Check Out My Impulse Buys

There were a few cards on COMC that I wanted to pick up recently for various projects and posts. But there weren't enough on that list to make the $3 shipping fee worthwhile. A collector has two options in that case: wait until they have enough needs to justify the purchase, or create "needs" on the fly and make the purchase immediately.

So, really, there is no choice. You've seen, or will see, the other cards from this purchase as they fulfill their Playing With My Cards destiny. Right now, it's time to enjoy some cards just because they were meant to be enjoyed. Let's play...

2009 Topps Allen & Ginter Clayton Kershaw LAD #53
2010 Topps All-Black Clayton Kershaw LAD #10

Naturally, I had to add to the affordable Kershaw collection. The '09 Ginter was a classic no-brainer for Getting a Grip. I'm not usually big on the black parallels, but they looked good with the 2010 design.

2012 Topps Archives Stickers Clayton Kershaw LAD #67S-CK
2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini Clayton Kershaw Photo Variation LAD #26B

Big cartoonish floating head and mini batting photo variation. It's this kind of Random variety that makes collecting these things so fun.

2013 Panini Prizm Blue Pulsar Clayton Kershaw LAD #3
2013 Bowman Blue Refractor Clayton Kershaw LAD #220 (225/250)

I dig these the most, though. Blue refractor Kershaws are a particularly desirable player collection subset for me, though I certainly can't afford to be a completist with these. I love these Panini Pulsar things. Can't get enough of 'em.

Moving on, "It's tiiiiiiime for Dodger oddballs!" (Sorry, I wanted to hear Vin Scully say that in my head.)

1986 True Value Super Stars Fernando Valenzuela LAD #6
1997 Fleer Sports Illustrated Hideo Nomo Classic Covers LAD #176

Is Fernando going to pitch a five-hit shutout, or build a tree house for his kids in the back yard? Maybe both. When I saw that there was a baseball card version of that Nomo SI cover, it became must-have material. I had that magazine cover on my bedroom wall for several months in 1995. And this was at a time when I thought I was too cool and grown up for such nonsense. That's how excited I was.

1987 Topps Tiffany Dave Lopes Record Breaker HOU #4
1981 Topps Coca-Cola Houston Astros Don Sutton HOU #11

Dodgers wearing (or, in the case of Sutton, having their picture altered to appear as though they're wearing) an orange rainbow on their jerseys. The Lopes card may not look like an oddball, unless you noticed the particularly crisp photo and fine dark wood grain of the border. It's my first Tiffany card from the '87 Topps set, and it's a beaut. Dig the Don cuz it's a different picture from the base set (Dodgers) or traded (Astros) versions from '81 Topps.

1993 Topps Stadium Club Inserts Charlie Hough FLA #C2

I'd been seeing this on the Dime Box Dozen at Nick's site since I started doing this blog thing. I wanted one, too, so I figured it was time to do something about it. All together now: ROUGH... TOUGH... CHARLIE... HOUGH!

2008 Upper Deck National Baseball Card Day Luke Hochevar KCR #UD16
2006 BBM Japan Nostalgic Baseball Atsushi Aramaki Mainichi Orions #85

Of course, I had to get a few more non-Kerhsaw grips while I was at it, and I couldn't be happier with these. In fact, what would make me really happy is getting my hands on that whole Nostalgic Baseball set. Those things are awesome!

1989 ProCards Scott Davison Jamestown Expos #2145

But the random COMC treat that I'd been eyeing the longest was this Scott Davison card. It's not his first, though. That honor (most dubiously) goes to the black & white '84 Topps ripoff you will find here, along with the story of why I'm interested in Scott Davison... if you're interested, that is.

In retrospect, pointing this out only reminds me that I've allowed Top of the Topps to whither on the vine. Who knows if I'll wake the thing up at some point? Not I.

End transmission.

Once Again, Here's Johnny...

John, of Johnny's Trading Spot, strikes me as many things: a passionate Braves fan, a dedicated blogger, a collector with an eye for the unusual (have you seen some of his interpretations of shadows on cards?). But one thing he's not (again, this is just my impression) is patient. You can see this in some of his posts about Braves team sets that he's looking to complete right now.

