tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12043331192342716122024-03-12T21:10:19.008-05:00The Adventures of Napkin DoonNapkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.comBlogger840125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-80164732873846606792014-03-04T06:00:00.000-06:002014-03-04T06:00:01.988-06:00Thank You All!!<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">It wasn’t until the other day that I
made the connection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was talking to
the Lovely Wife about my father passing away 3 years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The anniversary of his passing is in late
February. He died from brain cancer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">It
was an extremely painful time for me and my family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I won’t get into it, but I will tell you I wouldn’t wish his suffering
and what cancer... that…that….”evil” is the only word I can think of…what that evil did
to him and my family on my worst enemy.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Anyway, the Lovely Wife and I were
talking about him and I said as an aside that I couldn’t believe it had been 3
years since he died.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had a moment of
déjà vu when I said those words, but I wasn’t sure why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then later in the day I was taking some
pictures of cards for a blog post and realized I’d recently said something
about not believing it had been 3 years since I started The Adventures of Napkin Doon early in March
2011.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">It didn’t make sense to me that
something as painful as my Dad’s passing and something as light and fun as
starting a blog about baseball cards could have happened exactly a week apart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I figured I had it wrong- one of the two
events must have started a year earlier or a year later than the other, and they couldn’t have happened
essentially at the same time because I don't remember being in any sort of mood for fun and games for several months after his passing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For long
time followers of this blog, a mistake in calculations like that would come as
no surprise (for example, I said that I would wrap this up today, March 4<sup>th</sup>
since it was the three year mark of when I started.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked the other day and saw that I
actually started on March 2<sup>nd </sup><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">.
</span>Oops!)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">But both events did happen close
together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I’m not going to play pop
psychologist, and I hope no one else does either on this, but I have to think
the timing is not a total coincidence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Please don’t make the mistake
of concluding that perhaps I’m letting go of the blog because I’m somehow now
finally able to let go of my Dad’s death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ll never fully let go of that event, although I can handle it better these days, which I guess is what happens with time and life moving on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m simply shutting down because it feels
like the right time to do it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing
more, nothing less. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">But hey, I don’t mean to take
this to a dark, sad place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This blog
has been a source of great joy, and it's been a pleasure<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>writing it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
Mostly, that joy stems from getting to know you folks and </span>I’m so appreciative to those who have followed, read, commented,
played “words with friends”, traded<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and
laughed with me these three years. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">It’s the end of the blog, but it's not remotely close to goodbye because
I’ll still be around, hopefully chiming in on your blogs more often now and
tweeting pics of cards I think people would want to see. </span><br />
<br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.napkindoon.blogspot.com/2011/03/1st-post-its-spring-training-for-me-too.html">“Let’s see if this thing goes anywhere.”</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">That was the first sentence of
my first post that I think about 4 people read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I wrote about why I collected and showed my first real card of
significance as the first picture of my first post:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57-DUmzmC1acX9iQRzsejXCakibjS6-U3KFyrlQcGrGsmAu7LhJ0F0Dk2ExyWKa4ecxgGFw_DZInhrLPyyLasC70AsU5QxhLFyaAbLniiBoNnLIuhXTd_6xmkbaBOzDVBn8Ky4DPicng/s1600/seaver.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57-DUmzmC1acX9iQRzsejXCakibjS6-U3KFyrlQcGrGsmAu7LhJ0F0Dk2ExyWKa4ecxgGFw_DZInhrLPyyLasC70AsU5QxhLFyaAbLniiBoNnLIuhXTd_6xmkbaBOzDVBn8Ky4DPicng/s1600/seaver.jpg" /></a></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Look at that. These are fantastic things, these baseball cards.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">This will also be the last
picture of my last post, which somehow helps close the door for me.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Where “this thing” went was
much different and much more fun than I ever could have guessed, and I one hundred
times thank you readers/friends for that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>See you soon and Happy Collecting!<o:p></o:p></span>Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-33903083785699377782014-03-03T06:00:00.000-06:002014-03-03T06:00:00.136-06:00Top Blog Moments- IT'S A LIST, LOST COLLECTORRemember that time the Lost Collector wrote a post about <a href="http://thelostcollector.blogspot.com/2013/12/top-5-ttms-of-2013.html">how lists were lame</a>, and it rubbed Night Owl the wrong way? That was funny.<br />
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I'm happy to say that for as much grief as I give AJ (The Lost Collector), I consider him a friend and one of the best people I've met as a result of this blog business. <br />
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So before my last post tomorrow, in honor of AJ, I wanted to stroll down memory lane and list out my Top 9 favorite blog moments from the last three years. Why 9? Because 7 ate 9. Wait, no that's a punch line to one of my 4 year old's jokes. Why 9? Because.... I couldn't come up with 10.<br />
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Here they are, sort of ranked and sort of not:<br />
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#9 : Auctions/Gifts From Cleve:<br />
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Obviously auctions at Cleve's were a major part of my blog. My involvement with Cleve's won't end with the ending of the blog thankfully. And I'm still stunned by some of the incredible cards that Cleve has given me over the years:<br />
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Yes that's a Triple Threads dual autograph book card of Evan Longoria and Josh Hamilton. It is indeed.<br />
