almost free cards - international edition

this 1998 bowman chrome dennis reyes international parallel

came to me a while back from night owl. greg sent me cards in exchange for the card he claimed in my most recent "almost free stuff friday" event which took place back in march. technically, it's not a giveaway so i guess i'll call it an event. he wasn't the only one to participate, as tom from the angels, in order sent this 2014 bowman platinum alex guerrero card

in exchange for the cards he claimed.

bo from baseball cards come to life sent a few cards - certainly more than he claimed - including this 1998 pacific online bill simas card

yes, i collect bill simas cards as he was a high school teammate of mine.

bo also sent some minor league cards

of an array of one-time dodger prospects.

i am still hoping to receive a return card from the international participant, but until then, here are some more cards from night owl. he attacked my sportflics needs with this 1990 orel hershiser card

and these other dodgers from that set

plus three from 1988

here are some more cards greg sent:

1995 leaf eric karros

1997 donruss vxp 1.0 hideo nomo

1998 leaf raul mondesi state representatives

1998 leaf rookies & stars raul mondesi ticket masters

b/w paul konerko

2023 topps finest mookie betts headliners

2020 topps archives snapshots gavin lux

2020 and 2022 panini donruss justin turner holo parallels

2021 panini donruss dustin may

2022 panini absolute roy campanella and gil hodges historical duals

and a 2023 panini chronicles pinnacle campy card

lots of great adds to my collection from these traders!

and here are some bonus free cards that a couple of random ebay sellers included with some cards i purchased recently.

2023 panini select al lopez holo prizm

2025 topps chrome freddie freeman

my dodger luck with 2025 topps chrome has been absolutely horrible, so this was a nice surprise.

2020 topps tribute sandy koufax

that card was included with a bigger koufax purchase i made recently.

another seller threw this sticker

in with a purchase, and it is much appreciated! looks great on my water bottle.

finally, here's a card that wasn't free, but does touch on the international theme

it's from a set called 2005 artbox harry potter and the sorcerer's stone. it features the scene where the first year students are learning how to fly on brooms. hre's the back:

i picked it up because it features a nice shot from inside the walls at alnwick castle in northumberland, england. the card goes into my meaningful and just because collection as my wife studied abroad during college at this castle, and she has taken me there for reunion events a couple of times. we've stayed in the dormitories inside the castle and walked the grounds. it has been a really cool thing to experience and we enjoy returning to the uk each time.

thanks to all for the cards - there may be another edition of almost free stuff friday coming along later in the year so stay tuned.

the k is for kershaw kountdown - seeing reds

yes, the kountdown to 3,000 strikeouts for clayton kershaw continues as he pitched against the reds on thursday. he struck out 9 batters to give him 93 strikeouts on the season. those 9 reds that he k'd increased his career total to 2,900.

in honor of his performance, here are 9 cards to represent strikouts 2,892 through 2,900.

2,892 - 2014 bowman platinum gold 

2,893 - 2015 panni prizm red baseball prizm

2,894 - 2016 bowman's best refractor

2,895 - 2017 topps galler artist proof

2,896 - 2018 topps legends in the making blue 

2,897 - 2019 topps inception

2,898 - 2020 topps holiday

2,899 - 2021 topps gold label class 1 black

2,900 - 2022 topps update all-star game black

kershaw remains in 21st place on the all-time leader board, and will remain there until he passes zack greinke, who struck out 3 earlier in the week to increase his strikeout total to 2,932. kershaw is now 32 k's behind greinke and an even 100 behind the 3,000 milestone. 

kershaw's start against the reds was his second straight start with 9 strikeouts, and included seven scoreless innings to boot! he got phenom elly de la cruz twice, showing that the reds' prospect is human after all.

it would seem that kershaw's next start would come this week against the white sox. regardless of when he makes his next start, i will be back to update the kountdown soon thereafter. stay tuned!

the k is for kershaw kountdown - palindrome version!

yes, the kountdown to 3,000 strikeouts for clayton kershaw continues (the most recent post is here) as he pitched against the rays on saturday. he struck out 6 batters to give him 75 strikeouts on the season. those 6 rays that he k'd increased his career total to 2,882.

in honor of his performance, here are 6 cards to represent strikouts 2,877 through 2,882.

2,877 - 2012 bowman blue parallel

2.878 - 2014 bowman platinum

2,879 - 2016 bowman chrome

2,880 - 2018 bowman platinum platinum presence

2,881 - 2020 topps chrome pink refractor

2.882 - 2022 topps commemorative jersey number medallion

kershaw remains in 21st place on the all-time leader board, and will remain there until he passes zack greinke, who struck out 5 earlier in the week to increase his strikeout total to 2,923. kershaw is now 41 k's behind greinke and 118 behind the 3,000 milestone. 

it would seem that kershaw's next start would come later this week - likely against the yankees at dodger stadium! there was a lot of talk about that series from the fans at the games i attended a couple of weeks ago. regardless of when he makes his next start, i will be back to update the kountdown soon thereafter. stay tuned!

the k is for kershaw kountdown continues!

yes, the kountdown to 3,000 strikeouts for clayton kershaw continues (previous post here) as he pitched against the twins on tuesday. he struck out 7 batters to give him 63 strikeouts on the season. those 7 twins that he k'd increased his career total to 2,870.

in honor of his performance, here are 7 cards to represent strikouts 2,864 through 2,870.

2,864 - 2012 topps tribute

2,865 - 2014 bowman platinum blue sapphire

2,866 - 2015 topps update gold

2,867 - 2016 topps chrome black refractor

2,868 - 2017 topps gallery heritage

2, 869 - 2018 topps gold label class 3

2,870 - 2018 topps heritage high numbers transogram

i was happy to be in la on tuesday, and made the last minute decision to buy a single ticket and head to the ravine to see kershaw pitch. it was only the second time i've seen him pitch in person, and although he didn't have his best stuff, his 7 strikeouts came in only 4 innings of work. in total, i've seen 20 of kershaw's career strikeouts in person and have enjoyed witnessing each one of them!

kershaw remains in 21st place on the all-time leader board, and will remain there until he passes zack greinke, who struck out 5 earlier in the week to increase his strikeout total to 2,914. kershaw is now 44 k's behind greinke and 130 behind the 3,000 milestone. kershaw is scheduled to make his next start on sunday against the cardinals, and he has said he plans to do so even though his mother passed away a few days before his start against the twins and there was some speculation that he would go on a longer bereavement leave after that start. regardless of when he makes his next start, i will be back to update the kountdown soon thereafter. stay tuned!