As always, my purchase plans will be based on price and print run, although I am certain I will purchase the Halladay. Had the Halladay been in ports, his 14K performance last week would have netted 15 points! Hopefully he accomplishes this feat several times this year and we get other chances to cash in.
And as always, be sure to order at 1 pm est if you want any of these.
I'll spare you the cliched diatribe about the beauty of baseball's statistics and how statistics keep baseball connected with it's past and blah, blah, blah. Simply put, if you are a fan of the numbers aspect of baseball, (and if you collect cards you probably are) then The Numbers Game is must reading.
Side note: I realize that I heap praise on pretty much every book I review on this blog. Keep in mind, I'm just picking out books I've already read and think others will enjoy. Once I get through those books, I'll start reviewing any book I happen to buy about baseball, and I promise I won't like them all. For example, I'm reading "The Last Boy- Mickey Mantle and America Something, Something, Something" and it ... is.... freaking.... boring. Sorry, I'm just not that interested in Mantle and received the book as a gift from someone who assumed that since I was a big baseball fan I would be interested in Mantle.
Back on topic: The Numbers Game was not only fascinating, but inspiring. I loved the chapter about Bill James and his realization he could look at stats in ways no one could or would. And I really loved the section about Hal Richman, inventor of Strat-o-Matic. Richman developed the game out of a need to entertain himself as a kid, dissatisfied with the baseball games available at the time. Once he developed the game to his satisfaction, he decided he could sell it to others. He struggled at first, to the point he had to borrow some money from his father to continue to develop and market the game. He made a deal with his father that if he didn't succeed with this loan, he would give up on the game and join his father in the insurance business.
These stories inspire your pal Napkin. I still flip through this book often and will re-read the whole thing again soon. It gets my creative juices going and inspires me sit down to a blank excel spreadsheet to see what original takes on statistics are just waiting to come from my brain. Then, after staring at the blank cells for twenty minutes, I hear the squeaky gears in my head come to a halt and I go check if there are any donuts in the house.
Back in the 80s when I couldn't stop myself from buying anything remotely resembling a baseball card, I was all up on the little mini sets you could seemingly buy anywhere. They typically were around 40-50 cards and had some kind of theme. They were great! They almost always included Darryl Strawberry, which was all the motivation I needed. But even without the Straw, the checklists were strong in every set. And they usually only ran a few bucks, and often I could get them on clearance for next to nothing. I think I got that Kmart set for a quarter. Don't be a wise ass and tell me I got rooked either.
Sure, most of the time they were crappy designs and overproduced, but some were actually pretty nice cards. The KayBee toys sets are pretty good quality in my humble opinion.
We had these in the 80s, and Denny's sets in the 90s. Is there anything similar out there today that I'm not aware of? Did collectors (other than me) hate these?
Depending on when I am thinking about it and what mood I'm in, this set is my top priority for completion. The Super Checklist shows me 30 cards away, and I am going to shoot for a January 2012 completion. What were Sterling boxes going for, $200 or so? And you received 3 base cards along with the hits? If my math is correct, this page is worth $600. I would be willing to sell it for $300 to a fellow collector, but I will expect a personal favor redeemable by me at a time of my choosing in addition to the cash.
Yes, I am kidding. I would never sell for less than total fictional retail value. The page does have Ruth and Mantle for crying out loud.
I'm swamped with work this week so my post today will be brief, as will Thursday and Friday if I can get them done.
Mike from BA Benny's Baseball Card Buffet was a participant in my Big Fun Game a few weeks ago, and we worked out a small trade on the side as I sent over his game prize. Here is what I got, among a few other cards:
I've almost picked up the Michael Young Triple Threads before, so I was glad to get it. The Piazza and Strawberry cards are always welcome. The Baseball Card Buffet is a fun website, so if you haven't been before, but by the looks of his followers, you have in droves, go check it out!
Etopps 2011 Baseball begins this week with a star and a couple of rookies:
Ryan Braun
Freddie Freeman
Kyle Drabek
Depending on prices and print runs, I might buy the Drabek and Braun for the game, as well as points potential. I have to think this will fall below IPO prices in a month or so, so perhaps I'll wait. Again, depends on prices and print runs. I frankly don't know much about Freddie Freeman. Doesn't seem like his cards are too hot on eBay now, or am I wrong? If it comes out at $6 or higher I will take my chances and buy it after it is allocated.
