i'm a criminal

Or at least I feel like it sometimes when it comes to eBay and vintage cards.

The Cardboard Junkie posted a while back about obtaining Hank Aaron cards from his playing days. I had a few but the post definitely inspired me to grab some more. Here is what I came up with:

Ebay is a funny thing when it comes to cards. Some sell for high amounts and the next day the same card will sell for half that. A week later its back to the original price, then drops. So much fluctuation that its almost impossible to gauge a proper price on a card. Its those lows though, that you have to watch for. Case in point, the six fine Hank Aaron cards you see above. Yes, they are far from perfect but dammit, thats how I likes 'em.

Now, what did I pay for these fine pieces of cardboard? Check the price list below:

1974- $3.25
1961- $10.76
1964- $7.99
1967- $4.40
1969- $1.53!
1975- $1.99

I feel like I robbed these guys at these prices. Hank's LOWEST booking card was his final card in 1976 at $25. Obviously thats high book and mint but still. The 1969 gets the ! because it was graded a 2. I was sure to free him from his plastic prison. At a buck fifty-three I didn't care if it was practically torn in half. The lesson here? Go grab yourself some Hanks, every collector needs some vintage Hanks (he said Braves collector, I say every collector).

goin' for it

I'm a set builder. A terrible one but a builder none the less. As it stands I have every Topps flagship issue from 1982 to 2011. Want to know how many of those I completed myself? Three. A paltry three sets I completed myself. Those being the years 1987 (due to childhood significance), 2010 and 2011 (out of convenience for being recent and buying a ton). Oh sure I've put together a few others, 2010 Chrome and Opening Day, 2011 Allen & Ginter and 2009 Topps T206 (which is my greatest victory yet, some of those short prints were tough finds) but those were merely because again, I overbought and decided to finish it up. Others I've failed at were 1954 Topps and 2011 Heritage. the 1954 just became too costly and I had to sell off most of the bigger cards (Aaron, Banks, Kaline) to get by when it got rough in the summer. The Heritage just became way too annoying with 75 short prints at the end. Like I mentioned way back while it was fresh, I really didn't want to pay $3 a card for a no name player just because he was a short print. That set got sold too, in its incomplete state. Let someone else worry about it. I won't be doing Heritage ever again.

Today though, my local shop had asked me to open up and keep watch until he got there (opened at noon, he was there by 1:30). I decided to rummage through and sort out his two vintage boxes. Being around 6000 total or so, I had my work cut out for me. Thankfully most of it was labeled and kinda sorted. Meaning I'd find chunks of 1977s then some 75s and so on. While going through all these I had a moment of clarity and thought about set collecting and how fun it is. It was then that I decided I was going to try for a new set to collect. Which one you ask? See below:

Thats right. Good old 1973 Topps. What a set. These are the top nine cards I got today along with a few other stars (Carew, Palmer, Carlton, Fingers, Garvey) and around just under 200 commons. I already had the Hank Aaron and in the above picture I got what is my first Clemente card in his playing days, his final card, sadly. Why the home run and strike out leaders? Because they "book" for $40 and $25 respectively. Crazy right? Well as far as the commons go, they are all in various conditions and I won't be too critical in that regard when collecting this set due to the age. 1973 has no significance for me as a year but as a set it has a bunch of it. Its the final year for individual series, it has great action photography even still and it has a ton of Hall of Famer and all time greats. A solid year for Topps. I did toy with the idea of collecting this set a while back but never acted on it. Now is the time while I've become a little jaded with recent releases. Plus I think it'll be a great venture into collecting a set thats awesome and not difficult to find but still does represent a small challenge to complete. If anyone has some extras, let me know and we'll work something out. I'm watching a few lots on eBay that end tonight so I hope to score some more of the commons that way.

I do plan on getting around to my take on the Blog Bat Around, so keep an eye out for that soon. Work isn't as bananas this week so I should have some time to post a little more regularly.

patterns and updates

Man, I really wish I could get this scanner/printer to work right. I'd really love to have pictures accompany my thoughts on 2011 Update. I haven't purchased much. A few racks, a $9.99 Target box and some loose packs. With $$$ being a bit tight I'm forced to cut back a little. It's entirely alright though and I'll explain why (I'll get to Update in a second).

