50 Cities of the World #38 Chicago

An other trip inside USA. Well...the country has the size of a continent so it's normal there are lots of interesting cities to visit.

Today we go to the Windy City Chicago. The city I always tend to type as 'Chigaco'...I have keyboard dyslexia sorry...

Well, I was checking the other existing nicknames for Chicago and this one I just don't get it: City of Big Shoulders.

Errrrrr someone to enlight me please!?

Besides that the representation of back then Chicago to the current Chicago changed *just* a bit.

Still one of the most important cities, but I don't know if you can still say it's the second most important after NYC.

But hey! Cubs one the WS after so many years!

Checking the city wiki page I also found out that its best known for Italian cuisine. Pizza and pasta and we are all good to go!



For more on Chicago here the wiki page.

Facial Hair Style - 2011 A&G edition

Love to see the evolution, or not, about the hair and beards and moustaches ball players show on their cards.

It's a theme on its own.

Carmona looks like he was shaving and forgot to do that little thing under his chin.

I had to double check these cards because McGehee and Marcum look just like the same...

But I prefer Marcum's beard and so...

Soto...that's too much of a drawn beard. Less is more my boy.

And my favourite has to be Scutaro 2/3 days beard. That beard that looks like he doesn't care but has all the style. Got to love it.

2011 A&G - Aroldis Chapman RC

I think I'm going to start a new category in my collection: "All those players that once played for my Yankees but I have their cards playing for other teams"

Quite a nice name for it!

And so I might start right here with this pretty Chapman RC from 2011 A&G's set.

This card is almost a win-win situation because I also like Reds, and collect its cards, so having Chapman's RC for the Reds, who is now playing for my Yankees. Yep. Win-win.

Also Chapman still has two great records for a pitcher:

    Fastest pitch in MLB history – 105.1 miles per hour (169.1 km/h)
    Fastest MLB pitcher to reach 500 strikeouts

(169.1 km/h is higher than the limit allowed to go in highway around here...)

I think I have to go through my cards and find more Chapman cards.

Also 2011 A&G set has one of my favourite designs and layout. Yep, got to like this card a lot.

2011 A&G Highlight Sketches

I always have mixed feelings about 'sketchy' cards.

I prefer you go all the way and make it look more like cartoon than trying to make it look like real people. But 2011 A&G try is not that bad. At least we can identify the players with some easy.

Here Jay Bruce card is about the moment he hit a walk-off homer on the first pitch to make Reds win Houston 3-2 and clinch the NL Central Division title.

Starlin Castro card is about his debut on a Cubs 14-7 win over Reds scoring for himself 6 runs.

I should count this as an almost RC for Castro.

Ryan Howard always had an aura around him, making him one of those few players that even playing for a team you don't like you pay attention to his career.

His card is for the mark he achieved of being the fastest player to reach 250 homers.


This is one of those inserts I'd not dislike to have back in a future A&G set.

2011 Allen & Ginter - are there other sports than baseball? Yes sir!

The A&G sets always have other characters besides baseball players. Most of them I confess I don't know. If they would put some football (the true one you know...) players it would be different.

Box is one of those sports I don't watch. I prefer martial arts. But as all living person at the time I watched Mike Tyson bite that ear off...

But that's why A&G is cool. It makes you go search and learn.

And the coolest thing I found about LaMotta, an American boxer was that he was also a stand-up comedian!

So he could go from this

 To this

Mister Hoffman is an other thing. I like X-Games. I had that time of my youth when I thought I was a sk8...and always dreamt of having a BMX, but they were too expensive back then, and when you finally get to make some money you are old enough to think twice before going on a BMX...

So Tony Hawk and Mat Hoffman, thanks to their videogames too, were the thing! Everyone wanted to be like them.

That's why I know well who Hoffman is.

He is a Hall of Famer

Looking at him like this...I looked younger too back then... lol

2011 Allen & Ginter - Ginter Code

A love A&G sets, and always read about people trying to break the code. I never understood how is this done.

But I always kept the few cards I got about it, like these two 2011 A&G cards promoting the code game.

And maybe that's why I never looked closely to the cards, for I always thought it was just a promo card. But then I looked better and noticed that the clock is not marking the same time in both.

And after checking the wonderful internet I found:

"The first thing needed were the promo cards because the clocks reflected in the mirror were important.  The promo cards had 10 different times on them."

Ohhhhhhhhhhh  So that's it! Everything is explained here.

That's why it pays off to not throw any card, even the promo ones, out.

1988 Fleer stickers

I read Night Owl post and it reminded me that I also have some Fleer stickers too. So I went and right at the first box I open I found some of them.

So I posting my 1988 Fleer stickers.

I always tried to understand the algorithm for Fleer to match the teams in the cards but I couldn't figure it out. Maybe you can help me.

And a note to Detroit logo card, because that tiger is on steroids or has a serious sinusitis problem...

(And I have too because I've scanned two equal cards)

These stickers cards also play as card on their right, even if you actually peel the stickers. Because on the other side you have the stadiums.

How many of these are still standing!?

Oakland - yep
KC - yep
Blue Jays - yep
Mariners - demolished (year 2000)
Detroit - demolished (year 2009)
Astros - closed (year 2008), partially demolished (year 2013)
Cardinals - demolished (year 2005)
Yankees - demolished (year 2009/2010)
Brewers - demolished (year 2001)
Pirates - demolished (year 2001)
San Diego - yep (Padres moved to Petco Park)

Well...the majority was demolished. But other stadiums were constructed on the demolished ones site. So they kind are still there, like living a second life.