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It’s just you and me, Orsulak

on January 6th, 2009 by night owl

One card. One lousy card left to complete my 1986 Topps set. And it’s Joe “bleeping” Orsulak.Can you believe it? The strangest cards end up being the last ones needed to put a bow on a set. Not Puckett, not Mattingly, not Rose. Orsulak.I don’t know wh…

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Cardboard appreciation: 1991 Topps Carlton Fisk

on January 5th, 2009 by night owl

(The list of appreciation days continues: hairstyle appreciation day - April 30, boss appreciation day - Oct. 16, national meatloaf appreciation day - Oct. 18. I still think we can squeeze a baseball collectors appreciation day in there somewhere. It’s…

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Repack madness

on January 4th, 2009 by night owl

I haven’t bought a repack box in a long, long time, probably since last summer. But I was in a mood to celebrate at Wal-Mart today. Andruw Jones won’t be playing for the Dodgers anymore! What better way to celebrate the Dodgers’ admission that they bl…

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Variation madness

on January 4th, 2009 by night owl

First things first: SamDaMan, where are ya? Want your free cards? As a contest winner, you have the right to them. Please email me your address so I can send you your winnings. You have until Friday. If I don’t hear from you by then, the cards are hea…

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Brush with greatness: Sean Casey

on January 3rd, 2009 by night owl

Work is going to be crazy today. Looooong, grueling and crazy. So I have time for just a quick post, and I guess it should be about something that I like about my job.So I’ll mention one of the other major leaguers I’ve talked to in my job, and he’s p…

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Package from down the road

on January 2nd, 2009 by night owl

When I first saw this Score disc card (I’m not sure which year it is — 1991 or 1992 it looks like), I had an instant flashback to the round cards that were sold with whiffle ball bats during the 1970s. Does anyone remember those? They were white and …

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Great start to the year

on January 1st, 2009 by night owl

The MLB Network is on!!! It’s ON!!! You can’t see me now, but I’m typing this while performing my happy dance. I’m ecstatic.This is an absolute fantastic start to 2009. Baseball in the dead of winter! Jimmy Rollins! Harold Reynolds! Al Leiter! Don Lar…

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We have a winner!

on January 1st, 2009 by night owl

After the last contest I ran, in which I had to go through a painstaking process to determine the eventual winner, I’m relieved to announce a clear-cut champion of this contest.The winner receives all of the contents (excluding the gum) of the 14 reta…

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100 things I learned in 2008

on December 31st, 2008 by night owl

Happy New Year! Mr. Sandberg is dressed for the big event, even if he is a bit confused about what year it is.I’m looking forward to 2009. But before I ring in the new, I must ring out the old. So here is a list of a 100 things I’ve learned in 2008, a…

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Awesome night card, pt. 15

on December 31st, 2008 by night owl

On this last day of 2008, it’s fitting that I feature someone who had one heck of a 2008. In fact when you combine on-field success with “baseball card” success is there anyone else that had a more gangbusters year than Evan Longoria?In terms of colle…

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Stadium Club deja vu … again

on December 30th, 2008 by night owl

I read with interest Cardboard Junkie’s account today of the two different Topps Stadium Club blasters that he had busted and how similar they were. That’s because I bought an SC blaster yesterday, and noticed it was remarkably similar to dayf’s blast…

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Goodbye 2008: the inserts

on December 30th, 2008 by night owl

I’m not dumb enough to consider “Work Hard, Get Cards” an insert, but think about it for a minute: It’s not part of the base set. It’s randomly inserted in packs; you don’t get one in every pack. That’s the definition of an insert, right?OK, enough fo…

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10 answers … and some other stuff

on December 29th, 2008 by night owl

Here is a post about various items, none of them particularly related except for the fact that they all have to do with baseball cards.First, even though I already responded to Dinged Corners’ New Year’s Baseball Card Questions in the comments, I notic…

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Goodbye 2008: the best

on December 29th, 2008 by night owl

I think this is going to serve as my “cardboard appreciation” post of the week. “Cardboard appreciations” might be my favorite posts to write, but considering this is a list of the “best” of the packs that I bought over the last two months, it’s basic…

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Goodbye 2008: the worst

on December 27th, 2008 by night owl

To recap, this is where I review some of the cards that I have bought over the past two months. It’s kind of a retrospective of what the card companies were putting on the retail shelves in 2008. I tried to pick up a pack of as many brands as possible….

