Topps Tribute!

As everyone who collects baseball cards knows 2014 Topps Tribute hit the stands a few days ago. They are quite expensive as usual and promises 4 autos and 2 relics per box. I've seen some cool hits but nothing that I could justify for the risk of opening. I don't have any of the 2014 Tribute cards but I was able to grab 2013 Tribute lot for cheap! For about 2 bucks I picked up all these Phillies!

The Ryan Howard on the top left is the blue variation. It was nice to get the big three in pitching (now the big 2 since Halladay retired) I like the old pinstripe uniforms that Schmidt is pictured in. All in all a positive experience with Tribute for me.

Sneak preview!.. I had some massive gets in my 2014 Topps Ryan Howard quest. I've been aggressively searching and buying and it's going quite well! Once the next one comes in I will have a nice little picture gallery for everyone!

Also as a complete aside, we had our NES refurbed and it works great! Just bought Zelda off ebay and I can't wait to play it again!

Thanks for reading!

A Morning post, an Old and a New!

I recently added one nice vintage card and one nice newer card to my collection. Both cool in their own right but both desired as well. (for lack of a better word) I am chasing every Phillies team set from 1952 up. I have made huge progress over the last year (grabbing the 4 high numbered in the 52 set were quite difficult). I am gaining ground on 1957 as well. I still need the Richie Ashburn, but I did add this one!

A pretty serious looking Robin Roberts! He had quite a good career, considering he is in the hall of fame. It's a bit off center but I believe I paid less then 5 dollars so I was more then pleased with the purchase.

This next card is more for you new school collectors. It's an auto of a non Philly that I had wanted for a while. I decided to pull the trigger for the price of a blaster which I thought was reasonable. One of the best 3rd baseman in the game today!

If he was in a larger market, I bet his cards would be way less affordable. He's got all the talent, I'd take him on my team in a second. His signature is at least readable even on the mini card and it's nice to see it on card and framed so nicely.

Quite (word of the day!) pleased with these 2 acquisitions!

Thanks for reading!

Happy Weekend! Some mail and other Musings!

I haven't posted much this week due to mostly being under the weather. I am back on the way up though so I figured let's post! (and go out and do something!) The mail has been a little slow due to the weather last week but I have had some stuff trickle in and it's all awesome! Love mail that are not bills.. although who gets bills in the mail anymore. It's all email these days.

Olympic hockey has been good I think. I was cheering for the USA yesterday but they just weren't able to get a puck in the net. I hope they win the bronze this morning against Finland.

Also, I received the sports illustrated swimsuit issue. I picked up a subscription over a year ago with some frequent flier miles. I never re upped it and they still continue to send me magazines. SI rep if you're reading this feel free to cancel.

I received a really nice relic from Judson at My Cardboard Habit! I definitely owe him some nice Rangers or some other such things. I am going to a card show in a couple weeks (the big King of Prussia show!) I will be on the lookout for something nice to send back.

My first Orlando Cepeda relic. They are really nice in hand.

As all of you know, I collect Ryan Howard.. what post would be complete without a new pickup! I was excited to see this one up for auction and not just at a out of my price range buy it now. It's hard to find and I was able to get it at a reasonable price!

The only 'bad' part of the card is the sticker auto. Otherwise, I really like the design, the picture the placement of the relic, all good things. It's numbered 31 out of 50 on the bottom right. Another nice piece to add to the never ending player collecting puzzle.

I have made good progress on 2014 Topps Ryan Howard. He's not in Topps Tribute so there are no parallels to chase. I know he is in Topps Turkey Red so the base card and any of the printing plates (if they show up) I will try and get.

I haven't been trading a ton lately, but I'm thinking in March and April I will start posting some trade bait that I'd like to move for Phillies cards. I haven't bought any new cards besides Ryan Howard but maybe some of you will want some of my other stuff!

Thanks for reading!

An Auto and a Silhouette!

My Ryan Howard collection has done quite well the past couple of weeks. I'm really enjoying going rainbow hunting and I happen to run into all kinds of other cards that I have to have along the way. (It's like when you go to the LCS for supplies and buy 3 boxes). I have resisted the urge to bust any wax cause I don't have the funds for that and my team set goals and my Ryan Howard goals. Although busting wax is fun, I end up with stacks of base cards that I don't need or want.

I will save my wax busting for either 90s shiny cards (if I see a cheap fun break at the card show I'm not above it) and for my yearly Topps Chrome case break. Breaking a case is awesome to do in small doses. I have never done more then one so I don't know what its like to do 10 or more like some of the big breakers out there. When I hit the powerball I'll be sure to do some 10 plus case breaks and give all the cards away.

Check out some new additions.. An Auto and a silhouette!

