BBA: what I do when I play with my cards

So how about I jump in on the latest Blog Bat Around, since I snagged the graphic

Night Owl posted about the projects he is working on, and then someone followed suit and now it's a bat around. Since I really have nothing to post (except for a dozen or so packages to scan/sort/write about), let's make it a little easier and write off the top of my head and talk about what goes on around here.

project zero: downloading images of Kate Upton

Project 1: White Sox

Mini, full, oversized, foil, refractor - don't matter. If it's a White Sox card, I want it. I should really keep track of the number of unique cards I have in the Sox box and other binders. One day when I have all the time in the world, I'll work on building a database of the cards. I am jealous of those of you that know the exact number of cards you have for your team collections.

Project 2: Blackhawks

Ditto as with the White Sox. Granted, this is currently small and barely filling a two row shoebox. In time....

Project 3: Player Collections

You can see the older players I collect on the Player Project link above. Along with Luis and Sherm here, my other current old timer projects include Nellie Fox and Bob Keegan (who is not on that list). I pick up other cheap vintage of players that were Sox as well, like Wilbur Wood, Dick Donovan, Turk Lown, Gary Peters, etc. Those may morph into other projects in the future. For current players, I mention them on my Want list: Paul Konerko, Aaron Rowand, Joe Crede, Adam Eaton, Ben Petrick and Tadahito Iguchi.

Project 3: Custom collections

I have a few unique collections: cards showing players in either a throwback uniform, making the turn at second of a double play, or in the act of bunting (in game or posed). I don't know if I ever explained why the three specialized collections, so...

Throwbacks - I have always been a fan of classic uniforms. Some are far better than others, but when a team visits an earlier look for them, it's a treat for the eyes. I like the White Sox are considered the team that brought the idea of a throwback uniform.

Double Play - When I started playing baseball, I played 3rd and pitched as a 9 and 10 year old. When I moved up, I was moved to center because the coach felt I had the most speed and range of anyone on the team. I spent the two seasons at that level in center, until the final game of my 2nd year. That game, the coach decided to have some fun with us and put players in positions they never played. I can remember the first inning of that game. If ESPN existed back then, all three outs of that first inning would have been on Top 10. First one was a quickly dropping pop up that the kid in left, who never played that position until that day, made a nice diving catch to snag. Next batter ripped a hot grounded down the 3rd base line. Another first time player at the position falls to snap up the rocket and throw the runner out at first. Final out of the inning, the batter shoots one just out of reach of the pitcher, heading up the middle. Me, first game ever at 2nd, ranges right, deftly backhands the big hop, put on my brakes and turn to throw out the runner. As we return to the dugout, the coach wonders why he never played us in those positions during the season. Drafted up to the next league, the coach who selected me stated I would be moving from center to 2nd. I asked if it was because of that play the previous year. "No", he replied. "You have no arm and it's the shortest throw in the game". Needless to say, for those 2 years, I sort of revolutionized the position in the league. Things I did on the field started to reflect in other teams at the position, and I was the starting second base all star both seasons I played. I think 2nd was the position I should have played my whole life. So anytime I see the turn at two, I always think of my "career" as a ball player.

Bunting - I like small ball. Sure, home runs are nice, but manufacturing runs is the way the game is to be played. I always took pride in my ability to lay down a good bunt, with the right speed and placement to get the job done, whether advancing a runner or catching the other team off guard to steal an infield hit. But the real joy of bunting goes back to that final game of the season I mentioned above. In one inning of that game, since we are all goofing off, we had some fun. Coach had the first guy bunt, since they were playing off the grass at third. Since the 3rd baseman didn't get the hit, the next guy also got the bunt sign and both runners beat out any throw. I was up third. No signal from the coach's box, but danged if the guy on the hot corner was still way too far back, so I laid one down and the bags were loaded. And the batter behind me - sure, why not. He also bunted. Run scored - bases still loaded. I am fairly certain batter #5 swung away, but four players bunting in a row, only two that actually received a bunt sign - that sticks with you.

