2015 National Recap

I feel like now is a good time to draw my 2015 National Card Show experience to a close.  This was a much better time than the National I went to in 2012, mainly because I decided to go "all in" and do the VIP pass and attend all 5 days.  Spending time with Max, Andrew, Eli and Frankie made the experience even better.

I came home with the pile that you see above.  Here is what it ended up being:

• A 1992 Donruss Elite Cal Ripken autograph that I have wanted since 1992.
• Enough 1959 Topps cards to complete my set.
• 15 signed baseballs (8 Hall of Famers, 6 VIP signers and one Kris Bryant from Max).
• A signed hat for my buddy, Sam.
• A box of Allen and Ginter.
• Two signed 8 x 10 photos.
• A ton of other assorted autograph and relic cards of various PC guys.
• I met Hulk Hogan, Brooks Robinson (again), Lou Brock, Tom Gordon, Ben Grieve, Eric Hinske, Dontrelle Willis, Manny Sanguillen, Maury Wills and Cecil Cooper.

I went way over my budget, but I was really happy with everything I found while I was there.  I also spent a good bit of money on the friends that were with me, and some that couldn't make it.  I found some sweet deals, and even some amazing dime box finds, like the above 1981 Topps  Kirk Gibson RC.

Speaking of dime boxes, I met Nick, the king of Dime Boxes while I was there, as well.

We had a great time using our VIP autograph vouchers.  Some of the guys, we didn't have enough baseballs for, so we got cards signed, like this 1987 Topps John Candelaria.  That made some of the dime box searching pretty fun.  I can't remember the last time I was looking for a Candelaria card on purpose.  The 1987s turn out pretty nice signed, I do believe.

I've said before that the part that I liked the most about the National was being able to spend time with my friends.  Here is a nice group shot of Max, Me, Frankie and Andrew from the Thurdsay at the show.  We all really enjoyed each other's company.  The guys who didn't know each other very well before the show all had become close friends by the end of it.  I was glad that I was able to be allowed to accompany them.  It truly was an honor.

I hope we can all get together again soon, but until then, we can all reflect on this photo and remember the amazing time that we had.

2015 National Free VIP Signer - Derek Bell

The last free VIP signer that I had a special baseball for was Derek Bell.  Known mostly for his time on the Astros, I had forgotten that he was a member of the 1992 Blue Jays team that won the World Series.  Max and I Skyped a few weeks before the show, and the two of us picked up some 1992 World Series baseballs.  I think the signature turned out really well.  I'm glad I figured out that it is better to get these baseballs signed on the side panel, as opposed to the sweet spot like I did the specialty balls I got signed at Orioles Fan Fest in February.  I'll be doing more like this in the future.

We had extra wild card vouchers so we got some cards signed as well.  I found a bunch of Bell's cards in some boxes, but forgot them as I left on my trip, so I found a bunch in some dime boxes at the show for our group.  I think this one turned out pretty nice, as well.

Bell played in the majors from 1991 to 2001 for the Blue Jays, Padres, Astros, Mets and Pirates.  He had 1,262 hits, 134 home runs and a .276 batting average.

National Gifts From Max

I've almost got all of the stuff written about The National that I can possibly write.  I may have two or so more posts after this one.  I have had a really hard time remembering who got me what, or where I found certain cards.  I had to send a Kik message last night to Frankie and Max in order to verify which cards I got from each of them.  We were handing each other cards left and right, and we were putting them in boxes to keep from letting them get damaged.

It was this that made The National a lot of fun.  Our group would search a table, and after a few minutes, each would say something like "Here, I thought you would like this, I just bought it."  Max and I were discussing last night about how we both realized that we had spent a good amount on money on each other.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  A lot of the cards that I bought ended up going to other people.  Some of ot was for later trades, but most of it was just care package stuff that I thought others would like.

Max really knows the types of stuff that I like, and he surprised me with some really good cards.  The above Kevin Gausman is a really cool card.  It's a 2011 Bowman Sterling numbered 185/199.

Max also helped with the Sonny Gray PC with this 3-piece relic card from from 2010 Topps USA Baseball.  This one isn't numbered, but is pretty awesome.

Thanks for everything you do, Max, and I'm glad we were able to spend the time that we did together at The National.

National Gifts From Frankie

One of the things I liked the most about The National was the time I was able to spend with some of my closest friends in the hobby.  During that time, I was able to make a new friend, Frankie, who spent the week walking around the venue with us.

