"This will be it," the seller said to the other guy.
My 'under the radar' blog featuring my baseball card collecting endeavors and hopefully some of my autographs collected in-person / through-the-mail.
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Thursday, January 27, 2022
A slice of card show miscellany
Friday, January 21, 2022
A couple of card show single pick ups
I didn't think I'd see the day where the dollar cards were now $0.50 each, but maybe the seller was preoccupied by other things - however my interests have shifted where I'd rather look for impulse purchases out of the scattered singles [$5-$20] boxes.
As is who knows if I can count on seeing cards I may have flagged in months and months ago - being generally in the same place, whether displayed in one of the showcases or in a box.
I plucked an MLB rookie year Derek Jeter insert and an Ichiro rookie year card, though I wasn't enthused about what I was finding - I thought this seller would have all these boxes of 'interesting' cards, but maybe it just depends on collections the person purchases, what maybe left and what he decides to put out.
I found a 1992 Bowman Mike Piazza RC #461 and while I really wanted a graded copy as part of my scratch the itch list - a loose, unslabbed card was in my wheelhouse as a notable single pick up where I'd rather have the card that not.
I still remember buying loose jumbo packs of 1992 Bowman for $12 each at least a few times off a random seller at the show that still runs at least a couple of times a week - after the fact, I don't think I pulled one notable player or rookie so maybe there was a sequence where pulling cards of note was a no-go.
I found several copies of the Carlos Beltran certified autograph card and while he has a Hall of Fame case with the career numbers that merit eventual induction - he may never avoid questions about his role in the Houston cheating scandal in 2017 and his firing as a New York Mets manager, before he even got to manage in a game.
As I considered making my singles purchases, I was absentmindedly digging through the $0.50 boxes - where I was trying to think about the combination of singles I'd relent to pick up, I just grabbed the Piazza and a Beltran for $20 to have a couple keepers beside all the other bulk cards I picked up.
Wednesday, January 19, 2022
Some more card show stuff
Mini-collection cards - some batting cards, a home run trot card and baserunning cards.Mini-collection cards - some fielding cards, a throwing card, a double play throwing card and a pair of 'dirt fetish' cards no matter how incidental. Mini-collection cards - some 'fun cards' up top including a gum card, a player having some fun and an oddity where Randy Johnson is pictured with a camera.
Bottom row features - a Kris Bryant 'game face, focused' card, a Curt Schilling 'men at work' card and Javy Baez and Kevin Pillar 'personality shots, fired up' cards.
Mini-collection cards - some unique perspective cards in my book, including some 'event captured' cards, some cards with what I consider 'panoramic / majestic' images and a Sean Casey 'signage' card where 'Bud' can be made out in the background.Tuesday, January 18, 2022
So it begins for '22 - some card show stuff
There were still the same core of tables such as the higher end showcase guys, the card doctor / card cleaner dude and more of the ‘card bro’ tables where they won't look at you unless you are in their crew - but perhaps the gym just wasn't as packed with commerce and I was just kind of ambivalent about the vibe where it was a little sleepy.
I was aiming for the table with what I call the dollar boxes of doom, though perhaps I've been more interested in the $5-$20 singles - however, it seemed like a smaller set up and people were already planted there, so I decided to wander around to see where I can find myself.
I decided I’d switch things up and start with good ‘ole Mr. Dependable, a seller with a 3,200 count box of cards for a dime each - I was worried about missing out on the better material at the dollar boxes of doom, but I needed to plant myself somewhere where I’d made up my mind I wasn’t going to be missing out on much regardless.
Building up my stashes where it’s about plundering what I can out of the baseball rows - I’m trying to keep things straight even as loose cards are spilling all over the place and I'm not exactly sure how to corral them into piles that make sense.
I need some ‘table management’ where set my stacks of cards where after about 45 minutes, I'm just about done - I need to figure out what I have and start to wrap things up.
I dutifully count things out and end up with 375 cards [maybe I went one over where I suspect I counted a dupe as one card] - after calculating the totals, I was charged $20 and my first bulk haul of the year is in the books.
These may represent players I'm iffy about or cards I don't think I'd ever consider picking up in there here and now - but I'm looking for keepers, whether it's on a whim or perhaps cards that are mini-collection material, loose / random cards for my team boxes project on the side and just other loose card projects.Some Florida Marlins curiosities showcased for some reason - maybe I'm putting myself through a bad 'repack' trip, but my game plan has never been that serious, where no one is going to stop me from setting aside cards left and right. I've already given myself license to 'freelance' with these rummages - do I start to shift focus on grabbing cards of fan favorites like a Raul Mondesi, Jason Varitek or even a Brad Radke to squirrel away as team boxes material?Maybe Mondesi was the only one I thought was collectible at some point and my interest in him peaked over 20 years ago - just going through all these cards, I wonder if faux nostalgia is setting in, where time has passed to make what was once 'common' and 'meh' old school cool all these years later.
How about Fernando Tatis Sr., who had a solid big league career - but it's probably 50/50 now whether fans remember him for hitting two grand slams in an inning an/dor being the father of a big league superstar.
