Ebay Treats (Part 2)

Cost: $1.00
Details:  1976 Topps #270
Card Comment:  I like the front design of this set but the back with black writing on a dark green background makes it difficult to read.

Stargell used a sledgehammer to warm up in the on-deck circle.  At one point in his career he held the record for the longest homers hit in almost half of the ballparks in the NL.

Don Sutton once said of Stargell: "I never saw anything like it.  He doesn't just hit pitchers, he takes away their dignity."

Cost:  $1.00
Details: 2007 Topps Chrome #162 (Red Refractor, s/n: #94/99).

Cost: $2.00

Details:  2007 UD Masterpieces #SG-HS (auto)

Card Comment:  All Stroke of Genius autos from this set are welcome in my collection.

Cost: $2.00

Details:  2007 UD Masterpieces #SG-JB (auto)

Cost: $2.00

Details: 2007 UD Masterpieces #SG-HI (auto)

Early in 2009 I watched Rich Hill of the Orioles dominate the Seattle Mariners lineup.  He pitched seven innings, giving up just three hits and no runs.  His curve ball and high fastball made the Mariners look silly.  We were all very hopeful and excited on the Orioles Boards that night.

Unfortunately, in Hill's remaining ten starts his era rose from 4.15 to 7.80.

Cost: $1.00

Details: 1964 Topps #109

Card Comments:  Love the giant trophy and Staub's hat.

In 1963 Staub was just 19 years old.  He played 150 games in the majors that year (585 plate appearances).  He hit just .224 with 6 home runs (.617 OPS).  Ouch.  In 1964 he had nearly identical stats (.216 ba, .618 OPS) .

But by age 21 he straightened things out and put up many years of solid stats (including a 30 home run season).  He finished his career with 2716 hits, 292 hr, and a lifetime .279 batting average.

Cost:  $1.00

Details:  1974 Topps #215

Card Comment:  A legend who had just one more season left at the time of this photo.

Kaline would collect his 3007th career hit in 1974.  He fell one home run shy of 400.  Interestingly, Kaline's final season (age 39) was not one that came with much rest.  To find a season in which he had as many at bats, you'd have to go all the way back to 1961 (Age 26).  And he needed just about every one of them to reach that 3000 hit mark.

Kaline is the youngest player to ever win a batting title (.340 ba, age 20).

Some may be surprised to learn that Kaline never hit as many as 30 home runs in a season.  However, he won 10 gold gloves, made 15 all-star teams, and finished in the top 10 for MVP voting nine times.

Cost:  $1.25

Details:  2009 Topps Heritage Chrome Refractors #C16 (s/n: #173/560)

Cost: $1.25

Details: 2009 Topps Heritage Chrome Refractors #C73 (s/n: #407/560)

Davis had a whopping 150 strikeouts in just 391 at bats in 2009.  He struggled so mightily that he was demoted to AAA to work on the holes in his swing.

Right before his demotion I watched Davis hit a tapper to an infielder.  He hustled like mad down the line, diving head first into the base.  The announcers and everyone watching felt sorry for the kid.  He clearly has heart and wants to please the fans and teammates.  But he was hitting under .200; the writing was on the wall.

Davis didn't sulk when demoted to AAA.  He worked hard.  He stopped swinging for the fences and focused on contact.  In AAA he hit just six home runs (165 ab) but managed a .327 batting average.

When he was called back to the majors his strikeout ratio dropped from around 50% to about 35%.  Yes that is still too high and may be what costs him a major league career ultimately, but I am rooting for Chris Davis.

Cost:  $1.00

Details: 1963 Topps #123

Card Comments:  I have very few 1963 Topps cards.  Great pick up for a buck.

Of Big Frank's 382 lifetime home runs, he hit 172 of them (45%) in a four year stretch (1967-1970).  

Cost: $2.00

Details:  2000 Team Best Rookies (auto)

Card Comments:  An unpopular set but a nice way to get reasonably priced autos.

Cost: $1.00

Details:  1979 Topps #330

Card Comments:  Off-center, otherwise perfect.

