A Quick Question

I know a few guys make their own custom cards. I'm interested in doing the same - to send out to players for autographs. I have zero interest in selling them, as I want them for my collection.

My question is this: for those of you that do make your own cards, do you use Adobe InDesign or some other program? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

A Quick eBay Mailday

Another quick post. I would apologize, but you probably prefer the short and sweet posts. I can't say that I blame you. Earlier, I mentioned how much I really like the 2017 Topps Museum Collection Meaningful Material relics. I managed to snag another:

The relic isn't an awesome patch like the Hamels relic was, but it  isn't a plain white swatch, either. I'm thinking that this probably came from the sleeve of the Rangers' alternate red jerseys. They piping would certainly fit with that.

I have at least one more on the way, so this isn't the last time you will hear about these cards!

I hope everyone is well!

Gavin Is A Talented Man

A while back, I commented on one of Gavin's posts over at Baseball Card Breakdown. He was sharing the contents of a Box of '17 Archives he opened, and I let him know that I was interested in a Rougned Odor parallel he pulled.

Fast forward to last week. I arrived back to my place after taking a last minute, two week journey to Omaha and South Dakota (where my Alma Mater is) to spend time with friends and visit the College World Series. I opened my mailbox and found two thick bubble mailers, the first of which was from Gavin. 

He sent me the card I requested...

These are classified as "peach" parallels, evidently. When companies get to the point that they no longer use common colors, I think we may need to have a conversation about going overboard on the parallel cruise. I would have been happy if that was all that was in the package. But there was more!

Along with several team set needs, Gavin also included some PC wants. For example, he sent this Prism Juan Gone:

Interesting side note: when these cards were released, they came in three-card packs. These were the "base" set cards; however, to protect the "prism" part of the card, inserts from a set call "Gems of the Diamond" were placed on both sides of the "base" card. This led to the insert set being larger than the base set. Weird.

Gavin also included this beautiful Rusty Greer Gold Label. I wish the current Gold Label product was as beautiful as this one. 

This Ivan Rodriguez Upper Deck Legendary Lumber relic also found its way into the package. It's my understanding that this is an actual piece from a game-used bat, but I don't understand their need to place stitching on the "ball." Regardless, it's a Pudge relic that I didn't have before, so I am grateful!

Lastly, Gavin included a couple of customs. The first hit my main PC:

Matt Harrison! How awesome is that?! My first custom for the PC!

The second was one that I had seen before on his blog, and it gave a great smile:

This sketch card was featured on BCB back in March when Gavin recapped a couple of packages from Night Owl and myself. I remember reading the post and then getting a pretty good laugh from the sketch. Now I know how Jerry Koosman feels...but I won't complain. I'm honored to be on a card with the certain first-ballot hall-of-famer. Gavin, I can't thank you enough. This may be my favorite card in my collection.

Thanks for reading, and I hope everyone has a great weekend!

A Nice TTM

Quick post today. Over the weekend, I received another TTM from the 1972 Topps cards that I sent out. Maybe you heard of this guy:

In case you don't recognize him, maybe this will help:

It's Bobby Valentine! Of course, the second image is from June 6, 1999, when Valentine was tossed from a game but re-entered the dugout in "disguise." Needless to say, he didn't fool anyone.

I appreciate Mr. Valentine taking the time to sign my card and return it to me. I have a handful of these 1972 Topps, and I'm thinking I may send more out to get signed. 

That's it for today. I hope everyone is well!

A Hall of Fame TTM

I received another TTM the day before I left on my trip to the upper-Midwest. This one left my hands shaking when I opened it. 

I'm certain you saw the inscription and thought to yourself, "That doesn't look like any of the men elected to the Hall of Fame in 2014." You're right...and wrong.

As a kid, I lived out in the country. My closest neighbor was a few miles away. We had three television stations by antennae broadcast, but Texas Rangers baseball wasn't on any of them.

We did receive the games on the radio, though. That's where I would get to hear Eric Nadel call the games as I hoped to hear his signature "That one is history!" call for a home run. It seemed to happen a lot in the mid-to-late 90's and it has made its way back to the mainstream during the last decade.

In 2014, Nadel received the National Baseball Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award, which acknowledges the game's great radio broadcasters. It was his fourth time being name a finalist for the award. This makes him a Hall of Famer, though many people forget about the Frick Award when thinking of the Hall. 

Nadel has essentially provided the baseball soundtrack of my lifetime. While the Rangers have a great (in my opinion) television color commentator in Tom Grieve, Nadel is on a level few ever reach. He doesn't have the national name recognition of Vin Scully, but you wouldn't be disappointed if you ever tuned-in and listened. The man calls a game flawlessly.

He began calling games for the Rangers in 1979 made a few television appearances in his early career. Recently, it has been solidly radio with his partner Matt Hicks. The duo was awarded "Best Broadcast Team" by Fangraphs in 2016.

I've cried twice listening baseball. The second time was when the Rangers lost the World Series to the Cardinals. The first, however, came as I listened to these words driving along Interstate 20:

Retail Treats Me Right

I have zero interest in Topps Archives. I think it is ridiculous that Topps has two "vintage inspired" products in Heritage and Archives, and for me, Heritage is enough. However, Archives frequently has Fan Favorite autographs of some lesser-known former players, and that I do like. 

When the checklist for 2017 Archives was released, I saw that Lenny Randle was representing the Rangers in this year's Fan Favorites autograph insert. I decided that I would grab some retail, as I did not and do not care to purchase a box for approximately $100 at my LCS.

I went to my local Wally World and grabbed three rack packs and a blaster. Nothing fun in the blaster, but in the second of the rack packs, I pulled this:

What are the odds that I would actually pull the card I was looking for? I'm not sure that has ever happened to me. I love the card, especially the smiley face Randle included over his last name!

So, I was fortunate. Retail treated me right and I have no need - or desire - to buy any more Archives this year. 

'72 TTMs

A couple weeks ago, I realized that for my own sanity, I needed to get away from school and Lubbock. So naturally, I decided to head back to my former stomping grounds of Omaha, Nebraska, and Yankton, South Dakota. I managed to get in some quality time at the College World Series (it was fun, but it isn't the same since it left Rosenblatt) and I also got to visit with a couple of my best friends before I had to cut things short and come back home to tend to a family matter.

Before I left, I dropped a few cards in the mail, hoping that I could get a few of my 1972 Topps cards signed. So far, I have received two of the three I sent.

First up:

Doug Rader. The Red Rooster spent most of his playing years with the Astros before spending his final three seasons with the Padres and Blue Jays. He would go on to manage for seven seasons: three with the Rangers, one with the White Sox, and three with the Angels. I need to snag one of his Rangers manager cards and try sending it to him to sign.

The second card I received back was from Fritz Peterson. Peterson spent the majority of his career with the Yankees. He was traded to the Rangers and made two starts before injuring his shoulder. He was later released by the organization. He doesn't have a Rangers card, so I need to learn Photoshop so I can make one. All of that aside, Peterson is probably most well-known for his agreement with Yankee teammate Mike Kekich to "trade" wives. The two held separate press conferences on March 4, 1973 announcing their intentions to "trade" spouses. The "trade" actually happened, too. Peterson is still married to his wife, though Kekich divorced soon after the arrangement. Oddly enough, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck once considered making a movie about the trade. I don't think it happened, but who knows if it's still on the radar. 

Peterson included a business card in the envelope:

He signed the front, which advertised his book, "When the Yankees were on the Fritz." See what he did there?

The back of the card has instructions on how to get a copy of the book. I will probably order a copy soon, since I am only a few months away from having time to read books I actually want to read!

So, there ya go. The more you know!