Friday, February 12, 2010

2010 Topps Series One Hobby Box Breaks (4 boxes)

My brother and his family gave me a check for my birthday and Christmas with the caveat that the money must be spent on something fun.  Twist my arm why don't ya!?  So I bought four 2010 Topps hobby boxes.

I'll just show some of my favorite cards, inserts, and the hits.

 
I have to lead with this card for two reasons.  First, Bumgarner has pitched two seasons in the minors and accumulated some of the best stats in the history of minor league baseball (1.65 era, 27-5, 273 innings pitched).  And he was just a teenager.  I hope the Giants have him in the rotation all season.  I'm very curious to see what becomes of Bumgarner.  Having Lincecum around will no doubt help him learn even faster.  

The second reason I chose this as the first 2010 card to appear on my blog is that this picture of Bumgarner could fit into almost any era.  It could be 1958, 1968, or 1978.   Also, he looks closer to age 35 than age 19 in this shot.  Add to all this a very suspicious looking microphone and we have card perfection.

What a great photo!  Little Ichiro winning a game with a home run, presumably.

Fielder hit a walk-off home run against the Giants.  He jumped on home plate and pretended to "explode".  The force of the "bomb" knocked his teammates down.  This has the feel of football showboating (a bad thing).  It is also a reason purists could point at Fielder and say they dislike him.  The Giants certainly were not happy with the Brewers' behavior.

My feeling is although I generally hate showboating, I found this to be so alarming, original, and shocking, that I laughed like mad.  As they said on MLB Network that night, it was a clever and hysterical thing....once.  Two times or more and this funny moment becomes a terrible trend.  They never did it again.  They knew.  And from it we have one of the best cards ever.

This was the day Henderson eclipsed Ty Cobb in career stolen bases.  When he passed Brock, Rickey proclaimed himself the greatest player of all time (or that's how everyone took it).  Nolan Ryan threw a no hitter that day, stealing much of Rickey's thunder.  Rickey gave us a thousand goofy quotes.

Like others, I really enjoy the Tales of the Game inserts.  They picked out some unusual moments.  You get about six a box.



Wow.  I had no idea.  Pretty amazing.


Boggs ate chicken before every game.


The Legendary Lineage insert set design doesn't really do much for me.  It manages to be both plain and busy at the same time.  

Although the lineage info on the back of the Robinson/Guerrero card is lame (apparently both hit home runs and that scares pitchers), for the most part the ties prove interesting.  For example, on the Cobb/Granderson card, the back notes Granderson's 23 triples in 2007 were the most since Cobb's 24 in 1917.


Nine per box.  





















 
The Franchise History cards really capture the romance of stadiums.

Doesn't Honus Wagner look five feet wide here?

Hmmm...I guess I didn't scan a single of the Peak Performance cards.  The mix ranges from today's stars like Sizemore and Utley, to legends of the past (even Dizzy Dean).  You get nine PP per box. 

The backs of these have some pretty cool information too.  I think Topps really put a lot of care and heart into what they wrote about this year.  I am impressed.  Also, the back of the Mize card uses the word penultimate, which is one of my favorite words.  Win.


Turkey Reds never leave me.  Never.  I pulled nine per box.  

When I was a kid (35) you used to be able to buy entire boxes of Turkey Reds.  Every card in the pack was a Turkey Red!  The Salad Days (2007).


You get about six History of the Game cards per box.  Who is that giant guy on the top left?  This is two pictures combined, I assume.  The Ruth shot is sublime.  The catcher and the giant man aren't needed.

 
The Athletics had first pick in the first MLB Draft in 1965.  "Hmmmm, we'll take...let's see...Johnny Benc---wait.  No, no.  We'll take Rick Monday."  

 
The Cards Your Mom Threw Out insert set is super.  I like reproductions of old cards.  The only problem I have is I hate the name of the insert.  It works fine for this Yaz and other old card remakes, but the set also includes newer cards such as Longoria from 2009 Topps.   Topps is either saying "Our cards are so worthless moms throw these out a year after their kids buy them," or they are saying moms are really dumb.

The original backs like this Yaz come about one per box.  The standard back cards come nine per box.  


These are the other three original backs I pulled.  Ripken and Murray!  Pretty lucky for an Orioles' fan.


Some of my favorites of the standard backs.

 
What a card!  The gold works perfectly with the Giants' colors (these are serially numbered to 2010).


The Giants sure have a handful of exciting players.  All very young too.


 
Six gold cards per box.  Click images for a larger look.


Black serially numbered to 59.  Utley!


Not bad.


Better.


Better still.


Ah ha!  The big hit.  S/N to 99.  A sweet card for sure.

I am a bit disappointed that four boxes yielded no autos, but that is my only complaint.

I think 2010 Topps is one of their best sets in years.  I love the base design and there's some excellent photography along with interesting inserts (and lots of them).  The packs are a lot of fun to open considering the cost ($45-50).  I'm also kind of excited to redeem my 24 'Million Dollar Card Giveaway' cards.  It adds another layer of intrigue.

Mr. Topps Company, I approve.  Brother and family, thanks!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Trade with First Day Issue

Bud of First Day Issue: Baseball Cards and the Neverending Pursuit of Everything Ken Griffey Jr. and Viva La Vidro sent me some cool cards recently.

Here's a handful of them:

















Brooks!  Check out that old school Orioles logo.  

 
Fantastic card.  A blue chrome refractor.  A tough pull of a superstar.


