I Bought into the Hype

Before we get to my recent t206 purchase, be sure to head over to my buddy Nate's blog at The Bucs Stop Here to enter his latest contest. Just make your MLB predictions for the year, and you might win some free cards. And give him a follow if you don't already.

Now back to our regular programming....

A few months back Topps announced the return of the popular 206 line of cards. They were to be sold exclusively on the Topps website with card counts limited to the number of packs purchased. This isn't something I'd typically go for, but in a COVIDworld where picking up new packs of cards was few and far between, I bought into the hype.

The cards are released in ten different waves, so the two boxes I purchased were part of the first release, or Series One I suppose. The first release contains two different Dodgers (Corey Seager and Gavin Lux) though they didn't make an appearance in the boxes I opened.

First impressions: these cards are a bit too over-filtered. (A complaint I have with many current day Topps' products.) 

Now that's not to say I didn't add some cool new cardboard to my collection. You can't go wrong with a pack of cards containing Mike Trout, Mr. October, and Johnny Bench. 

Some current baseball players were also represented, including the Yankees newest and most expesive starter. The collation between the two boxes wasn't great. Of the twenty cards between the two boxes, I received dupes of Gerrit Cole and Scott Kingery. It doesn't seem like much, but that's 10% of the cards. Not insignificant.

Though these boxes can contain "surprise autographs" and rare back variations, mine didn't have 'em. Each box does promise two "Piedmont" back cards, which you can see above next to the standard back. Unless I'm missing something, it doesn't appear that these cards are numbered. I'm not sure if this is normal for a Topps online exclusive product or not.

These are enjoyable cards, but it's unlikely I'd buy packs of these again. At fifteen bucks a pack, the value just isn't there for me. I'm sure I could find the Dodgers for a fraction of what I spent on these two boxes alone. 

But hype can be hard to ignore sometimes. 

And I suppose that's how I wind up with trade bait. 

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...

A Surprise From Foul Bunt

William of Foul Bunt and I have swapped cards so many times now that I have lost count of how many trades we've completed. We are in the game of dropping surprise packages on each other from time to time (I think I owe him some cards!), and another package hit me earlier this week.

In a package of nothing but Dodgers, this 1969 Willie Davis stood above the rest. The scan does no justice to this beauty (as usual), and the card looks a little less faded in person. I'm not too worried on the condition of these vintage cards, so feel free to send your jacked up vintage my way.

This actually marks my 4th Dodger card from '69, and it seems my stack of vintage is slowly growing. I am hesitant to stick these old cards in a binder along with my other team sets. Maybe top loaders for all of my vintage? 

How do you store your vintage team sets?

We now move to the more present day stuff with a couple of blood rain parallels of my favorite LA pitchers. Unfortunately, Chad Billingsley may have already thrown his last pitch as a member of the Dodgers. 

As I have mentioned in the past, I know very little about Topps Archives. However, I do know two things: Topps is very lazy with the product and there is some type of autograph or insert set for fan favorites. If that is correct, then we may be seeing A.J Ellis doing some signing for Topps in about 15 years. 

Finally, William sent over two awesome minis from S2. I am a HUGE fan of these minis, but they are hard to come by. I was tempted to add these to my player binders, but I am instead adding them to my stack of minis from 2014 Flagship. I still have a page long list of cards I need to complete the mini set, so feel free to throw any extras my way.

Thanks again for the cards William. I have a stack of O's getting ready to head your way.  

What Makes This Hobby So Fun

I was recently thinking about what makes this hobby so fun. Perhaps it's coming across a wonderful card like the one below. How can I not fall in love with a bat barrel shot of one of greatest first baseman in Dodgers history? 

Easy answer. I can't.

Now I know there are numerous collector's out there, all with different tastes and collecting habits, but for me the best thing about this hobby may be the element of surprise.

This awesome card of the former Dodgers pitcher is not surprising in itself, but it would be surprising to see Topps put out a shot like this in a new product.

But I digress. Whether it's ripping open a fresh pack of cards, digging through dime boxes, or simply getting a package of cards in your mailbox, the surprise factor makes this hobby great. 

Nick of the infamous Dime Boxes blog hit the latter of the two surprising features in this hobby. Not only is he a dime box extraordinaire, he is an awesome dude willing to share some of his loot with me. 

In fact we just completed a trade which means I get to share that loot with you. 

I'm sure your face is as lit up as Eric Davis' in this fantastic piece of cardboard Nick sent my way. 

I was expecting a few cards like this from Nick, and he came through. But he also hit a ton of different collecting interests of mine. 

Let's start out with some of my player collections. 

