1979 TCMA Tucson Toros #5, Mike Bucci

The present-day Toros play in the independent Golden Baseball League. Their previous incarnation served as AAA affiliate for several clubs, including nearby Texas and Houston. 1979 marked Tucson's final year playing for the Rangers, who the pictured uniform obviously copies. (Compare it to this 1980 Topps Johnny Grubb card.)

Card front

In November 2009, Paul Lukas of Uni Watch let readers vote on the title of "WORST UNIFORM EVER." I was honored (?) to submit an eventual finalist, the 1980 Tucson Toros. Their toreador-homage--yellow, orange, red, different orange, avocado, and turquoise--no doubt pushed the boundaries of what you could pay players to wear. (Worst Uni Finalists and Voting Results.) See that stunning design in my 1980 TCMA Tucson Toros set profile.

Card back

This card leaves off Mike Bucci's 1978 stats, a curious omission for an everyday player. (For the record, he sported a nice .438 OBP in 115 games, full minor league stats at Baseball-Reference.) He also played as both third baseman and outfielder, not just in the infield. TCMA produced 50+ sets in 1979, so I expect lots of cards sport at least one typo or research error.

Value: I bought this #5 on eBay for $1, about what you'd expect to pay for minor league singles.

Fakes / Reprints: People have probably reprinted valuable minor league league cards of big MLB stars, but I don't know of any for commons.

1979 TCMA Tacoma Tugs #5, Tom Brennan

TCMA published an almost limitless number of minor league team sets during the 1970s and 1980s. They ramped up slowly with a few midwestern teams in 1974, but grew to almost dominate the market by 1978.

According to the SCD, 1979 contained more than 50 TCMA team sets, covering teams from Florida to British Columbia and Massachusetts to California. (This is the blog's 5th profile of a TCMA minor league set and first from that prolific year.)

Card front

Future big-leaguer Brennan had no problem holding the pose you see, left leg cocked and held at the ready. In fact, he usually pitched with a significant pause at the leg-lift stage, similar to Hideo Nomo's full-stretch windup. (Check it out in Nomo vs. Ichiro, circa 1996.) Tom eventually released the ball sidearm, a complete delivery that no doubt puzzled opposing batters.

Card back

Tom spent a long time in baseball, with 12 seasons of minor league work sandwiched around a full year with the Indians in 1982 (full stats at Baseball-Reference.com). He played for 10 different Cleveland farm teams from 1974 to 1983, including two quality years with the Tacoma Tugs in 1979 and 1980, where he went 21-10 with 4 shut-outs.

Value: My 2010 SCD lists the Tacoma Tugs set at $17.50 and I picked up this #5 for $1, about what you'd expect to pay for that era.

Fakes / Reprints: It's likely people have reprinted valuable minor league league cards of major stars, but I doubt it'd happen for lesser-known players.

2010 National Chicle Parody Card

This is my entry to Stale Gum's National Chicle parody contest.


I started with a W516 #5 Ty Cobb, changed the name to another (in)famous Tiger, and tinted in some outfield grass. Play ball!

1966 Bazooka and 1967 Bazooka Baseball #5, Mel Stottlemyre

I think of Mel Stottlemyre as the heir apparent to HOFer and fellow Yankee Whitey Ford. Each spent their whole career in pinstripes, just in quite different eras. Whitey oversaw New York's 1950s ascendence, captured six World Series titles, and passed his "staff ace" baton to young Mel in 1965. (Despite their Yankees swooning to a sixth-place finish that year, Stottlemyre went 20-9 and Ford 16-13.)

Today's 1966 and 1967 Bazooka sets straddle Ford's handoff. Whitey retired after 1966, just in time for Mel's Yankees to spend their next decade in the AL doldrums, never reaching the playoffs.

1966-67 Bazooka #5 (blank back)

Stottlemyre pitched well despite New York's adversity and received MVP votes four different years, placing as high as tenth in 1968. While a rotator cuff ended his pitching career at 32, his coaching career lasted decades, and garnered five titles.

Boxes of Bazooka gum offered all manner of enticements in the 1960s, sport and non-sport, including this water-and-spoon science experiment and a chance to buy their 60-cent chemistry set.

During baseball season, Bazooka sold boxes of gum with a 3-player panel on the back. The company got a little lazy with their 1966 checklist and 1967 checklist, publishing many players with identical pictures and numbers, including Mr. Stottlemyre at #5. That makes it impossible to tell which year Mel's from, unless you own a full box.

1966-67 Bazooka complete box (baseball panel)

Flip a 1966 Bazooka box to see Sandy Koufax next to their "3 baseball cards" promo.

1967 switched to Mickey Mantle, as Koufax retired following 1966.

While it's fun to look at classic Bazooka designs, it's even better to remember how skilled I was at cutting things off those boxes.

Perfect.

Value: You can buy Bazooka cards several different ways, with rapidly escalating prices. This clean-cut #5 cost about $10, on the high end of single commons. Full, uncut panels can cost several times that and complete boxes run $100 or more.

Fakes / Reprints: Unfortunately, someone faked the whole 1963 Bazooka set in the last several years, so it's entirely possible others got the same treatment. (I don't know of any legitimate reprints by Topps or their reincarnated Bazooka brand.)

