Featured autograph - Erin Andrews

At the 2010 Futures Game in Anaheim - she scrawled out her autograph quickly on one of those white, thick filler decoy cards. I saw her again signing along the railing before the Futures Game and got her to sign a random International League baseball that I got during BP at an Angels game.

Recently I was leafing through Athlon Sports Baseball 2011, one of the baseball fantasy/preview/guides - there was a blurb about one-time independent league and current Boston Red Sox outfielder Daniel Nava always leaving tickets for Andrews in the minor leagues.

It isn't a new story, just adds to Nava's feel-good rookie year in 2010 - I'm not going to say it is disturbing at all, Andrews has been all over the place [good and bad] in the last couple of years and she's a fantastic gal to look at.

The blurb was pretty straightforward, but image used in the magazine blurb just struck a certain cord - I may have no life, but I was compelled to pick up the magazine for $8 and clip the blurb out with Andrews all glammed up and wearing an outfit highlighting her best assets.

Instead I saved my $8 and found full-size images online, making me very happy - I cropped one of the images I thought was probably the most similar to the one I saw in the magazine.

Edit: Added the first image, which definitely was the one used in the magazine. 4/2/11

Autograph request through the mail received: Gary Payton

Gary Payton c/o home address - I received one signed card in black Sharpie in about seven days, though my other card was kept.

I don't usually send non-baseball autograph requests anymore - but as the most casual NBA fan over the last 15-20 years, I sent a request to Payton when I saw the former NBA star was apparently signing stuff sent to him.

I assume the autograph was actually signed by Payton - looking at the autograph up-close, there are just a couple of imperfections.

2010 Bowman Draft Value Pack recap and personal retail report

2010 Bowman Draft Value Pack [$4.99 x1 at a Walmart] - I really wanted to get a 2011 Topps blaster box, but went to Walmart first and got a Value Pack of 2010 Bowman Draft.

There were 2011 Topps blasters at Walmart for $19.98, but I prefer the Target Throwback variations - since the Walmart cards are mostly 'blacked out' except for the image, which makes any particular card worthless to be autographed in-person / through the mail.

There was a 72-card box of 2011 Topps for around $10 - which I was tempted to get since I hadn't seen the packaging [it kind of resembles a box used for gaming cards and it isn't the 'cereal boxes' used in previous years] used in baseball before.

It maybe just random, but the two Targets I went to didn't have any 2011 Topps blaster boxes - all I found at the Target closest to my home was a pack molester doing the deed with some Upper Deck hockey packs; guy was focused on getting to second base with multiple packs and was otherwise oblivious by my presence. I was actually more uncomfortable seeing what he was doing than he was in seeing me.

There was a Toys R'Us next door to the Target which had Jumbo Packs and blaster boxes of 2011 Topps - but I don't think the Toys R'Us blasters have either the Walmart black variation or the Target Throwback variation. Also for some reason, their rack packs are priced a dollar higher at $5.99 and their blaster boxes are actually priced at $23.99.

My one Value Pack of 2010 Bowman Draft - I picked up a complete set, but perhaps having extra cards from some of the players from this set will give me an opportunity to get those players on multiple cards.

Bottom
#BDP 91 Mitch Moreland Chrome
#BDP 28 Vance Worley Chrome
#BDPP 92 Chris Sale Chrome - though a lefty, he's been compared to Tim Lincecum because he is a rather smallish guy with a rocket for an arm.
#BDP 33 Travis Wood Gold parallel

Top
#BDP 94 Sergio Santos
#BDP 31 Drew Storen
#BDP 43 Josh Donaldson
#BDPP 74 Aaron Sanchez
#BDPP 96 Ryan Burr
#BDPP 80 Manny Machado
#BDPP 62 Zack Cox
#BPA-GH Graham Hicks autograph - he's a minor leaguer who was traded to the Chicago Cubs from the Washington Nationals with Michael Burgess and A.J. Morris in exchange for Tom Gorzelanny.

Autograph request through the mail received: Dustin Hermanson

Dustin Hermanson c/o home - he signed my three cards in blue Sharpie in about a month, including a 2004 Upper Deck Team USA 25th Anniversary card for my set.

Originally the No. 3 overall pick by the San Diego Padres in the 1994 Amateur Draft - Hermanson was an OK starting pitcher for the Montreal Expos and St. Louis Cardinals from the late 1990s through early 2000s before it looks like injuries derailed his ability to be a full-time starter.

