This post features the last of the cards that I received from Too Many Verlanders. I hate to drag it out through three posts, but there were so many distinct cards.
And I want to address one of the many collecting conflicts that I go through.
As you know, Dennis was offering a bunch of team sets for basically nothing. He just wanted to get them out of his house. I gladly accepted the Buffalo Bills so I could actually have some cards of my favorite team. Then, I grudgingly accepted the Dodgers, too.
Why would I be grudging about the Dodgers?
Well, this is the conflict, and I'm sure I've mentioned this before: I have a lot of Dodgers cards. And if someone offers up a big stack of Dodgers, chances are I'm going to have a lot of them already. This is why I'm usually a no-show in group breaks and contests these days. I just can't take on any more dupes.
But then there is that tiny, nagging voice in my head that implores, "but what if -- what if -- there are a few cards in all of those Dodgers, that you need?"
That voice doesn't stop. Once that sentence reaches consciousness, it isn't ever going to leave.
And that's what prompted me to comment, "Yeah, give me the Dodgers."
So, the Dodgers arrived with the Bills, and the 1990 Topps Traded set. There weren't as many Dodgers as those other two items, which was a relief to me, knowing how many of the cards I probably had already.
I finally got to go through those Dodgers today. And out of about 60 or so cards, I found 10 that I needed.
Yup, 10.
But this is good news!
I found 10! Ten to cross of my want list! Ten that I've never seen before (well, never seen that parallel before)! And 10 is so much easier for filing and cataloging and all that other semi-drudgery that comes with collecting.
Plus, 10 makes a nice, manageable blog post, too.
You've already seen D.J. Houlton up there at the beginning. He's card No. 1. Here are the other nine:
Chin-Lung Hu, 2007 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks and Prospects of People Who Will Never Live Up To The Hype (That's The Official Name Of The Set)
Who?
Exactly.
Joel Guzman, 2006 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects of People Who Get Traded Touching Off Enraged Prospect-Lovers Only To Never Amount To Much (That's The Alternative Name For The Set)
Guzman was traded off for Julio Lugo, which, I'll admit was unpleasant. But Guzman's been kicking around Japan and Mexico lately.
Gary Sheffield, 1999 Bowman's Best
Why do I insist on scanning these cards?
Adrian Beltre, 2000 Upper Deck Gold Reserve
These gold things never did much for me.
Dodgers Team, 2007 Topps red-letter variation
Look everyone, RED LETTERS! Pay no attention to the fact that J.D. Drew is on the team. RED LETTERS!!!
Milton Bradley, J.D. Drew, Edwin Jackson, 2005 Topps Chrome
Speaking of undesirables, wow. How did I even root for the Dodgers in 2005?
And finally ...
Chris Hobdy, 2005 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects of People Who Are Arrested And Charged With Breaking Into Spring Training Suites and Stealing Credit Cards And Money From Dodger Teammates (Yet Another Alternative Name)
Yeah, that really happened to Hobdy in 2006.
Needless to say, there were no cards made of him after this one.
And there you go! That's the tidy 10. Parallels, prospects who went nowhere, guys with questionable dispositions, and someone who got busted.
They've all found a home in my collection.
As for all the dupes, well, I don't care what kind of shining citizen you are. It's off to the trade bait stack or into the big box of duplication.
That's life in my collection.
Comments