My Hall of Fame Collection - Class of 2015

That's IT. I'm done - and I couldn't be happier.

 

I've let go of my anger surrounding the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.

 

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?

 

Controversy will always ensue.

 

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.'

 

And let it go, I have.

 

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.

 

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'.

 

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!

 

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.

 

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.

 

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?

 

 

 

 



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.

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...

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.

But not any more.

I'm sorry, Randy. Please forgive me and step out into the light...

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.

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.

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?

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.

Respect!

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!

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.

Doesn't hurt that the Yanks won, too.

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.

Here they are!

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"!

Here we are with Jorge George B-E-L-L.....

...so next should be....Boggs?!

Seriously!? Do I not have ANY Biggio cards, RC or not? Have my memories betrayed me THAT much?

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.

This is an OUTRAGE!

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.

I can't, on the other hand, do a darn thing about the BBWAA!

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.

Let the hunt begin!

Thanks for reading -

Ryan

Night Owl Made A Pass At My Woman!

Nah.

Night Owl is a righteous dude with tremendous cardboard and Dodger knowledge surpassed only by his own incredible talent for writing. 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 here.

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.

Thank you very much, Night Owl!

Here we go - 

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?

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.

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!

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!

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?

A giant Donruss Righetti!!!!! How giant?

THIS giant! Thank you for the perspective, Chippah (also included).

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?

Thanks again, Night Owl and thanks for reading -

Ryan

My Kimbrel Collection - 2013 Panini Pinnacle #60 "Artist Proof"

(sigh)

I'm a free market kind of guy, so I rarely have bad things to say about different baseball cards - but I feel compelled to comment on this Kimbrel.   I am very happy to add to my Kimbrel PC, but this is a prime example of a poor photo/design choice by Pinnacle.

Pinnacle has some great stuff in their portfolio.   I can remember some favorites from Collecting Period I in the early 90's and I'm sure they had some stellar releases during my Hobby Ice Age.   And even today, I've picked up some BEAUTIFUL cards from Panini.

But this just ain't one of them.

The black card design that is engulfing a Craig Kimbrel that appears to be wearing an all-black, no logos (I know, licence) uniform really kills what might have been a cool "coming right at you" type of baseball card.   The "Artist Proof" foil label just pours salt in the wound here.   It's like he's suited up for the Night's Watch or something.   

Sorry - totally geeked out on you guys with a Game of Thrones reference there.

Here's the card; what do you guys think?   "Or am I being obtuse?"

Shawshank reference. On a roll here.....

Thanks for reading!

My Braves Collection - 2013 Panini Evan Gattis "Home Town Heores" RC

El Oso Blanco!

I can't wait to see what Gattis has in store for us this season.   He smashed his was through an amazing April and May last year while McCann and Freddie battled through various injuries and recoveries.....he won me over instantaneously as I observed during the first time Is aw him bat - "hey, he's not wearing any gloves?!"

Much respect.   My hands sweat like a....well, I would have to wear gloves.

Gattis' journey from everyday working man to big league star is a lot of fun and keeps some hope alive for lots of young aspiring ball players.   His potential every-day contributions also keep the hope alive that the Braves might, might one day make it back to the Series and bring another title home to Atlanta.   Lord knows they are well overdue and nothing would send me into a baseballgasm faster than another Yankee-Braves Series.

Oh, you didn't know the Yanks were Series-bound this year?

Sorry - back to Gattis.  And this Panini Home Town Heroes card.   It's simple but I like it.   It's not licensed but I like it.  I like the card stock, which I am a weird sucker for (see Heritage of old).   I dig the retro-looking Atlanta pennant design.    OH!   A cute little "RC" logo, too?   Why, yes, please!

Here's the back.   At first glance, it's a little "meh".....but then the diamond incorporation starts to entrance me like Scarlett Johanssssson......the name banner centered over a simply stated 'Gattis: Origins' write-up is a great way to bring it together.   Any card back that uses the term "hulking presence" is a winner, as I have often been referred to in the same fashion - just not as a batter in the major leagues....or in baseball in general.....or in sports.......dammit.

