Some better than a blaster keepers?

At the last monthly card show date I went to, the tables seemed a little light, where the familiar sellers I usually start to stack some probable keepers were not around - maybe I'd be good with making a couple impulsive purchases after trying to go around the room and figuring out where I can go hang out somewhere else.

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 ended up finding a 1967 Topps checklist #361 and made it a keeper because it's kind of a Roberto Clemente card as well - I do not really think this card is like having an actual one of the player, but I'll make an exception where I'll treat it more as a unique oddball that has the player's image.

To the naked eye, the card looks fairly clean with relatively bold, vintage colors - I realize some are harder to find [maybe not this one] because they might be marked or not cared for as much.

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.

I don't know if collectors value them as much other than player collectors who need to cross them off a checklist - but seem relatively hard to find and are a little different than the actual cards.

I don't know if this 1997 Fleer EX Star Date 2000 Vladimir Guerrero #15 was really worth $4 - but relented to pay a premium for a really loud, early MLB insert that features this all-around great.

I totally understand what it means where a player can do the impossible, but on the back of the card - it's funny where a minor league manager says Guerrero could go 4-for-3 in one night.

Finally, I impulsively grabbed what I think is a 2020-21 Panini Prizm LaMelo Ball RC #278 - with the number of ultra modern brands Panini has pumped out, it's hard to tell what is what.

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.

A quick pit stop at the card show #2

I usually spend at least a couple of hours at a card show date, but this time it was literally 20 minutes - where I ended up at the hosting card shop's bulk bins and dug up the following before it was time for me to go.

Out of this pile of shiny cardboard, the Ernie Banks stands out - where I've made it a micro-mini mission to seek out Topps Silver Pack cards out in the wild.

I tend to think of Dontrelle Willis as a guy who had some early big league success and hype, but flamed out too early - it seemed like he was trying out for half the big leagues and then some, but was never able to stick around to revive what was promising big league career.

He's not a guy whose playing career I would be overtly nostalgic about - but may deserve a second look.

I'm not really a football collector but occasionally, random non-baseball card (s) will make it to my keeper pile on a whim - the insert on the left pops so I made it a keeper for now.

I think the other card I found was a 2022 Panini Zenith Pacific Metal Prizm Matt Stafford - it might be a base card or a more common insert, but looks more like a printing plate card that feels unique to have in-hand.

Random card of guys who have had teams in the postseason - I grabbed a 2020 Topps Fire National Card Day Bryce Harper #FP-7, where I may have come around on the player, where I consider him the real deal [even if it was obvious from day one at 16, 17 or whenever he started generating hype].

I grabbed the Yordan Alvarez because it's actually from the UK version of 2022 Topps' flagship set - a little bit of an oddball, even if not particularly hard to find.

The Minnesota Twins have since been eliminated, but the oft-injured Royce Lewis - showed why he was the No. 1 overall pick back in 2017.

I found these random old-school cards and while they end up blemished, worn and/or are beater quality otherwise - they end up as keepers, to add some historicity to my random stack.

I grabbed a pair of cards featuring a pair of longtime greats at first base - the second year Paul Goldschmidt card might be a 'dated classic' in my book, where such a card is never going to be particularly valuable, but enough time has passed where it might generate some nostalgia.

I kind of feel like a 2020 Donruss Optic Stained Glass Miguel Cabrera #4 I grabbed kind of falls under the 'dated classic' category as well - though it has only been a 'little bit of time,' it also feels like 2020 has been 10 years ago already.

In-hand, there is a little 'stained glass' effect going on - but maybe it's a little bit more subdued where the cards don't pop as much.

These might have been my last second grabs except for the Bob Feller mini - I would not chase cards of either J.D. Martinez or Khris Davis outright, but these 2019 Topps Heritage 1970 Cloth Stickers were kind of unique to feel in-hand, so I made them keepers.

There were a handful of Fernando Tatis Jr. cards to thumb through - I still look to occasionally make the random card a keeper if it's unique enough like this dual-sided card he shares with Manny Machado [on the reverse].

Maybe Ryan Mountcastle ends up being the forgotten 'young veteran' in the Baltimore Orioles rise to prominence this past year - I thought he would be a franchise star for years to come, but has to take a backseat to guys like like Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, et al.

A quick pit stop at the card show #1

I usually spend at least a couple of hours at a card show date, but this time it was literally 20 minutes - where I ended up at the hosting card shop's bulk bins and dug up the following before it was time for me to go.

I do not get the art on these 2021 Topps X Keith Shore where it's basically the same guy with some modifications, but I guess that's the artist's style - out of the five or six cards I found, I grabbed a Gleyber Torres, Cody Bellinger and Cristian Pache.

The 1989 Bowman inspired cards are like the originals where they are larger than normal - so maybe it's fun they are tangibly odd [sized], it might be tricky to find an ideal place to put the cards away.

I found some black and white 'vintage' cards...from 1981 TCMA Renata Galasso - I might have skipped over them otherwise, but they are over 40 years old and feature a trio of early 20th century fan favorites to look up.

I have not kept up with prospects where I might as well be content to learn about up-and-coming players as they reach the big leagues and not before - as I found them, I did make keepers out of some random chromed up Team USA cards of a Paul Skenes and Jacob Wilson.

Skenes was the No. 1 overall pick in this past year's Major League Baseball draft - he is currently the boyfriend of social media star Olivia Dunne, a college gymnast making $3 million a year in NIL endorsments.