This being the second year that I have come back into collecting, I have noticed a pattern with my buying habits. First off, I have cut out a lot of the impulse packs and such that I bought so much of early on in 2010. When I got back into collecting, I had nothing, so naturally buying up anything and well...everything, seemed right. To see what I had missed. It was certainly a good lesson in past years of sets and players and so on but it left me with a mountain of cards. Thankfully I found blogging and fellow collectors on here that were willing to trade for their favorite teams and players. Or maybe they just wanted to finish off a set and I was more than glad to help. Topps flagship is a different story though. I have noticed that in both 2010 and 2011 a pattern has definitely made itself apparent. What I do is buy up a TON of series 1. Probably because it is a new year and the lack of baseball has be frothing for some cardboard goodness. Then series 2 hits and I buy a bunch but it is always significantly less. I'd say about half of what I did for series 1. Maybe it is due to the glut of products Topps puts out in between that kills my wallet and I'm a little burnt on cards at the moment. Or in the case of this year, little work=little money. Then Update hits around now and I end up buying even less than series 2, roughly half of that I'd say. I finish off the sets but then in the case of series 1, I kept buying. I have no idea why but I did. I know that last year in the case of Update, I knew it was hitting in mid-October and I was getting married about a week later. Little time for cards. This year its the summer lack of cash hitting again. So is my pattern due to circumstance or is it just how things work? I would say a little of both. Circumstance certainly has more to do with it but by the time Update hits I'm burnt on collecting and just want to finish off the set and be done with it. Topps releases so much during the year and I try to sample it all (high end not withstanding) so it just kills my drive. I did buy less this year than last year, which is good. Less stuff I don't need and more of what I set out to collect, which is something I wanted to focus on in the 2011 collecting year.

Anyway, enough of my silliness, how about some Update?

Again, I would love to have pictures but I almost don't need them because its Update and we've all seen them. When the set hit eBay I scoured to see if they had added any more legends variations and found that they had. 25 more to the fray, bringing up the total to 74 for all three series. If you need the list, I added them to the checklist on baseballcardpedia. I would like to collect them all again, so If you come across any, I'll definitely trade for them. I did manage to pull one, Paul O'Neill. I will trade for any of them but I won't be actively chasing the parallel versions just the regular white border ones.

Speaking of parallels, Update is FILLED with them and I don't mind. The congnac parallels are pretty nice and the Target red border are really cool too. Wal-Mart has a blue border (of course) and the Hope Diamond blue I haven't seen in person yet but I'm sure they look nice too. Speaking of Wally and Target, did anyone buy an blaster from either place? Do they still have the throwback and all black parallels? I hope not. As cool as the throwbacks are I think the red/blue borders are much nicer and I hope that blasters replaced the old parallels with the new ones.

As far as inserts go it seems that there are only Topps 60, Kimball Champions, and Diamond Duos, which are numbered the same as series 2 and have NO distinction as to which set it comes from. No idea why Topps did this but if you get a DD-22 from series 2 and DD-22 from Update, they look identical save for the players, making set building that much harder...if anyone even bothered collecting them. Sure ToppsTown are there but no one cares and thankfully are a little harder pull. I will be collecting the Kimballs too and will have a list up soon on my wantlist page.

Other than that Update is filled with some great action shots from the summer, All-Stars and some new rookies and is pretty much what you expect from series three at this point. I would like to finish off a set and if you find yourself with some extra Update you don't mind donating over, I'll gladly take 'em.

2010 legends variations part 3

Welcome back to the final installment of the 2010 legends variations collection of posts! Today I will go over the Update series batch. There are 22 total.

661 Bob Gibson / US-15 Willie McCovey / US-45 Steve Carlton
US-50 Reggie Jackson / US-85 Andre Dawson / US-100 Robin Roberts
US-175 Bruce Sutter / US-185 Jim Palmer


US-203 Tony Gwynn / US-214 Dave Winfield / US-225 Brooks Robinson
US-276 Rickey Henderson / US-317 Babe Ruth / US-318 Bo Jackson
US-330 Johnny Bench


US-25 Philadelphia Athletics / US-58 New York Giants / US-200 St. Louis Browns
US-220 Boston Americans / US-320 Washington Senators / US-330 Cleveland Naps
US-260 Brooklyn Dodgers

Another fairly easy batch to complete. Nothing eluded me too badly. The Ruth was probably the most expensive to obtain but is pretty cool seeing him in a Sox uniform. I pulled a few of these myself also. I like the inclusion of the teams in this series. Great teams in history that have moved to a new city or simply turned into a totally different team altogether. I love the Brooklyn Dodgers card, although the back of the card is upside down. I believe they are all printed this way. You'll notice that 661 is Bob Gibson, who parallels the 661 Strasburg. Well Strasburg may be good and all but he's no Gibson, nor will he end up being (probably).

2010 legends variations part 2

Welcome back to part two of the legends variations collection! Today I'll be showing the cards from series 2. There are 20 total.

