State of the blog

I haven't posted in awhile.  No excuses.   A general malaise about collecting, that I have experienced several times since I starting collecting again in 1985.  Every so often I have to stop and reconsider what I am doing.  I think that part of my problem was that I was basically writing the same post over and over.  So to keep that from happening I am going to expand a little bit.  I am going to continue with my Padrographs, starting with Larry Stahl when I come back.  I am also looking at doing a couple of different where are they now features, with Padres minor leaguers and those whose autos I have already featured.  I am still looking for a couple of other themes.  I am not going to try and post every day.  I just don't have time for that.  Since the end of August I have been working pretty much 7 days a week.  Monday through Friday I manage a used bookstore here in Portland, Saturdays I have worked from 7-4 selling apples for a local orchard at the Parkrose Farmers Market, and Sundays I help set up and tear down two booths at the Montavilla Farmers Market.  Lately we have been taking care of our 1 year old Granddaughter while her parents are working out of state for a month.  This weekend will be tiring but fun.  This weekend is Wordstock, an annual book festival here in Portland, founded by former Phillies pitcher and author Larry Colton.  The bookstore will have a booth and we will get to interact with several hundred authors.  I will post about it over at my other blog, Readerman.us, where I review everything I read.  I read a few books, so far I have read 110 books this year. I love reading.  I have gotten bored with Topps cards because they are lazy and mark the same card over and over, adding chrome, or putting a slightly different graphic on it.  I think they are 5 different versions of the flagship cards, and that is not counting the 913 different parallels of each card.  I hope that the MLB/MLBPA will tell Topps to acutally make 17 different sets or give them some competition.  My needs in the Padrograph quest is getting smaller and more current.  I have decided to concentrate on just the Topps flagship team sets and the Topps Heritage team sets.  I have lots of extra Padres cards if any one wants some just let me know.  I will see you in November.

Sisterhood of the traveling jersey

Over at gaslamp ball, there has a group of fans that have been taking an old Padres jersey around the world and chronicling its journey.  I asked to take part and the jersey came my way for a short stay. 

Friday, August 17, my wife called me to tell me that the jersey had arrived at our house. I finished the rest of the day at the bookstore and drove home to see the jersey. When I pulled it out of the envelope I was amazed at the things that had been added to it, a Oaxaca ribbon, a patch from Belgium, a Bring Back the Brown patch (where can I get one of those?), Randy Jones and Mickey Mouse autographs, and various other things. As I packed to drive from Portland to Eugene, to visit our son, his girlfriend and our granddaughter I began to think about where I would take the jersey, besides a baseball game.

We got to Eugene and spent some time visiting and shopping, always gotta go to Goodwill and St. Vinnys, and having lunch at a great deli called Jiffy Mart, my son, our exchange student and I headed out to take pictures. Eugene is the Padres short season A team so this is where many of the players drafted by the Padres start their professional careers. This is also the town where I began being a Padres fan.

Our first stop was my high school, it was the longest I ever went to one school. We spent three years in Eugene while my Dad went to college after retiring from the Navy. I managed to make it to 10 schools in 12 years in 4 states on two coasts. This is where I became a Padres fan, my first day of school I learned that one of my classmates was the younger sister of Padres #1 pick David W. Roberts. That was the day I began following the Padres and have ever since.

Then we crossed the street to Civic Stadium, where the Eugene Emeralds used to play. It was built in 1938 and the Ems played there from 1969 to 2009. The Ems have been the farm team for several major league teams including the Phillies from 1969-1974, as their AAA team. We got to see Mike Schmidt, Greg Luzinski, Larry Bowa and Bob Boone all play. In 2001 the Padres moved their A, short season team to Eugene. I remember going to an Ems game game when the Spokane Indians came to town, Flan was the Indians manager. He asked me to get him some matches, I did and he lit a smoke bomb and dropped it in his own dugout and then yelled at his players for not taking things seriously. They won. You can see where they Ems logo used to be on the stadium wall. Saw Joe Randa play here and got Sandy Alomars' auto here.

