Friday, April 28, 2023

Random Thoughts And Musings For The Blog's 6th Anniversary

April has been the month for milestones on this blog. I wrote my 300th Haiku, as well as my 1,000th post. Now we've reached the 6th anniversary of Diamond Jesters! I didn't have anything really special planned for today, so I'm just going to throw out some randomness, mostly hobby related, although not all sports-related.
 
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I'm going to start off on a little bit of a downer, but I have an overall positive message stemming from it, so please bear with me. I've been working in the same small-town computer shop for 16 years. Back in February, my boss suddenly lost his 21 year old son. It was a shock to us all, especially me since I had been with the company so long I saw this individual grow from a kid riding his bike in our parking lot to the independent young man he was becoming. Anyways, at the funeral service a few of his friends spoke of him. The son was very much into online games, and one of his friends mentioned that for the longest time, they never knew what each other looked like, and that it didn't matter as they grew to be great friends virtually. The friendship and support was there, even if they didn't "see" each other. He ended on the point that he didn't need his friend to be physically there to feel his presence in his life, and that presence will always be with him. That struck a chord with me. In the 6 years I've written this blog, I've gotten to know so many of you. We've commented on each other's blogs, traded, and enriched each other lives. Yet, I couldn't pick any of you out of a lineup, and I know only about your lives outside of this hobby from what you've publicly shared on your blogs. Despite having not met any of you in person, know this: I consider each of you a friend, I care about you and your well-being, and I will support you on any path life may take you on. Thank you for your friendship in turn.
 
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On to more happy-happy-joy-joy stuff. Recently I was on the receiving end of a random act of kindness from Greg over at Crocodile Sports
 

The Yaz is a thick card, and Trevor Story is even thicker than that. I'm not sure how I feel about these cards. Are they even still "cards"? How thick can you go and still have it be considered a card? The helmet is cool though, but I'm not as impressed with the 70th Anniversary piece. 

Anyways, Thanks a bunch Greg!

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Is anyone else having issues adding new blogs to your Blog List gadget under Blogger? I can click on Layout, select the gadget, scroll down and select Add A New Item. I can fill out the information and save it, but there's no way to close the pop-up window short of closing the browser tab. I go back in, and the new blog isn't there. Anyone else? Just me? Cool...

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My eldest daughter turned 16 earlier this month, so we drove up to Richmond, VA to see a performance of one of her favorite musicals, "Hamilton". It wasn't Broadway obviously, but it was an incredibly impressive and entertaining performance nonetheless. Even if musicals aren't your cup of tea, it's worth going to if you have a chance.

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We're a month into the baseball season, and my Red Sox are doing OK all things considered. They've been hovering around the .500 mark all season, although that still gets them last place in the talented AL East. They've been entertaining, and I think they have one good hot streak in them that'll put them into playoff conversation.

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Every now and then, I'll read about damaged envelopes. Usually the fault of the post office, with some occasional rain dampness or beloved pet shenanigans sprinkled in. I think I have a new one for you. I present to you the artistic 2-year-old:
 
 
Don't worry the cards inside were fine, even if my heart did skip a beat upon finding this on the dining room floor.

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My sincerest thanks to the guy in my fantasy baseball league who dropped Adolis Garcia and allowed me to benefit from his 5-5,3 home run,  8 RBI night. It was the difference maker in a close head-to-head matchup against the leading team in our league. Never drop a healthy Top-100 guy in April...

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I announced a contest during my 1000th post, so we'll end things by announcing our winner! I had a nice round 10 commenters on the post, so I went to random.org and selected a random number between 1 and 10. I did this 6 times (being my 6th anniversary and all) and determined a winner:
 
 
The 8th commenter is our winner! That would be:
 

Congrats Derek! I'll get in contact with you to confirm your address!

