Plugging Some Holes

When it comes to shopping for cards online... COMC's fall has led to the ascension of Sportlots (at least for me).  They've always served different purposes.  Sportlots helped me complete sets with their affordable commons, while COMC filled gaps in my player and team collections.

Since I've always tried to get the most bang for my buck, I avoided paying 20¢ for commons and preferred to find pricier cards over on COMC.  However their decision to restructure their shipping rates forced me to drain my balance, start using Sportlots more, and focus on card projects that have been collecting dust for quite some time.

1984 Topps Glossy All-Stars #10

1986 Topps Glossy All-Stars #7

1990 Topps Glossy All-Stars #8

Last week, I started shopping for some 80's Leaf Dave Stieb cards... which led me to plugging some holes in my 1984 to 1991 Topps Glossy All-Star project which was missing the entire 1986 set.  Well, I found one vendor with almost the entire set:

This lot puts me past the 50% mark on this project...

I'll be busy the next four weeks, but as soon as my summer break starts... I'm hoping to cross off the bulk of these needs with the help of eBay and Sportlots:

While shopping for those Stieb cards, I completed another set sitting in my office:

1990-91 Pro Set Hockey Set

Back in early April, Stuart over at S.R. '75 Cards sent me this set.  I'm a huge fan of early Pro Set sets and was happy to add their inaugural hockey set to my collection.  While flipping through the set, I noticed it was missing one card:

1990-91 Pro Set #298

No biggie.  That's what Sportlots is for.  If you're not familiar with this set, here's a quick peek:

Pro Set included everyone from draft picks to coaches to officials.  They even included a card for the puck.

They also honored the all-stars, award winners, and stat leaders.  Plus a ton of guys who would eventually make the Hockey Hall of Fame:

Speaking of future hall of famers, the 1990-91 rookie card class was full of them:

Jaromir Jagr is the lone player to not receive the honor.  But that's because he hasn't officially announced his retirement.  He last skated in the NHL in 2017, but was playing professionally in the Czech Republic up to last season.

Thank you Stuart for generously gifting me with this awesome set.

Let's wrap this post up with the two cards that inspired this Sportlots order:

1985 Leaf #54

1986 Leaf #68

Last week, I showed of this 1987 Leaf card of Dave Stieb that Adam over at Thoughts & Sox sent me:

1987 Leaf #72

I mentioned that I might chase down his other three Leaf cards from that era.  Two down, 1988 to go.

Like the Topps Glossy All-Stars... I'll target this card in a few weeks when I have more free time on my hands.

Until then, here is today's question of the day:

Where do you shop for cards online?  COMC?  Sportlots?  eBay?  Other?

If I were to break down the numbers, eBay and their vendors get most of my money.  However my purchases usually involve single cards or smaller sets/lots.  Sportlots is a distant second, but that might change this summer.

I look forward to reading and responding to your comments.  I apologize that I haven't replied to comments on my recent posts.  It's on my list of things to do this weekend.  Stay tuned.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Let's Go Oakland!

Oops.  I mean Sacramento.  When I started writing this post three Saturdays ago... I was pleasantly surprised to see the A's and San Diego Padres sitting on top of their divisions.

Obviously it's been a few weeks and there's a reasonable chance neither still are, but regardless I wanted to show off some of their cards I have recently acquired, sorted, and added into my personal collections.

So grab your favorite beverage, sit back, and get ready for this scan heavy post that was brought to you by Reader X and John over @ Johnny's Trading Spot.  When it comes to care packages, these guys don't mess around.  They're heavy hitters.  Their care packages aren't measured by ounces.  They're measured in pounds.

I couldn't find any photo evidence of John's care packages, but they were similar in size to the one Xavier sent me in January:

John used a large flat rate box to ship his cards.  Xavier's preferred method is a shoebox stuffed with baseball card boxes:

Inside of each of these boxes weren't actual packs.  There were stuffed with team bags filled with cards.  Here's a peek at the contents of those team bags after I sorted them on my office floor:

Although the shipping packages were different... each of these guys sent me hundreds of new cards for my collections and students.

Today I'm only going to focus on my two favorite baseball teams.  Let's start off with the first place Athletics...

Reader X sent me a variety of stuff including this Gold Star parallel team set:

2023 Topps Gold Stars Oakland A's Team Set

He also included almost seventy rookie cards and parallels featuring hall of famers, fan favorites, and current stars:

A's Hall of Famers & Legends

Former & Current A's Parallels

More Current Stars

Reader X also tossed in a pair of buybacks:

And this Lazaro Armentaros super collector starter kit:

Not sure if Mr. Armenteros is currently playing baseball, but back in 2019 he peaked as the Oakland A's #5 prospect:

Last, but certainly not least... Xavier sent me this oversized Matt Chapman:

2017 Bowman Prospects 5x7 #BP110 (#'d 05/10)

Big and low numbered!

Next up are some of the A's John over at Johnny's Trading Spot sent my way:

Let's start with the three of the A's brightest stars:

Brent Rooker, Nick Kurtz & Jacob Wilson

All three of these guys have had some struggles at the plate this season, but they seem to be picking up steam.

