Top 5 Most Wanted:70s Edition

I have neglected the top portion of my blog where I should be posting my most wanted lists.  But, I decided to do something a little different.  I am going to have specific themes to my most wanted list.  The themes may be broad or they may be hard to find cards.  A junk wax edition of my most wanted list may even appear.  The possibilities are endless!

I have slowly been building up my 70s Topps Dodger team sets.  Many great bloggers out there have helped give my 70s binder a boast.  I still need a lot of the big time Dodger cards from that era.

I am looking to the blog world for help.  Some of you may have stacks of Topps cards from the 70s that are collecting dust and just waiting to be sent my way.

#1-  1971 Topps Steve Garvey RC

I would accept this card in any condition.  Since, there are a lot of Dodger bloggers out there, I hope one of you guys have an extra one of these Garvey cards.

This card is a classic to me.  It is a must have card of one of the Dodger greats in the 70s.

#2-  1970 Topps Maury Wills

The second card that I seek is a 1970 Topps Maury Wills.  Wills was the 1962 NL MVP.  Wills was a speedster that set the table for the Dodger teams of the 60s.

This card will look sweet next to my 1970 Topps Wes Parker and Willie Crawford.

#3-  1972 Topps Hoyt Wilhelm

This is a high numbered Hoyt Wilhelm card.  It is numbered at 777.  Wilhelm is also in the hall of fame.  I am prepared to come strong with an offer for one of these in solid condition.  The 1972 Dodger team set is the one that I would like to complete first.

This is also the set that I nicknamed the "Stoner Set."  The color patterns just remind me of smoking joints in the back of a van and listening to Led Zeppelin.  I wasn't even born yet but, I imagine that was a good time.

I also like the background of the seats at Dodgertown.  I probably sat in those seats right behind Wilhelm.

#4-  1972 Topps Bobby Valentine

I had to go with another 1972 Topps card.  This set rocks and has a great color scheme.

As you may have heard, Valentine is now the manager of the Boston Red Sox.  This is great for him. He gets back into managing.

That is what popped into my mind when I saw his name on my want list print out.

#5-  1976 Topps Bill Buckner

I am really digging this set right now.  Also, with Bill Buckner you get a great mustache and him posing in a mostly vacant stadium. This card is so 70s.

I hope that this will become a regular feature at the Platter.  I will start the next list after this one is complete. Some of these cards will be more difficult to obtain than others.

I will post the list up top under Spiegel's Most Wanted.

We Share the Same Obsession

Jeff of My Sports Obsession and I share a passion for trading.  I try to get trades together every week.  The weekly trip to the post office is part of my routine.  I am sure that Jeff has a similar routine.  Some trades don't come together after some emails are exchanged.  Some trades are quite simple.

Spiegel:  "White Sox for Dodgers?"

Jeff:  "Deal"

It is that simple when we get a trade going.

I love the blog world.  Where else would I come in contact with a White Sox fan?

This Conlon card of Zach Wheat was apart of a group of Conlon cards that were sent to me.  Jeff had a post featuring some cards from this set and I had to snatch up the Brooklyn players.

Zach Wheat is a Dodger legend.  He holds team records such as hits and doubles.  In 1923 and 1924 Wheat hit .375.  That is beast! Back to back years of such a high average.  If this dude played on the Dodgers right now, I would be wearing his jersey in the Left Field Pavilion at Dodger Stadium.

These are two very odd photo choices in the 1978 Topps set.  The card shows Dusty Baker and Tommy John just gazing into the stands.  How about a cool action shot of Baker running the bases? What about a picture of Tommy John at the plate?

Even a typical 70s photo of dude holding a bat during spring training trying to look serious would have been better.

I also hope that in both instances the players were scoping out some hot chicks.  Judging by the smile on Dust Baker's face, I am sure he has found a lovely honey.  Tommy John's face says he has found the looks of mediocrity.

