Slow down

As a kid, I remember how slowly December went. It crawled. Every day felt like a week. To get to the third pink Advent candle was an eternity.

Now as an adult, it couldn't be different. December comes and go with the blink of an eye, and all of a sudden it's a week from Christmas and I have no idea where the time went.

Luckily my wife and I do a pretty good job of starting our shopping around October 1 each year, buying a gift or two per week for the kids. It really does help take the stress off of worrying about cramming all of our shopping into the end of December.

One added stress of December is work. While I'm very grateful to be working and busy, this month has proved to be one of the busiest I can remember. There is little time for blogging, collecting, or generally just participating in the hobby.

Luckily a few cards are trickling in, but the highlight for me recently was this auction win of Hall of Fame Floyd Little's rookie card. As a Syracuse guy, I probably appreciate Little's career more than most. He was the third of three great running backs to change the tide of Syracuse football in the 50s-70s. No comment on the current state of affairs.

His NFL career was excellent, although his numbers don't really stack up to current running backs, but it was a different game back then. It's unfortunate that when the greats are discussed, his name barely surfaces. Perhaps it does amongst Broncos fans, but even the biggest of football fans have little to say about Little.

Unfortunately, his health is failing him these days, as he has entered hospice care. Cancer. I hope he has a peaceful December, and that time slows down for him as well.

Unchartered waters

I know very little about vintage basketball cards.

Most of us can take a look at any baseball card from the 50s, 60s, or 70s and know exactly what year the set is from. But if you showed me a basketball card from that timeframe? I'd have no idea.

In my quest to stay somewhat interested in cards right now, I've started to look at some vintage basketball cards. Given I'm a Syracuse University alum, I thought it was time to pick up some Dave Bing cards. Bing is one of the greatest NBA players of all time, despite being very under-appreciated. 

I hope to pick up a RC, but I started with a couple cards from other points of his career. Anyone know what year this is from without looking? Me neither!

It's from 1970-71 Topps. When I bought it on eBay, I expected it to be the size of a mini. Wrong! It's bigger than a traditional card. How would I know? I was very surprised when I opened the envelope and saw it.

See what I mean? Making uneducated purchases. Many would call that dumb. Including me.

Here's the second Bing I bought. Any idea on the year?

Well, it's later in his career, as he's a Celtic. But it's from 1978-79 Topps. It doesn't look much like it's baseball counterparts from 1978 nor 1979, although I do see some early '80s baseball cards in a few of the design elements.

It's kind of dumb of me to make these types of uninformed purchases, but we're only talking a few bucks. If anything, it's fairly enjoyable to see a completely new design from an era where we're all familiar with what the baseball cards looked like.

I'll probably work to complete the Dave Bing Topps run, as vintage basketball is picking up steam from a lot of collectors and investors. Might as well snag 'em now while I can...even if I'm buying cards I know very little about.

Running has its benefits

I don't like to run. In fact, I hate it.

I don't find it therapeutic or mind-clearing. I don't look forward to doing it. I can't run to put my stress away for a few minutes. If anything, it makes it worse, as my mind wanders to work or all the things I have to do.

Plus, I'm not good at it. My body wasn't built for it. I've always been a fast runner in sports. In baseball, I hit toward the top of the order and frequently stole bases. In basketball, I was a quick defender and a point guard. But distance running? Not something I was made for.

And despite running fairly frequently, I can't seem to improve my time. I can't seem to run much quicker than 9-minute miles, which is really bizarre. You'd think improvement would come. But I also don't really care if I improve. Playing golf, I like to see more score go down. But running? Meh. I just don't care enough to get worked about it.

I run because it's basically the cheapest way for me to stay somewhat in shape and be healthy. That's it.

It does make me feel better when I am running for cause. I don't want to train for a long-distance race or anything, but signing up for a 5K is about my limit, and gives me the extra motivation I need.

So when Tony Burbs of Wrigley Roster Jenga explained that he was the chairperson of a virtual 5K, I decided to run for a cause. And two other blogger runners came with me - Peter of Baseball Every Night and Coach Tom of Waiting Til Next Year.

Virtual 5Ks have become a cool thing during the Pandemic. While it's a lot more fun to go run a race with people all around, virtual races have been a great way to keep an event alive. It just looks a little different.

Basically, everyone runs a 5K on their own time, and inputs their time into a database between certain dates. We all run different courses, but it's for the good of the event. I am convinced Peter ran in a straight downhill course, by the way.

Tony's cause was for St. Coletta's of Illinois, a social service agency for those with intellectual disabilities. His wife works there, and I believe that this is a big fundraiser for them. Definitely a worthy cause.

