Monsters of 2012 - The Splendid Splinter!

I've really focused pretty heavily on both my Red Sox and Whalers team collections this past year.  It makes sense I guess, as these two teams were what got me into sports as a kid, and were the catalyst behind me becoming the fan that I am today.  Team collecting has now jumped to near the top of my short list of what I collect, which as the year closes probably looks something like this:

• On card autographs
• Boston Red Sox and Hartford Whalers
• Sets
• Player collections

Yeah I guess that sums it up, with the caveat that I will go completely random and purchase just about any piece of cardboard for the right price if it looks nice to me.  Anyway, my point in all this is that I recently combined the funds from the card draft I just held with the profits from a really good night at my weekly poker game and picked up an absolute whopper for my Red Sox collection:

Anyone who collects vintage Red Sox cards knows there is one huge roadblock to completing many of the '50s team sets, and his name is Ted Williams.  It's something many team collectors deal with, Aaron for the Braves, Clemente for the Pirates, etc.  I guess I should just be grateful that I'm not a Dodgers collector who has to deal with Jackie Robinson and guys like Snider, Reese, Campanella, etc.  For me, it's a great feeling to acquire my first proper Ted Williams card and clear that roadblock for one my favorite sets from the decade, 1957 Topps.

There are just so many things I love about the card.  The classic pose.  The set itself.  The fact that it's a "bookend" card at #1 on the checklist.  1957 Topps often has centering issues.  I have passed on so many cards over time because they're just wildly off-center from left to right, which is extremely noticeable given the plain white borders of the cards.  This one is slightly off top to bottom, but is better left to right than many I've seen.  Combine that with solid corners and this card just had great visual appeal, enough for me to make a jump at it.

Even the back of the card is awesome.  It's not everyday you see career stats going back to the '30s.  I like that the three years Williams missed while serving his country are also noted.

I would have to say this is my single favorite pick-up of 2012.  It's far from the worst I'll have to deal with if I ever hope to complete the '50s Red Sox run, but it's a great start.  Maybe in 2013 I'll be lucky enough to pick up another Williams...

Signature Sundays - Another Will Clark

Another week gone by, time for the last Signature Sundays post of 2012.  Since I featured a hockey autograph last week I'll switch back to baseball today:

This is the second Will Clark Emerald Auto from the 2005 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes set that I was able to snag over this past year (here's the first).  This one was a huge score for my Clark player collection, and as an added bonus these Baseball Heroes are some of my favorite on-card autos to this day.  Even these Emerald versions, which are the least rare at 99 copies a piece, can be very difficult to track down.  Months, even years, pass in between sightings of just one of the five Clark cards.  I was more than happy to fork over the $31 plus a couple bucks shipping that this one set me back.  I don't typically go $30 or up for an autographed card, but when one this hard to find pops up I'll make an exception.

This is my fourth Will Clark auto overall, and someday I hope to be able to complete the five card Emerald Auto Clark set...

Monsters of 2012 - Ching Johnson

Here's the second big card of 2012 that I never got a chance to post about.  Like I said yesterday, this is one athlete that the average modern-day sports fan may not be familiar with:

Howie Morenz was not the only original Sport Kings card I was able to snag this past year, I also picked up Ching Johnson here.  I'll admit that this one doesn't quite have the wow factor that the Morenz card does, but any card from this set is just beyond cool in my book.  Ching was an original member of the New York Rangers, he won two Stanley Cups (the first two for the Rangers franchise), was elected an All-Star multiple times, and along with Eddie Shore was regarded as one of the hardest body-checking defensemen of his day.  He's in the Hall of Fame, and even more impressive than that he battled in France during World War I.  His nickname may be pretty racist (basically came about because he "looked Asian"), but Johnson embodied everything that was great about old-time hockey.

One item of note, I've always seen Johnson's name listed as Ivan, and that's all I've seen while browsing the web to learn about his career today as well.  I have no idea where Goudey would have gotten the Irvin from.  Does anyone know?

Although the checklist is small I have no delusions that I'll ever collect this entire set.  The Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb cards alone put it well out of my reach, but I would love to get the remaining two hockey cards from the set at one point.  The Eddie Shore is particularly high on my list, in fact I can't think of a single hockey card I'd love to track down more than that one.  For now I'll just dream about it and enjoy my Ching Johnson...

Monsters of 2012 - A Trio of Hall-of-Fame Sluggers

Now that 2012 is winding down it's time for my annual review on how my collection grew/evolved this past year.  In some sense I took the same approach as I have the last three or four years, for example I continued my trend of not spending much money on modern wax.  I've purchased none at at since I ripped one lonely blaster of 2012-13 O-Pee-Chee hockey back in September.  There was one Allen & Ginter blaster in July before that, and three blasters of Topps Archives baseball all the way back in April.  No loose packs whatsoever save one or two repack packs of junk wax.  You get the point. 