When it comes to cards, you can hardly blame him for not wanting to wait. But that character trait probably has him a little exasperated by me as a trade partner. Within days (maybe even just a day) of contacting me about trading, John had stuffed, by his count, about 25 different envelopes full of Dodgers, Grips, Turtlenecks, 42s, Doughnuts, and just plain cool cardboard ready to ship out my way. After the first few arrived, I had to slow him down. My sorting project is not only less than half way complete, but the inventory project has me slogging through the beginning of the alphabet again.

The good news is that I finally caught up to John's first wave of envelopes. And the second wave has begun to arrive. You can bet that I'll be plugging away at sorting and inventory and pulling Braves as fast as I can. I can sympathize with John. His great cards have me impatient for more...

2001 Topps Stadium Club Orlando Hernandez NYY #106

A couple of the best things about trading with John are his eye for great cards, and his supply of cardboard from my collecting dark ages, which started in about 1997. The result has been a deluge of fabulous cards from the late '90s and early aughts, such as the great El Duque here, racing to beat a runner to the bag.

1998 Fleer Tradition Jose Vizcaino SFG #175
1998 Fleer Tradition Shigetoshi Hasegawa ANA #204

The set that I've been treated to the most by John so far has been '98 Fleer Tradition, a set which appears to sport some of the most interesting photography of the era, and which represented an almost complete void in my collection until John began to rectify that. I think that many of the cards John has sent are supposed to be for potential inclusion in The Turtleneck Collection, as many of the players are sporting those long-necked undershirts common of the era on the card backs. Of my mini-collections, Turtlenecks is probably the toughest to get into in terms of subjective judgement. The player can't just be wearing a slightly long-necked shirt. The turtleneck really has to jump out at you. That said, if that's the reason he's sending these great cards, I have no incentive to stop him. Mini-collection hits or no, I love 'em!

1989 Topps Shawon Dunston CHC #140
1994 Pacific Wes Chamberlain PHI #470

At any rate, both in his previous packages and with this one, John did manage to send some Turtlenecks worthy of inclusion, including that incredible specimen to be found on Shawon Dunston!

1986 O-Pee-Chee Ed Vande Berg LAD #357

John knows I like Dodgers (check), I like pitchers (check), and I like OPC cards which vary from their Topps counterparts (check). Thanks for "letting us know" that Vande Berg is "now with Dodgers," OPC. That's "useful information" (if not proper usage of quotation marks).

1973 Topps Steve Yeager LAD #59
1973 Topps Jim Brewer LAD #126

John also surprised me with some vintage Dodgers, as well! Nice. I can't wait to see what he has in store next. You hear me, John? I can't wait!! I'd say that I'll be patient, but that's probably not going to be necessary with John. I'll be surprised if there isn't an envelope from our favorite high-speed Braves fan waiting for me when I get home. Thanks, again, my friend.

Early Bird's Night Owl Haul: Pack #16

What's this? Find out here.

When my Grandmother passed away at around the beginning of the year, I kinda hit the reset button as a blogger and collector. Obviously I got back into the ballgame quickly and whole-heartedly. As those of you out there reading are all-too-likely to understand, these little pieces of cardboard have done a lot to ease the transition into this new year.

One of the consequences of hitting the reset button, though, was that I took everything that had been waiting to be scanned and blabbed about here on this blog, and threw it all into the giant card-sorting factory that our dining room has become. So, while the Night Owl haul has continued apace, this sequential look at "packs" will end with the next one, as these are the last two for which I made scans before the "reset." Enough pointless explanations. Let's play...

1977 Topps Bill Singer TOR #346

An ex-Dodger joins the airbrushed expansion parade with one of the more jarring Topps attempts at updating a uniform. Between the airbrushed Blue Jays cap, the Twins jersey with the orange stripe, and the random yellow undershirt, this approaches Astros-level color vomit. Throw in the pink and radioactive green supplied by Topps in its card elements and now you know what an acid trip is like...