   Jeff sent me this card which is in really nice shape.  This card along with some other 70s Topps Dodgers that were included in the bubble mailer, inches me a little closer to completing a team set.

I need to start pointing out cool sideburns more often.  I, myself, have cool sideburns.  So, I should compliment others that are in the same club.

The sideburns gave you the power to pitch in 106 games in one season, Mike Marshall.

Thanks for the trade!

The Platter Roots for the Hobbs' Knights

You may have noticed that I have been posting a lot more than usual.  The reason being is that I bought a new laptop a few days ago.  Now I can post at anytime of the day. The faithful readers of the Platter get more content to read on a daily basis.

Well, I at least hope to keep up at a rate of a post a day.

The people that are late night readers get a treat tonight from the Platter.  It is a midnight post.  There is someone out there in the blog world right now that is just surfing the net looking for baseball card content.  That is what I am gonna deliver for that dude.

That dude is getting a trade post to read!

Jason of Hobbs' Knights and I made a Orioles for Dodgers swap.  I'll start by showing 2011 Cy Young award winner, Clayton Kershaw.  Kershaw is so good that he makes me want to work more so, I have more cash to buy more of his cards.  Clayton Kershaw will makes me work harder and wins ballgames for Los Doyers.

The 2011 Allen and Ginter Kershaw is one of the best of the set.  The tossing of the ball up in the air while looking ahead is smooth.  Kershaw is a Jedi.

I also don't think that I have seen all that 2011 Gypsy Queen has to offer.  I think this may be my first Gypsy Queen mini with a red Gypsy Queen back.  I wish I had opened more of this product while it was still available.

Napkin Doon is going after the Gypsy Queen master set.  He recently posted some cards that he got in a trade from this set.  Some of those cards looked totally new to me.  Even though these cards were released months ago.

Jason hopped on board the bandwagon and sent me some 70s Topps Dodgers.  Jason as well as some of my other trade partners have been sending me Dodger cards from the 70s recently.  You guys are helping me chip away at the team sets.

Elias Sosa with some nice mutton chops.

The more I see 1976 Topps cards the more I dig the design.  The bottom logo and color scheme is eye catching.  It makes the card really recognizable.  1976 Topps doesn't have any clones or copycat sets that get me confused.

This is a 1997 Topps Finest Ramon Martinez card.  Nothing says the 90s like the plastic, protective coating over a luxury card.  This set was top notch back in the day.  The Finest set is still slick with a flashy design.

Should I peel this coating off?

I have gotten a lot of 90s cards with the protective coating on them over the years.  I am pretty sure that I have never peeled it off.  I don't want to damage the card.  Cards should look the same as they did fresh from the pack.  Even when I pull a 2011 Lineage '75 Mini relic from a blaster, I still keep the card in the sealed, plastic bag.

I still am tempted to peel this plastic off.....

I got some more Topps Stickers!  I hope to get doubles of the players I collect so, I can stick them somewhere.  I would like to stick some of them on my card binders or a wall of a dive bar.  Either place will do.

Thanks for the cards and stickers, Jason!

Another Bar Trade

Last Sunday the Oakland Raiders took on the Minnesota Vikings.  I went down to my bar hangout that I go to watch Raider games.  I was meeting some friends there to drink beers and root on the Raiders.  One of my friends owed me an auto for an Al Oliver auto that I traded him.  He has a killer Dodger collection so, I knew that he had something good to give me.

He gave me this sweet Pedro Guerrero auto!  I didn't have a Guerrero auto yet and I also haven't seen to many of his autos.  Guerrero seemed to have trouble fitting his whole signature on the sticker.  He just combined Pedro and Guerrero into a one word pile of blue ink.

This may have been my third post on a trade in a bar.  The bar trade posts may be the Platter's signature dish.

Have any of you readers traded in a bar since reading my posts?

I highly recommend doing it on a football Sunday.  You get beer, football, and cards all in the same place.

I also got to see the Raiders beat the Vikings.  First place AFC West!

