His Life in the Sports Card Hobby Joins Mine!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Other than the ridiculous weather, things have been starting to fall back into place lately. It's been refreshing going to school every weekday morning and coming home to relax to myself (and not having to put up with dorm mates). It's given me a chance to get more involved in this hobby and organize a lot of the mess I have scattered throughout the house. 

Recently, I had the chance to meet Frankie of My Life in the Sports Card Hobby at the Pinstripe Pandemonium in January. I've helped Frankie with some advice as he's been getting started in the blogging community, and he decided to send me a care package out of the blue! It was so thoughtful of him, especially given all the amazing stuff he sent along!

He kicked it off by sending me this little Mariano Rivera mini figure. I'm not sure what this is from or for, but fortunately hoarders like me will take just about anything with an interlocking NY and especially of guys like him.

Frankie tossed in some interesting inserts and rookie cards in the package, my favorite of these four being the Jedd Gyorko Museum Collection parallel numbered to 99. I'm curious to see how the Padres will fare this season with their completely revamped roster, and Gyorko will be a key player in that transition from pretenders to contenders.

I think Eric Jagielo is going to be a pretty good player when he is able to put it all together. I've heard a lot of positive things about the 2013 Yankees draft class; consisting of top prospects Jagielo, Ian Clarkin, and Aaron Judge. They've never been known for having a standout farm system but I think Cashman and co. are heading in the right direction.

I really didn't expect to find this 1967 Yankees team card in the package, and it was easily one of my favorites Frankie included. That bright yellow sure is hideous, but it really represents the team well during the "Horace Clarke Era". In 1967, the Yankees finished 20 games behind the Red Sox in the division. Regardless, it's a classic card and it was super cool of Frankie to send this to me!

This is kind of a cool then and now scan here with Albert Pujols and Jose Abreu. Pujols is still a respectable, productive player, but it seems like the Cuban star is ready to take his throne. I'm keeping Abreu on my fantasy team this year, and am excited to see if he can defeat the sophomore slump. (If anyone has Abreu's to spare, I'd be happy to work something out!)

These were probably my 2 favorite cards from the bunch of two of my favorite players in the game today. I've been debating whether to make Tulowitzki a mini PC on my Who I Collect / Wantlist page, and I think one of these days I'm going to do it. This Bowman insert looks incredible in person. As for the Topps Finest insert of Pirates superstar Andrew McCutchen, well, what can I say? It's a beautiful card numbered only 19 of 25! Frankie, you really didn't have to do all this!

To cap it all off, he sent me 3 "hits", the first being a TriStar autograph of Michael Ynoa. I used to have a Ynoa autograph, but traded it and thought I was going to regret it. His future has not been determined just yet, but he was recently included in the Jeff Samardzija trade, so it's possible that the White Sox may see something in him.

David Berg was selected by the Rangers in the 17th round of the 2014 MLB Draft, but instead chose to pitch for the UCLA Bruins in college. He is a sidearm pitcher and a dominant bullpen arm in the 2013 College World Series! These USA jerseys are so patriotic and appealing looking, and if he turns out to be the stud he's pitching like it'll be a nice card to own.

Carlos Gutierrez has bounced around the minor leagues since he was drafted by the Twins. He now is in the Cubs farm system around AAA, and could be a call up possibility if injuries strike the big league club. I love pinstripe relics too, and although I don't know much about this kid, I really appreciate you sending me all of this Frankie!

I had a lot of fun uncovering your package and getting a wide variety of different things. I need some diversity in my collection once in a while anyway! Frankie, you really didn't have to do all this, it was so considerate of you to think of sending all this stuff along my way! I'll have to be sure to get you back in the future for this big haul, buddy, so watch out for that.

See Ya!

Revealing the Mysterious Binder... A Little at a Time... Awesome Rookie Cards!

Hey guys, Drew back here! So, I believe the binder series is almost complete, with this and maybe one more following it! I don't think I could ever be any more lucky in my life than I was with this thing. While you probably already are jealous enough, I'm sure you will be even more jealous after you see these:

This post is dedicated to the rookie cards I found in the binder. These 4 1967 Topps rookie cards were fairly nice, as the main rookies out of them were Rick Monday, Mark Belanger, and Joe Niekro. I really like the 1967 Topps set, its fairly colorful and has a lot of nice photos in it. I bet I could even build it one day with the amount of cards from it that I found in the binder. 

The first big rookie was also from the 1967 Topps set, of Minnesota Twins legend Rod Carew! Before I get into Carew more, Hank Allen, the other player on the card, was a decent utility player, who could play anywhere. He wasn't as great as his brother, Richard "Dick" Allen, but he was an average player in his 7 year career. As for Mr. Carew, well, what can't you say about the guy! In a 19 year career, Carew spent 12 years as a Twin, and 7 for the California Angels. His lifetime batting average speaks for itself, an incredible .328! In that 19 year career, he was named to 18 All Star teams, and was named the AL Rookie of the Year following his rookie season. In 1977, he won the AL MVP by posting a remarkable .388 batting average for Minnesota. He's also a member of the 3,000 Hit Club, and obviously, the Hall of Fame!

