Misc. Blog Notes and the Start of a New Collection

Sometimes it is much easier to combine all the crap going on in my head to one simple post. This will be one of those posts in which I will just talk about whatever comes to mind. There is a method to my madness however, as this helps alleviate the number of posts I have to write during the long school/work week.

I'll start out with some contest winnings.

I won this card over at Sports Card Info a couple of weeks ago, and it is actually the second card I have won in my time entering contests at the site. The first was a nearly identical card, though Tony Campana was the main feature. Another contest is being held over there right now, so be sure to check it out. This card is up for trade, and it should be added to my trade bait shortly. 

On a side note that has nothing to do with cards, my buddy Dikran has recently started uploading his music to Soundcloud. I would appreciate it if you would take a listen as much as he would. Let me know what you think. 

I have been in contact with quite a few people over the past week about trades and other various things. I should have all of your packages out tomorrow morning sometime, so you can expect them by the end of the week.

I want to thank Tom and William again for the trades we completed this week. You have both inspired me to start up some new collections. The first being my Dodgers HOF binder. I probably won't have many more details on this until next weekend at the earliest but I just wanted to throw it out there. 

However, I do have another project I'd like to work on and I have all the juicy details. When Tom sent over large portions of the Dodgers team sets from Topps, I decided that I wanted to put together every team set from Topps. There are multiple Topps products, including sets that were produced in the 80's and 90's that are not included in this. I am only looking to complete the team sets from flagship. I don't know if flagship is what I should refer to the older sets by, but it is the name that I am sticking with for now. I am still in the preliminary sorting stage of this project, but my full checklist will be up soon, along with an entire page devoted to the sets. 

I have only had the time to make a list for the 1980's which can be found by clicking here. I hope to add new lists every week from each decade. Obviously this will get tougher to complete the older the cards get, but I am ready for the ride. I could probably purchase a number of these sets for fairly cheap, but I'd rather go after each card one by one. If I buy the team sets individually it feels like cheating. Expect more on this project later. 

I am also going to start ending some posts with a cards I find cool from my dad's old collection. These cards will usually be Dodgers, and I am not actively trying to trade them but If you are interested just let me know. 

Trade With Foul Bunt: Dodger Hullaballoza

I completed my first trade with William of Foul Bunt fame this weekend. I think I approached him about some cards I was interested in, and here we are today. 

Before getting into the cards William sent over, if anybody is interested in any 1987 Topps cards get in touch with William. He has a ton he is looking to move. 

I'll start out with the $215 million-dollar man, Clayton Kershaw. 

Both are new cards to my Kershaw PC, and both are very much appreciated. William also sent over a couple more Kershaw's that I already had, though I know a few Dodger fans that may appreciate them.

It has been a while since Matt Kemp has had a career day. He has not consistently been able to stay on the field since the beginning of the 2012 season. Both cards are new additions to my Bison PC, which is now pushing 100 cards. I will update my PC with Kemp's TC parallels today, so depending on when you look at it, you may see a different total. 

William also sent over some colorful parallels from Topps Flagship. All of these are brand new to me, and the Jerry Sands is the first card I have of the former top prospect. He has fallen off the face of the earth since he was included in the Nick Punto trade, though I hope he can pick it back up and have a nice career. 

Topps had some great insert sets in 2013, including these thick Elite cards. It's always a good day when I can add two of the best Dodgers of all-time to the collection. I"m thinking I need a Dodger HOF binder, but I will have to get some more cards to justify that. 

This is probably my favorite card to come out of 2013 Topps Flagship. I absolutely love Koufax cards, and sticking him on one of the cooler cards from 2013 Topps is awesome. The blue and red really pop out and just make this a perfect card for me. I will try to add more of these in the future. 

William also sent over some Colgan's Chip Disks of some old-timey Dodgers, Wlater O'Malley, Zack Wheat, and Dizzy Vance. I honestly don't know enough about these guys as I should, do I guess a history lesson is on my to-do list. 

 If you've noticed I am getting pretty good at crooked scans! Send over some Dodger cards and I can share my knowledge of the crooked scan with you! 

William also tossed in these fantastic Cooperstown cards of some of the greatest Dodgers of all time. I'm assuming the year listed next to each player's name is the year they were inducted in to the HOF, but I am too lazy to look it up. The Campanella shin guards card is pretty cool, as is the championship ticket card. 

