Trade with Dustin of Coot Veal and the Vealtones

Another awesome trade that I completed recently was with Dustin of Coot Veal and the Vealtones.  Dustin has become one of my favorite trade partners over the last few years.  I even traded with him before he made it to Major League Blogging (*not a real league).   He sent me so many cool cards I had a hard time whittling this post down to 5 cards for the sake of brevity.  Lets begin:

I really enjoy adding new autographs to my Orioles collection especially if they are on-card.  Here is my second Brandon Snyder autograph but my first on-card one. While Brandon didn't make a huge impact with the Orioles he was able to play with Texas and is now with Boston.

Speaking of Boston, it still pains me to see Koji wearing "red socks" now.  He really endeared himself to the Orioles fans while he was here even though he was hurt a lot.  I think the only thing that I take solace in him being gone is when I seen Chris Davis manning first base!

Speaking of big burly first baseman, Boog Powell did it first in Baltimore.  Now he makes a mean BBQ sandwich in right field at Camden Yards.  I'm thrilled that Dustin sent this vintage "Booger" for my PC.

Speaking of boogers, PC's, I also found this Brady Anderson MLB Showdown game card in the package.  I've slowed down on the Brady PC as of late since I have most of his early career stuff (think over-production era) and some of the late 90's "off the beaten path" stuff can be somewhat harder to find.  MLB Showdown was underrated in that there were some obscure players in there.  There are Orioles cards of Trenidad Hubbard and Mike Trombley in some of their sets!

I'll close with another PC addition of Jim Palmer.  I don't have many Topps Pristine cards in my collection mostly because I wasn't collecting much when they were released.  Plus, me being a poor college student at the time kept me from buying the high end products.!   

Thanks Dustin for the awesome trade package!

Trade with Ryan of The Great Orioles Autograph Project

This trade comes to me from one of my greatest trading partners, Ryan of The Great Orioles Autograph Project.  Since our collections aren't that much different, we tend to send each other cards quite a bit.  Here's the latest version of our trade:

Tucked away in a huge stack of Brady Anderson cards was this little gem from 1997 Studio.  It's actually a diecut which is hard to see in this scan.  The diecutting actually follows the crown of the batting helmet and is printed on acetate.  This is a pretty rare card numbered out of only 5000!

No bones about it, I love Upper Deck Masterpieces.  I'm somewhat surprised that I haven't been able to acquire more of the bordered versions of Nick Markakis and Cal Ripken.  Maybe I've miscalculated the popularity of the product and a lot of people are hanging onto the parallels.

Here's another great looking card in person but scans like crap!  This Ripken hails from 2000 Pacific Prisms.

Here's one of the centerpiece cards of the trade in an autograph of Juan Guzman the lesser.  As far as I can tell this Juan Guzman never made the majors but was a pretty highly regarded prospect around the year 2000.

My other centerpiece card is of Walter "Val" Majewski.  As I alluded to with my Keith Reed autograph card last week, why didn't Val get more of a shot to stick with the big club?  Oh yeah, we had whiner Jay Payton, Victor Zambrano and Deivi Cruz on our team!

Thanks again for the trade, Ryan!  It's always a pleasure!

Orioles @ Tides IP Autograph #23

It's IP autograph weekend here at "O" NO!!! Another Orioles Blog.  I'm featuring each and every in-person autograph that I obtained this past Wednesday when the Orioles played an exhibition game against their AAA affiliate, The Norfolk Tides.

#23) BRADY ANDERSON!!!

HOLY CRAP!  I was totally unprepared for Brady to be there but a fellow autograph collector named Mike hooked me up with this 1999 Topps card.  1999 Topps is one of my favorite Topps sets overall and probably one of my favorite Brady cards.  He looks to be in full home run trot after hitting one into the flag court.

He signed for a ton of people before the game.  He was actually working out with Brian Roberts in the outfield.  HE WAS OUTRUNNING BRIAN BY SEVERAL STEPS!  I swear he could still play!

So this concludes autograph weekend here on the old blog.  I hope I didn't get on anybody's nerves by my posts popping up every hour but I felt the need to show off my bounty from Norfolk.  

Trade with Charlie of Lifetime Topps Project

I got a nice package of cards from Charlie over at the Lifetime Topps Project.  I was able to send him a good chunk of card he needed for his various sets.  I was happy to do so since I have already completed my Lifetime Topps sets.  His project is a little bit more ambitious than mine but I applaud him for that.  He's collecting the inserts he likes and the traded sets whereas I only have the plain jane base set from 1982 to the present.  So let's take look at what he sent me in return:

 These 2 Upper Deck SP cards complete the team sets I'm building.  It always feels good to complete one of them and 2 at the same time is doubly satisfying!

