tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23167967524897180182024-02-07T15:23:16.046-05:00Baseball Card LockerAnthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316796752489718018.post-89959511120041500972015-03-31T12:43:00.000-04:002015-03-31T12:43:29.807-04:00Getting Back in the Game... AgainI can not believe that almost 2 years has gone by since my last post. I actually started writing a few posts last year, but I didn't get very far. I actually did collect cards in 2014, although not as much as I had in 2012 or 2013. When I first got back into collecting a few years, I bought a lot of everything and I didn't end up enjoying it too much. I ended up with a lot of cards that I really didn't want or need.<br />
In 2014, a lot of things changed, I was married and bought a house, so I couldn't dedicate as many of my resources towards baseball cards. After collecting again and buying a lot of different things, I was able to narrow down the stuff I liked and things I wasn't that into. Last year, I didn't buy any flagship Topps Series 1 or 2, but did grab a box of Opening Day and Topps Update. I missed out on Archives, but I did very well with my 2 boxes of Heritage.<br />
<a href="http://www.tradingcarddb.com/Images/Cards/Baseball/97895/97895-24684864Fr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.tradingcarddb.com/Images/Cards/Baseball/97895/97895-24684864Fr.jpg" height="320" width="230" /></a>So that brings us to 2015. I am hoping to get back into posting on this blog and making trades with other collectors. I follow a lot of collectors on twitter so that helps me stay current to what they have going on and has made me want to get back into posting more regularly. I have been working on some posts that I hope to have finished during the next week and updated my Want Lists, so check them out and let's make a deal.<br />
Thanks for reading.<br />
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<br />Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316796752489718018.post-3174322986685646732013-05-18T10:51:00.002-04:002013-05-18T10:51:57.610-04:00Slow GoingI haven't posted much, but that is also because I haven't had a lot going on in the baseball card department. I was not a big fan of Gypsy Queen in 2012 and have stayed away completely in 2013. There are a few cards that really interest me and I do like a few of the inserts, but I will probably pick those up at a later time. I also decided that I would not buy a Bowman Jumbo box this year. I am interested in the prospects, but at this time those are a lower priority.<br />
I have picked up a few blasters of Heritage, hoping to get the one with the print run that I'm missing, but alas, I get a few cards that I need and a big pile of duplicates.<br />
I did finally put up my need list for 2013 Heritage and hope to get some trades working, so that I can knock off a good chunk of the set. If you can help a fellow collector out, tweet, comment or email me and we can set up a trade.<br />
Thanks for reading and hopefully I won't go so long between posts.Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316796752489718018.post-16453655870849719622013-03-28T11:43:00.002-04:002013-03-28T11:43:51.328-04:00Heritage Hoopla<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiau5jULlE-lk7GYjnGtSbBjQT_2XP_x5WGUvWclruuho4UrSOkd3HJ-Pkh1u25MbGU9-YxSoJ_LcfA7tKd8sDLjrMFilJfbqaPnZPewJK1rRf8_5kBm-ehZR6CvxU3nQidguaUuRc-Vvc/s1600/IMAGE_E6FDE180-C4E3-4713-93AC-A087E3504180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiau5jULlE-lk7GYjnGtSbBjQT_2XP_x5WGUvWclruuho4UrSOkd3HJ-Pkh1u25MbGU9-YxSoJ_LcfA7tKd8sDLjrMFilJfbqaPnZPewJK1rRf8_5kBm-ehZR6CvxU3nQidguaUuRc-Vvc/s1600/IMAGE_E6FDE180-C4E3-4713-93AC-A087E3504180.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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I know that I am way behind on my Heritage post, but the last few weeks have afforded me very little time for writing. But I have been thinking a lot about this post, so I guess that's something, right?<br />
Before I get into Heritage 2013, let me back track to a post that I wrote in August of 2012 about <a href="http://baseballcardlocker.blogspot.com/2012/08/2012-topps-heritage.html">Heritage '12</a>. I wrote about how much I liked the design and cardstock of Heritage and how I was actually happy about getting manager cards. I also spoke about how I wasn't going to try and collect the set because the 75 SP cards really felt like a daunting challenge to overcome. However, the more I went through my collection, saw the cards in binders, the more I really ended up liking the set. I think it might be that I really like the 1963 design and I even thought about going vintage and collecting the original '63 Topps set (an idea that I am still kicking around), but whatever it is, Heritage had me hooked.<br />
As the previews of the 2013 Topps products began coming out and since I had already gotten a sense of what products I liked and didn't like, I knew that I would be able to focus on just a few items instead of buying every release. I am also getting married in August, so I also needed to cut my baseball card budget. With my newly developed affection for Heritage, I decided early on that I was all in on the 2013 version of Heritage, which recreated the 1964 Topps design.<br />
As March approached, I was very excited for the release. When March 6th rolled around, I grabbed 2 Hobby boxes from my LCS and was set to begin ripping packs and building my set. My first box produced 2 box topper packs, one for a 3 card box loader featuring Glen Perkins, Jonathan Papelbon, and Patrick Corbin.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji2ltEklHC54oqCOKH6UbeFHQw-HKni_08y1Umjw5vVRZZQH_MYWbgwi418VhMdiDLup6zKtmXKd8McY87MRH2B65exuP2xap5FoeJQ0gmA45382HAsv7Q-GDe8Xxd5czrSARC0DYmkKI/s1600/IMAGE_6BE22EAB-BCFC-441F-9B5D-CF3330E0A321.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji2ltEklHC54oqCOKH6UbeFHQw-HKni_08y1Umjw5vVRZZQH_MYWbgwi418VhMdiDLup6zKtmXKd8McY87MRH2B65exuP2xap5FoeJQ0gmA45382HAsv7Q-GDe8Xxd5czrSARC0DYmkKI/s1600/IMAGE_6BE22EAB-BCFC-441F-9B5D-CF3330E0A321.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
The second pack was an Oversized Box loader, which ended up being a Justin Verlander relic numbered 13/25. It is a very nice card and is something that would look good displayed. I'm not sure what I want to do with it yet, but it was a nice surprise.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHVgBeNtjzGtj3W1AQEY4E4KdpOZTKiUkoJNy6amtNPg-u8vr55psa0tIZorxVRz7Cxy9pOqYJfZyNM0so0REINlRZainmhH3giTmc6PbpTV9ydmWe4hnRJEj3C0Y22PzVP9s-_EESz7E/s1600/IMAGE_81831458-9E61-4C10-9F27-8F7F83BD0951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHVgBeNtjzGtj3W1AQEY4E4KdpOZTKiUkoJNy6amtNPg-u8vr55psa0tIZorxVRz7Cxy9pOqYJfZyNM0so0REINlRZainmhH3giTmc6PbpTV9ydmWe4hnRJEj3C0Y22PzVP9s-_EESz7E/s1600/IMAGE_81831458-9E61-4C10-9F27-8F7F83BD0951.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comparison of size of an Oversisized box loader and base card<br />
