Shane Sports Cards - Meant to Be!

A while back I placed a small order on Sportlots for a trio of cards that had been on my want list for some time. I took a chance with the purchase to some extent, given that you (in most cases) aren't able to see the actual card you're purchasing on that particular site.

When the envelope arrived however, I knew before even opening it that I'd made the right call.  Check this out!

Yep, while I didn't have any way of knowing this when I made the purchase, the Shane that runs this blog wound up being the recipient of a PWE from Shane Sports Cards!  How perfect is that?

I mentioned above that I took a small risk with this purchase, and that's because the three cards are all Atomic Refractors from the 2011 Topps Chrome release.  Collectors frequently confuse certain parallels, and more than once I've seen X-Fractors listed as Atomic Refractors, and vice versa.

In this case, I went for it sight unseen and my gamble paid off.  The seller had correctly identified and listed these, and as a result I'm three cards closer in my insane quest to complete this entire set in Atomic Refractor format.

Mike Minor (now with the Rangers) had a really solid 2019 season actually, making 32 starts for Texas and finishing the year at 14-10 with a 3.59 ERA.  He was named an All-Star and achieved 200 strikeouts on the season as well, both career firsts.  I can cross his rookie card off the list as far as this set quest goes.

Next up, CarGo.  Man these are absolutely beautiful pieces of cardboard (or whatever they're made out of)!  Topps Chrome Atomic Refractors from any year are just about my favorite shiny cards of all-time.  For the majority of the Chrome releases though these were super tough pulls, sometimes numbered as low as /10.  The reason I chose to pursue the 2011 set is because they were somewhat more plentiful at /225 copies each, but I've learned as I've gone along that this is still a real challenge.

Rounding out the small lot is Chase Utley, who was no slouch.  Bonus points for the Green Monster backdrop on this one!

A really solid trio of players there, no scrubs among them, and these three cost me just $5 total including shipping.  With these three cards in hand, scanned and bindered up, I'm now up to 192 of the 220 cards needed to complete this project, good for over 87% complete. 

Of the 28 cards that I've yet to track down, the toughest remaining names are probably Andrew McCutchen, Derek Jeter, Steven Strasburg, and far and away my biggest headache, Freddie Freeman's rookie card.  I've seen that last one go for more than $50 at least a couple of times now, and there aren't any available on eBay right now for less than $99.  Ugh!  See what I mean about this project being more challenging than you'd think?

It may take me some time to finish this up, if I ever do get there, but in the meantime this particular Shane is quite pleased with how this order from Shane Sports Cards came together. 

Thanks as always for stopping by!