Very Delayed Christmas Gifts from Dad!

Hey everyone, Drew back here! It's been just about the toughest week I've had in a long time, and it isn't even over yet. While I finished my midterms today, I have to prepare for the SAT tomorrow. Fortunately, there isn't an enormous amount of pressure considering this is my first crack at it, of the three opportunities you're given. I'm not too worried about it, but the last thing I need right now is another four or five hours of sitting at a desk in complete silence. Anyway, I am ridiculously behind on here. It's January 25th, and I have to show you stuff from exactly one month ago, which is pretty lame on my part. School comes first though, and while I've certainly upgraded my collection tremendously in the past month, I didn't find the time to show it off on here. Well, without any further delay, here's a look at what Dad bought for me this Christmas:

First off was this nice 2005 Donruss Champions Frank Robinson relic! I'm not quite sure what it is, but there is something very appealing about this card. It has a nice, glossy finish on it, and the black relic looks pretty cool. I know a few people who would love this in their collection, however I think I might hang on to it for now.

Dad occasionally has mentioned how he really enjoyed watching Dave Kingman, among others, when he was younger. I don't really know a whole lot about him, but I do know he was a great power hitter, and he stopped briefly during his career in New York. From doing a little research, I learned he is one of only a few players in history to play for 4 different teams in 1 season, which he did in 1977. He finished the season with the Yankees, but didn't get to play in October for the soon to be World Series team because he was added to the team past the deadline.

I'm pretty sure I've got two or three of this card now, however, I really do like the 2003 Yankees Signature Series set Upper Deck released. I've considered going for the set, even though there are a few huge roadblocks in the way (Brian Cashman's autograph sells for 3 figures, easily). If anybody wants this one, let me know. It'd be really cool if I could get a different player in the set for it, if anyone is up for that sort of trade!

 I've been a fan of Sparky Lyle's ever since I read his book, "The Bronx Zoo", a few years ago. I loved how open he was about some of the pranks he pulled! This won't be the last time Sparky is mentioned on this blog in the upcoming weeks (hint, hint)! He's got a real nice autograph, and even though I had a few certified autographs of his already, I didn't have this one yet!

Tommy John was a very good pitcher during his career, maybe not Hall of Fame worthy, but who even knows what that means anymore. I met Mr. John a few years back, and while he was friendly, it still kind of disappointed me how little attention he gave my friend Mike & I. He was signing 8x10s for the company in the midst of his autograph session, maybe because he had to leave early or something. I'm not upset about it, it just kind of lingers with me whenever I think about him. 

Those were all real nice, but this one took home the gold medal...

Out of 2005 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Classic, a Yogi Berra autograph! This card scanned terribly, but believe me it looks a heck of a lot better in person. Regardless, this is a beautiful card! Yogi, aside from Jeter, is my favorite living Yankee, so I'm always more than open to welcoming a new autograph of his to my collection! This is my 3rd Berra autograph in my collection, but hopefully I'll be able to add to that one day. It would mean the world if I got a chance to meet him, but that opportunity is looking real slim. The other day when he was honored at the B.A.T. dinner, Yogi didn't sound so good, basically repeating how much he loved baseball in a quiet, raspy voice, until his son Dale took over during the speech. Whether or not I'll ever get to shake his hand is one thing, but all I know for now is that it's smart to get some of his autographs, in case anything happens, because we all know ten years from now his autographs won't be as affordable.

Thank you so much Dad for all of the incredible cards! They'll fit in nicely to my ever growing collection! See Ya!

A 'Perfect' Christmas Gift!

Hey everyone, Drew back here! This month is looking worse and worse in terms of the amount of stress that I'm going to end up putting on myself. It appears that now the week of all of my mid terms won't end up with a nice, carefree weekend. Instead, I'm taking my first crack at the SAT the day after all those dreadful tests are over. Fortunately, I do have a few things to look forward to this month to keep me sane, the biggest being the White Plains card show the weekend of the 19th and 20th! The lineup is going to be stellar, and I'm looking forward to unloading a lot of precious Christmas money on some more sweet additions to my PC. Anyways, I still have a little bit more to get to with Christmas, so here's the 3rd and final autographed baseball I bought for myself this year:

In one of the nicest displays I have for any of my memorabilia rests this beautiful OAL Gene Budig ball, signed by two of the most perfect Yankees around, Don Larsen & David Wells! Of course, Wells & Larsen were two of the three Yankees in team history to throw a perfect game, Larsen's being in the 1956 World Series. The only other pitcher to throw a perfect game for the Yankees was David Cone, who I one day hope to add to the ball. Unfortunately, if I do, I might have to play with the label, possibly replacing to honor all three pitchers. 

Both Wells & Larsen inscribed the dates of their special days, making the piece even sweeter for any Yankee fan! 

Just like the Ford and Ryan lot, this ball was pre-certified by PSA/DNA, although it doesn't have any sticker on the ball. 

The piece also came with a hobby store certificate of authenticity, saying this is the 61st of 1956 balls in the series. This certificate came along with the photos above of the 2 pitchers signing the balls, to ensure even further that the autographs are real. It appears to have been at least 10 years ago, or who knows, maybe it was even before Cone threw his famous perfecto on July 18th, 1999.

When I won the auction for this ball, I knew it was going to end up being a mini project. Once I get Cone on it, I'll be much happier with the ball, but for now it still is very nice. Maybe one day it'll be a project again, if some other Yankee decides to throw a perfect game!