I think I like the looks of these, but mostly because of how I am assuming they will look in-hand.
This was another book I was able to get at 60% off from the local Borders that is closing shop. What to say about this book... It’s not a typical encyclopedia, I'll say that. As I was flipping through this book, pretty quickly I noticed a theme: this author is pretty snide.In fact, the description of the book says it’s a “decidedly snarky trip” through baseball. Is it ever.
I actually laughed out loud at many of the comments. I learned that George Brett had hemorrhoids and that a couple of Yankee pitchers engaged in wife swapping in 1973. Hideki Matsui had over 55,000 "distinct items in his porn stash." I'm pretty sure that is larger than my card collection. The only baseball card reference that I caught was an entry for the 1989 Bill Ripken error card. I won't show a picture of the card, but I'm sure you know what I am talking about.
However, snark, like many things, is something that can get old pretty quickly.I am a bit of a cynical person, but I try to keep it contained somewhat, and I hope I do not come across too cynical in my blog.This book is cynical, and after a while it began to rub me the wrong way.Of course, when the topics turn to Barry Bonds, Ty Cobb, Dixie Walker and some others, you expect a little snarkery...
Ok, here’s the truth.I got ticked off by his entry for baseball enthusiast and my hero, George Will and his book, Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball: "A collection of windy, self-consciously erudite observations on game strategy, the book appealed to pseudointellectuals and other literary-minded traditionalists who required an ennobling fig leaf to justify their fandom." There is more, but you get the point.
So on behalf of all literary traditionalists, thank you, George Will for the fig leaf and STICK IT SCHNAKENBERG.
And I like the looks of the cards, and I assume these will be awesome in hand!
No idea who the first offering will be, but I would expect one superstar (Pujols, Jeter etc.), one Rookie and someone who changed uniforms from last year (Cliff Lee, Adrian Gonzales, etc.)
This week it’s plastic, as I received a good chunk of needed cards to complete one of my top 5 important sets to build, 1999 E-X Century.Last summer when I was starting to get back into the hobby and see what all I had that I had forgotten about, I came across a Vlad Guerrero 1999 EX Century card that I do not ever remember buying.It was a clear plastic card with some designs tinted inside the card, and some opaque designs and the photo layered on top.I loved the look and the craft of the card, so I bought a few commons on sportsbuy.com and sportlots.com, and really became hooked on the set.I recently found some of the bigger stars cheap on COMC and grabbed a bunch, which arrive last week.
The Griffey card is beyond cool. I wish the Piazza had been a better pose, but it's cool as well. This pushes the completion % for this awesome set to 75% with 30 cards to go.Most of the ones I still need are commons, so I think I’ll be able to finish the set this summer.Buckle up for that adventure readers!I have listed the cards that I still need at the top of my blog, I have several extras that I will post as trade bait.
One of the big picture goals for my card collection is to get it organized and eye-pleasing. This has been slow going, but fun.I’ve been able to get a handle on sets that are currently incomplete with my super duper checklist (I need a better name for it).I’ve also been able to sort out the players that I want to keep out of the commons boxes, but don’t necessarily want in albums.
Speaking of which, I am pretty dissatisfied with the look of my album collection.I think the binders themselves are pretty boring, and do not have enough of a uniform look. I am not a neat freak by any stretch of the imagination, but would like my card collection to look crisp.For a while, I have been coveting the “Better Binders” at Staples, but they are so stinking expensive, I never bought any.However, the baseball card gods were smiling on Napkin Doon this week, as I noticed the 1” binders happen to be on sale, buy 2 get 1 free!So I got a few to see if they are as great as I think.
Since they are 1” binders, my options to fill them are limited.They will only hold a modest amount so I can’t squeeze in some of the bigger “Master Sets” I am working on, like 2010 Allen and Ginter, or 2003 Diamond Kings.But they will work nicely for my Rangers and Razorbacks collections, and will hold the 1999 Flair Set I am one card away from completing (Hal Morris Row 1).
