An Attempt To Clean Up The Scans Folder

Whew. It's been a long week. A loooooong week. In fact, this was probably the busiest week of my life. I figured school might get a bit busy toward finals, but I was welcomed aboard the struggle bus in just week five. When I wasn't in class or working at the tutorial center, I was doing homework. A ton of homework. Like a lot of homework. So much homework that I've only slept for about 12 total hours since Monday night. I'm still not sure why I'm at my computer rather than in bed.

Anywho. Let's get to some recent additions.

I'll start with a sweet pull from a pack of 2015 Topps -- pulled by my father of course. That man rarely ever buys cards, but he always manages to get something cool. I threw this up on eBay, but I'd be more than willing to swap it for a similar parallel of a Dodger. It's limited to just 99 copies, so we'll see what kind of interest it gets.

If this card looks familiar it is probably because I posted it back in October. Well, not the same exact card, but one of the other twenty-five. My buddy Dikran picked this up on the bay last week thinking that I could add it to the PC. I already have one, but I don't mind adding another beauty to the PC. Eight percent of the print run down; bring on the other twenty-three cards!

I also picked up a pair of fantastic new Kemp patches recently. I actually bought the top one, while my buddy ran across the bottom one right before the auction ended. We ended up walking away with both of them for just under ten bucks. 

I really enjoy the look of these cards, as well as the colorful patches. However, the thing that stands out just might be the description on the back. Panini tells us a little story about a game Kemp had back in 2013; but, it's what is in parentheses right under that which stands out. 

The enclosed game-worn (worn July 3, 2013) material is guaranteed by Panini America, Inc.

I have been a bit skeptical about the authenticity of relic cards for quite some time, but never enough to stop buying them. I do think the addition of the game-worn date does make the card feel much more authentic. I'm hoping we see this more in the hobby moving forward. 

Finally, we move on to yet another piece of cardboard that is in my possession thanks to a friendly tip from Greg. Seriously, if I were to ever become a billionaire, I would hire him to go and buy me some art. He really knows how to find a deal. 

Greg suggested I purchase this way back in December, and I believe I got it for about a buck or two. Initially, there is not much that stands out with this card. A closer inspection of the back, however, reveals that this is the no-number SSP. I'm not sure how limited these are, but I'm happy to finally add one to my ever-growing Matt Kemp PC. 

A Smudged Matt Kemp Auto Is Still A Matt Kemp Auto

At one point in my blogging career I would post new autographs the day I got them. Especially if they were Matt Kemp autographs. However, times have changed and so have my posting habits. 

I picked this card up way back in the early part of December for a mere seven bucks. The auto is quite smudged, but that is okay with me. It isn't like I am planning on getting this card graded. 

This is officially my 15th Matt Kemp auto, though I do have a few others in hand waiting to be posted. One of these days I'm going to catch up with Greg and surpass his masterful Kemp PC. 

Let's Do Some Housekeeping

I was browsing the blogs last night when I came across a fantastic post by Zippy Zappy over at Torren' Up Cards. I have not had the pleasure of dealing with him yet, but perhaps that will change one of these days.

Anyway. In spite of some recent events, Zippy Zappy went over his trading Code of Conduct. It was definitely a good read, so I encourage you all to go and check it out. 

In the post, ZZ discussed building trust with trading partners. The post made me think about how I go about trades, contests, and other blog related dealings, but most importantly, it reminded me of all the people I owe cards to. 

In an effort to make things right with some of the fantastic people out there in cardboard land, I am posting this as a reminder to myself , and to those I have dealings with, to make things right.

If I owe you cards, or if we have a deal in place that hasn't been completed, please comment on this post. 

A combination of school and work has taken up a ton of my free time, and I am getting forgetful in my young age. 

Below is a list of people I know I owe cards to. If you aren't on this list, and we haven't spoken in the past few weeks, please contact me. 

• Ruben Lipsyzc (USA Relics from Contest)
• Matthew Wilson (K-Mart Set)
• Bo Rosny (K-Mart Set)
• Fantastic Catch (Bowman Minis + Cardinals)
• Nomo's Sushi Platter (Dodgers) 
• Nachos Grande (Set needs + more)
• Night Owl (Dodgers Needs)

I'm pretty positive that those are the only people I owe cards to. I double checked my email and Twitter inbox and can't find anyone else. However, I am human and I may have missed someone. 

