the picture remained the focal point. The overall layout is bright but photo-centric.

The set has a fresher, more “photo-forward” feel than many of the other 1988 offerings. This was Score showing off.

Purple border, bold choice

Take Tom Herr’s card—#84 in the set. Full bleed purple border. How often did you see a purple border in cards before 1988? Answer: never. This is a bold card.

And the action? Tom Herr is jumping over a player in a double-play at Candlestick Park. Not just any player, either. The guy he’s leaping over appears to be Will Clark. If you’re talking about 1988 baseball, Will Clark is one of the big names—the Giants’ young superstar first baseman. To have Will Clark make a cameo appearance on someone else’s card is a fun surprise, like spotting a movie star in the background of your vacation photos.

The autograph that makes it personal

This particular card is signed by Tom Herr. Nicely signed at the bottom of the card. The autograph goes right over Will Clark, as if jumping over him wasn’t enough. Now Tom Herr is literally writing his name on top of him. The strong horizontal line in his first name goes in the same direction as Will Clark’s sliding body. That horizontal line also serves as an underline, highlighting Herr leaping over Clark.

And to top it all off, “John 3:16” is written as an inscription underneath the signature.

So much is going on in this card. I had to get it. The eBay seller made a low offer of $3.79 with free shipping. I jumped on it—much like Tom Herr jumped over Will Clark.

The detective work begins

But then the question hit me: What game does this play appear in?

There can’t be too many games in 1987 where this exact situation happened—Will Clark involved in a double play against the Cardinals at Candlestick Park. I went digging through Baseball Reference, and I narrowed it down to two games.

Option 1: Sunday, July 26, 1987

Giants vs. Cardinals
Giants win 5-2
Attendance: 41,256

A double play with Will Clark on first base happens in the bottom of the 3rd. Giants are behind 0-1.
José Uribe: Groundout: SS-2B/Forceout at 2B

Option 2: Wednesday, May 13, 1987

Cardinals vs. Giants
Cardinals 18-13 (1st place)
Giants 21-13 (2nd place, 0.5 games behind CIN)
Cardinals win 7-6
Attendance: 16,891

A double play with Will Clark on first base happens in the bottom of the 4th. Giants are behind 1-4.
Bob Melvin: Ground Ball Double Play: 3B-2B-1B, ends the inning.

The clue in the background

Look at the card again. The outfield in the background is empty of fans—just bare green seats stretching into the distance. That’s the tell.

The July 26th game had 41,256 fans. The May 13th game had 16,891 fans. At Candlestick Park, 16,891 people doesn’t fill much beyond the lower deck. Those upper outfield seats? Empty.

It must be the May 13, 1987 game.

What happened that day

And what a game it was.

Will Clark went 3-for-4 with 2 home runs:

• In the 2nd inning, Clark hits a 1-run HR to tie the game, 1-1
• In the 6th inning, Clark crushes a 3-run HR to give the Giants a 5-4 lead

Tom Herr went 2-for-5 with a double. He eventually crossed home after his double when Terry Pendleton hit a HR to give the Cardinals the go-ahead run they wouldn’t surrender.

So on May 13, 1987, Will Clark had one of those days where he almost singlehandedly beat you with his bat. But the Cardinals still won 7-6, and somewhere in the fourth inning, Tom Herr jumped over him to complete a double play.

Score’s photographer caught that moment. The card company chose that photo. Tom Herr signed it years later. A seller offered it for $3.79.

And now I know exactly when it happened.

https://www.57hits.com/tom-herr-1988-score

#1988Score #84 #FunWithBaseballCards #TomHerr #WillClark

It’s been a while since I drew baseball cards. I should start doing that again.

I’m thinking of adding cardstock pages to my pocket notepad to make drawings of baseball players for those in-between waiting moments.

https://www.57hits.com/baseball-card-sketches

#drawing #FunWithBaseballCards

Today’s card-pulling ritual from a 2024 Topps Allen & Ginter pack started like any other. I’m always meticulous about extracting just one card, carefully avoiding any accidental multi-card casualties waiting for their moment in the spotlight another day.

As I began to pull out today’s card, something felt different. It was stuck—really stuck—to another card. When I tried to separate them, I realized this wasn’t just any ordinary card stack. This was thick. My heart raced. “OH EXCITING!” I thought. “I’ve got some kind of special card!”

