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. 

My Paco Rodriguez PC

On Saturday night I had an unexpected surprise when I checked the status of the four cards I was waiting on via Topps Redemption. All four had been shipped and the first two arrived yesterday. One of those cards will be included in the Mega Trade Bait Post which I am working on, but the other is this beauty.

I picked this up on eBay a few months back for just a couple of bucks. It is #'d 148/499, and is a great addition to my upstart Paco PC. 

That auto joins this fantabulous auto I picked up a few months ago, but the fun doesn't stop there.

(Note: The autos look like they were signed by two different people....)

I also have six Paco cards that are not autos, though three of them are pretty much the same card. 

In addition, I own three of Paco's parallel's from 2013 Topps Chrome. These cards are going toward my Topps Chrome Rainbow project, so I won't officially count them toward my Paco Card total.

I thought I had another Paco around here but it looks like I don't. Without counting the TC cards, I have a total of 8 different Paco cards. It is unlikely Topps puts out a ton of Paco cards, but I will do my darndest to acquire them. 

Shades of '93

I picked this card of the bay a few weeks back, and like the Matt Kemp I showed off yesterday, it ran me about two bucks and showed up about two weeks ago.

I really enjoy the design of these inserts, probably because they hail from 1993 Topps Finest. Because I was born in 1993, these things have a little added significance to me. 

I very rarely show the back of cards on here, but rarely are they this good. We get to see an awesome shot of Zack Greinke in Dodgers spring training garb, and that "Getting a Grip" shot (Thanks Ethan) is fantastic.

I will be on the lookout for the rest of this insert set. I'll probably ask Dodger Penguin who is in the set because I am too lazy to look it up and he already completed it. If you have any laying around let me know.

BTW: There will be no Trade Bait Tuesday today. I will be posting a larger Mega Trade Bait post later in the week.

What?! Another Contest?!

As some of you know, my best friend Dikran is an aspiring Producer/DJ. He has been playing all types of instruments since he a little kid and he has finally decided to try and do something bigger with music. 

We have been been setting up a website for him, but in the meantime he does most of his communicating/posting through his new Facebook page.

We decided to host a contest here on the blog to help promote him, with the hopes that at least a few of you like his music. 

First things first, this contest will end this Friday (4-4-14) and a winner will be announced on Saturday (4-5-14) night.

PRIZES:

• The Winner will receive one Blaster Box of 2014 Topps Heritage as well as 250 Chavez Code points
• Second Place will receive 150 Chavez Code points as well as a goodie pack of cards from me
• All entrants will receive 10 Chavez Code points just for helping out and showing my buddy some support. If you maximize your entries and enter in all 4 possible ways, you will receive 40 Chavez Code points

HOW TO ENTER: 

Like many of my contests, you can earn multiple entries. Here's how:

• (1 entry): Like his Facebook Page here
• (1 entry): Follow his Soundcloud here
• (10 entries): Share 1 song of his on Twitter
• (10 entires): Blog about this contest on your blog

Comment on this post when you have performed one or all types of entry. 

All entries will be placed into a Random.org randomizer and the first two names after 10 randomization's will be the winners.

Have a listen to one of his songs below and thank you for taking the time to read the blog!

Matt Kemp's Jersey Looks a Little Weird

I picked up a 2014 Turkey Red card of my main man, Matt Kemp. I got it from eBay for about 2 bucks (I think?) and it arrived about 2 weeks ago.

One thing that stands out to me is the gray between the "O", "D", "G", and "E" on the front of the jersey. I don't think it was intentionally placed there, but I don't see how it got there otherwise. Unless it is supposed to be there, it seems like Topps missed another mistake in one of their products.

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It's not all bad with Topps though. I checked out my redemption status for 4 cards that have seemingly been there forever, and surprisingly they were shipped last week. I'll have more on those as soon as they are in hand.

Four New Cards To Brag About

Almost a month ago I came across a post by a fellow blogger. I have not had the luxury of talking to him before, but his post sent me over to a small baseball card site that was having a sale. There was a ton of stuff on sale, but I only picked up four cards for my various PC's. Lets take a look at what I walked away with. 

