A Red Rizzo from The Lost Collector!

My friend AJ (who runs the great blog The  Lost Collector) sent over a splendid card for my Anthony Rizzo Collection! 

Check it out.....

I love Heritage and am still slowly trying to BUILD this year's base set! 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.

Maybe I'm just being a wimp? Sorry. Tangent.....

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!

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:

Fantastic - and how about those great Heritage backs:

NICE!

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.

A great card. Thanks, AJ! Now where did I put that spare PWE.......

Oh, To Be Set Build'n Again: 2014 Heritage Edition

Thanks to a great trade with @SWLVguy via twitter, I'm able to add this nice stack of fabulously thick-card stock to my initial '14 Heritage blaster hauls:

Alright! Thanks for the great swap, C.......

If anybody has any extra Heritage base (or SPs) that they don't need for their own collections, I would be very interested.   Please check out my NEEDS/FOR TRADE page and let me know if we can help each other out.

Thanks for reading and keep collecting!

Ryan

Fortune and Glory

My last post encouraged me to conduct some additional collection forensics.

You see, I have to admit - while I have most of my cards corralled into storage tubs, there is still a tremendous amount of organization, separation and minimization that needs to occur for me to reach a point where my OCD tendencies will be satisfied.

But that takes time and, as most of you would probably agree - time is precious and all too scarce.

But the fight wages on.

In the meantime, I like to ignore my own self-imposed mandate to organize by shuffling through the binders and boxes for the sole purpose of enjoyment.   Imagine that?!

During my latest excavation, I was focused on trying to ascertain whether or not I had any hidden (forgotten?   Lost?   See personal mandate....) or recently transitioned "gems" that I could roll out on some red carpet to share with my readers.   No, not necessarily  in value, but in actual player accomplishments or notoriety, too.

Did I find anything?

Yes I did.

"I call it luck..."

And, oddly enough, this second verse goes about the same as the first.   I acquired this card a bit differently than Mr. Sandoval's '11 GQ autograph card (pack-pull).   Believe it or not, this card was part of my haul from a card-break-draft over at the recently retired blog, Crinkly Wrappers.  In fact, if you follow the link, my friend Ted's final post - a very well written baseball card blog obituary - still remains.   He was a great and generous guy and I hope he's doing well.   You can probably even go back through his post archives and find the very post where I "drafted" this card somewhere during the 2nd half of the 2011 MLB regular season.

Talk about dumb luck.

I wasn't crazy about it but my particular order for that portion of the draft left me in a "best available" type of situation.   Freese was playing pretty well at that point and he held a large advantage over MOST of the other available players for that round - he was a regular player.   So, I staked my claim.

It wasn't a card of a player I was a big fan of or even a team that I cheered for.   In fact, this team ultimately displaced the Atlanta Braves (one of my personal faves) from the '11 playoffs thanks to the Bravos' now infamous September collapse.  Lots of drama.   Lots of great history there.   And a lot of that is now represented in this card, and for this player who, as that team's improbable and now historic post season run unfolded.......materialized as a true October baseball legend and hometown hero.

Amazing.   I even almost traded this card away to another Crinkly Wrapper reader after they expressed interest from the card-draft bleachers.   At the time, I wasn't stoked about this card.   But I had elected this particular player because I was impressed by the "upward trending" contribution he was making to the Cardinals as their season began to take shape.   I believe a Freddy Freeman GQ mini card was a part of the discussion.   I DID want the Freeman mini......and I ALWAYS want to try and make a proposed trade work out.......but sometimes you just can't make the pieces fit.   Negotiations proved tough and, as sometimes happens, our trade talks ended unsuccessfully.

Sometimes this can be a bit fortuitous, I guess.

I'm glad I hung onto this David Freese card.   He may never escape the pesky injuries that pop up for him from time to time and thus, he may never achieve the kind of career-long success that lands him in the Hall of Fame or rosters of "all-time" baseball greats.   But he will have the Fall of 2011 on his resume and I will have the personal stories of watching his AMAZING walk-off theatrics for his team, the destiny-infused 2011 World Champion Cardinals, to pass on to my kids or any other poor soul caught in a basebal conversation with me (evil laugh).

And as I always say - I love it when a card has/triggers a great story.   And when that card has a little bit of extra "oomph" to accompany that 2011 NLCS and World Series MVP story, it's even sweeter.   It looks like lightning has indeed struck twice in the Indiana Jones warehouse that IS my collection.   I wonder what else is in there?

"Top Men..."

What have been your favorite "discoveries" in your collection over the years?

Hang in there, Night Owl......some 'blue' coming soon......


