Night Owl Cards

  I can't think of anyone who runs an online trading card store who is as generous as Steven and Nancy at the baseballcardstore.ca I've taken advantage of their cheap prices on cards, especially during the pandemic. Most of the inventory won't bowl anyone over -- these are cards for the set or team collector, mostly. But I've always found stuff I like/want and you can't beat it when you add up what's in your cart and think, "is that all it costs?" The baseballcardstore has adjusted its pricing format a couple of times, mostly due to rising shipping costs, I believe. But it remains a good deal, which I haven't taken advantage of in too long. That is about to change, though, because of what Steven just sent my way last weekend. He's been storing up Dodgers for me again. And I just received 40 Dodgers cards, simply as a gift, a damn-good RAK. Out of those 40, all but two were needs and some of them were rather needy needs -- I mean like needs goin...

I've got a bunch of cards to show off from a trade with Greg Z. of Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle , but I have literally 18 minutes to write it. I really despise March. And if anyone mentions spring break, I'm going to write nothing but trade posts for the next week. The best card I got from Greg was the Lindsey Vonn mini card. I like to say I have a connection to Tiger Woods because as you know Woods and Vonn are currently cavorting. Vonn used to be married to a skier named Thomas Vonn (she was formerly known as Lindsey Kildow). Thomas Vonn went to a college that my newspaper covers, St. Lawrence University. I kind of knew him back then so there's my connection, as terribly tenuous as it is. As you can imagine, Greg has lots of Russell Martin cards just lying around. He's the only Dodger fan I know who is still collecting Russell Martin. Although, I suppose since I gratefully crossed these cards off my want list, I'm still collecting him, too. ...

Without really knowing it, I categorize Dodger eras into the three categories of "good," "bad," or "indifferent." And, by association, my attitude toward certain Dodgers players, past or present, is colored by whether they appeared in a good, bad or indifferent Dodger era. For example, take this fine card of George "Shotgun" Shuba, supplied to me by the Junior Junkie (all of the card you will see here are from the Junior Junkie, by the way). Shuba was hardly an exceptional player. He was a utility man. But because he played at a time when the Dodgers were perennial contenders, when they were breaking racial barriers, and because he had such a cool nickname, he is a favorite. Shuba is known for the symbolic gesture of shaking Jackie Robinson's hand in the minor leagues. He's also well-documented in the book "Boys Of Summer." And he hit a pinch-hit homer in the 1955 World Series. Through circumstance, he shined. He came ...

The Dodgers last night clinched their 16th division championship since arriving in Los Angeles in 55 years ago. They celebrated with a pool party (scandalous!), and I am thrilled that I now have two weeks to go before I start sweating out the Cardinals and/or Braves and, hopefully, the Red Sox. It's enough time, in fact, for me to consider my favorite Dodger card that was issued in each of the team's championship seasons. And I went through and found favorites for each of those years. I wanted to add the Brooklyn teams, too, but I'm embarrassingly short on 1940s cards. You could also make a case for each of these being the "best" Dodger cards of those years, but I don't want to get into that. I'd like to be a fan for today and be partisan and biased and irrational. You know, all those things that make a fan great. It's interesting how some of these cards are borderline iconic. That's what happens when you win or reach a championship. You e...