Project 4: sets

The sets I build depends on how much I like the look of the cards. I know people bemoan Gypsy Queen, but I like it year and year. Especially 2015 GQ. Yes , I love 2015 Gypsy Queen. And I love Allen and Ginter, too. Other sets all depend how I feel about them. Maybe the full set. Maybe an insert set only. But I like to buy the cards to have them in my hand before I decide if I will construct the entire thing.

Project 5: Vintage set - 1964

I am still trying to complete the 2013 Heritage (damn inserts and SPs), but decided to take a crack at my first vintage build with the original 1964. I was having a good go, but then ran into a snag - financially and figuratively. Condition doesn't matter to me, but the seller I was snagging decent cards at a great price dried up, so now I am still trying to build on the cheap, but it's a grind. My plan for 2018 is to get focused back on the build and hope to be past the 85% mark. We shall see.

Project 6: Frankensets

I have two frankenset builds in progress: buyback and White Sox. I am much farther on the White Sox build, but it's getting tough finding cards for the missing holes. I am about 100 cards or so away from a run thru card 700. I have cards here and there above it, so maybe I run it higher? Maybe I should cut it off lower? The buyback set - slow go. Same finances issue as the '64 build. I am at 140 cards or so. It's not even in a binder it's such a pathetic looking build. Maybe when I crack 250 I'll start filling pages.

Project 7: 2005 Project

This is fairly simple to explain. It is just collecting the autograph of every player and coach from the Sox 2005 World Series team. I need to get some TTMs out for a few of the players that I know where they are and hopefully they will return. My big need is Man Soo Lee. He was the bull pen catcher for the team. Digging around, the last article I remember supposedly stated Mr Lee was an executive with the KBO. I just searched now and I see he carried the torch for the past Olympics. Otherwise, I a stumped trying to get a cards signed by him. If anyone has an inside track of his autograph on a 2.5x3.5 piece of cardboard, let's talk.

Project 8: secret

Yup - I am intentionally teasing something. It's not really awesome, but nothing I want to reveal right now.

And I think that's really about all. Anything else I collect really just falls into my lap, like autographs and relics.

Aren't you glad you read to the very end? Was it worth it?

How about now?

Back in the house

Unlike another couple blogs, my buyback frankenset is incredibly stalled. I don't search ebay much for the stamped cards. I don't buy a lot of packs that would contain buybacks. I don't hit enough card shows to find them for sale in boxes. But is all cases, I think that buybacks are far overpriced. Then again, I tend too be a cheap skate.

All skate, reverse.

Fortunately, the owner of one of the other blogs I mentioned is going gang busters on his frankenset build. I refer to Shane over at Shoebox Legends. Shane is picking up buybacks from COMC and Ebay, with the Ebay purchases usually being lots. And since Shane's current set is more than twice the size of mine (464 cards), there are cards within the lots that create dupes. And Shane is generous to share many of his duplicates with me. Let's have a gander at a recent PWE I received and see who made the cut into my set.

First, we start with the keepers, as these are all card numbers I currently do not have in the set.

Some day, I'll build a 1973 set. I love getting any '73 cards I can, so '73 buybacks are great additions.

Nice view of old Yankee stadium on the Barrios card.

Manning and Manwaring. Those are great caps Cleveland had in the late 70's. So there are seven cards that made the set. But Shane sent 9, so in homage to Shane's posts, let's see what happens to the other 2 cards.

A nice 1973 card of Jim McAndrew. Definite spring training posed shot, but it is a '73 card. And I mentioned before my love of 1973 Topps. This is card #436, so let's see what I currently have in that spot.

A 1979 Cards of Hector Cruz. Dig that Astroturf, and the Sansabelt polyester pull overs of the Giants. This is a no-brainer.

Out you go, Hector. The other dupe I received was card #181.

1978 Topps buyback of Astros Ken Forsch. This looks like a card that would be a shop job, but Ken had been an Astro for many years by the time '78 Topps came along. What card currently is #181 in my set?

1977 A's Ken McMullen. Neither are amazing sets, and neither are great images either. I am a big fan of Houston bringing back the orange caps to their uniforms. McMullen is also posing at spring training. So who wins the battle of the Kens?

