I Guess It's My Turn

As I've watched everyone around the blogosphere breaking it there hobby and blaster boxes of the new flagship, I have to admit a bit of jealousy. Never fear, payday is here. I actually had enough disposable income from this paycheck, after stupid bills, that I was able to go to Wally World and pick up a hanger box and two packs. Why the choices? I couldn't tell you because I was just so happy to have them. Let me show you.

Let's start off with four of the biggest names I pulled. Darvish, Trout and Braun are all obvious choice here. I picked the Sale because of the uniform. The White Sox '72 duds are awesome in my humble opinion. I could have shown the Jeter close-up card. I'd rather gag myself first.

Next, some of the best photos in my group. Let's go in order:

Dustin Ackley - It is rare to find a card showing the ball connecting or about to connect with the bat.

Tyler Clippard - Peek-a-Boo

Luke Hochevar - Suppose to be the pitching savior as a #1 pick out of, guess where, Tennessee. Now he just wears the awesome powder blue Royals jersey.

Cameron Maybin - Apparently, I like all throwback unis no matter how hideous

Darwin Barney - Barney and the fans synchronized in arm raising

Daniel Descalso - DD showing off his Derek Jeter impersonation

John Jay - Beautiful timing by the photographer

David DeJesus - Watch out for that...ivy?

Rajai Davis - Great shot of the sheer jubilation of a walk-off win. 

Not much in the way of Rockies. I did get the base and gold parallel of Ramon Hernandez which is pretty sweet. Gonna need another CarGo for the binder, too.

Retail giving you the blues? Totally. I like the blues, but they are up for trade, except for the sliding McCann. That one's a keeper. Not often you catch McCann sliding.

This Chasing History insert is really cool in person. Probably gonna have to try to finish that one.

The one Emerald parallel I get, and it's Jose Contreras? Really? Needless to say. He is on the trading block. Preferably for a Emerald of one off my PC lists.

At first glance, I not a huge fan of this card. Not sure if I'm going to work on this insert set or not. I'll have to get a few more in packs to see. I'll get back to you on that.

So there you have it. The highlights of my first foray into 2013 Topps. Need/want the blues, emerald,
Johan Santana #89 or Rajai Davis #311, just let a brother know. You feel me?

Too much? Ok, my bad.

New Additions to the Cardboard Family

My friends, I've had some time to think about how I'm going to reshape my collection. As you've seen, I've been posting sets to try to liquidate my cards to just those of sets near completion or those I like. I've been examining these sets closely and found there are some players with which I just can't dare to part not named Helton, Uggla or Freeman.

My solution.

Binders!!!


I have created two binders for just my smaller player collections. One for my Rox and another for everyone else. I even made cool cover pages. (Yes, I'm a dweeb.)

Sweet, huh?

Finally, I believe I'll be adding a third binder of cards I deem as "cool". What does it take to be "cool"-worthy? Good question, but when I see it I'll know. This idea is still in the works, though.

In the meantime, I've posted these cover pages to my PC's page. If you've got some cool stuff of any of these guys, hit me up. Just because their in a binder right now doesn't mean they can't graduate to their own box someday.

2005 Fleer Patchwork Gold

It's been awhile since I've feature some cards for trade, but don't worry these have promise...I think. Let me start by saying I love the mid-2000s Fleer sets (excluding some base). 2005 Patchwork was not different. While I don't own many, they will stay at the Home of the Toddfather, for now at least.

Never fear, though, because I have the Gold parallel to the Patchwork set. I acquire these beauties via eBay in a lot that featured, you guessed it, the Toddfather himself. Not a bad selection at all, which helped me pull the trigger on these sooner rather than later.

In the interest of fairness, I will also show you the backs to show what they are numbered.

Here's what I've got:

13 Jose Vidro (49/99)

38 Pedro Martinez (39/99)

93 Eddie Murray (92/99)

Finally the Rock Has Come Back...

Now that I have your attention, I am not talking about the newly-crowned WWE Champion, The People's Champion, The Most Electrifying Man in Entertainment, The Rock. Sorry to burst your bubble.

