A little project makes me realize how lucky I've been

You may or may not have noticed that I've added a couple of pages on the right hand side of the blog.   One of those pages (Just the hits--Blue Jays) is a little project I started to try and get all of my Blue Jays relics and autos scanned to show off to everyone.   A by-product of this task is that I'll finally have all those goodies in one place, largely because of my wont to "unclutter" my collection.

I've scanned in 21 up until now, and I have them listed chronologically from most recent to the oldest.

More often than not, these cards that I have scanned in, or will be scanning in the near future, are the product of trades/generosity of the sports card blogosphere.

Bloggers may have pulled these cards from packs.  They may have bought them as part of a larger lot, or snagged them at a card show for peanuts.

Looking at the large stack of cards still to scan and display makes me realize that there are a lot of people out there that see cards like this and think to themselves that there is someone out there that might enjoy them.

Now I may not remember who sent me what card, but I do have a pretty good idea of the people that have been good to me in the past.   Those are the people that help make this hobby what it is.

Fun.

It's fun talking to people you might not otherwise know, those who share the bond of enjoying pictures on cardboard.  While I may never get the chance to meet anyone out there in the blogosphere (although I do hope that one day I will), the knowledge that there are guys out there who see cards like this and say to themselves "I wonder if Robert needs that" is incredible. 

With the dead zone of the next 4 months that is the baseball off season upon us, there is a lot of extra time to scour want lists and see what kind of trades can be made.  Extra time to continue the 2nd job that is cleaning up my collection.  Hashing out that one trade could make someone else's day, just like a lot of the trades that I've completed in the past have made mine. 

That reminds me, I have to add a couple of more people to the fun list....

thanks for reading, Robert

By the page: Jose Canseco

When I saw the news on Wednesday that Jose Canseco had accidentally shot off part of his finger, I knew I had to step up my efforts to find that elusive 9th card for him.

The search worked, and now I have a full page of Jose in a Jays uniform.  There's probably plenty of others out there, but these 9 are good enough for me.
 
Top row:  Running, hitting, mulling

One thing I'll say about this page, there are some good photos of Jose.  I don't know why, but I'm kind of partial to the rounding 2nd base card on the left.

Even 15 years ago, there were guys that wore "suits of armor" to the plate, like you see in the other two cards.

Middle row:  My favorite card, surrounded by the same photo

The Bowman card in the center is my favorite of the page.  It's simple, features Jose in the dark blue jersey (which you know I love), and isn't some fancy insert or parallel.

How about the other two cards??  The same photo, used by two different companies.  We've seen a lot recently how Topps likes to reuse photos, but how about Fleer and Topps using the same photo in the same year.  I'm sure that a lot of other people have examples of this kind of duplication as well.

Bottom row:  The blues

The Leaf rookies and stars card in the center was the last one I found for the page.  No doubt the Donruss on the left depicts Canseco walking back to the dugout after one of his many strikeouts (he led the AL in strikeouts during his only season in Toronto with 159).  The Pacific Aurora on the right came close to hiding all the logos, since that product was only licensed by the MLBPA.

Not bad, one year, one page.   Although I love the advice that this tweet provides Jose, it probably would have been better timed if it was sent before he started cleaning the gun.

Leave it up to Jose to get his name in the news on the day of Game 7 in the world series.

thanks for reading, Robert

'59 Topps set build #5/572 Nellie Fox

This is the first opportunity I've had to write a little bit about a Hall of Fame player.  I've heard the name Nellie Fox over the years, but have had little opportunity to learn about his playing career.

How many cards do you think in 2015 will feature a player with a cheek full of chaw?  (Assuming that is what his left cheek is full of). 

Fox's selection to the '59 All Star team was his 9th consecutive honor, and the selection was well earned.  By the All-Star break he had amassed 30 multi-hit games, including a 5 for 7 effort on opening day against the Tigers.  Nellie was hitting .330 at the break, and had struck out a total of 7 times in 369 plate appearances. 

I remember hearing on a documentary a few years back about Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak.  The narrator put the streak in perspective, saying that Joe D had a hit each day for 2 months straight.

As a guy who is a fan of players who seldom strike out, the back of the Fox card really caught my eye.  That 98 game streak lasted 3 months and 5 days during the '58 season, and spanned 451 plate appearances.  It took a hall of fame pitcher to end this incredible run, as Whitey Ford struck out Fox in his first at bat on 8/23/58.

