Getting All Card Up

Over past few days, I have received two bubbleopes of goodness!  One came from The Daily Dimwit from the "Artifacts, etc" group break and the other came from Baseball Dad!

From the Artifacts break, the Indians snagged more than a handful of game-used/auto cards!!

First up, Jake Westbrook SILVER LIMITED game-used and a Cliff Lee auto:

Next, we have a nice dark blue game-used V-Mart and a gray Broussard, each on an AL ARTIFACTS card:

Then, how about another Westbrook, only this time it is the 'regular' game-used, along with a Broussard game-used:

I had watched the breaks happen, but still, the actual number of 'hits' the Indians came away with just floored me.  Of course, that wasn't all in the package.  I pulled several copies of the Artifacts Hafner and Martinez cards, a Sizemore Timeline, a Sizemore Timeline b/w, Hafner and Sabathia Heroes cards, and a couple O-Pee-Chees to boot:

But, wait! There's more!  How about a few Masterpeices: Clinton throws first pitch, Hafner, and V-Mart.  Even cooler is the green-bordered V-Mart! Sweet!  Then, Hafner on an X and a SP Authentic Sizemore:

VERY cool Tribers, Dimwit!! Thanks for holding the break and for inviting me to play along!

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Then, I was 'forewarned' about the package from Baseball Dad, but having it in-hand is waaaayyyy better!  He sent a 2011 Topps Sticker "Starter Pack" - an album and two unopenepacks, plus a Carlos Santana extra he had.  Here is what was in the packs:

I am going to enjoy putting these (er the ones I need) into my album!  The reason I had the warning, or alert, or had the beans spilled as it were: Because I had posted that I finally found stickers at my "local" Target.  Thing is - I didn't know that Jack had been planning to surprise me with this Starter Pack.  Even so, I have to say, I was just as excited about getting these as when I first found the stickers in Target.

What is it about these Topps stickers that has everyone (or everyone that I've seen/read anyway) jumping for joy like little kids?  I dunno, but I am right there with ya!

THANKS to Jack for the Stickers and album!! Wahoo!

Glad I know Jack!

Baseball Dad contacted me a bit ago in response to the upcoming Kenny Lofton induction to the Indians Hall of Fame.  He said he was going and would shoot me a copy of the "BatterUp!" program from the game.  Jack is awesome like that (and I've got some stuff heading his way shortly, too!).

(If anyone knows where to download that stitched font, please let me know. I have looked and cannot find it. I know it is out there somewhere!)

Not only did he send me the program, Baseball Dad included a couple cards, too!

The first one is a 2008 Upper Deck Infield Power Ryan Garko:

And then he also tossed in a 2007 Fleer mini die cut Andy Marte:

I'm sending out a H-U-G-E "Thank You!" to Baseball Dad!!  He lets me live my dreams of watching the Tribe play in Cleveland vicariously through him!  He Rocks!

Cards and a CD from BaseballDad

When I got home from work the other day, I found a small cardboard box in my mail.  As soon as I saw the return label, I knew at least one thing that was inside:

My new edition of The Card Collector!  BaseballDad worked out a deal where collectors could get a copy of the software on the cheap, and I took advantage of it!  I am currently using Version 7, like what is on the disc, but I am painfully behind with set updates.  My hope is that I can install this, have the updates and still have my currently entered cards show up in the new system.  I'll keep you posted. (See below)

But, that's not all!  Also inside the box were four Tribe cards!

Peralta and Martinez on 2006 UD SPx!  UD could have used V-Mart's pic for this year's cards, since there are no logos involved.  Just saying.  Well, never mind he isn't a Triber anymore...

Then we have Pronk and CC on 2005 UD cards! Awesomeness!

The Card Collector update:

I installed the CC program to the default location.  When prompted for my collection database location, I pointed to what I *thought* was my current collection.  A quick perusal of inventory (not to mention a "Summary Inventory report) showed things were grossly amiss.

