Trade With Brad's Blog: Ginterpalooza -- Maury Wills Auto, Puig/Ryu RCs (+ A Sick Fedorov Ducks' Patch)

I completed my second trade with Brad from Brad's Blog. There were many layers to our latest deal but all were fantastically awesome. Brad busted some 2013 Ginter and had a lot available for trade, and thankfully I had enough hits of Philadelphia teams lying around to entice him.

First up, this awesome on-card auto of Maury Wills. It's just my second certified Wills John Hancock and third overall, as I met Maury a few years back. Next up, we move to hockey and my love of sick patches.

I sadly don't remember much of future Hall of Famer Sergei Fedorov as a Duck, but I'm quite pleased to add a patch of his (numbered 035/220) to my Ducks' PC. Finally, the meat of the deal: GINTER set needs!

Highlighted by RCs of Yasiel Puig and Hyun-Jin Ryu - both of which will go towards my set - Brad sent along a ton of '13 A&G. All told, he contributed: 73 base cards, 6 SPs, 2 Martial Mastery, 2 Heavy Hangs The Head, 11 Across The Years, 3 Palaces & Strongholds, 2 One Little Corner, 2 Inquiring Minds, 1 Codes, Ciphers, & Cryptographs, and 1 Ages of Civilizations Past to the 2013 Ginter Cause. The Ryu is easily one of the best cards in 2013, period. So much awesome.

Thanks for another outstanding trade Brad, I appreciate it!

Trade With Cardboard Catastrophes: Carlos Santana, Short-Printed, and Maury Wills, Deckle Edged.

I completed my second trade with Jeff from Cardboard Catastrophes. Jeff let me know he had a card of Carlos Santana I might be interested in, and sent it along without even questioning what I had to send in return. It's taken me forever to get to this post, so my apologies to Jeff on that front.

Numbered 16/50, it's a sweet parallel of some sort from 2009 TriStar Obak of the former Dodgers' catching prospect. Scouts were raving, but apparently Ned Colletti was not. #CollettiFail: let's get it trending, people.

A scan of the front, just to be as thorough as I can be. Carlos' sweet swing is on display. Jeff also tossed in a pair of extras, my favorite of which is this:

My first card from the 1969 Topps Deckle Edge set, and it features Maury Wills, whom I had the pleasure of meeting once upon a time.

Thanks Jeff! I hope to find something to your liking to send your way soon.

Trade With RoyFanDale: Straight Cash Homey. Oh, and More Draft Cards Added Plus First Dodgers Bobblehead of The Year!

I completed my first trade with RoyFanDale, whom I came across on the SCF hockey boards. He was in search of some Canucks cards, and eventually we worked out a deal for a lot of 13 hockey hits. In return, he sent me a nice chunk of change that went immediately towards a HUGE PC pickup that will debut in the coming weeks.

Thanks for the deal Dale! On a non-trade note, here are some more cards that will be available in the upcoming Card Draft Part Deux. Haven't done the updated math, but it's close to 35 cards per person, and it works out to less than a dollar per card for every entrant.

And finally, the Dodgers will give away the first of ten bobbleheads today, a dual featuring the 1962 NL Cy Young and MVP Award winners, Don Drysdale and Maury Wills. Tommy Davis will be signing autographs before the game, so if I can find something to get signed, I'll be hitting that up.

A Hall of Fame Dodger Shortstop Meets His Successor

Pee Wee Reese spent sixteen years with the Dodgers - the entirety of his big league career. He missed three full seasons while off fighting in World War II, and was a vital member of the Dodgers throughout his tenure with the club, sporting nine seasons of 4.5 WAR or better. While my youth precludes me from having seen countless shortstops to man the position for the Dodgers since Reese hung up his cleats, it's safe to say the void at SS has been a major one.

$5.74 for some '50s Goodness

Outside of Maury Wills (overrated but better than most of the other Dodgers to man the position) and a few good to very good seasons from the injury-plagued and injury-prone Rafael Furcal, I can't remember the last decent shortstop the Dodgers have had, particularly in my lifetime.

That will all hopefully change with Devaris Strange-Gordon. After a cup of coffee that recently resulted in a trip back to AAA, Gordon will hopefully work on his shortcomings and be a fixture with the club beginning in 2012. Because the alternatives are not pretty (come on, we all know it's just a matter of time before Juan Castro's corpse makes its semi-triumphal return).

015/199, $5. USA! USA!

All I'm hoping for (and I think all anyone can hope for) is a guy who walks a fair amount, plays good defense, and steals bags at a high rate. His speed will mean nothing if he's the next Juan Pierre and is only successful about 75% of the time. As long as he can reach and maintain an 80% or higher level of stolen-base efficiency, his blazing speed and tiny wheels can be an asset to the club.

Gordon's four minor league stints featured wOBAs over .350 in three of the four campaigns, a very good sign. Of course, he sported high BABIPs in those seasons, but his incredible speed can account for much of that, as he'll certainly beat out more than his fair share of ground balls and rack up the infield hits.

If Gordon can work his BB% up to the ten percent mark and consistently work free passes, his lack of pop can be negated (as it already is based on the fact that he's a shortstop). He can certainly be a very productive player by smacking doubles and triples, limiting his caught stealings, and not becoming Hanley Ramirez with the leather.

Was this all just a poor excuse to mask the fact that I wanted to post these cards and needed a way to tie them together? Perhaps. Or maybe, just maybe, I might be dabbling once again in actual analysis. You know, what this here blog was originally intended for.

