Flea Market Adventures

High season is here. Goodbye for now.

2009-11-24T19:46:00.003-05:00

FYI

High season is about to kick in here at my job so I won't have enough time to keep posting. I won't cancelled the blog just to keep my hope alive of coming back again in a couple of months. Hopefully.

I'll keep visiting hobby blogs and forums.

Enjoy the holiday season and keep on blogging.

Rgds,

Joe playing Keanu

2009-11-18T08:49:00.006-05:00

I'm not a Matrix or Keanu fan but I was quite impressed when the first movie of the trilogy came out. Since then I've seen it many times but never been patient enough to sit down and watch #2 or 3 in full.

Today I have the morning off and took some time to browse through my collection and found the only Joe Torre card in my PC:

Gotta give it to Joe because you gotta have some moves and patience if your coaching Manny...

Luis Aparicio: An affordable HOF'er

2009-11-15T08:25:00.006-05:00

Luis Aparicio is the living proof that you can still purchase great HOF'ers, even graded, for less than $15 on ebay any given sunday.

During his 18 seasons MLb career, he achieved many distinctions:

1956 Al ROY
10 time All Star
1966 World Series champ with the O's
9 Gold Golves at SS (five of them in a row)
He lead the AL in stolen bases 9 straight seasons and went back home with 506 in his career (34th all time leader)

Finally in 1984 he was elected to the HOF receiving the highest % of votes among his class that also included Harmon Killebrew, Don Drysdale, Pee Wee Reese and Rick Ferrell. He's also a proud member of the Venezuelan Baseball HOF in which he was inducted back in 2003.

The only Aparicio card I own so far is this 1963 Topps but in the next couple of weeks I'll be making a run after a graded copy (even if it's a PSA 1) of his 1956 RC. In the meantime, enjoy:

That guy could run... without getting caught often: Dave Lopez

2009-11-13T05:50:00.006-05:00

You can steal many bases but..

How many times were you caught?

It's like baseketball stars (no offense): keep shooting and eventually you'll average more than 20pts a game. Some guys really suck so there's no rule of thumb.

The caught stealing "CS" data has been collected since the 1914 season. Many of the all time leaders played before that era so therefore we will never be able to quantify how effective they really were. Some of those guys are: Honus Wagner, Bobby Hamilton, Ty Cobb, Max Carey and many other greats.

Among the top 30 all time leaders, the best stolen bases / caught stealing ratios belong to:

Tim Raines 5.53 (#5 overall leader)
Willie Wilson 4.98 (#11 overall leader)
Dave Lopez 4.88 (#23 overall leader)
Rickey Henderson 4.28 (#1 overall leader)
Joe Jorgan 4.25 (#10 overall)
Vince Coleman 4.24 (#6 overall leader and the only one right were he belongs)
Ozzie Smith 3.91 (#20 overall)
Kenny Lofton 3.88 (#13 overall)
Barry Bonds 3.64 (#29 overall)
Otis Nixon 3.33 (#14 overall)
Bert Campaneris 3.26 (#12 overall. Sorry Bert)
Lou Brock 3.05 (#2 overall, wow that's not right)
Maury Wills 2.81 (#18 overall)
Bret Butler 2.17 (#22 overall)

Going vintage and showing off a card will take me to this Dave Lopes 1976 Topps card commemorating his 38 consecutive stolen bases record. It took 53 years for someone to break Max Carey old record of 32 stolen bags. If you think that's amazing, just try to imagine Mr. Vince Coleman, current record holder, stealing 50 in a row between the 1988 and '89 season. That's something else.

That guy could run: Bert Campaneris

2009-11-09T17:49:00.004-05:00

The all time latino stolen base leader, Bert Campaneris is one of those guys who amazingly does not get much attention from the hobby. If you ebay his name you'll come up with less than 70 results and surprisingly none of them is a triple threads, sterling, etc, etc, used/symbolic piece.

When you look at his stats you'll see he ran away with 649 bases and lasted 19 seasons.

Great stealer and not from Pittsburgh, he's guilty of batting more than 279 only twice and having a whooping 259 all time batting average. Imagine Bert with at least a 280 average and therefore more opportunities to fly around the bases.