This card normally sells for quite a bit of money, typically from between $75 and $300, depending on the condition, with a possibility of it being worth even more graded. So its safe to say it would've been a major pain to land this card without having to shell out quite a bit of money! It's a beautiful card, in very nice shape, and I definitely am happy to add it to my Hall of Fame rookie card collection. 

But that's not all! On the final page of the binder, I found this 1965 Topps Houston Colt .45's rookie card of Joe Morgan and Sonny Jackson! I got this same card from my Pop Popps a while back, and already wrote a bit on Morgan and the card in general when I first posted it. I'm definitely happy to find a second copy of the card, but I'd be very interested in trading this straight up for either the 1961 Topps Juan Marichal rookie or the 1961 Topps Ron Santo rookie, that way I can help my set rather than have 2 of the same card. Let me know if you have either of those, or any other nice Hall of Fame rookie that you would trade for it. 

Well, that's it for this part of the series dedicating my pot of gold! Hope you enjoyed it! 

See Ya!

Revealing the Mysterious Binder... A Little at a Time... Is This a Dream?

Hey everyone, Drew back here! I've been waiting a long time to post this, because I had originally planned for this to be the last post of the series. However, things got in the way, and I haven't had much of a chance to add to the series, and it's been months since I first got the binder. Since then, dad has picked up more tubs off of them and I haven't even gotten into the hidden treasures in them! So, without further ado... just enjoy, perhaps the greatest part of my entire collection!

Yes, this post, is dedicated to the one and only baseball icon, one of my all time favorite players, Mickey Mantle! The moment I opened up the mysterious binder, peeking beneath the first page, was a card of his, one that you'll see in a moment. First off however, are the least valuable of this group. 

The top card, from the 1961 Topps set, a set I've taken on the challenge of attempting to complete, reflects when Mantle hit a 565 foot home run, known as the "Tape Measure Shot"! An arrow points from home plate to beyond the outfield bleachers, outside of Griffith Stadium! The bottom card, from 1965 Topps, has to do with his clutch home run to win Game 3 of the 1964 World Series against the Cardinals. Both cards don't have the aura to them, like his regular cards, but they capture some of the greatest moments in one of the greatest baseball player's career!

The next two cards are the same, but its certainly not a bad card to get 2 of! From 1968 Topps, this is a "Super Stars" card with Mantle, joining legends Willie Mays, and recently deceased Harmon Killebrew! This is truly an unreal card, between these three players are 7,784 lifetime hits, and 1,769 home runs! I absolutely love the card, but with finding two of them, I was wondering if any of you would be interested in making me an offer for one of the two cards. What I ask for in exchange is a Mickey Mantle card that you own, that is NOT also in this post. I don't know if I'll get any offers, but I would love to make more of a variety in my small Mantle collection. 

Next, from 1963 Bazooka, a very mini sized card of Mantle. This is a neat little card, which I've never seen before, but I like it. It may not also carry the value of these next three, but any Mantle card is a Mantle card!

This was the first Mantle card I caught my eyes on, and it is by far my favorite of any of these cards. The 1968 Topps Mantle card may be his second to final issued Topps card, but it may just be one of his finest. Mantle, portrayed in his lefty stance, shows his injuries finally wearing him down. Also, just to point it out, other than a slight centering issue, the card is in very nice shape! 

Turning back the clock a year brings us my next Mantle card, this being his 1967 Topps card. It seemed as if Topps tried their hardest to make Mantle's card the greatest looking year in and year out, and they seemed to succeed. This isn't Mantle's coolest card by any means, but it's very valuable and nice all around!

The last, but not least (hopefully) card of Mantle was this one, from 1961 Topps! This was the main reason I decided that I could attempt this set, because I was able to knock off perhaps the most valuable card in the set for free. It's not in good shape surfacing wise, but it looks better in person than it does on the scan. Sometimes wear can be a nice thing for vintage cards, just to assure you it's not a reprint, and it can have interesting stories behind them, of the times where people bought baseball cards for the sake of having baseball cards, and not to have eBay in their back pocket, ready to let loose of their valuable items.

I wanted to finish this post by saying that it's hard for me to make this out to seem like a regular, nonchalant kind of deal. These are cards that I never thought I could even DREAM of owning, and now, not only do I have one, not 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, but 8 cards of Mickey Mantle from his playing days is absolutely unbelievable! I'm not one of those collectors that spends money, looks at the card once, and never again. I look at, cherish, and hold memories with a lot of the cards I own, and these will certainly be some of them.

This won't be the final binder post yet, as I want to highlight the rookies and other stars I found in there. But nothing can top "The Mick", especially in baseball card lure.

See Ya!

Revealing the Mysterious Binder... A Little At A Time... Say Hey Willie Edition!

