Hall of Fame Spotlight - Luke Appling

Plaque photo borrowed from www.baseballhall.org

White Sox great Luke Appling (b. 1907 - d. 1991) played in the majors from 1930 to 1943 and 1945 to 1950 (all for the White Sox). He was a very talented shortstop and is widely considered one of the best of all time. When he retired, he had career numbers of: 2,749 hits, 45 home runs and a .310 batting average. As a shortstop, especially in that era, he was a great hitter. He was a 2-time batting champion. He wasn't the best fielding shortstop around, each season he was around the top 3 in errors committed. He was elected to the Hall of Fame by the writers' association in 1964 on 94% of the run-off ballot.

What makes him a Hall of Famer?

• 2-time batting champ (1936 - .388 and 1943 - .328)
• His .388 batting average in 1936 was the highest ever for a shortstop in the 20th century and the first time an American League shortstop won a batting crown
• Had 13 full seasons where he batted over .300
• At the time of his retirement, he was the all-time leader in games played and double plays by a shortstop. Both records would end up being broken by Luis Aparicio.
• Was a 7-time All Star (1936, 39, 40, 41, 43, 46 and 47)
  

Should he be a Hall of Famer?

• Never won a World Series
• Never won an MVP award, but came close twice by finishing second in 1936 and 1943
• Did not reach 3,000 hits. Could have reached it had he not missed half of the 1938 season with a broken leg or missing the 1944 and most of the 1945 seasons because of World War II.
• He has the worst fielding percentage of any player since 1910 with at least 1,900 games played
• He was known to complain constantly about numerous nagging injuries, earning the nickname 'Old Aches and Pains'
• Appeared on 8 Hall of Fame ballots (including the winning run-off ballot in 1964) and averaged 32.45% of the vote

The Verdict?

YES, Appling is a Hall of Famer. He is considered one of the best-hitting shortstops of all time. His defensive numbers are suspect, but as a hitter, he was very good, especially for his position. He shouldn't be penalized too much for not winning a World Series, he played on some light-hitting White Sox teams during his tenure there. Sadly, he never reached the postseason at all in his time there.

Baseballs autographed by Appling average around $80 each, while an autographed photo would possibly cost you around $20.

1955 Topps #135 - Johnny O'Brien

Johnny O'Brien (b. 1930) played in the majors as a backup second baseman and pitcher from 1953 and 1955 through 1959 for the Pirates, Cardinals and Braves. He and his brother Eddie were the first twins to play in the majors for the same team in the same game. He retired with 204 hits, 4 home runs and a .250 batting average. In the three seasons he pitched (1956 - 1958) he went 1-3 with 30 strikeouts and an ERA of 5.61. He and his brother Eddie formed one of only 4 double play combinations (2B - SS) made up of brothers, the others being Garvin and Granny Hamner, Frank and Milt Bolling and Cal and Bill Ripken.

1955 Topps #134 - Joe Jay

Joey Jay (b. 1935) was the first little leaguer to make it to the majors and was one of the first 'bonus babies' when he signed with the Milwaukee Braves at the age of 17. Jay played in the majors from 1953 to 1955 and 1957 to 1966 for the Braves and Reds. He tied for the league lead in wins (21) in 1961 (with Warren Spahn) and would again win 21 wins in 1962. He retired with a career record of 99-91, 999 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.77. He played one game in 1957 for the World Champion Braves. He was also a member of the 1961 Reds team that lost to the Yankees 4 games to 1. THe one game that the Reds won in that series was a game started by Jay (who also picked up the win).

1955 Topps #133 - Dave Hoskins

Dave Hoskins (b. 1925 - d. 1970) played briefly in the majors for the Indians during the 1953 and 1954 seasons. He had a career record of 9-4, 64 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.81.

(DECEASED 74)

1955 Topps #132 - Bob Trice

Bob Trice (b. 1926 - 1988) played for three seasons in the majors (1953 to 1955) for the Philadelphia and Kansas City A's. He retired with a record of 9-9, 28 strikeouts and an ERA of 5.80. He was a pretty decent hitter in the short time he was in the majors and had a lifetime batting average of .288 (15 for 52)

(DECEASED 73)

POST NUMBER 500!!!!! (Or, Great Moments in Foul Bunt History)

Hooray! Foul Bunt has made it to another milestone!! 500 Posts! Wooooo.
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Let's take a look back and remember some great moments in Foul Bunt history...

