Chasing Idols

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 16, 2021

We all have our idols, people we look up to as kids. We worship them. Not those important parental or educator types…the unattainable kind. Actors. Artists. Musicians. Entertainers. Athletes. Sometimes we grow out of that youthful infatuation and sometimes we hold them for our entire lives. It becomes an eternal adoration or idolization. For me, that person was Rickey Henderson. Yeah, he’s a love him / hate him kinda guy. He can be aloof and impersonal, distant and at times. Possibly even off-putting for some of those old school baseball folks that players should be less flashy and less self-aware. Rickey played to the beat of his own drum. He was the soloist in the Miles Davis quintet. A player that could make a team great, but by his own right was great as well. A singular character that played for some of the greatest Oakland Athletic teams in the 1990’s.

My initial attraction to him as a player was in 1982. I was six going on seven. He was headed towards 130 stolen bases. Stealing bases like he was put on earth to do just that…well, rattle the opposing teams pitcher as well…and I loved it. For me, that was IT! On the other hand, the baseball my father loved were the George Brett and Mike Schmidt kinda guys, phenomenal hitting third basemen that had a completely different way they approached the game of baseball…by no means bad at all…just different.

Around this time, I really began to love the game but didn’t have a favorite team. I grew up in San Antonio and really was not into the Astros with their sherbet rainbow pullovers or the players, short of Nolan Ryan. The other option I had as a kid in Texas was the Texas Rangers…yeah…NO. I had already fully established myself as a Washington Football Team (nee Redskins) fan and couldn’t attach myself to a Dallas area team of any kind. So, for the short time being I was a half-hearted A’s fan…really a Rickey Henderson fan, and he just so happened to play for the Oakland Athletics. This all changed in the Winter of 1984. He was traded to the New York Yankees. By this time, I’m a nine year old savant baseball fan…not really. I just watched games and bought baseball cards, but I loved the game so so so much before my first decade on earth. So, now it seemed like the perfect time to pick a ‘favorite’ team. Well, I might as well pick the team that my favorite player plays for, right? The New York Yankees. Yes. The Bronx Bombers or Evil Empire depending on whom you root for yourselves. I was a Rickey Henderson fan first and a Yankees fan second, but a close second, really it was 1A and 1B

By this time, my parents had split up and I was your typical latchkey ’80’s kid. The son of a single working mom. She attended night school working towards her bachelor’s degree. She worked a lot and we were ok financially, by no means set, but we were good. Well, not good enough to do anything we wanted to do, like take a trip somewhere fun and exciting. My mom knew this but she also knew how much baseball meant to me during the summer of ’87. She managed to purchase two seats for the New York Yankees vs. Texas Rangers in Arlington. Just a mere five hour drive to the north on I-35. That’s how far Rickey Henderson was from me. My idol. In my mind I was going to meet him and we were going to become great friends and I would write him and he would write me. I had it all planned out, you see. My mother reminded me that you should never meet your idols or those that you admire as they will underwhelm you. I wasn’t going for that. I wanted to get his autograph and tell him that he was my favorite player. Nobody in Texas could possibly be as big a fan as I was. I was his biggest fan in the biggest state…well the biggest state in the contiguous continent.

We headed up to Arlington early that Saturday morning for the five hour drive. South Texas is hot, but North Texas ain’t much better. The old 1984 Buick Skylark had marginal AC at it’s best and a strong tendency to overheat and breakdown on occasion. Guess what? It did just that. Broke down. On the side of the highway just north of Austin. Barely an hour outside of our home. That was it. I wasn’t going to see my favorite player on my favorite team play. I was dejected. Broken. On the verge of tears. Keep in mind, I was a kid that didn’t cry much, my expressions were released more physically and in a way that now embarrass me. My mom could see this and to her credit, she wasn’t letting this trip get away. After we found out from the local mechanic that we could ‘maybe’ make it to Arlington and back if we take it slow and constantly check the coolant in the engine we would be able to complete our road trip. And so, we did. I will never forget this act from my mother, she pressed forward when the smart thing was to turn back around and play it safe…she pressed forward. That five hour drive turned into a nearly 7 hour drive. We ended up going straight to the park, deciding to check into the Holiday Inn after the game. Arriving just in time for the first pitch. This wasn’t my first baseball game, but it was my first game outdoors, I had been to a few games in the Astrodome. This was different and it was AMAZING! The New York Yankees, THE NEW YORK FRICKIN’ YANKEES vs. the Rangers. We quickly made our way to the seats to watch Jose Guzman get Mattingly to ground out to first. I missed Rickey’s first at bat…damn.