However, in his final full season in the Major Leagues - Hermanson did record a 34 save season for the 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox.

Collecting topics - bonus babies / cameos

Collecting topics cards are usually common cards with unique characteristics - I collect at least 10-15 of them, including ones that seem to be 'popular' with other like minded bloggers; facial hair, play at the plate, pitchers hitting, etc.

My favorite one or the one that got me started in this whole mess were cards featuring 'bonus babies,' like I read in a 1997 Beckett Magazine story - where notable players would be making 'cameos' on otherwise common players' cards.

It is fun to look for bonus babies/cameos/collecting topics cards because there is no set checklist, no real guide - when digging through a bunch of commons cards, it is fun to think of all the themes/collecting topics in my head and seeing if I can add one, two or more cards to the mix.

Autograph request through the mail received: Jon Garland

Jon Garland c/o Chicago White Sox - signed a 2007 Topps Heritage card in blue Sharpie and returned the 2006 Topps Allen and Ginter unsigned; like the Reed success, this was mailed back in 2007; received back on 2/11/11.

By coincidence, I had a card of Garland in my little box of cards I'm going to try to mail out - also looking for any non-spring training baseball in-person autograph action, I was just checking out a YouTube video of Garland signing at the San Diego Padres' Fan Fest in 2010.

Autograph request through the mail received: Adam LaRoche

Adam LaRoche c/o home address - signed one card in black Sharpie, returned the 2006 Topps unsigned and kept the 2006 Bowman Heritage.

LaRoche is an OK player who might be considered below average when looking closer at the numbers - he has the ability to hit for power though doesn't walk enough to justify striking out a lot.

Nothing else really stands out except he is part of a baseball family - brother Andy was once a top prospect with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but has bounced around a little bit and is now in the Oakland A's organization while their father Dave was a serviceable Major League pitcher.

Autograph request through the mail received: Jody Reed

Jody Reed c/o Gulf Coast Yankees - signed my four cards in blue Sharpie.

This autograph request took about three years or so and showed up in my mailbox with a $0.41 stamp on 2/10/11 - I knew I'd sent to Reed at some point long ago, though the actual record of what was sent, where and when was probably scratched out on some loose piece of paper long discarded.

I actually found the Word document with my letter to Reed however - the letter was dated July 11, 2007, so I assume that is around the time when I sent the letter.

Reed was a second baseman with the Boston Red Sox who came up in 1987 and spent five full seasons in Boston - before bouncing around with several other teams for the rest of his 11 year Major League career.

For this upcoming season, he was named the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers' Arizona League team - the postmark on my SASE was from Denver, Colorado and apparently that is where Reed and his family currently lives.

Featured autographs - Peter Tago and Gary Brown

I picked these 2010 Bowman Sterling cards up for about $4 each plus s/h on eBay - Tago was the No. 47 overall pick in 2010 by the Colorado Rockies and Brown was the No. 24 overall pick by the San Francisco Giants.

Tago doesn't have the best autograph, though perhaps being a teenager just out of high school can explain that just a little bit - while Brown, drafted as a college player from Cal State Fullerton has a little better looking autograph.

It is going to be interesting to see how these guys' pro careers will develop and where these guys are going to be playing in a couple of years - Tago supposedly has electric stuff and Brown is supposed to be a good leadoff prospect who perhaps is comparable to Eric Byrnes perhaps, though with less pop.

Random 2011 Topps thoughts

I picked up three $4.99 jumbo packs of 2011 Topps at Target - flagship Topps is always refreshing to rip when they first come out.

I like the white bordered base cards on this Topps' fare for the masses and it seems like the images on this year's cards really sharp - the images are bright and clear, instead of being dull, uninspiring and gloppy.

I was keeping my eyes peeled for any Diamond Sparkle variation, thinking I was going to find at least one out of my racks - but these short print parallels maybe harder to find than I had hoped.

I think like everyone else, the Platinum Diamond variations are pretty sweet looking - collecting them all is not realistic, but they are 'prettier' and much easier to pull than the cards with a doctored sparkle on them. I normally wouldn't care about the 2010 NL Wins Leaders card [#11] I pulled, but the Platinum Diamond treatment makes enhances the card's aesthetics.
I pulled an Kimball Champions Albert Pujols insert, which was nice - but these mini cards look sort of homemade.

