A Baseball Christmas

Before I go into what this post is about, I would just like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! With it being the start of 2014, we now can see that baseball really is just around the corner again. Before we know it, it will be Spring Training and then the regular season! Before we get there though, I'd like to share some of the baseball related gifts I was blessed with this past holiday season.

As someone who's been around the game her entire life, yes, all 18 years of it, and was never all that good at physically playing, scorekeeping has become a big and important way for me to connect to baseball.

After previously owning several one team per page scorebooks, I was lucky to receive two scorebooks this year that have the score sheets for both teams on one page. I can't wait to finally use it!

Did I mention I was a Phillies fan? I became one during the 2009 World Series, which was the first time I really sat down and watched it since about 2004. There was no way I was rooting for the Yankees and the Phillies second baseman, Chase Utley, was hitting the ball like nobody's business, so I chose to root for the Phils. I've been a fan ever since, going to San Diego and Los Angeles anytime they visit.

I love baseball and I love books, both reading them and writing them, but I had no clue this book existed, so when I pulled it from the cover of wrapping paper, I was instantly curious to read it.

I used to attempt to make hook rugs when I was little, but never finished one, so now I have a chance to redeem myself with this Dodgers hook pillow!

You may not be able to tell from the picture, but that baseball is actually a puzzle. It was fun to put together and makes for a great decoration. I'm sure if I glued it together, I could even toss it around a bit.

Nothing says "ring in the new year" quite like a Dodgers 2014 calendar. Not to mention my favorite former Dodger, Luis Cruz is in it! I still wear my Cruz 47 jersey often. We miss you Cochito! 

I've been collecting baseball cards for a really long time and have been keeping them in these three binders. The first binder is full and the second is near capacity. The blue one is for special cards like my favorite players or teams. It also holds all of my ticket stubs that I've kept over the years. I plan to eventually separate the cards by league, National in the black binder and American in the red. 

Here's another view of the binders to give you a better idea of just how many cards I own. My autographed card collection is not among these by the way. They are displayed on my wall in a frame as well as plastic inserts. In fact, an entire wall in my room is dedicated to autographs. Mostly by baseball players, but I also have a few from drag racing stars. 

In all honesty, I have no clue who this is, but the fact that it's an authentic autographed card makes me extremely happy!

I got 105 cards this Christmas and I love every single one of them. Below are some of my favorites. 

Jamie Moyer, Luis Alicea

Mike Scioscia, Don Mattingly

John Franco, Odalis Perez

Gregg Jefferies

Manny Ramirez, Joe Mather

Ty Cobb, Brandon Boggs

I also got a new camera so I can take a ton of pictures for the blog. I can't wait to use it during Spring Training! 

So that was my 2013 baseball Christmas! Thanks for reading and stay tuned for World of Baseball: Arizona, a 5 part series covering the 2012 AFL, 2013 Spring Training, and Chase Field, home of the Diamondbacks.