Cubs Baseball Card Mailday from A to Z
This was a post I wanted to make last week, but the Mailday included a bunch of new cards for my collection. The idea is to highlight a Cubs Baseball Card from each letter of the alphabet. It would take a box of cards that included some variety, and that box arrived this week. More on that in a moment.
First, a bubble mailer arrived with four cards. These four cards were all autographs, thanks to Generazio in Levittown, New York. From earliest to most recent is this awesome 1973 Topps Jose Cardenal signed in black sharpie.
Rawly Eastwick came to the Cubs for the 1981 season after stints with the Reds, Cardinals, Phillies, and Royals. Eastwick posted a 2.30 ERA in 43 innings for the 1981 Cubs.
Dave Smith was signed as a free agent prior to the 1991 season after 11 seasons with the Houston Astros. He signed this 1992 Topps card in blue sharpie.
Andy Sisco was a big dude drafted by the Cubs in 2002. The pitcher stands at 6-foot-9.
On to the alphabet. A box of 500 cards came from New York, and it was the perfect mix for my A to Z post.
Almora, Albert. Not only an “A,” but an alliteration to kick things off. Great image (as always) from Stadium Club with Almora getting his jersey torn off his body.
Bullinger, Jim. Had to go with a Stadium Club Members Only card as I have so few of these in my collection.
Choi, Hee Strop. I started following this first base prospect during his early days in the Cubs minor leagues with the Lansing Lugnuts. Choi didn’t amount to much directly playing for the Cubs, but trading him to the Marlins brought back Derrek Lee.
Dickson, Lance. Another hot prospect like Choi, but a decade earlier. Lance came up in 1991, but fizzled in the big leagues going 0-3 with a 7.24 ERA in his three starts.
Edwards, Carl Jr. I liked calling him C.J. better than Carl Junior. Edwards was traded to the Padres this season.
Farnsworth, Kyle. Fun fact: I named my beta fish in college “Farnsy,” after Farnsworth.
Grace, Mark. The top Cub of the 1990’s, here’s Grace on a 1992 Leaf gold edition.
Hendricks, Kyle. An early Hendricks Cubs card from 2015 Topps.
Izturis, Cesar. There are not too many “I” names, but hail Cesar!
Johnstone, Jay. My first memory of Jay Johnstone wasn’t as a baseball player, rather a VHS tape I had that he hosted. It was a baseball bloopers tape, and I remember a segment with Tommy LaSorda and Mickey Hatcher.
Kraemer, Joe. If I included Lance Dickson, why not Joe Kraemer. This is from the 1990 Donruss The Rookies set. While “K” isn’t quite as slim on players than “I,” it’s a pretty light letter.
LaHair, Bryan. He was an All Star, remember. LaHair did have power during his time with the Cubs.
May, Derrick. Boy, I went heavy on the early 1990’s rookies. Admittedly, Derrick May had more big league success than Dickson and Kraemer.
Noel, Todd. Noel was the Cubs first round draft pick in 1996 and was traded to the Marlins.
Pie, Felix. A five-tool, can’t miss prospect that...missed.
Quintana, Jose. Q. Many people are down on the Quintana trade that sent prospects Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease to the White Sox. Time will tell, and maybe I’m an optimist but I think it was a good trade.
Rizzo, Anthony. Had to go with Rizzo here.
Sosa, Sammy. Yes, there were Ryne Sandberg cards in this box, but as soon as I saw this Sosa I knew it was going to be my selection. The 1998 Home Run Chase was a key piece that brought me back to being a baseball fan.
Trillo, Manny. While he is featured on this 1975 Topps Rookie infielders with three other players, I was a closet Manny Trillo fan in the late 1980’s during his second stint with the team.
Uehara, Koji. Much like the letter “I,” the letter “U” has a really small representation. Enter Koji Uehara.
Villanueva, Hector. What can I say? I’m a sucker for 1990’s Cubs rookies.
Wilkins, Rick. Hey, this blog is seriously lacking 1991 Fleer pictures.
Young, Eric. Upper Deck Vintage was a pretty cool set. Reminiscent of 1971 Topps with that black border.
Zambrano, Carlos. I opted for Carlos as opposed to Eddie to represent the Zambrano’s.
One Million Cubs Project Stats Wednesday's (9/11/2019) Cards: 504
Wednesday's (9/11/2019) Packages: 2
January's Cubs Count: 9,343
February's Cubs Count: 8,980
March's Cubs Count: 15,704
April's Cubs Count: 11,651
May's Cubs Count: 7,273
June's Cubs Count: 7,690
July's Cubs Count: 10,803
August's Cubs Count: 11,929
September's Cubs Count: 4,443
Total Trades/Donations: 236
Trade States of Origin: Arizona (3) Alabama (5)
Arkansas California (20)
Colorado (5) Connecticut (12)
Delaware
Florida (9)
Georgia (3)
Idaho (3) Illinois (18) Indiana (5)
Iowa (2)
Kansas
Kentucky (2)
Louisiana Maryland (9) Massachusetts (8)
Michigan Minnesota (3)
Mississippi
Missouri (3)
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire (2) New Jersey (12)
New Mexico (3) New York (21) North Carolina (6) Ohio (12)
Oregon (3) Pennsylvania (6)
Rhode Island (2)
South Carolina
South Dakota Tennessee (6) Texas (7)
Utah
Vermont (3)
Virginia (2) Washington (5)
West Virginia (6) Wisconsin (12)
Countries of Origin
Canada (1)
Korea (1)