Saturday Morning Cereal and Schoolhouse Rock

Sad to hear that Jack Sheldon, who I knew from Schoolhouse Rock, passed away.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/jack-sheldon-schoolhouse-rock-singer-233126108.html

I still know all of those songs.  Great times - cereal and Schoolhouse Rock.  My kids loved the songs and videos too.

I don't have the patience to work on Photoshop after working on computers at work, so this card is most likely to remain unfinished.

1973s and 1974s Along With Another 2020 Goal

I finished organizing my Kellogg's cards from 1973 and 1974.  The 1973s were easy to do since I rarely get any of them.  What also makes them easy to organize?  No cracks.  I have some with edges that have lost their luster or rounded corners like 1970s Topps cards, but that is less prevalent than the problems I have with Kellogg's cards from other years.

I've always liked the 1973s and I will continue to do so.  I did get cards from a factory set and it is a low risk purchase since the cards can't be cracked. 

The 1974s were the first set that I finished as a kid who was addicted to Sugar Frosted Flakes.  I did it by eating lots of cereal and trading with friends.   I don't remember how long it took to finish the set.  It was probably at least a year.

After sorting my 1974s I realize that I am still in the same place as last year.  I can't seem to find cards 1 - 10 without major cracks.  That is now near the top of my goals for 2020.  I am going to actively seek these cards via trade, purchase, etc.

There is one problem with my plan.  Nolan Ryan is card number 8.  Sometimes I think I might as well buy the entire set rather than spend $20+ on the Ryan card.  I am going to track that next year and see what set prices are like as well as Ryans that are not graded. 

1975s and 1976s and New Goals for 2020

I went through my 1975 and 1976 Kellogg's cards today.  I don't recall getting lots of 1975s as a kid even though I got lots of 1974s and 1976s from cereal boxes. 

Some of the 1976s lose their luster with all of the white border.  The nice ones look nice but the faded ones don't look so good.  That is a minor issue compared to the 1975s.  The 1975s are like two different sets.  I see so many that are so beat up, cracked, curled and discolored.  It is a lot like the 1971.

In looking through my cards, I am okay with some curling on the 1975s, but only if it allows me to at least put them in nine-pocket pages. 

For 2020, I want to upgrade about a dozen of my 1975s.  When 1975s look new the color is amazing and I want to get my set to all have that look.  I don't see these around frequently in good condition at a reasonable price.  At least I am not focusing on upgrading 1971s next year.   

What I Love About 1977 Kellogg's Cards

Guess what?  I can read the card numbers on the back without magnification or straining my eyes.  I really enjoy these cards.  The colors seem to be resistant from fading better than some other years.

At first I didn't like the departure from the blue cards.  Now I like the uniqueness.

What don't I love - the player selection.  There are lots of ways to look at it.  Here are the number of total All Star game selections for players in each Kellogg's set.

1975 - 252
1976 - 277
1977 - 187
1978 - 235
1979 - 255

That's a lot less for 1977 that some of the years around it. 

The following 12 players from 1977's set never made an all-star team - Fred Norman, Doug Rau, Rick Manning, Lyman Bostock, Wayne Garland, Bill North, Tom Poquette, Sixto Lezcano, Jay Johnstone, Garry Maddox, Cesar Geronimo and Ed Figueroa. 

Only seven players from the 1976 set never made an all-star team and 14 players from 1978 missed the summer classic in their entire careers. 

The 1976 players were - Don Gullett, Al Hrabosky, Marty Perez, Eric Soderholm, Von Joshua, Paul Lindblad and Greg Gross. 

Issues with 1978 and 1979 Kellogg's Cards

I'm working on sorting the 1978s and 1979s.  I have two different issues with these two sets.  The 1979s have two different styles, normally called Red and Orange referring to the Kellogg's name on the front.  The 1978s have one big problem. 

The red set consists of thin card stock with a bright white background color and border.  The orange set in on a thick card stock,  or at least the plastic coating is thick.  These orange cards have a dull finish that looks like it was a mistake somehow.  There seems to be a lot of color variation with the orange cards and some look quite bad.

It was easy to sort the 1979s since I think I only acquired three of them in the last few years.  I had lots of these cards early on and I kept buying cheap lots to work on obtaining all of the variations.  That project has stalled since I am just about done.  Now I am hoping to get the unopened pack variations.

I also didn't get many 1978s in the last few years since I'd bought a few large lots years ago.  I have so many of these cards with cracks.  For some Kellogg's sets a few cracks don't look bad.  The 1978s have cracks and bubbles that really do look bad sometimes. 