I'm proud to own...

Catfish vs Termites

2009-11-02T18:08:00.005-05:00

Even though in this crazy weather and high humidity environment we live in, I've never had problems with termites or any type of bug messing with my baseball cards.

At a flea market a couple of months ago I spotted this Catfish Crawford card:

It caught my attention (yes you're right, I was bore as Moses in the Grand Canyon) and $.30 later I was playing the taxidermists with it.

Maybe Sammy will also resurrect

2009-10-29T19:07:00.007-04:00

Now that McGwire is back in a MLB uniform, I'll take a moment to blog about none other than Mark's nemesis and who helped him put baseball back on the map with their steriod-Hr race: Slammin Sammy.

In the late 90's Sammy was by far the most recognizable face the Dominican Republic had in MLB. His popularity was so outstanding that he couldn't walk around in public without 3 or more bodyguards breathing on his neck. The first and only time I've seen him in person happened at a gas station where your royal highness Sammy was just showing off his brand new Dodge Viper, the first ever that came down here. Right behind, 3 Ryan Howard type of guys were escorting him on a Mercedes S500. Saying he was cocky and arrogant would have been a compliment.

He bought several fancy properties in Santo Domingo, Casa de Campo and forgot the exact address of his hometown "San Pedro de Macoris".

Long back were the days where he played during our winter baseball season.

He's one of the worst cases I've seen of money changing totally who you are (or who WE think you are). In my opinion, he's not a bad guy but he fouled the ball hanging around with the wrong people. That was the problem.

Your weather forecast for the 80's

2009-10-27T16:30:00.004-04:00

Prospecting has never been easy. It used to be a tough job only for scouts trying to make a living as pythoness and oracles but now they're not alone; diehard collectors/prospectors spend long hours attending minor league games, reading Baseball America reports and hunting young kids for autographs before and after ball games. It's a we'll known established business and it's here to stay.

Back in 1976-77 amateur drafts the Cubs were shopping around in the late rounds trying to make the most out of their rights but !damn! they got it wrong. Actually most teams got it wrong if you check Topps 1980 cards 661-686 but I'm not teasing the Cubs fans, is just that I like to write about cards that I proudly own.

When these are your Future Stars:

I just can say it's going to be a cloudy and stormy decade...

1991 Panini stickers

2009-10-26T18:52:00.005-04:00

1991 was a great year. I was just starting high school and officially began collecting. The first baseball trading cards I got my hands on were the now cheap and famous 1991 Panini stickers. I don't know how much money we paid for the album and single packs back then, but I do remember I saved and used for this purpose every single penny I was supposed to spend on lunch and whatever extra cash I received from one of my crazy uncles.

Every morning, we would get to school early enough to buy and share our pulls. If you got there late and missed the seller and didn't fell like waiting until tomorrow, at 10:15am you had 45 minutes (lunch break) to sneak out and run 3 blocks down the street to a nearby private school where the seller was at that time.

Did I ever complete the 1991 album? No. Later that year we were introduced to "regular" baseball cards and never looked back.

For my surprise and delight, a couple of moths ago I found these stickers in a local flea market and I knew they were coming home with me right away.

Now that Panini is in the baseball business once again, maybe they'll resurrect this project and bring back the album glory days for our kids.

Shave & Behave

2009-10-24T07:38:00.006-04:00

I'm not a Yankee fan so that puts me in a good position to bash or praise the pin$tripe$. One of the things I've always found ridiculous about them is the "Shave & Behave" policy every team member must obey. Do you remember how Giambi used to look like Emile Hirsch on "Into the Wild"? Suddenly he gets hired by the Yanks and the worst thing he could get away with was a pornstache.

Remember Johnny Damon's look? Now he's Hideki Matsui twin brother. And the list goes on an on.

What would I like to see back again in every single clubhouse: attitude.

Like Reggie wearing gold Ray-Ban Aviators:

Overall, I think restrictions on how a player should dress and look are ridiculous. Every sports player must behave, note that I said behave, as a role model. That means charity related work and not free Gillette advertising. Another active, overrated, fancy looking Yank thicks your clock? I'll give you a clue: He used to be Mariah Carey DJ...

