Got Love for my Lefty Brethren

Did you know that today is Left Handers' Day?  I think it's pretty ridiculous that they have these special days for just about everything and everyone... but whatever... since I'm left-handed, I might as well take advantage of the situation.

Ever since I was a wee little boy, I have been a little self-conscious about being left-handed.  In elementary school... I would often be the only kid in class who wrote with their left hand.  When I played baseball... my coaches wouldn't let me play shortstop or third base (but I was fortunate enough to play second).  Back in college... I always found myself in forums with those L-shaped desks that catered to righties.  When I go out to eat... I often sit at the end of the table, so I don't bump elbows with my right-handed friends.  I'm unable to write down things in pen without smearing ink all over my hand and onto the paper.  Heck... even playing cards are designed for right-handed people.

But don't get the wrong idea.  This isn't a pity post.  It actually makes sense that things like video game controllers, spiral bound notebooks, and scissors tend to be catered towards right-handed people, since only 5 to 10% of the people inhabiting Earth are lefties.

However... since today is our official holiday... I'm going to celebrate my left-handed pride and show off a collection dedicated to my brethren that I've been working on.

The collection began with my favorite pitcher growing up... Mr. Lefty himself:

Before I started this project, Steve Carlton was the only player I specifically collected because he was left-handed.  But subconsciously... I must have been drawn to lefties, because two of my all-time favorite players were left-handed too:

The last time I visited my parents, I scanned a bunch of my left-handed hall of famers that I've accumulated over the years:

From there things sort of steamrolled and I've managed to pick up a few more left-handers over the past few months including these two hall of famers:

At first, I figured I'd target only baseball.  However... I've decided to broaden my interests and target football and basketball too.

Here's what I've acquired so far...

 

 

My goal is to acquire an autograph of any living hall of fame athlete, but I've also started to add some of my personal fan favorites too:

And maybe a handful of not-so-fan favorites:

Over time, I'll need to create rules here and there to help streamline things.  For example... in baseball, I've already had to create one.  I'm only collecting guys who throw with their left hand.  In other words... guys like Rod Carew and Joe Morgan don't qualify even though they batted lefty.

I also omitted hockey altogether.

I originally thought that guys like Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux were left-handed, because they were left-handed shooters.  I went back and looked up photographs with them signing autographs and discovered that they both sign righty.  However if you know of any hockey players who write with their left hand, leave their names in the comments and I'll add them to my list.

Actually...

Do you know of any other left-handed hall of famers or fan favorites?

If so, add them to the comments below.  Remember... I'm only looking for guys who actually throw or write with their left hand.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Flea Market Finds #91: Third Time's the Charm

Where:  Capitol Flea Market
When:  Sunday, August 9th
What:  Baseball Card Boxes, a Bobble, and another LP
How Much?:  $28

I attended three more flea markets last week, but on Thursday... I struck out.  Saturday.  Nada.  And on Sunday, I almost took the day off and slept in.  However... my desire to get as many steps as I can on my Fitbit inspired me to crawl out of bed and walk around the Capitol Flea Market.  It paid off.  I guess the third time's the charm.

I'm always hoping to find the guy who wants to dump a bunch of cards they purchased in the late 80's and early 90's.  Not the guy who thinks his 1987 Topps Barry Larkin should be worth $20, because he's a hall of famer.  Nope.  I'm looking for the guy who understand the term "Junk Wax Era" and just wants to get rid of everything that reminds him of that part of his life.

And guess what... I found him and I owe it all to my overpriced pedometer.

Purchase #1:  Three Boxes of 1993 Score Baseball $25

Whenever I see people with wax boxes, I'll usually stop by to see what they have... even when I automatically recognize the multiple boxes of 1988 Topps and 1990 Donruss baseball sitting on their table.  Why?  Well... because I will pretty much buy any wax box if the price is right.

Unfortunately... $10 per box wasn't the price I was looking to pay.  I was just about to continue on my way when I noticed a box that I didn't recognize, so I stopped.

Back in 1993, I was on a break from the hobby and didn't really buy too many cards.  In fact, I'm pretty sure I've never opened a pack of 1993 Score in my life.  Hence when I saw these, I didn't recognize them.

But thanks to smart phones and the internet, I quickly learned that these boxes actually still command a decent dime... ranging from around $20 to $45 each on eBay for full boxes.  You gotta love the impact Jeter has on our hobby.

The vendor offered me all three of his boxes for $25, which I thought was a fair price, so I took it.


Purchase #2:  Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti LP $1

To be honest... I'm not a huge Led Zeppelin fan, but ever since I watched Fast Times at Ridgemont High, I've loved "Kashmir".

Plus... the album cover is cool and for a buck, it's a nice addition to my growing LP collection.


Purchase #3:  2014 Dick Vermeil Bobble Head $2

There have been three SJSU bobble heads that I've been looking for: The Spartan, Bill Walsh, and Dick Vermeil.  I've never seen The Spartan or the Walsh at the flea market... and I've only seen the Vermeil twice.  Both times the vendor's prices were out of my bobble range.  But I guess... the third time's the charm.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

A Matter of Trust

Bottom line.  Unless you've witnessed a person signing something, you never can truly tell whether or not a person's signature is real.  I mean.  Let's face it.  My mom could go out and give me an autograph, tell me she got it signed in person, and there's always the slight chance she fibbed to make me feel better about the authenticity.

