Editors Note: This behemoth of a post is actually a bunch of posts in one. "Self-indulgent" is a word that comes to mind. It's probably not worth your time to read it, so by all means, feel free to ignore this post. It was mostly written years back, so much of what I say is outdated here in 2025. A lot of it is me hoping to pull a card that-- whoops-- turns out doesn't even exist. I guess I should finally call it good and publish, if for no other reason than so the time I spent on it wasn't completely in vain, but again, I don't think there's much point in anyone reading it. Proceed at your own risk. :)
Here's another "time capsule post", which is when I draft up a post and then schedule it way in the future for some reason or another. I'm not sure when you're reading this, but I'm writing it way back in October 2021.
October 16, 2021, to be exact. Braves just beat the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLCS, while Boston evened up their ALCS with Houston 1-1. This post is about my biggest hobby purchase to date. After thinking it over for weeks, waffling back and forth over the matter, I recently went ahead and pulled the trigger on a pricey case of 2003 Topps Retired that had been on eBay for a while. I've been working on collecting the autograph set for several years now, and I really want to bust a case. I had a bit of "fun money" in savings sitting around for a rainy day, and a recent health scare helped motivate me to "live a little" or whatever, and not be afraid to treat yourself to something ridiculous once in a blue moon. And I've been spending less on cards in recent months (and still haven't been to a card show since covid), so averaged yearly, I think my hobby spending is more or less in its normal range, even with this one big splurge factored in. So yeah, it wasn't cheap, but let's just move past that and have fun busting a case of awesome cards.
I'm over the hump with collecting the autos, currently at 67 of 120, with 53 cards remaining. Of the 67 I have, about half are refractors (33). As deep into this set as I am, I'm sure I'll pull some autos I already have, but there are still plenty I need. It could be heartbreaking if the best card I pull turns out to be one of the 67 already in my collection, but we'll see how it shakes out.
A case contains 6 hobby boxes, each containing 5 packs, and each of those containing one autograph. That's 30 rolls at the roulette wheel looking to hit the long-odds jackpot.
The "best card" pulled in case break will determine the grade for this purchase, as far as this little exercise is concerned, based on the below chart.
F
Base "common" (Group E, F, and G) auto I already had
D-
Base common auto I needed
D
Base "decent name" (Group C and D) auto I already had
D+
common refractor auto I already had
C-
decent name base auto I needed
C
non-auto charcoal ("black") parallel (/99) of big name (or decent name I collect)
C+
common refractor auto I needed
B-
decent name refractor auto I already had
B
"big name" (Group A and B) base auto I already had
B+
big name refractor auto I already had
big name base auto I needed
decent name refractor auto I needed
common 12/25 refractor auto
A-
Kirby Puckett base auto (print run 75)
big name refractor auto I needed
decent name 12/25 refractor auto
A
Kirby Puckett refractor auto
big name 12/25 refractor auto
A+
Kirby Puckett 12/25 refractor auto <--- If I pull this card, I would be sure I'm either dreaming or inside of some sort of computer simulation of life, because that specific card is currently what I'd consider my holy grail (King of the White Whales for me personally) and to pull it would cause my head to explode.
That's how I'm choosing to evaluate this purchase.. at least on a broad overview level. This assumes there's one clear "best card", however multiple nice pulls could factor into the final grade. Also, I probably shouldn't strictly rank players based on odds group, as some Group C guys are clearly more popular/valuable than some Group B guys-- Tom Seaver vs. Orlando Cepeda, for example-- though the print runs for Group C base autos are probably about double that of Group B.
I know I overpaid and there's no way I'd "get my money's worth" unless it turns out to be a Kirby Puckett hot box containing all 25 of his refractor autos or something crazy like that. So really the question here is just how bad of a bath I'll be taking. I sure do hope the case ends up scoring somewhere in the A range, as that's the only way I'd come away from this considering it a "win" (but even then I probably wouldn't have fully "recouped value" but yeah, I'm going to try to forget about the price and just have fun and "YOLO" and whatnot).
Even though I'm fully expecting to score in the D or C range, it'll be a thrill and I'll have crossed "Bust a case of something" off my hobby bucket list. I won't make a habit of this behavior, and honestly, I doubt I'll ever in my life buy another case of cards again.
