Wednesday 31 July 2013

A Big Dad Trade


My second trade complete!

This time around it was with Jack, aka, BASEBALL DAD, who writes the great blog Baseball Dad's ALL TRIBE BASEBALL.

Here's the first look of the cards Jack sent me along side the pack of this years Topps Series 2 flagship set.


You can see by now that Jack got me a 'red Yankee' which makes my day only by that.

Will be posting all the cards in a future post.

Right now, as usually, I'm just staring at them.


---------------------
As a note:
I commented in a previous post that I was waiting to get some cards I ordered from two European countries which were missing.

They are still missing and I think I won't get them...But the mail from USA arrives fast on time and in great conditions.

I think I'll start ordering only from USA because the mail are handle more carefully.

Batting ax

1995 Collector's Choice SE #129 - Edgar Martinez - Courtesy of COMC.com
1995 Collector's Choice SE #129 - Edgar Martinez

The spot of the S logo right next to the bat seems like Martinez is batting with an ax.

Even more if you see the card with zoom out.

Thursday 25 July 2013

Bad design - Dust censorship

1995 Pinnacle #199 - Darren Lewis - Courtesy of COMC.com
1995 Pinnacle #199 - Darren Lewis

This is a great example of how a bad design card, even if at first looks good, can hide and make a card lose all the interest it could have.

Game of pain

1995 Pinnacle #57 - Ryan Thompson - Courtesy of COMC.com
1995 Pinnacle #57 - Ryan Thompson

I've seen the famous Jeff Reed pain card.

But put a smile on your face Jeff.

You are not alone.

Football skills with a baseball

1995 Pinnacle #63 - J.R. Phillips - Courtesy of COMC.com
1995 Pinnacle #63 - J.R. Phillips

Genius!

Next go for the shotting and score a goal!

Wednesday 24 July 2013

That's no Can Can

1994 Score #371 - Pat Listach

Can you break dance like that?

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

 
1994 Flair #36 - Frank Thomas

Big ego.

Frank Thomas kiss Frank Thomas.

Cute.

What is wrong in this card?

1994 Collector's Choice Silver Signature #103 - Scott Fletcher

Looking at this great slinding-to-the-base card what do you think is wrong?

...

REAL BAD HAIR!

How to tag a cloud of dust

1994 Pinnacle #151 - Jay Bell

Bless my poor soul! I fund a beauty must have dust-is-in-the-air card!

Want it badly!

Sleeping card



Caught or posing for the camara?

Tuesday 23 July 2013

Bad luck - Summer time

I don't know if it's because we're in the Silly Season, aka, Summer time and that's why I get all this bad luck.

Ordered a final time from my European eBay seller and the package it's taking too long. It usualy takes 2 or 3 days after it is dispatched. Now I've count more than a week and nothing.

I had a problem a year ago too... I think the logistics tend to have the distribution cars stolen or packages damaged a lot at Summer time.

I think it's more than the baseball gods putting the wheels in motion. It's the bloody karma from an other life!

I did something bad against baseball in my previous life. Got to be that..


(just a little random thought before going to sleep...don't mind)

Monday 22 July 2013

Funny Monday - Powered by COMC


Welcome to an other round through COMC.

Today we have the poor '82 Donruss Hosken Powell doing everything to be inside the card frame.


Same problem for '82 Fleer Jack Morris.

A pitcher without the throwing hand.


But you better keep your uniform clean like '82 Topps Charlie Moore.

Friday 19 July 2013

1985 Donruss #253 - Bruce Bochte


Mister Bruce Bochte has a name that might not be that strange to English speakers but for a Portuguese speaker is a bit difficult to say and do not think in other things...

But the photo doesn't help that much.

That 1B position is both treacherous to the player and to the umpire.

So yes, I'm enjoying that much navigating through the cards gallery in COMC.

(This is the 3rd post in a row about cards I saw on COMC).

Thursday 18 July 2013

Phantom of the Baseball game



I've read about the best Halloween card.

So today I talk about the best (IMO) phantom card.

I think of octopus and squids when looking to those phantom people behind Dave Stieb.

ETA:

I found an other one!


Lots of phantom squids too in '85 Donruss Scott McGregor card.

They used the same filter to the photo no?

Funny Thursday - Powered by COMC


Checking again on COMC to add cards to my want list and found some pretty things.

