Night Owl Cards

I have been running this blog for long enough that I have received cards from all kinds of places -- even overseas locations where I didn't even know they knew about baseball -- and all kinds of people from all walks of life. The blog has also led me to interactions with former pro baseball players, as well as members of their families. But I'm not sure if I've ever traded with an ex-ball player. No, I didn't get cards from Tracy Woodson. Don't be so literal. But I did receive cards from someone Woodson managed! A guy named Michael contacted me recently about some cards he had for me. Michael pitched in the New York-Penn League during the late 1990s and mentioned that while he was playing for the team, he passed through Watertown, N.Y., and appeared in both ends of a doubleheader. I looked through the archives of my newspaper and found a report on the games he mentioned and emailed him a copy of the story (unfortunately, his name wasn't in the story...

There's a fine art to dumpster diving, ladies and gents. When you spot someone inexplicably tossing baseball cards into the garbage, you musn't lose your head. You must remain focused, poised to plunge headlong into that festering, steaming, 30-foot-long pile of gunk, and save only the best of the cards from an eternity in landfill hell. So there I was, swimming through two-week-old banana peels, grandma's forgotten egg salad, and old copies of Sisqo CDs, in an attempt to rescue some Dodgers cards. I swam past the Tigers and Braves, Red Sox and Twins. I did the backstroke past the Yankees and sneared at the Giants as I went by. Then, there, just past some lonely Nationals cards, I spotted my prize -- 370 Dodgers cards. I quickly scooped them up. Mission accomplished, even if I stunk like 1988 Donruss. Actually, I endured nothing of the sort to rescue my Dodgers. Mark of Stats on the Back never made good on his threat to toss out any cards (at least not that I know of). Inst...