Showing posts with label P.A.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label P.A.. Show all posts

Saturday, January 5, 2019

Set Complete - 1995 Topps

It took me long enough, but I finally have completed the 1995 Topps set.  I would have finished it sooner, but on a recent buying binge on COMC, I was buying the last 10 or so cards that I needed, and some assclown had this Wes Chamberlain listed at over $20.00.  Yeah, I didn't want to finish this set that badly, so I figured I'd wait til I remembered it while buying stuff on Ebay.

I had some Ebay Bucks to spend, so I used $2.00 on this card to go ahead and close out the set.  That dude on COMC will just have to keep on dreaming.

Completing this set also completes my Topps run of sets from 1973 to 2018.  I have opened up the pursuit of 1972, and if I can close that one, I will have 1969 to 2018.  Not bad.  I have posted my 1972 needs, as well as my 1967 needs on my wishlist, and the lists are all updated.  I haven't pushed too hard on my set building since I am graphing a ton now, but I still want to complete the entire run of Topps some day (I'll need a very poor grade 52 Mantle to do it, but it can be done).

Special thanks to P. A. for knocking a ton of these 95s out, and reminding me that this was still on my to do list.  Thanks man!

I also learned today that Chamberlain signs TTM.  Don't worry, this card isn't being mailed out to him.

Sunday, July 22, 2018

PA Comes Through With Some Set Needs

I was cropping this scan of a 1995 Topps Nomar that my friend, P. A. gave me and my first thought was "Why is that not signed?"  Then I remembered, I do more things with cards than just get them signed.  The last set I need to complete between 1973 and 2017 Topps is 1995.  I have been working on it sporadically for a long time.  When I was in Texas, I met up with P. A., and he hooked me up with a stack of cards that almost completes my set.

My goal, now, is to go on Sportlots and complete the thing, so I can get it out of my closet... into another closet where I keep my sets.

Thanks so much for the cards, P. A.  Even better was meeting up with him and catching up after all these years!

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Baseball Cards Are Stupid: A Story on How I Got Into Collecting

I remember telling my older brother, John, that baseball cards were stupid.  He was a huge collector at the time, and I remember him getting excited over Wade Boggs cards, but I couldn't understand why.  I was maybe 7 or 8 and didn't know what the point was in opening packs of baseball cards and hoping to get your favorite player.  You see, I wasn't even a baseball fan back then.  I had no idea who the Baltimore Orioles were.  I had never been to any kind of a game (as far as I knew).  All I knew was that John loved baseball cards.  That was his thing.

Not too long after telling John that baseball cards were stupid, we got one of those Troll book order forms from school.  My mom would always let me circle the books I was interested in, and she would always add a few extras that she thought I may like.  We weren't very well off at that point in time, so getting those new books was pretty exciting for us.  When the order came in, for whatever reason, Mom had selected a small book about baseball cards that came with a little album and a pack of cards.

I knew John thought these things were like gold, so I was happy to be getting some cards that I could hold and say "Nyah nyah, I have some cards that you don't have!"  I spent that afternoon laying on my bed and reading each and every card.  I remember two of them, Hipolito Pichardo and Fred Lynn.  They were 1989 Topps cards, and I remember thinking that I liked the design.  I wish I could say that I still have those cards, but the truth is, I'm not sure.  My best guess is that I do, and they are in my completed 1989 set, since I had collated those in order years ago and put them up before I got into making sets.

So, after that afternoon of looking at all of those cards, I decided that I did, in fact lie baseball cards and I wanted to get more.  How do I go about this?  Well, even though we didn't get along very well (typical of most brothers around that age, I believe), I reluctantly asked John how I was supposed to go about adding to my collection.

He responded by asking, "What is your favorite team?"  I didn't know.  I knew that with him being the older brother, I wasn't allowed to copy him by saying the Boston Red Sox.  I knew my brother Philip liked the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants, but I couldn't copy him, either.  That sucked because by then, I knew who the A's were, they were the team that you could select on our Nintendo game and win every time.  Darn.