I appreciate the card, Shane, but I need to keep that McMullen in the set. Too nice of a background. With the 7 new cards, my frankenset currently sits at 151 cards. Slowly, but surely, I am getting there.

Big cards in small envelopes

I did a ton of sorting and filing recently, and somehow I feel like I barely made a dent to my desk. The fact that Zistle is in total limbo is the first issue, so I have a good 150-200 cards sitting here I have not entered because about 35% of them are sets that are not in the database, and probably never will be with Beckett doing pretty much nothing with the site.

Live Zistle security camera image

There are also a few stacks of cards to sort into the dupe box, others need to get broken down by team, a 400 count box stuff with a purchase of cards (for a future post), packs for APTBNL storage and then just a general clutter. My desk is too much a catch all. Oh yeah - and a few stacks of wonderful generosity from bloggers and readers. So let me combine a few small mailers in one. I hope each of you posted won't mind.

Yup. I am still working on 2016 GQ. Thankfully, Duane at Democratic Roadkill dropped a few cards towards me on my Want list, including that Ruth SP. And it didn't stop there.

Night Owl loves his minis, but he would be hard pressed to top Duane and his mini sets. If I recall, and correct me if I am wrong, Duane has built ever mini set released in A&G. And yes - EVERY. The borders, the backs, the inserts, the SPs, the extended minis. All of them. Thankfully, a fair amount of his overage comes to my binders, which is why I don't mind sending the minis I pull from my Gint-A-Cuffs box out east. Thanks Duane.

Just a 3 card PWE from Fuji. He recently ripped a couple damaged boxes of Hometown Heroes (I need in on them just for the hits) and helped me get closer to completing the base set - a single card short of the non SP. Thanks for the help, Mark.

Commishbob and myself are getting famous over at UniWatch, each of us getting a shout out the past couple weekends when Phil put an ask out about what makes the perfect baseball card. In the long run, they all do. Except the ones with Red Wings on them. Cubs too. But these three have neither, with a couple vintage for the miscut binder and a Drake's Baines. I have no idea what Sox are in the Drake's Big Hitters set, but this is one I do not have.

Bob also dropped a Fox Exhibit card on me, and then two autographs. It's the second Minnie I own, though the first I have is just a 3x5 index card, so I like one with the Cuban Comet's face. To think we once had LaRussa in the 3rd base dugout. The only title he secured on the south side was the '83 Division Champs. He had to leave to get a ring (or 3). Nice additions, Bob.

I'm going there: not quite sure how these are called "no blackplate" when you have two of the three cards showing players in the alt black jersey. Hey - I don't design the cards. I just criticize them. These three arrived from Judson over at My Cardboard Habit. Recent pulls from a couple of hot White Sox boxes. Thankfully, those that get those hot boxes send me envelopes, so I reap the benefit. Thanks Judson.

Last, but not least, is Shane at Shoebox Legends. We are both working on a buy back frankenset, though mine has stalled and his is exploding. But again - I reap the benefits of bloggers. Ten of Shane's rejects hit my mailbox. The Splittorff just reminds you how amazing the images from the 1973 set are.

Here are the rest, with a miscut Nelson to finish off the scan. Man - '59 Topps has some funky colors in their football release too. Gotta love the old Colts logo in the upper right. Shane goes through his recent pickups to see what makes the cut into the set and which get the reject as being dupes. I will say that I had to make a couple cuts as well, as two numbers were already filled. Let's look at them.

YUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!!! Two were exact copies of current cards in the set, right down to the foil stamp. Fortunately, Colborn in the set got to move from the buy back to the miscut binder. The extra Jutze? I think I know a dimwit I can mail it to. Thanks for the help, Shane.

Alright. My desk is getting a little cleaner. Barring another family get together, I might have it cleared by August.

The sort of political post

I few posts back, I made a statement about my last visit to my LCS, focusing on the word "last" and saying it was the subject of another post. One person caught that statement and commented that he thinks my vague phrasing may be that I have stopped going to that shop. Well, let's rip off the band aid and get to it.

Simba will make it hurt less. Hakuna Ma-up yours.

