My Cardboard Lawyer Sent me Cards, but I Wish He'd Sent Advice

Aloha, everybody, 

Indulge me, please, while I cover two subjects in one post, and ask a "What would you do?" question at the end. 

First up, my cardboard lawyer, Tony from Off Hiatus, sent a fistful of 2018 Topps Dodgers to me. He's been sending team cards to a lot of us, and I'm lucky enough to have been included in his generosity. 

We'll check out my favorite cards individually, while I tell you about the collecting conundrum I found myself in at the card show yesterday. 

So I was perusing a box of cards at my favorite dealer's table yesterday, while a guy flipped through a binder beside me. He slelected his cards and asked about a Cal Ripken Jr. RC that was also in the binder. My ears perked up. A Ripken rookie card was one of the holy grails when I first got into the game, and I still don't have one. 

Joc Pederson hit a grand slam on Opening Day 2017, setting the pace for one of the greatest Dodgers seasons I've ever experienced. So glad they made that moment Joc's card. From the look on Joc's face, he was as surprised as any of us! 

So the dealer wanted $8 for the Ripken. I didn't get a close look at condition, but it looked pretty good from my spot. They both looked at it, and commented it was in pretty good shape. Another dealer who was there took a look and said it had a small crease, but it wasn't easy to see. 

I also dig this shot of my favorite Dodgers southpaw, Rich Hill. This shot really captured Hill's unique "leg sweep" finish. 

The guy was hem-hawing about the price, so the dealer dropped it to $6. Now I was definitely interested. The guy kept going back and forth, agonizing over buying the card. I told myself I wanted it if he walked away, but he wasn't exactly walking away. 

It took all my discipline to not butt into the conversation. I also didn't want to let on that I was interested, lest that drive the guy to buy it. 

The guy put the card back into the binder. I thought about jumping in, but some kinda cardboard etiquette kept me from bulling in. 

The guy took out his wallet. He counted his money and sloooowly put the money and wallet away. Again I wondered if I should jump in. I didn't. 

Love this awesome Alex Wood throwback card. 

The guy finally walked away. I thought, "Here I go." No more than three steps away, the guy turned back to the table and the binder. Should I have jumped in and said something? 

Here are some horizontals...

The guy looked at the card and his money again. Finally he committed and took the card. 

The dealer later told me I should have jumped in when he first put it down, and maybe I should have - but I just didn't feel right crashing in while the guy obviously wanted the card and he was there first. 

For all I know, I would have inspected the card and scoffed at the price myself, which was another reason I didn't just jump and say "I'll take it!" 

That said, it seemed like a good price for a card that I see from time to time and is almost always overpriced for the condition. So I kinda feel like this was the Ripken RC that got away. 

What would you all have done? (Thanks for the great team cards, Tony. I needed you at my side to advise me on that situation) 

Aloha! 

Card Show Loot Part 2 - The Vintage Goodies

Aloha, everybody, 

Here's Part Two of the cool cardboard I picked up last week at the card show. Let's go! 

This time my vintage dealer had a few cards that got me closer to completing my World Series subset chases. The cards were a bit chewy, but they were priced right, at a quarter or fifty cents.  Believe it or not, these are my first cards from the subsets. 

First from the '70 series...

My first card from the 1974 World Series.

That's Boomer behind the plate. I need another copy of this for an auto. 

Chalk up my first from the 1960 series also. 

This card brings me to the "almost done" point for the '71 series. I just need one more: #226 World Series Game 4.

Next up is a card I hadda have. 
Reason 1: This fits my defunct teams collection.
Reason 2: Every collection should contain a guy named Rocky. 
Reason 3: "Old friend" status. Rocky began his career as a Brooklyn Dodger. 
Reason 4: How about that jaw fulla chaw? 

Finally, I can't pass up a bargain Hall of Famer, so ol' Bob Gibson jumped right into my hands and my collection. 

Aloha! 

Card Show Haul

Aloha, everybody, 

Everyone loves personal time. Personal time plus spending money is even better. When this combination falls my way, I love to hop in the car and drive out to the Saturday card show. I was lucky enough to do that a couple of times last month, and I'd like to show some of the cards I came upon while I was out. 

Leading off is a quick pick up of my favorite dual sport athlete. Step aside, Tim Tebow...

 Back in the 90s, when Donruss used to be able to show logos, they were my favorite brand. One reason was their inserts. I loved chasing - and catching those inserts. One of my favorites was Press Proofs. 

While browsing the dealer boxes I came upon this Press Proof, numbered 64/199. I picked it up with Matt in mind, but if Matt doesn't want/need it, I'll be happy to pass it on to someone else, or add it to my (very small) press proof collection...

Here's a new addition to my defunct teams collection. This comes from a 1962 oddball release...

I tried to come up with a "shadow shot" interpretation for the card, but I only drew a blank. I suppose I would fail a psychiatrist's ink blot test as well. 

Coming up is one that I've seen around and been chasing for a while. Finally, I've got my own copy of the Flying Spikes card...

These next two will notch two more off my vintage Dodgers team sets. First up from 1958 Topps is Don Bessent. I can't believe I'm down to 11 needed for this year...

