1956-57 Chicle Cuban Baseball #5, Silvio Garcia

According to hearsay history, this two-line play closed the door on Cuban-born star Silvio Garcia's shot to break baseball's color barrier with Brooklyn...instead of Jackie Robinson.

[lights rise on Havana, winter of 1944-45]

Dodgers GM Branch Rickey: "Silvio, your skills stand out from high-level Cuban, Canadian, and Negro League competition. Our manager even compared you to Rogers Hornsby. We have just one more question: what would you do if a white man slapped your face or insulted you?"

Silvio Garcia: "I kill him."

[lights fall]

I think this oft-printed story's meant to illustrate how Rickey scouted players by character as much as skill. Regardless of truth, it also casts a Cuban-born player as reactionary and dangerous, common American sentiment following Castro's Communist revolution in 1959, so also consider the zeitgeist when people would've first written about the Dodgers' search as "history."

More likely, Brooklyn used its on-field scouting to make the final decision on candidates. By 1945, Garcia's legitimate skills were overshadowed by irregular performance and the language barrier facing many Caribbean players. Rickey wanted as sure a Sure Thing as he could find, so the search for Jackie Robinson continued.

By the time of wider integration, Garcia was 35 and no longer seen as a viable prospect, so he continued playing in other leagues--card text mentions the US, Cuba, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), and Puerto Rico--experience that no doubt helped his coaching.

This Chicle gum set's 40 thick-stocked cards mark the final Cuban Professional League release prior to Fidel Castro's seizing of power in 1959. Team rosters included both major leaguers and prospects, so vintage collectors might recognize names like Camilo Pascual, Gil Torres, and Pedro Ramos. See its gallery checklist at CubanBall.com, which also provided this collectors album cover scan.

Value: Beat-up singles, often suffering back damage from album removal, sell for $15-20 on eBay. With only 40 cards and no big names, it's financially possible to complete the set, but extremely hard to find anything above low-grade.

Fakes / reprints: Haven't seen any in the marketplace.

Prewar and vintage cards going to eBay

I've started listing prewar and vintage cards on eBay (seller ID late_innings) and will add more as time permits. They'll range in time period from 19th century to 1980 and cover a wide variety of sets; the first listings are two 1962 Topps Venezuelans and an 1887 Allen & Ginter. Here's one of the former, a 1962 leaders card with Norm Cash and Al Kaline.

Note the darker orange ink (salmon-y) and lack of a USA tagline on the back. This distinguishes 1962 Venezuelan cards from American Topps, at least those without Spanish text translations.

1962 American Topps uses this ink shade and says "(c) T.C.G. Printed in U.S.A."

Most of my collection's low grade, but a couple dozen PSA/SGC cards will show up at some point. This isn't a full collection sell-off (and the type collection's staying put), but this eBay money will help keep things going between jobs. It's been awhile since selling cards there, so let me know if you have any questions or pointers. :-)

Pardon the interruption and back to profiles next time!

UPDATE: Fixed the seller link, thanks Mark!

1980 Elmira Pioneer Red Sox Baseball #5, Brice Cote

Today's minor league mugshot's an alum of Mercer County Community College, a mild-mannered school in name that generated a notable 20 draft picks from 1976 to 1985, including Brice Cote and four 1st-rounders. Future MLBer Dave Gallagher went high in the 1980 draft twice, ultimately joining Cleveland in June after not signing with Oakland in the April phase.

Cote's bushy brows ride the optimism of rookie league ball, where Brice played two seasons in Elmira (NY) and Florida, then decided to move on to other things. These days, he heads the anti-shenanigans unit for New Jersey thoroughbred tracks, following a decade-long career as track investigator for their state police.

TCMA printed a whopping 44 players for Elmira's set, including future Boston fan favorite Oil Can Boyd and former Red Sox players Sam Mele and Frank Malzone.

1. Alan Barnes
2. Tom Bolton
3. Allan Bowlin
4. Dennis Boyd
5. Brice Cote
6. Steve Garrett
7. George Greco
8. Ty Herman
9. Ron Hill
10. Kevin Keenan
11. Jeff Hall
12. John Ackley
13. Mark Weinbrecht
14. Bob Sandling
15. Brandon Plainte
16. George Mecerod
17. Tom McCarthy
18. Mitch Johnson
19. Don Leach
20. Tim Duncan
21. Jeff Hunter
22. Tony Stevens
23. Ron Oddo
24. Wolf Ramos
25. Mike Bryant
26. Gus Burgess
27. Mike Ciampa
28. Simon Glenn
29. Dick Berardino, Manager
30. Parker Wilson
31. Brian Zell
32. Gilberto Gonzalez
33. Bob Crandall
34. Marve Handler
35. Bill Limoncelli
36. Bruce Butera
37. Sam Mele, Instructor
38. Frank Malzone, Instructor
39. Charlie Wagner
40. Jay La Bare
41. Charlie Lynch
42. Alan Mintz
43. Rodolfo Santana
44. Miguel Valdez

Value: This #5 cost $2 at MinorLeagueSingles.com and team sets run $20-40.

