still here

No, I've not vanished into the night like the Batman.

There was an incident at our house that took place late last week and we're still kind of reeling from it. I'm still reading, making trades. Haven't bought too much of significance. Some 2012 stickers and a discounted 2011 Heritage blaster I found at Wal-Mart is about it.

I keep reading mumblings about a CBS special about baseball cards. If the hobby is dying, why bother doing a report on it? More sounds like they're trying to stir up some buzz for the hobby as opposed to killing it off. Who knows.

I'll be back around once this blows over, which hopefully won't be too long and once I've got some stuff to talk about again.

See ya in the funny pages!

over the rainbow

I know it's just Spring Training but somehow the Blue Jays are 16-4, with the second best winning percentage (.800) in the entire league (AL and NL). Only the Tigers have a better win percentage at .813.

Kyle Drabek went an OK 4-5 last season with a 6.06 ERA. Not great but he is still very green.

So far in Spring Training he has gone 1-0. Not much time there I suppose but here is hope he does better and gets some more starts and experience under his belt.


Since Topps Chrome came out back in early September, I've been picking up these:

...and these:

I'm in no way a prospector but when you can get autos as cheap as a buck for a hopeful starting pitcher on your favorite team, you can't really not pick them up.

I traded for some of these and picked the others up on eBay. Some of the regular autos (the top picture) I did get for really cheap and even got one of the refractors for the same 99 cents.

These are all the variations of the card, save for the superfractor 1/1 and any of the plates. I've already come to terms about never seeing them and if they do pop up, I probably wouldn't be able to afford them. Normally also I don't usually chase rainbows either but I got the gold in a trade from The Dimwit, Sam and found a good priced lot that included 5 of these cards. The one I paid the most for was the red, numbered to 25. It still wasn't all that expensive though.

So here's hoping to a good Jays season and a good season for Kyle!

the graded reveal

Remember this:

I mentioned I picked up a graded vintage card and wanted you guys to guess who it was. Well, the time has come to reveal who it is and who wins the contest!

Now, normally I'm not into graded cards and this card is no exception. BUT, the price was definitely right and it's a card of a player we all have but probably not a vintage card of. My first card of his playing days and most collectors seem to agree that everyone should have an original.


Well, I do now:

My first vintage Mantle. It's beat and graded a 1 but who cares? It's Mickey!

1966 wasn't the best year for the Yankees and the Mick. They finished last in the American League (70-89), the first time since 1912. Mickey did have a personal accomplishment that season though. He passed Lou Gehrig on the all-time list for home runs in July. He would only be two seasons away from retirement when the '66 season drew to a close.

Now, pulling Mantles from packs these days has been terribly diluted by Topps over the past 6 years but there's definitely something special about an original. It, like many other vintage cards, has a certain charm that newer cards have seemed to have lost. I still haven't cracked it from the case but may in the near future.


So who got it right? Jason C. and Steve D. both guessed correctly. Jason wins the manu-prize and Steve, I'll have something for you as well. Both of you guys shoot me an email and I'll pick out some stuff for you to pick from. Thanks to everyone who guessed!

the final piece of the puzzle

It's finished.

The final card needed for my 1973 Topps set has arrived today. John Callison was the last to show up to the party out of the final five cards I purchased.

Allow me to explain.


I needed three cards to finish off the set, 535, 554 and 586. Those were the cards missing. I picked up an other 578 due to it having tape on the back and was the only card that was in dire need of replacement.

The fifth card comes from a big error on my part. I kept seeing the Harmon Killebrew card (card 170) in places. The local shop. The past few shows. Online. The weird part was I didn't recognize it. I checked my binder and what did I see in the slot where card 170 goes? How about a double of card 168, Jim Northrup? Jim was in his proper position as well, meaning I messed up and put two of the same card on the same page. No idea how it happened but now I needed the Killebrew and I found him cheap online as well.

So there it is. The final five have arrived and the set is complete. How did I do though?

Well, let's do a little math. Or at least stats, I've already done the math.

