Adam Jones PC highlights

Adam Jones is officially retiring today so I wanted to give him a quick blog spotlight. Exciting player, good person, plus he's a fellow San Diego kid, so he's easy for me to root for . At some point a few years ago I started snagging cheap/cool cards of his here and there, building a decent little PC. 

A couple low-numbered autos to kick things off.

Some relics. Bat chips and grey swatches, but hey, differing texture with each pair, at least.

No trifecta for me this time, btw, as I don't have any Adam Jones rookies. In fact, I think I only have Orioles cards of him, so I should probably try to score some additions documenting his career outside of Baltimore.

Fun photo on his 2018 card, shown here in four varieties.

A few more shiny highlights from the PC.

Someday I should try for a cycle/rainbow of those Pinnacle clear vision cards. 

Topps Chipz would have been a much better product if the parallels weren't so tough. 

The DK mini only makes the post because it's a Christmas Card.

I checked the Chip in the dark, and I don't think it's a glow-in-the-dark red parallel, sadly, just a regular red parallel (which are still pretty tough).

Finally, I'm pretty sure this was the very first custom overlay I ever made, spicing up a boring 2012 SP Signature Edition autograph I snagged for a couple bucks back in 2015. I've made a bunch of other overlays since, but this is still up there among my favorites.

That'll do it for this post. Wishing Adam all the best in his next chapter!

Maybe the last Incoming Cardboard Post before the move

Time for another Incoming Cardboard Post (or ICP, as my ninjas call it) showing off cards that've made their way to me since I last did one of these, that weren't purchases and didn't already get their own post.

Two or 3 weeks ago I was showing off the 1970 Topps Willie Mays that Daniel surprised me with, and a friendly Twitter guy named Todd at @Bookman30022 saw that and offered up a Rod Carew if I needed it, and I happily took him up on the offer, with the sweet Batting Leaders card getting in on the action too. Not wanting to be too big of a mooch, I was able to get him to share his wantlists with me so I could send him a thank-you. Thanks again, Todd!

Mr. Carew turns 75 today, assuming I get this post published by the end of the day here on the west coast.

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I called dibs on this 1963 Fleer Jim Kaat that Jon graciously offered up for an anniversary giveaway event at A Penny Sleeve for your Thoughts. I dig this vintage kinda-oddball set and don't have many cards from it. A welcomed addition to my Kaat PC. I'm gonna post that one song I like again in celebration.

Thanks, Jon! Very nice of you. Keep up the great work on your blog!

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Here's a big trade I did with reader Oren V. a couple weeks back.

The key card coming my way in the deal was this Kris Bryant RC black parallel #'d /64. It's not his base rookie (#616), but still, this All-Star Game rookie from 2015 Topps Update is pretty nice. Sparkles had a down, injury-plagued 2020, but he's still in his 20s and will most likely bounce back to being one of the best in the game. That said, I feel like my PC of his has achieved "good" status now with the addition of this low-numbered rookie, and have now "retired" him off my main wantlist.

Here are a pair of solid players that I've missed in MLB this season-type-thing of 2020. Puig couldn't quite escape free agency, while Jones had a just-ok season in Osaka. Gotta mention that the red Puig is numbered 1/50.

A couple parallels of dudes I collect round out the package. Right on. Kershaw just threw a postseason gem.. good for him. (Still rooting against the Dodgers, though.)

Thanks for the great first trade, Oren! Hope to do it again sometime.

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Last one for today...

Padres, baby! Won a postseason game for the first time in a long time tonight. With recent injuries decimating the starting rotation, they're probably not going to get too far, but they're getting their cuts in! I hope to witness a whole bunch more quality seasons from Fernando Tatis, Jr. He's a real fun player and really good.

The fella from Once A Cub pulled this Topps Now parallel numbered 12/25 and thought of me. Aw yeah! He kindly let me dig up a few Cubs cards to send his way for it. A Christmas Card of a top tier PC guy of mine? A double-bullseye, as I say. Don't get much better than that!

Thanks again, man! Big hit for my collection.

And thanks again to everybody who's brightened my day with cards recently.

Heads up to my trader-buddies that I'm moving around the middle of October. I'll likely send out a mass email to my frequent trade partners with the new address once I'm good to go in the new house.

That's it for today. Thanks for stopping by.

