Let the 2014 Card Season Begin!

Topps released its 2014 Series 1 Baseball Cards this past week. So I made my way to the local hobby shop to pick up a box. I've only ripped open three packs thus far. But if these packs are a harbinger, then I'm in for the card-collecting year of my life.

The first pack yielded the Wild Horse himself—Yasiel Puig.

In the second, the best hitting shortstop in baseball—Hanley Ramirez—made an appearance.

And then in my third pack, I got a "The Future is Now" insert of Hyun-Jin Ryu.

At this point, I was pretty satisfied with my haul. But then I pulled this:

I love that this show Billy Buck as a Dodger. Though he's best remembered as a Red Sock, Buckner came up through the Dodger organization and was a key part of the squad that made the '74 World Series as well as a number of other solid Dodger teams throughout the '70s. It's great to see him sporting the Dodger Blue.

All in all, a fine start to the baseball card season.

 

Meeting the Capital Punisher

My personal highlight from the July CSA show was meeting baseball great Frank Howard. Though he spent the bulk of his career with the Washington Senators, where he earned the apt nickname The Capital Punisher, Howard had a number of stellar years with the Dodgers—winning Rookie of the Year honors in 1960 and helping Los Angeles sweep the New York Yankees in the 1963 World Series. In the fourth and deciding game of that series, Howard collected the Dodgers' only two hits of the game, including a monstrous solo home run. That would be the only offense the Boys in Blue would need, as Sandy Koufax shut down the Bronx Bombers, yielding just one run on six hits.  

Frank couldn't have been more gracious, sharing stories about playing in the L.A. Coliseum and happily agreeing to any and all picture requests. For me, he signed both a giant 1964 Topps card as well as a baseball, on which he inscribed, "1963 W.S. Champs - L.A. Dodgers."  Two great autographs. 

I hope Frank comes to future CSA shows. I have plenty more Dodger items on which I'd love to have his signature.