I pulled other inserts, which I didn't really find all that interesting I guess - all I know is I probably don't need a reprint of a 2004 Topps Mark Teixeira [#60YOT-53] or a reprint of a 1999 Topps card of Mike Piazza, Ivan Rodriguez and Jason Kendall [#60YOT-48].

2010 Bowman Chrome Aroldis Chapman autograph

I got a replacement for a 2010 Bowman Chrome autograph of Aroldis Chapman - it sort of ends the initial saga that started when I impulsively bought a box of 2010 Bowman Chrome for $39.99 shipped, when I clicked the a link to the eBay auction on Atlanta Sports Cards on Black Friday.

After sending payment and eventually getting my box, I ended up pulling the Cuban Missile's autograph - unfortunately everything stopped when I realized the autograph on the card wasn't just streaked, but it looked like the autograph had just beaded up.

I ended up sending the card back [along with a base cards of Vladimir Guerrero and Cesar Valdez that suffered some surface damage] to Topps late in December - I was worried about getting a positive response because I was told [through a trading card forum I frequent] to send the cards and a letter in without all the rigmarole Topps has apparently had collectors go through in recent years.

There is also a Bowman Chrome wrapper redemption program going on - so I couldn't send in the wrappers I had in-hand in case Topps had needed it as proof of purchase or whatever.

Perhaps my letter explaining my situation and the cards I sent in would go into someone's circular file - maybe I'd get an explanation it was too late to send the damaged card in or there was no more replacement Chapman Bowman Chrome autographs. I dreaded the idea I'd get an Anthony Bass or a Ehire Adrianza autograph for my impulse box purchase.

There was a note from the post office in the mailbox on Thursday saying I had to sign for a certified mail package and if I didn't get it by last Saturday, it was going to be sent back to the sender - I assumed it was for me, because the sender was listed as 'Topps.'

I took a trip to the post office last Saturday and had to sign for my certified mail package at least three times [including writing out my name and address at least once] - I opened the mailer sent to me and inside was my replacement cards in individual top loaders, but not in penny sleeves. There was no letter or anything else, just my cards.

I want to say I don't know if the replacement Chapman card was in better condition that the one I originally pulled - however, the autograph on the card was definitely cleaner, so that is what counts for me.

Autograph request sent - Bill Buckner

Perhaps consider these as a 'preview' of things I'm probably going to blog about, but when I finally got hold of a loose $10 I deemed I could spend - I finally decided to fire off an autograph request to Bill Buckner c/o his home address, hoping he will sign the 1970 Topps rookie card and a 1984 Fleer I enclosed.

Usually when someone requests a fee to sign something through the mail, though not really as part of a bigger, organized signing - perhaps there is a risk even though I assume some care will be taken as far as the cards being autographed and returned safely in the self-addressed stamped envelope I enclosed.

I was looking forward to perhaps meandering to my local retail Target store to pick off a couple of $4.99 Value Packs / rack of 2011 Topps - though I'm trying to not be a lemming, especially when I know I'll end up busting some 2011 Topps one way or the other.

Besides, the novelty of new base Topps wears off [for me] pretty quickly - when these cards will be everywhere.

Autograph request through the mail received: Matt Williams

Matt Williams c/o home address - signed my cards in blue Sharpie.

This autograph request took about two weeks or so - Williams is currently a coach with the Arizona Diamondbacks and while he wasn't as good [.317 on-base percentage drags down his career a little bit] of a hitter as an active player, he was a five-time All-Star who earned four Silver Sluggers and was also a four time Gold Glove winner.

Autograph request through the mail received: Jeff D'Amico

Jeff D'Amico c/o home address - signed my 2001 Fleer Tradition card in blue Sharpie along with three other cards.

This autograph request took about two weeks or so - I don't remember D'Amico for any particular reason except he was supposed to be a top pitching prospect for the Milwaukee Brewers in the mid 1990s, but got hurt a lot so his Major League career didn't really take off as expected.

I do remember another Jeff D'Amico who pitched one season with the Kansas City Royals in 2000 - I was butchering the pronounciation of 'D'Amico' and Ricky Bottalico, who I think was signing for me before an Angels / Royals game was calling me out for not being able to say 'D'Amico' right.

2010 Topps Million Card Giveaway delivery?

I only had 14 card in my Topps Million account and I'm thinking about taking delivery of the eight listed above - cards I'm leaving behind include a 1980 Topps Ken Brett, 1985 Topps Orlando Mercado, 1985 Topps Bob Forsch, 1986 Topps Gary Carter, 2002 Topps Rico Brogna and a 2005 Topps Sean Casey.

