Social Distancing Diary ~ With Baseball Cards #6

Aloha, everybody, 

Today we check out some custom cards made by the very talented Baseball Card Breakdown, and we see the first of many Dodgers autographs to come. 

Enjoy and aloha! 

Opening Packages from Bob Walk the Plank & Baseball Card Breakdown

Aloha, everybody,

I recently received a package from retired blogger Matt, from Bob Walk the Plank fame, and a PWE from still going strong, Gavin, representing Baseball Card Breakdown. There certainly was no breakdown in the quality of cardboard within both.

Check out this video as I receive my first uniform swatch with a chunk of jersey number and a verrrrrry sweet, very rare custom from Gavin. Enjoy!

Well, It's Been a Long Time...

Aloha, everybody, 

My friend and long-tiime trading partner, Gavin, from the fantastic blog Baseball Card Breakdown, and I had a potential trade percolating. It was just waiting for the right final pieces to fall into place. 

That happened when I won a bronze replica of Roberto Alomar's RC. It's a cool enough piece, but it fit better into Gavin's collection than mine, so a trade was born. 

Let's check out what Gav sent over to me. Leading off are a cool couple of customs from Gavin's workshop: 

 Of course, blame my lousy scanning skills for the cut off card. Than ignore that, and revel in the goodness that is two of the game's young superstars together on one card. Bonus: reading left to right, Bellinger is first! :) 

Next up is Belli going solo in old school Upper Deck style: 

Well-chosen photos of Cody adorn both sides of the card. I love seeing hard-luck story, Andrew Toles there in the dugout. Injury ruined Tolesy's 2017 season before it could begin, but I'm looking forward to him returning in 2018. 

Great customs! Here come the cards the original trade was built around. Vintage is the watchword here. 

My first RC from the famed Dodgers infield of the 70's. Welcome, Mr. Lopes. It seems I have a new project. Now I have to rope in 1970 Bill Russell, 1971 Steve Garvey and the Penguin's RC from '72 Topps.  

At least I can be satisfied for now with this 1971 Lou Brock...

...and a foldable 1971 Richie Allen with a vintage Dodger Stadium backdrop...

Sweet stuff from down south Gavin. THANKS for the trade, buddy! BTW, I noticed you put up some trade bait from the Legends of New York set. I'm down for those. If nobody has claimed them yet, set them aside for lil' ol' me, and let's get our next trade piles started! 

I have an honorable mention: Recently, mi hermano Wes, sent a surprise package out to me. Trouble is, I sorted those cards into my general card population before I scanned them. Thought I scanned 'em, but I didn't. 

Unfortunately, it's going to take some detective (and de-sorting) work before I can figure out what all cards came from where. So I just want to send a shout out to Wes and say THANKS!, but it may take a while before that post can go up. My bad - and I feel appropriately bad. 

Life goes on. Aloha! 

Custom Rip Cards? Numbered /25? HOF Inserts? Merry Cardmas, Baby!

Aloha, everybody, 

You may recall my earlier post about the Christmas package I received from custom-card artist, Gavin @ Baseball Card Breakdown. 

Included in that package was a custom ripcard which I decided to not open until Christmas. 

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Lots of you have probably seen what Gavin put inside these ripcards, as they've been showing up in posts around the blogosphere. 

You've also probably seen the various methods bloggers have been using to open the cards. Some were methodical and careful, while others took great joy in ripping it up. I saw one that looked as though the blogger inserted tiny charges of dynamite and blew open the top of the card. 

I chose the careful route, as I wanted to be able to keep it in pristine condition (as much as that was possible) for binder display.

My method was to use an exacto knife to cut around three sides and create a door or hatch that I could carefully lift open to reveal the payoff hiding inside. 

Here's the cut open card...

I knew from reading other blogs that other ripcards contained custom mini-magnets, so I figured mine would as well. For extra coolness, G customized the magnets to fit each blogger's collection. For example, Night Owl received a Ron Cey magnet, so I was in suspense about what Dodger legend would be uncovered in my ripcard. 

