A Violation of Common Sense

BEFORE I BEGIN: I am currently working on my "What I Collect" post for Night Owl's Blog Bat Around. It's taking me a bit longer than I anticipated (because my dissertation is ruining my life, as I have mentioned previously). I promise it will be published this week! Now, on to today's regularly-scheduled post...

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I'm really growing to love the Trading Card Database. It is a fountain of cardboard information and even facilitates trading with new people. This is great...until it isn't.

I recently completed a trade with a user that would net me the Adrian Beltre Players Weekend manufactured patch. I know, just last week I complained about these cards. Still, this is a card featuring a Ranger and I collect cards featuring Rangers, so you do the math. Full disclosure: I sent only four insert cards to the other person (who proposed the trade), so this "problem" wasn't a big deal. 

Fast forward to the day that I received the card. The other person sent the card in a PWE. Not a problem, but it is a relative thick card. So long as he put it in a toploader, the card should have made its way to me safe.

But it didn't. 

Turns out that the other trader doesn't really care about packaging, as he just threw the card in a team bag and then an envelope. No penny sleeve, no toploader. When it arrived, it had a vertical crease down the middle.

The crease isn't visible in the scan, but it's there.

This really bothered me. It still does. However, I decided not to say anything about it to the other trader. I felt that the card was essentially free so I shouldn't complain. Now I'm kicking myself because it is definitely outside of the acceptable timeframe to complain.

Still, it's a violation of basic common sense that anything sent in a PWE will go through an automated sorter, meaning that extra thick cards are at serious risk for damage. I wonder if he even felt the slightest built guilty when he received the bubble mailer from me that had each card in a penny sleeve and top loader. Doubtful.

Am I making too much of this?

TCDB Trade #2

I recently completed my second trade via The Trading Card Database. Another was interested in a couple of Cardinal parallels that I had and made a really good offer for them, so I jumped. Here's what I received in return:

The first three cards were on my Yu Darvish wantlist. The top card is an amethyst parallel (can't we just say purple?) from 2013 Topps Triple Threads. I really like the Triple Play card. I think Panini does a great job creating cards that are designed (and priced) for kid collectors. It seems that outside of one or two lines, Topps forgot that kids can't afford $100 for a box of cards. Finally, the third card is my first card of Darvish "featured" in a Dodgers uniform. Without logos, I use "featured" loosely. Regardless, I don't like to see/think of the big guy in a uniform that doesn't read "Texas" across the chest.

The final two cards I received were for my Rusty Greer PC.

The top card comes from 2001 Fleer Triple Crown. The second is from 1998 Leaf Rookies & Stars. 

Here's to hoping I can begin to swing more trades on TCDB!

A Gift from Daniel

Last month, Daniel of It's Like Having My Own Card Shop and I made a deal to fill in a few set needs for each other. I was late sending my end of the trade his way, so I wanted to make up for it by including something for one of his collections.

Last week, I received another package from Daniel as a thanks for the card I sent him. I wasn't expecting anything, certainly not anything this awesome!

First up was this purple refractor from the 2012 Topps Chrome set. The 2012 set gets a lot of flack from collectors, but I loved it!

Next up is this Yu Darvish blue parallel from 2013 Topps Museum Collection! My scanner stinks and didn't do a great job of picking up the numbering, but this guy is numbered 1 of 99!

This may have been the biggest shock. Again from 2012, this is the platinum parallel from the Topps Mini set!

And it's numbered 2 of 5! Sweet!

Daniel also included a handful of other cards, but naturally, I put them away before thinking to scan them.

Thanks again, Daniel! I truly appreciate it!

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!

I Got Zapped!

I feel like this title has been used many, many times before I put it up there. As I am certain everyone knows, getting "zapped" means that you received a crazy good package from one Mr. Zippy Zappy. Before the holiday, I was zapped for the first time.

A while back, I pulled a rainbow variation of Luis Torrens' 2017 Topps Update card. I finally got it in the mail to Zippy earlier this month. I had no expectation of anything in return - I was happy to help out a Torrens collector.

But Mr. Zappy would have none of that.

I received several repacks - all of them amazing! Let's have a look at the highlight of each pack.

For the record, these came from the same pack and I couldn't decide which I liked better, so I chose to share both. I'm really starting to fall in love with non-Topps minor league cards. The Alfaro is a 2013 South Atlantic League All Star card. Love it! I also love these Gallery of Greats inserts and did not have the Beltre, so this was a welcome addition! 

