Listia Refractor score - great deal

This morning, I showed off a Tino Martinez 1996 Topps Chrome Refractor that I scored on Listia for 110 credits, which is pretty cheap (considering the amount of people who sell 1990 Score commons for 499). It also included free shipping.

There were two other 1996 Topps Chrome Refractors in the lot, which included a Hall of Famer:

The lot was listed as "mlb cards", so I'm pretty sure that's the reason it wasn't well searched. I was lucky enough to recognize the Tino in the picture. Pretty solid score overall for 110 credits.

Tino Tuesday #59: 1996 Topps Chrome Refractor #48

I'm always bummed that Topps didn't put out a Traded set in 1996. It would have been Tino Martinez's first Topps card as a Yankee. Instead, I had to wait until 1997.

Anyhow, 1996 Topps Chrome included Martinez in the set, and I just picked up this Refractor on Listia for 110 credits. The lot also came with two more Refractors, which I'll show later.

From the scan, you would think that the card is textured a but bumpy, but it's smooth. The circles/dots are part of the design. These Refractors actually look a bit more like a modern X-fractor.

I don't always read...

...but when I do, I bookmark my pages with long baseball cards.

Ok, so I usually mark my pages digitally these days because most of my books are on my Kindle. I needed an excuse to show off this Danny Tartabull 1993 Bookermarkers card, brought to you by Listia for 50 credits.

I especially liked the short write-up on Danny. He had impressive batting skills, you know.

ATBATT PWE

I amused myself with the title of this post.

Anyhow, out of the blue, Oscar from All Trade Bait All The Time sent me a PWE bomb (err, might be time to stop with that term) filled with a few Yanks. Here are a few favorites below, all new cards for my collection.

Oscar, it was a great surprise. Thanks, bud!

Napkin Doon is a jerk

Strong words, I know. Read on.

A few days ago, I received a bubble mailer from Napkin Doon. It was unexpected, and I was excited. You see, the last bubble mailer he sent me contained a Phil Rizzuto relic. My mind was racing as I ran upstairs, bubble mailer in hand, straight into the bathroom like Ralphie when his Little Orphan Annie decoder ring arrived.

I gently tore open the bubble mailer, so as to not accidentally damage the treasures from Cleve's that awaited me. Would it be a jersey card? An on-card auto? Heck, a sticker auto? Vintage? Minis? Vintage minis?

I peered inside and saw a snap case; a case normally reserved for the rarest of baseball player picture cards. I reached inside, and immediately felt a strange burning, tingling sensation in my fingers as they came in contact with snap case. With the skin melting from my hands, I looked at the "present" Napkin sent me in disbelief:

 

Your eyes are not deceiving you. It's a 1990 Topps Rance (Rance? Really? Not Lance? Or France?) Mulliniks. The card was covered in old, moldy remnants of a substance we were lead to believe was bubble chewing gum.

See, it all goes back to this post: http://napkindoon.blogspot.com/2013/03/garbage-pail-topps.html . I made what I considered to be a humorous comment at the time, asking if the Mulliniks was for trade when Napkin whined that his 23 year old cards were gum-stained. Apparently, the card was for trade.

I was hoping to salvage the snap case at least, but I don't have a Hazmat suit laying around to remove the Rance.

On another note, I'd like to express my disappointment in the USPS for allowing such a package, containing such dangerous materials, to successfully make it through their rigorous screening processes.

Nap, "thanks" for the "gift." You're one heck of a guy, and the blogosphere is a better place with you. Now quick, somebody Bip me so I can move on from this travesty.

TTM Success: Darnell McDonald

I wasn't expecting anymore spring training TTM successes to roll in, but lo and behold, one did. I sent to Darnell McDonald at the Cubs spring training, and he signed my two cards for me. McDonald made a cameo with the Yanks last year, although he is best known for his time with the Red Sox.

I sent both his 2012 Topps Update base card and gold, and he returned both with his signature scrawled across. Cool success.

Real or Fake?

I have been at my mother-in-law's house all weekend. I've been sneaking away to watch some of the NBA playoffs, but mostly I've been sitting with her and my little lady in the TV room. She likes to watch the show "Two and Half Men," so I've endured a few episodes of the show tonight. I've never liked that show, and can't for the life of me realize why it has been so successful. The acting is awful and that kid is annoying as hell.

