Big Fun Game Pick #11

Steve D won't let the party end and steals the Sticky Finger lot from Play at the Plate.

Play at the Plate can steal any lot (except the one that was just stolen from him) or can choose the final prize #10.

Big Fun Game Pick #10

Fan of Reds puts down the Nachos and selects prize #2:

Lot of 5 active player mini cards.

Steve D can now take any of the first 9 prizes or select the final prize # 10.

Big Fun Game Pick #9

Don Wicked Ortega also declines the steal and chooses prize #4:

These were the 2 Home Run Heroes insert cards in the box.  Carlos Pena and Jose Bautista

Fan of Reds is next and can steal any of the lots or choose from prizes 2 or 10

Big Fun Game Request

All-

We are moving pretty quickly through this, and once it's done I would like to get the prizes out ASAP.  Please email me your addresses so I can have them ready for when the contest ends. 

Thanks
Nap

BIg Fun Game Pick #8

Matt H also declines to steal and chooses prize # 7:

These were the 2 "Wall Climbers" Cards in the blaster:  Denard Span and Rajai Davis

Don Wicked Ortega is next and can steal anything that has been picked or choose from prize #s: 2 4 or 10

Big Fun Game Pick #7

Play at the Plate passes on the steal and chooses prize #1:

These were the 2 "Sticky Fingers" insert cards in the blaster:  Jeter and H. Ramirez

Matt H is next and can steal from any previous picks or select from prizes 2 4 7 or 10.

Big Fun Game Pick #6

Greg Zakwin picks again after his lost was stolen by Ryan G who loves Gypsies. Greg chooses prize #9:

These are the two mini cards of retired players, plus the one mini with a red Gypsy Queen back that came in the blaster.

Play at the Plate is next and can steal anything or choose from the remaining unknown prizes:  1 2 4 7 or 10

Etopps 5/2 Offering

Etopps offering this week looks to be:

Nelson Cruz!!!!

Jerry Sands

Even though I am stoked about the Cruz, I'll probably pick it up post IPO.

And part of me thinks we may be in for a change by the time the IPO offering becomes official.  It's unusual to offer only 2 cards this early in the season.  Stay tuned.

Big Fun Game Pick #5- First Steal!

Ryan G gives us the first steal of the game, taking Greg Zakwins pick.

Greg will need to pick again, and can steal anything that's been revealed, except the prize that was just stolen from him.

Or Greg can choose again from the available prizes: 1 2 4 7 9 or 10.

Also, that will be it for the night for me.  I'll update the game tomorrow once Greg chooses again.

Big Fun Game Pick #4

Matt chooses not to steal and selects prize #6:

Insert lot of (2) "Great Ones" Jim Palmer and Mel Ott.  These were the 2 from this insert set that were in the box. 

Ryan G is up next and can steal from the previous prizes or select a new prize:  1,2,4,7,9, or 10.

Big Fun Game Pick 3

Greg Zakwin chooses prize #8:

Future stars (2) David Price, Gypsy Queen Kali and 2 Checklists.

Ok, let me explain this one.  For some reason, this blaster had two David Prices.  Well,  I guess I can't really explain the grouping of this prize too much without revealing the other prizes.  Just go with it....

Matt, not Matt H, just plain old Matt has the next pick.  He can steal one of the revealed prizes or choose from the 7 remaining unknown prizes:  1,2,4,6,7,9, or 10

Big Fun Game Pick #2

The Lost Collector suppresses his insatiable urge to steal and chooses prize #5:

The AL Base Cards.  In this blaster there were 13 base cards of AL players.  I accidentaly added the Rowand card, but it will be in another lot.  I assume you are ok with this Lost Collector?  Sorry for the mis scan.

Also, the cards are not miscut, it's just a poor scan job on the first group.

Greg Zakwin is next and he can steal either of the revealed prizes or pick from the remaining prizes (1,2,4,6-10)

Big Fun Game Pick 1

With the first pick of the Napkin Doon Big Fun Game- Gypsy Queen Edition, Spiegel83 selects prize #3:

Retired base card lot.  These were all of the base cards of retired players in the blaster box.  Ty Cobb, Al Kaline, Tris Speaker, Tony Gwynn, Rogers Hornsby.

The Lost Collector is next and can steal this card, or choose from another remaining prize (1,2,4-10)

Big Fun Game Participant List!

