Two Phillies and a Tiger walk into a bar...

...and totally... 

...complete my...

...Topps Series 2 base set!

[Ed. Note: Oh, I know, that was dreadful. But it had to be done...]

Today's mail delivery turned what had been a forgettable day -- replete with an agonizing trip to the dentist -- into an absolute winner.  Jason from Alaska, who happens to be the man behind Jason's Card Therapy, contacted me last week and was gracious enough to offer up the final three cards I needed to polish off my Series 2 checklist.  

And today, the much-anticipated envelope containing those three cards arrived.  It figures two of the pesky cards that I was missing were stinkin' Phillies, but I digress.  I'm just thrilled to finally complete the quest.

Jason, many thanks to you, sir.  You've made me a very happy collector today!

MK

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner (2006 Heritage)

Most of you already know this, but Adam at ARPSmith's Sportscard Obsession runs a weekly Wednesday contest.  And the prizes for winning those contests are pretty snazzy.  Usually it just involves leaving a comment on a specified post and hoping your name comes up roses via a randomizer application.

This time around, it was a World Series prediction contest.  My guesses of "Giants in six" and "Sandoval as MVP" and "39 total runs" generated enough contest points to out-score the rest.

Thus... Jackpot!

As a contest winner, you get to peruse the prize page and choose your spoils.  There were some great relic cards, even a few nice vintage.  But, my attention was immediately drawn to a random 50-card lot of 2006 Topps Heritage cards.

This being the first year that I've really fallen into the Heritage trance, I missed out on a lot of great cards -- and a lot of outstanding retro designs -- over the past decade or so.  One of those years that passed me by was '06, which paid homage to the 1957 Topps set.  A pretty basic, yet attractive design.

So I was naturally anxious to get these cards and see what the 2006 Heritage set had to offer.

Well, I wasn't disappointed.  Adam put together a great assortment of players, including some big-time names -- like Gary Sheffield, above.  And, as they seem to do with the Heritage sets, Topps hit a home run with the photography.  Classic poses mixed with some good in-game action shots makes for a nice set.

Here's a look at some of my other favorites from the winning lot:

Andruw was coming off a 51-homer season for the Braves in 2005, and there were fewer hotter names in collecting.  Albert Pujols, one of those names, eked out the NL MVP vote over Jones that season.

At the tender age of 39, Maddux tossed 225 innings and posted a 13-15 mark for the Cubs in '05.

For a man with lumberjack strength, this pose is tremendously appropriate for Thome, who had just wrapped up a three-year run in Philadelphia.

Speaking of Philly, Utley's 2005 season for the Phillies was a breakthrough affair, to put it mildly.  In 147 games, Chase cracked 28 homers with 105 RBIs.  A star was born.

Did you know Greinke's actual first name is Donald?  Well, Donald Zackary Greinke lost 17 games for the Royals in 2005 and was still a few seasons away from putting his anxiety issues behind him.

A very svelte K-Rod was at the top of his game in the mid-00s.  He dominated AL batters en route to compiling 194 saves from 2005 to 2008.  A few years later, he would hit fast food joints hard and give Mets fans heartburn while figuring out new ways to blow 9th-inning leads.  I digress, though.

Good ol' Johan.  It looks like he's hunching over to fit into the frame of the card.  Appropriate, since he was a larger-than-life ace for the Twins, and then the Mets.  Sadly I think his best days are behind him due to arm issues.  At least he gave the gift of a no-hitter to Mets fans in 2012.

And finally...

Whoa!  Big boy!  I can't say I was previously familiar witih Walter Young.  At first glance, it appears one of the linemen from Baltimore Ravens stumbled into the Orioles' photo session.  And, after checking him out at Baseball-Reference.com, it appears that scenario isn't too far fetched.  His major league career spanned 14 games over the 2005 season.  And, oh yeah, his uniform number?  How about 75.

So there it is.  Count me as a fan of 2006 Topps Heritage.  I can't say I'll be working on this base set any time soon, though.  Too much work to be done on this year's set, plus I'm already pretty deep into the 2011 edition also.  But, it's great to add these cards to my collection.

And, remember, if you haven't taken part in any of Adam's contests, make sure you hop on over to his blog each Wednesday and throw your hat in the ring!

MK

2012 Heritage High Numbers Unveiled

All right, the High Number box has been busted.  And I might as well just extinguish the suspense from the get-go, I didn't get a red ink Bryce Harper.  Or a Yu Darvish.  Or even a Jordany Valdespin.

