A Nacho Break!

During this year without baseball, one thing I missed were the concessions. I always have a hot dog of course but on occasion, share nachos with my game pal. I'm pretty basic. Give me lots of hot cheese and jalapenos. So when it comes to a nachos grande, you can count me out. Unless you are Nacho man Chris, whose blog is Grande! In this case, I'll have seconds!

Chris keeps a trade stack, adding a card at a time. The whole stack is up for grabs in return for one singular piece of cardboard from his want list. In all the years I've watched stacks come and go, I've yet to claim one. What card finally caught my eye?

You should know it was not the Jeter. I saw the Kendall and lost my mind. What a shiny, colorful, in-your-face card! I dug til I found a card for him, and dug quickly. Though the stack was only two cards deep, I knew it would go fast. Why no one claimed the Jeter, I can't say. This was a perfect little trade.

If you follow the Nachos Grande blog, you know about his affordable group breaks. I've enjoyed a couple myself recently with three box breaks of Stadium Club and one box of Diamond Kings.  My DK spot netted one of the two 'hits' in the box:

Willi's only 23. The shortstop had 129 MLB at bats this year. His season stats: .349 with 6 homers and 24 rbi. He appears promising but he's a Tiger so I have zero expectations, therefore avoiding certain disappointment. 

Chris threw in a random team with each one claimed. One of my freebies were the Pirates:

Chris  knew I was building 2011 Lineage so he filled my 'break' package with 85 cards from my want list!!!  I'd received another 43 cards this summer from a young man named JQ Spooner. He has no blog or accounts that I'm aware of which would allow me to tag him. Between these two generous lots, my list is down to eight cards!  I still need: 

42,  49,  72,  84,  93, 100,  107,  149.

85 CARDS from CHRIS!

JQ SPOONER: a sampling of his 43 cards:

If you're interested in a box break, Chris is having fun with product as far back as the 90s! His Facebook page can be found here and blog here.  Check out the blog link for his current trade stack.

Chris, thanks for the fun break offerings - and for the Lineage assist!  It was a wonderful surprise!

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Time for a round six ballot wrap! Your candidates were A: 1987 Sportlics Factory set and B: 1989 Bowman factory set.  Twenty-two voters cast their ballots.  Sportflics took the win with 12 votes!

Going into the ballot box:

Welcome to Round 7 voting! Your candidates are small set lots: food, odd and holographic. Each has a running mate. 

CANDIDATE A:  

A complete 33 card set of 1984 Topps Ralston Purina baseball featuring many stars in all their dog chow glory! Checklist here. Full disclosure: when pulling this set for the contest, I found a slight  wrinkle on Nolan's hat. His card still presents well. There is no color loss. You should know your candidate's flaws. 

Ralston Purina's running-mate is the 2001 Sunoco Dream Team, a complete 12 card set !  When I discovered this set just a few years ago, I'd never seen it anywhere. Now these cards seem to turn up in dime boxes everywhere! But all twelve at one time? Rarely. Checklist here.

CANDIDATE B:

Another complete 33 card set for consideration: 1986 Topps Quaker Granola. Checklist here.  It's filled with stars of the day and a pilgrim on the face of each card. Chew on that!

Granola's mate in the running: 1992 Whitehall Legends to Life! These cards do not scan well and gave my camera difficulty. That's a politician for ya! Only wants you to see their good side. The five card checklist: Cobb, Gehrig, Ruth, Wagner and  Young. Cards were still sealed in plastic wrap. Scratch-free and ready to rock you with their early 90s holographic design.

Please review the rules before voting:

Before I close, a thank you goes out to Fuji for the chicken he sent my way. Chicken travels better than one might expect when it's FAMOUS! Fuji recently obtained one for himself and shared it on his blog. That's when I began whining; commenting too quickly to notice an error before entering. Truly, I only mentioned the bird was going on my Santa list. Fuji must've had concerns about Santa's ability to travel this covid-Christmas. He stepped right into the red suit and sent one to me. The postal sleigh dropped it off only a couple of days ago.

