Preparing for a Superstorm

So, with then Hurricane Sandy bearing down on me and only one last day to prepare, I asked myself, what is the best way to prepare for the storm.  While some would say lay in supplies and others would avoid traveling, I got in my car and drove to the next state to go to a card show at the mall.

Feeling well prepared for the storm, which unless I could get a generator for an apartment, I was not, I headed off in search of cards.  Two and a half years before, I started my return to purchasing sports cards in a mall, a different mall closer to home, but at a show run by the same people.  It was there, I purchased my first T206 from a selection of 200 or so cards.  Going to this mall in Pennsylvania, I found the same dealer, who conveniently or perhaps not conveniently, does not sell on the internet.  Looking over his wares, I found few cards I needed for my set and those I needed were well outside the price I was willing to pay.  I did however, find a rare card I was willing to upgrade.



This particular Lefty Leifeld is a favorite of mine.  The yellow, purple and blue create a strange background, not quite a sunset, but not quite any other time of day.  This particular example has better and stronger color and aside from the faint crease four buttons up, is quite the nice card.  If I were to rank the T206s from 1 to 524 based on appearance alone, I would rank Leifeld Hands Behind Head in the top ten without question.



From there, I went about the rest of the show, looking for other cards of interest as the storm winds began to settle in.  I found a table with an older gentleman, obviously an original New York Giants fan given his age, Giants cap and strong interest in discussing the team.  I quickly found a set of 1987 M&M cards from which I needed the Mike Scott for my collection.  Given that the whole set was cheaper than purchasing a single card, I felt this was a fine deal and added 1988 Topps Traded set for $2 as well.  Looking through his boxes, I found the above card for a quarter and while not a Joe Morgan fan, I do appreciate food items with Houston Astros wearing the orange and picked that up as well.  



While most of the other tables were bust, such as fifty cent commons for 2012 Topps Update and  some low interest boxes, I added one last card to my purchases for the day.  When I saw the Sergei Zubov for slightly more than I paid for a set of 1988 Topps Traded, I knew that needed to come home with me as well.  Anytime I can find a decent relic of an offensive minded defensemen who played before 2000, especially a Penguin, I grab that immediately.  (As always, disregard the price on the sleeve, which is far more than I would have purchased this card for.)

With my purchases in tow, I drove back across state lines, into the traffic jam surrounding a Rutgers game and finally home, where I awaited the storm to come. 

Trade Post: Nomo's Sushi Platter

I spent about 15 minutes trying to come up with something clever, but everything felt a little too sashimi and I didn't want to end up with any tamago on my face.  Yeah, that doesn't really work either.

I did, however, receive a blind trade package from Nomo's Sushi Platter today.  In my mind, a blind trade package is where you receive a series of cards, agreed upon in principle, but unaware of the exact content.  It allows someone to create that Christmas feeling, as you have no idea what is inside.  In return, I managed to beat the clock at the Post Office Saturday and fulfill the requested wishlist with a few other cards from my trade list.

Inside the package were three kinds of cards, 2012 Topps, 2011 Lineage and this:



Having most of the Cobbs and the Walter Johnson from this set and an affinity for classic, or as the cool kids say, vintage cardboard, I decided to work on this set and am now one card closer. than when the day started.



On some level, it is quite the mountainous challenge to try and complete a set after buying a grand total of one pack of cards from the set, but in retrospect, I realized I very much liked the look of the cards, the checklist of players and size of the set.  Having stopped after pulling a platinum diamond Ty Cobb from my lone pack, I was woefully short on cards to complete the set with.  These cards combined with a post to come later this week, I have made a significant dent in the set.

As to the cards themselves, I am quite partial to the Joe Morgan, as rare is the modern card which features him in Astros garb.  And I am surprised by this, but the above Lou Gehrig is the first of his cards that I own.  And I just liked the Aparicio, since his career stands in such stark contrast to that of Laruppin' Lou.




I also received a sizable stack of Series 1 and 2 Topps 2012.  (For the record, forced alliteration is the best alliteration.)  The horizontal cards are a weakness of mine.  Collecting T206s gives me an additional appreciation for the few cards enjoyed lengthwise instead of heightwise, especially since one of my fondest purchases was a Barney Pelty from the local card shop, back when it was under previous management.



And for some strange reason, I'm drawn in by the Predatoresque mask of Carlos Corporan.  He is not much of a player and he should probably stay clear of Jesse Ventura, but that mask is a simple work of art, reminding you of how many things are scarier than just a series of baseball cards.

Thanks again to Speigel for putting this deal together.