It's time to start Napkin Doon's Big Fun Game- Gypsy Queen Blaster edition!  I've entered everyone in the randomizer, making sure if you promoted the blog you received 2 entries.  I didn't get up to 50 followers, but I imagine those of you that are entered are ok with the fewer entrants and better odds.  Here are the 10 participants:

1. spiegel83
2. lost collector
3. greg zakwin
4. matt (new blog)
5. ryan g
6. Play at the plate
7. matt h
8. don wicked ortega
9. ran of reds
10. steve d

Sorry, fan of reds, for the typo.  And sorry to everyone else who didn't get in.  Better luck next time!

Spiegel83 is up first and can choose any number between 1 and 10.  Once he picks, lost collector will be next and can either steal Spiegel183s pick, or can choose something from the remaining prizes. 
I have busted the box and randomized the prizes already.  I will post the video of the break and the prize list once the game is over.

Good luck!

If for some reason, a participant does not make a selection in a reasonable amount of time (say 24 hours) and does not respond to email reminders, I will have to drop that participant and move to the next person on the list.  So Matt Pederson, keep watching in case someone doesn't show up, because you're next in line!



Big Fun Game- Last Call!

I will be closing out the sign ups in a few hours for the Big Fun Game.

If you want to be in the drawing for a playing slot, get your comment in soon.   Remember, YOU MUST BE A FOLLOWER OF THE BLOG.  I can't enter a non-follower and tick off the followers.

Also, if you promote the contest on your blog, you will have two entries to the contest.

All the details are on the original post.

Trade Bait

I was a little star struck to see Wicked Ortega signed up as a follower of my little blog and entered my contest.  I always enjoy his blog, and am blown away by his trade bait posts.  I mention this because I went to a small card show in Fayetteville today and found my own little batch of trade bait, and wanted to post pictures, Wicked Ortega Style.  (except I scanned them instead of photographing them).
Clearly these are the poor man's Wicked Ortega trade bait, but hopefully they can spur some offers.

 Gaudin #d to 100

 Oswalt #d to 200
Cain #d to 150
Leftwich #d to 40
BELTRAN CLAIMED- BA BENNY
POSADA CLAIMED- STEVEN D
OSWALT CLAIMED- DIMWIT
PETTITTE CLAIMED- DIMWIT

 Helton #d to 1000

Lee #d to 325

Gypsy Queen Rack Pack- NOT GAME PRIZES!!

I mentioned in my Gypsy Queen Big Fun Game announcement that I bought a rack pack to get a taste of the set.  I had pretty good luck I thought:

I was pretty stoked about the Brett Cecil auto.  There is something about the Sticky Fingers set that intrigues me.  Also, the green bordered cards came in separate mini pack, and I don't know the story on them, but they are nice looking. If I decide to take on a Gypsy Queen long term project, building a set of these may be it. I also like the insert sets and the Mantle card is very cool. 

And here is the base, save a couple of cards.  Love the Cobb card. 

All of this is open for trade by the way.

Gypsy Queen is growing on me, and I can't wait to see what's in the blaster for the game!  There is still plenty of time to sign up.  Thanks to all who signed up, thanks for all of the new followers, and thanks to those who promoted the contest on their blog!

I'm off to a card show this morning, so hopefully I can come back with some cool trade bait!

Gypsy Queen Blaster Break… Or Something Better?

Blasters of Gypsy Queen started showing up at a nearby Target this week, and I have been on the fence as to picking one up or not.  I could spend that money on Heritage,  Base, one of those nifty $15 value packs, or get 2 discounted blasters for about the same money.  And man, I could do some serious damage on sportlots.com with $20.  Wait!!! I mean, I could spend that money on my lovely wife and kids instead.  But I kind of wanted to open a box of Gypsy Queen and review it on the blog.  I bought a rack pack as an appetizer and did pretty well.  I’ll post the contents later this evening.  So, I like it, but I’m not sure I want to dive into the set. 

Then a flash of inspiration hit me, and I realized a way I could get much more mileage out of a box break, and do something a little different with the review…. 

You guessed it- It’s time for a new edition of Napkin Doon’s

BIG FUN GAME!!!!!

Basically, I’ll do this the same way I did the last Big Fun Game (I really need a better name for it). 

