tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25703799685140636572024-03-13T03:11:45.167-07:00Ryan's Pitch...baseball, life, a little history, and a lot of cardboard...Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.comBlogger173125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-7809613299966278162015-08-03T12:12:00.002-07:002015-08-03T12:12:34.464-07:00Set-Building '61 & '63 Topps - Vintage Lot Pick-Ups While wandering the endless digital card aisles of eBay, I came across a couple of vintage lots that I just couldn't turn down. They were two separate listings, one consisting of 1963 Topps cards and another with a bunch from the 1961 issue. Each lot averaged about $1 per card and after my recent experience at the local [card shop] mining for 1960 commons, this price point was instantly much more attractive than it had been before. Perspective!<div>
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As you guys know, I've been leaning more vintage anyways, despite my flirtation with some Bowman a few weeks (months?!) ago. Man, how time flies. I don't think I'll ever truly kick the new card vice, but I am trying OH so hard to maintain discipline and stick to old cardboard, graded or beautifully raw.</div>
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As it were, these cards were raw but the pictures sure did lead me to believe they were in fairly decent shape. Ha! "Fairly decent"...I am falling victim to one of my very own pet peeves - personalized grading terms. I love some of them that you see in the marketplace! But seriously, the cards in the pictures seemed to hover in the mid-grade spectrum. There's always a risk with buying lots when it comes to the condition of cards unseen...but I was feeling frisky. And for once, I really feel like it paid off!</div>
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Here are the two stacks:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u4Ib8-8v0xE/Vb-1rudQbPI/AAAAAAAACLg/2Sc-jNGsUV0/s1600/IMG_6946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u4Ib8-8v0xE/Vb-1rudQbPI/AAAAAAAACLg/2Sc-jNGsUV0/s640/IMG_6946.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr. Golden on top in honor of Night Owl</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I call this the AL East stacking method</td></tr>
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Not too shabby, right? I gotta say, there is something extremely satisfying for me about handling decent-sized stacks of these old cards and fanning them out like this. The colors of the '63 design are really cool to behold and provide some insight into just how revolutionary this issue must have been more than 50 years ago - particularly after '61 and '62. But man, is it TOUGH to imagine solid corners and edges along the bottom half! I feel for any of you who are seeking these in high grades!</div>
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But don't let that comment lead you to believe that I don't appreciate the 61's. This set has always been on my radar as a very "achievable" vintage release to chase. I managed to come across a great looking Billy Williams a year ago or so, so that was a big pick-up. The Mantle will probably be the final card, as usual, but that's okay. It's the building process that delivers the fun.</div>
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The excitement didn't end there, though. I carefully picked my way through the stacks to discover that the '61 pile in particular came with some 'hidden' gems that didn't make their way into the pictures or headline of the listing. For starters, how about a slick #1:</div>
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As many of you probably know, the first card in any vintage set is usually a solid find. When you go WAY back into the history books, this can equal a tremendous amount of value based on rarity. Since the #1 cards were always on the top of kids' stacks or at the front of the shoe box, they usually endured t he greatest amount of wear and tear due to rubber bands, grubby hands, etc. Many went missing or are in some pretty bad shape.</div>
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There I go again with the official condition terms!</div>
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This copy of Dick Groat is really nice, however, and I was elated to see it emerge from the package. A couple of print marks and touched corners might deter others, but the color and centering (for this set) are very nice. I was quite happy to slip it into the pole-position pocket of page #1 for the set! Sure, it's the only card on the page...but I dream big. To a fault.</div>
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Here's the back:</div>
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I did NOT know that Dick brought home the NL MVP Award the previous year? I suppose this is what garnered him the #1 slot? Does anybody know if Pafko pulled off the same feat in 1951? He also won the batting title? Amazing! A twitter friend was very kind and filled me in on another tidbit - that Groat's number was the first one to be retired at Duke University. Solid!</div>
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My fortune didn't end there! Here were some other great cards in my 'lot':</div>
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Team leader cards are always welcome - particularly ones with Hall of Famers! Remember...about a $1 for each of these...<br />
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So what's up with this Del Rice? Well, besides featuring a gloriously old-school catcher's mitt, this Rice is a high series card that is a little tough to find. I am sure that I will learn more about this obstacle as I progress through the set, but I'm happy to at least be able to check one off the list.<br />
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And finally:<br />
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DUPLICATES! When you're spending on vintage cards for older, more expensive sets, it's kind of deflating to pull two of the same card from a lot that is supposed to be nice and assorted. That means it will require one more purchase or trade to get it all done in the end. Ouch! Of course, if that one set of doubles happens to be Mr. Billy Martin....well, fine diddily-doo with me! This Martin card is awful from a photography perspective (fairly common for the set, though) but big on Yankees fan appeal. I'll have to decide which one I am going to keep for my collection and which one I will trade away fro more progress. I'm leaning towards keeping the copy on the right - what do you think?</div>
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I need to tally up my totals so far from the two sets. Don't get too excited (even though I am!), we're talking single-digit progress here towards set completion - but I am happy to finally kind of make a commitment. I expect it to take decades, but now that what I do have is paged and in a binder, I feel content from a collecting (OCD) aspect. My favorite are the pages with as many as three cards on them - looking strong!</div>
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I am stoked to shore up the vintage collection just a little bit more with these two lots. I'll also try and get a NEEDS list started on my "Sets" tab in case anybody wants to start swapping. Actually, may be more logical to just list the few dozen cards that I actually have vice the hundreds that I don't...</div>
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Yeah, that's what I'll do.</div>
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Thanks for reading!</div>
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Ryan</div>
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Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-56936616882885445072015-07-03T18:00:00.000-07:002015-07-03T18:00:00.861-07:00Fantasy Becomes Reality - Some 2015 Bowman Pillow TalkNo, I didn't pull a Kris Bryant super-vallyrian-X-factor-auto card. Sorry to disappoint, but that kind of luck doesn't find me when I open new release packs.<br />
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That being said, I had a lot of fun opening up a blaster of 2015 Bowman. I know what you're thinking, "Dude, Ryan has LOST it. He is always raving about vintage and completely trolling modern cards. Now he gives us modern card pack-busting reviews in back-to-back days? WHAT IS LIFE?!?"<br />
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Don't worry, I haven't lost my mind - or, at least not that I'm aware of. What I <i>did do</i> was embrace the "do what I want to do" potential of Father's Day a couple weekends ago and it was EVERYTHING I hoped it would be! After getting our two older kids to bed, I kissed my wife on the forehead as she settled in with our newborn and whispered, "I'm off to see Jurassic World. I love you."<br />
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You see, pillow talk has always been an area of expertise for me. Sorry ladies, I AM indeed madly in love with my wife - who, by the way, is totally cool for accepting me and all of my geek/collector-tastic tendencies. So, off I went, to go see a summer blockbuster movie by myself that I knew was going to be completely cheesy BUT DIDN'T CARE because I was going to see a movie. By myself. In a theater.<br />
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My heart raced as I sped towards the targeted shopping center in my high-performance Camry. Carefully weighted down with two car seats in the back, I made a hairpin turn into the Target parking lot just prior to reaching the theater.<br />
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"I'm buying some baseball cards, dammit."<br />
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Gypsy Queen had tantalized me for several weeks so I snagged a couple of rack packs. But I wanted more...as luck would have it, I had been adjusting my fantasy baseball lineup earlier that day in the Buy-Buy-Baby parking lot. The minor league prospects from my roster were fresh in my mind, you see...so what happened next was purely an act of impulse.<br />
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"Bowman! Bowman! I want SCHWARBER," was the weird rambling that escaped my mouth as I dashed towards the registers. Women & children warranted little regard as I weaved my way to an open register, glancing nervously at my watch to mark time until previews started. It's ALL about the previews, man.<br />
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I made the movie (my first 3-D experience) and loved every mouthful of gloriously buttered popcorn as I watched Chris Pratt & Co. avenge the disaster that was Jurassic Park III while falling short of the original movie's excellence. That's okay! I was in Father's Day Nirvana and the joy continued when I returned home to rip open some guilty-pleasure wax. Here were a few that caught my attention:<br />
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Nothing beats a Rizzo for my PC!<br />
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Okay, maybe a Betances for my PC comes awfully close...<br />
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Oooooh, sweet - Yankee prospects! I can lay claim to Luis Severino and Aaron Judge on my fantasy minor league rosters, but I'm glad the Yanks can claim this guy, Jorge Mateo. He is quickly gathering buzz in the Bombers' farm system as a speedster (52 bags as of 6/29) with offensive upside. Batting only .275 with a couple of homers, he is still growing at 20 years of age but has already matured greatly by displaying noteworthy plate discipline and working on his other tools as a ball player.<br />
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Wait, there's more?<br />
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These Chrome inserts are always nice and I'm ecstatic to add this Greg Bird to my collection. He is on the cusp of joining the Show as the parent club works out a future that is currently clouded with aging stars and rent-a-bats. Their time will eventually come to an end and Bird is a prime candidate to step in as a difference maker despite his season that was interrupted by a stint on the disabled list.<br />
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Nelson Gomez was a multi-million dollar international signing for the Yanks. He holds a lot of potential offensive upside and is giving us a glimpse by batting .285 so far this season with five home runs in only 95 at-bats. That translates into some huge power potential, though I am a bit conflicted with his 3B designation alongside my Irish brother, Eric Jagielo. Good problem to have, I suppose.<br />
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So there you go, some Bowman fun! I've only lightly dabbled in Bowman for the obvious reason that the set is all about the big prospect "hits" - autographs, colored parallels, etc. Par for the course, I didn't pull any mojo in my blaster. But as a fantasy baseball player who tracks minor league prospects across the league, this set has become a lot of fun for me to rip. I know a lot more of the players than I used to and that adds some meaning and enjoyment to an otherwise gamble-heavy release that my risk-averse collecting approach won't allow me to enjoy.<br />
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Plus, I have half a mind to send all of these to my friend,<a href="http://thelostcollector.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> The Lost Collector</a>, so that he can get them autographed for me. He's a hobby badass like that.<br />
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Thanks for reading and have a safe 4th of July!<br />
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RyanRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-73091729550463370532015-07-02T08:47:00.001-07:002015-07-02T08:47:36.953-07:002015 Gypsy Queen - I Shall Build TheeIt dawned on me the other day that I was much more passionate about new release cards back in 2011. Inspired by the pending arrival of my son that July, I had just gotten back into our glorious hobby after nearly two decades of complete cardboard nothingness. Essentially, I collecting like a chicken with his head cut off those first few months back in the fray. I was buying a little of this and a little of that but buying <i>some</i> of everything that came out. Unfortunately, this didn't last long enough to include 2011 Topps Update (TROUT!), but that's another discussion.<br />
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To show for my economic contributions, I am very proud to have a complete, hand-collated "birth year" set of 2011 flagship and Archives for my son to flip through one day and enjoy (or trade for a video game, or sell for beer money, whatever path he takes). I am also darn near close to completing the Heritage and Gypsy Queen sets from that year - with one and twelve cards remaining, respectively. Check out my NEEDS list and see if we can help each other! Not too bad though, overall.<br />
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But as you can divulge from my posts over the years since, my personal collecting habits have begun to steer away from modern releases. There's a myriad of reasons - some quite empirical while others are a bit more philosophical. It can be expensive to complete sets, pack by blaster by pack. Especially when you can just drop a little over $20 and bring entire Series home with no collating fuss and shipping included. The sellers usually even throw in a nice box. It's quite the inner conflict for this Collector, I assure you.<br />
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Because I still like to open packs of baseball cards!<br />
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There's still that rush to be had and, truth be told, there are still some pretty cool cards being made from a design perspective. The return on investment has become awfully risky, but there's no doubting the quality of photography and overall card construction for most sets...for the most part.<br />
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Enter son #2.<br />
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My family welcomed our third child into the world back in March, It's been a glorious, chaotic and beautiful circus ever since as we figure out life as a family of 5. I wouldn't trade it for the world! And since I'm a fair and just father (or at least strive to be), I can't help but look upon those great hand-collated sets from 2011 in my Card Cave. And then I look at what I'm doing for my youngest...and then I feel the itch to right the wrong....<br />
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And then I find myself in the card aisle at Target with a blaster of 2015 Gypsy Queen in my hand!<br />
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Yep. I'm at it again - officially, I'm announcing that I will be pursuing the complete base set of 2015 GQ for my kid. I have a long way to go after only (6?) or so rack-packs, but I figure that I have some time. I'm not sure if I'll chase all of the SP's like I did in 2011. I can't afford to make the rookie mistake again of buying all GQ blasters in the state, as much as I'd like to...and that's okay. I think everyone will understand. <br />
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In the meantime, it was a lot of fun to rip some packs and explore the latest edition of a set that is very sentimental to me. Here's a quick glance at some of my favorites:<br />
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The Shelby Miller represents what is probably my biggest "hit" of the rack packs, being a #'d /199 mini parallel. I'm a Braves fan, so this was a nice little bonus and the GQ mini's have slowly earned my appreciation over the years. I wish I could go back to 2011 when I amassed a considerable portion of a complete set of mini's. I didn't really understand what they were or how special it would have been to gather the whole run, so I ended up trading many away. That's okay - all part of the process.<br />
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BOOM! The next best thing to pulling a Brave is pulling THE Brave that managed to elude the Atlanta front-office rebuilding cyclone last off season and one of my top Player Collections - Freddie Freeman! This mini is a great addition and I can't wait to "binderize" the Freeman stack that sits atop the Card Cave table of chaos. Here's a look at the back of these cards, because I really love the GQ backs, despite their stat-less existence:<br />
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I thought this was a pretty cool insert as well:<br />
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Undoubtedly a vintage, throw-back insert set that I need to go research on Cardboard Connection, I enjoy the simplistic old-time feel of this art card. It's also a mini parallel, so unless I decide to go all out for mini completion, I might end up swapping this one out for regular sized cards that I need for my set-building efforts. Here's the back, so that we can all learn about "Crowding the plate":<br />
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Moving on from the smaller cards, here is a regular-sized insert card of Robbie Cano entitled, "Pillars of the Community". What a great concept for a baseball card! We're often inundated with only the very worst news and stories regarding our diamond heroes but Topps has decided to swim upstream and provide an encouraging look at some charitable efforts being made by ball players in their teams' communities.<br />
