Pull of a Lifetime?

So, this happened yesterday.

I did a livestream on my Instagram as I busted my three jumbo boxes of Series 2 Topps.  I was boring folks to death reading off the names of the base cards, and showing the short prints, relics and autos until I hit this card in thr 8th pack (out of 10) of the third box.  Then I went nuts.  I think it was justified.

I waited to post it until I video chatted with some close friends separately on Snapchat, doing a slow reveal each time.  I wanted to see some of my friends' reactions, and they were all priceless.  Once I finished up with my good friend, Will, I got the card scanned and also posted it on my Instagram.

Now, the card will be headed to my safe deposit box, where it will reside with the rest of my treasured cards and baseballs.

I am really happy that I pulled this card.  It is truly beautiful.

How Mike Trout Became My New Best Friend

I busted my requisite three jumbo boxes of 2015 Topps Series 1 when they came out.  I had planned on doing a breakdown of what I pulled, but chaos ensued after I revealed my hits on Instagram.  My biggest hit was the above Mike Trout auto.  While I have been an outspoken critic of Trout (not because I don't believe he is a GOOD player, I believe he hasn't shown anything about walking on water just yet), I was really glad to pull the card.  I recognize the fact that Trout is a good player, who has the potential to be a great player, but come on, a .288 batting average isn't exactly setting the world on fire.  Anyway, I had planned to keep it, until my friend, Blaine commented after I posted that he would make me a good offer on the card.  He didn't disappoint.

Blaine offered me, not one, but two Mickey Mantles in exchange for the Trout auto.  Two Mantles.  I didn't even let him get out the "T" in flight (Jay Mohr joke) before I said DEAL!  I wasn't going to pass up a deal for two Mantles, and I really was glad that one of them was the 1964. I haven't even begun to start the 1964 set, but this will be a nice start to the set, once I do get moving on it.

Why, hello there, old friend!  Blaine is the guy I traded my 1962 Mantle to, in exchange for some cash, a 1960 Koufax and some other stuff.  I didn't want to give it up at the time, but Blaine doesn't mess around when it comes to deals, so I accepted.  Anyway, I was happy that Blaine included it in the deal, as well.  I didn't want to give the card up, and now, it's back home where it belongs!  I do believe that this is the very first time in all of my years of collecting that I have traded away and then traded for the same card.  This time, the card is on lockdown!

So, I am really glad I pulled the Trout auto.  My thinking is, Trout is a good player, but he could get hurt tomorrow.  Mantle will always be Mantle, so doing this deal, for me, was a no brainer.  I also appreciate Blaine in that he is an amazing person to work with, and he doesn't fool around with deals.  He makes a great offer right off the bat, and we were able to come to terms really fast.  I really think the Trout was up for less than 5 minutes before the deal was agreed upon.  That's pretty awesome!

2013 Topps Series 2 - Inserts and Hits

After sorting through all of my 2013 Topps Series 2 cards, I wanted to show a few of the inserts I picked up.  I busted 3 jumbo boxes of Series 2 and ended up with 30 1972 Minis.  You can see I got the above Brooks Robinson for my PC.  I also got Bundy, Machado and Lincecum that I will be holding onto.  For trade I have: 51, 53, 54, 55, 62 (x2), 66, 69 (x2), 70, 72, 74, 76 (x2), 80, 81, 83, 87, 88, 89 (x2), 92, 93, 94 (x2) and 99.

Here is the one Camo card I picked up.  I didn't pull any pink parallels.  I have already had someone ask for any Camos that I pull, so this one is likely not for trade.

I got a Cal Ripken Cut to The Chase as well as a Manny Machado.  Other guys I got, who are for trade are as follows: Killebrew, Miguel Cabrera, Albert Belle, Banks, Jered Weaver, Posey and Koufax.

I ended up with two case hits in my boxes, which was really cool.  This Jorge De La Rosa may be for trade if someone has something comparable to it.

I got 30 Topps Gold parallels.  One of which is the above Brian Roberts for my PC.  I was really happy that Roberts, Markakis and Reimold are all in this series, so I have some parallels to chase down.  Other golds I got for trade are: 333, 370, 377, 389, 407, 429, 430, 459, 467, 471, 477, 482,504, 519, 530, 562, 576, 584, 593, 608, 619, 620, 622, 624, 626, 633, 655, 658 and 659.

My manu-relics consisted of Willie McCovey ROY, Ted Williams 1946 MVP and Luis Aparicio ROY.  My relics were the above Jeter (not for trade), Tim Lincecum (not for trade) and Carl Crawford.  The autos I received were Wilin Rosario, Collin Cowgill and Chris Archer.

The Making Their Mark cards look really sharp.  I got the above manny Machado for my PC, plus another that will likely go to Ryan.  I got 28 others and they are for trade as follows: 1, 2 (x3), 3, 5 (x2), 6 (x2), 8 (x2), 9, 10 (x2), 11 (x3), 13 (x2), 15 (x3), 16, 21, 22 (x2) and 25 (x2).

