30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Saturday, May 25, 2019

A Much Needed Cardboard Hug

Personal strugglesDeath of loved onesFriends and family member illnesses.  Maybe I'm just projecting, but it just seems like this year has been rough on more than a few of us.

On the bright side, I feel like it's personally brought my family closer together and given me a deeper appreciation of friends and family.

This also applies to the card community.  I mean... there's something truly comforting in receiving a cardboard hug from a fellow blogger

That's exactly what I received recently from Julie over at A Cracked Bat.  She reached out to me last month and asked me if I'd be interested in some Japanese Masahiro Tanaka cards.

I'm pretty sure you can guess my response.  If not, I'll let the cards do the talking:


I usually only take the time to scan card backs on special occasions.  This is a special occasion:


I might not be a fan of the team he plays for, but I'm a Tanaka fan.  In his sixth season with the New York Yankees, Tanaka has already established himself as one of the most successful Japanese born pitchers in MLB historyJulie hit the jackpot when she found someone selling these for each.

These weren't the only treasures she found sitting nickel box.  She also found this Fred McGriff bat card:


If you're new to my blog, you might not know that I offer cardboard asylum to trading cards that have been abused, damaged, or are no longer loved by their owners.

It's hard to see in the scan above, but there's a nice crease to the left of McGriff's head:

2001 SP Game Bat Bound for the Hall #B-FM

I made a promise to Julie that I will care for and love this card unconditionally from here on out.  He is now among other cards who will not judge him for his flawsHe is home.


Here are the final three cards in Julie's care package:


The Ichiro on the left was one of those rookie cards that isn't necessarily recognized as a rookie card by most collectorsConfused?  Yeah.  Me too.  The middle card is a Bazooka insert that highlights Ichiro breaking George Sisler's single season hit record.  And the last card is a low numbered parallel of a guy who will hopefully turn the A's season around when he returns after the MLB All-Star break.

Thank you so much Julie for this much needed and appreciated cardboard hug.  Your timing was perfect.  I know that you said that I didn't need to send anything in return, but that's not how I roll.  You were already on my hit list before you sent these cards.  I'll be headed to a card show in June.  I'll be on the lookout for some Tigers for your PC.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

13 comments:

Bulldog said...

Great pick you up from a great blogger. Love hearing these stories and good on ya for taking in those poor unwanted cards. Especially a Crime Dog gem. Good stuff.

acrackedbat said...

Fuji, you are a gem, spreading cardboard happiness around the blogs. You manage to post almost daily, take time to read countless blogs AND comment! I fail at this, reading much more than I comment. Thanks for giving Fred a good home. :)

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

Oh my. Those Tanaka's. (That almost sounds dirty). He's a PC guy for me too.

The Lost Collector said...

Those Tanakas are great!

Brett Alan said...

It would take a helluva lot more than that crease to get me to pass up a superstar relic at 5 cents!

Big Tone said...

A most generous care package 👍My favorite of the bunch is the Bazooka Ichiro!

P-town Tom said...

Fantastic gesture from Julie to one our community's best. Cardboard asylum? I didn't know that was a service you offered. Interesting.

Peter K Steinberg said...

Cardboard hugs are great hugs. What a fantastically nice group of cards from one of the most fantastically nice people on this planet.

SumoMenkoMan said...

Fantastic “hug”!

Matt said...

Julie is great!

Fuji said...

bulldog & p-town tom - it all started when i realized i had accumulated a bunch of damaged cards over the years. figured it'd be an interesting collection and it has

acrackedbat - thanks you for the kind words and the wonderful care package. reading card blogs is just as much of a hobby as actually collecting. it provides a lot of entertainment with knowledge as a bonus. as for commenting... i just figure it's way way of thanking everyone for commenting on my blog. that's hands down the best thing about blogging

johnnys trading spot & the lost collector - they're awesome, right? they actually deserve to be scanned individually and given a post of their own. maybe when he reaches 100 wins.

brett alan - agree 100% now that it's been a gift from julie, it's become priceless

big tone - it's a really cool card. it's like super thin paper more than cardboard. kinda like rice paper.

peter k. steinberg - it just shows how awesome of a community we have among bloggers.

sumomenkoman - definitely brightened my day

sport card collectors - yes, she is!

Jon said...

BBM cards for a nickel? I think I need to start going to shows with Julie! And even damaged, I've never heard of someone getting a relic for five cents!!!

Sean said...

Wow, those were only 5 cents each? That is amazing, even here in Japan those Tanakas would sell for a lot more than that!

That McGriff is nice too, I think he belongs in the HOF and not in a nickel bin!