Enjoying My Free Time

A few weeks ago, I received a warning from a fellow blogger in my comment section...

The message was simple.  I was going to need "a lot" more free time soon.  The reason?  John over at Johnny's Trading Spot had just sent me two packages.

One was a large padded envelope and the other was a small flat rate box.  The contents were ten team bags filled with goodies.  The sorting process took me a little under an hour, but scanning the singles took another hour.  That's two hours of solid entertainment on a Sunday afternoon.

In an effort to keep things timely, I'm going to follow in John's footsteps, keep the writing to a minimum, and let the scans do the talking.  Here we go...

2025 Topps 1990 Baseball #T90-46

2025 Topps 1990 Baseball #T90-40

2025 Topps 1990 Baseball #T90-36

Unlike last year, I have barely touched any 2025 Topps baseball.  I think I opened up one jumbo hobby pack earlier in the season, but that's about it.  I'm very excited to add new cards of three of my favorite players.

Here's one more of #19...

2025 Topps Call to the Hall #CTH-21

Not the most creative or attractive insert, but it's a new Gwynn for my collection.  Here's another favorite...

2004 Bowman DP&P Gold #BDP39

Two Kurt Suzuki sightings in three days.  Life is good.

Let's show off three more Athletics...

1991 Topps Magazine #TM59

2025 Topps Chrome Refractor #45

2025 Topps All-Star Game #4

Johnny has been showing off a ton of magazine cards lately on his blog.  Here's the first one of this post, but not the last.

Let's show off some new additions to my Japanese PC:

2007 Finest Rookie Finest Moments Blue Refractor #RFM-KJ

2015 Topps Update #US335

Not sure if it's coming across in the scan, but the Johjima is stunningly beautiful.  As for the Aoki, I discovered it was a photo variation when I was adding it to my binder.  Nice angle of Citi Field in the background.

2024 Topps Trading Card Day #NTCD-B14

These days, any Ohtani sent to me will get scanned.  Can't stand the Dodgers, but I can't root against this guy.

2021 Topps Chrome NPB #90

The same applies to Mr. Yamamoto.  Outside of one rough outing against the Phillies, this guy has been a stud in the playoffs this season.

One more Japanese athlete, but let's switch genders... 

1992 Legends #42

As a teacher, I try not to name favorites.  But this magazine card of my celebrity crush is the exception to the rule.

Here are the final two baseball card scans...

2006 Upper Deck Collect the Mascots #MLB-1

2006 Upper Deck Collect the Mascots #MLB-2

John knows that I'm a big fan of mascots.  In 2006 Upper Deck created a three card set which was also an interactive contest for kids.  I'm now on the hunt for the final card:  Mr. Met.

Okay, five more cards.  Two feature athletes I collect:

2019 Prizm Red, White, & Blue Prizm #258

Wilson is past his prime and now riding the bench in New York, but I'll always appreciate what he accomplished in Seattle. 

2021 UD Goodwin Champions #61

Just like Ohtani... any card of MJ is scan worthy.

Last, but not least are the non-sports cards...

1972 Donruss Choppers and Hot Bikes #48

I'm not sure why John sent me this card, but I love it.  This chopper reminds me of the Hot Wheels I used to play with when I was a kid.  Speaking of childhood toys, here are a pair of Lego cards:

2000 Lego Mini Heroes Collection #1

2000 Lego Mini Heroes Collection #3

Not familiar with them, but they'll be added to the Japan non-sports binder.

That wraps up the two care packages from John over at Johnny's Trading Spot.  Sorry it took me so long to open them up and sort them, but this was the first weekend in as long as I can remember where I had some "free time".

Happy Monday and sayonara!

Flea Market Finds #181: Dime Box Cards

This year has been one of the best in regards to flea market finds, but after two poor outings in a row... I'm starting to think the hot streak is over.

Two weeks ago, I walked around the De Anza Flea Market and didn't purchase a single item.  A friend of mine made a big purchase involving hundreds of packs and as a consolation prize tossed me one.  I'll share its contents in a future post, because I'm too lazy to run out to my car.

Two weeks before that, I walked around the Branham Flea Market and had it not been for a guy with a dime box, I would have walked away with nothing again.

Although all of these items were purchased at the same time, it's easier to split them up into two categories...

