Trade with Matt of Red Cardboard

Trade is probably a loose approximation of what went on between Matt of Red Cardboard and myself.  A couple weeks back, Matt made a post on his blog about how he had lots of team lots(!) that he had no use for and they were available for trade. The obligation of claiming one of the lots is that you had to send him cards of only the Reds. I have plenty of Reds tradebait so I took a chance on the Orioles lot not knowing what the contents were going to be.  I usually don't agree to trades these days when I don't know exactly what is being sent.  I am glad I decided to go against my new thinking this time because I ended up with some pretty sweet cardboard!

First and Foremost, I got this Brooks Robinson from 1974 Topps.  While I already had one for my O's Team set, I didn't have one for my Brooksie binder.  I was totally not expecting a semi-vintage gem like this! 

The numbers of parallels in Topps sets these days has become maddening.  I had accumulated so many over the last few years that I started a new binder a couple months ago.  I call it "Orioles of a Different Color".  It's kind a of a play on words from the Wizard of Oz's Horse of a Different Color.  So now I can now proudly add these to the binder that is nearly full already.

It's hard to believe (or not so hard) that I'm still looking for base cards of 2013 releases.  I didn't buy any packs of 2013 Topps Re-Hash (2013 Heritage) or 2013 Topps Re-Hash Preview 2021, 2031, 2034, 2039 (2013 Topps Archives). There were several other cards not shown here that filled in some team set needs from 2013.

Thanks Matt for the Giveaway/Trade!

Trade with Brian of 30 Year Old Cardboard

I haven't had a bunch of trades coming in like I normally do but the ones I have had were pretty epic.  This particular trade comes from Brian over at 30-year-old Cardboard.  We exchanged several emails and a trade was born.  I was able to help him out with several cards he needed and I was able to rake in a few nice Oriole HOFers.  Behold:

I will assume that Brian grabbed this card on the cheap at the monthly card show he attends.  I love the look of high end cards (usually) but have only once ever spent more than 5 dollars for a single pack of cards.  Tier One is not a set I indulged in but now I don't have to since I have this Brooks Robinson.  The "cloud" that he's hovering in reminds me of a Looney Tunes daydream or thought bubble.

From modern to vintage!  Another nice Brooks card for the PC Binder!  Can't beat the condition on this card either!

Brian didn't send me all Brooks cards but it is another Robinson.  This Frank goes into my PC binder of him since I already had it for my team set.

Thanks Brian for the awesome cards!

My 2012 NSCC Experience

I think I am finally officially back in blogging mode now since several things have have been resolved with the old and new house and we officially have internet at the new house!  This will make the process of scanning and writing much more convenient and easy.   Not a moment too soon either as my day at the 2012 National (Saturday) wrap-up will only take this one post.  I got a ton of cool Orioles cards that I won't bore everybody with since they are really only of interest to me and my team set binders.  I didn't make a ton of purchases but the ones I did make were pretty awesome.

I'm just going to get this out of the way.  I bought a 1957 Topps #328 Brooks Robinson rookie card!  This was the #1 priority wantlist item that I wanted and it was a long search for it.  I probably asked about 75 different dealers if they had one and I got the answer of "no"from 70 of them.  I think I wasted a lot of time looking for the right one but I'm very happy with the results.  There were several near mint copies that I saw that just weren't the right card for me.  When I was going to drop about half of my budget on 1 card, I was going to make sure it was the right one.  I got a great deal on it and spent about 15 minutes talking to the dealer that sold it to me.  It has a little bit of paper loss (near his ear), the corners are a little bit fuzzy and the centering is a bit off (the scan cut the bottom border off a bit) and there's a wax stain on the back.  This is what a vintage card is supposed to be (IMHO, of course!).  It's such a great card that I'll treasure always, especially since my wife gave me some money towards it as an early 1st wedding anniversary gift (she got a new puppy out of the deal, so everyone is happy)!

