I Didn't Go To The National

The National, again, was within a day's drive of my house.  Yet, I once again decided to stay home and just play with my cards.  I haven't spent a ton of coin on new cardboard this, but I did just receive a pretty nice haul of cards for about the price of a blaster from Sportlots.com.

If  you're up for it, let's go through the packages...  many pictures... few words!

Since going to Philadelphia and seeing the Phanatic in action I'm been on a huge mascot kick.  I've found myself wasting away the better part of an hour watching YouTube videos of mascots doing their thing.  I didn't have any cards of the The Chicken and I thought it was time to remedy that!

 I love early edition Upper Deck.  1991 was probably my favorite set, which I own, but now I have a couple extra I can put on display.

 Bo knows MJ can't hit a curve.

 More '91 Upper Deck and Pinnacle card of The Kid being a kid.

Speaking of kids...  Max Patkin was a kid at heart his entire life.  

 I was lucky enough to seen Patkin's act at least twice before he passed.

 The back of this 1995 Action Packed card gives a nice rundown of his schtick. Weird that the card information is upside down.

Shawon Dunston with Shawon Dunston, Jr.  . . . Junior is now a Cubs farmhand.  I would love for both them to sign this card, but I doubt I'll ever be that lucky.

More baby Cubs, including the newly acquire Addison Russell. Thank you, Oakland!

The four players above were all sporting USA uniforms, as is his Tino Martinez die cut parallel.

Huh, I think I know a Tino collector out there somewhere.

 Either my camera is having issues or I put in an order for a handful of Marquis Grissom rookies.  I'm sure these will find a good home somewhere in the blogosphere.

Card for my player collections!

 When I can find Ryno's for 18 cents I'm a pretty happy camper.

 I'm trying to get my Kosuke Fukudome collection up to the century mark.  These are numbers 95 and 96.  Four more to go!

My Ron Santo collection is a slow work in progress.  Especially since he isn't receiving any love from Topps since he went into the Hall of Fame.  What gives, Topps?

I'm a Fleer Pro Vision junkie.  The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

I will say this though...  If you fine bloggers would stop posting pictures of Pro Vision cards on your blogs I wouldn't be nearly as tempted!  Stop it!

I'm not sure why I bought a Josh Gibson card, but I found a pretty nifty looking one. 

Some say Gibson was the best catcher to ever play the game.  That's quite a compliment. 

Here's my impetus for visiting Sportlots in the first place.  I knocked out six sets.

I feel kind of silly paying 18 cents for cards from the junk wax era, but I've been chasing down twenty-five year old cardboard for a couple of years now without much luck.  I've discovered that many card stores have purged their junk wax from their inventory to make room for something of value.  I've also been given quite a few raised eyebrows from store owners, "You want '90 Donruss?"

Whatever.  Teenage me can sleep peacefully now that the last five sets from the 80's and 90's have been put to bed.  Everything left on my Set Needs page is now from this century!  Woo-Hoo!

It was no National, but I would consider my Sportlots purchase a success based upon set completion alone.  Finding the other cards to fill out the order and maximize shipping costs was just the icing on the cake.

Colossus: Battle #1, FrankenSet

The COLOSSUS came at me fierce and hard.  We battled long into the wee hours of the night and I struggled to block thoughts of retreating from my mind.

The. COLOSSUS. Would. Not. Die.


I dug deep down within to find the strength to best the beast and with the aide of my trusty sword (box cutter) I was finally able to take the behemoth of a monster down.

The reward was more than the gratification I felt for knowing I rescued the kingdom from certain destruction and ruin. A treasure beyond belief laid within.  Thirteen small flat rate priority mail boxes and a 600-count box.  Each box help cards packaged only with the finest of protection: the coveted penny sleeve within the hard top-loader combination.  My eyes could not believe my good fortune!

After much contemplation the sorting process began.  Piles were granted for serial numbered cards, specific years, decades, relics, autographs, and player collections.  The above snapshot features everything but the vintage, which was on the other half of the card sorting table (which is topped with baseball cards in case you thought you were seeing double).

We start our journey through the entrails of the COLUSSUS with this modest, yet very helpful contribution to my 2013 Bomwan Frankenset.

