The 2023 Blogger National BBA

It's that time of the year again... when thousands and thousands of collectors are flocking to the National Sports Card Convention... while I'm chilling at home.

Part of me is okay with that.  Some of you know that I'm not a big fan of crowds, so the idea of competing with a pack of collectors over some dime boxes or dollar bins isn't exactly appealing.

On the other hand... I would be there in a heartbeat if it was held somewhere in the Bay Area.  I'd even consider traveling down to Southern California or up to the Pacific Northwest... if they ever decided to host it out on the West Coast again.  But ultimately... three things prevent me from going out to New Jersey, Illinois, or Ohio.

#1:  Anxiety

I'm not the biggest fan of flying.  This is something I've been dealing with the past ten to twelve years... and it's specifically related to confined spaces.  I'll still fly from time to time, but I try to keep the flights under two hours.

#2:  Time

I'm currently on summer break... but that means spending more time with Papa Fuji.  He trumps card shows.

#3:  Finances

I'm not saying I can't afford to take a short vacation to Illinois.  I'm just not willing to.  I'd rather use the money I'd spend on my flight, hotel, food, car rental, and other travel expenses... on adding new cards to my collection.

Speaking of new cards... Matt over at Cards Over Coffee kicked off a blog bat-around this morning titled:  The Blogger National 2023.  He's asking fellow bloggers to show off some cool cards, favorite cards, or even a recent mail day.

I just so happen to have some cards that I've recently added to my collection that fit these requirements.

Let's start off with this some autographs I would definitely consider purchasing at the NSCC... had some very generous people not donated them to my collection:

2023 Topps 1988 Baseball Autographs #88BA-DAS

Rod over at Padrographs sent me this sweet on-card autograph of Stew and I've been waiting for the right time to showcase it.  I remember when he pulled it back in February while looking for a 2023 Topps #70 for his buddy.

Oh how I do enjoy myself an on-card autograph of a fan favorite.

Here's another one I recently added to the collection:

2022 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs #72FF-AN

Alyssa Nakken is the first full-time female coach in MLB history and back in 2020 she became the first woman to coach on the field in an MLB game.

I've been targeting this autograph ever since I saw her name on this checklist, but I've been waiting to find a copy in my price range.  Then last month, Reader X sent me a large box of cards and this autograph was included.

He also sent me this really cool Vida Blue autograph:

2021 Topps Archives Signature Series 1982 Topps Buyback #431 (#'d 02/99)

I had planned to use this card in a tribute post after Vida passed away back in May.  But life happens and I'm finally getting a chance to show this card off.  Like Stewart and Nakken... Blue is a Bay Area legend and fan favorite.  And I'm very thankful to Reader X for these autographs.

By the way... I don't just sit around waiting for people to send me autographs.  Here is a stack of them I picked up off of COMC that I recently had shipped to me:

2004 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites Autograph #FFA-WW

In 1972, left-handed Wood (and Cleveland's Gaylord Perry) led the American League with 24 wins.  I bought this card for a collection involving my birth year... and it only set me back $3.  This is one of those deals that was too good to pass up.  

Here's another on-card autograph of a 70's star:

2003 Team Topps Legends Autographs #TT-JR

Joe Rudi was an integral member of The Swingin' A's who won back-to-back-to-back World Series in the 70's.  I'm always on the lookout for affordable signatures from these teams.

The last three autographs were a little more expensive, but worth the price (in my opinion):

2021 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary Refractor Auto #PA-JC

I feel like Canseco is one of the most polarizing players in our hobby's history.  Collectors tend to either love him or hate him, but I'm actually somewhere in the middle.

Back when he was crushing balls for the Athletics... I loved him.  But after years of following his shenanigans on and off the field... that love has turned bittersweet.  That being said... I really wanted this card when I saw it and as a result... overpaid for it.

I paid $18.25 for it... which is the same amount I paid for this:

2015 Topps Star Wars Tek Signers #93

Asajj Ventress has one of the most fascinating character arcs in the Star Wars universe and I've been a fan of her since I started watching The Clone Wars.  Last year I had the opportunity to meet and talk to Nika Futterman who voiced the character in the show.  She was really cool, so I decided to add her signature to my Star Wars PC.

Once again... a card I overpaid for... but like the Canseco... I don't have any regrets.

The final card I'll share today is a buyback autograph of Graig Nettles:

2002 Donruss Recollection Buyback Auto (#'d 41/41)

Nettles is mostly remembered for his days with the New York Yankees... but as a Padres fan... I have been looking for a signed card of his featuring him in a San Diego uniform.  This is the only one I've ever seen... and when I saw it for $14.50... I bought it immediately.

Well there you have it.  Eight cards that I've recently added to my collection without attending the 2023 National Sports Card Convention.

Thank you Rod for the Stewart autograph!  Thank you Reader X for the Nakken and Blue signatures.  And thank you Matt for inspiring this latest Blog Bat-Around.

Hope those of you who are at the National are finding some awesome cards for your collection.  And for the bloggers who didn't attend... I hope you will join this year's Blogger National BBA.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Family Heirlooms and a Minor Delay

This is the busiest summer in decades... and that includes the twenty-plus years I taught summer school.  My father moved back to the Bay Area a few months ago... and we recently went back to his house in Las Vegas to clean it out and prepare it for sale/rent.

The process was both physically and mentally exhausting, while also being an eye-opening experience that hopefully inspires some changes in my own life.

Today... I just wanted to share a few items I brought home with me...

