Get that SOB off the field; he's fired--Bruce Maxwell

     Remember when Major Leaguers used to serve in the military on a large scale?  Me neither, but that's only because it last happened about 65-70 years ago during WWII and the Korean War.  A few of the players that served in the military include: Ted Williams, Jackie Robinson, Phil Rizzuto, Pee Wee Reese, Bill Dickey, Whitey Ford, Ed Collins, Don Newcombe, Stan Musial, Willie Mays, Rod Carew, Joe DiMaggio, Larry Doby, Hank Bauer, Curt Simmons, Ernie Banks, Jerry Coleman, Bobby Doerr, Ty Cobb, George Sisler, Tommy Lasorda, Gil Hodges, Hank Greenberg, Tris Speaker, Johnny Pesky, Christy Mathewson, Yogi Berra, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Warren Spahn, Bob Feller, Hoyt Wilhelm, etc.  

     My previous post just touched on the topic of patriotism, and how it brought me back to baseball after military service.  When the other sports starting doing their flag and anthem protests, it didn't take much for me to pull back any of my financing towards those sports since my focus has mostly always been on MLB.  Just a few minutes ago, I saw this photo on the Washington Times: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/sep/23/oaklands-maxwell-first-mlb-player-to-kneel-during-/.  Of course I was completed disgusted, and will be waiting to find out how long it takes MLB to remove this cancer from its sport.  It took the Mariners less than a day to remove Steve Clevenger last year when he referred to the lawbreaking rioters in his hometown of Baltimore as  animals on his private social media site during his own personal time.  Where was his right to free speech?

     I had just changed my profile picture on the Tradingcard Database to the one below, before seeing the picture above.  Now, I might have to find a Boycott MLB photo if this type of behavior is allowed to continue. 

     I don't want to see any more of this in America's favorite pasttime.  Please send this loser down to the minors and cut him during the off-season.  I don't ever want to see him in a professional baseball uniform again.  Let him protest on his own time, and not the company's dime.  I just wonder what other successful country is more inclusive than the U.S.?  MLB owners also have the right to free speech and can hire/fire as they see fit.  Fans also have the right to free speech and can spend their money where they see fit.  I also have the right to free speech and can write this post.

     Nobody has ever tried to force anyone to demonstrate their patriotism on the field, and no one is trying to.  I just hope that there are enough patriots left in this country to avoid these ungrateful spoiled rich kids.  It used to potentially be all of our duties to risk our lives defending this nation before the end of the draft.  Now, there are many people in this country that don't truly understand the concept of freedom isn't free.  We won't be able to continue to staff an all-volunteer force much longer if our children keep looking up to role models that don't support this country--at least not without extra large monetary bonuses.

     Mark Canha apparently thinks he's a modern-day Pee Wee Reese by showing his support for Bruce Maxwell with a hand on his shoulder.  The difference is that 70 years ago (1947), we were celebrating integration, not disrespect towards the National Anthem and American flag.

Mark Canha needs to go too.  Let him play out the rest of his career in AAA.

     If this doesn't stop, I will most likely have to cancel my season tickets to my local sports team, stop listening to MLB on SiriusXM, and stop watching games on television in favor of a more patriotic pastime.  I know MLB will stay rich, but at least I can say that I don't contribute to it anymore.  I'll stick with vintage cards until MLB gets this fixed.  I didn't like the incomplete statistics on the back of 2017 Topps anyways.

     God Bless Alejandro Villanueva who could never turn his back on his country as an Army Combat Infantry Airborne Ranger officer and graduate of the greatest institution in the world.  There is no excuse for disrespecting the American Flag or National Anthem for any reason, ever--unless you're not an American, and not living in this country.
   

