Blaster Break: 2011 Bowman Chrome

I know a lot of people don't really care for Bowman or Bowman Chrome but I actually do like them.  I picked up this blaster a few weeks ago and I'm just now getting around to posting the breaks.  Here we go:  

These futuristic "Bowman 2021" throwforwards(?) are pretty neat I think.  I was very pleased to get Machado out of the box.  I'm not as thrilled to get a Yankee card but at least its a refractor.

I think this box was supposed to be sent to a Braves area.  I go the 2001 Throwback Chipper in the same pack as I got the regular base issue.  The Will Myers card is interesting because I thought I heard somewhere that the Braves were interested in trading for him.  It seems the Braves and Royals have been pretty frequent traders the last few years much like the Orioles and Rangers.

I told you that this was a Braves box.  Huddy is a refractor though its very difficult to see in the scan.

This post does it for this blaster but it is only the tip of the Chrome iceberg so stay tuned.

Post Season TTM's!

I sent these 2 TTMs out later in the season and got them back after I got back from the honeymoon.  I guess these guys opened all of their fan mail after they had gone home for the winter.  

Unfortunately for me I tried a new way to send out TTM's and it didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. You can't really tell from the scan but the autograph smudged in the middle of his last name.  You can see it rubbed off in the envelope and reapplied to the card on the white portion near the bottom.  This is what I get for sending Chrome cards through the mail expecting that every player has a Staedler pen to autograph cards.  Lesson learned.  Nonetheless, I am very pleased to get Zach's autograph for my collection

I had the opportunity to get Nolan's autograph at Fanfest last winter and decided to get him on an 8x10.  I ultimately wanted to get a regular card signed sooner or later at the ballpark or TTM.  I wasn't able to get him while I was in Atlanta because he either rode the team bus or snuck in through the Braves team entrance with Nick the Stick.  I thought I would try my luck through the mail and perseverance pays.  Both of these cards look great signed.  If I had to pick a favorite of the 2 it would have to be the Topps Heritage because of the All-Star rookie logo.

In case Nolan or Zach reads this, Thanks for signing my cards and sending them back to me!

Topps Redemption Fail

For Thanksgiving this year, I present you with my turkey of a redemption.  Sorry but a Jed Lowrie autograph isn't equal to a Alexei Ramirez autograph. 

Trade with Chris of Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz

Here comes another trade that landed in my mailbox during my hiatus.  Chris from Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz and I had been talking about a trade for a while and finally hammered out the deal.  I got some great looking cards in exchange for what I sent him:

Imagine the smile on my face when I pulled this card out of the package!  I now have the trifecta (base, GU, and Auto) of Nick now.  I'm really happy to have added this on-card autograph of my favorite active player to my collection.

Topps Chrome came out during a hectic time in my life this year.  I did get a hobby box and a few rack packs but didn't really jump onto ebay looking for singles.  This blue on the border reminds me of the coming winter months where all we have to wish for is some warm weather.

Here's a nice card that I didn't have.  I think this gold parallel came into my possession at the right time because of Nick winning his first gold glove.  I think Nick winning it was long overdue.  I'm really happy that the voting is done by outfield position and not just lumping all the outfielders into one pool.

I'll close with a couple of cards of the future of the Orioles rotation, Zach Britton.  Zach had a pretty good rookie season.  I look forward to seeing him improve this year and not fall on his face like Matusz did.

Thanks Chris for the nice package of cards.  I look forward to doing another trade with you soon.

Group Break Goodies from The Daily Dimwit

While I was away on my Honeymoon, I participated in a Group Break run by Sam of the the Daily Dimwit.  I was able to buy in before I left and the cards were busted while I had no internet access.  When I got home there was a package of cards that I didn't have the chance to see come out of the packs.  Usually when I am in Group Breaks, I obsessively smash the F5 button on my computer to get Blogger to refresh to see what cards might be coming my way.  Lets take a look at the goods:

Sam sent a note that said the this card was a wedding gift.  Thanks Sam for the gift.  It was the only baseball related wedding gift I (we!) got!

I was randomed the White Sox for my second consecutive break.  I think I did pretty well. The bottom Peavy is a refractor.  I have a bunch of White Sox cards I don't need from this and Cards on Cards' Free Fleer Break so Pale Hose fans, step right up and make an offer.

Here's the meat of the break for me.  Two '75 minis, a refractor Ripken, and a popup Brooksie!  I couldn't be happier with these pulls.  I also have a few base Lineage O's extras left over from building my team set.  Any O's fans want them?

I was also lucky enough to get one of the Lineage Box toppers...  I'd love to get this autographed by Vlad one day, but it might be while he's with another team.  It's already a forgone conclusion that he isn't coming back to play in the Charm City next year.

