#62 Randy Moffitt, Giants

Card Front: A nice look for Randy in a spring training game. It appears to be a home game in Phoenix during a sunny day. The trees in the background don't give away where they are. I love the classic mid calf pants with the stirrups. At least  this was before the Giants went with orange sanitaries for one year.

Card Back: Randy was in the middle of his time as a Giant in '79. He would stay until late in 1981 in San Francisco. Surprisingly, Randy would only have 1 start in his entire big league career. Pretty athletic family to have a baseball player and a pro tennis player in his sister. I didn't even know a triple steal was possible, but to do it twice!!

Six degrees or less to Seattle: Randy would spend his final season as a part of the 1983 Toronto Blue Jays playing with Tony Fernandez. A new member of the 1990 Blue Jays was the Crime Dog Fred McGriff. Fred would move down to be an Atlanta Brave in 1997 with a young Kevin Millwood. Kevin is part of the 2012 Mariners, and trying to contribute to the rotation.

Blog related to the team: As most of us know there aren't too many fans of the 2010 World Champions. At least as far as card collectors or bloggers. One fan of the Orange and Black has come to the blog world recently and is enlightening all of us. Longtime lurker turned blogger arpsmith is pimping the Giants now. Head over and give ARPSmith's Sportscard Obsession and tell him I sent you if you would like.

Next Card: #63 Jack Brohamer, Red Sox

#61 Bo Diaz, Indians



Card Front: Dude, that's one tough catcher! No padding, no mask, just crouch and catch it. I know it is offensive to some, but I've always liked the Chief Wahoo logo better than the block C. I like how back in the day Topps didn't care if us kids saw the Marlboro man, now it is so taboo for kids to see that.

Card Back: Bo would platoon with Ron Hassey as the Indians catcher, but also spend alot of time at AAA Tacoma. His hot start in 1981 would also earn him an All Star selection that year. Bo would play through the 1989 season, but tragically he was killed at his home in Venezuela at age 37 when he was adjusting his satellite dish and it fell on his head and neck. 

Six degrees or less to Seattle: After Bo left Cleveland, he was a part of the 1982 Philadelphia Phillies playing with a young Julio Franco( who hasn't played on a team with Julio?). Mr. Franco would make an appearance on the 1999 version of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Another player in Tampa in 1999 was Quinton McCracken, who would spend a whopping 19 games with the 2004 Mariners.

Blog related to the team: I still am having a hard time finding Indians card collectors. I have featured the two I know of. I decided to go with the first Indians blog to pop up on Google. Let's Go Tribe was the first pop up. It looks to has good info for the friends of the feather as Harry Doyle would call them.

Next Card: #62 Randy Moffitt, Giants 

#60 Mickey Rivers, Yankees

Card Front: I have always loved this card. The look of Mickey hustling out of the box after maybe a bouncer to third. The flapless helmet, and the stirrups look great with the pinstripes. All of his teammates in the dugout look so disinterested. I never really did understand an orange stripe for the Yankees banner though.

Card Back: Mickey couldn't get regular playing time with the California Angels until two years before he was traded to New York for Bobby Bonds. Once in the Yankees outfield he was able to shine. The guy had such speed to be able to have 53 triples and 135 doubles in his career to this point. Mickey spent time in four organizations before making the big leagues.

Six degrees or less to Seattle: In Mickey's first full year with the Angels in 1974, Mickey spent time with Frank Tanana. Frank would move on to be part of the 1993 New York Mets, playing with "Doc" Gooden. Dwight would spent a brief time(8 games) as a Tampa Bay Devil Ray in 2000 having Randy Winn as a fellow Devil Ray. Randy would come to Seattle in the deal for Lou Piniella, and be a Mariner from 2003-2005.

Blog related to the team: There are so many Yankees fans. I don't think we all can keep enough Yankees cards in our collections to satisfy Yankee fans in trades. One team of bloggers that has been going for quite a while is the ladies at A Cardboard Problem. Sooz and Marie have gone underground for a while blogging but I know they are still around, go see for yourself.

Next Card: #61 Bo Diaz, Indians

#59 John Denny, Cardinals

Card Front: I can't tell where this is, Chicago maybe or is it a Spring game? John doesn't look happy and really wants the batboy to take his shirt so he can get on the mound. I do remember those blue pullover shirts the Cards had with the classic Redbirds on the bat. Some things stay the same through time just as they should.

Card Back: I guess Topps found that all the information they gave us on the bottom of John's card about the no hitter, the ERA title and going to junior college was super necessary. They took away all of his minor league stats and left us with big leagu numbers. It is always good to see the college name and I always thought SIU had a cool mascot name in the Salukies.

Six degrees or less to Seattle: After John left the Cards, he was part of the 1981 Cleveland Indians. John would play that season with Von Hayes. Von would make it big in Philadelphia as a Phillie. One of Von's 1990 Phillie teammates was Chuck McElroy. Chuck came out west to be part of the Anaheim Angels in 1997. That year was the first  for Shigetoshi Hasagawa, who came over from the Orix BlueWave in Japan. Shiggy would be part of the M's bullpen from 2002-2005.