For those that haven't figured it out, I'm a pretty hard liberal. Not psycho left wing, but a far distance from moderate. Swing by my house sometime and check out my bumper sticker collection on the window in the office. Now my local LCS (5 locations with the main just 10 minutes from my house), the owner is pretty conservative. Dyed in the wool right wing. If you go to his shop, there are two TVs on. If Brian is not there, you usually have sports on. But when Brian is in the shop, it's Fox News all the time. Rarely you get a game, but that would only be on pack wars night and the insistence of the folks in the shop.

We all have our views and morals. We all vote for whom we want. That's what's this place is about. I would rag Brian about Trump, but currently he is the Cheeto in Charge (who knows how much longer), but it is what it is. Brian had no issues with my left views and I accepted his right. At times we would discuss some things where we had opposing views. I can honestly say it's always refreshing to hear new angles on subjects. It's important we listen, even if we don't agree and we do not change our position.

Anyway, a couple weeks back I stopped in the store after a doctor's appointment. It was National hockey card day for one thing. And since I am not buying 2017 flagship, I hoped someone has ripped boxes and cases, leaving the cards behind for the shop to resell. I was not let down.

I spent time digging through this commons box, pulling out White Sox and other binder cards. People were coming in and out (the store does good business) and Brian is always very personable. He knows all his regulars and semi regulars well and greets them warmly with more than card talk. One couple came in and made a comment they hadn't seen Brian in a while at the usual place they would run into him - Walmart. Brian's response:

"I don't shop there anymore. They started carrying that Black Lives Matters crap so I take my money elsewhere."

I was well in earshot to hear this, and while we have differences, that statement cut me to the core. I took his statement two ways. First, I see that as him not really understanding what BLM is all about and the reason it has formed. But as I thought more, and factored in his noticeable love of all things Drumpf, I felt a tinge that his statement was mildly racist.

To this moment, and beyond, I don't think of him as a racist person. I probably never will. But there was too much in what he said and how he said it that shook my own morality. "He has a good point", I thought. "If you don't like the world direction a shop, company or corporation has, you have the right to take your business elsewhere". He has that right. You have that right. And I have that right. So I collected up what I had, paid and haven't gone back.

Brian not shopping at Walmart is a blip on their radar, just as I not shopping at his card store will do nothing to hurt his business. If you average it out, I maybe spend $50-75 a month at his shop. My wallet will not be missed when the quarterly totals are figured. But I cannot in my right mind fail to speak with my pocket in the same way he does, or the rest of us should do.

The one thing: I can afford this luxury. Sure, Brian has 5 shops in the area, and the two nearest to my house are his. But I am fortunate in this blog community to have so many shops to visit. Off the top of my head I can count 6 shops within an hour from me, plus darn near weekly card shows I can attend. Many of you barely have one of either shop or show. So this financial protest doesn't hurt me, but if I was to stop shopping at Jewel, I need my groceries from somewhere, and there's always Tony's, Mariano's, Aldi, Caputo's, Ultra Foods.....you get the idea.

If anyone is in town and wants to go, I will go. But I am making a conscious effort to give my business to another establishment. And if they all support Drumpf, there's always the internet.

Ok - enough of that. What was my last purchase? For starters, I pulled the complete series 1 White Sox set. I need an extra Eaton for the player collection if anyone has a dupe. Also in the commons box I found these:

Buybacks for the frankenset. Gem mint - I should get them graded.

Double play cards. I like finding that Pedroia for this image because it shows that even the '87 Topps design is better than this year's, mainly because the image it's cut off by the horrible layout. Who is Peterson doubling off? I know it's a Cub from the weeds in the background, but I would have to squint to see the name. Or to even know that Jace was soaring over someone. Dustim? Oh yeah - there is another player in the frame for sure.

Three throwbacks? Is that all in the base set? I really should stop complaining and be thankful I don't have to add too many to the binder.

Someone asked for the '65 vintage box, and I was able to hit it before they put it back. Every vintage was a dollar or less. Wood goes to a soon to start PC. I picked up a few more White Sox for the 1965 set than just these two.

