Saturday, May 20, 2017

Age is just a number you can change at will

For as long as I can remember, I have signed up my son for the White Sox Kids Club. Per the rules, you can have up to 5 free kids membership per household, for children 13 and under. Sure, he's 24 and lives in Colorado. And with the way I sign him up, I should really enter his name as Benjamin Button.

Don't forget the zip+4 entry!
Free is free. In all the years, we have never taken advantage of the couple free tickets the membership sends. I really just like the freebies, which have included cards in the past. Earlier this week, I got the 2017 membership in my mailbox. Let's have a quick look.


White Sox Mascot....er....Southpaw welcomes your child to the club. The membership this year mailed in a standard #10 envelope. Love how they integrate the S from "south" into the P of Southpaw's autograph.


The rest of the free membership has some temporary tattoos and two bumper stickers. If you look close, the stickers are die cut around the design. That's a nice touch.

So no baseball cards in the kid's membership this year. I'll have to hit the game on August 11th to snag some of those.


(side note: This video fit the post, but my real thoughts on Ted can be found at this link.)

Friday, May 19, 2017

I'm gonna have fun, and you're gonna have fun...

ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH!
So that famous psycho Wes over as Willinghammer Rising threw another contest, called Big Fun Game. I scored the first spot in the game, and selected in the middle. Fortunately, no one stole my pick, and what I obtained from the fun was a pretty sweet addition.

Wes being Wes, though, padded the envelope.


This trio just goes to show: when the border is black, White Sox cards looks AMAZING! And that Walmart black is a Sale rookie card.


Lots of Franks were found in the envelope. Shiny Franks as always cool. That Topps card in the middle (yeah - Topps) is raised. Think of Action Packed. But the interesting thing is the raised portion is the front and back. How expensive was that process? Far right is an ad card. But to my eye, that is a new addition to the broken bats binder.


Dear Topps, pay attention when photoshopping cards. White Sox road uniforms have a player number on the front of the jersey. Make a guess. Something double digit. Hell, put zeros! But shop in something.


Here's was my fun prize, and loved but still pretty darn excellent condition T-206 of Dode Paskert. Dode had a good 15 year career with the Reds, Phillies and Cubs, appearing in the WS for the Phils in 1915 and the Cubs in 1918. Both times losing to the Red Sox.

Thanks Wes. It WAS Super Big Fun.

Thursday, May 18, 2017

Throwback Thursday: 05.18.2017

Every Thursday, I post a card showing a ballplayer wearing a throwback uniform from my collection. Hopefully, he will be wearing it well, with proper pants blousing. The picture may be from the front of the card, or the back. Enjoy the uniforms from years past.

Paul Molitor - 1992 Leaf Studio - Seattle Pilots

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Hidden Gems: OOOOF!

Baseball, by it's nature, is slow. It can minutes before the action starts. Then the ball is in play and the activity goes on for a few seconds before the game slows back down to the pace of pitcher versus batter.

But in those fee seconds, everything is spontaneous. There is no script. No one blocked to be here and there so a certain drama can unfold. Sure, the players have their positions to start the pitch, and may rotate a bit based on where the ball enters the field. But there no no clue where it will enter and who will contact it. It just happens, and the controlled chaos occurs.


While one side of my brain understands the reasoning for the rule, the other side is saddened this is a card disappearing from the collecting world. For 99% of the game, the contact is ball to bat, ball to ground, ball to glove. All contact is between inanimate objects. Sure, there is the tag on a attempted stolen base, but the play at the plate was the only real contact part of the game between one player and another. While the badging on this card really interferes with the action, there is still more than enough to appreciate. Crawford leaving his feet and making contact with Salvador Perez (I believe), the grimace on Perez's face from the force of the play. Something we just won't see anymore.


I still remember the shock I felt hearing that Robert Palmer died, now almost 14 years ago. I liked his music a bit early on, and sure - releasing a huge hit (and video) like Addicted To Love can help out anyone's career. But when you look back on his life, he was always there. Bits and pieces of his brilliance exist in prior years, from Sneaking Sally Through the Alley to Every Kinda People to Looking For Clues, just to name a few. Riptide was the first album of his I bought, and it's a fine mix from song to song of his musical style. Flesh Wound is a great marriage of heavy metal with his hard beats.

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

My hockey fix

Anyone who watched the NHL playoffs these season saw the too quick exit of my Blackhawks. The Preds have been playing well. I think they caught us during a scoring drought, just as we passed them in the standings before the end of the season when they had a problem finding the twine. But the season ended fast and the papers were talking about blowing up the Hawks and this and that. I get it - it's what their job is. Stir the pot and come up with the craziest click bait possible.

YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT THIS BABY LOOKS LIKE TODAY!
Thankfully, I have DJ north of the border at Sportscards From The Dollar Store to help supply me with hockey. I don't buy enough, mostly because the releases are too expensive. And picking up any Blackhawks in a 250 mile radius will wear out your credit card.


Anyone remember PowerPlay? I picked up a few packs back in the day. Loved the idea. Storing them was a whole other issue (obviously). Paired up with a couple other pieces of junk wax. Konroyd works in the studio for TV broadcasts. You may remember Dave Christian in a far different sweater. Yup, along with Jack O'Callahan, we had a 2nd Miracle on Ice player in a Hawks sweater. Dave played 69 games to close out his NHL career, though he played a few more in the minors after leaving the Hawks.


This is the spot where I post cards that scan like total crap. Thanks Panini!


Three rookies. LeBlanc, Panarin and Dumont. Needless to say, one has been far better than the other two. Dumont did okay with the Sabres and Predators for a few seasons. LeBlanc is doing what he can playing in the German hockey league.


Once again, DJ surprised me with a couple hits. Hawkins is a player that is trying to make it to the bigs, but injuries seem to sideline him often. He is still toiling in AA ball. The Oduya is the 2nd manu-patch from the Championship Rings set dropped on me from Canada, the first being TVR.

Thanks again, DJ. I have to work on a return package, but to start I need cash. I need a trick for free stuff.

Monday, May 15, 2017

Lollar and Konerko updates

All total, I have currently 10 official in process player collections. They are:

Ben Petrick
Adam Eaton
Joe Crede
Aaron Rowand
Tadahito Iguchi
Nellie Fox
Luis Aparicio
Bob Keegan
Paul Konerko
Sherm Lollar

There are a few others I have (Pierce, Ted Wilks, Ed Keegan, etc....) but for the most part, those are complete. If I find an oddball, buy back or a more recent release (think TCMA), I'll add them. But I don't actively seek out their cards. I also have some in the pre-stage of a player collection (Earl Torgeson, Wilbur Wood, Dick Donovan, etc....), but they are all on deck. Again - don't actively seek them out, but will pick them up if the price is right for a future full on attack.

1955 Bowman sighted, sir. VG for $1.75 shipped.
Here's three recent pickups. One came via ebay, a 2nd from a recent card show and the final was a replacement redemption via Panini.


First up, the 1954 Redman release of Sherm Lollar. The tab was cut off this one, and I do like them with the tab, but the quality of this card made it worth the price. Creases? Sure, But the corners look nice, color is bright and there is no paper loss. For under $3, I couldn't pass it up, as most times I find this card for over $6.


I mentioned a recent card show. I all but sorted the cards, and there really wasn't much worth showing. Dime box pickups and some cards for the 60-65 Sox team sets. This Lollar All Star was the high purchase of the day, setting me back a fiver. Take away that printer line you see running from the "s" or Selection through the "e" of American, and this card is pack fresh. This is another card I have watched on ebay, but nothing this nice in quality ever hits that price range. And that's before shipping in included ($3.50 for a PWE - yeah, right). So I bit the bullet and snagged it. In the end, I am just 3 cards short of completing the Lollar Project, with one being a bit of a white whale. At least in cost, though at times I miss copies in my price range.


It's blurry because it is still in the case. Just received this beauty today. About a year ago, I pulled a Michael Spinks autograph redemption from a discounted Golden Age blaster. I redeemed it, though it was just a few months expired, hoping it would be filled. Well, it was time to give up. After a couple calls to Panini (dropped holds), customer service did a swap and sent me this nice 2005 Donruss Prime Patches signature. Interesting that Panini has old, license cards available. I guess when you purchase the brand name? Would I have like the Spinks? Sure. Am I upset this is the replacement? Oh HELL NO!!! Certified autograph of Paulie with licensing???? Look at the beauty of that card with all the fine Sox script logos appearing.

I think I may cry.

Sunday, May 14, 2017

The box #2

As I mentioned with box #1, I have three big mailings to get through that came in a box of one form or another. Today, let's hit box-o el duece. This one came from Adam at ARPSmith's Sportscard Obsession. Everything within did excellent damage to the Sox box in one form or another.


Starting small, we have a grouping of Topps Chipz (are they doing these again this year? I vote no) and some old stickers. When Fisk was on the field, I don't think he ever smiled. Pure intensity from the first pitch to the final out.


Wide range of oddballs, though I may be using that term loosely as the Thomas in the top middle is from Upper Deck. But it's sans MLB branding, so I call it an oddball.