Gavin mentioned to me in a Twitter conversation that mine was one of his favorite creations. The wait till Christmas was rewarded...

Out popped the patron saint of ATBATT, none other than ol' number 42 himself. Just how badass is that!?!? 

Thanks so much for including me in the ripcard project, Gavin. You hit it out of the park with your selection and the work itself. Absolutely awesome. 

This magnet gift reminded me of a guy who custom-made magnets back in the day over at the legendary Frank and Sons card show out here. I made a small collection of some of his customs, and Gavin's work is now sitting in a place of honor alongside them on my fridge. 

I'll be showing that magnet collection in a future post, so stay tuned. Until then, here's a preview...

Aloha! 

Yes Virginia, There is a Customs Cardboard Santa

Aloha, everybody, 

Most of you know that Gavin from Baseball Card Breakdown creates awesome custom cards, and it was my pleasure to receive a Christmas blast of his cardboard art. 

If you don't know Gavin's site, make sure to bookmark it and visit often because he's one of the coolest guys in our community. He's a straight up guy who isn't afraid to speak his mind, and he loves the right bands. Sometimes he confuses the order between the Stones and the Beatles, but nobody's perfect. I'm happy to say, although we haven't met in real life yet, I consider him to be a true friend.  

I hear you out there. Enough with the Brotherhood of Cardboard sappiness. Let's get to the cards!! C'mon, yo! Gimme a break. It's Christmas - and besides, Gavin definitely rocked the part of Custom Cardboard Santa this year. 

These cards are so righteous, I don't even know which is my favorite yet, so in no particular order (but leading off with a snow flurry of cold blooded baseball rivalry)...

How awesome is this card immortalizing this infamous face off between LA and SF? 

"Bring it!", said Yasiel. Gavin brung it. 

Bumgarner says, "Don't look at me." Sorry, bum. I can't stop looking at this awesome Rowdy Rivals card. 

Next up is the greatest baseball announcer of all time...

G sent me a mini Scully custom before like the one above, but that one was masterfully aged to give the impression it was truly an old card. Now I have a gem mint 10 version (maybe 9.8). Either way, it's Merry Christmas to me! 

You want more Scully? How about Vinny in the style of Upper Deck?

Heya, Red! 

On the rear, a great shot of the master in his office...

The caption quotes Vinny's farewell speech to the fans. Priceless art, folks. 

The following cards were almost a letdown because they were "just" normal cards. 

Of course, they're not really letdowns, because ya gotta love DOdgers on playing cards, and they're new to my collection. 

Back to the snowstorm of Dodgers greatness...

What's a cardboard stocking stuffer without an autograph? 

Pena was a light hitting backup catcher who double-dipped with the Dodgers. I suppose he was a nice enough guy, but that and a bat with holes in it won't get you very far in the bigs. 

At least the kid's got an autograph I can read. I'll take it! 

Finally... the big, secret gift that I wanna shake to see what's inside...

A Tony Gwynn Holiday Blast Rip Card! Holy red-nosed reinderrs, Batman! That shite is cool! 

I messaged Gavin today on Twitter and told him I wasn't sure if I should open it. Part of me wanted to keep the card in pristine condition. 

Gavin's response? "Rip it" 

And so I will. As Devo advised us, I'm gonna rip it good. But not yet. 

It's a Holiday Blast card. It's numbered to 25, for the 25th. So I'm going to keep this baby on ice until Christmas day. 

Tune in after Christmas to see what was waiting inside. 

*Shake, shake,shake* 

THANKS for the holiday cards, Gavin. They are truly a blast. 

Aloha! 

Is your Cardboard World Customized?

Aloha, everybody, 

Are you familiar with King of all Customs, Gavin from Baseball Card Breakdown? If you don't know his blog and his work, you should. Homeboy knows his way around customs, I'll tell you that.  

Some custom card makers are content to whip up a few wacky pieces here and there, but Gavin is constantly honing his craft, perfecting his artwork, and expanding the medium. 

His latest project has been creating customs with the end goal of having them autographed. He's been having some measure of success, and I'm very happy to have a couple of his most recent works of cardboard art in my collection. 

