A Bob Feller Cut Signature

I obtained a Bob Feller cut signature card about a month ago.  I was bidding on a Yoenis Cespedes rookie autograph on ebay (which I won and will post about eventually), and while perusing the seller's other items for sale, saw this sweet Bob Feller autograph:

 

2012 Panini Prime Cuts, Bob Feller Souvenir Cuts, #'d 82/99.  I thought that a serial number of 99 seems a bit high for a cut signature, but I guess Feller signed a good amount of stuff.  The back blurb on this card mentions Sandy Koufax.

It is always interesting to read about Bob Feller, a World War II veteran and one of the greatest pitchers of all time, who by all accounts was a level-headed and honest workhorse, gentleman, and all around stand-up dude.  Feller was a teammate of the pioneering Larry Doby, the American League's first African-American player.  Doby was elected to the Hall of Fame on this date in 1998.  I think I will try to acquire a Larry Doby signature so that he and Feller can hang out together in my collection.

Chinese Taipei 2013 World Baseball Classic Hat

I received this via UPS today:

Chinese Taipei's hat for the 2013 World Baseball Classic!

Awesome.  I am wearing the cap as I type this.  All the hats for the different national teams look very good and stylish - except for maybe the USA one.  The front logo design for that one went a bit awry.

A trade with Plaschke (in-person)

Greg of Plaschke and I traded some cards while we waited in line at Mike Piazza's Long Shot book signing in Pasadena last week.  I posted about the event here.  Here is what I received from Mr. Zakwin:

Per usual with my trade posts, here is a selection of some of my favorite cards from the trade.  The Anze Kopitar parallel (top row, second from left) is numbered to 25.  The Dee Gordon blue parallel on the bottom right is #'d to 500.  My Hideo Nomo collection has been quite neglected of late, so it is nice to refresh the ol' binder with some new "Tornado" cardboard.  Charles Nagy is on the back of the Nomo card in the bottom row, second from left.  He was pretty good.

On the left is a 2010 Upper Deck Series 1 Baseball (hell, there was only one series before UD was shut out), Hong-Chih Kuo gold parallel, #'d 75/99.  Some of you may know that Hong-Chih Kuo is one of my favorite players.  I have an impressive collection of his cards that I plan to post at some indeterminate time.  This gold parallel was one that I insanely desired.  Now I have it!  Cue maniacal laughter.  My Nomo rookie card collection has also been disregarded recently.  But, the rookie card above was definitely one I needed.

2009 UD Signature Stars, James McDonald rookie autograph.  McDonald is not on the Dodgers, having been traded with Andrew Lambo to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Octavio Dotel in 2010.  The trade seems ultimately pointless in retrospect - because Dotel kind of sucked and Lambo tested positive for substance abuse - but at least McDonald got the opportunity start in Pittsburgh.  McDonald had himself a half-awesome, half-shite season last year, and I am rooting for him to have an all-awesome season this year.

Such an odd card.  I like it!  Card collectors and bloggers have all probably seen these 2003 UD Game Face Gear cards before.  This is the first one that has come into my possession.  I wouldn't call it a "good" design per se, but I enjoy it.

2008 Red Hot Rookie Redempion #11 of Clayton Kershaw.  It is a gorgeous card.  This was actually a contest prize from Greg, not part of the actual trade.  Nevertheless, it is awesome!  Kershaw's nickname is "Kid K," though I prefer to call him "Kid Kilowatt."  If you know who or what Kid Kilowatt is, then you are a pretty cool cat.  (Hell, I'll just tell you... to me, "Kid Kilowatt" alludes to two great things - baseball and a certain supergroup composed of Massachusetts hardcore and metal stalwarts.)

2007 Tristar Elegance Showtime game used patch #CK, Clayton Kershaw.  It's a three-color patch.  Might be hard to tell from the photograph.  Elegant, indeed.  Looks fabulous.

Thanks for a fantastic trade, Greg!  It has been a while, but we got it done.

Sign Up for Cardboard Conundrum's February Hockey Group Break!

