One Year, 200 Posts, And The World's Lamest Contest

I don't usually post on weekends, but today is special. In addition to being my 200th post, today marks the one year mark for my blog!

Personally, I'm impressed. I didn't know one year ago how much I'd enjoy writing this, and how much fun I'd have interacting with so many people who share this wonderful hobby. I didn't know exactly how much I had to offer, and if anyone would really want to read it. From Day 1 it's been a blast, and I've gotten nothing but support from all of you, so thank you!

Prior to this, I'd been a blog lurker for awhile - often reading, rarely commenting, just enjoying the daily musings of people who still enjoyed a hobby I loved since childhood.

A series of blog posts, The 30 Day Challenge, pushed me here. I loved reading everyone's responses, and it made me consider my own answers. I started up Diamond Jesters so I could take part in the discussion. Thirty days went relatively quickly, and I had to think of other stuff to write about. The 30 Day Challenge begat the Bracket Challenge. My desire to post at least weekly led to a series of quick little haiku. From this blog I started trading with others, and the idea for Time Travel Trading was born. I'll be the first to admit my posts aren't always the most interesting, but I've enjoyed writing, and that's really what it's about, right?

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I thought it would be fun to go back through the 30 Day Challenge topics and see if my answers would change one year later. I only found four that would be different if I did this challenge today.

Day 1: A Card From The Current Year With A Photo You Like

2017 Topps #8a Jose Berrios	Replaced  with	2018 Topps #297 Kevin Kiermaier

Obviously the current year would require a different choice from last year. There has been a lot of great photography, but this Kiermaier card stands out. He is almost perfectly mimicking the Air Jordan pose, and it looks like he's throwing out the Texas Longhorns gesture to boot. It's just an awesome shot.

Day 5: A Certified Autograph Card Of One Of Your Favorite Players

2012 Topps Gypsy Queen - Autographs #GQA-DP Dustin Pedroia	Replaced  with	2017 Topps Archives Luis Tiant

One of the things I tried to do during the challenge was keep my picks to cards I actually owned. That proved to be quite difficult in some respects. I didn't have a certified autographed card of a favorite player, so I just found one I liked online. Since then, I have been gifted this amazing certified auto of El Tiante from Tyler of Rekindling The Cardboard Flame. He would have been the easy pick here.

Day 24: A Favorite Oddball Card From The 1960s

1962 Auravision Records Ernie Banks	Replaced  with	1962 Post Cereal #58 Frank Malzone

Again, I didn't own any 1960s oddball cards. I searched through the Trading Card Database looking at the different oddball sets, and found this beauty. This record/card ended up being the winner of my Bracket Challenge, but wouldn't have even made the list if I did this today. I recently picked up this Post Cereal card as part of my Time Travel Trading adventures.

Day 28: A Favorite Relic/Manufactured Relic Card

2006 Bowman Sterling #BS-LE Lee Evans (MEM)	Replaced  with	2012 Topps Gypsy Queen - Relics #GQR-KY Kevin Youkilis (MEM)

I don't collect football cards, but my only relic at the time was this Lee Evens swatch. Paul at Scribbled Ink recently gave be a bunch of relics, and I would have to go with Youk over Evans a second time through.

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OK, Since I hit the anniversary mark, I'm actually going to try and run a contest here. Nothing spectacular, mind you, as my collection is more disorganized than I am. One of the fun little things I do on my blog is a weekly haiku based on some random card I get in a repack from the Dollar Store. I recently purchased another Presstine repack to continue the series. 3 lucky contestants will win a one-of-a-kind, never-before-published haiku! (insert cricket noises here).

Here's what I'm thinking: I've created 3 lists of all the cards in the repack. List #1 is the list of names. List #2 is the set each card comes from. List #3 contains the team and position of the player on the card. The first winner can pick one of the lists, and one of the options from that list. Winner # 2 gets choice of the remaining 2 lists, and the final winner can pick a choice from the last remaining list. That way, you still get surprised by which piece of crap junk wax amazing work of art you'll receive! The haiku I create will be an original, and it's up to you if you want to share it or keep it locked away in the unlikely event it becomes valuable. I'll try to protect this masterpiece by padding it with some other cards, hopefully something tailored to your wants and needs if by some miracle you need more junk wax. To enter, simply leave a comment below. I'll arbitrarily decide to end the entry window at some future date, and use some random form of randomizing to determine the lucky winners.

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Thanks to everyone who has stopped by and visited my blog!  I'm counting on Year 2 to just as fun!

