Collector Camaraderie

Camaraderie among card collectors is an important part of the hobby (at least to me).  I have been very fortunate to have at least one or more "card collector" friends for most of my life.  This includes people from my childhood, people I've met at card shows, card shops, and flea markets, as well as a handful of bloggers I've met and hung out with.

One of my closest friends was a fellow Rickey Henderson fan that I met at a card shop back in the late 90's.  We worked together there, but lost touch after I took a break from the hobby and he moved away.

Years later, we ran into each other at The Great Mall and started hanging out on a regular basis.  When we weren't texting each other about cards or recent pickups, we were attending card shows or flea markets together.

He was the guy who got me to leave my comfort zone and ask San Jose Sharks players for their signature at the San Jose Arena and their practice facility.  He's the guy I'd take road trips down to Frank and Sons with.  He's one of the handful of friends who would actually go with me to A's games at the Oakland Coliseum.  And he's the guy that would hook me up with table space at card shows and flea markets he'd set up at.

Sadly he passed away three years ago.  But I keep his memory alive by writing an annual post for him that includes a purchase made in his honor.

This year, I went out and purchased this Kenner Starting Lineup:

1988 Kenner Starting Lineup

Mike wasn't into collecting Kenner SLU's, but he was a huge New York Yankees and Rickey Henderson fan.  

And I was looking to add something to my office wall to remember him and Rickey.  Figured his 1988 SLU was the perfect fit.  So the hunt to find a clean copy at a reasonable price was on.  Found a three figure lot on eBay (the other figures were 1988 Will Clark and 1988 Wade Boggs) with a starting bid of $5 (+ $8 shipping) and ended up being the lone bidder.

Now the only issue is finding a space on my office walls to hang this Rickey up.  A simple solution would be to take down my 1988 Tony Gwynn SLU and replace him with Rickey.  However the Gwynn was a gift from Mike years ago.

I'll figure it out eventually.

In the meantime... here are some cards from a pair of bloggers who like Mike are New York Yankees fans.

First up are the contents of a PWE from Kenny over at Torren' Up Cards:

2026 Topps

Let's start with some 2026 Topps Series Two... or possibly 2026 Topps Japan singles.

Based on what I have seen, the only differences between these two products are the packaging, parallels and possibly some insert sets.  Kenny... if you're reading this... feel free to chime in if this information is incorrect.

Next up is a Calbee card of Shota Morishita:

2026 Calbee #092

If you followed the WBC closely... you might remember him for his three run homer against the eventual champions, Venezuela in the quarterfinals.  He's currently an outfielder for the Hanshin Tigers in the NPB.

My buddy Mike wouldn't show any interest in the Topps or Calbee cards, but he would definitely appreciate this:

Sumi (@nyan01w) Cheki

It wouldn't be a proper Zippy Zapping without an attractive lady included.  According to Google, Sumi is a Japanese content creator, social media user, and famous cosplayer.  I've commented on at least one other blog post about my fascination for these signed cheki, because they are essentially one of a kind items.  Topps should give athletes these cameras and let them have a field day.  Imagine pulling a signed selfie of your favorite player.

The other New York Yankees fan and fellow blogger to send me some cards was Matt over at Cards over Coffee:

Green Bay Packers

Let's start with a four pack of Green Bay Packers who are currently getting their butts kicked by the Minnesota Vikings.  Not gonna lie.  It stings to type this, but luckily cards have a way of cheering me up.

Sacramento A's

The other two cards were a pair of Sacramento A's players.  Both of these guys had below average seasons in 2026, but are considered part of the new youth movement headed to Las Vegas.  If by chance the 2027 MLB season is lost... they could have played their final game in Sacramento.

Thank you Kenny and Mike for these two care packages.

And happy heavenly birthday Mike!   Thank you for being such a great friend.  Your memory will be kept alive through this blog and the stories we shared.  Hope you're looking down on all of us... enjoying some delicious tacos.  As soon as I'm finished writing this post, I'll be heading to Taco Bravo for two tacos and a bean burrito.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!