Then we headed to PK Field at the University of Oregon, PK field is named after the former Athletic Director Pat Kilkenny, although many people think it refers to Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike and Oregon Alumni. The Ems have played at PK since 2009. We got there early because we wanted to get our Prefontaine Bobbleheads. 

One of the reasons to go to the game besides seeing Padres farmhands playing was because it was Steve Prefontaine bobblehead night and they were only giving away 1,000.  Pre was an idol of mine when I was in high school and I watched him run many times between 1972 and 1975, when he died at the age of 24 in a car accident.  I also got to be in a movie about him that was filmed in Eugene called Without Limits.

Strewn throughout PK Field were banners of Padres past, present and future.  I think that is Sean Burroughs in front. 

Wade Le Blanc and Nick Hundley

Luis Durango who is currently in the Astros system, after playing for the Padres in 2009 and 2010.

Daniel Robertson, drafted by the Padres in 2008 and currently playing in Tucson for the Padres AAA club.

Joe Ross, the Padres first round pick in 2011 was the starting pitcher.  He was on the team on a rehab assignment.

My oldest son, Daniel, accompanied me to the game and held the jersey up so we could get a picture of the jersey at the game.  

I got five of the Ems pitchers, Collin Reynolds, Matthew Chabot, Joe Church, Tayron Guerrero and Genison Reyes to sign the jersey.  I told them the story and they were excited to sign the jersey and be part of the story.

It was a fun and profitable trip, got to spend time with family, hold my granddaughter, spend some time at the ballpark and I put my bobblehead on ebay and sold it for $225 dollars.

Blog update

I haven't forgotten that I have a blog, here or over at readerman.us.  We have been remodeling our bathroom and then our remodeling took a three week hiatus when the contractors' brother passed away.  I have my Gint a cuffs box and have scored the first 8 packs.  I am at 134 points.  I am going on my annual reading vacation this coming, I take 12 books and go by myself to a cousins house and read all day, when I am not looking at the nice view.
I also still have a pack of over 50 Marlins cards free for the taking,  just let me know if you want them.

trading Rangers, A's, Marlins and Rockies for Padres

I have over 50 cards in bubble mailers ready to go for each of  the four teams represented here and no one to send them to.  If you want a bunch of A's cards or Marlins cards or Rockies cards or Rangers cards email me at Padrographs at live dot com, send me however few Padres cards you have.  

For my granddaughter

My son, Dukkie (pronounced Ducky) and his partner Shalyhn welcomed their first child Nola in October of 2011.  Nola is our first granddaughter and I wanted to do something to chronicle life around her, so of course I decided on trading cards.  I started making cards for her.  You can tell in the cards of her Mom and Dad that I made a few design changes, but settled on the design you see on Dukkies' card.  The first card is Nola right after she was born, then her Mom and Dad.  I then people who were in office when Nola was born.  She was born and lives in Eugene, Oregon but visits Portland a lot.  Sam Adams is the mayor of Portland, John Kitzhaber is the Governor of Oregon, you all know who Obama is, Kitty Piercy is Mayor of Eugene, Oregon. Peter DeFazio is the US representative for the Eugene area and Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkeley are the US Senators from Oregon.

Then come family members, my wife and I, Nola at 6 months, our dog who fiercely protects Nola when she is here.  Then our other son and his girlfriend, and Shalyhns' sister and her husband. 
I also have made backs for all of the cards here is a sample of them.  I am waiting for pictures of Shalyhns' parents and will add as Nola reaches milestones and things happen throughout her life.  I sent a few of the political cards out for signatures, so far the Governor, President and Senator Wyden have not responded.

1957 Topps completed

Ok, it's the old bait and switch. You probably thought it was the 1957 Topps baseball set, but no.  I finally finished the set after paying more for a card than ever before.  Price wise the  Roy Hamilton card was cheapest, then the Dean (which is one of 4 James Dean cards in the set)  and the Crickets card was truly expensive.  I think I am done with old non sports cards for awhile. This card was really fun as it was from the year I was born and has been many people I grew up watching and listening to.  This is the third time I have tried to do this set and the first time I have finished it.  I always have started with the same three cards, Liz Taylor, Gene Kelly and Burt Lancaster.  Now to go put them in the notebook and show it off once in awhile.