Thanks for another awesome group break Sam!

Box Break: 2011 Topps Update

Alright, there's no need to bore you to death with a review of this years Topps Update.  Everybody's seen the design since last fall and we're all familiar with the inserts.  I just want to show the cards I got in case anybody is interested in trading for them.  Here's what I got out of my Hobby box, Hanger box, and Jumbo Rack Packs:

A couple of Cognac shiny legends.  Note the Morgan,  I actually pulled the regular, non-liquor shortprint from my series 2 box bust.

The rightful home run king got pulled from a later retail purchase after I scanned the other 2.

My vintage legend shortprint.  I'm not a Strawberry fan.

My vintage legend shiny shortprint. Not a bad looking card I suppose.

The Hope Diamond shiny.  I'm not really a fan of adding a parallel from past releases into packs.  What if Topps came out with a new parallel for 2009 Topps that was inserted into 2012 Topps Tribute.  Where does the madness end?

Here's my promised big jersey hit.  Clifton Pfifer Lee. Woo!

I was pleasantly surprised to pull a silk card.  These are more rare than the Black or Hope Diamond parallel.

Also, here's the list of the regular subset insert cards that were not worthy of pictorial representation:


Cognac Parallels: 5 Votto, 16 Ramirez, 39 Kennedy, 40 J. Upton, 43 Ryan, 72 Jurrjens, 74 Clippard, 90 Y. Molina, 119 Bay, 127 Volstad, 166 J. Johnson, 171 G Jones, 174 Oswalt, 186 Pavano, 203 Gee, 220 Helton, 226 J. Guillen, 227 McLouth, 232 Moyer, 234 Montero, 245 Walker, 273 D. Lee, 277 Hoffman, 287 Cousins, 297 Jaramillo, 301 S. Smith, 304 Thome, 305 Loney, 312 G Sanchez, 328 Price, 403 F. Hernandez, 445 Talbot, 455 Morrison, 612 Tigers, 651 K. Morales, US4 McCann, US6 Fielder, US31 Granderson, US58 Lincecum, US128 M. Rivera, US131 Keppinger, US146 Walden, US211 Moseley, US229 A.Cabrera, US238 C. Beltran, US242 Holliday, US302 Torres, US306 Phillips, US309 Konerko, US319 Patterson

Diamond Anniversary: US15 Heilman, US43 Quentin, US49 Weeks, US61 Masset, US72 Rasmus, US85 Halladay, US86 Furcal, US101 Downs, US140 Kershaw, US146 Walden, 176 Nady, US230 M. Cabrera, 281 Melancon, US302 Torres

Gold Borders #d to 2011: US3 Beavan, US23 Ruffin, US59 Kemp, US88 O. Cabrera, US95 Overbay, US108 U. Jimenez, US130 Robertson, US134 Bourn, US143 Kimbrel, US145 Colon, US154 C. Lee, US195 Votto, US204 B. Wilson, US268 Y. Molina, US275 Cuddyer, US292 Adams, US294 Jackson, US297 d'Arnaud

Red Bordered: US39 Sanchez, US126 A. Gonzalez

Blue Bordered: US128 M. Rivera, US242 Holliday

Kimball Champions: 106 G. Carter, 107 Uggla, 116 Mize, 120 F. Robinson, 124 F. Thomas, 129 Sisler, 130 A. Gonzalez, 137 J. Morgan, 138 Hornsby141 Dawson(2), 142 R. Howard, 143 Drabek, 145 Hosmer, 149 Cy Young

Diamond Duos: DD1 Hernandez/Pineda, DD-6 Anderson/Cahill, DD-11 Dunn/Konerko, DD-20 Aaron/Bautista, DD-21 Price/Shields, DD-28 Phillips/Kendrick

Topps 60: 104 A-Rod, 105 Hornsby, 110 Fisk, 113 McCovey, 118 Morgan, 121 Reese, 122 Alomar, 124 Henderson, 127 Snider, 128 Thomas, 130 Gehrig, 136 Blyleven(2), 137 Garvey, 138 Maris, 139 Uggla

ToppsTown: TTU-23 Rollins(2), 37 Scherzer, 46 Beltre, 49 Cain(2)

Card Show Pickups: Trade Bait

While at card shows, instead of just buying cards for myself, I tend to keep my eye out for cards that my trading partners might like too.  I stumbled upon one table where I picked up all of these cards.  Either the guy was out of his mind or was just selling to get out of the hobby. 

I didn't think I could go wrong with either of these 3 rookie cards.  Not at 50 cents a piece!

