Veteran's Day Thanks.

On behalf of the staff of this humble little blog, I would like to thank all those who have either served, are currently serving, or will be serving their country shortly, for the sacrifices you've made for all of us so we may live our lives freely.

Regardless of how we feel about the wars our country is involved in, we all should take time to think about the brave men and women, whether stationed around the country, or around the world, representing our country, representing our people, doing the things that many of us could only imagine. They deserve our respect.

To all in the Armed Forces (the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard)...Thank You!!!

To make this post semi-baseball card related, I wrote about a little insert set from 2007 Topps called Distinguished Service. It's worth a read if you have the time.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's End of Year MLB All-Star Teams: 1990 Edition

We're finally into the 1990's. By the time I named my 1990 End of the Year All-Star Teams, I was balancing high school homework and working as a lackey in the theater department. I followed baseball a bit more closely over the summer, and watched as the defending NL East champs wrote in their season. But the real All-Star Game was at Wrigley, and while I wasn't at the actual game, my aunt who lives on Addison allowed us to watch the game from her place. And we all know what happened at the game that night, right???

While I am still learning more about the game (I started picking up books about the history of baseball at this time too), when it came to picking teams in the early 90's, all it involved was using the players from the actual All-Star Game, and plugging in the holes as needed to fill out the rest of the positions. So while it was not yet picking the best of the best yet, the players chosen for my 1990 teams deserved to be there. There are 10 pitchers on each team (six starters, four closers), and because the 1991 ASG would be in Toronto, each team included a DH. So the rosters expanded to 35 players per team.

Let's cut to the chase. Without further ado, for the first time online, I am proud to introduce my 1990 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams (in alphabetical order by position):

(Lots of space here when I added the table. On feeds and on other blog sites like Sculu, it all looks normal, but on Blogger, the space remains...)

American League First Basemen Cecil Fielder, Tigers* Mark McGwire, Athletics Rafael Palmeiro, Rangers Second Basemen Julio Franco, Rangers Steve Sax, Yankees Lou Whitaker, Tigers Third Basemen Wade Boggs, Red Sox Brook Jacoby, Indians* Kelly Gruber, Blue Jays Shortstops Ozzie Guillen, White Sox Cal Ripken, Orioles Alan Trammell, Tigers Outfielders George Bell, Blue Jays Ellis Burks, Red Sox* Ivan Calderon, White Sox* Jose Canseco, Athletics Ken Griffey, Jr., Mariners* Rickey Henderson, Athletics Bo Jackson, Royals Kirby Puckett, Twins Robin Yount, Brewers Catchers Sandy Alomar, Indians* Carlton Fisk, White Sox Lance Parrish, Angels* Designated Hitter: Dave Parker, Brewers* Pitchers Roger Clemens, Red Sox Dennis Eckersley, Athletics Chuck Finley, Angels Randy Johnson, Mariners* Doug Jones, Indians Gregg Olson, Orioles* Bret Saberhagen, Royals Dave Steib, Blue Jays* Bobby Thigpen, White Sox Bob Welch, Athletics* Manager: Jeff Torborg, White Sox The Starters: 1B: McGwire 2B: Sax 3B: Boggs SS: Ripken OF: Canseco OF: Griffey, Jr. OF: Henderson C: Alomar DH: Parker P: Welch *First-Time All-Star

