30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Saturday, June 8, 2019

Size Doesn't Matter

Big or small.  When it comes to collectibles... I love them all.


Rod over at Padrographs sent me a medium sized flat rate mailer a few weeks ago with a variety of stuff.

Inside he threw in a bunch of standard sized trading cards, including his very own custom:


If you think this card looks familiar... it's because he modeled it after the famous 1988 Fleer Tim Flannery card:

1988 Fleer #582

Flannery is Rod's all-time favorite Padre.  Last year, he completed his goal of collecting 99 unsigned copies of this card.  And I'm going to assume that since he sent me this card, he's also met his goal of accumulating 9 signed versions of this card.

He also sent me a few standard sized Gwynns I needed for my collection...

2001 Archives Reserve Future Rookie Reprints #NNO

Topps included a special pack of cards in 2001 Topps Limited factory sets.  Each of these packs contained five 2001 Archives Reserve Future Rookie Reprints.  I purchased one of these sets, but wasn't lucky enough to pull a Gwynn.  I'm glad to finally add this card to my collection.

The other regular sized Gwynn I didn't have was this...

1989 Fleer Baseball MVP's #17

Okay... it's time to check out the non-standard sized stuff that Rod sent my way.  Let's start with the lone smaller item:

1992 Score 7-11 Coin #23

7-11 lenticular coins are part of my childhood.  After baseball practice and games, I'd grab a Slurpee and hope they had the special cups with the coin at the bottom.  But that was back in the mid 80's.  Not sure if I was still chasing them into the 90's.

Okay... let's look at the oversized stuff Rod sent...

First up is another new Gwynn card for my collection:

1994 Fleer Extra Bases #372

Last October, Julie sent me a bunch of Oakland A's from this set.  Now I have a Gwynn too.

Rod also hooked me up with this uncut sheet:

1987 M&M's #23 and #24

Food issues are coolFood issue Gwynns are cooler.  An uncut sheet of a food issue Gwynn is the coolest.

The last two oversized Gwynn items are these two newspaper clippings:


The one on the left was written sometime around the 1994 MLB All-Star Break, when Gwynn was chasing .400.  The article mentions that at the time, Paul O'Neill and Frank Thomas were in the hunt too.  I must have been so focused on Gwynn back in the day, that I completely blocked those two guys out of my mind.

The other article was published about a week later.  It pitted the Padres winning percentage against Gwynn's batting average.  The Padres ended up winning during that strike shortened season, but it was pretty close.

In addition to the Gwynns, Rod also sent me these 8.5 x 11's featuring San Diego Padres from the early to mid 70's:




I spent at least 15 minutes trying to find information on either of these prints, but came up with nothing.  Oh well... they'll be added to my sports photos binder.  Yes... I actually have one of those.  It contains everything from blank photos to those 8x10 Zenith cards from the 90's.

I also have three binders dedicated to SI for Kids sheetsRod has sent me a bunch of these in the past.  He sent me two more:


Another thing that Rod has sent me in the past are postcards.  And guess what... he did it again:


These are all from a Kyoto postcard setJapan is so beautiful.  I honestly should have scanned them all, but there aren't enough minutes in the day.  So here are three of my favorites:

Kinkakuji Temple, Kyoto

Maiko Girl, Kyoto

Outdoor Tea Ceremony, Kyoto

And if these weren't enough, he also included two 60th Anniversary Baseball Magazine postcards:


Couldn't find a year on these, but I'm guessing they were issued sometime in the 2000's.  Whatever the year, they represent the first Japanese baseball postcards added to my collection.

Thank you Rod for another awesome care package!  I have a bunch of autographs for your Frankenset that I'll be sending your way this summer.  Or maybe I'll just hand deliver them to you when I visit your bookstore.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

17 comments:

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

Wow

Tony Burbs said...

Those black 8x10's are incredible - so glorious kitschy!

SumoMenkoMan said...

Oh dang! Japan is wicked beautiful for sure. Makes me jealous just looking at those post cards. Nice care packages.

Rod (Padrographs) said...

The paintings are by Volpe and I believe they were given away at the stadium. At least the Dodger one I had were. The black and white ones are Deans or Family Fun Center giveaways.Hope to see you this summer.

Matt said...

Nice!!!!

Mark Hoyle said...

The Padres Prints are an 8 piece set from 69. Volpe prints issued at ballparks and I’ve heard selected local filling stations. Those are great collectibles

The Lost Collector said...

I remember that quest for .400 well. O'Neill really faded mid-summer.

Fuji said...

johnnys trading spot - lol. that's what i said

tony burbs - now i have something to bring if i ever stumble across a nate colbert signing.

sumomenkoman - i flipped through those postcards and read the backs multiple times. learned a lot. never heard of a maiko girl until seeing that postcard set.

rod (padrographs) - thanks again for this care package. the volpe paintings are fantastic. just found the checklist on tcdb. i'm hoping our schedules line up and we're able to talk shop this summer

sport card collectors - agree 100%

mark hoylr - thanks for the information. just found the checklist of volpe prints on tcdb. if i had a man cave, i'd frame and hang some of these up

the lost collector - didn't fade as much as the big hurt. at least o'neill managed to take home the AL batting crown.

SumoMenkoMan said...

Maiko are definitely a big part of Kyoto culture. I went to the Long Beach Coin and Card Show yesterday. Nothing too exciting....should have checked out some local flea markets instead.

Fuji said...

sumomenkoman - glad to hear you've arrived to cali safe and sound. you should check out frank and sons. haven't been there in like 5 years, but it was fun to walk around.

Chris said...

The Flannery surfboard card is awesome. Almost makes me want to crack open my factory set and display it. Newspaper clippings are always a nice touch, and Rod picked some great SI for Kids sheets to send you.

Nick said...

Wait, Rod has a bookstore? Why didn't I know this?!

Bulldog said...

Nice color prints and SI cards. Good post.

Sean said...

Baseball Magazine started publication in 1946, so the postcards are likely from 2006!

Fuji said...

chris - it's one of those cheap, cool cards. i'm guess you can find a copy sitting in a dime box at the next card show you attend. yeah... i'm a big fan of the si cards. love how they include men and women... as well as a variety of sports.

nick - i'm not 100% sure if he owns it or not... but i'm pretty sure he manages one.

bulldog - yeah... volpe's artwork is fantastic. i'm wondering if he ever did one for gwynn back in the 80's

sean - thanks! was hoping one of you guys would know.

defgav said...

Good stuff! For what it's worth, you can score an assist for me on the 2001 Archives Reserve Future Rookie Reprints Gwynn.. I had an extra I gave to Rod and told him to give it to you if he didn't need it.

Fuji said...

Thanks for the assist. Rod left the original post it note attached to the card... and I thought that might be you since you were building this set.