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Repack Haiku #303 (Ted Power)

Lone postseason start
Attempt to beat Reds' platoon
Did well, but still lost
 
1989 Fleer #142 Ted Power
 
From his Wikipedia page:
In the 1990 National League Championship Series, Power made the only postseason appearances of his career. He appeared as a reliever in two games and he started the sixth game as part of an attempt to defeat the Reds' platoon system. When the Pirates announced that Power would start the game, the Reds started their left-handed-hitting platoon. After the right-handed Power pitched three innings, Pittsburgh manager Jim Leyland brought in left-handed starter Zane Smith to have more favorable matchups against the left-handed Reds lineup. Power and Smith each gave up only one run, but the team lost the game 2-1.

Friday, April 21, 2023

Trapped In Time: Remnants Of The 34th Trade


 
Just like a card featured in this series previously, the cards featured today are from a trade generated when I added a pack of 2019 Topps to the stack. It's been a tradition every year since, and Bo (Baseball Cards Come to Life!) has started his own tradition of picking up any cards from that pack that no one else claimed. They end up being the first cards from that year's set he gets.
 
Trade #34 (Bo: Baseball Cards Come to Life)
Traded 04/08/19: 2019 Topps #27 Mike Leake, 2019 Topps #32 Carlos Correa, 2019 Topps #57 Justin Verlander, 2019 Topps #62 Elvis Andrus, 2019 Topps #123 Jose Martinez, 2019 Topps #189 Khris Davis (LL), 2019 Topps #215 Didi Gregorius, 2019 Topps #217 Joe Jimenez, 2019 Topps #226 Almora Albert, 2019 Topps #274 Francisco Cevelli, 2019 Topps #290 Steven Souza Jr., 2019 Topps #346 Chris Iannetta, 2019 Topps - Super Stars Of Baseball #SSB-32 Chris Carpenter, 1960 Topps #95 Frank Thomas

Received 04/18/19:
  • 1979 Topps #214 Boston Red Sox (TC) (See Trade #160)
  • 1979 Topps #680 Carlton Fisk (AS) (See Trade #51)
  • 1978 Topps #63 Don Zimmer (MGR) (See Trade #39)
  • 1978 Topps #295 Bill Lee (See Trade #72)
  • 1978 Topps #373 Jim Willoughby (See Trade #161)
  • 1978 Topps #482 Rick Miller (See Trade #161)
  • 1978 Topps #706 Rookie 1st Baseman (Cage/Cox/Putnam/Revering) (See Trade #160)
  • 1976 Topps #50 Fred Lynn (ASR)  (See Trade #47)
  • 1976 Topps #78 Cecil Cooper (See Trade #50)
  • 1976 Topps #597 Rookie Pitchers (Aase/Kucek/LaCorte/Pazik) (See Trade #47)
  • 1974 Topps #158 Jack Billingham
  • 1973 Topps #30 Tug McGraw (See Trade #82)
  • 1973 Topps #68 1972 Leading Firemen (Carroll/Lyle) (See Trade #82)
  • 1973 Topps #75 Vada Pinson (See Trade #82)
  • 1973 Topps #80 Tony Oliva (See Trade #82)
  • 1973 Topps #85 Ted Simmons (See Trade #50)
  • 1973 Topps #116 Ralph Houk (MGR) (See Trade #82)
  • 1973 Topps #145 Bobby Bonds (See Trade #82)
  • 1973 Topps #225 Albert Oliver (See Trade #82)
  • 1973 Topps #232 Ken Singleton (See Trade #82)
  • 1973 Topps #240 Bobby Murcer (See Trade #82)
  • 1973 Topps #258 Tommy John (See Trade #82)
  • 1973 Topps #325 Boog Powell (See Trade #82)
  • 1973 Topps #329 Ed Kranepool (See Trade #82)
  • 1973 Topps #365 Rico Petrocelli (See Trade #82)
  • 1973 Topps #368 Bill Buckner (See Trade #82)
  • 1972 Topps #450 Mickey Lolich (See Trade #41)
  • 1968 Topps #449 Gene Oliver
  • 1959 Topps #424 Ken Aspromonte (See Trade #85)

From this trade we have two leftovers. Billingham is an interesting photo, with an unusual pitching contortion. There's actually two copies of this card in the stack. Oliver is a nice vintage Red Sox card that was "updated" to reflect Oliver becoming a coach shortly after his career ended in 1969. 

