Inkquest: Bob Dernier, 1983 Phillies

Baseball Biography:  Bob Dernier was a fleet-footed mostly centerfielder who played for the Phillies (1980-1983, 1988-1989) and Cubs (1984-1987).  He had two 40+ SB seasons and 218 SB in his career.  He was mostly a backup outfielder except for 1984-1985 with the Cubs.  He won a Gold Glove in 1984 and finished 17th in NL MVP voting.  He had a career best year that year, hitting .278/.356/.362 (97 OPS+).

I remember him on the 1989 Phillies, leading off most days until Len Dykstra came along.  If my memory is correct, his only home run that year was an inside-the-park home run against the Giants....

and YouTube confirmed it in this video.

Role on the 1983 Phillies: He was a 4th outfielder/pinch runner/pinch hitter, appearing in 122 games, but with only 221 AB.  He hit .231/.288/.290 (62 OPS+) and had 35 SB in 42 attempts.

Card Facts: This is a 2005 Topps Retired Signature Edition card. This set was distributed in 5 card packs with 5 packs per box (SRP: $150) with one slabbed auto card per pack.  

GintaCuffs VIII Part 3: the Final Cuffs

Presented without comment, presented with aplomb.
Pack 17

52-Adam Eaton +2 FP
40-Jordan Zimmermann
73-James Shields
Auto Nancy Lieberman +7
Mini 32- Falcon 9 Rocket +1
94- Todd Frazier
309-Yasmany Toma

Pack: 10
Overall: 80.5

Pack 18

141-Colin Rea
69-Roberto Alomar
272-Troy Tulowitzki
57-Jim Rice
NW-16 Pulpit Rock +2
Mini Laureates of Peace Malala Yousafzai +2
191-Anthony Anderson
NG-65 Clayton Kershaw +2 +2 FP

Pack: 8
Overall: 88.5

Pack 19

43-Jake Odorizzi
277-Manny Machado
213-Heidi Watney
205-Carlos Santana
Mini 187 Carl Yastrzemski
256-Starling Marte
68-Dexter Fowler
343-Shelby Miller

Pack: 0
Oveall: 88.5

Pack 20

26-John Lackey
150-Eric Hosmer
180-Ryne Sandberg
237-Dustin Pedroia
Mini 2-Ryan Braun
64 Steve Schirripa +1
23-Addison Russell
NG-3 Buster Posey +2

Pack: 3
Overall: 91.5

Pack 21

4-Justin Verlander
69-Miguel Sano
59-Billy Hamilton
NW-6 Old Faithful +2
Mini 299-Clayton Kershaw +3 FP
186- Alex Gordon
295-Jose Altuve
330-Zack Godley

Pack: 5
Overall: 96.5

Pack 22

96-Jason Kipnis
179-Jen Welter
148-Kole Calhoun
121-Corey Seager
Mini 122-Andrew Heaney
138-Cord McCoy
126 Greg Bird -1
NG-59 Adam Wainwright +2

Pack: 1
Overall: 97.5

Pack 23

185-JD Martinez
249-Paul McBeth
93-Mike Piazza
7-John Lamb
Mini A&G Back 170 Max Scherzer +2
44-Miguel Castro
129-Zack Greinke
NG-20 George Springer +2

Pack: 4
Overall: 101.5

Pack 24

10-Jason Sklar
204-Drew Storen
41-Drew Smyly
BL-8 George Brett +2
Mini SP 350 Steve Carlton +3 +1 FT
142-Jake Arrieta
34-Rick Klein -1
316-Ryan Weber

Pack: 5
Overall: 106.5

GintaCuffs VIII Part 2: the Splintering Begins

I always think to myself what makes a box like this enjoyable to open.  If I can rank it for a Ginter box, it would be:

1)no duplicates
2) a reasonable amount of non-baseball cards
3) a non-relic hit
4) extra minis
5) a rip card
6) fun to sort through and look at

4 and 5 have only happened once ever in my life, so I can't count on that.  2 and 6 are completely subjective, and from what I can tell, this set measures up pretty well.  I think Ginter has rediscovered the balance after the quirky overload years of 2012-2014.


Pack 9

338-Stephen Piscotty

75-Mike Moustakas

202-Missy Franklin

Mini 144-Matt Holliday

BL-12 Reggie Jackson +2

245-Dwier Brown

86-Adam Jones

20-Michael Pineda -1

Pack: 1
Overall: 43.5

Pack 10

184-Mookie Betts
28-Elvis Andrus
NG-92 Andy Pettitte +2, -1
Mini A&G Back 20- Michael Pineda +2, -1
174-Frankie Montas
132-Leigh Steinberg
152-Gary Sanchez -1
172-Joe Morgan

Pack: 1
Overall: 44.5

Pack 11

234-Glenn Perkins
119-Gennady Golovkin
116-Jose Reyes
NG55-Ryan Braun +2
BL-4 Jackie Robinson +2
Mini Ferocious Felines 11 Manx Cat +2
173-Billy Burns
246-Mike Francesca