2 ways to be featured in a multiplicity shot...

2009-10-19T19:05:00.005-04:00

The right way:

The wrong way:

Fleer 1983. Only 640 cards short to complete this set...

2009-10-18T09:07:00.011-04:00

Fleer 1983 is one of the 80's sets I like and recently realized I own a couple of singles I bought separately. With plenty of stadium background shots, I think you can't go wrong. Even tough a lot of players are featured posing for the cameras, the "playball" felling is there not like some studio shots we saw too often in 90's. Yes, I wish there were more "action" photos but at least there's a healthy mix of both worlds.

Going back to my PC, so far I own:

Frank Viola RC looking and smiling like Fonzie

Ryan taken into custody after striking out 245 batters that season

Carl after a serious night out with the boys and just 22 MLB seasons

Gaylord Perry winning his 300 hundred game at 43 but looking like he's 64

Brett playing Brett

Gwynn RC flexing the muscles showing off his Pascual Perez hair style

...and finally, Fisk hugging Richard Gere or is it Gary Carter?

DGW Draft gone wild. Paul Coleman. 1989

2009-10-16T16:07:00.008-04:00

June 1989, Draft day:

With the 6th pick of the first round... the St. Louis Cardinals select.... Paul Coleman...

Doesn't this guy looks like Bo Jackson stunt double? Don't you dare lie to me!! He even has the blue Kansas uniform.

But look on the back of the card and it gets even more suspicious, Topps compared him to Bo!!

Truth be told, I was 100% sure I had found a great Bo Jackson non-existent 1990 RC when I landed this "gem" out of a box full of 90's wannabes. Some props to Paul because who else can say he struck out 21 batters in a game and hit even one 500 ft. HR in his life?

I'm guessing some scout or top Cardinals Exec. lost his job a couple of months after they chose Coleman. Just guessing.

L. Victor Pinella

2009-10-12T20:18:00.004-04:00

"Sweet Lou" Ahhhhhh

Who would have guessed this lovely Tampa kid would one day be #4 in the managers ejections category for arguing basically anything.

SP LC. If it ain't broken, don't fix it.

2009-10-10T10:50:00.011-04:00

Recently I've been sharing my opinion with other collectors in some blogs and websites about my thoughts on "cuts signatures" and most important of all: "SP Legendary Cuts".

Why is this brand so important for me:

SP LC'07 was the first HOF/Greats players themed hobby box I ever bought. After I graduated from college in 2003, I jumped back to my collecting habits once again after more than a 5 year hiatus.

With Beckett Baseball as my bible, my mouth watered every time I saw those amazing SP LC, and Absolute Memorabilia pulls in the "Precious Pulls" & "Market Watch" section.

So when in 2007 I found myself with some extra cash to spend, I was ready to order online my first SP LC'07 box. Besides the great hit pictured below that I managed to pull (yes, I was excited), what got me the most was the amazing check list. Add the good looking black design of the base cards with the now reduced price of less than $60/box and you have a best seller.

But then disaster stroke. SP LC'08 came along the way and suddenly your hits were a Jerred Weaver "Destination Stardom" jersey and a Curt Schilling "Destination History" jersey. And don't get me started on the base cards check list: Dan Haren, Rich Hill, etc, etc, etc...

My point is, if UD will keep making this product and they INSIST on including active MLB player, PLEASE get rid of anyone who is not a PROVEN HOF'er candidate just waiting for retirement and the 5 year WL.

I'm kind of a vintage guy nowadays but I'll be tempted everytime I see a well done HOF'er themed product.

Hey Pete, we also bet on baseball.

2009-10-09T13:07:00.009-04:00

I remember rooting for the Cubs (obviously it proved to be worthless) and the Braves back in the Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz/Avery days starting up the early 90's.

There were 4 of us (Gregorio, David, Hector and me) and our morning ritual consisted on visiting the local betting place every day. We had to walk 15 minutes and be there early in oder to get the best "lineas" (odds) and most important of all: your own copy of a "pitcheo" (piece of paper with today's games/times/schedules/pitchers & stats).

