Looking For More

It has been awhile since my last blog post.  It has been around three weeks since my readers have had the honor of glancing through my typed words.  Now I just need to remember how to type properly for your brief enjoyment.

Over the past few weeks during my blogging hiatus, I have been organizing my cards, purchasing lots online and compiling cardboard that I am stuffing into 3200 count boxes.  Those were at least the activities that I was doing that are card collecting related, of course.

I am setting up a table at a card show in Culver City on May 18th.  So, I have been stocking up on cards to sell at the show.  This was a totally different mindset for me.  I am usually not one of those collectors that buys boxes or autographed cards of minor leaguers with the intent of flipping the cards for a profit down the line.  This was a very different kind of seek and buy mission.  I had to think of what cards that some customer would want to purchase from me.  I feel that I have made some good buys online and I hope that will make my card show selling experience a money making success.

If you are going to be in the LA area on that day, stop by and say hello to your blogging brother.  The admission is free which is a huge plus for the consumer.

Enough of the buying to flip card acquisitions, it is now time to show off some of the good stuff that will stay in my collection.  I haven't just been buying cards with others on my mind, I have still been trading a bit.  I made a trade with Scott Crawford On Cards and I am pretty sure the trade talks began on Twitter.  I also believe that may make this the first time I have used Twitter as a form of trading communication.  I will get the Platter fact checkers to see if that is true.

A vintage Johnny Podres card will always fit nicely into my collection.  It was fun going through a bubble mailer with the joy of looking at cards that were going to stay in my grasp.  Buying for the show was getting tiresome at points because I kept seeing cards that I would like just for myself.

Trades with bloggers don't have that problem at all.  A blogger sends you some baseball cards and you usually get some sweet ones that you will cherish.  This Podres card fits the bill.

It is an honor for a Dodger pitcher to wear a blue glove.  Wearing a blue glove while playing for the Dodgers seems to be a tradition that I love pointing out.  Pedro Martinez was one of the first Dodger players that I remember rocking the blue mitt.  When did players start wearing gloves to match their team colors?

Some other Dodger players that have worn the blue glove like Pedro were Carlos Perez, Vicente Padilla and Pedro Astacio.  These players as well as many others have worn that glove with pride.  Pedro also has the right idea going with the bigger, outfielder's mitt which will better serve him on comebackers.

This Pedro card lists some of his minor league stats on the back.  They were quite impressive and you could see the numbers were dominant.  It made me kind of depressed and I will avoid showing the back of this card to save the despair for other Doyer fans.

 To not end things on a sour note, Scott sent me this snazzy Jackie Robinson insert.  Jackie is surrounded by refractorness qualities with another image of him at the plate in the background.

This card will spruce up a 9-pocket page in my Brooklyn binder.  The most recent Jackie cards that I have gotten have been of the more bland looking Gypsy Queen type.  Flashy Jackie is much better than the Dullard Jackies' I have added to my binders recently.

Using Twitter to get a trade going worked out well. I will have to try that again someday.  If I have some cards leftover after the card show, then I will have some nice trade bait to get some deals going with the blog world.  Hopefully, my pile of unwanted cards will be lighter after May 18th.

Thank you for the trade, Scott and sending me some cards that will never be flipped for profit.

It May Be Real

Remember back some months, when some dude was selling the card companies fake jerseys that the card companies were putting into "game used" cards?  Do you also remember that some of the card companies knew that these jerseys were fake but, were in such a rush to move product, they bought the phony jerseys anyways?

A lot of the blog world was up in arms over this scandal.  It was a tragic case of greed and criminals entering our beloved hobby.  This incident along with the vague wording on the backs of relic cards have forever tarnished the market value for these so called game used cards.

On occasion, I still buy a relic card.  The prices have plummeted and spending more than a few bucks for one is out of the question.  I also only purchase cheap ones of players that I really like and am building a massive collection in their honor.

Johnny Podres is my favorite Brooklyn Dodger.  He delivered in the 1955 World Series by dominating in a Game 7 victory over the Yankees.  This card even mentions his 1955 World Series MVP glory just below a piece of off white colored jersey.

As far as potential fake jersey cards go, this is a pretty good one.  I may believe that this one is real.  The cloth looks aged and at least stained in tea.  The fraudulent jersey salesman may have even rubbed some dirt on this jersey before selling it to Upper Deck for a good profit.

I like how the scammer put forth the extra effort to try and make this swatch look 1950s old.  Upper Deck probably paid a premium for this one.  Some relic cards of older players, look too modern.  The jerseys may look like the same material that current players are wearing.  This Podres card looks well worn and may be real.

If it is not real, it is a card from one of the better cheats to do business with Upper Deck.  It is better than some of the lazier criminals Upper Deck have made purchases from.

Hooray For Brooklyn!

Today was the day that I cashed in on my free pass that I won from the blog, Vin Scully is my Homeboy.  The free pass was admission to the SoCal Baseball Expo in Anaheim.  The show was going to have some baseball card vendors so, I put my game face on and made the journey to Orange County.

