Topps Retired Triad: The Return

Ok, I haven't done one of these in a while. To recap, my favorite high-end product line is Topps Retired Signature Edition, which ran for 3 years, 2003-2005, with the refractor autographs being a top collecting focus of mine. The "Topps Retired Triad" blog series is an excuse for me to show off a trio of recent adds. Good group today-- all PC guys for me, too.

Big Bo Jackson to kick things off. The photo might be familiar to readers because I featured the black parallel (non-auto, non-refractor) leading off the previous Triad post last fall. If it were up to me, the 2005 Retired refractors would be black bordered (like '04), but the white looks fine too. And hey, in a perfect world, this would be in its original "uncirculated" case, but I'll leave it slabbed for now. Hell, I haven't bothered to take it out of the eBay "authenticity guarantee" bag yet.

I wasn't as lucky with efforts to secure a Ryne Sandberg from the set that recently sold for a lot.

I also still need to track down Bo's '03 Retired refractor auto someday.

But one '03 Retired I have tracked down is Tony Perez...

Nice looking card. This makes an even 100 different '03 Retired autos for me, counting both refractors and base autos. That's out of a total of 119 autographs in the set. So completing that in my lifetime might be possible, but probably not an all-refractor set. The guy I know doing that (Dan) is down to only Tommy Lasorda to finish his '03 refractor set, last I touched base with him.

Tony Perez has some extra juice in my collection thanks to his "Pads in the Hall" connection, playing for San Diego back when they were the Reds' top minor league team.

Ron Gant was one of my favorite dudes back during my initial collecting run as a kid in the early 90s when I'd watch lots of Braves games on TBS. I haven't gone after his cards as hard since returning to the hobby, but still have a soft spot for him, and had been waiting years for the chance to land his refractor auto from '05 Retired.

Here's another photo with a little warmer refraction. Like with '03 Retired, I'm down to needing just 19 more autos to complete the set (as a mix of base and refractors), currently with 96 of 115 signers available in 2005 Retired.

Stats are a bit blurry in photo, but he ended up with 321 taters and 1008 ribbies. It was cool for me when Ron had a solid season for my Padres in 2002 near the end of his career.

That'll do it. Until next time!

Topps Retired Triad: Refractorless Edition

Time now for another trio of Topps Retired pickups. Often when I do one of these "Triad" posts, it consists of 3 refractor autographs. But no rainbow shine this time-- heck, this first one isn't even an autograph, if you can believe that! lol

I generally haven't bothered going after the non-auto parallels of my beloved Topps Retired Signature Edition, such as the black borders from 2005. But if the price is right and they catch my eye-- like this nice color-matching Bo Jackson-- I might take a run at it.

Numbered 44/54 on the back. 

Though I hope to upgrade to a refractor someday, I went ahead and snagged this base Lou Brock auto from 2003 Retired recently.

While not serial-numbered, it has a print-run of 76 ("Group B"), so it doesn't pop up too often.

And now we close out with my first backdoored Retired card.

While Andy Van Slyke has a base card in 2005 Retired, he's absent from the (Chrome) autograph checklist. Turns out Andy didn't get around to returning the signed cards to Topps in time. In fact, looks like he never returned the cards to Topps, but has just this year begun occasionally sending them out in autograph-request returns to lucky fans. At least 3 or 4 of those have made it to eBay so far and I landed one for a decent price. (Glad I didn't jump at the first over-priced example to pop up.)

"Not valid without (hologram) sticker" keys you in to something being off. Validity aside, I think this is a damn cool addition to my Retired auto hoard.

Just the fact that I own this unreleased card gives me hope that maybe someday my dream Retired "ghost whales" could surface. I'm talking about the Kirby Puckett auto from 2003 and the Dick Allen auto from 2004 (listed on early checklists, but ultimately not packed out). You gotta think they exist, maybe in storage somewhere.. waiting to possibly see the light of day again someday. 
Hey, never say never... as Andy Van Slyke here can tell you.

Topps Retired Triad of HOF 2003 refractor autos

Haven't done one of these in a while. My "Topps Retired Triad" series is where I show off 3 additions to my hoard of Topps Retired Signature Edition cards, which I consider my top collecting priority, as far as allocating hobby funds. While sometimes I mix it up among the 3 years of the product, this post is pure 2003 refractions, and all Cooperstown homeboys, at that. Hitting you with three shots each: a couple different refractings and a shot of the back.

Frank Robinson was a nice one for me to grab recently. 

Looks like a storm brewing behind Frank thanks to the weird reflection in this pic.

An all-time great, no doubt about it.

Robin Roberts is another good one. I've had the base version of this auto for a while, so it was nice to upgrade to a refractor.

