Enormous Addition to the Tier One Set!

Hey guys, Drew back here! The last few days I've been working on putting junk wax into sets in my basement, so that would explain my absence. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, more fun than sorting hundreds of stacks of 1993 Donruss and 1991 Topps. (note the sarcasm) Anyway, I recently pulled the trigger on one of the bigger Tier One cards I needed for my set. Take a look:

Mickey Mantle. Dual relic. A few years ago when I opened my first hobby packs and first posted to YouTube and my old Weebly blog, I would have never believed I would come this far. At my first few cards shows, I used to dream if I would ever be able to own stuff like this. And while it isn't quite an autograph, it's still a beautiful card. Numbered only 18 of 99, this relic of my favorite old time Yankee (besides maybe Munson) is neck and neck with the Gehrig dual relic William gave me as the best relic in my collection! 

The best part? I put a $75 bid on the card because I had to go out when the auction was ending. I came home to find that I won it for only $40! It was a great relief and I'm so glad I jumped on that auction! 4 More relics to go and then I have the set complete!

Johnny Bench, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, and well, the Great Bambino to go. But I'm going to get it done by the end of this year, I guarantee it! 

See Ya!

TTM #88 & Birthday Gift! Brooklyn Dodgers Edition!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Lately, as most of you have seen, I've been really getting into pictures and memorabilia, almost to the point where I'd rather have photos over cards. I can see why people think otherwise, as Night Owl wrote in his post the other day, but I just feel like it would be cool to clutter my wall with all sorts of awesome autographs I can stare at all day long. And, I have to say, it's refreshing to hear a "I'm so jealous" by my friends once in a while, but I'll keep that between us! Anyways, sometimes I don't even ask for something and I ended up with it, as in this case. My dad's uncle received a picture from my Grandpa about 20 years ago, and for my birthday, he thought it would be fitting to pass it down to me, given I'm such a big baseball fan.

The picture was this team photo of the 1955 World Champion Brooklyn Dodgers! I am in no means a Dodgers fan, but I am a baseball fan, and I think it's awesome to now have a piece featuring legends like Koufax, Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, and of course, Jackie Robinson. 

I don't know how soon it will be before this goes on a wall in my house, but if it doesn't have a good spot here, it will definitely one day. I dream of having a mancave when I'm older at my house so I can show off my collection even more. Hopefully that dream will come true, and if it does, I'll certainly find a spot for this. (even though they beat my dang Yankees in the World Series) Thank you Uncle John for thinking of me, and giving me this sweet gift. 

But, we're not done here. I found it fitting that the other day I happened to get a TTM success from one of the players in this picture- the guy to the left of Sandy Koufax. The success took only 9 days, and well, it was even better than I expected!

 

Yes, those are all autographs of Carl Erskine, a former Dodgers pitcher! Erskine was never quite Koufax, Drysdale, or even Newcombe, but he was certainly one of the more consistent pitchers of his era. The 1 time All Star finished his 12 year career with an ERA at exactly 4.00, compiling 122 wins and only 78 losses. He signed 4 items for me, even though I only sent two! He is now one of 6 autographs I own from the 1988 Pacific set, which I've been using a lot lately for TTM requests. The card below that is some sort of personal card he included, with a bunch of advice on the back. Also, he signed my index card and pimped out a nice inscription without a doubt, and he wrote "Hello Drew, Thanks for writing and for your interest, Regards, Carl Erskine" on my letter! I'm really happy with the success, and I'm glad I'm beginning to broaden my horizons with my baseball knowledge.

Again, a big thank you to my Uncle John for the great picture, and to Mr. Erskine for being such a class act! See Ya!

Two Tier One... Autos? Recent eBay Adds!

Hey guys, Drew back here. Like I said last post, it's about that time where my mom starts to become worried I'm going to one day blow all my money on 2.5 by 3.5 pieces of cardboard. Of course, I'm not going to let myself do that, and I feel like I've been a very smart buyer in the past year. While I'll admit to wanting just about everything minus Red Sox stuff, I can easily say that I wait for the best deal I can find before I pull the trigger. Recently I knocked off two autographs that I've been wanting, and they aren't Yankees or HOF'ers, but they're of two players who helped build the love I have for baseball today. And they both happen to be out of the new 2012 Topps Tier One product! Take a look:

First off, we've got a Johnny Cueto autograph numbered out of 245! Cueto, for a while, was just kind of there in the Majors, but in the past two or three seasons, people are starting to see what the scouts saw in him back then. With one of the lower ERA's in all of baseball this season, Johnny is starting to make a name for himself. I've always liked him, especially because his windup reminded me of former Yankee/Red Sox great Luis Tiant. I had a feeling he'd creep up the Reds rotation, and I'm glad he finally made his splash. 

Saying Mike Morse has made a big impact on my baseball love is definitely a push, but nonetheless, he certainly was fun to watch last season, as he broke out from just about nowhere to become a fantasy baseball staple. There is just something incredible about seeing a guy's career portray a movie script, about the whole making it out of nowhere thing. Morse definitely did that, and with a now competitive Nationals team, he could make even more out of his career with a possibility of getting deep into the postseason!