I do enjoy ripping wax, but I just don't see enough value in it in terms of improving my collection.  I do much better when I target specific cards that I want.  It's amazing how much random loose pack-ripping can drain your wallet, but for some opening packs is the highlight of collecting, so to each his own!  Anyway, in the past I've mostly used the money I didn't spend on packs to chase cards in the $25 and under range, save a few very big purchases.  This year though I decided to make fewer overall purchases, and instead be more patient and try to land some of the big fish that I've been after for quite some time.  I fared pretty well, and I've already shown off some of the benefits of this new approach a couple of times (Patrick Roy RC, Howie Morenz Sport Kings).  There were three that I never got the chance to post, so I'm going to get them up over the next few days by the end of the year.  Here's the first:

I have stated many times in the past that I am a huge fan of the Topps combo cards from the '50s and '60s flagship baseball sets.  They just seemed to mean something more when Topps wasn't slapping us in the face with dozens and dozens of them in Updates & Highlights each year.  They were also a great chance to get multiple Hall-of-Famers onto a single piece of cardboard.  This might be the best lineup to ever grace a vintage Topps combo card.

7,784 hits.  1,769 home runs.  4,996 runs batted in.  Dozens of All-Star appearances.  13 Gold Gloves.  6 MVP seasons.  8 World Series Championships.  3 retired numbers.  3 Hall-of-Fame plaques.  What a lineup!  This is just an awesome photo with three of the game's all-time best and a '60s crowd in the background.  This might be my single favorite card from the 1968 Topps set.

Coming up next will be a player the average sports fan probably hasn't even heard of...

Adrian Gonzalez, We Hardly Knew Ye - My First Relic

Not a lot of time today, so all I can muster is a quick post with two recent additions to my Adrian Gonzalez Red Sox collection.  First we have the card featured in yesterday's post, from the 2012 Topps Red Sox team set:

Between Topps flagship, Topps Opening Day, Topps Chrome, the Topps Red Sox team set, and the numerous parallels available in each of those sets, there are a ton of variations of this same exact photo/card in existence. I currently have 11 2012 Topps cards featuring this same photo, plus two printing plates and that's not even half of what's out there.  Enough already!

Then we have the main reason behind this post, my first Adrian Gonzalez relic card, from the 2011 Allen & Ginter set.  I was never a huge relic guy, and feel even less attracted to them after all the noise this past year regarding authenticity.  I'm much more of an on-card auto guy when it comes to hits.  That being said, I will make exceptions for my Adrian Gonzalez collection whenever I find a relic on the cheap.  This is obviously a bat relic, which I believe was the only relic variation available for Gonzalez in the 2011 A & G set (he does have a jersey swatch relic in the 2012 set).

The card draft that I just held kept me pretty well occupied for the month of December, but I've still picked up some great new cards recently and I should now be back into the swing of things as packages go out this week.  I've got at least a few more really nice Gonzalez cards coming in the near future, and I've also got three huge cards acquired in 2012 that I haven't posted about yet coming soon!

Adrian Gonzalez Red Sox Cards - Count
Total Cards - 39
#'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 - 6
Relics - 1
Silk - 0
Autographs - 0
Printing Plates - 5

2012 Red Sox - A Season to Forget

I was perusing the card aisle in Target the other day for the first time in a very long time.  I didn't see a whole lot that interested me, and for a minute I thought I was going to leave empty-handed.  Then one particular item caught my eye:

A 2012 Topps Red Sox team set.  17 cards of my favorite team for just $4.99 was tempting, but for me the straw that broke the camel's back was the Fenway Park 100 Years logo that's in silver foil on each card.  Kind of a neat touch in my opinion.  So let's use these cards to look back on the "magical" 2012 season that the Red Sox enjoyed...

Things had to get better in 2012 after the unbelievable, atrocious collapse of 2011.  I was at Fenway Park on Opening Day, seated down the third base line, basking in the afternoon sun and the feeling of hope that baseball seems to provide each Spring.  Fans around me were talking about how the team was going to bounce back, and how Ellsbury was going to enjoy another "mawn-stah yeha".  Then, just a couple of innings later, Jacoby went down with an injury.  An ugly injury.  We had crashed back down to earth, to reality, and it was only day one of the season.  Ellsbury's final stat line in 2011...just 74 games played, a .271 batting average (a full 50 points lower than 2011!), 4 HR, 26 RBI and 18 stolen bases.  With just one year left on his current contract, and Boras representing him in free agency, 2013 could quite possibly be the last year for Jacoby in Boston...

Josh Beckett flat out stunk this year, and over the last couple of seasons he really tarnished his reputation in Boston.  The only bright spot here was that the Dodgers agreed to relieve the Red Sox of the rest of his contract.  He was 5-11 with a 5.23 ERA at the time of the "trade".  I still can't believe LA bailed Boston out like that.