Last, I showed the Stengel already, but no one will complain for another view. And yup, TTM autograph for a dollar on some loved vintage. I almost passed, but I can think of a Cardinal fan who is quite happy about one of the Final Four teams that would not refuse this card.

I apologize if I got too political and thank you if you read this far. I'll do my best to only talk about cute, fun things in the future.

Like bunnies and music.

Good things in small packages

I stand 6 foot 2 inches tall.

We can stack it higher if you like.

I only say that to bring up that my wife is barely 5 feet tall. Now, we don't look necessarily like Shaq and Simone Biles when we are side by side, but I can easily rest my chin on the top of her head. That being said, she is still the one in the relationship with a Master's (to my few hours short of an Associate's), always made more money per year than me and is just an all around better person.

While I have some large mailing to dig and sort through, here's a couple quick shots from a couple bloggers. First we have Shane over at Shoebox Legends that dropped a PWE on me.

One of the couple miscuts he sent. Don't over see a miscut checklist, but they should be out there like any other. Shane's throwback frankenset if much farther than mine, for the fact that I am not doing a great job acquiring any. Two of his dupes will fit well into open numbers on the checklist.

Rodon should remain with the south siders next year. Then again, who knows. Cracked ice refractors goes right over to the Paulie binder.

And last is a couple Museum Collection Dufex from Pinnacle. They always look better in hand. Thanks, Shane!

Next is a small mailer from Dime Box Nick? I am sure the postage was more expensive then the contents, and that is fine with me.

Queue up the Pocahontas song. I swear that Johnson is a Walmart blue and not some odd teal color.

UD made a baseball Artifacts? The things mailings will teach you. I also didn't know Abbot had one of the Studio credit card...er....cards. Those things have me confused. While I like the idea, I always hated the execution. Then again, is there any way to make the whole credit card design work?

Lastly, just the card in the middle is the actual thing. Outside are both reprints. Goose is one of the Berger's Best, which stinks cuz the real thing is the last card I need for the Sox team set that year. I really need to just buy the thing from Sportlots. Thanks Nick!

Don't look cross at something because of it's size. It may not be what you expect, but it's still good.

What's in your wallet?

It's been far too long since I have carried a card in my wallet. I did when Gavin first proposed it. It was fun snapping random images here and there and using Twitter for the posts. Then life got in the way and the card came out of my wallet late in 2015 never to reappear. I never selected a replacement card for 2016 wallet card fun.

Cux you suck.

 But I am going to do my best getting back into the #walletcard fun in 2017. But before I reveal the lucky card (from my White Sox dupe box), lets see how I made space for it to reside upon my buttocks by showing recent ebay purchases that made money leave my wallet.

Unfortunately, to top half of this Fleer sticker is missing. This comes from the cloth patches Fleer released from 1969-1976. According to Fleer Sticker Project, this is one of two variations that were released in 1971 when the Sox went from blue to red uniforms. For two quarters, with the same for shipping, I couldn't pass it up.

Busted Hawks prospects? We got plenty of them for six cents each. Hankinson had all of 18 games in the NHL with the Hawks and Ducks. Larocque played just 3 games in net for the Hawks. Von Arx had 19 games for the Hawks, but was a decent star in his native Switzerland, securing 6 championships and 3 MVP titles. He also played for his homeland in the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Cheapo buybacks. I'm working on the frankenset, but have dropped well behind Shoebox Legends in my build, mainly because I won't pay more than a quarter per card. So 7 for $3 with shipping is slightly over, but I'll take it. I believe I am at about 150 cards into the set build.

Patterson is a Cyberstats bunt that set me back a dime. The Saladino.....I'm torn. Should I put it in the throwbacks binder, or the Eaton PC since there is a cameo? I guess I am forced to find a 2nd. I snagged this for $6 if I recall.

Penny autograph with a dollar shipping? Yes please. Oh, Joe. We had such hopes for you on the south side.

And let's hit the drum roll for the new resident in my wallet......

You can blame Random for this. It told me to select the 4th card in the box, and Mike Caruso is the winner. A nice photo from Pacific, for sure. It won't be as rough on the eyes as the 91 Fleer of Ventura I had in '15. Enjoy my back pocket, Mikey.