A Healthy Distraction

 I've been a fan of the Oakland A's and Seattle Seahawks for over forty years and have been fortunate to see both franchises win titles during that time.  Sadly... it's not likely either will make the playoffs anytime soon.

That's the beauty of collecting cards.  They can be a healthy distraction when you need it the most.  For my beloved A's, Rickey Henderson is my go-to guy.  The Oakland A's could lose 100 games every year and move to Las Vegas and I will still collect his cards.

I recently added this online exclusive Rickey to my collection:

2020 Topps Throwback Thursday #233

This card is based on the 1954 Topps World on Wheels design.  I'm not a big fan of Topps and their online exclusive cards, but I've gotta admit that I love this card.

It arrived a few weeks ago in a giant box sent to me by Reader X.  He sent a ton of cards that I'll share on the blog here and there.  There's enough stuff to provide content for at least six to eight posts.  It's just a matter of getting creative with my writing.

The other Rickey he sent was this manufactured relic...

2021 Topps 70th Anniversary Logo Patch #T70P-RH

Manufactured relics are hit or miss... and this particular "patch" card falls into the latter.  On the bright side, these sets give collectors new cards to chase.  And when you root for a team that routinely dumps their top talent for prospects, you cherish all the legends you can get your hands on.

With the recent trade of Russell Wilson... I've had to accept the fact that the Seahawks will also be in "rebuild" mode this year.  This isn't an easy pill to swallow since I live among Niner Nation.  The good news is I've been distracted by my newfound obsession with becoming the #1 Steve Largent collector on TCDB.

Last month, I added my collection to the site and with the help of Corky over at Pack War... was able to reach the #3 spot.  My latest eBay purchase added fourteen new cards to the collection with one click of a button:

1988 Topps Stickers

This fourteen card lot of 1988 Topps Stickers set me back $8 (+ $4.70 shipping and taxes).  With that many Largents, this set must be a nightmare for anyone attempting to build the master set.

Anyways... focusing on the positive...I'm now only ten cards away from becoming the #1 Largent collector on the site...

I have some COMC credit, so I'll try to find some cheap singles and chip away at Ground Chuck's lead.  Unfortunately... I just received a COMC shipment... which means I probably won't request another shipment anytime soon.

On the other hand, if the Oakland A's are truly on pace for a 100 loss season, I might need to lean on Largent as a distraction.

Thank you Xavier for the new Rickeys!

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Once in a Lifetime

2002 Upper Deck World Series Heroes Memorabilia #WSJ-DL

When Don Larsen won Game 5 in the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers, he became the first and only MLB player to pitch a perfect game during the postseason.  Although anything is possible, it's not something that will happen again during my lifetime.

Today something will happen... that will not likely happen again during my lifetime.

Growing up, the UNC Tar Heels were my favorite college basketball team.  I wish there was a good story behind my fanfare, but it mainly came down to Michael Jordan, James Worthy, and the fact that they were really good.

That's why I've never been a fan of Duke and their insanely successful basketball program.  In fact... they're right up there with the New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys in regards to sports teams I dislike.

1991-92 Hopps #588

But for the first time... and likely the only time... I'll be rooting for Duke today when they face off against UNC, because it's Mike Krzyzewski's final home game in front of the Cameron Crazies.

Coach K is one of those sports legends that fans respect... even if they don't like his team.

2018 Topps Archives Snapshots Autographs #AS-JTO

To put it in perspective... he's like Joe Torre.  I can't stand the Yankees, but respected him.  The difference is... I have never rooted for the New York Yankees when they played against the Oakland A's or San Diego Padres and can guarantee that I never will.

Today's question of the day...

Have you ever rooted against your favorite team?

I'm gonna assume it doesn't happen very often... possibly only once in a lifetime... but I bet if you have, there's a good story behind it.

Go Blue Devils!  Happy Saturday and sayonara!

An Unsolved Mystery

Sports cards come in all shapes and sizes.  This often creates storage issues which can sometimes frustrate collectors.  I am not one of those collectors.  I'm all about adding new and different cards to my collection... and it's even more exciting if it's a mysterious card.

Bob over at The Best Bubble recently sent me another PWE with two new additions to my Tony Gwynn collection.  Both cards are about the size of a postcard (3.5" x 5") which means they are larger than your standard trading card.

#1:  1998 Upper Deck Jumbo #500

Beckett and Baseballcardpedia have a set on their sites that measures each card as being 5" x 7" jumbos... that was inserted into specially marked retail Series 2 blasters.

My 2008 SCD Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards pretty much says the same thing, but states that the Jumbos lack the metallic foil on the front and the hologram on the back.

The thing is... the card Bob sent me is not 5x7 and the foil appears on the front and the UD hologram is on the back.  

Other than the size, the cards appear to be identical.  Here's the regular sized version for comparison:

1998 Upper Deck #500

Anyone have any information on this postcard sized Gwynn?

The other Gwynn he sent me is a little less mysterious...

#2:  1999 UD Choice All-Star Game Jumbos #17

Beckett and Baseballcardpedia weren't very helpful.  But the 2008 SCD Catalog cleared everything up for me:

This card was issued with twenty other cards in a special box set sold at retail outlets.

There are two big differences between this jumbo and the standard size version.

#1:  The cards are numbered differently.

#2:  There's a 1999 All-Star Game logo in the upper righthand corner of the jumbo.

Here's what the regular base card looks like:

1999 UD Choice #137

And here are all four cards side by side for size reference:

Thank you Bob for these two new additions to the Tony Gwynn PC.  I always enjoy a good cardboard mystery.

It ended up being a fantastic week in regards to that collection, because a few days later I attended the Branham High School Flea Market and found these two Gwynns in the 6 for $1 boxes:

1990 Donruss Best of the National League #11

In 1990... Donruss released two 144 card boxed sets that highlighted the best players in baseball.  One set was dedicated to National League players, the other for the American League.  Both sets featured the same front card design as the flagship set, but swapped the red border for blue.  The card backs look different, but unfortunately... I forgot to scan my copy.

1998 Pacific Aurora Pennant Fever #1

I'm not a fan of products that contain inserts in every pack of cards.  Fleer did it with some of their mid 90's products.  Pacific did it too.  Collectors who opened up 1998 Aurora would find one of these inserts in every pack.  That's why I'm kind of surprised it too me twenty-four years to add this card to my collection.

Anyways... I'm not going to complain.  I was able to add four new Gwynns within a span of a few days... so it's something to celebrate.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Update

Mystery solved.  Jim (cards as i see them) has a Ken Griffey Jr. from this set that he received from Upper Deck after sending in wrappers, so these are indeed wrapper redemptions.  Thanks Jim!

Haste Makes Waste

My entire life... I've been one of those people who tend to rush through things.  When I was little... my parents told me to slow down on a regular basis.  Slow down and chew your food.  Slow down and wash the car carefully, otherwise you'll need to do it again.  Slow down on the slopes or you'll hurt yourself.

Well... I'm sure my mom got a nice chuckle looking down on me over the weekend.

That's when I was searching for a creative way to honor her birthday which happens to be today.  I looked to see if there were any cool sports events that took place on March 1st, but nothing really stood out.  I headed over to Baseball Reference and used their "born on this day" feature to see who shared my mom's birthday.  After a few clicks of the mouse, I discovered that Paul Blair was born on March 1st.  There were a few other notable names on the list like Sean Manea and Kent Mercker, but Blair was the most intriguing.

I knew I had at least one autographed card of his, so I started digging through my boxes of autographs.  Here's what I found:

2013 Topps Archives Fan Favorites #FFA-PB

I briefly skimmed the card back and noticed he once scored 51 points in a basketball game and that he hit three home runs on 4-29-70, but didn't bother to look at when he was born.  I mean, why would I?  He shares the same birthday as my mom, right?

1999 Fleer SI Greats of the Game Autographs #NNO

Nothing too noteworthy on the back of this card other than Fleer pointing out the fact that "this item was signed under the supervision of Fleer/Skybox and has been embossed with the Fleer Mark of Authenticity".

I thought I had one more autograph of his that was sitting in a box that houses a bunch of unsorted cards.  That box was buried under a few other boxes, but I eventually dug it out and discovered I was wrong:

2000 UD Yankee Legends Legendary Lumber #PB-LL

This card isn't signed by Blair.  It does however contain a piece (according to Upper Deck) of a bat that Blair used "in an official MLB game".  Outside of that... the only other thing that really caught my eye (and brief attention) was the other Yankee who photo bombed Blair's card.  Could that be Sweet Lou?  Don't have the attention span to care... I've gotta start flipping through my box and binders of vintage to see if I have any other cards of Blair...

1976 Topps #473

Topps didn't have a lot of room to post highlights from Blair's career, but I did notice that he hit two inside-the-park home runs in 1973.  Speaking of 1973...

1973 Topps #528

This is the only other Paul Blair card I found.  I know I have a few more (1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, and 1980) of his cards sitting in my Topps sets, but it wasn't worth spending the extra time digging around trying to locate each one.

You might be wondering, why not?  It's your mom.  But after looking a little bit more carefully at the back of his 1973 card, it quickly hit me.  Paul Blair was born on 2/1/44.  February 1st.  Not March 1st.  Ugh.

I should have listened to my parents... and slowed down.  Anyways... there was no way I was going to let a few hours of digging through boxes and scanning cards on my precious Saturday go to waste.

Happy belated birthday to anyone out there who shares a birthday with Paul Blair!

1995 Upper Deck #200

By the way... I did discover two notables who actually share a birthday with my mom:  Wander Franco and Harry Caray.  Sorry... I don't have Wander's 2022 Topps rookie card yet and I'm not going to rush out and buy one when it's on everyone's hot list.  Mama Fuji would understand.  This time I'm going to be patient... and slow down.

Happy birthday Mom!  I love you and miss you.

Everyone else... happy Tuesday and sayonara!