Christmas Gift From Drew

Wow.  Take a look at the above card.  Yeah, Drew gave this to me for Christmas.  A card that he has had in his collection for a few years now.  A card that he once told me that would end up in my collection, once he felt the time was right.  I guess the time was right, because this 2005 Donruss INKCrdible Cal/Bill Ripken dual auto was in the Christmas package from him that arrived yesterday.

This card is amazing.  I actually had no Bill Ripken autos in my collection, one that I have been building since 1990.  No Bill Ripken autos at all.  I still don't have him on a ball.  I'm not sure why, except for maybe that he doesn't sign a lot; he doesn't seem to have too many certified autos in any products either.  Getting this card into my collection is a huge deal for me.

This card was also in the package, and while it seemed like I kind of overlooked it with my excitement over the Ripken dual auto, this triple relic from 2014 Panini Classics is a really nice card as well.  Numbered 3/99, it is really cool.  This is going right into the Chris Davis PC and spreadsheet.

Drew has been the longest tenured friend that I have made since I started this blog and joined the online card community.  I have seen him grow up from a 12-year old kid to a college student about to embark on a huge journey in his life.  His blog has undergone huge changes recently, including a change in URL.  I recommend that you check it out.  The link can be found here.  I have also updated it on my sidebar.

Thank you so much for the awesome Christmas gifts, Drew!  Good luck on your journey, and I will be here in a completely different time zone waiting to hear from you!

Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Ron Santo

The last of the baseballs that I picked up with my Christmas money came in the form of this Ron Santo signed baseball.  I was able to pick it up with the Christmas money that I got from my grandma, and the ball turned out to be quite a steal.  It is a William White ONL baseball with a PSA auction letter.  I got the ball from Ebay, but the seller picked it up from a frequent shopping destination of mine, Collectauctions.  I actually looked at the lot that this ball was included in, but I declined to bid on it.  I ended up with one of the balls anyway!!

Santo (b. 1940 - d. 2010) played in the majors from 1960 to 1974 for the Cubs and White Sox.  He was Chicago through and through, following up his playing career with a longtime place in the Cubs' broadcast booth.

In his playing career, he had 2,254 hits, 342 home runs and a .277 batting average.  He was on 9 All Star teams and finished as high as 4th in the NL MVP voting (1967).

Santo was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2012 (posthumously) by the Veterans Committee.  He probably should have been elected a long time ago, especially since he passed away due to diabetes complications in 2010.

Santo is the 121st Hall of Fame signed baseball in my collection.  Hopefully, based on the voting results to be announced Wednesday, I will be able to count ball number 122 soon!

Thank you for the Christmas money, Grandma!

Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Dick Williams

I picked up my 120th Hall of Fame signed baseball when I got this Dick Williams off of Ebay.  I paired this with another ball and the seller gave me a discount since I saved him on shipping.  The ball is a Selig OMLB with PSA/DNA authentication and was surprisingly cheap.

Williams (b. 1929 - d. 2011) played in the majors from 1951 to 1954 and 1956 to 1964 for the Dodgers, Orioles, Indians, A's and Red Sox.  He had 768 hits, 70 home runs and a lifetime batting average of .260.  Obviously, he isn't a Hall of Famer because of his playing career.  He was elected to the Hall via the Veterans Committee in 2008 based on the merits of his managerial career.

He managed in the majors from 1967 to 1969 with the Red Sox, taking them to the World Series in '67; 1971 to 1973 with the A's where he won the Series in '72 and '73; 1974 to 1976 with the Angels; 1977 to 1981 with the Expos; 1982 to 1985 with the Padres where he took them to the 1984 World Series; and 1986 to 1988 with the Mariners.

He owns a career won/loss record of 1,571-1,451 (.520 pct.).  His 1,571 wins rank 21st all-time.

Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Edd Roush

I used the Christmas money that I got this year on some Hall of Fame baseballs that I probably wouldn't have normally bought.  One of which was a ball that I had my eye on for a long time, and was finally able to knock it off of the list.  Presenting my Hall of Fame signed baseball number 119, Edd Roush.

