2010 Rangers Project

Before we get started with the good stuff, two quick notes:

(1)  How 'bout them Rangers?  11 Wins in a row!  They're really looking good.

(2)  I feel the need to pimp a cool contest over at Auto-Matic for the People.  Go check it out.  Just don't win.  I want to win.

Now on to the regularly scheduled content:

As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm working on a bit of a card collecting project this year.

It all started back before even spring training this year, when my son (the peanut) was born.  This is our first kiddo, and there's just nothing that prepares you for what the experience and emotions are like.  One sort of strange after effect of the new arrival has been a resurgent interest in baseball on my part.

Now, I've been a baseball fan for as long as I can remember.  Going to a couple of Rangers games with my grandfather was always a highlight of the summer.  I also played the requisite little league ball, but once the opposition figured out how to throw a curveball....that was it for me.  All that said, I've never been really fanatical about it.  I've enjoyed the game, but never really dove very deep.

That changed this year.  

Between the peanut's "Field of Dreams" like stirring of my inner baseball fan, the Rangers success, and reading a book that really helped to improve my baseball watching skills (that'll be another post) , I've become quite the obsessive Ranger fan; much to the chagrin of the boss lady, quoth the wife: "Its on EVERY night???"

Sometime after spring training, I came across an article on the Through the Mail Autograph hobby.  I thought, "How cool would it be to one day give the peanut an autographed baseball card for every 2010 Texas Ranger; his inaugural baseball season?" 

I talked about the idea with some friends (and the boss lady too), and everyone seemed to think it was a cool idea, so I went about getting my hands on some current Rangers cards and put them to the mail.  At this point, I've got a handful of TTM packages out (Josh Hamilton, CJ Wilson, and Salty).  None have come back yet (well...none successfully), so I'm holding out hope on those.

In the meantime, I felt the need to make some progress, and with the "old junk" auctions fattening up my PayPal account, I've gone out to procure some autos on the Ebay.  

Here's what I've got so far:

The Dutch Oven.  He's been hurt a ton this year, but his performances have been strong enough to convince me that this guy is the real deal.  I can't wait for him to get back on the mount.

Jules had a rough start to the season, but he seems to have figured it out.  I'm not sure what he's doing differently, but man it sure feels good to see him hitting the ball again.

One of the advantages to having taken a long hiatus from baseball cards is that some of the stuff that is old-hat and trite to you guys is still pretty new and cool to me, plus it can be hand on the hella cheap.  Manufactured Patch Autos is one such example.  I think these things are really cool, and I'm happy to have a few in my collection.

Frankly, I hate this picture, this picture is about 50% of the reason that I've not paid for a single Chicle pack.  I don't think it looks anything like Neftali, but I love the on-card auto....so I'm not going to gripe. 

I did send one TTM package to Ian, and it came back with a crummy pre-printed auto on it.  Between that and his performance at the plate this year, he's on my crap list.  I did get a nice Ginter auto on the cheap though (camera's dead, so no picture)....so I can check him off my list.

I don't suspect that I'll be completing this project anytime soon, and frankly, I'm not in any real hurry.  There will certainly be folks that suit up for the Rangers late in the season, and I'll need to pick up autos for them.

Who knows, maybe I'll need a signature from this guy to complete my project.  A boy can dream, right?

 Have a great weekend everyone!