Hit one for 'hulking' dudes everywhere, El Oso Blanco!!!

Thanks for reading,

Ryan

My Braves Collection - 2011 Topps Chrome Julio Teheran Certified Autograph

I'm a Braves fan.   And a Yankees fan.   This confounds most people.   I grew up 5 hours from Atlanta - they were the home team.   I grew up idolizing Don Mattingly and learning about the legend of Mickey Mantle and the Yankees - they were the dream team, far away.

At the time (mid 80's to EARLY 90's), both teams were awful, as any Dale Murphy or Mattingly fan can attest.   Is it my fault that both teams have been relatively successful, one or the other or both, almost every year from that fateful year in 1991?   Nope.   Have I enjoyed every single inning of it?   Yep.

SO, the Braves.   They break my heart and then quickly build it back up every spring.   Craig Kimbrel and Freddie Freeman are two of my Player Collections (BOY, do I need to update THOSE lists.  I mean.....start them).   Being in the Fox South Sports network area....I usually catch at least SOME Portion of most of their games.   My wife is from Atlanta.   Yes - we're Braves fans, and that carries over into my collecting habits beyond Freddie and The Kimbrel - I'm up for just about ANY Brave you can throw at me, including Julio Teheran.

I love this card.   In fact, in a lot of ways, the TOPPS-CHROME-RC LOGO-AUTO card is quickly becoming the standard card for me to pursue or seek out for any player that I am a fan of or want to collect in any way (not necessarily a PC).   Does this hold true for you guys, too?

But yes, this card is great.   Julio is a hard-throwing pitcher (nearly 9 K's / 9 IP last year) and this picture captures him in a great follow-through that fills the card.   The proverbial RC logo shield is there - so, despite the official rules, this is a Rookie Card for me, even though the RC shield doesn't always make it so.   The Braves logo is great in the lower right hand corner, with a wrap-around assurance of the signature's authenticity (not so sure I needed THAT on the front, but whatever).

Most of all, I like the space provided for the autograph and Mr. Teheran's perfectly proportioned and slanted John Hancock across said space.   It works and looks very, very sharp.   Here's the back of the card:

He was Baseball America's #1 Prospect - I did NOT know that!? Thank you, card back! 

I am hopeful for an improvement by Teheran on the VERY SOLID 14-8 record from last season.  He is still VERY young but has a full vote of confidence from the club's front office, as he was never on the table  during trade talks for Justin Upton, amongst others.   His young gun colleague Randall Delgado was not so lucky and, I dare say, has yet to achieve the same big league success as Julio.

Braves win.

I look forward to cheering for Julio and the Braves throughout the coming season - CHOP! CHOP!

Thanks for reading!

Thanks, Jimmy

Over the summer, I happened across one of those typical "AMAZING SALE! BID NOW!" sports memorabilia tweets in my twitter feed.   I usually scroll on by, not willing to tempt myself unnecessarily or become angry over incredibly inflated prices....

But on this particular day, curiosity lay waste to the kitten and I perused the listing of autographed ROMLB's that all began with a $19.99 starting bid.   I quickly found three that I liked and, at $10 combined shipping for all three balls, I figured "why not?"

I put in a minimum bid for all three and went back to enjoying some quality time with the family.

In the end - it would be a young Braves hurler, a dapper HOF pitcher/commentator and one of the greatest baseball personalities to ever grace the diamond that rounded out what may have been one of the finest memorabilia "hat tricks" in some time.

Nobody else wanted these three items?   With the price of a ROMLB off the shelf weighing in at $15-$18.....I feel like I got a pretty good deal.   Yes, they came with a COA from a very reputable, high volume dealer.   No, it definitely isn't PSA/DNA - but I was willing to roll the proverbial dice.  

