I am a sucker for these Triple Threads jersey cards, and when I found this one at such a cheap price, I couldn't say no.
The card knocks off the autograph portion of the requirements, and of course since he's a Blue Jay Drabek fits into the collecting goals as well.
Card Purchased (1): 2011 Topps Triple Threads Auto Jersey Doug Drabek #95/99 (94 cards remaining)
Cost: $3.99 + $3.00 shipping +$0.42 tax (ugh) =$7.41 ($18.02 total spent, $81.98 left)
How won: I was the only bid on this auction. Seller is mk0914
Card took a couple of extra days to get here because of Sandy, but the wait was well worth it.
I like everything about these cards, expect for the price (normally). The idea of the jersey cutouts forming something that has meaning to the player on the card is a good idea from where I sit.
Still a long way to go, and a nice chunk of change to spend.
I'm sure I wouldn't have pulled something like this from the Heritage High Numbers...
Remember I said in October that I would find a better way to spend $100? Welcome to "The November Project". As promised, here is purchase #1 towards my collecting goals.
Cards purchased (5): '64 Topps # 430,434,470,491,553 (95 cards left to purchase)
Total Cost: $8.11 + $2.50 shipping =$10.61 total ($89.39 left to spend)
How won: 5 separate buy it now auctions from same seller (finecollectibles33)
Outside of centering issues on a couple of the cards, the only real noticeable flaw is the upper right corner on the Jim Bouton card, which is dinged.
The backs are clean and in good shape as well..
It was awesome to get one of the high numbers in great condition for just a couple of bucks.
The shipper had these cards to me in 3 days as well, from New Mexico. Great transaction all around, and I will say that the November project is off to a great start!!
You always find something cool in any envelope you get from a fellow blogger. Whether it be cards that you agreed upon, or something that they throw in as an added bonus.
The added bonus was certainly the case when I received a package from Doug at the Sportscards from the Dollar Store blog, full of Blue Jays and Joe Sakics.
Doug also threw in the mystery card from yesterday's post asking if anyone knew what set the card came from. Doug was kind enough to provide the answer, which in turn helped provide the impetus for this post.
There were a handful of cards in there from the 1990 Blue Jays fire safety set, which appear to have been sent to members of the Blue Jays fan club (correct me if I'm wrong Doug).
The front of the cards feature action photos, which from the cards I have all appear to have been taken at home. None of the cards I have feature the blue road uniforms.
The backs have some decent stats on them. I found interesting that the back lists the major league service time of each player, something I don't think I've ever seen on a baseball card.
Right in the center of the back is a "fire fact", with some good tips. The one card I didn't scan, Manny Lee, has a very good tip:
Children don't hear smoke, they hear smoke detectors.
What also interested me about the back is the advertising. Naturally, in the upper left corner is the logo of the Ontario fire chiefs. The lower right features two grocery stores one above the other. Not sure how that happened, one would think that competing grocery stores wouldn't share the same space on a card. [Note: A little research on this later showed that Dominion had been bought out by A&P a few years earlier. You learn something new every day]
The card stock is very thin, they almost remind me of something you would find in a Topps sticker release. But other than that, for a free card, they are quite the collectible.
It's interesting, if you look closely in the middle, the last line in the paragraph says that these cards are not to be sold for any purpose.
Right.....
Doug, thank you for the cards, they are very much appreciated!!
I'm sure that someone out there can help me with this. I received the card below in one of the Blue Jays packages I received last week, and I have no idea what it's from.
It's a beautiful shot of the SkyDome and the CN tower on the front, and a plain checklist on the back. There are no trademarks, no year listed, nothing.
That's as plain as plain can be. Help me out if you can, if you know what set/release this card is from, the information would be greatly appreciated...thank you
This choice for the Blue Jay Monday post is somewhat random, I chose a card off of the 9th page of cards that I haven't put into a binder as of yet. The other cards on the page were 2009 or later, plus I really don't know much about Ohka's time with the Blue Jays, so I decided this would be a good fit.
I really do like how the gold on the 2007 release stands out against the silver lettering. It's a sharp contrast to the black border on the regular base cards.
Turns out that there's a reason that I didn't know much about Ohka's time with the Jays. It was limited to a total of 10 starts during the first 2 1/2 months of the 2007 season. To be released in mid June, you have to know that the numbers weren't that great.
