My First Rip In Quite Awhile

 I had an unexpected envelope arrive in the mail the other day, and I finally found a minute to dive in. There was a nice, handwritten note from a good blogging friend, a couple of extra in-person autos and a pack of cards. 

I don't buy packs of cards anymore. There was a time when I couldn't wait for the next product to hit the shelves, but times change. 

In any case, this pack got me more excited than anything baseball card related has in awhile. For one, this pack was a gift from a blogger, not just a random one from a box off the shelf. Secondly, take a look at that wrapper. How cool is that?

Yep, what I had in my hands was a Japan Edition pack of 2024 Topps card straight from Japan!

Abrams and Jung are couple of nice young players to start things off. 

There were four rookies in the pack, including Kyle Harrison, who I had on my fantasy team for a spell last year. 

The Everson Pereira could be headed back to Japan. I know the sender has a soft spot for the Yankees. 

I'm glad I got a Shohei, even if it's an insert. This is my first card of his as a Dodger. 

I didn't get any Cubs. A Seiya or Shota card would have been like hitting the lottery. The closest thing to a Cub out of the ten cards was this card of William Contreras. 

Yes, I'm aware William has never played for the Northsiders. His brother did though. That's kind of close... I guess. 

Always save the best for last. Randy Arozarena is one of my favorites. I love this card and this pose. 

Thank for you so very much for the care package, Zippy Zappy! If there's anything I can send your way frow the States, cardboard or otherwise, please don't hesitate to reach out. All the best to you and the rest of my blogging brethren. 

A Pair of Cubs from the Far East

 It's not very often these days I feel the motivation to check in on the blogosphere, and even more rare that I feel the itch to scratch out a post. There were times when I would read everything, hit the refresh button on my feed, and cross my fingers that someone else had posted something in the last thirty seconds. 

Times Change. Interests Change. Priorities Change. 

In short, I'm doing well. Really well actually. I'm in a good spot professionally, physically, and mentally. 

As far as cards go, I think I have a handful of Cubs cards from each of the past few years, but not enough to know what the current Bowman design looks likes off the top of my head or even what year of Heritage we're on. I'm still chugging away on my Vogelmonster collection. I recently hit 900 unique-to-me Vogelbach cards, but they aren't all listed in TCBD, which has me at 852. (A part of me wonders if this is the last year we're gifted with the joy of Vogelbach on cardboard. 😢) 

Otherwise, I'm pretty disconnected from the collecting world altogether, which is by design. 

I read more about the Cubs than anything else these days. I'm not sinking money into the Marquee Network, because I just can't commit enough time to watching a game. The Cubs weren't carried by a local radio station in Peoria this year, but the White Sox and Cardinals both were. (The 121-loss White Sox, seriously?)  So, I watch MLB.com's Cub game summaries each morning and search for articles to read about the players. 

I actually feel more connected to the players this way. I enjoy getting to know who the players are and I've come to find that most of the current Cubs roster is comprised of really good human beings. The Cubs may have been underachieving in the eyes of some the last couple of years, but I find them extremely easy to root for. That's important to me. 

Two of my favorites are Seiya Suzuki and Shota "Mike" Imanaga. For those who haven't heard, Shota decided to use "Mike" for his coffee orders to make it easier on the baristas in Chicago. That's just a quick tidbit I unearthed from my daily readings. Fun stuff!

One of my best blogging friends sent me the two cards in this post all the way from Japan. So very, very cool. Thanks, Zippy Zappy!

Thanks for reading and enjoy the holiday season. 

But, that's my guy!

 2024 Topps Flagship is starting to find its way to the interwebs and I finally found a picture of this collector's most coveted card from Series 1. 

Behold!

The Vogelmonster

I called my wife over and asked her what she thought.

"That is not attractive facial hair."

"He looks pale." 

I retort with, "But, that's my guy!"

She pauses and adds, "They can't all be winning shots." 

She walks away. 

Man, I'm so glad baseball season is almost here! Happy collecting!

Checking In

 Don't get too excited. I'm just checking in to thank a couple of bloggers for dropping some Vogelbach love on me via the always appreciated PWE.

Yes, I'm still alive and kicking, but my focuses have changed slightly. I'm still adding Vogelbach cards to my collection, but I'm mostly working on filling the holes in my player collection from 2011-2021. I'm not purchasing newer cards (think 2022) of my favorite current player unless I can get them for less than a couple of bucks. Otherwise, sports cards aren't really occupying my time much. 

I'm reading a bit more, trying to get outside more (disc golf and hikes), and making an effort to spend more time with friends and family. 

Now, on to the mail!

