Found some time today to be productive. Managed to put up some items on Ebay earlier this afternoon and have caught up with my wantlists this evening. You'll see that I've updated my 1994 Collector's Choice list and posted my 1987 Topps list. I've managed to put together about 70% of the set by opening packs, but I'll probably stop now as the doubles were starting to pile up.
Football and Baseball have taken up most of my time as of late. My Kansas State Wildcats are unexpectedly in 1st place in the Big 12 North. If we win our last three conference games, we'll earn the right to head down to Dallas and get our tails kicked by Texas. So we've got that going for us... which is nice.
Here's hoping the Phillies get to CC tonight. He looks a little shakier than normal, but even when he's 75%, he's still better than most of the pitchers the Phils faced all year.
One last thing, I've started to pick up a few Darren Daulton PSA cards here and there. Yeah, I know, PSA is evil, blah blah blah... but I think that collecting his cards along with putting together no more than 1 or 2 sets at a time (like I'm doing now) will be how I move forward for at least the rest of the year. I've opened a few random packs lately, such as Topps U&H and Ticket to Stardom but haven't really pulled anything of note. It's probably best for my wallet and my sanity to keep things small.
And yes, this does mean that I'm going to stop collecting Alex Gordon cards. I was optimistic this past spring that he was going to get his career on track, but I just don't see it happening now. With any luck he'll be traded in the off-season to a team that isn't Kansas City. I'll probably hold onto the cards I have for now and see what happens. Watch, now that I've given up on him, he'll probably hit .320 next season. That's how these things work.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Is it socially acceptable to brag about junk wax?
Went to the card store today in search of some bargains and walked out with more loot than I could have imagined. Here's the breakdown:
1981 Donruss - 4 packs, 18 cards per
1986 Topps - 4 rack packs, 48 cards per
1987 Topps - 4 rack packs, 48 cards per
1987 Topps - 3 cello packs, 31 cards per
1990 Topps - 4 JUMBO packs, 106 cards per
1996 Collector's Choice - 6 packs, 14 cards per
1986 Topps and 1990 Topps hold a special place in my heart. '86 Topps was the first set I collected (was given a giant shoebox full of them in the summer of 1989 by some distant relation of mine) and 1990 Topps was the first set that I actually used my own allowance to buy packs of. Both sets were trashed due to constant handing (I organized and re-organized them a lot) so it'll be nice to put together the sets one last time.
Grand total: $14.52 after tax or $.58 a pack.
Plus my box of 1994 Collector's Choice Series 2 came in the mail today. So that makes a total of 61 packs of cards sitting on my living room floor just begging to be opened. It's going to be a good night.
Oh, and I still owe you a box break recap of the box we opened last weekend, 2000 Fleer Tradition. I'll get to it sooner or later, I promise.
One last thing, thanks to Duane over at Democratic Roakdkill for sending a giant box of 09 A&G my way. I'll be updating that wantlist and adding several more wantists soon.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend, folks.
1981 Donruss - 4 packs, 18 cards per
1986 Topps - 4 rack packs, 48 cards per
1987 Topps - 4 rack packs, 48 cards per
1987 Topps - 3 cello packs, 31 cards per
1990 Topps - 4 JUMBO packs, 106 cards per
1996 Collector's Choice - 6 packs, 14 cards per
1986 Topps and 1990 Topps hold a special place in my heart. '86 Topps was the first set I collected (was given a giant shoebox full of them in the summer of 1989 by some distant relation of mine) and 1990 Topps was the first set that I actually used my own allowance to buy packs of. Both sets were trashed due to constant handing (I organized and re-organized them a lot) so it'll be nice to put together the sets one last time.
Grand total: $14.52 after tax or $.58 a pack.
Plus my box of 1994 Collector's Choice Series 2 came in the mail today. So that makes a total of 61 packs of cards sitting on my living room floor just begging to be opened. It's going to be a good night.
