Aiva Arquette in 200 Words

     I first read about Arquette in a baseball magazine and thought he would be a cool topic for a 200-word post. Aiva John Uakea Arquette was born on October 17th, 2003 in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he played both baseball and basketball, and was named the 2022 Hawaii Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year. It turns out he found his calling in baseball however, a sport in which his 6-foot 5-inch frame stands out. Arquette was drafted by the Diamondbacks in the 18th round of the 2022 June Amateur Draft, but opted to play in college instead. He played ball at a few colleges, the most notable of which being with the Oregon State Beavers earlier this year, where in 65 games, Arquette batted .354 with 90 hits, 19 home runs, 66 RBI and 73 runs. Arquette is also an impressive fielder who sports elite range at the shortstop position and a cannon of an arm. He was drafted 7th overall in the 2025 draft by the Miami Marlins, and has played 27 games at High-A for the team thus far. His career is still very young, but Aiva Arquette is definitely a guy to be watching in the near future.

The Latest Grabs

     I went to the LCS a couple weeks ago for the first time in months. It was nice to be able to get down there again. 

    The format of the store is much different than the last time I went. I've mentioned in an earlier post that they've expanded to two buildings now, one of which houses sport cards and the other game cards such as Pokemon and the like. 

    Since the last time I've been, they've added some fun cards like Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Legos are being sold there too, which is cool (but expensive). They also added a dozen or so boxes full of just one player (Mike Trout, Dirk Nowitzki, Patrick Mahomes, and the like). More on that a little bit later though....

    Though the store has changed a little bit, I don't mind it at all and felt right at home going through quarter, dollar, and autograph boxes, and pulling out a number of cool cards.

    Why not start with the first card I pulled? To be honest, I had no idea who Houston Jimenez is, but there are two reasons I ended up grabbing this card. The first is that I found his first name interesting and also strongly Texan. The second reason is that we share last names. The day of my writing this paragraph (October 30th) is Houston's 68th birthday, so happy birthday to him!

    Perhaps it's from a lack of my looking, but I'd never seen the little stamp certifying the authenticity of an on-card autograph before. 

    I had never heard of Anthony Seigler before, but he had a nice autograph and the cards were cheap, so I picked these two up. I was also not familiar with Josh Breaux. 

    Seigler is a 26-year old catcher and infielder. He actually broke the majors this year with the Brewers and hit .194 in 62 at-bats. 

    Josh Breaux is 28 years of age and with the Phillies farm system. So it turns out none of them became franchise futures with the Yankees.

    This is the last autographed card I picked up, and my favorite card of the bunch, which is why it's unfortunate that the camera doesn't do it justice. Y'all probably know my affinity for shiny cards, and this certainly doesn't disappoint. There's a lot going on with the colors in the background of the card, but I'm cool with it. Harris is such a talented player -- I hope he can make an impact for the Rangers in 2026.

    The design of this card is really interesting....it looks as though Jared Jones is about to get sucked into a black hole. The top left corner is dinged just a little bit, but it's still a great-looking card. I'm a big fan of Jared Jones, and thought he and Skenes would make a dominating duo. I was so sad when that didn't happen this season. But, they're both young, so there's plenty of time for them both to assert their dominance in the league.

    Sometimes I love the way lighting affects my pictures. I also didn't notice until uploading this card onto the blog that the words 'Hometown Heroes' continue through Strider's body. He's another young pitcher who had to battle injuries this year, but I have a feeling he'll be just fine in 2026. I also bet that the Braves are headed back to the playoffs.

    I needed a little bit of help from TCDB to identify this card. The kind folks down there helped me to find out it's from 1947-1966 Exhibits. After asking on the TCDB which year the photo is from, users Musclebeech and BuccaneersDen hypothesize it would likely have been from 1948. If this is indeed the case, it would be one of my oldest cards. I made the picture larger to emphasize the dimensions of this card. At 3 3/8 inches by 5 3/8, it's a behemoth compared with the average 2.5 by 3.5 inch cards.

