the 72’s…my quest begins

Posted by cardboard hogs on March 12, 2017

Ok, so this is the third in the trifecta of 1970 baseball card set build starts. Again, to recap. I had zero intention of starting to build these sets but just couldn’t pass up the condition and price of the cards from what i could see. So, in order to keep it short tonight lets go!

A couple cards of note here are the Billy Cowan card with the perfectly situated photographer and Angels halo. Not sure about the history of the card, but i can imagine the photographer was thinking…”man it would be awesome if i could capture Billy with the halo over his head if can just squat down…just a little…” The other card is the Billy Martin card. I like Billy for a few reason. He was a badass, for good or bad, he was a tough guy and didn’t take crap…that kind of guy, the kind of guy that would get in a bar fight just of the fun of. Not that i condone that kind of nonsense, but it’s just a little entertaining to me…Also, he was Rickey Henderson’s favorite manager and in my book, that’s good enough for me.

The star of this group of cards for me is the Dave Cash card right in the middle. He was the starting third baseman for the Pirates on September 1, 1971…the first time a major league baseball team ever started an all black starting lineup, plus it’s a pretty sweet looking card.

Big card here is the Bob Grich…i guess. There’s a lot of chatter about him being a Hall of Famer lately. Honestly, i not too familiar with him or the impact he had with the Orioles and Angels during his 17 year career. Just skimming over his stats, he seems like one of those guys that had a really nice career and did some great things, but i’m not convinced that i see a Hall of Famer with him…could be wrong, would love it if someone told me why i was wrong as i love to learn more about players before my years.

Favorite card in this group, Matty Alou. He looks like every other Alou too. What a family business, huh? Love it when you get the 2 or 3 generations or multiple brothers playing professional sports. Makes me thing about how competitive those families must have been growing up, i would imagine a ton of very intense HORSE games in the driveway and maybe some bloodshed…or tears at the very least.

Small group for the last run, but must say that my favorite card is the checklist. Only because it’s a 45 year old card with very nice corners and zero marks on it…zero! Those red blotches are the dealers marks that mean something to him…or somebody, but not me. The Mickey Lolich card is pretty sweet too.

So, if you have some nice versions of these cards in your extras or doubles boxes drop me a line and let me know if you can help complete some of these sets. Here is the link to the cards that i have…or need, depending on your point of view i guess. 1972 Topps Checklist.

The family and i had a great time this weekend and were able to enjoy the amazing warm weather on Saturday and Sunday…hope you guys had a great weekend and aren’t one of those towns buried by snow.

Here’s a nice song for the moment…been listening to some jazz this week and got stuck on some Flying Lotus for some reason. He’s not truly in the jazz lane, but this song has a nice jazzy feel to it…plus King Kendrick.

We’re all snowflakes…

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 3, 2017

I grew up in Texas and snow is not a normal thing for me. When i was 9 we had a huge blizzard in San Antonio, 14″ to be exact. It was absolutely nuts…as a kid though, fantastic! It was a freakish event that i will never forget. Rafik and I missed a couple days of school and had the greatest time ever. We watched Chris Marrou tell us about the school closures and hoped it would never end! Our days were filled with bags of sugar to fuel the moments in between epic snowball fights and a rudimentary snow man construction site. It was the greatest of times for every kid in town.

When we were able (forced) to go back to school, our classrooms had so many leaks that we were huddled en masse in the schools gym. A very large, crowded and noisy gym. A gym on the edge of child anarchy. It was one conch away from being a snowy version of Lord of the Flies. The teachers were on edge trying to keep us all in line for the couple of days. We were being taught in a prefabricated building not suited for long division or lessons on social studies. But they did it and they were the real MVP’s that week.

But now…

I’m a tall adult that likes collecting things like cards and books and also likes rap music. I also like familiarity and something i can depend on…surprises don’t work well for me. For the last month or so, my part of Portland has had 3 different weekends of snow…g’darn freakin’ snow!!! Now, don’t get me wrong, snow is cool when you go to it and are able to look at it and touch it. But when it comes to you as an unwanted guest, it’s a bit of an annoyance. We haven’t have had a ruler lengths of snow, but enough to shut the city down a couple of days and keep me from work. It’s also made my snow driving (sliding) skills ratchet up a tick or two.

All the snow that i was surrounded by made me cave and pick up a box of cards with snow flakes on them. Subliminal marketing. Well done Topps, you got me. Now, let’s see what you gave me Topps.