Helping My PC At the Rose Bowl Swap Meet

About a couple weeks ago, I headed over to the Rose Bowl Swap Meet.  My sister had a booth there and I wanted to go to check out some sports memorabilia.  The swap meet always has some random sports items for sale as well as some baseball cards.

There wasn't many people there that day.  The crowd was abnormally slim especially with the December holidays right around the corner.  That was bad for my sister and the other vendors.  But, it was good for the consumer with less competition when negotiating on the price.

     One vendor had a really good mix of sports cards.  She had some autos, game used, vintage and even oddball.  I searched through her 5000 count boxes seeing if I could find some cardboard sweetness.

I was needing a 1975 Topps Bill Russell for my Dodgers team set.  I recently printed out the checklist for all the 70s Topps Dodger cards.  Just seeing the whole list made me realize what a tough task collecting all of them will be.  I am going to try and stockpile Dodger cards from this era whenever I get the chance.

The next card that I picked up was a 1979 Topps Davey Lopes.  Topps must of had a habit of using player photos on there cards with trees in the background.  Shots like these show that Topps must be using the same photography techniques as the guys who photograph Little League teams.

I was also able to snag a 1964 Topps Phil Ortega. I have so little 60s Dodger cards that when I see a cheap one I buy it knowing that I probably need it.  This card is in decent condition and was really cheap.  That works for me.

This is a really kick ass vintage card featuring four hall of famers.  I also would like to say that I would not have bought this card if Juan Marichal was the top photo.  Tom Seaver stands out the most with the big boy photo that I don't recognize Marichal as much.

Besides building 70s Topps Dodger team sets, another newer PC for me is vintage cards of dudes in the hall of fame.  This card fits nicely.  If you dig around for cards enough, your able to find some cool vintage cards featuring legends at a good price.

I love finding random TCMA cards featuring Dodgers.  I also never seem to be able to find more than one Dodger per any box that I am searching through.  I always seem to find just one Dodger TCMA and never a whole stack of them to purchase.  The cardboard gods are a tease sometimes.

One more thing on this Pee Wee Reese, the back of this card refers tom him as the "Little Colonel."  Did you guys know he went by that nickname?

Here is a nice 1991 ABQ Dukes Eric Karros card.  Karros is wearing a cheap looking hat.  It looks below even beer league standards.  Luckily, Karros made it to the bigs and got to wear a Dodger cap.

Someday I am going to count and catalog all my Eric Karros cards.  He played in the 90s and was on millions of baseball cards.  Karros may be in the top five for me as far as most cards owned by a single player.

I Met Tony Gwynn Senior!!!

It was a long trip but, I made it back to safety with a Tony Gwynn autograph.  I woke up really early last Saturday at 2am in order to meet up with some friends to head down to El Cajon,CA.  It was a really long drive.  The drive was a little over two hours and we got there around 5am after leaving the valley around 3am.  When we arrived, we were about 5th in line.  I thought that was pretty good.

As you can see, Tony Gwynn has a really nice signature.  I was going to go with a Goudey card but, my buddy Dodgerbobble was kind enough to trade me this 1990 Bowman while we waited in line.  I like this set and I also dig Gwynn's flip-up shades.  Those are glasses that are only for ballplayers.  That is a really limited market when you think about it.

I have been to a lot of Dodger signings and I know the crowds are usually pretty good.  This crowd was fairly small for a hall of fame Padre, who is signing for free in San Diego.  I expected a mob scene.  Then, soon enough I realized that Padre fans are kind of half-assed.  There also wasn't many people in Padre gear.  I did recognize a fair amount of people that I normally see at Dodger signings.

I kind of look homeless in this photo.  I look like I was just hanging out in the car dealership for warmth and the autograph was just a bonus.  I also don't know why I appear to be angry.  I am getting an auto from someone in the 3,000 hit club and just ate a good bagel a couple hours prior to this photo being taken.  My face doesn't match my mood.