Inside the CC, I pointed to another location I thought data might be stored, and it at least had a 2010 date on it.  I took that as a sign, and opened the file.  After a while (it took a long time to import), I double-checked and found recent entries like the custom Phungo cards I had put in a month ago.

The total card count shows 9510, though, and I'm not sure that is accurate.  I thought I had closer to 10,000 than that.  So, I will have to do some random pulls to see what comes up and what comes up missing (if anything).  Perhaps this will encourage me to put a running card count on my site, so at least I'll know what I think I should have...

Regardless, THANK YOU very much to BaseballDad for his work in putting this together!

Christmas cheer from Baseball Dad

I received a couple packages in the mail over the past few days or so and thought I would take a moment to share them with you!

First up, a big THANK YOU goes out to Baseball Dad for this very cool Denny's 1997 Pinnacle motion card of Larry Doby!! 

This card celebrates Denny's 50th Anniversary and is card 1 of 1 (not like serial number, but in the fact that they only had one card made for the celebration)!!

THANK YOU very much!! Merry Christmas!!

Coincidence? Decide for yourself...

I was out of town for the past several days, though I had created a few scheduled posts so things wouldn't lie dormant for too long.  I have to admit, I like scheduled posting.  This is not one of those.

After I returned home, I had a package from BaseballDad.  When I opened it, I found a white insert-holder with the following written on it:

I wasn't in the blogosphere last year at halloween so I hadn't thought of blogger "tricks."  This pack was made up BEFORE your "Trick-or-Treat" post.  As Ripley says, "Believe it or not" Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!! (yes, verbatim!)

And then I began to reveal the cards.  It did not long to detect a pattern.  See if you can make it out (click on the photo to enlarge it):

So, did you see it?  I was "Alomared" in BaseballDad's own special way.  Every other card was a Steelers card!  How cool is that!? 

Oh, what?  You mean that WASN'T the "coincidental trick??"  Are you telling me that the trick WASN'T a stack full of Steelers card to an Indians/Steelers fan? 

What do you mean?  Are you saying that not only did he send every other card as a Kenny Lofton, but it was the SAME Kenny Lofton card? 

I just want to know if dayf put him up to that!?

As an aside, there are some very cool Steelers cards in there!  This was something of a trick AND treat!  THANK YOU very much, Baseball Dad!!  This was a lot of fun!  My wife laughed when I started showing her the pile of cards.  Well done.

I got a package from... Myself!?

It's not often that I get a "warning" about a package coming to me in the mail. Sure, some folks let me know when they've sent something, but rarely is it accompanied by the likes of "I just finished taping up your package... And I really mean YOUR package..." Just what in heaven's name is THAT supposed to mean?!

Well, my first clue came when I pulled the bubbleope out of the mailbox:


Yes, it is TO me and FROM me! Holy cow! Did I mail a package of cards to myself and forgot? No, no, what tipped me off was the post office of origin. Sandusky, Ohio. Now, I fully admit that I never once turned the thing over. In fact, the first time I even saw the BACK was when I put it on the scanner for this post. Yes, sometimes, I really am this stupid... The back reads, "From: Baseball Dad, Open Carefully! Thanks for Participating!"

Upon opening the package, I found this first:


This is the Indians Hall of Fame Induction program! That is awesome!

And then, I saw Chief Wahoo with a secret message:


A lost card? Ultra-rare? B&W version? What on earth was going on here? And, then I spotted it...


Now, if you read my previous post about Bo's package of cards, the image should look familiar! Except this time, the card is an O-Pee-Chee version - AND it is the B&W version, which evidently comes with some assembly required and on what appears to be copy paper...

Sandwiched between the pieces of the ultra-rare card, was this nugget (it's like my very own Zenith Inside!):


Of course, the package was filled with all kinds of Indians cards!


Some of them I have and others I have never even seen before! I love it when that happens!


And then, there is the revelation behind "YOUR package" so ominously uttered in my "warning" message... You have to take a good, close look.... Don't worry, it's not one of those things you get in your email that suddenly jumps out and screams at you... Really. It's not.