Instead, I'm talking about the Rock pictured below. The Stolen Base Machine, Rock Raines.

You're think one of two things at this point. 1) This is going to be one of those Raines for Hall of Fame spills, or 2) Did Rock ever play for the Rockies? The answer is no...to both. Raines is gracing this blog as my first Listia win. I've read a bunch of things everyone has written about Listia, so I thought I'd jump in. Rock was joined by a few of his acquaintances from the 1995 Topps Embossed set. Take a look.

 Honestly, they are not in the best shape, but that's ok. This set is sweet nonetheless. And it was free shipping! I love free! Just saying. Not bad for a first win.

Oh, and that People's Champion card is totally mine. If you SMELLLLLLLLLLLLLL...what the Tim...is cookin'.

An Update on Update

Only about two weeks ago, I posted my 2012 Update wants. To be honest, I just forgot. I forgot to put them up to get the help from you guys and myself. Apparently, I thought I'd already completed the set.

Well, it goes to show that if I would have put it up sooner I would probably already have it complete. My friend, Mark over at This Way to the Clubhouse, knocked out a significant amount with just one email. Here are just a few of the great cards send my way by Mr. K. (Hey, I just rhymed...and not I'll write a Kenny Chesney song.)

Some rookies. Some All-Stars. And the only player in MLB that reminds me of Michael Jackson without looking like him. (See Yankees Deion Sanders.) That man would be...Fernando Abad. "I'm Bad. I'm Bad. Come on." HE HE!!!

Ahhh. I feel better now.

Anyway...as always, Mark came through in the clutch. Great cards to help my slowly dwindling needs. Don't worry, though. Mark will be receiving a lovely array of PC and Met material in return. Just haven't made it to the mailbox yet.

Thanks, Mark.

Journey Into the Past

As you guys can probably tell, I'm not big into the Vintage cards. I grew up in the over-production era, and that's where I feel comfortable collecting. I had mulled around the idea of grabbing a few here and there of the players that I liked from sets that I deemed "cool."

A couple weeks ago, I finally pulled the trigger after getting my catalog from All Star Cards and reading the book Cardboard Gods by Josh Wilker.

A Must Read for Collectors

The book is basically a chronicle of Wilker's life through his baseball cards. It wasn't the book I excepted when reading the title, but he did a great job using his collection to help tell his story. After reading the book and looking over the options in the catalog, here is what I decided to spend my allotted "Vintage money." 

Where's the airbrushing?

Love the name. Love the sleeveless Reds jersey he is famous for. Here Big Klu is sporting a White Sox cap but is listed as an Angel. Topps would not be having that nowadays.

I really love the colors of the 1975 set. Too bad my budget won't allow the completion of this set, but picking up players like good ole J.R. here could be just the fix I need.

Shouldn't LSD have been a performance-reducing drug?

After reading the Grantland article about Dock's LSD-aided (?) no-hitter in San Diego as a member of the Pirates, I knew I had to own at least one of his cardboard likenesses. I will have him in a Buckos uni next. For now, though, I'll savor the pinstripes, as weird as that is to say.

Is it me, or do I see an Ace Ventura resemblance? 

Finally, who else better to get than my first card of "The Bird"? Fitting right? I'm a Byrd. He was the Bird. (Makes you think of the movie Good Burger, right?) The was the man, the myth and the legend. 1976 Rookie of the Year. Two-time All-Star. 1976 Cy Young Runner-Up. Then it all ended in what seemed like an instant. The photo for his 1977 card shows how goofy the guy was, which I'm sure you all are already know.

So there you have it. No huge names. No huge prices. Just the way I like it. For those of you that do more with the Vintage than I, how did I do?

2012 Topps Chrome Orange Refractor

In honor of buying the last discounted hanger pack at my local Walmart, I will be showcasing the 2012 Topps Chrome Orange Refractors I have up for trade. It is no secret that I'm trying to complete the Purple Refractor set after busting a "hot" blaster box on my first go-around with '12 Chrome. So I'll buy the blasters and hanger packs just hoping to get the bonus Purple pack and the cards I need to finish the set. Unfortunately, the hanger was a disappointment for me purple-wise. I did get some pretty awesome Orange Refractors, though. And now they are up for trade.

