It Was No Secret; Santa Knew Just What I Wanted

Aloha, everybody, 

As many of you know, good ol' Matt, from Bob Walk the Plank, ran his annual Secret Santa campaign this Christmas season. 

One of the bonus perks from joining in is being introduced to a new blog, and the possibility of a new trade partner - and what collector doesn't want that? I decided to play, and boy, am I glad I did. 

 My Secret Santa really came through in the clutch. Greg (from The Collective Mind) could have purchased a quick autograph card and shipped it off to me (which would have been perfectly fine), but he went the extra step. 

Greg got down and dirty. He dug into my Dodgers wantlists and checked off a big chunk of cards that I'm actively chasing. Let's check out what he sent my way. Leading off is a wonderful World Series card from the1960 Topps World Series subset: 

I collect these vintage WS subsets, and they just don't show up very often, so this is a MAJOR addition to my collection. That's Luis Aparicio taking the bag, BTW. 

Here's a whoooole lotta Dodgers from across the 70's to check off my wantlists...

Just like Sir Night Owl, Ron Cey is my favorite childhood Dodger, and these two cards are great additions: 

We're not done with vintage Dodgers. Not at all. Santa Greg knows how to rock a Christmas tree. This next guy needs no introduction...

Ladies and gents, World Series Hero, Johnny Podres...

You know Dodgers vintage aint really vintage unless you're flashing some Brooklyn. So here ya go, from 1957 Topps...

Then, as a Dodger blue cherry on top, Greg picked off my most wanted 2017 Topps card, the Dodgers paying tribute to Vin Scully...

THANKS so much, Greg! I look forward to twas a Merry Christmas, after all. 

Aloha! 

Deck the Halls With Cards from TTM

Aloha, everybody, 

It's the most wonderful time of the year. 
Secret Santa gifts are dropping all around the blogosphere. 
Aint nothing in the world like cardboard cheer. 

Oh look! What have we here? 

Not quite a new car, but it sure beats socks. 
It's a Tommy Lasorda card. 
Here's Clayton Kershaw and Greg Brock. 

I'm wishing all of my readers, traders and friends,
A Merry, Merry Christmas
May all of your 2018 cards arrive without bends. 

Ha! How's that for a Christmas poem? If that didn't get things going, maybe these great cards that I received from one of the greatest traders out there, Paul, from Paul's TTM Autograph Blog. 

Paul hit me with a couple of fantastic batches of cards last month. Here's a quick recap from one of them:

Let's begin with a very cool die-cut featuring World Series hero. Joc Pederson, when he first broke into the bigs...

Paul also brought the vintage and chipped at my team set needs...

Here's one that Zippy Zappy might like as well...

A beautiful Nomo...

More vintage and team set needs...

Add caption

 I NEVER see these '59 WS cards at the show. Good ol' Paul came through big time with this one for my WS checklist...

Paul also included a sombrero full of Fernandos! 

These next couple are very simple cards, and simply beautiful...

A classic shot of the Bulldog peering in to get the sign...

Sure, everybody raves about Kershaw, but these two southpaws kept the Dodgers chugging through the season when Kersh was out with an injury, and they did not fold up in the World Series. 

Dave Roberts' ridiculous robotic reliance on the stats that insisted on pulling pitchers after going twice through the opposing lineup cost the Dodgers dearly - and fatally - when he pulled them despite their mowing down the Astros. *sigh*  

Here are a few more multiples of my favorite past Dodgers...

We'll close out with this ice-blue beauty. Pee Wee Reese, Topps Sterling, numbered 90/250...

Hearty THANKS for the awesome cards, my friend!  My humble collection is in a better place because of your generosity. 

Merry Aloha Christmas, everybody! 

Cardboard Santa Has Lifted Off

Aloha, everybody, 

Operation Cardboard Christmas is in full effect. 

You are all big boys and girls. You know Santa doesn't really use a sleigh anymore. This is the 21st century! Santa drops all his cardboard gifts off at the post office, and that's exactly what happened this afternoon. 

The first batch of PWEs and packages went out last week, and from Mark H.'s tweet this afternoon, I gather they have started arriving at doorsteps. 

Today was the drop off for the last batch. Check the zip codes below to see if you have something coming your way. 

A quick note for my fellow Dodger collectors: Don't fret if you don't see your zip code in this post. I've been sorting a whoooooole lotta Dodgers cards, and I haven't made your packages yet. I may miss the Christmas deadline (sorry bout that), but rest assured, there are goodies coming your way soon. 

One last note...The first zip is for Canada. It's the Secret Santa gift from Bob Walk the Plank's Secret Santa game. Every year I play, I get someone in Canada. Go figure. lol...

Aloha! 

It's not Summer, Nor is it '74. Still, These Cards are Awesome

Aloha, everybody, 

Next in the "catch up on trade posts" series, is a fistful of cards from my friend, Matthew (Summer of '74). Let's check 'em out...

I've long loved these SP die-cuts. This is a new one for my Piazza collection. Classic pose of the mighty Piazza ready to strike...

Speaking of new additions. Bat Patrol insert. Piazza in the friendly confines...

More Piazza cardboard goodness. This time, decked out in the tools of ignorance (Leaf Limited Gold parallel) 

How about a back side photo with the evil Barry Bonds...

It wasn't all Piazza, all the time. Matthew also brought the Mondesi...

This next one. This was the card that sparked everything. Summer of '74 featured Leaf Limited Lumberjacks inserts (numbered to 5000) of Piazza and Mondesi. I remember buying plenty of packs and never pulling a Dodger Lumberjack back in the day. 

Matthew mentioned in his post the Piazza was spoken for, so I jumped hard on the Raaaauuuuuulllll...