As you can see, the F.C. is right at home among friends in my happy corner. Fuji, you once asked about those brightly colored cans on the speakers. "Rainbow Seeker" is a pineapple/sage drink by Blake's Hard Cider, a few miles up the road from me.  It's good cold or with a little OJ which is my preference. A percentage of the proceeds from this cider support the LGBT National Hotline.  

Thank you Chris, Fuji and JQ - and thanks to all my readers! Get out there and vote! 

A Completely Overdue, Highly Worthwhile Trade

A long time - more than a year ? - passed between Brian and me without a trade.   Not because I didn't have a stash of Twinsies for him.  I spent 9 months out of touch with the blogs.  It's taken awhile to make up for the lost time.  With a slap on their backs, I packed up the Minn Twins and wished them best of luck.   I'm not sure what these fellas told Brian upon arrival but he whipped out a grand package in return.   I guess the boys were happy with their new home!  I know these fellas are:

Pretty in Pink - and black and foil

These cards are sharp - and not just around the edges!  I'm particularly fond of the 2011 Lineage foil Cobb .  I've mentioned on more than one occasion this design would've been a great one for Flagship.

Nick is the lone Tiger

This is a great grouping of rarely seen cards: 94 Stadium Club Members Only; 1990 Baseball Card Magazine Fielder and 84 All Star Parrish.  Someone did a nice trim job on Fielder!!

2003 UD 40 Million Trillion Men

Ty Cobb = Electric!  Bazooka Al and Two Ginter JVs

A clean 206 Sizemore auto and Munson's spikes!  Yikes!  I coulda put my eye out on this one!

Specifically Pacific Legends

I've been a fan of history since childhood.  It was always my favorite subject in school.  Yes, I am THAT nerdy kid.   These cards find a home in Julie's Big Binder of World History, currently at six pages.

    1958 Topps - love that Tiger mascot!    1954 Bowman - so clean!   Freakin' 1941 PlayBall!!

These cards represent only a portion of Brian's kindness.  I will share one more - an oddball.  I love this card because it's local to me, an apparent giveaway from 1976.  The Troy Hilton is long gone as is any Sports Collectors Convention in Michigan. There is a Midwest Sports Spectacular in Ohio each year in January.  Not the best time of year for a road trip but possibly worth the challenge!

I WORK IN TROY!

Brian, let's not wait so long to do this again!  Thank you for these cards!!!

His highly subjective blog posts are worth every bit of your time!  You'll learn something new, or find a great conversation and chuckle there!

Look for my next post - Dupe, Dump or Dwindle: Round One.  My player collections are changing or disappearing altogether.  Will you want these cards?  There's a catch! 

Thanks for reading!

In Memoriam: the 2018 Detroit Tigers

WHAT'S THE CATCH? - a trade post

The catch is this: an awesome selection of cardboard from an awesome blog,  Catching Up With Collecting.  Jared sent a fat stack of cards!  I can't share them all, not even all my favorites.  I'm forced to choose so here's a glimpse into the padded mailer:

Publicity shots of a couple Tiger men.  A color photo of Scherzer would've shown off that pretty baby blue - and brown.

Jared did not forget my great love for Altuve - one of today's best 2nd basemen.

 

 

I recently read The Bird: Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych by Doug Wilson.  Mark Fidrych was one of the game's great personalities.  Quirky, sincere; a fan's ballplayer.  When his career was cut short, baseball lost a great ambassador.  His family and friends lost a very good and humble man when he died in a tragic accident at 54 years of age.  The book is a great read, and frankly I didn't want it to end.  Mark was very much alive as I enjoyed page after page.  The final chapter came and with it, Mark's passing.

 

Gibby is sporting his college colors on 2008 Donruss Threads. Since moving to Michigan, I've been asked many times if I follow U of M Wolverines or Michigan State's Spartans.  My answer: Oklahoma Sooners. 

