A Repack Courtesy of Night Owl

Night Owl recently celebrated his 5,000 post, which is an incredible feat. It's even more incredible when you consider that the 5,000 posts were high-quality posts. At least I assume so. I've been following the blog for about 3 years, and have never read a post and thought, "that was underwhelming." N.O. is always either entertaining, educational, insightful, and usually all three at the same time. The fact that he decided to send out cards to his readers as a thank you is just a bonus, because he's the one already providing awesome content for all of us. But what a bonus it was!

My repack of 250 cards (probably closer to 300 cards) greeted me with this card on top. So yeah, I knew this was going to be great.

I wanted to highlight just a few of the many great cards that I received. As I flipped through, I often spotted cards that almost had to be hand-selected for me, which was an additional thoughtful touch. 

Love me some vintage, and the repack did not disappoint in that area.

The Hostess Carlton Fisk is super cool, and until very recently, I didn't have a single Hostess card in my collection. This one came around the same time I found a Thurman Munson in an 8 for a dollar box. I like this one better. Also, my first buyback (and it's a Cub)!

More fantastic vintage. My favorite here has to be the Ron Santo game card. Just super cool. But the others are each great in their own way, too, so they must be shown. N.O. probably didn't know I've started working on the 73 Topps set, but he sent a card I needed for that set. 

Cards for my player collections, and two of them are new to me!

Some fantastic horizontal action shots. I have a back-burner project of a horizontal Frankenset of only All-Star players. If I've mentioned this on my blog, I only did so one time, so either N.O. is a mind reader or incredibly thoughtful, or possibly both.

And finally.....

Tony Orlando! Because, why not Tony Orlando, right?! Might not be surprising to you, but this is my first Tony Orlando card. There were a few music cards in the repack, which was a neat change of pace. 

Thanks so much Night Owl and congrats on 5,000 posts!

Time to Finish Some Projects

I figured it must be time for another spring update, to let you know I'm still around. I've been reading the blogs a little more than I usually do during the winter months in an attempt to stay connected. As usual, my fall/winter included some reading, but my favorite wasn't one of several baseball books I read. It was actually a book about the assassination of President James Garfield called Destiny of the Republic. Of the baseball books I read, my favorite was probably a book about Roger Clemens called The Rocket that Fell to Earth. I also read biographies of Buck Weaver, Satchel Paige, Dave Dravecky, Bill Lee, Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe, and Dick Williams. 

I've been doing some trading and have to mention the great haul I got from Nick's 10th anniversary giveaway over at the Dime Boxes blog. Though those cards are now safely filed away, Nick's generosity must be mentioned (thanks Nick)! 

A recent trade with Bo from Baseball Cards Come to Life was sparked by my interest in a single card:

I actually was interested in this card more for Harmon Killebrew than for Mantle, though it was neat to get my first vintage card featuring The Mick. 

I put together a bigger group of cards for Bo, and he sent a bunch in return. I sometimes think I need to narrow my focus to fewer collection goals, but the cards that follow show that I haven't done that yet. Still have a lot of card juggling to do with my collection.

These are some cards for my ongoing TTM project. I started sending my first TTM (through the mail) autograph requests last summer/fall, focusing on players that played locally as well as Cubs players. I've had pretty good success and would like to eventually share some of the cards I've gotten signed. 

A few from my 15+ year player project. This mini collection consists of cards that have 15 or more years of stats on the back. I'm at 597 of these cards now, which is kind of crazy since this is like my 10th collection priority (or maybe lower). 

Kerry Wood cards seem to find their way to me lately, and that's just fine!

Can't ever get enough of those waxy rookies, especially of one of my all-time favorite players. Plus a few new ones for the collection (now over 400 different). 

A few candidates for my second Frankenset, which is in progress. I've been working on posting the images from my first Frankenset, and am close to halfway there. This is a sincere attempt to finish a project for good! 

Bo sent two unexpected items that were arguably the highlight of the trade. 

Bill Zuber played for the Fargo-Moorhead Twins in 1934 when they were a minor league affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. He later made the majors, and opened a restaurant in Homestead, Iowa. The restaurant is now a hotel, but still displays some of Zuber's baseball memorabilia. Guessing one of these matchbooks might be there. 

The second matchbook is of the Powers Hotel here in Fargo. The building is still standing and now houses apartments. Very cool.

There were more cards in the trade package from Bo that I didn't show, which tells you it was a great trade. Thanks Bo!

Hope everyone is well. I've been updating my TCDB profile to hopefully spark some trading, so check it out if you get a chance. Help me finish some projects so I can add some sanity and order to my collection!

The A to Z Player Challenge

The Diamond King recently posted his favorite card for his favorite player A to Z and challenged others to follow suit. I thought it seemed like a fun idea, so thought I would jump in. Along with each player is an actual card from my collection.

A - Grover Cleveland Alexander

Old Pete Alexander was a complex and troubled man, but a highly talented pitcher. He won 373 games and closed out game 7 of the 1926 World Series for the Cardinals at age 39. He was also a star pitcher for my Cubs for 9 seasons. Still need a Cub card of him.

