A Pair of Firsts

In celebration of today being the first day of spring... here are a pair of cardboard firsts.

Let's start with this on-card autograph of Masanori Murakami:

2023 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Auto #08FF-MM

Back on September 1st, 1964... Murakami became the first Japanese baseball player to play in the MLB.  In his first eight appearances as a relief pitcher, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out thirteen, walking one, and only giving up four hits in 11 innings pitched.  That's a pretty impressive start to his MLB career.

According to this article on History.com, Murakami went home during the offseason to have his tonsils removed and signed a $40k contract with the Nankai Hawks for the 1965 season.  This created legal problems between them and the San Francisco Giants.

He would return to the play for the Giants in 1965, but went back to Japan after the season was over.  Although his MLB tenure was relatively short, his legacy is forever cemented in baseball history.

The other cardboard first is this framed parallel of Kevin Dyson and The Music City Miracle:

2008 UD Masterpieces Silver Framed #54 (#'d 01/87)

UD Masterpieces is one of my favorite products from the aughts... and a big reason are the framed parallels.

The silver framed parallels are serial numbered to the player's jersey number.  Since Dyson wore #87... this card is numbered out of 87.  It's hard to see, but on the back this card is #'d 01/87.  That means it's the first card in the run, so it's headed into my Prime Number PC.  I know that the number one is neither prime nor a composite.  I just use the word "prime" to represent the word "key".

I also collect cards with serial numbers that depict player's jersey numbers as well as the final card in the serial number run like these two:

2008 UD Masterpieces Blue Framed #49 (#'d 150/150)

2008 UD Masterpieces Red Framed #19 (#'d 199/199)

All three of these framed parallels were pulled from a 16 box case I purchased from Dave & Adams back in 2011 for $625.  I discovered them a few weeks ago when I was reorganizing my office closet.  They were sitting in a box with a bunch of other singles from that case break.

As for the Murakami... I picked that up off of eBay back in January for $32 (free shipping + $3 tax).  It's a card that I've been looking to add to my collection since I discovered it was on the checklist.

By the way... I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Murakami during his book signing tour back in 2015.  If you're interested in seeing photos and signatures I purchased that day, click here.

Well that's all I have for now.  Happy first day of spring and sayonara!

Starting Another Run

A little over a decade ago... I decided to put together a complete run of Steve Carlton's Topps flagship base (and traded) cards.  Next up was Thurman Munson.  In 2022, I completed the Steve Largent run.  A month later, the Tony Gwynn run was finished too.

After putting it off for far too many years... last month I decided to start another run.  This time, the subject is The Man of Steal.  Before Gwynn, Rickey was my favorite baseball player.  In fact... had he not been traded to the New York Yankees back in December of 1984... there's a chance he still would be.

Ultimately, he'd return to the A's in 1989 and help them beat the San Francisco Giants in the World Series.  Unfortunately by then... there was no way he unseat Mr. Padre.  But he'd settle comfortably into the #2 spot which is where he has remained ever since.

Over forty years after becoming a fan... I'm now making a point of completing his run.  Considering all of the teams he's played for over his twenty-five season career... I've quickly discovered this is going to be a lot tougher than anticipated.

Let's start off with what I have...

1982 Topps #610

As of right now, his 1982 card is the oldest in the run.  This is a chance to explain one of the guidelines I've created for myself... which is that the cards in these base card runs are not part of a set or set build.  Rickey's 1980 Topps rookie card is the perfect example.  I own a complete set of 1980 Topps, but I'm not willing to pull it out for this project.  The same thing applies to a few other cards in this project: his 1981, 1983, 1985, and 1995 cards.

1984 Topps #230

1985 Topps #115

1987 Topps #735

1988 Topps #60

1989 Topps #380

1989 Topps Traded #48T

1990 Topps #450

1991 Topps #670

1992 Topps #560

1993 Topps #750

1994 Topps #248

1997 Topps #96

Over the span of Rickey's career... Topps produced a staggering twenty-nine flagship regular (non-subset) base and traded cards.  As of today, I currently have thirteen in possession, plus three sitting in a box over at Sportlots, and hopefully four more are on their way to my Sportlots box.

Assuming these seven eventually arrive safe and sound, I'll be down to nine cards.  Here's a look at the ones I need:

The four cards highlighted in red were purchased over three weeks ago and haven't arrived... so I'm starting to think I'll need to purchase them again.

His rookie card will set me back a little, but I'm not too worried about that card.  Living in the Bay Area, I'm hoping to find an affordable, lower grade, raw copy for a reasonable price.  Not sure what the deal is with his 2002 and 2003 Topps Traded cards.  If I'm lucky, I'll have to pay $15 for the 2003 card.  Outside of his rookie card, that's about the most I want to pay for a card in this project.

Sadly... that puts me in kind of a bind, because his 2002 traded card currently sells in the $50 to $80 range.  NO WAY WILL I PAY THAT KIND OF MONEY.  Anyone know what the deal is with that card?  Anyways... maybe the Hobby Gods will help me out and I'll find it lingering in a dime box or quarter bin.

If not... this might be one of those projects that take years... possibly decades to finish.  That's kind of a bummer, but let's wrap things up on a happier note.