I would like to thank the El Cajon Ford for hosting this event.  I would also like to thank San Diego for not showing up in droves.  This let me get a good spot in line and for me to get in and out quickly.

Trading Cards With The Emerald City

The Emerald City is a great nickname for Seattle.  The nickname makes it seem like a pleasant place to hangout.  Some city nicknames don't fit the city for which it is named.

An example is Los Angeles being known as the City of Angels.  I know that Los Angeles means "the angels."  But, when I hear "City of Angels," I first think of a heavenly place, where nothing bad ever happens.  Los Angeles is a city with a lot of sinners.  Some of these sinners have been famous such as O.J. Simpson or Phil Spector.  The name doesn't match the city.

Another city nickname that doesn't quite work is the "City of Brotherly Love."  Philadelphia is know for thuggish sports fans and is a hard drinking town.  Combine sports passion and pints of lager and the "Love" gets thrown out the window.  The nickname should be changed to the "City of Brotherly Love Unless Your From A Different City And Then We Hate You."

The nickname is long but, fits the city a lot better.

I made a trade with a Mariners fan over at the blog called Emerald City Diamond Gems.  Mariner1 is a great trader and has the best Seattle Mariners blog in the community.  He may have the only Mariners blog that I have seen.  So, it is a joyous occasion to send some Mariners that have been piling up in my trade box.

Jerry Reuss was a solid pitcher for the Dodgers in the 80s.  Reuss has the appearance of a nice grandpa.  He even looks like a nice grandpa during his playing days.

Fleer has made some really nice sets over the years.  I have a fond memory of Fleer because I collected a lot of there product during my childhood.  In the 90s especially, Fleer was using great photos and had sweet looking inserts.  By the time that I got back into collecting about a year ago, Fleer was gone.  But, I still am searching for some Fleer from the past.

Mariner1 was nice enough to send me some Mike Scioscia cards from the 80s.  I am a big fan of the 1988 Fleer set.  It has a good ol' American look to it.  Baseball and America are a power combo.  The photo shows Scioscia determined to block the plate in order to tag out a Giant.

My 1981 Topps chase rolls on.  I needed these two Dodger cards.  The Yeager is my favorite of the two.  Even though, the Rick Monday action shot is nice.  Monday just doesn't look as cool lining a double in the gap as Yeager does standing in his gear.

Mariner1 also sent me some 1981 Topps cards featuring hall of fame dudes.  I really hope the Astros bring back the orange uniforms.  The brightness of Nolan Ryan's hat really stands out.  It stands out a lot because these cards almost seem pack pulled.  They are both in really nice shape.  These two along with a few others that were sent my way, puts me even closer to finishing my 1981 Topps Chase.

Thank You Emerald City!

Going on a Fantastic Voyage Back to 1993

About a week and a half ago, I met a buddy for some burgers in Burbank.  He is also a card collector.  He had been mentioning to me about Burbank Sports Cards for awhile now.  I was a short drive away from the shop.  I finally decided to go to check out Burbank Sports Cards.  I may be one of the few collectors in the LA area never to be a customer of this card shop.

The shop looks like a big warehouse but, the store itself is very small.  Most of the purchases are done on a computer and the employees will get the card for you.  The shop did have some 2011 packs, a quarter box and some random packs from the 90s!!!  The 90s packs really got me jazzed to purchase some.  The packs were even cheaper now than they were back in the day. 

I picked up a handful of packs from my favorite era.  I may have another post or two showing my pulls from those packs.  I wanted to start off by showing you guys some cards from one of the best sets ever. 

1993 Upper Deck,baby!

The photography in this set is amazing.  Using a picture of a hall of famer clumsily stepping on first is a great choice.  Another great photo choice is of Joe Orsulak jumping to catch a homer run ball.  The ball is no where in the shot.  It is safe to assume that that ball is outta here!

Having good base cards are a way for companies to get me to buy a ton of packs.  It gets dull buying pack after pack of a set with bland base cards.  Most cards in the set are of the base variety so, card companies should keep those cards fresh looking just like Upper Deck did in 1993.

