2015 East Coast National: 3 Hall of Famers!

Hey everyone, Drew back here with the second installment of my 2015 East Coast National recap series. Before I begin, I just want to say that with all the stuff I need to catch up on, the Ten for Tuesday posts will start back up in September. I've got various new, great ideas ready to go, and I'm looking forward to sharing them with you all!

The big draws of the day at the Westchester County Center were Cal Ripken Jr. and Steelers greats Franco Harris and Hines Ward. I had already met Cal before, and with his expensive ticket prices, I decided to spend my money elsewhere, while the Steelers prices were far too high for a Jet fan to wish to pay. Instead, I bought tickets for three legendary players of their own rights; Al Kaline, Eddie Murray, and Brooks Robinson.

All three began signing at 12:00, and I immediately hopped on the Kaline line. I have heard some horror stories in the past about Mr. Tiger being moody, but luckily today he was all smiles. It was his first appearance at one of their shows, and I was towards the front of the line. He didn't say much to me, but was friendly, shaking my hand for the photo and thanking me for coming out.

I couldn't have received a better autograph from the man who once accumulated 3,000 hits and made 18 All Star teams. He inscribed his Hall of Fame year for free and gave me precisely what I was looking for. For 80 years old, he looks to be in excellent health, and it was nice to get a chance to meet him considering he seems to rarely make New York signings.

Eddie Murray was up next, and I could not wait to have a signed ball of his to add (along with Kaline's) to my Hall of Fame ball display. I've never heard anything particularly bad about him at signings, although he was once heralded as "bad with the media" during his career. After looking into it more, it just seems like he was a quiet, independent man that really just wasn't looking to be bothered. When I met him, I certainly got that vibe.

I didn't get much out of Murray either, but he was friendly enough to take a quick photo with me. Whenever I think of him, I think back to the days of the Grandpa Roy Column and the list we compiled of what is now 5 players in history who retired with over 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. Alex Rodriguez joined Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Rafael Palmeiro, and Murray when he recorded his 3,000th hit in 2015. It's an extra exclusive club that should warrant a Hall of Fame induction statistically, but most likely will not in the cases of Palmeiro and Rodriguez thanks to their ongoing PED allegations.

Murray really took his time in signing the ball as eloquently as possible. For the price I paid, he better have. It came out really well, and I'm glad I saved up to add him to my collection. This is now my 21st signed Hall of Fame baseball, and I believe that means I'm slowly but surely catching up to William. One day...

Finally, the player I had most been looking forward to shaking hands with. I always say how I forever have a deep love and respect for the third base position, and this man was the epitome of mastering the position. Some consider him the greatest to ever man the hot corner, but everyone calls him the best defensive player there without question. He's also one of William's favorite players, which gave me extra incentive to want to cough up the money to meet Brooks Robinson.

18 All Star Games. 16 Consecutive Gold Gloves. 2 World Series Rings. What didn't Brooks do? Beyond the numbers, the sparkling plays, and all of the trophies he can proudly display, what stands out over anything is the man that Brooks is. I was proudly wearing my Yankees gear, but that didn't keep him from treating me as if I were wearing his jersey and an Orioles cap. He has certainly seen his best years already, but he seemed to really want to make an impact on others as simply and sweetly as he could. The first two experiences were pretty quiet, but Brooks was as kind and polite as could be, and totally won me over for the day.

Props to Dad by the way for getting an awesome picture of Brooks and I.

Since my Dad bought me a signed baseball of his for my birthday a few weeks ago, I had to scramble to find something to have him sign. I mostly paid for his autograph to meet him rather than for the autograph, but I decided to have him sign an 8x10 of his famous World Series diving stop against the Cincinnati Reds in 1970. For his great all around performance (and especially phenomenal defensive plays), he was awarded the World Series MVP that year.

There was a free inscription along with any Brooks autograph, and I chose the 16 Gold Gloves over the Hall of Fame and World Series MVP because it says more about him than either of the other two. Many have been inducted into Cooperstown, and many have been named MVP of the Fall Classic. But no position player has ever won 16 Gold Gloves but Brooks (Greg Maddux and Jim Kaat did as pitchers, but that is besides the point).

Brooks was everything my Dad and I had hoped he would be, and then some. I'm going to proudly place my signed photo in my nice signed photo book to show off in the future.

See Ya!

A Golden Ball of a Gold Glover

Hey everyone, Drew back here! It already feels like the summer is beginning to wind down, but I'm far from ready for it to end. Unfortunately, I will not be flying to Chicago this weekend for the National, but I do plan on attending the East Coast National, hosted by JP's Sports, for the 7th straight year! They always make their lineup especially solid for their summer show, and I'm looking forward to getting three more Hall of Fame autographs in my collection that day. 

