Wicked Trade: (Long Over Due)

I could blame it on my slow scanner. Or pure laziness. Or my fondness for wine within 5 minutes of hitting the door when I get home from work. Or all of it, take your pick.

At any rate, I've fallen behind in trade posts, starting with an epic trade from Wicked Ortega. Well, this is my end.

A 1956 Doby:

I'm not a huge Miggy fan, but he's one of the best players in the game and it would have taken something pretty badass to pry that card from me. Well, this is more than sufficiently badass. Since Doby is from SC I pick up his cards whenever I can afford them, and this was a score. I'll go into it in more depth this summer when I do Larry Doby week again, but for now I'll just say "YEAH!"

Worked out in the trade were some other Rays cards.

I don't get too much into the high end stuff (is Sweet Spot High End? Low End? Mid Range? Hell, they sell is at Wal Mart, right?) or even serial numbered cards because of the cost. So: I'd never seen this card or one like it before and have/had no idea of it's value. First: that's not a bat chip. It's a 1/2 inch thick piece of bat embedded in a card that's more like a shadow box. Pretty awesome, and I had no idea what I was getting.

Then this CC jersey:

CC jerseys are always good, CC jerseys with Derek Jeter on them....I just don't know.

And most importantly, as a throw in for the person who tolerates my collection (and has yet to see my recent ebay purchase come up on the credit card bill):

It's the smile himself, Mr. Carlos Peña. It was immediately one of the compa's favorite cards and it's her first minor league CP. Thanks for throwing that in, Wicked, and for the epic trade in general.

Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Larry Doby

As baseball cards go, it's tough to beat Bowman from 1950-52. Bowman Hertiage doesn't come close to the real thing (exception being the '51 imitation). At right is a 1951 Bowman Larry Doby I managed to score for $13. I bring that up because, at a card show in March, I was with the guy from Noburu Aota (site on Japanese baseball and cards) when he scored one for $7. Yep, single digits for this beautiful card of a HOFer.

There are tons of sites out there that have Doby's bio, so I won't go into that (wiki, HOF). Here's an SI article on the importance of recognizing the impact and importance of those players who followed directly in Jackie Robinson's footsteps. As stoked as I was to score my '51 Bowman Doby, I am a bit disappointed that I never had the chance to meet the man on the card. 

Larry Doby Week at CC Cards

Last night I was watching MLB Network and an advertisement for the Civil Rights Game next Saturday came on. What I really liked about the commercial is that, after the opening sequence with Jackie Robinson, it then showed Larry Doby. 

If you don't know who Larry Doby is, he was the first African American to play in the American League, joining the Cleveland Indians eleven weeks after Robinson took the field for the Dodgers. He passed away 6 years ago this past week on June 13, 2003.

He was also from Camden, SC, my home state. My dad made sure I knew who Doby was growing up, but no one made a particularly big deal about him. There were no Little League parks, no public appearances, no one mentioned him in the class on SC history, nothing. 

Fortunately, many things have changed since then. Not everything, but many things. Doby's number 14 was retired by Charleston's Minor League club, the Riverdogs. Last year they even had a Negro League Day where they gave away Doby replica jerseys (Newark Eagles) and invited two Negro Leaguers to come to the park.

This week I'll be blogging about Doby and what I learned at that game talking to the Negro Leaguers and other folks I met there. Dinged Corners did an incredible post a while back on non-MLB traditions (can't find the link..grrr!) and that also inspires this week. 

Tomorrow: The Cannon Street All-Stars