Anyway, thanks again mom & dad for letting me do all this on Collect Auctions, it made my Christmas even more special! See Ya!

Christmas Splurge: Chairman of the Board Edition

Hey guys, Drew back here! As was promised yesterday, here is the second of the three signed baseballs I managed to win on collectauctions.com as part of my Christmas gifts!

Yesterday I mentioned how on the auction site, I won a lot of two signed baseballs, and a third separate ball. This fantastic Whitey Ford baseball came in the lot along with the Nolan Ryan ball, and I got the lot for $100 total! Normally, it's hard to find a Ryan ball alone for less than $100, but I managed to get him and perhaps the greatest pitcher in Yankees history for one Franklin! Both balls came with a PSA/DNA pre-certification paper, rather than having actual stickers on the balls. 

I met Whitey Ford over the past summer, and I hate to say that the experience was pretty terrible. Mr. Ford seemed like a real nice man, however the guy in charge of the company really disappointed us, giving us literally seconds to speak to one of the most legendary figures in baseball history. However, having this beautiful baseball now sort of makes up for the mediocre visit I had with the "Chairman of the Board", whose stats don't speak for how terrific of a pitcher he was. 

Ford has become the 3rd member from the Hall of Fame that I own in my signed baseball collection! I never really wanted signed baseballs, however, I've been looking to add some variety in my collection. It's pretty difficult to keep adding huge signed pictures, there simply isn't enough room for that.

Be on the lookout for the third and final Christmas baseball! See Ya!

Autographed Baseball of a Legendary Flamethrower!

Hey guys, Drew back here! My Christmas recap was delayed a bit due to just pure busyness, however I am here to show off some of the sweet new additions in my collection! Before Christmas, I asked my mom if I could use some of the allotted Christmas money she would normally spend on me, and put it towards some nice autographed pieces for my collection. It was a little strange buying my own gifts, but with the reoccurring issue of authenticity, and since she wouldn't know where to start, it was probably for the best. 

So, William sent me a link to this website called collectauctions.com, which was about to do a very large auction containing tons of incredible memorabilia! Since not many people know about the site, we were both able to add a few sweet pieces to our collections for more affordable prices than they would have been anywhere else! I bought a lot of 2 signed baseballs, along with a third baseball that in my eyes, isn't quite complete yet, but you'll see that another day. Without any further ado, here is the first of the 3 balls, one that I got in a lot with tomorrow's baseball, for $100 (plus buyer's premium charges)!

Ball #1 is signed by one of the most overpowering pitchers in baseball history, a guy by the name of Nolan Ryan! I've wanted a Ryan autograph for a long time now, and when I saw the opportunity to grab this along with the other ball you'll see tomorrow at the price they were at, I had to do it! Ryan's bold, yet small signature was signed here on an OAL Bobby Brown baseball, and the autograph looks really sharp!

The ball doesn't have a PSA sticker on it, however in the box, there was a certificate of authenticity, pre-certified from PSA/DNA! I got a little nervous when I opened the box on Christmas morning, because these papers were buried below all of the packaging peanuts, and I was starting to think the company lied about them being certified, but sure enough I did some more digging and was instantly relieved!

I'm pretty sure there isn't much to say about Ryan that hasn't already been said. 7 no hitters, 324 wins, 5,714 strikeouts; and one of the most dominating presences baseball has ever seen. While I don't believe he should be in the top 5 best ever, he certainly deserves a spot just outside of that elite group. Either way, I'm still extremely excited to add this to my fresh autographed baseball collection!

Thanks Mom & Dad for letting me do this for myself! See Ya!

The Fat Man Fell Down My Chimney! Christmas Set Completion!

Hey everyone, Drew back here! Before I get to anything, I just want to wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc. Happy Holidays! I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday, because I certainly did! I got some really great pieces to show off over the next week or so for you guys, and I really hope you enjoy them half as much as I do! We'll start with this beauty, one that just so happened to complete a pretty darn nice set of mine...

The Great Bambino was able to climb down the chimney (surprisingly) and he just so happened to land in my stocking! Out of 2011 Topps Tier One, this Babe Ruth relic was the final piece I needed to complete the 50 card set! Unfortunately, two of the cards have been redeemed but still haven't made their way from Topps, even though 2012 Tier One has been out for months and preview images of 2013 Tier One were released yesterday. However, even if they don't ever make Rickey Henderson and Ryne Sandberg's cards, I will have the set complete.

I never dreamed to own a piece of Babe Ruth's anything. Whether it be a piece of his hat, a hair follicle, jersey, undershirt, belt, pants, jockstrap, glove, shoe, bat, or anything; I never thought that I'd be able to have any of Ruth's memorabilia. Even though the relic has lost a lot of its appeal to me, there is still a whole lot that is special about this card, and the whole set for that matter. Tier One offered collectors a fairly affordable opportunity to own pieces of the game's classic players such as Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, Cobb, and Hornsby, which is awfully hard to find nowadays. I probably wound up spending a good $400 myself on the set, but William helped out with the Gehrig and Aaron, and my dad certainly helped out a ton as well. I couldn't have done it without you guys, and it means a lot that you wanted to help me with my goals!

This Ruth card has instantly became one of the all time favorites in my collection. One day, I'll have to post pictures of the entire set, but I'd like to hear back from Topps about the final two cards before I do so. It may be complete, but those white fillers just haven't sat well with me since I've gotten them. 

Anyway, once again, Merry Christmas everyone! And thank you Mom & Dad! See Ya!