Mostly a 1986 Topps Traded repack brick

The highlights of this may have been the XRCs of fan favorites like Wally Joyner, Andres Galarraga, Bobby Bonilla John Kruk and Bip Roberts - I'd prefer a repack with a lot more variety as far as brands and years go, but there is a good mix here and I'm just glad the 'bulk' wasn't mostly junk wax era flagship Topps.

1986 Topps Traded

#51T Wally Joyner XRC

2020 Topps Finest James Paxton #96

1986 Topps Phil Niekro #790

#126T Bobby Witt

#6T Don Baylor

#68T Mickey Mahler

#67T Steve Lyons

#125T Mitch Williams

#37T Terry Forster

#34T Mark Eichhorn

#54T Bob Kipper

#25T Mark Clear

#17T Tom Candiotti

#5T Scott Bailes

#62T Rudy Law

#4T Paul Assenmacher

#55T Wayne Krenchicki

#124T Dick Williams

#128T George Wright

#41T Ken Griffey

#116T Alex Trevino

#52T Charlie Kerfeld

#45T Billy Hatcher

#102T Ted Simmons

#109T Tim Teufel

#61T Dave LaPoint

#57T Mike LaCoss

#111T Andres Thomas

#108T Danny Tartabull

#87T Dan Plesac

#15T Steve Boros

#16T Rick Burleson

#92T Bille Jo Robidoux

#120T Bob Walk

#97T Joe Sambito

#72T Andy McGaffigan

#103T Sammy Stewart

#98T Billy Sample

#76T Jerry Mumphrey

#129T Ricky Wright

#17T Bill Cambpell

#119T Ozzie Virgil

#131T Paul Zuvella

#36T Scott Fletcher

#77T Phil Niekro

#63T Rick Leach

#73T John Cerutti

#99T Dave Schmidt

#21T Carmen Castillo

#9T Juan Berenguer

#33T Mike Easler

#78T Randy Niemann

#39T Jim Fregosi

#101T Tom Seaver

#44T Moose Haas

#88T Darrell Porter

2007 Topps Felix Hernandez #435

2007 Topps Mike Mussina #452

2007 Topps Craig Biggio #517

2007 Topps Jim Thome #481

2007 Topps Tom Glavine #410

2007 Topps Gary Sheffield #470 

1981 Fleer Rod Carew #168

1992 Topps Stadium Club Eddie Murray #795

2007 Topps Carlos Beltran #200

2007 Topps Andy Pettitte #32

2007 Topps Gary Sheffield #133 - I realize it just happens, but why are there two Sheffield base cards in the 2007 Topps set? 

