Inside the player’s studio – Scott Fletcher

Meet Scott Fletcher, professional nomad.

You may know that he played in the majors with the Cubs, White Sox, Rangers, and Brewers (and also the Red Sox and Tigers after this card was produced), but the traveler’s lifestyle started at a young age, when Fletcher took a job as a door-to-door greeting card salesman.  He then went on to study Business Management (to break out of the greeting card industry, presumably) at University of Toledo… and then at Valencia Community College… and then at Georgia Southern.  Or at least that’s the order I’m assuming he went to those colleges since that’s how they’re listed, as illogical as it may be.

Nice job, too, Scott, of getting thoroughly dominated by Jim Abbott.

Another Smashing Year

Get ready, collectors, for 1992 Leaf! It’ll be just like 1991 Leaf, except with an even larger print run, and it’ll be sold anywhere that anything is sold!  It’ll feature “more high-level action shots” (none of that bush league Topps drivel), so you better get it before it’s gone.

It was refreshing to see a company come up with so few reasons to buy their product in 1992.  They didn’t fluff it up with an Elite Series or Cal Ripken Jr. autographs (Donruss), Ted Williams autographs (Upper Deck), or scribblings from Joe DiMaggio (Score).  Just revolutionary, sharp, vivid photography.

Fortunately for you, if you haven’t picked any ’92 Leaf up yet, it’s still not gone.  If you hadn’t already assumed, this ad was taken straight from an old Beckett.  These things are classic.

Card shop Friday

Another Friday, another trip to the card shop.

I was actually deciding between three different options this week, and since polls usually end up in ties, I sought the advice of a few trusted opinions on how I should spend my money.  The options are as follows:

1. Six random relics from checkoutmycards.com.  I would’ve bought stuff from UD Ballpark, Allen & Ginter, and maybe Sweet Spot.  All would’ve been Yankees.
2. Random sampling of a new 2009 product, similar to what I did last week with the Ticket To Stardom and SP Authentic.
3. A “pack” of 2008 Sweet Spot and a few treasures from the 3-for-$2 relic bin.

I chose door number three, figuring it’d result in four total ‘hits’, with the chance of one of them actually being good (from the Sweet Spot).  Six relics off the internet would’ve been cool, too, but less fun.  I’ll save random packs for a rainy day.  Thankfully, the relic bin – which is actually on a consignment shelf – had been refreshed since the last time I dug through it.  So before I get to the Sweet Spot pack break, check out these beauties…

2006 Flair Showcase Stitches Byron Leftwich.  The bin only had one baseball relic that I wanted, but football relics are just as fun.  No particular reason for choosing this card other than liking the ’06 Showcase baseball set.

2009 Rookies and Stars Longevity Calvin Johnson, numbered 148/299.  Hey, a good relic!  I would’ve been pumped to pull this in a pack, assuming I liked buying football cards.  I don’t know the difference between “Longevity” and the non-longevity set.  Perhaps this guy can shine a light on it for us?

And the lone baseball relic (that I liked) in the box, 2009 Goodwin Champions Curtis Granderson.  Considering that ’09 Goodwin is on the short list of “random pack day” candidates, I was pumped to find this in the bargain bin.  Even better is the fact that I can now spend my money elsewhere since I already have a hit from the set.

All of these relics are for trade, preferably relic-for-relic.  I’m not picky.

Finally, the box/pack of 2008 Sweet Spot.  It was the last one left!!  Good thing, because I was dead set on getting a pack of the stuff and I would’ve been severely disappointed had my shop actually been out of it.  At first, the owner thought they were out, and just forgot to take the box down, but it was laying flat.  Whew!  He also mentioned that he was getting more Sweet Spot in over the weekend… which is nice.  I’m officially in the chase for one of those sweet spot ball/glove autographs, so I’ll definitely get more of this stuff in the future.  And I think ’09 Sweet Spot comes out at the end of October, doesn’t it?  A discount on the remaining ’08s would be nice, but probably unlikely because of the Strasburg/Longoria/Alexei Ramirez autos floating around.  I just may give the ’09 a shot if they’ve got it in next time I’m there.

Wanna see what’s inside?? I bet you do!!

To be continued…

Help me scratch my itch…

OK, blogging community, I’ve got another question for ya!

Thanks to the multitude of hobby related blogs, the discovery of a local card shop, and the magic of great deals on boxes over the internet, I’ve become completely addicted (again) to collecting.  And unlike the last time I was into the hobby, about 10 years ago, I now have actual money to spend on stuff that is (debatably) above the absolute bottom of the barrel.  Not too far above the bottom, of course, but I no longer feel relegated to Opening Day or First Edition.  

Of course, now that I’m addicted to baseball cards, I’ve found myself checking out weekly specials on football cards, too.  The only problem with that is that I know nothing about football cards.  I don’t even know if I should purchase any – it seems like a “slippery slope” that has the potential to lead to a grossly disorganized collection.  However, I do follow the NFL (though not as much as MLB or NCAA football), so I kinda feel like giving in to my impulses and picking up a cheaper box of product from 2008.

Translation: I’ve got a little bit of card collecting budget burning a hole in my pocket and a little bit of free time at work  to ponder about such things.  A dangerous combination, to be sure.

I’m leaning on fellow blogger (and reader) Dave – the writer of First and Goal – to steer me in the right direction, but I thought I’d throw the question out there to the rest of the blogosphere:  what should I consider purchasing?  What’s good (and not good)?  I like relics and kinda like autos, so ’08 Bowman and ’08 Topps Rookie Progressions look nice.  Also, retail boxes of 2008 Leaf Rookies and Stars can be had for around $20 a pop and include a relic or auto.  The same can be said for 2008 (football) Heroes, and these last two may be the best way to test the waters just to see if I like it.  I’m open to suggestions for anything else I may be overlooking.

So… where do I begin?  What would YOU buy if you had $30 or so to blow on football cards?  Or should I step back, take a deep breath, and stick to baseball only?