Outside of the centering, this card is in really nice shape.  The corners are good and there's no random pen marks or any other indicators of a 55 year old card.   I won the card on eBay, and if I remember correctly the price I paid for the lot was quite reasonable ($10), and included the "Destruction Crew" card of Minoso, Colavito and Doby.

thanks for reading, Robert

Yes, it's still going

The one project that has been going for almost the entire length that this blog has been running is the Serial Numbered Insanity set.   I haven't had the opportunity to add to the set lately (nor have I thought a lot about it), but leave it up to an old reliable PWE sender to get me thinking about the project again.

Pat from the Hot Corner Cards blog sent me a single card yesterday, bringing me one card closer to completion.

Serial # 618

A very young looking Alberto Arias becomes the 1255th card in the set.  Once lagging way behind, the Rockies are now creeping closer to the finish line.   The Rockies now have 45 cards out of the 50 needed for the set, pretty much negating the worries I had a few months back about how I was going to get this particular team completed.

Now about those Tigers.....

Thank you for the card Pat, much appreciated!

thanks for reading, Robert

By the page: Joe Carter

It's been a long time coming, but the anniversary of Joe Carter's walk off homer to win the '93 Series was just the other day, so it's time to dust off a 9 pocket sheet of cards for the man...

Top row:  Shiny

Seems to be a recurring theme for me on these pages.   When you feature a lot of players that appeared for the Jays during the 90's, I guess you're going to get a lot of cards that are bright.  I am especially fond of the Denny's Grand Slam card on the right; it might be the only card of a Jays player that I own that bears the Denny's name.

Middle row:   The base

The Select card picturing Joe's triumphant lap around the bases was an easy choice for the center card.  I originally had the base version of the Score card that is featured in the top left, but changed my mind and went with the '91 Upper Deck card on the right.  I really like the sleeveless red Canada Day jersey that is featured on the left as well, that card being part of the UD Timeless Teams set.

Bottom row:  The inserts

I unintentionally managed to put three different manufacturers on this row.  I was curious to see how Carter fared vs. Randy Johnson during his career; not too bad actually, .283 average, 3HR and 8 RBI in 60 ABs.  Joe struck out 16 times versus 17 total hits off of RJ.  The Dominators card was also interesting, it touted Joe as the 5th leading Home Run producer of the 90's at the time it was released (94).  Joe hit 124 HRs during the first 4 seasons of the 90's.

Not a bad page for Carter.   I will have plenty of opportunities to show off more pages of Joe, as there are still numerous cards of him in the box. 

Thanks for reading, Robert

'59 Topps set build #4/572 Roy Sievers

I decided to keep on going with the 2nd of the 3 all star cards that I currently own.  This time, I'll take a look at an American League slugger, Roy Sievers.

Card # 566 Roy Sievers:

The '59 season saw Roy Sievers start in left field for the Senators, but by May 16th he was the regular first baseman.

When I first looked at the card, it appeared that it had been trimmed.  What I noticed is that the right hand border got smaller as you looked upwards on the card.  But if you look at the left hand border, you will notice that it gets larger as you go up the card.

If you look at the borders on the back, you'll see the same thing.  

Maybe someone with some better card inspection ability can tell me if the card appears trimmed to them. 

Interesting on the back about Roy being the only player to ever win the HR title with a last place club.  His 42 HRs led the AL in 1957, as well as his 114 RBIs.  Alas, his triple crown chances fell short as Ted Williams would hit .388 that year.  Roy would actually finish 3rd in the MVP race (Mantle and Williams finished ahead of him) that season, even though the Senators were dead last, 43 games behind the pennant winning Yankees.

Roy only made one plate appearance during the All Star Game "double header", it was a pinch hit walk in the 8th inning of the first game that was played in Forbes Field 7/7/59.   The 2nd half of the All Star game double header would be played a month later, and would mark the first time the game was played on the west coast. 

I never knew that there were 2 AS games in 1959, so I learned something today.  It was even more interesting that instead of playing both games during the break, they split them a month apart.   I would love to find out what the reasoning was behind that...

thanks for reading, Robert

Trade the '55, keep the '64

I have to be careful.  If I mention a certain player from the vintage years too often, someone might think I'm switching allegiances.

I mentioned in last night's post about how I traded a '55 Kaline away, well today I got one back.

