Some School-Related Stuff

I'm back in the classroom again.  I'm back!

I've been setting up my classroom and attending in-services the past two days in preparation for the big day.  Tomorrow the kids arrive.

Our district is offering them two options:  in-person or distance learning.  The good news is the distance learning is being outsourced... so my focus will be the students sitting in front of me (who will be required to wear masks).

This will be my 24th year in the district and if this wasn't such a last minute idea for a post, I would have focused it on Rickey Henderson who wore #24 his second and third time around with the Oakland A's.

1994 Emotion #187

Instead today's post is centered around Tony Gwynn who was known for being quite the scholar in regards to baseball.  This card has appeared on my blog a few times as it holds the honor of being my very first wallet card.

The other two cards aren't wallet cards... but they are related to going back to school.  First up is a thirty-four year old school folder:

1988 Topps Sheaffer Eaton Sport Shots Folders #360

1988 Topps #360

As you can see the folder is based on Gwynn's 1988 Topps baseball card.  The dimensions don't exactly match up, but overall I'm impressed by the quality and overall look of the folder.

The back of the folder resembles the back of his card.  I don't have the time right now to look at every single number, so I'll assume Sheaffer Eaton tried their best to keep the folder true to the original.

Here's a peek inside:

In 1988, I was entering my junior year in high school... so this wasn't something I'd go out of my way to buy back then.  I'm pretty sure I was utilizing Pee Chee folders throughout middle school and high school.  Maybe even college.

Speaking of college... in 1993... I transferred to San Jose State University to work on my major.  

1993 The Colla Collection Diamond Marks #NNO

That's the same year these bookmarks were produced and distributed.

I've actually used baseball cards as bookmarks before... but never one of these Diamond Marks.

I'm sorry that I haven't been reading and commenting on your blog posts the past two days.  Hoping to sit down and catch up on some of them tonight though... but it'll depend on when I'm finished working in my classroom and updating my 2021-22 class syllabus.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

None of That Base Card Junk

Back at the start of my summer break, I signed up for a group break over at Death Stare Cards.  This was definitely an out of character purchase, because group breaks aren't my cup of tea.  Ever since the days of The Bash Brothers, the Oakland A's really have lacked star power in regards to cards... so it's not usually worth it for me to buy them in group breaks.  The same can be said for the San Diego Padres... although Fernando Tatis Jr. puts up a good argument.

However this wasn't your typical group break.  Instead of an unopened box of cards, 1,700 inserts weighing over ten pounds were being sorted by teams.  None of that base card junk.  Teams were $15 each (shipped), but additional teams were only $14 each.

I obviously grabbed the Oakland A's.  Unfortunately PunkRockPaint bought the San Diego Padres fifteen minutes before I arrived.  No biggie.  I picked up the San Francisco Giants instead.

A 200ct. box arrived shortly after I placed my order.  It ended up sitting in my office for weeks until I eventually opened it up.  After going through it... I put the contents back into the box and let it sit some more.  Until today.

In an effort to clean up my office before I head back into the classroom... I went through the contents and picked out my five favorite cards from each team.  However before I reveal them, here's a look at the financial breakdown of this purchase:

Oakland A's: 73 cards ($15/73 = 20.5¢ per card)

San Francisco Giants:  79 cards ($14/79 = 17.7¢ per card)

The bargain hunter within me typically seeks out these kinds of singles in dime boxes.  But after sifting through these 152 cards, I was more than happy with the results of this group break.

Okay... let's check out my personal favorites.  In an effort to make things more interesting, I decided to mix the five cards from each team and rank them from #10 down to #1.  Here we go...

#10: 2018 Topps Update 1983 Topps Design #83-33

The idea to reuse the 1983 Topps design is lazy... but at least they picked a really cool photo.  Who doesn't appreciate a new bubble blowing card to collect?

#9:  2013 Topps Opening Day Ballpark Fun #BF-2

Another fantastic photo with Reddick wearing a super cool looking Oakland Oaks jersey with pie all over his face.  Gotta love those walk-off wins by the Athletics back int he early 2010's.  By the way... I heard the Diamondbacks released Reddick.  Was hoping to see him sign with Oakland as they make a push for one of the Wild Card spots, but the Mets grabbed him.

#8:  2010 Topps Walmart Black #410

This looks like another walk-off win card... only this time the hero is Rajai Davis.  Not 100% sure, but my detective work leads me to believe this is from the June 11th, 2009 win over the Minnesota Twins.

#7:  2014 Topps 1989 Topps Die-Cut Minis #TM-10

When the New York Yankees traded Rickey Henderson back to the A's in the summer of 1989... it was like an early birthday present.  I'm a fan of any card that ties together the A's and 1989, but it's even more special when it features Rickey.

#6:  2015 Topps Opening Day Franchise Flashback #FF-10

No idea why Timmy is dressed up... but he looks fantastic.  This card is going straight into my Sports Card Smorgasbord binder.

#5:  2017 Topps Update Storied World Series #SWS-17

1989 was the last time the Oakland A's won the World Series.  Any card highlighting the event will be welcomed into my collection.

#4:  2020 Topps Decades' Best #DB-52 

Yup.  Another 1989 World Series card.  I like this one better than the 2017 Update card because of the design and the celebration photograph with Stan Javier coming over the top.

