Shohei Ohtani, some WBC and, oh yeah. The Caveman!

 

I didn’t watch the World Baseball Classic.

            Not for any position-taking reason.

            And there…sigh...there are a lot of those out there.

            I didn’t watch the World Baseball Classic because a lot of game times didn’t coincide with the schedule that I keep. Up at 4:45 to write, pass out on the couch by 9:15…usually to old Genesis albums, Radiohead, or Yo La Tengo, after watching Cheers reruns on my phone. And I didn’t watch it because, well, I’m not that interested in it. I never have been. Not being interested in something doesn’t mean I have an opinion on the World Baseball Classic, or that I think it’s pointless. It actually looked like a lot of fun. And the players and the fans seem to be into it both from a fun aspect and from a patriotic aspect. That finale certainly was something.

            This card is really freaking cool.

            Too bad you can only get in in a bundle of six cards.

            And I know, I know, Mike Trout is the face of Major League Baseball, even though he could probably walk through an airport undetected.

            But…can we maybe agree that this guy is the global face of baseball?

            Full disclosure, I like Shohei Ohtani.

            I’m a fan.

            I like Shohei rookie cards.

            I like Shohei base cards.

            I like Shohei on past Topps designs.

            I think this might be my favorite looking Shohei card

            I don't even mind Shohei unlicensed

.

            He’s one of those players who excites me as a baseball fan. It’s probably wrong-headed of me, but at my age it’s hard getting excited about players who are decades younger than me. They don’t seem so immortal. But Shohei kind of does. He can hit! He can pitch! I’ve been watching baseball as a regular fan for over forty years, and I’ve never come across a player like him. Hits for power. Pitches for strength and speed. We had all of those big names in the 1980s: Bonds, Mattingly, Canseco, McGwire, Dawson, Brett, Ryan, Clemens, Gooden, Schmidt…the list goes on and on and on. But not a single one of them batted .273 with 34 home runs while winning 15 games and striking out 219 batters.

            Shohei is special.

            He batted .435 in the WBC

            He had a 1.86 ERA and struck out 11.

            He’s one of the few players, not wearing a Pirates uniform, whose cards I tend to keep around and/or acquire when in the mood.

            I was glad to see Japan win the WBC.

            I have a special place in my heart for Japanese baseball.

            When I was in Japan in 2019, I watched a lot of Japanese baseball in hotel rooms, when I still wasn’t watching a lot of Major League Baseball.

            That changed when I got back to Brooklyn.

            And by late July/early August of 2019…I was collecting again.

            So, draw your conclusions where you will.

            Also, surprisingly, this isn’t a blog post about Shohei Ohtani.

            Not entirely.

            It may surprise some of you, but I don’t watch a whole hell of a lot of Spring Training baseball either. Spring Training games always feel like extended BP and pitching sessions to me. I’ll catch an inning here and there. I caught an inning of a Phillies/Orioles game while enjoying one of the best burgers in my life, in a Bay Ridge bar. And I managed to catch the Pirates about two or so weeks ago, when they were playing…ah, I don’t even remember. The most I do with Spring Training is listen to podcats on baseball, read articles about prospects, and hope against hope that my favorite Pirates don’t get injured and have to miss regular season baseball.

            All apologies to you Altuve fans out there.

            So, what is this blog post about, at least in part….

            …is Don Robinson.

            Yes, that Don Robinson.

            The Caveman.

            Veteran of 15 major league seasons. 109 wins, 106 losses, 57 saves, 3.79 career era…Don Robinson. He played mostly with the Pirates. A little bit with the San Francisco Giants. And one strange 1992 season spent with the Angels and Phillies…that I don’t even remember him playing in. But that would make sense. After, Donnie (that’s what we called him in Pittsburgh) got traded to the Giants for Mackey Sasser (who played a surprising 9 years in the Big Leagues) and 50,000 cash, I kind of forgot about him. Kind of didn’t miss him when he was gone, considering he was past his starting pitching prime, and was pitching mostly in relief.

            Don Robinson was a part of the old Pirates to me.

            The 1979 World Series team that I don’t really remember.

            Part of the downturn in the early 1980s that saw members of that team retire, or get traded somewhere else.

            Donnie pitched mop-up work.

            Donnie blew saves.

            Donnie gave up that effing 500^th home run to Mike Schmidt.

            But…absence makes the heart grow fonder.

