Thursday, December 27, 2007

A very TRIBE-al Christmas

I received many sports-related items for Christmas this year! My mother went Tribe-crazy on me for Christmas this year, and I am glad she did! :-) My Aunt went very 'Burgh on me (she sent a "75 Years of Steelers" SI mag and a cool a Steelers T-shirt). My mother-in-law got me a box of 2007 Topps Updates and Highlights.

I got a fitted Tribe hat!



I'm looking forward to installing my new hitch "cover!"



I have never seen these before! They are headrests for the front seats in my truck!



The shirt not only sports a vintage "Wahoo," but it has my NAME on the back! In fact, my kids each got one, too!



I have seen these in magazines, so I was VERY excited to open this puppy up!!



How about some cool Tribe sweats? Mom got me these, and Shan had gotten me some camo flannel pants, so I will be warm for sure!



I also got a cool light jacket with the Indians logo on it!



And, to my surprise, I got ANOTHER Tribe framed picture with my name on it!


I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday!

Friday, December 21, 2007

More gift packs are shipping out Friday!



It has occurred to me that I might need to remove the "Always" from the title of my blog! LOL - nah....


Do not worry if you do not see your request listed yet! I am still putting these together and having quite a bit of fun in the process. I really had no idea how many of the same players were on so many different teams! I must say it lends itself to more than a few double-takes...


Rocco requested Braves, Falcons, and FSU Football players. I didn't think I could pull it off, but I will let you be the judge: Twelve Chris Chandlers, eleven Jamal Anderson, ten Warrick Dunn, nine Leaf/Donruss Falcons, eight Braves pitchers, seven Seminole players, six Greg Vaughn cards, FIVE JEFF BLAUSERS... Four Devon Brazeltons, three Ben Grieves, two Jason Tyners, and a '77 Topps baseball card!


Joey, your twelfth day goes something like this: Twelve Nolan Ryans, eleven random Rangers, ten Don Mattinglys, nine Rusty Greer's, eight Richard Hildagos, seven Billy Wagners, six Jeff Bagwells, FIVE '76 RANGERS.... four Pudge cards, three Paul O'Neills, two Blaylock Goudeys, and a Doug Rader '71 Topps!


Bo, who asked for Yankees this year, gets a slightly different kind of surprise because I forgot to write down what was on the fourth day! So, here's the best I can do for ya: Twelve assorted Upper Deck cards, eleven Pinnacle Brand guys, ten random Fleer ones, nine Donruss too, eight Bernie Williams, seven Nick Johnsons, six Derek Jeters, FIVE ORLANDO HERNANDEZeses, four cards I forget, three Matt Drews, two Goose Gossage tributes, and a Babe Ruth Renata Galasso!


Bart collects Royals with a little Carlton Fisk thrown in for good measure: Twelve '88 Topps cards, eleven assorted Royals, ten more random Royals, nine positions on the field, eight Bret Saberhagen, seven Bo Jackson, six Kevin Appier, FIVE MARK QUINN CARDS.... four George Brett, three Carlton Fisk, two Wally Joyners, and an Alex Gordon Goudey Rookie Card!


And the last one for this evening (well, okay - this morning, given it is now 2:30am) goes to Mark who collects Mets mainly: Twelve draft/rookie/prospects, eleven random Mets cards, ten chrome/best/finest cards, nine assorted Donruss, eight Edgardo Alfonzos, seven Al Leiter cards, six Dwight Goodens, FIVE VINTAGE METS.... four Rey Ordonez, three Bobby Bonilla, two Eddie Murrays, and a Koosman Fleer Greats card!


Remember, I am still putting gift packs together, so if you haven't seen yours yet, it just means the elves are still sorting and assembling!!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

12 "Old West" Days of Christmas

Old West, you ask?? Why yes, this gift pack goes out to Brian, who requested Cowboys and Braves! :-) So, what goes into an "old west" gift pack?

12 Joey Galloway cards, 11 wide receivers, 10 random Cowboys, 9 random Braves, 8 David Justice, 7 Deion Sanders, 6 Mark Lemke, FIVE JAVY LOPEZ...., 4 Michael Irvin, 3 Troy Aikman, 2 'lectric diamonds, and an Emmitt Smith Eye of a Champion!

I want to state that I try very hard to limit the number of duplicate cards in each of these packs. Sometimes, though, I have to include duplicates. Even so, I have a feeling each of the recipients will be pleased with their "12 ___ of Christmas" packs! :-)

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Great Minds Think Alike!

Dayf commented that I had "stolen" his 12 cards idea. The funny thing is, I had not even read his post about the 12 Cards of Christmas before posting my giveaway! That is waaaayyyy tooo weird!!


Speaking of the giveaway, things are rolling right along! Of course, in my haste to get the gifts out, I crazily combined two requests! I will remedy the situation before sending out the cards, of course! Somehow, I managed to put together a Cowboys, Braves, Falcons, Hawks combination - no easy task! I'm glad I not only made a list, but checked it twice!!


