Common Cards, Uncommon Photography - Play At The Plate Edition

Over the years it has become a cliche that "the triple is the most exciting play in baseball."

Now don't get me wrong, triples are a lot of fun to watch - the initial excitement of the hit, watching the runner turn on that extra gear rounding second, the building tension of "will he make it??"  But to me, there was always a much more obvious candidate for baseball's most exciting play....

I speak of course of the play at the plate!

To me the play at the plate has all the virtues of a triple, as you can see the play developing, but then you also get the added excitement that scoring a run is on the line, plus you have the potential for a bone-jarring collision with the catcher.  In my opinion it's no contest which is "most exciting."

And now, here's a selection of cards that capture baseball's moment of truth - the play at the plate~!

1998 Pinnacle #77 - Ray Durham

Looks like Ray really brought the wood on this collision.  I love that the photographer also managed to catch both helmets flying through the air.

1995 UD Collector's Choice #55 - Sid Bream

Easily one of baseball's most famous plays at the plate, who can forget Sid Bream chugging around third and just barely beating Barry Bonds' throw to win Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS??

1999 Stadium Club #292 - Phil Nevin

From the photographer's perspective, the beauty of the play at the plate....

1999 Stadium Club #127 - Brady Anderson

....is that it can count as a photo for more than one player!

2012 Topps Chrome #29 - Carl Crawford

Crawford getting some air, while Salvador Perez is not having a very good day.

1998 Fleer #396 - Scott Servais

I love this shot.  Classic gear, old school mask, the eyes laser-focused on the ball even with a runner bearing down on him - to me it captures the essence of "catcher."

1993 Upper Deck #219 - Gary Carter

The victorious catcher and the vanquished baserunner! This card is a two-fer, as the back captures the moment before with Gary blocking the plate:

1996 UD Collector's Choice #304 - Kirt Manwaring

"Eeeeeek!!!"

1994 Topps #370 - Benny Santiago

A beautiful picture of Tim Teufel getting around Santiago's swipe tag.

1993 Topps #721 - Rick Wilkins

And last but not least, a great full-extension diving effort.  Love the way the mask is just starting to come off in this shot.

Until next time, may all your throws to the plate be right on target!

Common Cards, Uncommon Photography - Balls to the Wall

Today I have another installment of my series celebrating regular cards that feature top-notch photos.  Everybody loves a highlight reel catch, and I love it even more when those moments get captured on cardboard!

2010 Upper Deck #427 - Aaron Rowand

 The rare 4-way catch attempt.

1998 Stadium Club #20 - Jay Buhner

Some pretty good leaping ability from Buhner here, considering he isn't using the wall to help him at all.  Also, you gotta love the look on the fan's face.  :)

2014 Topps #301 - Shane Victorino

Yikes.  Sailing into that low Fenway park wall, I can't imagine this one ended very well for ol' Shane...

1999 Fleer Ultra #25 - Andruw Jones

Crazy hops from Andruw in this shot.  And the way he is holding his arm it looks like he actually caught it!

2010 Upper Deck Season Biography #SB-40 - Torii Hunter

An absolutely GORGEOUS photo of Torii doing what he does best.  The photographer couldn't possibly have timed this one any better.

2014 Topps #326 - Khris Davis

A look that says "Ohhh this is gonna suck..."  I hope he at least held on to the ball!

2011 Topps #252 - Michael Saunders

Another beautifully-timed photo with the ball falling into the glove.  Catching the Mariners logo as the background is a nice touch as well.

2014 Stadium Club #183 - Carlos Gomez

So close....Gomez has made a lot of great plays for us.  Sadly, I think he is likely to be in another uniform within the next 6 weeks (if he can get himself healthy that is).

1995 Upper Deck #29 - Geronimo Berroa

 A cool card from one of the best names in the game.  I love this one because of the element of suspense - you really can't tell if he was gonna get his glove on it or not.

2007 Upper Deck #421 - Mike Cameron

Just like the previous card, this shot of former-Brewer Cameron captures the "will he bring it back?" moment of suspense perfectly.

And finally, as a parting bonus, enjoy some great 80s metal from Accept!:

Common Cards, Uncommon Photography - Splendid Splinters Part II

First off, congrats to the 4 new Hall of Famers, Randy Johnson, Craig Biggio, John Smoltz and Pedro Martinez!  Johnson is one of my top 5 favorite players of all time, so I'm very happy for him, and Biggio really got robbed last year.  Sadly another of my all-time favorites (Jeff Bagwell) will have to wait another year.....

Today we have the second half of my feature on broken bat cards.  Enjoy!

1998 Leaf Jose Canseco #109

Something about this one just makes me giggle.  I think it is the intense look of "I'm admiring a titanic blast" on his face, meanwhile all he has is a bat stub.

2007 Upper Deck Roger Clemens #339

The second pitcher featured in this series.  Looking at the angle that bat barrel is flying off in I hope the photographer was far away!

1998 Donruss Chuck Knoblauch #55

Can't get much more sawed-off than that.

2007 Upper Deck Ramon Martinez #778

Our third entry from 2007 Upper Deck, I guess flying lumber was a real theme that year!  This one stands out for how weirdly clean the break is.  It looks like somebody literally sawed straight through it.