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I guess these aren't directly tied to the blog, but they are so nice and Cleve is so awesome that they need to be on the countdown.<br />
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#8 : <a href="http://www.napkindoon.blogspot.com/2011/11/cardboard-junkie-made-me-tear-up.html">Dayf sends me the best card I ever received from another blogger</a>:<br />
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As you may recall, I made a lazy, half ass attempt to get <a href="http://napkindoon.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-mission-george-will-for-allen-ginter.html">George Will, my hero, on a card in Allen & Ginter.</a> It went nowhere, but did result in me receiving a custom made Will A&G card, courtesy of everyone's favorite Cardboard Junkie.<br />
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#7: <a href="http://thelostcollector.blogspot.com/2013/04/napkin-doon-is-jerk.html">AJ Gets Ranced</a>:<br />
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Speaking of exchanging cards between bloggers, I was very proud of what I sent AJ after he made a smart ass remark about some tainted cards I had opened. His post is perhaps my favorite post related to my blog from another blogger.<br />
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I also want to send a kudos to Cardboard Catastrophes for the best title of a post about a trade with me: <a href="http://cardboardcatastrophes.blogspot.com/2011/09/paper-products-from-paper-product.html">Paper Products From a Paper Product</a>. That was brilliant, and Jeff is a fantastic writer and generous dude.<br />
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#6: <a href="http://www.napkindoon.blogspot.com/2012/01/scandal-controversy-shame.html">Etopps Scandal</a>:<br />
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This is as close to fame in the baseball card world as I ever got. I was mentioned on eTopps message boards and it led to a mild scandal. It's a weak 15 minutes of fame grant you, but it's mine.<br />
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#5: <a href="http://napkindoon.blogspot.com/2011/10/2011-napkin-doon-hot-dog-tournament.html">Hot Dog Tournament:</a><br />
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I know this was a stupid bit on my part, but it was a blast. My stomach didn't appreciate it, and I won't do it again, but it was fun to write. It's also been fun to re-live all the matchups and the controversies that occured. What a thrilling tournament!<br />
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#4: <a href="http://napkindoon.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-napkin-doon-interview-becky.html">The Becky Bridwell Interview</a>:<br />
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I was pretty of proud of this one. It's as close to journalistic "work" as my blog ever got. Adventures of Napkin Doon is not interview-centric at all, but the interview with Oriole's prospect Parker Bridwell's mom was fun, and she was an awesome person to correspond with.<br />
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#3: <a href="http://napkindoon.blogspot.com/2012/07/available-now-doondiscs.html">Doon Discs</a>:<br />
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This was a totally stupid spoof of phiten discs, but it was a wonderful creative release. I was also able to use artwork from stuff I received from AJ and Dayf to make the "discs".<br />
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#2: <a href="http://napkindoon.blogspot.com/2011/08/vintage-cards-great-steaks.html">My Collecting "Food" Pyramid</a>:<br />
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Other than my first Big Fun Game, this post was one I got the best response to early in my blogging days. I think the analogy still holds up for me as a collector. In fact, the comparison of junk wax to candy was spot on for me personally, because I'm getting to the age where splurging on either really makes me feel like crap. I think it was my best "contribution" to the "blogosphere."<br />
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#1: <a href="http://napkindoon.blogspot.com/2011/10/my-greatest-ttm-auto-ever.html">George Will Sends Me An Autographed Card:</a><br />
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Sure, this is number one for purely selfish reasons. But getting an autographed card from George Will, and having his assistant tell me he was amused with my letter still gives me chills. Best autograph I have by far. This alone was worth starting the blog.<br />
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I'm sure there are a few things I'm forgetting that should make this list, but for now, that's it, that's the list. Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-4619169011568940432014-03-02T06:00:00.000-06:002014-03-02T06:00:00.021-06:00My Best Card That I Didn't Show Until The EndI suppose "best" is a subjective term. Still, I would wager that if collectors were to line up all of my cards and were asked to pick one as the centerpiece of my collection it would be this T-206 Ty Cobb:<br />
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I bought this a long time ago, in my single days, when I didn't <strike>have </strike>get to spend my discretionary income on the Lovely Wife. I probably had no business buying this back then when my income was only modest at best, but I sure wasn't spending my money on girls, clothes to impress girls, apartment decor to impress girls, or anything that would have remotely made me more attractive to girls. Good lord it's a miracle the Lovely Wife found something salvageable in me, because man, I was a big dork. Not the awesome, cool cat you know now.<br />
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Now that I have this Cobb card, I'm glad I spent the money I did (for those curious, I got it for around $300+ on eBay back in the late 90's if I remember correctly). And I'm going to say this right now- if one of you experts sees this and thinks or knows it's a fake DO NOT tell me! I'm going to my grave believing this is real. I am somewhat tempted to send this in for authentication and then turn around and sell it for a profit and buy a card of a person more palatable to my sensibilities, like Christy Mathewson or someone else that wasn't a bigoted murderer.<br />
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But, I acknowledge that this is the crown jewel of my collection. I'll also re-show a card that I bought to kind of "go" with this Cobb card:<br />
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I love the story of Cobb and Lajoie battling it out for the batting title in 1910. This <a href="http://www.thisgreatgame.com/1910-baseball-history.html">link</a> is a good recap for those interested. <br />
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My T206 collection isn't huge, but I'm proud of it and I'm glad I was able to share some one last time!<br />
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<br />Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-85694961488383296002014-02-28T06:00:00.001-06:002014-02-28T06:00:08.391-06:00My Loyal AssistantI owe a great deal of thanks to a great deal of folks when it comes to this blog, but I have one partner in particular that I would be absolutely lost without:<br />
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What, you were expecting a shout out to the Lovely Wife? What if I told you THIS was the Lovely Wife? How jacked up would you think I was then? Like if I was that dude in "Her" that falls in love with an operating system? I bet there would be a whole new perspective on your old pal Napkin wouldn't there?<br />
