Longoria Walk-Up Bobble

A couple weeks ago, my wife surprised me and purchased the Evan Longoria Walk-Up bobblehead off of eBay. I had been wanting it since it released earlier this month, but I just could not find a trade partner. This just arrived yesterday, and I could not be more pleased. I know she does not frequently check this out, but thank you for being the best Erika!

It is one of the more detailed Rays bobbles, and with the base, it stands about as tall as your average bobble. Longo is standing in the on-deck circle, and one neat detail is that he has a donut on his bat! The base is hollow, but it has a speaker that is facing outwards, and once you hit that little black button, his walk-up music plays! I am a huge fan of the Rays "sunburst" logo, so to that that in the on-deck circle made me happy. This is my second Longoria bobble, and 5th total Rays bobblehead. I think I will go after the DJ Kitty bobble and Alex Cobb Gumby next.... Yes, they have an Alex Cobb Gumby... Evan did homer on his day, which is always pretty neat. Here is a video of the bobblehead and the music it plays.

Check out a video of the bobblehead, here!

Longoria Five Star- Wedding

Back in February, I got married. I never thought it would happen, but then I met the right person. 6 years later, we finally made it official. We had a great wedding, made it all about us, but kept it pretty small. When I came back from my vacation, Dan from It's like having my own card shop surprised me with the best Longoria card I have. It is a 2014 Topps Five Star Silver Signature card /20!

I love this card so much for so many reasons! Thank you, Dan! 

 Here is a picture towards the end of the night. We did our own thing, and that made everything so much better!

Print Mail Day!

 In attempt to keep posting things, I have posted another print that I recently picked up. This is a print by an artist with the handle "Arsenal Handicraft" called, "We never grow tired of eachother, the mountain and I". This particular print is 41/150, and is apart of a collection called "When The Lights Go Out:3". I missed on a Harry Potter print for my wife, so while I was trying to find something equally as cool, I found this. The man is climbing the mountain by day, and sleeping on the mountain when the lights are out.

Myers played for the Rays?

Here is a bobblehead that was sent from a family member in Florida. Last year, Myers was selected as the Rays representative for Star Wars day. It is crazy to me how old school baseball can be at times, yet Star Wars day is a thing with every MLB team. Anyways, Myers time with the Rays did not last, but this Rebel Pilot Myers bobblehead will live on forever. I love that they included the Rays "Sunburst" logo, but this one lacks Rays branding, big time. Myers was traded to the Padres in the offseason, and replaced with Steven "Strikeout" Souza Jr. Of course, in Tampa Bay sports fashion, Wil seems to be doing very well in San Diego.

In the Rays history, Myers ranks 2nd in my category of "Least Favorite Strikeout Face".

1. BJ Upton

He always would often do this with the bases loaded, and it would add to my frustration.

 2. Wil Myers

I am not sure any player (other than Jose Molina) annoyed me as much. Wil often would stand at home, staring into space after a key 'K'. 

3. Steven Souza Jr.

This guy is a phenom in the field, but this face drives me crazy. He has caught a few tough breaks when striking out, but I have never seen him not argue a call. This face is seen frequently, as he is at a major league leading 38% strikeout rate. 

Garage Sale Find: Dunking Gorilla

My Father-in-Law found this at a garage sale, and it set him back fifty cents. I have to admit, of all the teams in the Valley, the Suns get the least amount of fanfare from me. I enjoy basketball, but it is a sport that I can only watch in person. Regardless, I was happy to add this to my collection because it is a really cool concept. I have no idea why the Suns chose a gorilla as their mascot, but I am sure that it is just a Google search away.

Garage Sale Find: Todd Helton

My Mother-In-Law picked this up at a Garage Sale for a quarter, and I love it. My sister lives in Colorado, and although they are an NL West team, I have to slightly pull for them (If they are not playing the D-Backs). Todd was a great player for the Rockies, but overlooked by many due to the fact that he played at Coors Field. I don't really care where he plays his home games, the guy was great the other 81 games on the road, also. Glad to add this to my office collection.

Josh Collmenter Bobblehead Day- Saturday, May 9th.

This past Saturday was Bobblehead day at Chase Field, and although it was not a big name player, it was a fan favorite. Josh Collmenter has his second bobblehead (First was Star Wars) in as many years, and is well deserving. Josh signed this bobblehead for me, and his Topps 2014 card for my wife. I did not realize until after he signed it that this bobblehead has a slightly crooked head!

I recently joined a bobblehead trading community on Facebook, and can't help but notice the complete lack of desire for Arizona players. Many people looking to trade actually mention *No Dbacks/Brewers* on their posts which can be frustrating. Lately, I have been really wanting to find people that just want to trade, and I thought I found it, but then I realized that these people on the community were exactly what I tried to avoid. For example, the picture below. Tonight is Kershaw CY Young night, and this guy is selling them for $60 each. I get that it should not matter to me what they do with them, but I guess I just wish he would want to trade to help other people. I tried working out a deal for the most recent Longoria bobble, but the guy wanted 5 D-Backs bobbles, and $10... Sorry, but I guess i'll get it off eBay. When you buy/trade from fellow collectors, it is always cool to build a personal relationship, and that does not seem to exist in the online bobble world.

Alex Cobb Bobblehead

Alex Cobb has been one of my favorite Rays players since he came up from the minors in 2011. Since his call-up, he has consistently gotten better, and really has done a great job filling the void that both Price and Shields left. He did not pitch a game this season, as he was recovering from a "minor" strained forearm, which has since left to him scheduling Tommy John surgery. So he will likely be gone until the trade deadline next year, and have one more season under Rays control.

This bobblehead commemorates his dedication to military members in the Tampa Bay area, and it is one of the better crafted Rays SGAs. Cobber is joined by my Toothless piggy bank... Yes, I am a 28 year old man with no kids that has a piggy bank.

Gonzo Goodwill Pickup

I have been scouring just about every secondhand store across the valley to find bobbleheads or other little tidbits of sports memorabilia. Yesterday while looking for a cheap radio for my back patio, I found something that I never knew existed!

This picture does it way too much justice, as it might be the ugliest hand painted figure I have ever seen. Apparently it was given out as a SGA in 2006. Still pretty neat, and at $3.99 it was exactly what I was looking for. 

Pawnee Print

Wow, it has been a long time since my last post.

 I have realized two things in my long absence from blogging:

1. I think I have ADD or something, because I just can never sit down and post, even though I get excited to do so.

2. I buy far too little to post only about cards and stuff, so I think I will have to change it up a bit going forward. 

Anyways, my first post in sometime has to go to one of my favorite new additions to my household:

This is a Pawnee National Park print by Mark Englert. It is based off of the show 'Parks and Rec' that recently wrapped up in February. It is one of those shows that takes a bit to get off the ground, but does a great job of storytelling. Mark Englert has gotten some recent fame due to the fact that he was picked to create the first Jurassic World movie posters. His work is exceptional, and I would recommend him to anyone looking for a good looking print. Check him out at http://www.tacobelvedere.com. This print is also 175/225