By the way, here is one of my more recent Kemp pickups. Shiny blue cards are fun. 

Crème de la Crème

The crème de la crème. The best of the best. The cream of the crop. The pick of the litter. Whatever you wanna call it, I have it. 

"What is is it?" you might ask. Well, I'll show you. 

That's right. I got my hands on a 2005 Bowman Chrome Matt Kemp rookie auto. 

This card has been atop of my want list ever since my want list was a thing. With an influx of Christmas money, I finally ponied up the money and bought one shortly after the holiday. 

This is (at least for me) the card that any serious Matt Kemp collectors need to acquire. The crappy scan does not do this card justice at all. It looks truly phenomenal in person. 

I'm still not sure what to say about this card. I absolutely love it. It wasn't cheap, in fact it is the most expensive card I've purchased to date. I'm sending it off to get graded, and hopefully I'll have more to say when it gets back. I have my fingers crossed for at least a 9 overall. We'll see. 

Are You Tired Of All These Matt Kemp Posts? No? Good!

It's currently late, late Friday night. I should probably be in bed, but with an overflowing scans folder, and craving for a bowl of Cap'n Crunch, I found my way to the computer. 

It will probably be my final late, late night writing for awhile, at least blog related. School is starting back up Monday, and I am planning on being busier than ever. With five classes, not to mention a sixth in which I will be an embedded tutor, two jobs, and a lack of free time, I expect the blog to dry up a little. 

That's not to say I won't be posting, but I will probably be cutting it back to about 3-4 posts a week. Which is totally fine by me, considering I won't be buying much cardboard for a while. College is freakin' expensive.

That said, let's take a look at one of my newest cards from that overflowing scans folder.

Can't go wrong with a new card of Matt Kemp. I mean, unless he's in a Padres jersey. Yuck. (Which I would totally still want by the way).

Anyway. There isn't anything really special about this card, other that the fact that it contains a piece of jersey that may or may not have been worn by Kemp. It is officially the 201st Kemp card in my PC, and the last time I mention how many cards are in that PC until I reach 300. 

Top 10 Matt Kemp Cards

There is something about this time of the year that breeds countdowns. Nick over at Dimeboxes just did one, and then there is Nick with another one, and, heck, it seems like Nick might be the only blogger doing them. If you're tired of checking out all of Nick's fantastic countdowns, you've come to the right place. I have finally taken the time to produce my Top 10 Matt Kemp Cards Countdown.

Let's go over some basic rules for this thing:

• Autograph and relic cards are not eligible
• #'d cards and parallels are eligible
• The cards must be present in my Matt Kemp PC

Before we begin, I'd like to start out with an honorable mention that did not make the cut. 

Honorable Mention: 2013 Topps Heritage #81 All-Star Vets with Kershaw

This card was initially in the top 10, but I decided that Kershaw's presence is what propelled it into the ranks. It is still one of my all-time favorite cards, but it won't be eligible for the countdown.

Without further adieu, my Top 10 Matt Kemp cards.

10. 2012 Topps Update Series Golden Moments GM-U27

These Golden Moments cards were some of the first inserts I saw when I got back into the hobby a couple of years back. I loved them at the time, and I still enjoy them now, but I am not as high on them as I once was. That said, I love this card. The card commemorates what is probably the greatest moment of Kemp's career on April 28th, 2012. A date also memorable for being the debut of Bryce Harper. 

The Dodgers were down 3-1 in the bottom of the 9th, but managed to push across two runs to tie it. The game went into extras, and Kemp walked it off with a mammoth homer to deep center. The moment was great for Kemp, but it might go down as my favorite memory of the former center fielder. The fact that this card captures that pushed it into the Top 10. 

9. 2013 Allen and Ginter's #319

I love simplistic designs on cards. I loved 2013 A&G. I love the fantastic blue, white, and red combo from the Dodgers jersey. Everything just came together for this card, which is why it holds a spot on this list.