You can never go wrong with a Pudge card. I haven't bought much Bowman this year, so this was definitely on my list. I love old school Upper Deck, mainly because the photography was great. Here, we see Kenny Rogers catching the pigskin. I'm certain Nolan Ryan threw it a year before. (See what I did there?!)

Zippy even included an auto! This one comes from 2013 Panini Prizm Perennial Draft Picks and features Alex "Chi Chi" Gonzalez. Chi Chi was cut and re-signed with the Rangers earlier this offseason. He's a first round pick, so hopefully he can put something together. The Bell hails from the 1983 Topps All-Star Set Collector's Edition, the first of it's kind in my collection.

Lastly, we finish up with a Sega CardGen card of Michael Young. This, too, is a first for my collection. I've been wanting one for a really long time (I've had a Matt Harrison Sega card in my eBay watchlist for a year or more).

I was unaware that these were Topps products. It's cool to see everything written in Japanese!

Zippy, thank you for the cards! They are truly appreciated!

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!

Trade With It's Like Having My Own Card Shop

Daniel, the proprietor of It's Like Having My Own Card Shop, recently hit me up to let me know he had a few cards that were on my Set Needs list. I was happy to see his email - my set builds have slowed to a near-stop lately, so this was quite exciting. 

We quickly agreed to a deal and I received the cards a few days later (I was a bit slower sending my side- apologies again, Daniel!):

All from 2017, these knocked out some needs from my Allen & Ginter, Gypsy Queen, and Heritage sets. The two Ginter cards each completed the  respective insert sets for me.

Thanks again, Daniel!

Fuji, My Man!!!

Back in September, I pulled a Clayton Kershaw relic from '17 Heritage High Number. Fuji, the blogosphere's resident wise man, left a comment saying he would be happy to relieve me of the Kersh. I was happy to send it his way. 

Fast forward a month or so. I received a bubble mailer from way out west from one Mr. Fuji. I was not prepared for the awesomeness that was inside.

First, a disclaimer: in my haste, I failed to scan all of the cards - I only scanned those that needed images on the Trading Card Database (more on this in a later post). However, these cards were awesome and I'm happy to share them!

First up:

A sweet Tier One relic from Michael Young! I really love Tier One. I've always wanted to purchase a box to see what kind of luck I would have with it, but I just can't bring myself to pay that much. So when someone sends me a Tier One relic, it goes without saying that I get a little excited!

The second card I scanned was even better, if you can believe that:

Michael Young auto from UD Ovation Spotlight Signatures! What? An auto! Fuji, you really outdid yourself! I was and still am at a loss for words on this package.

As I mentioned, there was even more in the package, I was just a dope and forgot to scan all of them. Fuji, I really can't thank you enough! I'm on the hunt for cards to send in a return package!

I'm A Loser

I'm a loser.

While this statement could probably be applied in multiple aspects of my life, I'm specifically talking about Gint-A-Cuffs. I have once again failed to win the glorious box-breaking battle (say that ten times). This year may be my best finish - third - that is probably due to about half the field failing to submit a score. Regardless, I didn't win, so I am still a loser.

Either way, I am working on finishing the 2017 Allen & Ginter set, as well as some Ranger team needs. If you have any of the following cards, please let me know so we can work out a trade.

Here's what I need for my overall Rangers team set:

And here's what I need for my actual set:

2017 Allen & Ginter
Base

1, 8, 13, 18, 19, 62, 64, 72, 77, 102, 111, 116, 126, 136, 190, 200, 232, 301, 303, 317, 322, 324, 326, 328, 331, 344, 349

Constellations Mini Insert 

4, 7, 8, 9, 10

Required Reading Mini Insert

2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13

World's Dudes Mini Insert
1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 12, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 29, 30, 35, 37, 43, 45

Sport & Fishing Lures Insert
13

World's Fair Insert
6

I hope to hear from you soon!

New Blog Feature: #FinishingFriday

When going through all of my trade bait, I also went through a bunch of cards that I need to get into binders. I noticed that I have quite a few sets that I need to finish up, and that gave me an idea for Finishing Friday.

I know it sounds cheesy, but it was hard for my simple mind to think of a synonym for "complete" that started with the same letter as a day of the week. This is what you get. Deal with it.

Here's the concept. Every Friday, I will post the remaining cards I need to complete a set I am working on. If you have any of those cards, leave a reply in the comments with the card(s) number(s). Then, visit my Trade Bait page and see if I have any cards you need. Leave those in the comments as well. I will send you a message to let you know I saw your comment and then I will drop the cards you requested in the mail! Simple as that! Trades made easy!

