Ramblings of an old collector

 Just my thoughts on some random topics about cards and baseball.

- Huge shout out to The Diamond King! 

He sent me this 2015 Panini USA Baseball Stars & Stripes Magenta printing plate for my Corey Seager collection! Such a sweet card! Thank you Kevin!

- MLBPA is claiming that the 18 second pitch clock is the cause of all of the arm injuries. There's no research to support it. Justin Verlander said "I think in reality, you put everything together and everything has a bit of influence. I think the biggest thing is that the style of pitching has changed so much. Everybody is throwing the ball as hard as they possibly can and spinning the ball as hard as they possibly can. It’s hard to deny those results, obviously." I have to agree with Verlander. I heard one pitcher say that he has to grip the ball harder in order to increase his spin rate. That makes much more sense to me as to what is causing all of these injuries.

- Saw a story on YouTube that there is an obvious counterfeit card that got graded by PSA. So, I'm just going to say that literally, authenticity was the only reason I ever saw to get cards graded. If they can't even do that, why in the world would you want to spend the money?

- I'm not the biggest fan of the inserts in the 2024 Topps release save one. The rainbow foil card actually looks pretty good. There's no way that I'm going to try and complete a set of them, but I will definitely keep my eye out for some of my favorite players.

     

Not the best pictures of the rainbow foil, but then again, I'm not sure I've seen a good picture of the rainbow foil cards.

- Love seeing the resurgence of Mike Trout.

- I've spent a little time updating TCDB inventory. Still got a long way to go, but there is positive movement. 

- Speaking of TCDB, I've completed 77 trades. For some of you guys, that's a drop in the ocean, but for me, it's progress. I've actually figured out proposing trades and I think the last several trades I've done I proposed them. 

- Sam Houston State product Colton Cowser has had a really hot start this year for the Orioles. I'm not telling anyone what to do, but I'd definitely be on the lookout for his rookie cards this year.

- Got my first few blaster boxes of 2024 Topps Heritage and I really like the cards. I'm not thrilled with the short prints being 1-100 though. If you've got to have short prints I'd rather they be at the end and not the beginning. Is that a set builder's mentality or is it old school? The high numbers in the older sets were always the ones that were harder to find. I think it's old school thinking.

Just some of my favorite '24 Heritage cards that I've pulled.

- Speaking of Heritage, finishing 2023 is going to be difficult. I was hoping that I could trade for the missing short prints, but it seems that most people want to trade short print for short print, which I completely understand. I think I've almost depleted all of my extra short prints. Going to have to go to purchasing them I guess if I want to finish the set.

- My Rangers recently lost a series to the Braves. I didn't get to watch all of the games, but the Braves looked really good. I'd love to see the Dodgers and Braves square off in the NL Championship Series this year. That would be a great series.

- Just want to throw out there one more time, If you haven't seen the movie "The Hill" it's on Netflix. Can't go wrong with a baseball movie on a rainy day.

- My two favorite baseball movies are "The Sandlot" and "Field of Dreams". "The Sandlot" because it reminds me of my childhood playing ball with my buddies and "Field of Dreams" for two reasons. First, I'd love to have the chance to watch a game of baseball played by the greats of the game like Shoeless Joe. Second, I'd love to have the chance to play catch with my dad one more time. 

I think that about wraps it up for now. I leave you with a quote from the great Babe Ruth...

"Never let the fear of striking out get in your way."

Peace, 

Michael

Isaiah 40:31

  

"The way he plays the game." What does that mean?

Baseball has been an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember. I started playing the game when I was five years old. I was actually too young to be on the team. My dad made me the batboy for the games, but I got to practice with the team.  

From that first practice until after I graduated high school, we played ball every chance we got. Playing catch, hotbox(Pickle, or rundowns, whatever you want to call it) or hitting flyballs and grounders to each  other, we were playing baseball. If we could round up enough guys we'd play a pick up game. Some of my best memories with my buddies is centered around baseball. My best friends today are the guys that I grew up playing ball with.

I'm not sure how or maybe if it was just the times, but we all played the game the same way. First and foremost, we loved to play. Second, we played with toughness. Win or lose we played every game like it mattered. Every at bat counted. Defense was played with an attitude of whatever it takes to make the play. After games, not a single player didn't have a dirty uniform. Third, we played for the team. It wasn't about our own stats or accolades, it was all about the team. Sacrifice bunts and sac flies were celebrated like home runs because it helped the team. Lastly, we played the game with integrity and sportsmanship. Cheating the game wasn't even a thought. Sportsmanship was instilled in each and every one of us. We were taught to win with class and to lose with class. How we carried ourselves in victory and defeat was as important as how we had played. 

So, why the autobiography on baseball in my life?  I noticed when talking about several different players in my blog I'd make the comment "I like the way he plays the game." I got to thinking that I've never really explained what that means. To be honest, until I started writing this I'm not sure I could have put it into words. So, here's a shot to try to explain what I mean when I say "I like the way he plays the game." 

