Night Owl Cards

  Yesterday I completed the 1969 Topps set. While home for dinner, I opened a couple of card orders and the last one contained card No. 500, Mickey Mantle.   It's the yellow-name variety, it's the last Mantle card issued during his career, and all that stuff. Most importantly for me, it's the final card.   I thought it would take me longer to get this card and finish the set. Once I had acquired the Nolan Ryan in September (and the Phil Regan, don't forget him!), I started looking at Mantle prices. I didn't like what I saw. But I didn't do a thorough search, so I figured there was something a bit more reasonable out there for when the time came.    Well, the time came a couple of weeks ago. Out of the blue, I received a reimbursement check from my health insurance that I wasn't expecting, and I immediately knew where some of that was going to go. I started searching again and it became apparent that I was going to have to spend $200 to get anything that was...

   It just doesn't seem possible that I'm still reaping the benefits of this blog, a means of communication and expression that is at least a decade beyond its peak.   I expect the perks to disappear eventually, I mean the days of receiving 3-5 random card packages a day in the mail are long gone, which is why I will value each benefit that still comes along.   A little over a week ago, I was in the grocery store getting some supplies for the new mini-fridge in my office at work. I steered over to the magazine display as I often do and spotted the most recent Beckett Vintage Collector -- just one -- staring at me.   I opened the edition to my story and snapped a picture. I still get a kick out of that. That's not the perk I wanted to write about. But we're moving in that direction.   For the last six years, writing magazine articles about cards has helped me obtain cards that in most cases I never would have been able to add to my collection. Baseball cards...

  It's the summer traveling season. We're visiting or greeting visitors, yet the cards keep coming. It's sometimes difficult to focus. What do I write about -- this or this ?   But I've finally settled on a couple of player collections, a rare off-shoot of my main collecting goals. I think they're impressive in their own way.   I just added the Topps Now card for Clayton Kershaw's 3,000th strikeout. I just had to get the card and didn't pay all that much for it. These cards are almost nothing to look at, I don't like them any more than I did when Topps Now first became a thing. Just think if Topps created an interesting design for these, it might have all my money.   But that's just the lead-in card for this post. One of my player collecting projects is to get all of Kershaw's flagship gold cards. I wrote about finishing the run through 2022 a couple of years ago. And I finally decided to get back on that project. So recently, three more cards ha...

  It hit 90 degrees today. I'm not someone who is bothered by the heat, but once it's 90 I take notice. It's not super rare around here -- I'd say we're in the 90s about 5 times a year -- but I was still tempted to stay inside.   Fortunately I didn't.   I was in a yank to get to the monthly card show. I've been frustrated lately by the lagging arrival of my online card purchases the last couple of weeks. I don't know if this is a traditional July thing (sellers and postal workers on vacation), but shipments are not appearing on the days I was told. Also, I have received back-to-back postage-due slips on orders, which seems a little outrageous.   So it was one of those times where I thought "I can't get anyone to send me my cards, I'm going to go get them myself ." Crank the AC, I'm coming for you, show!   I had no expectations for this show. With just five 1969 Topps cards needed, and none of them available the last time I visited, ...

  I have been snapping pictures of the cards that Johnny's Trading Spot sent me a week or so ago just about all afternoon without suitable results.   I'm not sure what's going on but none of the pictures look right. Some of this may be because it's summer and there is so much light streaming into the house, but also I think it's because I never want to deal with whatever I need to get "the perfect picture." I really miss my scanner during times like these. But I can't be bothered to figure out why the heck it won't work or get yet another new one.   So I guess that's my problem, huh, if I don't want to do what it takes?   (And yours, I guess, since I'm going to show less than satisfactory pictures right now).   Johnny has been clearing house again in that alphabetical way he has. Lucky me, he's now at the K's, which means a whole bunch of Clayton Kershaw cards came my way. Sure, I have a lot of Kershaw cards already but he was ...

  Life is still too busy and full of upheaval, even with getting some tasks out of the way. I just finished and filed my Beckett magazine story so hopefully I'm done with that (and hopefully it reads well). But there is still far too much happening.   That doesn't mean I'm not collecting. Cards still come to the house ("stuff I need to blog" is really stacking up). Today the weird Topps High Numbers "Team Quads" insert of the Dodgers arrived. These are a riff on the 1975 rookie stars cards except the title here should be "Team's Four Most Marketable Players".   I also found time for the monthly card show today. I skipped it last month after going to shows on back-to-back weeks in April.   I was in a casual mood and you could tell shoppers were getting into summer mode as it was rather light (still people bopping you with their pelican case things). I hoped that I could find a Hank Aaron or Steve Carlton for my 1969 Topps chase, but no luck ...

  My first COMC order of the year came in today. I've settled into averaging out to two COMC orders a year. It used to be more than that, but there are more options now and also COMC prices have been unreasonable in many cases for several years, so I've been forced to comparison shop.   My first order of the year is usually smaller than the one that often shows up in the fall. But both orders usually show how scattered my interests are. I read stories about collectors working on some super-focused, often highly unattainable pursuit and only that pursuit . Every time, I am filled with feelings of admiration/envy (wish I could do that) mixed with feelings of relief (glad I chase more than one thing!).   This order is very much this-and-that. It took almost exactly a month to show up, which is fine, though I was expecting earlier based on the lightening speed from several months ago.     One of the first items I put in my cart were the last two Dodgers I needed fro...