Actual Stats on the Back: 1984 Fleer

1984 Fleer #599 Darryl Strawberry

UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...........

It's blue now?
The photo is slightly bigger and comes out of the blue frame.
The name and card number switched places.
That's all I got.

In review: Less brown, more blue.

Actual Stats on the Back: 1983 Fleer

1983 Fleer #507 Ryne Sandberg

BROWN
The last drops of the Highlighter Yellow was used, the Canary Blue was obviously too expensive. So Fleer went with BROWN. Actually,  2 shades of brown! Don't get me wrong, my favorite color is brown. I love brown shoes and pants, brown cars, and I miss the light brown M&M's every time I eat them. But brown is not the ideal choice for the front or back of a baseball card.

VERTICAL
How do you include more years of Stats on the Back? Easy! Make the card back vertical. I still remember seeing cards of Major League Veterans like Carl Yastrzemski with stats from the top of the card to the bottom starting with 1983 Fleer. Awesome.

TIDBIT
If there aren't enough Stats for the Back, then how about an interesting tidbit? Don't mind if I do.
Did I know?...
Sandberg was a record-setting QB in West Virginia? Nope.
Ryno was traded with Bowa for DeJesus? Yep.

Did you know?...
Sandberg won 9 consecutive gold gloves?
Gold gloves are probably the most meaningless award ever given?

71 TOPPS TRIBUTE?
1971 Topps was the first set to include player photos on the backs of the cards. Topps wouldn't try such a stunt again until 1993. Fleer steps in and fills the giant card-back-photo-sized hole for all us kids of the 1980's. Thanks Fleer!

NOTED
1. Pct. - Again?
2. 12 Stats - Are there any others?
3. Why trade Sandberg to the Cubs? - Mike Schmidt at 3B, Manny Trillo at 2B. No room in Philly, future HOFamer!

Actual Stats on the Back: 1982 Fleer

This is Part 2 of Actual Stats on the Back. The Fleer company comes back for the 1982 edition. Let's take a look!

1982 Fleer #416 Hal McRae

Blog Flashback: I featured this card's front way back in the first month on this blog in 2008.

What's the Same From 1981: 
1. MAJOR & MINOR LEAGUE RECORD. McRae has been in the Bigs too long for any Minor League data to show. I do wonder if it says "complete" if in fact all years fit on the back. (I did a quick check on the interwebs and the answer is no)
2. HIGLIGHTER YELLOW. And more of it. I can only assume they got a good deal at Costco for yellow ink and were determined to use it all.
3. GENERAL FORMAT. Name, Position at top. Same 12 stats in the middle. Generic profile data for those stalker inclined fans.
4. PCT.  ?????  Still ugh!

Same but Different:
1. 2 CIRCLES. One has the card # (Badly Off Center), the other has TEAM LOGO. I consider the team logo an almost MUST for baseball cards. Sure wish it was on the front.
2. ML AVG. Moved from right circle to the middle. Still LAME.

New:
CANARY BLUE. Reminds me of some sweet throwback Expos, Royals, Phillies, Braves, etc uniforms. The blue improves the look of the back quite a bit.

Still no Wikipedia-esque factoids from Fleer. See you in 1983.

Actual Stats on the Back: 1981 Fleer

This is a series of posts I thought of soon after I started the blog back in 2008, bu never got around to. With a name like Stats on the Back, it seems only right that I post about all those numbers on the back of baseball cards. I am choosing Fleer because they were my favorite card backs for reasons I'll share throughout these posts. I'll start with Fleer's return to cards in 1981 and end with the beginnings of mt first breakup with collecting in 1991 (No, it wasn't the yellow cards' fault).

1981 Fleer #34 UL Washington

The Good:
1. COMPLETE MAJOR AND MINOR LEAGUE BATTING RECORD. I like seeing all the minor league stats. UL was pretty much the same player in the minors as he was in the majors. I'm sure he used a toothpick on the field in San Jose just like he did in K.C.
2. EASY TO READ. Black on white makes every number clear.

The Bad:
1. ML AVG CIRCLE. I get that this cannot be card number .265 but it does take a place traditionally for the card number. This is card #34. Why use the career average? I realize that Bill James was still writing in his basement at his parent's house in 1981 but come on, Fleer.
2. BLANK SPACE. Luckily, UL had enjoyed 10 years in professional baseball or that blank space at the bottom could have taken over back there. I don't want my cards pointlessly filled but I do enjoy the occasional tidbit or statistical nugget.
3. HIGHLIGHTER YELLOW. Is this 1981 or 1991?

