Anatomy of a completed page: Topps 2010 Hat Relics

I have not really had a chance yet to update you on how the new collection philosophy has been working out. Basically, the goal is to have a complete page of each type of card that I like, whether it be a subset, a refractor, a certain-backed mini, a relic card, or an insert, my vision is to be able to flip through the pages of my binder and find a full-page of examples of each card type.



I have been working pretty hard trying to get individual pages together to start sharing with you. It has been a little difficult, because in some instances I have so many of a type of card that I have to pick and choose my favorites, which means that some of the others will be left out in the cold and traded (trade list coming soon). It is one of the signs of addiction when you can't seem to justify parting with a particular card, no matter how insignificant it is. Stay the course through.



One of the more enjoyable pages that I have been working on thus far has been collecting old-school logo hat relics from 2010 Topps Flagship. It all began with a few lucky pulls from some scattered jumbo pack purchases, and has since continued with a few snags off of Ebay. I really love these cards and Topps really does a nice job with the presentation. One goal of this page is to keep with the old-timer theme. Here is the collection thus far.






#1 - Dizzy Dean - Dean was my first Jumbo pack snag after lamenting over a pair of Cal Ripken pants and an omni-present shin-shoo choo relic from from two hobby boxes. Dean's patch was a breathe of fresh air. Dean played 17 years in the majors and collected 150 wins. Dizzy played for the "Gashouse Gang" with Daffy, and Pepper, and Ripper, and Burgess, and Leo, and Spud. The best though is after Dizzy was washed up he became an announcer for the St Louis Browns and declared that he could pitch better still than any of them. They took him up on the offer and in one game he pitched four scoreless innings...but then pulled his hammy running the bases and retired for good. It was a move only Nate McMillan could appreciate.

#2 - Al Kaline - For years as a kid I swore that they named batteries after this guy. Then I was informed that it was Al K-Line. Aha! "Six" was my second jumbo pack pull. He finished with just over 3000 hits and just under (399) 400 hr's. a 15x all star and 10x gold glove winner. Really magnificent numbers. It is also nice to see that he won the Roberto Clemente Award and the Lou Gehrig award. I am a big fan of good sportmanship.

#3 - Eddie Matthews - Jumbo luck #3 tossed me yet another classic player. Eddie received two rings and was a member of the travelling Boston/Milwaukie/Atlanta Braves. A hot-box extraordinaire, Eddie is also a member of the 500 HR club.

#4 Honus Wagner - No more jumbos. I already have too many insert cards, of which most of them are going to be traded away anyways (stay tuned). Time to hit up the 'Bay and continue with the classic logos. HONUS! This was a great find and probably my favorite of the bunch. "The Flying Dutchman" seems to always be connected to his competitive nature, especially with Ty Cobb. While accounts seem to vary, it appeared that Honus was less than intimidated with Cobb's ferociousness and stood his ground, going toe-to-toe with Cobb in a battle of league batting champs. Honus prevailed. One tough son-of a gun and a cool logo to boot.


#5 - George Sisler - Found a pretty good deal on a Boston Braves George Sisler. As a collector, Sisler has been mainly off my radar, but I know him as the guy with the 41-game hit streak and the 257 hits record that held for 84 years until Ichiro broke it in 2004.

#6 - Willy McCovey - When I purchased this on Ebay there was no image so I just assumed that it was going to be a SF logo, which as far as I know has changed very little over the years. I was pleasantly surprised to find this card in the mail instead. A rather odd choice indeed, but no different than the Sissler card I suppose. McCovey is yet another member of the 500 HR club.

So six down and three to go. I think a nice old-fashioned swooping Philadelphia "P" would be a nice fit in here, but they run pretty high. I should pull one out of a series 2 jumbo, but if I end up liking them enough, I may have to make series 2 its own page!

If you have pulled an old-fashioned hat logo that you are not particularly attached to, or if one of these really jumps out at you and you have a hat logo (old-fashioned) to offer in exchange, shoot me an email and let's make a deal!

Oh my...seriously?

