Clyde Is Stylin' And Profilin'

If you are a fan of basketball, especially New York Knicks basketball, then you know the name Walt "Clyde" Frazier. Most Knicks fans know him as a color commentator on Knicks television broadcasts with Mike Breen. The duo has been together for a number of years, first on the radio then moved to MSG broadcasts. Walt is known for his unique style of calling a game, especially his perchant for rhyming during the telecasts. Phrases such as "dishing and swishing", "stopping and popping", and "winning and grinning" make Walt a special breed of broadcaster.

Before Walt was a broadcaster, he was one of the games greatest players. He was drafted 5th overall in the 1967 NBA Draft by the Knicks out of Southern Illinois. During his 13 year career, in which he played for the Knicks and Cavs, Walt was a 7 time NBA All-Star, winning the All Star MVP for the 1975 game. He was also named to 7 NBA All Defensive First Teams, 4 All-NBA First Teams, 2 All NBA Second Teams and won 2 NBA Titles, both with the Knicks. His number 10 has been retired by the Knicks. He was named one of the 50 Greatest players in NBA History and has been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall Of Fame.

So, how do you honor one of the greatest point guards in the history of the game? You give him his own bobblehead, of course.

And not just any bobblehead, oh no. The Knicks got creative with this bobblehead.

Another thing that makes Walt unique is his sense of style. Over the years, Walt has shown a certain flair in the clothes he wears.

If Walt wasn't a basketball player, I totally could see him playing in a funk band of some kind.

I don't call Frazier the Don Cherry of Basketball for nothing.

On March 29th, 2013, the Knicks gave out Walt Frazier bobbleheads. Now usually, when a player has a bobblehead made of him, he will be wearing the uniform of the team that is giving away the bobblehead. But for Walt, the Knicks decided to have a bobblehead made up of him wearing one of his more unique attires.

Here's Clyde

And here is the bobblehead.

I thinkl this is one of the Knicks best bobbleheads, The facial sculpt has a great likeness to Walt. The suit is well done and the paint job was done very well.There isn't anything to complain about with this bobblehead.

The back of the bobblehead, showing off the suit in all it's glory.

The Knicks orange base with his name done in black and the Knicks logo on top. The sponsor's name is coming off though. That is probably the only flaw in this bobblehead. If I wanted to, I might be able to wipe off the sponsor name and use the base for his autograph.

I love the bobblehead. Like Walt, it's unique from any bobblehead I have seen before. I am very pleased I was able to add this to my Knicks bobblehead collection. Hopefully, I can add his first SGA bobblehead to the collection next.

You have to admire Walt for his style and his willingness to have sofa fabric made up into a suit for public display. But when you are beloved b basketball fans around the world then I guess you can wear whatever you want. Walt Frazier is a one of a kind personality and he will forver be a New York Knick.

Recent Autograph Additions

I recently had the opportunity to add some new autographs to my Yankees, Knicks and Baseball Hall Of Fame collections and I jumped at the chance to do so. I have been cutting back on adding any new cards to my collection because I want to be able to clean up the mess of cards I have before I go out and add more to my collection. I have about 30 plus boxes filled with cards, so if I can make some room before adding more to my collection, it would be great.

But autographs are different. 

I don't think I could stop collecting autographs. Along with baseball cards, I have been collecting autographs since I was a kid. I remember waiting outside the players entrance at the old Yankee Stadium and getting players like Lou Pinella, Roy White, Bucky Dent to sign. I also had to deal with rejection when my favorite player at the time, Graig Nettles, turned me down flat. I was 12 years old, you mook. No, I harbor no ill will toward Nettles especially since I got him to sign a bunch of times later in life. 

I recently won 2 auctions on eBay and added 2 autographs to my Knicks collection. 

I've been wanting to add an autograph of Steve Novak for a while now. Surprisingly, I had seen some autographs cards of his finish in the 12.00 to 15.00 range and I really didn't want to pay that much for him. I waited until I could grab this one for less than 3.00, shipped. Novak was pretty dangerous from behind the arch and now Novacaine will be bringing his "Discount Double Check" to Toronto. I wish him the best, just not against the Knicks. 

