Signature Sundays - Twin Fellers

It seems the weekends are the only time I can manage to squeeze in a post lately...time for this week's installment of Signature Sundays.  Today I've got two autographs for you, both from the 2005 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes set and both featuring Hall-of-Famer Bob Feller.

First up is the Autographed Red parallel of card #3.  All of these red autos are serial numbered to 49 copies.  I've gone on numerous times about why I love these Baseball Heroes autos so much, so I'll spare you the details here.  This particular card pays tribute to Feller's amazing 1940 season, which saw him lead the American League in wins, ERA, and strikeouts.  He also threw a no-hitter on Opening Day of that 1940 season.

The other card I picked up is also a red auto, of the fifth and final Feller on the checklist, his header card.  I have to say that I like the standard cards better than the painted headers, but when I had to chance to land one of each from the same seller I had to bite.

These are my fifth and sixth autographed cards from the 2005 Heroes set, and my second and third Feller autos overall.  I actually picked these up well over a year ago now, so it's high time they saw the light of day and received a proper post.  I've been on the lookout for the other three Feller red autos ever since, but so far have yet to see any turn up.  Maybe someday...

Enjoy your NFL football everyone, and go Patriots!  Hopefully I'll be back before next weekend...

A Couple of Long Overdue Classic Rookies

October is coming to a close, and winter is nearly upon us here in New England.  As seems to be the case every year, I've got a whole backlog of interesting cards purchased in 2012 that I just haven't gotten around to posting yet.  While I don't have the time to devote to something like last year's Top 20 Under $25 countdown, I am still going to make an effort to get many of them posted by year end.  Today we'll start with a familiar junk wax era rookie card that I finally got around to picking up this past May:

Yup, I am now the proud owner of a 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card.  Collectors that I've talked to seem to be pretty split on this particular piece of cardboard.  I know some who would rank this among the greatest baseball cards ever, while others feel that it's just another over-rated, over-produced junk wax rookie card. 

I haven't given this card a ton of thought myself, but I guess I fall somewhere in the middle.  I don't find it to be a particularly striking card based solely on its appearance, but as a child of the late '80s/early '90s it was impossible not to admire Griffey, and this was the rookie that everyone wanted.  Not only that, but one thing you cannot argue is the significance of this card (and this set) in our hobby's history.  For better or worse, Upper Deck changed the game for good when it burst onto the scene in 1989.  At a minimum, the '89 Upper Deck Griffey is undoubtedly in the top tier of sought-after rookies from the '80s, alongside the '82 Topps Ripken, '83 Topps Gwynn, '84 Donruss Mattingly, etc.  In fact, off the top of my head the only '80s rookie I can think of that does better in the secondary market would be the '80 Topps Rickey Henderson.  Whatever your point of view, I think we can agree that this little cardboard square has left a larger footprint on the hobby than most others.

I love the rookie cards from this era in particular; so sought after and so instantly recognizable.  Because of the shape of the baseball card landscape at the time, they've really become iconic works of art in a way.  You basically had one single, solitary, true rookie card of any player from each brand.  Not like today's watered down sets with dozens of inserts, serial-numbered cards, patches and autographs.  While those cards may be fun to chase, the result is that they just don't seem to mean as much.  I would say that nearly every single baseball card collector, whether they own one or not, recognizes this Griffey card and can visualize it in their head even if they haven't seen one in person in years.  Think of your favorite active player in the league right now though...can you do the same for them?  I can tell you that without looking it up I can't visualize what Justin Verlander's rookie card looks like right now.  How about Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera, can you picture his rookie card?  CC Sabathia?  Felix Hernandez?  You get the point.  Maybe it's just me.

So why, 20+ years later, did I finally decide to land an UD Griffey RC of my own?  Well, a couple of years ago I scored an absolute steal on an unopened wax box of 1989 Upper Deck Low Series ($40 if you can believe that!), but I struck out on pulling a Griffey.  Ever since then I've wanted to chase one down to fill that hole in my set.  Aside from being a really nice mint copy from a reputable seller, the real reason I settled on this one was because it was a package deal auction, and included a second rookie that I wanted as much as, if not more than, the Griffey:

The 1990 Leaf Frank Thomas rookie was an absolute prize among my childhood group of collecting friends.  Out of all of us, only my best friend ever owned a copy, a birthday present from his father that we were all in awe of.  I remember it being stored in one of those absurdly thick screw-down holders at the time, the ones that made your card roughly the size and weight of a small hardcover book. 