Was it legal at our age? Nop, but who cares. We were only 16 years old back then but placing a bet was easier and safer than buying a beer in a "colmado", also forbidden at that age but you know the deal.

After a couple of weeks visiting the place, the old folks got to know our faces and stopped staring at us.

Our betting patterns were really bad: Gregorio would always bet on the Cubs no matter who they were against with. Now remember that in 1996 they finished the year 76-86.

David & Hector managed to do OK. About me, let's say I was not as bad as Gregorio.

Sunny day. I need my sunglasses: Bobby Murcer

2009-10-08T17:04:00.003-04:00

I had no idea who Murcer was when I bought this card just because it looked funny. Later I found out he had a decent career overall.

This post was brought to you by RayBan, Arnette, Oakley, Vuarnet, Tuscany and any other sunglasses brand you can think of.

1968 Topps Game. Matty Alou

2009-10-07T12:39:00.006-04:00

The middle brother of the Alou saga, Matty is one the baseball players of whom I'll collect any affordable baseball card I run into.

About the card picture below, I bought it on Ebay a couple of months ago and really enjoy looking at it and comparing this piece with the rest of my PC.

I think that overall you gotta love the design of 1963 Topps Game inserts. This 33 cards set is absolutely gorgeous with its flip-flop front letters, round corners and white back ground. With most cards on this set selling for less than US$3 and the top sellers (Mantle, Mays, Clemente, Rose, Carew and Aaron) going for less than US$9/each, I'm planning to give it a try and complete the set. Looks easy and affordable considering a full non-graded set was sold yesterday for $63.98

I want my money back 1: Felix Pie

2009-10-06T14:35:00.007-04:00

Nobody ever said he was meant to be the next A-Rod but !damn! I had high hopes on Felix Pie. But I was not alone, in 2007 Baseball America ranked him as the #1 Cubs prospect in their farm system & #49 overall.

So high were my expectations that I now regret to say that Pie is one of only 2 players (Tulowitzki is the other one) I've chased down on Ebay until I finally bought his RC (pictured below). Don't remember how much I paid for it but you can bet it was more than the $3 & $4 bucks his autos are selling for nowadays.

Anyway I'll keep this card. Do I have another option? Nop. What's the worst that could happen? Sharing a jail cell with former MLB and now deported and prosecuted women killer Ambiorix Burgos? Bahhh.

The first Dominican who ever made to the show: Ossie Virgil

2009-10-04T20:10:00.007-04:00

It's been a couple of months since I wrote something on this blog. That doesn't mean I forgot about the hobby, is just that lately I haven't been able make it down to my nearest vintage flea market (a 3 hours drive from home) and therefore I had to rely on Ebay for some graded cards that I can afford and mean something to me.

Since my last post, I've added a few cards to my PC and new long term project. One of those pieces is none other than Osvaldo Jose Pichardo Virgil a.k.a "Ossie Virgil", the first Dominican who ever made it to the show.

Born in 1932, Osvaldo debuted in September 23rd, 1956 playing just 3 games in what was left of the season but he opened the doors of a brighter future to 490 other Dominican players who have debuted since then and later became legends like the Alou brothers, Rico Carty, Juan Marichal and many others.

The social and economic impact baseball has in our society is incommensurable. Just think about how many prospects are currently making their way through the MLB teams farm systems established in the DR. Hundreds of them.

In a funny misspelled note, according to Ossie's Topps RC, he was born in "Corpus Christi" which is wrong. His hometown is "Monte Cristi", one of the poorest provinces in the DR.

By the way, who won this contest???

2009-03-26T20:19:00.008-04:00

Back in the early 2000 I was busy at the university and completely lost track of baseball and therefore baseball cards. I don't recall how this sweepstakes piece found its place into my collection.

Who won that bat??????

I've been doing some research on the Internet but so far I've just been able to find that:

"Robert Shell (14 year old back then) from Baraboo Wis. won a 1928 Philadelphia athletics jersey signed by Cobb, valued at $332,500" as part of this contest.

But who won that bat????

My Ruth's cards

2009-03-25T22:32:00.006-04:00

You gotta love reprints as long as they're not from Todd Van Poppel. So when you hit a Hall of Fame shot courtesy of Score 1992:

Or a 1976 Topps honoring the Bambino:

Just open the binder and add that up to your collection.