Here's what I've got:

15 Jimmy Rollins

20 Adrian Gonzalez

79 Brandon Phillips

81 Kyle Blanks

93 Justin Verlander

98 Brian Wilson

122 Brandon Beachy

154 Liam Hendricks RC

192 Kirk Nieuwenhuis RC

214 Chris Sale

1995 Collector's Choice SE Silver Sigs

It's time to party like it's 1995 with this cool design. I liked the blue borders of the SE but just couldn't really get into it. Throw the silver on the borders, and you've got a great idea for a mid-90s card design. Upper Deck had some pretty good photographs grabbing the photos for this set. Some great action shots. One of my favorites is the Ryan Klesko from the set. The shot at Wrigley makes you image one of the 17 bombs a young Klesko hit in 1994. 

I have to decided to keep the Klesko, but the others are open for trade. I know someone in the blogosphere 

collects these masterpieces. So come and get them.

Here's what I've got:

19 Jason Isringhausen RC

117 Manny Ramirez

145 Bobby Bonilla

168 Fernando Valenzuela

187 Dean Palmer

199 Deion Sanders

254 Jeff Bagwell

2009 UD 20th Anniversary

Tonight, let's go with 2009 UD 20th Anniversary. Like the base sets Upper Deck came out with from around 2006-10, this one is forever long. 2500 cards to be exact. My lord!!! It's safe to say that with only six cards I'm not completing this set for quite some time. I do have some pretty good names, though. I know someone out there would like to add one or more of these to there collections, so let's talk trade.

Here's what I've got:

1281 Chipper Jones

1307 Bob Gibson

1332 Cal Ripken, Jr.

1346 Joe DiMaggio

1603 Patrick Roy

1747 Derek Jeter

2008 UD Infield Power

Time to throw out another set I'm looking to trade off. Today, I have the 2008 UD insert set named Infield Power. Nice looking cards. Player selection for the set is kinda of questionable. (Any insert set containing Garrett Atkins and Ryan Garko is probably not a great one.) Anyway, check out these beauties.

Here's what I've got:

IP-CU Chase Utley

IP-BR Brian Roberts

IP-GO Adrian Gonzalez

IP-MT Mark Teixeira

IP-JK Jeff Kent

IP-ML Mike Lowell

IP-CP Carlos Pena

IP-JI Jimmy Rollins

2010 Topps Triple Threads

Who's up for some Triple Threads? I picked all three of these on eBay for less that $.50. In the midst of downsizing, I realized I don't need them, especially since I don't collect any of these guys. Surely, someone out there would like these more than me.

Here's what I've got:
94 Roy Oswalt 441/1350
97 Matt Kemp 954/1350
120 Johnny Damon 1212/1350

2012 Topps Opening Day Superstar Celebrations

This is an insert that Topps has been using in the Opening Day sets for some years, as you probably know. Through the years, I try to complete the sets along with the base set. I did not buy many of this year's Opening Day, so, therefore, did not get anywhere with the inserts. All four cards here are big names that could use a nice home.

Here's what I've got:
SC9 Ryan Zimmerman
SC12 Ian Kinsler
SC14 Ryan Braun
SC18 Brett Lawrie

Like Father, Like Son

It's been so long since I've complete a trade that I almost forgot how it felt to receive the package. Thankfully, Tony, a reader, reminded. Tony contacted me in hopes of filling some of his 2012 Topps inserts and some Giancarlo Statons or Jason Heywards. Unfortunately, I had no Jay-Hey Kids to to give, but I did find some pretty nice cards, regardless. In return, Tony completed three of my sets (1991 & 2012 Topps, 1991 Score and help with 1/4 of the wants for another (1988 Score). Turns out, I was missing a father son duo of cards in sets 21 years apart.

Giving the Stottlemyres a run for their money.

