Finally! A spring training TTM success

I sent out about 20 TTMs a few weeks ago at the start of spring training. I usually send a few more, but just didn't have the time this year. I sent to guys who I figured I'd have a good shot at getting back...no real superstars, at least yet in their careers.

I expected a few back by now, but I've been batting 0-fer until a SASE showed up today. Yankees prospect Greg Bird signed my Bowman Chrome card. I wish I had sent the regular issue, as the signature may not have bubbled so much. I have a certified Bowman auto of Bird, but like the TTM success even more.

He's got a great bat, and if he doesn't stick at C, he'll play 1B. I look forward to following his progress this season.

This Oscar is no Grouch - trading with ATBATT

Sorry for the awful title. I'm especially sorry to Oscar. He'll probably never trade with me again.

Anyhow, I recently made my first trade with Oscar of “All TradeBait, All The Time.” I had a ’58 Topps Carl Furillo he wanted. The centerpiece of the deal for me was this 1959 Topps Enos Slaughter. The card is a beaut and is in great condition:

Not far behind the Slaughter was this ’75 Topps Mickey Mantle/Maurey Wills MVP card. I have seen these cards a lot, but never pulled the trigger. I like how simple Topps celebration was for their 25^th anniversary. Could you image what they would do now? Of course you can. 

 Here are a few more sweet cards that Oscar threw in:

 

Oscar, thanks again!

T206 Honus Wagner short film

Pretty cool short film about the T206 Honus Wagner card. If you have 15 minutes, take a look:

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8983686

A new HOFer for Joey

You may or may not have noticed that I added a tab above called "Joey's HOFers". I am working on picking up original cards of Hall of Famers, and putting them in a binder to give my 13-month-old son some day.

I'm just trying to pick up cheap cards here and there of baseball greats, and these feel a lot better to me than just picking up a set of 2011 Lineage or something.

The next card added to Joey's HOF binder is a nice 1973 Topps Tony Perez, a more recent Hall of Famer. Definitely a solid add, and the binder is now five cards deep.

New Jerry Coleman score - 1954 Bowman

In addition to Phil Rizzuto, I also unofficially collect vintage Jerry Coleman cards. I believe this is my first 1954 Bowman of any kind, and I'm glad it's of Coleman. The card is pretty severely creased, which lead to its very low price.

Overall, I like the set. It's very simple. If Night Owl were naming it, I think the "Post-It Set" might work, as the name strip reminds me of those thin Post-It strips. It's funny to think that this simple set preceded the "TV set" by just one year. Bowman really went after it in '55.

I found the card back to be a pleasure to read as well.

A PWE bomb with vintage

Stealthy blogger Wes from Jaybarkerfan's Junk send me PWE's all time. They are always assorted with great cards. The last one was no exception, as Wes sent me a vintage card - a 1970 Topps Joe Verbanic.

Sure, the card has been chewed a bit, but I don't mind one bit. It's a great card from a great set, and will certainly have a place in my vintage Yankees collection, which is growing all the time. The background of this card is very odd to me. I'm not quite sure where the photo was taken. Any theories?


Wes, really appreciate it as always, bro. I've got a stack of cards headed your way, and they should arrive any day now.

Trading with 2x3 Heroes

I am surprised that this is the first trade I've done with Jeff of 2x3 Heroes. Jeff runs a great blog and was a quick, easy trade partner. It started as a PWE trade and evolved to include a large stack of cards that came my way.

These are the personal highlights, including my first to cards of Ichiro as a Yankee!

 This Phil Hughes is the card that started the deal:

 Two new Jeters, including a Heritage SP. I don't know why, but I always liked these Leaf designs, even though they look sort of gloomy.

Two of my favorite firstbasemen!

Jeff, thanks again, and I look forward to our next trade!

Trade Game: My vintage for yours

Since I'm no longer browsing eBay for cards at this time, I need something to keep me occupied. So I decided to try a little game here, similar to what my pal Jaybarkerfan does. Claim one (via the comment section) of the vintage cards below, and send me a vintage card in return, preferably a Yankee. However, feel free to send non-Yanks as well. Just don't tell me what you're sending. It's expected that the cards will be from a similar year, and in similar condition, although I'm not worried about that part. I like beat-up Yanks.

