A Gift From Gavin

Last week, I got home and noticed that I had an unexpected package in my mailbox. Not knowing what to expect, I pulled it out and quickly saw that it was from none other than perhaps the most creative man in baseball blogging, Defgav, a.k.a. Gavin, from Baseball Card Breakdown. Gavin is one of my favorite bloggers because he always seems to have an incredibly unique point of view when he writes about cards, and I always learn something when I read his posts. 

Gavin was kind enough to send some cardboard my way for the holidays, all fo which I needed and am grateful to include. Let's take a look.

First up, a Luke Jackson base from 2015 Opening Day and a Colby Lewis base from 2015 Update. I love both of these guys. I'm stoked the Cobra signed another one-year deal to return to the Rangers, though I wish they would have given him at least two years. Jackson was the centerpiece of one of my old PCs, and I wish I was still working on it. The kid is a heckuva pitcher, has amazing hair, and has an amazing relationship with his faith. 

Next up, a Neftali Feliz Rookie Sensation insert from '15 Chrome Update and a Prince Fielder insert from '14 Chrome. I really wanted to love Feliz. He had an amazing fastball, but he just never seemed to care. Once he started getting rocked, he just didn't have that bulldog mentality to fight back so he just gave up. Fielder, on the other hand, essentially took 2014 off to recover from neck surgery. Evidently, that's what he needed, as he was a key addition to the Rangers playoff team from this past season. Stoked to have him back to somewhat normal.

Also included were these two Topps Gold Label cards, which I have never heard of. However, they are beautiful! Can't go wrong with a Pudge card, and it's nice to see a card of Kap as a Ranger. I think most people forget that he played here.

I've been eyeballing these two cards on eBay for a bit now. Fortunately, I have yet to pull the trigger on wither of them. Gavin must have known....These are what I believe are called "pulsar" refractors, at least that's what it seems everyone is calling them. DeShields quickly became one of my favorite Rangers. The dude can fly. Sadly, a bit before the Rangers selected him in the Rule 5 Draft from the Astros, I traded a printing plate of him that I pulled to Bru over at Remember the Astrodome. It is one of the few cards I traded away that I wish I would have kept. Then there's Chi Chi....everytime I say his name I giggle a bit. 

Perhaps that best part of the entire package was the quick sketch and card Gavin included:

I got a good laugh, and I have already put the card into a larger toploader (made for magazines). I truly appreciate the cards and the thoughts Gavin. I am putting something together to send back your way, but it may be after Christmas before I have it all. Thank you again, my friend.

So, I Guess It's Time For Another Blog Post...

I can't believe it has been more than a month since my last post. The end of the semester got here and I buried my head in the books. I wanted to pull a 4.0 this semester, so I devoted myself to studying the material. It worked, for the most part - I received all "A's" with the exception of one "B", which my Theory professor was more than happy to send my way. I can't complain too much, keeping high grades in a PhD program is commendable, right? Okay, I apologize for the blatant call for reassurance. I'm really not that needy.

Okay, back to cardboard. When I last posted, I was talking about how I was noticing a trend of Joey Gallo cards appearing in my collection. Well, that still holds true. I snagged a couple more. 

This is the action photo variation from 2015 Heritage High Number. I've wanted one of these since they came out, but they were always priced well above what I wanted to pay. Fortunately, I found one that was priced at $3 last week, and I immediately scooped it up. The card looks better than the scan, and I think I may send it in for grading (which I will probably do with all of my Gallo rookie cards). I'll let you know what I decide.

This guy hails from the 2015 Heritage 1951 Collection. It's pretty awesome, based on its namesake set. This is the base version, which means...

It has a red back. I know there are other parallels (black, blue, green, and perhaps more), but this is the only I have gotten my hands on. Hopefyully I can snag a few of the others soon.

But Gallo isn't the only player I've been grabbing lately. Before last season, the Rangers shipped lefty reliever Robbie Ross to Boston for Anthony Ranaudo. I don't know why, but I like him. His numbers this year weren't outstanding, but they weren't terrible. I think he has a bright future as a back-end starter, and I hope I'm right. Either way, I've been looking out for his cards, and I've managed to snag some for a very cheap price.

