Goodwill Goodies

My wife and I like to do a deep cleaning of our living space at least once a month - cleanliness is next to godliness, after all.  Since this weekend was the least busy we'll be until well after the holidays are over, we spent most of Saturday afternoon scrubbing dusting mopping, vacuuming, scrubbing, laundering, and bleaching all over the apartment.  Along the way, we decided to divest ourselves of several items that were simply taking up space and were no longer needed in our household.  Bags of unused clothing, forgotten cups and tumblers, and old purses were stuffed into Trader Joe bags and then loaded into our Kia (how's that for a white sentence?) for drop off at the local Goodwill.

Of course, that's not a chore to me - Goodwill is mystical shop of wonders to this cheapskate junk accumulator.  There's bins upon bins chock full of discount vinyl, slightly used board games, vintage Christmas decorations, and sometimes there's even baseball cards and/or memorabilia - what's not to love?  I think most of us on the blogosphere would agree that thrift stores rule!

That said, this trip was more about getting rid of junk that acquiring more, so I didn't do much more than a courtesy lap around the floor before making my way back home.  However, while this particular trip didn't lead to any notable finds, I was reminded of my last Goodwill haul and how I still haven't written about it here on Wrigley Roster Jenga.  Shame on me - I mean, this is basically my collector's diary.

Back in October, my wife and I were trying put the finishing touches on our Halloween costumes.  In the end, we did complete our viking ensembles; but, as gratifying as that was, I was much more excited about another, completely different article of clothing that I came across:

There, on a random thrift shop hat rack in suburban Chicago, I happened to uncover an authentic Yomiuri Giants, souvenir baseball cap.  What are the odds of that?  Also, please excuse the scruffy, unkempt beard.... I was growing it out for the aforementioned viking costume, after all.

For those who are not up with Japanese baseball, these Giants are the oldest team among the current Japanese professional ranks.  Additionally, while their name and uniforms were based on the New York/San Francisco Giants, the club is often regarded as "The New York Yankees of Japan" due to their widespread popularity and past dominance of Nippon Professional Baseball.  They even had their own Babe Ruth, as the other-worldly slugger, Sadaharu Oh, bashed all of his 868 career home runs with the Tokyo-based ballclub.  All told, I'd say that comparison between the Giants and Yanks appears to be apt.

Seeing as I am dedicated fan of a team that was, until recently, referred to as the "Lovable Losers," this kind of history is not usually one that I identify with; that said, there was no way that I was leaving this surprising oddity abandoned in with the discarded Boy Scouts and Little League caps.

It's your average trucker cap - a style I don't usually sport (though, again, this is a special exception) - with plastic mesh making up the back of the cap:

However, there is one defining feature in it's construction that distinguishes the Japanese hat from it's North American counterparts - just have a gander at that fastener.  It's not a snap back, it's not a velcro, is not even one of those annoying belt-style backs, and it's obviously not fitted.  In fact, the best way that I can describe is that it's like a reusable zip tie.  I'm not particularly knowledgeable about the fashion stylings of Japanese culture, but is this a common style found in the land of the rising sun?  I've certainly never seen this in the States.  Maybe someone like the NPB Card Guy or Zippy Zappy could fill me in here.

According to the labels found on the inside, it's officially licensed by the Yomiuri Giants.  However, I cannot make out the name of the manufacturer of the item.  My ability to read Japanese is rusty... and by rusty, I mean non-existent:

Meanwhile, I mentioned earlier that I don't really identify with dynastic teams like the Yomiuri Giants.  Were I to pick a team from the NPB, I would consider myself a Yokohama Bay Stars booster - a team who's history more closely parallels that of my favorite North American franchise.  In fact, that's something that I discovered courtesy of another surprise Goodwill find.  That being stated, these Giants do have a couple of old friends on their roster:

Former Cubs, Koji Uehara and Casey McGehee, are both currently rostered by Yomiuri.  Of course, that could be temporary for both.  After a one-year stint in Chicago in 2017 and a nine-year run in the MLB altogether, Koji returned to his native Japan and his original club for 2018.  The reunion went quite well, as he was named to the All-Star team - however, he only signed a one-year deal upon his return. So he could be moving on again for 2019.

