Serial insanity cards 876-880

The last post of my 2nd year on this blog is another serial insanity post.   I figured why not go out with a bang, since this is kind of my signature now (I guess)

880 cards total equals 58.67 % completion.  You'll see 60% by the end of July.


Card # 876:  Chris Young

Serial Number:  975
Team:  Oakland A's, card # 40 out of 50

No, this is the other Chris Young.  The one that spent 7 years in AZ.  Part of a 3 team trade last October, his offense has tailed off dramatically since his shift to the AL.  Hitting .190 isn't going to cut it, no matter where you are...


Card # 877:  Jay Bruce

Serial Number:  932
Team: Cincinnati Reds, card # 28 out of 50

He's only 26???   Seems to have been around forever....looks to be headed for a career season in most offensive categories.  Currently leads the NL in doubles with 28.

Card # 878:  Johan Santana

Serial Number:  842
Team:  New York Mets, card # 30 out of 50

Loved the fact that it was Johan who pitched the first no-hitter in Mets history last season.  A numbers freak like me enjoys seeing the amazing 3 year run he had between 2004-2006, where his WHIP was less than 1.000 each season, his lowest strikeout total was 238, and his highest ERA was 2.87

Get healthy soon Johan...


Card # 879:  Ruben Tejada

Serial Number:  1254
Team:  New York Mets, card # 31 out of 50

I like him already.  Ruben shares my birthday (October 27), but he's a few years (22) younger than I am.  The Mets 360 website graded Tejada's first half of 2013 with a big fat F.   I remember F's.....

Card # 880:  Fausto Carmona

Serial Number:  1306
Team:  Cleveland Indians, card # 29 out of 50

A big thanks to Max at the Starting Nine blog for sending me another great addition to the SNI project. 
It's too bad he doesn't exist anymore.

Thanks for reading, Robert

Beat up vintage is still cool

It's history folks, plain and simple.  What's funny for me is, in high school, I hated  history.  With the white hot passion of a 1000 suns.

There were only two reasons I took a history course in college.  One, I required a humanities credit.  Two, there was a tremendous looking brunette in the class.  Of course, I wound up with a D because it was hard to focus, if you get my drift.

But I digress....

Cards like this that I picked up at last years November Expo in Toronto for $5 remind me of why beat up cards from the past are great.

 

Pants pocket?  Someone sat on it?  Who knows.  It's the RC of a Hall of Fame center that I got on the cheap.

Sometimes, someone sends you a card that reminds you that even older beat up cards are cool as well.

No, he didn't sing for the Doors

It appears that somebody taped this baby to a page.  Still, it's great to me.

How about a nicely folded '57 Topps baseball card as an example?

It's amazing how we tolerate a beat up card like this because it's approaching 60 years of age, but if someone approached you with a rookie card from the last decade that had a slight imperfection, the look of disdain would be quite evident.

Beat up vintage is cool, because we don't expect as much from older cards as we do the newer ones that come out.  The days of storing cards in shoe boxes wrapped in giant rubber bands are gone.

Sometimes, I wish the rubber bands would come back.  At least these piles on my desk would have less of a chance of falling if they were wrapped in rubber.

Thanks for reading, Robert

You never know what you'll miss until you look closely at a card

One thing that I've learned over the past 2 years is to look closely at a card, because you'll never know what you'll miss.

This might be the most boring card you'll see on the blog today, but it still struck me as interesting for the irony (if you can call it that).

I bought this 1970 Topps checklist as part of a lot a while ago.  I took another good look at it, and I decided that you should "check" it out.

Here's the front:

Clean as a whistle, corners in OK shape, a nice looking front for a 43 year old checklist card.

Take a look at the back:

The only mark on the entire card, is beside card 244, the checklist for the 3rd series.

I wonder if the person who owned this card previously knew that this was card 128, not 244.

OK, so it struck me as funny....

Thanks for reading, Robert

A man sized cup

Whatever happened to the good old days, when men sported cups that were large and long???

1965 Topps # 305

Now Rico Carty has a cup that anyone would be proud of.

Fast forward to 2013, and I guess the cup budget isn't what it used to be.

Bryce's big hair I'm sure makes up for the lack of cup size.

Yes, a poor attempt at humor, I know. 

Thanks for reading anyhow, Robert

Forgotten, but still around.

I stated many times on the blog over the past year my love of the 2008 UD Masterpieces set.  I remember the joy I felt the day I finished it.

I remember how much I loved the captured on canvas jersey cards.  I loved them so much that I started to collect them.

