Good News and Good News

I just got back from a meeting with my college counselor.  I knew that I was getting close to being able to apply for graduation.  I counted only 2 or 3 more classes left.  Today's meeting was about making sure I had enough credits and to fill out some paper work so, I can obtain my associates degree.

The counselor was very helpful and told me that only two more classes for my associates in history and one more class that is required to transfer to Cal State Northridge.  Next Spring, I am going to work less and crank out the last few classes.  Getting my associates degree is going to be a huge accomplishment for me and by next fall I will actually be on a campus of a state university, taking classes, searching for parking and finishing up life goals.

2013 is going to be the start of the Decades of Spiegel.  I can't wait until next year.

Since, I am full of a lot of spirit and energy, it is time for a long form trade post.  This trade post is going to feature cards from blogger superstar named Night Owl who runs a blog that the world has read.  Night Owl sent me a lot of really nice Dodger cards.  He sent them in a little box.

Night Owl is above using bubble mailers.  He prefers sending a stack of baseball cards in a cardboard box.

This card is instantly one of my favorite Mike Piazza cards.  Piazza won the All-Star Game MVP in 1996.  The game took place in his hometown of Philadelphia and it was also the city that I was living in at the time.  It was big news in the area that the city was hosting the All-Star Game and for a local boy like Piazza to win the MVP honors was a perfect story for the game.

I am not sure if this card has been on the Dodger Card Countdown that Night Owl is running.  I don't remember seeing it.  This Piazza may have a chance.

Oddball cards featuring Dodgers always have a binder spot in my collection.  Even Dodger players that I prefer not to look at, get a placed in a binder if they appear on an oddball card.

This is a fantastic action shot of Steve Garvey.  It shows him crushing a baseball and showing off his popeye forearms.  The bottom blue part on the bottom takes away from this photo a bit.  Topps needs to acquire the rights to this photo, revamp Stadium Club and churn this card out for the masses.

It is only that simple, Topps.

These are some of my first 2012 Topps minis.  I have been staring at boxes and packs of these at my local card shop for weeks.  I have been tempted to buy a box or at least a handful of packs.  I must refrain from doing so and just wait until the hundreds of Dodger bloggers out there get some dupes and mail them to me.

The Javy Guerra card is a neat daytime celebration photo.  It would be better if Dioner Navarro wasn't in this picture.  I am surprised the Dodgers actually won this game with Navarro in the line-up.

Are collectors getting frustrated with the over saturation of parallels.  We have all different colors or parallels and also mini sized ones.  When is too much of one card.....too much of one card?

Night Owl has been purging his collection of relics since the card companies got involved in a scandal.  The scandal involved the card companies knowingly buying fake jerseys from some scumbag and sticking the non-game used jerseys in cards.

I understand Night Owl's frustration.  I still would like to obtain cards that have photos of Dodgers on it.  The prices of relics has dropped and the ease in which bloggers mail me them has been beneficial in my quest to obtain Dodgers.

Night Owl gladly dumped a handful of relics on me and I gladly accepted.  He sent me a couple Shawn Green cards.

This is a well designed relic of Paul Lo Duca.  It has a tiny photo of his face, a tiny piece of cloth and a tiny version of a Dodger Stadium ticket.  Fleer added a lot of stuff on this card and I like the effort.  It gives my eyes many things to look at and focus on.

This card is also slightly smaller in size and has a perforated edge on one side.  I miss the creativity that Fleer used to bring to the table.

How many more years until MLB gives another company a license to compete with Topps?

 
One of the relics that Night Owl included features a dude that I never heard of.  He is wearing a Dodger uniform and it stumped me.  This doesn't happen very often.

I had to Google Mike Nixon's name and look up his stats.  Nixon was drafted out of a baseball player factory called Arizona State University.  The Dodgers picked him in the 3rd round of the 2002 draft.  Nixon didn't pan out for the club and his baseball career ended in 2005.

He does have a spot in my collection though.  I may never own a Mike Nixon base card but, I at least have this one of him.  I really like the mountain and the brick building in the background of his photo.  The stadium that he is in is probably pretty nice with a mountain popping out of center field.

This was a wonderful trade and it took me a while to pick out some cards that I wanted to feature at the Platter.  That is usually a good sign of how well received this trade box was.

Thank you for the cards, Night Owl!

Can't Find A Fit

I am the lucky guy that has this weekend off.  I haven't had a weekend off in awhile.  Earlier today I ventured out to a card show.  I remembered to write down a list of things to focus on at the card show.  Whenever I go to a card show, focus seems to be a problem.  A good list helps immensely.

One of the things on the list of items to keep an eye out for was supplies.  I needed some top loaders and maybe a binder if it was cheap.  Another aspect of hunting down supplies is trying to find plastic holders for oddly shaped cards.  This can be tough at times because some dealers may not be selling any random protective plastic casing for the one dude that may need it on that particular day.

One of the cards that needs to be encased is this 2002 Flair Box Topper Kaz Ishii.  This card was sent to me by Napkin Doon and it is my first Ishii autograph.

This card is also thick due to the slice of wood that Ishii signed.  I will have to roll by my local card shop and try to find something to help display this card.

Napkin Doon also sent me this card which has the ability to stand on its own.  See evolution is real.  This baseball card proves it.  Cards have the strength to stand now.  Pretty soon they will be walking and causing a ruckus.

I am not sure what type of plastic case I will buy to house this card.  Maybe something that is used for ticket stubs?

I really like this card.  Not only were Shawn Green and Paul Lo Duca two of my favorites in the early 2000s but, this card has a lurking Eric Karros.  Karros is seen walking up towards the plate while Green and Lo Duca are congratulating each other for a job well done.

Napkin Doon writes a unique blog and he sent me some interesting cards which I appreciate very much.  Napkin Doon's blog is always entertaining and has good wit to it.  Go check it out especially for his Cleve's Auction posts.

Thanks for the trade!

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.