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.    

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?  

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.

Ebay Loot for Under $20 (Part 1)

Total Cost of Cards: $19.69 (Free shipping)
Total Number of Cards:  59
Date Purchased: 01/26/10
Date Received: 01/30/10

Every once in awhile my favorite Ebay seller puts up a bunch of lots priced at around a buck each.  Even better, they are usually either serial numbered or shiny and from around the years 1994-2002.  Those are almost exactly the years I had stopped collecting, so the seller kinda feels like a pal who fills in the basic gaps in my collection.

Cost: $1.00

Details:  1998 Topps Finest Refractors.

I know very little about most of the sets from this era (which is part of the fun).

This set has four different versions of the same cards:  Finest, Finest No-Protectors, Finest Refractors, and Finest No-Protectors Refractors.

Honestly all the variations look identical to me on Ebay except for the protector thingy.  I read they look different in person though. 

My cards do have a very small letter R on the back (next to the card number) which, from what I could learn, indicates they are indeed refractors.  That's good because otherwise I'd just have to assume they're refractors.

Cost:  $1.00

Details:  1998 Topps Finest Refractors.

This lot isn't nearly as good player wise.  Am I collecting commons?  NO!  I'm collecting less common commons!

Chan Ho Park wins the prize for being the only active player out of the twelve total '98 Finest cards.

I'd like to open a box of this stuff just to get an up close look at the variations.  It's about $30-40 bucks now.  Looks like you get about 3-4 of these refractors (with protectors) per box.

(Digital Camera Pic)

(Scanner Pic - Click pics to enlarge)

Cost: $1.00

Details:  1999 Topps Gold Label Class 2.

There's Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3.  Class 2 was inserted one in every two HTA packs.  Hmmm, that seems pretty common.  Nice looking cards though.  They look great even on the scanner.  Thick too.  In person they don't shine much unless you turn them at a very particular angle (which I do, over  and over).

 

Cost:  $1.10

Details:  2002 Topps Super Teams Retrofractors.  These cards are serial numbered based on the year the team won the featured World Series (Furillo: 1955, Mueller: 1954, Law: 1960).

The serial numbered version of these seem a nice thing for team collectors to chase.  You basically get the World Series roster.  Cool idea. 

Ten teams are represented in the 146 card set: Giants, Dodgers, Braves, Pirates, Yankees, Cardinals, Mets, A's, Orioles, and Mets.  That's right.  The Mets are in this set twice.  Once for the 1969 World Series and once for 1986.

 

 

Cost:  $1.18

Details:  2000 Topps Finest

The giant shiny baseball that looks like a planet sucked me in.

 

Cost:  $1.20

Details:  1999 Fleer Mystique (SN to 2999)

I'm finally starting to appreciate Torri Hunter's career.  Nine straight gold gloves and 20 or more home runs eight times is pretty dang impressive.  

Cost:  $1.20

Details:  1996 SPx

The left card is the gold version.  I don't see it priced so nice very often.  The gold version cards from this set were inserted one in every seven hobby packs.  There's only 60 cards in the set though.

When these were released the packs went for $3.49 each.  You only get one card per pack too.  I guess people were chasing the chance of a Griffey or Piazza auto (1 in 2000 packs).

These days you can buy a box for around $35 on Ebay.

Well, I am only about halfway done but this post is long enough so I'll put up part two later.  One thing about this seller is I always feel like I get a lot for my money.  He even gives out cool free cards, which I'll show next post.

A Trade with 'A Cardboard Problem'!

I sent Sooz (A Cardboard Problem) some Yankees cards/jerseys she needed and she sent me back some Orioles cards and cool jerseys I needed (want is need).

 

Warren Spahn game used!  Look at that gray jersey.  Is that wool?  Looks warm.  This is my first Spahn jersey.  You don't see many different Spahn jersey cards around.  Hard to get and I love it.

Ah, Hanley.  One of my favorite current players.  A pinstripe and numbered to 50.  Very cool looking card.  

It is nice that Hanley is able to produce in the heart of the order.  I was worried he was going to be like Soriano who whined and failed whenever he didn't lead off.

In 2009, Hanley finished second in the MVP voting and won his first batting title.  He is going to have a difficult time winning an MVP award until Pujols hits age 35 or so.

The 2005 trade that sent Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez from the Red Sox to the Marlins in exchange for Beckett, Lowell, and Mota is one of the biggest trades of the decade, in retrospect.

I have always liked these Bazooka game used cards.  I have a Canseco and Teixeira of these too, I think.

Miggy is back on the Orioles!  I am happy.  Incidentally, Miggy spells his nickname Miggi.  Here's a pic of his batting gloves (no I don't own them):

But the vast majority of Orioles' fans spell it Miggy.  Some have even complained spelling it Miggi looks too feminine.  So we have the strange case of fans spelling a nickname differently than the player spells it.  I wonder if that has ever happened before.  There is even a three page debate on this over at the Orioles Hangout.

Sooz also sent along a nice batch of Markakis cards I needed.  My Markakis collection is embarrassingly light.  These certainly help.

Adam Jones is another favorite player I have woefully underrepresented in my collection.  That Topps 206 card is in fact the first 206 card I've ever seen in person.  I gotta get out more, or sit by my mailbox.

Thanks, Sooz.  A wonderful trade!