SEC - "Sweet 16" Match Up #5

El Tiante Takes Tie-Breaker!

Since both cards received the same number of votes, the tie breaker goes to the older card. Sorry, Big Unit, but being a Hall of Fame pitcher will have to be consolation prize enough.

Hot dog! I'm excited about this match up! I randomly seeded the card in the Single Elimination Challenge, and it's always cool when there some connection between the two cards squaring off. Kahn's has been issuing cards for a long time, and two of their cards are represented here.

1989 Kahn's Cooperstown Collection "Cool Papa" Bell	VS	1956 Kahn's Weiners Smoky Burgess

Cool Papa Bell
Bracket Round: defeated Roberto Alomar (2-0)
Fun Fact: Other nicknames Bell's teammates considered included "Chill Daddy", "Ice Pop", and "The Frozen Father".

Smokey Burgess
Bracket Round: defeated Bob Gibson (3-0)
Fun Fact: Burgess's sponsorship deal with Kahn's was terminated when he gave an newspaper interview and controversially stated that a hot dog was, in fact, a sandwich.

Who decides the winner? You Kahn do it! Comment below and let me know which wiener you await!

30 Day Challenge: The Aftermath

It took longer than 30 days, but I finally completed the Challenge! My thanks to Off Haitus Baseball Cards for creating something that I had so much fun reading, that it made me want to start up a blog and share my thoughts as well. I had a lot of fun with this.

So where do we go from here?

A fight to the death, of course!

(OK, maybe not to the death...)

I highlighted a lot of great cards in the past month plus. Enough for me to fill out a 32 card bracket in fact. So, here's what I'm going to do. Using the tools available at printyourbrackets.com, I randomized the list of cards 30 times and seeded each pairing into a single elimination bracket. I'll post each match and let you vote on who advances.

Disclaimer: I'm withholding the Mantle autograph from this tournament. I would think it'd be an uncontested winner, lessening the fun of this exercise.

To vote, just leave a comment with your choice on which card is better. In case of a tie, the older card wins. Let's kick this off with our first match-up:

1962 Auravision Records Ernie Banks	VS	1988 Leaf #255 Tim Wallach Canadian Greats

The case for Ernie Banks: Not only is he a Hall of Famer, but he's one of those inner circle Hall of Famers. Throw in the fact that this "card" is a playable record, and you have one of the better oddball cards around.

The case for Tim Wallach: Tim Wallach was a very underrated player during his day. Ernie Banks may have been  "Mr. Cub", but Tim Wallach could have very well been "Mr. Expo". This card features the great Donruss artwork we all know and love, and this may be one of the best examples of a card border matching a team color scheme.

What say you, faithful readers? Who should advance, and why? It's up to you - have at it!

30 Day Challenge: Day 30

Courtesy of Off Hiatus Baseball Cards

Day 30: Your Favorite Card In Your Collection

The best card in my collection doesn't represent my favorite player. It doesn't even represent my favorite team. On the contrary, it's a team I don't particularly care for. It's not from a popular set, or even from one of the major companies.

The card itself isn't really all that special.

The crown jewel of my collection earned its place because it represents my greatest day as a collector. For my 15th birthday, my parents took me to a card show in Niagara Falls, NY. We arrived at the convention center, and I found myself at the largest sports card and collectables show I had even been at. The place was huge, and despite being there all day, I don't think I came close to seeing all the tables. A big reason why is because I spent most of my time there waiting in line. At the end of the room, on a raised platform, a ballplayer was signing autographs.

This player wasn't an active player. He retired long before I was even born. I knew who he was though, and knew he was an all-time great. I was star-struck. I waited in line for what seemed like an eternity, but eventually the line moved and I found myself staring greatness in the eye. He smiled at me as I handed him my card, the only card of his that I owned at the time. He signed it quickly, and handed it back. I could barely muster a "Thank you" as I made way for the person behind me. The rest of the day was mostly a blur, because I was overjoyed at the card in my hands. I was now the proud owner of this:

1987 Hygrade All-Time Greats - Promos (Red Backs) Mickey Mantle

In all my days as a collector, nothing will ever top the day I met Mickey Mantle.

Well, there you have it. The 30 day Challenge is complete! I feel a genuine sense of accomplishment.