I didn't really need a Dick McGuire autograph since I got him a few times through the mail before his passing. But anytime I can see a Hall Of Fame player's autograph for around the same price that I paid for the Novak, I'm jumping on it. He was a seven time All Star, played in 3 NBA Finals in the 50's and had his number 15 retired by the Knicks. I have been wanting to collect the autographs of some of the early Knicks stars and McGuire was certainly one of them.

I recently made a deal with my good friend and fellow blogger, Dodgerbobble for some autographed baseballs I needed for my Yankees and Baseball Hall Of Fame Collections. Thanks to Josh, I was able to add these two autographs to my collections:

Vernon Wells came over to the Yankees in a trade with the Angels to play left field when Curtis Granderson went down during spring training. Wells, even though he had a good spring, was thought to be nearing the end when the Yankees got him. He's currently platooning in left field with Alfonso Soriano and is hitting .246 with 11 home runs and 42 RBI's. Although his number is not 10 with the Yankees, I'm still glad I could add this autograph to my Yankees collection.

Here is an autograph I didn't think I would have in my collection. Josh was kind enough to trade me this Tommy Lasorda signed ball for my Hall Of Fame collection. It's got a Steiner hologram and Steiner certification to go along with it. Even if it didn't have it, I would have still pulled the trigger on the deal as I trust Josh. Thanks for the deal, buddy. 

This past Saturday, I went to the East Coast National, which was held at the Westchester County Center. Gaylord Perry was doing a free signing at the show, so I went early because I knew that there would be a long line to get a free autograph of a Hall Of Fame pitcher. 

And I was right. Lucky for me, I was closer to the front of the line then the back. And after about a 2 and a half hour wait, I scored Perry's signature on a baseball

He didn't put the HOF inscription on the ball because that wasn't free. I would have had to had paid 10.00 for it. Since it doesn't have the inscription, I am counting this toward the Yankees collection. This is number 35 in the Yankees signed baseball collection.

Being able to add 3 signed baseballs to my collection made me hungry for more. I will be keeping an eye out for player appearances and I may even try to wait outside Yankee Stadium and hope a player may actually come out and sign. I'm sure I have a better chance of Derek Jeter inviting me into the ballpark as his guest than that happening. But if it did, it would take me full circle to when I was a kid, clutching my bag full of baseball cards, hoping for a Yankee to come over and sign his name on my card. 

Lord Knows I Love a Mail day.

So, after I show all the boxes upon boxes of cards that I haven't organized, I open my post office box to find that sweet yellow slip letting me know I had a package waiting for me to pick up. I kinda figured out what that package was already, although I do have some baseballs out there, waiting for signatures, so it could have been one of them. But once I saw that manila envelope waiting for me I knew exactly what was inside.

My team collectors group have box breaks every few months and we had one just a few weeks ago. The theme was 90's baseball. I know the 90's had some of the coolest inserts, and I love me some inserts. So when it we decided we would break some 90's cards, I was in.

What we broke was the following:

-1996 Leaf Preferred
-1996 SP
-1996 Zenith
-1997 Pinnacle
-1997 Topps Chrome
-1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated
-1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated Then & Now
-1998 Skybox Circa Thunder
-1998 Topps Chrome Series 1 & 2
-1998 Topps Stadium Club Odds & Even
-1998 Upper Deck Encore

So today, here's what was awaiting me at the post office

And some nice team bags inside

Now, what did I get exactly? Here are the highlights.

I was thrilled when the Yankees got Chuck Knoblauch. I wish things would have ended better for him here.

Lowell was a guy I wish the Yankees would have kept.

This is not a card, but a mini poster. Not sure what I will do with it just yet, but I'm glad to have it.

I like this card a lot. Pettitte's pick off was lethal. Runners still are pretty skeptical when taking a lead off first when he's pitching.