IMO, this is the best card William sent over. In fact, it may be the best Dodger card ever produced. Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, Duke Snider are great, but Vin Scully is Vin Scully. He is the definition of great. I don't know how this card eluded me for so long, but it is finally in my hands now. I am now anxiously waiting to hear Vin announce the greatest five words in the English language, "It's Time for Dodger Baseball!".

Thanks again William. Hope we can do this again soon!

Trade With The Angels, In Order: Picking Up Some Team Sets

I completed my first trade with Tom of The Angels, In Order. He left me a comment letting me know of a few team sets he could help me out with, primarily from the 1980's. We agreed to a trade and I got his care package on Thursday. 

I'll start out this trade post with something new to my Matt Kemp PC. 

I love adding new Bison's to my collection. This happens to be the silver foil version of this card, leaving me with only the gold foil to complete this many rainbow of sorts. 

The main focus of this trade however were Dodger team sets. I talked about my desire to complete the 1989 Topps team set for the Dodgers on the blog in the past. Tom let me know he was able to finish that set off for me and here we are. Another person contacted me about finishing of the 89 set as well, though I cannot remember who it was. I inadvertently had you both help me out to finish of the 89 set, though I haven't received the second set of cards. 

I have a new goal I plan on sharing with you very soon, so I won't show off the entire completed team set just yet. I will, however, show off my favorite card from the set, Mike Scioscia #755. There is a lot to like about this card, though older sets always seem a little drabby to me. 

In addition to finishing of my 1989 Topps set, Tom sent over some more cards from other various sets. I'll won't go over every card, but I will highlight my favorite from each set.

I was planning on putting together this team set after completing 1989 Topps, but Tom took care of most of it for me. I still need a few more cards to finish of this set, but more on that later. I liked the Rick Honeycutt card the best, though I don't really have a reason as to why. This is definitely one of my favorite sets from the 80's.

Moving on to one of the most recognizable sets ever made, Tom sent over a bunch of Dodgers from 1987 Topps. Just like the set above, and the other sets I will mention below, I still don't have every card from the set but I will discuss it tomorrow. I chose this Tommy Lasorda card for couple of reasons. One, I think it is pretty hilarious that he looks exactly the same 27 years later. He does seem to have a smile on his face which can be pretty rare these days. I also love the old school hat he has on. Of course, it wasn't old school then, but hats these day are much different. 

I'll be honest. I think this is a hideous set. The fact that this card is off-center doesn't improve its favor with me either. I have not taken much time to go over very many Leaf cards my dad has stored over the years, but hopefully they don't all look as bad as this set. 

Moving on to 1988 Topps now. Tom also include a large amount of these cards, which happens to be one of my favorite sets from the 80's. I would have chosen the Tommy Lasorda card as my favorite from the set, but I have already highlighted that card in an RCD post. I decided to go with this Steve Sax card. It's not often you see a card with a picture of a guy giving it all he has. I never got to see Sax play, but I did meet him a few years back. I'll save that for another post. 

Tom was also kind to send me most of this set from 1992 Upper Deck. I haven't had time to go over the entire checklist, so I don't know if he sent the entire team set, but he sent over quite a few cards. This EK is my favorite of the ones he sent over. I simply cannot turn down a card showing a guy with such a big grin. Although not one of my favorite sets, this set has a few awesome cards. 

Tom also sent over four cards from 1986 Fleer. They are Star Stickers to be exact, and I haven't taken the time to do any more research on these. 

Thanks Tom! You gave me a great starting point to extend my collections into the past decades. Hope to do it again soon.

Topps Chrome Rainbow: Adrian Gonzalez Black Refractor

I updated my Topps Chrome Rainbow page last night, something that I have been trying to get to for about a week. School has really taken a toll on my card time, but I am trying to stay as up to date as possible. I have a trade to discuss on Sunday, as well as a few hundred cards to go through for trades. 

While updating my Topps Chrome Rainbow page last night, I noticed an discrepancy. After searching through the blog, I found out I never posted one of the cards I bought for the TCR. 

I got this on the 23rd of December, which is probably why I forgot to post it. It is another fantastic card, and  just so happens to be my favorite parallel color from the set. The black refractor's look great with the Dodger cards, and I have been able to pick them up cheap so far. This card is #'d 72/100, and is my third black refractor from the TCR. 

