Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Bobby Cox

I got my 115th Hall of Fame signed baseball as a throw in when I bought the Harry Caray.  The vendor had just had this ball authenticated by JSA and hadn't adjusted his prices.  I had seen that he had three or four Bobby Cox baseballs for $45, the best price for him that I saw at the show.  I saw those on Wednesday during the sneak peek, but I couldn't remember where I saw them.  Luckily, on Saturday, I found the vendor again and bundled this with the Caray ball.  When it was all said and done, I only added an additional $25 to my purchase, so I really got a steal.

Cox (b. 1941) played briefly in the majors in 1968 and 1969 for the Yankees.  Originally a third baseman, he gained far more notoriety when he became a manager.  He managed the Atlanta Braves from 1978 to 1981, the Blue Jays from 1982 to 1985 and then back to the Braves (after a stint as their general manager) from 1990 to 2010.  In all, he managed over thirty seasons, winning the division 15 times (once with the Blue Jays and a record 14 straight with the Braves).  He went to 5 World Series, winning once (1995).  He was also a 4-time Manager of the Year (AL - 1985; NL - 1991, 2004, 2005).

Cox was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 2014.

1969 Topps Pickups From The Antique Shop

I finally was able to sit down and scan some 1969 Topps cards I got from the antique shop in Columbia last weekend.  I picked up 29 cards total and several of them were higher end cards.  I picked up this really cool Bobby Cox rookie.  Someone at the card shop in Winston-Salem had asked me to look for one for them, but they never were willing to pay to get it.  So, I never picked one up for them and completely forgot it was in this set.  Anyway, I'm happy to have it and it is in really good condition.

I saw this Earl Weaver (look how young he is!) and had to add it, too.  He began managing the Orioles halfway through the 1968 season, so this is also his rookie card.  Not bad!

I was especially happy about this card.  Ernie was on the tail end of his career here, but he still looks like he is happy to be playing ball.  I seriously would consider starting an Ernie Banks PC.  Off of the top of my head, I can think of some awesome cards that he has.  The fact that I was also able to get him to sign for free TTM is just a bonus.  Quick trivia question: What do Ernie Banks and I have in common?  Answer: We both attended a Pearl Jam concert in 2013.

Rounding out the Hall of Famers I picked up, I got this nice Joe Morgan.  The card is really sharp.  Morgan is a super nice guy and was amazing to Chris the few times he has met him.  I'll never forget that and I'm sure Chris never will either.

Some other notable cards I got were Orioles: Boog Powell and Elrod Hendricks; rookie cards: Graig Nettles and Amos Otis; and other notable names such as Tommie Aaron, Mayo Smith, Roy White (whom my buddy Drew has met) and Ken 'Hawk' Harrelson.

I think I did really well with these 1969s.  I definitely enjoy this set and can't wait to add more to my collection.

2010 Topps Tribute Thoughts

My younger brother Andy is not a baseball card collector. I've been trying to work on him for the past five years, trying to get him interested in them in hope that I would have someone else to talk about cards with. He has been coming to the card shop with me (pretty much weekly) over the past five years. I had complained that there wasn't much to open at the shop this week except for 2010 Tribute, which I surely couldn't afford. He chimed in that he could afford it because he had been earning money by cleaning out horse stables for my parents. I went online and showed him some of the things he could get from 2010 Tribute (Strasburg auto being the huge hit), but made sure not to put any kind of pressure on him (He's my brother, I'm not going to make him buy anything at the shop unless he wants to). He decided that he would go for it.

(I also decided to pick up a pack) I pulled this Thurman Munson triple relic. Andy picked this pack for me, he is always good at picking packs. Pretty sweet card.

One of the highlights of his box was pulling this Bobby Cox Auto/Relic. I had never seen any Cox autos, so this one was pretty cool. I know a bunch of Braves fans who definitely would sweat over this card. Andy was a bit underwhelmed, but I assured him that he got a good pull with this one.

I went ahead and gave Andy a dollar for this one, since it was a Murray. I had hoped that he would have pulled a Brooks, but Murray was the only Oriole that Andy pulled.

He pulled this sweet Phil Rizzuto bat. Once again he was a bit underwhelmed, and I, again, assured him that pulling a Rizzuto bat was a good hit. The box was very Yankee heavy, and I think he understood that he could maybe ebay most of the Yankee stuff and recoup some of the money he spent. He was starting to feel some buyer's remorse, for sure. I felt bad, but we kept on opening the packs, hoping for that blue Strasburg redemption card.

Redemption card? Strasburg? Nahhh. Just a Matt Kemp Auto Dual Relic. He was once again let down, but even he knew that this one would definitely be claimed, and quickly. His period of letdown on this card didn't last long once he realized how quickly he could sell this to get some money back. Of course, I'm going to help him out by listing some of the hits on Ebay, making trades, etc.

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I kind of feel a little bad, since he is 14 and dropped so much on the box, but he's a smart kid and definitely has busted enough boxes with me to know that when you set your heart on getting one card, you most likely will be let down. Shooting for the Strasburg was pretty bold, but in the end, I'm glad he had the balls to at least give it a shot. He also got some really good pulls (the Cox and Kemp for sure) and we had a good time opening the box.