Johnny Damon to play for Thailand in the WBC

I realize that I am one of the few people that is interested in the World Baseball Classic.  I admit that the event has it's issues and it inteferes greatly with the MLB season, however I don't think the the WBC is entirely without merit.  

My mom was born and raised in Thalland, I have been fortunate to visit there several times - most recently in 2007. I am very excited to see that Thailand will be part of the 2013 WBC, even if it is only in next weeks Qualifying round.  Thailand's bracket is hosted by China-Taipei (Taiwan) - who I would think is a strong favorite to win the pool.  Regardless, Baseball is a funny game - in a smal round robin tourney One strong pitching performance coupled with an error or somebody crushing a hainging curve can significantly alter the outcome. 

Last month while Team Phungo was on the road word got out that Johnny Damon will play for Thailand in the WBC. I am sure most folks responded with a shrug and/or  "What the hell is Damon's connection to Thailand?".  Like myself Damon's mother is of Thai heritage but he grew up in here in the states.  Beyond that we have very few similiarites - He is a Major League Baseball player, I blog about Baseball Cards.  He can grow a full beard in an afternoon, that would take me a decade.

 2009 Topps Heritage #163 Johnny Damon

I found out about Damon's Thai connection relatively recently.  Fortunately I have always enjoyed him as a player (except when the Yankees beat the Phils in 2009) and have built a small collection of his cards. He is a good player who appeared on the national stage frequently with the BoSox and Yankees. He is an engaging personality, I hope he and the rest of the Thai team have some success in the WBC - The game will grow in Thailand and maybe someday there will be a true Thai ballplayer in the majors.

If I read the WBC schedule correctly Thailand and Damon will play their opening game on Wednesday November 14th.  It appears the MLB Network will be carrying games either on TV or On-Line.  Stay Tuned.  We will have significantly more coverage of the WBC than reader interest.

Sources and Links
Johnny Damon Index

WBC Index

Phungo 5 with Padrographs

The surprisingly hot San Diego Padres are here to play the Phillies in the first home series since the death of Harry Kalas. It is an emotional weekend in South Philly, hopefully the Phils will be able to remain focused and play well against the Padres.

For the Fightin Friars Phungo 5, I have enlisted the help of Rod from Padrographs who is in the process of chronicling over 700 San Diego Padres autographs on line. Rod has also recently begun an interesting project of collecting cards that represent every Padres Starting line-up - Great idea nine players in a starting line-up, 9 pockets on a card page.

1) Your reviewing your autos (700+) in Alphabetical order. how long do you anticipate this task taking?

Well if all I did was the Padrographs and did one per day, it would take two years. But since I keep adding to the total and am blogging about other things and have a life it could take several years. I am at 715 as of today (4/13/09) and have about 12 guys out in the mail, plus a few others that I haven't been able to track down. By the way if anyone is going to see the Erie Sea Wolves play let me know, they have a player that I need a signature from.

2) The Padres are off to a Hot start - who is the biggest surprise to you?

Hundley and Headley have really been amazing for just getting started in MLB. I hope that the team can keep up this pace. It will be amazing if they do, but the really important thing is finishing ahead of the Dodgers and Giants.

Note: Hundley came up with a big hit in the Pads Friday night victory over the Phils.

3) Among Padres Phillies Connections John Kruk comes to mind, can you think of any other interesting ones?

John Kruk is one of my all favorite players, we have the same Buddha body shape. Another Phillie Padres connection is a local player from Portland, the man who once wondered why do we drive on a parkway, and park on a driveway, and if packing peanuts are for shipping stuff how do we ship them. Ladies and germs, Larry Anderson

Chachoengsao Temple Buddha, Chachoensao Thailand
1989 Donruss #86 John Kruk

4) According to some of your blog entries you have been away from Southern Califormia a long time. Has it been hard to maintain your allegiance to the Padres?

I was originally born in SoCal, Long Beach to be exact. I would have gone to the same high school Tony Gwynn if we stayed where we lived when I was born. I moved from Long Beach to Honolulu to Ferndale to Oxnard to Newport, RI to Norfolk, VA to Long Beach to Big Sur to Eugene to Portland to San Diego to Chicago to Oakland to Portland. I have been here since 1981. I became a Padres fan when the brother of my classmate, Jill Roberts, Dave Roberts was drafted by the Padres. I have followed them since, more or less.

5)Better Mascot - The Phanatic or the San Diego Chicken?

The San Diego Chicken. I was in San Diego before he became the San Diego chicken when he was a mascot for a local radio station.

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Padrographs gets a 5 outta 5. I thought I would have to ding him on the Mascot Q, but he came up with a good enough justification for favoring the chicken - And anytime Larry Andersen gets mentioned that is always a bonus.

I would like to thank Rod for his time, well thought answers, and for giving me the opportunity to post the Buddha picture. For a look back at a previous Phungo 5 click here for a look at Trader Crack's 5.

Phungo Cards - James Bond Island

2009 Phungo #19 James Bond Island

Last year we took a vacation to Thailand to visit relatives on my mothers side of the family. It was a fun, crazy, and adventurous two weeks. I had not been there in 20 years, and had not seen my aunt uncles and cousins since my last trip in the late 80s.

While there we spent a couple of days in Phuket, which is a beach resort area near the equator. James Bond Island is a tourist attraction near Phuket, It is featured in the film "Man with the Golden Gun"

This week Team Phungo is heading off for vacation in Puerto Rico for spring break and....



The World Baseball Classic.

I hope to take some pictures and possibly get some autos. Expect a full report when we return.

8-8-8 Olympics

Tonight the Olympics open in Beijing. In addition to rooting for the USA I will also be pulling for Thailand. The two pictures below were taken on a trip to Thailand this past winter.


Both of the photos are of a temple in Ayutthaya. Much of Ayutthaya was burned down by the Burmese in during a 18th century conflict. These temples are among the ruins that remain from that conflict.