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Concept aside, this is a beautiful card. The image of Seattle is really sharp and means a little bit more to me as a former resident. I wonder if there was a discussion about working SAFECO Field into the background? In the end, I believe the Space Needle works better as the most iconic landmark for the Emerald City. At least they didn't go with the original Starbucks, am I right?<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2pnjjehbplE/VZVUR2maAxI/AAAAAAAACIQ/nUl7T-wjf-I/s1600/IMG_6809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2pnjjehbplE/VZVUR2maAxI/AAAAAAAACIQ/nUl7T-wjf-I/s640/IMG_6809.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here's the back of the "Pillars" Cano card:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J932j0tLEXU/VZVUSf2-WEI/AAAAAAAACIY/wHwqlfFIvdk/s1600/IMG_6810.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J932j0tLEXU/VZVUSf2-WEI/AAAAAAAACIY/wHwqlfFIvdk/s640/IMG_6810.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I first noticed "celebration" and "walk-off" cards in the Opening Day and flagship sets a couple of years ago and I was immediately a fan. I think these types of cards capture the best parts of baseball - teamwork, family, competition, achieving your goal, having fun, etc. I think the concept works well in the Gypsy Queen format and this Royals card is a great example. Like the Pillars card above, I can't wait to see other cards from this insert set. Enjoy:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t52JJuIb7LI/VZVUSizGaYI/AAAAAAAACJQ/Fbu9_pwIbhE/s1600/IMG_6811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t52JJuIb7LI/VZVUSizGaYI/AAAAAAAACJQ/Fbu9_pwIbhE/s640/IMG_6811.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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As I've mentioned before, I enjoy cards that pay tribute to a specific game or event and take care to match relevant images with relevant card-back write-ups. This GQ Walk-Off Winners card delivers on both accounts when I flipped this card over:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NcuDF0_57F4/VZVUS12HjAI/AAAAAAAACIk/P2lP5HdnJMU/s1600/IMG_6812.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NcuDF0_57F4/VZVUS12HjAI/AAAAAAAACIk/P2lP5HdnJMU/s640/IMG_6812.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Part of the marketing effort by Topps includes the "bonus" pack of white-bordered parallel cards that accompany each rack pack. Sometimes these annoy me - other times, <a href="http://ryanspitch.blogspot.com/2012/02/first-return-for-1st-annual-spring-ttm.html" target="_blank">they look really nice and end up serving as excellent TTM material</a>. I admit, the crisp white borders do look pretty nice - and are always welcome when they surround a new Mike Trout card:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Efi7MW3f3k/VZVUTPtTKvI/AAAAAAAACIo/Yp6lewHpSvE/s1600/IMG_6813.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Efi7MW3f3k/VZVUTPtTKvI/AAAAAAAACIo/Yp6lewHpSvE/s640/IMG_6813.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Here's another white parallel that I thought looked awfully sharp:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zo8epssSdRY/VZVUThrAjCI/AAAAAAAACI4/hGCA9TYsZn0/s1600/IMG_6814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zo8epssSdRY/VZVUThrAjCI/AAAAAAAACI4/hGCA9TYsZn0/s640/IMG_6814.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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In addition to the Freddie shown above, I had another great pack-ripping moment when I pulled an Anthony Rizzo base card! Yes, I am old and still get excited about base cards of my favorite players - no shame in my collecting game. Of course, now I need another one if I am going to "finish the race" and set this one aside for my son's set. Good thing I love the little guy :)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5_u3AllW9GQ/VZVUT5KnWiI/AAAAAAAACIw/HjhGzMSmesw/s1600/IMG_6815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5_u3AllW9GQ/VZVUT5KnWiI/AAAAAAAACIw/HjhGzMSmesw/s640/IMG_6815.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Here's the back - are the GQ card-back write-ups getting shorter? I know they were always succinct by design, but this one seems fairly random (which I do appreciate) and sparse at only four lines with additional blank space to be had towards the bottom. Thoughts?<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tS0t6bcZfZE/VZVUUnW0mAI/AAAAAAAACI8/UmThXRpZl6I/s1600/IMG_6816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tS0t6bcZfZE/VZVUUnW0mAI/AAAAAAAACI8/UmThXRpZl6I/s640/IMG_6816.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Okay, so I have some work ahead of me to get my 2015 GQ NEEDS List posted, but hopefully I can stay the course and make a best effort to pull together some nice birth year sets for my youngest boy. Feel free to drop me a note if you think we can work out a swap. Long live set-building!<br />
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Thanks for reading -<br />
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Ryan<br />
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Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-65090361152473822482015-07-01T12:07:00.004-07:002015-07-01T12:07:35.367-07:00My Mattingly Collection: 2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces #106Part of my collecting goals moving forward was to re-energize my pursuit of Don Mattingly cards for my favorite player collection.<br />
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To break the seal on this new adventure, I snatched up a Donnie Baseball "lot" on the Bay of E for a decent price. It was a lot of fun to crack open and flip through - sometimes sheer volume is a wonderful thing! On the downside, there were numerous "usual suspect" cards that already resided in my collection but from what I gather it's really to be expected with these wholesale opportunities.<br />
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One of the cards that I did NOT have, however, was this 2008 UD Masterpiece:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bHNh6rg8MK4/VZQ2XZL-ceI/AAAAAAAACHo/2JRvYoFEcBQ/s1600/IMG_6594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bHNh6rg8MK4/VZQ2XZL-ceI/AAAAAAAACHo/2JRvYoFEcBQ/s640/IMG_6594.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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As I am sure many of you will agree, these releases from Upper Deck usually live up to their name and make excellent additions to any collection, regardless of your penchant for modern, junk, vintage or anything in between.<br />
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This particular Donnie displays a beautiful "oil on canvas" style image of Mattingly executing his familiar swing plane from the left side of the plate. It's easy to appreciate and the dark, delicately raised and foiled border of this card works quite well with the contrast of the Yankees' pinstriped home uniforms. Throw in a little eye black and peekaboo stirrup, and we're GOOD TO GO.<br />
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Here's the back:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0zju9HnDbuw/VZQ2Y2UfVCI/AAAAAAAACHw/ou_6niaC65k/s1600/IMG_6595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0zju9HnDbuw/VZQ2Y2UfVCI/AAAAAAAACHw/ou_6niaC65k/s640/IMG_6595.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Please accept my apology for the blurriness of this image, but you get the idea. A cropped version of the card's front image sits atop some basic biographical data but the real gem is the popular "Mattingly statistic of choice", his streak of home runs in eight straight games during the 1987 season. At some point, I really should gather all of the cards I have that pay homage to this feat, just to get a sense of the quantity and diverse approaches.<br />
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While I poke a little bit of fun at its redundant use, this HR stat for Don truly was amazing and will always be one of my favorites. Why? Well, it still stands - having only been tied by The Kid during an eight game stretch in 1993. AND I'd be remiss as a Mattingly fan if I failed to mention that Donnie slugged ten home runs during his streak compared to the eight solo shots from Griffey, Just saying! Honorable mentions are when Jim Thome fell one short in 2002 along with Barry Bonds in 2004. I wonder if I have any Dale Long cards in my archives? Must look...<br />
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Still got it, Donnie! This is a great addition to my Mattingly collection. I hope you enjoy it, too.<br />
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Thank you for reading!<br />
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Ryan<br />
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<br />Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-42145471816024896952015-06-19T11:21:00.003-07:002015-06-19T11:21:44.271-07:00The Quest for '60 - Visiting Vintage HeavenA recent post by my friend William over at foulbunt.blogspot.com motivated me to finally make a pilgrimage to the hobby and collecting <i>treasure</i> that is the "Columbia Antique Mall" (also known as "Chic Antiques") in Columbia, South Carolina.<br />
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While the entire business covers a wide-range of treasures that fill two cavernous warehouses, my favorite part is the incredible sports cards & memorabilia collection that belongs to one of the proprietors, Conrad. Conrad has been collecting sports cards and memorabilia his entire life and has built an amazing catalog of inventory that focuses mostly on vintage baseball cards. His display cases are filled with stacks of vintage HOF cards. Each card resides within its own top-loader (and is typically penny-sleeved within, as well) and is adorned with a small post-it note that provides a "book value" and his price.<br />
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Yes, the "BV" is typically the "Hi Value" from Beckett and the cards rarely approach the necessary conditions to demand the high price, but this provides a good starting point for collectors like me to perform a quick condition assessment and see if we're in the ballpark for comparison with <i>his</i> price. It's a very convenient way to start the conversation or at least decide if you'd like for Conrad (or another employee) to take out a card for a closer look. It's important to note that Conrad is always willing to listen to reasonable offers below his listed price. This is crucial in mind and it can really add to your comfort level when you're assessing higher value cards. Condition, price and "worth" are all very subjective (as we all know), so this approach is very conducive to encouraging happy outcomes for both stakeholders.<br />
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Anyways, as luck would have it, I missed Conrad when I went to visit last week. He was enjoying some time on the golf course while I was enjoying some time around his vintage cardboard. While I was sad that I missed him, I think we were both pretty happy (and I was jealous of his time on the links!) with our situation. Determined to make the best use of my rare visit, I asked the very nice lady who was working (she is actually the shop's art consultant) if I could see Conrad's boxes of 1960 Topps cards.<br />
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That's right. Boxes. <i>Here's one of them</i>:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sSibjHdErgk/VYMMVhcaM8I/AAAAAAAACFU/0G8wSnJMQbc/s1600/60%2BBox%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sSibjHdErgk/VYMMVhcaM8I/AAAAAAAACFU/0G8wSnJMQbc/s640/60%2BBox%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few Moose among rows and rows of beautiful vintage cardboard</td></tr>
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Yes, the shop has several glass display cases that are jam-packed with beautiful individual cards - but the true value of this cardboard heaven is the "back room" where Conrad has amassed dozens upon dozens of 5,000 count boxes that are both completely organized (by year, brand and in numeric order!) and completely filled with cards from the Tobacco era on up...it's amazing! Do you need some '67 Topps cards? No problem - BOOM - here's a few thousand cards to look through and find what you need. It's really something.<br />
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Again, the cards aren't in mint condition, but that's not the point. It's a BOUNTY of vintage cardboard that is well organized and reasonably priced for you to select yourself and TAKE HOME that day without the cost of shipping and knowing FULL WELL what you just paid for. With the LCS apocalypse in our rear view mirror and card shows being few and far between in my area, Conrad's shop is a godsend - particularly when I'm <a href="http://ryanspitch.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-quest-for-60-1960-topps-567-sherm.html" target="_blank">on a mission to complete my Dad's 1960 Topps set</a>. I hadn't crossed off any cards from that list in some time - and time is precious.<br />
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I found 26 cards that day, whittling my NEEDS list down to 59 cards! I even had the luxury of selecting the 'best' conditioned copy when Conrad's stash produced more than one for me to consider. When it comes to searching for vintage needs, that has to be a rare treat. I only wish I had visited Conrad more often over the previous four years since we moved into the Columbia area. Here are all of the options I had to consider for card #129, the rookie card of Bob Hartman:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eab1a6FckOo/VYMMZjfbLzI/AAAAAAAACFc/rRYa8TOcta0/s1600/60%2BBox%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eab1a6FckOo/VYMMZjfbLzI/AAAAAAAACFc/rRYa8TOcta0/s640/60%2BBox%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Let me know if you need a Bob Hartman, too!</td></tr>
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Since Conrad was hitting the links that day, he had to think quickly on his feet when the art consultant called him for pricing. She hung up the phone and quoted me $2 per card.<br />
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In retrospect, I really should have taken it.<br />
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But no, I was trying to be conservative and careful - which I can't really feel too guilty about. The family budget is as meticulously constructed as ever with our new addition in March. So I countered the $52 price tag with just over a buck a card at $30. You see, I was focused on the fact that several of the cards I had selected were severely creased and a majority of the checklists I had pulled were completely (albeit sentimentally) marked on by collectors from days long gone by. The centering was also quite rough for many of the cards, in the tradition of 1960 Topps! Here are the team cards that pulled double duty as checklists:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LZ5Jy_0gfU4/VYMQ10G4fuI/AAAAAAAACFo/vIm4MQXAYXU/s1600/60%2BTeam%2BCards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LZ5Jy_0gfU4/VYMQ10G4fuI/AAAAAAAACFo/vIm4MQXAYXU/s640/60%2BTeam%2BCards.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Aren't they beautiful? You can see the creases but there's nothing that really detracts away from your enjoyment and viewing of the cards. Not to mention, Conrad informed me that these checklists (in addition to the Coaches cards that I'll show in a moment) can be a little tough to find. I didn't know that, but appreciate his knowledge. Here are the backs of the team cards:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--7yluxp255M/VYMRaTiIdtI/AAAAAAAACFw/Ah7WqsPeE8s/s1600/60%2BTeam%2BCards%2Bbacks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--7yluxp255M/VYMRaTiIdtI/AAAAAAAACFw/Ah7WqsPeE8s/s640/60%2BTeam%2BCards%2Bbacks.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I enjoyed seeing the variations in "marking" techniques on three of these four checklists!</td></tr>
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As you can see, only one out of the four checklists escaped being inked. And the one clean checklist is the Senators cards which, is VERY cool, but is also one of the cards with a significant crease on the front. Not ideal, but not something out of the ordinary for these 55-year old checklists. And while the marked-up checklists aren't desirable from a value and condition perspective, they did give me a chuckle when I realized how elusive the 'star' cards were for our collecting ancestors. Check it out:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b4Aq8KbM2IU/VYMVtmoNhyI/AAAAAAAACF8/-bmBRKS9XK4/s1600/marked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b4Aq8KbM2IU/VYMVtmoNhyI/AAAAAAAACF8/-bmBRKS9XK4/s640/marked.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am proud to carry on this set-build quest today, 55 years later!</td></tr>
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Check out the All-Star portion of the list at the bottom of the card - no Eddie Mathews, Ernie Banks, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris or Hank Aaron (sad trombone sound) for the kid I imagine to have been tracking his progress decades ago...while our hero DID manage to obtain the two Willie's and the Al Kaline, I can still picture him mumbling as he ripped packs that fall (late summer?) and wondering if he would EVER pull what he needed. Good stuff.<br />
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Speaking of good stuff, let's see what else I managed to find. Here are those Coaches cards I was talking about earlier. Hard to find, these gems deliver a a unique opportunity to snag some vintage of legendary players at a severe discount to cards from their playing days. Are you a fan of Yankee greats like Bill Dickey (HOF), Ralph Houk, Ed Lopat or Frank Crosetti? Get 'em all on one card!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BfSuqhbwXf8/VYMXvXiVu3I/AAAAAAAACGI/gAHN3LdPjc0/s1600/60%2BCoaches%2BCards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BfSuqhbwXf8/VYMXvXiVu3I/AAAAAAAACGI/gAHN3LdPjc0/s640/60%2BCoaches%2BCards.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Floating heads - never a bad idea.</td></tr>
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With the white borders, it's easy to see that centering is a challenge with all of these cards and there are plenty of dog ears and creases to go around, too. While it factored into my initial offer for the cards, it didn't really matter as far as my desire to set aside and hope to utilize in my quest. Here is the next batch, a couple of coveted high numbers:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AIk3PHV-qyI/VYMagsNfgDI/AAAAAAAACGU/t_LUkq4yeMc/s1600/MacKenzie%2Band%2BAmoros.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AIk3PHV-qyI/VYMagsNfgDI/AAAAAAAACGU/t_LUkq4yeMc/s640/MacKenzie%2Band%2BAmoros.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SP's - not JUST your modern card gimmick!</td></tr>
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Yes! These two come from the seventh and final "high number", short-printed (SP!) series released by Topps for the 1960 set. The entire series consisted of 66 cards, #507 through #572. This Amoros and K-Mac represent numbers 531 and 534, respectively. of the 59 cards remaining on my NEED list, nearly half of them (28) come from this 7th Series. Therefore, the severe cross-diagonal crease on K-MAC and Sandy's <80-20 centering didn't even matter when I decided to buy or not...but again, it did factor into my offer.<br />
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Onward. How about some 'stars' that revealed themselves in the troughs of those 5,000 count boxes? Were there any notable players? I would argue that EVERY player in an old vintage set is notable...but there were certainly some bigger names. Here you go:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-in_vWjLaAq4/VYMcpdlst_I/AAAAAAAACGg/r_d7fPqL0Bs/s1600/60%2BStars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-in_vWjLaAq4/VYMcpdlst_I/AAAAAAAACGg/r_d7fPqL0Bs/s640/60%2BStars.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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While Senator Bunning is the only official Hall of Fame inductee in this trio, the other two can be seriously viewed on a level playing field. Gil Hodges has continued to flirt with induction for decades and Big Klu has certainly earned his spot in the lore of the White Stockings. Ted led the league in long balls one season and was a multiple All-Star selection and World Champion. Gil slugged four home runs in one game a decade before this awkward mugshot was released (1950) and also boasts a hat trick of gold gloves to go with his All-Star selections and World Series rings. Both players have their numbers retired by their clubs. Good stuff! Bad centering...but fantastic baseball cards.<br />
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How about some inserts?<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gD1KHoTlyhk/VYMezUgsuRI/AAAAAAAACG8/EySkhilwsTQ/s1600/60%2BHigh%2BSeries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gD1KHoTlyhk/VYMezUgsuRI/AAAAAAAACG8/EySkhilwsTQ/s640/60%2BHigh%2BSeries.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Hey, there's the WINNING Hartman out of the multitude of options pictured above! The Pascual All-Star card is a great pick-up but has some surface loss in the lower right. This was probably the toughest card I had to accept that day, but in light of the circumstances, there was no way I could leave it behind when I am so close to the finish line. </div>
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The Baxes card is really stunning! It's surface is clean, the edges are sharp and you can see that the centering 7 corners aren't too bad either. I like the red and blue color scheme that seems to work very well with the old-school tribe cap. And that GIANT ROOKIE CUP - awesome. Just awesome. In fact, there's even more glorious baseball history wrapped up in that Baxes card that I plan to share in a later post. Stay tuned! It will be Hoot...</div>
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The Moose card was a nice surprise in the box, too. Skowron is considered by most to be a pretty memorable star, even among the crowded memories in Yankee Stadium. I can't believe that my old man (a Yankees fan) had never gotten around to trading for the entire Yankees team set, but there you go. The checklist doesn't lie...and cool is it that I can now wrap it up for him? Gives me chills.</div>
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And now, for the Best Supporting Actors:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Has anybody ever referred to '60 as the Skittles set? If not, I'm coining it!</td></tr>
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A few of these are pretty stunning cards. I was able to, once again, fish around through dozens of duplicates and compare until my OCD-collector's heart was content. What great way to spend a lunch break, right?! Though deemed to be "commons" by the harsh reference documents of our Hobby, the colors are vibrant and the creases are minimal...heck, there are even a couple of sharp corners in this batch.</div>