2012 Topps Chris Sale #149

2018 Topps Chrome Stephen Strasburg #185

2014 Topps Opening Day Stephen Strasburg #21

2014 Topps Opening Day Chris Archer #153

2014 Topps Opening Day Chris Sale #151

2014 Topps Opening Day Patrick Corbin #68

2014 Topps Opening Day Hyun-Jin Ryu #213

2014 Topps Opening Day Yu Darvish #148

2014 Topps Opening Day Josh Donaldson #11

2016 Topps Opening Day Gerrit Cole #OD-163

2016 Topps Opening Day Stephen Strasburg #OD-194

2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Mini Gary Sheffield #138

2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Alex Rodriguez #64

1996 Upper Deck Collector's Choice Mo Vaughn #480

#100T Ken Schrom

#69T Candy Maldonado

#117T Manny Trillo

#91T Bip Roberts XRC

#12T Bobby Bonilla XRC

#130T Steve Yeager

#66T Jim Leyland XRC

#40T Andres Galarraga XRC

#19T John Cangelosi XRC

#31T Rob Deer

#2T Neil Allen

#7T Steve Bedrosian

#13T Juan Bonilla

#123T Bill Wegman XRC

#107T Chuck Tanner

#59T Mike Laga

#81T Bobby Ojeda

#113T Robby Thompson XRC

#56T John Kruk XRC

#115T Wayne Tolleson

One more 1981 Topps repack brick

#260 Ron Cey

#228 Tom Paciorek

#230 George Hendrick

#231 Joe Beckwith

#232 Mickey Klutts

#233 Skip Lockwood

#235 Scott Sanderson

#236 Mike Ivie

#237 Charlie Moore

#238 Willie Hernandez

#239 Rick Miller DP

#241 Checklist 122-242 DP

#242 Chet Lemon

#243 Sal Butera RC

#244 Tito Landrum / Al Olmsted / Andy Rincon RC

#245 Ed Figueroa

#246 Ed Ott DP

#247 Glenn Hubbard DP

#248 Joey McLaughlin

#249 Larry Cox

#251 Tom Brookens

#252 Victor Cruz

#253 Dave Bergman

#255 Mark Littell

#256 Bombo Rivera

#257 Rennie Stennett

#258 Joe Price RC

#262 Sammy Stewart

#263 Brian Downing

#264 Jim Norris

#265 John Candelaria

#266 Tom Herr

#267 Stan Bahnsen

#268 Jerry Royster

#269 Ken Forsch

#270 Greg Luzinski

#271 Bill Castro

#273 Stan Papi

#274 Craig Chamberlain

#276 Dan Spillner

#277 Alfredo Griffin

#278 Rick Sofield

#279 Bob Knepper

#280 Ken Griffey, Sr.

#281 Fred Stanley

#282 Rick Anderson / Greg Biercevicz / Rodney Craig RC

#283 Billy Sample

#284 Brian Kingman

#285 Jerry Turner

#286 Dave Frost

#287 Lenn Sakata

#288 Bob Clark

#289 Mickey Hatcher

#290 Bob Boone DP

#291 Aurelio Lopez

#292 Mike Squires

#293 Charlie Lea RC

#294 Mike Tyson DP

#295 Hal McRae

#296 Bill Nahorodny DP

#297 Bob Bailor

#298 Buddy Solomon

#299 Elliott Maddox

#301 Matt Keough

#303 Johnny Oates

#304 John Castino

#305 Ken Clay

#306 Juan Beniquez DP

#307 Gene Garber

#308 Rick Manning

#309 Luis Salazar RC

#310 Vida Blue DP

#311 Freddie Patek

#312 Rick Rhoden

#313 Luis Pujols

#314 Rich Dauer

#316 Craig Minetto

#317 Lonnie Smith

#318 Steve Yeager

#319 Rowland Office

#320 Tom Burgmeier

#322 Neil Allen

#323 Jim Morrison DP

#324 Mike Willis

#326 Biff Pocoroba

#327 Moose Haas

#328 Dave Engle / Greg Johnston / Gary Ward RC

#329 Joaquin Andujar

#330 Frank White

#331 Dennis Lamp

#332 Lee Lacy DP

#333 Sid Monge

#334 Dane Iorg

#336 Eddie Whitson

#337 Lynn Jones

#338 Checklist 243-363

#340 Bruce Kison

#341 Dwayne Murphy

#342 Eric Rasmussen DP

#344 Byron McLaughlin

Card show pickups - mining for the miscellaneous

At the card show I went to, I was doing work digging through a seller's cheapo boxes - after tallying things up, it looks like I grabbed 108 cards that were 6 for $1, another 5-10 cards that were 3 for $1 and/or $0.50 each.

These were three Tyler Wade rookies out of the main brick of '6 for $1' cards I picked up - I wouldn't have cared about him before, though I got his autograph in-person years ago in the Arizona Fall League.

However, the Angels picked him up and while his upside is probably still a utility guy, he is relatively young and if he turns out to have some decent moments as an Angel - then I have rookies of a rank-and-file guy to root for.

These were '3 for $1' as indicated by the red Sharpie mark on the penny sleeves - is it hard to see the Kyle Tucker prospect cards and the Mookie Betts insert pictured up top?

To show off, I'm taking photos of my cards rather than scanning them - but maybe I've never learned the ideal way to do so, where my blog images look relatively decent.

I think the Topps Gypsy Queen Chrome Eloy Jimenez is a box topper - Jimenez looks like he's a fun player to watch, so maybe he's a pick to click as far as collecting on the down low if I ever see his cards out in the wild.

I thought the Anthony Rendon was just another Topps Chrome parallel but it was a challenge to figure just exactly which one was it - further research reveals it's likely a Black and White Mini-Diamond Refractor parallel from Topps Chrome Lite, a product I simply wouldn't have thought about existing.

