This Klutz Has Utz

Utz is a Pennsylvania-based snack company.  I have no idea what their stuff tastes like (do any of you?), but I hope they stay in business because they have the only Food-Issue card set this year. 

Now, I didn't think I would be seeing these in stores on the West Coast, so I had to find another way to get my hands on some of these.  Luckily, I found another trader on TCDB who had two Royals that I needed.  We were able to work out a slightly bigger trade (I sent him a few Ginter SPs and base) and these arrived in my mailbox.  I love them!  Food oddballs are the best oddballs!

He has a lot more, if you still need some of these.  I am still looking for the Whit Merrifield (#7) and Ryan O'Hearn (#99) cards if anyone happens to have those available. 

Question:  What food or drink company would you most like to see issue a set of branded baseball cards?  What I wouldn't give for a set of In-N-Out Burger cards...

Dennis Leonard

This showed up in my mailbox yesterday via a PWE trade on the TCDB.  And all it cost me was a few recent Topps cards and a stamp!

Career Stats on these guys:
Pat Darcy: 0 WAR
Hank Webb:  0 WAR
Tom Underwood: 10 WAR
Dennis Leonard:  25 WAR (and he had the best mustache, to boot!)

It was nice to add Dennis Leonard's rookie card to my Royals collection.  I don't think he is remembered much outside of Kansas City fans, but he played 12 seasons between 1974-1986, all with KC.  He is the team's all-time leader in Complete Games and is a member of the "Royals Hall of Fame".

 
He doesn't get much love in the hobby, either -- there have not been any new cards of him since a 2007 Stadium Giveaway set.  He's the perfect guy for a set like Hometown Heroes, and I hope he gets included in any future iterations of that. 

Does anyone else out there remember Dennis Leonard?

Gold Screws, Gold Borders, Gold Tebow

I have been doing almost all of my trading lately on the Trading Card Database.  With my limited time and trading inventory now, I've got to be a little more surgical in what I am giving and getting in any deal.  Ideally, I would dump stuff I didn't care about to get something I REALLY wanted.  That sort of deal recently presented itself with user hafengr.  He wanted around 100 base cards from 2013 Topps Football, and I had my eye on a Tim Tebow rookie card -- but not just any card, the GOLD parallel card.  Sure, there are 2,000 of these out there, but that didn't make any of them particularly cheap to get. 

I sent first, and nearly sent his cards to his local cemetery.  If someone's address is "48B Main Street", don't send his cards to "488 Main Street", OK?  Just don't.  Luckily my postman alerted me that 488 wasn't a valid address so I double-checked it at the PO counter and borrowed his Sharpie to fix it. Otherwise all my football cards would be sitting there amongst the headstones.

Once his side showed up, I though the envelope felt a little heavy for just one card (and wondered why he put it in a bubble mailer instead of a top-loader + PWE.  When I opened it, the item above dropped out.  Not only was it the gold-bordered parallel, but it was in a gold Screwdown holder with gold screws!  I have never seen a card so well-coordinated with it's surroundings.  I had no idea there were different colors available besides clear and black, but I gotta admit I like the look on it and will probably leave it in there for now until I have a good reason to pull it out of there.

Do any of you guys have any colored screw-down holders?  Pics or it didn't happen.  :-)

Trivia Question - Bowman

This picture shows cards #156 and #157 from 2003 Bowman.  Why are these cards significant?

The first correct answer wins: the satisfaction of a job well done! 😁

Bonus points: Post a link to another card that follows similar logic.

The Hazel Green Hit Hero

The end of the month brought with it another end -- the blogging career of Area 40 / JBF / Wes Moore.  From his send-off card cornucopia, he sent me one hit...it's a jersey card of my favorite baseball player.that I had never seen before.  Nice, strong photo.  Awesome die-cut jersey window.  Description of the jersey on the back.  I know it sounds like I am keeping my calm, but THIS IS KIND OF A BIG DEAL AND IT MAKES ME VERY HAPPY. 

Enough about the card - just a quick message to Wes on his way out.  My wife and I came up with a family "mission statement" a few years back about what we wanted our family to be like.  It was a bit aspirational, but one main characteristic we said we wanted was to be generous.  I say this is aspirational because my natural inclinations are to hold onto things, money, and comforts too tightly.  However, if I want to be truly generous, I have to work at it -- to relinquish those things without bitterness for the good of another person.  So to help me figure this generosity thing out better, I go looking for examples -- people doing it already so I can see what it looks like.  I can think of no better immediate example than looking at the card-blogging community and seeing what Wes has done for so many "random" others through his generosity, and I am in awe.  I have thought about this more times that you can imagine and it is flat-out inspiring to me.  So from one collector to another - thank you.  Not just for the cards, but for a model of something truly important.  That is what I will take from this.  Au revoir!

Sorting Some 2011 Topps

...Football, that is.  🏈 Came across these guys.  Not too shabby for having forgotten about them!!

Have you found any forgotten cards lately?