October 22, 2023, Chantilly Show Graphing Recap

What a weekend.  My good friend, Jesse, and I met up with another close friend, Ryan this weekend.  The three of us, along with Ryan's nephew Blayke, checked out the Chantilly show on Sunday.  I wanted to finish of the 1982 Topps Baltimore Orioles Future Stars card that I had already gotten signed TTM by Jeff Schneider and Bob Bonner.  That left Cal to get taken care of, which I finally aas able to do. 

Cal commented on the card in that I got Schneider and Bonner, which was cool.  He shook my and Jesse's hands.  He's always friendly, and I was happy to pay the fee to see Cal again.

I paid Bill's premium fee to get the "Rick Face" card signed, finally.  It took some digging in some Orioles boxes to find the card, but I located it and got it added to the autograph album. 

Bill was super friendly and happily posed for the picture.  He commented on my Oklahoma Cielo Azul hat.  I just checked, ND I wore the same hat last year and I recall that Bill commented on it then, too. 

The Sunday autograph lineup wasn't terribly impressive for me, but I saw that Steve Carlton was going to be there.  I decided that I'd pay his fee and get him on a card to add to my album.  He signs TTM for a fee, but I wanted to meet him.

Carlton was nice.  He was pretty soft-spoken and it was hard to hear him at points. Jesse and I were nervous when we were lining up for this picture.  Carlton told us to calm down, line the shot up properly and thanked us for coming.  It was really nice of him to not push us along and ensure that we got a good photo.

Jair Jurrjens was signing in the Forward Area, so I got two cards of his signed for his fee.  I got a 2010 Topps Chrome and a 2011 Topps signed.  Jurrjens has an awesome signature.

Jurrjens was really nice.  I'm glad that I read the lineup thoroughly and saw that he would be there.

I was on a pretty tight budget, but i was still able to find some cool stuff.  I worked on my 1955 Bowman set just a bit and also found some cool vintage cards to send TTM.  We'll see if I can get them in.

Thanks Ryan, Blayke and Jesse for the great time and thanks Jesse for keeping our ride ti and from Ryan's house interesting and the photo ops.

October 2022 Chantilly Show - Finishing the Ripken Baseball Family Card

When I picked up this 1988 Donruss Ripken Baseball Family card that had already been signed by Cal, Sr., I had hoped of adding Bill and Cal to the card at some point.  Last year, I saw Ryan Ripken when he came through Durham with Norfolk, so I went ahead and for him on the card.  He told me at the time that his dad would love to see the card in person and to talk to me about it.  He also said I should be patient and wait for his uncle Bill to do a signing, because if I tried sending the card through the mail, it would probably get lost.  We also joked that I should get the other Ripken brother (Fred) to sign the card, since, in Ryan's opinion, Fred was the better baseball player out of the three, but didn't pursue it because he didn't like baseball as much as Cal or Bill.

Finally, a signing came along where Cal and Bill would both be in attendance.  Cal hadn't been at the National in 2021 or 2022, so I was excited to see him in the lineup for the Chantilly show.  He did remark on the card, that I had added "Ryan Rip" to the card.  I told him "Yeah, and I'll add Bill later on today.  I just need to add Fred at some point."  That was when Cal's face dropped a bit and he said "You'll have a hard time adding Fred to this card.  We just lost him."  I was floored.  I had created an awkward conversation with my childhood hero.  I apologized for his loss; he explained what had happened.  We was so cool about it, but I felt terrible.  It goes to show how great a guy Cal is, and I feel awful for his loss.  I'm sure he knew that I had no idea that his brother had passed, but it still made for an awkward exchange.  He was still gracious enough to explain the circumstances, and still posed for a picture afterward.  I wish I had more time to talk to Cal, though, because I did feel badly for him.

Bill was super nice, as well.  He said "Oh, I see that you got my mother to sign the card as well."  I had to tell him that was Ryan's signature on the card, and he said "Oh, I thought it was my mother's."  Cal and Bill's mom passed away last year.  He then commented on my Turbo Tubs jersey, which we talked about for a bit before I got shooed away by the handlers.  This was my first time meeting Bill (and third time meeting Cal), and they both were really nice.

I finally got the card completed, but I do wish I had known about Fred's passing.  On my way home, I looked up and read his obituary; he seemed like he would have been an interesting guy to talk to, as well.

Orioles Relics and Autos From The National

There are, by far, not all of the relic and auto cards I picked up at the National.  I hit some of the bargain bins pretty hard the whole time I was there and ended up with some really nice cards.  This 2017 Tribute Adam Jones patch was probably the best of the bargain bin finds.  Numbere 9/25, it has a 3-color patch that looks pretty great.