Another card I like a lot. I remember watching Yankee games growing up and Rizzuto was a part of the Yankee broadcasting booth. I loved him. He might not have been the best announcer, but he was sure entertaining. If you haven't seen his Hall Of Fame induction speech, find it. It's a classic.

I need to make it to Yankee Stadium for Yogi Bobblehead Day.

I remember not thinking much of Bernie when he first came up. This is why I am NOT a scout.

Love this Strokes Of Genius insert.

We finish up with some awesome inserts of El Capitan. I love that Boss '98 Jeter insert.

I know what you guys are thinking. "Mike. You busted 90's cards. I know you have some Tino's to show us."

My readers are so smart.

Very nice Stadium Club insert.

Great action shot of Tino sliding to tag the bag for the out. It's mind boggling. Tino was one of the best defensive first basemen in baseball and he never won a Gold Glove. In the 90's, Mattingly won 4, J.T. Snow won 2, Palmeiro won 3 times. I certainly think Tino could have unseated Raffy for at least one of those.

My favorite Tino card in the package. This was not an insert, it was a base card. Skybox made some of the nicest cards back in the 90's.

Not sure why that was not cropped properly. I'm getting lazy in my old age.

Wow, I'm really slipping.

I like the simple design of this card. Very clean.

Great shot of Tino watching one of his ball go yard.

Not sure how many of these Tino's I actually already have, but I can tell you I do not recall the majority of them, so I think I added a lot to the Tino collection.

Not a bad haul, if I do say so myself. May not have netted an autograph or a game used card, but I added some complete Yankee sets to the collection and I am taking my girlfriend's advice and organizing this package to start the organization of my cards.

I better start soon or I will be buried under my cards. Meh, not a bad way to go.

The Dilemma

Yeah, I see you. The guy who is a huge baseball card collector. Maybe your a player collector. Maybe your a team collector or even a set collector. The point I'm trying to make is you collect sports cards, just like I do.

Here is where we differ, and believe me, I wish it wasn't so. I see you on different card forums or posting on your blog pictures of how well kept your collection is. You either have them in binders by either year or brand; in boxes with rows. You obviously know what you have and what you need. You have a want list, a trade list and maybe even a holy grail list posted somewhere so someone, anyone, can read it and offer you what you need.

You have pictures of your man cave as well. Pictures of your signed baseballs, framed jersey, bobbleheads in cases, game used equipment and other goodies adorn your room. Your cave may be painted in the colors of your favorite team or there may be a bar somewhere in there with a large HDTV and a comfy sofa to sit in to watch your teams play.

Me? I look at those pictures and just drool all over my keyboard.

Where I currently live, I do not have the room to display all my stuff. I have 2 shelves up. My Yankee bobbleheads are on one shelf (and I've just about run out of room to display anymore) and my Yankees signed baseball PC is up on the shelf above it.

That's it.

Not that I mind. It is what it is for the moment. I have no doubt in my mind that one day I too will have a sanctuary where I can display my memorabilia, watch sports and drink beer. No, no. That's not what's bothering me.

Here is what is bothering me and has been for a long time.

That my friends is boxes upon boxes of sports cards...with a Dirt Devil thrown in between a couple of boxes. Btw, there are even more boxes that are not pictured above.

I didn't mean for this problem to arise. It just happened. I get cards from my team collectors or through trades and I will put the cards in boxes for safe keeping, until I have time to go through them and put them in the monster boxes I have waiting. Once I have them in their monster boxes, I plan to put the base cards into binders and keep the secondary releases in the monster boxes.

For example, I have monster boxes for Yankees Topps, Yankees Donruss, Yankees Upper Deck, Yankees Fleer, Yankees Panini and a box for just everything else. I also have monster boxes for my Jets, Knicks, Islanders and Devils cards. Once I have everything in the proper boxes, I would then take the main Topps release and put them in 9 pocket pages and stick them in binders. I would leave sets like Allan and Ginter, Turkey Red, etc in the boxes. I'm debating to have a Topps Heritage binder also.

