Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Trade with Mike

Hey guys, Drew back here. I hung out with my friend Mike a few days ago and got this in a mini trade:



For a Marvin Harrison relic and a Trevor Crowe auto, got a Kelly Johnson auto. I think he got the edge of the deal, but I'm happy. This year Kelly is batting .276, with 19 home runs, and 58 RBI. Better stats than Jeter! He also traded me a few numbered Heroes parallels from our old box breaks, a Sheffield green /499, and a few more. The Johnson is for trade if anyone wants it though.

Thanks Mike for the trade! I'm going to the Renegades game tonight, my like 5th of the year or so it seems, so that should be fun, especially when they're playing the Yankees single A team, the Staten Island Yankees. See Ya!

2010 Topps 206 Retail Live- and odd

Hey guys, Drew back here. I would've posted this yesterday after watching the first break over at Stale Gum, and also Chris Olds posted a video and stole what I was going to say. 2010 Topps 206 is out, but not as well done as 2009 in my opinion. First, the good things is that the base cards are clean and nice. But then, we deal with these flaws:



- Crazy Mini Back cards (Polar Bear, American Caramels, Piedmont, Old Mill)

Do we really need all these? Allen & Ginter is different, but also, they could easily lose the A&G back and I'd be happier. If the card looks the same on the front, it's a pain in the butt on video to tell what cards have backs without having to pause and look at every mini.



- Retail Sticker Autos!!

Topps had it right last year with ALL on card autos. Maybe hobby will be on card, but this just looks plain ugly!!! In a vintage product, IF YOU REALLY WANT TO INCLUDE SEAN RODRIGUEZ AS AN AUTO, get him to sign the cards! This just looks ridiculous and may hold me back from buying any retail.



- WHERE ARE THE HATS?!?!

Now this is ridiculous! Maybe Upper Deck would have an excuse to have done something like this, but no, NOT TOPPS! They have an exclusive right to show players in their full uniforms, now what the heck is this? This is a remembrance of the original cards, sure, some guys didn't have hats on those but most did! Do we really want that card above? No, I didn't think so.

Unless I see an improvement in the hobby version, I'll delightfully pass on a box of this. Yuck! Will you buy this? If so, I'd love to know why. See Ya!

*Sorry Dayf for stealing your pictures, only ones I found so far!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Mail from the past Week

Hey guys, Drew back here. I got a lot of trades done recently, and 1 eBay pickup (another after today). So, I don't have much time, so I'll get this in now. First package is from Timmy of Tim's Baseball Cards. I hadn't traded with him before, and he straight up made me an offer, and I accepted.



A bunch of 1950's and 60's cards! Not. Hahaha, some Cards Your Mom Threw Out and other inserts I needed for my sets! Also, he threw in a Swisher which was cool! Thanks Timmy!



Next is a deal with John L, who I've made one trade with before. He and I trade well together, until I noticed I traded some cards he wanted. Fortunately, I'm trying to get some cards for him, bought him one at the show, and I'm getting 1 more sometime soon. But this is his end of the deal. First are 20 2010 Allen & Ginter cards, and now I just need one more trade's worth plus 1 more card and the base set is done!



Next, a bunch of random stuff, a Masterpieces card needed (Schilling), a Cano, 2 Hughes', and a Schmidt Turkey Red for the set. Sweet!



The 1st of 2 hits, is this Don Mattingly jersey. I've built up a sweet mini Mattingly collection, now 7 relic cards, and this is a nice one too. It's from a set I like, 2008 UD Baseball Heroes, and it's got a pinstripe, which is also sweet. I think it's the retail jersey, which is the only jersey parallel from the set not numbered, the charcoal version. It's a really nice card and a nice addition to the Don Mattingly collection!



The last card from John is this Tom "Flash" Gordon auto. He said he had one, and I figured it'd be a unique pickup, never see much stuff of him. He had a nice career and pitched for the Yankees a few years so I wanted to add his auto to the PC. He's got a nice looking auto too.