This was a pretty far drive for me and the trip took me a little over an hour to arrive at the Anaheim Marriot. I was in search of some baseball card card finds and was in a positive mood about this show.  It helped that I won a free ticket.  Otherwise, I may have not attended at all and missed out on some vintage finds.

The few card shows that I have been to in SoCal, have had an abundance of vintage dealers.  A card show in Glendale that I have been to a couple of times had mostly vintage tables.  The show I regularly attend in City of Industry may be split among newer product and vintage cards.

This show in Anaheim, was mainly vintage tables.  Some newer stuff that skewed towards the high end, which is not my cup of tea.  I was happy to see some vintage cards for sale, I just wish this show had more variety.  Maybe some more newer singles in a dime box or low end hits in a $2 dollar bin.

I saw some quarter boxes which were nice.  The dollar boxes were nice to dig through.  I would have spent an extra hour at this show if I found one dime box.

The SoCal Baseball Expo had around 25 vendors selling baseball cards, memorabilia, and autographs.  I saw one of the vintage dealers that I was familiar with from the Glendale shows was at this Anaheim show as well.

I spotted his table and knew it was time to work on one of my goals for this show.  My top two goals were to boast my vintage Dodger collection as well as add to my Hall of Fame collection.

I finally pulled the trigger on this card.  The colors on this 1955 Topps Johnny Podres is eye catching.  I have been wanting this card for awhile.  It is now in my collection!

1955 was a huge year for Dodger fans.  The Brooklyn Dodgers finally beat the Yanks to win there first World Series in 1955.  Podres was the series MVP and pitched a shut out in Game 7 to clinch the victory for Brooklyn.

Beating the Yankees in a Game 7 is always sweet, it was even tougher for Podres because it was at the old Yankee Stadium.  Over 60,000 Yankee fans were in attendance and the crowd was probably pretty loud and obnoxious.  These were the days when Yankee fans actually showed up to playoff games.

Podres shut the Yanks down and Brooklyn became the champions.  Finally they over came, the Yankees dominance and claim 1955 as the Dodger's year.

This card will always have a special place in my collection.

I have been searching for a Bowman card of a Brooklyn Dodger, for a fair price for sometime now.  The Carl Furillo card spoke to me at the card show.  This card had to be mine.

The painted look of vintage Bowman cards are spectacular.  The color holds up on this 1952 card and the corners are decent.  I wasn't expecting to buy anything this nice and I am glad that I found this lurking within a mass of vintage boxes to pick through.  I chose the right box to search because I heard Furillo's voice.

I enjoyed my time at this show.  I was really able to focus and spend my money only on singles.  I was able to pick up some cards for the bloggers that won my little contest.  I also purchased more vintage that i will show in another post.

Roberto from Vin Scully is my Homeboy was at the show and got a sweet Hubie Brooks signature.  I was glad to see a familiar face and someone to chat with for a bit.  It was also nice to thank him in person,for running the contest that got me in the show.

Luck and fate were at play.  The Podres and Furllio were meant for my collection.

If any SoCal bloggers are attending this show on Saturday or Sunday and have any questions please comment or email me.  I was able to scope the place out and do some laps around the tables.

The Past Beats The Present

Dodgers GM Ned Colletti was at it again at the trade deadline.  Colletti seems to enjoy hurting the team by poor trades and awful free agent signings.  Owner Frank McCourt isn't smart enough to fire this guy.  The Dodgers are thin at the catching position in there minor league system.  So, the genius that Colletti is trades Trayvon Robinson, who is one of the Dodgers top prospects, for minor league depth.  Colletti got three mid level minor league players named Tim Fedorowicz, Stephen Fife, and Juan Rodriguez.

Fedorowicz is the prize that Colletti was after.  He is a defensive minded catcher that may not hit well enough at the big league level to warrant a trade of a prospect of Trayvon Robinson's skill level.  All the scouting reports that I read state Fedorowicz is a projected back up big league catcher or a starter on a second division major league team.  I guess that Dodgers are a second division team now.  Thanks, Colletti!

Colletti has been making more moves that hurts the team in the present and the future.  I can't believe someone that has as much power within a big league club can be that dumb.  When Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier leave after the 2012 season, won't the Dodgers need a cheap outfield alternative?  Getting a mid level catching prospect seems easy to find.  Big league clubs are littered with catchers that play solid defense and can't hit.  The Dodgers currently have two of those on there big league club.  This move of trading a solid outfield prospect when there will be a need on the team in the near future just doesn't make sense to me. 

When a new owner comes in to take the team from the claws of Frank McCourt, Ned Colletti should be fired immediately.  There is no reason that he has a job.  McCourt and Colletti have done more harm than good.  Colletti seems to make moves with the intent on hurting the Dodgers.  He may be hurting the team presently and the team's future but, he can't hurt the past.  Right?

Maury Wills is a big time Doyer that stole a ton of bases in the 60s.  Wills helps out Dodger players during spring training by showing them bunting and base running skills.  Wills should have Colletti stand on second base and come in cleats high.  Give him a good cleating to the groin.  This drill will teach Dodger players how to break up a double play and how to prevent a GM from procreating.

