Sharapova will always be one of those personal eye-candy crushes and with the former tennis star showing on random trading cards, it rekindles some nostalgia I can objectify - even when the last time she was really in the news, was when she failed a drug test, so that is that I guess.
Stefanic has played in parts of two seasons with the Angels and while he might be a fringe big leaguer at 28 - he can handle the bat with a .326 lifetime average in the minors along with an on-base average of .412.
It may not be such a big deal, but for a moment I thought it was the goofiest card - I wanted a copy for an oddities collection I have or maybe even for a collection of all-time Top 100 cheap 'zz' keepers project that never quite got off the ground.
I think I saw an expired auction listing from a seller on social media who runs these low end card auctions - I asked about the card since no one bid on it, but I don't think the seller understood or cared I wanted the card outright.
I started claiming 'quarters' off another social media seller just because he teased this card in a sales post - I probably would not have bought the 200 odds and ends if not for the copy of the card.
Go figure it wasn't actually tallied up in the final order and while I wasn't charged - I had to make it a micro mini mission to secure a copy, where it was still on my mind.
I went looking for the card on eBay and while it's probably a dollar card shipped on eBay all day long - I bought it off a listing for about twice as much but the card is now secured in-hand.
FWIW I did not know who the player on the card was and for all I cared, he might have been a practice squad guy - however, it looks like the second year NFL pro has had a breakout season as a running back, rushing for over 1,000 yards.
Maybe my favorite card is the 1986 Donruss Rookies Jose Canseco #22 - it was a card I remember a childhood friend possessing and seeing regularly [along with an autographed 1989 Upper Deck Dante Bichette rookie] whenever I would visit his house.
It was a business decision on his end and strangely, I'm kind of glad he is still in So. Cal, where I wonder if the fandom for Ohtani supersedes the idea he is a Dodger - ideally, maybe it was better to see him in some far away place like Toronto, where he maybe he gets to be out of sight, out of mind.
I could understand where it was just about inevitable and logical - where it was always going to be the Dodgers or bust.
I’m probably not collecting his old team cards for one year where they are now dated, while my existing PC ends up being off cards from his old team - I can see where my interest in collecting Ohtani ends up being muted, until things settle down where softly remains one of those universally popular, easy guys to collect.
I abruptly cut the cord on the company that broadcasted Angel games late in 2022, where just before one of Ohtani's pitching starts, I found out there was no Angel channel to watch games anymore - the current streaming TV package that replaced the old cable TV one has the company that broadcasted Dodgers games locally, even though I barely ever tuned in through 2023.
Going forward, I’ll probably be glued into more Dodgers games due to Ohtani alone - even though the Angels are my team.
1.) Maybe said I would cease to be an Angels fan if and when Ohtani leaves - that probably won’t be the case, but losing this larger than life megastar it’s a whole new deal to process.
The Angels have been a bad organization for the past decade where as a fan, I can be a free agent too - but maybe I need to chill with my one lousy team and hope Ohtani defecting to the Dodgers ends up forcing the Angels to be more creative, where they need to do something radical.
2.) $700 million for a DH in the foreseesable season is ridiculous, but while I've always believed in the talent to come back - it softens the blow where Ohtani is only going to be doing one thing [and not two things at once].
3.) There is no reason to think that Ohtani will not have at least multiple seasons where he is pitching and hitting to his full capabilities - but maybe there is a part of me that wants to believe his first MLB team got his best three seasons ever.
These cards were from the value bins of a grandfather and grandson duo I've bought from at other show dates, but have only really seen set up two other times - their 'binned singles' with prices on the back are all jumbled up by sport, so it's kind of a mess to spend time at.
Their lesser [maybe $5 and under] material are sorted by sport, so ideally it's easier to try and go through the monster boxes of toploaded cards row by row - I did as much deep cut picking as I could to flag potential keepers, but wasn't as emotionally invested, where I wanted to spend only so much to get my cheap thrills.
While Hoffman is a Hall of Fame closer, he's not a guy whose cards I'd look for, so maybe I can appreciate a parallel - where it's a little different from much of the basic cards that represent Hoffman in my binder / decade stars collection.
I found myself at a table where a bunch of old heads [at least older than I] were going through vintage or old school material - the cheap cards in bins were ‘2 for $1,’ and cards in binders were a dollar each.
Maybe I had to bug off for a little bit before circling back to see - if I can find an opportunity to get back to the table and start picking around somewhere.
Maybe things started off awkwardly where another guy rummaging through the '2 for $1' bins thought I smelled of cigarettes - I found it silly where I don't smoke at all and was saying as much, while rolling my eyes.
This guy was wearing a mask where it looked like he might have trouble breathing in a confined area - I was not about to say anything to disrespect the guy, but just try to get out of his way, while doing my thing.
I've never really been well versed in old-school / vintage cards, where I'm going to be digging through 'old cards' with a serious focus like set building - but maybe it's a reward to idly dig and find cards of Hall of Famers, even if they are beaters.
I had a chance to go through the vintage dollar binders - maybe I was dealing with the leftovers towards the latter part of the show and I decided to make these four random keepers out of more beaters.Like the Brooks Robinson, the Whitey Ford has a scribble on the front - it's not an autograph on the card, but someone wrote 'Yankees' in black ballpoint pen.
If I had paid attention, I would have put the card back - but maybe part of the charm of going through vintage cards [for cheap] is seeing cards that end up being defaced in some way.
The seller said I can actually go ahead and have a look at the card since the cards came originally from their bins for their single cards - but there was just not room to put them somewhere else.
Earlier in the year, I had an eye on another copy of the Maris card at the card shop I go to - but it disappeared off their display cases before I decided I might actually want the card.