On to the 1977s, where I don't have lots of cards.  I hope that is easy. 

Sorting 1980 - 1983 Kellogg's Cards

I tend to ignore these newer Kellogg's issues since they are readily available as factory sets.  Sorting them over the last few days has been fun.  Here is what I found.

1.  1980 cards are like 1971 Topps baseball cards in that the edges are quite susceptible to damage. And just like the 1971s, they can easily look bad with bad edges, especially when viewing the back of the cards.

2.  1981s are annoying to put in plastic pages.  Since most of these cards are worth enough money to put in top loaders, I've been putting sets in nine-pocket pages.  The 1981s can be a challenge to put in some of the older pages that I am trying to reuse. Surprisingly, they seem to go fairly easily into the pages that open from the side.  I must mention that I really don't like these side-opening pages.  I must have gotten them a few years ago when buying some junk cards at a flea market.

3.  Too many of the 1982s have discolored card backs. I really like the consist color on the front.

4.  The 1983s seem to suffer the same fate as the 1979s.  One of the print runs resulted in cards that are just not bright and colorful.  Has anyone seen that?

What I Won't Be Doing in 2020

I found lots of time to sort my Kellogg's cards today.  Early on when I started getting lots of these cards, I got lots from 1970, 1976, 1979 and 1981.  This year I ended up getting lots of them from 1980.  Too many.  My goal is to stop getting more of these cards unless they are unopened and in nice condition.

I also need to avoid 1981s because I keep finding them around.  Off-condition 1971s seem to be around a lot too.  I won't be grabbing them unless they are a variation that I don't have.  

So, what will I be trying to find?  I am finally getting some 1975s in nice condition.  Completing a nice 1975 Kellogg's set will progress slowly because they don't show up in lots and the individual cards are usually a bit expensive for me.  Did I mention that they curl horribly too?

In 2020 I'd like to find more cards and/or sheets from the Benanti collection.  I'd also like to find out about any promo cards that were made of players who didn't appear in the set.  Does anyone know of any other than the 1970 Rusty Staub?  I don't think I even noticed the 3.5 grade because I was just excited to get this card.

Does anyone else have Kellogg's card goals for next year?

A Surprise Present for Me - Kellogg's

No, my family didn't get me a gift of cards.  I probably took on a bit too much work this year so when I bought stuff, sometimes it would disappear into a box.  I am trying to organize my Kellogg's cards and I opened a box that wasn't sorted at all.

I pulled out these 1980s that were not very well organized.  It made for some fun sorting last night.  It's better than watching television and it is a lot cheaper than checking out ebay. 

I've now got a few more extra sets if anyone is interested in trading. 

How do I know that I have too many of these 1980 Kellogg's cards?  I can't remember the details of the purchase.  I do remember being surprised that some stars were included and I recall getting some nice card #01 - Ross Grimsley.   The 1980s seem to be prone to losing their luster and being card number one has made the Grimsley the most likely card to suffer this fate.

Maybe I should go back to old posts and find out if I mentioned it.  Nah.  They seemed like a new purchase and that is fine by me. 

1980 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs - #43 Keith Hernandez

A nice start to the card back - "It took him awhile, but Keith finally put it together for the Cardinals last season...".   By a while did they mean he started the season slowly or where the Cardinals waiting during 1975 - 1978 for better things to happen?

He won the batting title and led the league in runs scored in 1979.  His batting title put him in company with Stan Musial, who Kellogg's mentioned.  Nice.  

He was a Gold Glove winner and he shared MVP honors with Willie Stargell.  I like it when the card mentions other players.  

I checked out the MVP voting since it is difficult to imagine a tie happening.  There have been a few different methods of voting, but if you are ready for some intense reading check this out from Bill James - https://www.billjamesonline.com/the_perfect_mvp_voting_structure/

Stargell got 10 first-place votes while Hernandez and Dave Winfield got four each.  I didn't find the exact votes but first place was worth 14 points and second was worth nine points. 

Stargell - 216 points - 10 first-place votes (140).  That means that the remaining 18 voters gave him a total of 76 points, or just over four points per voter.  Four points is an average of a 7th place vote.

Hernandez - 216 points - 4 first place votes (56).  That means that the remaining 24 voters gave him 160 points or just over six points per voter.  Six points is an average of a 5th place vote. 

Lots to read in the Bill James article. 

