Another Side Project

Topps Archives is usually my favorite product of the year and it usually has to do with the Fan Favorites autographs.  This year, I have yet to add a single one to my collection.

The reason is simple.  I've been obsessed with tracking down the 2019 Topps Archives 50th Anniversary of the Montreal Expos Autographs.  So far I've been able to add eleven of the twenty-one signatures in the set:

This is one of those projects that I'll probably never finish... since Randy Johnson sells in the $250 to $300 range... and Pedro Martinez can often command triple digits as well.  But I'll continue to add the other guys as long as they remain affordable.

One of the things I like to do is buy them in "lots" to keep the cost down.  That's how I ended up acquiring these "green" foil parallel autographs:

These are bonus autographs that I've added to my Montreal Expos PC.  I have no desire to chase down all of the different colored parallels.  For the time being, the Steve Rogers and Ken Hill are temporary place holders until I can add the regular base autographs to my collection.

Although they're technically the same franchise, I've never really associated the Montreal Expos with the Washington Nationals.  However... I'm absolutely stoked that they're headed to the World Series.  Congratulations Washington Nationals fans!

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!

Another Card Show Haul

It must be peak season for card shows, because there have been a few in my area... plus I've seen a bunch of posts highlighting card show hauls over the past month or two.

Today's post also covers some cards acquired at a card show.  Only there's one little twist.  They weren't purchased by me.  They were purchased by Dennis over at Too Many Verlanders and sent to me in a care package last week.

Let's kick things off with my favorite card in the package:

2007 Konami Baseball Heroes 3 #C07S037

Tanaka has looked awesome this post season for The Evil Empire.  One of the things I love about this card is that he's not pictured in Yankee Pinstripes.  This card appears to be one of Tanaka's first trading cards.  It'll go nicely with some cards Julie sent me a few months ago.

In addition to this Tanaka, Dennis also hooked me up with a bunch of cool cards for my Japanese PC:

2015 Donruss Signature Series #60

2008 Upper Deck Signatures #UDA-KI

I'm always happy to add new autographs to this collection.  Love Igawa's signature.

2005 Fleer National Pasttime Historical Record #1

This insert card celebrates Ichiro breaking George Sisler's single season hit record back in 2004.  It's hard to see, but it's actually serial numbered on the back to 2004.

Dennis hooked me up with a few Hideo Nomos.  I don't think I've ever seen these two Sports Illustrated cards above.  But my favorite Nomo in the package was this card:

1995 Select Certified Certified Future #3

Back in 1995, Select Certified was considered a premium product, which meant that I didn't have the opportunity to open up a lot of this stuff.  Nomo had several cards in this product and now I have one less card to chase down.

There weren't just Japanese players in this care package.  Dennis also hooked me up with some Oakland A's cards and the greatest San Diego Padre that ever played...

Brent Gates is a nice blast from the past.  He had a couple of promising seasons early in his career with the A's.  Not sure what happened to him, but I'm pretty sure this is my first autograph of his.

2016 Donruss Stat Line Career #184

1993 Upper Deck Diamond Gallery #17

And rounding out the care package were two new additions to my Damaged Card PC:

2007 Topps Moments and Milestones #45-30

I normally dislike this product... but I absolutely love this card.  The damage is pretty obvious on this one.

It's a little harder to see the damage from the scans on the next card...

1993 Upper Deck #449

But if you look at the scan close enough... it kinda looks like snow falling on Jeter.  That's because there's some chipping taking place... most likely due to cards sticking together.  This will definitely make the Damaged Card Hall of Fame.

Well that's it for today.

Thanks Dennis for this very generous care package.  I have a few Tigers set aside for you.  I'll have to dig through my hockey and football rookie cards to see if I have any Michigan alumni that I can send your way.

Happy Monday and sayonara!

Low Battery Mode

Life is crazy right now for me.  It feels like I'm running with the bulls... and it's only a matter of time before I finally get to exhale a sigh of relief or metaphorically get impaled by the horns.  In the heat of all this madness, you'd think that I'd be turning to our hobby as a distraction.  But that just hasn't been the case.