These cards are so colorful, I wished the scan had turned out better. Upper left of this group features a 94 Fleer Ultra On Base Leader foil beauty - Tony Phillips.  Tony passed away on February 17, two months shy of his 57th birthday, of an apparent heart attack. He spent five years of an 18 year MLB career with the Tigers, 1990-1995 where he walked 519 times.  

The era of  peel or don't peel:  from 97 and 98 Topps Finest.  To peel is better.  Many cards that weren't peeled  have yellowed splotches.  The top right card - Brian Hunter - shows some of this yellowing at his belt buckle.

 

CHAD CURTIS: then and now

 

Chad began serving 7-15 years in 2013 for criminal sexual conduct.  I do not know if the Gus Harrison Correctional Facility in Adrian Michigan has a prison ball team.

Fun batch of cards with profiled player peel and stick cards from 85 Topps.  Both Fielders are from Cardtoons.  He made $125,000 in 1988.  By 1994, his salary ballooned to $7,200,000.   His wallet wasn't the only thing ballooning in the 90s.

2011 Topps Lineage in its only year of release. Topps wasted a great idea on this product.  It would've been a nice flagship design.  Clean, white borders. Delightful!  Ty Cobb cloth sticker and gorgeous Diamond Anniversary Martinez.

Three versions of  1995 Stadium Club Extreme Corps subset - Darren Daulton, my favorite Phillies catcher,  Great job Jared!!!!  I need all of these!!!!

A nice lot of relics and  2013 Pinnacle Access - a see-through card - as a friend of mine would say.  I think there is a hint of cork in the Gonzalez bat chip.  Hmm.

A nice arrangement of vintage players.  Ty Cobb is an absolute favorite, and Cochrane one of the greatest catchers.  The pennant is from 2013 Panini with the reverse showing 1947 - his HOF induction year.  I love these pennants!!!

Jared, you hit the spot with these!  Thank you very, very much!

A reminder for anyone interested - LONG SHOT, Mike Piazza -  a book giveaway is happening right now on this blog.  Go HERE to comment and enter.  In recognition of the Trump presidential campaign, no entrants from outside the USA borders are allowed.

Brad's Blog: givin' it away

Brad was moving.  Hauling cards ain't easy.  To lighten the burden, Brad offered up cards to any and every one.  I wasn't familiar with his blog and not sure how I stumbled across this opportunity.  Who says no  to free anyway?  Three days after the post, a fat mailer was on the way to my place.  Brad sent nearly 100 cards, all Tigers.  Elated was I.  It was hard to choose a reasonable number to share. 

There were the shiny and tiny:

Topps Lineage is a favorite of mine. The 75 styled minis make this a favorite release from 2011.  Topps Chrome, Bowman Platinum and Upper Deck Spectrum add great color to this lot.

Vintage - UD style:

It's always a bit sad to see the manner in which Upper Deck chose to cut their own throat.  These cards did not help their cause.  I happen to like the black borders and design.  In fact, I've liked them since 1971 - or since I discovered 71 Topps, I should say.  Upper Deck released Vintage in 2002.

Courtesy of Google Images, 1971 Topps:

Really.  How did the once flourishing Upper Deck Company think this
would fly?  No one at Topps would be paying attention??

Here's a fun card which somehow escaped my knowledge:

 2003 Fleer Double Header: one half of Fernando Rodney unfolds to reveal a full-figured Barry Wesson. The card back lists stats for both boys.

A couple of hits:

 At 16, Aussie Rikki Johnston signed with the Tigers, receiving a $400,000 signing bonus.  This card is from 2000 Royal Rookies.  According to Beckett's catalog, he disappears from all card releases after 2003.  4,950 hand-signed cards.  Just what does that do to a pitcher's hand?

And finally these gems.  I'd like to have a complete set of the Conlon Collection, color version.  My first of these is a Cobb, my all-time favorite Tiger.  That's one beautiful card!