And this is my eBay pickup. Can't say this was cheap, but it's of a possible 2010 MVP, and a former Renegade, IN A RENEGADES UNIFORM!!!! I needed this card as soon as I saw it! Josh Hamilton has evolved into one of my favorite non-Yankees, and a great player as well. I really like his story, of how he changed as a person, finished drugging, and became a star. Wow. All I can say was I'll always remember the night in Yankee Stadium when he slugged 28 Home Runs in one round. What a show.

Anyway, so instead of buying a Tribute auto of him (which I would've done had I not seen this card), I got one that means much more to me. As most of you know, I am a C.I.T. at a camp on the actual Renegades field, so I really appreciate the former and current Rays that came through the team. I used to go to the stadium all the time as a kid, great memories, and the weird thing is, although I have no proof, I may have seen some of these guys play for this single A team. Being on the field, and playing 3rd in an actual scrimmage game at the stadium makes me almost call this one of my homes, and I just love being there. Well, long story short, I like Josh Hamilton, and this is never going anywhere. Amen.

See Ya!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

TTM #15- A Big Surprise!!

Hey guys, Drew back here. On a sad day in baseball, I got a nice TTM back. That side day is because big name prospect Stephen Strasburg will undergo Tommy John surgery, and will be out for at least 12 months, which means no pitching next year most likely. Many pitchers have had the surgery before, and there is an 85% recovery rate. 10 2010 All Stars have had the surgery before, and many other pitchers have came out better than ever. Maybe this guy will too:


JOE NATHAN

I've had a knack of sending cards to players at the worst times. I sent to Pat Neshek to the Twins, but he was actually hurt rehabbing in the minors at the time, and I didn't get back for a long while. I just recently sent to Jeremy Hellickson to the Rays, and he got sent down immediately after, but will be back up soon. Now there's Joe Nathan, who I sent to just before he underwent Tommy John surgery. Way to go Drew! I'm pretty sure it was sent late last season but it could've been spring training, I don't remember offhand, but let's just say it took a while. I was worried I may never see my cards again, but I did thankfully, returning today after months of waiting.

Mr. Nathan kindly signed 3 cards for me, including his Fleer Tradition RC with the Giants, a 2009 Goodwin Champions, and a 2008 Upper Deck. His signature is just as nice as before, and I'm really happy he could return to me! Thanks Joe and good luck next year!

Have you guys ever had almost tragic mistakes in the TTM business? Don't be scared, I don't bite, and leave some stories in the comments! See Ya!

2008 UD SP Legendary Cuts Box Break

2008 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts Baseball Hobby Box - Click Image to Close

Hey guys, Drew back here. This is the final part of our White Plains Card Show Recap, and it's a box review. I told my dad how much I enjoyed opening that recent box of 2008 Legendary Cuts, and wouldn't you know, he went out and bought another to bust that night! We did, and it was a very interesting box. Check it out:

PART 5:
BOX OF SP LEGENDARY CUTS
Your Source For New York and Long Island Sports Card Shows - Sports Memorabilia Shows - Sports Autograph Signing

So, I won't do the product content, just know 12 packs per box, with 4 cards per pack. 6 YSL cards and 4 game used with the chance of a cut auto. Let's see how I did!

MY BOX BREAK REVIEW:

Base Set: 43/100
I still love this base set, and most of these I think I didn't have, which was great! I'm definitely going to finish off this set sometime, and I'll have a wantlist up soon for it. They definitely will look great side by side.

Yankee Stadium Legacies: 6/a lot
I'm so bored of this set now, even if they're all Yankees. The DiMaggio and Yogi ones are pretty nice though. I think I have close to 150 of these now, not including the blue border 100 card special set that features the same design except a blue color instead of the yellowish-goldish color.



Base Parallel: 1/100 (#162, Luis Aparicio)
Better than the first box that had Andrew Jackson, but this is for trade too.

And the hits...