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Rest assured, The Lovely Wife is very real, (and very hot- hubba hubba!).<br />
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And my reliance on this little jump drive is very real too. It has all my scans, my checklist, my sampler album data and blog post ideas (don't need that anymore do I?!)<br />
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If I'm looking and can't find this little beauty I go into a full panic. I remember one time a couldn't find it for like 3 days and I was totally discombobulated.<br />
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If I were smart I'd take a few seconds and back it up periodically, but as you know, I am a total wild man and live on the edge constantly.<br />
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<br />Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-67360812544724253532014-02-27T06:00:00.000-06:002014-02-27T06:00:02.243-06:00Cleve's Auction Night: The Experience In PicturesI didn't plan on attending Cleve's auction in person this week. There wasn't a whole lot of stuff that held my interest, and the weather was cold and the Lovely Wife had come up with wonderful new soup recipe that I was anxious to try. <br />
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But, I had it in my mind that I needed to put up one final auction post, and needed to be there and give you a better idea of what Cleve's, and his auctions are like. That's how much I care about you folks!<br />
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A while back, Cleve's underwent a bit of a remodeling project. He put up all new signage, and a big notice in the front window advertising the weekly Tuesday night auction. The signage and the store look great!<br />
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The crowd tonight was smaller than normal, but still decent, with about 20 people showing up. There's Cleve facing us on the left. <br />
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Basically there are a couple of areas to <span style="background-color: yellow;">browse </span>before the bidding starts- the glass cases and the "goodie" table.<br />
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Usually, this goodie table contains complete sets, misc boxes and a few non-card related items. This week, there were about 10 different junk wax era complete sets available, some binders with misc. cards, a couple of boxes of comic books, and a box of LPs (on the far right). <br />
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Cleve usually starts the auction off with the goodie boxes, and then moves to the single cards. In between, he holds a weekly drawing for a $25 credit. It's just for the people that show up in person for the auction, which I why I've never won it. I usually just submit write in bids since my work schedule and family duties prohibit me from attending much.<br />
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I have never once seen that dude behind the counter smile, and I've only heard him speak a couple of times. <br />
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Typically, there are about 250 auction items a week. This week was bigger than normal at around 350. But again, not much of it did I want.<br />
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I managed to pick up a few things though:<br />
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I'll list the items along with my grades:<br />
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1989 Bowman Factory Set $2 A: I know 89 Bowman isn't popular, but I kind of like it, and it's a complete set. For $2? Come on!<br />
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1983 Topps Wade Boggs $4 A: This strengthens my 1983 Sampler Album Page tremendously. I just need the Sandberg and I'll have all of the key 1983 rookie cards.<br />
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1967 Al Kaline $4 D: I'm giving myself a D not because it's a bad card, but because I already have it! It's up for trade if anyone is interested, or I may put it up on Listia.<br />
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I hope everyone has enjoyed my frequent Cleve auction posts. I'd say these auction were good for about 20% of my blog subject matter. I'll probably still show some cards on twitter from time to time.Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-74735790142249895372014-02-26T06:00:00.000-06:002014-02-26T06:00:12.358-06:0052 (Bowman) Pickups: A Last Few To ShowObviously, I won't nearly be close to finishing my 1952 Bowman set when I turn out the lights on the blog next week. So I will take this last opportunity to show a few more of these magnificent cards:<br />
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I picked this up for a few bucks at Cleve's, and it's the epitome of what I like about the Bowman set. It was affordable, the picture is beautiful, and the card is unobstructed by anything other than a player signature. Wonderful, wonderful card.<br />
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I also have a few stars to show too:<br />
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I don't remember how much I paid for this Joe Adcock, but it's a striking card as well.<br />
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Last but not least is this Early Winn. Not only does he have a great name, but he's a Hall of Famer with 300 wins, and his cards are still pretty affordable.<br />
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<br />Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-71682216507793158222014-02-25T06:00:00.000-06:002014-02-25T06:00:07.466-06:00One Last Etopps DeliveryI've been meaning to take one last delivery of eTopps cards from my portfolio- at least some select cards- before I'm done here. Delivery is damn expensive ($12 first card, $1.75 each additional), but I'm getting worried that soon Topps is just going to pull the plug on the site (they stopped making new cards back in 2011, and recently took down the message boards) and my cards will be lost forever. So I figured I'd bite the bullet and get the cards I really wanted and hope for the best on the rest. I have a couple of complete sets that would be painful to ship, but I'm hopeful that someday there will be a special offer to clear out one's portfolio.<br />
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Anyway, my cards arrived the other day:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLre19WhrsIMzggHJ7WeHU51N7M6j61bgzqc7BF1gwouXep5EFtO8UJ7W__iN5E-QG3OLZ5jqpKyTwUM4RIOmPX5ghkEeu4B4yKTo2j881sO5g96wMQ6zlUOq3UmkK2Vg5m6iZmmS6lLY/s1600/photo+1(9).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLre19WhrsIMzggHJ7WeHU51N7M6j61bgzqc7BF1gwouXep5EFtO8UJ7W__iN5E-QG3OLZ5jqpKyTwUM4RIOmPX5ghkEeu4B4yKTo2j881sO5g96wMQ6zlUOq3UmkK2Vg5m6iZmmS6lLY/s1600/photo+1(9).JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Four bubble wrapped blocks of shiny eTopps cards. Aren't you excited to see them all?<br />
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Here they are out of the bubble wrap:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgysyzUSdAvr1yt_h05a7h-zl50awLApDEhfvLEd0Xbr-onZXQm-YJNqtROO_zy_J5UvC9WlkKjMXC62P3MrNDWEve_1VOlMUkTTDttepCqL6Z4fESZ3ofwgJcAT_Oyr11nPyf55mWVnIo/s1600/photo+2(11).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgysyzUSdAvr1yt_h05a7h-zl50awLApDEhfvLEd0Xbr-onZXQm-YJNqtROO_zy_J5UvC9WlkKjMXC62P3MrNDWEve_1VOlMUkTTDttepCqL6Z4fESZ3ofwgJcAT_Oyr11nPyf55mWVnIo/s1600/photo+2(11).JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Sorry, I know that's a strange angle. All the cards come in their own little zip-loc baggie. So we'll take the next step and look at them all lined up out of the wrap and out of the baggies:<br />