Jeff Samadzija already has half as many wins in one start with the A's as he did during three months with the Cubs.  Rizzo is currently in a race for a spot on the All Star team.  #VoteRizzo    Orange parallels are rare within the Frankenset and this Taylor Scott kicked out one of the favored cracked ice cards from the binder.  The blue Soriano gave the boot to a gold parallel.  Unfortunately, the Yankees did the same to Alfonso. I hope Sori lands on his feet!

There you have it... the first sampling from the COLOSSUS.  No worries, friends, it gets much better from here.  Stay tuned.

Closing the Book on 2013

Like many of my blogosphere brethren I posted a few collecting goals for 2013.  Let's reflect back on the past twelve months and see what I accomplished.

Sample page of FrankenSet

Goal #1: Collect and finish only two 2013 products.
     Well, I finished the 2013 Topps Opening Day set early in the year and then set my sights on 2013 Bowman.  The veteran set (1-220) and prospect set (1-110) proved to be no match, although I am waiting on my last prospect to arrive via My Cardboard Habit.  Some may call my FrankenSet a third set for the year, but I see it more as a byproduct of the Bowman base, and I'm only five cards away from its completion.

     So, maybe it's three sets, and I guess I only have one technically finished.  Hmph.  Yeah, well, um, let's not sit around discussing technicalities and failures.

Goal #2: Clean up the Man Room.  
     I'm really proud of this one.  I spent a large part of the year sorting, consolidating, collating, and labeling my collection.  Many of you know how difficult it is to not allow the cards to pile up on you, especially when a certain blogger, who shall remain nameless, dumps a USPS flat rate box of cards on you!
     I have a few decorations, which were birfday/Xmas presents, to add to the walls and one small stack (<50 cards) to sort, but otherwise I've reached the point where I would invite someone in and show off my collection.  This was a definite win.  Cool.

Goal #3: Put my 1978 Topps set to bed.  
     Heck Yeah!  This is probably my proudest moment as a set builder and a huge win for 2013.

Goal #4: Find a card show that has a dime box and indulge!
     Another big win on this one.  I only found one dime box all year and it certainly helped replenish the cards in my trade box.  I even found a pink '13 Topps Jose Fernandez in the box, which covered the cost of all my purchases at that show.   

Goal #5: Add my first 1/1 card to my collection. 
     Bummer.  Another shortcoming in 2013.  I had a nice offer on the table, but I failed to close the deal.

I never did happen across and crazy Brew Crew mojo, but let's be honest here: once Soriano was traded to the Yankees I lost interest.   I began searching the Bay for 1/1's of the players and prospects that I collect, but I never could pull the trigger.  The blogosphere seems to be full of the them as The Dimwit and Judson can attest, and some day I'll add one to my collection.

So, there you have it.  Three-for-five is a decent enough year, and realizing Goal #2 has me in really good shape for 2014.  So good in fact, one of my goals for next year would not be possible  Come back tomorrow and check in on my collecting goals for 2014.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Local Card Show - A Cure for What Ails Ya, Part I

I've been very much on the wrong side of "meh" lately and I needed a pick-me-up. It just so happened my doldrums happen to coincide with the weekend of the one "big" annual card show and charity auction which is sponsored by the local park district. 

A one dollar entry free for the best show within a hundred mile radius?  No problem.  I was pleased to pay it.  When I first walked in there were many items available for silent auction and I put bids on two: a Ron Cey autographed baseball card and an Albert Almora autographed baseball.  We'll see if I get lucky and finish as the top bidder, but I left the show early so I'm not holding my breath.  I figure if they haven't called me by now I probably missed out.  C'est la vie.

I did a little reconnaissance around the large gymnasium before quickly formulating an attack plan.

Bargain tables first.  I've saved these for last in the past and been burned.  This time, it was my turn to strike first!  And strike I did!

On the left is a unopened box of 1989 Swell Baseball Greats.  I had never seen these before today, and that's saying a lot because I grew up in the junk wax era.  There's one box listed on eBay for $31.50 with shipping included.  I took home this one for five bucks. It should make for a fun break during the cold months of winter!

On the above right is my quick $4 version of Stonehenge. A dollar each for some of the update sets of my youth.  I could never find the strength to purchase these during my middle school days.  Ponying up $15 for 132 cards was a tough pill to swallow back then, especially when I could purchase 9 wax packs for a third of the price of an update set AND have the joy of opening packs.  Good things come to those who wait.  Right?