Doug and Kyle Drabek could go down in history as the greatest father-son pitching duos of all-time. Not like there is much competition. Father Doug was the 1990 NL Cy Young Award winner and finished in the top five two more times. Kyle is a very promising starter for the new AL East favorite Blue Jays. Both played for Pennsylvania teams, although Kyle never made it to Philadelphia before being shipping with others to Toronto for Roy Halladay. Tough, crafty right handers that I'm glad I could give a good home.

Thanks, Tony, for the trade.

2009 UD Game Materials

I don't know many people who like the designs of the Upper Deck game-used cards at the tail end of 2000s (save 2010), but I do. The cards are very sharp and honestly just kinda neat. Like these from 2009. I also like the idea of the players initials and the "M" filled with the swatch. Such a simple idea, yet very effective in my eyes.

Here's what I've got:

Victor Martinez

Josh Barfield

Eric Chavez

Carlos Lee

2012 Topps Walmart Blue

With this post, you will all learn where I bought most of my 2012 Topps. You have to go all the way back to 2005 to find a year that the retailers (Walmart, Target, and now, Toys R Us) didn't have a insert or parallel specifically made for Topps. Ok, sure, Opening Day was made for the likes of Walmart and Target to sell, but I'm talking about the blue, red and purple cards we see in today's sets. As long as I have my Todd Helton, a few Rockies and a few for my small PCs, I don't necessarily want these cards. Got some pretty good was for trade.

Here's what I've got:
54 Jhonny Peralta
77 Kemp/Fielder/Pujols LL
153 Mark Melancon
186 John Lannan
190 Cole Hamels
298 Jeff Keppinger
329 Allen Craig
352 Julio Teheran
443 B.J. Upton
452 Robert Andino
619 Tyler Greene
624 Gerardo Parra

Glad I'm Not the Only One Who Noticed

While sitting at work, I pulled up the Hall of Fame results on Baseball-reference.com. After noticing the top vote-getters of the class, I scrolled to the bottom to see who I would not see on the ballot next year. I was shocked as many where all over twitter that the one-and-only Aaron Sele received a vote. HE RECEIVED A VOTE!!! That's ridiculous. Someone took a vote away from a legit Hall of Famer and gave it to Aaron F-ing Sele. What is wrong with this person? Ok, cool. You don't want to vote for anyone associated with PEDs? No problem, but don't give your vote to a guy with a career 4.61 ERA with 148 career wins. Give it to The Crime Dog, Larry Walker, Lee Smith, Mike Piazza, Craig Biggio, Dale Murphy, Jack Morris...NOT AARON SELE!!!

Now it's time to get off my soap box. Maybe next year, they'll vote for Brewers' Great Geoff Jenkins.

2005 Playoff Prestige

I love some of the designs that Donruss came out with for the Playoff series in the early to mid 2000s. Too bad it's tough to find packs of these puppies...at least around here. I own only three cards from the '05 Presitge set, and only one is a good card, in my opinion. 

Here's what I've got:

70 Michael Young

164 Scott Proctor

176 Dallas McPherson

2008 UD Documentary All-Star Game

Ok, so I normally try to say something nice about these sets I'm posting...but honestly, I'm not a huge fan of the 08 UD Documentary series. I will admit to buying at least two packs with every visit to the Dollar Tree to see if I could pull one of the 28 different Todd Heltons in the series. (I only have like three.) Mr. Wright is definitely the best of the five, but a beard-less Brian Wilson is pretty intriguing.

Here's what I've got:

ASG-WI Brian Wilson

ASG-DN Dioner Navarro

ASG-DW David Wright

ASG-GU Cristian Guzman

ASG-JP Jonathan Paplebon

1995 Topps League Leaders

Time to kick it old school with some '95 Topps. Topps really upped its game insert-wise in 1995. As a matter of fact, Fleer did, as well, but I digress. The League Leaders were just one of the good inserts. These are the only four I have, and since I've not seen a pack of 1995 Topps since 1997, it's time to part with these. I know Andy Benes is probably staying with me, but the others could find a new home pretty easily.

Here's what I've got:

LL7 Matt Williams

LL22 Andy Benes

LL24 Greg Maddux

LL28 Frank Thomas

2006 UD All-Time Legends

I have to hand it to Upper Deck. They had some of the best inserts in 2005-06, and I believe these are no exception. Six of the All-Time greats of the game. I don't need them, though, so my loss could be your gain.