Then all of a sudden, I stopped.  Other ideas and sets came along that kind of pushed this project to the side.  But you may or may not have noticed, the tab at the top of the page did not disappear.  I still have either 64 or 65 more of these to go, depending on whether the Yunel Escobar card actually exists.

I was actually reminded about this set 10 days ago because of a couple of emails that were sent to me by Tom Slowey (thank you for those again Tom) with some interesting tidbits about the set.  Tom is the one who informed me that the Escobar was replaced by Manny Ramirez (interesting).  I looked through a few of the cards that I do own, and I pulled the Freddy Sanchez out for scanning.

I remember the last day of the 2006 season, the excitement that Pirates broadcaster Greg Brown had over Freddy capturing the batting title.  Freddy did have quite the season that year, driving in 85 runs, hitting .344 and also leading the NL in doubles with 53. 

Injuries took their toll on Freddy, and he's been out of the game since 2011.   He owns a career average of .297 and has 3 all star games to his credit.

If I ever get my ass organized again, this is one set that I will have to try and tackle with a little more gusto.

Promises, promises....

Thanks for reading, Robert

To Ginter, or not to Ginter. That is the question.

I really did have a blast last summer participating in Gint-A-Cuffs IV.  I'm torn as to whether I will participate in the fifth rendition of this tournament.

While I'm absolutely positive that I will not come close to beating the box topper I pulled last year ( I promised no more scans, you'll have to check for yourself as a reminder), I rather enjoyed tallying up the cards as I pulled them.

It actually kept me off the streets for 4 days.....

There are those that like the relics, there are those that couldn't care less about them.  I rather like the orange relics from 2010 myself

For some reason, the border really appeals to me, it would have even better if this swatch was orange instead of black.

Beggars can't be choosers I guess.  At least I still have a couple of weeks to decide if I want to defend my 6th place finish from last year.

I'll let you know.

Thanks for reading, Robert

Brendan Shanahan is in the hall of fame

I was glad to see Shanny get voted in this year.  He's in with some good company, Chris Chelios, Scott Niedermayer, Fred Shero and Geraldine Heaney are all very worthy inductees.

If you ever wanted to trade for this guy, you had to give up a future/current hall of fame defenseman to get him.  Shanahan was traded for Paul Coffey, and Chris Pronger in separate deals during his career.

13th all time in games played and goals scored, 8 all star games, 3 Stanley Cups, and as hard nosed a player as you will ever come across.

Congratulations Brendan!

Thanks for reading, Robert

The Longo and the short of it

I told you there might be a horrible pun today somewhere.....

I didn't show this card on the "Last Call" post on purpose, because I was saving it for today.

It's not an amazing card, but these patches have kind of grown on me over time.

It's a commemorative patch, but of what?  I'm sure somebody knows.

21 hours until the end of year 2.

Thanks for reading, Robert

The last day of year 2

I made it.   Two years doing my best to be a part of the best hobby going.

For me, today is a success.  I've made it to the end of the 2nd year of running this blog without flaming out, getting bored with writing or collecting, and not going postal on anyone (sorry, work crept in here....). 

The main reason that I keep on plugging along?

Why, it's you of course.  Without all of you out there reading my insanity, applauding my successes, correcting me when I'm being stupid, this wouldn't be worth it.

Yes, I'd probably be collecting, but it sure as hell would be the way I was doing it before.  Strictly retail packs here and there.  No card shows.  No completing sets.  No trading (shudder).  And yes, no clutter!!  (you have to take the good with the bad)

I was worried at the beginning of the year whether I would make it to this point.  I believed that if I made it to the end of year 2, then I surely would be in this for the long haul.  With the exception of a couple of periods over the past few months, I still enjoy writing, laughing, and spending my free time as part of the card collecting blogosphere.

So what have I decided to do on the last day of fiscal year 2 at $30 a week habit?

I'm just going to post random shit.  Because I can.  Maybe you'll see something you want.

Maybe you'll moan and groan over a poorly used pun.  Maybe you'll wonder why you're reading this drivel.

There might be a card like a black bordered Vladimir Guerrero from 2010 that might be a card that you really want...

Serial Numbered 27/59, but not part of the SNI

It's Friday, July 19th, 2013.   I hope you enjoy it. 

This blog now has 2 years in the books, and I know I'm enjoying today for sure!

Thank you all for reading, Robert

Unexpected gold

I'm waiting on 4 auctions, tons of gold coming my way from various sources, and what do I receive in the mail today?

