Beermas Day 11

My wife and I kicked off my birthday weekend in style Friday night. First, we went out to eat at a fancy restaurant. And it wasn't just any fancy restaurant, but rather one that was a block away from our old dog park. I'd always pass by it when taking our late, great dog Lucy to play at the park. It became a running joke that it was my dream place to eat. So that was neat to finally check it out. Great food, nice bottle of wine. It was probably the most expensive 2-person meal either of us have ever had, but gotta go all-out sometimes.

After dessert (an incredible butterscotch pudding type of thing), we killed some time at a nearby bar, then walked over a block or two Revolution Hall for a sold out stand-up comedy show headlined by Ian Karmel. Also performing were David Gborie, Sean Jordan, and one other guy whose name I can't recall, but they were all very funny. Wonderful night all around.

Oh, and my wife surprised me with a nice top-of-the-line MacBook! Very excited about that. This current Mac of mine has been having some annoying issues lately, so I had been bemoaning it a bit, but wasn't expecting a nice new one for my birthday, rather was planning to suffer through 2018 with the current computer, then ask for a new one this time next year. She's so good to me!

It's the penultimate day of Beermas 2017.

I'm out of new 12/25 cards to show off (one left saved for tomorrow), so here are a few favorites I picked out from my collection.

The beer is a Ruination Double IPA by Stone Brewing out of San Diego. Stone is one of my favorite breweries. We had a great time taking the tour last time I was down in San Diego.

Got the Jimmie Johnson card in there for the San Diego connection. Spencer Scott is a cutie. The Goldschmidt was a heart-warming surprise from Daniel Wilson a while back. The Albert Belle and Tim Raines are there for Jingle "Belle/Rock".

Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays!

Beermas Day 10 with a box from Rod and my fav card of '17

Today is a really busy day for me– not only is it the last workday before a holiday weekend (with lots on my plate at work), but it's also my "observed" birthday, with a night on the town planned– so this is a post with limited commentary showing off a bunch of highlights from a longbox that Padrographs Rod was kind enough to swing by my house with the other day. Thanks, Rod!

Been wanting this card for a while. Love that style uniform. Tempted to call this my favorite card of 2017.
Winfield will bookend this post.

Bellinger rookie mojo.

Vintage stock parallel /99 DJ LeMahieu.

Ok, here we go, let's call this one my favorite card of 2017 for P-town Tom's contest. I was a competitive sprinter in my younger days and have always held an affinity for fellow speedsters. Growing up, it was Vince Coleman in his prime, and of course Rickey Henderson.. and today Billy Hamilton is carrying that torch. I can't think of another baseball card that's ever conveyed the concept of speed as well as this 2017 Stadium Club card, catching Billy dashing between bases, the rest of the world just a blur. Been wanting to land a copy of this card since it came out, so big thanks to Rod for helping me get it before the year was out.

1987-design inserts.

Pretty girls from the world of wrestling. (Cathy is a media personality, not a wrestler, as is my understanding.)

Will Trout's Angels finally compete now that they've got that stud from Japan?

Untouch Ables and Uncutch Andrew.

Some Stantons including a gold parallel.

I like these nickname cards from 2017 Topps Fire.

Nolan Ryan.

This.

That.

These.

Those.

Some very cool oddballs from the Oregon Historical Society. They're a little taller than a standard card, probably about '89 Bowman sized. Especially love the Jim Bouton.

Some Star Wars content. I'll probably go see The Last Jedi on Christmas Day (even though I've already had it ruined for me.. lame people on stupid social media.)

"Did I do that?"

And the rest! Anybody working on 2017 Ginter, Update, Series 2, Heritage, or Stadium Club.. I've got plenty. Plus some Fire, wrestling, and basketball.

And one last card from Rod gets the distinction of being featured with the Beermas beer...

Cocoa Cow Chocolate Milk Stout by Sunriver Brewing, with a Triple Threads Winfield. Very impressive, both!

Awesome! Huge thanks for all the cards, Rod!

I generally love chocolate beers, and love milk stouts, and love chocolate milk, so a chocolate milk stout seems like a direct bulls-eye. Excited to pop this open later tonight!

