30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Sacrificing The Body

Remember when Max Scherzer broke his nose during batting practice last year and came back to pitch the next day?  Or how about the time Jack Youngblood fractured his fibula against the Dallas Cowboys and told the doctors that he was going to finish the game?  I guess that's what people do when they're passionate about something they love.

Two weekends ago, I endured some serious back pain to hit up the Serramonte Sports Cards, Toys, and Collectibles Show in order to dig through card boxes, hang out with some friends, and add some new cards to my collection.

Okay... this isn't exactly on the same level as a broken nose or fibula... but I was in some serious pain.  Thankfully... most of the pain has since subsided with the exception of an occasional tweak here or there.

Today I wanted to wrap up the purchases I made that day.  We last left off with me walking away with a Josh Donaldson autograph and some dollar cards.  After that, I continued walking towards one end of the mall over to Craig, who happens to be a regular vendor at the show.


Purchase #3Two Dollar Hits  $38

He typically has large crowds digging through his boxes, so I don't normally stop at his table.  But this time there was only one guy going through his $3/10 for $20 boxes.  I originally pulled out over fifty cards, but narrowed things down to these nineteen cards:



I don't have the time to comment on all of these, but here are a few of my favorites:


These two cards are for my Prime #'s PC.  The Haren patch is serial numbered 01/25 and the Giles is numbered 30/30.

I was super excited to add this autograph to my collection:


Ocho Cinco's signature is kinda boring... but his antics on and off the field were quite the opposite.  It's hard to believe that the signature of the Cincinnati Bengals all-time receptions leader (at least for now) can be purchased for two bucks.


This dual swatch card of Lynch and Forsett was a nice hidden treasure.  I was about to put this card into the discard stack, but it quickly became a no-brainer when I noticed it was numbered to ten.  And if my records are accurate, this is my first dual relic addition to my UC Berkeley PC.


No idea who Chuck Klein is.  But I won't ever pass up cheap memorabilia cards of old school ball players.  Maybe when I wrap up my 2019 Topps Holiday relic set, I'll try to build this one.

And my favorite card of the purchase...


I know I give Topps a lot of flak for releasing way too many products year in and year out.  But I'd love to see them bring back Topps American Pie at some point for a single release.

Moving along to the next vendor...


Purchase #4Quarter Bin  $8



Right behind Craig was a guy who had a bunch of boxes filled with quarter cards.  The highlight was finding these three Tony Gwynn rookie cards:


They're not in perfect condition, but it's hard to complain when they're 25¢ each.

The last guy I bought cards from was on the other side of the mall.


Purchase #5 Dime Box Cards  $6

I ended up spending close to two hours digging through his dime boxes.  There's no way I would have been able to pull this off if it weren't for the chairs he had set up.  This guy's cards were a little musty, but his boxes were very organized.  He sorted them by teams and sometimes by player.

I ended up pulling out sixty-three cards.  The old me would have pulled out six hundred cards, but I just don't have the time or energy to go home and sort this stuff anymore.  Here's a snapshot of what I found in the boxes:


None of the vintage was in very good condition, but my favorite cards are the 1974 Topps San Diego Padres team card and the Mark Fidrych rookie.  There wasn't anything too special in my stack, but my buddy did find a few 90's #'d Ken Griffey Jr. cards.

Well that wraps up my first card show haul of 2020.  The next show will be in early March when GTSM comes to the Santa Clara Convention Center.  This show usually caters to autograph collectors more than card collectors, but my friend will be setting up there... so I'll be in attendance.

Okay... that's it for now.  Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

25 comments:

  1. Crazy good stuff at awesome prices. My favorites are probably the Parker American Pie relic, the Klein relic, the Frank Robinson Giants relic and the Ocho Cinco auto. Can't beat Gwynn rookies for a quarter. Glad you fought through the pain - looks like it was worth it.

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  2. I was going to say holy crap about the Tony Gwynn rookies for a quarter but you got a real "HOLY CRAP" card in there. That card in the lower left corner of the last pic is a Babe Ruth from the 1949 Tohoku Karuta Set. Its got a book value of $500 in Engel! Its got a rarity score of R3, meaning less than 100 copies are known to exist. You pulled that out of a DIME BOX??????? NICE!!!!

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  3. wow Fuji! if the Babe is truly the 1949 card and not a reprint - you've hit gold again! I got excited just seeing the PIE inserts from one of my all-time favorite sets!

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  4. Gwynn rookies for a quarter? Hell yeah!

