First, a quick note:
...Still need a DaLancRo private jet and Board of Directors...
And personal endorsement time
Karen Simmons Lee Real Estate Agent
Honesty and integrity are very important in the real estate world. You'll be hard pressed to find one with more than Karen
..."I think they were the Rainbows in 1985"...
My card collecting of 2024 bears little resemblance to what I was doing from 1983 - 2000. Also known as Act 1. There's no obvious leader of the pack. For Act 1 that started with Steve Garvey, then Lance Parrish and finally Don Mattingly occupied the lead dog role from 1987 - 2000. Short lived flippin' and sellin' Act II 2008 - 2011 is best forgotten. Act III, 2012 - present, is more of a committee. Though I do have six players from four of the major sports (NFL,NHL,NBA,MLB) who stick out from the other 54.
Here is number six....
Roberto Alomar is one of the great baseball talents of the last 50 years. A legitimate 5 Tool player. Cerebral, smooth. Calm & cool. Clutch.
Roberto hit the majors and stuck for good at age 20 just after the start of the 1988 season. Roughly three years after seeing him play locally in the minors here. Back to 1988, the year I graduated high school. So we're both solidly AARP eligible 😂 . He debuted in late April. Robbie was a guy who had "it", from the get. Born into the sport with his father Sandy Sr. a former MLB'er and brother Sandy Jr. a year or so away from the majors himself. It wasn't wrong think to see a big future for Robbie. Though it took a couple years to get there.
Had a few Alomar cards back in Act I. Nothing major. He wasn't a huge focus here. By 1992, his true breakout season, in my collecting world he was behind Ryne Sandberg and Craig Biggio. A solid #3. I had high hopes for Carlos Baerga. Chuck Knoblauch was on the scene. Two prospects, Ray Durham and Michael Tucker, showed promise as well. Damion Easley was on the radar also. A numbers game, monetarily and card wise. The Alomar items I had were sold prior to the 1993 season.
What can I say, collecting is an inexact science. I did what Alomar rarely did on the field. I made an error. His years in Toronto were legendary. Helping the Blue Jays win the World Series back to back in 92 & 93. During the 1992 - 1995 seasons he was in the discussion, the short list, as the best all around player in the majors.
Intermission....
Here's Aerosmith with an absolute monstrous performance of Dream On....
1996...
Robbie signed with the Orioles as a free agent following the 1995 season. Still only 28. He would put up two elite seasons in 96 & 97 with the O's. Which included two ALCS appearances. Overshadowing everything else during his 3 seasons in Baltimore was the spitting incident in September 1996 involving umpire John Hirschbeck. A reprehensible act for which no excuses or explanations can be made. It's something that will follow Alomar forever. It may have cost him first ballot induction into the Hall of Fame. There's nothing more one can say about it. I do however have beef with anyone who brings the spitting incident up without going into the follow up. Both Alomar and Hirschbeck put the nasty incident to bed. Amazingly becoming closer over the years. That story is out there also.
Monster years in Cleveland...
As an Indian for the 1999 - 2001 seasons, Robbie again was on playoff teams. In 1999 and 2001 he would post elite offensive numbers.
1999: .323 BA, .422 OBP, .533 SLG 138 Runs, 24 HR, 120 RBI, MVP Vote: #3
2001: .336 BA, .415 OBP, .544 SLG, 113 Runs, 20 HR, 100 RBI, MVP Vote: #4
Those are insane numbers for a middle infielder in any era.
He bounced around from 2002 - on. Never putting up numbers like those above before calling it a career after the 2004 season at age 36.
Career numbers:
A 2nd ballot Hall of Fame inductee in 2011.
Added to the AcesN8s Collection in December 2013. Chosen over Ryne Sandberg, Craig Biggio and Barry Larkin.
I believe he is the best Second Baseman since Joe Morgan. Solidly among the best 7 or 8 2B's in MLB History. One of the Top 100 players in history. A true great.
"I'll never have the best collection of comics or cards. But I will have the best collection I can assemble. And that is enough for me"
Not sponsored by Colt 45. But we're open to the idea. 😎😁
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