I like the small window on the binder for labeling.I also like the rubbery feel of the binder itself.It seems durable.Maybe if I can make my binders look nice enough, my lovely wife will let me put them on the bookshelves downstairs instead of on table by the attic.
So there you have it:a whole *#!-ing post about binders.Wait until I show you what I’m going to do with some plastic drawers, foam padding, and Etopps cards!
The big card in the mail this week was this Babe Ruth Sterling 2009, a significant hurdle in completing this set. Now that I have the Ruth, the Cal Ripken is going to be the most challenging to get on the cheap.This takes me to 79% complete on this set, with 28 cards to go.I had thought about building a White Parallel set, #d to 50, but I don’t see it happening.I have listed the remaining cards I need at the top of my blog, so if you happen to have any you can part with, please let me know and we can try to work out a trade (not for this Ruth!).
I was also able to snag some cool Hall’s Well inserts for my Fleer Tradition binder.There are only 15 cards in this set, and I have 7 now.They have been kind of expensive, but I can be patient on these.I also got a McGwire Consummate Prose insert that I needed, but it’s kind of a yawner, as were most of the insert sets for 2000 Fleer Showcase.
I am total sucker for gimmick cards.I love motion and hologram cards, and anything that looks like some effort went into it.That’s why I’m a fan of the Denny’s card sets from the 90’s.I just bought the 1996 set on eBay, and I think it’s a nice little set.You have to angle the cards just right to get the full effect though, and I’m sure my lovely wife thought there was something wrong with me as I contorted my arms and head trying to watch the action unfold on the cards.
The scan won’t show it obviously, but every hologram is actually a little “video” of a significant play or moment for each of the 28 players.There is a write up on the back notating the event.I especially like the Ozzie Smith opening day back flip, and the home run from Cal Ripken’s 2,131st consecutive game.By my count, there are a dozen current or future Hall of Famers in this set.
From a Historical/Americana standpoint, I even like the Denny’s logo being on the cards.The 1997 set is even nicer, as Baseball Cards Come To Life points out in this post. Denny’s put out sets almost every year in the 90s.A collector could put together a pretty interesting master set of Denny’s cards without spending too much money.
The Borders Bookstore in my area is closing, all of their books are at least 60% off , and I was able to grab a couple of books I normally would not have bought. I went in hoping to find a 2011 Baseball Prospectus, or the newest Baseball Card Catalog, or the book Mint Condition (anyone read this?) but no such luck.
I did get my hands on a 2011 Ron Shandler Baseball Forecaster, which I was always curious about but never bought. I typically by a Baseball Prospectus every year, and that is usually enough for me.
I was blown away by this book and it would have been worth buying at full price. Perhaps my report on this book is untimely, since this type of book is geared toward fantasy baseball players, and the season is a week underway. However, even though I am not playing fantasy baseball for the first time in 15 years, I am already finding this book useful from a fan perspective ( take Alexi Ogando's first start for the Rangers, as well as this book's hint that he has some strong upside, and I am already feeling better about the Rangers pitching this year). I also am getting value from it from a collector/investor perspective (buy Mike Stanton). There is a nice section on top Minor League prospects, and I was happy to see some nice write ups for former Naturals/ Royals prospects Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Mike Montgomery.
A big part of book is dedicated individual player historical stats and 2011 projections. There is also a brief, efficient comment about each player as well. Part of the fun of books like this is to revisit them as the season plays out, and see if the authors were on target or not.
There are also several top shelf analytical essays at the front of the book that are really impressive if you are into that sort of thing. I did think it was interesting that in the introduction, there basically was an acknowledgement of, "Hey the more we learn, and the more sophisticated our tools become, the more we realize, these players are humans and we're just not going to ever nail this stuff." To me, that gives the book credibility.
Ok, so I'm late on my Sunday book review, and early on my etopps preview. The book review will be up probably tomorrow. I happened to be looking around on etopps tonight and saw they had the "coming soon" cards up earlier than normal, so I thought I would bang out the "heads up" now.