On the other side of the ball, McGehee posted a .285/.336/.467 slash in his second year with the Giants - a marked decline from his .315/.382/.514 marks from a year before.  The infielder's contract includes a club option for 2019 - so, he too may be seeking employment for next season, if the Giants foresee a continued decline.

This all apropos of nothing; nevertheless, it's still cool to picture some familiar faces under that black and orange cap!

The former Cubs sporting their Giants digs in 2018.  Images courtesy of the Japan Times.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, as captivating as the Yomiuri Giants trucker cap find was, it wasn't the only baseball artifact in that Goodwill hat rack that caught my attention:

A White Sox hat?  I know what you're thinking, "Tony - have you gone completely daffy?! Why would you, a rabid, blue-blooded Cubs fan, purposely purchase anything related to your South Side rivals?"  To that I say, take closer look at the scribble found on the gray brim of this beat-up ballcap:

Hmmmm.... that looks like more than some random Little Leaguer's territorial markings... that appears to be a bonafide autograph.  And, if you happen to be a big fan of forgotten relievers of the early 21st century, you might just recognize that John Hancock:

2000 Fleer Mystique - Fresh Ink #BOHO - Bobby Howry

That right there is the signature of Bobby Howry, one of the relative few players in the history of Major League Baseball to have suited up on both sides of Chicago.  Not to mention, he was a key cog in the bullpen of the 2007-08 Cubs, the first back to back playoff appearances in one hundred years. Neato!

I must admit, that the hat is quite worn and well-loved - clearly somebody did not expect this encounter and took it right off of their head in order to mark the occasion.  Also, it's still a White Sox hat.  But, while it might be a "South Side Hitmen" relic, I couldn't leave this autograph of a former Cub behind, especially when it cost less than a burger and a pop at the local McDonald's. 

Additionally, this is the second autograph of the closer/set up man that I've acquired in recent years - am I accidentally becoming a Bobby Howry super collector? 

My pre-rookie Howry auto, card show find and the Cubs card which reps him in my CATRC.

These two awesome finds, plus the accessories needed to put the finishing touches on my viking outfit, made for an unusually successful and immensely satisfying Goodwill run.  An unexpected artifact from a foreign land AND an autograph from a personal favorite ballplayer?  That's quite the fun combination!

I'd say that this easily ranks among the best of my thrift store trips.  On that note, what are some of your favorite finds?  What crazy and exciting things have you come across at a Goodwill, Savers, Unique, or any other thrift shop location? Please feel free to share your experiences in the comment section below - I'd love to hear about them!

After re-living this experience, I'm almost tempted to do another deep clean of our apartment to create an excuse to drop off another round of donations at a different store location... 

Almost. 

 

Getting Worldly

Yesterday's post featured the Globetrotters... today's post will feature some trottin' around the globe.  This blog is so worldly and phenomenally cultured.

Players from camps across Florida and Arizona are packing there bags and getting out of town.  No, the first spring cuts haven't been made yet - tomorrow, the World Baseball Classic will officially be kicking off and stars from around the world will be playing for national pride.  Baseball's answer to the elimination of the pastoral pastime from Olympic competition will open up with Team Israel taking on Team Korea in the Pool A opener at the Gocheok Sky Dome, overseas.  Of interest to me, former Cub Jason Marquis will be taking the mound for Israel at 4:30 AM ET.  Talk about an early start.

In honor of the opening of international competition, here is the only WBC-themed card that I currently have in my collection:

The Cubs' recently-signed, late-inning reliever Koji Uehara participated in the inaugural edition of the World Baseball classic for his native Japan in 2006, a few years before making his way over to the MLB.  The then-Yomiuri Giants star recorded two wins and led all hurlers in the tournament with 16 K's, along the way, helping to lead Japan to the WBC crown.  It seems likely that this performance put him on the MLB radar for his eventual posting in 2008.

For his impressive showing, Koji was honored with the above, super-shiny insert in Upper Deck's 2006 World Baseball Classic box set.  It's numbered to 1,799 (random) and is, by far, my nicest Uehara card.  Although, until a couple of days ago, I didn't even know that I had it.

