Catching Up On Mail - Recent Instagram Pickups

It's crunch time at my place, today as I prepare for my first card show in a couple years.  I have to continue sorting and pricing cards and avoid burning myself out on them.  Never is a good feeling being sick of looking at cards.

I also have been really behind on posting recent mail, even with posting a post a day.  So, I condensed a few trades and deals down to one post, with the hope of catching up a bit.  Even by doing this, I still have a ton in my "to be blogged pile".  Thank you all for bearing with me.  I'm sure some of you are tired of the "I got this today, or dealt for that" posts.  Trading has never been busier for me, so I suppose that's a good thing.

I got the above Zach Britton snow camo parallel in a trade with a kid from Instagram who uses the handle sports.cards.24.  I sent him a Derek Jeter coin from the Turn 2 Foundation, and got this Britton that is numbered 38/99.  It looks pretty cool, and will stay in my collection.

In exchange for a Bowman Chrome blue parallel of Dawel Lugo and a Jonathan Gray die cut, a kid named Barton (topshelf_graphs on Instagram) sent me this 2014 Topps Chrome Jose Fernandez black parallel numbered  21/100.  The card is really nice, and I think I can sell it at the show tomorrow.  If not, it'll be posted on my trade bait page.

Being in a hurry is never good, especially when you are scanning cards.  This Nick Kingham was obtained (along with an Orange Tim Cooney auto) in exchange for a AJ Cole Bowman Sterling auto.  I got the card from a guy named Christian (Primesportscards on Instagram).  I picked them up specifically for trades and the Cooney has already been claimed by Andrew.  I can probably get a little bit out of the Kingham as well.  We'll see.

I traded for this Justin Verlander a while ago, and when I traded for it, I had no idea it was a patch card (and numbered to 9).  It's about the saddest patch card that I have seen, with the bare minimum of the patch showing.  Yet, it is still a patch card, and two colors for that matter.  I have had a lot of folks ask about it.  I'm going to take it with me tomorrow, and set the price pretty high and see what I can do.  I'm not too worried about this one, though, because I know I have a market for it when I get back here.  I also might end up keeping it, though.  It is a pretty cool card.  I would like to get some more patches soon.

Finally, I got some set needs from my good friend, Jet, recently when he was trying to raise some money for a trip that he wants to take later this summer.  He sent 7 1959 Topps cards that I needed for my set.  Some of them will fit in nicely, and a couple of the others will be placeholders until I can upgrade them.

So, thanks for all of the deals, guys.  I really appreciate them, even if I wasn't able to dedicate standalone posts for them.  Hopefully you all understand.  It'll be nice to get caught up, but I don't know if I can.  I'm just hoping I can get some stuff cleared out tomorrow and maybe make a little money in the process.

We Won't Stop - Recap of My First Playoff Game

I can knock something off of my bucjet list, I went to my first ever MLB playoff game today.  Chris and I went, along with Ryan from O No Another Orioles Blog and some friends of his.  We skipped over a great deal of DC traffic this morning thanks to the HOV lanes and that we had so many people in the car.  I was worried because the start time for the game was 12:00, noon, and our plan was to leave Ryan's house at 6:30, but that would put us in DC at the Friday morning rush hour.  Thankfully, we sot through there easily and got to Baltimore right at 10:00AM with only two stops along the way.

I was really glad that I made the decision to bring Chris along so he could experience this.  He had joked that he didn't really want to go because he was missing school, but I could tell that he was really excited.  They handed us these awesome rally towels as we entered the ballpark, and Chris actually got an extra one, so my wife will get a souvenir.  I really appreciate the photo bomb by the random dude in the background, by the way.

Another thing I wanted to do while I was there was to finally try some of Boog's BBQ and who was there while we were in line?  Why, Boog himself.  He signed a ball for Chris and posed for a picture.  I told him I was happy to see him again, and he shook my hand and said he was happy to see me as well.  Boog is such an underrated historical player.  I know that the 1970 AL MVP is loved in Baltimore.  He's one of our guys and I like our guys.

This summer, when we were at the Tiger game, I was disappointed that I didn't get to see Verlander pitch and Miguel Cabrera was on the bench.  Well, I got to see both today, and Cabrera was a terror on the Orioles, but he also helped them out with some questionable baserunning when he was cut down at the plate trying to score late in the game.  That run would come back to haunt the Tigers.

Check out the sea of Orange.  I thought the Brooks Robinson statue dedication in 2012 was wild, but this crowd was raucous, energetic, pumped, whatever you want to call it.  They were a bit deflated in the middle innings when the Tigers jumped out to a 5-2 lead, but the crowd would explode in the 8th inning when Delmon Young hit his 3-run double off of the wobbly Tigers bullpen to give the O's a 7-6 lead.  Ryan and I were going crazy, and even Chris was jumping up and down, although he couldn't see over everyone who was on their feet at that moment.

