I realized that Fernandez had 1984 Donruss #44 RC and 1990 Leaf #66 cards that I did not have in-hand - I needed to hold off sending out to him until I was able to get the two particular cards.
I ended up picking up the cards online and once received, sent them off along with an oddball Dodgers issue I pulled apart from a perforated sheet and a 1991 Upper Deck #242 - it looked like the responses from 'El Sid' were quick and I got my cards back signed in a week.
More often that not, I get sidetracked and stick digging around more bulk / value box material - where I just like picking through cards I can actually thumb through.
At a card show date, I was digging through a dollar or '6 for $5' box off one seller - I ended up grabbing about 18 cards, none probably older than 1995, but fun to take ownership of like the following cards.
I thought I had picked up a Joyner card from the set a couple of years ago - but it turned out to be from another BYU themed set put out by the same company.
However, there might renewed interest in the loose cards I find in the wild - where the illusion of motion kind of amuse me.
I remembering leaving a copy of a 1991 Topps Archives The Ultimate 1953 Set Eleanor Engle #332 - a card I could have instantly made a keeper for curiosity sake, where it pictured a woman who once signed a pro contract in baseball.
Go figure I did find a copy of the Engle card somewhere, so I wasn't about to look for now - though the seller had some newer, current year material this time around, thumbing through the junk wax era material time forgot ends up being an exercise in futility.
As is, finding a 1992 Allan Kaye's Sports Cards News Magazine Multi-Sport Jim Abbott #23 oddball was an excuse - to see if I could find enough cards to make at least a $5.00 purchase.
Maybe it's about trying to fill idle time while at a card show, but despite the relative quality of any particular box or price point - I'll be digging and digging, where after finding that one card, it's like a challenge to put together a 'lil keeper stack.
I don't know what compelled me to move over to the other sport portion of the quarter boxes put out - but it paid off when I found a copy of this card.
Regardless of value and the idea I could go into eBay or other online source to pick up one lousy copy - this became one of those scratch the itch cards in recent years.
I ended up finding one more copy and made both keepers since I could not believe I found it like I did - it's fun when a card in my memory banks somewhere as a 'want' could be found just sitting in some quarter box at a card show.
This find wasn't on the same level as finding the Curry - but it was also a card I was aware of where Jordan makes a cameo.
I do not not want the countless basic Michael Jordan cards printed over the decades - I just want the ones where he is making cameos on other players' cards.
Pack one
#US35 Jonatan Clase RC
#US40 Nate Pearson
Pack two
#US328 Ramón Urías - Holiday parallel
#US72 Colton Cowser - Rookie Debut subset
#US215 Adam Frazier
#US7 Alan Trejo
#US3 Tyler Nevin
#US256 Alec Burleson
#US15 Reynaldo López
#US84 Graham Pauley RC
#US179 Mason Black
#US224 Carlos Santana
#US268 Naoyuki Uwasawa RC - Royal Blue parallel
#ASG-19 Corbin Burnes - 2024 All-Star Game insert
#SMLB-63 Cody Bellinger - Stars of MLB insert
Pack three
#US257 Joey Ortiz
#US350 Elly De La Cruz - Rookie Debut subset
Pack four
#US223 Junior Caminero - Rookie Debut subset; Holiday parallel
#US31 Brandon Crawford
#US221 Andy Pages RC
#US37 Kyle McCann RC
#US214 Kevin Pillar
#US182 Matt Moore
#US196 Blake Treinen
Pack five
#US274 Matt Thaiss
#US172 Colin Holderman
#US100 Paul Skenes RC - go figure, maybe the best 'base' card and there is a blemish on the top.