Do you enjoy hockey?  Maybe even just a tiny bit?  Matt Pederson over at Cardboard Conundrum is hosting an affordable group break featuring some awesome hobby boxes.  You can check out the group break sign up and information page here.  Matt is a stand-up dude with a great blog, so let's party hard with him and break some hockey product!

Three Kings Autographs

The Los Angeles Kings are doing better recently!  I guess that's something.  I should really make it out to some games.  Here are some of my recently obtained Kings signature cards:

2007-08 Upper Deck ICE, Glacial Graphs of #11, Anze Kopitar.  This card is one of those clear acrylic deals, thus the white dummy card behind it to make the autograph easier to see.

 2012-13 Panini Certified, gold parallel Jordan Nolan auto, #'d 18/25.  Kid's a bruiser.  Nolan is one of several NHL players with Native American blood.  That makes me wonder how well represented Native Americans are in other popular professional sports like soccer, football, basketball, or baseball.

Anze again, from 2006-07 UD Ultimate Collection.  This card is my favorite of the three.  The signature is bright, sharp, and on card.  The team colors and design work well together.  The other two cards have clean designs, but are a bit rigid in comparison.

I enjoy hockey cards!  One could easily imagine that the smaller market for them - in comparison to baseball, for example - would make card manufacturers more prone to releasing products with inferior quality and lazy design.  That, luckily, does not seem to be the case.  Hockey cards (especially the hits) usually look amazing and do not lack for innovation.  Maybe companies can spend more time and energy on making higher quality, awesome-looking hockey products since they're not just churning out a bunch of shite like they do sometimes with baseball.

A Brief Meeting with Mike Piazza

Greg of Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle and I attended Mike Piazza's signing of his new autobiography, Long Shot, at the Vroman's Bookstore in downtown Pasadena today.

 #31 jerseys abound.

The whole experience, minus the line, felt rushed.  I managed to exchange a few pleasantries with Mike Piazza before I was swiftly ushered away to allow the next batch of fans to seek his autograph.  Still, I walked away with a feeling that the overall experience was very cool.  I met numerous current Dodgers players less than a month ago at Dodgers FanFest 2013, yet the brief book signing, photo op, and quick exchange of "thank you's" felt somehow more poignant to me.

 I like pictures of signs.  This sign is bossy.

Maybe it's not necessarily that I was starstruck, but perhaps it was the simple fact that it was Mike Piazza himself sitting there.  He wasn't some baseball player near my own age to whom I could more easily relate.  Hell, professional athletes are just mortals, right?  We're all pink on the inside or whatever.  It wasn't until after I left the queue that I finally realized, "Whoa, I grew up watching that dude play, rooting for him."  So, I guess that was the point when I understood just how grand and badass these players can seem to a kid - especially since I was apparently starstruck and in awe after all, if however briefly.

Here are some more photos from the event (unfortunately a few did not come out super sharp):

(More after the jump!)

Corey Seager

Corey Seager is a top-five prospect for the Los Angeles Dodgers.  He's currently a shortstop, but will probably convert to man the hot corner instead.  Seager's older and similarly positioned brother, Kyle, is on the Seattle Mariners and had himself a nice 2012 season.  While shopping for autographs of top baseball prospects, I have found that Dodgers top prospect cards seem to be cheaper than those of players from other organizations.  I wonder if other collectors have experienced something similar?  I finally managed to get my paws (feet?  hands?) on a sweet Corey Seager autograph though:

 2012 Leaf Metal Draft, Corey Seager "prismatic" auto, #'d 52/99.  I tried to capture the "prismatic" effect in the photo.

I've recently tried to obtain some high-rated and/or hyped prospect signature cards of players from the Reds, Rays, Rangers, Cubs, Cardinals, and A's organizations with little success.  Some of these players are priced incredibly high.  One can only imagine how pricey their cards will get once they make their professional debuts.  However, by then Topps will probably flood the market with rookie autographs so the prices will go down.  Maybe.  I guess I am a fledgling prospector, indeed.  Though, I rarely buy and sell just to flip a card.