The Japanese Jackie

Back on September 1st, 1964... Masanori Murakami became the first Japanese baseball player to play in a MLB game.  His time with the San Francisco Giants only lasted a little over a season, but his place in baseball history will hopefully be remembered forever.

I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Murakami back in 2015 and I have slowly been building a collection of his cards ever since.  Last month, I purchased two autographed inserts of him off of eBay...

2025 Topps First Pitch #FP-2

This card captures Murakami throwing out the first pitch at Oracle Park on May 17th, 2024 in celebration of the 60th anniversary of his MLB debut.

2024 Topps Japan Edition 1989 #89J-48

This card features a cool koi border design and was inserted into 2024 Topps Japan Edition packs.  I'm not 100% sure, but based on the scoreboard it looks like Mashi posed for this photo at Wrigley Field either in 1964 or 1965.

Both of these cards were part of auctions that I won for a combined price of $64.09 ($26.19/$29 + $12 shipping + $4.74 tax).  Before bidding, I researched CGC x JSA pricing... which begins at around $15 per card if you're submitting items in bulk.  With that knowledge, I was very happy to win both of these auctions.

After playing for the Giants in 1965, he was ordered by the NPB commissioner to return to the Nankai Hawks for the 1966 season.  Thirty years later, Hideo Nomo became the second Japanese player (born in Japan) to cross the Pacific to play in the MLB.  Since then over seventy guys have followed their lead including one of the greatest contact hitters in the 21st century and one of the greatest players currently in the game.

Each year, it's exciting to see who will follow in Murakami, Nomo, Suzuki, and Ohtani's footsteps.  This past season fans watched guys like Munetaka Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto, and Tatsuya Imai make their MLB debuts.

Kenny (over at Torren' Up Cards) recently sent me ten pack of 2026 Stadium Club NPB.  It'll be interesting to see if any of these guys eventually come over to the states to play:

Some of you might recognize Tsuyoshi Shinjo (in the #3 spot).  He spent a few seasons with the Mets and Giants in the early 2000's.  These days he's managing the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.

2026 Stadium Club NPB #139

Can't say that I recognize the other nine guys, but maybe one of them will be the next Hideki Matsui or Masahiro Tanaka.  Only time will tell.  Until then, I'll keep collecting cards of NPB players in hopes that one day I'll get to see them play at Oracle Park or Sutter Health Park.

Thank you Kenny for donating these Stadium Club cards to my collection.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!

Another Sort, Another Blogger Issue, & Another BBA

Another Sunday.  Another sort.  Another issue with Blogger.

This time... blog posts aren't popping up in Blogger reading lists.  Hopefully they resolve this issue as quickly as they did with the commenting one.

Can't worry about that right now, because it's time to sort some care packages from John (@ Johnny's Trading Spot) and Kenny (@ Torren' Up Cards).

Let's start with a flat rate box that John sent me two weeks ago.  The majority of the cards he sent my way were for my Japanese Athlete PC.

He sent me a good mix of retired and current players as well as a mixture of base, inserts, and parallels.

After sorting them into player lots, Masataka Yoshida's stack stood taller than everyone else combined.  Here are nine that stood out:

The cherry blossom card in the #3 spot is my favorite, because it's a Japanese Edition exclusive.  However there was another insert that stood out:

2024 Topps 1989 Topps The Real One #89B-14 (#'d 32/89)

At first glance this card looks like any other 35th anniversary insert.  Only this card lacks the usual glossy finish.

It's hard to tell in the scan, but Topps tried to mimic the original 1989 paper stock and added serial numbering to this insert parallel.

The other large stack contained a bunch of Masahiro Tanaka cards:

John also sent me some A's cards.  Unfortunately I misplaced the scan containing some of my favorites.  But here are two new Barry Zito jersey cards:

2003 Fleer Showcase Baseball's Best Jersey #BB-BZ

2003 Fleer Platinum Portraits Jersey #PP/BZ

The last time an A's pitcher won the AL Cy Young Award was twenty-four years ago.  Zito was the guy. 

Dave Stewart finished in the top 4 voting... four years in a row (1987 to 1990)... but never won the award.

1991 Baseball Card Price Guide Monthly #44

Stew was rewarded with this cool magazine card in 1991... the same year he led the MLB in earned runs allowed.  However A's fans will always remember his great run with the team more than those earned runs.

John also sent me a stack of 80's Topps Glossy All-Stars:

I've been putting together a collection of these sets from 1984 to 1991.  None of these were needed for the project, but five out of the six went into my player binders.

He also sent me some vintage non-sport singles:

1957 Topps Robin Hood #5

1954 Bowman US Navy Victories #21

1957 Topps Isolation Booth #14

I'm not building any of these sets... but each of these will be added to my non-sport sampler binder.

John gives away nine Greg Maddux cards every week.  I've won a few times.  Here are my latest winnings:

The Topps 206 Mini in the middle is the one I was most excited about.  Maddux is probably the 2nd largest player collection behind Tony Gwynn.  So anytime I can add a new card to the binders, it's a reason to celebrate.

I also won one of his Wacky Packages giveaways:

I was absolutely stoked to see this in the box.  John is the blogger responsible for getting me into collecting Wacky Packages and I'd say 80 to 90% of the ones sitting in my collection were gifts from him.

This particular sticker takes me back to my college years:

My buddy and I drove down to TJ a few times and one of the key memories is walking across the Tijuana River and instantly getting smacked in the face by the smell of raw sewage.  Good times.  There are a few other memorable moments... but those stories don't really fit into a card blog post.

Thank you John for the generous giveaways and the thoughtful care package.

Rounding out this post is another care package.  This one arrived the same week as John's... but from the other side of the planet.