I have stacks and stacks of cards all over the place waiting to be sorted and potentially scanned.  Some are part of the collection I purchased from my buddy, while others are eBay and card show purchases.

There wasn't a day this week that I didn't think about those stacks when I came home from work.  And there wasn't a day this week where I did anything about it.

I was too exhausted.  I'm still too exhausted.  Right now I'm running on low battery mode and scanning cards on a post to post basis.

Today's post covers some highlights from this week in sports... as it pertains to me and my collection.  I thought I'd kick things off with a card I spent over twenty minutes looking for...

2013 Topps Chrome Refractor #210

The Cole Train is rolling.  Next stop is The Bronx.  It'll be interesting to see if the Yankees can finally derail Mr. Cole who hasn't lost a game in over four months.

Back in the Summer of 2018, I purchased a big box of inserts and rookie cards at the flea market for $25.  Inside were tons of 2013 Topps Chrome refractors and this card was one of them.

Over in National League news, this dude is having a worse week than me...

2019 Topps Chrome Autographs #RA-JN

Homie got hammered, tasered, and kicked in the face... all in one evening.  Drink responsibly peeps.

On a more positive note, according to the Washington Post, Kurt Suzuki has been cleared to play and if things go as planned should have started this afternoon's game.  Here's a partial rainbow I attempted to build a few years ago:

2013 Topps Walmart Blue #208

2013 Topps Gold #208

2013 Topps Target Red #208

2013 Topps Blue Slate #208

2013 Topps Emerald Foil #208

2013 Topps TRU Purple #208

2013 Topps Camo #208

2013 Topps Mini #208

I'm still missing a few different colors, but I'm not usually the kind of collector that chases rainbows.  If I stumble across affordable copies of the cards I need, I'll grab them.  If not... it's not the end of the world.

In hockey news...

2011-12 SP Authentic Sign of the Times #SOT-PM

My beloved San Jose Sharks are playing how I feel... terrible.  But Patty is back and the world is a better place for it.  Well... at least my world is.  Now all I need is the Sharks to go out and sign Devin Setoguchi too.

And wrapping up today's post is this LaDainian Tomlinson autograph:

2001 Fleer Ultra College Greats Preview Autographs #NNO

I picked up this autograph over the summer on COMC in honor of my niece who currently attends TCU.  She's visiting the Bay Area this weekend on school business, but has cleared some time in her busy schedule to hang out with me and her cousin.

This Tomlinson pairs well with another TCU alumni signature sitting in my collection:

2001 Fleer Ultra College Greats Preview Autographs #NNO

Tomlinson and Lilly aren't only two of the most famous TCU alumni, they're also members of both the Pro Football and College Football Hall of Fame.  Go Horned Frogs!

Well that's it for today.  Between hanging out with my niece and nephew and helping out a buddy... I'm hoping to find some time to recharge my batteries this weekend and possibly sit down and sort some stacks of cards.  Regardless of whether or not this happens... I'll definitely be listening to the ALCS and NLCS games.  Go Astros and Nationals!

What about you?

Any interesting plans for this weekend?  Anything hobby related?

Enjoy your weekend and happy Saturday and sayonara!

Appreciating the Simpler Times

Parts of the Bay Area have been warned that they might experience power outages in order to reduce the risk of wildfires.  This has caused quite the stir among my students the past two days, because so many of them rely on their handheld devices and computers which will obviously need to be charged at some point.

They're not alone.  I take attendance everyday on my laptop... plus a high percentage of my lessons require my laptop, Smart Board, and projector.  And when I'm not using my computer to present information, I'm using it to play music in the classroom.

But that's only the tip of the iceberg.  When I get home, I use my computer to scan images, write posts, read email, watch videos, check scores, pay bills, read blogs, and shop online.  It's truly mind-blowing how much I rely on electricity and technology.

I remember when I was a kid, I loved power outages.  My mom would light candles around the house and we'd grab our favorite reading materials and just relax in peace and quiet.  As much as I enjoy my cell phone and computers, there's a part of me that misses the simpler times.

