TTM Success - Robert Benincasa

Here is another 2012 Bowman Chrome refractor that I was able to get signed TTM.  This one came from former Nationals minor leaguer, Robert Benincasa.  He signed the card with a light blue marker.  The autograph looks nice in that shade of blue; I just hope it doesn't fade.

Benincasa (b. 1990) was a 7th round pick by the Nationals in the 2012 June Amateur Draft out of Florida State.  He played in the minors from 2012 to 2016 (all with Washington), reaching AA.  He had a record of 8-12 with 194 strike outs and a 3.58 ERA.

I mailed to Benincasa on February 26 and got the card back on March 11, for a 23-day TAT.

TTM Success - Hunter Bailey

Here's a nice 2012 Bowman Chrome refractor that I pulled from my box and got signed TTM.  This Hunter Bailey refractor turned out really well.  I never did open a whole lot of 2012 Bowman, but the cards look nice when signed, and I kind of wish I had opened a bit more of the product.

Bailey (b. 1989) was a 28th round pick by the Nationals in the 2012 June Amateur Draft out of Oklahoma State.  He played in the minors in 2012 and 2013, reaching Low A in the Nationals system.  He had 2 hits, no home runs and a .222 batting average.

I mailed to Bailey on February 10 and got the card back on March 7, for a 25-day TAT.

Another TTM Success From Scott Oberg

Last year, I received a TTM success from Scott Oberg.  After that, I found these two 2012 Bowman Chrome parallels (I think at the National), so I sent to him again.  The cards came back signed, but I was disappointed that the Sharpie he used was dying.  Still, the cards are nice, and I will add them to my album.

Oberg (b. 1990) remains under contract with the Rockies, although he hasn't appeared in a game since 2019.  He remains on the Rockies 60-day IL.

I mailed to Oberg on February 7 and got the cards back on February 19, for a 12-day TAT.

TTM Success - Greg Hopkins

Recently, I have been able to get a few older Bowman cards signed, like this 2012 Bowman Chrome refractor of Greg Hopkins.  There were a bunch of 2012 Bowman Chromes in the boxes I got from the LCS, so it has been nice to find some working addresses and get some signed.

Hopkins (b. 1988) was a 24th round pick in the 2010 June Amateur Draft out of St. John's University.  He played in the minors from 2010 to 2014, in the Brewers system.  The highest level he reached was AA.  He had 456 hits, 34 home runs and a .245 batting average.

I mailed to Hopkins on February 2 and got the card back on February 11, for a 9-day TAT.

TTM Success - Austin Chubb

This 2012 Bowman Chrome Austin Chubb refractor was one of the random cards I found in the boxes I got from my former LCS.  The card stood out to me for some reason, so I checked and saw that Chubb signed TTM.  So, I sent the card off and got it back signed.

Chubb (b. 1989) was a 21st round pick by the Nationals in the 2012 June Amateur Draft out of Florida Southern College.  He played in the minors from 2012 to 2015 in the Nationals and Dodgers systems.  He reached AAA.  He had 60 hits, 5 home runs and a .213 batting average.

I mailed to Chubb on April 13 and got the card back on June 21, for a 69-day TAT.

TTM Success - Ben Waldrip

Here is a card that I found in the boxes that I got from my former LCS.  I had looked to see if Ben Waldrip signed TTM as I made a pass through the boxes, and saw that he did.  So, this 2012 Bowman Chrome refractor was sent off for signature.  The card turned out great.

Waldrip (b. 1990) was a 10th round pick by the Rockies in the 2012 June Amateur Draft out of Jacksonville State University.  He played in the minors for two seasons (2012 and 2013), reaching A ball, then went on to play 3 seasons in the independent leagues.  In the minors, he had 79 hits, 13 home runs and a .212 batting average.

I mailed to Waldrip on April 21 and got the card back on May 7, for a 16-day TAT.

TTM Success - Will Lamb

Here are some cards that I was happy to get back signed TTM.  I had a small stack of 2012 Bowman Chrome green refractors that came out of a few packs that my mom had gotten for me a while back.  I finally found someone in the stack who signed TTM, Will Lamb, and sent the cards off to be signed.

The cards turned out great, and remove a few from my prospects boxes.

Lamb (b. 1990) was a 2nd round pick by the Rangers in the 2011 June Amateur Draft out of Clemson.  He played in the minors from 2011 to 2017 in the Rangers, White Sox and Rockies organizations, reaching AAA.  He had a record of 27-23 with 429 strike outs and a 4.20 ERA.

I mailed to Lamb on March 27 and got the cards back on April 19, for a 23-day TAT.

TTM Success - Camden Maron

This 2012 Bowman Chrome blue refractor is a really nice card.  I was so glad when I found that Camden Maron signed TTM, and even happier when this card came back to me signed.  It really looks sharp.

