30 for 30: my 30 favorite PC cards on my 30th birthday

I'll start with this:  today is my 30th birthday.  I'm not the type for attention-whoring, but mentioning that makes the theme of this post make more sense:  I decided that because I turned 30 today, I should show off my top 30 cards in my PC.  Obviously this list could change very soon if I add new items, but as of this moment on May 24, 2013 (a birthday, by the way, that I share with, among others, Bob Dylan, Tommy Chong, John C. Reilly, Jim Broadbent, Alfred Molina, Michael Chabon, and Pistons legend Joe Dumars), these are my 30 favorites, in no particular order:

1. and 2.  Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker 1978 Topps RCs:  these two just had to go together.

3.  Bill Freehan 1963 Topps RC:  floating heads on a multiplayer RC of one of my favorite Wolverines/Tigers = WINNING.

4.  Cal Ripken Jr. 1982 Topps RC:  Bonner and Schneider look towards future Baltimore royalty.

5.  Carl Yastrzemski 1960 Topps RC:  Picked this up for a song, and it's still probably the best HOF RC in my PC.

6.  Curtis Granderson 2010 Topps Peak Performance auto/jersey:  Easily my best Granderson, which is worth celebrating even if the blog isn't named after him anymore.       

7.  Justin Verlander 2005 Topps Chrome auto RC:  Just a few years ago I nabbed this for about $20, now you couldn't pry it out of my cold, dead hands!

8.  Frank Tanana/Mickey Tettleton 2006 Topps Co-Signers dual auto:  It's a Tigers autograph of Mickey Tettleton, king of all batting stances and cheeks full of chew, what else could you ask for?!   

9. - 11.  A Ken Griffey Jr. Mariners trifecta:  1989 Upper Deck RC, 2001 Upper Deck All-Star Heroes bat, 1999 SP Signature auto:  The Kid was one of the greatest ever, and possibly the greatest of my generation, so he'll always hold a place of honor in my collection.  As a bonus, I pulled the bat and autograph (which absolutely floored me at the time) myself!

12. and 13.  A pair of Ripken autos!:  2004 EX Signings of the Times jersey auto and 2008 Sweet Spot Signatures Red Stitch Blue Ink auto:  The former came from the immortal Beardy and was my first ever Ripken auto, and the latter was a Blowout purchase I'm still glad I made!

14.  Barry Larkin 2005 Sweet Spot Signatures Red Stitch Black Ink auto:  My only auto of the best Wolverine baseball product of my generation was worth every penny.

15.  J.J. Putz 2009 Topps Heritage IP auto:  Larry of My 2008 Topps Set Blog went above and beyond to get me this amazing personalized auto of Wolverine-turned ace closer Putz.  Thanks again!

16.  Rich Hill 2007 UD Masterpieces Strokes of Genius Windsor Green auto (1/1):  I made myself stick to a limit of one Hill, and my favorite has to be this beautiful true 1/1 from what I consider UD's greatest accomplishment--the Masterpieces set.

17.  Stan Musial 2004 Donruss Leather & Lumber Leathercuts auto:  a barely noticeable defect allowed me to pick up what may be the best auto in my PC for a song on Blowout.  He truly was "The Man."

18.  Warren Spahn 2002 Donruss Elite Series Legends auto:  I picked this up at a show a loooooong, long time ago and I've never regretted it; I smile every time I see this beautiful auto of a lefty legend pop up in my PC.

19.  Willie Mays 2001 Fleer Rack Pack 1998 SITN auto:  Say Hey!  One of several cards here that I pulled myself, I was floored when this came out of a 2001 Fleer Platinum rack, one of my top 10 pulls ever.

20. - 22.  A trio of Wolverine nameplates:  Cazzie Russell 2011-12 SP Authentic By the Letter Nameplate, Zach Putnam 2008 Razor Letterman Nameplate, Mike Hart 2008 SP Rookie Threads Lettermen letter patch auto nameplate:  completing a project is always fun but these three, which turned out better than I could have imagined, were especially gratifying!

23.  Tom Harmon 1955 Topps All American RC:  a former white whale and now the crown jewel of my Michigan vintage and RC collection, I'm extremely excited to own this RC of a former Heisman-winner from what I consider Topps' greatest football set of all time (weasley-looking Wolverine logos included)!