Baseball-reference has him at #22 all-time on the list of great pitchers as measured by career WAR, though Justin Verlander might overtake him assuming he keeps pitching adequately for another season or so.

Here's another notable right-hander. This Juan Marichal is a "prodigal son" of a card for me that I'm happy to welcome back to the fold. I scored a refractor a few years back, ended up selling it for a hefty profit to a hobby acquaintance, and thankfully have since lucked into this replacement at quite the bargain. (Now if I could only have similar luck with the Willie Mays ref auto I also sold to Dan.)

I now have 99 of the 119 players with autographs in 2003 Topps Retired, though that's factoring in base autos as well (which I'll ideally upgrade to refractors someday). 

Last off the line here, with 25/25 serial numbering.

Thanks for stopping by. My big COMC order has arrived, so I should have more posts for y'all soon.

Christmasy Cards pt. 1

Just about Christmas. Here are some festive cards.

I likely I have more red/green card siblings, but this couple pairs jumped to mind.

While the refraction on this 2021 Chrome Anniversary parallel was a bit of a letdown in hand-- barely more shine than a foilboard card-- I was still very happy to pick up a Hoyt Wilhelm Christmas Card earlier this year.

Ho Ho Hoyt!

Bruce Sutter sadly passed away earlier this year. When this card popped up on eBay in the wake of his death, I overpaid some for it, but not because he just died but because it was numbered 12/25 and so I would have overpaid for it anytime.

RIP, Mr. Sutter.

The rough and tough Charlie Hough!

Numbered 12/25 as well!

Last Topps Retired card for this post is a very merry Maz. Woo, that's a lovely card!

12/25 to boot!

My buddy Wes sent me a Christmas Card with a card for christmas inside.

Thanks Wes (and Amy)!

Bo hooked me up with some '92 Leaf black gold needs from a recent haul of his. Thanks, Bo!

Here's Ruby enjoying some of our recent inclimate weather. 

K, guys, I know Baseball Card Breakdown had a down year-- not even nominated in the "Favorite Blogs to Read" category this year at Nachos awards, ouch!-- but I'm tryin to get on anti-anxiety meds that should hopefully help me get my shit together. Plus I may be "back to the office" in 2023, and honestly that would be good for the blog because the heyday of this blog was written during downtime at work, pre-covid. So we'll see.

Christmasy post part 2 is coming in a few hours with all the "holiday surprise" '91 Fleer doodles.

See ya soon, and Merry Christmas!

continued Topps Retired refracting

Let's do another Topps Retired Triad post where I just show off 3 cards of the Topps Retired refractor autograph variety. Got a trio of Hall of Famers to feature today.

Love this beautiful Jim Rice. But first, gotta mention that the window replacement (stressed out over in a previous post) went well. I'm still putting the cardroom back, but trying to make improvements as I go as far as organization and infrastructure. One thing that kinda sucks though is that the best window for taking good pictures now has a screen on it. That's good for getting better airflow in the room, but it'll negatively impact my photos of cards, as you can see with the lines across the bottom of the above picture. So my options are just having lines in much of my card photos going forward, finding a new go-to spot for card photos, or using this as another motivating factor to sunset this blog and move on. Or maybe I should start using a scanner, though I still haven't gotten around to setting up the new printer I got a couple months ago. [Pretty sure the scanner still works fine on the old one, but I want nothing more to do with that thing. Now it's collecting dust and rat droppings while sitting in the garage because you can't just throw away old printers these days due to environmental reasons. Lame.]

This back picture didn't turn out very well, but there's the back. Always nice when a guy plays his whole career with one team.

Ah, Orlando Cepeda looking good here!

Some very nice seasons in that HOF career.

Monte Irvin closes out today's post. I already had the base version of this auto-- now available for trade, if anyone wants to make me an offer, like for some '72 high numbers or whatever-- but I was excited when this refractor popped up. Not only does it look great in its shiny splendor but...

Christmas Card!

Those career stats listed on the back are in need of updating now that his stint with the Newark Eagles-- disrupted by three years serving his country--  counts towards his MLB stats, bumping Monte's career batting average up to .305. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Back into Beckett

I got a kick out of the Night Owl Cards post from last month titled Ego trip. Not only was it the high quality blogging that Greg's known for, but also there was a cool little easter egg in there for me. See, he was talking about his latest article to be published in Beckett, one showing off highlights from his impressive Dodgers collection, and a custom card I made for him made it in there.

"Hey, I made one of those cards!"

I printed 3 of these cards that Ron Cey was nice enough to sign and return through the mail. I surprised Night Owl with one, traded one to Stealing Home Oscar, and kept the above for myself. Not my best custom or anything, but I like the celebratory image even if it's not very sharp.

The iconic June 1990 Beckett with football/baseball Bo Jackson photo was the first one I bought as a kid. I feel like that transaction pinpoints the moment I officially became a full-fledged baseball card collector. "Alright, let's get serious about this stuff!"