The parade of winners continues, the other (and even more!) unbelievable aspect of the salary dump to the Dodgers.  Injury-prone Carl appeared in a whopping 31 total games for Boston before LA stepped in and took him off their hands.  Possibly the single worst contract the team has ever handed out, I can literally still remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard that the Dodgers had taken this guy.  Unreal.

Third straight card of a guy who didn't even manage to play out the full season with the team.  Now he's a stinkin' Yankee.  Go figure...

Make that four cards in a row of guys who were dealt.  This one really hurt.  Gonzalez was one of the best hitters the team has ever had, certainly during my lifetime as a fan.  Unfortunately it took a player like this for the Dodgers to eat those other contract mistakes, and the front office did what had to be done.  I loved Gonzalez as a player but I would have pulled the trigger on the deal as well.  At least I get another new card for my Gonzalez Red Sox collection courtesy of this box set!

Wow, this set is making me realize just how bad things are right now for Boston Red Sox baseball.  Bard forgot how to throw the ball in 2012.  No really, he totally mentally lost it and quite literally could not throw the ball over the plate.  He was finally designated to AAA after an appearance in early June where he went just 1.2 innings yet walked 6 batters and hit another 2 for a solid 5 runs allowed.  He didn't really find his control in AAA either, who knows what will become of him.

Supposedly the team's ace.  Went 9-14 giving up 25 HR and posting a career-worst 4.82 ERA.  First time as a full-time member of the starting staff that Jon failed to record 10 wins.  He was rumored to be headed to Kansas City in a trade for the top minor league prospect in all of baseball a while back, and I was hoping it would happen, but it didn't materialize and Tampa Bay ended up dealing for the player instead.  We'll see how Lester fares in 2013...

One of the lone bright spots in 2012, Pedroia did miss a bit of time due to injury but still managed 140+ games played.  He pretty much was what he's always been, a .290-.300 solid number two hitter who knocks out 15-20 HR and 65-80 RBI, while providing stellar defensive play.  Also, this is one fantastic card!

Injuries limited Ortiz to just over half of the team's games, but he continued to produce despite limited play.  You can't ask for much better over a 90-game stretch than a .318 batting average, .415 on-base percentage, 23 HR and 60 RBI.  I for one am happy that it appears he'll end his career in a Boston uniform.

The Sox dealt Josh Reddick for this guy (how does that look now?  Ouch!), yet he injured himself before the season even started and went on the DL.  He didn't play until the end of the season, and when he finally did play he made fans wish he was still on the DL.  If you need proof look no further than his 7.00+ ERA or 1.891 WHIP.

At times Clay looked great, at times below average.  Overall the result was an 11-8 record with a 4.56 ERA.  Figures to be a middle of the rotation guy in 2013, if he can stay healthy...

Aviles was at times much better than I expected he'd be, but my expectations were really low.  Apparently Bobby Valentine yelled at him and hurt his feelings in Spring Training.  Mike's with the Indians organization now.  I won't miss his .250 batting average.

Jarrod was a bright spot in 2012 I would say.  True, his batting average was atrocious (.222), but he clubbed a team-best 25 HR and drove in 59 runs as well.

Pitched 45 innings, took a couple of losses and finished with an ERA over 6...

I think we can all agree that the 2012 season is one for Red Sox fans to forget, not remember.  The real reason I wanted this set though was the three Fenway Park cards at the tail end of the checklist.  This first one shows the Park at the very beginning, circa 1912...

...another shot from 1967, the miracle season...

...and a modern-day shot of the Park.  Fenway Park is one of my favorite places on this Earth, and I'm happy to give it some good representation in my card collection.  As bad as the 2012 season was this was $4.99 well spent as far as I'm concerned.  Only one card would have made this set an even better representation of the atrocity that was 2012...Bobby Valentine!  I wish I could say that I truly think 2013 will be better, but I'm not sure that I do...

I now have 1,173 unique cards and counting in my Red Sox collection...

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone in the card-blogging community!  May you and your loved ones enjoy a safe and happy Holiday Season this year.

Here's looking forward to another great year of small pieces of cardboard in 2013!

Signature Sundays - Pat Verbeek

It's been hard for me to get excited about much in the world of hockey cards lately.  Like many collectors the NHL lockout has me so soured on the sport that I just can't justify forking over my hard-earned money for anything related to that mess of a league right now.  There has been one product that has caught my eye this winter though, the recently released 2012-13 Panini Classics Signatures set.  I think the design is great, and the checklist has a lot of players from the hockey collecting heyday of my youth that don't get represented in a ton of other sets.  Best of all, on-card autos abound, in fact autographed cards fall at one per pack.

While I will not be shelling out $150+ for a 6-pack box, I will gladly (and frugally!) snipe certain singles on the secondary market.  My first such purchase cost me a whopping $8.99 with free shipping, and arrived in my mailbox late this past week:

Yes, I confess that one of the reasons I am excited about this set is the fact that there are Whalers cards on the checklist.  This is an autographed version of Verbeek's base card.  As far as I can tell, there are supposedly on-card autograph versions of all 200 base cards, although some are apparently super short-printed.