National League First Basemen Will Clark, Giants Mark Grace, Cubs* Eddie Murray, Dodgers* Second Basemen Roberto Alomar, Padres* Tommy Herr, Mets Ryne Sandberg, Cubs Third Basemen Chris Sabo, Reds* Tim Wallach, Expos Matt Williams, Giants* Shortstops Shawon Dunston, Cubs Barry Larkin, Reds Ozzie Smith, Cardinals Outfielders Barry Bonds, Pirates Bobby Bonilla, Pirates Kal Daniels, Dodgers* Andre Dawson, Cubs Lenny Dykstra, Phillies* Tony Gwynn, Padres Kevin Mitchell, Giants Lonnie Smith, Braves* Darryl Strawberry, Mets Catchers Greg Olson, Braves* Benito Santiago, Padres Mike Scioscia, Dodgers Designated Hitter: Ron Gant, Braves* Pitchers Jack Armstrong, Reds* Jeff Brantley, Giants* Rob Dibble, Reds* John Franco, Mets Neal Heaton, Pirates* Dennis Martinez, Expos* Ramon Martinez, Dodgers* Randy Myers, Reds Dave Smith, Astros* Frank Viola, Mets Manager: Jim Leyland, Pirates The Starters: 1B: Clark 2B: Sandberg 3B: Sabo SS: Smith OF: Dawson OF: Dykstra OF: Mitchell C: Scioscia DH: Gant P: Armstrong

Twenty-nine new players are first-time all-stars (12 for the American League, 17 for the Nationals). One-person teams on my 1990 rosters include the Twins (Puckett), Yankees (Sax...this would be unheard of today), Astros (DSmith), Cardinals (OSmith), and Phillies (Dykstra). Both the Athletics and Reds send five representatives on the AL and NL rosters respectively, leading both leagues (figures, since both teams went to the World Series that year). The White Sox, Cubs (Chicago bias rules!!!), Dodgers, Giants, and Mets each send four players to their respective squads.

As always, seven regular games (10,000 simulations each, six with the same starting pitchers, one where lineups and starting pitchers change), and one All-Star Game will be simulated during the course of the week. I hope to have the results of all the games by the end of the week.

Now it's time for me to create the .DAT files before getting the games set. You know, putting my imagined All-Star Teams to the 'net, and the added fun of simulating games with them, is really rejuvinating. And a whole lot of fun. I'm actually enjoying this.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's 1989 End of Year All-Star Teams Simulated Games Results

I have finally finished simulating the All-Star Games using my 1989 End of Year All-Star Teams. I'm getting a whole let better now that I kinda know what I'm doing (I'm sure by the time I'm done, I'll be an expert...wishful thinking).

Just like the first two times I ran these, I simulated seven games (five series between starters, one series with the full rotation but one regular lineup, and one series where the lineups, starting rotations changed on a daily basis), by playing each one 10,000 times.

The first five games I simulated used each starting pitcher on both sides at least once, and all position players started a minimum of two games each. Here are the results:

• Game 1: AL vs. NL, Dave Stewart vs. Mike Scott. The NL wins 5,939 games out of 10,000 simulations.
• Game 2: AL vs. NL, Chuck Finley vs. Orel Hershiser. The NL wins 5,806 games.
• Game 3: NL vs. AL, Joe Magrane vs. Nolan Ryan. The AL wins 5,498 games (using a DH). Nolan Ryan pitched 16 no-hitters.
• Game 4: NL vs, AL, Rick Reuschel vs. Mark Gubicza. The AL wins 5,453 games (using a DH). Tony Gwynn had hitting streaks of 30, 32, 41, and 42 games.
• Game 5: NL vs. AL, John Smoltz vs. Greg Swindell. The NL wins 5,661 games (using a DH).
• Game 6: AL vs. NL, each SP started 2,000 games. The AL wins 5,197 games.
• Game 7: AL vs. NL, anything goes. The NL wins 5,190 games.

So the NL wins the regular series 4 games to 3. For the official All-Star Game, I decided to just simulate one game and one game only. The starting pitchers were Stewart and Scott and I let them pitch two innings (unless they struggled badly). The rest of the pitchers would get one inning each (unless they struggled badly). The position players were replaced every three innings. No pinch hitters here, (as in previous tries, the pinch hitter is taken out of the game...I couldn't figure out how to double switch here), but the game did ask me if I wanted to make double switches (to which the response was YES!!!)

