National Baseball Card Day

Apparently today, August 10th, is National Baseball Card Day. Topps kicked off the "holiday" yesterday in Brooklyn with free cards, trivia, and other giveaways, and I found myself right in the middle of it.

I was actually on the train heading home when I came across Topps' post on Twitter saying they were in Old Fulton Plaza--not far from where I was. So I decided to take a detour and check out the Topps truck in person.

There were a handful of Topps employees hanging around handing out baseball cards and encouraging folks to enter their raffle: correctly guess how many cards are plastered on the truck and win a prize. I guessed 2020, which is probably too high, but they still haven't officially announced the winner. Any guesses as to how many cards on on this truck?

I dropped by with the hopes of grabbing some free cards and maybe winning one of their giveaways. They weren't doing any giveaways or trivia when I got there, but I did snag two of the packs they were handing out. Each pack had four cards from Series 1, and they were some of the most uneventful packs I've ever opened. Jedd Gyorko was the biggest name I pulled, and he doesn't even play with the team he's pictured with anymore. It seems like the cards showing on the tops of these packs were pretty representiative of what was inside.

Oh well. Free cards are free cards. And I can't complain about views like this either. Too bad I didn't have cash, or I would have picked up an ice cream cone, too. 

Those two packs weren't enough to get me through the day, so I followed this trip up with a trip into Target and picked up a pair of Stadium club packs. 

Couldn’t resist picking up some more @Topps at Target after dropping by the truck. My first Stadium Club of the year. #ToppsBaseballCardDay pic.twitter.com/TXt16fIAZz

— Alex Markle (@chavezravining) August 9, 2019

They were the first Stadium Club packs on 2019 for me, and I managed a pair of Dodgers among the 10 cards. Not half bad. 

That Duke will fit nicely into my growing Dodgers Legends binder. I love finding that Brooklyn 'B" on cardboard. 

All in all, I think it was a pretty successful day, especially considering I had no idea National Baseball Card Day was an actual thing heading into the day. Maybe I'll plan a fun celebration next year. Is anyone celebrating today?

Vintage from the Interwebs

It's not that often I find myself buying vintage cardboard. There aren't many good hobby shops nearby and I haven't had the chance to make it to a card show. This means that most of my vintage comes via online purchases, not the most cost-effective way to track down vintage needs. And since I'm pretty light on vintage in my binders now, I need it to be cost-effective. 

And what better way to be cost-effective than with an eBay coupon for a whole three dollars off any purchase. I was tipped off to this coupon through Twitter, and I very quickly decided to put it to use. This 1963 Walt Alston, which is in great condition I might add, was originally $3.15 with free shipping. With that coupon, I snagged it for a meager .15 cents. You can't beat that. 

Just a few days before that purchase, I was back on eBay searching for deals when I came across this Gilliam from 1960. I put in a bid, went to bed, and woke up to find out it was mine for just a buck. After I threw in another greenback for shipping, I was able to call it mine for a shade under subway fare. Not quite as good as that Alston but not a bad deal at all. 

There are 37 Dodgers in the 1960 set and with the addition of the Gilliam, I'm now up to 7 (18.9%). That's nowhere close to completing the set, but it's surprising that I've made this much progress to date considering the large setlist. That Alston card from above marks only the second Dodger I've tracked down from 1963, so there is certainly more work to be done there, too.  

Tracking down cheap vintage may not be an easy task, but I still find it quite enjoyable--coupon or not.