331 Eddie Mathews / 354 Johnny Mize / 369 Jimmie Foxx
370 Mel Ott / 403 Ozzie Smith / 409 Richie Ashburn
476 Thurman Munson / 479 Dizzy Dean / 489 Roy Campanella

532 Dale Murphy / 549 Pee Wee Reese / 569 Tris Speaker
590 Ernie Banks / 600 Honus Wagner / 615 Nolan Ryan
650 Ty Cobb / 652 Mickey Mantle

377 Tom Seaver
400 Frank Robinson
559 Eddie Murray

Series 2 was not nearly as difficult to finish. The only one I had a tough time with was Mantle but that was due to me not wanting to pay too much for it. I pulled a few of these myself, including THREE Eddie Murrays. They have been since traded but I pulled three myself. What are the odds? Some of the better pictures they used were Nolan Ryan (a funny little tribute to his Upper Deck card), the great Ozzie Smith picture doing what he did best and the Ty Cobb, where if you look closely above his head, you can see a fingerprint in the picture itself. Probably from being handled for maybe 100 years or so. Stay Tuned for the Update set next!

2010 legends variations part 1

Ah the legends variations. I still remember coming across my first one, Ryne Sandberg, in the early days of my re-entry into the hobby. Sure it was only about a year and a half ago but it seems like forever. I had no clue what I had and assumed that Topps put in older players in the mix of the base set. A short time later, I pulled Robin Yount. Both of these are featured below. I know these tend to be the bane of some collector's existence with them being short prints and all but you don't have to collect them nor are they part of the set officially. I like them though and I made a valiant effort to collect them all.

Today, I begin the legends variations series of posts, with the offerings from 2010 series 1. There are a total of 20.

1 Hank Greenberg / 20 Warren Spahn / 50 Cy Young
56 Whitey Ford / 80 Christy Mathewson / 85 Jackie Robinson
90 Rogers Hornsby / 94 Carlton Fisk / 95 Rickey Henderson

110 Willie Stargell / 116 Robin Yount / 125 George Sisler
200 Walter Johnson / 250 Lou Gehrig / 294 Babe Ruth
300 Ryne Sandberg

100 Stan Musial / 130 Reggie Jackson
165 Joe Morgan / 175 Roger Maris

Like I had mentioned a few times before, series 1 is the most difficult to finish. I assume it could be due to a lower print run than series 2, or that it is older and most were probably discovered and sold shortly after release. I'm just late to the party. I noticed the hardest ones to get were Greenberg, Musial and Maris. The Hornsby, Morgan and Reggie don't appear too often either. The best pick up I had in this lot (and out of every vintage legend I've ever obtained), was the Whitey Ford. I found him in a ten cent box at a local show. Ten cents. Obviously it was a mistake on the dealers part but who am I to argue? Stay tuned for series 2 next!

rippin' wax

Lets rip some wax...well, plastic. While going through my box of packs, I decided to open one up.

A 1993 Topps rack pack. 45 cards of early 90's goodness. Normally I wouldn't even bother showing what I got out of a pack of cards from 1993 but this pack had so much star power, that if I had opened it up in 1993, I would have squealed with delight.

Here are the first nine:

Griffey, Dawson, Yount, Sandberg, all Hofers now (well, Griffey soon). HoJo, Glavine, Sosa, Martinez and Sheffield are all just icing on the 1993 cake.

The second nine:

A rookie cup! Hrbek, Kruk and Finley are some good players. Blyleven in what seems like it may be his final card (I forget if he is in '94 or later) and a great picture of Mack. I like the casual Karkovice with his catcher gear on in the dugout. The gold is Mike Scioscia, another quality pull. The other two golds were Jeff Parrett and Chad McConnell, a draft pick for Philly. Wow. What a rack pack. Seriously, five Hall of Famers and a gaggle of other good players. Too bad 1993 Topps is so overproduced...

2011 topps lineage (update)

As I noted on the bottom of yesterday's post, 2011 Topps Lineage is in stores. Well, hobby stores anyway. I think everyone forgot about this set, or they just didn't care. Hot off the heels of Allen & Ginter and last weeks Bowman Platinum, Lineage seems like a fun set collector's set. Here are the base cards:

Personally, I think these look awesome. I believe they could have held this design for 2012 Topps and I would have been happy with that. A 200 card set, that has an excellent mix of stars new and old. Even some faces we haven't seen in a while make a return here (see Belle and O'Neill). As you notice in the bottom row...Rookie Cups! They took 10 guys who never got a rookie cup card and gave them one. They are the final 10 cards in the set (191-200) and the trophy on the front actually says their rookie year, which was a nice touch. Seeing Ripken with a rookie trophy is pretty cool. My one complaint about the set is the backs, which I'll get to later.

