Wax Wednesday- Bowman Platinum

I suppose my attempt to score some points with the lovely wife Tuesday night by magnanimously announcing I was refraining from attending the weekly auction at Cleve's would have been more credible had I not had 3 rack packs worth of cards in my hands at the time.  But they were rack packs of Bowman Platinum, and I had my reasons.

I've been able to mostly pass on A&G so far, but the other day at Walmart, I just happened to be walking by the card section when I saw the stocker putting out some brand spanking new Bowman Platinum.  Actually, I couldn't give you a good reason why I felt the need to grab these.  I wasn't overly impressed with Platinum last year.  Perhaps I wanted to be one of the first to post pack break results from this offering.  So far, I haven't seen much on this set in the blogosphere.  Probably,  I was still coming down from the high from Brycemas and hoped lightning would strike twice.   Yeah, actually I know that's it.  I'll save the suspense and tell you I didn't hit anything big.  But I do like these cards. 

Here is a base card.  This is actually a case where the scanner OVER does justice to the card.   The base cards are nice, but it's not as shiny as the scanner makes it out to be.    The prospects set cards are nice too:

These look and feel more like chrome cards than the base, and in fact curl a little bit (but not as bad as Topps 2010 chrome).
Rack packs come with 3 purple parallel cards. Here was what I got:

And of course, there are all sorts of other parallels:

The Cox (Yea! a Razorback!) and Ackley are refractors, but not numbered.  The Crawford is more true red than the scan shows.

Looking at the checklist, I'll probably decline to build this set (not enough Rangers) but will probably put together some "rainbows" of a few players.  Anyone else have any initial luck with Platinum? 

On The 12th Day of Brycemas

My Harper Gave To Me:

12 BIG FUN GAME PRIZES!!!!

You didn’t think I wouldn’t share my good fortune with my pals in Blogger Land did you?

I have 12 cards/card lots that came in with my Harper Haul that will be used as prizes.   Some of these have been seen in the 12 Days of Brycemas Posts, and some have not.   I will guarantee that none of my Michael Youngs will be part of this contest.  Or the 1965 Koufax.  This will be my 3^rd Big Fun Game.   For those not in the know, I am only keeping this contest named as such at the insistence of a few of you.  I’m looking at you Lost Collector.

Signups will take place from now until Sunday.  There are only 2 things you need to do to qualify: 

1)     Be a follower.  I had been stuck at 47 for a while, and was horrified to see someone left me and now I’m at 46.  I sure would like to get over the 50 mark.

2)    Post a comment in this thread stating you are in.  If you want to promote this contest in your blog, post a link to your comment and you will get two entries to the game drawing.  

If you've already participated in one of my Big Fun Games, please feel free to sign up again!

Sometime on Sunday, I will enter all of the names in the randomizer and announce the 10 game entrants.

“But Napkin, I thought you said there were 12 prizes?”  There are.  There will be 2 remaining prizes after the game is over.  Once the game is over, anyone who would like to make one final swap for a prize will have an opportunity to post a comment that they would like to trade one last time.  If more than 2 people want to trade in their prizes, I will take all of the names of those who want to make one final trade and put them in the randomizer.  The top 2 listed will get to make one final swap and choose from the remaining 2 prizes.  Hopefully, you will get something you like better, because once you swap, there is no trading back.

After the game is over, feel free to trade amongst yourselves before I mail out the prizes.

Here are the particulars of the game if you aren't familiar with them.



*******UPDATE**********  Sign ups are closed and the 10 contestants have been named!!!

On The 11th Day of Brycemas

My Harper Gave to Me:

11 Bowman’s Best

This is my favorite insert set of 2011, slightly ahead of the Sticky Fingers set in Gypsy Queen.  I like it because the checklist has staying power, it’s shiny, it’s not scarce, but not common, yet I’ve been able to complete it very cheaply.  I needed 11 cards to complete my set of Bowman’s Best.  I still need several more for the Bowman’s Best Prospects set, but I have the Harper and the rest will be manageable.

I’ll just show you the full set rather than the last 11 I needed:

On The 10th Day of Brycemas

My Harper Gave to Me:

#10 Texas Rangers DH, 1B, 2B, 3B and SS, Michael Young.