I've always been a big fan of a handwritten note accompanying the card. The people in the hobby are the best part, and little personal touches like the notes above just make my day. 

Greg, from The Collective Mind, found this Playoff Contenders auto from 2011. Can you believe it's been eleven years since the Vogelmonster was drafted? How did that happen?

Jim, author of cards as I see them, sent the black and white Bowman from 2020. The B&W photo gives the card a little bit of that old-timey feel, which I think meshes well with Vogey. 

A BIG thank you to Greg and Jim for thinking of me and also for their generosity. 

I hope all my blogging friends are doing well!

A Base and a Button

Lately, when asked, I've been subbing for other teachers during my prep period. The pay isn't fantastic, but I'll keep a rough record of what I earn when filling in where needed, and the bottom line always goes toward baseball cards or disc golf items. My family refers to this as "fun money!"

I found two rare Vogelmonsters.  And, let me tell you, they are FUN.

Behold! A "base" card!  (Yes, made with pieces from an actual game used base.)

I remember when Triple Threads came out in 2020 and Kyle Lewis was hitting homer after homer on his way to winning the Rookie of the Year award. I more or less gave up on owning one of these beauties.  Patience. Patience rewards those who wait!

Arguably Mitch Haniger, pictured at the top, is the biggest name on the card. But, just you wait. Pencil Vogey in as the DH for Milwaukee and good things will happen in 2022. 

The next card is from Panini's 2021 Spectra set and is numbered 1 out of 5. I'm missing quite a few parallels from this set still, but I was over the moon excited to land this gem.

This is my second Vogelbach button card, with the other being acquired last year from Panini's National Treasures. 

Oh, what a great week of checking the mailbox!

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy Super Bowl Sunday!

Snowy Saturday Mail Post

 The mailbox was empty three days this past work week. Typically, this is an occurrence I can expect maybe once a week, and I figure the big snowstorm which cancelled school for two days is partly responsible. 

Today made up for it. 

John, from Johnny's Trading Spot, sent me some Vogelbachs to admire. All seven of the cards within the PWE can be easily placed into one of two categories. Above, are the non-shiny cards. 

Below . . . HELLO shiny!

The Bowman Chrome mini, on the bottom right, shows the brilliance of chrome based cards in the light. I'm probably more of a vintage fan, which is famously not shiny, but I also fawn over cards which make me squint. I guess I'm an equal opportunity collector.   Thanks so much for the cards, John!

Also in the mail was an Ebay purchase. Each morning I pull up my "2021 Vogelbach" bookmark and browse through the most recent listings looking for new-to-me Vogelmonster cards.  I can't tell you how many times I've seen this next card come and go, being relisted and relisted, with the price sometimes staying static but dropping on occasion. 

The final price of this one, after taxes and with free shipping was $2.45. I couldn't let a relic card of my favorite player, from a high-end release like National Treasures, sit out their any longer. And actually, now that I think about it, this is the first time I have purposefully purchased a duplicate Vogelbach card. No, this is not the start to a new buying pattern and I'm definitely not going all Tim Wallach Collector with my collection. 

I'm not sure what to do with my new Vogelbach relic card. I'm thinking about looking into find a one-touch card holder and just leaving it out on my coffee table in the man room. If it gets a little sun bleached it wouldn't be the end of the world, seeing as the rest of my Vogelbach cards are safely tucked away. Do you have any suggestions as to what I should do with my new acquisition?

Thanks for stopping by and reading. 

A Good Home

 Cats. My wife and I have two cats. 

The "Cat Cave" is meant for one cat occupancy.

Would I call myself a cat person. No.

Holiday. Her favorite follow on Twitter is "cats in places where cats shouldn't be" https://twitter.com/timelinecats

Do they fit my busy teaching and coaching lifestyle? Yes.  

Hugo. Always the helper cat. 

Neither of them demand much attention and if I give them a clean litter box and few cups of food we can head out for the weekend knowing they'll manage just fine.

I have 11+ more years in public education, when my retirement plan fully vests, and then it's dog time. I will work in retirement, but my priorities will be different and some lucky shelter dog will be given a very good home. 

I follow a couple local pet shelters online and my timeline is often full of man's best friend. I'm not sure why I do that to myself. 

Speaking of shelters... My favorite disc golf company will release a new disc in March, named after their shelter rescue Binx, the one eyed cat. The stamp on the disc features Binx and part of the proceeds go an animal shelter. 

Do I need more discs? My wife would say, "No. No, you do not." 

Will I be buying this disc?  Yes, yes I will. It will find a good home in my disc golf bag and get plenty of use this summer. 

