It Used to be Different

The topic of vagueness written on the back of game used cards from the past couple years is discussed prominently among baseball card collectors.  Since I got back into collecting in 2010, I noticed that Topps wouldn't say anything specific about the origin of the piece of cloth on the back of the cards I own.  I thought this was a joke and a scam.  The tiny piece of fabric could be from anywhere.

I still look past this possible farce and still purchase and trade for game used cards.  They still look cool and may be from a piece of jersey worn by my favorite players.  When I started to pick up game used cards from the early to mid 2000s, I noticed that the words written by the card companies were specific.  In those years, card companies left no question that the enclosed fabric is from a game used uniform.

I was getting my autographed cards and relics alphabetized.  This gave me a chance to check out all the sweet autos and relics that I have accumulated over the past couple years.  It was a fun chance to browse through these cards and see things that I may have missed or forgotten about.

The above card is a 2004 Donruss Timeless Treasures Hideo Nomo Relic #ed/95.  This card was released to honor his Rookie of the Year Award winning season in 1995.

Donruss gives me no doubt as to where the piece of uniform came from.  Donruss states that it came from a piece of Nomo's pants that he wore in a major league game in 1995.  Perfect explanation by Donruss.  Those words on the back of the card makes this card even better and more valuable to me.

Here is an Ian Kinsler card from 2011 Topps Marquee.  This card looks great and I don't own many relics that are this massive.  Having Kinsler peering over his jersey and getting squeezed off the card is awesome as well.

The back of this card takes away my enjoyment that I get from the front of the card.  Topps leaves a half-assed explanation of what I won.  That explanation leaves me with so many questions.

What part of the uniform is this from?  Whose uniform is this piece of cloth from?  Was it ever a piece of a uniform worn by a major league baseball player?

It is a shame that this has happened over a short period of time for relics.  They would be a lot more fun and a more excitable pull if the card companies worded the authenticity more like Donruss in 2004.

Why Do I Own the Things I Own?

I love having the energy and enthusiasm to write a post.  Sometimes, the drive I get for typing words at the Platter is when the Dodgers get a victory.  The Dodgers completed a 3 game sweep today over the Mets in New York.  The Dodgers won 8-3 in 12 innings thanks to a clutch hit by back up catcher Matt Treanor.

That is a great way for the Dodgers to start off a road trip.  Having a good road trip should go a long way in shaping GM Ned Colletti's mind on how many prospects he should dump to try and win now.  St. Louis is next on the schedule and that will be a good test for the Boys in Blue.

Vin Scully for the most part doesn't broadcast games outside of California.  The broadcasting duties for a huge chunk of the schedule is given to some ESPN or Fox announcers on the national broadcasts and the other option for Fox Sports Prime Ticket is Eric Collins and Steve Lyons.

The Lyons and Collins duo do most of the television announcing on the Dodger road games.  Lyons seems to make unintelligent comments about the game of baseball.  He seems too lazy to do research and relies on the things he observed as a player.  I prefer announcers who know about the current players that the Dodgers are playing against.  I only get to watch the Dodgers play the Mets a handful of times a season.  I would like some new, informed info on someone like Lucas Duda.  Lyons needs to make me a smarter baseball fan, which he fails to do.

I hope kids don't listen to Lyons speak on television and believe what he is saying is baseball gold.

This card was traded to me by Dodgerbobble in one of our many swaps.  Dodgerbobble probably told Steve Lyons how big a fan he is of him.  Then thanked him and quickly got in touch with me to trade it to me.    No Dodger fan is a fan of Steve Lyons.  Dodgerbobble lied to Lyons but, got the job done.

Now for some reason, I am going to keep this card in my collection.  Lyons may have been a bum of a ball player and a terrible announcer but, he does have a nice signature.  He also added his nickname "Psycho".

Collectors are weird.  I am one of those odd dudes that has signatures of people that I make fun of.  I mock them yet, collect objects with their photo on it.  We are a strange bunch.  I hope some of my brethren in the blog world also have autos of players they clown on because I wouldn't believe I am he only one.

I am not sure sometimes, why I own the things I own?

Spanning The Decades

Recently, I was going through my trade packages in order to sort and catalog them.  I picked up a bubble mailer with Napkin Doon written on it.  This package was from must contain some great cards from Napkin Doon.  Sure enough, the cards that I sifted through were awesome.  The package was a wide mix of cards from the 70s to the 2000s.

I am still trying to fill some gaps in my 70s Topps Dodgers team set pursuit.  Many of the cards that were inside that bubble mailer will fill some of those gaps.  That will give me some work tonight to binder and catalog those cards.  I love the kind of work where you don't get paid to do it, but you fully enjoy your night.  The work that pays you is usually more of a chore and aggravating at times.

Part of the slew of 70s Dodgers that were included were these two here.  Ron Cey is taking some hacks in the batters box.  It must have been great being a Dodger fan in the 70s and watching Cey mash doubles and homers.  It sure beats Juan Uribe.

The Dodgers beat the Mets tonight by a score of 7-6.  I am super thrilled that the Dodgers started off a long road trip with a victory.  What makes me a little down on this win was having the displeasure of watching Uribe have one at-bat.  He pinch hit and flew out.  Just looking at him pretending to be a big league ball player made me slightly ill and I hope I don't have to call out of work tomorrow.

Hey, a Hideo Nomo card on a blog named after him.  Woooo!  This probably needs to happen more.  Nomo was a great strikeout pitcher.  He was also a great guy for sports photographers.  Nomo made a great baseball card.  Tons of his cards were produced throughout his career.  His ability to become a baseball card superstar is one of the reasons he is so fun to collect.

