20 lbs of retail packs, live NOW

(I'm not kidding about the 20 lbs, either!)

From this...

to this...

to this

live on the screen of your choice!

Hit the Follow button on the right side of your window and then click here to come watch the packstravaganza and enter to win free stuff!  EDIT:  stream is now over, I may upload it at some point after I edit it.  Thanks to all who participated) Saint Matthew of Lesko demands it!

For those of you still here, here's the quick(-ish) breakdown of packs that came with my five 50-pack orders:

1988 Donruss 8
1988 Fleer 2
1988 Fleer (cello) 1
1988 Topps 2
1989 Bowman 1
1989 Donruss 14
1989 Topps 1
1990 Fleer 16
1990 Upper Deck 6
1991 Fleer 1
1991 Score 2
1991 Ultra 12
1991 Upper Deck 2
1992 Upper Deck 1
1993 Fun Pack 1
2006 Bazooka 2
2006 Razor Poker 1
2006 Topps S1&2 (hanger) 6
2006 Topps S1&2 (rack) 11
2006 Topps S2 (Wal-Mart) 1
2006 Topps Update 1
2006 Ultra 1
2006 Ultra (Dollar Store) 1
2006 Upper Deck S2 2
2006 Upper Deck S2 rack 1
2007 Bowman Heritage 5
2007 Topps (6 cards) 1
2007 TriStar Prospects Plus 1
2007 UD Masterpieces 2
2007 Ultra 1
2007 Ultra (Dollar Store) 4
2007 Upper Deck S1 (Dollar Store) 2
2007 Upper Deck S1 rack 1
2007 Upper Deck S2 1
2007 Upper Deck S2 (Dollar Store) 2
2008 Bowman 2
2008 Bowman Chrome 1
2008 Goudey 1
2008 Stadium Club 2
2008 Topps Opening Day 1
2008 Topps S1 6
2008 Upper Deck 1st Edition Update 2
2008 Upper Deck S1 1
2008 Upper Deck S1&2 2
2008 Upper Deck S2 2
2009 Topps A&G 4
2009 Topps S2 (Dollar Store) 1
2010 Topps Update 4
2011 Topps Lineage 5
2011 Topps Opening Day 3
2013 Topps S2 (Dollar Store) 2
2014 Topps S1 (Dollar Store) 7
2014 Topps S2 (Dollar Store) 4
2014 Topps Update (Dollar Store) 9
2015 Topps Archives (Dollar Store) 10
2015 Topps Hot Button 2
2015 Topps S1 (Dollar Store) 10
2015 Topps S2 (Dollar Store) 10
2016 Topps S1 (Dollar Store) 11
2016 Topps S2 (Dollar Store) 6
2017 Topps S1 (Dollar Store) 10
2017 Topps S2 (Dollar Store) 8
2017 Topps Update (Dollar Store) 9

Big fun announcement: streaming a pack break with a contest!

So here's a few things I haven't done in a while that I'll be doing all at once:  busting retail packs, streaming, and hosting a contest.  Here's what's up:  I've been following a thread on Blowout about a deal Wal-Mart's offering online only, 50 packs for $20 (free shipping if you spend $35+).  That's $0.40 per pack, friends. 

The packs you get seem to vary a ton, with some people complaining about low-end, junky stuff, and others getting some nicer more recent packs.  There seems to be a mix of dollar store packs (what's up, Doug?), repacks/blisters, and other random stuff.

Check out that thread to get a better idea of what's coming in these, though I swiped an image for reference:

So what does that have to do with me and you, readers?  Well, I'll tell you!

I've decided to try a few of these for myself, so I ordered four (200 packs worth!) and will be streaming ripping them live when they arrive next week (due on Tuesday, for now).  I'm sure most of what comes out of them will be heading to trade packages, so that should be exciting for many of you aside from just seeing someone open a ton of packs.

BUT, even more exciting...

I bought a FIFTH package of these just for contest purposes, and I'll be straight up giving it away during the stream!  All US residents who are following this here blog will be eligible and I'll random it off at the end of the stream to one lucky viewer.