One of the first things i noticed about these cards is the streaking on the card fronts. Half of the cards in the blaster box contained the streaking. Maybe the other bloggers have already touched on this and as usual, i’m late to the party, but it seems that the quality of these cards may have been left to be what they are. Not super upset about it, but a little disappointed with these…especially the Kershaw card.

Another thing that was very noticeable is the large amount of white space, most notably on the landscape cards. Guess that’s the Topps blizzard parallel…? Seems like a little gradient or transparency could have been a savior for Nick’s card.

These cards were awesome in their original issue and Ricky Bones seems to be dressed appropriately for this card, while Mike Trout is attempting to catch a tiny little snowflake. Is snow flake one or two words? snowflake snow flake…

Dickey Flakes should be a cereal, f’real.

Please let me digress a bit here. Not sure if you have heard of Krampus, I hadn’t until about two weeks ago. He’s an incredibly evil Germanic character created to scare the shit out of bad kids…to be honest, i saw a video of him and was a tad scared. We used the Krampus tactic over the holidays to keep our little snowflake/snow flake in line. For the most part it worked…but i feel guilty about it in hindsight. I would point out the window, similar to what Carlos Correa is doing and say “I SEE KRAMPUS!!” and my child of 51 months would run off terrified, similar to what Jed Lowrie is doing. The things parents do to get done what they want to get done the way they want it to get done. Not my best parenting story…but sadly, it yielded the result i was looking for.

We now begin the bumpy snowflake portion of the blog post with a couple winners. Dexter and Kris. It’s a shame Ernie Banks didn’t get to see these guys win the title. RIP #14.

If the card on the right was Steve rather than Nori Aoki, the hair on this pair would be most epic. But it’s just Jacob and Nori.

My game used memorabilia card was Adam Jones which is pretty cool. I really like Adam and often wonder what his career would have been like if the Mariners kept him..also wonder what the Mariners could have done with his dependability over the incredibly fragile and unreliable Erik Bedard…hindsight is 50/50 man..

So that’s my highlights from a Wal-Mart box of snowflake cards. Rumor has it we may get some more snow in the next few days up here, climate change ain’t no joke…remember that we are all snowflakes/snow flakes and nobody is like us…even though those Adam Jones cards are pretty much the same thing.

2014 Topps S1 – Packs 3 and 4

Posted by cardboard hogs on February 9, 2014

Ok, here are some of the highlights from packs 3 and 4. Nothing overly exciting or notable so this is mostly a post about what I got rather than “HOLY CRAP!! LOOK AT WHAT I GOT!”

In the previous post I pulled two Jean Segura Inserts and whattayaknow, in the third pack, I pulled another! How many The Future is Now cards does this kid have? Oh yeah, in the fourth pack I got the Future Stars version of Mr. Segura. Here is a side by side comparison of the base bandit with eye black and without eye black. Run Jean Run!

The next couple of pairings come with mixed feelings.

I love Jeet and think this could be the last season we see him in a major league uniform. I guess it’s going to depend on how he can recover and produce in the revamped Yankee lineup. It’s going to be a whole different world without #2 at short…here’s hoping he has a great season and we get to see him pick it for another year or two…or three. It will make his gift baskets so much more valuable, especially his balls that he gives to the ladies. His scan partner is A-Rod. I’m really glad he won’t be on the field this season. I’ve mentioned many times in the past that I can’t stand the kid and hope he never rocks the pinstripes again. Such a self-absorbed, neon orange chump.

These guys are the future for the Yankees rivals. Bogaerts and Machado are going to be great players for so many years…oh…so…many…years. Those Machado ears though. Kinda with Xander was a Yankee…that’s my problem with the Yankees organization, they just don’t ever seem to develop major league talent. They have tons of guys that have the potential, but it never works out for them. Xander picked up some great experience in the World Series last year…good for him…

Up here in Portland as in many other cities throughout our beautiful country. Beards have taken over. Along with beards, you have facial hair of many types, like curly mustaches. I’ve never been a fan of facial hair and do my best to keep my face clear of facial hair other than the times I’m too lazy to shave. One thing I would never do though, is sculpt my facial pubes in the same manner as Mr. New House. It’s just way too much time sculpting and crafting in front of the mirror. We have lots of guys with handlebar staches in this great town I live in and they are the only guys I will order an old fashioned from. They are the ones who know how to make them properly. Not with all that muddled fruit crap. Just whiskey, bitters, sugar cube an orange slice and cherry. Any bartender that muddles the fruit and turns your drink into a pink liquor concoction should not be trusted…and will more than likely not have a handlebar mustache.

