Bandwagon jumping (Go Royals and Giants!)

I don't like the Giants, but I like them slightly more than the Cardinals, so I'm glad the lesser of two evils prevailed there. At least the Giants have Padres ties, with both Bochy and Peavy representing San Diego very well for several years till the suits upstairs pushed them out.

But that said, there's no question I'm rooting for the Royals to win it. Gotta love a Cinderella story.

I got on the bandwagon and picked up an Alex Gordon certified auto the other day.

This seems to be his cheapest available auto out there, setting me back an even $10 shipped. Sticker auto. No sign of MLB properties. Bottom of the certified auto barrel, sure, but I like it. Gordon has been a real good player for a while now, and seems to me he's the heart of the team (though again, I'm just a bandwagon jumper and don't know much about them.)

I don't specifically collect anybody currently on the Royals, though I did pull a couple nice numbered Yordano Ventura cards from the 2014 Donruss Series 2 box I won, so I'll be hoping he pitches well. As far as all-time Royals I like, names springing to mind include Dan Quisenberry and Al Hrabosky (I had misspelt both those guys' last names; kudos to Google Chrome's spellcheck for having them in the dictionary; ironically it's saying spellcheck isn't a word. Well, screw them.) Let's see, who else? Vida Blue and Gaylord Perry are a couple guys I collect who spent a little time in KC. Oh yeah, my boy Bip bipped there briefly, too. As did Reggie Sanders. And of course you gotta love Mr. Royal, George Brett.

As for San Francisco, apart from the aforementioned Bruce Bochy and Jake Peavy, I don't really collect any current Giants. I ranted about all-time Giants I collect back when Peavy got traded in a post titled The damn Giants I'm forced to collect.

But ever the opportunist, I've attempted to try taking advantage of San Francisco's success to help me thin out the team's ample representation in my tradebox. I got 5 Listia auctions running, all ending Sunday. All five are lots, between 4 and 9 cards each. Excuse the self-serving plug, but you can check out the listings here on my Listia profile. I've got a Posey lot, Bumgarner lot, Cain lot, misc Giants lot, and a lot of my Peavy dupes. (I should put up a lot of Bochy dupes, too.)

Anyways, should be a fun Series. I'll be pulling for Kansas City to keep the magic going and bring home their first Championship since 1985, but won't be crushed in the event San Francisco comes out on top and further cements Bochy's HOF credentials.

Have a good weekend and stay safe! (At my work, there's one other guy besides me who regularly rides his bike to work. He just got hit by a car as he was leaving to go home today. Yikes! I think he's fine, but shaken up and they're taking him to the hospital to be safe. Needless to say, I'll be extra careful riding home today.)

Pose Masters: Mike Fiore, the scoop pose king

Mike Fiore's major league career wasn't all that impressive. He secured his place in baseball lore, albeit it a footnote, when he hit the first home run ever in Kansas City Royals history. But where his skill really shone was hit ability to make a scoop pose for his baseball card photos. It's only fitting that Fiore is the initial subject of Pose Masters, a new reoccurring(?) feature here at BCB celebrating athletes whose skills on the diamond extended to when they were standing in front of a photographer getting a shot for a forthcoming baseball card.

Fiore, a first-baseman, has 3 solo cards: Topps 1970-1972. His best year (his only decent year, in fact) was his rookie campaign of 1969 with the expansion Royals, when he batted .274 with 12 tatters, one of which was that fateful 1st Royal jack, leading off the 2nd inning of the 5th game of the season, against the A's on April 13th.

Unfortunately for Fiore, the dreams he must've entertained of becoming Mr. Royal, beloved by all of Kansas, not just their eponymous city, would go unfulfilled, paving the way for George Brett to claim the title years later. He bounced around with a few more teams, first as an underperforming bench player, then toiling for several more years in AAA.

