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. 

Matt Kemp Won't Be Rocking A Dodgers Jersey Anymore

Matt Kemp week continues with another new addition of the Bison. 

I had been chasing this card forever, but it wasn't until late last month that I finally said "Screw it," and ponied up five bucks for it. Honestly, I probably should have just waited until one popped up for cheaper, but I was feeling like buying cards and Kemp was on the mind. At the end of the day, I ended up with a sweet variation of my favorite player.

I cannot recall another Kemp card in my collection in which he is not wearing a jersey or at least a Dodgers cap, so that means something. Kemp does look pretty stylish in those shades.  

I plan on keeping a running total on my Kemp cards until I reach 200. With this addition, my Matt Kemp PC now stands at 188 cards. 

Camoflauge Isn't The Only Reason We Won't See Matt Kemp In Los Angeles

Now that I am done with finals and have some free time, I may post nothing but Matt Kemp cards this week. We'll see.

Let's start the week out with a sweet new addition from the bay. 

I picked up a four card lot of Matt Kemp cardboard in mid-November. I already had two of the cards in the lot, but it only ran me $1.25 with free shipping. Needless to say, I got a steal. The card you see above (or do you?) normally runs for a buck or two (plus shipping) by itself. Not too bad of a deal on my part. 

As if the camo card above wasn't enough of a bargain, I was able to add this sparkling blue parallel from 2013 Opening Day as well. I have only laid my eyes on a few of these gorgeous cards, so I am glad to finally be able to call this one my own. 

With the addition of these two cards my Matt Kemp collection stands at 187 cards. Only 13 to go!

Do I Really Have To Talk About Matt Kemp?

Sigh. It's been a long week for me. Finals, Christmas shopping, work, and OHMIGOD.........MATT KEMP GOT TRADED TO THE EFFING PADRES. WHAT IS LIFE?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ahem. Don't know where that came from. Honest.

Here's the deal. My favorite player just got traded to a division rival. A team that sucks so bad that it shouldn't matter, but still a division rival. Needless to say, I'm pretty pissed. Not because of the return (we'll get to that in a minute), but because Matt Kemp got traded to the Padres. It still doesn't feel right to type that. 

I have been a baseball fan since sometime around 1999 or 2000. My first favorite player was Shawn Green after I found his baseball card in a cereal box. I have been hooked on Dodger baseball since. Fast forward to 2005 when Green was traded to another division rival, the Arizona Diamondbacks. I was a sad young man for a good deal of time after that. I couldn't choose a favorite player in 2005 because, well, take a look at that roster. I mean, who the hell is Mike Edwards. 

Anyway. Chad Billingsley came up in 2006 and briefly took over the role of my new favorite player. That is, until Matt Kemp arrived. He came up primarily as a right fielder (just like Shawn Green), and provided the Dodgers with some pop and speed on the base paths (just like Shawn Green). Kemp was part of a core of young Dodgers that came up in 2006, and, up until Tuesday, was the longest tenured member of that group. 

It hurt when Shawn Green got traded. It hurts now that Matt Kemp has been traded. It might hurt a little more because so much of my collection was dedicated to him. But here's the thing - the sting from this trade won't last. The Dodgers pulled a fast one on the Padres, and I am liking the deal more and more every time I think about it. 

Think about it. The Dodgers cleared up some major problems with this move. 

• They were able to shed some present day salary and clear future salary obligations to an aging player
• They were able to massively upgrade the outfield defense by moving Kemp and slotting in Joc Pederson
• They cleared some of the outfield logjam that has been a problem for the past two years
• They used one of the prospects from the deal to acquire Jimmy Rollins
• They upgraded at catcher by adding Yasmani Grandal
• They added starting pitching depth by adding Joe Wieland

Furthermore, the Dodgers won't take that big of a hit on offense. Joc Pederson is no Matt Kemp, but should be able to hit for a decent average with some power. Yasmani Grandal is a breakout candidate who pounded out 15 homers in 377 at-bats last year while playing primarily at Petco. Of course power isn't the end all to a players offensive ability. The Dodgers may be losing a steady presence in the middle of the order, but the trade has given the a much deeper and more balanced lineup. 

Don't get me wrong - I am terribly upset that the Dodgers traded Matt Kemp, but I understand the move, and I really, really like it. 

The Dodgers went and traded my favorite player this week. But then again, who needs a favorite player. It's all about the name on the front of the jersey, not the name on the back. And if the team is dramatically improved due to the move, who am I to complain?

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Yeesh. I've been putting off that for nearly a week. 

That said, I won't stop my collection of Matt Kemp. Kemp will always hold a special place in my collection, and I plan to eventually get close to my buddy's massive Kemp collection. That might be easier said then done, but we'll see. 

Let's take a look at my newest addition to the Matt Kemp PC. 

I picked this up off of eBay for about 10 bucks shipped sometime late in November. It took a little while to get here, but that didn't bother me too much. It is my 12th Mattycakes autograph, and my 186th Matt Kemp card. 

I'm still hoping to cross the 200 Kemp cards mark by the end of the year, and I just might make it. I may have gone on a little eBay binge after hearing about the trade. 

P.S. Hope you enjoy Kemp, Padres fans. Your team still sucks though ;p

Justin Turner is a Ginger

As maybe a few of you know, I have red hair. Yup, I'm what the kids are calling a ginger. Basically, I have an acute case of Gingivitis.

Anyway, the disease makes me feel much closer to my ginger counterparts. Case in point, Justin Turner.