30 Day Challenge: Day 29

Day 29: A Favorite Card From Before 1950, Whether You Own It Or Not

1941 Play Ball #63 Dom Dimaggio

One of the better baseball themed books I've read was "The Teammates", which told the story of the lifelong friendship between Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky, and Dom Di Maggio. Williams and Doerr are Hall of Famers, and Pesky has his number retired by the Red Sox. That leaves the younger brother of Joe, who was a great player in his own right. "The Little Professor" has a fairly strong Hall of Fame case himself, and is one of those players I wish I could have seen play. I wouldn't mind owning a card of Dom someday, whether it's this one of another.

The Teammates statue at Fenway Park

Courtesy of Off Hiatus Baseball Cards

30 Day Challenge: Day 28

Day 28: A Favorite Relic/Manufactured Relic Card

I only have one relic card. It's not a baseball card, but it'll do.

2006 Bowman Sterling #BS-LE Lee Evans (MEM)

I don't really collect football cards, although a few have made their way to me. A former coworker of mine gave me this one because I'm from Western New York, and like most people from the area, we support the Buffalo sports teams. He also gave me a Marshawn Lynch rookie card, which was nice of him.

30 Day Challenge: Day 27

Day 27: A Favorite Oddball Card From 1990 or Later

1992 Score Proctor and Gamble #3 Roberto Alomar

I'll be honest, I have no idea why I like this set, but I do. The background is your typical obnoxious 90's style design, but I kind of like the color scheme and the raised star. I also appreciate the set reflecting the actual All Star Game's starters. (At least, the elected starters - Jose Canseco was injured and replaced in the starting lineup by Joe Carter.) It packs star power too - half of the 18 card set feature players now in the Hall of Fame!

30 Day Challenge: Day 26

Day 26: A Favorite Oddball Card From the 80s

1989 Kahn's Cooperstown Collection "Cool Papa" Bell

My Uncle Ed got me this set I believe. The card stock is flimsy, but I think design is excellent. One of the cooler things about this set is that despite the numerous Hall of Famers Kahn's/Hillshire Farms could have put on this small 11 card set, they chose to honor a Negro League star. You didn't see a lot of that at the time, so cards like this helped fill the gap in the game's history.

30 Day Challenge: Day 25

Day 25: A Favorite Oddball Card From The 70s

After 3 Challenges of cards I don't own, we're back to something I can pull from my personal collection.

1972 Kellogg's #2 Amos Otis

Maybe it's because the blue border compliments the Royals uniform perfectly, but I really like this card design. I think it may even be better than the iconic design Topps put out the same year. It just seems to hold up better, doesn't it? Besides, you can't go wrong with that groovy 3D effect!

30 Day Challenge: Day 24

Day 24: A Favorite Oddball Card From The 60s

Just like yesterday's post, I found this by doing some casual searching:

1962 Auravision Records Ernie Banks

That is just coolness right there. What could be better than a baseball player record? I wish I had one of these (and for that matter, a record player) so I could hear what they sounded like.

Courtesy of Off Hiatus Baseball Cards

30 Day Challenge: Day 23

Day 23: A Favorite Oddball Card From The 50s

The Challenge gets challenging. I don't own a lot of vintage cards, and my knowledge of oddball sets is close to nothing. For once, I actually had to research my choice. Fortunately, the TCDB made this a little easier. I started at 1950 and went year by year through all the oddball sets, focusing on any set names that caught my attention. I found a great one. Not because of the card itself, or the players involved. I found what might be the greatest advertising slogan ever put to print:

1956 Kahn's Weiners Smoky Burgess

Bravo, Kahn's Weiners, bravo...

Courtesy of Off Hiatus Baseball Cards

30 Day Challenge: Day 22

Day 22: A Card Of A Common Player That Always Seemed To Elude You

We're going to do a 2-for-1 special here. To be honest, there was never a player that stuck out as elusive. Not that I could recall at least. However, in the time that I have started entering my collection into the Trading Card Database, two cards have made their elusiveness apparent.

1990 Donruss #15 Ozzie Guillen DK

1990 Donruss #6 Dave Stewart DK

According to the database, my 1990 Donruss set is 99.9% complete. I was certain I had completed this set, but after double checking, I found these two cards have gone rogue somehow. Someday, when I start taking my collecting seriously enough again, I'll acquire these two and restore order to the world again. For now, they elude me.

Courtesy of Off Hiatus Baseball Cards

30 Day Challenge: Day 21

Day 21: A Card Of A Rookie You Thought You Were Investing In

Again, I never collected with an eye towards investment. I was a set collector first and foremost. That being said, I was always aware of how certain cards were being valued, and hoped one day my set would be worth substantially more than it is now. Many rookies came and went, but everyone I knew was collecting Ken Griffey Jr.

