Andy LaRoche Weekend

I went to the Frank and Sons Card Show on Saturday.  It is a show that occurs twice a week and a buddy and I try to make it down there once a month.  The show usually has some good cheap autos and game used cards.  Also, a dealer or two may have a nice deal on a box.

That is where I purchased my 2011 Topps Lineage box that was featured in my last post.  The deal was good on the box but, the selection of well priced singles weren't to be found.  One of the sellers that I go to, usually has hundreds of hits separated in $2, $5, and $10 boxes.  I tend to mix and match from these boxes to get a better deal on the per card price.  This time the seller had a very small selection.  Somebody must have cleaned him out.

The show was kind of a bust for me.  But, my buddy had some cards to trade me.  I have been accumulating a bunch of NBA game used cards for him.  I built up a stack of a dozen to trade him.  Thank you blog world for sending me some nice basketball cards.

I brought my stack and he brought his.  It was time to trade.  He traded me this sweet 2007 Exquisite Andy LaRoche and Tony Abreu auto #ed/20!

I never would have found this card on my own.  Heck, I never even knew that this card was out in the world.  This card would have been searched for by me, if I knew it had existed.

This card fulfills my burgeoning Andy LaRoche collection and my failed Dodger prospects collection.  LaRoche and Abreu fit that bill.  Abreu is wearing shades in his photo to hide the shame of being a bust.  Don't worry Abreu, I may be one of the few people alive that actually would recognize you. 

The Andy LaRoche weekend didn't stop at the card show.  The LaRocheness continued when I arrived home.  As the only Andy LaRoche super collector, I had to write him a letter.  I told him that I am a big fan of his and have been waiting for him to break out in the big leagues.  I also wished him good luck and hope that he sticks with the Cleveland Indians.

I said a lot of complimentary things to him.  I also may be the only person that wrote a nice letter to LaRoche and meant those comments.  I really do wish him the best and I do wish he worked out for the Dodgers.

At one point in the baseball world, Andy LaRoche was a top notch prospect.  He was supposed to supplant Adrian Beltre as the Dodgers 3rd baseman.  Laroche was a part of a loaded Dodger minor league system at the time.  The early to mid 2000s had a lot of good Dodgers playing in the minors such as Chad Billingsley, Jonathan Broxton, Russell Martin, Hong Chih Kuo, Matt Kemp, James Loney, and Andy LaRoche.  All of the other guys have played well in the big leagues except LaRoche.

That makes me pull for him even harder.  He saw all of his peers that he came up with have nice success while he has floundered in LA, Oakland, Pittsburgh, and now fighting just for a roster spot with Cleveland.

He is an underdog that I am pulling for.  Good luck this year, LaRoche!

My Dodger Haul From A Card Show

My friend and I made a trip down to our local card show called Frank and Sons in the City of Industry,CA.  They hold a twice a week show there with a mix of sports cards, memorabilia, action figures and other collectibles.  I usually try to roll down to the show every other month.  I don't go as often as I like due to money constraints.

Most of the other times that I go, I pick up a hobby box plus some singles.  But, this is a new year and a new way of collecting for me.  I decided to get down on boxes, blasters and packs so, I can put all my collecting dollars more towards cards that fit my needs.  By, spending money more on singles as opposed to playing a game of chance with a pack of cards.  This should build my personal collection a lot more easily and cut down on having random clutter.

One guy at the show had a box of hits for 2 bucks apiece.  That price is right in my budget wheelhouse.  I was able to get some Dodgers as well as some trade bait.  Most of the trade bait that I bought today will be going out shortly to some traders of the blog world.

I love game specific relic cards.  I will keep on saying that every time that I find one to show off at the Platter.  This card contains a piece of jersey that Paul Lo Duca wore during the 2003 All-Star game.  Lo Duca was one of my favorite Dodgers a decade ago.  His name was tarnished by being mentioned in the Mitchell Report.  But, I don't care too much about that, he was still a Dodger and his cards will always fit into my collection.

See, I told you that I don't care about the Mitchell Report.  Lo Duca cards are welcomed into my home.  Oddly, this is my first certified Lo Duca autograph.  I guess that he didn't have too many back in his prime during the 2000s.  I splurged a little and picked this one out of the 5 dollar box.  Since, I was buying in bulk, this card came out to a little less than that.

I thought that my first Lo Duca auto card should be high end.  This card comes from 2004 Leaf Certified and is numbered out of 50.  This card is also super shiny which is a plus.

Back to the finds in the 2 dollar box, I found a game used Steve Garvey that I didn't have.  I dig the young looking photo that they used of Garvey.  He looks like the innocent, golden boy that everyone thought he was in the 70s.

This card is from a SP Authentic set called Cooperstown Calling.  I don't see Cooperstown ever calling Garvey.  He had a really good career but, probably will fall short in his bid to the Hall of Fame.  The only people that may be calling Garvey these days are the I.R.S, an ex-wife/girlfriend seeking child support payments or some middle aged women claiming he is the fathered her child back in '85.

I have a decent sized Andy LaRoche autograph collection going.  This card was probably a big hit to pull out of 2005 Bowman's Best back then.  I am still a fan of LaRoche and don't fully understand how he didn't pan out into something special.  He had great numbers in the minors and good genes because he has other family members that were also big league ball players.  LaRoche just never made the next step in the majors to become big time.  

I love collecting autos of failed Dodger prospects.  LaRoche is my favorite of them all.  I thought he was going to be the cornerstone at the hot corner for the Dodgers.  I followed his minor league and major league career.  I think that is why he is my favorite failed prospect to collect.  He also has many cards and autographs from the mid-2000s.  That gives me plenty of autos to chase.

The card show today was fun.  Spending my limited funds mostly on singles that I want seemed to work out great.  I was also able to pick up some cheap autos of some UCLA football players that I may show off at another time.  So, long to pack ripping for now because I want to see where this next step of collecting takes me.