Like This '81 Topps Leon Roberts.

He's going to spit an elephant or what!?

Maybe he's suffering from some baseball allergic.


And we also have some break dance from '81 Topps Manny Trillo.


Or you can be simply bunting on the dugout like '82 Topps Ivan DeJesus.


And finally doze off from being sooooooo bored like '82 Fleer Gaylord Perry.

Tuesday 16 July 2013

New action collection - Get your seat on the Front Row

While getting through my cards something caught my eye.

Of course you have the bunt cards that usually draw a person to them.

Myself included.

But also some other type of cards made me stare and decide they deserve a binder.

I'm talking about the Front-Row cards!

And what are these cards!?

I can give you an example.



You have a great Brandon Morrow card not only because you get to see the ball traveling its way to the batter or catcher nor for the commemorative cap.

Nops.

It's really because you get to see the batter.

You feel like your in the front row of the action.

An other example is this.


Rich Harden making the swan figure plus the ball and the batter right there!

These are just two examples that I found in my cards. One for vertical and other horizontal. There might be more out there but you get the preview.


Meanwhile I'll be adding a new tab on the top bar and will list them like the dust collection.

Sunday 14 July 2013

Frank Duffy - Flying over dust

1973 Topps #376 - Frank Duffy
I was checking COMC and deciding if I finally get to order some cards from them.

I have a couple of cards under my 'watch list' ready to hit the buy button.

And then I found this.

Can you get more beautiful than this!?

This card can be the one right now to get Kevin Mitchell out of the first place!

I think my decision is taken. I'll be buying from COMC in a more near future than I thought. (I'm just waiting for my cards budget to grow a bit more...)

Thursday 11 July 2013

My collection tops! (So far...)

I've been dedicating some time to fill my collection online at The Trading Card Database.

I know zistle had some major changes and that they still are great but I got so used to TCD that I lacked updates on zistle.

But I've talked about this before and today I'm just showing my tops 10.

Yep, at TDB we get to see the collection history by months (and days) and also some tops.

I have yet to add lots of cards to the list but you can get an ideia.

Right now I have a total of 3846 cards listed. That's a big wow to me!

I think that the number counts also the duplicates so if we exclude those we might get a small number...but not that smaller.

So here they are, my top 10.


I still don't get how they calculate the card price.

If it is like they do on zistle is some kind of middle between eBay, Amazon and Beckett no?

None the less I got chocked when I saw the #1.

More than 30$ for the Lind card from the last and infamous 2010 Upper Deck set?

Something is wrong or did I miss something?


Now forgetting the cards values is time for the Top Names.

The only player listed in the top10 that I have in my PC list is Joey Votto.

Derek Jeter is the Yankee I get most it seems.


Now the Top Teams was as expected. Or not.

I didn't buy single cards nor traded enough to get lots of Yankees outside the packs I got.

And from all the packs I bought I got all those Yankess!?

At least the baseball gods are good to me in this chapter.

Still the Red Sox are the #2 team. I wish the East Division was that way too...


2010 Topps Update and 2012 Topps (mostly Series 1) were the sets I did buy lots of packs.

I would take around 50/70 cards in each for the dups and get around 200 cards in each.

My #10 spot is the '88 Topps set with the round number of 100 cards. That's cool.


The Top Years shows that I have more cards from 2010.

No surprise that the previous top 3 correspond to this top 3.

2010 has besides Topps the Upper Deck final set so that's why the advantage for the 2011 and 2012.


The last top is for Brands.

No surprise ether that Topps tanks #1. And if we added the Update and Opening Day and all other Topps products it would be even bigger the number.

I have about 2/3 of Topps against other brands in my collection.

It's not my fault! I try to get other brands even more from the wax era. But they are like an octopus.


So these are my tops after about 5 months of adding cards to the TDB.

Wednesday 10 July 2013

Jonathan Lucroy - Woman Perspective post


It's time for an other post in this so beloved category.

I was remembered by BASEBALL DAD comment that I haven't made a Woman Perspective post in a while.

Shame on me!

And then I started to think about who this posts might be.

And then again shame on me!

Why!?

Because I haven't made a post about one of the first players that made me stare at his card.

So the post is about Jonathan Lucroy.

And it's my first catcher!

