An Assortment of Goodies From My Buddy Max

My good friend Max sent me a couple more packages recently and these were slammed full of awesome stuff.  He sent me 4 Orioles signed post cards.  Among them was this Milt Pappas.  Pappas was most remembered for being the piece that brought Frank Robinson to Baltimore.  Other signed post cards Max sent were Al Bumbry, Chris Hoiles and Tippy Martinez.

Max sent me several Conlon Collection cards, most notably this Ty Cobb.  I have the complete set of these, which I picked up at the National a few years ago, but I'm always happy to accept more of them.  They're always fun to look at, especially the players who weren't Hall of Famers that they included in the set.

Speaking of Hall of Famers, Max added a bunch of random Hall of Famers inserts in his packages.  One of them was this 2009 Topps Career Best Legends Walter Johnson.  I just talked with my buddy Andrew on Skype the other day about all-time great pitchers and Johnson was one of the ones who's stats we spent a lot of time analyzing.  I need to record some of these discussions.  They would make for great blog or Youtube posts.

Finally, Max sent along some oddball stickers like this 1982 Topps Stickers Carl Yastrzemski.  This is a pretty cool piece from later in Yaz's career that I had never seen before.

Max is a realy awesome guy whom I've spent a lot of time getting to know recently.  He's one of the best traders on Instagram, and one of the best all-around people that I've met.  I'm certainly happy that I have been able to help him out with his collection, and I'm even happier that we have built a friendship from it.  If you are on Instagram, I recommend you follow him, @graphinchitown.

1930s Baseball Signatures - Sam West

The next signature on the baseball was one of the easiest to identify, Sam West.  West (b. 1904 - d. 1985) played in the majors from 1927 to 1942 for the Senators (1927 to 1932, 1938 to 1941), Browns (1932 to 1938) and White Sox (1942).  In his career, he had 1,838 hits, 75 home runs and a .299 lifetime batting average.  He was a 4-time All Star (1933, 34, 35 and 37) and finished as high as 9th in the AL MVP voting (1931).  That season, he 175 hits, 3 home runs and a .333 batting average.  In his career, he batted .300 or better in 8 of the 12 full seasons he played (he played parts of 4 other seasons, but didn't appear in more than 57 games in each of them).  His selection to the 1933 All Star team is notable because that was the first All Star team ever assembled, coincidentally, his former teammate, Joe Cronin was also named to that inaugural All Star Team.

West appeared on one Hall of Fame ballot, 1948, when he received 0.8% of the vote.  He does have a Hall of Fame connection, though, in that in December 1932, he was traded from the Senators to the St. Louis Browns along with Lloyd Brown and Carl Reynolds for Hall of Famer Goose Goslin, Fred Schulte and Lefty Stewart.  By being traded, West missed playing on the 1933 AL Pennant winning Senators.  Of course, another Hall of Fame connection to these Senators teams is that legendary pitcher Walter Johnson managed the Senators from 1929 to 1932 (If only whomever got this ball signed could have gotten the manager on it...).

West isn't connected to the Boston Braves folks that I have shown so far, of course, but he played on the same Senators teams as Joe Cronin from 1928 to 1932, again placing this baseball possibly somewhere around the 1930-31 seasons.

Players Identified:

Joe Cronin
Lance Richbourg
Randy Moore
Bill Sherdel

Foul Bunt on Location - WELCOME TO COOPERSTOWN

I realized a lifelong dream today when I made the pilgrimage to Cooperstown, New York in order to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. I took 293 pictures in Cooperstown and over the course of time, I'll try to share them all with you. Right now, though, I'm really tired from all of this driving and I have a big day planned tomorrow (where I can finally meet another blogger in person) and see another minor league game (weather permitting).

The drive to Cooperstown from Rochester (where my younger brother had lined us up a hotel room) was beautiful. The weather on the drive down was just about perfect. The New York countryside was amazing!



Downtown Cooperstown was as picturesque as I had imagined it. I was so excited when we walked along the street and realized that right in fromt of us was one of the most hallowed halls in all of sports.


I'm going to skip right to when we entered the plaque room, even though this is the place we visited last in the building. I was so overcome with emotion when I entered the room, my mouth was wide open. I probably looked goofy, but I didn't realize, that's for sure. I made sure to remove my hat when entering, because, I don't know about you, but to me it was almost as sacred as a church. No sacrilege intended, but that's just how I feel about the place.

I stood in the entrance, tears welling up in my eyes, as I wrestled with the decision - You can only enter the room for the first time once in your life... whose plaque do you go to first. I thought long and hard and came to the determination that as an Oriole fan (I was wearing my Nolan Reimold shirt, afterall) it had to be...Brooks. I made my way to his plaque, touched it and took this picture. I made sure to read it, of course.


Then, as a baseball fan, next, I went to the 'First Class' wall and read each plaque for Ruth, Cobb, Mathewson, Johnson and Wagner. I made sure to touch the bust of Babe Ruth, as countless others had done. (Pictures of those plaques will be posted in a future entry).


Finally, the kid in me went to the plaque that I had waited all of my 'fandom' to see in person. Cal Ripken, Jr. I seriously had to fight back tears when I walked up and saw the plaque of the player who I idolized growing up. I could have gone to the Hall many years ago, but always told myself that I wouldn't go until Cal was enshrined. I know that anyone who knows me knows how important it was for me to be able to see Cal's plaque.

