31 July 2015

will there be a final tribute?

shortly after i started this blog in september of 2008, i received an email from ben henry, creator of the baseball card blog and someone with whom i had traded a couple of times. he said that he had poked around the site a bit, liked what he saw, and thought that it was smart of me to be focusing on a particular team and era.  i've thought a lot about that comment over the past 6+ years, and i've come to realize that he was right. even though i've branched out with tangential topics that make up part of my collection - the memorial patches and armbands, through the mail autograph successes, cards featuring dodger stadium in the background, double plays, final tributes, and tatooine cards to name a few - the focus on the team of my youth, and in particular the infield of steve garvey, davey lopes, bill russell, and ron cey, has always been there.

i've completed a few different series of posts related to the infield and the team - most recently the contents of my steve garvey collection, but prior to that the position by position evolution from the brooklyn years to recent dodger teams, the inclusion of members of the 1978 topps dodgers in topps flagship sets for almost 50 years, the career torchbearers for the primary starters from that team, and the year-by-year evolution of the infield itself during their playing days.

in doing so, i've enjoyed reliving the memories i have of those teams and of collecting cards during the late 1970's and early 1980's.  i've also enjoyed trading with other bloggers and reading their posts about what makes their collections unique.  i know that i have not been the most interactive blogger - i don't leave too many comments, i don't share much personal information, and i fail at responding to comments most of the time.  i do, however, put together a decent trade package.  it was never my goal to be the most heralded blogger or have the most popular blog, not that those are anyone else's goals, or bad goals to have, either. that's just not the reason for the 2,800 posts i've written. i didn't track readership or number of comments, and i didn't fret about posting every day - i just wrote and posted about cards as i saw fit.  i did it for myself, and in doing so, i gained a new appreciation of my collection - one that didn't exist when they were just cards in boxes and binders.

as a result of creating this blog and its subsequent impact on my collection and collecting habits, i've received and traded emails with jerry reuss, the hall of fame, dodger historian mark langill, and others (including a nastygram from a dodger player from the '90's), plus a comment from kevin pasley, and return mail from a host of former dodgers (including all four of the infielders for whom this blog is named) and other players who signed cards for me or wrote a note in response to a request.  even the great vin scully signed and returned a card for me, in what resulted in the greatest mail day ever. all of that is appreciated greatly, as are the comments from you folks who have read what i've written, and those of you who have traded with me to help make my collection what it is today.  the interaction with fellow bloggers (including the two that i've met in person - carl crawford cards and highly subjective and completely arbitrary) has been a true joy.  all of it has made for a great experience over the past 6-plus years.

during that time i have posted a lot of great cards (and some not so great) from my collection - old and new - and i've enjoyed posting about them, whether they were dodgers or even giants. however, there are a lot of great cards in my collection that i haven't shown on this blog, and i know that in the future there will be more great cards that enter my collection that won't be shown here.  i know that there will be more double play cards, and there will be more cards featuring memorial patches and armbands, and there will be more cards that feature the stunning beauty of dodger stadium in the background.  there will also, of course, be more cards featuring the players fortunate enough to play for the los angeles dodgers.

i will still be collecting those cards.  i would still like to trade if you have some of those cards.  but, i won't be posting about those cards.

i'm done.

i've done what i set out to do, which was to add my voice to the baseball card collecting community that was exploding in the fall of 2008; to make sure that the dodgers got a fair shake in that community; to highlight the excellence that was the dodger infield and the team of my youth; and to make it known that i was a collector with a passion and a collection worth sharing.

to me, it was worth it.

this was the infield of my youth.
garvey, cey, russell, lopes.

28 comments:

BobWalkthePlank said...

Nooooo!!!! You will be missed. How about we keep our blind trade going?

Bo said...

Agree - you're blog will be greatly missed. Will definitely keep an eye out for your mini-collections though as you are a great trader.

JediJeff said...

"to make sure that the dodgers got a fair shake in that community"

Oh yeah - no blogs EVERY talk about the poor, pathetic Dodgers. If only someone would.....

Nick said...

Your blog was one of the first I ever came across when I found the blogosphere about four years ago, and it's been a pleasure to read your posts on a regular basis ever since, my friend. I'll miss seeing Garvey Cey Russell Lopes at the top of my blogroll. Best of luck on the long and winding road of collecting!

(And I'm preparing a card package for you as we speak.)

MrMopar said...

Your blog got me to this site as well and is one of only a couple that I specifically bookmarked, for obvious reasons, of course. I have enjoyed reading most of the posts and especially seeing the customs, new autographs and Garvey related items. I can relate to the interactive part. I started my blog with the intent of sharing knowledge and experience with readers, but found it tedious to come up with new material daily or even weekly and sometimes months pass between postings from me. I was also a little bummed out when I got no comments to subjects I felt were interesting, but so is life. The blog was for me anyway, but it was nice when I struck a chord with people and most recently seeing the relatives of Robert Wilson see my post and talk about him.

