It's A GO At the PO!!!!!!!!

Thanks to a truly awesome and amazing postal clerk who has become a friend, I now have an unlocked PO Box… As many of you crazy bloggers do, I was spending a ton of time at the post office and this meant I really got to know the folks who worked there… It is a very small post office and including the Postmaster, there are only 3 employees. All 3 have gone out to roller derby bouts (we have 1 tonight!) and when I am shipping, the conversation isn’t forced small talk – these are really good folks… I am lucky. One of the employees – Chrissie, is particularly awesome. We are “friends” on Facebook and chat on occasion.

I have been broke and haven’t been around like I once was. She sent a few messages of concern and said she missed me and was worried about my box being locked. I explained why and she said she was determined to help me get back on track – postally (is this a word?) speaking at least… Last year she was excited because her 13 year old son was going to his first big concert, the Tampa stop on the Vans Warped Tour. She is a pretty cool chick and was going with him, playing chaperone and being the cool mom that she is. I told her I wasn’t going this year, but had been to nearly every year prior. She told her son this and he thought that was pretty cool. He had met me at a derby bout and considered me one of his mom’s “cool friends” even though I am a Grandpa… Anyway, while cleaning up around the house I found an old tee shirt, a concert tee from the first ever Warped Tour back in 1995 which featured bands like Sublime, No Use for a Name, Sick of it All, L7, Quicksand and more… I brought it into the post office and gave it to Chrissie for her son. He LOVED it! It gave him big “cool points” at school for having such an old school tee. She said he wore it for a week straight.

Anyway, fast forward to last week. My Wifey, the legendary Esther Gin N Juice and I were celebrating our 6-year wedding anniversary (shown here on Wedding Day 03-11-2006 right after jumping from an airplane… ) I made a post about it on facebook and Chrissie sent me a message that she wanted to get us a special Anniversary gift since we had hooked her son up the year before. I messaged her back telling her thanks, but it wasn’t necessary and pretty much forgot about it.
Then, after work on Saturday, I stopped at the post office, solely out of habit because it was closed and my box was out of order. I went to it anyway, unlocked it expecting to see the yellow barrier in the back of the box which prevented anyone from putting mail in it. The yellow barrier was NOT there, there was a pair of manila envelopes in it instead along with a receipt…

The receipt was for a box payment. A BIG payment, considering I owed a $15 late fee along with the $48 cost for the box rental. It was ALL paid!!! I nearly cried I was so happy and touched. I have had a lot of truly generous people touch my life in the years since I began blogging and trading and this ranked among the tops… Truly unbelievable!!! Thanks sooooooooo much Chrissie!!!

I really don’t know what to say or how to thank you, but that is mega awesome and I will be eternally grateful for this… By the way, the 2 envelopes in the box came courtesy of a reader named Tim who is an Indians fan who claimed a card I had posted nearly 2 years ago. He had said he didn’t have anything to send me at the time, but he would pay me back someday. He came through with an awesome package of really cool and unique Rays cards. This will be the subject of my next post, thanks Tim! The other package came from Chris at the Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz blog. He had sent me an email weeks prior offering to send me 60 cards off of my 2012 Topps want list. I tried writing him back to tell him of my address change, but the email was sent back and for some reason I couldn’t get one through to him. I think he sent this envelope a month ago. Of course I still needed everything and now they are all safe and sound in the 2012 Topps binder.

When I got home I had a manila envelope in my house’s mailbox, too. Another 20 cards from 2012 Topps from a reader named Nick. Everything is safe in the binder. I have 32 completed pages now and just need a few more cards to finish the set off. For the first page I need card #7, I would assume that is a Mantle card, from there the next 30 pages are totally full! The few others I need to finish it are cards numbered 297, 307, 312, 313, 330 and 331. Yep, just a total of 7 more cards to finish this off! Not too bad I think…

I bought my first pack 5 weeks ago, posted a want list and within 30 days the blog-o-sphere sent me over 250 cards towards my journey. Huge thanks for that!!! I should mention that in the package from reader Nick I also got a few more 1987 Topps style minis and updated that list as well. Nick doesn’t have a blog and is just getting back into collecting. He ripped a bunch of 2012 Topps and he has already finished the set so he doesn’t need any of that. He does have a few PCs that I can help him with, so if anyone has any cards of Ichiro or Alex Ovechkin that they wouldn’t mind sharing with me – I want to hit Nick back.