Marquis returns to the mound for the first time since 2015 with Israel

A couple of summers ago, in the early days of this here blog, I made a sly purchase of a 3,200 count box of random baseball cards at a local garage sale for a few bucks.  There were all sorts of odd and satisfactory finds contained within that fit into my collection; however the vast majority went into my trade stocks, which are sorted by teams.  This Uehara, with it's lack of MLB team association, ended up kicked to the side with the miscellaneous stuff and was promptly forgotten.  It wasn't until a couple weeks ago, when I was doing some early spring baseball card cleaning, that I rediscovered this bundle of foily goodness.

Even better, by this point, the Cubs had inked the rubber-armed reliever to a one-year deal, meaning that this special insert now "inserted" perfectly into my collection.  Score!

 Javier Baez and Hector Rondon are the only two current Cubs competing in the tourney this spring.

It's always a pleasant surprise to add a new card to the old collection without having to drop so much as a dime.  Maybe I should do some "spring cleaning" every season.

Back on the subject of the World Baseball Classic, I'm going to be doing my best to make sure that I catch as many games as possible.  This curiosity stems largely from my desire to see how current Cubs like Javy Baez and Hector Rondon fair for team Puerto Rico and Venezuela, respectively, and to see how former Cubs Marquis and Ryan Dempster (Canada) do in their comeback attempts.  However, due to declining ratings and lack of interest, this may very well be the last edition of the World Baseball Classic.  I think that international competition should always have a place at the baseball table; thus, I will be doing my part to boost interest in the spectacle.

So, on that note, despite this post making mention of Israel, Korea, Japan, Canada, Puerto Rico and Venezuela, go Team USA!

Calbee Does America, Part 2

The weather was absolutely beautiful in Chicago this weekend.  With that in mind, the wife and I did what any other self-respecting, newly-married couple would do with the gift of sunshine and nearly 70 degree temperatures in the middle of February:  we walked around inside of Bed, Bath and Beyond in search of household odds and ends.  That is what you're supposed to do on such an occasion, right?

While this might seem like a pretty lame way to spend a weather unicorn of weekend, it wasn't all bad.  The snack section of the store truly lives up to the "Beyond" label:

The exotic food section found in most BB&B's will keep me coming without complaint.  After all. their shelves are stocked with snacks and beverages from all over the world, including the above bag of Calbee Shrimp Chips from Japan.  Shrimp and snack chips might sound like odd bedfellows and they may even sound absolutely disgusting, but I just can't get enough of them.  Although, I do have an inordinate amount of love for anything seafood.

The last time I ended up with a bag of these delicacies, I couldn't help but think about baseball cards.  I mean, Calbee is a major baseball card manufacturer in their native land, including cards in many of their snack food products.  Unfortunately, the same can not be said for their Americanized lines.  As a replacement, I decided to do a series "what if" cards, featuring Japanese imports who have played for the Cubs, in the style of classic Calbee designs.  Yes, this is how I spend my free time.

Well, since then, the Cubs have signed themselves another one; so, this seems like a swell time to add an update:

(Scan of original courtesy of Japanese Baseball Cards)

Koji Uehara, the veteran lefty reliever, signed with the World Series Champions this offseason, as part of an organizational rebuilding of the bullpen.  To commemorate the signing, I've created this tribute, in the style of the 1995 edition of Calbee cards.  For reference, I've included an Ichiro from the very same set.

Based on teams, this set had different, rotating sets of colors for the nameplates and bottom border. Also, the originals were slightly smaller and narrower than a standard card, with rounded corners.
I've opted to blow my custom up to the normal 2.5"x 3.5" dimensions, with pointed corners, mostly because I'm OCD, even when it comes to my fake cards.

Alas, I couldn't halt my update project here.  While reviewing my previous post, I couldn't help but notice that I missed a player during my previous series.  I am a little embarrassed (I am the Cubs roster history nut, after all), but I suppose I shouldn't blame myself too much for accidentally forgetting about a guy who who only made it into six games in 2009.

So Taguchi was a minor league depth signing who the Cubs rewarded with a September call-up, so as to have some extra veteran presence for the stretch run.  Of course, the Northsiders failed to make the playoffs and So was released after the disappointing season, never to play in the Majors again (he did go back to play in Japan again, however).