I'm still taking requests, but please try to provide me with several teams (even in same sport is fine), so that I can do my best to send a variety of players and cards. What surprised me right off was the number of requests for Braves cards. Who knew!?

Monday, December 17, 2007

The Holiday Season and 78 Cards?

I am putting together special "holiday presents" for folks that are interested. Each present consists of 78 total cards. The number is there for a reason (yes, another one of my hair-brained riddle giveaway/trades!).

DAYF gets the first stack because, well, I found a bunch of Braves while putting together eBay items when the idea hit me like the something falling from a partridge in a pear tree! In fact, I am calling his the "Twelve Braves of Christmas!" All together now: "In the "12 Braves of Christmas," davidinark gave to dayf: 12 Greg Maddux, 11 vintage brave cards, 10 John Smoltz cards, 9 Steve Avery's, 8 Chipper Jones, 7 Andruw (no-relation), 6 Tom Glavines, FIVE FRED MCGRIFFS.... 4 Dale Murphys, 3 Jason Schmidts, 2 Phil Niekros, and a Hank Aaron Annivers'ry card!

So, here is what I am going to do: Ask and ye shall receive. Okay, well, maybe not quite. How about: Ask and I'll do my best to see that ye receive.

Here is how it works: Email me (davidinark@yahoo.com) with your favorite team(s) - baseball, football, heck I might even be able to pull off a basketball gift. I could also do one hockey but it would not be team-specific. On the other hand, I could put together a ton of Tribe packs - LOL...

List the teams in your order of preference, and I will accommodate requests on a first-come first-gifted basis. :-) When you email me, send me your mailing address so I know where to send your Holiday Present.

That's it. Email me and ask. I will gladly receive requests until I can't fill the requests (if/when I reach that point, I will be sure to let everyone know) or until Christmas Eve, whichever comes first. Now, this is the season of giving and brotherly (sisterly) love, so please understand that I can only offer one gift per person per household - I want as many folks as possible to benefit from the 78-card gift packs. Cards will be mailed as I am able to put "12 ___ of Christmas" packs together, and you may not get them in time for Christmas Day (in case you were hoping to get these as a 're-gift' item).

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and remember kids, Do Cards, Not Drugs!

1997 Pinnacle Inside Dueling Dugouts Ramirez/Gonzalez


This is my latest acquisition: A 1997 Pinnacle Inside Dueling Dugouts card featuring Manny Ramirez and Juan Gonzalez. There are only 3 or 4 of these that feature Tribers, so I'll be on the lookout for those others.

The front of the card features one player (Gonzalez), lots of gold foil, the Pinnacle Inside '97 logo, and the team logo. The back features the other player (Ramirez), copyright info, and team logo in addition to the card number (13). Both sides feature a 3-hole window through which stats are displayed from various years.

The right edge (if looking at the card front) features a wheel with 1992-1996 printed on it. As you spin the wheel, stats are revealed in the triple-window on the front of the card. Collectors can then flip front-to-back and compare notes (er, uh, Duel those Dugouts!). Now that we know Mr. G is on "the list," let us compare notes, shall we?
player year avg. hr rbi
JG 1992 .260 43 109
MR 1992 .278 13 63
JG 1993 .310 46 118
MR 1993 .170 2 5
JG 1994 .275 19 85
MR 1994 .269 17 60
JG 1995 .295 27 82
MR 1995 .308 31 107
JG 1996 .314 47 144
MR 1996 .309 33 112

Well, it seems that the averages are fairly close to each other (except in '93). Things get very interesting in the HR and RBI columns, though. Now, I did not read to see WHEN JG supposedly used "enhancers," so I have no idea if his numbers reflect use or not. I will not speculate, but rather, I will leave that up to you, my reader, to make of the numbers what you wish. It could be the result of experience, the result of more stringent workouts, ya just never know. But, when the batting averages are similar, what makes one player have some killer HR/RBI stats versus another player? Talent? Skill? Experience? Luck? Performance-enhancers?

Regardless of what makes up the difference, in my eyes, they are both very skilled players. Period.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

98-cent Experiment Update

(Note: Photos represent cards actually listed, but did not necessarily get purchased)


Just a quick post to update you all on the "Great 98-cent Experiment." I listed approximately 360 cards during the experiment. Of those, 221 went unsold in any form or fashion. To recap, here is what I did: I listed the cards at $.98 total starting bid (free shipping). Most of the cards that did not sell at the $.98 starting bid were then relisted with a starting bid of $.05 with a shipping matrix (basically $2.00 for the first card and $.25 for each card after that). Only ONE card (A 2007 A&G Mini Lance Berkman) sold at the $.05 matrix.

