2011 A&G ABP – Trade Me These Cards

I never really paid much attention to the Allen & Ginter checklist for this year.  I knew what mini sets were coming down the line, and I saw a couple things about the non-sport inclusions in the set, but that’s about it.

I didn’t follow it as closely as I normally would have, because we’re not participating as contestants in this year’s Gint-A-Cuffs.  As such, I wasn’t planning on buying a whole lot, if any, for myself.

Hey, I just sell the stuff, right?

Getting back on track now, I was recently made aware of a couple cards (aside from any Ryan Dempster and Carlos Marmol base and minis you may have) that I desperately want.

image yanked from ebay - so imprison me already!

First up is the Alcatraz card.  Those that know me well know my connection to San Francisco.  We have the 2008 A&G Golden Gate Bridge hanging on the fridge and I’d love to be able to place this one right next to it.  Oh, and if you have the opportunity to go to Alcatraz, you should.  I was really skeptical, expecting it to be a touristy cheeze-fest (with a “z”), but I really enjoyed myself on that island.  The groups are small and manageable and you don’t have to stay with the group at all.  You’re free to wander and absorb at your own pace and then return pretty much when you’re ready to come back.  Plus the history and stories to be learned are incredible.

Next, I’m asking for two copies of this next one.

also ripped from ebay - send me to Oz already! Just not the Oz prison. I don't need to deal with Adebisi's crazy self.

I know this may seem odd, but if you’ve ever owned a pet, I’m sure you understand.  Most recently, our family had owned two dogs that we adopted at the same time.  I was a freshman in High School at the time.  One was a Lhasa-poo (and if they ever make a card featuring that breed, by all means do I want two copies of that).  She died several years back due to a brain tumor that was causing seizures.  That left her brother, a Cairn Terrier, like the one seen above playing Toto in “The Wizard of Oz,” all alone.

My favorite picture of him

As you can see from the snaggletooth and the lost eye (he ran into the bushes after a critter and poked himself on something.  My parents rushed him to the next state for the best emergency eye help available that day, but to no avail), he was not meant to be a show dog or an actor dog.  He developed diabetes and cushing’s disease, but was able to carry on for a while despite all the problems and growing blindness in his one good eye.  Until one day my mom found him having a heart attack, and that was it.  I was away on vacation in Boston when it happened and my parents didn’t call and let me know until after I got back.  Even though I was no longer living in the same house, I can’t tell you how guilty I felt for being so far away.  I’m sure we’ve all had those moments where you think to yourself, how could I have been off having fun when this was happening somewhere else?

That was roughly two years ago now.  I have the above picture framed in my apartment.  I don’t think I’ll frame the mini, but I do want one to honor his first baseball card.

The second copy, if I’m lucky enough to land two, will be for my parents as a Christmas gift.  I think they’d get a kick out of it and maybe it’ll end up on their fridge.

I currently don’t have any 2011 A&G to offer in return, but I might pick up a blaster just to open some.  Anyway, any help would be appreciated.