The starting lineups, first for the American League (I'm using 1990 Topps cards because these are the cards I used to imagine my All-Star teams):


Now the National League starting lineup:


Here is the result:


The 1989 NL All-Stars beat the 1989 AL All-Stars by a final score of 9-3.

The box score is below (Just click on the picture to take a closer look.


The scoring plays:

Bottom 1: Dave Stewart pitching. Eric Davis triples. Ryne Sandberg grounds out to Wade Boggs (5-3). Will Clark singles, EDavis scoring. Tony Gwynn reaches on an error by Boggs, Clark advancing to second. Howard Johnson reaches on an error by Cal Ripken, Clark scoring, Gwynn advancing to third. Kevin Mitchell hits a home run, Gwynn scoring, Johnson scoring.

Top 2: Mike Scott pitching. Mark McGwire walks. Wade Boggs grounds into a double play to Ryne Sandberg (4-6-3), McGwire out. Ruben Sierra hits a home run.

Top 5: John Smoltz pitching. Steve Sax singles, reaches second on an error by Tim Raines (E8). Bo Jackson strikes out. Rickey Henderson singles, Sax advancing to third. Tony Fernandez singles, Sax scores, Henderson advancing to second.

Bottom 5: Mark Gubicza pitching. Larking flies out to Rickey Henderson (7). Von Hayes singles. Bobby Bonilla grounds out to Gubicza (1-3), Hayes advancing to second. Pedro Guerrero doubles, Hayes scoring.

Bottom 6: Doug Jones pitching. Craig Biggio reaches on an error by Don Mattingly (4-E3). Tim Burke strikes out. Tim Raines singles, Biggio advancing to second. Both runners advance via passed ball by Terry Steinbach. Tom Herr singles, Biggio scoring, Raines advancing to third. Mike Henneman pitching. Barry Larkin grounds into a fielders choice to Steve Sax (4-6), Raines scoring, Herr out at second.

Bottom 8: Jeff Russell pitching. Darryl Strawberry walks. Shawon Dunston strikes out. Mike Scioscia reaches on an error by Joe Carter, advancing to second, Strawberry advancing to third. Willie Randolph grounds out to Lou Whitaker (4-3), Strawberry scoring, Scioscia advancing to third.

Top 9: Mark Davis pitching. Jeffrey Leonard strikes out. Joe Carter singles to right, reaches second on an error by Andre Dawson. Ozzie Guillen singles, Carter advancing to third. Jeff Russell singles, Carter scoring, Guillen advancing to second.

Kevin Mitchell is the MVP, thanks to his 3-run homer in the first.
After the drubbing at the hands of the AL the year before, the NL comes back with a vengeance in this game. If this game actually existed, the MVP would have definitely been Kevin Mitchell (1-2, 1 home run, 3 rbi's). Orel Hershiser earns the win, Dave Stewart suffers the loss, and the only players who didn't get in the game were pitchers Bobby Thigpen from the AL and Joe Magrane from the NL.
If you want to see the .DAT files that I used (I still don't know how to download these onto the blog , so please just take a look at the screen caps below). If anyone can e-mail me instructions, please do so at bdj610@hotmail.com. Below is the AL .DAT file, then the NL .DAT file:




Now that the 1989 All-Star Games are officially over, on Wednesday, I will introduce the 1990 End of Year All-Star teams. Simulations for games with those rosters to come hopefully by Sunday night.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

The NFL Players Association Will NOT Renew Topps License for 2010.

Yes, this is a baseball card blog, but because it is related to the company whose products I collect, it's big news.

The number one source in the hobby has reported that the NFL Players Association will not renew Topps License for 2010.

The current deal with Topps, Upper Deck, and Panini runs until February, 2010, and who is to say what happens in 2011 and beyond.

