Perfect Day for Baseball

My memory isn't what it used to be.  That's why it's important to document anything sports related on this blog... including going to ball games.

2019 Topps #616

My cousin from Hawaii was in town over the weekend.  She bought some tickets to the San Francisco Giants vs. Philadelphia Phillies game on Monday.  We got up early, hopped on Caltrain, and arrived in the city about three hours before the game.  With time to kill, we hopped in an Uber and went to Japantown where we grabbed a small lunch and walked around.

We grabbed another Uber and were dropped off at Oracle a little over an hour before the game.  I knew heading into the game that I wanted to grab a few wallet card photos.  Here's the best one:

It's a shot of Tony and Juan outside of Oracle Park as we were walking up to the gate.  With time to kill, we walked around the entire park to give my cousin and her son a chance to take in the full ballpark experience.

Here's a photo of the view behind home plate that semi-resembles the above 2019 Topps card:

And here's a panoramic view from our seats:

These were the best seats I've ever had at Oracle Park.  We were behind the Phillies dugout and were low enough to get a great view of the players... and high enough to see the entire field.  With clear skies and mild temperatures... it was a perfect day for baseball.

One of the highlights came before the game when two fighter planes flew over us right after the National Anthem.  It was really, really cool.  Unfortunately... I didn't capture it on film.  But if you're interested, you can watch it here.

I was really impressed with the San Francisco Giants organization and their efforts to honor those who died while serving our country.  Throughout the game there were tributes to special visitors and members of the United States Armed Forces.

As for the game... I wore my San Jose Giants hoodie to try and fit in.  I'm not a San Francisco Giants fan, but I do support the local farm team.  It was cool to see Matt Chapman back in the Bay Area.  And I was excited to see Blake Snell pitch in person:

There were a lot of Phillies fans sitting in our section, but I didn't see any tension among the fans.  Sure Giants fans booed Harper... while Phillies fans cheered him on.  But from my view... everyone seemed to be having a great time.

Normally I like to highlight the food, but honestly my hot dog was tiny and the garlic fries were mediocre at best.  

Having taken Caltrain up to the game, we knew we had to beat the crowd back to the train.  So we left during the top of the eighth... with the Giants leading 8 to 4.  A lot of fans had the same idea, but the three of us were able to grab seats for the 90 minute ride back down to the South Bay.

It ended up being almost a twelve hour experience that was exhausting... but memorable.  I already have one more game lined up this season as I've already bought my tickets for the final A's game.  Hoping to hit up at least one other A's game during the summer... and probably a San Jose Giants game too.

If that happens... I'll be sure to document it here.  Otherwise... I'm likely to forget it happened in a few years.

Thank you Jamie for the ticket to the game and for motivating me to get my butt back to Oracle.

Everyone else... thank you for taking the time to read this post.

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!

Damaged Goods

There is one particular collection of cards that I own that grows larger with each passing year, yet I don't actively seek new additions.  This almost sounds like a riddle, right?

It's not.  It's just my Damaged Card PC.  Damaged cards arrive in a variety of ways.  Today's post covers two of them.

#1:  Purchased Mint, Arrived Damaged

2001 Upper Deck Ultimate Ichiro Base #UB-I2

This Ichiro is the perfect example of this situation.  Back in March, I purchased this card on eBay for $18 (+ $6.68 tax & shipping).

I was pretty excited to add it to my Ichiro PC, because it features a swatch of game-used base from an official MLB game at Safeco Field during his (MLB) rookie season.

Unfortunately... the card was shipped in a PWE and arrived with some heavy creases.  I reached out to the seller, explained the situation, and asked if he'd consider giving me a partial refund (I was willing to pay $10) and let me keep the card.

He replied back with a full refund... and told me to keep the card.  Who says good customer service is dying?

#2:  Cardboard Safe Haven

Damaged cards also arrive in care packages from fellow collectors.  I'm assuming these people are hoping I will provide a warm, loving home for their flawed cardboard.  I'd love to tell all of you that every damaged card sent to me goes into the Damaged Card PC binder, but it doesn't.  The bottom line is lack of space.

That's why it comes down to whether or not these damaged cards make the cut.  Johnny's Trading Spot sent a small stack of these cards and these are the ones who found a new home...