I kept track of everything regarding 1973 purchases. How many cards, how many I needed, how much, where I got them and even cost per card. Nothing got bought without it being logged onto my chart here. Its handwritten so I don't have it on here but here are the final totals:


Total cards purchased: 1071 (in the beginning I picked up lots just to get the set started off)

Total cost of all cards/lots purchased: $336.81

Cards needed out of total purchased: 686 (684 in the set total, including the blue checklists)

Cost per card (average): $0.49



Not too shabby but I recently sold a lot of 152 cards for $45.00. Subtracting that brings my totals to this:



Total cards purchased: 919

Total cost of all cards/lots purchased: $291.81

Cost per card (average): $0.42



I started about 2 weeks before Christmas, so thats close to three months. Completing the project for under $300 is really good, I feel. The average price for a set sold on eBay is about $400, maybe $350. All things considered I think I beat this one out, plus it was a bunch of fun to collect and piece together myself. I am doing the same thing with the 1971 set too, so we'll see how well I do on that one.

Feels good to finish off a set almost 40 years old. Let's hope 1971 goes just as smoothly.


(Don't forget to cast your pick from yesterday's post!)

trade and a contest

A few days ago a package from Nick over at the 'Dime Boxes' blog came in the mail. This was our second trade. He had claimed the box of minis that I posted about a little while back.


Here is a small sample of what he sent over:

The main thing I was looking for was 2012 parallels and Heritage cards for my sample collection. I have the binder with the single page of every year of Topps from 1952 to now. Well, I also wanted to do one for Heritage. I let him know which years I needed a few cards from and he sent a couple over. He also included some great cards of retired guys I collect, or don't collect, which is also fine by me! I am loving that Mays card and Dizzy Deans are always welcome. I'm finding a lot of that 2002 Sweet Spot set as of late. The Sisler is pictured here but I also got a few more from Nick plus I found some in the dime box from last show (not yesterday). The Seaver is from the Topps Archives Reserve, a 100 card refractor set. I can't believe I found two of those yesterday in those dime boxes. Great stuff, thanks Nick!




I also picked up a card off eBay, as you can see its been graded by PSA:

I won't reveal it just yet, as I want you to guess who it is.


It's a contest of sorts.

Guess the player and win a prize. I have a couple manu-relics/patches available and if you guess it right, I'll post a couple up and you can pick one. Easy as pie right?

I have one stipulation: simply follow the blog. If you're a follower you're good, if not, follow it!

I will also give three hints to help the guessing. The first reader to guess correctly, will win the manu-prize mentioned above. Don't let that stop you from guessing a similar name as someone above you in the comments because I may be able to send something to those who do guess right (not a manu-prize but something). I'll hold this contest until Tuesday around 3PM eastern time.

Hints:

1) The card is made by Topps.

2) The card is from the 60's (1960-1969)

3) The player is a Hall of Famer


There you have it, start your guessing!

best card show haul ever!

I went to the monthly card show this morning. I had two objectives: hit the dime boxes hard and pick up some 1971's.

I did IMMENSELY well on both. Nick, you'd be proud.


First up the dime box finds:

I spent thirty dollars on dime boxes. THIRTY DOLLARS!! The usual dime box guy who I hit each show had epic cards this month. I walked away with roughly 370 cards. He does a 60 for $5.00 deal. I had to buy a box from another vendor just to carry them all. I usually have a lunch bag and that does me good. Not this time.


The sorted piles:

I hit retired players sets hard. It made up for well over 3/4ths of what I picked up. Fleer Greats of the Game, Fall CLassics, Upper Deck Sweet Spot Classic, SP Legendary Cuts, Century Legends, World Series Heroes, UD Classics, Topps Archives, Super Teams, All-Time Fan Favorites. The list goes on. I managed a few good rookies too, Konerko, Pedro Martinez, Sabathia, Dunn. Some Rookie cups also.


Here is my top ten finds of the dime boxes:

The Mays card is awesome with 'The catch' in the background, Hank comes from 2004 Topps retired and yes, thats a Bob Feller Tribute card. A Tribute card in a dime box. Pat Burrell is made of metal so thats neat. The Ethier rookie was obvious and Roy Face is numbered. The bottom three come from that Upper Deck Century Legends set I mentioned above. I grabbed probably 50 cards or more from this set alone and these three were the absolute best of the bunch. Look at the Cobb! I know I've mentioned it before but you just can't have too many Shoeless Joe cards and if you look closely, you'll notice that Sisler is playing for the Senators. He where he played a single season, so this card is exponentially better than anything I have for him.


That's only nine you say? Well thats because this was the best dime box find:

Yes, I have it already but I'm not passing up a short print legend for ten cents.

The crazy part about this haul is I had to stop myself! There was still another box to go through. I only went through two 3200 count boxes! There was so much awesome stuff that I'm still in awe with what I've found.