Aint this a beauty? G tells us the story of this card here. 

The photo is taken from the Penguin's monster home run in Game 3 of the 1981 World Series. The semi-blurred flash of a magical moment in time is forever captured in the imagery. The perspective could not be more perfect than this one - showcasing the classic outfield pavilions and the old-time Dodgers DiamondVision scoreboard. 

Here's the backside...
 

 Gavin made three of these babies:

1. Mandated for King of all Bloggers, Sir Night Owl
2. A keeper for himself, and 
3. One up for trade. 

BAMMM!!!!! I jumped hard.

It's well known blogosphere lore that Night Owl's favorite Dodger is Ron Cey. I figure few beyond my loyalest readers know the Penguin is my all-time Dodgers favorite as well. 

Strange thing is, in all of my collecting travels, I have never acquired a Ron Cey autograph. I've run across him a couple of times at Dodger Stadium, and was unfortunately unprepared to get an auto both times. So I wanted that card.

(Aside for GCRL Jim: Gavin mentioned to me that he hoped this Cey card would inspire a trade between the two of you. So heads up, Jim, Gavin's interested in trading.) 

When Gavin sent a Cey card off to Night Owl, he included a second Dodgers-related custom card, a faux vintage Vin Scully. Guess what Gavin added to our trade? 

BLAMMO!!!! My very own vintage Scully! 

Just as important to my Dodgers experience - in fact, more so than that of Ron Cey - is my "relationship" to Vin Scully. I doubt fans from other cities can fathom how a fan can feel connected to a baseball announcer like Dodger fans do to Vin Scully. It's surreal. I'll have to drop a blog post about that one day. 

Today, however, is about Gavin's art. This card feels like authentic vintage. It's complete with bends, soft corners, the right patina, and again, the perfect photograph. 
 

When I was an artist back in the day (I'm a painter), I used to make fun of how overused the word "visceral" is in the art world. This time the word fits. 

Gavin had produced a Scully custom before, and having now received this new one, I'm seizing upon the opportunity to riff off of an idea that Night Owl had, which he called Start to Finish.  

In Start to Finish one compares a players first card issue with his last. Let's use the Scully customs and see how that plays out...

The vintage Scully shows us the young redhead in a humble radio booth in long-gone Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, NY. The enjoyment and excitement he finds in his work is evident in young Scully's face. 

The other card is an 88 year-old Scully at the end of his career, solidly established at the summit of the baseball broadcasting world. 

He's still thin, now sporting a World Series championship ring, and  displaying that ever-present Hollywood smile and his trademark shock of red hair. 

From a small broadcast booth to the diamond of Chavez Ravine, Vin Scully absolutely rules on (custom) cardboard. 

And a Ron Cey autograph aint too shabby, either. 

 

Aloha! 

What Better On a Cold Winter's Night Than A Custom Penguin (and friends)?

Aloha, everybody,

Big Gavin from Baseball Card Breakdown recently burned the midnight oil and created yet even more custom cards that have been falling like cardboard snow all around the cardsphere.

Recently the venerable Night Owl showed off the Ron Cey contribution to the Cardsphere Heroes checklist, and I'm proud to say that Gavin sent over a unique 1/1 custom of the Penguin to me as well...

G chose well in his selection of photos as his custom features a 26 year-old Cey sliding into third against Willie Stargell's Pirates in the 1974 NLCS. 

What a series it was. It was the first year The Infield (Cey, Garvey, Lopes and Russell) played together for the Dodgers, and a young Dave Parker was just breaking into the Pirates' lineup. 

For everybody who thinks it's not kosher, or wise, for a team to talk trash before a championship series, check out what bad-ass Dodgers catcher Joe Ferguson said about the Dodgers before the series began:

 "We should be favored," Ferguson told UPI. "We've got the best record - and the best team - in baseball." 

How's that for confidence? In case your curious, the Penguin hit a double and a homer in Game 2, and Pops hit a 3-run bomb in Game 3 for the Pirates. The Dodgers took the series in four games. 