Winner.  Team Player.  Leader.  Hustle. Work Ethic.  Integrity.  Luscious.   But enough about me, let’s look at some Michael Young Cards:

I have one of those “jersey” T-Shirts of Michael Young, and that’s as close to a jersey I will wear of any team or player.  I’ve got nothing against fans wearing jerseys, especially to games.  I just can’t pull it off.  It doesn’t look or feel right on me.  I wish my lovely wife would wear one though.  That would be so, so, so hot.

On The 9th Day of Brycemas

9 Sticky Fingers…

… as well as some other Gypsy Queen goodies.  Bear with me here.  I bought a lot of 9 Fingers cards and put them in pages with a few more that I had already.  I don't remember which 9 they were, and I wouldn't want to take them in an out of pages again anyway, so I'll just show you all the ones I have.   A couple came from trades with fellow bloggers.  Now I just need #1 Jeter, #6 Teixiera, and #15 Bartlett.

The base set doesn’t do much for me, but I love the inserts.  I will probably give this set a year to sit while I continue to work on other sets, but I when came across a good Sticky Fingers lot on eBay I bit.  I also managed to pick up a couple of other insert singles here in there on Sportsbuy.com and sportlots.com.   

Here are the Wall Climbers I have.  I am only lacking #1 Hunter, #3 Swisher, and #10 Dejesus
I have further to go on the other inserts so I'll spare you the images of half filled pages.

By the way, does anyone have any idea of Gypsy Queen will be a regular set now, like A&G, or will it be a one and done like Chicle? 

My Harper Gave to Me:

On The 8th Day of Brycemas

My Harper gave to me:

8 Cards of Big Shots

Here is a conversation I can see happening down the road with my son:

Son:  Dad, who was the greatest athlete of all while you were growing up?

Me:  That’s easy.  Michael Jordan.  He might be the greatest athlete of all time.

Son:  How many cards of him do you have?

Me:  Um, none actually. 

Son (Looks over my paltry basketball card collection):  Was Todd Day better than Michael Jordan?  And who’s Oliver Miller?

Me:  Well, they were Razorbacks,  son, and that’s why I have them.   But no, no they were not better. 

Son:  You have about 30 cards of those guys.  But you don’t have one Michael Jordan?

Me:  Uhhhh

Son:  Who was the best football player?

Me:  I don’t’ know.  Tom Brady was pretty amazing.  And he married Giselle.

Son:  Who?

Me:  Never mind.

Son:  How many of his cards do you have?

Me:  Uhhhh

Well, now I at least have a few of both of these guys, although in my defense, their cards can get pricy.  However, there are always good deals to be found on the internet, and I finally have some cards of His Airness and Brady.    Yes, these are pretty standard cards, but I’m proud of them all the same (and I did get multiples of many of these).

On The 7th Day of Brycemas

My Harper gave to me:

(7)  Random, Yet Important, Cards:

My freaking scanner!!!

1999 Flair Warren Morris- This was one of the first cards I bought when I cashed in on the Harper Auto.  I’ve had no luck finding this card cheap for years now, and couldn’t bring myself to pay over a buck for it, plus shipping.  But since I had nice card fund, I decided to put this set out of its misery and add the last remaining card.  For the first time since my blog started, this card is off the Most Wanted list. 

Along the same lines, I was able to knock out my final 2 Diamond King Base Cards from 2003.  Hard to believe I didn’t have the Tony Gwynn already, but I didn’t.

With these two Reel Time Cards, my 2002 Stadium Club Set is now 100% complete.  There are some relic card inserts for this set, but I’m going to pretend they don’t exist and call this set done.  Also shown is a Topps HD Game Defined Mark McGwire.  I was actually a little miffed that this was an aluminum parallel card, even though it is a rarer card than the standard Game Defined Card.  I bought it on Sportlots and the listing did not have an image.  I probably would have got it anyway had I seen it was a parallel.  This is not my first loose interpretation of a complete set with HD.  Man, HD was nice.  I wish it would be re-issued.

Another SPX 2003 beauty.  This. Card. Is. Awesome.  Greg Maddux is a guy who I appreciate more and more with time.    Craig Biggio is the other one.  I really should have more good cards of them both.

