All the Way from P-Town to D-Town

Aloha, everybody, 

It's warm out here in Dodger town today. I sure hope the rest of you all are thawing into enjoyable levels of snow ("enjoyable" being a relative term, I'm sure). 

I received a happy little PWE the other day from P-Town Tom, who runs the blog, Waiting till Next Year. Let's check out what he sent way out west.

Leading off is my favorite slug - not slugging - just slug shortstop, Jose Offerman...

On good days, we referred to him as Jose Awfulman. 

That said, no matter Jose 0-for-man's shortcomings, he was no match for the utter uselessness of this guy. 

Hamilton was a classic smoke and mirrors player who would suck for a few weeks and then have a good few games, fooling everyone into thinking he was a legit major leaguer. Then he would repeat the cycle. 

Aha, here we go. A real player. Fernando, sporting a rarely seen on cardboard, mustache and five-o-clock shadow...

Speaking of rarely-seen mustaches, I present Jim Neidlinger, who was up for less than a cup of coffee. It was more like a shot of espresso. 

Neidlinger appeared in only 12 games, but he left the majors with a decent record of 5-3, and 3.23 ERA. They must have snapped this pic on the day he realized his career was over...way too soon. 

Next up, Tom's eagle eye spotted a current Dodger in his college days. O'Brien was picked up from the Rangers and he's currently in AA ball. We'll see what 2017 holds in store...

Finally, an autograph. Most times I get an autos just like the kind you get, I'm sure. You know, a star or prospect, or the kid who never made it. That would have been easy. This time good ol' P-Town sent me the first auto of this type for my collection. 

This is an autograph from one of the most infamous Dodgers ever, who threw one of the most infamous pitches ever, as the result of one of Tommy Lasorda's most infamous decisions ever...

Oh brother, that was a doozy. I still get the heebie-jeebies from that one. And now I've got this...

All-Time Fan Favorites? All-time favorite of who's fans - Jack Clark's? Ha! That said, it's kind of a cool auto to add to the collection. 

Not every player is a hero. Not every game ends in victory for the good guys. Like it or not, Niedenfuer is part of Dodgers postseason lore. Even if it was a painful loss that resonates to this day. Tom, I'm actually glad you included this card. It's history. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to drop this into a binder and not think about it again for a very long time. 

Aloha! 

It Only Took a Decade and a Friendly Enemy to Land my First One

Aloha, everybody, 

As far as rivalries go, sports rivalries are among the bitterest. Often for no other reason than being born into a family of fans from one team, we're raised to hate a different team, it's stadium, colors, and fans. 

If the rivalry is held deeply, just the sight of another person wearing a cap or jersey can set off a Pavlov-like reaction. We've seen it with the Yankees and Red Sox, Dodgers and Giants, the Orioles and...heck if I know who...but you get the idea. 

Some rivalries, like the Dodgers and Giants, go waaaaaay back, all the way to the days the teams shared bandbox stadiums in the boroughs of New York. Well, this isn't one of those. The timeline isn't as long - stretching back to 1988, but when it runs hot - baby, it runs red hot. 

Bulldog was the 1988 NLCS MVP vs the Mets

I'm talking about the Dodgers and the Mets. These two teams are far apart geographically, and sometimes in the standings, but when they meet, the fire from their playoff battles in 1988 and again, in 2016, burns bright. I remember heated Dodgers/Mets blogger battles after the Chase Utley slide controversy. 

I lay all of this groundwork because that's what makes the friendship between myself and Kaz all the more special. Kaz used to blog back in the day, but he's since moved on to other things. Luckily, Twitter is one of those things, so we've been able to keep channels open that way, and we continue to send each other cards from time to time. 

Topps Turkey Red 

Kaz recently sent a PWE to me, and that's why we're gathered here today. I showed off a couple of cards already, let's check out what I else found in that envelope...

Returning to the Hershiser card, we have the rear shot. I loved opening packs of 1993 Leaf because I couldn't get enough of these crazy shots of gigantic baseball players dwarfing their cities. 

Love this card tribute to Julio Urias' major league debut, when he was just 17 years old...

Kaz tossed in some minis from the 2011 MLB sticker album...

 This Jackie Robinson is high gloss and shiny (nice!)...

Finally, this baby. My first printing plate. By all weights and measures, rivals would never share with each other. But this is the card collecting community. We operate on a different level...

It seemed as though everyone in my collecting circles had at least one printing plate, but not me. Not until now. 

Sweet, right? My collection is continuously expanding, thanks to the usual suspects - and even from the occasional enemy (but an enemy only inside the chalk lines). THANKS, Kaz! 

Aloha!