Here is the hits part of our program.

First up. Elvis Andrus. A great glove and a mediocre bat. So here is a bat card with a picture of him throwing a ball. Nice photo/object coordination.

Next. Matty Alou. One of the 83 Alou’s (actually, I think it’s just 4) that have played Major League Baseball. It’s a buyback, which means now that it is stamped nobody will buy it back. At least Topps went smaller with their foil stamp logo.

Black Friday Heritage

Posted by cardboard hogs on December 19, 2013

So, I did some Black Friday shopping in my pajamas like a good American.

No, I wasn’t at Wal-Mart at 3am busting down the storefront and trampling mustached women in rascals. Even better, I did it online over at the Check Out My Cards wonderful website. I had been building up my cart for some time, nearly 6 months, and decided I needed to work on completing some sets. Most of what I picked up was 2010 Heritage base cards, but I also picked up some New Age Performers from this past years set along with a couple Then and Now cards.

And here they are!

Miguel Cabrera involved in a deeply personal thought about SABRmetrics

Yoenis Cespedes. It took me about 5 tries to find this card, because apparently Yoenis is nearly impossible for me to spell. Yoenis.

Billy Butler is both excited and nervous about the pitch he just hit…one can only wonder…

Check out the baby faced Aparicio and the babier face of Michael Nelson Trout. I believe the Mathews/Dunn card would have been perfect if we could have gotten some chest hair on the Dunn photo…Taco meat for everyone!

Time permitting, i’d love to scan some of my other pick ups from COMC…but i’m not sure time will permit in the next few holiday days. One cool thing of note is that I have Boxing Day off. This is the second year we’ve had this holiday since we were taken over in a not so hostile manner by a Canadian company. I’ve heard positive things and negative things about the holiday, so i’m not sure if I should let my white guilt reign over me or if I should just buy some more baseball cards. Any thoughts out there from our friendly neighbors to the north?

2013 Topps S2 – Packs 3 and 4

Posted by cardboard hogs on July 17, 2013

For the first couple of cards, I’m going to stick with the twofers…and it goes a little something like this, HIT IT!

As usual, I’m late for the bus on this one. I just wanted to add my two cents on the whole celebration card that Topps seems to be putting out more and more each season. I like the concept, and sometimes it works brilliantly as it does with the Francisco Cervelli card. Then there are other times when it doesn’t work well, like this Derek Norris card. It’s more of an Oakland A’s team card and I fully expected to see some team leader stats on the back of the piece of card stock. If the camera man was a couple of inches to the right, nobody would know who this card is for, including the wonderful mlb-baby-making parents of Mr. Norris! I would have thought it was for Reddick or that little dude squatting in the middle of the card. Get it together Topps!

Here are a couple more celebration cards. Am I the only one that thinks Homer Bailey and Christian Bale are twins lost at birth? Maybe they should be doing those cheesy State Farm Chris Paul commercials. This is a good example of a celebration card. You can see his Batman looking face and yet, he is still sharing a personal moment with Chris Heisey after his no-no last year. The Ryan Ludwick card on the other hand is all kinds of terrible. Not only is his face nowhere to be seen, his nameplate on the back is blurry!!! At the very least this should have been a Jay Bruce card because his unbridled enthusiasm is…unbridled (first time using that word on the blog and i drop it twice!).

Alright, enough whining. These making their mark cards are nice and the player selection is great. I love that they went with the young future superstars for this subset. Both of these guys are great players…and I kind of have a baseball crush on Manny Machado…the kid is all kinds of awesome. I’m no Orioles fan and have no idea when he will make the move to short, if ever, but he is going to become their rock for the next 10-15 years like Jeter has been for the Yankees.

Bryce Harper. Stud. Kind of want to do a player collection of him. I think this kid is great and i’m sure i’ve mentioned it here before, but I would love for Bryce to be my sons favorite ballplayer. If everyone played all out each play like he did, the game would be so much more fun to watch day in and day out.

Here is a nice little cut to the chase Ernie Banks card. You can’t ever go wrong with Mr. Banks and some die cut action.