I think the simple, understated design of the card front works well, and as a Whalers collector I like that the team is a central focus of the card, featured in large font at the top along with logo.  There's still plenty of room for a photo (and Panini selected a great one for Verbeek's card if you ask me), and as far as autos go you just can't beat on-card.  These cards have a really retro feel, speaking of which, I think I may like the backs even more than the fronts:

Alright, so maybe it's not perfect.  You could certainly point out a few flaws, like lack of any statistics other than career totals.  Let's face it though, this is 2012, if I want to know what Pat's career stats are I'm heading to my laptop or phone before my Whalers binder.  This card back reminds me of the card backs of my youth from the '80s and early '90s, and I absolutely love it.  Bonus points for referring to Verbeek as the "Little Ball of Hate" in the write-up.  This is one of the nicest card backs I've seen on a modern card in quite some time.

In all fairness I own just a single card so far, but at the outset I absolutely love this set and will certainly be tracking down more cards.  This is my second Pat Verbeek auto, and Panini is responsible for both of them so kudos for that.  I've definitely been critical of Panini as a company before, but I want to say job well done with this one!

Shoebox Legends Card Draft - The Finale!

At long last we've reached the end of the first ever Shoebox Legends Card Draft.  I want to say thank you to the 7 participants, you were all very responsive with sending payment, revised lists, etc.  If it weren't for me dragging the process out this would have been completed days ago. 

Anyway, thank you all very much, and to close things out and show my appreciation we have one last bonus round with some killer cards available.  I once again used random.org to randomize the draft list 22 times in order to figure out the order for this round:

Squires32 will be kicking things off.  Here are the 7 cards available to choose from:

Carlton Fisk UD Masterpieces Relic
Josh Hamilton Turkey Red RC (Chrome Parallel, #'d/1999)
Thomas Vanek UD Young Guns RC
Gio Gonzalez Gypsy Queen On-card Auto

1960 Topps Mays/Rigney
Original Mecca Boxing Card Jimmy Gardner
Jagr/Lundqvist Dual Relic

Not bad huh?  As an added twist, if you'd prefer to select one of the remaining cards that never got selected in the original draft feel free to do that instead.  Please indicate  your selection in the comments below in the appropriate order.

Also, Squires32 and jacobmrley I'm still waiting for a response on the 4th bonus round (next post down from this one).

Please feel free to trade amongst yourselves at this point if you would like to, just keep me posted if you do happen to make an exchange.  Whenever you're ready, please email me letting me know to ship your cards and I'll get them packaged and send you a response when they are on the way.  If you have a favorite baseball or hockey team please let me know when you email me letting me know to ship, and if I have anything kicking around I'll include it.  I hope you enjoyed the draft and feel like you got your money's worth, thanks again everyone!!!

Shoebox Legends Card Draft - Bonus Round 4 - Best of the Rest!

Alright guys, time for the fourth bonus round.  This one will be simple.  Refer back to the original draft post, which you can find here.  Pick out any card that has not yet been claimed over the first 17 rounds, then come back here to this post and leave a comment indicating which card you'd like.  First come, first serve!

There will be one final bonus round as well after this one, hopefully going up this evening.  In my opinion I saved the best for last, but we'll see what you guys think.  The order for that final bonus round will be determined by random.org.  Check back soon to see the details!

-Shane

Shoebox Legends Card Draft Official Post

Last Updated 12/20/12 - 2:49pm EST

Draft Completed!

Alright, the card draft is officially here, we've got 7 participants going 17 rounds.  I've run the list of names through the list randomizer at random.org 22 times (my favorite number) to determine the draft order.  Here it is:

This page will be the official reference point for the draft, so if you're one of the 7 participants you'll want to bookmark it.  I will also be updating the other original page containing the list of available cards after each round.  Here's how the 17 rounds will lay out, they will all be updated here so keep checking back.  I will also post important messages for the group right at the top of this thread under the datestamp.  Bonus rounds will each go up as an unique individual post on my blog, so keep your eyes open.

Here's the draft, good luck!

ROUND 1

Dan - #48 - 2007 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Classic Signatures Brooks Robinson Auto
buckstorecards - #129 - 2007-08 Upper Deck SPX Winning Combos Phaneuf/MacInnis Dual Relic
Rayzor - #8 - 1990 Topps Frank Thomas RC
Squires32 - #111 - 2003 Fleer Greats Classic Numbers Game Used Ozzie Smith Relic
jacobmrley - #25 - 2008 Upper Deck Heroes John Maine Light Blue Jersey #'d/200
CaptKirk42 - #90 - 1974 Topps Ron Santo (creased)
The Daily Dimwit - #57 - 2005 Upper Deck Past-Time Pennants Felipe Alou Auto

Notes:  Not a surprise that the Robinson auto went to Dan with the #1 overall pick, but the great news is that there is enough variety here that I think the lists you submitted are going to stretch very far.  3 drafters got their first desired card, and 6/7 got one of their top two.  Can't ask for much better distribution than that to get started.  My pick of the round goes to The Daily Dimwit for snagging the Alou on-card auto despite drafting last.  Well done sir.  Round two will be up shortly, certainly by end of night!

