Finally, After All These Years...

I have been waiting for seven years to write this blog post.  When 2009 Topps Series 2 came out, the one and only Pete from Dropped Third Strike suggested that I try to complete the series.  On June 13, 2009, I posted that I picked up two Us and an N.  Pete had a C that he ended up sending to me.  So, it actually took me seven years and two months to complete the series.  By my calculations, since each card is numbered to 50, and you need two of the Us, two As and two Cs, only 25 of these sets can be completed.  So, essentially, this set is a 1/25.  I am pretty proud that I have finally finished it.

I looked a three different National Card Shows to complete the series, with no luck at all.  The closest I came was this year, when I found a vendor with maybe 15 of the letters from various series, but the only Brooks he had was the C.  I thought I was smart back in the day when I added the search on Ebay as a "followed" search, only to be teased by the occasional L or E.  Finally, last week, the followed search paid off when someone listed several of the letters at once.

I had been waiting so long to finish this set, I was willing to pay almost any price to complete it.  Luckily, when I saw the R go up for sale, it was $10.00 BIN with free shipping.  So, I got it for a lot cheaper than most of the letters, which I paid between $15-$25 per letter (a couple were as low as $7, I think).

So, I can now turn off the Ebay notifications.  I can now stop searching through manufactured patches at card shows.  I am officially taken out of the market for these letter patches.

The original post that started this project can be seen HERE.

TTM Success - Fred Stanley

The last success I got back on April 1 was from Fred Stanley.  I got him on a 1977 Topps that I got out of a box that my friend, Pete, gave me.  His signature looks really cool on the card.  I forgot how nice 1977 Topps was.  I want to get a few more of them back TTM, so I'll need to find some bulk.

Stanley (b. 1947) played in the majors from 1969 to 1982 for the Pilots, Brewers, Indians, Padres, Yankees and A's.  He had 356 hits, 10 home runs and an average of .216.  He won the World Series in 1977 and 1978 with the Yankees.

I mailed to him on March 4 and got the card back on April 1, for a 28-day TAT.

Rest In Peace, Yogi

While I will never be a Yankee fan, I can gladly say that I was and am a Yogi Berra fan.  I awoke to the sad news this morning that Berra had passed away at the age of 90 yesterday.

He truly is one of the all-time greatest players to ever play the game.  His 10 World Series rings can attest to that.

He is one of a few players that was alive during my time collecting that I really wish I could have met (along with Bob Feller and Mickey Mantle).  I have a lot of friends who are huge Yankee fans that are feeling his loss this morning.  So, Drew, Pete, my thoughts are with you guys.

Rest in peace, Yogi!

Baseball Cards Are Stupid: A Story on How I Got Into Collecting

I remember telling my older brother, John, that baseball cards were stupid.  He was a huge collector at the time, and I remember him getting excited over Wade Boggs cards, but I couldn't understand why.  I was maybe 7 or 8 and didn't know what the point was in opening packs of baseball cards and hoping to get your favorite player.  You see, I wasn't even a baseball fan back then.  I had no idea who the Baltimore Orioles were.  I had never been to any kind of a game (as far as I knew).  All I knew was that John loved baseball cards.  That was his thing.

Not too long after telling John that baseball cards were stupid, we got one of those Troll book order forms from school.  My mom would always let me circle the books I was interested in, and she would always add a few extras that she thought I may like.  We weren't very well off at that point in time, so getting those new books was pretty exciting for us.  When the order came in, for whatever reason, Mom had selected a small book about baseball cards that came with a little album and a pack of cards.

I knew John thought these things were like gold, so I was happy to be getting some cards that I could hold and say "Nyah nyah, I have some cards that you don't have!"  I spent that afternoon laying on my bed and reading each and every card.  I remember two of them, Hipolito Pichardo and Fred Lynn.  They were 1989 Topps cards, and I remember thinking that I liked the design.  I wish I could say that I still have those cards, but the truth is, I'm not sure.  My best guess is that I do, and they are in my completed 1989 set, since I had collated those in order years ago and put them up before I got into making sets.

So, after that afternoon of looking at all of those cards, I decided that I did, in fact lie baseball cards and I wanted to get more.  How do I go about this?  Well, even though we didn't get along very well (typical of most brothers around that age, I believe), I reluctantly asked John how I was supposed to go about adding to my collection.