Sound good?  I hope so!  I'm tentatively planning on doing this at 9pm this coming Tuesday and will try to lock that down when I can confirm.  In the meantime, will interested folks please drop a comment letting me know if that date/time works?  I'd love to get as many people involved as possible.  Tell me what you think!

Stupidly easy contest over at Bob Walk the Plank!

Hey y'all!  Get on over to Bob Walk the Plank right now to join Matt's contest.  It's stupidly easy to enter--just leave a comment and say what you collect.  Don't be that guy--you know, the one that doesn't follow instructions.

You have until 9:00 p.m. this Friday to get in, and the more people that join the better the prizes will be, plus if he gets more than 50 entrants there will be THREE winners!

I think this is exciting enough to warrant Matthew Lesko:

Good luck to everyone who enters, and by "everyone who enters" I obviously mean "me," because screw you guys, I'ma win this!

2014 Spring Cleaning Giveaway/Contest!

Why?  Because crazy fun free giveaway contests automatically mean Matthew Lesko, that's why!

The what:
As if I haven't been teasing this for a while.  I'm giving away lots of cards, then giving away MORE in the form of a contest to make sure people take cards away from me.

The why:
1.  To clear space
2.  To get cards into the hands of people that want them
3.  Seriously, I have a lot of stuff I don't really want, and it's not like space grows on trees.  Cards sort of do, though, when you really think about it.
4.  To spur a bit more trading, since I don't really have much in the way of trade bait anymore.
5.  It's fun!

The rules:
I'm trying to keep this as simple and fair as possible, but I still have a few guidelines:

1.  Each of these lots is absolutely free.  I'm hoping it'll get some of you trading with me (if you aren't already), but there's zero obligation here.
2.  All claims for lots should be made in the comments of this post only.  That assures that everyone can see who's claiming what and solves any issues of who claimed what first.
3.  Also, I won't allow any anonymous comments; either post with an account that's linked to your email, or provide your email address, even if you just say "myemail at gmail" or something.  I don't want to have to track down "noreply-comment@blogger.com" 20 times!
4.  Claim as many lots as you want, but don't be a dick and claim them all!
5.  Because of shipping costs, I reserve the right to deny claims for larger lots (or prizes) to participants outside of the country (including Canada).  A medium-sized bubble mailer is fine, I just don't want to pay like $50 to send something larger than that (sorry!).
6.  Each lot has an assigned number of contest entries based on how much I want to get rid of it, but I'll try to make things as fair as possible.  Just look for the number inside parentheses after the lot title/description.
7.  An additional contest entry per person can be had by pimping the giveaway/contest on your blog.  Please just comment anytime with a link to prove it.  As you'll see, the more people we get involved, the better it will get for everyone!
8.  What I consider the top prize, the Tulo auto, will only become available if all of my highest-priority lots I want to get rid of get claimed.  Those will be denoted in red/bold, and, as I've said, will also earn you the most entries.  There are 10 of these.
9.  I'm going to run this contest for up to two weeks, from Sunday, 6/8 to Sunday, 6/22 at 11:59 p.m. EST, or until everything is claimed, whichever comes first.
10.  I will then take every one of the entries, randomize them, and then the top 11 different participants will get to choose among the prizes (below) draft-style.  I'll also try to throw in something extra (small insert sets or other things) for everyone else who participates while supplies and space last.
11.  In the interest of transparency, I'm posting a Google Drive spreadsheet of the entries for all to see at the very bottom of this post.
12.  Once the lots and prizes are claimed at the end of the giveaway/contest, I'll ship everything out.

I'll keep this post updated so everyone knows who's claimed what.  Again, please comment on this post only--don't pick another one or email me directly!

The prizes:

Troy Tulowitzki auto

 

2008 UD baseball Series 1&2 jumbo pack blaster (five packs/36 cards)

 

2014 UD football value pack

2013 Panini Triple Play baseball value pack 

Random 100-card baseball value pack

Verlander/Billingsley/Carmona/Chamberlain quad jersey

Warren Moon and Julio Jones jerseys

Shawn Crable auto and Prescott Burgess jersey

2008 Donruss EEE complete set 1-100

2014 UD football Star Rookies complete set (51-150) and Luck Heroes set (1-10)

Manziel 2014 UD RC

Plus as many others as I can find for all non-winning participants

The lots:
As you'll see, there's a lot of variety here.  Please feel free to ask more about the lots, though I'm not going to list specifics for every group.  The team/player lots are generally a mix of base/inserts, and there's definitely some doubles (and up) in there.  The sizes of the lots varies, and I tried to give a bit of a sense of scale in the images below.