This Adam Jones relic was also pretty cool.  I was glad to find some of his stuff for cheap at the show, since I haven't added a lot to the Jones PC in a long time.  Jones has been with the club since 2008, and has begun to pass some Oriole legends in some of the all-time stat rankings.  I hope he can finish his career as an Oriole, but that remains to be seen.

I thought it was pretty odd to find a Manny Machado patch in a bargain box, but this one was in there.  Since I love Museum so much, I picked it up.  I don't remember what I spent, but it wasn't much at all, and I am pretty sure I got it in a bulk deal with some other stuff anyway.

Finally, I added this Bill Ripken certified auto from 2005 Leaf Century Collection.  The card is numbered 63/250.  I believe this is only the second Bill certified auto that I have been able to find.  The other being the Cal/Bill dual auto that Drew got for me a while back.

I looked at my stack of National finds today and realized that I am just about done posting about the show.  I'm not as far behind as I thought I was.  Maybe I can get the rest posted soon and move on to other things.

Birthday Gift From Max - Delivering Some Awesome Orioles

I received an amazing birthday gift from my very good friend, Max, recently that included some really awesome stuff.  He had already shown me the above Eddie Murray - Chris Davis jumbo relic booklet card since he knew it wouldn't arrive in time for my actual birthday.  Still, the card is amazing, and I am really happy to get it in the collection.

The booklet card is numbered 4/5 and had actually been something I had been watching on Ebay for a while.  When the card fell off of Ebay, I figured I missed out, but luckily, my good buddy had picked it up.

This card came from 2015 Museum Collection and will look great among the rest of my Davis booklets.

Max also sent along some cards that he had gotten autographed recently, as well.  I sent him every Bill Ripken base card that I had since Max informed me that he had a chance of meeting him at Wrigley Field.  Max got a few cards signed for himself and sent these, along with his unused card, back to me.

I am really excited about adding these to my IP/TTM binder.  Max has been a huge contributor to this binder, and he has been the biggest inspiration for me to add to it.

Finally, Max had pulled this 2016 Bowman purple Sonny Gray and offered it to me in trade.  I send him tons of Cubs stuff, so I know I will have something that will match up with it very quickly.  This card is numbered 49/250.

I first traded with Max a couple years ago via Instagram and really hit it off with him.  An easy-going personality, a great sense of humor and a selflessness beyond his years has completely endeared him to me.  He went out of his way last year to invite us into his home and host us for the 2015 National.  He is a constant force in helping guide my collection these days.  He makes time to skype with me and go through 5,000-count boxes and pull the best base cards for graphing.  I don't believe I would have jumped headfirst into getting random base cards signed.  This has led to my new appreciation for 80s-era junk wax cards.  It has been a lot of fun seeing some of those cards come back with signatures.  Max has been an awesome friend, and I can't thank him enough for all of the help that he has given me over the years.  His letter that was included with the package assured me that he felt the same way on his end.

Thank you so much for the package, Max.  I appreciate it beyond words.

Christmas Gift From Drew

Wow.  Take a look at the above card.  Yeah, Drew gave this to me for Christmas.  A card that he has had in his collection for a few years now.  A card that he once told me that would end up in my collection, once he felt the time was right.  I guess the time was right, because this 2005 Donruss INKCrdible Cal/Bill Ripken dual auto was in the Christmas package from him that arrived yesterday.

This card is amazing.  I actually had no Bill Ripken autos in my collection, one that I have been building since 1990.  No Bill Ripken autos at all.  I still don't have him on a ball.  I'm not sure why, except for maybe that he doesn't sign a lot; he doesn't seem to have too many certified autos in any products either.  Getting this card into my collection is a huge deal for me.

This card was also in the package, and while it seemed like I kind of overlooked it with my excitement over the Ripken dual auto, this triple relic from 2014 Panini Classics is a really nice card as well.  Numbered 3/99, it is really cool.  This is going right into the Chris Davis PC and spreadsheet.

Drew has been the longest tenured friend that I have made since I started this blog and joined the online card community.  I have seen him grow up from a 12-year old kid to a college student about to embark on a huge journey in his life.  His blog has undergone huge changes recently, including a change in URL.  I recommend that you check it out.  The link can be found here.  I have also updated it on my sidebar.

Thank you so much for the awesome Christmas gifts, Drew!  Good luck on your journey, and I will be here in a completely different time zone waiting to hear from you!