Sounds like a good plan, right? Well, try and go through full box after full box and see just how far you go before you go mad.

See that? That's what I have to look forward to. Hours and hours of cardboard to sort through. This is something I never should have let get out of hand.

Now, it may seem like I'm complaining,,, OK, I am complaining a bit. But to be honest, I do love to spend a Sunday afternoon shifting through the boxes and organizing them. I may have a game on or music playing in the background as I do. Maybe have a drink while I work. I try to make it as relaxing a task as I possibly can.

I know I have a lot of work ahead of me. But, it needs to get organized. I too, would like to know just what I have, what I need and what I can trade. I am pretty sure that once I get everything organized, I will see that I have a pretty awesome collection, one that I can be proud to show off. I just need to figure out a game plan to get me to where I need to be.

Hey, I'm open to suggestions. Also, any quick and easy storage options you may have would be appreciated as well. If you have a blog post where you showed off your organized collection, I want to see that too.

I may also post a blog of any interesting cards I find in any box I work on. That way, I will be motivated to not only get my cards in order, but to continue to regularly post blogs here. I know I have been slacking and I apologize for that.

So, go ahead. Continue to post those pictures of your sweet collection. Show off how well organized your cards are. Let me know how many 1959 Topps cards you have. One day soon, I too will have my cards in tip top shape and will be able to tell you just how many of those 1959 Topps cards I need for my Yankees PC. That day will come and when it does, I will just add more cards to the collection because I will know exactly where to put them.

Staten Island Yankees Bobblehead Promotion Dates

The Staten Island Yankees have 3 bobblehead give away dates coming up this upcoming season. The Staten Island Yankees are the short season Single A affiliate of the New York Yankees and will be showcasing 2 players who played with Staten Island before ultimately making it to the Bronx.

Here are the dates and players featured:

Thursday, June 27th Vs Hudson Valley Renegades-Fransisco Cervelli
Friday, July 19th vs Batavia Muckdogs-Brett Gardner
Friday August 16th vs Lowell Spinners-James Molinaro 

I'm up in the air about the selection of players they used. Brett Gardner, I do agree with. Fransisco Cervelli, while is a nice backup catcher, is not one of my favorite players. Hate his hot dogging. James Molinaro?? I didn't even know who he was until I looked him up and found out he is the Staten Island Borough President. Almost seems like a waste of a bobblehead to make one of him when only he and his family will care about it. Maybe I am being too harsh here, but when you have players like Robinson Cano, Chen Ming-Wang and David Phelps, who have played on your team before, it almost seems like they are players who should have had bobbleheads made before the Staten Island Borough President had one made up. I will get Cervelli and Gardner and take a wait and see on Molinaro. I wish I could show you pictures, but the SI Yankees haven't posted any as of today, which worries me.

I was a partial season ticket holder with the club for 5 seasons. Every year, when I was asked what promotions I would like to see, I always asked for bobbleheads and we never got them. I did get a mini Scooter The Holy Cow bobblehead as a gift from my ticket rep, but we never got any bobblehead promotions until now. I just wish the selection was better.

Update-

A picture of the Cervelli bobblehead has popped up on the Staten Island Yankees website:

It's a nice bobblehead. Doesn't really look like Cervelli, but I do plan to attend the game and pick up one for my bobblehead collection.

It's Yankees Old Timers Day

Today is one of my favorite days on the Yankees schedule. Old Timers Day. It's a day when I get to see players I never seen play as well as my personal favorites I did get to see. watching this game always brings me back to when I was a kid and when I first started watching the Yankees.

