I'm not going to try and review the book, but I will say that it was a great investment. For less than the price of a blaster, I've learned some interesting tidbits of baseball trivia.
Today's post revolves around this example:
I sure enjoy my share of coincidences and conspiracies. How cool is this? It's almost on the Lincoln/Kennedy level. Anyways... this past Sunday marked the anniversary of Bonds hitting #53 which took place nineteen years ago.
I thought about showing off fifty-three of my favorite Barry Bonds cards, but that involves way too much scanning and I'm way too busy for that nonsense.
On the other hand, I will show off one of my favorite Barry Bonds autographs:
2000 Upper Deck Game Jersey Autographs #H-BB
When this card came out, jersey cards were still a fairly new concept and highly sought after. I can only imagine how cool it would have been to pull this bold and beautiful on-card autograph of Barry Lamar Bonds twenty years ago.
I picked this card up two years ago on eBay for $90 (+ $3.50 shipping). That was back in the day when I was a little looser with my hobby spending. Due to more competition and taxes added onto winning bids/BIN prices, you probably won't hear about any large purchases like this anytime soon.
I realize Bonds isn't for everyone, so here's a Babe too:
2013 Topps Update Record Holder Rings #RHR-BR
Not all manufactured relics are created equally. Some are cheesy. But this one is pretty well designed and could be used as a paperweight if needed. They're also very affordable when you consider Topps only inserted these into 1:1,460 packs. In other words, these aren't your everyday one per blaster box relic.
This particular card highlights Ruth's career slugging percentage which is one of those records that will never be broken.
Okay since tomorrow is the start of the new school year...
What was one of your favorite books as a child?
Although I prefer reading blogs over books as an adult, I loved reading chapter books as a kid. Judy Blume was one of my favorite authors and this is the book that stands out the most from my childhood:
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
This image was borrowed from the internet, but it's the version I owned as a kid. My copy has been lost for years. When I started teaching back in 1998, I brought my entire collection of chapter books into my classroom and shared them with my fifth graders. I have no regrets sharing my library... but there's a part of me that wishes I would have kept this particular book.
Well that's it for today. Happy Tuesday and sayonara!
23 comments:
The first books I remember reading were Richard Scarry books. Loved them. In elementary school I read a fair amount of Judy blume and Beverly cleary books but my favorites were hardy boys and encyclopedia brown.
Nice cards. I wish on this 19th anniversary of Bonds' home run that 53 was divisible by 19 (cleanly). But it isn't. Nice autograph! And nice Ruth card, too. I loved Charlotte's Web & The Trumpet of the Swan, most. I also loved the baseball book Here Comes the Strikeout! by Leonard Kessler.
I really didn't get into reading as a child....still haven't really as far as books go. Of the few I did read were a series Louis L'amour books I guess. The children's westerns. There is only 1 thing that has ever kept me in my seat my whole life.....baseball cards. I do that for hours on end. Anything else....I'm done in 10 minutes and on to something else.
Too many childhood books to pick out a favorite. I liked a whole bunch.
I'm also still stuck on someone actually paying for a Barry Bonds card.
I saw Barry Bonds play in the first ever live baseball game I went to (at Petco Park in 2004)
Seasons Past by Damon Rice.
When I was real young i enjoyed Uncle Wiggley, some weird rabbit character that had something to do with a 'skillery, scallery alligator'. Or so my Mom always told be.
As a kid, reading on my own, I read all the Hardy Boy novels. I remember having so many of them lined up on a bookshelf in my bedroon. They were fun reads and the blue spines looked cool all in a row
Ha. I wasn't a Bonds fan. So of course he's part of two different custom sets I'll be working on in the near future.
Fantastic Mr. Fox
James and the Giant Peach
Hardy Boys
Encyclopedia Brown
Th Westing Game
Boxcar Children. I read so much Boxcar Children.
Oh, yes, I loved Judy Blume books as a kid. Especially Tales, and, later, Then Again Maybe I Won't.