8. 2012 Topps Heritage #279 

Topps Heritage makes its first appearance on this list, though we will see it again. As you will see with the rest of the list, I like posed photos. I didn't realize the extent to which I admired them before this post, but it is pretty obvious now. 

I dig vintage designs, and 1963 Topps is one of the most iconic sets in history (at least in my opinion). Colorful designs, the smaller bubble for an additional posed shot, and a fantastic photo propelled this card to spot number eight on this list. I also like to think that Matty is posing with a bat that I have in my collection, though the chances of that are slim. Especially since this photo was probably taken in Spring Training. 

7. 2013 Panini Father's Day Studio '13 #14

I fought over where to put this in my countdown, but there is no question it is one of the most spectacular cards in my ever growing PC. I'm not one for black and white shots, but this is just cardboard gold. I can never get enough quirky shots in my collection, and this fits the bill perfectly. Considering this is a Panini product (no logos), I feel they executed this perfectly. I also have the cracked ice version of the card (here) which is /25, but I opted to show the base version. Those are some great looking tats Matty. 

6. 2011 Bowman #13

In addition to posed shots, I love me some dugout shots. And as you may have noticed, I also love cards that contain the bat that is possibly in my collection. To be honest, I'm not sure what pulls me into this card. Maybe it is the contrast between the bright colors of the jersey with the black border. I'm not sure, but whatever it is pushed it to number six in the countdown. 

5. 2013 Gypsy Queen Mini Photo Variation #311

We have finally made it to the only mini of the list. This card would be ranked higher (possibly number two) if it was a standard sized card, but I appreciate it for what it is. I like mini's, but I just can't get myself to enjoy these smaller minis from GQ and A&G. Yet, the card ranks number five in my all-time Kemp cards.

The reason? It's a Jackie Robinson Day card. I cannot express just how much I love JRD cards. There is just something about seeing those fantastic Brooklyn B's on the caps, and the number 42 on every jersey.  Add those features to a fantastic action shot of Matty Ice and we have one of the greatest pieces of cardboard I've ever seen. 

4. 2012 Topps Series 1 #330 Beast Mode Variation

Going over this list is a bit depressing for a couple of reasons. For one, Kemp is now a Padre and I'll miss him in Los Angeles; and two, Topps short prints the hell out of some of their best cards. 

Case in point, the ridiculously cool card you see above. Kemp is known for his Beast Mode moniker, or at least he was, so it is awesome to see this captured on a card. I think someone told me where I could get one of the Beast Mode shirts before, but I seem to have forgotten. There is a goal for 2015. 

3. 2013 Topps Heritage #450 SP Black Border

We are now getting into the big boys of this list. The next two cards are pretty interchangeable, especially because I opted to go with colored parallels of the two cards. 

The above cards comes from 2013 Topps Heritage (yay Heritage!), and is a fairly recent addition to my PC. I absolutely the base version of this card, but I am a sucker for black borders. Especially when coupled with the menacing scowl of one Matt Kemp, we get a great piece of cardboard. 

2. 2010 Topps 206 Blue Refractor TC13, #'d 188/199

I feel that this card and the heritage card above could have easily been switched, but I gave the edge to this one. It is probably because I hailed this to be the best Kemp card ever earlier this year, but here we are. It actually landed at number two on the list. 

I actually don't have the base issue of this card, which I found out during the making of this list. I do have the chrome, refractor, and gold refractor copies, but that ever elusive base is still out there. Because it isn't yet in my binder, I decided to show off the blue shiny version of the card. While the initial card is great, the shiny blue border really makes it pop. 

1. 2005 Topps UH284

To me, this will always be the ultimate Matt Kemp card (non-autograph speaking). There is something special about a rookie card that makes it stand above the rest of the that players cards. This is especially true for Kemp above. 

Technically, this is not his Topps RC, but it is the very first card of Kemp as a member of the Dodgers. It is one of the only cards in my PC that features him in any number but 27, and it is probably one of the only cards of him without tattoos. 

For the reasons above, and many more that I simply cannot name, this is the ultimate Kemp card in my PC. 

