PCPCs part 5: Mike Ignasiak

Previously:  Jim Paciorek, Gary Wayne, Tom Grieve, Lary Sorensen

I'm back today with the final PCPC player of the series, Brewers RHP Mike Ignasiak.  A Michigan native, Mike went in the 8th round in '88 to the Brewers, and it was in Milwaukee that he played his whole career, in 1991 and then 1993-95.  He was pretty much a reliever over the course of his 79 games, but he did finish with a nice 10-4 record!  He also spent at least some time in the minors every year from the point he signed until retirement in 1995, and interestingly enough he never left the Brewers organization.

Ignasiak appeared on 15 cards between 1992 and 1995, and as he's included in the Promptly Completed PC feature, I can now show off all of them.  Besides his '94 Topps base card I already owned due to having the complete set, I picked up the following 14 cards courtesy of COMC, Justcommons, and Sportlots:

1992 Bowman RC

At least he's not a high-schooler appearing in early-90s-style street clothes, right?  Mike's RC is definitely one of the lesser-known from a set more famous for guys like Piazza and Mo Rivera.

1992 Score RC

We have "scary pitcher face" so how about "shadowy pitcher face"?  This prospect card is a bit awkward with about 1/4 of the background being an ugly purple and the rest being blurry, all with Mike being superimposed over the whole thing.

1992 Topps Debut '91

As I've said before, these Topps Debut sets are kind of fun.  I looked up Mike's first Major League game, an August 22, 1991 matchup against the Blue Jays (remember the Brewers in the A.L.?!).  As it turns out, he picked up a win after Milwaukee starter Don August went just 3.2 innings.  Mike faced nine batters in 2.1 innings, striking out one and allowing a two-run homer to Toronto catcher Greg Myers.  However, the Brew Crew stormed back to the lead with five seventh-inning runs, the bullpen closed things out safely, and Mike had a win in his Major League debut! 

1993 Fleer Final Edition

"Hey Mike--go sit up on top of that bench-like thing that has you staring into the sun.  Ready?  Who cares!  *click*"

1994 Fleer

Horizontal pitching action shots are great, but I'm not sure why Fleer cropped this photo so oddly, leaving off half of his right leg in favor of...empty space?

1994 Stadium Club, First Day Issue, Golden Rainbow, and Members Only Parallel

Four-card rainbow!  I've had this set come up a few times recently with other players, and I think I've been pretty consistent in preferring the cool "1st Day Issue" stamp to the other parallels.  The "label maker" set probably isn't in my top five designs the set's done, but it's still a pretty good one.

1994 Topps Gold

Topps presents:  "determined pitcher face", now with special gold foil!  As I mentioned, I already had the base version because I own the '94 Topps set, and that's true of a nice number of PC guys now, so I'm really glad I picked it up!

1994 Ultra

According to baseball-reference Mike didn't pitch enough innings to exceed rookie status until the 1994 season, so the "Rookie" label here is accurate.  And this card just happens to feature one of my favorite Ultra designs.

1995 Stadium Club, Members Only Parallel, and Super Team World Series

And finally we come to the card that pretty much started this shopping spree.  As I stated two months ago, seeing Ignasiak's hilarious photo on a Dime Box Nick post reminded me that he was a Wolverine whose print run I wanted to look into.  A bit more research led to me chasing the five collections in this series and the rest is history!  Not a bad way to close out your cardboard career when you're a journeyman reliever with limited MLB exposure.

That's all she wrote for this series, but I still have some Larkins and eBay scores to show off and plenty of other stuff to get to, so watch for those in April.

PCPCs part 4: Lary Sorensen

Previously:  Jim Paciorek, Gary Wayne, Tom Grieve

Today's player is RHP Lary Sorensen, whose oddly-spelled first name was a nod to former Tigers hurler Frank Lary.  As I was doing some more digging for this post I found that Sorensen was the opposite of a role model during and after his playing career, both as part of the cocaine scandal in the 80s (and later), and then as a repeat offender drunk-driver.  I especially have no tolerance for the latter whether or not they avoid killing anyone, so that leads me to two conclusions:  I still have interest in Sorensen as a member of my card collection but not as a person, and I no longer have much of a reason not to collect his fellow idiot Steve Howe, so that may be something I'll pursue in the future.

This is one of those times collecting can pull you in different directions, and it's something I've faced in the past with players that have done incredibly stupid things like Miguel Cabrera and Taylor Lewan.  It's hard to decide whether or not to pursue a collection or dump the player, so I don't envy those that were or are fans of guys like Chad Curtis or Oscar Taveras.

Anyway, that's as dark as I'm willing to get here, so at this point I'll just say that I'm collecting Sorensen as a former Wolverines baseball player but don't condone his actions, and I'll leave it at that.

Lary was drafted by the Brewers in the 8th round in 1976, made the bigs the following year, then was an All-Star in '78 as part of a career-best 18-12 campaign.  He went on to play for six other teams from 1981-88 (with 1986 lost to suspension and a season in the minors):  St. Louis, Cleveland, Oakland, the Chicago Cubs, Montreal, and San Francisco.  Sorensen has 36 total cards spanning the years 1978-1987, and each of those teams is represented except for the Giants.  I already owned his '86 Topps base card due to having the complete set, but since I decided to scan these in nines instead of individually, I decided to include it here as well.

So here's a look at his 36-card run:

1978 Topps RC; 1979 O-Pee Chee; 1979 Topps; 

1980 O-Pee-Chee; 1980 Topps; 1981 Donruss

1981 Fleer; 1981 Topps; 1981 Topps Traded

1982 Donruss; 1982 Fleer; 1982 O-Pee Chee;

1982 Topps; 1982 Topps Traded; 1983 Donruss;

1983 Fleer; 1983 O-Pee-Chee; 1983 Topps

1984 Donruss; 1984 Fleer; 1984 Fleer Update;

1984 O-Pee Chee; 1984 Topps (#286); 1984 Topps (#546, with Mike Hargrove);

1984 Topps Tiffany (#286); 1984 Topps Tiffany (#546, with Mike Hargrove); 1984 Topps Traded

1984 Topps Traded Tiffany; 1985 Donruss; 1985 Fleer;

1985 Fleer Update; 1986 Fleer; 1986 Topps;

1986 Topps Tiffany; 1987 Fleer Update; 1987 Fleer Update Glossy

Sorensen is my 12th completed PC, and I have one player left to show off, plus a nice little stack of Larkins, so watch for those posts soon, probably this week.

PCPCs part 3: Tom Grieve

Previously:  Jim Paciorek, Gary Wayne

Today's promptly completed (but not posted) PC player is OF Tom Grieve.  As I mentioned briefly in my introductory post, Grieve, the father of Oakland ROY Ben, did attend Michigan (to avoid the draft--the military one, not the baseball one!) though he didn't play ball for the Wolverines.  Still, Michigan Baseball can imply a guy that played his college ball in Ann Arbor, or a guy that went to school here before going on to the Majors, so he counts!

Tom has 16 total cards spanning 1971-1979, and that encompasses most of his career as he was in the bigs in 1970, then from 1972-79, first with the Senators/Rangers, then briefly with the Mets and Cards late in his tenure.  The 1966 #6 overall pick was worth less than 2.0 career WAR, but at least he carved out a decent career for himself, and then his son went on to be an even higher first-rounder!

I had none of those cards previously, so for the first time on this blog, here are all 16 cards in Grieve's PC:

Tom Grieve 1971 O-Pee-Chee RC and Topps RC

Add "Tommy" Grieve to the list of Wolverine baseball players I've acquired from 1971.  That list includes Dave Campbell, Bill Freehan, Elliot Maddox, and Ted Sizemore; I have both OPC and Topps cards for all except Freehan's, whose OPC might be costly in the way Sizemore's was.  By the way, it's more a quirk of scanning that these look as good as they do--in reality they have the usual vintage wear, which is totally fine by me!

