The Rated Rabbi Sports Card Podcast

Jason Robards' "Magnolia" soliloquy about regrets and my thinking about a personal hobby regret. Robards' television movie "The Day After" takes me back to an ever-present fear of nuclear annihilation. The origins of the Baltimore Chop. A 1915 Cracker Jack John McGraw I hope to some day own. A gorgeous low-end 2010 Topps Chrome Matt Cain Gold Refractor. Finally, bittersweet Rod Beck reminiscences and the baseball card found at his death scene. All this and an unopened box of Cookie Crisp Cereal on the latest episode.

Salt the rim for Jimmy Buffett and let's celebrate when there was nothing ironic about thick mustaches. Debating the Fu Manchu vs. the Horseshoe 'stache. Jr. Middleweights Wilfred Benitez and Davey Moore square off in Monaco on Wide World of Sports. Jack Morris faces Tony Gwynn and some unbelievable Gwynn stats. And four better-late-than-never Hall of Famers from the 1961 All-Star Game in San Francisco. All this and a full bottle Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing on the latest episode.

Little League memories, A&W Root Beer floats, and one of greatest days of my life. Smooth Andre Thornton, Cleveland's only '84 All-Star, inspires a dive into the worst all-stars of the 1980s. With magisterial grace, Steve Garvey and Gary Carter turn two. And a Budweiser commercial makes a statement way ahead of its time.

Introducing La Excención de Fernando, the Fernando Exemption, an ultra-rare designation given to a player I love on a team I hate. Across three sports and four-plus decades as a fan, only five players have earned the Exemption. Fernando Valenzuela was the first. Also, a hobby is an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure. Finally, an addition to my unopened collection so significant that it essentially ends that wing of my PC.

Is it possible to have a mail day so significant that it ends a segment of your PC? Like Alexander the Great, who wept when he finished conquering the world, I share a mail day that brings tears to my eyes. Okay, maybe I'm being a bit dramatic. But still, it's a good one!

I'm back. For now. This episode not a recap of the National, but the biggest sports card show in history gives me an opportunity to reflect on finding satisfaction, my definition of "enough," and evolving practices as a collector. I also share a couple of pre-National pickups, a Jerry Rice rookie and a Garrison Hearst PMG. I did get few small items in Chicago and had an incredible experience meeting Rice. Plus, we celebrate opening boxes of 80s baseball cards with my card brothers, the joy of 1986 Fleer All-Star Team inserts, and a couple of changes coming to the podcast.

It's All-Star Week, and I'm ready for my own all-star break. Today, we look ahead and talk game plan for the National and look back at the first 30 episodes and five of my favorite stories. This one contains Starter jackets, the Pirate Parrot coked-out of his beak, flirtacious older women, Huey Lewis and girl-next-door crushes, and the imagined joy of sitting next to Joe Dimaggio at the 1984 All-Star Game.

Our collections are like fingerprints. Dave Stieb is forgettable twice more. David Letterman and the Buddy Biancalana Hit Counter. Dave calls Terry Forster a "fat tub of goo," but Forster goes body-positive and enjoys his moment in the sun. Plus, feathered hair, Members-Only jackets, and the Camero Z-28. All this and a comb in your back pocket on the latest episode.

Dave and Terry Forster: https://youtu.be/uL20VgJ7JM8

"Fat Is In:" https://youtu.be/ao8GhB0TLSg

The line between unforgettable and forgotten can be quite small. In this episode, we remember the career of 1984 American League All-Star starting pitcher Dave Stieb, of whom you can make a legitimate case was the best pitcher of the Eighties. And yet, in terms of rings, awards, indelible seasons, and iconic moments he has almost none. Rather, he *almost* has many.

Happy birthday, Ron Kovic. Facial tattoos. Krazy George and the Wave. Shooty Babitt and Billy Martin, who said, "If you ever see Shooty Babitt play second base for me again, I want you to Shooty me." Plus, the 40th anniversary of Dave Righetti's no-hitter vs. the Red Sox on July 4, 1983. And deciding to take a break from collecting my Willie Mays run.

The first Wave, 10/15/81: https://youtu.be/_sqGxQoORYE