Misc - nice 'gum card' score on the reverse image of a 1997 Pinnacle Certified Raul Casanova #122.Misc - I think whenever I'd have acquaintances who discover I had an interest in cards, their first thought was to mention Chan Ho Park, which was annoying.After 25 years, I'm still messing with cardboard and on the down low, have decided to make a few of Park's cards keepers as I find them - including a couple of rookies and an insert from his dreadful Texas Rangers years.
Friday, January 14, 2022
COMC mail #3 FIN - the rest of the mess
At some point last year, I was hunting for more oddball mini-collection adds and I found some Venezuelan Winter League cards - the card pictured shows a manager arguing with an umpire, so that added 'awesome action' is a nice touch on a type of card that wouldn't register in my mind.
I grabbed the 2020 Topps SP Photo Variation of Xander Bogaerts because I'd passed up another copy of the same card in-person and while not worth much - it's a nice picture where Bogaerts in a tux looks like he's at a party somewhere looking classy.
I grabbed the 2020 Topps SP Photo Variation of Rhys Hoskins because gum card images are harder to find - I always make them keepers regardless of player.
2007 Topps Chrome Mickey Mantle Story - I'm ambivalent over Mantle retro cards where they fairly plentiful and not that hard to find, but this particular insert has him playing the violin, so that's a fun card to add to my oddities collection.
Mini-collection cards #2 - I saw the 2019 Topps X Vlad Jr. “The Legend” Vladimir Guerrero Sr. off another card blogger's post and was inspired to grab one for inking it up collection; off the same set came the Lourdes Gurriel Sr. card, which ended up being a keeper for my bloodlines collection because he was a Cuban baseball legend who is the father of two big leaguers in Yuli and Lourdes.More Venezuelan Winter League cards, featuring guys inking it up this time around - it's always nice to have a little change of pace, when my collections consist of mainstream branded MLB cards.
The last oddball card was a 1984 7-Up Chicago Cubs team issue of Tim Stoddard - it may have been a misfit purchase, but I've had on my mind as a 'bonus baby' card since Ryne Sandberg is supposedly the player lurking in the background.
Go figure, I end up finding a complete set, with Stoddard and all at a card show and paid $4 for the entire set - I might have grabbed the Stoddard for about $0.65.
Pitchers hitting photo variations - for potential mini-collection additions, it's a mini challenge for myself to grab cards off COMC featuring players I'm not really emotionally attached to.I don't know if Noah Syndergaard will hit any home runs in 2022, whether there will be a normal MLB season or if the universal DH will come to play - I'm hoping his arm is sound to pitch in at least 150 odd innings for the Angels.
Maybe needlessly, I actually spend time wondering whether I should pick up these misc cards - where it gets especially harder when I only have so much left in my account [at one time] where I really play around whether I can still grab something at the dollar and under mark.The 1973 Luis Alvarado seems like a card blogger cult favorite - though I actually grabbed the O-Pee-Chee version, so it's a little odder than his actual Topps card.
The 2017 Topps Museum Collection Roger Maris may not be a type of card that hard to find - but I wanted to find a keeper of an eternal fan favorite and a retro card from a higher end set might just hit the spot.
2019 Bowman Heritage Chrome Prospects Joey Bart - I'd grabbed this cheap chromed up parallel of a top prospect since I thought it might have been a nice find on the down low.
2020 Topps Home Run Challenge Mookie Betts - Betts seems like a type of player I wouldn't go out of my way to collect, but he's that nice, all-around player where I would pick up random cards if I saw them out in the wild.
I don't think the winner cards end up being worth much, but they might be nice oddballs - for the 2021 version of the challenge, I had some fun playing and guessing correctly some winning dates where players would homer.
Thursday, January 13, 2022
COMC mail #2 - Angels material
I usually do not worry about their packaging regardless of service - they do a pretty good job packing things up.
Go figure, Mike Trout, Tim Salmon, Vladimir Guerrero and Shohei Ohtani are on my Mt. Rushmore of Angels players I collect - I'm not really into odd sized cards like the ones modeled after tobacco cards, but I grabbed the itty-bitty Trout just to have something different in-hand.The 1993 Donruss Dominators Salmon has been a curiosity though I must have been aware of the card only through the past 5-10 years, not when it was first issued - searching for different, random things down the COMC maze, I looked up the Salmon and figured I'd finally grab it for $5 and change.
Maybe odd sized non-card items are even less of a thing for me, but I found a seller with an oddball Vladimir Guerrero coin / medallion - it gimmicky, but the shine was undeniable where this item [picturing the elder Guerrero as an Angel] should be a no brainer pick up at less than a dollar.
With the Shohei Ohtani's, I tried to pick up some decent looking inserts / parallels regardless of value - where it's strictly $1 or $2 'fun and games' material rather than something higher brow other collectors are chasing after.
I believe in Jo Adell can still be a star for the franchise - it's a matter of when his prospect pedigree and natural talent translate into a breakout season he can build upon.The 2020 Bowman's Best Franchise 2020 Die-Cuts Adell is too shiny, too funky to ignore - I'll take it all day for about a dollar.
