A graded goat

In my eyes, 1998 Donruss Crusade is the greatest insert set of all time. 

That subject is, of course, up for debate and a personal belief. But no matter how many amazing inserts I've seen - from die cuts to clear cuts and everything in between - nothing knocks 1998 Donruss Crusade off of the pedestal I have put it on. 

I can't explain my fascination.

For me, I think it stems back to this being one of the first big-time insert sets Tino Martinez was included in. The card-year of 1998 saw his insert set inclusion soar, which happens when you're the first baseman of the Yankees coming off a 44-HR, 141-RBI season. 

I see posts by guys like Junior Junkie and realize how many amazing inset sets Tino never even sniffed, so perhaps I like this one because he was finally included in the cool kids club.

However, 1998 Crusade isn't very exclusive. It's a 130-card insert set with parallels. That's something I complain about now: larger insert sets with multiple versions. But sorry, this isn't some crappy "Baseball's Greatest Moments" or "Gold Standard" uninspired crap we've gotten over the past decade.

The cards themselves are beautiful, and are becoming harder to find for a reasonable price. If you do an eBay search, they aren't cheap. Most of the common guys still go for about $20. And a weird printing error occurred where there are lines smack dab through them, like my first Tino Crusade has.

Argh. Lines!

That's why I was keen to buy this PSA 9 when it popped up on eBay and I had some eBay Bucks burning a hole in my pocket. A 9 is pretty darn good, and look, no lines! Not that I care much for graded cards. I only have a couple of graded Tino cards.

However, a graded card, of my favorite player, in the greatest insert set of all time? Don't have to twist my arm.

It pays to have bad eye sight

I wear contact lenses on a daily basis.

My eye sight is pretty bad. I obviously have glasses, but don't wear other than at night and in the morning. Maybe ones every few weeks I'll wear them to work to give my eyes a break.

I have considered laser-correction surgery, but I think I'm too much of a wimp. Something about pointing laser beams at my eyeballs scares me. Still, it would be nice to wake up in the morning and actually be able to see.

Back in November, I had my yearly eye exam and ordered my next batch of contact lenses for the year. Luckily, insurance covered almost all of it. As I was paying what I owed, the sales associate told me that my contacts came with a $60 online rebate. All I had to do was submit my receipt on a website, as well as photos of the sides of the box once they arrived.

I put it off for a few weeks, but finally submitted for my rebate. I assumed it would probably be a painful process, but it wasn't bad. In a couple weeks time, I got an email saying that I could opt to receive my rebate with a $60 Visa that they'd mail, or I could get a $60 Visa e-card. I opted for the e-card, and it showed up instantly.

This was about two weeks ago, and my first thought was, "Hey, this is basically free money. Maybe I'll splurge and buy a hobby box of 2019 Topps Series One." This was something I wouldn't really buy on my own, so maybe treat myself with this "free" money.

Then I came to my senses. Maybe I'd pull something amazing from a box. But I already had a Yanees team set on the way. And couple that with the fact that the box's promised hit could be a "manurelic", similar to what comes in a blaster, and the more I thought about it, the more I felt I should use my $60 on something else. Something I wanted.

And this is what I wanted:

That is a 1998 Donruss Crusade Purple Tino Martinez. I have four of the green parallels, but this is my first glorious purple.

And while it's quite a bit more than I'd usually spend on a single card, I didn't spend all of the $60 either. So I'm left with enough for another decent card.

I'm happy to have this card, and at the end of the day, think this was a bit wiser of a purchase.

Something I want versus something I think I want then would likely be disappointed?

I made the right call.

1.6% of the population

I own 1.6% of the world's Tino Martinez 1998 Donruss Crusade Green cards.

That's not a very big number, and many of us own larger percentages of print runs. For example, we own 100% of a run on a 1 of 1. Or 20% of a print run if you have a card #'d to 5.

Still, having 4 of 250 of a rare 1990s insert is pretty cool. I'm not really setting out to hoard these, but when I find them on eBay for a good price, I tend to pull the trigger.

Here is the latest:

And here's my third:

The original dupe:

And the original, which I probably paid a ton for in the late '90s despite it having one of the printing flaws (a line through it).

I think my ultimate goal here would be 9 to fill up a binder page, but I'm not going to pressure myself into it. I'd much rather try and snag a purple or <gasp> red version.

Strut my stuff, my stuff is so...SHINY

Easily, my favorite song in Disney's Moana is Shiny, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and performed by Jermaine Clement. It's got some very humorous lyrics and is super catchy. It's definitely an underrated part of the movie.

