I hammered out a quick PWE swap with Bo for a couple cards from my sidebar wantlist. Hank Aaron bookends the 1975 Topps set and this #660. Still need the #1 highlight card among the 95 cards left on my '75 Topps wantlist. I'm closer to the finish line with '74 Topps-- more on that in a minute. Great leg kick photo on the Juan Marichal.
And a few nice bonus cards of PC guys along for the ride. Love the O-Pee-Chees (O-Pee-Cheese?).
Thanks, Bo! Always a pleasure.
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Chris The Collector recently celebrated a blogging milestone and sent out cards to some lucky readers to say thanks for reading and commenting. Great to score more cards of instant Padres legend Joe Musgrove, my first additions since his no-no. He's joined here by fellow Padre Eric Hosmer and fellow San Diegan Stephen Strasburg.
A couple Xanders, a Doolittle, and the star of the envelope Jim Palmer. I'm now down to just 27 cards left on my '74 Topps wantlist, with about half of those being variations that I ultimately might not worry about when it comes right down to it.
1974 Topps needs (not counting Washington "Nat'l Lea." variations)
7 Jim Hunter
20 Nolan Ryan
85 Joe Morgan
160 Brooks Robinson
201 Batting Leaders Carew/Pete Rose
202 HR Leaders Jackson/Stargell
207 Strikeout Leaders Ryan/Seaver
212 Rollie Fingers
273 Checklist 265-396
300 Pete Rose
338 Jackson/Billy Williams AS
414 Checklist 397-528
598 Rookie Outfielders (Ken Griffey)
599A Rookie Pitchers (Padres reg font)
599B Rookie Pitchers (Padres big font)
608A Rookie Pitchers ERR (Apodaco)
654B Jesus Alou COR (outfield)
I should really hit this hard and close the book on '74 one of these days (..seems like I've been saying this for a couple years now, lol). Please let me know if you've got any of these available for trade and I'll try to find you something nice in return.
Great stuff, Chris-- thanks! Congrats on 500 posts and here's to many more!
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And one purchase to squeeze into this post.
I've got a ton of Wil Myers cards and don't really need any more, but in a moment of weakness last week I pulled the trigger on this Christmas Card for a decent price.
I didn't realize it until just now scanning through my blog's archives, but this is the 4th 12/25 "Silver Signatures" card from 2013 Topps Five Star in my collection!
Neat. Cornering the market on these things. haha
Anyways. So I got a "Shipment Update: Shipped" email from COMC the other day and I got really excited that my order from last November was finally on the way. But then I was crushed when the just above Wil Myers card arrived in a lonely, small bubble mailer. Turns out I didn't even look at the seller when I bought it, but it was through COMC's ebay consignment account.
So that was a bummer. BUT then yesterday I got another "Shipment Update: Shipped" email from COMC, and this time it really is my big order from last November. So I've got that to look forward to soon. I barely remember what-all is even in there at this point, but I'm sure there's a bunch of fun stuff that I'll show off on the blog in the near future.
I don't get bored very often. Despite being home most of the time for the past couple weeks, still feels like I have dozens of little projects I want to get to one of these days. If I ever get to the point where I run out of things to do, then I might start getting worried-- but I doubt I'll ever get to that point. Always more cards to sort.. customs to make.. trade packages to put together.. and that's just talking about card stuff! Other around-the-house stuff to do too.
And I'd love to post more, both here and at my MusiCards blog. How is it I seem to have more free time to post while at work than when I'm working from home?! LOL, don't make no sense.
I'm also behind in reading the card blogs. I still haven't gotten to the wave of '88 Score Phil Niekro posts.. but almost there. Should be fun reading through all those.
But anyways, I received cards from a couple folks this week, so that's good motivation to squeeze out a quick post.
Johnny Miller has been doing some fun giveaway games lately. I got in on one of them and ended up with this well-loved vintage Mickey Mantle checklist from 1967. This'll be a sweet addition to my Mantle PC.
John also included this 1980 Kellogg's Bruce Bochte. Another project on my long to-do list is to sort all my Kellogg's cards and finally put up wantlists for them. The long-term goal is to complete every Kellogg's set from 1970-1983, but I'm sure that'll be tough and take several years. Hey, no rush. Not sure where I'm at now, but doubt I'm anywhere near even halfway with any of these sets.
Thanks a lot, John! Your generosity is appreciated! I've got some cards set aside for you I'll try to drop in the mail one of these days.
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The other cardsphere mailing I received this week is from Nate at The Bucs Stop Here. He put together a great package of cards for me with guys I collect.
Impressive Kris Bryant lot right here. The holiday card is one of the metallic snowflake parallels.
Kris' teammate Javier Baez was along for the ride as well.
Young Dodger studs represented here with Cody Bellinger and Gavin Lux.