First up, this Future Stars gold parallel from 2015 Topps Chrome. This one ran me all of 50 cents, plus shipping. Numbered to 50, this is one of those cards that looks way better in-hand than it does in the scan,

This is the black refractor from 2015 Heritage High Number. Numbered to 66, it cost me more than the above gold refractor, but still came in at a whopping $3. It also looks better in-hand; as a matter of fact, I would venture to say this card is beautiful. Glad to have it.

So there it is, my first post in a month. Feels good to get something out there. Now perhaps I will stop losing readers...you guys deserve content, and I am glad to once again give it to you. So if you have any Gallos or Ranaudos, hit me up, let's make a trade and then I will have more content to post about!

I Think I See A Pattern Forming Here....

It's getting harder and harder to find Matt Harrison cards that I don't already have. I don't really look for Nick Martinez cards anymore, and I rarely buy a Rusty Greer card on eBay (I just can't bring myself to pay $3 to have a 25 cent card shipped to me...I need Greer cards in lots!). 

I've also stopped buying boxes. My budget just won't allow it. 

However, I still have the itch to add cards. And I have added a few. When I look at them, I think I see a pattern. My last post showed off a sweet Joey Gallo auto. This post is going to share a few more Gallo cards.

See the pattern?

Gallo is the Rangers' best prospect, and he didn't do too shabby when he was called up this year. Keep in mind - he really hadn't played above Double A when he was summoned. However, when you come up the same year that Kris Bryant and Carlos Correa do, you may be judged unfairly. It sucks, but it makes his cards affordable.

For instance, I snagged this guy for less than $3:

This is Gallo's photo variation rookie card. I like it quite a bit.

I was also able to snag this card:

Look strange? Here, compare it:

That is the standard base card from 2015 Heritage High Number on the right. The card on the left is the reverse print: the front is a matte finish, the rear is glossy. Now, I tried to get a copy of Mitch Moreland's reverse print and the card sold for more than $30. Rumor is that each card is limited to 10 or fewer copies, hence the reason for the price.

That being said, the seller had this card listed as "2015  Topps Heritage Joey Gallo RC #647 Rangers Reverse 1/1?" I felt that he had no idea what he had and contemplated sending him a message to let him know what the card was exactly. However, I checked his profile and saw that he was an experienced seller...he should know exactly what he is going to sell if that's the route he wants to take. Sounds kind of prickish, but I think it's fair to expect that of a high-volume seller.

Anyway, the card is pretty freakin' sweet. I'm happy to add it. And I think I'll get back to actively collecting Gallo cards. So, help me out and send me what you got!

An Introspective -OR- Where I Am Today

Just about 11 months ago, I decided to make a serious life change. I decided to quit my well-paying job and return to school to work on my PhD, which doesn't pay terribly well while you are in school. 

This meant that my card budget would be cut back. It was hard for me to do that. I didn't have much of a social life while I was working, so baseball cards were my "thing" - that thing I do that is just for me, to give me an escape. My social life - and budget - were cut drastically when I came back to school. 

Along the way, I was able to save up and buy a few boxes, clearly breaking my new year's goal of only buying one box of three different products. I also got rid of some of the less-essential parts of my collection.

I also noticed that a few blogs threw in the towel during the last eleven months. There were times when I thought I should be one of them. I have only been able to post five or six times a month. I would wonder if anything I wrote was of any value to anyone. 

But I kept stepping forward. Here I am today, writing about my recent journey. I don't know where I am going with my collection, but this blog has been rather cathartic for me. I love reading about other people's adventures, and I love communicating with other bloggers as well. 

So enough of that. Let's look take a look at a card that I didn't know if I would ever get:

This dropped with 2015 Topps Update. When I saw Gallo was on the list, I expected that his card would be through the roof. I put this card in my search on my eBay app and waited as I saw it regularly sell for nearly $20. That was a bit rich for my blood...that kind of money is generally reserved for Matt Harrison cards.

