In Between Days

I have a four-day weekend in between leaving my old job and starting my new one, and I plan to get caught up on my card hobbies and blogs. There wasn't much for me to do at the office and so I walked around, took long lunch breaks, left early. A couple days ago I saw a baseball card lying on the ground.

The card back was facing me when I found it and for a few seconds I stopped thinking about Office Girl and the rest of the gang, and got back to my roots. Who's on that card? I had to know.

Night Owl, do you need this one? lol

I didn't take it home, obviously. This was the second baseball card I'd seen near the office. About a month ago I spotted a 1989 Donruss card of an Atlanta Braves player (Gerald Perry maybe?) And on at least two occasions I've come across a water damage estimate of a flooded basement with pictures of the damaged items - including baseball cards and Starting Lineup figures. I cringed at the thought of storing collectibles in a basement. Give those cards a good home if you don't care about 'em!

Some cards I acquired in recent TCDB trades

It's been a strange time for me. I've been reflecting on the past three years - and in particular the past 14 months - knowing that a major life change is on the horizon. This group of people that I've seen eight hours a day, five days a week, will no longer be part of my life. I've been struggling with that for days.

2019 Topps Update is almost done. I've got six cards incoming from COMC, including Tatis Jr. and Vlad Jr. There are five 2018 Topps Chrome singles in that batch, too. I'll soon have over 90% of the set.

I'm now at 95% completion of the 2014 Topps set. Five more cards are on the way, including a Masahiro Tanaka RC. Then I will need just 15 cards to complete every flagship offering from 2013 to 2019.

I've decided not to pursue the 2022 Topps set and focus on my 1956 set build instead. If I happen to see a blaster or hanger box I'll pick one up, but that probably won't happen.

My 375th complete trade on TCDB arrived today. I sent seven Bengals base cards and a checklist to BRM7576 for these two cards. Kitty Goes Meow!

I don't buy Brett Favre cards anymore, but I was happy to trade a PWE full of 1993 Leaf baseball commons and a few MVP hockey singles for these two. I'm up to 847 different cards of the ol' gunslinger.

Campy's coming

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Falling Behind

I really am trying to catch up on blogs but you guys are posting too much quality content too quickly! There are hobby-related topics I want to discuss, such as my 1956 Topps set build and my Red Sox binders running out of room - but I haven't been in the right headspace for sports card talk.

Tomorrow is my last day at the office and that's all I've been able to think about or write about. Yesterday was the last day the big boss was still on vacation and Tuesday was my last day with my manager G before she went on vacation. I wrote some thoughts on this at my auxiliary blog The 1993.

I wouldn't expect you all to read about it since 1) it's not sports card related and b) I've been lousy at commenting on your blogs... but I published it anyway because I've been told that my writing style is enjoyable to read. Also this will likely be the last post about the office, since I don't expect anything notable to happen on Friday.

Hopefully I can catch up on your blogs and wrap up the pair of hobby-related posts I've had planned before I start my new job on March 1st 2nd.

 

Thanks for reading!


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A Decade of Dime Boxes

Dime Box Nick recently celebrated his tenth anniversary of blogging about baseball cards with a ten-part giveaway of some fantastic baseball cards. I tried to claim only what I needed for a set or PC. 

My eyes lit up when I saw this 2013 Topps Update Christian Yelich RC among Nick's offerings. I was worried it was a Topps reprint/tribute/insert thing, but it's the real deal. With this key card out of the way I headed to COMC to purchase rookie cards of Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rendon. Now all I need is one Mike Trout and the Nolan Arenado RC to finish the Update set!

Most of my early claims were Brewers cards, but that's simply a coincidence. Axford and Lezcano join Grimm, Carty, Weaver, and Iwakuma as potential All-Time Teams upgrades. Hammonds is a local guy.

Finally I grabbed a pair of Sox here, with Hideo Nomo and Xander Bogaerts. I assure you the Bogey is in better shape than the scan would suggest.

Nick threw in some nice extras including a pack's worth of 2021 Topps Chrome. If I'd paid $5-10 for this pack I might be disappointed. But, since I haven't bought any new Topps packs since 2019 Update I'm very happy to add these to my collection - along with a pair of fantastic Stadium Club singles.

