Trading Within the Fraternity

I really enjoy trading with other Dodger fans.  I just know that the cards that I send their way are going to a good home.  All Dodger fans have good homes.  Everybody knows that.

Oscar from the blog called All Trade Bait, All The Time, is a Dodger fan.  So, of course Oscar has a good home.  What makes his home better than most?

He is also an Oakland Raiders fan!  A Dodger/Raider household is always the best on the block.  They also make for some great trade partners.

Since, this is the last day that Oscar and I as well as the rest of Raider Nation can relish our victory over the Steelers last Sunday and move on to hopefully crushing the Donkeys(Broncos) from Denver tomorrow.  Please let me show you some goodies that he sent me in a trade package.

This card makes me instantly miss the 90s.  It was the greatest decade for everything including baseball cards.  I am in need of listening to some Stone Temple Pilots tonight.

It is weird that fellow Dodger bloggers just know what cards to send in my direction.  We have an extra sense and a gained knowledge into what would make another Dodger collector happy.

I loved 2011 Gypsy Queen so much last year that I didn't buy much 2012 Gypsy Queen this year.  Very odd and I can't explain it.

Clayton Kershaw is battling a hip injury but, still producing at a high level down the stretch for Los Doyers.  I am nervous that he me re-injure himself and worsen the damage.  Please just make it through this season healthy, Kershaw.

I don't think that I have enough Dodger Greg Maddux cards to fill up a 9 pocket page plastic sheet.  That is kind of sad to me.  Maddux was one of my favorite pitchers of all time and he played on my favorite team briefly two different times.  With the amount of parallels that are made, I would think that I would have several various versions of Topps Maddux cards in Dodger Blue.

Many Maddux cards found there way into my collection.  Those cards feature him in Braves and Cubs uniforms.  Someday those pages will enter my National League HOF binder.  Hopefully, he will be enshrined on the first ballot.

Thanks you for the trade, Oscar.  I hope to meet for a Raiders game before seasons end.

HOF Additions

The fake jersey scandal that has affected our hobby has been a main topic of discussion among collectors for days now.  Probably every collector has heard about this story by now.  Some are going to dump their relic cards in the ocean or they are going to trade them.

For those few that may be reading this and not know what scandal I am talking about, let me summarize what is going on.  A man sold counterfeit baseball jerseys to some of the main card manufacturers and those card companies cut those jerseys up and stuck them in baseball cards.  The card companies didn't seem to do their due diligence in checking the authenticity of these jerseys.  The card companies needed them quick and were willing to go on the black market to fill the demand of relic cards.

I hope this is real.  I hope this is real.  I hope this is real.  Saying this over and over again won't help guarantee that this is an actual piece of cloth from a Rickey Henderson jersey.

I picked this card up last week to bolster my hall of fame collection.  It was well priced from an e-mail seller that I buy from.  I may shy away from relics now and spend more of my resources on autographs.

This card still looks slick though.  If this is real, then it is a major addition to my collection.  Maybe Topps will mention which sets have the fraudulent jersey pieces in them?

Henderson was one of the more exciting players that I have ever seen play.  He brought speed, patience, power, bravado, flair, arrogance and skills to the game.  More players with those attributes are needed in baseball.  The type of player that you have to watch have an at-bat or run the bases.  The player that brings an art and grace to the field.

That was Rickey Henderson.

Kirby Puckett was another exciting player.  He was short and chubby.  Puckett didn't look like an athlete but, when you watched him play baseball, his size and shape didn't matter.  He was a beast and a very good all-around player.  He could hit for power, play some good defense, and even steal a few bases.  Puckett stole at least 20 bases twice in his 12 year career.

Puckett was also a two time champion with the Twins.  I remember the 1991 World Series.  That was an epic battle between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.  The Twins won in in 7 games and Puckett had 3 walks in that game.

