Dodger Fans Like Me - Part I

Yesterday I received a PWE from Jim, the brains behind garvey cey russell lopes.  I vaguely remember picking up a Bill Russell auto for him at a card show in Iowa early this fall. He returned the favor with some Cubs cards!

I didn't know Ryne had a Topps 1st Home Run insert card.  I don't know if this is from Series 1, 2 or Update, but I'm willing to bet on Update by looking at the rest of the package.  Regardless of prior knowledge, this is my 785th Ryne Sandberg card in my collection.  I'm slowly creeping in on another milestone!

I've discussed the above Rizzo card before.  I didn't like the first one I received from the blogosphere, and I don't know that I like this one much better. Plain and simple: Anthony is wearing way too much red for my tastes.

I'm really excited to add some more Update Cubs to my collection.  In about two months I'll be at the Cubs Convention in Chicago and these cards will make the trip.

 You never know when you'll be in the same elevator as Miguel Montero and need a card of him wearing Cubs blue!  Additionally, the Clayton Richard card is the only card in my collection with him wearing a Cubs uniform.

 I believe Herrera and Hunter are both now free agents, but they could be brought back with the club between now and the Convention.

Woo-Hoo!  Another Soler card for my collection.  Theo!  Do NOT trade Jorge!

 The Mark Grace card gets some love on the blog because he led all major league players in total doubles hit in the decade of the 90s.  (My head is full of useful useless information.)

Thanks for the cards, Jim!

If I Had Million Dollars

If you're like me, then you like to spend those precious moments of free time to browse Ebay with nary the intent to place a bid. I admit, I like to look at cardboard, especially the higher end items. I'll never own them, but it's nice to dream. I can't walk on to a car lot or in a jewelry store to just peruse the merchandise without feeling pressure from a salesperson. I love the anonymity of Ebay.  No pressure to purchase. No hassle. No problems.

I was recently contacted by a representative from Invaluable.com, which is a premier auction site, and I took a look around.

Wow!  There is some serious window shopping to be done on that auction site!

The Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory has a bunch of auctions up and there is some really awesome stuff. I actually just killed two hours of my Veterans Day browsing the auctions with out the actual intent to buy anything.  So much cool stuff to look at and dream on.

My favorite was an autographed Ernie Banks ball with fourteen different career related stats.

And now, let's link this to the title of today's post . . .

If I had a million dollars I'd pay off the house, buy the ball, and then maybe get you guys a few things, too.

Cue the music!

For Matt, from Bob Walk the Plank, I found a nice chunk of the foul poll from Forbes Field.

Anyone know of a Dodger fan who is also a night owl?  Isn't this ticket stub almost too perfect?

Did you know Willie Stargell is one of the players Gavin, of Baseball Card Breakdown, is collecting.  I didn't know until recently when I was looking for some cards to send him.  Do you think he would like this bowling shirt?

What do you get the guy who has nearly every Griffey card ever manufactured?  Maybe the Junior Junkie would like a glove, ball, bat or cleats?

I haven't traded with Kerry in some time, but I bet he would have room for a ball, amongst his Cards on Cards.

I saw this platter and at first thought it should belong in the tableware section of the site, but then I realized it might be something a Brewers/Braves guy might want to use during dinner parties?  No?  Yeah, that was probably a stretch.

I've always wanted to own a stadium seat, but I really would like one with Peoria or Cubs ties. I bet The Lost Collector could find room in his abode for this beauty.

Sorry, Zippy Zappy.  The auction site didn't have any Yankee prospect memorabilia, just musty old vintage-type stuff that you wouldn't like.  Rest assured though, if I found a superfractor of your boy, LUUUUUUIIIISSS, I would spend the dough!

My friend Jeff could surprise his George Brett crazed wife with his hat and flip-down sunglasses.  That's pretty cool!

Lastly, I found something or my little sis!  "A League of Their Own" is one of her favorite movies and this is something I think she'd really like. 

Unfortunately, I don't have an extra million dollars just laying around.  But it is fun to look and dream about!
Thanks for stopping by and happy dreaming!

Oh, Bugger.

I received a package from John Arnold, who apparently resides across the pond in the United Kingdom.  Here's the thing: I don't remember setting up a trade.  Every couple of months I clean out my e-mail inbox and it's possible there was something in there from John, but it's long gone now.  John, if you're out there and still reading my blog, please send me an e-mail so I can properly tailor a return package to your interests!

Any of you fine bloggers trade with John before?  Does he like the Marlins, Athletics or Les Expos?  Man, I sure do have some cardboard I'd like to send out into the blogosphere!

There were two good-sized team bags in John's package and they were all Cubs!  Let's take a look:

 We start off with an intimidating pose from Big Z and a nice Fukudome for my player collection.  I really like the old school logos Upper Deck used on the cards.

 Jorger Soler!  Woo-Hoo!  Theo, I know you're getting some nice trade offers for Jorge, but trust me, you want this guy in your lineup!  DO. NOT. TRADE. JORGE!

 Miggy and The Bear.  Sounds like the name of an Indie Rock band if I ever heard of one.

 Here are a pair of young Cubs who might get traded this off season. My money is on AA; he needs a change of scenery.

