Another eBay-centric Post

I miss Yu Darvish. I was exhilarated to see him pitch well for the Dodgers leading into the World Series; I was crushed to watch him get crushed. I was furious that Yulieski Gurriel made a racist joke toward Darvish's Asian heritage, and even more pissed that MLB essentially gave him a slap on the wrist for the action.

I'm still holding out hope that he re-signs with the Rangers. 

In the meantime, I've picked up a few Darvish cards via eBay. I have to admit - these were low bids that I didn't expect would stand up...but they did! I'm not complaining. Let's get to it.

This is a gold wave refractor from 2017 Topps Chrome. I've never been one to complain about parallels, but when Topps essentially has two gold refractors, both numbered to 50...well, perhaps we've gone a bit overboard.

I also snagged this no nameplate variation from 2017 Topps Gypsy Queen. Whereas the gold wave was a bit too far, I think these are just lazy. "How can we make a new variation?" "Hmm. Let's just leave the name off the front. It worked for Frank Thomas, right?" Yet, I still purchased it.

Speaking of variations...

This is one of the photo variations from 2017. As you may remember, I complained about the over-abundance of photo variations in 2017 Topps Update a little while back. I'm clearly biased, because for some reason, I don't mind this one (or the other Darvish photo variation featuring him on the mound in a Dodgers uniform). I'm going to give myself a pass.

When I began writing this post, I definitely did not mean for it to become a gripe-fest! I apologize! What are your thoughts about some of the "variations" in the various 2017 sets? 

Some Recent Pickups At My LCS

I haven't really bought a lot of cardboard at my LCS lately. For the most part, he sells hobby boxes and rarely packs anything out. On one hand, I understand. It can be hard to move product one pack at a time. On the other hand, with the prices of baseball cards this year (thanks, Judge), many people - myself included - can't afford an entire box.

However, there were a few times that he did pack out a few products. For instance, I was able to buy a few packs of Bowman Chrome. In one of those packs was this:

A base auto of Mitchell White. Or, as I like to call him, "Mr. Squiggly Line."

Okay, I get it. The number of autographs these prospects are asked to sign is astronomical. That's on us, as collectors, for wanting an autograph in every product. However, there has to be some blame placed on the player, right? I mean, this is absolute garbage. It is ridiculous that cards like this make it into products. I could keep going, but I will digress.

Anyway, I went in earlier this week to grab some top loaders and a ball cube when I noticed that the owner was packing out some Bowman's Best and Topps Chrome from this year, so I bought a few packs of each. In my packs of Bowman's Best was this:

I haven't heard much about Adell, other than he was a first round pick of the Angels. It seems he is a "consensus" five-tool prospect. I think I will hang on to it and see how he does. 

No autographs came from my Topps Chrome packs, but I did pull a pretty decent rookie card:

A prism refractor of Cody Bellinger. This is a beautiful card. I know Bellinger made a splash this year, but I still wonder if he will be a future star in the game. Just in case, I'm holding on to this one, too.

So, not a bad few packs of cards. Has anyone else had a problem with their LCS not selling packs frequently?

Cards From The Night Owl

Recently, I shared the results of my foray into 2017 Topps Update. Spoiler alert: I wasn't impressed and felt there were too many photo variations.

The legendary Night Owl left a comment asking if one of the cards was available. It was and I sent it his way, happy that it found a home.

A couple of weeks ago, I received a bubble mailer (I think - I can't really remember, to be honest!) from Mr. Owl with an assortment of goodies inside! Here are the highlights:

This Sonny Siebert is an addition to my 1969 Topps set build, which is coming along very slowly (but surely!).

I didn't venture into Topps Chrome very much this year, but I am certainly very happy to receive this pink refractor of Yu Darvish. Darvish is still unsigned, and I am hoping that means he will eventually find his way back to the Rangers. I'm starting to find that I am going out of my way to snag his cardboard.

Speaking of guys that I have been unknowingly PC'ing, the is the "negative refractor" of Cole Hamels. I really think Topps missed the opportunity to call these "negafractors" - it sounds way cooler. Anyway, I'm always happy to add a Hamels to the collection!

Night Owl, thank you for the cards! I certainly wasn't expecting anything like this in return!