Destined for History Game Used: 1 (Dontrelle Willis)
My favorite moment of this box hasn't arrived yet. When this card leaves my house! Jeez, a pretty stinky hit to say the least. It's for trade, wicked??? I know you must have at least 10 of these but, wanna take it off my hands?



Destination Stardom Memorabilia: 1 (Justin Verlander)
Nice, a fantasy starter of mine. I like Justin Verlander, got to see him pitch live this year which was cool. I definitely need to find an auto of his. Currently I can trade this but only for something I'd want more.



Legendary Memorabilia: 1 (Gaylord Perry /99)
Not bad I guess, nothing compared to the Clemente from the last box, but it'll do. I like the baby blue swatch color though, that was nice. If it was white, I would be disappointed. But Perry was good.



Generations Memorabilia: 1 (Gaylord Perry/Roy Halladay)
WHAT THE HECK?!?! A Gaylord Perry hot box? Well, they're both nice cards anyway, love wool swatches, and Halladay is great too, so this isn't for trade, but wow, two Gaylord Perrys. Didn't see that coming.

Overall, not a bad box, Gaylord Perry is a lower tier Hall of Famer, but the cards are nice anyway and I'll probably hang on to them. You can't beat the 1/1, Clemente, and Mattingly/Heltons from the first box that easy. Looks like we may have to try again sometime!

Leave your thoughts in the comments below. That will do it for the show recap, I had a great time and I can't wait to go back soon! Mike might have a guest commentary post or two coming up about the show so stay tuned for that. See Ya!

Friday, August 27, 2010

Dad Strikes Again (Show Recap Part IV)

Hey guys, Drew back here. I've been pretty busy lately, but I'm back, with Part 4 of the show recap, the one where dad buys everything in. Take a look!

PART 4:
DAD ATTACK
Your Source For New York and Long Island Sports Card Shows - Sports Memorabilia Shows - Sports Autograph Signing

So, while I bought my things and waited in line, dad bought quite a bit of stuff. He requested a copy of my wantlist and really helped do some damage to it. Check out his set list attack:


First of all, the rest of the 2010 Allen & Ginter set, except 1 card. He accidentally missed card #75, so we need that. This isn't all though, I'm expecting a few more needed cards in some trades coming up. But, yeah, a ton of the cards I needed for Allen & Ginter, which isn't as nice as 2009 but is still great nonetheless.



Also, he knocked off a majority of the 2010 Topps Series 2 Legendary Lineage cards. I really like the looks of these, and they look awesome side by side.



Also, he raided the .10 cent bin, and found a nice lot of Yankees goodies, including 4 Bernie Williams rookies, and a Marcus Thames rookie, which I needed for my Yankees rookie card collection. Nice!



A sweet chrome card from 2010 Topps Heritage of Mariano, numbered 1227/1961.



And a ton of other rookies, including:
- 1984 Fleer Don Mattingly
- 2000 Bowman Chrome Adrian Gonzalez
- 2001 Topps Justin Morneau
- 2003 Bowman Chrome Sergio Mitre
- 2006 Bowman Chrome Jeremy Hellickson
- 2007 UD SP Rookie Edition Tim Lincecum
- 2007 Bowman Tim Lincecum
- 2007 Bowman Phil Hughes
- 2008 Donruss EEE College Ties David Price/Brett Jacobsen /1500
- 2009 Topps Magic Mark Sanchez
- 2010 Bowman Gold Austin Jackson

A really sweet lot! My favorite is the Hellickson, then probably the Rookie Edition Lincecum, but they're all awesome.

Then onto some hits!


2009 Sweet Spot Josh Hamilton Jersey
Josh Hamilton has evolved into one of my favorite players in baseball, because I like how he got through all his troubles and became an MVP candidate this year. I loved his display at the Home Run Derby a few years ago, oh, and did I mention he was on the Renegades, my minor league team? I may start a small collection of Josh, so be on the lookout for a future announcement regarding that.