I couldn't even pick the A's most of the time on the game, because of my older brothers.  So I would have to pick some other random team.  I had always found myself picking the Orioles on that game because they had these crazy looking neon orange uniforms.  So, to answer John's question, I said, "Well, I guess the Orioles."  John said, ok, you should look for Orioles cards when you open packs.  He went to his room, and I went to mine.  A few minutes later, John came into my room and handed me a stack of cards.  "If you like the Orioles, this is their best player.  You should look for his cards."  I don't think I have to say who that player was, because I'm sure you all know it was Cal Ripken.

My mom used to take me to two different card shops in the Winston-Salem area when I was younger.  There was Season Ticket, a card shop owned by Chandy Greenholdt, who is now a fellow vendor of mine at the Raleigh card shows.  The other shop was Sportscards and More, which was owned and run by a guy named Jeff Hayes.  Jeff looked just like Rafael Palmeiro, which is one of the reasons that I liked Raffy growing up.  Mom would always take me to the shop, and the both of us would buy a bunch of packs.  Neither could wait to open them at home, so we would sit in her car and open them in the parking lot.  This is actually something that I still do, to this day.  I will take Chris to the card shop, buy our packs, then the two of us retreat to my truck and open packs.  Many times, I have to go back into the shop to show Wendell what I pulled, and buy a magnetic case or two.

The two card shops in Winston have since closed.  I got out of collecting when I turned 16 and had to get a job.  It wasn't as much fun spending my own money on cards, plus I had to pay for my car, insurance, gas, etc.  Every now and then, I would look through cards, and even buy a pack of two looking for the newest Ripken, but I was pretty much done.

Fast-forward to 2005; I took a friend of mine to a series of Orioles game against the Yankees.  I had still followed the Orioles all those years, and was finally able to go to games, myself.  I had been to a couple Orioles games in 1999 and wanted to try to take my own trip.  So, this friend and I made a trip of it and caught a couple games.  In the second game, Brian Roberts hit a walkoff home run in extra innings.  When I got home from the trip, I had the urge to start collecting again, and this time, I would look for Brian Roberts cards.  The old Sportscards and More had reopened as All About Sports, and a lovely lady was now the main person behind the counter.  She was really awesome in helping me find some new cards to get into, and also helped me search the dolar boxes in the shop for Roberts cards.  We would go on to become good friends, and after shopping there a while, she offered for me to help out at the shop in order to make some extra money.  If you hadn't guessed by now, that person was my friend, Babe.  She was instrumental in helping me get back into collecting.

Finally, while working at the card shop, I met two guys who came in fairly regularly.  We would hang out at the shop and talk cards while the Yu Gi Oh tournaments were being held.  Pete and P. A. were both bloggers and tried to convince me that I could tell some pretty good stories about the different cards that came through the shop.  I had only done a little blogging on my Myspace account (Myspace?  Was that really a thing? Haha!), so I figured it wouldn't last long and would be pretty lame.  However, I decided to give it a shot.  I couldn't think of a title, so I tried to think of the lamest thing in baseball.  "Walking in a run with the bases loaded" was way too long, so I settled on foul bunt.  I didn't even capitalize it, because I felt that is was insignificant and unassuming.  I feared that I would write a couple posts and forget to maintain it.  I started the blog, thinking that it would only be about a few cards and the card shop, but it evolved into something more.  It has become my showcase for everything in my collection.  It helped me start a branch of my collection (HOF signed baseballs) that hadn't yet begun.  It helped me do one of the things I'm most proud of (my Virgil Trucks interview).  I have even blogged about non-card stuff like wrestling, and music.

My musical taste has evolved just as much.  From being a huge Bon Jovi fan at 8 years old, to falling asleep to Guns N Roses (Use Your Illusion I is still, to this day, one of my favorite albums of all-time), to being really into Aerosmith during college.  I now am a huge Pearl Jam fan.  I always got into music late, and didn't really discover Pearl Jam until college.  I do, however, like all of those aforementioned bands.

Thank you all for taking a trip down memory lane.  I am asked a lot of times about how I got into collecting, and how I became an Orioles fan, even though I'm not from Baltimore.  Speaking of that, I actually have to remind people on Instagram that I am from NC, and not Baltimore.

