Gifts from the home of the Durham Bulls

I received a package today from Mark over at Stats on the Back, chock full of Padres. He was going to throw a bunch of cards in the dumpster so others of us decided to rescue them. I opened the box and there was a note from Mark, hoping I could turn some of them into Padrographs and a pack. A real live wax pack of 1988 Donruss, I can't remember the last time I opened a real wax pack. I opened it and there staring up at me was James Steels of the Padres with wax all over his face. I got a HOFer in Dennis Eckersley, Lance Parrish and Bruce Sutcliffe were the two other names I recognized.

There was a huge number of Padres cards so I decided to just feature a few. Andy Benes I forgot that he had a card in the 88 Topps set. He looks so young. Kurt Bevacqua was one of my favorite Padres, he seemed to bounce back and forth to the Padres from the Pirates and the Brewers. It was as a member of the Brewers when he won the Bazooka Joe bubble gum blowing championship. I have written him several times and have had several interesting interactions with him and items that I sent him. The Marvell Wynne is a very special card from the 88 Topps set, you see Topps used to print cards on the bottom of the box. These cards were hard to find in good condition as you might imagine. The last time I sent cards to Dan Walters I received a note from his mother that he was unable to sign cards. I met Dan when he was playing at AAA and the team came through Portland. He was a catcher that made it to the majors, and after his baseball career was over he became a police officer in San Diego. In November of 2003 while responding to a domestic violence call he was shot in the neck and paralyzed from the neck down. There were a whole bunch of Steve Garvey cards included in the box, but I chose this one for several reasons, 1. It reminded me of all the box sets that came out through all kinds of chain stores in the late '80s and early '90s. 2. What is John Kruk doing and was he ever really that skinny? Who is Jon Barnes and why were there senior portraits in Stadium Club? This is one of the more mundane photos, Greg Anthony wore one of the wildest shirts ever seen. Here is one for GCRL, it is Tony Gwynn and Benito Santiago at Dodger Stadium. Dodger Stadium is where I went to my first ever baseball game, 1969, Dodgers versus Braves. I caught a home run by the Braves outfielder, who in my mind will own the home run record forever, but someone snatched it and ran. I didn't know much about baseball at that time, so I didn't think much about it. Dave Staton was a can't miss prospect who missed. Although I did get to meet his grandmother at a Portland Beavers game. It was quite fun to meet with her and talk to her about her grandson. Thanks Mark for bringing back so many good memories.