Sports Card Tour 2018 - Seattle

The Collector's Sports Card Tour is back on the road for the final six stops. Today we're in Seattle.

Seattle is home to two pro sports teams - the Mariners and the Seahawks. That could change soon...

The Mariners made the playoffs four times from 1995-2001 but have not appeared in the postseason since. They are one of only two major league teams that have not played in a World Series. The Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII after the 2013 season. They were one yard away from repeating as champs - but lost to the Patriots in SB XLIX. 

Upper Deck could not have picked a better player for the first card of their first-ever set. Ken Griffey, Jr. made his major league debut in 1989 - less than two years after being drafted #1 overall by Seattle. One thing I didn't know about this card until recently is that Griffey was in uniform for the minor-league San Bernadino Spirit when this photo was taken. I've seen this card a thousand times and hadn't noticed the airbrushed Mariners cap.

 

Griffey is perhaps the most popular baseball player of the last 30 years (I'd rank him slightly ahead of Derek Jeter) The amount of great Griffey cards out there is overwhelming. I don't focus on accumulating his cards as much as some collectors do, only because the competition and the prices are prohibitive. I don't have any autos or relics or low numbered inserts, and yet it was still a tough decision to choose eight favorites for this scan.

Until writing this post I didn't realize just how many Junior cards were in my collection. 63 different Griffeys might not sound like a lot to those of you who have hundreds - but it's the most I have of any player that I didn't designate as a "PC."

 
Waaay back at the beginning of the baseball season I mentioned that Ryan (Base Card Hero) offered up team lots to thin out his collection. Many of the Mariners in this post - including 16 of my 63 Ken Griffey Jr. cards - arrived in that trade stack.

The Mariners had an absolutely loaded lineup in the '90s. Edgar Martinez was probably the best pure hitter on the team, but was often overlooked by non-Mariners fans and collectors. I had these cards in my commons binders until his Hall of Fame vote totals started to spike. It looks like he'll get in soon, so I transferred these to my star player box.

 

"The Big Unit" Randy Johnson struggled with wildness early in his career (just ask John Kruk) but by the end of his Seattle tenure he was the best pitcher in the American League. The M's would not have made the playoffs in 1995 were it not for Johnson's dominant performance in the one-game playoff against the Angels.

And then there's this guy...Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez. A-Rod. Seattle's first overall pick in 1993 was just 18 when he made his major league debut a year later. I remember the collecting frenzy when his Classic Draft Picks cards started to circulate..my friends and I could not wait to see what this kid (who was only a few years older than us) would become. Well, 13 year-old me, it's a long story...

Alex had more natural ability than just about any baseball player..ever. Certainly in my lifetime. And he was ridiculously handsome. But he was consumed by ego, greed, and God knows what else. It makes perfect sense that he played the majority of his career alongside icons like Griffey and Derek Jeter - because he was the complete opposite of them.

I scoffed at him when he left Seattle for the biggest free agent contract in baseball history. I rolled my eyes when he felt "pressured" to live up that that giant contract he signed with Texas. And I detested him during his Yankee years. But I still spent $74.69 on this SGC graded rookie card (and another $25 on a box of 1994 Flair, mostly to pull his RC.)

The Mariners used the money saved from losing A-Rod to sign a speedy singles hitter from Japan. Ichiro Suzuki was a breath of fresh air in the home run-obsessed steroid era. He won the MVP and Rookie of the Year awards in 2001, batting .350 as a leadoff hitter for a 116-win Mariners team.

I got to see Ichiro play when he was with the Yankees. We had seats in the left field bleachers, not too far behind where he stood, stretched, and darted after every ball hit his way. He was almost 40 but still had speed and range.

I was happy to see him return to Seattle this season, even if it was only for a handful of games and a non-playing position. With all respect to Pete Rose (on the field at least) Ichi is the true hit king. Japanese baseball is legit, and every one of his 4,367 hits were collected at the highest levels of baseball. I'm still astounded that Suzuki could squeeze in 3,000 MLB base hits despite starting his stateside career at age 27.

Some fan favorites who suited up for Seattle. Corky (Pack War) collects Jay Buhner cards. A.J. (The Lost Collector) is a Tino Martinez collector. I'm sort of a Harold Reynolds fan.. don't remember much about his playing career but I've enjoyed his work on ESPN and the MLB Network enough to rescue his junk wax-era cards from the discard pile. I don't have any Dan Vogelbach cards, but I should mention P-Town Tom's impressive PC of the "Vogelmonster".

Felix Hernandez has been pitching for the Mariners since he was a teenager. I've had his base cards in my star player box but I might have to rethink that. "King Felix" has been in sharp decline since turning 30 at the start of the 2016 season. James Paxton is the M's ace now. (I don't have any Paxton cards.)

Nelson Cruz is older than I am, and still slugging for the Marineros. This Topps Museum patch card was a $5 impulse buy at the Connecticut card show in March. I like the patch more than the player.