Since I just posted my final post for Gint-A-Cuffs IX, I will continue with that theme:

This week's Finishing Friday set is 2017 Allen & Ginter! Here's what I need:

2017 Allen & Ginter

Base

1, 8, 13, 18, 19, 62, 64, 72, 77, 102, 111, 116, 126, 136, 190, 200, 232, 301, 303, 317, 321, 322, 324, 326, 328, 331, 338, 344, 349

Constellations Mini Insert 

4, 7, 9, 10

Required Reading Mini Insert

2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13

World's Dudes Mini Insert

1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 29, 30, 35, 37, 43, 45

Sport & Fishing Lures Insert

13

World's Fair Insert

6

Like the idea of Finishing Friday? Run with it on your blog too! Let's help each other out!

Thanks for reading!

Trade Bait Organization

After the flood, I decided to re-visit how I have my cards stored and organized. The first step of this process was to go through all of my trade bait and make sure that I have it listed correctly.

That was one hell of a first step. I can't imagine the time necessary for those of you that have shelves upon shelves and boxes upon boxes of cards. Good on you.

When it was all said and done, you could tell what sets I collect. I ended up with five 3200-count boxes. Allen and Ginter, Gypsy Queen, and Heritage (and other Heritage products like High Number and Minors) each had their own box. A four box contains all of my other trade bait. The final box holds sets that I still need to get into binders. Here's what they look like:

I put labels on each box so I don't have to go digging inside to determine what's in it. One part laziness, one part genius. I know. Anyway, nothing really exciting about that.

The other part to this cardboard reorganization is an updated Trade Bait page. If you take a peek over there, you'll notice a few things. First, there is a link at the top of the page that says "Hits for Trade." That page is exactly what it says it is. DISCLAIMER - I still need to update that page. I know that there are cards listed that I no longer have and there are cards that are not listed that I need to add. I am going to try to get to that this weekend or next week. So if you see something you want, email me and I will check on it.

Second, I have put in all that I have for trade (in terms of base cards) in the primary trade bait page. If you need any of those cards, let me know and we can work something out. To make life even easier for you, I have linked each set to the Cardboard Connection checklist page for it. That way, you can look up card numbers for players, teams, etc. Take advantage of it!

I'll keep updating my trade bait page as I open packs. I'm not certain if I will open anymore 2017 products because it's simply too expensive right now. But if I do, you can count on an update.

I hope this will encourage some of y'all out there to trade with me. I'm looking forward to finishing off some of these sets (especially 2017 Allen & Ginter!). 

Thanks for reading!

Trade Time!!!

This week has kicked my butt. I was doing the math yesterday and I realized that I had only gotten roughly 11 hours of sleep since Tuesday. It's the time of year where most of the mass communication academic conferences have their conference paper deadlines, and I have been trying to finish up a few papers for these conferences. All of this boiled to a head yesterday when I was at a bar with a group of classmates who were celebrating their recent employment. I flat out fell asleep. And not the "dozing" type of sleep - the kind of sleep that promotes a healthy snore.

Once my friends woke me, I headed home. I walked in the door with the intent of going straight to bed, but then I remembered that I had a few bubble mailers I haven't opened that I received earlier in the week. So let's take a look at one!

Recently, I noticed that Chris, a.k.a. The (Pedestrian) Collector was busting a few boxes of 2017 Heritage. I left a comment asking if we could work something out if he happened to pull any Rangers. Lo and behold, he pulled a Cole Hamels Clubhouse Collection relic:

I admit it: I'm a sucker for relics, especially when they aren't just plan white swatches. Even better, this year's relic cards are of the vertical orientation, rather than horizontal. I really dig it.

That wasn't the only card that Chris sent me, however. Also included was this:

I'm generally not a fan of the buybacks that Topps seems to be regularly inserting now. It was a big deal last year - why is it necessary to do it two years in a row? That being said, I have always loved Mitch Williams. The guy is just downright funny. So this buyback is actually a welcome addition!

But wait - there's more!

Chris also sent this along:

This Yu Darvish Career High relic hails from 2015 Topps Series 1. I mentioned above that I like relics, but this particular design was and is one of my favorites. Don't ask me to explain why - I can't. But I have always really liked these.

Chris - thanks again for the trade! I really appreciate it, and I hope it is just the first of many!