Woo! A pair of Vlad Jr RCs. You know I'm a sucker for hyped-up rookies. I was really looking forward to seeing how his 2020 season shaped up.. but it'll have to wait.
More good stuff. Vogelmonster gold #'d 0057/2020. Early Didi. Tim Duncan refractor. Bol Bol RC.
Not sure if you saw my tweet from a few days ago, but I recently sorted my little basketball card collection. Tim Duncan was the largest PC by a comfortable margin, which I guess isn't a big surprise. I've gotten a lot of help from friendly traders.
Let's end on a hit. Nate hooked me up with this Joe Musgrove RC auto. I already had the base auto, but this badboy is the refractor parallel, #'d /499. Musgrove is from my hometown, so there's a little personal connection for me there.
Thank you for the excellent trade, Nate! I'm sorry my Pirates selection is a little thin at the moment. I'll keep an eye out for more Buccos and hope to balance the scales next time we swap cards.
My wife and I made up a "seclusion safari" game where we earn points by spotting cute animals from our windows. She's been kicking my ass so far. But it's just something fun to do while stuck at home. Always brightens our day when the backyard is visited by a local bunny. Funny how much entertainment value we get from watching the adorable little guy nibble on the lawn.
Guess that's all for now. Thanks for reading and stay safe!
I recently ended up with an extra 2004 Topps Retired Hank Aaron autograph. Yep, I just recently landed this white whale of mine, and then funny enough, I was in the right place at the right time to snag another. Instead of selling the dupe for a substantial profit, I set out for a mega trade. I had 3 big cards in mind owned by 3 trader buddies. So I dug up cards to supplement the Hammer auto tailored to each trade prospect.
My #1 choice card was pulled a few years back by Tony Burbs, well-respected Cubs collector, so I gathered up some good Cubbies to back up Hank.
If that didn't pan out for me, Card #2 on my list was Shoebox Shane's Mike Trout liquorfractor rookie. I didn't have high hopes for him being agreeable, but I would have swapped out the Cubs for some good Sox and hoped for the best.
If that didn't work out for me, Card #3 in my sights was the Tim Duncan auto that Fuji recently stumbled upon.**
And if those all didn't work out, I'd field offers on the blog and Twitter, and if nothing seemed right, throw Hank on eBay.
But that's a moot point because Tony Burbs graciously agreed to my offer (with only a minor alteration), and I was able to score my first choice. :)
BOOM!!! Axl Rose auto from 2013 Topps Archives. This was a huge card I had been pining for for a long time. I knew Tony lucked into pulling it, his greatest pull, and I had hoped to one day be able to put together a strong enough offer for it. Very happy to have swung this mega trade!
I've realized recently that Guns N' Roses is currently my favorite band, as you might've guessed with them frequently getting worked into my posts over the past few months. What can I say, they're just the band I most dig listening to these days. (I'm musing on typing up a post covering my favorite bands over the years.) Appetite For Destruction was among the first few cassettes I ever bought for myself as a kid in the late 80s, so there's plenty of sentimental value for me there, too.
In difficult times, I turn to the lyrics of W. Axl Rose, with his wisdom being a beacon steering me towards the right course of action. They've got dozens of songs I love deeply, though I might have to say my favorite song is "Locomotive".
"Locomotive" is my jam, especially on a Friday afternoon when I get off work. If I were a professional baseball player, it'd be my walk-up music.
Anyways, back to the card.. Looks like Axl has two Topps certified autos on the market: this card from 2013 Archives, and a framed mini from 2013 Allen & Ginter. Both cards consistently sell on eBay for $300+.
Tony kindly threw in a couple surprise bonus cards too. Sweet auto of Joe Musgrove, a hometown hero of mine, and a Desperate Double Dozen need of Tim Blackwell's mustache. (Expect a big Tim Blackwell PC post coming soon.)
Before Tony agreed to the trade (I had to wait a little while before I made the offer because I had gotten a card off his "most wanted" in a recent order of mine, so had to wait for that to show up so I could add it to the offer), I came up with a list of big-money cards I would be interested in mega-trading for:
Axl Rose Topps 2013 Archives or Ginter auto
Mike Trout 2011 Topps Update cognac parallel
Tim Duncan auto (pack-certified and on-card)
Roberto Clemente 1955 Topps (PSA graded, low grade is fine)
Hoyt Wilhelm 1952 Topps (PSA graded, low grade is fine)
Gavvy Cravath 1914 Cracker Jack (PSA graded, low grade is fine)
Kirby Puckett 2003 Topps Retired refractor auto
Andre The Giant auto (certified authentic)
Michael Jordan 1986 Fleer (PSA graded, low grade is fine)
Mickey Mantle 1953 Topps (graded, low grade is fine)
Mickey Mantle 1957 Topps (graded PSA 4 or better)
It would be reaching on my part, but certified autos of Clemente, Mantle, or Ted Williams would also have my interest, for sure.