This is a Henry Cotto card.  Cotto is looking like a bad ass with a neatly groomed, cool mustache and wearing some Oakleys that every ball player wore in the 90s.  Probably most gym teachers had a pair of these shades also.

Here are some stars of the "Steroid Era."  Jose Canseco is chilling in the back and he was the ringleader of this outfit of cheats.  Juan Gonzalez was one of the better hitters in the 90s.  Gonzalez mashed homers and drove in a ton of runs by playing on some good teams.  Rafael Palmeiro was a sleazy looking spokesman for a boner pill.  I don't ever remember seeing Palmeiro have a big league at-bat.  He played a bunch of years but, I just never remember seeing him do anything on the field that stands out even though he had hit a ton of home runs and collected thousands of hits.  But, I do remember his ad campaign for Viagra.  Pudge Rodriguez is the only one in this photo to have played major league baseball in 2011.  He will probably get a couple million dollars to play in 50 games and mentor a rookie in 2012.

I dislike Gary Sheffield but, this card is super awesome.  It is also cool to see him making a diving play while playing 3rd base.  I just hope that when he got up to make the throw that his cleat got got in the dirt causing a wild over throw.

Upper Deck chose so many great action shots that I had to pass on posting them at the Platter.  I only opened 3 packs of this set and got several slick looking cards. 

Every card company should remember this formula:
Head first dive+Mustache+Gold Chains+Eye Black=Great Baseball Card

Baseball Heroes is a legendary subset.  But, even a legend like Willie Mays doesn't have a spot in my collection due to the ugly Giants uniform he is wearing.  This card is up for trade.

I would like a Mays card with him as a Met.  But, not for this card of course.  I expect something far less valuable.

I really dug this card as a kid.  The White Sox had some good teams in the 90s.  Frank Thomas was a beast.  He had a great eye at the plate and drew a ton of walks despite having a massive strike zone.  Thomas was also known for hitting the long ball.  Just thought I would mention that also.  Robin Ventura is the manger of the White Sox now.  Ventura spent a brief part of his career as a Doyer.  I liked him as a player and I wish him luck in Chicago.

The great photography goes on for this set.  If I ever try to complete an entire base set, 1993 Upper Deck will be on my shortlist of options.  Upper Deck even made Darren Daulton look athletic.  That is tough to do.

I will definitely head back to Burbank Sports Cards to buy more packs from the 90s.  I may even start posting regularly on the topic of 90s pack pulls. 

Also, I have posted the George W. Bush auto on Ebay.  I showed the card in my last post.  The card is up for auction and already has a ton of bids only after one day.  I will track the progress of this card and post about it.  This is the highest valued card that I have ever tried to sell.

George W. Bush!!!!

Don't worry this isn't a political post.  I just wanted to give that heads up right off the bat so, people don't get turned off.  There won't ever be any discussions about politics at the Platter.  That is not the type of blog that I operate.

Also, by making the title "George W. Bush!!!!!", that got liberals clicking on this post thinking I am going to praise Bush as a president.  The title can give that impression.  Conservatives probably clicked on this post hoping that I would sing the positives of the Bush years in the White House.  I am just glad to get readers even if the title may be deceiving.

Once again, this is not a post on politics.  This post is about a pack pull because that is one of the topics that is written about at the Platter.

Bam!  This is the best pack pull that I ever got!  This is a George W. Bush autograph from this year's Ginter set.  No matter your political views, you'd have to think this card rocks.  A two term president signed this.

When I pulled this card at my local card, Valley Sports Cards, I was in shock.  I felt my heart racing as I saw this auto come out of the pack.  I was expecting a game used of a 4th starter or a few minis.  I was expecting anything of this magnitude.

Recently my laptop crashed.  I have had to borrow the computers of family members to log online.  It has been terrible.  This card will pop up on ebay soon and some of the cash will go towards a spiffy, new laptop. 