 

The Silhouette is a cool looking card from this year's Panini's Pastime's. It's low numbered and I believe I paid less then 5 dollars for it. The floating head look is interesting, never quite understood that whole design dynamic, but it doesn't bother me. I am a fan of home run swings though. You hit it, you earned it! (I realize that only made sense to me in my head)

I like framed cards. I like on card autos. I like Ryan Howard. I like framed cards on card autos of Ryan Howard. This card just checked so many boxes I had to have it. It's a nice centerpiece (The Big Piece haha) (bad joke). He's smiling in this photo which is unusual in this day and age of action photos. I like action photos too just nice to see something different on this particular framed on card auto beauty.

On a more serious note. Everyone's friend Napkin Doon made the conscious decision to stop writing* (* at least for now he can always come back). Now send him all your arkansas running backs and rangers before he leave leaves! He will like that.

Anyways, I like baseball cards and trading and writing for fun. I also like beaches and not snow.

Thanks for reading!

Welcome to the 50 Club!

As Groucho Marx famously remarked "I would never join a club that would have me as a member." Ryan Howard has entered the 50 homer club in his career. This card celebrates that fact!

 

For a card numbered out of 3 the patches are decent. I do think the card background is pretty though. It does pop when scanned in. 

On a completely unrelated note, Valentine's Day went real well. My plan to bring home flowers on the day and the nice arrangement delivered the next day as a complete surprise went over real well. Take notes guys haha. 

 

This guy knew that Ryan Howard would enter the 50 Homer club one day:

This is an interesting card from Bowman. It's the scout that helped write the book on Howard when he was younger.

I don't have it scanned but he said this

Get out the tape measure Outstanding Size (6-4, 220) and strength, with body type to add at least 30 pounds of muscle.. Could be fearsome if he does that.. Low-ball hitter.. Understands the zone.. Biggest roadblock is strikeout tendency.. Adequate first basemen.

-Basketball was first love as youth
-Grandfather played sandlot with Willie Mays
-Freshman All-american in college
-Hit 19 HR's last year at SW Missouri State

Let's see how the scout did. Ryan Howard is big, no doubt about that. He's now listed at 240 pounds so added about 20 pounds. He sure does have power. He has hit over 300 Home Run's in his 10 year career. I would say he was fearsome (hopefully can re capture that magic) through the Phillies great run in the past decade. He sure does strikeout a lot! 1401 times in his career. He should easily get to 1000 RBIs this year. Which will make him and Mike Schmidt the only Phillies in history to have 300 HR and 1000 RBI. I know its not the best stat these days but still great to see him among the most productive players in Phillies history.

I would say this was a big win for the scouts! A ROY, a MVP and a world series title! Nothing wrong with that!

Thanks for reading!

Happy V-Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! In honor of that I will show a 'red' set!

Check em out from 2011 Topps!

These were only in the factory set, and numbered out of 245 so I was glad to see them all in one lot. Made it a lot easier to pull the trigger and grab them! The seller threw in the Biddle for nothing which was a nice surpise.

Hope everyone enjoys the holiday weekend and stays warm!

Thanks for reading!

A Bad Picture but a Sweet Card!

I like to dabble in Baseball's version of Five Star when the price is right. Also, a product I have never busted but I have a fair amount of singles. I was able to grab this Ryan Howard for under 10 dollars! Considering the rarity I'm quite pleased with the price.

Howard does look like he just hit a ball a long way. But that facial expression.. well it leaves things to be desired. The card itself is a beaut. It's numbered out of 10 and this year Topps fixed the chipping issues with last year's cards. I didn't pick up as many singles as last year but it's good to see that Topps responded to an issue and fixed it! Now onto fixing redemptions!

Hope everyone in the snow path is safe! Go Team USA!

Thanks for reading!

A New Ryan Howard 1 of 1!

I am always on the lookout for rare Ryan Howard's. I can't afford all of the 1 of 1's but if they are up for auction and its not going crazy, I like to throw my hat into the ring. I like Triple Threads despite never getting a box of it (maybe one day!). The cards to me are nice looking and thats what I strive for in my own PC.

I like how the logo shines in this picture. It's not as fancy as a patch as the 2012 versions but at least it's varied with the pinstripe and bat.

Hope everyone is enjoying the olympics! Pitchers and Catchers report this week!

Thanks for reading!

Bound For Glory!

I was on a mini quest to pick up the 1996 Spx set and insert set. I really love the look of these holographic cards and wanted to add them to my collection. I waited patiently for the auctions to pop up and I was able to nab the set and insert set for 26 dollars combined! One day I'll get the gold set and Griffey/Piazza autos to complete the master set but I'm happy with the basics for now.

Check out these 10 players that were Bound for Glory in 1996!