For a small entry fee, I joined the race, and even received a bib and a t-shirt.

My time came in at 28:33. That's a 9'12" pace. Again, about as fast as I can go for whatever reason.

Coach Tom finished right around my time, and Peter nearly won the thing with his blazing fast time.

Because he's an awesome dude, Tony also put up a raffle prize for his blogging buddies, and somehow I won. I feel guilty about that, as each of the other two guys were more than deserving. The prize was a very vintage 1936 Goudey Wide Pen Premium featuring Ethan Allen. Very, very cool collectible! I had never seen these, but it immediately when into my "good box."

Oh, and my "good box" is a specially marked box I showed my wife how to locate. If I ever croak, I told her this is the one you want to save. Do what you want with the rest.

Also good info for anyone who wants to rob me.

The run was for a great cause, and it was nice to have something to run for that's bigger than me. It led me to participate in a second digital 5K, the Yankees Virtually United 5K, which I clocked my time for just yesterday...and went slower than my St. Coletta's time. Oof. I hope to do two more this 5Ks this year.

Thanks, Tony. I hope the run was a resounding success!

A Mantle Walks into my collection

Have you ever gotten an unexpected card that makes you stop in your tracks?

A couple weeks back, Matt over at Bob Walks The Plank sent me a bubble mailer. I wasn't expecting anything from him, although he did give me a shout about a few Jeters he set aside. (side note - Matt blogged last week - check it out!)

When I opened the package, a post it note apologize for the condition of a Dirk RC he sent me. I wasn't worried about it! It was cool to have, and happy to add it to my collection of growing basketball rookies. 

But the Dirk wasn't what made me say "wow."

It was the third card in the package.

The second card, and on top of one of the team bags, was a very cool Don Mattingly Leaf bat relic. Pretty solid relic card, actually. Nice photo of the player, nice chunk of bat, some classy script font. Certainly an excellent addition to my Mattingly collection, but still not the card that made me say "wow," even though I was thankful for it.

Now, onto the third card, tucked nearly behind the Mattingly, was the one. I legitimately said "WHAT" out loud. No exaggeration. Flipping past the Mattingly was this piece of vintage goodness:

WTF, Matt. Are you kidding me? That is a Mickey Mantle card. A real one. Just look at what a perfect card that is. I was so floored I could barely even focus on the Jeters that followed.

To me, original Mantle cards, all of them, are still such holy grail territory. And to have one as part of an unexpected card package was something that was hard for me to grasp.

The Jeters were great as well, highlighted by an Action Packed I had seen for a long time but never owned.

I also thought this was a great looking card on the old school Fleer design. Jeter rocking the Franklin batting gloves in his pre-Jordan days.

I had no idea Jeter was in 1998 Ultra RBI Kings. Tino was in this set, but I never expected to see Jeter in there, as he wasn't quite known as an RBI guy.

What an amazing gesture from Matt, and I look forward to repaying him with a package of Acunas, Vlads, Bellingers, Trouts, and maybe even a Dominguez.

If you are what they say you are, a Superstar

Back when 2019 Topps Series One came out, I pulled a Lorenzo Cain Brewers photo variation SP. Matt of Summer of '74  was interested in the card, so I shot it his way and told him to send me a Judge autograph in return...or at least something Yankee-related when he got to it.

A few weeks later he said he had something cool to send me, and he was right!

I opened his PWE to find these six cards. I had never seen them!

I consider myself somewhat capable of using Google, but all I can really find are that these are from 1980 TCMA. There are a few listed on COMC, including non-Yanks like Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, and Sandy Koufax.

I think they are great looking cards, and wasn't quite sure if they actually were vintage or a modern day reprint. For the record, I am one who does consider 1980 as "vintage."

Matt, these are really cool and I thank you. It's always fun to open up a card package and out fall cards you've never seen!

A package before the affordable group break

Prior to his most recent Affordable Group Break, Colbey aka Flywheels was generously sending out some team packages of cards he no longer needed. I swooped in and snagged the Yankees, and was delighted to receive a small box of goodies.

The cards ranged from the late 90s until now, and there was a lot of shiny, I noticed. The 2011 Topps parallels - Diamond Anniversary and Cognac aka Liquorfractor - still really hold up seven (!) years later.

I do like them a bit more than the rainbow foils of the last few years.

However, anything with a Refractory-finish always is eye catching. I hadn't seen this Gerhig card. My guess is it came in one of those mega-box type packages that have a few packs and a small set of 5 exclusive cards.

Speaking of Gehrig, this might have have been my favorite card of the bunch. What a perfect card!