Bush coming through with the bailout.

Never to Late to Give Thanks

I have had trade packages piling up on me for awhile.  They just pop out of no where.  I think that I have caught up, blogged about them and put them in the appropriate binders or boxes.  But, the bubble mailers must have a life of there own.  They crawl and hide.  Then they reappear and jump at the chance to be featured at the Platter.

Julie from the blog Things are Funner Here sent me some great cards.  I am trying to complete Dodger Topps sets from the 70s.  Julie sent me two 79s of Charlie Hough and Manny Mota.  This puts me a little closer to completing the team sets from the 70s.  I am still very far away from accomplishing my goal because the sets are huge each year.  I hope to at least complete one year by the end of 2011.

This is a 2009 Bowman Blue Clayton Kershaw #ed/500.  I am a fan of parallels because they look good in a binder.  When you get a bunch of parallels and set them in a plastic page, the whole page just pops with colors.

The blue border of this card looks really nice.  It gives the appearance of 60s cool.  Bowman gives this card a non-intended retro look.

The first card is a 2010 Topps reprint of a late 90s card.  It makes me feel old when cards of my youth are being reprinted.  Topps shouldn't have done this.  It is way to soon to be reprinting cardboard from the 90s.  I also don't remember this card being considered a classic that Topps just had to remake. 

I do remember the interleague match-up between the Dodgers and Mariners in the late 90s to be pretty cool.  As a kid, I had a great time getting to watch Ken Griffey Jr. play at Dodger Stadium.  The Mariners had some really good teams back then.

Julie also sent me a bunch of Ichiro cards.  The 2004 Fleer Ultra Ichiro is my favorite one of the bunch.  The photo is great and Ichiro is in deep concentration just before he walks up to the plate to do some damage.

Things are Funner Here is hosting a contest.  Please head on over and take a peak.

I also got a package from David of the greatly named blog called e rayahahn, rayhahn.  I got David's bubble mailer about a month ago.  I forget what I sent his way.  It must have been something good to get this 2008 Upper Deck X Andre Ethier GU.

I am not sure about the background of this card.  I do know that this is a card featuring Ichiro.  This card is shaped like a square as opposed to a rectangle.  I do want to know more about this set.  The card is a 2009 Fan Pak Headlines.

Did this card come from a Mariners fan pack?  Was this a Seattle giveaway? 

I would like to thank both of you for the great cards.  Keep up the great work on your blogs.

New School/Old School Trade Bait

I have a couple trades that I am working on with some bloggers right now.  But, I do have room to fill in for other trades.  I am a trading addict.  Trading baseball cards is the main reason that I started this blog.  I am totally hooked on opening up bubble mailers from bloggers and getting some great cards.  I think it is better than opening up a hobby pack.  A trade package from the blog world never disappoints.

This blog has had some perks that I didn't think would come about.  I didn't think I would makes friends within the card community.  I also didn't think that I would receive a surprise card package from a fellow blogger.  The generosity and kindness of the blog world has exceeded my expectations. 

If you are a reader of blogs, please think about entering the blog world.  My collection has grown leaps and bounds since the Platter opened.  The blog world is a good cult to be apart of.  We aren't the creepy,dark kind of cult neither.  We are the good folks!

Let me start by showing the vintage that I have for trade.  The elders of baseball deserve to go first over the new school cards that I will show later in this post.

This is a 1967 Topps Tony Oliva.  For the longest time, I thought that Oliva was in the hall of fame.  I had this card in a top loader in a box with my vintage hall of fame collection.  Then, I saw Oliva's name on the current Veteran's Committee ballot and realized that he isn't in Cooperstown.  That is why this card is up for trade.  It just doesn't fit into my collection.

Tony Oliva isn't the only player that I thought was in the hall of fame but, was instead in the hall of very good.  Sadly, at one point I thought Maury Wills was enshrined in Cooperstown.  Oops!  I also thought that Dave Concepcion was elected in the hall of fame.  Wrong again!  I had my mind made up that Minnie Minnoso had a plaque in the hall.  Darn!