What does this mean?
  1. First of all, unless you have great inserts/game-used/vintage, you are probably not going to retire selling cards on eBay. LOL, not that I was trying to accomplish that, but hey, if it works....
  2. Second, my experiment was not without its flaws. The main is that to be truly accurate, I would need to sell the SAME cards at the $.98 and at the $.05 in order to have true card-based representation.
  3. Third, It seems the appeal of free shipping attracts more buyers and more POTENTIAL buyers. What brings me to this conclusion? I had many more "watchers" for the $.98 items than the $.05 items. Again, this is flawed because the same cards were not used throughout both types of sales.
  4. And, finally (for the purposes of this experiment anyway), I thought way too long and hard about all this. :-)


The highest-priced item during the experiment was a Serially-numbered Topps Gold Rookie of Albert Pujols. Many items went for the starting bid of $.98, and as I mentioned before, many items did not sell at all, which leaves me with about 11800+ cards still to go before completely selling off the huge "Dealer Store Closed" lot I bought... Well, that's not exactly right. After all, I *DID* pull out the Indians cards, and some Braves cards going to dayf in another "riddle-type" offering (more on that in a later posting).

All in all, the experiment was fun and put some change in my pocket for my trouble. Not too shabby, I'd say.


Friday, December 14, 2007

Waiting for the ball to drop

No, I'm not talking about the New Year's Ball, nor am I referring back to Doug Jones' ball. I am referring to the Mitchell Report. I have not posted in a few days, I know. Part of that is due to my new part-time full-time job of selling (or trying to sell, anyway) cards on eBay. Another reason for the lack of posting is because I wanted to wait until the Mitchell Report came out to see what Tribers were (or were not) on it.

In honor (dishonor?) of the current and former Tribers who made the list of "enhancers," I offer the following:


Paul may be using (or have used), but at least he has a medical reason, right!?



Steve Woodard... His name doesn't even ring a bell for me... Lots of good the suspected 'roid use did him, huh?



Tim is the only other "current" Triber accused (for lack of a better word) of using, supplying, whatever you (Mitchell) would like to call it...



Rocker? Frankly, I am not surprised to see his name on the list... He can just this to his resume'...



Man, I was bummed to Juan Gonzalez listed... Well, I think he's a great Triber, regardless (and if memory serves, he did not use AS a Triber...)



Kent Mercker was an Indian for so long and made such an impact that a photo of him in a Tribe uniform is considered ultra-rare... Uh, yeah, just keep telling yourself that... Frankly, Mercker was another one I had no idea he had been an Indian...



Bummed to hear Carreon was/is on the list... I don't really remember much about him, other than he made the "1997 Score Indians" set... For what that's worth...



Another disappointing name to See on the list. Like many MLB players, Williams launched his career after being farmed out by the Tribe...



As you can see, I could not find Mr. Allen in an Indians uniform. Honestly, I have never heard of the guy. His appearance on the list has no effect on me whatsoever... Really... None... Sorry, dayf, guess the Braves will have claim him...



Dang it, David Justice got himself on the list after all. I was always a fan of Dave Justice, despite his antics. Seeing him on the list doesn't change my opinion of him during his Tribe days. He was great.



I don't recall David Segui being a superstar or anything. Maybe I haven't followed the game as closely as I should have, or maybe the suspected use of "enhancers" did nothing for his game either....



Glenallen played during the time I had taken a break from collecting, watching, or anything else related to baseball. Someone else will have to chime in on how they think 'roids affect his play (if at all, and if he actually used).



Jason Grimsley... Nope, no bells ringing with this one either, though I understand he was something of a "Rocker-esque" personality, though a quick search revealed he crawled through an air duct to steal a bat that was under investigation for corking... Our own little John McClane, I guess.... :-)


I've sen the list of suspected users, and I have to say, there are some pretty big names on the list. But, there are also players that most people may have never heard of. This suggest to me that even with "enhancers," a player must be GOOD at playing ball. Period. I don't care how hopped I was, I would never even come close to smacking a 90+ miles-an-hour pitch ANYWHERE, let alone screaming for the fences. Talent will never be replaced by drugs.....

Monday, December 10, 2007

2007 Plain Dealer Medallion Series Coins


These quarter-sized coins are housed in a clear plastic holder and feature player pictures on the front. The fronts also show "Cleveland Indians" with the player's position to the left of the photo, the player's jersey number on the right of the photo, and the player's name at the bottom. The back also says "Cleveland Indians" along the top with the "I" script logo on each side. The center of the back features the "Wahoo" logo with "2007 Collection" underneath.

From what I have been able to put together, these were special items available at games with a coupon from the Plain Dealer newspaper. They were $2.99 (plus tax) with the coupon, and I would guess they sold plenty without the coupon (I mean, really, who is checking for the coupon here?). According to the cardboard stock, there are 22 of these coins in the set. I have three individual players: Fausto Carmona, Victor Martinez, Grady Sizemore (x2). I'll be scoping out eBay and Beckett and where ever else I can find these to complete my set.

There is some kind of album that collector's are supposed to put the coins in, but I would rather keep them in their packaging and put the whole card stock in a 9-pocket sleeve. Naturally, since I have two Sizemore's, I will be opening one for closer inspection! :-)

I really don't know how I ended up being such an oddball collector... Heh-heh, I guess you can put the emphasis on "oddball" in whatever way you see fit!