• On November 16, 2008, Foul Bunt opened it's doors. You can read the post here. I chose the name Foul Bunt because I figured the blog would be pretty lame and a foul bunt was one of the lamest things you could do in baseball. Apparently, 80 followers later, my blog isn't as lame as I thought it would be.
• On December 14, 2008, I discussed my best pull ever (up to that time, of course). A 1960 Topps Stan Musial out of a shoebox bought off of Ebay. Read it here.
• On December 31, 2008, I got my 1955 Topps Jackie Robinson card. Read the post here. I also posted the Robinson while counting my 1955 set. That post (here) became my most viewed post yesterday (February 8, 2011), according to my handy dandy stats page.
• On February 1, 2009, I got the Roberto Clemente 1955 Topps rookie card in the mail. Check it out here.
• On May 31, 2009, I demonstrated the perils of alcohol and ebay after I had a couple beverages and bid on (and won) a 1955 Topps Phil Rizzuto.
• On July 3, 2009, Max and I demonstrate that it is not a good idea to try the gum found in 1988 Topps wax packs. Make sure you watch the video. Check it here.
• On July 24, 2009, I completed my first trade with Drew. Who knew that we'd become such good friends since then. Read the post here.
• I said earlier that my 1955 Jackie Robinson post had become my most viewed post. The previous champ that had held the record since google started keeping track in June was my September 22, 2009 post on meeting Bryce Harper.
• On October 27, 2009, I posted one of my most memorable posts, when I met Brooks Robinson in person. It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. I'm glad I was able to share it with all of you here.
• On December 19, 2009, I completed the 1955 Topps set. One of my greatest card accomplishments ever.
• On May 2, 2010, I got my first TTM signed ball - Bobby Doerr. I've done pretty well with TTMs since then, but Doerr was the first.
• On June 11, 2010, I met Nolan Reimold in person. I was working at a site close to Norfolk and my boss allowed me to stay there overnight. I went to two games at Harbor Park and met Nolan outside the clubhouse. He was a really nice guy and I hope that he can finally put injuries behind him and become the great player that I know he is.
• On July 29, 2010, I met MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko. I read Roch's blog every day (multiple times a day). It was awesome to meet him in person and talk about baseball for a while.
• On October 1, 2010, I started my daily listing of 1955 Topps cards. It has become a nice feature of my blog. I wonder what I'm going to do when I finish posting the set. Read the post here.
• On November 8, 2010, I posted probably my greatest TTM success. That of Virgil Trucks. If you read this blog regularly, you know that I am now a huge fan of Trucks, but this post is what started it all.
• On December 15, 2010, I posted on the huge loss of Bob Feller. I was really upset when he passed, I sure would have loved to meet him in person. You can read the post here.
• Finally, one of the coolest things to ever happen to me was being able to conduct an interview with the great Virgil Trucks. You can remind yourself here. I'm still amazed that I was afforded the opportunity.

So, there you have it. A much bigger recap post than I thought I'd do. I hope everyone has enjoyed everything. I've really enjoyed it and I hope that I can keep it up! Thanks everyone. Click the links and enjoy some nostalgia!

Thoughts on 2011 Topps

I had intended on having the results of my 3 jumbo boxes of 2011 Topps posted earlier (like, Friday), but because of my craptastic connection here at the apartment, I have only now been able to get the pictures loaded. So, here are my thoughts on 2011 Topps. I will post my 'by the numbers' breakdown later on (the way my connection has been going, it looks like it may be posted just in time for 2012 Series 1).

First off, I like the design. I'd be happy if Topps strayed from the plain white border once in a while, but the cards do look great. I pulled 2 of the Legends Short Print variations out of my 3 boxes, one being the above Yogi Berra.

My second Legends SP variation is Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks. Both of the legends cards look great. Some people are tired of these variations, but I enjoy them. I'd be happier if they were Brooks Robinson cards, but with Berra and Banks, I sure won't complain.

Speaking of Orioles, I got my first Adam Jones auto. I wouldn't have known it was his auto without the card telling me so... His signature just looks like a bunch of loops.

One of my favorite Orioles Prospects - Brandon Snyder. He looks to spend the season at AAA Norfolk due to the signing of Derrek Lee, but that may be a good thing for him. I think he could use more seasoning in the minors. I've met him in person several times and he is a really nice guy. I hope he puts up some good numbers and becomes the O's first baseman of the future.

Hey, look, someone tied all of the O's outfielders together. This is a really cool picture of all the O's outfielders. Most of the pictures in this set are amazing. There are a few that are suspect, but for the most part the photos are great.

Speaking of great shots, here is one of Russell Martin. I really like all the action in the shot and also the depth that is shown. I wish Topps put in this kind of effort with all of their products.

I got a couple decent relics, the best of which was this CC Sabathia jersey. I also got Daniel McCutcheon and Justin Upton relics.

Here is one of the not-so-amazing shots. Again, here is CC Sabathia, and CC's belly. It appears that his stomach takes up 25% of the card. Yeesh. Maybe if he was wearing pinstripes, they'd have a slimming effect?

Now we have the leather nameplate cards. I definitely don't like these as much as I liked the Hat Logo patches from last year, but these aren't as hideous as I've heard. I was excited that I pulled Lincecum. I like him, of course, but he has quickly become my son's favorite player as well ('cause he throws nasty, Daddy'). So, this card is definitely spoken for.

I got Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw. My best friend is a Dodger fan. Card spoken for? Yep, you got that right.

Finally, I got the Pujols black variation. This is pretty cool, I guess. May try to sell it at the next card show. We'll have to see. I imagine that this will be a decently popular card. I'm hoping so at least.
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Anyway, there you have it, my 2011 Topps jumbo results. What do you guys think? Overall, I was satisfied, mainly because the photos are great. I wish I didn't have to wait for a new Roberts card until Series 2, but oh well. Patience is a virtue, or something like that.