First game of a double header!!!!

So I posted exactly zero new posts last week, but I do have a good reason. I was in Wichita Kansas doing some training for my real job. It was my first time ever in Kansas, and all things considered it was not as bad as I thought it might be. I wish I would have written a few posts, but I simply did not have time. Getting home at 11:39 on a Friday after a week of working in Kansas is usually a pretty lousy ending to a week, but this homecoming was made a little better by a package from THE TROLL!!!! If you have never been to THE COLLECTIVE TROLL blog, do yourself a favor and check it out. Marck is a huge baseball fan and an excellent writer. He posts really great interviews, and writes an excellent blog. He is also a great trader! I am going to do this trade in two post because he sent so much. Here is the first part of what I will call the MOTHER LOAD!!!

A few weeks ago, I posted a link to my 1969 Topps want list. Troll took the time to check it out and he delivered.



ROOKIE STARS AND STRIKE OUT LEADERS......oh my!



A WORLD SERIES TRIPLE!



A TOTAL OF SEVEN FROM THE AMERICAN LEAGUE!



AND SIX MORE FROM THE NATIONAL! And since you asked, "Yes that is a DOC ELLIS rookie card!"

Thank you very much Troll, I will post the other amazing cards you sent in the second game of this double header.

THE CARD ADDICT

Welcome to Birdland!!!!

So I made the drive with my 9 year old nephew down to Sarasota today to welcome the Baltimore Orioles to there new Spring Training home, Ed Smith Stadium! We had a great time!

My nephew is a baseball fanatic. He likes talking baseball. He really likes watching his favorite team the Rays on TV. He loves playing baseball! He has already been playing for 5 years! He started t-ball when he was four and has been going non stop ever since. Two years in a row his team from Pinellas Park has won the Dizzy Dean Florida State Championship... I really love watching him play.

So when I found out the Orioles were having a Fanfest right down the road I decided I would invite him to go. He was up to the task and then some.

We arrived promptly at 1:25 PM to find this waiting for us!


The last thing the uncle of a 9 year old wants to see is a line like this. We waited, and waited, then right at 1:30 the gates opened and this thing started moving... What could have been a real downer quickly and easily passed as we walked through the gates. We were later told that the attendence figure was 3,500 people. Not a bad turnout. I think most of the people were there for this:



You read that correctly! A FREE SODA and DOG! Who could ask for anything more! They also were giving away new Orioles hats, one for the adults and a different one for kids. We also scored this cool pennant!



Next we went and played various games put on by various radio stations and cell phone companies. My nephew loved it! He threw balls and swung at virtual pitches on a nintendo Wii. This was followed by the National Anthem, and a question and answer period.



Who is that guy in the black you ask? None other then Hall of Fame pitcher, Jim Palmer. Here is the only downer for the entire day. Palmer did not stay and sign autos. He announced that he was going to a wedding in Stuart and would be leaving right after the Q and A. He did stick around a few minutes and sign a few items, but we were not lucky enough to score one.

We did score these though:

First off was JIM JOHNSON!





Next was 2009 All-Star and gold glove winner ADAM JONES!





Then we had to switch lines and wait for BRAD BERGENSEN!





Last but not least, NOLAN REIMOLD!



The weather was perfect, the free hot dog tasted great, and the autos came out very nice. This was a first class event and very well organized. We finished our day at the park with my nephew running for home!



I hope the Orioles were excited by the support of the community in Sarasota. We Grapefruit League fans do not want to lose any more teams to that wicked Cactus League out west. Thank you Orioles and Ed Smith Stadium. We had a blast!

The Card Addict

Crawford from the Bay!

So I was searching the Bay, one of my addictions, and came across this card. The starting bid was $.90 and it had FREE SHIPPING! I bid the minimum and hoped for the best. As you can see I won the auction. I almost feel bad because I know the seller of this card had to lose money on this deal. Kranky1024, the seller, sent it to me in a regular envelope which makes me mad if I spend the usual $3.00 shipping and handling fee but for free what should I expect. The card arrived in great shape and that is all that matters. So the listing had to be .15, the postage was .44, the top loader had to be .05 and the final fee was most likely another .09 to .12 cents. I am sure it took at least 5 minutes to list and pack this card. So in the end it had to cost more to send me this card then it was worth. I am glad you did. Thank you Kranky1024!