The Bulk Box Keepers

It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon and I'm spending the majority of it on my back in an effort to let my lower back relax and return to normal.  As I promised on Thursday, I wanted to write up a post featuring a bunch of cards that Kevin over at The Diamond King sent me recently.

They were part of a giveaway he held on his blog that featured a bunch of bulky cards he was giving away for the holidays.  The catch?  The only thing he requires is that the winning recipient must send out at least one care package you weren't already planning to send.

Well I had a few care packages planned for this holiday season, but thanks to Kevin... there will be a few more.  I even went out and purchased some cards on eBay for these care packages.  As soon as everything has arrived and packaged up, I'll ship them out.

In the meantime, let's look at the cards I decided to hold onto from The Diamond King's giveaway...

Let's start off with a trio of cards for my team collections:

2022 Donruss Retro 1988 Materials #R88M-HK

This is my very first Ha-Seong Kim memorabilia card.  I was a big fan of his during his four seasons with the San Diego Padres.

2007 UD Masterpieces Captured on Canvas #CC-JK

I'm sure most of you remember Kendall for his years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he also spend two and a half seasons with the A's.  If you've never held one of these Captured on Canvas memorabilia cards, they're really nice.

2020 Topps Player Medallions #TPM-MC

Manufactured relics like this commemorative coin can be hit or miss.  I like this particular one, because it's heavy and has the density of a paper weight.

Here are a few more manufactured relics from Kevin's giveaway that I added to my collection:

2022 Topps Update Commemorative Batting Helmet #BH-FF

This was the thickest card in the box... and is right up there with the Chapman in regards to weight.  Even though I'm not a fan of the Dodgers, I'm a big fan of Freeman and this card.

2020 Topps Update 20 Years of the Captain

Commemorative Patch #20YCC-13

Another player I admire pictured on a team I dislike.  What's the saying?  Don't hate the playa.  Hate the team.

2022 Topps All-Star Alumni Commemorative Relics #ASA-HAA

I definitely don't hate the Braves.  In fact, outside of the A's and Giants, I have watched more of their televised games in my lifetime than anyone else.  As for Aaron, he had retired before I became a huge baseball fan.  But I learned about his career and legacy early in my childhood.

Kevin actually sent me two really cool Hank Aaron cards, but one of them will be passed along to a fellow blogger who collects the Braves.

Next up are a pair of thick high-end base cards I'm adding to the collection:

2019 Topps Triple Threads #47

2023 Topps Tribute #23

Topps Triple Threads and Topps Tribute are two products you'll never see me opening up.  It's not because I don't appreciate them.  I think both of these cards are really nice.  I just can't justify spending hundreds of dollars on a box of cards.

2021 Topps Update All-Star Stitches #ASSC-JS

I'm not 100% sure, but I think this is my first Juan Soto memorabilia card.  He's such a dynamic player whose career is off to a stellar start.  It's just a shame that he's played with four teams over the course of the past four seasons.  One day he might be remembered as one of the Mets all-time greats, but for now... I associate him mostly with the Nationals.

Next up, a legendary lady...

2008 Donruss Americana Hollywood Legends Materials #HL-60

I don't think I have ever watched one of Hedy Lamarr's movies, but she's a familiar name and ranked #24 on IMDB's list of the most beautiful actresses of all-time.

The next single I want to share is my personal favorite:

2008 Donruss Americana Sports Legends

Museum Collection Materials #MC-4 (#'d 160/250)

This card instantly reminded me of my father and his love of golf.

Although my dad's favorite golfers were Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, Snead's name also came up whenever we talked about the all-time greats.

The final six thick cards pulled from Kevin's box that were put into the keeper stack were these:

Cronenworth and Tatis Jr. have been added to my Padres PC, while Clemente, Trout, and Johnson are cool cards that I wanted.  The Hafner autograph is a keeper for now.  I read an interesting fact about him recently.  He's the only player in MLB history to hit five grand slams before the all-star break.

I'll wrap up this post of bulk box keepers with the only thin card in the box:

1984 Calbee #95

Back in October, Kevin opened up a pack of 1984 Calbee and pulled this sweet Sachio Kinugasa card.  I had never seen one of these Calbee cards before, but I really like the design which kinda resembles the 1981 Topps baseball.