Hey guys, Drew back here! I'm back to continue the mini-series I recently started, having to do with an incredible binder of cards that my dad got from a lady on Craigslist. She couldn't have found a more responsible and caring collector to pass her deceased father's collection down to than me, and I really appreciate all that she did for my collection! This time, we honor one of the/if not the greatest player to EVER play baseball, Mr. Willie Mays!

Mays played 22 seasons in his MLB career, spanning from 1951 to 1973, with a brief break in 1952 and all of 1953 when the Army drafted him for the Korean War. He spent over 20 seasons of his career with the New York/San Francisco Giants, and played the remainder of his games for the Mets. Of course, his 660 career home runs ranks him 4th of all time, behind Barry Bonds(*), Hank Aaron, and Babe Ruth, and his 3,283 hits ranks him 11th all time. He made 24 All Star teams, won 12 Gold Glove awards, 2 MVP Awards, a World Series Championship in 1954, and made some of the greatest plays of all time! To say that the "Say Hey Kid" is the greatest all around player baseball has ever seen can easily be backed up and agreed with!

We begin with Willie's 1961 Topps card! First off, this is a very good card for me to have, as it fills one of the biggest holes in my huge 1961 Topps set wantlist, but second, its a great card. Maybe had Mays been wearing a hat or looked a little more awake this card could have been nicer, but its still a card of Willie Mays! The card isn't in mint condition but it looks presentable, so that's fine with me. As long as it's not absolutely destroyed, I'm more than happy to add any vintage card.

Next are 2 cards that feature the exact same photo, Mays' 1968 and 1965 Topps cards. What a dumb move by Topps to use the same photo, especially one that he's not even looking in. It does make it easier to compare designs, and in this case, 1965 Topps obviously is my favorite of the 2. The scan cut off part of the right hand side of the 65 card, and both of the cards are in nice shape.

Lastly, here are 2 amazing cards from the 1967 Topps set. On the left is a beautiful base card of Mays, by far my favorite of the Mays cards I own. Everything is done perfectly on the card and its in great condition. On the right is a "Fence Busters" card featuring Mays and his slugging partner Willie McCovey! McCovey may not have been as legendary as Mays, but he also hit 521 homers in his career, and to say the two players are "Fence Busters" when they combined for 1,181 home runs in their careers makes 100% perfect sense!

"I was very blessed with a good body. Never got hurt. Never was in the hospital. The only time I was in the hospital was when I would get exhausted a little bit, and go in for a check-up or something." - Willie Mays

I actually recently watched an interview with Mays on the MLB Network. The "bitter and mean" person that many collectors make him out to be disappeared for a nice interview with Bob Costas, and it was really great to watch. God bless Willie Mays, now at 79 years young, The "Say Hey Kid" will always be remembered!

See Ya!

TTM's #41 and 42! Two Old Timers!

Hey guys, Drew back here. My TTM addiction continues as within the past 2 days I've received 2 successes. Check them out:

The first success was 2 cards signed by former Pirates pitcher Vern Law. The first card is one of my Pirates customs, and it was signed very nicely in black sharpie, and the second was a 1967 Topps card that was smudged a little onto the back of the custom. It's no problem because I'm too lazy to create the backs right now, and when I do I'll just print it and glue it to the back, so no harm done. This took 10 days to come back, which is again an extremely fast return. Like Dick Groat, his signature is extremely neat and readable, which is always a plus.

Vern "Deacon" Law pitched for 16 seasons, all for the Pirates. He was a 2 time All Star and won the 1960 NL Cy Young Award Winner. That season, he went 20-9 with a 3.08 ERA, and was the ace of the 1960 Champion Pirates team. He won a total of 167 games in his career, with 1,092 strikeouts and a 3.77 ERA. He also served in the military for 2 years, and is a member of "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints". He was nicknamed the "Deacon" or "Preacher" due to this.

Overall that was another great success, and now onto the second and final success to show off today..

Former Indians 3rd baseman Al Rosen signed a custom and index card for me in 8 days! Rosen, known as the "Hebrew Hammer" or "Flip", played 10 seasons in his MLB career, all for Cleveland. He made 4 All Star teams throughout his career, boasting big home run and RBI numbers. In 1953, he batted .336, with 43 home runs and 145 RBI, and with a grand total of 367 total bases! That was by far his greatest season but he had many other good years in his short career. He also was enlisted into the Navy after Pearl Harbor, and stayed for 2 years. His career batting average was .285, and he hit 192 home runs, and had 1,063 hits. Had he stayed in baseball longer he could've been an even greater player with larger statistics.

"That young feller, that feller's a ball player. He'll give you the works every time. Gets all the hits, gives you the hard tag in the field. That feller's a real competitor, you bet your sweet curse life." - Casey Stengel

Rosen signed the custom really nicely, and the scan doesn't do justice to how it looks in person. However, he sloppily signed the index card, which kinda sucked, but considering he's 86 years young, it's understandable.

I'm so psyched to add these 2 players to my autograph collection! Thanks Mr. Law and Mr. Rosen! See Ya!