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! 

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! 

Made a Target Run, Voted for More Cards!

Aloha, everybody, 

I made a quick dash to Target, so that also meant a quick dash to the cards aisle to see what I could see. This made my collector senses tingle...

I hadn't seen one of these before. The windows on the front and rear of the box showed packs of 2016 Gypsy Queen and Babe Ruth Collection were two of the four packs. Not a bad start. 

I was prepared for the 50 cards to be the usual repack suspects and wondered about that "bonus". The box didn't say "bonus autograph" or "game-used swatch" or anything like that, so I was curious about what their idea of a bonus was. That was enough for me. SOLD! 

Let's check out what I got. Leading off are those 50 repack cards...

At least I got one new Dodgers card. Stirrups! 

Thin Tony Gwynn! That'll work...

How about a member of the Big Red Machine? I'll take one of these all day long. 

Stirrups n' dust. That's much better than that strange vape smoke Topps used to obscure the 2016 product. 

As far as containing legitimate names out of the past, this little box delivered better than I expected. Here's Fergie Jenkins. 

Cubs fans...is this his final Topps issue? 

This slice of cardboard pops on a variety of levels - action photo, well-utilized horizontal space, smart use and placement of text, and a slick, shiny surface...

I got five cards from Topps Finest. Nice cards, boring players...

 Another handsome card of someone I don't collect. Hope you like Aramis, Matt. 

 While I know I'm not going to pull a Johnny Bench RC from these repacks, I'm not sure a lousy checklist from a lousy set should count against my 50 cards. 

This guy's card came in its own penny sleeve, like someone really cared about Abbott's chances in the bigs. 

In 1992 Abbott led the league! In home runs allowed, wild pitches, and losses. Ouch! 

Back to cool cards with cool players...

Finally, Ichiro!

Not a bad haul from the fifty. But stay tuned, because that's not all that was in my Target box. 

Next time: The four packs and a bonus. Aloha! 

A Humble Tony Gwynn Story For A Sunday

I'm far from a San Diego Padres fan, but I'm most definitely a Tony Gwynn fan. 

I grew up watching Gwynn compete against my Dodger heroes.  I respected him as a player, and I recall he played very well in his only shots at World Series titles. I thoroughly remember when all of baseball watched his batting average as he flirted with hitting .400.

In the days since Tony's passing, I've read and heard numerous stories about Tony Gwynn being a kind, personable and all-around nice guy. I'd like to now add my small testimony to that fact. 

I actually have one and "a half" stories attesting to Tony's great attitude toward us, the fans. The half story is a simple one.  Gwynn was nice enough to sign a couple of cards TTM for me. Not a big deal, really, but a big enough deal for me, a true Gwynn fan.  

My other breif brush with Mr. Padre occured a couple of years ago when the All-Star game was held in Anaheim (not Los Angeles - An - a - heim).  Although I didn't attend the game, I grabbed the family and we headed out to the All-Star Fanfest held at the Convention Center. 

The day we were there, Gwynn was holding a hitting clinic for kids.  They had a small baseball diamond set up inside the Convention Center, and although I could see Gwynn working with the kids, he was certainly busy, and there was no way I was going to get close to him.  

After a couple of hours seeing the great exhibits and waiting in line for different Fanfest treats, we left the boys to stand in line for something or another, and my old lady and I plopped down at a table in the food court area to enjoy a cold drink and a bit of rest. 
Our table was right at the edge of the food court roped off border and close to some rear exit doors leading out of the convention center. 

At one point I looked up and who was walking toward those exit doors- and toward us? It was none other than Tony Gwynn (and a few other folks surrounding him).  

As the group approached us, I caught Tony's eye and said, "Hey there, Mr. Baseball!"  Tony looked over at me and smiled.  He slowed a bit and said hello and asked if we were enjoying ourselves.  I said yup, we waved so long, and he was on his way past us and out the doors.  

It was a small moment in time, a breif encounter with a Hall of Famer, and one that will remain with me for the rest of my life.

 

SD Padres T. Gwynn Tribute Live Stream Tonight

The San Diego Padres will honor the great Tony Gwynn before tonight's Padres game (7 p.m. PST).

They will stream the ceremony live and you'll find the link to the stream here. 

It's embedded about four lines down into the story. The link isn't broadcasting anything now, as the ceremony hasn't started yet. 

Farewell, Tony G

Grand Salami Of Trade Bait: San Diego Padres

In a nail-biter, the Dodgers held on this afternoon to beat the Pads, 3-2 in San Diego's "Opening Day, For Reals This Time" game.  Sheesh, I haven't seen this many opening days since...well... since never.  Thanks yet again for improving the game, Bud Selig. 

As I was saying, since the Dodgers beat the Padres today, let's have some San Diego trade bait!