I dramatically extracted the thick card, my imagination running wild with possibilities of what super-cool collectible I might have discovered.

It was a dude with a goatee, wearing a jean jacket and a checkered scarf with fringe. Below the picture is a swatch of black fabric. I got a relic card of… some random dude?

Who is this bloke? I flipped the card over. “Rider Strong, Actor & Film Producer”. What the freak. Who is Rider Strong? Maybe he’ll have some sort of interesting background. I looked him up on IMDB.

Nope.

For those as bewildered as I was, Rider Strong is none other than Shawn Hunter from the ’90s sitcom “Boy Meets World” (1993-2000). You know, the stereotypical heartthrob from that era.

And now, inexplicably, I own a card with a fabric swatch allegedly from his wardrobe. Most likely not from the ’90s TV show, but rather something the actor (now 45 years old) pulled from his closet. Or even more likely, a piece of fabric that Topps bought at Joann’s Fabric.

If you are curious about the fabric (I don’t know who would be), here’s a close-up shot.

I cannot possibly imagine a card that I would be LEAST interested in getting than this one. It’s almost like, “Ew, I have a swatch of one of his clothes. No thanks.” The idea of possessing a piece of fabric potentially worn by a 90s TV actor feels more like a comedic punch line than a collector’s treasure.

Want a piece of 90s nostalgia? I’ll happily mail this card for free to anyone in a plain white envelope. Seriously, I need this out of my house. (The irony isn’t lost on me that I’m now immortalizing this moment on my blog, ensuring these images will persist long after the physical card is gone.)

Any takers?

https://www.57hits.com/rider-hunter-swatch-card

#AGR #FunWithBaseballCards

Every day, I pull one card from a pack. It allows me to enjoy and get to know individual cards, rather than blowing through an entire pack being disappointed by not discovering any hits.

I’ve always loved the quirky, unexpected cards in Allen & Ginter. But sometimes, I pull a card that feels… empty. Take this one, for example:

There’s nothing unique about it—no trivia, no interesting tidbits. Topps uses the same generic text for every dog card. The text is promotional chatter that feels like an ad for the Westminster Kennel Club. How much did the Kennel Club pay Topps for this ad to appear in my Allen & Ginter pack?

But what about the dog? Topps cards are about the person—in this case a dog—and trivia about that person (or dog). It made me wonder: Who is Tommy?

Digging Deeper: Who Is Tommy?

Curious, I googled “Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Tommy“ and found an entire page about him on the Westminster Kennel Club website.

Turns out, Tommy Valor is a black Labrador Retriever in training to become a service dog through the Valor Service Dogs program. Sponsored by the Westminster Kennel Club and Cosequin®, Tommy is undergoing an intensive 18-24 month training process to assist a military veteran or first responder, providing both mobility support and PTSD assistance.

He was named in honor of U.S. Coast Guard rescue diver Tommy Faulkenberry, who tragically lost his life during a dive. This initiative reflects Westminster’s long-standing commitment to supporting service dogs, a tradition dating back to World War I and II.

Cosequin has worked with Westminster for a decade on various campaigns, and now their collaboration extends to Tommy’s training. Valor Service Dogs specializes in preparing dogs like Tommy to help their future handlers regain independence and confidence.

A Missed Opportunity for Topps

What makes Tommy’s story even more compelling is that Westminster provides monthly updates on his training. Here’s an example from December 2023:

“Tommy Valor is five months old and he’s been a busy boy over the last month as he continues his service dog training. He continues to work on and learn new PTSD cues.

He is doing a great job at picking up on these cues from his Puppy Coach. He really enjoys learning new commands. His leash manners and eye contact are on point. He accompanied his Puppy Coach to a recent event and did a wonderful job of staying settled while there was lots of activity around him.

When he’s not working on commands, he loves to play frisbee or chase a ball.”

Another post, this one from January 2024:

“Tommy’s Puppy Coach reports he is doing great with his training. He has had lots of new experiences over the last few weeks. He attended a party with lots of people and did great with all the distractions and checking in with his Puppy Coach Mom.