But he leaves us with a legacy of scooping baseball card photos that is unmatched! He really knew what he was doing, and the camera ate it up! You gotta wonder if the photographer suggested the pose each time or what. I'd like to believe Fiore came up with it himself.

Topps photographer: "OK, Mike: say cheese."

Mike Fiore: "I got this! Check out this bad-ass pose of me scooping out a low throw from short! Boo-yah!"

Topps photographer: "... ok. [click] We're good here."

Mike Fiore: ":)"


It's not like he was known for his excellent defense. In his only year with 100+ games, 1969, he committed 10 errors at first-base in just 91 games at the position, 3rd most in the league. (He also added another error in 13 games playing the outfield.)

Coach: "Fiore, here comes the throw.. get your glove up!"

Mike Fiore: "Screw that, coach! Mike Fiore is all about the scoop. THE SCOOOOP! [ball flies just over his shoulder] oops."

Today, Mike Fiore might be relegated to the answer of a KC Royals trivia question, but for fans of vintage baseball cards, he will forever be fondly remembered as a true pose master.

(Artist re-creation of the full-photo used on Mike Fiore's rookie card. There's little doubt in my mind that this is the pose he struck. A true professional from day one.)

Bo Jackson shirt from the 90s (that I still wear!)

While my new blog here is called Baseball Card Breakdown, I plan to occasionally drift a bit from the topic of baseball cards and ramble about other stuff.. if that's cool with you all. Yeah? Great!

This divergence is at least baseball related. One of the oldest pieces of clothing I own (and still wear) is a Bo Jackson "Hit & Run" shirt that I got way back in middle school.. so we're talking dawn of the 90s. Probably 1991. Back when Bo was on the Royals and Raiders, respectively, and plays up the 2-sport deal. It's got a Nike logo on it, but no team identification other than uniform colors. Amazingly, I still wear it, and have been for over 20 years.

Bo Jackson

Bo Jackson In Action

It's now very ripped up, so it's mostly a night shirt/pajama top. But living in a "hip" (weird) part of Portland, OR, I can occasionally wear it out while walking the dog or whatever and not get a second look. (You've seen that Portlandia show, right? It really is pretty much like that.)

It was originally a long-sleeve shirt, but somewhere over the past couple decades, I cut the sleeves off at the elbows. And it's this alteration that really made the shirt such a invaluable item in my wardrobe. You see, I'm a guy who often gets cold arms at night.. specifically the area on the back of my arms between the shoulders and elbow. And when the temperature starts slipping down, a regular t-shirt just doesn't do the trick. It can be really annoying. So this shirt is great for the Fall or Spring when it's too warm for long-sleeves, but not hot enough for a regular t-shirt. Great middle-ground option. You'd think I could just buy a similar shirt (or cut-off another long-sleeve shirt), but nothing else seems to get it just right. Either the sleeves are too loose or not the exact correct length or something.

I also feel good that I can still fit into my clothes from middle school. While a lot of my old friends from back in the day have packed on a few extra pounds-- as humans often do as they age-- I have remained bizarrely consistent in my size regardless of my fluctuating eating/exercising habits at any given period over the past 25 years or so. Here's hoping I don't hit that point where my metabolism changes anytime soon and I have to deal with strict diets and exercising. Yesterday at work I ate three Krispy Kreme donuts. Three!! Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking, either. They were tasty at the time, though (and free, too-- thanks, Debi, for bringing those in!) But yeah, today I went on a nice hike, so hopefully that was able to combat yesterday's gluttony a bit. The trail was to a place called Punchbowl Falls. Gorgeous views and a lovely waterfall at the end. I love hikes where there's a goal/end. Just looping around is kinda boring to me. But give me a destination to make it to, and you've got my interest, whether it be a waterfall, stream, peak, dead body, or whatever.
Very tired now. Just want to post this blog then head to bed. Here's a couple pics and a video from the hike.

Don't look down, Annie!

With a little luck, I'll remain in decent shape, as will my old Bo Jackson shirt, for a few more good years.