#US288 Paul Skenes - Rookie Debut subset
#US331 Cody Bradford
#US210 Jackson Merrill RC
#US150 Tyler Black - Rookie Debut subset
#US169 Jackson Merrill - Rookie Debut subset
#US5 Mitchell Parker RC
#US125 Jordan Westburg - Rookie Debut subset; Rainbow Foil parallel
#ASG-21 Garrett Crochet - All-Star Game insert
#SMLB-61 Juan Soto - Stars of MLB insert
Pack six
#US308 Fernando Cruz - Holiday parallel
#US260 Luke Raley
#US53 Randy Rodríguez RC
#US323 Jon Singleton
#US247 Eugenio Suárez
#US121 Ryne Stanek
#US50 Jackson Holliday RC
#US117 Eddie Rosario
#US315 David Bañuelos RC / Matt Krook RC - Rookie Combos subset
#US90 Adam Duvall
#US227 Chandler Seagle RC / Mason McCoy RC - Rookie Combos subset
#US156 Jack Leiter RC
#SMLB-78 Anthony Rizzo - Stars of MLB insert
Pack seven
#US92 Tyler Rogers
#US336 Addison Barger RC
#US340 Gavin Stone
#US176 Lucas Giolito
#US226 Michael Lorenzen
#US192 Colt Keith - Rookie Debut subset
#US327 Dinelson Lamet
#US334 Mookie Betts - Season Highlights
#US310 Oliver Dunn RC
#US28 Mitch Spence RC
#89US-7 Darryl Strawberry - 1989 Topps Baseball insert
#SMLB-72 Curtis Mead - Stars of MLB insert
I would normally stay away from breaking Donruss baseball in any form - where the 2024 Donruss base cards in particular look to be bland and boring at first glance, where it's not particularly appealing.
The product feels so off-brand, but the assorted shiny parallels end up teasing some fool's gold finds - where I relented to pick up a couple of value packs where my curiosity got the best of me.
I figured out at least a couple of things that may end up more as footnotes - where "that's kind of interesting."
1.) There was a distinct pattern of collation where a run of cards pulled were in numerical order - so within a smaller set, maybe the chances were pretty good I end up pulling a duplicate run of cards out of two ‘random’ packs.
2.) There are active MLB players sprinkled in - where presumably Panini did individual card deals with certain MLB players' marketing agents, but obviously nothing with the MLBPA that covers all their players.
3.) I pulled the same types of inserts in my two packs - a serial #'d Optic Green Velocity parallel, a Green Laser parallel and a Red and Blue parallel.
2003 Topps Postseason Highlights Gold Troy Glaus #721 - Serial #’d 1128/2003 - Angels Top 100 fuel; now I might need the regular card to pair this with.
1998 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr's Hot List Roger Clemens #17 - I wanted this card at some point, actually picked up a copy but that might be MIA or counted in my cheat sheet leaderboards for my decade / binder stars collections.
1998 Topps Jeff Montgomery #184 - not as showy as his 1995 Topps Stadium Club card #266, where he is posed in front of a fire truck, the one-time closer from the 1990s is posed with a fire extinguisher.
1998 Topps Jim Edmonds #75 - I have the Minted in Cooperstown version in my Angels all-time Top 100 cheap-azz keepers collection, so I figured I'd pair it with the base card, even though the Minted in Cooperstown is really separate set and not a parallel.
1989 Score Paul Gibson (Hand on Crotch in Background) #595 - x2 - I made claims on a couple of copies posted and I actually got both cards; I found the MIA copy I once lost years ago and put in one of my all-time Top 100 cheap-azz keepers collection, but the copy I got from a last year [from the same seller go figure] might still be bundled with an MIA purchase I have not sorted further.
1998 Fleer Tradition Golden Memories Hideki Irabu #316 - this was a freebie claim, but ends up being subset rather than a real insert; it's hard to think not to dwell on the idea that Irabu was a sore disappointment, but he was a human interest story as well, where he might not have gotten resolution in his life.
2023 Topps Finest Flashbacks Finest Phenoms Masataka Yoshida #55 - I grabbed this rookie year card, where it teases a retro design.
