FRENCH'S - Mustard to My Hot Dog

Here I am talking about hot dogs again. Surely it has nothing to do with the diet I began last month.  I don't recall when I last ate a tasty all-beefer on a bun. Summer time perhaps. The bright yellow mustard is fine enough but my preference leans toward spicy brown.

French conjures many images. Eiffel Tower. Notre-Dame. Napoleon. Bull Dogs. Brigette Bardot. Wait. What?

Oui, Oui, Brigette?

This past October, the other  French icon and hero Kevin Papoy, sent a mailer as a reminder he still thinks of me. Kevin has been blog-absent for sometime now, leading a busy life across the ocean.  With all he has going on, Kevin still felt sorry for these homeless cards. I'm a great foster parent.



Here's something new! My first 1986 True Value cards. Still sealed. With a 30 card checklist, the possibilities aren't endless but could include Nolan Ryan, Ripken and Sandberg. Each plays a large part in my collection. There are several HOFers in this set. I like the design well enough. They would look nice, side by side in a binder. This one will remain with my Whitakers. Now were I to rip it up, the contents would look something like this:

Yes, I do not own this photo. 

More oddities include these Fielders, both new to me. One from the Shanks Collection, the other Metz Baking. I wonder if they make hot dog buns?

How about these great additions to my build-a-bat collection? My best guess is that I'm still short 809,027 pieces - and one bat knob.

2001 FLEER SHOWCASE - STICK IT

2001 UD GAME-USED PP

Holy Hall of Fame, Batman! I have a real dilemma here! Both of these fine gentlemen are PCs. Perhaps it's better to add this to the catcher binder, after I take the wood chips off of course.  You can't imagine the splinters these things give me.


Here's a nice card to remind me Nick is no longer a Tiger or a Cub. It also serves as a reminder to scan cards in the future. There was a good  reason for taking pictures at the time.  Perhaps I was feeling a bit paresseuse. Look that up, if you're not too lazy.

Psst. Nick. NICHOLAS! Behind you...

How did I find myself thrown into 90's nostalgia? When I began collecting in 93, I was a full-bleed snob. White borders were banished from my collection.  How I miss the borders I never took time to appreciate.  There aren't many late 80s and early 90s bordered cards I feel a need to own. There are exceptions:1995 Topps Cyberstats. I have a crazy notion to pull this set together. All were added to my wantlist on TCDB.  Go there now and make my every wish come true. I find the foiled fronts appealing, with photos ripped from pages of history.  Dramatic?  Indeed.  It's the lack of sugar in my diet. 

[While composing this brilliant piece of literature, I found the font size fluctuating between eye-sore large and squinter's type. Blogger finds me intimidating.  I've increased the font size which appears normal in the preview. Please know if it's overly large, I am not yelling.]  I will however, yell THANK YOU to Kevin. 

France has given us many memorable gifts. Lady Liberty comes to mind immediately. But there was one other woman...

The Way We Were

Where ever did I leave off? Oh yes. Elbow surgery. It's kept us apart and currently, aggravating the heck out of me. This elbow. It refuses to allow the simple pleasantry of extended keyboard time. I returned to work a couple weeks ago and there's no avoiding the keys there! The real job uses up most of the tolerance I have. By the time I'm home, the arm is done.  Card sorting is difficult as well. Keeping the elbow bent creates unhappiness.  One thing I have accomplished - sorting my Altuves  and Cobbs by year and logging these thru 2017!  On a printed checklist.  Don't go running to the TCDB. That would require my time on a keyboard. Many players remain to be sorted but there's always knee surgery...

I owe you an answer to my last 3D post: Jeff Bagwell. I assure you, it's forthcoming. There are more cards looking for homes too. I've overhauled my want list.  I continue to collect Tigers but more carefully. I just can't use cards from 1980-1994, having them many times over.  The list will be updated more often as well. Thanks to all of my many trade pals, whose generosity pushed me to eliminate player collections from the list for now.  I'll add specific player cards in the near future.

