They Sparkle Because They're Champions

That's right. They did it!!!

They weren't the zombie cards, as the pundits liked to call them. They were the Vampire cards . . . vampires sparkle.

Busy day tomorrow at work, gotta keep it short.

The only Texas Ranger I was afraid of was Chuck Norris.

Now please resign Albert.

Woo Hoo!!!

Absolutely amazing. Silly amazing.

Game 7 here we come.

This also means that Royals week continues. This last installment is brought by my first "trade".

Tom at angelsinorder.blogspot.com sent me some awesome Cards and Royals, several Ozzies, and several types of cards I didn't have yet. Totally fun, and you will probably read atleast one more post on it. I say "trade" because he sent me these cards with only the promise of me sending any Angels cards I might have. One caveat, he had more then enough 80's and early 90's cards. Lol. I don't blame him. After just recently starting to collect, I can certainly see how someone would have a copious amount of, and more then enough of those cards.

I did luck into some sweet Angels cards through a group break, and can't wait to send them out to complete my "trade".

Back to Royals Week. With a Card for good luck.

Probably unbenknowsnt to Tom, he sent me my 2nd and 3rd card of literal foodstuff. I hadn't thought about it before, but they both feature a food that is probably in a great number of baseball photos.

Chewing Gum.

If I could be Bo, would I be Bo? Something about the sentence begs for a "would a wood chuck" treatment.

The second and bonus Card is something I collect exactly.

An Ozzie Smith Food Card!
Never even imagined one would exist.

18th year in the bigs here. And still just a sweet day in the sun chewin' gum.

Thanks for my new favorite Ozzie.

Carpenter will pitch, I guarantee it!!!

Holy Friday Service and the Continuation of Royals Week

Wow!!! What a Friday at the restaurant. Paris Club was boomin', when I left we had done around 700 guests. That is quite a few. Tomorrow promises more of the same. Come and get that sweet French food.

By necessity this post will be short. I am a little OCD when it comes to cataloging my cards. One of the reasons I think I like this hobby is so many things to catalog and put in its place.

Mise en place chef!!! Mise en place!

So it drives me crazy when I don't know where to pigeon hole a card into my long box or in beckett's database.

Can someone please tell me what this card is?

What is it? Chef will yell if I don't have the place in place. Wait, I'm the chef. Somebody help.

Royals Week Continues With an '85 Alum

This post is bittersweet.

Yes the Cards lost. As everyone and their mother let me know through my headset at work. My restaurant is so busy we all wear mics and headsets to communicate during service. All through tonight's game I would receive bi-inning updates on the score. They were nice enough to let Chef know that his team was tied or winning.

Come the 9th, man oh man did Chef receive a lot of updates. Sometimes three for the same game-state. One of my front of house managers managed to let me know that we were tied. Then that we were behind. At that moment, I believe that three others on mic chimed in to reiterate that I was losing. The mic chatter was plentiful and the sympathy was 86'd. My favorite had to be when J-$ (that's his handle, pronounce it J-Money) let me know that Gordo was pitching in relief and he was throwing spaghetti on the mound.

It's really nice to have such a supportive staff.

The Royals card of the day hopes to blow off the jinx. Even though Paul was a member of the Royals team that bested the Cards in the '85 series, his results were sub-par. I'm hoping by outing this demon of the past, and that nary a zombie Don Denkinger will show up to give the game away (still the wrong call, even in HD), I can help the Redbirds regain some of the momentum that brought them here.

I figure that's close enough to Ranger blue to have the sought after voodoo effect.

Release the demons of the past.

Go Redbirds!!!

Cards Win!!! Incongruously Royals Week Continues with Day 2.

I won't say much about the game. It was awesome, Carpenter had his sweet stuff (did you see that diving out at first?!?), and the Birds take game one.

"Bo Knew"

Seriously, look at the strength in this mans legs. His left quadricep here is huge. Arms locked, head down, weight shifted. Man oh Man, 'tis a shame he had but a year left at this physical state.

Pujols never played in the NFL. I like the man, hope he doesn't leave for the Cubs, but I'm just sayin'. He has alot of records, but a first-down isn't one of them.

I gotta try Bo's BBQ.

The Redbirds Made It!!! But, Let's Not Forget Their I-70 Neighbors.

Yes, that's right. I am stoked the Birds made it back to the Series. I swear, 19 games out, I thought the season was over. I was hanging my head. And yet . . . zombie love!!!

However, switching gears, I began to think that the other Show-Me state team had its day. Albeit, a loooooonnngggg time ago. That made me sad. Feeling empowered to do something about sadness I hereby declare that this will be Royals week.

That's right, the Cards are in the Series, and Royals week?

Why not . . . no one else will do it.

The first card today is a great one. There was another blogger today that mentioned how rarely orange is used in baseball cards. Being that I just cataloged this bad boy last night, I thought why not. Why don't I do a Now and Then post about two Royals pitchers.

I really wish the boys in blue had been able to keep this guy on their roster, but it is no surprise that he is gone. However, while he was there, he hurled that thing.