NFL teams (1 of 3):

1. Arizona Cardinals (3)  Claimed:  Chris (Raz Card Blog)
2. Atlanta Falcons (2)  Claimed:  Kyle Wong
3. Baltimore Ravens (2)  Claimed:  Josh Liss
4. Carolina Panthers (1)  Claimed:  Alex (Chavez Ravining)
5. Chicago Bears (1)  Claimed:  Alex (Chavez Ravining)
6. "State of Ohio":  Cincinnati Bengals/Cleveland Browns (2)  Claimed:  Tim (Great Sports Name Hall of Fame)
7. "State of Texas":  Dallas Cowboys/Houston Texans (1)  Claimed:  Brian (Play at the Plate)
8. Denver Broncos (1)  Claimed:  Greg (Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle)
9. Detroit Lions (1)  Claimed:  Chuck Bartz

NFL teams (2 of 3):

1. "Wisconsin/Minnesota":  Green Bay Packers/Minnesota Vikings (1)  Claimed:  Chris (Raz Card Blog)
2. Indianapolis Colts (1)  Claimed:  Alex (Chavez Ravining)
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (3)  Claimed:  Eric Eckstein
4. Kansas City Chiefs (3)  Claimed:  Greg (Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle)
5. Miami Dolphins (2)  Claimed:  Roger (Cool Breeze Baseball Buzz)
6. "What's News?":  New England Patriots/New Orleans Saints/New York Giants/New York Jets (2)  Claimed:  Max (Starting 9)
7. "West Coast Party":  Oakland Raiders/San Francisco 49ers/Seattle Seahawks (1)  Claimed:  Chuck Bartz
8. "State of Pennsylvania":  Philadelphia Eagles/Pittsburgh Steelers (1)  Claimed:  Josh Liss
9. San Diego Chargers (2)  Claimed:  defgav (Baseball Card Breakdown)

NFL teams (3 of 3):

1. St. Louis Rams (1)  Claimed:  Stewart65
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2)  Claimed:  Eric Eckstein
3. Tennessee Titans (2)  Claimed:  Stewart65
4. Washington Redskins (1)  Claimed:  Curtis (Condition Sensitive)
5. "All College Unis":  what the title says (2)  Claimed:  Kyle Wong
6. "University of Virginia football alumni":  also what the title says (1)  Claimed:  Greg (Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle)

Baseball teams/other:

1. Atlanta Braves (1)  Claimed:  Chris (Nachos Grande)
2. Colorado Rockies (1)  Claimed:  Curtis (Condition Sensitive)
3. Detroit Tigers (2)  Claimed:  Pat (Hot Corner Cards)
4. Florida Marlins (4)  Claimed:  Tim (Great Sports Name Hall of Fame)
5. Kansas City Royals (1) Claimed:  Greg (Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle)
6. San Diego Padres (4)  Claimed:  defgav (Baseball Card Breakdown)
7. Assorted base lot (doesn't include teams above) (2)  Claimed:  Jack (Baseball Dad)
8. Assorted insert lot (doesn't include teams above) (1)  Claimed:  Brian (Play at the Plate)
9. Assorted 1980s vintage lot (doesn't include teams above) (2)  Claimed:  Alex (Chavez Ravining)

Baseball players:

1. Garret Anderson (1)  Claimed:  Matt (Bob Walk the Plank)
2. Carl Crawford/David Price (1)  Claimed:  Matt (Bob Walk the Plank)
3. Prince Fielder (1)  Claimed:  Tony (Off Hiatus Baseball)
4. Brian Giles (1)  Claimed:  defgav (Baseball Card Breakdown)
5. Troy Glaus (1)  Claimed:  Greg (Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle)
6. Mark McGwire (1)  Claimed:  Max (Starting 9)
7. Oakland A's:  Eric Chavez/Johnny Damon/Jason Giambi/Mark Mulder/Barry Zito (2)  Claimed:  Mark (Baseball Nation)
8. Alex Rodriguez (1)  Claimed:  Alex (Chavez Ravining)
9. C.C. Sabathia (1)  Claimed:  Jack (Baseball Dad)
10. Sammy Sosa (1)  Claimed:  Triple Play Autos
11. Alfonso Soriano (1)  Claimed:  Jim (GCRL)

Baseball complete sets:

1. 1990 Topps Traded (2)  Claimed:  Pat (Hot Corner Cards)
2. 1997 Donruss Rookie Update (a.k.a. Series 2) (2)  Claimed:  Swing and a Popup
3. 1998 Skybox Dugout Axcess (2)  Claimed:  Swing and a Popup
4. 1999 Topps Series 2 (Includes Sosa HR card) (4)  Claimed:  Tony (Off Hiatus Baseball)
5. 2000 Fleer Tradition Update (opened) (1)  Claimed:  Doug (Sports Cards From the Dollar Store)
6. 2001 UD Evolution (1)  Claimed:  Al Kawamoto (Hockey Kazi)

Basketball:

1. 1999-2000 Topps complete set (minus rookies) (2)  Claimed:  Mark (Baseball Nation)
2. 2000-2001 Topps complete set (minus rookies) (2)  Claimed:  Alex (Chavez Ravining)
3. Huge lot of basketball base and inserts (both piles on the bottom) (5)  Claimed:  Brian (Play at the Plate)

Starter sets (multiple sports):

1. 2001 Upper Deck MVP football:  290/330, including many Rookies (5)  Claimed:  Greg (Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle)
2. 2008 Score football:  153 cards, including 12 Rookies (2)  Claimed:  Chuck Bartz
3. 2012 Upper Deck football (Star Rookies):  51 cards, all different (1)  Claimed:  Chris (Raz Card Blog)
4. 1999-2000 Topps basketball:  missing five cards (#73 82 121 125 210) (4)  Claimed:  Chris (Raz Card Blog)
5. 1998-1999 Topps basketball #1:  missing one card (#65) (2)  Claimed:  Roger (Cool Breeze Baseball Buzz)
6. 1998-1999 Topps basketball #2:  missing nine cards (#7 32 65 76 97 113 156 161 165) (4)  Claimed:  Chris (Raz Card Blog)
7. 2014 Topps Olympics:  32 different, plus one double (2)  Claimed:  Al Kawamoto (Hockey Kazi)

The contest entries:

COMC 2: Buyforyou Boogaloo LAST CALL

Well, it's been about two weeks since I first made my second offer (wait--ok, yeah, that sounds right) to buy stuff on COMC for any takers that would trade me something nice for it.  My COMC inventory now stands at 27 cards, only six of which are heading to my collection.  The rest will be going out in much-anticipated trade packages not long after I request shipment.

Not sure why I used this for this post, but why not?

Thanks to the power of combining cards and making shameful lowball offers, I've spent just about $60 so far on $180+ of "book value" (thank God COMC won't be using Beckett's anal cavity-extracted numbers soon) not including three others without values attached.  That gives you an idea of a COMC buyer's ability to do fairly well on the site with a bit of patience.  Really, the only requests I've had to turn down so far were higher-end items for which the sellers just wouldn't budge.

Anyone else remember this asshole from old card magazines?

So although this would be one of my smaller COMC shipments to-date, and definitely the fewest I've purchased for myself in one package, I'm perfectly willing to request shipment as-is, especially since I'm motivated to get these already made purchases in the hands of those that are trading with me.  That said, I'm offering one last call for anybody that hasn't gotten in on the action so far (or for anyone who'd like to tack on a few items to their existing haul).  I have about $20-$25 remaining in this month's budget, although I certainly don't mind going over a bit if it results in more trading (or, under, I guess!).

Remember the time I got THIS many cards from COMC?