So as you can gather from the above chart, I'm hunting Kirbies first and foremost, and also hoping to pull a Christmas Card refractor, or really any big name auto, or really even any refractor. But hopefully not one of the 33 refractors that I already have. I want to say that the refractors are case hits (one per case), but that's just an educated guess and we'll see if it plays out that way. (I hope so, because all refractors are /25, so if I'm guaranteed one, that means I have just as good a chance at pulling Hank Aaron as I do pulling Joe Rudi, which definitely can't be said for their base autos where there are hundreds of Rudi's for every Hank.) If I pull zero refractors, that'd suck (though it wouldn't be shocking). But yeah, plenty of possibilities. Wish me luck. Today is Saturday and the FedEx delivery is scheduled for Thursday, so I've got a few anxious days waiting for it and praying there are no delivery complications.
I don't plan to bust the case in one mad orgy, but rather I'll probably open one box when I first receive it, and then save the other 5 boxes to ration out over several weeks or even months. The plan is to use this blog post as kind of like a break journal, and I'll document the boxes as I open them. That'll be fun, right? If I don't pull anything good, I'll probably be embarrassed and schedule this post for a few years in the future (if at all!), but if there's something worth trumpeting about, you'll probably be reading this sooner rather than later. We'll see, I guess! Just having some fun with collecting and the blog.
-o-
October 17, 2021
I should mention I already bought 2 complete sets of the 2003 Retired base cards (one to keep complete, and then scored another for a solid price to break up into my PCs.. This was all years ago, pre-bubble). So I won't be too concerned with base cards other than fodder to trade or sell. The base cards also have "black" parallels (I call them charcoal parallels because they are dark grey, not actually black), and those could be fun to keep an eye out for, but being non-autos, they're not going to do much recouping value. But sure, pulling a /99 charcoal Nolan Ryan or other big name like that would be cool. I don't think I already own any of those besides Willie Mays, which was included when I bought his corresponding refractor auto in a small eBay lot years ago (refractor which I then soon sold to a guy [non-eBay] working on the set who offered me twice what I paid. Seemed like a great deal at the time, but in hindsight kinda wish I had held onto my Willie. I similarly sold the same guy '03 Retired refractors of Robin Yount and Fred Lynn for a healthy profit, though now somewhat regret it as I look to work towards completing the set myself.)
But that's all for parallels available in 2003 Topps Retired: the autos have /25 refractors and the base cards have /99 black parallels, and that's it. It was the first Retired set, and was followed by offerings in 2004 and 2005. My favorite is 2004, and if you've been following my blog for a while, you likely know those refractor autos have been my #1 collecting priority since I returned to the hobby as an adult circa 2012. I've managed to get nearly all of them (only Alan Trammell is still evading me), so I guess my collecting gene is getting bored and pulling me towards 2003 now, though I don't expect to ever go as hard after it as I did '04.
In 2004, Retired added to the chase cards with printing plates for the autographs (but no base card plates). There were also co-signer cards, with Willie Mays having dual autos with Duke Snider, Stan Musial, Ernie Banks, and Hank Aaron. I don't have any of those, and honestly I'm not all that excited about them-- they are not refractors; if they were, I'd have more interest-- though if one popped up on eBay with a low opening price, chances are I'll put in a competitive bid. Charcoal /99 parallels for the base cards were carried over into '04, too (darker than the previous year, but still not quite technically black, if you ask me).
Then in 2005, Retired added lot more stuff to the product. Printing plates not just for autos, but for every base card now too. More co-signers, such as Nolan Ryan with Tom Seaver, Bench with Fisk, and Reggie Jackson with Barry Bonds. Bonds was active at the time, so he's a strange inclusion. Also, while '03 and '04 had checklists comprised exclusively of living retired ballplayers (which makes sense since the full name is Topps Retired Signature Edition, meaning it's clearly driven by autographs of retired players), '05 snuck in a couple deceased greats, with Josh Gibson and Roberto Clemente getting base cards. Base parallels in '05 included black (print run reduced to 54; These ones might actually be black in color, though I don't think I own any, so I can't confirm), a more common parallel: gold (/500), and a 1/1 rainbow foil for each base card. The co-signers, like the previous year, were serial numbered to 25, though there were also 1/1 refractor parallels of the co-signer cards in '05. That's the kind of shit that makes me drool thinking about pulling-- I've never even seen one of the co-signer refractors.. for sale or otherwise. But let's not get too hung up on 2005 Retired, as we're focused on 2003 and that case en route to me.