If you take a look at the updated TCR page, you will notice a few changes. I added my completion status for each parallel below an updated summary about my TCR quest. Below that is my total completion percentage for the project. Not included in the project are the base cards, though I am still looking for two more to complete my team set. (Ryu, Paco) 

I would also like to reiterate a few things about the blog. My Trade Bait is lacking in any spectacular hits. This is mainly because before starting this blog I sold most of my non-Dodger cards on eBay. This year I plan on keeping most of the cards, with the exception of any big hits. Your Chavez Code points will become more valuable as my Trade Bait grows. 

I try to keep as up to date as possible with the Chavez Code. I previously had a list for everybody to access, though I recently took that down to work on it a bit. I am currently trying to get some information from everyone to keep along with the leaderboard. This includes and email, blog, twitter handle, and name. I also keep track of who collects what. If I reach out to you on twitter I'd appreciate any info you can give me, but it is totally understandable if you'd rather not. This info will not be made public, just a reference for me. 

Please don't hesitate to ask about your Chavez Code point total. I have that information readily available, just not ready to be published. If you are new to the blog and have any questions feel free to leave a comment or send me an email, I'd love to chat. 

I feel like I am forgetting something I really wanted to mention in this post, and, of course, I will remember what that is five minutes after I click publish. Until next time!

RCD Post: Eric Karros

RCD Posts are opportunities for you to get Chavez Code Points!

Simply leave a comment with an interesting story you may have about this card or the player featured on the card. This can literally be about anything. A funny chant you heard about the player at a game. The time you ran into him at Denny's. The time you got his autograph at spring training. A link back to your blog with cool memorabilia from the player. As long as the comment is about the player you are eligible for points. Every on topic comment will be worth 5 points. You will only get 5 points once per RCD post, but feel free to comment with as many stories as you'd like. RCD posts will be posted every Friday, usually of former Dodger players.  Points for these comments will be added right before the new RCD post is posted.

This weeks card: 1996 Fleer Metal Eric Karros

Topps Chrome Rainbow: Greinke X-Fractor

I used the rest of the change left on my gift card and picked up a pack of 2013 Topps Chrome while at Target last night. Although I didn't get anything special, I did get a much needed card. 

The Zack Greinke x-fractor parallel. For those of you who are unfamiliar with my Topps Chrome Quest, wander over here for a detailed background. I am basically trying to acquire every parallel of every Dodger player from Topps Chrome. Of course some are more difficult than others, and Puig cards are definitely not in the budget. 

This card puts my Dodgers x-fractor total to 7 out of 10. I have yet to get my hands on an x-fractor from Kershaw, Puig, or Paco. I plan on getting the Kershaw very soon from a buddy off of COMC, but Puig and Paco are still at large. 

Remember anybody offering assistance in helping me achieve my Topps Chrome Rainbow goals will be rewarded. 10 points to anybody that can help with a non-numbered refractor and 25 points to anybody that can help with a #'d refractor. Matt Kemp refractor cards are worth double, but check my Topps Chrome Rainbow page in the menu bar to see what I have first.

Card Totals:

Base: 7/10

Refractor: 6/10

X-Fractor: 7/10

Purple: 3/10

Orange: 5/10

Blue: 2/10

Black: 3/10

Sepia: 1/10

Gold: 1/10

Red: 2/10

Camo: 0/10

Atomic: 0/10

Pink: 0/10

A Couple of Green's for a Couple of Greens

Sometimes a title pops into my head that is too good to pass up. This is not one of these times. I'm disappointed in my cheesy title, though at the same time I am very proud. It takes a certain kind of special to make something sound so bad that it sounds good. Anyways....

I picked these two Shawn Green relics off of ebay a few weeks ago for two bucks. That is obviously where the title comes from, but I digress. Green was my first collecting interest as a kid, and although I don't look for his cards as often these days, I can't pass up a good offer.

I'm not gonna lie. The card on the left is pretty ugly to me. Dull colors, plain white swatch, just not something I am overly enthusiastic about. It comes from 2002 Fleer Flair Jersey Heights. Is Fleer Flair right? Just Fleer? Just Flair? Older cards confuse me too much. 