He responded by asking, "What is your favorite team?"  I didn't know.  I knew that with him being the older brother, I wasn't allowed to copy him by saying the Boston Red Sox.  I knew my brother Philip liked the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants, but I couldn't copy him, either.  That sucked because by then, I knew who the A's were, they were the team that you could select on our Nintendo game and win every time.  Darn.

I couldn't even pick the A's most of the time on the game, because of my older brothers.  So I would have to pick some other random team.  I had always found myself picking the Orioles on that game because they had these crazy looking neon orange uniforms.  So, to answer John's question, I said, "Well, I guess the Orioles."  John said, ok, you should look for Orioles cards when you open packs.  He went to his room, and I went to mine.  A few minutes later, John came into my room and handed me a stack of cards.  "If you like the Orioles, this is their best player.  You should look for his cards."  I don't think I have to say who that player was, because I'm sure you all know it was Cal Ripken.

My mom used to take me to two different card shops in the Winston-Salem area when I was younger.  There was Season Ticket, a card shop owned by Chandy Greenholdt, who is now a fellow vendor of mine at the Raleigh card shows.  The other shop was Sportscards and More, which was owned and run by a guy named Jeff Hayes.  Jeff looked just like Rafael Palmeiro, which is one of the reasons that I liked Raffy growing up.  Mom would always take me to the shop, and the both of us would buy a bunch of packs.  Neither could wait to open them at home, so we would sit in her car and open them in the parking lot.  This is actually something that I still do, to this day.  I will take Chris to the card shop, buy our packs, then the two of us retreat to my truck and open packs.  Many times, I have to go back into the shop to show Wendell what I pulled, and buy a magnetic case or two.

The two card shops in Winston have since closed.  I got out of collecting when I turned 16 and had to get a job.  It wasn't as much fun spending my own money on cards, plus I had to pay for my car, insurance, gas, etc.  Every now and then, I would look through cards, and even buy a pack of two looking for the newest Ripken, but I was pretty much done.

Fast-forward to 2005; I took a friend of mine to a series of Orioles game against the Yankees.  I had still followed the Orioles all those years, and was finally able to go to games, myself.  I had been to a couple Orioles games in 1999 and wanted to try to take my own trip.  So, this friend and I made a trip of it and caught a couple games.  In the second game, Brian Roberts hit a walkoff home run in extra innings.  When I got home from the trip, I had the urge to start collecting again, and this time, I would look for Brian Roberts cards.  The old Sportscards and More had reopened as All About Sports, and a lovely lady was now the main person behind the counter.  She was really awesome in helping me find some new cards to get into, and also helped me search the dolar boxes in the shop for Roberts cards.  We would go on to become good friends, and after shopping there a while, she offered for me to help out at the shop in order to make some extra money.  If you hadn't guessed by now, that person was my friend, Babe.  She was instrumental in helping me get back into collecting.

Finally, while working at the card shop, I met two guys who came in fairly regularly.  We would hang out at the shop and talk cards while the Yu Gi Oh tournaments were being held.  Pete and P. A. were both bloggers and tried to convince me that I could tell some pretty good stories about the different cards that came through the shop.  I had only done a little blogging on my Myspace account (Myspace?  Was that really a thing? Haha!), so I figured it wouldn't last long and would be pretty lame.  However, I decided to give it a shot.  I couldn't think of a title, so I tried to think of the lamest thing in baseball.  "Walking in a run with the bases loaded" was way too long, so I settled on foul bunt.  I didn't even capitalize it, because I felt that is was insignificant and unassuming.  I feared that I would write a couple posts and forget to maintain it.  I started the blog, thinking that it would only be about a few cards and the card shop, but it evolved into something more.  It has become my showcase for everything in my collection.  It helped me start a branch of my collection (HOF signed baseballs) that hadn't yet begun.  It helped me do one of the things I'm most proud of (my Virgil Trucks interview).  I have even blogged about non-card stuff like wrestling, and music.

My musical taste has evolved just as much.  From being a huge Bon Jovi fan at 8 years old, to falling asleep to Guns N Roses (Use Your Illusion I is still, to this day, one of my favorite albums of all-time), to being really into Aerosmith during college.  I now am a huge Pearl Jam fan.  I always got into music late, and didn't really discover Pearl Jam until college.  I do, however, like all of those aforementioned bands.

Thank you all for taking a trip down memory lane.  I am asked a lot of times about how I got into collecting, and how I became an Orioles fan, even though I'm not from Baltimore.  Speaking of that, I actually have to remind people on Instagram that I am from NC, and not Baltimore.