 Here's a nice candid of Brady stretching and sharing a laugh with a mystery player of camera.  Brady has not taken his retirement laying down though.  I remarked a few weeks ago that he looked in great shape at FanFest and that he could probably still play.  Well, I read on Roch Kobatko's blog yesterday (Orioles beat writer) that he has an unusual training routine for the O's players he worked with this winter.  It included handstands.  Brian Matusz who's more than 20 years younger than Brady can only handstand for only 10 seconds.  Brady is walking around on his hands doing pushups!

 Another Goldie off the list.  Fare the well in Colorado, Jeremy!

 This is a pretty interesting shot of Mike Devereaux. It looks like he's giving the cameraman a lens full of fist or showing him where his World Series ring would go the next year with Atlanta!

I'll close this post out with a classy looking SP Legendary Cuts card for Brooksie. The Marble frame paired with the red background really make the card stand out.

Thanks for the cards Charlie, and good luck on the rest of your project!

Trade with Ryan of The Great Orioles Autograph Project

I think this is my last Orioles FanFest related post, at least for this year.  In the weeks leading up to the big day, I had been in contact with Ryan of the Great Orioles Autograph Project about meeting up and swapping some cards.  He indicated that he didn't buy many 2011 cards and didn't have many Orioles from those products.  I happened to have a fair amount of doubles I was able to pass along to him and he gave me around 1500 Orioles and Oriole related cards.  I had great fun sorting through all of the minor league cards, oddball issues and cards of Orioles players in different uniforms.  I was able to use a fair amount of them for my various O's related projects and binders.  Here's just a few of my favorites that went into my PC binders from the lot:

I like this card for obvious reasons but it was Topps's first real insert card.  I always liked the Black Gold cards but never was able to get a Brady.

I just recently started collecting Koji more closely since we both have Japanese heritage (him more than me!)  The 1960 Topps design is one of my favorites of all time and when Topps Chromed them, I think they just look fantastic.

Here's a diecut Mike Mussina from Pacific's Crown Royale.  I still haven't figured out why its called "Crown Royale. LOL.  It really is a neat card though with the holographic foil in between the crown's "limbs".

Here is a card that I have been searching for for about 19 years now.  This card used the be the shiznit and I dreamed about owning one when I was a 10 year old little chap.  I think it used to book for about 100 dollars at that point so it was no way I could afford it.  I remember getting the factory set of Collector's Choice for Christmas or my Birthday in 1994 and it came with 3 gold signature cards.  I ripped off the factory seal and was quickly disappointed by 3 gold signatures of scrubs.  So I guess I'm thrilled to end a 19 year search for one of my dream cards. Thanks Ryan for making a dream come true!  Also, thanks for all of the other cards you gave to me.

2012 Orioles Fanfest: Signed 8x10s

Alright here's my last post about the autographs I got at FanFest this year.  Both of these will proudly join my other 8x10s that I have hanging on the wall in my office/mancave.  Without further ado:

Adam Jones in a nice classic batting stance ready to swing.  I've gotten Adam's autograph TTM and even in one of the group breaks here on the blogs but never in person.  My thinking is that I better get his autograph while I can since he's been linked in trade talks to any team looking for good young ballplayers.  On a side note, I was reading an interview he did during the event that said he is open to a contract extension and staying in Baltimore for a long time.  Apparently he loves playing in Baltimore and wants to be part of the future here.  This is contrary to what has been "the popular opinion" in the media that he covets playing for a team closer to his home in California.  I personally would like to see him stick around for a long time as long as he continues to produce on the field.

From the present center fielder to a past center fielder. BRADY ANDERSON!  Obviously this is my favorite item of the show.  I've been a Brady fan since him and Cal were fixtures in the Orioles lineup.  It was a thrill to meet him and get his autograph in person.  Until recently, he hadn't been around the team much since his retirement so getting his autograph has been a little tougher than usual.  I'm very happy that he is back in the organization and is working out with the younger orioles players and teaching them about the game.  Brady is still in great shape and it looks like he could still get out there and play at a high level.  I don't think there is anybody better qualified to show these guys the ropes like Brady can!

So, that concludes my FanFest experience for this year.  I'm already looking forward to next year when Mike Mussina makes an appearance!  I can dream!

