Buyback Franken-set: Angus Snipes New Numbers

As I hinted at a couple of posts back, my friend Nick from Dime Boxes wasn't the only person to send me some buybacks recently to help out with my franken-set project.  I'm continuing through these in the order that I received them, and next up is my buddy Angus from Dawg Day Cards.

Angus must've taken a look at my franken-set checklist before he picked these up for me.  Either that, or he has uncanny luck, as he hit on a very high percentage of new numbers for the binder with this latest delivery.  Check 'em out...

1989 Topps #770 - Alan Trammell

I can't think of a much better start to a package of buybacks than a guy who's already been elected to the HOF, and who will be officially inducted this summer.  I'm not a Tigers fan, but I'd imagine after twenty years with the franchise Alan's gotta be considered one of their all-time greats.  Best of all, this is a nice new high number for the set at 770.  This is my first Trammell buyback, nice to add a new HOFer to the binder!

1991 Topps Traded #6T - Steve Bedrosian

From there we keep rolling with a '91 Traded buyback of Steve "Bedrock" Bedrosian.  Steve was dealt from San Francisco to Minnesota in December of 1990, thus his card in the flagship set in 1991 still featured with with the Giants.  Not a bad card at all, I'm particularly fond of the 1991 Topps release, but...

...traded cards are currently ineligible for the franken-set.  I can see why Angus sent this along, because I'm missing a standard card #6 buyback, but them's the rules.

1993 Topps #20 - Tim Salmon

Alright, this one is just plain cool.  I was an impressionable ten years old during Salmon's Rookie of the Year season in 1993, and I remember him being a pretty big deal at least in my little corner of the collecting universe at the time.  This one scores some serious points for being Tim's first Topps card, and for being from the actual RoY season.  A Salmon buyback from any year would have been appreciated, but a '93 takes the cake.  Oh, and it's another new number!

1987 Topps #30 - Tim Raines

From one star Tim to another, here's the second HOFer in this post.  Raines had a fantastic year in 1987 too, hitting .330 with a career-high 18 home runs.  He was named an All-Star and even made a few NL MVP ballots!  Love the photo on this one too, and it's just about perfectly cropped if you ask me.  Yet another new number for the binder, too.

Those aren't even the best things about this buyback though.  The best thing about it...

...is that it completes a new page!  The fourth page of the binder is now full and has been added to the Buyback Franken-set Gallery (linked just below my blog header).  This page is heavily dominated by '73 Topps buybacks, at least for the moment.

1990 Topps #63 - Mike Pagliarulo

Here's a guy from my neck of the woods so to speak, as third baseman Mike Pagliarulo was born in Medford, Massachusetts.  Mike enjoyed an 11-year MLB career patrolling the hot corner before hanging up the spikes.

I already had this '79 Jack Brohamer buyback in slot 63.  If you've read many of these posts now you know what's gonna happen here.  Brohamer stays in the franken-set binder...

...and Pagliarulo gets added to the 1990 Topps buyback set binder.  I think the '90 Topps buyback set is going to prove to be more of a challenge than the franken-set, so this is a win/win if you ask me.

1990 Topps #108 - Rod Nichols

Speaking of '90 Topps!  If you don't recognize the name Rod Nichols you can forgive yourself, as he appeared in just 100 career games spread across seven seasons, with just 4 of those appearances coming in 1990.  I'd love to put this one in the 1990 Topps buyback set as well but, alas, I don't have a #108 buyback yet so into the franken-set Rod goes.

1986 Topps #725 - Mario Soto

Next up we've got Mario Soto's 1986 card, which has the somewhat significant number of 725.  I'm not sure exactly what's going on here, but that appears to be a woman in a sleeveless shirt over Mario's right shoulder?  This one would also be in the running for "most surface area covered by the color red" within my collection.  As far as the franken-set goes?  You guessed it, another new number!

1988 Topps #760 - Mike Scott

Here's Mike Scott, a couple of years removed from his Cy Young-winning season, and a year before his 20-win season.  Mike went a respectable 14-8 in 1988, for a mediocre Astros team that finished fifth in the NL West at just a hair above .500.  Scott makes the binder by default, another new number.  Angus really did some damage to the final pages of the binder with this delivery, knocking off numerous new numbers in the 700+ range.

