TWIB: Dodgers, Cardfoolery, and a Pair of Ladies

This has to be one of the roughest weeks in by far the worst year of my lifetime.  Lots of poop hit the fan this week, but nobody wants to read about that.  It's Saturday and if you follow my blog, then you know it's time for This Week in Blogging.

#1:  The Dodgers Win The World Series!

2002 Topps Archives Autograph #TAA-JPO

Congratulations to Greg, Jim, and all of the other Dodgers card bloggers out there!  It took some digging, but I discovered I had this Johnny Podres autograph sitting in my Archives autograph collection.  Night Owl put him atop his list of Dodgers World Series heroes earlier in the week.

1987-88 Fleer #130

2009-10 National Treasures Century Signatures #154

1988 Kenner Starting Lineup

GCRL pointed out that 2020 wasn't the first time the Dodgers and Los Angeles Lakers won titles in the same year.  They also accomplished the feat in 1988.  I could show off a Kirk Gibson card, but as an A's fan... that stirs up painful memories.  So I'll post the 1988 NBA Finals MVP instead.  Okay.  Okay.  Here's the 1988 World Series MVP too...

1988 Topps Big #91

And of course the 2020 World Series MVP:

2010 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects #108

This is the only Corey Seager that I have scanned.  Picked it up before the 2019 MLB season, because I liked the look of the card and wanted to have a rookie card of him.  It set me back $16.52 on 4 Sharp Corners.

#2:  Sport Kings Rule

2012 Sport Kings Series E #216

2012 Sport Kings Series E #217

One of my favorite autograph collections are the recent Leaf Sport Kings buyback autographs... which features one of the greatest card designs of all-time.

Earlier in the week, Matthew over at Number 5 Type Collection wrote a fantastic post which covers the the mystery of the 1933 Big League Gum Napoleon Lajoie.  It also touches on the Sport Kings cards from the same era.

If you're a fan of pre-war era cards, I encourage you to click here and check out the post.  He made a sweet looking Lajoie Sport Kings custom that is truly magnificent.

#3:  The Bar Has Been Lowered

2008 TriStar Signa-Cuts #NNO

A few years ago, I started a series of posts called Chronicles of Cardfoolery.  It just featured cards that I deemed "silly" or "foolish".  One of the first cards I featured was this Steve Sax autograph that was signed on a label and attached to a piece of cardboard and called a "cut signature".

It doesn't get much "foolish" than that... but last Sunday... I saw something that rivals it over on Sport Card Collectors.  Do yourself a favor and check it out here.  I'm glad I'm not the only one willing to fork over money for cards like these.

#4:  The Other Sandberg

1983 Topps #282

The 1983 Topps baseball card set is my favorite design from the 80's.  I've loved it since I opened packs of this stuff back in the day and honestly didn't think I'd ever be surprised by a card from this set.  Then I read a post on Sean's blog:  Getting Back Into Baseball Cards... In Japan which featured the Reggie Smith above.

I can't believe it's taken me almost forty-years to notice that Ryne Sandberg has another card in that set and I owe it all to Sean.  If you're interested in seeing some fantastic Japanese baseball cards, I encourage you to add his blog to your reading list.

Speaking of Japanese...

#5:  A Pair of Ladies

2008 Bench Warmers Autograph #4

2008 Bench Warmers Autograph #8

On Thursday, Bulldog opened up a pack of 1997 Bench Warmers on his blog (Nothing If Not Random) and it reminded me of these cards which are part of my Japanese PC.  Actually... I haven't officially included them in that collection, because I'm not 100% positive they're Japanese.  But they are 100% attractive.

#6:  Happy Halloween

The Last of Us Part II

These days, I can barely manage one blog.  Flywheels has three that I subscribe to and that's not including his participation on A Pack to Be Named Later.  Earlier in the week, he wrote a great video game post discussing games for the Halloween season over on his blog:  Adventures in Video Games.

I thought I'd share the game I'm currently playing.  I won't even bother trying to review it, but The Last of US Part II has been worth every penny.  I've heard that it isn't as good as the first game, but so far I feel like it's right up there.  It's not exactly a super scary game... but it does have these zombie-like creatures in it.  I think it's perfect for Halloween and helping you take your mind off of this crappy year.

Happy Halloween and sayonara!

Just Joking

Topps pledges to bring you closer to the game from the past, present, and future.  Just joking.

2012 Topps Tribute Championship Material #CM-CJ

The relics contained on this card are not from any specific game, event or season, nor were they necessarily used during a World Series game.

Back in September, I purchased a ninety-eight card collection off of my buddy Ben for $200.  This card was part of that purchase and when I first saw it, I was excited to find this hidden gem.

If you look closely, you can see that Topps printed the words Championship Material right next to the two blue swatches of uniform.  And the trophy printed in gold foil is clearly the Commissioner's Trophy awarded to the team who wins the World Series.  This information led me to believe that this was a piece of Chipper's jersey, pants, undershirt, stirrups, or something he wore from the 1995 World Series when him and his teammates took down the Cleveland Indians.

However upon turning the card over, I noticed in small print:

Considering the price I paid, it's still a cool card.  But when you consider that this was the guaranteed hit pulled from a pack that originally retailed for $50, this joke isn't that funny.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Mistaken Identity

Pranks and practical jokes have never really been my thing, which is why April Fools' Day isn't really something I look forward to.  However about a week ago, I purchased a card and figured this annual celebration dedicated to jokes and hoaxes would be the perfect time to show it off.

