The First Post - What is this Blog? Who is this Guy?

Hi all -- welcome to my blog.  This is the first post (obviously).  So...what is this blog going to be about?  I think I can best sum it up with one card:

 1991 Upper Deck #435 - Bret Saberhagen

The main subjects of this blog will be:

1. Cards of the Kansas City Royals
2. Crazy stuff and any other cards that happen to suit my fancy (really specific, right?).

Hence the name, "Royals and Randoms."  Looking at Mr. Saberhagen above, he clearly satisfies condition #1.  However, the fact that his baseball card picture also features him wearing some sweet shades and eating a sucker gets definite bonus points in my book.  I go for anything oddball on cards...something more than the traditional posed or action shots you normally see on cards.  Cards with kids, animals, vehicles, goofy outfits, grumpy managers, mustaches, big glasses, bizarre designs, hilarious uniforms, crazy hair, and (evidently) lollipops will feature prominently around here.  I love that stuff.  All sports will be welcome, as will some of the more interesting non-sports cards I come across.

I'll show pictures of the cards I buy, group-break results, and trade results, of course.   I'll link to articles by other bloggers and promote their contests, too.  Maybe even have a contest of my own one of these days.  :-)

What I Collect
Royals.  There, that was easy.  Well....I do collect more than that (check the lists to the right, as well as my collection on Zistle.com), but Royals cards are the only thing I am actively pursuing.  I would be happy to make trades for any KC cards that I don't yet have (and there's a lot of them).  Almost all of my non-Royals are for trade.  Feel free to email me (joshDOTdenhartogATgmailDOTcom) with any proposals.  I have already started trading with other bloggers and enjoy seeing the results show up in the mail.

Who I am
I collected from 1987-1994 during my youth, much like many of you.  After that, all my money went to buying CDs and gas for my car.  Cards fell by the wayside.  I kept following baseball and the other sports, but didn't buy the cards.  Then last fall I was wandering through Target and saw a 99-cent pack of Score Football.  I bought it, opened it, and found a serial-numbered card of Cadillac Williams.  I asked "Why is it serial-numbered?"  Much googling and reading later, I was finding the various card blogs and learning all the card industry's new-fangled stuff that had happened in the last 15 years (What's a blaster?  What is mojo and why does everyone want it?  Are regular cards really $3/pack now?).  That ignited a flame in me to get back into the hobby, and I am really enjoying myself.

I am also what you might term a "small-time" collector.  I like cheap cards.  Condition is not super-important to me.  These are not an "investment."  I like bulk lots from garage sales and Craigslist that I can get for a song, then sort and trade them.  You probably won't see me opening a case of anything high-end, or even a Gint-A-Cuffs box.  I like base cards and don't chase the hits (but am happy to accept them if they really want to come my way).  :-)

Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email anytime.  I'd love to hear from you and look forward to being a part of this whole card community.