ROUND 2

The Daily Dimwit - #20 - 1958 Topps Bill Skowron All Star PSA 6 (ST)
CaptKirk42 - #113 - 2008 Allen & Ginter World's Greatest Victories Kerri Strug Code Card
jacobmrley - #49 - 2007-08 Upper Deck SPX Winning Combos Ryan Miller/Thomas Vanek Dual Relic
Squires32 - #66 - 2009-10 Upper Deck Matt Duchene Young Guns RC
Rayzor - #142 - 2007-08 Upper Deck SPX Tobias Stephan RC Dual Relic #'d/1599
buckstorecards - #165 - 2010-11 Panini Threads Avery Bradley RC Jersey #'d/399
Dan - #27 - 2009 Goodwin Champions Cole Hamels Relic

Notes:  The Daily Dimwit hairpinned the last pick of the first round and the first pick of the second nicely, grabbing his second and third overall most desired cards in the process.  Amazingly, 5/7 drafters got two of their top three selections; I think only having 7 drafters is really panning out well for everyone.  My pick of the round this time is Squires32, I'm shocked that the Duchene rookie fell to mid-2nd round.  There's a chance I'll get the third round up tonight, if not it will be posted tomorrow evening after work for sure.

ROUND 3

Dan - #136 - 2007 Upper Deck Ultimate Joe Mauer Jersey
buckstorecards - #55 - 2008 Upper Deck Heroes Scott Rolen Light Blue Jersey #'d/200
Rayzor - #135 - 2007-08 Upper Deck SPX Ville Koistinen RC Dual Relic #'d/1599
Squires32 - #155 - 2008 Bowman Chrome Freddie Freeman
jacobmrley - #107 - 1953 Bowman Color Jim Hearn
CaptKirk42 - #18 - 2007 Bowman Heritage Glenn Gibson Auto
The Daily Dimwit - #38 - 1953 Bowman Color Harry Byrd (creased)

Notes:  I just had the day from hell, and it's not over yet.  When you've been working since 8am, it's 11pm and you're just getting on a call with Microsoft, that's not a good thing.  Sorry but this may be the only round to go up tonight.  My pick of the round goes to, Dan, I guess.  Sorry guys I promise to speed this up soon...

ROUND 4

The Daily Dimwit - #44 - 1953 Bowman Color Toby Atwell (gently loved!)
CaptKirk42 - #71 - 2007 Bowman Heritage Signs of Greatness Stephen Englund
jacobmrley - #62 - 1953 Bowman Color Saul Rogovin
Squires32 - #16 - 1970-71 Topps Field Goal Percentage Leaders (soft corners)
Rayzor - #125 - 2007-08 Upper Deck SPX Tyler Weiman RC Dual Relic #'d/1599
buckstorecards - #123 - 2004 Bowman Heritage Tim Welke Official Umpire Autograph
Dan - #74 - 2007 Goudey Cal Ripken Jr. Short Print

Notes:  The '53 Bowmans seem to be very popular.  My pick of the round is buckstorecards for grabbing the umpire auto, which I thought was one of the more unique cards available.

ROUND 5

Dan - #92 - 2008 Upper Deck Ballpark Collection Jonathan Herrera Auto
buckstorecards - #109 - 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Jonas Hiller Retro Rainbow Parallel #'d/100
Rayzor - #67 - 2007-08 Upper Deck SPX Jonathan Sigalet Dual Relic RC
Squires32 - #115 - 2006 Fleer Lumber Company Ken Griffey Jr. Insert
jacobmrley - #43 - 2007 Upper Deck Goudey Reggie Jackson SP
CaptKirk42 - #9 - 1953 Bowman Color Ken Raffensberger (creased, dinged)
The Daily Dimwit - #79 - 1953 Bowman Color Art Houtteman (creased)

Notes:  My pick of the round goes to jacobmrley for getting the Reggie Goudey SP, which books pretty high and is from one of my favorite sets of the 2000s.

ROUND 6

The Daily Dimwit - #164 - 1953 Bowman Color Bobby Adams (creased)
CaptKirk42 - #132 - 2008-09 Upper Deck Karl Alzner Young Guns RC
jacobmrley - #60 - 2007 Topps Turkey Red Mickey Mantle Chrome Refractor #'d/999
Squires32 - #158 - 2001 Topps Combos Griffey Jr./Aaron
Rayzor - #139 - 2011-12 Upper Deck Bobby Ryan Game Jersey
buckstorecards - #170 - 2008-09 Upper Deck Matt D'Agostini Young Guns RC
Dan - #39 - 2007 Upper Deck Goudey Alex Rodriguez Short Print

Notes:  A couple of pretty decent Young Guns rookies went in this round.  My pick of the round goes to CaptKirk for snagging the Alzner rookie, although the D'Agostini rookie is nothing to scoff at either...