2010 Donruss Elite Extra Edition School Colors Autographs #1

Back in October of 2010, Panini confirmed reports that Magic Johnson autographed stickers were erroneously applied to some of their Jordan Swagerty cards.  This case of mistaken identity caused quite the stir back in the day, because it exposed a chink in the sticker autograph's armor as well made collectors wonder how an error of this magnitude could even take place.

Whether it was positive or negative, this story brought attention to our hobby and more specifically... Panini Corporation.  In fact, some collectors even questioned whether or not this was done on purpose as a publicity stunt.  Personally, I doubt it, since Magic Johnson signed stickers were definitely more expensive to purchase than Jordan Swagerty's.

At the end of the day, Panini offered collectors the opportunity to exchange their "error" card for a "corrected" version.  Anyone who did was given an exclusive Manny Machado card as well.  I'm not sure how many collectors took advantage of this opportunity, since at the time these "error" cards sold for much more than your run of the mill Swagerty autograph.

Back then I was still collecting basketball cards and the Los Angeles Lakers were my team, so this card was definitely high on my wantlist.  But I wasn't going to pay the insane prices people were demanding.

Almost a decade later, I was able to finally add this "error" card to my collection for a fraction of the price.  A seller listed the card for $24.95 or best offer on eBay and after going back and forth, he eventually accepted my $15 offer.

This isn't the first time I've purchased one of these "mistaken identity" autographed cards.  A few years ago, I added this card to my Tony Gwynn PC:

2006 Exquisite Collection Dual Rookie Signatures #55

Before Panini's magical mistake, Upper Deck mixed up their Gwynns and accidentally applied Mr. Padre's signed stickers to his son's rookie card.  Need proof?  Here's a side by side comparison of father and son's signatures:

COMC Image

And just in case you aren't familiar with Magic Johnson's autograph here's another look at the Swagerty error card next to one of my Magic Johnson autographs:

Neither of these "error" cards will ever be in Billy Ripken's league:

1989 Fleer #616

Nor will they ever compete with these two mistaken identities:

COMC Images

But the Magic and Gwynn autographs are great conversation pieces and interesting additions to my Los Angeles Lakers and San Diego Padres PC's.  Plus they gave me something to write about on this day of celebration.

Happy April Fool's Day and sayonara!

Gratifying Grotesqueness

When ugly Christmas sweaters started making a comeback a few years ago... I went all in and purchased several to wear for the holidays.  They're just one more way to make the holiday season more festive and they're usually good for one or two conversation starters.

Right now... Peter over at Baseball Every Night is using them for a contest over on his blog.  

The challenge?  Show off your favorite ugliest baseball card.  Maybe it's the ugliest card design you've ever seen.  Perhaps there's a card in you collection that's in such poor condition that you feel it's literally disgusting.  Or maybe you have a card featuring one of those hideous futuristic "Turn Ahead the Clock" jerseys from 1999.  It's up to you to define "ugly".

I had a few different ideas pop into my head, but I settled on this card:

Not sure what the heck this is?  Here, let me rotate it and give you a different view:

Still unsure?  Well it's a headless Kurt Suzuki Vancouver Canadians autographed card that's been chopped up and turned into a one of a kind cut signature by a company that may or may not have conducted business in their parent's garage.

This card is seriously an eye sore just like one of the ugly Christmas sweaters sitting in my closet waiting to be worn in a few weeks.  And just like those Christmas sweaters... this card is treasured and loved.

It's hands down the ugliest Kurt Suzuki card in my collection, but I still love it.  In fact in three days, it'll mark the 5 year anniversary of me spending $3.98 (99¢ + $2.99 shipping) of my hard earned money to add this card to my collection.

Happy Anniversary Headless Kurt!  I love ya!

What about you...

Do you have a favorite ugly card?

If so, head over to Baseball Every Night and enter Peter's contest.  The prize will be partially dependent on the number of entries he receives, however he guarantees that he'll spend at least $35.

Honestly... the true prize will be reading everyone's response posts.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

I'm Declaring Shenanigans!

I like Topps Archives.  I liked the Bull Durham inserts they included in this year's product.  And I like the concept of "buybacks" when done properly.

However... Topps recently combined these three things into one card when they inserted this card into their 2016 Topps Archives 65th Anniversary Edition boxes:

For those of you who aren't familiar with this card, it's a Bull Durham insert out of 2016 Topps Archives that happened to be released only six months ago.  

Anyone else find it weird that Topps is now inserting "buybacks" of current issues?

I mean... did Topps really go out, bug collectors for their Bull Durham duplicates, and buy them?  And isn't the point of a "buyback" to give collectors a chance to pull a card from the past?

Don't get me wrong... I'm not hating on "buybacks".

In fact, I've collected my fair share over the years and I'll continue to pick up affordable copies in the future.  However... if I was running Topps, I'd change things up and require all future "buybacks" be a minimum of twenty-five years old.  But that's just me.

What are your thoughts on Topps issuing 2016 cards as "buybacks" into 2016 products?  Thumbs up?  Thumbs down?

Looking forward to reading your responses.  Happy Sunday and sayonara!