    For anybody (like myself) who isn't familiar with Eddie Waitkus, he was a left-handed first baseman who played with the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, and Baltimore Orioles from 1941-1955. In that time he collected 1,214 hits, 24 home runs and 528 runs. He was a two-time all-star, in 1948 and 1949. He was shot in the lung by a stalker in 1949 and almost killed. Thankfully he survived and ended up playing six seasons afterward. Wild. 

    I don't typically collect graded cards, but this one was priced so well that I couldn't resist. This is one of two graded cards I own. Mike Trout has a history of popularity among my family, which is definitely what induced me to purchase this card. We were pleased to see him play 130 games for the first time since his 2019 MVP season, even if it wasn't an amazing season.

    That'll wrap up my additions from the most recent LCS visit. I can't wait for 2025-2026 Upper Deck hockey to hit the store so I can get a few packs and hopefully pull a Macklin Celebrini card (he's my guy when it comes to hockey). Well, that's for a future post. For now, I shall leave you with this question: is it annoying when they stamp those price stickers onto a top loader or penny sleeve so that it leaves that streaky and sticky residue on the card protection? Just wondering.

    Until next time, have a wonderful rest of the weekend, and happy collecting!

A Surprise PWE From Johnny's Trading Spot

     When it comes to generosity in the blogging world, I have found that it is quite difficult to compare with Johnny of Johnny's Trading Spot. 

    When I went to get the mail two weeks ago, I was more than surprised to see two envelopes from him amongst the rest of the usual potpourri. 

    I wasted little time in opening them up, and there were lots of goodies for me to share.

    We start out with a handful of 2025 Topps chrome Rangers. The photographers came up with some good action shots for these cards. It's always great to add more deGrom, Seager and Semien to the collection.

    More shiny! I wasn't very familiar with Anthony Gutierrez. However, a quick look at Baseball Reference reveals that the 20-year old speedster is currently in High-A with the Rangers. This season he slashed .258/.333/.320 with 48 steals in 89 games for the Hub City Spartanburgers (what a name!).

    We have two A&G cards next, the first being 2021 Allen & Ginter X (had to look that up) Sam Huff, and the second being a 2024 A&G chrome card of Owen White. I always enjoy a good Allen & Ginter card. White is with the White Sox right now, and Huff with the Giants.

    Three more Semiens added in. I've said this once before, but I'm a fan of Bowman's design this year. I'm also a big fan of this particular card. The amount of Marcus Semien cards in my collection that came from John is kinda insane. 

    I had forgotten Leody is with the Mariners now. 

    I like this card a lot. After all, what can be more fun than 'Flashback Fridays?' Young is currently in the Rangers organization as a special assistant to the general manager. Fun Fact: he has a cousin who is a former boxing champion. Who knew?

    Larry Parrish played with the Rangers from 1982-1988. His drop-off from 1987 to 1988 is really sad. He went from Star Sticker (32 HR, 100 RBI in '87) to .190 in 68 games with Texas before he was released in 1988. His career as a whole was a solid one though -- .263 batting average and 256 home runs in 15 seasons.

    As much as I love my current Rangers, this card has got to be the main highlight of an amazing couple of PWEs. I like the dual-colored stripes coming up the left side of the card. But the autograph is what catches my eye, of course. And not the facsimile one.

    Mickey Rivers played an impressive 15-year career which ended with five and a half seasons (though they weren't complete years) with the Rangers. All in all, Rivers batted .295 with 1,660 hits and 60 home runs. He also stole 267 bases.

    We're not through yet. There was one other item included in the PWEs.

    The 1991 Rangers finished the season third in the AL West with a record of 85-77, 10 games behind the World Series winning Twins. The playoffs were so much simpler then. These days it's hard to think only four total teams made the playoffs.

    Along with holding the team's schedule (of course), the pocket schedule contained a list of promotions they did in 1991, and order slip for the tickets you would purchase, and a diagram showing ticket prices.