Other favorite: Hank Aaron

B - Ernie Banks

Banks is a true legend. There are some other players that I really like, but I can't argue with Mr. Cub.

Other favorites: Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, Jim Banning, Jeff Bittiger, Kris Bryant, Chief Bender

C - Chris Coste

From my hometown, Coste was my favorite non-major leaguer growing up when he played for our city's independent minor league team. He later went on to make the major leagues. 

Other favorites: Tony Campana, Ty Cobb, Roberto Clemente

D - Dave Dravecky

Dravecky's biography Comeback was one of the first baseball books I read and was really inspiring. I later got a chance to meet Dave, and he is a truly good guy.

E - Darin Erstad

Another local favorite, Erstad grew up about 90 miles from my hometown. A favorite memory is him and the Angels winning the 2002 World Series. He also won Gold Gloves at first base and center field and had 240 hits one season.

F - Julio Franco

I always liked Franco's batting stance and as well as players that seemed to play forever. Fun fact: Franco hit .222 in 27 at-bats playing independent baseball in 2014. He was 55 at the time.

G - Mark Grace

A close second for my favorite Cub, behind Ryne Sandberg. Grace played the game hard, had an awesome swing, was a great fielder, and just a true pro for many years. I was upset when he left Chicago for Arizona, but loved seeing him win it all in 2001 with the Diamondbacks.

Other favorites: Mudcat Grant, Tom Glavine, Dave Goltz

H - Rick Helling

A graduate of my high school (14 years my senior), Helling had a solid pitching career and even won 20 games one year.

Other favorites: Travis Hafner, Billy Hamilton (21st century player), Charlie Hough

I - Monte Irvin

Not many to choose from for this letter, but you really can't go wrong with this Hall of Famer. Plus, he was a Cub for a year!

J - Bo Jackson

Bo was a once in a generation talent. 

Other favorites: Walter Johnson, Jay Johnstone

K - Sandy Koufax

Koufax had one of the best, if not THE best, 5 year stretch of any pitcher ever. Plus, he's a really interesting guy in my opinion.

Other favorites: Harmon Killebrew, Jim Kaat

L - Nap Lajoie

This guy was so great he got a team named after him (the Cleveland Naps). Incidentally, I'd love to see that be their "new" name. Would be cool if this card wasn't a reprint.

Other favorite: Kenny Lofton, Michael Lorenzen

M - Roger Maris

I really like a lot of "M" players. But Maris is pretty much a no brainer here. An alumnus of my high school and a legend in my town.

Other favorites: Gus Munch, Greg Maddux, Minnie Minoso, Jamie Moyer, Christy Mathewson, Darryl Motley, Biz Mackey

N - Phil Niekro

Not a ton of players to choose from here, but can't go wrong with a guy who was effective into his late 40s. 

O - Buck O'Neil

I honestly don't know the purpose of having a Baseball Hall of Fame without having this guy in it.

Other favorites: Sadaharu Oh, Tony Oliva, Shohei Ohtani

P - Deacon Phillippe

To my surprise, this turn of the century great who won nearly 200 games played a season in my hometown, Fargo, ND. He was one of the players I researched when I wrote my book on the 1897 Red River Valley League. This is the oldest card in my collection, too.

Other favorite: Satchel Paige

Q - Dan Quisenberry

Not many to choose from here, but Quiz was a cool dude with an awesome delivery.

R - Old Hoss Radbourn

This pick is due in large part to a  fantastic baseball read called 59 in '84, by Edward Achorn. Radbourn is now credited with 60 wins for the 1884 season. He also gave a subtle middle finger to the camera nearly a century before Billy Martin did on his 1972 Topps card. In fact, that's the photo featured in the card shown above.

Other favorites: Nolan Ryan, Anthony Rizzo, Jackie Robinson

S - Ryne Sandberg

Ryno's my all-time favorite. A no brainer here.

Other favorites: Ron Santo

T - Jim Thorpe

Thorpe was the original all-around athlete. Baseball was not even close to his best sport, yet he still played parts of 6 seasons in the majors.

Other favorite: Luis Tiant

U - Bob Unglaub

This one's due to a local connection. Unglaub had just finished his third season as player/manager of the Fargo-Moorhead Graingrowers when he died in a tragic accident while repairing a locomotive. He was just 36 years old. I'm in the market for a non-reprint of Unglaub.

V - Omar Vizquel

I was never an Indians fan, but Vizquel was just too good not to like. 

W - Kerry Wood

Kerry Wood stole the hearts of many Cubs fans in 1998 as a dominant 20-year-old. Striking out 20 Astros in a game certainly helped. 

Other favorites: Maury Wills, Rube Waddell

Y - Michael Young

I became a Rangers fan in the mid-2000s after getting a chance to visit the Ballpark in Arlington. Young and Mark Teixeira were my favorites.

