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....

Thoughts on 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen

The scans kind of suck, because the cards kept sliding on the glass, but here we go with 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen. I picked up 2 packs from ym local card shop at $7.50 a pack (!!!!!!). I got some decent pulls, as far as players go. The above Frank Robinson was my lone Oriole. A pretty cool shot of him, nonetheless.


This Babe Ruth was pretty sweet. Especially since it depicts him in a Red Sox jersey.

I was also happy to see Jimmie Foxx in my pack. I don't have very many Foxx cards, so it is always cool to see him pop up.

I know a couple Yankee fans who would be happy to have this Reggie Jackson. I have already promised it to my good buddy Drew. The card looks pretty good, though, so I'm sure he will be happy with it.



Finally, I pulled this George Sisler mini numbered 9/10. I don't know if it is a parallel based on other minis, but seeing that it was a 9/10 was pretty cool. Since the Browns were the team that became the Orioles, and Sisler is probably the greatest Browns player there was, it is kind of cool to have the card.

Overall, I'm a little underwhelmed with Gypsy Queen, especially since the pack price was so high. It would have been cool to get a relic or auto, but knowing my luck, I'd pull Mark Prior. Blehh. Overall, the design is ok. I feel like the market is flooded with vintage sets. I think it is about time to put the re-issue concept to bed for a while.

2009 Topps Series II 3 Jumbo Box break by the numbers:

Yesterday, Max (http://maxscards.blogspot.com/), Pete (http://dropped3rdstrike.blogspot.com/) and I busted a case of Series II Topps at the card shop. I opened 3 of the jumbo boxes, Pete got 2 and Max got one. I'm sure each of them will be blogging on their finds shortly, but as far as what I ended up with, here is a breakdown of what I WENT HOME with (I traded out/for a few things to Max and Pete, so they will probably talk about them on their blogs).

27: Turkey Red Inserts

3: Career Best Legends- Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson and Mel Ott

3: Red Hot Rookie Redemptions - 1, 2, 10

3: Topps Black - Howie Kendrick, Jonathan Papelbon and Carlos Quentin

29: Ring of Honor

13: WBC cards (I did pull a sweet Russell Martin GU jersey card in the first pack I busted, but it went to Max immediately)

5: Career Best autos/relics

30: Topps Gold

31: Legends of the Game (I picked up a sweet Brooks Robinson)

29: Topps Town

3: SP Variations (Paul Molitor, Robin Yount and Carl Yazstrzemski)

3: Legends Commemorative Patches - George Sisler, Mickey Mantle and Lou Gehrig

Once again, I had a blast opening these boxes with my friends. I think I can speak for everyone there and say that a good time was had by all. This set will definitely go down for me as one of the most enjoyable that I have put together, not only because of the quality of cards, but the quality of people that were involved in the process of me working out this deal. For me to be able to sit around and bust wax with people who I can truly call my friends, well, this was a gratifying experience. I want to thank Pete, P.A. and Max for taking or maintaining an interest in something that interests me. I hope you guys can all go on this ride with me again soon when Allen and Ginter comes out!