As for '71's, I hit three dealers but did the most damage to my wantlist from my vintage guy, Larry. We're on a first name basis now, I see him so often. Well, I ended up with 73 towards my set today (plus I picked up 67 from my local shop, cleaning him out of what I need) putting me at 513/752. I'd say it's coming along really well!


This was the best of what I got today:

The big boy of the set. The highest booking card at $150 (along with Nolan Ryan, thanks carlsonjok, I totally spaced on that), I got it for a fraction of that. Sure it's got the double image thing going on a little but the condition is fantastic.

I gotta say, going for this set is way more satisfying than busting wax right now.


All in all, easily the best show haul I've ever had. So much great stuff that I'll be sorting for quite some time.

heritage results

So I know you're all dying to know what I got in my 2012 Heritage blasters.

Well first off, I'd like to mention that I really like this year's set. The 1963 set is a fun and super colorful design that works really well. If I weren't down on collecting Heritage, I'd probably try to put it together. I like it a ton better than last year's set.

Now, The picture I showed in yesterday's post showed three blasters. I bought the middle one on Tuesday and opened it that night. I picked up the other two on my way home from work Thursday but decided to do a post on all three results. Like I mentioned, I was really surprised Wal-Mart had them day one. My store never has any set day one.

Anyway, on with the busts.


Box 1:

Three short prints and a blue border. The Chromes are normal but the stickers are new. They're kind of weird. Maybe I should just stick random floating head stickers of baseball players around the house and see how long it takes my wife to think I've lost it.


Box 2:

The best card of this set here? The Early Wynn. I haven't pulled a Wynn card in maybe ever and it's great to see him here. Three more short prints and another blue. The pack with the Tex Chrome actually had the base card in it as well, a literal cardboard nightmare to those who really dislike him. Oh yeah, the Halladay is cool too. And a panda sticker!


Box 3:

This blaster was loaded. Three short prints, a blue, two flashbacks, a Mariano floating head, a Jeter and a relic! All it was missing is the Chrome card but hey, I'll take the relic instead.


Overall I'm very impressed with the set. I love the look and feel and it really captures the 1963 set well. Heritage rarely disappoints in general and this year is no exception. I won't complete the set and may not even purchase much more (more on that in a second) but I like what I'm seeing here.


I was at the local shop today and he had Heritage in stock. Good price on boxes too but I resisted. Instead I picked up 70 cards that I needed for my 1971 set. Plus it was cheaper than the box! The only reason I'm even bothering to mention this is because it's simply the first time I've done it. I took the route to help my 1971 set as opposed to picking up the new stuff. I'm always tempted by the new boxes/packs and such but this time I really resisted. Felt kinda weird but great for my set (got the Seaver and Marichal to name two).

heritage is go!

To be busted while watching 'This is Spinal Tap' and chowing down on some dinner!

I'll post the results tomorrow.



(This will probably be the majority of my Heritage purchase)

the list is here (with a little apathy)

If you haven't noticed, my 1971 Topps page is on the right. I dedicated the whole page to my needs and what's for trade. If you're collecting the '71 along with me, check it out and see if I have anything you need or if you might have something I need for my set. I'm already having a blast collecting it, looking through it and what not. It sure was a pain to type out what I needed for series four. So much that for five and six, I typed out what I have instead of need. Too many cards from the final two series' to list for now.

The dealer I talked to and picked up a bunch from at the show was telling me that out of all the 1970's Topps sets, he thinks 1971 is the toughest. I can see that. from 1974 onwards, everything was presumably printed in the same quantities, so those are much easier, no short prints or high numbers. 1973 wasn't all that hard but some of the final series cards were tough to find or pricey. I can see 1972 being a big deal due to its near 800 card monster size. I'll bet it rivals the '71 for difficulty. As for 1970, I'm not sure how tough it can be, I've not seen many collect it around here nor have I done much research on it.

As for trading for/away some '71s, I'd like to trade 71s for 71s. Just easier for me, I think. Plus it gives that 'schoolyard' feel of a trade, just through the mail!


My apathy is stemming from newer releases. Opening Day came last week along with Tribute. Heritage is now. I know I said I wasn't going to do any Tribute and I stand by that. I HATE encased cards (unless I put them there) and all the hits are encased. Awful. Plus it's way overpriced for what you get out of it. The supposed weak auto checklist this year doesn't help much either.