Tommy has been out to restaurants, doctor’s offices for appointments and he rode an elevator for the first time. His new favorite thing is a robot feeder. He has to bump a button with his nose and the robot will reward him with treats.

He also really loves brain game puzzles and finding the yummy treats.”

These updates about ONE DOG are posted every month.

Now imagine if Topps included even a fraction of this information on the card. Just a single sentence about Tommy’s story, his training, or his namesake would make the card so much more meaningful.

Allen & Ginter cards are known for celebrating the unusual and the unexpected. Why not embrace that fully and give collectors a real reason to care about the subjects on these cards?

Topps, you’re sitting on a goldmine of great stories—don’t let them go to waste.

https://www.57hits.com/how-to-improve-the-westminster-kennel-club-cards-by-topps-allen-ginter

#FunWithBaseballCards

When I scan a baseball card and leave the tray to my document scanner partially closed, it prevents baseball cards from going through the scanner all the way.

While scanning a card, I saw the card was stuck, so I opened the tray. The resulting scan is pretty cool. Especially with the 2024 Holiday design.

I haven’t seen a scan stretch on eBay in a while. Seeing those on eBay are a bit more funny, because it makes it seem like you are buying an actual card with the distortion.

Since my scanner can scan both sides at once, here’s what the back looked like.

I tried replicating the scan, but alas, now the scanner just spits the card out now when it gets stuck.

When I got this glitch scan, the card was stuck halfway through the scan. So this is like a 1/1 scan.

https://www.57hits.com/baseball-card-glitch

#FunWithBaseballCards

Is there a baseball newsletter that focuses only on a handful of baseball achievements? No trade rumors. No templated recaps. Just give me the top 2-4 items a day. I can’t find such a newsletter.

But I have managed to find something close. Something that’s not intended as a way of sending baseball news updates. The Topps Now series. Anytime an important baseball event occurs, Topps makes a limited-run baseball card of that event.

I’ve added the MLB Topps Now page to my daily bookmarks. This has become one of my main ways of getting baseball news. Today I found out that Jose Canseco was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame.

Sure, the news may be a bit delayed. Every day Topps has to decide on the main events and design the cards. How long does that take? I haven’t timed it, but I’m guessing it’s at least a day. But I’m ok with that. Because I don’t have to wade through a bunch of fluff to get to the main events.

Using Topps Now as a daily bookmark, I’ve also discovered these accomplishments happened:

Juan Soto’s 3 HR game

Charlie Morton’s 2000th strikeout

Thank you, Topps Now, for being one of my top MLB news sources.

https://www.57hits.com/getting-your-baseball-news-through-topps-now

#FunWithBaseballCards #JoseCanseco #ToppsNow

One Of The Best Ideas for a Sports Card Product That Just Didn’t Work
By Jeff Morris, Sports Collectors Daily

The author’s argument is: dollar-packs sounded like a great idea, but it had barely any rookies and no inserts, with the exception of parallels. Even 30 years ago, that was a tough sell.

The bottom line that Upper Deck misjudged as well was that kids don’t want a card for kids. Kids want the real cards. Kids want a chance to pull an insert or an autograph or a jersey card or something serial-numbered out of a pack, even though jersey cards were still a couple years away from appearing in packs.

Such a shame. I guarantee you, when I was a kid in 1993, I didn’t care about serial-numbered cards. I wanted regular cards. And certainly not expensive packs. 30 years later, it’s what I still want today.

https://www.57hits.com/insight-into-upper-decks-collectors-choice-of-1993

#FunWithBaseballCards

In the heyday of baseball card production during the 1980s and 1990s, Dick Perez was renowned for contributing his paintings to the Diamond Kings subsets of Donruss. These pieces were known for their eccentric backgrounds, which complemented the vibrant portraits of baseball players. He worked on these Donruss cards from 1982 to 1996, as documented here.

Recently, I stumbled upon a Shohei Ohtani Diamond King card from the 2019 Donruss set.

The portrait bears a resemblance to Dick Perez’s style. The background exhibits a touch of Perez’s whimsy, although it lacks the boldness that Perez typically infused into his work. So, the question arises: who is the artist behind this piece? In the case of Perez’s Diamond Kings, his signature was always a prominent feature, making it clear that he was the creator.