Unless someone wants to trade for them, these cards will join my personal collection. Last call!

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Repack Haiku #302 (Bernie Williams)

Great jazz guitarist
Latin Grammy nominee
Released two albums
 
1992 Topps #374 Bernie Williams


The only thing smoother than his swing is his guitar playing...



Monday, April 17, 2023

Time Travel Trading Update #76

 
I have to be honest - I just can't think of anything worthwhile to open this month's update with, so I'm going to just jump right to all the new trades! Sound good? Let's roll..
 
Leading off is a small trade with TCDB member and frequent trader Ken C. Ken's cards just missed the cutoff for being featured in last month's update, but I'm more than happy to show them off here!

Also just missing the cutoff was my return from a trade with Jon (A Penny Sleeve For Your Thoughts). The last time Jon and I traded, he included some sharp-looking boxing cards from 1938. Jon was generous enough to add a couple more of these probable gangsters boxing personalities to the list. It amazes me how many pre-WWII era cards I have in this stack.

Do you know what this trade stack has been lacking? Stickers! Thanks to Jeff (Wax Pack Wonders), that's no longer a problem! Among this variety of Hall of Famers, vintage, and minor league oddballs were stickers from both Topps and Fleer!

Batting cleanup is heavy-hitter Ken H., who has this habit of sending me multiple PWE and making our trades a little lopsided on the quantity front. Every envelope was packed with great stuff as always.
 
Hey look, another sticker! One of the PWE was nothing but 1979 Topps. (Just a heads up, I already claimed that Jerry Remy card! You'll see what I swapped it out with soon.)
 
Lately there has been a boost in the amount of football cards added, and Ken continues with some nice looking cards!


Chris (The Collector) has been revisiting one of his great blog series, where he puts together every team's ultimate roster. It's worth reading if you aren't already. Meanwhile, Chris and I completed a nice little trade. Will any of these guys make an all-time roster? You'll have to read to find out!


Bo (Baseball Cards Come To Life!) is another heavy hitter who made a big trade this past month. Football cards continue to be the theme with this latest return (along with one baseball manager!)
 


TCDB superstar Mark Z delivered what is probably one of the most diverse package of cards I've ever gotten. We have representation from four different sports, plus a beloved movie and dinosaurs!

 
Tom (The Angels In Order) gets the record for the "smallest" trade. He claimed one of the 1969 football minis, and sent back a quartet of cards in return.


We'll end things today with a personal swap I did. In addition to claiming the above 1979 Topps Jerry Remy card, I also had an opportunity for a TCDB trade that required trading a 1998 Pinnacle Andruw Jones card that had been floating for awhile. I humbly offer these cards as replacements:

Thanks again to all my amazing trade partners!
 
As always, these cards are all available in exchange for an older card. You can claim your cards below, or through the TCDB (Kep75). Let's make some trades!

The Time Travel Trade Stack:

 
2022 Topps Heritage
#104 Alex Bregman
 
2022 Topps Opening Day - Opening Day Autographs
#ODA-LWJ LaMonte Wade Jr. (AU)   
 
2021 Donruss
#18 Bryce Harper (DK)
 
2020 Donruss
#24 Bryce Harper (DK)

2020 Topps Big League
#4 Nelson Cruz
#126 Jack Flaherty
#287 Pete Alonso (HL)
#288 C.C. Sabathia (HL)
 
2020 Leaf Draft - Gold (football)
#66 CeeDee Lamb (AA)
#77 Collin Johnson (TD) 

2017-18 Donruss (basketball)
#75 Chandler Parsons
 
2017 Topps - MLB Award Winners
 
2017 Topps Update
#US87 Chris Sale (AS)
#US95 Stephen Strasburg (AS)

2016 Panini Diamond Kings
#84 Josh Donaldson

 
2010-11 Score (hockey)
 