24.  Anthony Carter 2005 Topps All American Autographs Chrome Refractors auto:  The former #1 has an amazing auto and it pairs up perfectly with a Refractor version of the above set!

25.  Bo Schembechler 2002 TK Legacy auto:  the undisputed highlight of my huge in-person purchase last year, I'm beyond thrilled to own an autograph of a part Wolverine legend.

26.  Chad Henne-Adrian Arrington-Mike Hart-Shawn Crable 2008 UD Premier Signature Foursomes auto:  Come on, you all know this card--it's TMM's background!  You should also be very aware by now that the 2008 Michigan draft class is my favorite ever, and this card includes FOUR of those players, placing it squarely in the top-five of my football PC.

27.  Desmond Howard 2006 Press Pass Legends Gold red auto:  I gave the nod to the Bo autograph for the #1 spot from the IPP haul, but this Des was a close second as it knocked off another white whale for me.  Hello, Desmond, hello, Heisman!

28.  Brendan Morrison 2004 TK Legacy Varsity Club auto:  Nothing special, just one of Michigan Hockey's greatest players ever, winner of a national title and the Hobey, pictured in the Wolverines' signature helmet and jersey.

29.  Marty Turco-Red Berenson 2004 TK Legacy Historical Links dual auto:  And this beaut encompasses two more of my all-time favorite Wolverine icers on one card!  Champions, champions everywhere!












30.  Steve Yzerman 1984-85 Topps RC:  The best Red Wing of my young life brought winning and titles back to Detroit, and the Wings have been the class of the league ever since!

I must say it was very difficult whittling this list down to "just" 30 cards, and that makes me glad I wasn't doing this when I was 15!  Some of you may be calling me old, and more of you are probably laughing at me since you've long since passed the wrong side of 30, but it was fun for me compiling a list of the cards I absolutely couldn't live without, one for each year I've been alive.  How about you, readers, what would your lists look like?

There's lots of doin's a-transpirin' this weekend for me, as is likely the case for many of you, so don't plan on seeing any new posts around here until Monday at the soonest.  Until then, everyone enjoy your holiday weekend and take a moment to remember what's important on Memorial Day.

Topps Tiger Fan-Favorites!

GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE!
Well, Tigers collectors, anyway.  As I usually do several times a week, I was on the always-awesome Cardboard Connection yesterday and the title of an article caught my eye:  "2013 Topps Archives Baseball Fan Favorites Autographs Spotlight 1980s and 90s."  "Cool!" I thought, "A lot of my favorite players, even the guys that weren't stars, are from the 80s and 90s."  I proceeded to check out the checklist for names that would interest me, and two caught my eye.

One was former Tigers SS Travis Fryman.  I think Travis is a great fit in a set devoted to "fan-favorite" players--guys who weren't really sought after nationally, but certainly appreciated by their own fans.  I have managed to pick up one of his few certified autos, this 1996 Leaf Signature Bronze version,

which is an excellent on-card issue from his second-to-last season in Detroit, his fourth of five All-Star campaigns.  I'm especially glad to see Fryman get a new certified auto because his current run is 10 different cards:  the above card, plus Silver and Gold versions from '96 Leaf Signature; a 2005 Topps Retired Signature issue (which I totally need to find), a Refractor version of that, plus four autographed plates; and a cut auto from 2012 Leaf History of Baseball.  What I'm getting at here is that it's a fairly big deal for Tigers/Fryman collectors that he's got a new autograph coming out!

Well that's all well and good for Tigers collectors, but one's never enough.  That's why I was so excited to see this in the checklist:  "FFA-MT Mickey Tettleton, Detroit Tigers."  Sweet!  One of my all-time favorites, he of this batting stance,

has had VERY few certified autos.  In fact, as I was verifying the current total, which I knew included this one from my PC,

I hadn't even realized that he actually does have a second issue from 2012 Leaf History of Baseball.  Unfortunately, like Fryman's, that's numbered to just 10 copies.  So getting another shot at a Tettleton graph is pretty exciting!

I know this year's Archives are incorporating another four past designs, from 1972, 1982, 1985, and 1990, so I'm curious which design each player will get.  Regardless, I'll be pretty with whatever they get.  Since this is a Topps product, I won't play the lottery and try to pull these, and I know as usual I'll have to wait until the initial hype dies down, but I'm sure I'll be able to buy or trade for each.

As a sidenote, former '68 champ Denny McLain also appears on the checklist, but he's a jackass and I won't be pursuing him.  Still, a few other former Tigers will be available as well, albeit in different uniforms.  Those players include:  Darrell Evans (Braves), Dan Gladden (Twins), Eric Davis (Reds), Fred Lynn (Red Sox), Greg Jefferies (Mets), Howard Johnson (Mets), Hal Morris (Reds), Juan Samuel (Phillies), Lloyd Moseby (Blue Jays), Ray Knight (Reds), and Ruben Sierra (Rangers).  Not a terrible group!

So hopefully you'll be seeing Fryman's and Tettleton's 2013 Archives autographs over here within a few months.  And I also hope that you collectors end up with your fan-favorites as well!

2013 Topps Series 1 rack pack

With my birthday upcoming, my brother and sis-in-law hit me up with a few nice presents during my quick stop in Milwaukee a couple weeks ago.  One of them, since my brother knows me so well, was a pack of baseball cards!  A rack of 2013 Topps Series 1 to be specific.  I won't bore you further since you surely just want to see the goods; here they are:

First, notes on availability of these cards:  the Emerald Santiago is PC, and therefore I'm keeping it.  Everything else is up for grabs, though, so just leave me a comment mentioning what you want.  Please note that if you send me a comment from an account that isn't tied to an email address I can reply to, or don't at least include some way of contacting you, I'm not going to hunt you down and your card(s) will remain up for grabs.

Second, just to see if any of you are still paying attention, the first person to comment and tell me which book and movie I'm referencing in the title and first sentences of this TMM post will have that Million Dollar Chase unused code emailed to them.

Now, for my quick thoughts on the cards:

• I could use SO much less border on the base set--I feel like I'm missing at least half of each photo.  I guess nobody does it like Upper Deck!
• The League Leader cards still bore me as usual.
• There's some nice action shots this year, including Seager's and Descalso's.
• Out of the group of inserts, the only ones I cared for at all were the Emerald (not my favorite color parallel, but not bad) and the Mini.  I still think the "exclusive" retail parallels are annoying cash grabs.  The other ones just kind of run together for me.

So while I can't say I ended up with much at all that I'll end up keeping, most important for me here was the fun of ripping open yet another pack!  And in this case, that's enough for me to say that it wasn't just the thought that counted, but the execution as well.  Long live pack-ripping (and trade bait)!

2013 trade package #19: I'll buy that for a dollar! Another trade with SCFtDS

Another trade package that graced my mailbox last week came from a familiar location in Canada:  more cards from Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store!  These cards represent my third trade with Doug over on this blog, and fifth over on TMM.  For the bulk of the package, check out this evening's post at Too Many Manninghams.  But while you're here, take a quick gander at a small but useful number of cards relevant to this here blog:

I don't know how many copies of that Fleer sticker I have, but I'm always happy to take on more of them.  More importantly, Doug threw in a quartet of 2012 Topps Archives needs from my wantlist.  As is one of my favorite customs here, first take a look at the list before:

and after:

Woohoo!  Down to just a literal handful of cards to get that set completed.  Once again, this one will be very satisfying since I'll have completed it almost entirely thanks to the generosity of people I've traded with.  This one will get done soon, you can count on that!

Thanks again for yet another exciting trade package, Doug!  I'm actually very close to being able to send you a nice response, and I'll make sure to let you know when it ships.

Readers, as always, please get yourselves over to Doug's blog and get to trading with a guy who knows his way around a Loonie, eh?

2013 trade package #18: a dime bag from Dime Box Nick!

Have you ever read a trade post...

ONNNNN WEEEEEEEEEEEEED?

Anyway, I apologize for the lack of posts recently--I've been pretty busy with other fun stuff, and I've just kind of fallen out of the habit.  The weather's getting nicer (the last 48 hours very much excepted) and there's been lots to do, but I'm still trying to keep up with a few posts here and there.

Such as today's, which features a trade package from yet another new 2013 trade partner!  Nick from Dime Boxes recently put out an APB for some extra pages.  I happened to have a bunch chilling in my card closet because I don't really put my cards in binders anymore.  I stuffed a USPS medium flat rate box full of what I had (plus a Bowman Ryan Dempster RC) and sent it his way.  Soon after, I received a great package in return, featuring what you see here:

Tigers new and old!  I still love picking up anything new of Dean-o, and the Showcase is an extra-nice addition to his PC.  I hope Mariners fans don't cringe too much when I post stuff of Fister.  The AJax (A&G back) reminds me that he was just sent to the DL, but at least that means Avisail Garcia was called up, and maybe if he performs well we'll finally see the last of Don "The New Gerald Laird" Kelly.  The Magglios (including a Topps Rookie Cup reprint) depict him with the White Sox, but I think he'll be most remembered for his Tigers heroics.

Tigers most certainly of the past, but no less memorable.  The pair of Fidrych cards adds to my too-small PC of a team favorite.  The Cochrane, Tanana (rock that 'stache, bro!) and a Morris below feature Tigers in different uniforms, but I certainly don't mind that.  Kaline and Greenberg are two of Detroit's absolute legends as well and are most welcome.

Two Tigers legends kick things off here, including the Newhouser.  The rest are of the oddball variety but still feature mostly familiar names.  The Coleman pairs up nicely with a Freehan you can see over on TMM.  By the way, I've now got a growing collection of those '87 Coke cards.

Lastly, this pair of '02 Topps Total commons puts a small dent in my wantlist for that set, which now sits at a manageable 42.

Nick, thanks for an outstanding first trade, and here's to many more!  Readers, please check out my accompanying post over on TMM, and head over to Dime Boxes for some cheap thrills!

Two 2013 Upper Deck football rack packs

While I was in Milwaukee over the weekend for Sunday's Brewers game, I hit up the Wal-Mart near Miller Park along with my bro and sis-in-law.  That's an extremely rare event for me, but this was literally the only Wal-Mart I'd ever possibly set foot in again:  it was reasonably clean, and the usual "people of Wal-Mart" didn't appear to be around.

Anyway, I had been dying to try some 2013 Upper Deck football packs since they feature players with their college teams.  I had some house money to play with thanks to participating in an experiment at work (it was a distracted-driving-type simulation, so no, I didn't end up hallucinating about Adam Sandler dressed as Satan) and was fortunate enough to find a few racks up-front.  I grabbed two, and my brother and I each opened one.  Here's what I got, by category:

The hero:

A gorgeous shot of 'Tree on a beautifully done horizontal card.  As usual, UD > Topps.

The enemy: 

A couple of Sparties and a Domer.  Apparently, in Bell's case, being run into the ground ineffectively a thousand times a season makes you a "work horse" and "bell cow" RB.  Also, Riddick was drafted by the Lions, so his future is about as bright as his namesake series' first movie, Pitch Black.

The "they beat us down but at least Thomas Gordon ended up on this card":

I guess we'll find out if other teams letting Lacy fall to the Pack at #61 overall was shrewd or stupid!

The "your name is WHAT?!":

Let's just call him "Lutz."  Lutz holds Auburn's single-season and career record for TDs by a TE, and he signed with the Rams after the draft.  His transition to the NFL from Auburn and the SEC means a sharp decline in pay, but it's still probably a good move for him.

The "UD photography and design plus college football are the greatest combo ever":

Here's just three great examples.  #1 is A&M WR and somehow NCAA 2013 cover runner-up-to-Denard Ryan Swope in a shot I like to call "Swoperman."  #2 is Auburn WR Emory Blake in "LOL invisible bunk bed."  Finally, #3 is Wisconsin tackle Ricky Wagner in "Badger, badger, badger, BADGER, badger."

The "You 'bout ta get PAID, son!":

Here's the five 2013 first-rounders I pulled:  Jordan (3, Dolphins); Milliner (9, Jets); Fluker (11, Chargers); Werner (24, Colts); Jones (26, Packers).

The inserts:

Each rack pack comes with a pair of Robert Griffin UD Heroes inserts (which apparently differ from the hobby versions slightly).  I pulled #s 3, 4, 6, and 8.  I also ended up with one short print insert:  a '95 SP version of WSU WR Marquess Wilson.

My overall haul, then, was 59 different base cards (of the 100 non-SPed Star Rookies) and five inserts.  Cards #1-50 are veterans (including Anthony Carter!), and while they're not short-printed I don't know if they're just not included in retail or what.  #s 151-300 include multiple SPs of other players, including a pair of Denard Robinsons I'd love to grab.

None of the base cards here are for trade as I'll be going for the set, but I'll probably grab a couple more racks if I see them so I can complete the 100-card prospects subset, and at that point I'll surely have lots of doubles to trade.  The inserts can be had right now, though, if anyone's interested.