A White Whale Comes Home

There's always a method to the madness. A couple days ago, I posted about having some cards in my Watch List for a long time. The reason I noticed that is because I went to that list to remove a card that I watched for more than three years.

Another copy showed up on eBay and I was able to grab it for about half the price of the first copy.

I was pretty excited about getting this card in. It is one that I've always wanted, and it may be a favorite in my collection.

From 2012 Topps Update, this is the gold parallel of Matt Harrison's All-Star Stitches card. Yes, it's just a relic card, but it may be the most beautiful relic I've ever seen. The gold shimmer really makes the card stand out. Furthermore, it is representative of the only year Harrison made it to the All-Star Game. 

Even the back of the card is attractive. The framing and color scheme really work here. I'm a big fan, and I couldn't be more excited to have this card in my collection.

I went back to look at the first copy a couple of days later and noticed that it was gone. That afternoon, I received a package from COMC. I was intrigued, as I haven't ordered anything from there in a while. I opened it up and found the copy of the card that I watched for more than three years (it was on eBay through the COMC auction service). A friend purchased it and sent it my way as a nod to my late grandmother, who passed away just over a year ago. She was the one that got me into collecting. I miss her very much.

So, here's the story, in short: I watch a card for more than three years, then purchase a cheaper copy that appears. A couple days after receiving the card, I also receive the first copy as a gift. The world is a pretty incredible place.

What is the longest you've watched a card before pulling the trigger?

Some Sparkly Gold Darvish!

In my post yesterday, I mentioned my love of the 2012 Topps set. That's the year I began buying cards again, so that set will always be one of my favorites. (Though, I have to say that I love 2013 Topps flagship just a tad more)

At one point, I had the gold sparkle parallel of Yu Darvish's rookie card. However, back then I wasn't terribly interested in keeping parallels. Needless to say, I no longer had it in my collection.

Until earlier this week. I found one on eBay for a reasonable price and decided to pull the trigger:

I love it. It just pops. 

I haven't been doing it intentionally, but it seems that the only cards that I have been picking up are of Darvish. 

I know not everyone is a big fan of parallels, but I know some of you are. If you are, what is your favorite parallel and from what year/set? 

If you aren't a fan of parallels, which ones do you especially dislike?

A Matt Harrison-Centric Post

Player collections can be funny, at least for me. I can go weeks or months without adding a single card. This is especially true when you are down to pretty much a handful of low-numbered cards as the only ones you need.

Such is true with my Matt Harrison PC. It feels like an eternity since I picked up a card that I needed for this PC. But, as the cardboard world seems to go, I've added three within the last month. Crazy.

First, I received a care package from none other than Greg, the mind behind the Plaschke, Thy Sweater Is Argyle blog. A while back, I sent a 2016 Topps Gold Label black-framed Julio Urias auto to Greg. Greg said this package was for that card, but I am pretty sure that he has already sent me something for it. I guess this means that I will have to keep sending all the Cory Seagers I pull his way!

Anyway, here's the card at the center of that package:

This comes from the 2004 Just Rookies set. The card always makes me crack up - who's the poor schmuck in the lower-left that had his faced blurred and half cropped out? One day, I'll figure it out. This is the black version, numbered to only 25!

Just a couple days before receiving the package from Greg, I won an eBay auction for the following card. It arrived the day after Greg's:

This is the 2013 Topps ERA leaders black printing plate from Series 1. I honestly never thought I would see this card or, even if I did see it, I had even less confidence I would win it. I guess I'm fortunate that David Price and Jered Weaver have kind of taken a step down from the star players they were in 2013 (well, Weaver retired, but Price certainly isn't what he was). 

I always hate the "1 of 1" tag on a printing plate. It is misleading. I think we should petition Topps and all other card companies to label printing plates as "1 of 4." That's a losing battle. 

Finally, I noticed another card hit eBay that I have been looking for since I began collecting Harrison's cards. I had seen others in the set and fell in love, but Harrison's never popped up anywhere...until last week. Behold:

The 2011 Topps Lineage 1952 Canary Autograph of Matt Harrison! These are limited to only 10 copies. I love the gold shimmer (hey Fuji, not a gold refractor, but I think that Gwynn would look good with this background, too!). The only "knock" I have on the card is that it's a sticker auto. Regardless, I love this card. It looks perfect to me (the scan is a little off because of the crop), so I am thinking about sending it in to PSA to get slabbed to keep it that way.

So there you have it: three cards in a month for a player collection I haven't added anything to in a while. Do you have any player collections that you are finding it hard to add cards to?

**UPDATE** Naturally, after I finished and scheduled this post, I won an auction for yet another low-numbered Harrison that I needed (for less than $3, at that!). I'll get that post up as soon as I receive the card!