The truth and main reason for this post is that I've never seen an original Ruth card in person. It's not like the Babe is the only one missing on my list but it's a tight race between him and Cobb for first place; keep digging and I still need to see/own DiMaggio, CY, Gehrig, and you name it.

Meanwhile I'll keep digging during my flea market adventures and sooner or later I'll be the luckiest man on the face of the earth... unquote.

Cool nicknames: "The human vacuum cleaner"

2009-03-24T22:46:00.006-04:00

A sign that you've made it to the show is having your nickname. If you're lucky enough it will stick with you through good and bad; in sickness and health; Pujols and Andrew Jones type of season, for ever.

I have to admit that Brooks Robinson has one of the coolest nickname ever, forget about the Iron Horse, Will the Thrill, La Cobra, cause the Human Vacuum Cleaner rules.

Bring on the Hoover!!!

My Rickey Henderson RC tks to Cardboard Icons

2009-03-21T18:13:00.008-04:00

Back on March 7th, Ben from CardBoard Icons hosted a contest celabrating his 25,000 visits in which the winner, a.k.a yours truly, won a 1980 Topps #482 Rickey Henderson RC.

Being new in the blogosphere there's no need to say I was thrilled when I found out.

Tks Ben, this card is mint compare to some in my vintage PC.

Centered? the Wade Boggs saga. Card #630

2009-03-17T19:08:00.004-04:00

Ever since I picked up this card I've been curious about the "centering". For a while I thought it was my copy who had the problem. Browsing Ebay today I found this one just like it. Looking further into the matter, I found the match #629 for the AL Batting title runner up Mr. Carew... including part of Boggs sleeve.

What I still don't get is why is Fleer had to split the card instead of using the single shot.

Riddle me this, riddle me that, uncentered on the front, centered on the back

Joe's hobby is playing billiards

2009-03-16T21:40:00.004-04:00

Joe's hobby is playing billiard. I get it, I get it, you don't have to say it 2 YEARS IN A ROW!! in the back of his card:

Get off my back. Jim Palmer 1977 Topps #600

2009-03-09T22:11:00.005-04:00

If one thing this downturn economy is providing me, is way too much time off for a guy who used to work in hotels +70 hours a week (yep, that's legal down here).

Surfing old cards this past couple of day, I was wondered by how so many regular and even star players have listed in the back of their cards facts that had nothing to do with them. I'll call it the "Get off my back" series.

By the time 1977 Topps was released, Jim Palmer had already won his 3 CY awards, made 4 All Star appereances and won 2 of 3 wold series rings; so I have the right to ask Topps: why did you choose Mr. Palmer card #600 to point out that Ron Hunt, Ron Hunt!! was the first Met ever to be choosen for the All Star game? I know Mr. hunt didn't make it as an active player for the 1977 Topps edition but man think about something else if you felt like remembering him; do a "Turn Back the Clock" or something else. Is not like you're trying to think of something nice to say about Tom Gorzelany, man this is Palmer.

K Tom is on my "list"

2009-03-08T13:14:00.006-04:00

For any vintage collector fan there is always an unwritten list of cards that you would choose and set aside for later negotiation even when radomly browsing through a stack or a shoebox full of cardboard. No matter if you're a team or player collector or even if you hate the Yanks, Reds, & Tigers; you'll never turn your cheek when running into a Mantle, Rose, Cobb, et al. Even duplicates will always be welcome if you're like me.

Among those players, I have Mr. Seaver and being honest, I just know about him what I've read in the back of my cards, Wikipedia and Baseball Reference

I'm not a Mets fan and don't care if Omar Minaya is planning to put the whole Dominican Republic on their payroll.

But, Tom Seaver is on my "list"

Graded goodie from cheapbay

2009-03-02T19:40:00.009-05:00

A couple of blogs ago I wrote about vintage goodie on the way. Finally it has arrived:

It has been with me for just 5 days but man I love this card.

How much did I pay? USD$5.76 delivered

If there's something that I'm 100% sure off now it's that by going vintage on my collection, my passion for the hobby is getting stronger.