Last card for the night was my autograph hit from the box. Alex Cobb chasing history. I’m going to chase some whiskey with a little sleep. Goodnight collectors of the internets.

2013 Topps S2 – Packs 1 and 2

Posted by cardboard hogs on July 15, 2013

It’s been a few weeks since i’ve done just a baseball post and I have a jumbo box of Topps Series 2 sitting here to my left. Whattaya say we open it up slowly and see what we see kids!

There’s no need to go over the design of these cards since it’s been covered ad nauseam on your favorite bloggers website, so i’m just going to touch on the hits and fun cards that were pulled from the packs…two at a time. Double your pleasure!

The first card is two cards, because i’m doubling your pleasure…remember? I LOVE landscape base cards. I think they are fantastic and would love to see more sets go this route…just for the fun of it, you know? The only problem is that they don’t look as great when put in a binder which is where these two islanders are going. HanRam, as some of you may know is one of my favorite players and along with Carl Crawford are the only two guys that I collect that haven’t played for the Yankees…yet. Wait until they are 35, then they will be in pinstripes. Apparently that’s what the Bronx Bombers do these days. Lose to the Orioles and sign old guys. The Chapman card is also fantastic, plus he’s Cuban…and I love Cuba…PLUS he’s throws really really hard and fast.

The next two cards are one of the reasons why people hate Topps. Although, I don’t think either one of these guys are SP cards they are still super gimmicky. Of the two, I would rather be Justin Ruggiano becuase it’s either water or that crazy clear Ice Gatorade or something…I have no idea, the card doesn’t explain what is being expelled on his shoulder. Anyone feel sorry for the sideline reporter on the Lombardozzi card? Me neither…

Alright, this is where is turn in to a singles hitter. That said, here is Derek Jeter. I love the Captain. And there is nothing wrong with that, just like there is nothing wrong with starting a sentence with and.

This is a cool card because it has Bryce Harper and the look of a child who got his hand caught in the cookie jar. Brian is the older brother that gets in trouble for not keeping a better eye on his little brother. Big Brother = Baltimore Orioles — Little Brother = Washington Nationals.

Here is one of the 73 different inserts that Topps likes to entice people to collect. I believe this is what they call an emerald card? Please correct me if i’m wrong, and if you are correct, I will send you this card. When scanned, it kind of looks like a forrest. David didn’t do so well in the Home Run Derby this evening…on his home turf, but neither did Robbie Cano donchaknow.

Another insert, similar to the The Greats inserts. Yes, I used The back to back. As far as i’m concerned, this card would be better if it were Rickey Henderson. Not to take anything away from the wizard, he was a phenomenal player, but when you have 73 inserts, it would be nice to get one of your favorite player, eh?

This rarely happens, but I pulled a box hit in one of my first two packs. This heavy ass ~~metal~~ mettle coin card of Adrian Gonzalez. I like this guy so much more now that his short stint with the Red Sox is over. Great player, great cards…but still heavy.

Box Break: 2013 Bowman

Posted by cardboard hogs on June 1, 2013

Bowman is one of those in between sets for me. Do I buy packs? A box and build the set? Pull my favorites out and part ways with the rest of them?

I’m not a prospector, but I love to pull some of the great rookies that I read about.

I don’t put together too many sets, but I love to buy packs and sometimes a box of cards that I enjoy openings packs of.

I like inserts, but too many of them become overwhelming.

Bowman has a way of providing a response to each of these contradictions in my collecting habits. When Topps brought back the Bowman cards in 1989, my friend Alex and I were all in. The cards were weird and big and didn’t fit well anywhere, but they were cool and had a Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card. Griff was the man in 1989 and his rookie cards were something every kid in America that collected cards wanted. I had them all, and loved the oversized Bowman version (after the Upper Deck version of course…) Although the cards weren’t that great. The photography was a little grainy at times and the overall design was weak…plus the stat on the back were quite confusing and took some getting used to. Either way I was going to collect this set…and all other versions that would come out in the future. That was, until 1992 rolled around. The card quality became significantly better and the rookie class was pretty stellar at the time (I still have my Raul Mondesi in a screw down holder, iknowright!). 1992 was also the time I began to realize I can’t collect everything…because I couldn’t afford it. So I never completed the set and ended up getting rid of my other sets from the previous years.