This is important because not only did he send everything I mentioned- he is also the first person to answer the call for parallels of Desmond Jennings from 2012… I am now the proud owner of the RED version of his rookie cup card. I want them all, right down to the printing plates if I can find them, but I am on the road to domination and I owe ya for that Nick! That card incidentally is my 8th different Desmond Jennings card. My DJ page is nearly complete. I am going to post up pages from all of my PCs soon, but I am pretty stoked about this right now… You might notice the blue parallel that the Cardboard Don sent me from 2011 Topps. I want to collect EVERY parallel of that card, too… I was at that game!

I used to be a Carl Crawford fan and have nearly 700 cards of his (up for trade!) but DJ is helping me forget about him… I have been lucky to be in attendance for his first triple ever and several homeruns… I think I am a lucky charm for the guy… Okay, that is all for now. The Rays are taking on the Boston Red Sox in Port Charlotte, Florida today. Oh yeah!!! Roller Derby later tonight! More posting in the near future, too! I need to post up some more mailbox arrivals. Scott from Smed’s Cards has sent me about a dozen AWESOME envelopes in the past few months, but it was earlier this week that a white box arrived at my house FILLED with something really cool… Stay tuned!

A huge thanks to Post Office Chrissie and all the cool kids who have sent me cards and helped me out on my set quests!!! Y’all rule! Want lists are up to date, my address is Collective Troll/PO Box 1063/Tallevast, FL 34270 and Trade Me Anything will open for business really soon. I LOVE this hobby! Oh and by the way... That RED Ryan Braun 2012 Heritage parallel is still available and up for trade, so anybody want it??? And also, I have decided to chase 2009 Topps and now have list for it... Spare any? Oh, and yes, that IS what I look like, hope I didn't scare away too many readers, ha!

The Nuclear Bombshells are entertaining the Lakeland Derby Dames in just a couple hours tonight... Wanna learn more? Find us and like us on Facebook... Thanks for reading and sharing my love! Go Rays! Troll out.

Huge PC Hits and a Contest Addition...

Okay, so another day and another delay on the contest. I PROMISE that it will begin tomorrow regardless. In an effort to make it up to my dear readers I am adding to the bounty. In addition to the previously mentioned Hall of Famer autographs, I will add one more HOF autograph that will not disappoint. I have also decided to add one more non-HoF auto, but a great auto nonetheless. This certified auto of the Capital Punisher will now be added to the prize group when the contest commences tomorrow. Now, since I am in player collection limbo with my undecided new player, I am gonna hit the current player collections HARD. I am speaking of my Jared Sandberg and Danny Tartabull collections. I am confident that I can gather up EVERY single Sandberg card ever made. Tartabull may be a little more difficult, but I am gonna go down swinging with that one. Of my current PCs, I am still looking to build on the Carl Crawford, Jonny Gomes, Brian Roberts, Pat Neshek, Akinori Iwamura and Jason Bartlett collections. Yesterday I showed off another Bartlett auto from My Past Time I Love It!, today I am going to start with my first Bartlett relic, a 2009 Topps U&H All Star insert of JB. Embedded in this card is allegedly a piece of JB’s All Star workout jersey. It isn’t quite a Rays relic, but its Rays era and it celebrates Bartlett making his first All Star appearance, plus the card is numbered to 50. Now, onto Danny Tartabull. This first card doesn’t look like much, but it was a tough pull back in 1993 that I never thought I would own. This is from the 1993 Topps Stadium Club set. It is card #85 and shows my fav outfielder of my youth in a stupid Yankees uniform, but this card has a little stamp in the corner that says “1st Day Production”. Cards with this little stamp were one per box and I am really happy to add this. I think there are few more years of 1st Day cards that I still need, but I am on the right track. In addition to that ’93 Yankees card I also added a 1996 Leaf card showing the Bull as a member of the White Sox. The Bull had major career resurgence with the Sox in ’96. I know it was the live ball era, but as a fan I was thrilled to see Tartabull hit 27 long balls and drive in 102. This card is special because it was from that time frame, but also because it is my first Tartabull certified autograph. It comes from the 1996 Leaf Signature Series which is really affordable and loaded with players who don’t have any other certified autos out there. Speaking of certified autos, I also added my first Jared Sandberg certified auto this week. This card is from the 1999 Bowman set, card #BA57 with a nice bold blue signature across the front. Now I have officially completed the Trifecta for Sandberg, owning his rookie, a jersey relic and now a certified autograph. If I can find a bat relic, I will be ALL SET! I have been collecting Tartabull for 25 years now and I still don’t have the Trifecta of him, lacking a relic card. If anyone has ANY cards of Sandberg or Tartabull, please get in touch. I am still looking for a good idea to break the tie between Maz, Mad Dog and Doby, too. Off to work... That is all for now… Contest will be posted tomorrow, by hook or by crook! Thanks for reading! Go Rays! troll out.