My first Koufax! My first Spahn!

My first redemption... finally delivered!!!!!

2009-02-22T21:48:00.007-05:00

My saga started early last year when I bought my one and only box of 2007 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects as the previous year. Back then I was still heavy hitting breaking boxes of new products, specially BDPP and SPLC. Overall it was a decent break until I hit my redemption so I immediately knew no autograph was on board cause I'm not that lucky and collation wouldn't smile at me, at least not that day. That was it, I would have to pay outrageous shipping from my country and then wait forever to get my deserved auto.

April 8th, 2008: I Found a cheaper way than FedEx (USD$35) and send it through IMPOSDOM (Dominican Postal Office) for USD$2. On a regular day I would have never sent that or any decent card/redemption by Imposdom but with that pricing I had no choice.

February 20th, 2009: Went to my local courier company to pick up a vintage goodie I'll blog about later, and when Jessie (the clerk) said I had 2 pkg's instead of 1...

Payback was around the corner:

Finally!!!

Winter ball now shading.

2009-02-19T22:40:00.001-05:00

Winter baseball used to be a great time of the year when Dominican MLB stars played for their local teams and proudly dressed in either:

Blue (Tigres del Licey). By the way, my team. Legendary guys like Alonzo Perry and young stars like Anderson Hernandez and Ronnie Paulino are just a few.

Red (Leones del Escogido). Our enemies, antithesis, etc, etc, for more than 99 years and counting. Sosa, Big Pappy and so on. But nowadays they reeeeeeally suck.

Yellow (Aguilas Cibaenas). Ruled the 90's and part of the early 00's. They just can't stand loosing. Not that anybody enjoys loosing but you have to see this guys loosing a game specially when they're home team; just get that hell out of ballpark quick, preferably by the 6th inning

Green (Estrellas Orientales). Our Dominican version of the Cubs

Orange (Toros del Este). I don't care much about them

Red and whatever they feel like and the league allows them to wear (Gigantes del Cibao). The new kids on the block. The best team during this past season but started whining and complaining about umpires during the finals and you know how that story always ends

But now is not as simple as "when it was a game" because of all the restrictions by MLB Teams that don't allow their big guns to participate in winter ball cause THEY COULD GET HURT... and I'll add: taking a shower, driving, eating mangu, filling a W2 form, and you name it.

And because I need to show off a card and not because I like this next one, here's my Leones del Escogido Sammy "mustache" Sosa

1992 Topps Kids knew some some

2009-02-16T20:12:00.001-05:00

For the first time since I started writing this blog I'll break the "vintage only" rule and help Sen. George Mitchell write page 410 of his "Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball" A.K.A. "The Mitchell Report".

Sorting my collection and taking pics (I dont have a scanner) of my cards I found this:

First thing:

Brian McNamee didn't send me this card. I actually own one copy.

What did Topps Kids 1992 knew about all this mess?

How did they came up with the "idea, just an idea" of this HGH version of Clemens?

Dave "underrated" Parker

2009-02-15T22:49:00.001-05:00

What ta hell is The Cobra doing out of Baseball HOF?

Can someone please tell me how in the world did Jim Rice got in with 412 votes and Parker just got 81??????

Just FYI you voters, Dave has more runs, hits, doubles, RBI's, SB, BB, gold gloves, silver sluggers, and batting titles than Jim (please don't tell me Dave had more at bats cause I don't care).

Don't get me wrong Bsox fans cause I can yell the same rant about why Lee Smith, Jack Morris, Alan Trammel also got more votes than Dave.

Doesn't having a baseball card hugging Richard Gere a.k.a Gary Carter counts?

What about wearing that "lovely" vintage Pirates cap:

Anyway, here's the rest of my PC:

George Howard Brett

2009-02-12T21:18:00.001-05:00

These Brett's need no intro and were part of the biggest vintage lot I've ever purchased. There were Ryan's, Ripken's, Murray's, Parker's and many other great stars but only a 1971 Ryan felt better than these 4 Brett's. All of them stacked in a shoe box IN A LIBRARY VINTAGE STORE!! A LIBRARY!!

