SI.com's "Things We Miss in Baseball."

Classic. Good catch on Topps. No wonder I always did worse that I thought on the Baseball Digest quiz.

 

Tekulve actually looks like one of the hundreds of former lead singers for Rainbow.

 

Torco was a racing fuel company out of Decatur, Mich. Went belly-up. Owned by a guy named Evan Knoll (from Knoll gas in Michigan). TORCO = The one racers count on. Not sure if this is the same TORCO or not, but the company was around for quite some time.
The little Baseball Digest was awesome. "Nolan Ryan...faster than instant coffee" How can you not love teases on the cover like that?

 

Isn't it ironic that Tekulve was one of the few drug free Pirates (if i remember correctly) but looked like an emaciated junkie. my dad used to say 'Jesus give him a few extra sandwiches after the game.'

 

Ahh, yes, more false nostalgia. The 1973 A's:



And the 1944 Dodgers (that blue, by the way, is SATIN):

 

Difference is, the Pirates used the same three colors. So did the A's. When you turned on the TV, you knew who they were.

The Diamondbacks have used purple, green, red, black, white, all in a span of 11 years.

 

That doesn't have a thing to do with what kind of broadcast deal a team has. And the average champion being 8, as opposed to 4, for example, goes against your point. And you conveniently don't go back to the Marlins' first title. And you conveniently ignore the A's run earlier this decade. And ignore how the Indians locked up many of their young stars with multiyear contracts before arbitration eligibility, as opposed to the Pirates, who dump everybody before they become eligible for arbitration.

And the media market thing is so silly anyway. Glass could pay to have his games broadcast, as opposed to receiving rights fees, and he still could afford to pay for a decent ballclub. Hell, he gets shitloads of the Yankees' broadcast money anyway through the luxury tax. He's the bad guy in this scenario, not Steinbrenner.

 

I was kind of surprised when there was no thread on this. I think the toothpaste is way out of the tube on cards, but it's kind of cool there's just one official card now.

Of course, Topps will figure out a way to ruin it ... oh what am I saying ... the original exclusive Topps era begat dozens upon dozens of this card included in every other pack ...

 

Small market vs. big market. Radio deals. Competitive balance. This is actually an interesting thread so can we take the unrelated discussion to its own thread?

 

Or the 1905 New York Giants:



or the 1915 Boston Braves:

 

I still have 56 1985 Topps Steve Brauns. Remember when every other card didn't have a piece of jersey on it or an autograph? And packs cost 50 cents? I miss those days. I started buying baseball cards in 1977. Still have the set and break it out to look at. Funny thing, I can remember when and where I got a lot of the single cards.