Collectables

I bought a 2007 Upper Deck game used jersey card of Johnny Damon on Listia. It only set me back 804 credits. The card has a small crease in it but on the plus side the jersey swatch has a Yankee pinstripe through the center.

2013 Topps 75th delves deep into the company's rich entertainment past with a set that celebrates their 75th anniversary. The release showcases cards from more than 100 sets throughout their history. Boxes come with a pair of autographs and a stamped buyback.

I recently bought some Yount cards on eBay from a huge Yount collector who's slowly paring down his collection. As a little add-on, I picked up this cello pack that the Yount guy was selling with Robin featured on the front. To me, this doesn't represent something different, but I understand the completist mentality. I bought it with the intent to open it, as '86 Fleer is a set I don't have too much of.Let's tear in.Top to Bottom:506 Robin Yount214 Reid Nichols181 Andy McGaffigan41 Tito Landrum234 Lance Parrish192 Mario Soto64 Dennis Lamp (Man, that is one area of growth! That dude shaves after lunch, then has to do it again before washing his hands for dinner. Thickness.)509 Bruce Benedict448 John Russell8 Mark Gubicza93 Rafael Santana45 Darrell Porter565 Mike Mason261 Randy St. Claire (That's a sweet-ass Starter jacket. One might even say it's worth being killed over.)Los Angeles Penant StickerOakland Sticker104 Brian Fisher484 Cecil Cooper (Cooooooooooooooooop!)197 Juan Agosto196 Max Venable29 Cesar Cedeno242 Lou Whitaker178 John Franco62 Cliff Johnson (Speaking of jackets, Canada was representin' on the outerwear, eh?)530 Milt Thompson441 Greg Gross13 Charlie Leibrandt83 Danny Heep36 Brian Harper573 Wayne TollesonThat was fun.

Tonight's another packed show. Find out who's going to be on the latest episode of the best sports card talk radio show going today.

2013 Panini Certified Football arrives with a fresh new look. Hobby boxes promise four total hits, including at least one autograph. Mirror parallels return as do Freshman Fabric Autographs of top 2013 rookies.

Here are this weekends autograph opportunities and events throughout the Southland. As always, be sure to check the Blue Heaven Calendar for other events (a link can always be found on the tab at the top of this page, just left of center), and always confirm with the establishment. Everything is subject to change. Please email me with any tips about upcoming events in Southern California. As the rest of the week progresses I'll update this post with other events (if there are any) as I become aware of them. Also, I don't always list every event below, so be sure to check my Calendar. I always try to favor free signing events over paying events. Click on any pic to embiggen. --------------------------- This coming Sunday a couple of former Dodgers will be visiting T-Mobile stores in the Southland for a meet and greet with fans. At the Los Feliz store, Maury Wills will come out on Sunday, June 23rd from Noon to 1:00 PM. T-Mobile2919 Los Feliz Blvd. Suite E1Los Angeles CA 90039 Hat Tip: True to the Blue --------------------------- Then, Bobby Castillo will arrive at a T-Mobile in Panorama City for a signing on Sunday, June 23rd from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM. T-Mobile Panorama Mall 8401 Van Nuys Blvd. Panorama City, CA 91402 Hat Tip: True to the Blue --------------------------- Hank Conger, Mark Trumbo & J.B. Shuck will be signing autographs at the OC Dugout on Saturday, June 22nd from 10:00 PM to Noon. This is a pay event. Go here to purchase tickets. The OC Dugout 1238 S. Beach Blvd., Ste. K Anaheim, California 92804 (714) 527-6319 * Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes * * Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook * * Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

1 inning, 5 runs, 5 hits, 3 HRs, 1 double, 1 HBP, 2 Ks That line looks a little dope(y) to me.

Yasiel Puig is now officially on twitter and Instagram. The photo is from his Instagram account. Follow him on twitter here. Watch the press conference Yasiel Puig gave at Yankee Stadium yesterday, here. Via Jon Wesiman at Dodger Thoughts, "Five things you might not remember about the Dodgers’ 1981 clincher". Via Aaron Roberts in the MLB FanCave tells about the twitter war between the Dodgers and Yankees. It's hilarious! Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad fame recently did a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) session for fans. He was asked who were his heroes, and he responded with some Dodger Blue. See the thread below. Sax at Sons of Steve Garvey let's us know that the 5th grader who stood so tall in defense of the Dodgers has been asked to throw the first pitch at this coming Tuesday's home game against the Giants. Congrats! Night Owl Cards tells us about a Legends of Cardboard: former Dodger Carlos Hernandez. Mark Saxon at ESPN writes, "How the Dodgers found the youngest prospect in MLB". Check out this incredible .gif of RA Dickey's knuckleball, via Reddit Dshep. Here is the FanGraphs article about it. Ken Gurnick at MLB.com provides an update on Matt Kemp's hamstring rehab. "Matt said he was great today, and we'll push him more tomorrow," said manager Don Mattingly. "If that goes good, by the time we leave San Diego [on Sunday], I'm hoping Matt can play in a rehab setting at least three or four days." Via Ted Johnson at Variety, "Time Warner Cable Sued Over Spending on Lakers, Dodgers Rights". I thought the below video took a good look at what makes Puig successful at the plate. Check out Mark Brook's blog here. Video Link: * Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes * * Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook * * Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

We’re living in an amazing time for Magic the Gathering. More people are playing now than have ever played before. The Grand Prix in Charlotte shattered the previous record for the largest Magic event. The Las Vegas Grand Prix has already beaten that number in pre-registration (by the way if you haven’t heard, you better pre-register because there will be no registrations the day of the tournament) and conservative estimates put it at blowing out the record by over a thousand players. Think about that for a minute. 4,000 people are going to be paying $60 a piece to play Magic. It doesn’t hurt that the sealed tournament is Modern Masters. I find myself smiling inspite of myself just thinking about the fun people are going to have this weekend and the awesome cards that will be added to people’s collections. And, unfortunately, that leads me to the real point of this post. Magic the Gathering is more popular then ever. That means it’s more known then ever before. Modern Masters is the most valuable booster release with the most valuable cards seen in recent memory and Las Vegas is a city with a reputation slightly better then the Mos Eisley Cantina. All of these things make the Las Vegas Grand Prix a perfect place for stealing Magic cards. Here are a few tips, from me to you, to help guard yourself against those that would Prey Upon Magic players and understand the different ways people lose their cards. 1.) Check Your Trades Always check your trades to make sure that you’re not being taken advantage of. In a day and age when smart phones and lap tops have made price checking so easy there is just no excuse for not doing it. While Magic has grown to the point where anyone knows that Magic cards have value, the people who know this most explicitly are Magic players themselves. This leads to my next point.  2.) Anyone Can be a Thief Do not be fooled by thinking that the person who steals your cards will be an outsider and easy to spot. Villains don’t come with top hats and curly mustaches. Then again, that description does sound like some Magic players I’ve know… The point is that just because you’re in a hall and you’re amongst fellow Magic enthusiasts, don’t let your guard down. Some people are thieves and don’t even know it until the opportunity for theft presents itself. Which leads me to my second tip. 3.) Don’t Leave Your Deck Unattended Most theft of Magic cards are crimes of opportunity. Someone might go to Grand Prix Las Vegas with no thought in their head except to crack packs and playing cards, but all of a sudden a player gets up to go to the bathroom and leaves their deck on a table. “Did he just leave his deck behind?” The once innocent Magic player thinks. “He was sitting next to me in the last round. He’s running two Dark Confidants in that deck and I think I saw at least one of the Swords.” He looks around. No one is watching. Suddenly, the deck and the player are gone. This tip, and likely all the others seem like a no brainer, but once again, we get comfortable at Magic events. We feel we are amongst friends. A deck might be safe at your local FNM, but this is Vegas baby. Don’t blink. 4.) Book bags Are Targets Much the same as leaving a deck box unattended, a book bag is a neon sign that says, “VALUABLE MAGIC HERE” in a nice portable case. A lot of people recently have advised that you just not bring a book bag to these large events, but let’s be honest. When you come to large event you want to trade, or even sell, those prime cards in your collection that you are not using. So, be vigilant. If you’re at a match, put your leg thru the strap and try to keep it somewhere in your peripheral vision. Space is a precious commodity at any Magic tournament, but do what you can. Also, if you’ve come to sell, do it early. While we won’t be at the Grand Prix in Las Vegas, be sure to stop by our booth a