Maron (b. 1991) was a 31st round pick by the Mets in the 2009 June Amateur Draft out of Hicksville High School in Hicksville, NY.  He played in the minors from 2009 to 2017 in the Mets, Reds, Rangers and Marlins systems.  Reaching AA, he had 511 hits, 21 home runs and a .280 batting average.

I mailed to Maron on March 2 and got the card back on March 9, for a 7-day TAT.

TTM Success - Paul Hoilman

I was able to get a couple 2012 Bowman cards out of my box when I got these signed by Paul Hoilman.  I haven't had many Bowmans prior to 2014, when I started buying up more of them, so getting a couple of the 2012s signed was nice.

Hoilman (b. 1989) was a 19th round pick by the Cubs in the 2011 June Amateur Draft.  He played two seasons in the Cubs system, reaching A level Peoria.  In his two seasons, he had 160 hits, 25 home runs and a .243 batting average.

I mailed to Hoilman on June 8 and got the cards back on June 15, for a 7-day TAT.

Trade With Matthew

I follow the "Topps Baseball Card Collectors" page on Facebook.  After I posted a few times asking (begging) folks to let me know if they have the two Brooks Robinson patches I need and then posting looking for Chris Davis and Nolan Reimold parallels, I met a kid named Matthew.  Matthew is 10 and is just starting out with his card collection.  I believe I am the first person he actually traded with, although I know he had a couple others cooking with Scott and Andrew.  Matthew admittedly has a lot to learn when it comes to trading cards, but I have tried to give him a few pointers along the way.  He also started a blog, which you can check out here.

So, I got 3 cards from Matthew in exchange for several Carlos Santana (the Indians catcher, not the amazing guitarist) and Yovanni Gallardo cards.  I didn't mind sending him a few extras, as I have no need for Santana or Gallardo.  Surprisingly, I didn't have the above Chris Davis Chrome refractor from last year's Topps Chrome.  This saves me from thinking I already have it and missing it every time I pick up Davis PC needs.

You saw the Bobby Bundy Bowman Chrome at the top; He is the 'other' Bundy in the Orioles' system.  He's Dylan's older brother and a pretty good pitcher in his own right.  The final card in the package is the above Billy Hamilton Bowman Platinum purple chrome parallel.  This is a really pretty card.  I think I'm going to add it to my RC collection and not flip it for anything.

So, I hope everyone gets a chance to check out Matthew's blog and make him feel welcome to the blogging community.  It's nice to see kids continuing to get involved with cards.  It's a sure sign that our hobby will continue into the future.

Scott's Visit - Trade TIme

After Scott and I finished out Gypsy Queen box break, he got some cards from his car that he had brought along with him.  Among them were these two Orioles, the above Bowman Chrome Legends in the Making Dylan Bundy and the below retail exclusive foil Chasing History Manny Machado.

I didn't have either card, so I was really happy to add them to their respective PCs.  He also brought along a stack of other Orioles that I needed as well.  I had already put a package of cards in the mail to Scott, so I didn't have any Red Sox cards to hand off to him, so I just had him go through a few of my card boxes and pull out whatever cards he wanted.  I think he really enjoyed looking through my collection.

When we were done with our trade, I brought out one of my PC boxes and let him and his dad look through some of my rookies and vintage.  I think they were both appreciative at being able to see that stuff while they were here.  I sure enjoyed being able to sit down and have some folks excited about looking through my cards.  That's a rare thing around here.

Another Package From Weston

I am feverishly working to catch up on all of the mail I've gotten recently (and a few more Ebay wins are on their way).  That being said, I have been needing to post the awesome package Weston sent me the other day (I think it came in sometime last week).  He sent a ton of Orioles cards for my and my son, Chris.  There were a few vintage cards in the package, like the above Mark 'The Blade' Belanger.  Belanger was an 'all glove, no hit' shortstop in his career.  His life ended way too short when he passed away from lung cancer in 1998 at the age of 54.

I'd love to say that I didn't already this 1986 Fleer Star Stickers Cal Ripken, but the thing is, and I've said it on here before, I don't know anymore which Cal cards I do and do not have.  I feel like I didn't have this one as it definitely doesn't look familiar, but I guess I need to dig through my 500+ Cal cards and see if it resides in there or not.  I'm so lazy.

Finally, I got this sweet Ty Kelly 2012 Bowman Chrome purple refractor.  Kelly was traded to the Mariners yesterday for Eric Thames in a move that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.  they have a glut of outfielders at AAA Norfolk and adding Thames just increases the logjam.  That is, unless, another trade is in the works.  Hmm, if it is for a legit starting pitcher, then I'm ok with it.  We'll see.

Anyway, I jumped off topic enough.  Thanks for the package Weston!

