Classic card of the week

Mike Scioscia, 1989 Topps

Does anybody remember the movie Field of Dreams? It was a movie about baseball starring the guy from Thirtysomething and also the guy from Waterworld and also Darth Vadar. It is about ghosts, too. No? You should Netflix it.

Anyway, there’s a rather poignant scene where the main character, what’s-his-face, finally gets to meet his dad, who is a ghost. They never really had a great relationship when both were humans because when the son was playing Major League Baseball, and he hit his first triple, his dad wasn’t there to see it. This caused a lot of resentment, as you can imagine, because every son who grows up to become a major leaguer dreams of the day he will hit his first triple and his dad will be there, cheering him on from the stands.

In one of the last scenes in the movie, before the dramatic explosion, the son reenacts his first triple, but this time ghost dad is there, and when the son reaches third base, his dad is there to hug him. It is very emotional. I cried. Oh, ummm, I forgot—SPOILER ALERT!

Luckily for Mike Scioscia, he did not have to build a baseball field in a cornfield and alienate his neighbors and skeptical brother-in-law in order to recapture the love of his father.




Mike’s first major league Triple

The first Triple is so crucial to the father-son bond that it is always capitalized. I did not capitalize it earlier because I forgot.

occurred at Philadelphia, 5-3-80 while his father was in attendance.

What an amazing story! I am tearing up again. Let’s move on before I break down completely.

Here’s what I really want to know—how did Mike Scioscia become the Dodgers everyday catcher? Was it hard work? Scrappiness? Grittiness? Hustle? Throwbackedness? Something else? Let’s ask Wikipedia.

When I made Mike the No. 1 catcher, the writers came to me and said, "[Competing catcher] Steve Yeager said you made Scioscia the No. 1 catcher because he's Italian." I said, "That's a lie. I made him the No. 1 catcher because I'm Italian."
—Tommy Lasorda

Tommy Lasorda, everybody! Playing on the old stereotype that all Italians … ummm, are able to uh, name their catcher whoever they darn please? And if that catcher happens to also be Italian, pure coincidence! Ha, ha … what? I don’t know. Pretty safe to say that no favoritism was involved here though. Move along everybody. You too, Steve Yeager, with your lack of animated hand gestures and distaste for olives. You disgust me.

Did you know?
When Tommy Lasorda drafted Mike Piazza in the 62nd round of the 1988 MLB Draft, he was mistakenly under the impression that Piazza was German and not the son of a longtime family friend.

Classic card of the week

Jeff Gryaer, 1993 Topps Stadium Club

“GET OFF ME, RON HARPER!”

This is what Jeff Grayer said, in his head, as he dribbled a basketball while wearing white tube socks. One can sense the excitement of this dribble-off as the culturally diverse crowd looks on in amazement and anticipation of what will happen next. Will he shoot it? Will Ron Harper get called for reaching? Will Jeff Grayer dribble in a different direction? Is a five-second call in order? Who knows. Anything can happen in basketball. All I can say is, that is some fiiiiiiiiine dribbling.

What else about Jeff Grayer?



Here Grayer is rocking the Warriors throwback jersey, although that trend in clothing hadn't yet peaked among NBA fans. Coincidentally, Grayer's Warriors jersey on the front of the card is now a throwback. Jeff Grayer is so old that his regular jerseys are throwbacks and his throwback jerseys are future jerseys. In fact, according to this card, Grayer was popularly referred to as “Ol’ No. 44.” I think we’re all familiar with that, no? Jeff Grayer? Ol’ No. 44? Anybody? Allow me to illustrate:

Person A: Then the Clippers cut the lead to one, but the Warriors scored on the next possession to ice the game. Bailed out by Ol’ No. 44.

Person B: I don’t even need to inquire as to whom you’re talking about, because everybody knows that Ol’ No. 44 is Jeff Grayer.

Person A: I honestly cannot tell sometimes if you’re being sarcastic, or if you’re just a really weird person.

Ha, ha! Warriors fans are hilarious. Anyway, what was the ol’ “buzz” on Ol’ No. 44 those days of 1993?

Per minute, Grayer ranked in TOP 34% of the NBA in OFFENSIVE REB…

Indeed, when they weren’t discussing with anticipation the release of Nas’ debut album, those in the streets were aflutter with talk of Jeff Grayer’s per minute offensive rebounding statistics. Top 34 percent? That’s almost top 30 percent! Crazy, yo.

I would now like to draw your attention to the Topps Skills Rating System listed on the back of this card. In an astounding maneuver, it appears as though the team of experts responsible for formulating the Skills Rating System decided to rate players on a scale of “out of ten.” Remember, please, that the Sporting News Skills Rating System that Topps had traditionally used was a complex formula that rated players “out of five.” So throw out everything you thought you knew about the Skills Rating System. They done blowed it up. Out of five? Pffft. Try out of ten.

That said, Ol’ No. 44’s modest 8.1 ball handling rating seems rather low considering the breathtaking, Globetrotter-esque maneuvers he is displaying on the front of this card.

Did you know?
When Latrell Sprewell first became a Warrior, he declined to wear his favorite number, 44, out of respect for Ol' No. 44. Then he choked P.J. Carlesimo.