My Latest COMC order

    It seems to be pretty popular here in the blogosphere to do Black Friday COMC shopping and show off the spoils.  I've done COMC show and tell in the past, and so I'll throw my hat in the ring and show some of my favorites from this batch. I usually only ship cards that I buy on COMC once a year so this shipment of 266 cards was even larger than normal.  I rarely ever load money into my account and just spend what I am able to sell on my own.  This year I actually put sixty extra dollars into my account for the Black Friday sales.  In total, I spent $368.13 and got 266 cards.  I spent $1.38 per card.  I'm a value shopper to the extreme.

    Here's a shot of my invoice.  I was targeted to ship in early January but I actually got it right before Christmas.  I'm just late posting....
 

    These three fill some sets. The Gorman Thomas was the last Diamond King I needed from 1983, Harper was the last of the 15 Chase it Down I needed to complete that insert set. The Pro-Vision Sheffield is from 1993 and the price was right.  1993 Pro-Visions are actually much rarer than other years.

    I added the Post cereal box cards from the early 60's to my Orioles team set lists and binders.  These three are in pretty good shape and exceptionally cool

    Trey Mancini has been a favorite of mine since he carried the O's through a dark period.  I read he's trying to make a comeback this coming season, so I wish him well.  Since he left Baltimore, his stats have declined severely so we'll see if a team gives him a shot to see if he has something left in the tank.

    More Mancini hits.  His cards are really cheap right now.  I'm happy to take them off of the hands of the sellers.

    Austin Hays is another former Oriole (although more recent) that I have a PC of.  His cards are also cheap and I'm more than happy to grab a few nice hits at a low price.

    Jordan Westburg is a player I've really taken a liking to.  He reminds me a lot of JJ Hardy and Cal Ripken with their steady play, are all business between the lines but have easygoing, soft-spoken demeanor off the field.  It also doesn't hurt that I ended up talking to his parents the whole game when he was in the minors.  When he was with Double-A Bowie, they were in town to play the Flying Squirrels, I ended up striking up a conversation with a couple during the game.  I didn't know it until after the game was over that I had been talking to Jordan's parents the whole game!

    Of course, I had to indulge in Cal Ripken cards.  This Cal to Greatness is #11 of the 15 card set and finishes off the insert set for me.  Cards 11 thru 15 of the Cal to Greatness set are actually much tougher to find than cards 1 through 10.

Its not often I'm able to find numbered Cal cards for less than ten dollars.  I was ecstatic to get this Big Boppers from 1998 Upper Deck Retro for a great price!

Diamond Producers was quite rare (case hits) back in 1997.  It took me a while to find a Ripken at a price I could stomach.  It was a near instant buy when I saw it pop up.

I bought this card the night Corbin Burnes was traded to the Orioles.  He was great for the Orioles this year.  I'll miss him every 5th day but I understand why he wanted to play for the Diamonbacks.  Good for him and good for D-backs fans.

It's not often you run into Albert Belle relic cards.  ESPECIALLY ones where he is pictured as an Oriole.  Old school Pacific is just the best.  

I'm not going to bore you with all the team set fillers and such that I got in this shipment.  This was just the highlights that I wanted to show off.  Hopefully, you've all enjoyed the cards as much as I have.

December 1st Midlothian Card Show: Expect the Unexpected

Card shows are very plentiful around Richmond, Virginia right now and the region as a whole has one nearly every weekend of the year.  The only thing holding me back from going to every single one is life in general and of course the funds to do so.  I had planned on attending this particular show more as a collector instead of vendor, and because its the closest to my home (a 20ish minute drive).  I actually expected to find Orioles cards from recently released products like Stadium Club, Allen & Ginter, and Topps Update and maybe some Topps Chrome Update in the dimeboxes and bring home all the broken dreams and salty tears to my collection.  It didn't really work out that way.  

