Collecting for Your Kids

When my boys were born, I wanted to start collecting something for them. I wanted something I could get for them every year. The conditions:
- It couldn't cost much
- It would be easy to obtain
- It would be easy to store

I decided to go with World Series programs. Baseball is probably my favorite sport and the World Series programs only cost about $10-15 a piece. Tip: Buy them on eBay after the series is over. 

The programs also give a recap of the season and can capture the era with all of the ads and other stories. Have you ever read an old program and see the "color TV" or "Yoo-hoo Sports Drink" ads?

I recently picked up the 2010 World Series programs. Of course this year MLB made two versions: one for the Rangers and one for the Giants. I ended up going with the winning team.

Of course, I go through all this work and some day they'll say, "Why the h--l did the old man get a Giants World Series program?"

Bill Buckner - The 5-Hole Baseball Card!

Is this the image Mookie Wilson was thinking while running to first base during Game 6?

This is Bill's 1990 Upper Deck card.





Thanks to Laloosh for the picture.

Tom Seaver Autograph - 40 Years Since the 1969 Mets

My final piece of memorabilia of the 1969 Mets is an autograph baseball of Tom Terrific, The Franchise, Tom Seaver.

Seaver's 1969 Game 4 of the World Series is legendary. Seaver pitched 10 innings, giving up one run on 6 hits! Amazing. That was also the only game he won in the series.

During the 1969 season, Tom Seaver won 25 games, had a 2.21 ERA, and completed 18 of his starts.

Seaver picked up 198 of his 311 wins in a NY Mets uniform. I still remember him sitting in the Boston Red Sox dugout during the 1986 World Series and thinking what a strange site it was for me and how weird it must have felt for him.

Seaver was part of Shea's closing ceremonies last year and was part of Citi/Shea/TARP field's opening ceremonies this year.

Thankfully, the Mets announced yesterday that August 22 will be their 1969 Mets night. It's about time. I think the last '69 Mets celebration was in 1989 when they gave out the Armitron Watch sponsored '69 Mets yearbooks (I hope I'm wrong on that date though). The programs look almost identical to the original version except for the back page.

I think the Mets are terrible at these old-timer/reunion events. In my opinion, the '69 Mets should be honored every 5 years and there should be an old-timers day every year. I like seeing the players of yesterday get loud cheers from today's fans.

This is all of the 1969 Mets pieces I have. A recap of my 1969 Mets pieces:

• Topps 1969 Tom Seaver Card
• Nolan Ryan's "Hand in Marriage" Topps Card
• Jerry Grote Autograph Baseball
• Jerry Koosman Autograph Snotball
• Ed Kranepool Autograph Baseball
• Bud Harrelson Autograph Baseball
• Ron Swoboda Autograph Baseball
• 1969 World Series Program

Chicago Sun-Times Show

Two memorabilia shows this month! I'm off to Chicago tomorrow for the Chicago Sun Times Show.

I'll post some Flickr photos of the event this weekend. I plan on getting autographs from Doc Gooden, Bernie Kosar, Mookie Wilson and Bill Buckner.

I'm looking forward to the Mookie and Buckner signing. Chasing their autographs has been my personal River of Doubt with all of the twists and turns.

For those that I've already talked to, I'll see you there on Saturday. If anyone else plans on going, send me an email or post a message to the blog. Hopefully we can catch some good college football games after the show on Saturday.

2008 World Series - Lowest TV Rated Ever

I don't even think MLB expected this year's World Series to be the lowest ever rated on TV! Most of the articles I read said they expected the ratings to average around 10.5.

According to Awful Announcing, the final TV rating will be around 9.5 which is .5 less than the lowest rated ever. The 2006 World Series received a 10.0.

Wednesday night's game 5 version 2.o received a 13.5 TV rating. Did baseball learn anything about having games completed before 11:30 EDT?

I should clarify why I'm posting this data. It's not to say, "see, I told you it would be bad." I'm trying to make a point that baseball games needed to be started earlier so more people can watch. When the greatest team story in baseball (Tampa's worst-to-first turnaround) can't capture the nation's attention, then something must be done.

Phillies World Series Memorabilia

My advice to Phillies Phans - save the memories by getting today's paper!

Collecting the day's newspaper from the home city is the perfect way to remember the moment. You can get them signed our just mounted for wall hanging. Keep them out of the sunlight - newspapers fade extremely fast.

Here's a link to ordering Phillies World Series Newspapers.
http://gallery.pictopia.com/philly/gallery/62706/

Game 4 World Series Down 25%

What goes down faster than world series TV ratings? (insert Paris Hilton joke)

Game 4 of the World Series had TV ratings down 25% compared to last year's ratings. Sunday night received a 10.7 rating.

Through four games the series is averaging an 8.5. The lowest TV ratings ever for a World Series is a 10.0.

Dave @ Fielder's Choice - I wish you were right on this and there would be more viewers, but...

Larry Anderson Philies World Series Veteran

When you think "Phillies World Series Veteran," Larry Anderson probably isn't the first person you think of. You probably remember Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, Tug McGraw and other players who were on the 1980 World Series Championship and the 1983 National League Championship teams.

However, Larry Anderson is the only player who was a member of the 1983 and 1993 National League Championship teams. Anderson pitched well in his 2 appearances in the 1983 World Series, but was hit hard in the 1993 World Series giving up 4 earned runs in 2.1 innings.

Of course Anderson may be most known for as the player that brought Jeff Bagwell to the Houston Astros. On August 30, 1990 the Houston Astros traded Anderson to the Boston Red Sox for a minor league player named Jeff Bagwell. Bagwell went on to play 15 seasons, slug 449 home runs and become a Houston legend. Anderson went on to lose game 1 of the 1990 ALCS against the Oakland A's and left that winter via Free Agency.

I know Anderson did some work last year in Philly as a radio color commentator, but I'm unsure if he's still in that role.

World Series Game 3 TV Ratings - Lowest Ever

A 91 minute rain-delay for Game 3 of the World Series didn't help an already terrible World Series TV ratings.

Game 3 between the Phightin' Phils and Tampa Rays earned a 6.1 TV rating. Ouch. This shatters the previous low (8.0 in 2006). Source - Yahoo Sports

Through 3 games (game 4 numbers haven't been released yet) the World Series TV rating is averaging a 7.7 which is 23 percent lower than last year.

I think the Cubs 1908 World Series win drew more TV viewers than this one!

World Series Game 2 Ratings Down 26.4%

The only thing falling faster than the World Series TV ratings is the Dow Jones Industrial Average!

Game 2 of the World Series is down 26.4% from Game 2 of the World Series last year. FOX received a low 9.2 rating last night. It was the second lowest World Series game ever.

Hopefully the World Series goes 6 or 7 games and draws some interest as it progresses.

Thanks to Awful Announcing Blog for posting the numbers.

World Series Game 1 Ratings Down 12.7%

Game 1 of the World Series between the Phighting Phils and Tampa Bay Rays are DOWN 12.7% compared to last year's game 1 of the World Series.

Wednesday night scored a 10.3 rating compared to last year's 11.8 rating. We need a long series and some in-game drama to capture baseball viewers.

Dave @ Fielder's Choice Blog - I hope this picks up as the series moves along.

Thanks to Awful Announcing Blog for posting the numbers.

Remembering the 1988 World Series Game 1

Twenty years ago, Roy Hobbs jumped from the big screen to our living room TV screens.

Instead of watching the stadium lights explode and cascade around the NY Knights, baseball fans witnessed an injured star get mobbed at home plate after hobbling his way around the bases. The winning team's jersey said "Dodgers" instead of "Knights," manager Pop Fisher was replaced by Tommy Lasorda and Roy Hobbs was brought to life by Kirk Gibson.

During the NLCS against the NY Mets, the Dodgers' Kirk Gibson aggravated his previous leg injuries which kept him out of the starting line-up. Instead of facing Oakland A’s ace Dave Stewart during the first game of the World Series, Gibson was taking his cuts off of a hitting tee with the help of LA's starting pitcher, Orel Hershiser.

In the bottom of the 9th inning of Game 1, with 2 outs, Tommy Lasorda made the 2nd biggest surprise of the night; the biggest surprise had yet to come. Lasorda called for Kirk Gibson to rise from the bowels of Chavez Ravine and become "The Natural."

Kirk Gibson would have to face the best closing pitcher in Major League Baseball, Dennis Eckersley. It seemed this storybook ending would have the same sad finish as the book version of the "The Natural,” ending with a strike-out. But the big screen version began to show life when Gibson, without a good leg to stand on, fouled off pitch-after-pitch just trying to stay alive against the mighty "Eck."

Finally Gibson hit a back-door slider into the right field seats of Dodger Stadium. Many of us have a hard time believing how young we were when Gibson made history, but no one forgets where they were he rounded second base.

Gibson won Game 1 and his Dodger teammates carried him for 3 more World Series victories. The LA Dodgers beat the mighty Oakland Athletics to become the 1988 World Series Champions.

Remembering Game 1 of the 1988 World Series reminds us that perfect Hollywood endings don't always occur at the expense of a movie ticket. Sometimes they can happen when we least expect it, late at night, in the crisp October air that surrounds the World Series.