I got the above Brian Dozier blue ink auto.  Hey, at least it's a rookie card.  Maybe he'll become the next Derek Jeter or something.  Being frank, I've never heard of the guy prior to seeing his name on the autograph checklist.

A little disappointed, BUT don't get me wrong.  I'm not complaining based on two factors: 1.) the baseball card gods have already spoiled me with the Mantle auto, and 2.) the rest of the goodies in the box well made up for an autograph of a rookie who may never even become the next Joe McEwing.

It's probably not very competent writing to pop the balloon before the party has even started.  But I figure if I saved the auto for the end you'd just skip all the crap in the beginning and middle anyhow.  I know I probably would!

Okay, onward we go.  I have chosen 27 of the 100 cards to display, and I've broken them up into three categories.  We've got the top rookies; the guys who switched teams; and then there's the guys who didn't switch teams but just didn't make the cut for the 500-card regular (and SP) checklist.

Rookies first?  Sure, why not.  This is the part I was most excited for, too, so why wait?

H600 -- Yu Darvish, Crafted 16 wins and sub-4 ERA, lived up to hype I think.
H603 -- Drew Smyly, Fanned 94 in just under 100 IP as starter/reliever.
H619 -- Zack Cozart, Jacked 15 homers for NL Central champs.
H642 -- Andrelton Simmons, Great looking card & a bright future.
H650 -- Byrce Harper, Has anyone heard of this guy?
H651 -- Will Middlebrooks, Was hitting .288 before broken wrist in Aug.
H652 -- Yoenis Cespedes, That's a silly face he's making, eh?
H657 -- Trevor Bauer, First player from the '11 draft to reach the bigs.
H673 -- Drew Hutchinson, Had 3.86 ERA in three June starts before getting hurt.

The we've got the guys who changed teams:

H605 -- Jamie Moyer, Insert "old" joke here.  Okay: He taught Cy Young how to pitch.
H606 -- Ichiro, Sigh. I still can't adjust to this man in that hat.
H631 -- Raul Ibanez, The only Yankee who brought his bat into postseason.
H639 -- Andy Pettitte, His former team was "retirement".
H643 -- Johnny Damon, I dig the shades, Johnny!
H647 -- A.J. Burnett, A return to the NL was the right tonic.
H656 -- Brandon Inge, A .234 lifetime average, but he's good dude.
H669 -- Bobby Abreu, Not the most flattering picture of ol' Roberto.
H670 -- Marco Scutaro, The NLCS MVP.

And finally, some young players and vets who didn't make it into the regular Heritage issue:

H576 -- Adam Wainwright, Won 15 games (incl. playoffs) coming off Tommy John.
H592 -- Brandon Morrow, Impressive numbers despite injury-spiked season.
H597 -- Jake Peavy, Former Cy Young recipient won 11 games for ChiSox.
H601 -- Philip Humber, Mr. Perfect...at least he was on April 29.
H608 -- Bruce Chen, What's a set without Bruce Chen?
H615 -- Pedro Alvarez, Bronx native cracked 30 homers for Buccos.
H621 -- Chris Davis, Safe to say he's found a home in Baltimore.
H637 -- Daisuke Matsuzaka, 2008 was a long, long time ago.
H661 -- Rafael Furcal, It feels like he's been in the majors for 20 years.

Some pretty nice cards included here.  Good rookie crop, some essential veterans and a handful of guys who are on the up-and-up.  I'm pretty happy with 'em all.

Oh, I nearly forgot!  What sort of Mets fan would I be if I didn't show the four Amazins who were included in this set?

H585 -- Jonathon Niese
H628 -- Andres Torres
H641 -- Jordany Valdespin
H646 -- Kirk Nieuwenhuis

Not sure how Niese didn't find his way into the regular set, but at least Topps made good.  And, as far as head shots go, the Valdespin card is awesome.  They really captured the essence of the vintage cards with that one.

Well, that concludes my little run-though of the High Numbers box.  Though steep in price, this was a very worthwhile purchase and I'm glad I own this set.  I love the look of the '63-inspired cards, and it's great to have Harper, Yu, Ichiro and the rest for my Heritage '12 binder.

What can I say, I'm a Heritage lifer.

MK

It's Heeeeeere!

It would seem Topps stayed true to its declaration of a November 6 shipping date for the 2012 Heritage High Numbers set.  Yesterday I received an email announcing it had shipped and, lo and behold, it has arrived at my humble abode.

The UPS man, who was blasting Gregg Allman's "I'm No Angel" from within his truck, dropped it off at my front door as I was upstairs pretending to not be sore from raking leaves for three hours this morning. [Ed. Note: What better way to spend a day off from work, yes?]