The card that made me stare is this pretty thing.


Me who likes those clouds of dust and see the uniforms got all dirty during the games had a blast with this card.

Catchers gear all dirty and a pretty face on top is something to make my day.

It's like gold!

And that's why I also got this card.


He's my Golden Dusty Boy.

(If I said 'Dirty' it would sound R rated and I want to keep the blog PG13.)

And that's why I checked to see if I had more cards of me.

I found I have his Rookie Card!


Wow!

Catcher in action!

That umpire there is blocking my spectacular view!

Topps photoshop a lot of things, even eyebrows! And they let that umpire to block the pretty thing that is Lucroy!?

I'm preparing some voodoo...I just don't know if for the umpire, the photographer or Topps.

But I'm also thinking about Lucroy's hairdresser.


What is that!?

It's a 'no no no'!

Thank baseball gods that Lucroy saw the light and changed the hairstyle.

That and keep showing in cards wearing the helmet.


And there is an other update.

The Beard!

That 2/3 days beard!


See!?

Ahhh the Beard...

Unfortunately there are few cards of Lucroy and I only have 4.

And if Topps has the exclusive for the next 2 years or so, I think I'll go ahead with the voodoo thing.

Tuesday 9 July 2013

More little facts about the Yellow set


Are you ready for more little funny facts about the '91 Fleer set!?

I know you are!

Better!

I know you want it!

Today we are going from top to bottom.

It's like riding the roller coaster.


First we start with a Joe Carter with a swing and pop up.

Look into the air. It's a bird? A cloud? The Moon? The Super-Man? No! It's the bloody baseball that Carter insisted to pop up!

Time to go down a bit.


Now we are 1 step down and we have Ruben Sierra looking at something in the dirt or grass and forgot that the bat is to bat the ball.

There's the ball.

And there's Sierra lost looking.


And here we go down even more with Keith Miller bunting to a foul ball.

I think he's training for the girls compliment back in the XIX century instead of caring to bunt the ball right.

That leg behind cannot foul me!


But we can get even more down!

Scott Fletcher is ready to bunt or to get on his knee and ask the pitcher to marry him?


But if you thought that we could no longer get down besides the Fletcher point you were wrong!

We are quite down the hill in the roller coaster here with Glenn Braggs.

I have one word for Braggs...

CRICKET!

Monday 8 July 2013

Little facts about the Yellow set


I know there are a lot of angst about the '91 Fleer set.

Yep, all those yellow borders.

Really angst.

But I do like yellow...a lot!

And from the moment I knew there was this set with so much yellow to give I decided I had to have at least a couple of cards. And for my joy the ebay seller had some packs.

Only got two rack packs but a lot of fun!

Before I show you all the cards I got I have to highlight three of them.


Take notice in this Alfredo Griffin card.

Yes it is right heading to my dust-is-in-the-air binder but is not that that made me take a double take to the card.

The reason why is the next card I also got.


When I looked to the Jose Vizcaino and to Griffin card again I thought I was seeing things.

But no.

The sliding player is in both Bip Roberts.

It is not in the same game because the uniforms are different: Griffin has the home uniform and Vizcaino has the away uniform. The same for Roberts.

Poor Roberts got an out from both the 2B and the SS.


The next highlight is for the Call Ripken Jr. card.

The left corner is not cut off. It's the light that gave that effect.

But what I found funny about the photo is that this might be the warm up.

Why?

Why would Ripken Jr. be fielding with the batting protection on the leg?

Maybe is just for the style of it.

Sunday 7 July 2013

Cards a bit far away

After some time thinking about losing ESPN America I thought 'At least I can keep buying cards and keep feeling I'm into baseball that way'.

But the gods are against me.

I received yesterday a messege from my ebay favourite seller saying he's closing the shop.

Pain my friends!

Since he's in Europe too it was easier and way less expensive to buy from him.

So besides losing the baseball on TV it will be more dificult to get cards every now and then.

*sigh*

I need vacations.

Wednesday 3 July 2013

1991 Donruss Series 1



To you all the junk wax is past.

And perhaps the worst time to get cards.

But for me it's fun.

Until I get at least a couple of cards from every other set of those years I will not rest.

Those repack packs are good for this. But I have not been able to get those anymore so I'm doing fine with these rack packs.

