Friendly Encounters

This is a weekly series featuring friends who have met celebs.

Brian over at 30-Year Old Cardboard is a great baseball fan.  He writes an interesting blog, because he has a passion for the game and the players.  Recently, Brian wrote a very poignant piece about Hall of Famer Gary Carter, who recently announced he was suffering from inoperable brain tumors.  That piece can be found here.
Carter was always the player I didn't want to like, but did.  He replaced Barry Foote (one of my childhood favorites) and earned my initial scorn.  Then he played for the hated New York Mets and won a Series with them, while my Cubs watched from their homes.  Finally he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, while one of my all-time favorites Ted Simmons barely got noticed on the ballot.
None of this is Carter's fault.  I never disliked him, I just didn't want to like him.  He was a great player and deserved all of the praise he got.  The truth is I would have loved to have Carter play at Wrigley, instead of the dozens of catchers the Cubs trotted out during his career (including the aforementioned Foote).
So while I never really cheered for Carter during his career, I am cheering for him now.  I am also joining Brian's crusade and sending a card to him for Carter.  It's the least I can do and I encourage you to do the same.

Gary Carter and Brian-Summer 2010.

Johngy's Top Ten Baseball Moments

Brian, at 30 Year Old Cardboard, issued a challenge to all bloggers to list their Top Ten moments/stories which defined baseball for each of us. I'm always up for a challenge.
Below are my Top Ten moments in baseball. They aren't necessarily in order, but to be honest, they just might be. You know how that goes, on any given moment...
Anyway, without further adieu...

#10-Chicago, IL-Summer of 1973 I started collecting baseball cards in the summer of 1973. I thought it was so cool that I could get these little snapshots (backed by statistics) of all of my favorite ballplayers. Making it even cooler was all of the boys in my class trying to be the first to nab the card of our teacher's husband, Rick Stelmaszek. I think Tom Skalski won the race, but I eventually got one.

#9-Wichita, KS-June 1975My family took a roadtrip that included a stop for a minor league baseball game featuring the Wichita Aeros (and a catcher named Rick Stelmaszek). Chris Ward was the big hero that day, though. I don't remember the specifics, but he had a huge night. I snapped the picture below right before he launched a homer into the warm Kansas summer night. It was a Norman Rockwellian night.

#8 Pittsburgh, PA (via Chicago, IL)-September 1984
For the first time in my life, the Chicago Cubs made the playoffs. They had an interesting mix of veterans and young stars. They even had good-hitting pitchers. Baseball was going to be fun for years to come on the north side of Chicago (or so it seemed).

#7 Chicago, IL-Summer 1983
The White Sox won their division in 1983 to become the first Chicago team in the playoffs in my lifetime, but more importantly I stepped on a major league field for the first time. It was "Picture Day" and I made the most of it, trying to squeeze in questions to as many players as I could. In these pre-Johngy's Beat days, I had no recording device, other than an old camera.

#6 Cleveland, OH-August 18, 2001
My friends, Jason Farber, Jim Gekas and Chuck Gekas and I went on our first baseball roadtrip. We saw the Cleveland Indians beat the Anaheim Angels 4-2. The game was a backdrop for a great time with great friends. Fortunately, this tradition still continues.

#5 Chicago, IL-Summer 1973
This is the first baseball game I ever remember seeing live. My dad took my best friend Tom Skalski and me to see the White Sox. I don't remember a whole lot, but I remember centerfielder Ken Henderson making a great catch. I also remember it being pretty cold that night, but the chills I still get aren't about the weather.

#4-Atlanta, GA (via Chicago, IL)-April 8, 1974When Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's HR record, it was the first huge baseball event I ever saw. I didn't even realize the social relevance of the matter. Looking back, this still might be the greatest baseball accomplishment I have ever seen.

#3-Boston, MA and New York, NY-June 10 & 11, 2004
This was no ordinary baseball trip with my friends. This was baseball heaven. We started at the Baseball Hall of Fame, continued to Fenway Park and ended at Yankee Stadium. This doesn't need any more explanation.

#2 Los Angeles, CA-June 2008
My usual friends with the addition of JayHawk Evans and I went to Los Angeles to see the Cubs play the Dodgers. I also went on an assignment from Global Traveler magazine. I interviewed Rick Monday (for an online piece which would lead me to winning the GT Globility award and was read on nationwide radio by David Stein of Sporting News Radio). Chuck and I also talked to many other players, coaches and announcers. Topping it off was a Cubs victory.

