Domo Arigato Fujisan

Fuji is the man. Nothing much else to say about it. His blog is awesome. His contest was ridiculous. And I won. But what is the best part about Fuji?

Hands down, the coolest calling card out there. I, like others, will be holding on to this one in the PC.

His contest spanned almost a month and was extremely in depth. We had almost nightly questions to answer about our hobby and habits but Fuji went a few steps further. There were games within the contest and it ended with a Brett Favre Poetry contest.

You heard right, I said "Poetry Contest."

I debated even writing the 30 word poem but my mind got the best of me and I relented. Here is what I came up with:

There once was Favre from Green Bay,
Who proved to the world he could play.

Then he went to New York,
Showed us his dork,
With surprisingly little to say.

His teaching assistants judged the entries and I came out on top. There were a lot of other great poems but I was happy to win. This contest within a contest was the catalyst for my overall winning.

If only the other entrants knew thet, they were competing against a published poet (read to rhyme). I had a few poems published in a University Newsletter more than a decade ago, I guess I still got it.

I got first choice from 11 prizes and chose autographs of course. Nothing from the Birds, but some sweet pieces nonetheless.

Sam Jethroe 8x10

Ray Boone 8x10

Bob Feller 8X10

He wrote about the players here, and did so well, I will let his words speak for me.

The Feller is a fantastic piece. I am not sure what I want to do with them yet, still deciding.

Found Treasure

My first day at the new branch brought a lot of surprises.

The office was a total disaster. Messy. Dirty. Items just packed into any drawer or crevice.

A year old check that would have paid a receivable.

Protocol wasn't being followed...in any area.

One of my employees tendered her resignation.

Not what I was hoping for but given the circumstances, it could have been worse. The biggest surprise of all was lurking in a desk drawer, crammed with papers, screws and these.





All are available for trade if anyone is interested. Hopefully there are more baseball cards lurking in my branch somewhere.

Foster Castleman

Apparently I forgot to post this eBay pick-up from a few months ago.

In researching Castleman there isn't a whole lot of personal information I could find. That leaves us with his stats.

Games-268
Hits-136
HR-20
RBI-65
Avg-.205

He played four years with the New York Giants and played his final season in Baltimore. He only appeared on seven baseball cards in his career, but only one that really matters.

Foster Castleman 1991 Orioles Crown #71

Jumping on the Ginter Train

This past week has been nerve racking. End of month with my company coupled with a promotional interview wore me out. The 100+ degrees didnt help things either. But it was worth it as I earned another promotion, my second within five months.

Unfortunately, my new position comes with a commute, an hour long one. Seeing as my furthest commute had been 12 minutes it will be a major change in the coming weeks. Wifey and I haved started the new home search already. I spent the afternoon looking at a few houses and driving all over Maryland. I was a good patient husband all day and I felt like a needed a reward.

Wal-Mart delivered seven rack packs, all they had left. I love how Ginter looks, it is such an awesome set, but I won't go nuts for it. All the weird inserts and ridiculous people (Corn Hole Guy) kinda get to me. I am a baseball collector only and I can never seem to move any of the abnormal stuff. Anyone in the market let me know?

Base cards:
2,5,9,22,27,32,37,38,39,43,48,49,53,54,56,58
63,72,84,90,92,98,117,118,121,126,128,133,134,135,138,143,145,157,171,173,191,192,194
202,203,204,208,215,221,222,224,227,229,233,235,236,244,247,250,254,267,275,282,290

Short Prints
312 Cody Ross Giants
313 Leo Nunez Marlins
337 Drew Storen Nationals

Mini 177 Aaron Crow
Mini 280 Adam Wainwright
Mini SP 338 Lance Berkman
Mini A&G Back 20 Jeremy Hellickson
Mini Black 260 Alex Rodriguez

Hometown Heroes HH-6 Dan Haren
Hometown Heroes HH-10 Ryan Braun
Hometown Heroes HH-19 Nick Swisher
Hometown Heroes HH-43 Joba Chamberlain
Hometown Heroes HH-72 Billy Butler

Ascent of Man
AOM-7 Chordates
AOM-9 Placoderms

Minds That Made the Future MMF-1 Leonardo Da Vinci
Baseball Highlight Sketches BHS-4 Roy Halladay
Minds That Made the Future MMF-15 Isaac Newton

Portraits in Penultimacy PP-6 Tonto
Portraits in Penultimacy PP-8 Sancho Panza

And the hit
A.J. Burnett 2011 Topps Allen & Ginter Relics

Damn Yankees all over these packs. Gint-A-Cuffs would have scored only 32 pts for those interested in that kind of stuff. All are for trade.

Hot Hot Hot

What do you do when it's 99 degrees outside with 100 percent humidity? Hopefully you stay in an air conditioned building, spend time with your family, swim or do anything to stay cool.

What did I do? Went hunting for autographs of course.

Wifey scored tickets from work and she was open to braving the heat for me. We got to the stadium before the gates opened and waited for about 30 minutes before being allowed in. Wifey had no intention of standing in the blistering sun with me so she went to our seats in the covered lower reserve section.

I was one of the first twwo fans into the seating area. I made my way to the first base line and saw Willie Randolph B-lining toward the dugout. The other fan called out to him and he actually stopped. He signed for both of us. Shocked.

Willie Randolph 2008 Topps #280

Mike Gonzalez was running by himself and I asked him to sign and was told he'd get me later. Very few fans had made their way to the rails so I slid next to the dugout as another player came out. His jersey was covered and his hat was pulled down covering his face. I wasn't sure but I whispered, "Troy". He stopped and turned to me as I scrambled to pull his card out.