This is a good time to share a few more of the packages received in the past year. Each of these jolly good fellows deserves an individual post. I can't wait that long. They have waited months.

NIGHT OWL CARDS
A great mix of old and new here from the great repository of cardboard history, Night Owl. I can say new since these were rec'd less than a year ago and rather new at the time. Ha.  Really tho, 76 Topps, 81 Fleer. Player collections. Tigers. A very nice JD Martinez /99.  Always grateful to you,  N.O.!

PAWS wins here, hands down!

What's a Wockenfuss?  Snuffleupagus comes to mind.

Champ Summers belongs in every collection. Does too.

If flakes are gonna fall, better on the card than in the yard.

JOHNNY'S TRADING SPOT
John Miller is a crazy man. The proof has found its way to my porch twice - in July and this past week. Both packages contained THOUSANDS of catchers. THOUSANDS. This will keep me sorting all winter long. I have never been Zippy Zapped or Bipped but now know what it's like, catchers in the wry. Needless to say, catchers were also removed from my want list. Unless it's 79 or older, I won't need it. He also sent a mailer a while back filled with an assortment of shiny and colorful Tigers.

CROWN ROYALE NEEDS TO MAKE A COMEBACK!

1998 Skybox Thunder. Lightning and the Thunder.

2005 ZENITH

THE SHINING

My Tatas!

THE CARD PAPOY

Kevin - writer, collector, musician and my friend in France! He shops ebay and comc for his trade pals, always choosing a little vintage and snappy relics or autos. He sent a sweetly packaged mailer earlier in the year. Here are some of the surprises it held:

BIGGIO heavy duty 2016 VAULT METAL
02 MUSEUM SANDBERG /199

ATTRACTIVE GINTERS!

PUDGE 01 UD GLOVE RELIC
PIAZZA 02 HOT PROSPECTS

NEWLY RETIRED VMART - 2017 MUSEUM

2017 THREADS #/18 - sweet card!

2017 GOLD LABEL HEAVY DUTY AUTO
paper weight...that's a pun

I want to continue trading so if you don't mind waiting to see your cards posted, I'm the gal for you. What a crazy few months it's been. I can't help but feel good with the progress made regarding my own collection. I've had stacks of cards for trades on my hobby table for sometime. These are hitting the mail, a couple per day, over the next two weeks. Other than PWEs, I won't be shipping again til next year, late spring. Waiting til spring allows me time to work on my collection and get through another busy season at work. If I still have the same job... It also gives me time to find cards for you! It is all about you! Without you, I wouldn't be here today. You have only yourselves to blame.

DUPE, DUMP OR DWINDLE: Round Two - Chipper Jones

WHAT??? I'm parting with the Jones boy? Could be a dump. Perhaps a lessening of sorts.  The 90s shout duplication. So what's your best guess?

Larry Wayne Jones Jr. is joining Cooperstown this summer. How is this even possible?  Were the 90s so long ago?  Larry's MLB debut with the Braves happened in September 1993, just as I'd begun collecting. Thanks to TBS, I was able to enjoy the Braves in some of their best years. He was a hot prospect so naturally, I collected Chipper Jones. 

    There's 93 Donruss, rubbing itself in my face once more. A very clean 94 Collector's Choice! 

Initially, Larry was a shortstop.  Throwing errors pushed the Braves to move him to third base. Even then his defense was only average. He owns no Gold Glove awards.  Among switch-hitters however,  only Mickey Mantle and Eddie Murray have more home runs. Chipper will enter the Hall as an eight-time All-Star with 468 dingers, 2726 hits and a career .303 batting average. 

96 Fleer featured a gorgeous matte finish.   Otherworldly 97 Pinnacle Aura subset...different.

Chipper had a reputation for being cocky. The young girls loved him.  Young women did too which would account for his three marriages. [Insert launch angle joke here.] His first marriage ended when his 18 month extramarital affair with a Hooters' waitress produced a son. I left him in 2002 when the hobby became for me, confusing and expensive.

