A name your price rummage

At my local card show, there was this random table with a random monster 3,200 count box of cards that was of interest - I asked the seller how much the cards were and he said it was just stuff he was tried to get rid of, so said to pick out what I liked and maybe come up with an amount.

I saw the box as probably a quarter or dime box material at best, but who knows [?] - I'm almost 'that guy' who like to dig through more of a seller's 'discard material' just to see if I can find some odds and ends.

I grabbed a trio of Angels regional issued oddballs from 1992 - I think I left a Chad Curtis and a Luis Polonia because I wanted the more notable Angels in my book, not the more unsavory ones.

There was a bunch of early 1980s cards in the box, but it seems like every other one was water damaged and dried out - if only the cards were in better shape, maybe I would have much more patience to really build up a quantity.

I didn't know what I maybe charged per card, so I wasn't as impulsive - I only really grabbed 13 cards total and gathered the courage to get the seller's attention as he was sorting some singles at the table.

I handed the cards over and he flipped through them and asked what I may have wanted to pay.

"[How about] $5?" I responded.

"You have some old school in here," the seller said. "How about $10?"

I really wish he would have agreed to the $5 or just said take the cards for free - but I relented to pay $10 because I spent 20 minutes digging around and maybe sometimes I have to follow on my interests, even if on the impulsive side.

Newer Topps Heritage cards - the Kyle Lewis In Action subset was a find because it completed the Mike Trout puzzle on the back of related cards.

Early 1980s Fleer was abundant though most were water damaged - I grabbed a Carl Yastrzemski tipping his cap and while a common in my book, the play at the plate, action shot of Mike Sciocia might be too hard to resist.

A Topps Turkey Red Tom Seaver insert - I'd rather go for 'here and now' players, but I want to make it where I can show interest in old timers as a nod to the history of greats of the game.

A random Tony Gwynn rookie card that kind of looks fairly clean - though the upper portion of the card may actually be a little 'bent.'

Featured autograph - Eddie Rosario

I got this card of 2021 NLCS MVP Eddie Rosario signed when played in the Arizona Fall League back in 2014 - this was loose somewhere for the longest time where just kind of 'hung out' as a misfit.

Despite the small sample sizes, maybe the outfielder's postseason outburst with the bat elevates his status just a little past just being another good big league player - who can do some things well [hit for a little power, run the bases a little] but maybe overvalued for his age and the potential salary might be making.

Miscellaneous card show digs

Thinking about all the 'other' blog posts I've read, I want to attach these narratives where it's always a sublime experience - where I have these show within a show, table-to-table tales to unearth these assorted hauls I get to take a photo op when I get a moment to breathe, account for and try to make blog posts about.

My card show experiences however are not unique at all where I feel like more of a mark than anything else - I show up to a spot where there are tables that might sell material I can rummage through and see if I go through cards as a 'fun time' thing to get away [from reality] for several hours and get my fix.

I raided the quarter [if unmarked] box at a table where the seller has made concessions to bring bricks of assorted junk wax era cards and has them for about a nickel - nothing too earth shattering but some fun stuff to help me re-focus on the lighter side of things.

I don't know what these Nolan Ryan customs are supposed to be and I kind of turn my nose at anything unlicensed and/or looks like they were printed at home - on the other hand, these do almost feel like actual cards and duality between the 'Angel' Ryan and presumably the more 'devilish' Ryan is intriguing.

The cards have actual backs and are both numbered '13/39,' whatever that means in this instance - I guess I'll make the concession to keep this pair of neat cards as binder material of Angels Ryan cards.

I had to grab the 1998 E-X 2001 cards I could find - these acetate cards really pop and even if they were merely base, the kind of contemporary [yet already 24-year old] cards I'm hoping to find more of whenever I rummage around cheap-o bins.

