3D x 3

In his latest Save Second Base contest, Collecting Cutch has asked us to show off some 3D cards.

There are a bunch if ways to go with this. Donruss Pop Up cards, Denny's Holograms, Topps Embossed, and more. 3D cards have been a part of collecting baseball cards for years.

It's also been a part of all facets of life. I remember getting cereal boxes that came with 3D glasses, or even a receiving a set of glasses to watch TGIF for a night of special 3D episodes as a kid. I remember watching Tim Taylor on Home Improvement shove a 2x4 into my living room that night.

About 10 years ago, it looked as if 3D TVs were the next big thing. The technology was actually very cool. But people didn't want to watch TVs with special glasses. I haven't heard much about 3D TVs in five or six years.

Recently, I bought a big box of cards of a social media marketplace. The contents looked good from the pictures, and I've had some really good luck with them in the past. This one ended up being pretty good too, as I've already made my money back while keeping the stuff I wanted, including a few Jasson Dominguez cards and a Vlad Jr. autograph.

However, there were a few cards in there that I'd say qualify as 3D cards.

The first that stuck out to me was this Tony Gwynn from Pinnacle's 1995 UC3. At first I thought this was an Upper Deck product, so I was surprised to see both Pinnacle AND Sportflix on the back. It actually says "Sportflix, a Pinnacle Brand." It looks like Pinnacle tried to make a higher end Sportflix? The card itself is nice and clean, and the 3D effect is fairly well done. There is no movement like a traditional Sportflix, but there's plenty of depth.

The next is a basketball issue, from 1996-97 Upper Deck SPx. This is the type of card I'd never find in the wild as a kid, but one I'd see in Beckett and want it. Not only is it diecut, but also hologram!? Be still, my heart. All that's missing is some clearcut acetate! The hologram itself is a bit more on the 3D side with a picture-in-picture effect with a headshot in the foreground and an action shot in the background.

My last entry is a bit of a stretch, as it's more of a 3D texture than card effect. There was a stack of these  bordered 2012 Gypsy Queens. Not really 3D, but the framed is raised and the card is set back within the frame. That counts, I think.

Be sure to check out Collecting Cutch all of October and support his annual Save Second Base event.

The requests are out. Now we wait.

This morning, the last batch of my spring training TTM requests went out. I don't intend on sending any more, unless there are one or two stragglers I didn't think of the first time around.

I have a nice mixture of guys I sent to this year, hoping that I end up with more success than I have the past couple of years. I've seen the numbers dwindling. I'm not sure if players are signing less, or just getting more mail, or a combination of both. However, it's not as easy as it was in the '90s and 2000s. So I'm just trying to be a little smarter about it.

I sent about 20 customs (created through the Rookies App) to guys who didn't have a Yankees card, or who haven't been featured in a team set yet. They may have just been a short-time Yank or a new acquisition. I sent to a few coaches across the league as well.

Lastly, I have a few requests out to complete 2015 in my Topps Yankees Project.

All in all, 46 requests when out, which is about 20 more than I was planning on sending, but I got in a groove while my wife was watching some HGTV crap.

While we wait for some returns, here are some nice TTM successes from past years. I've had many successes, and this is just a random sampling. Enjoy!

 

RIP Tony Gwynn

Sad news today. RIP to one of the best hitters many of us have ever seen.

Past TTM Success: Tony Gwynn

Last week, I tricked enough people into thinking that my Tim Salmon TTM success was recent, and I got a lot of page views. Sneaky, eh? I kid, I kid.

Actually, I just found a few of my old TTMs from when I was a kid, and wanted to scan and show them off.

In the late '90s, Tony Gwynn was a great TTM signer via spring training. I remember pulling this sweet clearcut card from a pack of Fleer Ultra. Stupidly, I sent it to Gwynn to get signed. I was so worried that he would find it to be too cool of a card and keep it for himself, that I taped a note to the toploader that said, "I spent a lot of money on this card, please do not replace." What a jerk. Tony should have bent it in half and sent it back to me.