Thanks for reading!

A Pirate's Swap For Me!

I recently completed a trade with Brian from over at "Pirates Treasure Room".   This is a GREAT blog, folks!   It's very easy on the eyes and he will typically have some beautiful scans of some very vibrant Pirate hobby pieces.   He seems to specialize in relics, autographs and patches from players in Pittsburgh and is always very focused on some incredible collecting goals.   I admire that.   I need some collecting focus, quite frankly. 

SO, it's fitting that Brian provided the spark for this trade with a relic from one of my favorite Braves, Craig Kimbrel.   Kimbrel had me captivated, along with the rest of the baseball world, as he set the new season mark for saves by a rookie last season.   Thanks to my geographical location, I can usually find the Braves game on TV and it seemed that every chance I had to tune in last season (amongst the nightly circus that is a house with two kids), Craig was notching another game on his belt.

Plus, he hangs his throwing arm in front of his body as he receives the signs from McCann in a really interesting way....and that earns him another +5 in cool points.

Anyways, I dropped Brian a note to say I was interested in the Kimbrel and figured he may be interested in a McLouth Letterman that I had picked up last year in a card draft at some point.   I think it may have been part of my winnings from a Cardboard Don (formerly known as Wicked Ortega) draft?   I love how some of these cards can be traced from origins to good homes where they belong.

Brian said the trade sounded great and slipped in a little, "Hey, are you a Braves fan?" towards the end.

He was up to something.

And that something was a wonderfully generous helping of bonus Braves cards!   OH, and THEN he went and knocked a few off of my '12 Heritage Inserts NEEDS list along with my '12 Topps Inserts NEEDS list.   He also knew I'm a Yankees fan and threw in a sweet Opening Day Mickey.

That sneaky Pirate!

Here are the cards:

My FIRST Kimbrel relic!

You can't go wrong...

Without a doubt: 2 Hall of Famers!

YES!  Mark 'em off!

CHIPPAH!   CHIPPAH ROOKIE!

Cool Shot

Incredible....if you squint, you can be amazed, too. 

Some of my first Opening Day pick-ups.   Nice!

Threads and Lumber from Braves of yore.

Just had to slip some pinstripes in here, didn't I?

Brian - THANK YOU for the very generous trade.   I hope the McLouth patch provided a letter that you still needed for one of your on-going quests.

Thanks for reading!

2012 Gypsy Queen Have's & Want's Lists are up!

Hey guys - just a quick note to let you know I have updated my page for 2012 Gypsy Queen.   If you're looking to pick up some base or even some inserts, check out the lists to the right or drop me an email at ryansdugout@gmail.com and I'd be more than happy to swap with you as I work off my own lists!

Hope your wax busting has been full of hits and as always - thanks for reading!

My First Play At The Plate

Brian from over at Play At The Plate noticed a couple of months back that I had stumbled upon some blue Ranger parallels from Topps' Walmart offering this year.   As you all probably know by now, parallels for my Yanks or Braves have slowly grown on me but as far as the rest of 'em - it makes me happy to send them home!

SO....I procrastinated way too much and had the Rangers set off to the side for a wee bit.   I managed to find a couple more Texans for Brian and eventually sent them on their way.    Sorry it took so long, Brian!   He was certainly generous with what he sent in return - he was able to help me out with my NEEDS lists for 2012 Topps base and the few insert sets that I'm chasing.......I was worried I might never get off the ground with some of these but our blogging community has, as usual, graciously turned that frown upside-down.

Here's a little look at what Brian sent over:



I've said it before and I will undoubtedly say it again - I love these '87 minis!   They're simple, yes, but the wood-grained '87 release marked my first year in collecting.   I'm tempted to make a comparison of the special feeling towards my first set to the first girl I kissed but I think that would require me to also attend a support group.   Anyways, I'm making some decent progress with these inserts now.   Thanks for the help, Brian - and those guys are no slouches!

Some more of the Goldens from this year - Standards and Moments.   I think there's a TV radio station called Singers and Standards, yes?

Some help with the Series 1 base set.   It would be remarkable to wrap up this one before Series 2 hits the shelves.   Considering I just completed Series 1 and 2 from 2011 last month, this progress is already a shining example of the benefits to having a blog - communication is key!   I would encourage any of the readers out there to make the leap.  

Oh, gee....did I leave that Mantle on top for all of you to enjoy?   The Mick - always epic!   Nice touch, Brian.   Here are two of my favorite cards from the stack:

This guy is a beast of a ball player.   I'm playing fantasy baseball for the first time this season and Yadier fills my catcher slot for both of my teams.   Turns out, he's been one of the most productive players out there, so far in 2012.   Yes, Pujols - your former fellow Card is trampling all over your HR total through week 1.   Not hard to do when your sitting on a goose egg, Albert!   Way to go, Yadier.

