We just returned from our trip to San Antonio, TX. Let me tell you, the heat that we were expecting showed up for one day, but the rest of the time, it rained. And rained. And rained. The heat, apparently, went on vacation as well, going north while we headed south.
All kidding aside, the reason why we went to San Antonio was for a family conference, one I will be discussing on this humble, little blog before August (big reason why will be announced soon).
When not taking part of the official events, I did a few Hobby related things. As mentioned (ad nauseum), I did bring a of 2026 Topps (not the 6-inch...a smaller one) and finally had time to add the 350 cards from Series 2 into the big binder. On Tuesday, the 15th, the family and I went to Target to buy a few things for the conference. More importantly, I did buy a few packs of Series 2, including a megabox of All-Star Game product. I said I wouldn't previously, but in honor of the Game, I thought, "what the heck, why not?" There were two boxes. I picked one, left the other, grabbed 2 loose packs (it's Target, they have that limit thing), and a retail box and moved on (this second megabox will be discussed later on in this story).
Hanging out in the hotel lobby, I had my 75th Anniversary Topps shirt on (the shirt arrived before we finished packing last week, so in it went into the suitcase), the 2-inch binder of cards (which did have the All-Stars in separate pages...which were returned to their respective pages once the game was over), and the megabox. Some members of the conference came by, saw the baseball cards, and then started talking about their memories of collecting when they were much younger. It was nice hearing stories about what they used to collect, the usual sob stories about their cards being tossed once they left home, and even some people said they were collectors too and wanted to talk about their current collections.
Which leads me to realizing that it is hard to talk to people about, well most hobbies, because we don't know if the person we're talking about can relate. But to see the look on people's faces and how their tone of voice changes once they realize that the person they're talking to shares a common interest, they suddenly look a whole lot lighter, they smile as they share their stories and even when they talk about what is currently in their collections. Heck, even young lady (yes, ladies too) said that she managed to get a "decent-sized" collection of 1957 Topps cards (or was it 1955...) at an estate sale for $5.00 if she could name the players. She apparently did, and purchased the lot. She also said that she knew someone who used to work for the Company and even had an uncirculated sheet of cards. Needless to say, we exchanged Facebook information and I will have to reach out and ask her for pictures of the sheet as I am truly interested in what she has.
The game was...okay. The NL lost (again) Miguel Vargas put the game on ice with a towering home run. The pitching on both sides was great, shutting down pretty much everyone...except for the hometown pitcher who started. I don't know if it was nerves, but Christopher Sanchez really struggled out there in that first inning. I hadn't seen that kind of first-inning jitters (if it can be called that) since Tim Lincecum in 2009. At least PCA got a hit.
Back to the point.
While sitting there opening packs, a family with two kids sat next to me. I know the family as my wife and his wife became good friends after a previous conference and subsequent visits from them to Chicago. I gave the father two packs of retail that I bought along with the box, and the kids had fun. I did make a trade offer with one of the kids for a Reggie Jackson 1991 All-Star card that he pulled in exchange for a Frank Thomas 1991 All-Star card that I had just added to the TCDB trade/sell list.
Wednesday the 16th, families had more free time as the presentation portion of the conference was starting to wind down and apparently one gentleman I talked to in the lobby the night before went to the same Target I visited and BOUGHT THE OTHER MEGABOX. He offered me the base cards that he got from the box, which was a very kind gesture on his part (explanation to come as to why in a moment). After opening my box and pulling out some inserts, I wondered if this same person would be interested in trading for some insert cards. I did have some decent pulls, and took a shot. He agreed.
We met back at the lobby, showed me what he had, I showed him what I could offer...
And he just said to take what I needed, nothing needed to be traded!!!
I was stunned.
The guy spent $40-something bucks on this mega box and offered to give me the entire contents of it.
The cards I needed are below. The other cards he gave me are in a box somewhere that I still need to unpack from my luggage.
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| A Max Muncy 1991 Relic plus the eight cards to pare down the wantlist of 2026 S2 Inserts |
I think this would count as a giveaway, but I was trying to be fair and offered what I had in exchange, and he said no. As to why he would just agree to give these away without an exchange, he explained that yes, he collects. He has a Michael Jordan collection of over 600 plus cards, plus a collection of cards from every sport (a Shohei Ohtani 50/50 card serial numbered was one of the highlights I could remember) and even Pokémon (which he collects with his son). He loves opening packs and pulling hits, but in the end, prefers to give the cards to people who could use them more. He doesn't give out cards because of "lack of value" or whatever, he does this because he enjoys doing it. I have great respect for this guy now. I told him that I was going to the National, and promised that if I found a good Jordan that I'd message him.
The Chase for 600 cards now is now down to 139:
- 9 First Pitch cards (found Jerry Seinfeld in a pack)
- 18 Crooked Numbers cards
- 37 Glove Works cards
- 36 1991 Series 2 cards
- 28 1991 All-Star cards
- 2 Stars of MLB (Sal Stewart and Brady House)
- 1 Titans of Baseball (Francisco Lindor)
- 4 short-printed rookies (card #'s 697-700)
- 4 factory set exclusive rookies (card #'s 697-700)
Upon my return, I see that I have a couple of trade offers. Need to look into those and if trades are accepted, I'll post them here.
Sincerely,
JayBee Anama
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