2/4/17 card show report: sampling my PCs

I'll get back to trade posts shortly but today I decided I also wanted to mix in some purchases as well.

I also want to point out that I did an overhaul of my Single/player wantlists which you can find here (or using the button up top) to give everyone a better idea of what I collect including some specific cards I'm seeking.  Hit me up if you'd like to trade!

With that out of the way, let's have a look at some cards I bought for myself at the monthly show last Saturday.  Once again I visited my favorite seller, and this time I attacked his dime, $0.50, and $1 boxes to the tune of just $20, but that landed me a ton of stuff, including some fun pickups for a number of you.  In my case, I scored some football and hockey stuff as seen on this evening's TMM post, plus the following help to five of my player collections:

Ken Griffey Jr.:

Four cards this time, starting off with a not-exactly-mint 1995 Collector's Choice SE base that features Junior's pretty swing.  Next is the first of Ken's three instances in '98 Score's Complete Players insert.  I don't think I have the other two yet but will have to look; I will be showing off Maddux's trio in an upcoming post, though!

The other two cards skew towards the odball as they're both Upper Deck samples.  First is one of two available of Griffey representing 1998 SPx Finite, a product that featured serial numbering on every single card (though this one is marked "0000/0000" on the back as it's just an example).  The other hails from 1999 SP Signature, one of the best autograph-per-pack products out there, and I knew I had to grab it since my lone Griffey signature is from that very product:

You can see how the sample card was just a mock-up, including a stand-in signature and different photo.  Fun stuff considering these didn't cost very much at all.

Tony Gwynn:

I decided on a trio of cards of Mr. Padre, starting with one of his two base cards out of '85 Donruss, with the other being his Diamond King (which I actually don't have yet).  It's a great photo of Gwynn bunting while wearing the old San Diego uni.  Sticking with base cards, card number two is one of two Gwynns available from 1999 Topps Stars, in this case a subset issue.  Stars stuck around for a few years but I'm not shocked that it never really resonated with collectors.

Last up is an insert from 2004 Donruss Throwback Threads called "Generations" (#0107/1500) that pairs up Tony with fellow west-coaster Garret Anderson.  It wasn't a terrible combination since the back notes that both are from L.A., plus Anderson picked up 1508 hits between 1996 and 2003, second to Derek Jeter's 1534.  Garret went on to play for seven more seasons and finish with 2529 hits over a solid Angels career.

Greg Maddux:

For whatever reason I had the best luck turning up cards of Mad Dog this time, which was just fine by me.  Topps' 1993 Black Gold cards are mostly forgettable, but I think that one set me back just a time.  Jumping forward to 1998, I was happy to find a '98 Leaf Rookies & Stars Great American Heroes insert (#0912/2500) and a Zenith Z-Team card from the same year.  These both look great, especially the numbered Leaf card, and I'm happy to bring out the "90s inserts rule" tag in their honor.

Greg's Season Crowns subset issue from 1999 Ultra is my last one of that decade this time, and it honors his ability to avoid walks, noting that he allowed just 20 free passes during all of 1997!  Next, the pitching artist is pictured on a Silver Foil insert (#091/400) from the artistic 2002 Diamond Kings, a fantastic set.  Finally, I was surprised to find Maddux's entry in the Die-Cut version of 2013 Pinnacle's Awaiting the Call set in these discount boxes, so I happily snatched it up.  Of course, he was hardly waiting as he was enshrined in 2014.

Cal Ripken Jr.:

Any show where I can add a couple Ripkens to my collection is probably a good one.  Despite the pickings being relatively slim I managed to come up with two.  The first is a textbook example of an over-the-top Pacific insert called High Voltage which appeared in 2000 Vanguard.  The back points out that he went 6-6 with two HR in a June, 1999 game against Atlanta, which definitely justifies his appearance.  My other purchase was Cal's base card from 2014 Gypsy Queen, featuring a great old photo of Ripken donning Baltimore's old unis.

Alan Trammell:

I didn't run across too many Tigers cards that interested me in these boxes but I did manage to come up with Tram's card from the 1988 Starting Lineup All-Stars set.  These cards are shorter and a tad wider than the typical 2.5x3.5 baseball card so they're definitely oddball-ish.  I was glad to track this one down without even trying since I also have his former double play partner's version:

Now there's a pair that belongs together!

Hopefully I can keep adding to the starts I made towards trade packages for many of you.  And speaking of that type of post, look for another one here next time.