Opening Day is on the opposite end. It's cheap....that's about it. I spent a TON on trying to put together the 2010 set and swore off trying to collect it again. 2011 I bought a single blaster for $9.99. This year I said I wanted to spend half that but I don't even think I care about doing that. It'll be weird not buying any of a new set but I think I'll deal. Heritage is getting to be the same way. I chased it in 2011, got fed up, sold it off and let someone else have the hassle of finishing it up. I said I'd buy a box this year but I may not anymore. I keep looking at the cards online and think of how many I'll have sitting in my boxes here and just think, 'meh'. I want some, for sure but a box worth? I don't know what's happening really but it feels weird not buying new stuff. I know my wallet sure thanks me though.

Maybe it's just a shift from new and shiny to old and ratty.


And that's fine by me.

s'more 71s

How do these look for about nine bucks?

Sure they're beat but it's a Munson, arguably one of the most iconic cards in Topps' history. I really didn't care what condition it's in, I needed it for the set. I already had the McCovey and Carew (from this Saturdays show) but I did also need the Orioles World Champions card too. I really like how Topps did that for those three years ('70-'72), in which they honor the previous World Series champion with their team card as card one. They need to bring that back, it'd be a really classy move.

I also got in a lot of cards from eBay. The seller said it was 65 cards in the auction but he added in some extras bringing it to 89! What a guy! Out of those I needed 49 of them and I only paid $10.50 including shipping. They were in decent shape, nothing mint but nothing destroyed either and all perfectly fine for my budding set.

Currently I'm at 353/752, almost halfway there. I am starting to accumulate doubles and I plan on putting up a separate page on the sidebar for the 71 needs and doubles available. So if you're collecting it, keep an eye out for that, hopefully in the next few days or so (I did say hopefully). If not then, then soon. I'll keep you posted.

mini mania...for trade!

The minis around here have gotten out of control, and the only real issue with them is storage.

I've decided that they're just taking up too real estate in the old cardboxes so they're up for grabs.

So what I need is one person to take them off my hands.

Here is a breakdown of what we've got:

2009 T206: 133
2010 T206: 18
2003 T205: 1
2007 Allen & Ginter: 1
2009 Allen & Ginter: 8
2010 Allen & Ginter: 18
2011 Allen & Ginter: 70
2011 Gypsy Queen: 26
2011 Topps Kimball Champions: 8
2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions: 26
2011 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions: 4
Some other random minis in there too.

Is anyone really big into minis? If anyone is, let me know and we'll work out a deal from there.

I fit them all into one 200 count box and it's ready to be shipped off to one brave blogger, obsessed with minis so much that they need almost 300 more. They work great for franken-sets, so if you're putting one together, this may be for you.

impatience is a virtue

When it comes to cards and collecting sets, I'm awfully impatient. I want the set finished as soon as possible and I think it makes me spend too much at times, mostly when collecting newer sets.

I've been searching high and low for the final three cards to finish up my 1973 set. The blue checklists came in the other day. I hit the show this morning and came up dry on those three cards. I checked the four dealers that had a large amount of vintage and none had any of the three. I checked eBay and found two. I found them earlier but I wanted to see if I could find them from the same seller, to save on shipping. I also wanted to check the show first before I grabbed them individually. They aren't expensive but why not save where I can? The only card I cannot seem to find is card 554, Dave Concepcion. If anyone has one lurking around in their collections, please let me know. I'll trade HUGE for it.

**Edit: I have found Dave, he was lurking on Sportlots!**


The show wasn't a total bust though and I've gone ahead and removed the poll from the sidebar. With a final tally of 21/11 in favor of 1971, I've gone all out on that set and decided it was next. I'm not even looking at 75's yet. I picked up a nice starter lot from the local shop (244, I'm including the few I had in my collection) and some great cards today (58 total from two sellers), which puts me at 302 towards the set.

Check out some of the pick ups today:

These came from my 'vintage guy'. The dealer I got a bunch of the 1973's from at the last show and in the mail. He's a super nice guy and always gives me a great deal. Since I didn't have a list made up, I just brought the 300 count box I got from the local shop last night with the cards in it. I just compared numbers and came up with some good ones. Other stars too like Rollie Fingers, Don Sutton to name a couple. I won a few auctions on eBay for some various 71's and I've got to say it's fully on now. 1975 will just have to wait it's turn.

Thanks to everyone who voted. I figured the '71 would be the winner and I'm glad it was (well, at the time of poll deletion). This is already becoming a fun set to collect and I know it'll stay that way.