2-5, 5.79 ERA, 1.607 WHIP. Walked one more batter than he struck out. 10 HR's allowed in 56 innings. How bad was it for Ohka during the 2007 season. He signed with the Cardinals and Mariners after being released by the Jays in mid June, and was out of work with both of those teams within 3 weeks without having thrown a pitch in the majors. Both stints with the other 2 clubs consisted of a few starts in the minors with less than impressive stats.
I looked up his stats during his time in Japan, and they weren't that flattering either. It appears that the Red Sox, who originally signed him in 1999, did some scouting on him and found that even though his numbers weren't all that great, they were impressed with the control he had and how well he could locate his pitches.
Ohka's best run of success in the majors was a 2 year run with Montreal, 03-04, in which he won 23 games and pitched nearly 200 innings in each of those campaigns.
Kind of interesting that Topps was able to squeeze a card of him in a Blue Jay uniform (it appears that the photo was from a spring training game, judging by the jersey) for inclusion in series 2 in 2007. Chances are that he was actually released by the Jays before this card actually hit store shelves.
I can't explain why I am surrounded by 2 dozen piles of cards on my desk. I have absolutely no desire to move any of them.
I can't explain why I have several titles for posts in my head, but can't write about any of them. I have no idea right now how to expand on the ideas that I have.
I can't explain why I couldn't capitalize on a statement my wife made to me a week ago Friday. When you come home from work and your better half says to you "I haven't seen any packages for you this week, what happened?" A good blogger should be able to pounce on that little piece of humor. Nothing.
I can't explain why millionaires and billionaires are fighting over money that can never be recovered. That must be the explanation for the depression that I'm feeling, because I just don't understand anymore.
I can't explain why for some reason my interest in the World Series this year is far less than last year. I watched about 5 innings of last night's game, and that was the most I've watched this entire postseason.
I can't explain why an idea I have for a series of posts called "before lockouts and strikes" (BLAS) is the only thing that I am really interested in posting right now. Is it the malaise that this time of year creates? I have 3 piles of Blue Jays cards nearby that I've received this week, plus another gigantic stack that I need to sort through. Not feeling it.
Maybe it's the sudden rush that I've encountered for vintage cards. My slow gravitation away from the modern sets towards older cards. Towards cards that remind me of my childhood, or some that are even older than I am, but still bring back a longing for the past.
When I sit down and think about it, I'm so immersed in today's athletes, and we are so inundated with information about the modern sports world, that you begin to feel a sense of overload. Too much information.
When I see a card like the Al Hamilton above, or the Wally Moon below, my interest is piqued. I don't have the information about players from that era that I do from this generation. What made these guys want to play back then? Obviously the love of the sport they played was a big part of it, because a lot of the players that played in the 60's and 70's certainly didn't become rich from their contracts.
The semi annual sport card Expo in Toronto is coming up in 11 days. I will be attending, and I'm curious to see what ends up grabbing my interest this time. I'll be bringing my want lists, mostly for more modern sets, but that doesn't mean I have to pull them out of my pocket when I walk up to a table.
Who knows, maybe there will be somebody there that can explain what's happening to me.
I've had the title for this post in my head for several weeks. Originally, it was going to be a post specifically about the cards that Dave from the Wax Stain Rookie blog sent me a while back, cards from the 76-77 OPC set that I still can't get enough of.
Then, as time elapsed and my desire to add a little more substance to the post increased, I decided I was going to add the '77 Topps cards that I had picked up a couple of weeks ago at the card show to the post.
The Spirit of '76/'77 today became a little more evident to me. The Spirit of '76/'77 is something I want, badly.
I want the hands of time to go back 35 years. I want the sports world to rewind back to those days, when things were a lot simpler.
There were no such phrases as "strike", "lockout" or "season cancelled" in the world of pro sports. If there were, I sure had no idea.
I am an ardent sports fan, I've loved sports ever since I was a wee lad. But now, with today's NHL announcement, I really am starting to long for the days when sports was a lot simpler.
Honestly, I really should have come up with a post celebrating the Kung Fu Panda's 3 home runs in Game 1 of the World Series.
But I can't, because to me it doesn't compare to Reggie in '77.
Everyone can talk all they want about the 2010 Olympic hockey tournament and how great the finish was.
To me, it will never compare to the '76 Canada Cup:
I'd rather look at cards of players from the Big Red Machine,
Than read about teams that are swimming in a sea of red ink...
hey, it can't be all doom and gloom...
Yes, after writing all this I do realize that this is just another rant about modern day sports.
I guess I'm just tired of having to hear about postponements, cancellations, and all the b.s. that comes with all the money that pro sports generates in this day and age.
It's only 4 more days until No-hockey-vember. I can't wait.