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The cure for socks

on December 27th, 2008 by night owl

I’m still trying to get over the fact that I got socks for Christmas. SOCKS. Not Red Sox. Not White Sox. Socks. Fabric. And not even of the game-used variety (or at least I hope they aren’t).I got socks from two different relatives. I got socks even th…

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Goodbye 2008, hello contest

on December 26th, 2008 by night owl

A big thank you to everyone who voted for the “best card set” and “worst card set” of 2008. As you can see by the results, there is little question about what people thought was the best and the worst of the past year. At least among people who visit …

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Procrastination, I know you well

on December 26th, 2008 by night owl

I’ve been known to put off the things I need to do from time to time. I’m a pretty responsible guy, but I have a procrastination streak that strikes whether I’m at home or at work, and in virtually every aspect of my life, from the mundane to the “lif…

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Cards for the less fortunate

on December 26th, 2008 by night owl

Before you jump to any conclusions, let me just say that the “less fortunate” in this case is none other than me. OK, on with the post:I’m not sure what I expected to receive this Christmas. But I am certain about a few things:1. I made it known that …

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Silver and gold

on December 24th, 2008 by night owl

“Silver and gold … Silver and goldEv’ryone wishes for … Silver and goldHow do you measure its worth?Just by the pleasure it gives here on earth. Silver and gold … Silver and gold Means so much more when I see … Silver and gold decorationsOn…

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The definition of insanity

on December 24th, 2008 by night owl

I’ll make this short and sweet (although “brief and bitter” is probably a more apt description).”Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.” That quote is often attributed to this man: Some say Franklin was the fir…

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Look at what dayf left under the tree

on December 23rd, 2008 by night owl

December 23rd is a big day for me. Each year it’s the day of “the wrapping and the cursing.” Or the “cursing and the wrapping.” Take your pick.For me, the thing I like least about Christmas is wrapping presents. I’m not a big complainer when it comes …

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Cardboard appreciation: 1982 Donruss Phil Garner

on December 22nd, 2008 by night owl

(A few more “appreciation days”: Ancestor Appreciation Day (Sept. 27), Birthday Appreciation Day (Feb. 24), Swimming Pool Appreciation Day (July 21). All that and still no Baseball Card Collectors Appreciation Day. On to more cardboard appreciation. Th…

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Working stiffs

on December 21st, 2008 by night owl

I’ve already wasted enough time thumbing through the backs of 1974 Topps cards tonight, so I might as well go all the way.The top cartoon is the back of the 1974 Topps John Ellis card, No. 128, which was the correct answer to this week’s “Spot the Sig…

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There’s always room for Nomo

on December 20th, 2008 by night owl

I was just looking up the current weather conditions in Osaka, Japan. It’s 66 degrees there with scattered clouds. They might get some rain tomorrow. But that sure beats the pants off the foot of snow we have here with more bleepin’ white crap on the …

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The Continuing Saga: 1971 Topps

on December 20th, 2008 by Matt F.

Night Owl was nice enough to send along three ‘71 Topps from my needs list with the package I mentioned earlier. This card is a head scratcher as the name is “tom mccraw” but the signature reads “Larry McCraw.”It takes a strong fortitude is give away a…

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R.I.P: Dock Ellis

on December 20th, 2008 by night owl

ESPN.com and MLB.com are reporting that former major league pitcher Dock Ellis died Friday of a liver ailment at age 63.Ellis had cirrhosis of the liver and had been on a waiting list for a liver transplant for seven months.Ellis was known as a wild m…

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If a tree falls …

on December 19th, 2008 by night owl

I received this card in a trade a little while back in my quiet quest to complete the 1981 Topps set (it’s not on my want list. Maybe someday I’ll get it on there).I knew nothing about Gordy Pladson when I received this card. In fact, I didn’t even kn…

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What’s a Hu to do?

on December 19th, 2008 by night owl

Look how sad Chin-lung Hu seems. We forgot about him, didn’t we?In the hullabaloo over Rafael Furcal’s return to the Dodgers’ starting shortstop position we were focused on other things. We were too busy learning about:1. What a term sheet is.2. That …

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And then there were three …

on December 19th, 2008 by night owl

If I could’ve found my wife’s camera, there would be a photo here of my copy of “And Then There Were Three …,” the 1978 Genesis rock record (kids: records were round, flat discs made out of vinyl in which songs were record … ah, never mind).But fe…

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Variety in a box

on December 18th, 2008 by night owl

It’s time to tackle the epic box that Jeff of I am Joe Collector sent me out of the goodness of his heart. Honestly, he must have shelled out a pretty penny for all that postage, and as many bloggers have noted already, he didn’t leave a return addres…

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Just because

on December 18th, 2008 by night owl

It was quite the festive day at the Night Owl household on Wednesday. First, a morning of Christmas shopping for my daughter, and then an evening of concert-going to see that same daughter in her school’s Christmas play/musical (the highlight: all of …

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Awesome night card, pt. 14

on December 17th, 2008 by night owl

Since we are two weeks, two hours, and some odd minutes away from 2009, I figured I’d take another moment while I can and recognize the 20th anniversary of the Dodgers’ last World Series title.Upper Deck did a nice job in its inaugural outing of ackno…

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You complete me II

on December 16th, 2008 by night owl

The second set I completed in 2008 isn’t even a 2008 set. It’s a set that is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Yep, on Friday, I received the final 58 cards I needed to wrap up my favorite set of the 1980s, the 1983 Topps set.I received an email from J…

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Game show goodies

on December 16th, 2008 by night owl

How often have you watched a game show and thought: “I should try to get on one of those shows. I wonder what you have to do?”If you’re like me, the thought ended there. I’ve never even attempted to find out how to get on a particular game show, let a…

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