Bowman Blue Wave Redemption and Yasiel Puig is Making Me Some Money

When I bought my first pack of 2013 Bowman, I found one of the Prospect Challenge cards in the pack.  I entered it last week (along with a few other code cards I pulled) just to see what would happen.  Low and behold, with that first code, I was informed that I had won a Blue Wave card.  I paid the shipping fee and held my breath, expecting to get something crappy (I never have good luck).

Yesterday, I received my package from Topps, containing five Blue Wave refractors.  We're off to a good start - I was only expecting one card.  Here are the first four:

Nothing truly exciting, four prospects that I don't know much about.  Still cool cards, but nothing that made me pee myself.

Then, on the bottom of that stack was this beauty.

2013 Bowman Blue Wave Refractor Certified Auto - Nick Williams #'d 31/100

Thias is a Blue Wave Certified Auto of Rangers prospect Nick Williams, numbered 31 of 100.  I really couldn't believe my luck: to get a Blue Wave auto AND for the prospect to be a Ranger?  Again, I never have that kind of luck.  I'm teetering on the fence about what to do with this one.  He is a Ranger, it is an auto...BUT...there are some cards I need to complete a couple sets and I bet this could get me a little scratch to help me get those cards...so...we'll see.

Speaking of cards that are making me money, I pulled the Yasiel Puig Bowman Top 100 insert Friday out of a retail hanger pack.  I'm not a Dodgers fan and while I think what Puig is doing is amazing, I know when to take advantage of a player's cards when he is hot.  So I instantly threw that bad boy on the Bay (see my listing here!  I have no problem with shameless self-promotion) and bidding has reached more than $31 with less than 24 hours to go!  Thank you, Yasiel!

Anyway, sorry for the multi-posts today.  I hope everyone had a good weekend!  And going back to last night's post, let me know if you are interested in doing a 2013 Bowman Box Break!

Two new additions to the Collin Wiles PC

I stole a couple of redemption refractors for my Collin Wiles PC on eBay last week.  Here they are:

2013 Bowman Collin Wiles Red Wave Refractor #'s 20/25

This beauty cost me less than $7 shipped.  It is the red wave refractor available through redemption, and it is number 20 of 25.  I REALLY like this card.

2013 Bowman Collin Wiles Blue Wave Refractor

And here's the "generic" blue wave refractor.  It isn't numbered, but it's a beauty nonetheless.  I was pretty stoked to add these two to the collection.

Anyone in on a 2013 Bowman Box Break?

As I'm sure you have noticed by now, I'm really knee-deep in the 2013 Bowman product. I like the card design, I dig the parallels (especially the State parallels) and I'm a fan of prospect cards and autos (some o these guys will make it, and their autos will be much more difficult to get). 

Now, that being said, I've been thinking that I want to buy a hobby box or two and bust them. I've been fortunate to trade with a few of you, and I love sharing the cardboard experience with someone that enjoys cards as much (or more) than me. 

So here's what I'm thinking. I want one or two of you to join in with me in this experience. We can pick two or three primary teams and then randomly assign the rest (I call dibs on the Rangers and Nats!). I'll do the break via Skype so we can have it all live and we can chat. 

The hobby boxes aren't bad. I believe that Blowout Cards has them for under $70. I hope at least one of you is interested...I really want to make this happen!

New TTM Project (and 2013 Heritage Giveaway)

Yesterday, I was scanning through the 2013 Heritage that I have, trying to make a decision on what to do with them.  I don't have enough to work on building the set really, but I have more than just a few cards.  While doing this, I noticed that, for some reason I can't explain, I really like the manager cards in the set.  This lead me to the decision to try and get every manager card from the set autographed through the mail.

So what does this mean for you?  I am giving away/trading the couple hundred Heritage cards that I have.  There is only one caveat: I will send you whichever cards you may need in exchange for a manager card that I need.  I should have my tradeables up shortly. UPDATE: Needs list is up here!

Here are the manager cards that I do have:

- Joe Girardi (Yankees)

- Dusty Baker (Reds)

- Kirk Gibson (Diamondbacks)

- Bob Melvin (Athletics)

- Ned Yost (Royals)

- Terry Collins (Mets)

- Dale Sveum (Cubs)

- Bruce Bochy (Giants)

So, if you have a few extras and you have a need for some of the cards I have, let me know!