Autograph request through the mail received: Casey Kotchman

Casey Kotchman c/o home address - signed my 2009 Topps Allen and Ginter card in blue ink along with two other cards.

This autograph request took about two weeks or so - Kotchman's status as an Angels' top prospect in the minors seems a long time ago and even the early comparisons to 'slick hitting,' but power challenged first basemen like Keith Hernandez and Mark Grace doesn't apply to Kotchman these days.

Having signed a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays recently - perhaps Kotchman can revive his Major League career, though it seems like he has a lot of hurdles to overcome.

Autograph request through the mail received: Jameson Taillon

Jameson Taillon c/o home address - signed two cards in blue Sharpie [the 2009 Upper Deck USA base card came back smeared] and kept the third card I sent [2010 Bowman Draft Chrome].

When it comes to through the mail requests, I try to send only one or two cards - sometimes the players who respond to my request may keep the cards I'd really like to get signed instead of the extras I may enclose to try and get an extra signed card or two.

It isn't the responsibility of athletes who receive something in the mail to be autographed - sometimes however, the more cards are sent, the more likely the athletes are going to rush through signing and putting the cards back into the SASE, where they aren't too keen on letting the ink dry on the cards they just signed.

Taillon was the No. 2 overall pick in 2010 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the hard throwing righthander was ranked - No. 18 among MLB.com's Top 50 prospects for 2011.

Autograph request through the mail received: John olerud

John Olerud c/o home address - signed three cards in blue ink and sent a personal testimony card unsigned in about three weeks.

Olerud seems to be one of the most consistent signers TTM over the last several years - I have read about successes where he has signed two out of three and signed the personal testimony card. I prefer just getting the cards I sent all signed.

Autograph request through the mail received: Walt Williams

Walt 'No Neck' Williams c/o home address - signed my 1976 Topps card in black ink and looks like he traced or wrote over the 'W' in Walt.

This autograph request took about a week or so - I'd read about Williams in a book of cult baseball players years ago before finally sending out an autograph request to him just this year.

Williams also played in Japan for a couple of years - though I didn't get a response from 'No Neck' about his time spent playing there, like my previous through the mail success with Ken Aspromonte.

The Vernon Wells trade - I actually like it

I like the Vernon Wells trade for the Angels despite the doom-and-gloom of worrying about what the team will end up having to pay Wells the next four years - he doesn't seem to be the most vocal guy, but he signs his share of autographs and seems to be a stand up guy otherwise.

The Angels traded catcher Mike Napoli, who maybe the next Mickey Tettleton [he was actually was a productive player, so this is a compliment] - but the Angels milked most of Nap's talents as a one-time 17th round draft pick. Napoli wasn't going to get any better despite establishing himself as a power threat who somehow was perceived as being screwed out of playing time in favor of Jeff Mathis.

The Angels also traded outfielder Juan Rivera, who kind of got a bum rap in 2010 - his stats did lag and maybe there was some 'motivation issues' with him at times, but he may enjoy a bounce back season.

As an Angels' fan, I wanted the team to pick up a star locked up with a franchise in-flux instead of signing Jayson Werth, Carl Crawford or even Adrian Beltre - I maybe crazy, but I was hoping for Justin Upton or Hanley Ramirez.

Wells wasn't the type of star player I was hoping the Angels would get and there are nearly $85 million reasons and four years why that is the case - I wish the Angels could have gotten more money back, but hopefully Wells can stay healthy and avert his trend of having so-so years after relatively productive seasons, including an all-star year in 2010.

I suppose short of Wells turning into Albert Pujols and the Angels winning the World Series the next four years - he'll never live up to his contract. However, it seems like the experts are on Alex Andreopoulos's nuts for getting rid of the Alex Rios a year or so ago and now the Wells contract.

As much as Alex Andreopoulos' sleight of hand skills are praised into duping apparent GM black eyes in Chicago and Anaheim - Andreopoulos' Blue Jays teams will still be playing for third place in American League East.

It doesn't matter how many prospects, draft picks or money he hoards, Andreopoulos is still not going to get what is important in a way that consumes the people who deal with more than just statistical analysis - which is a legitimate chance to compete for a championship.

Maybe it is to circumstance, but for all the pundits and numbers guys who just love the guy right now and since he was hired - a #6 from Dave Cameron maybe the best accolade the Toronto organization might get this year.

