PWEs of Guys I Collect

 I have a few binders crammed full of cards of my favorite Cubs, but there are a handful of guys who get special treatment. In my collection I have five players for which I have cataloged all their cards in a Google Sheet. When I was younger and only collected Ryne Sandberg cards I was able to memorize every card in my Ryno binder. I'd hit a card show with my family on a weekend and I would instantly know if I had a card in my collection or not.

These days I do so much window shopping on Ebay I can't remember if I actually have a specific card or if I just keep scrolling past it online. I know some people prefer Trading Card Database, and I do have all of my Vogelbach cards listed on the website, but I prefer my Google Sheets which allows me the freedom to make additional notes. 

For instance, this beauty of a Kerry Wood relic, from 2004 Fleer National Pastime set, came from Greg, the proprietor of The Collective Mind blog. 

Adding in a note of where each card came from helps to remind me of what a great community we have here.

Greg is one of 30+ bloggers who have contributed to my Kerry Wood collection. Great stuff!  Thanks, Greg!

A second PWE arrived this week and it was one of those types where a 9-pocket page is folded up and stuffed into a business envelope. I've had great success sending and receiving cards this way.

Here's the layout of how the cards would have looked if I could have gotten the plastic page to lay flat for a picture. 

This surprise mailing comes from Johnny's Trading Spot. John and I have swapped cards many times over, but not so recently. 

I'm not so sure how he came about these non-certified autographs, but I'm not one to turn away autographs of the VOGELMONSTER! For what it's worth, that's only my second copy of Vogelbach's 2011 BoChro Auto. Love it!

I also really dig blue parallels of Cubs players. Check out this 2013 Bowman Platinum Vogey!

Yeah, that's some good stuff there for sure. One might think the best card in this PWE was one of the autos or the blue parallel. One would be wrong. 

At first glance I thought I already had every card non-auto card in this PWE, but I always double check with my Google Sheet. 

I had the base card of this 2013 Bowman Top 100 prospect card, but not the die cut parallel!

Man, that's a surprise!  Thank goodness for Google Sheets, because it's pretty clear to me I don't know my collection like I did 30 years ago. 

I can't wait to place those autos in top loaders and page-up this die cut in my Vogelmasher binder! 

Thanks Greg and John for thinking of me and spending the postage to send cards my way. Your acts of cardboard generosity will not be soon forgotten!

Have a great day and thanks for reading!

A Post because Vogelbach was Trending

 I was out in the yard helping my wife set up soaker hoses in FIVE different beds when I came inside and saw a Twitter notification on my phone. 

Oh, Yeah?  Let's goooooo!  (Big time hat tip to PKS!

Guess which shirt I'm wearing today? My sister gave me this gem for my birthday two years ago. 

I think I wear this shirt every weekend. 😁

Also, the shirt is right on the mark, as the VOGELMONSTER went deep twice today. 

If you're into watch big guys destroy baseballs here are the links to home run #1 and home run #2.

Just for good measure, here's the latest Dan Vogelbach card I added to my collection this past week. It's another one of those parallels from the 2011 Donruss Elite Extra Edition set. 

A ten year old, pre-rookie auto of my favorite masher for under a five spot (including shipping) on Ebay. 

Man, I'm living the good the life. Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Looking Back on Ten Years

 Ten years ago today I started blogging. My sister and wife each had their own blog and they posted on events and happening from their lives, so that's the angle I took at the beginning. I wasn't as carboard-centric as I am now with my initial posts, but I had jumped back into collecting in 2009 with Tri-Star's Obak set and found I truly enjoyed reading sports card content from other collectors. It was only a matter of time before I would begin blogging about cards. 

I started out with a food post inspired by the Chicago Cubs Cookbook. That was followed by vacation summaries, house projects, a Warrior Dash, bobbleheads, baseball games, posts about Gus (my first cat) and then my 33rd post showed off baseball cards for the first time. The cards were actually part of my table top epoxy post. 

Here's the first baseball card I posted on my blog:

1992 Upper Deck, Turk Wendell, #780

This card is now featured prominently in my Folder of Fun. Kind of neat how things work out. 

Scrolling through my first year of blogging has been a lot of fun. I never really intended my rambling posts to turn into a journal of sorts, but that's exactly what I'm looking at. For instance, I forgot how excited I was when rumors were first leaked that Theo Epstein had been seen in Chicago. 

Earlier this year I mentioned how I'm changing the way I'm collect and I believe I also see a slow shift in how I'm blogging coming on. Given that my life is largely focused around all things baseball and outdoor activities, perhaps a subtle shift of content, back to the early days of the blog, will be welcomed with open arms by my current audience. We'll have to wait and see what develops I suppose. 