1989 Donruss #33 Ken Griffey Jr. (RC, RR)

His Upper Deck card became the one most sought after, but I was happy to get his Donruss and Fleer cards when I could. I have a couple of each, and although they won't pay off my credit card debt anytime soon, I'm still glad they're in my collection.

Courtesy of Off Hiatus Baseball Cards

30 Day Challenge: Day 20

Day 20: Your Favorite Parallel Card Based On The Parallel, Not The Player

I generally don't like parallels. The card companies have overused it, and it makes collecting a hassle. I did find a parallel I liked, and I think it's one of the few instances where the parallel greatly improves the base set.

1992 Leaf - Black Gold #302 Randy Johnson

Let's look at the base set for comparison:

1992 Leaf #302 Randy Johnson

It's ugly. Gray (or grey if you prefer) is a bland color for a border. It didn't work well for 1989 Fleer, and this is no different. The parallel looks sharper with the black border and excellent use of gold foil trim. To be honest, I don't even mind the lack of the team logo. Even the back of the cards are better:

1992 Leaf - Black Gold #302 Randy Johnson (back)

1992 Leaf  #302 Randy Johnson (back)

Again, boring gray is replaced by a nicer golden color. Leaf should have made the black border the base set and left it at that.

Courtesy of Off Hiatus Baseball Cards

30 Day Challenge: Day 19

Day 19: A Favorite Card From A Country Other Than The United States

My collection is pretty limited here. The only other country I have cards from is Canada. Leaf and O-Pee-Chee weren't usually different than their American counterparts back in the day. The only real difference was that you could learn some French. There were occasional differences though. If Canada is to be represented, let's pick the most Canadian card I can find:

1988 Leaf #255 Tim Wallach Canadian Greats

I picked up a box of 1988 Leaf at a card show once. Despite only being a 264 card set, I couldn't complete the set with just that box. I did however, realize that Leaf made a couple of cool cards for the Canadian kids. The Blue Jays and Expos got some extra love, and when you get a card like this, you feel the love too.

Courtesy of Off Hiatus Baseball Cards

30 Day Challenge: Day 18

Day 18: A Card Of A Player Who Would Later Manage Your Favorite Team

1985 Topps #578 Terry Francona

I got to meet Terry Francona once. The University of Virginia Baseball Team had a fundraising dinner, with Tito as the guest speaker. My wife got us tickets as my Christmas Gift, and I got to spend an evening listening to him share tales of what it was like managing the Red Sox. Afterwards I went up to him and got a couple autographs, as well as my picture with him. He's arguably the greatest manager in Red Sox history, and a Future Hall Of Famer in my opinion.

Tito and me

Courtesy of Off Hiatus Baseball Cards

30 Day Challenge: Day 17

Day 17: A Card From The First Set You Put Together Hand Collated

Like a lot of people, 1987 Topps holds a special place in my heart. When I decided to start this blog, I almost named it "Wood-grain on Cardboard" just because of my fondness for this set. Even now, I get a smile seeing these cards in repacks, and I enjoy seeing modern cards with this border. It was this set I first completed, and back then this was the card everyone wanted:

1987 Topps #170 Bo Jackson (RC, FS)

Bo Jackson was one of those generational talents. Future Star definitely applied to him here. (Anyone else think of the "The More You Know" commercials when they see this Future Stars script?). It's a shame injuries ended his career so early.

Courtesy of Off Hiatus Baseball Cards

30 Day Challenge: Day 16

Day 16: A Card Of A Player You Don't Like But Respect

This is a tough one because I don't know these players personally. The ones I dislike, I do so because of some transgression that I found disrespectful.  Finding a team I don't like, however, that's easy! So I just need to find someone I can respect from one particular team. Enter Sandman Mo....

2015 Topps - Eclipsing History #EH-6 Mariano Rivera/Whitey Ford

He was a Yankee, which is bad enough. I'm also one of those types of baseball fans that think closers are overrated. You would think the greatest closer of all time being a Yankee would put him low on my list, but I respect him though. He always played with integrity, never showed people up, and was a classy person on and off the field. I'll also offer this admission: I once went to a game at Yankee Stadium. Towards the end of the game, Metallica started playing, the crowd went nuts, and Mariano Rivera walked to the mound. Even I got goosebumps.

Courtesy of Off Hiatus Baseball Cards