The first two I will save for a later date - but in light of Mr. Leyland's recent retirement from management of the Detroit Tigers, I figured this would be a great time to share.   I have no love for the Tigers....or for the Fish....or the Pirates....or the Rockies.   But I can vividly recall the excitement of Mr. Leyland when his Marlins pulled off their miracle season and his unfiltered dismay with Marlins management after they liquidated the team that winter.   I also recall the matter-of-fact interviews with him after Sid Bream's slide allowed the Braves to edge out Leyland's Bucs in the '91 LCS.

Then, there's just Jim Leyland - the dude.

I don't recommend anybody light up some tobacco, even though I myself enjoy a fine cigar and recently have even tried my hand at a pipe (tobacco, chuckleheads :)....but I always got a kick out of pictures of Leyland enjoying a smoke in the dugout.   Marlboro Reds, if I recall correctly.   It's a call-back to a simpler time, when everything wasn't so....sterilized for our consumption.   And I'm a big fan of that.

He was, and is, old school baseball management at its finest, in my humble opinion - even when that management bested my beloved Yanks over the past few years.   He respected the game and its players.   It was a very touching moment to witness his exchange with Mariano Rivera this past season, as Mo was saying his goodbyes.   Leyland pretty much teared up as he described their conversation!

I was very happy to add his autograph to my collection.   No, I was elated.   I wonder if he'll join the Hall of Fame one day?   I suspect he probably will - what  do you think?

Either way, he's part of what I love about this game.   Thank you for the memories, Mr. Leyland - enjoy your retirement!

Hobbynomics: On-Line Box Breaks versus Bay of E Shopping

I'm always trying to find the best way to collect for me.

Last year, I ordered a complete set of Heritage from a very well known Ebay dealer in lieu of buying boxes/blasters and completing the set via trades.   This option was low stress but it eliminated the act of set-building, something I actually enjoy.   The pay-off was supposed to be that I could very quickly dive in and enjoy my complete set.....but inevitably, I set it aside and continued working on the building of other releases.   My thought was, "I'll come back to this later."

I still haven't.

I purchased hobby boxes for two different releases last year, Gypsy Queen and Topps Update.   The Update jumbo box was a lot of fun to bust.   There were a lot of inserts and parallels that have made for some really good trade bait.   Not to mention, it also provided the biggest "pull" of my modern collecting career - so perhaps I'm a bit biased?   I still need to share that one with you guys.   If you follow me on le Twitter, you may have caught it in some tweets.....

The Gypsy Queen was a little off.   The guaranteed "hits" weren't as exciting as I had hoped for but a redemption auto allowed me to make back about 50% of the cost via a quick flip on Ebay.  

It was Eric Hosmer.   Whew!

Speechless

The Update set is complete after acquiring a few cards from trades and I only need one more card to finish up the GQ base set.   That's pretty solid but this was also an expensive and risky route to go.   The "pull of a lifetime" is not guaranteed and if the collation is bad, you could be stuck with a pretty vicious 0-for-2 start to your collecting.   But that's the risk/reward of it all, yes?   I also have plenty of duplicates - anybody need anything?

This past week or so, I tried two more methods of madness - online box breaks (team AND random) of 2013 Archives and some specific player collection shopping on Ebay.   I'll get into the laser-guided PC shopping expedition in a later post!   For the Archives, I hooked up with a great outfit called Sports Card Breaks on Twitter (@sportscardbreak and www.sportscardbreaks.com)and utilized their services.   They run a great operation that was very fair, transparent and fun to participate in.   I highly recommend them if you want to give on-line breaks a try.   My first break with them was a 2-box random break, meaning that I paid for a quantity of "slots" and then all MLB teams were randomized.   For $16, I received the Giants and the Rockies.  

Okay......

Hey, that's the nature of the best.   At least I was going to finally snag some Archives!   If any of the "hits" from the two boxes were from SF or COL, I'd be in luck - and if not, well, I'd have some great trade bait to send off to my Rockies and Giants fans trading partners.

Yes, Virginia - that's a HIT!

