Don Zimmer Made My Day

Don Zimmer is one of the last Boys of Summer still alive and well.  I read somewhere that only 50 something Brooklyn Dodgers are still alive.  Sadly, I don't have a link to where I read that or if it's true.  That is just some laziness from your boy at the Platter.

After reading about the limited number of Brooklyn Dodgers still around, gave me a sense of urgency to obtain as many of there autos as possible.  The 1955 Champion Dodgers is my favorite World Series winner of all time.  The Dodgers were stacked with big time players.  They had Jackie, Pee Wee, The Duke and Gil Hodges     in the line up. They had Don Newcombe,Carl Erskine and Johnny Podres in the rotation.  That team was beast.

Also, they beat the rival Yankees to win in 1955.  Podres shut the Yanks down in Game 7.  The Game 7 in 1955 would be my dream game to attend if I had a hot tub time machine.  I would pick that game over 1988 World Series Game 1 and 1965 World Series Game 7.

Don Zimmer was a member of the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers.  Zimmer was a back up infielder on the team.  He wasn't much of a hitter but, he could play 2nd, SS, and 3rd.  Utility players even had value back in the day.  Every team needs a Zimmer.

I saw on the Sports Card Forum that Zimmer signs autographs through the mail.  The SCF has been my source for all the TTMs that I have mailed out.

I quickly checked my Brooklyn binder to make sure that I had a good card to send Zimmer.  There was no way that I was going to send him a card with him as a manager of the Red Sox or Padres.  I had to have a Brooklyn card to mail him.  Luckily, I had one Don Zimmer Brooklyn Dodger card.  I sent him a 1979 TCMA for him to autograph.

Awesome!  Thank you, Don Zimmer!

Trading With The Blog Of The Year

Being able to trade with the Blog of the Year is a huge accomplishment for a little blogger like myself.  The winner of the Blog of the Year was Godfather Night Owl.  I am sure everybody has heard that already.  The Godfather has been super busy since being crowned the champion of the blog world.  I am shocked that he still has time to send cards to the Platter.

Godfather Night Owl sent me a big bundle of Dodgers my way.  Many of the cards are needs of mine.  He must have put together a package for me in between interviews with major news outlets like TMZ and CNN.  I am grateful that he took the time for me.  It must be because we both love Los Doyers.

This is one of a million Hideo Nomo cards that were released in 1995.  The baseball world had Nomo fever and so did the card world.  It will take me a very long time to ever collect all of his cards from 1995 alone.  I wonder if Topps or whoever is running the card industry in 20 years, will release more Nomo cards.  Nomo was highly collectible in the 90s and I wonder if he will show up in 90s retro sets.

This is an awesome looking 1975 Topps Joe Ferguson. It is mini and is of a cool action shot.  I am positive that Ferguson made the play at the plate and tagged this dude out.

I am still trying to build up my 70s Topps Dodgers collection.  I may need to get a separate section for the minis of this era.  I will try to compile the regular Dodgers team set from 1975 as well as the mini set.  Please keep'em coming blog world.

 I remember going to Kay Bee Toys as a kid.  I would get some GI Joe action figures there. They are probably gone but, they made a cool looking baseball card set.  That should have been stated on the tombstone of Kay Bee Toys.

I almost forgot that Vicente Padilla was a Dodger in 2011.  He hardly played and was injured.  I enjoyed his time on the team in 2009-2010.  I wish I remembered any accomplishment that he had in 2011.  I just loved having a psycho lunatic on the pitching staff.  When Padilla was on the mound, at any moment he could lose his mind and bean the batter, kick an umpire and shoot himself in the leg all in one sequence of delirium.

That would have been an awesome sequence!

2008 Topps Stadium is a beautiful set.  I am glad that Topps had time to take a photo of someone's kid brother.  They even gave him a uniform and everything.

I'm just teasing you, Chin Lung Huuuuu.  I miss you, kid.

This is off-topic, but do you guys use the site Groove Shark to listen to music?  This site has everything to listen to for free.  I am currently listening to Operation Ivy.  I used to this to them a ton back in Jr. High.  Listening to them right now will make me a better blogger and a better human being overall.

Godfather Night Owl helped me out with some cards for my 2011 Allen and Ginter insert set collection.  The World's Mysterious Figures set is eerie.  This set gives me chills when I read the back of them.  The Babushka Lady creeps me out.  She filmed the Kennedy assassination from a good point of view.  According to the FBI she has never come forward with her film footage from that fateful day.  Where did she go?  Who is she?  Did the FBI track her down and cover up her footage?  That is so strange.

Get back to being famous now, Night Owl.  Thanks for the cards!

I Got A Gross Autograph

My TTM endeavor has been going smoothly.  Writing letters to past Dodgers has been a lot of fun for me.  The words that I write them are genuine and I hope that they realize that.  I especially enjoy writing to Dodger players that played during my childhood.

When I watched baseball as a kid, I didn't study numbers like I do now.  I didn't go deep into advanced statistics or check baseball reference to look at someone's career.  As a kid, I just went by the eyeball test and how I felt about a player.  Sadly, Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti also doesn't look at statistics just like the child version of me.

