I got a Nolan Ryan auto

After posting nearly everyday for a good stretch there, things are slowing down again slightly at Baseball Card Breakdown. Between things picking up at work (back to full-time till September.. poo! The money is nice, but I loved sleeping in and working 6-hour days) and just general blogging ennui, expect to see me back to posting just 2 or 3 times a week for a while.

Now, here's just a quick post to show off a neat card I picked up recently. This was a "wedding gift to myself" that I bought (on eBay) while honeymooning in Maui last month.

I very rarely drop three-figures on a card, but this is a pretty sweet Ryan with a print run of just 35 (though it's not serial numbered), enticing enough for me to spend a little over a C-note on it. While 2004 Topps Retired gets most of my adoration, I also am a fan of the 2003 and 2005 Retired sets, the latter being whence this card came. (I've still got an eye out for a reasonably priced 2004 Retired Ryan auto; I've seen a couple pop up on eBay in recent months, but in the neighborhood of a $400 buy-it-now, which is crazy.)

Nolan Ryan is obviously one of the game's all-time greats, so this is a pretty nifty addition for me; certainly a centerpiece of my collection. No offense to the Lone Star State or Big Apple, but as a Southern Californian child of the 70s, I think my favorite Ryan Express era is his stint with the Angels, so I'm happy with this photo selection (though an action shot could have been better than Suttoning). Nice-looking on-card autograph. Still in the uncirculated hard case (a couple scuffs behind Nolan's back, but not too bad). And of course, the full stats on the back, which I appreciate so much more than a "Congratulations" back. Yep, I like this card a bunch.