Another Coaching Season is in the Books

I think about this title and it's a bit ironic.  Yes, I just finished coaching my softball team of sixth and seventh graders, but we didn't keep a score book.  Many may think that's odd, but when you're competition is usually a year older than most of your players looking back at scores is kind of a moot point.

The junior high school across the parking lot from my high school building fields two softball teams.  I assist with the older "A-team" and I am charged with teaching the younger group about the rules and fundamentals of fast-pitch softball.  We play a modest eleven game schedule and most of our games come after the "A" game and have a strict 60 or 75 minute time limit attached to them.

We may have not have had a very successful year in the overrated Win Column, but in my eyes it was a really good season and here's why:
1. the fifteen girls learned quite a bit about the game (base running, fielding, hitting, & etc.)
2. I saw marked improvement in their skill sets
3. they had fun and it seems that most will be back for another go next year

Boy, when I see them again next July I hope they've all added twenty-five pounds and three inches to their frames.  Sixth graders are tiny!

 

 After our season ending tournament on Saturday we took a few team pictures and many pleasantries were exchanged.  I received a hand made thank you card with a note from one of my players and a nice card signed by many of the parents that accompanied a gift certificate to a local sporting good store.  The gift certificate is nice, but hand made cards trump them any day of the week.  Additionally, I was awarded the team signed ball at the top of the post to put on my trophy shelf at school.  Simply awesome!

I can't believe this was my thirteenth year coaching junior high softball and that another season has already come and gone.  Time sure does fly when you're having fun.

Laying all my Chipz on the Table.

I was at one of the box stores recently and nothing really spoke to me in the card aisle so I plucked a package of Chipz from its box and checked out.  I figured, "Why not?"

These guys have some serious weight to them and are very much like poker chips.  You know, not that Topps would promote something like gambling.




Before we get going on the contents of the wrapper, let me start by saying I have to learn how to not buy something when nothing speaks to me.  It should go without saying, they are all up for trade.

4 Chipz, 1 team sticker, and 1 game board included in each pack.

Carlos Gonzalez and Jacoby Ellsbury.  Too pretty fine outfielders, and one will supposedly be chased by the Cubs during this off season's free agent period, but I'm not too excited about either of these.

Justin Verlander.  Yeah, he's a stud.  This is also the gold parallel version.  Cool.

And lastly, a Detroit Tigers sticker on top of the Chip.  Huh.

I've left it there, but thankfully the back helps clue me in to who is behind the sticker.

Prince Fielder.  Tigers hot pack, anyone?

The Chipz are done fairly well, but it's not a product that I can get behind.  Call be a traditionalist if you must, but I'm a cardboard guy.

A Minion in My Mailbox! At school?

This was a bit different.

First, let me explain that I teach high school math and my room is located in one of the school's more recent expansion areas.  What's nice is the seven teachers in my wing have our own teacher's lounge that houses our mailboxes.  The other sixty-plus faculty members' mailboxes are located in the original teachers' lounge.   What's not nice is how often the seven of us, who are located out of the way, are often forgot about when it comes to mailings, memos, and worst of all... goodies for the teachers.

During the first thirteen days of school I think I've pulled maybe 3 items out of my mailbox, which is pretty typical.  That's a pretty low number compared to the rest of the staff in the main lounge.  So, you can understand that when I found a brown paper bag in my mailbox I was a little curious and somewhat anxious.

Then I saw what the other side read: "From Karl."

I attend Karl's going-off-to-college party recently and gave him a hooded sweatshirt that featured his new school as a gift. I had Karl in Calculus last school year and he was our basketball statistician for two years as well.  Needless to say, Karl is a good guy and someone I always looked forward to talking baseball with.

I made a random comment at his recent party about how I really enjoyed the minions from "Despicable Me 2" and ...

Yep, and I found this guy in the brown paper bag along with one of the little "happy meal" minions from McDonald's.

I can't wait until the Minion Movie comes out this winter!  Wait...  IMDb says December of 2014.  Yikes!  Well, I can't wait until next winter!

Did I mention that Karl is good guy?  Thanks, Karl!  I'm not sure what this guy's name is, but he's going to work with me.  He'll be my minion of mathematics!

A Sparkly Stengel?

