30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Games People Play

Life just keeps getting more and more interestingWait.  There's no need to sugar coat things here.  COVID-19 sucks.  It's taken the lives of over 360,000 people on our planet and over 100,000 of those deaths have occurred in our countryPeople are stressed about money, work, family, friends, food, health, the future of their families and our country, as well as plenty of other things I'm forgetting.

And if things weren't bad enough, the tragic death of George Floyd didn't help.    It's sad that our awesome country just can't find a way to live together in peace.  We're so divided, it's depressing.  It's even sadder that people are still treated differently based on the color of their skin.

It's so disheartening to know that there are police officers who feel like they are above the law.  It's also a shame that there are those who judge all law enforcement officers based on a handful of bad eggs.

Damn.  We've come so far as a country, but obviously we still have a long way to go.

Thankfully, our blogosphere is my safe haven.  It's a place I can hang out and take my mind off of the crap going on around me.

Games are another excellent source of distraction.


On Monday, I turned on my PS4 and started replaying The Last of Us.  The sequel comes out in a few weeks, so I wanted to get reacquainted with the story line.  The game is played from a third person perspective and takes place in the United States after the world has been ravaged by an infectious outbreakSound familiar?

I can't remember the last time I played it, but it's been long enough for me to forget a lot of the small details.  I completed about 75% of the game on Monday... while spending about an hour each day during the week before completing it yesterday afternoon... right before I started playing another gameJohnny's BFG.

I ended up winning some 70's Hostess, but that's a post for another dayHow about I show you the prize package I won from another game I played?

A few weeks ago, The Diamond King started his own version of the Big Fun Game.  He invited people who took the time to comment on his blog to sign up and I was one of the nine participants.

Every participant started off with 100 DK$, which were used to bid on a daily auction.  There were hidden bonuses built in so that contestants could earn more DK$.  The game was very unique and entertaining.  There were a total of twelve different auctions and I ended up winning two of them.

The first auction I won contained six Kirby Puckett cards and a Shawn Green bat relic.  The main card I wanted was this Kirby Puckett rookie card:

1985 Donruss #438

This is my 2nd copy of this card.  The first one is part of my 1985 Donruss set.  This copy was added to my 80's binder.



Out of the five inserts, four were new additions to my Kirby Puckett collection.  The 1987 Fleer All-Star is a duplicate.

2003 Fleer Showcase Thunder Sticks Gold #TS-SG

This Green game used bat card was a nice bonus as it's numbered to only ninety-nine.  If you're interested, Bill's Baseball Card Blog just featured a post on guys who hit four home runs in a single gameGreen is one of those guys.

The second auction I won was a Pete Rose and Ichiro Suzuki lot:




I was happy to find out that all four Ichiros were new additions to the collection.  I have copies of the three Roses, but they're all part of complete sets, so these joined the Puckett rookie card in the 80's binder.

I was also involved in an auction with another blogger, Ryan G from This Card is Cool.  The lot contained four Nolan Ryans and two Roy OswaltsRyan was only interested in the Oswalts, so we worked out a deal and I paid him seven DK$ for the Nolan Ryans.

These three will eventually be passed along to a different Ryan (aka SumoMenkoMan):



The fourth one was added to... you guessed it... my 80's binder:

1981 Topps #240

One of the coolest auctions was one I didn't end up winning.  It was a huge lot of oddballsBut Sport Card Collectors did... and he generously passed along the three cards I really wanted from the lot:


Thank you Sport Card Collectors for hooking me up with these three oddballs... and a huge thank you goes out to The Diamond King for all of these wonderful cards.  More importantly... thank you for distracting me from the crazy stuff going on in the world we live in.  That game was awesome!

I'll wrap things up with a little Games People Play by The Alan Parsons Project:


This song comes off of their fifth studio album, The Turn of a Friendly Card.


A couple of years ago, my brother gave me his LP collection and this was one of the albums.  By the way, when I'm not playing games to distract me from the real world, I'll sometimes lay on my couch, put on a record, and listen to music.

This morning, I read Adam's post over on ARPSmith's Sportscard Obsession where he mentioned reading helps take his mind off of thingsI totally agree.  I enjoy reading card blogs.  It's usually how I start and finish my day.

One day, I'll advance to reading booksKenny (better known as Zippy Zappy) recently wrote a Star Wars post centered around Grand Admiral Thrawn.  He mentioned in the comments section that Timothy Zahn had written a new trilogy about the popular character.  I bought Zahn's original trilogy back in the 90's, so I decided to pick up this one as well: 


By the way... I wish I had the solution to the problems mentioned earlier in this post.  I don't.  It's awesome seeing all of the protests... when the people are peaceful.  But just like police officers, it only takes a few rotten apples to spoil the bunch.

I'm not ready to stand in crowds quite yet... but I'll try to do my part and show more compassion and positivity to others, because there's just too much hate and animosity in our world as it is.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

9 comments:

The Diamond King said...

Some good points made, Fuji. And I'm glad I could help out the 80's binder!!

Peter K Steinberg said...

Great cards here. I love that '87 Puckett Fleer All Star Team. A dated card, but a beauty. I love seeing the Roses, Ryans, and Schmidt, too.

The Lost Collector said...

You did well, and I think scored the early lots for quite cheaply (in terms of game currency).

Commishbob said...

"We've come so far as a country, but obviously we still have a long way to go." Agree 100%.

I don't have any video games, I've never played one but I do find an escape in music. All kinds, jazz, electronic, Memphis soul, classic country, and prog rock. I have something on all day. Not sure what I'd do without it.

Jongudmund said...

What's happening in the USA is big news over here in the UK as well. It looks like there are some big problems that need sorting, and the solutions are beyond the ability of the people in charge, which is the really scary part. Love and hugs to you and all the other card bloggers. Stay safe, all.

friend11 said...

All of us can do our part by being kind to everyone.

Collecting Cutch said...

Really cool cards, but even better points you made. Stay safe.

Sean said...

I feel bad seeing all that stuff go on in the US, its really hard to watch. Stay safe and I hope this year will eventually be looked back on as a low point that preceded better days which lay ahead.

Fuji said...

the diamond king - super creative game. thank you for hosting it... and for all of the generous prizes you sent out to collectors

peter k steinberg - i'll try to remember to dig out that puckett insert and send it your way.

the lost collector - yeah... my strategy was to bid on everything, since it was the house's money

commishbob - music definitely trumps video games... probably 10 to 1. but when i binge a game... it's usually a few days straight

jongudmund - thanks. obviously the murder of floyd was a travesty, but it's beautiful to see so many people stand up for change. it's also made me take a deeper look at myself and what i can do to become a better human being

friend11 - that's a great step in the right direction.

collecting cutch - you too matt. hope the soda arrived safe and sound.

sean - i've been going back and forth on watching the news, just because sometimes it can be depressing. but i'm trying to see the beauty of more and more people stepping up and standing up for african-americans and equal rights.