Lou Brock Swatch Card

Why yes, that's two days in a row with baseball posts. Perhaps something is wrong with me...

Although I've been waiting for an excuse to feature this card (and a few others) for a while now; it features Hall Of Famer Lou Brock, the one-time record holder for stolen bases, on this Century Collection card (#10 in the series) from the 2010 Donruss Americana (numbered 19/250) set by Panini, with a black swatch from ''an item'' worn during a ''professional'' game:

Brock spent his entire Major League career in the National League, playing his first four seasons with the Chicago Cubs, and sixteen years with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he would have the most success. He won two World Series with the Cards (1964 and 1967) and was a six-time All-Star (1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 979) as well.

He did have some power, having knocked the ball out of the park at New York's Polo Grounds, but Cards manager Johnny Keane wanted to have a speedy team, and asked him to concentrate on stealing bases rather than hit homers; he ended his career with 149 homers, but 938 stolen bases (and 900 RBIs, and over 3000 hits).

He was a first-ballot Hall Of Famer.

Upon retiring, he held various positions on the Cardinals, either as coach or advisor. He is also an accomplished businessman and ordained minister.

Tom Foley: 4 Autographed Cards

Apparently, there's still a thing called baseball happening in the summer. I don't know: every time I look at Sports Illustrated, the only name I recognize is Derek Jeter's; when I was a kid, I could tell every player from the National League from every possible angle - and most guys from the American League too: from their uniform numbers, their batting stances, their defensive positioning, how they ran. I was a huge baseball fan.

Then came the 1994 players' strike, the multiple fire sales, the changes in ownerships, the games behind the game, and ultimately the death of a healthy franchise at the hands of a man who would end up owning another team in way too short a time span.

But back when hockey was merely a 9-month sport - October until June - my summers were filled with baseball, from May until October. The Montréal Expos would show promise, and they would have the three runners-up to the eventual NL Rookie Of The Year, one guy would finish in the top-5 for batting average, another in home runs, Tim Raines would hit 30 homers and steal over 30 bases (usually over 50, often over 70), a pitcher would finish in the top-5 in wins while another would be in the top-3 for saves, the team would compete with the New York Mets (early-to-mid 1980s), Philadelphia Phillies (end of 1980s) or Atlanta Braves (1990s) for best in the East, then implode come the end of August...

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. But through those times, whenever I was in town, I'd go see the Expos at least once a week, and watch the other games on TV. I'd arrive early to get autographs during warm-ups, I'd stay late for post-game signature sessions in the long hall connecting the Olympic Stadium to the subway system, and I'd go to events that players might attend. The Expos were so big back then that even Habs players played softball for charity in the summer - rather than golf.

And so I met Tom Foley a bunch of times between 1985 and 1992, and again in 1995 when he had his last go-round with the team before retiring and joining the Tampa Bay Rays' staff, where he still works today.

Foley was mostly a shortstop elsewhere, but played second base more often in Montréal. He didn't make many errors - the most he was credited with was 12, and his error percentage was better at second base (28 in 385 games) than at shortstop (46 in 463 games). In 1990, he played all infield positions at least once, and he even pitched to two hitters in 1989.

All told I probably had a dozen cards of his signed during his time here, but only seem to have these four handy. All of them show him wearing the Expos' classic light-blue (away) uniform and are signed in thin blue sharpie, which was unlikely to be mine; I'll start with these two from Score, where he is shown fielding:

On the left, ready for whatever the hitter brings his way, is card #159 of the 1988 Score set; on the right, having caught the ball and likely throwing it to first base, is card #405 of the 1989 Score collection.

And these two:

On the left, probably taken during warm-ups (empty seats, coach facing the other way, looking relaxed), is card #251 in the 1988 Topps set by Topps; on the right, throwing to first to complete a double-play against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, is from Upper Deck's 1991 Series 1 set (card #381).

The cards from 1988 were purchased in Florida and opened my eyes to the fact that there were more manufacturers out there than just O-Pee-Chee; they were all pretty basic until Upper Deck came along with great action shots on both sides of the card.

Tom Foley played a total of 13 seasons in the majors, all of them in the National League. Eight of those summers were spent in Montréal. His career batting average is at a respectable .244; he has as many career home runs as he does stolen bases, 32.