Many changes have taken place in the last decade, but there's been one constant in my collection. I was chasing cards of this young masher back then, and this one arrived last week: 

What's serendipitous about my most recent Vogelbach purchase is it's a card from Panini's Donruss Elite Extra Edition set from 2011. That's kind of appropriate I think!

Thanks for reading and following along!

Simpsons Folder of Fun Addition - Part 12

 If you missed the first post of this series you can go here to catch up.

Here we have a "D'Oh Knows" Bo Jackson parody card. I mean, who doesn't know the 1990 Score Bo card? It is perhaps the most recognizable card from the junk wax era, no? This parody card was included as part of the "Homer at the Bat" custom card set. 

The back of the above card and the Tatis card, below, are both business cards. 

The Tatis card shows the artist's true talent. Very nice!

I wish I would have looked over the list of player cards before making purchase. I would have liked to have bought the Ernie Banks and the Buck O'Neil cards to add to my collection. Maybe I'll bite the shipping bullet and give in to my collecting desires. Real first world problems I know!

Thanks again for following along with this newest Folder of Fun addition. 

Next post, we'll be getting back aboard the Vogelmonster train! 

Simpsons Folder of Fun Addition - Part 11

 If you missed the first post of this series you can go here to catch up.

Darryl, Darrrryl, Darrrrrrrrrryl!

Another great looking card for sure. Note Strawberry's classic leg kick. Beautiful!

Nine home runs in nine at-bats and "Monty" Burns pulls him for Homer? I mean, you just can't beat that story line, right?

Not that anyone would be interested, but the artist, Justin Cousson, also has another Darryl Strawberry card for sale on his site, and many other players as well. 

Tomorrow we'll wrap up this little series with a couple of bonus cards. Thanks again for following along!

Simpsons Folder of Fun Addition - Part 10

 If you missed the first post of this series you can go here to catch up.

Roger Clemens. Actually, this is probably my least favorite card in the set. For starters, I wish a different color than red would have been used for the player background. 

Now that I think about it this card is very Christmassy as well. Meh. I also never understood why a baseball pitcher was needed for a softball game. I know, I know... I'm nitpicking about a fictional softball game. 

Did you know Roger Clemens made his own chicken sounds for the episode. Ha, great stuff!

The last player card from the "Homer at the Bat" series is slated for tomorrow. Don't miss it!

Simpsons Folder of Fun Addition - Part 9

 If you missed the first post of this series you can go here to catch up.

Wade Boggs with the beard, eye black, batting gloves... just great stuff!

I think Boggs (and Tony Gwynn) may be the best pure hitters I've seen during my time. Perhaps a hat tip to Ichiro is deserved as well. 

There we go. I stand corrected. I thought only three players from the "Homer at the Bat" episode were inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame. I didn't realize Homer was inducted in 2017. 

These cards just continue to make me smile!

We're closing in on the end of this mini series. I hope you've been enjoying it. 😁

Simpsons Folder of Fun Addition - Part 8

 If you missed the first post of this series you can go here to catch up.

Don Mattingly. No sideburns, but some flowing hair out the back. Nice.

Okay, I've put this on the back burner long enough. What is the mascot for the Springfield softball team? Is it the Isotopes? For some reason I have that stuck in my head. 

I could see Steinbrenner and Burns having very similar ownership qualities. I just read the Wikipedia page for "Homer at the Bat" and the number of cultural references is pretty astounding!

Three more MLB players to go. Has your favorite shown yet? Or are you still waiting for your guy like PKS?

Simpsons Folder of Fun Addition - Part 7

 If you missed the first post of this series you can go here to catch up.

Ahhh. A young Ken Griffey, Jr., with a thin mustache and his backwards hat. Classic!

Girffey was probably the hottest name in baseball at the time this episode aired on February 20th, 1992. He just finished his age 21 season by hitting 0.327, being named to the All-Star game and winning the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards.

I can't claim to have played alongside Griffey, but I did visit the ballpark where he launched his first professional homerun. I visited one of my former high school players during his internship for the Everett AquaSox a couple of summers ago. 

Behold:

Alright, enough about me. Tomorrow I'll show off the first baseman for the Springfield softball squad. 

Thanks for reading!

Simpsons Folder of Fun Addition - Part 6

 If you missed the first post of this series you can go here to catch up.

The Wizard of Oz!

I think the only thing that could make this card better would be if it pictured Ozzie doing a backflip. 

Ozzie was the first member of the Mr. Burns' softball team to be enshrined in Cooperstown. Very cool. I believe only two of the other rostered players have been inducted in the baseball Hall of Fame. Do you think you can name both of them without looking them up? 

Tomorrow is our second post with a Hall of Fame member. Stay tuned!