The flags fly in Anaheim, not in Toronto.

Autograph request through the mail received: Ken Aspromonte

Ken Aspromonte c/o home address - signed my 2008 Topps Heritage foil stamped 1959 Topps buyback card in blue ink.

It took about a week or so to get back this autograph request sent to him - I liked how he responded to my question about playing in Japan once upon a time long ago.

2010 Bowman Platinum Value Pack recap

2010 Bowman Platinum Value Pack [$8.99 x1 purchased at Target] - four cards in a pack/three packs and a bonus pack of three Platinum Purple refractors in a 'rack.'

I like these cards because it gives me another product to chase some base/cheap refractor parallel cards of prospects / rookies - when Bowman/Bowman Chrome/Bowman Draft lines get a little boring as far as how the cards look in general.

Maybe the inclusion of USA players in this product is too much overkill - especially when Topps is angling to put amateur players in a baseball card product strictly for profit [and perhaps not as a fundraiser for USA Baseball].

Maybe 2010 draft picks / 2010 pro debut guys or even the addition of baseball's chosen one would been much better for this product - but I guess Topps has to milk its USA license to make trading cards.

Pack one
#23 Carlos Santana
#86 Mike Stanton
#PP 48 George Springer - USA
#18 Buster Posey

Pack two
#100 David Wright
#55 Wade Davis - Gold refractor parallel / serial #'d 132/549
#PP 3 Jeremy Hellickson
#81 Gordon Beckham

Pack three
#31 Brian Matusz
#94 Justin Morneau
#PP 40 Mikie Mahtook - USA
#6 Domonic Brown

Bonus refractor pack
#PP 43 Brett Mooneyham
#PP 10 Aroldis Chapman
#PP34 Jason Esposito

Torii Hunter's early cards

For better for worse, Torii Hunter is my favorite current Angels' player - I think he generally represents the Angels well and even if he isn't 100 percent, he always plays hard on the field and grinds out at-bats at the plate.

As much I like the guy, I'm not so obsessed too much with collecting any of his particular cards - however I did find a lot of 15 cards online that I picked up for a dollar that included a small mix of base cards, maybe a couple of inserts and these early cards of Hunter.

Cards pictured are his 1994 Score rookie card, his 1994 Pinnacle rookie card and his 1995 Upper Deck Minors card - my favorite is probably the 1995 Upper Deck Minors card since I liked the Upper Deck design that year.

2006 Topps Chrome Mike Napoli Black refractor #317

I picked up this card because I'm on a 'shiny, refractor parallel' kick and I'm trying to pick up related inserts here and there - also I'm trying to digging out all of my inserts and listing them all on a spreadsheet, even if they aren't worth much.

I don't think I'm a collector who buys too many boxes of cards to have numerous types of inserts.- however, I'd like to know the types of cards [i.e. refractor, common insert, parallel, short print, etc].

At the very least, I figure I can take a look through a part of my collection and account for the cards I have in-hand - instead of merely just hoarding and hoarding random cards that I may not get to appreciate after they've been squirreled away in binders and/or boxes.

1977 Topps Reggie Jackson #10

How much this a 'very good' condition mid-career card of Hall of Fame legend worth these days - probably not much more or maybe less than the $2 I paid, but I don't think I've got a lot of cards from 30 years back to flip through and show off.

It may not be the best looking card [with an airbrushed New York Yankees cap on Mr. October's head] - there was something compelling me to pick up this first New York Yankees card of the prodigious slugger, not from my youth.

2010 Bowman Platinum Jerry Sands Purple

I think I feel a little buyer's remorse because I bought the card for a dollar but I had to pay another $2.50 for shipping / handling - late in 2010, I wasn't able to trade for a Bowman Chrome retail Green refractor and wanted some kind of refractor of the Los Angeles Dodgers' farmhand.

I just had to have the Platinum retail Purple refractor when I first saw it - even though I had the base version already.

From looking at Sands' minor league stats - he maybe the type of player who emerges from relative obscurity to contribute at the Major League level as a rookie star or be the next Billy Ashley FWIW.

Autograph request through the mail received: Jimmy Key

Jimmy Key c/o home address - signed one card in blue Sharpie and returned the other card I enclosed in my request unsigned.

I sent my autograph request to Key late in December 2010 and got it back earlier this week - looking at his stats, he had a long Major League career, though my perception was he was strictly a finesse guy who relied more on guile instead of pure stuff coming out of his left hand.