 Kevin Gross was a guy that I knew wasn't that good even as a kid.  I had no numbers to back it up but, I knew that the Dodgers would lose games when he pitched.  He was middling at best.

Even as a child I was a cynical and angry Dodger fan.  This anger keeps on growing as I get older.  My childhood anger was usually directed at Kevin Gross, Jose Offerman, and Delino Deshields.

But, my opinion slightly changed towards Kevin Gross during a Photo Day at Dodger Stadium in the early 90s.  My mother had taken me that day to walk on the field in hopes of getting my photo taken with some of my beloved Dodgers.  Orel Hershiser blew me off.  My mother asked him to take a photo with me but, he refused.  I am still bitter about it.  Kevin Gross on the other hand was nice enough to take a photo with me.  It was a simple and kind gesture that I still remember to this day.  That changed my opinion about him as a person.  I still joked about his on field performance but, not his personality.  I told Gross this story in my letter to him.  A ball player can do something simple like take a photo with a child and that kid could remember for the rest of his life.  I thank him for that day.

Orel on the other hand, is still on my shit list.  I am currently rooting against him for his bid to buy the Dodgers.  If a ball player refuses to take a photo with a child, that child will always remember that day.

Kevin Gross is a nice man.  He took a photo with me and also was cool enough to sign my baseball cards through the mail.  Thank you, Kevin Gross!

Also, nice shades and mustache combo.  I also mentioned that in my letter.

A Good Day At The Card Shop

I spent my day off today with a nice trip to the card shop and came away a very happy collector.  One of the employees from the Valley Sports Cards sent me an email mentioning that my redemption has arrived from Topps.  The shop was nice enough to take care of the whole redemption process for me.  Also, this gave me an excuse to go in even though, I wasn't planning on buying too much.

This is the redemption that I pulled from a pack of 2010 Topps 206 about a month ago.  I wasn't looking forward to receiving a Sammy Gervacio autograph.  The name sounds like someone that Joe Pesci whacked in Goodfellas.  Sadly, he is not a character from Goodfellas.  Gervacio is some dude in the Houston Astros organization.

Topps somehow ran out of Sammy Gervacio autographs so, they sent me a Chris Young autograph instead. I have heard of Chris Young!  He was an All-Star!  I watch him play against the Dodgers several times a year!

Awesome!  This was a sweet deal for me.  I am so happy that Topps hooked me up.  This Chris Young card is definitely something that I can trade and get something solid in return.  Please let me know if any of you are interested.  I also probably have some other Diamondbacks to trade because I seem to trade with a Diamondback fan about once every 9 months.

This was just the start of the good luck that I was getting at the shop today.

  The second part of the good luck was getting some of my bid board winnings.  I always walk into the shop and check out the wall of random cards that people are selling.  I usually bid on some that fit into my collection.  If you check out my set needs section, you will notice that I am trying to put together some 2011 Allen and Ginter insert sets.  I have been slowly chipping away. The Animals in Peril set is the biggest one that I am working on.  Being able to pick up a couple of these on the cheap is good news for me.

I have been seeing less and less 2011 Ginter packs at the shop and in retail stores lately.  My Wal-Mart seems to be getting rid of there card section.  The only baseball cards that they have left are the Topps Value packs and a few 2011 Topps Update Rack Packs.  Finishing the 2011 Allen and Ginter sets may take some luck and some work in the trade department.

The shop had some packs of Bowman Chrome, some high end Bowman something that I won't touch and some packs of Lineage.  I am a huge Lineage fan and love the parallels such as the '75 Minis and the Cloth Sticker cards.  The shop worker said that there were only five packs left and the hits have already been gone from the box.  He ended up selling me the five packs for ten bucks.  Sweet!

I was cool not expecting a hit because I dig the parallels and inserts so much.  In the 5th pack that I opened, out popped this super cool Bobby Shantz autograph.  I was psyched and mentioned to the shop worker that he was wrong.  I had to rub it in a little.  He gave me a good deal and I came away with an auto.

Shantz had a solid career.  He played for 16 seasons mostly with the Philadelphia/Kansas City Athletics.  Shantz won a MVP in 1952.  That season he won 24 games and had 27 complete games.  I love that stat line.  Shantz also won 8 consecutive Gold Gloves between 1957-1964.

I am totally happy with the autos that I came away with at the shop today.  I wasn't expecting either one.  The Shantz is a keeper but, the Young is available.

The Greatest Bobble Head Ever

I got some really nice gifts over the holiday season.  It was the typical holiday fare such as clothes, gift cards, and DVDs.  I am okay with all those types of gifts.  The clothes is usually something sports related such as a Dodger shirt or a Raider jacket.  I always need new sports gear.  I always need new Dodger gear because I go to a lot of games and even when I am not at Dodger Stadium, I still like to rep the team.

There was one gift that just blew me away.  It was given to me by my family on New Years Day.  I was shocked when I pulled it out of the box.

The gift was a bobble head of me!  This is a genuine 1/1 of yours truly.  This looks just like me and was at first kind of creepy.  I have never seen a miniature version of myself.