If you look closely, you might see a tear in my eye, but I did my best to wipe them away before this picture was shot. I can't put into words how awesome it was to be able to finally get to the Hall of Fame. I hope you guys enjoyed this brief look at what I accomplished today. I fully intend to post a lot more about the trip in future entries. I have plenty of pictures to be able to do it justice, that's for sure.

2011 Topps Teaser

The 2011 collecting season is now open. I went to Target tonight to get a couple things and decided to pick up 2 retail packs of 2011 Topps. I have 3 Jumbo boxes coming anytime this week, but I just couldn't help myself get a taste of what is to come for 2011.
Usually, when I complete a set, I post the final card I needed to fill it. I can't remember any single card that actually started a set... until now. The first card that greeted me when I opened my packs was Neftali Feliz. Not a bad way to lead off the year.

For all 4 of yo Yankee fans out there, here is the Derek Jeter I pulled. I have a knack of pulling Yankee cards and no Oriole cards. LAME. Anyway, when I complete the set, we will discuss trade options.

Since Pete was unable to pull a gold card, I figured that I should show the one I pulled. Ronny Cedeno. I definitely could have done better, but oh well. 3 jumbo boxes coming. Can't complain. Haha.

I also got one of the Target exclusive Red Diamond cards. Ryan Braun is definitely a good pull. This will probably end up being sold at the next card show I go to.

Not a bad Walter Johnson. I'm not sure what there cards are called, but I like getting cards of Hall of Famers.

Yep. I pulled another Yankee. CC Sabathia. This will probably be for trade or sale sooner than later.

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I'm really excited to bust my jumbos soon. They shipped this evening, so I suspect that they will be here Thursday. Obviously, you all will know because there will be posts up on here soon after.

Random Card Pickup at the Shop

While working at the shop yesterday, a lady came in looking to get back into cards. We talked for a while about the hobby (she is focusing more on football) and looked over a few of the albums she brought in. It is always nice when people come into the card shop who will actually listen to you when it comes to collecting, etc. Usually, I get the people who come in thinking they know everything about cards and that the 1990 Donruss Ben McDonald that they have is worth THOUSANDS of dollars. Usually, that leaves me as the one who has to break it to them that their late 80s - early 90s stuff is pretty much kindling...
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It was refreshing to have a woman come in who 1. knew about sports and 2. was interested in cards. I am lucky to have a good friend (Babe) who seriously knows sports. Trust me, you don't want to play her in any fantasy league, because she will OWN you... Growing up, my mom had a big interest in sports (yeah, ok, it was mostly because she thought Don Mattingly was cute, but hey, thats a start), so that helped me along in building my interest.
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I'm glad to see that the hobby and the blogs are a diverse bunch; I believe this is a good sign that the hobby will be ok, even in this world of exclusive licensing, etc. I hope the lady who came in keeps her enthusiasm, even if she focuses on football, because any new or returning collectors we can maintain makes it better for all of us.
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I noticed that I didn't talk about the card at all, haha. She had the above 1993 Conlon Collection Walter Johnson/Nolan Ryan in her album and I asked her if she'd part with it. She gave it to me for free, which was unnecessary, but a nice gesture from her. I think the card looks pretty sweet. I was never a fan of the Conlon stuff, but this card is pretty sharp and I like the novelty photo of the Big Train and the Ryan Express. What do you guys think?

Lots of new stuff and lots going on

Hi Guys. I know it's been a while. I have been pretty busy, didn't work at the shop last week beacuse we had company in town. I did go this week though and busted half a box of 2009 Topps Update & Highlights with Pete. I also bought a few packs of SP authentic as well. The scans that follow are some of the highlights...

This first card is a reprint, but was a very nice gesture from one of the kids that comes in regularly named Braxton. He's a Yankee fan (but I don't hold that against him). He messaged me online saying he picked up this card. I thought it was really cool of him to think of me, it didn't matter that the card was a reprint or not... I don't think i would have let him give it to me if it were the actual card....

Next up is the SWEET Walter Johnson commemorative patch card. I love these things. Its also cool that my dad went to Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda Maryland...Check out the 1/1 Platinum Matt Holliday. Pretty sweet, it's my first platinum card (that I can remember...).

I also pulled this really nice Andrew McCutchen RC Auto. If he pans out, I'll be one happy camper.... This was a much better auto than some tht were in Series I or Series II.

Pete and I did a pretty good job of assembling the Orioles rotation as well, nabbing David Hernandez, Chris Tillman and Brad Bergesen RCs. We also got the Nolan Reimold RC. If there is a Wieters in this set, we didn't pull it. If anyone has it, please let me know... I WANT it!!!

Pete brought this 2004 Bazooka Nick Markakis in with him when he arrived at the shop. Pretty sweet card, also...

I got this Nick Markakis Victory card from another guy who shops regularly at the shop... Definitely took advantage of the fact that he isn't an O's fan... I really really like the design to the Victory cards... Very sharp!!!

Finally, I ended up with some new Roberts for my collection. This icons card, the 2009 Topps Turkey Red (Can't go wrong with those EVER) and the 2009 SP Authentic...

So, yes it has been a very productive past few weeks. The big event, however, comes tomorrow. I can't wait... I'm not going to spill it yet, but I will say that my younger brother Andy and I will be making a 5 and a half hour drive from Greenville, NC to Baltimore... After that, well, you just have to keep checking back for updates, now, don't you???