random pack monday plus!

So here we are with this weeks winner of the pack pick vote, 1994 Topps Finest series 1. I wasn't really surprised that you guys picked this one as the winner, it's an awesome set. I remember when it first came out, hearing about how packs were going for something absurd like $10 a pack. CRAZY!!!!

Here is what we got, not too shabby really:

Tino Martinez, Juan Gonzalez, Wally Joyner, Darryl Strawberry? This pack would have been a goldmine in 1994. I also didn't know Tom Henke was a Ranger. At least I got a Jay out of it that I don't believe I have yet. And Bryan Harvey. I haven't seen a refractor from this set probably since it came out. I never bought these as a kid, ten bucks was way out of my price range for a pack of cards. Even though it was put out in 1994, can it still be considered 'junk wax'? I mean, where does that era end? Maybe basic stuff is 'junk', while sets like this are still considered to be worth it. No idea, I guess its all subjective.

Now. On to what I was talking about yesterday. As Can't Have Too Many Cards has already mentioned, today has a quite few birthdays:

Jackie Robinson, 1919.

Ernie Banks, 1931.

Nolan Ryan, 1947.

Brad Thompson, 1982.

Yuniesky Betancourt, 1982

...and this guy, also in 1982:

Oh wait. That's me in 1991. Yeah, I played some flag football for the town league that year. They took photos of the team and individually, and the individual ones came with the option to have made into cards. My "rookie" card. I've had this lying around since 1991 and gave it to my wife (then girlfriend) about 3 years ago. She wouldn't sell it for the world (well, maybe...), and considers it the most valuable card ever printed. Take that Honus! Well, its really a photo with a sticker back that has some info on it, like the team (Browns), height, weight, hometown, etc. Just like a real card! Kinda...

pack pick results

In an unsurprising 8 out of 10 vote landslide, 1994 Topps Finest is the clear winner for tomorrow's featured pack. I don't blame you, '94 Finest is a great looking set. Here is a breakdown of the results:

1994 Topps Finest: 8 votes
2003 Topps series 2: 1 vote
2005 Topps series 2: 1 vote
2002 Topps series 2: 0 votes (no love for '02)


In actuality, 2003 was a series 1 pack. I didn't notice I canned the wrong pack until it was posted up and I checked out the picture. Since I messed that up, I decided that the 2003 pack would be today's runner up. Here it is:

Kind of a boring wrapper design if you ask me. I'm usually all for minimalism but this is jus plain boring. Lets hope the contents do better.

Ok, here we go, I can deal with this. Way back when I did set reviews (remember those? I think I'll be bringing that back soon), and collecting Topps base sets, I ranted on how much I liked 2003 Topps. I can't put my finger on why I dig it so much but I do. So we got a pair of Carlos' on the Royals in Beltran and Febles, a checklist, two first year guys who I've never heard of (yes that includes the Jay), a Thome, and a father and son duo in Bob Boone and Aaron Boone. Now thats a pack! Well maybe not but it is pretty uncommon to get a father/son combo in a pack unless you're buying up '88 Topps and getting Cal Ripken and his father's manager card.

Tomorrow will be the regularly scheduled Random Pack Monday but there will also be a second part to the post that involves the most valuable rookie card ever produced, according to my wife. WHAT CAN IT BE??? Stay tuned...

pick yer poison round 2

Here we go with another round of pack pickin' fun! This week we have to choose from:

1994 Topps Finest Series 1
2002 Topps Series 2
2003 Topps Series 2
2005 Topps Series 2

Yes, I went with the series 2 theme. The pack with the most votes will be opened up for Monday's random pack and the second place will be opened up Sunday morning. Polls close Sunday morning. Vote now for the one you want to see here on Monday!

vernon on the left coast

So. It seems that Vernon has been traded. The only active player I currently collect. The guy I thought to myself, just two weeks ago, would be the perpetual Blue Jay. Who would probably retire as a Jay. Nope. No longer. He got traded to these guys:

Oh sure, its a logo they no longer use from the 70's but it gets the point across. Now, upon hearing this news, I immediately thought of my collection. What would I do with it now? I can't possibly collect him any longer because he doesn't play for Toronto. Then I thought about things logically. Would folk who collect Ken Griffey Jr. no collect him because he got traded from the Mariners to the Reds? Maybe a few but I'm willing to bet the majority would stick by him and collect him as a player they enjoy watching and following. I decided to continue collecting him no matter where he ends up.

