I always overlook the fact that even though Spring Training is officially upon us, there’s really nothing exciting about a bunch of dudes having bullpen sessions and doing calisthenics. Oh well. At least it’s inspiring to know that someone, somewhere is doing something baseball related. Until the games start, here’s some cards.

As you may or may not recall, a couple of weeks ago, I had dropped 5 clams at the Old Quarter Bin. Here’s another 2 bucks worth of that haul.

The very first time I rummaged through the Quarter Bin, I was able to put a small dent in my managers & team cards collection. Unfortunately, that first time, I was in the middle of running errands and only got through a very small portion of the box. Who knows what untold manager and team cards were in there that I missed out on. The second time I went back, I was still able to score a few, but the selection didn’t seem to be as wide. Here’s a couple of team cards I was able to get the second go ’round.

1973 Topps #3 Texas Rangers TC

It’s an interesting thing that happens when you remove just one little element of a cards design. It’s no secret that the 1973 set is one of my favorite Topps designs, but without the addition of the silhouetted player in the corner, the dynamic changes completely. I hate to say it, but the design becomes a little boring. Fortunately for the team cards, it also is a matter of context. Yeah, when you look at this card by itself it’s a little boring, but when you look at it in a page with 8 other ’73 cards, it works. I’m also a little curious as to how many kegs this particular group of fellers went through during their tenure as Texas Rangers. Judging by the looks of them, I’d say more than a few. God bless you boys.

1971 Topps #308 St. Louis Cardinals TC

There’s a similar thing going on with these ’71 team cards. They start to fall a little flat once you remove the colors of the type. Of course these ’71 team cards could never be that boring thanks to those bad-ass black borders. By the way, I’m a little surprised that I haven’t seen this particular card pop up as someone’s blog header. Obviously, it would make more sense for a Cardinals related blog, but it would be pretty good for any card blog. Feel free to steal that one.

1967 Topps #211 Minnesota Twins TC

I feel like I’ve read peoples reactions to these 1967 team cards where they were kind of down on the fact that the team is cut out and dropped on a solid color background. Or maybe it was the 1961 team cards? Or the 1962 ones? Or the ’63, ’64’, ’65 or ’66 team cards? Hell, it probably was the 1958 set. Whatever it was that people out there was complaining about, I disagree. I like these cut-out-and-dropped-on-a-solid-color cards. It probably goes along with my love of floating heads. I am a little curious however as to why they apparently saved a seat on the right side there. Is that like pouring a little out for your homies who couldn’t be there?

1972 Topps #484 Lum Harris

Unfortunately for me, this was the only manager card I was able to snag this go around. I’m not saying unfortunately because it’s Lum Harris, or because it’s the 1972 set. They’re both fine choices. I say unfortunately because it was the only one I got. 1972 isn’t my favorite set ever, but I do like it. The manager cards from this set kind throw me off a little bit though. There’s something really weird to me about seeing that super groovy, Yellow Submarine frame going around a picture of a crusty old skipper who looks like he hates hippies.

Here’s a buck’s worth of random cards that were not managers or team cards.

1967 Topps #94 Ron Fairly

More and more the 1967 set is becoming one of my favorites. It’s just so simple and, dare I say it, perfect. There’s also something about that photograph that makes me actually believe that this damnable winter might actually end after all. You give me hope, Ronald R. Fairly.

1960 Topps #284 Don Gross

It’s the Pink Blob vs. The Mean Looking Pirate. And Don Gross is caught in the middle. I’m actually sort of disappointed in myself for getting this card. You see, recently I’ve actually taken pretty good care to keep my wantlists updated and set them up so that I could check them on my phone. That way, I’d never be caught without them and therefore never buy a card that I already had. Of course, if when you’re searching through cards,and  you say to yourself “I’m pretty sure I need that card” and then never bother actually checking your up-to-date wantlists, they tend not to work so well.

1967 Topps #233 A.L. E.R.A. Leaders

I always like League Leader cards regardless, but there’s something extra interesting to me about getting a League Leader card where there’s not a star player to be seen. I don’t mean to take away from what Gary, Joel and Steve accomplished during the 1966 season. I’m sure they were all fine players in their day. I guess it’s just that I’m used to seeing at least 1 or 2 Hall of Famers on these old leader cards. By the way, this is another card that it turned out that I already had. I’m not as mad at myself for doubling up on this one, since I don’t really have a wantlist that this would end up on. I guess unless I start to keep an updated list of cards that I already have, or just memorize every single card that I own, I’m bound to end up with some of these random vintage doubles. What’s interesting is seeing the difference in color between this copy and the one I already had. Who knew that they had color parallels all the way back in 1967?

1967 Topps #182 Ed Charles

I always jump at the chance to get cards of guys who are part of Mets lore, even if they’re not wearing a Mets uniform, although it is a little strange to see some of them in different uniforms. To me, a lot of those guys always were, and always will be Mets. I mean, Mr. Charles won his only championship with the Mets and then immediately retired. I kind of wonder how Ed Charles thinks of himself when he thinks back on his career.

So there you have it. Another $2.00 well spent. Thinking about it, don’t retail packs go for about $2 or so these days? More? And how many cards do you get? About 8? Hmmmm. Interesting what one can do with $2, eh?

Tags: 1960 Topps, 1967 Topps, 1971 Topps, 1972 Topps, 1973 Topps, Don Gross, Ed Charles, league leader card, Lum Harris, manager card, Minnesota Twins, Ron Fairly, St. Louis Cardinals, team card, Texas Rangers
Filed Under: Bargin Bin Baseball Cards by slangon
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