This one fits into my current collecting plan.  $10 shipped brought this great Al Kaline to me.  I've been doing a lot of eBay searches lately, hunting for bargains such as this one.  With my birthday close at hand, I may have to start pulling the trigger on a few of them, just as a present or 3 for myself.

By the way, don't worry about me switching allegiances to the Tigers any time soon, the Dave Bergman at bat still stings a little.

thanks for reading, Robert

I can see why people like these....who wouldn't?

I was fortunate enough earlier this week to be mentioned on one of the newer blogs in town.   Julie from the A Cracked Bat blog was kind enough to show off the envelope that I had sent her way.

That Kaline was a purchase from the last monthly show I attended at the beginning of October.  I thought of her right away when I saw that card, knowing that I had to repay the generosity she had shown me and my Blue Jays collection.  That knowledge made the Kaline an easy pick up. 

Even if I didn't send the card her way, it would have found an instant home in my collection.

I then made my way to the one table that I hit for all of my vintage.  I was able to put a nice dent into my '59 Topps set, but the cards that piqued my interest even more were these...

Ray, the vendor, had a nice 10 pack of these for a very reasonable price. 

These cards are evil.  I can see why people like them.   They're gorgeous.

I decided to grab them.   Great trade bait they would make, I thought to myself.

I knew that the Night Owl was slowly chipping away at this set.   I sent him three the very next weekend.

Now I'm torn.   The '56 set is fantastic, but likely out of my price range (at least in the near future).  I knew little about '56T, so I took a quick look.   340 card checklist!!  That certainly is a lot more attainable than the sets I'm working on now, which are anywhere from 572 cards (59) to 787 cards (72). 

I didn't have the money at the beginning of the month, but Ray told me that the other '56 lot he had will probably be available in November.

71 cards--71 dollars.

A little more than a fifth of the set, for mere peanuts as far as vintage is concerned.

I might be in trouble the first weekend of November.   Stay tuned.

thanks for reading, Robert

No update? No problem!

Since this past Saturday, I've had the opportunity to visit both the local Wal Mart and Target.  I've seen the posts here and there about the '14 Update packs being in the stores, and I decided to check and see if there were any.

Both stores, nothing.  There was hardly any 2014 product on the racks at all.  I can't believe that it's all sold out, so maybe vendors are pulling product off the racks early in my area if they aren't selling.

Does it bother me that there's no update?   Not at all.

I can continue the quest to clean off the top of my desk.   That's been a tall order, which I've been able to knock down some in the past 3-4 weeks.  The Blue Jay piles have been diminished, and there is about 150 cards left to put into the spreadsheet and that onerous task will be complete.   I have a pile of Blue Jays "hits" that I'm going to scan and show off on the "Just the hits--Blue Jays" page I just created (you'll find it on the right hand side).

One of the piles on the desk actually had some vintage cards that I'd forgotten that I purchased a while ago (I believe these are from the May show). 

'61 will be a passing fancy for quite a long time.  I only have 15 cards towards the set, and this set is down near the bottom of the list as far as vintage set completion goes.

Dick Hall here is one of the many cards in the pile that I marked off of the '62 checklist, but never bothered to put away with the rest.  I've got quite a good start on this set, with 158 cards in my possession.  This is actually one of the nicer specimens that I own from this set.

Another card that I picked up quite a while back, but never bothered to put away.  The '67 set is one that I'll set my sights on once I finish off the '64 and '73 sets.  It might take a back seat to sets such as '62 and '69, since I only have 23 cards so far.

The '68 burlap set is another that I have quite the head start on, but will also take a back seat for a while.  I had to look, but sure enough that Mike Marshall is the same rubber armed pitcher that set the mark for most appearances by a reliever in 1974 (one of those records that will never be broken).  Mike didn't pitch in the majors during 1968, and wound up as a swing man on the '69 Seattle Pilots team before moving to the NL for the first half of the 70's.

I have an unchecked version of this '69 6th series checklist, so if anyone is looking for a marked up checklist that doubles as a Brooks Robinson card, I can send this your way.

I learned something new today.  There are 2 variations of this checklist from the '70 Topps set.  The one I have features the batter with a red bat, while the other version features a brown bat.  The scan makes this card look like the brown bat version, but I know it to be the red because I wouldn't be lucky enough to find the brown bat in a commons box.

The '71 set is another "down the road" project.  I don't think I can even picture Rollie Fingers pitching without the handlebar mustache.  I don't want to say it looks odd, but to me, it is.