When I think of Casey Stengel the following words do not come to mind: sparkly, shiny, or eye-catching in the light.  Nope, when I think of Stengel I recall what I read of him in books:
1. he was one of the first to use platoons
2. his nickname was "The Old Professor"
3. he was hard on his players but great with the media

Well, Panini Cooperstown is back for another edition and they have sparkly parallels that feature Hall-of-Famers, like Casey Stengel.

Behold, a green parallel of The Old Professor.

Granted, my camera doesn't truly capture the sparkliness of this card, but it is very cool.  Probably my favorite card in the two packs of 2013 Panini Cooperstown I purchased last weekend.

Here's a trio of Cleveland players that I found in the two packs.  I would have said "Indians," but I think some of them may have been "Spiders" at one point in time.  I could be wrong.  One thing is for sure: I'm too tired to look it up.

Lou Boudreay, Nap Lajoie, and Tris Speaker

I always thought of Tris Speaker as a member of the Red Sox, but come to find out he actually played more seasons in Cleveland.   Huh, learn something new everyday.

Tony Perez and Harry Heilmann.

These two cards win the prize for being the two most likely to get shipped off in a PWE at some point.

How about some cards more relevant to this collector?

Ahh, that's better.  Cap Anson of the Cubs and Nellie Fox of the Pale Hose.  By the time this posts, Nellie will probably already be in the hands of JediJeff.

Well, that's it for the base cards.  How about some Stars of the Diamond Chips?

 Steve Carlton is on the left and Edd Roush (Reds) is on the right.  These chips are different and I kind of like them.  They have an A&G feel to the back of them which catches my attention.  I'm a fan of the black and white as well.  I'm happy that I pulled "Lefty", but Edd Roush isn't one of my top 100 Hall-of-Famers.  Thus, he was a good option to show you the what the backs look like.

Now we're talking.

The best strikeout pitcher of all-time. Notice how Panini cropped the photo so that Nolan's cap logo isn't an issue with the photo.  For not having a MLB license, they have done a really nice job of working around it in this set.

The next card is even better, in my eyes.

A red sparkly parallel of a Redbird.  Oh, and it's numbered to 399.  Very nice.  Wouldn't it be cool if parallels were done to team colors?  This, above, would be the perfect example.  Oakland could have green, the Rockies would be purple... and Blue for the Cubs (and a few other teams).   Man, I really do go for sparkly blue cards of Cubs.

If you're looking for any Panini Cooperstown let me know.  All of these can be had if the right Cubs cards come along!

Have a great weekend, folks.

The Prowling Cat visits my mailbox.

As I've made my round around the blogosphere I've learned a few things along the way about the authors of the blogs that I regularly frequent.  Some bloggers collect wrappers, some chase down every color of the rainbow, while others collect double play cards or play at the plate cards, and some collect just about everything.  Zenus the author of The Prowling Cat, collects business cards and pocket schedules from all types of sports teams.

During my trips to different ballparks this summer I've been picking up extra pocket schedules for Zenus.  I figure I'd pack them in a PWE and send him his way at the end of my summer vacation as nice little surprise.

Apparently, he appreciated my efforts and he sent some Cubs back my way.

Let's take a look, shall we?

1989 Topps Cubs Leaders card.  

 I believe that's Jamie Moyer on the front, but he's no where to be found among the statistical leaders on the back.  Some guy by the last name of "Maddux" seemed to have dominated the Cubs' pitching leader board in 1988.

Another card from '89 Topps: Ty Griffin.

1989 Topps was the second set I collected in my youth and the first set I completed.  (I just finished my '88 Topps set in the past year.) Griffin played for the Peoria Chiefs as he tried to climb the ladder to Wrigley Field.  While he played in Peoria I was able to snag his autograph on this card and his '88 Topps Traded USA card.

Speaking of '88 Topps Traded: Darrin Jackson.

I didn't recognize this card of DJ from the '88 set, but once I turned it over it was hard not to notice the bright orange from the '88 Traded set.   My camera, for whatever reason, doesn't do the orange justice.

I believe the next card is a duplicate in Dunston mini player collection, so I might throw it in my stack for GCRL with a couple of other double play cards.

1987 Sportflics: Shawon Dunston.  I've done my best to capture the three shots on the front.  Finally, a plus to posting with camera shots over a scanner. 

The above cards were just a smattering of the Cubbie goodness that Zenus sent my way.  A pretty sweet haul for not expecting anything in return.  Thanks, Zenus!