I've opened one hobby box of 2004 Retired years back. It was a costly dud and I swore off ripping unopened product. Of course I've "relapsed" several times since, but not since a kid in the early 90s that I'd buy a bunch of packs to rip. It wasn't too long after that ill-fated '04 box that I ponied up for a blister pack of 2005 Retired. That too was a deflating experience (auto was common Roger Craig). But I've never busted any 2003 Retired before, so looks like the cardboard gods may have written me a script wherein Act 3, our hero finds redemption with a third and final reach for that brass ring. ("Redemption" being a loaded word in collecting; as far as I know, there were NO redemptions in any of the three Retired products-- live autos only. Which ironically ends up being a bummer for me because one of my favorite guys, Dick Allen, was listed on early marketing material as having autographs in 2004 Retired, but alas he apparently didn't get his cards signed and returned in time, because he ultimately wasn't on the final autograph checklist. I suppose a backdoored 2004 Retired refractor auto of Dick Allen could also be considered a holy grail of mine, but those cards have likely been destroyed, if they in fact ever truly existed.)
Oh, another nice thing about 2003 Retired: 100% on-card autos. The auto printing plates that followed in '04 and '05 featured stickergraphs on all the plates. And pretty sure I've seen a 2005 Bob Gibson base auto that featured a sticker auto, but I've also seen it on-card, so that's an odd case, but for the most part, the non-plate autos are on-card throughout all three Retired products. That includes all the co-signers ('04 and '05), which is pretty cool because dual auto cards are generally stickers most of the time, I think it's fair to say.
-o-
Monday, October 18, 2021
Let's take a minute to talk about the top card I'm hoping to pull: Kirby Puckett auto. I know my mathematical odds are pretty low, but in this "Schrodinger's Cat" period between when I've bought the case and when I break it, I've been enjoying the thought that I might currently own it and just don't know it yet. Until I rip all 30 autographs in the case and "kill the cat", my dream is still alive.
Just 100 of the Kirby autos exist: 75 base and 25 refractors. Perhaps a hardcore Kirby collector can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm under the impression that his 2003 Retried refractor auto is his only refractor autograph on the market. So it's a big deal in my eyes. Having passed away a few years after the product came out, there aren't many pack-certified autographs of Kirby's out there. A big percentage of his available auto cards are stickergraphs or on "foreign material" like the UD Sweet Spot autos. And of course his new certified autos these days are all cut-signatures. But on-card, refractor auto... that's the best you can get, if you ask me. So his '03 Retired refractor is a dream card for me. And sure, even the base Kirby auto would be a dream come true to pull, but if we're just fantasizing here, it's the shiny refractor I'm thinking about. I'm even kinda trying that "power of mental thinking" (The Secret) trick where you think real hard about pulling it, vividly imagining it in your mind and whatnot, and then like magic, you pull it in real life. I'm not putting a lot of faith into that method, but doesn't hurt to try, right?! lol
Just did a Google search for "kirby puckett refractor autograph" and there are refractors and autographs, but no Kirby refractor autographs.
In my opinion, it's the ultimate Kirby Puckett card in existence. And there are only 25 of them! One of the biggest names in the game/hobby!
-o-
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Now that I think of it, I don't recall ever actually seeing a picture of a 2003 Retired Kirby auto, refractor or not. I think I've at least seen the other 119 autos in the set, or at least the vast majority of them. That would suck it the Kirby auto turned out to be a "ghost whale" that never actually got packed out. Topps isn't above checklist shenanigans like that, but every indication is that the card exists. I know it's a longshot that I pull one, but it's nice to think about, and the case is scheduled for delivery tomorrow, so the anticipation is reaching a boiling point.
But again, I don't want to tear everything open the first day. Maybe I'll schedule some box breaks:
* Case acquired celebration - Yeah, gotta at least open one box the day the case safely arrives.
* Post-dentist reward - I haven't been to the dentist since covid cancelled my normal check-up/cleaning, and I've been dragging my feet on scheduling a new one. But I'll do that soon and reward myself for being a big boy by busting a box after the appointment. lol. If I end up needing a follow-up appointment to have any dental work done, well you can bet I'll cope with my numb jaw afterwards by busting another box.