Not So LCS Pickups #2

Last week I was on a business trip to Reno, Nevada. Since this is the first trip to Reno since I've been back into collecting, I decided it would be a good idea to check out the local hobby shop. This was also the last time the company was going to send me there so I'd better clean the joint out of Orioles cards while I had the chance. The shop that I was able to look up was called Action Sports Cards. The shop was only a few blocks away from "The Nugget" (the hotel/casino I stayed in) so I grabbed my co-worker and drove there.

When I had called earlier to ask what time the shop closes, the owner was pretty adamant about not buying anything from me. I quickly reassured him that I was from out of town and a couple thousand miles away from my collection. So I walked in the door and the shop owner greeted me kindly and said if I needed any help, just let him know. This scores big with me because both of the local shops that I visit once or twice a year (for supplies only) the owners barely say hello or even ask if they can help you!

Immediately I noticed in all the display cases that there were bunches and bunches of vintage cards. Being on a somewhat limited budget (I swear I didn't gamble it away), I decided to forgo any big vintage purchases this day... Plus there were no O's in plain view! I noticed about (8) 1600 count boxes behind the counter just simply marked "Baseball #1", "Baseball #2", etc. I asked him what was in those boxes. He said mostly cards from 1998 thru 2005. Perfect! Those are the years where my O's collection is seriously thin. I started digging and here are a few of the nice cards I found:

This 1992 Bowman Mike Mussina card has been eluding me for sometime. It had taken up residence on my sidebar since the inception of the Most Wanted list. This card completes my 92 Bowman team set! Curiously, while checking over all my Bowman lists, I noticed that after '92 I am missing bunches of cards from the Bowman Team sets. It's odd to me because I am a Bowman collector.

Since I didn't have my checklists with me, I had to go from memory at what cards I was missing. I knew for a fact that I didn't have this Gold Medallion Edition of Cal's 1999 Ultra card. This was a nice card I had to have. I hadn't seen another one in person before.

And what post would be complete without me featuring a strange mid-90's card of Brady Anderson. This card is much better in person. You can sort of see in the scan a hint of the Orioles logo behind the mugshot. The hologram actually looks 3D when you turn it in the light. It reminds me of the 2020 insert set in last year's Topps series 2. I was also able to pick up the Ripken card from this set.

After rummaging for these cards and a few others, I ended up chewing the fat with the owner for a little bit. I asked him about why he doesn't buy cards from people. He said that most people bring in their "million dollar" collection of 1988 Donruss or 1990 Topps and expect to get tons of money for them. He said he gets tired of disapointing people so that's why he doesn't even bother... go figure! I get tired of looking at piles and piles of "overproduction era" cards to0!

To wrap things up he asked me if we were going to see the Reno Aces play (Triple-A affiliate of the Diamondbacks) and I told him we were planning on going the next night. He gave us a little bit of advice on where to sit and to dress warmly. Both pieces of advice would come in handy the next night!

Stay tuned for the next installment of my business trip to Reno!

Trade with Larry from Emerald City Diamond Gems

I solicited Larry a couple weeks ago about trading. I knew I could knock come cards off of his "Super Set". He has already featured some of the cards that I sent him. All of the cards that Larry sent me were great in their own way and I wish I could feature every single one of them but I was able to narrow it down to 5 cards that really standout to me.

1959 Topps Jerry Walker. I know nothing about Jerry except what is on the back of this particular card. It looks like he put up a great season in the "Sally" League in 1958 but had a rough go of it when he got the call to the big club.

1967 Topps "Dave" Johnson. It's kinda funny how Topps will lengthen and shorten names on a whim. Everybody knows this guy as Davey Johnson. He had a good career with the Orioles as a player and as a manager. It's hard to believe that he was at the helm of the team when the Orioles last had a winning record or were in the playoffs. Seems so long ago

1984 Donruss Diamond King Eddie Murray. This is one of the few cards that I have seen Eddie smiling in. Since this is a painting, I am not surprised he was painted this way. For some odd reason 1984 Donruss had eluded me until now. Larry was able to almost finish off my team set. the only card I am missing is Rick Dempsey.

Larry also included some surprise cards in the package that I definitely will enjoy:

1989 Hagerstown Suns Brian Ebel. While he isn't a player, it does show that trainers work their way up the organizational ladder too! When this card was printed he had already been in the Oriole Organization for 4 years (3 years at Bluefield, and 1 year at Erie). Brian is currently the Assistant Trainer for the Orioles. He also has a lot less hair!

1997 Pacific something card: While I am not a fan of Pacific cards, this is an indicative card of the 90s: tons of gawdy foil stamping, a gimmick (his mugshot is printed on a clear plastic window) and a great shot Brady Anderson doing something (the card back shows him sliding into second).

Thanks Larry for the trade and the great cards!