So that's the Now (even if he plays for Milwaukee).

The Then, another AL Cy Young winner:

That's right, the swordsman himself.

It could be awhile before the Royals find themselves another Cy Young Award winner. If I had a David Cone card I would show so the Trifecta!

That's it for the first installment of Royals Week. See you back here tomorrow for a card that shows Bo pitching?

What Ever Happened to Kay-Bee Toy Stores?

This was a sweet eBay pick-up. It is actually only part of the purchase. I got about 12 boxes of 80's era proprietary cards produced by Topps. My favorite thing about all of these boxes is the feeling of nostalgia they inspire. Not only are the players the young versions of my childhood baseball heroes, they have often times been commissioned by the purveyors of my youth.

Ka-Bee toy stores were one of my favorites in the mall. I think I probably bought at least a couple of G.I. Joe's from the mall in Columbia, Mo.

These are only 9 of the 33 cards in the set. And man do they have everything you would want.

Dwight Gooden is throwin' the heat. I would not want to be in front of that fastball.

Vince Coleman is running the bases. The stirrups are cool, but man those pants were ugly.

And, check out the George Brett card. The bat he has thrown behind him is rendered wonderfully in the photo, and it is too bad no one rocks the double sweatbands on the wrists anymore. Reminds me of Wonder Woman.

To answer the question in the title. Kay-Bee toy stores filed for bankruptcy twice in five years which finally led to its demise in 2009. 'Tis a product of the Wal-mart beat down that main street America has been feeling for decades. Kay-Bee was the second oldest toy retail outlet in the country (behind FAO Schwartz), operating 1300 stores in all 50 states.

It comforts me to know that Eskimos had access to G.I. Joe's.

More of that Extreme Value!!!

The Extreme Value Plasticine Box

The first card is a guy that spent most of his careers with the A's, whom with we see him here. For most of his career he batted behind Ricky Henderson. Mr. Henderson credits Dwayne with helping him set the single season record for stolen bases in 1982 at 130. He is still in baseball, currently acting as the hitting coach for the Blue Jays.

As if helping Ricky set the record wasn't enough, the man gets cool points for helping fund M.C. Hammer's first album. It's hammer time!

The next card will probably prove to be the best card in the plasticine box. Even if it is off center, has rough corners, the man has a story. I shan't recall it here. Although, if you haven't seen his episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, you certainely should.

Slippery fingers Buckner . . .

I think he has a caterpillar on his face.

The last card for today is a world series winner, from the year the card was produced. I believe it is my first such treasure. If a '92 Score card could be considered a treasure.

And, to spin it back to my resurgent redbirds, Manny ended his career in St. Louis. On April 26th, 1995 he had one bat for the Cardinals, got injured in the fourth inning, and never made it back to the Show after that.

What are the chances I can find a card of him as a Cardinal? If Candy Sierra can have two as a Red, why can't Manny have one as a Redbird?

Was That the Only Picture You Had? a.k.a. Wake up Lance

Go Redbirds!!!

It isn't fair that Lance is depicted in this "Animal House"-like fashion. Even if he went 0-3 in game 5, woke up on picture day hung-over, he deserves better. At least comb his hair photographer.

The humanity!!!

Extreme Value?

So I bought this box at Walgreens . . . ok, I bought two of them. They looked like a good way to expand my new collection a bit, and at 3.99 they wouldn’t break the bank. 

It says “extreme value” . . . we shall see. This will be a regular series on my blog, as we comb through the hundred cards that cost me .04 a card. I hope to remind you old-timers the gruesome beauty that were baseball cards back then. I have some real sweet  Star cards that will get you hoppin’. I also hope to learn something about all 100 players (assuming no repeat players), as that is what the game is really about. At .04 a card, the information may be hard to come by.

Without further adieu, I present:

The Extreme Value Plasticine Box

He doesn’t look German?

That doesn’t seem like a German surname.

What gives?

He pitched two seasons in the big leagues for the Twins. Had a respectable SO percentage, 19 SO’s in 21 IP in 1988.

Topps Lineage should have included this forgotten Venezuelan. What is that you ask? You haven’t forgotten about his name. He obviously doesn’t eat Schnitzel.

Germany was the first European country to colonize Venezuela in 1527. For twenty years they ruled until Spain revoked their ownership of the colony. Do you suppose his parents were history buffs?

Not much to say about Mr. Mason. He did hit the big show for 7 years total, with several trips back down the ladder during his career. Most notably, he has a microscopic postseason ERA of .49 over 18.33 innings. Still among the best for relievers. To put it in perspective, Mariano Rivera's average is 2.21. Although, admitedly Mo has pitched 1211 innings, and has a slightly bigger wiki page than Roger Mason. Still though, .49 is low.

Gleaton pitched mainly in relief for 12 years in the bigs. On April 30, 1981 he received the dubious honor of pitching a complete game loss as his Mariners lost to the Tigers.

He is only one of handful of baseball players to go by their first and middle name. 

Jerry Don.

Can you name others?