Saturday Night Five: Summer Plans

Summer Break is here and the hobby will unquestionably be a part of my plans.  Today I thought I'd kick things off with some things I'd like to accomplish over the next two months.

#1: Visit Vegas

2018 Topps Chrome Refractor #50

2018 Topps Chrome Refractor #139

The most important thing on my list is to head down to the birthplace of Kris Bryant and Bryce Harper to visit my father.  It's been sixteen months since I've given him a hug.  I'm going to make this happen.

#2:  Continue Listing on eBay

1981 Granny Goose #35

I know this sounds bad to all of those "true collectors" out there, but I assure you I'm still a collector... not a dealer.  I've sold less than twenty-five items on eBay since February.    In fact, the number of cards purchased during that time frame far outnumbers the number of cards I've sold.

Although this isn't high on the priority list... I feel like it's almost guaranteed to happen.  The rest of the items on today's list aren't guaranteed.

#3:  Enjoy Some Games @ AT&T and the Oakland Coliseum

2013 Topps Album Stickers #293 & #314

2015 Topps Album Stickers #147 & #164

2016 Topps Album Stickers #151 & #159

I can't remember the last baseball game I attended.  I'm guessing it was an A's game back in 2019, but it might have been in 2018.  I'd like to hit up both sides of the Bay before I head back into the classroom.

I'd say there's an 80% chance I'll get out to an A's game and a 50% chance I'll attend a Giants game.

#4:  Hit Up a Flea Market or Card Show

There's a card show in Fairfield which is about a seventy-five minute drive north of San Jose on June 26th.  Not really sure if I'll go, because I'm not a big fan of standing in long lines and dealing with crowds in cramped spaces.

It's more likely that I'll hit up the Capitol Flea Market one of these weekends.  It's been so long since I've walked around there, I'm curious to see if there has been an increase in vendors with sports cards to match the popularity of our hobby.

2019 Topps Chrome #203

According to my blog, the last time I purchased something from Capitol was back in August of 2019.  That's where I grabbed this Chrome rookie card of Tatis for $5.  Hopefully I stumble across a few more the next time I'm out there.

#5:  Buy a Car

Lego Speed Champions #76901

It's been thirteen years since I've purchased a new car.  The past month or so... I've been looking into a 2021 Toyota Supra.  It's not a purchase I'll dive into lightly, but if I do end up buying one... it would be my "holy grail" car.  In other words... the car I'd treasure for the rest of my life.  I feel like the car's design would stand the test of time (well... at least my lifetime).

What are the chances?  I'd say it's a coin flip.  There are days I'm pumped and ready to buy it, while other mornings I wake up and think to myself... this is a toy I just don't need.  Then again... do I really need boxes and boxes filled with baseball cards?

I have a few other things I'd like to do around the house... like clean out the garage, build a few Lego sets, and hopefully finish this vintage Star Wars puzzle I started last summer.  Plus I'm sure there are a few things that I'm forgetting.  If I remember... maybe I'll update this list in a future post.

Until then...

Do you have any special plans for this summer?

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Slowly Making Progress

Our heritage, physical appearance, and personal beliefs are all things that make us special, unique, and who we are.  It's something that should cherished, embraced, and celebrated.  

This is a message I try to deliver to all of my students, because the world would be a much better place if we learned to accept and appreciate each other instead of resent each other.

And although sad and upsetting stories often highlight the news... it's nice to see more and more people and organizations out there who are working toward accepting others for who they are.

Earlier in the week, the Oakland A's sent an email to their fans announcing they will be celebrating Glenn Burke Pride Night this evening.

If you're not familiar with Mr. Burke, he's known for inventing the high five with Dusty Baker on October 2, 1977.  He was also the first openly gay player in MLB history.

1978 Topps #562

Based on this ESPN video, he was the life of the party and well liked by his teammates in Los Angeles.  However he was traded to Oakland for Billy North early in the 1978 season and according to Baker... it was because he was gay.

1979 Topps #163

In Oakland there were rumors that Billy Martin wasn't a fan of Burke's sexuality and may or may not have introduced him to the team using a derogatory term.  An injury supposedly ended his MLB career.   A year before he died in 1995, he told the New York Times that "prejudice drove me out of baseball sooner than it should have".

Twenty years after Burke passed away, the Oakland A's held their very first Pride Night.  Six years after that, they made the decision to rename their annual Pride Night after him.  It's sad that he didn't have the opportunity to live long enough to see the positive impact he made on the game of baseball and their relationship with the LGBTQ+ community.

But I hope he's looking down with a smile as humanity is slowly making progress.

The world may never be a happy family, but that doesn't mean that each of us can't do our part and stand up for equality for people of all ages, genders, ethnicities, religious beliefs, and national origin.  I promise to try my hardest to do my part.

By the way... I truly believe everyone has the right to their own opinion.  This post was not meant to antagonize, preach, or offend.  

Happy Friday and sayonara!

A Little Ray of Sunshine

This week wraps up my 23rd year in the classroom and I have a lot of mixed emotions.  A large part of me is breathing a huge sigh of relief.  The past sixteen months have been pretty stressful for many of us.  There were moments when I questioned whether or not I still enjoyed my profession.  Then in April... I returned to my classroom and things instantly turned around.  It's not back to normal... but it's nice being able to converse with my students in person... even if only three show up on a regular basis.

That's why I'm kind of bummed the school year is over.  It's hard to believe I just type out that statement, since usually I'm celebrating the arrival of summer break.  But I'm just caught my second wind and feel like I can keep teaching another few months.

Oh well... I'm sure by next week I'll deeply appreciate the rest and relaxation.

