Night Owl Cards

  I hate to be the blog known for bringing up the deaths of past ballplayers. Part of me wishes the blog could be happy and light all the time. But whenever I hear about one of the players from my younger days moving on, I feel like I need to recognize it as a form of respect from a longtime baseball fan. Today I heard that Bill Plummer passed away. He's known as the backup catcher to Johnny Bench during the 1970s. I've mentioned before that I almost had the chance to interview Plummer. He was managing a minor league team in California at the time and a player from our area was playing for the team. But the interview with the player fell through (he wasn't keen on talking) and I never talked to Plummer. Plummer is the 181st player or manager featured in the 1975 Topps set who has died -- yes, I keep track of that, too. It's alarming that so many of those people who I collected in my first year of buying cards are no longer with us. So, I decided to put a positive spin o...

  I spent a lot of the first 25 years of my life reading.   From baseball books and magazines to classic novels to periodicals about world affairs, the scene was the same: I'd hop on my bed, prop my head on the pillow and kick back, where I have memories still of myself facing the ceiling, reading Ball Four, The Bronx Zoo, The Boys Of Summer and so many others.   This ritual survived through college and even after entering the work world and getting married, I'd still regularly read books (although seated on the couch by now) and accumulate a modest library.   Something happened though around when I first became a parent. Spare time was rare and often I was way too tired to read, instead switching on the television. Then, by the time my daughter was starting out in grade school, I found baseball cards again. That hobby took the place of my reading hobby.   Then came the internet, and the blog, and hundreds of other blogs to read, and then everything baseball-y I...

I probably should explain the title of this blog a little. It might seem obvious, considering the "about me" profile along the right rail. And if you've been paying attention, almost all of my posts so far have been after midnight. Yes, I'm a night owl. I have been since I was a teenager. I work a job that requires me to toil at night, and I find that it suits me. I am most unpleasant in the morning (the few mornings that I see), but when 9 p.m. hits, the switch is on. Let's go, let's party. Now add the fact that I am an East Coast guy who is a fan of a West Coast team. After years of living through, "San Francisco at Los Angeles (n.)" in the newspaper, I fully appreciate being able to find the score of the Dodger game with a few simple key strokes. Waiting until 2 a.m. is no price to pay at all. Hell, I'm up already anyway. But that's only half of it. The other half is I've always enjoyed the night time more than the day. I love it...