One of the players I planned to have sign a baseball for me was Brooks Robinson. Brooks is William's favorite player from everything I've gathered, and he seems like such like a wonderful man (not to mention one hell of a third baseman). My dad decided for my birthday to find something to spoil me with, and with his gift, I will have to find something creative for the Human Vacuum Cleaner to sign (perhaps a vacuum?).  

Yeah, that's right. For all of $25, my dad got me this awesome Tristar certified Brooks Robinson signed baseball; HOF Inscription and all! I researched the certification, which said that the ball was signed at a Houston card show in 1992; so it has a little bit of wear to it, but still looks great considering it's older than me! Robinson has one of the best signatures I've seen, especially among the Hall of Fame, and I've been wanting to get him on a ball for what feels like forever. He is now in my Hall of Fame ball case I got last Christmas, and after the card show I will have officially filled the case with nothing but Cooperstown's best.

Thank you so much Dad for the great surprise! Now, I ask you, the audience: what should I have Brooks sign for me at the show? I was debating between a bat or his famous World Series dive photo. Let me know in the comments below!

See Ya!

Topps Tier One Relic Pickups!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Moving along with the rest of the stuff cluttering my desk, here are a few cards I was able to pick up off of eBay recently, both of which go towards my new set chase! Take a look:

First off was this Brooks Robinson jersey relic out of 2011 Topps Tier One, numbered 76 of 399! Obviously, I know a certain blogger who would love the heck out of this card, but for the sets sake, it's going to have to stay with me. There's no doubting that besides Mike Schmidt, Brooks could be arguably one of the top 2 or 3 best 3rd basemen of all time! This card is so nice, and the jersey relic is so soft! 

The next, and final card for this post was this 2011 Topps Tier One relic numbered 179 of 399 of Mets Hall of Famer Tom Seaver! I'm not sure what to really make of this card. The design, photo, and just about everything was executed perfectly. But I'm a little stumped as to why they chose to use a bat relic of his for the set. It's very rare to find bat cards of pitchers, and it can be a cool find here and there, but in a high end relic set like this, wouldn't it be smart to choose something more, um, relevant to the player? Seaver was a lifetime .154 hitter, with 12 home runs, and 99 hits in 1552 at bats. Go Tom Terrific! Besides that fact it's a pretty nice addition to the set chase!

Alright that'll just about do it guys, please shoot me an email or comment if you have any of the Tier One relic cards. I'm only looking for the the single relics, except for these players- Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, and Mickey Mantle, who I am interested in adding the dual relics for. Thanks!

See Ya!

White Plains Card Show 1/22/12 Recap, Part Two!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Now that we're underway with the card show review, I'm just going to let it continue. Check it out!

PART 2: 1961 Topps Pickups

The 1961 Set has been moving quite slow of late for us, but every show Dad and I tend to at least chip away a few cards from the set. We've knocked off a majority of the star player base cards, except for Bob Gibson, Carl Yastrzemski, Sandy Koufax, and Roberto Clemente, however there is still a long way to go until the set is be anywhere close to complete! I officially announced that I was collecting the set last spring, so within the year, to be able to track down 1/3 of the set is not bad at all! Anyways, let's get to the new additions to the set:

Some may consider this set extremely boring, but honestly I think there's something about them that I really like. It's a very classy set, and while it doesn't contain the flare and fantastic design that many modern sets have, I still value the photo more than anything else. There are some classic shots in this set for sure. My favorite of the 8 above cards is definitely Ted Kluszewski, who was known for being the muscular home run hitting guy who cut his sleeves off on his jersey. Unfortunately, while the card is nice, it doesn't show his hot abs!

Next up are all of the remaining League Leaders cards I needed for the whole set! Honestly, I think these cards are the ugliest part of the set, but that's just my opinion. Of course, there is nothing ugly about the top card, featuring Mantle and Maris! Anyways, there are some solid players displayed on these cards without a doubt, but I'm not a big fan of the overall design. Still, they are part of the set, which means I'm obligated to obtain them. I'm glad to have them all out of the way!

In my opinion, the top pickups (besides the Mantle/Maris leaders card) were of these 4 players: Warren Spahn, Brooks Robinson, Bill Virdon, and Harmon Killebrew. While clearly Virdon may not fit with the other 3 Hall of Famers, I like him a lot and it's a nice card. I got him through the mail a while back and he also was a Yankee manager so I'm a fan for sure. Besides Virdon, I've been really meaning to add Brooks' card for a while now. Not only do I think it's one of the nicest cards in the set, but I knocked off a majority of the first 50 cards, and he was the biggest card I needed to get. Also, Dad originally bought a Richie Ashburn but then realized we had it, went back and exchanged it for the Warren Spahn you see above. I didn't have much in Spahn, so I'm glad he was able to get that one! Lastly, the late Harmon Killebrew's card is pretty nice as well, showing him while his hair was still a full strawberry blonde/brownish color. 

