June 2, 2019, Graphing in Baltimore

Since Ticketmaster screwed up Orioles Fan Fest in January, I was able to get a free signing with Brooks Robinson and a free ticket to an Orioles game.  The choice ended up being the Sunday, June 2, 2019, game against the Giants.  My friend, Ryan, chose the same game, so we made a trip out of it.

I have Brooks on so much stuff, from baseballs to pool balls, cards, etc.; I had a hard time deciding what to have him sign this go-round.  I settled on the above 1963 Topps that was given to me by my good friend, Kyle.  Kyle was one of the very first people that I traded with on Instagram.  He might have been the third person I traded with on there; I was scammed by a kid named Joe and made a successful deal with my friend, James.

I met up with Kyle and his friend, Jordan, at the National a couple years ago when it was in Atlantic City.  While there, Kyle gave me the 1963 Brooks.  It is a sharp card.  The surface is immaculate, and I really wanted to have it graded by PSA.  You know, for fun, just to see what it would grade.  PSA took the card, and gave it back a couple days later and said that the card had been trimmed.  There was a notch on the side of the card that I hadn't seen before, and it couldn't be graded.  Still, the card meant a lot to me, so that is why I decided to have Brooks sign it.  Screw PSA, the card is priceless now.  I will always remember it as the card that Kyle gave me (I have sent him a snapchat photo of the signed card, and he approves), and it will always have a place in my album.

Here's Brooks signing for Chris.  He was amazing, as always.  He always has time to talk, and make you feel like he has been your buddy for years.

Chris got a blue foil Topps Fire card signed.  I had picked the card up at the Chantilly show with Ryan last year, and held onto it.  Chris liked it, so I let him choose it to be signed.  He has his own album of autographs, and I know he is proud to have this one added to his collection.

Not only were we able to see Brooks, but we were also able to see Boog Powell out in front of Boog's BBQ.  I went ahead and got my 1991 Crown Orioles card signed by Boog, so it would be over and done with.

I also had my 1962 Topps rookie that Mom gave me signed.  Much like Kyle's 63 that he had given me, I wanted the card Mom gave me in my album, instead of buried in a box under my bed.  It looks great signed, and it also has meaning, so it has a rightful place in my album.

I wanted to also get the above relic card signed by Boog.  He signed the relic piece, which I thought was odd, but still cool.

The card underneath the relic card is the only auto we were able to get while standing outside the stadium before the game.  The autograph is of Orioles manager, Brandon Hyde.  Since he doesn't have any cards yet, I figured the Camden Yards backdrop was nice.

Christmas Gift From Kyle

My good friend Kyle sent me $15.00 Paypal so I could pick up something for my PC for Christmas.  With that money, I picked up this 2016 Topps Mini Red Chris Davis since it was on Ebay and I already had one of the series of 5.  It fit within the amount that Kyle gave me, and I still am wanting to see if I can complete a serial numbered series sometime.

This card is numbered 1/5.  I have known Kyle since my very beginning on Instagram trading cards.  I believe he was either the first or second successful trade I completed on there (the other person being my good friend, James).  I really appreciate Kyle thinking of me and helping me get this card.

Thank you so much, Kyle!

National Trade - 1963 Brooks Robinson

I'm kind of bouncing around with my posts about the National card show, but I wanted to get this card on the blog and off of my desk.  Not because it is in the way or I am tired of looking at it.  No, I want to put it away safely until next year's show because I believe I will take this to PSA for grading.  The card is virtually flawless in my mind.  Usually when I see vintage cards like this, they have surface wear, or a dinged corner.  There are no slight creases or wrinkles on this card.  The surface gloss is still there, even 53 years after the fact.  This really is a sharp card.

To say I was disappointed when I first got the card is an understatement.  I was happy to complete a deal, but I felt like I messed up big time prior to the deal,  but in the end, I am glad I sat down and really looked closely at the card.

I had met up in person with my good friends Kyle and Jordan at the show.  Both of them are guys I have befriended on Instagram right at the beginning of my time there.  Kyle was the first successful deal that I made, and Jordan is his best friend.  We all hit it off and have been good friends ever since.  Kyle was interested in a Brendan Rogers card that I had, and offered up the Brooks.

I had gotten the Rogers when my friend, Robert, traded my 2016 Bowman Rogers auto that we had raw card graded at Beckett.  It got a 9-10, and I let Robert trade it for me, since he was flipping his graded stuff for crazy deals.  He flipped that Rogers for a... Brendan Rogers auto.  This one was a 2015 Bowman's Best RC auto.  Robert felt like he got a good deal, and I couldn't blame him, since it was a RC auto, but I had been hoping for something better, like an Oriole.  So, Kyle said he was interested in the Rogers and offered the Brooks.  Since it was a Brooks, and since Kyle is such a good friend, I had to let him have the deal.  I felt like he got the better end of the deal, since I already had a 63 Brooks.  I took the card, put it in my box and forgot about it until Andrew and I were looking at cards a few days later.