Speaking of simpler times, today's post focuses on an insert set produced years before personal computers and mobile phones became regular household items.

Back in 2013, I purchased some Legends magazines from the flea market and buried inside of one of the issues were two 1967 Topps posters.  One was Willie Mays.  The other Mickey Mantle.

Then earlier this year, famous blog supporter... Mr. Hoyle sent me the Bert Campaneris.  Since then I've been searching for a complete set for my collection and a few weeks ago, I finally added a clean set that fell within my price range.

As much as I dread scanning cards, I figured these were well worth the time and effort.  Let me know down in the comment section below if you agree...

#1 Boog Powell

#2 Bert Campaneris

#3 Brooks Robinson

Much like the 1970 Topps Posters I showed off at the beginning of summer, these were printed on very thin newsprint and are prone to browning and tearing.

#4 Tommie Agee

#5 Carl Yastrzemski

My set's golden brown color shows off its age, but I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of tears.  In fact, I only spotted one small tear in the entire set which I'll point out later.

#6 Mickey Mantle

I never went out of my way to target singles, but I'll assume Mantle is the highest priced poster in the set.  He also represents one of sixteen hall of famers in this set.

#7 Frank Howard

#8 Sam McDowell

There are a total of thirty-two posters on the set's checklist, which means that half of this set is composed of hall of famers.

#9 Orlando Cepeda

#10 Chico Cardenas

#11 Bob Clemente

#12 Willie Mays

Although Mantle might be the biggest name on the checklist, Clemente and Mays have a solid hobby following as well.

#13 Cleon Jones

#14 John Callison

Callison represents the first name on the checklist I don't recognize.  According to Baseball Reference, he was a 3x NL All-Star and a sixteen year veteran who had a solid MLB career.

#15 Hank Aaron

Aaron would join Mantle, Clemente, and Mays on my 1967 Topps Posters Mt. Rushmore.

#16 Don Drysdale

#17 Bobby Knoop

#18 Tony Oliva

I'm still crossing my fingers that Oliva will one day get the call to the hall.

#19 Frank Robinson

#20 Denny McLain

#21 Al Kaline

Baltimore Orioles fans can celebrate.  They top American League teams with three players on the checklist.

#22 Joe Pepitone

#23 Harmon Killebrew

#24 Leon Wagner

After seeing guys like Mantle, Mays, Aaron, and Killebrew on this checklist, I started wondering who had the most career home runs among these guys entering the 1967 season.  Any guesses?

#25 Joe Morgan

#26 Ron Santo

#27 Joe Torre

If you guessed The Say Hey Kid, then you're correct.  Back in the Spring of 1967, Mays was right behind The Sultan of Swat in career home runs.  There's your tidbit of baseball trivia for today.

#28 Juan Marichal

#29 Matty Alou

#30 Felipe Alou

#31 Ron Hunt

#32 Willie McCovey

Rounding out the set is Willie McCovey, who happens to be the third San Francisco Giant in the set.  The difference between their trio and Baltimore's trio is that Mays, Marichal, and McCovey are all members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Well there you have it.  This fifty-two year old set is gorgeous and I'm absolutely stoked to finally cross it off my list.  Outside of the browning, the only other flaw is the small tear in the McCovey.

Besides that, this set is gorgeous.  It's just a shame that the 5x7 size of these posters limits my ability to display or store them.  As of right now, I have them individually sitting in 5x7 soft sleeves.  But I might go out and buy a box of Ultra Pro 2-pocket pages so I can display them in a binder.

Okay... I better wrap up this post and quickly click the publish button before the power gets shut off.  But if it does, there's a part of me that won't mind lighting a few candles and taking a break from the use of technology.

What about you?

How much do you rely on your cell phones, tablets, computers, and other electronic devices?  Can you remember the last time you spent an entire day without using any of them?

Sadly, I can't.  But if we lose power for several days, I might end up being forced to sooner than later.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!