Mail Day!

Consistently browsing Ebay doesn't necessarily go hand-in-hand with making purchases. I believe I proved that during the first three months of 2018. I've been checking for Vogelbachs on a regular basis, but I didn't make my first substantial purchase until recently.

I made a best offer on one of those silly 5" by 7" cards and won. There's only two copies of this card, and the one I snagged is serial numbered 1/2. Up to 313 unique Vogelbach cards now. Nice. 

Combined shipping?  Sure. 

I think I have the base version of this Zobrist card, but I'll take a parallel and slide it into the World Series binder. 

I found some more 5" by 7" cards and they all fit the theme of World Series binder. 

Numbered 02/10, the gold parallel of Zobrist's Stadium Club card shows him at second base after his go-ahead RBI hit in Game 7.  For what it's worth, the Heroes of Autumn card shows Zobrist's swing from the very same moment. 

Two more 5" by 7" cards for the binder and they are both numbered out of 49.

The back of the "Jubilation" card mentions Bryant's game from June 28th, but I'm fairly certain the picture was taken right after he made his throw to first base on the final play of the 2016 season.  These two cards look really nice paired together. 

And here's a sneak peak at the most recent piece of mail to hit my front porch. 

 The return address is from Morgantown. This should be tasty!  Stay tuned!

Help Me, Help You

I've collated the cards from The Collection by year and set. I then went through and filled any gaps in my collection that I could.

Now I'm ready to sort into teams for future trade packages and trade bait.

As I go through I plan on pulling cards for the special little side projects/collections of my blogging brethren.

What can I set aside for you?  I have around 8,000 baseball cards that I'm going to flip through. I've already got stacks started for the following individuals:

Julie - Catchers wearing the tools of ignorance
JediJeff - Double Dips, Throwback Uniforms, Bunting cards
Matt (Once a Cub) - Cards with Ivy

Speak now!

Not Edible, but Just As Delicious

A forthcoming post will spotlight six beers sent from Matt, captain of Bob Walk The Plank, in a glorious trade package. I can't wait to crack them open one-by-one and enjoy the flavors while watching a game.

Today we'll take a gander at the cardboard side of the trade. This part of the trade is not safe for consumption, but they are just as tasty . . . at least as far as baseball cards go!

 I miss Jake Arrieta. Man, was he a fierce competitor!

 This card is from Panini's 2017 Diamond Kings set, is number 12/15 and sports a three color jersey swatch. Quite impressive! My eyes always gravitate toward the multi-colored patches.

This Ian Happ card is from the same set, but it looks like Happ is wearing pajamas.  Actually, is that really Ian Happ? I can't see his eyes and there are no other identifying marks on his uniform.  Man, somebody give Panini a license for logos!

This one is from Panini's 2016 Donruss Jersey Kings insert. Nice card design.

 Did you see Baez go from first to home the other day on Jon Lester's grounder up the middle?
Warning: do not watch if you are a fan of the Brewers.  Also, watch the third base coach give him the stop sign.  I guess the stop sign was merely a suggestion.

Javier Baez is in select company of those who are special MLB talents. Mike Trout, for my money, is the best all-around talent. Judge and Stanton top the list for power. Billy Hamilton for speed. Chapman for fastball. Altuve for hit tool. You get the idea.

Baez... I'd say his instincts and baseball IQ are really top notch. Tags of runners, slides into bases, acrobatic defensive plays, and base running instincts are all things that make him really fun to watch.

Last card, and for this we go back to 2017 Diamonds Kings:

The last major release for Kerry Wood, that I'm aware of is from 2013. This is a sweet card with lots of Kid K mojo!  Sketches & Swatches is an excellent concept and I love the alliteration. The pin stripe is gorgeous, but it's not to be outdone by Kerry's signature. Did I mention this card is serial numbered?  Oh yeah, it's 08/20. Boom!  What a card!

Thanks for the fantastic beer and card trade, Matt! One of my favorite things to do during the summer is to enjoy a beer, flip through my card collection, and watch a Cubs game. You've given me lots of material to work with.  Thanks again!

Spring Break Project

I've been on spring break for the last week, which means no teaching but plenty of coaching. Between baseball practices and games my wife and I have been working on our laundry closet in the main hallway.

The original idea was to take the existing bi-fold doors and install new hardware so the doors would become "full-access." Previously, there wasn't enough room when the doors were fully open to allow us to reach the dials on the washing machine comfortably. It was such an inconvenience to find a way to phenagle your arm behind the bi-fold doors to operate the washer's controls.