On the 6th Day of Brycemas

My Harper Gave to Me:

6 Darren McFaddens (x3)

I got about 18 cards of D-Mac, and this was the best way to cram it into the song. 

 That Topps Magic Mini Card is beyond awesome!

I was actually at the game when McFadden tied the SEC single game rushing record.  I acted a total fool when he did this:

On The 5th Day of Brycemas

My Harper Gave to Me:

5 Gol-den Kiiiiiings:

I hope and think Bryce Harper will do well.  I don’t think he’ll be as good as this guy:

Or Him:

Or Him:

Or Him:

Or Him:

My first vintage Koufax card ever!  Yes, there is a push pin hole at the top of his hat, but I love the 1965 set and this was the best shape of the card I was going to get if I wanted to be able to buy anything else with my Harper funds.  It’s good enough for me.

On The 4th Day of Brycemas

My Harper Gave to Me

4 Awesome Rangers:

Yes, the 12 Days of Brycemas is back on track after a painstaking wait for an order of cards from a seller on Sportlots.com.  But everything is in now, so I can finish this convoluted string. 

My Brycemas sale helped beef up my Rangers collection for sure:

I didn't have any Nelson Cruz autographs.  Now I have 2.

I can't find a 2009 Sterling Base of Josh Hamilton to save my life.  I had no trouble finding the white and burgundy parallels though.

My Elvis Andrus collection was pretty small.  This doubled it:

And I didn't have as much Cliff Lee as I would like.  Yes, I know he was only a half season rental last year, but he is officially a Razorback/Ranger double whopper, so he will forever be in my top 5 favorite players of all time.

Checklist Chipaway- Hammer Time + Some Cliff Lee

For anyone who checks my blog Monday for the eTopps alert, I apologize for missing it today.   I have been slammed at work lately and the morning passed by before I even had a chance to look up.  I was happy to see a Mike Moustakas offering today, but it was $8 with a pretty high print run so I passed and will get it later when it comes down in price.  I did order a Mark Teixeira at $5 with a 499 print run. 

I am currently on hold with the 12 days of Brycemas project as I patiently wait for key cards for "Day 4" to come in.  These have been on order almost 4 weeks now and I'm getting pretty frustrated.  The seller on sportsbuy.com sent me a delivery confirmation number last Tuesday and said they were on the way.   Nothing is showing up yet for this number on USPS.com.    I still don't have the cards and am getting annoyed.  It was a big order of about 80 cards and my little song is in limbo until they come in. 

A couple of things did come in today though.  First, I sent a card of Cardinals prospect Matt Carpenter to Justin at Justin's World.  He was going to have an opportunity to get the card signed, so I gladly sent it over to help out.  For one card, I was just happy to help a fellow blogger,   However, Justin graciously sent me a handful of cards of one of my all time favorite Razorbacks and current MLB ace, Cliff Lee:

I'm always happy to build my Lee collection, so a big thanks to Justin!

I also wrapped up a small insert set off the Super Duper Checklist:

This completes my Hammer Team insert set from 95 Sportflix. 

I don't care if it looks or sounds like a silly insert set, I love the looks of it.  I also love how Sportflix built this set (as well as the Detonators insert set) in multiples of 9, making it conducive to pages. 

Shootin’ Bas-ket-balls… We’re Shootin’ Bas-ket-balls…

I know the title is a real song, but I can’t recall where I heard it.  It’s certainly stuck in my head.  Maybe my friends and I made it up as kids, but I think it’s a real song.    Anyone know the source?    Anyway, I know there has been a pause in my 12 days of Brycemas posts.  I have the posts for pretty much all remaining days written and ready to post, but some cards needed for my  "4^th Day"  post have not arrived…  two weeks after purchase.  The seller finally shipped them yesterday so I should be back on track this weekend. 

Meanwhile, I did use some of my Harper funds to grab a few cheap Finest basketball.  I couldn't fit them in the 12 Days of Brycemas song, but I'll post about them anyway.   I have little interest in the NBA, but I had it in my head the other night I needed a few superstar cards.  These are pretty cool and they were inexpensive on sportlots. 

Joe Johnson was a Razorback, which is why I got more of his cards, in case you were wondering.    

On The Third Day of Brycemas..

