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! 

Yasiel Puig Badmouths Dodgers - Puig Fans Taking Sides

Aloha, everybody, 

Yasiel Puig is saying some harsh things about the Dodgers. Puig fans are caught in the middle and taking sides. 

Aloha!

Chris Woodward Says TX Rangers' Chemistry Better than LA Dodgers'

Aloha, everybody, 

The Dodgers have barely cracked the seal on Spring Training, and they already have their first controversy of the 2019 season - courtesy of ex-Dodger coach/new Texas Rangers manager, Chris Woodward. 

He says the Rangers have better team chemistry than the Dodgers. Is he right? Here's my take.

Aloha

Is the Dodgers' A.J. Pollock Move a Good Thing?

Aloha, everybody, 

Here it is - the Dodgers' big off-season move: grabbing A.J. Pollock. Was dropping Yasiel Puig for Pollock worth it? That's not really the right question.

Aloha!

Yasiel Puig Trade is Part of the Master Plan, but Not the Plan Fans Want

Aloha, everybody, 

The Dodgers traded away Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, Alex Wood and Kyle Farmer in what many believe is the first step of a Master Plan toward acquiring a huge free agent, such as Bryce Harper or A.J. Pollack. 

Oh, it’s a Master Plan, alright. It’s just not the one you’re imagining.

Aloha, and Merry Christmas, everybody! 

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! 

When HBP is a Good Thing, Thanks to ACB

Aloha, everybody, 

Those of us who follow baseball usually think of "Hit by pitch" when we see the initials, HBP. Here's a new one, HBP also stands for Honus Bonus Partners, which put out a card set in 2017 that combined collecting with playing fantasy baseball. 

I had never heard of these cards until I received a batch of them from Julie, the proprietor over at A Cracked Bat. Some of you may recall late last year I was gifting copies of the new book about some of the prime players in the 1947 World Series, Electric October. Julie got one of the copies, and although I didn't ask for anything in return, she dropped these cards in the mail to me as a "thank you". Let's check em out...

 As stand alone cards, they boast a simple but attractive design with in-action, well-chosen player photographs. The players are featured in black and white, with colored backgrounds, and not being Topps brand, they don't get to use team logos or names.  

One more Julio Urias card is always a good thing. 

I'm not sure why some players have different color design stripes...

The backs of the cards have little codes that you would use to play the fantasy game and win prizes, but when you try to visit the HBP website, it's gone. I suppose it could be dark because of the off season, but I'm thinking the company dissolved and we've seen the last of HBP. 

Julie tossed in a couple of attractive inserts. Here's a 2015 Puig with an MLB pin. That might sound boring to some, but the card and pin are quite attractive in-hand. The scan dulls out the shiny chrome batter silhouette. 

I was kind of hoping the pin would come off so I could put it on a cap or something, but it looks like it's permanently attached, so there it will stay. 

Finally, the gem of the package...

How cool is a Tommy Lasorda swatch? If I have to tell you, you're neither baseball fan nor collector. Am I right? 

THANKS for the cool cards, Julie. I hope you enjoyed Electric October, and I look forward to the next time I can gift more cool baseball stuff to all of you. 

Aloha! 

Wes' Big Ol' Cube o' Cardboard - Part 2

Aloha, everybody, 

Yesterday we saw the first part of highlights from the cardboard pummeling I received from good ol' Wes. We now commence with Part 2 - RELICS, SWATCHES and AUTOGRAPHS...


First up is a beautiful patch card numbered 1379/1430 (14-30?). I love everything about this card, including the no-name scrub who lends his likeness to it. 

This is because our scrub pitcher bookends two big trades that I remember as a Dodgers fan. First, he came to the Dodgers (along with Brian Jordan) in the trade that sent Gary Sheffield to the Braves. Second, he was quickly shipped off to Oakland for Milton Bradley. 

Speaking of ex-Dodgers who've been shipped off to obscurity...

Here's a very low edition, low numbered (7/36), well-designed, Triple Threads...

 In a bizarro reverse situation, here comes Carl Crawford, who came to LA, and THEN found obscurity...

And now, the big boys...

My first swatch from Yasiel Puig, and it's super low numbered 3/99...

I showed this one off on Twitter earlier. Number 52/99, World Series relief pitching hero, Kenta Maeda...

I absolutely love this next one. Gonzo's career may or not be over, and the haters are biting around the edges, still claiming his arrival from the Red Sox paid no dividends. Philistines! 

A-Gon was the iron man, with ironclad offensive numbers throughout most of his Dodgers career.

 Good stuff from Wes, and we're a long ways from done. Next time: Autographs. 

Aloha! 

