A Surprise Zippy Zapping!

Aloha, everybody,

I got a suprise PWE from Zippy Zappy. Let's behold the cardboard surprises within.

Enjoy and aloha! 

A Package of Yankees Cardboard From Zippy Zappy

Aloha, everybody, 

I won a Twitter contest from Zippy Zappy that some of you Yankees fans out there might appreciate. Check 'em out...

Aloha! 

A Christmas Zippy Zapping Part 3

Aloha, everybody, 

The grand finale of the great Zippy Zapping of 2019. Let's see what goodness was in the final packs of cards and the second CD that ZZ sent :)

Aloha!

A Surprise Zapping of Tigers from Japan

Aloha, everybody, 

I received a surprise package from Japan, and it turns out it was a Zapping from our old friend, ZZ. 

Inside was all kinda goodness, foreign and domestic (no matter which side of the Pacific you're standing on), and a bonus mini-CD. 

Let's have a look. Aloha! 

Blog Bat Around - All Autograph Team Part 2: Pitchers and Assorted Cogs

Aloha, everybody, 

Let's conclude the All Autograph Team (Starting Nine with DH are here) with the pitching staff and a couple of others tossed in for fun. 

Starting Left-Handed Pitcher:

I happened to show this beauty off on Twitter the other day; mentioned that my good luck brought this baby right out of a pack. 

Starting Right-Handed Pitcher: 

Bullpen: Kershaw and Podres

Oh yeh, the ATBATT all-auto team's got some pretty decent pitching. 

Pinch Hitter: Manny Mota

Bench: The Toy Cannon, LoDuca and The Butter and Eggs Man

Finally, what team is complete without a manager...and whom else would I choose?

Tommy Lasorda, autograph obtained walking around Dodger Stadium, back in the days Tommy was more mobile. 

There you have it folks. I'll stack my ATBATT All Autograph team against any other. We'll bet a bag of peanuts on it. 

Aloha! 

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! 

To Blog or Tweet - Why is that Even a Question?

Aloha, everybody, 

My buddy Zippy Zappy has been recently ruminating over the differences and benefits of blogging about cards vs tweeting about them. I'm not gonna rehash here, as he already did a great job of breaking it all down in his post. I'm just gonna drop my perspective on leading life as a double agent - as both bloggerista and twitter dude.

(Also, as an homage to ZZ's post, I'll be dropping in some unrelated scans from an old-time Beckett that Dennis from Too Many Verlanders sent to me) 

As ZZ said, the biggest difference between the two arenas are how much you can say...errrr, write. 

My blog has run for a few years, and as the time went on, I found myself blogging less often. A couple of times I even did the hiatus thing and disappeared for a month or two. Part of the reason was this self-imposed feeling of responsibility to blog regularly, and to fill enough space in an entertaining way. 

Then came my life as a writer for a Dodgers blog. That became an additional 1,000 words I had to write per week, and I just found it to be too much sometimes. I don't know how Night Owl does it. He's my hero; he's knocking out like 5,000 words a day! Whew! 

Then along came Twitter. I resisted it for a long time, but once I checked it out, I was hooked. Messages are short and sweet (I preferred the old 140 character limit) and you can drop in pics or gifs. Perfect for a hit and run guerrilla-fighter like me. 

The other great point about Twitter (or not so great, depending on personal and political preferences) is you can drop tweets on any and all topics. My feed tends to be much less about cards, but plenty about the Dodgers and baseball in general, art, photography, funny stuff, and yes - the part Night Owl really doesn't like - politics. 

I don't mean to pick on my friend N.O., he's just an example. Some folks want to escape debate and friction on these platforms, and that's a valid position. Believe it or not, I try to hold back on my political tweeting, but some subjects grab me by the throat so hard, that I just can't ignore them. I've lost some twitter followers because of my politics, and that's their prerogative. 

Last time I checked, N.O. still gets my tweets, so I'm lucky enough that my friend keeps me around and just sweeps past what he doesn't want to get involved in. 

Speaking of being involved, Twitter has really opened up my connections with some of you out there. As ZZ said, he and I talk much more over in Twitterlandia than we ever did in the Blogosphere. I'm also in much more contact and making better friendships with Peter K., Jon from Penny Sleeves, Commish Bob, Mark H, Tony L, Gavin, my hermano Wes, Matt, Julie, and I'm sure a couple of others who, I apologize, slip my mind right now. 

I'm a happy double agent. It works for me. 

Aloha! 

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!

His Name has Two Zs because his Packages are Twice as Good

Aloha, everybody, 

The blogosphere is filled with generous collectors and traders, some more known than others. My friend, Zippy Zappy, is one of those generous guys that trades under the radar. If you've ever been Zippy Zapped before, you know what I'm talking about. If not, dig this.

Let's lead off with a World Series Hero (Rookie Cup Edition)...

A hopeful future southpaw hero...

Speaking of southpaws, look out for these three next season...

When Kershaw was out with an injury, Alex Wood was mowing down NL batters. He earned a no-doubt-about-it spot on the All-Star team...

A Saxy throwback (that didn't end up in the first base seats)

How about this cool surprise? I thought these only featured football players. More of the big man later. 

While ZZ knows I'm not a Yanks fan, he tossed this into the mix. Who wouldn't appreciate this exceptional beauty? 

ZZ and I have recently became LA Kings/NY Rangers traders. Unfortunately, I've been committing rookie mistakes - sending Islanders instead of Rangers, but there are no errors in this hockey cardboard.

There's nothing like starting off your hockey collection with cool Oh-Pee-Chee cardboard...

Hat trick card! 

 Stanley Cup goalie! This is a good choice for a future auto. 

Gretzky with the Art Ross trophy (his ninth). This goes to the league's leading scorer. 

My first hockey relic. As a fan of the old time Kings, I'm glad he's wearing the original Kings' purple and gold. 

A zippy zapping isn't complete unless there are a few Japanese cutie cards. Good ol' ZZ came through once again...

I'm not sure why these gals are on trading cards, but they sure make my day happier.  

And now, something completely different. I'll bet you never got one of these in a trade package...

Yup, it's a program from the Met. Not a Mets game - The New York Metropolitan. I think ZZ tossed this in because I show my art side in my twitter life. Thanks, ZZ. I appreciate this little something extra. If I ever get to NYC, a visit to the Met would definitely be on the agenda. 

Finally, the big zapping from the package. Big Frank Howard makes his second appearance in a beautiful 8x10 photo, with a well-placed and great auto. 

Big Frank was a Dodgers Rookie of the Year and won a World Series with LA in 1963. He later played in Japan for the Taiheiyo Lions (Maybe that's the Zippy Zappy connection?). 

THANKS ZZ. What a zapping - the best yet. It's going to take some doing for me to even things out, but I'm working on it. 

Aloha!