1996 Upper Deck Juan Guzman #474 - I don't know whether I had a copy of this card, but claimed it because it's a big glove card.
1998 Fleer Tradition '63 Vintage '63 Jay Buhner #54 - a game face Buhner with a wad in his cheeks looks a little dejected as he throws his batting gloves to someone; maybe he just ended an inning like he struck out.
1998 Upper Deck Jamey Wright #82 - Pitchers hitting
1998 Upper Deck Armando Reynoso #167 - I'm not sure whether this goes into my men at work collection, where the pitcher working on laying down a bunt or in my pitchers hitting collection; this would not count as a bunt card since it's not a game action card.
2003 Topps Chrome Scott Spiezio #407 - I might be looking to make the random Angels card keepers, where maybe I want to come up with enough cards for certain guys to make a page for or to use as needed for a regional loose card project.
2005 Topps Total Adrian Gonzalez #249 - Stadium card
2023 Choice Portland Sea Dogs Niko Kavadas Card #14 - he made his MLB debut a day after I claimed this minor league team set card.
1998 Upper Deck Todd Worrell #113 - I'm not sure what to do with a card like this where Lee Smith makes a cameo; the two may have been junk wax era contemporaries, they might have been teammates at one point.
Smith is the one eventually inducted in the Hall of Fame so maybe it's a bonus baby card - even if it could be a star-on-star cameo card.
1988 Mother's Cookies Oakland Athletics Stadium Giveaway Matt Young #21 of 28 - he is a lefty, but he is having fun with a righthander's glove, posted in a fielding position.
1996 Fleer Jim Edmonds #46 - the random Angels bulk card for my player collection.
2003 Topps Bazooka Bobby Kielty #137 - Hats-off; National anthem
2003 Upper Deck MVP Mike Lieberthal #304 - Retro uniform
2003 Upper Deck Victory Bobby Abreu #68 - Retro uniform
2012 Topps Adron Chambers RC #90 - this has a cut on the surface
1998 Fleer Tradition Kevin Brown #27 - the same image was used for his 1998 Fleer Tradition '63 Vintage '63 insert; this looks like the uncropped, horizontal image of Brown sliding headfirst into a base.
1998 Fleer Tradition Jay Buhner #68 - the same image was used for his 1998 Fleer Tradition '63 Vintage '63 insert.
1999 Pacific Crown Collection Orlando Palmeiro #8 - a dependable, fourth outfielder type from the mid 1990s through the early 2000s, I want to be able to add a card of his to an Angels all-time Top 100 cheap-azz keepers collection.
1998 Fleer Tradition Alan Benes #141 - Pitchers hitting
1999 Pacific Crown Collection Norberto Martin #6 - needed a card of Martin for my Angels Opening Day starters collection.
1998 Fleer Tradition '63 Vintage '63 Jason Dickson #1 - Pitchers hitting
1981 TCMA The 1960's Billy Martin (Black Back; No MLB logo) #1981-364 - just an old-timey looking card from a retro, tribute set from the early 1980s.
1999 Topps Stadium Club Bruce Smith #89 - this might be UV era bulk fodder from a long time ago, but I grabbed this NFL card because of the great action shot of Smith taking quarterback Steve Young to the ground.
2021 Super Products Pieces of the Past George Washington #3 - I may bite on cards of no-context non-sport subjects on a whim.
Even if the low end material ends up stale at times, such posts gives me something to look at - where I end up making another run of odds and ends claims that starts up another tab.
My feed gets lonely at times where there isn't anything apparently going on - but then it gets busier, when there are three or four sales going on at the same time.
These end up being part one of my claims resulting in a purchase - maybe I can spend an hour or two rummaging around in a dollar and under box in-person and have better results perhaps, quality and quantity wise.
At times maybe it's a favor for sellers to be digging out bulk material that cater to odds and ends interests - where your mileage may vary depending on number cards claimed within a purchase.
This card was curled but maybe I can attempt to flatten it out.
