After Further Review...

I wouldn't call it peer pressure as much as I would say that my fellow bloggers make a good case.

Thanks to some helpful responses to my last post, along with a great write up over the weekend by Nick of his recent Update hobby box experience, I decided to take the old school route and chase the 2012 Topps Update set via the traditional manner.

So I took the plunge and nabbed my first-ever hobby box!

My first hobby box purchase!

Since it's Columbus Day and the school I work at is closed, yours truly had a chance to sneak over to his local card shop earlier today on his way back from running errands.

Not only did I get the Update box, but a couple of items in the miscellaneous discount bin got my attention. Normally, this bin contains some random NASCAR collectibles and even some older, unwanted McFarlane figures, etc.  An island of misfit sports toys, if you will.

But, today there were a pair of items I could not pass up.

For five bucks, I got this Mike Piazza Starting Lineup figure from the 1996 All Star Game in Philadelphia.  Mike won MVP honors of that game, thus he is allowed to grow to Godzilla proportions and straddle the since-demolished Veterans Stadium.

And then, for a few bucks more, I got this:

I've never seen a Starting Lineup figure this large before.  It's more or less a doll, I guess.  But, Mike Piazza is much too manly to have a doll in his likeness.  So I'm not sure what to call this.  I suppose I'll go with "Fully Poseable Figure!", which is what is listed on the front of the box.  Anyhow, it's from 1997 and they apparently made one of these for Griffey, Maddux and Ripken as well.

No clue what these things are worth (probably not much if they're in a bin in Newark, Del.), but they're both pretty cool items honoring one of my favorite all-time players.  So, that's enough for me.

Okay, I'm dying to bust open my Update box.  I'm pretty excited to see how the hobby gods will treat me.

I'll be back later to share my findings...

MK

Good Grief, Who the Heck am I???

This is a "first world problem" post, so I'm just warning you in advance.

But, I recently came to a crossroads in my collecting ideology, and am conflicted about how to carry on.

See, I have a bit of a confession to make.  Prior to this year, I have never completed a set of cards by simply buying packs and nabbing individual cards at trade shows.  Mostly all of my completed Topps sets are either the result of getting factory sets as gifts or buying hand-collated sets from eBay or shows (1989 and 1987 are the exceptions).

However, I made the decision this past year to do it the old fashioned (read: FUN!) way and piece the set together like, you know, a collector would.  I mostly made this decision because I wanted to try and get some of the neat inserts and parallels, plus I really liked the 2012 Topps products and wanted to "experience" the cards. The flagship, Archives and Heritage all struck my fancy, so I decided to go all in.

Plus, you know, I found this blogging thing and got swept up in the euphoria of that.

I've always been a player collector type of guy throughout my collecting days, and not much on the side of set collecting.  So, this is whole process is new to me.  Replete with all sorts of new joys and frustrations.  But aren't those the things that keep us coming back for more?

Besides, what joy is there in getting cards that someone else has already discovered and collated.  The thrill of the hunt and, of course, ripping open the packs to savor your new treasure is what makes us who we are. You can't put a price tag on some experiences, can you?

Well, for Topps Series 1 and Series 2, I bought blasters and hanger boxes and rack packs (oh my!) to put the sets together.  (Of course trading with fellow bloggers has been huge, also!)  I've completed the Series 1 set, and am closing in on Series 2.  And you know what?  I had a really fun time doing it!  Well...duh, right?!

And with Update coming out, I couldn't wait to run down to Wal-Mart after work earlier this week and get my usual array of "release day" purchases: one blaster, one hanger and two rack packs.

I was semi-shocked to see the blaster box had been shrunken by the best brains at tops.  Less waste, I guess. Same number of cards/packs, so who cares really.

Anyways, I was thrilled to see the bright, juicy red boxes and packs of Update with Bryce Harper gracing them. All ripe and sitting there on the shelves, waiting for me to pluck them and take them home with me.

But what began as a slam dunk visit to Sam Walton's joint pivoted into an afternoon of hobby tumult.  You see, I didn't pull the trigger.  I left Wal-Mart with my tail between my legs and pouty-puss on my face.

The issue?  I started doing math.  Damn me, I started doing math.

See, the past couple years I've gotten used to buying the 330-card Update base set off eBay for about $20 (plus or minus a few shells depending how good a shopper I am).

Twenty bucks for complete base set.  And $19.98 for a blaster of 10 packs and a patch card.