I also remember the dome that the Twins used to play in.  The Metrodome used to shake from the high noise level that the Twins fans brought each playoff game.  It is a shame the Twins ownership gave up that home field advantage.  The Metrodome probably won them a few extra games each year.

I really love the look of the Topps Gallery sets.  The paintings are nice and getting a bat relic of Kirby Puckett is great.

Were counterfeit bats also sold to card companies?

I hope this is real.  I hope this is real.  I hope this is real.

Entering a Different World

I decided to try something new.  I wanted to try a new form of communication.  The world offers so many ways to stay in touch with people.  Some of the ways are letter writing, email, home phones, cell phones, Facebook, and of course texting.

I needed to try and drop some of these forms.  I wanted to shake things up and reach out to people in a different way.  Facebook and for most of the day, my cell phone, were cut from the list.  By cutting down the ways for people to communicate with me, I added one form to my rotation.

Some spots were open and Twitter was my new addition.  A decent amount of bloggers are users of Twitter and news does seem to travel fairly quickly on Twitter as well.  It seemed that it was about time that I tried it out.  The Platter may be of some benefit by this change.  Losing Facebook as a tool to promote the Platter will be missed.  I am hoping that Twitter may fill some of that void and get some good discussions going about the love of baseball cards that we all share.

This will be the first post individual post that I link to my new Twitter account.  I thought that I should write about a blogger out there that I made my first trade with.  Brad's Blog is a Phillies blog that is fairly new.  Brad made his debut in mid-August and writes a quality post.  He is also a good trader and easy to work with.

Brad's Blog deserves more followers.  Check out his blog and make a trade with him.  Maybe Twitter will help out with some exposure.

Brad sent me this James Loney relic.  I love the framed relics from the Topps 206 sets.  Even James Loney can't screw this card up.

Oddly, even though Loney was a Dodger for several years, I have very few relics or autos of his.  I didn't realize that I took my dislike of him as a baseball player into my collecting habits.  Luckily, Loney cards should be dirt cheap in the LA area after he got dumped in Boston.

Here is a 2011 Topps Update Gold card of Matt Kemp failing at the home run derby.  He was so poor in the past two years of participating in this event that I hope he doesn't try it again in 2013.

Also, when Kemp is in the home run derby, it makes me tune in.  I am not too into watching dudes take BP for 3 hours.

Kemp needs to pick it up in the final stretch of games if the Dodgers want to make the post season.  Or maybe he needs to sit and rest whatever ails him after crashing into a Coors Field wall a few weeks back.

Retro cards are cool and with a dash of new school shine are even better.  The photo was taken by the cages that the Dodgers have at Camelback Ranch, the home to their spring training sight.  I have seen this card in its normal Heritage form and never noticed that before.

I start to follow some of the members of the blog world on Twitter already.  What do you guys like or dislike about Twitter?  I mean this as using it to help your blog or discuss cards.  That is what I am going to use it for.

Has it helped your blogs get readers or promote discussion?  Please let me know.

Once again, go and check out Brad's Blog.  He is a cool dude and Platter approved.

Selling Advice

I store all my trade bait cards in a box with penny sleeves.  These cards are mostly inserts, parallels or serial numbered cards.  They aren't even separated by team or set.  I dig through this box every time I make a trade with a fellow blogger.  This is the first box I flip through in order to build a trade package.

Some of the cards that I have in this box have sat there for weeks or even months.  I really hope none of these cards have sat there for over a year.  That scenario is possible.

I remember getting this Michael Morse parallel out of a pack of 2012 Topps Archives.  I opened those packs when Topps Archives first came out several weeks ago.  This Morse has been sitting around waiting to get sent out.

I don't know too many Nationals collectors.  That is a shame, the Nationals are playing good baseball and this stoned looking Morse photo would look great in a binder.

The purpose of this post is to ask my fellow bloggers for advice on selling on the Check Out My Cards website.  I have signed up and created a profile.  I have read through the different plans that they have to process and sell your cards online.