Moving right along to my next purchase is this triple GU card of the Orioles brightest stars in 2010.  It's number 9/18!  Adam is haveing a great season, Roberts can stay on the field long enough to contribute and Nick just came off the DL and is hitting like a crazed animal.  No matter the on field performance, this is a sweet card!  I've seen a few of these on ebay but was always outbid.  I got this card for an Andrew Jackson. The only way this card could have been better would be an Orange background instead of a green one.  This card will definitely be sitting on my desk so I can stare at it.

While on my search for the Brooks RC, I walked by a table that had tons and tons of Japanese baseball cards and memorabilia.  Since I have an interest in Japanese baseball because of my own heritage, I had to stop and check it all out.  There was a lot of cool things there including a bargain bin of unopened packs 5 for 10 bucks.  I rifled through the bin and found 3 of these showing Yu Darvish and Tsuyoshi Shinjo.  These are from the team set so there was an increased chance of pulling a Darvish card.  I didn't get one but it was neat to rip these packs.  I also got the one pack that was from the 2006 Tokyo Yakult Swallows team set since I actually saw them play in person that year.  I also grabbed a pack of 2009 Baseball Magazine First Edition because Darvish is on the front.

I bought myself a box of 2012 Topps Series 2 since during all the moving and painting, I almost totally ignored the set.  I'll be busting that box in the near future and posting up the results.

I also had a dumbass attack and bought 2 boxes of 100 ct. 1 pocket pages (for holding 8x10s in binders).  I didn't realize my mistake until I got home Saturday night.  If anybody needs them I'm willing to trade them to you since they do me no good.  I really needed some 9 pocket pages so I'll just have to wait til next time.

I perused a lot of bargain bins at the show and filled a bunch of holes in some of my O's team sets.  I even met up with Julie from It's Funner Here at one of the dime box tables.  We kept running into each other throughout the day exchanging pleasantries and showing our latest purchases to each other.

I also met up with fellow Orioles Blogger Ryan S. from The Great Orioles Autograph Project in a chance meeting while walking through the cardboard jungle.  We talked for couple minutes about the team and about our respective collecting goals.

And I can't forget my good buddy William from foul bunt.  He stayed at my house Friday night and we stayed up way too late looking through cards.  I appreciate him putting up with my scheduling conflicts and my random sense of humor.  It's always fun going to a card show with someone you know and being able to "geek out" with a person with similar interests.

Overall, I had a good time at the show.  I'm already looking forward to the next card show!

Card Show Report: The Big One

This past weekend was the Spring Card show that is put on by Collector's Showcase of America.  I hardly ever miss this show since it is THE biggest one in my area.  It's about 2 hours away from my house near Dulles Airport, that is located in Chantilly, VA.  I made the trip up there and I can't hide my excitement any longer from the blogging community.  Here's my favorite card from the whole show:

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 Jason of Hobb's Knights

Jason from the Hobb's Knights blog commented on a previous post of mine and said he had some of my set needs in exchange for some Lineage Orioles that I offered up.  After a flurry of emails, we had ballooned the trade into a much larger swap.  Here's the awesome cards he sent me:

Another new Ripken odd ball card that I didn't know existed!  Since I've started actively collecting oddball Ripkens, my little binder has filled almost to capacity.  There is no hope for expansion of this binder because it is one of those early 90s books that has like 12 pages in it.

Here's an interesting card for my Orioles team sets.  This one hails from 2001 Topps Gallery.  I can't seem to get enough of Topps Gallery because I'm starting to like the look of painted sets.  Well, all except National Chicle.  This painting of Brooksie actually looks like him!

Here's the pride and joy of the trade.  I know, it's not an Orioles card!  I liked 2010 Topps Chrome's design and the autographs look pretty sweet too.  It's too bad this one didn't scan worth a crap!  I figured I'd get in on the ground floor and have Starlin's plain jane autograph card before he really blows up big time in the next few years (as long as he learns to focus while in the field).