Additions to the Collin Wiles PC

eBay helped me add a couple cards to my 2013 Collin Wiles Rainbow PC.  I picked up these Ice Parallels:

2013 Bowman Purple Ice - Collin Wiles #4/10

2013 Bowman Silver Ice - Collin Wiles

I also picked up this base auto card for a buck (free shipping!).

2013 Bowman Base Certified Auto - Collin Wiles

My favorite of the three is, without a doubt, the purple ice.  It's a slick card and an all around beauty.  Not much else going on today.

2013 Bowman Prospects Collin Wiles PC

Red Wave Refractor - 20/25 

Blue Wave Refractor 

Orange Refractor - 19/25 

Gold Refractor - 7/50 

Black Refractor - 54/99

Purple Refractor - 70/199 

Blue Refractor - 52/250

Base Refractor - 497/500

Base Chrome 

Orange Paper Auto - 107/250

Blue Paper Auto - 16/500 

Base Paper Auto 

Purple Ice - 4/10

Red Ice - 15/25

White Ice 

Orange Parallel - 231/250

Blue Parallel - 167/500 

Purple Parallel

State Parallel

FINALLY...A New TTM Success (And It's a Big Deal)

I feel like I haven't received a TTM success in weeks, probably because it has been a couple weeks since I got one.  Today broke the 0-fer, and what I got back is pretty awesome.

2012 Bowman Draft Prospects #BDPP32 - Joey Gallo

2013 Bowman Up for Trade

Bowman 2013 For Trade:

Base:

2. Jon Niese
5. CC Sabathia
8. Hanley Ramirez
9. Jered Weaver
12. Mark Trumbo
15. Torii Hunter
16. Ryan Vogelsong (2)
17. Starlin Castro
18. Trevor Bauer

28. Josh Johnson (2)
31. Michael Young
32. Craig Kimbrel
36. Alex Rios
37. Curtis Granderson
40. Adam Eaton

43. Ryan Wheeler (2)
45. Alex Rodriguez
49. David Price
60. Ryan Zimmerman

62. Raul Ibanez (2)
63. Austin Jackson
67. Alfonso Soriano
68. Zack Cozart
69. Kevin Youkilis

72. Ike Davis (3)

73. Angel Pagan (2)
74. Derek Holland
73. Angel Pagan

77. Jaime Garcia (2)
81. Cliff Lee

85. Trevor Rosenthal (2)
90. Billy Butler
95. Joe Mauer
101. Paul Goldschmidt (2)
102. Roy Halladay
103. Salvador Perez
104. Stephen Strasburg
106. Yadier Molina
107. David Murphy

113. Mat Latos (2)
114. Homer Bailey
127. Jake Odorizzi

129. Nick Maronde (2)
132. Adrian Beltre (2)
133. Anthony Gose (2)
137. Freddie Freeman
138. Jayson Werth

139. Joey Votto
141. Mariano Rivera
142. Matt Kemp (2)
143. Mike Morse
148. Wade Miley
149. Yasmani Grandal (2)
151. Carlos Santana
154. Hunter Pence
155. Mike Moustakas (2)
157. Jason Kipnis

160. Asdrubal Cabrera (2)
164. Fernando Rodney
165. R.A. Dickey
171. Paco Rodriguez

175. Ali Solis (3)
176. Adrian Gonzalez
179. Carlos Gonzalez
180. Josh Willingham
181. Dexter Fowler
183. Jean Segura
185. Josh Hamilton
186. Mark Teixiera
188. Howard Kendrick
189. Prince Fielder
190. Ryan Howard

195. Aaron Hill (2)
196. Ian Desmond

199. Rickie Weeks
200. Buster Posey

206. Dan Haren (2)

207. Eric Hosmer (3)
217. Brock Holt
219. Eury Perez 

Gold Parallel:

53. Jesus Montero
78. Miguel Cabrera
85. Trevor Rosenthal
100. Andrew McCutchen
129. Nick Maronde
136. Derek Jeter
206. Dan Haren

Blue Parallel:

24. Jose Reyes 353/500
192. Todd Frazier 37/500

Silver Ice:

120. Josh Beckett
159. Ben Zobrist
196. Ian Desmond

201. Neil Walker

2013 Bowman Prospects for Trade:

Base

BP2. Jonathan Griffin
BP5. Lucas Giolito

BP12. Collin Wiles (2)
BP13. Tanner Rahier
BP19. Carson Kelly (2)
BP22. Brandon Maurer
BP23. Jin-De Jhang

