Adapt or Die

When I walked outside on Wednesday afternoon to get some fresh air after completing the first day of school, it looked like it was snowing.  Ash was falling from the sky.  The sun was completely hidden behind smoke that you could literally taste.  My friends from work and I compared it to something from the movies.

As for work... this whole distance learning thing is "next level".  I spent tens of hours in webinars and professional development trying to prepare myself for this new style of teaching... yet I still feel so inadequate.

Have you ever felt inadequate within your career?  It's not a good feeling.  I know it'll get better.  It has to, right?  But for the time being... I'm just trying to put on my best "positive face" for my students, give them the best I have to offer, while continuing to learn new teaching strategies.  I'm also in the process of modifying the curriculum for one of the courses I teach to better fit online instruction while creating curriculum for a class I've never taught before.

I realize me whining doesn't help anyone.  Just wanted to document this new era of life and hoped that ranting would help my mental state.  The reality is... we're living in different times.  Adapt or die.

2004 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites #89

Did you catch the Moneyball reference?  When I typed that Billy Beane quote, I immediately thought of the Fernando Tatis Jr. controversy that took place earlier in the week.

Personally... I think this whole unwritten rule that you don't swing on a 3-0 pitch when you're up seven runs in the top of the 8th inning is silly.

2020 Topps 52-Card Baseball #JH

Seeing Tatis launch that grand slam on Monday gave me goosebumps.

2019 Heritage Clubhouse Collection Relic #CCR-EH

Seeing him get scolded by Eric Hosmer and then asked to apologize for doing his job and giving his team, teammates, and fans nothing but 100% effort made me sick.

If we were talking about Little Leaguers running up the score, I could understand the drama.  It's unsportsmanlike.  You might even convince me to buy into "not running up the score" with high schoolers, college players, friendly matches, or within international events.  However, we're talking about professional baseball players.

These are athletes who have dedicated the majority of their lives to this sport and make a pretty good living off of it.  Salaries are based on how well you perform in the batter's box, on the pitching mound, or in the field.  I think it's crazy to ask a player who is making seven or eight digit salaries to not try their best 100% of the time.

And even if you're able to convince me of situations where a player shouldn't try their best, this isn't going to be one of them.  The Padres had a 7 run lead.  That's nothing in baseball.  The Rangers have scored five runs in the bottom of the 8th twice this year.

I'm all about young athletes respecting their elders and Tatis showed a lot of maturity by listening to his coach and apologizing for his actions.  But if Tatis was my student and I shamed him for playing hard... who is the one that really should be apologizing?

Teachers are not always right... and neither are managers.  I personally think that this unwritten rule needs to adapt or die.

That's it for today.  I'll step down from my soapbox.  Most of us are fans of the game, but we're not always going to agree on how it should be played.  Regardless of whether or not we see eye to eye on this topic, I encourage you to leave your thoughts down below.  But let's be good role models and at the very least respect each other's opinions.

Seems like many of us already have plenty of craziness on our plates with hurricanes, unemployment, power outages, heat waves, fires, political and racial tention, homelessness, and COVID-19.  We don't need to add tension among sports fans to this list.

By the way... sports highlights aren't the only thing I enjoy watching on YouTube.  I also enjoy covers of famous songs.  This song came across my stream this morning and it was one of those perfectly timed gifts.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Keep It Simple

I love my life, but it's not perfect.  I love my job, but it's not perfect.  I love this hobby, but it's not perfect.

When I was building my Sports Card Trifecta of Jose Altuve, I struggled to determine his rookie card.  Should I have bought his 2011 Topps Update, because it has the official rookie card logo?  Or should I have purchased his 2010 Bowman Chrome Prospects card, because it's his earliest card featuring him in an Astros jersey?

2010 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP137

I decided to go with the latter, because when I was a kid I was taught that a player's first pack pulled, nationally distributed card produced by one of the major card manufacturers was his rookie card.