Maybe this is my imagination glorifying my memories, but I could swear that at one point this card had a book value north of $80.  As it stands in my latest Beckett (which is over a year old, shows you how much I care about book value), the card books at $12.  The point is, people went absolutely crazy for 1990 Leaf when it hit the shelves, the same kind of buzz I remember for sets like Flair and Finest a few years later.  To this day I think it holds up better than most sets from the era.  Thomas was the card to have from the set.  The Sosa rookie was up there as well, but looking back on it now which one would you rather have?  I'll take Frank here, easy decision.

That right there is a great looking card back.  Anyone who can use that much silver in a design and still make a nice looking set of cards deserves some props in my book.  In my opinion, unlike Upper Deck (who released great sets in '92, '93, '95, etc), Leaf kind of went downhill after its pinnacle in 1990.  Sticking with the silver again in 1991 and 1992 was just too much.  I will always love that 1990 set though, it's one I'd like to complete one day.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the Upper Deck Griffey RC...cardboard classic, or not impressed?  If you had to pick one single baseball rookie from 1987 - 1993 what would it be?

Signature Sundays - Wily Mo Pena

This week's Signature Sundays post is a baseball player that Red Sox and Reds fans should remember, though maybe not all that fondly...

Yes, that's right, I actually spent my hard-earned money on a Wily Mo Pena autograph.  For whatever reason I liked the guy during his brief time with the Red Sox.  When he came to the team just prior to the 2006 season in the trade that sent Bronson Arroyo to Cincinnati, his reputation preceded him as a guy who could crush the ball but had an extremely high strikeout rate.  I guess that really turned out to be true overall, and it's probably the reason he's playing ball in Japan now. 

In that 2006 season with Boston though, he was everything you could ask for out of a fill-in fourth outfielder.  Pena averaged just about a hit per game when he appeared (83 hits in 84 games), clubbing 11 home runs, 15 doubles and 42 RBI.  The rumors were true as well, Holy Lord could he demolish a baseball when he got a hold of one!  I remember more than once that year just watching one sail in flat out awe.  The best part was that while he did strike out 90 times, he somehow, just for that one season, was able to shake the "two results only - home run or whiff" curse.  He hit a career high .301, an astounding 42 points higher than his next best MLB season.  Wily found ways to get on base, as is evidenced by his career best .349 OBP, 30 points higher than any other season of his career.  His OPS was a respectable .838, second by just a hair to his 2004 season with the Reds (.843).  Had batting in a better Boston lineup resulted in Pena seeing more pitches to hit?  Had the Red Sox hitting staff unlocked the secret to unleashing his full talent?  Had Wily Mo finally proved that he belonged in the Bigs?

The answer to all three of those questions is a resounding 'No'.  As the 2007 season progressed Pena struggled.  Although he was striking out less often than in 2006, it seemed he had forgotten how to hit.  After 73 games, batting just .218 and with an on-base percentage that was lower than his previous season's batting average, Pena was dealt to the Washington Nationals where he actually had a very nice finish to the 2007 season.  He didn't last there either and didn't play in the Majors at all in 2009 or 2010.  After very brief stints with both the D-Backs and Mariners in 2011, he now plays overseas.

I placed the one and only bid on this auction at $5.99, but in my mind this was still a reasonable price to pay for this card.  First of all, 2006 Allen & Ginter autos just aren't that easy to come by.  The checklist is short and the print run for many of them is extremely limited.  At the time of this post there are just 50 2006 A&G Autos listed on eBay, compared to over 250 from the 2010 set, or more than 400 from the 2012 set.  Secondly, this is probably the only 2006 A&G Red Sox auto that I'll ever own.  Carl Yastrzemski is also in the set, but he was a Group A auto, the hardest to pull aside from a Barry Bonds.  Supposedly there are 50 in existence, although I can only find a single one for sale on the internet, with a price tag north of $400.

I'll always remember Wily Mo Pena's time with the Red Sox, and I'm happy to give this card a home in my Red Sox collection.

Adrian Gonzalez, We Hardly Knew Ye - A Giant and a Mini

Today I'm featuring two new additions to my budding Adrian Gonzalez Red Sox collection, one is a giant and one is a mini...

