Thursday, December 9, 2010

Wal-Mart Hits

Picked up a rack pack of 2007 Upper Deck Rookies Exclusive Edition for 2.98 at Wally World:


Got this nice Adrian Peterson Star Rookie that Beckett has at 6$ Hi:

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Monday, November 15, 2010

Another redemption!

Not a Strasburg this time, but an Andrew McCutchen. 10 Years from now, this may be the better card:


This one comes from a fulfillment company (not directly from Topps), in a top loader (not between two pieces of sandpaper) and shipped directly to my house (not the post office)!  Good deal!

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Wow, very nice eBay hit(s)...

Very, very, very nice Murphy RC and a few others I picked up from the same seller that came along with the '78 RC...

Monday, October 25, 2010

1989 Upper Deck Complete Set

Thanks to the baseball card gods, a mint 1989 Upper Deck complete set now belongs to me.  I won this auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280573288030&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_484wt_1156 but I should have been suspicious of the seller's low rating, the short description for such a nice set and nearly outrageous claims on how "pristine" and "perfect" this set was.  So I get home today and here is what I see:


It just had to be raining cats and dogs right about the time my mailman delivers my 1989 Upper Deck complete set.  This wasn't bubble wrap, so the moisture damage made it's way thru the package.  There was no need for a knife, as this package was already open by default.  The (2) 600ct cardboard boxes that held this beautiful set were loose in the package and you could feel the moisture on the boxes.  The seller did take the time to put all 801 cards in sleeves, but was VERY lucky that these mint cards weren't totally destroyed.  I can't figure this seller out, so I'll keep quiet about that.  Now on to the goods:


Other cards that stood out for me...


This set is CHOCK FULL OF HOFers and future HOFers:

Dale Murphy :) + RevNeg
Rafael Palmeiro
Edgar Martinez
Eddie Murray
Kirby Puckett
Tom Glavine
Rickey Henderson
Tony Gwynn
Robin Yount
Ozzie Smith
Ryne Sandberg
Mike Schmidt
Roger Clemens*
Greg Maddux
George Brett
Nolan Ryan x3
Barry Bonds*
Mark McGwire*
John Smoltz RC
Craig Biggio RC
Randy Johnson RC
Ken Griffey Jr. RC

All of them debuting in their first Upper Deck card.  Not bad for $50.03 aye?

Sunday, October 24, 2010

2002 Topps Hobby Box Break...

So I did some research into who I thought would be the next HOF'er who didn't already have one foot in the door.  My research yielded Joe Mauer and David Wright.  Naturally, I need their rookie cards, in base format.  Off to eBay I go and pick up a sealed hobby box of 2002 Topps for 15$ + 8$ shipping.  I got what I wanted:


I could have just bought the Mauer on eBay for roughly the same price.  But heck, why not get a hobby box?  Reasons for doing this are many:

1.  Potentially pull a GEM 10 Mauer (I did not, it's at most a 7)
2.  Still have nearly the entire set of 2002 Topps Series 2 (I nearly completed the set)
3.  Potentially pull a super short print (did not happen)
4.  Get to know the years that I missed (did happen)

Unfortunately this box was damaged.  And therefore 10% of the cards had a very bad corner.  70% had a noticeably bad corner.  The Mauer had a noticeably bad corner which is why I grade it only a 7 at best.  Also, the cards were all stuck together and the card itself was just plain ugly with the ugly brown border.  I got 3 gold parallels (hard to tell what was gold and what was base) but no HOF gold.  I also hit a 1952 Gold Reprint of Hank Bauer.

Until next time...

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

(4) 1993 Fleer Baseball Boxes... busted.

So, I decided I wanted the first and only PSA GEM Mint 10 1993 Fleer Dale Murphy.  I hop on ebay and find 4 boxes... 20 minutes from my house.  An hour and a half later, I have them in my house and ripping away.  Here is just a smidgen of what I got...

Interesting pictures... can you spot the pop-up? The bowler?  The wild thing?  Ricky Henderson? The hat-under-helmet?  The mostly rear-end shot?  The half empty picture?  The whiff (or foul ball)?  Or the old-geezer knuckle ball?

1993 Eyewear!


Notable players:


Right behind every Randy Johnson was a Dale Murphy:


Some of the inserts way back when (part of the reason I stopped collecting):


7x CRJr's:


7x Ryan Express:


So here are the potential GEMs, not sure if they'll grade that high, what do you think?


These cards weren't a whole lot of fun to rip.  The most annoying fact was that they seemed to have added some complimentary sand and resin in between each card.  Sand and glossy surfaces don't match.  And, there are virtually no rookies worth noting.  I was going for the 1st GEM Murphy card and I think I got close.  The Ryan is probably a 9.  Anyway, thought I'd share, up next will be a 2002 Topps Mauer search.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

eBay hits!

Q: How do you get a good deal?
A: Buy in bulk:



Braves come back to tie series 1-1!

Star of the game with game winning solo shot into McCovey cove in the top of the 11th:


Just like the Braves to have an unlikely hero.  Former pitcher who recently signed.  Best of 3 now!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Free Card Giveaway update!

First person to answer correctly gets 5 entries into the random drawing. All other comments, whether you have the answer or not gets 1 entry! Multiple comments do not get you extra entries!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Bust #16

Free Card Giveaway #1

UPDATE2: We have a winner!  Contest is over, check out Bust #17 to see what the lucky winner received!

UPDATE: First person to answer correctly gets 5 entries into the random drawing. All other comments, whether you have the answer or not gets 1 entry! Multiple comments do not get you extra entries!

The dugout is full!  So thank yourselves for the clicks b/c now you have a chance to win some free cards!

How to win: Post a comment (on THIS post!) with the correct answer to the trivia question below to become eligible to win.  After 24 hours, I will randomly select (with random.org) the winner online, bust the pack and then ship it out.

The Prize:


The Trivia Question:
All of my trivia questions will be sequentially linked to The Murph's base cards from 1977 onward.  The first question relates to his 1st RC:


The Murph came into the big leagues as a catcher, but we all remember him as an outfielder.  The man in the upper right also came into the league as a catcher (and played there throughout his career), but pulled some duty as a pitcher on 7/19/1987 for the Yankees who were playing the Texas Rangers... and he struck someone out!  Who did Rick Cerone strike out?


You have 24 hours WHENEVER! to post your answer in the comments... Good Luck!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

I bought a scanner...



... and I must say that I'm pleased with my purchase.

Just an FYI, a Strasburg like the one I have above, just went over 500 on eBay (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350397518578&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&autorefresh=true#ht_500wt_928)

Bust #15

Bust #15 (The booty)

Rip It! #12

Rip It! #11

Rip It! #10

Rip It! #9

Rip It! #8

Rip It! #7

Rip It! #6

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Rite Aid Raid + 1st Hobby Shop visit since 1980-something...


It's rip fest 2010!  Except for the random packs and the hobby box, everything was 75% off at Rite Aid.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Where is the Murph?


"Come on, man!"  Should Dale Murphy be on this card?

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Bust #10



Want a better look at the Strasburg? http://pullshark.blogspot.com/2010/09/who-wants-to-trade.html

Who wants to trade?


Yes, Christmas came early, this is a 2010 Allen and Ginter Framed Autograph of Stephen Strasburg.  I pulled the redemption card from a blaster pack purchased from Wal-Mart.  I redeemed online and Topps said the estimated delivery date was 12/23/2010.  Fortunately for me, it came via certified mail on 9/16/2010.  Woot!  Now who wants to trade!?