This is my first Maury Wills autograph and it's on card.  This card is also serial numbered out of 320.  I think I am going to pick up some more of his autos because they are cheap and he was a really good player.

Ned Colletti won't be able to take away the performance of Johnny Podres in the 1955 World Series.  I am sure that Colletti has tried to erase the 1955 championship from Dodger lore because he loves to bring down the team.  But, nothing will ever erase the beast pitching show that Podres laid on the Yankees.  Podres pitched a Game 7 shut out against the Yankees in 1955 to give the Dodgers the title.  I always mention this whenever I pick up a Podres card.  I feel that the Dodgers won't have a World Series hero like this anytime soon.  So, Dodger fans must cling to the past and enjoy what some of our icons have done for us.

I have been trying to load up on cards of Podres recently and have been fairly successful.  I found this one on Ebay on the cheap.  I am looking for some of his vintage cards though.  If anyone has any for trade, please let me know.

John Roseboro is a Doyer bad ass.  He was a catcher on some of the great Dodger teams of the 60s.  This is my first card of his and it is a cool vintage card.  This card is in pretty good shape also.  When I purchase a vintage card off of Ebay, I always just cross my fingers and hope the card is in decent shape.  The corners are a little worn but, that's okay.

Ned Colletti can't take Don Newcombe's 1956 MVP award from him.  Colletti has tried to trade Newcombe's MVP award for a player to be named later.  Luckily, MLB told him that you can't trade an award for a player.  This was news to Colletti.

Don Newcombe still works for the Dodgers.  He shows up at games every now and then wearing a nice suit and cool hat.  He looks like a stud.  One day, Newcombe will throw a fastball right through Frank McCourt's face.  Newcombe still looks like he can bring the heat.

Ned Colletti made a statement about the lack of catching depth in the Dodgers system.  It was a hole that he created by trading Carlos Santana and not addressing the issue through the draft or with an international signing.  Idiot!

I picked up this card at a card shop called Valley Baseball Cards located in Tarzana,CA.  Tarzana is best known as the birth place of me!  It is also known for this great card shop.  This card shop was recommended to me by Dodgerbobble.  If you are in the area be sure to check it out.  The staff is super nice and they have a good selection of singles.

I didn't know that Carlos Santana had a Dodger card.  I am glad to add this one to my collection. 

Random Hits From Random Places

I have been able to pick up some nice autos and GUs recently.  My hits PC is growing rapidly.  I have almost enough to fill a shoebox.  That is very impressive considering that when I got back into collecting during the Fall of 2010, I had zero to speak of.  Now, I am even building a nice Brooklyn Dodger collection to go along with my LA Dodger PC.

I went to my local weekly card show over the weekend.  I usually try to pick up a box plus some random singles.  This time around the box selection was kind of weak and nothing caught my eye.  Even the guy that sells fitted New Era hats didn't have much to offer.  But, the day wasn't a complete bust because I was able to snag this Johnny Podres auto.  Podres may be my favorite Brooklyn Dodger.  I keep on making this point every time I post about a card that I get of his.  Thank you, Mr.Podres, for the 1955 World Series title.

I am not a hockey collector but, I am a fan of the sport.  The team that I follow is the Philadelphia Flyers.  I picked up on the game when I was going to high school in suburban Philly.  Daniel Carcillo is a player on the Flyers.  He is a little guy with a mean temper and that is why I like his game.  I also like finding a deal.  The same dealer that sold me the Podres auto, had this auto of Carcillo for only a buck.  So, that is why I added this card to my PC.  You can't pass up a deal like that.

A card collecting buddy of mine named Mike C. gave me this card as part of a trade.  We usually swap a stack of cards every time we get together.  I probably owe him a lot more since he has thrown a lot of nice ones my way over the months.  I know Dice-K may be at the end of the road as far as having a successful big league career but, I still am willing to collect his cards.  I hope Dice-K can get healthy and bounce back next year.  He may have to leave the stuffiness of Boston and just relax.  Boston seems like a tough place for people to feel comfortable as a player.  Maybe a change of scenery will help him. 

I was able to pick these two Kurt Suzuki autos up in a trade with Greg from Plaschke Thy Sweater is Argyle and I would like to thank him for that.  I had pulled a Chase Utley auto from a box break that I was dangling in front of him.  Greg is a UCLA collector as well as a Doyer fan.  Utley went to UCLA as you may know.  This trade had been discussed between us for weeks and it has finally been completed.  I'll get you package out this week, Greg.

Also, I have no idea why the name Plaschke is so hard for me to spell.  I see the name Bill Plaschke in the LA Times on a near daily basis and I still can't spell it.  I also avoid Bill Plaschke's articles on a near daily basis. 

I went to Wal-Mart the other day and bought one of those Topps Value boxes.  I pulled this 2011 Topps 60 Matt Harrison auto.  I saw other bloggers have luck pulling hits from this product and now the good luck as came my way.  Now, I can dangle this card as trade bait.  If anyone is interested in this card, please email me or leave a comment.