rod has some dodgergraphs, too

i had the pleasure of meeting rod from padrographs in person as part of the great nw bloggers summit when i was in portland for business a couple of years ago.  i enjoyed talking with him (and the other bloggers present) as he had some great collecting stories, including hanging out with tony gwynn during signing appearances and other interaction with former players.  he's also an avid reader (as am i) and has offered up some recommendations for me to check out.

finally, he's a generous guy. rod held daily giveways a couple of months ago that i sometimes participated in. he even sent some cards that i didn't request which was nice.  the first card received through the giveaways was this 2020 topps opening day alex verdugo red foil parallel

i suppose the red will look better once verdugo starts getting cards showing him with red socks, too. still, a sharp looking card!

here's a 1997 donruss elite mike piazza card

piazza was a popular guy on the recent giveaways, and i am consistently surprised at the number of his cards that i still need.

i didn't need this next card, but i did comment that i am/was a fan of the pinnacle 'the idols' subsets.

rod sent the card to my anyway. it was cool to see the variety of players featured as 'idols' - jim abbott idolizing nolan ryan made for a good pairing.

here's a card for my double play collection - a 1998 topps opening day derek jeter issue

turning a double play as a shortstop always felt more stylish to me than when i was playing second base. the turn is a lot more natural coming from the shortstop side of the bag, and the lean that jeter shows on this card reminds me of a 3-6-3 turn. i probably participated in only a couple of those during my baseball playing days.

after receiving those cards from his giveaways, i was able to find a couple of signed cards for rod's autograph frankenset as a way of repaying his generosity. rod recently returned fire with a great item for a fan of the dodger teams of the late 1970s and early 1980s.  check out this letter of transmittal responding to a fan's request for an autograph from peter o'malley (walter's son, and the owner of the dodgers following o'malley's passing in 1979)

that came with this signed index card

these items pair nicely with the signed business card that rod sent to night owl earlier this summer, and it is great that he was able to share the bounty of this collector's request!  the letter and signed index card also go great with the 1978 topps dodger team card that o'malley signed for me through the mail for me a few years ago.

and let's not forget this great vinyl sticker(?) of his logo

would that be the "swinging signing friar" then? very happy to add this to my blogger custom card collection!

thanks rod - there's a pwe in the mail for you that should arrive soon!