The Bulk Box Keepers

It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon and I'm spending the majority of it on my back in an effort to let my lower back relax and return to normal.  As I promised on Thursday, I wanted to write up a post featuring a bunch of cards that Kevin over at The Diamond King sent me recently.

They were part of a giveaway he held on his blog that featured a bunch of bulky cards he was giving away for the holidays.  The catch?  The only thing he requires is that the winning recipient must send out at least one care package you weren't already planning to send.

Well I had a few care packages planned for this holiday season, but thanks to Kevin... there will be a few more.  I even went out and purchased some cards on eBay for these care packages.  As soon as everything has arrived and packaged up, I'll ship them out.

In the meantime, let's look at the cards I decided to hold onto from The Diamond King's giveaway...

Let's start off with a trio of cards for my team collections:

2022 Donruss Retro 1988 Materials #R88M-HK

This is my very first Ha-Seong Kim memorabilia card.  I was a big fan of his during his four seasons with the San Diego Padres.

2007 UD Masterpieces Captured on Canvas #CC-JK

I'm sure most of you remember Kendall for his years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he also spend two and a half seasons with the A's.  If you've never held one of these Captured on Canvas memorabilia cards, they're really nice.

2020 Topps Player Medallions #TPM-MC

Manufactured relics like this commemorative coin can be hit or miss.  I like this particular one, because it's heavy and has the density of a paper weight.

Here are a few more manufactured relics from Kevin's giveaway that I added to my collection:

2022 Topps Update Commemorative Batting Helmet #BH-FF

This was the thickest card in the box... and is right up there with the Chapman in regards to weight.  Even though I'm not a fan of the Dodgers, I'm a big fan of Freeman and this card.

2020 Topps Update 20 Years of the Captain

Commemorative Patch #20YCC-13

Another player I admire pictured on a team I dislike.  What's the saying?  Don't hate the playa.  Hate the team.

2022 Topps All-Star Alumni Commemorative Relics #ASA-HAA

I definitely don't hate the Braves.  In fact, outside of the A's and Giants, I have watched more of their televised games in my lifetime than anyone else.  As for Aaron, he had retired before I became a huge baseball fan.  But I learned about his career and legacy early in my childhood.

Kevin actually sent me two really cool Hank Aaron cards, but one of them will be passed along to a fellow blogger who collects the Braves.

Next up are a pair of thick high-end base cards I'm adding to the collection:

2019 Topps Triple Threads #47

2023 Topps Tribute #23

Topps Triple Threads and Topps Tribute are two products you'll never see me opening up.  It's not because I don't appreciate them.  I think both of these cards are really nice.  I just can't justify spending hundreds of dollars on a box of cards.

2021 Topps Update All-Star Stitches #ASSC-JS

I'm not 100% sure, but I think this is my first Juan Soto memorabilia card.  He's such a dynamic player whose career is off to a stellar start.  It's just a shame that he's played with four teams over the course of the past four seasons.  One day he might be remembered as one of the Mets all-time greats, but for now... I associate him mostly with the Nationals.

Next up, a legendary lady...

2008 Donruss Americana Hollywood Legends Materials #HL-60

I don't think I have ever watched one of Hedy Lamarr's movies, but she's a familiar name and ranked #24 on IMDB's list of the most beautiful actresses of all-time.

The next single I want to share is my personal favorite:

2008 Donruss Americana Sports Legends

Museum Collection Materials #MC-4 (#'d 160/250)

This card instantly reminded me of my father and his love of golf.

Although my dad's favorite golfers were Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, Snead's name also came up whenever we talked about the all-time greats.

The final six thick cards pulled from Kevin's box that were put into the keeper stack were these:

Cronenworth and Tatis Jr. have been added to my Padres PC, while Clemente, Trout, and Johnson are cool cards that I wanted.  The Hafner autograph is a keeper for now.  I read an interesting fact about him recently.  He's the only player in MLB history to hit five grand slams before the all-star break.

I'll wrap up this post of bulk box keepers with the only thin card in the box:

1984 Calbee #95

Back in October, Kevin opened up a pack of 1984 Calbee and pulled this sweet Sachio Kinugasa card.  I had never seen one of these Calbee cards before, but I really like the design which kinda resembles the 1981 Topps baseball.

Kinugasa is a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall Of Fame.  His best season was the same year this card was produced.  That year he won the Central League MVP Award.

Kevin was also kind enough to send the original pack wrapper:

Thank you Kevin for sending me this box of bulky cardboard and adding eighteen new cards to my collection.  The rest will be shipped out in care packages, used in a future giveaway, or be added to my box of trade bait that has slowly dwindled in size over the years.