On a somber note, sad to hear about Dick Enberg's passing yesterday. It was a privilege as a Padre fan to have him finish up his legendary broadcasting career in San Diego (even if the pairing with Mark Grant never felt quite right). Rest in peace.

Thanks for reading and have a great holiday weekend, everybody.

Greatest Gavins 2017 Recap

Now that the season is over, let's take a look at how pro ballplayers named Gavin did in 2017. Let's start with the few Greatest Gavins who make up the majority of this minicollection of mine.

Gavin Cecchini - Mets
Gavin Glenn Christopher Joseph Cecchini played 32 games with the Mets in 2017, but barely hit over the Mendoza Line with just one dinger. And after batting comfortably over .300 in the minors the prior couple seasons, he only mustered .267 in AAA. In the field, he switched from short to 2nd base to make room for top prospect Amed Rosario. So, not a great year for the 2012 1st rounder, but hopefully he rebounds and sticks with the big league club at least in a backup role in 2018.

Gavin Floyd - free agent
Floyd was with Toronto in spring training, but didn't actually pitch in any games and was released at the end of camp. He didn't catch on with any other club, and while I don't think he's officially retired yet, his career seems to be over. Bummer. Oh well, he had a slightly above-average Major League career (101 ERA+). Hats off to ya, Mr. Floyd.

Gavin LaValley - Reds (minors)
LaValley split 2017 between Daytona (where he was named MVP of the Florida State League All-Star Game) and AA Pensacola. His output dipped after the promotion, but still a solid year overall. Looks like they're playing him only at 1st base now (rather than splitting time at the corners in his earlier seasoning). Joey Votto is signed through 2023, but hey, if the Reds need a first baseman in a couple years, LaValley should hopefully be ready to go by then.

Gavin Lux - Dodgers (minors)
Lux spent the whole season with the Great Lakes Loons. His batting average was down from his previous year in Rookie ball, but he hit 7 homers and stole 27 bases, both way up from 2016. His natural position is shortstop, but they also gave him a lot of starts at second base. With Corey Seager not going anywhere anytime soon, moving to the other side of the bag is probably good for his Major League aspirations. But Lux only just turned 20 last month, so no rush.

Gavin Escobar - football
Switching sports for a moment, Gavin Escobar hasn't been doing too well this year in the NFL. The Cowboys cut him loose after the 2016 season. Then he was with Kansas City Chiefs' practice squad for a few months earlier this year. More recently, he spent a few weeks with the Baltimore Ravens, getting into a couple games but not doing much, and is currently a free agent, I believe. I'm hoping he gets things going with another team, but as it stands, doesn't look like the many autos of his I own are going to appreciate in value much for me going forward. Seriously, I can't think of any other player I have more autos of.



Now let's hit some of the less-heralded Gavins in minor league baseball. Just researching for this post-- Wow! I think it's safe to say 2017 set the record for most Gavins ever in pro ball at one time. I might have to cool it on collecting cards of guys named Gavin just because it's becoming too popular of a name nowadays. Once Bowman starts having multiple Gavins in the same product (which I'm sure is any year now), I'll probably have to throw my hands up in defeat. (Update: since I started drafting up this post a while ago, it has happened: 2017 Bowman Draft includes both Gavin Lux and Gavin Sheets.) I'll try to get an autograph for each of them, probably, and maybe small PCs, but no rainbowing or heavy collecting unless a guy really calls to me (like, imagine if a guy from my high school named Gavin got drafted? I'd have to collect the shit out of his cards! ha.) But anyways, here are some more Gavins who were active in 2017:

Gavin Collins (2016-2017) - Indians (minors)
A third baseman (and occasionally catcher) in the Indians chain, Collins hit .272 with 12 taters in A-ball this past season. Not too shabby.

Gavin Fritz (2017) - Marlins (minors)
Fritz is a righty who signed with Miami in the 2017 draft (16th round) out of Dallas Baptist University. He got his feet wet with an ERA of 5.00 in rookie ball.

Gavin Garay (2017) - Mets (minors)
The Mets took Garay in the 26th round of the 2017 draft. The 20 year-old plays 1B and hit .246 with 3 homers in 36 rookie league games under his belt.

