That's A Wrap On The 2011 Season



Last nights Orioles-Red Sox game, a 4-3 win for the O's was full of drama and suspense, amplified by a long rain delay, provided a great finish with playoff like atmosphere for the final game of the season. The Orioles playing a meaningful game in September has been missing in Baltimore since 1997. Even the players were caught up in the moment as they mobbed Nolan Reimold at home plate, celebrating like they had earned the wild card berth and for a moment it felt like they had.

This season was a disappointment for the birds overall but many players such has J.J Hardy, Matt Wieters and Adam Jones had career highs in many offensive categories and hopefully can build on these performances next year. The real problem for the O's was pitching, and this concern needs to be addressed during the off season, if the O's are ever going to compete with the other teams in the A.L East.

As the Oriole players settle into their off season activities its nice to know the Red Sox are doing the same. Now we just need Justin Verlander and the Tigers to send the Yankees back home.



61*

The card featured in this post, I redeemed on the Topps Diamond Giveaway site. At first glance, the card is a common from the 1961 issue. I didn't think much of it since I'm not a fan of the 61' design and decided I would use it as possible vintage trade bait on the the site. Then recently someone offered me a 1959 Topps for my Stallard rookie. I was a little surprised, but a few traders on the site will offer a older card for a card they really want and I assumed he was a Red Sox collector. So I almost completed the trade until my curiosity got the best of me and I did a quick wikipedia search of the pitcher.

Surprisingly, this card features a history lesson in MLB. It turns out Tracy Stallard is best known for giving up Roger Maris's 61st home run in the last game of the 1961 season against the Yankees. In the fourth inning, Stallard fell behind Maris 2-0 and threw a fastball that Maris blasted into the seats. I'm not sure if the trader knew who Stallard was, I wasn't aware of the name and Stallard had a pretty undistinguished career, except for this historic moment. Stallard himself was even quoted afterwards saying he was glad Maris hit the home run off him, otherwise his name would have been forgotten in baseball. Sadly, for most collectors today it has.

Vintage cards are a great piece of baseballs history and a card that represents a historic event like the one above can be obtained rather cheaply, and would make a nice addition to anyone's collection whether you are a beginner or experienced collector. Now my 1961 common has a lot more meaning to me and this card will evebtually become a part of my permanent collection.