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After my beginner's luck, I started ripping packs and was still very happy with the design and look of the cards. The 1964 design looked great, the photography was also good. Although, I do think I still liked the '12 Heritage a bit better in that regard. The cardstock, as many bloggers and collectors have mentioned, is not great. I had hoped for a thicker card as that is what is cool about vintage cards. But if you want vintage quality, I think the only place to really get it is in vintage cards. So while I am a little disappointed, I'm not up in arms about it. <br />
The thing that has been the most disappointing is the number of duplicates in the 2 boxes that I opened. Both boxes were from the same case, but I still expect more variation than what I got. Some packs in the same box were almost exactly similar which was even more frustrating. Between the 2 boxes, about 1/3 of the cards that I pulled were duplicates. That is extremely frustrating. Even more frustrating is that I got the same exact New Age Performers in both boxes and a few other duplicate inserts. I also pulled duplicates for 3 different SP's. I knew that completing the set would be a challenge, but all the extra cards I pulled are making it even more difficult. The bright side to this is I have lots of cards to trade in order to complete my set, so once my lists are up, I hope to be able to cut down on the cards I need.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVqNGn9G-PrvysZ-t53UTaBhrTssmEVs_lMnjW9Dro22p-e_7mZNOCaC2gz6abhekJKguEUiMXoHk6Di6u4w6LMeJI5Nwf-PyF2eS_33MAGNirsog6XGFyN1wqwzgxRmAPXnaMkSEbBM8/s1600/IMAGE_B292C8EA-ABA4-4DF5-8ADB-C3C471E7B3E0.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVqNGn9G-PrvysZ-t53UTaBhrTssmEVs_lMnjW9Dro22p-e_7mZNOCaC2gz6abhekJKguEUiMXoHk6Di6u4w6LMeJI5Nwf-PyF2eS_33MAGNirsog6XGFyN1wqwzgxRmAPXnaMkSEbBM8/s1600/IMAGE_B292C8EA-ABA4-4DF5-8ADB-C3C471E7B3E0.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of duplicate insert cards. That will make set building even harder.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZjxANJcYcCKfqDG74V4E_FDJKEWQSNAkw3zk-3UjgdQSNxIRoJkjE9jZFgiNFunVvyVMH66ywyYKDBwXGV3Y4iEMknNUSkvXwC7fUSVU6J8n1ze9gdI030MvpEXLlmBKxZkYzPfX5UQ/s1600/IMAGE_8DBC108E-53E6-4001-8964-67C9C86BFCFD.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZjxANJcYcCKfqDG74V4E_FDJKEWQSNAkw3zk-3UjgdQSNxIRoJkjE9jZFgiNFunVvyVMH66ywyYKDBwXGV3Y4iEMknNUSkvXwC7fUSVU6J8n1ze9gdI030MvpEXLlmBKxZkYzPfX5UQ/s1600/IMAGE_8DBC108E-53E6-4001-8964-67C9C86BFCFD.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 2 stacks on the left are my sorted cards for the set, the pile on the right is my duplicates.<br />Almost 1/3 of the cards that I got out of the 2 boxes were duplicates.</td></tr>
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I did have a few nice pulls from the boxes including SP variation cards of Mike Trout and Andrew McCutchen. My second box produced a 1964 card of Barry Latman, which was kinda disappointing after the ones I received in the first box. The 2 relic cards that I got were nothing really exciting with Colby Rasmus and Johnny Cueto, except for that fact that the Cueto is hand numbered /99.<br />
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So all in all I am still happy with my decision to focus on Heritage for 2013, although I do see that it is going to take some work to complete, but hopefully those of you who read the blog (thank you by the way) will be able to help and we can get some trades going.<br />
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Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316796752489718018.post-21441322192932369722013-03-01T09:00:00.000-05:002013-03-01T09:36:38.349-05:00Putting a Dent in 2012 and 2013: Check Out My Cards and ebayWith the new 2013 products hitting the shelves, I took to COMC.com and ebay to try and complete some of my outstanding 2012 set lists. On ebay, I was able to score 30 of the 2012 Topps Update '87 minis that I needed. I found a great seller, who had one of those "Complete Your Set" listings. I am now down to 6 cards still outstanding from the Update set.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sampling of my lot of 2012 Topps Update '87 minis from ebay.</td></tr>
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I then headed to COMC.com and began trying to knock out some of my 2012 Archives needs. I was able to get the last 4 base cards that I needed and picked up some of the cheaper SP cards. I also found the last 2 Series 1 '87 Minis that I needed.<br />
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For under $30, I was able to take care of some of my 2012 needs. While I would have preferred making trades to obtain some of these cards, I don't think I did too badly. Towards the end of last baseball season, I decided that while I do love ripping packs, it would be a better use of resources to not buy retail blasters trying to chase after some of the cards that I needed to round out sets. I have a ton of duplicate base cards because I did not abide by that theory in the beginning of the season. This year, I am following through with my late season approach. I bought my HTA Jumbo box of Series 1 and haven't bought another pack since. Instead, I was able to find a lot of the 2013 Series 1 '72 Minis that I needed on ebay. 10 cards for $4.00 and I was able to knock 8 more cards from my want list. The 2 duplicates were Matt Holliday and Mike Trout, which I won't complain about. My <a href="http://baseballcardlocker.blogspot.com/p/topps-2013-needs-and-for-trade.html">2013 Want and For Trade lists</a> are now up and I would appreciate any help with them. Thanks for reading.</div>
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Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316796752489718018.post-41644612524782446362013-02-27T18:20:00.000-05:002013-02-27T18:20:17.611-05:00Spring FeverSpring Training games have begun and I have redeemed my 1 Spring Fever Card at my LCS, East Coast Connection in Lyndhurst, NJ. I really like the cards, especially the palm trees and I was happy about pulling a Yankee in Mr. Robinson Cano. Even though I do like the design, I am willing to part with the other 4 cards. I would like the Mattingly or a HOF if someone wanted to swap Spring Fever cards. Otherwise, I can part with them for some of the 2013 '72 minis that I still need.<br />
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<br />Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316796752489718018.post-8526336714624696572013-02-18T15:39:00.000-05:002013-02-18T15:39:09.150-05:00Topps 2013 - My HitsAs I mentioned in my two previous posts, I have really enjoyed the 2013 product put out by Topps. While, I didn't have the greatest hits in my HTA Hobby Box, I am still impressed by their quality.<br />
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As you can see, I had a Dodger box, with the Dee Gordon Chasing the Dream auto and the Sandy Koufax MVP Award card. My final hit was the Doc Gooden Chasing History patch.<br />
