More Angels Scoring in the Upper Deck

Sometimes when I get as package like this in the mail I feel like I'm cheating on my team. I'm sure that everyone knows that I am the lone Mariners fan out here in the blog world. I take great pride in rooting for my team that has been down for quite a few years. Yesterday's package came to me and there was only 2 Mariners cards and the rest were all California Angels cards. Yes, as you all know I grew up in the part time spring training home of the Angels until the 1193 season, even though I left after school in 1989.

I must say that I don't really know how we as collectors survived before the Internet and social networking. The mailer that came in yesterday is from a man that I've never met bet we have been on Facebook for quite a while. He continues to find cards I need for my collections, and keep humbly accepting them. I constantly ask how I can repay him, and he asks me to pay it forward and help out other collectors. As of today in the Mariners Super Set, I now have all the cards from both Score and Upper Deck. These were the last two pieces to those puzzles:

The 1994 Score of Bret Boone with a guest appearance by Willie McGee was the last of the 314 Score cards. The 1998 Upper Deck of Jay Buhner Making History was card #568 of the 568 from Upper Deck. It is so awesome to have three makers down and only two to go. I am down to about 14 cards from Donruss to blow them up, and the big challenge to finish off the 49 cards from Fleer and their run of Mariners. I seriously think and hope that I will make this baby happen by the All Star break!!


Tom also seems to have some kind of connection to someone that is secretly hiding all the cards I need for my projects and slowly releases them to me. Inside the mailer was a stack of VINTAGE TOPPS. Just look at the beauty of these 50 year old LA Angels before they were the California Angels. You know that even if this was your most hated rival of a team, you wouldn't just drool all over yourself to find cards that are 50 years old coming to you!!

Being an equal opportunity giver of all things I need to make collections, there just happen to be a nice stack of 17 cards that came from a five year run of Donruss from 1982 to 1987. There were some fairly big names that were later in their careers that were Halos that I saw around Palm Springs Stadium in my junior high and high school days. Here is a look at about half of those Donruss cards that are now going into the binder with the other Angels that are the ones I want to collect.

It seems that most mail I get from Tom is somehow always got cards that will finish off years or sets or has some kind of finishing touch. Earlier it was the finishing of Mariners sets. Here is the last six Halos that were necessary to finish Fleer and add them to Score as finished Angels. The mountain behind Ron Romanick reminds me so much of my young days in the desert since the mountain range was always behind you. I love the look of Tim Foli and his 80's aviator glasses, so classic!

Not to be outdone, Upper Deck did a few cards from the Coachella Valley before the Angels left for the greener pastures of Tempe, AZ. I only needed two last cards from UD to complete them. If you sense the theme here, Tom finished them too. I had never seen the Von Hayes up close, but that bat shattering is an awesome pic by the cameraman. The last one is a guy that I always thought had one of the coolest names in Chili Davis. Until I found it was a nickname, I wondered what kind of parent would name their boy after something to eat.

I am so proud that the numbers for my collections continues to get smaller and smaller. It is hard to believe that I am down to only trying to find 63 cards for the Mariners to get me to the over 3400 base cards out there. Even though it was only a side project, i find myself down to needing 21 more Halos cards to put what was once just a thought of a collection to completion. Big thanks again to the Internet and social media for helping us collectors connect with each other to help fulfill our dreams, and collections!!

I'm a Fan-attic and Facebook comes through again!!

Yesterday was a productive day around my house. I was able to do a ton of yard work like mowing, and getting moss killer on the grass. My wife was cleaning the inside of the house, so I was gone to wash cars. Next comes the standard w need to go to the grocery store. Not really my favorite trip, but I do like to eat. As we come home, I stop for the mail and she starts tossing stuff at me saying "it's all for you." In all reality, only half was for me. The first thing is find is a nice little PWE from Jeff. If you don't know him, he is the new man behind the Fan-Attic Sports Card Blog. He sent me the last 1994 UD card I needed, only to find I guess I didn't need it because I can't find any Mariners on it, except on the back for stats. Don't you hate when you've needed a card for forever and then find out it wasn't one that fits your collection?

What was I thinking? I guess I need to quit trusting the internet when it tells me I need a card

 He also sent me a 94 Score of Bosio's no no to finish that year, and another 95 Score of Bobby Ayala to inch that one closer too. Thanks Jeff!!

Not to let it end there, I also got another fat package from a friend on Facebook. I have never met Thomas before, but he randomly sends me mailers that might have a couple cards, or yesterday's fat pack of want list goodness! There were all kinds of Mariners I needed for the Super Set. The best part of the big pile of goodness was the Angels in the desert he sent my way! There was a stack of 26 Angels that were all on the want list. I never really thought about this side project when I first started it, but it's getting closer too!

