Dom > Kris

In the lone hobby box of 2015 Topps Stadium Club that I busted earlier this summer, I was fortunate enough to pull this Kris Bryant Black Foil parallel:

These fall at two-per-hobby-box, and are nearly indistinguishable from their base set counterparts, save for slightly darker foil used along the bottom of the card. 

This was a pretty nice pull out of the box given that Bryant is one of the hottest names in the hobby, but I determined pretty quickly that I was going to sell this one while the product was new and prices were still high.  Especially since I already have the base card, which is all I care about for my set:

See, not a whole lot of difference here.  I really had no idea what to expect when I threw the card up for sale, but was pleasantly surprised when the auction netted me just shy of $60 in my Paypal account!

I decided to use the proceeds to pick up a couple of significant cards that have much more meaning to my particular collection.  Here's what I ended up with...

Sweet, huh?  I've only got a handful of these 1951 Topps cards, and Dom DiMaggio here instantly becomes my favorite out of that small bunch.  Obviously his name doesn't quite carry the same recognition as older brother Joe's does, but Dom was no slouch at all.  He was pretty much a lock to bat between .280 and .330 every season, and provided at least a touch of power to compliment his above average defensive skills.

I also like the fact that "The Little Professor" played his entire MLB career with one team, something that is becoming more and more rare in the game as the decades go by.  Though he was certainly well before my time, as an outsider looking in it would appear to me that he was one of the more under-rated players of his generation.  Hell, he still holds the longest hitting streak in Red Sox history at 34 games!

As great as this card is, it didn't suck up even half of the funds I got from selling the Bryant.  I decided to use what was left over to grab one more card that really gives my small Dom DiMaggio collection some weight...

Now that is an on-card autograph!  I love it when an athlete shows a little pride in his penmanship, and actually spends a few minutes signing something that's legible for a change.  Dom passed away back in 2009, so he doesn't have a ton of certified autographs out there either.  I like this one in particular since it comes from an entire set dedicated to the Red Sox.  When you look at what his certified autos sell for, I feel I got a real steal taking this one home at under $30.

So there you have it, one meaningless Kris Bryant parallel out the door, and in return two very solid additions to my never-ending Red Sox collection.  If I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't change a thing!