Fakes / reprints: TCMA reprinted several team sets, possibly including this one, for "collectors kits" in the late 80s. Those cards have black backs and originals use blue backs.

Top 5 Carlos Peña Impersonators

I have a soft spot in my heart for Carlos Peña, who turns 35 today. Houston's slugging first baseman doesn't club them into the seats at the same pace he used to, but his 5 years in Tampa Bay were so good, he comfortably holds the Rays franchise HR record at 163.

Peña's similarity scores from B-R.com turn up more of the same, big first basemen and designated hitters who regularly posted 120 OPS+ thanks to their power stroke. His top five cover a nice range of years and players, where "nice range" means "after the DH's installation in 1973."

1. Gorman Thomas (1984 Donruss Champions #5)

If that uniform looks odd, it's because the Brewers traded Gorman, a fan favorite, to Cleveland in mid-1983. I happened to attend one of his "Milwaukee return games" on June 26 (box score), the first time I can remember home fans cheering when a visiting player homered. (Thomas went deep off reliever Tom Tellmann in the 8th.)

2. Tony Clark (1998 Pinnacle Performers Swing For The Fences #5)

Soon after my move to Boston, the Red Sox signed Tony Clark to a $5M contract, fresh off his 2001 All-Star season in Detroit. Clark proceeded to post a 47 OPS+ and everyone in the seats hated him, hated the team, and hated the owners. He followed that folly with a handful of decent years elsewhere, so I assume Tony never felt comfortable with Boston itself, his teammates, or contract.

3. Jason Thompson (1985 Fleer, what a color combo)

Thompson made 3 career All-Star games and struck out nowhere near the totals posted by free-swinging power guys today. Given his 120 career OPS+, I'm surprised he didn't get more opportunities after age 30. Montreal cut ties with Jason after two bad months in 1986 and that was it for his career.

4. John Mayberry, Sr. (1978 Topps #550)

Houston drafted Mayberry with high expectations, but he never hit well in spot-duty and they unloaded him to Kansas City for Lance Clemons and Jim York, two pitchers who combined to win 9 games for the Astros. Six years, two All-Star appearances, and 143 HRs later, it's fair to say the Royals got the better end of that trade (career stats).

5. Jesse Barfield (1989 Score NatWest Banks Yankees #5)

This is one of the first cards to show Jesse Barfield as a Yankee, after Toronto swapped him early in 1989 for a youthful Al Leiter. Jesse could still reach the seats in New York, but without the consistency shown earlier in Toronto. Like Jason Thompson, Barfield was finished by his early 30s, but might've stuck around longer with the surfeit of teams playing today.

1980 TCMA Batavia Trojans Baseball #5, Mike Kolodny (Kolodney)

When people think of 1980s baseball trading cards, most know of Topps Chewing Gum and others remember Donruss and Fleer. All three companies produced enough 1980s sets for many major league players to appear in dozens of different issues. Almost no one appeared on a single card. Almost!

In that competitive gum card era, most players with one known card came off the printing presses of a fourth company, based in Amawalk, NY, named like a stock symbol: TCMA (an acronym for one of two things). 

TCMA filled out dozens of 1970s and 1980s minor league rosters from around the country with players who tested professional dreams for a season or two before moving on to other things. Some collectors seek out guys who appear on a single pro card, like Mike Kolodney, as their personal hobby niche.

You see schoolboy roots in the face of most minor leaguers and this Batavia moundsman resembles every friend I hung out with in 1980s bowling alley parking lots. Curly-haired, earnest, and somehow always willing to buy people Cokes. Can I bum a quarter to play Ms. Pac-Man, bro? Yes? You're a true pal, Mike Kolodney, even if that one card dropped the “E” from your last name.

Seeing TROJANS in large, friendly letters reminds me of being twelve years old and giggling as I passed prophylactics at the drugstore. Batavia thus joined the tradition of minor league franchises with outside-the-box monikers: Toledo has its Mud Hens; Vermont its Lake Monsters; Albuquerque its Isotopes. Batavia now plays as the Muckdogs and offers summer games in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League of teams that span upstate New York.