Well, that's all I've got in mind so far. Maybe once Christmas rolls around, I'll "gift" myself whatever boxes I've been able to resist opening up to that point. Or no, maybe I'll save at least one box for New Years. That could help prevent the ol' post-Christmas blahs. So yeah, my self-restraint goal is to stretch out the case break into 2022 before it's done with.
Hopefully I pull something nice early in the break, and can consider the remaining boxes "gravy", but again, I'm fully expecting the case to be full of nothing but Joe Rudi autographs. No offense to Mr. Rudi, of course-- big part of the A's dynasty of the 70s-- but speaking as someone who is very familiar with what Topps Retired cards frequent eBay and how they tend to sell, I know he's the most common / least desirable auto in the set. Hopefully I don't pull more than one or two Rudi autos. Darrell Evans and Maury Wills are the other guys with way too many autos in the product. I'm sure I'll pull at least one each from them too. Just crossing my fingers there's a big name in there to justify the "junk autos" that will surely be present. Not great odds, but I'm counting on a "case hit" in there somewhere. How great would it be if I pull a Kirby or like Hank Aaron in the first box and can just coast from there!?
-o-
You might be thinking, "Hey defgav, Kirby isn't even your main PC guy! Where's the love for Tony Gwynn?"
Yes, I do hope Mr. Padre is one of the 30 autographs in my case, but the odds are even longer, as he only has 25 base autos to go with the 25 refractors. And I know the Gwynn Christmas Card (12/25 refractor) has already been pulled (sadly lost out on it a couple years ago). And Tony's photo in the set is a boring capless headshot, so it's not one of his more desirable cards. But already owning his '04 and '05 Retired refractors, it'd be nice to complete the trifecta.
In case you're curious...
These players have autos in all 3 releases of Topps Retired:
Bobby Richardson
Brooks Robinson
Cal Ripken, Jr
Carlton Fisk
Dale Murphy
Don Mattingly
Duke Snider
Dwight Gooden
Ernie Banks
Frank Robinson
Gary Carter
Johnny Bench
Jose Canseco
Nolan Ryan
Orlando Cepeda
Ozzie Smith
Paul O'Neill
Ralph Kiner
Robin Yount
Rod Carew
Ron Santo
Stan Musial
Tom Seaver
Tony Gwynn
Vida Blue
Wade Boggs
Whitey Ford
Yogi Berra
The only Retired refractor trifecta I currently have is Tom Seaver. Hopefully I've gotten around to posting about that by the time this "time capsule" post goes live. There are a few other guys where I have 2 of the 3, and most of those are lacking the 2003 refractor, so that'd be cool if the case completes a trifecta for me. Brooks, Ripken, Fisk, Snider, Gooden, Nolan, Ozzie, Yount, Kiner, and Carew.. those are all guys I've got the '04 and '05 refractors of, just missing '03. The only guy in all 3 sets that I have the '03 and '04, just missing '05, is Johnny Bench.
On the other side of the token...
As for big names conspicuously not included in any of the Topps Retired sets, Sandy Koufax is the first name that jumps to mind. He's usually in there with the living legends like Aaron, Mays, and Yogi. But I guess he wasn't really signing much at the time, at least not for Topps.
Wish my guy Dick Allen could have gotten a Retired auto (he was in 2004, but like I mentioned a while back in this epic post, he ultimately didn't have an autograph packed out). Hoyt Wilhelm, another favorite of mine? Sadly passed away August 23, 2002, otherwise I'll bet he would have been included. Rickey Henderson? Nope, he wasn't retired yet! Minnie Miñoso is another possibility, but looks like he wasn't signing for Topps during the Retired years. Jim Bouton could have been a fun one. Buck O'Neil, maybe. And I would have loved living broadcasting legends like Vin Scully included, but that doesn't really fit the scope and now I'm just daydreaming.
But yeah, for the most part, Topps was good at getting the greatest living MLB legends of the time into at least one Retired set.
Johnny Sain and Dave Concepcion are the only players featured in the 2003 Retired base set who do not also have autographs in it. I gotta assume their autograph cards were created, but they just didn't get them signed and returned fast enough. Just a guess, though.
A dozen players have autos in 2003 Retired but are not included in the base set: Blyleven, Horner, Bob Watson, Grich, Saberhagen, Stieb, Baines, Jim Abbott, Piersall, Griffey Sr, Pendleton, and Lance Parrish.
