Fun before work

 

My hobby's chief responsibility is to balance out life's negatives.

 

The hobby is fun for me. It's my No. 1 source for it. It counters the drudgery, the responsibilities, the weather, the medical issues, the unnecessary drama and the relentless work schedule. It's the balance in my life.

 

That's why I look askance at anyone using the hobby exclusively to shill or take advantage of people. Cards are not a business for me (though I sell when it's a no-brainer), but a free pass away from the business side of life. 

 

In the last 5 or 6 years it seems like fewer people in this hobby understand that, but fortunately there are still many that do. Not by coincidence, a number of those people still run blogs.

 

I received an unexpected package last week from Rod of Padrographs. I don't really know why, but he's very good at just-because packages. He's also very good at knowing what the hobby should be about for most people: Not super-serious, not cranky or cantankerous, but whimsical and fun. That's what this package contained: whimsy.

 

Let's start with an official baseball from the Northwest League, which is a Class A league in Rod's territory, which means it is very far away from me.

 

 

You can't have the ball without the bats, every fan knows that. Both are pens, one from Cooperstown and one from I think the bookstore where Rod worked. These are taller than your average pens, and remind me of the very tall -- like two-feet tall -- pencil from the Hall of Fame I brought into class in 8th grade because I had no other pencils. Teacher was not amused.

 

 

Dodgers. These aren't everything Rod sent but they are the ones that will stick the best. The Pujols Gypsy Queen card completes my 2022 GQ team set. The Ron Hunt card is very sharp and I suppose could be insurance for the day when I hit my head and decide to go after the 1968 set.

 

 

Whoa, OK, 1961 Fleer Greats. Have I ever said I want to collect these? No, I haven't. But that shows you that Rod knows me. I like baseball history. I like old cards. How can I not appreciate this set? Rod just doubled the number of cards I have from this set.

 

 

Oh, yes, Allen & Ginter minis. People are still throwing these at me in a bid to get into the frankenset binder.

 

We're getting close to finishing this completion quest but not yet! Let's see which cards make it into the binder.

 

Welcome to the binder! ... There are three others that might make the binder still, I need to evaluate whether I want to swap out the cards that are already there.

 

Rod also sent some A&G insert minis from the 2019 set. Insert minis are the star of the A&G show every year and there are some great ones here.

How about some completely random cards that fit very nicely into my collection! A 1955 Topps Elmer Valo! A new Ted Williams card for my collection! Sure, the '79 Jamie Quirk is super-random, but it is sharp!

This is pretty cool. It's a full 35-card set commemorating the Negro League players, specifically ones who played in the Carribbean. The set was created with former blogger, Travis, of Punk Rock Paint fame in conjunction with the National Pastime Museum.

 

 

Here is the sample of some of the cards, and the card back. Quite well-done. I don't know when these were made. It's possible I had knowledge of them at one point and then forgot.

I probably should've shown this with the other Dodgers. This is a one of those Clearly Authentics, featuring a signed Max Muncy card, on the overused 1987 design. It's called the "black parallel" because of the back.

These look about as attractive in person as they do in the photo because of the encasing. I will definitely be breaking this out. The hobby is fun, not hands-off.

 

All right now! More wood-bordering!

But the subject matter is exactly what I want to collect. This was one of the last of the Senior Professional League sets that I needed to accumulate (still need to fill in a few holes on some others).

The full 132-card set is here. I've always shunned this set a little just because of the wood-grain overload, but everyone here represents players from my childhood and that's exactly what I would like to be collecting full-time.

It's interesting that this set was issued in 1989, yet the back looks very much like the one on the 1991 flagship set.

Big finish time! 1952 Look N' See's!!!!!

Rod sent me the Writers! Wow.

I have never seen any of these in person. I didn't know they were mini size, kind of the same size as a '75 Topps mini. The gimmick to these is there is a trivia question on the back that you can't see unless you place a red transparency over it, which I think was supplied with the card?

This is awesome.

One last fun thing and then I'll be on my way (re: off to work).

Rod sent me a box of Cracker Jack's.

I don't know the last time I had Cracker Jack's. 1980? Probably the last time I put my hand in one looking for the cheapie prize.

There's the prize advertisement on the back. It's one of those internet-interactive things.

 

But, first, an important question: Are the cracker jacks good to eat?

There's the expiration date: hey, that's TODAY!

The innards.

However, they were stale. No can eat.

 

So on to the prize inside.

 

The first step is to lift & peel.

 

 Good Doggie sticker!

OK, follow instructions to web site and ...

Select your game. I picked Space Crunch. 

Yep, that's Space Invaders, except with evil Cracker Jacks trying to bomb me. ... Oh, how you've turned Cracker Jacks. First going stale and now this.

 

Prepare to die, caramel-coated bombs and your peanut minions.

 

 

Woooo!

OK, that's all for now. Work is calling as usual.

But that was fun, just like the hobby is supposed to be.

I hope it's fun for as long as I'm in it.