New Release: 2018 BBM Hawks 80th Anniversary

It's been a while since BBM issued an anniversary set. I guess it's been a while since a team had a noteworthy anniversary.

The Hawks got their start 80 years ago, formed by the Nankai Electric Railway Company in 1938. They went by a couple other names before finally settling on the Hawks in mid-1947. While most people know the Yomiuri Giants, the Hawks have had a few dynasties, in the 1950s, 1960s, and currently. Over 80 years, the team has clinched the league pennant 20 times (two Japanese Baseball League pennants and 18 Pacific League pennants), and were the Japan Series champions eight times, including last year.

The pack-based set came five cards per 400-yen pack, with the usual 20 packs per box, and 12 boxes per case. 

There are 90 cards in the base set and 18 insert cards across two sets, plus autographs.

For some reason, I don't have, or just didn't scan, cards from the first part of the base set. Hawks History breaks the 80 seasons down to give an overview of the club's performance through the years. This subset makes up the first nine cards in the base set.

 Retired players are the next 48 cards in the base set. This is a good, solid design in my opinion, despite being fairly simple. The player's name in both kanji (using a more traditional, handwritten-styled font) and English script is on the front, along with his active years, jersey number, and position. Backs have usual career highlights along with Hawks career and full NPB career stats.

 The 33 active players in the regular set have a slightly simpler, more modern design - the script is replaced by a modern font and the player's active years aren't shown on the front; they can be found on the back along with career stats and the usual career highlights.

The two insert sets are split similar to the base set.

 Fukuoka Hawks Legends is essentially an insert set full of retired players. Nine cards, with an FL prefix.

The Hawks Dynasty focuses on active players, again with nine cards and an HD prefix.

Both insert sets can be found in four serial-numbered parallels:

• Silver Foil #/120
• Gold Foil #/90
• Orange Foil #/60
• Green Foil #/30

Finally, as mentioned above, there are autographed cards for 68 (by my count) players. Print runs range from 10 to 90 copies each. Notably, Sadaharu Oh, who formerly managed the Hawks and has a large museum inside the team's stadium, has 10 autographed cards in the set.

I like this set's design enough that I've made this the first anniversary set to add to my collection. I will probably pick up one anniversary set for each team as I find them at affordable prices, but there is no rush on that.

Blog Bat Around: The "TCIC" Autograph Team

Mr. Zappy put forth his first Blog Bat Around recently, and it's a good one: to put together your "best" team using only players you have autographs of.

Challenge accepted.

But I have a small dilemma: all of my autographs are not here. I'd say 99% of them are in the US, and the rest are a couple hours away at home. I've been working on the road again, you see.

Thankfully, I do have my lists, and I can put together a pretty good run. Most of the pictures below will not be mine - I'll try to find images of the cards I own.

The challenge includes all nine position players, a DH, two relievers, and a closer. A full roster of 25 players is welcome, too. Let's see what I get.

Starting Lineup:
Starting Pitcher: Nolan Ryan (2005 UD Hall of Fame Seasons Autographs Silver)

I got this card at a card show way back in 2005. At the time, it was my biggest single-card purchase ever, at $50. I've passed that now.

Catcher: Buster Posey (2009 TriStar ProJections Autographs)

I snagged my copy off eBay for my player collection. I should have bought Posey back when he was taking his year off. But his minor league cards still remain affordable. Note the logos on this one!

First Base: Albert Pujols (2004 Fleer Patchworks Autoworks)

My card came from Yahoo Japan Auctions, so actually my copy is only a couple hours from here. Why is Pujols' autograph easier (cheaper) to get than Barry Bonds?

Second Base: Jose Altuve (2012 Topps Triple Threads Unity Autographed Relics)

I'd like to have more Altuve autographs. This one I got for my player collection before he really shot through the roof.

Shortstop: Cal Ripken Jr. (2005 Donruss Signature Silver Signatures)

Zippy Zappy himself was present when I bought this Ripken autograph in Shinjuku a few years ago.

Third Base: Chipper Jones (2016 Topps Strata Autographs)

Is Chipper the best switch-hitting third baseman ever? His autographs aren't cheap!

Left Field: Rickey Henderson (2012 Sportkings Series E Autographs Silver)

I got this Henderson autograph for a steal off COMC. While Rickey isn't one of my player collections, he is a part of my 1989 A's team autograph set.

Center Field: Ken Griffey Jr. (2003 SP Authentic Chirography)

This is another card show grab from my Atlanta days, and another steal if you ask me.

Right Field: Tony Gwynn (2003 Sweet Spot Classic Classic Greats Autographs)

I have several Gwynn autographs, but Sweet Spot signatures are always the best!

Relief Pitcher: Buck Farmer (2015 Bowman Chrome Rookie Autographs Blue)

I could have put one of several different Buck Farmer autographed cards here. But no, I chose this one. Deal with it.

Relief Pitcher: Tim Lincecum (2007 Ultimate Collection)

I have two autographs. For some reason, Lincecum stopped signing after 2007. He doesn't have much of a signature, though.

Closer: John Smoltz (2016 Topps Tek Autographs)

John Smoltz has a much better signature. And while I prefer him as a starter (the 1995 Braves team is one of my favorites), he was a very effective closer.

