Saturday, June 6, 2009
I'm on a mission from Mark Bellhorn
In other news, I have found an ingenious way to dispose of unwanted cards...
RIP Kendall Gill (well, kinda). Jacoby has also been known to dispose of a New York Yankee from time to time.
In even more news, going through some randoms my wife brought home from the office, I have apparently assembled a 1996 Seattle Mariner Team set. I have cards P1-P20 in good condition, but have no idea if it is the full set. Contains, Griff, A-Hole, Randy Johnson, Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner, etc. I cannot seem to find any info on this online...rather odd. What have I got here and does anybody want it? Just let me know.
Pack opening is going well. I was thrilled to find a Jackie Robinson short print within the first 5 packs of the box, so hoping the luck continues. Will let you know more later!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Time to get crackin!
JD's Rookie Cards
Every season, my wife and I head up to Seattle to represent Red Sox Nation up at Safeco field. The atmosphere is pretty amazing and I almost feel sorry for the Mariner fans having to deal with such a raucous crowd (though EVERY time the Sox play there, Seattle has their number). We got some great shots of Ellsury and Pedroia at the plate (Papi was in time-out that weekend, and Youk was still aching) which gave us a chance to see guys like Rocco Baldelli and Jeff Bailey go 0-fer whatever that weekend.
Anyways, we thought it would be nice to frame the photos along with an Ellsbury and Pedroia rookie card. I visited homeruncards.com (hey my first link plug!) and was hooked up with these...
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Trading Post: Available for Trade
NEW! 2009 Turkey Reds
TR7, 17, 37, 38, 44, 45, 48, 51, 53, 54, 55, 57, 59, 64, 65, 66, 70 ,71, 72, 73, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 87, 88, 89, 92, 93, 96, 98, 99.
Mashed potatos sold separately.
Come back tomorrow. Wife and Jacoby are sleeping in the card room, sorry!
3- Evan Longoria (2)
4- Brandon Phillips (2)
5- David Wright
7- Jose Reyes (2)
8 - Ryan Braun
9 - Jim Thome
10 - Chipper Jones
11 - Jimmy Rollins (2)
15 - Carlos Beltran (3)
21- Carlos Delgado
23 - Adrian Gonzalez
25 - Mark Texiera
27 - Vlad Guerrero (2)
30 - Magglio Ordonez
31 - Cliff Lee
32 - Josh Hamilton
38 - Carlos Zambrano
39 - Max Scherzer (2)
43 - Alexei Ramirez (2)
44 - Jake Peavy (2)
45 - Trevor Hoffman (2)
46 - Ryan Dempster
47 - Francisco Liriano
49 - Joakim Soria
51 - Ichiro (2)
52 - Francisco Rodriguez (2)
57 - Johan Santana
59 - Geovany Soto (2)
62 - Joba Chamberlain (2)
63 - Rick Ankiel (2)
65 - Chin Wang Chung
67 - Roy Halladay
68 - Ian Kinsler (2)
69 - Scott Kazmir
70 - Miguel Tejada
71 - Carlos Lee (2)
75 - Pat Burrell (2)
80 - Carlos Quentin
81 - Lance Berkman
82 - Randy Johnson
83 - Matt Holliday
85 - Miguel Cabrera
87 - Troy Tulowitzki (3)
91 - BJ Upton (2)
92 - AJ Burnett
93 - Carl Crawford
94 - Nate McClouth
99 - Manny Ramirez (1)
NEW! Ring of Honor Topps 2009
RH-23 Mariano Rivera
RH-25 Lou Piniella
RH27 - Kevin Mitchell
RH29 - Francisco Rodriguez
RH31 - Tony La Russa
RH39 - Gary Carter
RH41 - Andy Pettitte
RH42 - Jim Leyland
RH45 - Albert Pujols
RH47 - Roger Clemens
RH49 - Ryan Howard
RH52 - Tyler Johnson
RH57 - Jayson Werth
RH58 - Garret Anderson
RH61 - Luis Aparicio
RH62 - John Smoltz
RH66 - Mark Buehrle
RH68 - Brad Penny
RH69 - Joe Torre
RH72 - Jonathan Papelbon
RH73 - Joe Girardi
RH74 - Aaron Rowand
Topps 2009 Inserts:
Career Bests
Mickey Mantle
Walter Johnson
Legends of the Game
Ty Cobb
Ted Williams
Commons coming soon, as well as gold parallels and more inserts!
