4/3/26 card show report: $25, no foolin'

Well this should be a pretty quick one, even if it took me too long as usual to get to.

I headed over to my usual monthly show in early April only to find that my favorite seller hadn't had much time to sort stuff into his sale boxes, meaning there wasn't much new for me to flip through. I ended up spending a year-low $25 because I'm not the type to throw down cash just for the sake of it. And it worked out well because I certainly made up for it this month. More on that in a few posts.

Anyway, that $25 was easily split between 100 dime cards and a trio for which he wanted $15. Here's a look at the loot:

The juniors Griffey and Ripken came from the dime boxes and those cards hail from last year's Topps Archives. Griffey's is from the '64 Topps portion while Cal's is done up in the style of the then-20-year-old '05 Topps set; '96's design can also be found in this product.

And then we come to the day's biggest pickups that account for the three-for-$15 portion: a trio of beautiful 90s Pacific die-cut inserts of Ivan Rodriguez! I noticed these in the guy's showcase and happily accepted the price. In order, above you can see 1999 Pacific Crown Collection's In the Cage followed by 1999 and 2000 Paramount's Fielder's Choice.

Both of these insert sets are among my favorites from the decade--one whose chase cards obviously rule--and are part of the fantastic history of the Pacific brand. The In the Cage cards simulated batting cages, though other versions also replicated foul poles in more examples of the manufacturer's ingenuity. Better yet are the glove-themed Fielder's Choice die-cuts, which are not only cut to conform to the shape of a fielder's most important equipment, but even simulate the webbing! Pudge is a natural fit in these sets as won 13 gold gloves, good for first place among catchers and three better than second-place star Johnny Bench.

The Cage card is my first from that set while the '99 glove joins Greg Maddux and the 2000 card gets added to the Ripken and Gwynn I previously snagged. I can't wait to add more of these, especially if I can find them at these outstanding prices.

We'll finish up with some basketball and football dime cards. Bufkin, LeVert, Robinson, and Wagner are all examples of some colorful inserts of hoopers I was glad to snag for 10 cents each. LeVert's Pistons are actually battling his former team, the Cavs, as I write this, and that's because they managed to overcome a big deficit against Mo's Magic.

As for football stuff, I turned up last year's Score base of former Packer/new Cowboy Rashan Gary to go with a pair of '25 base of national champion QB JJ McCarthy out of Donruss and Panini's Mosaic.

This could have been a bit of a downer of a show but I was able to turn that around with some "90s inserts rule!" goodness, plus I didn't regret having a bigger budget available this month, so once again, it was a good show.

I'm anticipating that my next three posts will be blogger trade packages, followed by the May show recap, a May trade, and my first TCDb deals of the year. I certainly have plenty to recap, even if I'm slow and lazy about doing so. I'll try to get motivated to at least show off the trades soon to thank the senders for their generosity.

Mike > Kosmo: Cramer's Choice

I've said it before: Pacific may be long gone, but it made a positive and lasting mark in the hobby, and we still see the effects of that today. Don't tell me you don't see some super shiny insert with a gaudy, eyeball-burning pattern without thinking, "Wow, this reminds me of Pacific!" Its designs were out there, its inserts were ahead of their time, and some of its brand names (like Crown Royale) live on in other manufacturers' products.

Since I became aware that its founder, hobby legend Mike Cramer, was writing a book about Pacific's story, I've been looking forward to reading it. I figured I'd eventually check it out for free on my Kindle app via my library (Libby rules!) or see about buying it at a lower price after it had been out for a bit. But then an even better opportunity came up.

Former Wax Heaven blogger Mario (@BeisbolCardBlog) procured a signed copy of the book directly from the man himself, Mr. Cramer, and then decided to give it away on Twitter. I was thrilled to be the lucky recipient, and I'm even happier to announce that it arrived today:

Well now that's just beautiful! I like the mix of cards up front, from the brand's earlier baseball products to offerings from basketball and football, especially a Michigan-helmeted Tom Brady.

And as previously stated, it's signed, making it an especially cool piece in my collection.

Here's a few quick looks inside the book. I like the shots of cards found throughout the chapters and can't wait to hear about how each was created, including the iconic Cramer's Choice Awards.

So in my excitement I decided to celebrate with some images of some of my favorite Pacific cards found throughout my collection. From Prisms to die-cut gloves to foul pole nets, numbered and relics, English and Spanish, 80s, 90s, and 2000s, there's a lot to enjoy from Pacific's brief but productive history:

For those who made it this far, are you excited to check out this book too? What are you hoping Cramer covers in his hobby story? Any favorite Pacific products and cards?

I may do a follow-up post reviewing the book, but for now I'm just going to enjoy it for what it is.

Many thanks to Mario for his generosity which is no way limited to just this giveaway. I highly recommend following him, which is saying a lot because I follow very few hobby Twitter accounts that don't belong to my blogging and collecting buddies. But I'm a big fan of his opinions--he's often justifiably critical of Topps and their shenanigans--and his celebration of the greatness of the 90s era. So go check him out and keep an eye out for more contests like this one and you might just be a winner too!