COMC haul misc

Happy Opening Day, everybody. I recently got another shipment from COMC and I've been meaning to show off some highlights.

Some refractors that caught my eye. I sorted Juan Soto refractors cheapest-first and grabbed that Béisbol one. I wanted an All-Etch logofractor, and ended up with Austin Riley, whom I've kinda fell into PCing, I guess. The blue 2008 Adrian Gonzalez pickup was inspired by a gcrl post. I haven't logged my Brian Giles PC yet, but I probably needed at least most of this trio of Bowman refractors.

Grabbed a few parallel Gavins. (Not pictured, but I'm happy to see that Gavin Sheets secured a spot on the Padres' OD roster! The first Padre named Gavin!) Gavin Sawchuk, a gridiron Gavin, is a new name for my collection. I don't have much use for modern football cards these days, having detached myself from the NFL over the past 15 years (and never really getting into college sports), but I guess I don't mind an excuse to sample some of the new designs and parallels Fanatics uses for football products, but I won't go trying to "rainbow" any of his cards or go nuts with building a PC (The previous notable Gavin football player, Gavin Escobar, I collected a lot, but he had the added connection of being a fellow SDSU alum). Sawchuk is still a running back for the Oklahoma Sooners-- oh yeah, Bowman U is for college kids; kind of a weird thing to get used to-- so we'll see if he eventually goes pro.

I'm not feeling too optimistic about my Padres this season, but hoping Jackson Merrill continues developing into a star.

Dick Allen PC got kicked up with this four. The Kmart card is a blank-front, so it's an oddity that doesn't count in my quest to hit 100 cards in the TCDb-leading PC.

Unrelated to my latest COMC haul, but here's a photo from the other day when I rounded up all my Dick Allen cards that featured the 1972 Topps design.. including Topps, OPC, customs, and a couple Topps Vault pieces. Dick's card seems to have usually been the last one packaged into the '82 Kmart box set, touching the gum, so it's very common to find with a gum stain on the back. If the stain is raunchy enough, I consider it somewhat of an unofficial variation and add it to the keepers.

Also grabbed some additions for my glowing card collection.

The Harry Potter one and all the Upper Deck Space Patches were new sets to me, and I've since updated my Glow-In-The-Dark Cards page to include them.

Found a couple cheap Project 2020 cards for the Big Hurt PC. This is where COMC's flat shipping comes in handy, since those bulky plastic cases otherwise ratchet up postage. Flippers went nuts back then, so now some of those cards with high print runs can be snagged on COMC for less than they'd cost to ship alone. The artists are Naturel (left) and Matt Taylor (right). Matt Taylor's version of the Rickey rookie is the only Project 2020 card I actually bought "live". I also ended up with his Gwynn thanks to Rod a couple years later. So it seems I've got myself a little Matt Taylor art collection going. But as far as 1990 Topps Frank Thomas, I think I prefer Naturel's colorful rendition here.

I'm embarrassed to admit but when I first saw 1992 Leaf black gold cards come out of the package, I was like, "WTF, I thought I already completed this set last year!?" But duh, I momentarily forgot I'm now trying to complement that set with the tougher "of 33" preview cards. This lot helps get me to 21 of 33.

1964 and 1972 needs, including some notable names and a pair of '72 Cubs variations (green under the "C" and "S" instead of yellow).

And I've now completed 1980 Kellogg's thanks to Garv and Yaz here. Probably. I still need to sort through my set to confirm, but it's tricky because I sort my Kellogg's cards by curvaceousness, not card number. lol

Thanks for reading and best of luck to your favorite team this MLB season.

My latest customs

The new printer has been working out pretty well other than sometimes having trouble getting on the Wi-Fi without turning it off-and-then-on-again. I owed return card packages to blogging buds Johnny and Bob, and I don't have much in the way of real cards available that they'd want, so my first priority with the new printer was to finish some customs to send their way (again).

