No, Really, I Didn't Miss You Guys...Okay, Maybe a Little

This past weekend, I spent a few hours at my local card show. It had been several months since I'd gone to the show. I told myself that I would stay away for a while to save a little money and then go to one of the shows in North Carolina. 

Instead, I ended up spending more money on eBay. That wasn't the way it was supposed to work. But, at the same time, thanks to that massive SuperTraders mailing I did earlier this year, my wife was under the impression that many of my eBay purchases were actually return envelopes from folks in that group. 

Some of them were. Most of them weren't.

This past week, though, I decided I'd missed going to the local show. So, I grabbed some cash from the ATM and started humming an old John Waite tune.

Actually, that's a line. I have never in my life hummed that song. In fact, I pretty much have never liked that song at all. Seeing John Waite in that video with his very short hair makes his appearance as a hair-band member in Bad English and the song "When I See You Smile" absolutely hilarious.

Anyway, y'all didn't come here for a music history lesson. At least I don't think it is why folks stop by here and read the stuff I write.

I'd better get to the cards I got before I lose you.

Let's start with a few Brewers this time and see how far "Missing" will take me.

Starting all K-Pop on you here with "Missing You" by GDragon featuring Kim Yoon-Ah. Thanks to the scrolling translation, it's tough to see what Ms. Kim looks like; I think this is her:

By the way, she's 42 years old. Speaking of 42...

I was going through one of the regular seller's boxes at the show -- Ms. Brenda -- and there was a guy next to me going through the 15-cent cards from Series 2 that Ms. Brenda had out. I saw this card on the top of the stack and asked him, "Do you want that Peralta? Because I'm a Brewers collector and I'll gladly take it if you don't want it."

He handed it over immediately to me -- he was a Chicago native, incidentally, who lived for several years in a town about 20 minutes from where i grew up. As soon as I got it, I pointed out to Ms. Brenda that the card is one of the Short Print 42-jersey variations. When it came time to tally everything up and check out, she asked me, "how much are those going for on eBay?" I went to Mavin.com and told her -- "well, with shipping, it's listing anywhere from $4 to $11, and it's selling for around $5 with shipping."  So, she gave it to me for $2.

To be fair, with the damage that big Wily has done to the Brewers' ERA and team record, I feel like he should be buying up all of them himself with his $2.8 million salary and distributing them personally to each Brewers' baseball card collector in America. 

After that, he can work on apologizing for sucking so bad to everyone.

To be fair, his comps through age 26 (last year) had some hit and miss in it. Hits? Max Scherzer and Kevin Brown, maybe Dustin Hermanson or Charles Nagy or even Steve Renko. Misses? Bill Laskey, Frank Castillo (a workhorse early in his career, a complete dumpster fire later), and former Blue Jay Luis Leal, who provides the scary comp of washing entirely out of the major leagues at the age of 28.




That's Australian singer/songwriter Betty Who a/k/a Jessica Anne Newham, who was born in Sydney and lived there until her mid-teens when she moved to Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan to play cello. She's also a Berklee College of Music attendee. 

It doesn't look like this song, "Missing You," was released as a single as of yet. It's actually a pretty catchy song, at least on its first listen. To use some familiar references, this music is what might happen if Mazzy Star was remixed by Armin van Buuren -- you get dance, but it's also with an ethereal feel.






Now, that's a recent-card-dump right there. Basically, I finally found the last card I needed from Series 2 from last year -- Jason Rogers -- in a dime box. In a quarter or 5 for $1 box, I found all the Bowman from this year that I could stomach. For 15 cents each, I knocked some more cards off the 2016 Series 2 want list and picked up the Brewers team card from Heritage -- where I discovered that Jonathan Lucroy featured and, therefore, I need another. And, for a nickel, I finally found the last 2015 Heritage High Number card that I needed in Mike Fiers...whose trade helped bring Brett Phillips to the Brewers system.

A pretty good haul by itself already.

But wait -- there's more.

One more song and one more group of cards for today will do the trick.

Wikipedia describes the band All Time Low as being an "American pop punk band from Towson, Maryland" that was named for lyrics in a song by New Found Glory. I'm afraid I've never heard of this band, but I feel like I should have heard of them already. They are veterans of the Warped Tour and the Reading Festival in England, among other major tours.

