Here's a story I wrote for Sports Collectors Daily about a PSA 10 rookie card of basketball legend Pete Maravich -- one of only two in existence -- being bought at a U.S. Treasury seized assets auction  by actor Rob Gough:

www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/rob-gough-wins-psa-10-maravich-rookie-card-in-us-treasury-seized-asset-auction/
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Here is a story I wrote for Sports Collectors Daily about MatchWornShirt, a collectibles company founded by two brothers in the Netherlands in 2017. The company is entering the U.S. soccer collectibles market by holding auctions of game-worn jerseys of U.S. men and women's national team players:

www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/us-national-soccer-teams-in-auction-deal-for-game-worn-jerseys/​

Here's a story I wrote for Sports Collectors Daily about three players who appeared in the 1955 Topps set -- but never played a regular-season major league game in their careers:

www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/these-3-players-appeared-in-1955-topps-set-but-never-played-a-game-in-the-majors/​

Here's a story I wrote for Sports Collectors Daily about Matt Wooden, an elementary school principal in Indiana who has assembled a collection of the earliest cards of Indianapolis 500 winners from 1911 to 1941:

https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/a-matter-of-principal-indiana-educator-puts-together-collection-of-early-indianapolis-500-rookie-cards/
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Here's a story I wrote for Sports Collectors Daily about a jersey from the Original Celtics of the 1920s that will be sold by SCP Auctions in July:
www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/original-celtics-jersey-from-1920s-will-be-part-of-scp-auctions-summer-premier-sale/​

Here's a story I wrote for Sports Collectors Daily for Mother's Day. Decided to showcase some cards of players whose names could also be gifts for Mom on her special day:

https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/mothers-day-these-cards-would-be-perfect-gifts-for-mom/​

Here's a story I wrote for Sports Collectors Daily about last month's huge rise in cards sent to grading companies. Sports cards were a mixed bag, but trading card game cards had huge gains:

www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/overall-card-grading-numbers-jump-again-but-sports-a-mixed-bag/

For New York baseball fans, it would be the ultimate showdown, a chance to own bragging rights in the city. But for anyone outside of the Big Apple and its tri-state metropolitan area, the 2000 World Series was “a horror story,  a snooze fest, or a little bit of both,” author Chris Donnelly writes in his latest book.

Get Your Tokens Ready: The Late 1990s Road to the Subway Series (University of Nebraska Press; $34.95; hardback; 344 pages) chronicles the events from 1997 to 2000 that led to the first postseason Subway Series since 1956. Only this time, the New York Yankees would not be facing their ancient rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers or the New York Giants. Both teams had moved west after the 1957 season.

The Yankees’ opponents for their 14th “subway” World Series were the New York Mets, a team that had come close to reaching the Fall Classic in 1999 but fell agonizingly short. The next season would be a different story for the Mets, and while the Yankees won the 2000 World Series in five games, it capped a memorable buildup.
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The book’s title comes from Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay’s memorable call of David Justice’s three-run, seventh-inning homer during Game 6 of the 2000 American League Championship Series. 

​The book is also the third that Donnelly has written over the past six years about New York baseball in the latter 20th century. In 2019 he published Doc, Donnie, the Kid and Billy Brawl: How the 1985 Mets and Yankees Fought for New York’s Baseball Soul; and his 2023 work, Road to Nowhere: The Early 1990s Collapse and Rebuild of New York City Baseball.

Before that, Donnelly wrote Baseball’s Greatest Series: Yankees, Mariners, and the 1995 Matchup That Changed History in 2010; and 2014’s How the Yankees Explain New York.

Donnelly did extensive research for his latest work, citing 23 different books and interviewing 39 different people. The interviews included players such as Don Mattingly, Jesse Orosco, Paul O’Neill and Dave Mlicki; journalists and authors such as Bill Madden, Moss Klein and Jeff Pearlman; and executives such as Frank Cashen and Jeff Idelson.

Donnelly is a fine storyteller and sets the stage for the eventual Yankees-Mets confrontation. The Mets had struggled during the 1990s, going through five managers, three general managers and “a conga line’s worth of players.”

“Something needed to change with the Mets,” Donnelly writes. “Their ineptitude had lasted too long, enabling the Yankees to become the city’s beloved team.”