Before I wrap this up, I just want to give you all a bit more of a sense of understanding of my taste of this hobby. As most of you know, I am one of the young guns in this "blogosphere", and I'm currently living out those memories that a lot of you guys have shared with me in the past. I follow all of baseball, including playing fantasy baseball, and even though I'm a Yankees fan, I'd consider myself a fan of the game in general even before that love for pinstripes. So, when I open a pack of cards and pull some assorted stars, I'm happy. Because they're my Doc Gooden's; Don Mattingly's; Dale Murphy's; Rickey Henderson's, etc. I know a lot of you go out on a limb buying star autographs and what not but I felt like I just needed to explain why I do so.

But anyways, I don't want to keep rambling on, so, See Ya!

Mail from Brian of 30 Year Old Cardboard!

Hey guys, Drew back here. I am very proud to say that my interest in this hobby has increased more and more as this summer has gone on, and with that said, I've got a heck of a lot of stuff to share with you all! I still don't really trade a whole lot anymore, but I did recently work out a deal with fellow blogger Brian from 30 Year Old Cardboard! If you don't know Brian either from his terrific blog or his inclusion into last month's Beckett Sports Card Monthly, the best guess is that you live under a rock. In case you do indeed live under a rock, please, go check it out.

Anyway, Brian and I just made a small trade involving Yankees and Marlins cards for each other's collections, and this is what I walked away with:

I started talking about this trade with Brian after he posted a bunch of Topps Archives base he had up for trade. At the time, I didn't have a whole lot of the Yankees from the set, so I figured I'd contact him about a simple trade to benefit both of us. Sure enough, I landed these 8 Archives cards, all absolutely awesome looking! My favorite has to be either the Ruth or Mantle, but you can't go wrong with any of these guys!

Brian included a bunch of extras as well, including the Cano Topps 206 Bronze parallel that I didn't have yet!  It's always nice to add another unique card to my collection of his! 

However, he also went the extra mile by sending me some even older Archives cards, being of Roy White and Hank Bauer. I've never seen these two reprints before so I'm more than happy to knock them off the list. Lastly, I feel pretty embarrassed to say this, but I did not own a single Finest card from the mid-90's until now. Not 1. So thank you Brian for filling that hole out too.

Thanks again for the trade man! I'll be sure to get your package out ASAP! See Ya!

TTM's 86 & 87! Two Pirates Greats!

Hey guys, Drew back here! So, this week I've done nothing but work at a baseball camp, which has led to my absence. Fortunately though, I finished my one and only week being a CIT for the summer, and I'm back to deliver to you all the latest in my card collection! Before I began camp, I decided to send a bunch of TTM's out to some guys I haven't gotten yet. The batch was evenly divided with new and old players, because I like them all, simply put. Yesterday, two of them came back, only taking 7 days, and boy was I content with the results! Take a look:

"Dear Drew,

Received your letter along with the cards you sent me to sign. The only thing Drew you only sent me $5 and my policy for signing is $5 for each card. Therefore I only signed the one card for you and sent the other back to you unsigned. (some sentences I can't read) (something about doing what he has to do) I do hope you understand.

I will be donating your money to "Happy Days and Special Times, The Loving Answer for Children with Cancer". Those people give tomorrow's happiness today to the children suffering with the dreadful disease. (not sure on the last sentence again)

I'm enclosing another signed card I give to fans who donate to my charity. Hope you like it. 

Also Drew I am now selling 8x10 colored and also Black and White photos for my charity (not sure). If you are interested in purchasing any of these let me know and I will send you all the self explained information and an order form. 

Again thanks Drew and God Bless You for Your Kindness.

Sincerely,

Frank Thomas

"The Original One"

1951-1966"

I have to say I was astounded when I opened the envelope to find a letter from "the Original" Frank Thomas, who swatted 286 home runs in his 15 year career throughout the 1950's and 60's! Despite him not being able to sign the other card and index cards I sent him, it really meant a lot that he wrote out a full letter explaining why he couldn't, although I couldn't decipher his handwriting at times. I don't know if I'll be buying any additional items from Mr. Thomas, but the gestures were very nice and I'm glad he puts the money towards a good cause. 

As I mentioned, Thomas played 15 seasons in the big leagues for a whole lot of teams, but his biggest career stint took place between 1951 and 1958 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Those teams weren't all that good, however during his prime he managed to hit 20 home runs or more in 9 of 10 seasons! He made 3 All Star teams and also placed 4th in MVP voting in 1958, after he had perhaps his best season of his career. 

The other success I received didn't contain as much writing, but I was still more than content with the result! Former Pirates pitcher Bob Friend signed a 1988 Pacific card as well as an index card for me! Friend was a very underrated pitcher, mainly due to the fact that he pitched for a lot of mediocre Pirates teams during his career. However, as you can see on the inscription on the index card, he did finally get his chance to help his team get into the spotlight, as Pittsburgh rose to the top over my Yankees in the 1960 World Series. Overall, the 4 time All Star certainly deserved better than a career winning percentage well below .500, but sometimes you can't really control where your career will take place. Unless Felix Hernandez can escape Seattle, his career numbers could turn out similar to someone like Friend, where, well, they should look a lot better.

So if you guys haven't gotten an opportunity to send to these guys yet, I strongly recommend that you do. Both of these men were definitely under the radar their whole careers, as well as true class acts, as you can see with how well they treated my autograph requests! Thank you to both Mr. Thomas & Mr. Friend!

See Ya!