Night Owl Cards

Hi there, and welcome to the latest edition of "Second Best," where we determine the second-best player who has ... What's that? This is the first time I've ever done a series called "second best"? Ha, ha, well, I guess that's right, isn't it? It's just that this particular series has been a thought jotted down in the idea notebook for four or five years now. That idea was beginning to wonder whether it was ever going to make it to reality, and apparently got so desperate that it half-convinced me that I've actually gone through with this series already. But, nope, this is the first time. This is where I examine all of the major league players who share the same last name, and determine not "the best" -- because they already get all the recognition and accolades -- but the "second best". (I suppose that this series is a little similar to my "Spawn" series , which is probably why I've avoided d...

An update on this card: I'm still looking. If you read this post , you know that I thought I had landed this card, which is a short-print in the 1979 Hostess set. I ordered it up at the Old Vintage Baseball Cards site, and then waited as weeks turned into months for any sign of the card. I fully intended to call to ask what had happened, but like so many non-urgent matters lately, I never got around to calling. However, the other day I received an email from the site saying that they had refunded my money as they had been unable to track the card. I'm not sure what that means. I've worked in retail so I know that advertising that you have something doesn't necessarily mean that you actually have it, but I might call them anyway just in case I'm on some sort of waiting list, or to get on a waiting list. I need that card. That was a little discouraging, so I immediately went to some cards that someone sent me to remind me that there are actually cards th...

I am supposed to go to a card show this weekend. If you've been following this blog for a few years, you know that this is the card show that I make maybe half the time. It's not because I'm disorganized or lazy. I really, really, really want to go. But living where I do, card shows an hour away in late January are pretty much pointless. Out of nowhere, the weather forecast has become iffy and the conditions quite possibly treacherous. Funny how that always happens on the weekend. If, by some minor miracle, I make the card show, I will be doing a little snooping around in discount boxes. I won't call them "dime boxes" because those don't exist where I live. I'll settle for 50-cent and dollar boxes. For inspiration -- for a card show that I won't be at and for finding dime boxes that won't appear -- I thought I'd show some cards that did come from dime boxes from Nick, at, you guessed it, "Dime Boxes." He sent me some...

Don't you hate it when fans refer to their favorite team as "we"? Yeah, me, too. But then I go and do it myself. So call me a hypocrite. You won't be the first. I'm not terribly pleased with how the Dodgers are starting the season. Tonight was a new low as the Dodgers were drubbed by their leading rivals in the NL West, slipped below .500 for the first time, and lost their opening day pitcher to the disabled list. All in one day! Weee! But it's too early to get too cranky. So I'm going the happy route and cheering myself up with some Dodger cards, direct from Matt of Heartbreaking Cards . To be honest, I'm not sure what I did to deserve these cards. I may have sent Matt some cards, I may owe him some cards (I do know that I have a tiny pile reserved for him). I'm not sure. But thanks. Matt pulled the repack switcheroo on me by sending me one of those cereal boxes (Mickey on the front), but instead of '09 cards, out came Dodgers. Wacky hijinks!...

As much as we card bloggers each put our own spin on things -- I truly believe every card blog out there has its own distinctive voice -- you can definitely fit the blogs into one of three categories. There are the blogs that exclusively feature vintage cards, vintage topics, and rarely stray into modern day cards or issues. There are more modern blogs that address the up-to-the-second goings on in the hobby, but rarely address anything before 1987. Then there are a number of blogs that travel through both worlds, and some do it effortlessly. My blog fits into this third category -- sort of. I travel through both the vintage and modern worlds, but I certainly don't do it effortlessly. I stumble, fall, learn, screw up, get corrected, learn again, stumble again, and on and on. The modern card world is a confusing place to someone who first began collecting cardboard when it actually was cardboard. Take, for example, this card that I received from Rob of the crusading Voice of the C...