With that in mind, it was quite difficult to locate a usable picture for the above custom; the sliding shot I ended up with was the only one I could track down.  Luckily, it worked quite well with the 2006 Calbee Starcard insert design:

(Scan courtesy of Ryan from This Card is Cool)

For reference here is an original card from the same insert set.   The thing about Calbee cards, unlike their main rival BBM,  is that their "flagship" design traditionally changes very little, year to year.  Of course, there are aberrations, but they usually opt for a minimalist norm.  So, in order to find an unique template for So's custom, I had to broaden my horizons a touch.

Lastly, two custom cards didn't fell like quite enough content for a dedicated blog post, at least in my opinion.  However, with Koji and So taken care of, that officially covered all of the Cubs players of Japanese origins.  Therefore, I had to fudge the rules a little bit, opting for a short-term Cubs hurler who had spent several years in Japan before coming Stateside

(Scan of original courtesy of  Getting Back into Baseball Cards... In Japan)

Chang Yong-Lim, aka "Mr. Zero" is a Korean pitcher who received a brief (6 game, 5IP) trial with the rebuilding Cubs in 2013.  Previous to that, Chang had been a superstar closer in Japan with Yakult and a workhorse stater in his native South Korea for Samsung.  After his ill-fated cuppacoffee in the MLB, the reliever opted to return to the Korean Baseball Organization for a few more seasons, retiring after the 2016 campaign.

Much like the 1995 Calbee cards that Koji demonstrated, the 1994 edition were also originally of a smaller size with rounded corners, as Hideki Matsui has kindly volunteered to demonstrate.  Again, I went with the standard-size and characteristics for my custom... because reasons.  Also, the nameplates changed colors based on team, so I chose the color that, in my eyes, worked best with Mr. Lim's image.

I've also developed a taste for these melon creamy sodas 

With that, I can put a period on my "update" set of Cubbie Calbee customs.  Looking back at them now, there are a couple minor tweaks and changes I wouldn't mind make; with that being said, I am satisfied with how they have turned out.  What do you think?  Please feel free to leave any thoughts or suggestions in the comments section below!

So, yea.  It's February, the weather is unabashedly sunny, the temperature has rocketed up into the high 60's and I spent my weekend wandering around indoors, in a cavernous Bed, Bath and Beyond, buying Japanese snack food.  I then followed up that expedition by staying inside and Photoshopping fantasy baseball cards, in the dark, for a few hours.  I think I'm doing this wrong.

The Calbee Shrimp Chips made me do it.

Nothing Major

I've decided to start up a new collection; please allow me to explain it in a rather long-winded fashion.

For many moons, I've been fascinated with baseball cards featuring Major League players during their minor league years; it's an interest that's probably bubbled just under the surface since I started collecting way back when.  I think it has something about seeing well-known players in unfamiliar uniforms, at least partially.  

For instance:

Casey McGehee, seen as not much more than minor league depth, may have broken out as a Brewer, but he started out in the Cubs system and even received a September call-up at the end of the 2008 season.  In contrast, Corey Patterson was about as highly-touted as a prospect possibly can be... and we all know how that turned out.  That said, how can anyone not love a team named the Lansing Lugnuts?

I just picked up this Chris Valaika, who made a brief stopover in Chicago in 2014, from my LCS from a quarter box.  Truthfully, it was mostly to round my purchase up to a full dollar; but, again, what's not to love about a team known as the Dayton Dragons?

Neal Cotts never could consistently hold down a spot in the Cubs bullpen, riding the shuttle between AAA and the Majors for a couple of seasons after winning a World Series ring with our neighbors to the south.  

In the ensuing years, along with minor league Cubs, I've also set aside cards that show these athletes during their days in college and high school, as well  For a while now, I've had a binder going where I stash these curiosities:

That Scott Maine is a slightly over-sized oddball single from a set made to honor the University of Miami nine in 2005; I'm fairly certain it was team-issued, but I can't find any manufacturing information on or about it.  If anyone knows anything more about that Hurricanes issue, please let me know!

