A Six Pack to Kick Off Summer

Hip hip hooray!  My first full week of summer break starts today and I have a game plan in place regarding cards and the blog.  I have two major goals.  The first one involves going through several Sportlots and COMC packages and hopefully clearing out a few set builds I'm in the middle of.

The other goal is to open up the plethora of care packages that are piling up in my office and finally documenting them here on the blog.

This morning I opened up a few PWE's from fellow bloggers, so let's show off the goodies...

PWE #1:  Torren' Up Cards

2021 Epoch NPB #040

Kenny sent me a new Roki Sasaki card for my collection.  If you haven't heard of this guy yet, you probably will by next year.

He's one of those Japanese pitchers who has made a name for himself over in the NPB and there's a good chance he'll be coming to the MLB in 2025.

PWE #2:  A Penny Sleeve For Your Thoughts

Back in May, Jon asked me if I needed these two Kenner SLU football cards:

1998 Kenner SLU HOF Legends #NNO

1999 Kenner SLU Classic Doubles #NNO

I already have Starr's 1997 Classic Doubles card and Alstott's 1998 regular Kenner SLU card, but both of these are new to my collection.  

A few years ago, I added a sealed copy of Vince Lombardi's 1998 Kenner SLU HOF Legends figure.  One day I'd love to add the Bart Starr figure and the Ray Nitschke from that series... to my Green Bay Packers PC.

PWE #3/4/5/6:  Johnny's Trading Spot

Last October, John sent me four PWE's filled with some cards for some player and team collections.  One of them contained these three cards from one of those online exclusive Topps products:

2022 Topps X Juan Soto #46

2022 Topps X Juan Soto #47

2022 Topps X Juan Soto #50

I actually opened up a few of these boxes and with the help of eBay completed the entire base set, so these three cards are headed into my player collections.

All three are part of the Bestias Del Juego subset, which according to the back of Gwynn's card means "Beasts of the Game".

The next two PWE's contained a variety of Japanese athletes including some members of Japan's national football team:

Even though I have grown to appreciate the sport, I don't follow soccer too closely.  The two exceptions are the World Cup and Olympics.  The 2024 Olympic men's soccer kicks off in nine days and Samurai Blue is part of Group D along with Israel, Mali, and Paraguay.

The 4th PWE contained cards from another soccer team I casually follow: 

2019 Topps MLS

I have had the opportunity to see all four of these guys in action.  Unfortunately... none of them have played with the San Jose Earthquakes in a few years.  Chris Wondolowski retired in 2021 as the MLS all-time leading goal scorer.

Thank you Kenny, Jon, and Johnny for sending me these PWE's.  I apologize to all of you... especially Johnny for taking so long to open these up.  But better late than never, right?

Happy Monday and sayonara!

The Great Eight

Tomorrow I'll be heading back into work and helping out with the 8th grade orientation... which is something completely new.  8th graders typically don't need one of these, but due to the COVID and distance learning this will be their first official tour of our school.  Just one more thing on an already packed plate, but the overtime will be nice.

As for the rest of the week... it's a little crazy and I'm starting to feel a little anxious over it.

One of the best ways to cope and relax is to do something hobby related, so my goal is to try and write up a few preschedule posts here and there in my "free time" since those two words won't really be part of my vocabulary over the next few weeks.

Okay... enough talk about work.  Let's check out some cards.

1975 Topps Mini #531

When you think of the Great Eight... the first thing that pops into some of our heads is the 1975 Cincinnati Reds starting lineup.  But this post is actually in honor of the 8th day in the 8th month.

I figured I'd rank my eight favorite athletes to wear #8 on their jersey at some point in their career.  Sorry about the deke.  There's actually a more devious reason for this post that will eventually be revealed if you choose to continue reading. 

This list was much more challenging than I had originally anticipated.  The first three picks were no-brainers for me, but the rest of the list was very fluid and was revised several times over the course of days.

I'll start things off with a trio of honorary mentions.  All of these guys were on the original list at some point, but were knocked off in the end...

Honorary Mention #1:  Yogi Berra

2012 Panini Golden Age Batter Up #23

I'm guessing Yogi would make most of your lists.  I left him off because he retired almost a decade before I was born, so we lack the sentimental connection that I have with the other guys on this list.

Honorary Mention #2:  Monta Ellis

2008-09 Murad Checklists #18

There was a time when Monta was my favorite player outside of the Los Angeles Lakers organization.  I really, really liked this guy.  Had he not been traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2012... he would have made the list and there's a chance I would still be a casual basketball fan.