For no reason other than the fact that he has red hair (Well, his excellent luck-filled season with the Dodgers also played into this, but shhhhh...) pushed me into purchasing the sweet auto you see above. 

Unfortunately, Turner does not have any autos as a member of the Dodgers, meaning I had to go out of my way and purchase a card showing him as a Met. Although the auto is of the sticker variety, I can definitely appreciate a fellow gingers autograph. 

I may start a small Justin Turner PC. I absolutely love the guy, and his red hair is pretty awesome. If you happen to have any extra JT cards laying around, send 'em my way. 

GINGERS HAVE SOULS!!!

Another New Kemp

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I have been on a mission to get to 200 Kemp cards by the end of the year. I am one step closer with one of my most recent transactions. 

I picked this card up from one of the more colorful sets in recent history: 2008 UD Baseball Heroes. From what I understand, there are about 50 different color parallels of this card. Of course, I am exaggerating a bit, but you get the idea. I picked up the base version of the relic, meaning it is not numbered. That isn't a big deal, as I am just happy to add another sweet Kemp relic to the PC. 

If anybody has any Kemp cards from 2014 Update, Stadium Club, Bowman Chrome, or any other products that came out in the past few months, let me know. I'd love to trade for them to get over that 200 mark. 

A Blogger's Ransom in Cardboard Goods!

I completed my 6th trade with Dodger Penguin recently, and I got back a ton of awesome cards. I ended up sending some Dodger autos his way, but the price was worth it in my eyes. 

*Before I show off the cards, I am offering up a small prize to anyone that can figure out what the title of this post is in reference to. (Bonus if you can tell me what episode.)

I figured I would start off with my favorite card of the bunch and what is now possible one of my favorite cards in general. The card hails from 2013 Topps Heritage and, quite obviously, is the black bordered parallel. Black borders are simply the best. The 1964 design itself is great, but the intimidating scowl and the combo of black/blue/red/white make this card and instant favorite. I can't imagine how psyched I would be to find an auto'd version of this card. Maybe I will get the chance to meet Matty one of these days, so long as he doesn't get traded to the Orioles for a bag of baseballs and an injured top prospect. 

Of course, the fun didn't stop with just the sweet Kemp from Heritage. I was able to land this shiny card from 2007 Topps Finest. It is #'d 15/299, making it one of my oldest #'d Kemp cards. A finest moment indeed. 

By the way, those are cards 183 and 184 of my Matt Kemp PC. I pushing for 16 more by the end of the year. 

I've been trying to add to my moderately sized Clayton Kershaw PC. The PC is still lacking an auto, but I will eventually pony up the moola to get one. In the mean time, I was able to secure another awesome black bordered card from 2013 Topps Heritage. 

I couldn't just acquire the black bordered version of the card though. I asked Matthew to include this in the deal, which he did, and now the beauty has a new home. Although I love the blue border, it is not quite as slick looking as the black borders from this set. 

Additionally, I was able to land this awesome X-Fractor of the reigning Cy Young and MVP winner. These never turn out well in scans, but I can assure you that it looks fantastic in person. 

Speaking of left-handed pitchers that are awesome, Matthew also tossed in this refractor-y Hyun-Jin Ryu RC. The card is #'d 82/199, and it appears to have an interesting backdrop. It almost looks like someones backyard (a really big one), but is more than likely to be a side field at the Dodger sprint training complex in Arizona. I could get all forensic-y and research it, but it is 1am and I don't feel like it. 

I'll finish this post off with a sweet new addition to my small Corey Seager PC. Believe it or not, I've had this PC going since the start of the blog, but this is only my 10th card of the young stud. This is in large part due to the limited amounts of cards Seager has but also due to my thrifty spending habits.  At least I have his auto...right?

Matthew generously tosses in a few other goodies, including 2014 Bowman Chrome base cards of Ryu and Greinke. along with a 2014 Topps Museum Collection base of Sandy Koufax. 

Thanks again, Matthew! Here's to another excellent trade in the books and many more to come! 

Beastmode 1/1

The semester is finally dwindling down, leaving me with just two weeks left of class. So expect my posting to increase not only due to that, but because I have received a ton of cards from trades and eBay.

I was able to secure this on eBay for only a couple of bucks delivered. For a price that low, I couldn't pass up a 1/1 sketch card. The card is dated 7/31/14 and was drawn by someone named Qwasian.

It is my second Kemp 1/1 and my first custom 1/1 of Matty Ice. My Kemp PC is now up to 182 cards. I am pushing for 200 cards by the end of the year, but it will be close. I have a few more additions in hand, but we'll see.

Custom Winners: Cole, Miller, Torres

Week One Winners

I kind of threw this post together at the last second. The first week of customs was okay, but it could definitely use a few improvements. A good start would be for me remembering to update the polls. I am in the midst of writing a 3500-word essay, so I won't do a write up on each player or card, but you can expect that next week. 

New battle will appear tomorrow at 10am. Thanks again!

Fresh Ink From Matt Kemp

Thanks to eBay, I was able to pick up my 11th Matt Kemp autograph, this time for only $5.07 delivered.

This beauty matches its sister card I picked up a couple of weeks ago. However, this particular copy features the sweet auto of fellow outfielder Franklin Gutierrez. Suffice to say, Matt Kemp has definitely been the better player over the course of his career.

With this addition, my Mattycakes PC has jumped to 181 cards. Is 200 a possibility before the end of the year?