     You might find a veteran here and there that will agree that they fought for every American's right to disrespect the flag, but I can't imagine you can find one (non-traitorous), that would say they were actually okay with it.  An insult to the American flag, is an insult the the American military directly. Active duty service members spend so much time demonstrating reverence to the flag and the National Anthem during their careers, that many often cry or get shivers down their spine long after their service when they see the flag displayed in ceremony during during the national anthem--I know that I do.  Active duty service members are required to demonstrate reverence to the flag in every instance that it is displayed.  This includes when the flag goes up in the morning (reveille), and when the flag goes down at night (retreat).  People driving in their cars on a military base are expected to stop their car and get out and face the flag and salute while in uniform during reveille or retreat.  When a flag passes by a uniformed service member during a parade, they are expected to stand at attention and salute.  Everything revolves around the flagpole in during an active-duty service members life if you really think about it.  Are you kidding me?

Completing the Inaugural 1955 Kansas City A's Team Set.

As I begin to close in on the 1955 Topps set, I continue to see completion of the team sets one by one.  Today, I completed the inaugural Kansas City Athletics/Royals team set, and thought I'd share.

Have We Already Forgotten 9/11?

In August 2001, I left military service near NYC ready to begin my new life somewhere in the middle of the country.  One month later, I witnessed the greatest attack on American soil since the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941.  What I saw next forever sealed my love for the sport of baseball.  We didn't see anyone kneeling during our National Anthem.  No one came onto the field with their hands up to protest against our police forces.  Displaying the American flag insulted no one living in these United States from what I could tell.  Now, 16 years later, the town I live in has announced that the annual 9-11 memorial service will be cancelled for the first time since 2001.  My, how quickly things have changed.  God bless our nation and the families of the fallen. 

Completing the 1960 Topps White Sox team set

Today's acquisition of Mike Garcia completes my 1960 Topps Chicago White Sox team set, and puts me within 21 cards of completing the 572-card set.  It looks like Mike Garcia fits in just in front of Minnie Minoso, which is hard for me to believe that anyone is older than Minoso.  All I can think of is Minoso's 1977 Topps highlight card featuring the oldest player to hit for the cycle (correction: to hit safely, see below).  Even though he probably wasn't that old, people really seemed to look old in those days.  The 2 blank spots are cards missing from the Milwaukee Braves team,

Here's the '77T Minoso card that I was talking about.  He doesn't appear to have aged much between 1960-1977.  Baseball-Reference lists him being born in 1925 (not 1922) making him 3 years younger, but still in his '50s by 1976-1977.   He actually played for the White Sox until 1980, but didn't get another MLB hit after 1976.  He even came up to bat for the independent league St. Paul Saints in 1993 (age 67) and 2003 (age 77).  I guess Minoso's name stands out to me so much because of his '77T card (year I was born) and the fact that he was a 7x All-Star between 1951-1960, appearing in the 1952 Topps set, and being a big part of the White Sox's World Series run in 1959.  He only recently passed away in 2015. 

Closing in on the 1951 Topps set.

Today, I added 3 more cards to my 1951 Topps set, bringing my total to 100 different cards.  With only 6 more to go, the official 1951 Topps countdown has begun.  The big catch in this lot is the Country Slaughter card, which is tough to find for a decent price in any condition.  The only star card left missing from my inaugural Topps set is Stan Musial's roommate, Hall of Famer Red Schoendienst, who continued to have cards through the 1990 Topps set.  

My Cardinals team set is still 3 cards short, which accounts for half of my total missing cards from the '51T set.

My 1951 Topps Phillies team set of 7 cards is now complete.

More Affordable Vintage 1950-1960

While listing a bunch of vintage for sale online, I thought that these images might provide a good example of what I was trying to describe in my previous post about building affordable vintage sets.  For someone just trying to get into vintage card collecting on a budget, the following cards are the type you might want to look for.  They are mostly in low-grade condition, or at least well handled.  They're not the type of cards you'd have to be concerned are counterfeit, leading you to pay extra for grading.  They're just authentic reasonably priced cards that have been thoroughly enjoyed over the years.  If you're a high-grade junky, then you either got a nice pocketbook, or don't plan on compiling a bunch of vintage cards anytime soon.  These are the type of cards you go after if you actually want to start a collection fast.  These are all cards that were once a part of my personal collection, but somehow became extras either through the purchase of vintage lots, accidental duplicate purchases, or are victims of my occasional upgrades.