The New Trend

The blog world has always provided some instant happiness into my life.  Getting some baseball cards that fit into your collection, at random, from a fellow blogger is always a joy.

The new blogger craze of sending out a plain white envelope with a couple of cards enclosed has hit the Platter with some well loved greatness.

Christopher aka Nachos Grande, sent me this crunchitty, crispitty, crossed up Mike Scioscia card.  I had mentioned on his blog that I didn't have a copy of a '86 Donruss Mike Scioscia.  Nachos Grande came through and filled the void in my Dodger collection.

The plain white envelopes being sent all throughout the card collecting blog world is putting smiles on the faces of many dudes across the country.  It is a similar feeling to getting a greeting card during a holiday or getting an extra meatball in a sub.

Getting a card in this condition reminds me of a collecting adventure that I may get involved with.  I have been mulling over the thought of picking up some 1910-1911 tobacco cards featuring Brooklyn players of that era.  Some of the cards that I will probably be purchasing will be in a condition similar to this Scioscia.  Nachos Grande was just getting me mentally prepared to not expect perfect cardboard.

The Classic Card Collector has been kind and answered some questions I had about cards from the early 20th century.  He also sent me some thinks that had some good information to better my education before I start throwing some cash around towards my next cardboard adventure.

I also received an envelope with some cards in slightly better condition.  Pat, from a blog called Hot Corner Cards, sent me a couple golden Dodgers.

I say golden based on their borders not their on-field performance.

Pat and I had an agreement for a small two card trade.  I sent him some Tigers that may still be in transit.

The two Topps Gold Dodgers are in really good condition as you can see.  That somehow makes them less interesting to look at as compared to the Scioscia.  I enjoy the battle tested story that the Scioscia card has to say.

If this starts a trend of sending me beat up modern cards, please make sure that they are only of cards of players I hate.  Such players include Juan Uribe, Adam Kennedy, or Andruw Jones and other other ex-Dodger that you can envision my disdain for.

I probably will send out some plain white envelopes this week.  I enjoy riding on the fun filled blogging bandwagon.

Autographs From a Graphing Hound

Dodgerbobble has been on an autograph hunt all season.  He was getting signatures all over SoCal.  His home base was Dodger Stadium.  He was on the constant prowl and was very good at completing his mission.  Dodgerbobble claims to have gotten around 300 autographs during the 2012 baseball season.

His drive to get many Dodger autographs is of great benefit to me.  We have a continuous trade agreement, where we swap extra Dodger autos that we acquire.

During one of Dodgerbobble's trips to Bakersfield to watch a minor league match-up between the Bakersfield Blaze and the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, he was able to get Joc Pederson's autograph.  The Quakes are the Dodgers Single-A team that Pederson played 110 games for in 2012.

Pederson is the Dodgers Minor League Player of the Year in 2012.  He is the Dodgers best position player prospect as he has a nice blend of power and speed.  This past season, Pederson hit 18 home runs and 26 stolen bases.  That is pretty solid for a 20 year old kid.

Pederson also got to play for Team Israel that competed in the World Baseball Classic.  Pederson is from Northern California but, his Jewish roots made him eligible to play for the Israeli team.  He also got to wear this cool hat that I hope to own one day.

Jamey Wright looks freakish in this photo.  His eyes kind of scare me because he reminds me of a Terminator sent from the future to destroy opposing hitters.

Signatures on Topps Heritage cards always look great.  Heritage and Ginter cards are both superb for through the mail autos or in-person autos.  It is one of the selling points for me when I choose what packs to purchase.

Wright had a decent year for the Dodgers, pitching out of the bullpen.  His WHIP of 1.50 is pretty high.  I do remember him pitching out of some tough inherited jams and pitching multiple innings in order to rest the other bullpen arms.  That is valuable for a team over the course of a long season.

I also thought Wright would get released by May.  I totally whiffed on that prediction and thank Wright for pitching well enough to stick around for an entire season in LA.

Aaron Harang has an odd looking signature.  There is no way that I would be able to tell what the blue sharpie letters on this card say without seeing that Harang is pictured on this card.

Topps was smart to show only half of Harang's frankenstein face.  His 2012 Topps Heritage card should not be sold to children.

This Luis Cruuuz card that Dodgerbobble gave me was the favorite of the 12 card lot that he gave me.  Cruuuz became my favorite Dodger player of 2012.  I love his underdog story of struggling in limited time in his past big league experiences and in the minors.  Cruuuz was about the Dodgers 10th option at third base.

Cruuuz finally seized an opportunity to get regular playing time at the major league level.  He played pretty well and exceeded everyone's expectations of him.  He hit .297 with an OPS of .753.  Cruuuz also brought a flair and excitement when he stepped up to the plate.  The Dodger Stadium crowd loves this guy.

These are some great additions to my collection.  Thank you for the goods, Dodgerbobble.  I will get you a nice stack of autos next weekend.