The first step in explaining my thoughts was to share a little about my life with baseball. To me, the way we played the game as kids is the right way to play baseball. To play because it's fun. To play with toughness. To play for the team. To play with integrity and with sportsmanship. These are the qualities that I seem to gravitate to with the players that I enjoy and collect. I like the way they play the game.

First and foremost, the player has to have fun. No player exemplified fun more than Adrian Beltre. If you've ever doubted that Beltre had fun playing the game, just watch the video.

Beltre enjoyed playing baseball. He always played to win, but he was going to have fun doing it. I love the 2014 Topps Beltre card. This is how I will remember him as a Ranger. In the dugout, after hitting a home run and someone getting ready to touch his head. Classic Beltre. 

When it comes to playing with toughness, I think of players like Cal Ripken Jr and Marcus Semien who show up everyday to play. Not taking a day off just to take a day off. I think of Nolan Ryan pitching with blood dripping from his mouth after being hit by a ball. Kirk Gibson's walk off home run in the '88 World Series and limping around the bases. Guys who would give anything to be on the field. Guys who don't quit. It doesn't matter the score, the wins or the losses, they are going to give it their all. 

     

George Brett said, "Nolan's scary under normal conditions, but facing him when he was all bloody was another level of intimidation altogether." Yeah, not something that I think I could do. Not something I could do if he wasn't bloody. There are so many cards of Cal Ripken Jr, to choose from that I went with The 1996 Topps card commemorating Ripken breaking the consecutive game streak. 

     

2023 Topps card represents a special season for the World Champion Marcus Semien. He played in 179 games in the '23 regular season and playoffs. Not including the COVID shortened season, Marcus has played in all but one regular season game over the last 4 years. Kirk Gibson's '88 walk-off home run is something that I will always remember. I was indifferent when it came to Gibson, but that was an awesome moment in baseball. The 2001 Topps card captures the golden moment. 

I am a firm believer that teams that play for each other are the teams that win. It was obvious this past season for the Rangers. Those guys truly enjoy playing ball together. When players put the team ahead of their own stats or concerns, those teams are hard to beat. There have been a number of players who put the team ahead of themselves, but for me, the best example of this is Michael Young. Young came up as a second baseman, moved to shortstop to make room for Alfonso Soriano. He goes out and becomes an All-Star shortstop and win a Gold Glove. Next, he moves to 3rd to make room for Elvis Andrus and then to DH/1B to make room for Adrian Beltre. The thing was, Michael Young was the face of the team, the leader in the clubhouse and he did what real leaders do, sacrifice for the team. I love those players who put their teammates first. 

     

Just a couple of my favorite Michael Young cards. '05 Topps and '11 Topps. 

Integrity and sportsmanship is a little harder to define. It would be easier to write about the players that don't have integrity and sportsmanship, like the steroids guys and the Astros. Integrity and sportsmanship gets overlooked today. I think there are probably more players that play the game with integrity and in the spirit of competition than those who don't. Most don't get the credit they deserve. The biggest name that comes to mind when I think of integrity and sportsmanship right now is Mike Trout. He's played on some really good teams and some really bad teams. He showed up and played. When Ohtani left the Angels, the topic of conversation was would Trout request a trade. His response was to honor his contract. That's integrity. Now, I'm sure that there might come a day when he does request a trade, but I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't. 

     

Trout has so many cool cards that I went with two of my favorites. The 2011 Topps Update rookie card is on my list of grail cards and the 2016 Topps is just a cool picture. 

There's really one more trait that I've thought of that I'm not sure how to quantify. I love players that play with passion. The most recent example that I can think of is Corey Seager's home run to tie game 1 of the '23 World Series. 

Seager is normally a player who keeps his emotions in check, but on this occasion he didn't. The thing I like about him is, to me, its genuine. He's not trying to show up the other team. He's just letting out his emotions. I think today, there's a lot of players that do all of these antics to say 'look at me" or to show up their opponent. I don't believe so here. 

I'm not sure that I've effectively defined what I mean by "how he plays the game" but I tried. I would love to hear some of your thoughts on players that you think really have fun playing, play with toughness, are team oriented or display integrity, sportsmanship and passion. 

Peace, 

Michael

Isaiah 40:31

Thoughts and questions from an old card collector

 I've been blogging a little over 8 months and I've learned a few things...

First, it's not as easy as I thought it would be. I figured I could just talk off the top of my head and I do that some of the time, like right now, but when I decided to write about my favorite sets from the '80s I actually had to do some research. Now don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed it immensely. I really liked going back through the 1980, 1983 and 1984 Topps sets as I prepared to write the post about the '80s. I still struggle with what topics to write about. I haven't found my niche yet.

Second, its hard to stick to a schedule. Life likes to interrupt the schedule. My original plan was to write at least one a week. That plan quickly changed to every two weeks. It took me over a month to get the '80s part 2 out because life decided to intervene. Work got complicated, lost a family member and moved my youngest son to another state to name a few of life's bumps in the schedule. When life is that crazy, it's hard to sit down and write. I'm not a natural writer like some of the bloggers that I read. I have to really work at it. So, when life gets messy, sitting down to write just isn't a priority.