Roush (b. 1893 - d. 1988) played in the majors from 1913 to 1929 and 1931 for the White Sox, Hoosiers (Indianapolis - Federal League), Pepper (Newark - Federal League), Giants and Reds.  He had 2,376 hits, 68 home runs and a lifetime batting average of .323.  He finished as high as 10th in the NL MVP voting (1924 and 1925).  He was also a two-time batting champ (1917 and 1919).

Roush won the World Series in 1919 as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, who were on the other side of the infamous Black Sox scandal.  Roush was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1962 by the Veterans Committee and is the only representative of that 1919 Reds team who has been inducted into the Hall.

As far as Hall of Famers go, Roush is the "oldest" Hall of Famer that I have, now.  He was born in 1893, which surpasses Joe Sewell (born in 1898).  He also passes Sewell in that his career started earlier than anyone else that I have, 1913.  That really blows my mind, to be honest.  Roush's career started over 100 years ago.  He also represents the only player I have (that I know of) who played in the Federal League.  I had never heard of the Indianapolis Hoosiers nor the Newark Pepper.  Those teams also boasted Hall of Famer Bill McKechnie.  The Hoosiers actually won the Federal League Championship in 1915.  Roush also is the earliest World Series winner (1919) that I have.

Roush never struck out more than 25 times in a season and, according to his Wikipedia page, he swung a massive 48-ounce bat and said that he never broke a bat in his career.

2015 Replay Review

2015 was a banner year for this blog with some awesome highs and some heartbreaking lows.  Let's call up the umpires for a review of how I did with my goals for the year:

• Acquire 10 baseballs for my Hall of Fame Collection.  As of today, I stand at 118.  I exceeded my goal by one, so that is nice.  I added: Lou Brock, Leon Day, Hank Greenberg, Bobby Cox, Harry Caray, Tom Glavine, Al Lopez, Pee Wee Reese, Joe DiMaggio, Sparky Anderson, and John Smoltz.
• Acquire 5 cards from my Top Ten Wishlist.  I exceeded that goal by one as well, having knocked off 6 cards this year.  The best pickup was the 1992 Donruss Elite Cal Ripken auto that I got at the National.  You can see it here.  The Top Ten will be updated shortly with some fresh cards for 2016 and the 4 holdovers from 2015.
• Attend the 2015 National.  As you can see in the photo above, I was able to make it to the National this past summer and had an amazing time.  I would have said "Once in a Lifetime" but I intend on going again, so now all I need to do is start saving again.
• Keep up with blog trades and emails.  I didn't do as well as I would have liked with this goal, but I think I have graduated from email to app with my trading.  I still enjoy getting emails from fellow bloggers and have followed up with them.  My trading is primarily done over Instagram, Snapchat, Kik and Skype.  I see that being the main venue for discussion here on out.
• Meet and complete trades with 10 new people.  I've blown that away, I believe.  I've added some new friends and lost a couple whom I traded with regularly.  I think that will continue and I will keep meeting new folks.
• Continue to add and expand my google docs spreadsheets.  Well, I was halfway right on this one.  I have my Davis and Reimold PCs up to date and have done a good job in doing so.  I haven't added anyone to the sheets yet, and my Brooks Robinson PC isn't up to date.  That will probably be a goal for 2016 (and 2017 and 2018).
• Complete the 1948 Bowman and 1959 Topps sets.  I met both of these goals this year, and am really happy that I did so.  Both sets were difficult, but are now closed.  I completed the 1959 set this summer at the National (click here); and the 1948 Bowman set was finished in April when I got the Joe Page card (read here).
• Start one 1950s set and one 1960s set if 1948 Bowman and 1959 Topps are completed.  I haven't officially started a set in either decade because I wanted to work on the often-neglected 1969 set that I have been trying to finish.  I have a good start on the 1967 set, so I guess you could say that I have that one going, even though I haven't officially added the checklist to my wishlist.  I think I opted to consider completing the 1972 set before I embark on another 50s set.
• Complete the 1994 Topps, 1997 Topps, 2012 Topps Update, 2014 Topps Update and 2014 Topps Chrome sets.  I got most of these done.  I still need to complete 1994 Topps and 2012 Topps Update.  I didn't even try 2015 Topps Update, even though I busted a jumbo box.  Instead, I went after 2015 Chrome and 2015 Stadium Club.  Those are still to be finished.
• If the 1994 Topps set is complete, start the 1995 Topps set.  I didn't complete the 1994 set, so this will carry over to 2016 goals, I believe.