1998 Pinnacle Rondell White #81

And finally, an especially sharp-looking bit of shrapnel sailing out into the field of play.  I've always been amazed that there haven't been more injuries from broken bats over the years, if not from bats sailing into a fielder then from batters got their hands and/or fingers sliced.  I did read about one particularly nasty incident in the book "Big Hair and Plastic Grass:  A Funky Ride Through Baseball and America in the Swinging '70s" (a fun read by the way) - in 1976, Dodger Steve Yeager was hit in the throat by a shard of a broken bat while standing in the on-deck circle.  He ended up needing surgery on his esophagus, but thankfully he was OK.  The incident led Dodger trainer Bill Buhler to invent the neck guard we see hanging from catcher's masks today.

Stay warm out there!!

Common Cards, Uncommon Photography - Splendid Splinters Edition

As noted in a previous post, getting ready for Collector's Day back in November left me with a full binder full of cards with great photos to re-launch my "Common Cards, Uncommon Photography" series.  So many in fact that I was able to set aside a few groups that fell into "themes."  So without further ado:

"Splendid Splinters" (Part I) - Cards Featuring Broken Bats~!

2011 Topps Ramon Hernandez #233

A beautiful shot.  I love that they got both halves of the bat and the ball in the same picture.

2000 Topps Chili Davis #42

Chili looks like he is about to test that old saying that there's no shivving in baseball.

2007 Upper Deck Carlos Zambrano #283

Amazing timing to catch the bat while it is still in one piece!

2004 Upper Deck Jay Payton #258

I think Jay got just a little bit jammed, seeing as how he has approximately zero arm extension on this swing.

2010 Upper Deck Kyle Phillips #32

A fantastic shot capturing the rare "split the barrel right down the middle" break.

1993 Upper Deck Wes Chamberlain #267

I can't say I've ever seen a broken bat go backwards or towards the dugout, but that sure appears to be what is going on in this picture.

That's all for today, more to come in the next post!

Common Cards, Uncommon Photography III

It's Round 3 in my salute to the cool card photos that all too often go unnoticed.  I may have to turn this concept into a "Frankenset" someday.  To the cards!

2004 Upper Deck Al Leiter #219:

Gotta work on those fundamentals, even in the big leagues.  The ball looks like it is glued to his bat!

1997 UD Collector's Choice Craig Biggio #350:

The first of a trio from 1997 UD Choice.  I hope the runner got that knee down, otherwise Craig was about to have a bad day....

1997 UD Collector's Choice Todd Stottlemyre #198:

"I know kung fu."

1997 UD Collector's Choice Omar Vizquel #86:

There's a lot going on in this picture - sweet car, nice awards.  But if you're like me, all you're thinking is "what in the hell is up with that shirt??"

1999 Topps Stadium Club Kevin Polcovich #6:

"Must....hold....bag...."

1993 Donruss Triple Play Awesome Action #6:



Brett is coming in a little high.  Ty Cobb would be proud.
1999 Topps Stadium Club Mickey Morandini #57:

This is a really cool camera angle, must have been a bunt.

1998 Pinnacle Livan Hernandez #172:

"Hey kid, we need a picture for your baseball card!"
"Huh?"
(click) "Perfect!!"

2000 Topps Stadium Club Lee Stevens #144:

And finally, a photo capturing the good old "3-unassisted" play.  I think I just like this one because I'm a first baseman myself.

Common Cards, Uncommon Photography II

It's back!! A while ago I did a post highlighting the great photography on the run of the mill cards that often get overlooked in our search for big hits.  I intended to make it a regular feature of the blog, and I have been setting aside a nice stack of cards that fit the bill.  Today I finally got around to scanning some of them.  I figure I'll do these in groups of nine - that way I can fill up a page and put them in a binder, so I'll know not to use those cards again in a future post.  Now on to the cards!

1989 Upper Deck Kent Tekulve #207:

When I saw the this card all I could I think of was Professor Farnsworth from Futurama.  The awkward body contortion, the look on his face, the glasses - it's too perfect.  "Good news, everyone!!"




1992 Donruss Triple Play Marquis Grissom #47:

A shot straight out of the movie Major League.  You can just see Marquis thinking "Shit, that's 20 pushups...."

1998 Topps Stadium Club Jay Buhner #20:

Buhner shows some decent hops on this attempt at saving a home run.  As a fan and collector it would be so cool to get immortalized on a baseball card the way that fan trying to catch the ball is on this card.  I'll take anything I can get when it comes to getting my face on cardboard!

1999 Fleer Tradition Mike Cameron #409:

 Mike Cameron clearly outdoes Buhner in the wall climbing department.  Awesome timing by the photographer to capture him at full extension.

1999 Fleer Ultra Andruw Jones #25:

The last two were good, but Jones takes the cake with this effort.  Is he man or Spider-man?!?!?

1997 Topps Troy O'Leary #54:

Looks like the pitcher gave ol' Troy a little chin music!

1998 UD Collector's Choice Eduardo Perez #72:

Eduardo showed up in my first "Uncommon Photography" post too.  I love cards like this that show multiple images in one shot.  Looks like he made a great catch!

1999 Fleer Tradition Jason Kendall #169:

A beautiful photo here.  The dirt kicking up and Kendall's helmet flying off look great.

1989 Upper Deck Jerry Reed #529:

We started the day with 1989 Upper Deck and now we come full circle.  "This next pitch is going to be delicious!!"

Previous Trivia Question:

What is the record for most triples in a single season?

 

Answer:  John "Chief" Wilson led the league with 36 triples as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1912.  That same season he set another record by tripling in 5 consecutive games from June 17-20!

 

Today's Trivia Question:

 

In 2010 the Colorado Rockies set a record for hits by consecutive batters while playing against the Chicago Cubs.  How many batters in a row notched a hit?