            I know some fans don’t enjoy the trickery of Spring Training broadcasts. The mics on players in the outfield. The mics on batters. The guests in the announcer’s booth who talk over the action. I’m of a mixed mind over it all. Kind of like the World Baseball Classic. But during that Pirates Spring Training game, Bob Walk (one of my favorite Pirates pitchers) and Greg Brown brought Don Robinson into the booth for three innings to talk Pirates baseball, circa late 70s to mid/late 1980s.

            And I was glad to see Donnie.

            Glad to hear what The Caveman had to say about his career, his relationships with Chuck Tanner and Jim Leyland; the reverence nearly every Pirate of that era has for Willie Stargell.

            I forgave the blown saves.

            I forgave the mop up work.

            I’d forgiven him giving up that 500^th home run to Mike Schmidt at Three Rivers Stadium.

            At least I think I do.

            Donnie’s appearance in the broadcasting booth was so nostalgic, it had me wondering if I should add his cards to my box of Buccos.

            I have Robinson’s cards in team sets and doubles.

            And he did pitch 10 seasons in Pittsburgh.

            And collecting guys whose cards cost a dime…can be fun.

            One of the things I thought about as Donnie was speaking to Walkie and Brownie (yeah everyone gets a nickname today), was how he could hit the ball as well as pitch it. He’s no Shohei Ohtani, mind you. But The Caveman was the rare pitcher (when pitchers could still hit for themselves) who could ACTUALLY HIT THE BALL. I remember not having that eye-rolling sense of when-are-we-going-to-get-the-DH-like-the-American League-has dread whenever Donnie Robinson came to bat. The man amassed 13 home runs in his major league career. He hit a career high 3 home runs in 1989 for the Giants. As Donnie Robinson talked the old days for three innings, I found myself getting nostalgic for the not-so-distant past of baseball where pitchers (at least in the NL) still hit.

            Which brings me back to Shohei and what a freak he is.

            Pitching every so many days.

            DH-ing when he’s not.

            Or is he that much of a freak?

            I guess in this era of analytics and specialization he is a freak. Analytically it doesn’t seem smart to play Shohei as much as they do. Or healthy, I guess. We certainly didn’t see Donnie Robinson bat on days he didn’t pitch…although I do remember him pinch hitting a time or two. I mean we can say it’s a National League vs American League thing back then…but there was no Shohei’s in the AL back in my day either.

            And there could’ve been.

            So, why wasn’t there?

            The only thing I can think is that you had more position players back then and less pitchers on a roster.

            That said, this meandering blog post was meant to be a celebration of the past.

            And a celebration of what we have now.

            I’m looking forward to seeing what Shohei Ohtani does this season.

            …and I’m hitting those 10-cent bins the next time I’m in Pittsburgh, and getting me some Donnie Robinson cards.

 

***I didn’t get a chance to mention this in my last blog post, and novel writing duties kept me from doing one last week…but I got something really cool in the mall a few weeks ago.

            These!

            Custom made Pirates card from Nick Vossbrink.

            I’ve been a fan of Nick’s custom work for a while, and I enjoy his blog for his takes on collecting. So, it was very cool to have this random act of kindness show up in my mail box.        

            Here’s a closer look.

            I’m rooting for Jack Suwinski in Pittsburgh this year. He was a rare bright spot in another terrible season, in 2022. A kid who came from AA to the Bigs and managed to crank 19 home runs in 326 plate appearances.  He did have a minor 0-26 setback and spent some time in AAA before rejoining the Big League ball club, and he’s not having the best spring either…but I’m pulling for him. This card Nick created is from the 2022 Father’s day game, when Jack hit 3-home runs…with his old man in the stands.

            Here’s the other card.

            Ah, the Willie Stargell. I’ve been tweeting a Topps off an on for them to use this image on one of their Stargell inserts or, more specifically, in Stadium Club. But Nick answered my prayers, so who needs you now Topps.  I truly love this card. It’s a fantastic and original addition to my Willie Stargell PC. 

            Thank you so much, Nick!

            If you don’t know Nick’s work or want to read his takes on collecting, travel, autograph seeking etc, you can find his blog right HERE.

         And here’s to baseball truly being back this coming week!

 Thanks for reading! Happy Collecting!

NEXT FRIDAY: TBD: but it's going to be something Opening Day baseball related!