If you'd like to ask me any questions about a card's condition, feel free.

Let the games begin!

 

Michael Cuddyer scolded by Killebrew

I read a story this morning about how Michael Cuddyer used to have an illegible autograph. However, at an autograph signing, he was scolded by Harmon Killebrew, who had one of the nicest, neatest signatures ever. The end result? This is what Cuddyer's signature now looks like. He signed this TTM for me a few years ago.

Check out the story/video here: http://blogs.denverpost.com/rockies/2013/02/21/michael-cuddyers-story-behind-his-impeccable-autograph/13403/

Trade with Scott Crawford: more HOFers

I recently posted a few vintage cards for trade, and Scott Crawford claimed one. After a quick back and forth, we settled on a trade. I decided to trade for vintage for vintage, and received two Hall of Famers for the HOF Binder I am starting for my kid.

Here are my two scores from the deal. Scott, thanks for a hastle-free trade.

Cards. For ages 9+ only.

On Sunday, I attended the NBA All-Star Game in Houston. Upon entering the arena for the game, we were handed a pack of Panini Prism NBA cards. Cool! I wish more stadiums did this. I saw a ton of kids trying to grab more than one pack.

I ended up with two packs. One pack I'm going to put away for my kid to open one day. I'm sending the other pack to a friend.

Something struck me as odd when looking over the package. Look in the top right. "For ages 9+". Really? You should be a third grader to "play" with cards? Is it because they have sharp corners? I actually find cards to be very educational. I was looking at stats on the back and asking what each meant well before the age of nine.

Now, look at at 2013 Topps. The wrapper says "For ages 6+". I wonder why Panini thinks their product is only for a more mature audience?

A Dodger HOFer for my little one

I mentioned in an earlier post that I'm trying to acquire cards of Hall of Famers to put in a binder and give to my son one day. I started with a Lou Brock card. The newest addition is this 1964 Topps Don Drysdale. It's in crappy condition, but it's still a great card.

I'm not getting these cards as an investment, but to hopefully one day teach him more about the history of baseball through cards. What better way to learn about the greats of the game than by flipping over their baseball cards?

Stepping away from eBay for Lent

I have splurged on eBay a bit. After winning a Maris and a Rizzuto jersey card, I am going to step away from eBay for a bit. It's too easy to get sucked in and spend aimlessly. There are a thousand cards that I want, but little purchases all add up quickly. $5 here, $7 there.

Part of the issue is how easy it is to access eBay on my phone through the app. It's so simple to just surf and bid. So for Lent, I have decided to not only give up sweets and soda (because I'm 12 years old), but also to stop surfing eBay for cards. The cards there aren't going anywhere, so to speak. When I log back in in a few months, I'll continue my search for a '52 Rizzuto. But for now, if one comes along at a decent price, I won't feel bad and kick myself. There will be others.

.

Maris! Finally.

Over the past two years, I've added a lot of Yankee legends to my collection. A '67 Topps Mantle. A '60 Topps Berra. Numerous Rizzutos. One slugger that eluded me was Roger Maris.

I finally picked up a Maris card, at a hell of a price. I got this 1966 Topps for $7. No creases or wrinkles. Sure, some fuzzy corners, and the centering isn't perfect. However, overall, the condition is really nice.

I won't say that 1966 is my favorite Topps design. It's a bit bland. But I love having a Maris, especially at this price.

What about you guys? Do any of you own an original Maris? Which ones?

Some red for Valentine's Day

I wanted to show off some red for Valentine's Day. Actually, I'm going to show off some red, white, and blue.

Here is a Tino Martinez certified autograph that I recently picked up. It's a 2004 Upper Deck USA auto and #'d to 360. I grabbed it on eBay, and I love it. I wish the auto wasn't on a sticker, but the card is super cool. My Tino RC is from 1988 Topps Traded, so this almost serves as a bookend on my Tino collection.