The Chasing the Dream card has very nice placement of the signature and the design of the Chasing History set makes the patch fit in very nicely. <br />
The MVP Award winner set is easily my favorite looking insert set. I really like the design and the thickness of the cards. I have already started pursuing some of the other cards and have purchased the Braun and A-Rod cards on ebay. I am still looking for a few more of them especially the Dennis Eckersley, Don Mattingly, and George Brett. If I had the financial means, I would pursue the set, but I think that might not be realistic. The Cy Young Award winner and Silver Slugger Award winner cards are also very sharp and I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a few of those too.<br />
If anyone is interested, all three of these cards are for trade and if anyone has a MVP, Cy Young, or Silver Slugger card that they would be willing to part with, let me know and we can work something out.Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316796752489718018.post-26534370082830774652013-02-11T13:23:00.001-05:002013-02-11T13:23:34.192-05:00Topps 2013: The InsertsAfter the great job that Topps did with its base set, I was also very excited to see what this year's inserts would bring. 2013 is all about "the chase" according to Topps and as I opened my jumbo HTA from my LCS, I did see some insert sets that I would chase, but a few whom I don't feel the pursuit is worth my effort.<br />
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<b><i>Chasing the Dream</i></b><br />
The idea behind is good. The checklist is full of young stars, but the design is too digital and takes up too much of the card. The back of the card tells a very brief quip from the player about how he made his dream happen. The Jose Altuve card will go into my player collection and I will hang on to the Stanton and Harper that I pulled and I will look to acquire the Josh Reddick and Jarrod Parker, but the others are up for trade for anyone looking to complete their set.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chasing the Dream? Not me. All these are available.</td></tr>
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<b><i>Chasing History</i></b></div>
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I am usually a big fan of cards that feature players chasing milestones in their careers. I usually do my best to get cards featuring 500 HR's, 3,000 hits, 300 wins. This set features some of those milestones, but also ones such as 400 XBH, Team HR mark, and NLDS No Hitter. These are impressive marks to chase, but they but I don't think I need a card to commemorate these marks or in some cases the attempt to achieve these milestones. I actually like the horizontal cards better than the vertical because I think they allow for a better photo. I am chasing the Mattingly and Jeter and am holding on to the A-Rod and the Gehrig cards because they are Yankees, but the others are up for trade.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chasing History inserts are up for trade.</td></tr>
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<b><i>Cut to the Chase</i></b><br />
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I will admit these cards are very cool looking. The cut of the cards is unique and I love the design on the bottom with the name of the set and the player's name. The backs provide info on how the player reached a milestone or what a player needs to do to achieve one in the future. Despite the coolness factor, I am passing on this insert set as well. I may try to pick up the Jeter, Sandberg, Braun or Molitior cards, if I can, but they are not a priority. I did pull a Ted Williams, which I may hang onto because it is such a nice card, but if I can get something good in return, I will probably deal it. The other two that I pulled, Matt Cain and Pedroia can be had in a trade.</div>
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<i><b>The Greats</b></i></div>
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The look of these cards is very nice. I really like the thicker card stock and the simple design is classy, especially for the legends and superstars that make up the checklist. The photos are simple, but really capture the players well. I was lucky to pull Mariano Rivera and Reggie (in his A's uniform) and will probably try and get the A-Rod, Jeter and Yogi. If I can pull a few more from packs or find a few available here and there, I may go for the set, but it is not a priority or a probability right now.</div>
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<b><i>Calling Card</i></b></div>
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Another insert card with a very classy deign that has a A&G feel to it. The Calling Card insert set photos have a painting look to them or one of those fancy Instagram filters on them, but whatever it is I really like it.</div>
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I also like that it tells us about some of the habits, rituals, or other things that a player is known for. I think this set would look good in a binder, so I am going to "chase" it. I pulled five of them from my box, so I am a third of the way there, if you have any and are looking to complete one of the other sets, let's make a deal.</div>
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<i><b>1972 Minis</b></i></div>
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They are mini. They feature a cool design from 1972. Need I say more? I pulled 10 from my box and bought a lot of 18 of them on ebay for a good price (4 are duplicates, however), so that puts me almost half way there with them. I will be looking to trade for these also.</div>
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There are a few more inserts, but I will cover them in my "hits" post. Thanks for reading.</div>
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Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316796752489718018.post-25140358458723686942013-02-09T09:39:00.000-05:002013-02-09T09:39:35.073-05:00Topps Baseball 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The release of the first baseball cards of the year always make me happy. Now that I have had a week to look them over and see what other collectors have pulled from packs, I can honestly say that this year's release is an A+.<br />
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<b><u>Design:</u></b> The card design is clean with the white border and the team color outlines and the team logo in the corner. It doesn't try to do too much and leaves room for a big photo on the card.<br />
