Late again, but it's only the Nationals

I've heard a mention or two of this past World Series being "one of the greatest ever."

I'm not 100 percent sure where I heard such a sweeping statement but if I had to guess, it would be Twitter, that all-or-nothing social media outlet that I do enjoy but also shake my head over when I read the extreme reactions that occur daily there.

It was not "one of the greatest ever." I'm not sure if I'd even call it "good."

Keep in mind, I've been watching World Series for more than 40 years, so I've seen a few good ones and bad ones and have a little perspective. But I'd say about the only thing this World Series had going for it is that it lasted seven games and that the road team won every game.

It was fine. If you like baseball it was fine. But that's about it.

You know how I can tell?

I didn't panic at work over a single game this Series. Usually, the most exciting World Series games -- the ones every fan roots for and the ones that even attract the casual fan -- are super painful at work. They last deep  into the night, 12, 13 innings, cause me to rip up plans and start from scratch two or three times in the course of three hours and my head is pounding the whole time.

That didn't happen for the Astros and Nationals. Not once.

So, no, not that exciting.

Plus, it was super annoying because Game 7 featured that moment that has become oh, so familiar in modern baseball games where they take out the starting pitcher just because he's had a small hiccup or two at the start of the final third of the baseball game and then the manager hands over GAME 7 to the bullpen to inevitably blow. Nobody's learned anything. Zack Greinke never got a chance to wriggle free and the bullpen decided another postseason series.

Also, and this is most important, the teams were the Astros and Nationals.

I didn't care. I thought I would, with the starting pitching matchups. But just re-read what I wrote two paragraphs ago.

So, what do I do to make this Series memorable in my brain? Well, like some of you have done already -- because the World Series ended three days ago -- I went looking for early cards of the stars of the World Series winners. What did I have?

Let's start with Max Scherzer.

While people were scrambling to see if they owned any notable Schrezers, I sat back in a corner with a smug, self-satisfied look on my face.

I knew what year Scherzer's rookie cards came out.

It was the year I was still foolish enough to attempt to collect every set that appeared on store shelves.

So, I not only own the Stadium Club Scherzer rookie card ...

 

... but there's Allen & Ginter and Timeline -- two of them -- and Heritage and Masterpieces Scherzer rookies in the collection.

2008 was good to me with rookie pitchers, Clayton Kershaw especially, but also Scherzer.

As for the World Series MVP, I've discussed the cards I have of him in my collection plenty. I just showed this one at the start of the World Series.

There was the 2010 purple Bowman Chrome card I pulled that I ended up selling and a couple other notables that are no longer in my collection. 2010 was filled with forced Strasburg inclusions like the Attax code card at the top of the post.

So my favorite early Strasburg card is again one I've shown at least a couple of times already.

 I love minor league cards of future star players, just because nobody thinks to get those cards, nobody seems to care about those cards (but they should) and that only makes them more interesting and valuable to me because I feel like I have something semi-exclusive.

OK, next up, how about the hitting hero of Game 7.

Howie Kendrick will always be an Angels player to me simply because of his inclusion in the 2006 set, the set that marked my return to modern-card collecting.

Even though he played with the Dodgers -- and didn't seem to do much with them, like so many notable players the Dodgers acquire in transactions -- Kendrick is an Angel. And that's his rookie card.

Anthony Rendon -- no, he is not going to win the NL MVP award -- first appeared with the rookie card logo in 2013. That's in my collection as is his superfluous "rookie debut" card.

But these Bowman 1st cards are fun when you don't pay attention to Bowman and who's on them most of the time. Look how wittle he is.

Also, I realize I am not the only one who owns this card. There are like 120 versions of this card on COMC.

There is no shortage of rookie cards for any of these Nationals and that's definitely the case for Trea Turner. He has two rookie cards in the same base set for inexplicable reasons!

(Yeah, I know one is in short-printed part of the set -- THAT DOESN'T MATTER, IT IS STILL THE BASE SET TO ME!)

Ryan Zimmerman has been playing for as long as I've been back collecting modern cards. I guess that makes him an old man in baseball card circles, look at that ancient rookie card logo.

I would hope that nobody has had any trouble finding a Juan Soto rookie card for their collection. Topps makes so many rookie cards of so many players these days that one can't help but land in your stash without you even knowing it. I have like four different ones and didn't even try to get them.

Also, by the way, did you know Juan Soto is just 21?

Really.

Just 21.

I heard that every day, multiple times, for every day after he turned 21.

Guys, it's really not that exciting.

Yes, he's a terrific player. But it's not the first time we've seen a terrific player at such a young age in the majors. I kept yelling at the TV screen -- DOC GOODEN WAS 19!!!!!! NINETEEEEEEN!

OK, so Gooden wasn't 19 when he played in the World Series.

You know what age he was?

Yes, he was 21.

Also, did everyone forget about Andruw Jones? Granted it was 23 years ago and Twitter perpetually acts like it was born two months ago, but Jones hit .400 and two home runs in the World Series when he was 19 years old. Maybe calm down a little over Soto.

I don't have Corbin's rookie card, which is in the 2012 Topps Update set.

I suppose I should find it since Corbin is a "local player," meaning he grew up outside of Syracuse about an hour from here. But, yeah, I don't care.

Between Scherzer, Corbin and Gerardo Parra (ick), there seems to be a large number of former Diamondbacks on this team, which doesn't make me like them any more.

Anyway, at least the Nationals' win helped me inventory what I have of these guys.

I don't collect autographs, so I'd never search out an autograph for any of these players. When a World Series comes around, I just have to hope I luck into a rookie card or two, because I do buy enough retail to find something.

It's fun when that happens.

But that's enough of that. Really, let's bring on 2020 and a better result for the baseball season.