Time for more stuff I picked up at the monthly Portland card show at Mall 205 this past weekend. Back in the late 80s, it wasn't uncommon to find Tiffany at the mall. But turns out here in 2019, you can still sometimes find Tiffany at the mall if you're lucky.
When I came across a modest cache of Topps Tiffany in a 50¢ box, the beating of my heart was the only sound. (Sorry; a reference to Tiffany's hit single.) This Strawberry is a great looking card.
Just in case you're unfamiliar: Topps Tiffany Baseball cards are basically fancy versions of the company’s sets from 1984 through 1991. These premium "Collectors' Edition" factory sets had relatively small print runs. The cards are on bright/white cardstock and the fronts are glossy. The gloss can be tough to spot if the cards are in sleeves or if you're in dim lighting, but the bright backs usually give them away. (There are also Topps Tiffany Traded cards, which are harder to spot since standard Traded cards already feature the better cardstock.)
Pudge! Man, this is a nice card.. even nicer when tiffanied.
SEE?!! Glossy!!
I doubled up on Fisk, also grabbing an '85 record breaker.
Howbout this All-Star trio of First-Balloters? Tiffany! I love it. I even took a look on eBay last month to see what complete sets go for. And ouch-- even the "crappy" sets like '88 Topps are pretty pricey in Tiffany versions. Maybe if I live long enough and amass enough disposable income, I'll put a run of Topps Tiffany sets on my collecting-goals list, but odds are I'll just have to be content with picking up a some singles here and there.
HOFers keep coming with Lasorda and Berra.
And some more that aren't exactly bullseyes for my collection (not guys I collect), but I had to add them to my stack anyways. I could probably be talked out of these above 8 cards in trade, though I may hang onto them just in case I start working on Tiffany sets someday down the line. But even then, it'd likely make more sense to watch for decently priced complete sets on eBay rather than try to piece together by hand.
Ok, ok... These aren't Tiffany, but close, in that they look like standard Topps flagship at first glance, but upon closer inspection are more special. Cousins to the North, O-Pee-Chee. Like Tiffany, I could see myself going after complete sets of these someday once I eventually finish my other collecting pursuits, if that ever happens. But yeah, a nice quartet of stars here I dug up from the same box.
Thanks for reading. If anyone has any stray Topps Tiffany cards among their tradeables, I'd likely be interested in 'em!
My collecting habits don't typically including going after team sets, but it is neat to realize you've knocked off an entire team from a set you're working on. And here's a post to make Red Sox fans a little jealous, as I've now got refractor autos (#/25) of all Boston cards in 2005 Topps Retired.
The top card in the team set is Yaz. Snagged this one a year or two back, and so it's a repeat on the blog, but worth another look.
Jim Lonborg is another one I've had for a while. I think I've actually picked up a dupe since.. as sort of an ace-in-the-hole in case I need to bring out the big guns for a trade with a Sox fan.
This Johnny Pesky is a new one. He's a name you don't hear about too much these days, but he would've likely won the Rookie of the Year award had it existed in 1942, and put together an impressive career. Led the AL in hits 3 times, batted .307 lifetime, while missing 3 years of his prime serving in World War II. After his playing days, he continued working in baseball for decades, with stints as manager, coach, and broadcaster.
After obtaining the Pesky, I noticed-- with thanks to TCDB-- that I was only Grady Little away from the Boston team set, so I said "F' it" and pulled the trigger on this overpriced one that had been sitting on eBay for years.
So there's the team set!
Wade Boggs is featured as a Yankee in the set, FYI. I don't have that one yet.
I do have a couple other "honorable mentions" though, on the other Sox...
2005 Retired features Fisk on the Pale Hose, after having a Boston card in the '03 and '04 incarnations of the set. Daryl Boston never played for the Red Sox, which is a shame with such a fitting last name. Dig the nutty pants uniform numbers on both of these!
My White Sox team set is far from complete, as there are a couple big ones I'm missing: Tom Seaver and Bo Jackson. Also Harold Baines is no pushover-- Hell, he's in the Hall of Fame!
I've got 35 refractor autos from this set now (out of 115).. with another on the way. 2005 Retired isn't as high priority as 2004 Retired for me, but I still like to pick them up when I find them for a decent price. What can I say? I just love these shiny beauties!
Very happy to just now learn that Alan Trammell and Jack Morris got the nod for the Hall of Fame. I suppose that makes Trammel a "guy I collect" now since he fits into the parameters of a HOFer who suited up for the Padres (he was a coach with them for a few years; count it). Jack Morris I never collected much, but always liked him alright. My baseball fandom was at its peak as a kid in the early 90s when he had his greatest moments, so I suppose that stuck with me. I know some stat-heads don't think he's worthy, looking at his career numbers that won't blow you away or anything, but I'm happy to see him get in. (and I'm bummed the other guys on the ballot didn't get in. Marvin Miller not being in is especially an embarrassment for the Hall. I was really expecting the vote to be just for him this year, no players. So it's bittersweet that 2 players got in, but not him.)
