Today Was A Good Day (I Didn't Even Have To Use My AK)

Today was the first day of classes. It is even more special for me, as I begin my last semester. If I keep on track, I'll finish my dissertation in October and I'll be done. October can't get here soon enough.

I also got a text from my LCS owner to let me know that my PSA order was in. I decided to drop in to pick it up. I had five cards in the order:

Five Kris Bryant rookies! Three PSA 10s and two PSA 9s (one of which is from Chrome). I decided a while back that I should get this graded and slabbed, for both protection and re-sale value. Bryant seems to have staying power (so far), and while I doubt he will be on Trout's level, it would be nice if his rookies grow in value in a similar way that Trout's rookie did. 

While I was in the shop, I decided to grab a couple of boxes of the 2017 Topps Clearly Authentic. I watched a few case breaks of these and I really dig the cards. I opened the first box and thought to myself, "Oh great, a freakin' redemption." I'm still waiting on other redemptions, the last thing I need is another in in the queue.

But then I read the name on the card:

So...yeah. I'll take that. This is officially my first dip into the Aaron Judge auto-mania pool. I immediately listed the card on eBay. The card seems to bring decent money, and I would like to take advantage of that before his value bottoms out. That being said, there is definitely a part of me that wants to redeem this one.

My second box was okay:

Well, maybe it was better than okay. Alex Bregman is a nice pull, also! This is the second Bregman I have pulled (I also pulled one from 2016 Bowman's Best). That was a bad day at the shop!

If I am being honest, these aren't the first boxes of Clearly Authentic that I have bought. I also picked up a couple last week. The pulls weren't quite as nice.

Carson Fulmer was the first...

...And Javier Baez was the second. Baez isn't bad, and I think Fulmer can be a solid starter, but neither of these are on the Judge/Bregman level (in my opinion). 

So there it is, a handful of PSA Bryants and a handful of Clearly Authentic. 

It was a good day.

(And I didn't even have to use my AK)

A Nice eBay Mailday

Recently, Topps Heritage High Number hit the market. I love the Heritage products, so I knew I needed to grab a box or two. I did just that, but in the excitement of getting everything organized and put away (more on this in a later post), I forgot to create a post about what I pulled. In short: nothing terribly exciting.

So I decided to hit up eBay for some of the cards I did want. A couple came in a few days ago, and since I am in Iowa City, Iowa, for a wedding, I have a bit of free time on my hands to share with you what I bought.

First up, this guy:

You can't tell from the front....

...but this is actually the mini parallel version of the card. Only Desmond and Nomar Mazara had mini parallels in the set. Speaking of Mazara...

...I was able to grab this redemption for his Real One Auto. Topps hasn't indicated whether or not Mazara has signed these, so I am assuming that means that he hasn't. However, if the way the Rangers are playing the Blue Jays is any indication, he may have a few months of free time pretty soon.

That's it for now. I hope everyone is doing well!