New Additions

It has been nearly one entire year since my last post, and I actually kind of forgot about it. This entire year has been a whirlwind for one reason or another, but I think it is a good time to get back into blogging a bit. This is one of my newest bobbleheads, and my first of a mascot. Last weekend, the Rays had a Spring Training giveaway for the first 1,000 in attendance. I attempted to get it from the Rays directly but was denied, and then early eBay posts put these guys at around $80. I was able to find someone that sold it to me for $17 shipped.

My wife and I are expecting our first child, so I thought this was a cool buy for me, but also would double as the first bobblehead I give my son/daughter. I moved from Florida in 2006, so I left before the DJ Kitty thing. While I do not really get it, I love cats so it works. Raymond is the team's first mascot, and was introduced June 21, 1998. I remember the big unveil, no one knew what the heck he was. People were pretty angry, but I think I liked him because he looked like a Muppet. 

Ratchet and Clank Print

Two weeks ago, it seemed like everything was truly haywire. I started to question about a million choices that I have made, and it really took me some time to make sense of my next course of direction. At the peak of that chaos, I saw that this print was going to be released. It is based off of a game (and at the end of this month, a movie), but it really spoke to my situation. I won't go into detail about how my life synced up with this print, but it is all about opportunities coming when you least expect them.

It was a terrible time to spend money, but I did it anyway. This will arrive at the end of May, and I am very excited to add it to my collection. The artist is Mark Englert, whom I have posted about before, and it is #/350.  It is also 36x12, so the framing will have to wait until the right time.

Here is a closer look at Ratchet and Clank. 

Mail Day

Gypsy Queen has been my favorite release since I really started being interested in cards in 2011. I picked up a bunch of little things over the weekend, and as always, was very impressed by everything Gypsy Queen has to offer.

The Diamondbacks have a pretty solid checklist. While their new uniform was not highlighted for the tenured guys, the new players were photoshopped pretty nicely. I may be the only person on the planet that enjoys the charcoal outfits, but whatever. I do think that the two-tone paints have got to go, they are just terrible.

I also had to add a Rays team set to my collection. I skipped most of last year's releases, so I was missing some of these guys that were rookies. Always nice to add another Cobb and Longoria too. Hopefully this pitching staff gets going a bit!

I bought two autograph cards from GQ, here is one of them. My nephew lives in Colorado, so I thought this was something fun to add to his keepsake box. DJ LeMahieu was an All Star in 2015, and has been a big part of a pretty fun Rockies team.

I love everything about this card. I remember watching this game live and was blown away that the catch was even made. Chris Archer was on the mound that night and was so excited by the catch that he had commissioned someone to paint it for Kevin Kiermaier. I will be trying to get this signed when the Rays play the Diamondbacks in June.

Jameis Winston Auto

It's been a while since my last post, so I thought I'd snap my streak for this gem that I got from my wife for Christmas. While I got it on Christmas, it just got back from the framer sometime last weekend. I was completely surprised by this gift, and was so excited to hang it on my wall. 

I've been a Bucs fan for as long as I can remember, and while it can be pretty tough at time, Jameis Winston has been a true shot in the arm. This came from NFL.com, is authenticated, and signed in gold (as you can tell). Jameis put together a great season and should be in line to be Rookie of the Year. 

Speaking about the Bucs, the national media has torn apart the Bucs decision to fire coach Lovie Smith. While Lovie sure seems like a good guy, anyone that actually watched more than one game has to understand that his "defensive-genius" was not apparent. 

Han Longo

The Rays recently held their annual Star Wars Day game, and I was happy to get ahold of the giveaway item. I got a package in the mail from my brother, and when I opened it, this bad boy was in there! I am not a Star Wars fanactic by any means, but I sure do like themed bobbleheads. This is my 3rd Evan Longoria bobble, and 4th Star Wars themed bobble. 

The Rays have struggled this year, and I am afraid Longo will be the next to be traded. Hopefully I am wrong, but Tampa is a sports town that is always quick to give up on their players. Longo signed a deal that is less-than the average for a player of his caliber, but to a low market team, even that can be crippling if the player is not putting up MVP type seasons. 