Heck, I even had the damn blaster in my hands and did a lap around Wal-Mart while I had a conversation with myself in my head.  I went something like this:

Me: I'm going to by this and I'm going to have fun opening it.

Annoying Inner Me:  But Mark, for $20 you can get all 330 regular cards from eBay.

Me: But I won't get any of the cool inserts.  I love the '87 minis!  Plus this has a patch card in it!

Annoying Inner Me:  Don't be a dope.  You can get the whole '87 mini set off eBay for another 20 bucks.  I assume you're going to buy another blaster at some point, correct?  Well there you go.  And with your luck, the patch cards will probably be John Smiley or Pat Tabler anyhow.

Couldn't argue with any of that.  The blaster went back on the shelf and I shuffled out of the store before I started to attract any crooked glances for circling the Maternity Clothing section with a box of baseball cards in tow.

As if that weren't bad enough, I stopped at my local card shop before I headed home because I had to pick up some binder sheets. And, once inside, of course my eyes were drawn towards the glass counter where 2012 Update hobby boxes were sunning themselves in the artificial light.

I can tell you I was this close to picking one up and plopping it down at the register along with my credit card. I've never purchased a hobby box before and for about 60 bucks I could've taken this one home and started working on my 2012 Update set.  What fun!!  Sure, the blaster and it's little brothers didn't make math and/or money sense, but this was a hobby box.  After all, I was guaranteed an auto or relic within!  Plus everyone knows you get better stuff in hobby boxes than retail (right?).

Well, I left the shop with a box of binder sheets and nothing more.  I fought the notion off once again, thanks to some simple, aggravating economics.

Annoying Inner Me:  Hello?  Anyone paying attention out there?  For 60 bucks, you can buy a complete Update base set, a complete 1987 mini set, and have money left over to buy another insert set of you choice.

Me:  But I won't get to open any packs!  And no auto or relic!!

Annoying Inner Me:  It's already 5:30 and I'm hungry.  Go home and make us a sandwich.

So I sit here at my keyboard with a cloud of frustration shrouding my card-collecting soul.  I guess I start thinking about how much I spent on all the boxes and packs of Topps flagship this past year and the monetary total far exceeds the cost for a factory set.  And that makes me gulp very hard.  Not exactly like I have a lot of dough to blow or anything.  But at the same time I want to enjoy the experience rather than just go through the motions.

Does this make me a bad collector?  Or a curmudgeon?  Or a cheapskate?  Am I missing the forest for the trees?  Am I sapping the fun out of the hobby by over-thinking all of this?

In other words, who am I as a collector?

Like I said, very much a first world problem.  But I wonder if anyone else out there has the same internal issues.

I still don't know what I'm going to do.  The allure of going after Update via packs is still very strong.  But my frugal side won't let me take the plunge -- yet.

At least Me and Annoying Inner Me agree on one thing.  Sandwiches.

MK

1986 Fleer Star Stickers

I've been meaning to write about these cards for a while.  I'd say it was back late July that I bought a complete hand-collated set of 1986 Fleer Star Stickers off eBay.  I routinely scour the internet in search of cheap oddball sets like this, and I was lucky to stumble upon this one for about $7 shipped.

It's a good-sized checklist, totalling 132 cards.  All the usual suspects from the mid-1980s are on hand, naturally.  Much like any Fleer issue from this era, the designs and color combinations are kind of dated and, well, interesting.

I thought I'd share my Top 10 favorite cards from the set, in no particular order.  Actually, since Fleer chose to order the checklist alphabetically by last name, I'll do the same.

Jose Canseco, #19

Nice 'stache, Jose!  And might I add that those were some pretty sweet uniform shirts the A's had during this era.

Rod Carew, #20

The great Rod Carew.  Classic on-deck-circle pose, Jheri curl safely tucked under batting helmet.  Life is good.

Steve Carlton, #21

A haggard-looking Lefty waving good-bye to...?  Looks like the section of seating in the blurred background is completely empty.  I know some people despise cards when arms and hands and feet are cut off and out of the photo's frame.  Not me.

Carlton Fisk, #38

From Steve Carlton to Carlton Fisk.  A great action shot of Pudge chasing down a foul pop.  Call me odd, but I'm a big fan of the old ChiSox baseball pants with the number on the, um, pelvic area.