The great "98-cent Experiment" on eBay is going is little slower than I had expected (98-cent opening bid with free shipping). But, for control measures (for lack of a better term), anything that does not sell will be relisted under some "regular" guidelines - that is, starting bid of $.05 with $1.00 shipping. I'll let you know how that goes, too. Of course, there are still about four hours left (at the time of this writing) for the first batch of listings (I ended up doing three batches of about 30 cards each), and I know a lot of people are sniping, so I may be surprised at the final results of the 98-cent experiment.

There are several game-used items, but I think one of the coolest (non-GU) items is a 2001 Topps Gold Traded Albert Pujols (0739/2001). I don't know why, but I like it. LOL... Hope the winner does too! :-)

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Yet another ID-10-T day...


Yesterday, I posted about having gone through the 6000+ (which is actually about 12000+) cards I bought on 'theBay' not long ago. Well, in my haste to start selling the cards, I managed to skip an entire 3000-count box during my solo sorting time! See? This is why you WANT your kids to join in the process! Oh well, it has been fun looking through the cards to find Indians, inserts, etc.


I was sorry that dayf did not win the Hank Aaron card.. :-( I was pullin for ya! I have been finding Braves cards, though, so I'll cull a group together and shoot off your way Monday... I am VERY glad to hear you enjoyed the "surprise pack" I pulled together for ya! (Readers, see comments in the previous post for an upcoming response from dayf) :-)

Saturday, December 8, 2007

A sweet surprise!


DAYF and I have been swapping cards back and forth lately (which, by the way, I have some more Braves headed your way). When I saw his return address on an envelope, I peeled the package open to see what surprises were in store. You see, he had informed me that I had not claimed my UD Masterpiece yet from his box-breaking marathon. I freely admit, it had slipped my mind. Inside the envelope, I discovered a Mini Sabathia, "Play Ball" style retro Topps, and my UD Masterpiece - Howie Kendrick! It was like an early Christmas present! :-)


Yes, it really is 2:45 in the morning as I write this. Why? Well, I decided to start posting some of the cards I got in my gazillion card purchase. I started with a handful (okay, like 45) basketball cards before getting tired of entering the info (I use Turbo Lister, for now anyway). I realize that is not a lot to many folks, and it doesn't even begin to make any resemblance of a dent in the rows and rows of cards I have, but it is a start. Turbo Lister also ticked me off. It calculated my fees incorrectly, so I modified the starting bid prices, then once they were posted, eBay had the correct fees assessed. UGH. Oh well, I am offering any of the cards I put up for sale at NO SHIPPING. We'll see if that leads to more or fewer sales. Would you rather pay $.98 for a card with no shipping or $.05 for a card with $1.50 shipping? Seems like a no-brainer, but you never know the psyche of potential buyers... Here is my current listing: (Here - new window or tab). The purchase has about the same number of football and baseball cards, with a ton of basketball thrown in. There are also some hockey cards and other sets, like "American Pie" and "Olympic Heroes." I was a HUGE Mary Lou Retton fan in '84 (she is about a year or two older than I am and lived not far from where I grew up). One of the Olympic Stars cards is of her. Not sure if I'll keep that or not..



I was asked if I had videotaped the sorting session with my daughter. I wish I had, but it was one of those things that came together quickly and recording the event for posterity never entered my mind - dang it!

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

2007 UD Ultimate Sabathia and Hammerin' Hank


Once again, I was poking around eBay, or maybe Beckett, and I came across a game-used Sabathia card. Now, how could I pass THAT up!? I mean, he *IS* the 2007 AL Cy Young winner, after all. But, when I got the card, I checked out the front, the swatch, the picture, etc, and then I flipped it over. I "whooped" out in excitement, adding a "Yes! Finally!!" for dramatic effect. My wife (whom I had scared out of her wits), glared at me, saw the card in my hand, and nonchalantly asked, "Yes??" I then went on my 5-10 minute tirade about materials cards not saying anything except "Congratulations, you got a materials card..." Instead, this card actually SAYS something else about the player no less!! FINALLY!! So, I tip my hat off to you, sir or ma'am at Upper Deck who took the time to write a little blurb on the back of a materials card. It made my day.... And then....



I mentioned a couple times that I had won a box of cards. Well, turns out to be TWO boxes (technically four boxes, two shipments). As I was searching through this shipment, looking for Tribe cards, my eyes caught sight of something that looked like it said "Hank" passing by in a blur. I stopped, backtracked a little ways, and sure enough, Hank Aaron was staring at me. Surely this was one of those Topps Archives cards, I thought. But, no, the condition was too worn for it be an Archives. I slowly turned it over, scanning every inch for some modern-day copyright mark. There were none to be found. I turned it over and over, marveling at the front, reading the back, finally letting it sink in that I held in my hand a 1957 Topps Hammerin' Hank Aaron card.

I collect Indians almost exclusively, but I am not a moron (well, perhaps it is too early to say that yet - read on). I had been sent an original card from the baseball gods themselves. Had my Dad not passed away this year, I would have wrapped this puppy up and given him the surprise of a lifetime (I believe I have relayed the story of his "disappearing" ball cards, but I will check the posts and See. If I have not told you the story, I will) - one of the cards from his childhood collection.