He also added some Red Sox odds and ends, including a Jim Rice glossy All-Star that just wouldn't stay still. For a second I thought Topps included Mike Greenwell in 2020 Heritage, or an Archives set I'd missed. Then I remembered those old Baseball Card Magazine cut-outs.

Some newer Sox here including a Mookie Betts Montgomery collection thing. I don't bother with Topps' On-Demand offerings, which is why this is my first such single. Happy to have this sharp looking card.

Some 2021 singles, and a note from Nick thanking me for celebrating his blog. Nick, thank you for the great cards - and for sharing your card show stories/collecting experiences with us over the years!

While I'm showing off some new arrivals, here's a small trade I made on TCDB. My 370th completed trade on the site was with Godzilla8you. I sent him two Red Sox dupes in exchange for four cards:

My favorite here is the Rob Dibble Fleer Update RC. He's joined by another Connecticut card and a 2019 Topps Update set filler. Once my COMC shipment arrives that set will be 100% complete.

 

Not pictured: a 1993 Upper Deck Dennis Eckersley set filler I no longer needed.

I'm trying to reach 400 trades on TCDB but I've run out of active users that have the singles I need to finish off my sets. And so I turned to Sportlots, rather than paying 50 cents each on COMC and having to wait two months for my cards.

My initial goal was to finish the 1991-92 Upper Deck basketball set. These three All-Stars clear my wantlist; once my stack of Michael Jordan cards arrive from Redmond I'll have this one finished, too.

I attempted to upgrade some 1986 and 1987 football singles for 18 cents each. Not a wise thing to do sight unseen but if I want to pay common prices it's the only way to go. The '87s were a definite improvement; the centering on '86 issues is so damn tricky.

The Sportlots seller I bought from (ceveritt) offered $1.50 shipping for up to 16 cards, so I added these eight Hoops Decade needs. The grand total was $4.31 after I deducted some spare change 'loot'. Artest was an upgrade and Celestand will need one; there's a long scratch along the bottom. I'm now at just under 63% completion of this set, with another one on the way via TCDB trade.


Also I got the job.

Thanks for reading!


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Something Something Kupp and Bowl

A dramatic incident occurred last Friday, which prompted me to quit my job. I'm leaving at the end of February.

Do I have another job to go to? Not yet! Fortunately I have a large selection of sports cards that can be sold to fill any gaps in my income. Such as..

A couple years ago I purchased four 2017 Panini Prizm rookie cards on COMC - Leonard Fournette, Kareem Hunt, Christian McCaffrey, and Kupp here. Hunt was the most expensive; I'd paid $2.75 for a Silver Prizm parallel of the NFL's leading rusher as a rookie.

McCaffrey's Silver Prizm parallel set me back $2.00 at the time - which turned out to be a bargain after his All-Pro season in 2019. However he's had two injury-shortened seasons since then. This is why NFL teams are advised against drafting a running back in the 1st round, especially in the top ten. 

On that note, Leonard Fournette was the most promising Jaguars prospect in forever and I thought he'd get a ton of carries so I picked up his Silver Prizm parallel for $1.85.

I'd forgotten how much Kupp's card cost, until he capped off a record-setting 2021 season with an MVP performance in Super Bowl LVI. Scrolling through my COMC purchases page-by-page I assumed I'd find it somewhere in between $1.85 and $2.75. Not quite.

There's no way anyone could have predicted that at the time, I certainly didn't. And I bought this card to keep it in my collection; the only one of the four Prizms I got rid of was Hunt - for obvious reasons.

My wife is a bit of a Rams fan; her mom has two Giants season tickets and offered to take her to the Rams game earlier this season. When she got back from the game, the first thing she reported was "Cooper Kupp is really good!"

She proudly cheered for the visitors even though she hasn't followed them nearly as much as she did when Jim Everett was their star. 

She also liked the "Greatest Show On Turf"-era Rams, and I managed to find this Kurt Warner jersey for her even though I hadn't yet met her when they won Super Bowl XXXIV. My daughter wore the Warner jersey on Sunday while we* cheered for the Rams.

*To be honest I was secretly cheering for the Bengals, mostly for Joe Burrow.

source: Packast

However I was happy for Kupp, Andrew Whitworth, and Aaron Donald. And, with my employment status unsettled at the moment, I decided to take advantage of the Rams' win - something I wouldn't have been able to do with Bengals because I have zero cards of Burrow or Ja'Marr Chase.