My second break allowed for me to select my teams so I went with the Yankees and Braves, of course.   As a Yankees fan, you're kind of doomed to have to fork over the most money of any team, as their high end pulls tend to be more valuable.   The Braves are a little better but the real deal here lies in the smaller market teams, in my opinion.   Of course, they are cursed by Topps' reluctance to issue cards for players on those teams outside of a star or two, so it can be a double-edged sword.  

All in all, I paid $16 for the two randomized teams and a total of $25 for the Yankees and Braves ($15/$10 split).   So, we're at $41 which is about half the price of a single box (just checked BIN offers on Ebay).   I think those prices are really fair.   Again, each break busted open two randomly selected hobby boxes.

So how did I do?

I still have to pick up my Braves and Yankees winnings from the post office, but I'm excited to check them out.   I am fairly certain that I completed the base card team sets for both of them - that would be a big relief.   If not, hopefully I can swap out the Giants and Rox cards to make them whole.   I think there were a couple of cool inserts as well, so those will be great additions to my team collections.

At $41, how many of the cards that I want from this set could I have claimed off of Ebay without any risk?   I like the Tall Boys insert, the #'d gold parallels and....that's about it.   The Fan Favorites autographs are also stellar!  

My latest findings after a quick and dirty search, including delivery:

$5 -     Braves Team Set (base)
$8 -     Yankees Team Set (base)
$5 -      Freddie Freeman Gold (#'d)
$4 -      Anthony Rizzo Gold (#'d)
$7 -      Jeter Tall Boy
$3 -      Anthony Rizzo Tall Boy
$1.50 - Robbie Cano
$4 -      Otis Nixon SP
$37.50

Okay, so with about $3.50 to spare, I could have notched both team sets, picked up 3 inserts for my Player Collections and even added the Jeter, Cano and Nixon (love seeing Nixon on a card again!) to the team collections.

Should be in GQ Wall Climbers, too!

Tough call!

Yes, I have a lot of Archives cards right now that I don't need, but if one of those boxes had produced that Mickey Rivers Fan Favorite Auto or the Otis Nixon Auto.....well, they didn't.

Mick The Quick!

This shopping list doesn't look so bad, either:

$5 -        Braves Team Set (base)
$8 -        Yankees Team Set (base)
$11.20 -  Mickey Rivers Autograph (Yankees)
$7.50 -    Darrell Evans Autograph (Braves)
$9.99 -    Otis Nixon Autograph (braves)
$41.69

414 HR's, people!

It's hard to argue with checking off your favorite teams' complete sets and also adding three certified, on-card autographs (in nice, vintage designs).    In the end, though, for all of this - it's still $40.   That's a lot of money out of a family's budget for some cardboard!   But if you ARE able to save up and utilize some petty cash for your collecting enjoyment, the question is how do you want to spend it - methods and pursuits.   I find this to be an on-going evolution for me.

Fortunately, it's mostly fun to figure it out along the way!

What do you guys think?   Anybody else like to participate in the on-line group breaks?   Do you stick to eBay shopping?   Or do you prefer walking into a hobby shop / retail and just picking up a few packs?   These are the questions :)

Thanks for reading!

Announcing Anthony Rizzo - My Latest PC (Paisan Collection)

Huge news here at Ryan's Pitch.

I'm collecting any and all cards of Anthony Rizzo!

I only have two cards of Rizzo, so we're definitely on the GROUND floor for this collection.   You read that correctly - TWO.   I pulled his Allen & Ginter card out of pack last summer and then stumbled upon his mini from this year's Gypsy Queen set, also out of a pack:

Didn't dig the whole set, but I dig this card!

Without further ado, let the call ring out - I would love the chance to work out some trades for any Anthony Rizzo cards that you don't need for your collections!   That is all.......

But, as the Talking Heads pondered - how did I get here?  