Instead, he was awesome and signed it. It looks freakin' awesome. I wish I could accurately show the clearcutness of the card, but trust me, it's fantastic. I need to buy this whole set. I've tried to pick up singles here and there with no success.

Anyways, not for trade or anything, but figured it was as good a time as any to show it off.

Drafting some Padres

Marcus over at Backstop Cards held a cool "Padres Dupes" draft, and I got in on the action. I came away with some cool Padres cards. Not that I need more cards, I don't, but hard to turn some free Tony Gwynns.

Here's a look at the stack. There were a lot of cool oddballs and cards from the '90s. My wheelhouse.

Some of my favorite cards are below. The Medina autograph is cool because it's from a very popular set, and he was a Yankee farmhand included in the big Irabu trade.

Being the generous guy that he is, Marcus also sent me a great stack of Yankees.

I love these old Pro Debut cards and really wish that Topps would do this instead of the current Pro Debut, which is just a minor league set that makes no sense. These cards highlighted players who made their actual MLB debuts that season, and even provide a write-up with how the game went. How popular would this set be nowadays? Think of this year's set...Puig, Arenado, Gyorko, Jose Fernandez, Ryu. Shit, that would be cool.

Gwynn, Carlton, Seaver, Blyleven, come on down!

You're the next four on contestant row in my son's Hall of Fame binder!

At first I was a bit lukewarm about including early Donruss, but in addition to learning about the players, I hope my son will enjoy seeing different card designs.It shouldn't just be all Topps. I'm going to try and embrace other brands when it makes sense.

Tony Gwynn - autographed clear cut

Back in the late 1990's, Tony Gwynn was a great TTM signer, especially during spring training. It was a pretty rare for such a big star to be so reliable. I pulled this sweet Tony Gwynn 1996 Ultra Season Crowns insert (see want list - I'm trying to collect this set) and sent it to him in hopes of him signing it. I was worried he might think the card was cool and exchange it for a different one, so I also included a note that I had spent a lot of money on it and please sign this card if he could. A little nervy of me, but I was 12.

Luckily, Mr. Gwynn signed this card for me, and it's still one of my favorite TTM successes of all time. The signature looks great on the card! The card is completely transparent, minus the background design. It's against a black backdrop in the scan, so just picture all of that as clear.

Where Have They Gone? Part I: Clear Cuts

From my observation, the mid '90s were a time when card companies were a little more open to trying new, "futuristic" technologies with their cards. They used insert sets as a place where these new card types could live. One particular insert set that comes to mind is 1996 Fleer Ultra Seasons Crowns. I remember when I pulled this card (no idea what happened to it) in pack, I was floored:

First off, I was confused. I'm not supposed to like cards of Red Sox players. Especially goofy knuckleballers (ohh hey Aaron Boone). But this card was so sweet looking! The white and yellow is completely transparent, as these cards are made from acetate as opposed to cardboard. I wanted more. I remember trading my friend for the Hideo Nomo (no idea where the card is now either!). I got the Tony Gwynn in a pack, and ended up getting it signed by him TTM. It looked great.

I started to notice clear cuts popping up more and more after this. Pacific Invincible had a set and those fancy SkyBox EX-whatever cards did as well. But those were base sets. This was a 10 card insert set, and the first time I had seen anything like this.

It got me thinking...are clear cuts still relevant or cool in today's hobby? Do they have a place? They don't really fit in with all the newer sets that focus on vintage designs. However, since I've been away from the hobby for a few years, maybe I missed some sets in the 2000s with clear cuts. Please leave a comment if you can think of a recent set that included them, as I easily could have missed them over the years.

Since my want list consists of Tino Martinez and Yankees, I thought I would diversify myself as a trading partner a little bit by including this 10 card 1996 Fleer Ultra insert set. I can get a complete set on ebay for around $10, but thought it might be fun to try and trade for it - card by card or the set as a whole. If you have any, let me know!