Building a Best of the Decade Team from Flagship

It's admittedly been pretty quiet here on the blog for most of the year. Typical life stuff like work and moving (again!!!) have gotten in the way of blogging and collecting, but with COVID-19 forcing me to work from home and stay inside, I've once again found some time to devote to the blog. (For those wondering, I'm holed up in my apartment in Jersey City, NJ, and staying heathy. I hope you all are as well.) Let's hope I get back on a more regular schedule moving forward. 

2020 has been pretty light in terms of new cards for the collection, so I thought I'd revisit my binders and put together a different kind of post today--a best of the decades post. But rather than simply give a list of the best Dodgers cards of the decade, I decided to make things difficult and give myself a few rules:

1. Select one player for each position (just one starting pitcher and one reliever);
2. Each player has to represent a different year between 2010-2019; and
3. I have to have each player's flagship card in my collection. 

There were a few easy choices here, including a pair of MVP seasons and a Rookie of the Year. Other choices were a bit more difficult. Second base was a revolving door of incompetence for the Dodgers, especially earlier in the decade, which made it difficult to fit into the rest of the puzzle. Without further ado, here's the squad I constructed. 

Catcher - Yasmani Grandal (2017)
Key Stats: 22 HR, .459 SLG%, 2.4 WAR

Grandal was the Dodgers' best catcher of the decade and one of their best players since he joined the team in 2015. His 2017 season was actually his worst for the Dodgers, but I had to get him into this list somehow. 2017 didn't have the best Flagship design, but this is a great photo of Yaz in his catcher's gear. 

1st Base - Adrian Gonzalez (2015)
Key Stats: 28 HR, .275/.350/.480, 4.6 WAR

Vin Scully provided A-Gon with one of my favorite monikers of the decade, often calling him the "butter-and-egg man". Gonzalez drove in 448 runners in his 5+ years with the Dodgers, including 90 RBIs in the 2015 season. I assume he's watching a ball go over the fence in this card from 2015. 

2nd Base - Mark Ellis (2012)
Key Stats: 2.6 WAR

The Dodgers have had a number of guys man second over the years, but there wasn't a constant guy manning the position. Mark Ellis had a fairly productive tenure with the team for a couple of seasons, his value largely provided by his glove. 

3rd Base - Justin Turner (2018)
Key Stats: .312/.406/.518, 4.9 WAR

Turner came to the Dodgers as a non-roster invitee back in 2014 and has since cemented his place as one of the best third baseman in Dodgers' history. 2017 was his best season with the club. If there is no season in 2020, there's a chance he's already played his last game for the Dodgers. 

Shortstop - Corey Seager (2016)
Key Stats: 26 HR, .308/.365/.512, 5.2 WAR, NL Rookie of the Year, Silver Slugger

Seager hit the scene in an impressive fashion, smashing 26 homers in route to the Rookie of the Year award. He's been consistently productive since his debut, though a lost 2018 season due to Tommy John surgery has led many to overlook Seager. Should the 2020 season ever be played, he'll play an integral role in the club's success. 

Left Field - Yasiel Puig (2013)
Key Stats: 19 HR, .319/.391/.534, 4.7 WAR

The decade was one of the most succcessful in team history, and Puig's arrival is a big reason why. His first week in the majors is probably my favorite event of the decade, and his 2013 rookie card is still one of my favorite pieces of cardboard ever. 

Center Field - Matt Kemp (2011)
Key Stats: .324/.399/.586, 39 HR, 40 SB, 8.0 WAR, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger

My pursuit of Matt Kemp carboard was the reason I started this blog in the first place back in 2013. His 2011 season was the best of his career, and he just missed garnering MVP honors, losing to Ryan Bruan. I didn't start collecting on a regular basis unti 2012, so I missed the boat on the great 2011 set, but I managed to get this card into my collection pretty quickly. I'm just 4 cards away from completing the 2011 set, including Kemp's card from Update Series. 

Right Field - Cody Bellinger (2019)
Key Stats: 47 HR, 115 RBI, .305/.406/.629, 9.1 WAR, NL MVP, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger

Bellinger's 2019 was absolutely bonkers, though there's a chance he wouldn't have been the MVP if Christian Yelich didn't go down to injury in the last month of the season. Also of note, the 2019 Flagship design is one of my favorite designs from the decade (and perhaps one of my favorite sets ever).  

