Road Trip To The National - One Family's Adventure
 

My family and I live about 250 miles due south of Chicago so while it's an easy drive it does take a little effort to get to the Windy City. Fortunately, we've never shied away from a little adventure and on Friday afternoon decided that we would go to the National. My seven year old son Otis and I would hit the convention while my wife met her aunt and some relatives from Australia for a long lunch. Below is a photo essay of our trip.

Here is Otis in the backseat shortly after learning from his father the time honored art of making duck lips out of two Pringles. This amused us greatly...

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"Hey, look! Kris Bryant. Take my picture." Gladly.

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Babe Ruth's bat wielded by my favorite Bambino.

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Otis ripping wax, the same way we all started as kids. He saw a box of 1986 Fleer Star Stickers for nine bucks and quickly parted with the cash. I had several of these left over from my youth and he spent last year decorating his bike with them. It was his big buy of the day and came in handy for rest breaks where we would open a pack or two while he caught his breath.

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We had a contest to see who found the first Cub. Keith Moreland for Otis.

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And Leon Durham for me!

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"You're from Indiana, Otis. It's time you learned how to draw a charge."

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The boy loves stickers, even the fifteen dollar kind. He saw this table twice and wanted a picture.

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More card opening at the Topps booth. The sticker on his shirt is Lee Smith.

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Otis' show moment. He lost his mind pulling this sticker. "Dad! This is the one I wanted! Look! Cubs!!!!"

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Otis taking on the champ. He lasted longer than Bethe Correia did later that night.

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Apart from stickers, Otis loves bats. Topps had a cornhole board set up with prizes for a bullseye. We would still be there had not your intrepid reporter making a perfect shot on his second attempt. The prize was a Topps mini bat.

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He wanted me to open cards with him, right as we were passing the Baseball Card Exchange booth. The 1983 Donruss wax racks were ten bucks, so why not? The result? Tony Gwynn's rookie.

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A ring from the 1976 NCAA champion Indiana Hoosiers!

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My haul. I picked up seven off-grade 1934 Goudeys for my set. Roger Cramer being the highlight. I had always wanted a Sadaharu Oh since reading his book when I was a kid. I found a dealer specializing in Japanese cards and made an inqury. I now own an Oh!!!!

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It was now around 3:30 and it was time to meet up with the rest of the clan. We went to Mitsuwa, a Japanese grocery store in the area, to stock up on some stuff. It turned out that they were hosting their Summer Festival that day. Japanese street food! Gyoza four for a dollar!

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Then off to the Filipino grocery store Unimart. Lechon and Lumpia!!! My lunch today and tomorrow!

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The pantry stocked, it was time to head to Pita House in Schaumburg for some lamb kabob and grape leaves. My wife loves this place.

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Otis and his Ninang after the restaurant. A twenty! "Let's go back to the baseball card convention, Dad!" Next time, son. Time to go home.

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Otis, possessing a skill I wish I had, drifted off to sleep on the ride home.

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The aftermath. Otis awoke at 6:30 to finish opening his stickers. We found a bin for him to keep them in.

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This has been an exciting summer for Otis and me. He's developed a real love for the game of baseball that coincides with getting better at playing the game. He asked to practice every day in the backyard and by the end of the season he had grown much more confident with his hitting and fielding. I've loved sharing the game with him through the years, and I couldn't be more proud of how hard he worked this year to improve and have fun with his friends.
So, that was our Saturday. To paraphrase the great Ric Flair, “Whenever you’re with the Mattseys, things are taking place!”

Great story and pics, thanks for sharing. Looks like he had a great time!

+1

I was beginning to wonder if gum cards even existed at the national. I sometimes wonder why this board isn't called Net206.

Very cool, let's hope the love of baseball last's a lifetime, poor little guy....Cubs fan. As am I. It's been a tough lifetime....but it builds character.

I love this post! Great memories! Thank you for sharing.

awesome weekend!

Great thread - Thanks for posting! It's really good to see something positive :)

These are my favorite threads

Really nice story.

This is one of the best things I have ever read on Net54.
This is what baseball is all about -- parents and their children sharing their love of the game. Hopefully as I write this you are in the middle of another of your backyard practice sessions, sharing more precious father-son time.

Greg

Wonderful ! Very much appreciated after all the other threads I have read lately. Happy, Happy !! ;)
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Thanks
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Awesome pictures, although I would think Otis has a better chance of knocking out Ronda Rousey than getting that charge call against Jordan. ;)

Great story, great pics what the hobby should be all about bright eyed happy kids having fun with their dads and moms! Thanks for sharing this.

Great road trip and story. I have fond memories of going to my first National with my dad and taking my oldest son to his first National.

Sorry about the Cubbies though ;). Joke I heard from Pete Rose one time: "You know what God told the Cubs - don't do anything until I return"

Greg,

Just finished for our second time today. He hit one two yards over, "just like Mike Trout."

We sorted his stickers because he wanted to complete his first ever set. We were one card short, Andre Dawson. Thanks, Ebay! It's in the mail.

Awesome, awesome stuff!! And I love Otis' Cubs jersey. Dare I say, Dad of the Year??