2011 Topps
#89 Placido Polanco 
  
2010 Bowman - Prospects Black
#BP51 Chase D'Arnaud
#BP56 Rolando Gomez

2010 Bowman Platinum - Prospects
#PP38 Brian Johnson     
 
2010 Topps Chrome (football)
#C141 T.J. Houshmandzadeh
 
2009 Bowman - Chrome WBC Prospects
#BCW18 Tao Bu     
 
2008 Upper Deck Draft Edition (football)
#181 LaDainian Tomlinson

2007 Playoff Prestige (football) 
 
2005 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia
#44 Shawn Green
 
2005 Donruss Classics (football)
#69 Kerry Collins  
 
2005 Donruss Throwback Threads (football)
#13 Ray Lewis
 
2004 Just Rookies - 05 Preview Autographs
 
2003 Upper Deck Victory - Tier 1 Green
#91 Carl Crawford
 
2002 Fleer Maximum
 
2002 Upper Deck World Series Heroes
#85 Tino Martinez
#88 Andy Petitte
 
2001 Topps Archives
#190 Jack Morris
#194 Lee Smith 
 
 
2000 Skybox
#53 Miguel Tejada

2000 Upper Deck MVP

#216 Bernie Williams
 
1999-00 Topps (basketball)
#12 Juwan Howard
#16 Eric William 
 
1999 SkyBox Metal Universe (football)
#116 Tiki Barber
 
1999 Stadium Club
#214 Tony Saunders 
 
1998 Pinnacle Performers
#14 Hideo Nomo
 
1998 SP Authentic (football)
#46 Jamal Anderson
#53 Thurman Thomas
#64 Deion Sanders
#75 Marvin Harrison
#100 Tim Brown
#109 Isaac Bruce
#111 Junior Seau
 
1997 Collector's Choice
#215 Glenallen Hill 
 
1997 Pinnacle Inside
#111 Matt Williams

1997 Pinnacle X-Press
#64 Craig Biggio   
 
1997 Upper Deck
#13 Mark Lemke

1996 Leaf
 
1996 SP

1996 Stadium Club

#18 Bill Pulsipher
 
1996 Upper Deck
#358 Todd Worrell
#442 Dennis Eckersley
 
1995 Finest (football)
#124 Trent Dilfer     
 
1995 Skybox Jumanji (non-sport)
#31 Help Us Finish
 
 
1994 St. Paul Saints
#NNO Darius Gash
#NNO Carl Schramm 
 
1994 Topps Archives 1954
 
1993 Leaf
 
1993 Redstone Dinosaurs Mesozoic Era (non-sport)
#40 Daspletosaurus
 
 
1992 Front Row Draft Picks
#46 Ed Christian   
 
1992 Leaf - Gold Rookies
#BC-10 David Nied
 
1992 Pinnacle
 
1992 Post Cereal
 
1992 Upper Deck
#723 Sammy Sosa 
 
1991 Post Cereal
 
1991 Score

1991 U.S. Playing Card Co.
#2Spades Eddie Murray
 
1991 Fleer (football)
#398 Lawrence Taylor (HIT)
 
1991 Pro Set (football)
 
1991 Pro Set Platinum (football)
#81 Lawrence Taylor
 
 
1991 Topps Desert Storm (non-sport)
#147 Working Together  
 
1990-91 Pro Set Super Bowl XXV Silver Anniversary (football)
#88 Nick Buoniconti
 

1990 Fleer
#622 Fernando Valenzuela (POD, VAR) 

1990 Post Cereal
#22 Pedro Guerrero 
 
 
1990 Score (football)
#436 Chet Brooks (RC)
 
1990 Topps Traded (football)
#102T Howard Cross (RC)
 
1989-92 Racing Champions Stock Car (racing)
#01121 Harry Gant 
 
1989-90 Fleer (basketball)
 