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And so there you go! I set these 26 cards aside and asked the art consultant for pen and paper so that I might leave a thank you, offer, and explanation for Conrad to consider. I also added an EPIC Hall of Famer vintage rookie card to the stack but I'll cover that gem later. </div>
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As respectfully as I could and laying out the reasons for my math, I made my offer of $30 for the 26 1960 cards. I knew it was conservative, but I also didn't know how strongly Conrad felt about the thousands of cards he kept boxed up in the back room. Was every card an individual treasure to him or were these separated out from the display cases and tucked away for a reason? In essence, Conrad and I would be getting to know each other during this, our first transaction...</div>
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I received a call the following afternoon and Conrad was very gracious as he chuckled.</div>
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"You should have taken the $2/card price and run away!"</div>
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I smiled and asked him what he was thinking...he went on to go through each of my 26 cards and explain their relevance within the set. The rarity of inserts and the hard-to-find nature of the checklists, coaches cards and SPs. His math began by adding up the maximum (remember, Beckett "HI") value for each card as a point of reference - this reached over $200, my friends, so my $30 offer obviously looked a little wimpy in contrast. Of course, the cards I was buying wouldn't come close to that value - and he recognized that. We began to discuss a middle ground. I reminded him that several of the rare/high dollar checklists were actually marked on, effectively rendering them down to the basement levels. He kindly agreed and continued to work with me on the price, though he did remind me that it was important to consider rarity. I nodded my head in agreement and reassured him over the phone, "I definitely understand what you're saying, Conrad."</div>
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I could go on, but I'll spare you the agony. In the end, we agreed upon a price of about $75 for the lot - just a little bit under $3 per card. On one hand, it was a little painful to see my original offer tripled...but my conversation with Conrad and the undeniable value associated with being able to cross these cards, some of them quite tough to find, off the list of this very special collecting mission made it easy to acquiesce in the end.</div>
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We had a deal.</div>
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During my search, I had a very pleasant conversation with art consultant regarding Conrad's collection and the man himself. She revealed that Conrad loved a good cup of coffee - black, nothing special. So, after we agreed on the price, I assured Conrad that I would stop by as soon as possible complete the purchase and that I would have a steaming cup of coffee for him. He gave another warm chuckle and we exchanged our goodbyes.</div>
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A great experience!</div>
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In the end, I feel like a still got a great deal. I feel like I gained some perspective during this process and learned a little bit more about this part of the hobby that I love so much. Vintage, set-building and some great conversation. What could be better? Hopefully, Conrad will still greet me as a friend and fellow collector the next time I bring him a cup of coffee. I think he will. </div>
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What do you guys think? Was it a fair deal for both sides in the end? Do you have any similar tales of vintage hunting and lot-purchasing of old "raw" cards? Let me know what you think and feel free to check out my "Set NEEDS" tab to see if we can help each other!</div>
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Thank you for a great experience, Conrad! Here's hoping that our next chance to sit and talk cards isn't too far away. Besides, there's that gorgeous '76 Mike Schmidt card..and my insane idea that I am building the 1959 set...and...</div>
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Thanks for reading! </div>
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Ryan</div>
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Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-32284211366556096992015-05-28T16:48:00.000-07:002015-05-28T16:48:54.418-07:00Hobby Conversation: "Graded Greats" Delivers Vintage ExcitementOver the past few weeks, I've enjoyed a robust hobby conversation with Chris Geiss, co-founder of Graded Greats. After "meeting" via twitter (as @ryanspitch and @GradedGreats) when I decided to give their Graded Greats Series 2 product a try, we quickly discovered a shared passion for card collecting. In particular, Chris and I have an affinity for vintage cardboard and have apparently been on parallel journeys into the world of graded cards, vintage or otherwise.<br />
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As readers of this blog know, I often strike a schizophrenic balance between both ends of the cardboard appreciation spectrum. One end offers what many consider to be the most organic hobby experience - collecting without the burden of concern for cards' 'value', 'condition' or even thematic organization. The opposite side involves concepts such as investment, market reports, registries and grading authorities - a hobby vernacular that has only come into mainstream focus during the past ten years.<br />
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Please note, I firmly believe that enjoyment of the hobby exists at both ends and at every point in between. While my dabbling in all of the above has created a more complex collecting approach that I am continuously refining for my own collecting pursuits, I've learned a lot and met some wonderful people along the way. And my education <i>certainly</i> continues.<br />
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Graded Greats caught my attention because their product presented the possibility for me to bridge the gap between both ends of my hobby spectrum. Could they truly capture the fundamental excitement of opening a pack of baseball cards and combine it with the value-driven but predictable peace of mind that comes with purchasing graded vintage cards?<br />
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In a subsequent post, I'll review my experience with their Series 2 product and compare my thoughts with the philosophical <strike>dribble</strike> hobby experience I've subjected you to above - for now, though, I'd like to share with you a brief conversation that I had with Chris about his own collecting story and where he feels Graded Greats might fit into our wonderful hobby:<br />
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<b>RyansPitch: What was your first introduction to the sports card hobby? Any fond memories of your first card or set?</b><br />
<b>Chris Geiss: </b><i>My first introduction to cards occurred when I was about 5 years old. For some reason, I recall the '77 Topps football set but I more clearly remember the '81 Topps baseball set and busting those rack packs! I went on to collect through high school and opened a shop while in college for about 4 years. I also participated in a lot of shows during that time.</i><br />
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<b>RP: Would you describe yourself as a baseball fan who collects cards or a collector who enjoys baseball? As a collector, how has your collecting approach evolved over the years and what are you currently collecting? </b><br />
<b>CG: </b><i>I guess I would describe both myself and my co-founder, Cody, as collectors who are also fans of the game. We both played on the same legion baseball team and spent plenty of time talking about baseball and every other sports as well. From a collecting perspective, Cody and I are both fans of the "old" stuff. Even during the 80's, we were always intrigued by the classics.</i><br />
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<b>RP: We seem to share an affinity for vintage cardboard - can you describe your affection and/or attraction to the classic, vintage elements of our hobby's offerings?</b><br />
<b>CG: </b><i>I enjoy vintage because it never changes and I believe it will always be sought after. There aren't going to be anymore Mickey Mantle 1960 Topps cards produced but Mike Trout will continue to sign autographs and have more of his own cards created for years to come.</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An exclusive peek into the Graded Greats stash...</td></tr>
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<b>RP: How were you introduced to graded cards and what was your first 'slab' purchase?</b><i> </i><br />
<b>CG: </b><i>I was introduced to grading several years ago and was instantly impressed. They looked so nice in the slabs!! The first graded card that I added to my collection was not a purchase; rather, it was a '86-'87 Fleer Michael Jordan that I sent in myself for grading...and it came back as a "7"!</i><br />
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<b>RP: What's your favorite graded great in your own collection?</b><br />
<b>CG:</b><i> My personal favorite is a PSA 10 1993 Topps Derek Jeter rookie card because I can still remember pulling it from a pack 23 years ago but didn't submit it for grading until last year.</i><br />
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<b>RP: George Lucas came up with the concept of the Millennium Falcon while chowing down on a hamburger - please set the scene for us regarding the genesis of the Graded Greats box.</b><br />
<b>CG:</b> In all honesty, it wasn't something that took forever. Cody and I had bounced around ideas about getting back into the and how to do it. We tried buying into case breaks and thought that maybe that was the answer for us. Then one day on a phone call, we had the idea of "buy-back" graded Hall of Fame cards.<i> We hung up the phone with a mutual agreement to think on it and reconvene later. When we continued our conversation, we both presented each other with the same idea for naming our concept - Graded Greats! After a few laughs, we put together a plan and decided upon some key elements for our product:</i><br />
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<li><i>our base product would always be at a good price point</i></li>
<li><i>packaging would be top notch and deliver a little something extra (the experience)</i></li>
<li><i>we would only deal with Hall of Fame players</i></li>
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<i>During a subsequent meeting, we decided to add some vintage packs to the graded cards and this has proven to be a very exciting element for our customers.</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graded Greats' original Twitter "teaser" </td></tr>
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<b>RP: For anyone who might be unfamiliar with your product, what does each Graded Greats box contain?</b><br />
<b>CG:</b><i> Series 1 and Series 2 boxes contained 3 graded Hall of Fame cards and one additional 'vintage' item (pack, raw card, relic, autograph). Each box was individually stocked with carefully packed pouches and sealed with its own unique serial number in that particular batch. It's our goal to ensure that the end result delivers a great balance of "ripping" or unveiling excitement with an appropriate level of return on value - regardless of the unknown potential in items such as unopened packs, etc. </i><br />
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<b>RP: According to your site, only cards from the "top 2 grading authorities" are included in your product. Which firms did you select, how did you determine these two finalists and what do you like/dislike about each company's product (slab design/quality records/etc.)? Any suggestions for these companies?</b><br />
<b>CG:</b><i> We chose PSA and Beckett because of name recognition and the trust that we perceive them to have built with the hobby and its collectors. </i><br />
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<b>RP: Opinions might differ, but from your point of view, what's been the <i>greatest </i>graded card you've dropped into a pouch and mailed off to a customer? <i>Greatest</i> pack?</b><br />
<b>CG: </b><i>The greatest graded cards will truly be dropping into Series 3 boxes, and could easily be chosen from any of the ten raw, vintage HOF cards that we've submitted to PSA for grading. Personally, I would go with the 1966 Mantle! As for greatest pack, that would certainly vary by personal preference as you suggest. We've sent out a lot of '78, '79 and '80 Topps packs - all of which carry a high "unopened vintage-wax" value. </i><br />
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<b>RP: As some collectors build their own graded card collections, what are some of the best methods that you've encountered for storage, transport and display of these collectibles?</b><br />
<b>CG:</b><i> We have seen a lot of methods for storage during our 'hunting' trips. I've seen some collectors customize walls in their collecting spaces by notching out perfect spaces for PSA slabs. If you want to display them without modifying the family homestead - there are a lot of other modular, mobile and cost-effective options! If you're acquiring graded cards for investment purposes, a small fire-proof safe is a simple way to keep them safe, come what may.</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slabbing & Vintage Hunting - Precious Cargo!</td></tr>
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<b>RP: What can customers expect from Graded Greats in the future and specifically, Series 3? Ryan's Pitch is always happy to facilitate the announcement of exciting news!</b><br />
<b>CG:</b> <i>Series 3 has already sold out in similar fashion to Series 1 and Series 2 but we are working hard to make final preparations for a few new products coming up in the near future! One of which, I'd like to go ahead and announce right now - Wax Museum TV:</i><br />
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<i>Essentially, we're trying to capture the excitement of online group breaks with a vintage twist. Participants' entry fee will guarantee them a pack from a sealed wax box from a vintage release. Each pack will be paired with a raw vintage card of HOF player that the participant will receive in addition to what they pull from their pack. On top of that, we will make things interesting by attaching other "chase cards" to random common cards in that particular set. Theoretically, we might determine beforehand that card #361 from the '76 Topps set ( the Tigers checklist card, by the way) will be "exchanged" for a premium card (graded HOF, star player auto, etc.). Therefore, a participant could actually walk away from a '76 break with an exchanged premium card, a Winfield RC and their pack's paired raw HOF card. An entirely new spin on group breaks! Be sure to follow us on twitter (@gradedgreats) and on Ustream (gradedgreats) for updates and information. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or are simply interested in joining the hobby conversation - we're looking forward to having a lot of fun!</i><br />
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<b>RP: Sounds amazing, Chris. I appreciate you taking the time for our conversation and applaud your company's efforts to think outside of the box. Our hobby can become somewhat stagnant at times so it's refreshing to see something new and have an option that incorporates different collecting approaches. Best of luck with Graded Greats!</b><br />
<b>CG:</b> <i>Thanks, Ryan! We're always up for discussing our latest ideas, products and our passion for hobby in general. At the end of the day, we're collectors who are lucky to be doing what we love and are very excited to share that love with fellow collectors.</i><br />
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Thanks to Graded Greats and Chris Geiss for a great discussion. I hope you guys enjoyed it, too! What are your thoughts on their products, ideas and overall strategy/approach? How do you feel about graded cards, vintage packs or group breaks in general?<br />
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Please feel free to leave your thoughts below or reach out to me via twitter (@ryanspitch ) or email (ryansdugout@gmail.com).<br />
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Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!<br />
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Ryan<br />
<br />Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-56815767971614918332015-05-20T10:54:00.001-07:002015-05-20T10:54:18.797-07:00Dan Uggla: A Push PresentBeen awhile - miss you guys.<br />
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If you're reading this, thank you for sticking with Ryan's Pitch or deciding to stop by for a quick cardboard cocktail before returning to twitter...<br />
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It's been an incredible year for my family so far. We welcomed our third child into the world back in March - hence, my disappearing act. Don't worry, my cardboard and hobby addictions are still going strong. As proof, behold what might be the oddest "push present" of all time - Dan Uggla?<br />
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For my oldest child and (what is agreed upon to be!) my only princess, I dropped a nice (Hallmark) card and some artist jewelry in the glove compartment of my car for my wife to enjoy as we made our way to the hospital back in 2007. She loved the jewelry and didn't kill me during the nearly 40 hours of labor that followed. I consider that a success! Not to mention...we ended up having more than one kid.<br />
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In 2011, I stepped up my game and added a bit more sparkle to the ride that would ultimately deliver our first boy. You know, the one that scratched that hobby itch after being dormant for twenty years? I talked about my son's arrival back in 2012 <a href="http://www.ryanspitch.blogspot.com/2012/01/jelly-beans.html" target="_blank">here</a>. The sparkles were a bit more expensive that time, but we had been very fortunate and, heck, she earned every last sparkle (and then some) for making us a family of four!<br />
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So, what to do for the tie-breaker? #3 was late enough in the month that a birth-stone piece was too risky for my tolerance levels. Not to mention, a birth photographer was on-call and this service was proclaimed to be the push present so "don't get me anything else, babe."<br />
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But I had to do something.<br />
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So, naturally, I began to consider baseball cards. Makes sense, right? Well, while my wife supports my hobby endeavors, she certainly doesn't collect herself. She does like baseball however and, as an Atlanta native, she shares in my affinity for the Bravos. She even [had] her favorite player - Dan Uggla.<br />
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Yep. Dan freaking Uggla.<br />
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It became a joke between us over the past few years as Uggs contributed proficiently towards the repeated "close-but-no-cigar" seasons for our beloved Braves. I cursed his performance while she praised his cuteness.<br />
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Don't get me wrong - Mrs. Ryans Pitch understands the game and knows that her Dan wasn't the best 2B in the league...or even on the team...but we all have our favorites, and having a wife who is into baseball at any level is a definite blessing.<br />
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Just like the blessing that was headed our way a couple months ago (WOW, has time flown!) - so why not combine the two!? So, I did it - for a couple of bucks, I snagged a crisp little Uggla RC auto and dropped it into a snazzy one-touch beside a vase of tulips...right on her bedside table. I set it all up a week or so before the due date to allow for proper appreciation with the long-term goal of it becoming her focus during early stages of labor...hey, all yours, Dan.<br />
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She had no idea...so it was a complete surprise.<br />
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And it worked!<br />
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She loved it and shared her little Dan with her world via Facebook within minutes. "Look what my thoughtful husband surprised me with..."<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O_1Jn_WdDhQ/VVzJ5dBAnRI/AAAAAAAACDQ/uz5jSboi-3M/s1600/Uggs%2B%2526%2BTulips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O_1Jn_WdDhQ/VVzJ5dBAnRI/AAAAAAAACDQ/uz5jSboi-3M/s640/Uggs%2B%2526%2BTulips.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Pretty cool. I had no idea how it would be received and could never have imagined that I'd throw inhibition to the wind and buy my wife an autographed baseball card - to show my love for her during the arrival of our child, no less!? But then again, it does kind of make perfect sense to me.<br />