There is progress being made as I said earlier on the desk cleaning.   I'm about halfway through creating a trade list full of inserts and serial numbered parallels for the team collectors out there.  I'll scan more of the Jays "hits" as time goes on. 

Meanwhile, I've started playing with my cards.   You may or may not have noticed that my post output has dropped quite a bit again.  That's largely due to having little inspiration for writing, and noticing that what I do write is being shunned by the masses (not that I blame anyone).  

I decided to create a little game for myself, comparing cards from half a dozen sets that I've either finished, or am close to finishing.   Totally arbitrary and subjective fun/scoring on my part.  (thanks to Mark Kaz and his "Four Topps" posts for the inspiration)  It's nothing fancy, it's not ground breaking, but for me it's different and variety is the spice of life.   Maybe one or two people will look at it and have something to say themselves about the cards!!

So, no update, no problem.  I've got a helluva lot of cards to go through, and a long season planned.

thanks for reading, Robert

'59 Topps set build: Post #3/572 Bob Friend

Sometimes you just never know what to expect.   I won an eBay auction last week that advertised 10 cards from the '59 set, I wound up receiving 13!  The card you're about to see is one of the "bonus" additions to the envelope.

Card #569:  Bob Friend all star card

 

Interesting that the card front lists Friend as a '59 All Star Selection, when in fact he played in the '58 All Star game.

Bob certainly earned the All Star nomination in 1958, he had 10 wins by mid July, and wound up leading the NL with 22 wins that year.

For you stat geeks (guys like me), the caption on the back held true for the rest of Friend's career.  Bob finished with 31 wins versus the Braves over his 16 year career.

It's not surprising that this card was added to the envelope.  It's about as beat up a card as you'll find in my collection.  Most of the other '59 cards that I own are still pretty "solid", however this one is very flimsy and creased in several spots.

This is one of those cards that you'd describe as "adding character" to the set.  You know how it is, going through all of the pages with the cards that are in nice shape, and then hitting the final page and seeing this beat up beauty.   A conversation between collectors as to how the card got this bad would certainly ensue.   Bike spokes?  Folded up in a kids pocket?  Flipped endlessly to the ground, landing on corners constantly?

We'll never know, but for now, it's found a home. 

Thanks for reading, Robert

Down to 102

I've been a bit obsessed the past couple of weeks with the '59 Topps set.   I've been hunting eBay looking for deals on card lots to try and put a quick dent into the set.

In the midst of the bargain hunting, I had a minor revelation on Sunday evening.   "The '64 Topps set you've been building for the past 3 years is still waiting to be finished" I thought to myself.

So, I quickly switched my focus and started looking for Phil Niekro RC's from the '64 set.  When I was unable to find anything that I liked, I did a general search on the '64 set to see if there was anything there that would catch my eye.

This card appeared in the search.  It had a BIN of $16 and change, with a best offer option.   I took a shot and offered $15 shipped.

Today this beauty arrived in my mailbox.   I'm down to 102 cards left to go to complete my '64 set.  Still a lot of big names to pick up; McCovey, Gibson, Niekro, Gaylord Perry, and the A.L. Bombers card to name a few.

At the beginning, knocking off 20 or 30 cards from the want list was the reward.   Now, adding single cards like this makes this set build even more rewarding. 

I think when my want list for this set drops below 100 cards I'll definitely feel some satisfaction.   I've started older sets in the past, but gave up on them too easily. 

Not this time. 

The end isn't near, however the light at the end of the tunnel just became a little brighter today.

thanks for reading, Robert

At least I now have a reason to watch the World Series

A couple of hours ago I heard a very loud noise in my neighborhood.

It was the screams and shouts of a fan base that has suffered for nearly 3 decades.

The Kansas City Royals are in the fall classic.   And I couldn't be happier.

I have relatives on my wife's side of the family who are big Royals fans.   I can relate to what they've gone through as Royals fans (I'm a Maple Leafs fan, remember?).  29 years is a long time to wait for a playoff berth, let alone a chance for a championship. 

The Royals are a team I can get behind, largely because my NL allegiance has shifted to the Pirates over the past handful of seasons.  I've watched how the Pirates have built from within, and coached a lot of veteran pitchers who you could say were on the "scrap heap" into some brilliant pitching performances.  The Royals remind me of the Pirates, only with a slightly higher payroll.