Please take a moment to check out my friend Frankie's blog.  He is currently doing a contest over at "My Life In The Sports Card Hobby" and is interested in hearing about how everyone got into collecting.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Awesome Gift From P. A. - Jimmie Foxx Piece of Yankee Stadium

My good friend, P. A. is in Greenville for the evening, so we met up for some showing off of cards and good old-fashioned baseball talk.  P. A. had a huge box of stuff he brought for me that I took delivery of that will help in a lot of facets of my collection.  There were a bunch of cards that he gave me but there was one card in particular that he was really excited about sending my way.

This 2008 Topps Stadium Club card of Jimmie Foxx is really awesome because it contains a piece of bunting from the old Yankee Stadium.  I remember when 2008 Stadium Club came out, P. A. was a huge fan of it right away and came into the old Winston-Salem card shop that I was "working" at and bought a box.  He busted the box with me at one of the tables and pulled this card.  I remember both of us being really excited that he pulled it, not knowing at the time that I would begin a PC of Foxx a few years later.

This card is really amazing.  I was so surprised that P. A. was willing to part with this card, and even more surprised that he gifted it to me.  Thank you so much for the card, P. A.  I appreciate it so much.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Hall of Fame Baseball #100 - Mickey Mantle

The quest began in January of 2010 when I posted here that I wanted to branch out into memorabilia.  It was a discussion with my good friend, P. A. at the card shop on a Saturday that getting some signed baseballs by Hall of Famers wouldn't be too difficult a task.  I began with three baseballs, the Cal Ripken that my mom gave me in 1992; a Jim Palmer given to me for my 19th birthday in 1999 by my old boss, Todd and a Brooks Robinson given to me by Mom a few years later at Christmas.  The first baseball in my quest (4th overall) arrived on January 14, 2010 (A ball signed by Stan Musial, which you can see here).  Four years and 96 baseballs later, we now have number 100, Mickey Mantle.

This has been an exhaustive quest.  I have obtained several baseballs through the mail, at card shows, over Ebay, through auction houses, antique shops, two trades, birthday and Christmas presents from my mom and great friend, Drew and a couple in person autographs.  I haven't spent near what one might think on these 100 baseballs. I've watched sales and auctions like a hawk.  I've learned a thing or two about autograph authentication along the way, of course.

The Mantle ball came about, like I said last night, through my friend Conrad from the antique shop (Chic Antiques) in Columbia, SC.  He did shows with a good friend of mine in the 1980s and early 1990s where they would meet Hall of Famers in person, one of which was Mantle, himself.  Conrad wanted to help me with my quest, so he gave me a deal I couldn't refuse on both the Koufax ball and this Mantle.

As you can see, the signature is amazing.  Words can't describe, so I'll just let you take a look at the picture and see for yourself.

Now what do I do?  I've reached a plateau, 100 signed baseballs and I've nearly run out of room in my China cabinet.  This ball and several others won't even be able to be displayed since they are in a safe location, not in my house.  Do I keep moving forward and knock more players off the list (and go for Jimmie Foxx, ultimately)?  Do I rest on my laurels and admire the fact that I reached #100?  I don't really know at this moment.  I'm inclined to continue on, maybe try to reach 150 or more.  If I do, I need to devise an alternate means of display.  Also,I know I have to replace at least one ball (Niekro) because of fading.  I also need to re-assess my choice of pens/balls for TTM and IP autographing as well to eliminate the fading issue (which I think I have solved).

So, we'll see what the future holds.  If I were to guess today, at this moment, I'd be willing to say Hell Yeah, keep em coming, but I do have some things to think about.

Mickey Mantle (b. 1931 - d. 1995) played in the Majors from 1951 to 1968, all for the Yankees.  He had 2,415 hits, 536 home runs and a batting average of .298.  Mantle was a 16-time All Star, 3-time AL MVP (1956, 1957 and 1962) and the 1956 AL Batting Champion (.353 average).  He won the World Series with the Yankees 7 times (1951, 52, 53, 56, 58, 61 and 62) and made 12 trips to the World Series all together.

He was a 4-time AL Home Run champion (1955, 1956, 1958 and 1960) and hit 50 or more home runs twice (1956 and 1961). He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1974 (his first ballot) when he was named to 88.2% of the ballot.