Hernandez s/n to 199.  Blue refractors are some of my favorite cards.  I only have a few.


Hanleys, Cabrera, and more Orioles.  Win, win, win.


Jake Arrieta.  I have hardly any Arrieta cards.  He is another Baby Bird that is going to take the baseball world by storm!  


Thanks for the cards, Bud!  Your package has  been sealed and ready to go for several days.  I will mail it soon.  I see Collective Troll just sent you 37 Griffeys so I hope I haven't duplicated his stuff much.    

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Poll: Will Johnny Damon make the Hall of Fame?

A few days ago Peter Gammons said it was his belief that Johnny Damon plans on playing until he reaches 3,000 hits.  He already has 2,425 and will be just age 36 throughout the 2010 season.

Gammons said Damon feels 3,000 hits will make him a lock for the Hall of Fame, and history agrees.  Except for Rose, all of the 27 players with 3,000 or more hits are in the Hall of Fame.  Not only that, all of the players that reached 3,000 hits after 1962 have been inducted on the first ballot.

When all is said and done Damon will probably end up with about a .284 lifetime ba, 3,000 hits, 260 home runs, and 400 stolen bases.  Certainly a very impressive resume.  He has been a valuable piece to every team he has played on.  He will also be remembered for some playoff heroics.

Is Damon similar to Vada Pinson and Al Oliver, or is he several notches above them?

The downside to Damon is he has made the All-Star team just twice in his career.  He has never been a top tier player in the league (his highest finish in MVP voting is 13th).  He hasn't won a gold glove and has been a below average fielder for some time now.  His lifetime OPS stands at just .794 (low for an outfielder) and is likely to drop by the time he collects his 3,000th hit.  

As for the playoff heroics, the reality is his stats in the playoffs (.279 ba, 9 hr, 244 ab, .783 OPS) are nearly identical to how he hit throughout his career.

So the poll question is (top right), if Damon eventually reaches the magical 3,000 hit mark, do you think he will make the Hall of Fame?  

Monday, February 1, 2010

Ebay Loot for Under $20 (Part 2 - Includes a Ted Williams!)

  
Cost:  $4.18
Details:  1959 Fleer Ted Willams #50.

The 80 card 1959 Ted Williams Fleer set is wonderful for people collecting on a budget.  They are undervalued gems.  I have slowly been collecting this set through the years (I have only six so far).  I don't actively seek them out, but when I see one in good shape that's priced to sell, I grab it.  

I put them in a binder and every time I flip through that book and come to the Williams page I get all sentimental about baseball and card collecting.  Imagine it's 1959 and you're a New England kid who loves Ted Williams.  Suddenly Fleer enters the baseball card game by releasing a set dedicated solely to Ted.  It must have made some kids flip with joy.

Never mind the fact that Fleer decided on a Ted Williams set because Topps had most players locked up with exclusive contracts.  Kids don't care about that adult stuff! (That's why kids are so cool.)

The back of this card explains Ted's spring injury in 1954:  'In the opening minutes of spring training, Ted fell while chasing a sinking line drive and broke his shoulder.  This was Ted's second serious injury, and truly could have marked the end to a great baseball career!'  

Ted was limited to 117 games in '54.  He hit .345 with 29 hr.  He managed to get on base just 51% of the time (136 walks).

 
Cost:  $1.18
Details:  2002 Donruss Classics Legends (S/N to 1500).

Clean looking cards.  The bland backgrounds make the pictures standout, but that isn't necessarily me trumpeting bland backgrounds.


Cost:  $1.25
Details:  1993 Topps Finest All-Stars.


 
Cost:  $1.25
Details:  1999 Fleer Mystique Rookies (S/N to 2999)

I have played a baseball computer simulation league with my dad for years.  We have settled on using the same 'High Heat 2003' game over and over because it is the most realistic sim we have found.  We have created an in-depth point system, trade rules, penalties, bonus picks, free agent restrictions, etc.  It's a whole alternate baseball universe for us.  

I mention it because most of these no-name cards are players found in that sim.  So when I look at the names of some of these fringe players, I associate them with having fun with my dad.  For that, and because they are serial numbered rookies, in the binders they go!  Even you Carlos Febles, even you.

 
Cost:  $1.00
Details:  2000 Upper Deck Cooperstown Calling Insert (#CC7).

Canseco?  Cooperstown Calling?  Wrong number.  After all is said and done I sheepishly admit I am a Canseco fan.  He was just so fun and funny to watch for all those years.

This card is actually quite shiny in person.  I'm not sure why I bought it though.  It isn't a great price for just this one card.  I may have been sipping wine.


Cost:  $1.10
Details:  1977 Topps.

 
Cost:  $1.00
Details:  1999 Spx SP (S/N to 1999).

A nice Beltre.  Yup, wine.

 
Cost:  $1.05
Details:  2003 SP Legendary Cuts (S/N to 1299).


Cost:  Free 

Nobody gives better freebies than this seller.  He even takes the time to cater the free stuff based on where the buyer lives (hence four Griffey cards).

The breakdown for $20:
18 serial numbered cards
12 refractors
6 inserts
1977 Winfield
1959 Ted Williams
13 other cards (mostly Finest base)
 8 free star cards

Yes a lot of the refractors and serial numbered cards weren't stars, but I still feel like I got a ton for just under 20 bucks (here's part 1 if you missed it).  

Every card came in a penny sleeve and is in beautiful shape.  Add free cards to free shipping and nice prices, and you can see why this seller is number one in my all-time Ebay book.