A FishTail of 2 Cities?

I remember in 5th or 6th grade I got very sick and ended up missing about two weeks of school.  Because this was the 80s, things were a lot different than now to say the least.  One of my missed homework assignments was to tell a fish tale.  Ok, easy enough.  I ended up WRITING (anyone remember actually writing?) a story of how I went fishing with my grandfather off the Jersey Shore and how we caught a small bass and ended up cooking it that night.

Well, unknown to me due to another part of the assignment was to read a short story similar to the premise of A Boy Cried Wolf but it revolved around how this kid caught a fish and each time the fish grew larger and with each lie told, an actual fish was growing and eventually ate the boy and his family when they went to a lake.  

Weird? Yup

Morbid? Yup

Life lesson story telling for a 5th grader? Probably

Missed homework assignment? Yup

Lost context for my assignment? Absolutely

Encouraging 5th graders in the 80s to tell stories of lying? Priceless!

I bring this up because one of my favorite weeks of the year, Discovery Channel's Shark Week is FINishing up their new programming today.  

Among the programs that tied Into pop culture and unique programming this year we saw the casts of Jackass!, Stranger Things, David Dobrik, Tiffany Haddish, and even the stars of Sharknado appear in programs.  

We have seen clever titles like The Tiger Queen (focusing on all the female tiger sharks) and Ninja Sharks: Mutants Rising (focusing mostly on threshers) bring new shark species to the forefront of shark Week instead of just the Great White Shark overload from the past.  It has been an absolute blast seeing these programs that extend my interest in shark documentary processes other than just "here is a shark. It eats when hungry" that most people generally think that Shark Week is about.  

Sharks are not the man eaters that many people think they are.  

Fewer than 2 dozen fatalities occur each year globally from sharks.  There is a far greater chance to have a fatal car accident than to die from a shark attack. 

Since this is a baseball blog though let's take a look at how Cutch has faired over his career against a former shark.

Cole Hamels pitched for the Clearwater Threshers in 2004.  He was inducted to the Clearwater Wall of Fame in 2017.

In 31 plate appearances, Cutch has hit at a .333/.375/.500 triple slash line.  He has 1HR and 7 RBI.  

It is rumored that the Phillies were one of the teams interested in signing Cole Hamels after his recent workout in Texas.  Should Hamels sign with the Phillies, the former cross state rivals would be on a playoff contending team something that both men are familiar with.  

Do you think Cole Hamels will sign a major league deal before the trade deadline?  If so, what team do you think he ends up with?

Do you know of any other Shark named teams besides the NHL team from San Jose and the pair of minor league teams (Jupiter Hammerheads and Clearwater Threshers)?

Joe Maddon, the Mad Scientist pt2

On Sunday Night, Joe Maddon had his Chicago Cubs team arrive in Houston wearing throwback basketball uniforms.  Since it's (Throwback) Thursday and the NBA Finals will kick off let's review what was worn.

We begin with Jon Lester sporting a Penny Hardaway pinstripe jersey and the old school Penny sneakers.

This may have been my personal favorite of the bunch considering that Penny was one of my three favorite basketball players growing up.  The others being Reggie Miller and Tim Hardaway.

I just showed off my Lester autograph last week when I questioned the impact prospects have on our hobby.

This wins best original concept award.  Cole Hamels as Jackie Moon sporting a Flint Tropics jersey made famous by Will Ferrell.  FANTASTIC CHOICE MR. HAMELS!

Here is another Just Minors dual signature card I have of Cutch, this time featuring Cole Hamels.

Also a printing plate featuring McCutchen and Hamels

Since it is Chicago, what kind of team would the Cubs be if they didn't support an All-Time Great and Chicago Bulls Legend, Michael Jordan?  Jason Heyward stepped up to the plate and he looks like he could actually ball.

Yet, another Just Minors dual auto card.

But wait, there's more...
Cutch, Heyward, another Maddon favorite, David Price

A dual History of Game card

And a printing plate from Just Minors

And a sexta jersey booklet

Want more basketball jerseys?  How about Albert Amora and Anthony Rizzo both sporting recently retired Dwayne Wade Miami Vice jerseys.

Plenty of Rizzo cards to go around which I've already shown off here.

And to wrap things up, the greatest act of all.  El Mago, the Magician Javy Baez, doing his checkups as the Doctor, Julius Erving.

And we finish with a sexta autograph booklet featuring autographs of Anthony Rendon, Javy Baez, Josh Bell, Ryan Zimmerman, Starlin Castro, and of course Cutch.

Who are you rooting for in the NBA Finals?

A Pair of Printing Plates Never Seen Before

I have been seeking out some more 1/1 plates of late which has lead me to find these.

To be honest, I don't know what came over me.  I'm not a huge fan of Just Minors and all of their sticker autos from 2006 to 2009.  A seller on eBay seems to have come across a large amount of inventory from the defunct company.

With such stars as Cole Hamels, Colby Rasmus, and Hunter Pence appearing on these cards at that moment I submitted a pair of best offers for the group.

Unlike other printing plates which clearly have distinct coloring between magenta, cyan, yellow, and black these Yellow and Magenta plates look oddly similar in color.

Despite not being licensed and being uncirculated printing plates these cards are still registered on Beckett, thus they count towards my new 1/1 total climbing to 121 and 122 respectively.