If the scans are any part of the story, it reminds you that when foil is involved, Pacific knew what they were doing.


Vintage-ish. There is Fisk smiling. But the game hasn't started. Every time I see Dennis Lamp, I think Dick Tidrow. It's the stache. I recently bought that Fleer Sox sticker for two quarters on ebay, but mine was missing the word at the top. Now I have a replacement.


Glorious junk wax. Sorry Ron, but you need to learn throwing your mask from one of the best. Note the cards before Melido Perez and Greg Walker. For the first two years of this uniform design, the Sox had numbers on the pants. It was a carry over from the previous (not Sunday) pajama uniforms. For the last two years, before their current set, they dropped the numbers.


Two for the player collections on the right. The left? I just like those sets. Yeah - I mean that UD insert of Big Hurt. It.....works. Ok, I'll go get my eyes examined.


Adam kindly included a few hits two. For the relic portion, a gray swatch from Peavy's time on the south side, and a couple from Topps flagship two years back. Now, come on Topps. If you have a home uniform, put the player in that same uniform on the card. It's the little details that matter.


One more swatch, this time from Magglio. And for the signature section, we have Brett Morel, who I have beaten like a dead horse on this blog, so I won't anymore. Use the search box up top. And Molina got a few sips of coffee in the majors with the Jays, ChiSox, Orioles, Mets, BoSox and Yanks. But a batting average of 128 from 51 plate appearances is not going to give you much more than that.


All too big for the scanner, here's the rest of the lot from Adam. Over sized cards, box bottoms, unused scratch offs and more. Adam, I thank you for the box, and be assured I am working on a send back. For some reasons, I seem to be getting Giants hits in products I buy.

Saturday, May 13, 2017

The 7 day challenge

So the new hot thing on the blogs is the 30 day challenge. Some day, I plan to just do a 30 post challenge, using the subjects on each day to talk about, so the image is stored to my computer. But today, I start my own 7 day challenge. It's really simple.

POST SEVEN DAYS IN A ROW!

Really, should that be so hard? I've got a lot of great cardboard here. Great to me at least. And some awesome stuff I have received from other bloggers. You think I could get in front of a keyboard and get some words on a computer screen. But here goes. At least 7 days in a row with a post. You can do this, Jeff.

"Put one foot in front of the other......"
Let's knock out three small mailers that added some great cards to my collection. First up, Jim from GCRL Cards As I See Them. I sent Jim cards from Tis The Season, and he responded in kind.


First up, a healthy stack of throwbacks. I really should get that 2003 Donruss set. The design is simple and the images are top notch. I know there are numerous throwback cards in Topps flagship this year. I have a big issue with the Cubs throwback seen on the Soler card. Hey - love that the Cubs honored their baby blue road uniforms.


Bunting were included. How nice is that Classic Clippings design?


One for the buy back set (and yes, it made it in). And two sweet miscuts. For the record, Bob Locker is sharing the card with the 1974 RBI Leaders (card #308). Bob is card #434.


Last is two White Sox vintage cards. Hoyt is needed in both the ChiSox team set and the '64 build. Into the team set this one goes. Mr Romano joined the Sox on Jan 20th of 1965, so some kid updated his card as needed. I'll find a spot in the binder to add Johnny to the Sox set. The manual update earns him a place. Thanks for the cards, Jim.


Oscar from All Trade Bait, All The Time sent over a stuffed PWE to celebrate the start of the season. I celebrate actually getting a White Sox card from Heritage, as the few packs I bought yielded none. Is it me, or will a slight breeze blow Thad's cap off his head?


I posted that my last trip to my LCS scored me the entire Series 1 Sox team set, but I was an Eaton short for the PC. Not any more. Green does not work on that Ventura card. At all. Maybe if there was more grass or something showing. Oscar - than you for the mailer.


PACKERS! I remember Corky from Pack War making a few custom sketches MST3K last year, and out of the kindness of his heart, he blessed me with a couple. LOVE THESE!!!! I soooooooo want to get them autographed by the MST3K stars. No way they are going in the mail, though. I'll have to stalk them and get the autos in person.


YOWZA!!!! Corky included a few cards of bikini clad Japanese women. I know there is a name for this type of card, but searches of Zippy and Raz's blogs (I have seen similar posted on each) came up blank. So a little help for the proper name?? Anyhow.....ummm.....yeah. If I had to pick, I go with the top right Yuki Yoshizawa, and not because of her pose. She's cute.

OH REALLY??????????
Ummm - made the the wife mad, there. Thanks for the cards Corky.

One down. Six to go.

