Card Show Gifts From Ryu

I got a couple cards from my buddy, Ryu at the last two card shows that I have gone to.  The above 2014 Topps Chrome sepia parallel Adam Jones was from the January show.  I didn't get to talk to Ryu as much at that show as I would have liked, but he was very busy, and seemed to be pressed for time.

I like the sepia parallels.  I think, if they are in this year's chrome, they will look really nice with the borderless design.

At the February show, I got to see Ryu for a big longer and he had this 2014 Heritage chrome of Nelson Cruz for me.  He also had a few cards for my son, Chris, which was really nice.

This Cruz is numbered 774/999.

I was really happy to see Ryu, like always, at each show.  He is a really good kid, and always fun to talk to.  I wish we had more time to chat, but I understand.  At the last show, I was able to sell him a nice Ichiro pin card from 2016 Topps.  I hope it has a nice spot in his collection, because that card looked pretty cool.

Thank you for the cards, Ryu!  See you at the Easter show!

Purchase From Frankie - 2015 Topps Museum Collection Quad Relic

As I laid in bed at my in-laws' house Christmas night, I browsed Instagram while I waited to fall asleep.  On Instagram I saw that my friend, Frankie, had posted this nice 2015 Topps Museum Collection quad relic of Orioles Nelson Cruz, Jonathan Schoop, Adam Jones and Chris Davis.  I liked his price, so I jumped on Paypal immediately and sent him a payment.  I texted him right after that and told him I had purchased the quad.  I loved Frankie's response when he texted back saying "I knew you would want that card!"

So, I was able to help my friend out a bit by making a purchase from him and I got another Museum Collection card to add to my Chris Davis PC.  This card is numbered 25/99 and has a nice 3-color piece of Adam Jones's jersey (the one patch on the card).  Cruz is a piece of bat, while Davis and Schoop are both jersey swatches.

I only had two other quad relics of these guys on 2015 Museum Collection.  Those are numbered /25 and /75.  With this one numbered /99, I now have three different serial number series.  Not bad.

Thanks for the deal, Frankie!

Istagram Pickup - 2015 Topps Museum Collection Orioles Quad Patch

I recently purchased a box of 2015 Topps Museum Collection and busted it.  I already have traded away 2 of the 4 hits and was kind of underwhelmed at the results of the break.  While I love busting boxes, it is so much easier to just seek out the cards you want and buy them up.  That does take a lot of the "thrill of the chase" out of it, but sometimes, it's better to conserve money.  That being said, I do like busting this product and I probably will continue to do so, budget permitting.

Anyway, I looked around after my box break and saw that the Orioles had some nice quad patches available.  I failed to nab a few off of Ebay, and had given up the hunt, until I noticed this on Instagram as I was waiting for my food Friday night (on the way to Columbia).  I made a quick and easy deal with a fellow named John who runs the Instagram handle @phillysportscards.  John and I hammered out a deal within minutes of my initial contact with him through Kik, and consummated the deal via PayPal.  All while I was sitting and waiting for my house salad with hot bacon dressing to arrive at my table (and I assume my steak was on the grill).

This card looked so much better in person when it got here last night, having three of the four relics being patches.  It is numbered 53/75.

A side note, I posted this card on my Instagram page last night and almost immediately, one of the folks on there had to comment "Nice card, too bad it has two steroid users on it."  Why is it that people feel the need to make comments like that.  He responded later that he meant no disrespect, but really, why make the comment in the first place?  It reminded me of the time I posted a Wade Boggs signed baseball on there and someone commented "There is a smudge on the ball."  Really?  Like I didn't see that on my own ball.  Some people, these days!

Anyway, I like the card, and ALL of the players on it.  I plan on watching out for others that have some nice patches, but at this moment, I am content with just this one.  I appreciate the deal I made with John, and I hope that he can check out this blog.

Trade With Judson - Tons of Awesome Stuff

I completed a trade with Judson, from the blog "My Cardboard Habit" when I sent him a bunch of Rangers stuff, including a Rougned Odor auto, in exchange for some really awesome stuff.  Judson sent a bunch of parallels I needed for various PCs, which I didn't scan.  What I did scan was this really cool Brooks Robinson silk rc from 2014 Topps.  I have had a bunch of folks offer this to me at ridiculous prices, and I am glad that I held off buying one.  I figured I would get one via trade eventually.

One of the parallel cards Judson included was this Nelson Cruz 2014 Topps Chrome gold parallel.  Cruz is likely out of Baltimore after just this one season, but he had a great year with the Birds, and I probably will passively pick up a few of his cards here and there.

Finally, Judson also helped a little with some set needs.  He included 9 1969 Topps cards for my set.  Most of them being high numbers.  I haven't pushed as hard for this set, since I have been majorly focused on my 1959 set, but I am still chipping away at this one as time and money allow.

Thanks for the deal, and all of the extras, Judson!

