So maybe about a month plus ago I finally had tracked down a blaster of 2011 Gypsy Queen. While the product look better than I thought it would, I really was only interested the mini parallels and so was open to trading the rest of the contents.
Enter The Daily Dimwit. Sam had posted a bunch of GQ minis that were available for trade and I had a number of cards he needed, especially some of those bronze bordered cards. I will say, too bad the entire GQ set wasn't treated that way in base form.
Right off the bat, I was lucky enough to land a SP, hobby box variation in Walter Johnson. These special hobby box toppers (special box of minis) carry a lighter border and different photos. I think the "grittiness" of the Gypsy Queen carries it self quite well in the older star cards. I absolutely love the shots of Reggie and the Duke. I gotta say, with a number of these retro sets, the photo selection on a lot of the older, retired players are better than the original cards they were depicted. I mean, I'd rather see this shot of Reggie than what was shown on his 1977 or 1979 Topps cards.
In this next batch, we have a bunch of current day stars such as Longo, Lincecum, Votto, and more. I am in the middle of putting together a needs list for the GQ minis and hope to have that up this weekend. Thanks again Sam for the trade and good luck on that bronze border set!
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And while we're on the subject of Gypsy Queen minis, Colbey over at Cardboard Collections emailed me saying he had some GQ minis for trade. This was the second time trading with CC (Colbey, your package is on it's way!) and going his way is quite a few GQ base cards and insert set cards.
Enter ten more Gypsy Queen minis, four Kimball Champions minis from the '11 Topps Series 1, and three Allen & Ginter minis from the 2009 set. Thanks again Colbey and good luck on this GQ set.
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And to close this post, I'd like to thank reader Trey who is/was just getting into the baseball card blogsphere but the the link I had isn't working. He had come across a comment I had posted, checked my blog and sent me this 2009 Topps T206 Yogi Berra as a way to getting his name and blog out there.
Trey, if you're out there, thank you again and I hope you get your blog up and running again. Don't worry about updating it every single day, but it's good vehicle to let other collectors know what your interests are and what you have available for trade. If you see this, and have a new blog site, drop me a line and I'll link this post to your site.
So a while back, I had written this post on some Allen & Ginter relics when “é rayhahn, rayhahn” offered to trade a Ginter relic for another Ginter relic. Of course, fillers going both ways netted each of us some cards off our lists. Already having a Ginter jersey relic of Joe Mauer, I was fine with parting it for a sand colored jersey of Matt Latos.
Too bad this wasn't a piece of the yellow and brown retro jerseys, now that would have been pretty sweet. Up next and definitely a pleasant surprise, THREE great cards off my '75 Topps wantlist!!!!
Gotta love the Maris/Roby card, off course of the three of four of these MVP cards I need, they are all Mantles.
Thanks again D for the great trade.
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So while trolling the 'Bay for more Ginter minis, I came across some RIP minis. Often these are pretty much priced out of my budget and therefore just a pipe dream. However, I came across some minor star RIP minis that were definitely available. One being, well ... at one point in his career, a star.
Welcome Jake Peavy, a RIP mini from the 2007 Allen & Ginter set. One thing I had not realized, since I have not seen one in person, is that the backs have are gray instead of the normal cream-white color. Also in separate auctions, I landed my first "Team Orange" from the 2008 A&G edition. The story goes that this "team" are fictional players based on people that work at Topps.
The cards were found one in every 144 packs. Beckett's Chris Olds wrote about these cards back in in 2009. In the article, he confirms through an unnamed Topps employees that indeed these Team Orange legends weren’t baseball players at all, rather Topps employees.
So "Minty" Beans is actually, John Doldan, Art Director for the Topps Company. So it's quite appropriate that the one TO card I have, shares the same profession as this collector. I aside from wanting to be the next GM of the Red Sox, Art Director at Topps would be right up there on my dream jobs.
Also in the above image, two more Baseball Icons also from the '08 set. Tris Speaker and Jimmie Foxx. Of the seventeen cards in this insert set, I am know up to four of these. I think it's one of the better insert sets that A&G model has developed. Below is the entire checklist.