I've still got a long way to go for 1959, but Mr. Kipp chips one more away. 

Check out his signature. It reminds me of my father's autograph. My father was a southpaw that the army forced to be a right-hander. He always signed like that afterward...

I don't usually pick up Fleer from this era, but I hadda have this one for a lotta reasons...

Sure, it's a little chewy, but what vintage lover would not love this Zinzinatti vintage? From 1960 Topps...

 Here are a couple more Dodgers for the team sets...

These are for my World Series subsets, and I'm now just two cards shy of completion for the 1971 WS...

Finally, this guy...

I couldn't resist those glasses, and he fits right into my Defunct Teams collection, so I snatched it up. 

I also picked up some surprises for a couple of my trade partners, but they're surprises, so you won't see them today. 

Enjoy your weekends, everybody, wherever you may be. 

Aloha! 

I Went To A Card Show & A Trade Fest Broke Out

Hey everybody,

(The below post was written last night and finished too late to post...but here it is in its original form.) 

LtoR: Ernest, Zawkin, StealingHome, Spiegel

 Today's post about the card show out in Culver City is going up a bit late because I went to the card show with a friend.  After the show we hopped over to Santa Monica and I just got home.

What a cool card show it was!  It was held in a city auditorium...

 You can read Spiegel's review of the show as a dealer  here.

Here's our dealer hero now!

 I left before the end of the show, so I don't know if Spiegel was able to sell off all the rest of this below, but he did tell me he had already made back his table fee and every sale from there on was Champagne Money! Woo-Hoo!

As Spiegel mentioned, it was more than a card show, because it was a great chance for several Dodger bloggers to get together, talk cards and get a couple of trades going.

It was extra cool for me because even though I have been blogging for a little more than a year now, I'm still a relative newbie when it comes to meeting up with my fellow Dodger bloggers. As a matter of fact, I'm such a newb that I met Ernest from Dodgers Blue Heaven today and I thought I had simply met a cool guy.

Ernest, I apologize I didn't make the connection that you're the guy behind that great resource blog of all things Dodger Blue.  I'm looking forward to the next time we meet and talking a bit more.

How about a couple more shots from the show...

It wasn't a huge card show, but vintage was well represented.

Speaking of vintage, there were some very cool old-time bats here. Zawkin said he held Hack Wilson's bat.

 My friend who joined me at the show today doesn't know much about baseball, but this guy was definitely a familiar face...

 Did I mention some trades took place?  First up was a card exchange between Spiegel and myself.  He gave me a great stack of cards; here are just a few highlights...

Above is a very cool -and new for me - shiny card honoring the best third baseman the Dodgers have had in a decade.  A DECADE !  Do you hear me, Ned Colletti????

THIS was the best card of the trade for me.  My first card of the Dodgers new K-Kid. 

How about this one? Dodger pitcher relics are cool, but I really appreciate a bat relic from a pitcher.  Nice one, Michael.

 There was also a quickie trade between Zawkin, from the great blog,  Plashke, Thy Sweater Is Argyle and myself.  First of all, I've gotta say the only thing I expected to get was the cold shoulder because of the way I've chewed up Zawkin's favorite player, Matt Bison Kemp here at ATBATT in the past.

Well, because Zawkin's cool like that, he dropped a very nice card on me...

  

I now have my very own Mickey Hatcher autograph.  A-way back in March, Zawkin posted about a trade that netted him the above Hatcher card, and I commented that I've gotta get one of my own.  Zawkin is such an awesome dude that today he gave me THAT very card because as he said, he knew, "I liked it"!  Zawkin, THANKS, man.

Most of you non-Dodger fans are probably thinking who-the-heck is Mickey Hatcher?  Some of you probably know him as the dude with the giant baseball mitt from his '86 Fleer and '91 Upper Deck cards, or as the former batting coach for Mike Scioscia's Angels.

Mickey is much more than that.  To me, Hatch is the unsung hero of the 1988 World Series.  Everybody remembers Kirk Gibson's 9th inning heroics from Game 1, but that never woulda had a chance to happen if it wasn't for Hatcher's 1st inning, 2-run HR off of A's ace, Dave Stewart.  Hatcher and Gibson's homers were the only ones for the Dodgers that night.

That wasn't all for Hatcher.  After Gibby knocked out that legendary HR, he never appeared in the series again.  Who replaced him?  Yup, Mickey Hatcher.   He provided a great spark of enthusiasm and fire for that Dodgers team that ran hard on Tommy Lasorda's unique brand of baseball spark.

Nobody hit another home run for the Dodgers in that series again until Game 5.  Like he was placing bookends on the WS, once again Hatcher stepped up and blasted a 2-run HR in the 1st inning to help lead the Dodgers to win that 5th and final game of the series.

After hitting only 1 homer all season, Hatcher replaced Gibson in the freakin' World Series, no less, and went on to bat .368 with 2 homers and 5 RBI's. When Baseball's Spotlight shone the brightest and hottest, Hatch delivered and he truly became a World Series hero.

Oh yeah, there was a card show today, which means I also bought a few cards.  That post is yet to come.

What was the secret joke that made us all laugh in this shot?

THANKS for reading everybody!