Care Package From Elitecardsnstuff

I got a care package in the mail recently from a guy I traded with on Instagram who uses the screen name of Elitecardsnstuff.  We traded a few months ago, and he surprised me with a random care package that had the above Fleer Ultra Iron Man Cal Ripken, a Bowman Platinum Jonathan Schoop and a Tim Lincecum for Chris.

The Ripken card is cool because it shows Cal, Sr. and Bill along with Cal.  I remember the '88 Donruss that showed the three of them, and always felt it was a great card.  Of the three, I have autos of Cal and Cal, Sr.  I still need to get one of Bill.

Thanks for the care package!

So, with this post, I have finally caught up on my "to be blogged" pile.  I have a couple pieces coming in the mail, but I have tried really hard to lay off of buying for a while.  The stuff I have coming were "must haves" for various PCs.  I don't have any trades lined up at the moment.  I should be doing more soon, once I figure out what I want to do with the June card show.

Don't worry, though.  Even without a "to be blogged" pile, there will still be plenty of content.  I'll just have to think a little harder, which might just be dangerous.

Mail From Cam

I got a package in the mail the other day from Cam over at "The Bullpen Cardboard".  He is a nice kid whom I have traded with on occasion.  He got wrapped up in school, so this package was some 3-4 months in the making, but that wasn't too big a deal to me.

Cam sent me a bunch of early to mid 90s Oriole cards.  One of which was this 1991 Topps Billy Ripken.  1991 Topps doesn't get the praise it deserves in the annals of Topps history.  The 2009 set (where Topps vastly improved their photo quality) appeared to be a throwback to the 1991 set; a minimalistic border and fantastic photos and action shots.  I really like the 1991 set.  I might build it again, just for fun, since I see 1991 boxes all over the place, and cheap!

Cam was nice enough to include a Bowman Chrome blue parallel of Tim Lincecum for my son, Chris.  It is too bad that Timmy is having such a terrible year.  Chris doesn't quite understand that, yet, but even if he did, I doubt he would leave as a Timmy fan.

Finally, Cam included this 2000 Topps Alex Gordon auto.  No, not THAT Alex Gordon.  This Alex Gordon was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Orioles in 1998 at the age of 18.  He displayed decent power potential in the minors hitting 54 homers in 356 minor league games.  He never got any higher than High A ball before his career ended in 2004.  I wonder what he is up to now?

Thanks for the package Cam!  I mailed something off to you today.

What's Next for Showalter and the Orioles??

It appears that over the next few days, the front office of the Orioles will have a different look for the 2012 season.  Andy MacPhail is expected to step down from his position as President of Baseball Operations and either leave the organization or take a lesser role.

Rumors are mounting that current manager, Buck Showalter, is weighing whether or not to accept a role as General Manager of the team, or to remain in the dugout.  It appears that Buck wants more of a decision making role in the organization, one who can control 40-man roster acquisitions, scouting, player development, etc.  Buck seems to be trying to figure out whether he can have more impact on the organization as manager or general manager.

If Buck remains manager, he will want to have an equal voice in the acquisition of players, etc, so I'm not certain an established GM would be willing to share duties with the field manager.  One GM option in this role could be Matt Klentak, who has served as assistant GM under MacPhail.  Klentak could accept a promotion to GM with the understanding that he will share duties with Buck while he learns the ins and outs as GM.  I'm not sure if this would be a good arrangement, the two-headed GM experiment didn't work all that well under the reigns of Mike Flanagan-Jim beattie or Mike Flanagan-Jim Duquette.  Buck is really close to former Rangers GM Jon Hart, so he could be an option.  Yes, the same Jon Hart who signed A-Roid to his ridiculous contract...  Hey, maybe he could offer the same deal to Pujols or Fielder this offseason?  Yeah, I know, only kidding.

If Buck does, in fact, decide to take a front office job, then who will manage the team?  Two former managers (Willie Randolph and John Russell) served as coaches this year.  I'm not sold on either of those guys.  Buck is close to former Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu.  The same manager who many feel was the reason Ken Griffey, Jr. was unceremoniously ran out of Seattle.  I wasn't there, so I don't know what went down.  From everything I've read, he might be a decent choice to lead the Orioles under the watchful eye of Buck.

If I had any input (and clearly, I don't), I would see if a former Oriole with a well known last name would be willing to join the staff next season.  He was a gritty player who was brought up in a baseball family that bleeds (still to this day) Oriole Orange.  His dad managed the Orioles in 1987-1988 and served as a coach for a really really really long time.  I don't think his dad got a fair shake as O's manager (0-21 start notwithstanding), but he epitomised the old school "Oriole Way."  