Bench:
SP: Greg Maddux (2000 SP Authentic Autographed Buybacks 1999 SP)

The other key on the mound during the 1995 season.

SP: Clayton Kershaw (2011 Topps Tier One Dual Autographs w/Josh Johnson)

I'm not a fan of dual autographs, but it was the only way I could afford getting a Kershaw signature in my collection. Multiple autographs are okay if there's a truly obvious connection like family members or teammates, or members of the 40-40 club.

SP: Justin Verlander (2006 Upper Deck Inkredible)

When it comes to pitchers, I definitely have a lot of great autographs! After the last season, Verlander has also gained popularity, so I'm glad I grabbed this card when I could.

SP: Felix Hernandez (2005 Topps Gallery Penmanship Autographs)

Another card for my player collection, but I like that uniform King Felix is sporting!

RP: Kenta Maeda (2016 Topps Chrome Rookie Autographs)

My Maeda autograph was a redemption, and Topps was kind enough to send my card to Japan. But it's on the other side of Tokyo, so here's the COMC image. And I must say that it was well worth the (very short) wait - this "rookie" autograph is much more costly now.

RP: Charlie Hough (2005 Topps Retired Signature Autographs)

Why hasn't Charlie Hough appeared in movies? I think he would have been perfect in a bunch of baseball-related roles. He might still be good. How about a movie about a 60-year-old knuckleballer who makes it to the pros?

RP: Geoff Geary (2004 Upper Deck Diamond Pro Sigs)

Geoff Geary's only autograph is surprisingly hard to come by. And I've never seen either of the parallel versions of this card. In fact, I had to search through my hard drive to find a scan, because there just aren't any online. That's a great autograph, by the way.

RP: Mariano Rivera (2007 Finest Rookie Finest Moments Autographs Dual)
C: Jorge Posada (2007 Finest Rookie Finest Moments Autographs Dual)

There's no denying Mariano Rivera is the most successful closer of all time. But there is a lot of controversy regarding the details of his statistics. That said, this dual autograph might be my best pull ever, even better than the 1/1 autographed relic I have from 2005 Absolute Memorabilia.

IF: Frank Thomas (2013 Leaf Sports Heroes Autographs)

It seems to me that The Big Hurt has a lot of autographed cards. But he remains extremely popular, so his signature doesn't come cheap. This is another autograph I'm very happy to have picked up for the price I paid.

IF: Pete Rose (2012 Leaf Pete Rose Autographs)

I have to wonder if Pete Rose holds the record for most autographs ever signed. Thousands were inserted into Leaf products, but Rose also signed anywhere and everywhere. I paid about 1000 yen, which is the going rate for a Pete Rose autographed card. Did you know he now signs for Panini, too?

If you call yourself an autograph collector, and you don't have a Pete Rose autograph, you just aren't an autograph collector.

OF: Jose Canseco (2015 Topps High Tek Autographs)

No fan of the 1989 Athletics team can go without Mr. 40-40. This isn't my only Canseco autograph, but it is the one I have in my Canseco player collection. I believe I have at least four autographs, but I could be pushing half a dozen.

OF: Julio Franco (1996 Leaf Signature Series Bronze Autographs)

As far as I can tell, this veteran has autographs in only two sets: the one above, and 2004 Donruss Timelines. While I know him most during his time with Atlanta, beggars can't be choosers, and the Indians it is.

Bonus:
All-Want Autograph Team:
A list of players I don't have autographs for, but would like to add to my collection. If you didn't notice above, I don't have a lot of relief pitcher autographs. So I'm just combining all four pitcher spots into generic hurlers.

Pitcher: Masahiro Tanaka (player collection)
Pitcher: Kenny Rogers (perfect game)
Pitcher: Randy Johnson (perfect game)
Pitcher: Sandy Koufax (perfect game)
Catcher: Yogi Berra (legend)
First Base: Mark McGwire (1989 A's team)
Second Base: John Valentin (unassisted triple play)
Shortstop: Adrian Beltre (possible player collection)
Third Base: Miguel Cabrera (possible player collection)
Outfield: Ichiro (player collection)
Outfield: Barry Bonds (player collection)
Outfield: Hideki Matsui (2011 A's team)
DH: David Ortiz (possible player collection)
Pinch Hitter: Eric Bruntlett (unassisted triple play)

Check-ing Off Some More Calbee

So many Calbees, so little money and time.

If you've forgotten, I'm working on Calbee's 1973, 2000, 2004, 2005, and 2016 sets. I've neglected some of them for a while, but now that I've refocused my efforts on knocking them down I've made some nice progress!

That includes this 2016 Calbee checklist:

 I don't believe current checklists are limited, but some sellers charge premiums as if they are more rare than regular cards. So my want lists are full of stars, Star Cards, and ... checklists. Nineteen cards left to get for this set!

However, I think the checklists were limited in the past. These Ichiro checklists from 2000 usually cost a small fortune each. I only paid an arm and a leg.

But that means this part of the 2000 set is complete! All that's left are some ON (Oh and Nagashima) and Titleholder inserts, and the complete second series.