Night Owl Cards

I embrace the idea that every individual's sportscard collection is determined by that individual. There isn't anyone -- or there shouldn't be anyone -- who says a person's collection isn't complete if they don't acquire "such-and-such a card," except for the person who owns the cards. To me, that kind of advice should be reserved for dealers trying to sell cards. And even then, I'm giving them the raised eyebrow. I'm quite happy with the cards I have and my goals for future acquisitions. And neither the cards I have nor the cards I want includes an '89 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. rookie, a Manny Ramirez corked bat relic, or cards from the 1880s. But that doesn't mean there aren't pesky holes, and I don't mean the ones that make a set complete. I'm talking about the ones that complete who I am as a collector. I see myself as a lover of mostly '70s cards with a little '80s thrown in. That is me as a collector...

Throw the word "Holland" and "baseball" at me and my only thought for decades was "Bert Blyleven." Blyleven's place of birth was one those early trivia nuggets that I used to throw out to impress the girls, long before ESPN's Berman started labeling him with his supremely unfunny nicknames. As a youngster, I used to enjoy pronouncing Blyleven's Holland hometown, "Zeist," relentlessly. "Zeeeest! Zeeeeeeeeeeest!!!" I didn't care that I wasn't pronouncing it correctly (it's pronounced "Zest," like the soap brand). But fortunately, thanks to card blogs, I have another answer for when people come up to me on the street and yell, "Quick, what's the first thing that comes to your mind when I say, 'baseball' and 'Holland'?" I will yell in response: "The Dutch Card Guy!!!!!" And we'll all have a good laugh. I completed my first transaction of any kind with...

I just dropped the scanner lid on my fingernail. The lid is thicker and heavier than it has any need to be, and one the many visible signs that my scanner was created by baboons. At any rate, my finger hurts and I'm trying to type without it, but it's not going very well. So let's see how long this lasts ... I'm very excited about my next post -- that's right, the post after this one. Sorry you're not reading my best effort this time around. But just to lead into that exciting post, I'm showing you some minis I've received lately. The most recent card packages I've received have been mini-heavy and they're about to consume the card desk, so I've got to get them out of the way. Here are some sent to me from a mini-exclusive package by Brian at Play At The Plate : The most excellent Clayton Kershaw and Andre Ethier and the departed James Loney. The Kershaw will be going toward the new frankenset quest because I received a pair of K...

I have been having some trouble acquiring your basic variety 2012 Topps base Dodgers. Why, here it is, late August, and I was still missing the majority of the Dodgers from Series 2! And I run a respectable blog! I was starting to feel ashamed. But then I received a package. Among other cards, these three popped out ... "So what?" you're saying. "Those are just three base cards from Series 2. I have like 50 of each card." Exactly. You have 50 of each card. You couldn't have sent one of them to me? How long has Series 2 been out -- three months? I'm waiting this long to get a base card of Clayton Kershaw, my favorite player? You know who ended up sending me these cards? John ... from England. Yup, that John . That's right, a guy from ENGLAND was able to send me basic Dodger needs from Series 2. And he doesn't even live on the side of England that's closest to the United States! He practically lives in Belgium...

OK, I've delayed what I was going to write about so Fuji can hijack my blog again. But this is an idea  that I should have come up with myself, so I deserve to have my schedule shaken up a little. Fuji, channeling dayf , asks "what is the ugliest set you've ever seen?" Excellent. If there's one thing I know about, it is ugly. I am forever coming across wardrobe choices, pet preferences, automobile selections and, dare I say it, people that others think look perfectly fine. In fact, sometimes they say, "that is beautiful ." And I stand and stare in disbelief. "No it ain't, child," I say to myself. "That ugly." And so it is with baseball card sets (yep, strictly baseball here). Some folks have some strange ideas of what looks good on a rectangular piece of cardboard. And I was able to come up with 15 ugly-ass sets. (that's right, 15. You think I was going to give you only one? This is a full-service blog here). A...