Instagram Trade With Samthecardcollector - Zach Britton Patch

I gathered together some Reds hits and other cards for my friend, Sam L. who runs the YouTube channel: Samthecardcollector (that's his Instagram handle as well).  He's a really nice guy, and we have already completed a couple trades.

Sam hooked me up with this awesome Zach Britton relic/patch/auto from 2011 Topps Marquee.  I was amazed that Sam was ok with letting this card go.  I really appreciated his generosity.

Please, everyone, check out Sam's YouTube page, he needs more followers and is a great guy. Thanks again, Sam!

Busted a Box of 2011 Topps Marquee, Again

We got our state tax check in, finally, so after buying the wife some new clothes and a video game for my son, I was allowed to make a couple purchases at my LCS today in celebration of a nice Orioles walkoff win.  I bought a box of 2012 Gypsy Queen (which will be shown later) and a pack of 2011 Topps Marquee.  The Topps Marquee was my wife's idea, but I picked it up anyway in hopes of pulling something sweet.  Yeah, it wasn't quite that, unless you are a Twins or Mets fan, but I did get an Oriole also.

The big hit was this Johan Santana 4pc jersey (one of which is a nice patch) numbered 165/199.  Not bad... but not worth the price tag.  Oh well, I can sell it, I think.  I have a card show coming up that I think will help me sell this, so we'll see.

I did get an Oriole card that I was looking at for a while on Ebay.  I'm glad I didn't buy it already.  Thing is, it really isn't the most flattering photo of the legendary Brooks Robinson.  He looks a bit old in the photo.  Oh well.  It's still Brooks and I'm glad to have it.

I don't think this pack was quite worth the amount I paid for it, but oh well, it was the thrill of pack busting.  I got that sweet Hank Aaron titanic threads last time, so I was bound to get a semi-clunker this time.  Oh well.

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!!!

Thoughts on 2011 Topps Marquee

It is rare when I can afford one of the higher end packs of cards, so when I am able to, it is a good day for me.  The bad thing about spending so much on one pack of cards is that if I get some scrub, it is really hard for me to want to take that kind of plunge again.

So, that being said, I went to the local card shop today to load up on supplies for this weekend's card show (come out and see me, I will be the guy wearing a bright orange Orioles shirt) and decided to get some packs.  I got 2 packs of Lineage (will post those in a later post), a pack of 2011 Finest and a pack of 2011 Topps Marquee (for $50 a pack...).

I opened the box and got base cards of Adrian Gonzalez, Nelson Cruz and the Clayton Kershaw pictured at the bottom of this post.  I had looked up hits from marquee on Ebay before I busted the box; some of it was impressive and some of it was underwhelming.  When I saw what my pull was going to be, I was pleasantly surprised:

A Titanic Threads #6/99 Hank Aaron.  I'm not sure if I want to part with this card; I think I want to keep it in my personal collection.  That is unless someone were to blow me away in a trade or cash.  I'm so glad I pulled Hank, as opposed to pulling a Pedroia or something...

Here is the base Kershaw.  The base cards are really sharp.  They kind of remind me of the Stadium Club cards that Topps put out in 2008 or so.