So, Tony Oliva shouldn't offended that I had a misguided view of his legacy.  I just never did the research on the subject.  But, now I have a list of all the people that are in the hall of fame.  This mix up should never be a problem ever again.

Here is another member of the hall of very good.  This is a crisp looking 1973 Topps Tug McGraw.  The colors on this card really blend well.  Also, the word "Hammer" is written on his glove.  Was that McGraw's nickname?  I thought Tug was his nickname or did he have two nicknames?

This card is available for trade.  I am trying to accumulate some 70s Dodgers and would love to get one in return for this card.

Now, onto the new school trade bait.  Here I have a 2011 Topps 60 Lorenzo Cain autograph.  Cain may be in the Royals starting line-up in 2012 due to the trade of Melky Cabrera.  Cain was also apart of the Zach Greinke to the Brewers trade.

This card states the 2006 South Atlantic Batting Average Leaders.  Kind of an odd leaders list to include on a 2011 card.  Check out the top 5 players on this list:

1. Eugenio Velez .315
2. Jeremy Slayden .310
3. Lorenzo Cain .307
4. Aaron Cunningham .305
5. Cole Garner .302

Not a list of stud ballplayers from the 2006 South Atlantic League.  It also sickens me to see Eugenio Velez lead a league in anything positive.

This card may be the biggest hit that I have for trade.  I pulled this Clay Buchholz jersey/auto #ed/999 out of a 2008 SP Authentic box.  His signature is kind of weak.  It looks like three squiggles.  He may have been pounding some beers when he was signing these and was too drunk to care.  That was the strategy of the 2011 Red Sox.  Drink beer till you stop caring.

I expect a solid Dodger in return for this one.  It is really nice and there are enough Red Sox collectors out there, that someone may want this auto.

Please let me know if any of these cards above interest you.  I will be heading over to the post office in the middle of the week.

Serial Numbered Goods From The Sports Card Forum

The Sports Card Forum is a great site for trading, buying and selling cards.  I find some great deals every now and again.  I also see more people posting some cards that aren't considered to be the "biggest hits."  This means that more people sell some random serial numbered cards or some cool inserts.

Being able to find some cards that I have never even seen in person is wonderful.  This may be the greatest era to be a card collector.  There are so many options and ways to obtain cardboard, thanks to the internet.

Cheers to computers!

A very nice seller on the Sports Card Forum sent me some really awesome Dodgers cards.  These are two Paul Lo Duca cards.  The 2004 Topps Gold is #ed/2004 and the 2007 Topps '52 is #ed/552.

I really like the look of retro cards when they are chromed out.  When retro meets new school on cardboard it is the perfect blend of different eras.

This card is one of my favorite in my Steve Garvey collection.  This card has a sweet holographic touch with a nice background photo of Dodger Stadium.  This card comes from the 2004 Donruss Timelines set.  Also, just to show even more class, the serial number out of 100 is also shiny.  Donruss baseball cards equals high quality.

Garvey has been mentioned for sometime now as a potential partner in an ownership group to purchase the Dodgers.  I know that Garvey was a really good ball player.  I still don't want him to be in a position of power in the Dodgers organization.  Garvey can get back with the team as a community relations guy and do some appearences on behalf of the team.  But, he just seems to slimy to be a shot caller in the Dodgers front office.  He has had too many indescretions off the field to be fully trusted.

  One of the great things about the internet is that it enabled me to find this random card of Kaz Ishii.  There was no other way that I would have been able to find this card anywhere else but, online. 

This card features one of the dullest photos of Kaz Ishii.  Ishii never looked comfortable as a Dodger.  He had no control on the mound and seemed to have bland facial expressions.  So, he probably took a lot of dull photos during his Dodger career.  This photo is the dullest of them all though.

