Most Wanted: Ask And Ye Shall Receive

Pleading, imploring, inquiring, shameless begging....I'm not above any of those.

In a post in January, I figured out what was the lowest-numbered card that I didn't have a Royal for.  Turned out it was #320.  I said "gimme, gimme, gimme."  Well, not really, but asked if anyone had it.

You probably guessed how this ends.  A PWE shows up in my mailbox.  Says "GCRL" in the corner.  I slice it open and this guy pops out.

2002 Upper Deck 40-Man - #320 - Roberto Hernandez

Another generous gift from Jim!  Please go check out Garvey Cey Russell Lopes if you don't read it on a regular basis.

So that takes care of #320.  Next up on my Royals list is #388.  1992 Stadium Club - Tom Gordon, baby!!!! (or 1983 Topps George Brett All-Star.  I'm not picky! :-) ha ha)

Des Moines, Iowa Baseball Card Show

I was back home in Iowa in October to visit my parents and my little sister.  I knew I was going to be in Des Moines one weekend, so I just checked the Beckett Show Calendar to see if there were any card shows happening then.  It turns out that there was!  Here's what the listing said :

Urbandale American Legion Hall, 6805 Douglas Avenue, 8-3, 80T
Ryan Grother 515-491-8403 ryancardz@gmail.com

Based upon that, I was pretty stoked.  80 TABLES?!?  This thing is going to be massive!!!!  Well.........not so much. When I got there I counted 8 or 9 dealers (10% of the advertised amount).  I only had to go about 4 miles from my sister's house to this show, so it was no biggie for me, but if I'd made a longer trip based on that info I'd be pretty ticked.

However, this show DID redeem itself.  6 of the 8 dealers had either dime or quarter boxes to sift through, and I was able to find a bunch of "treasures" for myself.  Some of them were also willing to negotiate on bulk pricing on those dime/quarter cards, helping me to stretch my budget a little farther.  All-in-all, I came home with a 250-count box nearly full.  It was all cards I wanted for myself or for trades, and I think my total spending was under $30.

Here's a sampling of the stuff I picked up.

The greatest athlete to ever come out of Iowa State.

2007 Allen and Ginter - Cael Sanderson - #23

The last two "State" Royals that I needed from that Ginter Subset.  I am still looking for the Iowa card (Casey Blake) if anyone has that.

Three more MINDS.  Now I want to go do electro-magnetic experiments on a steamboat...

One guy there had a whole mess of Panini Americana.  He must have just busted a few boxes and was looking to dump cards.  He had Presidents with lovely facial hair:

A Married Couple (The Yale card will go in my wife's binder):

And some gentlemen with VERY unique leaping styles:

I always liked Barbara Bush.  She felt like "America's Grandma" to me.  She was the REAL Barbara Bush...not like that fake one.  :-)

Here were a few dime-box cards I grabbed for trade.  Do any of my Dodger-blogger friends need any of these?  The "Invincible" card is half-cardboard/half-plastic.  The Goodwins are minis.

After that I was just looking to pick up miscellaneous Royals cards.  Neither of these gents are with KC anymore, though. 

Some randoms....Bo Knows Archery!  Don Denkinger is the favorite umpire of all Royals fans everywhere. 

Finally, I grabbed a card off my "Most-Wanted" list for just 10 cents.  Justin Maxwell taking BP in the construction site.

2008 Upper Deck - Justin Maxwell - #326

Just think what I could have come back with from an 80-table show!  Probably 10 of each of those cards above....

Most Wanted - 1976 Topps Vada Pinson

Have you seen this man???

1976 Topps #415 - Vada Pinson

I'm heading on a little mini-vacation this weekend which will involve a card show.  I was trying to get my want-lists together, and noticed that I only needed ONE MORE Royal to have the 1976 Topps team set completed.  It's good Mr. Vada Pinson above - Card #415.  I am making him Target #1 for this weekend.  However, if I don't end up with him via purchase -- would any of you have him for trade?

I'll post anything else notable when I return.

College Football Cards - Cyclones and the Dog Days

I haven't posted another "Most Wanted" card in quite awhile, so it's about time I do that.  How about I do better than that?  Here's two!

These are both cards that I have seen while browsing the Interwebs lately and want to add to my list.