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  5. arpsmith - i didn't spotlight the frank robinson relic, bc i was thinking about giving it its own post one day

    sean - lol. sorry to disappoint, but it's a reprint. it actually says it on the back. i still thought it was a cool addition

    acrackedbat - yeah... both of those pie relics are really nice. i've got enough projects on my plate, otherwise i'd consider building that set too

    base card hero - i couldn't believe my eyes.

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  6. LOL, it seemed too good to be true, but if you are picking up Tony Gwynn rookies for a quarter it seemed possible you might be getting old Japanese Ruth's for a dime too! Nice pick ups nonetheless, glad that your back is getting better too.

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  7. Replies
    1. 1 is not a prime number! As I teach my students, remember factor trees? If 1 were a prime number, factor trees would take forever!

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  8. A whole lot of great cardboard. Klein HOF-1980

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  9. HOLY CRAP, Hoyt relic for $2! Frank Robinson relic for $2! (I need one of those to complete my trifecta on him!) Chuck Klein relic for $2! Wow!

    Chuck Klein is a legend...Hall of Famer, 1932 MVP, hit 4 home runs in a game. You know those 1933 Goudeys with the "Lou Gehrig Says..." banner? Some of them have a "Chuck Klein Says..." banner instead. https://images.app.goo.gl/VEmjbe7BMCmp5sRR7 What could be more legendary than that?

    I've had good luck with relics at shows in that price range, but damn!

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  10. nice grabs overall! I like the Ocho auto!

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  11. Ocho Cinco signature for $2? Inconceivable!

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  12. Tony Gwynn RC's for a quarter. Can't beat that with a stick...

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  13. Wow, some really nice cards. I didn't even notice the Ocho Cinco was signed over the helmet. It sort of blends into the Bengals stripes.

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  14. That was an amazing haul! You did incredible. I hope your back is feeling better!

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  15. Those three Gwynn rookies for a quarter each must have made your back feel better for at least a few minutes!

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  16. Like the Hoyt relic. I"ve decided recently to start focusing more on my knuckeleballer collection, as I throw a knuckleball in little league and overall am fascinated with the pitch.

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  17. Awesome stuff. Love the Gwynns for a quarter a piece and that Klein relic is sweet looking

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  18. Dang, Turang for $2 is a hell of a deal.

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  19. I would have picked the Ruth because it was different. Even a reprint would be great.

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  20. The Dick Allen card is pretty sweet. He is a player who has really grown on me as I have gotten older. Very talented, probably should get some consideration for the Hall of Fame. I have picked up a few of his cards, need to find a few more. That's a great looking card. Love the fonts that Topps used in the American Pie set, and that picture is sweet.

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  21. sean - i sometimes get some pretty decent deals... but nothing like that. maybe one day though

    the management - nope. 30 is not a prime number. i use the word "prime" to mean "important" or "key", instead of the mathematical definition

    bret alan - lol. you should visit my classroom during the summer when i teach primes and composites. my students would enjoy your enthusiasm. and thanks for the baseball card history lesson. i definitely remember the lou gehrig cards. very cool to see klein was on them too.

    johnnys trading spot - i took the time to look him up just now. looks like he was quite the hitter back in the day

    nick - those quarter bins were meant for me. too bad those three cards were by far the best cards in his boxes

    sumomenkoman - serramonte is coming back in september (i think). lmk if you wanna go

    sport card collectors & reds card collector - me too. hard to believe his signature sells for under $10 these days

    robert - i know. i was shocked to see them for that price

    the lost collector - lol. maybe that's why it only sells for two bucks

    matt - it is. the downside is that it's one sneeze or card sort away from being in pain :(

    gregory - i'm sure the adrenaline that kicked in when i saw those gwynns took away some of the pain for at least a few minutes

    gtt - the guy actually had another wilhelm relic, but i went with this one because i liked the design better. had i known he was so popular i would have grabbed one for tradebait

    collecting cutch - yeah, it's a really cool relic set. maybe i'll chase it one day

    zippy zappy - i remember turang's name from when i looked up some of the autographs from my panini team usa box break. it'd be cool to have you standing next to me at shows and flea markets, so i can pick your brain on all of the prospect cards i come across

    friend11 - it'll make a nice addition to my japanese trading card pc... even if it's a reprint ;)

    the snorting bull - yeah, i think he'll get the call to the hall eventually. it's only a matter of time before guys like him, hodges, and oliva get in.

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