So, there you have it.  I am celebrating a huge milestone in my collection.  I wanted #100 to be special and I couldn't honestly think of getting anyone other than Mantle at #100 (unless a Jimmie Foxx fell into my lap).  I'd like to thank everyone who helped me get to this point, namely Mom, my wife, P. A., Drew and Conrad.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Ebay Pickup - 2012 Topps Triple Threads Brooks Robinson

Before I continue on with thoughts about 2014 Topps, I wanted to show the other item that I got in the mail yesterday, this 2012 Topps Triple Threads Brooks Robinson.  The ebay listing was shown to me almost a month ago by my good friend, P. A.  He told me he thought the card should find its way into my Brooks PC.  Well, I added it to my watch list and let the auction end twice before I finally allocated the funds for it.

As you can see, it has a ton of pieces of jersey and is numbered 17/18.  It definitely will look amazing in my Brooks PC, which is where it is headed at this moment.

Thanks for letting me know, P. A.!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Hidden in my Collection - Pete Rose Autographed Baseball

I realize it has been a while since I posted something other than a 1955 Topps card. I have been moving and unpacking at the house, so I haven't had very good access to my cards yet. The room I plan on turning into a man cave has been the staging area for the boxes that will be unpacked and contents of said boxes will be spread throughout the house.

Anyway, I did get to the two boxes full of autographed baseballs. They have been removed from the boxes and placed inside my awesome china cabinet that I bought at a 'garage sale' that was being done through my company's corporate office in Charlotte. I got the china cabinet for a CHEAP $200 because it was so cumbersome to move, the people selling it didn't want to take it back and accepted my offer. Woo hoo. Anyway, that isn't what you came to read about today:

This is by far one of the coolest autographed baseballs that I own. I saw it on his official webpage (along with t-shirts that say the same thing) and got a good chuckle out of it. I doubt Rose is truly sorry, as the ball suggests. My good friend P.A. put it in perspective for me several months ago: Pete Rose makes a lot of money sitting across the street from the Hall of Fame every year. The controversy surrounding Rose sells and if he were one day inducted into the Hall of Fame, the novelty of all of this would soon wear off. I agree with P.A.'s point. Rose could just sell baseballs with his autograph on them, but one that says "I'm sorry I bet on baseball" is truly unique among the other baseballs that I own, especially ones with inscriptions. I have no doubt that Rose will one day be in the Hall of Fame, but I believe it will come after he has passed away; just my theory.
Pete Rose (b. 1941) played in the majors from 1963 to 1986 for the Reds, Phillies and Expos. He was the Rookie of the Year in 1963 and the NL MVP in 1973. He was the NL batting champ in 1968 (.335), 1969 (.348) and 1973 (.338). Rose holds the career record for the following categories:
  • Games played - 3,562
  • Hits - 4,256
  • At bats - 14,053
  • Plate appearances - 15,861
  • Singles - 3,215
  • Times on base - 5,929
Also, his 746 doubles rank him second all-time to Tris Speaker who had 792. Rose retired with a .303 career batting average which ranks him 174th all-time.

Clearly, Rose the player should in in the Hall of Fame, if not Rose the person. His numbers definitely warrant inclusion. That is why I believe he will be in there one day, but, again, it may happen after he is gone. I also believe that Rose knew what he was doing when he signed the agreement with Bart Giamatti banning him from baseball for life. However, the Hall of Fame isn't an affiliation of MLB. They are their own separate entity, but one can understand why they have kept their doors shut to players like Rose, Joe Jackson and Eddie Cicotte, among others.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Card Shop Pickup - 2008 Topps Stadium Club Johnny Podres

I got this awesome Stadium Club Johnny Podres auto from P.A. when he busted a box at the shop on Saturday. This was given to me as a Christmas present from P.A., so it will not be made available for trade. I'm excited that I hvae this card, now, because I have been learning more and more about the history of the Dodgers. It sure is too bad that Podres died in 2008. I definitely would have liked to have tried TTM with him. Oh well, I have his auto now. Thanks P.A.!!! Merry Christmas!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

2010 Allen and Ginter Thoughts

I broke down the other day and bought 3 boxes of 2010 A&G. I wasn't going to get any because I thought the Stephen Strasburg mania was going to drive the prices waaaay up and I also thought that with the hype, no boxes would be available when I got to the shop.

Well, there were boxes at the shop, so I decided I was going to get two. I then texted Max to see if he wanted to go halves on a box, which he did, so I ended up getting 3.