1972 Topps

The '72 O-Pee-Chee set was about 250 cards smaller than the Topps version and Grieve only made the cut for the latter set.  That's not entirely unreasonable since Tom spent all of the previous year in the minors before coming up for good.  Still, that makes him the only player out of the group above not to appear in both sets that year.  And more importantly, what the hell is he looking at?

1973 O-Pee-Chee and Topps

Now that's more like it!  The groovy Rangers uni and cool position logo make this a fun card, even if it looks like the photographer posed him staring into the sun or something.

1974 O-Pee-Chee and Topps

These cards along with the '72 Topps above all note on the back that Grieve received a $60k contract from the Senators back in 1966.  I think Alex Rodriguez just made that much staring at himself in the mirror for 10 seconds....

1975 O-Pee-Chee, Topps, and Topps Mini

Ah, one of my favorites:  the 1975 trio.  As you can see, my O-Pee-Chee card is a tad off-centered (or should that be off-centred?) but that doesn't worry me.  I love the phrasing of the trivia question/cartoon on the back:  "Do they play baseball in Alaska?"  (A:  "Yes, semi-pro baseball.")  Who's "they," Topps?  Who's "they?"

1976 O-Pee-Chee and Topps

These are nice to have as they feature Grieve's stats from his career-best season to that point:  118 games, a .276 average, 14 HR, and 61 RBI.  It doesn't appear to be a coincidence that he performed better after getting the most significant playing time in his career.

1977 Topps

Well, here's to consistency, anyway:  none of my PC guys appear in the extremely slimmed-down (and Canadian team-heavy) '77 O-Pee-Chee set.  But Tom--not "Tommy" anymore--got a well-deserved card in the Topps release after his true career year:  149 games, 20 HR, and 81 RBI, all career highs.  1975 and '76 were truly the apex of his playing days because he never even sniffed 100 games after that and averaged under 75 in his nine seasons.

1978 Topps

Sizemore is my only baseball PC guy that made it into '78's O-Pee-Chee set, so Grieve had just one final card picturing him with the Rangers.  He was part of a crazy four-team deal in 1977 that sent him to the Mets, and it involved Atlanta and Pittsburgh and included Bert Blyleven (heading to the Pirates) and Al Oliver (to the Rangers).

1979 O-Pee-Chee and Topps

Tom played 54 games for the '78 Mets and appeared with that team in Topps' '79 product.  Late in '78 he was flipped to St. Louis, for whom he'd play his final nine Major League games, and O-Pee-Chee reflected the change in team while using the same photo (as they did back then).  By the way, these cards also mention Grieve's $60k signing bonus, which might have seemed quaint even then.

And there we have completed PC #11.  Just two more players to go, plus a nice bunch of Larkins, so stay tuned!

PCPCs part 2: (the Reverend Richard Wayne) Gary Wayne

Previously:  Jim Paciorek

As a quick reminder, since it's been more than a month since I did one of these posts, I began five new Michigan baseball PCs this year after learning/remembering that a few more Major Leaguers were Wolverine alumni.  That link takes you to the post where I did a quick write-up on each player.  Not at all a spoiler alert:  through COMC, Justcommons, and Sportlots (plus any existing cards I had from complete sets), I finished up all five PCs, and now I'm showing them off.

Today's player is Gary Wayne, a pitcher for the Twins, Rockies, and Dodgers from 1989-1994; his cards span that exact time period.  Before I get to the cards, here's a quick explanation of today's post's title:  Netflix picked up what was to be an NBC sitcom called Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, written by the hilarious and talented Tina Fey and starring Ellie Kemper of The Office and Bridesmaids.  The show's first season was hilarious, including the titular character's doomsday cult kidnapper, the Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne, played by Mad Men's Jon Hamm.  Make sure to check it out, it's great!

Ok, now it's on to the cards.  Wayne has 36 total, and I had four from complete sets (1990 Donruss, Fleer, Score, and Upper Deck), so here are the remaining 32:

1989 Donruss Rookies and Score Rookie/Traded:

Because of the sometimes goofy rules as to what constitutes a RC, these two, which came from box sets, are considered XRCs.  Either way, I still like traded/update-type sets, so these are cool.

