Visiting the Mendoza Line

A recent package from defgav of Baseball Card Breakdown inspired me to go out looking for new Mario Mendoza cardboard to add to my player collection. I didn't find a lot out there outside of minor league cards advertised at $12 a pop (no thanks!), but a realistic seller had this 1992 Cal League Cards California League All Star card at a reasonable price. It was good enough to scratch my Mendoza itch, so I placed an order and got it in the mail a few days later. I think I have most of the cards made of Mendoza during his playing days, so I'm glad he made a nice career as a  minor league coach/manager to give me more Mario-related cardboard to chase.

At the Trade Deadline 41: Hot Customs from Baseball Card Breakdown

Normally I try to save to coolest card(s) in a package for the end of a post, but for this package I needed to post the cool stuff right out in front. A little while ago I sent defgav of the Baseball Card Breakdown blog a small package centered around a kinda gross Christmas card (serially numbered # 12 / 25) that I found on eBay. Well, he hit me back with something much more awesome.

Part of the hobby for him is creating custom cards or altering cards to match his tastes. I have no design talent at all, but I certainly appreciate the work and skill that goes into making them. One of my favorite sets in my collection is the Munnatawket Allen & Ginter custom set made by Nachos Grande's friend roddster, who doesn't have a blog that I am aware of. I still haven't added the most recent extension of that set to my collection, and I really need to make that a priority.

But back to the package that defgav sent. I like collecting cards of players who exist on the fringes of fame or who are known for something outside of sports glory. I collect basketball players Gheorghe Muresan and Manute Bol because they are so tall, Muggsy Bogues and Spud Webb because they are so short, baseball player Munenori Kawasaki because he's an interview king and a ball of energy in the dugout and on the field, R.A. Dickey because he throws the knuckleball, and Mario Mendoza because his name is used as the benchmark for batting mediocrity.

Defgav touched on my Mario Mendoza collection with a custom card that incorporates a cut signature from the infamous player. It's been a while since I added to my Mendoza collection, and this custom creation definitely stands as a highlight of that PC.

The second custom included in the package was this Nolan Ryan card featuring him wearing Steve Garvey's batting helmet in the 1985 All-Star game. Defgav did a whole series of custom cards showing different players in San Diego Padres garb, and this is definitely a cool piece of cardboard.

The rest of the package was filled out with conventional cardboard that hit several of my PCs. That Jim Abbott card on the bottom is an SP from the 2012 Topps Archives set. I think my favorite card from the group is that 1974 Topps Rich 'Goose' Gossage card. I could stare at that card forever. Why is Gossage so off-center? Why was this photo chosen? Why does the odd photo choice make this card so much better? So many questions. One thing that is not in question, though, is how awesome this trade package was to open and sort through. Thanks, defgav!

I Got it at Sportlots 9: Revisiting the Mendoza Line

I grabbed a few more cards for my Mario Mendoza collection from the sellers on Sportlots. There's some pretty good stuff here. First up is a card from the 1975 SSPC set. I don't know a lot about these cards, but I do think that minimalist design looks pretty good. Of course, the lack of any information at all on the front of the card could be an issue for some folks.

Next up is a small stack of O-Pee-Chee cards, headed up by a copy from 1975. Then there is a run of cards from 1980-1982. I don't know if this is a common thing, but the edges of most of these were cut very rough. Maybe the saw blade was a bit dull at the O=Pee-Chee factory.

I also got Mendoza's three cards from the 2003 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites set. The first one is his base card, and I also grabbed a copy of the Refractor version. I didn't know it when I ordered it, but when it arrived I discovered that it was numbered out of # / 299. So only about 300 Mario Mendoza super-collectors will have a chance to snag all of his cards. Upon looking at my order invoice, it looks like I may have grabbed the third card at COMC and not Sportlots. Anyway, it is the autographed version. It's a pretty decent autograph, too, in blue Sharpie across the center of the photo.

In addition to cards from his playing career, I got a couple of cards from his coaching days. I guess it's kind of piling on the guy, but I wonder how that interview for the Hitting Coach job went. And those sunglasses in that picture on the right are super fabulous.

Finally, it's hard to tell from the scan but this is the 1975 Topps Mini. It's some pretty good stuff. There are still a fair number of Mendoza cards that I don't have yet, but I've built up a decent representative sample from his career.

Just the Commons, Ma'am 4: I Walk the Line

I used my recent order from the JustCommons website to get a jump start on a new players collection. This is one of the most famous players in baseball so you'd think his cards would be pretty expensive, but they are priced like any old scrub commons you might find in a checklist.

The player in question is Mario Mendoza, of the infamous 'Mendoza Line.' The term is used to describe someone who is batting at or around .200, which is where Mendoza spent much of his career. The phrase was coined by some combination of Bruce Bochte, Tom Paciorek, George Brett, and announcer Chris Berman.

I thought it might be nice to collect a guy with such a famous bit of baseball lore surrounding his career, even if it's not exactly the type of fame someone dreams about when they are a kid.

I grabbed three cards from Mendoza's time as a Pirate, including a 1975 Topps, a nice shot of him sporting the double-brim look in his 1978 issue, and a photo of him dressed as a banana on his 1979 card. The 1979 card also features an error, listing his career batting average at .278, when he had never hit higher than .221 in any prior year. Rumor has it that Topps divided his hits by games played rather than at-bats when calculating the career number.

I got four cards from his time with the Mariners. His 1980 Topps card is horribly off-center. Usually it's my poor cropping that makes the cards look like this, but in this case it was just that the card is off-center so much. I may look for an upgrade for it. I also got three Mariners cards from 1981, the year I was born, picking up his Fleer, Topps, and Donruss issues.

And finally, a quadfecta of cards from his time as a Ranger. The 1981 card is from Topps Traded, while I also have 1982 cards from Fleer, Topps, and Donruss. Again, his Topps card is way off-center. Boo!

I have a few more Mendoza cards coming in from a couple of other sources. He doesn't have a lot of stuff out there unless you want to chase down obscure team-issued stuff and the like, and even then there really isn't that much to get. This will be a fun little nearly-vintage collection to fill out without spending the big bucks.