1989 Fleer
#299 Roberto Alomar   
 
1989 O-Pee-Chee Stickers
#40/#228 Pedro Guerrero/Bill Swift (VAR: #13 Jose Canseco back)
 
 
1988 Card Collectors T-206 Reprint
#NNO Matty McIntyre
 
1988 Donruss 
 
 
1988 Topps Toys "R" Us Rookies
#30 Terry Steinbach  
 
1988 Topps Traded
 
1987 Fleer Star Stickers
#29 Chili Davis
 
 
1986 Donruss
 
1986 Fleer
#322 Goose Gossage
 
1986 Fleer Baseball's Best Sluggers vs. Pitchers
 
1986 O-Pee-Chee
#58 Leon Durham 
 
 
1985 Topps
#497 Gary Pettis 
 
1984 Donruss

1984 Fleer
 
1984 O-Pee-Chee 
 
 

1983 Topps Drake's Big Hitters
#14 Dave Kingman
 
1982-85 Galasso Baseball Hobby Card Report T-206 Reprints
 
1982 Dover Publications Reprints National League
#15 Robin Roberts 
 
1982 Topps
#35 Willie Aikens
 
1982 Topps (football) 
#408 Ron Jaworski (SA)
#415 Greg Pruitt
#420 Stan Walters (AP)
#427 Pete Johnson
#432 Vikings Team Leaders (TL, CL)
#434 Tim Fox
#438 Mike Hartenstine
 
1981 Donruss  
#230 George Hendrick 
 
1981 Fleer
#8 Larry Christenson 

1981 Topps
 
1981 Topps Stickers
#155 Mike Tyson
#156 Ivan DeJesus
#158 Ken Reitz 
 
1980 Topps 
#90 Manny Trillo
#265 Robin Yount 
 
1980 Topps (football)
#7 Harold Jackson
#8 Mike Williams
#9 Calvin Hill
#11 Dan Melville (RC)
#12 Matt Robinson
#17 Isaac Curtis
#18 Charley Hannah (RC)
#21 Brian Baschnagel
#22 Jon Keyworth
#23 Phil Villapiano
#24 Richard Osborne (RC)
#26 Doug Beaudoin
#29 Dick Ambrose
 

1979 Topps 
#603 Rudy May
#612 Rick Honeycutt (RC)
#615 Ken Singleton
#625 Mark Fidrych
#630 Bake McBride
#642 Wilbur Howard 
#656 Hosken Powell (RC)
#677 Larry Parrish
#685 Sixto Lezcano
#688 Mike Willis
#691 Dock Ellis
 
1979 Topps (football)
#12 Bernard Jackson

1978-79 Topps (basketball)
#118 Kevin Porter 

1978 Topps  
#265 Sal Bando 
 
1978 Topps (football)
#454 Dick Ambrose (RC)
#461 Sam Hunt
#467 Ray Jarvis
#487 Eddie Payton (RC)

1977-78 Topps - Glossy Inserts (Rounded Corners) (hockey)
 
1977-78 Topps - White Backs (basketball)
#78 Richard Washington (RC) 
 
1977 Dover Publications Classic Baseball Cards Reprints
#10 Lefty O'Doul
#18 Jimmie Dykes
#99 Hal Chase
#NNO Melvin Harder
#NNO Fred Merkle
 