Matt Kemp 5-Star Autograph Finally Pushes my PC to 200

Today is the day I'm sure you've all been waiting for. After a barrage of non-stop Matt Kemp posts, we have one more today. Then, you know, we can get to the rest next year, but I'll throw some other guys in the mix. ;)

Matt Kemp Card #200

Oh man, is that sweet or what. It isn't the card I was hoping to show off today, but it is pretty freaking fantastic in its own right.

It hails from one of the sweetest brands for Matt Kemp autos: 2012 Topps Five Star Baseball. It is now my second auto from the set, with the first being my very first Matt Kemp auto.  There are still quite a few Kemp autos from the set I'd like to get my hands on, but this will do for now. With this addition, my Matt Kemp PC now contains 13 Matt Kemp autographs. I initially though this was Kemp auto number 14, but after taking a quick re-count today, I realized I made a mistake. 

It took until the final day of 2014, but I finally reached 200 Matt Kemp cards.

I hope everybody enjoys their night tonight. I'm still not sure what I'll be doing, but I'm sure I'll be happy to ring a in a new year wherever I might be. Stay safe and have a very happy new year!

Mini Kemp and Ryu Relics For The Win

In search of more Matt Kemp cards, I rummaged through eBay recently. What did I find? 

MINIS!!!!!!!

Woohoo! I love me some minis, even more so when they feature Matt Kemp and/or there is some type of autograph or memorabilia attached. This one happens to feature a sweet bat slice of Matty Ice, a great card for number 199 in the PC. 

But the seller didn't just have the Kemp listed, he had this sweet relic of Hyun-Jin Ryu. Both cards had a best offer option available, so for a few bucks they were both mine. 

I'm not too familiar with the 2014 Topps Baseball Minis set, but I am a big fan of the relics they put out. They do still have that wavy nameplate thing on the bottom, but the annoying tab on the right side of the card is gone. 

These cards may also be a bit of a preview of 2015. At least, that is what I am comparing the background of these cards to. 

Speaking of 2015, I hope every one has a fantastic New Years Eve and New Years Day. I have my final post of the year tomorrow, and although it will contain my 200th Matt Kemp card, it will not contain the card I was hoping to show off. Eh, it will show up in the mail one of these days. Until then, I can always look back at my other 199 Matt Kemp cards. Maybe a Matt Kemp countdown is in order...

Another Trade With Dodger Penguin Nets Me Another Matt Kemp Auto

I recently completed my 7th trade with Dodger Penguin, moving ever closer to 200 Matt Kemp cards. I have completed a few other trades with other bloggers since our last trade, but this one was prioritized to get out 200 Kemp cards by the end of the year.

The deal initially started small, but after I posted about some cool autos I picked up, the deal expanded. 

The main prize from this deal was a fantastic new Mattycakes auto. The card, which hails from 2007 Topps Moments and Milestones, is my 13th Kemp auto and my 196th Matt Kemp card (though there are a couple more in this post). 

This card is now one of my oldest autos of the outfielder, though not for long. I picked up something I've been chasing for a really long time recently, but it will be another week or so until it shows up. 

But back to the trade. Matthew also sent over two other Matt Kemp cards, though with considerably less ink. 

I am a big fan of these sparkly foil cards that Topps has been including in Flagship recently, so hopefully the trend continues in 2015. Something about getting shiny cards for cheap just appeals to me. The Bowman card happens to be the Hometown/State variant, with the background getting the Oklahoma state flag treatment. Surprisingly, this is only my first hometown variant card of Kemp. I figured that I would have picked up the other from 2012 and 2013 by now. 

Finally, I was able to add another sweet (and sparkly) Kershaw to my expanding Clayton Kershaw PC. I am still on the hunt for an inexpensive Kershaw auto, but funds are a bit tight heading into my spring semester. Damn tuition and books. 

Thanks again for the trade Matthew. Seven trades are in the books, and I plan on doing this even more as time goes by. Also, thanks for pushing up my Matt Kemp PC to 198 cards!

The March Toward 200 Continues

Christmas has come and gone, and the new year is just around the corner. Fortunately for me, I have five days to churn out posts featuring nine Matt Kemp cards. I'll start out by getting four of them out of the way today. 