Kinugasa is a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall Of Fame.  His best season was the same year this card was produced.  That year he won the Central League MVP Award.

Kevin was also kind enough to send the original pack wrapper:

Thank you Kevin for sending me this box of bulky cardboard and adding eighteen new cards to my collection.  The rest will be shipped out in care packages, used in a future giveaway, or be added to my box of trade bait that has slowly dwindled in size over the years.

More importantly... thank you for holding these giveaways and inspiring me and others to ship out more care packages during the holiday season.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Saturday Night Five: The Kid from Kalamazoo

Yup.  Late to the party as usual.  Actually outside of blogging, I'm actually one of those people who have to be on time.  But when it comes to this blog, I've been writing most of my posts on the weekends and scheduling them in advance.  Lately my focus has been on writing posts involving purchases made over the summer and care packages from Reader X which resulted in me completely dropping the ball on this year's Hall of Fame Class.

Thankfully... there have been a boatload of posts showing off cards of Derek Jeter, Ted Simmons, Larry Walker, and Marvin Miller.

I'm not sure if I own a card of Miller.  I looked to see if I owned his 2015 Heritage News Flashbacks insert, but came up short.  Even if I had found one sitting in my insert box, it would have been five days after Night Owl showed it off on his blog.

I also searched for the 1994 Upper Deck Ken Burns Baseball: The American Epic set, because he has a card in it and struck out.  I would have only been three days behind Diamond Jesters for that card.

1992 Rookie Phenoms #NNO

There's been a ton of Derek Jeter posts... and rightfully so.  He was one of the best shortstops of his generation... even if Nomar at his peak was better.  I've always had sort of a love/hate relationship with the guy.  At the start of his career, I actively rooted against him based on the team he played for.  But over time, I learned to appreciate his approach and contributions to the game and his career accomplishments while being loyal to one franchise.

Although I don't go out of my way to collect all of his cards, I do hold onto singles that catch my eye.  Tonight, I'll share five cards from five categories that I dug out from my binders...

#1 (Variation):  2007 Topps #40

I remember this card being in hobby headlines right around the time I returned from my seven year hobby hiatus.  It's no longer in the limelight, but it's still a cool reminder of Topps and their Photoshop shenanigans.


#2 (Insert):  2000 Pacific Aurora Dugout View Netfusions #14

I pulled out a few Jeter inserts from my binder, but I ultimately went with this one because it was the most unique.  I wasn't the biggest fan of Pacific baseball cards back in the 90's and early 2000's... but this card is a perfect example of an era when card companies made an effort to think outside the box.

#3 (Parallel):  1997 Bowman Chrome International #1

Even before I opened the binder, I figured I'd use a refractor for this category.  Then I saw this card and knew I had to go with it on this day of remembrance.

#4 (Oddball):  1997 Pinnacle Denny's #14

Pinnacle pulled off the perfect double play with this restaurant issue featuring lenticular and holographic technology.

#5 (Manufactured Patch): 2010 Topps Update Commemorative Patch #MCP135

I ran out of ideas for categories and decided to go with this underwhelming piece of cardboard and patch.  But if you look hard enough, you can find something beautiful in any baseball card out there.  For me... this card and it's rounded corners are the perfect candidate for my Damaged Card PC.

In a few days... I'll show off my Derek Jeter Sports Card Trifecta.  Yeah, I know some of you aren't into autographs and memorabilia cards.  But I'm one of those collectors who still collects them.

In the meantime, here are a pair of autographed rookie cards of the other two ballplayers that entered Cooperstown with The Kid from Kalamazoo...

1971 Topps #117

1990 Score #631

Congratulations Mr. Jeter, Mr. Simmons, Mr. Walker, and Mr. Miller!  Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Oh Snap! Am I a Flipper?

The San Francisco Giants have dominated local sports radio for weeks... but on my way to the post office this morning, they weren't talking about Buster Posey, Kevin Gausman, or Brandon Crawford.  They were talking about Shohei Ohtani.  And rightfully so, because he's making history and bringing positive attention to baseball.  And based on a sale I made this morning... his cards (at least some of them) are on fire.

About a month ago, I listed three of the four graded Ohtani rookie cards I purchased last summer.  Now this was a big decision for me, because up until now I have only sold two types of cards on eBay.

#1:  Cards I have multiple copies of.

#2:  Cards that aren't part of personal collections.

None of these three cards are duplicates and obviously Ohtani is part of my Japanese PC.  So... why would I cross the line and decide to sell these cards?

It's simple.  He's been hot and opportunities like this don't happen very often.

Here's a look at the card I sold this morning:

2018 Topps Chrome Sepia Refractor #150

And here's how much I paid for it:

Just over a year ago, I went out and purchased this card on COMC for $54.10.  This was a few weeks before the start of the delayed season and I wanted to add a few of his rookie cards to my collection.  At the time, I seriously debated spending this much money on graded rookie cards of a twenty-five year old player with a history of injuries.  Obviously, I pulled the trigger.

Last week, I sold this Ohtani for $155:

2018 Bowman's Best #1

Here's my purchase price:

Now if these cards were only selling for double or triple my purchase price, I would have held onto them.  However like I stated earlier... opportunities like this don't happen too often.

It's hard to determine what I'll actually end up putting into my pocket after factoring in eBay fees, income taxes, and additional shipping costs.  Whatever the profit is... it's only a small fraction of the money I've pour into the hobby over the years.

Plus... I don't want to give off the impression that it's all rainbows and butterflies.  For every Ohtani graded rookie card purchase, I've made purchases like these:

It's also a little sad to see my Ohtani collection shrink by two cards:

The last remaining Ohtani that I have up for sale is this card:

2018 Stadium Club #138

I really like this card, so I'm not in any rush to sell this card.  However... like the other two cards... if someone is willing to open up their wallet, I won't pass up an opportunity.

The one graded Ohtani I decided to keep is this rookie card:

2018 Topps #700

When I started listing these Ohtani cards, I knew I wanted to keep one.  I went with this one, because it features a nice action shot.

Plus if Ohtani rookie cards continue to soar in value, I want to make sure I have a least one graded card of his in my collection.  And if he does come back down to earth, then I'll be ready to step in and repurchase these cards for discounted prices... just like I did with guys like Hideo Nomo, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Kenji Johjima.

Speaking of these three guys, Dennis over at Too Many Verlanders recently sent me a care package that contained all three of these players, plus a few other Japanese baseball players:

2008 Upper Deck UD Game Jersey #UDJ-KJ

2004 UD Sweet Spot Sweet Threads #STS-KM

2009 Upper Deck Goudey Memorabilia #GM-DM

Dennis also sent me these two Oakland A's hits:

2004 UD Sweet Spot Sweet Threads #STS-TH

2006 Bowman Signs of the Future #SOF-TB

Back in May or April, I received a huge care package from Xavier Higgins who reads and comments on my blog.  He recently sent another package, which I have combined and sorted with his first package:

He sent me quite the variety... which covered several different areas of my collection.  One of those areas was my Japanese PC.  Here's a sweet Ichiro manufactured relic he gave me:

2021 Topps 70th Anniversary Manufactured Logo Patch #70LP-I

He actually sent a few other manufactured patches as well as a bunch of memorabilia cards that will eventually get featured in a post.  But for now, I'll wrap things up with 9 more Japanese cards he sent my way:

Thank you Dennis and Xavier for contributing more cards to my collection of Japanese athletes!

Here is today's question of the day...

Who is the first Japanese baseball player that pops into your head?

Do you have a favorite Japanese baseball player?

Have you ever sold a card that was part of your personal collection?

It's hard to say which Japanese player would pop into my head first, because I just flipped through all of my binders this morning... but I'm guess it would be Hideo Nomo.  As for my favorites... I'd say Ichiro and Kurt Suzuki.

Well that's it for today.  I hope all of you have a great week.  Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Extra Innings

By the way... I just spent $16.49 to have my COMC inventory shipped to me.  I thought about paying the regular flat rate price, but I didn't want to wait until November to receive my cards.

According to COMC, my estimated shipping date is next Friday:

We'll see how that goes.