Did you see them? The two cards at the bottom? Go ahead, click on the picture and look at it in fuller size. I'll wait..... See? There! My own baseball cards. You see, not long ago, BaseballDad discovered my MLB past and showed everyone my cards from long ago. Little did I realize that he did not simply combine images in Paint or Photoshop, nay nay. He went old-school cut-and-paste! And then he threw the cards into my package for me to keep! Wahoo!! I believe I may the recipient of the first-ever BaseballDad custom baseball cards! Man, had I known, I would have had him sign them...


The fun does not stop there, folks! You see, the "real" reason he sent me the bubbleope, er my own bubbleope, was because he did a very cool old-school O-Pee-Chee multi-box break recently.


I don't know how many cards other people received, but let me tell you, I got a BUNCH!! I've got a lot of Indians cards, but not many are O-Pee-Chee, so I cannot wait to check these against my collection!!


THANK YOU very much, BaseballDad!! This was full of cool cards, laughs, and surprises! And for never having attended an Indians game in Cleveland, I am building quite a collection of "Batter Up!" programs!

You see, I received yet ANOTHER package in the mail... More on that one tomorrow!

Baseball Dad bustin' Old School Group Break!

Baseball Dad has several boxes of old school wax, and he asked fellow collectors and blog readers if he should/what he should offer up a group break. I'm not sure what he thought the reaction was going to be, but I chimed in early with a resounding "Heck yeah!" Or something like that...

If you want in, head to All-Tribe Baseball, and sign up now! It's only $4.00 per team! And, there are TONS of cards to be busted, so there is a very good chance you are going to walk away with a stack of old school wax!!

I'm not askin' ya who's on second

I received a very cool package in the mail the other day from BaseballDad! In it, I found a CD with classic baseball-themed songs and bits (including the one featuring the title of this post!!). In addition to the CD, I found all sorts of Indians goodies! A "Batter Up" official program guide, several cards including a JustMinors Grady-freakin Sizemore!, and a Sportflics mini team jersey card! Also in there, CC Sabathia, Mike Hargrove, Jose Mesa and a '96 Fleer logo card from the Indians 20-card subset. Inside the "Batter Up!" I found a 1/2-off coupon for upper deck box seats to certain Indians games (oh, how I wish!!) and also a 2009 season schedule.

I popped the CD into my HEMIs CD player this morning as I drove my son to work, and we listened to Abbott and Costello discussing the players on their team. My son had never heard it before, and he was laughing hard by the end of it. He wasn't as appreciative of some of the other items on the CD as I was, however. Though, I have to admit, there is something innately wrong with Mel Allen saying "that ain't no jive..." And, the reading of "Casey at the Bat" was borderline scary...

What a great surprise!! I know my son will grow weary of the CD before long, but I plan to haul that puppy around in my truck for some time to come. Thanks to BaseballDad for creating new memories and bringing back old ones!

From one Jack to Another

On Saturday, I received a bubble envelope from Jack. No, not Mr. Plumstead again, but rather the Jack who is more commonly known around these parts as "Baseball Dad!" He is a fellow Tribe collector, and he posed a question on his blog about the first 'official major league game,' and I happen to be Johnny-on-the-Spot with the correct answer.

He sent my prize (I did not know what the prize would be) and man, am I glad I was first to chime in!

These are 1989 Star Company Canton-Akron Indians cards! They are the weirdest combination of gradient color I have seen in a long time: purple to yellow!

Now, he did warn me that this set had some BIG names. Guys like Twardoski, Ferlenda, Magallanes, and Keliipuleole (count 'em - 12 letters in that last one)!

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Of course, there are familiar Tribers in here, too! Guys like Allread, Shaw, and one Joey (Albert) Belle! He also threw in a V-Mart "at the last minute!"

A BIG thank you to Baseball Dad (which has 11 letters, 12 if you count the space!) for these great minor league cards! I've got a package of cards coming your way, too!