My first year as a Yankee fan was 1976. As a 5 year old, I was more into Spider-Man, Batman and other superheroes. I don't recall why or how I was watching the Yankee/Royals on October 14th, 1976, but there I was, sitting on my living room floor in front of the TV, watching game 5 of the ALCS. It was a game that would change my life forever. I really don't remember much about the game, but I do remember Chris Chambliss taking Royals reliever Mark Littell deep and bringing the Yankees back to the World Series. I remember running around like a moron, screaming and jumping around when the ball cleared the fence. I had no idea why I was so happy, but I was and I watched the Yankees get swept by the Big Red Machine Reds in 4 straight. The Yankees might have lost that game, but I was hooked for life.

As I was growing up, the Yankees were my life. I would watch the Bronx Bombers win championships and I would choose the players of those 2 Yankees championship teams that would be my favorites. My mom and her friends loved Reggie Jackson. As much as I admired Reggie, he wasn't my favorite. I was a huge fan of Graig Nettles, Goose Gossage and Bucky Dent, especially after I saw him take Mike Torrez deep in Fenway Park during the one game playoff in 1978. I also loved Thurman Munson and was devastated when he was taken from us in 1979.

The Yankee Captain, Taken Way Too Soon

My very first Yankees game was Tuesday, August 17th when the Yankees played the Royals. It was Pennant Night, which featured a team picture of the 1981 American League Championship team. I don't remember anything about that game, other than waving at a WPIX camera that was pointing at me. I do know the Yankees lost that game 8-4. I still have the pennant, although the condition is terrible. But, I will keep it regardless as a memory of my very first game.

The 80's were not to kind to my Yankees. There wasn't a team that won the AL East other than the 1980 and '81 teams. We did win 91 games in 1983, but finished third, 97 in 1985, but finished 2nd, 90 games in 1986 finishing 2nd. The other teams were barley .500 or under. We went through more managers than Za Za Gabor went through husbands. But I had my favorites during the 80's as well. I loved watching Rickey Henderson and I copied his batting stance whenever I played ball. I still loved Ron Guidry and he was pitching well in the 80's, winning 22 games during the 1985 season. Dave Winfield was a favorite and of course, we had the best player in baseball, Don Mattingly. Watching Donnie Baseball was a joy and I really wished we could have seen a healthy Mattingly for a lot longer than we were able to get.

Not My Picture, But I Wish It Was

The 90's didn't start out too good. The Yankees had a last place finish in 1990. But things looked up for the Yankees as they won the first American League Wild Card in 1995 but fell to the Seattle Mariners in an epic 5 game ALDS. The Yankees got the last laugh the next season, winning the first of 3 championships in the 90's, becoming the REAL Team of the 90's. I had my favorites, rooting for David Cone, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, Bernie Williams and of course Derek Jeter. I was telling my girlfriend the other day, I think I have seen just about 95% of Jeter's games. As much as I loved those guys, my favorite players were Paul O'Neill and Tino Martinez. I loved O'Neill's intensity. He always was thinking aout hitting, but he was a top notch right fielder, one who opposing players thought twice about running on. Fans from other teams thought O'Neill was a bit of a jerk for the theatrics when he struck out or made an out with runners on, but I would take 10 O'Neill's on my team any day. Tino was the guy who came after Mattingly retired and he did a great job taking over first. He played Gold Glove caliber first and swung a mean bat, hitting 44 home runs during the 1997 season, finishing second to Ken Griffey Jr for the AL MVP Award.

This Was A Common Image During The 1990's

 My favorite Yankee now is Mark Teixeira. I admired him when he played with the Texas Rangers and I was elated when he signed with the Yankees in 2009, helping them win title number 27 later that year. I root for him when he does well and I root for him when he doesn't, hoping he will break out of his slump

Today, my love for the New York Yankees is as strong at age 42 as it was when I was 6. It's been 37 years since I watched my very first Yankees game and I know if I live to be 95 I will still be wearing my pinstripes with pride. I will still buy their jerseys, pick up the bobble-heads and figurines, collect their baseball cards and chase after the autographs of former and current Yankees. I will always root for the Yankees, but that's what being a fan is all about. Not getting cynical when your team isn't doing well like some fans I have come across. Always rooting for them and giving the team your undying support. Yes, I love the Jets, Knicks and I root for the Islanders. But the team that has my heart and always will is the greatest franchise in professional sports, The New York Yankees. Watching Old Timers Day always reminds me just how much I love this team.

