Didi Gregorius Signed Dayton Dragons Program

I don't know why I have this. Maybe eBay? Is it a sign of baseball gluttony that I have too much stuff to remember where it all came from? Yeah maybe. 

 

 

Mariekson Julius Gregorius is the 2nd greatest baseball player of all time born in the Netherlands, behind Bert Blyleven but ahead of Jack Lelivelt and Rick van den Hurk. The Reds signed him from a Caribbean league in 2008, he debuted in the bigs in 2012, but he wasn't as good as Zack Cozart so we traded him for Shin-Soo Choo after only 8 games in The Show. He then played major league ball for a decade for other teams that aren't the Reds. He repped the Netherlands in the WBC and is currenlty playing in Mexico.

 

Signed is a program from the Reds' Single-A Dayton Dragons 4/19/10 game vs. the Diamondbacks' South Bend Silver Hawks. 

 

Go Redlegs.

TCDB Trading Vintage Scan Dump

Nothing gives me more trade joy than unloading some 2020's inserts and parallels for some vintage. Mostly commons here, but a few bangers to be found.

Banger #1: Graig Nettles RC. 390 dingers, dog. 68 lifetime WAR. Put him in the hall.

 

Banger #2: 1962 Topps Wally Moon. These '62s are in rough shape, as are nearly all of my '62s.

 

Banger #3: THE TUGGER 

 

Banger #4: Randy Jones RC - San Diego version. PSA 9 incoming for this one.

 

Banger #5: Any and all 1955 Bowman are bangers.

 

Banger #6: 1970's hockey haircuts. On a final note, 50's Topps football is sneaky great. I need more.

 

Go Redlegs.

1991 Pepsi Cincinnati Reds Uncut Sheet

Even when I let go of my childhood collection back in the 90s, I never considered parting with this.

 

 

A 20-card set from 1991 honoring the Reds' 1990 World Series win. Pepsi had a distribution hub nearby and my uncle snagged this from them on his trucking route. Always loved it. If Pepsi paid for team logo rights, then this would be primo cardboard goodness.

 

Now, this has the proper card backs, but with the ad space on the front, this was clearly meant to be displayed, not cut. So it wasn't heisted out of the facility or anything. But it was a huge score at a huge time for the Reds. Deserved to be framed properly.

 

Coke Zero 4 life, tho. 

 

Go Redlegs. 

A Couple Johnny Vander Meer Autos

Back-to-back No-Hitters. Come on. How great is that? No-hit the Boston Bees then no-hit the Brooklyn Dodgers four days later in Ebbets Field's first ever night game. Stuck it to em, baby.

 

 

Also of note is that he only gave up 1 run in each of his three previous starts, including a 10-inning CG, and 1 run in his next start. So that's a 6 game span with 55 IP, 4 ER, 17 hits allowed. I'll check the math, but that's pretty good. Am I going to talk about him having 8 walks in his second no-hitter? Of course not.

 

He started the All Star game that year (1938), pitching 3 scoreless innings. Made three more All Star games. Also got a World Series ring with the Reds in 1940. Also elected to the Reds Hall of Fame with his 25 career WAR over 11 Reds seasons. 

 

Dude loved baseball so much, he played five minor league seasons after his 13 year big league career, including another no-hitter with the Reds' AA Tulsa Oilers at age 37. 

Hell of a career. Signed are a 1992 Conlon #368 and a 1988 Pacific Legends #30.

Go Redlegs. 

Ohio State Alumni - Baseball

Relatively new project of mine - one card of everyone from my alma mater,  THE  Ohio State University, who went pro. Since we get about 75 football players drafted each year, we will save that mammoth for another hunt. Let's check the progress on baseball.

 

 

Frank Howard is certainly our most successful alum. The Capital Punisher was an All-American in baseball AND basketball. Then mashed 382 dongers in the MLB. Nick Swisher, Dave Burba, Johnny Edwards, and Barry Bonnell are the only others with more than 1 WAR, so maybe Columbus, Ohio isn't a hotbed of baseball talent. Another note: Vic Janowicz was the 1950's Deion Sanders, playing in both the NFL and MLB.

Current Buckeyes in the bigs are Dillon Dingler, Dominic Canzone, Jack Neely, Ryan Feltner, and Zack Dezenzo. Not sure any of these dudes are about to become superstars, but I wouldn't mind being proven wrong.

 

I'd like solo cards of Russ Nagelson and Tanner Tully. Nagleson only has a 70 Topps SP, and a 70 OPC SP. If I ever get one of these, it'd go in the 1970 binder first. He also has some 2017 Leaf cut auto or something. I don't count that. Tanner Tully's entire cardboard history is 7 minor league issues and 34 parallels of this Topps card alongside McCarty. Bring back Topps Total! 

 

These are the rest of the 36 alumni cards in the collection. A real motley crew. As of 2025, there have been 72 Buckeyes to play an MLB game. Halfway home. 100% will be surely impossible. Of the 36 I'm missing, 27 were prior to 1950, including Jud Smith and Effie Norton in the 1800s. Players still needed and realistic: Drew Rucinski, Galen Cisco, Harold Daugherty, Jim Geddes, Mark Dempsey, Matt Angle, Moe Savransky, Rick Renick (1970 Topps en route), and Tom Simpson. Post-1950 is a realistic goal.

 

Go Bucks.

 

Go Redlegs.
 

Junk Wax Piles

More TCDB trade lovin'. If the card is from 1995 or earlier, then I WANT IT. 2022 gaga prism wave mojo triple-x fractor? BROKE. 1991 Sausagefractor? WOKE.

 

 

1980-something Topps send-ins, 1990 Bowman Sweepstakes, 1991 SAUSAGE FEST.

 

Stickers and puzzle pieces and holograms from various 90's sets. Easy enough to trade for these. Kudos to Pinnacle for not hiding "Sample" on the back of that Ripken. 

 

90's card graphic designers were given no rules, I swear. 1993 Ultra Award Winners, 1993 UD Clutch Performers, 1993 UD Then and Now Holo, 1993 UD Iooss Collection, 1993 UD Diamond Debuts, 1994 Flair Infield  Power, 1994 Flair Hot Numbers, 1992 Ultra All Stars, 1994 Pinnacle Home Run Club. I've certainly misnamed some of these.

 

1994 UD CC You Crash the Game, 1992 Ultra Award Winners, 1991 UD Silver Sluggers, 1992 UD Homerun Heroes.

 

Ziploc, Coca Cola, Post Cereal. Grocery store binder is getting thick. Love it. Also picking away at the 1993 Donruss base set. Series 1 is 99%. Series 2 is like 20%. I hand-built this set as a yoot, and I'm doing it again.

 

And some more 1989 Topps Batman. Batman, WWF, and Desert Storm are the only non-sports sets I care about. I have both the Topps and Pro Set Desert Storm complete sets from 1991, which, looking back, is very bizarre to have existed.

 

Send me your junk wax, kids. I'll send you some modern junk in exchange.

 

Go Redlegs.

FADED

The stadium lights come on slowly
A batter's eye without a home
You put your hand into your glove
And then its oils cover your heart

Fade into you
Strange you never knew

 

 

 

Fade into you

Strange you never knew 

 

 

 

Go Redlegs