2007 Topps Joe Mauer Bat Card
Well played, Mauer. A very nice bat chip of former MVP Joe Mauer, another non-Yankee favorite of mine. I've always respected Joe and he seems like a cool guy, plus he's a great batting average hitting catcher, something we don't see often.


2007 Topps Ryan Howard All Star Jersey
ANOTHER one of my favorite non-Yankees, Ryan Howard. Ryan has had a nice little career so far and I really like this card. Except it says patch for the whole set, which isn't right. Plus, black jerseys are cooler than white/gray jerseys, more unique.


2010 Donruss Elite Santonio Holmes Jersey /135
Another awesome card, haven't gotten much 2010 football cards yet, so this is a nice start. Also, it's a black jersey again, which is awesome too, and it's numbered relatively low. Santonio is gonna be a monster once he gets out of his 4 game suspension, and the Jets are going to need him down the stretch.


2010 Topps Heritage Evan Longoria Bat Relic
Look who decided to show up again? It's Mr. Longoria and he found his hat it looks like, which is good. Here's a nice little sliver of his bat for you, a very nice card indeed. I like these relics, even though this is probably one of the top 3 cards in the set, which isn't really impressive.


2010 Upper Deck Mariano Rivera Jersey Relic
This is a card I've bookmarked before, because it's so nice! And now it's mine, honestly, I think it may be my 1st Mariano Rivera jersey card, which is kinda unimpressive. Mariano is a legend, and I really really like him, he seems like he could be any man's best friend. And 500+ saves? 1st ballot Hall of Famer all the way. Cool Card!


2006 UD Future Stars Boone Logan Auto
Well, Boone has emerged as a top reliever for the Yankees this year, after starting off slow. He came back however, and replaced Marte as the left handed specialist. It's nice to have his auto, and it's a RC auto so I guess I can count it in the RC PC too.


2005 Bowman's Best Michael Bourn RC Auto /974
This guy is becoming a pretty good player, and I like him. He steals a lot of bases, doesn't do much else, but he's fast, and I like speed a lot. No, not the drug, fastness, running hard, that stuff. 44 steals so far, nice!

Thanks so much dad! You da man! See Ya!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Show Shopping (Show Recap Part III)

Hey guys, Drew back here. Not much of a shopper typically, but when it comes to cards, I go crazy. You can tell this by the amount of cards in this purchase. Well, I'll let you see them now, let's continue with the show review.

PART 3:
FINAL PURCHASES (FOR ME)

Your Source For New York and Long Island Sports Card Shows - Sports Memorabilia Shows - Sports Autograph Signing

1:45 PM
Around 1:45, we wrapped up our meetings with players and started really shopping. As you saw before, I didn't attack the way I always did, yet. Now that the show was a few days ago, I'm starting to forget what order I bought these in, so I'll just give you some rapid fire pictures and stories about all the rest of my buys.



First was this Goose Gossage 8x10. You all know what I'm gonna do with this, but just in case I'll explain. I'm sending it through the mail to Mr. Gossage with a $10 bill to try to get it signed, to get me 8x10 Yankees autos of: Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Roy White, Chris Chambliss, Cecil Fielder, Dwight Gooden, Phil Rizzuto, Goose, and Brian Bruney. (yep, we all know who doesn't deserve to be in this group) So, wish me luck on that.



This was actually my last pickup of the day, bought it for $13 or so, a 1965 Topps Mel Stottlemyre! I love picking up cards of players that I've met, and I saw this, it was in nice shape, so I got it!



This scanned horribly, should've done a picture of it, but anyways, for $10, a 2008 Bowman Sterling Armando Galarraga auto. Compared to other prices, this is a nice price, and I know I could've done better with these $10, but Bowman Sterling has always looked nice, plus I admire the fact that Armando handled the situation he was placed in so well. I feel so bad for the guy, this was the least I could do.



