Mea Culpa

Things get a bit goofy when school cranks back up and I've been pretty busy. Into the cracks has fallen the post I intended to publish acknowledging the packages sent to me by Ana La and Fugi almost two weeks ago. I'll take care of that oversight right now. And now that I'm looking through the stack of scanned cards that came in these two packages it occurs to me that every card actually fits somewhere into my newly organised binders.

Of course Ana's gifts come from Portugal (which also gifted the world with my grandfather) and are quite a welcome sight.  Here are the highlights:

I think these are the first cards from the '95 UD Collector's Choice set that I own. The '94 baseball strike carried over into '95 and I had quit following the game at that point and certainly didn't collect any cards. 

Mussina, Ripken and Palmeiro all have pages in my Orioles binders. Cal had a lot, Mussina a couple and Palmeiro one or two. I don't hold grudges anymore.

I also keep a big 'Star Player' binder. Into that one will go these two cards of Griffey Jr. I always thought the first time I saw him play was the 1986 All Star Game in Houston. But I went to check and I saw that he didn't make his debut until 1989. So he's come and gone, putting up Hall of Fame numbers, after a game I saw that seems like yesterday to me. I'm really feeling old.

From Fuji out in San Jose came some of this, and some of that.

Several new to me Adam Jones cards. AJ homered last night. He's awesome. And very funny on the post game interviews he does with the O's TV crew.

A Terry Kennedy Stand-up. Off the wall stuff like this has a place in my binders.

A new Brian Roberts card. Like I said, I don't hold grudges. How can anyone be upset with Brian Roberts anyway. He was the only guy worth watching on the Orioles for many years.

I don't collect Beddard but I do collect swatch cards of Orioles.

There were also some Ripkens and some Orioles signed cards. All welcome additions.

Thanks to both Ana and Fuji. This is a great hobby, isn't it? Lot's of good people out there!

It's the People You 'Meet'

Let's be honest. Every blogger likes to see their ramblings on the 'Net. It's a big reason why we do this. Yes, I know that some of us will say "I don't care if anyone reads this" but all of us do, to some extent.

But the real currency of blogging isn't the number of posts one spits out, or the number of followers one has, or how many comments your work generates but rather the number of people you will likely never get to see in person but who have, in some odd way, become friends of yours. At least that holds true for me.

One such friend is Ana Lu. She started leaving comments on my blogs from time to time and it was nice to hear from a fellow futbol fan. Then as time went on I found that she is from Portugal which is cool because my grandfather came here from the Portuguese Azore Islands.

And then finally I discovered that she, too, is a blogger. She writes the Hobby Card Europe blog. I enjoy reading it because she brings a European view, a woman's voice (there are so few females blogging about this hobby) and, frankly, I'm charmed by her wonderful Portuguese-influenced way of writing in English. (I hope that doesn't offend you, Ana).

Like many (most?) of us Ana has a 'niche' collection. Be it "Plays at the Plate", "Awesome Night Cards" or my own "Guys on the Phone" card collection we seem to love these sorts of focused personal collections. Her's is "Dust is in the Air" which features cards that show players kicking up infield dust, mostly by sliding.

Check it out, and remember that "Enviar um comentário" means "Leave a Comment". A few weeks back Ana let me know she was sending me an envelope. It arrived early last week and it was fun. First of all it came from Portugal and therefore had postage and marking that were pretty unique. Inside I found quite a bit more that the 'couple of things' Ana had promised.

First there were several of these shiny cards which I'd never seen. They are labeled as 'Phil Rizzuto's Baseball/The National Pastime cards. They are very shiny with a 3-D sort of effect and don't scan well. Most are copies of old-time baseball art or baseball-related magazine covers from early in the last century. The write-ups on the backs are pretty informative. 

A stack of shiny (chrome?) rookie Topps cards came out of the envelope next. My scanner hates them. I like the fact that the Colby Rasmus filled a hole in my 'fantasy team' needs.

Next were Oriole cards from the early 1990's which all filled a need since I was 'away' from the hobby for most of that decade. Here are two of them, both Cal Ripken cards. The second is an O-Pee-Chee.

Also included were some 2012 and 2013 Oriole Topps cards. Between these and some sent along by Night Owl some weeks ago I think I have the regular issue Birds filled in from the last couple of years.

Last, but certainly not least was a treasure trove of futbol items.

These cards are two of four cards I got that come from a Portuguese set made by Panini in Italy. Great looking cards. I love team crests that all international club teams have and each of these have crests from La Liga clubs.

Ana also sent along a huge stack of Panini futbol stickers. Lots of famous international players are included in this set as well as team photos and stadium shots. I see Panini stickers at Target and WalMart. Not sure if these are the same things. I'd guess they are.

Thanks again, Ana. It was really cool to get an envelope from the land of my grandfather. Your thoughtfulness is appreciated.