The Greatest Switch Hitter of All Time?

Please pardon the senationalistic title... I could probably write for a while on that topic. Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray, Chipper Jones, Chili Davis... My favorites are Ben Zobrist and Brian Roberts. Hey, speaking of Brian Roberts (SMOOOOTH SEGUE) the real purpose of this post is to unveil the newest venture in the Nitty Gritty family of blogs. The blog is called "Leading Off" and is focused on my favorite switch hitter, the Orioles All-Star second baseman Brian Roberts. I have been promising to create a wantlist or have list of my Brian Roberts cards for a while now. Well, I had the afternoon off today and I started working on my list and a new blog was born, it just happened. Anyway, go give it a try, you can find it RIGHT HERE! Go Rays! Go Roberts!

Why Roberto Clemente???

Why Roberto Clemente? Why not. He is one of the best to ever play the game of baseball after all… He had a cannon for an arm and was one of the best defensive right fielders ever. He won 12 consecutive Gold Glove Awards. He was an All Star 15 times, starting 7 of those games in right field. He finished in the top-10 in the MVP voting 8 times and he was the 1966 National League Most Valuable Player. He won 4 batting titles and owns a career .317 batting average. He spent his entire career playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates and he led them to 2 World’s Championships. Did I mention he was the best? Add in 3,000 hits, 440 doubles, 166 triples and 240 homeruns, plus 269 outfield assists and 42 double plays and you have the stats of the greatest. He is a hero, he is a Legend. Ask any Latin American baseball fan who was born in the last 80 years (this troll included) who their sports hero is-the answer is almost always Roberto Clemente. As a humanitarian, celebrity, athlete, international hero, leader, baseball player and multinational citizen he was larger than life. He had the biggest heart and strongest arm of any professional athlete. He was the opposite of the stereotype of the current pampered athlete. He was an absolutely amazing ballplayer and a truly amazing human being. He left this earth way too early (if he died today, it would still be too early) and he left a huge void where he had been. He made this world a better place during the 38 years that he spent on this earth. The good that he did is still felt today and the servitude that he inspired will be felt for years to come. The last day of his life was the first day of mine. My father said he heard the news from a doctor while he was in the delivery room with my Mom. I was born twenty minutes after his plane crashed off the coast of Puerto Rico. As a little boy I was told that I carried a little piece of him with me. A little piece of his goodness and greatness alike. As I have grown up I have held onto the ideal that on the day which would be my first and his last-I took on a little bit of the great Roberto Clemente in myself. Obviously that piece wasn’t his amazing throwing arm or his ability to play the game that I enjoy so much. I do think that I took on a little bit of his goodness, his generosity, his kindness, his compassion and his love for all living things with me. I have tried to live a good life and to help others as often as I could in his memory. I have always tried to do whatever I could to make others more comfortable, safer and happier. Bringing a smile to another’s face is a great reward… These things that I do are mainly because that is how my parents raised me, but also because I feel that I have a debt and responsibility to that Great Right Fielder in the Sky to carry on his unfinished business and keep his legacy of goodness intact. I started to collect his cards because of that. He was a great player and his cards are very pricey and I have never felt good about spending 50 dollars on a card while others are starving, so my Clemente collection is very small and was built primarily on gifts from others. That makes it so much more special to me. Looking at his cards reminds me that there are more important things in the world than baseball, but that this sport offers a wonderful distraction sometimes… I have many more to scan, but shown throughout this post are a few of Roberto Clemente’s cards from my personal collection. Like I said, most have come from the kindness of others which suits Clemente to a tee. I want to thank my friend Alfredo and everyone else who has paid it forward and shared Roberto Clemente cards with me. It now been 37 years since he left this world-looking down I wonder how he would feel about it today… I love this hobby! (Please excuse the lack of timeliness in this post… It was intended to be posted on 12-31-2009-the 37th anniversary of Clemente’s death. I ended up working an unplanned double that day followed with volunteering at All Charities on 01/01/10 and the post got pushed back… Clemente forever!!! ENDNOTES: The '68 Clemente has been with me a LONG time... It was a flea market purchase from 1980. The '69 came from Closet Full of Cardboard, the '68 Managers Dream was a Christmas Gift from reader Hank and the modern cards all came from Wicked Ortega... Thanks to all who have hooked me up! I repeat, Clemente Forever!!! Troll out.