Oh, and I still owe you a box break recap of the box we opened last weekend, 2000 Fleer Tradition. I'll get to it sooner or later, I promise.
One last thing, thanks to Duane over at Democratic Roakdkill for sending a giant box of 09 A&G my way. I'll be updating that wantlist and adding several more wantists soon.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend, folks.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
This will be good for a laugh
Not much going on card-related for me right now. I picked up a couple of retail packs of Goodwin this evening just to see for myself what they looked like. I wasn't very impressed... I feel good about investing $4 instead of $20 in order to figure out I didn't like them. The highlight of the two packs was a base Tiger Woods card... and no matter how popular Tiger is, I just can't get excited about a golf card.
In other card news, there's a box of 2000 Fleer Tradition coming in the mail. Hopefully it'll arrive in time for me to break it on Sunday. There likely won't be any big hits, but I want to put the set together and $20.21 (after shipping) for a hobby box of anything from the 2000s seemed like a pretty good deal.
Anyway, I was browsing Ebay this evening and came across this auction.
Lot of 400+ MLB Baseball Cards from 1984-1992
Several gems in here including the "I've been told..." gag and the passing reference to water damage. But hey, at least he's offering free shipping.
Enjoy your evening, folks.
In other card news, there's a box of 2000 Fleer Tradition coming in the mail. Hopefully it'll arrive in time for me to break it on Sunday. There likely won't be any big hits, but I want to put the set together and $20.21 (after shipping) for a hobby box of anything from the 2000s seemed like a pretty good deal.
Anyway, I was browsing Ebay this evening and came across this auction.
Lot of 400+ MLB Baseball Cards from 1984-1992
Several gems in here including the "I've been told..." gag and the passing reference to water damage. But hey, at least he's offering free shipping.
Enjoy your evening, folks.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Trade with the Troll
I received my first trade package in a long long time today from the Collective Troll. He sent over 30+ 2009 A&Gs and a 2009 Topps card to help complete my sets. Thanks sir!
I won't bore you with cards that you've already seen multiple times, but I did want to point out one card that the Troll sent my way.
I had no idea that Steve was in this set. The hero of the movie King of Kong, Wiebe seems like a genuinely nice guy in a hobby ("Competitive Gaming") full of questionable characters.
To all of my TTM friends out there... where would I go to find an address to send this off to? Do non-sports folks sign through the mail very often?
I won't bore you with cards that you've already seen multiple times, but I did want to point out one card that the Troll sent my way.
I had no idea that Steve was in this set. The hero of the movie King of Kong, Wiebe seems like a genuinely nice guy in a hobby ("Competitive Gaming") full of questionable characters.
To all of my TTM friends out there... where would I go to find an address to send this off to? Do non-sports folks sign through the mail very often?
Thursday, September 17, 2009
6 in 30: Collector's Choice
I'm late to the party, but I just had to take advantage of Dinged Corners' neat idea. In case you've been under a rock for the past couple of weeks, the premise goes like this. Take a binder off the shelf, open it up, and pull 6 cards out that make you happy in 30 seconds or less. The binder I chose was 1994 Collector's Choice.
#221 - Greg Olson
This might be the only card in the history of the hobby that features a four wheeler more prominently than the player himself.
#117 - Ken Griffey Jr.
Upper Deck always made sure that Griffey had a sweet photo in their sets... this was no exception.
#114 - Mark Grace
I'm a big fan of horizontal cards, and this photo takes full advantage of the space provided. Love the ivy in the background, too.
#168 - John Kruk
Kruk's mullet and beer belly are in full display here as he makes what looks to be an awkward slide into home plate.
#189 - Pedro Martinez
Greg Maddux is to the Cubs as Pedro Martinez is to the Dodgers. Sorry, Night Owl.
#145 - Danny Jackson
From the looks of this card it looks like Danny finishes his delivery on his hands and knees. Great angle.
And there you have it, folks. 6 in 30 seconds.
