LOU GEHRIG DAY | Orioles, First-Time Vendor Talk & David Sandlin MLB Debut

 The Sports Man Dan Show – Episode 22

The Orioles are rolling, but somehow the White Sox are even hotter. This week, I discuss the recent surge in baseball, celebrate David Sandlin making his MLB debut, and share my experience and lessons learned as a first-time card show vendor.
Plus, with June 2 marking Lou Gehrig Day, I take a moment to reflect on one of the most powerful speeches in sports history and the legacy of the Iron Horse.
Baseball talk, card collecting, vendor tips, and plenty of rambling along the way.
⚾ Orioles & White Sox trends
⚾ David Sandlin's MLB debut
🃏 First-time card vendor advice
🎙️ Lou Gehrig Day and "The Luckiest Man" speech
🤔 Random baseball thoughts and tangents 

Transcript

1:01

Alright, welcome to episode 22 of the Sportsman Dan Show. I am excited to be back with another episode. I do apologize for not uploading a little sooner. I believe I committed to uh posting an episode once a week. Well, some personal things came up. Everything's all good. Um, not making any excuses, uh, but at the end of the day, you know, the hobby is exactly that. It's a hobby. And although I love sports cards and baseball cards in particular, and baseball in particular, uh, you can see my updated background. Uh, I had to take care of some things, and I'm probably gonna look to do bi-weekly uh episodes. So maybe once every two weeks, if I can sneak in another episode, uh that'd be awesome. But I gotta be consistent and I gotta stick to something. So going forward, that will probably be the setup. However, for now, I do need to talk about the Orioles because we are hot. Um now, Blaze Alexander is a little bit more hot than Kobe Mayo at third base, but regardless, I believe 7-3 in the last 10. Uh, they were down 5-0, came back and won that game. Um, Pete Alonso is starting to get hot. The infield is pretty fantastic with Jackson Holiday, Gunnar Henderson, and Kobe, uh, or possibly Blaze there at third with Jeremiah Jackson mixed in. Pleasantly surprised by the outfield. Um, Colton Cowser has come alive of recent. Um, Tyler O'Neal will be slotted in left field today against the Red Sox. He definitely has a lot to prove still, but Taylor Ward uh has been the man in the leadoff slot for the Orioles. This is a team that's a lot of fun and over in right field. I can't wait for Dylan Beavers to get back. Heston Kerstad has had a hot bat in triple A. So, you know, we'll see what ends up happening there. Regardless, um, there's a lot to talk about in the baseball world. Uh the White Sox are more hot than my Orioles right now. For those of you familiar with the show, friend of the show, David Sandlin made his MLB debut. Uh, we will touch more on that later. Uh, but if you haven't listened to our interview with David Sandlin, I really encourage you to do so. Uh super humble and fun guy who's also a Star Wars nerd. Um, for future interviews, we'll probably talk a little more baseball. Uh, but I did focus a lot of those questions around non-baseball things, uh, just to keep it fun. Um, and something that is not as much fun, but should be remembered, is today's June 2nd, which is Lou Gehrig Day. Um, and even as a Mets and Orioles fan, which I'll get to this. I will get to this. Uh, I have nothing but respect for Lou Gehrig. And he's probably the Yankee I have the most respect for um of all time, him and Babe Ruth, to be honest. Uh, Mickey Manuel as well. But anyway, Lou Gehrig, for who he was as a person and what he represents to the game, deserves to be talked about on June 2nd. Gehrig's incredible consecutive games played streak came to an end on May 2nd, 1939. Now we're all very familiar with this consecutive games played streak because Cal Ripkin Jr. famously broke it uh at Camden Yards. However, when Lou Gehrig gave up this streak, he voluntarily removed himself from the Yankees lineup. Him declining to play uh was caused by an undias diagnosed illness, excuse me, that was later identified as ALS. Now, fans and everyone was surprised that Lou Gehrig was taking himself out of this game and ending the streak, but given what came on later with this devastating disease that would eventually be known as Lou Gehrig's disease, it does make a lot more sense now. Um just two months later, on July 4th, 1939, Geig stood before a packed Yankee Stadium crowd between games of a double header and delivered what many have called baseball's Gettysburg Address. Lou Gehrig was never one to seek the spotlight, and he initially didn't want to speak, but after the crowd's relentless chance, he stepped forward and gave one of the most memorable speeches in sports history. Um I read the speech today. There's also a YouTube video of Lou actually delivering it. It is incredible. Um and it's a reminder that some moments in baseball transcend rivalries, teams, and even the game itself. Luke Gary would pass away, I believe, just another in 1939. He was 37 years old or 39 years old when he passed away. Um it was two years after the end of his playing career. I know that. And I mean, a guy that was seven-time All-Star, consecutive All-Stars, MVP, six-time World Series champion, and that's just what I can remember. I mean, this guy was the Iron Horse for a reason. Um I want to go ahead and read uh his speech. It's one of those ones that I was reading today, and I was like, you know, you see clips of it, and oh yeah, the luckiest man in the world, but reading it in entirety, I I think does uh it does hit you a little bit differently. So this is Lou Gehrig's uh speech he delivered on July 4th, 1939. Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about about about a bad break I got. Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I've been in ballparks for seventeen years, and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. When you look around, wouldn't you consider it a privilege to associate yourself with such a fine looking men as are standing in uniform in this ballpark today? Sure, I'm lucky. Who wouldn't it consider it an honor to have known Jacob Rupert, also the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow, to have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins, then have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky. When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift, that's something. When everybody down to the grounds creepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies, that's something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with your own daughter, that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body, it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed, that's the finest I know. So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for. I mean, those words by Lou Gehrig are absolutely outstanding. I it is the baseball's Gettysburg Address. And um I just read it today. I was like, I I need to share that and read it in its entirety because I'm not sure I I really ever had as a kid. Um, but moving on and keeping a little bit more lighthearted, it is important that we remember Lou Gehrig, but it's also important that we remember what David Sandlin did in his MLB debut. If you didn't tune in against the Minnesota Twins, David Sandlin was called up after having a 0.57 ERA in AAA. It's pretty good. Um he retired 18 straight batters in his major league debut, the most by a White Sox who's making his debut over the last 100 years. So if you didn't watch the game, uh very first pitch for David Sandlin was a strike that Byron Buxton challenged, and the ABS system ruled it a ball. The following pitch, David Sandlin threw, I'm honestly a pretty good sinker now that I watched it back, and Byron Buxton took it deep. So his second pitch in the major leagues uh was a home run. After that, David didn't allow a hit. So it was a fantastic debut. He got his own tops now card. Uh I thought it was just super fun to watch. Now, he's pitched again since then, wasn't quite the same performance, but we'll ignore that. Um, and he's still on the White Sox. So if you haven't got a chance to see him on the mound, definitely tune in. Um, I'm excited to have him back on the podcast as well. Turning over next, I I'd be remiss to not show a sports card. It is the Sportsman Dan Show. Um, and with that, I am looking to add a co-host. I realize I kind of did pigeonhole myself with the name uh Sportsman Dan Show, but more to come on that. This is my most recent pickup. Um, it was a birthday gift to myself uh that finally got to me from the eBay authenticator. If you haven't bought a cot uh bought a card, excuse me, through eBay authentication, it's terrible. I wouldn't recommend it. They take way too long, and their packaging is it sucks. Their packaging sucks. Um, I'll leave it at that. This card is so sick. It is the Diamond Icons number to five, first milestone, and it was Kobe's first hit uh on August 14th, I believe, 2024, against the Washington Nationals. That is a piece of his Mizuno Cleat. Obviously, you got the uh auto on top of it. Um, I just thought this was such a sick card. A very unique card. I don't collect a lot of diamond icons. Um, this is one of those very, very unique pieces that I want on the PC. Um, but I might be uh you might see it at a card show near me. I I got another showcase now, so I think I might just fill up my second showcase with just some of my cool like Norfolk Tides cards, like you know, some of my cool Jackson Holiday and Kobe Mayo cards. Um but overall uh I'm super excited for an upcoming card show on Sunday. Uh June the 5th, I believe. Way off. Sunday, June 7th. Today is June 2nd, obviously. So on June 7th, I will be the at the Portsmouth Rivers Casino. This is a pretty fun show. Uh from 9 to 5, roughly. I although I will be honest, I'm pretty sure people are walking around and buying around 8 a.m. If there are games on, and Sunday, I think there might be some college baseball at least. Um I'm not sure about NBA. May maybe. Uh regardless, uh Sunday I'll be set up from 9 to 5 selling cards at the Portsmouth Rivers casino. I talk about sports because they set up these screens, they drop down the projectors. And when I say screens, it's literally like eight massive projectors. So at any angle, you can pretty much watch a sports game um while you're buying cards. Now that's if there is a sports game. I mean, worst case, you get a little around the horn and pardon the interruption, but I mean, who's mad about that? But no, the Ports of the Rivers Casino show, I need to check about autograph guests. Uh, I don't know if there are any for this show. There definitely might be um the voice of uh Catwoman, I believe, or Batgirl, I'm sorry, some of the anime stuff and TCG stuff, but sports-wise, I cannot speak on any autograph guests. I can speak on the $5 damn box. I've been doubling down on my five dollar box. It really has seen dividends the last couple shows. It's one of those things that I just kind of introduced, and I I've seen other people do it, don't get me wrong, but it's one of those ones I'm doing dollar boxes and pricing cards with stickers one through four dollars, and then like a six dollar card and a seven. I'm like, what am I doing