BOBBLEHEAD DAY!

My Wife's Uncle went on a trip to Miami in July, and happened to snag some tickets to see the Marlins play the Reds. That also happened to be Henderson Alvarez day at the park! He knows that I love bobbleheads, so he brought one back and I finally was able to pick it up! They are made by the same company that does the D-Backs, so I am not surprised that the head is slightly tilted. As a Rays fan, I was really happy when they changed their name to "Miami" because I did not like them being known as "Florida's Team".

The stadium is home to the Bobblehead Hall of Fame, and also the ugliest centerfield object of all-time. The only way I can truly describe it is that it is very Miami. I am very jealous that they have a new stadium, but there is so much about the park that is just wrong, aesthetically.

Worth mention: In the back of that bobblehead picture, you will see my Alex Cobb Military bobble that out of nowhere came unglued. I have to figure out how to fix a bobblehead,  and I will not take the common answer that they are unfixable, lol!

Garage Sale Find: Eric Byrnes

The last bobblehead that I picked up at a garage sale was Eric Byrnes. Although I will always be a Rays fan, I really enjoyed the A's in the early 2000s. Since Eric Byrnes played with them, he was someone that I rooted for here in Arizona. I think his hustle outweighed his talent, but he was fun to watch play.

A.J. Pollock Bobblehead!

 I was lucky enough to obtain one of these SGA A.J. Pollock Star Wars bobbleheads from Dan. This was the most recent Diamondbacks bobblehead, at least until Randy Johnson comes out this coming Saturday. The bobblehead looks great, but it seems to have poor craftsmanship, much like many of the recent D-Back bobbles. At the end of the light saber, there is a tiny little screw that is supposed to tighten into the hands. The problem is that there is no where to screw the bolt into, and the bolt is almost non-existent. I can't complain though, I am just happy to add another one to my collection!

 

Garage Sale Find: Mark Reynolds

Hey there Mark Reynolds! This bobblehead came from the same set I have been talking about, and also cost $3.50. There were two of them, I picked the better one, but I ended up with one that was damaged. Hopefully the seller did not do this on purpose, but not sure how it happened. I really like this bobblehead for some reason, I think it has to do with the oversized bat. 

Sidenote: I remember being really bummed that the D-Backs traded him, but I always get worried that the Rays will pick him up as their DH... 

Garage Sale Find: Chris Snyder

I picked up this Chris Snyder for $3.50, and I really like it. I know very little about Chris Snyder, but his bobblehead is great. The 2009 bobbleheads seem to be very heavy, and pretty well crafted. D-Backs have some great bobbleheads compared to other teams, but I think sometimes the paint and glue can be a total wildcard.

Garage Sale Find: OEL

This Oliver Ekman Larsson bobblehead was a SGA for the Arizona Coyotes this season. I really enjoy hockey, so it was great that I could add such a promising star to my collection. We typically go to two hockey games a year since Glendale is a bit far from my home, but we hope to go to more this year. Hopefully Glendale and the Coyotes can work out a deal that works for both sides. Seems like a broken marriage to me, but I just want them to stay in Arizona.  This only set me back $3.50!

Garage Sale Find: Justin Upton

This was the second bobblehead that I had picked up from a sale on Sunday. The seller was adamant on selling this for $10, but I got it for $3.50 along with 5 other players. Justin Upton was a fun player to watch, but also very frustrating. He was a part of one of the most fun teams I have ever got to watch play, the 2011 D-Backs. Apparently the base connects with a number of other 2009 bobbles, and the only one I did not get from the sale was Augie Ojeda. 

Garage Sale Find: Richie Sexson

I was able to find this 2004 Richie Sexson Diamondbacks SGA at a garage sale on Sunday. The seller had a number of bobbles in a box and said he was firm on selling the box for $65, but there was no chance that was happening. He had quite a few that were destroyed, but some were in very good shape. This was thankfully one of the good ones, and I paid $3.50 for it.

I actually went to the yard sale just for this bobblehead, mainly because of the ridiculous home-run he hit when I was in High School.