My second Marichal on the way, and he's not alone

2009-02-08T16:39:00.001-05:00

Today I feel like talking about the best Dominican pitcher who has ever thrown from a MLB mound and our only HOF so far, none other that Juan Marichal. During my FMA I've been able to pick only 1 card from " el Monstruo de Laguna Verde" (The Green Lagoon Monster) town where he was born.

Don Juan is not a difficult person to spot here in the DR and he happens to be a nice guy. A couple of years ago he served as Sports Minister for the country but that's another story.

You wouldn't imagine Mr. Barry Bonds coming to the DR for Marichal's charity golf tournament every single year but even BB never skips this event.

Yesterday I purchased on Fleabay my 2nd Marichal car and guess what, he's not coming home alone because his long time rival W. Spahn will be joining. I'll blog about it next week when the baby has been delivered.

Vintage knees

2009-02-07T19:12:00.001-05:00

What's the rocket science behind the sacred baseball guideline that dictates: "the fattest and chubby kid among your group of friends will always be catching"?

During my lifetime, catchers have never been among my favorite players; Gary Carter, Mickey Tettleton don't make the cut and not even older legends like Bench, Fisk and Munson. They all have my respect as a baseball enthusiast but that's about it.

So far, the only one I collect from time to time is Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez of whom I even own 2 PSA graded RC bought on fleabay. But I'm already starting to cheer for Mauer, Saltalamacchia and McCann if they keep representing because you do have to be a tough guy to sit behind the plate for so long. It took me a long time but after washing my dog on my knees for 12 minutes, I love first base more than ever.

Anyway, here are some pics from my PC and according to my Fisk Topps 1973, his nickname is "Pudge" which I thought was a registered trademark for I-Rod

Nolan Ryan vintage stuff

2008-12-10T22:10:00.001-05:00

I've never been a Ryan fan but I happen to have at least 20 different cards of the old man stuffed in a binder somewhere but all of them of the 90's and is that growing up back then I never thougt as possible getting for my PC any of his 70's or not even early 80's cards and not specially in a flea market.

But I managed to get these 3 babies a couple of months ago and without furhther intro here they are:

Carl Yastre$%*& my first vintage card

2008-12-05T18:43:00.002-05:00

Long time but I'm back. Trying to catch up on some late work so I haven't given much love to my cards lately.

Back in 1994, just after 2 years collecting baseball cards with some pals, one of my friends from highschool shoved in our face a bunch of 1970's cards of people we had no fuc**** idea who they were.

That same afternoon I ran into my uncle, the only serious baseball player in my family, and asked him about this Yastre$%&*& guy. He was amazed I've actually seen that card and encouraged me to get it for trade which I did. So, a Casio watch rubber protector and $10pesos later I had my first vintage card.

And that's the thing about collecting, certain items in your PC my worth near nothing on the books but mean a hell lot to you.

Hank Aaron MVP 1957 & Homerun King card. Almost left without them

2008-10-23T20:32:00.001-04:00

Back again. Today I want to talk about 2 cards that for some reason almost went unnoticed during my last 3 hour long flea market adventure. I'm talking about a Hank Aaron MVP and a Hank Aaron new home run king.

After been seated for 3 hours (at least now they let me use one of the chairs), I was ready to pay and leave when the dealer was interrupted by an old couple looking at some vintage coins and jewelry, so instead of taking MY seat, I reached over the table and found a little box with some baseball cards the dealer keeps in a separate box (Dominican players and others with sentimental value) where I discovered these Aaron's. He used to take those special cards out and and hand them over to me 1 by 1 but never the whole pkg.

Dennis Eckersley 1977 Topps kevlar game used shot card...

2008-10-21T21:25:00.001-04:00

I have no idea what happened to this card. Seems like Dennis the menace got his ass kicked on a recent Wax Heaven "cardboard war". He was matched against Suge Knight.

2 holes?

Tape?

Should I submitt it for grading? naaaaa

Turn back the clock.... tan-tan-tan...

2008-10-20T21:12:00.001-04:00

The first time I got my hands on this card, was the TBC version and really caught my attention. The look in his eyes, so weird, so brokeback mountain, so police academy 3, so Pauly Shore, so, so, so...

