SuperTraders #26: Sports Cards From The Dollar Store

I recently received a great package from north of the border, as Doug from Sports Cards from the Dollar Store sent me an awesome #SuperTraders package.

The card that caught my eye most was a terrific looking Masahiro Tanaka. I didn’t recognize the design, but it just so happens it came from 2014 Panini Black Friday. I’m uncertain if they still do it, but I really like how Panini puts out cards around Black Friday and Father’s Day, to name a few. Really cool concept. That fact that it’s an oddball RC helps too!

Ian Clarkin is easy to overlook. With the Yankees having sstrong pitching prospects like James Kaprielian and Justus Sheffield, Clarkin is often a bit forgotten, especially having missed 2015 with an arm injury. However, last year he threw 98 important innings at High A Tampa, and he will certainly look to build on that this year. He’s currently listed as the Yankees #17 prospect according to MLB.com, but I think his talent is better that. He was a first rounder, after all, and now just needs to stay on the mound.

Two absolutely sweet cards of the Yankees corner infield of the early ‘90s. Topps Embossed was fun, albeit pricey. CVS carried them, so I did get a few packs of them. The Boggs Collector’s Choice Gold Sig is a beauty too!

Speaking of gold, while I’m not the biggest fan of Gypsy Queen, their colored bordered parallels always look great. 

 

Prospects! I already had the Gamel/Barbato, but I’ll definitely be using it for spring TTMs to each guy, so I appreciate the dupe.

I like this Babe Ruth set more and more. Hopefully these packs start replacing Triple Play in repacks.

Man, Whitey Ford was good. I don’t look at his stats very often, but they always blow me away when I do.

 

Douglas, thanks for the great batch of cards and sending them all the down to New Jersey!

Index card inscriptions

A lot of autograph collectors prefer index cards as their item of choice to be adorned with a signature. I prefer cards, although have nothing against index cards. I just like a little more going on than a plain white background.

That's not to say I haven't accumulated a few over the years. In fact, a few bloggers have sent me some, and I'm always willing to take them off anyone's hands.

When I was starting out with TTMs in the late '90s, I frequently sent index cards. Often, I didn't have an actual card to send. In 2017, I can just go make a card on the rookies app, or find one quickly on a variety of retail sites. But times were different 20 years ago, and index cards were readily available and cheap, especially for a teenager.

In digging through a box of old collectibles I have, here are a few signed index cards from the late '90s I found:

This one is pretty cool, signed by Frank Crosetti. He also sent a signed black and white photo, which I still have.

Enos Slaughter. I wish I had gotten him on a card, but as a youngster I never dreamed I'd own cards from the '50s one day.

Gil McDougald had an amazing signature. He was a great TTM signer too.

Here are a few more modern players:

I didn't have any cards of El Duque yet when he was a rookie, so he signed my index card. I actually sent a picture from the newspaper too, which he signed. Old school!

Here are two former Yankees prospects both traded to the Reds:

Ed Yarnall was the lefty the Yankees originally obtained for Mike Lowell. That trade looks awful now, of course. But at the time it was pretty even. Lowell didn't have a spot in NY because of Scott Brosius, so he was flipped for Yarnall, one of the top pitching prospects in the game at the time. In fact, he was previously traded from the Mets to the Marlins in the Mike Piazza trade. Obviously Lowell went on to have a great career for the Marlins and Red Sox. Yarnall pitched in seven games for the Yankees and was sent to the Reds for Denny Neagle. A good reminder for us Yankee fans right now...not all top prospects pan out!

One of the other pieces of the trade for Denny Neagle was Drew Henson. The Yankees then used Wily Mo Pena, autograph pictured above, to reacquire Henson. Pena had a ton of power, and had an ok career. I sent him a bumper sticker to sign as well, but he actually signed the BACK of it. Ooops.

Not a bad batch of autos. Perhaps I'll commission Gavin to make a few custom cut signature cards.

Is Napkin Doon making a comeback?

A lot of you remember Napkin Doon. Some of you never had the privilege, but if you're curious, check out the archives: The Adventures of Napkin Doon.

Napkin Doon just dropped some big hints about a possible return to the "blogosphere." First off, he sent me a big 'ol batch of Yankees cards. It sounds to me like he's clearing out some space of a flux of incoming trades. Am I reading that right, Nap?

Second, there was this Twitter exchange with JBF/Willinghammer:

Sure sounds like the comeback is in the works, doesn't it?

Ahh yes, I did mention some cards, didn't I? Nap sent me the goods - Yankees prospects and Tinos. What more could I want? Unsurprisingly, I don't see many Gary Sanchez cards come my way anymore, so I always appreciate when they do. Here's my newest Sanchez cards, along with the rest of the loot. Nap, don't hate me too much for fueling the fire, here. It's only because we miss you.

 

 

Also, Nap, this is Gaby, not Gary. I won't lie, I've won a few cards on eBay because of the Gaby/Gary thing.