The same thing goes for certified autographs like the ones we pull out of packs:

2010 Topps Peak Performance #PPA-KS

Is it real?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  It boils down to trust and faith.  I trust my mom and I have faith in Topps that they are being honest to their customers.

I also have faith in athletes like Kurt Suzuki that they actually take the time to sign the stickers Topps sends them, instead of having their wives, girlfriends, husbands, boyfriends, mothers, fathers, friends, teammates, accountants, or any other acquaintances do it for them.

But that's the thing.  Just like all good relationships are built on trust, so is this relationship I have with our hobby.  And if the day ever arrives when I lose faith in the card companies, the players, and/or fellow collectors... that's when I know it's time for me to switch hobbies.

Because like Billy Joel sang... It's always been a matter of trust:

With that being said... here are a few "uncertified" autographs that Brett over at Card Collector's World sent me:

Codiroli was the Athletics staff ace back in 1985 when he led the American League in starts and his team in wins.  He's also a fellow San Jose State Spartan.

Gaudin is another Athletics pitcher to lead the American League in starts.  He's bounced around the MLB a few times, was in the news for groping a woman in a Las Vegas emergency room, and won a World Series ring with the 2009 New York Yankees.

The year that Gaudin won a ring, Igawa was pitching for the Yankees' AAA team down in Scranton.  I'm guessing... he didn't receive a ring.  But the 20 million dollars he made off the Yankees from 2007 to 2011 should be enough to buy him one.

In the states, Igawa has the reputation of being a huge bust.  However I'm sure fans in Japan remember him being a 3x all-star, 3x strikeout champion, and 2003 Central League MVP.

I plan on remembering him for his beautiful signature, which is a huge addition to my Japanese PC.

Ahhh... Mr. Iguchi.  Where the heck did you go?  Remember when you contended for the American League Rookie of the Year Award?  Man... those were the good old days.

This particular autograph Brett sent is my personal favorite.  I love that Iguchi signed it in the best possible spot.  And although the 2005 Topps baseball card design doesn't rank in my Top 20, they do look amazing when it features an on-card autograph.

There have been nineteen pitchers who have given up fourteen or more earned runs in a game, but only one did it in fewer than three innings pitched.  That honor goes to Mr. Mazzaro.

He actually bounced back and had a pretty decent season back in 2013 with the Pirates.  Going back a little further on his timeline, Vin won back to back state championships in high school, which is pretty cool.

Now I know that these five on-card autographs aren't certified by PSA or JSA, but who really cares?  They're from my cardboard buddy and that's good enough for me.

But my question for you is...

How much faith do you put into card companies and athletes when it comes to certified autographs?

Thanks Brett for another pair of generous packages.  I apologize it took me nearly two months to open them up.  I promise it won't take me that long to ship out your package.  Do you TRUST me?

Happy Sunday and sayonara!

Throw Your Hands Up in the Air

Last month, I wrote about meeting the first Japanese baseball player in Major League Baseball history.  But I failed to mention that it was my first time visiting my alma mater in over a decade.

I arrived about an hour before the Masanori Murakami book signing, so I decided to walk around campus and check out my old stomping grounds.  Here's a look at San Jose State University's iconic Tower Hall:

I apologize for the poor lighting... due to the time of day, I was forced to take the photographs while facing the sun.  Tower Hall is one of the oldest buildings in San Jose and looks exactly the way I left it when I graduated back in 1996.

However I did notice one nice addition to the campus:

Back in 2005, SJSU honored their two former Olympic medal winning students with this beautiful statue.

For those who may not recognize the Olympians, back in 1968 Tommie Smith took home the gold medal in the 200m race, while John Carlos won the bronze.

At the medal ceremony, the two athletes protested racial segregation by raising their black gloved fists and lowering their heads while on the podium.

Interesting Fact:  If you're wondering why one of them raised his right hand, while the other raised his left... Mr. Carlos accidentally left his gloves at the Olympic Village, so he borrowed Smith's left glove.

One More Interesting Fact:  Peter Norman was an Australian sprinter and the third member on the podium.  All three athletes wore Olympic Project for Human Rights badges when they received their medals and it was Norman who actually gave Carlos the idea to borrow Smith's glove.

A Final Interesting Fact:  John Carlos and Tommie Smith both gave eulogies and served as pallbearers at Peter Norman's funeral back in 2006.

Okay now onto the card featured at the top of this post.  After the book signing, I went home and searched for cards of all three Olympians.  As soon as I found out that Smith had autographs in both Allen & Ginter and Americana, I targeted them on eBay.

After a few weeks, I won the 2012 Americana Heroes and Legends autograph for $8.85 (+ $2.98 shipping).  It's a nice addition to my San Jose State University PC, but I'd really like to get my hands on his 2007 A&G autograph, because they feature on-card autographs.  Unfortunately... they are way out of my price range for the time being.

I hope all of you had a great week.  I'm officially on my summer break and have already started building everyone's care packages.  Stay tuned.  I should have some of them ready to go by tomorrow or Monday.

Happy Friday and sayonara!