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Long live this glorious hobby.<br />
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Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!<br />
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Ryan<br />
Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-23915506066161037102015-01-30T11:14:00.001-08:002015-01-30T11:14:09.018-08:00The WarriorI was very fortunate to be able to add a great autographed baseball to my collection - Paul O'Neill!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9qFBKCHFG0A/VMvRpPuHjEI/AAAAAAAACCI/Z2K2YGlje8M/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9qFBKCHFG0A/VMvRpPuHjEI/AAAAAAAACCI/Z2K2YGlje8M/s1600/photo.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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I hated it when O'Neill and the Reds swept the Athletics in 1990. I was a huge fan of the Bash Brothers, Dave Stewart, Henderson and The Eck back then, so the National League's domination wasn't what I was hoping for.<br />
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In November of 1992, the Reds sent Paul to the Bombers in exchange for Roberto Kelly. He displaced Donnie Baseball as the #3 hitter and began contributing right away. He was having a fine season (as many of the Yanks were) in '94 when a strike ended the season, batting over .350 with 20+ HRs and 80+ RBI in only 103 games. The Yankees were 6.5 games ahead in the East when it all ended that season...dammit.<br />
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He'd go on to be a big part of the Dynasty and their four titles from 1996 through 2000. He went tot he All-Star game four times as a Yank and brought home the batting title during that shortened season in 1994. His send-off in Yankee Stadium at the end of Game 5 of the 2001 Series was something I'll never forget and his hard work in pinstripes over the years earned him the "Warrior" label from 'ol George.<br />
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So this ball is pretty sharp, right? I have a great friend who dated a very nice young lady a couple years back...her family happened to be good friends with the O'Neills. Knowing I was a Yankees fan, my buddy couldn't wait to tell me about the connection. And in return, I couldn't wait to ask him if he thought his girlfriend might be able to get a ROMLB into the Warrior's (or "Uncle Paul" as she knew him) hands on my behalf.<br />
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No shame in my game, I suppose. Never hurts to ask, though, and as luck would have it - he was happy to oblige me, she was happy to oblige him and Uncle Paul was happy to oblige her.<br />
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Job changes kept us apart for a couple of years and my friend's romance with the young lady from Ohio didn't last either. The timing was precarious but in the end, he left town to begin a new career in Chicago with this O'Neill baseball stuffed somewhere in his belongings. We joked about it from time to time, bantering back and forth in emails, texts and messages through our fantasy baseball league.<br />
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"Someday I'll get this baseball to you, my friend."<br />
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That day came last fall when the stars aligned for us to rendezvous in South Bend for a Notre Dame football game. Picking me up from O'Hare, we made our way into town for a festive reunion with other friends, old and new.<br />
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"Hey man, check out the glove compartment! Got something for you in there."<br />
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Good friends and baseball - it doesn't get any better than that! Mr. O'Neill was even kind enough to add the personal inscription, a real treat that I always enjoy.<br />
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A big heart-felt thank you to my good friend for going above and beyond the call of duty. Grateful for your time as well, Mr. O'Neill. To the young woman who connected us all - fare thee well, madame. You will always be a part of this story.<br />
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Welcome to my Yankees' Collection, Warrior!<br />
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Thanks for reading and have a great weekend, everybody -<br />
<br />
Ryan<br />
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<span id="goog_517648311"></span><span id="goog_517648312"></span>Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-80199752107908854322015-01-16T16:00:00.000-08:002015-01-16T16:00:07.870-08:002013 Topps Archives - Gary Gaetti Certified Autograph<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This is a great example of the type of autograph cards that I referred to in my 'State of The Collection' post. Gary Gaetti isn't a particular player that I collect, nor am I a huge Minnesota Twins fan. I do LOVE the 1987 Topps set but I think it's a safe bet that I would have scooped up this card for a couple bucks regardless of the design.</div>
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Gaetti was one of those good, solid players that I can remember being aware of as a kid. He was pretty well known after his heroics with the Twins during the '87 post season, or at least known enough by me to be a player that I would set aside when rifling through freshly ripped packs. Gary Gaetti didn't elicit the traditional "YESSSSS!" that accompanied each Mattingly or McGwire that I discovered, but he was certainly treated with care and saved for potential trades with my friends.</div>
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"Well, I DO have this Gary Gaetti card..."</div>
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A quick review of Gaetti on the interwebs reveals some cool facts:</div>
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Nickname(s): "G-Man", "Rat" and "Zorn"</div>
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Feat: 1st player to hit two home runs in his first two post season at-bats </div>
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Signed w/ Twins: Two months after I was born</div>
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The '2 homers in first 2 ABs' record was tied by Evan Longoria in 2008. ZORN retired as the Home Run King of players who had homered in their first career at-bat. I wonder who holds that title now? Baseball historian/writer/statistician Bill James has cited RAT for two particularly unusual trends over his 19 year career: that his walk-rate never improved and that his rate of productivity decline was exceptionally low. Huh.</div>
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At any rate, this card is pretty sweet! As I mentioned, I love the '87 design. The vintage Twins logo looks great along with those wood-grain borders and the (Archives?) foil stamp in the upper right doesn't detract from the card as a whole. This card is in great shape with good centering, terrific edges and sharp corners. The best part in my opinion? Zorn's signature is beautifully slanted, legible and bold. </div>
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I really want to dig out Rat's actual '87 card to compare any differences. I believe Topps has used a different image for this Archive version, but I'm just shooting from the hip with that claim. Here's the back:<br />
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His son Joseph would grow up to make a solid run at following in his Dad's footsteps but fell short of making it to the Show. No word on Jacob...notice the denotation of being tied for league leader with his 162 games played in 1984. I wonder how many players he's tied with? <br />
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Thanks for reading!<br />
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RyanRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-3318065190133325832015-01-14T16:00:00.000-08:002015-01-14T16:00:04.332-08:00My Mattingly Collection - 2002 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Bat Relic Card<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
There's nothing I enjoy more than a relic card for one of my Player Collections. I came across this Mattingly Sweet Spot for a little less than $10 and decided to - not buy it. Yes, in a rare feat of self-control, I recognized that this was probably a little too much to spend on another bat card of Donnie Baseball.</div>
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Don't get me wrong, I WANT THEM ALL. But Mattingly, for better and for worse, demands curiously high rates for any/all of his cards due to his loyal and passionate fans. So, often I find myself on the sidelines as I watch so many terrific-looking, higher-end releases go to good homes elsewhere. </div>
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Fortunately, nobody else had their eye on this Hit Man because the card was re-listed at a discounted price of just over $5 - an amount I could happily accept! I like Upper Deck's design on this one, with emphasis evenly divided between the relic and a great follow-through image of Maatingly.</div>
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Yep, it's Don and the bat, no more, no less. It's a sharp card in person and is in really good shape. Sometime these relic cards that are listed on the cheap come with hidden dings near the relic or banged up corners and edges. For the most part, it's tough to get too upset over the condition of relic cards in my book. Which does beg the question, why? These are cards too, so why do I care so much less about their condition? Very interesting thought. If I had forked over $5 for a mid-90's Mattingly insert, for example, I would be disappointed if it showed up with dinged corners and crushed edges. Is this a normal double-standard for any you?<br />
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The back recycles a zoom-in on the front side's image with a standard accompanying relic card "CONGRATULATIONS!" statement.<br />
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I need to total up my Mattingly relic cards. I'm sure it's way less than what it needs to be right now.<br />
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Right!?<br />
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At any rate, I'm pumped to add this one to my Mattingly Collection!<br />
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Thanks for reading!<br />
<br />
Ryan<br />
Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-54050859054548202062015-01-12T16:00:00.001-08:002015-01-12T16:00:09.381-08:00My Hall of Fame Collection - Class of 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
That's IT. I'm done - and I couldn't be happier.</div>
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I've let go of my anger surrounding the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.</div>
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I love a friendly and logical debate regarding the admittance policies for our game's highest honor. Like most things in life, black and white fades into gray for a great many things - including the comparisons between baseball players throughout history. Statistics can be mixed with memories, feelings and perceptions. Some things can be measured while other aspects are completely subjective. And when you only allow these musings of a select few to determine a very real, quanitifiable and final outcome?</div>
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Controversy will always ensue.</div>
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Heck, I've even jumped into the ring with my own two cents. My views have changed since then, and I consider myself to be a fairly steady and consistent person when it comes to my beliefs and views on the world around me. This personal shift alone has been enough to slap me in the face and say, 'let it go.'</div>
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And let it go, I have.</div>
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Now, I look forward to each and every Hall of Fame announcement. I fill in my own fictitious ballot and relish the great conversations and debates on TV and radio while the BBWAA have their votes tallied. I get to relive all of my childhood memories involving each of the players, whether they are elected or not. That's a precious gift that isn't dependent on votes.</div>
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In fact, for the first time in 15 years, I get to shrug off some weight and stress that has encumbered me since I first began to hope for something that always seemed a little improbable. I can make peace with that failure of fruition and move on, focusing on the positives instead of the negatives or, worse, the 'could have's' and 'should have's'.</div>
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More on that in a later post. For now, I'd like to honor this year's class with a little help from the Ryan's Pitch Collection!</div>
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The Unit. Randy Johnson. Man, this guy was larger than life for a young collector and baseball fan like me. Heck, he was larger than life for most of the guys he played with! I had a good buddy when I was growing up that was also a great baseball player. In fact, he ended up playing in college and made a trip to the College World Series. A great guy - and he was HUGE, too! So, for awhile, we all called him the Unit.</div>
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I can remember watching John Kruk make us all laugh in the '93 All-Star Game when a fireball from Johnson flew errantly over Kruk's head.</div>
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Or who can forget when Johnson's old Expo teammate and lefty, Larry Walker, turned his helmet around backwards and took a pitch as a right-hander in the '97 All-Star Game?</div>
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Randy Johnson was a helluva pitcher, one of the finest I was lucky enough to watch pitch as a youngster, and is very deserving of his election. Oddly, Johnson (as well as the rest of this class) never held much power within the hobby and by power, I mean card "value." Yes, a truly relative term in so many ways, but you all know what I mean. His cards were never "hot" or considered the "must have" items among my friends. We knew who he was and how awesome he was...and yet, the cardboard appreciation just never carried over for The Unit.</div>
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I wonder why that is? Because he was an Expo/Mariner/D-Back, perhaps? Doesn't explain The Kid's place in the Hobby. Of course, pitchers were/are always, in most cases, treated differently than home run hitters. Especially in The Unit's time...<br />
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Anyways, I went digging through my old collection and came up with these two beauties. 1989 Donruss was a colorful treat back then and these black/blue/purple bruisers are an EXCELLENT example. The hallowed "Rated Rookie" logo still makes me smile today - I love it. And int his case, it works really well with the Expos' blue. Not a great picture of The Unit by any stretch, but I dig this card. Wouldn't you know, I didn't even find these two (now) HOF RC's in my rows (upon rows) of top-loaded "good" cards from my youth. Nope, no room for one of the fiercest pitchers of the day when you have guys like Chad Mattola, Tim Salmon and Brien Taylor to reserve top-loaders for. Yep, found these two Johnson rookie cards completely raw, in a little 200 or 300-ct box of random cards. No penny sleeve. Nothing.<br />
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But not any more.<br />
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I'm sorry, Randy. Please forgive me and step out into the light...<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pp6IDFceA_M/VLAV0tKEA6I/AAAAAAAACAM/Nd2ZtPI9GwU/s1600/image%2B(4).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pp6IDFceA_M/VLAV0tKEA6I/AAAAAAAACAM/Nd2ZtPI9GwU/s1600/image%2B(4).jpeg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Next, we have John Smoltz. Loved Smoltz as a Braves fan, of course. He helped guide us through the early years of nearly-but-not-quite dynasty success after years of mediocrity in the 80's. Part of a rotation for the ages, Smoltzy now joins Glavine, Maddux and Bobby Cox as wonderfully nostalgic reminders of my sports-crazy youth.<br />
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It's been just as wonderful to listen to Smoltz call ball games for Fox this past season, too. By all accounts, he is a great human being. Charitable with his time for good causes, he is also an avid golfer - my second favorite sport. While my claim to fame is an ancient high school match-up with Bubba Watson, Smoltz is a very close friend with Tiger Woods. I was watching MLB Netowrk the other day and he stated that he's probably played around fifty rounds with Tiger since they became friends. Tiger has been quoted as saying that he believes Smoltz to be the finest golfer he's played with that is not on the PGA. Powerful compliment, right there.<br />
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I could go down the long list of accomplishments from Smoltz's career but I'll leave you with this little factoid: he plays the accordion, just like my grandfather did. Need I say more?<br />
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After digging through the archives, I found these two Upper Deck cards - which I find to be very, very nice-looking cards. Man, Upper Deck really blew our minds in 1989, didn't they?! Unlike The Unit, these two HOF RCs were respectfully tucked into weird looking, yellow-tinted top-loaders.<br />
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Respect!<br />
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I don't know if I have any Pedro Martinez cards. Seriously, not a clue. I wish I did and I promise to be on the lookout for them when I conduct cardboard expeditions...but I make no promises. I can verify that there are no Pedro's in my rows of "top-loaded good players", but the fact that he's a Red Sox and not named Boggs, Yaz, Clemens, Greenwell, Fisk or Rice means that he very well might be drifting in the abyss of the dreaded COMMONS box!<br />
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Don't get me wrong, it would be great to discover some of his cards! I had the privilege of watching Pedro face Pettitte at Fenway back in '03. It was one of the finest pitching match-ups I've ever seen in person and extra special to witness in such a historic setting.<br />
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Doesn't hurt that the Yanks won, too.<br />
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Now, the Astros' KILLER B? That's a different story. I can vividly recall chasing down Biggio cards with gusto and relishing them in my collection. The Astros weren't my team but boy, were they fun to watch and collect! I can picture several in my head without even looking.<br />
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Here they are!<br />
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Oh my. Wait a second.....NO Biggio cards in the "top-loaded good players" section? This can't be!? Surely, I picked up some Biggio cards along the way. I remember the name. I remember the team...I remember...well, what exactly DO I remember? I know, let's check my alpabetized "Star Player Album"! <br />
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Here we are with <strike>Jorge</strike> George B-E-L-L.....<br />
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...so next should be....Boggs?!<br />
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Seriously!? Do I not have ANY Biggio cards, RC or not? Have my memories betrayed me THAT much?<br />
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My friends, a serious excavation into the cardboard tar pits is in order after this deficient HOF post. No Pedro and no Biggio is both unbelievable and unacceptable. I'm not sure what I'm most upset with- my memory or my adolescent baseball card judgment calls.<br />
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This is an OUTRAGE!<br />
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I take it back - my anger is NOT gone when it comes to the MLB HOF. It is back with a fervor! This will not stand! This injustice will not STAND! I want Pedro and I want Biggio and I want...I want....I want to step back and smile and enjoy this moment. This is the kind of faux-anger I can handle. Cardboard anger will trump current-event anger every time, and in so many ways. I can actually DO SOMETHING about my lack of Biggio's and Pedro's.<br />
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I can't, on the other hand, do a darn thing about the BBWAA!<br />
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And you know what? I'm finally okay with that. Congratulations to this year's inductees! I look forward to the induction ceremony in July and what looks like some fun pursuit of (affordable, for once) HOF cardboard to plug holes in my collection in the coming months. <br />
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Let the hunt begin!<br />
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Thanks for reading - <br />
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Ryan<br />
