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!

660ct. Storage Box of Cards

If you collected baseball cards in the 70's and 80's... then the number 660 should ring a bell.  That was the set size of Fleer's flagship sets from 1981 to 1990.  Donruss also issued sets with 660 cards from 1982 to 1989.  Before it became the norm for those two manufacturers, Topps produced 660 card baseball sets from 1973 to 1977.

I don't keep track of card set sizes anymore... like I did back then.  Maybe Topps had another 660 card flagship set after 1977... maybe it didn't.  I just know that if they did... it wasn't during the 80's.

These days seeing a 660ct. card box does one of the following things.  It either stirs up memories of my childhood and collecting cards.  Or it means I'm receiving a pretty decent sized care package from someone.

Today's post will focus on the latter.  Last week, I received a stack of PWE's from Bo (Baseball Cards Come to Life!), a small flat rate mailer from John (Johnny's Trading Spot), and the aforementioned 660ct. box from Rod (Padrographs).

I didn't have a lot of time during the work week to open these up, but as soon as I got home on Friday night... I tore into Rod's box.  I started sifting through it and sorting the cards along the way.  On Saturday, in between hanging out with one of my brothers in the morning... and grabbing lunch with my other brother in the afternoon... I started scanning cards.

Now unlike Billy over at Cardboard History, I am not a scanning machine.  Scanning one image can take anywhere from one to four minutes depending on the cropping situation.  That means you won't be seeing six hundred scans in this post.

However... it does feature twenty-five different scans and a pair of photos... which is quite higher than one of my run-of-the-mill posts.

Today I decided to use a Top 10 format to highlight some of the cards Rod sent my way.  However let's being with some honorable mentions...

Honorable Mention #1:  Love the Logo

1983 Fleer Star Stickers #NNO

When I think of 80's Fleer sets... I also think of the team logo stickers that were inserted into packs of cards.  This isn't one of those stickers, but it's still really cool.  You'll get a chance to see some of the player stickers from this product in a few minutes.

Honorable Mention #2:  Padres TTM Autographs

I have a binder dedicated to TTM and IP autographs I've acquired over the years.  It shouldn't be surprising that the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants make up a large percentage of the binder... since they were/are the two local teams.  However in recent years... the San Diego Padres have definitely made their presence felt thanks to several large donations from Rod over the years.  

This care package contained over twenty... but I narrowed it down to this nine-pocket page and this other honorable mention...

Honorable Mention #3:  My First Merrill Auto

2022 Topps Heritage Minor League #14

The Padres have been extremely quiet this offseason... which has some people worried, annoyed, or both.  But if Jackson Merrill can avoid a sophomore slump and the Padres high priced stars can live up to their contracts... I think they'll be able to hold their own (assuming they fill out the rest of their roster).

Honorable Mention #4:  Six Pack of Autographs

The next group of autographs are of the pack-pulled prospect variety:

I've heard of Snelling, Gonzalez, and Wolf... but honestly couldn't tell you much about any of them.  That being said... it'll be fun to see if any of these guys end up being household names by the end of their careers.

Honorable Mention #5:  Hockey Packs

2023 Upper Deck National Hockey Card Day

I'm in the midst of writing a hockey card post.  I'm guessing you'll see at least a pack or two of these in it.

Honorary Mention #6:  A Pair of A&G Hits

2024 Allen & Ginter Framed Autograph #MA-AA

2024 Allen & Ginter Relic #AGR-ZGA

Both of these cards were welcomed surprises.  Most of the cards in Rod's 660ct. box were for specific collections.  Unless I'm missing something... these do not.  That being said... Abbott has shown signs of stardom.  If he wins a Cy Young Award, this card can be added to my left-handed Cy Young Award winner collection.

As for Gallen, he's been a solid starter for the Diamondbacks for half a decade now.  Maybe Rod knows something we don't know... and the Padres are planning to trade for him.

Alright, let's get to the Top 10 countdown... 

#10: Obligatory Ohtani

2023 Bowman #51

When it comes to cards... Shohei Ohtani is like Michael Jordan.  If I have an opportunity to show off a card of his, I will.

#9:  Rare Leaf

1991 Leaf #140

1991 Leaf was far from being considered a rare product... but you don't see miscut cards like this come out of 90's products very often.  This is especially true when the card manufacturer was trying to compete in the premium card product market.

This card stood out like a sore thumb in Rod's 660ct. box... and I absolutely love it.

#8:  San Diego Rickey

1997 Collector's Choice #211

Sometimes we don't appreciate things until the moment is gone.  I wonder if I truly appreciated the fact that my two favorite baseball players were teammates on two separate occasions.  

#7:  Smiling Stew

1991 Upper Deck #127

When I think back on my memories of Dave Stewart... I immediately think of his stare downs on the mound.  If I were standing in the batter's box... I would be downright scared.

While flipping through a large stack of A's in this 660ct. box... I immediately stopped to appreciate Smoke's smile and the pre-Mount Davis Coliseum with grass behind the bleachers.

#6:  A Sucker for Slabs

Feast your eyes on the latest addition to my collection of graded cards:

2018 Topps Gypsy Queen Autograph #GQA-RHO

Some of you might be wondering why Rod would send me an autographed rookie card of Rhys Hoskins.  I'm not a Phillies fan and I don't usually seek out this slugger's cards.

However... I do have a growing collection of slabs from different grading companies.

Although they've been in business for almost twenty years, this is the first time I've heard of or handled one of their slabs.  Regardless... it's a new addition to my Graded Card Gallery.

#5:  Not Your Ordinary Paperweight

2015 Topps First Home Run Medallions #FHRM-RJ

Not all manufactured relics are created equally.  Some of them are cool... and some of them are silly.  I'm not the biggest fan of this card's design... but I really the the actual medallion embedded in this card.


#4:  A Sayonara Signature

2023 Topps Baseball Stars Autograph #BSA-HK

Not exactly sure what the Padres goals are this off-season... but I was totally bummed to see Kim sign with the Rays.  I know that they already have Cronenworth, Bogaerts, and Machado manning the infield... but I've been a fan of Kim's defensive versatility since his arrival in 2021.  He will be missed. 

#3:  Food Issue of the GOAT

1992-93 Fleer Drake's #7

I'm one of the thousands and thousands of collectors who treasure any Michael Jordan card sent my way.  But flipping this card over and discovering that it was a food issue card that I didn't have made it extra special.

#2:  End of an Era

2024 Topps Big League Mascots #M-18

It's hard to believe that Stomper won't be parading around the Oakland Coliseum anymore.  At least this card will help me remember the good old days.  What I especially love about this card is the fact that he's rocking the kelly green alternate jersey with Oakland right on front.


#1:  Rickey Henderson Stickers

1983 Fleer Star Stickers #144

1983 Fleer Star Stickers #192

I don't remember seeing these back in the 80's, but I would have been excited to add these to my collection.  Forty-two years later... I finally did.

Thank you Rod for this generous 660ct. box of cards.  I love the variety... and all of the little holes you filled in my collection.

Bo... I'll start working on those PWE's next.  And after that... I'll rip into Johnny's flat rate box.

Until then...

Happy Sunday and sayonara!