Here are the parallels of the set:

These follow suit for the 1975 mini issue. Same size and everything. The players do have the same picture on the mini and the regular card, which different pics from the base set would make this parallel set a 'must collect'.

These are modeled after refractors essentially. Super shiny goodness.

These are just like the series 1 and 2 shinys. Nothing wrong with that at all. These look good with this.

Here are the Topps Giants. These come one per box and have a relic parallel. There are 20 of these and seem like they are the same size as the originals.

Now, on to the inserts:

These are the 3D cards. Kind of hard to tell on here but they look pretty good in person. Kind of like the Topps 2020 inserts from last year. There are 25 of these and they are un-numbered.

Anyone collecting in the 80's surely remembers these. These look awesome with modern players on them and look pretty true to the originals. I think there are 20 of these as the back indicates but the checklist seems messed up and says 19. Topps QC strikes again.

These are Stand-Ups. Fold 'em and see your favorite players come to life!...or something. Kinda neat. 25 un-numbered cards to collect here. (did I mention I hate things that are un-numbered?)

The cloth stickers. May be hard to tell but these are kind of flimsy, as they are actually cloth. 50 of these suckers to collect and stick everywhere!

Now, here is the card back. Yes it is in Spanish, as these are the Venezuelan inserts. The fronts are the same as the base set but they are numbered TV## and have Spanish on the back. 25 cards here. See, the back is the only fault in this set. I would have preferred lifetime stats on the back (and even more preferred would be a vertical back with a tiny pic and vital info and stats but oh well) but the writing is at least interesting.

The hits:

Here are a sample of the hits. The McCutchen auto is a reprint auto, where Topps reprints a card and has them sign it, on-card. They range from 1952 Topps to 1990 Topps for Nolan Ryan (as used on the sell sheet) to Andrew's 2010 here. Nice idea, I say. The middle auto is from the 1952 autograph set and features current players in the (now kind of droll) 1952 design. Decent names too like Posey, Jimenez and Freeman. The final card is the relics. They come in the 1975 mini style. Not much more to say there. They also have a jumbo relic too but I haven't pulled one.

In conclusion, I think this is a really great idea and I think Topps has done a fine job capturing some of their oddball heritage that we may (or may not) fondly remember during our collecting in the days of yore. The base set has a slick design that I feel outshines many of their flagship releases with its simple yet modern approach. Again my only complaint is the backs but when the fronts look this good and the rest of the inserts and parallels are this fun I can't really say too much bad about it.

Gasp!! A different picture!!


***UPDATE***

After a little research, I have found that this set will come to retail stores too, like Target and WallyWorld. Blasters come 7 packs per box plus a guaranteed mini relic (for the assumed $20), which seems pretty good once you look at the relic checklist. Some duds but some big names on there too.

The 80's looking rookie subset is in fact, 19 cards. Apparently card 15 was skipped but there are all 19 players that are listed on the checklist. So cards 16-20 are really 15-19.

Also, some folk on the Blowout card forums are bitching about this not being a set to make your money off of. Clearly this is a true collectors set and not a Bowman product just to make money off of. I feel that Topps put some good effort into this release and it should appease real collectors (not those looking for profits) in a good way.

topps is tops!

I'm not a 'set-in-a-binder' type of guy. My sets get relinquished to that white box hell that is card storage. I just simply don't have the space to have binders for every set. The sets rest on the top shelf of my closet, in their respectively labeled (or factory set) boxes. Namely Topps flagship sets from 1982 to now. Oh sure, there is the 2009 T206 set and that 2007 Fleer set. Even that 1991 Upper Deck set too. I think most all would agree that a set looks way better in a binder. You know, displayed for viewing as opposed to sitting in a box. Well, some sets look better than others and I think Allen & Ginter to be one of them. Choose your year, any year would look great complete in a binder. Well, this year Topps went and made these:

I think themed binders are a good idea. Too bad you can't get them for 1988 Topps but from Topps website you can get one for at least the past two years of the base set, Heritage and A&G. I know those of you who bought A&G this year got some of these:

We all did. In droves. They do make good packing material though. The coupon is pretty useful too. Colbey of Cardboard Collections fame, recently posted about these, asking about quality. Well, his post prompted me into looking into them and I remembered the coupon and that I had the $10 off code from the Diamond Giveaway to use in the Topps Shop. These combined brought the price down to a more reasonable amount. They want $16.95 for the binder with ten pages. Not bad but then you factor in the $9.65 for shipping (UPS) and it makes it a little harder to swallow. Well, I ordered it on Sunday and it arrived today. Topps turn around time to me is quick, as they are in New York. After the item was placed into the cart and shipping was added, it came to $26.60. Add the coupon and the $10 and it dropped to $14.41. Surely an acceptable cost. The binder itself is well made and is padded on the top and bottom. A D-ring setup on the inside, some old-timey art that looks like a hobby box on the front and a nice black cover and inside, all adds up to one classy looking binder. So if you guys on the Diamond Giveaway site that it that $10 code, with an Allen & Ginter set (and coupon), may want to look into grabbing this. I may even want to grab the 2011 series 1 and 2 binder just to have that set in it. Bravo Topps, bravo.

topps...(sheesh)...again.