That was the card I coveted. Generous Matthew didn't stop there. He included a whole buncha Mike and Raul's friends from 1995 SP Leaf Limited, and Sportsflics...

More great Piazza cards and bonus: Hideo Nomo...

THANKS for the great cards, Matthew! Happy Sunday, everyone. 

Aloha! 

Here's a TRADE that's SPOT on

Aloha, everybody, 

Rest assured, readers and trade partners, ATBATT may run a bit slow at times, but I'll always get around to posting about the great cards you've sent my way. Scanning is finished, but my appreciation is still running high up to the Dodger blue sky. 

It's time for me get caught up and show off what's been added to my collection over the past couple of months. In no particular order, let's get things started with some police sets from Johnny's Trading Spot. 

John went into the time machine and pulled out some giveaways from waaaaaay back...

These cards are from the '89 set. There are only a couple, but this one's a doozy, featuring the World Series trophy. 

Jay Johnston (below) is still around. I saw him a few months back - and snagged his autograph - at the induction ceremony for the Shrine of the Eternals. He's still full of jokes and a generous attitude...

Here's a great overheaad shot. If you squint, you can see where I was born - just to the left of the downtown LA skyline. 

Just like Cheech sang back in the day, I was "Born in East LA!" 

The big bulk of John's package was this fistful of cards from the 1983 set. Let's take a trip  down memory lane and spot some of the stars and scrubs from the squad who won 91 games, but came up short of the World Series. They lost to the Phillies in the NLCS...

There are former World Series heroes Pedro Gurerro and Bobby Welch. I was a big Derrel Thomas fan back then. Jose Morales and Pat Zachry, not so much. 

Above are backstops Boomer Yeager and the Rock, Mike Scioscia, and present-day player's agent, Dave Stewart. 

There's Steve Howe, who was gone too young, and Tom Neidenfuer, who's fateful playoffs pitch to Jack Clark put him into the Dodgers Hall of Infamy. 

This last group is mostly scrubs, with the exceptions of  Dodgers legend, Rick Monday, and pretty good shortstop, but lousy manager, Bill Russell. 

THANKS for the great - and not often seen - cards, John! 

Aloha! 

Operation Cardboard Christmas

Aloha, everybody, 


It's that time of year again. Time for my humble little blog to make a cardboard snowstorm for Christmas. 

This shoebox is stuffed like Santa's sleigh! 

This is my third annual giveback to you, my readers, trade partners and friends for making this card collecting hobby 100 times more fun than it could ever be without you. 

I'm also happy to announce that despite a low budget (once again lol), this year's cardboard snowstorm will be the biggest yet, with the most packages and PWEs I've sent to date. 

I'm happy to spread a little cardboard love around the blogosphere. If you're on my nice list (of past trading partners), chances are, something is coming your way. Heck, there's even a couple of things going out to blogs that went dark this year and before. 

It will take about three mailings for me to get everything out, and here are the zip codes for the first batch, which went out this afternoon: 

07066
61615
80020
10707
02766
38583
06457
19390
31602
71857
07044
60445 

Aloha! 

So the Dodgers Passed on Giancarlo Stanton...

Aloha, everybody, 

Sure it's a bit late, especially on the east coast, where Giancarlo Stanton will apparently stay for the next decade. 

But it's not too late here on the western side of the country, where the wildfires are keeping us awake. 

I launched a quickie YouTube video with my thoughts on the Giancarlo Stanton/ Dodgers affair, and for good measure, I tossed in a beer review. It's IPA from Mad River Brewing, out of Humbold County, very northern California. 

Watch and enjoy, please. Don't forget to "Like" the video (if you happen to). Thanks and aloha! 

Wes' Big ol' Cube - The Finale

Aloha, everybody, 

I hope you're all doing fine out there. I had a wonderful getaway to Laughlin, Nevada this past weekend. If you're unfamiliar, Laughlin is kinda like a VERY much slower and smaller Las Vegas. It's located along the shores of the Colorado River, with Arizona sitting on the other side. 

I needed to decompress from daily life and crazy politics on my mind, so Laughlin really hit the spot. Now that I'm back, let's get this part of daily life back on the burner and roll out the final highlights from the cube o' cards that mi hermano, Wes, sent out to me. 

We'll lead off with some cool vintage 1975 Topps that also filled in slots from my Dodgers team checklists...

Above is Boomer rockin' the 70' sideburns, and below is the greatest pinch hitter ever. 

Mota's beautiful card features the bonus of the Dodger Stadium pavilion with the old school scoreboard and paint scheme, and the famous palm trees, that Vin Scully dubbed "The Three Sisters". 

Speaking of beautiful cards: We get World Series Hero, Joe Ferguson, Hall of Fame skipper, Walter Alston, and a slew of Dodgers in the background...

For years I had only the mini version of this Mike Marshall card. Thanks to Wes, I now have its big brother. 

How about that? Two Hall of Famers on one card...

Here's Tommy John wearing his cap like the Sears photographer plopped it on him at the last second...

No, Marshall is not flinging a "poop ball special". Those brown things are small tears on the card surface. 

Here comes a nice surprise: A fistful of 1986 Oh-Pee-Chee Dodgers...

Gotta love that spelling on VandeBERG. The Dodgers have 22 of these, so Wes has given me a good head start on the team set. 

BTW, the cards look just like they came out of a pack last week. 

More newish-looking cards from 1987 Leaf...

I've never even seen variations like these before. The card backs feature text in English and French. Very cool. 

That finishes off the cube. As always, another fun pummeling from good ol' Wes. I'm still putting together my return salvo, so keep your helmet on, hermano. Fire directed at you coming soon! 

Aloha!