Trading Again With Zach

I sent over some duplicate 2013 Topps Emeralds to my friend and fellow Oriole fan, Zach, and in return, he sent me a few cards.  The above graded 1955 Topps Al Rosen is pretty cool.  Anyone who reads my blog knows (or should know) that I really enjoy the 1955 Topps set.  I also really like Rosen since he was a heck of a player in his day and is so generous with TTM requests.

Another of the cards Zach sent was this 2012 Bowman Chrome Wei-Yin Chen RC.  Chen has become a solid pitcher for the Orioles and I am glad that they picked him up.

Thanks for the trade, Zach!  I know we'll be doing more trades in the future!

Another Package From Judson

Judson from 'My Cardboard Habit' sent me another package that I got yesterday.  In the package was a bunch of Orioles cards that he thought I would like.  All of them were greatly appreciated.  I was definitely surprised when one of the cards was the above 1967 Topps Luis Aparicio.  The 1967 set isn't one of my favorites by any means, but it is still an iconic set and the more that I think about it, the more I realize that I already have a ton of good cards from the set.  I might consider putting it together in a few years, once 1959, 1969 and 1971 are finished...

I also really liked this 2012 Bowman Chrome Futures Game Dylan Bundy.  It really is too bad that Bundy is hurt right now.  Kind of par for the course for big time pitching prospects.  I'm hoping he heals up quickly and can get back on a mound sooner rather than later.

Thanks for the package, Judson!  I will have to get some more stuff together to send your way.

January 17, 2013 Trip to the Card Shop

I posted yesterday that I went to the Greenville card shop to pick up some team bags for a project that Ryan and I are working on.  I discussed the two packs of 2012 Panini Golden Age that I got.  Well, I also got a couple packs of 2012 Bowman.  I picked up one pack of Bowman Chrome and pulled the above Blue Refractor auto of Jays prospect Jake Marisnick.  Pretty sweet card, if you ask me.

I also got one pack of 2012 Bowman Platinum and the highlight of the pack was the above Giancarlo Stanton.  There wasn't much else to speak of in the pack.  I'll probably hold onto the Stanton, though.  Everything else will likely go out in trades.

Dec. 2012 Raleigh Card Show Part 3 - Oriole Pickups

One of the best parts about the December 2012 Raleigh show was that there was a new vendor there selling all of his 2012 inserts.  He had busted cases of 2012 Bowman and 2012 Bowman Chrome and was practically giving away the inserts.

I have been wanting some Bowman Red Ice parallels for a long time, but because they are numbered to 25, they are hard to come by.  He sold me this J. J. Hardy Red Ice parallel for $3.00!!  I have seen most Red Ice parallels go between $15 and $25, so I had to jump on that deal.

I also got several other Oriole parallels, including these two Bowman Chrome green parallels.  I think these look really nice.  I'm a fan of the colored Chrome parallels, when they are of players I want, so I was glad to grab a few greens for the collection.

I was able to get some Bundy cards from the guy as well...  I got the above Bobby Bundy in my package of O's inserts and the guy also sold me a couple parallels of Bobby Bundy's younger brother, which I will blog tomorrow.  All of these cards, including the Hardy, were sold to me for $6.00.  A STEAL!  So, stay tuned to see the 'other' Bundy's I picked up!

My Thoughts on 2012 Bowman Chrome

I mentioned yesterday that I picked up some packs of cards from my LCS.  Today, I will discuss the two packs of 2012 Bowman Chrome.

I don't normally get all hot and bothered over Bowman Chrome, but I figured I'd see what I could pull from 2 packs and I wasn't disappointed, actually.  There are only 4 cards per pack, but I ended up with an Oriole, a Blue Parallel, a card for a PC and an autograph.  Not too bad, if you ask me.

 The design is pretty sharp.  I knew this year's Bowman offering would look good all chromed out, and I was not disappointed.  I pulled the above Manuel Hernandez out of my first pack.  He is the first Guatemala-born player signed by the Orioles.  This is cool for me because I remember the day that Roch Kubatko reported his signing on his blog on MASNSports.com.  I had forgotten the kid's name, but that is no longer the case.  I now have his first Bowman card.  YES!

I was able to add a McCutchen to the PC.  Not too bad.  'Cutch had a great year, but I think his fade down the stretch will cost him the NL MVP.

I got some COMC-bait in this Blue Parallel JP Arencibia.  It is numbered 159/250 and looks pretty sharp.  I might have to find out which Orioles are in this set and do a couple rainbows.

Finally, I pulled an autograph (on card) of A's prospect Miles Head.  It is too bad that this is a PG rated blog (is it?), because I can come up with some jokes as a play on poor Mr. Head's name.  Poor kid probably caught hell in middle school.  Anyway, I will take the high road on this and just say - Jeez kid, you need to work on that sig!

So, my thoughts are that Bowman Chrome is really nice and I definitely will be picking up some more packs in the coming weeks/months.