ROUND 7

Dan - #121 - 2008 Goudey Sport Royalty Barry Sanders SP
buckstorecards - #127 - 1953 Bowman Color Solly Hemus
Rayzor - #73 - 2009-10 Upper Deck Exclusives Rick Nash #'d/100
Squires32 - #63 - 1995 Studio Gold Will Clark Insert
jacobmrley - #7 - 2007 Topps Turkey Red Chrome Mickey Mantle #'d/1999
CaptKirk42 - #97 - 1980s Topps Baseball Trio ('84 Schmidt AS, '82 Bench IA, '82 Perry)
The Daily Dimwit - #12 - 1972 Topps NL Batting Leaders (soft corners, stained)

Notes:  My pick of the round goes to Rayzor for snagging the Rick Nash Exclusives, a card I had an inclination would go much earlier in the draft.

ROUND 8

The Daily Dimwit - #154 - 1973 Pro Superstars Wilbur Wood
CaptKirk42 - #28 - 1974-75 Topps NHL Semi-Finals
jacobmrley - #166 - 2007 Topps Turkey Red Mickey Mantle Chrome #'d/1999
Squires32 - #153 - 2006 Fleer Ultra Prince Fielder Lucky 13 RC
Rayzor - #91 - 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Thomas Vanek Winter Classic Insert
buckstorecards - #117 - 2008-09 Upper Deck Artifacts Silver Spectrum Nathan Horton #'d/10
Dan - #146 - 1993-94 Upper Deck Eric Lindros SP Insert

Notes:  My pick of the draft goes to buckstorecards, for snagging a card #'d to just 10 of a pretty decent player this late in the draft.  We're just about at the half-way point here, I will have at least a few more rounds if not the rest of the entire draft coming by end of weekend...

ROUND 9

Dan - #169 - 2008-09 Upper Deck Rookie Materials Jakub Voracek
buckstorecards - #137 - 1974-75 Topps Penalty Minute Leaders
Rayzor - #53 - 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Jason Pominville Winter Classic Insert
Squires32 - #134 - 1979-80 Topps Guy Chouinard
jacobmrley - #147 - 2005 Topps Rookie Cup Mark Kotsay RC Auto
CaptKirk42 - #37 - 1980 Topps Burger King Nolan Ryan (soft corners)
The Daily Dimwit - #101 - 2007 Upper Deck Ultimate Chris Carpenter Jersey

Notes:  Sorry guys, this weekend got away from me but I did manage two rounds at least.  More coming tomorrow.  My pick of the round goes to Squires32 for snagging a 50-goal scorer from one of the best hockey sets ever made.

ROUND 10

The Daily Dimwit - #130 - 2008 Upper Deck Heroes Chris Carpenter Jersey #'d/125
CaptKirk42 - #51 - 1974-75 Topps Bep Guidolin
jacobmrley - #45 - 2009-10 Upper Deck Samuel Pahlsson High Gloss #'d/10
Squires32 - #152 - 2001 Fleer Platinum Ryne Sandberg Rookie Reprint
Rayzor - #83 - 2008-09 Upper Deck Ilya Zubov Young Guns RC
buckstorecards - #145 - 2008 Upper Deck Ballpark Collection Callix Crabbe Auto
Dan - #102 - 2001 Topps Archives Jim Lonborg Auto (not official Topps auto)

Notes:  My pick of the round has to be Dan with the Lonborg auto.

ROUND 11

Dan - #64 - 1994-95 Fleer Ultra Scoring Kings Eric Lindros Insert
buckstorecards - #11 - 1979-80 Topps Bobby Smith RC
Rayzor - #85 - 2009-10 Upper Deck Game Jersey Brad Richards
Squires32 - #2 - 2008-09 Upper Deck Rookie Material James Neal Relic
jacobmrley - #42 - 2005 Topps Update Gold Parallel Ken Griffey Jr. #'d/2005
CaptKirk42 - #52 - 2009 O-Pee-Chee Black Parallel Justin Morneau
The Daily Dimwit - #141 - 2008 Topps Stadium Club Beam Team Jayson Nix Auto #'d/50

Notes:  Pick of the round goes to Squires32 for snagging a sweet Rookie Materials James Neal relic, pretty high book value for round 11!

ROUND 12

The Daily Dimwit - #5 - 2005 Upper Deck All Star Classics Midsummer Swatches Moises Alou Relic
CaptKirk42 - #6 - 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Jason Castro Auto
jacobmrley - #77 - 2008 Topps Stadium Club Photographer's Proof Burke Badenhop Auto RC #'d/50
Squires32 - #88 - 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Green Framed Nelson Cruz Parallel
Rayzor - #94 - 2008-09 Upper Deck Black Diamond Triple Diamonds Marian Hossa
buckstorecards - #116 - 2009-10 Fleer Ultra Ultra Uniformity Rick DiPietro Relic
Dan - #143 - 2007 Upper Deck Goudey Albert Pujols SP

Notes:  Pick of the round is Dan this time, I just love the 2007 Goudey sets and the SP cards hold really good value on the secondary market.  Pujols is a great pick in round 12...