The Dodgers talked smack before the series, and afterward, the Pirates put a realistic take on things when Al Oliver said:

"They outhit us, out-pitched us and just outplayed us, all the way around. They deserve to go to the World Seres."

 Back to custom awesomeness. Here's a look at the rear of the card... 

Another great batting shot, name-dropping writeup, unique BCB Star of Authentication, and serially numbered 1/1. Yoda himself would say, "A work of art, this is."

G wasn't finished, as he sent along a fistful of other Dodgers and customs with this one. 

He included a couple of prospects - a pitcher and a hitter...

 After six years Jon hasn't really broken out of the minors for any longer than a couple of cups of coffee. The last we heard, he was released by the Tulsa Drillers this past May. Good luck Jon, wherever you are. 

 Cash was a second-round pick in 2010 and put up pretty good numbers for AA Tulsa this past season. Good luck as well, Ralston. Too bad you were born too late to cash in on being given the perfect name for a silent movies cowboy star. 

Shawn Green, however, was born at the perfect time to be featured on plenty of slick and shiny cards from the 90's. 

Green has one of the prettiest (but devastating) swings I've ever seen. Almost every card he appears on shows him at the plate, so it's good to see him doing other baseball-type activities. 

Gavin knows I love dem Bums from Brooklyn, so he included a couple of Roy Campanella tribute cards... 

 This is from the 1979 TCMA Baseball History set. Seeing Campy here in a not-so-common color photo, I can't shake the feeling his rust-colored shin guards look too much like Giants' orange.

Here's a shiny mirror card that at first glance looks like those Denny's 3-D cards. It's not 3-D, but still packs a cool depth perception trick...

The back tells us it had a (kinda) limited run of 100,000. Mine is respectably numbered in the six thousands. 


Gavin had previously created and sent out customs based on The Sandlot, but I wasn't lucky enough to get in on that mailing the first time around. This time G included a couple in this envelope, and I'm very glad he did. 

 Every Mexican-American kid (and kid at heart) who saw The Sandlot saw himself as Benny the Jet, the local kid who grows up to realize a dream and play for the Dodgers. This card is perfect - from the Jet's ever-lovin' smile, to the fitting 1972 Topps design, to the genius cardback, complete with appropriate cartoon.

All of that said, any custom artist worth his cardboard can choose sports imagery, but in the Sandlot series G makes his own mark by branching outside of the chalklines. 

Ladies and gentlemen, presenting Miss Wendy Peffercorn (who briefly lived with Benny the Jet during his minor league stint in Bakersfield) ...

THANKS for the great cards, G, and the fantastic customs. 

Aloha!









  

 

The Curse Of The Billy Goat Finally Gets A Baseball Card

Aloha everybody, 

Welcome to the final post presenting the fantastic package of winnings that Gavin from Baseball Card Breakdown sent out to me when I took second place in his fun World Series contest. 

Gavin packed so much cardboard into my winnings package that it was going to take more than one post to cover everything. Since the actual World Series took five games to complete, I broke up the presentation of my prize into a series of five posts. 

This is the final, the shortest, and perhaps the best post of them all, because now I can show off the awesome custom cards that Gavin crafted.

First up is the custom that I requested. In my cardboard travels, I've seen plenty of cards covering lots of wacky happenings from the world of baseball, but one thing I haven't seen is a card commemorating the legendary Billy Goat's Curse which has kept the Chicago Cubs out of the World Series since 1945. 

Presenting, in the style of the Topps Kmart Memorable Moments set from 1988: The custom Curse of the Billy Goat card...

Cardboard awesomeness!

 And the back...

Better still, that card was not the only custom I received from G. He dropped in a surprise custom for me, which was so good, I didn't even peg it as a custom until I was sorting the cards for my binders a couple of weeks later...
 

One reason I didn't realize it wasn't an original is because I took it for granted that of course Topps would honor the venerable Vin Scully on a baseball card. 

Gavin chose the perfect photo and created something that could stand up to anything the Topps crew would come up with.  

THANKS for that great prize package you sent to me, G. Much appreciated, and it was a heckuvalot of fun. 

Aloha!