Regardless, we were watching an episode tonight, and it was all about real or fake...yes, you know what body part I'm talking about. That's not comfortable subject matter when sitting next to your mother-in-law. Anyhow, it inspired my post, because I recently picked up a signed card on Listia I don't know if it's real or fake.

The auto in question is Ron Guidry. I got it for a reasonable amount of credits, and felt it was worth the gamble. I don't have an autograph of Gator, and I've never gotten him to sign for me TTM. When I saw this, I figured I'd put in a capped bid, and if it went over, well, I would lose. It didn't.

I certainly think the signature looks legit compared to some of this others I've seen. Even if not, the card didn't cost me anything. I'm sure I'll never know, but I'm choosing to believe that I now have an autograph of one of the best Yankee lefties ever.

I got a tattoo!

 Ok, so not a real tattoo. I don't like needles. But when I came across these old Topps tattoos on Listia, I had to pick up a roll.

I remember these from when I was a very little guy. My mom used to buy us these plastic bags of cards that had all sorts of goodies...unopened packs, big cards, embossed cards, and these tattoos. Sort of like the repack of the '80s. Did anyone else used to get these? I'm pretty sure they came from K-Mart.

I remember the tattoos not working very well when I used to try them. Maybe I'll tear one off and give it a try sometime soon.

A card-filled Holoday

I’ve been painfully slow on trade posts lately. I feel badly about it, especially when a blogger sends their cards to me first, I take forever to return my package to them, and then they post about it before I do. No excuses.

For the first time, I traded with Matt from Doc Holoday. He had a big ol pile of Yanks, so I claimed them in exchange for some Red Sox…a trade that clearly benefits both of us.

Matt wasn’t joking when he said he had a pile of Yanks. The packaged arrive in a large box. When I opened, here is what I saw:

Yep, packages within packages. In the first two team bags, there were nearly complete sets (with dupes!) of 2012 and 2013 Topps. It made me realize how bad I have been at assembling team sets of the Yanks. It is inspiring me to go after all Yankees Topps team sets from 1980 through now, then I’ll focus on the older stuff. I had always wanted to do that, but this gave me a kick in the pants. Want lists to come. I’ll also be doing this for Heritage.

I pulled out a few of my favorites from the package Matt sent, as well as some of the cards from an envelope labeled “The slightly better stuff,” which I’ll show off below.

Here is what the flat rate box looked like…three giant stacks of goodies! 

There is no excuse for me not having all of these UD Masterpieces cards here. This set…is just…beautiful. The cards are magnificent. I’ll have to look at the checklists to see what I still need, but it’s a crime if I am missing some Yanks for this set. 

This Pineda jumped out at me. I really look forward to seeing him pitch this summer. If he could come back healthy, it would be a nice mid-season acquisition. I have an unofficial Pineda collection, so this is a nice score.

 Yankee cards of Ichiro. Can’t get over that. 

I had never seen this Upper Deck release before. I believe it’s from 2006 Future Stars. The cards are a bright teal color. They are certainly different from any I have seen, almost in a refreshing way.

Here is Gehrig on a 1995 Topps. So silly.

And here is some of the “slightly better stuff”:

X-Fractors! I’m starting to like X-Fractors more than Re-fractors.

Ok, I like them equally the same.

And even more when Mason Williams is on one.

Colored parallels! Man, I am really taking to these more and more.

Ichiro…again…on a Yankees card.

Russell…you look better in green than in Pirates gold.

More shiny stuff!

And some of those sweet 2011 Topps that had the wooden/cardboard backs.

I’d take these four on my team any day.

And finally, some manufactured goodness!

Matt, the package was a blast. Looking forward to our next inter-rivalry trade.

HOF cards - Boston edition

Usually, I don't have many kind things to say about the Red Sox on my blog. I don't necessarily bash them constantly, but I don't go out of my way to shower them with kindness. It's the nature of the rivalry. However, today, I have nothing ill-willed to say against the Sox, their fans, or their city, other than "Hang in there. We're with you guys."