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<b><u>Photography:</u></b> In past releases, I often found the photography of Series 1 to be lacking, but not this year. There are so many amazing photos on the the cards and a lot of great "in the moment" action shots that really capture why baseball is so great. I started going through and pulled at least a dozen cards that demonstrate the great photography of this year's set. Not only are the photos awesome, but the colors on the cards just really pop this year. Usually the Update series is the one full of throwback uniforms, players in their alternate jerseys, but 2013 Topps gives a great selection of photos. I almost can't say enough about how much I enjoy looking at these cards, but I will stop there and let the cards do the talking for themselves.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Exciting celebrations captured on cardboard</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Turning Two</b></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Web Gems</i> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Good looking swings</i></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinx-3K72XgWl5h1qxKCLWcGDkpqq6rzMIT9V4-64sbIYhyphenhyphenqiIr7N_GqdiRKZZd2zdBr3czHhhm4GhqXXMN1sQN7bKN3Jt9i1s2LecUxFcbBfrJVhB5Lott9SL4peQTZSNFhVBZt8vs4W0/s1600/IMAGE_D2D2444E-F115-49FF-B14B-FCE92AACB260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinx-3K72XgWl5h1qxKCLWcGDkpqq6rzMIT9V4-64sbIYhyphenhyphenqiIr7N_GqdiRKZZd2zdBr3czHhhm4GhqXXMN1sQN7bKN3Jt9i1s2LecUxFcbBfrJVhB5Lott9SL4peQTZSNFhVBZt8vs4W0/s200/IMAGE_D2D2444E-F115-49FF-B14B-FCE92AACB260.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYRMpB_vFXPxplHoOEH4EIS_7dHE460NSbwG74Zjre85gURRwypvUryPhFIom3xLMurge9lJZpXmC6ZorHI8Pb-jnYyZhACx8ftsefaAxWa7ByGisScIMzM6HC1v5NzFyzYsXpgsa6CYU/s1600/IMAGE_5982272A-E08E-4910-A5EB-830AE59AFAEC.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYRMpB_vFXPxplHoOEH4EIS_7dHE460NSbwG74Zjre85gURRwypvUryPhFIom3xLMurge9lJZpXmC6ZorHI8Pb-jnYyZhACx8ftsefaAxWa7ByGisScIMzM6HC1v5NzFyzYsXpgsa6CYU/s200/IMAGE_5982272A-E08E-4910-A5EB-830AE59AFAEC.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW080kxowlx5fEJsajFaOEh1v8kSyA-bT0dbfQCE3iYywqjoJVy5PspvGMh9WJngxoi6uGmM7XgrccnB1fl8iLjQYQNAHIo4SsmTgf8hi8y_HGvalNlA-Iwvds4f8paS4R9hxTF_1uIUU/s1600/IMAGE_D1AD16C2-934E-4D35-9E45-D4F333BFCA66.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW080kxowlx5fEJsajFaOEh1v8kSyA-bT0dbfQCE3iYywqjoJVy5PspvGMh9WJngxoi6uGmM7XgrccnB1fl8iLjQYQNAHIo4SsmTgf8hi8y_HGvalNlA-Iwvds4f8paS4R9hxTF_1uIUU/s200/IMAGE_D1AD16C2-934E-4D35-9E45-D4F333BFCA66.JPG" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkVg7cBpdg14ipPpcPQVMC7tqWrBR1QO-_2ycbr5jEq-0SrNQzyMLOdg6sZ62ieUUj69Vm7uYnEiexnifY-aV-QsU1rLHP3qEUbuF4bfv_8O0_qgY3xtvAuFaGjyMRcocbgdnPWRZoJlc/s1600/IMAGE_BD05082D-C354-4F35-ABAD-403F3674FCE9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkVg7cBpdg14ipPpcPQVMC7tqWrBR1QO-_2ycbr5jEq-0SrNQzyMLOdg6sZ62ieUUj69Vm7uYnEiexnifY-aV-QsU1rLHP3qEUbuF4bfv_8O0_qgY3xtvAuFaGjyMRcocbgdnPWRZoJlc/s200/IMAGE_BD05082D-C354-4F35-ABAD-403F3674FCE9.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Sliding Stars</i></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUig9WyaiQiD2URx_V7nD_q3J5vgb4vU-rGhJuhn26exPaJLoKRpT8W79lnFlDY0wSEUWbqTM5n0LXlAyc6rkvYEjUAH6iU35S7By82X9HBvi3MqFEkwFMC4D0GqKPZAV1RIgQpqExgDI/s1600/IMAGE_9E592E89-3761-4A4C-A456-553F12216C98.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUig9WyaiQiD2URx_V7nD_q3J5vgb4vU-rGhJuhn26exPaJLoKRpT8W79lnFlDY0wSEUWbqTM5n0LXlAyc6rkvYEjUAH6iU35S7By82X9HBvi3MqFEkwFMC4D0GqKPZAV1RIgQpqExgDI/s200/IMAGE_9E592E89-3761-4A4C-A456-553F12216C98.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3joRMHVTHWWp8mFtbwCoTd4nRt-Oe37dSW2M6KDOSZY-zgv-GMivRAX8b02O2U0tE8SWSVdvOVEQiylh6Du4EQC5YNFRv4qXJDt-UMnLIGVjEAY7ZxEShC1abLEdzb5u20cLs2yfaIys/s1600/IMAGE_95A6D047-AA71-4B4C-8CEE-1C93491755CE.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3joRMHVTHWWp8mFtbwCoTd4nRt-Oe37dSW2M6KDOSZY-zgv-GMivRAX8b02O2U0tE8SWSVdvOVEQiylh6Du4EQC5YNFRv4qXJDt-UMnLIGVjEAY7ZxEShC1abLEdzb5u20cLs2yfaIys/s200/IMAGE_95A6D047-AA71-4B4C-8CEE-1C93491755CE.JPG" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJquZFLz_ijiE_fxXP7_uFvN5FRqxyi2J4Zp7vR-SlmaCkbWOTX0ay_1DNLnxPTbd2iJVGpTU9PRk8UjblA9pazkDMjihxfxZezz9y6rJHANBhSHfEdGrhDOpmFPPdOBwGiLs8AOoL51I/s1600/IMAGE_5B89E2FA-905F-46CA-A8E1-AF81BE933D6F.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJquZFLz_ijiE_fxXP7_uFvN5FRqxyi2J4Zp7vR-SlmaCkbWOTX0ay_1DNLnxPTbd2iJVGpTU9PRk8UjblA9pazkDMjihxfxZezz9y6rJHANBhSHfEdGrhDOpmFPPdOBwGiLs8AOoL51I/s200/IMAGE_5B89E2FA-905F-46CA-A8E1-AF81BE933D6F.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Picture Perfect </i></b></span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Pitching</i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijdFMix4BszMFmj_j8rikN-tZOaXq46uxNfnHs_0xWalEeUDyNRO6dRDQaRdDH6FMhvSkbIJeBHd_tAbibg5cYkHifMSztQpEOkFkksviXkGUX-ymE7WnsHOIgjExfmX0mxMqpT6Dcs3A/s1600/IMAGE_DA2118C2-B19F-4A7B-B4F9-D826E6F271A6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijdFMix4BszMFmj_j8rikN-tZOaXq46uxNfnHs_0xWalEeUDyNRO6dRDQaRdDH6FMhvSkbIJeBHd_tAbibg5cYkHifMSztQpEOkFkksviXkGUX-ymE7WnsHOIgjExfmX0mxMqpT6Dcs3A/s200/IMAGE_DA2118C2-B19F-4A7B-B4F9-D826E6F271A6.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpA6mBuhSrn1xiKDGebSgq2CXLwXKID1GFc8sb54Ni8xjL7PlxYOKTaPjFdBWQSsGA4xtZmono0DUXAT4_PejObNCdtI537HBO3mkEOFsnHJEtp4EDyjvpjgWE9S8K33TJzq_7gIfBrbc/s1600/IMAGE_CDF1C430-D53D-473B-8E78-F8A1F9158770.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpA6mBuhSrn1xiKDGebSgq2CXLwXKID1GFc8sb54Ni8xjL7PlxYOKTaPjFdBWQSsGA4xtZmono0DUXAT4_PejObNCdtI537HBO3mkEOFsnHJEtp4EDyjvpjgWE9S8K33TJzq_7gIfBrbc/s200/IMAGE_CDF1C430-D53D-473B-8E78-F8A1F9158770.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj05SLQpPezE3slN11xcjKjJzfDL1tDkH3KHFC-BQMl-rgGyr6hGD4DHE2N8xdE-OGmOaIvOYQh_kmHqoqYDPeDk0lgTwYRrL2dlS2X-bC2ZU-fK_4t2cFCGtplFuLbc85dtuVFtV_GCtc/s1600/IMAGE_A552AD28-1061-4931-B40E-5FF59157D5DE.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj05SLQpPezE3slN11xcjKjJzfDL1tDkH3KHFC-BQMl-rgGyr6hGD4DHE2N8xdE-OGmOaIvOYQh_kmHqoqYDPeDk0lgTwYRrL2dlS2X-bC2ZU-fK_4t2cFCGtplFuLbc85dtuVFtV_GCtc/s200/IMAGE_A552AD28-1061-4931-B40E-5FF59157D5DE.JPG" width="149" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>And a few more cards that just caught my eye</i></b></span><br />
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<br />Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316796752489718018.post-74179727884659490002013-01-31T22:19:00.001-05:002013-02-01T12:00:46.417-05:00Topps Series 2With the official launch of 2013 Topps Baseball, talking about 2012 Series 2 seems way past due. So I won't be spending a lot of time on either of them. The design of the cards isn't the worst that Topps has produced, but it isn't the best either. Series 2 was full of new inserts, none of which really excited me. The Career Day cards had the nicest design, but the concept seemed like a duplication of the Golden Moments insert set. A Cut Above and Mound Dominance really didn't do anything for me. <br />