#221 - Greg Olson
This might be the only card in the history of the hobby that features a four wheeler more prominently than the player himself.
#117 - Ken Griffey Jr.
Upper Deck always made sure that Griffey had a sweet photo in their sets... this was no exception.
#114 - Mark Grace
I'm a big fan of horizontal cards, and this photo takes full advantage of the space provided. Love the ivy in the background, too.
#168 - John Kruk
Kruk's mullet and beer belly are in full display here as he makes what looks to be an awkward slide into home plate.
#189 - Pedro Martinez
Greg Maddux is to the Cubs as Pedro Martinez is to the Dodgers. Sorry, Night Owl.
#145 - Danny Jackson
From the looks of this card it looks like Danny finishes his delivery on his hands and knees. Great angle.
And there you have it, folks. 6 in 30 seconds.
Oops, My bad
I forgot to share access to the Collector's Choice wantlist this morning. It should be fixed now.
Have a good Thursday, everyone.
Have a good Thursday, everyone.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Cards of my Youth: 1994 Collector's Choice
Earlier this summer I made a trip back to Kansas to visit my grandparents. While there, I went through the closet in my old room and rummaged through my baseball cards. One of the binders I brought back to Michigan was 1994 Collector's Choice.
I was 11 in 1994 and entering the apex of my collecting days. I was old enough to earn money by mowing lawns and still young enough for it all to be disposable income. The 1993 Phillies, one of my favorite teams ever, had just reached the World Series and I was watching more and more Cubs games after school on WGN. Therefore it should come as no surprise that 1994 was the year that I bought the majority of my baseball cards.
One set from that year was right down my alley. Collector's Choice fit my budget (around $.69 a pack at Wal-Mart, if I remember correctly) and was readily available. I won't pretend to remember why I was so drawn to the set, but the fact that Ken Griffey Jr.'s face was plastered on Upper Deck products probably had at least a little to do with it.
Looking back at the set now, I think it's one of my favorites of all time. Even though Topps had pioneered the parallel card by putting a bar of gold foil on their cards in 1992 and 1993, CC was the first to take things to the next level. Inserted in every pack was a silver signature card that, well, was a facsimile silver autograph. Supposedly limited to one a box, there was also a gold signature variation that featured a gold foil signature paired with a gold border. (As a sidenote, I bought countless packs of CC in 1994 and never once found a gold signature. I'm guessing they were extremely difficult to find in retail packs.)
One of the things that drew me to card collecting during my childhood was cataloging the baseball cards. I was one of the first kids I knew to have a computer, an old IBM 386 with a 5.25 floppy drive. Somewhat surprisingly, I spent just as much time experimenting with the spreadsheet and database software as I did playing Earl Weaver Baseball and Wayne Gretzky Hockey. I used this software (I think it was Lotus 1 2 3?) to meticulously organize and re-organize my baseball cards. Even though, at that age, I had no dreams of ever actually finishing a set (no trading partners, limited budget), I still kept track of what cards I had and what cards I didn't. 1994 CC, with its lack of inserts, was a set collector's dream. Even though I'd notate the silver signature cards with an SS on my computer, I still applied them to the main set.
Looking back at the set 15 years later, I'm quite pleased that I chose to spend the bulk of my lawn-mowing money on this set. The Upper Deck photography is simply outstanding. Even though there are quite a few cheesy senior photo type prospect cards, the rest of the set makes up for it with action shots and almost a 50/50 ratio of horizontal and vertical cards. The backs featured full career stats (another must have for a numbers-minded kid), a photo different from the picture on the front, and a couple of sentences about the player.
I've decided to put together a master set of 1994 Collector's Choice. That means the entire base set, silver signature set, and gold signature set. There was also a Team-vs-Team All-Star scratch off set randomly inserted into packs along with a mail-off redemption for an 8 card holographic set called Home Run All-Stars. I've also seen some promotional cards on Ebay that I'll eventually track down.