Frankie surprised me with this really nice Adam Jones 2014 Topps Supreme auto numbered 5/45.  It was a really kind gesture from a really good guy.

Frankie also surprised me with this 2015 Topps Tier One Jones relic that he pulled out of a box that he busted in the VIP room.  This card is numbered 131/399.

I really appreciated the cards from Frankie, but I appreciated my time with him even more.  It was cool to get to know him, and welcome him into our little group.

2015 National Free VIP Signer - Maury Wills

One of the other highly anticipated autographs that I was able to get at the National was Maury Wills.  He was actually the last VIP signer that I got (even though I still have another to show after this one).  Wills was really nice, and we chatted about the weather (believe it or not) during the signing.  As I walked up to him, thunder could be heard, and the both of us commented on it.  Then we could hear the torrential downpour that was going on outside.  It turns out, a severe thunderstorm was passing through Chicago at that time.  I don't believe any tornadoes were spotted, but I think we were as close to having one as we could.  A few minutes after Wills signed for me, the power went off in the venue.  It was a weird sight, for sure.

Wills (b. 1932) played in the majors from 1959 to 1972 for the Dodgers, Pirates and Expos.  He had 2,134 hits, 20 home runs and a .281 career batting average.  He led the league in stolen bases six seasons in a row.  He was the 1962 NL MVP and won the World Series in 1959, 1963 and 1965.

2015 National Free VIP Signer - Manny Sanguillen

I think the free signer I looked forward to the most was Manny Sanguillen.  I kind of follow the Pirates a little bit, here and there, especially since I have been to PNC Park twice now.  Sanguillen is a Pirates legend, having won two World Series in Pittsburgh (1971 and 1979).  He played in the majors from 1967 and 1969 to 1980 for the Pirates and A's.

What sticks out most to me about Sanguillen, though, is a story that I read about the memorial service for his former teammate, Roberto Clemente.  When Clemente passed away, the Pirates held a memorial service for him that was attended by all of his teammates, with the exception of one, Sanguillen.  The reason he wasn't at the memorial was because he was busy diving off the coast of Puerto Rico in shark infested waters, looking for Clemente's body.  That's true friendship, right there.

According to Sanguillen's SABR page, it says that Sanguillen was actually supposed to accompany Clemente on his ill-fated flight, but had misplaced his car keys and missed the flight.

Sanguillen was really quiet during the signing at The National, but he was friendly when I spoke to him.  I thanked him for the autograph and moved along, since his line was so long.

A $5 Mystery Pack At The National

When our group was walking around the National, we stopped by one vendor who had a bunch of mystery packs for $5 each that promised vintage hits like a Bowman Joe DiMaggio, a 1939 Boston Red Sox signed baseball, and stuff like that.  We all thought it would be fun to give the mystery packs a shot, so we all bought in (Me, Andrew, Max, Frankie and Max's dad).  The first mystery pack I bought yielded a 1970 Hoyt Wilhelm and a 1966 Don Schwall.  Not too bad.  It was fun enough, so I figured I would try again, as did my friends, and my second mystery pack was much better.

I pulled this 1982 Topps Cal Ripken RC out of a $5 mystery pack.  Now my fourth '82 Topps Ripken, this was a really cool hit.  Frankie ended up with an early 50s Bowman card, which carried some value, but none of the stuff the guys pulled equaled the excitement I got out of pulling this Cal.

Yeah, I know I have others, but it still was a lot of fun to get a PC item (a rookie, at that).  Maybe I'll take the plunge sometime and get one of them graded.  I don't know.

2015 National Free VIP Signer - Cecil Cooper

One of the coolest baseballs that I got signed at the National was this 1983 All Star Game ball by Cecil Cooper.  I got the ball for something like $15.00 off of Ebay right before I left for the show.  Max and I had spent some time on Skype trying to find specialty baseballs that would cover some of the guys we were going to meet.  I saw this one and jumped on it.  I know it is aged quite a bit and has that big splotch on it, but I believe it adds character to the ball.

Cooper played in the majors from 1971 to 1987 for the Red Sox and Brewers.  He had a much better career than I first thought.  He had 2,192 hits, 241 home runs and a .298 batting average.  He had over 200 hits in 3 seasons and batted .300 or batter in 8 seasons (7 in a row).  He was an All Star 5 times and finished as high as 5th in the AL MVP voting (three times, 1980, 1982 and 1983).