Please take a moment to check out my friend Frankie's blog.  He is currently doing a contest over at "My Life In The Sports Card Hobby" and is interested in hearing about how everyone got into collecting.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Awesome Mail From Pete

Pete from 'Dropped Third Strike' was one of the two guys who got me started with this blog.  I haven't seen him recently, since the card shop closed almost 2 years ago, but we have still kept in touch.  His collection has stalled a bit, but he has still been 'in the game', so to speak.  He did find his 'holy grail' recently, the 1990 Donruss Aqueous Test Don Mattingly.  I was really happy yesterday to find a large bubble mailer in my mailbox from Pete.  Here is a little bit of what was inside:

This 2008 Topps Triple Threads 3pc jersey/auto Troy Patton is really nice.  Patton emerged last year as one of the Orioles' best relievers, and this was especially evident when he went down with an ankle injury late in the season.  J. C. Romero was picked up and proved ineffective, so Brian Matusz was moved into the bullpen.  Patton would come back and help the O's to the playoffs, but you have to wonder, had he not been hurt, would we have seen Matusz flourish in the bullpen?

Here is an advertising panel from 2011 Topps Heritage featuring the Orioles manager, Buck Showalter.  Showalter has been a great addition to the Orioles.  I liked Dave Trembley as a person, but Showalter's preparedness and attention to detail has been phenomenal.  I think he should have won the AL Manager of the Year Award, but you can't really argue with the job Bob Melvin did either.  Oh well, there's always next year.

Here is a 2011 Topps commemorative patch of Brian Roberts.  A lot of people don't like the manufactured patches, but I actually enjoy them.  I have a few, so I was happy to add this Roberts to my PC.  I didn't have any of him, so this was really nice to see in my box.  I sure hope Roberts can come back and reclaim his starting spot at second base and not continue in his role as the Orioles' Grady Sizemore.

Finally, here is a 2011 Topps Chrome Orange Parallel Adam Jones.  I always enjoy the Chrome parallels, and since the Orioles' primary color is orange, these really pop for me.  Jones had a great year and even finished in 6th for the AL MVP award.  Not bad!

So, thanks for the package, Pete.  I hope we can catch up at one of the upcoming card shows really soon!

Card Show Thoughts

I'm exhausted. 900+miles driven over three days will take a toll on you. I had to: Drive from Greenville to Winston-Salem Thursday after work so I could meet up with my in-laws and drop my son off. I slept over at my parents' house Friday night, then got up early Friday morning so that I could meet Blake (the guy who owns the card shop) at 9AM to load up for the card show.
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I had already loaded up my stuff Thursday evening, so my little Cobalt was packed after I left the shop. This was my first attempt at selling anything at a show, so I wasn't too sure what to bring. I grabbed a bit of everything.
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Friday was kind of slow, there were a lot of people browsing, but not too many buyers. I did have one guy, though, who searched some of my 5,000 ct boxes and bought a good bit of oddball historical/presidential cards.
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Saturday was really steady, until snow started falling, then everything slowed down. Pete came by with lunch and helped me for the rest of the day. While he was manning the booth, I took a look around and got the 3 1948 Bowman's I blogged last night. I also got another cool vintage card that I will blog later on. I sold a good bit of wax boxes for the shop. One discouraging thing, for sellers at least, is that there is a guy who is at all of these shows who gets his boxes dirt cheap from somewhere and undercuts everyone else. $189 for a box of Topps Sterling? Are you kidding me? Needless to say, I didn't sell a single Topps Sterling box for the shop.
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Sunday was slow all around. I sold more random singles than anything. Pete came again and helped all day, which was nice, cause I was getting bored. I walked around looking for more sweet vintage and I was able to find a few things you guys will see in a couple days.
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In the end, I sold enough of my stuff to pay for the table, and have a little money to take home. Blake gave me a little bonus for helping out, so it pretty much paid for the cards I picked up. I'm all about accepting cards as payment, and when you see what I got, you will agree.
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I have decided to attend the January 8-9 card show in Raleigh, too, so I hope some of you guys can come by and help me out by buying stuff!!

Candlesticks Are Always a Nice Gift - My Trip to Durham Part 2

Everyone liking the Bull Durham lines? If you have not seen the movie, I highly recommend you rent it. Especially for the scene where they all congregate on the mound and discuss wedding presents... classic stuff.