I busted one box at the card shop with my brother Andy, then went to Max's place on Monday and broke the other two.
I really like this year's design. I was pretty disappointed in last year's offering. The roll marks really pissed me off, so that pretty much killed it for me. You can see that I'm still working on 09 A&G. I'll finish it eventually. This Reimold is pretty sweet.
Here is this year's Roberts. I want to try to get as many versions of him as I can. I have a bunch of his other A&Gs, so this year will be a nice challenge as well.

I'm really satisfied with this year's Allen and Ginter. I got some sweet autos (which I will post later) and a rip card (Yunel Escobar). I let Max rip the card since he hadn't ripped one before and we got a Pablo Sandoval exclusive mini. I let Max keep the ripped Escobar and the mini Sandoval.
A couple things now:
  • The release of A&G marks the anniversary of how I met P.A. I met him as I was busting 2008 A&G. So, here's to you, P.A., you're a good man, I'm glad we have become friends!!!
  • Head over to Max's and my blog and see that he has POSTED, finally! Give it a read and leave him some comments!!!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

P. A., a man of great ideas...

As is the norm at the card shop on Saturdays, Pete, P.A. and I sit at the counter and discuss all things baseball. From the relevance of Bert Blyleven to how old the Red Sox are getting, we always have friendly debates.

P. A. has decided to branch his collection into memorabilia. We discussed last week the possibility of doing some 'through the mail' autos as well as checking out various Hall of Famer's charitable organizations, websites and museums to see where and how we can get some legendary players' autos.

I counted that I had 17 autographed baseballs when I packed my card room into boxes. I, then, added no less than 9 more this summer as I was living in Greenville. This summer, notable autographs were picked up from Orioles Minor Leaguers Brandon Waring, Caleb Joseph and Billy Rowell, to name a few. I also picked up one from Orioles legend Boog Powell.

I already had an autographed ball of Brooks Robinson, and was asked not to bring anything to sign at the 'Evening With Brooks' dinner in October, but I was able to get my buddy Max, and my son Chris autographed programs from the event.

Yesterday, while waiting for the Yu-Gi-Oh kids to finish a round of their tournament, I decided to begin some research to see which Hall of Famers' had websites, foundations, museums, etc that sold memorabilia or allowed items to be sent for autos. Here are a couple I took a look at:

The Bob Feller Museum: http://www.bobfellermuseum.org/
For $50 you can get an autographed baseball from Bob Feller which says 'HOF '62' You can also pay a little more for various other inscriptions such as 'I struck out Lou Gehrig', 'I struck out Ted Williams', 'The Heater From Van Meter', etc. They also have a huge selection of autographed memorabilia from various other Hall of Famers and other former players.

Stan Musial's Official Webpage: https://www.stan-the-man.com/
You can get a Stan Musial autographed baseball from here for $100.00. Personally, I think that isn't bad at all for an autograph from one of the greatest of all time.

The Yogi Berra Museum: http://www.yogiberramuseum.org/
Currently, no autographed items are up in the shop section of the webpage.

Brooks Robinson's Official webpage: http://www.brooksrobinson.com/
You can send in items for a fee during certain times of year. The next time items will be accepted is April 2010.

Whitey Ford's Official webpage: http://www.whiteyford.com/
The shop section of the webpage is currently unavailable as upgrades are being performed.

So, there you have a few of the sites I looked at this weekend. My question now is:
Which living Hall of Famer's autograph would you want the most if you had the chance? My answer would be Stan Musial, followed by Hank Aaron.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Christmas from P.A. Part 2 - Some O's Cards

Finally, the last of the gifts P. A. brought with him to the shop on Saturday.

Another copy of the great and wonderful Eddie Murray and the Sideburns of Awesomeness card I blogged a few months ago. They still look airbrushed on.
I like the design of this year's Sweet Spot. Nice, clean design. Good photos. Here's to hoping Adam Jones doesn't get injured rolling out of bed this year. If he can play the full season and remain productive throughout the year, the O's will improve on their record for sure.

Yaaay, ROBERTS. I need to sit down and count how many cards of him I have now. One of these days I will. I have to start studying for my big exam in March, so it most likely will be after that.
Nick the STICK. The O's need to sign someone to give Nick some protection in the lineup, and I think he will do much better than this past year. Once again, if he improves some on his numbers, the O's will be greatly improved.
Thanks for the awesome stuff P. A., you're a great dude. I'll talk to you on Saturday!