I picked up a jumbo box from my LCS the day it came out and a few blasters in the weeks that followed. I completed the set and have plenty of doubles for trade. All of the insert sets are also available for trade as the only one that I am looking to complete is the 1987 minis. As for my hits, I was happy to pull a Golden Moments Roberto Alomar relic. I especially like that the patch is black. My second hit was a Cal Ripken Team Rings card, it is a nice card, but its up for trade. My auto was a Golden Moments Jarrod Parker, who is starting to become a favorite of mine. I also pulled a Black Parallel of Parker's rookie card numbered 56/61. All in all it was a good haul. <br />
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Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316796752489718018.post-72110094959193377902013-01-28T09:01:00.001-05:002013-01-31T23:18:48.906-05:00It Has Been A Long TimeI can not believe it has been over two months since my last post. Between my new job, the holidays, and the lack of any new cards to talk about, it has been difficult to find the time to write. I figure with the release of Topps 2013 Baseball coming up this week, I figured that I should close up my 2012 recap.<br />
So this week, I will finish up the cards that I collected in 2012 with Topps Series 2 and Allen & Ginter. Although, probably boring topics now, I want to finish them, so I can have some sort of closure to my 2012 collecting year. Now, just because I will have finished writing about 2012, it does not mean that I have finished collecting those cards. I still have a few want lists that are unfinished, but I will be cleaning them up and getting them all in one place.<br />
I also have been working on a post about the 2013 products that I will be collecting. Since I am getting married in August, I decided that I wanted to cut down the money I spent on baseball cards and this helped me to focus my collecting on the sets that I really enjoy collecting. Thanks for reading.Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316796752489718018.post-32401015966252226412012-11-07T15:47:00.000-05:002012-11-07T15:47:16.923-05:00Group Break from The Home of the Toddfather<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back in early October, I grabbed 4 teams in The Home of the Toddfather's Group Break. I was late to the party, so I grabbed Astros and Brewers and was surprised to see The Red Sox and Royals left. So even though, I am a Yankee fan, I figured, that I could get some solid trade chips from taking the Red Sox and I was very right.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">I want to thank Tim from <a href="http://www.homeofthetoddfather.blogspot.com/">Home of the Toddfather</a> for doing this Group Break. It was well run and fun to do and I am looking forward to the next one.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are my highlights:</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjhJakS6D8zwp8fr4DAK6Jx_3nEdm4LgNsY1-h567Ih7LceU1eAR9XcXjNXxyJkVe_p0LUN3uCrAF4UIYU_sg_vTmwBWxgwJ60gkrG-Q1AaMzfDVBBxaz30e4EcxlhvS7Smatp3cOYink/s1600/IMAG0638" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjhJakS6D8zwp8fr4DAK6Jx_3nEdm4LgNsY1-h567Ih7LceU1eAR9XcXjNXxyJkVe_p0LUN3uCrAF4UIYU_sg_vTmwBWxgwJ60gkrG-Q1AaMzfDVBBxaz30e4EcxlhvS7Smatp3cOYink/s1600/IMAG0638" height="640" width="416" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I like the Chrome refractor of Ellsbury and also added 3 Will Middlebrooks Rookie cards and a couple of the Sox's top prospects to my collection. I am a Yankee fan, so the Ellsbury is up for trade.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmaIXIeGhLybCl-68iMGpCvFXkg4EOXEEsD0QdgxOuLRoVX1hZTECyd1j1w9pVCL4b1o3QujxEDlEskxEm26-7zn5zG1kuOVGyxBqXaxGVdCQAruFiGZBprzm6s8fyxD1Ab0dhQCAyLHg/s1600/IMAG0639" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmaIXIeGhLybCl-68iMGpCvFXkg4EOXEEsD0QdgxOuLRoVX1hZTECyd1j1w9pVCL4b1o3QujxEDlEskxEm26-7zn5zG1kuOVGyxBqXaxGVdCQAruFiGZBprzm6s8fyxD1Ab0dhQCAyLHg/s1600/IMAG0639" height="248" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tyler Thornburg from the Brewers organization and Jake Odorizzi from the Royals were my big hits from 2012 Pro Debut</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIlZosZCjPAHLCDR0aLIXpZgWAwSymh7-i3Tx213fPsNzTno2FEIWRvOBLvSaGybJ-YkzeKH4jdZNtUHLyIy3o4I0RDun0hUT-pw_cEgqRpaGvkETre4lp178dKJNsYFOa3h7BAkhFkig/s1600/IMAG0640" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIlZosZCjPAHLCDR0aLIXpZgWAwSymh7-i3Tx213fPsNzTno2FEIWRvOBLvSaGybJ-YkzeKH4jdZNtUHLyIy3o4I0RDun0hUT-pw_cEgqRpaGvkETre4lp178dKJNsYFOa3h7BAkhFkig/s1600/IMAG0640" height="320" width="227" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is one of my favorite base cards from 2012 Topps, just a great moment captured on cardboard.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9FxoE3VzubARDkRJHi8jLfu2yOpLmPHQMcOuRRDCcEztNhyeGtU993dT3HqK4Sv4vEBw_auuHyCn9VwGT_kqpJtvH7WTBAKfdpHu0K1cpP0mqHDRMV4JrKu6xswN_LiyyJEgyS_w5ek/s1600/IMAG0643" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9FxoE3VzubARDkRJHi8jLfu2yOpLmPHQMcOuRRDCcEztNhyeGtU993dT3HqK4Sv4vEBw_auuHyCn9VwGT_kqpJtvH7WTBAKfdpHu0K1cpP0mqHDRMV4JrKu6xswN_LiyyJEgyS_w5ek/s1600/IMAG0643" height="320" width="234" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My big hit is this auto of Ryan Lavarnway from Topps Chrome, it is a great looking card, but is in my trade pile for you Red Sox fans out there.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIAkj8ImzDmAjEOrO1DdcXzgHvrDxgEx1wSRDuX7v4mYbs_X8RgLCgThdko6snUZxHFQcuICbHVkR1Hwl4XQT12KlcbN-qxh-OUlNehrWSpUYsmn2dh0NNEHYRI_sdtHJSUB3suo9ts-Q/s1600/IMAGE_511A9EFA-1522-4363-81A2-0410A807C5BB.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIAkj8ImzDmAjEOrO1DdcXzgHvrDxgEx1wSRDuX7v4mYbs_X8RgLCgThdko6snUZxHFQcuICbHVkR1Hwl4XQT12KlcbN-qxh-OUlNehrWSpUYsmn2dh0NNEHYRI_sdtHJSUB3suo9ts-Q/s1600/IMAGE_511A9EFA-1522-4363-81A2-0410A807C5BB.PNG" height="320" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My biggest surprise hit was from my Golden Giveaway Code card with Will Middlebrooks on it. <br />When I put the code in... Jose Reyes Gold Parallel. </span></td></tr>
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Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316796752489718018.post-82040755709351271342012-11-02T14:41:00.000-04:002012-11-02T14:41:45.515-04:00Blasts from the Past - Topps ArchiveTowards the end of May, Topps released Archives, which combined 4 different card designs (1954, 1971, 1908, and 1984). I will say that this was my favorite product of 2012. The SP cards are cool and while they make it more difficult to complete the set, I still enjoy the checklist. I also like the insert sets that include 1967 Topps Stickers, 1968 Topps 3-D, 1969 Deckle Edge, and my favorite, 1977 Cloth. They add a little more personality to the the insert sets. The All-Time Fan Favorite Autographs cards were a great addition and while the checklist includes some stars, it is made up of players who were home town favorites. It's not the usual star studded checklist, but there are a lot of players, whose cards I think it would be really cool to have like Steve Balboni, Wally Joyner, Mike Scott and Ken Singleton.<br />