Purchase #1a:  The Oversized Stuff  $3

They're a pain in the butt to store, but I will happily purchase any box topper I come across if the price is right.  Ten cents works for me.

Here are a few of my favorites:

2020 Topps Holiday Ornament #WHO-MB

Some of you might remember my metal Christmas tree.  Well I've slowly been accumulating some of the Topps Ornament box toppers from the past five years.  Just need a few more to decorate an updated version of it. 

2021 Heritage Box Topper #OB-VG

In the midst of preparing this post, Vladito was having a monster series against the New York Yankees.  Unfortunately he hasn't found the same success against Seattle's pitchers.

2011 Topps Lineage 1964 Topps Giants Box Topper #TG9

The 1964 Topps Giants is one of my favorite vintage oddball sets.  I'm a huge fan of the simple design and was very lucky to add the full sixty card set to my collection a few years ago.  I'm not building this box topper set, but I'll happily add affordable singles when I stumble across them. 

2013 Panini Golden Age Exhibit Box Topper #25

This is probably the least interesting card for the majority of you, but it's my favorite from the bunch.  I can't tell you much about Mr. Johnson that you can't look up on Wikipedia... but this card makes me think of my father who was a huge boxing fan in his youth.

Okay, let's check out the rest of the dime box purchases...

Purchase #1b:  The Standard Stuff  $7

Here's a heads up... there wasn't a lot of baseball in this guy's dime box and the stuff he did have I wasn't interested in.  That being said, there were a bunch of other sports represented and some non-sports too.

I was a pretty diehard San Jose Sharks fan for their first thirty seasons, but I haven't really followed them, the sport, or hockey card industry in several years.  I'll still buy some Sharks, hockey autographs, and 90's inserts from time to time.  But if they started skating in the past ten years, I have no idea who they are.  That being said, I know that the Upper Deck Young Guns are popular among hockey card collectors.  At 10¢ each, I figured I'd grab every copy this guy had.

The same 10¢ rule applies to any shiny Pokemon cards I come across.  The hidden treasure in the box is political trading card of Mark Takano.  Never seen these before, but it's an interesting addition to my Japanese Pc.

There were a bunch of these Disney cards in the guy's dime box.  I picked up a bunch for one of my co-workers who is a huge Disney fan.  However I held onto a few including the Beagle Boys and Goofy cards above.

I was also happy to find a bunch of new Jon Jones cards for my collection:

I don't consider myself a huge MMA fan, but I did enjoy following Jones in the UFC Octagon.

Here are a few more singles I found in the dime box.  Honestly there wasn't anything too mind blowing in this guy's box... but I had fun flipping through it.  Hopefully he'll be out there again this Saturday.  If not... I'm hoping to find at least something card related to purchase out there.

Until then...

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Star Search

Anyone else watch Star Search back in the 80's?  If not, it was a television show hosted by Ed McMahon where people competed against each other in areas like singing and dancing.  I guess you could say it was the 80's version of American Idol.

Anyways... the show popped into my head when I was thinking of a title for this post which started off with two purchases for my Japanese Celebrity PC:

2024 Topps A&G Framed Autographs #MA-SUD

Miki Sudo is a half-Japanese professional eater who is most famous for her streak of eleven consecutive wins at the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest.  Star Search never featured any eating competitions back when I watched it, but I wish they had.

Next up is Patti Yasutake:

2011 Rittenhouse Star Trek TNG Autographs #NNO

She was featured in a bunch of Star Trek The Next Generation episodes back in the early 90's.  She played the role of Nurse Ogawa on the Enterprise.  Sadly she passed away last August at the age of 70.

Back in March... I purchased both of these autographs off of eBay a few days apart from each other using a gift card I had laying around since the holidays.

Recently, I added another autograph of a Japanese celebrity to my collection:

2019 Topps Star Wars Masterwork Autographs #A-CS

This card was part of a second care package sent to me by Kenny over at Torren' Up Cards.  It features Kazuda Xiono, a pilot in the animated series Star Wars Resistance.  Like Sudo, Christopher Sean, the voice actor who signed this card, is also half-Japanese.

Like past Zippy Zappings, there's a lot of stuff to cover... so I'd better get going.

Here are a few more Star Wars cards (don't worry there are some baseball cards too):

2019 Topps Star Wars Masterwork The Dark Side #DS-10

The Seventh Sister is one of the Vader's Inquisitors.  She was featured in the animated series Star Wars Rebels.  I remember he wrote a post about her a few years ago where he mentioned that she was his favorite Star Wars character.