This copy of the magazine is actually my second, picked up later. The original got cut up. I remember I had this 2-page Bo Jackson collage taped up in the little "card room" area of my bedroom.

(Ernest P. Worrell on a Todd Worrell card, lol!) I made a few "fun cards" like this back then, though never got around to mailing anything in for publication consideration.

I don't think I ever ponied up for a subscription, but seems like I would buy the new Beckett from the local card shop every month for the next 3 years, eventually cooling on the hobby for other teenage interests around mid 1993.

Jump a couple more years, and I ended up in a bookstore or something in 1995 and decided to buy a Beckett for old time's sake and take a curious check-in on the hobby and the prices for some of my inactive collection. I got rid of most of my old Becketts over the years, but saved this Kenny Lofton since it was the most recent one I owned and therefore had the most accurate price guide. (LOL)

So anyways, very cool for me to kinda sneak into Beckett, even if just in a tiny way. Me from 1990 got his mind blown, for sure. 

Now let's hit a few incoming cards I've been meaning to post about. Not many (ungraded) Topps baseball cards from 1990 sell for more than a buck each these days, but I've got a few to show off.

I love these "Kmart greenies" as I call them. The quirky blue gloves and fat trophy are just awesome. 1990 Topps Batting Leaders.. basically inserts only available through special Kmart rack-packs of '90 Topps. They're pretty rare, as far as Topps cards from 1990 go. The red ones from 1989 are ever rarer, but I prefer the green. Found an eBay seller with these 3 big names for a good price.

Little easter egg I noticed with these is that they're numbered by rank on the active career batting leaders (going into the 1990 season). So like, Boggs' .352 batting average earned him the #1 spot on the checklist, with Gwynn's .332 placing second (though Tony would pass Wade later in the decade, which I must point out as a Padres fan). I now have 6 of the 22 total Kmart greenies. Completing the set isn't a priority at the moment, but I'd at least like to keep an eye out for the rest of the guys I collect if I can find them for a decent price.

It's a sentimental "twofer" for me, being from the year I started collecting, plus I worked at Kmart for a year in high school.

I still have/use the mug I got the time I made employee of the month! Reads "Safety & Shortage Control" and pictures a dog giving double thumbs-up. I think it also came with $50 store credit or something like that. I wasn't collecting at the time, and I don't recall cards sold at the Kmart I worked, so that store credit didn't go to cards. But this was circa 1995, so hey, maybe I bought that Kenny Lofton Beckett with it? We had a pretty decent magazine selection; could have carried Beckett then.

More Topps cards from 1990 that manage to rise above the "junk" classification of the era. The same seller I got the 3 greenies from also had this pair (1990 Topps TV Glossy All-Star Set) cheap with combined shipping, so I added them to the order.

As far as non-normal backs go, these are pretty cool. MLB Service time isn't a stat you see listed on cards very often!

Now let's do a quick Topps Retired Triad. Got three 2005 Retired refractors lined up.

Paul O'Neill is better remembered as a Yankee, but cool to see him pictured with the Reds from the first half of his career. Teacher supply store billboard in the background gives the card some extra character.

Part of the Reds team that won the World Series in 1990, keeping with the loose theme of the post. And who did Cincinnati vanquish that October to claim their title?

...

Tony LaRussa lead the A's on an impressive run back then. Nice photo of the skipper helping out with defensive drills.

But really though, Mrg. LaRussa didn't really have any business in a set called 2005 Topps Retired Signature Edition. He was still active at the time, not retired. The year after this card came out, he won the World Series with the Cardinals. Crazy that he's active again now, keeping the White Sox in the thick of the pennant race this year. I can't think of any other cards in the three-year run of Topps Retired where the career stats on the back advanced after the card was made. (Bob Brenly has a 2005 Retired card, though 2004 was his last year of managing, so he came close. Brian Cashman got a card in 2005 Retired despite being an active front office person. I guess Topps Non-Active Player Signature Edition wasn't quite as catchy. Oh wait, I found another Retired card with old career stats: Grady Little was in 2005 Retired and then went on to manage the Dodgers for the 2006 and 2007 seasons. Oh, and one more: Jimmy Leyland has a 2005 Retired card and then managed the Tigers from 2006 through 2013.)

Jay Buhner closes out today's trio of recent pickups. A bigtime Buhner collector was liquidating some PC cards and actually had two of these refractors. I called dibs on this one because it had a more pleasing signature-- just enjoy it for a moment; beautiful, right?!-- and another buyer snagged the other, less beautiful one a little while later.

Fine career for Junior's bash brother in Seattle and cause of consternation for Frank Costanza.

That'll do it for this time. Thanks for reading!