I grabbed a box from my LCS and hoped for the best. I didn't get any of the star autos, nor did I get any of the players that I had hoped for, but I did end up with an almost complete set of the base cards, plus some other good stuff. I have since made some trades which have helped me acquire almost all of the base set (I'm still 4 cards short), a bunch of the SP's, and some of the 1977 Cloth cards. I also turned to Ebay to purchase some of the autograph cards that I wanted.<br />
I am still looking to complete the base set with SP's, the 1977 Cloth Insert Set, and the Gold Stamped Reprints. You can check out my needs and what I have for trade: <a href="http://baseballcardlocker.blogspot.com/p/topps-archives-needs-list.html">Topps Archives Needs and For Trade List</a><br />
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<br />Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316796752489718018.post-73833508782725801852012-10-29T11:00:00.000-04:002012-10-29T12:20:05.701-04:00May I Have a Lot of CardsContinue on my journey of collecting in 2012, we get to May and the release of Bowman Baseball and Topps Archives. I never collected a lot of Bowman even when I was collecting heavily in the 90's. But as everyone knows, Bowman has the rookie cards. I usually buy up singles of Bowman rookie cards, buying low on some prospects who I think have a chance at hitting it big. Of course that means missing out on the Harpers and Strasburgs, but it does mean grabbing players like Chris Sale, Jurickson Profar, and Manny Machado before their card price rises.<br />
This year I decided to grab a box of jumbo packs from LCS. The design is just okay, but nothing special. The base set has some nice rookie cards, but the real reason anyone buys Bowman is for the prospect cards and the potential to hit it big with prospect autographs and refractors. <br />
I ended up just a few cards short of a complete base card set, but I'm not actively trying to finish it. If i finish great, if not, no big deal. I also did well with the Prospects and the Chrome Prospects cards. I got a few Harpers and almost all of the top picks from 2011 such as Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon, and Francisco Lindor. The only top pick that I missed out on was Danny Hultzen of the Mariners. I also landed a number of Bowman's Best cards that I would be willing to part with if anyone was looking to complete a set of them.<br />
I got my 3 promised hits from my jumbo box, although none of the 3 were particularly exciting. The Orange Refractor was the biggest hit because there are numbered out of 25. I also got 2 refractors in this box. I was happy that one of them was Andrew Susac, a catcher in the Giants organization, who I think is going to be a very good Major Leaguer some day. Next year, I may just try to scoop up players that I think will make it big one day instead of buying a box, but the lure of the big hit may be just too overwhelming.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJb0zbExRN1Q7z_rHm1FVToZeoyRYFMeiYrozatoFAKQkmOzA1x3Bl68Ip4WFFtAZMtKm5dTEVaZWs7r46Sh0hRm8v5VnSmAxnF_-Qjm1XlRcSfuFCwsi0JrCNsJQBO5TWxp1owb_TRhA/s1600/IMAG0635" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJb0zbExRN1Q7z_rHm1FVToZeoyRYFMeiYrozatoFAKQkmOzA1x3Bl68Ip4WFFtAZMtKm5dTEVaZWs7r46Sh0hRm8v5VnSmAxnF_-Qjm1XlRcSfuFCwsi0JrCNsJQBO5TWxp1owb_TRhA/s320/IMAG0635" width="233" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Orange Refractor 20/25<br />Jeimer Cadelario</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzEzkqZ5S4MTrWgC24bRojI1POpPhfOLYfmMAbanYcfZAazg29nX7i9uea1yIPlQd697bewFuzCIwy2OkW8xQirOMNT56YSNtIRuv6VBeyEci_EtXFMXy-3i-6uxybN4UlsMpTbmIvPFc/s1600/IMAG0632" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzEzkqZ5S4MTrWgC24bRojI1POpPhfOLYfmMAbanYcfZAazg29nX7i9uea1yIPlQd697bewFuzCIwy2OkW8xQirOMNT56YSNtIRuv6VBeyEci_EtXFMXy-3i-6uxybN4UlsMpTbmIvPFc/s320/IMAG0632" width="224" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Jays Prospect <br />Jacob Anderson</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi38_IY2TyfYwu9ehZrfECZHZEC-DCeCvyLbsGxTN29Jr4kltSW8Dglxn8Q3wZqrPSNsE0dsgQyDFXPBJJERLVxqEAfrTDSTGKOak1p4D6rB7YQ-_v0Is5rbixzvneYA0G5cS1PgACqISM/s1600/IMAG0633" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi38_IY2TyfYwu9ehZrfECZHZEC-DCeCvyLbsGxTN29Jr4kltSW8Dglxn8Q3wZqrPSNsE0dsgQyDFXPBJJERLVxqEAfrTDSTGKOak1p4D6rB7YQ-_v0Is5rbixzvneYA0G5cS1PgACqISM/s320/IMAG0633" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yankees Prospect<br />Rookie Davis<br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWM0uHlzvQcPdUYhyphenhyphen-lmS8Vi57EuoL7RZuFzJv_7Pcx4wNkcZR239_AarERd4Lt3bfysFwmbjkWV6ZNHGX8egsA3sOfzoTCnglCUDJzTtrHv4Qs4zDhsqf4xRRHLcMuF-uAWy05e3O8Q/s1600/IMAG0637" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWM0uHlzvQcPdUYhyphenhyphen-lmS8Vi57EuoL7RZuFzJv_7Pcx4wNkcZR239_AarERd4Lt3bfysFwmbjkWV6ZNHGX8egsA3sOfzoTCnglCUDJzTtrHv4Qs4zDhsqf4xRRHLcMuF-uAWy05e3O8Q/s320/IMAG0637" width="241" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Refractor 81/500 Giants Prospect<br />Andrew Susac</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjev2JyyIjAOQnKu9lvXkM8Uc3RtYNjjjnl_7MdHu9QQKj66bSJ0g38C8v4qHSNAg59WWMnVRHwh3PtSfW_-BFNKw4SrJrjqqBE4aThAyFaKxq13BtvKSUSydm4wt-j04gpVO9VM1PtxAA/s1600/IMAG0636" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjev2JyyIjAOQnKu9lvXkM8Uc3RtYNjjjnl_7MdHu9QQKj66bSJ0g38C8v4qHSNAg59WWMnVRHwh3PtSfW_-BFNKw4SrJrjqqBE4aThAyFaKxq13BtvKSUSydm4wt-j04gpVO9VM1PtxAA/s320/IMAG0636" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Refractor 23/250 Tigers Prospect<br />Brenny Paulino</td></tr>
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Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316796752489718018.post-70721255687179509172012-10-29T09:56:00.000-04:002012-11-05T10:37:34.341-05:00Looking Back at Gypsy QueenWith the 2012 baseball season coming to a close, I have been trying to sort through and organize all of my 2012 purchases. This being my first big year back in the hobby, I was buying a lot of different Topps products to see what I liked. In mid April, Topps released Gypsy Queen. While I like the idea of reproducing card styles from the 1880's and the checklist offered a lot of HOF players that I still enjoy collecting, this was one of my least favorite products of 2012. The design never really did it for me and although many of the photos, especially of the retired players were very good.<br />
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I purchased about 5 blasters from Target on a few different occasions and got some nice cards. I liked the minis, but there are just too many variations for me to keep up with. If I had my way either the Gypsy Queen or Straight back would be the base mini card.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH9Uo7xNGW6d4vVLFI3uoPA5DYWyhpfTW5XKMvS_p2fhyIhKtHdcWgttcqB1HXf2k8r4f-51-lk2XFRXPrmMiQEKyaSHFEeo7yeMPGEofR6-eTirv0DVl3SBg09coD_yYIMC4ON-s1yMw/s1600/IMAG0631" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH9Uo7xNGW6d4vVLFI3uoPA5DYWyhpfTW5XKMvS_p2fhyIhKtHdcWgttcqB1HXf2k8r4f-51-lk2XFRXPrmMiQEKyaSHFEeo7yeMPGEofR6-eTirv0DVl3SBg09coD_yYIMC4ON-s1yMw/s640/IMAG0631" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Minis: Lou Brock and Mike Napoli Black Borders, Ben Revere Green Border and Strasburg Straight Cut </td></tr>
