Night Owl Cards

  I found out on Monday from Matt at the Diamond Jesters blog that a former card blogger, Johnny, a.k.a., hiflew, passed away over the summer.   I could have come across that news earlier if I was reading the TCDB forums regularly or on X, but because I don't want to spend all my time online, I keep my card outlets to the blogs and one or two other social media sites.   But back when I knew Johnny, blogs were about all there was. He ran Cards from the Quarry. He was one of the only Rockies collectors I've come across in my years of online collecting. He was easy to trade with because, my goodness, finally an outlet for my Rockies cards!   I traded a lot with Johnny, mostly between 2011 and 2014. Good times. There were a couple of other arrivals from him in 2017 and 2021 when he was doing some card selling (he always had good stuff), but, like many former bloggers, he found other places that he preferred more and that was TCDB.   I am not too active on TCDB be...

 (Greetings, thanks for squeezing me in between postseason viewings. I tried to squeeze in a card show over the weekend, the monthly one. I left without buying a thing, partly due to having limited interests this time around, finding nothing that intrigued me that I could afford and, the clincher, a collector's behavior that turned me off so much, I eventually left. This should be its own post, but I've actually griped about this same collector a few months ago. Time for something happier. Cardboard Appreciation. This is the 373rd in a series):   I added this 1991 Topps Desert Shield card of Kal Daniels last week thanks to CardBoredom, who was giving away assorted unwanted cards from his collection.   I didn't know there are two CardBoredom collecting sites until Baseball Cards Come to Life noted the one site in which David was giving away cards. I just knew the more long-form blog , which is full of well-researched accounts and stories, so well-done in fact that it drew...

  It seems like everyone's accepted the latest configuration of the postseason schedule, including me. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised that we began the playoffs in September as in ye olden times, though I know the reason for it is very modern.   But I think that this year's wild card round might show that we don't really need it. Yeah, yeah, I know, more games is good, but the Red Sox, Cubs, Astros and Phillies didn't look like playoff teams to me. We could've just skipped that round to what we've got right now.   Which is what I'm going to do. It's been tradition the last three years to feature the oldest, newest and a random card from my collection for each of the teams remaining in the postseason once the wild card has finished.     As in previous versions, several teams appear year after year, so I've already covered their oldest card in my collection. In those cases, I go to the second-oldest, third-oldest, etc.   RAYS VS. YANKEES   Tamp...

  I'm not easy to shop for when it comes to cards (probably when it comes to anything, you'd have to ask the significant others).   I've been collecting a long time. I've been collecting in a public forum for a long time. And the older I get, the more specific I get on what I want. That's natural, not only have you accumulated a lot but you have a very good idea of what you like and don't like.   So, woe is the envelope that comes to my door unannounced. It barely has a chance. Perhaps that's why I get few unannounced card envelopes these days.   And that's why I silently applaud those who still try. Most of them are longtime collectors themselves, who have sent cards to me many times. They know what they're getting into and they know how to navigate my collecting foibles.   Max/jacobmrley of Starting Nine blog is one of those rare collectors who is not afraid to give it a shot. He knows how to tailor an envelope. Just last week he sent one to me w...