This Raul Mondesi relic must have been the centerpiece of our trade.  I am unsure but, this card is so sweet that I must have sent something top notch to Napkin Doon for it.  This card leaps to the top of my Raul Mondesi collection.  Mondesi is one of the past Dodger stars that I don't have cataloged on Microsoft Excel.  I am unsure how many Mondesi cards I have but,it is probably quite a few.

Nomo, Piazza and Kemp may be the top three.  Mondesi may be top five on my list.  The 90s produced a ton of cardboard so, the 90s stars will always rank high.

This card has a game used bat and is super shiny.  That puts it at the tops of the hill of Raul Mondesi cards in my collection.

Does anyone have a certified auto of him for trade?

Napkin Doon writes one of my favorite blogs.  His posts about the auctions at his local shop are a fun read.  He seems to find some interesting cards for great prices.  Also, be sure to check out his posts on the All-Star game activities that he partook in.  

Thanks for the trade!

The Golden Age of Cardboard

Tom over at The Angels in Order blog is holding a contest by giving away some greatness from the 90s.  He started a blog about the 1995 Skybox E-Motion set.  Skybox released many futuristic and colorful cards in the 90s.  Tom has included cards of Hideo Nomo, Cal Ripken Jr.and Tony Gwynn Sr. just to name a few.  Please check out both his blogs and get in on the contest.  Thanks!

An Auto Before A Loss

Sadly, I was at the Dodger/Phillies game on Tuesday.  The game had another Dodger bullpen meltdown and a lack of offense.  The Dodgers went down in defeat by a score of 3-2.  It was a type of loss that Dodger fans have seen much of this season.

Matt Kemp came through on Wedsdays's game with a walk off homer in the 12th inning to avoid a sweep by the Phillies.

Back to Tuesday night, the Dodgers were giving away beach chairs.  I enjoy this giveaway idea because it is unique and the chairs are a good size.  Maybe a Dodger fan can correct me on this but, I don't believe that they have given beach chairs away before.

Not only did I get a free Dodger chair but, I also had the chance to get a couple Bob Welch autograph.  The loss still hurt but, the autos are a nice bonus.

Welch was a pretty good pitcher for the Dodgers and Oakland Athletics between the years 1978-1994.  He was a 27 game winner in 1990 and won the AL Cy Young that year.  His ERA in 1990 was 2.95 with a WHIP of 1.22.

Welch had some good years as a Dodger as well.  He made the All-Star team in 1980 and finished the year with a 3.29 ERA in 213 2/3 innings.  He also pitched well in 141 innings during the Dodgers championship 1981 team.

The Dodgers traded Welch in 1987.  He was dealt to Oakland in a deal that gave the Dodgers Alfredo Griffin, Jesse Orosco, and Jay Howell.  The Dodgers played Oakland that season in the World Series in 1988.  Welch was a key piece for the A's and the duo of Howell and Orosco were nice arms in the Dodger bullpen.

Griffin was an horrendously bad offensive player for the Dodgers.  Griffin batted in the Juan Uribe Zone.  The trade worked out for both teams for the most part.  The Dodgers beat Welch and the A's in 1988 to win the championship.  Welch would go on and become a champion in Oakland during the 1989 season.

Welch had a really solid career.  He is kind of an under the radar Dodger pitcher during the 70s-80s.  Welch pitched for some postseason teams and way a main component to the pitching staff during those years.

In his 17 year career, Welch won 211 games and had a career 3.47 ERA.  I also dig the fact that he pitched in 3 different decades.  The game, media, fans and society in general changed so much during his career.  The internet was on the verge of becoming big time when he retired in the mid-90s.  When he was a rookie in 1978, almost zero people owned home computers.  The players drug of choice went from coke in the 80s to 'roids in the 90s.

Welch probably has some incredible stories by playing with some colorful personalities like Pedro Guerrero, Jose Canseco and Rickey Henderson.  That would make for an awesome tell-all book.  It would at least be awesome for baseball fans.

Steve Garvey is Still a Cool Dude

I haven't been to many Dodger autograph signings throughout Socal this season.  I have missed some and have worked too many weekends to enjoy a free signing.  One of my favorite parts of the free autograph sessions that some current and former Dodgers commit to, is the social factor.  I enjoy rolling to a signing, usually with Dodgerbobble, and meeting some other Dodger autograph hounds.  I get to hangout for hours and talk baseball.  Conversations range from the weather to autograph stories good or bad, and also gives Dodger fans the chance to vent about the awfulness of Juan Uribe.

A couple days ago, on Saturday, Steve Garvey was appearing at a Discount Tire Center in Studio City.  I am glad that a signing was being held more on my part of LA.  It gives me a little bit of a break from driving far south or east.  I would say west but, I avoid the west side of LA at all costs.

This event was super smooth.  When Dodgerbobbble and I arrived we were given a number and wristband immediately.  We didn't have to sit in line for a couple hours in the hot sun.  We got a number and that is where our position was in line.  That allowed us to chug energy drinks and get breakfast.  Discount Tire Center also had many booths and free giveaways set up.  We both won a free pizza and they handed out bottles of water as well.

I totally dig this signed Smokey the Bear card of Steve Garvey.  This card was released in 1987.  It is a little bit bigger than most baseball cards.  The size reminds me of some Bowman cards from the late 80s.  I am also a fan of this card because not too many of these are probably autographed by one of the coolest Dodgers ever.

Garvey had the skills to hit homers, dodge the taxman, and mess around with countless females.  He was a well rounded ball player.

Garvey rolled up to this event about 15 minutes late.  In ball player time, he was perfectly punctual.  He pulled right up to the front of the line in a clean looking Mercedes-Benz while wearing a dress shirt and slacks with a nice pair of Ray-Bans on.  He looked like a star.  That was a grand entrance and the type of entrance that I feel most current Dodgers should have.

Roll with flair like Garvey!

That is my new motto.