1993 Bowman Andy Pettitte RC #103

I'm trying to pick and choose to add certain scratch the itch rookie cards - many of the rookies I'd like to add to my PC come from the junk wax era years through the UV coated era years of the mid 1990s, so while I want to add a card here and there, I don't want to go 'all-in' on a big shopping spree outright.

I picked up Pettitte's rookie, because the lefthander is considered one of the Yankees' all-time greats as part of the Core Four [Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Pettitte and Jorge Posada] - there might be a case to be made for Pettitte to get into the Hall of Fame, even if was a PED guy with one-time pal Roger Clemens.

I've always thought Pettitte was a No. 3 or No. 4 starter who was ultimately more serviceable than dominant for a New York Yankees dynasty through the late 1990s - he was an innings eater, who pitched in important games during the Yankees' postseason runs through October.

On the other hand, while things weren't always in Pettitte's control - he gave up too many hits and his ERA always seemed inflated.

A monster box rummage - yields a pair of 1990s inserts

1995 Select Gold Team Will Clark #9 of 12 - to juice up my notable player binders by decade, it should be a no brainer to pick up loose inserts, particularly if they were the UV coated inserts from the mid through late 1990s.

1997 Pinnacle Team Pinnacle John Smoltz / Andy Pettitte #9 of 10 - I tend to think dual sided cards are a little odd, a little irregular, but it's a shiny insert with a Dufex finish [at least the 'front' with Smoltz pictured].

COMC finds - binder stars / decade stars

I had a haul of cards I'd gotten from COMC come in - after I'd started the shipping process, my order only took about a week, which was a pleasant surprise.

On their Web site, COMC lists when to expect delivery depending on the service chosen - I figure I don’t have a claim to anything otherwise if it they ship within the estimated window for the $3.99 economy charge, even if it takes two or three weeks.

I've had misgivings about a typical COMC order taking too long, but I actually got my shipment about five days earlier than expected - maybe the Web site might be an option again as far as picking up the most random cards and having them shipped sooner than never.

I kind of see COMC as a glorified swap meet of sorts - however they always seem to package cards well enough, regardless of shipping method chosen.

It’s nice to finally go through the cards I've had sitting in my account - though there maybe a caveat with some of the random cards I’ve chosen to pick up as far as finding an actual spot for them in my collections.

I’m trying to list and put away as many of the cards I purchased - while trying to feel something for most cards, so they aren't meaningless after the fact.

The following are too random to be stand alone A-Z singles or PC cards - yet I’d rather showcase them as highlights within others cards of the same player, than be obscured as rank-and-file additions within my A-Z inserts collection.

2002 Topps Gold Label Awards Ceremony Relics Class 1 Gold Andy Pettite ACR-AEP [$4.75] - considering their franchise history and late 1990s dynasty run, I'd probably be a New York Yankees fan, if not rooting for the Angels.

I was doing a random search and this card caught my eye - it's kind of shiny card featuring an image of a relevant Topps card in the inset image and a window with a pinstripe jersey swatch.

Pettitte is hardly a favorite but on the down low, maybe I want to build up a micro-mini collection of selected cards - featuring the Yankees Core Four [Pettitte, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada].

1997 Topps Team Timber Frank Thomas #TT5 [$1.05] - I thought it would be cool to have a card in hand that was printed entirely on some sort of simulated wood material.

I've never seen these cards except for a Rafael Palmeiro on a page of scanned cards - these may have been long forgotten inserts and wanting a ‘sample’ card from the set, a more appealing player choice [Thomas] wasn't that much more than a Palmeiro.

The card fronts actually feature a more conventional glossy surface and not a 'wood' feel like I'd anticipated - it's actually the back of the cards that have a sort of matte / textured surface that may resemble a wood finish.

I suspect it's to make the cards seem like they actually came from a piece of wood - but it looks like someone poured water on the surface to create some depressions going down from top to bottom.

2003 Donruss Diamond Kings DK Evolution Barry Bonds #DK-16 [$1.25] - Bonds may not be going to the Hall of Fame since he was presumably both a perpetual ass and an alleged PED abuser, however I was drawn to his bad ass act when he broke the single-season and career home run marks through his 40s.

2003 Donruss Diamond Kings DK Evolution Tony Gwynn #DK-21 [$0.99] - unlike Bonds, the player was considered a saint where he was universally loved as a professional baseball player and a person, R.I.P.

I was vaguely aware of these lenticular cards but had just forgotten about them over time - I might have thought there might have been a time elapse image where a picture of a player early in his career is contrasted with a current [as of 15 years ago] picture, but this clears things up.

1998 Upper Deck Blue Chip Prospects Todd Helton #BC11 [$1.70] - serial #'d to 2000; it’s not a rookie or anything ‘special,’ but I guess I’d collect the retired Helton on the down low and this one caught my eye as a ‘film cell’ material card.

2015 Topps Update Series MLB All-Star Game Access Albert Pujols MLB-2 [$0.98] - this captures a poignant moment where another big leaguer [Joc Pederson] is hugging Pujols at the 2015 All-Star Home Run Derby for presumably all Pujols has done for Pederson’s developmentally disabled [Down Syndrome] brother Champ in particular.