Lovin' In The Mailbox: The Sequel

"This time it's personal"

What we have here are the fruits of a trade that was 2 months in the making. These cards came my way from Ben of Cardboard Icons. I'm not really sure which one of us started this whole trade conversation thing, but emails went back and forth for a while, some were ignored, others were not replied to... hell, I'm pretty sure I didn't even read a few of them. We're both busy dudes, so the scattered communication is to be expected, but eventually we were able to get on the same page and work out some sort of a deal. Ben sent me a smattering of vintage goodness, along with a couple of relics and random O's. In return, I will be sending him a stack of Red Sox that's been laying in wait, and includes a couple of '59 Topps BoSox, as well as an auto.

And away we go...

1978 Topps Doug DeCinces

Doug's shadow on this card is pretty kickass. Almost as kickass as fielding imaginary ground balls while looking at the camera while standing in what appears to be foul territory... in the outfield. I had no idea Doug DeCinces was in the movie Mask. Don't believe me? Here's a still from the movie: Yeah, that's totally him.

2005 Donruss Zenith Cal Ripken Jr. jersey

This is my one and only Cal "game used" card, as well as my only Zenith game used card. The surface of this card is I think trying to emulate etched metal, which is kinda cool. It's by no means the first set to go for that "look", but it's still pretty good looking I guess.

1972 Topps Grant Jackson

Far out man, my first "psychedelic tombstones" came via this trade. Far freakin' out! Jackson pitched for the Orioles in the 1971 World Series, and against the O's in the 1979 Series. Figures the only game he won came against Baltimore, and was game 7 no less. Mr. Jackson is also tied for 166th on the list of Major League Baseball's all-time saves leaders list.

1972 Topps Doyle Alexander

Those may not look like the sideburns of a journeyman pitcher, but believe me, they most definitely are. If you collected cards at all during the 80's, chances are you've got at least 1 Alexander card knocking around in a shoebox somewhere. The only question is who's uniform is he wearing? As most of my 80's baseball roster knowledge was gained though countless games of R.B.I. Baseball, I remember him best as a Detroit Tiger.

1971 Topps Terry Crowley

I didn't know a whole lot about the Crow's playing days, so I looked him up. His stats aren't mind boggling by any stretch, and he was mostly used as a pinch hitter/DH throughout his career. That sure didn't stop the Crow him from collecting 2 World Series rings though. One with the O's & the other with The Big Red Machine. Crowley has served as the Orioles hitting coach for the past few years, and for the most part I think he does a good job, especially with the young guys.

1998 Score Scott Erickson

Whoa! There's some serious mulletude going on here. My best friend currently lives in a condo that reportedly used to house Mr. Erickson's "special lady" while he "played" for the Orioles. I'm not referring to his wife, she was more of a lady friend. He was just helping her conceive!

1986 Fleer Don Aase

I'm only featuring this card because Don Aase looks soooo Baltimore it hurts. I'd love to hear him speak, and wonder if he has one of dem dere Balmer accents. According to wikipedia he's from California, and spent time pitching in both leagues, on both coasts. None of this matters to me of course, because when I think of Baltimore in the 80's, I think of guys who look like Don Aase, and talk like THIS guy.

2006 (I think) Upper Deck Artifacts Boog Powell jersey

This is the card that pretty much sealed the deal for me. I don't have many Boog cards, and I certainly don't have any game used Boog cards... until now that is. Would you believe I googled where his nickname comes from, and not a single webpage had a definitive answer? He is a rather large fellow, and I guess could me mistaken for a giant booger at first glance, but I was truly hoping there was some sort of interesting story behind it. There probably is, I just wasn't able to find it. Powell was on 2 World Champion Oriole squads and after his playing days he stuck around, and can currently be found making excellent barbecue, right below the warehouse at Camden Yards, all summer long.

1967 Topps Moe Drabowsky

I wrote a book review not too long ago on Black and Blue, by Tom Adelman. The book chronicles the Baltimore Orioles championship season of 1966, of which Moe Drabowsky was a member. He was instantly one of the most likable characters in the book, mainly because of his penchant for being a prankster. Anyone who gives the Commissioner a hotfoot is a.o.k. in my book. One of my favorite pranks Drabo used to pull was calling the other teams bullpen during a game, pretend to be the manager, and demand that certain relievers "get loose" even though there was no way they were actually going to be brought into the game. I was absolutely thrilled when I saw this Drabowsky card mixed in with the other great Orioles that Ben had sent me. I like this card so much I even scanned the back.
No, you didn't mis-read that. He really is the only reliever in Major League history to ever strike out 11 consecutive batters in a postseason game. Viva El Drabo!


Well, that's all I got for now. Thanks again to Ben for the great O's cards! Stay tuned for more trade posts and some cards I shouldn't of bought on eBay that will be featured later this week.