Be My Valentine

Ah, the heartstrings. Valentine's Day is rapidly approaching. Another opportunity to sack the consumer wallet with $10 Hallmark cards and cheap Palmers' brand candy. Who can afford good chocolate and a card?

Time gets away from us so quickly. It hasn't been a year since these gems came in the mail but it has been too long.  All are real valentine cards, if you were to ask me. That's coming from a woman.

Scribbled Ink's Paul Dionne may think I've forgotten his thoughtfulness. Not true:

SOME GIRLS LIKE POSIES. ME? BUSTER!

YOU PUT MY HEART IN ORBIT

STEAL HEARTS, NOT SIGNS

Taking this long to share and say thank you makes me a bad girl. Very bad. My face is Valentine Red with shame. {Pretty certain that's a crayon color these days.}

More card-hearts arrived at my door courtesy of Marc Brubaker! He sent some classy customs along with a mix of Astros and Tigers:

HEARTS ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN

YOUR CHEATIN' HEART

Marc isn't around much right now. I'm certain he would weigh in on our national tragedy.  I don't believe every player was involved but all must have known.  What options do players have should they not want to participate in canned signals?  A hitter may know what pitch is coming but he still has to make contact. I seem to remember Curt Schilling mouthing fastball with the hitter swinging at air. Does anyone else recall this?

I found this link quite intriguing:  Sign Stealing Scandal.  Created by an Astros fan, the graphs are broken down by game and player. Tony Kemp and Altuve heard the fewest raps on the can.  Cheating happened, the extent to which we'll never know.  I hope in time, my Altuve continues to prove himself at the plate and on the field. Watching him play brings me great joy. He's the player who brought me back to the hobby.

Baseball Card Lifer Bo knows I like a man with more than one bat! Azocar  had some fun cards. He died of a heart attack at 45 in 2010, much too young.  Bo also stuck me with awesome Fleer, flaunting ballparks on their backside.  Not sure where I am on this set. I still need to enter my small set builds into the Trading Heart Card Database. There's a little throwback and vintage love here too. Thank you, Bo!

LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD

HAPPY TO BE STUCK WITH YOU

OLD-FASHIONED LOVE SONG

Fred Pike trades on the database. He's also quite kind to follow the nimble-minded author of this blog. That's a little self-flattery folks. Nimble is not an accurate description for me but I can say whatever I want, spreading more lies around the internet.  Fred included cards from my want list plus these little green men.

You Don't Have To Be A Star, Baby

Johnny on the spot. He 's always dropping little surprises on me.  Several months ago I received around 3000 catchers spanning 30 years of cardboard. I plan to scan and share every single one. Not really. I'll spare you.  He did send a smaller package which included GQ set fillers:

YOU COMPLETE ME

LOVE IS BLUE

The final card left me speechless. I have a fondness for all things ballpark with hot dogs. All beef only, with lots of mustard. I love hot dogs so much they're part of my blog's name.  I've consider dropping baseball cards and a hot dog  from the title but can't do it. I hadn't seen this gem until John put it in my hands. What was Topps thinking???  Mr. Hot Dog Tie on the right is holding an obscene-looking ostrich neck. At first glance, the beak doesn't stand out. Already dialing the police, I hung up after determining this wasn't card stock pornography. John, you nearly gave this girl a heart attack!

MR. BIG STUFF

Thank you for these valentines, mi amigos.  Spreading love across the whole year is the best way to show others you care. Sharing these little hearties is a lovely way to show your appreciation.

LOVE'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT HARD ON ME.