Lastly, a bubble mailer from the west coast arrived last week. Fuji reached out and asked if I still still took up residence in P-town. Naturally!

A hefty stack of VOGELMONSTERS were found in my mailbox shortly thereafter and you know they have found a wonderfully good home. 

Fuji, thanks for the cards and for giving me something to blog about. 

Have a great weekend!

Game Plan for 2022 and the Joy of a Completed Set

 It was about three weeks ago when I posted about my futile attempts to secure the last card to the 1986 Larry Fritsch Negro League Stars set. I had preferred to trade for a copy, but after a couple weeks of crickets I finally broke down and purchased the final card from Ebay.

Currently, the only set I'm working on building is the Conlon Collection. I haven't scratched a card off my want list for that monster in over two years. So maybe "working on" isn't the right verb-age there.  

I'm not sure what set I should build next, but I would love to try another Negro League set or maybe a HOF player set, similar to Panini Cooperstown back in 2012 and 2013. Maybe Fanatics, who recently bought Topps, will have some new ideas in the works and we'll have something different on the horizon. 

In other news, I've collected Dan Vogelbach cards for eleven years now. I know, right? Time sure does go by fast. For 2022 I've decided to focus on filling in any gaps from the previous years AND only add one base card of the Vogelmonster from each set.  I did a quick calculation and 84% (604/721) of my Vogelbach cards are parallels.  My favorite player has averaged about 11 different unique cards each year. I'm done with parallels... you know, unless it's from 2011-2021. 

I hope everyone's new year is off to a great start! Thanks for reading!

An Auto of Randy Johnson?

 I celebrated a birthday a couple of weeks ago with my family and my sister surprised me with a nice little stash of autographed baseball cards. 

All of my autographs and relic cards are housed in top loaders within a couple of sizeable "shoeboxes" within my man room. Up first are a couple of infield prospects who didn't pan out. 

Neither Greg Smith nor Gary Scott had much MLB staying power, but Scott hit 0.366 during Spring Training in 1991 and had all of Chicago dubbing him the next coming of Ron Santo. 

This is my second autograph of Turk Wendell, who I have privately nicknamed "Turk the Quirk." 

Wendell who turned in a pretty fair major league career was more known for his quirky superstitions when we was first brought up. On my other card, which is also a Cubs card, he inscribed "Mets" under his signature. I'm glad he scribbled in "Cubs" this time around!

Tommy Hottovy did not play for the Cubs, but he is the current pitching coach for my favorite team. 

Up next are autographs of four different players with whom I share a surname: Greg Olson, Matt Olson, Garrett Olson and Gregg Olson. 

I have player collections of Greg and Gregg, but this is only my second card of Garrett and his first autograph. I've been known to snag Matt Olson base cards at shows on the cheap when I run across them, and this is my second autograph of his. 

Randy "Big Unit" Johnson was always one of my favorite players. This is not that Randy Johnson. 

This Randy Johnson played 204 games for the Braves in the early stages of the 1980s. Joke's on me! 😂 Good one, Jane!

This was my favorite card of the lot, and honestly it wasn't it even close. 

Julio Franco had one of those batting stances every kid wanted to imitate and it's shown on this card. Additionally, Julio's signature is beautiful and he's another one of those players who holds a footnote in my memory banks as one of the oldest to ever play baseball at its highest level.

Julio was actually my answer to a trivia question last month, albeit the wrong answer. "In 2004, this player became the oldest major leaguer to win a batting title." Julio hit 0.309 in 2004 as a 45 year old. FORTY-FIVE! But, alas, he did not win the batting title that year. (The correct answer is a slugger who is currently on his 10th year on the current HOF ballot.)

Thanks for the great stack of autographs, Jane!

The Joy of A Completed Set Run

For quite sometime now I've been working on adding each Topps baseball set from the time I was born to when I jumped out of the hobby during my teenage years. 

I started collecting cards in 1988, but I didn't finish that set until the summer of 2019. It wasn't that it was that difficult, but I never really took the time to see what I had until decades later. For the record, the first set build I managed to complete was the 1989 Topps set the summer it came out.  

Anyway, immediately following the completion of the '88 set I started on the 1982 set, one which I was pretty excited about. Older sets have star names which are not frequently on my radar and other players to learn about. Overall, it's a fun learning experience collecting an older set, but one that was interrupted by Covid. Also, I came to find not many collectors build sets from the early 80's so most card show dealers leave their inventory at home. Womp-womp.  

This past summer I thought I tracked down the last cards for the set, but after double checking I found I was missing card #600. Ouch. A double zero card number!  Thankfully, it was an 18 cent purchase from Sportlots, plus shipping of course. The card arrived early last week. 