Logically it also makes sense for the team itself. By not having to pay his hefty contract, they are free to buy up some younger talent and build a young, competitive team. A team that can hopefully contend with the likes of the ultra tough AL East. The Yankees and Sox are always on top. Baltimore had a really horrible start to the 2010 season but really picked up steam towards the end and I feel they will be a major competitor this coming season. Tampa Bay seems to be in shambles but they did pick up two aging sluggers in Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez but we'll see if that does anything for them. All in all, while I am not fully a fan of this trade, I do know and understand why Toronto did what they did. Its just good business. I wish Mr. Wells the best in LA (or California or Anaheim or what ever they want to be called this year) and I'll poke my head around to see how he fares over there.

argyle trade (plus posey update)

A trade post?? Its been too long since I've posted one and I'll strive to do more in this year. So I checked out Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle and his want list. I noticed I had many 1989 Topps he needed for his set. I put them all together, added some Dodgers stuff and sent the box on its way. In return, he sent me some Jays for my ever growing Blue Jays collection. Seriously, I must be up to almost 4000 so far. Below are four of my favorites from the contents:

Yes, that is a 1990 Jimmy Key. Jimmy was my favorite player growing up so any card of his is always welcomed. The Wells mini is fantastic too (more on him tomorrow). The Hentgen is kind of a cool swirly shiny, while the Halladay is just flat awesome (I assume this is the card you hoped I didn't have, which I don't). Thanks a bunch for adding to the box, it seems to never stop growing!

In other news, "Posey Watch" is in full effect.

I listed him up on eBay last night. Its going rather well and I anticipate it to end around $200. We'll see.

random pack monday

So here we are with another edition of Random Pack Monday. Today, as per your voting, will feature 1984 Topps. The key cards from this set are the Don Mattingly and Darryl Strawberry rookies.

Same old green they used in 1990 also. Same design for the packs they used from around 1982 to 1990 (1991 was kinda like those). Lets see what we got:

Overall a blah pack really. Ron Guidry and Dennis Eckersley are the highlights here, maybe the leaders card. I really like the '84 set. Its got a nice design and holds up well even today without looking dated (unlike 1990 Topps). Classy all the way. Even though the pack was uneventful, it was still a good rip. Old packs are fantastic to rip even though a card is usually ruined by gum (like poor Mike Scott was in this pack).

In a related but totally unrelated sort of news, I recently purchased the other 12 cards I needed for the exclusive Chrome wrapper redemption set. Remember my original pack included the Mantle, Davis and Posey cards. Apparently each pack is the same configuration, meaning you will get the same three each time you see Ike on top. Well, I also bought an unopened one from a seller for around 6 bucks. It came today and contained the same three cards I got from Topps, with an exception, check it out:

What of all the dumb luck. The Posey auto numbered 07/90. In-freaking-credible. Here I was totally regretting buying the pack because I had bought them all already and it comes today with that. Now, as awesome as this is, this card has sold on eBay for $250 and $293. Those were the only two that had ended within the last 30 or so days. I believe this one may join them.

pack pick results

So the results are in. The voting for Monday's pack has closed and the results are:

1984 Topps- 4 votes
1997 Topps- 2 votes
2000 Topps- 3 votes
1987 Sportflics- 3 votes

1984 Topps is the winner and will be shown on Monday. We have a tie for second between the Sportflics and 2000 Topps. How do I remedy this? Well, how about I do them both up right now? Lets start with:

1987 Sportflics. Score before it was Score. I may have opened up one of these when I was younger but I really have no idea. So we'll call it something new that I've never opened. Lets see what we got:

These don't scan particularly well. We got a (from left to right) Pedro Guerrero, Bruce Hurst and Cecil Cooper. Also in the pack was a redemption/send-away thingie for team logo pins and two team mini-flix of the Dodgers and Orioles. This set is quite interesting, Sportflics always have been. They tried to bring them back I think in the late 80's/early 90's but I'm not sure they were successful.

Next up is the 2000 Topps:

Definitely a pack I've never opened, as we see 'then home run king' Mr. McGwire on the front here being that he was all the rage in 2000. Lets see the contents:

Decent pack. A Jay, Bret Saberhagen (who I've always known to be a Royal but looking at the back he's played for a couple other teams), Tim Raines and a Vlad. I've never heard of either of the draft picks on that card and hey, we got an insert! A Power Players Albert Belle (odds 1:8 packs). A checklist too. 2000 Topps is an interesting issue. Its all vertical, front and back, which is unusual for Topps but I think I really like. Reminds me of early Fleer stuff. Well, mid-80's to early 90's Fleer stuff.

