Bright Sunshiny Day

Autumn is just around the corner and pretty soon temperatures should start to drop and the leaves around my neighborhood will begin to change color and fall.  I'm looking forward to its arrival.

In the meantime, it's still bright and shiny in my neck of the woods.  Figured I'd celebrate the clear skies while I can still enjoy them with some recent additions that feature two things I truly appreciate in our hobby:  acetate and autographs.

Card #1:  2018 Topps Clearly Authentic Autograph #CAA-JV

I've been trying to add a Joey Votto autograph to my collection for years.  He's signed a few on-card autographs since 2014, but most of them are fairly low numbered which means they aren't exactly cheap.

Now that they're are finally starting to saturate the market, prices have started to stabilize and in some cases drop.  At the end of last month, I won this card off of eBay for $34.10 (+ $5.90 shipping).

There is so much red in the background, I actually thought I was bidding on the red parallel.  However when it arrived, I realized that this card isn't serial numbered to 50.  Oh well... I was still happy to finally able to cross Votto off of my wantlist.


Card #2:  2017 Topps Clearly Authentic Reprint #CARAU-JV

Although I like the look of the 2018 Topps Clearly Authentic Votto, I'm not going to lie.  I totally was settling.  The 2017 rookie reprint autograph was the one I really wanted.  Unfortunately, they've been known to sell in the $70 to $80 range, which was a little too rich for my blood.

Then I saw this one closing on my birthday, right before I was about to go out to dinner.  I threw out a bid I was willing to pay and ended up winning it for $52.50 (+ $3.50 shipping).

Four years of searching for his signature and I picked up two within a six day span.


Card #3:  2002 Topps Pristine Personal Endorsements #PE-BB

I have about ten eBay searches that I actually check on a daily basis.  Barry Bonds autographs are one of them.  Fans, collectors, and bloggers are divided when it comes to Barry Lamar Bonds.  Although I don't condone the use of PED's, I've accepted that they were part of the game and feel it's not realistic to remove two decades worth of baseball history from the record books. 

Throw in the fact that I had the pleasure of seeing Bonds play on a bunch of occasions and each time he stepped into the batter's box, he brought fans to the edge of their seat.  I can't ignore my past.  Nor will I ignore his greatness.

I realize the evening is approaching for many of us, so I'll focus my attention towards tomorrow.  Here's to a bright, sunshiny Friday.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!