1989 Topps #623 - Fred Toliver

How about a blue foil Rediscover Topps buyback of Twins pitcher Fred Toliver?  The blue stamp kind of compliments the blue team name and banner along the bottom of the card.  I'm not one who pays much attention to the color of the stamp on these 2017 buybacks, but blue is one of the rarer ones (in my experience so far only red is rarer).

Unfortunately for Fred I already had this Ron Washington buyback from 1984 Topps in pocket 623...

...and I like the Washington just a bit more.

1990 Topps #649 - Dan Murphy

Last card for today, yet another 1990 Topps buyback.  Whoohoo!  I love this one because it's about as obscure as you can possibly get.  Dan played in exactly 7 Major League Baseball games.  As far as I know this, and the 1990 Topps Pro Debut boxed set card, are the only two licensed MLB cards of Murphy in existence.

This one makes the binder uncontested at #649.  Kind of odd that Nick sent me 1990 Topps #650 in a package just before this one.  Within just a few days I've added back to back '90 Topps cards to the franken-set binder on that particular page.  What are the odds of that?

Out of the ten cards in this post, Angus hit on seven new numbers.  Thanks to that efficiency, I'm now over 70% complete on the franken-set overall.  As if that weren't great enough, I've got two more posts of buybacks from Angus queued up after this one!  Check back later this week for round two...

Franken-set Progress:  558/792 (70%)
"Rejected" Buybacks:  473
Total Buybacks in Collection:  1,031

Signature Sundays - Todd Krygier

Just a quick autograph post tonight, featuring a card I picked up recently as part of an eBay lot that set me back a buck a card. This was the same seller that I grabbed the 1990-91 Pro Set autos I featured a couple weekends ago from.

Had to snag this 1991-92 Topps Todd Krygier autograph.  While I haven't posted much about it here, I've been passionate over this past winter about expanding on my Hartford Whalers collection and getting all the cards logged in the Trading Card Database.  I found out that you can view your ranking for any individual team or player among all TCDB members.  Since then I've made it an unofficial goal to become the #1-ranked Whalers collector on the site.  I've logged 610 Whalers cards so far, good enough for 43rd place currently.  I have plenty more to get added to my inventory though, so should be able to climb quite a bit higher in the rankings.

Todd Krygier was a local guy who played for the University of Connecticut before being drafted by the Whalers in the 1988 entry draft.  Known for his gritty style of play, he lasted just two seasons with the Whalers before being dealt to the Washington Capitals.  I have no idea if this signature is legitimate, but it's not like Upper Deck is releasing certified autos of guys like Todd Krygier these days so I figured it was worth a dollar anyway.  Besides, it features the glorious all-green uniforms that are so nostalgic for me.

Because Todd was dealt away after the 1990-91 season, the back of this card actually features his career Whaler statistics!

That's it for this week, maybe not the most exciting card to most but a welcome addition to the autograph collection of this rabid Whalers fan!

One Card Post - Bowman Chambers

What:  1954 Bowman #126 - Cliff Chambers
Where: COMC
How Much?:  $.75

Why?:  Because I love 1950s Bowman baseball cards, and I'm pretty much going to grab any of them that I don't have when they're in decent condition and cost less than a dollar.  Yeah, that basically sums it up!

Buyback Franken-set: Dimebox Buybacks Part 2

Here are the rest of the great group of buybacks that Dimebox Nick sent me in his latest shipment a few weeks ago now!  Let's get down to it!

1968 Topps #26 - Darrell Brandon

Coming out real strong to start off this evening's post, with a nice Heritage Red Sox buyback!  A future Seattle Pilot no less.  For me it doesn't get much better than a Heritage box-topper buyback of my favorite team.

Then again, a '50s buyback ranks pretty highly as well.  Chuck Stobbs here has been in slot 26 of the binder.

In a testament to just how difficult it's becoming to make the binder as time goes on, I'm actually rejecting this great Darrell Brandon.  I'll certainly cherish it as a unique item for my Sox collection though.

1988 Topps #676 - Ken Dixon

Ken Dixon never pitched another inning in Major League Baseball after the 1987 season, making this a "sunset card".  I enjoy the 1988 Topps set quite a bit, though admittedly this isn't the most exciting example from that release.  You know what's great about this one?  It's my first #676 buyback.  Into the binder goes Dixon!

