TTM Success - Billy Butler

This return took a long time, but was well worth it.  I had a ton of Billy Butler cards, and took a shot at getting a few of them signed, and it paid off.  The above 2010 Topps National Chicle turned out really well.  I like these cards, and have now gotten a few of them signed.  The Sharpie he used seems to have been dying, but this card turned out ok.

Some of the other cards turned out better than others, solely based on the Sharpie.  Still, I was glad to get the cards back signed after waiting for so long.

Butler (b. 1986) played in the majors from 2007 to 2016 for the Royals, A's and Yankees.  He had 1,479 hits, 147 home runs and a .290 batting average.  He was an All Star and Silver Slugger Award winner in 2012.  

I mailed to Butler on March 26, 2020, and got the cards back on October 25, 2021, for a 578-day TAT.

COMC Pickup - 2011 Topps Lineage Virgil Trucks

During my visit to COMC.com the other day (when I was finishing up my 1971 set), I decided to add a couple PC needs to my cart.  One of which was a card that I have been wanting since 2011, the Topps Lineage Virgil Trucks '52 autograph.

This card was one of two final autographed cards that I have been looking for to go into my Virgil Trucks Collection.  I needed this one and the 2011 Topps Black Diamond Autograph.  I have seen one of those on Sportlots for $100.00, but I feel like that's really high, even for an auto of Mr. Trucks.  I'll own it someday, though.

I know there are some miscellaneous Trucks cards out there that I need and I will pursue them when I can, but this one will likely be the final piece in the collection for a while.  We'll see though, because I may be able to find some of the odd-ball 1950s stuff cheaply.  I'm just glad to finally have this one.

Hanging With Drew

I'm trying something new by doing a post with my phone.  Good luck to me.

I'm visiting my very close friend, Drew from Drewscards and we are currently riding to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Last night, Drew took me to his local card shop.  We bought a box of 2011 Topps Lineage so we could play pack wars.  I won handily.  Drew still made out ok because we did a bunch of trading afterward.  I'll post some of the cards when I get access to a scanner but I will leave you with a few pictures from the break itself.

I'm really enjoying my time with Drew. He is one of the first people I traded with back in 2009 through this blog.  We have become best of friends and I am really excited to be able to experience the Hall of Fame him.

More Mail From Ryan - Orioles Cards

Did I mention how awesome Ryan was?  You know, the awesome dude from "O No Another Orioles Blog?"  He's a hell of a guy.  He sent me a good bit of Orioles cards that I didn't already have in my collection.

This 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Nick Markakis auto is awesome!  It is an on card auto and looks great in person.  I was so amazed that I got it (even though he told me a while ago that he was going to send it to me).

Hey, look!  A Cal Ripken card that I didn't already have.  NICE!  I really like this one.  I don't know how those got by me.  I believe this is a 2010 Topps Wal Mart Exclusive Chrome Ripken.  Very nice indeed.

Here is a Cal that I don't think I had already, but I'm not sure.  It is a 1996 Leaf Limited Ripken.  It scanned really well and looks very sharp.

Here is a 2011 Topps Marquee Eddie Murray.  I don't have very many Orioles from this set at all.  Ryan also sent a Jim Palmer from that set.  I need to go ahead and get the Brooks and Cal cards also.

Finally, here is a 2011 Topps Lineage Brooks Robinson standup.  I really like this card, simply because of the bold colors and how they pop off of the computer screen.  Very awesome card.  I need to get to the card shop and get a bunch of top loaders and penny sleeves so I can add all of these (and a huge stack I've been amassing lately) to my PCs.

Thanks so much for the cards, Ryan.  Again, you're an awesome dude, and I really appreciate it!!!

A Few More Cards From the Card Shop

I didn't have any mail when I got home from work, which is never how I want to end my day.  I guess I can't complain.  I do have 7 baseballs still out for TTMs, though, so I wish they would get here.  Anyway, Last Sunday, I went to my local card shop to get some supplies and left there with a couple packs of cards.  I didn't have any huge hits, but I did get a couple cards of note.

Out of a pack of Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects (I think), I pulled this Brian Matusz.  Not too bad.  I would have rather pulled the Dylan Bundy, but oh well, at least I got an Oriole.

I bought two packs of 2011 Topps Lineage and got this 1975 mini of Duke Snider.  That same pack also had a mini relic of Jayson Werth.

I'm not a fan of Werth, so this card is definitely up for trade.  If anyone is interested, please send me an email.  I'll go ahead and add this to the for sale/trade page.

Some Card Shop Packs

I hope you all like the new blog design, I thought it was a good time for a change since I have had the old design up for over 2 years (I think).  There is a lot less going on in the background, which keeps the focus on the actual posts themselves.  Also, the header picture was taken by me in Cooperstown, at Doubleday Field.  I thought it would tie in well with my pursuit of Hall of Fame signed baseballs.

I picked up some packs as we passed by the card shop the other day while out shopping.  I had gone to Staples to pick up some sheet protectors and a small binder.  I am going to keep all of my COAs and LOAs in one place, instead of filed away in various manila envelopes, folders and my 1920s Phillie Blunts cigar box (a remaining relic from my great-grandfather, jeez, I should post that sometime...)

Anyway, we bought several packs of Topps Lineage, Bowman Chrome, Bowman Platinum, Draft Picks and Prospect and Topps Chrome.  The above Jameson Taillon is one of the highlights of the Bowman Chrome.

I pulled this Jonathan Schoop (pronounced SCOPE, apparently) out of the Bowman Platinum.  He is fast becoming one of the Orioles' best prospects, behind Dylan Bundy and Manny Machado.  I hope he lives up to the billing, because the Orioles haven't produced a legit position player from their system since Nick Markakis (not a knock on my favorite, Nolan Reimold, at all. I'm hoping he busts out this year and stays in the majors.  No one is pulling harder for Nolan than I am).