The Retired base set remained steady at 110 cards for each of the 3 years.
Not sure what happened in 2004, but the autograph subject list went from 120 down to 77. Again, I gotta assume more autograph cards were created (in addition to Dick Allen), but beds were shat, and they were never packed out. I'd sure love to chat with whoever at Topps was project manager for the product line and get the behind-the-scenes stories, but those darn guys always seem to be so secretive.
Bucky Dent is the only player with an autograph in 2004 Retired but not a base card. There are 35 players with a base card but not an autograph that year. (I am counting Willie Mays among the missing because he has a solo card, but not a solo autograph card.. only the co-signers.)
Dave Concepcion has base cards in '03 and '04, but autographs in neither (and no cards in '05 Retired at all).
And to finish this train of thought, in 2005, Retired featured a dozen guys with autos and no base cards (Tony LaRussa being the lone HOFer in the bunch), contrasted with 7 guys in the base set but with no autos (2 of which were long deceased, as mentioned before).
Sorry guys, I'm just using this post to spew out all my useless Topps Retired knowledge in one place! Anyone who actually reads this entire huge post will surely be an expert on the product by the end.
-o-
Thursday, October 21, 2021, 10 AM in the morning
Today's the big day, but the FedEx tracking number says it's currently in Chappell, NE. And that's several states away from me in Portland, OR. So I'm a little skeptical it'll arrive today, though the site still says it's scheduled for delivery today with "on time" status. So I guess we'll see! A signature is required, so I was sure to clear any obligations outside of the house today. I have to go into work tomorrow, though, so if the delivery gets bumped to tomorrow, it could be a problem. But I suppose they'd probably just try again Saturday or Monday, which I should be around for. But yeah, would love to get the case safely in my clutches by the end of today.
-o-
Thursday, October 21, 2021, 3 PM in the afternoon
The tracking number says the package is in Ogden, UT, and has been holding steady there since around noon. But still says it's "on time" for delivery today. Ok, FedEx, let's get moving! Lots of ground to cover in the next few hours.
Oh man, a FedEx truck just now drove down my street. Grr, my cards should have been in there, not freakin Utah!
-o-
Thursday, October 21, 2021, 5:30 PM in the evening
FXXXXK. After being stuck in Utah all afternoon, the status was updated to "potentially delayed" with the note "No scheduled delivery date available at this time." Like, they can't even say it'll probably be delivered tomorrow. WTF? Not cool, FedEx. I moved my schedule around for this shit. I just needed this one box delivered, and dammit we're in the beginning stages of yet another FedEx horror story. I guess if it's lost in the mail, that's on the seller and I get a refund, right? Wow, it'd be crazy if I end up not getting the case after all. This whole long post (and all my overthinking about the case) would have been for nothing. LOL. But yeah, if the worst happens and it gets lost, hopefully there's no issue getting my money back.
I'm probably being overdramatic and it'll show up safe and sound tomorrow morning. Hopefully.
-o-
Friday, October 22, 2021, morning
Last tracking scan says it's in Oregon, but still no estimated delivery date, which is weird and annoying.
-o-
Ok, as of noon-ish, it's now scheduled for delivery tomorrow, Saturday. That should be fine. Just hope there's no more jerking me around.
In tangentially-related news, today I completed my all-time biggest sale, selling 3 of my 2004 Retired base autos (Aaron, Musial, and Geronimo*) to a private buyer (non-eBay, that is). We had been going back-and-forth here and there for several months, but finally reached a deal we were both happy with. I upgraded to refractors of those autos, so I no longer had a need for the base versions. While the sale didn't exactly "balance out" the case, it sure helps me breathe a little easier. And I made a decent profit off those '04 Retired autos, having bought them a few years back, pre-bubble and when The Hammer was still with us. Probably could have brought in a bit more on eBay, but it's nice to avoid their fees and other headaches of selling on eBay.
*César Gerónimo, a less-heralded member of the Big Red Machine known for his defense in center field, isn't a big name, but he doesn't have many certified autos on the market: only the '04 Retired card, a '04 Fan Favorites card, and a few signed "2004 Topps Originals" buybacks (one of Topps' first forays into buyback autos, which they've gotten carried away with in recent years)... and that's it, as far as TCDB lists. So his Retired auto typically sells for over $100. If you're looking for a pack-certified César Gerónimo autograph that isn't a filthy buyback, your options are limited to 2004 Retired or 2004 Fan Favorites.