It really was a stretch to find cards that I wanted and only spent about $7.  That includes the package deals I bought for my nephew who was visiting from out of town came with me. I like Brenton Doyle since he's a localish kid from Warrenton Virginia where I spent time with my aunt and cousins when I was a kid (probably long before he was even born!).  He's underrated because he plays for the Rockies, so I was able to buy this card for a Quarter.

In the same box I was there was a pile of the Signature Rookies and Team Best autographs.  Ainsworth actually ended up playing for the Orioles for a bit in the mid 2000s. He was traded over in the Sidney Ponson deal from the Giants.  Vaughn Eshelman was drafted by the Red Sox in the Rule 5 draft before he played in the majors for the O's.  He's pictured here on the AA Bowie Baysox. I recently learned that Vaughn passed away at the age of 49 in 2018 while I was sorting through some Orioles cards to send out TTM.  Couldn't resist picking up an auto of his for the collection knowing I'd never be able to meet him in person or write a TTM.  RIP Vaughn Eshelman.

I actually didn't have a ton of time to dig and dig like I normally do at shows.  I got a text from my good buddy Blake on Friday asking if I'd be able to help him man his table because his other planned help couldn't make it.  I was happy to help out since I was going to be around anyways.  It all worked out since there wasn't a lot I found to be to my liking (and in my price range).  A huge advantage to setting up with Blake is getting in early "to set up shop". He's a real hustler and had everything set up by the time I got there so that left for plenty time to shop the other vendor's wares.  One guy had a box of random mid 2000s cards including a ton of Bazooka base sets and minis.  This mini of Orlando Hudson fits into the binder collection of "Orioles Cameos".  Notice Brook Fordyce sliding in to second base.  

It appears to me that this play was from the day game at Camden Yards on August 24th, 2002.  Bottom of the 3rd inning Brook Fordyce reached base on Eric Hinske's 20th error of the season.  Next batter Mike Bordick grounded to shortstop Chris Woodward where they turned a 6-4-3 double play.  It will forever be immortalized here on this card.  The Orioles ended up losing this game 4-1.  It was rescheduled from the July 23rd rainout.  They ended up losing both ends of the doubleheader (they did a lot of losing in the 2000s), as a team struggling to find an identity after the retirement of Cal Ripken.  I have no recollection of this doubleheader because I was in my first week of my college as a Freshman at Radford University.  I only lasted one semester there, but everything has worked out fine for me and the Orioles are finally good again. **Playoffs not included**

Now concludes this episode of CSI: Baseball Reference. Hope you enjoyed this episode! 

Speaking of Playoffs, this Heston Kjerstad Chrome parallel card from Stadium Club is from the warm ups before game one or two of the 2023 ALDS. You can tell by the playoffs logo on his hat (under his sunglasses).  Its a happy coincidence that the O's embarrassed themselves (well, Bryan Baker and Jacob Webb did.  I'm not bitter or hold anything against those two bums) against Jack Leiter's Rangers.  Leiter wasn't on the team yet (still a minor leaguer at that point).  Hopefully both of these guys establish themselves in the majors this coming season and make this one dollar purchase totally worth it! Its crazy how Kjerstad was the only Orioles card I purchased for myself.

You just don't leave vintage cards in the quarter box.  It should be against the law.  I'm a goody-goody and I will gladly add this '71 Topps beauty to my collection.  I don't even like the Phillies.  For a combined buck, I got the Doyle, 2 autographs, and this card for a buck.  Hooray for collecting on a budget!

A while back I pared down my Ichiro collection. Recently, I've taken more of an interest in collecting Japanese major league players and created a binder in my collection just for them.  The early Bowman Heritage is not cut weird or anything, just a terrible scan job on my part.  Looking at the Topps insert it still boggles my mind and its incredible how good Ichiro was as a player.  10 SEASONS WITH OVER 200 HITS! There's no doubt in my mind that he already cleared his schedule is planning a trip to upper state New York this coming July. 