Another of the case hits was this #25 of 50 (OH DEAR LORD EBAY ONE OF ONE!!!!) silk parallel David Freese.  This one has been claimed and a trade is in the works.

I got 15 WBC cards, all for trade.  3, 4 (x2), 5 (x2), 6 (x2), 8, 10, 12, 13 (x2), 14 (x2) and 15 (x2).

I got 2 Topps Black parallels, Jon Lester #12 of 62 and Devin Mesoraco #35 of 62.

I got 7 'The Elite' cards.  They look really sharp, like Museum Collection or something and are pretty thick.  For trade are: Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Johnny Bench, Jackie Robinson and Ozzie Smith.

I got 15 'Chase it Down' inserts including Manny Machado (he is all over this set) and Adam Jones for my PCs.  Weston from Fantastic Catch is getting most of these with the exception of the Pablo Sandoval, which is going to my nephew, Jacob.  Remaining cards for trade are: Bryce Harper, Cameron Maybin, Mike Trout, Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas.

Chasing History inserts included Manny Machado (again) and Dylan Bundy, so those are mine.  Cards up for trade are as follows: 51 (x2), 52 (x2), 54, 56, 59, 66 (x2), 69, 70, 72, 73, 74 (x2), 75, 76, 81, 82, 83, 88, 89, 92, 95 (x3), 98 and 99.

I hope everyone remembers that I am pursuing the Emerald parallel set.  I am about a third of the way done with Series One and now need a bunch for Series 2.  I got 30 parallels out of my boxes.  Here are the cards that I got, meaning, I don't need to trade for these: 336, 337, 338, 363, 373, 374, 382, 389, 393, 411, 418, 433, 439, 455, 458, 464, 469, 474, 480, 529, 537, 550, 553, 557, 564, 565, 589, 590, 625 and 661.

Last, but not least, I pulled an SP.  I got the Mike Trout signing autographs SP, which is a really cool card.  I have also seen the David Ortiz Boston Strong speech card, which is just amazing.  This Trout might be for trade, but it will take something really good to land it.  Do you have what it takes?

So, there you have it.  Several of the teams have been called for out of the inserts, so I will be going back through them either tonight or tomorrow.  Once I do so, I will transfer my 'haves' over to my trade page (which needs some life, for sure).  I also plan on going through my inserts from Series One and adding them to the trade page as well.  I'm either going to trade most of this stuff away, listing some on COMC or setting up a table at my local card show very soon.  These boxes were expensive and I plan on making back a little bit of what I spent and I think I can do so pretty well.

That being said, if there is anything any of you want, please don't hesitate to contact me, either by email or commenting on the blog.  I appreciate all of the folks who have already gotten with me and the others who plan to.

My Early AL Rookie of the Year Pick

I wasn't going to continue this theme, you know, the early picks for the postseason awards, but after my post on Andrew McCutchen, I felt like I had to acknowledge what is being accomplished in Anaheim, or Los Angeles, or Orange County, or California (wherever the Angels are from today).

Mike Trout is having probably one of the best rookie seasons on record.  After being called up in May, he has been on a blistering pace, batting .356 with 16 homers, 49 RBIs and 36 stolen bases.  At only 20 years old, he is playing like a seasoned veteran.  The Angels have certainly benefited from his play as of late.  They were floundering until Trout (see what I did there?) was called up.  Now they are competing for the AL West crown with the Texas Rangers and look like a sure bet to enter the playoffs, if not the West winners, at least as a wild card.

I would imagine that Trout has had a lot to do with that.  He might even be a good candidate for AL MVP.

Series 2 Topps Wrapper Redemption Cards

I meant to post these yesterday, but I still wasn't feeling all that great, so I put it off until today.  Of course, today, they would have been posted sooner but when I scanned them, I noticed that I needed to clean up all of the pictures on my laptop.  So, I did that, then we decided to make a trip to the beach for the afternoon.  Anyway, here I am, a little late.

I had enough jumbo wrappers from Series 2 Topps to get 2 Topps Goldrush packs.  I was really happy that the first card I saw was this Cal Ripken.  Again, it is always nice to add a new Ripken to the collection.

 I also got this Nick Markakis.  2 Orioles in one pack, not bad at all.

I think this Mike Trout was a decent pull.  I think it will be some good trade bait or a good sell at my next card show.

Another decent pull is this Yu Darvish.  I saw that it is selling on Ebay for around $22, so that is definitely worth it to me.  More trade bait!  Or sell bait.  Whatever you want to call it.

Anyway, I liked this year's wrapper redemption cards, even though I didn't pull an auto.  I still want to get the Virgil Trucks auto from last year's wrapper redemptions.  If anyone has one of those, please shoot me an email.