Road Trip, Texas League All Star game, and Cleve's Baseball Card Shop

On Tuesday, a good friend of mine and myself, took a little road trip to Springdale, Arkansas for the 2013 Texas League All-Star Game.  This would be my first trip to Arvest Ballpark, home of the Kansas City Royals AA affiliate, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.  The stadium was quite impressive but the game was anything but.  Perhaps, the best part of the trip was seeing the Home Run Derby won by Naturals first basemen, Matt Fields.  Fields hit some amazing shots, albeit with a wind that was blowing straight out to left in a park that is pretty cozy.  Fields is a pretty good story having played the last 2 seasons in independent ball.  He came into the All-Star game with 18 homeruns and didn't disappoint during the Derby although he struck out twice in the All-Star game.  I am going to place a bet that he doesn't see a big league stadium as his strikeout rate is around 38%.  I do wish him luck though as my Royals can't seem to hit the long ball this year....or any year for that matter.

Now to get on with the CARDS!!!!!  If you are a follower of The Adventures of Napkin Doon,  you will have read about Cleve's Baseball Card Shop in Springdale.  It seems that every Tuesday, Cleve has a card auction that is quite impressive.  It features some good quality vintage cards and memorabilia along with newer stuff.

Cleve Howard, the owner, is quite a story teller.  After telling him that Scott's blog was the reason we came in, he provided us with some good stories about Scott, other notable customers, the auction, and the hobby.  According to Cleve, his store is one of the five oldest shops in the U.S., and I can tell you he knows pretty much all the bigwigs in the business.

Cleve asked what we collected in the hobby.  When I referred to my 1973 Topps set I am still building, he asked what I needed from it.  I was currently down to 3 cards.  Cleve found one of them, the Davey Lopes rookie card #609, and gave it to me.  My first thought was WOW!  I walk in off the street, strike up a conversation, and come away with a great card for nothing!

But was Cleve done.....heck no!  He wanted to know if I was a George Brett fan, since we came from the Kansas City area.  I said sure.  He then proceeded to sort through a desk drawer and find what I assume was a "dealer's giveaway pack" of 2013 Topps Archives with George Brett on top.  He gave that too me as well.

After that, I couldn't leave empty handed, so I picked up some other cards and supplies that I "needed" anyway.  Cleve's is a terrific find.  Great guy and cool shop.  If you go, don't expect a nice tidy place, but then again, I have never had any luck in a card shop that is in perfect order.  If I lived closer to Springdale, I would definitely make Cleve's a regular stop...probably much more often than my budget could afford.  But then again, the hobby talk is free.

Thanks Scott for setting us up with Cleve.  Definitely, a treasure to the hobby.