I’d like to believe that this is a tribute to Dick Perez by another artist. However, without a signature to attribute the work, these cards seem to lose their unique character and appear more like generic portraits. If the artist’s signature were present on the card, it would lend authenticity to the work and distinguish it from mere attempts to imitate Perez’s distinctive style.

https://www.57hits.com/dick-perez-2019-diamond-king-ohtani

#DickPerez #FunWithBaseballCards #ShoheiOhtani

How to slowly enjoy opening baseball cards, without paying the big price.

Every day I pull out one card from a baseball card pack. It’s my way of enjoying pulling baseball cards more, without having to spend the $$$ to buy new packs all the time. Because, as we know, cards aren’t really sold in packs anymore. They are now sold in boxes. It’s tempting to rip through an entire box, because all the cards are right there.

But I’m not into collecting cards to find the rare foil autographed relic. I like the stories. The designs. The stats. Not the thrill of the chase.

Now when I open a pack, I’m careful to slice open the top of the pack so that I can slide out one card at a time. There are some days that I don’t pull out a card because I forget. And that’s ok. I do this more for the fun of being able to pull a card out.

Today I was taking my daily card from a Topps 2022 Heritage pack. As I slowly pulled out the card, I noticed all the years and teams on the card. Hmmm, who could this player be? Before entirely pulling out the card, I was trying to think… who played for the Royals a bunch, and then the Padres, and then the Red Sox. The Red Sox part stumped me, but I do recall a certain first baseman who played for the Royals and Padres – Eric Hosmer.

Indeed, it is Eric Hosmer. I heard recently that he retired.

I realized this might be a fun thing to do when opening baseball cards. Now it seems so obvious, certainly others have done this too?

If you’d like to play this guessing game, here’s the specific instructions

How to play the Rip Guess game

Optional: take a photo of your pull and post it online for others to guess.

We could use a hashtag for this game. What should it be? #ripguess feels right. It’s succinct and not widely used on Twitter and Instagram.

From time to time, I’ll be posting my #ripguess cards on Twitter with my @57hits account. However, I won’t post these to Instagram, because the hashtags don’t work on Instagram anymore. Take a look at the #ripguess hashtag on Instagram. There are 31 posts. But you can only see ONE post. Just one! Where are the other 30? Instagram shows only the “top” posts for a hashtag now. Instagram started doing this sometime in 2023. It really makes hashtags useless on Instagram.

Here’s where I’ll occasionally post #ripguess cards

• Twitter
• Mastodon
• BlueSky
• Threads

I invite you to join in posting #ripguess cards on any social media platform (other than Instagram)

https://www.57hits.com/rip-guess-game

#FunWithBaseballCards #ripguess

Baseball card manufacturers like Topps (and formerly Upper Deck) slice apart game-used baseball bats and embed them into cards. What if you bought a stockpile of one player’s relic cards and reassembled the bat? It would look rather like a LEGO bat, I’d imagine. Or if you sanded off the rectangular edges, you’d end up with a plywood bat.

Gary Sheffield has 27 relic baseball bat cards currently on sale at comc.com–all from the “2001 Upper Deck SP Game Bat Edition Piece of the Game” edition.

Taking just the wood chips from each of the 27 relic cards, here’s how they look together:

These 27 chips would total approximately a 3.6-inch wide by 3.8 inch high card. To purchase all 27 cards on comc.com, it would cost you $92.48 before shipping and handling fees. So for about $100, you can assemble your own 3.5 x 3.5-inch square of Gary Sheffield’s bat.

But Gary Sheffield? How about a real American hero? Like Jose Canseco. He has 20 cards for sale from the “2001 Upper Deck SP Game Bat Edition Piece of the Game” series.

His 20 cards in total runs up to $95.18. The wood grain of his bat runs a tad darker than Sheffield’s bat. But there’s a little more interesting wood grain. My favorite of the twenty is the chip that has a slight knot in the grain.

This knot must have caused the wood to splinter off making an irregular cut on the top of the chip. That imperfection makes this bat relic a little bit more unusual–much like the man Jose Canseco.

https://www.57hits.com/ressembling-a-baseball-bat-from-relic-cards

#2001UpperDeck #FunWithBaseballCards #GarySheffield #JoseCanseco