The Rated Rabbi Sports Card Podcast

You think you know the origin story of the Donruss Rated Rookie. I thought I did, too. In this episode, we uncover the Rated Rookies before the Rated Rookies, talk 80s fashion, popped collars, and Lisa Birnbach's "Official Preppy Handbook." We also dive into the 1984 Cubs, who rode exciting comebacks, Gary Mathews' leadership, and NL Cy Young Award winner Rick Sutcliffe's 16-1 record after coming over from Cleveland in June to their first postseason appearance was since 1945. Although Joe Carter was Cleveland's prize for trading away Sutcliffe, we focus on another player acquired from the Cubs in the same trade: former outfielder and current inmate at the H.H. Coffield Penitentary in Texas, sex offender Mel Hall. Hall's story is so disturbing, that it's too much even for me. To read it for yourself: https://www.sbnation.com/2014/7/15/5883593/the-many-crimes-of-mel-hall.

Dave Schwartz's podcast "The Shallow End" often explores the inner journey of the collector. In the final segment of our conversation, he takes us inside what he calls a potentially "scary, riveting, and fun" approach to building his personal collection. Dave is considering selling off or using his current collection to trade into one of the greatest cards in the history of the hobby: The 1948-49 Leaf Jackie Robinson rookie card. He is mulling taking his entire PC and starting over, using the Leaf Jackie as the seed of a new future collection. To this end and as a part of the exercise, we both share personal cards that would be either emotionally difficult to let go of or difficult to replace. We end with what else? We open some packs.

It's the 1985 World Series. Game 6. Cardinals are three outs away. Slow bouncer to Clark. Worrell clearly beats Orta to the bag. But Denkinger blows the call. And then it all falls apart. Who better to than Iowa Dave Schwartz (@Iowa_Dave_SportsCards on IG) to relive that fateful night?! While the Cardinals fell just short, they more than lived up to the team motto for 1985: The Heat is On. Taken from from Beverly Hills Cop, we springboard into an epic year in movies that also included Rambo: First Blood Part II, Rocky IV, Fletch, Breakfast Club, and two from Michael J. Fox: 1985s #1 movie Back to the Future and Teen Wolf. Plus, we're less than 90 days from the National and we share our collecting plans as we approach Cleveland and our early strategies for the show itself. Finally, get ready for an epic on-air auction win. A major Debra Winger Mail Day awaits.

Dreams do come true.

Continuing with Dave Schwartz (@Iowa_Dave_SportsCards on IG), we do a deep dive into the 1985 Cardinals. Despite not winning the World Series that season, they remain an iconic 80s team remembered for its blazing speed (Vince Coleman, Willie McGee, and their teammates stole 314 bases!), pitching (John Tudor! Joaquin Andujar!), defense (Ozzie!), and how Whitey Herzog built a winner by making the most out of playing on the Busch Stadium artificial turf. We relive the fastest man in baseball, Coleman, getting run over and rolled up by the slowest object on the field, the tarp. Finally, we get wistful about the late-afternoon diffused sunlight at Chavez Ravine and the NLCS late-game, heroic home runs by Ozzie Smith and Jack Clark off of Tom Niedenfuer that propelled the Cardinals to the World Series against the Kansas City Royals.

Creator and host of "The Shallow End" podcast Iowa Dave Schwartz (@Iowa_Dave_SportsCards on IG) joins me for a very special "Season, Team, Boom Box, and Screen" four-part episode on the 1985 St. Louis Cardinals. In Part 1, Dave shares stories about his return to the hobby and his evolution as a collector. He also shares his "why" he collects, how we would know him by his collection, three of his current eBay Saved Searches, and what it is like to be a part of the Cardinals' fandom and family.

With Passover upon us, we start off talking about Quad-A semi-legend OF John "Go Down" Moses. We then honor disabilities activist Eli Wolff, who helped MLB do the right thing by changing the name of the "DL" to the "IL" for injured players. Turns out Wolff's middle name was "Abarbanel," inspiring a dive into 15th century Rabbi Don Isaac Abarbanel and Torquemada, the Inquisition's Grand Inquisitor. Then, we get hungry thinking about the 1984 Summer Olympics and McDonald's "Scratch and Win" game and we finish with a story of redemption, eBay, and a Garrison Hearst 1998 Bowman's Best Atomic Refractor.

Just ask the Great Caruso: Feeling good leads to getting lucky. After celebrating his great Great One find, we stay with the feeling for a dive into Al Rosen, one of only five all-stars to homer twice in one All-Star Game. We also honor Eli Wolff, the disabilities activist who helped lead the MLB change from the Disabled List to the Injured List. Then, we go deep with commercials for "Lite Beer from Miller," "IBM Presents: You Make the Call," and "Alcoa Presents: Fantastic Finishes." We finish with my favorite Fantastic Finish: Tom Dempsey's game-winning, record-setting 63-yard field goal. And he kicked it despite having only half a fight foot! We end with an up-close look at the custom shoe that helped Dempsey set a record that stood for over 40 years.

#baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #sportscards #nostalgia #cardcollector #thehobby #1980s

In this episode, we speak in praise of delayed gratification and mail days, especially a Debra Winger Mail Day. We remember when fiery Dominican Damaso Garcia set his uniform on fire. And when another fiery Dominican, Mario Soto, winged a baseball at Claudell Washington during a brawl. In between, we celebrate the incredible "right place, right time" story of Alfredo Griffin, the luckiest man in All-Star Game history. We then conclude with a loving ode to the apex of powder blue uniforms. All this a fresh pack of Bubble Yum on the latest episode.

#baseballcards #sportscards #80s #1980s #thehobby #nostalgia

Debra Winger Mail Days aren't supposed to happen only a month apart from each other. But what can I say? Right place, right time. This is one you won't want to miss.