2016 Topps Chrome Sapphire Phillies Set

I recently picked up the entire Phillies Team set in one fell swoop of the blue shiny cards. I unfortunately was not able to pick up a case of Topps Chrome this year (actually tried to at the National but they were sold out and ended up getting my Holy Grail instead, funny how that works out) but I was able to get all the Phillies of this online only set (that is way over priced!)

They look nice:

The gold Cody Ashe is numbered out of 5. That was just a nice throw in by the seller. Can't complain about that. I was reading about Ryan Howard today. Apparently, he's getting up at 6:30 Am everyday to train and keep his body in top shape for the upcoming season. Gotta admire the dedication and wantingness to continue his career. It'd be cool to see him hit 400 home runs (he's currently at 382). I did witness his last home run in a Phillies uniform. I was at the 2nd to last game with my wife against the Mets last year. We weren't able to go to the last game but that was a nice consolation prize. He will always be the Big Piece that won a title in Philadelphia.

Thanks for reading!

Back From Vacation!

I took a quick jaunt across the country to visit Dan from The Other World. He doesn't post as much as he used to but he is still my brother. He did show me his sweet Sandy Koufax rookie. Very nice piece of history. I didn't get anything card board related and I still have things to scan but I have some nice things to show. The Hot Stove has been interesting, Chris Sale is now a Red Sox and Adam Eaton is now a National and the White Sox now have a ton of potential. The Red Sox pitching should be good. Wonder if they'll rival the powerhouse that was Hamels, Halladay, Oswalt and Lee. That group had a few great seasons but never won the whole thing. Timely hitting is important as well in the playoffs.

Here's a pretty sweet Frank Thomas insert. Big Hurt is one of the better baseball nicknames out there. Topps Dynasty came out. Those cards look nice but way out of my price point. Maybe grab a single one day. Hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

Thanks for reading!

Topps Now!

This is my only Topps Now! card. It was given to me by my brother in the batch of cards he brought. It may be the last Ryan Howard Topps Now card as well. After the world series he was officially released according to rotoworld. (Not sure if I believe them though!) Either way we will see if he hooks on with a contract in spring training with an American League team. Father time never loses though. If he retires he will surely be in the Phillies Wall of Fame for being maybe the 2nd greatest Phillies player of all time (behind Mike Schmidt of course) (I may be bias in that observation).

Here is the card!

Really nice action shot. You can even see the ball coming off the bat. I wonder if these Topps Now cards will continue to do well next year. Seems like collectors in general like getting extra cards of their team or player PC. It has a place in my collection!

Hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving! Happy almost December!

Thanks for reading!

Some more Big Hurt

My brother came to visit last month and came with some new Frank Thomas cards (needless to say he is now invited back to my house). Always nice to add to the Big Hurt PC. He's a super popular guy and some of his cards are tough to come by.

Shiny Inserts from the 90s were great ideas. They never get old. I still like new shiny Topps Chrome.

Here is another one when Thomas was just becoming the Hall of Fame player he is..

I personally pulled this one in a pack. It runs about 2-3 dollars on ebay but can't beat personal pack pulled cards for when I was a kid.

Thanks for reading! Enjoy the crazy offseason of signings!

One of my favorites from the 90s

Every Baseball card collector that grew up in the 90s understands the nostalgia of pulling a tough insert as opposed to pulling a tough auto. (Most sets had no autos in them) It was always satisfying to hit that 1 in 72 pack insert or 1 n 218 pack insert in the one box you were opening. One of my favorite looking insert sets from back then was from 1995 Fleer. They were the double sided league leaders cards.

Here is one of Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett.

Good photography, the gold and black blend well together. A satisfying pull if there ever was one. Also back in 1995 Fleer there was the occasional hot box where you'd hit all the good inserts (jackpot!) Anyone know if 1995 fleer doesn't stick together too bad? That's one old box that I'd like to get my hands on to open.

Thanks for reading!

Congrats Cubs!

I'm a little late to the congratulations party, but better late then never. I did call for 7 games and a epic series in my previous post and they did not disappoint. Each game had intrigue and fun and some poor managerial decisions. I find it funny sometimes that bullpen guys are trusted more then the legit starters. I did not understand pulling Kyle Hendricks out of that game so early with that lead. (I think he wins the Cy Young this year too!)