The worst are those that say 'Gum'.

I tend to run away from those but that will eventually lead me to miss some years and brands cards.

There is always a price to pay...


So as you might already noticed today I'm posting about '91 Donruss Series 1.

I got 6 well known Diamond Kings and they probably are the best draws I got from Donruss.

They don't need that much of photoshop.

Even if Dave Righetti seems to be a bit in pain. Perhaps he snapped a spike on the foot.



The card back is quite dense with info that I love.

What got me thinking is the crown on the bottom with the dates.

Are those the years in which he was selected to a Diamond King? Because there are others that have no crown. And if they put on the crown the present (ate the time) year of '91 all them should have a crown.

Just me saying...


Then 3 Highlights cards.

A no-hitter along side fielding records and catchers records.


Also got 2 All Star cards.

I like these cards and I like they still make the sets nowadays. Well...the set. They usually are featured in the Update Series set.

The Bob Welch is a night card? Night Owl must know that better than me.

And now for Rated Rookies and base cards!


- Mark Lewis RR
- Rudy Seanez: If I counted right he was in 9 different teams to which some of them he played more than once.
- Chris James
- Cory Snyder
- Steve Olin: He's a submarine pitcher whom always look great on cards. Specially if they are in horizontal format.
- Dion James
- Alex Cole: Yep. I'm in bunt- team too. So this card is already in the bunts binder section.
- Jose Offerman RR
- Fernando Valenzuela: I always tend to call him 'Venezuela'.
- Hubie Brooks


- Leo Gomez RR
- Gregg Olson: I like Gregg. Even if at first I got all confused with him and Greg Olson.
- Mark Williamson
- Chris Hoiles
- Ray Lankford
- Jose DeLeon
- Ozzie Smith: The flying man.
- Jose Oquendo


- Mickey Morandini RR
- Darrin Fletcher RR
- Dickie Thon: Already made his look-a-like post.
- Darrel Akerfelds
- Darren Daulton
- Steve Lake
- Kevin Belcher RR
- Kevin Reimer


- Julio Franco: I counted at least 10 MLB teams.
- Jeff Russell: Butterfly style!?
- Mark Salas
- Lance McCullers
- Lou Whitaker
- Paul Gibson
- Gregg Jefferies
- Sid Fernandez


- John Franco: Career ERA 2.89 makes him look good even with that mustache.
- Paul Molitor
- Dan Plesac
- Bill Spiers
- Mark Knudson
- Will Clark
- Terry Kennedy
- Greg Litton: He would do good in a fashion week with that pose.


But oh! Wait!

Look who I got here!

I managed to get my beloved Paul Molitor as well my also beloved Will Clark!

Woot! Woot! Woot!


- Steve Bedrosian
- Duane Ward
- Jimmy Key: By the look of the photo it seems he's warming up.
- Tom Henke: Submarine pitcher too?
- Manny Lee
- Kent Hrbek
- Shane Mack
- Juan Berenguer


- Mark McGwire: Great looking batting photo. I usually call him "Mark MacGyver".
- Willie Randolph
===== Enter Yankees area
- Lee Guetterman
- Greg Cadaret
- Mike Witt
===== Exit Yankees area
- Tim Burke
- Larry Walker
- Randy Johnson: '91 was the 4th year of Johnson in the MLB. Even younger he looked old!


- Harold Reynolds
- Scott Bradley: It seems the catcher was supporting him.
- Ed Whitson
- Ivan Calderon: I think he swallowed a fork. Look at that straight back!
- Donn Pall: Is that a beginning of a mustache?
- Robin Ventura: There are player who simply look awesome.
- Wayne Edwards
- Dave Smith


- Ken Caminiti
- Casey Candaele
- Eric Anthony
- Shawn Boskie
- Les Lancaster
- Tommy Gregg
- Rob Murphy
- Kevin Romine: His the father of Yankees catcher Austin Romine.


- Mariano Duncan: A great add to my bunt binder.
- Rob Dibble: I like this photos in which the pitcher still has the hand down ready to throw.
- Bobby Bonilla
(I think these last three cards are my favourite)


I love blue so I like the borders.

About the strips, Donruss has it as a trademark to which I don't have anything against. I even find it fun trying to match the cards in order for the strips in the borders match the best possible.

Donruss is really a puzzle.