Trading Post: Wanted
Also, please take a look at the sidebar of my blog, as my most important wants are listed there in the SP legendary cuts #101-200 and Turkey Reds 2009. It is my priority to complete these series. Please help me finish this quest!
Currently my set needs are taken care of except for the SP Legendary Cuts and Turkey Reds listed on my main page on the sidebar. For regular cards I am interested in Yovanni Gallardo (really want a rookie card), Tommy Hanson, Ryan Braun, Johnny Cueto, Mat Gamel, any Red Sox GU or autos.
Thanks!
Waiting, Waiting, Waiting
So basically I am in a holding pattern at the moment for what I have available for trade. I really want to get through these boxes to see how far I am from completing certain series. Once I have a better idea where I stand I will create a link with wants and tradeables. In the meantime I bought several packs a few days ago and have been slowly opening them up to tide me over until the big shipment arrives. So last night I find:
Sweet...another one for my Sesame Street collection. These are kinda fun just for the thrill of the unknown, might end up being my first signature card...probably going to be a throwback Mike Greenwell...anyways since 7 comes before 10, I should have this one by late next fall, so that is pretty exciting! :)
Not much else to report currently from the card front. Just twiddling my thumbs waiting for those boxes to show up...hang in there everybody!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Relic Cards and Short Runs
This was pretty exciting to pull because I had just read about these in a blog that day. I have no idea how common they are, but it is pretty exciting to know that I might receive an autographed rookie card. Who knows, might even be David Price. I logged this baby in, but was dismayed to learn that it is the last in the series of 10, so will be late fall (or beyond) before I receive it.
This is the relic that I pulled from my hobby box. Since this was my first "special card" I was pretty stoked, although I am not much of a Cubs fan. Either way, in the sleeve it goes...I have a blue stripe on the B, does that help?
I went to a hobby shop and grabbed five packs and scored this relic. The guy allows you to pick out your packs, but you cant squeeze them for thickness, so felt pretty lucky to get this.
Different hobby shop, another 5 packs, another relic. Same player? Oh well, still pretty lucky pull.
This was probably the most exciting (and addicting) moment so far. As I said before, I open the packs and place them face down so I can log the name and card number into my spreadsheet. I had already gotten past the middle section (Red Turkey, Ring of Honor, that stupid hobbytown card etc, and started to log....waaa? Ryne Sandberg? Card #350...hmm, already have Dustin Pedroia...holy crap, is this a short run??? That was pretty much the conversation going through my head. Pulling short runs is FUN!
Again, this is my first rodeo, so some of you may role your eyes, but I am excited to know that at least I am off and running and starting to get my feet wet! When those 3 boxes arrive, if I pull a sketch card or another SR, I may wet myself like JD.
My (sound?) strategy
A)There are a ton of blogs out there doing exactly what I am doing
B)There are a ton of sites on collecting methodology, basically collect what you like.
So based on all of this knowledge in hand, I initially went out and bought one hobby box in hopes of gaining MOST of a base set, then I went online and purchased a base set for series 1. My initial thought was to just complete the base set, put it aside and see about pursuing those Turkey Reds or Short Run cards. Pretty sound strategy, right?
But NOOOOOO, I had to discover the joy of ebay and found myself the happy winner of a series 2 hobby box for half of what I paid at the hobby store. I did not mean to win, just got lucky I guess. Anyways I figured there is a good chance that I will pull all (or most) of the 33 cards that I am short...but what to do with the rest...I know.....buy another series 1 hobby box! Hurray for ebay cuz I got one of them too (I was curious on this one though as I was the only bidder, though the description looks sound, and the seller is spotless). Anyways, new strategy has evolved...
I now think that I am going to form two complete base sets, put one away, and then find the scraps to complete a second set, and use that set to possibly trade for a hobby box of another series or something. Plus with 3 more boxes on the way, I should gain a considerable amount towards my Turkey Red set or maybe luck out and get a cut sig or sketch card (I am learning quick).
Does this method make sense, or am I just throwing way too much money into this already?
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Subset talk
Turkey Red - I really like the look of these and figure that after my base set is complete, this will be my next gathering challenge. Apparently there are 50 per series, so I definitely have my work cut out for me.
Career Legends - I also like the look of these quite a bit. Felt good to pull a Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth, although I am fairly certain everybody has them, but they look nice. I will try to complete this as well.