Fast forward to the future that is today. The card quality has improved exponentially and in relation to the other stuff that’s being issued, Bowman is quite affordable. I’ve purchased a box of these the past three years and took a bigger step this year and bought the jumbo pack box from Dave and Adam’s card world. Here is my review.

Card Design – 3 of 5

The overall design of the cards is quite simple, which I love.

No extra weird things going on here, just some simple graphics and all the basic information you need on a baseball card. I do like the subtle variation on the front of the card that differentiates the Bowman Prospects from the Major Leaguers. Bowman also carried this through as they do on the back of the card with the numbering and color of the card stock.

Photography – 3 of 5

The photographs are your typical action photos mixed in with awkwardly posed for photos of young men in uniforms. There are a lot of beards and facial hair in general around the world these days and the major league baseball franchise is no different. I’m thinking Panini needs to do a facial hair card set. Maybe Josh Reddick get the coveted #1 card?

Hits – 4 of 5

Like I said before, I’m no prospector. I simply don’t have the patience or wherewithal to invest in people I don’t know and Bowman counts on people doing this. That’s what makes this set so wonderful though. If you do pull a great auto of a young talented player or a refractor you have a nice piece of cardboard. If you don’t, well, you have something shiny to look at i guess. Another thing with the hits is that you have to wait a couple of years for these guys to pan out and get a year or two under their belts. Just because you are a top 100 prospect doesn’t mean you are going to be a star in the bigs. All that said, It’s nice to get the ‘First Bowman card’ of a potential star.

Another thing that i really enjoy about the Bowman cards and the young stars is the names of these kids. Damn.

Review

Bowman is always fun to open and the cards are always a very solid quality. I’m not sure if I will buy a jumbo box next year unless i plan to start building the sets again…but getting 32 cards in a pack is pretty cool.

The overall look and feel of the cards is great, nothing to complain about here, plus the price is right with Bowman, especially for what you get.

Mini’s are cool.

So are Flags…

and blue or maybe purple cards?

$13 BB Brett Gerritse Blue Refractor 60:250$ and who doesn’t love them some autographs!

$13 BB Yordano Ventura Refractor Auto 79:500$

Box Break: 2013 Topps Heritage

Posted by cardboard hogs on March 18, 2013

Have you ever had a hot box, or better yet, been hot boxed. Well, I was hot boxed over the weekend and it was wonderful. I saw blue refractors everywhere while listening to the Stones. There were giant heads and men shooting imaginary arrows after pulling ripe plantains out of their pants. Others were smiling, giggling and simply staring in to space…and I swear I saw a Marlin with photos taken before and after a clean shave. It was all magical, and now the trip is over…the flashback is now Monday night and I have a hangover.

Topps Heritage is a set that I LOVE putting together each year. I know a lot of folks out there are indifferent or hate it, but I really enjoy the set. I love that it’s set at a decent price. I also love that you can complete a base set with minimal headaches while managing to still eat lunch each day. I admit the SP’s and SSP’s are a little bit of a pain, but isn’t that what collectors really want? They can definitely come off as gimmicks, but they also represent the desire to chase and build sets. Part of my enjoyment with collecting cardboard is that I know I can’t have everything I want…even though I really want everything. To me, that is the joy in collecting. The chase. I have binders of the flagship Topps set with all the cards in their proper position. I have binder of Topps Heritage with huge chunks of cardboard missing. It’s infuriating at times but I can’t quit it. It’s like that girl in high school that talked to you enough to be a friend, but you just couldn’t get closer to her…it was the chase. You didn’t hate her for it, you knew deep down that nothing would ever happen, but it never stopped you from trying did it? That’s what I love about Heritage. I will never complete all the Heritage sets I’ve started, but I will try and will buy boxes to open packs to put in sleeves…that’s what I do. That’s why I collect.

To chase the un-obtainable.

Ok, I’ve been rambling a bit here tonight. Each year I buy a few boxes of Heritage throughout the year to build a full set with all the SP’s. This year I ordered my boxes in advance from Dave and Adam’s cardworld and have slowly started to open them. Just out of curiosity, I did something I’m a little embarrassed about. I weighed each box on a small digital scale my wife uses around the kitchen. I found three different sizes of the boxes 1lb 4 3/4oz, 1lb 5oz and 1lb 5 7/8oz. Hmmm. Think I’m going to open the heavy box first. Glad I did as it was what must have been a HOTBOX!