Marc Staal Jersey And Stick card

So, apparently contract extension talks are, uh, stalling, between Marc Staal and the New York Rangers. There are few defensemen of his caliber set to also become unrestricted free agents next July, which means the longer talks drag on, the higher his potential value will become.

His current cap hit is under $4M per year, and I could see him getting $7M on the open market; perhaps the Rangers can convince him to sign between 6 and 6.5 by offering a longer term. Although with three brothers in the Carolina Hurricanes organization, it may not be New York who gets the hometown discount...

Known primarily as a shut-down defender (which will happen when two of your three brothers are All-Star-caliber forwards) and shot-blocker, he is one of the players who learned to hone their offensive game under John Tortorella, whose qualities often get overlooked because of his attitude. He reached the 25-point mark twice under Torts, both times finishing in the plusses and with nearly 10 goals and averaging 25 minutes per game; he was a minus player before and after those seasons.

He'll be more fragile now that he's had at least one serious concussion, but will likely still be very effective when called upon. This is the fourth ''jersey and stick'' card I'll have showcased, all of them Rangers players, all from Panini's 2011-12 Luxury Suite set; it's as if someone at Panini stole a shipment of game-used equipment en route to a game...

It's card #26 in the series - just like the regular card, but thicker and with holes for the memorabilia - and shows him wearing the Blueshirts' off-white Winter Classic uniform from 2012, wearing the alternate captain's 'A'. I got it in a trade for a couple of football jersey cards and an index card signed by CFL and NFL legend Doug Flutie.

Valeri Bure Autograph Card

I had already crossed #18 of my Habs Numbers Project with this signed framed lithograph of Hall Of Famer Serge Savard, but if I end up making it harder on myself and count only signed cards, then this Valeri Bure card from the 1995-96 Be A Player set (#S34 in the series manufactured by Upper Deck, signed in thin black sharpie with his number tagged at the end) would become the one that counts:

It shows him wearing the Montréal Canadiens' white (then-home) uniform, without the team's logo showing (for copyright reasons), probably making a pass - and judging by the spectators not staring in the puck's direction the way Bure is, I'd say the picture was probably taken during warm-ups.

Bure has also worn #20 on the Habs, in a career that saw him spend time with the Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers, St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars as well. He played in one All-Star Game, representing the Flames in a season in which he posted 35 goals, 40 assists and 75 points - all career highs - in 1999-2000. He reached the 20-goal mark six times, finishing his NHL career with 174 to go with 226 assists and 400 points in 621 games.

He was less productive come playoff time, with no goals and just 7 assists in 22 games. Those statistics match his international record, where his senior stats read 5 goals, no assists in 19 games; he was part of Team Russia's bronze-winning team at the 1994 World Juniors, and has two Olympic medals, silver (1998) and bronze (2002).

As a player, he and his wife owned a café in Florida, which they closed when he stopped playing for the Panthers; upon retiring, the family moved to California and opened a winery. Recently, it has been his wife, former Full House actress Candace Cameron Bure, grabbing headlines, admitting last January to being submissive to her husband and letting him have final say all the time, and about a month ago opening up about the couple's sex life. They are devout Christians. Valeri also has a brother who played in the NHL, Hall Of Famer Pavel Bure.

Yannick Weber Jersey Card

I wanted to put the Yannick Weber card I featured last month in a binder, but there was no sense in doing it for just one card. So here's another one, a photo shoot-worn jersey card, from Upper Deck's 2009-10 SPX set, card #152 of the Rookie Jersey sub-set (numbered #256/799, though I find it hard to believe one jersey could be split into 800 pieces each measuring a bit over square inch, so there were likely numerous worn in that photo-op), featuring a nice blue swatch, likely from the Montréal Canadiens' red (home) three-coloured jersey:

I want to reiterate my faith that the two-time Olympian (at barely 25 years of age) for Team Switzerland will become a regular NHLer if only for his powerplay prowess (great first pass, great shot, good foot speed), but also full-time as a #4 or 5 defender.

All he needs is ice time and a coach who will let him play his own style. He's won championships in Juniors and was an All-Star in the AHL. This season or the next will be his breakthrough.