Just some of the Palm Springs goodness that came!!

Thanks to Jeff and Thomas, I am getting closer to finishing the Mariners. I think I can do it before the All Star break without having to buy them online with the help of so many great bloggers that I've traded with over the years who are always willing to help out! I'm down to needing 1card to finish off Score, Do you have this one to spare?:

I can't find a picture of it anywhere, but does anyone have a 1998 Upper Deck #3 of Jay Buhner?? That would be the last card I need to finish off Upper Deck too. I can't believe that those two cards would finish off two makers and leave me with Donruss and Fleer to go. I don't know why Fleer have been a thorn in my side and still needs almost 50 cards to finish them off.

Big thanks to both collectors for the help, and if you have any of the cards I need in the lists on the right side over there, let me know if you can help out!!

Logo overkill

Do you have those times when you are looking through boxes of cards, either for yourself or for someone else? You are looking through and you are focused on looking for a particular team or player, and as you are flipping cards something catches your eye? I was doing that looking for some cards to send out and for myself at the same time. A random 1991 Upper Deck just jumped out at me and I had to take it all in. I present card #594 of Scott Lewis of the California Angels:

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with what I saw. I love the fact that in the early 90's players still went with stirrups and sanitaries. What struck me as funny is that Scott has the Halo A on his hat, sleeve patch, and his stirrups. If you include UD'S use of it in the logo at the corner of the card, that's four big A's on the front of one card.

I still love the simplicity of this Halos logo more than the current one, but it's what I grew up on. I'm finding out that 91 UD is growing on me like some of my favorites like 80 Topps, 82 Fleer, and 83 Donruss. I really think the design of the fronts on the 91 is simple, but effective and easy on the eyes to like.

Purple Rocks in the Emerald City

Have you ever noticed when you made deals, you are surprised that people are nowhere near their teams? I've seen it quite often with many of the bloggers that I've made deals with. While some of us are near where our teams call home, some are halfway across the country, some are on opposite coasts, and some are on totally different continents. Is it because they grew up with a team and moved, or is it just a love affair with a team that started at a young age?  I recently found another who is removed from his team. Johnny(aka hiflew) of the great Cards from the Quarry is a big Rockies fan. He is based nowhere near Denver, which is cool to find a Purple fan. I sent some assorted Rockies, and I got a package all over the map to help many needs.

How about some cards from a side project that has been taking a nap? Johnny sent me about 10 cards to add to my Angels in the Desert project. Do you have some 70's and 80's Angels laying around that might fit the criteria for the collection?

What is a trade with a Mariner fan without some Mariners? A '92 Score for the Super Set, and some Canadian Mariners. Also some nice Laser cut Topps. While I'm not a big fan of this overkill kind of cards from the 90's, I will definitely add them to the great pile of Mariners.

As you may have seen recently, I have been working on trying to bump up the few player collections I really want to make look like collections. One of those players is the should be HOF'er Dale Murphy. Johnny was nice enough to send some Atlanta Murph love to add to the binder. Why can't he get more of the vote to get in?

The last few cards I'm sure made him happy to get rid of. As a Rockies fan, I'm sure he's not too high on players from other NL West teams. As you may have seen, my son has become a big fan of Tim Lincecum. Johnny was also nice enough to send along a few cards of the Freak for him. Big thanks again to hiflew for helping me along with many collections. It is too bad that his team wasn't around for the 1979 Topps set. It would have been fun to see the colors and how they would have fit in back then.

Division Enemies=Trading Friends

Have you ever noticed that fans of teams in your division make great traders? I have had great experiences in the past with Rangers fans. The Angels are a team I have a soft spot in my heart for. Their #1 blogger is Tom from The Angels, In Order. He does pretty historical and in depth work on the Angels. He sent me a few cards to help out on the Mariners Super Set.

The Peguero gets me one closer to finishing 2011. The two Donruss cards finish the 1982 and 1992 sets. I'm finding that the more I chip away at this thing, it seems like myself and no one else was collecting in the mid to late 1990's. Most of my wants seems to be in that era.

Tom also sent these that will be going into the boxes of different Mariners cards. I like the two players with coneections to the ownership in Japan. The gutierrez is my first Lineage card since I don't really buy much other than flagship stuff. I can't figure out why the A-Rod has a hole in it, is that where the steroid syringe goes into his butt cheek? I think it's cool to see a pitcher like Salkeld with a bat in his hands. I don't like to see pitchers hit though, both leagues need to use the DH. Jay Buhner is wearing the face mask and glasses so nobody will reconize him in New York.


Big thanks again to you Tom. Keep up the great work on the Angels. I wonder if Athletics fans make good trade partners? Does anybody know of some active A's traders? Hello Oakland fans are you out there?