As most of you know (mostly due to me mentioning it numerous times), I am putting together the legends variations sets from 2009, 2010 and 2011. I've worked the most on '10 and '11, as I figure I'll do '09 once these are done. Now, being that we, the collectors, have only one company to rely on for our cards, we are no stranger to Topps. Topps likes to reuse photos on their cards, or even just use older photos for a current release. Just check out Luke Hochevar from 2011 series 2 (card #620), you'll notice that on his arm is a 40th anniversary patch for the Royals organization. Seeing as how the Royals debuted in 1969, I believe this photo was taken in 2009. Used on a 2011 card. They couldn't get another picture of him? Or at least airbrush the patch out? Or look at Aaron Hill from 2010 and 2011. Both the same picture, taken probably in 2009. Seriously. This however, was the one that takes the cake:

George Sisler. Certainly one of the greats of the game but they had no other photos of him? Every one of these came out in 2010! Two short prints on top (series 1 and Update for the team card) and two inserts on the bottom (Turkey Red and Vintage Legends). I know he played from 1915 to 1930 and photos were limited back then but really, find a new picture. I know they exist, I've seen them! Conlon had a couple. Even a few Topps cards from other sets or years had different ones. Just laziness I guess. That or money. They probably have the license to certain photos from his estate and are limited to them. Ah, well.

On the legends variation front, I am almost finished with 2010 and 2011. As of right now, I need 4 for 2011 (3 are on the way) and 5 for 2010 (4 are on the way). For the 2010, some of the series 1 cards get tough to find. Roger Maris and Stan Musial proved to be the toughest and I had to get Musial off of checkoutmycards.com because it never really surfaces on eBay. Maris also rarely appears and I still have trouble locating one. 2011 I only need the Mantle but it's not a matter of finding it, I just don't want to pay $20 just because its Mickey. Once these two years I'll work on 2009, which I have about 8 of so far.

round one

Let's start this thing! Fire it up! Benny, I still need your payment but I know you're good for it so whenever you can get it over here is good. Let's start with some early 60's Topps cards:

1960 to 1963 in fact. This will work the same way as last time, I'll have an order here and just go right along with your picks. If you want to make the list again, feel free. Makes things easier if you think you may not be able to get to check up at a later time.

1-hiflew- cardenas
2-diamond king- bressoud
3-commishbob- callison
4-ba benny- kindall
5-ryan- schilling

topps diamonds

I can't really say I had high hopes for the Topps Diamond Giveaway. After last years Million Card Giveaway and the lack of great things I pulled from that, I expected more of the same. More 1993, 1988 and 2007 Topps were on their way to my digital file. Well, I did end up with those but I also ended up with a few diamond die cuts. I managed to trade them away, plus pretty much all of my other cards (until I had all five I needed anyway) that I unlocked to trade for the Blue Jays team set:

I had mentioned before that the Hill came off of eBay, cheap. The other five I traded for on the site. I took delivery of these on Wednesday night and I received them today. An awesome turn around rate for Topps. Well actually I've always gotten things from the very quick. Probably helps that they are in New York and I'm here in Connecticut. Oh, I also unlocked this guy too:

I figured I would take him too. Why not right? I haven't decided if he is for traded, although I haven't run into any Twins fans either. All thats left in my account now is about 15 cards I want nothing to do with and 58 different rings (missing Mantle and Ruth, which is not rare btw but people refuse to trade it). I also took delivery of the anniversary set but they said it won't ship until August. Still no idea what it is.

2011 topps series 2- the crinkly take

First off, I still need a couple more emails from two more participants in the break.

-Greg
-Wicked (who is holding his own break not unlike mine, so go check him out if you missed out on mine, or just want to get in on more great pickin' action)

Remember in these emails, I just need your address and your favorite team. Title the email 'break address', just for my sanity's sake.

Now, onto business. Topps series 2 was released a few weeks ago but it is still fresh on the table. It also doesn't hurt that a few upcoming sets have been pushed back. Ginter was pushed about two weeks, Bowman Platinum a whole month. Anyway. Series 2 is the obvious continuation where series 1 left off. Honestly, this series was a big improvement over the last series. I'll explain on the way.

