Pen15 Envy

One of the best ways to keep my head above water the past month or so has been to keep myself busy.  But every now and then, I need to take a break and one of the television shows I started watching was PEN15 over on Hulu.  In short, it's a show about two girls and their friendship as they navigate through the awkwardness and trials and tribulations of middle school.  This show isn't recommended for everyone, as it can be crude at times.  However... if you have a thick skin and don't mind feeling awkward every once in awhile, then I'd check it out.  There are a few scenes that literally had me in tears.

Anyways... today I figured I'd share an autograph I recently picked up:

2007 UD Sweet Spot Classics Legendary Autograph #SPS-SA

I've wanted an autograph of the legendary Cub for a few years.  Unfortunately... when he passed away back in 2010... he didn't leave a lot of certified, pack issued autographs available to collectors.  So the laws of supply and demand kicked in... which drove up the price for his signature.

I finally pulled the trigger on this card, because I loved the look of this card.  It's a signed piece of wood that's been sunken into the card sorta like a shadow box.  The photograph of Wrigley Field in the background was the icing on the cake.

Okay.  I know what you're wondering...

What does a Santo autograph have to do with the Hulu show mention at the start of this post?  Well... "pen" goes together with "autograph", while 15 was the jersey number Santo wore for part of his rookie season.  Creative, right?

Whatever.  I accept that it's a stretch... but that's all I could come up with for today.

What's an autograph you'd like to own one day?

What's a television show you enjoy watching to take your mind off of things?

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Away From Keyboard

Not sure if anyone noticed... but I've been away from the keyboard the past few days.  On Saturday my family, extended family, and some of our closest friends got together at my mother's service to celebrate her life.  My favorite part was listening to everyone's favorite memories of her.  I'm sure she was smiling down on all of us that evening.

The next day, my dad asked my sister, nieces, and sister-in-law to look through my mother's jewelry and take out items they were interested in keeping for themselves.  One of the items sitting in her jewelry box was this:

It's a Little League pin from back in the late 70's to mid 80's when I played baseball.  I'm not 100% sure... but I think it's the pin given to her for being the team mom for one of my teams.  I've regretted dumping all of my Little League memorabilia from my childhood, so I was pretty excited when my sister asked me if I wanted to keep it.

I was also pretty excited when I hit this jackpot at the Suncoast Hotel the night of my mom's service:

Mama Fuji sure has been my lucky charm the past few days, because this was one of five $100+ jackpots I hit over a four day span:

Sure I lost a few dollars here and there, but I ended up driving home with over $700 more in my wallet.

And the icing on the cake was my brother and I went out and played bingo with my mom and dad's best friends last night.  We pooled our money together, but didn't win.  On the other hand, my dad's friend Larry won $1,000 on the last game of the session.  He tipped the waitress, his girlfriend, my brother, and me.... $100 each.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my winnings.  Part of me considered putting it towards a 1973 Topps baseball set that would complete my run of 1972 to 1986 Topps baseball card sets.  On the other hand, maybe I'll spread it out over the next six or seven months or just throw it into my rainy day fund.

Anyways... I just wanted to let you why I've been away from my keyboard the past few days.  I'm looking forward to sitting down and catching up on your blog posts.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Masters of the Game

Reading card blogs definitely has its perks.  Learning about new cards is one of them.  Someone out there in our blogosphere wrote a post that included one or more of the 1993 Donruss Masters of the Game postcard sized cards.

***UPDATE***  ARPSmith's Sportscard Obsession was where I first noticed these cards.

1993 Donruss Masters of the Game #1

I took a break from collecting in 1993, so I wasn't aware of these cards.  But I've always been a fan of the Donruss Diamond King subsets of the 80's and early 90's, so these caught my eye and inspired me to find a set on eBay.  I wasn't successful, but I did end up buying an "almost complete" set:

According to Beckett and Baseballcardpedia, these were originally distributed in single card packs as part of a bundle that included an 18 pack box of 1993 Donruss Series 2 baseball at retail outlets.  The sixteen card set includes eight hall of famers.

