Night Owl Cards

This all-star card did not make the Top 20 countdown. Can you believe it? My favorite player of all-time. The man who just pulled the railing off from behind him and is now using it as a bat is not in the countdown. The 1978 Cey all-star card did not make it either. Who is doing this thing? And what have they done with night owl? I knew this whole countdown wouldn't make sense. But that is no reason to waste blog material. So on we go. With this latest grouping of all-stars, I couldn't help but notice the powers in baseball during this period. The Reds, the Yankees, the Dodgers, the A's, the Red Sox. Those were the teams in charge. And because of that, they all have their fair share of all-star cards between 1975-81. The team tally for this period looks like this: AL - Red Sox-12, Yankees-10, Royals-9, A's-6, Twins-6, Orioles-4, Angels-3, Rangers-3, Tigers-3, Brewers-2, Indians-1, White Sox-1 NL - Reds-21, Dodgers-18, Phillies-10, Pirates-5, Braves-2, C

I have been communicating with Ultra Pro's representative on Twitter about manufacturing a style of page that fits 1975 Topps-style minis. No promises have been made, but Ultra Pro said that they would study the issue. I got the impression that they weren't exactly aware that there was a need for pages this size, or that there were even cards this size. That's not a reflection on the company, that's a reflection on how old I am. Even a card set as iconic as 1975 Topps minis is "so old" that we can apparently just ignore them because "nobody collects that stuff anymore." But, take it from me, trying to organize my '75 minis is a real problem because I can't find the proper pages. I recently received a whole bunch of '75 minis from Andy at High Heat Stats . I love '75 mini packages more than anything that is not alive. What a great bunch of cards. They make me giddy like nothing else. But the whole page-sorting problem puts

(If you are expecting a package from me, there's been a minor delay. It's called: "I can't even afford postage right now." I expect this condition to clear up in a week or so, so don't worry. You're on my radar. But to get your mind off of no package in da mail, in the meantime, let's move on to Cardboard Appreciation. This is the 174th in a series): For me, the worst part of a new card season is the realization that you haven't finished all your completion goals from the previous season. This realization doesn't hit right away. At first, I am too enthralled with the newness of everything to even think about the past year. New designs and shapes and colors. Adulation and outrage and giddy sounds of glee all over the internet. It's difficult to look back. Who wants to look back with all the NEW everywhere? But eventually, a few weeks later, I stumble across my want list and -- oh, lord -- I look at all of those 2012 wants unmet. I

I have removed the poll from the sidebar because I don't think anyone is going to catch the "sea turtle set" in the race for what we should call 2013 Topps. When I took down the poll, "sea turtle set" had 40 votes. The "baseball diamond set" and the "spaceship set" received seven votes apiece. The tortoise wins again. That makes me happy. Because I like "sea turtle set" best. It's quirky. It's whimsical (just like the design, by the way). But I don't want you to have to listen to me explain why the sea turtle is such a worthy creature for such an honor. Instead I'll let Marlin Perkins explain. (You can stop paying attention at 1:27). Well that seals it for me. Any reptile fondled by Marlin should get some sort of reward. So it's official: 2013 Topps, you are officially ... The Sea Turtle Set Congratulations! As for the few vocal dissenters who don't want to have anyt

One of the more amusing ebay slams is the frequently derided "ebay 1/1." This never gets old for me, probably because I have a natural aversion to marketing/advertising and am always on the lookout for the insincere (sorry, it's the journalist in me). The various dances that ebay sellers go through to promote whatever they are selling is alternately annoying and entertaining. And the fact that some have succeeded in getting collectors to buy the old "1/1" line is really, frankly, horrifying. But I still laugh at it because it's so ridiculous. For those who don't know, an "ebay 1/1" is when someone claims a serial-numbered card is a "1/1" even though it is not marked/stamped as "1/1" by the manufacturer. They claim that it is a "1/1" because the card is  the only one of its kind -- serial numbered 1 out of 100 or some other "desirable" number, a player's uniform number or some other nonsense.

I know a place Ain't nobody cryin' Ain't nobody worried Ain't no smiling faces ... ... lyin' to the races Help me Come on, come on Somebody Help me now I'LL TAKE YOU THERE! Help me Help me Y'all I'LL TAKE YOU THERE! Help me now I'LL TAKE YOU THERE! Oh! I'LL TAKE YOU THERE! Oh! Oh! Mercy! I'LL TAKE YOU THERE! Oh, let me take you there I'LL TAKE YOU THERE! O-oh! Let me take you there! I'LL TAKE YOU THERE! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY3vgBzgYn4 Cleotha Staples, the oldest sibling in the rhythym-and-blues/gospel group The Staples Singers, died Thursday at the age of 78. Their song "I'll Take You There," was No. 1 in June, 1972. (Mavis Staples was the lead singer on that song). These Topps '72 cards are the last of the fantastic package I received from David. The vast majority of them are high-number needs, and they un

I was quite pleased when we all turned the calendar over from 2012 to 2013. As I've mentioned a few times, 2012 was rather difficult for me. Yes, I'm grateful for the lessons learned during that year, but I don't think I want to go through anything like that again. It nearly killed me. So I deserve everything I get for returning to that year. But I had a good excuse. I wanted to finally update my Dodger team set needs for 2012. As often happens, I get a little bored during the second half of the card season -- especially if I don't like the designs -- and I fail to add the new sets onto my want list. I went back and added Bowman Chrome and Panini Cooperstown and was pleased that it was so brief. I figured, "what the hell, I'll add some of the many parallels from 2012 Topps to the want list, too." Big mistake N.O., big mistake. Totally oblivious to the horror before me, I dutifully went through the Walmart blues, Target reds and Toys R Us purpl

This is the only time that I have felt sorry for the San Diego Padres. Matt Holliday's consensus failure to touch home plate in the one-game playoff between the Rockies and Padres helped propel the Rockies all the way to the World Series in 2007. Normally, I laugh when misfortune befalls the Padres (and I laugh a lot). But there was no justice in this particular play. And I like seeing justice done. I also like seeing the Rockies lose. So my sympathies, San Diego. But it didn't occur to me until I received this night card that every team -- not just my beloved Dodgers -- has experienced injustice on the baseball field. For the Padres, it's Holliday not touching home plate. For the Braves, it's Kent Hrbek's wrestling move on Ron Gant in the '91 World Series. For the Cardinals, it's Don Denkinger. For the Orioles, it's Jeffrey Maier. For another team, it's ... umm .. well, I'm sure it's something . I'm just too immersed in the injust

I absolutely love my card desk. I've loved it from the moment it arrived . It's useful, it's functional and it keeps the peace. It never lets me down and is always faithful. But, I regret to inform you that outside forces are bringing it down. It's not performing its duties as well as it once did. I'm starting to lose things and I get this feeling that certain people are looking at it in that "will you please pull the roll-top thingy DOWN so we don't have to see all that clutter?" The problem is that the roll-top thingy won't come down because of all the clutter. Now there are a few suspects to blame for my desk's sudden inefficiency, but the real source of this problem is basically a good thing: baseball is back. The return of baseball means a lot of things: going to games, watching games on TV, following your favorite players, snagging autographs, great weather, great food, all that stuff. But it also can mean stupid stuff like