Back in December, Gavin showed off this gorgeous custom of Rickey's rookie card on his blog:

Hold on.  My scanner does not do this card justice.  Here's a photo of the custom:

Is this card awesome or what?  It actually looks way better in person.  And it's absolutely perfect for a St. Patrick's Day post.

Anyways... when he first showed it off... I asked him he was planning on selling it.  He didn't reply to my comment... but eventually this card showed up in my mailbox with a note thanking me for supporting his 1991 MusiCards Blog.

He signed the back... and noted that this is a one-of-a-kind custom... and his 1st Green Super.  Can't wait to see what other Green Supers he produces.

He also used the scraps from this custom and a Canseco reject to produce this one-of-a-kind card:

The Green Super was put into a magnetic and will eventually be added to my A's shelf in the office, while this Gold Super will be added to my Sports Card Smorgasbord binder which contains all of the other customs I've received from him and others over the years.

Thank you Gavin for these welcomed additions to my Rickey collection.

Happy St. Patrick's Day and sayonara!

Cleaning Some Clutter

My classroom is cluttered with cards right now.  The eighth graders are wrapping up the civil rights trading card projects... while the seventh graders are designing trading cards of themselves, the teammates, and for me.

Part of the 7th grade assignment is to interview me.  This gives them an opportunity to learn about me while helping them fill the card back with biographical information and other facts.  Almost every group add strengths and weaknesses... along with an assortment of "favorites" to their list of questions.

I'm not exactly someone who is particularly strong or good at anything interesting to kids... so I have been giving them very vanilla responses like "sorting", "organizing", and "cleaning".

Coincidentally... that's how I spent my Saturday morning.

The goal was to clear my desk, scan some cards, and knock out a blog post.  Let's see if I achieved it.

First up are two stacks of cards... which contain stuff from flea market and card show purchases as well as stuff from bloggers.  In an effort to keep this post short and simple, I'll only be showing off a handful of those cards... all of which are either customs or legendary Japanese baseball players.

Let's start off with this custom card of Shohei Ohtani:

Last year... Nick over at n j w v created a series of home run celebration hat cards utilizing the 1981 Topps baseball card design.  I'm not surprised that Ohtani's kabuto made the checklist.

In addition to Ohtani, he sent a pair of Padres customs.  I'm going to save them for the Cinco de Mayo post.  Thank you Nick!  Great job on these customs.  Very impressive.

Next up is a custom of the legendary Sadaharu Oh created by Gregory over at Nine Pockets...

I'm not the first blog to show off this beauty and I'm sure I won't be the last.  I purchased a few copies from his eBay store last year and was hoping to share it when I unveiled my copy of Oh's 1975 Menko Rocket Robot card.

Unfortunately... I still don't own that Rocket Robot card yet... so I decided to pair it with Nick's Ohtani instead.

The card is printed on clear plastic and doesn't contain any printing on the back:

This allows you turn Oh into a switch hitter... or scan his card with different colored backgrounds:

If you're interested in picking up a copy for your own collection, click here.  It's perfect for any Oh PC.

Last, but not least are some singles for my Japanese PC from Bob over at The Best Bubble.

Here are the three new additions to the Ichiro binder: 

2002 Topps Pristine #10

I took a break from collecting right around the time Ichiro stormed the hobby... so I never got a chance to experience Topps Pristine and its unique three packs within a pack concept.  It was cool to see Topps bring this product back.  Unfortunately... with triple digit price tags... it looks like I won't be experiencing the thrill of tearing into Pristine anytime soon.

2002 Upper Deck #123

Ichiro looks like he just took a shot to the groin... but the photo is well-cropped and all body parts are intact, so no complaints here.

2022 Stadium Club Box Topper #184

This might look like your standard sized base card... but it's actually an oversized box topper.  Some collectors might frown upon these, but I embrace them.

The next two cards are a pair of die-cut Nomo's from the 90's that look way cooler in person...

1997 Pacific Crown Collection Fireworks Diecuts #FW-16

This card combines jagged edges and colorful foil (similar to 90's Fleer Metal) to produce a really attractive card.  Plus this was produced in the 90's... which means they were reasonably tough pulls (1:72 packs).

1996 Select Claim to Fame #10

Here's another cool die-cut insert from the 90's.  It references Nomo's stellar rookie season and the fact that he was the starting pitcher in the MLB All-Star Game.  But personally... I feel like his claim to fame is the fact that he paved the way for other NPB players like Ichiro and Ohtani to cross the Pacific Ocean and play in the MLB.

The final card for today is this memorabilia card of Nomo's teammate that was also part of Bob's care package:

2005 Donruss Champions Impressions Materials #141

Kaz Ishii was a starting pitcher for the Dodgers from 2002 to 2004.

Thank you Bob, Nick, and Gregory for these generations additions to my Japanese player collections!

And thank you to those of you who stuck around to find out whether or not I accomplished my Saturday goal.  I didn't.  There are still about 20 cards I need to scan that are sitting on my desk... and I wasn't able to finish writing this post until this morning (Sunday).  That being said... I made a step in the right direction and cleaned up some clutter.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!