I assume this serial #'d (RC) of a longtime, if now retired Los Angeles Dodgers fan favorite is not hard to find - presumably I could have bought it at any time, but it might be a case where there might not be as many copies posted on sale at one time.
It was only during one random eBay search, where I remembered the card - did I feel comfortable paying a couple of dollars for the card and another couple of dollars to have it shipped to me, where I was able to scratch the itch.
He made his Major League Debut on 9/1 against the Seattle Mariners and got the win - going 6 IP, 2 ER, 2H, 4K and 4BB.
The truth is that I saw this card on someone else's post on Twitter / X and went on eBay to see if there was a copy I could snag - there are screenshots on my camera roll of the collector's post on Twitter, where he received this a copy card as part of a mail day, so there you go I guess.
From looking at his Baseball Reference register, this card was apparently from when Nomo pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers AAA team back in 1999 - it's real odd seeing Nomo immortalized in a stint for a minor league team.
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.
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.
Maybe it's better to have a random certified autograph to file away than to dig for an autograph I might not have at all - I looked up my memory banks and in 2012, it looks like I was able to get him in-person on an 8x10 print after being denied the previous day because he was tagging along with Evan Longoria.
However in my return, the only card he didn't end up signing was the one I wanted signed the most - I just had to chuckle at this apparent mishap [at least for me] and ended up grabbing a signed copy of the 1990 Leaf on eBay.
Through my Instagram feed [or in my Instgram Explore feed], I might have seen snippet where a trading card influencer was promoting this app called Center Stage - maybe the clip ran for about 10 seconds, but I was curious enough to download the app.I was at a show about a month ago where I might have seen a woman using this app to look up cards that had piqued her interest - I think she was telling the seller about the app, though I didn't know anything about it then.
I think this trading card app is supposed to help identify cards where it will link to eBay listings where with recent sales information - to be fair, this app might be a work in progress where it might not give the user the latest, most accurate listings.
Another function that maybe of use is being able to 'scan' a random card in his hand and the app has the ability to show what the card is - trying things out, the app was able to identify at least a couple of cards off the bat, though there were instances where you have to frame the card the right way or else the app will give you listings for different cards all together.
Where this app may help me the most is dealing with looking up all sorts of cards off my assorted pick ups - as part of what I call my inventory recap 'process,' I want to list out all the cards I found, so I have an idea where I got specific cards and may have something to look back on as far any number of 'hauls.'
Off a card show trip, I end up with at least 50-100 bulk cards and as well as 35-40 assorted singles at one time - I really don't want to look cards up manually where I have to think about the year, the brand, et al so I can list them out from the first to the very last card.
I don't know if this app speeds up that process, but I can 'scan' a number of cards one-by-one and find many of them - as someone who has crept towards the older collector territory, I don't know if I can look up some card numbers in tiny print and other card identifiers that maybe obscured off the cards themselves.
I still have to make sure that the card I've scanned matches the results, but the app gives me a more interactive process - as opposed to having to look up miscellaneous cards through a Web search, a COMC search or an ebay search outright.
When I get results, I can work with something where I can copy [instead of typing out] the brand, the year, the player and the card number - so that may make generating a list easier than having to type things out, even if I have to play around with how I want the card listings formatted.
The seller has a bunch scattered of minor league team set listings that have been otherwise gutted in a pick your card format - I don’t know if there was a card I’d pay a dollar for outright, but there might be the ‘oddball’ player I may need for an esoteric interest or two.
Just a week or so ago, I’d added 12-13 cards to my shopping cart, but eventually removed them - I was going to take screenshots just in case I wanted remember and go back to them, but realized I wasn’t so serious about them anyway.
I may have deliberately wanted to forget the cards that were in my cart - but I wanted to go back to them so I had something to build on already.
It was a challenge to find specific cards buried under set listings - for the most part, I was able to track down the cards [or close to it], but there might be one or two that I’d blanked on.
1986 Donruss Highlights Rick Rhoden #20 - I might remember picking up this boxed set for fun at a mall card show 30 years ago because it had rookie-year cards of Jose Canseco, Will Clark and Bo Jackson, though I want to say it was overproduced and really only cost me around $3 at the time.Back in the day, it wouldn't have registered to me to make the pitcher hitting card of Rhoden a keeper - I don't know what I did with my original copy, but I had to have another.
2001 Multi-Ad Myrtle Beach Pelicans Minor League Baseball Dinger The Homerun Dog #26 - I thought this was from a Yankees’ farm team and I really didn’t know how I could get back to finding this card; just kept looking at the different listings; nice action shot of a dog in his prime, who passed in 2009.
2011 Multi-Ad Peoria Chiefs Minor League Baseball Elliot Soto #24 - this longtime minor leaguer's MLB cup of coffee came with the 2020 Angels.
I haven’t bought a Topps Now card in a while, but decided to get a single copy last minute - as a card collector, this is my passive way of recognizing someone real in these hard times.
Dr. Fauci symbolizes the COVID-19 pandemic and how politicized things have gotten where he has been put through the ringer - where he and his family have gotten their lives threatened because he isn’t willing to be a puppet of the current administration.