However, this one was listed for $9 buy it now and free shipping. I was more than okay paying that price for the card. So, after pressing the button and waiting about a week, I received this card. 

If I had one problem, it would be that it's a sticker auto. But it is what it is, and I'm glad I have it. 

Are there any cards from Update that you absolutely have to have?

Four Down...One To Go

In June, I noted that I had yet to add any of my Top 5 Most Wanted cards to my collection. Shortly thereafter, I added the Jon Daniels auto from the 2012 General Managers autograph subset.

Shortly thereafter, I added another card from the list in this 2013 Topps Heritage Matt Harrison mini.

A couple months passed. I swung a huge deal with an eBay seller and was so excited about the deal, I forgot to mention that the #1 card from the list was included.

Well, it's time to add another. This one...I was afraid I would never find this one.

Feast your eyes on....

2014 Topps Matt Harrison acetate parallel numbered 10 of 10!

I've been watching for this card since well before it was put on the list. Never saw one. Was pretty sure I would never see one.

Until last week. It hit eBay at 99 cents, so I put in a max bid that I knew would cover it - when you think you will only have one chance at a card, you make sure you don't lose.

So, with about an hour to go, the auction was still at 99 cents. I got my hopes up that I would sneak this one out for cheap. Then reality kicked me in the shin and bidders started running it up, all the way past....$16. Still not a bad deal. 

Sometimes, you just get really excited for a card. You know that no one else will probably give a damn, but that card means the word to you. For me, right now, this is that card.

On Trajectory To Another Project

Ah, the forced title created to make a pun on part of my collection...never gets old.

I was looking through my trade bait a few days ago, and I noticed something. I had seven cards from the 2014 Topps Trajectory relic set listed. I located them in my trade box and took them out to look at.

Short story: I decided I really liked the cards. 

I don't what it is about them, but I like them. I know that Topps refuses to verify what game or event the jerseys were worn at, but that doesn't mean the cards can't be cool, right?

There's just something about them. So I decided that I needed to have a copy of every one!

<Drum roll, please>

Introducing, my new project: the 2014 Topps Trajectory Relic set!

This set boasts more than 80 cards. Naturally, I need to have every one of them! However, my collection is currently set to the base set, not including gold parallels numbered to 99 or the jumbo relics (though those would be sweet!). 

Here's what I am beginning with (pictures only):

It's late, so I'm not going to go through the trouble of detailing all of these. However, if you have a card that will fit in this project and you are wondering if I need it, you can check my project needs page! 

So what do you think? Like the cards? Love 'em? HATE 'em? Lemme know!

PS - Nick over at Dime Boxes is going dark for a bit. In case you haven't already, go give his blog a read. It is infinitely cooler than mine and has all kinds of cool stuff. After you've read, leave him a note to let him know you were there. Hopefully, he won't leave us permanently! 

Is This Thing On????

I'm just checking because I haven't heard much from anyone after my last post. Sure, Brian left a comment, but until he starts blogging again, he's on my sh*tlist.....I'm so mad at him right now, I haven't even taken a moment to tease him about is love of softball (you didn't think I forgot, did you Brian?).

So here's the deal. In my last post, I said that I wanted to start trading for the remaining Matt Harrison cards I need. I even went so far as to say that anyone who traded with me would get one entry per Harrison card sent my way to my upcoming contest.

What's the contest, you ask? Well, I am working on it. Not sure what all will be included, but one thing that will definitely be an autographed baseball with TriStar verification.

But I decided to expand the game a bit. Matt Harrison is clearly my number one PC. However, I am going to add Rusty Greer to the mix. So for every Matt Harrison and/or Rusty Greer card you send me, you will receive one entry until December 1, which is when I will draw a winner! All I ask is that you send me cards I don't already have! That simple!

Now take a look at my trade bait (frequently - it's still a work in progress!) and let's make a trade!