There was a section on the table with pick 4 for 6 dollars.  The first two are probably the "worst" out of the bunch.  I think Cabrera is way underated.  He can fall out of bed and hit.  He can probably fall out of bed drunk and hit better than most players.  Maybe one day the hobby will wake up and take notice of his cards.       I guess being an alcoholic turns people against your collectability these days.  (Though it never seems/seemed to matter because people/Topps love Mantle!!!)

Here's the other 2 cards from the 4 for 6 deal.  Surely somebody is interested in a Gwynn numbered 37/99 and a Pujols numbered 98/100. Right?

If any of these strike your fancy, just hit me up with a trade offer!

Card Show Pickups: Discount Shopper

I am not what you consider a cheap person when I go to a card show but I will try to get the most for my money.  I didn't go dime box diving like last time but I was able to get the following cards at steep discounts:

I got this nice looking Ripken insert for a mere dollar.  It looks better in person as it has a rainbowy, refractorish, sheen to it.

All of the cards above were in the 50 cent box.  50 CENTS for Triple Threads, Marquee, and Tribute singles.  Ichiro is a favorite player of mine and I think that Pineda has a bright future.

I know its just a plain jane white swatch but I still like it.  This was one of the early GUs as it came out in 2001, right when GU cards were getting popular in the hobby.

Here's one prospecting card of the show.  When I first saw it I thought that the "S" was the only piece of fabric in the card.  Upon closer inspection, I was surprised to see 3 swatches and even a bit of a dirt stain on the "S".  I love to find jersey cards with dirt or grass stains in them.  I can't wait to see what Nick does in his first year in the minors for the O's this season.

I close out with another trio of Triple Threads O's greats that I picked up out of a quarter box.  I was hoping I'd find a Ripken but somebody probably already pilfered that before I dug through the box.

So, as you can see, there are always deals to be had in the bargain bins.  Next up:  Trade Bait!

Card Show Pickups: Vintage

During the weekend between my wedding and honeymoon, I was able to go to the CSA show at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly Virginia.  I usually make it to each show that they have 3 times a year.  I always pick up some awesome cards and this time is no different.  Here's the vintage cards I picked up:

I spent a bulk of my time sifting through the vintage bargain boxes.  One dealer in particular had 3 or 4 3200 count boxes of vintage cards for a buck a piece.  This card above of Mike Cuellar is my favorite of his in an Oroioles uniform.

No the writing is not on the card.  It is actually left this card in the penny sleeve to show you the great deals I was able to pull at the show.  The expression on Harvey's face looks like the flash of the camera took him by surprise.

As I was working my way back from the 70's to 60's to 50's I noticed a good size chunk of 55 Bowmans in the boxes.  I double checked with the vendor and he confirmed they were a buck.  This cards are not it mint condition by any means but they are acceptable to me.

There were even a few 54 Bowmans in the box too!  I really lucked out that these cards were in the box.  The owner said he had just transferred them from the 2 dollar box earlier that morning.

I put a pretty sizable dent in my vintage wantlists at this show.  I'm glad I was able to do it at such an affordable price too!

The "New" Orioles jerseys and hats

Earlier today, the Orioles finally revealed their new look for 2012 and beyond.  Take a look:

Here's a picture of the new cartoon bird:

And a comparison of Cartoon Orioles past with the new one:

I know a lot of people around the Orioles blogs, forums, and websites were really excited in anticipation of a new Cartoon Bird being unveiled.  It will sell a lot of new merchandise but I hope fans don't get the wrong idea and think it makes the team any better.

The new logo is a good mix of both of the old ones but wearing the "O's" hat. The updated feel is nice but I actually hate the "O's" hat and the black alternate jerseys that they only wear on Fridays.  I actually hope this doesn't become the "Official" logo and is only worn on the hats.

I personally don't care for the new Home hats with the white panel.  I think it looks too much like a trucker hat. Leave that crap in the 80's!   I prefer the new Road hats with the all black crown but am still not completely sold.

There is one thing I do like is the official return of the orange jersey.  I'd rather see them wear these on Fridays instead of the goth/emo/hipster black jersey.

I think I don't like the idea of wearing an Orioles hat with an cartoon wearing a hat that I detest.  I'm not in a hurry to upgrade my wardrobe anytime soon.

Trade with Kyle of Just a Bit Outside

When I was still a single man way back when (September), Kyle from the relatively new Just a Bit Outside blog contacted me about a trade.  He was interested in the Aaron Crow autograph I pulled from my Topps Chrome box.  I also threw together some other random Royals cards that I hope he'd enjoy.  Here's just a few notable cards that I got in return:

I'm having some trouble making a decision about which binder to place this card.  Should it go in with my Markakis binder or in with my 2004 Orioles Team Set binder.  Decisions, Decisions, Decisions.