This Topps Chrome Heritage insert came out of the Topps Chrome pack that I bought.  I really missed the boat on Heritage.  I only busted one box of it.  I would have done more, but money was tight at that time and now the boxes are pretty much gone.  Oh well.  I like this card of Thome, whose career is winding down.  He should be a lock for the Hall of Fame.  I think so, at least.  Who knows these days.  I do wish he would have signed my baseball for me in 2010 when I was mere feet away from him.  I might try him TTM once Spring Training gets closer.

I really like this Topps Lineage '75 mini of George Sisler.  I don't have near enough Browns cards or memorabilia.  I might need to add some to my wishlist for the coming year.  Sisler was a really good ballplayer.  He doesn't get much recognition these days, since there were some bigger names playing when he was active, but until broken by Ichiro, Sisler's single season hits record stood for 80 years.

Finally, I pulled this relic out of Topps American Pie.  Since my wife was with me, she and I both picked up a couple packs of American Pie.  She is a big movie buff, so I thought she would get a kick out of the cards.  They were ok.  Kind of like Upper Deck's 'Piece of History' from a few years ago.  I'm not sure if I'll get any more packs of them, though.  As for the Valderrama relic?  Well, I'm definitely not a fan of That 70s Show, I always found it to be dumb (just my opinion).  Also, I'm really glad it wasn't Ashton Kutcher.  Because, well, he is probably my least favorite actor.  Ever.  Valderrama, he's ok, I guess.  I can probably sell it at a card show, which works out for me, at least I'll get a couple bucks out of it; or I can trade it, if any of you are interested.  I'll add it to my for sale/trade page.

By the way, please do check out that page.  I plan on adding some stuff to it to make it easier for people to see what I have that is available at the right price and/or offer.

Results of the Topps Tier One Group Break at Nachos Grande

I took part in my first ever group break over at Nachos Grande not too long ago, and thought I'd show off what I ended up with:

I bought in with the Orioles for $35 for a six-box half case break of 2011 Topps Tier One.  With my entry, I was also awarded the Colorado Rockies.

I only got two Tier One cards, one of which is pictured below.

The Palmer looks nice.  I also got Carlos Gonzalez, which isn't too bad.  I was disappointed that I didn't get any of the hits, but oh well, that is the fun of a group break.  I won't discourage me from participating in another.

I did like that he threw in an Orioles 'team set' from Topps Lineage.  I have said before that I really like this set, so getting all of his Orioles was definitely a bonus for me.  This is a box of cards that I may purchase sometime soon, just to see what I can pull.

I also like that the Browns were included in the set (and the break as well).  It would have been nice to get the Sisler relic from Tier One, but I think Cobb was the big name pulled this go-round.

As I said, I wouldn't be discouraged from other group breaks in the future, even though I didn't get any huge hits out of this.  The price was fair and my disappointment of no huge hits was offset by the generosity of including other cards (a box of 2011 Allen and Ginter was also included in the break).

I, myself, would like to do a group break.  I failed a couple years ago to generate enough interest in a 2006 Upper Deck Epic group break (which I think ticked off a few bloggers who wanted to sign up).  I may attempt something of that sort sometime soon.  I do know that I need to have some kind of contest or something to keep getting this blog noticed....

More 2011 Topps Lineage - Got Some Autos

When I went to the card shop this past weekend and got my pack of Topps Marquee, I also picked up two more packs of 2011 Lineage.

I busted both packs and was happy to see that I pulled two autographs from the packs.

 I knew about these 1952 Topps autos and I really really really wanted to pull the Virgil Trucks.  THat would be awesome.  I got this Joe Astroth, though, and was still happy with it.  He played in the majors from 1945-1946 and 1949-1956 for the Philadelphia and Kansas City A's.  He had career numbers of 401 hits, 13 home runs and a .254 batting average.  This auto was an on card auto.

I also pulled this sticker auto of Johnny Gomes.  I'm indifferent towards whether an auto is on card or sticker.  It doesn't matter to me, as long as the card looks good, and both of these cards are pretty sharp.

So, one trip to the card shop and I get a Hank Aaron relic and two autographs.  Not too bad.

Trip to the Card Shop - 2011 Topps Lineage

When Babe and I went to the card shop this weekend, I picked up two packs of 2011 Topps Lineage.  I have already posted lineage before, but I really like the product so I thought I'd show what I got out of the two packs.

I pulled a Brooks!  I like his old jersey.  I think, based on the hat that Brooks is wearing, that this photo is from 1956-1962.  The hat is really old school, too.

I love the old All Star Rookie logo.  Much better than the pewter cup they have now.

I pulled a mini Mike Schmidt.  I have always liked the freakiness of the 1975 set (one of my favorite sets that I built).

Finally, I pulled a Tim Lincecum for my son.  I'll probably end up with it in my collection, but he did like the card.    I can't wait until he is older and knows how to take care of his cards.  That will definitely be the start of some good times, for sure.

Thoughts on 2011 Topps Lineage

 Yeah, I'm a bit late for this, but money has been tight lately, so I haven't been able to pick up any packs.  I went to the card shop here in Greenville a few weeks ago and picked up some 2011 Topps Lineage.  I have to say, the design was pretty nice.  I also liked the rookies as it was a take on the glossy All Star cards of the 80s which reminded me of my childhood and junk wax...

Overall, the set seemed to me like a cousin of the Topps Base set.  I only opened 2 packs so I didn't get any mega pulls, but I did get this sweet Hank Aaron sticker.

It looks really old school and is a pretty cool card.  I liked the concept, but of course, I'll never use it as an actual sticker...

By the way, the Strasburg was pulled from a pack and is definitely up for trade if anyone is interested.