First up is the giant.  This oversized card is a 1964 Topps Giants box-topper from the 2011 Lineage set.  Lineage had the potential to be a really great product, but the atrocious card backs scared me away and I never opened so much as a pack of the stuff.  That being said there were still some really nice elements to the set, including the autographed 1952 Topps reprints, the Topps 3D inserts, and these large box-toppers.  I have a few of the original '64 Topps Giants cards, although I've only shown the Brooks Robinson so far, and they are some of my favorite oddball cards from the '60s.

Here's a look at the back, which like the originals is done in a newspaper type style.  This is certainly a unique addition to my Gonzalez Red Sox collection, my biggest card yet in terms of shear physical size.  I snagged it from the dollar box at my local hobby shop a few weeks ago.  There is a relic version of this card as well that I'd love to pick up some day, although I haven't seen one in person yet.

Here's the mini.  This arrived just this past week in the mail from my newest card-blogging friend, Kevin of The Diamond King.  This is obviously from the 2011 Gypsy Queen set, but it's not your standard mini.  I knew from the emails that we had exchanged that it was serial numbered to 10 copies, but when I got the card in hand I was unsure as to what exactly I had.  Thanks to the great site BaseballCardPedia, within a few minutes I knew I had a leather mini in my possession.  It may be hard to tell from the scan, but while the back of the card is your standard fare, the material on the front sure does feel like leather.  

Kevin is looking to amass as many shiny refractors as possible this year, from any set, or even any sport for that matter.  If you've got any lying around that need a home I couldn't think of a better place to send them to!

So there you have it, my largest and smallest Gonzalez cards all in one post.  The leather mini is my lowest numbered Gonzalez so far aside from my 1/1s.  Thanks for a great trade Kevin, I've just packaged up your refractors this morning and should have them in the mail early this week.

Adrian Gonzalez Red Sox Cards - Count
Total Cards - 34
#'d /2011 - 1
#'d /999 - 1
#'d/199 - 1
#'d/100 - 1
#'d/75 - 1
#'d /60 - 1
#'d/50 - 1
#'d/25 - 1
#'d/10 - 1
1/1 - 5
Relics - 0
Silk - 0
Autographs - 0
Printing Plates - 4

The Ultimate Hockey Card Set - Card #194

I can't believe I haven't selected a card for The Ultimate Hockey Card Set since early June.  I'm going to try to do at least one a month for both the baseball and hockey sets going forward.  I already covered baseball in October, so today I'll be choosing the best card #194 from my hockey collection. 

As usual we'll look at the runners-up first, like the 1994-95 Upper Deck SP Jamie Langenbrunner pictured above.  Certainly an interesting card, I guess this would be considered a rookie?  638 NHL points, not to mention two Stanley Cup Championships, is nothing to scoff at.  He's still at it too, assuming there are any games this season to play.

Card #194 in the inaugural Upper Deck hockey set features Dave Babych of my beloved Hartford Whalers.  I definitely want to select a card from this set eventually, but despite my love of all things Whalers, today is not that day.  Sorry Dave Babych!

Like many young hockey fans I was big on the Flyers in the mid-'90s.  Everybody liked Lindros and LeClair, myself included, but I always had this warped idea that Mikael Renberg was right up there alongside those players.  As I got a little older and saw their careers progress, I realized how far off base that was.  This is the Electric Ice parallel, which earns it even more points in my book.  Still not my best #194 though.

Somehow I acquired this Ville Koistinen card from 2007-08 Upper Deck SPX.  Usually game-used cards have non-standard numbering, so I don't think I'll have too many of them to consider for the franken-set, but SPX is a strange beast and as it stands Ville here fills slot #194 on the checklist.  I bought this card very early on in my return to collecting, before I had really narrowed my focus, during the days when I would just browse eBay and blow my budget on whatever I came across that interested me.  I think it ended up in my hands as part of a lot that I purchased because I wanted the David Krejci.  Anyway, I have no place in my collection nowadays for a card like this, and would be happy to part with it if anyone's interested...

This late-career card of Paul Kariya happens to be #194 in the 2008-09 Fleer Ultra set.  As one of the big names during the collecting heyday of my youth, I'd have no problem selecting a Kariya card for this set.  I think I'd want him to be pictured with the Mighty Ducks though.  Besides, I'm not a fan of 2008-09 Fleer Ultra.