ROUND 13

Dan - #138 - 1997 Topps Stadium Club Millennium Insert Wendell Magee Jr.
buckstorecards - #120 - Pinnacle Be a Player Joel Otto Autograph
Rayzor - #162 - 1981 Topps Nolan Ryan
Squires32 - #68 - 1970-71 Topps Archie Clark
jacobmrley - #118 - 2007 Goudey Ichiro SP
CaptKirk42 - #30 - 2009 Topps Heritage Nick Markakis Chrome #'d/1960
The Daily Dimwit - #151 - 1983 Topps Nolan Ryan

Notes:  Pick of the round goes to buckstorecards for nabbing the Joel Otto certified auto, which I thought would be picked much higher in the draft.  Nice grab!

ROUND 14

The Daily Dimwit - #122 - 2007 Topps Heritage Roger Clemens Yellow Team Name Variant
CaptKirk42 - #78 - 2007 Topps Turkey Red Ulysses S. Grant Insert
jacobmrley - #119 - 1970-71 Topps Happy Hairston
Squires32 - #167 - 2008 Goudey Hit Parade of Champions Joe Montana
Rayzor - #124 - 2008-09 Upper Deck Rookie Materials James Neal
buckstorecards - #4 - 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Retro Blank Back Martin Straka
Dan - #103 - 1985-86 Topps Ron Francis

Notes:  Dan gets my pick of the round this time for grabbing a nice, older Whalers card of one of the top forwards to ever lace up a pair off skates.  Please note if you missed this at the top of the post, I need updated lists from Dan (none left) and CaptKirk42 (one left) in order to finish off the last 3 rounds.  Please get these to me ASAP guys, I'd like to finish out the draft this weekend and get the cards in the mail early next week before things start getting too hectic with the Holidays.  Thanks!

ROUND 15

Dan - #163 - 2008-09 Upper Deck Champs Derick Brassard Relic
buckstorecards - #156 - 2000 Topps Michael Young RC
Rayzor - #159 - Bowman Strasburg
Squires32 - #40 - 2007 Bowman Heritage Mantle Insert
jacobmrley - #10 - 2008-09 Fleer Ultra Ice Medallion Brad Lukowich #'d/100
CaptKirk42 - #104 - 2007 Topps Turkey Red Richard Nixon Insert
The Daily Dimwit - #128 - 2007 Topps Turkey Red Chrome Danny Putnam RC #'d/1999

Notes:  Sorry guys, I did get the lists I needed a couple of days ago but Tuesday night is my regular weekly poker night and I spent last night enjoying a Sufjan Stevens Christmas Sing-a-long in Providence.  Finally getting back to the draft here, pick of the round for round 15 goes to CaptKirk42 for the somewhat odd Richard Nixon card...  

ROUND 16

The Daily Dimwit - #112 - 2008 Topps Stadium Club Burke Badenhop Auto RC
CaptKirk42 - #34 - 2008 Upper Deck Yankee Stadium Legacy Joe Torre
jacobmrley - #22 - 2010 Topps Gold Parallel #'d/2010 Tim Lincecum
Squires32 - #99 - 2008 Upper Deck Brandon McCarthy Jersey
Rayzor - #32 - 2007-08 Upper Deck SP Game-Used Rich Peverley RC #'d/999
buckstorecards - #105 - 2009-10 Upper Deck Rookie Materials Ivan Vishnevskiy Relic
Dan - #84 - 2009-10 Fleer Ultra Rod Brind'Amour Ice Medallion #'d/100

Notes:   Pick of the round goes to jacobmrley for the #'d Tim Lincecum.

ROUND 17

Dan - #93 - 2008-09 Upper Deck Daniel Girardi Exclusives #'d/100
buckstorecards - #1 - Press Pass Legends Robert Parish
Rayzor - #140 - 2009-10 Upper Deck Joel Rechlicz Young Guns RC
Squires32 - #144 - 2007 Bowman Heritage Mantle Chrome/Refractor?
jacobmrley - #98 - 2008 Upper Deck Starquest Rare Felix Hernandez Insert
CaptKirk42 - #86 - 2008 Upper Deck Goudey Mini Red Back Marlon Byrd
The Daily Dimwit - #133 - 2005 Upper Deck All Star Classics Dontrelle Willis Jersey

Notes:  Pick of the round goes to buckstorecards who selected one of the few basketball cards, one of my favorite basketball players ever, the Chief!

Thanks for a great draft guys!!!