I listed the Kupp Prizm on eBay, along with a Matthew Stafford RC and some other cards. Card flipping is not something I do often, though it might be cool to pull off a 100x profit. It hasn't sold yet, and I won't worry if no one bites. I'll just list something else if I need to. Or I'll ace the interview I have scheduled for tomorrow, take a new job (at a higher salary!) and pull back all my cards from the Bay.

On second thought, I haven't bought any 1956 Topps singles in a while.. and I do still need Willie Mays.. and Roy Campanella... and about 150 other cards in the set. Hmm...

One last thing about the big game.. my daughter asked me how many times the Rams have been in the Super Bowl. "Five". I said.

"And how many times have the Packers been in the Super Bowl?" She asked me.

"...five." I replied sadly, upon realizing the Rams had equaled the Pack. 

Also, Davante Adams can ask to be paid like the best receiver in the game... but that doesn't mean he is the best receiver in the game. I love ya 'Tae, but Cooper Kupp caught ya. And he's got a ring.

Thanks for reading!



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Nickel Cards

I've noticed that the metal rings in some of my trading card albums are rusting. Is this happening to anyone else? If so, does it bother you enough to replace your albums? I have to admit I've developed some major OCD when it comes to my card supplies. Just dumped a big box of wrinkled penny sleeves into the recycling bin, ordered four card albums and two boxes of new 9-pocket pages.. and I keep finding more things that need replacing. It's a waste of time and money, but I've been spending a lot less money on cards since the pandemic began.

For example.. here are some cards I purchased at BaseballCardStore.ca.

 

Steven and Nancy were offering Free Shipping for Black Friday weekend so I filled my cart with nearly 300 singles - all for a nickel apiece. Can't beat that anywhere!

I'm running out of room in my Red Sox binders (which have not rusted - yet) so I have to be picky going forward.

Started a 2019 Topps Update set build thanks to the site's 5 cent sale. I'm close to completing this, but a handful of singles are sitting in COMC.

Some random-ish baseball finds, including a Daniel Murphy Topps Chrome RC and a Chris Singleton silver script parallel.

It's tough to find early '80s singles on the site but I managed to pick up a couple here. Got the wrong 1993 Eck though; I needed the MVP Award Winner :/

I've been picking up a fair amount of early '80s football over the past year or two. The Rick Donnelly '86 Topps is an upgrade, my original copy has already been shipped out in a TCDB trade.

I have a love/hate relationship with the 1985 Topps football set. Nothing to dislike about the other three nickel cards in this scan - a foil helmet sticker from 1988 Panini, a Tom Morrello guitar hero (technically a football card) and a sepia-toned Paige Spiranac. I wish Topps could have included her in a full-color set, but they would never add attractive women to a flagship sports card checklist (oh wait.)

So, um... at least we didn't lose in the NFC Championship game again. :(

I'll pick up any Prizm or Chrome base cards for a nickel. Score base.. not so much. But I don't have a whole lot of Tennesee Titans or recent offensive linemen.

Some Nets and some 2003-04 Topps singles including Agent Zero and Big Shot Bob.

I was lucky to find the Antoine Walker Finest single (it wasn't labeled as such); the 1999-00 edition is my favorite Finest design. The 1992-93 Topps Reggie Miller is a dupe, but only because I was expecting a gold parallel in a TCDB trade and was sent the base single.

1993-94 NBA cards here, including a pair of Sir Charles Stadium Club singles and an Hakeem Olajuwon cameo. I was thinking about saving these for The 1993 but I've got something else planned.

Someday I'll find a way to display all of my irregularly-sized Panini stickers. It would help if they were the same size from year to year, but I guess that's too much to ask. I considered buying a box of 1989 Panini baseball stickers and album for a "buying back my childhood" birthday gift last year. Maybe this time.

Hockey is always included in BBCS.ca orders. I'm working on a Hartford Whalers master checklist with the goal of collecting every base card produced during their existence (1979-1997).

Finally some New Jersey Devils here. I'm running out of room in these binders, too.

If you haven't ordered anything from The Baseball Card Store I highly recommend it. 

 

Thanks for reading!

 

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