Starting Pitcher - Clayton Kershaw (2014)
Key Stats: 1.77 ERA, 10.8 K/9, 7.7 WAR, NL MVP, NL Cy Young

Honestly, any of Kershaw's seasons over the last decade would have been appropriate to include in this position. His production has certainly dropped off over the last few seasons, but he's still an incredible talent and one of the best pitchers in the game. His run of dominance--topped with an MVP award in 2014--from 2010-2015 is one of the best peaks for a pitcher in history, and I'm glad I've been able to see him pitch in person nearly a half-dozen times (including a 2008 game where he faced Max Scherzer of the D-Backs. It was Kershaw's 17th career start and Scherzer's 13th. The game was initially supposed to be a matchup between Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson, but both eventual Hall of Famers were scratched prior to the game.). 

Relief Pitcher - Hong-Chih Kuo (2010)
Key Stats: 1.20 ERA, 12 SV, 3.2 WAR

Kuo had a pair of successful seasons with the Dodgers but was otherwise ineffective during his time in the Majors. His 2010 seasons stands out as one of the best years for a reliever this decade. 

Just for fun, here's what a potential lineup might look like.  
Yasiel Puig - LF
Corey Seager - SS
Cody Bellinger - RF
Matt Kemp - CF
Adrian Gonzalez - 1B
Justin Turner - 3B
Yasmani Grandal - C
Mark Ellis - 2B
Clayton Kershaw - P

Weird Stats

One of my favorite aspects of the young baseball season is the cherry-picking of absurd baseballer stats that, in most cases, are highly unlikely to continue.

Oh, the Seattle Mariners started the season 6-1? Of course they'll carry a .857 winning percentage all year. (They won't--and they're 12-16 since that hot start.) Cody Bellinger carries a .415 batting average and 14 homers into the second week of May, but he's not going to knock out 76 dingers or end the year with the third-highest single-season batting average of the live ball era.

These stats need time to stablize, of course, but let's take a closer look at the two players below: Dee Gordon and Zack Greinke.

Known speedster Dee Gordon has never been a bat-first type of player, and he's certainly not known for his power. Indeed, his highest single-season homerun total was just last year when he managed to push four balls over the wall (a feat he also accomplished in 2015). He's otherwise scattered seasons of zero, one, or two homers since his debut in 2011. Yet, 32 games into the 2019 season, Gordon already has two homeruns. Is this the year he can break five?

Zack Greinke, on the otherhand, has not been his sharpest this season. He's rebounded a bit after a terrible Opening Day start against the Dodgers, but his best years are definitely behind him. While Greinke's pitching prowress is well-known, it's his bat that has me watching these days. Just read this short excerpt from Devan Fink at Fangraphs:

In 13 plate appearances, Greinke has slashed .500/.545/1.300 (361 wRC+). He has hit two home runs, two doubles, and a single, all while drawing a walk without registering a single strikeout. That’s better than Barry Bonds‘ slash line after 13 plate appearances (.400/.538/.900) in 2004, when he went on to post a ridiculous 1.422 full-season OPS.

While we all know Greinke won't go on to become the next Bonds, anecdotes like these are a blast to discover. Dodger cards I need from Topps Heritage are also a blast to discover, and the Gordon and Greinke cards above come from a recent trade with Chris over at Nachos Grande. 

For as long as I've been in the hobby, player collecting has perhaps been the area I've been most invested. I've had a number of player PCs over recent years, Matt Kemp, Chad Billingsley, and Adrian Beltre just to name a few. And while adding to these collections is certainly rewarding, it becomes more difficult to committ to once that player is traded, released, or if they've signed with another club. My collection of Matt Kemp cards was the reason I started blogging (I needed somewhere to show that collection off), but he's since been on four teams (Dodgers, Padres, Braves, Dodgers again, and Reds) and was released by his latest team just yesterday. A few years ago I would have been thrilled to add another Kemp card to the PC, but today I'm just happy to add cards that help me build up my Dodgers flagship sets. This pair from 2015 certainly helps. 

In fact, this paif of Dodgers ups the total 2015 cards I have to 6. With 45 Dodgers in the 2015 set, I'm sitting at a measely 13% of the set. With every other set from the decade at over 60% complete, 2015 is definitely an outlier. 

Even worse, this pair of cards from 1998 were my first two cards from that year. It's a much smaller set (17 cards), but I'm sitting at just 11.8% complete. I should focus on the 90s soon.

This package from Chris also included some wonderful 1953 reprints from a recent Topps Archives set. I've never been a big collector of Archives, but I certainly do like these reprints. If only they were the real deal. 

But what's more fun then reprints? Customs! This Clayton Kershaw custom was created by a friend of Chris's, and I'm happy to add it to my Kershaw PC--a PC I won't ever tire of. 

I've been working hard behind the scenes to better catalog my cards, though I've never really thought about counting up my customs. I probably only have a handful, and most of those have probably come from Gavin over at Baseball Card Breakdown (who also recently sent me a package of cards.) I'll post about that swap soon enough, and maybe I'll have some numbers on custom cards at that point. 

Thanks again for the trade, Chris!

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.