Great post!

Awesome read!! One of the best posts I've read on this site. My son's baseball interest has also picked up in this past year as he's gotten better at the game. I'm already looking forward to AC next year since it's only a couple hour drive for me.

Thanks for sharing!!

How fun! Thanks for sharing. Remember when baseball cards were actually for kids?

Thanks for sharing your story Mike. Enjoyed reading it, sounds like you had a great time with your son at the show. The food sounds even better!

Mike

Very cool. And I think it's great that his budding collecting interest complements his learning to play and love the game itself.

Complete set at his age !!!!! Got at least a 40 year jump on me :):):)


GREAT Stuff !!!!!!!!!


Fun, fun (as it should be), Scott

That's what it is all about :)
Enjoyed the read and the pics

Conor, what a great idea.

Mike, great to see Otis again. I'm sorry that I missed you, but we went to the show on Thursday. By Saturday we were in Minneapolis.

By the way, is that a Great Lakes Naval Training Center jersey that you're wearing? Circa 1943? I have one that I got autographed by Bob Feller about 13 years ago.

Great stuff

Thanks for sharing! What a great dad! Hope there are many more great dads sharing cards with their Otis's to keep the hobby vibrant for the next generation.

One day we'll meet up. The time Otis and I spent putting together the baseball card puzzle you sent him is a great memory.

It is a 1943 Great Lakes jersey. I had the number switched from Feller's number to a 9 when I ordered it, but it's the same one.

Hope you had a great show!

Mike

Fantastic weekend, great cards, and memories, but what does it say about me that my favorite pics were of your food choices, simply awesome! I, unfortunately, am only half joking! What a blessing you and your wife are to
Otis, enjoy!

Great trip report! The picture of Otis gleefully holding up the Cubs sticker is priceless.

Mike, that was a great read & so cool to find Otis thrilled w/ the hobby.
like we all were at his age. I'm hoping some/all of my grandkids will find that passion when they get older.
& yes I plan to spoil them rotten!

PM me your address and I'll send Otis a box full of Cubs/ChiSox stuff.

What a kind gesture. Thank you. He'll be thrilled.

Nice story...my sone is 2.5 and I hope to someday make a similar trip with him.

Great story! Thanks for sharing!

Brings back memories of my son and I going to shows when he was younger. Mike, I hope the bonding continues with you and your son. My son and I still go to shows together, but now I have a grandson we are trying to get interested in collecting. The memories last a lifetime.
Thanks for sharing a wonderful story.

Nice Story!
Larry

Mike...awesome story! It sounds like you and your son had a great time at the National.

I was fortunate enough to be at the National on Friday and Saturday and the one thing that really got my attention was the several Father-son/daughter bonding going on...that really made me happy. I saw a lot of what I hope I can create with my two sons in the not too distant future.

Nice job Mike...keep doing what you're doing!

Ditto! Makes going deaf from the Topps pack ripping shouts almost worthwhile.

Very cool. This brings back great memories of the first show my dad took me to in L.A. in 1980. The excitement I had when we stepped through the doors. My dad pointing out cards that he had when he was a kid (that grandma threw away of course) and giving me little back stories of the players. So great.

Otis
 

looks like one supercool kid! Thanks for sharing a great photo-story-

Otis goes to the National
 

THANK YOU for brightening up my day...just when I start losing faith in our hobby, a story like this brings me back to life! I look forward to the day I can do the same with my son!! He's a little over two now, but I only have five more years til he's prime "Otis" age!

As a father of three young boys myself I thoroughly enjoyed your story and pictures. Thank you for sharing!

That was a fun read, I hope my kiddos love cards as well. Lots of great memories going to shows with my bro and dad and ripping open some wax.

No need to wait. Otis was playing with those old Donruss puzzles when he was your son's age. They're small enough to be manageable and they have numbers on the back to make them easy to solve for a little one. I bought him a binder and nine pocket sheets to put 80s era junk wax in so he could, in his words, "play baseball cards with daddy." Don't think that request didn't bring a tear or two to the old man's eyes.

Otis wrote an email this summer with my help that we forwarded to all the MLB teams requesting a fan pack. He's spent the last month sprinting to the mailbox everyday to see if he's got something. About half of the teams have sent him something from bobbleheads to calendars to stickers. Today he got a pocket schedule and some tattoos from the Angels. Guess which group of neighborhood kids are inked up in the backyard playing ball and arguing who gets to be Mike Trout?

Very cool idea, sounds like my childhood, pretending to be a player, copying their batting stance. That's how childhoods are supposed to be...that, and sitting on the porch opening up wax packs and trading cards without regard for "book value".

Thread of the year candidate! It's great to see you and your son bonding and having such a love for the game and our great hobby!! A lot of great memories being made!

I loved the Story! I plan to do the same with my daughter at next years' National in AC!

i still have my make believe seasonal stats from the late 80's. this was before sabermetrics so it's filled with big hrs rbis batting avgs...but low on obp and ops. looking back my fictional career was probably most similar to rob deer or sam horn.

nice trip report and pics!