Lucky Find

I work on the road. Last year, I spent at least my weekdays living away from home for the first nine months of the year. And this year is off to a similar start. It has its drawbacks. Posting is tough, since getting cards at local card shops can be quite difficult, and scanning cards becomes a challenge as well.

Then there's the whole "Almost everything I own is very far away" problem - I wear the same three dress shirts to work and the same one casual outfit on my days off, and if I forget something, I either have to buy a new one or do without.

But traveling means lots of new experiences. Local areas have their own collection of unique sights and experiences, and there are interesting shops to browse through.

I love rummaging through second-hand shops. Japan's "recycle shops" can offer up some interesting, cheap souvenirs, like fan jerseys and or baseball knickknacks.

I never expect to find cards, but a cluttered independent shop just across the street from my apartment in Sapporo did yield one significant find, hidden in a showcase among a bunch of random junk:

Yes, that's a real relic card. For my US readers, relic cards here are much harder to find than in the US. And back in 2004, a card limited to 300 was considered very rare. Engel's last guide to list BBM cards shows this card to be worth $150 (I think... my guide is back at home, and I'm not). Would you pay $150 for a plain white relic? Okay, there's a pinstripe, but still.

Did I pay $150? Nope. About 10% of that. I was definitely happy to get a hit I needed at a reasonable price. Yes, most regular relics these days go for about $15-30 here (sometimes as low as $10), but the older ones are tough to find.

The card itself is from BBM's 2004 1st Version set. Makoto Imaoka had a generally successful, but uneventful, career. However, for the 2002-2004 seasons, he batted over .300 each year. His 2003 season saw him bat .340, winning the batting title, along with being an All-Star, Best Nine Award, and Gold Glove Award winner that year. His success in 2003 is what earned him a relic card in the 2004 set.

Imaoka would end up being a five-time All-Star and three-time Best Nine Award winner, and he also won the RBI title in 2005, all with the Tigers. In 2010 he won a Japan Series with the Marines, though he only played in 26 games that year. Really, after that 2005 season, his career was essentially over. He is currently coaching with the Marines.

And, interestingly enough, he was on the 1996 Japan national baseball team that went to the Atlanta Olympic Games, where they won a silver medal. I attended a couple games that year - the bronze medal match between US and Nicaragua, and one other game. I can't check to see which it actually was, but there's a good chance I saw Japan play that year.

Anyway, it's a great card with one of many happy memories of my time in Sapporo!