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These are the T-206 cards. They are every bit as beautiful as you think they are. I still need about 8 cards to finish the set, but they are getting really hard to trade for on the site.<br />
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I didn't take an individual shot of the Matt Weiters card in the bottom left of the photo above. But I managed to trade for one and took it in hand. Why? It's Weiter's only Topps card. I learned that from a comment by a guy named <a href="http://napkindoon.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-sad-sad-tale-of-etopps.html">Stubby on a previous eTopps post I wrote</a>. Thanks for the tip Stubby!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk3TNGazZ8V5B1_yXE5OMl3AdMS14KMoTjWFxKvljxdB7fLLY0z0fwLssqU_9BnRvtngAeUtznDfBjNsJKqR2tcJ2Ed9khdP3DS3Qz_MI4Cyrp8XUZm4RN89Dsl5CJ3ORsO8HYMNMzhRY/s1600/photo+3(10).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk3TNGazZ8V5B1_yXE5OMl3AdMS14KMoTjWFxKvljxdB7fLLY0z0fwLssqU_9BnRvtngAeUtznDfBjNsJKqR2tcJ2Ed9khdP3DS3Qz_MI4Cyrp8XUZm4RN89Dsl5CJ3ORsO8HYMNMzhRY/s1600/photo+3(10).JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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So the challenge of taking pictures of eTopps cards is that not only are they in hard plastic cases, the cards are shiny too. So my picture styles aren't consistent. Because I just kept snapping away until I got images that didn't have ridiculous glare.<br />
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As much as it ticked me off to pay that much for shipping, I absolutely love these cards. Especially the T206s. Here are a few up close for ye:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFRJunNNq1QRbwqBrRbexm0vIcknCIBRCnzk1PHj_MAVWUYNoeUmFLOrmTLvJZFeVnVG1zG0mk2dL9Rmn1erB5EAGNyM1k857uib-3mQVeW3OEs5pXPvc2nDCUglMn7ok7vqLcAI0Q1_I/s1600/photo+1(8).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFRJunNNq1QRbwqBrRbexm0vIcknCIBRCnzk1PHj_MAVWUYNoeUmFLOrmTLvJZFeVnVG1zG0mk2dL9Rmn1erB5EAGNyM1k857uib-3mQVeW3OEs5pXPvc2nDCUglMn7ok7vqLcAI0Q1_I/s1600/photo+1(8).JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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At some point, I plan to have this Willie Keeler card in it's original T206 form too. For now, this will work.<br />
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I took a bunch of standard eTopps cards too:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAzpCctGCa3Btp5Oaawc3ueHM8frgjX3BDDGRqDZK2EQaYtWPesCd1mcC6_Zvn7gbZR6KFwpyU_qZwCV1xJy40QOR_FB9u3b3Urbv3e1CV1S86qPTD1K8R1vtvP0ynY2lIimeabcZH9qY/s1600/photo+1(7).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAzpCctGCa3Btp5Oaawc3ueHM8frgjX3BDDGRqDZK2EQaYtWPesCd1mcC6_Zvn7gbZR6KFwpyU_qZwCV1xJy40QOR_FB9u3b3Urbv3e1CV1S86qPTD1K8R1vtvP0ynY2lIimeabcZH9qY/s1600/photo+1(7).JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
It's neat to have a couple of cards of Christian Colon, who has been mentioned on my blog many times before.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6AcWBnNR20SR7-rL6lMJLFbYqqZmb62XBu22My2UKwjg_CGrAHvpoPD9T7aBc4b-B2nnCvd67ofUFgVr650SNSZyJivSIUoX36vLxn5hmng5jcQDsAHcVKuv6l-muAqKPbY3MoUT78no/s1600/photo+1(12).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6AcWBnNR20SR7-rL6lMJLFbYqqZmb62XBu22My2UKwjg_CGrAHvpoPD9T7aBc4b-B2nnCvd67ofUFgVr650SNSZyJivSIUoX36vLxn5hmng5jcQDsAHcVKuv6l-muAqKPbY3MoUT78no/s1600/photo+1(12).JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
I got this Mauer just because I thought it would be a nice looking card in hand. I was right!<br />
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See what I mean by shiny? Isn't that Maddux gorgeous? <br />
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I took all my Derek Jeters for delivery. No way I'm leaving those at risk with the website.<br />
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These two are from the 2004 set. As far as eTopps sets go, 2004 is considered one of weaker offerings, and the cards are very cheap to obtain up front before delivery. But I have to say they are very striking in hand, and a great value in comparison to the other sets. If I decide to take more cards in the future, I'm loading up on stars from the 2004 set.<br />
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I could probably get 2 or 3 more posts out of this haul, but you get the idea. I will say that I'm not especially interested in trading these just because I wouldn't know what would be fair for them. On the one hand, the degree of difficulty getting these in a portfolio, coupled with expense of shipping means I'd want something good for them, but on the other hand the initial "cost" per card doesn't warrant getting something good for them. Mostly, I don't want to go to the effort to replace anything I trade out.<br />
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<br />Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-85679811732701451192014-02-24T19:04:00.000-06:002014-02-24T19:04:58.951-06:00Are You Calling Me Yella?I should take a moment to express my appreciation for all of the nice things that you guys said when I made my announcement that I was <a href="http://napkindoon.blogspot.com/2014/02/friends-i-think-were-good-here.html">wrapping this blog up on March 4th</a>. I truly wasn't expecting that and feel very humbled and appreciative by the comments.<br />
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I certainly didn't mean to give the impression that writing this blog was making me miserable. I still have fun with it, it's just that it's getting hard to find time for it, plus I just don't think I have much else to offer in terms of content. I do still have some cards I want to show, including some of these parallels from 2014 Topps:<br />
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2014 Topps is really growing on me. It seems like the consensus on the set is "meh" but I really like it. I also love the yellow parallels, or "yella" as my West Texas born Mother would say. It's kind of a goofy face on Wil Myers (<a href="http://napkindoon.blogspot.com/2012/05/new-favorite-player-in-doon-household_08.html">of whom with which I've shared a baseball field with which of whom</a>).<br />
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I do like the photography on most of the cards I've seen so far though, and I'm beyond thrilled that Topps has captured a card of Adrian Beltre getting his head touched (he doesn't like that you know!) I'm for sure building a rainbow of the Beltre card:<br />
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I know the red and blue are Target and Walmart, and the red crystally thing is in all retail, but I don't know the story on the green. I haven't seen it in any boxes I've opened yet. Anyone know?<br />
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<br />Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-30755495680332236362014-02-23T09:55:00.000-06:002014-02-23T09:55:39.121-06:00Checklist Chipaway: 2011 Gypsy Queen Green Border<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">I’m happy to say I won’t be ending my blog without at least one really
good set realizing completion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">With this Stan Musial card, I’ve wrapped up the 100 card parallel