 JERED MAD!

Thanks for the great trade, Brian!

Thanks for reading, guys.

"O" YES, Don't You Know!

I recently had a great trade with my fellow AL East collector, Ryan over at "O" No!!! Another Orioles Blog .   It's always a beautiful thing when two collectors of different teams can swap some great cards from each team and pull off a very honorable 'prisoner exchange' that works very well for both sides.

This is exactly what happened for us two Ryan's.

I had some Baltimore ink and threads that Ryan could use for his Orioles collection while he had some Bronx lumber for me.   A win-win!   Here he is in all his glory, my first 'hit' for 2012, Mr. Robbie Cano:

Glorious.   I got to thinking - wouldn't it be cool if Topps had gone and obtained relics from THE game described on these Golden Moment cards and inserted a piece of THAT into these inserts?   I know - that would have caused each one to become, as Bay of E sellers like to say, "Ultra Rare!" and probably make them utterly unobtainable.

Be that as it may - I love this Robbie card and am glad to have a little piece of SOMETHING Yankee from the 2012 releases.   I hope there's more to come!

Ryan also went through my NEEDS lists and was able to help me out with some 87 minis, my '91 Fleer pursuit (getting close, you guys), and some other 2012 insert chases.   Check 'em out!

I love these mini's!

"The Honeycomb Set" -Ryan..............is almost done!

Great Ones

Yes.   Yankee legends.   One thing I appreciate this year is the slight bump in face-time for Maris that Topps seemed to afford 'ol Roger this year.   Here's a few examples that I'm ecstatic to have in my collection now:

Pettitte.....Timless....hopefully.

 

And here are some more inserts to help along mission to complete the sets:

True, with every glance of these Golden Moment/Standard inserts, I am reminded that there was a lot of space int he design for some ink or material that simply is not there.   BUT, I will say that there are some great baseball tidbits and factoids on each one as well.....which my inner baseball-nerd embraces as a totally satisfactory consolation prize.


Thanks for the GREAT trade, Ryan!


Thanks for reading. 

CC: Last of the Lineage

Nick from "Dime Boxes: The Low-End Baseball Card Collector's Journey" came through in a big way a couple of weeks ago.

He quickly RSVP's to my S.O.S. for CC.

Yeah.....I'm proud of that one.   Anyways, as I was saying, Nick really answered the call from my post a few weeks back describing how I was one card away from completing the 2011 Lineage offering from Topps.   He quickly found the Sabathia I needed:

           



















Done and.....DONE!   This is the 2nd set I've completed this year, both of which are a part of my son's birth year "sampling" that will be waiting for him if and when he begins his own love affair with cardboard.  

Re-Hash ALERT!----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lineage was a tidy little set that consisted of current stars and rookies along with legends of the game.   I liked the front design alright but the back could use some improvement.   The picture selection, particularly for the retired stars, was pretty good - all in color.   The inserts were a lot of fun (pop-ups, 3-D, cloth stickers, etc.).   I'm not sure the price-point matched up with the end result for me, though.   We'll see how it goes this year!

We now return you to new drivel-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nick wasn't done there, though.   He also knew that I needed some help with my 2012 Series 1 NEEDS List so he sent over some base cards that I needed.

Did I say "some"?   Try DOUBLE STACK:

Oh, sorry......it's almost lunch time.   I meant this DOUBLE STACK:

Way too generous, Nick, THANK YOU!   It wasn't just a bunch of commons, either.   You may have heard of a couple of these guys:

Finally allowed to play at his friends' houses

All Hail to the High Socks!

                                  

                                                                                                                                                                     

Can Matt keep it going this year?


Thanks for the great package, Nick.   I would also encourage everyone to take a stroll over to Nick's blog.   It's always, ALWAYS a great read and he recently had a tremendous, what I like to call 'vicarious collecting' post series on a recent card show he attended.   He does a great job of walking you through his day at the tables where, as you might guess from his blog name, he searches (and FINDS!) the lower-priced boxes for cardboard treasure.

Thanks for reading!

Steve's Old Yankee Stickers!

Reader Steve recently reached out to offer some help with a few of my sets, including the infamous 1991 Fleer set, 2011 Heritage and 2012 Series 1.   I was able to swap out for some '12 Series 1 that he needed and a few other odds and ends.