I'm a large hall guy with the HOF. Though when it comes to decking the halls, I'm a small hall guy. Here it is December 10th and I'm just now getting the decorations out of storage. About two weeks before Christmas through one week after, that's acceptable time for Xmas decorations in my household. Try bringing that shit in my house in November and you'll get that yule log up your ass.
Ok, with that rambling out of the way, let's catch up on some trade packages that've arrived over the past week.
First up was a big, heavy box from Billy over at Cardboard History. Very appreciated, but I feel bad when somebody pays a lot of postage to send me something. Always remember to look into Priority Mail flat-rate boxes when choosing a shipping method. If you're sending something heavy, chances are you could save some money using a flat-rate box, and they're available free from your local post office.
Check out these cool Simpsons cards Billy hooked me up with. It's an all-time favorite show of mine, but I really haven't delved into Simpsons cards much yet. Maybe one of these days. But yeah, definitely appreciate any given to me in trades.
Here's a look at the same cards but without the light shining through them.
And a page of Star Wars cards. These were in such great shape that I assumed they were from a recent product at first, but no, copyright 1983 Return of the Jedi cards. Very cool.
And here we have a couple more of those Simpsons cards. That Ramones card is a lock for the "We Didn't Start The Fire" Binder for punk rock. Also a couple more Star Wars cards, a couple Tim Duncan cards, and a couple lady olympians.
But the real heft of Billy's package was this lot of 9-card pages. He offered these up on his blog a while ago, and I jumped at them.
I have a few binders I snagged from my old work a couple years ago when they skipped town and have been meaning to score some pages for them ever since. Billy to the rescue!
Now I just gotta decide what to put in them. My 2011 Topps frankenset is probably the top candidate at the moment. And perhaps a vintage set or two. Which vintage set would you say looks best in pages? I haven't even started 1959 Topps yet, but they always look so good when I see a page/scannerbed full on the blogs, so if/when I go after that set, it's gotta go in a binder, even though I'm generally a box guy.
Big thanks, Billy! I'm sure I'll be hitting you back with another box before long.
Bo's latest mailing was entirely candidates for the Billy Joel binder. There are some shoe-ins, like Davy Crockett and Albert Einstein, and some others that might be a stretch, but will still fight for a spot and probably at least make it in as temporary placeholders.
As a Dead Milkmen fan, I'm pleased to finally have "their card" (the '88 Score Jim Walewander that mentions them in the write-up on the back). That was for consideration for the punk rock slot, though I think I've got to give the nod to the Ramones card featured earlier in this post.
I need to sit down with the binder and slot in the new additions sometime this week.
Thanks, Bo! Glad to hear you're happy with the recent batch of cards I sent your way.
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And finally, here's a surprise package from Jason at Hoarding Cardboard.
Trout rookie cup parallel! Also a 2011 Topps parallel and a few other dudes I collect.
Nice 4-card lot of Albert Pujols. Some recent chatter on what the Angels' big signing of Shohei Ohtani will mean for Pujols' playing time. Chances are Ohtani will see plenty of time at DH, perhaps relegating Albert to being a very expensive pinch-hitter. But regardless, the guy is still a future first-ballot HOFer due to his incredible prime years.
The UD Masterpieces cards here are special variations from a Red Sox Fan Pack thing, which Jason's accompanying note kindly pointed out.
And here's a perfect card for the vaccine slot in the Billy Joel binder! Not sure if the "fired up" Bryce Harper card was included for consideration into that project too, or just included because he's a guy I collect. But regardless, thanks, Jason! I'll try to hit you back with some cards soon.
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Ok, one last thing for today. I've sent out big "CDs and cards" boxes to a few different collectors now. You can read satisfied customers' glowing blog posts here, here, here, and here. Again, it's just $20 (with free US shipping) to me via Paypal and you get a big box chock full of random CDs and cards, with me doing my best to go heavy on teams/bands you like, given what I've got available. While I've successfully pared down my collections a lot (both CDs and unwanted cards), I could still fill another 2 or 3 boxes to reach my goal, so if anyone out there was thinking about taking me up on the offer, let me know!
And as a bonus, you can pick any 2 of these below encased cards, while supplies last..
Thanks as always for reading and best of luck in the coming week!
Here are some cards I picked up off eBay recently, with some tag-along cards that I grabbed with little-to-no additional shipping cost.
This post is soundtracked by a somewhat obscure band I like called the Gandharvas. They were an alternative rock band in the 90s that put out 3 albums but never really found mainstream success. As far as their sound, the closest comparison to a better-known band you could make would probably be Blind Melon and maybe a little Jane's Addiction and Stone Temple Pilots. They've got a handful of songs that I really love, and for whatever reason, I associate with the summer heat (I have a few favorite albums/songs that I only like to listen to in the summertime, and similarly some others I only like to listen to at night). So since I'm in the middle of a brutal heatwave, seems like a good time to bust out the Gandharvas.