    Would you believe tickets behind home plate were only $13?!?! Or that a group of 25 tickets were just a dollar each? If you went to a ballgame in 1991, maybe you do. I'm a little too young to know prices that good 😂

    That does it for the surprise from Johhny's Trading Spot. Thank you so much for your remarkable generosity and for the amazing new additions to my collection. I truly appreciate it.

    Y'all have an amazing weekend, and happy collecting!

Perfect for Game 3

    I made this picture of Nico Hoerner using the Comic Book filter on my phone, and.....I really like it. 

    This comes from one of my all-time favorite baseball player photos, and I thought the comic book setting made it look really cool. I've made a lot of pictures using that filter for guys like Tarik Skubal, and will be happy to show some of them off as the playoffs progress, if anybody finds them remotely interesting. 

    

    It's perfect for Game 3 tonight at 5:00 my time. Nico's been a beast thus far in the series, batting .429 through the first two games.

    I didn't realize how much I'm rooting for the Cubs to win it all until I started watching the games (they were the only free ones on ABC). My friend who'll be coming over shortly is a huge Cubs fan, so if they lose tonight we're gonna be sad.

    I said there would be cards for my next post....but I didn't see myself making this one until about ten minutes before it was published. My bad.

    Go cubs go, and good luck to your playoff teams!

The Playoffs Are Upon Us!

        Today the first games of the postseason start. Thus, I will carry on with my yearly tradition of postseason predictions. 

    It was an interesting final day of the regular season this year, with two pairs of AL teams fighting for the division and a pair of NL teams fighting for the last playoff spot in their division. All in all, the bracket ends up looking like this:

     Adding the extra playoff teams makes the postseason longer and lets teams have a shot at making the world series while just barely over .500, but since I can't change that, I don't really care that much.

    There are a few wildcard series that look exciting (I'm especially eyeing the Yankees and Red Sox).

    

    Without further ado, I'll jump right into my predictions. I don't want this post to take five years to read.

WILDCARD SERIES

3. Guardians vs. 6. Tigers

    A couple months into the season I genuinely felt that the Tigers would be the American League team to go to the world series. However, towards the end of the year the club really cooled down, dropping pretty much every Tarik Skubal gem for the last month of the season.

    As of two or three weeks ago I didn't think the Guardians had a shot to make the postseason, but they performed exactly the opposite of the Tigers and went off to ultimately win the division. They may be hot, but I still question their offensive output.

    Perhaps I may be a little bit biased, but I think the Tigers are going to come out on top in this series 

2-1. I think that might be a bad prediction, but the Tigers are more fun in my opinion.

4. Yankees vs. 5. Red Sox

    The Yankees have the offense to go to the World Series. I don't think many would deny that. They have five players with 25+ home runs in the regular season, including that Aaron Judge fellow everybody's talking about. Their pitching staff could use a little bit of work, but the offense could very well make up for that.
    I didn't realize that the Red Sox were headed into the postseason until Sunday, but it's a pleasant revelation. They have a good lineup, one of the best pitchers heading their rotation (taking nothing away from Max Fried), and a closer who gave us a heart attack when pitching for the Rangers in the playoffs, but had a 1.17 ERA in the regular season.

    I was thinking about giving the Yankees the sweep here, but I really think Garrett Crochet is going to win his start. Thus, I give the Yanks the series in three games.

    Now moving on to the National League:

3. Dodgers vs. 6. Reds

    The Dodgers won the World Series last season, and spent more money than most people will ever have on stacking their team even more for the 2025 season. But somehow they didn't look quite so good, due to guys like Roki Sasaki not performing up to expectation, and off years from Mookie Betts and Tommy Edman. Of course they still have a good shot to win it all, but I'm less confident than I was last season. 

    The Reds are a fun team to watch. They have a few exciting superstars in Elly De La Cruz and Hunter Greene, and pitchers Andrew Abbott and Emilio Pagan have really stepped up when the team needed them to. However, I'm not really sure they'll be able to handle the mighty Dodgers.

    I think Los Angeles is probably going to sweep this one.

4. Cubs vs. 5. Padres

    Of all the NL postseason teams, these are the two I'd be rooting for, so it's a shame that one needs to be eliminated in the first round. 