BP25. Jonathan Schoop (2)

BP27. Cory Vaughn (2)
BP33. Ismael Guillon

BP40. Kris Hall (2)

BP42. Matt Wisler (2)

BP45. Michael Reed

BP46. Michael Snyder

BP49. Patrick Leonard

BP52. Stephen Piscotty

BP54. Chris McFarland (3)

BP55. Todd Kirby (2)

BP58. Wilfredo Rodriguez

BP61. Zach Bird
BP64. Seth Maness
BP65. Corey Dickerson (2)
BP74. Ronald Guzman
BP75. Jake Thompson

BP76. Brian Goodwin

BP79. Gregory Polanco
BP81. Gabriel Encinas (2)
BP84. Luis Sardinas (2)
BP85. Fu-Lin Kuo

BP90. Rony Bautista

BP91. Gabriel Guerrero

BP98. Clayton Blackburn

BP99. Evan Rutckyj (3)

BP100. Carlos Correa (2)

BP102. Jayson Aquino

BP103. Adalberto Mondesi
BP106. Stefen Romero

BP107. Alfredo Escalera-Maldonado (3)

BP108. Kevin Medrano

Silver Ice Parallel:
BP17. Mitch Nay

Chrome Purple Refractors:
BCP49 Patrick Leonard #95/199

Chrome Prospects:

BCP4 Gioskar Amaya
BCP7 Jesse Hahn
BCP9 Ji-Man Choi (2)

BCP16 Tyler Gonzales
BCP18 Dane Phillips (2)

BCP26 Cory Hall
BCP29 Edwin Diaz (2)

BCP32 Harold Castro

BCP35 Jose Cisnero (2)

BCP36 Jose Peraza

BCP44 Micah Johnson (2)
BCP48 Nolan Sanburn (2)
BCP55 Todd Kirby
BCP56 Tyler Heineman (2)

BCP57 Wade Hinkle (2)
BCP59 William Cuevas
BCP64 Seth Maness

BCP66 Travis Witherspoon (2)
BCP72 Chritian Bethancourt (2)

BCP73 Pedro Guerra
BCP74 Ronald Guzman
BCP76 Brian Goodwin
BCP78 Dilson Herrera (2)
BCP82 Yeicok Calderon
BCP85 Fu-Lin Kuo

BCP86 Kelvin De Leon
BCP87 Wyatt Mathisen

BCP88 Dorssys Paulino

BCP90 Rony Bautista (2)
BCP93 Ericson Leonora
BCP94 Mikeson Oliberto
BCP95 Roman Quinn

BCP96 Shane Broyles (2)
BCP102 Jayson Aquino
BCP103 Adalberto Mondesi
BCP109 Carlos Sanchez
BCP110 Sam Selman

Purple Parallel:

1 Byron Buxton
4 Gioskar Amaya
21 Arismendy Alcantara

42 Matt Wisler
53 Steven Moya

54 Chris McFarland

55 Todd Kirby

57 Wade Hinkle

64 Seth Maness

66 Travis Witherspoon
69 Anderson Feliz
73 Pedro Guerra

75 Jake Thompson

80 Alex Meyer
87 Wyatt Mathisen

91 Gabriel Guerrero
93 Ericson Leonora
94 Mikeson Oliberto

95 Roman Quinn

102 Jayson Aquino
104 Victor Sanchez

Certified Auto:

BPA-TS Tayler Scott (Cubs)

BPA-LL Lenny Linsky (Rays)

BPA-JB Josh Bowman (Athletics)

The Bowman Hits Keep Coming

I broke down and bought a couple 2013 Bowman Blasters yesterday.  They were taunting me in the store, so I gave in.  I had pretty decent luck with them.  Here's my haul.

2013 Bowman Certified Auto - Collin Wiles Orange Parallel #107/250

Sorry if you find the pic offensively large, but I was pretty stoked to get this one, a 1:230 hit.  Collin Wiles is a young pitcher in the Rangers system.  Selected in the first round (53rd overall), Wiles will certainly be part of the Rangers' future, so long as he doesn't get traded.  Straight out of high school, he has a bit of work (and growing) to do before he makes the bigs.

2013 Bowman Certified Auto - Josh Bowman

This is the second auto I pulled.  That's right: though retail autos are placed in packs at a rate of one auto per 35 packs, I have hit three in roughly 40 packs.  This auto is by A's prospect Josh Bowman.  Nothing against him, but it's just a base auto AND i hate the A's, so this guy is up for trade.

