Card Karma with Heritage High Numbers

I've been busy.  Busy doing good things. 

I built a little cat house for Hugo and Holiday.

Hugo knocking out another nap time.

 Part of my weekend was used to help my dad pour a new concrete patio around his workshop, thus picture of the concrete mixer above.

The other portion of my weekend was spent burying clay bricks on the pitcher's mound of the high school field so my pitcher's would have better footing during the spring baseball season.

My next door neighbors recently brought home a new kitten, so I crafted them a cat tree.  Hugo had to test it out before I could deliver it to them.  Yes, I've been busy.


Last night I was cruising eBay for Cubs cards.  You know, nothing major, just window shopping.  Then I saw Topps had released its Heritage High Numbers set.  And there it was . . . a David Ross card in a Cubs uniform!  I went to bed dreaming of owning my very own personal David Ross Cubs card!

Simple pleasures, folks.  Simple pleasures.

Maybe you remember my dilemma about sending Ross a TTM with some really sweet custom cards?  Well, I decided I would wait and try my chance at the Cubs Convention this winter with the customs. But now there's a mass produced card available and I'm all about adding a few to my collection with one specifically earmarked for a TTM for spring training.

After work today, with some loose change in my pocket, I headed off to my LCS to pick up a Ross card.

The owner was on vacation, and his art loving daughter was "running" the shop instead.  She didn't know where any of the singles were. Let's be honest here: she knew how to ring up the cash register and that was about it. Bummer.  I came home with a pack of cards instead.

If memory serves, there are 225 cards in the High Numbers set and packs contain 9 cards.  Yes, I'm a math teacher.  And yes, I know those aren't great odds of pulling the card I so deeply coveted. 

But, I had been building up good karma!  Undoubtedly, my odds must of increased from the actual 4% to something closer to 100%.  Right?  I mean how could they not?  For crying out loud, I spent three hours building a cat tree for my neighbors!

Let's rip in and see . . .

I'm a fan of Brandon Morrow and his electric stuff, but he's no David Ross.  Jacob Lindgren?  Um, he's Yankee rookie so maybe Zippy Zappy wants this one?

Gordon Beckham is back with the White Sox?  I didn't know that.  ZMac!  McAllister is a local product trying to find his niche in the major leagues.  Awesome addition for my collection!

The Jung Ho Kang is a short print, but it's long for my collection and it'll probably end up in West Virginia before Halloween.  Kelly Johnson is posing in the stands for a picture?  Weird. Just. Plain. Weird. 

 Evan Scribner and Dan Uggla?  Meh and double Meh.  Is there anyone out there who will take my A's and/or Nats cards off my hands?  Please! (No, seriously. Speak up and they are yours!)

Wait, I skipped a card.  This one was card number five in the pack, right before the Pirate rookie.

Woot!  Old Gray Beard, himself!

Yes, I cashed in all of my good karma that I had been building up for a David Ross card.
And I couldn't be happier.

As always, thanks for stopping by and celebrating the happy moments in life with me.

16 Cards in one PWE?

Yes, 16 cards for one forever stamp.  I don't know about you, but doesn't that seem a little much?  How does the post office let Dime Box Nick get away with such things?

I'm not sure, but I'm not complaining!   This one has been sitting on my desk for over a week now as I've been waiting for a good moment to rip it open.  Nick, such a thoughtful blogger, always hits on my collection needs.  I knew it would contain some high quality Cubs mojo.

Let's dive in with soft cornered vintage.  Is there any better kind of vintage?  No.  No, there is not.

Rizzo!  He's turned himself into the face of the franchise and I couldn't be happier.  Yes, I know Arrieta is having a bullish year and Kris Bryant is the poster child of the youth movement, but Rizzo is one of the biggest offensive producers in the league AND he's one of the main leaders on the team. 

Plus, Anthony plays with snow leopards.  How cool is that?

Swiped from the Twittah

  I think this is a 1960 Fleer and it's a dupe in my collection.  BUT, that's cool, because my other one is my all-time best Cubs card box.  This one will wind up in the FrankenSet!  Woot-woot!

 I'm not sure where to place this Ron Santo card.  I have him in two different Cubs folders: vintage cards and modern day cards.  Yes, Ron Santo is well represented in both binders.
I wouldn't call it a true vintage Santo card, because it was made after he retired Yet, it was made in the late 70s, which is petty dated.  #firstworldproblems  For what it's worth, it's a gorgeous card, but also somewhat perplexing. Why?   Look at the number on the bat nob.  23?  Odd.  Maybe someone like Wrigley Wax has an answer for that one?

 Here's the beginning of a nice little run of Kerry Wood cards.  This was the only Wood duplicate in the PWE and another strong contestant for my Cubs FrankenSet.  A thick Bowman Heritage card from 2005.

And the rest!  Ten new additions in all!

The Kerry Wood Collection now sits at 419.  Awesome!