#3:  1990 Score #701

Technically this card isn't an insert... but I'll let it slide because I absolutely love it.  It's my favorite 1989 World Series card, because it immediately takes me back to that night of the Loma Prieta earthquake.  It was such a scary event, but one of those key moments from my youth.

#2:  2017 Topps Pro Debut Ben's Biz #BBB-9

If you ever go to a San Jose Giants game, you've gotta grab a churro from this guy.  He actually gets around the stadium and interacts with fans.  I had the opportunity to meet him at two of the three games I attended this summer.

This is my second copy of this card... which is perfect... because I hope to one day bring this copy to a game and ask for his autograph.

#1:  2015 Topps First Pitch #FP-21

I was secretly hoping for this card when I decided to buy the San Francisco Giants in this group break.  I'm not exactly a huge comic book guy, but I don't think you have to be one to be a fan of Stan Lee.  This guy is a legend.  And I absolutely love the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies... which wouldn't exist without him.

Thank you Death Stare Cards for hosting this group break!  I would gladly join another one of these breaks if you decide to host another one.

And any of you who didn't participate... it looks like there are a few teams available.  Click here if you're interested.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Another Weekend, Another Show

Last weekend, my buddy co-promoted his second show in three weeks.  Unfortunately it wasn't a card show.  This time around it was a toy show.  The good news is there were three dealers with sports cards and I made purchases from two of them.

Purchase #1:  A Shiny Admiral  $1

1998-99 Topps Chrome Refractor #170

My friend Tony, who was set up next to me at the card show was there and this time around I had the chance to dig through his dollar boxes.  That's where I found this David Robinson refractor.

I might not actively collect basketball cards, but I can't pass up a 90's refractor of a hall of famer for a buck.  Can't do it.

Purchase #2:  One Hot Bo  50¢

Tony is one of only a handful of dealers that actually lugs around bargain bins.  That's why his table was busy almost the whole time at the card show three weeks ago.  He doesn't have dime boxes, but he does have a 50¢ bin.  That's where I found this Bo Jackson insert:

1990 Score Hot Card #2

It's rare to come across a Junk Wax Era insert that I'm not familiar with, but this card fits that description.  I'm not going to say I've never seen it before, but I don't remember if I have.  According to Beckett, they were inserted into 100 card blister packs that contained both Series 1 & 2 1990 Score football cards.

It's from 1990, so I'm sure there are millions of these floating around... but that doesn't take anything away from the beauty of this card.  The rising (or setting) sun behind a well-cropped Bo with black borders combines well to form a hot looking card.

#3:  A Sportscaster Signature  $5

2004 Absolute Memorabilia Fans of the Game Gold Autograph #237

Have you ever seen a sportscaster running the 40 yard dash in a business suit?  If so, it was probably Rich Eisen.

My friend Tom specializes more in non-sports cards, but he has a couple of boxes of sports cards.  While killing time at the show, I decided to dig through his stuff and I found this card with an $11 price tag.  He said I could have it for five bucks.  Sticker-graph or not... I can't pass up this card for that price.

Overall... I was pretty happy with my show purchases.  The third dealer had some dollar boxes, but I didn't find anything I could use.  I didn't go through his boxes until the last hour of the show, so chances are they were already picked through a few times.

Most of the show was spent collecting money from customers interested in purchasing a photo op or autograph from Giancarlo Esposito, who is famous for his roles in Do The Right Thing, Breaking Bad, and The Mandalorian.

Fans were getting him to sign everything from action figures to Darksabers to plastic money barrels.  But the most creative item I saw was a guy who had him sign a Jordan 4.  The gentleman was inspired by this famous scene in Do The Right Thing:

I truly wish I had thought of that.  Oh well.  I didn't walk away empty-handed.  As a thank you for helping out, my buddy Mike hooked me up with this signed Funko Pop:

I also asked him if he could get me a 16 x 20 photo signed by Esposito and David Acord:

Acord is a sound editor at Skywalker Sound and is the voice of Grogu.  He was also signing at the show, along with one other autograph guest. who is popular among Seinfeld fans...

If you don't recognize who this is... you're probably under the age of thirty.  If that's the case, do yourself a favor and watch this:

Thanks Mike for hooking me up with these very cool pop-culture autographs.  I also appreciate you hooking me up with the free table at the card show.

As for the rest of you, here are today's questions of the day...

What's your favorite Junk Wax Era card design?

Do you have a favorite sportscaster?

Do you have a favorite Spike Lee movie?

Are you a fan of Seinfeld?  Favorite character?

1.  I'll probably dedicate a post to answer the Junk Wax Era question.  For now... I'll just go with the 1987 Topps baseball design.

2.  My favorite sportscasters are Jon Miller and Tom Tolbert.  Miller has a calm demeanor and knows his baseball trivia... while Tolbert sounds like a guy you'd want to hang out and barbecue with.

3.  Do The Right Thing is hands down my favorite Spike Lee film.

4.  Yup.  Right up there with Curb Your Enthusiasm, Eastbound & Down, Freaks and Geeks, and The Office.  Favorite character?  George Costanza.

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!