Here is a look back at a few of the things that happened on this blog this year:

• On January 1, I posted a year in review of 2014 and my 2015 goals.
• January 24 was when the baseball world lost Ernie Banks.  I was in a Skype chat when I heard about it.  It was definitely a shocker.
• On February 1, I posted about the 2015 Orioles Fan Fest.  I took my mom, wife, sister and son to Fan Fest and we all had an amazing time.
• On April 28, I briefly discussed the civil unrest in Baltimore.  The day after, the Orioles would play the first ever game in an empty stadium.
• On May 4, I showed how awesome my mom was when she picked up two amazing vintage cards for me.
• On May 10, I cut ties with a former friend who was being dishonest with fellow traders.  This was rare for me, since I usually am forgiving to a fault.  I haven't heard from the guy since, and I doubt I will.  I lost a few other "friends" throughout the year, for various reasons.  I think I'm better off without them in the long run, and I imagine a few of them will apologize and try to make things right.  We'll see how that goes.
• On May 20, my wife, son and I met local former MLB player, George Altman.
• On July 6, I completed my second trade with my good friend, Nick S. from Instagram.  Nick and I have become really close over the last month, and he is one of the funniest people I have ever met.  I hope we can keep it going, because he is a lot of fun to talk to, and an all-around good guy.  We had completed a trade a long time before, for a 2014 Panini Prizm Chris Davis blue parallel, but I never posted it.  This was one of the reasons why I wanted to do a better job of keeping track of trades.
• On July 29, I posted my first of many blog posts on location in Chicago from the National Card Show.  I met up with fellow bloggers Andrew and Nick (Dime Boxes) and fellow instagrammers Max, Eli and Frankie.  Max's family hosted us for a box break and barbecue.  I had an amazing time and solidified some awesome friendships I made in the community.
• On August 4, I posted about meeting Hulk Hogan, a long-time idol of mine.  I have watched wrestling my whole life, and Hogan is probably the most famous wrestler.  He was very gracious and humble.  I teared up after talking to him.
• On August 10, still on a high from the amazing time at the National, I was heartbroken by the loss of my friend; my cat, Jericho.  He passed away on the way to the pet emergency clinic in Greenville.  Not a day goes by that I don't think of him.  I loved him and will always miss him.
• On September 9. I wrote about a former scammer making things right with me.  He messaged me out of the blue to apologize, and sent me a care package to try to make amends.  He honestly had me at hello.  I never expected to hear from him again.  I was so moved by his gesture, I included him when I sent out Christmas gifts this year.
• On September 23, I wrote about the passing of a legend, Yogi Berra.
• On October 5, I showed that I had appeared (briefly) on MASN celebrating Chris Davis's second home run of the day; in the final game of the season.  My son and I enjoyed a three-game series in Baltimore and capped it off with the Orioles sweeping the Yankees.
• I reached my 2,000th post on October 6.
• On November 29, I got an amazing 1906 Trophy Baseball.
• I went to 2016 Orioles Fan Fest on December 12.

I had a pretty good year, I think.  I can now look toward 2016 and set a few goals and see if I can achieve them.