Meanwhile, we all know about Jeff  "the Shark" Samardzija's much-ballyhooed girdiron career for the Fightin' Irish; it's easy to forget that he played baseball for them too.  Additionally, I picked up this Bob Howry autograph dating from his days with McNeese State for fifty cents - can you believe that?

As far as high school goes, there aren't a lot in my collection; but, a few have found their way into my clutches:

Classic Four Sport was always good for a few varsity baseball cards, seeing as the sets were based pretty much entirely around prospects in several of the major sports. Here you can see future Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee taking a hack on a chain-link circled diamond near El Camino Fundamental High School in California.

On the other hand, while you see Serra HS graduate Dan Serafini holding a bat on this "limited," serial numbered, shiny offering from Classic, he eventually made it to the Majors as a pitcher, including 42 games for the 1999 Cubs.

All these cards you see above have long been set aside in a special place; I've even referred to the stack on this blog as my "Baby Bear" collection.  However, I've always felt that I could do more with this accumulation - I just didn't know what.

At the same time, I've also made a habit of hanging onto cards that feature future/former Cubs players participating in leagues from outside of the traditional Major/Minor system:

I've got Senior Leagues (which come from my original collection, as a gift from my late grandfather)...

...Negro Leagues....

....international leagues...

...independent leagues...

...hell, I've even got Little Leagues.  Again, these all catch my attention because they depict familiar faces in unfamiliar settings and digs.

Although, after showing off all of these slightly-jarring keepsakes, my absolute favorites in this loosely-connected family are cards that feature stars on the diamond competing in sports that are NOT America's pastime.

Cards like these: 

Like I mentioned earlier, much has been made about "Shark's" football exploits; but, did you know that this similarly difficult to spell name played collegiate football?  In fact "Super Szczur" required a hefty signing bonus to keep the wide receiver from entering the NFL draft when he was drafted out of Villanova in 2010.

Coincidentally, Delino DeShields was another future Cub, multi-sport star; he almost attended Villanova too, to play point guard on the basketball squad.  No doubt, Foot Locker and the NBA were aware of this when they invited the hyped youngster to compete in their celebrity slam dunk tournament in 1991, which also included names like Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Bo Jackson. Thank goodness a card set was produced by the shoe hawkers to commemorate this cross-sport overlap.

These are the only two like this, but there are a bevy more out there - Kenny Lofton and Tim Stoddard on the hardwood, Ernie Banks on the back nine, etc.

See? I'm not (entirely) crazy

Anywho, if you've made it through all of this rambling, congratulations - I'm finally about to get to my point.  I've come to the conclusion that the best way to show off, store and continue to build these half-baked accumulations is to merge them all together under one banner:  my "Nothing Major" collection.  The idea being that the collection is made up of cards of Cubs playing in the minors, prep, international and even other sports, but "Nothing Major" League Baseball.

I love a good pun.

So, if you have any cards of this vein lying around in your dupe/trade stacks, please drop me a line; I'm more than willing to talk trade!

Lord knows I don't already have enough projects...

Calbee Does America

This weekend, my lovely fiancee and I decided to go out and sign up for our wedding registry at the local Bed Bath and Beyond.  Several hours were spent wandering about the vast and seemingly endless retailer, debating which hypothetical cutlery looked best with our hypothetical dish ware, whether or not we needed new mixing bowls, etc.  It started out fun, getting to go on a "shopping spree" as we scanned any and every item we wanted/needed without having to pay up in the end, but it quickly became a chore.

Furthermore, in order to ensure that we got there and entirely through the store before it closed, we skipped dinner.  By about halfway through the experience, my stomach was growling so loud that people were probably looking for my service dog and wondering why he was so irritated.

Luckily, BBB has a large snack food and gourmet beverage section, jam-packed with off-the-wall stuff that you can't find at your everyday grocer.  Shopping hungry is almost always a bad idea; however, I was able to restrain most of my urges and walked away with only a single bag of salty goodness.

Seafood is my favorite food, with shrimp being right next to lobster in terms of my preferred kinds.  Once I saw these, I absolutely had to try them.  I was hungry enough that I don't think it would have mattered what I was eating, but they were yummy; they tasted as if you were eating the breading off of fried shrimp.