Max got this 1987 Topps signed for me, since we had extra vouchers for Cooper.  I provided some cards and Max got the signatures.  Since I had 1987 Topps cards coming out of my ears, I figured that getting a few signed would be nice.  They do, in fact, look good signed.

2015 National Free VIP Signer - Eric Hinske

Another of the free signers was another award winner, 2002 AL Rookie of the Year, Eric Hinske.  I will always remember Hinske for his winning the award with Orioles Rodrigo Lopez finishing runner-up.  Lopez had a really good year, that year, and an argument could have been made for him winning.

Hinske had a pretty good career.  He played for 12 years and amassed 947 hits, 137 home runs and a .249 batting average for the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Rays, Pirates, Yankees, Braves and Diamondbacks.  He won the World Series in 2007 with the Red Sox and in 2009 with the Yankees.

Hinske was pretty nice, but didn't go above and beyond like Tom Gordon did.  Nothing against him or anything, but it was hard to pass Gordon.  The 2002 AL Rookie of the Year inscription was free, which was nice.  I do like a good inscription, so this worked out well.

2015 National Free VIP Signer - Ben Grieve

The next specialty baseball I got signed at the National was this 1998 Rawlings Official All Star baseball by 1998 AL Rookie of the Year, Ben Grieve.  Grieve didn't talk a whole lot, but was friendly nonetheless.  That ball, though, looks really cool.  It is in Rockies colors, and Grieve signed it below the logo.

The 1998 AL Rookie of the Year inscription was also free, which was nice.  I did my best to get some special baseballs for some of the free signers, since I didn't necessarily have a need for them in the collection.  I do like getting various rookies of the year, or MVPs, so it did work out with Grieve and a couple of the other signers.

2015 National Free VIP Signer - Tom Gordon

The first signer I got at the National was during the Wednesday Sneak Peek, right after I got off of my plane.  I had rushed to the show, got my VIP pass and vouchers and quickly met up with Max and Andrew.  They helped me find the Schoop patch, then it was off to the autograph pavilion to try to get signatures.  There was no line for Tom Gordon, and I had purchased this 2006 All Star OMLB specifically for Gordon.  I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get his auto, since my plane landed so late, but I was happy to see that Gordon was still there.

He was really nice to Max, Andrew and I, and talked to us for quite a while.  He told us a story about who the toughest players he faced were, naming guys like Manny Ramirez, and others.  He then decided after naming several names, that he would be better served telling us who he owned.  He told a story about how he absolutely owned Roberto Kelly, so much so, that he struck him out so much, that Kelly threw his bat to the ground as hard as he could after on futile at bat.

I closed up our meeting with Gordon by telling him that he has been really fun watching his son, Dee, play ball, and that I had seen Dee play since his time with the Lookouts.  Gordon thanked me, and said that his son was a good kid and would be signing autographs at The National like him some day.  He's right.

I was really happy with how meeting Tom Gordon went.  That session alone made my getting the VIP passes worthwhile.  I was so happy to see how good he was wish everyone he signed for, and that he went out of his way to make us all feel like we were having a great time.  He won some new fans that day, for sure.

My ball got the full name and nickname signature: "Tom Flash Gordon".

Another Set Need From The National

I'm still way off on needs for the 1967 Topps set, but I have them all listed out in my notebook.  I wanted to make sure the cards I needed were listed in there at least, before I went to Chicago.  I figured that I might see some cheap 67s, and I was right.  I got this card out of a bargain bin and snatched it up, since I knew I needed one for the set.  I already had one in the Brooks PC, but I didn't want to rob from that to work on the set.

I also found another 67 that I needed in one of my own boxes at the house, so, that's two cards down, a lot to go.  I will work to get the needs list posted on here.  Since I finished off 1959, I plan on knocking out 1967 and 1969 before I jump into more vintage sets.  One set I really need to get done is 1972. I bought a lot of those in bulk, hoping I could make a dent in that set.  I did ok, but I still need quite a few more.

Great Dime Box Finds At The National

If the National lasted two weeks, I still don't believe I would have had enough time to look through all of the dime boxes that I saw.  Nonetheless, I did go through quite a few of them, and was happily surprised at some of the cards that I found.  There were color parallels of some of my PC guys, there were a bunch of vintage (I bought out a guy's 1972 Topps that he had in a dime box to help me have a decent start when I begin that set), and several good rookies.