Woo-Hoo! Now I have all the Topps sets from 1978 through 1993 Series 1. It's not the longest consecutive run on the blogosphere, but it's something I'm definitely proud of. 

A few set tidbits: 

• I have one set in a binder (1978) so I can flip through whenever the mood strikes. 
• Once upon a time I had three 1989 and three 1992 hand-collated sets. I busted a lot of junk wax during my youth!
• My favorite set build was the 1987 set, or better known to me as the 1987 Topps Project. I started the project on January 12 of 2014 with a modest stack of roughly 200 cards and finished the set in NINE days through blogger trades. That was a lot of fun and a lot of trades! (I later came to find I was missing five cards when double checking. I'm noticing a trend here.)

Well, that puts a wrap on my set building for the most part and this post also closes out 2021. 

Thanks for reading and I hope 2022 is a great one for you!

Shiny Die-Cut Auto For The Win

On my daily Ebay searches I usually only look at the most recent year for my favorite active player, because there aren't many holes in my player collection of the big burly slugger. At the beginning of each month though I search for new Vogelbach cards from past years.  A low-numbered serial number card turned up in my most recent search. 

This is the 2011 Extra Edition Gold Status die-cut autograph card numbered 3/5 of Vogelbach in his high school uniform. The serial number is right there on the palm of his glove, which I actually kind of like. It doesn't detract from the aesthetics of the card this way. 

This was a great and affordable find of The Vogelmonster. Love it!

Folder of Fun Additions

 One of the reasons I love Sportlots so much is I can grab truly fantastic cards for only 18 cents apiece. 

Check out this one:

I don't remember Youppi, the mascot for the defunct Expos, but how could I pass this card by knowing it was out there?

I'm sure you've seen this Roger McDowell card from 1992 Triple Play. I was hoping we would see a pitcher take to the mound with a utility belt this summer as a part of practical joke. Some got really upset (Max Scherzer) but most were okay with it. I guess I'm a little disappointed the current MLB landscape doesn't have a big jokester like McDowell was known for being. 

Oh, Paul Noce. Poor guy!  Nah, I figure that ball is either glued to pants seat or perhaps some concoction of pine tar and gum has been applied?

Steve Sparks... wasn't he a knuckleball guy? Regardless, this card just makes me smile. I hope it put a smile on your face as well!

Enjoy the holidays!

A Boost to the Player Collections

 Alright, it's time to show off the cards that did come in my recent Sportlots package. 

My Kerry Wood collection got a modest boost of two cards. 

I'm approaching 600 different cards of Kid K. Only nine more to go, but it might take some time because Kerry doesn't get a lot of love from Topps most years. 

Ryno does get quite a bit of Topps' attention each year. 

In fact, all but four of these cards were from the last four years. I'm well over the 1K card mark at this time, something younger probably never would have thought possible. 

That's it for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Down to One Card?

 My Sportlots order came in today and I have mixed emotions. This is the tenth time I've used the "Box" shipping method, and I love the savings in shipping which are possible. The time, as long as one isn't in a hurry, usually takes about 3-4 weeks. This one came in at exactly 19 days, which is pretty sweet. 

I'm excited to post the cards, which did come in, but I'm disappointed with the ones that didn't. Back in July I purchased what was listed as hand collated 1986 Larry Fritsch Negro League Stars set on Ebay. It was short eight cards. Strike One. 

I found three pretty early on and captured the Buck O'Neil on Beckett Marketplace. 

I thought I had the last four coming from one seller on Sportlots. Strike Two. 

Luckily, three of the four cards were still listed on Sportlots and they're on their way. I'm having a tough time pulling the trigger on the last single, which is listed on Ebay. 

Maybe someone has a copy of card #24 - Oscar Charleston they'd be willing to trade me?

Let me know if there's a copy of Oscar Charleston floating around in the blogosphere. I'll do my best to make it worth your while! Plus, I'll give him a great home. I've got the rest already paged up and in a binder just waiting to be put on display. 😁

There will be more show-and-tell Mail Day posts in the coming days.

Thanks for reading!

The Base Vogey and a Mini Bobbing Head Card

 The author of cards as i see them and long-time trading partner of more than a decade, gcrl, sent me a PWE with the 2021 Topps Update Dan Vogelbach card. 

Bonus: two new to me Kerry Wood cards were included. 

The above one is from the 2000 Pacific Paramount set and it is heavy on the blue!

The one below is from an insert set I've never seen before: 1999 Upper Deck Choice Mini Bobbing Heads.