Call it an epiphany of sorts - I've been following Rizzo's career pretty closely since the beginning of the 2012 season.   By then he had already been through Boston and San Diego before being shipped off to Chicago in exchange (pretty much) for Andrew Cashner.    I began my first season of fantasy baseball last year, so for the first time, I began dabbling in the "goings on" of minor league prospects throughout the majors in an effort to scout out rising talent for my own "team".

And I found Mr. Rizzo.

The Cubbies were hurting, as usual.   Their offense needed a boost and first base wasn't exactly blocked off by a long-standing beloved Windy City veteran.   In fact, the last prominent first basemen that I can recall at Wrigley would have to be from my first collecting period - Mark Grace.   No slouch! 

Uniform = AWESOMENESS

Anthony was called up in late June and had an immediate impact.   He couldn't singlehandedly turn around the Cubs' season but Rizzo proved to be a solid fielding 1B (.995 in 735 chances) with a great eye at the plate and some power to boot (.285 and 15 HRs).

But here is where I really started to feel a connection to the guy - he is of Italian descent, just like yours truly.   In fact, Rizzo can trace his family's roots back to the Sicilian village of Ciminna.   Ciminna is just inland, south of Palermo. 

Il mio connazionale!

One of my grandfathers, whom I mention quite frequently on this blog, was primarily responsible for solidifying my love for the game of baseball.......and he was also a first generation Italian American whose parents traveled to this country from the Sicilian village of Villarosa.   Villaroasa is fairly central to the island, several miles northeast of Caltanissetta.

Hopefully, at some point, I'll be able to travel to Sicily and see where I come from.   And don't THINK I didn't take a look at Rizzo's and my ancestors' location relative to Corleone!   I know.   Ridiculous.   But I couldn't help it.   Perhaps one day, I can hang out with Anthony and these guys, drink some coffee and tell some stories:

How y'all doin?

Fantastic.   I'm looking forward to collecting this guy and following his career.   I'm hopeful he can continue his current trends at the plate and settle in as a reliable part of Chicago's fledgling foundation with fellow infielder, Starlin Castro.   Rizzo recently made some comments about his hopes to be a part of the Cubs organization and that city for many years to come.   It's tough to do these days, but I'll hope along with him (unless he wants to wear pinstripes or tomahawks?).   Here's the back of that Rizzo GQ, by the way:

That's right......since RICK WILKINS! What?

It's almost like a return to my collecting youth in a lot of ways.   So many years ago, it was the love of The Mick shared with me by my Dad that introduced me to the Yankees and everything fell into place for my collecting ways to quickly center around Don Mattingly.   That quest continues today!   Likewise, a family connection and some random geographical coincidence from half way around the globe has now led me to cheer on another southpaw first baseman.

You can check out my PC list here.   More changes may be on the way soon, so stay tuned.

I love this hobby!

Thanks for reading!  

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!

Gypsy Queen 2012 - First Look!

I've filibustered enough about my anticipation of this year's Gypsy Queen release........how about some looks at the real thing?

Let's DO this.   Here we go!

First, let's take a look at the base card design, front and back, with some Yankees legends!

Joe D and the Mick - you can't go wrong.  Love this shot of Mantle!

The front design of this year's edition works nicely in my opinion!   It's soft and under-stated, working quite well to compliment the mini works-of-art displayed for each player on ever card.   I prefer the bottom location of the "Gypsy Queen" name over last year's header, although I feel like the player's name and team might have been better above the logo.   That's okay, though.   The lines and slightly floral borders are simple enough for me and do a great job of framing the card.   Great job, Topps!

Sticking with what works.

The backs look very similar to last year's and I couldn't be more satisfied.   Sure, there's no stats - but this is the RIGHT way to pull off a simple card back.   I hope you're paying attention, Lineage!   Let's move on to the inserts:

I'm thrilled to pull the Babe while Albert would be thrilled to have a Moonshot in '12!

Let's get my least favorite part of this year's release out of the way first, shall we?   I don't care for the design of these "Moonshots" cards at all.   These cards should have been a dark blue or gray and featured some kind of design that incorporated.....wait for it.....the moon.   The premise of having a "Moonshot" subset?   Awesome!   But the purple color, tilted flowing ribbon and asymmetrical corner GQ logo just doesn't fall in-step with the classic and artistic feel of the rest of the set.   Scrap this purple dye, Topps.  

