2011 Topps Diamond Anniversary #US88 - Orlando Cabrera

• Here is another card from Baseball Dad. 
• I tried to put this in my checklist at Zistle, but I don't know what set this falls under. Can someone help?
• Orlando Cabrera was acquired by the Giants from the Cleveland Indians on July 30, 2011 in exchange for minor leaguer Thomas Neal.
• Cabrera batted .222 with 1 HR in 39 games in the last two  months of the 2011 season.
• Orlando was granted free agency at the end of the 2011 season. Last month he said that he plans to retire.

1965 Topps Embossed #4 - Jim Ray Hart

• For me this was the highlight of the box of cards that Baseball Dad sent me. I didn't have any 1965 Topps Embossed cards. They are kind of interesting.
• Jim Ray Hart was in his second year in 1965. He and Rico Carty finished a distant second to Dick Allen in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 1964.
• Hart had a nice five-year run (1964-1968) as a productive player in the Giants lineup. He had a little bit of MVP support in 1964, 1965, and 1967. Jim averaged 28 home runs and 89 RBI during that run.
• Jim made the NL All Star team in 1966 -- he struck out pinch hitting for teammate Juan Marichal
• Injuries began to slow Jim down in 1969, and he spent some time in AAA Phoenix in 1970 while trying to come back from a shoulder injury.
• Hart didn't play very much in 1971 and spent most of 1972 in Phoenix.
• The Giants sold Jim to the New York Yankees early in the 1973 season. Jim had a good year as a DH in 1973. 
• He started the 1974 season in the minors, had a brief stay with the  Yankees in May , and was released from the Yankees on June 7, 1974.
• Here is a biographical sketch of Jim. If the comments are to be believed, some family members would like to find him.

Have I been Bipped?

• Baseball Dad from All Tribe Baseball sent me a bunch of Giants cards last week. This was the first thing I saw when I opened the box. I thought I had been "bipped," but there were a lot of good Giants cards in the box. I'll be showing them off in the next several posts. Thanks Jack!

1962 Topps #107 - Mike McCormick

• I already featured the 1962 Giants in another entry, but this one deserves its own entry.
• I got this card and three 1969 Topps cards in a trade with Gritz 76 of Project '62 on Zistle. Zistle has a good trade feature now. It would be nice to see more members put vintage cards on their want lists and trade lists.
• Mike McCormick was a mainstay of the Giants rotation in two stints with the Giants.
• Mike came up with the Giants in 1956 and stayed with them through the 1962 season. He was an NL All Star in 1960 and in 1961. 
• McCormick was traded to the Baltimore Orioles after the 1962 season and pitched for them in 1963 and in 1964. Mike pitched for the Washington Senators in 1965 and in 1966 and then was traded back to the Giants.
• McCormick had a great bounce-back season in 1967. He led the NL with 22 wins and won the NL Cy Young Award
• Mike stayed with the Giants until the  middle of the 1970 season. He pitched for the New York Yankees in 1970 and for the Kansas City Royals in 1971.
• McCormick was released by the Royals in June 1971. He pitched in the minors in 1972 and in 1973 but didn't get back to the  majors.

A cool trade from a reader

I made a trade with a reader. He sent a bunch of cool stuff off of my want lists. I sent him some 1980 and 1985 Topps cards from his want list and some other Mets cards that he might be interested in. Here is what he sent:

1983 Topps from my want list. I'm down to needing 25 cards to complete the set.

A bunch of 1983 Donruss Giants cards.

A few mid-80s Fleer and Donruss Giants.

A whole bunch of 1987 Donruss Giants. All I need from this team set now is the Will Clark.

Some 1989 and 1990 Update Fleers

Cards from the 1990 Topps Traded set

1991 Topps regular and Traded cards that I needed for my Giants team sets

Some 1996 Topps cards. I wasn't collecting during this time and this is the first time I've seen the 1996 cards

Some Conlon cards of Giants. These cards are great. It's fun to learn about the game's history from the cards

The rest of the cards he sent me -- lots of Upper Deck, Stadium Club, Score, and newer Topps cards.

Thanks for the trade! :)

Trade with Thoughts and Sox

AdamE from Thoughts and Sox did a trade of some vintage cards. I sent him some 1961, 1973, and early 80s Boston Red Sox cards. He sent me these 1960 Topps Giants plus some other Giants cards from my want list. Thanks Adam! :)