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.