The 2024 Blogger National

The National Sports Collectors Convention is a bucket list item that I hope cross off one of these years.  Unfortunately there are a few roadblocks that I've mentioned in the past.  Until then... I'm content with attending local card shows and flea markets.

Plus there is Matt's annual blog bat-around:  The Blogger National 2024.

If you're not familiar with The Blogger National, it's an opportunity for bloggers who aren't attending the show to connect with each other by showing off some of our favorite (or coolest) cards or sharing a recent mail day.

I'm still in the process of catching up on (not so) recent mail days, so I'm gonna show off some of my favorite cards from a COMC haul from 2023 and a Reader X care package from earlier in the year.

Let's start of with the my favorite athlete of all-time:

2023 Archives 1957 Topps Hit Stars #57HS-5

Xavier sent me a few different Gwynns, but this is the one that stood out to me.  It features the 1957 Topps Hit Stars design that featured entertainers from the era.  I recently purchased a card from the set, because it was one of my mom's favorite singers.

Here are a few other favorites from his care package:

2022 Archives #305

Love this photo of Ohtani!  Wasn't familiar with the set design, but apparently it's from the 1954 Topps Scoops which focused on major events in world history.

2023 Topps Chrome Refractor #97

Last season, I was so stoked to see a Fuji playing for the A's.  His career in Oakland didn't last long... as he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles after only a few months.  That being said... I'm excited to add new (especially A's) cards of him to the collection.

It's sad that the Oakland A's will play their final game at the Oakland Coliseum exactly two months from now.  Next season... if I want to attend an MLB game, it'll have to be at Oracle Park:

2023 Allen & Ginter Only In... #OI-24

I should have posted this card back in May when I went there to see a Giants game with my cousin from Hawaii.  Unfortunately... I dropped the ball and didn't see this card until this week.

Time to switch gears and change sports.  Xavier's care packages contain cards for a bunch of my collections, including basketball.  He sent me a lot of Steph Curry and other Warriors cards for my students.  Plus a nice stack of Los Angeles Lakers for me.

Here's one featuring my childhood favorite:

1992-93 Archives #41

I absolutely love this card!  It's so cool to see Byron featured on my favorite 80's baseball card design.  Outside of adding a Kobe card here and there... I haven't given my Lakers PC a lot of love the past decade or so.  Maybe I need to start chasing down Byron cards and give him his own binder on the shelf.

The final Xavier card of the post features a really cool insert card of Joe Pavelski:

2014-15 Ultra Buckets #BB-24

Earlier in the week, Pavs announced his retirement after eighteen seasons in the NHL.  Thirteen of those seasons were with the San Jose Sharks.  During his tenure the Sharks made the playoffs twelve times and Pavelski slowly climbed up the franchise leader board in almost every statistical category.

Staying with The Big Pavelski... but switching to a COMC mail day that goes back to early 2023... here's a minor league card of him:

2006-07 Choice AHL Top Prospects #49

Thanks for all of the awesome memories Little Joe!  Enjoy your retirement.

Next up, Big Joe:

2010-11 Pinnacle City Lights Materials #70

Cityscape cards are awesome!  But they're extra special when they feature your hometown.  Behind Thornton you get a glimpse of downtown San Jose.

And one more Shark I purchased on COMC:

1994-95 Finest Refractor #159

Once upon a time, Jeff Friesen was my favorite San Jose Shark.  If you don't follow hockey, you probably aren't familiar with him... but there was a time when he was #2 on the Sharks all-time scoring list.

Rounding out this blog bat-around is this cool coin card:

1997 Fleer Super Bowl XXXI Commemorative #NNO

I purchased this card off of COMC back in 2021 before hearing about the whole welfare scandal.

I'm a big fan of 90's cardboard ingenuity.  Fleer went through a phase where they embedded coins into special inserts.  This one celebrated Favre and the Green Bay Packers victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI.

The bottom line is Favre might not be cool, but this card is.  And so is this blog bat-around.

Thank you Matt for kicking it off.  Thank you Xavier for the cool cards you sent me (back in January).  And thank you to everyone else who took the time to read this super long post.

Happy Friday and sayonara!

A Sweet Food Issue from the 80's

Don't remember where.  Can't remember when.  But at some point along this card collecting journey... my eyes fell upon this card:

1981 Topps Squirt #28

It checks off a lot of boxes: color matched, early 80's food issue, 1978 Topps cursive with fielding position within the baseball, and it features one of my all-time favorite baseball players.

The only thing I don't like about it are the prices people are asking for singles (of Rickey) or sets.  On a good day, it'll cost you about the same as a blaster.  But sometimes it can sell for twice as much.

After two years of waiting for the right deal to pop up, I finally added this card to my collection as part of a complete set purchased on eBay for $25 (+ $8.49 tax & shipping):

The set contains 33 cards (10 hall of famers), but was distributed as part of 22 different panels.  Eleven guys including Pete Rose, George Brett, and Reggie Jackson were each issued on two panels each.  Rickey was included on one of the Bill Buckner panels.  Here's a closer look:

The panels are perforated to help people separate the cards, but I was super nervous about messing it up.  I know this scan only shows my Rickey cropped.  However I assure you Bill and him are no longer together.