There were other Yankee legends included too!

As well as some vintage.

And no package would be complete without a Tino! Bring back Pacific!

Thanks for the awesome cards, Colbey!

Happy Trails, Wes

I feel bad.

My epic packages from Wes always seem to take too long to post. It's not that I don't want to. They are always just so daunting.

They usually sit in the mailer for longer than they should because I know I have to scan them and that's going to take awhile.

Then the scanning is done, but then they sit in my scanned folder because again, I scanned a lot of awesome cards.

Well, the time is here. I am going to power through. A while back, Wes aka JBF sent out his retirement packages. I was a lucky recipient. I've always been a lucky recipient of his, and I'll always be grateful for that. Here we go...

My favorite card of the group was this Derek Jeter relic. I have very few Jeter memorabilia cards, and while I don't know if I'll ever have an autograph of his, any jersey swatch will always be special.

There were a few other fun jersey cards too, including a Tino and a great-looking Paul O'Neill pinstripe!

There were a couple of autographs too! I didn't know Spring Fever cards (what happened to those?!) had auto versions, so the Boone Logan is neat. JR Murphy was forgotten for awhile but seems to have found a home in Arizona. A refractor autograph?! Sure, why not!

Judge Chrome RC! I didn't have this one.

Here's a card to making Zippy Zappy swoon:

And here's a card to make me swoon because I needed this Tino, which is limited to just 100 copies!

There were a TON of other serially numbered cards too:

As well as some oddballs. A .999 silver Babe Ruth?! How cool is that. When my kid asks me for a Babe Ruth card, he'd definitely not getting this one.

Anyone have a hunkering for Cracker Jacks?

And of course, Wes had to throw in some vintage.

Vintage is a fitting way to end this post, because these cards were just vintage Wes. The guy has done more for my collection than anyone out there, and I'll always appreciate it. Happy trails (for now), Wes!

Loving the PWEs

I think I've previously stated, but it feels like PWEs find their way to me in bunches. I could go months without getting one, then three pop up in one week. That's why it's always fun to go to the mailbox.

Last week, Adam from Cardboard Clubhouse sent an awesome PWE. It definitely struck a really nice vintage chord, and are some big-name players!

 I love it! They were all in great condition too. I definitely didn't have that Jim Hunter, and the Murcer is a really special card given what we meant to Yankee fans.

I really liked this Ken Greer card from Star. I've gotten a lot of Star cards over the years, but I don't recall seeing the purple border. I kind of like it! Very different.

Tanaka time! Being that this is his fifth Yankees season, I need to start counting how many Tanaka I have. It's gotta be in the 50 or 60 range.

Adam, this was a most appreciated and unexpected surprise. Thank you!

Wes sends Sal Fasano + other mega hits

Sal Fasano is the man.

So when this card was sandwiched between hit after hit after hit of the pre-Christmas package Wes of Willinghammer Rising sent me, I couldn't help but be thrilled. I wasn’t aware that Fasano had a Yankees card, as his time in Pinstripes lasted all of 57 plate appearances.  I love having a card of such a memorable player who made a short term stop on one of my teams.

I mentioned hit after hit, right? Because seriously, this package was loaded. One after another.

These next two cards were probably the highlights, but I don’t want to play favorites. Still, I was definitely floored when this Titanic Threads ARod jersey. Sure, it’s plain gray, but it’s basically about 50% of a jersey. That swatch is mammoth!

Equally cool is a terrific David Phelps from National Treaures. There’s a hint of patch on there if you look closely around the edges. There’s a beautiful on-card autograph too.

Two other jersey cards were in the package: A BIG MIKE and a Robin Ventura. Ventura is another short-term stop guy, although not nearly as short as Fasano.

Do you like ink? Because there was plenty of that too.

 

 

I know there are a lot of Yankees trade rumors right now, but I’m in the “keep Clint Frazier” camp. I know they have a bunch of OFers, but I still think he’s got a great chance to be a very good hitter.

While neither of these guys are Yankees anymore, they are super low-numbered.

High definition! There were two of these. They are VERY thick cards. I’m not exactly sure why they are as thick as a a pack of cards. The set is 2015 Bowman’s Best High-Def Refractor.

This ARod is from the limited edition 2011 factory set. I knew I didn't recognize the shot of him running down the baseline, as it's different than his base card.

There was some sweet vintage too! Love the Joe Sewell! These will go into my son’s HOF binder.

Lastly, I got a bit sad when I saw this card, for obvious reasons.

Man, Wes. You did it again. Thanks for an incredibly generous mailday.