Plus, that's one hilarious looking crab.

I can't help but hear the song in my head every time a new shiny card arrives. I literally sing "shiny" to myself in the crab voice. It's weird, but I do.

So when I received these cards from whatever Panini set this is (Chronicles I think?), I couldn't help but have this song on repeat in my head.

I saw a few bloggers post cards from this set, and it's extremely confusing to me. I think they are all base cards from various past designs? I'm honestly not sure how it works, but I think some of the cards look really nice, plus with some nods to some past Pacific names, makes for appealing trade targets for me. Luckily, Paul of Scribbled Ink was down to trade a few to me.

The two SHINIEST cards were from the Revolution portion of the set and have a very nice glow to them.

These were more of a Chrome versus a shiny, but I still needed 'em. I think I'm at the point now where Panini should retired Crusades since they'll never match 1998.

Back to SHINY! I mentioned in a Twitter post, but I think the Chrome 1983 anniversaries are the nice cards this year. They look awesome.

More shiny from Ma-shine-iro Shine-aka. See what I did there?

And maybe not shiny, but I'll take any card of this guy I can get.

Thanks for the great cards, Paul!

Can't help myself

Have you ever seen one of those couponing shows? The ones where people go to the grocery store and buy 25 tubes of Aquafresh because the deal was too good to pass up?

I feel like that with cards sometimes.

Do I really need three Tino Martinez 1998 Donruss Crusades?

No, I don't. But in this instance, I saw one with a low minimum bid and somehow scooped it up.

I wouldn't do this for any card, but I do think this is one of the greatest insert sets of all time, and these cards are pretty rare. Still, do I need three of them?

Probably not.

Remind me of this post when I'm showing off my 10th Tino Crusade in the year 2025.

Draft night fun

The last few years, I've had fun snatching up a card of the Yankees top draft pick as soon as the pick is announced. This year was no different.

I was half-watching the MLB Draft, not paying a ton of attention, but started to hone in on the TV when the Yanks were almost up. The MLB Draft is the worst of the pro sports drafts to watch (although I can't say I've seen an NHL Draft). In the NBA, you know a lot of the top picks from their runs in the NCAA Tournament, plus there are a hundred trades. It's exciting and can be a major whirlwind trying to keep up, but in a fun way. The NFL Draft is a spectacle, and the first few picks are fun, then it gets boring. However, again there is star power in the form of Heisman Trophy winners and other well-known college stars throughout the seven rounds.

In baseball, no one has seen these guys, unless they are making a College World Series run at the same time, or unless they are a guy like Bryce Harper. Most of the time, it's a high schooler that no one has seen, yet everyone wants because what they read on the internet is true and this guy is going to be the next Mike Trout.

As I anticipated the Yankees pick, I couldn't help but notice that Blake Rutherford was the "best available player" scrolling across the bottom of the screen. Most experts had him going in the top 10, yet here he was, on the board at #18. The Yankees putting a stop to that, gobbling up one of their most exciting Draft picks in ages. The pick was pretty much universally praised, as some analysts actually preferred Rutherford to some of the other top picks. The major knocks on him were "Prospect fatigue" and that he was old. He's 19. So old.

The big question is: can the Yankees sign him away from his UCLA commitment? Most seem to think it's going to happen.

Anyhow, right when his name flashed on screen, I raced to eBay, found a relic and a Crusade, and quickly purchased them. I checked back an hour or two later, and these same cards were going for a lot more. Many auctions had been revised to say "Yankees" in the title.

Here's to hoping Blake signs! Otherwise, I have cards of some college player for UCLA. No thanks.

You can't just let it sit there

I'm a hypocrite.

I often criticize my wife for buying something she doesn't need just because it's on sale. "These black shoes were 80% off!" Then I say, "But you already have three of the same pair." Then she responds, "The sale was too good. You can't just let them sit there."

Then I shake my head.

Then I do things like this:

This 1998 Tino Martinez Donruss Crusade was just sitting on eBay with a low bid. I already have one, mind you. But then my bid won and I paid for it. Do you know why?

Because you can't just let it sit there.

But, Lost Collector, don't you have this exact card? "Yes." So why did you buy it? "Because it's the greatest damn insert set ever created, it's hard to find, and I couldn't just let it sit there."

Don't tell me wife. Don't give her the ammo next time I question one of her unnecessary purchases, because I'm just as bad as she is. I just don't want her to know it.