 

Barry Bonds -- He had some glory with his historic offensive seasons. Then he fell from grace with the Clear and the Cream that he may or may not have used. 

Manny Ramirez -- He had some glory with his world series victories. Then he decided Estrogen and avoiding 50 games suspensions by retiring was a good idea. 

Ken Griffey Jr -- Never won a World Series but by all accounts put up his numbers clean and is well liked throughout baseball. He will be in the hall of fame in a couple of years.

Tony Gwynn -- A hitting machine and another hall of famer.

Frank Thomas -- A personal favorite and just entered the hall.

Cal Ripken Jr -- The Iron Man and another All timer!

 

Chipper Jones -- Just retired and should be a Hall of Famer in my opinion. Maybe won't get in on the first ballot but will after that. 

Mike Piazza -- Not my personal favorite but by all accounts one of the best offensive catchers of all time. He might get into the Hall in a few years.

Roberto Alomar -- Had a nice run, didn't get a great rep when he spit on that umpire though. 

Greg Maddux -- One of the best and most accurate pitchers ever. I watched him destroy the Phillies for years. 

Out of 10 players I would say SPX did a pretty good job of picking them. If it wasn't for the steroid allegations there would be more Hall of Famers then 6 in this group! I love the way these scan too, the Holograms really pop out and look cool. 

Still on the Ryan Howard quest! I will get a want list up soon so everyone can help me out! 

Thanks for reading!

Trade with Reader Brandon and a nice surprise PWE!

I recently completed a quick and easy trade with reader Brandon. He e-mailed me and said he wanted 2 cards from my trade bait and offered 2 cards! Quick and easy deal! Quite pleased with my end, hope he got his cards safely!

 

The Dutch auto is pretty cool. It was signed in person but has a COA. I loved those bazooka cards when I was a kid. Lavoy Allen is a local favorite. I cheered for him when he was at Temple and he gets some decent minutes with the Sixers. Hopefully when the Sixers rise back to prominence after this year's draft and when they sign LeBron, he will be apart of it. 

This awesome Big Hurt card was given to me by an awesome blogger Swing and a Pop up! 

Any new Frank Thomas is greatly appreciated!

Excited for baseball! And the olympics! Big month of sports coming up!

The Ryan Howard 2014 Collecting is starting well too. Since my last post I picked up the blue, purple and gold parallels!

Only missing:

Upper Class insert
Platinum out of 1
Red Hot Foil
Clear Parallel numbered out of 10
4 Printing Plates


The Upper Class insert and Red hot foil shouldn't be too tough. The clear parallel's are going for crazy money and none of the other ones have surfaced as far as I know!

The thrill of the chase!

Thanks for the trades and cards and Thanks for reading!

Ryan Howard Super Awesome Rainbow attempt! 2014 Collecting Goal!

I have officially decided to throw my hat into the proverbial collecting ring. My goal this year is to collect every variation of Ryan Howard in 2014 from every Topps set. Hopefully, I can make some trades along the way or people can give me a heads up for some of the harder ones to find!

As everyone knows Topps Series 1 has released, so my quest has begun.

Checklist:

Target Red
Yellow Retail 
Camo out of 99
Black out of 63
Pink out of 50
Upper Class relic out of 99
Base
Silk numbered out of 50
Power Player code card

Upper Class insert
Gold Parallel out of 2014
Platinum out of 1
Red Hot Foil
Clear Parallel numbered out of 10
4 Printing Plates
Walmart blue
Toys R US Purple


Please correct me if I missed one. The bold and italicized ones I either have or they are on the way. Any help with the remainder is greatly appreciated! I need 8 more variations (including the 1/1's) I'll consider it a success without the 1/1's, but if they happen to surface I will go after them.

And just to stick with the theme here's a new Ryan Howard card I recently received:

 A pretty sweet on card auto from Ginter! Love the look and eye appeal of this card.

Anyone have any Howard's for trade?

Thanks for reading!

Trade with the Sandlot!

I recently completed my first trade with The Sandlot! It was a quick and easy deal and I'm quite pleased with my end of it. I decided to trade for a card cause I have no idea where my copy went.

Check em out!

 

 Look at all the Frank's! Soon to be official Hall of Famer! Always happy to be adding new cards to this collection! It's come along awesomely lately!

 

I really like the electric diamond parallels from 1994 Upper deck! The card on the top left has some sort of raised border on it thats pretty neat! 

 

This is the card I wanted but I didn't. I am not a huge Jeter fan, but he is a future hall of famer and I could not find this rookie card in my collection. I have this one and the score select. One day I'll get the SP but I don't want to pay a lot for it. Always willing to trade though! 

Thanks for the trade and thanks for reading!