Legends of the game - I am on the fence here, I kind of like these, but also kind of don't. I might use these for trade value.
WBC cards - Definitely not interested in these. Have a few, but if you want them, just holler...
Ring of Honor - Again on the fence, but these don't really interest me much either. After my next couple of hobby boxes, I will see how close I am and maybe try to complete it, but it is definitely not a priority.
Gold Cards - Okay, these are pretty cool, but what are the chances of getting an entire set of these? Maybe these have better value as individuals? Don't know, but there is no way I can collect all of them, so most likely these are on the trade block as well.
So what are your thought? What sets do you enjoy/are seeking out? What types of strategies do you use to decide what to collect and what to trade or sell? The floor is open...
Topps 2009 Series 1 and 2 Trading Cards
So the first thing I did is go to the local hobby shop, look completely overwhelmed at the sheer number of cards available for sale, and then proceed to the counter for advice (greenhorn). I then grabbed a 660 card cardboard box and 400 soft sleeves, as well as a hobby box of Topps 2009 Series 2 trading cards.
At this point, another little bit about myself. I love Excel. I love creating spreadsheets, and the first thing I did was create a Topps 2009 Series 2 spreadsheet, numbered 331-660, and left a field for name, team, and quantity. Also color coded quantity so I can easily determine if I have a dup...you get the idea.
I open up that box and...WOW, look at all those packs for me to open. I let my wife open the first pack, she pulls a Dustin Pedroia...lucky girl. I then meticulously take a card one at a time, log it in the spread, and then softsleeve it.
Several packs in I realize that there is more than just player cards, the inserts start to appear...
Turkey Red
Ring of Honor
Legends of the Game
Career Legends
Whoa, so now I create a spreadsheet to list those as well, one sheet for each type. I keep those separate from the base set (see I am already learning the terminology). then I discover...whats this?? Gold cards? So I create a field for those. At the end of each session I have gathered and placed the cards safely in there box in numbered order. At this time I am 33 cards shy of completing base set for Topps 2009 Series 2). Did I forget to mention that I have already run out to buy more packs, and now I have collated duplicates? Also another hobby box (thank you ebay) on the way as well as a hobby box for Topps 2009 Series 1. I am in deep already :)
This is just general information, my next posts will be more specific to insert series and relics etc, but just wanted to point out the level of my madness. Though I guess the point would be, if any of you is looking for a particular card, I can easily look it up and locate it for you!
To be continued!
Go for launch!
This being my first post, I should tell you a little bit about myself, and about this blog and what I envision it to become.
Well, for starters I am 32 years old and live in or around Portland, Oregon. As time goes by I am sure my personality will come out in my postings, so I will not bore you with the details, just keep reading!
This blog is being created around the interest of collecting baseball cards. A few points to add to that...
1) I am a rookie collector (the last time I even thought about cards was when I was eleven, and back then I had no idea what I was doing and somehow ended up gathering a bunch of Mike Greenwell and Kevin Mitchell cards...nuff said.
2) I am not a nieve collector...I have had a growing passion for the sport of baseball and consume myself with my MLB package, my MLB video game, play fantasy baseball, and now my MLB card collection. I understand the players well enough to know who is more valuable than others, and the value of short run cards, special inserts, etc...so please dont try to peddle any more Greenwells on me!
3) Who is JD? He is my newborn son, Jacoby Dustin...yep, THOSE guys. I suggested it to my wife in humor and much to my surprise it grew on her pretty quick and there ya go! Your first little piece of info on me...I am a Red Sox fan (left coast fan to be exact), but...
4) I am also an objective fan, so I appreciate the game as a whole and dont consider myself to be a homer. I have learned that in Fantasy Baseball, sometimes you do need a Yankee or Ray on your team to be competitive.
5) I want to LEARN! I am absolutely amazed by the knowledge and the kindness of those who collect cards and I am looking to soak in your knowledge on the subject and help guide me with my collection. Ultimately, these cards will all go to my son some day, so I want to get started in the right direction and also be able to teach him when he is old enough (I already purchased a Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia Rookie card for his room :)
So where do we go from here? One of the reasons that I am starting this site is because I have visited several other card collector blogs and have been amazed at the details, the community, and the generosity of those that visit the site. I would really like to be a part of that community. Please take the time to peruse my site and drop me a comment to let me know you are out there. All advice and ideas are welcome.
Well, on to the show!