So the deadline this time will be 3:00 a.m. Friday morning (the 24th)--to account for you left-coasters and your "pacific time zone."  As long as you have a comment or email in to me before then, I'll attempt to make your purchase(s).  Otherwise, I'll be hitting the "ship" button so I can have this stuff before the end of the month and back in the mail.  The same rules from the original post still apply, so please keep those in mind.

Remember the time I shipped this many packages all at once?

Speak now or forever hold your peace...until the next time I do this in a month or two!  Also, let's celebrate the fact that this post allowed me to dig out my forgotten "Drug-fueled card-buying binge" tag.

Excuses, excuses (but good news for youses)

I guess the title makes more sense if you read it in his voice

I realize I was pretty lax about posting last week.  Well, more than just lax--I literally posted nothing over here for a week.  I'm here again today to tell you that my posting will again be a bit sparse for a couple days this week, but this time it's not out of laziness, but for a good cause:  I'm putting together a new COMC package so I can finally pay back those of you who sent me some fantastic trade packages late last year and complete a few new trades (plus I also want to send a couple other random ones out).  This one will, as usual, include a ton of stuff for my PCs--especially my Michigan baseball player collections--but I'm working on acquiring some great cards to send to some outstanding traders, new and old.  I'll also be gearing up to send out a few other packages I've owed to some of you for weeks--I promise I'll get those done too.

Because I've got a ton of potential cards in this package and I'm working on getting the best price possible on everything, that'll be my focus for a few days until the last offer has been accepted and I can click "ship."  I hope you don't mind another lull in posting (not that anyone complained last week), but I promise it'll be worth it to many of you.  I'll make sure to make a big deal out of finishing up and getting back to posting, so worry not!

Lots of money will be involved, so here's Matthew Lesko again

2012-->2013, part 2: money money money mooooney...MOOOONEY!

Yesterday I covered my 2012 and 2013 resolutions, then promised that I would return today to talk about the financial aspects of my collecting habit, both last year and going forward.

After June I posted a mid-year look at my spending and selling, and I'm proud to report that I stayed disciplined enough that I continued to record every purchase (and sale), no matter how tempting it might have seemed not to do so.  That would have been a massive waste of time, though, and there really was no point in not keeping an accurate running total so I could keep my spending reasonable.  Also, I've maintained that I try to be reasonably transparent with my spending on my blogs, and I feel that I've lived up to that.

So today, you get to see my net spending for an average (?) year in my collecting life, including how often I bought stuff, where I was most likely to purchase cards, how I did trying to sell, and maybe some other useful info.

Before I begin, a few notes:

• Anything I purchased with "house money" such as gift cards, eBay bucks, and even bottle returns (a gray area, yes, but it's my blog and I'll do what I want) didn't count towards my spending total, though if those only covered a part of a purchase, I prorated the price accordingly.
• Purchase totals for online sources include delivery costs.  Basically, I was good about reporting the full price paid every time I bought something.
• Purchase totals for retail include Michigan sales tax.
• Selling totals (I believe) don't take into account what I had to pay to ship those items; I felt like it would be more interesting to capture the total price of each sale, especially since shipping costs are pretty much implied when you sell over the Internet.
• I didn't track spending on packaging for and shipping of trade packages and giveaway items.  I think of trading as a zero-sum game (where everyone wins!) and while those costs are a necessary evil, I don't believe they merit meticulous tracking.
• I also didn't include the cost of any supplies I purchased for myself, such as boxes, sleeves and top-loaders.  While those purchases are related to what I spend on this hobby, I also don't feel they merit consideration when looking at yearly spending.

Ok, on with the show!  First up are some buying numbers and charts:

Let's get down to some stats, shall we?:

• Total spending:  $3,173.76
• Average monthly spending:  $264.48
• Most spent in one month:  March ($533.72)
• Least spent in one month:  December ($0!  I can't remember the last time I went this long without buying anything!)
• Largest individual purchase:  $300 for the "IPP" lot of Michigan Wolverines on March 30
• Source purchased from the most:  COMC, $1,463.55
• Source purchased from the least:  Group breaks, $24
• Average spending per source:  $396.72

COMC clearly ruled the roost here, accounting for nearly half my 2012 spending, and for good reason:  I love buying me some singles, and so far there hasn't been any other place that's been such a reasonable source for collecting my favorites.  Look for that to continue this year.

eBay was the next most useful, and I really did pick up some exciting stuff for my PCs this year, mainly in terms of the Michigan collections, but not entirely.  Similarly, my spending at card shows included zero dollars spent on boxes, with all of it going towards my baseball and Michigan PCs, trade bait, and autographed memorabilia.

