Straight Outta P-Town: Welcome to the Fold

Last week I posted an overview of a large box of Cubs dupes that came my way from P-Town Tom.  There were so many cards that I had to break the posts into a few parts.  Today I'm focusing on the players who are new to my Cubs collection.

I don't collect like Tony Burbs, who pieces together his roster Jenga by trying to obtain representation of every player who has ever suited up for the Cubs.  No, that goal is a little too lofty for my Cubbie collection.  But I do like to get players that I didn't have before.  Tom helped me cross a few off the list--or at least he would have if I were as organized and determined as Tony.

Some of the oldest cards in the box were guys who are new to my collection.  Davey Johnson is probably the biggest name here.  He wrapped up his All-Star career with one season on the North Side, making this a sunset card.  Until he began managing, of course.  Tim Blackwell and his mustache are also welcome additions.

Most of these players didn't last too long with the Cubs.  Honestly, besides Rick Aguilera, Jeff Robinson, and Dan Plesac, I'm not sure I even knew these names.

My last post was based on the media guides I got from the BFG at Johnny's Trading Spot.  I came across a lot of these players often.  Jon Lieber led the pitching staff for a couple of years.  Meyers, Bowie, Barker, King, and Telemaco all made their Major League debuts in the late 1990s.  My favorite card and player in this bunch is Jeff Blauser, whom I had always admired when he was with the Braves.

Moving on to the 2000s, some more new guys to the collection include some Cubs prospects who didn't have much staying power (e.g. Garibay, Brown, and Porter) and some journeymen who made stops at Wrigley (Andrews, Nolasco).  Bob Howry was never a big name, but he pitched some good years for the Cubs.

As we get to more recent years, my memory of some of these players is better than of the guys who were on the team for one year and gone over a decade ago.  Will Ohman and Carlos Pena are big names for me, even though I had almost forgotten that Pena had manned first base for a couple of years.  I'm glad to have my first Uehara as a Cub.  He did the same thing in Chicago that he did throughout his career--pitch quietly and effectively.  My favorite thing about his signing was that it gave the Cubs the pitcher who recorded the final out of three of the previous four World Series (Montgomery, Davis, Uehara).  Too bad Bumgarner didn't join the team.  That would have been great. 

Maybe someday I'll make a checklist of All-Time Cubs Roster like Tony's, but I'll probably not get anywhere near every Cub ever.  Still, it is nice to fill that all-time roster out a little.