Part of me, okay MOST of me, wants to keep this card in my "non-Indians" collection. But (and here is where you pass judgement on the "moron" part), I have decided to sell it on eBay (Item 320192526626). Why in the world would I sell a card I have never seen before today, and will most likely never see again in hand? I'm not sure, exactly. But, here is my thinking: Someone out there will appreciate this card more than I really will. I am an old-school collector. I suppose the "nobler" thing to do would be to trade it rather than sell it. Guess I'm not quite THAT old school, huh? :-)

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Tradeaway #4 and a serious I-D-10-T error


Getting: 1993 Republic of Liberia Dollar Coin Nolan Ryan
Giving: Derek Jeter Heads Up, Alex Rodriguez Green Back

This trade comes from Brandon in Kokomo (and, yes, I hear you singing the song in your head right now!). I tried very hard to honor Brandon's request, alas, the closest I could come was a couple Yankees.

This trade falls under the "any oddball ya got!" category, and I am glad to accept it! Though my collection is accurately 99.97% Indians, I do collect certain other players, and Ryan is definitely one of them. This coin commemorates seven career no-hitters. I have never had a coin minted from another country (except "Canada, but that doesn't count because it's, like, attached..."), though I have seen those commercials for "painted" coins from Liberia. Evidently, Liberia makes a killing off of producing money featuring things we Americans like to celebrate or commemorate... Who knew?

As for the Jeter and A-Rod: I like the "Heads-up" versions of the Goudeys, and you get to learn things like the fact that "Derek is Bob Dylan's favorite baseball player." That'll be on some game show, I'm tellin ya! A-Rod opts for the classic "bat on shoulder" pose. In a way, I always found this to be an odd pose because I have heard more than my share of coaches constantly yelling, "Get that bat off your shoulders!"


Okay, so the I-D-10-T error... After I spent most of my creative juices coming up clues for DAYF's cards, I pulled a bonehead move and left his Goudeys on the blankety-blank scanner! So, my apologies to DAYF, and I will send those to you ASAP...


I received my box(es) of 6000 cards, as I had discussed winning on eBay not long ago. My 5-year old daughter and I went through every card, picking out the Indians. I will input the ones I need into my card database, and then put the rest up for sale (along with the other 5950 cards) soon.

If you have not had the pleasure of looking through rows and rows of cards, searching for specific teams or players, with your very young child, allow me to paint you a picture:

The shipment is in two 3000-count boxes, so I pull one box onto the floor. Using an unopened pack of hockey cards in the box as a divider, I pull out a stack of cards and hand them to my daughter. I then grab a stack for me.

"We're looking for Indians, Honey," I tell her.

"Okay," she says, and begins to cycle through the cards, creating a scattered 'pile' on the floor. About halfway through her stack, she stops. "How do I know which ones are Indians?"

"Look for the picture of the Indian (the logo, though she knows what I mean because she has seen the 'picture' a billion times now), or the card will have the word 'Indians' on it. It begins with an 'I' for 'ih-ih-ih-Indians." I sound it out, so that she knows what to look for.

With one side of her mouth cocked upward and a raised eyebrow, she invokes the 'tone of DUH' and says, "I know what Indians starts with... Ih-Ih-Ih like IGLOO..." The 'DUH' is not vocalized, but I feel it hanging there just the same. All I can do, of course, is laugh.

She picks up the cards again, and this time methodically searches for Indians. She discards football, hockey, and basketball cards. All the while, she is calling out teams like the Pirates, the Red Sox, and the Cardinals. Frankly, I'm impressed. She does hand me a couple of Braves, thinking they are Indians, and again, I cannot help but smile at the aforementioned email from dayf on the subject.

As we complete stacks, the unopened pack is moved along, and I spend more of time straightening out her 'pile' to put the cards back into the box than actually searching through my own stacks of cards, but it is a small price to pay. At one point, however, she has grown tired of looking through card after card, and suggests that I give her all the "shiny" cards to look through. Thus, we sort each stack into "shiny" and "not shiny." Basically, if the thing had any scrap of foil, it was shiny. Given the preponderance of foil on cards these days, spending my time 'fixing' her piles did not hinder progress much at all... :-)

In record time, we burn through 6000 cards, and we have created quite a nice stack of Indians cards, though I have to be honest and say I thought there would be alot more, simply based on the fact that in the past, Indians have served as "filler" cards for many of the bulk purchases I have made. I'm not sure if I am glad this is not the case this time or not... Ah well...