I was glad to see that the Yankees will honor Boston this evening by playing Sweet Caroline after the third inning tonight. It's a small gesture, but shows a nice peace offering in a time when we need to stand united. I'll never forget the support for the NYC teams after 9/11. This reminds me of that.

To honor Boston, here are my additions to the HOF binder, featuring Red Sox, or in one instance, someone best known for his time with Boston.

Hey Boo Boo! A '59 Yogi

In my last post, I showed a 1933 Goudey Lyn Lary. However, I mentioned that I picked up a second vintage card last week. I found a well-loved 1959 Topps Yogi Berra that I pretty much had to have at just a few bucks cost.

Overally, the card is in fair condition, minus a set of parallel-ish lines by Yogi's head. I can't tell if it's a man-made mark in pencil or ink, or if something rubbed against it to cause the marking. There is also a crease that run down the front of the card.

But you know what? I don't care either way. The card is awesome, and my first 1950's Yogi.

Vintage on Listia? Yes please.

I'm still getting the hang of Listia. I've run quite a few auctions, and after enough disappointing end results, I think I finally figured out a fairly decent formula to ensure some good-sized bids, as well as the cards/lots that drive these bids.

Anyhow, I've tried to be better about my bidding/spending as well. After missing out on a 1961 Maris because I didn't have enough credits, I've vowed to keep a certain balance. Sadly, I don't think I'll ever come across another card like the Maris.

That didn't stop me from picking up two decent vintage lots. The first are two team cards from 1968 Topps - the Angels and the Dodgers. The Angels card is in decent shape. So is the Dodgers, except it's cut a bit funky. Both are for trade.

The second was a 1966 Topps lot I got for pretty cheap, partly because the cards have holes punched in them. Regardless, how could I pass up a Yankees team card that includes Maris and Mantle? I couldn't. The other card, with the same hole punched in it, features Frank Robinson and Willie Mays.

 

Pretty good scores!

The new oldest card in my collection - a '33 Goudey

I did a nice job staying away from eBay during Lent. I promised myself I wouldn’t go nuts once Easter came and spend wildly, picking up everything I saw to make up for lost time. I did, however, treat myself to two vintage cards.

The first is now the oldest card in my collection, by at least 10 years. It’s my first true Goudey – a 1933 Goudy Lynford Lary. Lyn was a decent player for the Yanks in the early 30’s, manning SS or 3B. In 1931, he actually drove in 107 runs, although much of that can be attributed to always hitting with men on base…Ruth, Gehrig, Dickey, Sewell, Combs, etc. He played for the Yanks for 5+ seasons before stops in Boston, St Louis, Washington, Cleveland, and Brooklyn, playing 12 years total. Interestingly enough, this card also serves as his Wikipedia photo.

The card was actually listed as a 1934 Goudey, but upon research (aka looking it up online), it’s actually a 1933. Not sure if that helped keep the price so low on eBay, as  I only paid a few bucks for it. It also came in this neat little top loader just for Goudey cards.

The card stock is awesome, and despite some creases, the color is really nice. The back is a little stained, but everything is readable. 

It’s a truly awesome addition to my collection.

Tino Tuesdays #58: 2000 Fleer Gamers #57

I don’t know why, but when I flip through my Tino Martinez cards, I always stop on this one. It’s from the 2000 Fleer Gamers set. In 2000, Fleer put out 10 sets. Ten! There may be more, but that’s what I counted quickly on Baseball Card Pedia. It’s a thick, metallic card. I’d call it a cleaner, thicker Fleer Metal…but not on steroids like Topps Stars N Steel.

Anyways, it’s a catchy card. I don’t have any other Yanks from the set, and don’t remember buying any packs of it. From a Google Images search, the trip was team color specific, which is cool.

Without a doubt, it’s a very representative card of what you’d find if you were shopping for cards in 2000.

TTM Success: Two roll in from ST

Last week, I had two spring training successes roll in. I figure it was guys cramming answering their mail before they had north.

The first was a 2013 Topps Hiroki Kuroda. I now have the choice of using him or David Robertson for my Topps Yankees Project. That may be a decision based on who I can get to sign for 2014.

The second success is from Boone Logan. I love TTMs of relievers and guys who don't appear on cards very much, so this is cool.