Honorary Mention #3:  Willie Stargell

1965 Topps #377

Pops was a little before my time, but I did manage to catch the tail-end of his career.  I even pulled a card or two of his when I was a kid.  That counts for something... but not quite enough to make the list.

The moment has arrived.  Here are my eight favorite athletes who donned the number eight on their jersey at some point in their playing career.  Remember... it's a list of my favorites... which means they are great to me... but might mean squat to you.

#8:  Gary Carter

1977 Topps #295

Collectors seem to love Gary Carter.  I don't remember him being one of my favorites, but in hindsight he probably should have been.  He snuck onto this list at the last second, because he's one of the greatest catchers from my childhood and I enjoyed those early 80's Montreal Expos teams.

#7:  Ray Guy

2004 UD Legends Legendary Signatures #LS-RA

This is definitely the most sentimental pick of this post.  Ray Guy reminds me of my childhood more than anyone else on this list.  My father loved that era of Oakland Raiders football.  I might not have turned into a Raiders fan, but his fanfare definitely shaped me into a fan of the sport.

#6:  Matt Hasselbeck

2007 Leaf R&S Sapphire Materials #49

Hasselbeck is one of those quarterbacks who fly under the radar of casual football fans, but I'll always be grateful to him for leading the Seattle Seahawks to their first Super Bowl appearance back in 2005.  

#5:  Joe Pavelski

2014-15 UD Masterpieces Autographs #135

Had I written this post three years ago, Little Joe would have been in the #3 spot without a doubt.  At the time, he was my favorite current San Jose Shark... and entering his 13th year with the franchise that drafted him back in 2003.  These days he's better known as Joe Exotic of the Dallas Stars (insert barf emoji).

#4:  Cal Ripken Jr.

1984 O-Pee-Chee #363

Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn's careers will forever be connected after entering Cooperstown together in 2007.  But even before that... I knew both of these guys were classy, one franchise players who loved the game as much as anyone.  Hmmm... maybe I need to put together a small player collection of Iron Man.

#3:  Chris Wondolowski

2013 Topps (Photo Variation) #151

Wondo might be the biggest surprise on this list for my readers, but I knew when I decided to build it... he'd be somewhere near the top.  He's the MLS all-time goal scorer and been with the San Jose Earthquakes for the bulk of his career.  In fact... my selective memory allows me to forget his years of service with the Houston Dynamo... and consider him a one franchise player.

#2:  Kurt Suzuki

2012 Topps A&G Mini (Ginter Back) #69

I'm sure some of you figured Kurt would be #1 on my list.  I've been a fan of him for more than a decade and continue to root for him wherever he plays.  However the guy in the #1 spot is one of my favorite athletes of all-time and I couldn't justify bumping him for Kurt.

But before I reveal who that player is... I wanted to show off the true inspiration behind this list and post:

2008 Rittenhouse Battlestar Galactica Season 3 Autograph #NNO

Grace Park played Number Eight in the 2004 reimagined science fiction television series... Battlestar Galactica and instantly became one of my favorite characters on the show.  She's obviously easy on the eyes too.  That's why I had Gavin create this custom card for me a few years ago.

Anyways... this autograph was the key reason I returned to COMC earlier in the year.  An eBay search led me to discovering this card with an affordable BIN price on their site.  I sent the seller a $50 offer and was very excited when he/she accepted.

Okay... this post has dragged on long enough.  Let's reveal #1.  Drumroll please...


#1:  Kobe Bryant

1997-98 Topps #171

Few athletes have the passion and determination that Kobe had for basketball.  I realize he's not liked by all basketball fans... but he's the reason I stuck around the sport for as long as I did.

Well... that's my list.  What about you...

Who is your favorite athletes to wear #8?

Who is the greatest athlete to wear #8?

Leave your thoughts down below.  I look forward to reading and responding.

Happy Monday and sayonara!

TWiB: Scorpions, Saito, Stone Fingers, Soccer, and Storage Boxes

Yee haw.  Baseball is back.  Sure it's only Spring Training... but it's better than basketball or even following my beloved San Jose Sharks who have flirted with .500 the entire season, but haven't been able to hold my attention.  I guess I'm still adjusting to the new and not-improved era of Sharks hockey.  I'll still support them by wearing my jersey and collecting their cards, but I'm ready to focus my attention on baseball.

Okay... let's kick another This Week in Blogging post off with a minor league card of his Airness...

#1:  An Expensive Minor League Card

1991 Upper Deck #SP1

On Monday, Ryan over at This Card is Cool showed off a really cool jersey card of Michael Jordan from his days with the Scottsdale Scorpions.  Back in the mid 90's, I was one of those collectors who chased his baseball cards.