here? Um, this is taking way too long. So I kind of just figured let's just go all in on the five dollar box. Now, did I take some cards that were priced four dollars and put them in the five dollar box? Yeah, I did. Now, are there a lot more cards that were at the five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten dollar rates? Yeah, and um, I actually did leave some of those price stickers on just to show, like, yo, this is a ten dollar card, but I I think it just caused confusion because then people were like, Oh, you said it was five dollars. Why is there ten dollars on this? I'm like, oh, because you're getting a good deal. And that see, like that, that got lost in translation, and that was on me. Uh, so now the five dollar box is all marked five dollars, and um, if you get a stack, I always do a discount. Probably do like four for uh or five for twenty, something like that. So if you buy four, you get one free, essentially. Um, but I try to put cool autos, cool patch cards, rookie cards, some numbered cards, stuff that I want to dig through. Um, I still love digging through dollar boxes, but I think most people kind of want to get a cool little patch card or something like that. Um, the two showcases will be different for me. I typically set up with one showcase, but that's why I said I'm not too worried about it. I have the inventory, and then I'm also gonna use a section because I want to look at some of my cards. I'm gonna set up some cool cards that, yeah, maybe I would sell for the right price, but also I think, you know, it'll draw some eyes, and people be like, oh, I've never seen a card like that. That's cool. Um I seen other people kind of do that. I don't know if people call it honey potting or something. I'm not quite sure. But at the end of the day, you know, they're your showcases, do what you want. Um, funny story, one of my first shows ever. I didn't have an inventory, I didn't know what I was doing. Uh but or maybe it was my second show to be honest. But my first straight up sports card show at the field house. Guy next to me said, like, uh what was it exactly? He was like, Yeah, everything in my uh showcases for sale, not like some people. And I was like, dang, okay, I I I get the message, dude. Um, and maybe he wasn't directing it at me, but it pretty obviously was. Uh but you can deal with that stuff being a vendor. And sorry for kind of rambling here, but I'm doing a I guess a cage uh cage a lawyer uh style here. But no, I've been setting up now at shows for vending for over two and a half years. Um, I guess three years now. And my first show I had no idea what I was doing. And honestly, my first three or four shows, I probably had no idea what I was doing. But I watched a lot of YouTube videos, I did tons of research, so I thought I did. Um so the point of this podcast, a lot of it is to talk sports and talk baseball. Um, I'll get to why I'm an Orioles and Mets fan uh here shortly. But I'm a I'm a vendor in Virginia. I sell sports cards in Hampton Roads, Virginia, and I enjoy doing so. Um, I think it's an underrated area here, and I also think that uh, you know, with the Norfolk Tides, uh there's a lot of baseball fans around here. And maybe we don't have that pro sports team, but back in the day we had the Norfolk Squires, and Virginia is a hotbed for talent. If you look at, you know, obviously Michael Vick, Allen Iverson, Lawrence Taylor, Mike Tomlin, there's all kinds of athletes and coaches from this area. But for me personally, you know, I'm a big Norfolk Tides fan. And as a kid, they were the Mets AAA team. And as a kid, David Wright played for the Mets, who's from Hampton Roads, Virginia. So, I mean, of course, I was a diehard Mets fan. I love the Mets. Carlos Dogado, Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Jose Reyes, Johann Santana, Francisco Rodriguez, K-Rod. I mean, those were my guys. Uh, Tom Glavin, a little bit, although he's always better on the Braves. But right, you know, we all know what kind of happened to the Norfolk Tides, and if you don't know, they switched. They are no longer the triple A team for the New York Mets. It is now the Syracuse Mets. So, with that, the Norfolk Tides became the triple-A team for the Baltimore Orioles. Now I was like, okay, cool. I'm still a Mets fan. I'm not gonna switch because my triple A team switched. Then you watch Cedric Mullins and Ryan Mountcastle and Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman and Jackson Holiday and Kobe Mayo and Jordan Westburg. And you're like, man, I identify a lot with these hometown kids that I go and watch and get to meet after games, and you know, it's it's pretty cool. So I kind of became a Mets and Orioles fan at a certain point, and now, you know, it's an AL and NL team, so I'm gonna stick with it. Now, do my friends make fun of me? Yeah, they do. They say I can only pick one. Um, they also make fun of me for my intro video, which I am gonna edit, and it's terrible, I know. Uh, but we're getting there. And uh I'm gonna try to improve 1% each episode at least. Uh, not quite sure I did that for this one, but I appreciate anyone who listened to my rambling. No pauses for this episode. We did do it one take. Uh set of sportsman Dan, maybe on one take, Dan. But uh no, that's it for today's episode. Uh, thank you everybody for listening to episode 22, and I'm excited to get back soon enough with episode 23. Let's go, O's. They're playing here as I record this in about 10 minutes. And uh let's go White Sox too. No, only only when David Sandler's pitching. I'm only a Mets and Orioles fan, not a White Sox fan.