Seattle should have a strong infield with Kyle Seager and Robinson Cano - but Seager has struggled this season and Cano is serving a PED suspension. (Shortstop Jean Segura is an All-Star though) I was at work checking mlbtraderumors.com when I read about Robbie signing with the Mariners. Can't remember any other player ever leaving the Yankees in their prime - but that contract is already turning sour. The Bowman Platinum Seager card is one of my favorites; if I ever bought another baseball jersey it would be the M's aqua throwback.

Some vintage Seattle cards, including a pair of Mariners I purchased from Just Commons (before they became CardBarrel)...

...and a pair of Pilots from my first trade with Bo. I think I've only see the Pilots logo on a card once - and that was a 1970 Topps card on Shoebox Shane's blog.

Here's a retro logo I'm much more familiar with. I bought this Skybox SuperSonics logo card on COMC last year for $0.32 (I also bought a New Jersey Nets logo card) The franchise played 41 seasons in the Emerald City (and won the NBA title in 1979) before moving to Oklahoma City.

 

My oldest Sonics cards are part of my 1988-89 Fleer set build. The Nate McMillan is my only gem mint single.

Ray Allen was a headliner of this year's Hall of Fame class. Lenny Wilkens is also enshrined in Springfield - as a player and a coach!

In the early '90s the Sonics were led by two exciting young stars - slam dunk artist Shawn Kemp...

...and Hall of Fame point guard Gary Payton. "The Glove" was the #2 overall pick in 1990 (I wish I still had his NBA Hoops card with him on the phone) They led the Sonics to the NBA Finals in 1996, where they lost to Michael Jordan and the Bulls.

These are the only two Sonics inserts in my collection - other than the Wilkens.

The best of my base cards. Sometime around 1990 I bought a Costacos Brothers poster of Xavier McDaniel, mostly because it was so random to see Seattle items in Connecticut. But also because it was a badass image.

I didn't see many Seahawks games in the late '80s but I knew about Steve Largent. At the time, Largent was the leading receiver in NFL history. Two Largent items tricked me back in the day...one of them because it didn't actually exist. I had seen Steve Largent listed on the Starting Lineup checklist as a kid and had it at the top of my wantlist. Sometime around 1992 I wrote to The Kenner Kid requesting one-but he informed me that it was never made.

A few years later I met a kid (named Steve) who lived across the street from my sister. He had a football card collection and offered to sell me Largent's 1977 Topps RC for about $20. I think the card was listed in Beckett for at least $60 so I took the deal. When I got home I realized that the card was trimmed. Steve admitted it and sort-of apologized, but I didn't deal with him again.

Rick Mirer was the #2 overall pick behind Drew Bledsoe in 1993. I collected both players and even had a blue Mirer jersey in my closet (I might still have it somewhere.) These cards are worn and faded from nearly 25 years of moving around in my collection. 

 

Same with this Cortez Kennedy Franchise insert. My eyes always lit up when I pulled them from Score packs-in any sport. The John Friesz Certified is in my base card binder-but I'm not sure it should be. Is Platinum Blue the base color of these?

I have 15 Shaun Alexander cards in my collection - and all of them are base cards. (I also have a McFarlane figure)  Even though Alexander didn't quite reach 10,000 yards I keep these in my star player box to save room in my football binders. And also because I haven't been keeping up with football cards for years. 

Case in point: I only have two Marshawn Lynch Seattle singles (and maybe two more with Buffalo) Kenner did produce at least one Curt Warner SLU figure back in the day; I think I have the '89 edition. Ahman Green was one of my favorite Packers backs.

Stars of Seattle's secondary. I bought the Richard Sherman RC on COMC when the Seahawks were in the Super Bowl - it amazes me that a current star could have just one rookie card. Earl Thomas is the last Legion of Boom star standing - and he's unhappy with his contract.

Until a few months ago the Russell Wilson Topps RC was the only one of his cards in my collection. I got one in a blaster my brother-in-law bought me as a birthday gift, then traded it to Jon about a year ago. This replacement copy cost $1.25 on COMC. The other three cards were retail repack pulls.

Bonus content!

Night Owl has been discussing Pro Set MusiCards on his blog. This Soundgarden single is one of two I purchased on COMC last year (Eric Clapton was the other.) Pro basketball is still being played at KeyArena - by UConn great Sue Bird and the Seattle Storm.



Favorite Mariners player (current): It was Robby Cano, but now...I don't know

Favorite Mariners player (all-time): Ken. Griffey. Junior.
Favorite Seahawks player (current): Probably Russell Wilson, but I'll be cheering hard for Shaqueem Griffin to make the team
Favorite Seahawks player (all-time): Steve Largent

Favorite Sonics player (all-time): Ray Allen and Xavier McDaniel
Favorite Seattle-based rock band: Nirvana

Next tour stop: Tampa

Thanks for reading!


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