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.

Back to School

When I was a kid, I always had mixed emotions about going back to school.  Sure part of me was excited to see what friends I had in my classes... and whether or not I got the teacher(s) I wanted.  But there was also the fact that summer break, sleeping in, chilling out in the neighborhood, cruising around on bikes and skateboards, and staying up late were all coming to an end.

The same thing still applies to me as an adult.  Only now I'm checking to see how large my classes are and which prep period my friends have at work.  And although I'm no long chilling out in the neighborhood or cruising around on bikes and skateboards, I still enjoy sleeping in and staying up a little later than usual.

That's all over though, because the Summer Break of 2025 is officially coming to an end.  This Thursday I officially report back for my 28th year in my current district.  But I've actually been going in the past two weeks and working in my classroom.

Not sure if I've ever done this, but here's a peek at some before and after shots:

Every summer, the custodians clean the carpets and wax the floors... so we come back with a clean slate.

All of the student desks are up on the counters and we take them down and set them up.  This is usually when I tweak my back.

But I'm happy to report... no injuries this year.

One of the biggest projects every year is taking all of my toys and collectibles out of storage and creating my display.  This is a collection of items I have accumulated over the years.  Some of the stuff are things I bought... while others are gifts I have received from students, parents, fellow teachers, and others.

Here's a peek at my collection of sealed collectibles:

Luckily my principal doesn't make me take these down every year.  In fact, I don't think I've messed with these in six to eight years.

Anyways, there were three things I wanted to accomplish with this post.  First... I wanted to honor a few people who passed away recently.  Although none of these gentleman were personal favorites, they each played a role in my childhood.

Ozzy Osbourne

1985 AGI Rock Star #2

(December 3, 1948 to July 22, 2025)

It's hard to say what stands out the most about Ozzy.  The story about the "bat" or his MTV show.  Both immediately come to mind when I think of him.  Wasn't the biggest fan of his music when I was little, but I learned to appreciate his stuff from the 70's with Black Sabbath in high school and college.

Hulk Hogan

1987 Topps WWF #3

(August 11, 1953 to July 24, 2025)

There was a time when WWF was more important to me than the MLB.  It was right around 8th or 9th grade... and if it was on... I'd do whatever I could to watch it.  Hogan played a big part of my fanfare.  Today he would have celebrated his 72nd birthday.  Happy birthday Hulk!

Ryne Sandberg

1983 Topps #282

(September 18, 1959 to July 28, 2025)

As a Gwynn fan, Sandberg was always one of the other two big rookies in the 1983 baseball sets.  Their names along with Boggs always seem to go together when you discuss that awesome rookie card class.

Rest in peace Ozzy, Hulk, and Ryno.

Next up... I wanted to honor the Cooperstown Class of 2025:

Dick Allen

1966 Topps #80

Dave Parker

1982 Donruss #95

Billy Wagner

1997 Topps Gallery #178

CC Sabathia

2017 Topps NYY Factory Team Set #NYY-10

Ichiro Suzuki

2023 Stadium Club Red Foil #72

Congratulations Dick, Dave, Billy, CC, and Ichiro!

And finally... I wanted to show off the final care package of the summer.  The same day I receive'd Matt's PWE, I also received a flat rate box from John over at Johnny's Trading Spot.

He filled it up with a bunch of stuff, so let's dive in and check it out.  Let's start with a huge stack of Ichiro cards (including the Stadium Club card above):

In addition to the the sixty to seventy cards in this photo, he also sent me these nine:

Plus there were these three cards from a Topps On Demand Ichiro set:

2019 Topps On Demand Ichiro Legacy #16

2019 Topps On Demand Ichiro Legacy #19

2019 Topps On Demand Ichiro Legacy #20

A large percentage of the box were new additions to my Japanese Athlete PC.  Here are a few of the highlights...

2008 SP Legendary Cuts Destination Stardom Memorabilia #DS-AI

2024 Topps Now Off-Season #OS-13

2025 Topps Stars of Japan #SOJ-6

Saw this cherry blossom decorated insert a few weeks ago over on Cards As I See Them.

Very happy to add five to my binder.  I'm debating on picking up a few more over on COMC before I request shipment later in the week.

2021 Donruss Optic Signature Series #SS-JY

2023 Topps Allen & Ginter Framed Autographs #MA-FS

And here are a few other Japanese athletes who don't play baseball...

John also sent me a stack of Mr. October...

Here are a closer look at nine of them...

He also sent me a a few other A's for my collection...

In addition to baseball cards, he also sent me some MJ's...

1994 Action Packed Minors #23

This card stood out, because I liked how Action Packed kept it real in their scouting report.  

The second half of his care package were a ton of Wacky Packages.  Let's start with two vintage tan backs:

1973 Topps Wacky Packages 4th Series Brute 88

1974 Topps Wacky Packages 9th Series Windstun

He also tossed in a nice starter set...

2008 Topps Wacky Packages Flashback Series 2 Starter Set

Within the starter set was a complete puzzle:

2008 Topps Wacky Packages Flashback Series 2 Quacker Oats Puzzle Backs

I pulled out a few of my favorites:

2008 Topps Wacky Packages Flashback Series 2 Favorites

And rounding things out are some album stickers from the mid 80's:

1986 Wacky Packages Album Stickers

These are smaller than your standard size cards.  Here's a size comparison with the album sticker on the left and a standard Wacky Packages card on the right:

1986 Wacky Packages Album Stickers Size Comparison

Thank you John for another generous care package!  I had a lot of fun going through and organizing the stacks of Ichiro, Reggie, and Wacky Packages.  It was a fantastic way to wrap up my summer.

I hope all of you had a great summer.  After a reasonably mild summer in regards to weather, things are starting to heat up around here.  I might be ready for the students, but I'm not ready for triple digit temperatures.

Happy Monday and sayonara!