1977 Topps Chad Curtis SFG #324
1977 Topps Larry Parrish MON #526
1977 Topps Checklist 133-264 #208
1977 Topps Chris Chambliss NYY #220

This is a card of a type which has recently begun to fascinate me. I call them "hero cards." These are cards of players primarily known for a single big accomplishment, most likely in the post season, from the year following their moment in the spotlight. Of course, Chambliss had ended the 1976 ALCS with his anarchy-inducing walkoff homer, making this his hero card. Chambliss falls just about in the middle of the hero card "scale." The better the player, the less points for the hero card. Sure, Bob Gibson's 1968 card is a hero card. But so is his 1965 card, his 1969 card and, really, just about any of his cards. He was a Hall of Famer and World Series master, after all. On the other end of the spectrum, there's Gene Larkin's 1992 cards and Francisco Cabrera's 1993 cards. These represent the epitome of hero cards because those players left little to remember their careers by, other than their one big moment.

1977 Topps Dave Parker PIT #270

Mmmmmmm... Doughnuts! This is currently the oldest card in this tastiest of mini-collections. And The Cobra seems to be double dipping.

1977 Topps Buck Martinez KCR #46
1977 Topps Mike Marshall ATL #263

Another ex-Dodger, in the final Topps card of his playing days, despite having four seasons left in his career, including a 90-appearance campaign in 1979 for the Twins. No doubt another cardboard casualty of contract/rights issues. He did receive one of the strangest Random sunset cards around from Fleer in 1982, after his career had ended with the Mets the previous season.

1977 Topps Ellie Rodriguez LAD #448
1977 Topps Steve Braun SEA #606

We end with a cartoon (from the back of Larry Parish's card) that would have confused the heck out of me if I'd first seen it as a kid:

Was Johnny's Bench's nickname "Hotrod," or something? Was he a speedster (he's got wheels, after all)? Did he enjoy dressing up in a strange metal tutu after a hard-fought game? Was he a member of the Transformers?

The Hall of Ethan: Inaugural Class

The National Baseball Hall of Fame is an exclusive club. But not that exclusive. After all, you can find just about every Tom (Seaver), Dick (Williams) and Harry (Heilmann) within the Hall's halls. If you want exclusive, look no further than (cue the ego) The Hall of Ethan.

I was inspired to explore this bit of narcissism by a post by Gavin (don't call him Garvin) at the excellent Baseball Card Breakdown (back in November... timely as usual around here). The Hall of Gavin, as it turns out, is even more exclusive than the Hall of Ethan. Major League Baseball has seen but one Gavin, Mr. Floyd, now of the Atlanta Braves. So Gavin dug deeper and found some minor leaguers to pad his Hall. Right now, I don't have that kind of ambition or attention span, so for the moment I'll stick with the three Ethans to grace a big-league roster in the nearly 150 years of MLB:

Ethan Allen

1985 Big League Collectibles '30s Ethan Allen NYG #14

The first big-league Ethan was a bit of a Renaissance man, at least by baseball standards. a .300 career hitter, Allen was a fine ballplayer who had a nice career. After his playing days he became the National League's motion picture director, and then spent 23 years coaching at Yale University. But it is as the inventor of the All-Star Baseball board game that Ethan Allen earns the most bonus points. It was the first popular baseball simulation game that used actual statistics to shape the probability of outcomes. As someone who's spent countless hours enjoying games like Strat-o-Matic, Dynasty League, Diamond Mind, etc., not to mention spending much of a teenage summer making my own such game, this is Ethan Allen's greatest legacy (and that includes that Revolutionary War dude, too!).

Ethan Blackaby

1977 Cramer Coca-Cola Phoenix Giants Ethan Blackaby GM Phoenix Giants #3

Blackaby's first major league at-bat came in 1962, pinch-hitting for Bob Uecker. He rapped a double off of Ernie Broglio, valuable Cardinals trade chip. It was Blackaby's only big-league hit. Fifteen years later, on the way to whatever was the hottest disco in Phoenix at the time, he posed for this classic minor league card, sponsored by Coke (the drink, not the disco-enabling controlled substance). For this card alone, Blackaby is a worthy member of the Hall of Ethan.