Here's a Tom Gordon auto I won for under $5, then found 5 other cards ending soon from the seller (well, plus a few more I put low bids on but didn't win), and ended up with the lot for a total of about $25.
Since this card is encased, let's go with the song "Hammer In A Shell" here. (If only this was a Hank Aaron card, it'd be a very apt song to use! Or like if the song was called "Flash In A Shell".)
My interest in this card was the 12/24 serial number. Love adding to my little Xmas Eve Card collection when I can.
Jharel Cotton had a nice September call-up with Oakland last season, but hasn't had the same luck this year. Still though, he might pan out to be a solid top of the rotation starter. So this Rated Rookie orange refractor parallel (#24/99) caught my eye and threw a bid on it.
And here's another Rated Rookie refractor auto, this time a blue one (#23/75). Jeff Hoffman has pitched some nice games for the Rockies this year, though his overall numbers aren't great. But again, solid young pitcher, threw in a bid and ended up winning it for about $3.
I like Cory Spangenberg alright. He missed a lot of time with injuries, but seems to be feeling good these days. While somewhat of a bust as a #1 draft pick for my Padres, he looks like he's panning out an adequate major leaguer, at least. I sort of regret this purchase a little (stickergraph.. blah), but hey, it was under $3 with combined shipping.
Spangenberg is pretty solid defensively, too, making plays in the infield time after time. That was a corny segue to the next song, a "heavy" cover of the Cyndi Lauper hit "Time After Time." The Gandharvas version isn't exactly a favorite of mine, but it's good for a curious listen.
They're from Canada, by the way, forming in Ontario in 1989. On that note, a guy whose big league career got started in Canada in the 80s was the Big Cat himself...
The final card from this combined shipping win is a Willie McGee auto, it was the most expensive of the "add on" cards, but still a little cheaper than the original win, the Tom Gordon. He's a guy I liked back in the day, but again not really a guy I collect. I wonder how Panini gets away with using "Back to the Future" without running into objection from the movie studio who put out the film.
Willie often gets teased about being one of the least-attractive baseball players of his era. I'm sure his personal life is fine these days, but I bet in his younger days he did lots of girl-watching from afar, which leads into the next song...
Not to harp on looks, but another guy giving McGee a run for homeliest ballplayer of the era is Zane Smith..
I always keep an eye out for Topps Retired refractors for a good price. Landed this Zane Smith for a few bucks. Again, not a guy I collect, but happy to add another card to my collection of Retired refractors.
Zane was never really a star (may have been a Sporting News All-Star once, but never made a MLB All-Star team), but some solid seasons there, especially helping the Pirates get to the playoffs in 1990 and 1991.
For just 99¢ and no additional shipping, I picked up a Carlton Fisk relic to tag along with the Zane auto. Just a plain white swatch, but still a fine looking card. I believe this is my first Fisk relic, which completes a trifecta for me since I already had an auto and his '72 rookie card.
Man, I love the song "Kicking in the Water".. upbeat, lazy, summertime song. I couldn't find a YouTube video with just the title track, so there's the full album (though I'm specifically meaning to link to the song that starts at 35:48, which you can jump to with this link).
A minor league player I collect is currently kicking it in lakes, specifically with the Great Lakes Loons...
These days I'm selective which Gavin Lux cards I go after; he has a ton out there since being drafted by the Dodgers in the first round last year. But I wanted one of these inscription cards and was able to land this one for a good price. Just neat to have a little hand-written note from the guy. As for Gavin's quest to play at Chavez Ravine, he hasn't had a great year in A-ball, currently batting .222. But he's still only 19, so he's got plenty of time to develop.
After I won the Lux, I took a look at the seller's other auctions that were ending soon and came across a familiar name to many of us on the cardsphere...
Yep, for just about a buck more, I snagged this Ty Hensley 1st Bowman Chrome Card orange refractor #'d 25/25. Nice looking card! I assume his supercollector, The Lost Collector, already owns one of the other 24 copies of this card in existence (but if not, let me know). Now I'll be rooting for Ty not just because AJ's a buddy, but also now because I want this card to wind up becoming a shrewd pickup for me once he becomes the next Kershaw.
But Hensley has an uphill battle to get back on track with his career, now in the Rays organization. A 1st round pick by the Yankees in 2012, he's been plagued by injuries and hasn't thrown a pitch in a professional game since 2014. That's a lot of downtime!
Which leads us nicely to the final song of the post, which is perhaps my favorite Gandharvas song:
That's going wrap up this post. Thanks for reading (and hopefully giving a listen, too). Have a great weekend, everybody!