C'mon, this guy belted 3,023 hits and YOU, so so so called "decision picture publisher" or whatever is your job title, had to choose this 1979 pic for a FOREVER TO BE REMEMBER TURN BACK THE CLOCK EDITION!! man!! Haven't you seen his Topps 1971? or 1974?

Anyway, during my flea market excursions I have gather some other moldy and creased versions of his cards to share.

My only Mays... LAMINATED!!!

2008-10-19T09:04:00.001-04:00

And there it was... Willy, yes, Willy. Battling, furious, World Series, 1973, Willy. 10-7 final score. Buth then, disaster striked: LAMINATED!! and you have to see how proud was this "genius" owner of his creativity to conservate the card. It was like the "brilliant" Guiness beer adds and not the "beer table" one.

But what could I've said, anyway I was going to buy this card even if it had been run over by Gengis Kan ghetto crew. It was my first and so far only Mays. DOP$15 dominican pesos later (.20c USD) I was on my way home with some other finds I'll talk about on a later post.

Team cards

2008-10-12T10:37:00.000-04:00

Tks for tuning in. I didn't use to be a team cards collector but since I decided to go vintage, what ta heck. Bring them on!

While hustling through some old cards at the flea market I found a couple of team cards and bought them all for the breakeven amount of .20c each:

As always, all of them NRMT - MT condition jejeje especially the Braves one.

A sad day for the hobby.... but Fernando was "in fuego"

2008-10-05T20:30:00.000-04:00

Today is a sad day for my FMA, cause for the first time in a couple of weeks, I went to Santo Domingo (where the antique market I shop is at) and my favorite seller was out of town.

I asked, asked and asked but everyone else just had old coins, vintage jewelry and other crap.

Anyway, I want to take the chance and show you why Fernando Valenzuela was so good in the 80's:

I found this one almost 2 months ago. Can you spell V-O-O-D-O

Naaaaa!....

The oldest one so far...

2008-09-21T08:14:00.000-04:00

Hey guys,

Been a couple of weeks since my last post but here we are. Here's the oldest card I've found so far during my Flea Market Adventures:

It's a Steve or Stephen (depending if you ask mom or dad) Souchock 1954 Bowman. Got it for .40 cents as part of other 41 cards from the same flea seller. Didn't know who Mr. Souchock was when I found it laying there and honestly I don't care that much. It's the oldest one I have in my collection. According to Beckett Baseball Almanac this card has a STAGGERING price tag of USD$12 in N/M condition JUST LIKE MINE :)

1965 Houston's Rookies Stars AUTOGRAPH?

2008-09-04T21:12:00.000-04:00

Have you ever found a great card and suddenly you realize that its previous owner was sign-o-freak? Well Beckett Almanac, say hello to 1965 topps #16 Joe Morgan / Sonny Jackson AUTOGRAPH VARIATION!!

I was so mad at this card the first time i found it laying with other hundred cards in a huge box, that didn'y buy it right there. I took another visit to make up my mind.

And in case YOU were the owner, next time please get someone else to sign it also so it won't look so obvious with the same handwriting.

Flea Market Adventures. How it all began

2008-08-30T21:44:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my "Flea Market Adventures" from now on FMA. This blog is intended to share my weekly trips to some local flea markets looking for vintage baseball cards and any cool sports memorabilia I can find without loosing my gas money or getting divorce.
Some important notes about this blog:

I live in the Dominican Republic.
NO hobby stores here in DR. I get all my boxes and supplies from Blowout Cards and Ebay.
I'm tired of today's no secondary market value products and recently decided to chase vintage affordable stuff. Also I have a theory: There have to be some good cards around because this country loves baseball more than politics. I'll keep looking and see what happens.
Low budget my friends. Cheap, damaged, weird, creased, spitted, chewed (don't give me that look, you never know) its what I'll pay for and that's how far 40cents per card will take me unless noted.

Just in case one of you guys needs any of the cards I'll find, I DON'T TRADE OR SELL because the shipping rates will kill us cause there's no regular and reliable postal service here in my country. In case it's a white whale situation just email me and we'll work it out.

Feedback will always be welcome.

Enjoy.