Opening Day has come and gone. I've been working on a post related to it for about a week. Hope to finish it up over the weekend and publish it in a few days. Until then I have a quick post with some big things to cover.
Let's start with a pair of really cool oversized cards that John over at Johnny's Trading Spot sent me:
1995 Bowman's Best Jumbo Refractor #21
This shiny Gwynn is approximately 4" x 6" (slightly larger) and absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately my scanner doesn't do it justice. Here's a peek at the back:
According to Baseballcardpedia, these cards were distributed in Treat repacks. There are ten cards in the set. With this Gwynn, I now have four in my collection.
John also sent me this Stadium Club box topper:
2020 Stadium Club Oversized Box Topper #OBHM
This card is slightly bigger than the Gwynn and measures approximately 4.375" x 6.25". It looks like this photo was taken either right after the Yankees beat the Phillies to win their 27th World Series Title.
Unfortunately, the Topps didn't mention anything about this on the back of this card:
It does talk about him being the all-time MLB home run leader among Japan-born players. He held this crown for over a decade until April 21st, 2024:
2025 Topps Greatest Hits #GH-8
Shohei Ohtani is now the all-time leader. Topps produced a pair of Topps Now cards for him back in 2024, but I don't own either of them. I did however pull this insert out of a jumbo pack I purchased back in February.
The next card is not big in size, but it sure was a BIG disappointment:
2019 Topps Clear Travel #CP-60
This Mullins was suppose to get me one step closer to completing my 2019 Topps Clear Travel set build. Unfortunately it's in pretty rough shape. It's hard to see from the scan, but I took some photos which reveal the damage a little better:
There's some serious surface damage with some edge and corner issues, so this card will be headed into my Damaged Card PC. It was part of an eBay purchase with the regular flagship version:
2019 Topps #318
This card is far from mint too. It's extremely off-centered. I actually think it's kind of cool, because you don't see miscut cards in current products very often.
If you're wondering if I reached out to the seller, I didn't. It's totally my fault. When I looked back at the listing, the photos showed that neither of the cards in this lot were mint. Thankfully this big mistake only set me back a few bucks.
Finally I wanted to quickly share a purchase I made this morning. My buddy has been trying to sell me his 2011 Topps Update starter set for almost a year. It's missing a little over 100 cards, but all of the big rookies come with it, including the big fish:
2011 Topps Update #US175
This is my BIGGEST card purchase in a long time, but I was helping him out and he gave me a decent price. I paid $300... which is way more money than I want to spend on cards these days. But considering the Trout alone sells for more than that, I'm at peace with the purchase.
I have a bunch of boxes of cards that my buddy gave me two years ago that are sitting in my classroom. He says some of the missing cards should be in those boxes. Hopefully they are, because I don't want to really spend a bunch of money on commons. We'll see when I get back into my classroom on Tuesday.
Until then...
Thank you John for these two big cards for my Gwynn and Matsui PC's! Thank you Ben for selling me this iconic card! And thank you to everyone who took the time to read this post.
Happy Saturday and sayonara!
11 comments:
Yes, that Matsui photo is from the Yankees' last WS win 17 years ago. I have that shirt and still wear it all the time.
Love that Trout Topps update RC! Very nice deal there. I was actually trying to complete that set in 2011-12, but couldnt pull the Trout or Goldschmidt so I gave up. I might have some of the commons you need. Once you check your classroom, post a wantlist and I'll let you know if I have any for you.
Glad those Gwynn's were needs. I am currently updating Tony's PC, and should have a slew of extras.
I've been thinking of selling my Trout rookie but too scared to go the ebay route.
Awesome Trout RC! I think I have some 2011 Update dupes.
I finally started to build that 2011 Upd set as I figured the Trout RC wouldn't get much cheaper than it has been...but haven't seen any in dealers showcases in the 5 or so shows I've been to this year. They must be holding them back waiting for the price to rise! Anyway, you got a great deal!
That's a solid deal on the 2011 Update cards. Photo tip for cards like your Gwynn refractor: Take a picture at an angle to catch the rainbow effect, then edit with the perspective tool in photo editing software to digitally "bend" the card back to its normal proportions. This keeps all the refractor colors while making the card look like it is laying flat in a scanner.
bo - thanks for validating that. i was hoping you'd see this post and comment. i can't believe it's been 17 years. time sure flies
chris - really happy to see you back buddy. i'll definitely write an update post as soon as i get a chance to dig through those boxes.
johnnys trading spot - truly appreciate your help. i have a bunch of duplicates i can send your way. been meaning to ship some out to dennis too.
night owl - i don't blame you. i'd be afraid that the buyer would swap it out. if i was going to sell a card like that, i'd either take it to a card show or as much as you probably think this is silly... i'd get it graded.
the lost collector - thanks. as soon as i check my classroom, i'll write up a post with my set needs.
mr haverkamp - i'll pull all of the 2011 update singles i find at school. maybe i can help you with some of the other cards outside of the trout :D
cardboredom - i have done that a few times... but my photo editing skills stink. i usually spend 5 minutes and it doesn't turn out the same shape as a regular card. guess i need to practice more. btw... i received your care package in the mail this week. didn't have a chance to open it up yesterday, but hopefully i'll find the time to do it today and write up a thank you post this week.
I love the Gwynn, and congrats on landing the big fish with the Trout!
I checked my TCDB inventory and I have 68 singles for '11 Update. Send me your list
dennis - honestly i gave up on ever catching that trout almost ten years ago. if it wasn't my buddy, i wouldn't have made the purchase
gca - will do. i'll try to dig through those boxes today
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