HOF bat relics

Like all of you, I'm not really sure if bat relics are part of an actual game-used bat. In fact, I'm not sure if they are even part of a piece of wood that was a bat. Regardless, they can look pretty cool on cards sometimes.

Here are two bat relics from two HOFers that I recently picked up. Obviously, the Rizzuto fits into my PC. The Winfield was not one I expected to own, but paid less than $2 shipped for it. Pretty neat card for that price.

What do you think of bat relics?

Pitchers and catchers report = TTM send out

With pitchers and catchers reporting today for many clubs, baseball is right around the corner.

For me, however, pitchers and catchers mean one thing: time to send some TTM requests. I sent my first eight requests out yesterday. I'll probably do about 10-12 more and call it a day. By next week, everything will be out. I rarely sent anything out after the last week of Feb.

Are you planning on sending out any TTMs this spring?

Trade Bait: 2013 Topps

I only bough a few 36-card jumbo packs, but here are some of the highlights. Everything is available. Let me know if you need anything and I'm sure we can work something out.

First up, the green sparklies:

A few legends in the Chasing History set. Each of these are the shiny foil version,

 Two more modern players in the Chasing History set. These do not have the foil effect.

Two Calling Cards and Chasing the Dream:

Last but not least, a few minis of some damn good players:

Drop me a comment or shoot me an email if you'd like to strike up a deal.

The blog's two-year anniversary

Today marks the two-year anniversary of my first post.

I didn't even realize it until I read about another blog celebrating their birthday yesterday. I then realized my blog birthday was in February as well, and then I went back and checked out my first post, and sure enough, it was dated February 10th.

I don't have anything fancy planned to celebrate the mark. No contest or gift to myself. Just some personal satisfaction for keeping this thing alive, despite my five month absence last year. I remember after writing my first post, I went to a Knicks game that night, and while at the game I remember thinking that there's no way I'll do this for a very long time. While two years isn't long compared to most blogs, it's longer than I expected.

I'm sure life will get in the way again and I'll disappear, but for now, I'm enjoying being back and acquiring new cards.

Plus it's February. Pitchers and catchers report in two days. And I have a stack of TTMs ready to go. After all, my Topps Yankees Project needs to add 2013 to the checklist.

New Autos - Two Cy Young Award Winners

I had the chance to add three new autographs this week. Two are from Cy Young Award winners, and one is from a Pro Bowl Wide Receiver. I wish they were on cardboard, but still pretty cool.


Here are the two baseball players - Clayton Kershaw and CC Sabathia.

And here is Megatron!

1951 Topps - The Rizzuto chase continues

In my quest to pick up an original Topps card of Phil Rizzuto, I had to have this one. I'm still chasing the 1952 Topps white whale, but this one is even older!

1951 Topps are cool. I know they don't get mentioned in the same breath as other Topps issues from the '50s, as they were a different ballgame...literally. But they do hold a meaningful place in the hobby as Topps first entry into the baseball card world.

This card is in decent condition. A slight crease in the upper right and some fuzzy corners, but overall really nice. The color is great.

Once I grab a '52 at some point (it will happen), I'll probably start focusing on Bowman, as well as some oddballs, such as Wheaties.

The Great One from a great one

Recently, The Diamond King posted a few cards he was giving away. I jumped at the chance for this Wayne Gretzky. While I don't collect hockey cards, I did want to have this for my son's card binder, as he should have a card of the greatest hockey player to ever live (with apologies to Gordie Howe). 

While Gretzky will most be remembered for his time with the Oilers and Kings, I love that this depicts him on my favorite team, the Rangers.

Thanks, DK!

AAA - Austin Aune Autos

While I haven't had time to sneak out and pick up some 2013 Series One yet, the eBay packages have still been rolling in. I recently picked up two cards of Yankees 2012 2nd Round Draft Pick Austin Aune.

The first was a 2012 Leaf Valient. These cards are awesome, as they are in the design of 1998 Donruss Crusaders. The auto is on card and really jumps against the background.

I nabbed my second 2012 Bowman Sterling Auto. The first was a Ty Hensley, so now I have a second card in the set. Again, on card.