I noticed, then, that the Brooks that Kyle had traded to me was in such amazing shape.  I had spent a good deal of time at the show shopping around for a graded vintage card for a friend and came to realize just how tough it is to get a high grade on vintage.  I also learned about the huge difference in quality and price between grades.  A 6 goes for a fraction of a 7 which goes for a fraction of an 8.  I think this card would bring a pretty high grade, even with its centering.

So, all of that being said, thank you so much for the trade, Kyle.  Also, thanks for sticking with me all of these years.  It was great to finally meet you in person and even better walking around the show for a bit with you and Jordan and talking about cards.

Christmas Gift From Kyle

I am finally home from the North Carolina Christmas Tour 2015 and I hope that all of you had as great a Christmas as I did.  I spent time with my family and got lots of messages from my friends.  When I got home today, I had some mail to open that I included with my opening of Christmas presents here at the house.

One of the packages that was waiting on me was from my friend, Kyle.  He is one of the very first people I made a successful deal with on Instagram.  Since then, we have become good friends, even though the two of us are usually busy and rarely have time to talk.

Thankfully, though, when it comes down to it, we still think of each other, and the both of us exchanged gifts this year.  I got Kyle something that I hope he can use in his PC, and he sent me this really nice Kevin Gausman relic/auto from 2014 Triple Threads.

The card is numbered 25/50.  I love the green on the card; it makes it really stand out.

Thank you so much for the gift, Kyle, and for always thinking of me!

IP Autographs From Jordan

I posted the other day that I got an IP auto of Hunter Harvey in a surprise package from my buddy, Kyle.  Before I knew Kyle was sending me his package, I had agreed to a deal with his best friend, Jordan, for a Harvey IP auto and a Josh Hart.  Both boys went to the Delmarva Shorebirds game together and picked up the autos.

Both cards look great and I really appreciate Jordan picking the autos for me.  I've definitely met some awesome people on Instagram and it was really nice of Jordan and Kyle to think of me when they were at the game.

A Surprise Package From Kyle

I've been trading on Instagram for quite a while now and I always go back to the first successful transaction I completed on there as a template for how I believe things should be conducted.  I bought a card off of Kyle, who has become a very good friend of mine, in an amazingly quick and easy deal.  Since then, I talk to Kyle on a regular basis and he is very much one of my favorite people I have dealt with on Instagram.

I got a surprise bubble mailer from Kyle yesterday that contained the above Adam Jones 2013 Topps Tribute auto.  The card is beautiful.  I was so surprised that Kyle sent it to me and am appreciative beyond words.

Not only did Kyle send the Jones, but he also sent me a Hunter Harvey autograph that he got in person at a Delmarva Shorebirds game with his best friend, Jordan.  I had initially bought one of the IP autos Jordan got, but Kyle sent this one as well.

Kyle is a great guy. who also posts on Youtube as MrPhilliesphan04.  If you are active on Youtube, you definitely should subscribe to him.  He's a big Phillies and Roy Halladay fan.

Thanks so much for the package, Kyle, I really appreciate it!

Instagram Purchase From Kyle - 2011 Gypsy Queen Brooks Robinson Auto

This card is actually the first thing I bought with my Abreu money, but it happened to get covered by some other recent purchases.  Luckily, I have time this extended weekend to catch up somewhat on blog posts, so I was able to push this forward.

Kyle was the first person I completed a successful trade with on Instagram.  I had been scammed by some punk kid and was going to stop trading on there before I even got started.  I gave the venue another chance and met Kyle (we traded for that Triple Threads Brooks Robinson).  We chat often and he is one of my favorite people on Instagram.  He is the guy who got me to stick around, and I'm really glad because I have gotten some awesome stuff off of there.

This card is an on-card auto and looks really sharp!  I was glad I could get it from Kyle, since I had been watching it for a long time.

As a throw-in, Kyle added this IP autograph of Mike Yastrzemski, an Orioles prospect and the grandson of Hall of Famer, Carl Yastrzemski.  I got to see Mike play for Vanderbilt last year while I was visiting my brother, Adam in South Carolina.  That was a Vandy vs Gamecocks game that Adam took us to, and we had an awesome time.  Little did I know that Yastrzemski would become an Oriole.

Thanks so much, Kyle.  You're a great guy and I'm glad I stuck around, thank you!