These 1994 Upper Deck Collector's Choice cards were not quarter material but I decided I liked them enough to throw them into the mix 'as is' - maybe the Ken Griffey Jr. and Gary DiSarcina have surface blemishes, so these copies of 'junky cards' might be fillers.

I thought the Todd Stottlmyre card shows a pitcher fielding ball during a game, so I've made those keepers - but he has his batting practice jersey on and presumably he is having fun before the game.

The Dave Hollins card looks like he's caught in-between the basepaths, but I still consider it a keeper for my 'base running' collection - though I wonder if the retro uniform he wears on the reverse image makes it more of a card for my retro uniform collection.

Rummaging through the trenches - Part 2

I think I have an unhealthy obsession to be plant myself at a card show table for at least 30-40 minutes if there is material I can get into - I'm pretty casual or even a little 'backwards' with what I'm looking for, but there is an obsession to dig around.

At my card show, I was doing business at a table where the seller has made concessions to bring bricks of assorted junk wax era cards and has them for about a nickel - to change things up, I decided to ask for the off-condition vintage box [kept under the table] to see if I can fish out cards I may have flagged but didn’t seriously consider bothering picking up the very first time I looked through the box maybe 2 or 3 months ago.

I tried to pick out mostly $2 and under for cards that were probable impulse purchases - I didn’t want to blow my wad on old-timey cards of ranks and file guys I wasn't familiar with, maybe high number commons or the odd card of a 'star' player or notable rookie that was priced according to book value [or something like it].

Rather than considering the novelty of the cards as cardboard relics, maybe it was depressing [almost like visiting a morgue] going through 50-60 year old cards - wondering where all these guys went even if they were mostly strangers.

Off condition vintage box

1959 Topps Gus Bell #365 [$2] - this probably goes into my 'bloodlines' mini-collection; maybe things come full circle as I remember picking up a copy of this card [from an off-condition vintage bin] at the 2000 National, but packed it out in an assorted team lot.

1961 Topps Earl Averill #358 [$1] - I can add this to my 'hats-off' mini-collection or count it as a card in my random Angels A-Z register [one card of a player who played for the team].

1962 Topps Carroll Hardy #101 [$2] - I might have written to Hardy when he was still living and gotten an index card signed; I think I might have learned about him as the only player to ever pinch hit for Ted Williams, but he was also a multi-sport athlete who played in the NFL for one season.

1968 Topps The Sporting News 68 All-Star Selection Jim Fregosi #367 [$2] - there maybe a novelty to vintage All-Star subset cards as opposed to ones from the last 30 years, but the back only features a puzzle piece that makes up a Carl Yastrzemski image.

1969 Topps Larry Haney #209 [$1.50] - this goes into my tools of ignorance mini-collection the reverse negative image makes this card somewhat of an oddity.

1971 Topps Phillies Rookie Stars Greg Luzinski / Scott Reid #439 [$1] - I'm not familiar with Luzinski where I wonder if he was a big time star in his time or just a very good player who put up big power numbers as a slugger.

1973 Topps Darrel Chaney #507 [$1.25] - a nice baserunning plays at the plate card.

Off condition vintage display - this among the showcase boxes of loose cards grouped by category on the table rather than hidden away.

1956 Topps Jackie Jensen #115 [$3] - after all these years, this post from The Baseball Card Blog lingers in my memory banks.

I occasionally have my rabbit ears going and could overhear the neighboring table / buddy wondering about me lingering around for so long, probably giving me the side eye - I think the seller said, “that’s OK, he actually buys stuff off my table.”

2011 Topps Update J.D. Martinez RC #US186

I picked up a loose 2011 Topps Update J.D. Martinez RC #US186 [$10] off a card show table and while he started too late to be a serious Hall of Fame case - Martinez has been a slugging star with a rookie that comes from 2011 Topps Update set.

After 11 years there might be some 'pedigree' that trickle down to notable cards from the set because it features Mike Trout's rookie card - the values doesn't confirm any extra allure however, where copies of the Martinez actually goes for about $2-$5 on eBay, which makes the card I grabbed a peculiar overpay after the fact.