Base cards:

Yup, we all know these. 330 more cards here. Shane over at Off the Wall mentioned about the colors being a bit lighter than series 1 and I can see it. The colors don't seem as bold as in series 1 but it's not too much of a difference to make it terrible. Some of us have way too much of these base cards (like myself) but don't mind it. I know I don't but if there is anyone who needs any from series 1 or 2, let me know and I'm sure I have a bunch available.

The inserts:

Kimball Champions:

These are by far, my favorite insert set of this year, which I am collecting. Fifty more cards here and all are retired veterans and Hall of Famers. No current players in this mix which is fine by me, seeing as how series 1 was pretty much all current guys. It has been mentioned that they are a bit flimsy and I kind of agree, they could have been a bit thicker but then again they would have had to do this in series 1. Still a cool insert though.

60 Years of Topps:

Continuing their love of reprinting their own cards, this marks the fifth time in two years that they reprint one card of each year. See last year it didn't make much sense but this year, fitting in with the 60th anniversary theme does work. Fifty-nine more reprints to add to your ever growing Topps reprint collection are added here. Eventually Topps will run out of good cards to reprint and be forced to reprint meaningless commons. Goody, anyone for a 1976 Skip Jutze? If you'll notice, Topps still can't get their fonts right on their reprints, which still puzzles me.

Before there was Topps:

Never a company to toot their own horn too much, this is a small seven card set that focuses on the meager amount of cards that were released before Topps came into the game. Apparently there were only seven sets that were significant before 1952. Before series 2 was released they said this set would be 10 cards but it is in fact, only seven cards. At least they are informative though, which is a plus for me.

Diamond Duos:

At 30 cards big, this set is still kind of boring. Hey, at least they are numbered this time around instead of letter-numbered like in series 1. NOTHING should be letter-numbered unless it is a relic or auto. Well, thats what I think anyway.

Diamond Stars:

Here we go. Now this is an insert set. Arguably the best insert set to come out of 2011 so far (next to the Kimballs), I am definitely collecting these and at 25 cards it shouldn't be too difficult. Inserts should be fun and catchy and interesting, making you want to collect them. These cards just pop with the great diamond parallel tech they used on said Diamond parallels.

Topps 60:

50 more stat related cards here. Not much to say about them really except that this is what the relics and autos look like, just like Peak Performance did last year.

Topps Town:

This, believe it or not, is probably the best improvement over series 1 and only because these are now seeded 1 in 6 packs. Thats the best news short of making these disappear all together. Oh, and they are flat as opposed to kinda curvy like series 1 (anyone else notice that?)

Legends Variations:

25 more legends join up with the 24 from series 1. I am definitely seeking these out and will trade big for any of them. Currently I am up to 11 of the 25 (and finished off series 1), with 2 more on the way from eBay. Still no word on what the odds are on these but I have pulled about 5 of them myself.

Legends Variation Diamond Parallels:

Also new to this series is the inclusion of all 49 legends done up in diamond form. I am casually collecting these and if I finish, I finish. I'll still trade for them though because they do look cool.

Twink gimmicks:

These return and 60 more of 'em too. I've pulled two so far, Howard above and Tim Lincecum. I am indifferent towards these but remember to check your codes!

So series 2. How 'bout that? Improvements in small but needed areas (Diamond Duo numbering, Topps Town insertion ratios) and more of the same (Topps 60, 60 Years of Topps) with a little new (Diamond Stars, Before there was Topps), making this a solid release. Topps' flagship set usually is thankfully, otherwise what good are they? Again though, really, if anyone needs base cards, let me know. Or let me know if you have legends variations for trade too. I want 'em.

well...who was it?

Yep, not eight minutes after my post went up yesterday, was the signature guessed. Wickedortega guessed quick and correct (the man knows his stuff), and has won an yet-to-be-determined prize. It'll be cool though. I am holding in the picture above a bat signed by Willie himself. Personally, I feel the two best living players to sign a bat would be Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. I'm counting it strictly on home runs though. No, Barry does not (and will not ever) count in my book. Hank is the true Home Run King. Then the Babe, then Willie. Griffey would be a fantastic bat to have signed too. Hmm... So yeah, a new piece of memorabilia for the very small collection. Nothing else but those signed baseballs and that Vernon Wells mini helmet. It's a start though.

Also on my mind as I write this, is that the 2011 Topps Update sell sheets are live (see bdj610's Topps Baseball Card Blog for more details) and I am kinda excited for it. Yes, more of the same but the new parallels look cool, although I won't be chasing them, they would be nice to get. The best part? The Hank Aaron veteran short print that was shown! Finally Hank joins the fray. I know they do it based on who they have the license for but its about time. Who else can we hope for in series two and Update?