First up is this shoji lamp that Papa Fuji made decades ago.  He was pretty handy when it came to building stuff.  He's made everything from cabinets to craps tables and little things in between like this lamp.

Space at my place is very limited, so I knew before going down to Vegas that I had to be very picky when deciding on what to take.  This family heirloom was one of two no-brainers.

The other is this wall decoration:

With my father's memory in limbo... the history of this piece is a little blurry.  I'm pretty sure it was either passed down from my grandparents or possibly blessed by my grandfather.  Maybe both?

My parents had a pair of Hisashi Otsuka framed prints hanging on their walls.  My sister wanted one of them... and asked if I was interested in the other.  Although I don't really have any place to hang it up... I wanted it to stay in the family, so I grabbed it.

The last three items are San Francisco 49ers collectibles that I gave my parents years ago...

I wasn't the only collector in the family.  Back in the 90's, my mom went through a Beanie Baby phase.  I bought her this Jerry Rice bear back when I was working at the LCS in the late 90's.  I needed that job to help supplement my income when I was just starting out in the classroom.

That's also where I bought this Joe Montana signed print:

Upper Deck Authenticated

I always wondered where they put this frame.  My niece discovered it buried in one of the closets in my dad's bedroom.  I doubt this thing has seen daylight in over twenty years.

The final item is this custom display piece I made for my dad:

1999 Kenner SLU

1992 Pro Set #651

I took one of those puck and card holders, removed the puck holder, and replaced it with a Kenner Starting Lineup.  The autograph was the final piece of the puzzle.  It spent the past twenty-plus years sitting on my dad's desk.

Now I need to find a place for it in my office.

That leads me to a quick life update.  I've been extremely busy the past three weeks, but don't worry.  I haven't forgotten about shipping out all of those PWE's filled with Gwynns.  They'll hopefully be shipped out sooner than later.

As it stands, I have all of the cards in the temporary holders and they are ready to be slid into PWE's.

Here's a list of people who requested a Gwynn care package:

Ken Hawthorne

Laurens

Brett Alan (need address)

Elliptical Man

John Sharp

Vroomed

Crh614 (need address)

Jafronius

Bo

DRMustang

Hackenbush

jlcre2003

I'm pretty sure I got everyone.  If you wanted one and don't see your name... shoot me an email with your shipping address.  Brett Alan and Crh614... I need your addresses as well.

And rounding out this post is the obligatory baseball card of the day:

2000 Bowman Chrome DP&P #4

This graded rookie card of Barry Zito was part of a Reader X care package from last year.  Why show him off now?  Well... since our family just wrapped up another chapter in Las Vegas, I wanted to show off a player with ties to the city.  Zito was born there back in 1978.

Thanks for the card Xavier!  Thank you to all of you who are patiently waiting for your Gwynn care packages.  And thank you to everyone else who took the time to read this post.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Not Just for Kids

Life can be full of regrets.  Luckily... I don't have many that keep me awake at night.  However when it comes to collecting... it seems like there are too many to count.

One that stands out is not collecting Sports Illustrated for Kids cards from the very beginning.  These days without a deep pocketbook and a little luck... it's going to be very challenging for me to ever complete the entire run of trading cards.

Every now and then I'll add a full 9-card sheet to my collection.  Last month I purchased this 2005 issue off of eBay for $9.12 ($2.99 + $6.13 shipping & tax):

I targeted this issue after discovering it has early issues of two future hall of famers:

It's cool to Chris Paul and Adrian Peterson in their college jerseys.

One of my favorite things about collecting these cards are the female athletes.

This sheet contains the very first trading card of Lindsey Jacobellis.  She is the most decorated female snowboard cross athlete of all-time.  She won two gold medals while representing the United States at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

The other female athlete featured on this sheet is Paula Radcliffe.  Before writing this post, I wasn't familiar with her.  But according to Wikipedia, she a very accomplished long distance runner from Great Britain who has won the London and New York Marathons three times each.

Unfortunately... outside of my current bi-monthly subscription... I don't add to my uncut sheet binders very often.  However... thanks to the generosity of fellow bloggers, I will add singles to my collection fairly often.

Back in April, Rod over at Padrographs sent me a stack of five:

Four of them are from the early 90's with the very colorful 90's like borders.  Here's a Carlton Fisk from the very first series:

In May... Jon over at A Penny Sleeve For Your Thoughts had a huge giveaway and I was able to claim these twelve SI for Kids cards:

The Andre Rison ended up being a duplicate, so it's available if anyone wants it.

In addition to female athletes, SI for Kids also offers up trading cards of athletes outside the realm of baseball, basketball, and football... like tennis and soccer.

My favorite card in the lot is the Pam Shriver, who was one of the tennis players I remember from my youth.

Thank you Rod and Jon for adding a nice stack of SI for Kids cards to the collection.  And thank you to everyone who took the time to read this post.  Just remember... just because "for Kids" is printed on these cards... anyone can collect them.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Extra Innings

This is a little bonus for Rod, Jon, and anyone else out there who have an appreciation of books.

Towards the end of the school year, I was helping cleaning the classroom next door and I came across hundreds of chapter books.  I ended up donating them to a few Language Arts teachers and some of the students who were helping me out.

But I held onto these two:

Mountain of Mirrors by Rose Estes

Return to Brookmere by Rose Estes

These days... I don't add many books to my private library, but I was pretty excited to see these.  When I was a kid... one of my favorite series were the Choose Your Own Adventure books and these reminded me of them.

Now if I could only get my hands on an old copy of The Cave of Time.