Card show pickups - miscellaneous finds

I stumbled upon a table with random $2 bins I started digging through, but wasn't counting on pulling potential keepers - where the bins were a mixed bag of different sports.

I found a 2001 Leaf Rookies & Stars Dress For Success Darin Erstad bat / jersey #DFS-23 to hang onto - so maybe it was on as far as finding other odds and ends to build on.

The Vlad is a numbered Angels card, so while $2 might have been too much - it was another no-brainer keeper for me as well.

I could have been content to pick out three others cards and spend $10 where the quality wasn't particularly unique, but I relented to splurge - trying to make a game out of scrutinizing my probable keepers and cards I can put back.

Some 'junk autos' I flagged for fun and games - a rookie year Adam Eaton pack pulled auto doesn't mean much in 2023, but I guess he was a solid MLB player.

Even though it's an Arizona Diamondbacks card, it gives me an autograph to add to my Angels all-time autograph collection - without have to try and dig up cards I might have gotten signed in-person.

Jose DeLeon and Christian Arroyo might have been promising prospects at some point - but I never got an opportunity for either player to sign for me when they were coming up the minor leagues.

DeLeon came up with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but maybe injuries derailed his big league career - where he has bounced around the pro ranks as a journeyman pitcher.

Arroyo might have been a future star for the San Francisco Giants, until he wasn't in their long-term plans - he bounced around for a little bit, but has stuck in the major leagues as a rank-and-file utility guy of sorts.

I thought Richie Shaffer would be a player who would reasonably have a longer MLB career, but he lasted for only parts of two big league seasons - I picked up his card, because it's after hitting his first MLB home run, where he is playfully ignored by his teammates.

This last quartet ends up giving my stack some breadth as far as legendary players go - the Tom Seaver game card was 'scratched' but I like the fold out inserts and adds some vintage kitch to my pile.

I thought I found a nice Clemente insert from 15-20 years ago, that might be harder to find - but it's from a more recent Topps Pristine release.

I grabbed a parallel #'d to 99 of Roger Clemens and a #'d insert of Mark McGwire from the late 1990s - despite their sketchy PED histories, there is still is some lingering sentiment over their playing careers as a whole.

Card show pickups - Angels material

Off a seller, these are [dollar] Angel cards are ones I ended up making keepers - maybe I'm content to squirrel a few Angels here and there into my card show pile depending on the player and type of card, but even if I don't have them, I get picky just adding random Angels cards left and right.

I don't think I've ever had a Erstad 1996 Upper Deck SP RC #4 [which may have been special for a little bit when he was a top prospect] - Erstad's big league totals ended up being rather modest for a No. 1 overall pick, but he fit the mold of a 100 percent player / zero percent BS type fans ate up.

Maybe my favorite non-RC Mike Trout ends up being his 2016 Topps #1 and the version I picked up looks to be a Rainbow Foil parallel - I'm not focused enough to seek out a rainbow for a specific player or from a specific year, I might be on the look out for as many versions of the Trout when available.

I ended up picking up a 1969 Topps Hoyt Wilhelm for my 'all-time team register' collection last year but the no-team airbrushed cap doesn't make the card the most attractive - this 1969 Topps Decals Wilhelm actually has the Angels logo plastered on the cap, so it ends up popping a little more [even though it's not really a traditional trading card].

The 30-Day Baseball Card Challenge - Day 14

"One of your favorite cards from the 2000s."

2001 Upper Deck Darin Erstad #46 - this was one of those cards that gave a snapshot of what a player was like.

Erstad, the No. 1 overall pick in 1995, had a reputation as a gamer - his batting stats weren't overwhelming except for 2000, where he racked up 240 hits and had a .355 batting average, but I always thought he was a tough out who grinded out at-bats.

Miscellaneous Angels frankenset finds

223 1995 Donruss Jim Edmonds - Press Proof parallel; not individually numbered but apparently among the '1st 2000 Printed.'

