New Writer

As I wrote about the Austin Kearns press plate a few days ago I wondered if there were any other Reds baseball collectors out there. I figured "Hey. This is the greatest professional baseball team out there. Just ask me. There must be someone besides me who collects Reds cards and players."

Well ladies and gentlecollectors - I found him

I introduce to you

Brads55

I clicked on the team collector link on The Bench and found Brads55 and decided to check him out. I was horror struck when I saw he had an Oakland American League baseball team logo as his symbol. Then I read his credentials.

Players collected: Rick Ankiel, Ryan Braun (Brewers), Travis Buck, Eric Byrnes, Sean Casey, Eric Chavez, Bobby Crosby, Andre Dawson, Adam Dunn, Andre Ethier, Prince Fielder, Eric Gagne, Ken Griffey, Jason Isringhausen, Austin Kearns, Austin Kearns, Terrence Long, Russell Martin, Dice K , Fred McGriff, Jonathan Papelbon, Wily Mo Pena, Brandon Phillips, Pokey Reese, Huston Street, Kurt Suzuki, Nick Swisher, Frank Thomas, Troy Tulowitzki, Jered Weaver, David Wright, Ryan Zimmerman

You have to respect a man who will list Austin Kearns twice.

Teams collected: THE CINCINNATI REDS, Oakland A's

He also collects the New Orleans Saints (My second favortite football team being from the area) and the Pittsburgh Penguins - My favorite hockey team.
It's almost like he is my brother from another mother.

I contacted Brads55 about working with me on the blog to make it more Reds fan friendly and he has agreed to share his LOOOOOOOOOTTTTS bigger Reds and card collection with us Reds fans and those who are in denial about being a Reds fan. (New York Metropolitan "fans" come to mind)

A little about our newest Cincy Reds Cards team member:

Mind doing a little interview so I can let people know who you are?

Absolutely! Its a pleasure to be part of this Blog and I'm excited to make some new friends!

Who are you?

I am 28 years old and was born in Los Angeles, CA. I lived there for 12 years and moved right after the Northridge earthquake (1994). My family and I moved to Vancouver, WA (across from Portland, OR) and I graduated high school and started college there. Moved from there in 2000 and went to Reno, NV. After a few years I opted to move to Hawaii for a change! Been here ever since!

When did you first start collecting cards?

I first started collecting cards in 1986. My uncle bought me a box of 1987 Donruss and let me put together a set into a binder (still have it). I've been collecting ever since and haven't looked back!

Is it tougher being a collector in Hawaii as opposed to the mainland?

Most definitely!!! When I moved here 5 years ago there was 2 card shops on this island (the big island of Hawaii). After 3 months the card shop on my side of the island (Kona) had closed. That left me with a 2 hour one-way drive to the only card shop left (in Hilo). As I made a special trip after XMAS a couple months ago to pick up a box and some protectors it turns out that after the long drive that card shop is closed as well (SIGH). So that leaves me with just Wal-Mart for cards. So as you can tell its incredibly tough to collect on this island. If it wasn't for my trading sites I'd have a hard time continuing to collect. The best trading site hands down is thebenchtrading.com . As a matter of fact thats where I met Joe (Bay Rat North West).

Why are you a Reds collector?

It has to be because of Ken Griffey Jr./Sr. I followed them close as Mariners and once the trade was made I was a FAN FOR LIFE!!! A few Reds favorites of mine are :

Ken Griffey Jr., Austin Kearns, Brandon Phillips, Wily Mo Pena, Adam Dunn, Aaron Boone and Bret Boone

What else do you collect outside of the Reds?

As Reds are my National League Team, the A's are my American League Team. I will list the other collection interests below.

How varied is your collection? (Base set / Inserts / GU / Oddballs / Other sports)

My collection hits every realm of the hobby...

The Sports : I Collect Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Golf, Nascar, and Non-Sports Cards.

The Types : Everything - Base, SPs, #'d, Die-Cuts, RCs, G/U, Autos, Oddballs, Vintage, Unopened Packs/Boxes. You name it, I collect it.

Why do the Cubs stink so much?

Because they don't have Griffey on the team!

Any other info you want add to this that I did not ask you?

I hope to add an appreciation of Reds cards from every aspect of the hobby. Planning to add a DAILY scan of some of my Favorite Reds cards and also host a WEEKLY live yahoo webcam mailday and box breaks. This should be fun! Mahalo and Aloha everybody, Brad

And all 12 readers of Cincy Reds cards say Mahalo and Aloha to you, Brad. We look forward to your first posting that is gonna make all those Braves, Cubs, White Sox, Indians and even the WNBA lovin Mets fans out there envy us.