I realize that based on the current eBay sales between the two cards, I'm in the minority.  At least he doesn't have any Team USA cards featuring him as a 15 year old.  Or worse... he could have had four different rookie card logo cards in Update like Cody Bellinger has in this year's set.

Don't worry.  I'm not going to be a disgruntled collector or blogger who goes on an epic rant.  I just wish card companies would go back to the days when collectors could open a pack of cards and easily identify an athlete's rookie card.

For example... if someone gave you a pack of 1980 Topps baseball cards and you pulled this:

1980 Topps #482

You'd instantly know that you hit the jackpot and pulled Rickey Henderson's lone rookie card.

If you tore into a pack of 1983 Fleer baseball and discovered this:

1983 Fleer #360

You'd know that you pulled a Tony Gwynn rookie card.

And if you tore into a pack of 1989 Upper Deck baseball and saw this:

1989 Upper Deck #1

You'd know immediately that you were holding a Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card.

1981 Topps #302

1981 Topps Traded #850

Even when Donruss Rookies, Fleer Update, and Topps Traded box sets added a layer of confusion to the mix, collectors were still able to decipher a player's true rookie card from his really cool Traded set card.

C'mon COMC... don't collectors already have enough on their plate with current rookie cards?  Stop the shenanigans and drop the RC tag.  80's rookie cards are suppose to be simpler to define.  Back then it felt like most of us were at least on the same page when it came to defining what a rookie card was.

These days... I'm not so sure.  Maybe you can help me.  

Do you have a simple way to define a rookie card?

I feel like things would be so much better if we (collectors, card manufactures, grading companies, card shop owners, price guide websites, and everyone else involved in our hobby) could stand on common ground.

At the very least... it'd be less annoying.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!

Sunday Morning Soapbox: Group Breaks

Normally my Sunday Morning Soapbox posts involve me complaining or getting something off of my chest, but today I'll just be expressing my opinion on group breaks in our hobby.

If you're not familiar with the term"group break", it's essentially where a group of people split the cost of a box (or case) of trading cards.  There are a variety of ways that the group can divvy up the cards.  Sometimes there's a draft for individual cards.  Other times people pick teams.  I've even heard of group breaks that involve the drafting of specific players, divisions, leagues, and conferences.  There are also group breaks that utilize sites like random.org, which randomly assigns teams, players, divisions, etc.

Why do people join them?  Well... I won't speak for anyone other than myself.  But I used to participate in them, because it gave me the opportunity to get cards from high end products like UD Black and Topps Triple Threads without having to buy a full box.  Plus I enjoyed the thrill of "chance".  In the lower end breaks, I was able to slowly rebuild my team collections without having to go out and spend tons of money on hobby boxes.

These days, I tend to steer clear of them for the following reasons:

#1:  I'd rather spend my money on specific cards that I really want.

#2:  If I want to experience the thrill of "chance", I'll just open up a box on my own.

However... I love seeing and reading about what Kevin, Matt, and Brian pull from their personal group breaks.  And I've got to admit... every now and then I am tempted to join one of Nacho Grande's group breaks.

Recently, Angus from over at Dawg Day Cards emailed me and requested my address.  He had joined one of Grande's breaks, was randomly assigned the Oakland Athletics, and offered to donate them to my collection.

Well of course I accepted.  Here's a quick look at the stack of A's cards he sent my way:

And here's a closer look at some of my personal favorites from the stack:

2016 Diamond Kings Originals #14

I remember when Nacho Grande pulled this card from the break a few weeks ago.  The card stood out, because he mentioned that Panini used the word "kleptomania" on the back.  I figured it had to do with him stealing bases, but I was planning on grabbing this card at some point to see for for myself how it was used.  

Here's another insert card of my favorite Oakland Athletic of all-time.  I might need to build this set, because I've always enjoyed paintings from certain Expressionists.

2016 Donruss '82 #5

I sorta feel like Donruss missed the mark on this insert set.  I'm a huge fan of the 1982 Donruss design and I personally think Panini should have used the same font and logo size on these inserts.  Nonetheless... I like seeing this photo of Sonny interacting with the fans.