Lets run down the list:

Hopefuls:

Roberto Clemente
Mark Fidrych
Duke Snider
Cal Ripken Jr.
Ryne Sandberg
Gary Carter
Al Kaline
Don Mattingly
Barry Larkin
Roberto Alomar (now that he's in the HoF, and an SP as a Jay would rule!)
Mike Piazza (hey, they had Frank Thomas in series 1)


Probables:

Sandy Koufax
Pee Wee Reese
Robin Roberts
Mickey Mantle (they did it with series 2 in 2010...)

Well, we'll just have to wait a week for series 2 and until October for Update to see who they add in there. I know the series 2 sell sheet showed Nolan Ryan (awesome) and another Babe Ruth (huh?). Personally, I'd love to see all these guys in there but Topps may think otherwise. I am going based on who had autos in series 1 (well, not all these guys had autos), and those who I'd really like to see.

OH...and the best part. If you noticed on the Update sell sheet about the two new parallels (the hope diamond and cognac) they speak of the rest of the 709 cards in series 1 and 2 will be available in those colors too. 709 total minus the 660 regular cards equals 49. These 49 are for the short print legend variations from series 1 and 2. Meaning I finally got my answer, that there are only 24 short prints in series 1 and the 25 will be series 2. Weird way to get my answer but there it is.

for the shortees!

Ok, short prints are a funny thing. One one hand they are disliked by many collectors, especially set collectors because it makes their quest that much harder. One the other hand, sometimes short prints can be done right. Case in point:

Topps has done legend variation short prints for the last three base sets. They may have dabbled in this before but 2009 was the year they really started to go big on these. The above picture was borrowed from ShaneK over at Off the Wall Cards. It was the best picture of multiple cards I could find when I Googled it (hope he doesn't get mad!). Anyway, I have taken quite the liking to these as I have mentioned before. Only this time I am really chasing them hard. After the few eBay auctions come in, I'll be at about more than halfway with series 1. There are supposed to be 25 (according to the series 2 sell sheet, there are 25 in both series 1 and 2) but I have found only 24. I have searched everywhere for the final one but it doesn't seem like it exists. No, Adrian and Carl in Red Sox unis don't count. 25 legends. I even asked the Topps Blog but no one responded back. Well regardless, I want them all. I want them from 2009 and 2010 also. Seriously, if you have any of the short prints from any of those three years I will trade heavy for them if I need them. Really, let me know. These are short prints that I really don't mind due to the fact that collecting them is entirely optional and won't make your set incomplete without them, unlike Heritage and Ginter's and whatever. Let me know if any of you come up with anything, I have cards waiting to trade!

ahh...good old topps...part two

I suppose that Topps has created quite the ruckus with Gypsy Queen. After reading and responding to the comments yesterday, I am definitely glad to know that people have opinions on this whole matter, even if they disagree with me. Ryan G made a very good point about Upper Deck doing this with their 1989 release. In that example, I see that as good business. Here is why. Back in 1989 there were four companies (Donruss, Fleer, Score and Topps) making cards. Then Upper Deck joins the fray and blows away the competition with their 1989 set, which is still probably one of the most important sets released in the past 30 years. Thing is though there was actual competition back then. The pie was bigger but broken up into five parts. Here in 2011, Topps doesn't have that issue. The pie is all theirs. THAT'S why I am a little upset by their actions. They don't need to add hype to their products because they still sell and will continue to regardless. No one is taking away Topps' pie yet and I really don't think they need to worry about it. You know what though? Ryan also made another good point, in that maybe Topps wants to fix the whole autograph ordeal. If that's the case, then it is for the better but the early adopters will have to have their wallets suffer a little.

This hasn't sullied my experience as a collector, nor does it make me want the set any less. I don't plan on collecting the full set, nor did I ever. I don't usually piece together any sets aside from the basic Topps series 1 and 2, unless it really captures my interest. I will buy some GQ when I can and would love to go out and find some right now. I just don't want to overpay for some right now. I'll just have to wait and see.

Another topic that was brought up in the comments was about Triple Threads. I associate Triple Threads and Tribute pretty closely. Both are way to expensive for what you get in return and both don't usually justify the cost of the box. Good example; my local shop busted a box of Tribute. They are selling at an average of almost $400 online. I didn't ask what he paid, nor would he tell me (nor would I expect him to). His best hit of the box was an Ernie Banks auto/dual bat relic. A really awesome card. What can he sell it for though? $200, At most? I have no idea what justifies this product as being how much it is. As a retailer, I would be upset and never open any of it to resell because I'd never get my return. Just sell the boxes out at $350 or whatever and let the customers deal with what they get. I hear Triple Threads is even worse in this department.