Ah-ha!   We're getting better.   I thought that last year's "Wall Climbers" and "Sticky Fingers" subsets were really innovative ideas and well designed.   Sure - you picked up a lot of them as they were each only 10 cards - but the idea was fresh.   I see this year's "Glove Stories" and "Sliding Stars" picking right up where 2011 left off.   This Josh Hamilton is a great card!   Great picture with a matching write-up on the back that captures the moment from last season.   The brown color chosen for this set 'synchs' well with the subset's theme and is easy on the eyes.   The GQ logo takes up a bit too much room at the bottom but at least it is at the bottom.  

Emphasis on FUTURE, eh Mike?!   (sigh)

The "Future Stars" subset makes a return from last year.   The design is actually fairly similar, so it's not very exciting - but at least Topps didn't use Barney as a muse for the color choice.   The blue border from these inserts might have worked well for the "Moonshots" cards, don't you think?   The GQ logo is identical to the footer version featured on the "Glove Stories" - still too big, but acceptable.

Willie & Mickey

"Hallmark Heroes" takes the place of the "Great Ones" insert set, featuring some of our all-time favorite ballplayers.   This design works for me just fine.   It's pretty simple and is a bit more attractive than the all-brown border of the "Great Ones".   I think if I could change two things, it would be to emphasize the "Hallmark Heroes" header a bit more and, once again, find a way to minimize the the GQ medallion at the bottom of the card.   I would also expand the picture a bit on this one - too much border covers up what appear to be some great old pictures.

YES!   I love these "Sliding Stars" cards!   I haven't pulled any of players I personally love (I pulled two other Sliding Stars cards of two players from that chicken & beer outfit) but this design is perfect.   Great shots, fantastic sideways orientation (appropriate for sliding, naturally) and a well-balanced symmetrical border that completely emphasizes the vibrant color sketch/photo.   Well done, Topps!


Of course, Gypsy Queen also provides us all with plenty of mini's.   I know a lot of you out there went into hot pursuit of these miniature cards and crafted some great completions of team sets, franken-sets and even a couple of complete parallel mini sets!   That's pretty impressive!   I will undoubtedly pursue mini's and mini variations of my Yankees and Braves but will probably put most of the mini's I pull up for trade.   I'll sort out my '12 GQ goals soon and have a WANTS/NEEDS page soon, I'm sure!

There are variations to the mini's again this year and, to be honest, I'm not even sure that I understand them all quite yet.   But here's a look at what I was able to pull from my small sampling:

Right off the bat, you can see here that the Brian Wilson is some sort of 'green' mini parallel.   The Fab High-Fivin' Freddie Freeman represents the standard, base mini parallel.   Standard-base-mini-parallel.......sheesh!   Love pulling the Freddie, though!   He just hit his FIRST home run of the season, too.   Looks like that day of rest may have done him some good and I hope he keeps it up!   Okay, here's a look at the backs:

AH!   Wait a second!   That Freeman wasn't the standard mini parallel after all - it is a "Straight Cut" back variation.   Kind of cool, I guess.   The Gypsy lady replaces the team logo at the top.   Some more mini's:

If I'm gonna love a mini, it's much easier for me to love mini's of some great players and these miniature versions of Jackie and Willie are no exception.   Great shots and the standard-size version of the Jackie is just as beautiful.   Let's take a look at the backs to see if Topps can mix it up even more:

Well, of course they did!   Here we see that the Stargell is a "Red" back variation and the Robinson is another "Straight Cut" variation.   As a collector, I can definitely see how the pursuit of some or all of these miniature variations gets some folks VERY excited.  It IS kind of cool.   Good luck to you guys!   I look forward to helping you out once I figure out which ones I want to hang on to.......are we done with mini's?  Not yet!  