2014 Topps #591 - Jenrry Mejia

Next up we've got a very recent buyback with this 2014 Jenrry Mejia.  He has the unflattering distinction of being the first player to earn a "lifetime ban" from baseball for a third performance-enhancing drug test failure.  Apparently Mejia can petition for reinstatement beginning this season, so there's a chance he could pitch for the Mets again.  So, historic cheater...

...vs. an '88 Drabek already in slot 591.

Drabek all day.

1987 Topps #769 - Steve Sax

After the Mejia, we travel back in time more than 25 years for this nice high-numbered '87 Topps Steve Sax.  1987 wasn't a bad year for Sax, but it was a step down from his fantastic 1986 season in just about every statistical category.  Either way, this is my first #769 buyback, another new number for the binder here!

1974 Topps #165T - Willie Davis

This one is just plain awesome.  A '74 Traded card of an (airbrushed?) Expo.

Unfortunately I've decided to keep Traded/Update buybacks ineligible for now.  If I get enough of them though I may consider a Traded/Update franken-set someday...

1984 Topps #308 - Ron Hassey

I'm not a baseball coach or anything, but that's some interesting "form" being displayed by Ron Hassey on this '84 Topps buyback.  Hassey would actually be dealt to the Cubs in 1984 after a sluggish start.

Already had this 1968 Pirates team card in slot 308, some HOFers here including the only representation of Roberto Clemente in the binder (so far, anyway!).

Ron goes down (improperly) swinging!

2006 Topps #426 - Dustin McGowan

Here's an early-career card of pitcher Dustin McGowan.  He's actually still pitching in the league, though he's converted solely to a relief role over the past few seasons.  Last year he appeared in 63 games for the Marlins, not too shabby for his age 35 season.

Chris Speier has been holding down pocket 426 for a while thanks to his '79 release here.

No offense to Dustin McGowan, but an Expos card with cheesy outfield wall advertising is a tough draw when it comes to this project.

1990 Topps #650 - Mike Witt

Yes, Mike Witt got "hero number" 650 in the 1990 Topps set.  Honestly, I've never really understood this.  He was a few years removed from his impressive '86 campaign at this point, and gave up more earned runs than anyone in baseball in 1989.  Hey, I'll take it!  650 wasn't going to be an easy number to cross off the list so Mike Witt will certainly do for now.  I secretly hope to land another 650 buyback someday so that I can shift Witt over to my dedicated 1990 Topps buyback set.

2011 Topps #313 - Chris Coghlan

Chris Coghlan was the NL Rookie of the Year in 2009, which I'd completely forgotten about until writing up this post.  By 2011 though his numbers were slipping significantly.  I do love 2011 Topps as a set overall.  It might be my favorite Topps flagship set since I returned to collecting in 2007.

Do I like it enough to bounce this '65 Jimmie Schaffer from the binder just to make room for Coghlan?

Nope!  Maybe if the Coghlan had been a 2009 buyback this could've ended differently.

1989 Topps #307 - Lance McCullers

Lance McCullers (Sr. that is!) actually pitched for the Yankees in 1989, after San Diego dealt him there in the '88 off-season.  After the 1989 season he'd pitch in only 45 more games in his MLB career.

Barry Latman and his cheek full of chaw have been in slot 307 for many months now.

There they will stay.

1986 Topps #183 - Larry Andersen

Last card for tonight, pitcher Larry Anderson of the Phillies.  This is actually a nice card as '86 Topps goes, if you ask me.  Larry signed as a free agent with the Astros in May of '86 after Philadelphia released him.  That Astros team would go all the way to the NLCS before the Mets (those damn '86 Mets) finished their season.

Already had this Steve Braun in slot 183.  Is a mid-'70s card featuring a batting cage in the background too much for Anderson to overcome?

As a matter of fact, it is.

Nick, thanks again for this great batch of buybacks.  Scored a few  new numbers with this roung, inching ever closer.  Definitely appreciate you thinking of me!

Believe it or not, I've received close to a hundred buybacks in the mail within the past two weeks, all from generous traders/readers and all completely out of the blue.  Unreal.  I've certainly got plenty of ammo to keep this project moving as I slowly approach 75% complete!

