What Were Once Lost to One Collector are Now Found to Another

Aloha, everybody, 

Whew! Sometimes it's tough trying to come up with a witty title, am I right? 

Anyways, that title was supposed to refer to AJ, the Lost Collector, who sent a PWE with some cool Dodgers to me. With the heat wave that's cooking LA these days, cool cards are just what I need, and AJ's the man givin' me the fix...

Here's a RC of the young backup catcher who's proving he belongs with the big club. When Yasmani takes a break, the catching corp doesn't skip a beat. 

The current stars of the Dodgers' bullpen are well represented...

I love how Topps Bunt caught Kenley's dead eye stare that he employs before every pitch. 

Did I mention "coolness"? Dig Piazza's shades, baby...

I guess Keith Urban counts as cool to some music fans out there...right? Remember when those jeans with pre-fabricated holes were 'sposed to be cool? 

Any card featuring Dodger Stadium counts as cool to  me, so this will fit in with my other first pitch at Chavez Ravine cards just fine. 

THANKS for the PWE, AJ. it was...cool! 

Aloha! 

You Can't Have Too Many Good Trades

Aloha, everybody, 

Dennis from Too Many Verlanders sent a fistful of cards to me a few weeks ago, and boy, it was a doozy. Let's not waste any time with blah-blahs and instead, get right down to checkin' out some righteous cardboard.

Leading off is my favorite Dodgers catcher...

Note Piazza wearing the Tim Crews death patch on his sleeve...

I tell ya, this package from Dennis was chock-a-block stuffed with shiny goodness from the heyday of shiny cards. Awesome.


Chan Ho Park. Upper Deck Black Diamond Numbered 1500

These cards are so shiny n' glossy that they register the opposite on my scanner. 

Here's an early Joc Pederson card notching him as a future member of the 500 HR Club. While I doubt that, Joc is definitely heating up right now, and I hope heading for a 20 HR season.

This guy is mashing pretty good right now also...

Here's one of my favorite home run hitters from the day...

I've got the swatch version of this moonshots card. Now they can sit side by side in the ol' binder. 

Dennis also included this beauty. A new relic card for my Green PC. This one is extra cool because it identifies the day he wore this jersey. It was Opening Day 2002 vs the Giants. This was back when I never missed Opening Day, so I was most likely at this game. 

A quick search tells me Green went 1 for 4 that day, with a single. Awesome card. 

How about some Opening Day pitchers? Starting with Kershaw....

This ones a little weird. Looks like Kersh was pulling noodles, but they snapped on him...

I'm becoming a big believer in Diamond Kings...

Before Kershaw ruled the mound at Chavez Ravine, there was Fernando...

Fernando Gypsy Queen mini, numbered to 199. Sweet! 

Before there was Fernando, Dodger Stadium's mound was graced by this man...

Here's the third baseman who got away...

Todd Hollandsworth was one of those ROYs who only lived up to his potential on cardboard. This card is a beautiful diamond finish in hand. 

Finally, a tribute card to a member of the legendary Infield that GCRL Jim named a blog after...

 Check out this card back. You just don't see that time with one team anymore...

Whew! That was a whole lotta cards. And there's a whole bunch more I didn't show. What a package. 

THANKS for the awesome cards, Dennis. These are gonna be fun to fit into the binders. 

Aloha! 

More Cards Migrate from the East Coast to LA (this time, from Mark H)

Aloha, everybody, 

Continuing on with getting caught up on PWEs that have been sitting way too long on top of my card table. 

This fistful of cards comes to me via my good friend, trading partner, and Twitter buddy, Mark H. 

Leading off is a couple of right-handers from the 1988 Worlds Champions...

Orel looks so young. 

Here's a cool little cut-out card of Corey...

Dodgers ace Ramon Martinez (20W - 6L in 1990) is the veteran in this group from 1991 Fleer. Lots of folks don't like this banana yellow 1991 Fleer set, but these specimens are NM condition, so the bright and glossy finish actually looks pretty good in hand...

How about some more Fleer, and Fernando flashing tight yoga pants...