Here's the runner-up, from the 1973-74 Topps set.  This is certainly a beautiful card, in fact based on pure aesthetics I would say it maybe surpasses the card I ultimately chose for #194 below.  A couple of things went against this card in the end, though.  For starters, it only represents the quarter-finals of the '72-73 playoffs, so it's not like it symbolizes a very critical event or game in the annals of hockey history.  Not only that, but I've already selected a card from the '73-74 Topps set (#146 - Cesare Maniago).  I know that some sets are definitely going to be represented more than once (I've already selected 2 '79-80 Topps cards for example), however I want the franken-set to cover as wide a range of sets as possible, so this will factor into my decision with tie-breakers or close calls.  The card I ended up choosing is a bit more recent than this one, 15 years more to be precise...

1988-89 Topps - #194 - Pierre Turgeon (RC)

You may not have seen that one coming but I stand by my selection.  Pierre Turgeon was a solid player.  He was the 34th player in the history of the NHL to score 500 career goals as a matter of fact.  When this rookie card came out, he was a big name prospect.  Taken #1 overall in the 1987 NHL entry draft, he turned in a respectable 42-point rookie season in 1987-88.  He shot to stardom in his sophomore season though, the season that this card represents, appearing in every single game for Buffalo and racking up 30+ goals, 50+ assists and 80+ points.  The following year, which was the first year I collected hockey cards as a kid, he was even better with 40+ goals, 60+ assists and 100+ points, again skating in every one of Buffalo's games. 

This was one of the cards to have during my first couple of years of collecting.  It remains the 4th most valuable card in the '88-89 Topps set behind the Hull RC, Gretzky and Shanahan RC.  As an added bonus, the Buffalo Sabres finally get some representation in my franken-set as well.

So, do you agree with the selection, or do you have a #194 that tops this one?

The Ultimate Hockey Card Set, now at 17 cards and counting, can be seen here...

1953 Topps Project - Paul LaPalme

Today's post is somewhat of a minor milestone for me, as I reach the 50th card towards my 1953 Topps baseball set...

The subject of my 50th card, Paul LaPalme, isn't exactly a household name.  He made appearances in only 7 MLB seasons, from 1951 through 1957.  In part this was due to the fact that he wasn't exactly a stellar player, and in part it was due to his late start.  After all, he was 27 years old by the time he first took the mound in 1951 with the Pittsburgh Pirates.  His very first start resulted in an impressive 8-0 shutout.  Unfortunately for Paul that was probably the highlight of his MLB career.

I guess his nickname is evidence of his average playing ability.  Unlike famous baseball nicknames like "The Sultan of Swat" or "The Vacuum Cleaner", which fittingly described elite attributes of the game's star athletes, Paul was simply dubbed "Lefty" for no other reason than the fact that he threw left-handed.  He was never an All-Star and he never set any records, but this card is still interesting to me because of LaPalme's local ties.  Paul was born and raised in the state of Massachusetts, not too far from where I live now.  He passed away in 2010 as a resident of Leominster, MA, the same town listed as his home on the very back of this card nearly 60 years ago:

I consider completing this set to be a true lifelong project.  There are just so many things that interest me in the hobby that it's difficult at times to stay so narrowly focused on a single set like this.  These cards were the subject of some of my very first blog posts way back in January of 2008.  It's been almost five years now, and crossing the threshold of 50 cards feels pretty good.  At the current pace though, I'd be looking at another 22 years to finish off the set, and I'm still missing some of the biggest cards like Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays.  I guess that's why they say collecting is a journey and not a race.  I am proud of the fact that five years in I am just as committed to finishing this as I was on day one.  Hopefully I'll get there someday, even if that day comes in the year 2034! 

Set Progress:  50 of 274 (18%)

Signature Sundays - Mega Mullet

Well, we've reached the point on the calendar where we as fans are officially missing would-be 2012-13 regular season NHL hockey games.  I don't think anyone out there truly has a good grasp on where this situation is heading, or how long it's going to drag out for.  I'm not as upset as I should be, I've been enjoying playoff baseball and Barclay's Premier League soccer (a direction many fans seem to have turned to fill their hockey void).  Nonetheless, I figured I'd use this week's Signature Sundays segment to quench the mullet drought that many NHL fans may be suffering from:

Here is one of the more unique autographed cards in my relatively small collection, Barry Melrose.  This is another from the 2006-07 Parkhurst set.  The '06-07 Parkhurst autos remain some of my favorite hockey autographs in existence thanks to the minimal card design, great photographs, amazing checklist, and the fact that all of the signatures are on-card.