Kenny hooked me up with a pack of 2026 Topps Series 2 Japan Edition:

Although there are cherry blossom parallels and koi fish versions of the 1991 insert set... the odds of pulling them aren't very good.  That's why I've decided to add this to my collection of unopened Japanese trading card packs.

Don't worry... I do have a pair of Japanese Dream Order game cards to show off:

2025 Dream Order #TBP01-G21

First up is Toronto's Kazuma Okamoto.  Next is Chicago's Munetaka Murakami:

2024 Dream Order #CBP01-S02

Each of these MLB rookies have hit 31 home runs this season.  And I'm excited to add both to my Japanese binders.

Thank you Kenny!

Not sure how many people will have the opportunity to see this post, but hopefully Blogger fixes the issue sooner than later.  If not... this could pose a huge problem for everyone who works hard to write blog posts about the hobby we love.  Only time will tell.

Fingers crossed.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!

Extra Innings

I just discovered on Night Owl's blog that Kenny has started a Blog Bat-Around.  He wants us to share our proudest collecting moments.

#1:  Becoming a blogger.

Before starting this blog, my hobby world revolved around card shows, card shops, message boards, eBay, and flea markets.  However the blogosphere has introduced me to more collectors than all of those areas combined.  Sure most are strictly online interactions, but I have met a fair share of bloggers in person.

#2:  Collecting 19+ on-card, pack pulled autographs of Mr. Padre.

2007 UD Masterpieces Stroke of Genius #SG-GW

This wasn't too challenging.  However after Rickey Henderson passed away two years ago, I realized that I probably won't be able to obtain 24 on-card, pack pulled autographs of him due to the rising cost of his signatures.  This also made me realize that I was very lucky to chase Gwynn autographs while they were plentiful and affordable.  It would never happen today.

#3:  Attending the final A's game at the Coliseum and owning the Topps Now card that commemorates it.

2024 Topps Now #760

This might be more of a fan accomplishment, but considering how important the A's are to my collecting focus... I felt like this should make the list.

It's a Celebration Sensation!

School trumps sports cards... especially at the start of the school year.  There just aren't enough hours in the day.  So if you see a blog post published here during the work week, there's a pretty good chance I wrote the post over the weekend and scheduled it.

Not this one.  Today we're celebrating a special occasion.  It's Chris The Collector's 10th Anniversary... which he celebrated by busting open boxes and building special gift packages for supporters of his blog.  I was fortunate to be one of the recipients.

The padded envelope he sent included several team bags stuffed with cards and packs.  It took me just under two hours to sort and scan, so without further ado...

Let's start things off with a nice stack of A's cards:

He was able to get his hands on some popular products like Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary.

As you can see, he sent me singles from each of the first three sets in the product line.  As much as I love these cards, the Rickey Henderson 1955 Rails and Sails insert is my favorite card in the lot.

2010 Sportkings Series D #180

I was also excited to see this uncirculated Gwynn card.  Technically I already own this card, but this particular copy is still in the original top loader pulled from the pack.  In other words... I'm considering this to be a variation and keeping it.

He also sent me some nice shiny cards for my two favorite football team collections:

Plus four San Jose Sharks:

Thornton, Pavelski, Couture, and Burns are 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th on the Sharks all-time points leader board.  Anyone know who's #1?

He also sent me a four pack of Japanese baseball players, including the very popular Munetaka Murakami:

I don't write about them often, but for decades the Los Angeles Lakers were my favorite basketball team.  This guy was a big reason I became a fan:

1981-82 Topps #20

Kareem would go on to play eight more seasons with the Lakers and score over 12,000 more points than depicted on the back of this trading card:

This is arguably the coolest card in his anniversary package.  It's kind of hard to see, but this card has a wax stain on the front.  Back in the 80's, I would have been bummed to pull this card out of a pack.  Four decades later, I consider it to be an under-appreciated parallel.

Speaking of parallels, check out this color-matched Elway for my Stanford PC:

2024 Prizm Draft Picks Ruby Wave #37

And here's my latest addition to my Ray Lewis PC:

2025 Donruss Optic Light It Up #17

He also tossed in a pair of Joe Montana cards:

2009 Topps National Chicle Mini #C46

2024 Topps Chrome 1974 Refractor #74TF-18

These may or may not have been intended for my students, but both went into the Montana section of my hall of fame binder.

Rounding out the gift package were three unopened packs.  The first two will be added to my rainy day pack stash:

1991 Stadium Club 2nd Series Pack

2025 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary Hobby Pack

Back in 1991, this Stadium Club pack would have been a very hot commodity... as collectors were ripping into them in hopes of pulling Jeff Bagwell or Phil Plantier rookie cards.  Today... the 2025 Chrome Platinum Anniversary is the much hotter product.

Chris also included this 1986 Topps rack pack:

1986 Topps Rack Pack

It may seem like just a random pack, but he sent this specific pack to help me get one step closer to completing my 1986 Topps Glossy All-Star set:

Okay... technically I haven't opened it up.  Like I stated earlier in the post... my free time during the week is limited.  But don't worry... I'm going to tear into this pack on Sunday and when I do... I'll show off the highlights.

And after reading Jim's post this morning, I realized that I accidentally left out some left-handed pitchers.  Sorry about that Chris.  Don't have time to scan them before getting ready for work, so I'll show them off on Sunday with the Garvey.

Until then...

Happy anniversary Chris!  And thank you for this very generous giveaway.  Although I think it's sad that you made the decision to retire from collecting cards at the end of the year... I understand that we all must make big decisions that are best for ourselves and our families.  I'm glad that you plan on keeping your blog alive... as I always look forward to reading the different series you written.

Happy Friday and sayonara!