1980 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs - #44 Jim Rice

Rice hit 39 homers, had 130 RBIs and batted .325 in 1979 yet Kellogg's starts by mentioning that he didn't quite live up to his 1978 stats (46, 139, .315).  Those are two amazing seasons, making it five great seasons in a row to start his career.

Kellogg's did start by saying that he is one of baseball's "premier sluggers".  It was also mentioned that he ht some "tape measure" homers.  I can imagine that he could really hit a golf ball.  

Not on the card - in his first five seasons he finished 1st, 3rd (twice), 4th and 5th in the MVP voting.  He got no votes in 1976 with 22-102-.309 numbers. 

He got more total Hall of Fame votes than anyone in the history of the game.  Why?  He used all 15 years to get elected and he had strong support most years. 

It is assumed that not getting along with the media cost him with the Hall of Fame voting.  Did it also affect him in the MVP voting?  In the 1980s he got MVP votes in four seasons with his highest finishes being 3rd and 4th. 

1980 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs - #45 Ted Simmons

I was surprised to see Simmons selected for induction to the Hall of Fame recently.  The 1980 set now has 20 Hall of Famers (of 60 cards) and a few guys, including Pete Rose, who are talked about regarding induction. 

I was also surprised to see that he had MVP votes in six seasons.  He finished in the top ten only twice - sixth in 1975 and ninth in 1977.

He was an eight-time all-star selection.  Even though he played in the N.L. East during my childhood I still didn't realize he was that type of player.  He should have seemed like a star since I was watching Cub catchers in the 1970s after Randy Hundley.

The Cub who played the most games at catcher in the 1970s was Steve Swisher - 362 games.  Simmons actually played catcher in 1,304 games during the 1970s  Hundley was second even though he last played for the Cubs in 1973, not counting a few games in 1976-77.

Who else played for the Cubs during that time - George Mitterwald, Ken Rudolph, Barry Foote, Dave Rader and Tim Blackwell all managed to get into 100+ games during those years.

Back to Simmons.  He never led in any catching stats other than most passed balls and that's certainly not a good thing.  He never led in hitting stats except intentional walks (twice).

It is always noted that it is more difficult for a catcher to achieve stats since they take a beating in the field unlike another other player.  Since I grew up left-handed and never was a catcher I don't always think of that but I certainly understand it.  He had solid stats over a long career.

Why did he lead in intentional walks twice?  He batted in front of a few different guys in 1976 and usually in front of Keith Hernandez in 1977.

He had a career high in homers even though he only played in 123 games.  He missed four weeks with a hand injury.  His durability certainly helped his selection.  In a 15-year stretch he missed more than 30 games only in 1979 when he had the hand injury.

Simmons played more games for St. Louis in the 1970s than anyone else.  As for catchers, no one else played over 90 games at catcher for St. Louis in the 1970s.

Joe Torre (90) and Steve Swisher (75) were the only ones with more than 48 games.  Ken Rudolph and Dave Rader were among the list of only 16 catchers during those ten years.  By contrast, the Cubs used 22 which tied for the most with the California Angels.  Sorry, I can't keep track of their official name but they were the California Angels in the 1970s. 

1980 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs - #46 Chet Lemon

Another card where the front catches my eye.  This uniform is the style that the White Sox used when they occassionally wore the softball shorts in the 1970s.  

Chet the Jet (from baseball-reference.com) has Greek Mythology as a hobby.  And he told people that in 1979.  I had a difficult time telling people I collected baseball cards in 1979.  Also, for a guy nicknamed "The Jet" he didn't steal many bases.  He amassed 58 in 16 seasons.  So, let's leave that nickname to Benny Rodriguez.

He played high school football with the NFL's Ricky Bell.  Bell died of heart problems in 1984. 

Lemon had nagging injuries that kept him out of the lineup.

He was signed as an infielder but the White Sox moved him to the outfield.  Since he played in Chicago when I was a kid I got to see him frequently.  Sitting in the left field picnic area made it easy to appreciate his fielding skills watching through the fence.  Did anyone else ever sit there?

Not on the card - he was an all-star twice up to this point.  He added another all-star appearance in the 1980s. 

I always mention in my posts that I still use a Chet Lemon model baseball glove. 

1980 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs - #47 Fergie Jenkins

I'm supposed to talk about the back of the card, but I'm drawn to the jersey.  He's got a collar on the shirt.  That's something one doesn't see frequently on a card.

6-5.  He's a big guy.  Candian-born.  Another guy who recently had a birthday.