I may have grabbed the 2021 Topps Stadium Club Adell RC because it is an 'awesome outfield' card - but it never hurts when it also pictures a young player for my 'home team' with star potential.
The Andres Galarraga is an on card autograph though it identifies him as a Colorado [Rockies] player - I had a few opportunities to get his autograph during his last years as a player but this packed pulled autograph gives me something I can file away in my Angels all-time autograph collection outright.
Finally I grabbed a photo variation of Anthony Rendon - besides the guys that have that modern day pro athlete personality, I can appreciate the low-key, metronomic types like Rendon, who I hope bounces back from an injury shortened 2021 season.
Wednesday, January 12, 2022
COMC mail #1 - some notable ink
I was browsing for a certified autograph of Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt on the eBay app and saw one listed by COMC's account - I wondered if the same card [2021 Topps Finest Finest Moments Autographs] would be available on their Web site and made the decision to commit to pick up what I assumed was the same card.
Tuesday, January 11, 2022
A look back into a 2021 collecting goal
Monday, January 10, 2022
A look into my collecting goals for 2022
I have a yearly set of collecting goals, but maybe it gets too long winded to fully break down on a blog - I feel like a goof when I don't catch up to any of them and so maybe it is easier to keep them offline.
The least I could really do is see if I can put one or maybe a couple things I kind of want to do for the current year - there might have been a pre-pandemic build up as far as my personal collections where it served as my collecting centerpiece regardless of the rest of my interests.
With my PCs, I've been content to let them sit where they are kind of neglected - maybe I feel like there is an idea I've done what I can with them and it's not like I'm going to be keeping up in trying to find new additions.
Goals for 2022 #1 - putting more time into PCs - rounding up loose pick ups from at least the past couple of years, making them official, straightening things out and beefing up my personal collections with 10-15 cards.
Ultimately it might be a case where it's mostly about focusing on what I have and what I haven't accounted for - maybe I'm fine with adding what I'd consider 'complimentary' cards rather than true PC cards, where I've gotten away from thoughts of any serious additions to my PCs.
I'd be happy if I found 1 home run card where there is some stature and value while generally still being attainable for an average collector - but with the funny business that has gone on for the past couple of years, that ship may have sailed for good.
Goals for 2022 #2 - putting more time into A-Z singles collections - rounding up loose pick ups from at least the past couple of years, making them official, straightening things out and beefing up my A-Z singles material with 20-25 cards, where the collection serves as the pipeline for my next PC cards.
I don't know if I ever was able to revamp my A-Z singles collections, even before the pandemic - I just had these random mix of cards that may or may not have some value, but the biggest aspect is the idea I'm a collector for better or for worse, where maybe I sit on things rather than looking to flip.
Maybe I have to keep track of things better - that might mean making sure in addition to having a better idea of cards that may go into my personal collections, there is a better idea of cards that I might be able to sell off when I need to.
Saturday, January 08, 2022
2021 Panini Absolute Baseball blaster recap
The safe play may have been two blasters of 2021 Topps Stadium Club, but I went with a miscellaneous Panini product and a 2021 Topps Fire blaster - it was an opportunity to grab two blasters I hadn't seen before and regardless of likely outcomes, I wanted something different.
Go figure with the MLB locking out its players, it might be an appropriate time to bust something only licensed by the players association - where you have big league players' cards without any MLB logos and no licensing from Major League Baseball itself.
The break ended up being underwhelming because the cards are pretty bland from base cards to the scattered inserts - nothing that shines and/or pops and the lack of MLB licensing only adds to the certain boring feel.
My per box, on average blaster exclusive autograph or memorabilia card was of a young pitcher who was part of the 2021 World Series champion Atlanta [Braves] - who made one WS start and wasn't very good at all.
Just to add one last bit here - I found it funny another collector actually tweeted a picture of the very card show display I bought my blasters from, to say there is a lot of excess supply [likely not going anywhere].
Friday, January 07, 2022
Cards people who buy modern don't care about
I may have to cap the total number of cards I end up with where I don't want to necessarily blow my wad at one spot - I came up with 36 assorted cards for $9, including some NFL and NBA stragglers that somehow made it as keepers.
Wednesday, January 05, 2022
2021 Topps Update hanger box recap 1
This was the first of two $10 hanger boxes from the book store - have two more hanger boxes from Target I'll have to formally go through, but this had the best results out of the four.
Tuesday, January 04, 2022
TTM autograph received: Carl Erskine
Monday, January 03, 2022
2021 Topps Update blaster recap
On the other hand I don't know if each store just put the cards out in the shelves and I've never seen them [not that I go to bookstores much at all in the here and now] - what happened however, was when I was waiting in line to make a purchase, I saw someone approach the counter and ask the sales associate for trading cards.
I couldn't believe my eyes when the person dug out some blasters for the person look at - when I finally had a chance, I followed suit to ask for some cards myself and ended up with this blaster, along with two $10 hanger boxes.
It's kind of a minor miracle but I guess it happens where I get an opportunity to find cards when I'm not really expecting to - at my local Target, I did find some loose hanger boxes, so I grabbed a couple more in the wild.