Like I mentioned before, I was happy to help out my friend Blake run his tables at the last minute.  It was unexpected but it all worked out.  As a token of his gratitude, he gifted me with this blue refractor auto of Jordan Westburg!  Westburg has become a quick favorite player of mine with his no-nonsense play, and meek shall inherit the earth demeanor.  He reminds me a lot of JJ Hardy!  Blake didn't have to hook me up like he did but that's the kind of guy he is! He was also very kind to my nephew which also makes me feel good because of the tough situations my family has gone through this year.  My nephew has taken a liking to football cards and sets up at his monthly card show in his local mall, selling off his extra cards.

I also ran into 2 different of my co-workers from the plant.  It was quite unexpected to see them there even though they were there with their kids and grandkids.  I don't know if they were more shocked I was there or it was the other way around.  We talk about over-the-counter pharmaceuticals and how bad the company treats us, not sports or Pokemon cards!

I also ran into another person I had just met about 2 weeks ago.  Our neighborhood restaurant recently hosted a standup comedy show from the local area that my wife and I attended.  It was a great to have a good time and laugh with friends from the neighborhood and even make some new friends thanks to my wife's social butterfly tendencies.  The first comic on the evening was set up at the show selling basketball cards.  Once again, at the standup show, you don't normally talk about sports cards so I had no idea he was into it or vice versa.   Small world it really is!

My nephew being the awesome kid he is, brought his uncle a hanger box of 2024 Topps Update.  The kid really knows how to pick baseball cards.  One box and BAM, rare Jackson Holliday insert.  I believe that the Stratospheric Stars are like 1 in 330-something hanger boxes.  Hangers are bangers! Totally unexpected!

Being the lucky pack ripper he is, he had recently opened his own Super box of 2024 Topps Update.  He pulled a small stack of Orioles cards as well as these two Hollidays.  He was kind enough to give them to me (don't worry, I hooked him up with some cards that he may show on his own blog).  The little lapel pin that comes in the super boxes was the Jackson Holliday one.  Friggin' Lucky Duck!  Whenever he is around, he'll be picking the packs or blasters for me since I never seem to pull Orioles cards at all... Mostly Dodgers and Reds.

Overall it was a great ending to Thanksgiving weekend.  Many unexpected things happened to me and my collection.  Once lesson I've learned this year is that you have to roll with the punches and expect the unexpected.

November 9th Regency Mall card show: From the Penthouse, to the Dump and Back

I went to the local card show last weekend at Regency Mall.  The mall itself actually used to be named Regency Square back when I was a kid and I remember going back to school shopping quite a few times there.  When I was a kid, we were probably about an hour and a half away and going to Richmond was a big deal.  Regency Square was awesome back then like most were back in the late 80s and early 90's.  

The Penthouse if you will.

It's no secret that shopping malls have slowly declined in the last 15 or so years and Regency has not been an exception.  Regency actually started to decline in the mid 90's with new malls springing up in the area and the changing consumer tastes. Not that Regency became a Dump by any means but it definitely went into a steep decline until it was redeveloped a few years ago.  It has been turned into somewhat of a mixed use development but it still is around.  Not quite the Penthouse it once was but at least its not totally gone.

What does the history of the mall have to do with baseball cards? Not too much but it does somewhat tell the story of my experience on Saturday. I apologize for the weird mix of phone pics and scans.  I'm lazy today.

I arrived around 11ish since I had a few errands to do beforehand (blowing leaves, free document shredding.. to name a few).  The first table I came to had an assortment of  dime, quarter and dollar boxes. My kind of table.  I started off with these from the dime box:

We don't leave rookies of star players to rot in the dime boxes.  The Big Unit insert is the blue bordered parallel that definitely wasn't going to be left for other vultures. Most any of these cards pictured can be had in trade if you'd like to strike up something.  

I also picked up these 3 cards of Japanese players.  I recently started a binder of only MLB Japanese players and these will fit nicely into it.  For a dime a piece I'm happy.

I moved through the show being a bit choosy with my smaller budget.  I picked up the trio of cards for 3 bucks at another table.  It seemed the seller was just more of a football and basketball guy and really just wanted rid of the baseball stuff.  I'll take a rookie card of Mike Cuellar and two numbered Orioles HOFers for 3 Washingtons anyday.