Thanks for the nice package of cards Jason!

Card Show Wrap Up: Part 2

Here's part 2 of my card show wrap-up (if you couldn't tell from the title!)

5. 2010 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Buster Posey Refractor. I think this card was mistakenly in the wrong box. It was nestled deep in the 7 for 5 dollar box so I couldn't refuse to pick this card up. It looks awesome in person and its in great condition. My Scanner refused to pick up the refractory shine this time.

4. 2009 Upper Deck Signature Stars USA Star Prospects 18U National Team UD Game Jersey Manny Machado. What a mouthful to say! I got this card on the cheap from a guy who had a ton of Team USA cards. Most of the higher end Manny stuff was out of my price range but I did drool a little bit on the glass!
3. 2001 Pacific Private Stock Brady Anderson bat card. I've been looking for a Brady Anderson relic card for some time now and I finally got one! He doesn't have many but this one looks awesome! There is even a short bio on the back along with stats. When was the last time you saw a relic card with those on the back?
2. 2007 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts Legendary Materials Brooks Robinson. These last two cards I got for a combined 20 bucks a triple relic card #d to 99 of a Hall of Famer and.... you'll see. This is a great looking card. Maybe one of these days I'll feel bold enough to open a box of Legendary Cuts.
1. 2009 Topps Chrome Blue Refractor Autograph Nolan Reimold. I'm sorry if you feel a little let down by the top card on the countdown. I really have a soft spot for Nolan for some unknown reason. Maybe its because he is one of the few legit prospects the O's have in the Upper Minor leagues right now. Regardless this is my favorite card of the show. It doesn't look like it but the autograph is actually on card!
I hope everyone enjoyed seeing my favorite cards from the show!

Trade with Bob of '59 Topps Blog

Bob of the '59 Topps blog and I just completed an awesome trade. Awesome as in I don't think I have ever recieved such a great amount of collectables in one package. He really outdid himself when he sent my package. Lets get right into the good stuff.

Everybody has seen Starting Lineups before. I even have some myself but they are not in their original packaging anymore. I think I have the first year Cal Ripken at my father's house somewhere but I know for sure that his glove arm is broken off! I am very proud to have this one from 1990. I am thinking about starting a collection of just Cal SLUs. We'll see!

I have never seen one of these before. Heck I didn't even know they existed and was puzzled when pulling it out the box. Obviously its a stand up plaque with the Iron Man on it but it really is a cool collectable.

Here's the extent of my Cal Ripken sticker card collection. I didn't realize the one on the right was upside down until I had already binderized the trio. So laziness prevails and they will remain this way in this post. I hadn't really paid much attention to Odd ball Cal stuff in the past, but now I know that kind of stuff just doesn't exist anymore. It just makes them so much cooler.
I distinctly remember seeing this card at the show I went to a few weeks ago. I wanted to buy it but ran out of cash and couldn't get it. Two days later it shows up in my mailbox! Everything happens for a reason.
I believe this is my first Ron Hansen card. He was a good player for the Birds but had mixed success after he was traded from the Charm City.

And this is probably the favorite card of the trade. Im a big fan of 1960 Topps and I might build the set one day. For now this Brooksie with have to just fill a gaping hole in my O's team set.

I want to take this opportunity to than Bob for the awesome cards and collectables that he sent. Also, go check out his blog, its very well written and you'll be able to learn alot about 1959 Topps and the players in the set.

