The upside down & a birthday

This is my second day in a row posting. I feel like I'm living in the upside down! This isn't something that's happened since last spring. Don't get used to it!

Speaking of the upside down, I recently purchased a new Tino Martinez card that has a few upside down qualities:

This is a weird printing error where Tino's name is nowhere to be found. The card state's Rich Amaral's name and team upside down, above Tino's head. The Studio logo is also upside down in the lower right.

Normally I don't care about printing errors and don't chase them. Many people find miscuts and misprints and errors to be more fun or even more valuable. I have never really been in that camp, nor have I actively gone out of my way to pick them up.

However, I though this one was pretty cool, and for a buck or so, found it to be a unique addition to my Tino collection.

Speaking of Tino, today is his 54th birthday! I have trouble remembering my family members' birthdays, yet every year December 7th shows up and I remember it's Tino's day. Did you know he was also acquired by the Yankees on December 7th, 1995? Must've been quite a day!

The march to 900 Tinos

Over the last 4-6 weeks, I've managed to add a decent amount of new Tino Martinez cards to my collection. An eBay seller popped up who keeps listing Tinos - most of which are serially numbered - for $.99. In many cases, I've been the lone bidder, re-affirming that I don't have much competition for Tino cards outside of really rare cards and autographs.

I keep considering messaging the seller to see if he has more and wrap them up in a single purchase, but I feel like I've been doing well bidding on them.

My favorites of the bunch are probably these Pacific Paramounts parallels. There's no real reason, other than I just like Pacific a lot, and I like the foil shine.

Speaking if shine, Donruss Stat Lines fit the bill. These are both season and career versions:

There were a bunch of Tino from his lost years with the Cardinals:

And one from the dreaded time where he was in a Yankees uniform, but featured the logo of another team.

This wasn't from the same seller, but it's one I needed from Collector's Choice. I paid more than I wanted because I didn't notice the $3.99 shipping charge. Oops.

All in all, this leaves me at 898 different Tinos. 900 is so close! With Tino popping up in so many 2019 products, I'll be there in no time!

Secret San(ta) Jose Fuji

My Secret Santa gift from Bob Walk The Plank's second annual event arrived yesterday, and I was thrilled to see it was from my long-time blogging buddy San Jose Fuji. He's obviously one of the more established bloggers out there, so I knew there'd be something good awaiting me. And between P-Town Tom last year and Fuji this year, I've really drawn some lucky straws.

I know several bloggers have been waiting to open theirs on Christmas, but I have no restraint so I tore into Fuji's package.

There were seven cards total, but I saw the back of this first and was immediately excited:

And the front!

This is a card I've wanted for a really long time! 20 years to be exact. It's a 1997 Studio Derek Jeter Hard Hat. The set is one of my favorite inserts ever. I remember seeing them in Beckett and really wanting one. I eventually got the Bernie Williams, then last year picked up the Juan Gonzalez and had him sign it TTM.

I am particularly horrible at keeping want lists, but I was fortunate enough to have it on my "Ten Most Wanted" on the right-hand side of my blog. Most are generic wants - Derek Jeter auto, Robinson Cano auto, but this was one of the actual specific cards I've wanted, and Fuji was able to track one down. Amazing!

While they are numbered to 5,000, they are a lot tougher to actually find. I can't believe I finally own the Jeter!

Fuji also bundled up three Tino Martinez refractors for me. I am partial to the Bowman's Best. It looks awesome.

And three other shiny Tinos from his Mariner days.

Thanks again, Fuji. You really hit it out of the park! I'm very grateful for the cards, and hope you and your family have a great Christmas. And special thanks to Matt for organizing once again. It can't be easy!

Larger than life cards

In the same box as the NASCAR autographs from my last post, I also had a similar envelope of 8x10 baseball cards. These were in a thing in the mid ‘90s, as several brands had packs that came with one 8x10, and then a few standard-sized cards.

I only remember buying one actual pack of these at a card show, hoping to get the Tino Martinez 8x10 in 1997 Studio. I ended up with Chipper Jones.

As for the Zenith cards, I have no idea where these may have come from. I don’t recall buying packs of these. Maybe I got them at a card show? The first is the base 8x10, and the remaining two are the Dufux version, which are actually pretty cool looking. Baseballcardpedia.com informs me that there were two 8x10s in each pack, a base and a Dufex. 

Again, I have no clue where these came from, but I’m glad I have them after all these years. They are very cool, and the Dufex cards would make for some very interesting wall art.

You're too Kin(d)

I received a surprise envelope earlier this week from Kin of I Feel Like a Collector Again, and from the well-known Twitter handle @beansbcardblog.

I actually have a few Russ Davis cards to send his way, but he struck first and sent me this beauty that I didn't have.

That, my friends, is a '96 Studio Gold parallel. Kin told me that card had resided in Texas for the last 20 years or so, and I'm glad it has finally made it's way up to New Jersey as the newest card in my Tino collection.

This card brings me to 820 different Tinos, and 63 from 1996.

Thanks so much, Kin. Please give him a follow on Twitter and check out his blog.

Treat Yo'self to Tinos

In early July, I found a cool Tino Martinez I didn't have on eBay. Turns out, the seller had a bunch of Tino inserts listed, and of course, I had to take advantage of combined shipping and treat myself to some new Tinos. Seriously, combined shipping is really a worth it sometimes.

So I'll keep this post lite, as it's completely a "look what I got" post without much to say, other than a lot of these insert sets bring back memories of collecting as a kid. Most of them are rarer parallels to an insert or card I already have.