Martinez may symbolize the definition of ironically picking up a single of a player I'm 'iffy' about otherwise - go figure the same day I got my card in my grubby paws, he hit a grand slam in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series, so that was a nice pick to click.

TTM autograph received: Len Gabrielson

The former big leaguer personalized and signed my card in blue ink in about a week - this one likely goes into my Angels all-time autograph collection for the 11 games he played with the team all the way back in 1967.

Rummaging through the trenches

At the monthly show I go to, I've made a couple of tables the only ones I really go to - one has their dollar boxes of doom and the other has a lone 3,200 count dime box of mixed sports

I really tried to make a beeline for the dollar bins of doom the moment I hit the floor - but there was 6 people going through assorted stuff at the table and I just kind of had to wait around.

I got to working through a box off to the side, but it was mostly football and/or basketball - there is definitely a set of regulars as I've seen where one of the ladies chats them up and even offers to take down their handles for her [?] Instagram account. 

I'm just another guy who basically tries to keep his head down as I go through all these cards - but that's OK for now. 

Go figure, another seller I've bought from at another show was there digging around as well - while don't know him well enough to greet him even informally, it's quaint where I see this guy buying [maybe $20 worth] of cards for himself. 

Honestly, I don't know if I was really finding fresh material where it was more of a chore to look at a row of cards - same bloat of Ken Griffey Jr., Derek Jeter, Frank Thomas, Cal Ripken Jr., other baseball, football, basketball cards that may have gotten to be redundant.

I still spent about a couple of hours just digging around at the table, adding more to the pool of cards I might pick up - being holed up in a packed room with people but no A/C, maybe it was getting to be really stuffy, especially wearing a mask.

I don't know if I could take a moment to breathe fresh air - as I'm literally going through cards, maybe I'm really getting spacey where the physiological is messing with the psychological. 

As the case has been lately, I just have to move on - whether I want to or not.  

Next time, I might need to give myself time to get some air as well bring a water bottle - something handy that I can drink from on a whim without going out of my way looking for something to cool me down.   

Mini-collections

1993 Topps 1994 Pre-Production Sample Kenny Lofton #331 - awesome outfield action

1996 Score Gold Stars Greg Maddux #17 of 30 - pitchers hitting; on the reverse image 

1998 Bowman Chrome Refractor Larry Walker #23 - inking it up; on the reverse image

2000 Fleer Greats of the Game Retrospection Roger Maris #10

2000 Fleer Greats of the Game Retrospection Thurman Munson #8 - facial hair

2000 Fleer Greats of the Game Retrospection Yogi Berra #12 - tools of ignorance 

2000 Fleer Greats of the Game Retrospection Johnny Bench #15 - tools of ignorance 

I like collecting regionally but may place less emphasis actually hunting cards for my team where I question my sanity if I'm not chasing after the latest and greatest - on the other hand, maybe an 'unofficial' mission is to come up with at least one 'lousy' Angels card, where I don't even see myself as a team collector outright, but the occasional parallel and or insert brings me some satisfaction [even if the players and cards are simply dated].

Angels

1996 Score Reflextions J.T. Snow / Don Mattingly #5 of 20

1997 Leaf Gold Leaf Stars 22 Karat Eddie Murray #34 of 36 - serial #’d 2051/2500

2004 Donruss Studio Heroes of The Hall Rod Carew #HH-8 - serial #’d 292/500

Old school binder material

1977 Topps Big League Brothers George / Ken Brett #631

1981 Donruss Pete Rose #131

1981 Donruss George Brett #491

1980s binder material - Ken Griffey Jr.

