Kerr-plunk

Oh man. The Last Dance has ended.

What a ride it was. I'm sure film buffs will probably critique the format of the docu-series and how the timeline jumped around. However, I thought it really worked well and actually appreciated the road it took to get to that final sixth title, with Jordan hitting the shot over Russell.

I knew there would be a heavy focus on Pippen, Rodman, and Kukoc. What I wasn't expecting was Steve Kerr to be featured so heavily on his own in Episode 9.

I guess it makes sense. Kerr hit that huge shot in 1997's Game 6 that led to the Bulls first title over the Jazz. Watching those title runs during my childhood, I didn't appreciate the role players as much. Or maybe I did and just have forgotten about then. I definitely knew Kerr was an important part of the squad, but I really didn''t remember much about guys like Scott Burrell.

I can't quite remember when I got these - probably in the 1997-range, but Steve Kerr signed two cards for me TTM waaaay back. They both came out pretty well, I'd say.

Kerr has obviously gone on to have a ton of success as the head coach of the Warriors. I remember he was the front-runner for the Knicks job, and when he took the Warriors job instead, I remember thinking that was a slap in the face. Shows what I know. I guess Kerr knew what he was doing.

The Last Dance was awesome, and best of all, provided something to look forward to for five straight Sundays. Yesterday with golf, NASCAR, and then The Last Dance...it almost felt like a real sports Sunday!

Lumberin' Around

Once in a while, a Tino card on eBay pops up that is rarely ever seen. I check a few times a day, so I have a pretty good grasp on what's rare to see in a given search.

Last week, a card I never recall seeing came up. It's not particularly rare, at least I don't think. According to baseballcardpedia, it fell 1:36 in 1998. Yet here I was, staring at a card I don't think I've ever seen on the site.

The price tag was $3.49 + $1.00 shipping. There was even a 'best offer' option. Not wanting to miss out because I wanted to get it for $.50 cheaper, I just hit buy it now. Why risk it?

The card in question? A 1998 Fleer Lumber Company insert.

Crazy that a seemingly run-of-the-mill insert just never came up. There's one on COMC, but as with any "one" card listed on COMC, the price is really high because It'S tHe OnLy OnE LiStEd oN tHe SiTe. On eBay, the cards of the other guys in the set don't go for crazy prices, so they can't be that rare. The Ripken just sold for $3 and $1.50, respectively. Griffey and Gwynn just went for $4. If it was truly a short-printed or hard to find set from '90s, those would go for a lot more.

But I hadn't ever even seen this one.

And it's a great card. Tree rings to represent lumber. Simple idea. The rings are embossed as well, which gives the card a cool texture.

After the arrival of the two cards below, I now sit 26 away from 1K.

And while I've been putting a dent in my chase, I'm really now down to cards that just don't seem to ever pop up.

Should be a fun last 25.

Be careful what you comment on...

... because it might just come true!

A few weeks back, I made an innocent comment on one of Collecting Cutch's post about - shockingly - Andrew McCutchen.

He was showing off a few McCutchen Yankees autographs (yes, there are a few out there). I really enjoyed Cutch's 1.5 months as a Yankee. It was awesome to see him in NY rocking the Pinstripes, although it was hot garbage he couldn't wear 22 because the corpse of Jacoby Ellsbury still had it. Anyhow, I made a simple comment, "I need to pick up a McCutchen Yankees autograph sometime."

That was it. Innocent, right?

And a few days later, a bubble mailer showed up in my mailbox. And this was in it:

Are you kidding me?! It's not like these are a dime a dozen. This was waaaay too generous. To boot, this is the EXACT autograph of McCutchen I would have targeted. Brian assured me this was a dupe for him. But still!

I was ecstatic. 

Of course, with Collecting Cutch, it never just ends there. Look at this! A giclee print of an art card by Edward Vela, signed on the back by the artist! Gorgeous.

I had seen the word "giclee" a few times, but wasn't sure what it meant. 

Hmph, well that makes sense. That is indeed what it is. Also I was pronouncing it "Gick-lee" which is very wrong.

And more and more Cutch cards. I feel like I have a nice mini-collection of him simply from the extras Brian throws into packages.

And look how far into this post I got without even showing a 2020 Topps DJ LeMahieu autograph. Nearly a perfect card. And look, he wore #26 right after Cutch did! I never thought about that.

And this absolutely beauty of a Jesus Montero card. If this were 2012, it would go for a pretty penny. Remember to sell your prospect cards, kids.

This Austin Jackson/Joey Devine card is awesome! Itr's numbered 2/2 (weird!). Austin Jackson has had a really good career. Somehow he's still just 33, although he has played for 7 teams. Still, he's a .273 career hitter, with over 1100 hits. That...is a solid big leaguer. He's made over $31Million as well. Good for him.

And least but not least, a custom from Collecting Cutch himself! I have been assured this is Yoda, not Shrek.

What a very generous gift he sent me.

Now I'm going to go find someone posting about a Trout RC and casually mention it would be nice to have one...

1st Edition

I don't know much about 2020 Bowman 1st Edition.

I don't pay close enough attention to Topps' website to know what's coming out and what's all the rage.

I do know from Twitter that it was hard to get these packs. Like trying to get concert tickets. Log on too late, and you're out of the luck.

The big draw in this set is Yankees top prospect Jasson Dominguez, the 17-year-old from the Dominican Republic. Dubbed as one of the next big things, The Martian has taken the prospecting world my storm. It's definitely early. Too early? The tools are there, but a lot can happen between now and whenever - if ever - he finds himself on the doorstep of NY.

One guy already on that doorstep is top pitching prospect Clarke Schmidt, the Yankees 2017 1st Rounder, selected 16th overall. They selected Schmidt right after he had had TJ surgery, knowing patience with him was going to be key.