First, Upper Deck's 2012 College Football offering has a subset of College Mascot patch cards.  They are cool, but they don't have my favorite team (Iowa State), so there is no card of this guy:



"Cy"

Thus, I will need to go after the next best thing...the wife's Alma Mater.  You may not know this, but my wife is one smart cookie.  As in, Ivy-League math-degree smart.  And they've got her mascot in the set!



Handsome Dan - Yale - Upper Deck College Footbal 2012 - College Mascots - CM-60

That will be going in the binder of cards for her if we ever manage to get it.  The prices on those are a little high right now, but it is not one of the super-short-prints, so I am confident it will come down to our level one day.  If anyone has one for trade, please let me know!

So after I get that one for her, I will need to get something for myself.  And I know just the thing.

2004 Bazooka College Collection Jerseys - Lane Danielsen - Iowa State - BCCLD

This is a 2004 jersey card of Lane Danielsen.  He was an undrafted Iowa State alum who never made it big in the NFL.  He was on the Vikings' practice squad for awhile.  I always would have Seneca Wallace throw bombs to him on the PS2 NCAA Football games.  As far as I can tell, this is his only relic card, and one of only two cards of him.  He's now married with kids and has some sort of a medical career. 

Do you have any of those?  That would make my day.  My Dog Day, that is. 

Not a DH to be found anywhere...

I just have a soft-spot for certain players.  I can't really explain it, but I like them.  One of those guys is Jeff Montgomery.  Recently I was considering going after some minor-league cards and saw one of his on COMC.

This card is great and I would love to add it to my collection.  I am making it "Most Wanted #6."  Jeff looks so young there.  I think what makes him look that way is.....WAIT A DOGGONE SECOND!  Why is he batting?  He's one of the greatest Royals relievers of all time!  He only had two MLB at-bats, both with Cincinnati in 1987 (and no hits).  Couldn't they find ANY pictures of him PITCHING?

It looks like fellow pitchers Bob Buchanan and Jerry Don Gleaton (Jerry Don!) suffered the same fate.

 

It must have been a new photographer.  His boss said "Go take pictures of these baseball guys.  And take this bat with you.  Make sure they all hold it!"

Al Hargesheimer thinks they are all idiots for holding the bat.  He brought his own glove so he would have a prop.

Manager Glenn Ezell is NOT AMUSED at these shenanigans.

Climbing the Walls in KC

2011 Topps Gypsy Queen #WC10 - David DeJesus

David DeJesus is one of my favorite players.  He tossed me a ball once before a game and has signed autographs for me twice.  I try to add his cards to my collection whenever possible.  This is one I still don't have, so I'm making it Most Wanted #5.

Most of the cards in this subset show the player making a grab going sideways or straight into the wall ("climbing it", if you will).  Poor DDJ looks like the wall is climbing him.  I don't know how much leverage and flexibility you can get going straight back...can't be much.

At least AT&T got some advertising out of it.

Incredible Chili Hulk - Most Wanted #4

I Want This Card:

1997 Fleer Ultra #432 - Chili Davis

Why do I want it?  BECAUSE IT MAKES CHILI LOOK LIKE THE INCREDIBLE HULK!  Or the blue/Smurf version of him.  Or else just really buff.  But I'm pretty sure that Chili Davis was the hugest, most ripped big leaguer ever.  If I ever meet Chili Davis in person, I won't say a word -- I will just grab his biceps to see if they really are as big as these pictures lead me to believe.  His neck is also ginormous.  

I heard some kids on the bus saying ridiculous things like "Santa Claus isn't real" and "There's no way Chili Davis is that big -- it's just due to some air getting under his rubber jacket during a sprint."  You know -- that kind of crazy talk.  Hopefully someday they'll figure out how awesome Chili is and be able to experience the joy of having a card of his.

If any of you have this one available, please let me know!  You can click to see the rest of my Most Wanted cards.

Hard Hats and High Heat - Most Wanted #3

One thing I love(d) about Upper Deck baseball cards is that they weren't afraid to put the slightly goofy picture on their card.  Whether that was a guy with his dog, someone in a silly hat, etc., they were fine with it if it looked cool.  That brings us to my "Most Wanted" card #3.

 2008 Upper Deck #326 - Justin Maxwell (Rookie)

Mr. Maxwell appears to be playing a game on some sort of construction site (or maybe it's the lunar surface).  I'm guessing this was for the Washington Nationals Park.  I don't know why they would install home plate and chalk the lines before adding essential things like grass and seats and hot dog stands...but maybe I just don't understand baseball these days.  It was nice of all those construction workers to take a break to come watch him do whatever he is doing.  I am happy to see that they are all OSHA-compliant in their reflective vests and hard hats.  The catcher is in his full gear.  Everyone in this picture is very safe....WAIT!