Back in 2022, I made a 9-card custom set called Bubble Gum Baseball featuring bubble-blowing photos of ballplayers. I had whipped up a "2nd series" with a new design in the middle of 2024, but my home printer at the time wouldn't cooperate, so here in 2025 I got to do the thing like real card manufacturers and not actually put out a product until the next year, kinda like how Topps (Fanatics) typically puts out those Chrome Anniversary sets a year late.

But yeah, here's a second page of bubble customs:

I retained the Bubble Gum Baseball logo and '73 Topps position silhouette from the 1st series for continuity. However, I decided to go all-horizontal and full-bleed this time. I admit the gumball design is not my best work, but it's fine. When it comes time to make a 3rd group of these, I'll most likely go back to a vertical design with borders.

 

The backs each feature a write-up paragraph, typically with added context for the front photograph (e.g. that was Joey Votto's final game in Cincinnati). Tiny text, but zoom in if you like.

 

 

 
The print run on this set is currently just 3: Bob, John, and one for me. But I could print more if anybody wants to make a trade offer involving any.

But wait, there's more!

I also made some All-Time Braves customs for Johnny in the style of cards put out by TCMA in 1986. I tried to think of notable Braves who don't have (m)any Braves cards out there. I love stuff like "short term stops" and other familiar person in unfamiliar uniform pictures.

I remember as a new collector getting a card or two in this design from a Sears catalog "collector kit" repack, circa Christmas 1990, so I've got a soft spot for it. Chances are I do more of these, and for more teams, because they're fun for me to whip up.

The backs mimic the real TCMA cards and similar to the bubble customs feature a write-up with more context.

 

 

I made a couple extras of each of the above All Time customs for trade bait and trade package thrown-ins, so if you'd like any, just let me know. Shameless link to my wantlist.

 

 

And one last new custom to show off today, but this one is really just for me. Two of my "under the radar" PC guys happen to be in camp with the Padres this spring as non-roster invitees fighting for a bench spot. I've got my fingers crossed that at least one of them makes the club.. hopefully both! But regardless how it shakes out, I at least wanted to get the moment documented in my card collection.

 

Trenton Brooks is a guy who went to the same high school as me, and Gavin Sheets shares my first name. I've been following/collecting both dudes for years, so it's cool to have them suiting up for my favorite team this spring. For the custom, I modified a 1986 Fleer rookie prospects template I had from years back. I plan to print out a copy for each PC.

 

 

Trenton would be just the third Guy From Granite to play for his hometown Padres, with the Giles brothers being the other two. And Mr. Sheets would be the first guy named Gavin to play for San Diego. Good luck, fellas!

Thanks for reading and I'll see you next post.

Gavins from Dennis

My buddy Dennis of the blog Too Many Verlanders surprised me with a nice mailer of cards this past week. The majority were guys named Gavin, so this post will also function as an abbreviated "pro athletes named Gavin" annual update for 2024, though last year I said I wouldn't continue doing it since there are a lot of Gavins out there now compared to when I started paying attention to the 2 or 3 there were ten years ago.

Gavin Williams' stats this season haven't been that great following his strong debut last year, though injuries have played a part. Cleveland secured a playoff spot, so hopefully Gavin gets a chance to shine in October. Cool bunch of cards here with a 1st Bowman refractor, insert Topps RC, and a couple Panini relic RCs.

Gavin Lux has set his career high for games played this season, and I think he had a hot streak going for a while, though overall his numbers are still around replacement level. Suiting up for the juggernaut Dodgers, he's likely to play plenty of postseason baseball. While I of course hope my Padres pull it out, Ohtani is having a season for the ages and it wouldn't surprise anyone if they just kept rolling.

Dennis didn't send me any Gavin Stone cards, but he's another Gavin on the Dodgers to mention. He pitched well this year, highlighted by a complete game shutout, though manager Dave Roberts recently said he's very unlikely to pitch again this year due to shoulder discomfort. Bummer.

Like with Lux, Gavin Sheets has gotten a lot of playing time this year and hasn't quite had the breakout his team had been hoping for. The sad-sack White Sox and their lame owner are having an historically bad season, so there's no 2024 postseason experience awaiting this Gavin. 