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Christmas from P. A. Part 1 - Greatest Movie Ever

I watched the return of Bret Hart to WWE last night, so that kept me from writing my blog on the stuff P. A. brought me for Christmas. I decided to break it up into two posts, one for today, one for tomorrow.

Since my Alien Quadrilogy is lost in a box somewhere (along with a lot of my other good DVDs), P. A. got me the Alien Triple Pack.

I know this is a baseball card blog, but anyone who knows me, knows that Aliens is my favorite movie ever. EVER. No, really, ever. I think I have watched Aliens more than 50 times in my life (which is a lot if you really think about it). I'm glad the movie takes the time to actually build to a climax and develop some characters that you can get behind and want to see get out alive.

"Let's rock!"
Oh, yeah, Vasquez kicks ass. 'I only need to know one thing. Where. They. Are.'

'None taken...' haha, I like that I can look at the picture and know the exact line that goes with it. That's either really awesome, or really sad, haha.

Of course, my 'lady friend' (Sigourney Weaver) is the star of the movie. Wooo Hoo. Yeah, so, Aliens is AWESOME. Thanks P. A.! Not to mention, Alien is a classic in and of itself. Don't get me started on Alien 3...
What do you guys think? If you haven't seen the movie, check it out. It would definitely be a good idea to check out Alien first, but Aliens stands on its own without Alien, so if you miss it, the story still isn't too hard to follow.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Happy New Years

Happy New Years guys. I hope everyone had a safe night last night. I ended up watching Family Guy with my son up until about 5 minutes before the ball dropped, then we changed the channel and watched Dick Clark.

Now, I'll admit it, when I was looking through the guide, I was looking for Dick Clark, but man, I feel really bad that they keep parading him out there. I'm glad he's up for it, but you really do have to feel for the guy.

I finally will have a chance to work the card shop tomorrow, after taking a month off (unintentionally). First it was my real job, then that goe rescheduled to the week after, then it snowed really bad in Winston-Salem the next week, and the week after was the day after Christmas. I wasn't about to make that drive after all the driving I did the 2 days before.

I'm excited though, maybe I'll open a few packs and pull something blogworthy. I'll get to see P.A., whom I haven't seen in a while.

I hope you all have a great 2010. I am really excited for the 2010 Topps flagship, which come out at the end of the month. I am also excited for beginning another set soon. It looks like 1998 Topps will be next, but I am always changing my mind.

Drop me some comments guys!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

...so this is Christmas

...and what have we done? Another year over, a new one just begun.

Oh man, that's my favorite Christmas song. Classic... Except that Yoko Ono can be heard. Uggh. Anyway, in this season of giving, I thought it'd be cool to recall some of the best Christmases that I have been a part of. Too bad I can't discern the years... That's asking a bit much.

Ask me, or any of my brothers, the best Christmas we call can remember is the year when we woke up, walked into the living room and each of us has a brand new bike. We rode bikes up and down the road all day that day. Mom still has pictures of us as we came into the room and caught the initial looks on our faces.

The Christmas gift I got the most use out of (and still do to this day) was the year my grandfather got all of us foot lockers. My mom took the foot lockers and personalized them for each of us. I now use mine to hold my sports magazines, pictures, etc. It usually stays locked, unless some unsuspecting friend comes over and shows a shred of interest in my sports memorabilia collection.

One of my favorite gifts that wasn't really a gift was the year (maybe 4 or 5 years ago) when my mom gave me a box of stuff I had done in elementary school that she had found while she was cleaning the attic. I went through the box and found a letter my great-grandmother had written me when I was in second grade. She has been gone for 18 years now. My mother-in-law took the letter and framed it for me, so it is something really cool that was on the wall in the house. When we get in another house, I definitely look forward to hanging it back up again.

Last year, my mom gave me her entire Cal Ripken baseball card collection which she had housed in my great-grandfather's tin cigar boxes from the 1920's. My dad wasn't too happy that my mom had 'stolen' the cigar boxes from him, but he knew I'd take care of them, haha.