Follow-up on latest poll

Last week, I asked if the #5 blog should re-focus for 2010 on a specific type of card: new, old, or oddball. (I also added "whatever" for "keep doing what you're doing.") A bunch of folks voted, with a split between "old" and "whatever," with "oddball" close behind. On the upside, most pre-1960 stuff is definitely unusual, so look for more of that.

Thanks to all who contributed, I appreciate your feedback!

1978 Burger King Yankees Baseball #5, Ed Figueroa

Burger King published 9 sets from 1977 to 1980, mostly team-specific collections like today's 1978 Yankees (full BK set list). This one includes 22 players and an unnumbered checklist, featuring HOFs Catfish Hunter, Goose Gossage, and Reggie Jackson.

Most of the set reuses the "normal" Topps player picture. Fortunately, Goose Gossage got a new photo, as 1978's #70 is an awful airbrush job from his time as a Pirate. (Compare Topps' bad art to BK's portrait.)

Like other 1978 Burger King issues, only the checklist differs from the Topps design (PhillySportsCards.com has a nice gallery), so people often confuse the two sets. Card number (and pose variation, if any) distinguish them.

Ed Figueroa went 20-9 in 1978, becoming the first Puerto Rican pitcher to win 20 games. Arm injuries limited his effectiveness in 1979, "earning" a release by the Yankees. He finished with a year each in Texas and Oakland and retired in 1982.

Value: Complete sets go for $15-30, depending on condition. Besides the HOFers, semi-stars like Ron Guidry and Willie Randolph cost more. (PhillySportsCards.com ranges from $.15 to $4 for singles.)

Fakes / Reprints: Burger King cards are available on eBay (and elsewhere online), so Yankee fans can probably get them. They're not valuable enough to be worth reprinting or faking.

David Segui for HOF and a Cecil Fielder #5

Two things caught my eye this morning.

• Totally Cecil featured Cecil Fielder's 1994 Topps Black Gold #5, with front and back scans. I sat over the dugout once at a Mariner game against the Tigers and can confirm that Cecil "pushes a ton of freight" from close up. I can only imagine the post-game buffet.

• Core Contrarian asks "Who voted for David Segui?," as the former Oriole, Met, Mariner, Indian, Ranger, Expo, and Blue Jay picked up one HOF vote yesterday. (I collect Segui-as-a-Mariner cards, so might've voted for him, but don't have that power.)

1977 Topps Stickers #5, Bert Blyleven

Today's guest just missed 2010 HOF election, falling 5 votes short of the required 75% (full MLB.com story). Some writers have made his long-time excellence for (mostly) middling teams a fulcrum to critique the business of baseball and Cooperstown's own political history. I just remember Bert as a worthy opponent for my Mariners, going 14-7 against them in 27 games pitched (career splits).

Card front

In 1977, Bert led the AL with a career-best 1.065 WHIP (BB + H / IP), yet went "only" 14-12. Being third starter behind Gaylord Perry and Doyle Alexander meant missing a start every now and then, but a few extra wins probably wouldn't have gained Cy Young notice. (Sparky Lyle, the Yanks' dominant closer, took the award by winning 13 and saving another 26.)

Card back

Topps printed this 55-sticker, cloth-front set as a companion to their normal 660-count issue. It came in its own wax packs and proved relatively popular. The peel-away, self-adhesive back includes player highlights, though I think stats would've worked fine. (Perhaps that would've cost more than this one-off project was worth to them.)

1977's the best known cloth sticker set, but Topps tried them first in 1972. Robert Edwards Auctions sold a pair of uncut 1972 sheets for $1K not long ago.

Value: Ungraded sets go for up to $50 and singles cost a dollar or two. Nolan Ryan is the top star and could cost you $20.

Fakes / Reprints: Haven't seen any fakery for this set, as it's too costly to replicate a sticker issue for just a few dollars.

1978 Burger King Tigers Baseball #5, Dave Rozema

Another of Burger King's 70s / 80s card surge (full set list), this 23-card issue covers Detroit's improvement from 1977's tepid 74-88 record to 86-76 in 1978. Unfortunately, they actually dropped in the standings, as 4 AL East teams won at least 90 games in '78.

This card's also important for folks who collect the Topps All-Star Rookie trophies (the Wikipedia profile lists them all). With one player per position, Eddie Murray (DH) and Andre Dawson (OF) were Rozema's best-known teammates (1977 ASR selections).

Dave tossed an excellent 15-7 rookie campaign, a win total it took another 3 years to match. Despite obvious pitching skills, a penchant for bizarre injury (karate kick bobblehead here) limited him to 10 seasons and a 60-53 record.

Value: Complete sets go for $10-20, depending on condition. Jack Morris, Mark Fidrych, Lou Whitaker, and Alan Trammell are the stars.

Fakes / Reprints: Burger King cards circulated in the Detroit area and show up on eBay, so Tiger fans can probably get them. I don't know of any reprints and they're probably not pricey enough to be worth doing.

New Poll: What kind of cards for 2010?

Vote in the new poll to let me know what you enjoy most in the type collection and I'll add more of those in the new year.

• Newer means cards from the 1960s, 1970s, & 1980s, so "new" is a comparative term
• Older means 1950s and before
• Oddball means regional, one-off, and obscure issues published throughout the 20th century

UPDATE: and Whatever means I'll keep picking targets of opportunity!