2003 Donruss Expos #29

Card Review: 8.9  This was no easy card to track down.  So elusive was this card, that until it arrived in the mail (after paying way too much $3/plus $3 shipping), I had never even seen it.  I had seen online pictures of a couple other cards from this set, but not the Wallach.  I was a little disappointed the card depicted him in this particular Expos uniform rather than the classic uniform, but I can't complain too much.

This was part of a 59 card set given away at an Expos game in 2003.  Given their attendance numbers back then, I can't imagine there are that many of these floating around today.  Though, I'll keep looking as it's certainly one I'd like to have more of.

Number of this card in my collection: 1

2014 update: n/a

2015 update: n/a

2016 update: n/a

2017 update: n/a

2018 update: n/a

2019 update: n/a

2020 update: n/a

2021 update: n/a

2022 update: 2

2023 update: n/a

2024 update: n/a

2025 update: 3

 

1995 Mother's Cookies #7

Card Review: 7.9  Of the four Mother's Cookies cards to feature Wallach from '93-'96 this is probably my 2nd favorite.  I have vivid memories of Wallach using that bat when he switched to it.  I thought, and still think, it was an unusual color for a bat.  I'm not much into game used bats, but I'd like to have one of these amber (or whatever color it is) colored ones in my collection at some point.  As of yet, I've never seen one for sale.

Number of this card in my collection: 2

1994 Mother's Cookies #10

Card Review: 7.7  These Mother's Cookies sets didn't change much (or really at all) from year to year.  Which is fine with me, for some reason I really like them.  Thanks to user comments (and ebay searches) I've learned that they were given out in packs at the Stadiums in California once a year (I've seen A's, Angels, Dodgers, and I assume Giants and Padres exist too).  You didn't get the complete set in a pack and a lot of trading went on.  It's kind of a cool idea, though as a ten year old I would have rather just been given the whole set.  These were a real bear for me to track down.  I believe I have all the Mother's Cookies Wallachs now (one more to come), but every time I say something definitive like that some other set pops up and proves me wrong.

Number of this card in my collection: 1
2013 update: 2

1993 Mother's Cookies #6

Card Review: 8.1  I like these goofy Mother's Cookies sets.  Simple and unspectacular, but they work.  I've learned since the 1st Mother's Cookies post that these were given out at stadiums, and hence the autograph line on the back.

Number of this card in my collection: 1
2014 update: 2
2015 update: n/a
2016 update: n/a
2017 update: n/a
2018 update: n/a
2019 update: n/a
2020 update: 3

2021 update: n/a

2022 update: n/a

2023 update: n/a

2024 update: 4

Bobble Head Stadium Give-Away

I am far from a fan of bobble heads.  They just don't interest me.  I had a couple of generic Yankee one's as a kid, not at the same time, but would replace them as I mistakenly broke them.  Which I managed to do with all of them.  However, since there is a Tim Wallach bobblehead, I'm going to own one.

This Bobble Head was given out on July 13, 2003 at Olympic Stadium.  The Florida Marlins beat the Montreal Expos 11-4.  (Boxscore)  I was not at the game, but picked this up on ebay.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that it also came with a ticket-stub.  I've left it in the box because I have a bad track record with Bobble Heads, as I mentioned above, I tend to break them.  The box has taken a bit of a beating, but I can live with that.  I still track these when they pop up on Ebay but have yet to buy another.  In retrospect I actually got a pretty good price on this guy.  Eventually I plan to pick up some spares, as I fully anticipating breaking this one by mistake sooner or later.

               

 

1996 Mother's Cookies #10

Card Review: 2.1 Not much to say here, a very basic card.  I'm assuming these came packaged with cookies, though I'm not familiar with the brand.


*Update* 
I've learned that these cards were Stadium Giveaways.  SGA's with a twist too.  Kids were given a pack of cards, but the packs were incomplete sets.  My understanding is they came with duplicates and the idea was to encourage kids to trade them to complete the set.  That's actually a cool idea (even if I would have just preferred to be given a set and be done with it as a kid).  Given this creative idea, it's a shame they didn't put more effort into the photo's.  For a set like this, they would have a lot more room to get creative with action shots, candid's in strange parts of the park, etc. if they had wanted to.  I get that just going with a generic press photo is easier, but given the way they were distrubuted, it's clear someone put some thought into this set.

Fun Facts: *Wallach's 57 games with the Angels in 1996, were the only games he played in the American League.  On May 17, 18 and 19th the Angels played @ Yankee Stadium.  It was the only time Wallach played in Yankee Stadium.  He played in 2 of the three games and had one hit.
*In Wallach's first game in Fenway he had 2 hits and 2 walks

Number of this card in my collection: 1
2013 update: 3
2014 update: 13
2015 update: 14