With mom out with the ladies for a chick flick, Jacoby and I headed out to pick up some odds and ends at Cranky's store and Target. Yeah, I have complained about Cranky because he is...cranky, but he does sell random backs readily and I had specific needs...5 sleeves of tobacco card holders, ONE pack of Bowman Heritage 2007 (for my rainbow refractor needs...check) and, oh heck, lets snag a few pack of the chicle to find some tounge cards! I took a look at a hobby box because I wanted to check out the autograph subjects. Of the more common group, group "A" my eyes focused in on Pablo Sandoval. Guess what? Woo-hoo! Kung-Fu Panda has found his way into our collection at last! As I searched for a toploader and sleeve, I remember that there were variations and I needed to look at the back...

Get out! So this is the "black umbrella" backed variation? Oh snap! Here it comes Joe, I can't help it...MOJO! :) Kung-Fu Mojo!

The Super Heroes of Chicle

Before continuing this post, just a reminder to rock the vote for the worst autographs competition. My Northwest Passage division is listed on the sidebar. Remember that you are voting for the WORST autograph of the matchup. Sweet sixteen is looming. There are also some visual example in an earlier post this week for your review. Thanks!

While on my hunt for nine 2007 Bowman Heritage refractor cards at Cranky's shop of horrors, He casually mentioned the release of Chicle. I have been going hobby box bonkers lately, so he was playing the odds that I would go crazy over the stuff. Truth is, I have been watching the "hits" that have been dropping on eBay, and thus far I am less than impressed with the product and its offerings. Some of the images are absolutely horrendous, and the image of Jacoby Ellsbury truly terrified me. Who the hell is that guy? I decided this is a product that I would not chase.

However, I was curious enough to snag one pack while on my mission at Cranky's. I wanted to compare it to the Bowman Heritage packs for artistic quality, guess who won?

But there is actually a chance that I will buy a few more packs of this, or maybe even a blaster.

Why?

Because I think that the major strength AND weakness of this set is the various artists melting pot of images that create the set. Some are clearly more dominating that the others, some are far too familiar, and some are just way off-base. Here are the "Super Heroes" of National Chicle (at least my one pack).

"The Tounge"

AKA Don Higgins. Not only am I fairly sure that the nose of Jason Bay is completely wrong, but I was drawn to the tounge on each of these cards. Yup, both were created by Higgins, so now I am curious if there are others out there.

Hmm. Is this a coincidence? Check all your Higgins cards now and either verify or debunk the myth. Either way, if it's true then I gotta have nine!

"The Shadow"

Here is a very nice Eddie Matthews by Paul Lempa... and another Joba Chamberlain by Lempa as well, though I am pretty sure that it is mislabeled as an Oakland Athletic named Brett Anderson. Either way, both images show incredible shadow detail that really stand out. I like both, even if there is a Yankee in Athletics clothing.

"Acid-Man"

Jeff Zachowski created the next card. Javier Vasquez. There is only one sample of his work here, but my suspicion is that Jeff is the psychodelic colors and fluffy cloudy artist of the bunch. Further testing is required.


"Dependable Man"

Brian Kong created the Hank Greenburg. Nothing against Kong per say, just that we have seen his work for years now, therefore the images aren't as fresh as the other guys. We will call him "dependable man"

"The Closer"

And finishing up with my favorite of the bunch...Dave Hobrecht. If I can give myself one reason to run out and grab a few more packs of this set, it is because of this card of Orlando Hudson. The colors, shadow, shine and facial detail are amazing! I definitely need to see if other prints hold up to this example...thus I shall refer to Hobrecht as "The Closer".

There was also this in the pack.

A creepy little Juan Francisco auto! I think on-card autos are terrific, but I am pretty skeptical of the autograph subjects. I know there are probably a few superstars in the set, but the sampling I have seen in box breaks and on eBay are mainly AAA and AA staples that are pretty much no-names. Again, I am sure there are good cards to be had, and on-card autos are always nice, but at least to this point I would say that the "hits" are less than impressive....and the relic cards remind me of Neopolitan ice cream...there, I said it.

So there you have it. I came into this product ready to tear it apart, but am actually curious enough to buy a bit more packs to fill out some binder sheets, which is the whole point of the product to begin with, to sell product.

Overall, I would say that this is a strong blaster product, but I would be pretty hesitant to throw down for a hobby box.