That about does it. Was this a good idea? I like the idea of Random Pack Mondays and even more I like the voting on which you'd like to see. I like to make things interactive. Plus its better seeing and reading about something you chose to be written about. More fun that way. So I think I'll keep this idea going. I'll post the packs to pick from on Thursday, end the voting on Sunday morning, rip open the second place pack and save the winner for Monday. Sound good? Until tomorrow, when 1984 looms above us. Did I get the Mattingly rookie? We'll just have to wait and see...

new additions

No, not to my ever-growing baseball card accumulation. I'm talking about the blog world. If you'll notice, to the right and down a little, I have a super long section of blogs I read regularly. If you update it, I'll check it out. Within the last few days though, I've seemed to add a bunch of blogs to the list, which is now up to 84. Here are a few I've just added:

Justin's World
Dawgbones, a Phillies Phan!
The Green Card
Enough Already
Cards from the Quarry
Donruss 1982
Clear Cut Cards
Off the Wall

Check them out if you haven't already. Some are brand new and a couple I've just found out about now. There may have even been a few I've added within the last 2 weeks that I didn't have listed above but I think I covered the newest ones I've added. If I haven't added you to my sidebar, let me know and I'll check it out and add the link to the list. There seems to be so many blogs out there. It's really great to see that there is such a strong desire to write about something as simple as baseball cards (or other sports cards for that matter). Simple but after seeing the many different collections and approaches to collecting, this hobby is a lot more complex than some people would be led to believe. Sure it is a lot of opening packs, sorting out cards and finishing sets but when it comes down to specific collecting goals and an individual collector's collections (too many uses of 'collect'!), things get largely diverse. That's probably what I like most about this whole blogging experience, is seeing what others do with their cards and how or what they collect. Trading is good too, it makes us feel like were at the schoolyard again, trading with friends and getting stuff were collecting and looking for. Here's to a great 2011 in the blogging community to each and every one of you!

toss me the ball, grandma!

Is it just me, or does Steve here look like someone's grandmother? He looks like an old lady! I apologize to all of Mr. Trout's fans for this observation but I felt it needed to be said. Maybe its just my warped sense of reality, I don't know. I pulled this out of a lackluster pack of 1986 Topps yesterday.

Speaking of packs, be sure to vote on which pack you'd like to see opened up for Monday. Use yesterday's post comments to cast your vote if you have not done so already. Its easier to keep track of if its all done on one post. I'll end voting by the time I wake up on Sunday morning. Maybe what I'll do is bust open the runner-up and save the winner for Monday. Yeah, that sounds like a plan. Vote now!

pick yer poison

My lot of packs came in today. Some really random stuff (including a pack of the following: 1992 Collector's Edge football, 1991 Fleer basketball, 1991 Upper Deck basketball and 2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces baseball, go figure) but all in all it was mostly Topps baseball. I opened up a few of the packs and got nothing of note. I did mention that I would let you, the readers, pick next Monday's random pack. Here are your choices:

2000 Topps series 1, 1997 Topps series 1, 1984 Topps and 1987 Sportflics (collector's edition apparently). The 1984 should hold something good but I've never opened up 2000 or 1997. Sportflics (I don't know why I picked it) should be.....entertaining....

Anyway, leave a comment on which one you'd like to see opened up for next Monday and whichever gets the most votes gets revealed. If a pack gets no votes, it will be out of the running and will be doomed to a box that I will probably just open up later. Vote now!

in the mail...

I feel like another giveaway. I have one 200 count card box and I'll fill it with random Topps cards. Anything from basic stuff to inserts to sets they may not make anymore. A little bit of everything. I'll try not to make it too much 2010 series 1, 2 or Update, although there will be some. First one to comment and send me an email gets the box. In the email, include your address, even though chances are I may have it. I would prefer the person who claims it to be someone I haven't sent stuff to already. I'll send the box out next time I go to the post office, which will be soon, and shortly it'll be..........in the mail!! (lame...I know...)


You know what? I'll do one for Upper Deck too.


