cards I was thinking about getting and then I got them

Remember when I found a Pumpsie Green rookie card in a dimebox at the card show a couple weeks ago? That was the catalyst for me wanting to pump more Pumpsie into my collection. I went looking for an autograph-- first eyeing a similar auto but on a Red Sox card that ended up going for a lot of money-- so instead I ended up going with this Mets one that wasn't nearly as expensive. Maybe not as nice as the other one, but I like it a lot too.

This is a reprint of a of his 1964 Topps card. If you think he played major league baseball in 1964, pump the brakes! He actually spent all year with the Mets AAA affiliate (Buffalo Bisons). In 1965 he played with the Bisons some more, plus a few games with the Syracuse Chiefs (Tigers AAA) before retiring. So this is a true sunset card with complete career stats on the back. I want to read his SABR bio soon to learn more about the man.

I still need the original version of this, not only for my budding Pumpsie PC, but also for my 1964 Topps sebuild. It's been stalled at 72½% complete with no update to my spreadsheet since April. Looks like I won't be finishing that set in the current decade. Oh well. Someday it'll be done. Bo told me he has a couple needs coming my way soon, so that'll be nice to pump a little life into that setbuild.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I'm posting this on Pumpsie's birthday! If you don't believe me, look at the vitals on the back of the card. It's right there in capital letters: OCTOBER 27. Sadly, he passed away earlier this year, so he's not here to welcome another year of life, leaving us at 85. It happens to us all eventually.
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Next card.

Bobby Cox! I was thinking I wanted a Bobby Cox autograph in my collection. Then I bought this one. I assume cards where he's pictured in a Braves uniform generally sell more than cards with him on other teams, but this Blue Jays card will do the trick for me without pumping too much money out of my account.
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It's got his complete MLB stats on the back (just a couple years on late 60s Yankees teams-- yeah, he's not in the Hall of Fame for his playing career!), plus some managerial mumbo jumbo. Hey look, it's the Syracuse Chiefs again.

Bobby won a World Series with the Braves in 1995 and got them pretty close a bunch of other times too.

This is probably the last card I'll be showing today. I heard that there were rare Gold parallels of the 1993-design cards in Archives this year. I thought that was cool so I decided I'd like to add one to my collection. This Jose Ramirez turned out to be the one I got because the price was right, but hey, I also PC the guy a bit, so it's cool for me. I think there are only a handful Topps Gold parallels of these per card (10? 20?), though they're not serial numbered.

José Ramírez had a down 2019 after a pair of very good seasons where he pumped a bunch of home runs over the fence. Looks like a pesky injury slowed him down. He just turned 27, so he should be able to bounce back and put up a few more quality seasons in his prime.
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Pump is a great album.

Don't forget to check out my 1991 MusiCards blog. I think it's fun.

Thanks for reading, gentlemen (as well as any ladies who might happen to be reading, but with Cracked Bat Julie being missing in action for a few months, there haven't been any ladies commenting here for quite a while unfortunately.)!

Dimebox Taoism

Oh hey I still have more dimebox cards to show you from that card show two weekends ago.

Griffey holograms! I grabbed 'em all (dupes included), so if anyone needs one, just let me know.

Here are some baseball players.

Here are some more baseball players.

Without the context of this photo, I could tell you that I paid 10¢ per card for a pair of serial-numbered (/150) cards of a player who's high up on the all-time home run list.. and that might be impressive if you didn't know the set or the player.

I should stop buying A-rod cards since I have all I need (some might say more than I need. In fact everyone besides maybe Zippy Zappy would say that), but somehow they still manage to sneak onto my stack, similar to A-rod sneaking his tainted urine passed MLB's drug testers.

Nothing to do with these cards, but we're watching the Game 3 right now and my wife says she honestly isn't familiar with the "Baby Shark" song. Never even heard of it. This from a woman who's a moderator on Reddit, so she typically knows what's going on.

Vlad! A beast in his prime!

Rickey? RICKEY!!

Legends.

I was so happy to snag this Ron Gant. Anytime I can find a card of him after leaving Atlanta seems like a big deal.

More protective coating, you say? Sure thing!

That's So Raven.

2002 Studio. Didn't have much (any?) from this set. Now I've got a few. Six HOFers. (Sheffield was secretly inducted but it wasn't announced in the press.)