Ethan Martin

2008 TRISTAR Prospects Plus Ethan Martin GCL Dodgers #14

Finally, there's actually an Ethan in the game today! In fact, his card just popped out of a pack of 2014 Topps for me. But he's wearing a Phillies uniform on that one. In fact, Martin never appeared for the Dodgers at the big-league level before being dealt, along with Josh Lindblom, to Philadelphia for two horrendous months of Shane Victorino. But after having two Giants-related cards representing the Hall of Ethan, there was no way I was going to pass up the opportunity to get some Dodger Blue in here for balance.

Roy Halladay apparently felt moved to give Martin one of his own baseball cards to help him take solace in the fact that Doc posted a 10.64-ERA-season early in his career. That gives you some indication of Martin's performance last season. But the story is still being written, so we'll give him the benefit of a doubt. Besides, he's already done all he had to do to make the Hall of Ethan (with a lot of the credit going to his parents).

I'll probably see if I can make a baseball card dent in the minor-league Ethan population at some point. There are currently ten bold-faced (active) Ethans on the farm according to Baseball Reference. Feel free to drop one on me if the opportunity and inclination strikes.

I'm just glad that this guy didn't play in the bigs and become a star when I was in grade school! Times were different back then...

A Trade of Two Boroughs...

...not to mention a city in the Southern California desert, and an Asian island nation (by way of the Great Lakes region).

It was the best of trades... it was the worst of trades...?

I'm not sure which it was for Kenny, aka, "Zippy Zappy," of Cervin' Up Cards. His haul from me was... unusual. Upon learning of his blog, and his uncommon fandamonium for the Staten Island Yankees of the the short-season Class A New York–Penn League, I had to request his address. You see, nine years ago, when I was still living in New York, I had the pleasure of attending a handful of games at the home of the "Baby Bombers." I was in the middle of a custom card project at the time (which I'll bore you all with at some point), so I had made a couple of cards of SIY players in the hopes of getting them autographed. I didn't have any luck with the players, but I did get pitching coach Mark Thurmond to sign a couple of cards I made portraying his time as a player with the Expos and Yankees.

Anyway, I had spare copies of the two player cards I made at the time: John Poterson, a power-hitting prospect who never rose above A-ball, and a flashy shortstop named Eduardo Nunez, who would fare a little better. So I figured sending them to Kenny made sense, though it's hard to say whether he really views them as one man's treasure or trash. Frankly, it could go either way.

The one thing that I know for sure is that it was, indeed, the best of trades from my perspective.

2004 Fleer Greats of the Game Forever Zack Wheat BRO #3 (725/1909)

Kenny recently showed a some cards on his blog that he was offering up for trade, and this one caught my eye, for obvious reasons. Zack Wheat is not one of the bigger-name Hall of Famers, but fans of Dodger history know that he has a case for a spot on the Mt. Rushmore of Brooklyn baseball lore. And this is a sweet lookin' card. I hadn't realized it was serial numbered when I requested it (though if my pea brain had been processing words as well as pictures that day, it wouldn't have been a surprise).

2013 Topps Update Ronald Belisario LAD #US132
2013 Topps Update Ricky Nolasco LAD #US191

Kenny also sent a couple of old cards of ex-Dodger pitchers. Geeze, time flies, doesn't it?

2006 Konami MLB Powerful Rondell White MIN #54

The pleasant surprise of the package was this Rondell White card, though. Not so much for the player, but because it satisfies my sweet tooth for oddball cards, and my fetish for all things Asian. Well, maybe not all things (ever heard of balut?). But certainly baseball cards qualify. These things accompanied a video game at the time, as you can glimpse from the wonderfully "J-Pop America Fun Time Now!" characterization of Mr. White on the back of the card. Needless to say, you can never go wrong sending Japanese cards my way.

However you slice it, Kenny did not get the better end of this deal. I'll be on the lookout for something to tip the scales. But for now, thanks for the super happy fun smile cards, Zippy Zappy!

Playing With My 2013 Card of the Year!

I was going to post about this card on the final day of 2013, but being there for my Grandma was more important. Now we're all immersed in 2014 Topps and this is old news. But, better late than never...