The latest generation of hockey fans may recognize Melrose as an ESPN analyst, or maybe even for his brief, unsuccessful return to coaching with the Tampa Bay Lightning a couple of years ago.  For me though, I always remember him as the coach of the LA Kings in that infamous 1993 Stanley Cup Final, just as he's depicted on this card.  He's gone on to become one of those names that even casual sports fans associate with the game of hockey, sort of like Don Cherry I guess.  I obviously recognize that Melrose doesn't hold a candle to Cherry as far as his widespread popularity goes, but there are some similarities there in that both men took teams to the Stanley Cup Finals as head coach and neither was able to capture the prize.

Barry represents my third 2006-07 Parkhurst autograph, joining Willie O'Ree and Milt Schmidt.  I actually picked this card up just about a year ago.  I paid $5 for it, which I thought was more than fair.

Don't worry NHL fans, I know it might feel rough right now, but Barry and his neckwarmer will be back with more NHL analysis one day, hopefully soon...

O-Pee-Chee Retro from Amazon

I had heard through the grapevine that you can now purchase cards from the Check Out My Cards inventory on Amazon, so when I received a couple of $25 Amazon gift cards for my birthday a few weeks back I decided to give it a look.  I didn't end up buying anything from COMC, after all one of the aspects I like most about their site is the ability to offer/haggle and I don't think you have that capability when going through Amazon.  I was surprised however at the overall selection of cards available on Amazon.  I decided to search out the cards that have eluded me more than maybe any other over the years, the 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee hockey retro parallels.

To my surprise I hit the jackpot, with one seller (Burbank Sports Cards) having a whopping 21 cards that I needed towards my set, most of which were listed at between $1.00 and $1.50.  I will sometimes go months without seeing any of the remaining cards that I need for this set, so I was elated to find this many from a single seller at a decent price.  I bought all 21, and only had to burn one of my $25 gift cards (plus $10 of spillover to cover the last few cards and some shipping costs).  They shipped amazingly fast, I ordered them on a Monday morning and had them in my mailbox that Wednesday.  Some of the cards were commons, but I did get a few names of note in the lot as well...

Marc-Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Every time I look at this set I'm reminded of how much better all future O-Pee-Chee Retro parallels may have been had they continued to use actual vintage designs.  Imagine a 2012-13 Retro parallel based on the '81-82 or '84-85 designs.  Now that I would collect.

Dany Heatley

Scott Niedermayer in the twilight of his career with the Ducks (he still tallied 59 points in '08-09, his second-to-last season).

Peter Forsberg didn't play NHL hockey at all in 2008-09, appearing in just a couple of dozen total games with Modo Hockey of the Swedish Elite League over the course of the '08-09 and '09-10 seasons.  He did attempt that comeback with Colorado in 2010-11 that I'm sure we all remember, but lasted just two games.  Still one of my favorite players from my youth hockey fan days.

Daniel Briere...

Cujo illustrating one of the few (maybe the only?) places where this set missed the mark, the failure to use the "NOW WITH..." designation on cards of players who were traded to or signed by a team other than the one they're depicted with.  A "NOW WITH MAPLE LEAFS" in the upper right hand corner would have made this card complete and more authentic.

Finally, we have Patrick Kane.  There was a lot of buzz on sports talk radio in these parts about the Bruins acquiring this guy last winter.  I'm still not sure if I'm disappointed or not that nothing ever came of it.

Buying hockey cards from Amazon was a good experience this first go-around.  I'll definitely keep the site in mind as yet another resource to use when trying to tackle a difficult set or that impossible-to-find single.  Besides, I've got another $25 to use!  This lot puts me at 591/600 for the '08-09 Retro set, just 9 cards to go and I can put this to rest at last.

Have you ever purchased cards from amazon.com?  If so, how was your experience?

Adrian Gonzalez, We Hardly Knew Ye - My First Non-Printing Plate 1/1

Fresh from the mailbox here's the latest addition to my Adrian Gonzalez collection:

This is the Ruby Parallel from the 2012 Topps Triple Threads set.  There are a few different colored parallels in this set, each with a different print run, but ruby are the most rare at just one copy of each in existence.  It's a rarity when I buy wax, and I certainly don't buy high end when I do cave in, so I didn't know the first thing about Triple Threads when I purchased this card.  Well, I did know that it sounded expensive I guess.  I got this card for what seems to me like a steal for a 1/1.  $5.50 plus a couple bucks for shipping.

I just checked and it looks like this stuff goes for $184.95 a box (DA Card World) at the time I'm posting this.  How many packs per box?  How about two!  Eesh!  I'll be looking for the other Gonzalez parallels and that's about it from this product...

