30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Livin' The Dream

Bases are loaded.  Two outs.  Bottom of the ninth.  Your team is losing by three and you're at the plate facing a two and two count.  The pitcher winds up and delivers...

Isn't this what every little leaguer dreams of?  A walk off grand slam?

When I was a kid... I simulated that scenario in my yard about as often as I  struck out the final batter in the 7th game of the World Series.

 

Seeing Khris Davis live out my childhood dream last night is easily the highlight of the 2016 Oakland A's season.  Topps even included it on their Topps Now checklist... which I guess means he's officially made it.

To top it off... this is his first official Oakland A's card which means it'll be worth a wee bit more in the long run.  Not really... but I'm an A's fan... so I've got to exaggerate to make myself feel better.

The question is... do I go out and actually purchase this card?  It's only $9.99 with free shipping.  I'm guessing that there aren't a lot of Khris Davis fans out there and the A's aren't exactly a big market team, so this might translate into a fairly low print run.

On the other hand... It's $9.99 for card of a guy who's batting a little over the Mendoza Line and is probably only here in Oakland on a short term basis.

The verdict?  Head over to COMC and drop $9.99 on cards I really want.

First up...

1996 Leaf Signature Series Bronze Auto #NNO

Let's kick things off with another guy who has hit a walk off grand slam.  Unfortunately he did this as a member of the New York Yankees.  Oh well.  At least this card gets me one step closer to completing the team set I'm currently building.  The damage to my wallet?  $3.50.

2015 Topps High Tek Auto #HT-JPK

The other card I grabbed this afternoon was this on-card autograph of Joe Panik for $6.46.  I've been wanting to add an affordable autograph of him to my collection for awhile now.  Back in 2012 my friend and I went to a San Jose Giants game when he was there.  Several people mentioned his name as he had been the Giants first round draft pick the year prior.  That night he went 0 for 3 with a fielding error.  But the name stuck with me until he finally reached the Bigs in 2014.  So far he hasn't hit any walk off grand slams... but he's been pretty solid for them.

Well... that's it for today.  I wanted to write up a post about ESPN's Barry Melrose and his comments about San Jose Sharks fans, but I'll keep things positive and save that for another day.

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!

14 comments:

Dennis said...

Good call on the COMC thing instead of going with Topps Now. I bet you'll be able to get the Davis for less eventually. I'm happy to see him having a nice season in Oakland, but nowhere near as much as I am about Rich Hill!

Also, Barry Melrose is a jackass and his mullet is stupid.

Zippy Zappy said...

The way Adrian Beltre starred down Tolleson after giving up that HR to Davis was magical.

Tony L. said...

You may be surprised how long the A's keep Davis. He's not a free agent until after the 2018 season. Yeah, he's arbitration eligible after this year, so maybe the A's will trade him to the Yankees or something, I suppose.

Fuji said...

Dennis - Nice call on Mr. Hill. I was listening to the game on my way home and they mentioned that he has only allowed 18 hits and 8 earned runs in his last six starts. I was fortunate to see him pitch a few Sundays ago against the Astros.

Yeah... can't wait release my rant on that guy. I think he sometimes says stupid stuff just for the sake of a reaction.

Zippy - Had to go back and watch the replay to see it. He wasn't amused... but I don't blame him. I've been on the opposite end as a fan and it sucks big time.

Fuji said...

If he keeps hitting bombs (and the A's are out of contention)... he'll be hitting bombs for someone else. Not trying to be Negative Nancy either... it's just the way the A's do things. It's like a marriage. We have our ups and downs... and sometimes I'm not excited about the things she does... but I'll love her no matter what.

Man said...

Is it weird to still dream of hitting a walk off in the bottom of the 9th in Game 7 of the World Series as one tries to fall asleep? Hope not.

The Lost Collector said...

Awesome deal on the Giambi. I really want an auto of his. You got one from a great set!

Fuji said...

Brady - You go bro. These days... I'm just hoping for a nice bunt single in the top of the 7th.

TLC - There's another one on there for four dollars and some change :)

cynicalbuddha said...

I was a fan of Davis back when he was a Brewer, even got him TTM, which was a nice addition. I have a feeling the card will have a pretty low print run as well, but you should be able to pick it up on the secondary market much cheaper than from Topps.com. I know there are a bunch of sellers buying in bulk, plus look how cheap eTopps cards are and those were shiny and some were serial numbered. I think you got a much better deal with the two autos you bought.

Swing And A Pop-up said...

Nice Giambi auto.

BobWalkthePlank said...

Adrian Beltre is a national treasure. His expression are top notch. One of my favorite non Pirates.

Fuji said...

cynicalbuddha - i hope you're right and prices drop... but honestly... unless this card is a buck or less, i don't see myself picking up a copy. there are just too many cheap cool cards out there to add to my collection.

swing and a pop-up - thanks. still need his other autograph for my set.

Matt said...

I think you made the right decision. I haven't bought any Topps Now either. Really hard to value those

Fuji said...

yeah. a lot is riding on hype. they made over 8,000 bartolo colon cards... but they still sell for over $20 each. kind of crazy. my guess is this trend will come to an end. but if it doesn't... kudos to those who bought into it.