So, now you know... If you have young child or relative and have not had this experience yet, I encourage you to try it out for yourself. It's a memory you will both keep for a long, long time.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Tribe Tradeaway #3 - "Native Americans" for Indians


Before this trade, I received a rather cryptic message (or it was to me until I "got it") from DAYF: "I'll definitely take any Native Americans not of the Cleveland variety of course." No one has ever accused me of being smart, so I "missed" what he was trying to tell me. It was not until, during a later discussion, that he said: "I collect Braves and like you with Indians, I'll take any of them I can get." Being the slow-minded person I am, I still did not get the "Native American" reference until I was staring at a pile of Braves cards I had laid out on my desk. Yeah, yeah, put me on the short bus... (Please, no offense to Native Americans, slow-witted people, or those who spent their going-to-school time on a short bus). And, now that I've managed to offend a portion of my potential audience, let me continue with my tradeaway:

Dave (yes, that is another Dave in the growing pot) sent me SIXTEEN Cleveland Indians cards! That is very cool! Ideally, I would have loved to have been able to send him 16 Braves UD Goudeys in return. Alas, I had but three:

I am not going to post the other cards that I am sending along because I'd rather they be a surprise. But, in the same vein that Dave initiated the cryptographic trade, I offer the following:
  • One should not "label" a couple of these
  • Would YOU accept the signature of a traitor?
  • One gives new meaning to "Stinky Pete"
  • A couple of these guys sure are cheesey
  • and perhaps E.T could have used a couple others

Once Dave has these all in hand, perhaps he will share with you the "secrets" of the clues... Then again, he may keep you guessing....


On another note, Joey over at Squeezeplay Cards is showing off his sports collectible Christmas Tree! And the first ornament he shows us is a Cleveland Indians Jersey! It is very, VERY cool!

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Tradeaway #2: Two Duffys and a Duncan


I have no idea why the goofy scan saved as a GIF, let alone why it is sooooo small... Yeesh. Guess that's what I get for blowing away Windows yesterday to reinstall everything... I digress.

Tradeaway #2 comes from Bart in Missouri!

Getting: 1975 Topps Frank Duffy, 1975 David Duncan, and a 1976 Frank Duffy.
Giving: Dan Uggla (Red), Aaron Rowand (Red), Ramon Hernandez (Green)

First of all, this trade adds ANOTHER "David" into the mix. I'm telling you, there are strange things afoot at the Circle K...

Frank Duffy always reminds me of Clint Eastwood in Clint's very young days. No, I have no idea why. Though, perhaps it is some other actor I'm thinking of, or perhaps just some figment of my imagination altogether! Remarkably, both Duffys come with "customization." The '75 has a "B" written in ballpoint pen in the upper left corner of the back, and the '76 has something written VERY lightly in pencil across the back.It's hard to say if some youngster was practicing forging Frank's autograph or if it just some random doodle of a yet-to-be-discovered Rembrandt. His claim to fame on the back of the '75 is that in 1972, he hit .330 in September, going 30 for 91. Is it just me, or does that not say a lot when your "fast fact" is a stat from three years ago?

Dave Duncan also sports some "customization." On the back of his card, there is a "B" but it is located mid-center on the left side at the top. When the Duffy and the Duncan sit atop each other, I envision a stack of 1975 Topps, all with "B"s on them, arranged in such a way that should the bearer of the stack flip the cards rapidly, the "B" would make its way from one side to the other in classic flip-animation form... :-) Dave's claim to fame is his '72 World Series pick-off of Joe Morgan. Again, three years earlier. How many other Tribers saw their peaks in '72?

As for the Goudeys, Rowand looks like he just might whack you with that bat he's holding. Uggla looks like he is trying so hard to pose that he comes off appearing extremely constipated. Hernandez looks like he is willing to use his bat to defend himself against Rowand's attack, but really, he'd rather talk it out first...

Sidebar: Bart's box number is 122C, which by any other count seems harmless. However, before Emergency 911 service in our area, my box number was 221C... That's kinda cool. But, add to that, Bart's city is Rich Hill, MO. Growing up in Western PA, I went to school with a guy named Rich Hill... Yeah, I know, it's a lot like the whole Kennedy/Lincoln thing - some people will the connections, while others will simply shake their heads, smile, and wait for their cards... :-)

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Tribe Tradeaway #1 and a question answered




My very first Tribe Tradeaway comes from David in Ohio! Before I get into descriptions, I just wanted to say that not since the days of "Kids in the Hall" have I seen so many "Daves" in one place! David A sends cards to David H, and in return, he receives not one but TWO randomly drawn Davids... That is just weird....

Getting: 1977 Topps Jim Kern and 1977 Topps Duane Kuiper
Giving: 2007 Goudey David Wright (Red Back) and 2007 Goudey David Eckstein (Red Back)

It appears that Jim Kern could have been foreshadowing the "Billy Ripken incident," though instead of a curse word, Kern simply has his name on his glove. I am curious as to why he would feel as if he HAD to have his name on there at all... Then again, perhaps, when his Mom heard that he was in the bigs, she made him put his name on everything... "Just in case." The back of the Kern card is where things really shine, though! Get a load of that gum spot! I feel sorry for the kid that had to peel the card away from the gum, though he/she did a good job not to take any of the paper backing with the gum!

