Pitcher Jim Bagby was a two-time All-Star who won in double digits with the Red Sox and the Indians in the 30s and 40s. But in his second go-round with the Sox in 1946, he had lost most of his stuff. He wasn’t awful on the mound managing a 7-6…
There isn’t any baseball history buff alive doesn’t have at least a modicum of respect for Bob Gibson. Like him or not, this man could intimidate. This card is from 1968 which is significant in two ways. One, it was the year that Gibby’s ERA fell into the deadball range…
This week, Don Smith, manager of the Molly Putts Marauders in the Illowa APBA League, sent out this message via our league email listserve. He even left it in the comments section of my recent post on the upcoming IAL Draft. I’m posting it as its own article because it’s…
I don’t mean to pick on Manny Mota, really. He’s one of my favorite historical baseball players. But his rookie card from 1962 is not much to write home about. The above card is the reprint edition published in 1989. In ‘62, Mota went 13 for 74 for a .176…
Neil Leininger tells me that the Lame Duck Baseball Association has concluded its 2013 draft. You can find the results on the LDBA website. The top five picks were: Bryce Harper, Vancouver Brandon Moss, Georgia Will Middlebrooks, Mc/SCity/Pembroke Cespedes, Yoenis, Sioux City Manny Machado, New Bosox Good luck to LDBA…
In honor of Joe Mauer’s 2 for 4 performance in Team USA’s win over Canada in the World Baseball Classic yesterday, here is his 2009 APBA card. A St Paul native, Minnesota Twin Joe Mauer has played for his hometown crowd the last nine years. In 2009, everything clicked…
Many of the APBA Baseball leagues have already conducted their 2013 drafts. Not me league. The Illowa APBA League is having ours very late this year. No fear, the IAL postseason/draft weekend is soon approaching. We plan to meet up in the first weekend of April in Downers Grove, Illinois. …
I know what you’re thinking. This isn’t a Terrible Card, not really. It’s kind of a Monster Card for two numbers and then goes to crap. You have to admit Lee Smith’s card from IS a weird one and probably shows the biggest drop off from power to practically nothing. …
Joe Vance pitched for just three years in the American League in the mid-30s. Not really that well either. However in his last year in 1938, his bat made some noise. In the four trips to the plate, he hit safely in three of them including two doubles. Joe even…
In the past few days, reader Bill Ferguson and I have been discussing the finer aspects of APBA’s methods of grading pitchers via email. It’s been very interesting and we thought we would share some snippets of our conversation to open it up to the larger community since I know…