Green Paper Frame set from 2011 Gypsy Queen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There’s a lot I love about this set:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The checklist is chock full of great names, the pictures are beautiful,
and I like the design of the card and the feel of the green paper border.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">I also like that these were only available in
retail rack packs, and there were 3 cards per pack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So a fella would have to open at least 34
rack packs (at $10 a pack mind you) and hope for no doubles to build one of
these sets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, that’s not how I
built this set, but I like to think about things like that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">I didn’t collect the minis or relics/autos from 2011 GQ, but got
everything else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It makes a really nice
binder to look through in its completed form.</span><br />
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Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-34106193061496148062014-02-20T06:00:00.000-06:002014-02-20T06:00:00.017-06:00The Elation Of A Filled Up Sampler Album: 1964 ToppsI noted yesterday that I'll miss showing the progress on the 1952 Bowman set when I turn out the lights on Napkin Doon March 4th. The other bit I'll miss is showing off my <a href="http://www.napkindoon.blogspot.com/p/sampler-album.html">Sampler Album</a> progress. I'd say my Sampler Album has been the most fun and interesting project I've taken up with my card collection.<br />
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I filled up my 1964 page a few weeks ago, and it's very lovely in it's completed form:<br />
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I expect to tinker and change cards with most of my pages over time, but I can see this one pretty much standing pat. I've got some big names, and some minor names and no repeat of teams. Except for the Staub, all the cards are in first rate condition. The Staub is ok, just a little dinged in places. Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-25642353023723574072014-02-19T06:00:00.000-06:002014-02-19T06:00:03.268-06:00'52 (Bowman) Pickup: Bums Named Carl<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The one slight regret I have about ending my blog is that I won't be able to share the progress on my 1952 Bowman set. I've been working on it for only a couple of months now, but it's been a total blast, and every card is something I'm proud to own.<br />
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One of the many pluses of the set is that there are several Brooklyn Dodgers to collect. I've picked up a few good ones already (Duke Snider, Don Newcombe), and this week I'm adding a couple of Carls: Furillo and Erskine:<br />
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They both are in really good shape. The scan on the Erskine is poor- it's not nearly as spotty as it looks. <br />
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I gave myself 10 years to complete this set, which is about 25 cards a year. So far, I'm way ahead of pace as I've already picked up 25 cards two months into the first year. I may slow down a little, but these have been an absolute joy to collect!Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-57446378928805312362014-02-18T06:00:00.000-06:002014-02-18T06:00:00.265-06:00Friends, I Think We're Good Here.I believe I've come to the end of this Napkin Doon project and it's time to turn out the lights on the blog. I don't have any sort of big dramatic reason why, other to say I'm comfortable with this decision simply because creating this blog has accomplished what I never knew I wanted it to accomplish. Plus, I'm getting ready to hit a crazy busy time at work (which come to think of it is most of the year) and we are in the process of building a new house and moving this summer. <br />
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When I started this almost 3 years ago, I did it with no discernable goal in mind. I had jumped back into the baseball card hobby full steam ahead about a year prior to making up Napkin Doon, and my collecting perspective was about as all over the place as you could get. I knew I wanted to have cards, to sort cards, to think about cards and to talk about cards. Cards, cards cards. <br />
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I also remember what I thought my blog would be about: graphs and analysis. I imagined showing historical pricing of cards and players and discussing whatever those trends might mean. I went out and started buying as many old Beckett's as I could find to help provide the data. This was going to be some serious stuff. I also imagined my blog focusing largely on eTopps. During my years of not actively buying cardboard, I still was sort of involved in the hobby with eTopps. Clearly, neither of those topics wound up carrying the blog, but I'm happy with the topics that did (Cleve's auctions, Sampler Album, silly food tournaments, etc.) <br />
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I've decided to wrap it up on March 4 (this is my two week's notice), which is the 3 year anniversary of when I started The Adventures of Napkin Doon. For the most part I've said what I wanted to say, but I still have a few favorite cards that I haven't shown, and a few other posts in the queue that I want to put out. <br />
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Plus, I'm not getting out of the hobby at all. I'll still show some cards on twitter from time to time, and be following and commenting on all of the other wonderful blogs out there, even the ones managed by hooligans like The Lost Collector.<br />
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I'll save the sappy thanks and goodbyes for the 4th.<br />
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Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-92215574888313405452014-02-17T09:45:00.001-06:002014-02-17T09:45:19.795-06:00Checklist Chipaway: 2003 Diamond Kings HOF HeroesExcept for some relics and autographs, my 2003 Diamond Kings Master set is done!<br />
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This Stan Musial HOF Heroes card was the last standard insert I needed:<br />
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This is one of those insert sets that I don't think are all that great until you look at the set in total:<br />
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It's a short 10 card set, but the artwork is fantastic!Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-11854326347724614992014-02-14T06:00:00.000-06:002014-02-14T06:00:06.817-06:00COMC Black Friday Parade: NW Arkansas NaturalsLast weekend, the Naturals release their upcoming promotional calendar. There was some great stuff (Wil Myers Bobblehead!) and it started getting my juices going for the upcoming season. I also picked up a few cool cards of former Naturals on COMC.com's Black Friday sale that I will now show you:<br />
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I really, really hope Christian Colon gets a shot with the Royals this year. He, at least in my limited dealings with him, was a super nice guy and <a href="http://napkindoon.blogspot.com/2012/05/new-favorite-player-in-doon-household.html">was awesome to my 8 year old</a>. <br />
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I think this may be the year Hosmer turns into the beast many thought he could be. <br />