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<br />Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-62941788698652854622015-01-09T07:44:00.004-08:002015-01-09T07:44:36.791-08:001954 Bowman - #147 Joe DeMaestri and #19 Bobby Shantz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Joe DeMaestri and Bobby Shantz will always hold a special place in my collection. They were both very kind in their respective responses to my autograph requests, sending additional photographs and answering some of the questions I posed in my letters. I will forever be grateful for their generosity.</div>
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My interest in both players stems mostly from their time as Yankees, of course. But just as with most of these characters from the golden age, they each have some amazing stories. Whenever I have the chance to pick up cards for either of these guys, it becomes a very easy decision. I had just such an opportunity when these two '54 Bowman cards came up on a sales list.</div>
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DeMaestri found himself on the field for Mazeroski's home run in Game 7 of the 1960 Series. This was an epic moment lamented by Yankees fans but I find myself fascinated with the event itself. Joe only found his way into the game after Tony Kubek was struck in the head by a line drive in the 8th inning. Timing is everything, as they say.</div>
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"Froggy" began his career in '51 with the White Sox but had found his way to the Philadelphia in time for this '54 issue. The A's would venture west to Kansas City for the following season, where they would remain until the late 60's. Joe would leave in 1960 for the Yankees, a fateful trade that not only led to his view of Maz's shot from the field but facilitated the delivery of Roger Maris to New York.</div>
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1954 Bowman is a simple design and this particular card is playfully off-centered, but the coloring is really fantastic! </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zTwZ2AeG1K0/VK_pbIeUyAI/AAAAAAAAB-4/WgO9K37V5xo/s1600/image%2B(3).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zTwZ2AeG1K0/VK_pbIeUyAI/AAAAAAAAB-4/WgO9K37V5xo/s1600/image%2B(3).jpeg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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Interestingly, the write-up on the back of the card cites a nickname of "Oats" for DeMaestri. He was a little tall for those days at six feet, so perhaps there was some kind of horse comparison? Bowman also cites a <em>'big player deal'</em> that sent Oats from the Sox to the St. Louis Browns. A quick review of this trade shows:<br />
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Browns received: DeMaestri, Gordon Goldsberry, Dick Littlefield, Gus Niarhos, Jim Rivera<br />
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White Sox received: Sherm Lollar, Tim Upton, Al Widmar<br />
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Boy, if that batch of ballplayers doesn't scream for an internet research session, I don't know what does! I'm pretty sure I've seen a few of those guys in my collection before. In fact, I know I have! Yes, I recall <a href="http://ryanspitch.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-quest-for-60-1960-topps-567-sherm.html" target="_blank">blogging about Sherm</a> after I picked up his '60 All-Star card for my Dad's set. I'll have to dig through some cards to see if I can connect some more cardboard dots - always a fun time!<br />
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In the meantime, here is the back of the card. A very logical layout that flows easily and provides a lot of solid information:<br />
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Check out that Presidential trivia question, folks! Now for Mr. Shantz...<br />
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Bobby Shantz had a fantastic career that spanned fifteen seasons of major league ball with seven clubs. He had his finest season with the A's in '52 when he claimed the AL MVP by going 24-7 with nearly 280 innings pitched. The Athletics finished in 4th place that season, enjoying their final winning season in Philadelphia. Shantz participated in the All-Star game at Shibe Park that year and notched a terrific line in the history books by striking out three NL sluggers in a row in the 5th inning: Whitey Lockman, Jackie Robinson and Stan Musial. His duel with Jackie plays a part in one of the items Mr. Shantz sent back to me in response to my TTM request. Have I shared that with you guys, yet? Definitely one of my favorite pieces.<br />
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Bobby was injured during the '53 campaign and endured a slow return to form, hurling only eight innings in 1954. That might account for the peaceful but tired look in Bobby's eyes on this Bowman card. Another simple portrait here and the centering is off top-to-bottom, but the edges/corners are AMAZING and the color is even better. There are no hints of a stadium to be had in this card as there was in DeMaestri's, but I kind of dig the field and wooded background. Looks like a warm spring day to me.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yvwJw011OQ4/VK_piNWFrWI/AAAAAAAAB_I/jdxfYS4uXLM/s1600/image%2B(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yvwJw011OQ4/VK_piNWFrWI/AAAAAAAAB_I/jdxfYS4uXLM/s1600/image%2B(1).jpeg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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The back of the card describes everyone's hope for Bobby in 1954 and adds a curious "great little fielder" comment at the end. The reference to his stature was well deserved, as Mr. Shantz was only five and a half feet tall - but I view the great fielder portion of the comment with much curiosity and awe because it is quite prophetic. Shantz would go on to win eight CONSECUTIVE gold gloves in his career, an amazing feat! It's just incredible to me that he didn't win his first award until three seasons AFTER this Bowman card was issued.<br />
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Nice job, Bowman!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8JUf1lFKAo8/VK_pkn1ck7I/AAAAAAAAB_Q/5lu6wXbHf1w/s1600/image.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8JUf1lFKAo8/VK_pkn1ck7I/AAAAAAAAB_Q/5lu6wXbHf1w/s1600/image.jpeg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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I'm excited to add these two cards to my collection. As I mentioned above, it's always a treat to add cards of players I've been able to interact with personally. I don't have very many 1954 Bowman cards but I might very well be approaching a full page now! Does this constitute an official set-build declaration? Hmmm...<br />
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Thanks for reading!<br />
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Ryan<br />
Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-87082050536391032962014-12-31T10:32:00.007-08:002014-12-31T10:32:28.020-08:00Year in Review / State of the CollectionIt was a challenging and enjoyable year for the Ryan's Pitch Collection. Challenging because I found myself with very limited time for cardboard appreciation. I had a tremendous flurry of posts in the late spring/early summer time frame, but that quickly ended when the fall semester rolled around. I had some tough classes on the docket and, when combined with my day job, it created an environment of severe time management demands where my hobbies found the proverbial back-burners.<br />
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But that's okay. And I know I'm not alone - all of you probably know exactly what I'm talking about! And that's a big reason why I admire my fellow bloggers so much. They find a way to make the time for regularly scheduled posting, despite everything else they have going on in their lives. I salute you all and will try to find my blogging 'sweet spot' in 2015.<br />
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Speaking of goals, I established a few in 2014. I even came darn near accomplishing one as well. <br />
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ONE.<br />
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But let's keep things linear! First, what did I accomplish in 2014? I managed to acquire a healthy amount of cardboard. For the first time since rejoining the hobby in 2011, these acquisitions were comprised of more single-card purchases than packs and/or sets. In fact, I haven't purchased a blaster/pack since...well, I guess it would have to be Gypsy Queen. Did that diminish the chaos?<br />
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Nope.<br />
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As that cute girl from Texas once said, THAT is a Beautiful Disaster. But I digress...<br />
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I will always crave the satisfaction of buying packs of cards and ripping them open. But the level of financial commitment I needed to make in order to collect by this method just doesn't work for me right now. I picked up a 2014 Topps Factory Set for my son's collection this Christmas just as I normally do, but that was enough for me after trying out Series 1, some Heritage and GQ. <br />
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The flagship is in pretty good form right now, overall. I'm not here to hate! The photography seems to really be on top of its game - a huge bonus in my book. I Just can't get on board with all of the inserts and parallels. I like them - I just can't collect them all.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wqQOBdNIlRw/VKQw8TAT1FI/AAAAAAAAB6s/Og7iJgGPTxg/s1600/image%5B1%5D%2B(8).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wqQOBdNIlRw/VKQw8TAT1FI/AAAAAAAAB6s/Og7iJgGPTxg/s1600/image%5B1%5D%2B(8).jpeg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Heritage was a real treat. The return of substantial card stock made those rack packs a real joy for me to open. I kicked off my set-build in solid form, with minimal duplicates among the packs that I did purchase. That was a lot of fun and a great example of why I probably won't be able to ever fully give up new-releases.<br />
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So what did I buy this year? Singles. Vintage singles and small lots. Junk wax singles. Hobby Ice Age singles. Even modern release singles! Some were graded and some were raw. I picked up a bunch of cheap autograph cards, too. I love autographed cards. They look great in cases and display well for non-collector friends and family to reminisce about and enjoy. That makes me happy!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N1u-bbJscs8/VKQxc8KmYFI/AAAAAAAAB7E/niRvyy7wWD4/s1600/image%5B1%5D%2B(3).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N1u-bbJscs8/VKQxc8KmYFI/AAAAAAAAB7E/niRvyy7wWD4/s1600/image%5B1%5D%2B(3).jpeg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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It wasn't just baseball and even better - these cost me some stamps, envelopes and some paper!<br />
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What kind of singles did I buy? A lot of them were for my Player Collections. Just to refresh, here is the list as of today (wink) with a quick example for each:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Don Mattingly</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HxLXGSpoO7s/VKQyc5pE7kI/AAAAAAAAB7o/Uu-AXb4lJtI/s1600/image%5B8%5D.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HxLXGSpoO7s/VKQyc5pE7kI/AAAAAAAAB7o/Uu-AXb4lJtI/s1600/image%5B8%5D.jpeg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Freddie Freeman</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VTnR8diUz9o/VKQyswto-0I/AAAAAAAAB7w/Yoq2rsbStAg/s1600/image%5B7%5D.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VTnR8diUz9o/VKQyswto-0I/AAAAAAAAB7w/Yoq2rsbStAg/s1600/image%5B7%5D.jpeg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anthony Rizzo</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MMZylv5arpQ/VKQy4sBgwnI/AAAAAAAAB74/HJsDBuS98Do/s1600/image%5B5%5D%2B(2).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MMZylv5arpQ/VKQy4sBgwnI/AAAAAAAAB74/HJsDBuS98Do/s1600/image%5B5%5D%2B(2).jpeg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Craig Kimbrel</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">David Robertson</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PO62XY_gIhk/VKQzkFfa-gI/AAAAAAAAB8I/RDcdrtZ0bnk/s1600/image%5B4%5D%2B(3).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PO62XY_gIhk/VKQzkFfa-gI/AAAAAAAAB8I/RDcdrtZ0bnk/s1600/image%5B4%5D%2B(3).jpeg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Dellin Betances</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VVjZtLvLvY4/VKQz1aiVdDI/AAAAAAAAB8Q/Kfg-dTP3GRQ/s1600/image%5B3%5D%2B(4).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VVjZtLvLvY4/VKQz1aiVdDI/AAAAAAAAB8Q/Kfg-dTP3GRQ/s1600/image%5B3%5D%2B(4).jpeg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Eric Jagielo</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ht2WcW-RcWk/VKQ0CRSnsNI/AAAAAAAAB8Y/qqX9LgadIWs/s1600/image%5B2%5D%2B(4).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ht2WcW-RcWk/VKQ0CRSnsNI/AAAAAAAAB8Y/qqX9LgadIWs/s1600/image%5B2%5D%2B(4).jpeg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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Jagielo and Betances are new additions to the list this year. It's an interesting list, isn't it? I have some questions to answer in 2015 - will I continue to collect David Robertson now that he has left the Yanks? I'm thinking probably. Is it lame that it's even a question for me? I don't think so...collecting players from my favorite teams will always be a major component of my collecting ways. All you have to do is look at the two new additions for evidence of this trait.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b2Bf4CFLJfY/VKQ0YDLezII/AAAAAAAAB8g/uJGjF1DO8C0/s1600/image%5B4%5D%2B(2).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b2Bf4CFLJfY/VKQ0YDLezII/AAAAAAAAB8g/uJGjF1DO8C0/s1600/image%5B4%5D%2B(2).jpeg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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But Robertson will always hold a special place for me. I became a huge fan of his during my first season "back" as a big time, loyal baseball fan. I was rooting for him as we were waiting for my son to be born. David was also kind enough to respond back during "Spring TTM 2012" with an autographed ball and several cards. I'll always be grateful and always be a fan. I can see this becoming a long-term relationship, even if he's wearing some different colored pinstripes.<br />
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A lot of my collecting friends from the Blogosphere and on Twitter are responsible for the majority of my PC additions this year. I am so grateful to all of you for that. Words can't describe how much fun it is to pull a plain white envelope out of the mailbox with a nice note and a few fabulous cards inside. That experience really encapsulates baseball card collecting in its purest form - a true organic experience that can be really difficult to find these days and (ahem) at this age.<br />
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Thank you for that, you guys!<br />
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So, the Rizzo and the Freddie and the Kimbrel collection are going strong! Unfortunately, these PCs are un-ceremonioulsy stacked on the Card Cave table. Is it because I don't care? Absolutely not. Whenever I get tasked by Mrs. Ryan's Pitch to retrieve something from the other end of the Card Cave (i.e. the storage room in our basement), I usually dilly-dally and wander over to my table and flip through my beloved PC stacks - just because. Can you really have fun flipping through cards that you've seen a hundred times?<br />
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Damn right you can.<br />
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But my PCs deserve more, so a major goal for 2015 will be to binder-ize these stacks of goodness. For one thing, safety of the cards is paramount. I like to keep my cards in as good a condition as when I receive them. I consider this an element of my responsibilities as their Collector-Owner. I foresee a sizable order from Ultra Pro in my future - along with a trial order from UniKeep binders. These binders aren't built for beauty - but I think they may be the utilitarian and hobby solution I've been looking for.<br />
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What else is going into a binder? My Mattingly PC. I received dozens of glorious Donnie cards from the same collecting friends that I mentioned above - THANK YOU, guys! I also tried to adhere to a goal for 2014 by adding Mattingly to my singles/lots purchases throughout the year. A couple of "lots" later, and my Hit Man collection has now reached amazing new heights! How many unique cards do I have? No idea - but taking the time to organize and binderize them should assist in making my statistical analysis much easier. I can't wait to see where I stand and to share some REALLY cool cards with you guys!<br />
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I'd be lying if I said that the majority of my collecting passion hasn't consistently focused on vintage cards. The history of the sport has always been a huge draw for me and collecting older cards is a great way to create my own personal baseball museum. Vintage for me is anything before I was born (1979). While many of you will probably get a chuckle out of that, it seems to be where the demarcation falls for me. I am getting closer and closer to completing all Topps sets between 1979 and the beginning of my Hobby Ice Age. This will be a major milestone for me as a collector and this goal will remain as a focus for my collecting in 2015.<br />
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Prior to 1979 is wide open. In a perfect world, I would say that I am actually collecting/building every set - from bubble gum cards... <br />
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...to Trammel RCs...<br />
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...and everything, EVERYTHING in between. There's some well-loved 52's and a few slabbed T-205's...<br />
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I now have dozens of BEAUTIFUL dog-eared 71's...<br />
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...stacked right next to my (in progress) N.Y. Highlanders team set... <br />
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There are some old-school Bowmans, each of which deserve their very own post for appreciation...<br />
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...and a NEARLY complete '78 set. I also have a beloved stack of 1960 "commons" that will one day be presented to my Dad so that he can complete his main childhood set! <br />
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There's a bunch of Virgil Trucks that I treasure just as much as my one-and-only Ted Williams and the two Mantle base cards mixed in among the Bowman trove. All kinds of good stuff, right? But the king for me just continues to be vintage.<br />
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God, I love vintage.<br />
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They need to be organized, though. Enter more binders and cases. I may only have eleven 1959 Topps cards, but they need to be brought together with two pages and plenty of room to grow. Will I ever obtain a Hoot rookie card and complete this glorious set? I sure hope so but the least I can do is make it as easy as possible for me to access the cards, enjoy them, share them, know which ones I need, etc.<br />
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Organize, organize, organize.<br />
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I also need to get rid of what I just don't want anymore. I don't need to keep them all - I simply can't. There's not enough space and my storage bins are busting at their plastic seams. Let me know if you are interested. There will be team lots and "Set starter kits". Do you love a team and desire any/all cards for that team? Perhaps I can help. I don't need them in my collection anymore but I want them to go to a good home if possible. Don't worry, they would never be thrown away...I'm thinking grab-bag goodies at Little League parks is a great way to go? So much to reduce, but it has to be done.<br />
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I really "got into" graded cards this year. My first foray was a two-slab auction victory that netted two "9" copies of my favorite baseball card - 1984 Topps Mattingly. But even with that first graded purchase came my first lesson. Not all slabs are created equal, and it can become just as confusing and cluttered as raw cards if you don't set up some parameters. So I studied and researched and talked a lot about it with a lot of you over the months (thank you again!). I think I cam up with a system that works for me... <br />
