So, I was tinkering around the other day, just trying to look up some info, and the name Blake Lalli came up. Don’t ask me why, sometimes my brain just digs up random names from the past, you know? Anyway, it got me thinking, specifically about baseball cards from back then.
I decided, just for kicks, to see how easy it would be to find one of his cards. Seemed like a simple enough task, right? Well, let me tell ya.
First, I just did a broad search online. You type in “Blake Lalli baseball card” and see what pops up. Got a bunch of results, mostly from those big marketplace sites where everyone sells everything. Started clicking through.
Man, the variety was something else. Saw listings for cards when he played for the Cubs, some for the Brewers, even minor league stuff. Prices were all over the place too. Some were super cheap, like less than a buck, others were asking for a bit more, especially if they were graded.
Then I narrowed it down. I thought, okay, let’s try and find a specific one, maybe a rookie card or something from his time with a particular team. This is where it got a bit more involved.
Digging Deeper
I had to figure out which sets he was actually in. That meant looking up baseball card checklists for the years he played. Found a few resources online that list players for each set.
- Checked the main Topps sets.
- Looked into Bowman cards too.
- Scanned some of the other brands from that time.
Turns out, he didn’t have a ton of cards compared to the big stars, which makes sense. Made the hunt a little more interesting, honestly. I wasn’t just clicking “buy” on the first result. I was actually looking at card numbers, checking conditions in the photos, comparing prices between sellers.
Found a couple I liked. One was a standard Topps card, looked pretty clean. Another was from his minor league days, which felt kind of cool and obscure. Didn’t cost much either.
So, I went ahead and ordered one. Just a simple Topps card from his playing time. It wasn’t some major investment or anything, just satisfied my curiosity from that random thought.
The whole process took maybe an hour of clicking around, comparing, and reading descriptions. It wasn’t hard, exactly, but it wasn’t instant either. You gotta do a little bit of homework, even for a common card of a less famous player.
Kind of reminded me that even simple stuff online involves a process. You start broad, you filter, you compare, you decide. Whether it’s finding an old baseball card or figuring out some tech thing, it’s step-by-step.