Always love a "cracked ice" parallel or whatever they're calling them these days.

Gavin Cross had a strong year for KC's AA team, knocking 15 dingers with 30 stolen bases in 101 games. Wishing him the best of luck cracking the bigs in the next year or two.

There are several other Gavins in the minors today, too many for me to want to cover here, but best of luck to all of them making the show. Turns out my local-ish minor league team, the Hillsboro Hops, had a pair of Gavins on their roster this season. I should have maybe tried to see a game and perhaps gotten autoGavs of those guys, but alas. I didn't see any in-person baseball this year, sad to say, not even the local collegiate summer league Portland Pickles. Oh well, maybe next year.

My biggest football PC gets a couple cards larger thanks to this pair. Since the late Gavin Escobar, there haven't been any NFL Gavin cards released, as far as I can tell. There was one Gavin (Gavin Heslop) who played 3 games for the Seahawks in 2021 but didn't seem to get any cards out of it.

And here's a Gavin Cecchini auto, plus cards from his brother Garin, who I sorta also passively collect. lol

And some non-Gavin content from Dennis to round things out. There was actually a little stack of '92 Leaf black gold, but only Brady Anderson was a need. Believe it or not, I'm only a dozen cards short of the finish line there.

Thanks a lot, Dennis! Cool stuff. I'll do my best to scrape together a decent return for you soon.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

Been at this for a decade now

Hey, here are some cards I got in trade from my buddy Dennis at TMV. He found some autographs he was interested in from my trade bait page, and we were able to hammer out a deal that resulted in big help to vintage setbuilds of mine. 

I've been after a second-year Garvey for a long time. Needed it for my set (129 cards left to go.. pretty much all high numbers or variations), plus he's a solid PC guy of mine thanks in no small part to his Padres tenure (growing up in San Diego in the '80s, as I did). Being a tough high-number, I'm unlikely to score a dupe for the PC anytime soon, so I'll be content with just the one.

And how about another Dodgers legend? Freshly-minted Hall of Famer Gil Hodges was probably the biggest name left on my '57 Topps needs. Just 80 more cards left to go, and none of those should run me much into double digits. I should probably hit that quest harder, hunting down deals on my remaining needs and finally sticking a fork in what's my longest-running setbuild. --Scratch that, my blog archives reminded me that 1964 Topps was in the works (and still is) when I officially declared I'd be trying to complete a set of 1957 Topps back in February 2017.

Typically when I get a player's '57 Topps card, that's my oldest card of the guy, with my collecting focus not often stretching back past the 60s, but I'm very happy to own a beat-up Bowman rookie of Gil Hodges. Cool to add another playing-days card of the man.

Anyways, those 2 cards would have been fine in exchange for the pair of autographs Dennis was interested in, but he kindly threw in another cardboard heavy-weight to take the return over the top...

Yes, the Klutts rookie second-year! This was the main hurdle in finishing my 1978 Topps build. Just 34 cards left there, nearly all commons.

And for good measure, a new Gavin and 12/25 card from the set containing the most Christmas Cards ever, 2008 Topps Moments & Milestones. Chase Utley, not too shabby.

Thanks again for the trade, Dennis! Always a pleasure.

- - -o

I had some other Gavins and Christmas Cards I've been meaning to post about, so I guess I'll do that here. The below were all eBay buys. I don't focus as much these days on either minicollection, though once in a blue moon I'll do a search and see if I can find anything cool cheap. But I also have a saved search for cards that are both Gavins and 12/25.. and are autographs. Like this pair..

Gavin Williams again on the left. He's likely to crack the majors this year with Cleveland. And a pitcher named Gavin Stone (whom I also have a 12/25 auto of) made his debut for the Dodgers earlier this year. Two new MLB Gavins in the same year?! What a time to be alive. As a kid growing up with it being an uncommon name, never thought I'd see that day.