Not sure if she still is, but he sent me quite the collection of her cards:

There were also these interesting things that remind me of poker chips:

2016 Topps Star Wars Galaxy Connexions Series 3 #60

It took me a few minutes, but I found some information on these "chips" here and here.

Kenny topped off the Seventh Sister portion of his care package with this very generous signed photo:

Topps Authentics

Does anyone recognize the signature?  It's Sarah Michelle Gellar!  Although she's probably best known for her role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I remember her more for I Know What You Did Last Summer and Cruel Intentions.

I didn't even know SMG voiced the Seventh Sister until I read Kenny's post that featured this signed photo.  When I finally move into a house that has a proper man cave, this photo will be framed up and featured on one of the walls.

Okay, let's move along (in my best stormtrooper voice)...

2020 Topps Women of Star Wars Autograph Orange #A-DW (#'d 01/99)

Video game fans might recognize this face.  Cere Junda is a character from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order... which is a game I own on the PS4.  But that's not the reason Kenny sent it to me.  I'm pretty sure he sent it because he knows I collect the first card in a serial numbered run and this is the first non-sport card added to my Prime Number PC.

Moving away from Star Wars, but sticking with females...

It wouldn't be a Zippy Zapping without some cards featuring Japanese models.  This 9-pocket page features Yumi Sugimoto.  The card backs feature a gorgeous puzzle:

Kenny has sent me a bunch of her cards over the years... and even a pair of binders.  I have been using them to house all of the ladies he's sent me over the years.  I even went out and purchased more specialty pages for them on Amazon.

Here's one more Yumi:

Okay... I appreciate all of the sports fans who patiently scrolled through all of the non-sports stuff.  I told you he sent some baseball cards too.

Let's start with some Japanese baseball cards:

This 9-pocket page features some 2025 Calbee cards and a 2025 Topps NPB card.  The base cards in this year's Calbee set doesn't list the names in English, so I'm not sure who is who.  But I definitely recognize the name in the middle.  Munetaka Murakami is a power hitter in Japan that will likely make his way to the MLB eventually.  Unfortunately he's been dealing with injuries this season.

Here are some more NPB cards:

Yu Darvish is arguably the biggest name on this page.  Here's a closer look at the card:

2008 BBM #626

Darvish holds the MLB record for strikeouts by a Japanese-born pitcher.  I was hoping he'd also break Hideo Nomo's record for MLB wins by a Japanese-born player this year, but like Murakami he's been hindered by injuries this season.

He also sent me a unique Darvish card:

Based on the following note, it looks like Darvish sent this to Kenny in place of a signature:

He also received a letter from Yuta Watanabe:

According to Watanabe this card is autographed:

But it's actually a facsimile signature of the NBA player.  That's okay though... because it ends up being a cool collectible with a story.

Arguably the most famous Japanese athlete in the world is this guy:

I'm not exactly sure what these two items are, but they are from the Tokyo Series and were packaged together in cellophane:

They're much larger and thicker than your standard trading card.  I tried to use one of those Ultra Pro pages that holds two 5x7 cards, but they kept sliding out.  Not sure how I'll store these, but for the time being they'll be housed in a box of oversized cards in my office.

UPDATE:  According to Kenny, these are mini-shikishis, which are traditional Japanese art boards.  They can be displayed on walls or used with stands.

Rounding out Kenny's care package is one more autograph:

2009 J League Autograph #SG99 (#'d 15/20)

This is my very first autograph of a Japanese soccer player.  I wasn't familiar with Naoshi Nakamura, but according to Wikipedia page he was a midfielder in the J League who once played on the national team.

Oops.  I almost forgot.  Kenny also tossed in this unopened pack of cards:

2022 Bandai Gundam

Not exactly sure what this is, but it looks like some kind of gaming card.  It's labeled as "Not for Sale", so maybe it's a promo or something.

Holy moly!  This was quite the care package.  I spent over four hours scanning, researching, and writing this post... but it's all worth it when you can add some star studded items like these to your collection.

Thank you Kenny!  I had a lot fun organizing the contents.  But in the process... I have worked up quite the appetite.  As soon as I'm done formatting, revising, and publishing this post... I'm gonna make a run for the border and grab me some tacos and a bean burrito.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!