Topps Fan Favorites is a fun product. Basically a "sister set" to Topps Retired, releasing the same 3 years. It has refractors and autos, but not refractor autos, so doesn't quite hit the bullseye for me, though if I live long enough, I could see myself eventually trying to work on that set.. base and autos. I do a search for Fan Favorite refractors sometimes, as those typically look great. But they're numbered /299, so can get pricey even though they're non-autos.
Topps Pristine is the other set that I'd group into this family of card products with Retired. Pristine is like the snotty older brother, while Fan Favorites is the fun-loving younger sister. Pristine (Baseball) ran from 2002 through 2005. (Geez, wonder what happened in 2006 to kill all these Topps product lines..? Looks like they might have been having some financial issues at the time before the exclusive licensing agreement kicked in and knocked down their competition.) I believe all the Pristine cards were Chrome stock, with some refractors. Not many autographs, though. I'm not really all that knowledgeable about Pristine, but that's another set that I might potentially work on someday if I live long enough and have enough discretionary income to play with, but it's not really on my radar at the moment. More than enough collecting projects for me as it is!
[2025 Editior's Note: Yep, in the years since, I've nearly completed refractor parallel sets for ATFF {all 3 years of 'em} and 2005 Pristine Legends, with just a handful of respective needs left.]
-o-
Saturday, October 22, 2021, at the end of a long day waiting in vain for the FedEx truck
I hate FedEx so much right now! Another day of screwing me. Oh, how I hate FedEx.
-o-
Ok, now I'm trying to put a positive spin on it all. The especially aggravating transit of the case could very well pull some positive karma answered by the Cardboard Gods. This case may very well end up being the kind of incredible story that gets made into a movie. I can see it now: I pull the Kirby 12/25 refractor.. the tweet about it goes viral... .and I end up selling it to the CEO of Minneapolis' largest business for a million dollars because he loves Kirby and acknowledges that it is the ultimate Kirby Puckett card. (The equivalent of Mike Trout's 1st Bowman Chrome Auto superfractor.. [since Kirby doesn't have a 1st Bowman Chrome auto superfractor, and his '03 Retired re(non-super)fractor auto is the closest thing he's got]). While I hate to see the card go in this fantasy, with the proceeds, I'm able to achieve my dream of quitting my job and being able to just spend my days doing whatever I want. Card stuff, blogging, playing music, video games, watching shows n' movies. That's the dream. :)
(And trust me, I wouldn't accept one cent less than a million dollars for the Kirby!)
Still no new delivery date given, but I looked it up and apparently FedEx delivers on Sundays, so best case scenario is it comes tomorrow.
I think I've decided on the following schedule for opening the 6 boxes in the case.
CASE BUSTIN' SCHEDULE:
Box 1 - on the day case is received. (God willing, that'll be 10/24/21.)
Box 2 - assuming I don't hit anything big in Box 1, go ahead and open the 2nd box soon thereafter. Maybe not the same day, but like within that week or whenever I get the urge.
Box 3 - after my next dentist appointment. (Think I'm gonna try scheduling that for next month [Nov]).
Box 4 - assuming a sparkling dental check-up, celebrate with another box, why dont'cha! Again, not necessarily the same day, but anytime after Box 3. But if there is a dental issue that requires a follow-up visit, the 4th Box will be reserved until after the next appointment.
Box 5 - open around Christmastime (The ol' "Gift to Myself" maneuver)
Box 6 - New Year's Day 2022 (we made it into another year; let's hope it's a good one.)
Yeah, that sounds good to me! Let's pencil that in.
It's technically in the wee hours of Sunday now. I think I'm in a better mood because tonight I played through one of my favorite old video games, Maniac Mansion. And earlier today I watched one of my favorite old movies, Metropolis. --Well, the first hour and a half, at least-- I'll watch the last hour tomorrow. But yeah, frustrating day, rubbernecking out the window watching for the FedEx truck that never came. :(
-o-
Sunday, October 23, 2021
Here we go again: scheduled for delivery today. Fingers crossed.