A better look at the numbering. The other guy, Gavin Stedman, is still an amateur, so we'll see if he ends up doing anything notable in the sport. Remember back when I collected Gavin Lux as an amateur? Then he was a 1st round pick and did well in the minors and his cards were really hot there for a moment? (I didn't sell any of his cards then, not even my dupes *kicking myself*) And then he struggled and then got hurt, and now his cards aren't worth much? The cardboard lifecycle. Now that I've been back in the hobby for over a decade, I've seen it plenty of times, and it's probably why I don't mess with modern cards much anymore.

This trio of Christmas Cards are the result of some more bids that came out on top. I don't collect Nick Fortes, just taking a flyer on a cheap 12/25 RC. Dick Williams is a PC guy (Pads in the Hall), and I don't think I had a relic of his, so that helped me go after this ugly card featuring a b&w photo of Dick with his back turned pooping out a white swatch. I sure don't chase modern Pinnacle at all (honestly never that big on Pinnacle even in its prime), but it was the cheapest Juan Soto christmas card I could find, so I went for it.

- -o

Oh, it's my 10 Year Blogiversary today, June 15. Normally I'd make a bigger deal of it, but I'm more in a working-on-stuff mindset at the moment, with some creative projects in the works that I'm excited to share soon. I'll try to do a "celebrating 10 years of Baseball Card Breakdown" thing later this summer, perhaps with a contest/giveaway aspect. But can't get to that today.

Oh wow, it's not serious, but technically speaking I just now found out I have cancer while working on this post. It's just a little basal cell skin irritation on my back that needs a 15-minute procedure to burn off and isn't at all likely to spread anywhere, but still, yikes. (Finally went to the dermatologist for the first time as an adult earlier this week.)

Ok then. Thanks for reading! Got a COMC package due tomorrow, so you'll likely be hearing from me again soon!

2022 Gavins update

Time for my annual post checking in with ballplayers named Gavin.

We've got a new one to add to the MLB Gavins, now up to a total of 5 guys.

MLB Gavin debuts:
2004 - Gavin Floyd
2016 - Gavin Cecchini
2019 - Gavin Lux
2021 - Gavin Sheets
2022 - Gavin Hollowell

A relief pitcher with Colorado, Gavin Ernest Hollowell saw action in 6 games near the end of the '22 season after a strong showing in Double-A this year. He has no mainstream cards so far, only a couple minor league issues (neither of which I own, sadly), but maybe he'll get some RCs next year. A reliever on the Rockies who went 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA in his first year is unlikely to interest most collectors, but I'll have to keep an eye out to get him some representation in my collection.

Congrats, Mr. Hollowell, on becoming baseball's 5th Gavin! Best of luck with your career.

Over in the AL, Gavin Sheets was a regular on the White Sox, playing in 124 games and breaking the single season home run record by a guy named Gavin with 15. He had previously set the mark in 2021 with 11.

Gavin Lux had the best season of his young career, helping the Dodgers to another trip to the playoffs before being eliminated by San Diego. Lux still hasn't quite lived up to the 1st-rounder hype, but seems to be making strides, and tied Brandon Nimmo with 7 triples to lead the league.

Doesn't look like Gavin Cecchini played anywhere in 2022, likely signaling the end of the former first-rounder's playing career. He had been with the Angel's organization in 2021. Wishing Mr. Cecchini all the best in the next chapter of his life.

As for minor leaguers named Gavin, there are a lot these days so I'll just focus on a few familiar or notable guys.

Gavin LaValley just put together the best numbers of his pro career in 2022, however it was for the independent Sioux Falls Canaries. Perhaps his .324 batting average and 20 homers in 87 games will garner interest and get him back to affiliated ball next year. Good luck, Gavin!

Fine young Gavins to watch include Guardians farmhand Gavin Williams. Drafted in 2021's first round, he's got lots of cards out there thanks to being included in 2021 Bowman Draft and some various Leaf and Panini products. I recently added one, above, my first new "autoGav" in a while. He's been pitching pretty well so far on the farm.