Above, we have quite a nice collection of Cubs from a smattering of different sets.  I do love me some variety!

 Pedro and his crooked hat in red Target parallel form!  The Marlon Byrd blue relic will go into the relic box.  Very nice.

Stickers!

 I've never bought the sticker packs, but I think this may finish off my team set for 2011.

 It's my 421st unique Kerry Wood card in my collection, and a die-cut to boot!

Lastly, we'll finish off with a concept I wish the card companies would bring back: the 40 man roster.

 I don't know that I would ever try to complete a set like this again, as I just knocked out my 2001 Topps Total set this year.  But I definitely would chase down all of the Cubs for sure.

Thanks for the Cubs, John!  Please get in touch with me so I can send some cards back your way!

All My Karl Olson Cards

Is there anything better than searching for vintage at a card show?  Personally, I love the hunt and don't mind asking if a dealer would come down a couple of dollars.  Especially, if the subject on the cards is an obscure outfielder from the 1950's.

1952 Topps, #72

Karl Olson and I share the same last name, and thus my interest. There's no relation that I know of, but it's still pretty cool to chase a guy from a handful of decades ago and see your name on some cool vintage cardboard.


My dad introduced me to Karl when I was a young collector. He must have found one of the cards below at a card show while passing the time as his soon meandered aimlessly up and down the aisles.

Thanks to Gavin for the trade! 1955 Topps, #72

I remember being pretty jealous of his Karl Olson card at the time. As I mentioned early on this very blog, adolescent me didn't have money to spend on vintage, just junk wax.

1956 Topps, #322

Karl spent parts of six season in Major League Baseball playing for the Red Sox, Nationals ad Tigers.  He was once a top prospect for the Red Sox, but Olson's career was put on pause while he served his country in the Korean War.  When he returned to the Red Sox after the All-Star break in 1953 he actually rejoined the team with another outfielder on the same day: Ted Williams.

1957 Topps, #153

He was able to hang around professional baseball until 1957, but he never really regained the promise showed before serving in the war.  He retired from baseball at the age of twenty-six and went into the hamburger business.  Later he took up carpentry and was a contractor for a couple of decades.  He passed away on Christmas Day of 2010 at the age of eighty. If you'd like to read more about Karl Olson then check out the very detailed biography on SABR's website.

You can check out my cataloged collection and needs here.  I'm missing three of Karl's original vintage cards and if I track them down, then I'll probably start searching for the three reprints. Fun-fun!

Thanks for reading!

My 2015 Season Recap

I attended seventeen professional baseball games in 2015 after witnessing twenty-two last year and nineteen in 2013.  In terms of attendance this was a down year for me, but last year's numbers were bolstered by five spring training games in Arizona.

In all I made it two eight MLB games and nine MiLB games.  Here's the tale of the tape:

 Here's a brief breakdown:
* The home teams were at a severe disadvantage if I had walked through the turnstile, because I seemed to bring the visiting club luck on eleven of the seventeen contests.  Yikes!
* I saw games in two different minor league stadiums (Peoria and Stockton, CA) and seven different major league stadiums: WrigleyField, Miller Park, Kauffman Stadium, Oakland Coliseum, AT&T Park, Minute Maid Park, and Busch Stadium. 
*My minor MiLB team of the choice, the South Bend Cubs of the Midwest League, split the two games I saw.
*My local MiLB team, the Peoria Chiefs, went two and five in the seven games I attended.
*The Cubs? I saw them play live only four times.  I witnessed Kris Bryant's debut, a loss, in my only trip to Wrigley this year. I later saw the Cubs play two games in Milwaukee, which were both losses, but I did see Kris Bryant's first career home run! 

The fourth game was my favorite of the whole year. I traveled with my sister and two of my good friends to St. Louis to watch the Cubs beat the Cardinals in Busch Stadium to tie up the NLDS at one game apiece.

I had not been to Cubs playoff game since 2003 in Wrigley versus the Atlanta Braves. St. Louis was all decked out in red, including the city's fountains. It was a beautiful evening, and even better because the bases always seemed to be full with Cubs!

I haven't had that much fun at a ballpark in a long, long time.

My sister and I at Busch after a Cubs' Game 2 victory!

I've been thinking about setting some goals for 2016 and I've decided I would like to cross off two more ballparks from my list.  I'm undecided on where I would like to go, but everything I need is on either the west or east coasts, which means it'll cost a pretty penny in travel expenses. I've toyed with the idea of flying to Atlanta, watching a game, and flying back in the same day, but only at the right price. I only need seven more ballparks until I've seen them all, so there's no rush. If things don't lineup just so, then I'll probably put my quest on hold for a summer.

I plan on attending the Cubs Convention for the first time and although it isn't a game I'm pretty excited about it. Hopefully I'll be a able to get a couple of in-person autographs (*cough*cough*David*cough*Ross*cough).

Lastly, I think it might be fun to see all of the Midwest League ballparks.  Outside of gas and maybe a couple of cheap hotel rooms it would be relatively inexpensive. It's a task I possibly manage in one summer. Plus, if I schedule it right I could follow the South Bend Cubs for a spell. Nice!

2015 was a fun year to be a Cub fan.  Here's to hoping it's more of the same in 2016!