#244 2005 Donruss Zenith Rod Carew - Museum Collection parallel; even though it's not a refractor, I liked how this card shimmered, so I figured why not pick it up for a dollar and change.

310 1995 Score Platinum Team Set Garret Anderson - I grabbed the Anderson because I hadn't really seen the card before and I like how it pops.

347 2005 Donruss Champions Darin Erstad - Red Impressions parallel serial #'d to 250

386 2001 Topps Chrome Troy Percival - Retrofractor parallel; the front of the card has a refractor finish while the back of the card has a grayback finish.

433 2015 Topps Heritage Jered Weaver - short print

450 1992 Leaf Chuck Finley - Black Gold parallel; I've had my share of Finley cards from the junk wax era though I went ahead and grabbed this parallel.

460 2010 Topps Bobby Abreu - short print

Featured autographs - Darin Erstad

I saw Nebraska was scheduled to visit Cal State Fullerton this year, so I was already thinking I could get Angels fan favorite and Nebraska baseball head coach Darin Erstad to sign at least a couple of cards - I got him to sign three cards in 2011, but was looking to get him to sign at least a couple of more cards from the 'bunch' I have in my A-Z archives.

As much as I don't want to admit it, I just can't ever say I'm done with a getting any particular player's autograph – it just depends on what I have at the moment and whether I can cobble up more items, especially for a guy who maybe worth getting.

Since I'm kind of hard up for any baseball in-person autographs opportunities that get me out of the house - I had to go sniff things out and was planning to make the most of my afternoon, after paying $10 to watch a Nebraska-CSUF doubleheader at Goodwin Field this past Saturday.

I made my way towards the visitor's side and kind of scoped things out and saw there were maybe five or six random people looking to get Erstad - I didn't see Erstad anywhere, though I was hoping he'd sign sooner than later, instead of making collectors wait until the end.

Erstad finally popped out of the visitor's dugout about 20 minutes before the game and walked by the railing - to sign for the people waiting for him.

Erstad 2/4 - I pointed out the 1997 Pinnacle Certified because it's my 'shiniest' card [there was a label I had to peel off] and if it wasn't going to be signed and put away, it was just going to get scratched up even more.

To be honest, the scan looks better than the actual signed card - the autographs is kind of obscured since the background was dark to begin with.

The other card I pointed out to Erstad was a 1998 Fleer Ultra - I like the action shot of Erstad sliding headfirst into a base.

COMC mail day Part 3 of 4 - adding to the Angels regional collection

2003 Topps Pristine Garret Anderson Gold refractor [$4] - a shiny, numbered card of a former Angels star whose name is listed prominently among the top of the team's all-time offensive categories.

2011 Topps Hope parallel of Torii Hunter #'d to 60 [$4.95] - I'm trying to ramp up my regional collection bit by bit, though I probably won't try and track every Angel card down unless it pictures my 'favorites.'

2011 Topps 60th Anniversary Black Diamond wrapper redemption Torii Hunter and Jered Weaver [about $0.69 each] - I was vaguely aware of the early 2011 Topps Series I promotion, though never bothered to look into it because it was hobby exclusive.

2003 40-Man Darin Erstad Rainbow parallel #'d to 40 [$2] - I figured I'd better just grab the card sooner [rather than never] and not worry whether or not it was worth picking up.

1996 Studio Tim Salmon Hit Parade insert #'d to 5,000 [$1.15] - can I really do any extensive digging through a card shop or a card show [these days] to find a forgotten insert like this?

2006 Upper Deck F/X Tim Salmon Red #'d to 40 [$1] - this parallel is from was printed the same year Salmon finished up his playing career. The card itself has a nice, shiny finish and it's numbered too.

2002 Upper Deck 40-Man Tim Salmon Rainbow parallel #'d to 40 [$5] - I've never been aware of these parallels from Upper Deck's answer to the 'comprehensive' Topps Total sets from the early 2000s.