1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated Then & Now Covers Harmon Killebrew #3 of 12 C - within these social media sales, maybe I’ve tried to claim cards outright if it catches my eye off the bat.
1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated Then & Now Covers Eddie Mathews #4 of 12 C - within these social media sales, maybe I’ve tried to claim cards outright if it catches my eye off the bat.
1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated Then & Now Covers Willie Mays #5 of 12 C - within these social media sales, maybe I’ve tried to claim cards outright if it catches my eye off the bat.
1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated Then & Now Tony Gwynn #90 - I might still be trying to make keepers out of nicer, if dated base cards as binder material for decade / binder stars guys.
1998 Upper Deck 10th Anniversary Preview Retail Eddie Murray #60 of 60 - I have no lingering sentiment for Murray cards in his odd-team stint with the Angels that didn't last a season, but there might be a little novelty.
1998 Fleer Tradition Chipper Jones #10 - hats-off; it might be a case where I decide to divert a binder material card as a mini-collections card.
1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated Then & Now Scott Rolen #128 - I might still be trying to make keepers out of nicer, if dated base cards as binder material for decade / binder stars guys.
1998 Donruss Elite Scott Rolen #81- I might impulsively key in on a player like Rolen and make claims if I see at least two or three different cards posted.
1998 Score Barry Bonds #5 - within these social media sales, maybe I’ve tried to claim cards outright if it catches my eye off the bat.
1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated Then & Now Jim Thome #135 - I might still be trying to make keepers out of nicer, if dated base cards as binder material for decade / binder stars guys.
1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated Then & Now Frank Thomas #134 - I might still be trying to make keepers out of nicer, if dated base cards as binder material for decade / binder stars guys.
1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated Then & Now Tim Salmon #129 - Angels material
1998 Fleer Tradition '63 Vintage '63 Tim Salmon #2 - Angels material
1998 Fleer Tradition Tony Gwynn #250 - inking it up; it might be a case where I decide to divert a binder material card as a mini-collections card.
1998 Fleer Tradition '63 Vintage '63 Kevin Brown #25 - pitchers hitting; Baserunning
2019 Topps Finest Aaron Judge #51 - he's a 'here and now' superstar, where it's easy to bite on a random base card I may or may not have.
1994 Upper Deck All-Time Heroes Ted Williams #50 - he's a GOAT level 'gimme player' for me, where it's easy to bite on one more random retro card I may or may not have.
2004 Upper Deck Alex Rodriguez #541 - there is lingering sentiment, where I've resigned myself to bite on one more random card I may or may not have.
2005 Upper Deck Alex Rodriguez #134 - it might still be fun to make the occasional scattered base cards keepers.
2021 Super Products Pieces of the Past Babe Ruth #SP1 - he's a GOAT level 'gimme player' for me, where it's easy to bite on one more random retro card I may or may not have.
I get self-conscious about having to think a little more 'big time' in order to justify a card show day - maybe it's just a case where I still have do my thing, even if I might not have clearly defined goals other than being loosey-goosey wandering and rummaging around.
The following were a results of a rummage in mostly a dollar box except for one card - in a case where I have to pay to gain admittance to a card show, maybe a game I want to play is staying away from sellers I know I've bought from before and end up seeing at the more typical 'free' card shows I go to.
As it goes however, that idea only lasts so long when I end up looking for that first accessible table where I start digging around bins - I ended up being charged $20 for about $26 worth of cards off a seller who puts out bins of $1, $2, $5 cards among other things he might tease at his table [maybe other odds and ends, a higher end showcase].
I've bought from this seller multiple times over the past two or three years at different places - though at the same card show event the year before, I was trying to be smart about staying away from someone relatively local.
I really have no lingering sentiment for the player, but I grabbed a 1999 Fleer Mystique Pat Burrell RC #134 - Serial #’d 2486/2999 - since it might have been his 'hot' mainstream rookie when he may have gotten hobby hype 25 years ago.