I guess that's sort of an Expensive White Whale list for me. I'll have to keep that handy in the event I end up with another really nice card to trade someday (or win the lottery or something).
** I hit Fuji with an alternate trade proposition for the Duncan, sans-Hank, but still with plenty of pop. He declined, which I totally respect, though it was an impressive lot, but he gave me some solid personal reasons for his inclination to retain the card, and it seems like the card has "untouchable" status for him, and would still be even if the Hank was part of the offer.
Welcome to the collection, we've got cards for days
Anyways, I can't thank Tony enough for this successful mega-trade knocking off a dream card for me!
As he suspected, the postage-due bandit from my last trade recap was in fact Bru of Remember the Astrodome. I was able to put some loose change into an envelope paperclipped to the orange slip by my mailbox and it was successfully delivered the next day, so no big deal.
But yeah, as a public service announcement: the USPS has been cracking down on "envelope rate" vs. "package rate" this year. I send out 1000+ packages of DVDs every month at work. I used to be able to get away with sending 1 disc in a cardboard mailer via the cheaper envelope rate (88 cents thru Stamps.com), but now they'll get testy unless you go package rate ($2.61 thru Stamps.com). So unless you're sending a PWE (no more than 1/4 inch thick), you'll probably need to go with package rate.
But anyways, let's check out the great cards Bru sent my way. (And btw, Bru was totally apologetic and cool about the whole thing, even offering to reimburse me via Paypal. Good guy!)
Here's a cool quasi relic type of card with Greg Maddux and Mike Piazza. 2003 Upper Deck Game Face. The real question for me here is which PC to put this in, since I collect both these guys and feel equally about them, both Pads in the Hall. Crap, I guess Maddux since he's pictured first.
But most of the package was Astros, like this glorious lot of Altuve. Bru is a big Astros collector and ends up with plenty of dupes, I'm sure.
Carlos Correa looking good!
Expecting lots of Springer Dingers this year.
Alex Bregman RC parade and a hometown hero of mine, Joe Musgrove.
More Astros I collect.
There were also plenty of Padres cards, the best of which was the Wil Myers Heritage mini #'d 82/100.
Bunch more Padres.
Even a few non-Astros/Padres for the player collections.
Thanks a lot, Bru! I'll be rounding up some good Astros to shoot over to you ASAP.
I jumped on the Astros bandwagon a little this past fall, and started up a couple new player collections in the process. First is WS MVP George Springer. I pulled the trigger on this Stadium Club auto during Game 7, in fact. I think "#SCAGS" here is the first graded card I ever bought from COMC. I don't care about the slab; it just happens that this was the cheapest licensed, on-card auto he had available at the time. I think it's a gorgous card. While a PSA 8 means "not very good" when applied to modern cards, I've looked the thing up and down, front and back, and I can't see any issue that would ding it. Must be a tiny indentation or something somewhere. Oh well, it's totally fine with me!
I also won this Tek auto on eBay a little while later. Pretty cool. With these 2 additions, my young Springer PC is looking pretty solid.
The other Astro I decided to start collecting during the 2017 Fall Classic is Joe Musgrove.
What draws me to Musgrove is that he's the first El Cajon, CA native to ever win the World Series. (Guy From Granite Shane Spencer won the World Series a few times with the Yankees, but he wasn't born in El Cajon. Full disclosure, I wasn't born in El Cajon either, but it's where I did most of my growing up.) Way to represent, Joe!
He went to Grossmont High School. I don't always collect "rival" guys from my school district, but do something cool like win the World Series, and hey, I'll overlook silly old school rivalries.
Here are some numbered parallels I've picked up recently. I'd love to add more Musgrove cards, so if you've got any available, I'd likely be interested in trading for them.
[UPDATE: Looks like he was just today traded to the Pirates for Gerrit Cole, funny enough.]
Let's check out some more card show pickups from the other day.
I was really excited to find a cheap Dinelson Lamet auto. Padres fans like me are hoping he can blossom into an ace.
A couple nice Trouts, including a faux auto.
A couple Chrome purple refractor rookies, each #/299.
All rise! Serial-numbered Aaron Judge! Cha-ching, baby! And on the reverse side...
The Mick!
Shiny Rizzo (/199) and a Tek Turner RC.
A pair of Pujolses and the pride of El Cajon, 2017 World Champion Joe Musgrove. The blue refractors are /150.
Wrapping up with a trio of Dodgers (eh, ok Piazza is a Met here, but close enough). The Seager is /99. The Piazza Gallery of Heroes isn't done justice sitting flat on a coffee table, so let's hold that puppy up to the light...