812-815

I just picked up padrographs of three former Padres and one current Padre from an ebay seller.  Pat Neshek is currently at Norfolk in the International League as part of the Orioles organization.  Chad Qualls is pitching for the Phillies.  Yorvit Torrealba is catching for the Rangers.  Jesus Guzman has played 61 games for the Padres this year.  This gives me 815 unique Padrographs.

More teams ready to go and no one lined for them

I have cards of the A's, Marlins, Rockies and Rangers all ready to go and no one to trade them with.  All I ask for in return is at least one Padre card.  My want list is one of the tabs at the top of the page.  A few other teams are getting close to being ready to go.  Pirates and Mariners fans sorry, those go to two friends here in Portland.  The first one to claim a team by emailing me at Padrographs at live dot come will get the team.

What to do when you team sucks?

The Padres are so far gone this that I think they might be mathematically eliminated the day after the All Star break.  I don't even know all the players on this years team they have gone through so many players.  I am recycling the Dodgers meme of old "Wait til next year".  Now the Padres are the only team left in the majors without a no hitter, they had a no hitter thrown against them by a pitcher high on LSD, but they can't throw one.  I wish that they would get an owner who really cared about the team and was willing to spend money to make the team and the park better.   Thank you for letting me vent.  What do you do when you team sucks this bad?

New additions

I recently picked up 11 padrographs that I didn't have off of ebay.  Everyone in the first picture I had tried TTM but never heard back from.  Bryan Altman, Jace Peterson, Vince Belnome, Kyle Gaedele and Kevin Quackenbush are all still in the minors.  Miguel Tejada, Jorge Cantu and Brad Hawpe are all gone from San Diego.  Jason Bartlett is on the DL and I don't really expect to see him playing for the Padres anymore.

Austin Hedges and Joe Ross were the padrographs available in this years Bowman release.  I picked them both relatively cheap. These new Padrographs bring me to 811 unique padrographs.  Still a few on the wantlist,   Randy Myers keep going for more than I am willing to spend.

An update and a giveway or trade offer (read all the way to the end)

I haven't really gone anywhere.  My wife lost her job last month (that's really a good thing) so I have been spending more time with her and she has been finding things for me to do every weekend.  Last weekend my son and I hauled 6000 lbs of hardwoods, dunnage from cargo ships, home for firewood.  Friday and yesterday we hauled several loads of rocks to someone who was looking for fill.  Today I started my day with two aleve and feel okay now.  Also every Sunday afternoon for two hours I teach a class for resident aliens on how to pass the citizenship test.  Two more sessions of that.  Also we have been spending time with our first grandchild, she and her Dad are asleep in the next room.  He is really tired cause he took part in the naked bike ride here in Portland last night.  I have been reading all your blogs and have packages ready to go to some of you.  I also have some packages ready to go but no one to send them to.  I have Yankees, Mets, Tigers and Reds ready to go but no one to send them to.  I will trade you for one Padres card any one you want to send me.  The first person to email me at padrographs at live dot com will get them.  I hope to have another post with some new padrographs up tomorrow.

Testing 1,2,3 Is this thing on?

I have gotten very few responses to my last couple of posts, ever since blogger changed.  I was wondering if anyone is seeing these.  I am trying to give some TONY GWYNN cards away and have had no response. If you read this will you please let me know.