The checklist from this 30 card set is loaded with stars. How has this fun set eluded me for so long?

Thanks for the great PWE of cards, Jim. I'll have something out to you soon!

Rooting for Buck

 Later this evening MLB Network will reveal the names of those players from the Early Baseball Era and Golden Days Era who are to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Each of the ballots consist of ten players, and 75% of the 16 person selection committee needs to vote for an individual to get the nod. You can find more information about the selection process and the different committees at the National Baseball Hall of Fame's website.

 I have opinions about many of the twenty combined names on the ballots, but I'm all-in on one particular individual: Buck O'Neil. 

 I visited the Negro League Baseball Museum in January of 2008, which started me down a rabbit hole about the often underrecognized Negro Leagues. I've learned a lot about many of the greats, like Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige and Cool Papa Bell, but Buck O'Neil has become my favorite. 

 I actually had a somewhat comprehensive write-up on O'Neil's career and influence when I was counting down my favorite bobbleheads in my collection back in 2012.  Buck O'Neil's name is all over the game of baseball. 

Since then I have been tracking down baseball cards which focus on the Negro Leagues and anything Buck O'Neil related which I may happen upon. Yes, in fact, he is represented in my Folder of Fun.

Dreams Fulfilled and artist Graig Kreindler produced a 184 card set celebrating the Negro Leagues during the summer of 2020. I wrote a blogpost after purchasing a copy of the set and the first two cards I spotlighted were of Buck O'Neil. 

Fast forward to this past summer and I read The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America.  This book was just the pick-me-up I needed after a year of pandemic teaching. Buck seemed to have had such a positive influence on everyone he met and he possessed a special talent of being able to put a positive spin on nearly every situation. 

 Recently, I've jumped back into blogging a bit by showing off Mail Day purchases. A particularly special one arrived a week ago, but I saved it for today's post. 

I never met Mr. Buck O'Neil, but Joe Posnanski's book resonated so strongly within me that I felt I needed to immortalize Buck within my own collection. I haven't been this excited about adding a singular card to my handcrafted storage box in quite sometime.  Assuredly, this card was a pricey acquisition, but completely worth it.  

Good luck today, Buck!

My Favorite Manager of All-Time

No mail today, but I do have another card that's been sitting on my desk which arrived over the past weekend.

I don't really remember Andre Dawson swatting 49 homers and winning the NL MVP for the last place Cubs in 1987. I was only nine years old at the time and professional baseball was still a foreign concept to me. 

Two years later I was memorizing the backs of baseball cards and following The Boys of Zimmer as close as I possibly could, as the Cubs were on their way to winning the NL East. What a fun summer that was!

Ryno, The Hawk and Mad Dog were the big names, but they had a great supporting cast in Dunston, Grace, Sutcliffe, Wild Thing, Les Lancaster, Mike Bielecki, Dwight Smith and Jerome Walton.

For the record, I think these movie poster cards from Topps, found in Archives, are a pretty creative idea. Good on Topps. 

Rino? Never seen it spelled that way before!

Don Zimmer seemed to be the glue that kept my favorite childhood team together. I'm not sure if he's my favorite manager of all-time, because maybe that's Joe Maddon's spot, but it's difficult to best memories from one's youth. 

Do you have a favorite manager?

The Original Crown Prince of Baseball

 Another great Mail Day today. 

I believe I first saw this card posted on Dime Boxes, and as I typically do with one of Nick's posts I wound up adding a few cards to my want list. I thought about purchasing a reprint of this 1939 Play Ball beauty, but I ultimately decided to go all in and spoil myself a bit. 

Boy, do I ever love fuzzy corners and that pure vintage feel! 

Al Schacht was the original "Clown Prince of Baseball" and he was known for his imitations of coaches and players. He started out as a pitcher, moved to the world of coaching and then eventually found himself entertaining thousands as an on-field baseball comedian. 

I wasn't previously familiar with Schacht as the subject of my previous post, Max Patkin. No matter. This card will find its home in my Folder of Fun and rightfully so. 

Entertainer from My Youth

Another Mail Day post today and this one is an Ebay purchase. 

 I remember seeing Max Patkin perform between innings during at old Meinen Field in Peoria at a Chiefs game. 

I don't remember any of his specific antics, but I do remember his baseball uniform being full of baseball dust/dirt by the end of the game. 

I also recall pondering if the umpires enjoyed working games more if The Clown Prince of Baseball was in the stadium. 

I may have an old Chiefs program or scorecard with Patkin's autograph stashed away, but that will be a hunt for a rainy day. In the meantime, I'll store this beauty in the box with all of my favorite autographs. 

Thanks for reading!