Troy Patton 2008 Bowman #211

More pitchers emerged from the pen and were running in the outfield so I again moved along the line. Jake Arrieta and Alfredo Simon were throwing, a football. I guess even pro baseball players are looking forward to football. Alfredo Simon looked as if he had never thrown a football and quickly ended the game.

Alfredo Simon 2009 Topps Heritage #126

This one is staying in the collection and a Orioles Crown blank is now available for trade. Simon was more than generous as he signed everything I had brought with me.

Alfredo Simon 2009 Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee #592

Gonzalez remembered his promise and came directly to me when he was done warming up. This guy is a great signer. I can always count on him to give my sharpie a workout.

Mike Gonzalez 2007 Fleer #51


Mike Gonzalez 2011 Topps #381

It seems as Mike has started to add his number to his scribbling. His signature actually looks decent on this one, replacing his 2010 Topps Update from earlier this year.

Saturday's pitching star Brad Bergesen was in a great mood and made his way down the line signing for everyone.

Brad Bergesen 2011 Topps #442

After Bergesen signed, the masses started to pour into the stadium. I moved yet again, this time behind home plate hoping to get guys coming out to warm up. I was alone there for a long time when Arrieta came back out to run. He told me he would get me after running and almost forgot. He signed for the entire first baseline when done and came running back to the clubhouse, head down. I called out and he said, "I gotta get inside", without looking up. Then he raised his head, saw it was me and stopped short. He came over, signed for me, then ducked inside. Thanks for remembering me Jake.

Jake Arrieta 2010 Bowman Sterling #11

I really like this set so I am holding on to this one. I have a 2008 Bowman Draft Picks available to anyone in need.

Robert Andino was the last player to sign, keeping up his reputation as an awesome signer.
Robert Andino 2010 Upper Deck #81

As for Wifey, she sat in the shade reading a book the whole time, never fussing. Man I lucked out on that one.

If anyone is interested in my duplicates, let me know.

A "Big Fun" Contest

I am hoping to get a spot in the Big Fun Game, hosted by Napkin. It's a sweet concept I have watched but never had the opportunity to participate. Hopefully that will change this time round.

Pirates for Orioles

The two losingest franchises over the last 20 years have come together in an autograph trade. Obed over at The Bench has a tremendous Pirates autograph collection. He also has 15,000,000 autographs available for trade or sale. OK, I embellished slightly, he only has 1,500, but it's still a lot.

I shipped over:
Walker, Neil 2010 Topps National Chicle (IP Autograph) 265 Pirates
Williams, Mike 2000 MLB Showdown (IP Autograph) 355 Pirates
Wilson, Jack 2008 Upper Deck (IP Autograph) 207 Pirates

All I asked for in return was:

Ray Miller Orioles Postcard

This postcard was already shipped to Ryan at the end of last month.

Marty Brown 1990 Donruss Rookies #39

Not much to say about Marty Brown's playing career. He played in nine games for the Orioles in 1990, garnering three singles. After the 1991 season he found a new home in Japan playing for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. He came back to the States to make one last attempt to reach the bigs, falling short in the Rangers organization. Brown has pin-balled back and forth from Japan as a manager and is currently the manager of the Las Vegas 51's. Now that he is stateside, I am thinking of testing his TTM habits.

Wifey Likes Baseball Cards

I never thought those words would ever purse my lips or spew from my fingertips, but she does. If you don't believe me, would you believe the most reliable form of media, Facebook?



Now for the explanation.

For my birthday, I pulled this card:


Wifey bought me a scanner for my birthday as well so that she didn't have to scan all my new cards at work. It was perfect.

I scanned my new card, listed it for trade and sale and looked forward to the payday. But, the scanner wasn't the right one. We needed to exchange it. The next morning I grabbed the re-packaged scanner and went to return it. Got my new scanner and all was good.

Fast forward a week when trade talks for the Chapman redemption heat up and I can't find the card. I looked everywhere and came to the only conclusion I could. I returned it to Wal-Mart with the scanner. Wifey and I were upset and begrudgingly I wrote off the card. That was until today when wifey came home with my mojo pull in her hand.

To say Wal-Mart was aware of her dealings isn't exactly true, but it was our property. No harm, no foul.

I love my wife.

A New May Addition

I haven't lost my mind and two months time. I have finally added Lee May to my Orioles collection. Not Lee Maye the R&B singer. Not Lee May the minor league hitting instructor. Lee May, the Reds, Astros, Orioles and Royals first baseman from the 60's, 70's and 80's.

The power-hitting Lee May who amassed 354 career home-runs and over 1200 RBI's. The same Lee May who is one of 11 players to drive in more than 100 runs for three different teams. The same Lee May who doesn't sign TTM, but will sign for a price. The very same Lee May to appear on 1991 Orioles Crown #285


The Lee May who is now crossed off my need list.

Mike Fornieles

Mike Fornieles 1991 Orioles Crown #141

48 years ago today Mike Fornieles ended his 12 season major league career as a member of the Minnesota Twins. He was a hybrid pitcher during his career, starting and finishing games, only moving to the "closer" role in 1959 with the Red Sox. Mike excelled in this role, being selected to the 1961 All-Star team and leading the league in saves (14) in 1960. Just a little perspective, 31 different pitchers eclipsed that mark in 2010.

Mike was a bird in the latter part of 1956 and early in 1957. He pitched 2 of his 4 shut-outs wearing the orange and black, but was dealt to the Red Sox for Billy Goodman before he flourished. All-in-all, he pitched in 45 games, went 6-13, struck out 96 and saved one game for the O's.

He toiled in the minors from 1963-67 before retiring for good. He passed in 1998, at the age of 66.