None of That Base Card Junk

Back at the start of my summer break, I signed up for a group break over at Death Stare Cards.  This was definitely an out of character purchase, because group breaks aren't my cup of tea.  Ever since the days of The Bash Brothers, the Oakland A's really have lacked star power in regards to cards... so it's not usually worth it for me to buy them in group breaks.  The same can be said for the San Diego Padres... although Fernando Tatis Jr. puts up a good argument.

However this wasn't your typical group break.  Instead of an unopened box of cards, 1,700 inserts weighing over ten pounds were being sorted by teams.  None of that base card junk.  Teams were $15 each (shipped), but additional teams were only $14 each.

I obviously grabbed the Oakland A's.  Unfortunately PunkRockPaint bought the San Diego Padres fifteen minutes before I arrived.  No biggie.  I picked up the San Francisco Giants instead.

A 200ct. box arrived shortly after I placed my order.  It ended up sitting in my office for weeks until I eventually opened it up.  After going through it... I put the contents back into the box and let it sit some more.  Until today.

In an effort to clean up my office before I head back into the classroom... I went through the contents and picked out my five favorite cards from each team.  However before I reveal them, here's a look at the financial breakdown of this purchase:

Oakland A's: 73 cards ($15/73 = 20.5¢ per card)

San Francisco Giants:  79 cards ($14/79 = 17.7¢ per card)

The bargain hunter within me typically seeks out these kinds of singles in dime boxes.  But after sifting through these 152 cards, I was more than happy with the results of this group break.

Okay... let's check out my personal favorites.  In an effort to make things more interesting, I decided to mix the five cards from each team and rank them from #10 down to #1.  Here we go...

#10: 2018 Topps Update 1983 Topps Design #83-33

The idea to reuse the 1983 Topps design is lazy... but at least they picked a really cool photo.  Who doesn't appreciate a new bubble blowing card to collect?

#9:  2013 Topps Opening Day Ballpark Fun #BF-2

Another fantastic photo with Reddick wearing a super cool looking Oakland Oaks jersey with pie all over his face.  Gotta love those walk-off wins by the Athletics back int he early 2010's.  By the way... I heard the Diamondbacks released Reddick.  Was hoping to see him sign with Oakland as they make a push for one of the Wild Card spots, but the Mets grabbed him.

#8:  2010 Topps Walmart Black #410

This looks like another walk-off win card... only this time the hero is Rajai Davis.  Not 100% sure, but my detective work leads me to believe this is from the June 11th, 2009 win over the Minnesota Twins.

#7:  2014 Topps 1989 Topps Die-Cut Minis #TM-10

When the New York Yankees traded Rickey Henderson back to the A's in the summer of 1989... it was like an early birthday present.  I'm a fan of any card that ties together the A's and 1989, but it's even more special when it features Rickey.

#6:  2015 Topps Opening Day Franchise Flashback #FF-10

No idea why Timmy is dressed up... but he looks fantastic.  This card is going straight into my Sports Card Smorgasbord binder.

#5:  2017 Topps Update Storied World Series #SWS-17

1989 was the last time the Oakland A's won the World Series.  Any card highlighting the event will be welcomed into my collection.

#4:  2020 Topps Decades' Best #DB-52 

Yup.  Another 1989 World Series card.  I like this one better than the 2017 Update card because of the design and the celebration photograph with Stan Javier coming over the top.

#3:  1990 Score #701

Technically this card isn't an insert... but I'll let it slide because I absolutely love it.  It's my favorite 1989 World Series card, because it immediately takes me back to that night of the Loma Prieta earthquake.  It was such a scary event, but one of those key moments from my youth.

#2:  2017 Topps Pro Debut Ben's Biz #BBB-9

If you ever go to a San Jose Giants game, you've gotta grab a churro from this guy.  He actually gets around the stadium and interacts with fans.  I had the opportunity to meet him at two of the three games I attended this summer.

This is my second copy of this card... which is perfect... because I hope to one day bring this copy to a game and ask for his autograph.

#1:  2015 Topps First Pitch #FP-21

I was secretly hoping for this card when I decided to buy the San Francisco Giants in this group break.  I'm not exactly a huge comic book guy, but I don't think you have to be one to be a fan of Stan Lee.  This guy is a legend.  And I absolutely love the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies... which wouldn't exist without him.

Thank you Death Stare Cards for hosting this group break!  I would gladly join another one of these breaks if you decide to host another one.

And any of you who didn't participate... it looks like there are a few teams available.  Click here if you're interested.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Buy Me Some Churros and BBQ

One of my favorite things to do is sit down at a ballpark with friends or family, eat unhealthy food, and watch some exciting baseball.  On Tuesday... after almost a two year hiatus... I finally made my way back to a baseball game.

The San Jose Giants hosted the Fresno Grizzlies at San Jose Municipal Stadium, which is also home to the SJSU Spartans.  If you were to close your eyes and picture a minor league ballpark... I'm sure a few of you would picture something like Muni.  It's small, cozy, and gives off an old school vibe with advertisements painted on the outfield wall and pennants flying in the wind representing each of the California League teams.  Oops.  I mean Low-A West teams.