-o-
Have I mentioned lately how much I hate FedEx? "Arrived at FedEx location" is the last scan at 6:48 this morning. It's now 2 in the afternoon. Really would FXXXING LOVE for that status to be updated to "Out for Delivery" or something to that effect. NOPE! Delivery date still listed as today, though. But I've already been through this twice before. Looks like I'm for another anxious, heartbreaking day courtesy of FedEx playing games with my package (which by the way cost me $50 in shipping. I paid $50 for the service I'm receiving. That's fun.). Why are they jerking me around like this?! Put it on a truck and drive it over to me. Or screw it, give me the address and I'll come pick it up. Does anybody know what they're doing over there? :(
-o-
WHEW.. FINALLY! A quarter to 4 in the afternoon, it was finally delivered. YAY!!
The case is smaller than I was expecting.
Though the charcoal Wizard was a nice pull, I was left wanting more, so I dove right into the second box.
Box 2 didn't contain a charcoal parallel, but I did hit a refractor. A good one, too!
Ernie Banks refractor autograph 3/25! Nice!
Ernie Banks turns out to be the toughest autograph to pull in 2003 Retired. He's in the top odds group, Group A. It's a rare instance that the base auto is actually rarer than the refractor, 24 base vs. 25 refractors. The other big names in Group A have between 25 and 30 in their base auto print run. (Base autos are not serially-numbered, but some print run info can be found on Baseballcardpedia, which I assume was derived from odds provided by Topps, on the side of the box or in marketing material.) So yep, with only 49 total autos in the product, Mr. Cub is officially the toughest signature to pull from 2003 Retired. Cool! I'd consider that beating the odds!
I previously owned neither base nor refractor of this auto. Hey, just 2 boxes in, and I've already scored an A- on the purchase based on my above chart thing. Nice. Not quite the Kirby I was hoping for, but still one of the best pulls possible in the product. Beloved 1st-ballot Hall of Famer! He signed a lot and lived a full life, so his signature is reasonably attainable for his many fans. In fact, among the most treasured cards of my original, childhood card collection were the matching Ernie Banks autographs I sent for from the Nabisco mail-in offer. (One I still have, and the other was given away in one of my earliest contests here on the blog.) So it's fitting that one of my all-time best pulls is a real nice Ernie Banks auto.
I'm bracing for the 4 remaining boxes to be downhill from here, with the assumption that my case hit has now already been pulled. But who knows, there could still be something exciting in there waiting for me. The Banks refractor's estimated value doesn't cover the price of the case, but it gets me a lot closer than I was expecting. I can safely say that my all-time biggest hobby purchase wasn't a dud, at least! Could I have "better" put that money towards one real nice vintage dream card (or, like, investing in the stockmarket or someshit) instead of rolling the dice? Sure, probably! But again, this case is like a bucket list thing for me.
Back to the Banks, I just a few months earlier scored his 2004 Retired refractor auto on eBay. Cool to complement that with the '03 now. Still missing 2005 to complete the trifecta.
Now I gotta get around to making that dentist appointment so I can bust another box!
In the meantime, I'll be back soon to recap the less-exciting pulls from the first pair of boxes.
-o-
November 23/24, 2021 - I hadn't planned on going so long without adding to this post, but I guess since I'm not planning on publishing it until 2024 or thereabouts, there's no rush for me to finish it.
[Ok, this next one isn't even really an entry in this 2003 Retired Case journal, it's just a blog post I wrote that I ended up not wanting to publish on its own because it's too much of a downer or whatever, but I'll sneak it out in this post where it won't get read much.]
Here's a rambling post without much actual cardboard content, so feel free to skip this one.
In the middle of October, we had some wifi trouble which resulted in us replacing the router or someshit. I hadn't restarted my laptop in months, trying to hang on to an older version of Google Chrome I was using. But yeah, I finally had to restart, and was forced into the updated Chrome that won't let you use an ad-blocker extension. I'm the kind of person who really hates ads, so that forced me to ditch Chrome and go back to Firefox, who kindly still let you block ads. But shaking Google off a bit means that my browser doesn't get along as well with Blogger. Commenting on other blogs is a little trickier, for one thing, and sorry if I accidentally post as "anonymous" once or twice, but I should get that sorted out soon enough. Also, Firefox's spellchecking is worse than Chrome, so apologies if I make more typos than usual.