But here is the thing:

Just like in MLB, there are two distinct marketing arms in the NFL, NFL Properties and the NFL Players Association. There was a time in the early 90's that Topps didn't have a license from the NFL Properties, yet still produced cards as they were licensed by the NFLPA. I think now that the licenses have reversed because there has been no official word from NFL Properties regarding this matter. Just because the Players Association is cutting Topps off doesn't mean that they are totally out of the NFL card business yet. If however, NFL Properties says they are no longer going to work with Topps, then all is lost.

Regardless, this is a blow to Topps for sure. How much of an impact, though, remains to be seen.

This should make one specific blogger extremely happy though. And he knows who he is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's End of Year MLB All-Star Teams: 1989 Edition

It's now 1989, and it's a big year for baseball in Chicago. Don Zimmer's Cubs were the talk of the town, and the White Sox were mired in last place in a seven-team American League West (take a moment for that to sink in...). I'm still new to this concept called baseball, and while I'm getting to know more and more about the players, I'm still influenced by outside sources when it comes to naming my end of the year All-Star teams. It actually isn't until the early part of 1990 that I finally get around to naming my teams.

The main source of influence when it came to picking teams was actually the 1990 Panini sticker album. I was still crazy about sticker albums then, and as I didn't see Topps come out with one for the 1990 season, the Panini album was a good alternative. All the Panini regular player stickers were the same size as the Topps stickers from the year before, and none were the "half size" pictures. They were all large. Panini even included a little caption stating "All-Star" somewhere near the player's name. And I will have to admit that most of the players on the lists you see below were named All-Stars by Panini. Now whether they were actually All-Stars during the 1989 ASG or not I can't recall. All I do remember is that every team had an All-Star named by Panini, and to get the rosters up to 34 members, I did stick to the same formula as the year before when it came to roster sizes (3 each for the infield spots, 3 catchers, 9 outfielders, 9 pitchers), but because the 1990 ASG was coming to Wrigley Field, I took out the DH spot and replaced it with a 10th pitchers spot (which broke down to five starters, and five closers).

Let's cut to the chase. Without further ado, for the first time online, I am proud to introduce my 1989 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams (in alphabetical order by position):

(Lots of space here when I added the table. Don't know why...)

American League First Basemen Wally Joyner, Angels* Don Mattingly, Yankees Mark McGwire, Athletics Second Basemen Julio Franco, Indians Steve Sax, Yankees Lou Whitaker, Tigers Third Basemen Wade Boggs, Red Sox Gary Gaetti, Twins Kelly Gruber, Blue Jays* Shortstops Tony Fernandez, Blue Jays Ozzie Guillen, White Sox* Cal Ripken, Orioles Outfielders Harold Baines, Rangers Joe Carter, Indians Rickey Henderson, Athletics Bo Jackson, Royals* Jeffrey Leonard, Mariners Kirby Puckett, Twins Ruben Sierra, Rangers* Devon White, Angels* Robin Yount, Brewers Catchers Carlton Fisk, White Sox Terry Steinbach, Athletics* Mickey Tettleton, Orioles* Pitchers Chuck Finley, Angels* Mark Gubicza, Royals Mike Hennemann, Tigers* Doug Jones, Indians Dan Plesac, Brewers Jeff Russell, Rangers* Nolan Ryan, Rangers* Dave Stewart, Athletics Greg Swindell, Indians* Bobby Thigpen, White Sox* Manager: Frank Robinson, Orioles The Starters: 1B: McGwire 2B: Franco 3B: Boggs SS: Ripken OF: Puckett OF: Sierra OF: Yount C: Fisk P: Stewart *First-Time All-Star