More importantly... thank you for holding these giveaways and inspiring me and others to ship out more care packages during the holiday season.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Ups and Downs

Only two more days until the De Anza Flea Market.  It's supposed to be sunny and cool... just how I like it.  Sadly, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to make it out there.  I've been dealing with lower back pains the past few days.  It's the same issue I've been dealing with for a decade, so I know it'll eventually feel better.  Just not sure I'll be ready to walk around a flea market carrying bags of cards (wishful thinking) by this Saturday.  Only time will tell.

It's also been several weeks since I've ridden my newly acquired bike:

My nephew has a weekend job at a popular outdoor sports gear store, so I told him to let me know if there were any good sales on eBikes.  He told me I could have his for free, because he moved into a new place over the summer in San Francisco and carrying this 83lb. eBike up and down several floors didn't fit into his new lifestyle.  Well I tried it out and loved it.  Don't worry... I paid him for it.

That was back in October when the weather was sunny and warm.  Unfortunately the Bay Area received some rain in November, so I wasn't able to ride it a lot.  And now that the weather is nice again, I'm too sore to ride.  Hopefully I'll be able to hop back on it over the winter break.

On the card front, I have a few packages piling up in my office.  A few of them are eBay purchases.  I just received two big boxes containing Christmas presents from my buddy Ryan a.k.a. SumoMenkoMan.

I also received a box filled with "bulky cards" from Kevin over at The Diamond King.

He's been holding some really generous giveaways on his blog and I was fortunate enough to win a box filled with thick cards including relics, autographs, and high-end base cards.

I started sorting the contents and putting all of the cards into new penny sleeves (don't blame me, blame the OCD) on Sunday, but the back issues flared up and I had to take a break.

But I'll definitely be sharing some of the keepers in a future post (hopefully this weekend).  The rest I'll be passing along to fellow bloggers.  Part of Kevin's "giveaway" involves committing to send out at least one care package this holiday season.  I will be sending a few.  Some were planned, but a few were inspired by Kevin's giveaway.

Thank you Kevin!  This was a really cool way to get people into the spirit of giving.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Giving Thanks A Day Late

Happy Thanksgiving!  Hope all of you are enjoy the company of family, friends, and/or cards.  I'm celebrating with two out of three.  Any guesses on which two?  I'll reveal the answer at the end of the post.

In the meantime, let's check out some cards.  First up are some from John over at Johnny's Trading Spot.  He held a 350 card giveaway a few weeks ago where he shipped out thirty PWE's to collectors across the blogosphere.  Thankfully, I was one of the recipients.

My nine pocket page contained the following...

This is pumpkin pie portion of the post.  Pumpkin is one of the most under-appreciated dessert pies out there... just like magazine cards from the 90's are in the hobby.

1992 Topps Magazine #TM79

I might not crave pumpkin pie all the time, but it's an essential part of our Thanksgiving meal... just like 90's magazine cards are an essential part of my collection.

Next up, the stuffing...

These twelve cards were part of a contest prize package from Brendan over at The View from the Third Floor.  He gave the winners a few different options for prizes.   I went with 2023 Topps lot, because I'm building that set.

2023 Topps #437

This Lane Thomas got me one step closer to completing the set:

Stuffing is one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving dinner and it's generally what I fill up on.  The Thomas was a set filler.

Finally, I want to talk about two big surprises from yesterday's Thanksgiving feast.  First was the pumpkin soup, which tasted like split pea soup.

I had never tried it before, but was pleasantly surprised.  

The other surprise was the roasted brussels sprouts.  I've had it before, but only at Thanksgiving.  Every time I eat it, I'm blown away by how something so healthy looking tastes so amazing.

What's not a surprise is that the pumpkin soup and roasted brussels sprouts both featured bacon... which is one of my favorite things to eat.

How do all of these cards relate to pumpkin soup and roasted brussels sprouts?  Well all of them arrived awhile back as part of a care package from a fellow collector on Sports Card Forum.  Woody has sent me a bunch of packages over the years, but this one wasn't one I planned on.

It just showed up in my mailbox and was a complete surprise.  Thank you Woody for all of the Packers, Seahawks, Padres, and Japanese athletes you sent for my personal collections.

I also appreciate you thinking of my students with these stacks and stacks of 49ers, Raiders, Giants, and Warriors.

Thank you John for the generous giveaway on your blog.  And thank you Brendan for your contest and for helping me get one step closer to completing my 2023 Topps set.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  By the way, I started writing this post yesterday.  At the time I was at my brother's house with the rest of my siblings and a few of our friends.  Unfortunately, I didn't have any contact with cards yesterday.  I did however try my hardest to publish this post on Thanksgiving.

Unfortunately... once the football games, food preparation, and family time got started I got distracted and didn't get a chance to complete this post until today.

Happy Friday and sayonara!

Extra Innings

John reached out to me and offered to help me with more of my 2023 Topps.  Here's the updated list of set needs:

Thank you John!