Tickets only set us back $5 each.  And the panoramic photo above was the view we had for most of the game.

If you make it out to Muni, I'd recommend grabbing some meat over at Turkey Mike's BBQ.  They have everything from hot dogs to burgers to ribs.  I usually order the ribs, but this time I tore up one of their tri-tip sandwiches.  It was pretty good.

2017 Topps Pro Debut Ben's Biz #BBB-9

I had just enough room in my belly for a churro from Super Churros Man.  Now that was delicious.

In between the 3rd and 4th inning, I walked down to the team store in search of a 2021 team set.  They had a bunch, but I wasn't going to pay $12.95 for some guys I didn't recognize when I could pick up this set for about half the price:

2008 Grandstand SJ Giants Update Set

I'm pretty sure the set was $6.95 + tax... but I could be a dollar off.  With tax it was less than $8.  The set contains only 12 cards, because it's an update set.  But one of those cards this this minor league card of Buster Posey:

2008 Grandstand SJ Giants Update #1

Posey is one of those guys who I enjoy rooting for... even though I can't stand the team he plays on.

Here's a look at the other 11 players in the set:

Dan Otero was the only other guy I recognized in the set.  He spent a few seasons with the Oakland A's.

I decided to educate myself, so I spent a few minutes looking up each of these guys on Baseball Reference.  Matt Downs, Darren Ford, Waldis Joaquin, Joe Paterson, Henry Sosa, and Jackson Williams each played at least one game at the MLB level.

Outside of Posey and Otero, it looks like Downs had the most successful MLB career out of the bunch.  He played his last professional game in 2013.  Henry Sosa was playing in the Chinese Professional Baseball League as late as last season.

Anyways... getting back to the San Jose Giants game we attended.  The Fresno Grizzlies (Colorado Rockies Low-A team) won 6 to 3, but Jairo Pomares had a big game for the Giants.  He went 4 for 4 with a double, a home run, and eight total bases.  I'd love to pick up one of his cards, but it looks like he's only in one product right now: 2021 Bowman Chrome.  Sadly every single one of these cards is an autograph.

I'm planning on attending at least two more San Jose Giants games within the next few weeks.  Maybe I'll buy a 2021 Choice Sportscards team set in hopes of Pomares being on the checklist.

Okay... that's it for now.  Here are today's questions of the day:

Are there any players you really like who play on teams you really dislike?

Have you made it out to the ballpark this season?

If so...

Who did you see?

If not...

Any plans going to a baseball game this year?

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Cheap Cards & Small Investments

While some of you were picking up Heritage boxes, blasters, hangars, and/or packs last week... I decided to head over to Sportlots for the first time in over a year and find some singles for my collection instead.

Normally most of my online card purchases take place over on eBay or COMC, but there was one particular card I've been wanting to add to my collection and Sportlots offered the cheapest solution:

2019 Topps #126

Ever since people started showing off their 2019 Topps Series One, I've been in love with the team card subset and the amazing stadium photographs.  The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum card is extra special to me, because I grew up attending games and concerts there.

Sportslots ended my monthlong wait and it only cost me 18¢ + shipping.  It's seriously the best 18¢ I've spent in a long time.

While I was there, I decided to pick up another cheap card:

2017 Topps Pro Debut Ben's Biz #BBB-9

I try to go to at least one or two San Jose Giants games a year and the churros are pretty darn good, but I've gotta admit... I had no idea who Paul Cerda was until I saw this card.  But the fact that there's a card out there honoring a local is pretty cool.  I'm gonna take 18¢ card with me the next time I go to a game and see if he'll sign it for me.

The last cheap single I grabbed was this Matt Chapman rookie card:

2014 Bowman Draft #DP21

Chapman is one of the best defensive third basemen in baseball and he's a pretty good hitter too.  That's why I wasn't sweating the 20¢ investment I made on his first Bowman card.

The other three cards I grabbed were more expensive, but it made me feel less stupid for spending $3 on premium shipping.

The most expensive card I purchased was this Ramon Laureano rookie card:

2017 Heritage Minor League #3 (No First Name)

Laureano is projected to be the A's starting centerfielder for many years to come.  He caught my attention last summer after I saw this highlight:

The No First Name variations were tough pulls... seeded at 1:47 packs... which explains the $5 price tag.  I'm just hoping he doesn't fall into a sophomore slump.

The last two purchases were also rookie cards, however they're a little more established than Mr. Laureano:

2018 Topps Gallery Wood #101

2018 Topps Gallery #126

The Andujar was $2.50 and Soto was $2.  I threw these two into the shopping cart, because I was impressed by both of these guys last year.  Plus none of the Walmarts in my area sell cards, so I didn't have access to any 2018 Topps Gallery.

At the end of the day, I dropped $13.06 on six cards.  Was it the greatest deal of the year?  Definitely not.  But I did cross off two cards that I really, really wanted to own and added four rookie cards that may or may not have room for growth.  I can live with that.

Well that's it for today.  If you didn't see my Saturday post, I'm celebrating my blog's 9th anniversary with a contest.  Click here to enter.

Happy Monday and sayonara!