Now I know what you're saying: Mark, why are you wasting our time?  Cut to the chase; open the damn box and let us know which autograph you got.  

That is, of course, if many out there even care.  So much venom directed at Topps for the price tag and gimmickry attached this set, etc.  I get it, believe me.  But, I think some people need to just let it go.  If you don't like it, then you're under no obligation to give Topps your money.

For me, I had to have this.  Normally, I'm not wont to sink such a dollar amount on a set -- base, update, high number or otherwise.  But, I'm so into this year's Heritage product that I would be kicking myself if I didn't pull the trigger.

Okay, enough stalling.

Originally, I was going to hand the box over to Mrs. K when it arrived so she could wrap it for Christmas.  But, after my recent Mickey Mantle hot streak, I'm thinking that the time to strike is now!  If I wait til December, my Harper red-ink auto could turn into a Cody Ross with two dinged corners.

So, I got the O.K. from Mrs. K [Ed. Note: She thought the idea of my buying my own Christmas gift and then giving it to her to wrap was mucho lame anyways...and she is probably right], and I'll be busting this sucker open at some point this weekend.  Possibly this evening.  The only reason I would hesitate is due to the buzz I'm still feeling from the aforementioned Mantle auto pull.  I almost feel bad opening anything else til the giddiness dies down.

Okay, well, hopefully I'll have my full review of the set and my autograph available soon...

MK

Oh What a Night! (aka My Best Pull EVER!)

I know envy is a sin and all that jazz, but I must admit that sometimes I get a tiny bit envious when I'm checking out some of my fellow bloggers' collections or certain vintage cards or hitts.  Not that I don't appreciate my own collection and acknowledge that I have oodles of nice pieces.  But, well...what can I say?  I guess you'd call it a character flaw or whathaveyou.  But, hey, at least I can admit it, right?

Much of this stems from the tired insistence that I never pull anything good from packs or boxes.  And, for the most part that is true.  At least that's the impression I get from browsing many of the other sports card blogs out there.

Til now, that is.

This evening, I experienced a thrill that I have never unlocked previously in this hobby, and might never match.

Right now, I'm kinda envious of, well, ME!

See, it goes back to a couple weeks ago when I was at my local Target here in Delaware and noticed three random blister packs of 2012 Heritage in the card section.  You know the ones, they have three retail packs plus a bonus three-card pack of black bordered parallels?  Well, I hadn't seen one of those -- or three of those -- for quite some time.  So it was odd that they suddenly appeared.  No clue where they could have surfaced from.

I was tempted to grab them when I first saw them but I resisted the urge.  After all, I don't need that many cards for my base set, and I'd probably only get two or three SPs.  Not worth the $30 price tag for the trio, even if I would be getting a guaranteed nine black bordered cards.

Well, fast forward to this afternoon, and attrition finally took its toll.  I had those stupid things on my mind for the past two weeks.  I couldn't take it any more; I just had to have those three blister packs -- assuming they hadn't been snatched up yet.

On my drive home from work I stopped back at my Target.  Luckily, the packs remained.

As if destined for me.

The first three-pack bundle didn't yield a whole lot to holler about.  A Joey Votto "New Age Performers" insert and one card towards my dwindling base set needs.

Onto the second blister.  Pack one, nothing noteworthy.  Mind you, I wasn't really bummed because I was just enjoying the fun of ripping packs and searching for gold.

And then it happened.  As I opened pack No. 2 of the second blister, the following card jumped out and landed on my kitchen table:

Cue heart rate acceleration.

All I could utter was, "Holy [explitive]!" a few times.  Mrs. K, who was nearby preparing her famous meatloaf, broke concentration from her culinary craft to ask what was the matter.  When I finally composed myself and explained what I had unearthed, even she was in disbelief.  She even hollered at me to put it down or put it in a plastic case [Ed. Note: She's good!].

So, this is a true 1/1 autograph of the Mick from the "1963 Certified Cut Signature" collection.  Only one of these bad boys exists in the world.  There are 10 subjects in this collection, and Mantle is probably the centerpiece attraction.

Stated odds of finding one of these autos: 1:194,000.

I am just completely floored that this card found its way into a retail pack that wound up in a blister pack that landed at the Target in Christiana, Del.

And then flopped onto my kitchen table.

For me!  Mr. Nobody!

That I should have this card -- a true autograph of Mickey Mantle -- is surreal.  Too wild to be true.

Well, as giddy as I was, I still had another pack to open before I moved onto the final blister pack.

Apparently the fireworks weren't yet done.