And, as is quite common practice for the great collectors I've met out 'here' in the Internet ether - he knew I was a Yankees fan and sent along a great smattering of bonus Yanks!   Here were my two favorites, sticky mini's of Rickey and Rags!

Left to right: John Olerud's closest friend and a Cool Cajun

The Henderson is '88 Topps and the Righetti is '84 Fleer, if I remember correctly.   So very cool.   Here are the rest of the Yankees and the very helpful singles from my Sets NEEDS lists.

Bucky!

The Gardner that you can barely make out was one of a few 2010 Heritage that Steve sent that are my first, since I had only gotten back into the hobby last spring.   I instantly loved them, of course - but I am a Heritage lush and it's probably for the best that I just.....leave that set......alone......

Shiny future for Lind and the Jays foretold by the cards? 

"DAR-RYL! DAR-RYL! RUS-SELL! RUS-SELL!"

Not sure why the last caption went right-to-left.   Martin and Strawberry are both Yankeedodgers and they are both in my VERY small collection of certified autograph cards (neither of which show them as Yankees).   What's up with that?   A good idea for a post.   Love that All-Star game photo of Straw Man's leg-kick!   OH, what might have been for Mattingly's fellow "Slugger from the Left Side".....

The Set NEEDS lists are updated, folks.   Thanks for the great trade, Steve!   I look forward to our next opportunity.

Thanks for reading!

Heritage: "Got 'em, Got 'em, Need 'em, Got 'em..."

"I have you NOW, Cliff Pennington!"

I've sorted through my 2012 Heritage stash and have organized the "For Trade" and "Need" lists under the tab to the right!   If you're chasing completion of the set or looking for players from your favorite team, please feel free to check out the lists and let me know if there's anything you need.   I'm sure we can work out a deal.

I'm only trying to complete the insert sets.   And as always, cards towards my other set-building/PC ventures are always welcome!

QUESTION to the masses..........

For those of you who, like me, have no Local Card Shop to utilize for card supplies - where do you order most of your supplies from?   Top loaders, team bags and penny sleeves I can find pretty easily online.   But as far as picking up 500, 660 or 800 count and higher storage boxes, are there any reasonable options out there for buying less than 10 at a time?

Thanks for reading!


*That GREAT piece of art featuring a boy and his beloved cards can be found at: http://artandcritique.com/alvin-richard-scenes-with-children/

Crinkly Wrappers and 2011 Topps - Wrapping It Up

Bravo, Ted.

I can now answer my own question from a few posts ago -

"What is better, the anticipation of a last card or the completion of a set?"

Duh.

Completion of a set all the way and Ted from Crinkly Wrappers deserves a round of applause for completing my first set in 2012, the 2011 Topps Base Set (Series 1 and 2).   And he did so in great style with poetic symmetry:

• it was card #100 
• it features one of the greatest hitters in baseball
• this was the player's final year for the pictured team AND their World Series title year

Yep.   El Hombre.

Pardon the glare from the set-completion fireworks

100 - as in, 100%!!!!!!!!!!!

*I know - no Update.   There's no rain on this parade, though!

El Hombre at Crinkly Wrappers will have some 2012 parallels headed his way shortly for card #100 and the 2011 Heritage base cards he was able to scrounge up.

I can now seal up the box and place it with the cards I am saving for my son.   I am proud of the effort to piece this one together, bit by bit.   Yes, he has a factory-sealed set, too (damn you, Walmart sale price and shiny Mantle retro-card marketing ploy).   But now he can thumb through the whole set one day and look at each card if he wants to - knowing that his old man painstakingly chased down each one.   And so what if all the Yankees and Braves come in penny-sleeves.....isn't that the norm?

A Set Builder's Moment

Several of you fellow bloggers had a large part in this - so thank you to all who helped me along!   It feels good to finish one and it sets the tone for 2012.

Best of luck in your own pursuits and please let me know if I can help.   Thanks again, Ted, and...

Thanks for reading!

And Then There Was One

What's more exciting - the anticipation of a final card or the completion of the set?

Reader Adam has brought my 2011 Lineage NEEDS list to its knees by sending a great package of four of the final five cards from my checklist.   Adam is a Giants fan and I was able to piece together a few odds and ends from my collection.   My favorite from the four Lineage he sent?   Probably Mr. Cy Young:

 

Not only does Cy appear to utilize the same workout routine that I do but he also played for the Cleveland Spiders - and that's just cool.   Oh yes, according to the back of his Uno card (#106 from the set), he also holds the record for complete games at 749.

749 COMPLETE games.  

That's 6,741 innings in tidy little nine-inning bursts.   As Lee Corso would say in the fall, "Yo!"

