A Baseball Christmas Card

Here is another Upper Deck Christmas card I received way back when. I believe it's from 1990, but I'm not sure. It may have come from 1989- it has that copyright date on the reverse.

A Baseball Christmas in Holiday Cards

To you and yours, have a very merry Christmas and holiday season. On this Christmas eve I though it would be nice to show some vintage holiday cards I received way back when I was a young Baseball card dealer in the early 90's. Below is a card I received from Upper Deck in 1991, and below that (with Reggie Jackson as Santa) is from 1992.

Blog Kiosk: 12/23/2011

Have a very merry holiday!

• Feelin' Kinda Blue notifies us that Dodgers prospect Blake Smith won the Panamanian Winter League MVP award.

  Smith, 24, crushed pitching in the league, posting a .352/.475/.602 triple slash with five home runs, 26 RBI, 10 doubles and 20 walks.

• Halos Heaven sure likes to twist that knife.
• A special message from (BAT) Baseball Assistance Team-

  Baseball Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays and Tom Seaver have joined the list of the more than 100 current and former Major Leaguers who are scheduled to attend the 23^rd annual “Going to Bat for B.A.T. Fundraising Dinner presented by Natural Balance Pet Foods” celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the New York Mets. The annual fundraising dinner, which benefits the Baseball Assistance Team (B.A.T.), will be held on Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square.

  Go here for more details. In addition, the Dodgers get an award as well.

  For the second consecutive year, both the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers will be recognized as the recipients of the annual Bobby Murcer Award. In 2009, B.A.T. established the award in honor of the late B.A.T. Chairman, MLB All-Star and Yankees legend. The award is presented to the team in both the American League and National League whose players contribute the most amount of money to B.A.T. through the B.A.T. Payroll Deduction Program that previous season.

  For more information about B.A.T., to purchase tickets for the dinner, or to make a donation, phone 212-931-7821 or visit BaseballAssistanceTeam.com.
• I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out. Check out Puck Daddy's top 10 hockey fights of the year.
  
• The Dodgers announce their minor league coaching staffs. See the official press release, here.

  After a successful 2011 season throughout the Dodger organization, Albuquerque and Chattanooga will return their entire coaching staffs next season, while the club will keep in place the managers from six of its seven minor league affiliates. Last season, four of the Dodgers’ seven affiliates reached the postseason with the Rookie-level Arizona League Dodgers winning their league championship. The organization posted a combined .543 winning percentage (414-349), which was the second-highest winning percentage among Major League teams last season.

• Check out the LA Kings holiday message here.
  
• Cards That Never Were shows off some awesome homemade Santa Baseball cards.
  
• Check out this video of 50 great sports plays of 2011- all in 4 and a half minutes.
  

Video Link:

Happy Festivus

A Festivus for the rest of us!

Video Link:

The Airing of Grievances:

• To Eugenio Velez: 0 for 37. 0 for 37!! Really?
  
• James Loney: Consistency! There was a couple of months; especially to start the season, where you were just horrible at the plate. And stop driving that Maserati. It's like Kemp and Rihanna. It will just drain you physically, emotionally and monetarily.
  
• Rafael Furcal: You hit under .200 for us in 2011, but then go on to hit well above that in helping the Cardinals win a championship? I see how it is!
• Casey Blake: So you shave your beard and the Dodgers suck big time. I'm thinking of blaming you, big guy.
• Hiroki Kuroda: I loved you on this team... Like, man crush love... And now you're not coming back? Dammit! Do you want to see a grown man cry?
• Juan Uribe: I don't blame you for being so bad and looking so sad all of the time. I blame Ned for signing you.
• Vicente Padilla: I totally forgot you were on this team.
  
• Ned Colletti: Eugenio Velez. Eugenio Velez!! Really?
  
• To Frank McCourt: I Hate You! Please just go away.
  

There will be no feats of strength. I got mighty depressed at the number of Dodger Fight videos glorified on YouTube.

The Ultimate Dodgers Pocket Protector

Dodger geeks unite! Take out your tape repaired glasses and pencils with eraser tips. Maybe a mechanical pencil or a little stencil of geometric patterns is more to your fancy. I know I prefer those triangular shaped finger pencil grips. They fit so nicely in my hand when I write.

This auction item on eBay was made especially for us. It is a vintage 1974 World Series press pocket protector that must find the right home with the right nerd. So who wants it? Check it out right here.

(eBay Auction Link)

Blog Kiosk: 12/22/2011

Santa Kemp! Matt was given the key to the Oklahoma City and celebrates by giving out some toys to kids. (Pic via: twitter @SMPLonnie)

• Check out the Dodgers official Seasons Greetings right here.
• A future Bryan Stow settlement is an issue that should concern any Dodgers bidder, via LA Times.
• Ronald Belisario might be back, but he will face a 25 game suspension to start the season, via ESPN.
• Chan Ho Park will be playing in South Korea and will be donating his income to youth Baseball in his home country, via France 24. (Hat Tip: Dodger Thoughts)
• High Heat Stats takes a look at the worst 20 pitching contract in history, and the Dodgers fill 4 spots on that list. Can you name the 4?
• Happy Birthday, Steve Garvey! Big League Stew has a great writeup today.
• Tom at Baseball By the Letters tells us that Steve Sax is now only signing autographs through the mail for a fee of $20.
• From the Bleacher Report, check out 50 of the coolest sports photos of 2011.
• Remember the woman who was arrested for allegedly placing a Craigslist ad offering sex for World Series tickets in Philadelphia? Well, an appeals court just overturned her conviction. Via Washington Post.
• Tebowing has gotten way out of hand.
• Check out this Christmas miracle. 59 year old Brenda Hewlett wins a new truck with one shot of the puck. Unbelievable.

59 Yr Woman Wins Truck From Frenchie's Ford By Making Hole in one from Clayton Plourde on Vimeo.