Group Break Goodies from Thorzul

I know I'm getting a little behind posting but I wanted to share my take of cards from Thorzul's November group break. I really liked the new idea he had where 15 slots were teams that the participants picked and the last 15 teams were randomed off among the 15 original slots. I know it sounds a little confusing and I can't seem to get the wordage right( lack of sleep), but trust me, it worked out well. I hadn't seen any of the 2004 Upper Deck Legends Timeless Teams cards before and also was intrigued by the 2009 Finest box. Heres the spoils:

Out of the Legends box I ended up with a good assortment of Orioles. 3 Jim Palmers and a Brooks Robinson. I am a confused with one of the design decision UD made though. On the t3 Palmers, niether of the years match up with the respective uniforms he is wearing. While this is a minor flaw in my eyes, it still makes one scratch his head a little bit. At least the Brooksie card shows the correct World Series with the correct play.I was skunked with my second assigned team, the Royals, in the Legends box. Upon my inspection of the checklist, there are no Royals to be had in the entire base set. Another interesting design decision by Topps. I thought the Royals team from 1980 that won the AL Pennant or the World Series Champion 1985 squad would at least have some players in the set.

I didn't get the same shaft from Topps in the Finest box though:

I have no idea what I am going to do with this card. If somebody is interested in trading for it, I am all ears. I'm not a huge fan of the Manu-patch cards that Topps has been loading up all their products with lately.

Of the Orioles I got out of the Finest box I ended up with these:

All cards I need for my team set. Now I'm just missing #88 Aubrey Huff. Thorzul also pulled a redemption card #8 which is supposed to be Nolan Reimold. The redemption was technically good until 4/30/10. Technically I think that having a redemption card good for only one year sucks. When I am looking at older boxes I look at the checklist to see if it has any redemptions and if they are already expired. This weighs greatly on me whether or not I will purchase the box. Knowing my luck I'd pull a Cal Ripken Super Logo Patch Autograph #d to 10 that expired already. Im pretty sure I would cry if that happened. I don't think that redemption cards are bad idea. I think that it allows the card manufacturer a way to put more value into their boxes that otherwise would not make it because of printing deadlines and street dates of products. What I do have a problem with is the expiration dates. One year is not enough, 3 years isn't either. I think that a 5 years from the release date of the product is reasonable. Seriously is it going to be a problem for Topps or UD to hang onto the actual cards for that long? I'd like to think not.

Anyways, I already sent that sucker in so we'll see what happens. I'm willing to take a chance to see if they will give me something else or maybe the actual card I should get.

Thanks to Thorzul for the group break, I'm looking forward to your next one.

Trade with Matt of A Giant Blog

I have really been pounding the pavement make trade offers and getting other offers from some of the readers of this blog. I contacted Matt of A Giant Blog about me sending him a whole bunch of Giants in exchange for some Orioles cards I need. Most of what I sent to Matt was newer stuff from 1986 to the present. All of the stuff he sent me back was older than 1988, some much older. Lets take a look:

I'm really liking all of these vintage gems. All of them are in great condition and each fill holes in my collection. An interesting note on the Steve Barber card. The cartoon on the back tells about how Steve pitched a one hitter versus Kansas City in 1960. The only hit was by the Orioles manager in 1966, Hank Bauer. What are the odds a no-hitter is broken up by player that one day becomes your boss!!??

The Brooks Robinson Checklist card from 1969 reminds me that I need to get more of him in my collection. But then I remember I'm not made of money!

These two 1981 Donruss cards complete my team set from the company's debut issue. Not great photos on the cards but I'll give the photographers a pass since it was the first set issued.

Matt also included an unopened pack of 1988 Donruss. It's a neat idea that I hadn't thought of before. Here are the best 3 cards from the pack:

It was harder to pick these 3 than you may think It was a pretty good pack because I also got Goose Gossage, Charlie Hough, Doug Drabek, and Dave Magadan. All were better than average players when they played. This was a stacked pack back in 1988.

Thanks Matt for the awesome vintage cards and helping me scratch that wax pack itch.

Cal Ripken Cardboard Appreciation #8

2001 Topps Chrome Combos

This is the last of my card show pickups from last year. I like the background of the card, it has a stained glass window effect. I think Topps should have used the cartoon bird logo on Brooks' side of the card. It's a minor gripe I have with this card.

The back of the card talks about how Orioles fans never thought they would ever see another player the caliber of Brooks. Cal lived up to those expectations and even surpassed some of them.