Nick must know I love Matt Kemp because he sent me 4 new awesome cards for my PC. I cannot pick a favorite when it comes to Matt Kemp, but that 2012 Heritage red parallel is freaking beautiful.

However, it gets even better. Take a look at this sweet card featuring Clayton Kershaw at the plate. Well, he could be in the batter's box or something, but it doesn't really matter. I am a big fan of these UD Spectrum cards, but even more so after laying my eyes on this beauty. 

Of course, Nick is a great trader and managed to hit quite a few more of my player collections.

As if new Kemp's and a new Kershaw wasn't enough, Nick went ahead and found 4 Shawn Green cards that I had yet to get my hands on. 

Manny Ramirez sighting!

Nick must have got bored with sending me standard cards of my PC's, because he sent 2 awesome minis of Dodgers shortstop, Hanley Ramirez. When I first got into this hobby I despised minis. They were hard to store and even harder to keep track of. However, my opinion on them has done a 180 in the past few months. This change of heart would have been surprising to me late last year.

Hey! Here's another mini from Nick. Considering I have only seen two of these mini's from the flagship design, this was a big surprise. I guess I will have to talk about these fantastic minis from Topps in the near future. *Hint: I LOVE them.*

I could go on with the barrage of cards Nick sent me toward my PC's, but let us take a break to look at some vintage goodiness. 

I'll start with the Sutton on the left. I was never able to see Sutton pitch, but from what I hear he was a fantastic pitcher. If baseball cards could speak for a players performance, Sutton is a Hall of Famer. 

Of course, the same thing can be said for Ron Cey aka The Penguin. Topps delivered a beautiful set in 1980, so hopefully this is not the last Cey I grab from this set.

Moving on to one of the worst miscut cards in my possession. I guess that goes to show you that I don't have a ton of miscuts laying around. Hailing from 1966, this Tommy Davis is not only a great vintage pickup, it is a valuable addition to my Topps Team Set Project. (Scroll down a bit on that link).

Speaking of my Topps Team Set Project, here are 6 more cards that Nick sent my way. 

Now these cards may have surprised me the most. Specifically the Kaz Ishii on the left. Even as a Dodger collector, I don't run across too many of his cards. So when I ripped open the bubble mailer to find this, I was more than excited. What is so special about Ishii you ask? 

Well, he started the first Dodger game I ever attended (or at least remember). 

My dad took me to Dodger Stadium close to ten years ago for one of many Dodger games we have attended over the years. Ishii started the game against the crosstown Angels, a game in which the Dodgers kicked some butt. Here is a recap from that game for anybody interested. I completely forgot that Beltre homered twice in that game, not to mention Bartolo Colon was pitching for the Angels. Ahhhh, nostalgia.

I guess these two cards meant a lot more to me than Nick intended them too. 

So yea. I guess surprises are what make this hobby so damn fun. At least that is what I tell myself.

A Bounty of Winnings and Awesome Dodger-ness

I recently won a contest over at Andrew's Baseball Cards. As the winner I took home these sweet minis which are #'d /25. 

I don't collect either guy, so these are up for trade. I haven't added them to my new and improved Trade Bait page yet, but they will be there soon. 

Andrew and I decided to make this a trade while we were at it, so I also received some great Dodger cardboard.

I was targeting this Hanley relic when we decided to make a trade. Although it is an awesome addition to my Hanley PC, the other cards Andrew sent along are what made this trade great.

Take this Kershaw card from 2013 Bowman for example. I have started to gravitate toward other sets lately, but Bowman is still a cool product. The numbering on Bowman cards may be annoying, hwoever this card is anything but. The Brooklyn cap Clayton is rocking goes great with the shot, as well as the Texas flag backdrop. 

Andrew also sent along this sweet mini that I did not already have for some reason. Looks like Clayton is about to fire in a 4-seamer.

Here is another card of Kid K that I didn't have before this swap. It seems like greatness follows the number 2 in Dodgers lore. Tommy Lasorda wore 2, Kershaw wears 22, Koufax had 32, and Jackie Robinson had the infamous 42. We can go ahead and forget about Jeff Kent, who wore 12 during his stint with the Dodgers. 

Now that I have this card in my hands, I understand why Greg loves these so much. My copy isn't #'d /99, but I love it nonetheless. I am going to file this as a Matt Kemp card, so I will need another one of these to add to the Kershaw binder. 

Following the Kershaw card from the same set, this Kemp is a new addition to my growing Bison PC. I absolutely love this shot of the Dodgers outfielder, especially since I noticed the bat in his hands. For all I know, that bat may be the one hanging up in my room right now. 