How about an encore?

Un-freakin'-believable!  In back to back packs in the same retail blister package, I pull two hits that I could never dream of pulling from even a hobby box.  This Aaron relic from the "Flashback Stadium Relic" insert set features a piece of a seat from Milwaukee's County Stadium.  Way cool!

Stated odds:  1:1,459

Holy cow!

What a duo of cards, to say the least.  These two are easily the most important cards I've ever pulled.  And the Mantle is certainly the new apex of my collection.

Oh, as for the third blister pack, nothing so dramatic.  Though, I did pull a great chrome parallel:

Heck, if this was the A-1 card I pulled from the nine total packs, I would've considered it a success.  So, to get this Pujols as the cherry on top was a complete thrill.

I'm still kind of riding a high from this experience.  I can't stop smiling.  I smiled throughout Mrs. K's meatloaf dinner and I'm still wearing that dopey smile as I clumsily type this post.

I'm sorry to get all girly on everyone, but this is the reason this hobby is so amazing.

You just never know.

For those that care about the rest of the yield, I netted three more cards towards my base checklist:

Just 14 more to go!

I also found a pair of red bordered Target parallels:

And two SPs:

Sadly, I already have both of these short prints.  Therefore, if anyone out there is working on the SP checklist -- or if you're a Braves or O's collector -- give me a shout and we'll do business!

Finally, here are the nine black bordered cards:

The Scutaro and Cueto cards are also up for trade, since I already have those two.

Anyhow, that's my story.  Easily the best 30 bucks I ever dropped.  I guess I'll be putting the "I never pull anything good" schtick to bed forever.

And you know, I'm okay with that.

MK

Proud to be an American

2007 Turkey Red Presidents, #TRP4

Every Election Day is a special occasion.  It doesn't matter if we're talking about electing a congressman, governor or the POTUS.  Many great, brave men and women throughout our nation's brilliant history have given their lives to establish and/or protect our rights as citizens to elect our government officials.

I know there are many out there who are disinterested, ambivalent or frustrated about politics.  I get it.  But the least we can do to honor the patriots who came before us and take five minutes out of our day to visit the polls. After all, the right to vote isn't something to take for granted.  It is the greatest power in the world granted to an individual.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox, but I just wanted to share my feelings about this day.  And how it gives me an even greater feeling of pride in my country.

And, it also gives me a chance to display a few presidential cards.

Like the "Father of the Constitution," James Madison above.  What a nickname, right?  To be remembered for all time as an integral figure in crafting the most brilliant document in the history of civilization is pretty heady stuff. Plus his wife makes a mean ice cream!

2012 Heritage JFK Story, #JFK4

I really dig this Kennedy card, especially since it comes from an insert set that is apparently very rare.  I don't believe Topps ever listed official odds for pulling one of these JFK Story cards.  So I'm glad to own this little piece of Heritage history.

2011 Presidential First Pitch, #PFP-5

Don't you miss the days when our President would toss out the first pitch from his front-row box seat?  Pictured here, Richard Nixon delivers the ceremonial throw on April 7, 1969 at the Washington Senators' season opener. Say what you want about Nixon -- a very controversial figure in our nation's political history -- this is a pretty great card.  The facial expressions alone make it a great slice of Americana.

Well, it all comes down to today.  And it comes down to YOU.  Months and months of campaigning and rallying have paved the way for this very day.  No matter who you support -- whether it's either of these two men or perhaps even a third party candidate -- take this day by the reigns and make it yours.

God Bless America!

MK

Cards from Cards on Cards

I recently worked out a Heritage-themed trade with Kerry at Cards on Cards.  I was more than happy to pick up some additions for my 2011 and 2012 base sets.  And I even picked up a couple of great non-Heritage parallels of a pair of Mets hurlers.

First, the Heritage goodies.

It's only appropriate I get a Cards card from Cards on Cards, right?  This pair of base cards puts me a mere 17 shy of completing my 2012 quest.  Any other 2012 Heritage collectors out there looking to complete their set and/or swap doubles?  Give me a shout!

Kerry had 21 cards on this 2011 Heritage trade list that I needed for my set.  How great are these three horizontal cards?!  I especially love the Cabrera.

And, for good measure, I was able to negotiate these two parallels from this year's Topps set:

I'm a sucker for the Wal-Mart blue and Target red parallels.  Color me a sap.  And, the gold sparkle cards are of course very snazzy.  I just hate how bad they curl up, like the Chrome and Finest cards are wont to do.  Not cool.

A very pleasurable deal, Kerry.  Thanks very much!

MK