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<br />Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-53480204586501999602014-02-13T06:00:00.000-06:002014-02-13T06:00:01.443-06:00COMC Black Friday Parade: Torii HunterMy COMC.com Black Friday posts got interrupted mid stream, so I'll quickly give my last two groups of purchases the attention they should have gotten two months ago.<br />
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I'm a Torii Hunter fan. Not a SUPER fan, and I try not to pick up too many of him in that silly Angels jersey, but I like the guy and add cool cards of him when I see them. I happen to find several on the COMC.com Black Friday sale for around a buck each:<br />
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<br />Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-84991300335332354752014-02-12T06:00:00.000-06:002014-02-12T06:00:00.194-06:002014 Topps Tony Gwynn Rookie Reprint ThingyI don't know if you would call this Tony Gwynn rookie reprint thing a card or simply a collectible. It doesn't "feel" like a card. Well, whatever, I don't care what we call it, I freaking love it:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-vN7V9MDXdDDIWbqPXxaKJnCeJ39zWLYHJ8M6J45Q7iI6DDvpQBfWdWOqZX05EW4zNC4WWkNDxT-3ovB_v4-RDqC1ApQ17uEUWETNoGrTNjiInnIu6QU_p5xvxG34RTG10X9oYPTP6Zc/s1600/SCAN0304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-vN7V9MDXdDDIWbqPXxaKJnCeJ39zWLYHJ8M6J45Q7iI6DDvpQBfWdWOqZX05EW4zNC4WWkNDxT-3ovB_v4-RDqC1ApQ17uEUWETNoGrTNjiInnIu6QU_p5xvxG34RTG10X9oYPTP6Zc/s1600/SCAN0304.JPG" height="320" width="221" /></a></div>
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Sure, it looks like a card here, but you would have to see it and feel it in person to know what I'm getting it. It's got a cool black metal frame and the front and back don't feel at all like cardboard. Here's a better angle on it:<br />
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These are included in Hobby Boxes of 2014 Topps, but I don't know the particulars beyond that. I've seen several on eBay, and the checklist is short, but loaded with great names. Not sure if I'll pick up any more, but I'm for sure impressed with this one.<br />
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<br />Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-4862616915490926142014-02-11T06:00:00.000-06:002014-02-11T06:00:09.790-06:00My Oh Myers!Hey, did I ever mention the fact that <a href="http://napkindoon.blogspot.com/2012/05/new-favorite-player-in-doon-household_08.html">I WAS ON A BASEBALL FIELD WITH WIL MYERS</a>?<br />
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Well, I was so therefore I must collect his cards. I decided the other night, at about 1 a.m., that it would be a good idea to build a rainbow of his rookie card from 2013 Topps Traded. I also thought I needed a whole page of his base rookie card too:<br />
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Well, almost a whole page. The one in the middle is the Chrome version. Thankfully, these were only $.18 each on sportlots.com. <br />
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The color variants were a little more expensive, but not too bad at all. I don't have enough color variants for a full page yet, but I do have enough to make a cool gif, which is something I just learned to do. Actually, it's a super easy process so I didn't really learn a new skill. But the results are cool anyhow:<br />
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I've got the chrome, emerald, Walmart and Target versions. The others are kind of expensive, like the black, camo, pink and whatnot, so I'll have to spread them out over time.<br /><br />
<br />Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-25807284712321656672014-02-10T06:00:00.000-06:002014-02-10T06:00:00.543-06:0052 (Bowman) Pickup: A Handful Of CommonsSince I started the process of building a 1952 Bowman set with such a barrage of stars (Feller, Snider, Stengel, Ashburn, etc.), I decided to breathe a little and start picking up some of the commons. And to me, they're only common in a relative sense. The cards are still beautiful little works of art, big names or not, which is why I love this set so much. The pics:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIqVJlvwajt0a4nbJMDFIwsLIYVD7DDu4n4zuwXOhUYzDsjpY-LrljfcI3swXooPo3HQk6Zy5UTKQwoD4GYGJ921ZG8URIxC-kflandrozTuCMWDyYmkTcRL7_Fq4fmj0SAckPBtl21xQ/s1600/SCAN0270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIqVJlvwajt0a4nbJMDFIwsLIYVD7DDu4n4zuwXOhUYzDsjpY-LrljfcI3swXooPo3HQk6Zy5UTKQwoD4GYGJ921ZG8URIxC-kflandrozTuCMWDyYmkTcRL7_Fq4fmj0SAckPBtl21xQ/s1600/SCAN0270.JPG" height="320" width="232" /></a></div>
I've written about <a href="http://napkindoon.blogspot.com/2013/01/sibby-sisti-1953-topps.html">Sibby Sisti before</a>. <br />
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Coincidentally, some of these cards are close together in the set numbers-wise, so it gives me a chance to show the types of pages I'm using for them:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1o1wjMClDJlD3U6_LMBCec9Ursyd4Bvc9WaoyUY4nkNRTKa8hL7dmJiLoXmwSDJDn1AtqZc_hkMt2cR5RKlW1HH22wzRlYCi7T1O9G4wp1lS-flo47QJDbXpcOmTv68dBFX9GMBpOWc/s1600/SCAN0306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1o1wjMClDJlD3U6_LMBCec9Ursyd4Bvc9WaoyUY4nkNRTKa8hL7dmJiLoXmwSDJDn1AtqZc_hkMt2cR5RKlW1HH22wzRlYCi7T1O9G4wp1lS-flo47QJDbXpcOmTv68dBFX9GMBpOWc/s1600/SCAN0306.JPG" height="297" width="400" /></a></div>
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The great thing about 52 Bowman is that they fit perfectly into business card pages, which hold 10 cards per sheet. I found some heavy duty pages at Staples that seem very high quality (and weren't cheap).<br />
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So I'm about 10% done with 52 Bowman, which is the goal I set for the whole year (about 25 cards per year over a 10 year period is my time frame). Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-25171460216309896922014-02-09T06:00:00.000-06:002014-02-09T06:00:05.885-06:00Cleve's Auction Night: Anyone Like Pins? Padre Pins?I hope so, because I have a whole stinking bag of 'em after this week's auction:<br />
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Now, the question you shouldn't be asking is "Why in the hell would you buy a bag of San Diego Padre Pins?" You shouldn't ask that because it's not specific enough of a quesiton. See, it's a bag of San Diego Padre pins for season ticket holders for the 1991 season. <br />
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Then, the question you shouldn't be asking is, "Why in the hell would you buy a bag of 1991 San Diego Padre season ticket holder pins?" You shouldn't ask because I don't really know. I guess I did it because I have a very humble pin collection that I would love to get into to a larger degree someday. I'm hoping my little girl will think they're cool and want to do it with me. So I figure I can trade these off for other pins at some point. I have a couple of bags of Gateway Computer Winter Olympic pins with that same goal in mind.<br />
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Besides the bag only cost me $3. I guesstimate there are about 50 pins in the bag, so I spent just over a nickel a pin. I'll probably put a couple up on listia, and of course will be happy to trade you kind folks for any, and I do mean ANY pin you might have to spare (I really like corporate logo pins BTW). So it wasn't a stupid purchase, so there.<br />
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Grades: <br />