Hunting for shiny: A blaster of 2018 Topps Chrome

I had a hankering to rip a few packs, and was hoping to find some 2018 Heritage High Number, but ended up settling for some Topps Chrome. Time to go on a shiny hunt.

Pack one has a couple shiny cards: a Giancarlo insert and a 1983-style Amed Rosario.

Pack #2: Victor Robles '83.. he had a disappointing year (wish it was a Juan Soto!), but still has plenty of potential. Base cards of PC guys Adam Jones and Wil Myers.

Always nice to pull a Trout. Clint Frazier insert looks kinda cool.

Pack 4 has a Posey refractor and a Chris Sale base card for me.

All rise!

Lots of Yankees in this box, with pack #6 featuring a Clint Frazier fishfractor RC.

Conforto is a PC guy for me, so I'm happy to pull this refractor.

The bonus sepia pack was ok for me, pulling a couple guys I collect: Schwarber and Jones. The rest are up for trade.

Welp, I didn't hit anything big, but not exactly a dud since I ended up with about a dozen cards I can use. Thanks for swinging by!

A big contest win + trade from SCC (lots of football and basketball trade bait)

I lucked into winning Sport Card Collectors' big Panini giveaway recently, and since he was sending me a package, we threw a little trade on top of it, too.

He was kind enough to let me take a sneak peek at his big page of hits-for-trade before it officially went live, and I called dibs on this pair of relics. I think it's the first hit for my young Votto PC. (He hasn't been having a great year so far. Just my luck, he cools off right when I pull the trigger on collecting him. Hopefully he gets in gear soon.)

Everybody stand up. Here comes Aaron. Oh wait, I mean, All rise. Here comes the Judge.

Some artistic inserts of Goldy.

And a couple autos, including Matt Ginter and Josh Hader. Hader's been excellent for the Brewers out of the pen so far this year.

Now we're getting into the football portion of my contest winnings. I don't collect very many football players, so not much of the prize package fits my personal collection, but I was still very happy to boost my trade fodder. Most of the below cards are available for trade, so just get in touch if you'd like to see about working something out for any of these.

This is a great looking card of 49ers RB Carlos Hyde. Super shiny with a nice patch. Numbered 2/5 on the back! Looks like he recently signed a big contract with the Browns. Hopefully he and new #1 pick Baker Mayfield can team up to help lift Cleveland out of the toilet.

Hey, Cam Newton is a name I know without having to look him up. So that's cool.

Some football autos. If you can't read it, the redemption is for Latavius Murray, a running back who started his NFL career on the Raiders and is currently with the Vikings.

Some impressive memorabilia cards.

More Steelers.. always nice to get for fodder with my Pittsburgh-collecting trader buddies.

Now we head to the basketball portion of the prize package, highlighted by a couple autos.

Hey, Dr. J is a dude I collect, so there's a keeper for me.

A lot of inserts/parallels including some good names.

And we'll wrap things up with this shiny pair of /199 cards.

Thanks again, SCC! Fun package of cards, for sure.

Turning a good pull into a great haul

Back on Christmas Day 2016, I opened a gift box of 2015 Tier One and pulled a 1/1 auto of Alex Cobb. It was bittersweet because it's a thrill to pull a true 1/1, but an oft-injured pitcher on the Rays? Yeah, a bit of a disappointment compared to other possible names I could have pulled.

But then Cobb came back for a solid 2017 season, and just recently signed a big free agent contract with the Orioles. I figured while his name was in the news was a good time to throw my 1/1 on eBay and see if I got any interest, admittedly at a "reaching" price.

Turns out there's an Alex Cobb supercollector out there, and while he didn't jump at my big asking price, he sent me a message about the possibility of working out a deal. I let him know I'd be open to trading, as I'm definitely a collector first and foremost, not really much of a seller.

And it worked out great for all involved, as he got a nice 1/1 auto to add to his impressive Alex Cobb collection, and I got a sweet bunch of cards from him (even more than I was expecting) which I will now show off to you.

My first graded Mantle.. with Boog Powell and Harmon Killebrew along as well. Pretty cool! I already had this card in my '65 set, but this one will likely "upgrade" the old one, which will in turn get bumped to the Mickey PC. (I definitely love Killer, but it's hard to trump top The Mick).

Minnesota had a lot of sluggers that year.