They are only really checklist cards but it's a novelty to see these big league pitching imports at bat in games - for the teams they played for before coming over to the United States.
Lofton was a weapon as a leadoff hitter and even though he dropped off the Hall of Fame ballot - as one of the best center fielders of his era, he has a case for induction that maybe realized through the veteran's committee.
Past his supposed prime, it's weird Lofton bounced around so many teams - but he was able to stick around and be a productive offensive player until he was 40.
I didn’t think he had too many certified autographs and the ones listed had inflated prices for anyone who might have actually wanted them - it looks Panini had him sign a bunch of stickers to affix into their unlicensed baseball cards and new Lofton certified autograph cards have trickled out.
I realize this isn't any sort of rare late 1990s insert, but I’m focused more about the aesthetics - compared to simply being a UV coated glossy card, the surface might have a matte, textured finish that I anticipate being able to feel in time, hopefully sooner than never.
Maybe the cards don’t have that late 1990s insert ‘pop’ to them but to Topps' credit, they look pretty classy - while the typical Topps insert tended to be a little more juvenile, like they were designed to grab the attention of younger collectors [go figure], these cards look a little more understated.
Through pandemic 2020, all I’ve done from April through the middle of May is cheat sheet / wantlist R&D - I wonder how the work translates into actual cards in-hand?
I’ve got 25-30 mini-collections - as it goes, have I set myself up where I can’t keep up, where I might find myself all over the place?
I haven't actually made much purchases, but do remember worrying about not finding a 1996 Pinnacle Bob Hamelin #289 card listed f/s last week - just the type of random thing that I'd forgotten already, but shows how random my mind gets as I try to come up with a possible addition.
I think I've been working on some specific ‘to do’ topic, namely trying to add to my nations collection - trying to fish out possible additions and haves to be accounted for to try and have a representation of players from different countries.
I'd like to think mini-collections are my flagship loose cards interests - I try not to miss obvious names for ongoing subsets while I strive to add new names and new cards.
Odd lots
It's not a card shop or card show rummage, but I've looked up eBay auctions lots to find random subjects and cards to add to offline cheat sheet - I listed out some possible beyond the glory adds like Luke Kuechly [NFL], D’Angelo Russell [NBA], Kevin Love [NBA], Tyrann Mathieu [NFL] and Shaquem Griffin [NFL].
Maybe I'm pushing past baseball guys but I like an assorted collection of pro athletes represented - while most pros have a ‘beyond the glory’ narrative to what they do for a living, there have been guys that have stood out more than someone simply being a jock.
For other mini-collections, I found some individual cards to list on my cheat sheet somewhere - I like looking at lots on eBay because they can be so random, where a listing can show multiple cards and it’s an Easter egg hunt to find a mini-collection quality card I need.
I try to find the baseball card lots picturing junk wax era or mid 1990s UV coated era cards - for a moment, the temptation is there to make a purchase until I see the s/h cost and figure would have to make multiple purchases off same seller to make these bottom of the barrel purchases make sense.
An apparent downside is all the eBay spam emails generated from my searches - the app’s algorithms do a job on tracking your browsing habits and/or even letting sellers know who has looked at their listings.
I ended up settling for Eckersley since it was on my watch list, which may help guide me towards alternatives to think about - though a card added to ‘my list’ might not be available anymore or perhaps ‘my list’ may not reflect what I might want at the moment.
Eckersley wasn’t exactly ‘one of my guys’ or someone I seriously considered a ‘national star’ but I was vaguely familiar with Eck’s narrative - as a guy who battled substance abuse problems and was a floundering veteran starting pitcher before coming under Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan’s tutelage in Oakland during the mid 1980s.
While Eckersley was a goat a few times in postseason play [1988 World Series and 1992 American League Championship Series] - he was one of the GOATS for the run he had as a dominant, one-inning closer through the early 1990s and maybe Eckersley getting to the Hall of Fame made me take a second look at how he turned things around.
Long affiliated with the Boston Red Sox as their TV broadcasts color guy, Eckersley has had run-ins with Jackie Bradley Jr. and David Price because he doesn’t have a filter at times - I didn’t know Eckersley has a brother in prison and also an adopted daughter who is otherwise homeless.
I almost wish there was such a Topps branded trading card magazine today - though maybe the magazine was printed when baseball cards still had mainstream appeal among youth vs. devolving into a niche hobby over the past 30 years.
I picked up Pettitte's rookie, because the lefthander is considered one of the Yankees' all-time greats as part of the Core Four [Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Pettitte and Jorge Posada] - there might be a case to be made for Pettitte to get into the Hall of Fame, even if was a PED guy with one-time pal Roger Clemens.
I've always thought Pettitte was a No. 3 or No. 4 starter who was ultimately more serviceable than dominant for a New York Yankees dynasty through the late 1990s - he was an innings eater, who pitched in important games during the Yankees' postseason runs through October.
On the other hand, while things weren't always in Pettitte's control - he gave up too many hits and his ERA always seemed inflated.