The site intrigues me.  It seems to be a better option of selling random singles that may fetch .50-$1.00 than ebay is.  It also seems like a good place to dump a bunch of cards that I have like this Topps Co-Signers Lance Berkman/Roy Oswalt Blue Parallel #ed/150.

Cards like that just sit around when they may be put to better use being sold to someone.

Is Check Out My Cards a site where I should sell cards like this Billy Hamilton?  Is it worth my time to put a bunch of inserts, parallels and serial numbered cards on the site?

I know I am talking about making a minimal profit with some of the caliber of cards that I want to send in.  I am not foolish enough to think that I would get $20 bucks for a stoned Michael Morse parallel.  I am looking to create some space and build up store credit.  So, then I can buy my own low end cards that fit my collection.

Star power sells better.  I am sure that is the same on Check Out My Cards.  I will be sure to send them some stars that will be sure to sell quickly.

What types of cards do you guys send in?  What type of cards do you guys avoid sending in?

The cards that I have shown are a sampling of what I am looking to sell on Check out my Cards.  A green parallel of Zack Greinke from Bowman Platinum should sell for around .50 to someone.  That would add up after a while.

I am thinking of sending about 100 cards like the ones above.  I don't have too many "hits" that I could sell.  How does autos and game used cards sell on Check out my Cards?

How many cards do you guys usually mail in per a shipment?

What are some of the positives and negatives to selling on Check out my Cards?

Please help me out with some of my questions.  Your input will affect my decision in whether this is a route in which I go.

The Dodger Returns Keep On Coming

I go through phases of sending out through the mail autograph requests to past Dodgers.  Sometimes I go on a day long effort writing letters, looking up return percentages on Sports Collectors.Net and packaging up letters and cards.

The search for the proper cards to send a player is a fun one.  I enjoy sending out requests to some more obscure past Dodgers.  Guys that only played for one season on the team.  The ex-player that was the pinch hitter off the bench or the scrappy utility player are autos that are appealing to me.  Those types of players also may not have many cards for me to choose from.  Dodger uniforms are preferred.

Matt Young is one of those random past Dodgers whose auto is perfect for my collection.  These types of players may be tougher to get than a Steve Garvey auto.

Young only threw 54.1 innings as a Dodger.  He pitched out of the bullpen and had 11 saves in 1987 for the Boys in Blue.

Young is also a local boy.  He was born in Pasadena and went to high school in La Canada.  Young also went to college at the undefeated college football powerhouse at UCLA.

I wonder if some players that have played or currently play on the Dodgers carry blue sharpies with them.  Some Dodger players that I write to sign my cards in a blue sharpie.  A blue sharpie makes a Dodger autograph much improved.

Did Len Matuszek walk down the pen aisle at Staples and see the black or silver sharpies and passed on them?  Did he then see the blue ones and decide that was the better choice because Dodger fans write him letters and ask for his signature?  Does he also buy a red sharpie for the requests that he gets from Phillies fans?

I should write Matuszek another letter asking him these questions.

Len Matuszek sounds like the name of a power hitter.  I expect with a name like that he should have been hitting mammoth home runs in the Dodger Stadium pavilions.

He did not do that.  Matuszek only hit 12 home runs in 3 seasons as a Dodger.  He did hit 30 bombs for his career though.

John Kennedy is a Dodger player from the 60s.  Kennedy was a utility infielder that had the privilege of playing on the 1965 championship team.  The Dodgers beat Minnesota that year in the World Series.  I remember watching a touched up replay of Game 7 of that series.  Sandy Koufax pitched a gem, Lou Johnson hit a clutch homer and John Kennedy got to come on the field as a defensive replacement at third base.

Kennedy got to be on the field to celebrate the Dodger series clinching victory.  This is a great addition to my collection.

Thanks to all the players that sent me these returns.

I Beg You Topps!

A great photograph of a baseball player will make for a great baseball card.  This is simple and baseball card collectors love seeing a creative pose, a goofy image or a great action shot showcased on cardboard.  I also feel that a cool looking photo can make up for a crummy set design.  When a great photo and a snazzy card design are combined, that will make for a truly memorable set.