Still doesn't beat Cerrano sacrificing a bucket of KFC Chicken in Major League, though... What is everyone's favorite baseball movie? Mine has to be either Major League, Bull Durham or For The Love of The Game... Here is Chris shaing hands with The Blue Monster. Pretty cool. I thought he may be a little afraid of the mascot, but he did fine. It does look like Chris has a death grip on that railing though.

Bulls players attend to a fallen comrade. The outfielder dove for the ball and crashed into the wall. He made the catch, though. I missed the actual dive, I was looking through m backpack for something... I forget what.

Here is Chris with his lunch... er... I mean his cotton candy. He is such a sneak, I told him no, he couldn't have any, so he goes with his puppy dog look to Max's girlfriend and she fell into his trap...

I will post one more entry concerning my trip later. We were able to get some SWEEET autos after the game. Leave me some comments and let me know what you think...

Hit Bull, Win Steak - My Trip to See the Durham Bulls vs. The Tampa Bay Rays

After the card show, we all went to Durham Bulls Athletic Park to catch the exhibition game between the Durham Bulls and their parent club, the Tampa Bay Rays. I don't know if you have seen Bull Durham, but it is definitely one of the best baseball movies out there (a good bit of it was shot in Winston-Salem, where I grew up).

Since the movie, the Single A Bulls moved to Danville, Virginia and the AAA Bulls were created when the leagues expanded and allowed the Rays and Diamondbacks in. Durham Bulls Athletic Park opened soon after to replace the old park seen in the movie. One of my favorite parts of the movie is the 'Hit Bull, Win Steak' sign. Just a really cool thing, haha.

Cloud cover rolled in about halfway through the game, but that didn't take away from the fact that it was a beautiful day.

As you can see, we were able to catch some great players. Longoria was launching balls over the 'Blue Monster' on a consistent basis. I believe Gabe Kapler his one of the tiers that you can see on the building behind the wall. They need to send Jim Thome or Ken Griffey, Jr to this park and let them take aim at the building.

Trade with Pete

You all remember this card I pulled from Topps Unique a few months ago... Well, I had no idea when I posted it that I would have such a huge response to it. I had 3 or 4 people right off the bat ask about it. Now, I have several people I trade with regularly who are Yankee fans, so pretty much all of my Yankee cards are spoken for. Pete gets first crack (and any Mattinglys), then Drew, followed by Nico. I still feel like I owe Mr. Scott some as well (working on that), but Pete does take top billing.

That being said, I wasn't asking for a whole lot in return for this card. Yeah, I probably could have listed it on ebay and gotten some cash for it, but I am not at a point right now where I want to do a whole lot of selling. Yeah, the money is good, but with the time it takes to list the auction, wait for it to complete, wait for the person to pay, stick it in the mail... I'd rather flip a card for some things that will be useful to me.

So, I present to you: Brooks Robinson 2010 Topps Heritage Memorial Stadium seat relic and...

Cal Ripken 2010 Topps Peak Performance pants relic.

Fair trade? I definitely think so. I also got a stack of O's cards (including chromes of Adam Jones and STICK) from 2010 Heritage. I still lack the Roberts, but I'm certain it will become mine.

***Alert - I have 2 huge boxes of loose cards (1980s - today) that I would like to clear out. If anyone is interested in certain teams or players, please shoot me an email and we can work something out. I need to warn you though that the following teams and/or players are already spoken for: Orioles, Yankees, Dodgers, Rangers, Astros, Cubs, Nomar, Manny Ramirez, Orel Hershiser, Kirk Gibson, Bo Jackson, Joe Mauer and Jim Thome.

Also, if you have specific set needs, I can help fill 2007-2010 Topps (I can help with other years as well, but it will take longer as those boxes are in a storage building), 2006-2008 allen and ginter (2009 is pretty much wiped out) and a few other sets... just ask me. Please email me a want list (I'd love to check each blog for specific needs, but I don't have a whole lot of time to devote to searching through what everyone needs...)

...so this is Christmas

...and what have we done? Another year over, a new one just begun.

Oh man, that's my favorite Christmas song. Classic... Except that Yoko Ono can be heard. Uggh. Anyway, in this season of giving, I thought it'd be cool to recall some of the best Christmases that I have been a part of. Too bad I can't discern the years... That's asking a bit much.

Ask me, or any of my brothers, the best Christmas we call can remember is the year when we woke up, walked into the living room and each of us has a brand new bike. We rode bikes up and down the road all day that day. Mom still has pictures of us as we came into the room and caught the initial looks on our faces.