    I really like the team the Cubs have put together this year. They're extremely strong defensively, and have good bats across their lineup. I think the team's weakest component is their streaky starting staff. With the exception of soon-to-be Rookie of the Year Cade Horton, the starters have been a bit inconsistent. Sometimes they're on, and sometimes....not so much.

    The Padres only hit 152 home runs as a team this season, which seems a little bit uncharacteristic for them. They had some offensive struggles, but star Jackson Merrill has been heating up the last month or so of the season, and could be a force in the postseason. Their pitching staff is quite good too, with a 3.64 season ERA,

    This should be a fun series, but I have the Cubs squeaking out a three game series win.

    I'll move on briefly to the Division and Championship series.

DIVISION SERIES

1. Blue Jays vs. 4 Yankees

    The Blue Jays really surprised me this year, with a good record, mostly supplied by their offense. Kevin Gausman had a great season, but the team as a whole pitched to a 4.19 ERA. I'm not sure that pitching staff will be able to contain the Yankees.

    I have the Yankees winning this one in 4 games.

2. Mariners vs. 6. Tigers
    The Mariners are the hottest team in baseball right now, with an uncharacteristic and surprising good offense to complement a solid pitching staff. MVP contender Cal Raleigh heads an offense which hit 238 home runs, and he will be very fun to watch in the playoffs.

    I believe that the Mariners will take this series in 5 games.

1. Brewers vs, 4. Cubs
    The Brewers had another good season, winning 97 games, good for best in the MLB. They have a great pitching staff and a speedy lineup capable of both limiting runs and scoring them. 

    Even though the Brewers have quite a good team this year, I'm going a little bit risky with my predictions and guessing the Cubs taking this one in 5 games.

2. Phillies vs. 3. Dodgers

    The Phillies were one game behind the Brewers, with 96 wins on the season. They have an impressive pitching staff and good offense all throughout the lineup. Obviously, not having Zack Wheeler available hurts, but a rotation featuring Christopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, Ranger Suarez, and Aaron Nola (though he had an off-season) is still mighty impressive.

    I think the Phils are going to take the series in 5 games and eliminate the Dodgers.

CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

2. Mariners vs. 4. Yankees

    I think the Mariners are going to continue their hot streak into the playoffs, and I believe they're going to make their first World Series appearance in franchise history, taking the Yankees in the full 7 games.

2. Phillies vs. 4. Cubs
    I love the Cubs and am rooting for them to win the World Series, but I don't think they'll be able to take down the Phillies. Philadelphia has a combination of great pitching and batting, and will defeat the Cubs in 6 games.

WORLD SERIES

    Thus, I predict a Phillies vs. Mariners World Series. I think that the Phillies will end up defeating the Mariners in 6 games and win their third championship.

    

    

    What predictions do y'all hold for the postseason this year, and who are you rooting to win it all? Hopefully we have an exciting month of baseball to come.

    This post was kinda long and had no baseball cards, which is kinda like, the point of the blog, Don't worry, I have some cards I traded for with some siblings (including some PC needs) that will be featured on my next post. Until then, good luck to your teams, have a great week, and happy collecting!

Check out my ABS

     Alright, alright, sorry for the corny post title. 

    I just found out yesterday that MLB is planning to incorporate the ABS (Automated Ball Strike challenge system) full-time in 2026.  

    For anybody who isn't exactly sure what this system is, it allows a batter, pitcher, or catcher to challenge a ball or strike call, and then using certain technology, the pitch will be determined either ball or strike, and the call changed if a change is deemed necessary (this might have come in handy when I played rec ball).

    Some think that this is a bad innovation, claiming that MLB needs less change to the rules, and doesn't need robots making calls for umpires. I've seen comments saying that human error is a part of the game and should not be changed.

    Others argue that this makes the game more accurate and fair for every team. They have gone on to say that human error should not be a part of the game since there is a very set strike zone. I have seen a number of comments suggesting that MLB should go with fully automated strike zones and take out the home plate umpire altogether.