On the right, we see a more aesthetically pleasing Shawn Green relic, that is before you get to the Arizona A on the bottom left. Trading Green to the D-Bags is one of the worst memories I have of the Dodgers as a kid. Green was my favorite player and I did not yet understand the business side of baseball. I still don't even know who we got back in return, but it is probably better I don't. The photo of Green is great, but I don't like the Diamondback portion of the card. At least I know the swatch came from a time when he was with the Dodgers.

If you haven't noticed already, a lot of my scans are crooked. I never really thought about how other people scan there cards so I figured this would be a good opportunity to ask. Do you have software that automatically crops the card for you? I've heard people that do, but I just throw everything into microsoft paint and hand crop it. Let me know what you do to get a card scanned and uploaded online. There will probably be some points thrown out to those that answer. 

Contest Time!

I have been collecting cards for a little over a year, and I have been blogging about them for about two months. During this time I have talked to some fantastic people. It seems like every day I am emailing a fellow blogger working out a trade, or simple talking about cards. Blogging has really made card collecting a much better experience. After all, what's the point of collecting if you can't show of your cards? 

So, I am taking a page out of a fellow bloggers book. It's Like Having My Own Card Shop was running a contest to support another fellow blogger. The contest ended today, so you won't be able to get in on it, but you will have the opportunity to get in on mine. 

My contest is nearly identical to the one above, though I will be trying to increase Dodger Penguin's followers. For those of you that haven't read Matthew's blog, you should. He posts primarily about Dodger cards, and baseballs, but he is a great guy that collects cards like the rest of us. 

The contest will run until Matthew has 50 blog followers and the rules and directions on how to enter are below. Simply leave a comment on this post after you have completed an item from the list.

Rules/Directions:

• 1 Entry for following Dodger Penguins blog
• 1 Entry if you were already following his blog
• 1 Entry if you post about the contest on Twitter
• 2 Entries if you pimp the contest on your blog

You can pimp the contest on you blog or Twitter once a day until Matthew reaches 50 followers. Leave a comment with a link to said blog post or tag me on Twitter. As long as I know you did it we're all good.

Prizes

1st Place: 25 Chavez Code Points + Your choice of any card from my Trade Bait + Cards from a team of your choice

2nd Place: 25 CC Points + Cards from a team of your choice

3rd Place: 10 CC Points + Cards from a team of your choice

4th Place: 5 CC Points + Cards from a team of your choice

If you are unfamiliar with the Chavez Code, please check it out here.

I plan on doing a contest similar to this every month to spread the word about fellow bloggers. Please help me out and give me a follow as well. 

Joc Pederson Mini Refractor Contest Winner!

Dodger Penguin is this week's winner and successfully fended off the other entrants for his second consecutive victory! Matthew (Dodger Penguin) maximizes his entries every week, along with a few others. Be sure to check out the blog everyday for new contest and blog entries. The rest of the Top 5 is below. Points will be added very shortly.

A new contest will be up shortly, though a different format then usual. The randomized contest will be back on Monday. The remaining Top 36 is listed below.

Another Quest For A Rainbow

I have been putting this post off for quite some time. I have no idea why, but I did. A while back I decided to put together my first rainbow. My subject was Matt Kemp of course, but I was wavering between which set to do it with. Topps Chrome or Bowman Chrome? The outcome is fairly obvious now, I chose Topps Chrome. 

However, by that time I had already bought three different refractors from Bowman Chrome. 

There really is no bad card of Matt Kemp in my mind, or anyone frankly. There are simply cards that are better than others. This falls on the the better end of the spectrum for me. The Bowman Chrome design is pretty solid, though not noteworthy. Simply another nice set. 

I felt the Topps Chrome set this year was far superior to that of Bowman Chrome. Hence, my decision to go for the rainbow the Topps Chrome route. 

However, I now have these three lonely Kemps, sitting inside penny sleeves and top loaders waiting for their colored friends to rescue them. That last sentence sounded a lot less racist in my head.....

I have decided to pursue the rainbow for 2013 Bowman Chrome, though at a slow pace. I tend to try and race to the finish whenever I set goals for myself, but the budget won't allow that. 

School has come around again, beckoning me to turn my wallet upside down and empty its contents into its corrupted hands. Textbooks are once again "updated" and more expensive then ever. I hope to keep the costs down this semester by renting the textbooks, but the budget will be tight. When school roles around, cards take a backseat. 

I started school today and even brightly colored Kemp's can't cheer me up....