Great to see two more wearing Yankees hats into the Hall

Two Yankees got the call to the Hall yesterday. I fully expect them to wear an interlocking NY on the HOF plaque.

Tim Raines played in the Bronx from 1996-98, winning two World Series in the process. I was surprised to look back and see he hit .299 with a .395 OBP for them...although I guess I shouldn't be. A bunch of seasons like that is what got him to Cooperstown.

I remember him well for homering on the first pitch following the Tino/Benitez brawl in 1998. I couldn't find the video of the homer, so instead, here's him scoring the go-ahead run in the '96 World Series after Wade Boggs drew a 10th inning walk.

Ivan Rodriguez had a memorable Yankees career as well. The Yankees acquired him in 2008 at the trade deadline to help with catching duties. He hit .219 with two homers and three RBIs.

Ok, ok. I know both will not being going in as Yankees, but it was cool to see them each wear the Pinstripes for a short time. They are both very deserving of the HOF.

Also a congrats to Jeff Bagwell. He was a hell of a hitter, and this card is cool. HOUSTON, WE'VE GOT A PROBLEM.

Luckily, I get to add three new cards to Joey's HOF collection:

Lastly, I like the trend of Mussina picking up votes. I'd say it's becoming more and more realistic that he finds his way in a few years down the line. I'm a big supporter of his, and think his overall body of work is a bit underrated despite never having certain accolades that one might expect from a HOFer.

I'm also bummed to see Jorge Posada fall of the ballot after one year. No, I don't think he belongs in, but I would have liked to see him stick around a bit longer to see if he gained any momentum. Catcher is a bit underserved as a position in the HOF, and he was certainly one of the best offensive catchers of his generation. It's become popular to knock his defense, and while I'm not a baseball scout, I can't say that watching him over the years, especially during his prime, did I ever think he was killing the team behind the plate. Oh well. He's got his plaque in Monument Park, and that will have to do.

Worth their weight in gold

I’m sure many of us have come across these Danbury Mint 22K gold cards at some point. For me, I was familiar with them at a young age, as there were frequently ads in the Sunday paper for them. You know the ones; they usually came as a standalone ad with all of the other week’s sales. Sometimes it was for a Babe Ruth plate or collectible figure, and others, for 22K gold baseball cards.

One of the coolest items in my collection is a set of these honoring the 1998 Yankees. My grandma got it for me for Christmas one year, although it only came half full, and then she would receive a couple in the mail each month until the binder was full.

Before my eBay spending hiatus (which is going well!), I won a lot of two Tino Martinez gold cards – one from 2003, and one from 2007 (above). I like the ’07 because it has all his career stats.

These cards are deceptive. They seem like they’d be pretty solid, but in fact are very flimsy. The gold must be a very, very small coating. I don’t even know how much gold is actually there. I will say, 1996 Collector’s Choice Gold Medallions play the role a bit better and feel a lot more substantial. Plus, they are one of my favorite parallel sets ever.

 

Still, fun additions to my Tino collection, and cards you don’t come across too often.

Foam bricks and Tommy Lasorda

I always envied my friends who had a great relationship with their grandfathers. I remember one of my buddies, every Saturday his grandpa called him to talk about the Notre Dame football game. I was jealous of those conversations; not because of anything to do with Notre Dame, but because it seemed like a moment they both treasured.

You see, I am one of the unfortunate people to have not known their grandfathers. On my dad’s side, his father passed long before I was born. On my mother’s side, my grandfather passed away when I was an infant. It’s nice to know that he did know of me and held me at some point. I can’t remember the situation, but I do remember my aunt saying to my mom once about me, “Dad really would have liked him.” I thought that was an amazing compliment, although it also made me feel like I really missed out knowing him.

So while I didn’t officially know my mom’s father, I’ve always felt like I had a little bit of a connection to him. I own a few articles of his, including his Army tags, which I treasure.

I also have a few pieces of memorabilia. The first is a foam “TV brick”, which he used to throw at the TV when the Yankees won. While I’m told he wasn’t a Yankees fan, I’m not sure who he followed. However, my mom told me she thinks he was secretly a Yankees fan and it was all for show, as rarely did he miss a Yankees game on TV. Granted, in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s he didn’t have much of a choice of teams to watch, but still, I'd like to think he secretly rooted for them deep down, and this was just his schtick.

My grandmother also had a sister in Florida, and each winter her and my grandfather visited them. Once in a while, they’d go to a spring training site. Here is a photo my grandmother took. Of course you know who this guy is.

What’s most interesting is that the back of the photo is autographed andpersonalized by Tommy to my grandfather.

Lastly, while this just seems like a regular old 1970 Topps Jim Palmer, my mom once gave this to me and told me she found it tucked away in some of her dad’s old documents. I’ll never get rid of this card.

While it's true I never knew my grandfather, I think it's pretty cool that I at least have a piece of him in my collection.