Franken-set Progress:  551/792 (69%)
"Rejected" Buybacks:  470
Total Buybacks in Collection:  1,021

One Tough Chipper

A while back I made the questionable decision to try collecting the 2011 Topps Chrome set...in Atomic Refractor format.  I knew at the outset this would be quite a challenge.  Each card is serial-numbered to /225, which doesn't sound too bad and is by far and away the most prolific of any Atomic Refractor parallel that I'm aware of.  Even still, with a 220-card checklist this is no small endeavor.

I'm now over the 80% complete mark with the set, which is pretty damn good if I do say so myself.  This is the point though where a lot of the low-hanging fruit has already been plucked and set building something like this becomes a real challenge.  Case in point...Chipper Jones:

How about that card?  A real beauty, huh?  Well, apparently a lot of other folks think so as well.  Long ago, back when I was only about 50% complete on the set, I'd recognized that Chipper might be one of the tougher remaining names on the checklist.  So, I set a saved eBay search for this exact card and waited.  And waited.  And waited.  This is no exaggeration, I did not get a hit for 14 months.  Not a single one listed for any price, and not a one on COMC or Sportlots in that entire time span either.

Finally, a few months back, I got a hit.  Was listed at a 99 cents opening bid with $3 shipping.  This was it.  I set the sniping program I use to bid up to a full $10 on the card.  After all, I know Jones is popular but who's going to pay more than $13 shipped for a mid-range parallel from seven years ago?  I'd be able to cross card #2 off my Atomic Refractor want list at long last.  As it turns out someone was willing to pay that much for the card.  In fact, a couple of people were.  If I recall correctly the card went for somewhere in the $13-14 (plus shipping) range.

I was a bit deflated to be honest.  I felt kinda dumb that a card I'd been searching more than a year for fell through my grasp over just a few dollars.

As luck would have it, I didn't have to wait another 14 months this time, as another copy was listed within weeks of that first auction ending.  This time I was willing to go all the way up to $20 if need be (I knew collecting this set was a stupid idea).  Thankfully it didn't come down to that, as I brought home this copy for $7 and change.  Sweet!

That's the story of how Chipper Jones became the 179th 2011 Topps Chrome Atomic Refractor in my collection.  41 more to go!

Thanks as always for stopping by!

$4 Cheevers?!?! Yup, $4 Cheevers

One of the saved eBay searches I have setup is for 1967-68 Topps hockey.  I don't expect that I'll ever complete this set, even though it's only 132 cards deep it's chock full of HOFers.  The second-year card of Bobby Orr alone is probably enough to keep me from ever finishing it off, but I keep half an eye out for any real bargains because I like the design.

Well, a real bargain is exactly what I have for you this evening.  Late last week, a reputable seller (99.9% positive feedback with over 21,000 ratings) listed a bunch of cards from the '67-68 set.  All of the singles were Buy-It-Now format, and most appeared to be in pretty great condition, certainly beyond what I expect for cards this old.  Just about every one of the cards listed was a common, and was in the $9-$12 range.  One card was inexplicably listed at just $4 though.

It seemed too good to be true.  I spent a couple of minutes looking over the scans to make sure I wasn't missing some obvious flaw, but I didn't want to wait forever either as I knew the card wouldn't stay up long at this price.  Besides, I wasn't exactly breaking the bank here anyway.  After a minute or two I took the bait, and today this card arrived in my mailbox:

Yes, I landed the beautiful Gerry Cheevers card you see here for $4.  Well, to be fair I paid shipping as well, so the total ended up between $7 and $8.  Even still, easily one of my better bargains of 2018 so far.  As I mentioned above I just love the design for this set, and you just don't come across singles for this little coin very often.  Certainly not when they feature guys that are enshrined!

With the card in hand now, the only thing I can think of that may explain why the seller discounted this one compared to the others is that there's a small surface scratch that goes upwards for about an inch beginning at the 'S' in Cheevers.  It's so light it's not even visible in the scan or when looking at the card straight on, but only when you tilt it in the right light.  Fine by me!  This card isn't so rare or valuable that I never thought I'd have a shot at owning a copy, but I certainly never thought I'd end up with one for less than the cost of a fast food value meal!

In the sub-$5 price range you might expect some paper loss on the back, but that's not the case here, nice and clean!

My very first 1960s card of the man I listened to calling Hartford Whalers games on local cable TV as a kid.  Combine that with a steal of a deal and the end result is a good day in the hobby for this collector!

Have you had any unreal $10-or-less bargain pick-ups recently?  If so I'd love to hear what you nabbed in the comments...