Gavin Cross was the Royal's #1 draft pick in '22 (9th overall), so I'd expect him to start getting some Bowman cards and the like soon. He already has a bunch of Team USA cards. The outfielder out of Virginia Tech has gotten his career off to a good start in the low minors. (It's still early, but Gavin Sheet's Gavin home run record may eventually be challenged.)

Gavin Stupienski (cousin to a former cardblogger!) played 20 games with the Royals' Double-A team. Glad to see he's still doing his thing.

Grant Gavin doesn't really count, being a Grant as he is, but he's in the Padres org, so that's a plus. Mr. Gavin put up an ERA of 4.82 between AA and AAA, which is high for him. Hopefully he's able to get it together next year and get called up, but we'll see.

Turning to football...

Gavin Heslop, a DB out of Stony Brook, got into 3 games with the Seahawks in 2021, becoming only the second guy named Gavin to play in the NFL. He was briefly with the New York Giants this year, but didn't make it into any games and is currently a free agent. Doesn't look like he has any cardboard on the market, unfortunately, with nothing found on TCDB or eBay.

And sad news to report regarding the first Gavin to ever play in the NFL. Gavin Escobar, who had recently become a firefighter after stepping away from the gridiron, tragically lost his life in a rock climbing accident on September 28, 2022. RIP, Mr. Escobar.

Here's a card that doesn't obscure his face under a helmet. In addition to sharing a first name, we both attended SDSU. Football cards don't make up much of my collection, percentage-wise, but he might be my biggest PC in that sport, or at least close to it, receiving plenty of help from blogger buddies over the past decade. He seemed like a good dude. Heartbreaking that his life was cut short.

Greatest Gavins 2021 Recap

It's that time of year again that I try to do these annual posts checking in with the lesser-known active players I collect. I did the 2021 season recap for guys who went to my high school back in October, now I'm getting around to the guys who share my name.

Gavin Lux is still looking for his breakout year, but he's an important part of the current Dodgers team. His season was up and down (all the way down to the minors for a while), but he bounced back from a forgettable 2020 to hold his own. Defensively versatile, he played everywhere but 1st base and catcher in 2021. With Corey Seager leaving via free agency, he might be given more opportunities for steady playing time in 2022 as he looks to establish himself in his age 24 season. [This post is written under the assumption baseball will be back with a full season next year, though I personally wouldn't put too much faith in that.]

(I haven't gotten any new Lux cards this year, so figured I'd revisit this auto/patch/Christmas Card I've had for years. Unlicensed Leaf stuff like this doesn't really go up in value much, but still kinda cool when you can pick up a card like this for a good price. The rest of the cards in this post are recent pickups.) 

Meanwhile in the AL, Gavin Sheets became just the 4th player named "Gavin" to play Major League Baseball when he debuted June 29, 2021. All told, he got into 54 games and impressed with a 123 OPS+. Topps gave him 4 or 5 cards as a "call-up" in Topps Now, but withheld his "RC" designation until next year, so expect to see his rookie cards flood Topps products in 2022 (though technically he exceeded rookie status already). He turns 26 in April, so there probably won't be a ton of investor hype with his cards. But yeah, hopefully he keeps performing well.

Gavin Cecchini followed Gavin Floyd as the 2nd "MLB Gavin" years back, and while it looked like the former first-rounder's injury-plagued career had come to a close last year after struggling in Indy ball, 2021 saw him resurface in the Angels organization. He ended up batting .288 in triple-A, so who knows, there might be some life in his career yet. I'd love to see him get another gasp at the top level.

Before we take a trip down to the farm, one more mention is due. With the Negro Leagues now considered Major Leagues for most intents and purposes, there's technically a new Major League Gavin.

Just one career appearance for this player known only as Gavin: an inning pitched for the Brooklyn Eagles in 1935 where he gave up 4 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits and a walk. He may possibly have played in other games that've had their stats lost to the winds of time (along with the rest of his name), but at least he got his foot in the door for a baseball-reference page. Can't really add him to my card collection-- a very simple custom with no picture would be the best I could do; hardly seems worth it-- but figured I should at least give the man a head-nod here on the blog. Even assuming it's just his last name, still a true pioneer for Gavins everywhere!