Having a guy with the nickname Country Breakfast only helps to enhance my joy. 

Seeing how teams like the Royals can make it to the final dance gives me hope that other "small market" teams can shrink their payrolls and build winning ball clubs.  Kind of like Pittsburgh.  Oakland.   Minnesota was part of that group for a while, until the past couple of seasons. 

It doesn't matter who the Royals face in the Series.  They have my backing 100%.   Maybe even 110%, if that's possible.  I'd also love to see a repeat of the 1985 Series match up.  Why?  Because I'd love to see the Cardinals go down in flames to the Royals (and no, that's not a prediction).

Hey, the Royals even made a card I've had for 11 years relevant again!!

Who knows?   I might even switch allegiances if the Royals pull off a World Series win.

Everybody loves a winner, right?

Go Royals!!

thanks for reading, Robert

By the page: Jose Cruz Jr.

I actually got something accomplished on the weekend.  With my sister-in-law visiting, my wife was otherwise occupied.   That left me free to work on the multitude of piles sitting on my desk.   I actually made some progress on the two Blue Jay piles on the desk, separating the cards needed from the cards I already have.  I still have a stack of about 150 still to enter into the spreadsheet, but it is nice to know that the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter.

I still have a lot of cards on the desk for these "by the page" posts, so let's get another one out of the way, and look at Jose Cruz Jr.

Top row:  The dark blues

I'm really not sure what Topps was thinking on the Topps Reserve card in the middle.  Player uniform number on a dot in the middle of the picture, and then a second dot on the bottom of the card with the position.  Definitely not one of Topps finest releases (no pun intended).  Even the Leaf checklist card on the right hand side is a nicer design.

Middle row:  2001/02 base cards

The 2002 Heritage card was an easy choice for the middle of the page when I saw it.  In retrospect the '02 Heritage set is something that I should have put together, because it is one of my favorite designs from the '50s.  I surrounded the Heritage card with a couple of road uniform photos.  The '01 UD design would have been better in my opinion of the team logo wasn't done in foil.  The '02 Topps Opening Day foil is a little too big for my tastes, and stands out from the rest of the photo.  I'm sure that a better way could have been used to distinguish between OD and the flagship.

Bottom row:  Shiny

OK, I have to say this.  Doesn't it look as if Cruz had an accident on the Donruss Preferred Power card?  I really didn't think too much of it until I saw the scan in front of me on the screen.  Does anyone think that Topps should go back to the larger Chrome sets similar to what they released in the late 90's?  Yea I know that the cards are expensive, but I like the larger team sets that were available on the Chrome releases back then.  The cookie cutter 200 card sets now just don't appeal to me.

Not a bad page, all but one of the cards feature Cruz batting or running.  I'm sure I'll be able to put together one more page of Cruz Jr., it'll be interesting to see if I have any cards of him in a fielding or throwing pose.

thanks for reading, Robert

'59 Topps Set Build: #2/572 Jim Bolger

 I've decided to create posts of the cards I own in numerical order, instead of jumping around the set.  This should help get me motivated to create posts more often instead of wasting time trying to figure out which player to write about.  

Card #29:  Jim Bolger

 
Career beginnings:  Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent in 1950.  Jim appeared in 2 games for the Reds in 1950 as an 18 year old.  The Cubs acquired him from the Reds at the end of the 1954 season as part of a 4 player trade.

Awards/League Leader/Titles:  None

Career Line:  .229  6HR 48 RBI
Loved to face:  Vinegar Bend Mizell (.450 9 for 20, 2 2B)
Hated to face:   Ruben Gomez (.067 1 for 15)

How did Jim fare in 1959?   1959 was Jim's last season in the majors, and he struggled with two different teams (Cleveland and Philadelphia), hitting just .073 in 55 ABs.

About the card:  This card arrived via the generosity of CommishBob, the original '59 Topps blogger.  Even though the corners are rounded and there are dirt marks on the back, this card is good enough for my '59 set, so it probably will not be upgraded.

The green background with white lettering on the front is one of 13 different color combinations that I've discovered so far.  The photo of Jim is actually quite good, and the signature is very legible. 