From the bins, I found a 1966 Topps 1966 Rookie Stars Bill Singer / Don Sutton RC #288 [$10] and a 1967 Topps Tony Perez #476 [unmarked top loaded cards were $3] - it is unexpectedly cool to actually pick up a vintage HOFer rookie, even though Sutton shares it with a guy who had a racial incident 20 years ago with former Miami Marlins GM Kim Ng, who was then working for the Dodgers.
At another card show, another copy of the Perez ended up one of my last cuts - maybe I should have made it a keeper three weeks ago, but got another chance to make things right and this copy might end up having a little more eye appeal.
When I finally presented my miscellaneous stack to the seller, I don't think I got much [or any] discount off the total - but the cards I ended up with might just have a bit more historicity, compared to busting a retail value box or a mega box 'thingy' that might be $50 these days.
It looks like an autograph of Robinson, who passed away on Sept. 26 - maybe it's a testament of how generous he was about signing, where I might find an autograph card of his in a relatively unlikely place.
I don't think I've ever seen these particular cards before - so they end up nice finds, even if their only value is esoteric.
I wouldn't remember McLemore actually playing with the Angels through the first part of his MLB career - though I kind of remember he was at a career crossroads back in the early 1990s, before re-inventing himself as a valuable jack-of-all trades utilty guy that allowed him to stick aroud.
There are non-HOF fan favorite types that add some deeper cut names to a 19-card checklist - I'm not sure if I can appreciate them as much the fans of teams they played for through the 1970s and 1980s, but guys like Bill Madlock and John Mayberry get a second look as minor leaguers in this set.
I might be prepared for the idea Ohtani will be making the free-agent circuit this upcoming off-season - maybe the fact that he won't be doing his two way thing in 2024 softens the blow of him going somewhere else, but damn if he actually leaves the Angels.
I like to tell myself to make some of The Mick's miscellaneous retro cards keepers - where it is fascinating he was this larger than life baseball player to a generation [before my time and place].
I thought the sleeved but unmarked cards from my stack were dollar each, so my total came out to $23, but when I presented the cards to the seller, I was charged $15 - maybe the sleeved cards were actually $0.50 and after my total came out to $19, the seller took a little something off my stack.
I ended up at a Lids and seeing their promotion with Topps, where you can get a bonus pack of special Topps Chrome cards with a purchase of themed Mitchell and Ness hat - figured I had the money that partially covered a purchase of a fitted cap without feeling as self-conscious because I don't wear hats, especially ones that cost $50.
I was able to find a couple of cards of Reid Detmers - I think I sent similar copies and got them back signed TTM during the pandemic season.
Even though I ended up grabbing at least a few guys who might not be in the big leagues yet or may not get there - I found cards of Anthony Volpe, Bryson Stott, Riley Greene and Corbin Carroll.
Depending on what I may find at the bulk level, I might be compelled to pick up two or three cards of the HOFers whose cards from the junk wax era I'll usually skip over - if the cards end up being a little different like oddballs or cards with a unique image used that stand out.
Through his rookie year, maybe his development as a young big leaguer had stalled with the Angels - he gets traded to the Philadelphia Phillies finish out the 2022 season, but after a solid year in 2023, there might be some potential left for Marsh to be an even better player that he could have ever have been with the Angels.
He has become a fan favorite, where he is fun to watch with all his fair flying around - in the highlights I've seen of him with the Phillies, he's always fired up, gesturing to his dugout after hits and seems like a real 'rah-rah' guy.
I pass on most Gerrit Cole cards just because he seems too 'corporate,' even for MLB players who get millions to play a game - however I want to make it where most Panini Donruss Pink Fireworks parallels are keepers.
I could never get into the junk wax era Conlon card sets because the images were black and white and pictured old timers before my time - but made a keeper out of a card of Johnny Vander Meer, who threw two consecutive no-hitters as a big league pitcher.
I made this Mark Gubicza card a keeper after not claiming a copy I'd seen in a sale online recently - I classify his cards as mostly junk wax commons, but he's had ties with the Angels as a broadcaster for at least the past 15 years, so maybe his oddballs are worth a second look.
Another Brady Anderson card makes the pile and it is a 1988 Topps Traded 'XRC,' so it is more unique card - I remember him as a junk wax guy who barely had any pop and was a fringe big leaguer through his mid 20s.
At the age of 28 however, he broke out as a late bloomer for the Baltimore Orioles - where he became a solid top of the lineup presence for the bulk of his career through the 1990s, with a peculiar 1996 season where hit 50 home runs.
I ended up at a seller's table with a three row, 3000 count box - but only a couple of partially filled rows of $10 cards / three for $25 or $5 cards / five for $20.
I started to rummage through the one lousy box, while the Big Boss Man at the table [and a worker] looked like they were doing some bigger wheeling and dealing with other collectors trying to buy or flip some cards - his value boxes were the least of his concern, where here I am trying to rummage and see what I can stack for $25 or less.
I grabbed a 1962 Topps Eddie Mathews #30 because it was a relatively clean card of a Hall of Fame slugger who blasted 512 home runs - I think my friend is still wondering where the baseball he sent Eddie Mathews went back when Mathews was still alive and signed TTM for a fee, 25 years ago.
I added this 2022 Topps 1-of-1 printing plate card of Greg Holland, because I like cards with players sharing a 'good game, game over' moment - I like the printing plates where the image of the player is still visible, even when nearly ghosted out. 
Maybe it was a bigger deal to chase LaMelo's cards a few years ago where even his low end stuff was worth a little something - while he and his brother Lonzo has lived up to the scrutiny they had as part of the Ball brothers trio from high school to the pros, LaMelo only played 36 games last year.
Lonzo hasn't even gotten on the court the past couple of years - where his pro basketball career has been in limbo, despite being only 25.