Thank You Buck

 Hello Friends!

Today came the news that Buck Martinez, who has been tied to the Blue Jays in one form or another from 1981 to today (Aside from 2002-2009) is retiring as a broadcaster.

He played for the Jays from 1981 until 1986, then immediately transitioned into the broadcast booth in 1987. His partners over the years included Fergie Oliver, Jim Hughson, Dan Shulman, Pat Tabler, and Gary Thorne. 

He managed the Jays for two seasons and then was let go by JP Riccardi. At this point he went to work for MASN and the Orioles broadcasts. He returned to Toronto in 2010 and has been part of the Jays broadcast team since. He did take a couple leaves of absence to battle cancer.

Buck as a Royal. 

Is it me, or is this the same photo on the 81T and the 82? Only difference to me is the colour looks washed out in the 82. 

Buck's Managerial card. 

Buck Martinez Nabisco Tradition card from the set featuring Jays and Expos moments. 

Can't have a Buck Martinez Broadcasting appreciation without his homerun call.. 

All the Best in retirement, Mr. Martinez. Hopefully we'll see both you and Jerry Howarth on the Level of Excellene with Tom Cheek. 

Cards from Night Owl

 Hello Friends!

I got these cards about a week ago, maybe a bit longer. I've just been all over the place lately with things, so. I'm showing them off today.. 

I actually got two versions of this card. The original and the one stamped with a Buyback logo.

Segui is a player that I honestly forget played for the Expos. I think the timeframe between 2000-2010 is a gaping hole is most of my hobby knowledge. (I didn't have tv, so I didn't watch baseball or wrestling..)

I see any pic of Alou sliding and I get reminded of the time he broke his leg running. I want to say it was in St Louis. He planted and his body kept going.. 

Vlad Sr Gallery. I really like the way these cards look in general, but it's too hard to really want to collect when you rarely see them. 

Stamps from 1982! John Mayberry, Damaso Garcia, Alfredo Griffin (not shown) and Steve (Not Capt. America) Rogers. 

Have to love Ginter. Is it me, or is the background Wrigley Field? 

A couple Vlad Jr Update cards

This card was a bitch to find in the TCDB to catalogue. I was trying to find the year, Trying to find the name. Finally I was able to find it doing a Google Search of the card number and player name to find out it was an insert in the 2021 Topps Flagship. 1952 Redux. 

This one was interesting. This card was a promo from what I can tell, since the back (top image of these two) had information about Playoff Absolute cards, whereas the normal card of Vlad has stats. 

A later Gallery card for Jr. I think like the Diamond Kings, I preferred them when they were artistic rather than a photograph. 

Some Heritage. And really, should anyone be surprised that N.O. would have the Heritage 75s?

Speaking of Heritage.. Some 76 style to end the post. 

Thank you Night Owl!!

Pickups from the Canadian Baseball Hall

 Hello Friends!

Today I received a package in the mail of a couple things I purchased from the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. 

The prize of the package was this. I've wanted a Larry Walker autograph for a while now. I could get through COMC or Sportlots, but they're ranging anywhere from $40 USD - $150 USD.. Too rich for my blood.. I got this for $40 CDN. Plus, it puts money into the Hall of Fame in St Mary's. 

I also ended up getting a set of inductees again, because it's been a while since I was a member and a number of inductees had been added. To find out definitively if I have everything I need, I need to get at my other set and combine. From there I can also see what duplicates I have to maybe send to others if they so desire.. 

There were a couple I found interesting. 

Jimmy Claxton. A guy who, in some circles, has one of the more difficult cards to find. I'll be happy with this card. lol 

Vern Handrahan has more cards that I believe were family or self-made than major releases. 

Jimmy Rattlesnake. An Indigenous player who ended up staying around his home rather than pursuing a professional career. At the time, a lot of the towns and cities in the prairies had cash baseball tournaments where teams would compete to win a cash prize. Once professional baseball moved further into the rural areas coupled with urbanization, the tournaments dried up since the talent and the prize money wasn't there anymore. 

Rattlesnake is in the Wetaskiwin & County Sports Hall of Fame

Now.. One pet peeve about the set and how it's catalogued on TCDB. 

The set has cards showing the earlier inductees, though the cards started to be printed in 1985. On the TCDB, the timeframe they have for the set is 2002-2023.. It contains all the cards.. 

That's a minor gripe. Because the cards themselves were inconsistent in presentation, the organization of the cards on TCDB is all over the place. Between different fronts, different backs, different numbering systems at different points including no numbering system, the whole thing is a royal clusterfuck. 

I'd honestly prefer to have them catalogued by induction year to avoid the confusion. There's also some cards that have the print run listed. Some cards have different numbers of print runs and there's minor differences. 

I honestly don't know if I have the full induction lot or not because of it. I'm going to maybe do a list myself by induction date and match it against the CBBHOF site to deal with less brainfuck.. 

Anyway, with the cards coming in today I have a few that I plan on sending out for TTM requests. Fingers crossed. 

Another Autograph in the Pile

 Hello Friends!

Today I was going to show the cards I received from Night Owl, but I got an autographed card I purchased through eBay today. 

Ted Bowsfield! The card's a little beat up but really, for a 1960s card that just adds character to it. 

I really need to move the bed that's blocking my back room out of the way so I can finally consolidate all my autographed cards into one place. 

Snowy Day Card Show

 Hello Friends!

Today was the card show at Healthy Planet Arena (Formerly the Evinrude Centre) and the turnout was pretty good, despite the threats of heavy snow throughout the day. There were vendors that cancelled, understandably, since they were travelling in from out of town. I ended up cabbing to it because I didn't want to deal with my wheelchair in the snow, nor did I want to deal with the drivers in the snow. 

So, I imagine you're wondering "So what did you get?" Well, dear reader, I got a nice little stack of cards. 

I'm a simple man.. I see Expos, I pick it up. Gary Sutherland is an OPC from 1970

An addition to my kinda-but-maybe-not-really collecting of the Donruss Diamond Kings from the 80s and early 90s. I mean, even if I decide to completely nope out of the DKs aside from sets, I'm sure I can find a taker for Fingers. 

A Tim Wallach I didn't have. 1984 Fleer is a tough find for me in general. 

Larry Jaster is a 70 Topps Expo that I needed. 

These three wonderful cards are 75 OPCs. 

I got four of the final five 77 OPCs needed for the Jays set. I just need the Jays coaches card.. I did end up getting duplicates of some of the cards.. If you need some OPC Jays, let me know. 

I needed the Dave Cash to finish off the team set. I did get more Expos, but of course they're going into the Million Expos Project!

Bird is the word for 78. I'm working on the 79 OPC set since I have the Topps completed. Get both major sets released in my birth year. 

A couple 1980 OPCs for either the Expos team or the set when I decide to get to 1980. 

A 1981 OPC straggler to add to my 1981 "build" lol 

Same with Tommy Seaver. Card Number 1 in 1985 OPC. 

I did get some other cards that ended up being duplicates (mostly 1992 Donruss DKs) and some cards to send to another blogger/collector. 

I did have to fight the urge to drop $30 on a Funko Pop of Andre the Giant. The box was giant because it had a poster of the Wrestlemania 3 main event..

So the next show is March 29. I'm hoping the weather is nicer that day so vendors can show up and so I can maybe wheel on down myself.