Two boxes for two commenters. Claim 'em now! (in the comment and email state which box you want)

random pack monday

First, I would like to acknowledge Martin Luther King Jr. day today. Being a fan of history, I feel he led one of the most important social causes in America. Its really too bad that people like him and John Lennon, who only tell people to get together and stop the hate, live in peace and spread the love, get killed because of their views. Too tragic, but their legacies live on, with the spirit and emotion that they gave to us and left behind when they were taken too early from us as a people. The legacy of Dr. King lives on as strong and empowered as it always was.

Now, on to less serious matters. Random pack Monday! Today we feature this pack:

2010 Bowman Platinum retail. I have seen the huge division over this set and it seems that either you love it or you hate it. I happen to like it quite a bit. As I stated in an earlier post, I feel its a good mix of veterans and rookies without so many no names, as Bowman tends to have so many of. Here is what I got:

As you can see, retail packs feature four cards, as opposed to hobby's five. This pack was pretty good. I got the Wells I needed and it had an Ike Davis (I like Ike, remember). I don't know Sonny or Felix but they'll be for the set if I decide to end up finishing it off. I'm always a sucker for shiny and this set is nothing but.

Next week's Monday pack will be chosen by you. I have some Topps packs coming in the mail and later on this week when they come, I'll pick a few out and you guys pick which one you want me to open. We'll continue this until I run out of packs, I guess. One last thing of note is that my wife has gotten her blog up and running kibblez-n-britz, about her various adventures in cooking. So if you are into some good cooking (and I think she is going to start adding her knitting up there too at some point), check it out. It's good eats!

warped!

Ok, so what's the deal with Topps? They have us send our wrappers to them, make us redeem codes online for cards, and they come back with these:

Yeah, the chrome legends and rookie variations are awesome. The Red Hot Rookies are great too. I went a little nuts and finished off both small sets for my "2010 Topps variations" binder. Also in that binder is my work-in-progress legends variation sets from series 1, 2 and Update (if you have any please let me know, I'll trade well for them). So these get here today, and coupled with the ones I received in the mail, I noticed something. NO WARPING! These cards are pretty flat, as they should be. Ok, they aren't perfectly flat, and there is a little curve to them but no more than Chrome has seen before 2010. Every year of Chrome I've seen so far has a little curl to it. This years Chrome and Bowman Chrome are inexcusably warped beyond storage. They still are too! Go out and buy a pack of Chrome and open it up, don't worry, I'll wait.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
See? Still warped! I can't believe Topps hasn't gotten this issue under control. I can't even stack these cards on my flat desk here without them falling over. It's absurd. How come all these redemption cards are normal but the packs aren't? I just don't get it. Don't get me started on the Chicle and Heritage chrome front/old cardboard stock backs. Those are terribly terribly warped. So warped they almost make a half-circle when you look at them laying on a table. Come on Topps!! Get with the program!

the halfway point

I have been purchasing (or trying to, rather) 1954 common lots for my set. A lot of 30 arrived yesterday and a lot of 23 arrived today. After going through them, marking them off on my master list and marking which ones I eventually want to replace (more on that shortly), I am at 127 cards total towards the set. Officially putting me at the halfway point to completion. I now also have a small stack of duplicates, around 40 total. Most of them I have only one duplicate but some I have more, including this one:

How do I end up with four of the same card? It's not like these are 1988 Donruss, these are 1954 Topps. Maybe they aren't as scarce as I perceive them to be. Commons are commons. I have gotten cards in all sorts of conditions. The top left copy of good ol' Jerry here is the one for the set, so of course I keep the best condition copy in the binder. While that copy of Lane's card is far from perfect, it is quite suitable for the set. I don't mind soft corners or maybe even a crease or two but for commons I would like them to not be horrific. Here is something that needed to be (and did get) replaced:

Scrapes and paper loss I would like to replace. Cards that are creased all over and have the edges frayed and corners super ratty will get replaced eventually.

Star cards are different, cards like this can stay:

I am not about to replace Hank here. I spent enough just getting this card and this one is good enough by me. I have one more lot coming (21 cards), and I'm watching another. Hopefully these two will bring me many more non-duplicates towards my set. Sure I can check and see which numbers I need and base my buying decision on that but where is the fun? Buying up common lots at a good price (I try to get them about fifty cents to a buck a card), is like buying a bunch of packs and checking them to see what I get. Once I get closer to the set I'll start checking for what I need. Until then I need to many to worry about it. Plus I can always sell off or trade the doubles away. Its win-win.