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The inserts of Moonshots, Glove Stories, and Sliding Stars were very nice and provided great photos of the players. The Glove Stories are easily my favorite and I really like the Derek Jeter Glove Story (which I am still looking to trade for).<br />
The autograph and relic checklists have a lot of good players and lot of HOFers. The relic checklist is especially loaded with great players. I did get a few hits out of my blasters, although I got a duplicate of the Blue Framed Parallel card, at least it was a Yankee.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKU5p5RuqndYwFDWfnm7senQ6hW010MmUGHRHmN1oY56e3Apq896w-qjwjENax1aNnOCHu0264c5JMfyOAFF-ILc-O6Xsql7rcceBEkfwul1JuScspJsf3O3uDiKL3DTlBYO3xdDURr5g/s1600/IMAG0445" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKU5p5RuqndYwFDWfnm7senQ6hW010MmUGHRHmN1oY56e3Apq896w-qjwjENax1aNnOCHu0264c5JMfyOAFF-ILc-O6Xsql7rcceBEkfwul1JuScspJsf3O3uDiKL3DTlBYO3xdDURr5g/s320/IMAG0445" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No you are not seeing double, I pulled 2 of the same Blue Framed Parallel card of Curtis Granderson.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNVGS0b1lvZpId9WMM5OphC-BtL87PLblYHzVWpO86B5sfuck7RI3COoT5u0neEPWMtOe7ESLT6R7x1u1toqNBsPHbAinFKisjXTKatEulNK6Ts_6J3we28PEm10tuMj0SUXUkiqcVCY4/s1600/IMAG0444" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNVGS0b1lvZpId9WMM5OphC-BtL87PLblYHzVWpO86B5sfuck7RI3COoT5u0neEPWMtOe7ESLT6R7x1u1toqNBsPHbAinFKisjXTKatEulNK6Ts_6J3we28PEm10tuMj0SUXUkiqcVCY4/s320/IMAG0444" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kevin Youkilis relic card.</td></tr>
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Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316796752489718018.post-36484176826017220912012-10-12T12:13:00.006-04:002012-10-12T12:13:53.869-04:00Update and an UpdateIt has been way too long since I have been able to post. This summer was an exciting time for me. I got engaged to my charming and beautiful girlfriend, so there was a lot of planning going on in July. August was a month of relaxing down at the Jersey Shore (not the one from the MTV show), so I was not doing much of anything. Towards the end of August, a new job opportunity came my way. I started the new job in September and it has been a lot of work to get things where they needed to be. Finally after 2 months, I was able to catch up on sending out trade packages and putting together a new post.<br />
I was tracing my way through the 2012 collecting year ( I only got through Topps Heritage) and I will still continue to do so, but I figured while they are still fresh in everyone's mind, I would post about 2012 Topps Update.<br />
Although, I wasn't collecting a ton in 2010 and 2011, the Update series has been my favorite. The photos just look crisper and brighter and really make the game come alive. I love getting rookies and guys in new uniforms, so I was happy again with the quality of the photos. I really like the SP's from this release and would like to grab a few of them, especially the Ichiro card.<br />
One of my beefs with the set is that Jose Altuve was left out despite being the lone Astros player at the All Star Game. It would have been nice to see one of my favorite players in his All Star uniform. Which brings me to another complaint about the All Star cards in the set. As many bloggers have said before: use the photos of the players in the All Star uniforms. I like the gold border cards and was torn on whether I should reroute my project of putting together a complete Gold Sparkle set and focus on the Gold border cards. But I decided to stay the course and just try and grab some of the cards I really like.<br />
I bought a jumbo box from my LCS and had some nice hits. I completed the base set and have a few doubles for anyone trying to complete the set. I am looking to complete the 1987 Mini's set and the Gold Sparkles. I am also looking to acquire some of the SP cards. I also have Golden Greats, Golden Moments, and Blockbusters for trade, so if you are looking for cards hit me up and we can make a deal.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My favorite hit of the box, Johnny Bench HOF Plaque. <br />I am open to trading Bench for another HOF plaque card.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZInaZCxXxmRPCsqVhn__17McpJq7MmT91qWE6gxsWI0gCzbHk99KjAj8eKCBPppCovVKtyvIir_rNehkxfkkv3jSUvnQ6HLwaMCKR3e3jv0kWm7JxxMAX97UkVH_oh8vncdQltpn8x7c/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZInaZCxXxmRPCsqVhn__17McpJq7MmT91qWE6gxsWI0gCzbHk99KjAj8eKCBPppCovVKtyvIir_rNehkxfkkv3jSUvnQ6HLwaMCKR3e3jv0kWm7JxxMAX97UkVH_oh8vncdQltpn8x7c/s400/%255BUNSET%255D" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Justin Turner Golden Moments Auto. Trade Bait</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoCtFOSp5J7Uj5RzbN31-o_F5BT3J4-y7vNe-ofOdYbx1LresMZ_Bf3A56PShXE0eJYxLTj6Q1DKpl15itv5QblwTX_NO3ej-4E7CTZ_qJUx8Tmafa5WH_g5enCHvaPLxorNKbXWNrcg8/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoCtFOSp5J7Uj5RzbN31-o_F5BT3J4-y7vNe-ofOdYbx1LresMZ_Bf3A56PShXE0eJYxLTj6Q1DKpl15itv5QblwTX_NO3ej-4E7CTZ_qJUx8Tmafa5WH_g5enCHvaPLxorNKbXWNrcg8/s400/%255BUNSET%255D" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Joel Peralta Silk. Trade Bait</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVsrUAfNw1xrlSOVGpn9r72dbymHvVbaIvRYj7gYM1Wds7UPrXCudShjLZH2rpZHsAJJm2URwieN_ivYbrlFB2NkfQm4fUnX0e2upukLcquIjH86d0bzVvvZpQMlAWm2oei9mgT8-SOfI/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVsrUAfNw1xrlSOVGpn9r72dbymHvVbaIvRYj7gYM1Wds7UPrXCudShjLZH2rpZHsAJJm2URwieN_ivYbrlFB2NkfQm4fUnX0e2upukLcquIjH86d0bzVvvZpQMlAWm2oei9mgT8-SOfI/s400/%255BUNSET%255D" width="295" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Pretty cool card with the Home Run Derby trophy.</span></td></tr>
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<br />Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316796752489718018.post-25318376187713798532012-08-23T09:21:00.000-04:002012-08-23T09:21:19.139-04:00Attacking the Toddfather's AttaxI just received a trade package from Tim at <a href="http://homeofthetoddfather.blogspot.com/">homeofthetoddfather.blogspot.com</a>. I sent him about 50 of the 2011 Topps Attax cards and a few 2012 Archives to help put a dent in his want lists.<br />
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He sent me 28 of the 2011 Topps Diamonds and 2012 Topps Gold cards from my want list.<br />
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In addition to the sparkly cards that I received, Tim helped knock out some of the Archives that I needed.</div>
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One of the other cards that Tim shipped over was this 2010 Topps Opening Day Superstar Celebrations card.