The next table I came to was a guy who I'd never seen before at local shows.  He says he only sets up to get rid of his excess cards and that Regency has the most affordable table cost.  We talked for a bit and I found out that he was also an Orioles fan.  He is a big Jackson Holliday fan, whereas I've taken a liking to Jordan Westburg.  He was very reasonable on prices on his other Orioles cards.  I picked up the following for 10 bucks:

I think the Hobby Rip Night Gunnar is somewhat rare. The Hobby Rip night cards are only issued at special events at official Topps Hobby Shops as far as I know and haven't seen many in the wild.  Maybe its because there has been no official Topps Hobby Shops in Richmond for quite some time, but I believe that is going to change with Graybo's opening recently. The other cards in the scan are the red parallel Gunnar SC rookie, Chrome Cosmic Adley, Rainbow Foil Grayson, and a black parallel '88 of Moose.  Cannot complain for 10 dollars.

The next batch of cards is a culmination of pickups during the day.  The All-Aces insert from 2023 Topps flagship products caught my eye and decided to collect the entire run much like Chris of Nachos Grande.  The guy running his table wanted $5 a piece but I talked him into 6 dollars for the trio and another 2 for the Harper Black Gold from 2023 Topps Update.  The 2024 Topps Update Black Gold set is pretty much hot off the presses and I found the 7 you see here for a buck a piece.  What luck knocking some of the biggest names off the WANTLIST in one fell swoop. With Judge, Ohtani, Soto, Jackie, Mantle, etc off the list early I might finish 2024 before either of the past 3 years of sets!

I also found this beauty in the same row as the all of the Black Gold inserts.  I had been seeing Yamamoto rookies all day and I knew this one was different.  SSP different.  We don't leave cards like this behind!  

The show had begun to wind down for me at least and I wandered back over to my bathrobe Blakes table and hung out and helped him run his table for the rest of the afternoon.  Blake's good buddy Tom who also helps him out was also there and we talked sports and random stuff between the spurts of business coming by the table.  Tom had cracked a box of 2024 Stadium Club baseball and a box of 2024 Donruss football. and was kind enough to give me the stack of base cards he didn't want.  He also gave me the Chrome Orange parallel of Felix Bautista that he pulled. I'll hand the Donruss Football cards off to my nephew.  I can safely say Tom is now my friend too!  I'll keep on the lookout for good Cubs stuff for him .  

One of Blakes customers brought a stack of cards for sale and I cherry picked the following two cards for my last 5 bucks in my pocket.  

The show wound down and as I was helping break down the table, I noticed a table near the mall entrance had a small sign that said FREE.  Right in my price range.  I tried to not be greedy but once again, I could't resist some of them.  I've removed them from the top loaders so you can see them.

These toploaders are literal toast (worse than a Crackhead Gary toploader) but will be fine for me shipping out Sportlots Orders. Check out my store HERE.

Also at the same FREE table, I there was a showcase that had a small hole in the bottom wood that was up for grabs.  Once again, as a bottom feeder, I grabbed it and carried it to my car for my nephew.  He's setting up at card shows in his local mall (in Roanoke, VA.) selling his excess cards to fuel his cardboard card addiction.

I had not planned on staying for trade night but I was Peer Pressured into it by Tom and Blake.  The Card Show and Trade night was put on by Three Point RVA, the card shop in Regency mall. The had free pizza.  How could I resist free pizza and trading sports cards?

I helped Blake go through the pickups that he purchased to fuel his business and even did a trade myself.  I was able to trade the Yamamoto SSP for this card to a younger guy who had some killer cards in his trade box.  He went to the National this past summer and got a free pack of '24 Topps Heritage. I need to hang out with him because maybe his pack ripping luck will rub off on me.  This is the card he traded to me for the Yamamoto:

I'll take an autograph of a PC guy for a buck (my purchase price of the Yamamoto SP)!  