What did Pasley say (he seems to have disappeared, although I know he was jailed at one point) and who was the nastygram from and why??? You can't leave us hanging on that and I'm sure it is mentioned in another post, but to find it would take days.

SpastikMooss said...

Thanks for all the awesome posts - you were definitely one of my favorite blogs.

night owl said...

Yes, the '90s nastygram, who? Karim Garcia? WHO?

It's sad to see one of the "original" card blogs close up shop, especially a Dodger-centric one, but I read your hints and saw this day coming, so thanks for the preparation.

Also, I'm one of those who has been around enough to remember when there were NO Dodger bloggers, just a ton of Braves, Mets and Indians bloggers, so, yes, it was important to bring that Dodger voice to the blogosphere, and now we're well-represented (maybe someday the White Sox will be, too, JediJeff, after all where are those Mets bloggers now?)

Good luck trading. Without an updated want list, I'll just have to throw random, bulk Dodger packages at you, not that I think you would mind.

Brian said...

Ah, that's a bummer to read that I won't be able to read new posts from you, but congratulations on a great run. Your blog was one of my favorites when I was only reading blogs, and certainly an inspiration to me in starting my own.
Last weekend I had the T.V. on and found "the Tim McCarver Show" with guest, you guessed it - Steve Garvey. If it weren't for you and your blog, I would have changed the channel. Instead I learned a great story about Garvey winning the All-Star Game MVP while suffering from the mumps (due in part to an epic Yogi Berra moment, pinch hitting for Garvey's only possible replacement in the field).
I know I'll never look at the Dodgers the same way again!

Billy Kingsley said...

Sorry to see you go. Maybe you will change your mind and return in the future?

CaptKirk42 said...

Oh Dear another blogger putting down his keyboard (modern pen). Sad to see you leave the blogiverse.

Daniel Wilson said...

Congrats on a great run! You'll be missed, but I think we all understand. Take care!

Mark Hoyle said...

You r blogs was one of the first I came across and one of my first trades. Always looked forward to the Sunday morning Target posts. I'm sure I'll still be sending some Dodgrers your way in the future

Tony L. said...

Congratulations on a great run and on doing what you set out to do. I don't always comment on posts you've written, but I certainly enjoyed reading your posts. Thanks for trading with me, and come back when/if you feel the urge!

Marcus said...

Great final tribute. Even though I didn't comments too often, I enjoyed the blog, especially the arm band collection. Definitely learned a lot about non-Padres baseball history here. Take care (oh, and I put some Dodgers in the mail for you today, so hopefully those get to you soon).

madding said...

As someone who doesn't enjoy the Dodgers at all, I've enjoyed reading your blog quite a bit over the years.

There's a decent chance you will get more Dodgers from me in the near future.

MrMopar said...

Jim, You were looking for this at one time…Pretty fair deal too.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2005-Diamond-Kings-Challenge-298-Steve-Garvey-NM-MT-/391223905044?hash=item5b16c30b14

Fuji said...

Totally late to the goodbye party. Enjoy your blog retirement. I know I owe you a package... and a Fujimoto always pays his debts. Sayonara!

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

Adios (but only to the Blog!). With both you and Greg as "new to me" traders. I have people that actually want Dodgers. So every time I get one that just don't fit (most of them), it goes into those stacks. So randomly from time to time you will find something from me in the the mailbox. I find it easier to trade that way. Will miss reading the blog, and should have commented earlier. And just so you know... A lot of us are going to miss your voice.

Play at the Plate said...

You sir, will be missed. I'm on blogs less and less, hoping that will change, but I will miss yours. And we will keep the PWE going.

Swing And A Pop-up said...

I'm late posting (as usual), and I'm going to miss your blog. Good luck with all you do.
P.S. Is there any chance you guys would take Rick Porcello and Pablo Sandoval from us? You've already had Hanley so I won't even approach that.

Community Gum said...

I don't get to read blogs as much as I used to, and haven't been a big comment leaver either. But I've always enjoyed your blog, and you've been a great resource for us all.
Thanks for everything, and I'm sure you'll have an audience if you ever get the blogging itch again!

Nachos Grande said...

I too will add my voice to the chorus of people missing your blog!

The Lost Collector said...

Sorry to see you go! Best of luck. Thanks for running a great blog.

steelehere said...

Sorry to see you go. Definitely a fun read through the years.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to see you go. These goodbye posts always make me sad, but at the same time it's good to let everyone know you're going out on a high note! Good luck with the future collecting!

Stealing Home said...

I can't believe I missed this back when you retired!
You will probably never see this, but I've gotta leave my tribute here as well.
Although some think there are plenty enough Dodger bloggers out there, you were indeed unique and one of the best. I'll miss you.
Best of luck to you out there, and Go Dodgers, Forever!

Matt Runyon said...

I'm a die hard Giants fan, but I've enjoyed your blog over the years. I hope you come back from time to time if you get any new goodies.

Johngy said...

Awesome job and sorry to see you go.