30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

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Thursday, February 9, 2017

Déjà Vu

As a San Diego Padres fan, I really shouldn't be collecting the rival team's ace.  However... when it comes to Clayton Kershaw, I can't help it.  The guy is the most dominating pitcher in baseball and it's not even close.  And let's keep it real.  Most Los Angeles Dodgers fans don't consider the Padres rivals.

 Anyways... back in December, I targeted this card on eBay, placed a $48.78 (+ $2.99 shipping) bid, and won:

2015 Topps Strata Clearly Authentic Autograph Relic #CAAR-CKW

I never thought I'd ever call myself a "fanboy", but when it comes to Topps Strata... that's exactly what I am.  I just can't get enough of the acetate, MLB authenticated swatches of jersey, and on-card signatures.


But when I looked up the hologram number and noticed that this swatch of jersey was from a game against the St. Louis Cardinals... I felt a sense of déjà vu.  I did what any curious fan would do and went over to Baseball Reference.  It only took a few seconds for me to realize that this wasn't the first time I looked up a piece of jersey used from this game.

Last summer, I picked up this card from my favorite online card shop:


Yup.  Pretty much the same card... except this card is serial numbered to 75, while the one above is numbered to 50.

It kinda sucks that I invested a lot of money on two cards that at first glance are the same.  However it helps knowing that both of these swatches came from a jersey worn by Kershaw the day he struck out eleven and allowed only one hit over the course of eight innings pitched.  Those kind of numbers are insane and keeps me from seeing red.


Although... when I look at the first Kershaw a little closer... I definitely see red.

 Happy Thursday and sayonara!
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16 comments:

  1. RAZFebruary 9, 2017 at 3:09 PM

    Those are some nice cards. I admittedly haven't been tracking Kershaw's autograph prices, but that seems like a really good deal.

    I've been meaning to pick up a couple of Strata cards. The acetate construction and MLB stickers appeal to me, but every time I think about picking up a couple of singles, something else grabs my attention.

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  2. gcrlFebruary 9, 2017 at 3:11 PM

    Big fan of the red patch dodger relic cards. Great pickups!

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  3. Tony L.February 9, 2017 at 4:08 PM

    I do like it when you can find out the provenance of a particular item to find out that it is actually game used. Great pickup, Fuji!

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  4. night owlFebruary 9, 2017 at 4:36 PM

    You must be a bigger Dodger fan then me -- I can't get myself to spend that much on a Kershaw card.

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  5. SumoMenkoManFebruary 9, 2017 at 5:51 PM

    Good think they are at least slightly different....with different print runs of each color. All is not wasted!

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  6. ManFebruary 9, 2017 at 9:41 PM

    I am not ashamed to say I enjoyed Matt Carpenter's dominance of Clayton. But when he faces any other team I pull for him.

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  7. CorkyFebruary 9, 2017 at 9:43 PM

    Topps has made Strata an awesome product.

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  8. BobWalkthePlankFebruary 10, 2017 at 5:18 AM

    Wow!!!! Those are beauties. No need to justify having two autographs of the best pitcher in baseball. He was on my list of favorite Non Pirates I did a while back.

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  9. CommishbobFebruary 10, 2017 at 1:20 PM

    Dunno anything about Strata but those are very sweet cards!

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  10. AnonymousFebruary 10, 2017 at 4:27 PM

    I dont blame you for hoarding autos of a "rival", Kershaw is like the modern-day Sandy Koufax. And those are just beautiful cards - similar looking though they are.

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  11. HackenbushFebruary 10, 2017 at 9:21 PM

    Two of a good thing is two of a good thing. I thing.

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  12. Greg ZakwinFebruary 11, 2017 at 12:20 AM

    Congrats on the pickups! You can never have enough Kersh autos. Like gcrl, I love any patch card from a Dodger with red. That means it came from the number on the front of the uniform which is just a really cool bonus.

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  13. FujiFebruary 11, 2017 at 7:02 AM

    raz - if i can find an on-card auto of kershaw for less than $50 shipped, i'll usually snag it as long as it has a logo. i paid a few dollars for this card more because it's a strata and has a jersey swatch.

    gcrl - the piece of red patch was the selling point for me as well.

    tony lehman - assuming that this isn't a big sham by topps and mlb, it's pretty cool.

    night owl - lol. let's just say i'm a kershaw fan, but i'm a bigger padres fan. although... i can't remember the last time i spent $50+ on a padres autograph

    sumomenkoman - yeah. just need two more for the rainbow

    b man - every player has their kryptonite, right?

    corky - agree 100%

    matthew scott - me too. i think he was third on the list only behind the two suzukis.

    commishbob - thanks. they're not quite vintage, but they're cool.

    chris - the guy is so dominating, i can't help but cheer him on (except against the padres and a's)

    hackenbush - agree. not sure i'll chase down a third though, unless it's super cheap.

    greg zakwin - yeah, my first response was it was from a team usa jersey. but then i remembered the red numbers on the front of their jerseys

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  14. cardboardhogsFebruary 11, 2017 at 2:41 PM

    being a fan of a rival teams player is tough..but it happens! i've been a big fan of Xander Bogaerts...but i'm a Yankee fan!! Go figure.

    Either way, can't go wrong with a Kershaw auto...just have to get the right ones i guess

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  15. The Snorting BullFebruary 12, 2017 at 2:49 AM

    Very cool, can never have too many Kershaw cards. Great player.

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  16. FujiFebruary 21, 2017 at 5:41 AM

    cardboard hogs - xander fan? nice choice. i'm more of a mookie guy though.

    snorting bull - so true. i've been eyeballing another one recently.

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