Night Owl Cards

 (Hello on National Cheesesteak Day. There are certain foods when you get older and health becomes a larger priority, that you just cross off the list and never think about them again. Cheesesteak is a good example. I used to eat them. But I can't remember the last time I had one now. I'm sure if I lived in Philadelphia, I probably still would be eating them, and getting stern looks from my doctor. Time for Cardboard Appreciation: This is the 336th in a series): I never give my brain enough credit when it comes to hunting down cards. This happens most often during card show visits. I'll shuffle through a bunch of cards in a discount bin or look through a binder and pull cards along the way. During the process, my brain will pipe up, almost imperceptibly, singing " you haaaaaavve that one. " Often I'll ignore it, or not even hear it. I know better, I know what's in my collection. I need that card. And, no, I don't have to check a want list. Then I'l...

  Yesterday, a neighbor from the next street over came to the door with an envelope.   He handed it to my wife and told her it had been delivered to his address by mistake. The address on the envelope, sure enough, was my address with my name. The envelope, as you can tell, contained a huge rip on the right side.   My neighbor, who I have never met, said that he had ripped it open thinking it was for him -- I guess he didn't see the address. Then he said to my wife, "I think it's some kind of baseball cards."   My wife said the guy was very pleasant and didn't seem to know anything about baseball cards, but I couldn't help but get a little suspicious -- it just comes with knowing how the modern hobby works these days. Were all the cards in the envelope really all there?   The envelope didn't have a return address, but I can tell by the printing on the front, and by the contents, that this was kindly sent by Jeffrey at Cardboard Catastrophes . And only he c...

Four years ago, I won this autographed Clayton Kershaw card by winning a bet with a certain Cardinals fan . That was the last time the Dodgers and Cardinals played each other in the postseason. Tonight, they're playing again, and although I'm less confident about the outcome than I was in 2009, I've renewed the bet with that same Cardinals fan and braced myself for purchasing an autographed card of Peter Kozma, or Joe Kelly, or some other St. Louis scrappy who will make me throw up in approximately 10 days. The Dodgers are trying to get to their first World Series in 25 years while the Cardinals are trying to win their first since -- oh, the tragedy -- 2011. And then there's the matter of 2006 and 2004, and unless you're one of The Best Fans In Baseball (throwing up again) or root for the Giants, Diamondbacks or Padres out of pity/self-loathing, you probably have no desire to see the Cardinals in the Series again. I hear ya. In the last five years, the Card...

I'm afraid the second part of this card show won't be as interesting as the first. But I'll do my best to keep you entertained. The second table that I go to regularly is basically the "what can I get cheap" table -- although lately all tables have been like that for me. But usually, I blow a lot of cash on the first table and then try to pick up a bunch of modern card needs at table two for low, low prices. Table two has whatever sets are the latest and greatest at the time. So for this show, there were binders of Topps Update, 2012 Bowman, Heritage/Heritage Minors, Archives, as well as binders from some sets one and two years old -- Bowman, Heritage, etc. Every October I try to clean out my Update Dodger needs at this table. This time I picked up only two. The Kershaw All-Star item up top, and the Kemp All-Star card. The rest of the Dodger Updates are either on their way to me or I have them already. Funny how Kershaw and Kemp I had to get for myse...

(One of the best quotes about appreciation: "The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one." -- Oscar Wilde. I can't believe I haven't used this before. It's time for Cardboard Appreciation. This is the 120th in a series): The "We Are Family" Pittsburgh Pirates are known for a variety of characteristics: the 1979 World Series title, the gold stars, the crazy black-and-gold uniform combinations, "Pops," "The Cobra," "Teke," Sister Sledge, etc. They also wore those funny, square caps from 1976-86. Their fashion choices became the darlings of the "Those Were the Days," crowd. Remember the '70s? Remember the bizarre clothes we used to wear? Remember the PIRATES? Oh my god, what freaky caps they wore!!! Of course, cap connoisseurs -- and they're out there -- know that the Pirates' cap choice began as a tribute to the National League's centennial season in 1976. They wore t...