2001 UD Prospect Premiers Heroes of Baseball Dual Jersey #J-JJ

It took me awhile, but I finally added my first and only memorabilia card of MJ back in 2010 that also happens to have a Scorpions swatch.

#2:  Super Saito!

Greg over at Night Owl Cards showed off the COMC haul he recently received and included were some Takashi Saito cards.  He mentioned him being a pretty big deal during his two years with the Dodgers and he wasn't kidding.  You should check out his 2007 stats.

2008 Topps Silk #NNO (#'d 44/50)

Saito has gotta be one of only a handful of players who had a lower career ERA in the MLB than across the Pacific in the NPB.

#3:  Stone Fingers

No idea how or why Toby Harrah received that nickname... but it's an attention grabber.  He was featured in a post I read over on The Shlabotnik Report this morning and it reminded me of when I was a kid.  Back in 1982, Harrah hit .304 with 25 home runs... which made an impression on the ten year old version of me.

2013 Tristar Signa Cuts Bronx Edition Red #NNO (#'d 1/5)

Although I mostly associate him with the Texas Rangers and Cleveland Indians, I just couldn't pass up this terrible looking cut signature of his.  I found it at a card show back in 2019 for a buck.

Looking back at that card show haul reminded me of another really cool purchase I made:

2019 Chrome Negative Refractor #203

I purchased this card off of a dealer for $20.  These days regular Chrome rookie cards of Tatis sell for $80 to $100 on a regular basis.  This card is over $500 now.  Crazy times people.  Crazy times.

Anyways... getting back to The Shlabotnik Report... if you enjoy learning interesting 70's baseball trivia, please check out his series:  The 1970's: A to Z.

#4:  Another Interesting Collection

The Best Bubble has some of the most interesting mini collections around:  Bubble Blowing Cards, Athletes Balancing Bags and Balls, and Marlboro Man Advertisements just to name a few.

2017 Archives Fan Favorites Autographs #FFA-BV

On Monday, he showed off some cards from his Fans In The Stands collection.  It's so cool and unique.  Anyways, outside of the famous Mark Jackson Hoops card (which I don't own yet)... this Yankees fan was the only card that came to mind when thinking of fans.

#5:  Creative Design

I just wanted to give P-Town Tom over at Waiting 'til Next Year a huge shoutout for his custom storage box.  If you haven't seen it, please head over to his blog and check it out.

#6:  Entertaining Errors

Matt over at Big Blue Cardboard showed off an interesting error card this week... where Panini placed a David Wilson sticker-graph on a Rueben Randle card.

I just happened to be watching a Tony Gwynn Jr. card featuring his father's autograph earlier in the week on eBay.  Due to collecting cutbacks, I let it go.

2006 Exquisite Collection Dual Rookie Signatures #55

However I did grab this one a few years ago off of COMC.  If you're bored, I wrote a post about this goof in further detail five years ago.

#7:  An Entertaining Soccer Card Post

Are you a soccer card collector?  Head over to A Penny Sleeve For Your Thoughts to check out his Kaka card.

2013 Topps MLS Kit Relic #KIT-CW

Outside of the occasional San Jose Earthquakes autograph or memorabilia card, I don't really chase soccer cards... but I do enjoy watching them play at Avaya Stadium (when there's not a pandemic).

#8:  Football Card Blog Bat-Around

1975 Topps #525

1975 Topps #60

Ryan (SumoMenkoMan) is hosting a "Living" Blog Bat-Around over on his blog.  For details, please click either of those links or you can read my response post from Thursday.

#9:  Leaving Your Collection Behind

Dime Box Nick gave his readers something to think about this week, when he wrote about what would happen to his collection if he had to leave it all behind.  It's something I've thought about on numerous occasions.

And it's one of the reasons, I've started to clear out some of the stuff cluttering my place...

Last week, I threw this collection on Craigslist for $100 and three different people reached out to me within an hour.  The only interaction I had was with the first guy... and I immediately accepted his $70 offer.  He was happy... I was happy.  That's what I call a win/win situation.

Yesterday, I listed some boxes of basketball cards for $400 and sold them this morning.  However I'll hold off on showing the photos until I've actually completed the sale on Monday.

As for the rest of my stuff... I'm going to slowly move duplicates of sets and graded cards I've accumulated over the years.  No... I'm not dumping my collection.  But do I really need ten 1992-93 Fleer Ultra Shaquille O'Neal PSA 10 rookie cards? 

That wraps up another This Week in Blogging post.

Feel free to throw down your thoughts on Spring Training, MJ's baseball cards, custom storage boxes, selling sports cards, or collecting soccer cards down in the comment section below.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!