The set also includes two San Diego Padres... but it's surprisingly missing Mr. Padre.  Like how are you going to leave one of the game's best contact hitters off of the checklist?  I'm also surprised Donruss chose to not include Greg Maddux either.  Then again... I PC both of these guys... so I'm a little biased.

As previously mentioned, the set is postcard sized and the backs even provide space to write an address as well as include a postage stamp:

I realize the size of these cards might turnoff some collectors, but if you're a fan of Dick Perez's artwork might be interested in these.

Okay... today's question of the day:

Have you purchased any cards lately that were inspired by another blogger's post?

Well... that's it for today.  Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Pete and Re-Pete

When I went to visit my dad two weekends ago, we laughed about how my mother had the memory of an elephant... especially when it came to not so positive events.  She might have been the most compassionate, generous, and caring person within our family... but if you did her wrong, she'd never forget it.  And forgiveness was not necessarily a given.

Back in the day... I was similar to Mama Fuji.  I've changed a lot since I've become a teacher.  I've learned that people are constantly making mistakes and if you're unable to forgive them... well it leads to built up feelings of contempt and disdain.  Life is way too short to live with those kind of feelings.

That's why I've chosen to let go of the majority of grudges I've held over the years.  Pete Rose is a perfect example.

Like most baseball fans, I was disappointed and upset when I heard he made the decision to bet on baseball.  But honestly... his decision to lie about it made it ten times worse.  But time has a way of galvanizing forgiveness.  These days the fact that he has to live with his decisions is punishment enough for me.

That's why I have no problem with spending my hard earned money on cardboard bearing his name.  A few weeks ago, this card popped up on my search for 1986 Topps autographs:

1986 Topps #1

Over the past few years, I've been slowly picking up signed 1986 Topps baseball cards.  For some reason, I find a nice signature in black Sharpie lends something special to this card's design.

I saw a signed copy of this card awhile back, but didn't grab it when I had the chance.  Since then a few more have popped up in the $30 range.  I was pretty happy to snag this card with a $15 bid and $3 shipping.  It's hard to believe that you can own an autograph of MLB's All-Time Hit King for less than the price of a blaster.  The again... maybe people aren't quite as forgiving as I am.

Three days later, I saw this card on eBay:

1969 Topps #424

Normally, I'd be content with adding one Pete Rose signature every few years to my collection, but the 1969 Topps Sporting News All-Stars subset is gorgeous and this card called out to me.  It was a little more pricey than the other copy ($28 + $3.50 shipping), but personally... I feel it was worth every cent.

You might not see another Pete Rose post on this blog anytime soon, so I'll leave you with one more card of him:

1982 Fleer #640

This is the card that inspired the title of this post.  Whenever I flip through my 80's binder and see this card, I always wonder if Pete's decision ever affected his relationship with his son.  If it did, I hope his son is a little more like me than my mom, because I'm pretty sure Mama Fuji would still be holding a grudge against Pete.

What about you?

Have you forgiven Pete?  Do you collect his cardboard?

That's it for today.  Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

An Up and Down Weekend

Yesterday sucked.  Well... at least in regards to my favorite teams.  The A's gave up a five run lead to the last place Rangers.  The first place Padres got beat down by the Diamondbacks.  And my beloved Sharks lost again and are two games away from being eliminated from the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Outside of my three teams losing, it was actually a pretty awesome Sunday.  I slept in for the first time in forever.  Tiger won at Augusta.  Game of Thrones is back.  And thanks to Ryan who generously sent me five Topps, Bowman, and Gypsy Queen parallel packs... I had another much appreciated session of sports card therapy.

I'll go ahead and let the cards speak for themselves...

2017 Bowman Prospects Yellow Retail Pack

2018 Bowman Prospects Camo Pack

2018 Topps Chrome Pink Refractor Pack

2016 Topps Chrome Pink Refractor Pack

2017 Gypsy Queen Green Pack

Overall... not a lot of big names.

But I was pretty excited to finally get my hands on a Fernando Tatis Jr. card for my San Diego Padres PC.

Okay, it's your turn...

Anyone else excited to watch the final season of Game of Thrones?  Anyone else excited to see Tiger Woods don the iconic Green Jacket again?  Anyone else open packs to help them take a break from the real world?

Happy Monday and sayonara!