I did forget about my one 'high-end' Cubs card. I pulled it out of my Ginter Winner's box last year.

Pretty sweet! An oversized auto of Baez. He should be the starting shortstop next year and pair him up with Addison Russell that's pretty strong up the middle.

Sorry for the lack of posts, I have a pile of stuff I need to scan and will hopefully post more frequently soon.

Thanks for reading!

A Unique card

Everyone knows relic cards have become extremely common these days. I remember when they first came out as a kid and there was only 3 cards in the subset. I would eventually like to acquire all 3 (Rey Ordonez, Tony Gwynn and Ken Griffey Jr) but it hasn't been high on my collecting priority list yet. I'm typing this all by memory so please correct me if my checklist or facts are off. The odds were high to hit such a cool card (an actual piece of jersey!) Now-a-days we just kinda hope its real and not some knock off jersey in the card. I tend to believe that at least a player worn it, not necessarily the one on the card though. Topps has tried to add some transparency with Strata since there are authentication stickers on the cards and you can look them up. Seems like a good idea. A bit of a rant there but hey it's a blog!

This is the point of this post.. a card with turf on it! It says on the back of the card the turf is actually from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

Found it one of those random relic bins at a card show.

I was always a fan of McNabb being an Eagles fan. He got an unfair shake in the beginning since everyone in the city wanted Ricky Williams #2 overall and not McNabb (Edgerrin James was actually the first RB taken in that draft). He had a borderline hall of fame career and was super nice to everyone when we got his autograph in August. Definitely a cool card!

Thanks for reading!

Currently watching the World Series

I'm currently watching the world series. I am happy with the matchup (since the Phillies missed the playoffs) I lived in Chicago for 2 years so I've been to quite a few Cubs games. Never been to Cleveland but don't hold any ill will towards them. Kinda hoping for a epic game 7 because no matter what a ridiculously long streak is over! Kluber does look good tonight so far.

Don't think I own any high end Indians or Cubs cards, so Charlie Brown it is. Everyones favorite lovable cartoon character. This card was given out in the all star game fanfest as a wrapper redemption in 2014. Not terribly valuable but not something you see too often. (only 8 currently on ebay!)

Thanks for reading!

Ever been here?

My wife picked out this card at the recent card show we went too. She likes to collect eclectic cards. She has the Poley Walnuts card from 2008 (we're still looking for the Skip Schumaker squirrel card for a reasonable price or trade).

This card is pretty cool..

It's the Blarney Castle in Ireland. One of the main tourist attractions I think. If you go to the top (up a rather neat spiral stone staircase) you can lean over the side while some dude holds your legs and kiss the wall upside down. I partook in that. Not a whole lot of real castles in America so its' real neat to see the history in other countries. I highly recommend going to Ireland if you have the chance. Lots to see and do.

Thanks for reading!

One card mailday (Big card Pirates fans)

I recently went to a card show (didn't have a huge budget since I spent all of my money at the National). Picked up some Phillies cards from the 60s and some small odds and ends but nothing major. I did get one card graded though and just received it back from Beckett. I don't often grade cards but I figured for protection and if I ever decide to sell it there won't be any qualms about condition.

Very happy with the encasement and the grade..

None other then one of the Pirates top prospects Austin Meadows...

 

Numbered 4 out of 5. This was pulled by my wife and I at the Topps booth at the National. Very fortunate to hit such a nice auto considering we only opened 7 promotional packs. (Also hit an auto or a Yankees prospect Jorge Mateo)  I'm a novice at grading so I literally did nothing to the card stuck it in a card saver and let Beckett do the rest. This kid should be high on the prospect list at the beginning of next year. 

Thanks for reading!

The futures auto

The Phillies pitching staff is quite young. With Jack Eichel (he looked solid this year) and Aaron Nola (really good first 2 months, followed by a bit of a slump and then injury).

I saw the design for this year's archives and had to pick up an auto.

I really like the 1985 Topps Design. Such a good year. A nice on card auto of a budding star.

Thanks for reading!