While I don't have numbers for my 2011 spending, I can tell you for sure that I spent a LOT less on Blowout this year as those boards have kind of devolved in my opinion over the last few months.  No loss, though--there's always other places to spend my money!

That $300 in-person purchase, while costly, was most certainly a boon to my Michigan PC, especially because of the fact that I picked up both a good number of high-end stuff and a bunch of new players for the football collection.

The $200+ I spent on retail was my biggest regret of the year, but looking at that number gives me plenty of motivation to avoid the same mistake this year.  Meanwhile, I certainly don't regret joining Dimwit's group break, but as I explained yesterday, I don't see myself participating in any breaks this year.  I may, however, spend a bit more on a site like SportLots as I seek to complete a few more baseball and football sets.

Overall, I spent a good chunk of change, but I added so much useful stuff (and relatively little junk) to my PC that I can say without a doubt that it was worth it.

Next up, a look at how I did with some sales:

NOTE:  the eBay total above is $55.

And some stats:

• Total sales:  $769.75
• Average sales per month:  $64.15
• Most sold in one month:  July ($222.75)
• Least sold in one month:  as you can see, there's a bunch of zeros up there...
• Largest individual sale:  $200 for multiple lots on the Blowout forums.  Technically, I sold more in one day on COMC, but that included many individual sales along with one large port sale.  So for the purpose of this post, the Blowout lot wins it
• Smallest individual sale:  $0.50 for a 2001 Topps Chrome Adrian Gonzalez on COMC
• Source sold to the most:  COMC, $430.75
• Source sold to the least:  eBay, $55
• Average selling per source:  $256.58

I hadn't really planned to dabble too much in selling this year, but in the process of trying to get rid of unwanted stuff earlier in the year, I put up a bunch of lots over the course of a few days on Blowout and did fairly well.  Later, I finally jumped into COMC head-first and had a blast dumping some unwanted trade bait for some store credit, all of which I promptly spent (and plenty more!).  Finally, during my 2012 Topps Football frenzy I managed to sell a Drew Brees manupatch and Chris Houston 1/1 for a bit more cash.  The fact that I totaled more than $750 absolutely amazed me, and while I can't possibly hope to replicate those results this year (thanks to a dearth of cards to sell, really), that gave me a bit more spending room for the year, which you can tell I think I put to good use.

And lastly, but most importantly, a look at my net spending:

• Total spending - total sales = $3,173.76 - $769.75 = $2,404.01
• Net spending per month:  $200.33

See?  My $2,400 yearly budget I decided upon yesterday wasn't entirely pulled out of my ass!  Besides being an easily calculable $200 times 12 months, that's almost exactly what my net spending was last year, and I see no reason to change that considering the results I had.  The only difference between then and now, as I said, is that I probably won't get involved with selling much, if at all, this year, so look for the total spending number to decrease accordingly.  That's not a problem as far as I'm concerned:  I'm happy to work on getting better at scoring nice deals, plus that'll get me that much more motivated to attain my goal of 100 trades, which might have a bigger stake in terms of being a source of incoming cards for 2013.

Well, I hope this admittedly numerical analysis-heavy look at my 2012 spending was as interesting and informative for you as it was for me.  I'm thrilled to be able to find ways to improve so easily this year, and I'm already aware of how little effort it really takes to track my card spending, so you can be sure I'll be repeating that this year!  Here's to a more frugal but fruitful 2013!

COMRCs!

It's been a little while since I've done a post where I showed off some of the better baseball RCs in my PC.  The last time I did, I had dug up this Matt Kemp I unknowingly owned for an unknown amount of time.  Well, over the course of the last few weeks, I spent a lot of time digging through my various boxes of stuff while sorting out what I wanted to give away/trade, and I came up with a few more good ones.  Please note that I decided to do this independent of Arpsmith's Saturday post, despite the first scan you'll see in a moment, which both posts have in common.  The difference is that I didn't have a newborn daughter to show off--congrats, dude!