I hope Etopps has it's stuff together this week better than last week. I was bummed that the Buster Posey we were expecting was never offered, and by the looks of it, never will be. I hope the same thing doesn't happen for these two:
Monday's offerings will be Joe Dimaggio and Walter Johnson. I am all over these two, especially the DiMaggio! I do not know what the cost or print run will be, but for DiMaggio, it won't matter. Again, if you are interested, be sure to be online at 1 pm est when these are posted.
I assume 2011 Baseball is not far behind.
For the great start this season. I really wanted to post something after the 3 game brain-beating-bashing of Boston, but I was able to stop myself when I realized that my not posting is the reason they had started so well! So I held off while they swept the Mariners. I was thinking 162-0 was not only possible, but highly likely. But maybe that was expecting too much. Now that they have lost a game, I can start up my Rangers posts and not feel guilty about it. Rangers fans, feel free to thank me for holding out as long as I did. And standing on an uncompromising history of heterosexuality, let me just say to all of the Rangers, especially Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler: I love you.
I didn't realize it until I scanned it, but that 2010 silk card of Cruz is numbered with his jersey #17! That's got to be a sign! Texas Rangers, World Series Champions 2011, 2012 and 2013!!!!!
Etopps in hand 2008 Peyton Manning. If you've never had an etopps card in hand, I think you will be pleased with how this looks.
Please be sure to email me your addresses, and I will get the packages out early next week.
Here are the final results:
1) Mariner1- Topps 2009 Sterling Lot
1) Mariner1- Topps 2009 Sterling Lot
2) Steve D- Andy Ashby Auto
3) Ryan G- 2010 Triple Threads #d lot
4) Matt Pederson- Topps HD Rodriguez Cutting Edge Di Cut Card
5) Lost Collector- Topps Debut 2010 #d Lot
6) SpastikMooss - Terrell Davis Jersey Card- Frozen w/ SpastikMooss after 2 steals
7) BA Benny- Octavio Dotel Auto
8) Dimwit- Justin Upton Lot
9) dawgbones- 2011 Topps Young Stars Lot
10) hiflew- Etopps Peyton Manning in hand card
Thanks for playing and I hope everyone had fun! I will definately do this again, so please let me know if you have any suggestions for the next time.
Received a nice package of cards from Ben at Baseballcardsrule.com. This is one of my favorite blogs, and he does some cool things over there.
I sent him a card he wanted, and he shot back with some nice cards of two of my favorite players, Mike Piazza and Tony Gwynn:
I'm very excited to get the Holoview Piazza, as it is a new set I have added to my Super Duper Checklist and don't have this important part yet. Also happy to see the 2nd year Bowman card which I didn't have.
He also threw in some Tony Gwynn's and I'm happy to say that 3 of 4 of these I don't have. The Fleer Limited Edition is one I have, but it is tucked away in with the rest of the set, so now I have an extra for my Gwynn pages.
Here is where we are after 6 picks and a handful of steals:
1) Mariner1 Dotel was stolen by BA Benny, so Mariner 1 is up to pick
2) Steve D- Andy Ashby Auto
3) Ryan G- 2010 Triple Threads #d lot
4) Matt Pederson- Topps HD Rodriguez Cutting Edge Di Cut Card
5) Lost Collector- Topps Debut 2010 #d Lot
6) SpastikMooss - Terrell Davis Jersey Card- Frozen w/ SpastikMooss after 2 steals
7) BA Benny- Octavio Dotel Auto
8) Dimwit
9) dawgbones
10) hiflew
Remaining lots are (3, 4, 6, 9)
This has been fun so far, thanks to all the participants!
What a fun evening last night! It was my first game of the season, and it was just about perfect. The weather was a nice 80 degrees, and a couple of big time prospects were on the hill. Some highlights of the evening.
- The guy from Jag was in town promoting his new movie, and threw the first pitch. I don't remember his name or the movie, and didn't take his picture. But not a bad celebrity to throw out the first pitch at a AA game.
- John Lamb and Casey Kelly were on the hill for the Nats and the San Antonio Missions (San Diego's AA team). Prospectors and Red Sox fans probably recognize Casey Kelly's name. He was the central piece to the Adrian Gonzalez trade. Both looked pretty good early, but both started struggling after a while.
- I was thrilled to be able to once again partake in Funnel Dogs. Yes, it's a hot dog wrapped in funnel cake. Yes, it's delicious.
- Wil Myers (Baseball American Top 100 prospect) is young (20) and pretty skinny. But he hits the ball... hard. At least he did his first at bat. Then he walked and struck out and I don't remember what he did his fourth time up. These pics are with my camera phone, and it stinks.
- Christian Colon, the Royals #1 pick last year had some nice hits as well, and few nice plays at short. I wouldn't be shocked if he is called up late this year.
- The Missions left fielder, Jaff Decker, was throwing lasers out of left field all night. He is listed as one of the Padres top prospects.
- Last, but certainly not least, SHE was at the game:
That's right, Miss Arkansas, and runner-up Miss America, Alyse Eady was at the game. I got a big old crush on Alyse, and my wife doesn't even care. Not only is she ultra hot, almost on par with my lovely wife, this is what she did for her talent show at the Miss USA pageant:
That is seriously the most awesome thing a Miss USA contestant could possibly do, and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise.
Jag guy, MLB prospects, funnel dogs and Miss Arkansas. What a night!
The Lost Collector steals Matt's Topps Debut lot. Matt can now either steal from any other revealed lot (other than the Topps Debut Lot) or can pick another door.
***UPDATE*****
Matt has stolen Ryan G's Terrell Davis card. Ryan can now either steal anything but the Davis card (if he steals the Topps Debut lot, it's his since that will be the second steal of it) or he can pick from the remaining available doors.
1) Mariner1
2) Steve D
3) Ryan G
4) Matt Pederson
5) Lost Collector
6) SpastikMooss
7) BA Benny
8) Dimwit
9) dawgbones
10) hiflew
Mariner1 is on the clock. Once he picks from lot 1-10, I will reveal the prize and it will be Steve Ds decision to steal the prize or pick something else. I will check back in an hour or so, now I really have to put the kids to bed.
So help me, I am going to generate some buzz on this blog.One thing I think would be fun to do is a “White Elephant” card giveaway.I am going to select 10 decent-to-good card “gifts” and let the first 10 people to sign up play a game of “White Elephant” to claim them.I think this game has several names, but this is how I know it.Here is how it will work:
After I have 10 readers sign up for the game, I will randomly set a pick order.Whoever has the first pick can choose any lots #1-10.I have already determined the prizes and assigned numbers to them. Rest assured, there won’t be anything crappy, like a 1990 Donruss common.Some prizes will be better than others though.There will be a few single cards, a few player lots, and few autos, and some other surprises.Keep in mind I am doing this on my dime, so don’t expect a vintage Mantle.
After player 1 picks their prize, I will identify the prize and cue player 2 to pick.Player 2 can either steal that prize or pick from the remaining lots.Player 3 can then either steal one of the known prizes, or can steal from the remaining lots.It will go that way all the way until player 10 chooses their prize.If player 10 however, chooses to steal a prize from another player, that player will then have the option of taking the final unknown prize,or stealing from someone else.We’ll keep going until all prizes are claimed.A couple of rules to keep in mind:
Prizes can only be stolen twice.Once an item is stolen twice, it is frozen.
Players cannot steal back from someone who just stole from them.You must wait at least one round to steal an item back if you get the opportunity.
Once the game is over, please email me your address and I will send out your prize.
Signups are first come first serve, and the game will begin as soon as I have 10 contestants.
Hopefully this makes sense, and if it goes well, we’ll do it again sometime.
****UPDATE***** The game has been filled. I have a feeling we will do this again sometime, so keep checking back!
“What do you do with them?”This is the question I get the most from friends and family who are curious about why I collect baseball cards.It’s the question I have the most trouble answering.I don’t really do anything with them once I have them.Sure, I trade a few, and read the backs, and flip through the albums I put together.But the enjoyment for me is in the process of collecting. The enjoyment is in going back through the previously sorted cards and finding the star that came out of nowhere, or the HOFer that I missed the first pass through.The enjoyment is in chasing down and completing a big (or small) set after time and watching my super duper checklist spreadsheet give me that lovely 100% complete approval.The enjoyment is in getting something cool when opening a pack.