I think this was either $5 or $10, a 2008 Topps Moments and Milestones A-Rod Yankee Stadium Wall Relic. I always wanted a big chunk of dirt from the old stadium, call me weird, but I always thought it would be cool to have a piece of Yankee Stadium in my room. Instead, I settled for this nice piece of the home run wall. I think the facade is part of the design of the card, not part of the relic piece itself. I never remember there being a facade on the stadium wall, but still an awesome card nonetheless.



From the never ending 2008 SP Authentic set, a letter "G" auto of Nick Swisher. The G is supposed to spell out Chicago, which is a really dumb concept, but would look nice put together. The auto is pretty hard to see in person, but it's signed in gold and numbered to 75. For $10 or so I thought it was a cool pickup, my 7th Nick Swisher auto in my collection.



Another $10 pickup, this nice 1999 SP Signature Edition autograph of Bobby Abreu. Abreu missed out on our 2009 World Series run, and went to the Angels, where he did well. This year, however, is not the same Abreu we always saw. He's put together a nice career though, and for the price I felt like I should get one for the collection.



This is a really nice one. From 2009 Topps 206, a Curtis Granderson framed auto. Curtis has been disappointing for the Yankees this year, but he's finally breaking out and should continue for the rest of the year pretty consistently. Kevin Long and Grandy worked on some things and now he's hitting the ball better than ever this year. It was for sale for $20, but I got it for a solid $15. My 2 certified autos of Curtis now are Allen & Ginter and 206, both framed!



Also for $15, got this beauty from 2010 National Chicle, a Thurman Munson game used card. The painting of Munson is really nice, and the pants piece is nice! Only problem is I can't stand why Topps put the most feminine colors next to the swatches, I mean, really! Pink and purple! Topps guys, paint your daughters rooms these colors, not your cards. Whatever, still an awesome card of the Captain.



Now for my 2 big boys of the day, both got for $30 each. First is this 2002 UD SP Legendary Cuts game used of Roger Maris! I watched HBO's "61" movie, and I gained a ton of respect for Roger. I never really was a huge fan of his, because I didn't know much about him, and I also preferred The Babe to be the Home Run King. After watching that movie though I give him a ton of credit and I'd love to get more of him. This was a great 1st big card of Roger, with a beautiful pinstripe down the middle.



My 2nd to last pickup (bought the Stottlemyre last), and the last card that I bought that I haven't shown yet, a 2008 Stadium Club Evan Longoria RC Autograph! I got this for a steal, it was expensive, but $30 compared to this card on eBay is a crazy steal, the next lowest BIN I saw was $45, ranging up to $75! It's in mint condition, and a RC auto of the guy that beat out A-Rod for the starting spot on the All Star team this year. I bought this mainly because I've wanted a Longoria auto for some time, and when I asked for a price I expected higher, but as soon as he finished saying "$30" I said I'd take it. Evan played 8 games for my local minor league team, the Hudson Valley Renegades, a fresh crop of Rays players, and in those games he had 4 home runs and a few other hits as well! So, I thought I made out well on that one!

What do you think? How did I do? Don't worry, my dad provided even more excitement to the day, and you'll see why in the next post!

By the way, yesterday I received my box of 2010 TriStar OBAK baseball, and I'll be opening it tonight. The box review will come immediately following my card show posts, followed by contests and other maildays!

See Ya!

Monday, August 23, 2010

After Lunchtime (Show Recap Part II)

Hey guys, Drew back here with some more of the day that was August 22nd, 2010, one of my favorite days of this year! We ate lunch and then all jumped around different lines to meet different players, so let's see the results!

