I Manned Up...

And finally got me some ink.  Check out my first tattoo...

1971 Topps Tattoos #74

It was a brutal process... since the seller took a little longer than expected to ship.  To make matters worse, he sent it in a PWE (although I can't complain too much... only paid 42¢ for shipping).  As soon as I recover, I'll start chasing down the other five Oakland Athletics tattoos from the set:  Sal Bando, Reggie Jackson, A's logo, Bert Campaneris, and Rick Monday.  And maybe... just maybe, I'll grab some Padres ink too.

Switching gears...

I was bummed that I didn't get a chance to watch today's playoff game between the Tigers and A's.  What's up with the 10:07am start time?  Not cool MLB... not cool.  And since my district blocks students and teachers from watching most online videos... I couldn't check out the highlights until I finally made it home this evening.

Glad the Athletics were able grab one in Detroit and even things out.  It was also cool to finally give the rest of the nation a taste of Balfour Rage.  I'm sure Tigers fans aren't amused... but anyone who has watched this guy pitch knows that he loves to yell obscenities to himself.  Hopefully things work out for the A's and Balfour makes another appearance in the series.

Happy Monday and sayonara!

It's Always Sonny In Oaktown!

Wow.  Talk about a pitcher's duel.  Justin Verlander and Sonny Gray were awesome last night.  It was October baseball at its finest.  And thankfully Steven Vogt and the A's were able to even things up and walk off with the win, because it would have been a difficult and daunting task to go into Detroit and take both games.

However I'm confident they'll be able to grab at least one game there and return home for a Game 5.

Who do you think ends up walking away with this series?

By the way... I actually own the Gray pictured above.  However it's still sitting in the COMC warehouse, because it's not worth it to have them ship only thirteen cards.  But yaving them store my cards sort of reminds me of eTopps.  My COMC inventory is like a library of virtual cardboard.  I can see the cards... just can't touch them.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!

Two Tickets To Paradise

Okay... maybe not.  But it would have been paradise had the A's pulled out another walk off win against the Tigers tonight.  Instead... they find themselves down a game in the series.

But there wasn't a single moment in Game 1 that I stopped believing in the Athletics.  And I'll continue believing in them until Detroit or someone else knocks them out of the playoffs.

Go A's!

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Flea Market Finds #46: A Precious Pistol

I don't know if I've been spoiled or not... but it seems like if I go a few weeks without finding something decent at the flea market... it feels like a draught.

Well thankfully... the latest draught has ended.  And it ended in a big way.  But before I get into it... let's take care of the formalities.

When:  Sunday, September 29th
Where:  Capitol Flea Market
What:  One Very Special Card, More Cards, Some Programs, Two Books, and a Pair of Models
How Much?:  $58

Purchase #1:  1970-71 Topps #123 Pete Maravich RC $15

I've pretty much stopped collecting basketball cards.  But when I saw this... I had to find out  what the guy wanted for the iconic card.  When he said $15... I stood there for at least a minute or two to make sure this wasn't a reprint.

This card is easily one of my finest flea market finds.  And if that wasn't enough... my buddy picked up a $200 on-card Bobby Orr autograph for $10.

The guy had a ton of sports memorabilia and people were going through it left and right... so as soon as I found something, I bought it and continued to shop.  It was like Walmart on Black Friday.

Here are a few more purchases from the same guy:

Purchase #2:  Hockey Cards $7

As I dug through a bin with sports cards, I came across a 50ct plastic box that contained some hockey autographs and inserts.

But the main card I wanted in the lot was this expired redemption card of Butch Goring.


Purchase #3:  1988 & 1989 World Series Programs $5

This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the 1988 World Series.  It's a painful memory for this particular A's fan, but that wasn't going to stop me from grabbing the program.  Plus... it came with a 1989 World Series Program which eased the pain a little.


Purchase #4:  93/94 Autographed Sharks Program $10

It's doesn't have a COA.  It wasn't signed in front of me.  But seriously... who's going to take the time to forge a Wade Flaherty autograph?  Anyways... the Arturs Irbe and Sandis Ozolinsh look good, so I grabbed it.

Okay... believe it or not... my buddy and I actually checked out the rest of the flea market and found some other goodies.


Purchase #5:  San Francisco Giants Books $5

I have no intention of reading these... but I figure I'll give them away to one of my friends or flip them the next time I set up at De Anza.


Purchase #6:  v-Asurada AKF-0 Model Kits $16

I have no idea what these are, but they sell on Amazon and eBay for a lot more than what I paid.  This is a classic example of someone buying something with the sole intention of making a profit.

How often do you buy cards (or other collectibles) with the sole intention of making money?

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!

One Contest Ends & Another Begins!

It's time to announce the winner of September's contest... and of course kick off the October contest.

Let's start by choosing September's post of the month:

On September 13th, I showed off my first and only Yasiel Puig card and two people left comments:  Ana Lu and The Lost Collector.  Each of them received four extra entries into the contest randomization.

The extra entries paid off, because I'm please to announce The Lost Collector as our September's contest winner.  He receives a collection of 80's oddball wax packs.

Okay... now onto this month's prize:

Here's a 15 card lot of inserts featuring Tony Gwynn, Greg Maddux, Frank Thomas, Cal Ripken Jr., and Ichiro Suzuki.  On Sunday, I picked up a bunch of cards for my 90's insert binder and Tony Gwynn collection and ended up with a few doubles.  They might not be 1993 Finest Refractors, but they're still pretty cool.

As usual, there are three ways to enter.

#1 - Leave a comment below for one entry.
#2 - Plug this contest on your blog for two extra entries.
#3 - Leave comments on my posts throughout the month of October.

On November 1st, I'll enter everyone's names from this post into the list randomizer at www.random.org.

If you plug this contest on your blog, I'll add your name two additional times.

And as a final bonus, I will randomly select one of my posts from the month of October using the same website.  Anyone who leaves a comment on that particular post will have their name added four additional times.

Today's question of the day:

In 10 words or less, describe your thoughts on inserts from the 90's.

I look forward to reading your responses.  Congratulations to The Lost Collector and sayonara!