National League First Basemen Will Clark, Giants Glenn Davis, Astros Pedro Guerrero, Dodgers Second Basemen Tommy Herr, Phillies Willie Randolph, Dodgers Ryne Sandberg, Cubs Third Basemen Bobby Bonilla, Pirates Howard Johnson, Mets Tim Wallach, Expos Shortstops Shawon Dunston, Cubs Barry Larkin, Reds Ozzie Smith, Cardinals Outfielders Vince Coleman, Cardinals* Eric Davis, Reds Andre Dawson, Cubs Tony Gwynn, Padres Von Hayes, Phillies* Kevin Mitchell, Giants* Dale Murphy, Braves Tim Raines, Expos Darryl Strawberry, Mets Catchers Craig Biggio, Astros* Benito Santiago, Padres Mike Scioscia, Dodgers* Pitchers Tim Burke, Expos* Mark Davis, Padres John Franco, Reds Orel Hershiser, Dodgers Jay Howell, Dodgers Joe Magrane, Cardinals* Rick Reuschel, Giants* Mike Scott, Astros John Smoltz, Braves* Mitch Williams, Cubs* Manager: Don Zimmer, Cubs The Starters: 1B: Clark 2B: Sandberg 3B: Johnson SS: Smith OF: Davis OF: Gwynn OF: Mitchell C: Santiago P: Scott

Twenty-four new players are first-time all-stars from the previous year's teams (14 for the American League, 10 for the Nationals). One-person teams on my 1989 rosters include the Mariners (Leonard), Red Sox (Boggs), and Pirates (Bonilla). The Dodgers have five representatives on the NL roster, leading both leagues. The Athletics, Indians, Rangers, and Cubs each send four players to their respective squads.

Very veteran-heavy teams on both sides. Had I known better, players like Fred McGriff, Ken Griffey, Jr., and even Jerome Walton would have made it onto either team. But again, Panini influence and a tendency to stay with players I was already familiar with keeps the teams above where they are.

Seven regular games (10,000 simulations each, five with the same starting pitchers, two where lineups and starting pitchers change...since I have only five starters...a home and home battle where anything goes), and one All-Star Game will be simulated during the course of the week. I hope to have the results of all the games by the end of the week.

Now it's time for me to create the .DAT files before getting the games set. This is a lot of fun. Why didn't I think of this sooner?

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

bdj610's 1988 End of Year All-Star Teams Simulated Games Results

I have finally finished simulating the All-Star Games using my 1988 End of Year All-Star Teams. Now that I have enough practice with it, using the SBS has been so much fun. And I didn't even get that "Error: Box Score 70" that plagued me the last time.

Just like the last round using the '87 teams, I simulated seven games (six series between starters and one series where the lineups, starting rotations changed on a daily basis), by playing each one 10,000 times.

The first six games I simulated used each starting pitcher on both sides at least once, and all position players started a minimum of two games each. Here are the results:

• Game 1: NL vs. AL, Orel Hershiser vs. Frank Viola. The AL wins 5,707 games out of 10,000 simulations (using a DH).
• Game 2: NL vs. AL, Dwight Gooden vs. Mark Gubicza. The AL wins 5,948 games (using a DH).
• Game 3: AL vs. NL, Roger Clemens vs. David Cone. The NL wins 5,031 games.
• Game 4: AL vs, NL, Dave Stewart vs. Danny Jackson. The NL wins 5,253 games.
• Game 5: AL vs. NL, Bruce Hurst vs. Tom Browning. The AL wins 5,221 games.
• Game 6: NL vs. AL, Bob Knepper vs. Teddy Higuera. The AL wins 7,238 games (using a DH).
• Game 7: NL vs. AL, anything goes. The AL wins 6,001 games.

So the AL beats (in dominating fashion in some cases) the NL 5 to 2 in the regular series. For the official All-Star Game, I decided to just simulate one game and one game only. The starting pitchers were Hershiser and Viola and I let them pitch two innings. The rest of the pitchers would get one inning each (unless they struggled badly). The position players were replaced every three innings. No pinch hitters here, (as in previous tries, the pinch hitter is taken out of the game...I couldn't figure out how to double switch here). The DH's (Dale Murphy of the NL and Harold Baines of the AL) were never replaced.