There used to be a time in the baseball card world where Topps had a set that seemed dedicated to making the greatness of the photograph the key element to a set.  This set was called Topps Stadium Club.

The cards were glossy and clean.  The photos and colors were sharp.  The sets seemed to be next level photography, whereas their other sets seemed to buy photos from some amateurs fresh out of college.

Topps Stadium Club was for the pros that new about color schemes and perfect lighting.  Topps needs to bring Stadium Club back.

Luckily, Colbey from Cardboard Collections brought some Stadium Club boxes into his monthly group break rotation.  He was breaking some great boxes from my youth in the 90s.  I immediately jumped at the chance to claim the Dodgers in this break.  That was the type of break that I have been waiting for.

Brett Butler diving headfirst into a base and he has a mustache.  Wait, Butler had a mustache?!?!  I had no idea.  The image of Brett Butler having a 'stache had completely escaped my mind.

This may be the only image of such a sighting and it happened to be a photo taken by one of the great sports photographers that teamed up with Topps.

As I was flipping through the cards that Colbey sent me, I was thinking of doing a bunch of posts about the awesome Stadium Club cards that I received.  I was going to break it down by player.  The stack that I got from the break was over a hundred cards.  Topps in the 90s actually gave us a decent amount of cards per a pack back then.

Instead of weeks of posts about this break, which probably would have burnt me out on these sets and would inflame my handful of fans, I decided to pack some of the highlights in one post.

It was fun for me just to sort out all my group break winnings.  I saw some multiple great looking cards of players I liked such as Brett Butler and players I loathed such as Jose Offerman.

Even this photo makes Jose Offerman actually look like a pro ballplayer.  He looks like a player with skill and that adds excitement to the game.  The magic of Topps Stadium Club.

Offerman, of course dropped this ball that was thrown to him.

Mike Piazza is pinning down his prey in this action shot.  This shot reminds me of a lion pouncing on a gazelle.  I hope Piazza didn't eat his fallen opponent.

Their was some other nice looking Piazza cards from this break but, I wanted to show my top two.  Topps even came up with flashy names for its Stadium Club subsets.  Extreme Corps is so 90s.  Everything was more extreme back then even baseball cards

This Chan Ho Park rookie card was a 90s classic.  At least it was to me as a card collecting Doyer fan.

The sky with Park's high leg kick makes this card a center pager in a 9 pocket plastic page.  I wish I had some pages that were able to display this card horizontally.  Does Ultra Pro even make pages like that?

The photographer caught Dodger prospect bust, Billy Ashley lumbering along the base paths.  Ashley looks like he is a neanderthal turning into the Hulk as he is rounding the bases.

I don't have a memory of Billy Ashley the base runner.  Maybe it is because he wasn't on base that much.

Zing!

Double plays happen a decent amount during a baseball season.  Stadium Club did a good job capturing the contact, physicality, and grace that occurs when a double play is being turned.

If Jody Reed was a better Dodger, I may have a framed poster of this photo in my bedroom.  Top notch card and maybe one of the better cards of Reed's career.  I will let Night Owl try and determine that.

I hope Topps does add Stadium Club back into the fold.  I dig retro sets such as Allen and Ginter and Topps Heritage.  I will give up Gypsy Queen for a reasonably priced, glossy set such as Stadium Club.

Very fun break, Colbey.  This was one of the better ones that I have joined on your blog.  Thank you.

Platter Substitute

Over the course of many years, I have seen many different types of teachers in school.  I have had teachers that are always positive and seem motivated with a high energy level.  There have been some teachers that I have had that seem to be more babysitter types, that just hang out in the class room and coast through lectures just to get it over with.  Teachers that are burnt out and are sick of delivering the same lecture for the thousandth time.