If you have made it this far then you deserve to celebrate. Of course, your celebration won't be as star studded as this great shot above. Let's try to identify who is shown on the card: Matt Kemp, Kenley Jansen, Juan Uribe, James Loney, Andre Ethier, Mike MacDougal (not really a star), that's about all I can spot. 

Thanks again for the great contest winnings, as well as the awesome cards from the trade Andrew! Your cards will be heading out this weekend.

Trade with Uncle Charlie and Public Enemy #1: Making a HUGE Dent in my 2013 Needs

I made my first official trade with Evan of Uncle Charlie and Public Enemy #1 last week. Evan and I have been talking for quite some time now and we finally decided to pull off a real trade that involved more than 1 or 2 cards. 

I guess the trade got started when Evan asked me if I had this card. Even if I did have it, I probably would have asked for it because it is such a sick card. I miss seeing Beltre in Dodger blue, and any time I can add a card of one of my PC's I will do it. 

Evan also sent me another card for one of my PC guys, but I'll highlight that one at a later date. 

Evan asked me about some mini's he had from 2013 and 2014. When the package arrived I realized he hooked a brother up. After organizing and editing my set needs, I am close to finishing up the mini sets from 2013. I still have a ways to go, but I am getting pretty close. 

Evan also sent a ton of inserts from 2013 Topps Flagship, including these 3 awesome "Cut to the Chase" cards. I will probably never finish the set for them through trade, and I don't really want to spend money on them, but they are cool to have.

Thanks again for the trade Evan. Hope to do it again soon. 

Trade with A Swing and a Hit: Fulfilling my NFL Needs

I completed my first official trade with Nathan from A Swing and a Hit. Nathan and I have swapped cards in the past, but nothing during the time in which I've had this blog. Nathan runs A Swing and a Hit, which is an awesome blog name by the way, though he hasn't updated it in a while. Like it does with a lot of us, life gets in the way. He told me he plans on starting again soon, so watch out blogosphere. 

This trade was primarily football based, but I did get a few Dodgers. 

Nope, your not looking at the same card. Topps decided to go with a nearly identical photo for the Dodgers lefties though. Both cards will be inserted into their respective PC's, and I hope to get a second set for my mini set from Update Series. 

Here a few awesome Colts cards of T.Y Hitlon, Andrew Luck, and Reggie Wayne. I don't like football cards as much as baseball cards, but that's probably because I don't like football as much as I like baseball.

I do like the minis that are in a few of the football products though. I believe this comes from the standard Topps football. 

I was also able to add to my Andrew Luck collection, though the card on the right is a little weird. Speaking of Luck.....

....Denver Broncos QB, Peyton Manning could have used some after the Broncos disappointing Super Bowl performance on Sunday. His defense didn't do much to help him out, but best of luck to him next year. 

Nathan also threw in some other Colts cards that I never got around to scanning, including some cool Marvin Harrison cardboard. In addition to helping my Colts needs, he helped out my cousins needs for Dolphins cards, specifically Ryan Tannehill. 

I did get another Dodger card in the trade, though I haven't show it yet. It will be part of my inaugural post about a new page on the site. If I ever sit down and make it. 

Thanks again for the trade Nathan! I hope to see you back blogging soon. 

A Closer Look at 2014 Topps Series One

The time has come. Topps Series One has hit the shelves, and I am getting my first opportunity to take a stab at the set. I've been collecting for a short time, so this is pretty exciting for me. Fresh packs to open. A new design, though a little worse than last years. Just a new beginning.

I stopped off at Target yesterday and bought a blaster box. I posted the highlights of that box here, but I was left wanting more. So, me and my buddy Dikran decided to make a late night run to Target.

We came back with two more blaster boxes and two of the value boxes. These are in addition to the blaster box I bought, and the blaster box Dikran bought earlier in the day. That puts our 2014 Topps Series One total to 4 blaster boxes and 2 value boxes. We were not lucky enough to pull an auto or relic from any of the packs, but that was not the purpose. I'd like to put together the entire set from Series One, before Series Two comes out. Considering I am still working on my 2013 Flagship sets, I wanted to get a jump start on these.

I got a ton of base cards, and my need list for the base set is currently updated. I am already about two-thirds of the way done with the base set, which is pretty good considering the cards only came out yesterday.

Because I bought the cards from Target, there were two red parallels in every pack. I have a huge stack of red parallels which will all be uploaded to my Trade Bait tonight. Leave a comment and I can pull a specific teams cards for you.