The starting lineups, first for the National League (I'm using 1989 Topps cards because these are the cards I used to imagine my All-Star teams when not using the Topps sticker backs):


Now the American League starting lineup:


Here is the result:


The 1988 AL All-Stars beat the 1988 NL All-Stars by a final score of 12-4.

The box score is below (Just click on the picture to take a closer look.


The scoring plays were like this:

Top 2: Frank Viola pitching. Andre Dawson singles. Gary Carter singles. Runners advance on a Mike Greenwell error. Bobby Bonilla grounds out to Viola (1-3). Ozzie Smith walks. Andy VanSlyke reaches on a fielders choice, Smith out at second (5-4), Dawson scoring.

Top 4: Bruce Hurst pitching. Gary Carter doubles. Bobby Bonilla flies to Rickey Henderson (7). Ozzie Smith lines out to Tony Fernandez (6). Andy VanSlyke hits a home run, Carter scoring.

Bottom 4: David Cone pitching. Harold Reynolds reaches on an error by Rafael Palmeiro (E7). George Brett grounds out to Barry Larkin (6-3). Harold Baines walks. Dave Winfield strikes out. Robin Yount walks, loading the bases. Paul Molitor singles, Reynolds scoring, Baines scoring, Yount out at third (8-3).

Bottom 5: Tom Browning pitching. Carlton Fisk walks. Tony Fernandez doubles, Fisk to third. Rickey Henderson singles, Fisk scoring, Fernandez scoring. Reynolds flies out to Tony Gwynn (8). George Brett doubles, R. Henderson scoring. Harold Baines flies out to Kirk Gibson (9), Brett moving to third. Dave Winfield singles, Brett scoring.

Bottom 6: Danny Jackson pitching. Paul Molitor grounds out to Barry Larkin (6-3). Carlton Fisk grounds out to Vance Law (5-3). Tony Fernandez singles to right, reaches second on an error by Kirk Gibson. Rickey Henderson singles, Fernandez scoring. Harold Reynolds doubles, R. Henderson scoring.

Top 8: Doug Jones pitching. Benito Santiago singles to center, reaches second on an error by Joe Carter. Howard Johnson fouls out to Geno Petralli (2F). Shawon Dunston singles, Santiago scoring.

Bottom 8: Bob Knepper pitching. Cal Ripken walks. Dwight Evans triples, Ripken scoring. Lou Whitaker walks. Mark McGwire walks, Whitaker to second, loading the bases. Harold Baines singles to left, reaches second on an error by Barry Bonds, Evans scoring, Whitaker scoring.


Your starters, Orel Hershiser and Frank Viola. Rickey Henderson is the MVP.
Compared to the 1987 simulation, this was a blowout of epic proportions, not helped by Bob Knepper's collapse in the 8th (which may somewhat coincide with the 7,238 wins the AL got when he started 10,000 games). If this game actually existed, the MVP would have definitely been Rickey Henderson (2-2, 3 rbi's). Dave Stewart earns the win, Tom Browning suffers the loss, and the only players who didn't get in the game were relievers John Franco from the NL and Jeff Reardon from the AL.

If you want to see the .DAT files that I used (I still don't know how to download these onto the blog , so please just take a look at the screen caps below). If anyone can e-mail me instructions, please do so at bdj610@hotmail.com. Below is the NL .DAT file, then the AL .DAT file:




Now that the 1988 All-Star Games are officially over, on Friday, I will introduce the 1989 End of Year All-Star teams. Simulations to come hopefully by Sunday night.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Coming Soon to a Store Shelf Near You...

Congratulations to the New York Yankees. They have just won their 27th World Series title. And because of this, Topps will be making the above product available to the masses (in the New York area anyway...).

And so the 2009 Major League Baseball season finally ends.

Heat up the Hot Stove folks...it's time to see what the Free Agent market holds!!!

And after today, everyone is 0-0.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama