Facebook Trading: Kershaw, Kemp, Killebrew, Ethier And Seager

Over the last year or so I've been invited to over a dozen baseball card or autograph related Facebook groups. Some of these groups are a blast to be in and have hundreds of members, others just flame out as quickly as they're started. From a handful of good groups that I regularly contribute to and follow, I've been able to make some nice trades with other members. 

I've completed two trades in the last week. The first was with Facebook friend Rodney. Rodney showed interest in a Bob Gibson autograph I had and after looking through his album I found out he was a pretty big Clayton Kershaw fan. There were a few Kershaws I liked in his collection but one stood out from the rest, his Five Star silver auto.  It would be part of our trade, but it wouldn't be the only thing. 

After going back and forth a few times we were able to turn our small trade into a larger one. In the end I was able to add another Hall of Fame baseball to my display case, picking up a beautiful Harmon Killebrew sweet spot baseball. I was also able to get Rodney to trade two other Dodger autos, with new Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier certified sigs coming my way.

The other trade I made was with Facebook friend Garrett. Garrett is from Detroit and after chatting with him last week he mentioned he would be making the two hour drive from Motown to Midland, Michigan to autograph the Great Lakes Loons, Class A affiliate of the Dodgers. He made the trip last Wednesday because Dodger great and Michigan State legend Steve Garvey was making an appearance at the stadium. Since he was heading out there I figured I would ask him to try and get an autograph from Dodger prospect Corey Seager. Garrett was able to get Seager to sign, so we worked something out right away and now I have my first Seager signature. 

I want to thank Rodney and Garrett for the trades. I 'm looking forward to more in the future.

New Kemp, Trumbo and Uribe Autos

A few weeks ago I got an email from Matt about making trade. Matt writes the blog MC's Autograph Signings and he's also one of the better autograph hounds out here in SoCal. 

When Matt asked me about making a trade, he listed a few things that were available. There were a lot of items that caught my eye, but the one that stood out the most was a 2011 All-Star ball signed by Matt Kemp. I knew I'd have to come strong to get my hands on that one. 

2011 All-Star ball signed by Matty

After days of back and forth negotiating, we were finally able to come to an agreement. I got the Kemp AS ball, a Mark Trumbo sweet spot ROMLB and a Juan Uribe sweet spot ROMLB. I'm sure you're asking why I would want a Juan Uribe autograph. Yes, Uribe is garbage, one of the worst players ever to put on a Dodger uniform. Like I've said before, my collection is about Dodger autos, so if they've ever worn the uni, I want their sig. I tried many times to get Uribe's auto this year with no success, and now I don't have to worry about it anymore.

Not only does Uribe suck at baseball, his signature sucks too

Trumbo

I want to thank Matt again for the trade. I love my newest Matt Kemp auto! To see Matt's end of the trade, click here.

Facebook Trading: New Kemp And Ethier Autos

In my pursuit to pick up as many Matt Kemp autographs as possible, I just completed yet another trade for one via Facebook. This time it was with FB friend Brian. After looking through what seemed like an endless photo album of sports card goodness, I found a few of his Dodger cards I liked. We went back and forth a few times and in the end we made a nice multi-card deal. I ended up with a 2010 Topps Tribute Kemp auto/dual jersey and a 2008 Allen & Ginter Andre Ethier autograph. 

I think both cards are gorgeous and I'm happy to add them to the collection. I want to thank Brian for the trade. I can't wait for our next deal! If you're interested in making a trade, you can check out my trade bait page here.

A Trade With The Snorting Bull Means New Kemps For Me!

I've made numerous trades over the last few years , but no one  has been as good of trade partner as Eric from The Snorting Bull. We've made four other trades in the past and just completed our fifth. Each one has involved at least one Matt Kemp card and this trade is no exception. He sent over two new Bisons for the collection this time.

The first one is this beautiful 2009 Upper Deck Signature Stars Trios card numbered to 30 which features one former Dodger, James McDonald and two current Dodgers, Chad Billingsley and of course Kemp. When we first started talking trade, the conversation began over a few 2012 Triple Threads cards. This triple signature piece was something that he remembered late in the negotiations, but I'm glad it was added as it's one of my favorites already.

Speaking of Triple Threads, we were able to involve one of the many Matt Kemp Triple Threads jersey cards Eric had in his possession. I had a few to pick from and I went with this statline card numbered to 27. It's a blue jersey piece that reads .324 39 126 IN 2011. Kemp's 2011 season was one for the ages and one I won't forget. In my opinion, Matty should have won MVP over Ryan Braun that year, but that's a discussion for another day. 

It was nice making another trade with Eric. I'm sure we've got another coming real soon. Don't forget to check out Eric's blog The Snorting Bull.

Making Trades On Facebook

I've made a few trades on Facebook over the last month. Two of those trades were with FB friend Ryan. He offered up a boatload of Dodger cards that interested me, so we got a couple of deals done. Here's everything I picked up in the two trades:

2012 Topps Golden Moments Andre Ethier auto

2008 UD SPx Andre Ethier jersey /99

2012 Topps Golden Moments Chad Billingsley auto

2001 Upper Deck SP Gary Sheffield jersey

2010 Bowman Platinum Josh Lindblom auto

2011 GQ Matt Kemp jersey

2010 UD Matt Kemp jersey

2002 Donruss Mike Piazza jersey /50

2011 Bowman Sterling Nathan Eovaldi auto

2011 Bowman Sterling Zach Lee auto

2005 Upper Deck  Pedro Guerrero auto

Facebook has become a great place to meet great traders from all across the country. Not only have I picked up cards, but autographs and bobbleheads as well. Thanks again for the trade Ryan! I hope we can do this again.