PART 2:
AFTERNOON MEET AND GREETS

Your Source For New York and Long Island Sports Card Shows - Sports Memorabilia Shows - Sports Autograph Signing

12:15 PM
After lunch, Mike and I immediately jumped into the Roy White line. White was the free guest of the day, and Mike found a ticket for him on the ground, so we had 5 tickets between the 2 of us. I had 3, he had 2. Grandpa Roy sat down for a while, talking to some people, and dad, well, you'll see in a seperate post what he was doing! As Mike and I moved forward to meet White, a table facing us was along the way. I jumped out of line and checked it out. They had a lot of Mets and autograph guests stuff, lots of Ralph Kiner. I asked the seller about one of the Kiners and he slowly took out some book and told me to read him the number on the back of the card. Eventually he found it and said "$12.00". I asked about one more, and then after deciding no for that one, I asked if we could do $10 for the first one. He slowly took out his book and eventually gave the card for $10. I almost got kicked out of line because of that guy. But, I didn't and I got a nice card too.



From 2007 Sweet Spot Classic, a bat card of Ralph Kiner. I have a bunch of these as you may know, and I can't stop loving the set! Before I forget, just before we got in the Roy White line, I picked this up for I think $5. The guy had a ton of these types of cards, and I love me some wool.



From 2009 SP Legendary Cuts, a Bob Gibson wool jersey numbered 1/25. And no, just because it has a one in the serial number does not qualify it as a 1/1. Anyway, cool little card for a nice price.

So, now we're getting close to Mr. White, our supplies out, ready to go. I made Mike a custom Roy White card to get signed, and I made one for me too. My dad also bought me his rookie card earlier, so I wanted to get that signed. I had 3 cards for me, but when we went up to the guy next to White collecting tickets he told me only 2, because you're really only supposed to do 1 for the free guest. Well, I got the better 2 signed, and they turned out great. I'm not showing the other one yet, I'll reveal that in a bit.





Mr. White was a very nice guy like he was when I first met him at a Holiday Inn Card Show a few years back. He looked at my customs and he said "Wow, never seen these before!" I told him that I made it for him to sign, and he thanked me and said "This is a cool looking picture, haven't seen it much, rare compared to the others I've seen. Except I look a little Chinese!" What a cool guy, I really like him and will probably get more of his cards.


12:45 PM
Meeting Roy White was fun, and so we then moved on to Dr. K. We had to wait in the waiting room for our number group to be called, but again it was worth it. It didn't take as long for the line to move then, since he'd been signing for close to an hour at that point. Mike really looked forward to meeting Mr. Gooden, and I wanted to see him too, so we both got 8x10's and they came out sweet. I didn't talk much meeting him, he seemed quiet too, but I shook his hand and asked him how he was doing, and he said he was doing well. The one thing I'll remember about Dwight was shaking his hand felt like shaking Shaq's hand! It was huge! Next to him signing was the great Robin Yount, so it was really cool to see him up close too, he looked like a really cool guy too. After I got my autograph and got a picture signed, we got the pictures certified by JSA and headed out.







Robin Yount

1:15 PM
Mike and I came back to meet up with dad and Grandpa again after meeting Gooden, and we lost the second door prize, for an autographed 16x20 "The Catch" Willie Mays framed picture. We split up yet again so Mike and I could get in line for Mel Stottlemyre, and dad said he'd catch up with us as we get closer in line. Mike wouldn't have been in line if he didn't find another ticket, for Stottlemyre, on the floor! He always gets some kind of luck at these shows! It was a pretty long line, because it was a combined line for Sid Fernandez and Stottlemyre. Never mind, just Stottlemyre, and we knew this after a guy came down the isle yelling "El Sid El Sid, who's in line for El Sid, Sid Fernandez, anybody for El Sid?". Nobody came. And I mean nobody. I betcha at least 1/4 of the younger people there had no clue who Sid Fernandez was.


I called dad as we got close and we rushed over to meet Mel with Mike and I. He made it just in time for the meeting! Mike went first and got his 8x10 photo signed, and then I went. I said hello to Mr. Stottlemyre, and I told him I made the card for him, and he replied "Very nice, thank god for computers!" in a joking voice. He was a nice guy, and he got us a nice picture with him. A cool way to end our meetings with players!







This was my mini project success, and it sure looks great! Got both White and Stottlemyre to not only sign but to make it fit nicely!

Looks like we have one more part to come! More shopping! See Ya!