Sunday, August 23, 2020

A 40-Year-Old Rookie? How 2020 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Fulfilled Olympian Nick Lucena's Childhood Dream

Growing up in the 1980s, Olympian and professional beach volleyball star Nick Lucena poured through packs of baseball cards looking for his favorite players. At the time, Ken Griffey Jr.'s 1989 Upper Deck rookie card was the must-have card for any Gen X's collection. That card's demand put the sports card manufacturer's name at the forefront in an era where Topps previously dominated.

Nick Lucena 2020 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions / Upper Deck
Fast forward three decades later, little did Lucena imagine he would be in Upper Deck set alongside Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Wayne Gretzky; however, if you look closely at the 2020 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions set, you will see Lucena mixed in with sport royalty. 

Click here to read our latest Forbes Sports Money column where we spoke with Lucena to find out how Upper Deck brought him into the set and how it feels to finally have your rookie card at age 40.

Below is our box break of 2020 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions where we not only pulled Lucena's rookie cards, but also a host of stars, including a special autograph and relic card. 

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Baseball Happenings Podcast | Rob Petrozzo Rally Co-Founder On Their Exclusive Topps Collaboration

Rally, the collectibles investment platform, has developed an unique partnership with Topps to produce ten "1st edition" 2020 Topps complete sets to be sold in shares exclusively through Rally's app. Rally's co-founder, Rob Petrozzo, joined the Baseball Happenings Podcast to discuss the details of their partnership, as well as explain exactly how Rally's platform works.

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Baseball Happenings Podcast | Misty May-Treanor Interview

Three-time Olympic beach volleyball gold medalist Misty May-Treanor is back with the AVP; however, this time, she's not scooping up shots on the sand, but rather she's calling them from their broadcast booth. May-Treanor joined the Baseball Happenings Podcast to discuss how she's exploring her new role as a commentator for their broadcasts and what she can bring to the table with her decades of experience in the sport.



Saturday, July 11, 2020

Baseball Happenings Podcast | Greg Genske VaynerBaseball CEO

Gary Vaynerchuk made another power move in the sports agency world by announcing a partnership with Greg Genske to lead VaynerSports' newly formed VaynerBaseball division. Genske joined the Baseball Happenings Podcast to discuss how he linked up with Gary Vee to bring his talents to VaynerSports to expand their agency's reach into Major League Baseball.




Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Bill Oster | Former Philadelphia Athletics Pitcher Dies At 87

Bill Oster, one of the last surviving Philadelphia Athletics players, died June 6, 2020 in Centerport, New York. He was 87.

Bill Oster / Author's Collection

Oster made his major league debut in 1954 with the Philadelphia Athletics after they pulled him from the Long Island sandlots.

“Two nights later I was down in Philadelphia,” he said in my Forbes column earlier this year. “I threw to one of the coaches [Augie Galan]. He said, ‘Take your time, and throw easy.’ After 15 minutes he told me to throw harder. I threw a little harder, and he said, ‘Okay, let's see what you got!’ I threw a fastball to him and he fell on his back. He came up laughing like hell. I can still see it. He said, ‘Let's have that once more.’ He called [manager] Eddie Joost and said, ‘Eddie, you have to see this!’ They signed me right there and put me on the roster.”

The 21-year-old lefty spent the remainder of the season with the A's, his only one in the big leagues. You can click here to read the entire story, which was the last public interview he did he before he died. He discusses his brief, but excting career, including how he struck out Hall of Famer Ted Williams.