This time, I will add a rule that you must be a follower of the blog to be a participant.  Also, the last time I announced this game I opened it to the first 10 followers.  This limited the participants (who were all great by the way) to whoever happened to be online at the time.  I will still leave the participant list at 10, but leave sign ups open until Sunday afternoon.  Then I will take all entries, put them in the randomizer and let the first 10 listed participants play.

A couple of other tweaks:

I will not keep any of the cards from the box break, unless there is a Rangers Hit (I just won’t be able to bring myself to give it away).  So if I get really lucky with a hit from another team, too bad for me.  I’m hoping the investment in the blog will be worth it.  Of course I could video the box break and post it at the end of the contest so that you know I was honest about not keeping any cards.  I might do that.  Otherwise, you will just have to trust old Napkin.  If there is a Ranger Hit and I keep it, I’ll put in a nice replacement.

Once I bust the box, I will determine a way of splitting the cards into 10 somewhat equal prizes.  I don’t want to waste postage sending someone a couple of commons.

IF my follower list grows to over 50 by the time contest starts, I will add 5 additional participants via the randomizer and add 5 more random prizes, in the same spirit as my prizes last time.

IF somehow my follower list grows to over 100, I will keep the participant list to 15, but add a second blaster of Gypsy Queen if I can find one, essentially doubling the Gypsy Queen prizes.  If I can’t find a Gypsy Queen, I’ll add a blaster of Heritage.  Don’t worry; I’ll bulk up the Non Gypsy Queen prizes too.

Here is the final tweak:  If you promote this contest on your blog or website and leave a link in the comment section, I will give you two entries to the contest.  In case the randomizer lists you twice in the top 10 or 15, you will still only get one slot in the contest however.

I will close out the entries for the contest sometime Sunday Afternoon, whenever I get a chance, and announce the participant list and who the first player is.  Then it’s on..

This will be a great way to liven up a product review.  Topps, I hope you are aware of this free positive marketing you are getting from me! 

If I do not show up Sunday, you will know that my lovely wife saw that I am basically throwing $20 into cyberspace and locked me in a closet.

Oh and one other thing:  I HAVE NOT OPENED THIS BOX YET.   IF THE CONTENTS STINK DO NOT BE UPSET WITH ME. 

Let’s have some fun!

************************UPDATE-  GAME REGISTRATION IS CLOSED!!!!& *************

 

Gwynn Wynn

Man, eBay and PayPal just make it really difficult for a card addict like me to stay in control.   It's too easy to say "yes" to an auction.   My lovely wife may disagree, but I think most of the time I am relatively disciplined on buying cards.  I don’t typically buy expensive items or boxes, and I usually don’t pull the trigger on something that I know is a steal unless it falls under my collecting solar system.  I also don’t buy general “lots” of cards that don’t list specifically what those cards are.

Last week I made a couple of exceptions to my rules.  I bought one rather expensive jersey card and will post about when it arrives.  I also bought this:

A lot of 200 Tony Gwynn cards.  I stared and stared at this auction as the time to bid ticked away.  I don’t need 200 Tony Gwynn cards.    I want 200 Tony Gwynn cards, but I don’t need them.  The item description didn’t list the cards either, other than listing some of the brands in the lot,  so I knew it was likely a bunch of junk wax.  But no one had bid, and if I could win with the lowest bid, the cost would wind up being pennies per card.  Not a bad way to build the binder of one of my favorite all time players.  I put in my bid and watched the auction come to a close, alternating from hoping I would win to hoping someone would outbid me.  I wound up winning.

The box arrived yesterday and with a slight sense of dread, I dug in to see what I got, mostly expecting a bunch of this:

Some junk wax, but cards of Tony Gwynn are cards of Tony Gwynn, so no problem.  So that was part of the box, but I was pleasantly surprised by the overall contents.  There were a lot of shiny cards:

A few Topps Finest, as well as the Super Cool Plastic EX cards, one which I already had (1999), and one which I didn't (1998).  Maybe I should try to build the 98 set once 99 is done. 



And there were several of hologram/sportflics type cards that I dig:

I love those SPX hologram cards.  And these are my first UC3 cards.  The little pinwheels in the background of the Cyclone Squad card spin around when you move the card.  I'm sure I looked like an imbecile watching them spin 'round and 'round as I drooled over this card last night. 

I’m glad to say that I didn’t already have at least 50% of what was in the box.  My Tony Gwynn collection is now my largest single player collection, surpassing Darryl Strawberry.    

Joshy We Need You!