Overall, I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes or try and get people to be mad with me and go storm the Topps building or anything. I, as a collector and a consumer, just feel that we shouldn't have to overpay for our cards and I won't. I can't. Obviously the rest of you have your own ideals and views and if you want to go out and find some Gypsy Queen, I wish you the best in your purchases and would still love to see what you all get but I will be sitting the bench on this set for the time being.

oh boy...

...I knew it was going to come to this. When the sell sheets for 2011 Heritage first appeared, I glanced them over and took a look at all the cool stuff awaiting our grubby collecting hands. Hey relics are always fun and an autograph of Ernie Banks or Hank Aaron would be frikkin' sweet too. There was, however, one "relic" (uhh...no) that I wanted to avoid, this:

The coin card. Man, how I didn't ever want to pull one of these in a box I bought. I'm glad I didn't. Well, until today. Although I didn't buy a box of Heritage, I did pick up a Wally-Mart $15 box. You know the one with the two hobby Heritage, two code cards (more on that in a second), and five packs of 2011 series 1. Oh the refractor too. I got Ruth, very nice (not sarcasm). The series 1 packs didn't yield anything of note but the Heritage had this. I got a little excited because I kinda felt that the pack was a tad thicker and I felt the sides (is that how those dirty pack searchers do it?) and noticed that there was an extremely thick card inside. How disappointed I was. I was certainly glad that I hadn't paid full price for a box and gotten this nonsense as a hit. Sure its 1:263, but who cares? When I say thick, I mean THICK. It is equal to six Heritage cards, which are thicker already and is equal to nine, yes NINE series 1 cards. Coin cards....Why? I have coins from the 1950s in my coin cup just waiting to be spent on morning coffee. Why do this to us? I mean sure, it's a novelty and isn't that what baseball cards are in general? But for this to take the place of a regular hit, man, I'd be the flippin' out type of mad. Maybe if they left these to just players from that era only and left these events cards alone (that already have a subset, mind you), then maybe it would be alright. Well, I certainly don't want it, so it will make it's way to the 'non-baseball player' section of my trade bait. That's a fun section, wait until you see some of those.

Oops...I posted this without realizing that I forgot to mention the NOTHING I got out of the code cards. 1988 Kirby Puckett is the highlight. I'm a fan of Kirby so it is hard to be mad but 1988 is not what I'm looking for. Me=done with Diamond Giveaway. I've gotten nothing but crapola so I'm throwing in the towel.

hey look!

A post about baseball cards!

Well I managed to make it through a small rough patch intact. While the slow work period isn't over, it is not as bad as I had thought it might be. Leaving me a little room to grab some packs. I headed over to the local card shop and wanted to try something a little different. I went with 2009 Topps Ticket to Stardom. You know, they look like this:

While the base set isn't all that spectacular, the hobby box does promise three hits. I got two out of the seven packs I picked up (I picked up one 2011 Heritage too, netted me one short print I needed):

The Braun is an actual ticket plus a jersey piece. Obviously the Tulo is an auto jersey. The Tulo makes a great addition to my new found want to collect him. He will be the only active non Blue Jay that I collect. He has a very promising start to his career and I'm sure he will only get better in time. I don't feel compelled to buy too much more of this set with the base set being kinda boring (2009 wasn't Topps best year for card designs...yeesh) but I am happy with these two cards.

I do still need Heritage and still have a stack waiting for someone with a needs list. Lemme know!

topps series 1 wrapper redemptions

Topps can be pretty quick about things on occasion. Case in point; I mailed out my Series 1 wrappers on Saturday, and received my four redemption packs today. According to Baseballcardpedia, you need to send the jumbo and regular packs separate. Not true. I stuffed all the wrappers into one envelope (10 jumbo, and three bundles of 36 regular hobby packs) and they accepted them. Here is what I got:

These were the best of the bunch. I got 20 cards total, with there being 60 in the set. I am going to hold on to these, they are really really nice and the scan doesn't even come close to doing them justice. As you can see, I managed to get one of the 34 autographed 1952 players, Ned Garver. He is numbered 27/60 and admittedly, I know nothing about him. I do have this though:

His 1954 Topps card.

A quick trip to Wikipedia lets me know that his rookie season was 1948 with the St. Louis Browns. He also played for the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Athletics and was part of the first Los Angeles Angels team in 1961, his final year of play. Is he a Hall of Famer? No, but a fine player and a good addition to my collection.