Down in the Dumps & in the Books

This has been a pretty rough start to the year.  I'll take my father's advice and avoid discussing politics, but I will say these are scary times and it's hard for me not to stress over what's going on.  The good news is that I can distract myself sometimes and talk about other stuff.

Today I wanted to show off a pair of books and some baseball cards that were recently sent to me.  Let's start with a Christmas present from my nieces in Oregon.  One of them is a huge Lions fan who happens to hate the Packers.  She made me this lovely tree ornament.

Her favorite author is Alan Gratz and they recently had the opportunity to meet him at a book signing.  I don't read a lot of books.  In fact, I'm lucky to read one a year.  But last year, I ended up reading two... and they were both historical fiction stories written by Gratz.   One of them covers the Battle of Okinawa from two perspectives: a young Okinawan boy and an American Marine.  The other one is about three young kids and their families from different countries and time periods forced to leave their homes and seek refuge somewhere else.

Refugee: The Graphic Novel by Alan Gratz

My nieces bought me the graphic novel version of the latter and had him sign it:

Thank you T & K!  I absolutely love it and plan on reading two more of his books by the end of 2026.

The other book I recently added to my collection was a gift from Jim @ cards as i see them:

1969 Topps Stamp Album #18

Here's a peek inside:

He also included a few Oakland A's inserts and parallels:

2025 Topps Chrome RayWave Refractor #67

The stamp book is a huge addition to my collection.  I'm planning on purchasing the final four stamps and fill the book as soon as possible.  I was also excited to see this Butler refractor.  I've really grown to appreciate the 2025 Topps design in recent months.

Matt over at Cards Over Coffee added to the collection of 2025 Topps Chrome refractors by sending me three more for my team set:

This six pack represents the core of the post-Oakland lineup.  I wasn't familiar with Tommy White, but it looks like he's one of their top prospects.

I'm gonna wrap things up with a Zippy Zapping from Kenny over at Torren' Up Cards.  He sent me this Calbee card of Shota Imanaga:

2023 Calbee #99

I'm always excited to add new Calbee cards to my binders... especially when they feature guys who have found success in the MLB.

While writing this post, Kenny sent another PWE with these three cards:

2025 Stadium Club NPB #180

2025 Bushiroad Dream Order #TBP01-L12

Not sure who Takumu Nakano is, but the card on the right features Tatsuya Imai.  He's one of the NPB stars who is bringing his talent to the MLB.  Back in December he signed a three year deal to pitch for the Houston Astros.

2024 Bandai Carddass Gintama

I'm not familiar with this character, but I enjoy collecting any Japanese trading cards... especially when they're shiny anime cards.

Thank you Jim, Matt, and Kenny for these cards.  They were a nice distraction from all of the drama going on in our country and around the world.

One of the things I'd like to do with this blog is return to my roots and begin ending my posts with questions like I did years ago.  So here we go...

Today's question of the day:

Outside of collecting cards, what do you like to do to reduce stress or help you take your mind off of things?

I'm not proud of it, but ever since I got sick back in December, I've been binge watching television shows like Stranger Things, Fallout, and Game of Thrones.  However normally, I enjoy going out for walks or riding my bike.  I'll also hop in my car and take it up in the hills.  If my back ever gets better, I'd love to start golfing again.  There is a really nice executive course a few miles from my place that is loaded with rabbits, deer, and turkeys.  It's about as therapeutic as it gets.

Well that's it for now...

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Flea Market Finds #162: A Binder Full of Cards

It's officially flea market season.  Last weekend... I hit up the De Anza Flea Market with my brother and his wife.  The weather was nice (cool and sunny).  In fact... it might have been too nice... because it lured the largest crowd in years.  That's a good thing for vendors, but I wasn't a fan.  Large crowds mean more people.  More people mean less personal space.  And less personal space means I'm trying to rush through things in an effort to get out of there.

Anyways... you're not here to listen to me complain.  Let's show off my purchases...

Purchase #1:  Baseball Card Binder  $35

Walked up to a booth and noticed a guy flipping through a binder of cards.  The vendor also had some action figures and video games, so I checked them out and waited to see if the guy was going to buy the binder.  He didn't.

After he left, I walked over, picked it up, and opened it.  Here's what I saw:

The first few pages were filled with Aaron Judge cards... followed by eight to ten pages of Derek Jeter cards.  Here are some of the highlights:

As much as I dislike the New York Yankees... I love collecting Derek Jeter cards.  I didn't take an official count, but I'd say I added at least sixty new ones to my collection.

The vendor mentioned that the binder belonged to a family member who is a New York Yankees fan.  That makes sense, because the vast majority of the cards in the binder were Yankees.

Included in the pages was one of those World Series team sets that Topps produces:

2009 Topps New York Yankees World Series Set

I thought about breaking it up for the Matsui and Jeter cards, but in the end I kept it intact.

The vendor marked the binder with a $50 price tag, but after flipping through about 15 pages, he told me to make an offer.  Then I saw this page:

At that point, I knew I wanted the binder.  I have a pretty nice Ichiro collection, but I didn't own his Topps rookie card.  So I tossed out a $30 offer.  The seller countered with $35 and now I own this card:

2001 Topps #726

I love this card so much.  I even took the extra time to scan the back:

Overall the binder mostly contained inserts and base cards, but there were a few other rookie cards I didn't own:

1994 Bowman's Best #29

2007 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects #BDPP12

2014 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP25

Actually... I own a copy of that Freeman, but this is my first raw copy.

The other cool thing included in this purchase was a complete run of Joe Torre Topps manager cards:

1978 Topps #109

Did you know that he's the only person in MLB history to have 2,000 hits as a player and 2,000 wins as a manager?

Okay... I spent enough time on this purchase.  Moving along...

Purchase #2:  March Graphic Novel Trilogy  $10

These three books are about the life of Congressman John Lewis, who played a key role in the civil rights movement.  I already own hardcover copies.  But when I saw this set of paper back copies for $10, I grabbed it for my classroom.


Purchase #3:  Puffy Stickers $1

1983 Funmate Norris Division

Saw this sitting in a guy's dollar box.  Don't normally seek out puffy stickers, but I thought the North Stars sticker was pretty cool.  Worst case scenario, I pass this along to my buddy who is a Blackhawks fan.

Well that wraps up another trip to my local flea market.  Thanks for coming along on the ride.  I know I didn't buy a lot this time around, but there's always next time.

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!