#1 Houston, TX-2000's
This is more of a conglomeration of moments, but I could consider the first such occurrence if I had to pick one moment. When my sister and her family moved to Houston, I made several trips. Oddly, we got closer there than we had been here. One of the real highlights were the many games we all attended. It was fun sparring with Matt (my nephew) and Scott (his dad) over the Cubs and Astros. It was moving to see my nephew's interest in baseball grow. Best of all was experiencing this with Matt, Scott, Jean (my sister) and Sammy (my niece). Once again, baseball was the backdrop of great personal moments.

Friendly Encounters

This is another in a series about my friends meeting celebrities.

I have been a frequent visitor to 30-Year Old Cardboard, a blog written by Brian Applebaum for a while. Brian is always putting up interesting things, like Did You Know... (bits of trivia), Same Card, Different Paths (career paths of multi-player cards) and other cool stuff.
Brian is a loyal fan of the Florida Marlins, but he has a soft spot for the Chicago Cubs after living in Chicago for 5 years. He is a bit of an autograph hound (and he tells those tales), but in a respectfully enthusiastic manner (as in you won't see him bowling over kids to get to a player).
Brian shares many of my ideas about collecting and sports. We are flip-flopped when it comes to fandom. My team is the Chicago Cubs, but I have a soft spot for the Marlins.
Why would a lifelong Chicagoan like me like the Marlins? Jeff Conine. Oh my friends have heard that name too many times. Yes, I admit a mancrush on Mr. Marlin.
I happened to be checking some older stuff on 30-Year Old Cardboard and I saw a picture of Brian, his son and Conine. Conine! I had to have this on Johngy's Beat. Brian was gracious enough to allow me to share his story and picture.
Brian summed up his experience by writing, "I cannot begin to explain the feeling of sharing the bench with a player that has been in that same spot for hundreds of baseball games - it was electric!!!" I know that feeling and Brian described t exactly.
I appreciate Brian allowing me to run this. Someday I hope to have a picture of me with Conine, but at least I finally have Mr. Marlin on my site.
Jeff Conine, Brian Applebaum and his son in the Marlins dugout in Miami, FL-February 2009.

Mike Squires Returns to Chicago

The Cincinnati Reds are in Chicago to play the Cubs. Special Assistant to the GM for the Reds is Mike Squires, who played his entire career (10 seasons) in Chicago, although on the south side with the White Sox.
I am not even sure if Squires travels with the team, but I am taking this opportunity to present my Top 5 favorite baseball cards of Squires, my all-time favorite White Sox player (borrowing the idea from Brian at 30-year old Cardboard, who presented his Andre Dawson Fab 5).

My Top 3 are all Fleer cards, 1981, 1983 & 1984.

The '81 Fleer comes from Fleer's first set. While many cards in this set are slightly blurry, the Squires card is crisp. Squires is seen apparently in the on deck circle, studying the pitcher. It's a clean full-view shot of Squires, highlighted by a bright unfocused background.
The '83 Fleer shows Squires poised to make a throw, presumably during infield practice. I don't believe the Sox ever used that jersey in a game. It's just a nice in-action shot.

The '84 Fleer card shows Squires (again in warmups) just after releasing the ball on a throw. Squires has some facial scruff, looking the part of the grizzled veteran. The visible #25 on the pant leg is a plus.

Rounding out the Top 5 are 1984 DonRuss and 1985 Topps, with an Honorable Mention to the 1989 Toronto Blue Jays local issue.

The '84 DR is a nice closeup of Squires leaning against the batting cage. This is a very colorful card. Although the 'White Sox' and 'DR 84' are somewhat hard to read, this is a very attractive card.
The '85 Topps card is the last year of cards for Squires, as he retired at the end of the season (technically, 1984 was his last real season, as he only came back in September of '85 for a few games to reach an mlb service point). Squires is shown on defense, ready to handle anything hit his way.
The '89 Toronto issued card is an Honorable Mention because it is not a standard issue card. Still, it was good to see Spanky on a new card and in a new uniform. I like the straight-on shot of Squires batting, although it would have been more appropriate to show Squires giving fielding pointers to someone.