So, overall, a great show for me.  I spent about 40 dollars total and ended up with a bonanza of pickups.  It feels great to be in the Penthouse of card collecting and having some good people to share it with.  A big thanks to Three Point RVA for the show and trade night, Blake and Tom for putting up with me Saturday and you readers for checking out my card show haul.

October 2023 Chantilly Card Show

So, according to my immaculate record keeping, this post looks like the first real baseball card post I've done in this space in the past 8 or 9 years so here goes nothing.

I recently had the pleasure of heading up to the October Chantilly card show with my nephew Blayke, my good buddy William (he writes foul bunt), and William's friend  Jesse.  My nephew is somewhat new to the world of collecting.  He's mostly into football cards and specifically the Bears.  Justin Fields is the player he's taken a liking to collecting.  I know next to nothing about football cards and football in general.  I grew up playing baseball and in the fall during football season, I was on a travel team.  The Chantilly show was the first big show he'd ever been to and my sister probably hates my guts even more now that he was able to spend all but 10 bucks of the budget she gave him. We'll see if I get a Christmas gift this year....

William had Steve Carlton and Cal and Billy Ripken autograph tickets and Jesse was going to meet Wille Roaf.

I've gotten everything I wanted signed by Cal so I didn't set aside budget to do so.  I was on the search for bargains this particular show.  The Chantilly show is a bit weird these days.  Bargains are still available to those who seek them out (me) but most vendors have their tables chock full 'o showcases, chock full o' graded cards that I choose to not spend my money on.  I get it, the vendors need to make money because the cost to set up is sky high and they need to make that money back.  They aren't making that money back by having a bunch of dime and quarter boxes.  That's what my local hotel and moose lodge shows are for. Plus, those shows don't require me to wake up at the crack of dawn to drive 2 and a half hours to get there.  I digress, minor rant over.

I spent a lot of time walking the floor searching for deals and I found a few.  

Early at a table where I talked to a gentleman about minor league ball I found this camo parallel of Jordan Westburg from 2021 Bowman ( I think).  Westburg made his debut this past season acquitted himself well enough.  I don't think the Orioles brass trust him enough because he never played any shortstop (that I know of) but he's been sharp with the glove at third and second.  He hit well enough so hopefully next season he has a break out.  I met him at a Baysox game last year and he seems like a good person so he's easy to root for.

At the same table, I picked up this autograph of Silas Ardoin from this year's Pro Debut.  I actually like the design of Pro Debut better than I like the design of this year's flagship.  There isn't an awkward headshot of the player taking up space down on the left of the card.  Anyways, I saw Ardoin play last season while with Delmarva and again this season while he was with the Baysox.  He's gunning for a back up job in Baltimore with eyes on taking the starting job when the O's inevitably trade Adley to the Yankees for a bag of baseballs and a scorebook.

Trevor Bauer may not be everyone's favorite player but I find him interesting in how he prepares for games and his youtube channel that gives us a look into the behind the scenes of Japanese baseball.  William was able to buy this one for me for 5 bucks.

I found a couple of Topps Chrome Cosmic Mike Trout cards in a 12 for $10 box so I was happy to grab 'em, I grabbed a bunch of other Orioles from this years Bowman Chrome to round out that purchase. I didn't snap a picture of 'em

These 5 Orioles card will go into my "One Card of Every Oriole" Collection, they came out of a bulk purchase I made for 15 bucks.  

Included in this purchase was these 3 Cal Ripken Cards.  As we were leaving the show, I lamented to William that I didn't buy a single new Cal Ripken.  I was wrong when I got home and started digging thru my spoils.  I'm closing in on 2100 unique Ripken cards.  There's still plenty I don't have but it doesn't stop me from tryin' to collect 'em all!  

I didn't even spend half of my budget at the show.  I couldn't find some of the stuff I was specifically looking for and printing out my set wantlist was pretty much a waste of paper.  I realized while reflecting on the days events that driving to the show, being at the show and dinner afterward with Blayke, William, and Jesse was more fulfilling than filling my binders with pieces of cardboard.