 

Mike’s card lacks statistics, so I focused instead on their single-digit post office box number and wondered how many cards it’d take to “Collect them all.” TCMA printed more than 50 sets in 1980 alone, so the answer is, “a lot.”; see The Trading Card Database (TCDB) for a list of everything they made for 1980.

Amawalk sits near Connecticut's western border and this two-story structure served as their post office, where TCMA founder Mike Aronstein, or perhaps his son Andrew, collected letters sent to box #2. They built a brisk catalog business here, selling many sets direct to hobbyists.

Batavia’s set includes 30 players, with total career cards in parentheses. Future big leaguers appear in bold next to their career Wins Above Replacement (WAR). Several others echo Mike as single pro cards with name typos, which tells me someone from Batavia sent TCMA an iffy roster to work from.

1. Angelo Gilbert (2 career cards)
2. Terry Norman (1)
3. Mark Baius (Bajus) (3)
4. Todd Richards (Richard) (1)
5. Mike Kolodny (Kolodney) (1)
6. Kirk Jones (3)
7. Tom Blackmon (3) 
8. Tom Burns (11)
9. Monty Holland (1)
10. Mike Schwarber (3)
11. Orestes Moldes (1)
12. Chuck Hollowell (1)
13. Tom Stiboro (Stibora) (1)
14. Brian (Bryan) Meier (2, both in 1980 TCMA team sets)
15. Rick Elkin (2)
16. Luis Duarte (2)
17. Chuck Melito (1)
18. Darold Ellison (1)
19. Kevin Malone (2)
20. Andy Alvis (1)
21. Kelly Gruber (289 cards, 16.4 WAR)
22. Rick Colzie, Manager (3)
23. Justo Saavedra (1)
24. Matt Minium (1)
25. Dave Gallagher (164 cards, 4.9 WAR)
26. Pat Grady (1)
27. Chris Rehbaum (5)
28. Jeff Moronko (16 cards, -0.2 WAR)
29. Nelson Ruiz (1)
30. Mark Wright (2)

Future Toronto All-Star and 1992 World Champion Kelly Gruber looms largest in career success, hitting his higest peak with Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards in 1990. A max-effort style could be why injuries ended his MLB career at 31; read more in his SABR bio.

Kolodney's contract card, reflects his even shorter, one-year pro career. I trust Mike found success beyond baseball, whether or not he loaned me Ms. Pac-Man money.

BATAVIA TRIVIA: In 1986, Batavia set an obscure short-season record by fielding eight future Major Leaguers on one roster: Jim Bruske, Tommy Hinzo, Tom Lampkin (6.2 WAR), Troy Neel, Bruce Egloff, Jeff Shaw (13.7 WAR), Joe Skalski, and Kevin Wickander. Lampkin and Shaw logged 10+ years of service each, qualifying them for the MLB players union pension. Most A-ball teams sport one or two who reach such heights, making eight a true achievement.

TCMA TRIVIA: Back in those salad days, Andrew Aronstein also posed for the 5th NSCC show program cover! As of 2024, he works for Love of the Game Auctions.

I revised this post for SABR's Northern New England newsletter in June 2024 and encourage you to locate your local chapter!

Value: I bought this #5 for $2 at MinorLeagueSingles.com, a great site that's now defunct. Some eBay sellers ask $50+ for its full set, somewhat beyond what you I think you should pay.

Fakes / reprints: TCMA reprinted several 1980 team sets for "collectors kits" later that decade. Those cards come with black ink backs and MLB logos, while originals feature the blue ink seen on Mike's card.

1980 TCMA Memphis Chicks Baseball #5, Greg Bargar

In the spirit of SBNation's recent additions to their Baseball Name Hall of Fame (class of 2013), I further recognize the cultural context of guys like Greg Bargar, complete with camelback hat and "aspiring wrestler" mustache. You know, for the Chicks. (Montreal's AA affiliate Memphis Chicks.)

While a fan of minor league baseball and interesting names, I'm of two minds on this team. A squad intentionally named the "Chicks" already borders on gaudy, but did you know they played in Tim McCarver Stadium, so named in 1968 for the Memphis native, then a pretty-good catcher, now (in)famous as Fox's tenured professor of broadcasting? A park that combined AstroTurf infield and outfield grass? There's your purported Memphis Chicks. I submit this team might not have actually existed outside the mind and pen of George Plimpton.

