National Baseball Trading Card Day 2018 Is Here!!!

We interrupt the lack of activity on this humble little blog to announce that today is National Baseball Card Day.

I will be traveling to about four to five different card shops in the Chicagoland area, or at least that's the hope today, to get some of the free packs that the shops will be giving out as part of the big promotion between Topps and the Hobby shops. Yes, I will be spending some money, as it would be really unfair to the shop's owners if I and thousands of other collectors show up just for the free stuff.

I had fun doing this last year, and fortunately for me today, I have more time, a bit more money, and I am not working at the pharmacy today. I just finished looking at the list of stores in my area doing the promotion, there aren't that many doing it this year. I hope that it was just the store is missing the deadline to announce there taking part in this, and that they're not participating in it this time around.

The first store I'll be going to opens at 10 AM. I have my Gatorades, my phone, my tablet, enough chargers, and I am ready to go.

So join me as I go on my quest to visit as many card shops that I can throughout the day. Or, maybe go out and find some shops you haven't been to in a while, and take part in this Hobby holiday. Follow me on Twitter @bdj610 for pictures of what I find at each location.

Otherwise, have a great Baseball Card Day.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

UPDATE : 5:41 PM CST.

I've been home for a couple of hours now. Enjoying the air conditioning (it was in the mid-high 80's and when I was updating the blog, I was in the car most of the time...not the smartest move on my part), and just reflecting on the day.

I've been watching the feeds on Twitter and just happy to see many collectors out there frequenting the Hobby shops. Even better? Seeing pictures of kids in the stores. They're the future of this Hobby. And this was the point of National Baseball Card Day. Get out there, open a couple of packs of cards, and create interest. It may not be like it was in the past (the heyday of the junk wax era), but the future is looking bright.

So my final haul got me (total spent: $93.48, including the Beanie Baby):

• Ten packs of cards from eight different products
• Three packs of free cards from the Baseball Card Day giveaway
• Both of the bonus Judge (2) and Hoskins cards
• One Ernie Banks SP card
• One box of sheets (really need them)
• One Cubs World Series Beanie Baby

This was a great day. I now have content for pack break week, and probably some trade bait. 

I don't have as much free time as I used to because of work and family obligations. So being able to go off for the day doing something I enjoy is rare. This was fun for me. I thank you for following me on my Hobby journey today. At least I know that people still read this humble, little blog. It is the hope that today brings a bit more inspiration for me to continue the blog, on what is now it's tenth year being up and running. 

jba

UPDATE: 2:26 PM CST.

I decided to head north to Winnetka instead of into the city for my fourth stop of the tour. I have not been in this area for more than 10 years when we owned the bakery at the edge of the business district. Before we left Winnetka for good, the bakery, after a couple of moves, found its way next door to Bleachers Sports, a card shop that also doubled as a sports memorabilia framing shop. They've moved across the road 7 years ago, and are now going into their 25th year of operation.

They were busy today. They even ran out of Judge cards. So this is what I got from them:

I have a jumbo of Series 1 (to go with the series 2 pack from earlier), Topps Opening Day, and Big League Baseball. Pack Break Week should be fun.

No, I didn't get the Beanie Baby from them. I did buy it, but I will explain in a minute.

Because the store ran out of Judge cards, I was offered the Rhys Hoskins as a substitute. Now, the Hoskins card is supposed to be the giveaway for the next promotion that takes place 2 weeks from today. But what can you do when you run out of Judge cards? Worth the trip for $19.62.

After visiting the old place and taking pictures from the outside, I stopped the Village Toy Store that is up the street from the card shop. I heard they were closed. So imagine my surprise to find out that not only are they still open, but they've been around for 70 years. When my kids were little, and we would visit the bakery, we visited this place frequently. The Beanie Baby has the 2016 World Series logo. I had to buy it. At $6.50? Why not.

I think I am going to call it a day. I am tempted to go further north, or maybe head into one of the two shops in Chicago on the list. But I've seen the traffic on the highway on both sides and am thinking that I don't want to sit for that long. So I am homeward bound.

Results of the entire journey to come when I get home.

jba

UPDATE : 12:59 PM CST.

Just headed east to Morton Grove. Home of AU Sports. Love the place. One of the longest running shops in the Chicagoland area, they were not on the list of stores celebrating NBCD, but they do have the cards and are all out promoting. They said that they were having a steady stream of customers throughout the day, so they were happy. The guys in the shop were trying to stump each other with baseball trivia.

The question :

So Albert Pujols recently became the third player in MLB history to record 1000 hits in both the NL and AL for one team. Name the other 2? Not a hint, but the other two are in the HOF. Answer to come later, but I was able to come up with one of the player's names.

I did buy a jumbo pack of 2018 Topps Series 2 for $13.00 to get my free pack of cards and Judge bonus. Thinking should I head south into Chicago, or go north to Winnetka next. Decisions, decisions. I guess we will find out together.

jba

UPDATE: 11:59 AM CST.

Sports and Game Cards in Niles took part in National Baseball Card Day last year. This year, is a different story. The young girl behind the counter was friendly, but unenthused about work. (Going on an old-man-rant now). When I was her age, I would have loved it to work at a card store like this, even if it was inside a shopping mall

So even though there were no NBCD packs to be had, I did buy a box of sheet protectors and this:

One pack each of 2018 Topps Series 1, 2, and Pro Debut. I have all of the cards, of course, but these will be saved again for Pack Break Week (which will be held probably in the next couple of weeks...or whenever Update Series comes...still debating). Total spent: $27.90.

Taking a quick lunch break then it is back on the road, heading east to Morton Grove.

jba

UPDATE: 10:47 AM CST.

This explains why the Palatine shop was not on the list...the store is no longer here. That is the sad reality of the Hobby. There are less stores nowadays. There could be a plethora (just watched The Three Amigos movie a while back) of reasons why this store is gone. Wasn't here very long (at least 2-3 years at most).

So the journey continues.

jba

UPDATE: 10:19 AM CST.

I just left Chicagoland Sports Cards and Memorabilia in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. This was my first stop last year too. It was less crowded this time around than it was last year. I hope that this is not an ominous sign of things to come today. Maybe it's too early still and things will be busier here later.

After speaking to the gentleman behind the counter, this is what I bought from the store:

One pack each of Gypsy Queen, Allen & Ginter's, and Stadium Club, as well as a 2018 Topps Ernie Banks SP card. Not a bad haul for $25.30.

Next stop is to my home town of Palatine. The store was not on the list for the promotion, but I will take a shot here anyway to see what they have. Will update soon.

jba

P.S.: The answers to the trivia question are Dave Winfield and Vladimir Guerrero. I came up with Vlady.