Autograph request through the mail received: Bill Swift

Bill Swift c/o home address - signed several cards in a 'weird' colored Sharpie and kept three for himself.

Swift had a serviceable Major League career, though he wasn't the most durable pitcher - he enjoyed his best season in 1993 when he won 21 games and pitched in a career high 232 innings, teaming up win 22 game winner John Burkett to give the Giants a one-two punch at the top of their rotation.

I sent my autograph request to Swift late in December 2010 and got it back earlier this week - the card I needed signed for my set was from a 2004 Upper Deck USA 25th Anniversary boxed set.

Featured autographs - Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven

I wish I could show you an actual certified autograph card of recent Hall of Fame inductee Roberto Alomar, particularly a card I picked up back in 2007 - but Upper Deck went with using cheap, synthetic ball material with their Sweet Spot products and all I'm left with in 2011 is what you see pictured.

I kind of like the Bert Blyleven card I got signed in-person since it features him early on in his Major League career and towards his last three seasons - as an Angels' player.

My purchase - a 2010 Bowman Draft set

I picked up a hand-collated set [around $25 shipped] of 2010 Bowman Draft and while there are Mike Stanton, Stephen Strasburg, Jason Heyward and Buster Posey cards in the set - Topps has already rolled the presses on releasing various basic, non-autograph MLBPA rookie cards of these guys and the basic cards from the set are only worth a couple of bucks each.

Maybe the most redeeming if not exactly noteworthy feature to the set - is Topps decided to include non-auto base cards of the guys who do have Bowman Draft Chrome autographs in the set, like Manny Machado of the Baltimore Orioles, Zach Lee of the Los Angeles Dodgers or Zack Cox of the St. Louis Cardinals.

For an in-person or through the mail autograph collector, Topps almost gets a thumbs up - except for the foil stamped facsimile signatures [not like Peter Tago's card, which doesn't have the facsimile signature] on the cards .

A signed 2010 Bowman Draft card with a foil stamped fascimile signature is probably not going to look as good autographed in-person / through the mail - particularly when the facsimile is stamped across the card.

I realize Bowman Draft is a prospector's product where gripes about aesthetics aren't always valued as long as there is a good crop of signed Bowman Draft Chrome cards and corresponding parallels - however some of the Photoshop work is off in trying to show the draft picks wearing Major League uniforms, particularly the doctored 'in-action' shots of particular players in high school or college.

Featured card: 1961 Topps Albie Pearson

Like other casual collectors getting into collecting baseball cards for the first time, there was a misconception anything old was going to be valuable - but really anything old [say 1973 and before] is just old unless it was almost in pack-fresh condition [no using the cards in-between bike spokes] and these days, professionally graded.

Still, I picked this card up of Albie Pearson for $2 shipped because with the Angels' 50th Anniversary this upcoming year - there will be probably be an opportunity to see him in-person and get his autograph.

While an old friend had gotten him through the mail years ago - I believe he refuses mail sent to him these days.

The card is worn down, beaten up but has survived for at least 50 years - for rank-and-file vintage cards, there is some collecting value as a relic from decades past, even if it doesn't always picture a Hall of Famer like a Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron or Ted Williams.

My collecting goal and my blog goal for 2011

I don't know how I've evolved as a collector over the last 10 years, but there is just something about collecting that makes me want to go on - to buy more stuff to sort through because I like baseball cards in general.

The reality is I don't always have the money to spend on any sorts of cards on a whim - however as a collector, it doesn't mean I should completely refrain from regularly feeding my hunger of cardboard with various baseball players pictured on them.

To get newer cards in my collection, trading maybe the most important collecting aspect I want to engage in this year - even if I have a long ways to go before getting a competent trade list going and perhaps getting in touch with other willing traders.

I just have to pick my spots and look for about 10-15 blog trades - trading for the cards I may need.

My goal in 2011 for the blog is to have at have double digit posts per month on this blog - everything seems to have been blogged about and sometimes I feel I'm lagging behind other bloggers who have simply been more prominent.

However, it doesn't mean I should go idle for a period of time and just spit out two, three or four random posts a month - why not go for 10, 15, 20 random posts to see if I can generate some reaction and also get some response from other collectors.