Let's start with the oldest and the one I'd love to hear the story behind:

1967 Topps #350

At first glance, this card looks pretty clean.  However if you were looking at it in front of you, you'd see two staples puncturing this hall of famer.  I wonder why someone would do this.

Regardless... I love it!  Would I buy it?  I actually would... if it was a buck or less.

By the way... I knew that Torre was one helluva manager.  But take a look at those stats on the back.  He had a great career as a player too.

Next up are a trio of vintage mis-cut cards:

1972 Topps #273

Not familiar with Mr. Floyd, but I am familiar with the Atlanta Braves player attached to him.  That's card #299... Mr. Hank Aaron.

1973 Topps #498

I'm not sure who is attached to Mr. Nettles... but he's a pitcher for the San Francisco Giants.  Nettles was part of the 4th Series and there are only two Giants pitchers in that series: Juan Marichal and Sam McDowell.

I was able to figure out the guy under Mr. Segui:

1973 Topps #383

I looked up all of the players with the name Rich and looked for the unique hat in the cartoon on the back.  Was crossing my fingers it was Rich Gossage, but he's in the 2nd Series.  This Rich is Mr. Hinton who pitched winter ball in Latin America... hence the hat.

And rounding out the binder picks is this very miscut card from the 90's:

1996 Topps #223

Holy cow.  This card is so poorly cut that I doubt it was inserted into a pack of cards.  My guess is someone got their hands on an uncut sheet and had some fun with a paper cutter.  This card is awesome!

The last card didn't actually make it into the binder, but it's featured on the cover of it:

1968 Topps #356

This checklist suffers from water damage... with possibly a touch of mold on the back.  I didn't feel comfortable sliding it into a nine pocket page.  However I double bagged this card by putting it into a regular penny sleeve, then inserting it into a vintage penny sleeve going in the opposite direction.

Believe it or not... it's not the only moldy card in my Damaged Card PC.  Maybe one of these days I'll show it off, but this post has gone on long enough.

Kudos to all of the eBay dealers out there who offer great customer service..  and thank you to John for adding a few singles to my Damaged Card PC.  I promise you I'll provide them a warm, loving home.

The rest?  They were tossed into a box of cards that my students will use as samples for next year's civil rights leaders trading card project.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Not a Bear, But a Fan...

When I was a kid, I dreamt of attending either Stanford or Cal.  Based on my grades... Stanford was never going to happen.  And by high school... I realized Berkeley wasn't going to happen either.

I was off to De Anza... and eventually San Jose State.  Let's go Spartans!

2012 Upper Deck College Mascots Patch #CM-12

However I was really stoked when my nephew decided to go to UC Berkeley.  Last weekend, he graduated as part of the Class of 2024 and today is his graduation party.

I won't be able to attend... as I caught something yesterday.  The last thing I want to do is be that guy who goes to the party and gets everyone sick.

That being said... I wanted to celebrate by showing off my favorite items in my Cal PC:

#1:  1982 The Big Game Program

Controversial and/or crazy... this is one of the greatest sports events in Bay Area history.  If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you can watch the final play of the game by clicking here. 

#2:  2003 Sports Illustrated for Kids #315

Natalie Coughlin won two gold medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.   The following spring... she graduated from UC Berkeley.  

In 2008 in Beijing, she'd bring home another Olympic gold medal.  By the time she hung up her swimsuit, she had been to three Olympics and finished with 3 gold medals, 4 silver medals, and 5 bronze medals... which ties her (with Jenny Thompson and Dara Torres) for most Olympic medals won by U.S. female athletes.

#3:  2007 Sage Aspire Autograph #12A

Marshawn Lynch is Cal's #2 all-time leading rusher.  But I didn't turn into a big Beast Mode fan until he played a big part of the Seattle Seahawks success from 2012 to 2015.  It's also important to remember that he was born and raised in the East Bay.

#4:  2012 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Autograph #A-SW

Okay.  This isn't technically a piece of Cal memorabilia... but Steve Wozniak graduated from Berkeley in 1986... right about the time I was graduating from middle school.

#5:  1995 Classic Superior Pix Autograph #NNO

I'll wrap things up with a guy who single handedly lured me back into the hobby.