With the Dodgers in New York for a historic match-up against the Yankees, Yasiel Puig decided to take in his day off (Monday) in the big city at the MLB FanCave. As you probably know, uber-Dodger fan Aaron Roberts resides there, and was on-hand to greet the growing legend. Thankfully, he was kind enough to sit down with us and share the experience with Blue Heaven. Check out his what he had to say below. Q: Thanks for taking some time to tell me about your day yesterday (Monday). The buzz around Dodgertown is that the Cuban sensation, Yasiel Puig, visited the FanCave. What were your initial feelings when you heard he would be coming by for a visit? (twitter link: @MLBFanCave) A: We didn't find out until that morning. You can imagine my excitement waking up to that e-mail! Ha! I was going nuts. I couldn't wait. This guy is a legend in the making from my team, and I get to meet him. I was beyond pumped. Q: Tell me a bit about when he arrived. What did you folks do? A: When he first arrived, I had the biggest smile on my face. I had seen him play before at Spring Training this year, but I was still shocked to see how big he was in person. The guy's hands are the size of my head. I was actually pretty nervous to meet him because I was wearing my Dodgers Puig shirt and didn't know if that would make him feel weird or be flattering. After the initial round of introductions, we took him around the Fan Cave and showed him all of the amazing things that we get to see and interact with on a daily basis. He was stoked to see everything and was incredibly energetic. We played ping pong, skee-ball, "MLB The Show," joked around and just generally had an awesome time. He's a super nice and funny guy who really likes being a Dodger. That was the part that really put a smile on my face. The fact that this kid likes and wants to be a Dodger. Q: I understand that Yasiel heard the first track to Puig Destroyer and remarked, "that's very good". Was he rocking out to it? I'd be surprised if he was familiar with grindcore at all. Although, with that Mohawk he certainly has the punk look down. A: He was jamming to it! Ha! He's definitely got that "rebellious punk" side to him. It was awesome because he had never heard them before and was pumped when we told him that it was a band called "Puig Destroyer." (twitter link: @MLBFanCave) Q: Hey, if Puig were to be in a metal band what instrument do you think he'd play? How do you think Puig would do if a slam pit started up? A: Puig would definitely be either the lead singer who screams into the mic and pumps up the crowd or the drummer who uses a double kick drum and throws in a drum roll at every possible opportunity. And I pity anyone who would ever get into a pit with him! There would definitely be some broken bones that night. The guy is a beast! Q: I saw a few pics on twitter of Puig hanging out and noticed that he played some ping pong. Was he any good? Did you play him, and if so, who won? (instagram link: aprilwhitzman) A: I did get to play ping pong with him! Definitely one of the many highlights I have while being in the Fan Cave. He was really good too. I fancy myself a fine pong player, but I've got to say that he bested me. It was close, though. We played to five and he beat me 5-to-4. I was a little scared he was going to hit a rocket and my paddle would shatter! Ha ha! Q: I also saw him with that huge bat. Does he plan on taking that out to Yankee Stadium today? (twitter link @MLBFanCave) A: That bat that he was holding is awesome. It's a fixture of the Fan Cave and all the sluggers that come by pick it up. So naturally, Puig went right to it. I'm pretty sure if he used that thing at Yankee Stadium, he'd hit the ball out of Dodger Stadium (get it!? Because it's across the country? I'm so funny!). Q: Thanks again for being such a great Dodger FanCave rep. A: No, thank you for supporting me and following the