Third, I love logging into Blogger and see how many people have read the blog and I absolutely love it when people take the time to write a response. It made me realize that I need to respond when I read the blogs that I follow. I don't always do it, but I'm trying to at least say something. So, if you're reading this, leave a message! LOL!

- I've bought cards on Ebay, BuySportsCards.com, Facebook, Online Dime Box, Walmart, Target, local card stores, but I think my favorite place to get cards are at shows. It's the people. I used to love going to the local card store because we'd talk baseball, cards, and sports. It was a place to hang out and talk sports, look at cards and get away from the daily grind. The problem now is the local card stores around me aren't like that anymore. It's all business, the people that work there aren't as friendly, don't seem to want to just talk sports while I browse and don't really make deals anymore either. The card shows are the complete opposite. I've always found deals at the shows, the dealers are friendly and love to talk sports. Give me a card show over any other venue to get cards. 

- As I've mentioned before I've started trying to catalogue my collection on TCDB. It's been a long time since I've done anything as far as adding my collection to TCDB. I have completed 36 trades and have one in transit. I think now that life has settled down a bit, I hope that I can get back to it. 

- Has Ohtani lost some of his shine since he's been hurt? I feel as if everyone has moved on. He's still a lock for AL MVP and I think he still deserves it(You could make an argument for Corey Seager, but he's just missed too many games). I know that I don't seem to see as many Ohtani cards when I'm out looking.

- Absolutely love the discussion between Acuna Jr. and Betts for NL MVP. I really like Mookie Betts, but I think he's finishing second in this race. Acuna's season is off the charts.

Questions...

-Do you think the grading of cards is growing, staying steady or declining?- 

   

I believe that grading of cards might be on the decline. I've heard enough stories of people being unsatisfied with the grades the cards receive, how long it takes to get the cards back and the expense of grading the cards. I'm seeing more and more people looking for ungraded cards at shows. I do believe that it will be around, but I think it might be losing it's luster. 

- If you could keep only one thing from your collection, what would it be?

That's a tough question. For me, it probably would be my 1953 Jackie Robinson. Not because of the monetary value because it's in pretty rough shape, but for what Jackie Robinson represents. I've tried to type this sentence several times only to delete it because it everything I've tried to write just doesn't do him justice. I can't even begin to imagine everything that he had to deal with and still be able to play the game at such a high standard. That's what a real man looks like. 

Finally, I was very blessed to have met Brooks Robinson at a card show when I was a teenager. I didn't get to spend much time with him and to be honest I really don't remember anything of our brief conversation, but I do remember him being larger than life and an extremely nice man. He took the time to recognize a teenager who was pushed to the side by a bunch of older men. Rest in peace Brooks Robinson. The world is a little worse off without you in it.

 

Peace, 

Michael

Isaiah 40:31

A quick break from the 1980s...

 I had to make a quick, 3-day trip to Albuquerque. It really wasn't that quick because its a 10-hour drive. While I was there I looked up card shops on Google and found 5 shops. I was only able to visit 2 of the shops before I had to return home. It would've been 3 but the other one was closed. 

The first one I visited was kind of small and really wasn't very organized. All of the sports were mixed together. It was difficult to find anything. The graded cards and the ungraded cards were in the same display cases all mixed together and in general, I thought the prices were kind of high. I did find a $1.00 box and went through about two stacks of cards, but it was difficult to find anything. Once again everything was mixed together and the cards were facing forwards, backwards, upside down...you name it. Plus, some were in penny sleeves, some in top loaders, but most weren't in anything. I'm not saying that a $1.00 box has to be divided by sport in numerical order by year, but some semblance of order would be nice. The guy working the store was pleasant enough, but all he would do was try to get me to buy the expensive stuff, even when I let him know several times that I couldn't afford it. When I get back to Albuquerque, this store will be marked off the list. 

The second store wasn't really a card store it was an autograph store that had cards. The card section wasn't very big, but had some nice cards. I was pressed for time, so I only went through a couple of rows in a $1.00 box. I got a few cards, so my trip wasn't a total loss. 

I'm starting a player collection of Jim Abbott. I'm not sure why I haven't already done that because I think his story is awesome. The Trout cards, Acuna Jr. and Witt Jr. are also for player collections. The Ryan is not a 1984 card, but a 2012 reprint. I have a friend who loves everything Nolan so I picked it up for him.

I asked the guy at the store if they had any room on the prices of the cards and he said that their margin was so low that the price is what it is. It wasn't my best purchase at card store, but it wasn't bad either. The store, All in Autographs, had some really great autographs, pictures, helmets and some baseballs. I found a nice picture of Hank Aaron in his blue Braves uniform in a follow through of his swing that was autographed, or so I thought, that I was prepared to buy, but the guy working the store pointed out that it was a reprint, so I put it back. Thought that was pretty cool that he did that though. I know that if I'm ever in the market for an autograph or have some time to kill, I'll go back for a visit.

I had some mail waiting for me when I got home...

All three of these were Ebay pick-ups for my player collections.

Well, that's all of the quick break from the 1980s. I'll get that second post on the '80s up real soon!

Peace, 

Michael

Isaiah 40:31