The arrival of Bobby Valentine as manager changed the equation. Certainly, Valentine had his run-ins with management and fans and was constantly questioned about his decisions, but he would bring home a pennant in 2000.
Memorably, he would be thrown out of a game but was later seen sitting in the corner of the Mets dugout wearing a cheap disguise.

The Yankees, meanwhile, returned to the top of baseball by winning the 1996 World Series. After losing in the 1997 playoffs, New York won back-to-back World Series, sweeping the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves.

But all was not smooth, Donnelly writes. The Yankees nearly let go of center fielder Bernie Williams to sign free agent Albert Belle, but fortunately for New York the deal for the mercurial Belle fell through. Belle was powerful but unpredictable, while Williams gave the Yankees balance. Keeping him, along with the Yankees’ “Core Four” — Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera — ensured more World Series appearances.

The Yankees set an American League record with 114 regular-season victories in 1998 and won 11 more in the postseason.

“The previous year (1998) had been the result of so many things going right, all at the same time,” Donnelly writes. “It would be ridiculous to think the Yankees could repeat those results.

“Yet, to some degree, it could have been argued that they were expected to do even better.”'

That did not happen, even with the addition of Roger Clemens to the staff. Still, the Yankees would battle their way to a second straight World Series title.

Facing the Mets in 2000 gave the Yankees the chance to be
the first three-peat World Series champions since the 1972-72 Oakland A’s.
The Mets got to the World Series by adding catcher Mike Piazza, third baseman Robin Ventura, starting pitcher Mike Hampton and power reliever Armando Benitez.

​In addition to highlighting the interleague series between the Yankees and Mets, Donnelly touches on many of the subplots that swirled around both teams. There was Chuck Knoblauch’s sudden affliction with the “yips,” as he seemed unable to throw the ball to first from his position at second base.

There was the infamous shattered piece of a bat flung by Clemens toward Piazza during Game 2 of the 2000 World Series, a bizarre play that had its origins earlier in the season when the Rocket hit the Mets catcher in the head with a pitch.

For the Mets, one subplot was having to watch several of its former stars — David Cone, Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden — win championship rings with the Yankees. That even extended to Yankees manager Joe Torre, who managed the Mets from 1977 to 1981 but only had a 286-420 record — he was 1,173-767 during the 12 regular seasons with Yankees and went to six World Series, winning four of them.

Even for those who do not follow New York baseball, there are plenty of interesting and detailed stories in Get Your Tokens Ready. That is a positive. From a negative standpoint, the editing mistakes are unfortunate. As a copy editor, perhaps they jump out more. And one likes to give the author and publisher the benefit of the doubt. But they seemed to be Knoblauch-like yips.
For example, the word “dominate” is used at least twice when “dominant” would have been the proper word. As in, “All that mattered was that the Mets had been New York’s dominate team.”

Other examples:

• “The fact that he was about to start in the Yankees’ biggest game phased him not in the slightest.” (Proper word is “fazed).”
• “… Their 50-39 record keep them in the hunt for first …” (kept). OK, that’s an issue of tense, but still …
• “That same day the Yankees turned their sites from …” (sights).
• “Piazza, swinging largely on his front leg, reached down and gulfed the ball into the left-field stands.” (golfed).
• “In his first World Series, he was struggling to find a grove.” (groove).
• “Franco stood and starred as Welke rang him up.” (stared).

I only began keeping track after the first 100 pages. That is just me being a copy editor, but those were correctible mistakes.

To be honest, they do not detract from Donnelly’s research and ability to weave compelling stories. Overall, Get Your Tokens Ready is a solid effort and an enjoyable read. The perspectives of the players and managers are interesting, and Donnelly has provided extensive notes for each chapter.

Perhaps folks outside of the Big Apple will not be interested. But this was not a token effort. Baseball fans still should find this book intriguing.

Here's a story I wrote for Sports Collectors Daily about a 1963 road jersey worn by Hank Aaron when he led the National League in homers and the majors in RBI and runs scored:

www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/hank-aaron-road-jersey-from-1963-to-be-featured-in-upcoming-grey-flannel-auctions-sale/