Getting through August one card at a time

 

Here in the Northeast, August is still summer vacation. Hearing about people going back to school this week in the south or out west is disturbing and I'm grateful I have only known stepping into a classroom for the first time during September.

 

However, August is nothing great around here either. I've written many times about "August dread" -- I've experienced it since I was a little kid. And with my job for the last 30-plus years, August remains the calm before the storm -- a month's worth of trying to squeeze in every bit of fun you can before the education system saps your will to live.

 

Also, August, for this house, is a month of less money (the education system pays the bills). I don't cut out card spending completely as I did during past Augusts, but I still need to watch the budget. I balance the lack of funds with the need for cards to take off the August edge -- card by card. Singles are the way to go this month, rather than boxes or packs.

 

So here are just a few cards I've added this month while holding on to the last bits of the easy life.

 

 

I added the 1990 All-Star insert for Clayton Kershaw from 2025 Topps. It was cheap and necessary, and yes, I need the red one now.

 

 

The seller also very nicely threw in three 2025 Bowman Dodgers for free. I had the Ohtani already but the other two were new and I never want to spend money on guys I've never heard of who aren't really in Dodger uniforms, so I love this!

 

 

You team and player collectors know how pesky these Starting Lineup cards can be. Dealers don't like separating them from the action figure -- like I care about the figurine. So the cards can come with a premium and I've seen more than my share of Starting Lineup packages in thrift stores where I want the card but am not paying $20.99 to get it.

 

I grab the SL Dodgers where I can. Most of the card designs are not very inspiring, but I like the cheesy bright green 1989 versions quite a bit. I picked up the Kirk Gibson not long ago and now here's the goofy Orel Hershiser.

 

 

I'm still slowly attempting to complete the gold parallel sets for the Dodgers for years in which I find the gold parallels appealing. And I can say that this August proved its worth because I finished the 2006 Topps Dodgers gold set!

 

Bill Mueller was the last card that I needed to finish it. Here is the set together:

 

I'm not sure that using that rug as the background was the greatest decision. But you get the idea.

 

The '06 set was pretty easy because the team set is very small this year and there aren't big notable names (2005 season was Rough). I also may not be finished with this pursuit according to TCDB. It concerns this card:

 

 

I have this card in my Dodgers team set. But Jose Valentin is listed as a Met and on the 2006 Topps checklist on TCDB he is a Met, too.

 

So I was surprised when I filtered down to the Dodgers gold parallels:

 

Valentin has snuck back onto the Dodgers.

 

I guess that means I need to get the Valentin gold card, although even by my own team binder rules I should get it.

 

So that's a task ahead for another month but for now I'm proclaiming it complete and I have the Dodgers gold parallel sets finished for 2006, 2008 and 2009.

 

Next up? I'd like to do 2007 but there is a lot left there. Looking in the other direction, 2010 and 2011 have plenty to do, too. So I'll put off that decision for a little while and bask in this 2006 gold.

 

 

I did open one pack in August. My in-laws paid a brief visit and my sister-in-law nicely gave me a Series 2 fat pack to open.

 

The pack had her usual magic touch. I pulled my first "golden mirror" parallel. These aren't easy pulls. The card shows a photo variation of the player, in this case Luisangel Acuna of the Mets.

 

There's the back and you can see how "golden mirror" gets its name, although I'm not too clear on the "mirror" part.

 

I trade with a couple of big Mets fans and I could send this out in some sort of deal, but I also looked at prices online and I could get a few bucks for it -- which is nice in August. So I've been sitting on the card for awhile.

 

Lastly a couple of nonsports cards:

 

These are the final two I needed to finish the 1985 Rock Star Concert set. I received almost the entire set from Angus two years ago and finally got Huey Lewis and Pat Benatar to wrap up the set.

 

Even though there is much repetition in this set, I love it for its time-appropriate design -- all those '80s colors. And, of course, I was a teenager in the 1980s (and college student) so these pop artists are right up my alley.

 

I can finally fill the two spots that have been sitting empty in my music cards binder for too long. 

So that's just about all my card additions this month so far -- aside from the card show finds that I showed off a few days ago.

 

I mean I do have at least some cash for cards this month. August isn't all bad. Thinking back I know that I received my driver's license in August. I saw Fenway Park for the first time in August. And the blog says I completed 1976 Topps, 1977 Kellogg's, 1983 Fleer and 2015 Stadium Club in August.

 

So August can have its good points. I just know that I will not truly appreciate the month until the moment I retire.