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There are certain player and teams and sets that I will always welcome in graded form. Iconic rookie cards from my youth and key cards for certain players from today (PC's and maybe a few others) will be the primary focus. The Highlanders. The first Yankees. The 1951 Bowman set. Foolishly ambitious? Definitely! But I can't help it - I'm all in and I have loved every single inbound slab. They store well. They present well to others. They make it easy to know exactly what you have should a time ever come to redistribute....yes, graded cards are here to stay for the Ryan's Pitch Collection!<br />
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So, a quick summary of collecting focus and goals for 2015:<br />
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<strong>ORGANIZE</strong> - binderize PC's and favorite sets, both complete and in progress<br />
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<strong>TRACK</strong> - make lists of "have's" and "need's" for PC's and sets<br />
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<strong>REDUCE</strong> - give away or sell cards, etc. that I truly don't need or want<br />
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<strong>COLLECT</strong> - PC's, sets, autographs and key graded cards (rookies, favorites, etc.)<br />
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<strong>ENJOY</strong> - blog when possible, share with friends, pour a beer and flip through<br />
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Uh, "RECTO"? "CERTO"? Whatever the subliminal anagram might be, I feel like I have a very general plan for the coming year and I am really looking forward to it. While I didn't blog as much as I wanted to, I was very fortunate to have the time and resources that I did in order to enjoy when I could. Make no mistake, not all of the cards above were obtained in 2014. Most have been scooped up over the past four years and some more than 25 years ago. The key is seeing a pattern emerge and gaining a vision of what I really want my collection to be and mean to me - and I feel like that is really coming into focus, slowly but surely.<br />
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There's a whole other component of my collection that I'd like to dive into more in a future post - my memorabilia. Autographed balls, pictures and tickets. I have managed to add a few of these to my collection as well and many of them factor into my card acquisition decisions. I'll have to save this topic for 2015, though.<br />
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If you have stuck with me this long, I am eternally grateful. It brings me a lot of joy to think that at least one other soul out there is gaining some joy from the pieces of cardboard and baseball history that I squirrel away in my own humble collection. Coming up on this blog's 3rd Anniversary, I'm impressed I've hung on this long. I don't know if this website will ever truly reach the lofty ideals of organization & perfection that I originally had in mind, but it works for now and serves as a nice place for me to call home out here in the cyber ether. <br />
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It will be a busy year for me next year - The Ryan's Pitch clan will welcome our third child into the world (in time for its first baseball season!) and I should wrap up my MBA! My daughter will start 2nd grade and my son may very well watch his first Star Wars movie (wink) in addition to preparing for kindergarten. My wife will hit the gas pedal on her photography business after the baby break....and off we'll go. If I disappear from time to time on here - at least you'll know why! Just remember that you can always find me on Twitter via @ryanspitch - I foresee some late night tweeting this spring.<br />
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Have a very safe New Year's Eve with the people important to you! I hope that 2015 is a wonderful year for us all and I can't wait to join you for a part of that journey - the State of the Collection is STRONG.<br />
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As always, thanks for reading!<br />
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Ryan<br />
<br />Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-82942813085015210392014-12-19T11:23:00.000-08:002014-12-19T11:23:21.633-08:00My Mattingly Collection - 2001 Topps Archives Reserve, Bat Relic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Not that anybody was really worried or about the lack of posts over here at Ryan's Pitch...but just in case.<br />
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The Fall really overwhelmed me with family and work and school and...life. I had so much that I wanted to share with you guys in October as an epic baseball season was coming to an end. A season with so many emotional connections to the Ryan's Pitch Collection - but I had to place the blog on the back burner to make sure I could take care of business.<br />
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October became Halloween and then Thanksgiving was looming large and then December hit with a fury. But now - now that finals are done and the office has not a creature stirring - now for a few days...I'm all out of business!<br />
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I've missed you guys!<br />
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(group hug)<br />
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And I've missed my hobby time. I have a year left in my MBA program so 2015 may prove to be just as challenging, but as you all know, I am an eternal optimist - so here's hoping! Until then, I'd like to end 2014 on a positive note with a few posts. I'd love to provide one of those "STATE OF THE COLLECTION" posts. My collecting approach has truly evolved over the past year (or so) and I am very excited about tackling some much needed house cleaning in parallel with a renewed vigor for laser-guided collecting focus. And just who wouldn't want to hear about all of THAT?<br />
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For now, though, let's check out a slick Mattingly card I recently picked up! I found this bad boy for the price of two modern packs. It wasn't in a shop or at a show (what are those?) and in this case, I didn't even have a picture. This 2001 Topps Archives Reserve fell in my Hobby Ice Age, so I didn't have a clue as to what it might resemble. I am familiar with the Archives series, but what did the "reserve" label indicate? <br />
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At $5 though, it was a Mattingly card that I DIDN'T have and a bat card at that, so I scooped it up. And I am sure glad that I did:<br />
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I know, I know - another damn version of the Hit Man's '84 Topps rookie card. Isn't it sweet!? It's shiny and refractor-y in all the right, biased ways for me. This one was in great shape, too - for which I am always thankful. The corners are sharp and the surface is pretty clean. The Archives logo is slightly annoying in the top right, but I'm over it. The circular bat relic is kind of a cool contrast with the otherwise well squared-away card. <br />
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To the back: <br />
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Pretty much the standard with the exception of the fine-print line at the bottom and the...wait, what's that? A certification hologram?<br />
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Enhance!<br />
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Houston, that's a serial number! Woo-hoo! God bless these cards from the Hobby Ice Age. I am supposing this an early example of serialization that was utilized as the hobby was figuring out just how they were going to handle this attribute. It's kind of a neat variant, even if it covers up some statistics. Good thing I can easily check the other 30 versions of this card.<br />
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Returning some focus to my Mattingly collection is one component of my 2014 Collecting Evolution story-line. It was very easy to dial-in on my modern day PC's:<br />
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Craig Kimbrel<br />
Freddie Freeman<br />
Anthony Rizzo<br />
Dellin Betances<br />
David Robertson <br />
Eric Jagielo<br />
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Unfortunately, these quests often left Donnie in the dust despite his status as my favorite all-time player. Not to mention, there are SO many cards during the aforementioned Ice Age that I haven't even begun to discover or enjoy and are probably quite affordable.<br />
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Hopefully this card is another great step in the right direction for 2015. I say "another" because I was able to scoop up a "Player Lot" of Mattingly cards over the past couple of months that has been a joy to flip through during free moments here and there. Some good, old-fashioned player collecting.<br />
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Anyways, it feels great to be back and I hope this doesn't turn out to be a one-hit wonder. I hope you all had a great 2014, find much peace with you and yours for the holidays, and hit the base path in 2015 with tremendous gusto!<br />
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Thanks for reading!<br />
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Ryan<br />
Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-35150995838570008052014-11-11T10:46:00.003-08:002014-11-11T10:46:44.638-08:00The Duke ContestContest for a Duke!<br />
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Robert of "$30 a Week Habit" is having a contest to win this beautiful '54 Topps card:<br />
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A sixty year-old card of a Hall of Famer......what a lovely habit.<br />
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Click <a href="http://30aweekhabit.blogspot.com/2014/11/it-isnt-perfect-but.html" target="_blank">HERE</a> to enter - good luck and THANKS, Robert!<br />
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Ryan<br />
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Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-80713662622233372262014-09-14T10:49:00.000-07:002014-09-14T10:49:00.305-07:00My Yankees Collection - 2007 Topps Co-Signers #26 Mike Mussina (Posada) #59/175<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We collectors spend a lot of time discussing card designs. What we like and what we don't like. Our favorites and the ones we'd rather not ever see again.....ever. I go back and forth with my own personal preferences. I enjoy simple designs that emphasize the player's photograph. I want to see a team logo and information regarding the player's position as well as a healthy dose of information - statistics, biographical or interesting "factoids".</div>
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I checked out of the hobby as the insanely creative card-design engines of the 90's (or "Junk Wax Era") were just heating up. From lasers to rainbows and cartoons to studio portraits, I have seen some beautiful cards from my Hobby Ice Age. I have also seen some complete nightmares that just make me chuckle.</div>
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Here is a beautiful card, my friends:</div>
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This is a 2007 Topps Co-Signers card of the Moose and his battery-mate, Jorge Posada. I have never seen a card like this before, but I absolutely love it. Mussina and Posada are two Yankee favorites, and a quick glance at their results in '06 tell us why.<br />
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Posada boasted a .277 average with 23 long balls and 90+ RBI. You can't ask much more of a catcher than that although Jorge would go on to have his career year in 2007. Mussina recorded a 15-7 record in 2006, nearing 200 IP and close to 175 K's. They truly were a battery, and one that I can fondly recall catching on TV from time to time.<br />
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The Yanks would lose to Detroit in the '06 ALDS. Mussina lost a tough Game 2 by the score of 4-3 and actually out-dueled Justin Verlander before the Bombers' bats fell silent in the 5th inning. They would lose the next two games by margins of 5 and 6 runs, seemingly unable to recover.<br />
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Here's the back of the card, which is actually a Mussina card:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VtJV1i7Ocok/VBMqlowIMMI/AAAAAAAAB4U/UtufoMrRSXY/s1600/IMG_4374.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VtJV1i7Ocok/VBMqlowIMMI/AAAAAAAAB4U/UtufoMrRSXY/s1600/IMG_4374.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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Holy CANNOLI, it's NUMBERED!<br />
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(laugh)<br />
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I couldn't help myself. I had no idea this one was numbered when I bought it. I guess that's pretty cool? It simply adds some luster to a card that I already thought was "tops". Pun intended.<br />
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Anyways, I just really dig this dual image - Mussina contemplating the next pitch to be dealt with a sepia-Posada in the background checking for signs from the dugout before lowering the mask and getting back to work. Throw in the facsimile signatures and we're good-to-go!<br />
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Despite the burnt-orange trim coloring.....great work, Topps!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xkVq2LCYnP0/VBMqpAUs4wI/AAAAAAAAB4c/BTdMiK9RCek/s1600/IMG_4373.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xkVq2LCYnP0/VBMqpAUs4wI/AAAAAAAAB4c/BTdMiK9RCek/s1600/IMG_4373.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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A great card for my Yankees Collection.<br />
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Thanks for reading!<br />
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RyanRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-33897100568568085182014-09-12T10:16:00.001-07:002014-09-12T10:16:20.962-07:00The Quest for '60: #412 Bob Anderson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
One of my most enjoyable collecting moments is when I can cross off a card from a set-building list. I was able to do just that the other day when I scooped up this crispy and magnificently off-centered Bob Anderson from the 1960 Topps set: </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-27TiWrbDppE/VBMfxGDgowI/AAAAAAAAB34/KtjXHRZHy4o/s1600/IMG_4271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-27TiWrbDppE/VBMfxGDgowI/AAAAAAAAB34/KtjXHRZHy4o/s1600/IMG_4271.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All smiles!</td></tr>
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The corners and edges are really sharp on this Anderson card but the printing press gods stepped away from their desks when this one rolled off the assembly line at the Topps factory! No matter, it is another beautiful building block in my quest to complete the 1960 set. The colors on the front of the card are also really sharp.<br />
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But who is Bob Anderson?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ztKxCJYVQE8/VBMf01qLrgI/AAAAAAAAB4A/jHNWnnZpqCQ/s1600/IMG_4273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ztKxCJYVQE8/VBMf01qLrgI/AAAAAAAAB4A/jHNWnnZpqCQ/s1600/IMG_4273.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bullpen pitcher's lamentation in the cartoon is terrific!</td></tr>
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Apparently, Bob Anderson was the professional fencer who played the part of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy during the light saber scenes......and he was also this Bob Anderson! There's a great chronology of Mr. Anderson's highlights from the '59 season for us to enjoy. I love the use of the term "safeties" to describe the number of hits Bob surrendered to the Dodgers on Independence Day. Apparently Mr. Anderson owned the Dodgers that year, had a personal best against the Braves and was well on his way to the history books against the Cardinals later on in the season.<br />
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But I think Topps missed a dandy.....TO THE WIKIPEDIA, BATMAN!<br />
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<i>"Bob Anderson was involved in one of baseball history's most unusual plays. It occurred during a game played on June 30, 1959, between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs. Stan Musial was at the plate, with a count of 3-1. Anderson's next pitch was errant, evading catcher Sammy Taylor and rolling all the way to the backstop. Umpire Vic Delmore called ball four, however Anderson and Taylor contended that Musial foul tipped the ball. Because the ball was still in play, and because Delmore was embroiled in an argument with the catcher and pitcher, Musial took it upon himself to try for second base. Seeing that Musial was trying for second, Alvin Dark ran to the backstop to retrieve the ball which had found its way into the hands of field announcer, Pat Pieper.</i><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Pat_Pieper_1963.png/180px-Pat_Pieper_1963.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pat Pipier</td></tr>
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<i>Dark retrieved the ball from Pieper. Absentmindedly, however, Delmore pulled out a new ball and gave it to Taylor. Anderson finally noticed that Musial was trying for second, took the new ball, and threw it to second baseman Tony Taylor. Anderson's throw flew over Tony Taylor's head into the outfield. Dark, at the same time that Anderson threw the new ball, threw the original ball to shortstop Ernie Banks. Musial, though, did not see Dark's throw and only noticed Anderson's ball fly over the second baseman's head, so he tried to go to third base. On his way there, he was tagged out by Banks, and after a delay he was ruled out." </i><br />
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Is that awesome or what? This story alone makes me want to go digging through the Ryan's Pitch archives for some Musial, Ernie and Alvin Dark cards. I swear I just saw an Alvin the other day. Stay tuned for that! And as for Mr. Pipier - all I can say is, WOW. I was not aware of his story and am so grateful for the research induced by this card that has now brought him to my attention. If you don't know about Pat Pipier and the place he holds in Chicago Cubs history, I highly suggest you check it out!<br />
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As usual, I feel compelled to check out the box score on baseball-reference.com as well:<br />
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<table class="sortable stats_table" id="play_by_play" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(116, 118, 120); color: black; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.6875em; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr class="partial_table black_text bold_text shade_text" data-row="43" style="background-color: rgb(238, 238, 187) !important; color: #414345; font-weight: 700 !important; vertical-align: top;"><td colspan="12" csk="31.9" style="border-color: rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(116, 118, 120); border-style: dotted solid; border-width: 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;"><span class="half_inning_start" style="vertical-align: inherit;">Top of the 4th, Cardinals Batting, Ahead 2-1, Cubs' Bob Anderson facing 5-6-7</span></td></tr>
<tr class="" data-row="44" id="event_32" style="vertical-align: top;"><td csk="32" style="border-color: rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(116, 118, 120); border-style: dotted dotted dotted solid; border-width: 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">t4</td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">2-1</td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">0</td><td csk="0.000" style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;"><span class="tooltip" id="CHN195906300-32" style="color: #aa0000; cursor: pointer; vertical-align: inherit;">---</span></td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;"><span class="tooltip" id="CHN195906300-32" style="color: #aa0000; cursor: pointer; vertical-align: inherit;"></span></td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;">O</td><td csk="STL.0.032" style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">STL</td><td csk="Cimoli,Gino0.032" style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;">G. Cimoli</td><td csk="Anderson,Bob0.032" style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;">B. Anderson</td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">-2%</td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">61%</td><td csk="2.032" style="border-color: rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(116, 118, 120) rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(170, 170, 170); border-style: dotted solid dotted dotted; border-width: 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;">Groundout: SS-1B</td></tr>