Of course, I'm talking Ripken here.  No, I don't think Cal would be a good choice at this moment to be a manager or coach on the Orioles.  He would be much better suited as GM or (fingers crossed!) Owner one day.  No, I sincerely think...

...that BILL Ripken would be a solid choice to come in and have some input on the club.  Either as a coach or field manager.  Bill currently works as an analyst for MLB Network and hosts a weekly radio show with Cal on Sirius/XM.  Bill clearly has a wealth of baseball knowledge.  Many former and current managers didn't have hall of fame playing careers.  Usually, the players who had to fight and claw to stay on 40-man rosters are the ones who make the best coaches.  Bill was a hard-nosed, no-nonsense type player who I think would have a positive impact on the team.  It's about time the Orioles bring him in (if he is even interested).

Awesome Baseballs in the Mail

Sometimes, when I get bored, I type 'Autographed Baseball' into the search field on Ebay and see what comes up. A couple times, I have been able to find some absolute steals and some hidden treasures. A week ago, I was lucky to find two baseballs that I felt like I couldn't pass up...


First, I got the above pictured baseball. The signatures on it are very faint, but they can be read. On the ball are signatures from the 1962 Baltimore Orioles. The ball has signatures from 4 hall of famers: Brooks Robinson, Robin Roberts, Dick Williams and Hoyt Wilhelm. Also on the ball are a few Oriole legends: Boog Powell, Gus Triandos and Jim Gentile. With what I paid for this one (under $15), I am really satisfied. Makes you kinda wish they had UV protected ball cubes back then...
The next ball i was able to get for under $13 and it is something that immediately becomes very special in my collection. It is a ball signed by Orioles from the 1986-1989 seasons. On the sweet spot is a signature I haven't seen alot of - Cal Ripken, Sr. I have 2 autographed baseballs of Cal, Jr. Being able to snag a Cal, Sr. ball so cheap was a no-brainer for me. The signatures on this ball are much easier to make out and a little bonus is that on the other side of the ball is a signature from, yep, you guessed it (maybe you did), Bill Ripken! So, I now have baseballs signed by all of the Ripken baseball family!
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So, I consider the two baseballs absolute steals and I am so happy to add them to my collection.

A Few Cards From My Brother

I got a box of Oriole cards from my brother John a couple weeks ago. He's the one who gave me my first Cal Ripken cards 20+ years ago. Here are a couple from the box.
This is a 1991 Bowman Bill Ripken. Bill has really come on strong as far as coaching; he was a coach for Team USA. Rumor has it that he is a strong candidate to be named to the Orioles coaching staff for next season. We'll see if that pans out, because Bill is tied into he and Cal's business ventures (most notably, Ripken Baseball which owns a couple minor league teams).

BRADY!!!!! A 1991 Donruss Brady Anderson. Brady currently works some games for MASN as a color commentator, but he is another candidate to be tapped for the Orioles' coaching staff. I'm hoping he gets a gig on one of the minor league teams... You know I'll be going to those games, for sure, if he does!!! I really REALLY want an Anderson ball. Maybe a bat too. Yeah, no maybes. I WANT an Anderson bat.

Finally, a Brian Roberts. I already had this one, but it's still a good looking card. Another sharp offering from Fleer. Once again, I'm a little sad that they're gone.

It is really nice that my brother has been able to straighten himself out and get back into cards full on. I'm hoping he stays in it and tries to get a collection together that can rival mine.

Actual results of the infamous 1988 Topps box break with Max...

After scanning and cropping the cards I planned on featuring in this blog post, it was beginning to look like the Ripken family christmas... So here goes, the highlights of the box break, aside from cracking our teeth on OLD gum....

Here, we have Cal, Sr. tipping his cap to all the Oriole fans out there. All 4 of us.

Here is Cal, Jr., man of 1,001 stances with batting stance # 453.
Here we have Billy grinning because someone wrote something funny on his bat... I wonder what that would be. Or maybe he just watched that Earl Weaver video on Youtube....I think everyone has a cousin Eddie, and what Ripken family christmas would be complete without cousin Eddie!!! Eddie Murray that is...


We have Eddie and Cal discussing the proper way to grow a moustache. Eddie still looks like he wants to rip someones face off....
I think this card is one of the best in the set. Not much else to say about that.

Wouldn't it have been cool if it was Kumar Fisk, instead of Carlton? Then this card would be Harold and Kumar. I'll be here all week...My guess is that Bo knew someone's mom, thats why he got invited to this party...