We'll start with my favorite of the four. This bad boy came out of 2013 Panini Select baseball (check out my box break here), and it features a non-licensed photo of Matty in his pre-game clothes (I'm not sure what else to call them). It happens to be the gold refractor version, making it #'d 10/25. I dig shiny cards, though I dig shiny cards with logos more. That said, Panini found a decent way to get around it for this one. 

I also picked up this pretty cool diecut from 2012 Topps Chrome. For under a dollar shipped, I couldn't pass it up. The card follows Topps' formula for diecuts the past few years: sharp and shiny. Not that it bugs me. Another Kemp for the PC. 

Next up we have another Kemp card from Panini, with a surprise cameo by the reigning NL Cy Young Award Winner, Clayton Kershaw. I'm not a super big fan of the designs from 2011 Panini Limited, but I couldn't pass up a numbered card of my two favorite Dodg...*ahem...players. This copy is #'d 168/199, and only cost a mere dollar and change. 

Finally, I was able to land another new Matt Kemp card for less than a dollar shipped. Free shipping is truly the way to go. The scan turned out less than stellar on this, and it looks much better in person. 

At the end of the day, I added four new Kemp's to my growing PC which now stands at 195 cards. Stay tuned for card number 200 on New Years Eve. It's a dandy. 

Moving Toward A Matt Kemp Rainbow

I have slowly been gathering all of the different Matt Kemp parallels from 2013 Bowman Chrome. It started with the blue parallel (which was actually my 50th Matt Kemp card), continued with the yellow printing plate in a trade with Dodger Penguin, progressed with me obtaining the orange and purple refractors, then moved on to the pink refractor (while simultaneously forgetting I had a rainbow going), to me finally obtaining the regular ol' refractor that you see below. 

I was going through my Kemp cards a few weeks ago when I realized that I didn't have this one yet. After a quick look on eBay, I walked away with this one for a mere .95 cents shipped. Well worth it. 

I have 6 of the parallels now (not counting the base card), leaving me just 6 parallels shy (not counting the superfractor). Sigh. Sounds like another project that won't ever really be completed, especially when you consider the rarity of the cards I have left. 

X-Fractor
Green Refractor
Gold Grefractor #/50
Black Refractor #/15
Yellow Refractor #/10
Red Refractor #/5 

Oof. Those will be tough, not to mention pricey. On the plus side, the refractor above is Matt Kemp card number 192. Let's celebrate by taking a look at my current rainbow. 

Look At This Matt Kemp Card...Do It Now...You Know You Want To

It is getting harder and harder writing clever titles with Matt Kemp. Not that any of my previous titles were all that, but c'mon, this title kind of sucks. But you clicked on it, so the jokes on you!

Matt Kemp week continues, and it may actually spread throughout the rest of the year. I have successfully acquired by 200th Matt Kemp card (plus some more), so these posts will go until I reach 200. I will mix in a couple of trades of the next week or so as well just to keep it interesting.

I've seen a ton of these Triple Threads cards on eBay. I was never a big fan of them, but I finally took the plunge and picked one up in my quest for 200. I'm glad I did, because these things look spectacular in person. I was not aware that the card was a refractor, or really shiny at all. I don't see too much green on cards these days, but it looks pretty darn good.

My copy is #'d 5/18, and features a sweet blue patch. This is my second blue swatch of Matty, which is pretty exciting I guess. I'll need to look out for those more often. 

At the end of the day, this is Matt Kemp card number 191. Only nine left to 200. 

A Sweet New Kemp and Some Trade Bait

There are only two more days left this week, so we'll finish it off with Matt Kemp posts today and tomorrow. 

I was able to pick up a new Matt Kemp relic on eBay recently for just a few bucks. The card comes from 2012 Heritage, one of my favorite sets in recent years. It is card number 190 in my Matt Kemp PC, a number that will continue to grow. In fact, I just completed another trade with Dodger Penguin yesterday which secured cards number 200 and 201 for my Matt Kemp PC. Let's just hope I did the math right.

While I was waiting on this card to end, I decided to peruse the sellers other items. I ended up bidding on a few more things and walked away with only one additional card. 