Wilson was the No. 6 overall pick in this past year's Major League Baseball draft - he is the son of former big leaguer Jack Wilson, who was also his head coach in college.

Card show singles rummage

The previous post maybe the last of my dime box rummage stuff - unless I can muster up the enthusiasm to dig up some other cards from that stash.

The following cards are from a seller's individually priced bins - I guess I'm comfortable for making keepers out of these cards, where they are still kind of random, but not quite 'dollar and under' value fodder [in my card show experience].

Early Miguel Cabrera cards - I have never liked cards part of a 'rookies' subset like this 2004 Upper Deck if they are not considered actual rookie cards or a 'prospect era' card like this 2002 Bowman Draft Chrome.

The Bowman Drat Chrome is neither a rookie card [released a couple of years after his 2000 Topps Traded] - nor a big league era card [Cabrera had not gotten to the big leagues at this point, even if he was certaintly on his way].

After all these years, it might be a novelty to have some cards of a future Hall of Famer in his formative years in pro baseball - even if not talking about rookie cards here, each card may be worth keeping.

Miscellaneous Angels cards - I just had to pay $10 for a Elpidio Guzman rookie card even though he was a couple of years older than listed on this card and he never reached the big leagues.

Guzman shares the dual rookie card with 2001 Seattle Mariners rookie Ichiro Suzuki.

The 1994 Donruss Editors Choice Tim Salmon #6 ends up being my favorite because it's a little different looking - designed to look like the image was from a roll of film.

The Troy Percival, Darin Erstad and Rod Carew are sort of nondescript inserts from the era they printed in - but they are serial #'d numbered parallels, so either I was a fool to be lured to add them to my stack or they are cards that should be instant keepers if they show guys from my home team.

I've made it a mission to make keepers out of scattered Topps Silver pack cards out in the wild like this Ken Griffey Jr. - I do not want to pay too much for one particular card, but they irresistibly pop so much, I'll make keepers out the stars and HOFers featured in the sets over the years.

I picked up the Ozzie Smith parallel because it's kind of subdued and classy looking - I like it's also serial #'d on the back, so that makes it a couple of dollars special rather than $0.50 special.

I ended up grabbing a 1996 Pinnacle Team Tomorrow Derek Jeter #9 - since Jeter was a national superstar of 'recent vintage,' he is probably a guy I'll blindly collect where I'm more apt to make keepers out of a card like this rookie era Dufex style insert that pops in-hand.

Mini collection confessions through my card show rummage

Maybe it's been for a couple of years, but I've been at a crossroads with my mini-collection cards - I love making them keepers out in the wild, but I've gotten overwhelmed with just thow many I've gone out and brought home.

I haven't actually listed out the past couple of year's worth of cards somewhere like a spreadsheet - where I've counted them up as a year-to-year achievement where I can see how many cards I've picked up and how many towards specific collecting topics.

Maybe the worst part is having the actual cards sitting in loose bricks or in boxes - where I can't dig them up on a whim, be able to look at them where the cards maybe displayed in a binder to flip through or have it where I only have 'so many.'

I'm not really shying away from more loose cards, it's just I need to find ways back to accounting for them - as well as finding the motivation to get back into managing bloats and backlogs with these loose cards.

Awesome action cards - I do not know whether I've ever had the card, but grabbed the 2003 Topps Jim Thome #71 with the Mountain Dew signage in the background.

Awesome action cards - I'm not sure if it's an 'odd thing,' but find the 1998 Skybox Dugout Axcess Greg Maddux #6 funny because he is pitching with sunglasses on; I assume he is pitching either live BP or an intrasquad game, rather than at an actual MLB game.

There is a lot of signage in the 1998 Upper Deck John Smoltz #32 - so it's a kind of fun to identify them.

I've tried to collect what I call 'good job, game over' cards like 1998 Upper Deck Luis Gonzalez Houston Astros #103 - where a player is shown congratulating one or more teammates at the end of a win.

I can imagine myself being a big leaguer with a sense of accomplishment and/or relief to be able to go out onto the field and celebrate a victory - even if it is only one game out a 162-game schedule.

It looks like Gonzalez is congratulating Craig Biggio here - so a HOFer cameo is pretty cool too.

Awesome outfield action and inking it up cards - because I was able to get him to sign something once in-person, I find it fun to find images of the perpetually grumpy Albert Belle doing any sort of 'fan service.'

Tools of ignorance - I always waffle on whether cards of star players or better should go into my mini-collections or my decade stars collections.

When I can pick up old loose cards of Ivan Rodriguez or Mike Piazza at the bulk level, where the cards do not matter - I maybe content to add them into my mini-collections where I can have some star power.

I'm not not sure whether I had the Russell Martin card before, but it looks like Carlos Beltran is shown walking back to the dugout - I might have tabbed it as a 'bonus baby' card where a better player is shown on a lesser player's card, but a case can be made where Martin was a low-key star at points of his big league career.

Change of pace finds through my rummage at the card show

I thought it might be fun to dig through the non-sport portion of the quarter boxes that turned into dime boxes [in quantity] at the show I was at - even if the celebrity cards are dated [I can't believe 2008 is 15-16 years ago already], they still end up adding some novelty eye candy, when the rest of my haul ends up cards of men who mostly play pro sports.

I was worried that the celebrity cards would end up dupes since I picked up some at another bulk card rummage earlier in the year - though I apparently only had the Evan Mendes [actress] and Kristen Stewart [actress].