2016 Donruss USA Collegiate National Team #24 (#'d 52/99)

I have never heard of Mr. Shore, but in the spirit of America's birthday... I figured I'd show of this insert.  And since Panini has a license with Team USA, they actually got to use logos on this card.  Hooray!

In addition to these new additions to my Oakland A's collection, Angus also sent me this beautiful 1979 Seattle Seahawks Police set:

I've always enjoyed police sets and this one is no exception.  The card fronts include an oversized photo, the player's name, height, weight, position, college... as well as the team's helmet.

As with most police sets, there's a tip from the Seattle Seahawks as well as a Coke logo that pops off of the card.

The checklist includes thirteen players, the head coach, the mascot, and a cheerleader.  It even features a pre-rookie card of Seattle Seahawks' legend Dave Brown.

Thank you Angus for this very generous package of cards.  I'll have to dig up some Cleveland Browns and New York Mets cards for your PC.

Well... I hope all of you are enjoying your holiday weekend.  Now that I've shared my thoughts on group breaks, it's your turn:

What are your thoughts on group breaks?  Do you participate in group breaks?  What's the coolest card you received from a group break?

Happy Sunday and sayonara!

Sunday Afternoon Soapbox: Plain White Envelopes

Card collectors who have traded or purchased cards online are probably familiar with the plain white envelope.  For some... they're known as the dreaded PWE's.  While others have no issue with them at all.  Personally... I'm somewhere in the middle.

I have always felt that there's a time and place for PWE's in our hobby and today I figured I'd share some of those thoughts.

#1:  If you've completed a trade online and have agreed to use PWE's, then obviously it's okay to use a PWE.

#2:  However if you're trading with someone online and PWE's haven't been discussed... I'd rather be safe than sorry and ship in a padded envelope.

#3:  If you're an eBay seller charging $5 for shipping, then you should NOT use a PWE.

#4:  If you're an eBay seller offering free shipping, then you should let prospective buyers know whether or not you're using PWE's, so they can bid accordingly.

#5:  And last... but not least... if you're a fellow blogger and you're sending random cards out of the kindness of your heart, then PWE's are 100% fine.  I mean c'mon... it's a gift.  The recipient should be grateful they received cards in the first place.

And "appreciation" is exactly what I felt after receiving PWE's from KevAlan (CCW), Brian at Highly Subjective and Completely Arbitrary, and vintage cardboard connoisseur Mark Hoyle.

I received Brian's PWE a two or three weeks ago and he included an assortment of Oakland Athletics ranging from newer rookies to 70's and 80's O-Pee-Chee.

The two cards that stood out the most were the juggling Spiezio and a 1988 Donruss The Rookies card of Doug Jennings.  Both of these guys stood out when they were in the A's farm system... and believe it or not... there was a time when I was actually hoarding rookie cards of the latter.

Next up is an autographed card of Sachiya Yamasaki:

KevAlan asked me if I had heard of Mr. Yamasaki, but I hadn't.  So after a little digging... I discovered he's a 23 year old pitcher for the Orix Buffaloes.  He's off to a great start this season... winning his first game and allowing zero earned runs.  Even more impressive is his beautiful signature.

Rounding out the stack of PWE's is my second one from Mr. Hoyle in the past two months.  He sent me a variety of A's and Frank Thomas cards:

Like Mr. Yamasaki, Mr. Gray is off to a fine start this season and is probably the best candidate to represent the Athletics in this year's Mid-Summer Classic.  

And last, but not least is this awesome oddball issue of The Big Hurt.  Hoyle sent The Five Tool Collector a Billy Pierce from this same deck and secretly wished I had the Thomas.  And now I do.  These playing cards are truly awesome... and I'm excited to add this one to my Frank Thomas binder.

Thank you Brian, KevAlan, and Mr. Hoyle for these thoughtful PWE's.  Normally... I'd say you'd probably need to wait awhile for me to pay you back.  But since we're all officially PWE Pals... I'll try to ship you out something this week.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!