Trading With An Author

A couple weeks ago I posted an image of a few piles of 1970’s Hostess cards I received as part of a collection I purchased from Craigslist.

Jeff Katz, on twitter as @splitseason1981, reached out with a want list. I had two of the cards he needed in decent condition and he offered up a couple Wrigley Field baseball card giveaways that I did not have.

More on Jeff. His Twitter handle is the name of his book, “Split Season: 1981,” one that I have seen while perusing the sports section at Barnes & Noble. I won’t be passing it over next time!

The book has an average 4.3 (out of 5) stars review on Amazon, and it seems like something right up my alley. I also need to get back in the habit of reading. I had been reading a new book every three to four weeks, but have not cracked open a book in several months.

It’s funny. I was the guy in high school that had a library of those yellow Cliff’s Notes on every topic on the Annawan High School reading list. Just after high school, I became super focused on baseball. I subscribed to Baseball America and would listen to the MLB Draft online. That was exciting as watching paint dry, but I was passionate about baseball. It turned to books and for someone that probably never read a book cover to cover I was flipping pages like no tomorrow on titles like, “Ball Four,” “Bronx Zoo,” “The Million To One Team,” and countless others.

Now I will have to check off “Split Season: 1981.” By the way, here are the cards Jeff sent me. While this is technically a Dodgers card, it fits the collection because it’s still in the Wrigley Field giveaway wrapper. A reprint of the 1952 Topps #1 Andy Pafko that is numbered to 30,000 copies and was given away at the August 21, 2001 game.

By the way, I had to look. The Cubs lost to the Brewers, 3-1, on August 21, 2001. Juan Cruz was the losing pitcher and Corey Patterson scored the Cubs only run.

The second card is Dave Kingman...in a Cubs uniform. It’s a reprint of his 1979 Topps card and this one is numbered to 20,000 copies. It was given away on July 25, 2002.

The Cubs just didn’t show up for baseball card day. Philadelphia beat the Cubs, 6-2, on July 25, 2002. Taking the loss on the mound was Kyle Farnsworth. Fred McGriff hit a home run in the first inning. It was his 22nd home run of the season.

Thanks for the trade, Jeff. I look forward to diving into your book.

One Million Cubs Project Stats

Monday's (7/1/2019) Cards: 2

Monday's (7/1/2019) Packages: 1

January's Cubs Count: 9,343

February's Cubs Count: 8,980

March's Cubs Count: 15,704

April's Cubs Count: 11,651

May's Cubs Count: 7,273

June's Cubs Count: 7,690

July's Cubs Count: 2

Total Trades/Donations: 161

Trade States of Origin: Arizona (2) Alabama (2)

Arkansas California (11)

Colorado (2) Connecticut (9)

Florida (9)

Georgia (3)

Idaho (2) Illinois (14) Indiana (4)

Iowa (2)

Kansas

Kentucky (2) Maryland (7) Massachusetts (4)

Michigan Minnesota (2)

Missouri (2)

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire New Jersey (10)

New Mexico New York (13) North Carolina (5) Ohio (6)

Oregon (2) Pennsylvania (4)

Rhode Island

South Carolina Tennessee (4) Texas (6)

Virginia (2) Washington (4)

West Virginia (3) Wisconsin (10)

Countries of Origin

Korea (1)