Gavin Pittore (2015-2017) - Dodgers (minors)
Pittore only pitched 8.2 innings in 2017, I gotta assume due to injury, as his numbers were good in that limited action. Hopefully he bounces back strong in 2018.

Gavin Sheets (2017) - White Sox (minors)
Sheets was taken by the White Sox in the 2nd round of the 2017 draft out of Wake Forest University. He hit .279 with 12 doubles in 56 games in his first season as a pro. From a card collecting perspective, he's got a bunch of 2017 cards thanks to Leaf and Bowman Draft. I'm not going to go too buckwild on him, but I've picked up some of his Leaf autos and will track down some Bowman cards soon enough.

Gavin Stupienski (2016-2017) - Diamondbacks (minors)
Stupienski hit an impressive .354 in limited action in the low minors in 2017. Hopefully he gets more playing time in 2018.

Gavin Wallace (2017) - Pirates (minors)
Attn: Zippy and Matt Scott: Staten Island native Wallace was drafted by the Pirates in the 15th round of the 2017 draft. He's a righty who made 13 starts with the West Virginia Black Bears last season, putting up a solid 2.65 ERA.

Grant Gavin (2016-2017) - Royals (minors)
Grant followed up his promising 2016 pro debut with a stellar 2017. He had an ERA of 1.65 in 36 games, all out of the pen. Seems like he's being groomed as the Royals' future closer.

John Gavin (2017) - Giants (minors)
I've had a John Gavin "Perfect Game" auto from his amateur days for a couple years or so. Nice to see him get drafted in 2017. He's from the Bay Area, so he was likely pleased to be taken by his hometown Giants (8th round). His pro debut consisted of no earned runs in 16 innings over 12 rookie league games. Impressive start to his career!

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12 Days of Christmas Cards and Beermas - Day 9

Beermas mixes things up with a cider tonight. Should be good. It's paired with a nice auto/relic of Gavin Lux featuring a chunk of the "g" in Dodgers, by the looks of it.

Good stuff. Thanks for reading!

Crusade of Cammy and a Christmas Rocket (Beermas Day 8)

After a crappy day or two, my mood has improved and Beermas is back on track. We had kind of a mini holiday party in my department today because it was a co-worker's last day. My boss got me one of those clickety-clack pendulum balls office toys things. I love stuff like that, so it was a very cool gift. Also ate too many sweets. I'm telling you, man.. January 2018, I'm going on a diet and going sober for a month, repenting for a fat, drunken December.

Well, let's segue to a guy who died of a drug overdose. It's a sad end to his story, but he's still one of my favorite guys to collect, reminding me of his glory days on the mid 90s Padres back when I watched the whole of nearly every game on TV.

While Topps Finest gets the credit for introducing refractors to the world of baseball cards, Donruss Crusade cards really kicked it up a notch. Great looking cards, and I was happy I was able add an old school Crusade card for my collection (even if it is a Call To Arms insert as opposed to the classic shield design).

This one is a green parallel /250 I scored for a few buck off eBay.
While I'm at it, here are a few cheap PC additions from my recent COMC order:

More shiny. Love these Score rainbowy parallels. Thirty-five cents well spent.

Can't beat those original Denny's Grand Slam holograms.

This is a 1999 Upper Deck Black Diamond Triple Diamond #70. Kinda cool looking and serial numbered on the back.

These Milk Bone oddballs are great, with Ken pictured here with his cocker spaniel Bailey.

I don't have much cardboard from the twilight of Cammy's career, so I was glad to pick up these representations from his brief stints on the Rangers and Braves.

I don't have any 12/25 cards of him, though, so I turned to another Astros great to pair with today's Beermas beer:

After I picked up a couple cheap Sportscasters cards a couple card shows ago and dug them, I took a look what was on COMC. The prices are really all over the place. Among the likes of $20 Miguel Tejada cards, I stumbled upon this Roger Clemens Christmas Card for just a couple bucks and snatched it up.

There's the back. Clemens seems to be creeping upwards with HOF voting, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him get in one of these years.

And here's the back of the beer. You may recall AleSmith was the brewer behind the Tony Gwynn beer from a few posts ago. Looking forward to this! I'm sure I'll love it. (UPDATE: Yeah, this was nice. Reminded me of a Stone Arrogant Bastard.)

Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays!