Cool cards # 11 & # 12

Good Thursday evening to you all.  I've found a couple of more cards that I thought were pretty cool, so I thought I'd display them here for you.

# 11.  Nyjer Morgan, 2011 Topps # 573

Fly be free

I'm sure you have seen this card on countless other blog posts, but you have to admit, Nyjer laying out for that catch is one helluva shot.  This card was actually a gremlin for me because it was the last card I needed to complete this years series 2 set of Topps, and it took a couple of weeks for me to get a hold of it.

By the way, Nyjer also has the distinction of having his on base percentage in 2010 actually exceed his slugging percentage. (.319 OBP, .314 SLG pct.)


# 12. 1993 Pinnacle #364 Juan Guzman

Pitcher's got a rubber arm

There's something about this picture that for me is cool.  The arm action by Guzman, along with the precise moment that the photographer took this picture is amazing.  I honestly wonder if he actually throwing the ball to first base on this photo, because the stride on the pitch doesn't appear to be much of one. 

By the way, Juan's 1993 season he was the king of the no decision start.  In 33 starts, he had a 14-3 record, which means that 16 out of his 33 starts were no decisions. 

Oh, and by the way, the '93 season was the Jays 2nd world championship in a row, won when Joe Carter hit the 3 run walk off HR in the 9th inning off of Mitch Williams. 

Thanks for reading, Robert

One word

Good Wednesday evening to you all, hope that you're ready for the downside of the week and a great weekend!

I love collecting.  You love collecting or you wouldn't be reading this.

We, as collectors, make things hard for ourselves.  Chasing the "white whale".  Going weeks without being caught up on trade posts or sorting through piles and piles of cards in your sorting area/desktop. 

We, as collectors, also make things easy for ourselves as well.  There are plenty of ways that the collecting universe understands terminology, especially that which is only one word in length.  Let me give you some examples: 

1.  Diamond

Any collector who is worth their salt knows that this is a diamond parallel.  Related to that....

2.  Liquorfractor

Now this term may not be as widely known through the collecting world, but those of us in the blogosphere (especially Adam @ My Cardboard Mistress who coined the term) know this as a liquorfractor.  We don't even call it a liquorfractor parallel.  One word only.

3.  Relic

We don't even call it a jersey card anymore.  Relic.  One Word

4.  Retro

A parallel card that mimics a previously released set.  Once again, nice and simple.

5.  Heritage

Everybody who has bought at least one pack in the past 12 years knows what Heritage is.  (At least I hope they do)

6.  Masterpieces

 






































I'm sure just about everyone knows what Masterpieces are.  If they don't, they should go here for a quick education.


We've even come to the point where we don't identify sets by the full name, just initials.  Cases in point:


7.   OPC

We don't even type out O-Pee-Chee, it's just OPC.  This is a helluva card by the way, I've been meaning to get it on the blog on its own for a few days now.

8.  GQ

It's hard for me, because the first 50 times I read "GQ" on blogs, my mind always turned to Gentleman's Quarterly magazine.  GQ is burned into my brain now.

Before too long, we may have another "one word" that is a "game changer"

Panini

If what I've read for the last week is true, there will be a lot of collectors anxiously awaiting the arrival of another company.  For me, I'd like them to be fully licensed before I give them a try, but I am understanding more and more the frustrations of collecting Topps from around the blogosphere. 

I will collect 2012 Topps, but outside of the flagship, I'm not too sure yet.  Only time will tell how things shake out.

Thanks for reading, Robert

I went to a card draft and a party broke out

Good Tuesday evening to you all, I hope that your week is moving along at a brisk pace.

In order to get to the Rose Bowl, Cam over at Cardboard Heaven invited a bunch of people over for a card draft. 

Well, little did I expect I was in for one helluva party!!

First, Cam informed us that the dress code was casual, so I had to decide between a couple of my favorite jerseys:

When I got there, the party was already in high gear!  Jose Reyes had arrived, and he decided that he wanted the party to get racy so it could get this rating:

Well, the fun was getting started, and clothes were flying when a bunch of kids walked in and we had to stop:

Well, those of us who were over the age of 21 (which I'm not sure if our host is or not), decided to hit the liquor cabinet.

When, you know what happens when you get a bunch of bloggers together and liquor is involved, things just get out of control and go "insane"

Finally, a rumor started that this guy was going to arrive soon and sign some autographs:

Turns out that wasn't the case, but instead this guy showed up.   Great for a Jays fan like me :)

I'm already looking forward to next years draft!!  Cam, I'm sorry about the potted plant, it was the only pot available at the time  :(

All fun aside, Cam, thank you for the opportunity to "draft" some cards from your collection.  I hope you had a great time at the game!!

Thanks for reading, Robert

1631 Blue Jays cards on the blog, 1631 Blue Jays cards for me

Good Monday to you all, hope that you are enjoying the end of your long weekend (if you are indeed off of work today). 

I spent the better part of this morning and early afternoon finally getting the Jays cards that I had in waiting cataloged.   I likely will be seeing Blue Jays logos in my sleep tonight.

By the way, if you sing the title of the post like "99 bottles of beer on the wall", it makes a little more sense.  (another poor attempt at humor, first one of 2012 for me!)

Yesterday, I showed you the card of the year for me.  Today, I will show off the Blue Jays card of the year for 2011.

Bowman Platinum, Auto/Bat card of J.P. Arencibia, numbered 66/99.   I love this card, and was very excited to have it come to my collection. 

I also, as many other bloggers have, some goals for the year as far as collecting goes.  Here they are, in no particular order.

1. Double the amount of Blue Jays autos/relics 

The number currently stands at 15, I am shooting for 30 by years end.  A modest goal considering the number that are out there, but there are not really a lot of people beating down my door offering Jays relics/autos as well. 

2. Increase the number of sets completed to 25. 

For me, this is an aggressive goal, because among the 16 sets I wish to complete to attain the 25, is 1977 Topps which with some moderately priced RCs such as Andre Dawson will be a bit of a task to complete. 

3.  Increase the number of Blue Jays cards in my collection to 3500.

With the big push I had at the end of the year this year, this is within reach, especially with the plethora of 2012 sets to hit the market.  Plus, with the amount of multi colored parallels from the past few seasons out there, this should also help the task as well.

4.  Ship 100 envelopes/bubble mailers.

A weird goal for sure, but something I would really like to accomplish, because I know if I'm shipping this many packages out, I'm keeping active on the trade market, which keeps me off the streets.

5. Hit 500 posts by the end of the year. 

Provided I don't go brain dead (yeah, too late I know), I believe I should be able to attain this goal. 

6.  Attend the National 

This has been a goal since I hit the Expo in Southern Ontario in November.  I've already told my wife to plan on visiting her sister in Virginia that weekend.  Hopefully this pans out.

7. Meet one other blogger. 

Yes, this is a scary and weird one for a lot of you out there.  But for me, I am a people person.  I think it would be fantastic to meet one blogger, I don't care if its for 20 minutes, or an afternoon at a ball game.  The only true interaction I have right now with anyone that has cards are dealers....meh.  Get me to someone who loves collecting enough to blog about it, and I'd be extremely happy.


I'm sure that I'll come up with other goals before too long, but these are the seven that I'd like to see come to light.

Thanks for reading, Robert

2012 is going to be a very good year

Good Sunday evening, I hope that you've recovered from your New Years hangover and were able to watch a ton of scoring today in the NFL.

2012.  It is upon us, and I'm looking forward to a very good year.

I've thought about what I wanted to do this year as far as collecting goes.  For me, the thrill has always been completing a set.  I intend to complete quite a few sets this year.  I'm going to steal an idea that several other bloggers have out there.  Some have lists of cards that they are looking to obtain, in my case I'm looking for cards, to complete sets.  On the left hand side you will see "The Fab Five", these are the sets that I plan on completing first this year.  There are some newer, and a couple that I've been working on for quite a while now.  Take a look at them, in the order that they appear on the list.

1. 2002 Topps Gallery

I've let this set collect dust for way too long now.  Going on 10 years as a matter of fact!!

I'm down to just 12 cards to complete the set after picking a few up on Sportlots not too long ago.

The goal is to have this finished before spring training games begin in March.















2,  2011 Topps Chrome 

I stated building this set only recently.  I had no intentions of building the set up until about 3-4 weeks ago, then decided why not?  It is only 220 cards, and since they are out in mass quantities (and already being discounted in some places), I figure it will be an easy to complete set, and a good way to pick up some traders.


By the way, in case you were wondering, this guy to the left would look fantastic in a Jays uniform.  I could see baseballs hitting the panes of glass in center field in the Sky Dome at a record pace.

This card is also for trade by the way....








3.  2010 Topps Series #1 

Still looking for card #2, Buster Posey.  Anyone out there have one for trade? 

Anybody......

Another set I'd like to have done sooner rather than later.
















4.  2009 O-Pee-Chee Baseball 

I still have 114 cards to go to complete this set, but I think there may be a person or 3 out there that may have some singles to get me down to a more manageable number.

I have plenty of singles for trade in this set as well if you are trying to complete the set.







5.  2011 Topps Heritage 

Sadly, I fear this bad boy is eventually going to rise to the #1 status on this list and remain there for a while.  I need 56 cards to complete the set, 53 of which are the dreaded SPs.

Although I like the look of next year's set, I'm not too sure if I'll be collecting it. 















There are quite a few sets that are also in need of completion that will make their way onto this list over time, such as '77 Topps, a couple of Upper Deck releases from 2008, 2001 Fleer Tradition and quite a few hockey sets that will creep their way onto the list.

Why do I say that this 2012 is going to be a good year?  It will be the first year that I've been full time collecting in over 10 years, and with the power of the blogosphere and the internet, I'm sure that collecting will be more fun for me than it has ever been.

Thanks for reading, Robert