The Ugly:
PCT. ?????????? Fleer, you got it correct in your ridiculous AVG Circle and then you go and do this! What dos this stand for? Batting Percentage? As self-proclaimed stathead, this hurts my feelings.

Something New I Learned About UL Washington:
Not a whole lot of extra info in 1981. He was a switch hitter from Oklahoma!

Listen to What I'm Saying to You!

"How the BLEEP am I supposed to catch a BLEEPING ball with this BLEEPING glove? There is a BLEEPING hole in the BLEEPING glove! Can you believe this BLEEP? BLEEPING BLEEP! The BLEEPING ball will fit through the BLEEPING hole! What the BLEEP happened to it? BLEEP! Do you see the BLEEPING hole? It's the size of the BLEEPING ball! Holy BLEEP! I can play any BLEEPING position you want me to. I played every BLEEPING one in a BLEEPING game in 19-BLEEPING-68. But don't be BLEEPING complaining when I don't catch the BLEEPING ball. BLEEP, the BLEEPING glove is BLEEPING got a BLEEPING hole in it. Anybody can BLEEPING see that. I'm must be going BEEPING crazy! BLEEP!"

I hope Cesar Tovar sounded like a Venezuelan Samuel L. Jackson!

A "Real" Jackie!

Holy Cow! I own this card.

When I was 10, I bought a T-206 Christy Mathewson card for $35, easily the most I ever spent on a card growing up. It was one of the few times I chose quality over quantity. My 37 year old self is pleased that my 10 year old self ponied up the cash to add a first class Hall of Famer to his collection of 1980's baseball cards. 

Last year, I excitedly went to the Jackie Robinson biopic, 42, at the theater soon after its release. Jackie is a legend through and through. His legend is so great that I had always listed him among Ruth, Wagner, Cobb, etc as a player whose "real" baseball card I could never own. ("real" card = a card produced while the player was an active player.) Robinson has shown up in many recent releases by Topps but those just aren't the same.

How can I consider giving my kids my collection, filled with vintage Pete Rose, Willie Mays, Stan Musial cards and not so vintage Jeter, Pujols, and Kershaw cards without Jackie Robinson? It suddenly seemed like the largest hole in my collection. 

I did my ebay research and put in my max bid of $60. I won the card. There will never be a card that cost me more than this one. I am proud that my most expensive card will always be Jackie. Thanks Jackie for making the game I love better.

Now, how exactly do you split ONE Jackie Robinson card between TWO kids??????

Red Sox LEGEND: Jack Clark

When I think of the Red Sox, two things immediately come to mind, The Green Monster and Jack Clark.

In 1992, Topps got it right by photographing the Red Sox legend in front of the iconic left field wall:

Clark was known for his slick fielding, his ability to stay injury free, and for getting along with teammates.










Wait a minute. Jack Clark hacked my blog and wrote this ridiculous post. Everything not about the Green Monster is FALSE.

Here are some Stats on the Back!

Jack Clark feuded with most every star he played with. He and Tony Gwynn did NOT appreciate each other's approach to the game. Clark fussed that Gwynn hit to protect his average, not win games. Gwynn argued that the team's #4 hitter should not walk so much (Clark led the league in walks in both seasons with the Padres.).

Warning: Blasphemy Ahead!!!!!!

According to Baseball Reference's WAR statistic, Clark was more valuable than Gwynn in 1989 and 1990.

Worst Slide Ever?

Is this the worst slide ever?

No, this is:


But back to Frank Duffy's 1973 Topps card:

The Fleer Sticker Project believes this to be Don Baylor barreling into second base. It's definitely an Oriole who was out by at least a Duffy hop and a skip. Frank appears to be halfway into some kind of atomic knee drop. The extra wrestling move looks to be unnecessary as Baylor appears to be down for the count. If I didn't know that Baylor went on to enjoy a long career of being hit by pitches, I would be worried that he did not make it through this slide alive.

There are lots of other things to like about this display of sliding horror:

1. Is that an umpire in the foreground? If Fleer Sticker is right about the game, then that is home plate umpire Bill Kunkel. Kunkel was a former pitcher for the KC Athletics and the NY Yankees. His son, Jeff Kunkel, played in the 80's.

2. Duffy, clearly ahead of his time, wore a batting glove on his glove hand. Ken Harrelson is believed to be the first to wear a glove while batting in a game just 8 years before.

3. Pastel colors: pink, blue, and green. Pretty tame compared to the psychedelic '72 set, but far from the Hyper-Foil of today.