My contest remains open, so join in if you have yet to! Bonus Question # 2 drops Monday.

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Oh, and the Reese came in a large lot that also included a few cards from my Cheap HOF Vintage post - the Killebrew, Mathews, and Schoendienst. This was part of that lot as well.

Trade With I'm Ballsy: Maury Wills Stars In: Uncirculated

This is my second trade with Arno from I'm Ballsy. This time around I sent him a couple of UD MMA Autos, a Justin Forsett Auto, and some random Dodgers. Arno was mysterious in what I was getting, and I enjoy the secrecy. Because it made opening the cards he sent all the more fun. What I received in return, follows.

2003 Topps Chrome Uncirculated Maury Wills Auto, still encased in a Topps Tomb of Doom. I've seen a couple on eBay before, and almost pulled the trigger. I'm glad I didn't. This card is nails in so many ways: an on-card autograph, the Spring Training feel the background provides, the chrome, and the old-school Topps umbrella logo.

This is my second Maury Wills autograph, with the first an in-person autograph I received from the former Dodger shortstop at Dodgers Day at the LA County Fair last September. That autograph came on this spiffy mini-helmet.

Arno also sent me a dual jersey relic featuring former Sun and one of my favorite players of all-time, Shawn Marion.

Upper Deck kindly tells me on the back of the card that both jersey swatches are game-worn, and come from the 2005 All-Star Game. Sweet.

Finally, amongst all the other great cards I received (some Hamels, a Wright, and a die-cut-looking card of the Hulk) was this Just Minors card of Jay Bruce.

I've been trying to figure out what it says on the 2. Looks like an upside-down "hel" to me. No idea what that might stand for though. Suggestions are welcome.

Thanks Arno! I appreciate these fantastic cards - and the secrecy with which you sent them - and I look forward to our next trade!

Dodgers At The LA County Fair

When I found out via Vin Scully Is My Homeboy that the Dodgers would have a signing at the LA County Fair, and the players featured would be Steve Garvey, Maury Wills, Steve Sax, and Fernando Valenzuela, I knew I had to make it out to Pomona no matter what.

First, here are a few other recaps of the event. DodgerBobble's can be found here, and Bruce wrote a recap and sent it in to Vin Scully Is My Homebody. Eric Karros was originally slated to appear, but was replaced (I think by Sax). Now on to my experience.

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I had no idea what to get signed, and decided to look for something more unique than a ball. I of course waited until the last minute, ending up at a Sports Chalet searching the morning of the fair. When I couldn't find a mini helmet or something else different than the norm, I just bought a ball and decided that I'd use that and if I was lucky enough to get Fernando's signature, I would have him sign his rookie card. I actually have the error version of that rookie card, which features "Fernand Valenzuela" on the front of the card.

I was lucky enough to find a little stand and buy a mini-helmet at the fair. The helmet was only $20, and was the last one at this stand, so I couldn't pass it up. Funny enough, I found out the guy who sold it to me later had a couple more magically appear at his little stand.

The line wasn't terribly long when I finally decided to get in it, and I was fortunate enough to meet a number of nice people to talk to and pass the time. I met the great DodgerBobble for the first time in person, and talked with a number of other fans. Eric, Bruce, and Joey are the guys I got names from.

First up was Steve Sax, who arrived on time and stayed a bit past his designated hour to make sure everybody who wanted his autograph got it. Very nice guy, and he even added his number after his signature, which I didn't see on anybody else's Sax signature, so that's a pretty cool thing in my book.

Next up was Wills. I was lucky enough to get near the front of the Wills line as well, as most everybody was waiting for Garvey or Fernando. Wills was scheduled to sign from 5-6 P.M., but was stuck in traffic and didn't arrive until about 5:40ish. He did stay a whole hour though, and was quite apologetic about his tardiness. He, like Sax, was very nice and talkative with fans, inscribing many autographs with career highlights.

The third Dodger to sign was Steve Garvey. I ended up about mid-line with DodgerBobble and Eric. I had met Steve once before, but I was about 10 years old and remember very little about that experience. Steve, like his fellow former players, was very kind. I thanked him for coming out to the event, and he said "Thanks for your patience".

At that point I left, as I already have Fernando's autograph, and the line for him was crazy long. He had already turned up, arriving just as DodgerBobble and I were about to get our Steve Garvey signatures.

A shot of the mini helmet in it's nice protective case.

While perusing the fair, I also came upon a cool little sports memorabilia shop and picked up three cards.

I'd never seen this Pedro Martinez card before, so it was an easy pick-up for me.

I really liked this 2009 Topps Unique Matt Kemp, so I grabbed it as well.

Finally, could someone who used to post under the moniker KempKershaw really pass this next baby up, even considering it's just an Upper Deck Checklist card? I think we all know the answer to that is an emphatic NO.

The three cards cost a total of four dollars and change.

Just a few parting shots of my time at the LA County Fair. Everything was great, a fantastic event. I definitely intend on going back as often as I can for this yearly event.

Saw this Chad Billingsley "This Is My Town" billboard on the drive to the fair.

Apparently the Dodgers will still have competition selling the now-trademarked "Los Doyers" shirts.

The fair's pig mascot, Thummer, decked out in Dodger Blue. OY. VEY.

Presented without commentary.

Grip of people in line.

Grip of people in line. Part Deux.

Long line for Fernando Valenzuela