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Bag O' Pins: $3 A- Sure I didn't need these, but value is value.Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-4128691550126250092014-02-07T13:49:00.002-06:002014-02-07T13:49:49.724-06:00Parker/Becky Bridwell Autograph Winner!Thanks to all who commented on my interview with Becky Bridwell, mom of Oriole prospect Parker Bridwell.<br />
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It was a lot of fun, and I'm glad to see a good reponse for the contest. After putting the names in the randomizer, the winner is:<br />
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irondequoit36!<br />
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Congrats, iron-man! Please send me your address and I'll send your card.<br />
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Thanks again everyone!<br />
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Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-65491222277496293382014-02-06T21:23:00.000-06:002014-02-06T21:23:36.352-06:00What To Do With Cool Cards That Just Don't Fit In<br />
Every few months I do what I imagine a lot of you do, and that is organize the piles of cards that have accumulated in whatever area one has that holds accumulated and unsorted cards. <br />
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It's generally a pretty easy process for me once I get going on it. I bring my stacks of cards downstairs, pile them on the dining room table, assure the lovely wife that the mess will be gone soon, and I go to work sorting. Most cards go into one of the following places:<br />
<ul>
<li>Favorite/Star Player Albums </li>
<li>Razorback Alum Album</li>
<li>Northwest Arkansas Naturals Alum Album</li>
<li>Rangers Album/Commons box</li>
<li>Sets I'm Building Albums</li>
<li>Base/Common 5,000 count boxes by brand</li>
<li>Semi Star Boxes</li>
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And so on and so on. I've got a box of misc/oddball stuff I can't find a good place for and don't need, and the intent is to send that stuff away in trades, or maybe build up a "goodie box" and put it up for auction for a few bucks at Cleve's. <br />
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But sometimes I find a card that I can't seem to find a satisfying place for, like this one:<br />
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I don't have enough Hank Greenberg cards to start pages in my Retired/HOF players album. I could put it in my Topps base box, but I think this is a pretty nice SP and I don't want to stick it in a box and forget about it. I also don't want to go to the effort of putting it up on eBay because it might only get a buck or two and that's not worth the trouble. Plus I really like the looks of it, and probably want to keep it. <br />
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So right now, it's sitting in a top-loader on top of my scanner waiting for a place to go. First world problems, I know. I'm not asking for a solution, just sharing my woes.<br />
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<br />Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-86135706402172642302014-02-04T17:27:00.000-06:002014-02-04T17:27:00.928-06:00The Napkin Doon Interview: Becky Bridwell (Mom of Oriole prospect Parker Bridwell) + A CONTEST!Several weeks ago, I<a href="http://napkindoon.blogspot.com/2013/12/parker-bridwell-cant-lose.html"> showed off some cards of Parker Bridwell</a>, a pitching prospect in the Orioles organization. I am familiar with Parker's hometown of Hereford, Texas and mentioned that I knew a cousin of his from High School. I received a comment on that post from a lady named Becky Bridwell, asking which cousin of his I knew.<br />
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Turns out Becky is Parker's Mom! We corresponded privately a few times (also, turns the person I know is his aunt, not his cousin) and Becky was gracious enough to answer a few questions for the blog. I have tons of questions about what it's like being a professional baseball player, and I also thought it would be interesting to get a parent's perspective on it. I think you'll agree that Becky's responses are fantastic!:<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><u>When
did you know that Parker was a special athlete? </u> <span style="color: red;">Probably not until </span></span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">I</span><span style="font-size: small;"> had
to move my lawn chair away from the other moms at little league and
start keeping a score book of my own just to occupy myself and keep from
listening to them criticize him
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></span>for </span><span style="font-size: 15px;">“</span><span style="font-size: small;">throwing the ball too hard”, or saying that “someone is going to get
hurt if he doesn’t stop pitching it so fast”. That’s when it probably hit me that he was a little different. </span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><u>To the point where he could make a career in sports?</u> </span><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">I</span><span style="font-size: small;"> didn</span><span style="font-size: 15px;">’</span><span style="font-size: small;">t
realize that until his <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></span>senior
year of high school when we played a baseball game in Lubbock in
freezing drizzle and snow and about 15 professional scouts showed up
with radar guns and stood in the
stands in the horrible weather watching him pitch. That made it real
for me. </span></span><span style="color: red;">I’ll
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></span>never forget that.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span></u><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Are
you able to go to many of his games during the season? How do you keep up with him?</u> <span style="color: red;">We try to make at least 4 or 5 of his games every season and to spring training. The ones we don</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">’</span><span style="font-size: small;">t
get to make in person, we listen to online. If we’re lucky, he’ll play in a <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span>minor league ballpark that broadcasts online video and we can watch it on <a href="http://milb.com/" target="_blank">milb.com</a>.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span>
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<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"></span></span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Do
you get nervous before games he pitches?</u> </span><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">I</span><span style="font-size: small;"> get very nervous before he pitches—stomach upset, butterflies, the
whole bit</span>…and I stay nervous until he comes out of the game.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Parker now has several baseball cards available. Are
you into that stuff at all, or do you own any of</u> <u>his cards? Does he care anything about it?</u> <span style="color: red;">Parker</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">’</span><span style="font-size: small;">s
dad and I are both into it—it’s cool to see our kid on a baseball card. We watch ebay and </span>purchase any new ones that we can. Parker couldn’t care less about them!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">Of all the scouting reports I’ve read about