Even if I'm never getting close to possessing particularly valuable and/or the coveted vintage that are slabbed up and rest in serious collectors' hands - I want to able to say that I can tease some old school / vintage baseball cards that adds some character to my collections.
I decided to splurge on a 1954 Bowman Larry Doby card #84 - I liked how he is posed on the dugout steps on a bright, sunny day with the stadium behind him.
1955 Topps Harry Agganis #152 - I was scrolling on Instagram two or three years ago when I learned about this card and the player, a two-sport athlete who ended up passing away prematurely.
1963 Fleer Albie Pearson #19 and 1962 Topps Baseball Bob Rodgers #431 - it may depend on what I find, but I might be apt to make keepers out of vintage cards of one-time Angels players, either to fill out my Angels Opening Day Starters collection or my all-time Angels register project.
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.
I decided to another table in the meantime, but overheard another collector looking for 1959 Fleer Ted Williams cards - so I wondered if he saw the binned cards from the one booth I was looking through.
I went back to the booth just to see if the cards were still there and it looks like they were - maybe the plan was to pick up four cards for around $5 each, so I tried to thumb through cards and see if there were probable keepers out of 'vintage, but long after their playing careers were done' cards of many HOfers.
I know the stacks I'm thumbing through are not high brow vintage and I don't really know what to make of such old-timey cards, but rather than some 'here and now' miscellany - it might be cool to end up with some real cardboard relics rather than something shiny and newish.
I picked up an odd-uniform Ralph Kiner card picturing him with the Cleveland Indians - I can use for a loose card project or as binder material.
I picked up a Kid Nichols card I can squirrel away as part of my loose card Hall of Fame collections - where maybe I've tried to revive that project a little bit.
I made a Ty Cobb card a keeper, since he was the GOAT among early 20th century century players - even if he wasn't the most savory personality and reputation.
I also grabbed a card Branch Rickey since he was instrumental in breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball - maybe to use for a loose card project or as an 'extra' I can add along with my loose modern era Jackie Robinson cards.
I was expecting to pay $25 or maybe $20 if I was lucky, but was charged exactly $30 for six cards and the seller was even confused, where he thought he asked me for $35 - I rolled my eyes for a moment before paying up.
What I did not realize until taking pictures of the cards after the fact - was the Cobb was actually marked as a $15 card when I assumed it was just another $5 card, so the seller did end up giving me a little discount off as I'd expected in the first place.
I was on a self-imposed hiatus through the summer to go to any card show or even visit a card shop - but I missed the in-person the card show rummage grind and wanted to see if I could still do what I do at a card show date.
I really didn't think I’d find anything I'd need out of the '2 for $5' bins at one table - but was setting aside the odd non-Angels cards of Angels all-time autograph subjects among others as potential keepers.
There might be something about thumbing through junk autos I would not have cared for before, but end up being a quick fixes when I see them out in the wild - if the players shown played for the Angels at one time and I did not have their autograph.
Another consideration is for the one-time Angels players I've gotten to sign something at some point, but may have to think up - where I actually squirreled away their IP/TTM autographs.
I might have had a 20-25 stack, but I had to whittle things down to keep things relatively reasonable - maybe it was still a little looney where I ended up with 14 cards of questionable quality and was charged exactly $35.
Even if it only was worth what I paid, I picked up a Mark Teixeira autograph because it seemed too good to pass up out a value box set-up - though I have had gotten his autograph in-person or TTM multiple times early in his MLB career, this card is the one that ends up in my Angels all-time autograph collection.
Maybe the worst looking autograph here is Mark Vientos - but it's also a rookie year auto of a young third baseman having a breakout season for the New York Mets.
The best looking autograph is of a Cincinnati Reds pitcher name Tony Santillan - who is pictured hitting on his 2022 Topps Stadium Club auto card.