I hadn't seen him called "Fergy" before.  It was alway Fergie.  Did this ever get corrected or spelled differently on his other Kellogg's cards?

1972, 1973, 1977 - Ferguson or Fergy.
1975 - Ferguson only.

Did Topps call him Fergy?

1966 - 1968 - Ferguson
1970, 1973 - 1975 - Ferguson, Fergie.  Even the 1974 cartoon calls him Fergie.
1969, 1971, 1972 - Fergie

He even signed his Topps cards Fergie. 

Jenkins was around for my early days at Wrigley Field but he was gone when I started attending lots of games after college.  A few years ago I got into a skybox where he was the guest of a group of card collectors.  It was fun talking to the collectors even though I didn't say much to Mr. Jenkins.

Six consecutive 20-win seasons is impressive.  Those were the only winning seasons that the Cubs had in a 20-year stretch (1964 - 1983). 

1980 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs - #48 Gary Matthews

For some reason I didn't get many of the 1980 Kellogg's cards in cereal boxes.  I was actively collecting cards, but I probably wasn't lobbying my mother enough before/during grocery shopping on Saturdays. 

What would I have thought of Gary Matthews in 1980?  It is difficult to think that way since I've attended so many Cub games. 

Being in Chicago, having two older brothers who liked sports and having older sisters who got free tickets for their good grades, I went to lots of games on both sides of town as a kid.  After college, I started attending regularly when Matthews was in his last few years with the team.  Since I always sat directly behind him, that's how I remember his career even if he didn't play for the Cubs for many years.

Back to 1980.  What did Kellogg's have to say about him?  He did better than his team according to Kellogg's  I like how the card mentions his $1.2 million contract. 

He was mentioned as one of the first free agents in 1977.  After the 1976 season 32 players signed as free agents when free agency was just getting going.  The list included Hall of Famers Willie McCovey, Reggie Jackson and Rollie Fingers.  Ten years later there were 142 free agents signed.

1980 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs - #49 Tom Seaver

Do lots of people still play Bridge?  I never learned how to play it.  

Kellogg's wasn't impressed with his 16-6 record and 187 strikeouts.  The card does mention that he did enough to continue a path toward the Hall of Fame.

Not on the card - he did finish fourth in the Cy Young voting, trailing Bruce Sutter, Joe Niekro and J.R. Richard.  Sutter (10 first place votes), Niekro (9), Richard (4) and Kent Tekulve (1) got first place votes. 

Seaver got Cy Young votes in ten of 13 years (1969 - 1981).  He won three times, finished second twice and third once.  

He ended his career with 61 shutouts, which is now seventh all-time.  That won't change much since no one pitches shutouts in today's game.  They don't even pitch complete games.  Yes, I know that the game is different today in many ways.

Here is the active list of pitchers with the most shutouts - Kershaw (15).  I'm not going to list anyone else because did you notice I put that in correctly as 15?  Another reason to not list anyone else - CC Sabathia is the active leader in complete games with 38 and he's only had 10 in the last 10 years.

Active pitchers throw so few complete games today that Cy Young has more than all of the active pitchers in MLB combined.  Look it up.  Yes, Young's game was different than the game Tom Seaver played and today's game has changed a lot since Seaver played. 

Since strikeouts are happening at a record pace in today's game, Seaver's rank in whiffs will change.  He was fifth all-time after 1979 and now he's sixth.  There are a handful of current pitchers who could surpass him in the future.

Back to my paper route.  His trade in 1977 was another one of the stories that I stopped to read before delivering the paper.

Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs - #50 George Foster

Let's see if Kellogg's can keep it interesting with another veteran - George Foster.  

One of his hobbies was records.  I hear that they are making a comeback with the youth of today.  

Foster has hit .300 during four the last five seasons.   He now has over 200 career homers.  

He had 31 road homers in 1977, a record for a right-handed batter.  I didn't remember them getting to this level of details on records back then.  This is certainly common today.  

His prolific RBI totals were mentioned.  He had consecutive seasons of 121, 149, 120.  He led the league all three years.  He never reached 100 homers again but he had 90+ four other times. 

What hurt his career numbers?  He only played 150 or more games in four seasons of his 18-year career.  Baseball-reference.com lists his 162-game average as being 102 RBIs.  I don't pay attention to that because that doesn't reflect what he did during each year. 

1980 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs - #51 Phil Niekro

Let's see what Kellogg's has to say about Phil Niekro.  The writers of Sportscaster cards certainly said lots of stuff and they didn't hold back - see this post.