Simpsons Folder of Fun Addition - Part 5

 If you missed the first post of this series you can go here to catch up.

I remember being disappointed when I first watched the "Homer at the Bat" episode to find Steve Sax was the second baseman and not my beloved Ryne Sandberg. 

These cards just continue to make me smile. This "photo" is a pretty generic pose, but there's something about a player being turned into a cartoon character which makes my eyes linger much longer before flipping to the next card. 

I feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with the Springfield police. Poor, Steve!

I haven't mentioned it until now, but for what it's worth all the biographical information and career numbers match up with baseballreference.com. 

Tomorrow we'll show off my favorite player from the "Homer at the Bat" episode. 

Thanks for following along!

Simpsons Folder of Fun Addition - Part 4

 If you missed the first post of this series you can go here to catch up.

As promised, here is our 40-40 man. 

Canseco was one of the first baseball players I remember showing off and flexing his muscles for the press. He even looks pretty buff here drawn as a Simpsons character. 

I realize it's a completely fictitious world, but I'd like to know what Mr. Burns paid these guys to play for the company softball team. Do you think Canseco would have commanded the most? Or may they were all paid the same amount? Knowing Mr. Burns it probably wasn't very much. 

I hope you're enjoying the slow reveal of these cards. The softball team's second sacker is on deck!

Simpsons Folder of Fun Addition - Part 3

 If you missed the first post of this series you can go here to catch up.

Mike Scioscia is our first MLB player from the Homer at the Bat custom card series by Justin Cousson. 

Unrelated side note: I've always had trouble spelling Scioscia's last name. Yet, I've never had trouble with the likes of Mark Grudzielanek or Jeff Samardzija. Go figure. 

I'm going to have to find a way to watch this episode again. It's probably been a good couple of decades and I could use a refresher. For instance, I don't recall Scioscia working at the power plant. If Burns was going to bring in ringers, then I guess it makes sense for them to work in the plant. 

Next up for tomorrow we have a former 40-40 man. 

Thanks for reading!

Simpsons Folder of Fun Addition - Part 2

If you missed the first post of this series you can go here to catch up.

Today's card is none other than the owner, Mr. Burns

I believe Mr. Burns is giving a sign here. NO?  What immediately jumps out to me is his old-timey uniform, which plays up well considering his birth year noted on the back of the card. 

Just for reference, Morecai Brown pitched from 1903 through 1916. 

Additionally, I had to look up Gabby Street and Jim Creighton, because I was not familiar with their careers. Creighton's inclusion on this card is a bit of a head scratcher as he passed away before Mr. Burns was born. 

Man, I love the attention to detail on the backs of these cards!

Card #3 and our first MLB players is slated for tomorrow. Stay tuned! 

 

Simpsons Folder of Fun Addition - Part 1

 Time for something fun and exciting! Have you guys seen these customs floating around on social media? 

I was first introduced to Justin Cousson's artwork on Twitter and immediately decided my Folder of Fun was would be incomplete without his Homer at the Bat customs from The Simpsons - Season 3, Episode 17.

I'm going to post his full set here, one card at a time, and we'll start with arguably the best card in the set. 

Homer is the man. I dig the artsy color background and I'm completely on board with the artist borrowing Topps' 1987 card design. 

The front of the cards are what originally caught my eye, but the detailed write-ups on the back are what convinced to purchase the set. 

I was lucky enough to find Cousson's website and snag a set in the middle of March. As you can see by the hand numbering there were only 100 sets available. If you're interested, then I'd jump on these soon. You could buy a 2021 Heritage blaster on the secondary market for roughly the same price. I think I made the right decision! 

See you tomorrow for the second card. Any guesses who we'll see next? 

The Joy of a Simple Insert Set.

Do you remember your first card? 

I do. 

I mentioned it once before on this blog, many blog entries ago, but it was a Topps Glossy All-Star card of Ryne Sandberg on top of a 1988 cello rack pack. 

Since then those glossy All-Star cards have always had a sweet spot in my collection. There's not much to the backs, but the fronts contain everything I like about baseball cards. 

Let's take this 1984 Topps Glossy All-Star card of Andre Dawson for instance. 

Here's a quick list of everything I love about this card:

1. Glossy = Shiny. And, I love me some shiny.
2. White borders and a clean design with an All-American color scheme.
3. How about that Expos hat? Pure awesomeness!
4. The Hawk's smile. 
5. Dawson's knuckles are lined up properly like all good hitter do. 
6. The bleacher railing, chain link fence and tree in the background just screams spring training. 

The Topps Glossy All-Stars take me back to my early collecting days. It was a simpler time in the hobby when Topps tried to bait you to buy a pack of cards with one awesome insert card on top of a rack pack.  Good times.

Thanks for stopping by today and Happy Opening Day!