I listened to this song, of course named "Missing You," and thought I'd stumbled into a One Direction concert.

That's not true at all. I don't know what One Direction sounds like. I'm not sure any of their fans do either, what with shrieking at the tops of the lungs at the mere mention of their names.

I listened to another song by them called "Cinderblock Garden" and I'm not all that impressed by that song either. They seem like a less interesting version of what Jimmy Eat World was doing 15 years ago.

It's all so derivative....

When we collectors talk about derivative, we could be talking about (a) all the recycled card designs being used by Topps in Archives and Heritage and as inserts to the flagship, or (b) all of the dadgum parallels that get issued all the time. 

I hate to say it, but as a pathetic/over-the-top/obsessive/compulsive completist, I feel like I must collect ALL the parallels. I've started drawing lines -- not needing cards for the team collection with serial numbers of less than 100, for instance....a line which may need to be revisited as a "going forward" line rather than a "all-time" line, for example. 

All of these, however, are cards I must have. We have Denson and Phillips and McGehee in Bowman Chrome Prospect parallels from the base Bowman packs -- an always confusing proposition, what with another actual product called "Bowman Chrome" floating around out there. The Kapler is a Walmart parallel (I think) from 2009. Gallardo is the base Topps Chrome from 2010 -- for just a dime -- and let's be honest about Chrome generally: it is just another excuse for Topps to reuse the photos it pays for from Getty Images without paying an additional user fee. 

That Overbay foil parallel from last year was just five cents. I don't feel bad paying a nickel for that.

Finally, the Villar gold from this year is too cool considering I paid a nickel for it. I mean, come on people -- that's your National League leader in stolen bases (as of the All-Star break) and probably in TOOTBLAN too (that's "Thrown Out On The Basepaths Like A Nincompoop" in case you're not a cool kid in the know...I know because I spent a couple of years watching Carlos Gomez).

Then again, sometimes, being TOOTBLAN has its, um....downsides.

Thanks for stopping by. More cards from the card show tomorrow.

Je suis un collectionneur

It's a sad truth that the French people have a reputation among tourists of being rude. Whether it's this story from Scotland's National Newspaper, The Scotsman, proclaiming, "The French admit they're too rude to tourists" or this story explaining five reasons why Americans might think this is the case, it's easy to find complaints on the internet about the "rude French."

The major problems with this generalization? Well, the first is simple: when people say that they think French people are rude, they are referring to Paris. Big city people tend to be more cautious around strangers generally -- it's how you survive in a city, after all -- and that caution and reservation can be seen as rudeness.

Second, I think there is a perception that Paris is supposed to be like what people see in the movies for Paris. It's supposed to be all high fashion, the Moulin Rouge, and baguette-carrying, mustachioed, guys giving the okay sign.

The reality is, though, that French people are just people like you and me. They are courteous -- especially when treated with courtesy themselves. They are cautious in unfamiliar situations -- especially when someone they've never met comes up to them demanding that they speak in an unfamiliar language and tell them how to get somewhere.  

And, they are collectors. Like Kevin a/k/a the Card Papoy. During the week before Christmas, a package from France appeared in my mailbox. I'm pretty sure that it's my turn to send some cards Kevin's way at this point, so it was a welcome surprise. Thankfully, with the massive Christmas gift I got producing some interesting cards, I'll be able to send some cool stuff out in the next few months.

But, that's in the future. For now, let's get through the cards Kevin sent, starting by getting Lucky Pierre (caution: that link goes to the Urban Dictionary) out of the way.

Canadian buzzkillers out of the way, how about some late 1990s Upper Deck cards?

Now, other than Trevor Hoffman -- who may or may not make the Hall of Fame this year in his first year on the ballot -- these three cards are like baseball card representations of a Green Day song.

Todd Dunn and Brian Banks...yeah. 

Dunn was a sandwich round compensation pick in the 1993 draft for the Brewers (35th pick overall). The best thing I can say about him is that he attended Bishop Kenney High School in Florida, which is the same school that the daughter of two good friends of mine attends. 