Next I made my way to a minor league vendor.  I've seen him at a couple of different Midwest League parks doing the autograph hound thing with his son.  I had to sneak a peak at his inventory. On his table was a huge stack of signed baseballs and a few really nice team signed bats.  I found his Cubs prospects binder and purchased these two for my collection. 

These were by far my priciest purchases of the day at $5 each, but I didn't have a Matt Szczur autograph yet and I'm a sucker for anything Albert Almora. The pricing of his autos was a little out of whack.  A 2013 Bowman Chrome Carlos Correa was $5 and a 2012 Peoria Chiefs Kenny Socorro was also $5.  Everything was $5.  I'm kicking myself over passing on both Correa and Socorro.  For one, I think Correa for $5 would have been a steal. Secondly, I'm mad that I didn't offer him a buck for Socorro, the former Peoria Chiefs first base coach that my friends and I would cheer for in 2011 & 2012.  Yes, we cheer for the first base coach.  Moving on.

Right around the corner was a gentleman who had a pile of 2013 Bowman parallels and I picked up nine more toward the completion of my FrankenSet.  I only need about a half dozen more cards and I'm always looking to update my set.  If you have any Bowman Chrome that you're looking to get rid of I'll give you a more than fair deal.  Just drop me a line!

There were a couple of gentlemen with cases of vintage cards from the 50s and 60s.  One was selling everything at 75% off, but his sticker prices were HIGH and it smelled more like a mark up than a good deal.  The other guy was selling everything at 50% off and his price tags seemed more reasonable.  He even offered to let me go through his boxes of commons to help me finish my set.  Problem is I'm not working on a vintage set at the moment.  Man, I wish I were. He had some sweet deals.

I picked up a couple of loose Cubs cards from random tables before making my final stop.

This one is actually a business card that features Tinker, Evers, and Chance.  I don't know that I've ever paid for a business card before, but it was only a dollar.  But hey, it's a card show two hours south of Chicago, the card features three players from the last World Championship team, and I'm a Cubs fan.  Sold.

Another buck for the Bowman Chrome mini of the Vogelmonster.  I think it's official.  Yes, it is.  My man crush on Dan Vogelbach is just stronger than my crush on Albert Almora.  Don't judge.

A quarter for a nice card of Wrigley Field!  This one is going straight to my binders.

A 1993 Topps Stadium Club Ryne Sandberg, I believe it's a promotional card, and a 2013 Wrigley Field giveaway Sandberg were my last purchases before I settled in at the only dime box at the venue. 

The Stadium Club card was two bucks and the Archives giveaway was only a dollar.  I was pleased with both purchases and I'm now sitting 689 different Sandbergs in my player collection.  Nice.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with my finds and purchases.  It took great amounts of restraint to not open up my wallet further while stopping by the vintage tables, but I didn't succumb to the voices in my head.  Yes, you know the voices I'm talking about...  the ones that make you buy cards.  Again, don't judge.

Stay tuned and you'll get to see my real finds of the show.  Dime boxes!  Wait.  I'm sorry.  They weren't dime boxes after all.  15 cards for $1.00 would be a more accurate description. 

Thanks for stopping by and checking out half of my card show haul!

Blaster League Winnings, Part I

This past summer I ponied up a small entry fee and entered Matt's 2013 Fantasy Baseball Blaster Legaue.  I've never really played for money before, let alone baseball cards, but I gave it the "old college try" and came away pretty happy.

In all, I finished the regular season in 3rd place, 5.5 games back out of first with a 0.630 winning percentage.  The solid regular season effort was fueled by my love for pitching as I won the ERA, WHIP, and saves categories.  Each categorical win netted me a repack box. Nice!

I somehow finagled my through the playoffs and won the whole thing.  It was a tight race and I was definitely sweating it out the last weekend, but I made it through. As the playoff champion I was awarded three blasters.  Awesome.

Here's a picture of the box that was resting on my doorstep last Friday.

What was inside?  The aforementioned repacks and a blaster of Bowman, Archives, and Topps Series 2.

I cracked into the Bowman blaster with hopes of updating some cards in my Frankenset.  I came away a little disappointed, because I was only able to upgrade from a Joe Maurer gold parallel to this silver ice parallel.

