Hall of Fame Baseball Ebay Success - Eddie Murray

Getting back on the horse... I picked up another Hall of Fame autographed baseball the other day; this time making sure the ball was authenticated by a reputable company.I have been wanting an Eddie Murray ball for a long time, seeing as Murray is an Oriole Hall of Famer. He is also one of 4 players who had 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. I now need Frank Robinson, Roberto Alomar and Luis Aparicio to complete my Oriole Hall of Famers. I have George Kell, Brooks Robinson, Jim Palmer, Robin Roberts and Cal Ripken.
So, Murray is my 27th Hall of Famer. I wish he did TTM, but I have not seen anywhere that he has, so I went the supposed next best route in picking the ball up on Ebay. Let's hope that the ball is real this time. I verified the JSA authentication, so it is definitely authentic. Maybe I can get past my recent Ebay fail and move on and add a bunch more AUTHENTIC baseballs. THat's not too much to ask is it?

Card Show Success Part 2 - Completing the Trade

So, I posted yesterday about making a trade at the card show - My 2008 Stadium Club Pujols triple relic/auto plus a Felix Hernandez auto, Pedroia Relic Auto and another auto that escapes my memory right now for the awesomely old (authenticated) Mazeroski autoed ball and the beauty above... Don Drysdale JSA authenticated autoed baseball!

So, by my unofficial count, this Drysdale is HOF ball number 26. It feels like I have already said I had 26 baseballs before this one but I will get to that in a later post.

Anyway, I was really pleased with the haul I got in return for those autoed cards. I knew the guy I traded the Pujols for would be able to turn it around (along with the other cards) for a profit, but I had been looking at baseballs of several different Hall of Famers and Drysdale is always very expensive. I figured, why not go ahead and go for it while I have the chance and some trade bait instead of dropping cash on one on Ebay and getting some bad news about it later on (more on that later.....)

I hope you guys enjoy the baseballs as much as I do. I still have a LOT more to talk about concerning the card show, so please stay tuned!

May 13-15 Raleigh, NC Card Show - First of Many Awesome Pickups

So, I had been sitting on my 2008 Topps Stadium Club Triumverate (triple relic/auto) Albert Pujols for a good while now. It had gotten a lot of looks in my display case, but no one wanted to jump on the price. I didn't want to sell it at a yard sale price, so I have been sitting on it... until today. I guy came by my booth and was eyeing the Pujols; we talked for a bit, then he went off to some other tables. I was pretty bored, so I got up and checked a table out that had some autographed baseballs and lo and behold, it was the guy who was looking at my Pujols. He had a couple baseballs that I liked, so we ended up working out a trade...... I traded the Pujols and a couple other autos for the above Mazeroski ball and another ball that will be posted later...

I really liked this Mazeroski ball (my 26th Hall of Famer) because it is seriously OLD. It is a Charles Feeney NL ball with very faded stitching. I think it is really cool. It's actually a Spalding ball, which, if anyone has been paying attention, Rawlings has been making the official baseballs for a while now. I looked up Charles (Chub) Feeney, and he was the president of the NL from 1969-1986, so the ball is from at least prior to 1986. Not bad. I like how some of the old baseballs look. This and the other ball I got were JSA authenticated, so I looked them up when I got home and they were legit. So, I'm really excited for sure. I hope you all like this one as well. When you see the other ball I got with this, you'll know I and the other guy pulled off a good trade.

TTM Success - Gaylord Perry

I mailed a ball and a check for $25.00 to Gaylord Perry on April 25, 2011 and got the signed ball back today. I thought that since Perry lived in NC, it wouldn't take as long for the ball to get here, but it took him almost 2 weeks to claim his box. I'm sure he was busy. Thankfully, he claimed the box and signed my ball. He inscribed the ball with his HOF induction year (1991) and his career win total (314). Not bad for $25.00 plus shipping costs. I'm really happy with the ball, of course. Even cooler is that the bus driver that I had in high school grew up with Gaylord and Jim Perry. On the way to school, he would tell us stories about playing sandlot ball with the Perry brothers. That definitely made the ride to school so much more bearable.

Perry is now my 25th HOF auto on a ball. I still have a long way to go, but I think I have made a good dent so far.

Hall of Fame Baseball Ebay Success - Robin Roberts

I got this sweet PSA authenticated Robin Roberts signed baseball in the mail today. I got the ball for $37.00 with free shipping. Roberts is my 24th baseball signed by a Hall of Famer. Not too bad. I have a long ways to go, but I'm pretty happy with who I have so far. I'm still baffled at how cheaply I obtained this ball. Roberts is by far the cheapest Hall of Fame baseball I have ever seen, so I had to jump all over this ball when I saw it. I wish it was inscribed with his HOF year, but for what I paid, and that it is authenticated, I really have no room to complain.

I was listening to the Orioles game last week when they were in a rain delay in Kansas City. During the delay the Kansas City announcers interviewed Orioles Hall of Famer Jim Palmer. I never knew this, but Palmer was paired with Roberts during his (Palmer's) rookie season. Roberts became Palmer's mentor (and roommate) that season and was one of the people responsible for molding Palmer into the Hall of Famer that he became. I thought this was really cool to hear. Roberts was an awesome pitcher, for sure, so I'm very glad to have his autograph. I also just remembered that when I did my interview with Virgil Trucks, he remarked on how Roberts was one of the best pitchers he had ever seen pitch.

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.

TTM Success - Brooks Robinson

I received a TTM today from one of my favorite players of all time, Brooks Robinson! I already had a ball signed by Brooks that my awesome mom got me for Christmas a few years back. However, I saw that he was doing TTMs for a brief period through his webpage, so I thought it would be worth my $42.00. I got a scare, though, when I heard that Brooks was in the hospital at the end of March.

Luckily, Brooks came through fine and I got my ball signed after a bit of a delay. It looks great! I'm really happy to be able to say that I got a TTM from Brooks, since I didn't take any baseballs with me to my meeting with him in October 2009. I was the only one, apparently, who honored the whole "do not bring items for autographs" thing posted on my ticket.

I'm happy Brooks is ok now, and I'm happy to add this to my collection. I now have 2 balls signed by Brooks and 2 balls signed by Cal. Not bad, I think.