I vaguely knew that there was a 2021 Bowman Chrome Lite box - but I didn't realize it was made for Topps Chrome as well.

I don't know if a 2021 card of Honus Wagner excites me compared to a card of a relevant baseball subject who is living and playing - but it's another look at the guy who is on that tiny card worth millions, so I guess it's a keeper.

In the bottom row there is a 1984 Fleer Ryne Sandberg and maybe old-school, pre-junk wax era 1980s star cards are keepers - notably when Donruss and Fleer started to be a little bit more high brow looking and may have been harder to find than comparable Topps issues.

Ramon Martinez was on fire for about a couple of seasons where he was the better known Martinez brother through the early 1990s - it feels odd to actually spend $0.33 on a random insert card of his in 2021, but what can I do when it shows him hitting?

Honestly, I don't know if I keep up with any sort of serious team collecting out in the wild - but it's a no brainer to grab a shiny parallel like the Topps Chrome pink Jared Walsh.

These were the $0.50 pick ups - the harder to see pair pictured up top are insert card of Vladimir Guerrero and Ichiro, who seem like they are a pair of bloggers' favorites.

Actually getting opportunities to get their autographs in-person back in the day - maybe it's even more a thing for me to make some of their cards I see keepers.

Are more comtemporary retro cards like the pair of Ted Williams keepers or are they just miscellaneous cards no one looks over twice [?] - I want cards of here and now players but want to build on the idea that certain old timers' cards are not going to get past me, notably inserts, parallels and/or base cards from more premium products.

I thought the Jon Lester was some kind of die-cut insert - I looked it up and it's only really base card from 2019 Panini Leather and Lumber and while its neat, I don't even know if the ridged surface is supposed to simulate anything.

Finally there is a 1981 Fleer Star Stickers Bruce Sutter card - he's holding a bat, so it's another add to my pitchers hitting collection.

1981 Topps repack brick results

At the card show I went to, I was doing work digging through a seller's cheapo boxes - after tallying things up, it looks like I grabbed 108 cards that were 6 for $1, another 5-10 cards that were 3 for $1 and/or $0.50 each.

There was a 'display' of repackaged cards [$3 each of 2 for $5] that were apparently put together by the seller's son [might have been 11 or 12 years old] - actually grabbed three [one had a 1981 Topps Bobby Grich, I'm sure the other had a 1981 Topps Ron Cey on top and the other had a 1986 Topps Traded Wally Joyner XRC.

I tried to ask what was in them to, even though that feels kind of dumb question because it's going to be mostly someone else's discards - maybe I was just hoping not to be skunked where it's junk, junk [cards from the junk wax era, all dupes, no variety in years at all] as opposed to cards [miscellaneous brands, maybe some base stars / inserts, maybe oddballs or a good mix of years] that maybe interesting to go through, even if there was no value at all.

