Social Distancing Diary with Baseball Cards - World Series Vintage Subsets!

Aloha, everyone, 

In today's edition of Social Distancing Diary, we check out a World Series vintage subset, and a couple of Al Kaline cards, on his RIP day. 

Enjoy and aloha!

The Two Biggest Questions Facing the Dodgers in the Postseason

Aloha, everyone, 

The Dodgers face two big questions coming into the postseason. 

Here is Question Number One, and of course, it involves Kenley Jansen. 

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Aloha, everybody, 

The Dodgers are in an 0-2 World Series hole. The naysayers among us believe it's all over but the strike outs - but I'm not one of those. 

Here are three reasons why I'm still optimistic about the chances for the Boys in Blue to get off the ground and fight their way to victory - 2018 Dodgers style! 

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Breaking Down the Dodgers' Game 1 Loss & Some Positive Points

Aloha, everybody,

Just spreading the news about my World Series Game 1 Youtube video. In it, I break down the moments that led up to the Dodgers' loss, weigh them, and also drop a couple of reasons to remain positive about the Dodgers' chances in the series.

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Forget About Pace of Play, How About the Pace of Discipline?

Aloha, everybody, 

Do you remember last year's World Series, when Yuli Gurriel made a racist gesture towards Yu Darvish after hitting a home run? 

MLB agreed it was racist and offensive enough to suspend him for five games, but was hesitant to impose the suspension during the WS. They put it off until this, the new season. 

What played out is a travesty of baseball justice and an insult to anyone who was awaiting that disciplinary measure to take place. 

Here's my take on a short Youtube video:

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Card Show Provides Great Start (and some goodies for my buddies)

Aloha, everybody, 

The card show gave up some good stuff this week. As many of you know, I'm chasing vintage World Series subsets, and this week's trip to Walnut gave me a great start on the 1970 Topps 6-card World Series subset, which commemorates the 1969 Amazin' Mets victory over the Orioles. Let's check 'em out:

Card #305 

Card #306

Card #307 (my fave)

Card #308

These four are a great head start. I only need two more, cards 309, 310 to complete the subset. 

I also picked up a bunch of cards for some of you out there. Before I show those off, I just wanna say if I've promised some cards to you to finish your 2018 Topps teamsets, or for other trades - hang tight, please. I haven't put together packages yet bc I was hoping to pick up some extra things and make one trip to the PO. I should be packing everything up over the next week. Thanks for your patience. 

Now for some pics of cards. These aren't everything I grabbed at the card show, but I just wanted to show a couple because, why not? 

I think you'll know who these are for, and I hope these will be nice additions to your collections...

Aloha!

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! 

World Series Dodgers Cardboard: Bums No More

Aloha, everybody, 

Here comes Part Two of the Dodgers on World Series cardboard. When we last saw our blue heroes, the hard luck Brooklyn team had earned the nickname of "Dem Bums" by breaking the hearts of their faithful time and again. They made it into plenty of  World Series, but just couldn't close the deal. 

That all changed in 1955. 

Once again, it was the damn Yankees vs the Dodgers. This time the boys from Brooklyn weren't bums, they were the Boys of Summer. 

 Lots of Dodgers fans will tell you that Sandy Koufax was the greatest Dodgers pitcher in the Fall Classic. Others will tell you it was Orel Bulldog Hershiser. 

My choice is the man who had to carry the weight of years of  Dodgers frustration to the mound. The hopes of everyone in the Brooklyn borough rode on his shoulders. Johnny Podres was the man who broke through the Yankees fortress and ended their postseason dominance over his team. It took all seven games to bring the first ever Worlds Championship to the Dodgers. 

Here's another card, same shot of the World Series hero...

One of the iconic images of that series, captured by Upper Deck Masterpieces...

1955 was the last WS played in Brooklyn. The team moved out to LA, and they won the pennant in 1959. It was LA's first Fall Classic, and the boys won it all in six games. 

 I'm chasing this subset. Still have a ways to go. 

The Dodgers' home field was the LA Coliseum. Game 5 drew 92,706, which still stands as the WS attendance record. It was also the first WS in which no pitcher for either side threw a complete game. 

The next crop of cards come from the 1963 series. It was the first time the Dodgers played the Yankees since 1955, and this time Sandy Koufax led the boys in blue to a four game sweep. 

The year is 1965, but the World Series hero is the same. Once again, Sandy Koufax led the team to the promised land. They beat the Minnesota Twins in seven games. 

Next time: Dodgers World Series that I remember! 

Aloha! 

The Dodgers are World Series Bound, so Let's See World Series Cardboard

Aloha, everybody, 

I'm sure you've all heard by now: The Dodgers are in the Fall Classic! The 29-year drought is over. The red, white and blue bunting will once again adorn Chavez Ravine, and the best team I've ever seen don the Dodgers uniform, is going to do battle with whomever wins that ALCS Game 7 tonight. 

The Dodgers have a long history of battling the Yankees in the WS, so I wouldn't mind one more chance to beat them. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The Dodgers' opponents might well be the Astros. 

While we're waiting for that outcome, let's check out some Dodgers World Series cards from my humble collection. Most of these are tribute cards from modern issues, but I've got some cool original vintage cards coming up as well. 

(Some of you may have seen some of these before, please indulge me. I'm quite excited to show these off one more time.) Here we go, in more or less chronological order...

In 1920, the Dodgers (also known as the Robins at the time) won the pennant, but they were defeated in the WS by the Cleveland Indians.

1941- Leo the Lip Durocher leads the Dodgers to win the pennant for the first time since 1920. The Yankees spoiled the Dodgers happiness and beat Brooklyn in five games. 

One more card from the '41 series. This is the first of my vintage cards. These Nu-Card Baseball Scoops come from 1961...

Here's the first of two beautiful die-cuts I received in trade. This first one harks back to the 1947 WS. The Dodgers lost to the Yanks again. This time it took seven games. 

BTW - 1947 was Jackie Robinson's first World Series. 

Two years later, it was Dodgers v Yanks yet again. Different year, same results. Yanks in five. (more vintage cardboard, from 1968)

Fast forward to 1952. This time the Yanks were defending three straight championships. The Dodgers lost the series in five. 

Here's the second of those pennant die-cuts. In the 1953 WS, the Yankees were now four-time champs, and the Dodgers were trying once again to take that world's championship for themselves. No dice. 

 Here's a great action shot from the '53 series. It features Campy tagging out Billy Martin to end Game 4. Alas, the Bums lost to NY again. This time, in six games. 

Stay tuned, because next time: The Dodgers finally get over the hump and win their first World Series. 

Aloha! 

Mo From Bo

Aloha, everybody, 

Sorry I've been away for a few days too many. Just a few life things getting between me and my beloved blog. I'm happy to say I'm back now...so let's get back to checking out some more cards that came to me from that big feeder box I received from Bo. 

Leading things off today are some cards inspired by the old "Play Ball" set. This Bobby Doerr is slightly smaller than the others. I'm guessing because it's being true to the size of the originals. 

These cards are real beauties. I'm showing off a few that some of you out there might enjoy. 

Here's a World Series card reprint...

Bo sent a bunch of the "Legends of New York" set...

He also included a bunch from these very attractive 2001 Upper Deck Pinstripe Exclusives inserts...

How about this fistful of cards from the 2002 UD World Series Heroes set...

Those will mix in well with the small handful that I already had. The set is 180 cards strong, so I'm not close to completing it, but I've got a great starter set now, thanks to Bo. 

Here's what they look like individually. I dig the Americana design and World Series feeling...

A look at the backside...

Next time: Some Dodgers! 

Aloha!