Ballin': an Underdog Trade Post

Over the past few weeks I've begun trading relations with a lot of new bloggers, most of whom I've been reading already for some time. Zach, aka the Underdog, is one of these.

Zach is a super nice dude with a lot of balls. So many, in fact, that he saw fit to send me this one. It's from the height of Cincy's excitement at getting one of the biggest stars in the game back to his hometown and into the footsteps of his Dad. There wouldn't be a repeat of the Big Red Machine days, sadly, but you can't fault their optimism at the time.

In the box with that ball was a card case which, when I slid it open, revealed that it only held one card: this ultra-thick manu-relic of Louisiana boy and PC, Vida Blue. That picture has been used before, but what a picture it is. No harm, no foul. I'm in lurve with this one.

Finally came this lovely framed Y.A. Tittle from Upper Deck Masterpieces. Tittle is a legend here for his time quarterbacking for the LSU Tigers. He went on to play pro football for 16 years. You don't see that very often anymore. A real iron man. Plus he's got a great name.

You are exactly right, Zach. I'll have some stuff out to you soon. Thanks a bunch!

2 By Three-in-a-Row Hero: a Trade Post

Jeff of 2x3 Heroes is a madman. He launched three unanswered PWE's in my general direction, forcing me to smoosh them all together into one big PWE superpost. Jeff is awesome.

Jeff is a fellow doer of that thing where you write directly on the penny sleeve because the card you're sending has a subtle difference you don't want to go unnoticed. I do this all the time.

There was a time when I didn't care all that much for the image on this '91 Stadium Club card, but now that I'm so deeply immersed in the hobby and look at dozens if not hundreds of cards every day, it's finally grown on me. Finding it in Jeff's PWE made me stop and appreciate this card. What a great (apparently) candid shot.

Yes! People are still trading 2014 set needs. There's hope yet. I'm so behind...

As you can see, he hammered my set needs pretty hard.

But not quite as hard as he would have liked. Don't stress, bro. That want list was for my second Series 1 base set, anyway...

Fun Pack is fun! And that is one of the best shots of Jay Buhner's tar-stained hip ever committed to cardboard.

What set goes better with Fun Pack than Topps Kids? What a bizarre time that was for cardboard.

Lots more Griffeys, including one I didn't have! That Tradition checklist is all-new to me. Another great candid shot with the trademark backwards cap.

This last card is also from Fun Pack. Now I had thought I had completed the FP Griffey checklist; then comes this sky blue Mariners team scratcher (which shall go forever unscratched if I have anything to say about it) with names like Edgar, Tino, Buhner, and Dan Wilson? I didn't even know this was a thing. Good eye, Jeff. You bet I'm counting this one.

One last thing: Jeff sent a pair of those PWE's with some really weird stamps I've never seen. Looks like he was cleaning out a top drawer somewhere in his house. Who has 13 cent stamps? And Bicentennial? As in 1976? That may explain the 70's vibe of that Energy Conservation job. I'm keeping these, too.

Thanks a lot, Jeff! The love has been felt....

This photo taken on Bourbon St.
Ew.

A GCRL PWE Hits Me Right in the Feels

I know it's been almost 10 years, but down here we still get all emotional when we talk about Hurricane Katrina. It was nothing new to us at the time - we evacuate our home about once every three years on average. This was the first time we were truly terrified to come back.

Long story short, we evacuated to Houston, cried and drank for a week, lost contact with my sister (a nurse) for four days while she stayed working at a hospital in the city, saw the Reds (and Griffey!) play the Astros, then returned to the hotel to cry and drink some more. After an emotional reunion with my sis and a long drive home with temporary passes to re-enter the parish, we found utter destruction. 

Turn off your gas when you evacuate for a hurricane. Just do it. I have literally hundreds of photos just like this.

We spent days weaving around fallen trees and debris, trying to get to the houses of our friends and family who couldn't make it back yet to see what we could report to them about their homes. Not everyone got good news. I lost my car, but my house was okay. A friend of mine came home to a bare foundation - her house was washed whole several blocks down the road. My Aunt and Uncle lost only a few roof tiles, My newlywed sister's house got fourteen feet of water in it. Fourteen.

My Dad planted that tree as an acorn.

We spent the next several months helping friends and family gut houses, bury whatever had been left in refrigerators, and carry yards upon yards of still-wet carpet and moldy drywall to the curb. We all developed a deep appreciation for lukewarm water and MREs, and even my Mom is now strangely comfortable around guys with M16's.

While my Mom and sisters stayed with family outside of the city, my Dad and I stayed behind to start chopping trees, gutting houses, and fixing what we could. Nobody was around in my neighborhood. Nobody. It was like camping but, you know, more depressing. The days were hot and the nights dead quiet. 

So when a company of National Guard came a-strolling down my childhood street, it was more than a little off-putting.

They seemed as surprised to see us as we were to see them.

My Dad and I just stood and stared. It was one of the more surreal moments of my life.

Their commander halted the procession to make sure we were OK and that we had all the supplies we needed. A half hour later a bunch of Army Corps of Engineers tractors came and helped us clear the logs and stumps from our yard. They did in minutes what would have taken us a couple of days. I think that commander had something to do with their sudden appearance.