Keith Hernandez, #55

One of two Hernandez's included in this set (pitcher Willie is the other).  I'm probably biased to include this card, because it's a pretty boring shot.  But, Keith is one of my favorite players of all time and his mustache is one of my favorite this side of Tom Selleck.  I was slightly dismayed when Mex shaved his soup strainer last week.  But it was for charity, so that's O.K.

Donnie Moore, #77

Rest in peace, Donnie.  Looks like he was presented with some sort of team award prior to the game.  Lots of good seats to be had in Anaheim, by the way.

Phil Niekro, #82

The great knuckle-baller, captured practicing his baffling craft.  Knucksie went 32-20 in two seasons as a Yankee.  He spun 318 W's during his Hall of Fame career, spanning 24 years.

Jim Rice, #96

Kind of in the same vane as the Carew card, except Rice is striking a pose during batting practice.  Looks like this photo was taken at The Big A.  Perhaps the Donnie Moore trophy presentation game?  Great looking card.

Cal Ripken, Jr., #99

Nothing flashy here, but the Ripken, Jr. batting stance is pretty iconic in my book.  Plus we get the added bonus of Eddie Murray looming in the background.

Darryl Strawberry, #116

They don't make many cards anymore of guys wielding multiple bats, do they?  I guess it's because today's major league ballplayers don't fancy the awkwardness of trying to hold three bats at once.  That's too bad, because this is one of the best poses in baseball card history.  A pose for sluggers.  Only slightly better than the "bat behind the neck and over the shoulders" pose.

Thanks for journeying back into 1986 with me.  You may now return to your regularly scheduled pink chrome refractors and game-used relics...

MK

...On the Other Hand, It was Free.

A couple of envelopes containing cards arrived for me with today's mail.  One was from an eBay purchase, the other contained my second foray into the Listia universe.

I'll begin with the Listia envelope, which looks like it was either urine stained or just a yellowing relic from 1979. Perhaps a bit of each.  On it, written in blue ink, was "Do Not Bend."

As if that were going to matter.

The content of this envelope was a 1990 Topps wax box cut-out of Doc Gooden, stored in a penny sleeve.  And, the card itself matched the condition one would expect of something that used to be on the bottom of a 22-year-old box.

Keep in mind, I didn't spend one penny on this thing.  I "spent" 55 credits on it, to be accurate.  But, the photo/scan the seller included didn't look like this.  Nor did his description mention the rampant wrinkling.  A little accuracy in advertising, please?

But, like I said, it was free.  So, I guess I can't be upset.  Not like I expected it to be super shiny mint condition or anything.

The OCD side of me has a severe problem putting this cardboard biohazard next to anything else in my Gooden collection.  But, I'm sure I'll medicate myself and bite the bullet eventually.

From that, we move on to the eBay side of things.  I recently took an interest in the " 1965 Tall Boy" inserts in 2012 Topps Football.  Now, I'm not really into Topps flagship football this year.  In my opinion, the pock-faced nerds at Topps perpetrated an utter PhotoShop hatchet job on the rookies and free agent cards.  And it taints the product, in my opinion.

But Mark, Topps uses heavy doses of PhotoShop in the baseball set, too.  Yeah, but I think this looks much worse.  When I saw Bills rookie tackle Cordy Glenn wearing a blue "00" Bills jersey on his rookie card, that cemented it for me.  And I hate the photos from the scouting combine, too.

I just don't like it.  Climb off my back, will ya?

So my only option, then, is the secondary market.  In other words eBay.  And I found a nice five-card lot of Tall Boys there for under two bucks.

I don't know if this is a coincidence or not, but the plain white envelope from the eBay seller was actually, uh, white.  Meaning no pee-pee discoloring.  And the cards were protected with two clean toploaders.

No wrinkling here.

Man, I really love these things.  I was kind shocked when I found out the complete set was in the neighborhood of 140 cards.  Yikes!  That's what I call a heavy-duty insert set.

Of the five, this is my favorite:

Love me some Victor Cruz.  Tough loss for Big Blue last night.  But, don't expect any sympathy from me, Giants fans.  The Patriots hung a 50-burger on my Bills yesterday.  And that's all I've got to say about that, thank you very much.

Oh, the backs of these cards are pretty great, too:

It would be an epic (and expensive) task to try and complete this set, so maybe I'll just settle on rounding up my favorite players for starters.

That's all I got for now.  Enjoy the last few days of the baseball regular season and, if you're like me, Monday Night Football.

MK

Topps Series 2: Eight to Go!