I've been working on the set for about a week now, picking up a couple of a few silver and gold cards off of Ebay and Sportlots. I'm still not comfortable buying 100s of cards to complete sets on Sportlots, and I don't necessarily want to spend $.18 a card anyway, so I'd like to ask your help to complete the lion's share of this set. I've posted a link to my wantlist up in the top right corner. Here's hoping that I can put together this master set and close the door on a happy chapter of my childhood.
My scanner has a hard time picking up the border on these cards. It's off-white with a pinstripe patten on the top and bottom.
Upper Deck nailed this one.
I have a few more cards scanned to show, look for a 6 in 30 post later on today.
I was 11 in 1994 and entering the apex of my collecting days. I was old enough to earn money by mowing lawns and still young enough for it all to be disposable income. The 1993 Phillies, one of my favorite teams ever, had just reached the World Series and I was watching more and more Cubs games after school on WGN. Therefore it should come as no surprise that 1994 was the year that I bought the majority of my baseball cards.
One set from that year was right down my alley. Collector's Choice fit my budget (around $.69 a pack at Wal-Mart, if I remember correctly) and was readily available. I won't pretend to remember why I was so drawn to the set, but the fact that Ken Griffey Jr.'s face was plastered on Upper Deck products probably had at least a little to do with it.
Looking back at the set now, I think it's one of my favorites of all time. Even though Topps had pioneered the parallel card by putting a bar of gold foil on their cards in 1992 and 1993, CC was the first to take things to the next level. Inserted in every pack was a silver signature card that, well, was a facsimile silver autograph. Supposedly limited to one a box, there was also a gold signature variation that featured a gold foil signature paired with a gold border. (As a sidenote, I bought countless packs of CC in 1994 and never once found a gold signature. I'm guessing they were extremely difficult to find in retail packs.)
One of the things that drew me to card collecting during my childhood was cataloging the baseball cards. I was one of the first kids I knew to have a computer, an old IBM 386 with a 5.25 floppy drive. Somewhat surprisingly, I spent just as much time experimenting with the spreadsheet and database software as I did playing Earl Weaver Baseball and Wayne Gretzky Hockey. I used this software (I think it was Lotus 1 2 3?) to meticulously organize and re-organize my baseball cards. Even though, at that age, I had no dreams of ever actually finishing a set (no trading partners, limited budget), I still kept track of what cards I had and what cards I didn't. 1994 CC, with its lack of inserts, was a set collector's dream. Even though I'd notate the silver signature cards with an SS on my computer, I still applied them to the main set.
Looking back at the set 15 years later, I'm quite pleased that I chose to spend the bulk of my lawn-mowing money on this set. The Upper Deck photography is simply outstanding. Even though there are quite a few cheesy senior photo type prospect cards, the rest of the set makes up for it with action shots and almost a 50/50 ratio of horizontal and vertical cards. The backs featured full career stats (another must have for a numbers-minded kid), a photo different from the picture on the front, and a couple of sentences about the player.
I've decided to put together a master set of 1994 Collector's Choice. That means the entire base set, silver signature set, and gold signature set. There was also a Team-vs-Team All-Star scratch off set randomly inserted into packs along with a mail-off redemption for an 8 card holographic set called Home Run All-Stars. I've also seen some promotional cards on Ebay that I'll eventually track down.
I've been working on the set for about a week now, picking up a couple of a few silver and gold cards off of Ebay and Sportlots. I'm still not comfortable buying 100s of cards to complete sets on Sportlots, and I don't necessarily want to spend $.18 a card anyway, so I'd like to ask your help to complete the lion's share of this set. I've posted a link to my wantlist up in the top right corner. Here's hoping that I can put together this master set and close the door on a happy chapter of my childhood.
Here's what the cards look like:
My scanner has a hard time picking up the border on these cards. It's off-white with a pinstripe patten on the top and bottom.
Upper Deck nailed this one.
I have a few more cards scanned to show, look for a 6 in 30 post later on today.
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