This sweet card only cost me 50 cents. It comes form the fantastic 2008 UD Goudey set, and features an awesome cameo for Derek Jeter. I have no real need for this card, so it is up for trade. I'm looking for relic, auto'd, or #'d cards of any of my PC guys in return, though I am open to any offers. 

While we're on the topic of cards I am trying to trade, let's take a look at a couple of more I have amassed over recent weeks. 

It would probably be wise for me to hold on to this card until next season when Butler gets the chance to thrive in the bigs. It will probably hold a little more value then, but it is up for grabs now. It is an on-card auto by the way.

This actually came with the Butler card above. I was bidding on a Matt Kemp relic and decided to look through the seller's other cards. I won both this card and the Butler, but forgot to re-up my bid on the Kemp. I ended up losing the Kemp, but I walked away with the two cards above for only five bucks. The auto on this is on-card and is #'d 08/75, and it is probably another card I should hang onto until 2015. 

Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email if you are interested in anything above. I am trying to focus my collection my my PC's a bit more, so I will probably be slightly more picky when dealing these ones. 

Stadium Club, Some Dodgers, and My Greatest Pull Ever

I decided to take a break from Matt Kemp week (only after two days) and post about something that happened yesterday. I was still able to pick up a new Kemp (which is in this post), so I guess we can say Matt Kemp week is still technically going. 

Anyway. I had to make an unexpected stop to my LCS yesterday in search for a Christmas gift for a friend. I haven't been to my LCS in months, and I felt a little guilty for not keeping in touch with the owner. I went in with the intention of just asking about an item, but I ended up dropping 25 bucks on a mini box of Stadium Club. The cards are freaking gorgeous, and I knew I was guaranteed an auto which gave me an opportunity to make my money back. 

That didn't happen. I had a pretty lackluster box in terms of hits, but that wasn't a big deal. I bought the box for the sweet base cards within. I am a bit disappointed that Kershaw didn't get a more creative shot, but I'm not complaining. Any day I can add a new Kershaw is a good one. 

I pulled some sweet cards from the box, including the fantastic Beltre celebration card you see above. Doesn't look like he upset that his head is being touched...yet.

I have discovered that I am pretty darn good at pulling inserts of the games brightest young stars. I nabbed these sweet diecuts from my box, and they will immediately be heading to their respective binders. Also, that Puig card is pretty electric. That blue is phenomenal in person. 

Here is the auto I pulled. Needless to say, it could have been much better. I am not a big fan of Kelly (2013 playoffs were not a fun time), so I am looking to trade this card as soon as possible. I know there are tons of Cardinals fans out there, so hit me up if you are interested. 

I also dug through some dime boxes and pulled these three beauties. I have not had the chance to buy any Finest yet, so finding the ones that interested me for cheap was awesome. That is card number 189 of Matt Kemp by the way. 

The fun was going to end there, but I picked up a bag of team bags to buy. The owner and I were chatting and started to toss the bags back and forth. After a short time of doing this it turned into a sort of game. In fact, we made a bet over this little game of ours. The first one to drop the bags was the loser. If I lost, I would buy three packs of update. If he lost, I would get three packs of update for free. Innocent enough. Of course, my hands decided to stop working and I dropped the bags on the first toss. There goes another five bucks, I was stuck buying more cards.

The first two packs were pretty uneventful. Just the standard update cards, with a decent mixture of rookies and All-Star cards. However, the third pack caught me (and the owner) by surprise. 

That is a freaking Oscar Taveras clear parallel #'d 2/10. I have no real tie to Taveras or the Cardinals, however his tragic death just a couple of months ago was incredibly saddening. So pulling this card evoked feelings of joy and sadness. But those sad feelings soon left after I found that the only other copy of this card on eBay sold for 185 bucks. 

So that is where this one will be shortly. I'm hoping to get at least a 150 bucks for it, but we'll see. I've never pulled such an expensive card before, so this is sort of exciting. Of course, I will take offers for it here on the blog, but chances are it will sell on eBay. 

EDIT: Here is the listing. Reserve is $100.00 for any of those interested in bidding. You may want to just contact me directly.