Here is the real me playing some Trivial Pursuit.  Not all of you know what I actually look like.  You may have only seen photos of me from various autograph signings or my blogger profile picture.

As you can see, the bobble Spiegel has my signature sideburns.  My sideburns have been one of my trademarks for several years.  I also have lovely thick hair that will be with me for a very long time and my bobble also has some nice locks.

This is my sister and I.  She is the genius that set up, getting a bobble head made of me.  She know I collect them and knew that I would be overjoyed with such a killer gift.  I am also showing this photo so you guys can see how my face looks.  Some of the photos that you may have seen shows me with shades or regular glasses.

 My bobble head even has my name on it.  This makes it official.  The only Spiegel bobble head in existence.  I also hope you guys can compare my real life pictures with my bobble pictures.  Maybe some of you guys will get confused and not know which is which.

This gift will make Dodgerbobble jealous.  Even the great Dodgerbobble himself will never have a Spiegel in his collection. 

I Must Get Organized!

As everyone in the blog world knows, 2012 Topps is coming out soon.  I also know that I still have cards from 2011 that I need to catalog and organize.  Some trade packages are still sitting at my bedside waiting for me to write about and then put away in there proper spots.

I must get my cards in order because pretty soon 2012 Topps will be opened up and that will get me even more behind.  I have the next week off from work.  I have these days off, not because I needed a vacation or because my inappropriate work place comments have finally caught up with me.  I have a week off because nobody is shopping at retail stores so, there isn't much of a need for a truck driver to deliver product to the store.  This week will be dedicated to drinking beer and organizing my collection.  In that order.

Part of my organization process will also involve posting more about cards that bloggers have sent me.  This particular Kirk Gibson was sent to me by Matt from Cardboard Conundrum.  This is a Topps card that must have been sold at Ames.  I don't have any other cards from this set but, this must be the best one that the Topps/Ames team up had to offer.

This card is commemorating Gibson's 20/20 seasons.  Being a 20/20 player seems like an amateur season compared to the greatness of Matt Kemp.  Kemp will be a 20/20 player by the beginning of May.  Kemp will also destroy any single season home run record that baseball fans recognize.

For the record, the Roger Maris record is tops in my book.  My book is also the only book that matters.

This is a rookie card of the Dodgers Minor League Player of the Year, Scott Van Slyke.  It is also a cool photo of him.  He is spinning his helmet like a Harlem Globe Trotter.

Van Slyke mashed last year in Double-A Chattanooga.  He is a first baseman and an Outfielder.  The Dodgers lack good offensive players in there system so, Van Slyke may have a good shot at the Majors.

Here are is numbers from last year:
.348 Batting Average
.427 OBP
.595 Slugging
1.022 OPS
45 Doubles
20 Homers

Those numbers are solid.  I hope he continues to rake in Triple-A next season and maybe gets called up to LA this year.  The Dodgers will need a new first baseman soon because James Loney is still a bum.

This was the prize of this trade with Matt.  This card is a dual relic of Shawn Green.  The card is also serial numbered out of 100.  Diamond King relics look pretty sweet and will fit in nicely with my other Shawn Green relics.

I wish that card companies would tell you what game or games that this bat was used in.  I would love to go online and check out just how many home runs Green hit against the Giants with this bat.  I think it is safe to assume that Green hit 7 bombs in a three game series against the Giants with this bat.  The 7th homer sawed him off but still clear the fence because Shawn Green is awesome.

Thanks for the trade!

Andy Ashby Signs For Me

It feels that I should be posting more.  I don't post as much as I should.  It seems like it has been awhile since my last post but, according to blogger, my last post was on 12-27-11.  That is not too long ago.  But, since the 27th, I am sure that the other bloggers that I follow have made several posts.  Those guys are on point and give there fans something to check on a daily basis.  Maybe 2012 will be different at the Platter.  Maybe I could be one of those guys that churn out post after post.

That is one of my 2012 goals.  The goal of posting more and getting better at writing as time goes on.  My hours are getting cut at work so, that should leave me more free time to write some gold.  I am also on the job hunt and that means no more medicating with the greens.  That should enable me to stop being lazy when it comes to blog upkeep.

Another mission of mine is to keep sending out letters to baseball players that wore Dodger blue.  This mission has already started a few weeks back and it should continue in 2012.  Even if the player was only briefly a Dodger.  That is the case for Andy Ashby.

Ashby played a few seasons in LA.  I enjoyed watching him pitch even though his prime years were behind him by the time he put on a Dodger uniform.  I am a skinny dude and I enjoy seeing skinny athletes succeed at the big league level.

His signature is beautiful.  Everyone has a different signature that is unique to them.  I am not sure about the psychology of what makes a person sign the way they do.  Maybe a psychologist or an arm chair psychologist can enlighten me on that topic.

I also wish that I had included a page in the envelope with some questions for Ashby.  Tom from Baseball by the Letters has been a major inspiration to me.  I enjoy reading his blog and seeing some of the responses he gets.  I have also seen a few other bloggers do the same thing and some players actually respond.  I find that to be very cool for a ball player to answer a few questions for a fan.

A special thanks to Andy Ashby for being nice enough to mail me a couple autographs.  Ashby is a cool dude!