Next up is a giant batch of Big Mac and The Pizza Man:

McGwire Oddballs & Piazza Inserts

1987 Barry Colla Mark McGwire Set

1987 Barry Colla Mark McGwire #10

Like Xavier, John also included a parallel team set in his care package:

2025 Topps 582 Mongomery Oakland A's Team Set

And what better way to wrap up a post, than with a six pack of Billy Martin cards:

Billy Martin Collection

Although I was watching and playing baseball by the late 70's, my earliest memories of attending games were from the Billy Ball Era.  His 1982 Donruss card captures a great shot of him having a calm discussion with Blue.  Some of my favorite baseball highlights from the 80's involved watching managers arguing with umpires... especially when fingers were pointing and dirt was flying.  Good times.

Thank you Reader X and John for these awesome additions to my A's collection.  I was originally going to show off some Padres cards too.  Unfortunately I've already been sitting on this stuff for over two weeks and this post is already running a little long, so stay tuned for the Brown & Gold cardboard.

Until then...

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

By the way... the A's are indeed still in 1st place.  Yee haw!  Billy would be proud.

Love/Hate Relationship

A large majority of the posts on this blog feature sports teams and players that I love to root for.  Today's post focuses on the opposite end of the spectrum.  I'm going to rank my least liked sports franchises of all-time while sharing a card featuring a player on that team that I actually admire and/or rooted for.

But before I begin, I want to give credit to two bloggers for inspiring this Blog Bat-Around post:  Joe @ The Shlabotnik Report and Mike @ Not Another Baseball Card Blog.  The blogosphere could use more interesting Blog Bat-Around ideas like this one.

Let's get started...

Honorary Mention #1:  Larry Bird

1993-94 Finest Refractor #2

Had I written this post twenty years ago, the Boston Celtics would have cracked the Top 5.  However my interested in professional basketball has tapered off since the early 2010's, so they're now just an honorable mention.

The one Celtic that immediately popped into my head for this post was Larry Bird.  He's one of those legends that I truly respect and admire.  I couldn't stand him while he was in the league, but these days I have no problem adding his cards to my basketball collection.

Honorable Mention #2:  Gordie Howe

1968-69 O-Pee-Chee #29

Back in the 90's, I hated the Detroit Red Wings.  They were essentially the New York Yankees of hockey and one of my buddies was a huge fan.  The Red Wings have plenty of legends and fan favorites worthy of collecting, but if I was going to go out of my way to collect one, it probably would be Mr. Hockey.

Chris over at Diamond Cuts & Wax Stains sent me that vintage Howe over a decade ago.  It's one of the most attractive hockey cards in my collection.

I couldn't write about Gordie without showing off his SLU:

1995 Kenner SLU Timeless Legends

Back in 1996, he was signing at a local card show for only $5, so I went out and purchased this SLU for him to sign.

Moving along, here are my five least favorite sports franchises...

#5:  Barry Bonds

2002 Topps Autographs #TA10

I've always had a love/hate relationship with the Giants.  Being born and raised in the Bay Area, the city of San Francisco will always be special to me.  The memories of attending their games at Candlestick Park with my brother are something I cherish as much as the A's games we attended at the Coliseum.

In fact, down inside... I don't really hate the San Francisco Giants.  It's the fans.  Giants fans outnumber A's fans and when they win, the team climbs these rankings.  Thankfully, they have been struggling lately... so they've fallen down to #5.

As for Barry... he has a love/hate relationship with baseball fans himself.  Personally, I loved watching him play.  And these days... I enjoy collecting his cards too.

#4:  Dallas Cowboys

1992 Beach Sports Autographs #AC1

This is another case of me disliking the fans more than the actual team.  I couldn't really think of any Dallas Cowboys that I would go out of my way to collect, so I went with this autograph of Michael Irvin that I pulled out of a pack back in 1992.  I'm not 100% certain, but I think this is the first autograph I ever pulled out of a pack.

#3:  Jackie Robinson

1956 Topps #30

The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants will always be in my Top 5 list of least favorite sports teams.  But neither creep into the Top 2, because those teams are practically untouchable.  Right now the Dodgers are higher than the Giants, because they're better.  Much better.  Fifteen years ago, the rankings were flip-flopped.

Over the years, I've collected a bunch of different Dodgers:  Fernando, Nomo, Kershaw, Freeman, and Ohtani.  But my favorite Dodgers card sitting in my collection is my favorite card of all-time.  Jackie's 1956 Topps card.

#2:  Lou Gehrig

2004 Topps Clubhouse Collection Relics #CL-LG2

I really, really, really dislike the New York Yankees.  But I loved watching Pride of the Yankees when I was a little kid.  It converted me into a Lou Gehrig fan.

This particular bat card was the highlight from a group break I joined over at Cardboard Collections.  I'm normally not into joining group breaks, but when I looked over the product checklists and noticed that the Yankees were still available... I immediately sent Colbey my money.

#1:  Jerry Rice

1986 McDonald's #NNO 

The San Francisco 49ers are arguably the most popular Bay Area sports team and it feels like they're always good.  And there's never been a shortage of family members, friends, and colleagues reminding me about their 80's and 90's dynasty.  To make matters worse... both of my favorite teams are their rivals.  Damn... I can't stand the 49ers.

That being said... I truly admire Jerry Rice and his career accomplishments.  This particular card is special to me, because I received it in a trade with my buddy Mike.  If you're new to this blog, Mike was a longtime hobby friend who passed away in 2023.  Ironically... he was a huge fan of the #1 and #2 teams in this post.

Well that wraps up this post.  Thank you Joe and Mike for kicking off this blog bat-around!  The Blogfather (Night Owl) himself was the first to respond to Mike.  I sure hope a few others join in on the fun.

Until then...

Happy Thursday and sayonara!