This card is from a set called 2002 Upper Deck Diamond Collection and is serial #ed/1500.  I am not even sure if 1500 packs were opened of this product.  This set came out during a dead period in my collecting life.  I don't remember ever seeing a card from this set before. 

One more thing:
The Oakland Raiders are in first place in the AFC West!

Highlights from the Mailbox

I have been spending the last few days putting away a lot of the cards that have been gathering on my nightstand.  I have chipped away at a handful of some of the card stacks.  I have also been putting cards in a new 4000 count box I just purchased.  But, after organizing some of my cards, I decided it was time to have some fun and go through some of the trade packages that some kind bloggers have sent my way.

These bubble mailers have been compiling for several weeks.  Some of the contents have slipped my mind already.  So, last night I went through some of them and it was like opening them for the first time. 

I love trading with the blog world.  There are so many cards out there and new ones being made.  My collection will become infinite.  The collection at Platter Estates will continue to grow forever.  These past few days have made me feel content with the stacks of cardboard that i have sitting by my bedside.  Those stacks will fluctuate in size forever.

The first package comes from the awesome trade partner named the Diamond King.  The Diamond King always comes through with sending me great cards.  He even set this 1995 Pinnacle Zenith Edition Hideo Nomo Promo card for me. 

Cards like these were super hot in the 90s.  Card companies seemed to enjoy making and handing these cards out to dealers, collectors and probably stuck these in Christmas cards during the holidays.  I really enjoy tracking these cards down.  They were made in the greatest card making decade and a lot of Dodgers seem to be featured on 90s promo cards.



The Diamond King also sent me another package shortly after the first package arrived.  He sent this one out of the kindness of his own heart.  Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!

So, for him being such a cool dude, I added two links to his blog on this post because the Platter treats its VIPs right.

This bubble mailer contained a great mix of Dodgers.  The Diamond King must have a vast collection and tons of trade bait.  He sends me cards sometimes that I have never seen before.  Maybe he will send me other things that I have never seen before like an elf or a beautiful donkey.  If those items exist in a trade.

The above card is a 2002 Fleer Showcase Hideo Nomo.  This card is framed nicely with a blurred, double image of Nomo.  This set looks pretty sweet.  I may need to get a box of this set sent over to the Platter.

I am a big fan of the 2011 Topps Lineage set.  I know that some people feel that Topps is exhausting the use of parallels.  Lineage parallels look cool, though.  This Duke Snider that was sent to me by Chris at Nacho Grande.  This card is super shiny and the colored photo of Snider really pops out in person.  This card is very eye catching.

The Lineage set also has the cool cloth sticker parallel and the '75 Topps mini insert.  This set exceeded my expectations and hope that it shows back up at my local Target for the 2012 season.

 I recently completed a trade with Joe over at the blog, The Sandlot.  Joe is a Mets collector and a huge Mike Piazza fan.  I am sure that Joe is a bigger Piazza Mets fan as opposed to a Piazza Dodger fan like myself.  Mets fans will never be able to cherish Piazza's 1997 season as a Dodger like I do.  Just had to point that out.  Sorry.....

The key to this trade was this serial numbered Scott Elbert card.  It is numbered out of 150.  The green border on the 2009 A Piece of History cards looks a lot better than the drab gray borders of the base set. 

I actually just sent a return package to New York with Joe's name on it.  I apologize for the delay.  Expect the bubble mailer to get there by the middle of the week.

This mega trade post has to end on a high note.  That is why I am showing you guys two cards of Kristi Yamaguchi.  She is a gold medalist, a dancing champion and an attractive woman.  Thank you Topps for including this in your Ginter set.

I would also like to thank Spankee for sending these cards my way.  They have found a good home, friend.  Spankee must be a cool dude because on top of sending me some nice cards he also has a banner on his blog featuring Charlie Ma-Sheen. 

I am going to have to trade with this Spankee dude more often.

Thank you all for the nice cards that you sent me.  This kind of clears some space for me now.  So, expect a trade bait post coming up to get some fall time trading going.