Blog Bat - A- Round: 30 Teams, 30 Players (National League)

Aloha, everybody, 

Yesterday's post featured my American League picks for the 30 Teams, 30 Players Blog Bat - A- Round. 

Submitted for your approval, here are my National League picks. Let's check 'em out. 

Aloha! 

Blog Bat - A- Round: 30 Teams, 30 Players

Aloha, everybody, 

I love this Blog Bat -Around idea: 30 Teams, 30 Players. 

I read the original idea was to feature the first player who comes to mind for each team, but Fair Warning! 
I'm going to take that idea and riff offa that in my own way. 

Enjoy and Aloha! 

Blog Bat Around - All Autograph Team

Aloha, everybody, 

My buddy Zippy Zappy started a Blog Bat Around that consists of a team lineup that's made from autographs. It doesn't matter if the auto is on cardboard or any other memorabilia (like a signed Penguin lamp, for example), the only caveat is: the auto has to be in our possession. 

While it sounds like a fun idea, I thought for sure I didn't have enough autos to put together a nine-man lineup, including relief pitchers and PH/DHs. Once I got into my binders, I was surprised that I had just enough to field an auto-team alongside those you all are putting up. However, I did have to place one player out of position, and you'll see how that played out soon enough. 

Without further ado, I give you the ATBATT All-Auto All-Stars:

Batting leadoff, and playing second base: Maury Wills

Maury is third on this triple-autographed card I received through trade - the other two are Manny Mota and pitcher Claude Osteen. 

Batting second, and playing right field: Tony Gwynn. 

I got this Gwynn auto TTM. I originally had two, but traded one away. 

Batting third, and playing center field: The Duke of Flatbush

The Duke came to me through trade with mi hermano, JBF. 

Batting cleanup, the DH: Paul Molitor 

Molitor is a TTM auto. 

Batting fifth, in left field: The Straw (He's out of position, but I don't have any left fielder autos, and I figure Daryl can handle LF better than Gwynn) 

My only Strawberry auto came to me in trade. 

Batting sixth, and at third base: The Penguin

While I don't have an autographed lamp, this traded Cey will do. 

Batting seventh, the backstop: The Boomer

I got this Yeager auto (and another) in person at a local pizza place. The second auto I sent off to the guy with the Penguin lamp.

Batting eighth, and at shortstop: Alan Trammell

I got two Trammells TTM. One is traded away. 

Batting ninth, and at first base: Big Mo

Mo Vaughn is a TTM auto. Isn't this a great one? I dig the way Big Mo wrote his name on that monster arm. 

We'll close the starting nine with that awesome auto and save the pitching staff, PH, and also-rans for Part Two. Stay tuned. 

Aloha! 

It's a Blog Bat Around! What I Collect

Aloha, everybody, 

Everyone's favorite blogger - Sir Night Owl - cooked up an idea for a blog bat around, the theme being, "What I collect". 

This is a great idea for two big reasons: 

First, I want - I NEED to know - what all of you collect, because I'm frequently stuck with trying to figure out what to send to my collecting buddies who seem to already have everything, or I have very little of what I think they collect. 

A couple of examples would be Mark Hoyle (Red Sox) and Peter K Steinberg (Strawberry and Kruk). I even have trouble figuring out what to send fellow Dodgers collectors like Night Owl, who has literally, rooms full of Dodgers cards, and GCRL Jim, who probably has every Garvey, Cey, Russel and Lopes card ever produced. More insight on what I can send to all of you is greatly appreciated. 

Reason number two: I'm happy to share with all of you what I collect, because it seems over the last year or so, folks have forgotten I collect more than just Dodgers (although they are the main team I collect). 

In no particular order, here we go - I collect: 

                                  Primary Team: The Dodgers

Vintage Dodgers are the best. I will never have enough vintage Dodgers. From Brooklyn...

To the Boys from Chavez Ravine...

I have PCs of a few all-time favorite Dodgers. First and foremost is, of course, good ol' Jackie Robinson...

World Series Hero, Johnny Podres...

and Ron Cey...

Others are Mike Piazza, Hideo Nomo, Shawn Green, Sandy Koufax, Roy Campanella, and Cody Bellinger. 

Subsets

The Dodgers are obvious. I also chase various subsets. My favorites are the vintage Topps World Series subsets (none completed yet)...

I'm chasing a few more subsets, such as Baseball Thrills...

You can find more details on these chases in the link. 

I've also got a PC called "The Perfect Games Project". It's a chase of the batteries from every perfect game ever thrown. You can follow the link to see who I've got and who I need. 

Not Dodgers

Most of my trading partners these days might think I collect only Dodgers, but not so. I collect more than a few big-name and HOF players from the past. 

A few examples are Reggie Jackson, Yaz, Nolan Ryan, Johnny Bench, Clemente, Al Kaline, Stan the Man, Rickey Henderson, Mazeroski, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, etc. Pretty much, if the guy is in the HOF, I enjoy his cards. 

I also collect defunct teams, mostly the old Washington Senators. 

Other Sports 

I also collect football, but it's limited to the Raiders (Vintage Oakland and LA are both welcome) and the Rams - ONLY LA. I'm not interested in the Anaheim or St. Louis aberrations. 

My newest collection is in hockey. Thanks to Zippy Zappy, my L.A. Kings collection is off to a solid start, but I have no vintage purple and gold, pre-Gretzki, Kings cards. There's plenty of room for growth on this front. 

I hope that opened up a few more possibilities for anybody out there wondering what to send my way. I'm looking forward to know more about what you collect as well. Great idea, N.O.!

Aloha!