Ok, on with the new RC additions:

Bruce Sutter 1977 Topps RC

I've sat on this card for quite a while (not literally, though I'd understand if you'd asked in all seriousness given its condition) and decided that now's a good time to show it off.  Sutter was an early example of what a dominant closer could look like thanks to his mastery of the spllitter.  His HOF page has a very interesting note of which I was previously unaware:  "Bruce Sutter is the first Major League pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame who never started at least one game?"  Very cool!  Welcome to the RC PC, Mr. Sutter.

Buster Posey 2010 Bowman RC

I bet the Giants are still kicking themselves for taking Posey fifth overall in 2008 considering they could have had Jemile Weeks, who only lasted a few more picks.  JEMILE WEEKS, PEOPLE!  A guy who might be my generation's Johnny Bench (or maybe even his own person entirely), Gerald "Buster" Posey has accomplished a ton in his four seasons (one of which was marred by a play at the plate):  he was the 2010 N.L. Rookie of the Year for a Giants team that won it all, then somehow improved upon that in 2012 by winning the N.L. MVP, that league's batting title, AND another ring.  When this guy wins awards, good things happen to San Francisco fans.

Clayton Kershaw 2008 Topps Update RC

Here's another cool Dodgers RC I didn't realize I had:  I remember buying a few packs of 2008 Update, but never ended up pursuing a box or the complete set, though I think I'd like to have one eventually.  Anyway, Kershaw is way too good to leave out of this PC.  Hell, maybe I'll make him the focus of my baseball collection.  Yep, from now on, consider me the #1 Clayton Kershaw collector among bloggers (wait, who?  What in the hell is a PLASCHKE?)

Jay Bruce 2005 Bowman Draft RC

Consider Bruce a probationary choice for now, but he's had a pretty good career, so at this point I feel like he belongs.  It's probably a good sign that his top two similarity scores are Carlos Quentin and Bo Jackson.  For more optimism, have a quick look at his 162-game average, which paints a portrait of a fairly productive outfielder, who's still young enough to improve his numbers.

Matt Cain 2002 Bowman Draft RC

Cain doesn't always get the headlines that tend to go to his haircut-needing teammate, but he's quietly put together a few nice seasons in a row.  At least, he WAS quietly putting up nice numbers until he threw an outstanding perfect game this year.  Of course, that paled in comparison to the ultimate highlight of his year:  appearing on an episode of Mythbusters.  Oh, and then his team won some games in October or something...

Matt Kemp 2006 Bowman RC

Kemp is the only player in this post who's already included in my RC PC--the 2005 Bowman Draft card I linked to at the top of this post.  I happened to dig this one out recently, and after it finally clicked in my head  that this one is from 2006 and the other one came a year earlier, I just shrugged my shoulders and said "Chalk up another one to the ridiculous rules of baseball cards."  Nobody agreed with me because I was alone at the time.  So I decided to let it stay, especially since Kemp is such an outstanding player, not to mention the true 2011 NL MVP.  You know what?  Forget Kershaw, I don't have much of him anyway, but I've got a great start on a Kemp PC, so I'm gonna be HIS #1 collecto--WTF IS A ZAKWIN?

Hey, that's two Matt's in a row, so for the hell of it (and since I have a tag for him), here's Matthew Lesko, who wants to know if YOU WANT FREE MONEY?!

Ok, back to serious business...

Zach Greinke 2002 Bowman Draft RC

And we close things out with a "Z."  Greinke just cashed in big-time with the Dodgers, but then again, who hasn't these days?  I've never been a big fan of the guy, and I'm definitely still not, but all the same, it's nice to see him out of the AL entirely.  Also, I suppose it's really nice to have an NL version of the Yankees to laugh at when their ridiculous spending blows up in their faces.

That's it for this time, but I'll keep my eyes peeled for more nice RCs to show off here, and if I hit up a show and find my vintage guy next month, you can be sure I'll have at least a couple new ones to add.