Back in college... I sometimes rode VTA's light rail to school.  Situated in between the Paseo de San Antonio station and SJSU was a small card shop.  Sometime in the fall of 1994... I started buying packs of 1994-95 basketball in hopes of pulling Jason Kidd cards.  This wasn't a card I pulled back then... but it is a reminder of the part Kidd played on my card collecting timeline.

Okay, it's your turn...

Do you have any college PC's?  If so, who?

Congratulations Kobe... and to the rest of the Class of 2024!  Go Bears!

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Similar, But Different

A few years ago, Dion's IP Autos only wrote a post about a cello pack of 2019 Topps on APTBNL that was handed out at an Orioles game he attended.  I commented on that post stating I ran into a lady at the flea market with a bunch of these packs.  That was four years ago.

Last month... I found that vendor and she still had all of those packs.  I ended up buying all of the packs she had.  At first glance, our packs look exactly the same.  The cards come in clear cello packaging, so collectors are able see the top card:

However the packs I purchased were a little different from Dion's.  His pack contained the same cards issued in the flagship packs but included a National Baseball Card Day information card on the back.

The packs I purchased have an advertisement card on the back for Clear, which is a membership program at airports that allows people to get through security faster.

According to Baseballcardpedia, these packs were passed out a participating airports and ballparks to people using the Clear Travel service.

Based on the packs that I've opened so far, the card fronts look pretty much identical to the ones issued in the flagship packs.  But when you flip them over, there's a CP- prefix in front of the card number.

Let's crack open that Freddie Freeman pack and take a closer look at the front and back of each card:

2019 Topps Clear Travel #CP-4

I'm a fan of Freeman... even if he's now playing for the Dodgers.  He hit a career high... 38 home runs in 2019.  As of this post, he's only hit four in 2024.

2019 Topps Clear Travel #CP-59

Not familiar with Mr. Stewart, but it looks like 2018 was his best season.  I'm not sure if he's out of baseball or not... but he doesn't appear to be at the MLB level right now.

2019 Topps Clear Travel #CP-34

Back in 2019, Ramirez was coming off a career high 39 home run season and has had pretty solid numbers every season since.  Currently (as of 5/14/24) he leads the American League with 37 RBI's. 

2019 Topps Clear Travel #CP-26

Jake Lamb had a stellar start to the 2017 season... but hasn't done much since.  I'm guessing the Diamondbacks roster was super thin if Topps decided to add him to the checklist in 2019.  That being said, he's currently hitting over .350 in AAA for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

2019 Topps Clear Travel #CP-10

Kicked off the pack with a future hall of famer.  Wrapping it up with another one.  This guy is a stud... especially when he's standing around the hot corner.

The final card in the pack is the Clear ad card:

I had two packs with Freeman on the front and wanted to know if players were inserted into packs randomly or if there was a pattern.  Sadly both Freeman packs contained the exact same five players.

However... I did open up two packs with Trea Turner on the front and only the first two cards were the same.  The final three cards in each pack were different.  In one of those packs, there was this Ohtani:

2019 Topps Clear Travel #CP-2

I don't really have a lot of 2019 Topps base cards laying around, but I do have Ohtani's base card for those who want to compare the two cards:

2019 Topps #250

In addition to the numbering on the back, it looks like there's one more way to tell the two sets apart.  The Topps logo on the front of the Clear Travel cards are white, while the flagship cards use a foil logo.  According to The Cardboard Connection, the Clear Travel cards also lack the CMP code under the stats that appear on the flagship cards.

As of this post, I've only opened up about ten of these packs.  I originally purchased over 200 of these packs, but flipped the majority of them to a friend to cover the cost of the packs.  It's kind of a shame, because I have since discovered that these are pretty rare compared to their flagship counterparts.  That's why I've scrapped the idea to use them for a summer school math lesson.

Instead... I'll be eventually open up the rest of the packs (except the lone pack with Ohtani showing) in hopes of building the 100 card set.  Some of the duplicates will go into my player collections.  Others will head out to fellow bloggers who collect specific teams/players.

Not sure when I'll get around to opening them up, but if there are players or teams you're interested in... feel free to comment down below to reserve any duplicates.  Need a checklist?  Click here.

Well that's all for today.  Happy Wednesday and sayonara!