Night Owl Cards

If I made a concerted effort to focus on it, I'm pretty sure I could come up with an embarrassing moment for every day of my life. Fortunately, I am not a teenager anymore, so whether I am embarrassed is not something that I obsess over or will be the ruin of me. But it's true, embarrassing things still do happen. A lot. Fuji's latest question asked me to share with everyone an embarrassing sports memorabilia story from my past. Well, I'm afraid I can't do that. Because I'm going to share an embarrassing sports memorabilia story from my present. As in "today." I'm telling ya, every day, man. Ev-er-y-day. You see the Rafael Furcal Icons jersey card scanned here? See the big ol' wrinkle in the middle? That arrived in the mail today. I bid on that card. I won that card. I was proud that I won that card. I was proud that I won it and that it was free. I was the man. A relic card? Of a player on my favorite team? For free? Greatnes

I hope this is the last time I write about my medical issues on this blog. For those of you who groan with the realization that you're about to read about people's doctor visits, I assure you, there will be cards in this post. Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit. Regular readers here may know I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes three months ago and was pretty devastated by the news , as someone who had been in relatively good health for a number of years. Since then, I have wandered around in a haze, receiving an abundance of information from a variety of sources, realizing I can't possibly process all of the information, recognizing that some of it was making me crazy, and settling on a plan that worked for me. Diabetes is an overwhelming disease, and I'm convinced its most effective weapon is confusion. Fortunately, according to my nutritionist, I have cut through the confusion in record time. Those who are diabetic, or know someone who is, are pr

Yes, here's another reminder of one of the lowest moments in Dodgerdom. But everyone just needs to tough it out. The Dodgers just got shut out three straight games by the Giants. Do they deserve anything better from me? No. I told you this stretch of the schedule was going to kill them. Anyway, this card came from Bo of Baseball Cards Come to Life! He sent a bunch of night cards, which you will be seeing here and there. And he sent some Dodger needs, too, which you'll see in another post. This card, of one of Reggie's three home runs in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series, features a famous image from that game. It's a classic shot from a classic set, 2007 Masterpieces. However, it's not the 2007 Masterpieces that I know. The Masterpieces cards that I know have the canvas feel that made them famous. You know. Paintings (or faux paintings) on canvas. Right? This card is glossy. Glossy Masterpieces? I wasn't part of the blog constituency in

I may talk a good game -- glorifying the base card, writing weekly tributes to cardboard worth appreciating, ripping mojo patch hunters -- but the truth is I'm somewhat of a collecting snob. There, it's out. Most times I lie somewhere in the middle of the collecting spectrum, which you would think is definitely "un-snobby." However, since I'm in the middle, I will never be one of those people who collects only graded cards or even ONE graded card. Graded cards, to me, are almost a perversion of collecting. Too much obsession on condition and not enough on the card. Graded cards are like card collecting's version of porn. I know. That's harsh. I know that's a narrow view. I'm sorry. I have opinions. I'm a snob. On the opposite end of the spectrum are those who pay ode to the beat up, stripped down, stomped on the ground, buried six feet under, good god, I think that card SMELLS vintage. The dirtier the better. Stained cards. Foldabl

This is one of my favorite Expos cards. It's not because there is a Dodger in the background or because I have farmers in my background. It's because Farmer is wearing a red Expos jersey in game action. The red Expos jersey was fantastic, but about the only time you saw it on baseball cards was on a posed shot, during batting practice, with the player grinning goofy-like. There aren't a lot of action photos of Expos in red jerseys -- or at least I don't have many in my collection. Some time ago, either on my blog or another blog -- I don't know, I read so many -- I could have sworn that someone left a comment that said something like, "I don't remember those red Expos jerseys!!!!!!!" And my instant reaction was, "you are so young, son." I filed the comment away, and when post ideas were low, I decided to fish out some other Expos red jerseys photos. But I had to stop, because it just got out of hand. Every Star Expo

I thought this was amusing. Sean Casey was inducted into the Reds' Hall of Fame last weekend. Casey, as you know, was a gregarious first baseman who played for several teams, but mainly for the Reds. He spent his first season of professional baseball in Watertown, N.Y., which is where I call home. I've interviewed him in the past, and he was chipper-gee-golly-whiz each and every time. But I liked him even more after hearing this anecdote. Casey was known as "The Mayor" because of the way he chatted up everyone during games. He loved to talk to base runners when they reached first. Well, here's his story of meeting Rickey Henderson for the first time, relayed on Saturday at the big ceremony: "My rookie year, I was like three weeks up, I was so excited to be here," Casey said. "Rickey Henderson singled to left or something, and he's at first base. I'm so excited, 23-year-old, wide-eyed. I'm like, 'Hey man, great job, good

How many times have I written about Ron Cey on this blog? Well, I did some haphazard research. I count 62 separate mentions of Cey on Night Owl Cards, although there are probably more. I also counted at least 80 separate images of Cey on the blog. Some have appeared multiple times. I have more than 100 different cards of Cey. A handful, three or four, are from when he was with inferior teams. But the vast majority are during his 12 years with the Dodgers. I only care about his cards with the Dodgers, and I am closing in on 100 different cards of him as a Dodger. Even though Cey cards aren't replicated like cards of other past players -- thank goodness -- I should have no problem reaching that total this year. Although I'm strictly a card collector, I have managed to accumulate other items of Cey, simply because he was my favorite player as a kid, is my favorite player of all-time, and I tend to make exceptions for people like that. So, on this blog, I have shown: