Carded highlights Micah Johnson’s Negro League card set

On Thursday, June 20th, the legendary Rickwood Field will host an MLB game to help honor the Negro Leagues. The Giants and Cardinals will be there, dressed in throwback uniforms, and a special set of six Negro Leagues cards painted by former big leaguer Micah Johnson has been released for the day. And MLB.TV’s Carded went and got the word on the brand new set.

“The collecting world had always wanted Negro League cards and there were a handful of them out there, but this really is the first significant effort to create a collection that is solely about the Negro Leagues — and to do it at a time when, I think, an interest in the Negro Leagues is at an all-time high,” Bob Kendrick, the President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, told MLB’s Carded. “We know that it is shining a light on a piece of baseball and Americana that we don’t want to be lost to time.”

Johnson even took a new approach and painted the six Negro Leagues legends — Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Larry Doby, Monte Irvin and Josh Gibson — by hand.

“I did all these portraits by hand with charcoal,” Johnson said about his process. “I use a compressed charcoal stick, an eraser, a paint roller and my hands. I embed the charcoal into the canvas with my fingers.”

Grayson Rodriguez’s burgeoning card collection

Next up, Orioles pitcher Grayson Rodriguez grew up collecting cards, but fell out of the hobby as he grew older. With baseball cards blowing up across big league clubhouses, the right-hander has decided to get back into it. Was there anyone specific he can thank?

“Last year, when we went to Arizona playing the Diamondbacks, Corbin Carroll and Evan Longoria had sent over cards for me to sign and I thought that was pretty cool,” Rodriguez said. “It sparked that interest like I was a little kid again.”

Keith Hernandez looks back

You never have to worry about Keith Hernandez being at a loss for words, and that’s certainly true as he looks back at his favorite — and least favorite — cards of his career. Perhaps not surprising for the former first baseman with 11 Gold Glove Awards to his name, one of his favorite action shots comes on his 1988 Topps card, which captures him showing off impeccable form in the infield.

“I do like the technique,” Hernandez explained. “Look at my glove on the ground facing the batter. Remember when you were in Little League and you said, ‘Look what I found!’ A lot of times that happened because my glove was right in this position, particularly on turf and when you’re holding a runner on.”

Sarah Tiana’s favorite strange cards

One of the best parts about collecting is finding the oddities. The strange cards, the funny faces, the cards that make you think, “Why in the world did they print this?”

Comedian, writer and baseball fanatic Sarah Tiana runs through some of her absolute favorites for us.

Trading day at MLB Network

Naturally, there are plenty of baseball card fanatics who work at MLB and MLB Network. So, when there was a recent trade night hosted at MLB Network’s headquarters, with Baseball in the Attic appraiser Michael Osacky on hand to give his feedback, you know things were going to get interesting. Modern Topps cards, old tobacco cards and autographed masterpieces were all on display.

Grayson Rodriguez’s pack rip

Of course, no episode of “Carded” is complete without the legendary pack rip. Rodriguez tears into a new pack of Topps Series 1 and shares his thoughts.