So there you have it, My impatience has led me to start another classic vintage set. What a journey it'll be.

rounding third... (mailday and clarification)

I'm rounding third and seeing home plate. The 1973 set is practically under wraps with the latest package:

This one is the Check out my Cards package. I needed 14 cards, they only had 11. Fine still because these were cheap being that they're high numbers. Hopefully I can seek out those final three come Saturday, like I previously mentioned.


This also came today:

Look familiar? If you read It's Like Having My Own Card Shop it should. Dan Posted this up on his blog and I expressed interest. I shot him over some possible cards he may like (some Diamondbacks hits) and he wanted a Daniel Hudson auto relic I had and off it went. This will look nice next to my blue border parallel in my Jays auto binder. Thanks Dan!



As for the clarification.

The poll I put up on the blog yesterday, determining which set I should chase next (1971 or 1975) is set to determine which one I chase first. I want to finish them both and will pick up cards for both at shows, eBay and the local shop when applicable. I really like both sets but the poll will end up picking which set I dive into the hardest. Meaning I'll be picking up cards here and there for both this month but once April hits and the poll ends, I'll put one aside and focus all my effort on the winner. Which right now is 1971 by double (20 to 10) that of the '75. No surprise really. Some of you just want to make it difficult for me or think it's just a better set. I don't mind the difficulty though and feel it will present a nice challenge but not impossible or wallet shattering. I did win a great auction last night for almost criminally cheap and can't wait to get the cards.

The show this weekend is the one held at the high school in the next town. It's actually held most of the year, monthly (not when school isn't in session in the summer) and was the first show I attended when getting back into collecting back in early 2010. It's usually a good time and my goals are to find those three cards, pretty much no matter the cost (which isn't much by the way) and to hit the dime boxes. I had such great luck last show I plan on doing it again. Maybe if I can find some good and cheap 71's and 75's I'll grab them too.

to anyone who reads the blog here...

...I need your help!




Because....

It's poll time!


I need everyone to vote to the right on which set I plan on collecting next. I mentioned in my last post how 1973 is wrapping up nicely. The blue checklists are on their way, as are the 11 cards from Check out my Cards. That leaves me with three cards left that I hope to pick up this weekend at the card show. I also mentioned that I had determined which set to collect next.

Well, in a way I have but I picked two and I can't decide which I want to collect, so I need your help.

I'll show the set and list it's pros and cons and be sure to vote on the right which one you think is best to go for.

The choices:


1971:

Pros:

- a classic set and design that remains one of the most popular sets in Topps' history
- full of Hall of Fame players
- team cards and rookie cups (trophies really)!
- no "huge" rookies
- highest "booking" card at $150 (Clemente and Ryan)


Cons:

- a monster of a set at 752 cards
- large number of short prints (over 100)
- good shape cards are expensive, no matter the player



1975:

Pros:

- defines the 70's with its awesome two-tone color borders
- full of great players (a given for any 1970's set?)
- three big rookies (Brett, Yount and Carter) that won't break the bank
- zero short prints
- smaller set at 660 cards


Cons:

- the closer you get to the 80's, the less the sets sell for (meaning maybe cheaper to buy outright as opposed to hand collating it)
- buying lots on eBay can lead to getting mini versions if you're not careful reading the auction (not that minis are bad)


The whole point being that I really had fun chasing the 1973 set and I've noticed when I collect a set myself, as opposed to just buying it outright, I tend to appreciate it more. I notice I've looked through that 1973 set binder multiple times and sets I've bought complete I've looked at once maybe twice. Plus it's just a ton more fun making a set yourself. collecting, trading, hitting a show, all good things. So please, help me out and help decide which set I should chase next. I have very few cards from either so thats not a factor on which I should go for more and would essentially be starting each from scratch, like the '73. The poll will end April 1st.

I think with my more conservative approach with this years product, I think chasing a vintage set is a better idea. I'm not hating on Topps and will continue to sample each set but nothing on the radar screams 'collect me' this year, aside from the base set.


Vote now!

down to the wire

I'm severely closing in on completion of the 1973 set.

These came today:

This puts me at needing just 14 cards. The leaders card completes series 1 (1-132), the World Series card completes series 2 (133-264) and Ben Oglivie completes series 3 (265-396). I have located the ten blue checklists I need from an eBay seller at a good price. They tend to be tough to find, as I think they were sendaways and I'm sure few kids did back then. I have 11 more cards coming from Check Out My Cards, that I also got for a great price. After those come, I'll be down to three cards to put the cap on the set. I have also decided which set I'll be chasing next but you'll have to wait just a little bit and I'll make a formal announcement once the '73 is wrapped up.

april can't come quick enough...

