Friday, March 26, 2010

2010 Topps Tribute Jackie Preview

Via Beckett, Topps unveils some preview pics from their upcoming high-end card product called Topps Tribute. These are truly some super shiny cards that can blind a pilot from a couple of thousand miles away. Really, they are that shiny.

Anyway, above is a preview of a Jackie Robinson cut signature card that a lucky collector will pull. The range of autos is fairly strong, as expected, with one truly mystical Yankee auto-book card out there to try to snag. Go to the Beckett site to see more pics. Below is what the base card will look like.

eBay Auction: Posing for Garvey

These are a couple of great pics of Steve Garvey in the midst of taking photos during work-out day at the 1990 All-Star game in Wrigley Field. This event happened after he retired so he must have been on hand at some kind of Old-Timers Day event. They come directly from the archives of the Chicago Sun Times, dated 7/9/1990.


Schooled by Mattingly

Don Mattingly was a great hitter in his day. Once dubbed "The Hit Man" he uncorked over 2,100 hits while batting .307 and slugging .471 in a career marred by injuries. Donnie Baseball had a sweet left handed swing that floated through the strike zone like an eagle soaring in the sky. It was beautiful to watch and glorious to experience first hand. It is no surprise that he would eventually become a batting coach in the Major Leagues in his post-Baseball playing years.

What is a surprise, though, is that he didn't become the lifetime Yankee hitting coach. He was beloved in that state and continues, to this day, to be loved by Yankee fans across the country. To the joy of Dodger Nation, we get to experience the wisdom and majesty of this fine Baseball professional. He is retooling and educating our fine young sluggers to make the most of their abilities at the plate. I think the continued progress of players like Kemp and Ethier is a testament to his knowledge, skills and abilities.

Now, due to his founding of an aluminum bat company called Mattingly Baseball Bats he is sharing some of his hitting secrets with all of us. He has a series of 7 different instructional youtube videos available to view.

Below is the Mental Approach to an At-Bat.

YouTube Video Link:

Others in the series include:
So get going young Padawan.