My Harper Gave To Me:

3 Chunks of Set Fillers

My Super Duper Checklist was shriveling up quite nicely.  That is, until I added the components of Bowman 2011 and Gypsy Queen I want to it.  So I'm back to near 100 sets.  Happily, I was able to deliver some healthy shots to 3 sets I have been working on for a while:  2001 Topps HD, 2005 Gallery Artist Proof, and 1999 EX Century.  These are 3 of my favorite sets, and I have some new found momentum on them thanks to my Harper sale.

I am 8 cards away on EX Century, and 27 away on HD, (only 7 if you discount the final 20 SPs, which I don't).  I still need about 74 more Gallery, but I am content to take my sweet time on it. 

On The 2nd Day of Brycemas..

My Harper Gave To Me:

2 Series Topps Box...

Ok, it was just one box, but it was of series two, and I had to work it into the song.   Humor me.

I decided that my shopping spree wouldn't be complete without a box of cards.  My hope was that I might get another big hit and go on yet another big shopping spree.  I probably should have waited for A&G to come out, but that seems like a long ways off, and I need to burn up these funds before the lovely wife gets her lovely little hands on them.  And Gypsy Queen is too expensive.  So I got a hobby box of Topps Series 2.  No big hits, but I enjoyed opening it just the same.   Here are the pics: (I'll spare you the Diamond Duos and 60 series)

I got 10 Diamond Parallel cards, with a really cool Pee Wee Reese.  But other than that at the Ichiro, nothing too exciting.

The Diamond Stars should excite me more, but something about them looks kind of cheap to me.  The Prime 9 was something I didn't know about.  I hope one of the 2 card shops in this area are HTA stores and I can redeem these.    This is a pretty clever program from Topps, and I like the incentive to get people into card shops.  Having said that, I have a feeling I will forget I had these and miss the redemption weeks.

I won't chase much of 2011 Topps, but this is one I want to build.  The Series 2 Checklist is loaded with vintage players. 

I am not sure how I feel about the reprints.  The Mantle is an original back though!

And finally, the hit.  Mark Teixeira.  Not bad, but I'll be happy to trade it for a Game Used card from one of my top 5 players.  

On The First Day of Brycemas..

 (sing this along with the 12 Days of Christmas melody)

My Harper gave to me..

The Thickest Card I've Ever Seen... 

So, the moment I saw funds show up in paypal from my Harper sale, I looked at my eBay watch list for something to buy.  This Michael Young card from 2007 UD Exquisite had been sitting there for a while as a BIN in my list.  I didn't know anything about Exquisite which is why I hadn't pulled the trigger.  It's not that it was that expensive (around $3.50 or so) especially for a card numbered to #75, but I figured that was more than I wanted to spend on it without seeing one up close.  But since I had some new found spending flexibility, I thought, "Why not" and picked it up.  It was officially the first card I bought for Brycemas, and I am so glad I got it. 

This card is fareeeking awesome!  It is the thickest card I've ever seen.  I mean, look at the scan- it casts a &*!%ing shadow!  I immediately started looking for other cards from this set I might want and bought a Torii Hunter relatively cheaply.

So, while this wasn't the biggest or best purchase from my ongoing shopping spree, it definitely is a card I am proud of.

Merry Brycemas!

I hope my play on words isn’t offensive to anyone.  As you may recall, I found a 1 in 2,900 pack redemption card of uber-prospect Bryce Harper.    I swear I didn’t really buy that much Bowman wax, but besides the Harper auto, I also pulled 3 Chrome cards, 1 Bowman’s Best and one base card of him.  But the auto was the big one.  I’ve never had that kind of hit.  Ever.  The question to sell or keep really wasn’t that hard when I saw what they were going for on eBay.    I played the odds and sold and was pretty stoked by what I got for it.  Even if he is the next Mantle and this becomes a $1,000 card, I still came out ahead and won’t kick myself too hard.   Something tells me he might not have the makeup for it though.   Of course, at 18 I was quite an idiot myself, so I don't really begrudge him a moment of a-holeness.   

The card is gone now, but Brycemas has begun!  Once those funds from the sale were in my PayPal account, I went shopping.  My super duper checklist has immediately begun to shrink and I will have plenty of blog material as these packages come rolling in.    I will have lots to show over the coming weeks....