<tr class="" data-row="45" id="event_33" style="vertical-align: top;"><td csk="33" style="border-color: rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(116, 118, 120); border-style: dotted dotted dotted solid; border-width: 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">t4</td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">2-1</td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">1</td><td csk="0.000" style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;"><span class="tooltip" id="CHN195906300-33" style="color: #aa0000; cursor: pointer; vertical-align: inherit;">---</span></td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;"><span class="tooltip" id="CHN195906300-33" style="color: #aa0000; cursor: pointer; vertical-align: inherit;"></span></td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;">O</td><td csk="STL.0.033" style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">STL</td><td csk="Musial,Stan0.033" style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;">S. Musial</td><td csk="Anderson,Bob0.033" style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;">B. Anderson</td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">-2%</td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">59%</td><td csk="14.033" style="border-color: rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(116, 118, 120) rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(170, 170, 170); border-style: dotted solid dotted dotted; border-width: 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;">Walk; Musial out at 2B/3B-SS</td></tr>
<tr class="hl" data-row="46" id="event_34" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 170) !important; vertical-align: top;"><td csk="34" style="border-color: rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(116, 118, 120); border-style: dotted dotted dotted solid; border-width: 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">t4</td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">2-1</td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">2</td><td csk="0.000" style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;"><span class="tooltip" id="CHN195906300-34" style="color: #aa0000; cursor: pointer; vertical-align: inherit;">---</span></td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;"><span class="tooltip" id="CHN195906300-34" style="color: #aa0000; cursor: pointer; vertical-align: inherit;"></span></td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;"></td><td csk="STL.0.034" style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">STL</td><td csk="Smith,Hal0.034" style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;">H. Smith</td><td csk="Anderson,Bob0.034" style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;">B. Anderson</td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">1%</td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">60%</td><td csk="20.034" style="border-color: rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(116, 118, 120) rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(170, 170, 170); border-style: dotted solid dotted dotted; border-width: 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;">Single to SS</td></tr>
<tr class="" data-row="47" id="event_35" style="vertical-align: top;"><td csk="35" style="border-color: rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(116, 118, 120); border-style: dotted dotted dotted solid; border-width: 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">t4</td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">2-1</td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">2</td><td csk="1.001" style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;"><span class="tooltip" id="CHN195906300-35" style="color: #aa0000; cursor: pointer; vertical-align: inherit;">1--</span></td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;"><span class="tooltip" id="CHN195906300-35" style="color: #aa0000; cursor: pointer; vertical-align: inherit;"></span></td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;">O</td><td csk="STL.0.035" style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">STL</td><td csk="Gray,Dick0.035" style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;">D. Gray</td><td csk="Anderson,Bob0.035" style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;">B. Anderson</td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">-2%</td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;">58%</td><td csk="3.035" style="border-color: rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(116, 118, 120) rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(170, 170, 170); border-style: dotted solid dotted dotted; border-width: 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;">Strikeout</td></tr>
<tr class="partial_table black_text italic_text" data-row="48" style="color: #414345; font-style: italic !important; vertical-align: top;"><td csk="35.8" style="border-color: rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(116, 118, 120); border-style: dotted dotted dotted solid; border-width: 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;"></td><td align="" style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; white-space: nowrap !important;"></td><td align="" style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; white-space: nowrap !important;"></td><td align="" style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; white-space: nowrap !important;"></td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;"></td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;"></td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;"></td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;"></td><td style="border: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap !important;"></td><td colspan="3" style="border-color: rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(116, 118, 120) rgb(170, 170, 170) rgb(170, 170, 170); border-style: dotted solid dotted dotted; border-width: 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap !important;"><span class="half_inning_summary" style="vertical-align: inherit;">0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Cardinals 2, Cubs 1.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Ha! Glorious....."Walk; Musial out at 2B/3B-SS" - yeah, I suppose that one would've been a head scratcher for Topps design teams as they debated on what to list on the card. What might have been?</div>
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Welcome to the set, Mr. Anderson and thank you for today's great baseball history lesson!</div>
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Thanks for reading and have a safe weekend, everybody.</div>
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Ryan</div>
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Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-39061682911405814502014-08-30T12:41:00.000-07:002014-08-30T12:41:00.575-07:00I've Been 30YOC PWE'd!We all love them and this one was no different!<br />
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I believe a basic "oh, I like that" comment on one of 30YOC's posts resulted in a PWE with this bad boy being speedily sent my way for the Mattingly Collection. Couldn't be more grateful, my friend! Thank you!<br />
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Here's Donnie....in a fresh version of the 1989 Topps design:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vnQ-S2DOI2w/U_-E1ObbkrI/AAAAAAAAB3o/k9DSMR_3NOk/s1600/IMG_4775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vnQ-S2DOI2w/U_-E1ObbkrI/AAAAAAAAB3o/k9DSMR_3NOk/s1600/IMG_4775.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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What do you think? Fort Lauderdale, circa 1988? Actually, I am unsure as to exactly what the name of their stadium was back in those days.....either way, I love it! The pinstripes, the Florida sun, the 'stache, the bat......greatness abounds.<br />
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Thank you, B! Welcome home, Donnie.<br />
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Thanks for reading!<br />
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RyanRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-58254386542741292872014-08-28T12:23:00.000-07:002014-08-28T12:23:06.638-07:00Night Owl Made A Pass At My Woman!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Nah.</div>
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Night Owl is a <i>righteous</i> dude with tremendous cardboard and Dodger knowledge surpassed only by his own <a href="http://nightowlcards.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">incredible talent for writing</a>. I just couldn't resist the gratuitous post title inspired by The Lost Collector's recent interview of [99.9%] retired blogger, Napkin Doon. It had me laughing out loud and wishing once more for a "Cleve's" of South Carolina....but alas, no such luck. The interview can be enjoyed <a href="http://thelostcollector.blogspot.com/2014/08/q-with-napkin-doon.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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NO, it was I that was seduced by this glorious plethora of cardboard from our community's winged friend of the night. Completely unexpected but surely treasured, I must now hatch plans for a counterstrike.</div>
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Thank you very much, Night Owl!</div>
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Here we go - </div>
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Yankees and Braves dominated this well-crafted package. I had never seen these tri-fold Upper Deck "BAT" cards before.....but I LOVE them. How do I store them?</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zLAHeHIx6DA/U-klCykU35I/AAAAAAAAB2k/x68cO33PbQE/s1600/IMG_4766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zLAHeHIx6DA/U-klCykU35I/AAAAAAAAB2k/x68cO33PbQE/s1600/IMG_4766.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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We sure miss Robbie in New York but it's always a pleasure to see him knock one out of Safeco from time to time. I think I caught an update recently that he left a game with some pain...I hope he's okay. This "blue-sparkle" parallel from 2013 is a beautiful card and I have quickly become a fan of the Opening Day logo. Man, that follow-through.......one of the finest swings in baseball right now, folks.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xjPAF7_11Lc/U-klFsgkVKI/AAAAAAAAB2s/8MqkDJG7yP4/s1600/IMG_4767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xjPAF7_11Lc/U-klFsgkVKI/AAAAAAAAB2s/8MqkDJG7yP4/s1600/IMG_4767.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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What Mo can I say? Rivera cards will always be accepted around here. A simple baseball card with a winning smile from baseball's greatest closer is fantastic!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CN0epk8S_sM/U-klIMmhiyI/AAAAAAAAB20/4ZdmNctElF8/s1600/IMG_4768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CN0epk8S_sM/U-klIMmhiyI/AAAAAAAAB20/4ZdmNctElF8/s1600/IMG_4768.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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PC alert!!!!! A Donnie-Braves sandwich served up with my first look at the A&G insert set, "Across the Years". I can dig. The Braves colors and that OD logo (again) look great on the Freddie and Kimbrel cards. Great additions to my collections!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ipw1NKsdp-M/U-klKvbiDKI/AAAAAAAAB28/0gN_gvJUwBQ/s1600/IMG_4770.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ipw1NKsdp-M/U-klKvbiDKI/AAAAAAAAB28/0gN_gvJUwBQ/s1600/IMG_4770.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here's a look at the back of the BAT card. See what I mean? They are REALLY nice and offer up some great baseball knowledge in an attractive, unique design. How were these cards distributed?<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XGjjicMlA1w/U-klNLOQBSI/AAAAAAAAB3E/CzEB80SrPzI/s1600/IMG_4771.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XGjjicMlA1w/U-klNLOQBSI/AAAAAAAAB3E/CzEB80SrPzI/s1600/IMG_4771.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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A giant Donruss Righetti!!!!! How giant?<br />
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THIS giant! Thank you for the perspective, Chippah (also included).<br />
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I'm a bit unsure as to how I'm going to store/display this bad boy....but I'll find a way to let Rags breathe safely in the Card Cave. In the end, a wonderful problem to have, right?<br />
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Thanks again, Night Owl and thanks for reading -<br />
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Ryan<br />
<br />Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-74219813618631801602014-08-11T13:15:00.003-07:002014-08-11T13:15:37.260-07:00A Red Rizzo from The Lost Collector!My friend AJ (who runs the great blog <a href="http://thelostcollector.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Lost Collector</a>) sent over a splendid card for my Anthony Rizzo Collection! <div>
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Check it out.....</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YDgxO6DxM8M/U-kfO9ksCAI/AAAAAAAAB2E/8MhQNAQafBc/s1600/IMG_4776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YDgxO6DxM8M/U-kfO9ksCAI/AAAAAAAAB2E/8MhQNAQafBc/s1600/IMG_4776.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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I love Heritage and am <a href="http://ryanspitch.blogspot.com/p/2014-topps-heritage-needs-for-trade.html" target="_blank">still slowly trying to BUILD this year's base se</a>t! Honest, I checked for a pulse and it's still there.....barely. I hope I can stick to it. Set-Building is something I do enjoy but view as a challenge for both modern sets and vintage. Vintage is tough because I lack a local shop for access to reasonable selections of commons....modern releases suffer the same handicap but I also don't find the math for packs/boxes of new releases to be very favorable for dinosaurs like me.<br />
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Maybe I'm just being a wimp? Sorry. Tangent.....<br />
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This Rizzo parallel won't be needed for the set-chase, but it is a WELCOME addition to my Rizzo PC! It's a simple head-shot of my favorite Chicago Cub. The red even works pretty well with the Cubbies uniform and logo. Love it!<br />
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I also appreciate The Lost Collector's use of the painter's tape. I try to do the same as much as possible. It gets the job done without leaving a sticky residue on the top-loaders. A win-win. Let's get that tape out of the way for a better view:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ol8KWNuwg6Q/U-kfSUC0i1I/AAAAAAAAB2M/thA31pdZ-ag/s1600/IMG_4777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ol8KWNuwg6Q/U-kfSUC0i1I/AAAAAAAAB2M/thA31pdZ-ag/s1600/IMG_4777.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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Fantastic - and how about those great Heritage backs:<br />
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NICE!</div>
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A great description of a "Rizzo Moonshot" is very apropos in light of his power surge this season. I also appreciate the reminder about just how young Anthony really is.</div>
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A great card. Thanks, AJ! Now where did I put that spare PWE.......</div>
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Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-77800862933431817882014-08-08T09:30:00.000-07:002014-08-08T09:30:00.853-07:00My Hall of Fame Collection - 1951 Bowman #31 Roy Campanella<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I recently opined on the twitter that "modern cards and prospecting are like one-night stands...vintage is true love."</div>
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I truly believe that and it appears that I am falling in love again thanks to this Campy! Introduce yourself, Roy...</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p_r6UxojMkU/U-PNX5U6vbI/AAAAAAAAB1g/d8lddzFeXXY/s1600/IMG_4358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p_r6UxojMkU/U-PNX5U6vbI/AAAAAAAAB1g/d8lddzFeXXY/s1600/IMG_4358.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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I encountered a well-priced batch of graded '51 Bowman's on the Bay of E earlier this year. The Ryan's Pitch Collection welcomes all forms of vintage cardboard - graded, non-graded, degraded, whatever the case may be - but my adrenal gland kicks in when a seller has numerous graded cards of players I really enjoy, at great prices, with combined shipping and (the kicker) a 'Make An Offer' option available.<br />
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I'm shy by nature and dislike the art of negotiation, but only because I wish I were better at it. And even when I decide to face this inner demon, the Bay is usually a hostile environment in which to attempt to do, particularly in the card market. Sellers are there to profit and the Bay is known to be full of buyers that are short of hobby knowledge but accompanied by deep pockets. This produces a beneficial equation for the sellers and gives them little reason to suffer through the entertainment of an offer from a spendthrift like me.<br />
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But this was true vintage love, you see....the stuff miracles are made of!<br />
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I quickly checked PSA's SMR database to ensure that my eyes were not deceiving me and formulated an offer amount on this Campy along with a few others. I wanted to cause deliberation without insulting and, after some quick emails, the Seller and I reached a mutually beneficial arrangement for the whole lot. I could barely contain my excitement then, and it persists today as I am very excited to share this particular card with you.<br />
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Campanella has a special place in the history of the game as one of its finest catchers, despite only playing for ten seasons. His Hall of Fame career, spent entirely with the Brooklyn Dodgers, was cut much too short due to a paralyzing injury suffered during a car accident in the winter of '58. Prior to that horrible twist of fate, Roy had earned a World Series ring (against my Yanks in '55), 3 National League MVP Awards, 8 All-Star appearances, led the league in RBI for a season and caught 3 no-hitters! <br />
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"Campy" was one of the pioneers in breaking the color-barrier in baseball, joining Brooklyn during Jackie's sophomore campaign. He was one of the first four African-American players to appear in an All-Star Game, joining Robinson, Larry Doby and Don Newcombe. Yes, Roy, who passed away in 1993, holds a special place in the hearts of Dodgers and baseball fans in general, including myself. And now this card has joined him!<br />
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Where to start with this card?! It's pretty well centered and has excellent edges, two attributes that I really enjoy. The grade was most likely given for the corners, slight surface 'dent' in the upper right corner and border fading.<br />
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No problem.<br />
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A VG-EX "4" '51 Bowman is a GEM in my collection, any day of the week! The coloring of this card is amazing and the pose for this shot is baseball perfection. From my humble sampling, action shots appear to have been few and far between for '51 Bowman, so this look at Campanella tossing his old-school catcher's mask aside while he focuses on a pop-up is a real treat! How about that catcher's gear, though? I know many of you enjoy catcher's cards in particular and it's easy to see why. The chest protector, knee pads and backwards ball cap..... great coloring. Even the background calls your attention! The vivid green stadium seats in the background provide a very 'you are there' experience, enhanced by the depth perception provided through the stadium's deepening shadows as our eyes follow up into the stands......can anybody confirm if these green seats indicate Ebbets Field?<br />
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And who's that guy? Why only one spectator, a spectator wearing a mustard-colored shirt and sunglasses? <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Well focused.......the player and the card!</td></tr>
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The back only adds to my enjoyment of this card, offering Bowman's traditional and simple approach: name, bio-stats, brief summary, card number. In 1951, he was coming off his third season in which he had surpassed the 30 HR mark (31) and approached 90 RBI (89) while batting .285. Bowman mentions that Roy held a .985 fielding percentage in 1949...he matched that in 1950 and would never drop below that mark for the duration of his career.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RdBo1jU4fIE/U-PNXhQMa4I/AAAAAAAAB1c/VoxSrY8ukkU/s1600/IMG_4360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RdBo1jU4fIE/U-PNXhQMa4I/AAAAAAAAB1c/VoxSrY8ukkU/s1600/IMG_4360.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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The back is in great shape, with no paper loss or markings to interfere with enjoyment of the information. The coloring is great, too.....just an all around great card, condition-wise. Interestingly, the write-up mentions that the Dodgers first noticed Campy when playing against him in an exhibition game. Hmmm, I wonder what the story is behind that statement? Well, as usual with the game we all love, here's the tale, according to <a href="http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/a52ccbb5" target="_blank">SABR</a>:<br />
