We Howie Knew You

So here is the final post for this year of 2020. The title is sort of a play on words, no not of Happy New Year, but more We Hardly Knew You or How We Knew You. Early last week on 21 December 2020 Leftfielder, 2nd and 1st baseman Howie Kendrick announced his retirement after a 15 season career. The big highlights of his career of course is the 2019 NLDS game 5 winning 10th inning grand slam vs The Los Angeles Dodgers. Plus his MVP for the NLCS vs the St. Louis Cardinals.

Since I don't spend lots of times with details here are some scans of a few Howie Kendrick cards as a little tribute to his career.

2020 Topps Baseball: Series Two 655 Howie Kendrick Washington Nationals

2020 Topps Allen & Ginter: 233 Howie Kendrick Washington Nationals

2019 Topps Now: Baseball 1020 Howie Kendrick Washington Natinoals

Carter Kieboom First Career Hit Is A HOME RUN in MLB Debut 2019 Topps Now

 This post is about a single card (yeah big deal there have been lots of those around this blog) from 2019 Topps Now:

Carter Kieboom (Kid brother of Spencer Kieboom) made his MLB Debut on 26 April 2019 at home vs The San Diego Padres in the first of a three game series. His first MLB hit was a Home Run on his 3rd at bat bottom of the 8th Inning. He tied the score 3-3 unfortunately the Padres scored a run at the top of the 9th and won 4-3  The Nats lost the series 2-1.

2019 Topps Now Baseball 136 Carter Kieboom Washington Nationals

2018 Home Run Derby Bryce Harper Winner

 

Ah Back in 2018 The All-Star Game was hosted by The Nationals at Nationals Park. This post is not about the game but rather one of the pre-game events. The Home Run Derby held the night before the game. The league's best (well supposedly best) sluggers compete to see who can hit the most homers before getting 5 outs in each "inning" of the competition. OK lets skip the details and just get to the card for this post:

It is from 2018 Topps Now Baseball: 467 Bryce Harper Washington Nationals Champion at home Ballpark.

2018 Topps Now Baseball: 467 Bryce Harper Washington Nationals

2018 T-Mobile Home Run Derby Champion at Home Ballpark

2020 Topps Now: Juan Soto Ties Some Guy Named Mantle

2020 Topps Now Baseball: 76 Juan Soto

Young Slugger Ties Mickey Mantle for Home Run Mark

So I got this card via Ebay, which is my main source for Topps Now cards it seems. Lets see it was $5.50 Free Shipping but plus some tax so a grand total of $5.83

2020 Topps Now Baseball: 76 Juan Soto Washington Nationals

Young Slugger Ties Mantle For Home Run Mark

Senators Singles: 1959 Topps Hal Griggs

 

1959 Topps Hal Griggs

OK so here is a single card post. I got this card from a Sportlots auction for the 25 cents opening bid. I won 3 other auctions and mentioned the hole lot over at my regular card blog. So here we go 1959 Washington Senator Right Handed Pitcher Hal Griggs.

1959 Topps Baseball 434 Hal Griggs

Joy Of A Complete Team Set: Well A Complete Rookie Prospect Team Set

Joy Of A Complete Team Set:

2007 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Gold Parallel Washington Nationals Team Set

I got this set from Ebay a month or so back for just a little over 9 bucks (five cents technically) shipping included in the total. I was so excited because it was a “full team set”. Well this set is the 2007 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Full Washington Nationals Team set. I forgot that Bowman separates the sets into 3 or 4 min-sets. I was a little disappointed because it was just Rookies and Prospects no Vets 8 cards total, I was thinking it was the regular Bowman set. Well the regular Bowman set for 2007 only has 3 players/cards. I have the regular versions of them (I think) but this is the Gold Parallel Rookies Set that I got. I don’t think I have any gold parallels of the veteran players (Ryan Zimmerman, Austin Kearns and Nick Johnson), I may have all of them in the regular issue but not the Gold parallel. OH well. Anyway here are the Rookies and Prospects:

2007 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Gold Parallel Team Set

(8 cards)

BDP9 Jesus Flores

BDP38 Kory Casto

BDPP23 Derek Norris

BDPP35 Steven Souza

BDPP63 Jake Smolinski

BDPP67 Collin Balester

BDPP70 Emiliano Fruto

BDPP91 Brian Bocock

So yeah there are the youngins from the 2007 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Gold Parallel Washington Nationals Team Set. Now I need to locate the regular Gold Parallels of the veterans; Zimmerman, Kearns & Johnson for the true complete TEAM Set.

*Due to the new formatting of Blogger scans in future posts might be delayed since I have to use a completely new process to get the images from my ancient laptop to my work laptop to be able to add images or to find another way to get the images up on the web to access from work 'putter.