The two best cards that I found in the dime boxes were, in fact, rookies.  The above Josh Donaldson 2010 Bowman was a great find for a dime.  He is a legitimate MVP candidate (although, I hope he falls short for my own selfish reasons) and is having a career year.  I liked Donaldson quite a bit when he was with the A's, but now that he is with the Blue Jays, I can only respect the fact that he is a really good player on a team I am continuing to loathe more and more.  Still, though, for a dime, this is a great card.

Because I have so many 1987 Topps cards, I am always looking to help folks out with that set.  I doubt that I will ever be rid of my 1987s, but I can dream.  The one card that I always am picking up is the Barry Bonds RC,  Usually running for $2-$3, I got this one for a dime.  I could easily sell it for 20x to 30 times what I paid for it, which isn't bad.  If I had found more, I would have grabbed them, too.  I may end up holding onto at least one of these at some point, since I do like the set design, and this is the most iconic card in the set, steroids or not.

Awesome Brooks Robinson Pickup From The National

On the last day of the National, I was way over budget and almost tapped out on cash.  I didn't let it stop me from adding some cards to my collection, though.  I mean, that was the reason I went to the National in the first place, to have a good time and buy some cards.

I had seen this 2010 Topps Sterling Brooks Robinson 5-piece relic card at the Wednesday sneak peek, but the guy at the table gave a redonkulous price, and I balked at it.

Come Sunday, however, the prices were much more reasonable, and I grabbed this card as my last purchase.

This is the Sterling card that I had mentioned a couple times, if you haven't figured that out already.  I really like the product, and being able to add this to the Brooks PC, well, that was a nice treat.  This might be one of the best Brooks cards that I have in my collection.  It is right up there with the Brooks RC, or the graded 1967 Topps that my mom got me.

My pile of cards from the National is beginning to dwindle down, then I have some IP autos to show.  I'll continue to post some stuff from the National, of course, but in the next week or so, I am going to start getting back into maildays and such.  I hope you all are enjoying seeing the stuff I picked up, though.  Thanks for reading!

A Gift From An Amazing Friend

One of my favorite parts of the National was that I was able to spend the 4 and a half days I was there with some of my closest friends in collecting.  I even made a couple new friends while I was there.  I've been friends with Max, now, for over a year and a half.  He is a really great guy, and is beyond generous.

Max is a huge Cubs fan, and living in Chicago, he goes to a bunch of games every year.  Recently, he picked up this baseball for me during one of his trips.  He had gotten the ball signed by none other than Cubs rookie, Kris Bryant.  The best part, though, is that Max didn't ask for anything in return for the ball.  Well, he did ask for a graded 10 Andre Dawson auto that was given to us when we entered the show, but I was going to give that to him anyway.

At Max's house, he and his family showed us great hospitality.  They held a cookout for us, and later in the evening, I played Pack Wars with Max and Andrew.  We had a lot of fun, and even got some trading done.

I was able to see Max's "Skype Studio" during my tour of his home, which was kind of weird.  It was just different seeing what was on the other side of the webcam.  He also showed me his collection, his card setup and "man cave."  It is always interesting to see how others have their stuff set up, and Max had one of the best setups I have seen.

Max has become one of my closest friends, in the community, and outside of it as well.  He has shown me his amazing generosity, to which I will always be grateful.  I'm very happy that we met and have traded, and now have met in person.

Max is an incredible athlete.  He has excelled in football and baseball.  He advanced to the National finals in football last year in Florida.  He has also won baseball tournaments in Cooperstown.  I know he is really proud of his accomplishments, and the awards he has won mean a lot to him.  That isn't lost on me at all.

Thanks so much for the ball, buddy, and the other stuff you have given me.  I cherish it all.

Bob Feller Pickups From The National

I'm always on the lookout for new Bob Feller stuff when I go to card shows.  The National was no different.  I was able to pick up two new Feller autos for my PC.

The above Feller auto from 2001 Topps Archives Reserves is a nice one that I hadn't seen before.  The card is really sharp, and was one of the last purchases I made at the show.  I bundled it with a higher end card that I still need to show (I referenced it when I was discussing Topps Sterling a few days ago).

This Feller was also picked up on the last day of the show.  The night before, we all congregated at Max's house for a cookout and played pack wars.  I won the bulk of the cards, including a 2012 Topps David Ortiz printing plate.  Normally, I would have contacted my friends Joey, or Scott, who collect the Red Sox and would have offered it to them.  Instead, I decided to take it to the show on the last day and see what I could flip it for.

It took me two tables/vendors to find a match, and when I offered the plate for this Feller, the vendor said "Sure, I'll do that trade."  So, I was able to take a card I won in pack wars and flip it for a nice PC pickup.  An autograph (on card) of one of the greatest pitchers ever.  I was happy with that deal.