I did pull a couple of nice rookies: a Top 100 Byron Buxton and a mini chrome of Sonny Gay.  Nice.

I open numerous jumbos and two hobby boxes of packs this summer of 2013 Bowman, but it took a blaster for me to uncover a numbered parallel.  Behold...

I found a Taylor Scott blue autograph numbered 5/500.  I couldn't be happier that I ripped an autograph of a Cub!

So far my prize package is starting off strong with the Cub auto hit.  Stay tuned to see how the rest of the blasters and repacks shake out.

Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't thank Matt, from Once a Cub, for putting together and overseeing a solid fantasy league this summer.   Thanks again, Matt!

He's Bleedin' Brown and Gold in Iowa and I Benefit!

Being only three hours from Wrigley Field I can see my Cubs play, in person, on a semi-regular basis.  I enjoy my day trips up to Chicago during the summer and it's easy to follow the Cubs within the local newspaper.  I guess I sometimes take that for granted.  It must be difficult rooting for a baseball team that is 1,700 miles away from your doorstep AND doesn't receive much coverage from the major media outlets.  Duff, of Bleedin' Brown and Gold, is in such a predicament and I feel for him as he lives in Iowa and is a Padres fan.

Duff reached out to me a little while back and offered to send some Iowa Cubs programs my way and some cardboard featuring Cubs.  How could I refuse?

Above are the five programs he sent my way and most of them have a scorecard inside from the day's game.  The furthest one on the right is the 2013 edition and my favorite.  I guess Duff tries to get his baseball fix by taking in some AAA baseball.  I've been to Des Moines a couple of times and they have a pretty nice stadium near the river.

I did my best to package up some brown and gold, but I feel I came up short in my quest.  Thankfully, the one big local card show in my area is less than two months away.  Hooray!  I'll be on the look out for some Friars in the future!

In the meantime, please allow me to show off what Duff generously sent my way.

Hee Seop Choi and Julio Zuleta were two of the Cubs first base prospects that never really "stuck" in the major leagues.  Both had huge power potential, but they weren't consistent enough with the bat and flamed out.

Both cards are super shiny and everyone knows I have a thing for shiny and sparkly cards.  The Choi card would be perfect for an autograph.  I wonder what the success rate is for TTM autograph requests to Korea?

Shoot, let's just stay on a little bit of a "players who were once prospects" kick, shall we?

 

Holy Cow!  That's a bunch of players the Cubs have put attached their hopes and dreams to.  At least three of the ten are serial numbered, which is nice, but my two favorites are of Brooks Kieschnick and Steve Clevenger.  I kind of have a mini collection of Kieschnick because I've been infatuated with him ever since he converted from hitter to pitcher to jack-of-all-trades.  Why Clevenger?  It's my first Clevenger card and it is slick looking.  Blue shiny backgrounds on Cubs cards are really a nice way to go.


A new Ryno to add to my collection!  This one is a 1997 Topps Stars card and number 686 in my Sandberg collection!

 The four cards on the right are from the Vineline, which is the magazine of the Chicago Cubs.  I've been a subscriber on and off for years, and I have these cards framed and hanging on my wall as an uncut sheet.  Pretty neat to have them cut so I can add them to my binder!

These two guys were fun to watch and were part of the Cubs' "Cajun Connection" up the middle not so long ago.

The Topps 206 card is nicely done and I love minor league cards.  Great additions to my collection.

Not only do blue shiny backgrounds work well with Cubs cards, but anything with red, white, and blue is a cinch to catch my eye.

 I was ecstatic when the Cubs traded for Harden as he was one of my favorites when he came up with the Athletics.  Too bad Rich couldn't stay healthy, because he just some filthy stuff.  Soriano left Chicago as a "good guy" and the Chicago media doesn't allow that to happen too often.  Congrats to Alfonso on reaching 50+ RBIs with both the Cubs and the Yankees this year.  I'm sure the list of players who have knocked in 50+ for two different teams in the same season is a short one.

Last but not least we have a 2013 Panini Prizm card of Mr. Cub and a silver ice parallel of the 2013 Bowman Gioskar Amaya card. 

Ernie will certainly find a place in my Cubs binder and the Amaya silver ice card will slide into my 2013 Bowman FrankenSet.  Nice!

Thanks for a great trade, Duff!  It was a little lopsided in my favor so look out for some Padres before the end of the year!