Signature Sundays - Brooks Robinson

Today's Signature Sundays post features one of my favorite autograph pick-ups from this past year:

I went hard after the 2011 Gypsy Queen set, busting quite a bit of wax (at least by my definition) when it first came out.  I never knew until I stumbled upon it recently in Beckett though that Brooks Robinson had an autograph in the set.  As soon as I learned this I hopped online to see what they looked like, and as luck would have it there was an auction for one on eBay ending in just a few hours.  I set my bid and was prepared to pay up to full book value ($25), but as luck would have it I landed this copy for $18.

I really love the way this card looks, and the fact that the auto is on-card gave Brooks plenty of space for a nice long signature.  I've let go of my slightly faded Robinson Sweet Spot auto in my card draft, so I was happy to land an upgrade so quickly.  For this price I'll take a card like this over a blaster of unknowns any day.  It's amazing to me just how many solid autos (of Hall-of-Famers even!) can be had for $20 or less shipped, man I love eBay!

With the 2012-13 NHL season almost certainly cancelled, I just can't seem to spend even a dime on modern hockey cards.  I have to say it's working out fairly well, as I've got some more great on-card autos on the way (including at least one more Hall-of-Famer) thanks to the change in how I approach my card budget.  Until next Sunday...

Shoebox Legends Card Draft - Third Bonus Round!

Time for the third bonus round. Some of the more popular cards in the draft so far have been the vintage '53 Bowman baseball cards, so I've decided to go vintage for the third bonus round. We have five more '53 Bowman baseball cards up for grabs:

As well as 5 '62-63 Topps hockey cards, if baseball's not really your thing:

We'll go with first come first serve for this third bonus round.  If you're one of the 7 drafters please leave a comment below indicating which card you'd like.  I don't have the names of the baseball cards in front of me at the moment so please specify top left, lower right, center, etc if you're choosing one of the '53 Bowmans.

Happy drafting!

Cards from Casey at Drop the Gloves

It's high time I got around to a long overdue thank you post to Casey at Drop the Gloves.  Quite some time ago, must be months now, I received a package in the mail from a familiar address.  Truth be told, I don't recall if this was from a contest or if Casey was just being a nice guy, but either way he sent along some really great cards.  I've finally had time to scan and catalog all of them, here are some of my favorites:

We'll start off with this awesome 1970-71 Topps Johnny Bucyk.  First of all, any Topps hockey card from the '70s that I don't already have, especially in this shape, is an awesome surprise to receive in the mail.  When you consider that Bucyk is one of the most notable members of the '70s Boston Stanley Cup teams and a Hall-of-Famer to boot, I was stunned to see this one in the envelope.

That's not all though, there was a second Bruins great and Hall of Famer from the same set:

This one's in great shape as well, and as has been noted countless times Phil appears to be wearing either golf or pajama pants in this photo.

These two vintage beauties are very much appreciated and make this one of the better packages I received all year.  That wasn't all though, Casey included a whole slew of newer Bruins cards as well.  Here are some highlights...

Here's a set I haven't seen much of, 2010-11 Upper Deck SP Authentic.  "Sets I haven't seen much of" will be a common theme throughout this package...

There were a handful of 2011-12 Upper Deck cards that I didn't have, including this awesome shot of mid-air Milan.

I have very few Tyler Seguin cards, so this Certified base card was much appreciated.

A very shiny Black Diamond Number 4 Bobby Orr.  Another set that I didn't have any cards from prior...

I think the Canvas inserts in last year's Upper Deck set were some of the best inserts of the year.  More on that in a future post...

This card, along with the Tim Thomas that led off the post, represents my first 2011-12 Pinnacle.

My very first 2011-12 Score card as well, a year late is better than never I guess.

I used to love the Pinnacle Rink Collection parallels back in the day.  This is my first from the 2010-11 set though.

Also included were a handful of 2010-11 Upper Deck Bruins, none of which I had.  Daniel Paille is my favorite photo of the bunch.

While I gave up on my Krejci player collection, I still do appreciate a new Krejci card.

These two are from a Biography of a Season set that I'm not too familiar with.  I think they're maybe 2010-11 Upper Deck flagship inserts?

My one and only (even to this day) Zenith base card.  For some reason I really like the look of these.

Here's a 2007-08 Upper Deck McDonald's Patrice Bergeron card.  Patrice is the only Bruin in the set, so I guess I can consider this card a team set as well.

Two more shiny McDonald's cards...

Some 2011-12 O-Pee-Chee.  These are alright, but the Retro parallels are way cooler:

Seguin, Marchand, Borque and Esposito!  Wow!  As if all of that weren't enough, there were some Red Sox needs as well:

I'm actually chasing the 2012 Archives baseball set, so these first few counted on a couple of fronts...

These were my first 2012 Gypsy Queen cards at the time the package came, and Casey contributed one of the first cards towards my Adrian Gonzalez Red Sox collection as well.

Thanks for the absolutely amazing package Casey, sorry it took me so long to properly thank you.  You pretty much single-handedly got my modern-day Bruins collection up to a respectable level!  Thanks buddy!