Adrian Gonzalez Red Sox Cards - Count
Total Cards - 32
#'d /2011 - 1
#'d /999 - 1
#'d/199 - 1
#'d/100 - 1
#'d/75 - 1
#'d /60 - 1
#'d/50 - 1
#'d/25 - 1
1/1 - 5
Relics - 0
Silk - 0
Autographs - 0
Printing Plates - 4

Odds and Ends

I don't really have time for a substantive post today, so instead I give you a random smattering of cards I scanned in while cleaning off my card room desk yesterday evening...

I was definitely late to the game on these Cognac Diamond Anniversary parallels, but I'm a big fan.  The variations featuring retired legends are my favorites.  Nolan Ryan was one I knew I wanted to track down.  In addition to this Mets card, there's another (#626B) that has him in California Angels garb.

I wanted the Yastrzemski perhaps more than any other, and I finally landed one a couple of months back.  Aside from the Nolan Ryan I'm missing, the one I'd like most now is a Carlton Fisk, which is a nice-looking horizontal card.  It's currently occupying one of the nine spots on my Most Wanted list.

Here's another fearsome shark from the 2008 Allen & Ginter World's Deadliest Sharks insert set.  I am fascinated by sharks and have been slowly gathering these since I pulled my first one in a pack a couple of years ago.  This Oceanic Whitetip puts me at three out of five now.  These inserts are harder than you'd think to come by, I've never seen what the stated odds were for pulling one but they were a tough pull for sure.  They book at $12 each in Beckett, $50 for the set.  Just the Tiger and Mako left and I can cross this set off my list at last.

These last three cards were supposed to comprise the end of my "What I Bought Instead of Allen & Ginter" posts from this past summer.  I'm way too lazy to type up a formal summary, I'm considering that project complete.

2005 Topps Pack Wars Pedro Martinez.  This is the foil parallel, numbered to /56.  I don't know that I'm a fan of the Pack Wars set, although in all fairness I haven't played the game.  I do know that a Pedro Martinez numbered to /56 copies is nothing to scoff at.  I believe this may have come from Lonestarr at Life and Baseball Cards, but I have to confess I'm not entirely sure.

From 2006 Fleer Ultra, here's a Nomar Garciaparra card from the Retro Lucky 13 subset.  I wasn't collecting in 2006 and I have no idea what the Retro Lucky 13 stands for, although it seems to have something to do with the first 13 picks of a draft.  To me, it's a new card of a player who is way under-represented in my Red Sox collection...

From 2007 Fleer Ultra, a Hideki Okajima rookie.  I always liked this guy when he was with Boston.  The Yankees signed him to a one-year deal this past off-season, however he failed his physical and ended up playing in Japan instead.

Roger Clemens 1988 Topps UK Mini.  I really hope Roger doesn't make a comeback in 2013 with Houston.  Don't do it Roger.

This Eiffel Tower card is the latest addition to my very small collection (now 3 cards) that I began after visiting last year.  It's a red parallel from the 2008 A Piece of History set, numbered to /149.

Pops sticker.  Pulled this from a pack of 1982 Topps baseball.  Still haven't stuck it anywhere.  Now for some hockey...

1991 Pinnacle Eric Lindros.  As a ten-year-old in 1992, I would have considered giving my left testicle for a copy of this card.  As it stands I'm pretty sure this came from a quarter bin sometime in the past couple of years.

Here's another Lindros card, not nearly as interesting as the first.  I don't know where this card came from, and I don't know why I decided to include it in this post.

Another new Wayne Gretzky, although this one is a measly common from the '95-96 Collector's Choice set.

Seriously Roger, don't do it.

I think I could see myself starting a John Olerud player collection at some point.  He's definitely an under-rated player in my humble opinion.  At the very least I should track down a few cards from his brief time with the Red Sox.

I came across a small stack of 1992 Topps Stadium Club, the highlights of which were Frank Thomas...

...a young Jeff Bagwell sporting some killer shades...

...and finally Robin Yount.

I also came across a pack of 1981 Topps baseball that I got in a repack box years ago.  Only three cards of note were pulled.  This Victory Leaders card featuring a hatless Steve Carlton...

...Gaylord Perry in pinstripes...

...and Bobby Bonds in dire need of a haircut.

Finally, we have a Hideo Nomo rookie card from the 1995 Emotion set.  As a kid in the early to mid-90s I was not immune to the Nomo craze.  This is the only rookie card I've got though.

I hope you enjoyed this totally random lot of cards...