I'll add another vote for the Encyclopedia Brown books, and also the Great Brain series and From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. I liked books about smart kids! Oh, and the Matt Christopher baseball books. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. You can tell I'm the son of a librarian.
The Choose Your Own Adventure books were always fun to read!
I'm pretty sure Tales Of A Forth Grade Nothing was one of, if not the first chapter books I enjoyed as a kid. I also loved the follow-up Superfudge!
Wait wait wait, The NEW Baseball Bible? I didn't know there was an old one, I didn't even know Baseball was a Religion. I guess I converted or became "born again" sometime around 2002 or 03? After being a non-practicing North Eastern Battist for many years and an ex-Gridirontarian.
Barry Bonds has an interesting signature. Not many letters, but at least the ones he completes are nice-looking.
As for favorite childhood books, just like SumoMenkoMan I was always a big fan of the Choose Your Own Adventure series. I also liked Jules Verne and Jack London books back then. Still do.
We had the blue spine Hardy Boys books, too!
My grandkids listen to Judy Blume books as often as possible.
The Hardy Boys books have not aged well. When I first started teaching 20 years ago, I had a ton of them in my classroom. I think I am down to 4-5 that I have thoroughly vetted. Some have been cleaned up over the years, but there is only so much scrubbing an editor can do sometimes.
That Bonds card is incredible. Favorite children's books growing up:
1. Encyclopedia Brown
2. Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
3. Any of the Judy Blue Fudge books
4. Matt Christopher sports books
5. A Cricket In Times Square
Holes and Wayside School Is Falling Down (both by Louis Sachar) stand out for me. Always loved Shel Silverstein too.
gcrl - i definitely remember reading the richard scarry books too. loved his illustrations. blume, cleary, and encyclopedia brown were all part of my library. i'm pretty sure i read at least one hardy boys book too.
peter k. steinberg - thought about waiting 53 years, but i probably won't be around that long. charlotte's web is a great book. had a college professor teach an entire unit on that book
johnnys trading spot - wasn't familiar with mr l'amour. i like westerns though. might look into it the next time i order something off of scholastic
night owl - i can't afford bonds anymore. but i probably spent more on his autographs than i have on any other single player in my collection except maybe rickey.
jongudmund - nice. did he hit a home run?
john bateman - i'll need to remember to come back to this post and check out this book. i just looked it up and found a cheap copy on ebay. not gonna buy it now, just because i have zero time to read it. but one day.
commishbob - when i was at my old school, i remember we had a bunch of those hardy boys books in the library. i might have read one as a kid. i like mysteries like encyclopedia brown. maybe i should buy a hardy boys book and give it a shot
the snorting bull - lol. i just left commish a comment that i'd give one of the hardy boys books a shot. okay. maybe not
elliptical man - can't wait to see what custom sets you're building. james and the giant peach is a classic. i didn't read it until i started teaching, but i fell in love with it. actually i think i love every dahl book i ever read
adam kaningher - those were really popular with my students when i first started teaching. i might have read one of them for a lit circle group back when i taught fifth
brett alan - that's a blume book i'm not familiar with. charlie and the chocolate factory is another classic. i remember reading that book and charlie and the great glass elevator over and over one summer
sumomenkoman - you just reminded me of another thing i was obsessed with collecting. i had the entire run of the first 30 to 40 choose your own adventure books and it all started with the cave of time
matt - loved superfudge too.
captkirk42 - let us pray. big papi on third base...
gregory - his signature has evolved over the years and he signed differently depending on certain situations. as for jack london, i read call of the wild. always meant to read white fang, but don't think i ever did
friend11 - if i had her books on tape, i'd probably listen and fall asleep to it every night
the snorting bull - encyclopedia brown is another one of my childhood favorites
nick - sachar is another one of my favorite authors. didn't read holes and his other books until i started teaching in the late 90's. but i read holes every year i taught 5th grade.
If you enjoyed The Call of the Wild, I'd recommend adding White Fang to your reading list. There was a recent film version starring Harrison Ford, but I heard it was rather different (and not as good) as the book.
gregory - that might be one of those retirement bucket list items. right now blogs are my goto reading items ;D
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