Zack Attack.   Lego Maniac?

Black mini parallels!   Sharp little cards and, if I understood some blog posts over the past few weeks, these are tougher to find than they were last year?   Somebody set me straight if I'm off the mark here!   Let's flip 'em over:

More black.   Onward!   How 'bout them headache-causing SPs?   Topps switched it up with this release by making the SPs photo variations of certain base cards from the standard set.   same design, same back, same number.....different picture.   And sometimes, not even that different!   Sneaky Topps.   I haven't found a photographic checklist of what the SPs look like.   I know there are some for sale on the Bay of E but I am not sure how much I trust those listings that don't include a side-by-side comparison.   Part of my suspicion is the "?" included on a majority of the SP listings.   I DID however manage to pull both versions of two cards in my sampling.   Ironically, I am not even sure which version is the SP!   I'm sure we'll all k now soon enough, though.   Here they are:

 

See what I mean?   Not all that different.   Was very happy to have these two great ballplayers as my example, though!   Reggie and the Freak.

How about some HITS?

Gypsy Queen afforded me the most hits during my trials and tribulations as a hobby-returnee last year.   It always seemed to deliver some ink or a relic or a numbered card while other releases never produced.   I know - it's just luck and more than likely, some kind of placebo effect.

But it works for me.

This year has started off no differently!   No hits yielded by the flagship or by Heritage but GQ has come through.   There's some irony, though, potentially some karma coming around to bite me in return for all of my 'chicken and beer' ragging.   Honestly, I chuckled out loud when I pulled this.   Sure I would have preferred one of my Yankees....or one of my Braves.......or.....ANYBODY else.  

But that's what trading is for!   Who wants some Big Papi?

Give David a napkin, will you, Rod?

Two jersey relics!   One framed-mini and one standard jersey relic.   Pretty standard design,   They work JUST fine for me!   Sure, these are of the base model "plain white swatch" variety but these represent two more relics than I've pulled from EVERYTHING else so far.   NO, 2011 Lineage - you don't count.   Like I mentioned, the Ortiz is definitely up for trade if anybody manages to pull a non-beer & chicken guy.

:)

The Carew may be too, but I might hold on to it as well.   You can't beat a piece of memorabilia from a Hall of Famer!   Here are the backs - pretty standard.

We're almost done!   Here are some more highlights of other base cards that I was fortunate enough to pull:

Mark - there's a chia pet on your arm!

El Capitan and 'Mo

Mr. Saves and Mr. Needs To Start Hitting

Albert.   Home runs.   Now.

Yadier, you 'da man!

Whew!   I'm exhausted.   Very enjoyable, though.   Great ripping!   There were definitely some parts of this set that fall short of what I had expected but overall I am very excited to start chasing this set for my collection.   The basic design works very well and the thick stock feels great.   The pictures are pretty cool, too.   Any of these qualify as GREAT candidates for autographs, by the way.   I will be chasing all of the insert sets (even YOU, Barney Moonshots) but I am not sure if I will pursue the photo-variation SPs like I did last year's #300-#350 SPs.   The mini's make my head spin with all of the variations.   I think I will focus on my teams and favorite players.   I loved the autographs from last year's release and I can't wait to pull a few this year!   Here's hoping!

Some other quick odds and ends observations:

- There are no numbers for the insert sets.   They use the player initials.  Meh.
- There are no rigid all-white dummy cards in the packs.   Drats!   Those things were AWESOME for shipping trade packages!   Grrrr!
- Notice there were no green-framed parallels or gold-framed parallels for me.  Last year, I am certain there would have been several.   I am supposing that means the framed cards are more rare this year?
- No checklists.   Not complaining.   Just noting.   I'm sure THAT comment will come back to haunt me.
- No Yu

What do you guys think of 2012 Gypsy Queen?   Will you be collecting this set or certain parts of it?   Did Topps regress, improve or coast along with the status quo on this one?   Is it "mini's" or "minis"?

If you're still with me - thanks for reading!