Ryan Howard era is over

I was not able to make it to the very last game due to the holiday season, but that's ok. I went to the 2nd to the last game with my wife and we witnessed his last home run as a Phillies player. That was a real nice moment. Seems like a lot of fans showed up for the very last game which was pretty classy to give him a nice send off. He will definitely be put on the Phillies Wall of Fame, I will have to keep an eye on the announcement to see when that will be. (I forget how many years they wait to induct players)

These are my 4 Ryan Howard Superfractors! Four of my favorite pieces of the PC. Hard to find of course and can be hard to acquire depending on the circumstances (had to trade a real nice Ichiro card for one of them). Three of them of course completed my rainbows of Topps Chrome. Good times!

Not sure how I'll feel if/when I see him in a different uniform. I know he doesn't want to retire right now and will try and give himself another shot to play. Can't blame a guy for wanting to keep playing MLB. Hope it works out for him on a personal level.

Thanks for reading!

Ginter

I've been busting Gint A Cuffs boxes for the last few years. The last two I've gotten real lucky and hit some cool stuff. I no longer own the Mike Trout wood mini one of one. I sold it to a wood mini collector for a pretty good sum. We were both happy with the transaction. It was hard for me to let go since I pulled it myself.. but I'll always have my own digital scan.

Bye bye wood mini trout, enjoy your new home!

I still have the Dodgers rip card (unripped). I had to put it out of sight or I'd be weak one day and just rip it for the heck of it. If the players weren't Kershaw and Maeda I would've already ripped it. I may have to eventually sell that one to a Dodgers collector just so they keep it intact or to a ginter collector who likes ripping cards no matter the price so I know whats inside. Such paradoxes.

As of this typing I am still in first for Gint-A-Cuffs! Super excited about that. I like to think of the stack of boxes that we saw at the National I just picked the best one there.

Thanks for reading!

Some more Howard's and a childhood collection card!

Here are some of my more recent Ryan Howard pickups..

The metal base card from 2016 Topps. These are sharp cards if you haven't seen one in person yet. Good weight to them and nicely done. I wouldn't be upset if they kept this subset around for a bit. They're scarce enough that the big names pull in some pretty good money. 

This is this year's Topps Heritage Mini out of 100. Nice card, nothing fancy with Heritage. It's all about the errors and color swaps and throwbacks with that set. I personally have never chased down all the parallels, maybe one year I'll go all in and save up and buy 4 cases or so and chase them all. That'd be fun. Howard did hit his 23rd Homer last night. Phillies lost on a walk off home run by Yoenis Cespedes though. Good to see that Howard can still drive the ball even though his bat speed isn't what it was.

This card is from my childhood collection. Back in 1994 I was allowed to buy a box (parent's money) of 1993 Score Select. I remember hitting some of those Ace insert cards and my brother telling me to hang onto this Jeter rookie card. Still have it! It's quite the pose. 

Thanks for reading!

Some Pink and Black

This is Ryan Howard's farewell month as a Phillies player. He's actually played well in the 2nd half I think trying to figure out if he can get on an AL team next year. It sucks he tore his achilles that really started the downslide to his career. I know he wouldn't hit his MVP numbers again but he would've been better without one bad leg.

Regardless, I still have a nice collection.. here's 2 new additions

A few base topps parallels. I'm still debating on buying the Topps Chrome Super. It's on ebay but for a rather high price that I'm not willing to pay at this time. Meh we'll see!

Thanks for reading!

Some 90s Bonds Inserts

Now that Gint A Cuffs is over (really big hit again this year!) Here are some 90s inserts that I scanned after re uniting my childhood collection to my current collection. These were some of my top loader worthy cards back then (and still in the top loaders I can't bring myself to take them out)

 

A pretty sweet card with a lot of baseballs on it!

A Pinnacle Power insert! Used to love opening pinnacle packs. They were always fun. The base is a little raised up on the card but you can't tell by the scan. I have no idea what these booked for back then but I'm sure it was somewhere close to a million dollars or so.

Now you can get both of the above cards for about 10 bucks on ebay! The Pinnacle Power being most of that 10. (or less money if you have the gall to scroll down the listings)

Anyways, Happy September baseball!

Thanks for reading!

Gint A Cuffs Final (Dodgers fans take a peak!)

My Current running total is +79. Not great but not terrible.

Let's see how the rest goes!