2004 Leaf Limited Tim Salmon Spotlight parallel #'d [$1] - it is shiny and numbered.

1996 Bowman's Best Preview Tim Salmon Atomic refractor [$1] - not a bad looking parallel of an insert card.

Featured autographs - Darin Erstad

I was sort of scheming around on Labor Day, thinking all the gates at Angel Stadium might open at the same time for a 6:05 p.m. Angel game - if I can go in through the back, I could probably beat the rush for the autographs wristbands passed out for Darin Erstad, who was throwing out the first pitch.

A couple of buddies were already in line at the Home Plate Gate, so I decided to walk to the back and explore - I saw Ichiro dropped off down the tunnel where visitors go through and I think I got a faint wave from the bottom as I called out to him.

I didn't see any security or anyone by the gate at the back of the stadium - as I was standing around, I actually saw Erstad carrying his son as he walked to the Angels' offices.

I'm flipping through my autograph book, digging out my Erstad cards [I figure he'd do two and even if he did more, I'd get the ones that were my priorities at this point] - I approach him to ask him to sign and he put his boy down and nods towards me.

Erstad signed a 2005 Topps Turkey Red and a 1997 Upper Deck Rock Solid Foundation insert - signed; the Upper Deck insert maybe worth a dime today but it is my favorite Erstad card because it is shiny and I probably pulled it when Erstad was still considered a rising star.


I go back to buddies to see what is up and head to the back a second time - I'm still trying to use some chicanery here and there was just a group of about four or five people waiting at the back of the stadium.

It looks like they had stuff to get signed for Erstad too, but they found out the gates in the back were opening at 4:30 p.m. - Home Plate gate was the only one opening at 4 p.m., so it was off to the front, again.

After heading into the line where my buddies were, it was off to the races once the gates opened - I don't know what compelled me to nearly kill myself trying to get a wristband for another Erstad autograph.

I crumpled my ticket as I straggled towards the line just because I was going to collapse - I'D GOTTEN ERSTAD TWICE ALREADY, DID I REALLY HAVE TO DO WHAT I DID, JUST TO END UP WITH A THIRD ONE?

I got my wristband, but ended up stumbling around to sit in a couple of places out in the right field concourse to try and chill out - this was all unbelievable, if only because I got caught up in the rush and was paying for it.

For about 40 minutes during the early part of batting practice, I threw up a little and struggled to regain my composure - I was gassed and didn't feel any better until towards the start of the game.

During the game, I made my way to the line for Erstad - the card I was going to get signed was a 1995 Signature Rookies B-1 Bomber card; it pictures Erstad in his Nebraska uniform and I think it is a cool card, even though it was probably another way for an unknown trading card company to cash in on 1995's No. 1 overall pick.

As intense as Erstad was as a baseball player, he seems to give off an even-keeled vibe - I would think with his reputation, he'd sort of have more of a gruff personality.

I asked Erstad to use my Sharpie when I approached him and the Angels handler [for the first pitch signers] mumbled, "now he is going to want you put his number..."

What a good idea, so that is exactly what I had him do- he did it without a problem and I was fortunate to end up with three Erstads in one day.

Angels received in the mail from Section 36 - Darin Erstad

Got around 52 different Angels cards in the mail yesterday - I remember sending an e-mail with my address to a blog called Section 36, giving away cards. The Angels were one of the teams that weren't claimed and I jumped at the opportunity to add to my collection.

I don't know about any other sane collectors - but I always like to flip through a stack of any cards I haven't gone through before, perhaps in anticipation perhaps of finding at least a couple of interesting cards.

The Angels cards I received were from 2001 and it feels just a little weird 10 years has already past - there were about 10 Darin Erstad cards in the stack of Angels and I'd post some of the cards I received.

Despite his stats screaming 'complimentary player,' with only one 'great, superstar' season in 2000 - Erstad is held in high regard among Angels fans because he played the game hard and unforgiving.

Erstad was the definition of what Bill James once said about Don Mattingly - 100 percent ballplayer, 0 percent BS.

Thanks Section 36 for the cards.