4. James Bond-esque Baseball circle! Roger Moore took his first turn as Bond in Live and Let Die the same year this set was produced.

 

5. Speaking of worst slides ever, its been over 2 years since my last real post. It's no coincidence that my daughter (child #2) is turning 2 soon. I work and I take care of the kids. There is little time for cardboard tom-foolery! My son has a box of cards that he sorts, dumps out, etc. He asks me questions like, "Why do you have SO MANY cards?" Touche, my boy, touche.

This was fun. Maybe I'll do again soon.

Coolest Card Ever

I was hoping that Wes Swackhamer would make it big in St.Louis. Not because I know him personally, I don't. Not because he went to the same college as me, he didn't. Not because I have a rare, shiny, autographed rookie card of his, I do not.

It's because his 2005 Topps Turkey Red Card is AWESOME.

He is on the top step, old school striped socks with his pant legs high, waiting to run out on the green grass of ball field. And what will he do once he gets there?

He'll SWACK homeruns with his 

mighty hammer, of course! 

He doesn't even need a nickname, he's "THE SWACKHAMER". He was almost a legend.

I like this card so much, I bought each of the variations that are readily available. (Must not have the RED!)

Need the red. Would like the suede too.

Happy 2012 from Mark at Stats-on-the-Back!

My Collecting History

So now that my blog has withered in the blazing heat, along with my grass, I thought I would throw a post out there and see if it sticks. Here is a short history of me as a baseball card collector:

1984

I was given a big box of cards from a family friend. Mostly 1973 and 1974 Topps. My brother and I shared the cards. We sorted cards by team. Each team had two stacks, players whom we had heard of and those we had not. Rubber bands aplenty!

1885

We diligently collected the 1985 Donruss set, mostly through rack packs. I remember buying a whole pack because Bill Madlock was on the outside and was needed for the set. Also remember getting Razor Shines from a card shop to complete the set (Sad story - I sent the Shines card ttm a few years ago to the Mets spring training facility. Gone forever. It was my first and last ttm request.)

1986

Collection split with my brother. Began my years as a hoarder of cards. I wanted every card ever produced. I bought every base set, update set, drug store Fleer set, blister packed classic set, etc that I could find.

1991

Fleer Ultra and OPC Premiere arrived, ending my 6 year struggle for EVERYTHING that pictured a baseball player on it.

1992-1994

I bought a set or two, a pack here, a pack there.

1995-1998

The dark years or maybe the light years, depending on your perspective. I didn't think too much about cards, as I finished high school and started college.

1999

My brother reentered the baseball card world, buying up cheap sets and Jeff Bagwell singles. I set out to collect my birth year set, 1976 Topps.

2000 - 2004

Other than my 1976 Topps set, very little hobby activity.

2005

The pack ripping bug bites, retail style. I would buy a few packs a week at the local target. The thrill of the unopened pack was exciting again. I discovered shiny inserts, gamed-used bits, SP's, and parallels.

2006 - 2007

As my collection grew, a few packs at a time, I felt the need to organize. Most of my cards were in their respective set boxes and the others were in binders, toploaders, or boxes, in alpabetical order by last name, of course. The collection was overwhelming. I took up an entire bookshelf. There were probably 90,000 - 100,000 cards and I rarely looked at them. Something had to be done.

early 2007

The year I threw away baseball cards. I have admitted it more than once on this blog. I knew that I did not want every common card from the over-produced era of my childhood and I was sure, at the time, that no one else did either. I threw away roughly 20,000 cards.

mid 2007

I discovered A Pack a Day, and then discovered Cardboard Junkie, Thorzul Will Rule, White Sox Cards, and a few others. Maybe there were people who still wanted 1989 Donruss Lloyd Moseby

cards.

January 1, 2008

Stats on the Back was born.

2008

I created custom cards, gave away 30,000 cards, honored (or made fun) 1985 donruss, 1976 Topps, and 1981 Fleer, made lots of trades

2009

I shared my thoughts on the top three at each position.(I don't think I got around to RF. Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente are in the top three off the top of my head), had some contests, ridded my collection of "Lame Hits", and didn't post as much

2010

Lots more reducing of the collection. traded away stacks of stars and excess vintage, even less posting.

Today

I continue to reduce my collection every time I look at it. I am down to less than 10,000 cards, not counting the ones I will be trading/giving away this year. and almost no posting. Mostly I work and take care of my little boy (19 months).

Next Up: My collection now and the next great Trade/Giveaway from Stats-on-the-Back!!