Parker, his mental toughness and tenacity seem to be common traits scouts love about him. Does he get that from you? <span style="color: red;">Absolutely not. If scouts report that he’s stubborn and hard-headed, that part is all me.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">Troy’s Sweet Shop in Hereford was my all time
favorite donut shop. That’s not a question, just letting you know. <span style="color: red;">Good to know</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">—</span><span style="font-size: small;">wish
it was still here.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">As a mother, how do you handle the inevitable
hecklers that come to games? Or has that been an issue yet? <span style="color: red;">It has been an issue since Jr. High and </span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">I</span><span style="font-size: small;"> have
a great solution. I have a playlist on my iPhone that I turn way up loud and I listen to it the entire time he’s in <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span>the game. It may look like I’m listening to a play-by-play
announcer (sorry Tom Simons), but that couldn’t be further from the
truth. It works great!</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">If
and when Parker makes it to Baltimore, should I plan on joining you all
in a luxury suite at Camden Yards for a game? Not trying to put you on
the spot, just want to get this answer in writing if it’s a “yes.” <span style="color: red;">Well</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">…</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">Can
Parker request a trade to the Rangers or
Royals? That would be much more convenient for me. That way I could
see him when he reaches AA ball (the Royals AA team is here in NW
Arkansas- and the Rangers AA team comes through). Or is </span><span style="font-size: small;">that sort of request frowned upon? </span><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">I</span><span style="font-size: small;"> don’t really know how that
works. If he got traded, how would I see more of the country?</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">Do
you still make Parker do chores around the
house when he’s home for the Holidays? Does he use the excuse that he
can't risk his pitching arm doing chores? Because I would if I were him. <span style="color: red;">Yes, </span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">I</span><span style="font-size: small;"> make
him do chores when he’s home</span>…I’m attaching a pic of him doing the dishes a couple of days ago. He was real happy with me. I don’t listen to his excuses. :)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
Thank you so much for doing this Becky! And to top it off, Becky was gracious enough to have Parker autograph a couple of cards I sent her AND agreed, after much cajoling from me, to autograph them herself as well!<br />
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SO.... I'm keeping one of these dual autographed cards with my growing Parker Bridwell collection, but I'm also giving one away to my followers! Yep, a card autographed by Parker AND Becky! She didn't think anyone would want that, but as a collector, I know this is exactly the kind of unique thing we'd all love to have in our collections. <br />
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To win the card, simply be a follower and leave a comment on this post. I'll draw names this Friday and announce the winner. Best of luck this year Parker! And many, many, many thanks to Becky for being such a great sport, and obviously a great Mom!<br />
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<br />Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-70453944126247741962014-01-31T12:40:00.000-06:002014-01-31T12:40:22.026-06:00Thanks For The Memories MYI'm enjoying the nice attention Michael Young has been getting today after announcing his retirement. I'm also happy to see he is retiring as a Ranger, and that he and Jon Daniels have repaired their relationship (although that's really none of my business so I don't know why I'm happy to hear about it).<br />
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The consensus on Young: good player, not great, not a HOFer but it's not a ridiculous question to ponder, great teammate, great person. That pretty much sums up the narrative I think.<br />
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Anyway, MY is one of my personal Hall of Famers and I'll miss watching him play.<br />
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Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-83444423235839871982014-01-30T06:00:00.000-06:002014-01-30T06:00:07.147-06:0052 (Bowman) Pickup: Richie AshburnI am having so much fun building a 1952 Bowman set. Each week I take my gift certificate to Cleve's (courtesy the Lovely Wife) and each week he pulls out a box with '52 Bowman, and each week I pick a couple more out. I'm still barely 10% into the set, but it feels like I've got great momentum. <br />
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I think that's because I've been getting stars rather than commons mostly. This week's card is one I'm really excited about, Richie Ashburn:<br />
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Other than a little, slightly perceptible smudging in the upper right corner, this card is in great shape. Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1204333119234271612.post-9463054749455095042014-01-29T06:00:00.000-06:002014-01-29T06:00:04.995-06:00Trading With an Old CootSo I see there are all sorts of "Blog of the Year" and "Favorite Blogs" posts going around these days. I'm not daring to go down that road this year myself, but I will say that if Dustin from Coot Veal and The Vealtones doesn't get some love in these posts, then what the hell are we all doing here?<br />
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Sure, I'm probably a little biased right now because he just sent me, again, an amazing package of cards. Starting with this gem that none of you care about but me:<br />
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Dustin seems to be my pipeline for Eric Hinske autos, because this isn't the first he's sent me. Actually, if we are ranking cards on the excitement scale, I might have to make this my #1:<br />
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My progress continues on building a 1952 Bowman set, and this Ned Garver is a very welcome addition.<br />
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Actually, it is hard for me to rank the cards he sent because there were a couple of others I was psyched to get:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGdm6-SDwy6PgmQyq6lGm1XuhKUazNDVZRZUxnBIsEcsjpsYTmHrghcQnUe4lvm6jw1Sdos5qDyi1WQ4JEVhUHQ7Ht4vxoGiJ-9RkV9Lp4D8CLVfueUB9wt3h9_gQ__DEgUOG8r2VzAxw/s1600/SCAN0272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGdm6-SDwy6PgmQyq6lGm1XuhKUazNDVZRZUxnBIsEcsjpsYTmHrghcQnUe4lvm6jw1Sdos5qDyi1WQ4JEVhUHQ7Ht4vxoGiJ-9RkV9Lp4D8CLVfueUB9wt3h9_gQ__DEgUOG8r2VzAxw/s1600/SCAN0272.JPG" height="221" width="320" /></a></div>
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GU of the Moose and the Straw-man!<br />
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Thanks for these wonderful cards Dustin, as well as the fun stack of Rangers, Naturals, Razorbacks and other great stuff that I didn't get time to scan.<br />
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<br />Napkin Doonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12172770730990183551noreply@blogger.com0