1977 Topps
 
1977 Topps (football)
 
1976 Funky Sales Corp Funky Facts Baseball
#2 In A Trance
#3 Fans Vs Players
#5 Baseballeese
 
1976 SSPC
#7 Elias Sosa 

1976 Topps

1976 Topps (football)
#74 Bryant Salter

1975 Topps
 
 
1974 Topps  
#84 Rick Wise
 
1974 Topps - Traded
#43T Jim Wynn
 
1974 Topps (football)
#3 Don Hansen
#44 Randy Jackson
#57 Milt Sunde
#72 Ron East
#80 John Niland
#83 Jack Snow
#104 Zeke Moore
#118 Bill Butler (RC)
#174 Benny Johnson (RC) 

 
1972 Topps  
 
1972 Topps (football)
#52 Bobby Maples
#154 Bob Anderson 
 
1971 Topps
#90 Joe Pepitone
 
1971 Topps (football)
#8 Walt Garrison (RC)
 
1970 Topps
#2 Diego Segui
#287 Fred Talbot   #390 Willie Davis    
 
1970 Topps (football) 
 
1969 Globe Imports Playing Cards Gas Station Issue
#8Hearts Jim Wynn
 
#74 Preston Gomez (MGR) 
 
1969 Topps - Four-in-One Singles (football)
#NNO Ralph Baker
#NNO John Bramlett
#NNO Billy Martin
#NNO Bob Talamini 
 
1968 Topps
#52 Hawk Taylor 
#81 Larry Jackson
#121 Jimmie Hall 
#255 Dean Chance

1967 Topps

1966 Topps
#10 Tony Cloninger
#13 Lou Johnson
 
#149 Wayne Schurr

1964 Topps 
 
1963 Topps
#26 Ray Moore

1962 Topps
1961 Topps
 
1960 Topps
 
1960 Topps (football)
#28 Jim Ray Smith 

1959 Topps
 
1958 JCM 30a Doyusha Team Name Back (solid front w/o borders)
 
1958 Topps (football)
#3 Joe Schmidt 

1957 Topps
 
1956 Topps (football)
#42 Tom Fears
#51 Ted Marchibroda
 
1955 Bowman
#122 Al Corwin
 
1955 Topps
 
1955 Bowman (football)
#9 Don Stonesifer

1955 Topps All-American (football)
#46 Arnie Lassman
 
1954 Topps
#215 Ed McGhee

1954 Bowman Power For Peace (non-sport)
#91 USS Coral Sea (CVB43)

1953 Topps
 
 
1939 Wills's Garden Flowers by Richard Sudell (non-sport)
#46 Sweet Sultan 

1938 Church & Dwight Useful Birds Of America Tenth Series (J9-6) (non-sport)
#2 Black-throated Green Warbler
 
1938 Churchman's Boxing Personalities (boxing)
#45 Ted Broadribb
#48 Arthur J. Elvin 

1937-38  Diamond Matchbooks Tan 6 (hockey)
#NNO Glenn Brydson
 
1935 Church & Dwight Useful Birds of America Eighth Series (J9-4) (non-sport)
#10 California Jay

1933 Church & Dwight Useful Birds of America Fifth Series (J9-1) (non-sport)
#5 Indigo Bunting 
 
1925 Sports Records (multi-sport)
 
1924 Imperial Tobacco Co. of Canada (ITC) Dogs Series (non-sport)
#4 Otter-Hound

1922 Church & Dwight Useful Birds Of America Third Series (J7) (non-sport)
#7 Prothonotary Warbler

1915 Church & Dwight Useful Birds Of America First Series (J5) (non-sport)
#1 Quail
 
1910 Champions (T218) (multi-sport)
 
1890 N245 Sweet Caporal Actors & Actresses (non-sport)
#NNO Frankie Raymond

The Time Travel Trading Project is simple in concept. I started out with a random pack of 2018 Topps Series 1 baseball cards. My aim was to trade every card in that pack for something older. Each card I receive in turn is then made available for trade, with the goal to get the oldest card I can get.

Number of trades completed: 244 (1 pending)
Unique trading partners: 70

Number of cards mailed out: 1,288
Year of oldest card mailed out: 1910-11

Number of cards received: 1,922
Year of oldest card received: 1890