Ten years passed as Chipper continued to rack up the numbers. Playing all 19 years with the Braves, he called it career in 2012. In 2013, the Braves retired number 10.

These cards are moving out but to where?  Time for someone to step up to the plate!

2016 GQ Power Alley - an insert set I should've assembled.

THE FINE PRINT

I’ve culled several hundred cards from my collection but what to do with them? Well that’s where you come into play. Literally. It’s game time!

Do you want these cards?  If so, you must be a regular reader with a USA mailing address, be the Card Papoy or a regular Canadian reader. No contest hounds. The rules are simple: determine why I’m giving away these cards.  You must comment with a correct response to have a chance via Randomizer.   Your only response choices are:

•      DUPE  (duplicates)
•      DUMP   (player booted from my collection)
•    DWINDLE  (player collection thinned, only select cards kept)

The next edition of Dupe, Dump or Dwindle will reveal the reason for the removal of these cards from my collection, and our randomized winner.  Remember, only correct responses will be randomized.

The twist?  You can win only ONCE every three rounds.  Cards that go unclaimed won’t be offered here again. There will be many players listed in the coming weeks but you have no way to know who’s up next. Do you need any of these cards?  Leave one of the only three correct responses for a chance to win Chipper - or pass.  

I'll wait at least a week to close out this edition's commentary with my own response noting the end of this round.

ROUND ONE SYNOPSIS: Don Mattingly

Of the responses left for Donnie, only six readers were interested in these cards. Of eight Dwindles, four were officially entered as guesses.  Only two Dump guesses, both entered as well. No one guessed DUPE which would have been incorrect. John Miller ventured 'dwindle' as I'd mentioned two of these cards as favorites. Perhaps that was a bit misleading. They are favorite Donnies but not favorites in the sense of keepers. There may be some disappointed folks here when they read Mattingly was a dump.  Forgive me Bo.  It's not that Mattingly was undeserving of my collection.  He just doesn't fit.  I didn't have all that many Donnie's but that's not necessarily a reflection of my player collections. I do have many smaller PCs. 

Our two dump guessers are defgav and The Card Papoy. Randomized by the number of correct guesses leaves us with our winner:

Kevin - Donnie is moving to France!  You were first place both times. I'll hang on to these for a bit in order to fill a trade package for you. You'll have to sit out the next two rounds which includes Chipper.  Gavin, thanks for making the final round! 

Thanks to all of you who took time to read, comment and participate!

Across the Sea, Off the Wall

Our hobby can take a good bit of time when done well: updating want lists, sharing cards, organizing cards, updating the want list.  When I read of other bloggers behind on their scanning, sharing, sorting and updating, it makes me feel a bit better.  I am not alone in the pursuit of a perfectly organized collection!  I shared here recently regarding my hobby makeover.  One thing I've neglected is updating my wantlist tab,  Collecting These Boys.   For now, this list is current!  I'll be moving my completed sets to a new tab as soon as I remember how to create and make the tab visible.  It's been a couple of years since I've done it!  Fortunately, I'm no longer years behind {felt like it at times} sharing the great incoming packages from this spring.

Kevin le' Papoy, oui.  He makes us smile, purchasing cards on the internet and paying extra for shipping to France.  He sorts and repackages these then sends them back across the ocean into our mailboxes.  He's different like that, a very special guy.  When he isn't sunning himself by the pool, he's working on his own collections. 

image courtesy of The Card Papoy

Kevin sent a thoughtful package early this spring, helping to ease the winter doldrums.  Spring arrives fairly late to Michigan -  a state uninfluenced by calendars, the Solstice etc.

That's some sweet 99 Stadium Club right there!  Piazza among my Tigers, all sharp and colorful.

