Marty and Thom Bobblehead

Yet another bobblehead to add to my collection of Reds nodders. I was on the fence about whether or not I should pick this one up since I had the Marty and Joe bobblehead, but I decided to bite the bullet and grab this one from eBay for less than $8 shipped. I do think it's cool that father and son broadcast games for the Reds and while I have Marty's autograph, I'm still lacking Thom's. This bobblehead was given out on August 22, 2007 when the Reds faced the Braves. Cincinnati won the game 4-2 with the help of a Josh Hamilton (when he was with the Reds) dinger. I'm still upset with the Hamilton Volquez trade so I won't go there.

Austin Kearns Bobblehead

A recent addition to my Reds bobblehead collection. I was able to pick up this Austin Kearns bobblehead last week on eBay for less than $8 shipped. There were 30,000 of these little nodders given out July 19, 2003 when the Reds took on the Houston Astros. Cincinnati lost that game 9-8, but Jason LaRue did hit a home run in the bottom of the 9th in a comeback that almost resulted in a win. I like the blue base but the portly body is not very desirable.

TTM: Chuck Harmon

Did you know that on April 17, 1954, Chuck Harmon became the first African American to play for the Cincinnati Reds?

TTM: Terry Francona

A former Red AND a two time manager of a World Series team, Terry Francona is now the skipper of the Tribe. Let's hope he can turn their fortunes around.

TTM: Jim O'Toole

Did you know that in 1964 Jim O'Toole had a .708 win-loss percentage? That was third best in the National League behind Sandy Koufax and Juan Marichal. Not too shabby.

10,000!

Today I passed the 10,000 visits mark. Sure, most of you other card bloggers out there probably average that in a month, but not me. Anyway, that's to everyone that stops by to read my meaningless rants about a hobby I've enjoyed for twenty seven years.

TTM: Johnny Edwards

Did you know that during the off-season while with the Reds, Johnny Edwards worked as an engineer for General Electric in research and development for nuclear fuel elements. Very impressive!

Bronze Sparky

Last week I decided to nab a stadium giveaway that has eluded me for quite some time...the bronze Sparky Anderson statue that was given away at Great American Ballpark on May 14, 2011 when the Reds took on the Cardinals. While it's not on my list of collection goals for 2013, the price was too good to pass up ($20 shipped) since most of them listed on eBay have been going from $35 to $50! It complements my bronze Nuxhall statue quite nicely!

TTM: Leo Cardenas

Leo "Chico" Cardenas was a five time All-Star (three of those with the Reds) and a Gold Glove Award winner. An interesting tidbit, Cardenas led the National League in intentional walks in 1965 and 1966.

TTM: Don Gullett

Although Don Gullett played only nine seasons in the majors, he was on six World Series teams and four consecutive World Champion teams!

TTM: Mario Soto

Did you know that in 1983 Mario Soto finished second in voting for the National League Cy Young award? Now you do.

Two in the Box, Ready to Go...

I be fast and they be slow! I'm already out of the gate when it comes to knocking off my card collecting goals in 2013. This past week I was able to complete TWO of my ten goals for this year. Due to the generosity of my wife's grandfather, I was able to get a 1989-90 Hoops complete set and a T206 Tom Downey. The Hoops set is more nostalgia than anything else. I collected basketball for only three years when I was growing up 89, 90 and 91. Although Cincinnati didn't have a team, I was a Bulls fan with Jordan, Pippen, Grant led by Phil Jackson. My favorite card in the 89 Hoops set though was the Robinson rookie and now I can say I own one of my favorite childhood cards. As for my other Christmas present, I love tobacco cards and I'll buy any Reds tobacco card all day long if there aren't any creases on the card and it's less than $30! I just happened to stumble upon this Downey on eBay right after New Years and I'm very excited to add this to my collection. I know that not all of my goals will be as easy to accomplish as these two, but it's nice to stumble across great bargains, especially when those bargains wind up as part of your collection.