2013 Bowman - Carlos Correa Purple Refractor #11/199

This was my last real hit of the blasters.  Behold, the number one overall pick from the 2012 draft, Astros shortstop Carlos Correa in purple refractor form, numbered 11 of 199.  Beautiful card.  I think I want to hang on to it, but feel free to make me an offer!

So like I said last time, I think I like 2013 Bowman.

I Want YOU...To Help ME

Good morning everyone!  I hope your day is going well.  I write this morning because I need your help!  I am frustrated and I don't like being frustrated.  I need your help completing my 2013 Gypsy Queen base set.  The short prints are irritating the hell out of me, and everyone on eBay seems to think that just because their card is a short print, it is worth five bucks.  Trust me - it isn't.

So here's the deal.  If you have and of the cards I am looking for, I will trade you at least two base cards for it (assuming I have the base cards you need).  If you aren't interested in any of the base cards, I have a few cards in my trade bait section that I am willing to negotiate a price on (lots of 2013 GQ relics and on-card autos).

So there it is.  Help me out and I will forever be in your debt.  Also, please send people along to see this post.  I'm trying to build a follower base, but it's moving along a little slower than I would like.

So It Seems That I Like 2013 Bowman

Lately, I haven't busted any packs.  Mostly because I'm on a very tight budget (thank you for taking all my money, Vegas), but also because I was saving up to buy a box of 2013 Tribute to work on my set and to see what great hits I could get.  BUT, I couldn't resist.  Everyone has been talking about how much they are enjoying the 2013 Bowman product, so I broke down and bought two hangar packs and a blaster.  They did not disappoint.

2013 Bowman #CC-CR1 - Billy Hamilton Mini Blue Refractor #128/250

Pat Neshek - TTM Hero!

Today, I found another PWE in my mailbox, this time from the inspiration for my current card fascination.

Sadly, Neshek doesn't have a card in the 2013 Gypsey Queen set.  He does, however, have this beauty in this year's Heritage set.  I sent this out last week, and got it back today.  The stitching inside the "P" makes for a nice touch to add to the uniqueness of the signature.  But that's not that Mr. Neshek included in my PWE.

He also included a few extra cards!  Now 2002 Topps is not the most attractive set, but it is cool that he would take time and cards from his personal collection to send back to a fellow collector.  This is why I love collecting and trading.  It makes it even better when a ballplayer has the same love for the hobby.

TTM Success with The Dutch Oven

Another PWE in the mail today, another Texas Ranger to add to my TTM success.

2013 Gypsy Queen #245 - Derek Holland

Holland is an integral part of the Rangers' rotation. he struggled at times last year - he prone to give up the home run ball - but he has rebounded this year, posting a 2.82 ERA, striking out 76 and allowing only 21 walks.  He has only given up four home runs.  

Holland's name always seems to pop up whenever the Rangers are rumored to be in the trade market.  I think his start to this season will silence those rumors.  At least, I hope they do.

Awesome TTM Success...and Vegas Sucks

I got back from Vegas at 2 a.m. this morning, so needless to say I am pretty exhausted. However, what I found in my mailbox this morning made my day.

2012 Bowman Draft Prospects #BCPP23 - Barrett Barnes (Refractor)

Behold, a 2012 Bowman Chrome #23 Barrett Barnes, both the refractor and base card.  The refractor is signed in blue and the base is signed in silver.

2012 Bowman Draft Prospects #BCPP23 - Barrett Barnes

Barrett is a personal favorite of mine.  While working on my Master's at Texas Tech, I occasionally helped with the athletic media department.  Part of this included working baseball games, which meant that I got to watch Barnes on a regular basis.

Barnes is exciting.  He's fast, he hits in the clutch and his defense is spectacular.  The guy can mash to left field. While at Tech, he hit .319 which included 33 home runs, 140 runs-batted-in, 51 doubles and nine triples. Barnes scored 171 runs and swiped 50 bases (out of 56 attempts).

Barrett was taken by the Pirates (45th overall) in the first round of the 2012 Amateur Draft. He's playing in Low A West Virginia. Needless to say, I'm pretty stoked about Barnes getting to the Bigs.  It can't come soon enough.

And in case you're wondering, I lost my ass in Vegas (pardon the language). I hate that place.