BI1 Cy Young
BI2 Walter Johnson
BI3 Jackie Robinson
BI4 Thurman Munson
BI5 Mel Ott
BI6 Honus Wagner
BI7 Pee Wee Reese
BI8 Tris Speaker
BI9 Christy Mathewson
BI10 Ty Cobb
BI11 Johnny Mize
BI12 Jimmie Foxx
BI13 Lou Gehrig
BI14 Roy Campanella
BI15 George Sisler
BI16 Rogers Hornsby
BI17 Babe Ruth
So if any of you have one of these cards you want to part with, I'm sure I can find something to trade you. Until then, thank you again for reading, and stay tuned for more posts this weekend and some trade bait posts as well.
for a new post that is. Man, I have been swamped at work lately, add freelancing, coaching baseball, and an hour plus commute, and by the time I sit down, I'm able to catch a couple of innings of the Sox or MLB Network and I'm cooked.
So, I made it a point to do two things today, finally get some posts up, schedule some others, and go to the LCS. LCS was a success as I managed to add 100 Allen & Ginter minis from 2006–2010 for 10 bucks and also picked up two cool vintage cards for almost nothing. Will try to get scans of this stuff up before the weekend is out.
So, first up, I gotta recap some trades I have been able to make over the last two months.
First up, a great trade with Crinkly Wrappers, a trade that stemmed from this post. CW needed the 1975 Topps Munson and had a 1975 Topps Palmer that I needed for my 1975 Topps Wantlist. The trade turned into a bigger affair and the end result was two happy bloggers.
First up, the '75 Palmer that I needed for my set.
From this Palmer, Ted hit a number of spots on my needs list. He was able to knock three cards off my 2010 Heritage set as well as knocking Chris Woodward off my All-Time Red Sox Roster collection.
Next up, a bunch of 2009 Topps Heritage, including a couple of short prints. One of these days I finish this set ... always amazed at how few of those coaches cards ever cross my path.
Next up, some Allen & Ginter minis ...
And how about that 2010 Celestial Sign of Vladi!!!! This is the second one I have obtained via trade and in both cases (the other a Longoria), I had no idea it was coming. Truly a a great surprise!!!!
Next up, some T206 minis for my "Frankenstein" T206 set as well as a couple of 2009 Goodwin minis. I still need to post my needs list for the Goodwins set, I don't think I'm too far off.
And finally, some good 'ol Red Sox cards ...
Thanks again Ted, hope to trade again!!
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On a side note before I forget, and forgive me if someone else posted as such, but I purchased a 2011 Topps Series 2 blaster box from Target and I swear that color and the photography is off compared to my Series 1 cards. As a designer, I can't get past how the blacks are not as strong and the grass doesn't seem as green. For example (and a scan would have been appropriate here) but I compared an Oakland A's card from each series and the green is off in the name arc and the same green uniform is TWO different shades. There's almost a dullness to the fronts. Anyone else come across the same issue?
Oh, and no real big hits, I think my two best cards were a Kimball Champion mini of Koufax and Musial, no complaints there.
Got two trades to recap here tonight that are overdue so I'll get right into them.
First up is a trade with Justin from Justin's World who called dibs on a Trade Bait post of 2011 Topps insert cards. He wanted the gold Hoffman and the Heyward Red Diamond card. In addition to those, I tossed him some Cubbies cards from here and there ranging from the mid 70's to some oddball 80's to I believe a couple of recent Cubs cards.
In exchange all I wanted was a 2011 Kimball Champion mini Clay Buchholz. Justin was generous enough though to load a package of some Sox cards from the 80/90's. But it was these Sox Fav's that
needed to be shown.
Justin had crossed off a card from my Red Sox All-Time Roster list with the 2005 Tony Graffanino, a card that I didn't know existed. I had seen his Heritage card of him as a Red Sox, but not this one. In any case, another card off the list. Also was another card for my Youkilis collection, a 2010 Bowman Platinum and a couple of other Sox I can find a place for in my collection.
Thanks again Justin, I appreciate the cards and maybe I can send you a whole lot more Cubs in the future!