PWE Gold.  Courtesy of my source, my supplier, my dealer (wait, there's no white lines on my table...), Pat from Hot Corner Cards.  I swear he has a steady supply of what I want on hand, just waiting to pounce.

This time, it's a couple of Gold Jays to add to the collection.

Both from 2012 Topps, and both players are no longer part of the Jays organization.

One fits the serial insanity collection, the other does not.  I'll let it be a surprise for you to find out which one is part of the 1500....

Thanks again, Pat.! I've still got to get a Tigers envelope together for you....

Thanks for reading, Robert

Serial insanity cards 871-875

I've set a small goal for the insanity set, in that I hope to show the 900th card of the set by the end of July.

I've been on a eBay kick over the past few days.  I'll be showing off quite a few gold cards that I've purchased at my "preset" price of 50 cents per card (or less if I'm lucky). 

In the meantime, please enjoy the next 5 cards towards the 1500 card set.

Card # 871:  Kevin Cameron

Serial Number:  966
Team:  San Diego Padres, card # 33 out of 50

I would be quite interested to find out what happened to Cameron after the 2009 season.  Kevin pitched for three years between 2007-2009, the numbers weren't too shabby, but then he just fell off the map after the 2009 season.   Anyone?

Card 872:  Chan Ho Park

Serial Number: 907

Team:  New York Mets, card # 29 out of 50

I remember Park finishing up the 2010 season with the Pirates, he actually pitched quite well for them in August and September.  Looking at his Mets stats, it's kind of interesting that he got a card in a Mets uni.  Park pitched a grand total of 1 game for NY, and didn't fare too well, giving up 7 ER in 4 IP.

Card # 873:  Juan Salas

 

Serial Number:  554
Team:  Tampa Bay Rays, card # 32 out of 50.

I had heard of Fernando Salas, and even Mark Salas, but Juan Salas wasn't on my radar (there's a palindrome joke there somewhere...).  The 2007 season it turns out was his most successful as a MLB pitcher, 34 games with a 3.72 ERA.  Another player that kind of fell off the map...

Card # 874:  Mike Scioscia

Serial Number:  521
Team: LA Angels, card # 41 out of 50

I'm a little bit surprised that the Angels end up being the first team to 41 cards.  Hard to believe that his next game as manager of the halos will be number 2200.  I guess you can't argue with his success (or maybe you can, I won't tell you what to do), but only 3 of his 13 complete seasons saw the Angels with a below .500 record. 

Card # 875:  Travis Snider

Serial Number:  492
Team:  Toronto Blue Jays, card # 39 out of 50

I had high hopes for him when he was traded to Pittsburgh, but the same problem is plaguing him in the black and gold...inconsistency.  Travis hit .300 in April for the Pirates, but has since seen his average drop to .226, and now he's lost his starting job in right field to Jose Tabata.  The upside is he's still only 25 years old, which means that there's a lot of time for him to find his game.

Thanks for reading, Robert

Last call

One question for you before I start.  Do you have a drinking problem if you type the words "last call" as the title for your post, and immediately the first thing after typing them is go and make yourself a drink?

If so, then I have a problem....

Famous last words coming up now.   I have bought my last packs of Series 2.  Hopefully, I am able to make that statement hold true.

So, for hopefully the last time (no promises), here's a look at a few of the cards I pulled.

Let's start with No-Hit Homer:

Before Tim Lincecum's 148 pitch no-hitter against the Padres last week, Bailey had the distinction of owning the previous two no-hitters in MLB.  I'll take a shot and say that the photo features the no-hitter he pitched against the Pirates last September.

Is Hank Aaron still chasing history? 

I'm no historian, but I thought that he already made history?

I like this card of Craig Gentry, but one question enters my mind when looking at this card...

Did he manage to keep his glove?

I haven't pulled too many die cut cards, but my luck with pulling duplicates continues, as I now have two Jered Weaver cards from the Cut to the Chase insert set.

Not that there's anything wrong with any of those cards, but none of those cards are an autographed Alan Ashby!!

No, I didn't pull this from the blaster...

Another awesome IP auto courtesy of AJ from the Lost Collector blog.  I'm sure what I sent him pales in comparison, but I do hope he enjoys the cards none the less...

It's time to stop yakking and get my want list up for Series 2.  I should also have a list of the various parallels and inserts that I've pulled for trade as well in the next day or two.

Time to start making up for the 3 days I just took off from the blog....

Thanks for reading, Robert