What I Got With My Abreu Money

I'm sure you all know by now what I sold my Jose Abreu autograph for a whopping $165.00.  I was able to basically take a card that is hot right now and likely to cool off for a few Hall of Famers I needed for my sets.  Some of the cards haven't arrived yet, but the bulk of them came in today.

In my opinion, one of the best was the above Willie Mays catch card.  I had been looking at it for some time now, and finally jumped on it when the Abreu money hit my PayPal.  The card is just awesome and it is so cool that it depicts one of the most iconic moments in baseball history.

I knocked off a high number All Star card in this Warren Spahn.  These cards are the ones that are really going to hurt me when I start really picking them off.  This one was just over $10, but I know if I buy a bunch in bulk at a shop or card show, it's going to be painful.

Since I already have the Bob Gibson RC, the Mantle and the Hank Aaron cards from this set, the next biggest cards were of Sandy Koufax and Willie Mays.  I knocked both of those out courtesy of the Abreu.  The Koufax is a bit off center and the Mays is a little rougher, but I now have both cards in my set and am very happy about it!

Taking these off the list was very satisfying.  I think the biggest names I need now are Don Drysdale, Warren Spahn, and of course the All Star cards. That All Star Mantle is going to set me back about $100 or so, so I need to pick that one up when bonus time comes, or Birthday time.

Finally, of the cards that came in, I was able to take one off of my 1948 Bowman set.  This Johnny Mize "RC" was only $12.  As you can see, it is a bit rough, but not too bad.  I am still working hard on this 1948 set and am making pretty good progress.  The biggest card left is the Rizzuto, but those are going for around $100, so I didn't want to spend most of my money on one card.  I wanted to spread it out and I think I did much better that way.

Trade With Alex

I got some really good Orioles cards in the mail recently from Alex, the man at the helm of the blog "Chavez Ravining."  Alex has really burst onto the blogging scene as of late with Dodger pickups and news.  If you haven't checked out his blog, it's a must.  He was nice enough to feature me in a post discussing "under-appreciated blogs" which I was very grateful for.

In the stack of Orioles stuff he sent me, was this really nice Chris Davis red mini from 2014 Gypsy Queen.  The card is numbered 32/99 and looks really cool.

These white bordered Gypsy Queens are also really nice, as can be seen in this Eddie Murray card.  I love the orange old school Orioles jersey that he is rocking.  Murray is definitely an underrated Hall of Famer.  I heard one so-called baseball commentator on XM remark recently that Murray isn't a Hall of Famer in his mind.  One of only four players in history to have 3,000 hits and 500 homers.  Not a Hall of Famer?  Sir, I sure hope you don't have a Hall of Fame vote...

Finally, here is a 2014 Topps Opening Day blue parallel of Adam Jones.  These blues are really nice.

I really appreciate the cards, Alex!  I know we will be doing more trades in the future.  I'm certain of it because I am looking at the stack of cards I have for you right now!

Trade With Roger of Sports Card Mask-A-Rade

I completed a trade with Roger of the blog Sports Card Mask-A-Rade when I sent him my Mike Olt Museum Collection auto and some Museum Collection base cards for two 1969 Topps cards I needed for my set, which included the above Tony Oliva All Star.

I got 19 emerald parallels that I needed for that set.  I'm really glad to get these because this set has really slowed down.  I want to move it along before we get too far removed from the 2013 set.  I really don't want it lasting as long as my 2009 Brooks Robinson pursuit has gone.

Roger also included 3 2013 Topps Chrome cards for that set as well, so that one is winding down and should be completed very soon.

Thanks for the trade, Roger.  I hope you all will check out his blog and hit him up for some trade action!

Awesome Trade With James

I completed a trade with my friend, James, whom I met on Instagram recently when I picked up some Mark Trumbo and Wade Miley needs that he had in exchange for the above Cal Ripken manufactured relic and some vintage cards.

The Ripken card is pretty awesome and is heavy as crap!  I was surprised when I got it, how heavy it was. It was also nice that James had a Ripken card that I needed for my collection.

James also included some vintage cards that I needed for my sets, which included this 1959 Mike Baxes and the below Sandy Alomar.

James is a really cool guy and I was more than happy to help him with his collection.  In exchange for my helping him get those cards, he also sent me some extra vintage cards.

The extra vintage cards were these two, which were really nice.  I appreciated James understanding my love for vintage.

The best part of the package, though, was the awesome letter that James included.  I always try to write a note when I send in a trade package, and James feels the same way.  It doesn't take much time at all to thank someone for taking the time to search cards and find a match with you, so why not put a note in? Well, James's note was a full-page letter and it was something that I will appreciate forever.

Thanks for the trade, James.  I know we will be making a ton more in the future!

Cards From Mom

I visited my parents' house a couple weeks ago and when I got up that Saturday morning, my mom greeted me with a couple blasters of cards that she had picked up.  Mom has been asking me when I was going to post about the boxes on here, well, what better day than Mother's Day?

You see, my mom is the one who really got me into cards.  She would always take me to the card shop when I was younger and would spoil me with tons of cards.  I always enjoyed it, I mean who wouldn't?  The best part, though, was that Mom always bought some packs, too.  She had as big a collection as I did back then.  Too bad the both of us didn't know that those cards would be part of the era known as the "Overproduction Era."  Oh well, the memories of sitting in Mom's car, opening packs (which, is a habit that still carries over - whenever I buy packs, I always open them up in the car) and sneaking the cards into the house so Dad didn't find out is something I will always remember.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!  I love you and thanks for getting me started (Mallory thanks you too!).

Another Surprise Package From Dana

I got another surprise package from Dana, recently (one of two, actually.  The other is in my queue to be blogged).  I liked this one so much, because it saved me from having to buy some cards I have been looking at, recently.  The above Museum Collection (I know Andrew can't get enough Museum Collection) Canvas Collection Brooks Robinson will look great in my Brooks PC.  I have been wanting one of these since they came out.

I had also been wanting the Museum Collection base card of Chris Davis for my PC as well.  Thankfully, Dana hooked me up with this as well.  I won't have to use any store credit on COMC to pick one up, now.  I can use that on other stuff, like set needs.

Finally, Dana hooked me up with a ton of Gypsy Queen.  Here is the mini Chris Davis that I got from her.  I think I got each Oriole that was featured in the set, so I probably won't need to buy too many more packs of these.

Thanks so much for the package, Dana!  I have your other one here on my desk.  I've been chipping away at the trade stack and hope to post the other stuff soon, but there are a few things slated ahead of it.

Ebay Pickup - 2014 Topps Museum Collection Chris Davis Bat

I got an absolute steal off of Ebay recently when I picked up this 2014 Topps Museum Collection Chris Davis jumbo bat relic card for $5.55 plus shipping.  I had seen a bunch of these as buy it now for $45.00 or more.  I bid on this one before I left for Columbia this past weekend and saw that I had won it when I rolled into my brother's place.

Davis should be coming off the DL right after he is eligible on May the 11th and I can't wait to get him back healthy.  His bat is sorely missed and I hope he can go off on a tear of home runs so folks can shut up about last year being a fluke.