Cost:  $1.25

Details:  1969 Topps Deckle #31

Card Comments:  This may be just my second Deckle card.  Not sure.  I think I will start collecting these when the price is right.  Vintage stuff, cool look, reasonable prices.

One of the more amazing things about McCovey's career is that he managed to win the Rookie of the Year award despite having only 192 at bats (1959, .354 batting average, 13 hr).  And he did so with a unanimous vote.  Although I did not confirm on a year by year search, I assume there is not a hitter with fewer at bats to claim the ROY award.

Overall Review:

Card prices, condition, and safe packaging make this seller a winner.  The variety is nice as well.  It's not too easy to find a good seller that has both vintage 60's cards alongside shiny '09 stuff and autos.  The only negative is that the shipping isn't capped.  So while the prices are great, at .25 cents extra a card, shipping starts to add up.

Overall Rating:  8.5

2007 Upper Deck Future Stars Hobby Box Break (Box 2, Twelve Hits - Any Good?)

2007 Upper Deck Future Stars Hobby Box

24 packs, 4 cards per pack

Content Highlights (on average):
4 autographed rookie cards (printed on silver foil board)
7 foil-numbered inserts
Find limited triple signature cards
Cost:  $29.95 (Blowout Cards - Black Friday deal)
Estimated Cost Through Ebay (with shipping):  $35-50

Take a look at the Upper Deck Future Stars Box 1 break if you wanna get a wider scope of the base in this set.  This box break won't recap base stars because it's pretty much the same, but here is what they look like:

This card is being set aside for Carl Crawford Cards (yup I got doubles as I hoped).

Now for the hits:

Elijah Dukes (s/n: #328/999).  How many of us are still waiting for Dukes to flourish?  His lifetime .771 OPS is better than many would have guessed.  His ability to walk and hit with a bit of power makes him a reasonably valuable player.  It also keeps people hoping he can turn into a 20 hr, .900 OPS type player.

Chase Wright/Joe Smith (s/n: #388/999).  Joe Smith is a serviceable middle reliever (career:  3.49 era, 141.2 ip).

Chase Wright (s/n: #100/500).  Two, count 'em, two Chase Wright inserts!  Ugh.  Wright was in Milwaukee's minor league system in 2009 (AAA:  4.51 era, 131.2 ip).

Jeff Baker (s/n: #070/500).

Michael Bourn (s/n: #099/500).  Hmmm, I got a different serial numbered card of Bourn in the first box of this product.  He won the NL stolen base title in 2009 (61 sb).

Brandon Webb (s/n: #009/199).  The first star hit.

Derek Jeter (s/n: #180/199).  Now we're talkin'!

Anthony Lerew auto.  The end of the road may be near for this 27 year old pitcher.  His lifetime 3.52 era in the minors is decent, but in parts of four seasons in the majors (just 35ip total) his era is 6.69.  He's in the Royals system now.

Jared Burton auto.  A fairly successful middle reliever for the Reds (3.47 era, 161 ip lifetime).

Levale Speigner auto.  He'll be 29 throughout 2010.  He pitched relief in AAA for the Marlins in '09.  This guy is pretty much dominating the minors now, but his major league career, as brief as it has been, is terrible so far: 9.19 era, 48ip.  I don't know if the Marlins picture him as a bullpen arm in the majors or if he is a roster holder in AAA.

Mike Schultz auto.  He may be out of baseball, but he's still very tall.  They can't take that away.

So you are saying, Field, there is a lot of garbage here.  True.  However, just like in the first box, I received five autos (four were expected).  The fifth one saved the box:

Prince Fielder auto.  My first Fielder auto!  As some probably know by now, I have a lot of respect for the way Fielder plays the game, not to mention the stats he is racking up at an early age.  When I pulled this I said what I assume everyone says when pulling a Prince Fielder auto: "Goody Goody Gumdrops".

So I got a lot of good base (not shown), two nice serial numbered cards (Webb, Jeter), and the Fielder signature.  This box trounced the first one.  Nonetheless, after opening two boxes now, this is a product that seems to have a LOT of dud inserts.  You need some decent luck to come away happy if you pay full price for the box ($50ish).