Minor League Gavins

Man, we've hit a dozen active Gavins trying to crack the bigs. 

Gavin Collins (2014-2021)

The 2021 Columbus Clippers (AAA, CLE) included not only a guy named Gavin, but also a guy who went to my high school (Trenton Brooks)-- a team tailor-made for my fandom! Collins struggled to hit but was solid behind the dish, focusing only on catching after splitting time at the hot corner in years past.

Gavin Collyer (2019-2021)

20-year old Collyer pitched well for the Wood Ducks. (I'm going to keep most of these short.)

Gavin Conticello (2021)

Conticello, a 3rd baseman, is was a 2021 8th round pick by the Diamondbacks out of high school.

Gavin Hollowell (2017-2021)

Hollowell pitched well in the depths of the Rockies system.

Gavin Jones (2019-2021)

Jones is an infielder in the A's org.

Gavin LaValley (2014-2021)

Ah, a guy I've got a lot of cards of! LaValley was released by the Reds after the 2020 minor league season was cancelled. He found himself with the independent Kane County Cougars in 2021 and had a solid season, batting .270 with 12 home runs in 79 games. I'm rooting for ya, Gavin!

Gavin Sonnier (2017-2021)

Baseball-reference is counting college stats in their active years here, which is kind of confusing. Anyways, Sonnier is an undrafted player who pitched for an indy team after college.

Gavin Stone (2018-2021)

Stone is a starter in the Dodgers chain who pitched well in 2021.

Gavin Stupienski (2014-2021)

Oh wow! After not being in affiliated ball since 2017, Stupienski resurfaced in the Royals organization in 2021. Good for him! Got a nice TTM return from him with an assist from his cousin, former cardblogger "Bubba" (Matt) years back. After looking good in high-A ball, Gavin made it up to AA for a game.

Gavin Tonkel (2021)

The Phillies' 9th round pick of the 2021 draft, Tonkel is an outfielder out of high school.

Gavin Weyman (2017-2021)

An undrafted pitcher who has played for Indy teams in recent years.

Grant Gavin (2014-2021)

Honestly I was thinking about not doing this post this year, as I've got plenty of other stuff in my mental "to blog about" list and with so many active Gavins out there now compared to only a few years ago, this annual exercise might have run its course. But then I saw the recent news that Grant Gavin had been selected by the Padres in the minor league Rule 5 draft and I got pretty excited that San Diego has their first Gavin (even if a last-name Gavin isn't quite the same, but hey, close enough). Grant pitched well this past season, with his K/9 rate of 11.1 ranking fifth-best in the Triple-A East league (minimum 70 innings). Hope to see him take the mound at Petco Park before long.

So there you go. Best wishes to all Gavins everywhere!

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.

Gavin Sheets PC

Gavin Sheets became the 4th man named Gavin to play Major League Baseball last night, following in the footsteps of misters Floyd, Cecchini, and Lux.

Congrats, Mr. Sheets!

The 25-year old went 2-4 with 2 RBI in the White Sox 7-6 win over the Twins. 

Gavin Sheets is the first #WhiteSox player with multiple hits & RBI in an MLB debut since Craig Wilson on September 5, 1998

— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) June 30, 2021

Pretty cool.

Here's my Gavin Sheets PC as it stood on the day of his debut.

A few decent Bowman cards.

Most of my Topps cards of him are autographed, lol. The Heritage is a glossy parallel.

A pair of numbered Panini cards and a minor league issue.

Nice selection of Leaf cards here!

And a slabbed auto. Sharp looking card.

Just pulled the trigger on the Topps Now card for his debut.. which is designated as a "Call Up" not a "RC". Probably too late to get him into Update, but I'd expect him to get the rookie card treatment next year. I'm more or less content with the PC as it stands (I don't plan to chase his rookies or whatever), but I'm always happy to receive more cards of his in trade. Let's hope he has an outstanding career ahead of him!