First Pitch Customs - Redesign

First off, I apologize for missing my post yesterday. By the time I realized I didn't hit "Publish" for my scheduled post, I figured it would be easier to just skip a day. I know, I know. That's a slippery slope to not posting for a while. But I have a few post ideas coming up so no worries.

Second, I got an extra day's run on Pimp My Fantasy League post with some additional help from "unclemoe" of the 2008 Topps Set blog. Check him out if you don't already! We're now up to half-full with a few more nibbles that I think will turn into committments once the season gets a little closer and the details are hammered out. Looks like we're leaning towards the $15 Blaster prizes so if you're interested in playing, leave a comment on the original post here.

Now onto the real post.

Last year, in addition to my ATCRCS cards, I debuted a subset of cards featuring various athletes, celebrities, politicians and other personalities that have thrown out a first pitch at Wrigley Field.

I have whittled down my collection to mostly Cubs items so these allow me to branch out a little from Cubs players while still sticking to the theme. The other day when I was cleaning up my computer and external hard drive, I ran across my folder of first pitch photos and noticed they were all in color. Now, one of the reasons I went with the ATCRCS design for the players was that older photos were in black and white and I wanted a uniform look. I figured I could desaturate the newer color photos a lot easier than I could colorize old B&W photos. I don't know why I didn't see it before but once I did, I decided to revamp the First Pitch series. Here are the new counterparts:

And one more for good measure:

 
Not sure about doing backs for these yet. The important information is now already on the front.

While looking for photos to use, I realized there was another Cubs tradition I was overlooking. I'm not if any teams do it as often (or even at all) but the Cubs also have "Guest Conductors" for the 7th Inning Stretch. Sometimes it is the same person who throws out the first pitch, sometimes not. I may look into doing something for those as well!

Let me know what you think!

ATCRCS: First Pitch Friday - Jennie Finch

Because of the recent box breaks and trades, its been a while since I featured one of my ATCRCS cards. And its been three weeks since I did a First Pitch Friday write up. With most of my packages from those out in the mail and no big card releases on the horizon (not interested in A&G beyond the Cubs cards) and a need to save money for the National, I'm glad to be back on track. I've also temporarily disabled my Trade List page because I threw in some extras into my packages to make up for my tardiness. As I continue the organization process, I'll continue to add more items. On to First Pitch Friday.


I'll admit I don't know much about softball. I think, for the most part, the rules are similar to baseball. I've seen a few games, usually during the Olympics or College World Series, though nothing in person. When I was looking for photos to use for my First Pitch cards, I was a little surprised when I found the one of Jennie Finch. She was wearing a Chicago jersey but it was orange. I had no idea there was a professional softball league.

I assumed most baseball stats would translate over to softball. Wins, ERA, etc. Either I'm wrong or Jennie Finch is some kind of softball goddess! A record of 119-16 in college with a 1.07 ERA? What? As a member of the US National Team, she was 36-2 with a 0.42 ERA. Crazy! No wonder it's not an Olympic sport anymore, they had to stop her somehow.

In 2005, Jennie Finch was fresh off a gold medal from the 2004 Olympics in Athens as a member of the USA National Women's Softball team and a pitcher for the brand new Chicago Bandits. What better way to promote the new local team than to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before an interleague cross-town rivalry game between the Cubs and White Sox? Good demographic to target. I couldn't find any video of the first pitch but I'm glad I found a photo.