This is pretty incredible. Before this, I think my highest-graded vintage card was a PSA 6, but now I've got this pristine specimen slabbed a 9. I'm not even a big graded-cards guy, but that's pretty neat.. A "pack-fresh" card that's nearly 50 years old. I collect both HOFers on the card, but will likely give the nod to Bob Gibson for PC placement.

Perhaps the only thing stopping the card from being graded a perfect 10 is that the back is slightly off center. Several greats listed there.

Getting into modern cards, here's a George Springer #'d /99. Looks like he's off to a hot start this season, continuing where he left off after his big World Series. ("According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first leadoff home run for a defending World Series champion. Springer also is the only player ever to hit a leadoff home run on Opening Day in consecutive years." [source])

Love this Randy Jones blue parallel auto #'d /199. (Sorry most of these are still in the top loaders and team bags, but I was rushing to take these photos this morning before work.)

And he surprised me with a Gavin! White Sox prospect Gavin Sheets #'d 025/100. Very nice.

Sweet Reggie Bush jersey relic, #'d /299. A hometown hero of mine, I hadn't heard much about him lately so I did a wiki search; turns out he announced his retirement in December 2017. Never quite lived up to his hype out of college, but still put together a solid career and got himself a Super Bowl ring.

And last card of the post, a beautiful Adam Jones auto, #'d 11/15. The gold ink on a textured black surface looks awesome. While I'm not sure this counts as a true "on-card" signature, I can't complain about this card at all. Just need to throw a bird logo on the helmet and it'd be damn near perfect. He's a fun guy to collect. The San Diego native has put together a Hall of Very Good worthy career in Baltimore. (Update: Looks like he hit a walk-off tatter in their opener today. Nice.)

So there you go! Excellent haul for an Alex Cobb autograph I didn't have much use for!
Thanks again for the trade, Reid. (Anybody else sitting on an Alex Cobb 1/1? He's your guy.)

Thanks for reading and enjoy the start of the baseball season, everybody! I get tomorrow off (Good Friday), so I'm looking forward to a long weekend of baseball.

some set gets

My 1957 Topps setbuild crept over 20% complete thanks to a few recent pickups, with baby-faced Don Zimmer here being the highlight.

Funny thing about 1957 Topps is it was released in 5 series, but it's actually the 4th series that's the most scarce. So its "high numbers" can be deceptive. My '57 needslist had a couple long stretches of red "needs" rows that depressed me every time I looked at it, but thankfully these guy helped me break up the solid red with a dash of green "got it!" rows here and there. (Actually, most are marked with yellow "upgrade would be nice" though that's really for just in case someone has a nice copy to trade me or I stumble upon a good one cheap at a card show or something.. I don't plan to ever go out of my way upgrading this set. Whatever beat up cards I get will be just fine for me. I almost regret buying the nice Hank Aaron I did because it's destined to be out of place with the vast majority of my set.) Was very happy to find good deals on these from a seller whose cards I had already loaded up my cart with.

These too! Thanks to Cal and the late Darren Daulton here, I'm now just two cards (stickers) shy of completing the Glow Stars subset of 1993 UD Fun Pack.

Just need #80 Ryne Sandberg and #191 Kirby Puckett, if anyone can help me out. They're sneaky buggers. When I finally complete it, I'll have to do a gif-filled post of them all glowing in action. It'll be glorious.

Remember that Trader Jack Padres set I got recently from gcrl that was only missing the Garvey? A friendly guy on Twitter offered me a Garvey and didn't even want anything in exchange. Super nice of him! Thanks a ton, @TeeOhEmm

Next up, part one of a trade package from Tim B.

Lots of additions to my 2011 Topps parallel frankenset.

And I actually needed all of them, so he obviously took the time to check numbers on my list, not just blindly sending any he found. Very thoughtful.

Can't believe I still haven't hit the halfway point with this ridiculous project of mine. Currently at 563 cards down out of 1284, good for 43.85% complete. Yep, it's definitely a long-term goal.

More from Tim's generous trade return soon.
Thanks

Late addition!...

Good ol' mrhaverkamp surprised me with a PWE of 2 '87 Bohemian Bread needs! Both a bit creased, but good enough for me! Down to just Flannery, Gwynn, and Dravecky. Big thanks, Jim!