Pack: 6
Overall: 50.5

Pack 12

56-Carlos Correa
290-Andrew Faulkner
297 Corey Kluber +2 FP
Mini US Mayors 19 Andrew Ginther (Columbus, OH) +2
Relic Albert Pujols +5
169-Adrian Beltre
350-Steve Carlton +1 FT

Pack: 10
Overall: 60.5

Pack 13

221-Brian Mccann -1
118-Evan Gattis
214-Justin Bour
NG-52 Jose Altuve +2
235-Cheyenne Woods
Mini Black Border 235 Ernie Johnson +3
262-Giancarlo Stanton
255-Nomar Garciaparra

Pack: 5
Overall: 65.5

Pack 14

347-Sean Doolittle
159 Brett Gardner -1
300-Trea Turner
NW-11 Baobab Forest +2
195 Joey Votto +2 FP
Mini 277 Manny Machado
292-Marcell Ozuna
37-Dawn Spacecraft

Pack: 3
Overall: 68.5

Pack 15

266-Anthony Rendon
125-Carl Edwards Jr
77-Kevin Pillar
194-Mike Trout
Mini 100- Rob Refsnyder -1
112-Kris Bryant
45-Laurence Levy
NG-73 Nomar Garciaparra +2

Pack: 1
Overall: 69.5

Pack 16

324 Rob Refsnyder -1
157-Gerrit Cole
231-Kaleb Cowart
Mini SP 347 Sean Doolittle +3
99 Luis Severino -1
135-Luis Gonzalez
189-Buster Posey
167-Jeff Samardzija

Pack: 1
Overall: 70.5

GintaCuffs VIII Part 1: the Gintering Begins

(It seems this is the only thing that gets me to the old computer to type spontaneous words about this hobby that I am still actively hobbying.)

Here are some of the in-use definitions of gintering:

1. To open a box of Allen&Ginter and get buried under an avalanche of mini cards
2. To be stuck in a frame with a tropical motif
3. To travel around life with a fluorescent backsplash highlighting your movements
4. To be forced to be only write in cursive for all eternity

On to the cuffing of the ginter.

Boxloader

Mike Trout +4

Pack 1

115- Brad Miller
124- Jonathan Lucroy
311-Wellington Castillo
Mini 112-Kris Bryant
128-Aroldis Chapman -1
252-Cole Hamels my FP +4
Numbers Game (NG)-100 Ryne Sandberg +2

(7 cards in the 1st pack, not good)

Pack 1: 5
Overall: 9

Pack 2

208-Joe Panik
275-Jacob Degrom
140-Caleb Cotham
276-Matt Harvey
Mini 112- Kris Bryant
62-Dellin Betances -1
155-Brandon Phillips
242-DJ LeMahieu
Baseball Legends-25 Eddie Mathews +2

(same mini in back-to-back packs)

Pack 2: 1
Overall: 10

Pack 3

299-Clayton Kershaw FP+2
110-Michelle Steele
114-Randy Sklar
Mini 96-Jason Kipnis
Relic Brandon Belt +5x1.7 FP=8.5
55-Hector Rondon
327-Raul Mondesi, Jr

Pack: 10.5
Overall: 20.5
Pack 4

228-Colin Cowherd -1
287-Andre Dawson
122-Andrew Heaney
143-Adrian Gonzalez
Natural Wonders 13-Komodo Island +2
Mini A&G Back 232 Hector Olivera +2
257-Chris Archer
NG-74 Jim Rice +2

(they called Komodo Dragons gentle on the back of the card....what?)

Pack: +5
Overall: 25.5
Pack 5

218-Masahiro Tanaka -1
19-Rollie Fingers
226-Luke Jackson +2 FP
76-Colin McHugh
Mini 289 Jose Quintana
177-Mark Teixeira -1
182-Nolan Arenado
349-Travis D'Arnaud

(it was a very long time ago when Roy Halladay was traded to the Phillies for a package that included D'Arnaud.)

Pack: 0
Overall: 25.5

Pack 6

284-Orlando Cepeda
134-Henry Owens
283-Michael Wacha
BL-23 Nolan Ryan +2
Mini Black Border Josh Reddick +3
15-Mark Trumbo
197-George Springer
NG-33 Yoenis Cespedes +2

(quick, name the players on the active A's roster left over from the 2014 team (not Reddick)....answer: Stephen Vogt (Gray and Lowrie are on the DL))

Pack: 7
Overall: 32.5
Pack 7

181- Alex Wood
151-David Ortiz
46-Ben Revere
NW-2 Great Barrier Reef +2
Mini US Mayors 3 Sam Liccardo (semi-local in San Jose, CA) +2
147-Martin Prado
296-Rickey Henderson
303-Wei-Yi Chen

(I don't know the answer to this question: after David Ortiz retires, how many players left have appeared in all A&G sets since 2006?)

Pack: 4
Overall: 36.5

Pack 8

251-Stephen Piscotty
232-Hector Olivera
225-Brandon Drury +2 FP
278-Madison Bumgarner
Mini Subways and Streetcars 11 R.V. +2
279-Paul Molitor
127-Lucas Duda
NG-75 Kyle Seager +2

Pack: 6
Overall: 42.5