This card brings back some great memories. October 9, 2009 was the night before one of my best friend's wedding. We had a great dinner, watched some of the game and on the way back from dinner, the groom and three of us who were in the wedding listened to the Texieira HR in the car. We capped the night off with a good bottle of scotch and cigars.<br />
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Thanks for the trade Tim. Make sure you check out his blog and see if you can help him with his Todd Helton PC.<br />
<br />Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316796752489718018.post-13085637533746578132012-08-22T14:00:00.000-04:002012-08-22T14:00:05.196-04:002012 Topps Heritage<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Flipping the calendar, we move from the release of Topps Series 1 in February to March and Topps Heritage. Being born in 1980 means that I missed out on some great Topps cards, so this was a fun product to open. I really like the design, finish and cardstock of the '12 Heritage. One thing that I also enjoy about Heritage are the manager cards. I used to hate getting manager cards when I was younger, but now that many of the current managers are former players that I used to watch and collect, I actually enjoy getting them in packs. In fact, there is not much about this set that I really don't like with one exception: the 75 short prints. That is a lot of SP's to chase in order to complete a set. So while, I really like this product, I'm not going for a complete set in 2012. There are a few cards that I would like to acquire and I will add those to my Wish List page, which is in the works. Since I'm not putting together a set, I have a lot of singles for anyone trying to complete it. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are some of what's left of my hits from a box, plus a few packs that I purchased from my favorite LCS,
The Baseball Card Store in Midland Park, NJ <a href="http://www.baseballcardstorenj.com/" target="_blank">www.baseballcardstorenj.com</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All of these cards </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(except the Jeter New Age Performers)</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> are available for trade.</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Chase Utley Clubhouse Collection GU Patch</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Chrome Parallel cards</span></td></tr>
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Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316796752489718018.post-88775646514374037952012-08-22T12:30:00.000-04:002012-08-22T11:06:59.109-04:00Let the trades begin...I have made a flurry of trades with some fellow bloggers and I hope to get them all up this week. I do have to say, I really enjoy making trades with people. It really reminds me of when I was a kid trying to swap a bunch of Wade Boggs cards for a 1987 Topps Jose Canseco.<br />
My recent trades started with James from <a href="http://thehomeofthebraves.blogspot.com/">http://thehomeofthebraves.blogspot.com</a><br />
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I sent him a 2012 Topps Ubaldo Jimenez jersey card and bunch of Braves stuff and in return I got a few cards for my 2011 Topps Diamond Set and 2012 Topps Gold Set.<br />
The thing I was really glad to get in this trade is a 2010 Topps World Series Derek Jeter patch card.<br />
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It was great trading with James, check out his blog, especially if you have Braves cards to deal.Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316796752489718018.post-36026240856825619672012-07-20T16:19:00.000-04:002012-10-12T10:37:41.425-04:00Collecting in 2012<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I said in my first post, this is really my first full year back in the hobby. In 2011, I sporadically started collecting Topps Attax(more on those in a later post), Topps Series 2 and Topps Update. So as 2012 release dates started approaching, I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to collect.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I looked at some of the products that Topps had planned to release and tried to figure out what I wanted to collect and what I might shy away from. The next few posts will be a trip down memory lane, of course it will be a short trip because it is only July, but I will take you through the collecting year of 2012, so far and talk about the Topps products that I purchased, show some of my hits (maybe some misses) and provide some Trade Bait for anyone who may be interested. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Topps Series 1</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had already settled in my mind that I would collect the flagship Topps product. I like this year's design, especially the Gold Variation cards, and I liked the idea of some of the insert sets. I especially enjoyed the 1987 mini cards. There is just something about the 1987 design that draws me in. I also liked the idea of the Golden Moments and Gold Standard, but wasn't big on the fact that they highlighted things that weren't really stand out events. Curtis Granderson's card highlights an RBI single and run scored that earned the Yankees a win in May. I vaguely remember the game, but it wasn't exactly "golden". The Gold Standard cards, I think were created to honor milestone achievements, but even some of those, while impressive (3,000 K's for John Smoltz), they don't exactly get everyone excited. I also enjoyed the Classic Walk Offs and the Gold Futures inserts. I think the Timeless Talents theme which compares a modern player to a great former player is starting to get overdone. The Golden Greats insert set has a nice look, but was quite large (75 cards) and got boring with 5 cards for each player included.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: white;">I was very excited for the release day, I purchased a few blasters from Target and a Hobby jumbo box from my LCS, The Baseball Card Store in Midland Park, NJ </span><a href="http://www.baseballcardstorenj.com/" style="color: cyan;">www.baseballcardstorenj.com</a><span style="color: white;">,</span></span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> its a great shop with awesome owners, who love to talk about the hobby. If you live in Northern NJ, it is worth the trip.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I completed the Base Set with ease, had a good start on the 1987 mini and Gold Futures sets and traded a bunch of my inserts to acquire cards I wanted from the other insert sets. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I ended up with only 15 of the Gold cards, but still have decided to take on the long, and probably expensive challenge of completing the entire set (see previous post). </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As for my hits, I wasn't overly excited about my first two hits (both of which are available for trade):</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But my next hit made up for it. Growing up in NJ in the 80's there was only one Yankee that you really cared about:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is a really great card, the weight of it is cool, but the feel of the ring makes it an awesome card. It was a great pull for me and I was very happy about it, so all in all I consider the box to be a success. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was the first box of cards that I purchased in a very long time. I really enjoyed ripping into it and really like the product itself. I love completing sets and getting the Mattlingly Retired Rings card, just made this a great way to start off collecting in 2012.</span></span>Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316796752489718018.post-47673296341078732202012-07-18T12:13:00.000-04:002012-07-18T12:13:14.678-04:00Diamonds and Gold are My New Best Friends<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">I decided that I wanted to take on a long term collecting project, something that would be challenging, but not too over the top expensive. One of the things that I really liked about 2011 Topps was the Platinum Diamond variation cards. I just love the look of them, so despite only having a handful of them, I am going to go for it and try to complete a full set of 990 cards of Topps and Update. And since you can't have diamonds without gold, I am also going to work on the 2012 Topps Gold variation cards set too. It is a big challenge and will cost a bit to do, but I hope that I can find smart ways of grabbing cards that I need. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">So if you have any 2011 Topps Platinum Diamond or 2012 Topps Gold cards laying around, use the comment section at the bottom of this post or send me a message on Twitter to let me know what you have and we can try to work out a trade.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316796752489718018.post-45955994709143144812012-07-06T13:01:00.000-04:002012-07-08T08:48:55.665-04:00Giving it a shotI remember the first back of 1989 Topps Baseball cards that I opened when I was 9. I was hooked from the first pack. I had just started getting into baseball and my neighbor and I rode our bikes to the corner store that had everything from food to comic books. I bought my first pack and pulled the card that we both wanted most, it wasn't a game used bat card or an autograph or anything fancy, it was card #700 Don Mattingly. From that moment on I was a collector.<br />
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Now I'm in my 30's and making my way back into a hobby that I paid little to no attention to for almost 10 years. I would buy a few packs here and there, chase some rookie cards of players I thought would turn into stars, but it was nothing like I had when I was a kid. I have read some great baseball card blogs and have really enjoyed them. They helped get me back into the hobby, so I thought I would start a blog of my own as a way to record my collecting, trading, and thoughts on the hobby. I also intend on adding cards I have for trade, my want lists, and cards that I really enjoyed collecting. I hope I can keep it current and interesting so that others can gain in some way from it. Thanks for reading!
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<br />Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17656547683036398857noreply@blogger.com2