  This Topps 206 was pobably my favorite, because I like "painted" cards.  The game card from MLB Showdown is a super oddball though!  Nick, I hope you didn't break up a set just for me.  These are hard to come by!

 I think this is a Topps Finest card, at least that's what it mentions in the etched text behind Wood on the front of the card.  The back lists some of the best pitchers from 1998 and Kerry is #2 on the list.

 Other pitching notables include Maddux, Clemens, Glavine, and Pedro.  Nice.

The last Wood card is this wonderful Statistical Standout relic from Leaf.  I like the horizontal stripe on the jersey swatch.  We don't seem them like that very often.

Neither the front nor the back mentions which statistic stands out for Wood.  I'll just go out on a limb and assume it was for strikeouts.  After all, the flamethrower from Texas was the fastest pitcher to reach 1,000 strikeouts in a career.

Lastly, the note.  I love when bloggers use blue painter's tape AND write a quick note.  Nick did both.

 The Biebering?  Wow, did I do that?  Hehehehehe!

Nick, thanks for a great PWE.  I'll keep saving cards for you while take your time deciding on a Bieber victim!  Go Cubs!

The Card Show Grab Bags!

I teased the contents of two card show grab bags a couple of posts ago and now it's time for the big reveal. Just to recap, this is the second time I have purchased these grab bags from the dealer and he claims the following for the $4 bag:  20+ cards, no junk wax, players with name recognition or higher end cards, and a relic or autographed card.  I could go to my LCS and purchase any number of $4 or $5 packs and not get the same return.  So, why not?

First up, the Anthoy Rizzo grab bag:

 We start with a Goodwin Champions card of Nolan Ryan in a suit and tie. Where do I put this in my trade box? It just says "baseball" where the team name is supposed to go.  Hmph.

Next up are some cards I was a little disappointed to see in the grab bag: 2015 Topps Series 2. Meh.  If I wanted flagship I would have just went and purchased a pack. And the names?  Double Meh.

I'm starting to regret this purchase already, and we're only seven cards in.

Cards eight and nine are inserts and bring a little more name recognition in the likes of Frank Robinson and Goose Gossage.

The inserts were followed by a few packs of Diamond Kings.  I really like this set, so there was no griping from me on these.

The last card of the lot, card number twenty-six (not counting the Rizzo), was an A-Rod jersey card from Turkey Red.

 I know where this card is heading, and it isn't into my collection.  Thank goodness I have same Yankee fans in my Rolodex!

Overall, I would give the Rizzo grab bag a D grade.  I definitely remember receiving more bang for my buck last time I purchased these.  Hopefully the Russell bag will rid me of that Topps Series 2 aftertaste.

Boom!  Mays and Aaron right off the bat!

A sliding Enos Slaughter and the Splendid Splinter!

 Another Ted Williams and one of the better known pitchers from that era in Whitey Ford.

 Ted Williams hit 0.378 for his career against Whitey and had an OBP of 0.511 against the southpaw.  Wow!

Here's a nice looking reprint card of Smoky Burgess. Smoky came up a Cub, I knew he was a Pirate, but I didn't know he played for the Fightin' Phillies.

 This pack just got interesting! The Kid, with backwards hat and all!

The Big Hurt! Just look at that smile.

Eck!  I love the Duracell oddball.  I think the only cards which should not have logos are the oddballs.  That's the way it was when I was growing up.

More Nolan Ryan!  Hey, Nick, need a card with Nolan on a horse? It would look good in your FrankenSet.  Let me know!

 Horizontal Nolan!

 Another Baseball Hero in Mr. October.  Man, I can't wait for October and playoff baseball!

Mr. Bloody Sock!  And both cards are numbered.  The Moments and Milestones card is 13/150 and the Topps Finest is numbered to 199.  I think the Finest card might be a green parallel?

 Manny and Vlad!  The Manny is numbered to 150, just like the Schilling card.  This is an early Vlad Pinnacle card, perhaps a rookie?

 Yuuuuuuuuuu!  I hope he comes back healthy next year.  I healthy Yu is good for baseball.

More ARod and an early Bowman card of Jimmy Rollins. That's a nice surprise!

A shiny Chris Davis and a mini Gio Gonzalez.  I love me some randomness and this grab bag certainly is certainly full of it!

 Oooooh!  Shiny and purple and numbered to 149.  Lane Thomas?  He was a 5th round pick for Toronto in 2014 and batted right around the Mendoza line in fifty-two games in the low minors this year.   I guess that's why a nice colorful parallel made it into the grab bag.

 The thirty-second card (not counting the Russell) is our relic card.  It's another Yankee, but this time it's Chien Ming Wang. 

I would give the second of the two grab bags an A.  Four numbered cards, some oddballs, plenty of Hall of Fame players, and it wasn't a simple dump of Topps flagship or Diamond King cards. This one was good for the trade box!  Plus, there was a half dozen more cards in this one.

There you have it folks!  I don't know if they were each worth the four dollars I paid, but they were fun to open.

As always, thanks for stopping by AND go Cubs!