I don't remember seeing this card or any singles from this set when I was a kid, but I've drank a fair share of this grapefruit flavored soda over the years.  In fact, I bought a six-pack while I was up in Oregon last month.

And for those who want to see a side by side comparison with Rickey's flagship 1981 Topps card, here you go:

1981 Topps #261

The cards utilize two very different designs on the front, however the backs are nearly identical:

Outside of the card number, these cards look the same.  Upon closer examination, I also noticed that A* was printed on the trademark line on the flagship version, but not the Squirt card.

Hope you enjoy my latest addition to my Rickey Henderson collection as much as I do.  I've always collected him, but as we come closer to the A's departure from Oakland... I'm even more interested in his collectibles.

I have a few other Rickey cards I have recently purchased, but this post has dragged on long enough.  I'll save them for another day.

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!

Twenty Year Drought

Bay Area sports radio primarily focuses on the San Francisco 49ers and the Golden State Warriors.  However there's a brief period... right around the MLB All-Star Game... where the San Francisco Giants receive a little love.  Unfortunately... the Oakland A's don't receive the same respect... but as a baseball fan, I'll take what I can get.

1986 Topps Trade #11T

While driving home from summer school a couple of weeks ago, Barry Bonds came up.  The broadcasters mentioned that he was the last San Francisco Giant to hit 30 home runs in a season.  The year?  2004.  

Yup.  That was twenty years ago.  Since then... only two guys came close.  Bonds hit 28 in 2007... and Brandon Belt hit 29 in 2021.

To put things into perspective, eighteen teams had at least one player accomplish that feat last season.  And every other franchise except for the Giants have had at least one 30 home run hitter since 2019.

In other words... they are quite the outlier and the response to a cool trivia question.

According to ESPN, Oracle is the toughest ballpark for home run hitters... especially lefties.  That's not exactly shocking news... but the twenty year drought is.

2018 Bowman's Best Best of 2018 Autographs #B18-HR

The discussion ultimately led to the question... how long before the drought ends and who will end it?  Heliot Ramos was mentioned by one of the broadcasters as their best chance and I'll be rooting for him.

Reader X sent me this card... along with the Bonds rookie card a while back.  He always includes a lot of Giants cards in his care packages.  Most are passed along to my students, but there are always a few that find a home in my collection.

I held onto the Barry, because he is arguably the most exciting hitter in my lifetime.  As for Ramos... I remember him coming up with the San Jose Giants.  I don't really do the whole prospect thing, but his ability at the plate left quite the impression.

The final Giant I kept was this vintage hall of famer:

1978 Topps #34

This is such an attractive card.  McCovey is wearing the jersey I remember from my childhood trips to Candlestick Park.  I'm a fan of the script lettering on the jersey... and the card.  But my favorite thing about this card is featured on the back:

Check out that wax stain!  It's gorgeous.  And I knew I would appreciate it way more than any of my students.

Rounding out the rest of Xavier's past care packages are these three slabs:

1993 Stadium Club Murphy #200

Jason Giambi didn't have any problems hitting home runs.  He had eight 30+ home run seasons over the course of his career.  But did you know that he was a .300 hitter during his tenure with the A's?

2012 Topps #396

Yoenis Cespedes never hit 30 home runs for the A's, but he did accomplish the feat twice later on in his career.  This card reminds me of his amazing rookie season with the A's.  It also reminds me of that epic collapse the A's suffered in 2014 after they shipped him off to Boston for Jon Lester.

2000 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks & Prospects #4

Barry Zito never hit a home run at the MLB level... but he gave up 282 during his fifteen season career.  That being said... he never allowed more than 28 in a season and the most he allowed as a San Francisco Giant was 24 back in 2007.

And since we started off this post with the home run trivia... I decided to dig deeper to see the last Giants pitcher to allow 30 home runs in a season.  Madison Bumgarner gets the credit.  He allowed 30 home runs back in 2019.  Fifteen were hit off of him at home... and fifteen on the road.

That wraps up another round of Reader X packages from the past.  There's actually one more card he sent that I'll show off in my COMC haul post.  Plus he sent me a package a couple of months ago that I will be tearing into this week, so stay tuned.

Thank you Xavier for these generous additions to my collection.

Happy Monday and sayonara!

Extra Innings

On Saturday... Stuart over at S.R.'75 Cards wrote a post mentioning that it was the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission.  Figured it was the perfect time to show off this unique item that John over at Johnny's Trading Spot sent me:

Pana-Vue Slides

I couldn't really find any information on the history of these slides, but they look like something you'd be able to purchase at a gift shop back in the late 60's.

Here's a closer look at each slide:

Armstrong Inside Lunar Module

Command Module in Orbit Around Moon

Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin & U.S. Flag

Astronaut & Lunar Module Footpad

Apollo 11 Commemorative Plaque

Thank you John!  This is a very cool addition to my NASA PC.