Pack 20:

Lorenzo Cain
Morgan Spurlock
Edwin Escobar
Jose Reyes
Golovkin
Maria Sharapova
Numbers Game Carl Yastrzemski +2
Noble Laureates Durant +2 +2

Pack Total: +6
Running Total: +85

Pack 21:

Jimmy Nelson
Charlie Blackmon
Jones
JT Realmuto
Jose Bautista
Mitch Moreland
Numbers Game Ken Griffye Jr +2
Black Border Jose Reyes +3

Pack Total: +5
Running Total: +91

Pack 22:

Rob Refsnyder -1
Gotham
Matt Harvey
Delino DeShields Jr
Alex Cobb
Numbers Game Stephen Piscotty +2
Natural Wonders +2
Devin Mesoraco base mini

Pack Total: +3
Running Total: +94

Pack 23:

Bryce Harper
Faulkner
Corey Kluber +2
Brandon Crawford
Alex Dickerson
Trea Turner
Natural Wonders +2
Craig Kimbrel Base Mini

Pack Total: +4
Running Total: +98

FINAL PACK! Saved posting this one for last.. still haven't decided what to do with the card...

Jonathan Papelbon
Kole Calhoun
Ozzie Smith
Santiago Casilla
Dawn Spacecraft 

Not much there.. but oh yea this small card.. Double Rip of Clayton Kershaw and Kenta Maeda..

My Favorite Player and a Favorite Player on the list.. so let me get this straight..

+15 for the rip card. times 3.7.

+55.5 (please check me if this is the wrong number)

Pack Total: +55.5
Running Total:+153.50

If I need the points I might rip it or I might just sell it since its selling in the 150 range (and thats more then a box of ginter) Or I'd trade it for something big to a Dodgers fan. (No Idea what but open to ideas)

Even without ripping as of this typing this puts me in the tentative lead!

Thanks for following along!

Gint-A-Cuffs Part 3 of 4!

Planning on 4 posts to do the whole box. Saving the big hit for last!

Onto Pack 14:

Currently at +57

Frank Thomas
Bob Gibson
Colin McHugh
Monica Abbot +1
Knudson
Trevor Plouffe
Natural Wonders +2
Roberto Alomar Base mini

Pack Total: +3
Running Total: +60

Pack 15:

Breed
Byung Ho Park
AJ Pollock
Jonathan Schoop
Byron Buxton
Roberto Clemente
Natural Wonders +2
Trea Turner base mini

Not much going on in the last couple packs.

Pack Total: +2
Running Total: +62

Pack 16:

Ketel Marte
Jacoby Ellsbury -1
Troy Tulowitzki
Jim Rice
Zach Lee
Garneau
Numbers Game Max Scherzer +2
No Number Mini Carlos Rodon +5

Pack Total: +6
Running Total: +68

Pack 17:

Alex Rodriguez (booo) -1
Freddie Freeman +2
Mike Greenberg +1
Josh Harrison
AJ Ramos
Max Scherzer
Stephen Vogt
Gary Carter Base mini

Pack Total: +2
Running Total: +70

Pack 18:

Ben Zobrist
Ryan Braun
Dustin Pedroia
Drew Smyly
Kyle Waldrop
Richie Shaffer
Numbers Game Matt Kemp +2
Black Border Mini Jose Quintana +3

Pack Total: +5
Running Total: +75

Pack 19:

Dallas Keuchel +2
Oakerson
Corey Seager
Watney
Ervin Santana
Matt Kemp
Numbers Game Cal Ripken Jr +2
Marcell Ozuna base mini

Pack Total: +4
Running Total: +79

5 more packs to go! Stay Tuned tomorrow for the exciting conclusion!

Thanks for reading!

Gint-A-Cuffs Part 2!

Gint-A-Cuffs!!! *Cheers wildly* It's basically the reason I buy a box of A&G every year. Honestly, would've skipped last year after seeing the box breaks and how bad most of them were. This year seems hit or miss. I've see some real bad boxes and real good ones. The dreaded 3 relic nothing else box is tough. Would like to get at least a 5 buck auto if you gotta get 2 semi worthless relics. Either way this box was fun!