Senators Singles: Tony Two-Bags Walks It Off

2019 Topps Now: 770 Anthony Rendon

A one card post this month.One of the last of Anthony "Tony Two Bags" Rendon in a Nationals uniform Unless he does one of those "retire as a ___" one day contract with the Nats in about 10 years. I hope he does well with The Angels.

Anyway here is Tony's 2019 Topps Now card from 30 August vs The Marlins noting his 2 Run game winning single.Putting the goodguy Nats up on the bad fish Marlins 7-6.

2019 Topps Now Baseball: 770 Anthony Rendon Washington Nationals

Blast From The Past: Nationals 2005 Inaugural Season Pocket Schedule

Here is a blast from the past. I stumbled upon these while looking for something to blog about this month. Well today the last day of the month. Once again I am cutting things a little short.

Since the schedule for this particular season has been royally messed up by the virus thing I decided to show the pocket schedule for the Nationals 2005 Inaugural Season that was distributed by McDonald's.

I got two of these I think from Ebay for like five bucks. They fold up to about the size of a standard trading card and unfold to 6 panels that are approx. 12 and 3/4 inches so it didn't quite fit my 12" x 9" flatbed scanner. UGH. Here are all the panels as the scanned parts the first 5 panels of a side followed by the final panel. As you can see the "front" with the Nats logo is the first panel followed by the "back" McDonald's logo panel.

I then quickly "combined" the sixth panel to the other five to give the illusion of how it looks in hand. I didn't bother matching them up perfectly mostly because I didn't have the time to do that since this was a quick "OH I can blog about this" decision. Hey you might have gotten some 2018 Topps Now card of Bryce Harper. Here is the mock "in hand" images.

Pretty Neat Huh? OK Phillies fans maybe next month I'll get around to the Harpers I haven't shown yet. Don't be disappointed if I don't.

Senators Singles: Ryan Zimmerman 2009 Oddball

RYAN ZIMMERMAN 2009 Enterplay MLB Fan Pak Baseball

Here is a quick Senators Singles post. I am not sure when or how I acquired this card whether it was from a trade or a purchase. I think it was from a purchase from someone on a trading forum and I think it was one of 3 or 4 cards/items. If it was a purchase I paid somewhere between $5 to $10 for it maybe shipping added. Then again it could have been from a trade.

It is an Oddball card meaning it is from a manufacturer that is not your regular trading card maker it is also an oddball size 3 and 3/8 inches by 3 and 3/8 inches, plus this particular card is also one of those standee cards that has perforations that allow you to fold and bend the card so that it stands up (and thus reducing the value and more so the condition of the card)  It is from the 2009 EnterPlay MLB Fan Pak set The Trading Card Database (TCDB) has the checklist. I noticed there are some cards from the set I will need to get sometime.as there are one or two of my PC guys and a few guys who were future Nationals. The only "National", that is the only player who was on the Nats at the time the set was released, is Ryan Zimmerman which is the card I have and am featuring in this post. In the photo Ryan is wearing a throwback cap that is sort of an homage to the Original Senators team circa the 1920s except it is more modernized with a red bill that makes it a weird combination era hat.

Anyway I don't have a story to yarn about so here is the card:

2009 EnterPlay MLB Fan Pak Baseball: 60 Ryan Zimmerman Washington Nationals

Get Back On Your Bikes

OK so this is another quick and dirty last night of the month post. The card I'm featuring came just in the nick of time. I got it from Ebay I had been watching it for a while and pulled the trigger on it. I got it for $5.99 Free Shipping. I think I had been watching one copy of it that sold out from under me. A few of these Topps Now Cards have done that to me. So in a way this card is sort of part two. Due to the achievement that was accomplished. So many moons ago I had posted about when Trea Turner hit for the cycle for the first time in his young career (Something Bryce Harper has yet to do, he came close a few times here in DC but didn't do it here, maybe sometime in Philly.) Back then I made the post "Get On Your Bikes And Ride" Which is a tribute to the rock group Queen in a way. Even though I showed a couple of cards highlighting that first cycle at the time I didn't have the card. I have since gotten that card.

In the meantime once again in his Career Trea Turner hit for the cycle. His second time but he also tied a record of sorts. He hit his second cycle against the same team he had hit for his first cycle 2 years previously. The Colorado Rockies. Trea is just the 3rd MLB player to do that. Very cool.

So here is the card commemorating that which I got this afternoon (Monday 30 Mar 2020).

2019 Topps Now Baseball: 559 Trea Turner Washington Nationals

3rd player in MLB history to hit for the cycle against the same team twice