Night Owl Cards

    When I first started reading card blogs, I didn't know there were so many kinds of collectors.   Growing up in the 1970s, there was basically one kind, or maybe two -- set collectors (those who could afford to complete the set) and team collectors (those who couldn't). Decades later I may have picked up on something called "a player collector" but I didn't know any of them.   In my insular collecting world -- basically the way it was for most collectors before the internet -- I figured everyone collected like I did. That's how my friends collected. And when I returned to the hobby in the early 2000s, the few guys I knew around work collected that way, too.   That all changed for me when I started writing a blog. Not only were there player collectors on top of everything I had known, but type collectors -- parallels, short-prints, autographs, relics, Hall of Famers, guys blowing bubble gum, standing for the National Anthem, featuring weird names, shown with...

I am not sure what to do with this card. This card commemorates the disgusting moment in which Eric Gagne, at the height of his invincibility in 2003, gave up a game-winning home run in the eighth inning to Hank Blalock that led to the American League's 7-6 victory. I was at work during this game. I was totally enraged and appalled at the same time. And then I had to write a happy little "A.L. wins weeeeeee!!!!" headline, even though my brain kept screaming: "Hank Who? Hank WHO? HANK WHO??????" Not good times. From that point, I decided I would not work when the All-Star Game was scheduled. It took a couple of years for that plan to come together, but for the last four or five years, I have been on vacation during the All-Star Game, and that works so much better. But back to the card. My Dodger binders are happy little places. They are filled with warm memories and awesome athletes. Even though players like Delino DeShields and Anduw Jones make app...

I was wracking my brain earlier today trying to come up with a Mother's Day post. But then I realized something. First, there are three mothers who are a big part of my life. One lives in the house with me, the other is her mom, and the other is my mom. All three of them couldn't give a damn about baseball cards. Not only that, but they don't care about baseball or sports in general really. They certainly don't care about what's written here. Second, I wrote what I had to say about my mom and baseball last year . That sums it up. So, given that, I think I have the green light for: A GINORMOUS, SPECTACULAR TRADE POST EXTRAVAGANZA!!!!!!!!! And on we go!!!!!!! These first cards are from Jim of  GCRL . He always seems to be able to track down a Nebulous 9 need. This was the last 1986 Donruss Dodger that I needed to complete that wretched-looking set. The Nebulous 9 list is now eight cards. I'll get to work on getting back to nine. A pair of ...