Born in 1939.  Wow, this card is from 1980.  Can anyone figure out the oldest active player to be included in a Kellogg's set?  

The back starts by mentioning that he is 40 years old.  I guess if this card was issued before 04-01-1980 since on that day he turned 41.  

He became one of the few players to win and lose 20 games in a season in 1979.  He played in only 44 games but he had 41 decisions in 342 innings.  That's 7.8 innings per start.  

Not on the card - he led the league in both wins and losses in 1979.  Also, the Braves were 66-94 which put them into last place.  So, without Niekro's decisions they were 45-74.  

Who are the pitchers who have had 20+ wins and 20+ losses in a season?  Hint - one has been featured in Kellogg's sets.  Hint #2 - it has only happened twice since 1916.

Hint #3 - it has been accomplished 148 times, but only 11 times since 1900.  Two players who accomplished this also got Kellogg's cards.  They should be easy to name.

He became the ninth pitcher to win 20 games for a last place team.  I like that the card is making me try to figure out who did this.  Time to do some research. 

I found only a five players who won 20+ games for a last place team since 1924.  Niekro and Ned Garver (1951, St. Louis Browns) are two of them.  Two others were featured on Kellogg's cards the year after this happened.  Can you name them. 

The fifth one that I found was done in the 1990s.  Any ideas?

1980 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs - #52 Johnny Bench

I went to a card show today.  I saw lots of people with 1970s stuff, mostly at closeout prices, but not much Kellogg's.  I saw a 1981 set for $20 and a 1972 Cookie Rojas.  I don't remember anything else.  I bought neither of these. 

Back to the 1980 set.  Johnny Bench is the next player on the list. 

I remember bench from TV commericals too.  He seemed to embrace his hobbies - bowling, singing and golf.  I remember him doing some singing on TV.   I also know that he played in some PGA Senior Tour golf events.  

I did't know about his bowling exploits but I found a video on YouTube of Bench in the ABC Superstars competition.  This was the bowling competition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4MgHCmq5OM

I loved watching the Superstars competition.  That bicycle riding on a 400-meter track was crazy.  The guys who could barely swim and would do it on TV was quite fun to watch.

Back to the card.  Kellogg's correctly saw Bench as a Hall of Fame inductee.  He already had the record for homers as a catcher.  

Not on the card - only Carlton Fisk and Mike Piazza have surpassed Bench's totals at the catcher position.  

Yesterday was Bench's birthday.  He turned 72. 

1980 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs - #53 Buddy Bell

I've been reading the backs of Sportscaster cards and they are much more interesting.  Let's hope that the 1980 Kellogg's baseball card back gets better as I go through them. 

My first thought was Kevin Bell who played with the White Sox.  Oops.  He is from the Bell family tree - his dad was Gus Bell who played for 15 years in the NL and had 206 homers.  Buddy ended up with 201 homers.  Add Buddy's sons David (123 homers) and Mike (2) and they have 532 homers.  Only 19 players have more than 532 in MLB history. 

Another card back that doesn't add much of interest.  It was mentioned that he missed hitting .300 by one hit. 

Kellogg's Unopened Packs Question

Where are these things?

I am having very little luck completing my unopened pack sets from 1972 and 1973.  The 1972s are  a challenge because I now need five Hall of Famers and Pete Rose.  That might take a while on my budget.  I am hoping that the 1973s will be a bit easier to get going since I need more cards.

If anyone finds unopened packs, which years do you see least/most?  I don't see 1975s much and I rarely see 1971s since they are the expensive ones.  

1980 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs - #54 Lance Parrish

Every time I see this card I think of one of my best friends from childhood.  He really looked a lot like Lance Parrish.  

After reading the back of some Sportscaster cards for my other blog, these 1980 Kellogg's baseball backs seem way too boring.  I will write about the Sportscaster backs when I am off around the holidays. 

Parrish was a first round draft pick of the Tigers in 1974.  Since I didn't find most of the other text interesting, let's check out that 1974 draft.

Who was selected ahead of Parrish (16th by the Tigers)?  Billy Almon, Tommy Boggs, Lonnie Smith,  Tom Brennan, Dale Murphy, Scot Thompson, Rod Scurry, Garry Templeton and others I don't know much about. 

Others selected in the first round after Parrish - Willie Wilson, Rick Sutcliffe, Rich Dauer,

Paul Molitor was drafted 585th but didn't since.  He was drafted again in 1977. 

Mark Fidrych was drafted 231st by the Tigers.