Banks was the second round pick in that same 1993 draft out of BYU. The fact that he got 249 plate appearances for the 1999 Brewers (.242/.317/.352) says more about the Brewers than anything I can say.



Four more Upper Deck cards from 1997. 

Eldred, of course, is a PC. As his card caption mentions and as I've said before, Eldred got put through the Phil Garner meat grinder in 1993, facing a league high 1087 batters that season. That number is the fourth-highest total from 1993 to the present and sixth-highest in the past 25 years. For comparison's sake, only three pitchers in the past ten seasons (2006 to 2015) have topped 1000 -- CC Sabathia had 1023 in 2008 when the Brewers pitched him about every second day because they knew they didn't have to worry about his future health, Felix Hernandez's 1001 in 2010, and David Price's 1009 in 2014. (I think I mention that meat grinder every time I write about Eldred...apologies!)

Okay, on to the shiny cards with autographs and wood chips and leather embedded!



So, Jean Segura. These are great cards -- a blue chrome parallel and a Topps Tribute serial numbered 24 out of just 50. As for the player, though...I mean, I've put a fair amount of time, money, and energy into collecting Segura's cards. The only reason I haven't abandoned his PC at this point is, well, I keep getting these good cards of him. I'm thinking, though, that it might be time to cut bait. 

I'm pretty sure that Segura is going to get traded or designated for assignment or non-tendered within the next year or so. The Brewers have stocked up on replacements for him already -- with Orlando Arcia getting to Double A in 2015 and adding former Astro Jonathan Villar in trade for minor leaguer Cy Sneed -- so it's just a matter of time. At that point -- if not sooner -- I'll relegate Segura back to the Brewer boxes, I'm guessing.  Maybe. 

And, when I do, perhaps I'll replace him with Demi Orimoloye. I mean, after all, who wouldn't want a PC of the first African-born major leaguer (assuming that he makes the long trip to the majors)? Especially one trained to play baseball in Canada....

Next up -- a game used "ball" card. I'm surprised that Topps hasn't revived this type of relic card, considering how cheaply one can purchase game used balls.

Okay, last three cards, none of which are related to one another. First, let's look at some player collection inserts I needed:



The Braun Starquest is a "Starquest Rare." I haven't looked much at this, but I don't have a clue as to how much rarer a Starquest Rare" was over a "Starquest Common."

The Molitor Kimball Champions mini card is pretty cool. I do wonder how much further the "using old card designs" thing can go, though. I'd like to see revived use of oddball designs, for what it's worth. Use some of those cool "Topps Cereal Series" card designs from 1984 instead of yet another cigarette company card. Just my $0.02.

And finally, it's shiny happy Overbay:

From 2004, it's Lyle Overbay on a Leaf Certified Materials Red Mirror bat relic card. 2004 and 2005 pretty much destroyed any joy that parallels, inserts, and relic cards might otherwise have brought. Anyone who has tried to put together their own "comprehensive" checklists for their favorite team or player hates 2004 and 2005 for the ridiculous numbers of parallels, insert parallels, and base sets. Donruss/Leaf -- then owned by Playoff -- likely was largely responsible for massive glut of cards that led to the limitations on licenses in 2006. That, and financial viability for the card companies, of course.  

Still, all that just doesn't matter. What matters is that these cards and the unquestioned kindness Kevin displays to all of us in the Blogger world.  Thanks, Kevin!

Backing up the Truck

As I was envisioning this post, I thought about the sound that a truck makes when it's backing up...you know:

And, if you watch/listen to all 60 minutes of that video, well, wow.  I've got nothing in response to that.  But, in the interest of trying to find something weirder than that, I put "beep beep beep" into Google.  It then suggested, "beep beep beep beep mexican song".  No lie, this is what came up:

Apparently, that song got included in Grand Theft Auto V by Rockstar, leading the gaming boards to make El Sonidito a big hit.  And with me typing El Sonidito so much, Google Chrome is now offering to translate this page for me into English.

Thanks, Google!

All of that is just to introduce a big box of Brewers that just appeared on my doorstep late last week from Johnny's Trading Spot.