Did I say "long story short" up there? Whoops.

Okay, enough of that. Here's a fantastic card featuring a Detroit player with a Red Cross emblem on his helmet. They wore them for Katrina, and I'm glad they did. I ate more than a few meals served from Red Cross vans in the months following the storm. The beautifully splintered bat is just perfect.

Jim also threw in a card of Will Clark, PC and fellow New Orleanian. Great first base fielding shot.

I hope I didn't bum anyone out with this trade post. If it helps I kind of bummed myself out typing it. Thanks a ton for the cards, Jim. And yes, if you come across any spare Red Cross logos on cards, I would love 'em!

January Card Show Booty

My regular Griffey Guy was not at the January card show, but I still managed to come home with a whopping three new-to-me Griffeys! This does not happen often.

These gold cards were popping up left and right in the early 90's, and I think they were commanding pretty high prices at the time. Lucky for me that's not the case any longer. I scored this one in a signature slab for a measly sawbuck.

One of the dealers is an avid box-buster, and he gave me this Heritage stamp topper for two dollars. I'm still not certain what it's supposed to be exactly, but the stamps look nice. And in addition to having Ichiro and King Felix on it, there's a cool illustration of a pitcher mid-wind-up the vintagey-ness of which makes the Mariners logo look uttery out of place. Still, the good outweighs the questionable here.

The final Griffey of the day came from this oddball rookies set that featured a slew of pretty big names. The biggest of all?

Where has this card been all my life? Sure, it's a little shadowy, but the sun shining off that helmet? The 80's-style Seattle "S?" The smile? This is a truly excellent early Griffey.

With few Griffeys to flip through, I ended up with a few other cards for players I don't normally buy. These are the kinds of cards I assume Nick finds in his dime boxes all the time. While not Griffeys, Rickey's impossible push-up and one very shiny Big Unit were the best of the rest.

Thanks for reading about the card show I went to three months ago. I should take this moment to introduce my new slogan:

The Junior Junkie: I'll get around it it at some point

PATP 2015 Topps Jumbo Pack Contest Win!

I won a contest put on by Brian at Play at the Plate. The prize? a jumbo pack of 2015 Topps Series 1. This was a few weeks (months?) ago, but I thought you guys might want to know what that pack contained. Well, here ya go:

Okay, this wasn't actually in the pack - Brian threw it in with the pack. I still have no idea where you guys are getting these things...



That Jeter is just gorgeous. Sooz, was this you? Did you pick this one? Great job. Wasn't this card selling on eBay for like five bucks for a few days there? Insane.

My first encounter with this insert, and I love it. Super jelly of the big guy in the stands. How cool would it be to be on a baseball card by accident? Night Owl knows...

This was also my first one of that First Home Run insert cards. I read someone remarking how weird it is that Deion got a card in that insert. Well, I'd like to throw the fact that Junior didn't on top of that.

I'm very much enamored with the First Pitch insert, though. I'm pretty close to the whole set, too.

Just a sweet fielding play by Manny. A kind of perfect horizontal card.

Thanks for the contest and the pack, Brian! This was a treat.

Zippy Zappy, Zippy Zappy, Oy Oy Oy: a Trade Post

I got Zippy Zapped. :-)

You know the drill.

I was extremely excited to receive a pair of Aaron Nola 1st Bowman cards. He was the Ace at LSU the last few seasons, and he's a heck of a talent. Here hoping he's a Phillies star in the next few seasons...

I know it's been talked about already, but Bowman really turned up the funk on their card backs. I love these visuals. Nola's college stats were insane, and I'm glad to see them translate so well to cardboard or whatever Bowman Chrome is made of.

ZZ also saw fit to include one of those great Spring Fever cards from 2013 Topps. Part of me wants to build the set. It's just so weird but also fun and colorful.

This was a treat, ZZ! I hope you dig the stuff I sent you last month, especially the car.

Oh, have your not heard? I sent ZZ a car. For reals.

...aaaand PUBLISH.

Only One Man Would Dare Give Me the Raspberry...

Lonestarr!!

I commissioned the best damn nerd in the blogsphere to create an original sketch of Junior on the back of his Dad's 1989 Topps Traded card. 

I figured it could make for a cool art project, but I lack the artistic ability to make something like this happen.  Plus it always bothered me that Ken didn't get a card in the regular set, and I've always wanted more of Griffey in that swoosh design. So I sent CC my Topps Traded Tiffany Senior card.

Here's what he sent back:

It's a double-sided 1/1 original of the Kid and his Dad! And like it or not, Senior, this is the front from now on. Hell of a job, CC. This one sits in a case with all my best Griffeys.

As if that weren't enough, Lonestarr also threw in these goodies:

A pair of Saints and a brand spankin' new Griffey insert. That Archetypes card was only weeks old when I got it in the mail from CC. He must've busted that pack on mail day. And say what you want about Prizm (I agree with most of it), but this sparkly blue number is something the kids might call hella-sick and totes poppin' fresh. Yes, we have our fingers on the pulse of American youth slang here at The Junior Junkie.

What this all comes down to is that I am way super into that Griffey sketch. Thanks a ton, CC! We should do more of these soon...