Ear-Muffs, Kids!

Only one card remains - #175.  

I hadn't looked until now, let's see who it is!   Let's pause for a quick Bing search...........

Oh my....

It's one of my Yankees - CC Sabathia!   Ironically, he could probably work out with me and Cy.

Where 'ya at, CC?!

Thanks for the great trade, Adam, and thanks for reading!

A Package from the Roundtable of Hobbs' Knights - and a PC Announcement

I recently enjoyed a trade with Jason from Hobbs' Knights.   He took a look at my NEEDS lists and offered to help.   I was able to piece together a few things that fit into his collection and we got it done. 

Jason sent a lot of help for my set building quests.   His package included some 2012 Base, 2012 Golden Moments & Gold Standard inserts, 2011 Heritage Base, 1991 Fleer and even some 1981 NEEDS lists.   Variety is the spice of life, yes?!

Thank you for your time and effort to do some sifting on my behalf, Jason!

Highlights for the '12 base cards and some of my favorites:

"I hope Fab Freddie gives me a high five!"

                                                                                                                                

I loved the great view of Porcello's grip on this one



Is that Joe Cocker I hear in the background?

My 1st D-Rob of 2012!  And not the last...



Behold the WHIP - and, Topps attempts some Mo humor!


 Have I confessed my decision to make David Robertson my latest PC quest?   Well, consider this an announcement.

Ahem -  I am starting a player collection of David Robertson.  

I would like to take this time to wish David a swift recovery from his, um, foot injury that he suffered Wednesday evening while moving boxes at his apartment.   X-Rays were negative but he'll undergo an MRI soon to be on the safe side (Chien-Ming Wang suffered a disastrous Lisfranc foot injury in almost the same place and ended up missing the entire season).   My reaction to this news about my latest favorite player?

fear - "No!"  
realization - "Okay, doesn't sound bad."
relief - "Whew...I think he'll be alright."
hope - "Maybe this means he'll have a little more time to sign my TTM request?"
anger - "David Robertson has to move his own boxes?   Where's A.J. when you need him?!?"

All kidding aside, I hope he recovers quickly and makes that 8th inning appearance in Game #1 for the season (in lieu of that Soriano character).  

UPDATE: "Cause for conern" from Robertson's MRI, according to Girardi as of 4:30 EST today.   He will have more tests and I will have no nails left.   Say it ain't so, Joe......

Now, on with the review!   Ben Revere is jealous of Giancarlo/Mike Stanton; can you guess why?

Awesome Picture but - smallest Rookie Cup EVER?

Jason also threw in some inserts that I needed.   I'm beginning to wonder if I will ever complete the sets I've chosen (Gold Standard, Golden Moments and '87 Mini's).   I could very easily just buy the sets outright for a few bucks.   But what fun would that be?   Here they are and, yes, they're Yankees:

A lot of empty space......but it's still Joltin'!

Robbie!   Solid Gold, in my book.

What's better than helping me out with my 2012 NEEDS?   Crossing a few off of my 1981 Topps NEEDS list, that's what!   Here was my favorite card of the bunch, Sam Mejias, with a GREAT stat line on the back for 1979:

Hello, Sam.

Ever notice how many table-tennis enthusiasts there were?

That's right - in 1979, Sam made the most of his two at-bats by walloping a hit during one and eventually coming around to score.   1 for 2 means a slick average of .500!   Hey, Sam - it's quality over quantity, right?!   Right.   Play on, Sam.   The 1981 Topps NEEDS list should consider itself one .500 hitter shorter, now.

I'm also gratefully happy to say that Jason nudged me a little bit closer to completing 2011 Heritage as well.   One of the Heritage cards caught my eye for a couple of reasons.   First - this guy can now enjoy the "player formerly known as" joke like his buddy Roberto Heredia Fausto Carmona (hey, at least he only changed one name).   I shouldn't group them together, though.   Mike......er, Giancarlo is going to do some big things for the Fish down in Miami this year.   Reports out of camp are that the balls were FLYING during a BP session in their new stadium with the roof open - and flying even FURTHER with the roof closed!   Not only that but Vegas had Stanton at 8:1 odds to lead the Majors in HRs this year.   That is until the public put their money in the pot and the odds are now at 7:1.   Zoinks!

DUDE - Ben Revere has TOTAL Rookie Cup-envy!

             
Jason wasn't done yet - he also wanted to help me out with my few remaining 1991 Fleer needs.   My two favorites were:

Lemmer!

Bobby Bo and Barry!

Much thanks for the great trade and help with so many of my set pursuits, Jason.

Thanks for reading!