Mr. Kuiper demonstrates the "perfect" batting pose. Not "stance" mind you, but "pose." To be more honest than I need to be, I am going to admit that for the longest time, I had mispronounced Kuipe's name. My version was something not quite resembling "cue-ooper." In fact, when I finally did his hear name, it took me a while to connect that name with this player! Well, it's a funny story in MY head, anyway... As for the backs of the 1977 Topps, I kinda like the "billboard" design. It conjures up mental pictures of teams traveling along the highway, reading the signs as if they were Burma-Shave ads... "Duane tied" ... "for Tribe club record" ... "with 19 stolen bases" ... "in 90 games" ... "1975" ... Talk about your close shaves!

I decided that since this was the first tradeaway, I would try my best to honor the request enclosed on the accompanying note. However, since I don't have any duplicate Indians Goudey cards, I am enclosing a "surprise" card with this trade. Hopefully, it will be one David A does not already have. :-)


To answer a question posed to my last post regarding my eBay purchases:

The 1995 Classic Phone Cards were actually bought on eBay when I kinda 'stumbled' onto them. I was looking for something else (and now cannot recall just what), when I came across a seller offering three unopened, sealed boxes of the phone cards. I did a quick check in some of the guides I had, and decided that I would snag them up for the Indians I could get out of them. I held on to the other cards until they were simply taking up more space than I cared to provide for them, so I decided to sell them on eBay for whatever I could get. :-)

The other lots that I have purchased recently are about 6000 cards in each lot. Based on the listing, I have a good handle on what I'm getting, though I also realize that when I buy lots in that size, there will be commons and such, too. I am by no means a dealer myself, at least not a professional one. I would eventually like to become one, so that's probably where my random "big lot" purchases come into play. I have bid on 50,000 and 100,000 card lots as well, but those quickly grow way out of my price range... :-)

Now, because I collect Tribe cards almost exclusively, I do often buy large lots of Indians-only cards because I have found that I can usually find little nuggets in those that I cannot seem to locate by other means. Much to my wife's chagrin, though, it means I have boxes and boxes (ad infinitum) of duplicate Indians cards stacked in the closet (or next to the computer).

Now You Know... :-)

Monday, November 26, 2007

1995 Classic Phone Cards


As I mentioned earlier, I have been selling 1995 Classic Phone Cards on eBay. Some are doing/have done pretty well (Travis Fryman went for more than $40). Others don't sell at all. Oh well, nature of the beast. Aside from sales-related conversation, I think the idea of baseball card-like phone cards is pretty cool. Plus, I'm sure it gave Classic a new use for the tons of photos they WEREN'T using on their trading cards.

There are five Tribe Phone Cards, and I have three of them: Manny Ramirez, Kenny Lofton, and Eddie Murray. I am missing the Carlos Baerga and Albert Belle. In all honesty, I have not put much effort lately into completing the set, but I will take up that challenge once I get through my latest purchases (a couple of "dealer went out of business" lots).

As for the cards I do have, I debated long and hard with myself (mainly because I am the only one that will listen when I start talking cards) whether or not to break the cards away from their factory hanging stock. Ultimately, I decided to open up the cards and let them join their brethren in my binders. Okay, yeah, I have pocket pages that would have accommodated the whole thing, but ever since watching "Toy Story" many moons ago, I just have an uneasy feeling about leaving things in their "original boxes" as it were... My cards are not meant to be museum pieces, necessarily. I do put them in pocket pages, and you can bet your butt I am not about to let my five year old handle my 1909 T206's, but just the fact that they aren't "all wrapped up" and that, at least for a little while, they were held "in hand" brings out what card collecting was always "supposed" to be.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Edited: In the giving spirit (The Trippin Tribe Tradeaway)


11/24/2007 - I have had a couple people email me and tell me they do not have any vintage Indians cards, nor do they have oddball Triber cards, but they would still like to participate in the Tradeaway. Well, I am not one to prevent folks from the season of sharing, so I am amending the "rules" a bit.

I am a big fan of "Tipton" cards (What's a Tipton!?). So, if you have any "Tiptons, (from ANY team/player)" I will gladly accept those in trade for 2007 Goudeys in my Tradeaway. What's that? You don't have any Tiptons either? How about ANY baseball oddball card(s)/item(s) you may have laying around?

If you are still not able to come up with a viable trade, email me and we'll figure something out! :-) After all, this is the season of giving!



In the spirit of other sites which have started giving away cards for other cards, I have decided to do the same. Yeah, I know the name is corny, but that suits me pretty well. Though, because I am more specific in what I collect, I will also be more specific in what I'm looking for.. :-) So here's the deal:

Send me your Tribe cards, and I will trade you 2007 Goudeys for 'em. I've got about 75 of the 2007 UD Goudeys up for random trading. So, what are the rules?