#182 Bob Grich

#171 Gene Richards

#10 Mike Flanagan

#19 Jim Clancy

#36 Ed Farmer

#37 Gary Roenicke

#94 Harry Spilman DP

#120 Larry Bowa

#121 Larry Harlow

#122 John Denny

#123 Al Cowens

#124 Jerry Garvin

#126 Charlie Leibrandt

#127 Rudy Law

#128 Gary Allanson

#129 Art Howe

#130 Larry Gura

#131 Keith Moreland

#132 Tommy Boggs

#133 Jeff Cox

#134 Steve Mura

#135 Gorman Thomas

#136 Doug Capilla

#137 Hosken Powell

#138 Rich Dotson

#139 Oscar Gamble

#140 Bob Forsch

#141 Miguel Dilone

#142 Jackson Todd

#143 Dan Meyer

#144 Allen Ripley

#145 Mickey Rivers

#146 Bobby Castillo

#147 Dale Berra

#148 Randy Niemann

#149 Joe Nolan RC

#151 Claudell Washington

#152 John Urrea

#153 Tom Poquette

#154 Rick Langford

#155 Chris Chambliss

#156 Bob McClure

#157 John Wathan

#159 Brian Doyle

#160 Garry Maddox

#161 Dan Graham

#162 Doug Corbett

#163 Billy Almon

#164 Lamarr Hoyt

#165 Tony Scott

#166 Floyd Bannister

#167 Terry Whitfield

#168 Don Robinson

#169 John Mayberry

#170 Ross Grimsley

#172 Gary Woods

#173 Bump Wills

#174 Doug Rau

#175 Dave Collins

#176 Mike Krukow

#177 Rick Peters

#178 Jim Essian

#181 Elias Sosa

#183 Dick Davis

#184 Jim Dwyer

#185 Dennis Leonard

#186 Wayne Nordhagen

#187 Mike Parrott

#188 Doug Decinces

#189 Craig Swan

#190 Cesar Cedeno

#191 Rick Sutcliffe

#192 Braves Future Stars feat. Terry Harper / Ed Miller / Rafael Ramirez 

#193 Pete Vuckovich

#194 Rob Scurry

#195 Rich Murray

#196 Duffy Dyer

#197 Jim Kern

#198 Jerry Dybzinski

#199 Chuck Rainey

#200 George Foster

#203 Bill Gullickson

#204 Record Breaker feat. Ron LeFlore / Rodney Scott

#208 Record Breaker feat. Willie Wilson

#209 Dickie Thon

#211 Derrel Thomas

#212 Steve Nicosia

#213 Al Holland

#215 Larry Hisle

#216 John Henry Johnson

#217 Rich Hebner

#218 Paul Splittorff

#219 Ken Landreaux

#221 Bob Davis

#222 Jorge Orta

#223 Roy Lee Jackson

#224 Pat Zachry

#225 Rupert Jones

#226 Manny Sanguillen

#227 Fred Martinez

End of the year card show meanderings

I've probably gone to more card show dates this past year compared to the last 2 years before the pandemic - however I've gotten self-conscious about showing up to where the scene is a little more unfamiliar perhaps.

I find myself feeling too much like a rando in a room of guys in the know who are simply interested in 'here and now' concepts I'm not vaguely aware of - big time wheeling and dealing involving higher end slabs, other sports [NBA, NFL], non-sports.

Maybe there has always been something bigger, something hyped that people who might be collecting and speculating are chasing after - but maybe I'm stuck in my reality, which has me less emotionally invested in the nuts and bolts of a card show, where it’s harder to cultivate any enthusiasm.

With sellers are more focused on other things besides bringing material catering more to my interests - it takes more effort to find things I can get into.

On the other hand, keying on tables with bulk cards for a dollar and less has me looking forward to that next rummage at shows - where as much as things are different, I can still find my roots at a random card show.

At my last card show trip, I was aimlessly wandering around and found myself digging through boxes at a table in the corner of the main room in a hotel - the table didn't register to me at first glance and now that I've planted myself, it doesn't look like there is any good 'ole baseball in these parts.

I started to find clusters of some old-school and / or vintage cards to go through [even if not seriously consider] - there was some vintage 1960 Fleer Greats, but I'm not sure what to make of them because they are a retro set rather than a set with active players [circa 1960].

There was a father / son manning the table but it seemed clear to me that the adult son [probably in his 30s] - wasn't really into the cards and may have been tagging along as more of chaperone, compared to his old man who was really running the table.

The prices were half off the stickered price - though I worried the prices on the cards might be marked up.

Finding a 1996 Upper Deck V.J. Lovero Ken Griffey Jr. #VJ 10 [$4] may have actually spurred me on to find more cards - though it wasn't going to be that big splash purchase, it might have been a random scratch the itch want.

I found and set aside 1989 Upper Deck Dale Murphy REV NEG #357 [$30] in a yellowed semi-rigid, which may have been interesting - the guy grabbed it for a moment and was telling his son it was some kind of error.

I occasionally see random cards that I might not flag outright but end up dwelling on after the fact - maybe the cards are not semi-definitive or definitive cards for a collection, where it's only a big deal in my head, but types of cards I shouldn't let get passed me.

There was doubt whether I should make the Murphy the centerpiece of what I might have found off these random boxes - the card was a bit more on the quirky side of the junk wax era, but I might be second-guessing myself for not grabbing this error outright.

Finally I found a 1990 Leaf Frank Thomas #300 [$10] and while it's been over 30 long years and I have a graded copy - the card was a status symbol of early 1990s collecting, so I wanted a loose copy, even if there is a tiny bit of worry about potential counterfeits that might be mixed in various collections and/or inventory.