More Orioles Cards From Ultimatecards_

I got a package of Orioles cards last week from my buddy Drew who operates under the name of @ultimatecards_ on Instagram.  He, like my other friend, Drew, is a huge Yankee fan.  It is only a matter of time before I get the two Drews mixed up.  Anyway, Drew gave me a bunch of Orioles.  One of which is the above Nelson Cruz from 2014 Chrome, and I actually needed it for my set!  That reminds me, I need to post my needs list for 2014 Chrome and 2014 Update on my wishlist page.  Hold your breath!

Another cool card in the stack was this Chris Davis from Allen & Ginter.  I don't believe I had this yet, but I need to double check.  I'm pretty sure I hadn't picked it up, since I didn't get a whole lot of Ginter this year.

Thanks so much for the cards, Drew!  This officially catches me up on all of my recent trades and purchases.  Unless something comes in the mail tomorrow, I will be scrambling for something to write about.  I doubt I will have too many problems, though, I can always think of something to write about.

Instagram Pickup - 2014 Topps Nelson Cruz Orange Parallel

I completed a trade with a kid named Emperor (I'm not kidding) on Instagram last week when I sent him a Troy Tulowitzki 1989 design refractor from 2014 Topps Chrome.  In return, he sent me this orange refractor of Nelson Cruz.  Not a bad deal.  I enjoy the orange parallels of Orioles because it fits so well.

I haven't really been pursuing Cruz cards much because I fear that he is going to be a one and done signing for the O's.  He really has helped the team this year, and I hope his bat remains hot as the O's march toward the World Series.

Thanks for the trade, Emperor.  I really appreciate it, and I hope I can send more Tulos your way soon.

Instagram Trade With Bruce

I completed a mega trade on Instagram the other day when I was sent a message by a guy named Bruce who was really interested in some of my Cardinals hits from 2014 Topps.  I sent Bruce a good many relic, auto and manufactured relic in exchange for a huge stack of Orioles cards.  He had sent me a few pictures of cards to kickstart our deal but assured me that any "throw ins" he would send "would not be base cards."  He wasn't kidding.  One of the keys that hammered the deal home for me was the above 1978 Topps Eddie Murray RC.  I already had one Murray in my 1978 set, but I wanted another for my Murray PC.  This one is in decent shape and is slightly off center.  I'm really happy with it, though, so that's all that matters.

Another card I saw in the group picture Bruce sent that was intriguing was this 1962 Topps Brooks Robinson.  I already had one in my Brooks PC that was in much better shape, but when I saw it in the photo, I knew I'd be making a mistake if I let one included in a deal pass me by.  I believe that you can't have enough vintage Brooks cards, so getting this one in the deal worked for me.

This 1969 Jim Palmer came as a surprise to me.  An even bigger surprise was that I didn't yet have it in my 1969 set, so Bruce actually helped knock off a much needed card from my needs list.  I'm pretty sure he wasn't aware of that, either.

The card that Bruce used to get my attention was this 2012 Topps Tier One Brooks Robinson relic.  I already had one, but this is another card that I wasn't just going to let pass me by, so I figured that I would listen to his proposal.  I'm glad I did!

One of the 'extras' that Bruce threw in was this 2006 UD Future Stars Nelson Cruz autograph. The card is a clear acetate card, which looks really awesome in person.

I am so glad that Bruce included this Manny Machado UD Team USA relic.  I have had so many people on Instagram tag me on these cards and they have wanted an arm and three legs for it. Thankfully, Bruce included it in the deal and I don't have to overpay for it with other folks.

Finally, among the throw ins, Bruce added this Machado from 2011 Bowman Sterling.  These cards look really nice and I wonder why I haven't seen more of them.

There were so many more cards that I didn't have the time to scan, but believe me, there was so much good stuff in there.

I messaged Bruce after I opened the package and saw all of the awesome throw ins because I really felt like I didn't deserve all of the extras he sent.  His response was: "..I knew you were one of the good guys on here, and I figured you should be rewarded."

He has no idea how much that meant to me.  I really appreciate the deal, Bruce.  I know we are going to do some more trading really soon.

2012 Gypsy Queen Box Break

I'm starting to feel better, so hopefully, this illness is moving behind me.  I meant to post the results of my Gypsy Queen box break the other day, but I wasn't really feeling up to it, so here it is today.

I got a couple Orioles, including the above Brooks Robinson and the below Nick Markakis.

I got two different Tim Lincecum cards, so one has to be the SP variation.  Not bad, considering they will be assumed into my son's Lincecum collection.  I'm glad I got his variations as opposed to someone else's.

I was supposed to get 2 relics and 2 autos, but I got 3 autos and 1 relic.  I got autos (on card) of J. P. Arencebia, Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seagar and a relic of Brian McCann.

Finally, I got some nice minis as well.  I got basic minis of Bob Feller and Babe Ruth, a Green mini of Mickey Mantle, black minis of Nick Markakis and Sandy Koufax and an exclusive mini of Adam Jones.

I think I did pretty well with the box break.  I'll be able to sell off a good bit of it at the upcoming card show and make my money back.  It would have been nice to pull the Koufax auto, but oh well, I can keep dreaming.