Jaime Jarrin Doesn't Get A Bobblehead, But He Does Get A T-Shirt. Oh, And Dodgerbobble Got Some Autographs!

Normally I don't write about any other Dodger Stadium promotional nights besides bobblehead nights, but last Monday I attended Jaime Jarrin T-shirt night, and I wanted to talk about it a bit. The first 30,000 fans in attendance received shirts with Jarrin's famous catch phrase "Se Va, Se Va, Se Va" on the front which means going, going, going and "despidala con un beso!" on the back, which means kiss it goodbye. I'm talking about this promotion because I think the Dodgers screwed up by not giving Jarrin a bobblehead this year. I know this has been talked about and written about numerous times, but I thought I'd mention it again. With ten bobbleheads being given away at Dodger Stadium to commemorate the 50th anniversary, the Spanish voice of the Dodgers didn't get one, which I consider a slap in the face after 54 years of service. Maybe they wanted to make him one and he didn't want it, who knows, but if Vin Scully finally got one, why not Jaime?

Jarrin was honored before the game with a special video from the Dodgers and he also threw out the ceremonial first pitch. But before the ceremony on the field, Jaime met with the fans and signed autographs. I've been lucky enough to meet him a few times, but never got the autographs I really wanted, on the sweet spot of a baseball. That night I finally got it, plus a couple others. 

Jaime Jarrin 

This is a Fernando Valenzuela card I got signed along with Jarrin.
You can see Jaime's face peeking through there, so I figured I'd have both men sign it.

Dodger Stadium organist Nancy Bea Hefley with her trademark musical note.
She's another Dodger Stadium icon who shoulda got a bobblehead.

Dodger legend Maury Wills

Dodger rookie Shawn Tolleson

Don Mattingly

I hope next year the Dodgers get their act together and give Jaime Jarrin that bobblehead he deserves. I think the T-shirt is really cool, but a Hall of Famer deserves better.

Trading With The Snorting Bull

I just completed my fourth trade with Eric from the Snorting Bull. Eric seems to be a Matt Kemp magnet. Every time he gets a new one, he dangles it out there for me to drool over. This newest Kemp is of the Topps Marquee variety, a quad jersey numbered to 199. One piece of jersey has a beautiful blue stripe in it  making it more appealing to me. I had to have it.

The other card Eric offered was a Dee Gordon  jersey numbered to 199. Believe it or not, I don't have one single Dee Gordon game-used piece. This one is a jumbo red piece of jersey from the 2010 All-Star Futures game. 


Now, I love the two jersey cards up there, but as an autograph collector, I'm always looking for new Dodger autos to add to the collection. Eric had a few I needed, so we got those into the deal as well.

Thanks for the trade Eric! Click here to see what I sent to the Snorting Bull.

Another Bison From The Snorting Bull

I've got some catching up to do on recent trades. Since Matt Kemp just won NL Player of the Month, I'll post my post my latest Bison pickup.

One of my favorite new trading partners is Eric from the Snorting Bull. We just completed our third trade, once again a Matt Kemp card was involved. Eric collects Cardinals and Rays, so I sent him a 2012 Topps Bob Gibson patch, a 2010 Topps T206 Sean Rodriguez auto, a 2011 Topps Matt Joyce All Star jersey, a 2011 Allen & Ginter Carlos Pena jersey and a 2011 Topps Tier One Matt Holiday. In return Eric sent over this awesome 2010 Allen & Ginter Matt Kemp auto. Like every other Dodger collector, I'm trying to get my hands on as many Matt Kemp cards as possible. 

Oh, Eric threw another card into the deal. Once again, he helped me add a new Dodger auto to my collection. Last time it was Eric Karros, this time it's one of my favorite lunatics of all time, Milton Bradley. This  is a 2005 Donruss Significant Signatures /100.

Happy Opening Day!

I want to wish everyone a happy Opening Day. I'm heading out to San Diego this afternoon to see the Dodgers take on the Padres.   Clayton Kershaw is the Dodgers starting pitcher and I can't wait to see him go. I'm also looking forward to watching Matt Kemp pick up where he left off  from last year. Game time is 4:00 pm. 


So, who's heading out to Petco today? Anyone going to the viewing party at Dodger Stadium? For those watching on TV or listening on the radio:

• Radio: LAD: 570 Fox Sports L.A. , KTNQ 1020 
• TV: LAD: PRIME, MLBN 

And in Case anyone missed it, the Dodgers announced their 25 man roster yesterday. From Dodgers.com:

Pitchers (12):Chad Billingsley, Chris Capuano(L),Todd Coffey, Scott Elbert (L), Javy Guerra Matt Guerrier Aaron Harang Kenley Jansen Clayton Kershaw (L), Josh Lindblom  Mike MacDougal Jamey Wright

Catchers (2):A.J. Ellis, Matt Treanor

Infielders (6):Mark Ellis, Dee Gordon (L), Adam Kennedy (L), James Loney (L), Justin Sellers, Juan Uribe

Outfielders (5):Andre Ethier (L), Tony Gwynn, Jr. (L), Jerry Hairston, Jr., Matt Kemp, Juan Rivera

The club also placed pitcher Ted Lilly and infielder Ivan De Jesus on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 26, and moved pitcher Ronald Belisario to the restricted list. General Manager Ned Colletti made the announcement.

Go Dodgers!