Catching up on gifts *TO* Tribecards!

During the holiday break, well, actually, some of these came before I went to Phoenix and fell off the face of the blogging world, I received bubble envelopes filled with goodies!!

These are not in the order I received them, but you really wouldn't have known that if I hadn't told you, so just pretend I hadn't said anything, okay? Too late, you say? Aw, dang... Well, enjoy the show anyway!

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This card is the prize I received as a result of a late-minute response and last-minute trade during a contest over at Fielder's Choice a bit ago:

This is a great card that will most likely go into my 'scratch card prize pool.' Though, Soriano is one of the players I collect outside of the Tribe, so ya just never know with me... Thanks a bunch, Dave!!

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Tradercrack put together a wonderful collection of cool Tribe cards! We have red-letter Topps, Topps gold, a V-Mart game-used jersey (wahoo!), cracker jack Sizemore, chromes and rookies!

These will make very nice additions to my card collection, for sure! Thanks a TON!

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BaseballDad, who also happens to sell HEMIS thank you very much, sent me a stack of cards that he gleaned from my need list. In addition to the Tiffany cards and others, he also threw in a 2009 Indians schedule!! That is awesome!

There are Leaf, Classic, Biggies, Sportflics and more in there! Thank you so much, BaseballDad! I can't wait to add these to my collection and get my need list updated!

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Sox-and-Thoughts sent me two wrapped gifts before Christmas, and I debated whether or not to open them before the big day. Well, not only did I wait until Christmas, I actually ended up waiting until after NEW YEAR'S! AUGH! Well, it was worth the wait!

There are complete (or at least well-along-the-way-to-being-complete) team sets in here from various years! This first group features Topps and Leaf - shiny certified kind! It's funny, but I am pretty sure that I can find that shot of Lawton sprawled out and the crowd is not in the picture... Is there some photo-shopping going on here?

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I love the thick Bowman cards. I don't know why. Something about the fact they FEEL like nice, heavy cards... Broussard appears to be doing his best Man-Ram imitation...

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I am also a fan of the Studio and Diamond Kings cards, though seeing the players in action always ranks higher on the 'coolness' chart for me. :-) The Wright Diamond Kings Rookie is SUH-WEET! And, the 40-man cards are great-looking, too. Of course, as far as I'm concerned, every one of these cards is excellent!

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Gotta love the Ultra Gold Medallions and the UD vintage (that's Lou friggin Boudreau in there!). The Portraits cards have that cool 'painted-on-canvas' feel to them. It's funny, but I thought the '03 Ultra was a Stadium Club when I first saw it...

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Man, SweetSpot, ProSigs, and more here! This is a really great selection of Tribe cards you sent, Sox-n-Thoughts!! I don't remember seeing too many of the 'Play Ball' cards before, so that was also a nice treat!

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Love the Bowman Gold card here! Man, and that Invincible 2000 Man-Ram is incredible! LOL, with the 3-d effect, it reminds me of the cards my daughter and I assembled not long ago by hand. :-) I am a big Jacoby fan, and the motion card was a nice find for my waxing nostalgia... :-)

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Gotta love Thome on the Gold Label! I also think the Authentix design was one of the better ones. The Murray Finest Moments is a great card where that green jumps off the card! Cabrera's Future Watch card is one I don't believe I have seen before! Of course, all that shiny chrome is great! :-)

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This 'last' scan is actually the first set of cards I spotted when I opened the packs. Blogger's new 'reverse-order-uploading' made this one end up at the bottom of the post. Yeesh. Well, it was worth it, for sure! SPX, Playoffs, 205's, and more! These cards are super! There's even a McDowell fan fave in there, too!

Sox and Thoughts put together a wonderful Christmas, er post New Year's, surprise for sure!! Thank you so much for these great cards!!

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Thank you to everyone for sending me some wonderful additions to my collection of Tribe cards! I have got a lot of work to do ahead of me in getting these entered into the database, and it is going to be a blast going through them again!!