  1. You send me an email (davidinark -at- yahoo -dot- com) and I will send you my mailing address.
  2. Once you get my address, you send your card(s) along with a SASE.
  3. I am looking for Tribe cards from 1977 or EARLIER only (any brand) - Any condition!
  4. Exception: Send me ANY Tribe oddball card or oddball item, and I'll accept that for trade.
  5. I will send you ONE (1) randomly-selected 07 Goudey for each Tribe card you send.
  6. I am not responsible for lost cards, torn envelopes, etc.
  7. The Tradeaway will end once all my 2007 Goudeys are gone.
  8. I will post scans of trades as they happen/as I can.
  9. If you ask nicely, I may consider requested teams/players depending on availability. If I can't fulfill the request, you get a random Goudey.


So, there ya go! :-) Tribe cards for Goudeys - how can you go wrong??

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Indians sign Kobayashi

The name Kobayashi may sound familiar to you, but the Tribe did not sign THIS one:


They signed THIS one:


According to the Indians web site, Shapiro said, "The signing of Masa Kobayashi marks the first contract ever signed by a Japanese professional baseball player into the Cleveland Indians franchise and, more importantly, accomplishes one of our primary off-season goals of adding depth to the back-end of our bullpen."

Let's hope that breaking this "new" ground helps us back to the ALDS, ALCS, and ultimately, the WS! :-)

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

1994 Upper Deck American Epic Ray Chapman


In 1920, Cleveland Shortstop Ray Chapman was hit in the head by a pitch. Within hours, he was dead. He is the only player known to have been killed during an in-game play. Though I have collected Indians cards since I was a small boy, somehow, the story of Ray Chapman escaped my Tribe-al education. It was not until about two weeks ago that I learned of this fateful event. When I did, I went on a hunt for Ray Chapman cards, and this was one of the ones I found.

I like the tin-type effect of the front of the card. Having studied photography in college, it brought back many memories of studying and styles. It actually looks like it was taken in 1920 and magically transported into the moder era. Ray looks truly happy, blissfully unaware of the events to unfold in his future.

The back of the card is a half "bronze" color/half white, and reading the black text on the bronzing is tough. The stories on the back, though are short, but well-written: "The Pitch That Killed. A .300 hitter and ace shortstop, Chapman was leading the Indians to the 1920 pennant...Carl Mays, a Yankee pitcher with a menacing fastball and a submarine delivery... threw high and inside... The ball crushed (Chapman's) skull. He died the next morning." Umpires were told to remove any discolored balls following that game. Balls were often rubbed with dirt, spit, you name it, in an effort to trick the batter from seeing the ball. (This unquoted bit of info comes from my learning about the event and not the back of the card).

The white portion sums up Chapman's career. After Chapman died, Joe Sewell was called up to replace him.


So far, I've had one taker on my Tradeaway, and I look forward to seeing what he sends me! :-)

In semi-related news, I am selling a bunch of non-Indians/duplicates on eBay (list is here). There is a bunch of eTopps in-port stuff, a Pirates in-hand Master set of eTopps, a slew of 1995 Classic Phone Cards, and whatever else I threw up there...

Monday, November 19, 2007

Three for the Road

I had the day off today (okay, I get the whole week off), so when it came time to check the mail, I had several bubble mailers waiting on me. When I opened them up, I felt like I hit some kind of Tribe Jackpot!



First up, we have a 2007 Upper Deck MLB Artifacts Antiquity Artifacts card. This one is of Jhonny Peralta (why do parents do things like that to a kid?). The card itself it pretty nice except that UD opted for a brown wood grain background, then added gold lettering on top of it. How is anyone over the age of 30 supposed to read the friggin thing!? Aside form that, I like the "posed" shot on the left with the action shot on the right. The swatch inside a shield is kinda of a cool design. The back has the card number (AA-PE) and the obligatory "Congrats... you have an authentic card..blah blah..." You've heard (read) my rants about this cheap way out of a good card back, so I won't bore you here... :-)



Next up, we have a 2007 Upper Deck UD Masterpieces Captured on Canvas. Now, this is a great looking card! I am a HUGE fan of the canvas-feel cards, and this one of Sizemore ranks right up there near the top of my faves list. I love the border effect, giving the canvas card a "frame" in 3-D (okay, technically in "relief"). The cut-out effect around the swatch is different, thought I'm not quite sure what it is supposed to be. Hey, at least it is not just a square! The back ,like the previous card, has the card number (CC-GS) and a "Hey, check it out" kinda message. I forgot to mention that both cards have the UD Kids code, so I'll have to log in to my son's account and add these to his points... :-)



The final package is a three-fer in and of itself! It is a 2005 Donruss Playoff Absolute Memorabilia Absolutely Ink. Dang, talk about a mouthful! This Jody Gerut card features a swatch of jersey, a piece of game-used bat, and an authentic signature! My only real complaint about the design is that the player is lost in the HUGE "Absolutely Ink" logo that takes up nearly a full third of the front of the card! I'm wondering if the fact that a player should actually appear on the card was something of an afterthought... In any case, I love multi-game-used cards. The card is numbered AI-70, and serialed 14/50. The dark blue with black scheme gives the card this dark, cool feel to it.


I now have three more cards for which I will start searching for their other Tribe counterparts. Scouring for similar-setted Tribers of the various makes and models of cards has become something of an obsession within an obsession. :-)