The cartoon on the back depicts Jim sliding into 3rd base, honoring his league leading 16 triples in 1953 in the South Atlantic League (Sally).  The shoes actually look like shoes on this card(compared to the Dick Drott "boots"), and it almost looks like there is a face drawn on the bottom of the left shoe.

eBay auctions:  I performed a search for Jim Bolger cards on eBay, and I found a wide spectrum of prices.   The lowest was $1.99 shipped, and the highest was for a PSA 9 that was listed for $350 (!) or OBO. 

thanks for reading, Robert

By the page: R.A. Dickey

2 years ago, I was skeptical about the trade that brought R.A. Dickey to the Blue Jays.  Yes, he had just finished a 20 win season with the Mets, earned the Cy Young award and his knuckle ball was the talk of baseball.

2 seasons later, and my feelings are still mixed.  28-26 record, ERA just under 4, and 61 (yikes!) HR allowed don't make for a #1 starter.  Between him and Mark Buehrle, at least the Jays have 2 veterans that will take the ball every 5th day and give it their all. 

I wasn't even sure whether I would be able to put enough cards together to fill a page for R.A.  But the inserts and parallels over the past couple of seasons were numerous enough to put something together.

Top row:  the inserts

I haven't really bought a lot of Gypsy Queen the past 2 years, but one of my favorite insert sets to come from any recent product has to be the Dealing Aces that you see on the right.  My love of playing cards has a lot to do with that.  The Opening Day stars card has a bit of a similar feel to the Sportflics cards of the 80's.  The Cut to the Chase insert set was one that I liked as well, and I originally had this in the center of the page, but changed my mind.

Middle row:  the base cards

The 2013 Bowman card has him in the dark blues, so that was an easy choice.  The GQ card features him in the Canada Day red uniform, another favorite of mine, so again an easy choice.  I don't have a man crush on R.A., but for some reason I thought that the '14 Heritage card that features just a head shot kind of belonged in the middle.   We'll see how that works out at the end.

Bottom row:  parallels

I originally was going to surround the Bowman Blue with the two identical photos.   In the end, I decided to go blue, red, and blue.  Now that I look at it, the identical cards look OK to me side by side. 

Now that I look at the finished product, I believe that the head shot was a good choice in the middle.  That's also the only card that doesn't feature R.A. in a pitching motion.  I should be able to put another page of Mr. Dickey sooner or later; I still have quite a few parallels of him to acquire from the past two seasons. 

thanks for reading, Robert

Nineteen

I don't know how he managed it.  Club PWE Maestro Jeff from the 2x3 heroes blog sent me an envelope of Blue Jays cardboard which arrived on my doorstep this past weekend.  Inside was a smorgasbord of cards that I needed to mark off of what seems to be an infinite Blue Jays want list that I've posted.

What did he manage you ask?  He hit 19 different sets on the want list.  1 card from each.

Let's start with a trio of horizontal cards...

Let's see, we have a two time HR champ, proof that one of the Molina brothers spent some time behind the dish in Toronto, and a Canadian that sadly only lasted one season with the Jays before being traded for Brian Wolfe.

Yep, that's 6 pitchers, each from a different set.  They go as far back as the Tom Henke Fleer All-star sticker from '88, all the way up to the 2013 Panini Hometown Heroes Dave Stieb.  That 2008 UD Josh Banks in the lower right corner is his RC, which he earned after pitching all of 3 games in Toronto in 2007. 

I enjoyed both of the Cracker Jack releases from the mid 00's; I was kind of sad that it never came back.  The Fred McGriff checklist on the far right is from the '89 UD set, and finally puts that particular set's want list to bed.

Believe it or not, my favorite of these 5 guys is Frank Catalanotto.  Did nothing flashy during his 4 years with the Jays, but his average was solid every season (.299, .293, .301, .300).  Again, 5 different players, 5 different sets.

Finally, here are my 2 favorites:

Love the Bowman Heritage Ricky Romero RC.  I don't know if it's just the green in the background, but his hat appears to have a bit of a green tinge to it.  No matter though, to me it's a sharp looking card and I'm glad to finally have it.

The Jose Reyes '14 black parallel was the centerpiece of the envelope.  It is #'d 08/63, and it is the first black parallel I own from this year's release.  I never bothered to put up the black parallel want list from the past couple of years, because I don't realistically expect to own more than a handful of these cards.  I decided to take a quick look at eBay to see what some of the cards are going for.   I saw a Josh Thole BIN for $2.99 (not bad), and I also spotted a couple of Jose Bautista cards going for $15 apiece. 

Jeff, fantastic envelope, thank you very much!  The cards are really appreciated.

thanks for reading, Robert