There were chants of "Hey Hey, Goodbye" when Brad Ausmus lifted Justin Verlander for Anibal Sanchez; chants for "Joba, Joba, Joba" for Joba Chamberlain when he was throwing gas on the fire; chants of "We Won't Stop" when Delmon Young his the double; and one of the most gratifying chants was the role call for Nick Markakis after his home run early in the game.  Nick has been up with the O's since the 2006 season and missed out on the 2012 post season with a broken thumb.  It was really cool to see him finally play in a playoff game, and he has shone so far.

I shot a video with my phone of the final out of the game.  Sorry for the shaky camera work, but I think this captured the mood at the stadium perfectly.  Baltimore is itching for a winner, after all of those years of futility, and I believe that there isn't a fan base that wants to win right now more than the Orioles fan base.  Of course, I'm sure folks from Kansas City would like to weigh in on that.

So, I hope you all enjoyed the look into my day.  I am still elated over the outcome of the game.  I told Ryan that I had felt in the 7th inning that the perfect game would be a close one where the Orioles came from behind and won, and I got my wish.

Picking Up Some Rookie Cards on Instagram

This is the last Instagram post for now, at least of stuff that I have gotten in recently.  I do have one more trade pending, which I think will be in sometime next week.  That being said, I completed a trade with a Dodgers fan names Javier in exchange for several rookie cards, three of which I kept (one obviously isn't a RC) and two I will flip on to friends.

I'm sure I probably owned the above 2008 Bowman Andrew McCutchen at some point, but I didn't make him a PC until a couple years ago.  The card doesn't sell for much, but it is still a RC, and I'll take it.

This Justin Verlander is one that I know I have, but it is part of my complete set.  So, I figured since Javier was offering it, it wouldn't be a bad idea to go ahead and pick up another and stash it with my RCs.  I also don't feel like I have shown enough 2006 Topps on here.  I remember the set being the first to come out after I jumped back into cards (2005 Topps was already out, of course) and I was just as excited when it was released and I saw it for the first time as I was when 1991 Topps came out. The feeling I got as a kid when the new set of cards came out is unrivaled, I think.  It kind of sucks now that we get the next year's design so early now.  I miss the days when you didn't know until you opened that first pack, and that's how it was for me when 2006 came out.  I do still have an empty box for 2006.

Finally, Javier had one 2013 Topps emerald parallel I needed for my set.  Yes, I'm still working on it.  I hope to have this set completed sometime soon, but it definitely has slowed down.  If anyone has Series 1 or 2 emerald parallels, please consult my wishlist and help me out!

Thanks for the trade, Javier.  I really appreciate it!

I Am Now Live on COMC

I now have 50 cards listed on Checkoutmycards.com in an attempt to flip some stuff that has been languishing in my box for some money or other cards.

Ryan from O No Another Orioles Blog talked me into giving COMC a shot, and gave me a coupon from the National Card Show for $20 off first time seller fees.

It was interesting getting stuff submitted to them, and surprisingly easy.  They scan everything and give you BV for each card (if available).  You then tell them what you want to list your card at and wait for offers.

The stuff I submitted was some higher end oddball stuff like a 1/1 Nate McLouth sketch card, a couple 2011 Topps Sparkle Cards, a nice 2007 Topps Turkey Red Justin Verlander silk, a couple printing plates, etc.

We'll see if I get any offers, but I am excited to see how all of this plays out.  Here's to hoping I can flip some of that stuff for a few signed baseballs or something.

Check out the stuff I have listed, seller ID is wregenthal.

2012 Topps Series One - The Hits

I busted my 3 jumbo boxes of 2012 Topps Series One tonight and here are the hits I pulled:

Out of the three boxes, I got only one Black Parallel.  Luckily, it was an Oriole!  I'm very glad to have pulled this Matusz, even though, I would have loved a Nolan Reimold.

I got three jersey relics.  This Travis Wood which is up for trade.

I got this Dan Uggla, which is my first piece of lersey with dirt on it!  I don't think I'll be trading this just yet.

I got this Justin Verlander jersey which has already been claimed by Dustin for trade.

 I got three autographs, all of which are for trade.  Gordon Beckham.

 Madison Bumgarner

Johnny Cueto

 I thought the manufactured patches have outlived their usefulness so I was pleased to see something different this year, the retired rings series.  This Frank Robinson is the first I pulled, which I would be willing to trade for an Orioles ring, if anyone has one.

 In my second box, I got this Hank Aaron ring.  This one I will not be trading.

Finally, out of my third box, I got this Johnny Bench Golden Pin.  I really really really like this card.  I would consider trading it if there is a Brooks Robinson or Cal Ripken one.  Otherwise, I'm glad to have it in my collection.

What do you all think?  The relics and autos are kinda same old same old, except for the Uggla which had dirt and the Verlander, who is a marquee player, the others are kinda bleh to me.  Good trade bait, I suppose.  I really like the rings and pins.  Definitely an upgrade from last years leather nameplates.

Stay tuned as I run through some of the inserts I pulled.