Aloha, everybody,
I received a package from my east coast friend and trading partner, Zippy Zappy, the proprietor of Torren Up Cards.
ZZ included a note, as those of us who've ever received a zapping know he always does. The note called this batch of cards a "mini-zapping". There was nothing mini about this one.
Gotta start things off with The Teenager. Reports from the Dodgers' ST camp are Urias is definitely ready to rock in 2017. He'll take the mound tomorrow for the first time.
ZZ sends me lots of Bowman, which means lots of Dodgers prospects for little ol' me.
Here's the one who got away.
The Dodgers traded JDL for Logan Forsythe, our new second baseman. It was a "win now and gamble away the future" move. I wanted De Leon to be a Dodger...I'm still a fan of his, no matter the team.
More prospects!
Here's Jerry Hairston, who now is on the TV broadcast squad for the Dodgers. It's hard to find a bigger homer than Junior...
ZZ knows I'm a big fan of Kenta Maeda, so he zapped me good with some Maeda-san cards from his days with the Hiroshima Carp.
Awesome!
This Genesis card is the Bomb!
In case you've never seen the back of a Japanese baseball card...
ZZ knows exactly what is going to make my collector's eyes open wide. Brooklyn Dodgers...yup.
A bad ass Eric Gagne card that's new for my collection...yup.
Speaking of knowing how to make my eyes open, ZZ dropped a handful of these on me....
I love American baseball, but one thing we sorely lack, and the Japanese win on - is they've got cheerleaders.
I suppose I shouldn't call them cheerleaders. The cards clearly state they're Dancing Heroines. Yup, that'll work.
The Osaka Hanshin Tigers are my favorite Japanese team, so ZZ knocked it out of the park with these lovely cards filled with lovely Dancing Heroines.
Wanna see a couple more?
In case you've never seen what the back of a Dancing Heroine card looks like...
Fresh-faced, cute and wholesome. Best of all, she likes the Tigers. Just like a gal you can bring home to meet mom.
Yes, those cards opened my eyes, but ZZ wasn't done. He dropped a card on me that I've been wanting for quite a while.
It appeared in 2013 Topps Archives, and while most folks (who cared about such things) were clamoring for the Beatles card... I secretly coveted this one...
Now it's mine! THANKS, ZZ for all the great cardboard.
A mini-zapping? No way. This one rocked!
Aloha!
Aloha, everybody,
As the above title notes, I received a package from the dean of card bloggers, the GBOAT (Greatest Blogger of All Time), the venerable, wise old owl - who probably won't appreciate being referred to as old. Indeed, if the blogger world had a president, this man would be that...Mr. Night Owl.
We all know it's a good day when a package of cards arrives in the mail, but it's a very good day when I find a package from Night Owl.
Lots of folks send Dodgers cards to N.O., and if I'm lucky, I receive some of the cardboard runoff from his bounty. Night Owl ends up with plenty of dupes and upgrades, and that's where we fellow Dodgers bloggers come in. The trickle down economics theory may not work out in the real world, but it sure does apply in the blogosphere.
Let's have a look at (just a sample of) the goodies that came to me from the frigid and snowed over east.
Leading off is an absolutely beautiful hologram 3-D card from the 30th anniversary of Dodger Stadium. THIS is how to do 3-D illusion right. The stadium image lifts right off the card surface and stands upright...
Young Joc on a sweet Diamond Kings rookie card edition...
What about the Brooklyn boys? Sir Night Owl always delivers...
I love how this shot of Campy shows the tools of ignorance in their full glory. Compare that chest protector to the almost tiny flak jackets catchers wear today.
These are from 1979 TCMA Star of the 50's. I now have six of these Dodgers. Time to find out how many more I need to complete the Dodgers set.
Jumping to the LA club and a Dodgers star from the 60's...
The 70's brought awesome 'staches to the Dodgers...
Here's Charlie Hough, the Dodgers' resident knuckleballer for many a year...
Steve Sax brings us into the 80's on 1985 O-Pee-Chee...
The next decade brought Raaaaaauuuuuuuuullllll....
Looks like a cold day in Chi-Town in this shot. Mondi's wearing winter headgear and the ivy has gone brown.
If you think Dodgers baseball in the early 00's, you've gotta include the one who got away, Adrian Beltre...
Numbered cards? Yes, please...
Brown had such an unlikeable personality, but I'll admit, I liked it when he took the mound. He was lights out!