Blog related to the team: I did get a few requests to be put on the Cardinals list when I begged for more blogs. One blogger that stepped up and asked has gotten pretty popular in the blog world. I read him, and you should too. I'm sure you all know Matt. He runs the blog that is known to carry the Tenets of Wilson. I wish I could remember who Wilson is, I'm sure he's a cool dude.

Next Card: #60 Mickey Rivers, Yankees

#58 Bob Randall, Twins

Card Front: Thanks to astute reader Jeff, I now know that this was taken in Oakland. I didn't really recognize the cavern that is Alameda County Coliseum without Al Davis mountain in the background. The stadium was much nicer back then. I really with Bob would have stood more straight on because I don't need to see his man bump above his name.

Card Back: I seems like the Dodgers had Bob on the six or seven year plan to make the big leagues. I think it was a hard go with a guy like Dave Lopes in front of you. At least he got his chance when the Twins traded for him in December of 1975. I'm guessing that 1 HR in 1111 AB's isn't a good ratio. It's always nice to see Teddy Ballgame's name on any card for any reason.

Six degrees or less to Seattle: In Bob's time with Minnesota, he would share the infield with Rod Carew. The Hall of Famer would be part of the California Angels, and in 1985 play with a young Kirk McCaskill. Kirk would move on and play for the Chicago White Sox in 1996 with Mike Cameron. Mike moved to the Reds and would come to Seattle for Ken Griffey Jr in 2000. Mike spent 4 great seasons here, and officially retired as a Mariner this past Friday night, throwing out the first pitch at the home opener.

Blog related to the team: I recently ran a big ad on ECDG asking for blogs for teams. The Twins fans didn't step up, I wonder if anybody collects their cards? I guess we will have to pimp a blog that is full of Twins info instead. One of the first I found was called Twinkie Town. I don't know much about the site but it seems to have plenty of info. If you know of some Twins fans let me know, so I can feature those bloggers.

Next Card: #59 John Denny, Cardinals

#57 Eric Rasmussen, Padres

Card Front: The look that Eric is giving off frightens me. I have a feeling it either scared me or made me laugh back when I was 8 years old. I must admit the big eyes and moustache are definitely different. I can't say enough about how much I love the Padres jerseys from 1978 with the two tone and the All Star patch- nice look!

Card Back: It didn't take him too long to make it to the bigs and stick around. While his numbers weren't off the charts, the Padres saw something in him. They were willing to give up a good hitter in George Hendrick. Eric would be a Padre, play in Mexico and make his way back to the Cards in 1981, nice work San Diego.

Six degrees or less to Seattle: At the end of Eric's big league career he spent a couple months as a Royal in Kansas City in 1983. One of his fellow Royals Butch Davis. Butch would move on, and in 1994 be part of the Texas Rangers with Darren Oliver. Darren has been everywhere, but in 2010 was back with the Rangers. A new guy on that Rangers squad was Mark Lowe. Mark came to Texas with Cliff Lee in a trade with the Mariners.

Blog related to the team: Even with asking people to sign up for a team, some teams got no love. The Padres got have one guy, but we will feature the other today. One of the few that have love for the Brown and Gold is an on again off again. When he's on, he is dynamite! That's right the other Padre lover is the great Punk Rock Paint. He comes and goes, but he does cool stuff and has some great custom cards.

Next Card: #58 Bob Randall, Twins

#56 John Hale, Mariners

Card Front: Here is John making it look like he is in the batter's box. Too bad he doesn't have a helmet on in the on deck circle at Diablo Stadium in Tempe. I'm amazed that the Angels still play there every spring to this day. It must be a cool day in Arizona with the long sleeves. I really miss the old Trident M on the hats.

Card Back: It took John a few years to get from the draft to the Dodgers. I know it was hard to find playing time in their outfield in those days. While you could say John found a home in Seattle playing everyday, he would leave after the 1979 season and would spend the next 2 seasons in AAA before retiring. By doing my research, the Indians and Red Sox scored 19 runs in that 8th inning.

Six degrees or less to Seattle: Of course John was a Mariner. Why can't we dig a little deeper do tie him to another Mariner player? When John came up in 1974 he was a Dodger with Charlie Hough. Charlie would be part of the 1991 Chicago White Sox, playing with Roberto Hernandez. Roberto would move on to be a member of the 2006 Pittsburgh Pirates along with Jack Wilson. Jack come to Seattle in 2009 and be shipped out in the 2011 season.

Blog related to the team: There is a man who spent many a day in Seattle. He might be far away and in Massachusetts but he still loves my team. He also has a great feeling for the #5. That is the basis for some of his collection. That great blogger is Matthew of the Number 5 Type Collection. He has a vast array of old cards from all over and is always willing to share. Tell him I sent you to see him.

Next Card: #57 Eric Rasmussen, Padres