I'm really digging this card of Jake.  I believe this is his first rookie card that came out in Topps Chrome last year.  I hope Jake has a speedy recovery from elbow surgery and continues his growth as a pitcher.  I think if he can reduce his walk rate, he could become a franchise cornerstone.

I'm going to close with these 2 Paninni stickers from 1988.  I think the stickers speak for themselves!

Thanks goes to Kyle for the nice package that he sent me.

Trade with Steve of White Sox Cards

Long before I left to go on our honeymoon, Steve from White Sox Cards and I agreed on a nice trade.  I sent him a bunch of White Sox cards and he sent me a nice package of Orioles I had on my wantlists in return.  Here's a few that I especially liked:

I like the intense look that Nick has on his face.  It's hard to believe that I didn't have this card in my Markakis binder.

Bowman Chrome really seems to stiff the Orioles when it comes to the prospects set.  Rayner here was never a hot prospect for the O's nor was he highly touted.

A few weeks ago I was watching Orioles Classics on MASN and they were showing the final game played at Memorial Stadium.  I had almost forgotten that Dwight Evans played for the O's in 1991 until he came up to bat.  It must have been strange for him to play his entire career for the Red Sox and then switch teams for one year.

Thanks Steve for the nice package of cards you sent along!

Trade with Oscar of All Trade Bait, All the Time

Oscar of All Trade Bait, All the Time contacted me before my sabbatical from blogging and said he had some Orioles card up on his blog that I might be interested in.  I found more than what is pictured here but I'm just going to hit the highlights:

This Tribute card comes from 1994 Pinnacle.  I like the classic mid swing a pitch "pose" on this card.  You can really see the concentration and might in Cal's eyes.  Notice on the bottom of the card where it says Steady Run Production.  I've heard rumblings that Cal wasn't as great as everybody though he was.  Well he wouldn't have played all those games in a row if he wasn't a good run producer!

I believe this card is from 2001's Topps Archives set.  I initially missed out on the set but I'm proud to have this reprint of Boog Powell's rookie card from 1962 Topps now.

Here's another great card of Cal that I can add to my binders.  For what it's worth, it looks like the picture was taken in Comiskey Park.  I think the concrete dugout top gives it away.  I think the Pinnacle  Tribute card above is also from Comiskey.

Thanks Oscar for the trade!

Trade with Michael of Nomo's Sushi Platter

This trade really takes me back!  No, Really, I think we completed this trade in September!  Michael from Nomo's Sushi Platter and I have a pretty good trade agreement.  I look for and set aside cards he collects and he does the same for me.  Then, when either of us has enough to make shipping worth it, we send.  I'm really pleased how this works out.  Not many people (night owl notwithstanding) on this side of the country collect Dodgers, and not many people on the west coast are interested in Orioles cards.  This turn out great for the both of us.

I was able to bundle a couple of nice Dodger GUs to trade for this great looking Cal GU card from 07 Ultimate Collection.  The more I look at the card I just appreciate it more and more!

Michael also was kind enough to throw in a few parallels from various sets.  This Melvin Mora hails from 06 Upper Deck   Flair Showcase.  I haven't heard much from Mora since he left Baltimore so I don't even know if he's still playing or not.

This is another parallel from 2000 Pacific.  The red foil makes it a fitting Will Clark card.  When you think red, you think intense.  When you think intense, you think Will "the Thrill" Clark!

Thank You Michael for the awesome cards.  I already have another trade pile in the works for you!

Trade with Mark of Stats on the Back

I'm going to start back with a nice and easy trade.  Mark from the "mostly defunct"  Stats on the Back blog sent me an email a while back wanting my address so he could send me some cards.  I obliged and here is what ended up in my mailbox:

This Cal Ripken is actually a mini card from the 80s. It's functionally equivalent to the regular 87 Fleer release but only smaller and with a different picture on the front.  Another great addition to my quickly growing oddball Cal collection!

With these 2 '89 Upper Deck cards, I have successfully completed the Orioles team set from "the set that changed modern baseball cards."  It took me longer than I thought but perseverance pays!

Here is a card of new HOFer Roberto Alomar.  I'm just now realizing that the card has the Puerto Rican flag on it.  Puerto Rico is where my wife and I just visited on our honeymoon cruise.  I didn't see Robby anywhere but I did get to tour Old San Juan and the fort that guarded the city in colonial times.  I wish I had gotten to see Hiram Bithorn Stadium but we were only on the island for about 8 hours.

Thanks Mark for the cards!