Ladies (who am I kidding?) and gentlemen, my favorite card of 2013:

2013 Topps A.J. Ellis LAD #314
2013 Topps Los Angeles Dodgers Factory Team Set A.J. Ellis LAD #LAD8

2013 Topps Mini A.J. Ellis LAD #314
2013 Topps Mini Gold A.J. Ellis LAD #314 (24/62)

2013 Topps Blue A.J. Ellis LAD #314
2013 Topps Red A.J. Ellis LAD #314

2013 Topps Purple A.J. Ellis LAD #314
2013 Topps Gold A.J. Ellis LAD #314 (1677/2013)

2013 Topps Emerald Foil A.J. Ellis LAD #314
2013 Topps Silver Slate A.J. Ellis LAD #314

2013 Topps Silver Slate Sparkle A.J. Ellis LAD #314 (6/10)

This last one represents the most I've ever paid for a single card, including vintage. The amount probably would seem paltry when compared to some of the major purchases made by many of you out there. But it was enough that I think I'll omit the details for fear that my wife might actually find the spare time to catch up with this blog.

The reasons for this being my favorite card of 2013 should be obvious. But they weren't obvious to me, at least at first. When I pulled the card from a series one pack early in the year, I simply thought, "Cool, a Dodgers card." My next thought was, "I really hate these superstar cameos. They take the spotlight off of the player whose card it's supposed to be."

But I saw the light when I received the gold version from Michael of Nomo's Sushi Platter (who seems to be on a bit of a hiatus) in a trade package later in the year. This isn't just any superstar cameo. It's my favorite active player, Clayton Kershaw, on a card with my second favorite, Ellis. The pair happen to be good buddies as well as teammates, and I'm hoping that Ellis will one day manage the Dodgers with Kershaw as his pitching coach (or at least guest instructor, à la Koufax). Not only that, but the fact that Kershaw is rubbing up the ball in the picture lands the card in my favorite mini-collection, Getting a Grip. So, really, how could it not be my favorite card of the year?

The beauty of this card from a collector's standpoint, is that it gives me an opportunity to chase a Clayton Kershaw rainbow that comes with an A.J. Ellis price tag. Which is not to say that it's cheap, but at least I have a remote chance of making it happen. Also, the fact that this card does not appear in either the Opening Day or Chrome sets cuts down considerably on the number of cards I have to chase. Which is good, because finding any of these (let alone all) is going to be hard enough (if not impossible). Here's the task ahead of me. Wish me luck. And, by all means, help if you can!

• Factory Set Orange (x/230)
• Desert Camouflage (x/99)
• Black (x/62)
• Pink (x/50)
• Sapphire Foil (x/25)
• Mini Pink (x/25)
• Mini Black (x/5)
• Platinum (1/1)
• Blank Back (1/1)
• Printing Plates (1/1)
• Mini Platinum (1/1)
• Mini Blank Back (1/1)
• Mini Printing Plates (1/1)

I think that's all of them. Please let me know if I managed to forget anything. I'll consider myself "done" if I manage to get everything from Mini Pink on up the availability scale. Any of the rest would be gravy. Really, really, really good gravy.

Incidentally, I've also begun to attempt a run at the rainbow for A.J.'s 2012 Topps card, which also perfectly embodies the team spirit of this great team player. I had assumed that I already had the regular base card before ordering these parallels. You know what they say about assumptions.

2012 Topps Update Blue A.J. Ellis LAD #US304
2012 Topps Update Red A.J. Ellis LAD #US304

2012 Topps Update Gold A.J. Ellis LAD #US304 (594/2012)
2012 Topps Update Gold Sparkle A.J. Ellis LAD #US304

2012 Topps Update Black A.J. Ellis LAD #US304 (13/61)

I haven't looked into my needs for this one. I think I'll just let them come as they may. These are the only rainbows I've ever chased. As you can probably imagine, I intend to chase after A.J.'s 2014 rainbow as well. It will be interesting to see if starting on that task from the set's initial release will make it any easier. It will also be interesting to see if Topps manages to give Ellis another great card, worthy of his contributions to his team. I don't even know yet if he's in series one, because I refuse to look at all of those posts out there until I finish enjoying the cards myself in my own sweet time.

Oh, one more thing before I go. I also recently got this:

2012 Topps Golden Moments Autographs A.J. Ellis LAD #GMA-AE

I guess I'm a full-fledged A.J. Ellis collector now.

Wish me luck, and jump aboard the bandwagon to help me with this task if you can. Thanks.