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Second of the trade recaps is from Nachos Grande's Trade Stacks. The one card of the three I wanted was the 2010 Topps National Chicle Jon Lester. What I had going his was was a couple of 2011 Topps "60" cards and threw in some Reds I thought Nacho would like as well.
In addition to the Lester was a Nomah I could use for my player collection and some other Sox cards as well. Thanks again and I really like that Trade Stack concept. Looks like you have done well with that — I know I check back to see if there's anything I can use/like.
So one of my readers, Dan from The Other World is a transplanted Phillies fan on the left coast, and had missed out on a 2011 Topps Utley manufactured patch card that I offered up as Trade Bait. We chatted, looked at each others lists and put together a pretty good trade for one another. The key card going back his was a nice, 1971 Topps "Reynolds" Rookie Prospect card from the high series. One of the "Reynolds' on there was a Phillie and the last card he needed for a 1971 Phillies team set. In addition a bunch of Phillies cards from all years went west as well.
Coming east where ...
Nine Allen & Ginter minis!!!! I finally picked up on eBay a couple of boxes of the UltraPro 15-pocket sheets to house all these Ginter minis. I had been using another company (20 pockets) but didn't like how the minis stuck out of the pockets. So, hopefully I will have time to start putting these all into sheets today.
Next up ....
Some retro vintage Red Sox. Love the Kimball Ortiz as I need it for my Kimball Champions set.
How how some, somewhat vintage Sox ...
A couple of 1978 Topps and 1980 Topps Sox. Poor Fisk goes from an awesome action shot ('77) to a ho-hum standing around pose ('78). That 1980 Topps Fred Lynn has always been one of my favorites, I think it's because it's a "action/pose" shot you rarely see on a card.
And finally ...
Some Sox favorites' cards. I keep acquiring Pedroia cards in trades that I think I may have to add him to my list of Sox to collection. He's certainly a fan fav around here because he leaves it all out on the field. He's not the biggest guy, doesn't have the flair or grace of a Jeter, certainly is not the speedster of say HanRam but boy, he's a smart, hard working, and one hell of a ballplayer!
Thanks again Dan for the trade, hope to do it again down the road.
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So, finally caught my breath to finally get a post up. Got a number of scans ready to go and hope to schedule a bunch of posts for this weekend and next week. Work still has the buffer on any Blogger sites so I can even edit my want lists and make postings. Also went on a little bit of an eBay buying binge and picked up a bunch of nice stuff. Just need to scan and edit lists so stay tuned.
One of the blogs I have followed the longest on this Roll has been dayf over at Cardboard Junkie. I have always found his posts and writing very humorous and very interesting to me. His Allen & Ginter project (the originals) is a very cool idea and should not be missed. You'll have to scroll all the way down on the right side of his blog, but he's got some nice scans of some pretty awesome vintage A&G. And thanks to him, I began my quest for an Allen & Ginter mini "Frankenstein" set only to want any and all mini Ginter cards.
Like many of the blogs out there, he's going after the 2011 Topps Diamond shiny cards so when I offered some Trade Bait that included an Albert Pujols, he came calling.
First up, he knocked off three more 2009 Topps Heritage cards off my needs list. These three cards came from the High Series and puts me closer to finishing that series. I still have a ways to go with the regular series including quite a few short print cards. I think out of all the Topps Heritage issues, the '60 version was one of their best if not THE best execution of the retro set concept. The design and colors are really strong. One of these days I'll get this set in pages.
Next up, I can cross off four cards on my 2010 Heritage set. Getting closer with this one but still need a number of shorts prints. I would think I would have an easier time acquiring the short prints as I don't find many collectors out there collecting this set due to it's "boringness" and "hatless" photos. Sooooo, I know your out there, drop me a line and I'll be more than happy to trade for these SPs! I think one things I do love about the set is the large photo area, nothing flashy, just as clean as the original.
And finally, even though I have barely made a dent in this set (as I returned that eBay lot because the condition was really rough), Junkie sent me five 1972 Topps cards including a semi-high in Ken Brett. Like another blogger told me just yesterday while discussing a trade, no matter how little you have made in-roads on a set like this, you gotta take any card you can get.