The enjoyment is also in finding a card with a story, which may be my favorite aspect of the hobby.As an aside, I highly recommend Bob Lemke’s blog.His “Uncommon Commons” feature that appears regularly is a great source of information and stories behind the cards.
With that in mind, I was especially happy to finally win an eBay auction for this Lena Blackburne T206 card.
I love T206 cards, especially when I can get them at a good price, and when they have some sort of historical significance.I have been hunting this Blackburne card for a long time, and could never score one for under $20.This one I did, even though it is not in the greatest shape.I don’t care about that when it comes to T206, however.
Here’s what’s cool about Lena Blackburne:his contribution to baseball is tied to every ML game, inning, out and pitch that has occurred over the past 60 years.Back in 1930s it was common for pitchers to rub baseballs with all sorts of substances to take the shine off the ball. Blackburne found a source of mud close to home that he liked and used it.Apparently it caught on, because soon he was supplying the entire American League with rubbing mud. He refused to supply the National League until the 50s, apparently out of loyalty to the AL.This is the same mud from the same source that is still used today on every major league baseball.The location has been kept a secret, but if you are so inclined, you can go to the Lena Blackburne Rubbing Mud Website and learn more, or even order a can for yourself.I have been very tempted to order some and incorporate it into the flower bed in our front yard.(I’ve incorporated field turf from Razorback Stadium in my lawn, so why not some baseball mud in my flower garden?)
I don't know why I insist on calling this feature "Wax Wednesday." I think I've actually shown pack breaks maybe twice since I've started blogging. Of course, my ridiculous decision to not-buy-cards-for-lent-except-for-when-I-really-really-want-them has a little to do with it. It's kept me from buying wax, but I still can't help myself when I see a good eBay auction or something on Sportlots.com or Checkoutmycards.com. And recently I found some cards on COMC that for my super duper checklist that I couldn't pass up:
The Pujols was the best deal, coming in at a sweet $1.25 per card, so I grabbed 2. These are part of 2002 Stadium Club set , and I am now 85% complete of this insert set, with only cards 9 (Piazza), 10 (McGwire), and 13 (Thome) to go. If anyone has those three that are willing to part with them in trade, please drop a note. I've already completed the base and Stadium Shots insert sets. One of these days I will get my act together and set up a page of what I have for trade.
Last night at the Fayetteville Mall, the entire NW Arkansas Naturals team was signing autographs, so I packed up the family and we headed out. As a father, it was exciting to see my son getting a baseball and a few cards signed.He’s five, so I don’t think he was all that stoked about it to begin with, but as we went around the table, and he was more comfortable talking to the players, he really began to enjoy himself.When we were done and his ball was completely covered with signatures, he was very excited!I was too, thinking, “This is the year he really becomes a baseball fan, and we can really enjoy the game and the cards together.”Then he saw the Cookie Co., handed his ball off to his mother and didn’t mention the Naturals the rest of the evening while he savored every bite of his true prize of the evening.
Overall, the players were very pleasant and gracious.Most took a moment to look my boy in the eye and say hello. A few just took the ball, signed it and passed it down without looking up, which as a father kind of ticked me off.But I imagine this kind of event kind of gets to be a grind for a player, especially with how pushy and obnoxious some fans can be.But come on, talk to my boy just a bit.He is, after all, the cutest 5 year old on the planet.
I would like to mention John Lamb in particular as someone who was very gracious with my son.He is considered a top 100 Major League prospect, and a good bet to be on the Royals roster in the next year or two.As a card hobby enthusiast, I was thrilled that he signed a couple of cards that will mean more to my son over time, and I wish him the best.I also found cards of Derrick Robinson and Christian Colon who were very nice as well. One player I could not find a card of was Wil Myers, who is a top hitting prospect, and supposed to be on par with Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer.I know I have his Bowman 2010 card somewhere, but couldn’t locate it.At least we got his signature on the ball and poster.