Wikipedia claims Tim McCarver Stadium was demolished in 2006. I propose it collapsed beneath the weight of self-aware expectation. (Will this wandering anecdote about the folly of designated hitters ever end? No...? *girder rending noise*.)

Greg's teammates from that 1980 Arizona team included future manager Terry Francona, durable lefty Craig Lefferts, and Casey Candaele, son of former AAGPBL outfielder Helen Callaghan. Casey and Helen are the only mother/son combo in pro baseball history, which is pretty cool. (To complete today's team name circle, AAGPBL's own "Chicks" debuted in Milwaukee and later moved to Grand Rapids.)

TCMA's 1980 Chicks team includes several Hall of Fame names in their own right; my sentimental favorite is #19. (Future big leaguers marked in bold.)

1. Steve Lovins
2. Charlie Lea
3. Anthony Johnson
4. Tom Gorman
5. Greg Bargar
6. Joe Abone
7. Larry Goldetsky, Coach
8. Larry Bearnarth, Manager
9. Mike Gates
10. Glen Franklin
11. Ray Crowley
12. Leonel Carrion
13. Terry Francona
14. Kevin Mendon
15. Brad Mills
16. Tony Phillips
17. Pat Rooney
18. Dennis Sherow
19. Tommy Joe Shimp
20. Bryn Smith
21. Chris Smith
22. Doug Simunic
23. Bob Tenenini
24. Grayling Tobias
25. Tom Wieghaus
26. Rick Williams
27. Steve Winfield
28. Frank Wren
29. Bud Yanus
30. Audie Thor, Trainer

Value: Non-star 1980 TCMA singles cost a dollar or two. Most team sets are under $20, but the title-winning success of Terry Francona might push this one close to that.

Fakes / reprints: TCMA reprinted several minor league sets for "collector's kits" later in the 1980s. Those reprints have black backs, while originals have blue.

1980 TCMA Glens Falls White Sox Baseball (Color) #5, Mark Esser

Red borders and blocky white text must mean TCMA's back in town! Today's set marks an encore performance for Chicago's AA team in Glens Falls, a franchise that started 1980 with a black-and-white set, whose #5 was shadowy Mark Platel. I assume that offering proved popular enough to merit this mid-season bump to full color.

I see you there, Budweiser

1980 was also a busy year for Esser, who'd started 1979 with Chicago's White Sox after doing great things against single-A hitters in 1978. He lasted less than a month on the South Side, pitching 1.2 innings, garnering a 16.20 ERA, and striking out one batter (Dave Roberts) before being sent  down to the AAA Iowa Oaks, where he was managed by young (34 year-old) manager Tony LaRussa.

LaRussa built his strategic reputation on revitalizing pitchers in Oakland and St. Louis, but Tony didn't do much for Mark, who unfortunately never made it back to the bigs. Based on 1979's stats in Iowa, I suspect a minor but lingering injury that didn't improve until the off-season.

Esser broke 1980 spring training with single-A Appleton, probably a kick in the gut when you'd started on a major league roster the previous year. Mark once again blew away low-minors competition, going 4-0 in 5 starts, then jumped to both AA Glens Falls (today's card) and AAA Iowa with mixed results. He spent 1981 in denouement, then pitched a final year with Glens Falls before retiring (career stats).

TCMA printed 30 cards for this color set, adding #20 "Sox Infield" to the black-and-white version's 29 player checklist. Players in bold reached the majors.

1. Ron Perry
2. Len Bradley
3. Mark Teutsch
4. Randy Johnson
5. Mark Esser
6. Andy Pasillas
7. Kevin Hickey
8. Rick Seilheimer
9. Mark Platel
10. Julio Perez
11. Vince Bienek
12. Fran Mullins
13. Rick Wieters
14. Dom Fucci
15. Randy Evans
16. Steve Pastrovich
17. Luis Rois
18. Reggie Patterson
19. Ted Barnicle
20. Sox Infield
21. Mike Pazik, Manager
22. Abner Haines, Trainer
23. Bob Bolster, Clubhouse Manager
24. Duane Shaffer, Coach
25. Orlando Cepeda, Instructor
26. Lorenzo Gray
27. Ray Torres
28. Tom Johnson
29. Batboys
30. A.J. Hill

Find scans of most of the set on Auctiva, an image hosting site. Wish I could go back in time and tell those photographers to stop taking players photos at noon.

Value: 1980 TCMA cards remain easy to find, so $1-2 for non-star singles is reasonable and team sets run $10-15.

Fakes / reprints: TCMA reprinted several team sets for "collector's kits" in the late 1980s. Reprints come with black ink backs and originals have blue ink.