TTM autographs received: Bob Aspromonte

The former big leaguer signed my card and sent a signed index card in about a month - for some fun and games, I like sending out to vintage players, regardless of whether they were notable names or more rank and file guys.

Maybe I don't do it enough even as I realize the pool of retired players perpetually shrinks as the years and decades pass - I just don't have a good cache of excess old-school and vintage cards to send out as TTM stock.

TTM autographs received: Jim Palmer

The Hall of Fame pitcher signed my two cards in about 5 days for his fee of $10 per card - I think he still had broadcasting obligations with the Baltimore Orioles through the 2021 season, so I held off on sending to him c/o a So. Cal mailing address, until I saw successes coming back [where presumably my request wouldn't be held up in limbo].

TTM autographs received: Bill Lee

The former big league lefty signed my two cards in about a month - it looks like tried to mimic his facsimile autograph on the 1971 Topps.

He sent my letter back as well, writing that he just got a callus on his left index finger and as response to the 'I hope you are doing well' I add to the end of my requests - he wrote no he isn't doing well, "my left calf is [broken]."

Google Sheets glitches

I can fake working on spreadsheets and Google Sheets files in particular to account for the cards in my various collections - it makes me feel good to feel like I'm curating and cataloging all sort of cards in the files I've created, but maybe I'm doing something wrong.

As I'm trying to list out my last 'runs' of awesome action collecting topics subset adds for the year - I've discovered numerous instances where either Google Sheets or 'user error' is causing the information I've added to cells [to further classify cards in my Google Sheets file] to be displaced or disappear entirely.

There maybe instances where information is added in the right place where my 'batting' cards are grouped as such - but why do I find instances where the 'batting' tag is under subsets, when they should be grouping tags.

Bear with me, but everything listed under the subset column should be under the grouping column - I don't know if I'm putting the information in the wrong place all this time, but I feel like there are gremlins messing around with my Google Sheets file.

It maybe a case where the file is bloated with all sorts of entries from at least 15 years ago- so when I try to load the file, it lags and somehow jumbles things up.

What I've resorted to doing is seeing if I can copy over the main file and see if the apparent mess ups show there - I'd really like to see if I can just work on adding to a previous version where I feel like things are intact [through a certain point].

The nuclear option was to create new related files for a fresh start - even if it means breaking up the bulk of the listings of different mini-collections under my 'awesome action' umbrella.

I hope using separate files will be easier to look at and add listings of cards into without the worry about mushrooming file size - but it maybe a case where the transition will begin some time in 2022.

collecting topics - AA - pitching - 12-6-21

collecting topics - AA - fun - game - personality - 12-6-21

collecting topics - AA - unique perspectives - 12-6-21

collecting topics - AA - fielding - 12-6-21

collecting topics - AA - batting and baserunning - 12-6-21

collecting topics - AA - celebrations - confrontations - curtain calls - 12-7-21

collecting topics - AA - strictly other sports - 12-7-21

TTM autograph received: Hobie Landrith

The 91-year old signed my card in about a couple of weeks for a fee of $5 - I'd bought his 1954 Bowman card as part of a vintage rummage and didn't realize I can still send it somewhere to be inked up.

The only oddity was my SASE came back battered and bruised like it went through a heavy rain storm - I was worried figuring out what I'd received [or what I'd likely lost], but the contents were still inside the weathered envelope, including my card signed in blue ink as well as my letter back [with some responses to what I'd written].

Featured autograph - Minnie Minoso

I don't think Minoso registered for me other than a MLB fan favorite who had the feat of appearing in five different decades - I picked up this 8x10 photo from the 2006 National for about $20 [or less] just because it represented a little bit of diversity out of the autograph photo choices from a dealer's table.

With his election to the Hall of Fame along with other greats like Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva - it might be time to give them a second look.

My experiences with some junk boxes of doom - box 4.2

I think these are complete L.A.P.D. / DARE Los Angeles Dodgers sets from 1995 and 1996 - maybe at least a couple of cards from the perforated sheets have been damaged due to the natural conditions, but most cards are fairly clean and if I wanted to separate them, I don't need scissors to do so.

These oddballs are not worth anything but maybe after a certain number of years [25 years] - cards like this end up starting to be old-school curiosities, where it stirs up some sort of faux collecting nostalgia for cards I've never hand in-hand before.