Plus... I know my students need time to recharge their batteries.  Some of them have really struggled over since the lockdown.  That's why I was very honored to receive this award recently:

It's nice to receive praise from colleagues, administration, and parents... but it's even more special when it comes from the student body.

There have been many occasions where I sat behind the computer screen and wondered if I was reaching any of them.  When I tell a joke or sing a song to my students, I usually get chuckles and immediate feedback from the classroom.

However on Zoom... they're muted and the screens are so tiny it's hard to tell if they're smiling or not.  I realize that this award doesn't represent the entire student population.  Based on the number of teachers at my school and the number of students I actually had this past year, I might have only won this award with 5% of the votes.

Regardless... it shows that I brought a little ray of sunshine to some of my students and that brings a lot of joy to my heart.

Okay... enough rambling about work.  That's not what this blog is about.  Let's move on to trading cards.  

Today I figured I'd show off a few cards that brightened my day a while back:

1968 Topps #2

Right about the time I was getting ready to return to the classroom, I received a care package from Reader James who wanted to thank me for entertaining him with my blog.

Well James... thank you for this care package which definitely hit several of my PC's.  First off is this 1968 Topps AL Batting Leaders card that features three first ballot hall of famers.  I'm in the process of tracking down every Topps League Leaders card that exclusively headlines hall of famers.

1951 Bowman #8

My interest in early 50's Bowman is fairly new.  If I were to guess... I'd say it was probably inspired by this flea market find back in 2014.  Since then I've really fallen for these gorgeous pieces of cardboard... especially the 1951's.

Up until receiving this card, I wasn't familiar with Mr. Lehner.  But if you were a kid back in 1951 and you pulled this card from a pack, you probably wouldn't have been too disappointed.  Lehner was coming off of the best season of his career.

Sadly he passed away at only 47 years of age in 1967.  Thankfully the Society for Baseball Research has taken the time to document his career on their website if you're interested in reading more about him.

1974 Topps #280

Kudos to James if he hand picked this card for me, because it features a shot of the Oakland Coliseum in the background.  I'm terrible with stadium recognition... but there are a handful I can recognize easily and this is one of them.

I will always cherish the trips to the Coliseum and Candlestick Park in my youth.  And for years, I've debated on starting a binder or Frankenset with cards featuring these two ballparks.  I'm not quite ready to commit to this project, but if I do... this Yaz will be a part of it.

1981 Kellogg's #11

Anyone who knows me as a collector... understands why this card brightens my day.  Doesn't lenticular Kellogg's cards from the 70's and 80's brighten everybody's day?  Even if it doesn't... this card is the epitome of a little ray of sunshine.

1981 Topps Coke New York Mets Pack

The last thing I want to share from the care package is a forty year old unopened pack.  I started collecting baseball cards back in 1981, but never had access to these Coca-Cola team cards that I'm assuming were distributed with 12 packs of Coke.

I'm also assuming these were regional issues since they were only eleven MLB teams chosen to be a part of this promotion... and none of them were located on the west coast of the United States.

1981 Topps Coke New York Mets #3

If you're wondering if I've ripped open this pack, I haven't.  As much as I enjoy collecting regional food issues, I figured this collectible would be a better fit for my unopened pack collection.

Kong doesn't seem amused with my decision to keep him locked up, but it's easier to find a single copy of this card than it is to replace this pack.

By the way... a quick look on COMC revealed that Kingman was part of the Chicago Cubs team set in the regular 1981 Topps release.  However Topps added him to their 1981 Topps Traded set as a New York Met (different photograph though).

So there you have it.  Some baseball cards that provided a little ray of sunshine to my collection.  Ironically... none of these guys are smiling... so I took the time to scan one more card James sent my way that sort of features a smile:

1981 Fleer Here's Bo! #48

I've always been more into brunettes... but I've gotta admit Bo Derek looks good on this card.  Hopefully this card and this post brightens your day a little.  If not...

What kind of things help brighten up your day?

Thanks James for the generous care package.  I hope you decide to eventually publish those posts you've written.  The blogosphere can always use another card blog to follow.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Can't Remember My First

Forty years ago... I ripped into my first packs of baseball cards.  Don't even bother asking me the first card I pulled from my first pack, because I have no idea.  I couldn't even tell you the brand, but if I had to guess... I'd go with Topps or Donruss.

I remember trading both of those brands on my porch with my neighbors back in the day.  One of the hottest cards on the block was the 1981 Donruss Al Hrabosky which I've written about before.  Back then... I think the only cards more popular on the porch were cards of Rickey Henderson and Fernando Valenzuela.

Over the years, I've discovered tons of other awesome 1981 baseball cards.  One of them is this Mike Schmidt I picked up for $4.29 last year... right before the lockdown.  

1981 Topps #540

I don't think any of my friends owned this card.  If they did... it wasn't part of their trade stack... because even the 9 year old version of me would have loved this card.  Just look at Schmidt glaring or even yelling at someone.

Plus he was coming off of his first MVP season when collectors were first pulling this card.  I'm kind of glad I didn't own this card back then, because I might have been lured into being a Phillies fan.

Anyways... this card is dedicated to Elliptical Man who recently removed me from his will because I chose Ichiro Suzuki as my favorite player with the last name starting in the letter "S", instead of Schmitty.

Since this is sort of a Throwback Thursday post... I figured I'd share two more cards related to 1981:

2013 Topps Supreme Stylings Orange Autograph #SS-MK

Munenori Kawasaki was born on June 3, 1981... exactly 40 years ago.  Happy birthday Kawa!

If you're not familiar with this guy, do yourself a favor and click here.

2009 Donruss Americana Movie Posters Materials #41

And that week... Billboard's #1 song was Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes.

Never heard it?  Click here.  Great song and fond memories.  What about you...

Any fond memories from 1981?

Happy Thursday and sayonara!