I appreciate these and more so, our introduction.  I needed a Phillies fanatic on my trader list.  I owe you Brad.  Thanks for your patience!

Packing It Up

The packing is growing old, and quickly.  All the books and most cards are packed.  It's the little stuff getting to me. My desire for organization will not allow for packing random items in the same box; e.g. waffle iron and used soap collection. But I must, to make best use of space in the moving truck aka U-Haul.  I need to be finished by the end of day Wednesday.  Thursday through Sunday are scheduled fun days: one last Ranger game, possibly Six Flags, a day spent at my beloved LCS - 28 miles away, one more visit to Half Price Books and meeting up with friends for a meal or two.  On Monday, the wheels roll north. 

 

As an excuse to put off packing a bit longer, I wanted to share some mail goodies from generous blogger pals.   Kaiser the Great from Orange and Black Wax did a bit of shopping and knocked a few items off  my want list.  It's really more of a need  list. But you understand this.

 

 



1985 Topps Father/Son subset card

1991 Topps

 

KTG sent a message that he had the Whitaker rc I needed to complete my 78 Topps team set.  I appreciate the time he took to choose a few cards to send along with it.  Kaiser has disappeared again.  He's been caught in an 80s time continuum but will hopefully return once the time machine spits him out.

 

Foul Bunt Orioles blogger William Regenthal surprised me with a nearly complete team set from 1987 Topps.  Added to the cards I already owned, I can cross this year off my needy little list.

 

 

He also tucked in four Gehrigs, all new to my collection.

 

                                    2010 Topps Vintage Legends             2011 Topps Lineage

                                   2010 Topps Vintage Legends                  2013 GQ

 

2011 Lineage was issued a couple of years before my return to collector's paradise. I looked up the set on Cardboard Connection for a little background. I will agree with the reviewer that these cards are comparable to a Topps flagship design.   Too bad Topps wasted a good idea on their only Lineage release. It's a Topps design I actually like.  Thanks William! I hope to return the kindness in the near future.

 

The last package I'll share tonight is from Tim, the Smelly Cardboard Guy.  Tim burst into the blogging world in December and has made friends quickly, trading like the Bull market!  He sent over a colorful lot of cards - which by the way, do not  stink. 

 

 

 My first 2015 Bowman Tigers, including a chrome Kubitza and mini- Farm's Finest Derek Hill.

 

Purple-licious Topps with purple foil Avila - Toys R Us perhaps? Victor appears courtesy 2015 Donruss.

2003 Bowman Chrome refractor Pena;  2011 Bowman's Best design Cabrera and a 2010 exfractoring Ordonez.  That one scanned pretty well!

 

1995 Bowman's Best Fryman w/guest Expo Michael Barrett.  2014 Topps Cabrera, hot-looking foil! 

 

 

 2011 Topps Blue Parallel Martinez;  2008 SP Authentic Matt Joyce; 1997 Score Sierra Private Stock parallel; 1994 O-Pee-Chee Fryman; 2001 Fleer Platinum Cruz 007/201.   Tim's doing a great job so far.  What's left?

 A 1983 Yankee yearbook TCMA insert, neatly separated from his paged companions!

 1968 Topps baseball game Al Kaline!  What a gem! A very cool surprise!

 

2012 and 2015 GQ framed Ripkens

 

 

One more card from Tim to share with you - 2003 Topps Bazooka Joe in his Tiger duds:

 



 

 

I got a kick out of this card because of a recent purchase made on a trip to OKC.  My Sis and I stopped into a vintage antique shop.  I caught this little guy smiling at me from across the room.  The price was right at only five dollars.  Joe was clean and in excellent shape.  

 

So far the neighbors aren't gossiping about my new and much younger roommate.  I'll say this, Joe is pretty worthless when it comes to helping me pack. When I begin to complain, he smiles that little smile - at least he did til I shoved him in a plastic bag and packed him up with the waffle iron and soap!

 

Tim, thanks much!  I'll work on a Yankee gathering for you soon!