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #393939; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">"In October 1945 Campanella caught for a black all-star team organized by Effa Manley against a squad of major leaguers managed by Charlie Dressen in a five-game exhibition series at Ebbets Field. Dressen, a Dodgers coach at the time, approached Campanella to arrange a meeting with Dodgers general manager and part-owner Branch Rickey later that month. Campanella spent four hours listening to Rickey, whom he later described as “the talkingest man I ever did see,” and politely declined when Rickey asked if he was interested in playing in the Brooklyn organization. Campy thought he was being recruited for the Brooklyn Brown Dodgers, a new Negro League outfit that Rickey was supposedly starting. A few days later, however, he ran into Jackie Robinson in a Harlem hotel. After Robinson confidentially told him he’d already signed with the Dodgers, Campy realized that Rickey had been talking about a career in Organized Baseball for him. Afraid that he’d blown his shot at the big leagues, he fired off a telegram to Rickey indicating his interest in playing for the Dodgers just before he left on a barnstorming tour through South America." </span> </i><br />
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Like I always say, all baseball cards are great pieces of history. Some have great players while others have great stories. And some, like this '51 Campanella, just seem to have both. I've only touched on the very tip of the iceberg that was Roy's contribution to the game and to the world, but this is a great way to start a conversation that I hope continues for a long time. I can't wait to add more of Campy's cardboard to my collection and learn more about his legacy, but I'll never lose my excitement and love for this card. I am thrilled to add it to my collection and could easily file this one under the "One of My Favorite Cards" title.<br />
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Either way - here's to you, Roy. Rest in peace and thank you for this walk into history.<br />
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Thanks for reading!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pjCdReo2ddk/U-PNY3rOn2I/AAAAAAAAB1w/vxSLYPwXVeA/s1600/IMG_4361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pjCdReo2ddk/U-PNY3rOn2I/AAAAAAAAB1w/vxSLYPwXVeA/s1600/IMG_4361.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-65060155203268575692014-08-06T10:09:00.001-07:002014-08-06T10:09:38.602-07:00My Rizzo Collection - Autographed Ticket for 1st Home Run Game <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>Antonio, si stanno avendo un anno fantastico! Sapevo che si poteva fare - complimenti , mio fratello!</i></div>
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Yeah, I'm a little energized right now. It's been a tumultuous season for my favorite teams and favorite players. The Yanks' starting pitching has been decimated after such a glorious start, and yet they're definitely hanging around in a softer AL East - partially due to some consistent greatness from David Robertson (and another player I'll be announcing soon)! The Braves are pulling their usual stunt of mixing ecstasy with agony, though Freddie and The Kimbrel are certainly doing their parts and the Braves themselves are just a gant's ass behind the....gNats. Jagielo is coming back from injury but has already gone deep down in the Florida State League (A-Advanced). Mattingly's Dodgers are winning again, despite themselves and their critics. </div>
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And then......and then......</div>
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There is THIS guy!</div>
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We're now into August, and Anthony Rizzo certainly APPEARS to be having the breakout season that his fans (and Cubs fans especially) have been waiting for! He's batting .283 with 25 HRs, 60 RBI and 70 runs scored! You can even add in a couple of stolen bases for good measure. While the Cubs don't find themselves in the hunt, Anthony's performance at the plate and in the field garnered him his FIRST All Star Game appearance (along with Fab-Fivin' Freddie Freeman and le Kimbrel)! He made good use of his single at-bat, Needless to say, I will be anxiously awaiting the late year releases for some All-Star cardboard.</div>
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In honor of his outstanding achievement, I would like to share one of my favorite pieces from the Ryan's Pitch Rizzo Collection. I picked it up on the secondary market last year and must admit that there was much inspiration for this addition from my good friend Brian, over at "30 Year-Old Cardboard". His legendary "Ultimate Dawson" Collection is a site to behold and I would highly encourage you to check it out. With so many types of memorabilia pieces that are absolutely swimming in interesting inscriptions and player gravitas.....it is truly amazing and serves as a great example of one particular way to enjoy our hobby.</div>
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In that vein, I saw this ticket and knew that I had to have it. The price was right and the PSA authenticity credentials instilled the confidence I needed.....and I've enjoyed it ever since! I am happy to share this ticket to the Padres/Nationals game on June 11th, 2011!</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7DUER0uzUZQ/U9AVtiLL6EI/AAAAAAAAB0E/KVl_6am045U/s1600/IMG_4658%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7DUER0uzUZQ/U9AVtiLL6EI/AAAAAAAAB0E/KVl_6am045U/s1600/IMG_4658%5B1%5D.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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It was the Bottom of the 2nd inning when Rizzo stroked his first home run off of John Lannan into the right field bleachers at cavernous PETCO. It would be the only run scored by the Padres that day, and they would end up losing the game, 2-1. But it was surely a great day for Anthony and, coincidentally, for my wife and me as we celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. Big day!</div>
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Here's a closer look at the inscription, "First Home Run":</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3dJo2uTaNjA/U9AV4jm_vwI/AAAAAAAAB0M/jFMI0NbjVB0/s1600/IMG_4659%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3dJo2uTaNjA/U9AV4jm_vwI/AAAAAAAAB0M/jFMI0NbjVB0/s1600/IMG_4659%5B1%5D.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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It probably wouldn't have affected my decision, but I am glad that Rizzo didn't go with "1st HR". I appreciate full words. Except for when I don't use them myself.....on this blog. Whoops.<br />
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Here's a close look at the unmistakable, short signature of Mr. Rizzo:<br />
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Overall, the ticket is really nice looking. An odd choice of picture, but it gives us a soothing look at what is probably a very comfortable San Diego evening. The color scheme and graphics don't lend themselves to an easy presentation for autographs and such, but I feel like the use of the silver ink helps to mitigate that effect.</div>
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Rizzo's really emerged as a star this season and I couldn't be happier for him or for Cubs fans. He seems to be a really good person (he sticks up for his teammates when opposing pitchers hurl 100 mph+ pitches at their heads, for example) and does a lot of great charity work off the field. He's a lefty first baseman who looks like he's going to be playing some good baseball for many years to come. I love watching him play and find myself rooting just a little bit for the Cubbies in the NL Central.</div>
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I'm thrilled to add another Rizzo autograph to my collection, but especially ecstatic to add one that is unique and commemorates one of his early career milestones. He's averaged 26 long balls per 162 games so far in his blossoming career, so I'm ready for the next couple of decades!</div>
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Here's the back, complete with assurances from our friends at PSA.....</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UWgR_AOpZ38/U9AWLrRqX7I/AAAAAAAAB0g/X4LLy7Gxz7w/s1600/IMG_4661%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UWgR_AOpZ38/U9AWLrRqX7I/AAAAAAAAB0g/X4LLy7Gxz7w/s1600/IMG_4661%255B1%255D.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Thanks for reading!Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-15780555870095940922014-07-26T13:02:00.000-07:002014-07-26T13:02:00.168-07:00My Yankees Collection - 2011 Gypsy Queen "The Great Ones" Thurman Munson (mini)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Many moons ago, I was able to stop by what has become the closest hobby shop to me in Columbia, SC. I wrote about my discovery of this LCS back in 2012. While this current LCS scarcity is probably best for my wallet, what I wouldn't give for a hometown shop!</div>
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During this rare visit, I was able to snag some supplies and a card that I needed for my 1960 Topps set-build. I also performed an obligatory flip through the "Yankees Stars" box on the shop's counter. Most of these were over-priced, but I couldn't pass on this one!</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LON4z9Ixs5M/U9ANfTxkfRI/AAAAAAAABzw/lP-OZtgLhts/s1600/IMG_4269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LON4z9Ixs5M/U9ANfTxkfRI/AAAAAAAABzw/lP-OZtgLhts/s1600/IMG_4269.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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As any Yankee collector will tell you, we have a special place in our heart for Mr. Munson. And even though I wasn't able to watch him play, he lives on as one of the best "lunch-pail" type ballplayers to ever put on pinstripes. SO many accomplishments in such a short time with the sad early ending that we all know by heart, I view every one of Thurman's cards as a unique opportunity to learn more about him and, in some small/weird way, pay tribute to his legacy. Capturing his iconic 1971 All-Star Rookie card was a big day in my collecting timeline, but even the smaller (literally), modern era cards provide a rich, enjoyable experience. This card lived up to the task.<br />
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As a bonus, it's a 2011 Gypsy Queen, one of my all-time favorite sets! A double-bonus, you say?! It's a mini. While I'm not a 'mini' collector, I find them curiously interesting. This card of Munson gives us a fantastic action image of Thurman, in full color, as he casts his [vintage] catcher's mask aside. Munson is gnawing on some chaw with a beautiful scowl beneath his memorable mustache.<br />
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<i>RUN, PUNK. I DARE YOU...</i></div>
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I think it's a great looking card. The overall impression is a bit dark, but I think this approach suits the historic nature of its hobby throw-back design. It seems to boil with baseball and cardboard history overtones, doesn't it? A tobacco card-era throwback of a tobacco-chewing baseball player. The dark borders, in combination with its small size might also have made it difficult to preserve the condition of the edges, but this one seems to have survived fairly intact.<br />
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Here's the back:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TSTH3VSo-OI/U9ANfVn7JXI/AAAAAAAABzs/2wBfdgv9LT8/s1600/IMG_4270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TSTH3VSo-OI/U9ANfVn7JXI/AAAAAAAABzs/2wBfdgv9LT8/s1600/IMG_4270.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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A simple, informative card back. Thurman, the Yanks' captain, led the league in singles for 1975....Topps makes an interesting statement about rarity of players who can produce runs without power. Is this, for the most part, accepted baseball wisdom? I feel like I should do some digging around on baseball-reference!<br />
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For now, though, let's just enjoy this card. Welcome home, Thurman! You truly were a Great One!<br />
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Thanks for reading,<br />
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RyanRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-88889243553826830122014-07-24T11:54:00.003-07:002014-07-24T11:54:36.345-07:00Bobble Relevance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Who doesn't love a bobblehead? Last season, a neighbor of mine shouted me down as I was playing with my kids in our cul-de-sac.</div>
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"<i>Hey man, you like baseball, don't you?"</i></div>
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<i>"Heck YES, I like baseball! How come?"</i></div>
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<i>"I went to a Padres game while I was out in San Diego and I have this bobblehead....do you want it?"</i></div>
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<i>"Definitely! Thanks!"</i></div>
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Didn't care who it was or what it looked like.....I was ALL about a free bobblehead for my baseball memorabilia collection. Turns out, it was Mr. Chase Headley......hey, cool. I knew about Headley and figured this was a pretty solid pick-up. Of course, NOW we know that Chase has become the starting 3rd baseman for the Yankees! Woo-hoo! "#AddedValue", as @StaleGum would say.</div>
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The Padres were sure proud of Chase's accomplishments back in 2012 - and you can't blame them! He came out of nowhere and really tore it up, both at the plate and defensively that season. He ended up earning himself a nice paycheck, too.</div>
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Unfortunately, Headley's output took a dive last year and his woes have continued through the first half of '14.....which made him an ideal bargain for the drifting Yankees. Hoping that Chase can continue his post-ASG hot streak and regain his 2012 form, Cashman & Co. swapped farmhand Rafael DePaula and 1st-half hero, Yangervis Solarte for Mr. Headley. Like the Nuno/McCarthy trade, I think this is a good gamble for the Bombers, who are trying to piece together ANY sort of path into the post season for The Captain.</div>
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We'll see how it goes, but for now, this guy will be haunting me from the corner of the Card Cave:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bXCb5zxRdPE/U9FSURz3OwI/AAAAAAAAB0s/lwOA8ty-ODU/s1600/IMG_4704%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bXCb5zxRdPE/U9FSURz3OwI/AAAAAAAAB0s/lwOA8ty-ODU/s1600/IMG_4704%5B1%5D.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dCGnISR1P5E/U9FSlUnhFoI/AAAAAAAAB1M/kUt76WCSBIM/s1600/IMG_4708%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dCGnISR1P5E/U9FSlUnhFoI/AAAAAAAAB1M/kUt76WCSBIM/s1600/IMG_4708%5B1%5D.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9qOgIqMw0sU/U9FSi9Y8WtI/AAAAAAAAB1E/rmPzkzp6hRc/s1600/IMG_4707%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9qOgIqMw0sU/U9FSi9Y8WtI/AAAAAAAAB1E/rmPzkzp6hRc/s1600/IMG_4707%5B1%5D.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lBPJxaC93i0/U9FSYgbfX5I/AAAAAAAAB00/U0vsYxEPBvI/s1600/IMG_4705%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lBPJxaC93i0/U9FSYgbfX5I/AAAAAAAAB00/U0vsYxEPBvI/s1600/IMG_4705%5B1%5D.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tllYjcW3IH4/U9FSeMDyxhI/AAAAAAAAB08/e0mnGXZUkFE/s1600/IMG_4706%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tllYjcW3IH4/U9FSeMDyxhI/AAAAAAAAB08/e0mnGXZUkFE/s1600/IMG_4706%5B1%5D.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><br />
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Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570379968514063657.post-22373126543656824962014-07-22T13:01:00.001-07:002014-07-22T13:01:47.594-07:00My Yankees Collection - 1998 Topps Gold Label Roger Maris<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I cam across this card of Roger Maris and had to have it for my collection. </div>
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Roger has become one of my favorite players since I returned to collecting and baseball itself a few years ago. His "unsung hero" story strikes a chord with me and as I continue to read books about his career and life, he always comes across as just an all-around good guy.</div>
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This Gold Label issue from Topps is not one that I am familiar with, but I like the design. Colorful shots of Roger in his prime as a Yankee are always welcome, and the subdued colors of this card's foil construction enhance the view for me. Here's the front of the card:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5icErjCnifo/U7RRvYg9JOI/AAAAAAAABy0/vxzfb2ui0ts/s1600/IMG_4368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5icErjCnifo/U7RRvYg9JOI/AAAAAAAABy0/vxzfb2ui0ts/s1600/IMG_4368.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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Connecting the dots between the "98 Home Run Race" and Maris' ownership of the single-season record until that summer (or despite it), the card mentions Roger's 61st long ball in 1961. As most of us know, he made history on the final day of the season - a campaign that became almost unbearable for Maris to endure as many baseball fans refused to believe that the legendary Babe Ruth could be dethroned. Even a certain portion of Yankee fans gave Roger a hard time, both for threatening the Babe and for never (in their minds) living up to their favorites like Mantle, Gehrig and DiMaggio. It was a heartbreaking situation in so many ways, and one that I truly believe can be seen in the eyes of Maris.</div>
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Here's the back of the card: </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mPy12rsy-TY/U7RRviSW6rI/AAAAAAAABy4/YHYK02JJn0A/s1600/IMG_4369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mPy12rsy-TY/U7RRviSW6rI/AAAAAAAABy4/YHYK02JJn0A/s1600/IMG_4369.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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I'm not sure what Topps meant with the "HR1 Black Label" stamp on the right-hand side? Perhaps there were 61 different versions of this card that could be collected? I love the fact that the card back gives us the name of Tracy Stallard, off of whom Maris knocked #61. This gives us a little bit extra in the way of detailing the epic achievement, a feat not often achieved.<br />
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Trace Stallard was hurling for the Red Sox in 1961, and has stated that he was having the best game he ever pitched that fateful day, until Maris took him deep in the 4th inning. When all was said and done, Tracy took the 1-0 loss with Maris' solo shot providing the only run of the day. Stallard recorded 5 K's, 5 hits and allowed the single run over seven innings of work. It would be the only hit that Maris would record against Stallard in seven AB's. As luck would have it, his involvement in record has endured as his best-known association with the sport he played for a couple of decades, but Tracy has kept a positive outlook on things:<br />
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> "I'm glad he did it off me. Otherwise, I would never have been thought of again. </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">That was about all I did, and I've had a good time with it."</span> </i></div>
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You have to admire that perspective! Interestingly, Tracy was traded to the upstart Mets in 1963 along with Pumpsie Green and Al Moran. He did enjoy some success but was involved in another amazing baseball feat in 1964, Jim Bunning's perfect game, an event that I <a href="http://www.ryanspitch.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-quest-for-60-1960-topps-502-jim.html" target="_blank">wrote about</a> in May of last year. Once again, Tracy was on the losing end of somebody else's 'best day'. Despite another downer for his personal story, perhaps Tracy can always come back with a wink and reminder that, through the tough days, he managed to date Julie Newmar while playing ball and living it up in New York for a few years.<br />
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Nicely done, Tracy.<br />
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And nicely done, Topps - I'm thrilled to add this Maris card to my Yankees Collection!<br />
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Thanks for reading!<br />
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Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12837626703395813878noreply@blogger.com2