Yikes, the Blue Jays are making mince-meat out of my Rangers.  After 2 initial beatings from the Jays,  I thought the game last night was about to slip away too after the Rangers had an early comfortable lead.  The Jays were trouble last year too as I recall.  Ranger pitchers are struggling, and until yesterday, so were the hitters, except Michael Young.  I think we all know the moment this little slide started too.

No, not this…

But this:

That’s right.   I received this card in the mail the day Hamilton got hurt.   I have tried changing placement of this card several times over the past two weeks (from the Rangers Binder to to my bedside table to the kid's bedroom room to the play room)  while the Rangers slumped, and thought I finally had it in the right place (in a snap case with other high end cards in a box on our bookshelves) as the Rangers swept the Royals.  Apparently, I need to move it again.   I can sense the Rangers struggles radiating from the card.   It is not pleased about something, and I don't know what to do.   Please don’t suggest I destroy it, either.  I mean come on... that would be absurd. 

Pet Peeves

I find it hard to dislike much about this hybrid hobby of collecting baseball cards and blogging about collecting baseball cards.  Obviously, if there were too many things that I found irritating, I would mess around with something else.    But now that I have been back in the hobby for about a year, and now that I have been blogging for a few months, there are two things that really agitate me:

1) Disappearing Comments on Blogger- Maybe there is something glaringly obvious that I am doing wrong, but for some reason, I am having a hell of a time leaving comments on other blogs.  It would be fun to be more active in the blogosphere.  I enjoy it when people leave me comments and I try to do the same as much as possible.  But most of the time, after I post a comment, go through the little word verification step, and see the confirmation that my comment has been posted, the next day the comment is not there.  The blogger I am posting to will receive the comment via their email, but it won’t show up in the comments section of the blog.  Very frustrating.  If you have any suggestions for me or suffer from the same affliction, let me know.

2) I am sure my fellow collectors will agree:  there is something exciting about opening the mailbox and seeing one or multiple envelopes and/or bubble mailers with your name on it.  It’s like a little Christmas every day.    Likely, you also are familiar with that interruption of your happy moment when you see this taped to the package:          

Sure, the amounts are always little, but it’s the principle of the thing.  If it costs $2.63 to ship me a Michael Young refractor, charge me $2.63 up front, not $2.00 and a surprise bill later.  I almost always ship from the post office to be sure I cover postage properly, but when I do apply stamps, I always make sure I cover postage, and at times probably over stamp.

Now, I will be really embarrassed if someone tells me they received a package from me that was short on postage.  That just can’t be the case, unless….   Could it be?  Perhaps I am slowly uncovering a post office conspiracy…  Perhaps this is all part of a bigger conspiracy….  Perhaps this reaches the highest levels.   If I suddenly stop posting, be assured that I was on to something, and someone wanted Napkin Doon quiet.  Stay tuned… 
                                                                                                                  

Hey Napkin You're So Fine..

You're so fine you blow my mind.. Hey Napkin! Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap, Hey Napkin! Clap, Clap, Clap Clap...

Hey Napkin you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind.. Hey Napkin! Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap, Hey Napkin! Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap

Hey Napkin you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind.. Hey Napkin! Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap, Hey Napkin! Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap...

Hey Napkin you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind.. Hey Napkin! Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap, Hey Napkin! Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap
                                                

Hey Napkin you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind.. Hey Napkin! Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap, Hey Napkin!

.
In other words, I bought a bunch of cheap Topps Finest from Sportlots.com recently and they just arrived in the mail.

Etopps 4/25 Offering

This week, Etopps offers the following IPOs:

Roy Halladay

Zach Britton

Michael Pineda



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.

Sunday Book Notes- The Numbers Game

Alan Schwartz  2004

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.

What Ever Happened To Mini Sets?

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?

2009 Topps Sterling Page 1

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.

Nice Little Trade with BA Benny

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 4/18 Offering- Baseball 2011 Week 1

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.

Book Notes: The Underground Baseball Encyclopedia

Robert Schnakenberg  2010

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.   

2011 eTopps Begins Next Week!

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.)

PLEASE ETOPPS, ISSUE A NELSON CRUZ THIS YEAR!!!

Here are the details.

Mail Time- Paper or Plastic?

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. 

Rubber Baby Baseball Card Binders

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! 

Checklist Chip-Away: Topps Sterling 2009 & Fleer Tradition/Showcase Inserts

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.