1968 Topps Game - The Joys of a Completed Set

I did it! I completed the 1968 Topps Game 33-card insert set. What a fun little set jam-packed with HOFers. Overall, I made a few trades for some cards, and I probably spent about $40 total putting this set together, usually buying a few card lots off of eBay. I wish I kept better records of what I spent. I suppose I could look it up, but I’ll say $40-$45, and I have a bunch of dupes to boot. I'll post some trade bait later on if you're interested in any of my extras.

My favorite card is easily the Mantle, followed by the Clemente. I’m still looking for a “real” Mantle Topps card, but in the meantime, this is pretty damn awesome to own. This set is not one of the top pieces in my collection. Enjoy!

 

A Gentlemen’s Wager with Night Owl: Packs 5-8

Here is the second half of the Blaster from Night Owl:

Pack 5:

 

134 Sizemore

8 McCutchen

48 Jay Bruce X-Fractor

123 BJ Upton

Pack 6:

111 Byrd

57 Jaso

193 Lueke

92 Peavy X-Fractor

Pack 7:

108 Morse

11 Ryan Zimmerman X-Fractor

98 Bell

148 Derrick Lee

Pack 8:

29 Phil Hughes (real nice season, Phildo)

15 Lincecum

C171 Ryan Howard Heritage Chrome (1333/1962) – see, that’s three Phillies inserts in this box alone

113 Werth

Night Owl, thanks again for the wager.

A Gentlemen’s Wager with Night Owl: Packs 1-4

Prior to Opening Day, Night Owl said something anti-Russell Martin in one his posts that I thought was a little cheap. Looking back it probably wasn’t too bad, and I was probably in a bad mood or something that day, but I made a comment about it on his blog. I see anti-Yankee comments on a nearly daily basis of posts, but I usually remain respectful of opinions or don’t bother piping up. It’s not my blog and not my opinion, so I leave it there. Plus I could easily say something derogatory about any other team on my own blog, if I so choose. I usually save that for putting down the Red Sox as opposed to teams thousands of miles away from me that I don’t really care about. However, once in a while I don’t bite my tongue, and this was an instance of that. In response to the Martin comment, I told him to enjoy a season Rod Barajas and Dioner Navarro. He said it shouldn’t be hard to perform as well (or as poorly) as Russell, I disagreed and we set up a small gentlemen’s bet for a blaster box of cards: Russ Martin vs Barajas/Navarro. The stats we agreed upon were: BA, Hits, HR, RBI, OBP, Slugging % and WAR. We kept it simple. Whichever side won four or more of the categories at year's end would win a blaster of his choice.

Martin won these categories by a score of 5-2. Now, Russell didn’t have a great offensive year by any means and I won’t play it off like he did. His BA was low and thus hurt his OBP, but he did manage respectable power numbers. I suppose I wasn’t too disappointed because he put up those numbers in the bottom third of the Yankees order, usually hitting 8^th or so. That’s a big difference than if he were hitting in the middle of the line-up and produced at such lowly levels. I immensely enjoyed watching his defense all season long, from his ability to block balls to throwing runners out. Mind you, I’ve been watching Posada behind the dish for the last 10+ years. He plays tough and hard-nosed ad handled the pitching staff well. Girardi counted on him a little too much in the beginning of the year and I think he broke down a little in the middle, but finished strong. I fully expect him to be back next season as the starting catcher, probably giving way to Jesus Montero for about 30-40 games or so.

True to his word and without any prodding from me, Night Owl was a gentleman and contacted me about the bet right after the season ended. I gave him a few choices of blasters I’d prefer, and eventually I received a package with a blaster’s worth of Topps Chrome packs. I had every intention of sending Greg all of the Dodgers from this blaster, but I got one stinkin’ Dodger. I do have a different card on the way to Greg as a thank you. I’ll post the first four packs here and save the next four for another post.

For some reason, I have been pulling a crapload of Phillies lately. Everything but the Yanks are for trade, FYI. Here we go:

Pack 1:

105 King Felix

93 Pablo Sandoval Purple Refractor (005/499)

167 Billingsly (only Dodger pulled)

182 JP Arencebia

Pack 2:

VC19 Utley Vintage Chrome

155 Hanson

91 A. Soriano

81 Latos

Pack 3:

70 Cano

136 CJ Wilson (I do not want the Yanks pursuing him this off-season. I find him to be terribly overrated.)

147 Chone Figgins (how is he still being featured in sets?)

117 JimmY Rollins X-Fractor

Pack 4:

198 Eduardo Nunez (or NunEEEEEEEEEE) Refractor

42 Mariano Rivera (still love this shot of him)

130 Holliday

58 Bay

Tino Tuesdays #10: 2003 Fleer Double Header

In honor of the Cardinals appearance in the World Series, I am featuring a Tino Martinez card from his Lost Years today. This card recently came to me from Jaybarkerfan's Junk. It's a 2003 Fleer Double Header mini card, although it's a bit larger than the minis we've grown accustomed to today.

I wasn't around when this set came out so I don't know a thing about it. I like the card design, except I think that the "Double Header" logo is a bit obnoxious. I like the hat in the text box next to the name. The back of the card doesn't do a ton for me, but since it's a mini I don't mind this as opposed to cramming year by year stats on there. It's a nice little text blurb that calls out a specific two games, which is a little different.

Diamond Giveaway Fakeout

Over the weekend I picked up a few packs of 2011 Topps Update. One of the packs contained a Diamond Giveaway code card, which I was actually pretty pumped about because I hadn't done a thing on the site in about three months since I had my Sabathia Diamond Die Cut shipped. I was left with no cards in my inventory, and thus, no reason to check the site.

So I unlocked my code, figuring I'd get a 1988 Topps common. Well, my heart nearly sank when I saw this card because at first glance I thought it was Hank Aaron, even though the Aaron from this set is a different color. Total fakeout...I thought I had struck gold! It was a quick first glance, you would have thought it too. Anyhow, a 1955 card! Not only is this an awesome set, but anytime I can grab vintage from that long ago I'm all for it. Maybe I can even get a comparable Yankee out of it in return.

I then used my dig to unlock a Brooklyn Dodgers ring, and then the site told me I also had received a free code to redeem! Nice! I was sure that this would be my 1988 Topps common. Nope! 1976 George Foster. Not bad at all!

So while the fakeout was a bummer, I consider this a very successful haul from one code.

TTM Success: Jim Lonborg (on a '68 Topps Game)

This was the second 1968 Topps Game card that I sent out TTM, and it's my second success. I made sure these guys were pretty good signers before I sent. The second success comes from Jim Lonborg, formerly of the Red Sox (barf), Brewers and Phillies. Dr. Lonborg kingly signed my card and answered my letter in about two weeks time.

As for the letter:

What was your best memory of your 1967 season? Winning the last games against the Twins.
Who was the toughest hitter that you faced? Dave Parker
What current pitcher reminds you of yourself? Roy Halladay

Thanks to Dr. Lonborg for this great success!

"No Neck" Williams...a funner nickname & trade

I pulled a Roy Halladay Cloth Sticker from Lineage and sent it to Julie from Things Are Funner Here. She luckily didn’t have much Lineage, so she needed this one. In return, she sent me some sweet Yanks.

I love Refractors! And this purple shiny of Brain Baisley is no exception. Just sharp, sharp looking cards.

A Robbie Cano sticker!

Walt Williams. I honestly have never heard of him, but I’m glad I have now. Love the chops. I also found out his nickname is “No Neck” which is awesome. Annnnd he signs TTM, so this one is going out to him.

And a little bit more of the assortment she sent.

Julie, thanks for the trade!