I only spent about 6 bucks on my entire order, but this card really made the purchase for me. Before this purchase I did not have any A.J Ellis hits. I still want to get my hands on an Ellis auto, but I have been pushing that to the back of my to-do list. This particular card comes for 2013 Topps Mini Baseball Online Exclusive, a set I know absolutely zilch about. If there are more Dodgers out there though, I want them. 

I picked up another card of a Dodgers backstop, this time of my newest PC focus, Russell Martin. Martin is one of my favorite players of the past decade and it is a shame he is in Pitt. Unlike Greg of Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle, this is my first #'d Martin card. This particular copy is #'d 178/500. 

I finished off my small purchase with a pair of Shawn Green relics. The first one comes from 2002 Topps Finest. If this card is any indication of the product, then it looks to be a pretty rad set. 

The second relic is a bat slice, this time from Playoff Prime Cuts. I am not a big fan of the card, but that didn't stop me from adding it to my growing Shawn Green PC. 

Be sure to check out Tromp's Cards for sweet deals like the one I got. There is currently a sale going on, and it looks like all cards are 50% off. 

Trade with Cubs Cardboard: An A-Gon Variation

I completed my second trade with Kalib over at Cubs Cardboard last week. 

Speaking of Kalib, he is hosting a 2014 Allen and Ginters double box break and spots are only $15.00 each. With the purchase of a spot you get a team of your choice, as well as a random team that was not claimed. Kalib is selling 15 total spots for the break and only has a few more left. Be sure to contact him for more info. 

I was lucky enough to claim this sweet Adrian Gonzalez variation before anyone else had the chance after Kalib posted it on his blog. We swapped some cards and this baby arrived at my doorstep last week. 

I am not planning on going for all the variations in 2014, but when I have the opportunity to snag one I will do just that. I will be on the lookout for the Kershaw variation though. And the Ryu variation. Dammit....looks like I am going for all of the variations. 

Thanks again for the swap Kalib. 

Matt Kemp is an Elite Dominator

After a long day of posting yesterday, I plan on taking it easy today. I will be getting back to my roots, for a while at least, and posting card of the day type posts again.

This was had off the bay for about 2 bucks shipped. Any time I can add a new card of The Bison to my PC I am pretty happy. The fact that this one is #'d, albeit to 999, makes it all the better. I wasn't the biggest fan of Donruss when it came out, but I do enjoy the inserts. I know there are a few more Kemp inserts out there, as well as some of the other Dodgers. The only thing that truly bugs me about these unlicensed cards is the blue numbering on the front of the jersey. That certainly isn't Dodger baseball and it kind of ruins the card for me. I try my best to look past things like that, but sometimes you gotta vent. 

The Contests Are Back: 3 Cards, 3 Winners

This contest, unlike others, will have three winners. The three winners will have their choice of the cards below. This contest will run until Monday, 4/7/14 until 9pm PST. A winner will be announced shortly after. 

To enter this contest just leave a comment below. You can comment once a day, and each comment is worth 1 entry. You can also email me the answer or DM me on Twitter to the question below for 5 entries:

What is the first Matt Kemp card I posted on the blog?

You may also earn one additional entry for the contest by posting about the contest on your blog. Only one entry per contest per this method though. No need to post about the contest all week. 

You can also earn an additional entry for posting about the contest on Twitter. Unlike past contests, this will only be worth one entry over the life of the contest. 

If done right, you can achieve a maximum of 19 entries. 

The entries will be randomized using random.org. They will be randomized 7 times and the lucky people that land on 1, 7, and 22 will be the winners. The person who lands on 1 will get first choice at the card, 7 will have second choice, and 22 will get the last card. 

Topps Chrome Rainbow: Hyun-Jin Ryu Orange Refractor

In addition to the sweet Matt Kemp Gold Refractor I picked up last week, I was able to add another card to my Topps Chrome Rainbow. In fact, this card officially means that I am 30% of the way to the entire team set rainbow. 

This one was shipped for 3 bucks, a bargain for a card as nice as this one. Hyun-Jin Ryu is becoming one of my favorite players to collect, and I may end up picking up another copy of this card for the binder. I absolutely love the orange refractors and may just have to finish up the orange team set sooner than I was planning. If you don't have an orange refractor of your favorite player yet, I strongly urge you to go and buy one. You won't be let down. I guarantee* it. 

*Guarantee void in Tennessee