Ebay Pickup - 2014 Panini Prizm Red White And Blue Chris Davis

I got a really cool card off of Ebay recently when I picked up this 2014 Panini Prizm Chris Davis red, white and blue parallel.  The card looks amazing in person; the scan just doesn't do it justice.

Again, here is a good card from Panini, regardless of their not having an official MLB license.  I love Topps, but I wouldn't be opposed to Panini getting in on the game.  Competition is good, right?  At least let me have some logos.

I think this card is awesome and I am a huge fan of the chrome color parallels, and this one, although it isn't officially a chrome, it still passes as one and I'm ok with that.

Surprise From Eric - Boog Powell Signed Ticket

I got a nice surprise in the mail recently from my friend, Eric.  Inside the package was this signed ticket from the June 28, 1992 game between the Orioles and Royals.  The ticket is signed by Orioles legend, Boog Powell and comes from the first season that Camden Yards was open.  Pretty cool.

The Orioles lost that game against the Royals 9-2.  Jose Mesa was the losing pitcher and the loss dropped the O's to 43-31.  Hipolito Pichardo got the win for the Royals and former Oriole Mike Boddicker got the save.  Hall of Famers George Brett and Cal Ripken played in the game with Brett going 1 for 5 and Ripken going 1 for 4 with a hit by pitch.

To see the full box score of the game and see some real blasts from the past, you can click this link.

Thanks for the signed ticket, Eric.  I really appreciate the thought and this autographed ticket will definitely have a special place in my collection.

Instagram Trade With Cade

I completed a trade recently with a guy named Cade on Instagram when I sent him some extra vintage cards he needed in exchange for some set needs.  He sent me 5 2013 Topps Chrome cards and 6 2013 Topps Emerald parallels.  Cade also threw in two Orioles cards: a Chasing History Dylan Bundy and a 2014 Opening Day Superstar Celebrations Chris Davis.

Thanks for the trade, Cade!

Instagram Trade With Sean

I saw the above 2014 Topps Nolan Reimold parallel on an Instagram page right after Series 2 came out.  I messaged the guy telling him that I wanted it and we got to chatting.  After several weeks of chatting, the guy, Sean, and I became pretty good friends.  At least as good as you can anonymously over the internet and apps and what not.  Sean is a really good guy and a Cubs collector.  He originally wanted a few Jake Arrieta rookie cards (which I have plenty of) in exchange for the Reimold.  After one of our conversations where Sean lamented that he didn't have a whole lot of good Cubs vintage cards, namely Ernie Banks and Billy Williams, I took to Ebay to see if I could lend a hand.

I found Sean, for the price (shipped) of $10.50, a 1961 Topps Billy Williams RC.  Sean gave up on the Arrieta rookies and gave me the red Reimold and the below Joe Morgan rookie cup manufactured patch.

This patch card is really cool and will look nice in my growing Morgan PC.  I have already helped Sean with a few more things for his collection and I hope that we can keep some trades coming in.

It's tough finding good Cubs to send him, since my good friend, Kalib, is also a Cubs guy, but I think there is a little bit of room for more Cubs guys.  A lot easier than Yankees guys, that's for sure.

Thanks for the trade, Sean!  I hope you like the next batch of stuff headed your way!

Card Shop Pickups While I Was In Charlotte

I had to spend a few days at the end of this week at my company's corporate office in Charlotte for the open house of the new office building and our annual OSHA refresher course, among other things.  The new location of the office is a straight shot to the card shop in Matthews, NC, which I try to get to every time I'm in town.

Yesterday, I was able to make it by the shop and pick up a few supplies for some friends as well as some set needs for myself.  The highlight of which is the above 1969 Topps Nolan Ryan.  This card is his second year card and a tough one to pick up.  I had narrowly lost too many to count, so when I saw that they had one at the shop for a decent price, I had to grab it.

Something I had completely forgotten was that this card was on my Top 10 Wishlist.  With this acquisition, I now have knocked out half of the cards on the list and still have a little less than half the year to go.  I also have already met one of my goals that I set forth at the beginning of the year; to have half of the cards knocked out.

I made great strides on my 1959 Topps set by picking up 31 cards that I needed for my set.  I now need 130 cards to complete the set.  Those high number All Stars are really kicking my butt, but they can be had.  I foresee the Mantle being added to next year's Top 10 Wishlist, if I don't find a deal on it in the meantime.

In the bargain bin at the shop, I got this Earl Weaver relic card.  It has some damage around the relic, which I didn't see initially, but for $2, I wasn't going to complain.

I got this lava parallel Brooks Robinson Panini Museum Collection for $3, which I thought was fair.  I had laid my notebook down on the counter to mark off some cards, and saw this, so I had to have it.

I'm really happy with my pickups, and I had a great weekend.  I know I've dropped quite a bit recently on cards, but I really hope to have the 1959 set wrapped up soon so I can concentrate on other sets.  We'll see if I can move it along, but at this pace, I feel like I'm doing pretty well.

Great Cards From Weston

I got a package from my buddy Weston a while ago that had a bunch of great Orioles cards.  The best ones were of Orioles prospect, Chance Sisco.  Sisco is having some kind of year this year, batting .344 at the moment for low A Delmarva.  He has 104 hits and 4 homers in 80 games.

These Sisco cards are really awesome.  I regret not buying his Bowman Sterling auto at the card show when I had a chance.  He is having a great year and looks like he will be moving up in the O's system pretty quickly.

Surprisingly, I didn't have this 2008 Topps Chroms X-fractor of Nick Markakis that Weston sent.  I was really happy to get it.

Finally, Weston sent me a few 2013 Topps emerald parallels for my set.  I still am working on this set, and it was so cool of Weston to send me a few.

Thanks for the cards, Weston!  I really appreciate it.

Trade With Matt From Bob Walk The Plank

I got an email well before I went on vacation from fellow blogger, Matt, from the blog: Bob Walk The Plank.  It has taken me quite a while to get caught up on trades and Ebay purchases, and I have finally gotten around to posting what I got from Matt.

Matt sent this awesome Nick Markakis Gypsy Queen relic along with some 2013 emerald parallels.  In return I sent Matt some vintage Pirates cards.  I really appreciated the trade, Matt and I hope we can do it again.