The Christmas gift I got the most use out of (and still do to this day) was the year my grandfather got all of us foot lockers. My mom took the foot lockers and personalized them for each of us. I now use mine to hold my sports magazines, pictures, etc. It usually stays locked, unless some unsuspecting friend comes over and shows a shred of interest in my sports memorabilia collection.

One of my favorite gifts that wasn't really a gift was the year (maybe 4 or 5 years ago) when my mom gave me a box of stuff I had done in elementary school that she had found while she was cleaning the attic. I went through the box and found a letter my great-grandmother had written me when I was in second grade. She has been gone for 18 years now. My mother-in-law took the letter and framed it for me, so it is something really cool that was on the wall in the house. When we get in another house, I definitely look forward to hanging it back up again.

Last year, my mom gave me her entire Cal Ripken baseball card collection which she had housed in my great-grandfather's tin cigar boxes from the 1920's. My dad wasn't too happy that my mom had 'stolen' the cigar boxes from him, but he knew I'd take care of them, haha.

My FAVORITE part of Christmas is the giving part. I'd much rather give a great present to someone and get a genuine response instead of receiving something.

I want to wish you all a very merry Christmas. Specifically, Max, P. A., Pete, Jim; I will see you guys very soon. Having you guys come and see me means a lot to me. I won't be at the shop the day after Christmas, but I intend on resuming my time there uninterrupted on January 2.

Max, I miss you man, its time we busted some boxes... Like SOON. P. A. and Pete, I'm ready to start some friendly baseball debates!

Jim, I got my 84's ready for you man.

Everyone who reads my blog, I really appreciate it. Continue to come back anytime. I'm glad you enjoy.

Thanks guys!!!

Box Break Results: 2009 Topps Heritage High Numbers

I got this box with Pete at the card show on Sunday. I figured at $49, they were pretty reasonably priced, and I thought I had a good chance of getting some O's rookies.

I ended up being pretty disappointed in the results.I got a Brooks card. Woo Hoo! Too bad he shares the card with David Wright. Mr. Un-Clutch himself. Yuck.

Wow. Just wow. A Milton Bradley Auto. Well, at least it wasn't a Mark Prior or a Sammy Sosa.

Awesome, A Koji Jersey. Now, that's pretty nice! I was pretty surprised when I pulled this. Not bad, not bad.

My LONE Orioles RC. (I don't count the Koji). I was hoping for Reimold or Bergesen. Oh well, Hernandez will do.

I appreciate Pete going in with me on this box, but I wasn't all that impressed. I think I'll be happier once I get the Rookies I mentioned above. I really wish some of the autos I have seen would be of better subjects. Oh well... Maybe that's why the box was $49.

I am thankful for:

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I wanted to take a moment and reflect on some things this year that I am thankful for.

I am thankful for:

• A loving wife who 'allows' me to do the things I do. Without her... hmmm... we won't go there haha.
• My son Chris, who, is probably one of the most unique people I have ever encountered. He is a wonderful kid and I hope he stays with the same personality because he is definitely an adventure.
• Some awesome parents and family. They have shaped me into what I am today. Good or bad, hahaha.
• I am thankful for Pete, P.A. and Kim who make my time at the card bearable. These 3 are probably some of the nicest people I've ever met and I am very glad for them.
• I am thankful that Blake lets me do what I do at the card shop. It definitely is worth the 3 hour drive, even though I may not show it sometimes.
• For the amazing opportunity my job has given me, to be able to move to a new area, work with some great people and start some things over.
• For FINALLY selling my house. FINALLY.
• For the Baltimore Orioles
• For being able to meet and actually speak to Brooks Robinson this year. That was a huge highlight of my life, and I was able to share it with my brother Andy. I was also able to leave someone a voicemail 'Im done dude, Im done...' Haha.
• Being able to watch a baseball game in Kinston with a very good friend. We spent the game talking baseball and scouting. That was a great time.
• Beer.
• Being able to speak to Brandon Waring, Bryce Harper and other prospects this year.
• For everyone who reads this blog. Thank you all, I wouldn't be doing this if no one else was interested. Thanks guys, it means a lot to me.

If I forgot you, I apologize. This has been a great year, albeit difficult. Thank you all so much for helping me get through the tough times and also being here during the good times as well. Lets hope next year is just as good. Happy Thanksgiving.