The card is a 2001 Fleer Greats of the Game and, again, the auto is on card.  It looks really sharp scanned.

Chris Davis Pickups From The National

It is going to be a tough offseason, coming up.  Chris Davis becomes a free agent, along with several other longtime Orioles, and it looks like an extreme long shot for the Orioles to re-sign him.  He's been my favorite Oriole for the past few years.  He has been pretty hot lately, and I'm hoping he can keep it up so the Orioles can stay in contention.

I ended up with quite a few Davis cards from the National.  My good friend, Max, helped me find several that I needed for my PC.  The above card was in a cheap relic/auto box, and Max handed it to me as we were sorting through.  This is a 2014 Panini Classics Baseball relic numbered 98/99.

Max actually gave me this 2014 Panini Classics Baseball relic of Chris Davis, which was really nice of him.  This one is numbered 78/99.

Finally, Max found me this manufactured patch from 2014 Topps.  I had the plain O's logo, but didn't have the 60th anniversary one pictured here.  I'm glad I have it now.

I'm slowly making my way through the cards that I got, but there are still a ton to go.  I also stil have some signed baseballs to get to.  In the meantime, some packages have come in, so I will have plenty to blog about for a good while.  I'm happy about that.

Bargain Bin Nolan Reimold Pickups From The National

I have a long way to go before I finish up all of my posts about the National.  I'm cool with that, since I had a good, dry spell with very little to write about.  I still am not buying any cards, which is good, but that hurts with trades, since nothing new is coming in.  I still will be a while before I can get my expenses back in line, especially with the unexpected one that arose last week.

Anyway, I wanted to show off two of the bargain bin cards that I picked up while I was at the National.  I got these two Nolan Reimold cards from the same vendor; he had $2.00 (I think) relics and autos, so I made out like a champ with these cards.  They were either $2.00 or $5.00.  I don't remember.

I already had one of these 2009 Topps Triple Threads 7=pc relic/auto cards.  This one, though, has a patch.  Numbered 73/75, I was really happy to add it to the Reimold PC.

I didn't have this 2008 Donruss Threads Diamond King auto, in the PC yet.  I was really happy to spot it in the box.  It is numbered 222/500.  I think I did really well with my Reimold PC while I was at the National.

I learned that it is really tough if you are looking for singular cards while you are there.  However, if you have a couple players in mind, you have a good chance of finding them in the bargain bins, as long as their name isn't Mantle, Ruth, etc.  One of my friends is a big Jack Wilson fan, and another is a huge Nori Aoki fan, and I found quite a few cards of each of those guys while I was there.  I'm sure if I had hit a few more of those bargain bins, I would have come away with more Reimolds.

Jimmie Foxx Pickup at the National

One of the first cards I picked up the Thursday at the National was this Jimmie Foxx 6-pc bat relic card from 2008 Topps Sterling.  The card is numbered 9/10 and looks amazing in person.

I found it early that day while I was walking around with Max and Andrew and looking for the Cal Ripken Donruss Elite auto.  This makes a really cool addition to my Foxx PC.  I love Topps Sterling, and was happy to add another card from that series to my collection.  I actually liked it so much, I picked up another Sterling later on in the show.  You'll have to stay tuned to see what that was.

A Christmas Present From Mom, in August, at the National

This past Christmas, my mom gave me a $20 prepaid Master Card to use on baseball cards.  It took me until August to use it, but I think I did pretty well.

I challenged myself to get the best possible deal with the card, and the two cards I got far surpassed anything that I thought I would be able to find.

The above 2014 Topps Trajectory jumbo relic of Chris Davis would probably have found itself on next year's Top 10 Wishlist, since I really wanted one, but hadn't jumped on one yet.  The card is numbered 11/99, and looks awesome.  I really loved the Trajectory design, and now I have this and a Ripken auto.

I was also able to throw in this 2014 Topps Supreme Jonathan Schoop auto, numbered 45/45.  This was the other Schoop auto I had referred to in my Schoop post a couple days ago.

The Davis jumbo has gome for $15-$20 regularly, so being able to get it, and the numbered to 45 Schoop auto was really a steal.  I feel like I did a great job in my "challenge."  I may do something similar at next year's show.  Take a certain amount of money, and challenge myself to get the best possible deal, then blog about it.  Seems too easy...

Thanks for the Christmas present, Mom!