Anyway, as we were driving home, I looked at my snack and finally made note of the company behind my fishy snack:  Calbee.

Thanks to excellent, informative blogs like Japanese Baseball Cards and This Card is Cool, I know that Calbee is one of the major manufacturers of baseball cards in Japan, inserting packs of Nippon Professional Baseball cards in with their chip-like products and snack food.  Unfortunately, their division over on this side of of the Pacific does not.  Licensing issues and lack of interest keep them from including their Japanese cards on our shores, I'm sure.

However, that got me thinking - what if Calbee North America did include baseball cards with their products?  Also, what if they focused on North American baseball instead?  So, I fired up Photoshop and started on my next weekend project as soon as we got home:

On the right, we have an original 2016 Calbee single, featuring an unidentified Yomiuri Giants player (I can't read kanji, after all).  On the left, we have my interpretation of how that same card would look if it was stashed in a Bed Bath and Beyond in Orland Park, IL, as modeled by Munenori Kawasaki.

As you can see, a la Stadium Club, Calbee really lets the photo do the heavy lifting with their no frills design.  It's a design which has, more or less, stayed the same over the last 15 or so years with only slight tweaking from season to season.

That said, Calbee has upped their ante for a few sets; so, I decided to try my hand at a few of those as well:

Here's my take on a 1990 Calbee design.  Hisanori Takahashi was only a Cub for 3 games in 2013 and thus, never had a card that featured him in a Chicago uniform; this seemed like the perfect opportunity to rectify that.

Again, I can't read kanji, so I'm taking some liberties with the text on my reproductions.  Also, that name bar has many variations throughout the checklist, but I decided to opt for the two-tone one.

1984 Calbee appears to be directly inspired by 1981 Topps - so, I pulled up a scan of one of those Cubs cards, did a little bit of tweaking and, voila, Calbee America!

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

From what I've gathered, the checklist of cards released by Calbee from 1975 through 1976 is both vast and complicated.  There are several different designs and layouts used throughout the collation, including this pink-bordered template that reminds me of 1981 Fleer with a little added flair.

Perhaps the fine folks at Fleer were drawing from international inspiration?

As you can see and I'm only now just noticing, I significantly enlarged the baseball on my Tsuyoshi Wada-bearing reproduction.  Drat.

Here's another design found within the checklist of 1975-76 Calbee; it's sort of their version of Topps' beloved Super Veteran cards, featuring a current photograph of the player in action and an old, black and white picture of the player in an inset.

It makes for a garish look, in my opinion - but, that's just me.

Kyuji Fujikawa, by the way, I'm convinced he doesn't age.  I could not find a picture in which he looked significantly younger, so I opted for a general action shot from his days with the Hanshin Tigers (a team to which he has returned to this season, after being cut by the Rangers).

Now, most of the rest of the cards in Calbee's history are very much similar to the above card, minus the inset photo.  No border and all picture with sparse text that floats freely at the bottom.  The most variation to be found is in the color of said text, which can bounce from white, to black, yellow, etc.  However, at this point I was having too much fun to quit.

Luckily, Calbee does more than just baseball - they have branched out into international soccer and non-sport as well.  I'm not much of an anime fan, but the following design seemed ripe for an American-ized baseball treatment:

Shades of 1954 Topps, if you ask me.

Now, I'm sure you've noticed by now, that I'd been using all of the Japanese, Nippon League imports to have ever blown into the Windy City for my previous mock ups.  Murton isn't Japanese of course, but he did play for Hanshin for several seasons after his initial stint with the Cubs, even breaking the single-season record for hits over there.  The Northsiders imported him back to America this off-season to give him one last chance to make it in the Majors; he's currently biding his time in AAA Iowa.

Without any more Japanese players to pull from, that was as close as I could get.

With that, my Archives-like treatment of Calbee finally ran out of steam.  However, I was able to get, literally, all that and a bag of chips - so, that's pretty cool.  Additionally, I figured I should throw my treatments up on the ol' blog and see what you all thought.

Also, Calbee North America - if you're interested in jumping into the trading card ring, I work for peanuts!... well, shrimp chips actually.