Halos From a Friar

With only a couple of days to go until I head off for a family vacation, I’ve got to kick the lazy habit for at least a few days and get some writing done. What better to inspire me than the kindness of other bloggers. Over the last few days I have been the very fortunate recipient of some great cards.

Today’s cards come from Rod of Padrographs. This is the second package that Rod has sent me and as always the card choices are well thought out. Rod is extremely generous and his packages are always filled with fun. This one included a postcard that scared the crap out of my daughter and a book survey/questionnaire/autograph holder that I completely misread and thus flubbed. My students would be thrilled. So here’s a small sampling of what the man sent along.

First up from the faithful Friar fan, a few 2009 Upper Deck cards. I chose these two to show off, because they both deserve a little love.

Mike Napoli


Naps is having a great offensive season, splitting time as the DH and catcher. You gotta love Napoli because he rarely has his jersey buttoned above the first three buttons and just looks like an 80s power hitter. Love his offense, wish some of it would rub off on Jeff Mathis, he of the better defense, but toothpick bat.

Kendry Morales


Much of the Haloverse was up in arms when Mark Teixeira bolted for the cash. I had a feeling from day one that he would be headed to the highest bidder, so even last August I was thinking about our future replacements. I’m a big Kendry Morales fan. Kendry hasn’t hit for a great average this year, although he’s hovering around .280. What’s been nice is that his power is definitely coming around and he’s on pace to hit somewhere in the high 20s. Not bad for a guy getting his first real run in the majors. And while few if any first baggers pick it like Tex, he’s been pretty steady in the field.

Next up, a current Halo, making his way back from injury.
Vladdy.


Vlad’s struggles the last couple of years can be frustrating, but when he’s on, there’s very few players that are easier to root for. When Vlad finally busted out of a slump last week, hitting his second home run of the season, he entered the dugout to no fanfare. Instead, every player and coach was sitting quietly on the bench. Vlad proceeded to head right down the aisle towards the clubhouse, cracking all of his teammates up as they chased after him. He returned to smiles, backslaps and camaraderie. Gotta love baseball.

From the current right field sensation, to the old right field sensation.
Timmy Salmon.


I never get tired of receiving Salmon cards in trades, etc. Salmon became the biggest of Angel stars during a time when I had quit collecting, so I’m seriously deficient in the cardboard of Mr. Salmon. For Angel fans, Salmon could do no wrong and it’s just enjoyable to have a player in your team’s history who never played for anyone else and never brought any kind of shame or shadiness to the team.

Going back a little further, just an 18-time all-star, no biggie.
Rod Carew.


1. This photo is just perfect for the card.
2. All of Rod’s career stats are on the back. Love it.

Now, it’s not a package from Rod if it doesn’t include some Padres, but they do serve a purpose.

Mike Scioscia


When looking at Scioscia’s career, it’s easy to remember his days as a gritty catcher with the Dodgers, or as the World Series winning manager of the Angels, but it’s about time Mike gets some love for his time with the Pads. Well, maybe not. The photo on this card is one of the few featuring Mike during his Padre days, as he tore his rotator cuff in spring training and never played with the Pads.

And of course, the highlight of any Rod package for me are the Bips!

Shiny Bip.


What’s shinier than this card? Only the infamous Bip smile. You gotta love this guy.

Tiny Bip.


On the right, regular sized Bip. On the left, tiny 1991 Cracker Jack Bip. This card is ridiculously small and is without a doubt in my top 5 favorite Bip cards of all-time.

Autographed Bip.


Just freaking sweet. Any cardboard featuring Bip is awesome, but a piece signed and touched by the man himself…LOVE IT!

Thanks a ton Rod. This package came out of nowhere and I’m thrilled to add all the cards to my collection. While I’m somewhat hard on the Pads, I do appreciate their shutting down the Rangers twice this weekend and helping my Halos get back into first. I guess the Pads do have a few redeeming aspects.

Go Halos!

Cards from Padrographs

Rod from Padrographs recently sent over a package of cards for no reason other than he's one generous fella. Rod holds a special place in the heart of all of us over here at this humble little blog (all of us being me) and not just because he sent along free cards. Rod was the first official follower of the blog and for a guy who thought no one would ever read a word of this, that was a pretty cool moment.

So what exactly did the man behind the Padrographs send out? A bevy of excellence.


Right off the top were a number of Rod Carew cards from his Halo days. I especially like the 9 of clubs from the All-Century Team playing cards. Also on the idols card is a small inset photo of Don Mattingly doing his best impersonation of Rod slapping one down the line.


Reggie also made a couple of appearances, first in the form of this Baseball Heroes checklist...love these cards.

And also in holographic form, thanks to the fine folks at Sportflics. How can you not love any card that shows Reggie doing his kneel down swing.


Winnie made an appearance in art form as well, here celebrating his 400th home run against the Twins.

While this Upper Deck card had a nice action shot on the front, it's the interview taking place on the back with Darryl Strawberry that is the real highlight. Thanks Rod, for including one of my favorite types of cards, cool Upper Deck backside photos.


Rod also included some more modern fare, including this 2008 Elite Extra card of Rolando Gomez, 2008 draft pick of the Halos. I read that he's been compared to Rafael Furcal, so that's a plus.


1. I love the Aybar card with the space age shades.
2. I love gold bordered cards, even though they never look that nice color scheme wise.
3. This now gives me the regular, the blackout, the throwback, and the gold. Now I just need the black bordered (possible) and the platinum (no chance in hell).


My first Documentary card. The highlight of this card though is not the front, but instead the text on the back. "In his last nine at-bats of the series, Garret Anderson hit three HRs, a triple, and two singles and drove in eight runs. His big fly in this game came off of Yashuhiko Yabuta." Thanks for the memories GA.

Of course, what's a package from Padrographs without autographs, his specialty.

An auto of my main man, the lucky 13 Lance Parrish. A 1992 Topps Winner to boot.


An honorable mention on my Fave 4 White Sox list, Newson was just a young stud for the Las Vegas Stars, a Padres affiliate at the time, on this card.

Last, but not least, a healthy stack of my man, Cardboard Jesus himself, Bip Roberts.

The coolest card here for me has to be the 1987 Topps Tiffany. As a kid I never owned any Tiffany cards, so I still get a little thrill whenever I come across one today.

Thanks again Rod for your generosity and thoughtfulness. All of us here at I Heart Halos, again just me, will be working around the clock to find some nice Pads to send your way.

Go Halos!
Go Padrographs!