And those are just the stacks of cards.  It took me part of Sunday -- at which point I found problems in my spreadsheets and started over -- and into yesterday to finally get everything sorted.

Let's see some of the cards that John sent my way.

Now, I didn't need this 1987 Fleer Jim Gantner. But, geez, Gumby, you went from looking like a mean SOB who flick his Marlboro Reds at kids who dared come too close to your 1978 Datsun 280Z...this one, probably:

...into the guy on that 1991 Bowman -- that's just four years, for God's sake -- who looks like the next step is to buy this blue car from the old man in the driver's seat for $450 on a $50 a month payment plan:

It's sad, really.

Before I leave Gantner, though, I have to admit that as a kid I always liked Gantner as a person but not as a player. He seemed like an automatic out at the plate when he came up with runners on base, but man, the guy loved playing for the Brewers and he made tons of time for every kid seeking autographs.

Anyway...thought I'd say something nice about him after ragging on his fashion sense and apparent installation of contact lenses later in his career in an effort to fool fans and the front office that he really was younger than he really was.

Johnny sent me some pretty cool cards other than Gantner. I mean, look at those stacks -- there has to be some cool stuff in them!

Like this Big Ben McDonald Topps Finest from 1996. I know a lot of people buy cards for investment purposes, but how did anyone keep from ripping that film off guys like Ben McDonald's card? I mean, the guy's shoulder was put together with baling wire and bubble gum by the time this card was made -- did people really think that he'd suddenly regenerate a real arm, push his ERA below 4, and suddenly turn into a 20 game winner for 10 years in a row to push himself to 250 career wins?

Yes, that's more like it.  Actually, John sent me two of these, so the one with the film still on it will go into my duplicates box and the peeled card will be displayed proudly in my Topps 1994-2009 binder (base sets only in that binder, of course).

Now, I have to admit. John sent me so many cards that I needed for my collection -- over 100 of the cards he sent were ones that are waiting currently to be sorted into the PC binders or the manufacturer collection binders I've slowly-but-surely been putting together -- that I'm almost overwhelmed to try to select cards to highlight.  So, let me go to the oddballs, because I love oddballs:

Cecil Cooper.  The man was pure style. Smooth in the field. That pause in the middle of his last practice swing that he always made -- and which that Donruss Champions card captures perfectly -- was one of the more frequently imitated batting stances in Wisconsin in the 1980s.

I started messing around with switch hitting just so I could hit left handed and swing the bat in my warm up like him.

Or, like this guy:

Oglivie always looked incredibly agitated and impatient at the plate.  This clip doesn't do it justice, but it's such a great video I want to share it...even if the game ended badly:

Such great memories of a year now 33 years in my rearview mirror. I hope I will see another Brewers' trip to the World Series in my lifetime.

Okay, one more video that has to be shared before I get to the grand finale of John's box.  It's this great video of Pete Vuckovich and the home plate umpire before Vuke's start at home in the World Series:

Now that we're all buttoned up, on to the coolest items John sent:

Bobbleheads! On the left is the Lyle Overbay commemorative bobblehead from 2005 celebrating his team record for 53 doubles in a season.  Jonathan Lucroy broke that record last year by racking up 54 doubles.

The other one looks like John Axford, but it's 10 years before the Ax got to Milwaukee and instead is a commemorative bobblehead for the Bud-Selig-tie-game-All-Star Game in Milwaukee. I swear, sometimes I think Bud could suck the fun out of a trip to Vegas. Anyway, maybe Axford saw this bobblehead around Miller Park and thought, "Damn, that bobblehead looks dope! Imma do that!"

Or not.

Funny thing, though -- these two guys are overshadowed GREATLY by the final bobblehead and ticket stub that came my way:

Yes! The Robin Yount Bobblehead from the 25th Anniversary celebration from 2007!  He may be smaller than the Ax-wanna-be or Overbay, but I much prefer Robin.  All day, every day.

Even if he is only second in team history for home runs now.

John, thank you very much for all the great cards and especially for the bobbleheads.  Admittedly, when I got back into collecting, I never expected to have a bunch of bobbleheads around. Now, though, I'm glad I do!