2010 Topps Million Card Giveaway trades - 1958 Don Cardwell and 1961 Ted Lepcio

I may have been the last person on Topps Million to find I actually had trade offers for cards I have in my collection - I ended up trading the 1956 Topps Glen Gorbous I had for a 1958 Topps Don Cardwell and a 1961 Ted Lepcio.

I don't know the logic I used in accepting the trade offer - while Gorbous was the oldest card I have at Topps Million, all three cards involved in the virutal trade were not worth much at all, so why not trade a single 1950s era card for two cards [one card still from the 50s and one card from the 60s].

The Topps Million Card Giveaway promotion ends in about a month or so - I wish I had a Stephen Strasburg or Mickey Mantle Topps card I could attempt to get in-hand, but oh well.

If I did want to get the cards I have in my collection in-hand however - what is the difference getting the cards from eBay instead of Topps?

If I actually wanted my Cardwell and/or Lepcio in-hand, I might as well snatch them up on eBay - it isn't like I'm going to be getting better condition cards through the Topps Million promotion.

2010 Topps Million Card Giveaway Results - 1986 Topps Gary Carter and 2002 Topps Rico Brogna

I pulled two Million Card Giveaway code cards from my last Topps blaster box break from the previous post and was going to hold off since the cards are fun to redeem if you are looking for a couple of minutes of boredom to kill - I did get the itch to put the codes into the system sooner than I thought, even though it looks like it was spitting out crap cards [well at least crap cards from the last 20-25 years instead of cards from the last 35 years or so].

My first card was a 1986 Topps Gary Carter - he is the only Hall of Famer I have in my collection at Million Card Web site, though the card is still an 1986 Topps card and I picked up a few 1986 Topps star cards [Ryne Sandberg, George Brett, Mike Schmidt] a show for a dime each several months ago.

My second card was a 2002 Topps Rico Brogna - I thought I was actually looking for a Brogna card, though it is a 2001 Fleer Tradition card that may not actually exist, so scratch that notion.

Some baseball cards for Christmas

For Christmas, my brother actually bought me some baseball cards - a blaster box of Topps Series II [with two Throwback packs] and a retail version of the 2010 Topps USA box set [the $9.99 retail versions contain just the base USA set with no hits compared to the 'hobby' version with about 10 various game-used / autographs hits per box and around a $120 SRP].

Commemorative Patch Card
MCP 54 Rod Carew - 1967 All-Star Game commemorative patch; the manufactured patch card commemorates the last time the Angels hosted an All-Star game before this past season, so it is a nice pull [even though former Angels' star Rod Carew was still a Minnesota Twins' player at the time of that particular All-Star game].

The rest of my packs were a usual mix of inserts and base cards - I did get another Rod Carew insert, a The Cards Your Mom Threw Out insert original back of his second-year 1968 Topps card.

I was surprised to see this box of USA set, though it is marked $9.99, so it must have been made to be purchased at Target / Walmart type stores - kind of disappointing there was not one token hit inside, but I guess that is how it goes. Actually, I got an extra base card of George Springer [#USA-41] in the set, so maybe that is my 'token hit.'

The best card in the base set maybe Anthony Rendon - he spent only three days with the U.S. National team in 2010, before injuring his ankle.

Featured autograph - Scott Downs

After putting it off for so long because I thought the task might be daunting - I recently only started to 'dig through' my box of 2001 Fleer Tradition autograph setters and list the cards in a database. 

After picking up a complete factory set in 2001, I decided to get as many of the cards autographed either in-person or through the mail - I think Angels free agent pick up Scott Downs' autograph was acquired in-person, likely at an Angels / Toronto Blue Jays game in Anaheim.

I basically want to have an idea of the cards I've gotten signed so perhaps I have an idea of the challenge still there to get as many of the cards from the set signed - what color ink / type of pen, how the cards were signed [in-person / through the mail], which players do I still need on any 2001 Fleer Tradition cards, any missing unsigned 2001 Fleer Tradition cards and also if there are cards I'll keep in mind to 'upgrade' if possible. 

Your newest Angel - Daniel Sattler

OK, so I guess Sattler isn't technically an Angel yet [or might not be at all] - but the organization did pick him up from the Oakland Athletics in the AAA phase of the 2010 Rule 5 Draft.

After seemingly just missing out on Carl Crawford, it is just awesome to learn this guy is your favorite team's latest pick up - I'm hoping against hope that bouncing around a little bit in professional baseball gives Sattler an opportunity to get to the Major Leagues and help the Angels in the bullpen in 2011.