Thanks again dayf for the trade!!! I hope to find more shinys to send your way down the line and I have a number of oddball Braves cards (especially of Maddux) that I know could find a home down South. Hopefully, another trade will follow down the road.
A little while back, Johnny over at Cards from the Quarry emailed me about trading. Like myself, he had just got his blog up and running. He has been quite busy as he's had a number of trades on his site lately. Going his way was around 400 cards from various set needs along with a number of Rockies cards.
Coming back to the WALL was a first for my collection. A jersey relic/autograph card and numbered 25 of 50! This is my third jersey swatch card I have of Lester and first autograph. Lester's story is amazing one if you have never heard before. Coming into the 2011 season, many are predicting it could be a Cy Young type of year for the lefty. His last three years have been rock solid and is truly the ace of a pretty strong rotation that includes, Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett, John Lackey, and if you must, Dice-K.
I think the following line sums it up best:
He beat cancer.
He beat the Rox for the World Series.
He threw a no-hitter.
What's next... Hall of Fame?
Next up are three Red Sox cards I have never seen before and still not sure what set they come from. They are pretty cool and the only other card I have found on eBay is a Johnny Damon. They are some sort of 2006 Upper Deck product. In any case, these are cool and wonder is there is a Lester or Youkilis out there that I can add to my player collections.
Next up, the card that first started off our initial trade talks was a 2009 Topps Update Short Print variation card of Bo Jackson. While I may never obtain all these SP variations, I am always on the look out for them. Others I have are a Lou Gehrig (series 1), Robin Yount (series 2), and a Honus Wagner (Update series). If you have any, I've got a 2010 Topps Rickey Henderson SP variation to trade.
Next up, a couple of cards off from No-Hitters Club collection. A 1989 Topps Tom Browning and a 1992 Mark Williamson. On September 16, 1988, Browning, pitched a perfect game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The game was delayed two-and-a-half hours, but when it finally started, Tom Browning was at his best, throwing 102 pitches, 72 of which were strikes. The small crowd that patiently waited nearly three hours for a 10 p.m. start were treated to a magnificent pitchers' duel that featured Tim Belcher taking a no-hitter into the the sixth inning and Tom Browning completing the first ever Cincinnati Reds perfect game. The following season, Browning barely missed becoming the first Major League pitcher to pitch two perfect games, taking his second bid into the ninth inning on July 4, 1989 against the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium. A lead-off single by Dickie Thon ended Browning's attempt.
On July 13, 1988, Mark Williamson was part of a combined no-hitter. Baltimore Orioles starter Bob Milacki and three relievers, Mike Flanagan, Williamson and Gregg Olson, combined for the O's first no-hitter since 1969 in a 2-0 victory at the Oakland Coliseum. Milacki pitched 6 innings and struck out three batters before giving ball to the bullpen. He was taken out of the game when he was hit by a line drive in the seventh inning. Flanagan came on to finish the seventh and them Williamson and Olson three 1-2-3 innings in the 8th and 9th innings to preserve the no-no.
And finally, we have three cards off of my other baseball feats collection, Players Have Hit for the Cycle. We've got a 1988 Topps Chris Speier, a 1989 Topps Gary Redus, and a 2010 Topps Chrome Troy Tulowitzki. On July 9, 1988 Chris Speier hit for the cycle as the Giants mauled the Cardinals, 21-2 at Candlestick Park. It marked the second time Speier had accomplished the feat and was almost 10 years to the day of his previous cycle for the Expos on July 20, 1978.
On August 25, 1989, Gary Redus' cycle came against the Reds, who were playing their first game since Pete Rose was banned from baseball for life. The Pirates racked up 17 hits and downed Cincinnati 12-3 at Riverfront Stadium.
On August 10, 2009, Tulo had five hits and drove in seven while hitting his cycle against the Cubs in a 11-5 win at Coors Field. Tulowitzki, who had a home run denied in the first video review at Coors Field, came to bat to lead off the seventh a triple shy of the franchise's fifth cycle and first in nine years.
Thanks again Johnny for the trade, I'm sure we'll trade again down the road and for those of you who haven't checked out his blog out yet, go take a look!