New Print!

When I first got into this print obsession, I found a print that had just been released, but sold out instantly. I was extremely interested because it was based off of the early 90's movie, Muppets Christmas Carol. For some strange reason, I have always had some serious love for Muppets, and that movie in particular.  So I set out to eBay, and was blown away by some listings that were in the $100-$150 range, which I was not ok with. I ended up finding the artist on Facebook because I loved his artwork, and at some point, he posted that he had just gotten back his proof prints for the Muppets piece that I wanted. I reached out, explained that i'd be interested, and he happily sold me one of the five proofs that he got back. This did kind of ruin a birthday present because my wife was actually going to get it for me :( She ended up insisting on buying it for me, so I got a B-Day present 2 months early.

After a three week journey from the UK, it finally got here. 

I then held on to it for a few weeks, took it to Hobby Lobby, and sent it off for a custom frame. After a longer-than-usual stay at Hobby Lobby, Kermit returned home! 

The print was a very weird size, I almost want to say 15x22 or something, so that was a major reason why I needed to look at a number of different options. I opted to stay away from any boarder because I did not want to take away the signature or margin. So instead, I opted for a frame that just a splash of color. 

Happy Birthday Dan!!!

Dan from the blog It's Like Having My Own Card Shop has been great to me over the years, so I had to try and find him something unique for his birthday. After searching far and wide, I found this gem! It was newly listed, and after missing out on some really good things (#'d Tomas auto, I am looking at you), I pulled the trigger on this. I will not see him for a few days, so I thought I would pull the curtain here first so that he is not in suspense!

Thanks for always being awesome, Dan!

Rays Temperature Gauge

Amazon had a great deal on this gauge last week, so I picked it up to add flair to the backyard. I can't wait to sit in my house and check out that gauge reading over 100 during the summer... Just kidding.

They have every team on Amazon, and a number of really good deals on team yard stuff.

Rays World Series Mega Ticket

I had an Amazon gift card and was looking for something unique to add to my office. I ended up finding this Mega Ticket marked down to about $15 and jumped on it immediately. When it arrived, I noticed a scratch to the canvas and that it was for Game 2 as opposed to Game 1. I let Amazon know, but they said the seller was no longer available for an exchange or refund. I was a little bummed, but shortly after receiving that email, they informed me that they were refunding me the funds, and allowing me to keep, destroy, or donate the item. Even after I said a full refund was not important, they insisted. Game 2 was actually the only game that the Rays won against the Phillies, so I guess that is a little better than the 1st. 

Here it is next to my inaugural seat cushion and program. At some point I would like to add an 8x10 auto of Larry Rothschild, so maybe ill try TTM.  

Garage Sale Find- Rivera Bobblehead

I was purchasing a few D-Backs bobbleheads at a garage sale a few weeks back, and ended up finding a Yankees bobblehead included in the lot! The coolest part was that it was a Mariano Rivera bobble that was commemorating his 600th save. After doing some research, it looks like it was a SGA at a Spring Training game, but I could not confirm it. He only cost 75 cents!

Harry Potter Print

Over the last few weeks I have become obsessed with prints! Over the course of this period, my wife has slowly started getting more into it, which is now dangerous. Her birthday is in July, but I found a print that sold out instantly a few months back, and I had to get it. She loves Harry Potter, and this may be one of the coolest ones I have seen. It is another print from the "When The Lights Go Out" collection, so it has a neat glow print underneath it.

I vowed that she would not get it until her birthday, but then she started combing through the internet trying to find one, and I had to break. It is 66/100.

Lets Go Bolts!

 The Tampa Bay Lightning are in the Stanley Cup Finals, and whether they pull off the upset or not, it has been a great ride. I picked up this awesome garden flag on eBay for $15 shipped, and I love it. I ordered it a while back to try and avoid a bandwagon look to my neighbors, but it just arrived yesterday. It has been raining since I put it out front, so hopefully that means good vibes. I had to move the Rays one to the backyard for a bit, but the Bucs flag is still in the window.

Game 2 tonight!