Prospect Jack Savage never caught on with the Dodgers. He later changed his name to Jeff Kent and had a pretty good career up in Frisco...

Speaking of guys who had pretty good careers...

Ol' Gonzo is reportedly considering retirement if the herniated disk in his back doesn't heal up. From the forlorn look on Adrian's face, it looks like they snapped this photo right as that realization hit him. 

Howie Kendrick is represented by this tiny sticker. Which come to think of it, represents the tiny contribution he made as a Dodger. 

Finally, from the "I didn't know I wanted it until I had it" files, a binder page full of Dodgers coaches from the late 80's to the early 90's. 

There's Tommy Lasorda's long-time mafia of coaches (Amalfitano, Perranoski, Mota) and others who I suppose made good coaches, but were terrible managers (Hoffman, Tracy). 

THANKS for the cardboard trip down memory lane, Mark! Great cards. 

Aloaha!

The Dodgers and Mets are Angry Now - But It's All Good in the Blogosphere

Aloha, everybody, 

In the battle of coasts, the Dodgers are playing the Mets here in L.A., and boy, is that series getting hot. The Dodgers have been pounding the Mets over the past few games, and those New York boys aren't too pleased about it. 

It seems the Dodgers-Mets rivalry has really gained steam over the past few years, and it's not really the friendly kind. That said, at least out here in the blogosphere (and in Twitter), die-hard Mets fan, Mark Kaz and I have found common ground and friendship through our hobby. 

Mark sent a PWE to me way back in May, and I'm finally getting around to posting about it. In fact, I've got a few trades that have been waiting on the corner of my card table for me to scan and write about. 

I think I can speak for others when I say, if you've sent a PWE or package, rest assured I appreciate it and I'll eventually post about it. I apologize if it takes a bit longer than we both expected. 

Since it's Dodgers vs Mets week, I figger the best PWE to start off with is Mark's. Let's check out what he sent...

Mark sent along the last card I needed for my 1977 Topps Dodgers team set. Aside from some splotchy ink runs on the left, this card is a beauty. 

Poor ol' King here never got higher than AAA ball, but that's a lot further than me. 

Here's a guy who did punch his way out of the minors. After a long batting slump and an outfield collision with Yasiel Puig that nearly killed him, young Joc is finding his power swing again. 

Gimme Fernando. Gimme all yer Fernandos. Right now. 

You can barely see it on this scan, but EK's mouth is agape because he can't fathom what the heck he's doing superimposed on a cliffside trail (complete with wooden handrail) high above the California coastline. 

 Montas had a strange, short stint with the Dodgers that ended with a broken rib and him being traded to Oakland for Rich Blister-boy Hill. 

This is a beautiful, sparkly card of a guy who was a decent pitcher for the Dodgers, but was eventually traded away. He was also appreciated for the giggles that ensued when we referred to him as "Ball-slinger". 

 Now we're talking. Here's one of the greatest ball-slingers of them all. Can't have too many Koufax's. 

Or too many of this guy, who was a favorite on both my and Mark's teams...

Dig that California beach boy hair shining in the California sun. 

As Piazza reminds us, the LA/NY connections run deep, and no beef on the field will ever break those ties for us collectors. 

Aloha! 

When Cellophane Was King

Aloha, everybody, 

Here are some more goodies from my big box o' prizes that I scored from the Big Fun Game. Let's rip some packs (and a box)!

This was the first Victory pack I ripped. I was surprised to find said Victory cards and Upper Deck Choice cards in the same pack. Was that a usual thing? 

I'll bet it wasn;t usual to pull a Dodger from each of the brands...

The rack pack gave up a few cool cards. I don't remember Omar Vizquel playing for the Mariners. 

It's a couple more Dodgers! 

These packs are great for old school unis. From Score...

Yowza! Mike Scioscia in a rare batting photo...

Finally, a mixed batch from the 1987 Fleer League Leaders set. Check out Goose with the Roy Krok sleeve patch, Brett and Schmidtty in baby blue, and keeping my Dodgers streak alive, Bob Welch in the photo Fleer didn't even bother to center correctly. 

More cool packs and cards and stuff to come from my big prize box soon. 

Aloha!