Traditional reading makes a comeback

 

I spent a lot of the first 25 years of my life reading.

 

From baseball books and magazines to classic novels to periodicals about world affairs, the scene was the same: I'd hop on my bed, prop my head on the pillow and kick back, where I have memories still of myself facing the ceiling, reading Ball Four, The Bronx Zoo, The Boys Of Summer and so many others.

 

This ritual survived through college and even after entering the work world and getting married, I'd still regularly read books (although seated on the couch by now) and accumulate a modest library.

 

Something happened though around when I first became a parent. Spare time was rare and often I was way too tired to read, instead switching on the television. Then, by the time my daughter was starting out in grade school, I found baseball cards again. That hobby took the place of my reading hobby.

 

Then came the internet, and the blog, and hundreds of other blogs to read, and then everything baseball-y I wanted to read was online.

 

My modest library, mostly baseball or sports books, sat lonely, untouched, dust accumulating. I'd still buy books that interested me sometimes, and I'd get them as gifts, and then they stayed on the shelf, for years, unopened. There just wasn't time anymore.

 

It would take me two years to read one book. Two years. My wife reads a book in a couple of weeks. And for someone who was such an avid reader of traditional books, an avid believer in traditional books, I felt guilty. I still do.

 

Then a pandemic struck. And we were forced into a quarantine.

 

Traditional reading began to make a comeback. I'm not reading as frequently as I did 35 years ago, nor even reading as much as I should -- there was an awful lot of free time in April and May -- but I am starting to tackle the lonely books on the bookshelf and actually completing a couple.

 

One I should tackle soon is the book you saw above, all about Sandy Koufax.

 

I received it from Nick of Dime Boxes recently. He came across it at his job and sent it to me. It's a book for young readers, maybe junior high age. It was published in 1966, the final year of Koufax's career, basically when he was at the pinnacle of the baseball world (the stats in the back end with his amazing 1965 season).

 

This is not the only Koufax book in my library.

 

 

Eight years ago, Rod from Padrographs sent me this fantastic children's book of Koufax, full of bells and whistles. It sits on display high up on one of the shelves in my card room.

 

 

 

Of course, I read Jane Leavy's book on Koufax a few years ago. It was one of the few books that I've finished in the last 10 years or so.

 

Now that I'm somewhat back to my book-reading tradition, I'm eyeing what is next on my list. Right now I've just started this book:

 

 

It also involves Koufax.

 

And there are a bunch to go: multiple books about Jackie Robinson and even some non-baseball stuff.

 

But, as has been my habit over the last couple decades, I'm now crowding out books to talk cards. Because Nick sent cards along with the book!

 

 

Let's start with the finest of the many oddballs in the envelope. It's a needed 1977 Hostess Cookie card! I can't think of a better candidate to come out of a package of snack cakes.

 

 

Speaking of snack cakes, these are three very welcome Drake's Big Hitters cards from 1982, the second year of the Drake's '80s sets. I've always considered this set the ugly step-sister set to the '81 Drake's, just because I have owned and love the '81 set for 40 years. 1982, meanwhile, I never saw for ages and have owned only a couple until now.

 

 

 

Here are some oddities that I will devote to other projects. The Swell cards are already in my Dodgers binder, so let's go ahead and put them in the Swell binder! The 1981 Topps scratch-offs are a bit of an issue, only because Nick already sent me a whole bunch of intact scratch-offs some time ago. How do I record these in my card inventory? Hendrick-attached, Hendrick unattached?

 

 

A whole bunch more oddies, mostly minor league and one player from my childhood years. I'll take cards of all those guys.

 

 

Nick excitedly sent me a minor league night card. It's actually not the first minor league night card in my collection. But I think it's definitely the first minor league night card of a coach in my collection!

 

 

Nick did succeed in finding a few Dodgers that I needed. Alex Wood painlessly completes the 2020 Topps Update team set for me. Glad I didn't have to buy any of that.

 

 

 I also received two more 2020 Topps Heritage needs, both of players admiring 700-foot home runs. I'm now down to just 20 needs for the non-SP set! Who knew you could come close to completing something 2020 IN 2020!

 

Finally these five mini wonderfuls:

 

 

Nick has been trying to crack my A&G mini frankenset binder for some time and there are occasions when he sends minis and none of them make the binder. He didn't take any chances this time, sending me 20 A&G minis. The above five all made the binder, which is damn good considering how far along I am with this project.

 

The Charlie Blackmon card actually filled an empty slot, which is even more difficult to do.

 

I received another A&G mini stash recently. I haven't checked those to see what makes the binder, but once I do, you can be sure a status report on what's left will show up on the blog!

 

Thanks for the opportunity to read, Nick.

 

And all the other items that keep me from reading.