And I know a lot of people don't love cards from the late '90s or early '00s, but I always will. These are the brands I knew as a youngster, and are the sets I lusted for as a 12-year-old when flipping through a Beckett. Some seemed so high end, I could never have imagined that I'd one day own them.

Without further ado, check out some shiny beauties:

 

 

My Tino collection follows his career HR arc

Many collectors complain about the amount of card manufacturers and sets in the 1990s. But as a player collector of Tino Martinez, it's a lot of fun to go back and look at how the number of Tino Martinez cards released essentially followed his career performance arc, especially with HRs.

Tino started to get included in more sets in 1995, when he hit 31 HRs. When he was traded to the Yankees that winter, he was included in a few more. That's what being a power hitter in NY will do. In 1997, he hit a career-high 44 HRs, and found himself in a ton more sets, particularly insert sets. He was included in "power hitter" insert sets like Topps Finest "Power Zone" and Donruss "Longball Leaders." He was on the cover of Beckett. He had a cool name. His team was winning.

From 1998-2000, Tino still hit some HRs, but not quite at the level he did in 1997. His releases dropped. In 2001, he rebounded with a 34-HR season, and he did see a bit of a bump again the following year in the card sets he appeared in. However, he then moved on from the Yankees to the Cardinals, and eventually to the Rays before moonlighting with the Yanks one last time in 2005. From 2002-2005, Tino trailed off as his career wound down, both in production and card releases.

See what I mean? Perhaps this is true for any player, but it feels like it's especially true for a guy like Tino, who had a fairly normal rise to his prime and then trailed off. He didn't really hit his stride until his late 20s, when a lot of stars nowadays burst onto the scene a lot sooner.

Still, that 1998 card season was a blast for me, as I got to see Tino included in insert sets normally reserved for guys like Ken Griffey Jr and Frank Thomas.

Cash or credit?

One of my favorite scenes in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is when Kevin dupes the reservations department at The Plaza Hotel. He uses his TalkBoy to disguise his voice, and when the customer service woman asks for method of payment, Kevin responds with, "Credit card? you got it!"

It's ridiculous, but it's funny. I always laugh.

Anytime I get a 1995 Studio "credit card", I always think to myself "Credit card? You got it!" I will always be amused by this set. It's just so different and so cool, especially from anything else up to that point.I remember being enamored by this set the first time I saw it. In fact, the Tino from '95 Studeio is one of my favorite Tinos, even though it's just a regular old base card (and he's a Mariner on it!) that can be had at any time for $.18 on SportLots.

I saw this Boggs gold insert pop up on eBay for $.30, and I gladly placed a bid and won it. It's too fun not to own, and maybe, just maybe, will kick me a kick in the pants to chase down this whole set. That would be fun. I just hope I have enough of my credit card balance.

A Fantastic PWE

Weston from the fantastic blog Fantastic Catch sent me an unexpected PWE a few weeks back. The highlight for me was two brand new Tinos that were new to my collection! I am missing a ton of cards from Tino's Cardinal years, and I needed these both.

The Topps 206 mini is pose C (of three possible poses), and the back is black Piedmont. The Donruss Studio is cool. I thought I had it, but I actually had the artist proof and not the base card, so I was pumped that I needed it.

Weston knows I love Yankee prospects, so here's a few are a few more, including a cool Pro Debut insert of the ice cream-sandwich-throwing Jesus Montero. Cripes.

Thanks, Weston!

Hoyled again!

It's becoming a major thing. Collectors around the country are being Hoyled on a regular basis.

I've been the victim several times, and each time is always a great experience. Here's the latest group of treasures that came my way in a PWE:

The card gods are telling me to put together the 1973 Topps set. I have a lot of singles, although I suppose I should start with the Yankees team set. I have the Munson already, which is the toughest card in the Yankees checklist. I have a few others, although I definitely did not have these two that Mark sent me:

Oh man. Two things. Awful airbrush job on the Nettles. Truly bad, but still a sweet card. And the Murcer, man I love Bobby. I wish I got to see him play.

Next up, a cool Wally Pipp Conlon Collection. I was really surprised to see that the card made no mention to being "Pipped" - Wally's role in Lou Gehrig's career.I also didn't know he was a HR champ.

And lastly, a cool Wade Boggs from a very underrated Studio set.

As always, thanks Mark!

Tino Tuesday #62: 2002 Donruss Studio Proof #137 (098/100)

This is actually the second Tino that I've gotten off Listia that I didn't have. I had to fork over around 600 credits, but to me it's worth it for an Artist Proof #'d to 100.

This very patriotic card is from 2002 Donruss Studio. It has a wavy American flag, and a film strip with images of the Gateway Arch. America, baby!

The small write-up on the back actually gives a pretty interesting nugget about consecutive years with a grand slam. And as you can see, it's numbered 98/100.

Tino Tuesday #61: 2004 Studio Game Day Souvenirs Jersey #83

My Tino collection is at the point where I now have most of his relic cards. However, occasionally one pops up that I didn't expect or haven't come across. There are a few white whales out there as well.

A few weeks ago, this one popped up. I didn't love the fact that he was a Devil Ray, but I thought the design of the jersey watch - within #24 - was pretty cool. More often than not, swatches are a boring shape, so this definitely stood out as something unique and different.

Credit card? You got it!

Bonus points if you know what movie that title is from.

Was aka Jaybarkerfan once again sent me some goodies. Seriously, this is one of the coolest cards ever.

1995 Studio is one of the coolest sets of all time. The credit card set. This Boggs is a gold insert, which I had never seen. It’s cut more like a credit card with rounded corners. I’m really tempted to keep this in my wallet

Here are a few other cool cards that Wes sent.

Wes, congrats on the Upton brothers!