Holy Hot Rocks I’m Hot, so give up the props – just a little something from Redman to lead into the magical Blue Refractor imagery.

$12 TH Jeter Rivera Blue Refractor$

I also managed to pull an awkward looking Adam Jones Clubhouse Collection White Jersey Card.

Here is the archer/plantain man. Just watched him lock it down against the Netherlands. Any fans of the WBC out there? I’ve really been enjoying it this year, plus the Dominican Republic team is stacked like an all star team.

A young stoned Stones. This photo was taken before Keith Richards made his deal with whatever devil that allowed him to live to 150. Maybe he’s a vampire?

Lots of gigantic heads in the ’64 remake here. Wonder if that was the trend in the mid 60’s, to get right up in a man’s face and release the shutter? I’m not up on my camera lens history, but I imagine a lot of fixed lenses back then creating the up close shots. One of the many reasons I like Heritage is their attentiveness to focusing on the mimicked set. My one complaint about it would be the photos though. I think Topps could take easily use the same angles and focal lengths, but get sharper photos rather than attempting to copy the grainy old school photos. I know, I know…that’s the whole point of this set. I just think the technology of today shouldn’t be limited in order to duplicate what couldn’t be done 50 years ago.

I got a Heritage Suite card too, SSSP?

The thing I love about this card is these two guys look like a before and aftershave photo. Maybe Mr. Mattison can find a razor and trim that beast up a bit?

Nothing to hide.

This guy is WAY TOO INTENSE.

Card Design 3.5 of 5

This isn’t one of my favorite designs, it’s a little too simple for my liking. The backs are great and I think Topps has done a great job matching the original design and feel of the cards again.

Photography 3.5 of 5

The photography is what it is. They are matching what was done previously. Just think more can be done, especially with all the technology we have now.

Hits 3.5 of 5

Although this box was pretty dope, I can’t say that Heritage has great hits. They just don’t and that’s what has a lot of folks upset. That’s not my concern though. I like the Clubhouse Collection cards as simple and non-descript as they are, I think they work for this price point and set. The box toppers are only nice if you don’t get a panel. The panels are terrible because you can’t really do anything with them and nobody wants them…at least that I know.

Review

I have a long way to go to completing this set, but I am going to enjoy every minute of it regardless of what people think. I like the simple non glossy cardboard that is Heritage. It reminds me of the cards I collected as a kid, only better stock.

2013 Topps – Packs 7 and 8

Posted by cardboard hogs on February 19, 2013

I’m getting close to the bottom of this jumbo box. As usual, it’s taken thrice as long as i had expected, but i can finally see the end in sight. I’ve been a little lackadaisical in putting these things in their respective binder slots, but that will come in due time. I’d like to get these cards organized so I can stay on top of completing the set during the baseball season…rather than waiting until the ~~Super Bowl~~ Big Game to wrap it up. (sorry NFL, didn’t mean to infringe on your copyright restrictions)

Let’s get started on the 4th row of packs.

The first card just might be my favorite card of the year. At the very least it’s a front runner. Gotta love the looks on these drunken fools faces. Some have the look of panic like the blondie on the left and her overly tanned mom on the right. Although their fear may be due to the double barrel gun show reaching out from the card’s left border and Hawaiian shirt from the right. What about the guy, or girl…not really sure…with the black wife beater. I will call him/her Pat. Sorry if you are reading this blog. I mean no harm, just unsure and i don’t want to assume anything here, but I do love the joy on your face dear sir, or madam. Hey, what about that Pirates fan, he’s pretty stoked isn’t he? If Mr. Raburn could see the grief/joy he was about to bring to these fans he would think twice about catching the ball. My favorite though is the dude above the the glove in the stoner glasses. I really need to get outfield tickets this season and make some sweet ass faces for the cameraman. Anyway you call it, this card is awesome.

Don’t have much to say about the next two cards other than one guy had a great career and the other probably will. The Past and the Present. Manny looks like he’s going to be a super star for many years. My man Jeet is nearing the end of his career and i’m not sure he will get another ring, but he will always be a legend. Collecting his cards is one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life…there are exacting 50million cards and counting. I’ve decided to only buy the ones that i think look really cool. There are just too many to pick up.

Putting this Verlander card in because he got down with Kate Upton…allegedly…and that’s good enough for my book. It’s Kate Upton people, Kate Upton.