Here's one for the Tatooine crowd...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wish they'd shipped Tracy to Tatooine.
Speaking of the great ones who got away...
The card is dark, so it's not easy to read the name of this Dodgers prospect. It's appropriate because it was a dark day Paul Konerko was traded away. I'll never forgive Tommy for that one. The Dodgers received Jeff Shaw, one of the elite closers in the game at the time. Pfffffffffffffftttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!
Finally, the one who didn't get away.
The Teenager on a pre- LA Dodgers, Oklahoma City Dodgers card!!! Wow!
Now THAT'S what you get when the president sends you cards.
THANKS Night Owl!
Aloha!
Aloha, everybody,
My weekly card show pursuits will have to cool off for the time being (we're currently down a car), but that doesn't mean my collection is in the cooler.
Thanks to a very helpful reader/collector, GCA, my Perfect Games Project has taken a great big step toward completion. GCA is primarily a set-collector, but he took a liking to my little project, dug through his boxes, and sent these cards over to me.
(A reminder: although any cards from the players who made up these batteries will do for a start, my ultimate goal is to have cards representing the players from the year of the perfect game.)
Leading off is King Felix on 2012 Topps Archives...
I still need his catcher, John Jaso.
Jumping back to 1988 Topps, Jeff Reed.
While Reed's card hails from the correct year (1988), he's pictured as an Expo. Reed caught the perfect game as a Red. Which brings to mind, I still need the ultimate card for his pitcher, Tom Browning.
Up next is a beautiful 2009 O-Pee-Chee featuring southpaw Mark Buerle. I'm still in need of his battery mate, Ramon Castro.
From 2004 Topps Total, Robby Hammock, taking grounders. Now I need to catch Randy Johnson, who threw that no-no...
Here's southpaw David Wells, on a well-designed, horizontal 1998 Collector's Choice card. Jorge Posada needed.
Last up, GCA sent the ultimate cards for both members of the Texas Rangers' perfect game battery of pitcher Kenny Rogers on 1994 Fleer Ultra (I love this set)...
and newly-inducted, Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez on 1994 Upper Deck Electric Diamond...
Pudge looks reflective on that card, right? Perhaps he's thinking about how awesome he looks on the card back...
It's no wonder you caught a perfect game, Pudge.
THANKS for getting me closer to my goal, GCA!
Aloha!
Aloha, everybody,
Yup, despite the slim choices of card dealer tables, I headed out to the card show for my third week in a row.
I'm trying to fill gaps in my PCs, and looking for cards to send out to my trading buddies. This week's trip brought modest success on both fronts.
I won't be showing what I picked up for you all out there, because I prefer those to be surprises. I'll tease a bit by saying I picked up cards for collectors of teams on the east coast, the World Series champs, some for entries into a blogger's contest, some for folks waiting for return-trade packages, and a couple for folks who commented on recent ATBATT posts.
Here are the cards I rounded up for myself. Let's start with the vintage. These three are from 1960 Topps. I already had them, but I picked these up cheap enough to take a chance they might be upgrades for the ones in my binder...
Turns out, happily, the 60's I already own are in better shape than these. All three have soft, roundy corners.
That said, if any set collector, or someone looking for starter vintage wants these, let me know, since they are up for trade.
These filled holes in my Dodgers team checklists...
That's a great action shot of Willie Davis in a day game at Dodger Stadium. As the great Vin Scully would say, it's a "shirt sleeve crowd".
Davis is either ducking away from a high and tight one, or he's reacting to being hit by the pitch. Note his batting helmet is nowhere to be seen. Philadelphia catcher Jim Essian's posture suggests he's possibly caught the ball. Anybody out there know the history of this one?
More in-game action from the seventies...
The Dodgers wore those away uniforms with blue piping through the 60's and 70's. They dropped the piping in the 80's, and the unis have remained the same since then.
Norm Sherry knocked one more off the 1962 Dodgers set...
Sherry's rockin' that man hair that runs all the way up to his neck.
The last three cards are of the modern variety. First up is Larry Doby. After learning Doby was the pioneer who broke the color barrier in the AL, I decided to collect him.
Zippy Zappy has announced he's collecting Doby as well, so I'll be keeping my cardboard eye out with two of us in mind.
The final two cards hail from a tribute set. They're not particularly handsome cards, but they fill collecting needs because, believe it or not, I didn't have any cards from these players. These are my first.
Now that I've cracked the ice, it's time to find better looking cards from these baseball legends.
Aloha!
