All In

Hey guys, Drew back here. I was glad to see that a lot of you really liked my Top 10 Best Yankees Cards post from yesterday, as I definitely had fun writing it. I recently took a gamble on eBay hoping to take on what may have the potential of being ranked highly on that list in the future. 

Outside of his most recent start against the Blue Jays, Luis Severino has been awesome to watch in his rookie season. He has the poise and stuff necessary to dominate in the league for years to come, and I look forward to seeing more of him hoping in the playoffs this year. One night I splurged on eBay and wound up winning 3 separate auctions from the same seller; all Severino. In total, I spent about $20 on 22 cards; an investment opportunity I'm glad I took advantage of. 

Here's what I ended up with:

- 2014 Bowman Draft (x9)

- 2014 Bowman Chrome Draft (x3)

- 2014 Bowman Draft Silver Ice Parallel

- 2014 Bowman Draft Bowman Is Back

- 2015 Bowman (x4)

- 2015 Bowman Chrome

- 2015 Bowman Farm's Finest Mini

- 2014 Bowman Chrome Draft Black Wave Refractor Parallel 

- 2014 Bowman Chrome Draft Blue Refractor Parallel /399

I originally just wanted the two Chrome parallels, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to add several of his other rookie cards as well. This is just one of many examples of my love for combined shipping.

If any of you has Severino cards for trade and sale, I'd be most certainly interested. I'm not quite ready to declare him as my next PC, but I think it's getting closer and closer to happening as each of his starts come to pass.

See Ya!

Not Missing Out This Time

Hey everyone, Drew back here! I've been having a pretty nice, relaxing week away from the world before I get ready to embark on my second year of college. Last night my family scoped out Atlantic City in preparation for when my Dad and I will be attending the National next year. We saw a performance from America's Got Talent participant and hypnotist Wayne Hoffman. I was shocked by his act, and he truly did blow my mind. If he ever comes to a town near you, I would recommend you check it out.

About two weeks ago, I was feeling quite jealous of all my blog friends being at sports collector heaven, and decided to treat myself. Rather than buying more for my PC's, I wanted to take a risk. Hopefully, this risk will have a high reward.

Out of 2014 Bowman Platinum, I added a gorgeous on card autograph of not only the Twins top prospect, but widely regarded as the best prospect in all of baseball, Byron Buxton. Buxton made his MLB debut earlier in 2015 although he clearly wasn't ready to take on the show just yet. At 21 years old, most superstar prospects still have room to grow before reaching their full potential. After all, not everyone is Mike Trout. He has a great swing, and appears to possess five tool talent.

Mike Trout was actually a lot of the reasoning behind this pickup. I remember passing up on cheap Trout autographs on eBay back when he was emerging through the minor leagues, and I didn't want to miss out on this opportunity. Not only could this card rise substantially in value if Buxton does become what he's said to become, but it is one of his nicest cards as well. Bowman really hit the nail on the head with this card, and I'm going to be hard-pressed to move it even if he does well.

What do you all think of Byron Buxton? Is he worthy of being the #1 prospect?

See Ya!

TTM #76 BIG Prospect Success! Damage?

Hey guys, Drew back here. So, I haven't really exploded on this blog like I expected to this summer, but what can I say, I've been pretty busy! Also, other than eBay, I haven't felt much interest in the hobby lately. Like I've said, I still haven't wrote one letter yet for TTM's this summer, and I just completed a couple of trades for the first time in forever. Allen & Ginter is out, and while it looks nice, I can't afford to go out and buy a box. I guess I'll have to stick with eBay for a little longer until I can get my hands on some Ginter, because I still plan on building the set when I can. Anyways, I got a TTM success back sometime last week, and I finally got to scanning it, so here it is:

Yep, none other than the second overall pick in last year's draft following Bryce Harper, Mr. Jameson Taillon signed a custom for me! I would be super excited about this pickup, and I still kind of am, but man, just look at it! It looks absolutely destroyed! Fortunately, of all things, the auto wasn't damaged much, but its surroundings were for sure.

So going into sending this to Taillon, I didn't know a whole lot about him, except for the fact he apparently is going to be a pretty darn good pitcher according to scouts. The Pittsburgh Pirates took him as the second pick in the draft, and is currently pitching in their minor league system. The Pirates, who somehow are now in first in the NL Central, have a nice future ahead with a very young team and this 6'7 pitcher with a 99 mph fastball in the minors waiting to make his way up. He's going to be exciting to watch, and I'm glad I reached out to him for an autograph before even more people decide to.

I can't seem to win with these customs, but I think I've got a plan for the next couple, trying to keep them from getting absolutely wrecked. We'll see when I finally get around to trying it.

See Ya!

TTM #8- A Big Prospect!!!

Hey guys, Drew back here, after running around all day, I just got back to find some bad news in my mailbox. Whitey Ford sent back.... but didn't sign anything and left a price guide. I'm going to assume that he didn't sign because I sent it to his foundation and probably an executive or something opened it up, didn't see money, included a price list and sent it right back. Well, it sucks, but what can you do. On Friday however, I did get a TTM in, of a really good prospect, check it out:

BUSTER POSEY!!! Buster signed the card and sent the index card I sent him unsigned! This looks pretty sharp and Buster is according to MLB.com the 4th ranked prospect in all of baseball. Buster won't be starting this year like Matt Wieters due to Bengie Molina but he will be up in the Majors full time by maybe next year. As I do with many people I get TTM back from, I will try to check on how he's doing every once in a while, not because this holds value, which it doesn't, and I honestly don't care. TTM autos are meant to be personal and NOT sold, and I prefer getting TTMs over buying certified autographs. Good luck Buster and thanks for signing!

By the way, it took 17 days for Posey to respond. I bought a sweet card off eBay last night, and bought some stuff today at Modells that I'll post soon. Also have some Vintage Cards from Pop Popps, mail from foul bunt (AGAIN!!!), and some group break loot from the Troll. So stay tuned if you want to see that stuff, I'll have maybe one of those up tonight! See Ya!