It's paid off, as his 2019 season was largely a success. His 2020 spring training showed massive glimpses of promise, and put Schmidt firmly on track for a 2020 debut in the Yankees rotation. If that happens now, who knows?

So while the world was focused on Dominguez, I decided to snag the Schmidt for a buck. And for good measure, I got the yellow for a few bucks more, numbered to 75 copies.

It'd be cool to have a Dominguez card, but that can wait. For now I'd rather focus on the guy who is right there, not 4 years away.

One of my favorite collectibles

Back in 2008, the Sports Museum of America opened in New York City. It only lasted until February of 2009, as the number of visitors were vastly over-projected. Frankly, the museum had an awareness problem. Not a lot of people knew about it.

I visited with a co-worker during that quiet time between Christmas and New Years in December of 2008.

While 12 years ago, I do remember it being cool, and it's sad more people didn't visit it. It's before I had a smart phone, so I have no photos. I do remember there being a lot of cards and memorabilia on display.

I guess that was one problem. It had a lot of cool stuff, sure. But no real direction. Just a collection of stuff and they called it a museum.

One other item I remember seeing was boxed Kenner Starting Lineup set of then 1992 Olympic Dream Team. Well, at least 10 of the players. I remember how cool I thought the set was back when it came out, and the trip down memory lane at the museum really hit home.

I wanted to have that set.

The one on display wasn't even in good condition, as I remember the box being pretty beat up.

I went home and search eBay, and to my surprise there were a lot available, for fairly modest prices as well. I believe I paid somewhere between $20-25 for mine:

I still have it to this day, and it remains surprisingly affordable as a boxed set. Many are in the $75 range. Not bad.

Some of the figures are great, and MJ is front and center, of course.

To my knowledge, these didn't come with loose cards like the individuals, but had cards you could cut off the back. That never goes well.

Such a cool set. Now if I could only find an affordable set of the McDonald's Dream Team cups...

30 to go

Just last Tuesday, I did a post titled "40 to go." That was my start of the countdown until I hit 1,000 unique Tino Martinez cards.

Here were are, just eight days later, and I've already cut that number by 10. All due to some TCDB trades. Pretty great site, if you're into that kind of thing.

One trader had six Tinos I needed! That never happens. I traded him 10 random cards on his list for these six. It's entirely possible I already have the 1991 Topps with the dark logo, but I don't have record of it. The 1992 O-Pee-Chee is pretty sweet. Never seen it in the wild. Plus, three of these cards were Pacific?! I love Pacific.

In this trade, I was only supposed to get the SI card, but the trader told me he didn't like the edge (it looked fine to me), so he threw in a Yankee Stadium Legacy. Yes, I do count those ones as unique Tinos. They are different cards.

The last card that came in was courtesy of Paul of Scribbled Ink, also by way of TCDB. Nice one for one swap. Tino as a Cardinal. Meh. But I needed it, darn it!

So there we are. Just a handful left. It's getting harder and harder to find the ones I don't have, but I'm going to keep trying like heck to get there. I've got nothing else to do!

NBA RCs I missed

I've made an interesting foray back into basketball cards over the last month. I still feel very uninformed. I didn't collect basketball cards from about 1998 onward. 

And I'm not going to start, really. I'm not going to buy packs or boxes. I am very uninformed on the current market. Outside of a bunch of much-appreciated Knicks from Cards on Cards, I have no idea really what is what over the last 20 years.

But I've admired many careers of basketball players that have started since I no longer collected basketball. My enjoyment of the NBA never went away. I just put my focus on baseball cards.

So while bored over the last few weeks, I've decided to pick up some basketball rookie cards, just to keep in my rookie card stash. In most cases, it's the low end brand. I'm not looking at these as an investment or anything. There is no Stadium Club Beam Team Shaq here. Just a few lower end RCs of guys I wanted to own.

In no particular order:

Donovan Mitchell is a great player. Playing in Utah doesn't really help his card appeal (uninformed opinion). But he's really good. And so are the Jazz. He was the Rookie of the Year in 2017-18 and made his first All-Star game this past year. He's averaging over 24 PPG this year. 

Kevin Durant! I'm not his biggest fan. He's so good, but so sensitive. And he seems really irritable. But he's one of the best players the league has ever seen, and it's awesome that his RCs are Sonics cards. I wanted a regular Topps, but got a better deal on whatever that card above is.

This sweet Shaq was actually acquired in a trade from Vrooomed. I sent him a newer Brendan McKay, and he shot me this Shaq. I have fond memories of this card. My friend and I used to sneak into his Dad's bedroom to oogle this card, which was kept in his desk drawer. We also found some magazines there, which were not Becketts.

Anthony Davis! ZZ's main basketball squeeze. This dude is an amazing player. Part of me hopes the Lakers make it to the Finals so the world can appreciate AD on the main stage. I wanted his regular old Hoops RC, but I found this in a lot of Davis cards that was cheaper than if I had bought this card on its own. I don't know why that is sometimes, but it's true.

A couple T-Macs! He's a Hall of Famer. Did you know that?

A couple of Jason Kidds. He's a Hall of Famer too. Blocking Muggsy Bogues is mean.

I chuckled when I bought this Duncan RC. It's one of the most affordable ones he has, and everything about the design of this card is so un-Duncan.

I do not like Paul Pierce. The whole Boston thing. And he's a giant faker, like when he got wheeled off the court in a wheelchair and then came back 5 minutes later. But he will be a HOFer. And this card cost $1. So I bought it. He and Vince Carter have some pretty cool RCs in Topps flagship.

I'm not sure who I'll pick up next. Maybe Beal and John Wall? I have a Zion, luckily. And I doubt I'll ever snag a LeBron or Curry. Those are in Trout territory.