1. I have 118 Hall of Fame baseballs as of the close of 2015.  I actually have some on the way, as well.  I would like to close 2016 with 10 new Hall of Famers, so I would like to be at or above 128.
2. I want to knock 5 cards off of my Top Ten Wishlist, with at least two of them being holdovers from 2015.  That shouldn't be difficult, depending on which cards I add to the list.
3. I want to upgrade at least one of my Hall of Fame balls of Phil Niekro, Pat Gillick and Jim Bunning.  I got those before I knew about the troubles with China balls, so I intend to correct those soon.
4. I want to upgrade my 1955 Topps Duke Snider. The one I have is really rough, so upgrading that one would be nice.  I plan to, in the future, upgrade a few more of those cards, but the Snider is one of the worst of the bunch.  This will not be a Top 10 card.
5. I want to complete the 2015 Topps Chrome, 2015 Topps Stadium Club, 2012 Topps Update, 1994 Topps and 1969 Topps sets.
6. WHEN 1994 Topps is complete, I need to start on 1995 Topps.
7. Add 1967 and 1972 Topps to my wishlist page and my notebook, officially starting those sets.
8. Get two TTM successes completed in 2016.  I actually tried a few in 2015, but two subjects passed away in transit (how does that happen) and one if still pending.
9. Attend the 2016 National in Atlantic City.  With a better handle on my budget.
10. Spend more time organizing my cards and actually enjoying them, instead of letting them pile up on my desk, just to be added to random boxes.

I think those are attainable goals for the year.  Finally, I want to thank everyone who made 2015 so amazing.  I can't even begin to name you all, but I want to single out: Max, Andrew, Drew, Nick S., Michael, Scott, Noah, Caleb, Sam, Josh, P. A., Eli, Frankie, Julie, Robert, Jayden, Jack, Cameron, Joey, Ben, Jake, Jake Iggy, Ryu, Brian, Tim and so many others.  If I didn't mention you, I apologize.  I also want to single out my mom who added some more memories to this blog, which I know you all enjoy reading about.

I hope everyone who I am blessed enough to call my friends and family have a safe and happy New Year and a prosperous 2016.  Thank you all, and I will see you next year!

Christmas Gift From Cameron

I got an amazing Christmas package in the mail recently from my good buddy, Cameron.  He really blew me away with what he sent.  He is such a good guy, and didn't have to get me what he got, but it was very appreciated.

The above Matt Wieters three color patch from Panini Donruss is such an amazing card.  Wieters doesn't have much as far as relics and stuff, so this one is a nice addition to my collection.  It really was a surprise.

Cameron included this blue 2014 Bowman Chrome auto of Oscar Taveras as a throwback to our first deal.  We met during a trade for a Topps Hi Tek Taveras auto.  Since then, we have been really good friends.  This is a nice Taveras and it is numbered 9/150.

He included a nice auto of Hunter Harvey from 2014 Bowman Sterling.  I really like this card and I'm glad Cameron included it.  It looks really awesome.

I got this 2015 Topps Chrome Christian Walker from Cameron as well.  I have a couple of these, but am happy to add another one.

Cameron also included a few refractors like this Machado blue.  This card is numbered 18/250.  I don't think I had one of these yet, so I was glad to get this one.

Also, here is a purple refractor of Chris Tillman.  This is numbered 89/150.  I didn't have this one either.

Thank you so much for the Christmas package, Cameron.  The cards were amazing and I love them!

Christmas gift from Dylan

I got a package in the mail from my friend Dylan for Christmas and was really happy with what he included.  He also had something in there for my son, Chris, which was really nice of him to do.  In the package was a nice page-long note and two baseball cards.

The above 2014 Panini Classics triple relic of Frank, Brooks and Boog was one I didn't have in my collection, yet.  It is numbered 8/99 and looks really cool.  I knew it was coming, because Dylan was afraid that if he got me something, I would already have it.  I have heard that issue before, but I don't know why someone would think that.............

Dylan also included this Ruth/Foxx card, which I needed for my Foxx PC.  Not bad.  He doesn't have a whole lot out there, so it was nice to be able to add it.

Thanks so much for the gift, Dylan.  Chris also loved his gift.  I appreciate you thinking of us!