So, that will do it for the 1961 portion of my card show gatherings! Thanks a lot Dad for all of the help as always! You're the best! If anyone has any 1961 Topps cards you wouldn't mind trading, please take a look at my list of what I have under the first headline of the sidebar! Thanks guys!

See Ya!

Vintage Cards From Pop Popps

Hey guys, Drew back here. It's been a while, but we have another edition of the "Vintage Cards from Pop Popps" series. As you all know, my Pop Popps has been a great helper to me in building up a well rounded vintage collection, and has gotten me cards from all sorts of former greats, including some Hall of Fame rookie cards! The last time I did post a stack of cards from him I wrote that it may have been the final stack I'd ever receive from him, yet I was surprised to receive one more stack just a few days ago. Take a look and see what was in it:

There wasn't one card that could lead the pack, but a few solid Hall of Famers can certainly make me a happy camper! With 1972 Topps cards of Steve Carlton and Catfish Hunter, along with "Boyhood Photos of the Stars" cards of Lou Piniella and Brooks Robinson, this group of cards was fun to flip through. The best card in my opinion was the 1975 Topps Victory Leaders featuring Hunter, Ferguson Jenkins, Andy Messersmith, and Phil Niekro. If Messersmith is the worst pitcher on the card then it sure can be worse! Most of the cards ranged from 1971 to 1975, as they do in most other stacks he's given me, which is really cool. I'm sure if I counted up the amount of 1973 and 1975 Topps cards I have I could attempt to build those sets.

Thanks so much Pop Popps! See Ya!

TTM #65- Orioles Greatness!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Yesterday, I finally got back from one of the best third basemen of all time in a through the mail I sent way back on March 4th. I was notified by William of a signing he was doing in which you could mail in items for $30 minimum (depending on what you requested to be signed) and get an autograph back! So, I'm questioning whether to consider this a TTM or not, because it's very similar to what I did to get Joe Morgan to sign for me. Anyway, check this out!

 

I was a little nervous of what was inside the envelope because it was really thick, but none the less it was just a letter thanking me for the purchase. If anyone is interested in trying out "The Dugout Zone" feel free to do so, because they're very good!

 

If you didn't notice by now, Brooks Robinson is the player that this envelope came back from! Brooks was recently having some health problems but fortunately he is ok for now and is back up and running. Above is my ticket for the autograph, I guess to perhaps use as a Certificate of Authenticity. 

 

Now for what you've all been waiting for, this is the result! I was biting my nails for a while in hopes that the card wouldn't come back damaged, as I sent it right during the end of my damaged custom era, but instead, it was almost in perfect condition! What a miracle! It came back in a toploader and team bag, so The Dugout Zone did a fantastic job for me on this one! Not only did he sign it, but he also inscribed his Hall of Fame year, and the autograph looks outstanding! Brooks joins many other Hall of Fame legends in my "Hall of Fame Heroes" set collection, as one day I hope to reach many, many more of them for my collection!

Brooks was totally worth the $30 in my opinion. An 18 time All Star, 1964 AL MVP, and a 16 Time Gold Glover just gives him the numbers that only Mike Schmidt and possibly Alex Rodriguez could ever reach. He may be the greatest 3rd baseman of all time, and I'm so fortunate that he was well enough to sign the card for me.

Thanks a ton to The Dugout Zone and Brooks Robinson! And also a big thanks to William for letting me know of this signing! See Ya!

Confirmation Gift from Dad: Hit Gold!

Hey guys, Drew back here. We had a party celebrating my Confirmation yesterday, and my dad, yeah, again, got me boxes of cards. Which is very awesome, just very hard to sort out. He got it for around $40 at a yard sale, and we hit gold as usual...

Yep, filled with cards, and this for the hockey fans...

I looked through most everything in the boxes. 2 cards really stuck out and made the purchase a true success.

An autograph of Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson! My baseball coach always talks about Brooks' stellar defense back in the 1970's, and this is my first auto of him. It can with a certificate too, like the Frank Robinson and Bob Gibson ones I already had. The "B" in the auto looks pretty bad though but I'm sure it's legit.

Right in the middle of the 1980 Topps stack I came across this one. The Rickey Henderson rookie card! Now I have what you may consider 2 of the most legendary cards of the 80's! I've wanted this card for a while now and now I have this and the Griffey.

With the help of my awesome dad, my collection is getting pretty nice! I got a ton of $ yesterday, and I don't want to spend it all, but I do want to buy 3 things. A jumbo box of Topps Series 2, a box of 2010 Allen & Ginter, and an autograph of my favorite player. Stay tuned, and see ya!