The Start Of My Roberto Clemente PC

As a Puerto Rican American, I am fully aware of big baseball is in our culture. In Puerto Rico, Baseball is king. The first Puerto Rican born player in the Majors was Hiram Bithorn, who pitched his first game for the Chicago Cubs on April 15th, 1942. Since then, Puerto Ricans have played and flourished in the Majors. Players like Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, Ivan Rodriguez, Roberto Alomar, Carlos Beltran, Orlando Cepeda, Edgar Martinez and the catching Molina Brothers. But to me, and most Puerto Rican baseball fans, the man is and will always be Roberto Clemente.

Clemente is widely considered to be the greatest Puerto Rican born baseball player who ever lived. Clemente is the first Hispanic born player to win a World Series as a starter, win a MVP award and a World Series MVP. He was a 15 time All Star, won 12 Gold Gloves and was a 4 time batting champion. He had a rocket for an arm and had 3,000 hits during his 18 year career, all with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

With all the accomplishments Clemente has on the baseball field, it's his charity work that I respect more. Clemente was very active in various charities and when he heard that supplies that were intended for the victims of a massive earthquake in Managua, which is the capital city of Nicaragua, never made it to them, he went on a charity mission to personally make sure the supplies would make it to the people who needed it most. Unfortunately, the plane, supplies or Roberto never made it to it's destination as the Douglas-DC7 that was carrying Roberto crashed into the ocean almost immediately after take off on New Years Eve 1972. Roberto's body was never recovered. He gave his life to help others and that is why Clemente deserves all the accolades he gets to this day and I feel his number 21 should be retired around the majors, but that's another discussion for another time.

I grew up idolizing Clemente, despite never seeing him play a baseball game, he died when I was just 1 year old. I read all the books that came I could get my hands on, I watched any documentary about him I saw on TV. At times, I would root for the Pirates when I watched Mets games, just because Roberto played for them. I even traded 10 baseball cards for a 1973 Topps Roberto Clemente card, which mysteriously found it's way into a former friend's baseball card collection, denying any wrong doing of course.

When I got back into collecting cards, one of the things I wanted to collect was Roberto Clemente. Of course, as I always do, I got side tracked building my Yankees, Jets, Knicks collections as well as my various player collections. Plus, prices for Clemente cards are pretty high. But I think I can build a really nice Clemente collection without spending a great deal of money. Here is what I have so far:

I bought this Clemente McFarlane figure when it was released. Unfortunately, the packaging was crushed under a heavy box. Stupid me. But this will be opened and displayed on a Clemente shelf I am planning on building.

Now, the cards. The cards I have are from recent releases, so I don't have anything mind blowing. But, they are very nice cards nonetheless:

I see Topps used the same picture twice. I'm sure that is not the only time they pulled this stunt.

What did I tell you?

This card is my prized possession in my Clemente Collection. I pulled this card myself from a pack of 2005 Donruss Greats. You couldn't get card off me at no price. It's not worth much, monetary. But it's priceless to me.

I hope to one day be able to add the following in the upcoming months:

- A Mitchell & Ness Clemente Jersey
-Some vintage Clemente cards, if I can find them at a good price
-Some of the Clemente SGA bobble-heads and statues. I have seen some nice figurines and bobble-heads that the Pirates have given away over the years that are affordable. I would love to add them to my collection.

That is just the beginning of what I hope to be a wonderful tribute to a man who gave us his all. It's been 41 years since he left us way too soon. Not a day goes by when I hear his name being mentioned by a sports announcer, a player or someone who is just talking sports. Clemente left behind a terrific legacy, both on and off the field. One that lives to this day through the Roberto Clemente Award, through the Hispanic born players who cite Clemente as an influence and through fans like me who knows a great man when they see one.