1990 Star Ken Griffey Jr. 1990 Season #6 of 11

1993 Fax Pax World Of Sport Ken Griffey Jr #2 

1995 Fleer Lumber Company Ken Griffey Jr #6 

1999 Crown Royale Pivotal Players Ken Griffey Jr. #22 

1990s binder material - Mike Piazza

1994 Leaf Statistical Standouts Mike Piazza #4-10

1995 Fleer Ultra Rising Star Mike Piazza #8 

1996 Donruss Hit List Mike Piazza #4 of 16 - serial #’d 08390/10,000

Miscellaneous 

1990 Score McDonald’s John Olerud #17

1991 Topps Stadium Club Nolan Ryan #200

2000 Fleer Showcase Consummate Prose Derek Jeter #4-CP

2003 Upper Deck Magazine Ichiro Suzuki #UD4

Rookie stuff

1982 Topps Montreal Expos Future Stars Terry Francona / Brad Mills / Bryn Smith RC #118

1990 Leaf Larry Walker RC #325

1995 Bowman’s Best Bobby Abreu RC #B3

Minor league curiosities

1986 ProCards Las Vegas Stars Benito Santiago #NNO - his potential to be a catching star with a lasting legacy faded when he started to bounce around in the early 1990s, but Santiago still had a significant playing career regardless and his 35-year old minor league issue maybe just too odd to pass up in the wild.

2005 Choice Wichita Wranglers Zack Greinke #NNO - though there seem to be obvious identifiers at first glance, I'm not quite sure which set this card is really from; by 2005, Greinke was in his second big league season and I wonder if the card came from an actual team set or maybe part of a commemorative tribute set that are sometimes issued.

I paired up the Greinke minor league issue with the newest card of his I pulled - for a little 'then and now' showcase of cards printed 17 years apart.

Numbered

2000 Pacific Omega Copper Carlos Delgado #147 - serial #’d 30/45

2003 Donruss Team Heroes Statline Robin Roberts #393 - serial #’d 17/28

2004 Donruss Studio Studio Proof Silver C.C. Sabathia #64 - serial #’d 88/100

Random ink

1996 Leaf Signature Series Bronze Mel Rojas auto 

2019 Topps Gypsy Queen Jose Martinez auto #GWA-JM

These are cards I probably left the last time I was digging around - where I made it my duty to see if I can salvage them if I saw them again.

2001 Donruss Diamond Kings Reprints Steve Carlton DKR-6 - serial #’d 0476/1983

2001 Donruss Diamond Kings Reprints Joe Morgan DKR-8 - serial #’d 0467/1983

I'm not as big into retro cards of legends just to have them in hand - but the Diamond Kings reprints [which are actually 20 years old] added modern touches [glossy and serial #'d] to the original issued cards and might be nice to squirrel away.

1986 Sportsflics Rookies Bo Jackson #40

1987 Classic Yellow Bo Jackson #109

I'm not sure I fall in line with the other old heads who get nostalgic over 'Bo' because I'd seen him as mostly a big leaguer whose baseball career was prematurely derailed - but maybe I'm just not about my junk wax era roots if I don't pick up a pair of rookie era Jacksons.

In addition to the Bo Jackson action, I ended up with a couple more cards of multi sport guys - in the early 1990s I may have wanted a 1989 Score Deion Sanders rookie card, though honestly it was mainly due to being more of a personality than it was being a football player or baseball player.

1989 Topps Traded football Deion Sanders RC #30T - this isn't quite that 1989 Score but it will have to do.

2018 Bowman Chrome Russell Wilson #BCP151 - his legacy has been cemented as one of the best quarterbacks of his era, though there has been some uncertainty for his team the past couple of years and he looks to be out at least a month after injuring his finger.

TTM autographs received: Bill Mazeroski

The Hall of Fame second baseman and Fall Classic hero signed my cards for his fees in about 3 weeks - there was a dead period through the summer where I hadn't sent or received anything in the mail, but I'm looking to see if I can catch up a little on some TTM requests, so I have something to occasionally look forward to.