Oh, and the other result of the browser business is that I got logged out of X/Twitter and Blue Sky. Not to brag, but I've resisted logging back into either site going on 3 weeks now and I've enjoyed carving out the "doom-scrolling" from my daily routine. While there are plenty of cool accounts on there and hobby buds I otherwise don't keep up with, overall it's very refreshing to step back from that type of social media, even if it sort of feels like sticking my head in the sand. My plan is to resist returning to those places as long as I can, though I might be tempted to show off new cardart of mine at some point, or if I hold out until spring, talk of the new baseball season could be a siren song. But honestly, at this point, I hope the likely MLB work stoppage due at the end of the 2026 season lasts a LOOOONG time. Like, I'm rooting for multiple lost seasons. And while this pending extended strike/lockout drags on, I'd be ok with the corrupt US government finally shaking down MLB over the antitrust exemption, which causes the league to fold and splinter off into smaller niche leagues like the Savanna Bananas scene.
Ok, ok.. the above rant is mostly sour grapes over the Dodgers breaking my heart, but still.
We don't get Fox at home, but I caught Game 7 at a baseball-themed sports dive bar a couple blocks from my house with my wife joining me. She's not into sports, though she can at least "small talk" about baseball a little after 15+ years with me. Anyways, I remembered to snap a couple wallet card photos.
Seemed like the entire bar was pulling for the Blue Jays except for one lone guy in the booth behind us wearing an L.A. cap. Immediately after the final out, I gave the happy guy a double pat on the back and said "Congrats, bro," as we headed home. He was like a surrogate Dodgers fan for my hobby buddies, Night Owl and gcrl. Happy for them. And the 3rd person who I frequently sent my spare Dodger cards to back during the days of active blog trading: good ol' Oscar aka "Stealing Home" from the blog "All Trade Bait All The Time".
My short attention span prevents me from plowing through books most of the time, but I'm working on this copy of Mint Condition I dug out that Oscar threw in with one of our old trades. He was a genuinely good guy and it was a real gut-punch to suddenly lose him like we did. TMV did a nice tribute post earlier this year.
So yeah, I'm happy for his memory and for other cool Dodger fans out there. And hell, Mookie Betts is one of my favorite active players. Ohtani is great, etc. I have decent PCs of Kershaw and Snell. So maybe I shouldn't hate the Dodgers quite so much, right?
Well, I was born in San Diego so I latched on to the Padres when I was a kid. Now I'm faced with the real possibility of being one of those sad sack sports fans who live their entire lives without knowing what it feels like to have your favorite team win it all. It's kind of depressing to think about it. But of course sports don't really mean anything when you think about it. Just humans doing something with their time here for the heck of it. lol
Anyways, what else? I think I'm gonna quit drinking alone this year, maybe on my birthday. I just realized I'm not into booze much these days, though I will still sometimes drink it if it's around. So figured I'd cut that out and going forward only drink at get-together situations. I'm just mentioning it here so it'll "make it real" and not just in my head. My wife needs to cut back her drinking, so hopefully I'll set a good example. Women, right?! Lol. Any women reading this? I miss back when Julie (A Cracked Bat blog) was a regular in the comments. Them were the glory days! :) I see she still collects, at least, evidenced by the recent "Last Login" date on her TCDb profile page. So that's good to know.
Along those lines, I've been wanting to do a "Where Are They Now?" post checking in with my favorite former bloggers, but I just haven't gone through with reaching out and making it happen. Perhaps instead of one big post, I should try individual or small-group posts. Less daunting that way. Yeah, that might be fun. I'll prepare a little questionnaire to email out and see if I can get some folks to check in with us on the cardsphere and say hi.
Ok, let's recap with bulletpoints.
- I stepped back from social media
- Sad the Dodgers won
- RIP Oscar, the world needs more like him not less
- Julie rules
- Thanks for reading
Thanks for reading!
p.s. I've got some neat cardart stuff in the pipeline but I just haven't focused myself there to get much done for the past several months. This past summer I was distracted by a pesky rodent problem. Lately I've been spending much of my free/hobby time sorting my non-keepers with the intention of beefing up my TCDb account for trading. So that's a few thousand cards-- mostly unsorted or had been sorted by team back in the day-- to stack out by sets/groups and then in order, and get all that organized. But that project is moving along fine and I should hopefully start getting that stuff logged shortly.
No comments:
Post a Comment