Here's what I got:
ATL10 Mike Schmidt
ATL12 Robin Yount
ATL17 Carlton Fisk
ATL20 Reggie Jackson
ATL28 Lefty Grove
ATL35 Ozzie Smith

2008 UD A Piece of History

Got a pretty nice design here by Upper Deck. One of the few good ideas they had in 2008. I do believe the UD X from that year was a tad underrated, though. Some pretty good names here, too. Great shot of Pedro and his blue glove in New York. Also, some pretty significant events in World and American History.

Here's what I got:
24 Nick Swisher
38 Hanley Ramirez
62 Pedro Martinez
65 Hideki Matsui
91 Carl Crawford
94 Josh Hamilton
102 Bill Murphy
111 Ryan Hanigan
128 Carlos Muniz
162 Treaty of Versailles
177 Boston Tea Party

2012 Bowman Prospect Purple

Time to go current, or at least last year. I have five really nice Bowman Prospect Purple parallels up for grabs. The best out of the scan is definitely the Gerrit Cole, but all of them would make a good addition to someone's collections.

Here's what I got:
BP16 Jesus Galindo
BP18 Brandon Drury
BP34 Matthew Szczur
BP51 Brett Krill
BP86 Gerrit Cole

2008 Tristar Projection Reflectives

I acquired these chrome parallels about a year ago after purchasing several packs, then a box, of the '08 Tristar Projections. For some reasons, I was drawn to them. Pretty basic but weird design, especially like on the Conger and Friday cards. Regardless, I think it boils down to recognizing the names on Minor League cards that got me. Out of all the packs, I only came across six Reflectives. The picture doesn't quite to these justice.

Here's what I got:

48 Nathan Vineyard (Mets)

68 Michael Burgess (Nationals)

106 Omar Poveda (Rangers)

147 Brian Friday (Pirates)

160 Casey Weathers (Rockies)

167 Hank Conger (Angels)

Honestly, the only guy I know in the group is Hank Conger only because he got a pretty significant rookie push from Topps. I did find out, though, that Weathers is currently playing right down the road from me for the Tennessee Smokies (Cubs AA affiliate). 

Two down, too many more to go. More sets will be posted tomorrow. Hopefully, you'll find something you like.

2010 Topps Legendary Lineage

This is the first in a long series of posts in which I will be trying to purge my collection of cards I don't need/want or sets/inserts/parallels I will not be completing. If you are interested in any of the cards, just hit me up with an email or comment on this post. We can get a trade started, and, boom, the card is yours.

As the title says, we are going to start with the 2010 Topps insert Legendary Lineage, something Topps has done in some form since the East Meets West inserts from 2002, which will ironically appear in one of these posts in due time.

Here's what I've got:
LL3 Babe Ruth/Alex Rodriguez
LL5 Ty Cobb/Curtis Granderson
LL17 Cal Ripken/Derek Jeter
LL19 Whitey Ford/CC Sabathia
LL22 Frank Robinson/Vladimir Guerrero

Three Yankees, one future Yankee and Vladdy Daddy. Only five cards but not too bad quality.

Time to Downsize

Friends, bloggers, readers. Lend me your ears...Corny enough for you. Ok, you read right. I am downsizing my collections, kinda. I have partials of several sets, whether it be one card, ten cards, or 50 cards. More often than not, I have no desire to complete those sets. Again, they can be base, inserts or parallels. All manufacturers, all years. What I've decided to do throughout the year is posting those sets with numbers, names and scans (if the set is small enough). Maybe some are sets you're trying to finish, or maybe a card will help your player collections. Regardless, we can help each other in a trade. I will be posting the first of those sets some time tomorrow.

I will also be adding to the blog will pages for each team and the trade bait for all the players on said teams. I will be putting up singles, inserts, parallels, game-used and autos. This will be a work in progress, so nothing will be up just yet.

If you see something you like from either the posts or the future pages, just shot me an email. I'm always ready to trade. Remember to come back tomorrow for the first of those Downsizing posts.