Front and center is Gehringer #/325 from 2013 Cooperstown.  2008 Baseball Heroes Martinez relic, 2008 US Game Jersey Ordonez.  These five were among several relics and autos packaged up specifically for me.  That's how Kevin shops.  He never fails to include relics and.or autos in the mix with some great cards.   I owe you a nice package.  I'll be sure to include some sunscreen!

It may have been a few months since I received this box of cards from Shane but his generosity is not forgotten!

Inside were at least one hundred right off my want list, all eager to be invited to live among their brethren in team bags and binders.  Looking at these photos again, I still can't believe how many cards I was able to mark off!  Here's a small sampling of the goods:

2005 Topps

2003 Topps

1988 and 1986 Fleer

2006 Topps

Heritage from 2007, 2012, 2013

Heritage  2010, 2011

Shane included an assortment of autos.  A couple of these players are more well-known like Inge and Weaver - and Brad Ausmus .  Oh Brad.  I don't know how to feel about you these days. I trusted you. I can't say you've betrayed me.  And maybe I'm at fault, having too many expectations.  But where's the fire in your belly?   Why all the indecision?   Someone has to shoulder the blame.   Mr. I  died and took the team with him.   Such a sad year for Tigers Baseball.  Brad, I don't think I'll write you anymore.   You won't even notice.

This card was the gem of the box!  1969 Topps in gorgeous condition!   Only one remains to complete my team set for this year.

This box of cards was definitely Off the Wall, the contents so unexpected!  Thanks Shane!  You'll be hearing from me soon!

Only a couple of shares to go and this gal is up-to-date!

Yes. I own this album.

A Man and His Beibers

This man needs no proper introduction. A faraway friend whose blog is The Card Papoy, Kevin gets an odd high from including these in his trade packages:

I have to ask how many others have handled this Beiber?  Kevin was nearly out of his Justin supplies. I returned Beiber cards to him which basically makes them used. Who else has made this same mistake?  We are not helping Kevin by replacing his JBs.  He needs an intervention.  These cards can be quite informative.  For instance, on this one we can see Justin isn't playing the drums, isn't singing and therefore isn't talented.  

Kevin did try to sneak this card past me by including a delicious box of chocolates, which by the way is now empty...it was a nice Christmas surprise!  The cards included were certainly meant to distract from the Beiber. 

It's true, I'm collecting some Astros these days.  New players Altuve and Correa; old stock Ausmus, Caminiti, Biggio, Bagwell, and Nolan Ryan in his Astro  duds. I'm also adding cards which highlight the Astrodome and those great Tequila Sunrise uniforms for my 70s binder.

The player costumes from the early 90s were looking good too, as shown on 91 Upper Deck. Yes I said costumes.

1993 Flair, one of the first sets I fell in love with. It's a bit funny receiving  Astros via trade packages because I've given hundreds of them away over the years.  Nostalgia kicked in and I'm now asking  for them.

Seriously colorful 94 Stadium Club!  Then the uniforms changed to the drab colors shown on 94 Upper Deck. Y-A-W-N.

2004 Upper Deck Origins Lance Berkman

 

   2014 Topps - 89 Bowman Is Back Correa - now that's  a uniform!!

Kevin remembered my Piazza pc with two I needed - a 98 UD Stick Um and 05 Pros and Prospects. Of course, he sent Tigers:

                                               2005 Studio  and 2015 Topps Chrome autos

 

2015 GQ jumbo swatch 30/50  and 2005 Donruss Champions Trammell bat chip.  Kevin usually includes autos and relics - and vintage:

1960 Topps, very nice card and one of my favorite Topps designs.  Wow, Kevin!  Thanks for such a diverse cardboard assortment!  It's always fun trading with my overseas pal.  I'll have another little something to you soon.  I haven't decided if the Beiber will be returned to you.  It has some strange and hypnotic hold on me, surely your intention all along.  

I'm calling it a day; it's dinner time. Here's a peek at tonight's menu:

escargot