Earlier today, Patrick Dubuque considered the particular charm of the error card. Here are three notable, and incredibly rare, examples of the genre.
1984 Topps Ron Guidry Card, Featuring Madison Bumgarner
This card of Ron Guidry is most unusual, owing largely to how it was printed five years before Madison Bumgarner was even born.
In this site’s grand tradition of “taking pictures of stuff on the author’s table or floor,” the author has provided here a picture of something on the latter of those things.
The “stuff” in question is an art painting composed lovingly by NotGraphs contributor Patrick Dubuque and then sent via US Post to the author and then placed on the author’s floor — where it remains — for the purpose of taking this picture.
As great art does, Dubuque’s piece asks the biggest possible questions. Questions like: “How does one construct meaning?” And also like: “How ought one to resolve life’s horrors and its mundanities?” And finally, like: “In what correctional facility’s art class did Dubuque craft this work?”
Fenway Park
4 Yawkey Way, Boston, MA 02215
1.
Head north on Yawkey Way toward Brookline Ave
go 213 ft
total 213 ft
2.
Take the 1st right onto Brookline Ave
About 51 secs
go 0.2 mi
total 0.2 mi
3.
Turn right onto Beacon St/Commonwealth Avenue
Continue to follow Commonwealth Avenue
About 2 mins
go 0.4 mi
total 0.6 mi
These might not be the precise words spoken by Vin Scully during his introduction to the Dodgers’ first broadcast of the spring, but it is what the author heard.
Prince Fielder hit a home run against Brandon Morrow a few minutes ago. Among the people impressed by Fielder’s home run was Prince Fielder himself.
To wit:
Talented Mets right-handed prospect Zack Wheeler is pitching today (Saturday) against the Nationals in a spring training game. After four batters, he’s walked one and struck out two, including an inning-ending strikeout against Washington’s Chady Tracy — action footage of which strikeout was captured by the author.
Pitch No. 1: A fastball at 96 mph (although maybe 98 mph, it’s hard to make out) taken for strike one.
The first game of MLB.TV’s spring broadcast schedule has begun. While Shaun Marcum and not, as the author previously suggested, Zack Wheeler is starting for the Mets, the game still features Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper and (I guess) Ruben Tejada, who just homered, somehow. Also, it really does appear as though Wheeler is due to pitch.
Congratulations to us, is the presiding sentiment so far as this information is concerned.
Tulane freshman right-hander Daniel Rankin made the first appearance of his college career about 15 minutes ago. In so doing, he introduced America — or at least, like, 1/100,000,000 of America — to his leg kick, which it might be fair to describe as “enthusiastic.”
In the song “Piazza, New York Catcher” from their album Dear Catastrophe Waitress, Belle and Sebastian (and frontman Stuart Murdoch, specifically) make specific references to a Mets-Giants game.
Question: are Belle and Sebastian referring to a real or imagined Mets-Giants game? And, if it’s the former, can we identify which game?
First, let’s consider what we know — both from information in the song and with regard to Piazza himself.
We know:
1. That, owing to references in the song regarding Piazza’s sexuality, that it (i.e. the song) was almost certainly written after May 22, 2002 — i.e. the date on which Piazza held a press conference (following a New York Post story) to declare his heterosexuality.
Thinking about Daisuke Matsuzaka in one’s own mind is generally an unpleasant experience. Not only has the Dice-K of recent years been decidedly mediocre, he has also been shockingly deliberate en route to mediocrity, requiring more time between pitches over the last three seasons than any other starter with 100-plus innings.
As the footage below demonstrates, however — of a 19-year-old Matsuzaka in his first-ever professional appearance — this was not always the case. There was a time when Matsuzaka was resplendent, like a diamond that’s resplendent — and also has arms, too.
Like here, throwing a 96 mph fastball by Atsushi Kataoka:
