Card show report: 11/27: vintage baseball

Now that I've shown off the pre-show in-person trade I did with Dustin, here's one of two additional posts that'll cover what I picked up at this weekend's show.

My main focus this time was hitting up the (mainly) 90% vintage guy I discovered last month.  Dustin and I both found some keepers here, and I picked up 10 cards for something like $40.  One was a dupe of a Freehan I hadn't realized Dustin had given me that afternoon, so I won't show it off again, but it's tradeable if someone wants it, and if not I'm happy to keep it with the rest of my Tigers.  Here are the other nine:

Al Kaline 1960 Topps

 This is now my oldest Kaline of the six I now have and it happens to be one of those classic vintage designs that I'm sure many of you are already familiar with.  As with just about everything here, it has its signs of damage but is a great addition nonetheless.

Al Kaline 1962 Topps

 Ah yes, one of the famous wood-paneled sets!  The back of this slightly miscut card refers to his 1955 batting title when he hit a "lusty .340."  Um, that might not be an appropriate use of that word, just sayin'...

Andre Dawson 1977 Topps RC

 You know, I could have sworn I already had this card, but fortunately I've scanned all my prominent RCs into an album you all already know about, so I was able to quickly take a look on my Picasa album and see that I didn't.  The copy I bought is fairly beat up and pretty misprinted on the back--oddly enough, Dawson's name is the part that got cut off, of all people--but I'm happy to finally have this RC of the recent HOFer.

Carlton Fisk 1972 Topps RC

 Speaking of new additions to my RC collection, Dustin pulled this from the massive group of stuff for sale and I decided I had to have it for $13.  The centering's a bit off and it's somewhat worn but is otherwise in nice shape and is easily one of the best cards I came home with Sunday.  Pudge was obviously an outstanding player, but Cooper, who gets the center spot here, was a pretty good player in his own right, and actually compares best to Don Mattingly.  Neither guy deserves to be in the Hall, but they both had nice careers, so Cooper doesn't feel out of place on Fisk's RC here.

Frank Robinson 1968 Topps

One of my favorite underrated players of all time, this makes four vintage cards of Robinson for me.  I've always kind of liked the look of the '68s and this was a nice shot of Frank with the Orioles, though I'm just as happy to get his Reds cards.  You can see the wearing and a crease, but this is still pretty good for a couple bucks.

Johnny Bench 1969 Topps

Johnny Bench 1975 Topps

Here's a pair of Benches I grabbed for two different reasons.  The '69 is Bench's second-year card, which means it looks perfect right along with my RC of Mr. "No runs, no drips, no errors."  That, plus who doesn't like those All-Star Rookie cards?  Finally, it's a great posed shot of a catcher doing what he does best, as is the '75, featuring an older but no less talented Johnny on that awesomely colorful background.  

Lou Piniella 1964 Topps RC

Here's another great vintage card that also fits in my RC collection. Piniella's one of those guys like Joe Torre that will be enshrined in the Hall for a pretty good career as a player but huge contributions as a manager, always a nice combo.  Besides being a Rookie of the Year, he won two titles with the Yanks as a player, then one as a manager for Barry Larkin and the 1990 Reds.  Sweet Lou managed five different teams, including his hometown Rays, and finished 14th on the managerial wins list when he retired this year after a hell of a career in baseball.

Warren Spahn 1958 Topps All-Star

I definitely have a thing for some of these vintage designs including this sweet All-Star card.  Frozen in that moment of time, I can picture Spahn about to go into his signature windup.  I don't actively collect too many vintage stars due to their obvious price premiums, but I'll definitely be on the lookout for more of him at subsequent shows.  Incidentally, Spahn is one of my favorites in my autograph collection.

Tune in tomorrow or whenever I get to it as I show off the last of my haul from this show, including two purchases of groups of singles, and only a couple Michigan football hits, I promise!

Card show report: 11/27: a No Relics Rainbow

Dustin (No Relics Pulled) and I hit up another of the monthly Gibraltar Trade Center (Taylor, MI) card shows this past Sunday, and I'll get to my pickups in a couple future posts, but first I wanted to show off the goods he brought along to complete our most recent ongoing trade.  (Side note:  in-person trading is the best and I wish I could do it more often, but I've been lucky to be able to meet with both Dustin and Jeff at least once, so that's a plus)  

So to even us up this time, Dustin put in some time on COMC and, aside from getting some exciting stuff for himself that I can't wait to see, made excellent use of my singles wantlist page and went at it with a vengeance like his name was John McClane.  The results?:

Bill Freehan 1964 Topps

Bill Freehan 1966 Topps

Bill Freehan 1974 Topps

Bill Freehan 1968 Topps Game

Bill Freehan 1975 Topps

That's a whopping FIVE cards I needed for my Freehan player collection, meaning I'm down to just eight.  This group is interesting because it includes what are now my oldest (1964) and most recent (1975) of the collecting.  The '64 is my favorite since it's his second-year card (I can almost taste that RC!) although the '75 is a lot of fun due to its signature colorfulness and having a ton of years of stats on the back.  Despite looking around at shows I haven't seen a ton of Freehan that I need recently so getting these five was a huge help; I may follow Dustin's example and just snap up the rest of them online.

Rich Hill 2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes Autographs Black

Rich Hill 2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes Jersey Blue

Dustin mentioned that he had some help for me on the Hill rainbow, too, and he definitely delivered with this pair #d out of 50. (12 on the auto, 02 on the jersey)  The autograph is especially great as the red ink stands out on the black background.  I now stand at 11 cards left to get, and at least a couple of those are reasonably attainable.  Still, not including the Light Blue jersey #d to 200, the average numbering left is 26, so we'll see how that goes.  In the meantime, I can enjoy these as well as...

Rich Hill 2007 Sweet Spot Signatures Black Glove Leather Silver Ink

...this bad boy, my favorite of the whole lot.  Dustin was nice enough to grab me something besides the PC/rainbow stuff from my singles/player wantlist and this was the result.  I already had a gold ball and Red Stitch/Blue Ink version from the set, but this one definitely blows those out of the water, especially as far as manu-autos go.  Topps can go to hell with their horrible leather manubominations while Upper Deck goes and does something right with these.  That's my 30th different Rich Hill, by the way, putting him close to some of the football players in my PC.

Rich Hill 2006 Topps autograph

Dustin got one more card for me in a bundle deal with other stuff he picked up, but as it turns out, I already have it, so this 2006 Topps Hill auto is now part of my Wolverines trade bait, though I won't be such a hard-ass about having to trade it only for other Michigan stuff--if you're a Hill or Cubs fan, hit me up and we'll make a deal!

This turned out to be another great haul from one of my favorite traders and I'm already looking forward to our next deal.  Thanks again, Dustin!

2008 UD Heroes Football retail boxes (x3)

I know it had been a while since I did a box break, but there hasn't been a ton that interested me and/or was a good deal.  Despite a possible card show on Sunday plus scads of Black Friday deals on Blowout, Dave & Adam's et al, this afternoon I took advantage of one of the few days a year where Meijer has its cards on sale.  (Which sewingmachineguy also pointed out today--good on you, dude!)  I'll be honest--I check Meijer's ad scans online every week to check for this kind of thing, so it didn't exactly catch me by surprise today.  Add to that the fact that you could snag a few further discounts and it added up to a nice deal for me, one I was happy to take advantage of after nothing on Black Friday wowed me.

Therefore, I ended up with these three boxes.  I had some fun with the baseball set of that year and these were the only boxes at the store I hit up that made any sense to buy--I refuse to buy anything new from Topps since I know it'll be poorly made, missing cards and completely lacking value, and there's an easy way to avoid that headache.  Blasters generally don't appeal to me either, and Panini's retail products leave a LOT to be desired.  But these looked enticing especially since I almost picked up a bunch of blasters of them on the cheap from D&A.  I was somewhat considering opening one each day for three straight days, but in my post Michigan victory euphoria, all bets were off, and I ripped through these quickly.

So, without getting too formal, since my review process has changed greatly--mostly because I didn't like the amount of effort I was putting into them--here's a quick look at how I did:

Product:  2008 Upper Deck Heroes Football retail boxes (x3)
Packs/cards:  24/6 (x3)
Price:  $23.99, not including further discounts with Meijers "Santa Bucks" (x3)

Base set:

Base fronts:  veteran, RC, legend, (also a checklist) Sports Hero, Guitar Hero

Base backs:  a regular card and a checklist

Once again I like the look of the base set:  you get a nice action shot framed by a nice marble kind of background.  The hand-painted checklists really stand out, too, and are a great addition.  The set's split into five groups:  football heroes, rookie heroes, (in college unis!) legendary heroes, sports heroes and guitar heroes.

My two quibbles:  I don't love the multiple versions of every player and would have preferred that they cut the set size down or include additional players instead; this set is called "Football Heroes" and yet you're lacking Tom Brady, among others?  The only pro Wolverine in the set is Braylon Edwards of all people.

The other big issue I have is the inclusion of the sports heroes and guitar heroes.  At least the other athletes fit in as part of a sports set, though again I don't appreciate them taking away from the subjects of the base set; the guitar heroes bore me to death and are an obvious cash-in attempt on the series of games, and to that end, UD failed miserably.  Overall, I still generally like the set, especially since it features so many Wolverines.  (See below)

Set completion:  258/266 (97%)

Doubles:  130

Triples:  21

Quads:  12

Quints:  8

Total dupes:  171/429 (40%)

Don't get me wrong--I knew I'd pile up a bunch of extras out of three boxes when I was due 429 base cards for a 266-card set.  I'm just disappointed by the Topps-like collation I got that meant that, despite busting three boxes, I'm still eight cards short of the set.  Despite my liberal arts-induced aversion to math, I have a very simple explanation for the above, though:  each pack includes two cards each from 1-99, 100-199 and 200-269. (261-263 don't exist)  In case you still don't get it, the fact that there's only 67 cards in that least group means you're going to pull a disproportionate number of extras there, an especially egregious decision on Upper Deck's part and one I can't begin to understand.  

Unfortunately, that group happens to include the Sports and Guitar Heroes throwaways mentioned above.  A tiny handful of my quadruples and a few of the triples come from #s 1-199, but obviously the majority of the rest, including all of the quintuples, are from that other craptastic group.  So here's the part where I ask you, my readers, to check if you have the ones I need because I'll happily send money, cards, money/cards your way for them; otherwise I'll just grab them from Sportlots and call it a day.  I currently need:  15 17 27 33 46 88 91 95.  I also obviously have plenty of extras up for trade if anybody would like some before I eventually sort them into teams for dispersal that way.

Inserts:

Blue LenDale White (#017/125), Green Andre Woodson (#331/350) and running Michael Johnson (#058/350)

These inserts appeared to fall one per box since that's exactly how I pulled them.  Not as exciting as the hobby versions I'm sure, especially since I like what they did with the baseball set, but not terrible either.

Hits:

Dwayne Bowe Green Retail jersey

 Eli Manning Green Retail jersey

Tony Romo Green Retail jersey

The outside of each box promised one of these per box ("On average") and each did deliver as promised.  I don't love the ugly background or the tiny jersey windows that feature single-color swatches, but all the same, these are a nice bonus in a box I bought primarily to build the set.  I'm not a fan of Bowe, and Manning and Romo are two of my least-favorite QBs ever, so each is absolutely up for trade and already in my trade bait.  They will serve nicely in that respect, so, again, a nice bonus, though easily not as valuable as they should be at the original price of the box.

Overall:  I got everything that was due to me, including three guaranteed hits, and I was only eight cards short of a complete set.  It still kills me that I pulled that many dupes because Upper Deck fails at basic math, though.  But I do like most of the aspects of the base set, and I'll be happy to have it completed shortly, one way or another.  I certainly wouldn't pay the original $50 for these and now, having opened them, I wouldn't drop $30 each either, but for what essentially amounted to $20 per box, I'm only slightly miffed at the overall haul.  In the end, I'd stay away from these and either go hobby or just grab a complete base set.

Hey, I get to use this image for what I originally intended again!

All four of Braylon Edwards

 Two each of Chad Henne and Jake Long

Two each of Shawn Crable, Mario Manningham and Mike Hart

Blue Saturday

1-0.  A new streak begins today!

HAIL!

Michigan gameday: HATE WEEK

Today only one game matters.  Let everyone else enjoy the BCS fixing the rankings so they can have their 100% SEC championship game that excites them so much they die of autoerotic asphyxiation--today is THE GAME.  The undisputed best college football rivalry and probably the best in sports.

Today has to be the end of an ugly losing streak against Ohio--yes, I'm calling them Ohio like everyone else because they deserve it--it's what their band spells on the field, it's what they spell out with their arms, and most importantly, it's what my coach calls them.

More than a year ago an awesome fellow blogger sent me this and I think it still applies:

The only thing still not accurate on that card is that it's missing Ohio's current lame duck interim coach who, after this season, will make way for Urban Meyer--you know, until all his players continue getting arrested and he retires for "health reasons."

But that's the future, and my only concern is for today.  This losing streak that started with the downward spiral of Lloyd's last couple years and continued with the curse laid upon RichRod by the athletic department should finally end today when a highly-motivated and much-improved Michigan team sets its sights on an underperforming Buckeye team reeling from the effects of its decade (or more) of cheating.  Five years after this school lost its AD--athletic dad--its time to honor Bo with a win that's hard-earned by a team of players who stayed despite the chaos and bullshit of the last five years, a team that, by staying, will fulfill Bo's promise and be champions of The Game.

GO BLUE!  BEAT OHIO!

JV = (C+Y) + (M+V+P)

On cloud nine

On the Sunday after Michigan won its 9th game for the first time since 2007, what better way to celebrate than show off some Wolverine-centric mail stuff!

Not Wolverine-centric but still good:

Thanks to the always-reliable Sportlots, I picked up the very last base card I needed for my 6th 2011 Topps base set, plus all the remaining ToppsTown inserts and one of the Super Bowl Legends on my wantlist.  I just need cards from the Game Day and Super Bowl Legends inserts to complete a master set, which I'm then planning to flip.  Four base sets are still available for sale/trade, though, so if you're interested please hit me up.

Super Bowl Legends, FINALLY:

Topps, in their quest to be collectively named world's biggest douche: sports card division, FINALLY managed to get my redeemed cards to my mailbox, despite ignoring my choice of UPS instead of USPS, even though they charged me UPS rates (more than $8 for five cards!) and blatantly ignored my polite request to reimburse me the difference.  This is clearly a company that doesn't give a shit about their customers, but what else is new?

Anyway, the redeemed cards are pretty nice at least.  Here's the fronts and backs for Brees, Rice and Elway, all of which are now part of my Trade Bait:

And here are the two I really wanted, both Bradys available through the online promotion: (I hear there's also a hobby shop version that I might try to snag somehow)

A couple quick notes:  

• As usual, the scans don't do these justice, but that usually goes without saying.  They're very thick and holographic, which is often difficult for scanners to pick up, as I'm sure some of you are highly aware.  Very nice looking overall.
• They come with a thin, transparent protector on top, sort of Topps Finest-style, though it doesn't have any obnoxious removal notice on it, so for now I'm inclined to leave those on, especially on the ones available for trade.
• From the preview of the cards the site offered, I had thought these would be serial numbered, but apparently I was wrong.  That doesn't detract from them much, just an annoyance and another shitty aspect of their very poorly done site. Again, it's Topps, so what else is new?
• I ended up with these five after a couple two-for-one trades, so technically I unlocked more, but given I entered something like 65 codes, I definitely don't think I got my money's worth on these after buying the case.  In retrospect, if I would have known the codes would go for as much as they are now--which they weren't at the time I redeemed them, to be fair--I would have just sold them to recoup some of the cost of the case, then maybe bought or traded for the Bradys, the only ones I really wanted.  Well, that's how you learn.

If I'm able to find the third hobby shop-only Brady card, you know you'll all see it here.

Blowout mini blowout:  the four hundreding:

I got a nice deal on a small lot on Blowout the other day and those cards showed up very quickly, which was awesome.  For $17 delivered I snagged the following:

A Brandon Graham 2010 Playoff Contenders ROTY Contenders insert #d 22/50, plus a Drew Henson 2004 Elite Aspirations RC #d42/93.  These both look great, and while I don't usually pick up inserts on places like Blowout, these were only $0.50 each, so good deals.  I really like the die-cut Henson, especially because it has a great shot of the former QB from his Michigan days.  For $1 for the pair, I certainly couldn't go wrong.

Chad Henne 2008 Leaf Certified Materials Freshman Fabric jersey RC:  This great jumbo relic only contributed a buck or two to the overall price, which is fantastic considering it's a great RC of one of my favorite Michigan QBs.  The card's #d 180/599 on the back and becomes my 32nd Henne, putting him two behind leader Jake Long and one behind Braylon Edwards.  This'll go well with my jersey/ball/auto from the same set.

John Navarre 2004 Press Pass auto:  There's another guy on Blowout who's a big-time buyer of Navarre, but he tends to ignore lesser-brand cards like this, which set me back only $1.  Fine by me--I'm happy to have another of Navarre in a Michigan uni, and my tenth overall, half of which now share that trait, oddly enough.

Marlin Jackson 2005 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection auto RC:  This is the one that set me back the most--he originally had it listed for $15 but I got him to knock a good chunk off of that in the total price.  It may seem a little crazy to pay that much for a guy who's not playing at this point, but this is still a fantastic auto/RC of one of Michigan's best DBs in recent memory.  The card is thick as hell, numbered 128/150 and features a great looking autograph window which showcases a decent autograph.  When a guy like Dan Orlovsky is booking at $40 in this set, you know it has to be pretty high quality, so I'm fine with the ultimate price I paid.  This makes nine hits of Jackson in my PC.

Mike Hart 2008 SP Rookie Edition '95 auto:  This is one of my favorite recent sets since I found nice deals on boxes of these at Meijer.  I never did pull any Michigan autos, but now I have a Hart to go along with my Jake Long.  This Hart is one of the variations that uses a previous SP design--1995 in this case.  I believe this one was also only a dollar or two, plus it was on my singles wantlist, so hooray for knocking one off that list.  This is Hart #14 and I'd definitely like to have more of my favorite Michigan RB.

Tony Pape 2004 Press Pass auto:  We finish this package with a new member to my PC, the 56th overall.  Pape was a tackle (wearing the same number as Michigan legend Jake Long and current stud Taylor Lewan) drafted by the 'Fins in 2004, and he was definitely one of the better linemen a school known for producing them turned out, especially since he was included in the Wolverine Blog's O-Line of the Decade.  For a buck I was more than happy to add him to my collection.

All told, the count now stands at 384.  Should I be able to attend a show in a week, that number should grow, plus I know Dustin has some stuff heading my way soon, plus a very exciting addition to his own PC that I can't wait to see myself.