Trade bait for Player collectors and a few other things

I sorted through all of my Padres cards and kept what I wanted to.  I have been working on a Frankenset of Padres cards.  It has been fun to put together with cards going back to 1952.  I recently purchased a big Padres lot and it had Topps team sets from 1969 to 1993, missing three cards, one from 1969, a 1973 John Hilton rookie, and a 1974 Willie McCovey, Washington National League.  I picked up the '69 card at the LCS and found the 1974 McCovey card in my stuff.  So I started working on Topps team sets from 1994 to now.  I also decided to do Heritage Team sets from 2001 to now.  I have posted my want list of cards for those along with some autographed cards I am still looking for on the want list page.  So I have some Padres cards to get rid of.  I have packaged them up and am offering them to you in trade.  If you want some of them just indicate in the comments which packages you want and what you want to trade.  I would ask that you only ask for one of the Gwynns and Hoffman packages and a total of 5 to begin with.  So here we go;

#1 50 different Trevor Hoffman cards
#2 50 different Trevor Hoffman cards
#3 50 different Trevor Hoffman cards
#4 50 different Tony Gwynn cards
#5 50 different Tony Gwynn cards
#6 50 different Tony Gwynn cards
#7 50 different Tony Gwynn cards
#8 50 different Tony Gwynn cards

the following groupings unless noted have some duplicates in them and all the cards are in Padres uniforms.
#9 45 Greg Maddux cards
#10 74 Ryan Klesko cards
#11 250 Andy Benes cards
#12 174 Jake Peavy cards
#13 24 Goose Gossage cards
#14 142 Adrian Gonzalez cards
#15 64 Chris Young cards
#16 90 Wally Joyner cards
#17 44 Joe Carter cards
#18 93 Fred McGriff cards
#19 275 Benito Santiago cards
#20 35 Bip Roberts cards (many teams)
#21 108 Ken Caminiti cards
#22 24 Steve Garvey cards
#23 14 Dave Winfield cards
#24 5 Ozzie Smith cards
#25 4 Joey Cora cards
#26 48 John Kruk cards
#27 131 Alomar cards (mostly Roberto)
#28 17 Mat Latos cards
#29 64 Khalil Greene cards
#30 19 David Wells cards
#31 3 Kevin Mitchell cards
#32 11 Mike Piazza cards
#33 13 Heath Bell cards
#34 23 Fernando Valenzuela
#35 6 Matt Antonelli cards
#36 8 Rickey Henderson cards (all different)
#37 6 Dave Dravecky cards
#38 3 Gaylord Perry cards

These are from one of the American Heritage sets
#39 9 Abraham Lincoln/Barack Obama cards (all different)
#40 Complete Heroes of Sports set
#41 Complete A Hero's Journey set
#42 19 Medal of Freedom cards (all different)

Looking Forward to hearing from you.  I will have some other teams up in the next few days.

TTM and New Padres sigs

 Last October during the Wordstock book festival I started typing up passages from books I read and asking the authors to sign them.  I have sent passages out to some authors and received them back signed.  This is the most recent, I read Jerry Wests' autobiography and chose this passage and sent it to him care of the Warriors and after about three weeks I got it back, it will go into my authorgraphs scrapbook.

 I picked up three Padrographs from ebay that I didn't have, Brad  Brach, Dustin Moseley and Chris Denorfia. I have these cards out in the mail to Dustin and Chris, but it has been over a month now.  These 3 cards give me 801 different Padrographs.

Those of you who live in Oregon may recognize this man.  I started making a set of cards for my granddaughter covering her life.  She is almost six months old and I have started making a set for her when she gets older.  Mr. Adams took less than a week to sign this.  This is the second card in the set that I have gotten signed.  Kenny Sears a NBA player from the 50's and 60's signed card number 2.  Kenny is from Watsonville, CA and played high school basketball with my Dad.  I will do a post on the set soon.  Eventually I will get back to the Padrographs.

More Spring Training TTM

 I already had an O'Dog autograph but it was on a Padrographs card from last year.  Now I have an officially licensed card signed by him.  He is always very quick in returning cards.

 I sent this to Erik Davis care of the Nationals in Florida and it came back in less than a week.  I got this purple bordered card and a printing plate signed.  I have one more printing plate that I would like to get signed but it is Adrian Gonzalez.  I don't know if it is even worth trying to send it to him.

I am working on a Padres Frankenset and have just finished going through all of my Padres cards to get the set.  The next step is to sort all my left over cards by brand and year and pull out the people that I think others might be interested.  Who would you like cards of?