More junk wax era singles in semi-rigids holders - I want say these cards wouldn't look out of place in card magazines from the era, even though the players pictured on the cards never had that lasting power in the hobby.

Maybe I'll set a number of these cards aside in a collecting time capsule of sorts - where I'm reminded that many of these cards were coveted as 'here and now' material from the years I really started collecting.

Finally there are these Topps stickers from 1986 - they are odd sized, flimsy and not something I'm familiar with at all.

I'll try and sort them out just to see if there is any more star power - but this might be it with Robin Yount, half and half combo of Goose Gossage / Jack Morris, half of Pete Rose, Wade Boggs and Jim Rice.

I don't know if I'll bother looking up who's who on these random stickers - like one showing a pair of longtime, shortstops who won Rookie of the Year awards [Alfredo Griffin and Ozzie Guillen] or another picturing Dan Gladden and Dwight Evans.

My experiences with some junk boxes of doom - box 4.1

This was the last of the 4 boxes I bought for $3 each off a bargain table at a card show.

This maybe dumpster diving at its finest - not everything is going to be salvageable, but I'll see what I can rummage through for the curiosity factor.

To this day I love digging through cards and sorting them out, though with these boxes - it was more about hoping I wouldn't have to toss certain cards that are too dingy to make keepers otherwise.

In this box, the oddball panels of cards are definitely what caught my eye - I'm not really an oddball collector, though perhaps I want to see if I can pick up types of overlooked, non-mainstream issues I still don't really see as 'real cards.'

Because I don't trust my hand cutting skills and may just give up trying to separate these cards individually - I'm probably going to leave these cards 'as is.'

Just a couple of the cards are damaged [too bad one is the Wally Joyner], but rather than cut things up where the suspect cards will mostly likely end up in the circular file - I'm keeping the panels together where the cards in their entirety are still presentable.

My experiences with some junk boxes of doom - box 3.2

Maybe I find the pair of random cards unique in an odd sort of way - something I can goof on, whether there is really something to make fun of or perhaps not.

Maybe my first exposure to NBA cards was in the early 1990s and while I've never collected basketball seriously to this day - maybe the late 1980s Fleer stragglers are interesting to look at from an 'old school cool' point of view.

I remember the craze with these 1992 Topps Gold scratch off cards - a childhood friend's father bought at least a case of 1992 Topps boxes, to pull the contest cards and take advantage of using a pen light to see which areas would lead to 'winners.'

Through collecting sports cards, maybe I imagine myself as a historian - so while there is the tired caveat [these cards aren't worth anything], each are keepers for my 'beyond the glory' collection.

Finally, maybe a couple more 1994 Upper Deck SP wrong backs - I thought these kinds of errors where a Topps, junk wax era thing, not something that carried on through the early UV era.

My experiences with some junk boxes of doom - box 3.1

These are mostly the highlights of my third junk box I picked up for $3 each - there was a good number of cards in the last two boxes that were in semi-rigid holders, which may or may not have reflected the 'better' cards, but may have been the most interesting to go through.

Literal junk wax to sort through and toss for the most part - in some twisted way, maybe I need to pick up these boxes when I see them once in a while, just to get back to my roots.

Not worth much, but I like the Steve Garvey and Mike Schmidt in particular - a pair of old school 1980s cards of longtime stars through that era.

Some 1989 Topps Jim Abbott rookies - to bring me back to my beginnings as a collector perhaps.

Two of the same Tony Gwynn insert cards and a small stash of Will clark cards - including a 1987 Donruss rookie that I'd probably pay a few bucks for outright, if I didn't have it already.

More Will Clarks - he was big league star for just about the entirety of his big league career, but may have been a considered a superstar for a 2-3 year period with the San Francisco Giants through the late 1980s.

A small stash of Bo Jacksons - one of the brightest stars of the junk wax era, even though a 'what if' in most fans' minds in both football and baseball.

Some 1987 Donruss Ruben Sierra rookies - how much were these going for at his late 1980s peak?

These cards brings me back to getting into collecting and through browsing actual hobby publications - reading about the crop of junk wax rookies that were going to be stars for years to come.

This stash of First Topps Cards could have been a penny stock investment for an adolescent collector - looking to see whether the value and gone up or down in his latest Beckett.