Everyone in this picture is safe...except for the one person who needs a helmet most.  Justin Maxwell.  Stay safe out there, Justin.  Watch out for loose girders.  And inside fastballs.  

This card is awesome.  I love it and its oddball-ness.  It would only be better if it contained a jersey swatch of a reflective vest.  

If anyone has this card for trade, please let me know. 

Most Wanted #2 - George Brett

In Wednesday's post I introduced my new "Most Wanted List" with the Drew Brees card.  That card was not really one that anyone would consider to be "collectible" or "valuable" by the hobby at-large.  Card #2 on the list IS a valuable one.

1975 Topps # 228 George Brett (Rookie)

 

George Brett.

The #1 Royals player of all time.  The only KC Hall-of-Famer.  13-time All-Star.  1 MVP.  3 batting titles, each in a different decade.  Led the league in TRIPLES 3 times -- I didn't know that until I just looked it up.  The guy could play (obviously).

I saw my first professional baseball game in 1986.  It was on a church bus trip to Royals Stadium for Royals versus Yankees.  I remember seeing the fountains and my amazement that the grass was SO GREEN.  From my perch high above home plate in the top deck I watched George get 3 hits that day.  He was the best player on the best team in baseball (they were the defending champs) and immediately became my favorite.  Dave Winfield had a homer that day, but I didn't take to him like I did to Brett.

Even in the late 80's Brett's cards were expensive.  7-year-old me could barely scrounge together the 40 cents needed for a pack, let alone what it would have taken to buy one of his earlier cards.  However, I remember seeing this card in the "Baseball Cards Magazine" and knowing that it was considered THE card of Brett to get.  I never did get it.  My interest in cards waned as I got older and that was that.

This card now has a book value of $80, and goes for $25-$50 on COMC.  As I've returned to collecting as an adult, I still have never paid that much for a single card.  If anyone has one for trade, please let me know.  I might break down and buy one someday, but can't see myself spending that anytime soon. 

Most Wanted List - Now with Kids!

Certain cards catch my eye for various reasons.  Sometimes it is a great design or color scheme.  Other times it is the photography or a funny pose.  But I will always take a second look at a card with a kid in it. 

Even though kids play sports, watch sports, love sports, buy cards, trade cards, and collect cards you don't see too many kids ON sports cards.  Those precious square inches on the front of a piece of cardboard are reserved for the MEN -- the modern-day warriors who perform at the highest level in the games that they play and entertain millions with their skill.  Since their on-field personas can be so tough, it is easy to forget that many of these guys are family men with a "real life" off-the-field. 

All that brings me to this card:

2010 Allen and Ginter #287 Drew Brees

I love this card because it captures a moment that I remember so well.  The picture for this card is from the celebration after the New Orleans Saints won Super Bowl XLIV over the Indianapolis Colts.  The Saints had scored 15 points in the 4th quarter to win the game.  As the confetti rained down, all the players were celebrating and a big crowd was gathered on the field. 

When I saw this happen on that Sunday, I was first drawn in because the little tiny kid was wearing gigantic earphones (who doesn't love ridiculous proportions, right?).  However, a second look at that really touched me.  Here was Drew Brees, the winning QB -- He could celebrate with anyone, and who does he do it with?  His one-year-old son, Baylen.  Wow. 

My first son had been born three months earlier, so while he was new I definitely knew what it was like to have that fatherly-love.  It humanized Brees to me in a way that otherwise I never would have seen.  At that moment he was just like any other daddy who was done with work and wanted to see his family at the end of a long day. 

That's why I love this card.  Well, besides the giant headphones, of course.  :-)  However, I still don't have it!  Therefore, I am putting it as card #1 on my newly-christened "Most Wanted" List (see the bar at the top).  If anyone has this one for trade, please let me know.  I will be steadily adding more cards to this list over the next few weeks. 

For another article about that moment:
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/a-quarterback-and-his-boy/

For a gallery of Baylen/Drew Brees pics from that day:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/07/drew-brees-son-baylen-cel_n_452946.html?slidenumber=hCi%2B1CLIcwQ%3D&slideshow#slide_image