Last Friday, I posted about my experience with a scuzzball dealer at the Concord Mall sports memorabilia show. In case you missed it, the guy was trying to nickel and dime me on individual 2012 Topps Series 2 and Heritage cards.  He placed his left hand on his Beckett and swore he was only doing what any decent seller would.

Anyhow, in response to that story, Adam at ARPSmith's Sports Card Obsession generously offered up some Series 2 and Heritage cards off my "Wanted!" list.

And, today they arrived!

Thanks to Adam's contribution, I'm happy to report that my Series 2 base card checklist is down to single digits.  Eight to be exact.

Here are the six crucial cards he sent my way:

Additionally, he chipped in towards a couple of the Series 2 insert sets I'm working on:

Topps "Cut Above"

Topps "Gold Futures"

And, last but not least, eight wonderful '12 Heritage cards:

I'm getting close on this set, as well.  Still 23 to go, but I've made some great progress over the last month or so. I have to say, working on the 2012 Heritage set has been one of the most fun and rewarding experiences I've had in this hobby in a long time.  I'm gonna be a little sad when I'm done with the 425-card base set.  No worries, though, because putting the SP checklist to sleep won't be accomplished any time soon.

Adam, thanks a million for these cards!

MK

Friday Night Mall Show: Vintage Football, The Finale

After dragging the topic out for a week, it's time to put a bow on last Friday's hobby show at Concard Mall.

I've saved my favorite acquisition for last.  I must confess, though, that I was waffling back and forth between this card and a Dick Butkus card from the very same year.  Ultimately, the deciding factor was the price, as the card that I went with was five bucks cheaper.

But, that's not totally fair, since I've always wanted a card of this guy.  And when I saw the mug he was wearing on this card, it was an absolute checkmate in the end.

1971 Topps, #1

As Mrs. K exclaimed when I showed this to her, "Whoa, it's like Halloween came early!"  And I can't disagree, really.  If Frankenstein was a HOF quarterback who played for the Baltimore Colts, this would be his football card.

I love this card on multiple levels.  I mean, it's Johnny Unitas which, of itself, is outstanding enough.  The guy is a legend of the game.  And then you've got the face and the teeth -- added bonuses.

The design of 1971 Topps is amazing, might I add.  The colors, the fonts, the top-heavy little football cartoon character on the bottom left.  All elements are perfect.

The card itself is in pretty decent condition.  The edges are in very good shape and there is only light wear on the corners.  What you can't really see is a light crease near the top left corner of the card.  Additionally the back of the card is slightly miscut vertically.  But, those are very minor flaws, especially compared to what I paid for it.

This is easily my favorite non-Bills football card.  And it will probably stay that way until I get my first Deacon Jones card.

Thanks for humoring me during this prolonged football journey.  I'll get back to the business of baseball in the coming days.  I can't promise I won't wander back to football at some point, though.  I can't help it, plus it's kinda my blog :-)

Hope everyone has a terrific weekend!

MK

The Big Two-Oh

2012 Topps Archives, #148

On Thursday afternoon, R.A. Dickey became the sixth different pitcher in N.Y. Mets history to win 20 games in a season.

It was pretty fitting that Dickey (20-6) notched his 20th victory on the final home game of the 2012 Mets schedule.  Because outside of Dickey, there hasn't really been a reason to watch the Mets post-All Star break (if at all this season).

Things didn't look promising early on for the knuckler, as the Pirates touched him up for three runs over the first four innings at Citi Field.  But, as he usually does, Dickey gutted it out and actually got some help from a normally listless Mets offense.  David Wright delivered the biggest blow when he broke a 3-3 tie in the fifth with a three-run homer.

Dickey's final line: 7 2/3 innings, 8 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 13 K, 128 pitches.

He joins Tom Seaver (4 times), Jerry Koosman, Dwight Gooden, Frank Viola and David Cone in the Mets' 20-win club.  Seaver's 25 wins in 1969 is the Mets record for single-season victories.

I may be biased, but this guy is the hands-down NL Cy Young award winner.  The Mets, as a team, have 72 wins; Dickey has 20 of them.  That's 28% of his team's win total.

He's got the wins, he's got the stats, and now all he needs is the hardware.

Don't get me wrong, Cueto and Gio Gonzalez and Kimbrel are all great pitchers.  But, this is Dickey's year.  He was the best pitcher at the break (should've started the AS Game), and with one start remaining, he's on pace to be the best pitcher at season's end.

Here's hoping the voters agree.

MK