Gary Wayne 1990 Score Rising Stars and Score Young Superstars II:

Speaking of boxed sets here's a couple more of that type, produced by Score in 1990.  I'm not sure that it was necessary to make both, but hey, it was the 90s, so anything went!

1990 O-Pee-Chee RC and Topps RC

1990 Topps Tiffany and Topps Debut '89:

Here we have three cards that look pretty much the same because they pretty much are.  As usual the OPC version has French on the back and the Tiffany card is glossy.  I do like the idea of the Debut sets Topps did.  Here's the box score from Wayne's first game on April 7, 1989, in which he pitched one inning in relief.

1991 Donruss:

I know, Gary--I made the same face too when I saw the green border.  A Michigan Man demands BLUE BORDERS.

1991 Fleer:

Yellow's a bit better, though I wouldn't refer to this as "maize."  Nice action shot of the lefty, though.

1991 Score:

Ladies and gentlemen, Gary Wayne, LHP for the Innesota Twins!

1991 Stadium Club:

Wayne didn't get a very good photo for his card in Stadium Club's debut set, but I still love the design, including the backs that include an image of the player's Topps RC; curiously they went with his 1990 Debut '89 card instead of his '90 flagship issue.  Rookie cards are weird, man.

1991 O-Pee-Chee and Topps

1991 Topps Micro and Tiffany

First of all, no, I don't know what that is on his face and I don't wanna know.  Second, I'm not sure why the photographer didn't shoot him from the other side.  Finally, Gary's Micro card reminds me that I have versions of Scott Kamieniecki from the same year as well as 1992.

1992 Leaf and Leaf Black Gold:

When I look at these side-by-side it really makes me wonder why Leaf didn't just go with the Black Gold version as the base set.  They look much better than the terrible, bland gray-bordered cards, and the only thing I would change is keeping the team logo instead of the weird gold baseball.

1992 Stadium Club:

Back again with Stadium Club, and this photo easily looks like it could have been pulled from the same group as the one used for the 1991 card!

1992 Ultra:

Ah, 1992:  the year Ultra's design made a huge leap from the bland '91 edition.  The purple bar containing the team and position actually foreshadows his next Major League stop.

1993 Fleer and Fleer Final Edition:

Yeah, like '92 Leaf the boring gray borders do nothing for me.  Gary was flipped to the Rockies in March of '93 and made a career-high 65 appearances for Colorado in his penultimate season, as captured on the Final Edition card.

1993 Stadium Club:

1993 Stadium Club First Day Issue and Members Only Parallel:

And finally Wayne gets a Stadium Club photo I like.  The First Day Issue cards were apparently limited to "just" 2000 copies, but they're easy enough to find now and aren't serial-numbered, so you'd be hard pressed to prove it!

1993 Topps Traded:

Fellow (future) Rockie Todd Helton has a RC (as a member of Team USA) that makes this set relevant, but here Topps finally depicted Wayne's trade to Colorado.

1994 Donruss:

I don't know if you guys noticed, but Wayne hadn't appeared on a Donruss card since 1991 when this one finally rolled off the presses.  Kind of a cool photo of a LHP in profile.

1994 Fleer:

I don't know enough about Wayne to know if he eventually switched to a sidearm motion, but this makes it look like he did!  Too bad Fleer cropped the photo so poorly (Topps probably hired the guy immediately upon seeing this card) so you can't see most of his left hand or the ball!

1994 Stadium Club and First Day Issue

1994 Stadium Club Golden Rainbow and Members Only Parallel:

Gary signed with the Dodgers in '94 and appeared in 19 games with them before calling it quits.  Stadium Club was the only brand that thought to include him, and that means he was also featured in all three parallels.  The "label-maker" set did end up using a pretty good photo of his more dropped-down pitching motion.

And that's another completed player collection in the books!  I now have 10 with three more to come in the near future, so watch for those, and as always, follow along with all of my PCs here.