JBF Delivers a Cross-Country Body Blow

Aloha, everybody, 

Several of us received cardboard bombardments from the most generous collector I know. None other than my brother from way down south, good ol' Wes, of JBF fame. 

Wes sent me a big cube o' cards filled with cardboard goodness. The cards were packed in such a way that goodness was sprinkled about. Inserts, limited edition cards, relics and autos popped out from among Dodgers base cards that filled out team sets. As fun as it was to get those first glimpses of cardboard gold in my initial flip through the cards, its true glory slowly revealed itself as I sorted out what I had. 

As usual with Wes' slammings, it's going to take a couple of posts to show off the highlights. I'm so jazzed by said highlights, I don't even know what to start off with, so in no particular order, we'll get started with INSERTS and LIMITED EDITIONS...

First up are a couple of 2017 Chrome Refractors - real beauts...

Here's a green refractor, numbered 23/99...

Up next are a couple of cards that may be among the last issued to Andre Ethier as a Dodger. The blue is numbered 32/500...

...and the orange is #62/250...

This gold Manny is # 32/50. The photo is from Hanley's early days as a Dodger. It's a great photo, but looks like he's gonna be missing or fouling it off just underneath.

Here's a seemingly simple card, but I dig the caption "Robbed in Right", and the great shot of the ball nested securely in Puig's glove. 

Finally, a 2015 Chrome Farm's Finest miiiiinnnniiiiiiiiiiii of World Series hero, Joc Pederson...

We're just getting started folks. This is just the first wave of blows from ol' Wes. Stay tuned for more! Lots more. 

Aloha! 

Blog Bataround - Bacon to Puig in Six Degrees or Less

Aloha, everybody. 

Collecting Cutch blog has started up a Blog Bataround based on the old Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game. In the game, you try to connect Kevin Bacon to whomever you've chosen in six moves (degrees) or less. It's usually done with connecting other movie actors to Bacon. This time we've been tasked with connecting our favorite baseball player to him. 

Readers of ATBATT might recall I participated in a bataround like this once before. That time it was organized by Fuji, and I connected Jackie Robinson to myself. In it, I connected an actor from the film "42" to another movie "The Basketball Diaries", and eventually to my discovering the Jim Carroll Band playing at the Whiskey in Hollywood. 

Although Jackie is my favorite all-time player, I figured it would be lazy to just use what I had before, so this time I'll use my favorite 2017 Dodger, Yasiel Puig. 

 Waiting to see the custom cards with the "Puig lick". You know I want one. 

Let's see if we can go from Puig to Bacon in less than six degrees. Actually, I can do it in one degree, but let's see if we can stretch it out at least one more...

Yasiel Puig is from Cuba. When he became a Dodger, Vin Scully nicknamed him the Wild Horse. 

In one of my favorite movies,"Far and Away", Tom Cruise must buy and ride a wild horse in the film's exciting land rush scene (One degree).

Tom Cruise starred with Kevin Bacon in another of my all-time favorites, "A Few Good Men". The film revolves around a murder that took place at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (2 degrees). 

Aloha! 

Been a While Since I was in a Group Break. How'd I do?

Aloha, everybody, 

A few weeks ago Colbey from Cardboard Collections ran an affordable group break. I used to jump into these all the time, but I've been away from that game for a couple of years. 

I noticed Colbey's break really was affordable - just $12 got you two teams, one you chose and one random, plus postage. He was cracking two boxes - 2004 Fleer Focus Jersey Edition and 2005 Fleer Showcase. I didn't have any Dodgers from those products, so I checked, and the Dodgers slot was still open. BANG! I was in. 

My original random team was the Indians, but you random teams were open for trading. I noticed the Brewers were being dangled for a trade, and hadn't sent anything out to my buddy Tony for a while, so I made the swap, the Tribe for the Brew Crew. Let's check out the cards I caught. 

We'll start off with the big card, at least in terms of not being base.

It's still not so rare of an insert, just a 1:5 pull. That said, it's Adrian Beltre, so that's good in my book. 

I caught another couple of base cards to go along with that one. 

I wish I hit more than two, because I like the looks of this base product. 

No inserts from Fleer Focus, but I got more base cards....

 Not loving this design, though. I prefer less lines running around the sides. With that much linear distraction, why add to things with a giant product logo eating right in the already compromised photo? 

Another question is - why the radioactive glow coming off the player? Are these those "aura" photos? 

My favorite of this bunch is Paulie LoDuca blowing a bubble as he trots off (or on?) the field. 

On to Tony's loot...

Nothing too special in that batch, Tony, but we nabbed a few for you. 

Colbey dropped in another couple of extras to sweeten the pot...

That chrome Puig is very attractive. Digging it mucho! 

I just might try another group break soon. 

Aloha!