The finished product.

The project then turned into "Well, we might as well put in tile floor, paint, and re-work the shelving system."  The closet looks really good and I'm happy we spent the time to do it. Fun note: the closet makeover cost only $86 and most of that was spent on the hardware to make the doors full-access. We used leftover paint, tile and other materials from previous projects to help with the cost savings.

And now for a fun story!

The project was delayed early on. I was downstairs tinkering with something on the work bench and I left the laundry closet unattended. Mistake.

 As you can see in the above picture I was in the laying/cutting tile stage. In the corner you'll notice the dryer duct work, which I never once thought about covering.

When I returned to the closet I found our gray cat, Holiday, had her head inside aluminum pipe. She was going nuts. She has one toy she absolutely adores and I knew she must have dropped it down the pipe. Nothing short of that would have put her in such a state.

I stuck my camera phone inside the tube and I was able to see a faint outline of her toy, which can be described as nothing more than over-sized gray cotton ball.

I reached my arm as far as a I could into the piping, but I couldn't reach too far because the pipe took a 90-degree turn to follow the floor joists. No luck, it was out of reach.

So, I went downstairs, removed a couple of drop ceiling tiles and found where I needed to be.

 I pealed back some duct tape and was able to disconnect the aluminum pipe.

 Above is a picture of our other cat, Hugo, asking if I needed any of help. So considerate.

Once the pipe was removed the gray puff ball rolled out of the dryer pipe safely and came to a rest on top of the step stool.

I placed Holiday's cat toy out of reach until the project was over, because I wasn't trying to enlist myself into another rescue mission. 

We finished the laundry closet yesterday and she got her little puff ball back. She can be seen carrying it around house and batting it up and down the stairs.

All is right in the world again. Truly, a happy ending.

Glad I Got In On The Ground Floor

I perform a daily search looking for new-to-me Dan Vogelbach cards. Sometimes I unearth something new and interesting, but most of the time it's more of the same. I guess that is what is to be expected when you have 312 unique cards of guy who still has rookie status.

Not sure how much you follow the Mariners, but Nelson Cruz (DH) hit the DL with a sprained ankle and Ryon Healy (1B) has an OPS of 0.161. So, the Mariners have started Vogelbach the last two games, once at first base and once as the designated hitter. He's performed well in those two contests, going 4 for 7, with a double and a walk. Vogelbach started the regular season out slow after tearing it up in spring training, but he's now hitting 0.333 with an OPS north of 0.800.

I've found that I'm looking up Vogelbach's game-by-game performances and following his games closer than my team of choice, the Cubs. It's fun to think about how I got in on the ground floor when Vogelbach was drafted in 2011 and now he's doing his best to keep his foot in the proverbial MLB door.

Although, I don't think I'm the only one enjoying this moment. Lately there has been an influx of high-end Ebay auctions with Vogelbach as the centerpiece.

Check this out:

Yep, whoever outbid me on the autographed 2017 Topps Chrome SuperFractor has completed the rainbow and is looking to cash in now that Vogelbach in the major leagues. Three grand?  Yikes!

But, wait. That's not all:

Need any 2011 Bowman Chrome rookie autos?  I need a few parallels, but I'm not going to start a payment plan to bolster my collection.

This one frustrates me:

 I've actually made an offer on this SuperFractor, but I was denied. The price had been steadily coming down, and it bottomed out at $145. With Vogelbach making the Mariners' opening day roster the seller raised the price to $229.  Argh. I was so close to making an offer again!

I have twelve 1/1's of Dan Vogelbach, and the most I've paid for any of them has been $30.

 It looks like the going rate for a 1/1, without an autograph, is now $200. Sigh.

I bought a National Treasures auto patch numbered to /25 for about $18 in 2017. The patch on mine is not nearly as cool as the one below. Five colors?  That's so sick!

I was hoping to snag this one for $25, but I was outbid during the last minute of the auction numerous times and the card went for about five times what I paid for the one that currently rests in my collection.

There are numerous other graded cards of low number parallels selling for hundreds of dollars. Things are getting out of control for this card collector on a budget.

I'm really excited that Vogelbach is doing well during this first small stretch of games, but I honestly never expected to see his cards command the prices above.

For what it's worth, I still think I have the most extensive Vogelmonster collection and it's not going anywhere. I love my prospects, but I never pursue their cards hoping to flip them for a profit sometime down the road.

Thanks for reading... now, go cheer on The Vogelmonster!