1972 Topps - Dave Nelson.

Not much going on as the baseball world waits for the World Series to kick off. Seeing as it had been awhile since we visited 1972 I thought this would be an opportune time to do so. Today we see Dave Nelson on card number 529 of the set.

The Senators acquired Dave in a trade in December of 1969 with the Indians. That trade also brought in Horacio Pina and Ron Law. Prior to that time Dave had been playing sporadically for Cleveland in 1968 and '69. Once with the Senators he bounced in and out of the minors in 1970 and '71. His most notable accomplishment with Washington was that he scored the last run ever in RFK stadium.

In 1972 Nelson made the move to Texas with the club and appeared in a career high 145 games, most of them at third base. He would have 51 stolen bases that year, second in the American league. He would also lead the league in times caught stealing with 17. He started to get a reputation for speed on the basepaths. Dave also improved significantly in runs scored and walks taken.

Dave's card contains another fine example of Topps' mediocre airbrushing skills. As bad as his cap looks though, it doesn't hold a candle to Hal King's cover. Looking ahead, there are only five more cards left that I haven't posted from the 1972 Topps team set.

Yanks down Angels.

Darren Oliver was flawless last night against the Yankees. Oliver, seen here on card number 153 of the 1995 Upper Deck set, came in with the bases loaded and Jorge Posada at the plate. He managed a double play ball to get out of the inning. Darren then pitched two more scoreless innings to keep Anaheim in the game. In the end it didn't matter much though as the Yankees won 5-2 to eliminate the Angels.

This leaves the Phillies as baseball's last hope to avoid a Yankees' championship. If they fail then we will all be condemned to hearing about how great the Yankees are until the end of the 2010 World Series. Go Phils!

In other baseball news, the Cardinals have resigned Tony La Russa as their manager. Only one coaching position will change and that will be the hitting coach. Mark McGwire will be returning from exile to fill the position. I like this news. My brother was a big McGwire fan growing up and I always liked Big Mac. He probably has a lot to pass on to young players. McGwire plus La Russa could make the Cards an even more dangerous team than they have been.

Before anyone makes any accusations against Mark please be prepared to bring forth proof of wrong-doing or cheating. Remember that the Mitchell report cleared him and that the only person to publicly accuse him of PED use was Jose Canseco. Canseco was accurate with a lot of his names but not all of them. He also has a serious axe to grind against McGwire since he felt the A's slighted him by trading him to keep McGwire. Merely not wanting to discuss the issue with a bunch of overreaching, grandstanding politicians is not proof of guilt.

Headlong.

I like this card, number 424 in the 1999 Pacific set. Kind of surprising really. Pacific never did much for me and I didn't even notice them leaving the baseball card scene. I didn't like the red uniforms, either the first time around or this time. I only have a vague recollection of Tommy Goodwin with the team.

In spite of all of this, I like the card. I like the hustle and the headfirst slide. The dirt kicking up ahead of Tommy as he grabs the bag. The concentrated set of the mouth.

I would like to imagine he is swiping second or third but this is likely taking place at first as he dives back in under a pick-off attempt. Either way, it is a nice shot. Even if you can't see Tommy's eyes.

Late post.

Sorry this post is after midnight. Please consider it as October 23rd's post.

Not much to report today. Elvis Andrus was named as the Rangers top rookie. Not much surprise there.

Decided to post card number 375 in the 2009 Upper Deck set for several reasons. First, I just got the card so it is downstairs instead of up with the rest of my collection and I really don't feel up to running up and getting a different card. Second, I just realized I haven't posted a 2009 Upper Deck card until this one. Third, I really liked these uniforms.

I always liked the vest style uniforms and was glad when Texas went to them. In my opinion the gray ones looked better than the home whites. One of the things I was bummed about with the new uniforms this past year was the change away from the vests. In my view the vests are a nice looking throwback design. Kinsler wearing his socks high helps complete the look.

So, vests or regular jerseys? Which would you go with if you were in charge of uniform design?

Angels buy plane tickets back to NY.

So the Angels stayed alive tonight, but just barely, to avoid elimination in the ALCS. In spite of Mark Teixeira's bashing, the Halos are sending the series back to New York.

Money Man, seen here on card number 43 of the 2005 Bowman game-used set, went 2-for-5 with three RBI. (Had to post a Yankee card since I don't have either an auto or game-used card of an Angels player.) His RBI came at a critical time and helped spark the Yankee's six run seventh inning.

The Angels were able to come back though against The Empire's bullpen after knocking out starter A.J. Burnett. That means that game six will be played in New York on Saturday. I would like to see Anaheim pull off a humiliating defeat of the Yankees in the series but I am doubting that it will happen. Two straight in The Belly of the Beast in October is a tall order indeed.

Phils, Yanks push opponents to edge.

Sorry about the lack of posts. Had house guests the past couple of days and so time got short.

Since I last posted the Phillies and Yankees have taken commanding 3-1 leads in their respective series. The Phils are trying tonight to finish off the Dodgers. Currently they are in the bottom of the fourth inning and leading the Dodgers 4-2.

The Yankees try to finish off the Angels tomorrow. Thus far on of the Angels' biggest problems has been Alex Rodriguez's bat. The Halos have to stop Alex, seen here on card number 1 of the 2001 Absolute Memorabilia set. If he can keep bombing Anaheim pitching the series may end tomorrow.

Recent arrival.

Spent the afternoon after work trying to get the house ready for family coming to visit and then got called into work for a couple of hours this evening. I am sorry to say that left me with little time to get a post together.

Due to the time constraints I will leave you with this autographed 1983 Topps Charlie Hough card. I mailed this card to Mr. Hough on September 21st and asked him to sign it. He did so and it came back today.