Don't follow me

If you like order and direction this may not be your post today. First, let's start with the debacle at Safeco last night. It looked like the Everett AquaSox were playing the Indians last night, not the Mariners. Come on guys, you lose 12-1 in your home opener? Sad way to play last night. Also last night, the Mariners re-introduced the "green" alternate jersey. I'm sorry, but it's more of an electric blue to me. Here's the new one:

And here is a pic of them back in 1995 looking much more teal to me:

Speaking of good looking uniforms, I like the fact that the Angels wore their older looks for the home opener. In honor of their 50th year, I think they should wear these all year.

Also a big congratulations goes out to a great team guy. Chipper Jones got his 2500th hit in the Braves home opener last night. Great accomplishment for a great guy named Larry.

A big sigh of relief I'm sure is being breathed in Tampa Bay. It only took a week in the season, but the Rays have rid themselves of Manny. He abruptly retires when there's a chance he gets popped a second time for 'roids. I think it is good for the game that these guys get weeded out and we back to playing the game the right way. Bye bye Manny, don't come back with your lame act.

Nice job by the Red Sox to get off the losing pile with a win against the Yankees. Lord knows the NY fans would have continued to pound you if you lost again.

Good luck to the Wolverines today. The Michigan hockey team will go for the Championship today against Minnesota-Duluth.

I don't get to watch much college hockey since it's never on TV, but I will watch the Frozen Four and root for my team if they are in it. GO BLUE!!

Finally, good luck to my son's baseball team today. We might actually get a game in today. Only two games played and five rain outs. Let's win a game and play hard today boys. GO RAINIERS!!

Angels, Mariners, and an auto OH MY!!

Recently, I put up a partial wantlist for a new side project, Angels in the desert. It highlights the California Angels cards with photos taken at spring training in Palm Springs, CA. Tom, the great mind behind The Angels in Order was the first to step up and help get this project a few new cards to start it out right.

Tom sent me some cards that are bordering on real old. He also sent some that were when the Angels were near the end of their run in the desert. He even sent the Bobby Grich Fleer card that I hadn't even found was a desert shot yet.

What trade with me would ever be complete without a few Mariners cards? That is kind of what I'm all about after all, right? Tom didn't disappoint here either. He sent me six more cards to take off the Super Set. Two nice 82 Donruss, 2 from the 83 Fleer set, and two 85 Donruss, including the Diamond King which was a Prime 9 card.

To was cool enough to also include a auto card of 2004 cult hero Bucky Jacobsen. This kid came out of nowhere in the summer of 2004 and the fans in Seattle fell in love with the kid from Oregon. Unfortunately, the fame was short lived, and Bucky was out of baseball in 2007. He is now running a baseball facility called Bucky's Baseball Academy in North Bend, WA.

Thanks again to Tom for the help, and I look forward to making trades with him and you in the future. If you haven't read his blog, go and learn some Angels history.

Angels in the Desert

Since this is the new side project, here is a partial list of the cards I'm pretty sure the pictures were taken in Palm Springs. I'm think this list is full and correct. If you have Angels cards that look like they have a big mountain in the background or palm trees and aren't listed, let me know.

Updated 5/14/13
Current collection:  222/222(100%)

The Angels are all in the outfield in the Desert! I collected them all!!


PS Angels Alumni
Garret Anderson
Jim Edmonds
Tim Salmon

J.T. Snow

New Side Project

All right all this Spring Training has gotten me bit by a bug. I've been watching all kinds of games on MLB Network. It has gotten me thinking back to the old days of my youth. As a kid who grew up with the Angels spending half their Spring Training in Palm Springs, CA I got to see many games and get many autographs as a kid. I got to thinking about baseball cards and the pictures that are on them from Spring Training.

I do know that the Angels were in Palm Springs from 1961 until the end of 1992. I have started to make a list of cards that I can tell are from Angels Stadium in Palm Springs. I can tell some Topps cards for sure, but some I need some help. I haven't started looking at Donruss and Fleer yet, but I would think that there could be some from them too. I doubt that Score or Upper Deck ever made it to the desert.

Consider this an open call to any and all Angels fans, or anybody with knowledge of the stadium and the mountains in the background I would love your help. If I can figure out all the cards, and collect them it would a nice homage set to my home town.
Come on Angels fans, don't let a poor Mariner fan down!

I still love Teal!!

Even though the Mariners took a whooping yesterday, you have to love the throwbacks to the '95 season. I really like when a team gets it right for both teams. Not only did the Mariners have the hats and helmets with the teal bills, they also decked out the Angels in the correct unis, including batting helmets. Nice move Mariners.