Onto Pack 7:

Currently sitting at +25

Kenley Jansen (beast fantasy closer)
Steve Spurrier -1
Evan Longoria
Andrew Heaney
Cuban Embassy
Josh Robertson
The Numbers Game Mark McGwire +2
Ferocious Felines Jaguar +2 (I know my wife wants this set so I'd offer up my other minis to trade)

Pack Total: +3
Running Total: +28

Pack 8:

Chase Headley -1
Edwin Encarncion
Ben Revere
Nick Hundley
Wil Myers
First Hit Yasiel Puig Relic (at least hes back in the majors) +5
Michael Pineda Base mini -1

Pack Total: +3 (damn Yankees)
Running Total: +31

Pack 9:

Back-to-Back hits!

Poker Player Joe McKeehan +5 (wish it was a piece of the bracelet)
Kendry Morales
Duffey
Hanley Ramirez
Jose Quintana
David Price
Salvador Perez Short Print mini +3

Pack Total: +8
Running Total: +39

Solid pack though!

Pack 10:

Austin
Khris Davis
Jason Heyward
George Lopez -1
Ender Inciarte
The Numbers Game Wade Boggs -1 +2
Baseball Legends Carl Yastrzemski +2
Subways and Streetcars Duquense Ivyline +2

Pack Total: +4
Running Total: +43

Pack 11:

Carlos Martinez
Jayson Werth
Michael Wacha
Luke Jackson +2
Jake McGee
Matt Duffy
Numbers Game Dallas Keuchel +2 +2
Max Scherzer base mini

2 favorite players in one pack, solid

Pack Total: +6
Running Total: +49

Pack 12:

Carlton Fisk
Adrian Gonzalez
Sklar
Andrew McCutchen
Albert Pujols
LeMarrie
Baseball Legends Roberto Clemente +2
Matt Harvey Base Mini

Pack Total: +2
Running Total: +51

Pack 13:

Nelson Cruz
Tyler White
Madison Bumgarner
David Ortiz
Steven Souza Jr
Numbers Game Miguel Cabrera +2
Baseball Legends Sandy Koufax +2
A&G Back Brian Dozier (crazy hot streak) +2

Pack Total: +6
Running Total: +57

A bit over halfway through.. on pace for 100 pts or so.. but one more hit to go so hoping to surpass that number by a good bit.

Thanks for reading!

Gint-A-Cuffs... ! Part 1

This is my first post for Gint A Cuffs!  The box is already opened and scanned but I have to tally points and reveal it all! Not sure if I hit enough to defend my title but I think I'll be near the top! We shall see! For those that don't feel like looking I hit a Mike Trout Wood Mini in last year's Gint A Cuffs. (Still own it!)

Just for reference for points my favorite team this year is the Phillies and favorite player is Kenta Maeda. 

Lets go!

Box Loader:

A nice large Albert Pujols! +4

Pack 1:

David Wright +2
Jordan Zimmerman
Ryne Sandberg
Wily Peralta
Francisco Rodriguez
Scott Kazmir
Basbeball Legends Cal Ripken Jr +2
Roberto Clemente SP Mini (#330) +3

Pack Total: +7
Running Total: +11

Pack 2:

Justin Turner
Paul O'Neill -1
Neil Walker
Miguel Cabrera
Prince Fielder
Matt Duffy
Numbers Game Zack Grienke +2
Michle Steele Mini

Pack Total: +1
Running Total: +12

Pack 3:

Papal Visit
Rodriguez
Mike Piazza
Jake Lamb
Robin Yount
Frank Robinson
Yasiel Puig
Logan Forsythe base mini

Seeing exactly 0 points here..

Pack Total: 0
Running Total: +12

Pack 4:

Jose Fernandez
Gravitational Waves
Miguel Sano
Billy Hamilton
Kolten Wong
Natural Wonders Old Faithful +2
Numbers Game Mark Teixeira -1 +2
A&G Back Papal Visit +2

Pack Total: +5
Running Total: +17

Pack 5:

Jung Ho Kang
Chris Sale
Carlos Santana
Gregory Polanco
Adam Lind
Russell Martin
Baseball Legends Ken Griffey Jr +2
US Mayors Buckhorn +2

Pack Total:+4
Running Total: +21

Through 5 packs I'm not exactly killing it.. fortunes can change!

Let's do one more!

Pack 6:

Melky Cabrera
Jay Bruce
DJ LeMahieu
Brandon Drury +2
Johnson
Steve Kerr
Steve Cishek
US Mayors Turner +2

Pack Total: +4
Running Total: +25

Still all 3 hits to go!

Thanks for reading!