    Yankees manager Aaron Boone does not like the new system, claiming that Yankee backstops are the best at framing in the game. While this is certainly a bold statement, he does seem to have a point that this system will render the ever-delicate art of framing useless. 

    From the same article cited above, the Orioles call this installment a 'happy marriage between tradition and modern times.' Although I am unsure where the tradition comes into play. 

    Phillies manager Rob Thompson also likes the ABS system, and believes that most (though not all) of the players will also enjoy it.

    There are some mixed opinions on the system, but it seems that the major league consensus is in favor of the new rule's implementation. However, one can only wonder how many new rules will be added into the game and the tension such new rules will cause between the players and the owners.

    What do y'all think about this rule? I'd love to hear what your opinions on this subject are, and if they are as mixed as those of the major leaguers.  

 Based on the general enjoyment of the ABS system being incorporated into the game, there shouldn't be a lockout over this particular rule. However, I have heard that tensions are already building due to talks of salary caps. Let's just not see any more fighting gentleman, please.

Checking In

     I kinda lost track of time. It's been a little bit longer than intended since the last time I posted. And unfortunately, I've done almost nothing in terms of collecting during that time. Life has gotten really busy really fast (and will be getting even more so in the coming weeks), and I've been doing things other than collecting with my free time. 

    I was planning on waiting until the end of the regular season to do a big postseason blog post, but that's a little bit too long away for my liking, so I'll just fill y'all in with what I've been up to the last few months, and sprinkle some not very special cards into the mix.

    I've become a bit of an injury magnet the last three and a half months as compared to the rest of my life. My streak of never having broken a bone came to an end at the end of May when I was struck by an errant baseball and broke my nose. The healing process took longer than expected, but I am happy to report that I'm back to normal...

...until yesterday, when I damaged my eardrum. I didn't fully rupture it, which is obviously a good thing, but the damage I caused it will probably take about a week to heal. For right now I need to be a little bit careful with both loud noises and lifting weights....so I can't blast my hype playlist while getting those gains on the weight set for a week or so.

    I don't want to complain. After all, I got out mighty lucky with both of those injuries and am thankful they weren't worse.

    I have a new guitar I got a few months ago, and have been very slowly teaching myself how to play. I've wanted to play guitar for a long time now, and I'm glad I've finally started doing so.

    

    I am also in the process of looking for a job. I have a pretty good lead on a job opportunity, and will provide more information on the subject if I am to get it.

    Now then, what have I done with baseball cards? Almost nothing since my last post, and very little since May. 

    I got a pack of 2025 Bowman cards when they were first released. I've neglected to comment upon their new design, and will do so presently.

    I know Bowman isn't always very popular among collectors, but I actually really the design they came up with for this year. Although I find it interesting that the players' legs go through the borders.

    On a side note, I'm kinda disappointed that Andrew Painter hasn't performed well in the minors and isn't getting the call up this year as was expected. Then again, the leap from Single-A to Triple-A is a big one. He's got the stuff, he just needs a little more time.  

    I also got a pack from 1994 that peaked my interest:

1994 Fleer Extra Bases Rookie Standout #4

    These card are definitely very interesting. The dimensions are quite different than that of your typical baseball cards. 

    Let's take the 2025 Bowman Shohei Ohtani card. At 6-foot 3-inches, Shohei is a pretty tall dude, noticeable taller than the 5-foot 11-inch Tim Davis:

    Not so, according to the cards. Davis towers over Ohtani, who looks like a shrimp compared to this card. It's the same width of it's Bowman peer, but a little bit over an inch taller. 

    I kinda like the 1994 Fleer Extra Bases set for it's uniqueness. I'm not going to pursue the 400-card set, but I might look into grabbing all 20 of the Rookie Standout cards, assuming it won't be too expensive or difficult to find. 

    Well, that sums up a lot of what I've been doing rather than posting, and also the most interesting additions to the collection in the last few months. Hopefully before long I'll take a trip to the LCS -- I haven't been there in a little while. 

    I'll definitely post before the start of the postseason. I love making those predictions. Until next time, have a great rest of the week, and happy collecting!