I know I've mentioned before that I live approximately eight minutes away from New Britain stadium, home of the New Britain Rock cats.

Every year they hold a fanfest type of event, that allows fans to come by and check out the stadium, enter raffles and giveaways, buy season tickets and such. Local charities give stuff away for donations and get their cause out to the people. There's a bunch of things for the kids to do like face painting, games and mascot meet and greets. They give stadium tours too, which is why we went. Oh, and free all you can eat hot dogs too. Nothin' beats a good dog at the ball park. I took some pictures, check them out.

The front of the stadium:

Normally the front of the stadium is pretty packed with people when there are games or events going on but I caught a rare moment when no one was around. Probably due to the rain.


Here is the view from the seats:

The view from the announcer's booth:

The device for the scoreboard:

This was just too neat not to snap a picture of:

There were some other pennants around too but the Ravens one was the best. There were some other Ravens things around too, namely on posters and such but all cool to see.


In the announcer's office:

In the clubhouse:

This is where I really wanted to go. It's really fun to see where the players spend their time before and after games.


More jerseys:

A few more:

This is the coach's office:

I was going to get a picture of the manager's office but it had filled up with people too quick for me to snap a shot.


The field view from the dugout:

The dugout bench:

Helmet and bat holders in the dugout:

Overall it was a great time. Being that it was my first time in the depths of the stadium and not just in the seats, I was really in awe of everything. Sure it's just minor league baseball but this is where the dream really begins for these guys. They had three call ups last season (Joe Benson, Liam Hendricks and Chris Parmlee), which they mentioned during the tour. They also mentioned a few times about David Ortiz, as if thats a surprise seeing as he's so popular on the Sox. Makes sense though. I had a great time and gave a donation to one of the local charities, which were giving away a voucher for two tickets at the home opener, on April 5th.

I can't wait.

Baseball can't start soon enough...

i got a ted and a wood

I picked this up from the local shop a few weeks ago and totally forgot about it. I placed it into my vintage binder and left it there:

1959 Fleer Ted Williams. An 80 card set devoted entirely to Ted Williams, around the time his career ended. The earliest of Fleer baseball cards, they have a nice color to them, with a simple design. I did want at least one for my vintage sample collection and this card completes the Fleer portion of that collection.


In 2003 the released Splendid Splinters. I know nothing of this set but I have this:

The top portion of the card is made of wood and the back of the card has a regular glossy stock. I like that it's made of wood and also that it looks kind of like the '59 Williams issue above. Fleer also put out an entire set that looked like the '59 featuring retired players called Fleer Greats of the Game in 2002. I have a few of them and they look great. Seems like a set I should pick up...

the lull

I think I've hit that wall again. Seems that I hit a wall when it comes to collecting around now. Burned out by Topps series 1, waiting for the baseball season to start, nothing new on the shelves for a decent chunk of time, etc. March looks like the month it hits me most. Sure I've made some great trades recently and even picked up a few cards here and there, plus some for the 1973 set but I just seem to have writers block or something. I had a bunch of ideas I wanted to do once February started and I think I burned through them all already. Heritage comes out in two weeks. Opening Day and Tribute are next week. Stickers the week after Heritage. Plenty of product, not much interest. Sure I'll sample them (except Tribute, more on that in a second) but won't be chasing them hard.

Tribute, I feel, is a pretty big stinker. The cards look really nice and shiny but you hardly get even close to your buck when it comes to the big hits. Plus this year every hit being encased in a card holder with a sticker? I'll pass. I hate when I can't actually touch the cards if I so desire to. Awful awful idea. I don't know, I felt Triple Threads had more going for it than Tribute does. Plus Tribute is going to be probably $400 a box, which translates to about $67 a pack! Sure each pack has a hit but seriously, thats absurd. Opening Day I plan on buying exactly 5 packs. Why? because it'll be exactly half of what I spent last year on it. I only ended up getting a blaster, which was $9.99 at Target. Heritage I may do a box but that's probably about it, so I should end up with some for trade.

I know once baseball season starts I'll be in the full swing of things again but for now, I'm laying low, finishing up the '73 and hopefully posting in a regular fashion. I'm certainly reading plenty.