My FAVORITE part of Christmas is the giving part. I'd much rather give a great present to someone and get a genuine response instead of receiving something.

I want to wish you all a very merry Christmas. Specifically, Max, P. A., Pete, Jim; I will see you guys very soon. Having you guys come and see me means a lot to me. I won't be at the shop the day after Christmas, but I intend on resuming my time there uninterrupted on January 2.

Max, I miss you man, its time we busted some boxes... Like SOON. P. A. and Pete, I'm ready to start some friendly baseball debates!

Jim, I got my 84's ready for you man.

Everyone who reads my blog, I really appreciate it. Continue to come back anytime. I'm glad you enjoy.

Thanks guys!!!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

I am thankful for:

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I wanted to take a moment and reflect on some things this year that I am thankful for.

I am thankful for:
  • A loving wife who 'allows' me to do the things I do. Without her... hmmm... we won't go there haha.
  • My son Chris, who, is probably one of the most unique people I have ever encountered. He is a wonderful kid and I hope he stays with the same personality because he is definitely an adventure.
  • Some awesome parents and family. They have shaped me into what I am today. Good or bad, hahaha.
  • I am thankful for Pete, P.A. and Kim who make my time at the card bearable. These 3 are probably some of the nicest people I've ever met and I am very glad for them.
  • I am thankful that Blake lets me do what I do at the card shop. It definitely is worth the 3 hour drive, even though I may not show it sometimes.
  • For the amazing opportunity my job has given me, to be able to move to a new area, work with some great people and start some things over.
  • For FINALLY selling my house. FINALLY.
  • For the Baltimore Orioles
  • For being able to meet and actually speak to Brooks Robinson this year. That was a huge highlight of my life, and I was able to share it with my brother Andy. I was also able to leave someone a voicemail 'Im done dude, Im done...' Haha.
  • Being able to watch a baseball game in Kinston with a very good friend. We spent the game talking baseball and scouting. That was a great time.
  • Beer.
  • Being able to speak to Brandon Waring, Bryce Harper and other prospects this year.
  • For everyone who reads this blog. Thank you all, I wouldn't be doing this if no one else was interested. Thanks guys, it means a lot to me.
If I forgot you, I apologize. This has been a great year, albeit difficult. Thank you all so much for helping me get through the tough times and also being here during the good times as well. Lets hope next year is just as good. Happy Thanksgiving.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Putting a bow on my birthday

As a kid, birthdays were special. Pretty much like Christmas, but really your own special day. After I turned 18, they really became just another day to me, mainly because after that, my Mom was really the only person who would get me stuff. Now, I know what you're thinking... selfish, materialistic, blah blah blah. Yeah, don't tell me you don't like getting free stuff, haha. Anyway, Yes, I am aware that my wife gets me stuff too, but usually, its stuff that in the end, I'm paying for. Also, it is really hard to get me anything anyway because I, like my father, usually see something I want, and buy it for myself.

So, this year, I wasn't really expecting much. I was hoping for, really, just a few phone calls, maybe a few personal emails, etc. Some people remembered to call, some didn't. No big deal, like I said before, it really is just another day to me now... I was caught by surprise though, when Pete and P.A. both told me they had gotten me stuff.

Earlier, I posted from the Topps Chrome and A&G needs that Pete got me. Pete, I really appreciate that you remembered me. I don't do thank yous well (I usually write the thank you cards and forget to mail them), so here, in public, I'm saying thank you Pete.

Now, onto what I received from P.A.:

The Nolan Reimold Topps Chrome RC Auto I was really hoping to pull-and a personalized ball signed by THE Bryce Harper. Now, this was definitely unexpected from these guys, but it goes to show that the three-hour drive to the card shop is definitely worth more than the pay. Its more than that. I really have made some good friends, ones who I know I can count on, and definitely won't forget me :) Thanks again guys, you're the best!!!
Not to be left out, my wife did work hard to get a little something as well (seeing as we are really strapped for cash right now), and without me knowing, or having to pay for it myself, haha. She got a gift card to ebay for me, and I have a couple 1955 Topps I got with it on their way here to Greenville.

So, all in all, a pretty mediocre birthday was made much better by the thoughts from Mallory, Pete, P.A. and of course Mom. Thanks, it really means a lot that you guys went out of your way to try to make my day a little more special.