Didn’t Topps have enough of the sparkle cards last season? Didn’t we all hate them because simple sun flashes looked like SP starburst cards? Are they back? What the HELL is going on HERE!!!

This is what the Jayson Werth card should have looked like. How could they not have put Werth’s walkoff in game 4 on a card…unless i’ve missed it. Morse wasn’t too happy with the Nats offseason and he is now in Seattle. A place that has become baseball purgatory for a lot of player in recent years. They do appear to be building something nice through multiple trades and good drafting. There is a lot of young talent and Felix Hernandez is pretty nice with his.

You can never, ever, ever go wrong with a shiny Willie Mays, now can you. I am pretty fond of this card, although when i was scanning it I noticed it didn’t fit within the 2.5×3.5 box. It was slightly bigger, what does that mean? Was Willie Mays on some delayed growth hormones that have miraculously affected his glossy cards? Sorry, that was weak. Mays is one of those guys that i wish i could have seen play in his prime…if only one game. He was a true legend of the game and a phenomenal talent. I would love to have the cash to collect his vintage cards, maybe one day when architects are paid what I think we are worth.

I could be this guys dad, in fact i may be older than his dad…

last two packs on their way, betcha can’t wait!

2013 Topps – Packs 5 and 6

Posted by cardboard hogs on February 18, 2013

On to the next round of packs. I actually opened one at 11:58 and another at 12:03 over night, so i guess this counts as a pack a day…back on track, for now.

The first two cards are Yankees. I hadn’t posted any Yanks yet, so i thought i would get a start today and post two. These are actually the two most notable Yankees in the box so far, so that’s the main reason i hadn’t posted others. Anyways. I LOVE the Mariano Rivera card. Great shot and on a nice thick piece of card stock. It’s just slightly off center, but i guess these things happen when you are making hundreds of them. The border around the card looks like something you would pull in a higher end card pack, but i guess it is a jumbo pack? Overall, a very nice elegant design. The Reggie Jackson card on the other hand is a little weird. I love the design of these Calling Cards and have already pulled a couple good players, but the whole “Abs of Steel” thing is kind of off putting for me. Didn’t know he was that in to his abs but i guess doing 1200 sit ups a day will lead to an obsession. If i had the time to do something 1200 times a day, not sure it would be sit ups…just saying.

The next card is L.J. Hoes, only because of his name though. Hoes. It sounds like he has some talent as he won the Brooks Robinson Award for being the top player in the Orioles organization. My favorite part of his card is this line “It was a dream come true for Hoes…” That’s pretty fantastic. All the Hoes out there should be proud, and so should the G’z. (Snoop Dogg reference)

Next up, is the man that is ‘Next Up’, Jurickson Profar. I coached a little league team for 4 years when i first moved to Portland and I remember being excited to watch the Little League World Series and remember watching Profar play. I always wonder how many of those kids go on to play major league anything. Some 12 year olds peak at 12 and their glory days get behind them quickly. Profar as any MLB scout will tell you is the real deal and should be an everyday starter very soon if not on opening day. I guess technically he has Elvis Andrus blocking him at SS, but they may be moving him to second, or third…not really sure. Any Rangers fans out there that can help with this one?

Justin Upton is a phenomenal talent and I have always loved watching him play. I’ve gone back and forth on collecting his cards and keeping them for my PC. Ultimately deciding not to once he was traded to the Braves. I was really hoping the Yankees would make a move for him, but it just wasn’t meant to be. I think he is going to have a great year with his brother. Maybe the Braves can get that elusive second World Series title…it’s a long shot, but they have a really talented outfield.

These next two cards came in the jumbo pack just like this, in the same order. I thought it was pretty cool. Kind of like a two page flip book.

Lastly, the second hit of the box is an autograph of Wily Peralta from the Milwaukee Brewers. No idea who this guy is. As a quick side note, i stopped playing fantasy baseball about 2 years ago and have enjoyed all of the free time, but man, i have no idea who a lot of these guys are anymore. I used to do so much research on prospects and rookies. I would be able to tell you everything about this kid 3 years ago…but now I’m doing a card blog. I think i need to step up my research so i don’t keep saying “i have no idea who this guy is…” Very unprofessional. Back to the card. I love that it’s one of the ‘Chasing the Dream’ cards and a rookie, just wish the auto looked cleaner. No big deal though, hope he pans out. I seem to have gotten a Brewer heavy box.