Another type of teacher that I have encountered is the teacher whose style is of a rambler.  The lectures often veer off the point into another zone completely.  The teacher even acknowledges this problem but, still can't control it.  Each discussion can go on for several minutes at a time without the teacher mentioning anything from his outline that he just wrote on the board.

The rambler type is especially fun to have as a history teacher.  The rambler in a history class may start a class by discussing the reconstruction years post Civil War and mention such "key" Civil War figures such as Herodotus, Napolean, and Richard Nixon.  I seem to learn a little bit about every era in a history class like this.

What if a rambling history teacher wrote at the Platter?  Lets find out......

Paul Lo Duca was a pretty good catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1998-2004.  This card, here has a piece of Paul's jersey in it.  I looked at this card closely and studied it.  You can see a speck of blood from a Giant that Paul Lo Duca must have gotten on his jersey after stepping over his rival.

Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself.  My name is Mr.Dryskell.  I am filling in for Spiegel and taking over his writing duties for the day.  I am a history teacher by trade and always wanted to try my hand at blogging since blogs were invented in 2009.  The Platter is getting to be so big time that Spiegel now can afford a substitute to write for for him as he is off getting into hot night clubs due to his blogger fame.

This card was sent to Spiegel by an individual named Night Owl.  According to my records, this Night Owl guy writes a blog and lives in New York.

Lo Duca was born in Brooklyn,New York.  He was born to be a Dodger because Brooklyn is where the Dodgers were born.

Television and radio icon Larry King became a Dodger fan during the Brooklyn years.  King claims to have been at Jackie Robinson's first game as a Dodger.  Many other folks also make this claim.  Spiegel told me he was also in attendance at this game.

Roger Kahn wrote a good book about the Brooklyn Dodgers called The Boys of Summer.  I recommend this book.

Photography must be a key component of collecting baseball cards.  I was never much into collecting baseball cards.  I do see the appeal after seeing a photo like this.  This photo is evidence of Shawn Green hitting a home run against the Giants.

The Dodgers and Giants are major rivals.  The games between these two teams are filled with passion, anger and lots of grit.

The Russians and the United States had a huge rivalry during the Cold War.  These two countries fought against spreading one another's ideals across the globe.  The race to build more missiles and the race to have the best space program was also part of the Cold War.

I really enjoy old Civil War photography.  The black and white photos that are now tinted yellow for the most part.  Color photos are okay but, I love seeing the darkness in the eyes of the subjects in old Civil War photos.

Whoa, this is too shiny.  Spiegel must have given me this one to write about because he knew it would temporarily blind me when light reflects off it.  People are pranksters at the offices of the Platter.  There are clowns all over this building.

No wonder Spiegel posts only once a week.

I remember reading a good book about clowns.......ummmmm.......I forget the name now.

I think it was written by a famous writer from the Bay Area.

No, I am way off, the book is called "It" by Stephen King.  He is from a place slightly worse than the Bay Area called Maine.

This card is much classier than that Mike Piazza catastrophe.  A Gypsy Queen card of Matt Kemp with a nice frame.  I researched Spiegel's records and found that he doesn't have many of these framed 2012 Gypsy Queen cards.  That is a shame due to the beauty of these cards.

This card is pure art.  If this was blown up into a big enough size to hang in a living room, I am sure this would be hung up in the White House.  Barack Obama is a big baseball fan.  Obama, probably is a huge Matt Kemp fan even though he pulls for the White Sox.

Night Owl sent Spiegel some very nice cards.  Maybe I can sub for him more often because he has a bunch of other stacks of cards to go through.  The Archives Department at the Platter needs to work extra hard to get through this.

Peter the Great was once the ruler of Russia.  He was a hands on type of leader that would actually help to build ships for his military.

Nickelodean used to have a show on called the Adventures of Pete and Pete.  I just remembered that.  It has nothing to do with the Russian Czar Peter though.

I got sidetracked, I am sorry.

I will end my first post with a thank you from Spiegel to the Night Owl.