2002 Fleer Hot Prospects is the name of the above set. Who knew that Barry Larkin was still considered a "hot prospect" in 2002? Wow! That just goes to show you how prodigious his career was.

The 2 Tinos in the post were picked up just in case the Lost Collector needed them, though I knew it was a long shot.

Here are baseball cards produced with large holes in them. The top row include metal coins in said holes (not the foil-made-to-look-like-a-coin ones, but the actual-metal-coin ones), while the bottom row have translucent pictures in the holes. I think this day must have set my personal record for most cards with holes in them obtained in one day. At least in the past few years.

I'll leave you for today with this pair of Gold Label cards from back when that meant something. Beauties!

A pocketful of dimes well spent, I'd say! I still have more from this haul that I'll likely post about soon (I think I've sorted them into modern baseball cards [big stack], and non-baseball [smaller stack].)

By the way, when I said "That's So Raven" earlier, it didn't have anything to do with cards. Hopefully nobody was like examining the photo trying to figure out what "That's So Raven" had to do with the cards pictured. I was just being silly; Sorry.

Hope you have a great weekend!

ignorable filler post: 1991 Cardboard Dreams #3: Tony Gwynn

It wasn't till I was in my 40s that I discovered frozen grapes. Frozen grapes are incredible! They're like funsize popsicles. I encourage you to get some grapes (either green or red, as long as they're seedless), rinse them, freeze them, and then snack on them. The natural sugar in them keeps them soft when frozen. Man, oh man; good stuff!

The painting on the right shows Tony Gwynn hitting a baseball before he learned about frozen grapes. The portrait in front is Tony after he learned about frozen grapes.

Tony was drafted by the SD Clippers! It's true!! He was an incredible athlete.

With the NFL season starting up, I'm saddened by no longer having a football team to root for anymore. The Clippers left San Diego before I was following sports, so I never had to be heartbroken about losing a basketball team, but I often wish San Diego had an NBA franchise while I was growing up. I never had a fighting chance to get into basketball.

Anyways, I love that doodle of Tony bi-sporting.

- "He holds the all-time basketball assists record at San Diego State where he played guard."

Tony Gwynn still hold SDSU's all-time assists record. His 590 is comfortably #1, plus he's in the top 10 for career steals, too. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_State_Aztecs_men%27s_basketball]

- "His brother Chris is on the L.A. Dodgers."

Chris Gwynn later went to the Royals for a couple years, then a double dip with the Dodgers for a couple more years, than to San Diego to finish his career with a season alongside his brother. Chris didn't have the success Tony did, but still had a respectable career.

Lest you think Chris rode Tony's coattails to baseball attention, did you know Chris was originally drafted by the California Angels in the fifth round of the 1982 draft (didn't sign), a month before Tony made his MLB debut.

Also..

On September 29, 1996, in the final game of the season, Gwynn hit what would prove to be the game-winning, two-run, pinch-hit double in the top of the 11th inning against Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Chan Ho Park to complete a three-game sweep of the Dodgers and clinch the Padres' second National League West division championship in team history. It was the final at bat of his career. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Gwynn]

That's very cool.

- "Tony won batting titles in 1984, 1987, 1988, & 1989..."

He would go onto win 4 more in a row, 1994 through 1997. Oh damn! Can you believe it?!!!

- "Tony says: 'Should I get two or three hits today?'"

Hey now... I don't think he really said that, did he? LOL

This is my favorite Tony Gwynn card. It's a refractor auto from 2004 Topps Retired. I would take a bullet for it.

And below is the most recent addition to my Gwynn PC...

If you wanna get technical, this is an upgrade. I've had a copy of this card for a long time, but my old one isn't in as nice of shape.

Actually, this above photo is from 2013; it's looks even worse today!

Here's the side-by-side. That's my "lucky card" that I've kept in my car since the 90s. It used to reside on my dash around the turn of the millenium, but over the years retired to a simpler life in my glove compartment.

Joy of a Completed Insert Set: 1992 Fleer Ultra Tony Gwynn Salute.

Feels good to wrap up this sweet tribute set I remember chasing as a kid in '92. The card I needed to upgrade (Casa De Amparo) is a promo that was not available in packs.

Mmm..frozen grapes! (Frozen cherries are also similarly very good.)