Other favorite: Cy Young

Z - Ben Zobrist

I first liked Zobrist when he helped the Royals win the World Series, so I was excited when he signed with Chicago. He came up clutch for the Cubs in 2016, too.

Other favorite: Bill Zink

Thanks for reading!

Collections Getting a Boost from Trades

A couple of solid trades lately have boosted my player and set collections, so I thought I would share some highlights. Kevin, a.k.a. The Diamond King, and I swung a trade where I sent his some Diamond Kings, a few Bo Jackson oddballs, and a few Scott Rolen rookies. He sent me an awesome package in return. 

The top two from this group were from one of his Diamond Nine giveaways. This is followed by some other general awesomeness, including the Fleer Pro-Visions Sandberg that had eluded me for so long.

It gets even better with this group of Sandberg/Grace/Wood cards. The top middle card is numbered to 500 and the middle Kerry Wood is numbered to 250! I don't have a lot of that in my collection, so it's even more appreciated! And that Mark Grace Finest card is so nice I really am tempted to peel back the protective film to enjoy it more. I mean, the instructions say to peel it off, right?

Kevin was looking for a few more ideas so I told him I enjoy anything from the 1970s, and I thought this would be helpful since I think a lot of people have at least some lying around that they don't mind parting with. I would have been satisfied with a few 76 Topps commons or something, but Kevin stepped up his game here, too. A Richie Ashburn Post card (for the Cubs of course), J.R. Richard and Cesar Cedeno rookie cards, and a run of 2nd through 4th year cards of Bruce Sutter! Oh and that mind-bending Ron Santo with the White Sox card. Awesome stuff. Thanks Kevin!

I also recently completed a small trade with Tom from The Angels, In Order after spotting some things on his want list I knew I could help with. He sent back five new Sandbergs to my Ryno collection (including Sandberg sporting his short-lived mustache), as well as a healthy group of 81 and 85 Topps set helpers. Thanks Tom! 

Thanks to Kevin, Tom, Card Barrel, Baseballcardstore.ca, and others, these are now my stats for a few collections:

Ryne Sandberg: 384 unique cards

Mark Grace: 281 unique cards

1985 Topps: Only 31 cards left to complete the set.

1981 Topps: 83 cards left to complete the set.

Many Happy Returns

I'm pretty new to the online trading business, and it has been an adventure. You never know what will come your way, particularly with larger trades where the terms aren't as concrete. In some ways, I really don't want to know exactly what is coming. A general idea, yes, but the unknown is half the fun.

Jeremy from Topps Cards That Never Were emailed me recently asking if I'd be interested in a trade. Of course I said yes, after looking at his wish lists and finding a good number of Tigers and Rays to send his way. I felt pretty good about what I sent, with a few surprises hoping he'd enjoy them. But I was blown away with what he found for me! 

There were a ton of Ryne Sandberg and Mark Grace cards in the package. I have over 350 unique Sandbergs and over 250 unique Graces in my collection, so finding new ones to send me isn't always easy. But Jeremy found some. A LOT actually. These are just the ones new to my Sandberg collection:

Yep, 24 new Sandbergs! Blew me away.

Further awesomeness, in the first photo, you might not recognize the 98 Topps Sandberg in the top row, because it doesn't exist other than in this sweet custom card form. Great stuff. And the 2018 Donruss is a blank back and I think an SSP. 

The second photo has some cool 90s inserts that I know Fuji would enjoy. Love those 94 Fleer All-Star cards. Brings me back to childhood. Oh and the bottom-middle 1996 Topps. A Chrome refractor. Wow. 

Jeremy wasn't done. How about some Mark Grace cards. Again, just the new ones to my collection:

My favorite of this bunch is probably the Skybox Dominion in the top row that I should have turned horizontal. Gracie is preparing for a collision at the plate. The other one I'll highlight is the 2002 Topps Traded.

Grace left the Cubs after the 2000 season and I'm fairly certain it was probably 99% the organization's fault they let him go (a safe bet for most of the Cubs' history - if there was a personnel issue, the club probably messed it up). I was really happy when he got a ring with the Diamondbacks in 2001. Possibly my favorite World Series ever, especially since the Yankees got beat. So Grace in a Diamondback uniform doesn't bother me too much. 

Then there were some really nice Cubs cards that expose my lack of knowledge about the newer features of the hobby. I know there are a couple refractors in here. And I believe the others would be (insert color) parallels. I know, a woeful lack of knowledge. But the last card here I do recognize as the card that made a lot of people rich when Jerome Walton went on to have a Hall of Fame... oh wait.

Then there were some waxy rookies:

A Frank Thomas! Juan Gone reverse negative! And give me that 89 Donruss Biggio all day every day. There was an 88 Donruss Grace in here too, but it ended up in a special Mark Grace pile, you know.

Twins cards were next (which will nearly all go in a binder I donate to my church every year for its silent auction): 

Finally, a bunch of Kerry Wood cards. I neglected to take a picture but there were a ton of these, too. I need to get my collection of him catalogued.

So thanks to Jeremy and many happy return(s) packages to all of you.