Here are the Dodgers I have so far. The base design is okay with me. It is a little reminiscent of Bowman, but they are fine other than that. 2013 is still better, but these are definitely better than the cards from 2012. The thing I do hate is the checklist. The Dodgers got 11 cards in Series One, and the list of names is rather lackluster. I do not understand how Brandon League managed to get a card in here while guys like Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, A.J Ellis, Kenley Jansen didn't. Brandon League is probably the worst player on the Dodgers 25 man right now, so it is disappointing that he gets another card. 

I really dig the sideways Nolasco card which features Puig. I prefer vertical cards to the horizontal ones, but sometimes the horizontal cards feature some awesome pictures. The Michael Young card is also another one of my favorites, though he's definitely not one of my favorite players. I'm sure he's a nice guy, but I don't want him coming back to my Dodgers. I've tried talking myself into the inevitable over the past few weeks, but he has yet to sign. Hopefully this is his last card in Dodger blue. 

8 out of 11

6 Josh Beckett

40 Hyun-Jin Ryu
72 Michael Young
111 Mark Ellis
142 Zack Greinke
173 Brandon League 
193 Ricky Nolasco
197 Onelki Garcia
204 Adrian Gonzalez
314 Hanley Ramirez
331 Yasiel Puig

Here are the red parallels I pulled. I plan on collecting the red and blue parallels for the Dodgers this year, though I have been constantly adding things to my to-do list, so I may want every parallel by the time 2015 comes out. I'll be adding a new page to the blog soon, designed for some of my goals and such but more on that later.

I was also able to pull these lovely pieces of cardboard. Ryu would probably be my favorite pitcher on the staff if not for Kershaw. These are going straight to the PC binder, so I will need to add one more of each for my Topps set. That's if I don't decide to just scrape that and collect the base set beforehand.

Topps went crazy with the foil this year, and this card is a perfect example. The card looks great in person, and it is a decent looking insert set. I do wish the cards were all the same color however. This happens to be purple, but there is a plethora of colors these Upper Class cards in. Topps seems to have gone color crazy, with some of the insert sets, but I'll still be buying. I'll still be looking for another one of these as well. This one is going straight to the PC binder. 

Puig cards are fun. There is just something about cards that feature him that excites me. The Future is Now insert looks to have some sort of filter on the image, similar to the pictures on Gypsy Queen. This doesn't bug me for the insert sets. I actually enjoy it. I will need another one of these cards, because just like the Ryu's, this is headed for the PC binder. 

One thing I absolutely love this year is the minis. As you can see from the scan, they are diecut, which is something new to me. I don;t know if Topps has done this before, but I like the idea. Lucky me, I was able to grab a Puig. Puig's cards usually go for a fortune on eBay, so being able to pull one is always nice. Like with the previous Puig's and Ryu's, I will need another one for the mini set. 

The best addition yesterday was this Hanley variation. Usually variations fetch between 10 and 40 bucks on eBay when the product is new, but I won't be selling this. In fact, my buddy Dikran pulled this in his box so I ended up trading for it. I do enjoy the SP cards Topps puts out, though they usually fall out of the price range early on. Topps seems to have gone #TeamSparkle this year with the SP's, which is already driving me crazy. I will have to go back through all the bases I have and double check for that annoying sparkle. I will probably wait a few days until the checklist sites can get the cards confirmed so I know who to look for. 

Another Harper card for my PC. I traded a few of my Harper's to Judson of My Cardboard Habit a few months ago, something I regret a bit. I'm sure I could add those cards to my PC rather cheaply, but they would have looked nice in the binder. 

Beltre is my favorite non-Dodger in the game today, and my favorite ex-Dodger still active today. I love this photo of him in the dugout. Reminds me of this video of Elvis Andrus messing with him. I have been trying to find some cheap Beltre cards on eBay, though I haven't walked away as the winner lately. 

This was one of the manu-patches in the blasters I opened. I'm not generally a fan of these, but I love adding a new card of one of my PC guys to the binder. Though this will probably be placed in a top loader and put with the other thicker cards. 

Here are the rest of the mini's that were pulled. The Darvish is probably my favorite of the six here. Though they are all great. I am becoming a bigger fan of the Topps minis recently, though I still need to complete the mini sets from 2013. Guess I need to find some trade partners.

Overall, Series One isn't that bad. The design is worse than last year, but it is still a pretty good looking set. The Dodgers checklist is lame, but hopefully Series Two will improve on that. The Minis are definitely my favorite thing to come from Series One, though the other insert sets didn't disappoint. I probably won;t be buying any more packs for a couple more weeks, but hopefully I can pull of some trades to supplement my collection.