Down At The Card Shop

The other day I finally had a day off from work from my jobs.  I had worked 12 straight days.  It was awful.  I needed to spend some cash on baseball cards to take myself from the gloom of work mode into the happiness of freedom.

Of course, I headed over to the card shop to spend my money.  I have been trying to stock up on my vintage collection.  I have been slowly building a solid collection of guys in the hall of fame with cards that depict them in the 60s and 70s.  I will get to the 50s eventually but that is going to be costly.  The 70s is right in my price range at the moment.

I have also been trying to get a nice collection going of Dodgers from the 60s and 70s.  I have been getting Topps cards from that era as well as trying to get some autographs as well.

Frank Howard signs in the LA area on occasion.  He usually charges around 25-30.  Luckily, I waited it out and was able to pick this up for less than half his signing fee.  This auto is from 2001 Team Topps Legends and is an on-card signature.

Howard was a masher back in the day.  He hit homers out of any ball park.  On the back of his baseball card, it lists him at 6 foot 6 inches and 245 pounds.  That is a big man in any era.  Frank Howard also has a very nice signature that is legible. 

To bolster my collection of Dodgers from the 60s, I picked up this 1969 Topps Willie Crawford card.  Crawford is a pretty big dude.  He has the shoulders of a linebacker and the forearms of Popeye.  This dude could crush redwood trees with his bare hands.

The 1969 Topps set is really nice.  I hope to be able to complete the Dodgers team set from this year.  Willie Crawford puts me one step closer to that goal.

The card shop also had a bunch of 70s cards in its dollar box.  This was a great chance for me to stock up on my hall of fame collection.  I will only show you guys a could of my favorites because I left the shop with a stack of 70s goodness.  I also don't want to bore some of you collectors that has been looking at Topps cards from the 70s since you began collecting.

I really dig this 1975 Topps Steve Carlton.  He is rocking a great mustache.  Carlton's mustache accounted for a few of his victories in 1975.  The better you look the better you play.  Mustaches always look good.  That is a fact that should be taught in high schools all across America.

I also enjoy the background of this photo.  Is Carlton playing in a spring training game?  Is he just pitching in a town that hates going to baseball games?  It is hard for me to be able to tell which ballpark this photo is from.

This is a classic card from Topps.  This is a 1977 Carlton Fisk.  Fisk is making a play at the plate against the Yanks.  I love this photo.  If I ever make a cool banner for my blog, I may have to include this card on it.  I am not a Fisk fan or a Red Sox fan but, I am a fan of a great photo.  Do you guys know who is sliding into home plate?

The Goods From The Card Shop

I made a trek out to my local card shop today.  I had the day off from work so, spending some time hanging out in the card shop sounded like a good idea.  I cruised threw some traffic on the 101 freeway to make it to Valley Sports Cards in Tarzana,CA.

Going to the card shop is great.  I probably don't need to tell you guys that.  It's a great place to talk sports and baseball cards.  Now only if they served beer....

Not only did I talk some Dodger baseball and crack some Frank McCourt jokes but, I also picked up some cards.  I won this 2011 Topps Pro Debut Garrett Gould auto off of the bid board.  Gould is a Dodger minor league pitching prospect.  I was able to get this for $1.50.  I thought that my bid was kind of low but, it won! 

I like how Gould makes his G's.  He signs them in proper cursive as opposed to the G's I write which is part cursive part block lettering.  This card could become a steal of a deal if Gould ever makes it to the big club. 

I also opened up some 2011 Topps Chrome baseball packs.  I was excited to see if the cards still have a warped bend to them.  Luckily, the cards lay flat this year.  I was pleased with my four pack purchase except for the fact that I pulled no Dodgers.  I at least got some sweet trade bait.

I pulled two Heritage Chrome cards #ed/1962.  One is of White Sox rookie reliever Chris Sale.  The other is a card of some dude named Derek Jeter. 

The Jeter card show go quick.  I also don't like the smile on his face or the way he is looking at me.  Please take this card off my hands!

I was happy to see some gold gleaming from the pack until I saw that it was a card featuring a Giant.  This card is #ed/50.  I may put this card on the bid board for a nickel.  I may also let my cat use it as a chew toy because she loves gold.  My cat is all class.

This card is definitely available for trade.  Please let me know if your interested.  It won't take much to get this Matt Cain card out of my house and stuffed in a bubble mailer to send to a faraway land.

Digging in the dime box at Valley Sports Cards is a lot of fun.  I spend a lot of time searching threw cards of all eras.  They have cards from the 60s to 2011 stuffed inside a bunch of 5000 count boxes.  I pulled these 2007 Allen and Ginter Sketch cards for trade bait.

These cards remind me of the Diamond Kings that I used to pull back in the day.  I know Dick Perez has been drawing ball players for a long time.

Today was a fun day off.  The card shop is a grand place to spend a day.  If you are ever in Tarzana,CA, stop by the shop.  The staff is super cool and the prices are reasonable.