Saturday, May 6, 2017

The box #1

Needless to say, this is a post that is a good year behind. Or damn near close to it. I don't even remember when I received the box, but it was totally out of the blue, and boy was is crammed. The amazing thing was the return address was not from a certain crazy man in Alabama.

No - from out of nowhere, John from Johnny's Trading Spot just dropped a large flat rate box on me stuffed with so much cardboard. And when I mean so much cardboard, I mean a lot. Guesstimate? I would say 2000 cards. And that is a low guess. Probably more. So this post is scan heavy, but I really need to give John the proper thanks. Thanks that is months overdue. Let's jump in.


We'll start with the NHL after my Hawks just hit a slump in the playoffs and got swept by Nashville. Look Preds - you aren't as good as you think, and you will find that out soon enough. Enjoy it while you can. Me - I enjoyed the Hawks cards. Well, maybe not that first one. It's a reminder of yet another superstar we had and traded away for really no return. Someone thought Jimmy Waite would be a better backup for Belfour than Hasek. We did get Eric Daze from the draft pick we secured, but should have kept Dominic. Oh well.


Yeah Ethan - you should have never worn 19. Babchuk played 5 games in a Hawks sweater and somehow they issued him Pilotte/Maggie's number. No idea who the equipment manager was in the 90's, but that guy has a lot of explaining to do.


VINTAGE!!! I remember buying a lot of 80-81 Topps to try and get the member of the 80 Olympic team, so I did a lot of scratching. Love that the OPC has the position on the front in both English and French.


John included a TON of random hockey in the box as well. While some did stay, I will work the rest into trade packages. Especially that Dead Wing shit.


Plenty of player collection cards were found within. Two new cards for the Crede binder.



And a bunch of new entries for the Paulie. I may have to look into that Forty Man full set. I like the layout.


I kept track of a lot of cards, but I am not sure how many miscuts John sent over. I won't even guess. But here are some gorgeous examples of the blade going wrong. Interesting to see the sheet layout for the 1986 Topps, with the headers touching at the top. Makes sense when you think about it.


OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH YEAH!!!! I think there were a good dozen cards from the '89 set. Looks like John ran into an entire box where the cut sheets were misaligned. And sorry, Corey, that Wallach one stays. Well - to the point of I'll listen to an offer if you really want it.


Now I did keep track of the other binder cards. John dropped 81 cards on me with throwback uniforms and 16 were new additions. That 1997 Upper Deck Nunnally reminds me how far back the Royals have been honoring the Negro League Monarchs.


When it came to the double play binder, I was able to add 57 new cards out of the 128 John sent. If you asked me, I would have thought I had that Leaf Fermin, but nope. New. And how great is that photo? The dust, the runner's foot up in the air - nice.


And wow - that Jay Bell. Just.....wow. What a great card.


Bunting, however, was were John went nuts, dropping a whooping 467 cards on me. Fortunately, more that 25% were new, with 131 getting into the binder. With me double bagging the pages, that in over 7 pages filed. And dig the great range of new bunting cards. I'll have to check my notes, but no surprise yet another Brett Butler addition.


They even bunt on the back of cards.Spies looks like he is bunting for the first time and has absolutely NO idea what he is doing. I would be willing to be he got hit with the pitch when he missed making contact with the ball. Sorry Nick, no dupe of Plesac, but I bet you can find that on Just Commons.


Even vintage bunting. Hey Larry - why are you holding the bat so low?


Nope - not cards but pocket schedules. My favorite souvenir when I go on vacation. Granted, these are local and I think I had the 06/07 Hawks, but I am sure it got quarter pounder juice on it years ago and got tossed at the gas station.


And last, but not least, was well over 600 White Sox cards. Probably much, much more. John filled a LOT of team set needs across the spectrum of sets and brands. I was a HUGE Keith Foulke fan. I really should start a collection of his.


I remember picking these three to scan for a joke, but man - I forgot where I was going. But I hate to waste the scan, so....


Great inserts. Gotta love that about the 00's - some of the insert sets were pretty cool. I'll have to look into Black Diamond.


And for the last scan, let's finish with a micro Robin for the throwback binder, a loved 64 Pizarro and an Al Smith photo from a group of a dozen from a couple Jay Publishing releases. I see them on ebay all the time and I really should pick them up. The price is low and you can grab some great images of those one or two year players that Topps may have forgotten to include.

John, please forgive me for taking this long to post your bountiful package. Man, you added a substantial amount of cardboard to my collection and I owe you.

And just like I don't have a joke for that scan of Sax, Baines and Alvarez, I don't really have a video to tie this post together, so instead, enjoy a marionette playing Rush's Tom Sawyer.