Rickey came up three more times that night and ended up going 1-3 with a single. No stolen bases and a loss for the New York Yankees. Side note, this was also the last night Don Mattingly homered during his eight game consecutive streak. Knocking a dinger of Guzman in the 4^th inning. I got to see that and that was a great piece of history to be a part of.

The next night, July 19^th. Rickey doesn’t show up for pre-game warm ups. Rickey doesn’t have his name on the scoreboard. Rickey doesn’t play. Damn. We were headed back in the morning and I got to see my idol come to bat three times with one single and no stolen bases. Not to mention, this Sunday night, Mattingly goes homerless for the first time since July 8^th and the Yankees lose 3-20. I did get to see Rick Cerone pitch to Bobby Witt, with Witt almost taking him deep with a couple long foul balls.

I did manage to get a photo of Rickey at the game and here it is!

***

Apparently approaching players in the bullpen during a game for an autograph is a no-no. Charles Hudson was happy to let me know that was the case. The trip wasn’t a failure, but it was not a success either in my 11 year old mind.

Let’s fast forward to 1990. The Oakland Athletics are dominant, like one of the greatest of all time teams dominant. A true murderers row of sluggers and solid defense. My mom always coming through knew how amazing it would be for me to see Rickey once again. She knew he was my guy, the only player that I really ever cared this much about. She did it again. For my 15^th birthday, she got two tickets for the two games at the end of September. The last games of the season for both teams…well almost last games. We had tickets to the Saturday and Sunday games in Arlington. Same long hot drive, although less hot due to Fall all around us. Also, mom had a new car, a 1990 Corsica! Yeah! No need to stop and check the engine coolant, plus we were actually able to roll the windows down on this trip.

Our arrival this time allows us to check in to the hotel, get some food and head to the game for early BP. By this time I was a seasoned autograph hound and knew where to place myself for in-person autographs of players I wanted to sign. My mom hated this though, it meant we were in an incredibly uncomfortable hotbox of a stadium on a 90degree day. She had nothing better to do than to just sit in the stands and read a book while I grabbed the autos of my favorite players.

As I made my way to the lower bowl, I attempted to get McGwire autograph which was an absolute joke. He was swarmed and wasn’t even getting close to him. Canseco? Forget about it…Weiss signed. Lansford signed. The Eck even signed a few. The whole time I had my eye on Rickey. Rickey took batting practice. Rickey took in some sprints. Rickey untied his shoes. Rickey tied his shoes. Rickey walked around the batting cage. I’m standing off to the side just waiting, having given up on the other superstars. I wanted my superstars autograph.

Rickey had his head down. Rickey was walking to me. I was modestly shouting Mr. HENDER-SON. Rickey got close. My modesty turned to one of those Beatles fan-girl videos and I was just straight up shouting. RICKEY, RICKEY, RICKEY. Rickey looks up. Rickey sees me. Rickey walks towards me. Rickey gets closer. In seconds, I’m swarmed by other auto hounds…pushed aside by some adults that do not need to be here, but this is my chance. I am not going to fail. I am going to get this autograph. Rickey signs that guys card. Rickey signs that kids card. Then suddenly, Rickey signs my card. HOLY SHIT. I’m shaking…I got Rickey Henderson’s autograph during batting practice on September 29^th 1990 on a 1990 Donruss, number 304. Here it is.

***

This is the last autograph I’ve ever asked of someone in person or through the mail, I stopped doing TTM’s. I stopped getting to games early for batting practice autographs. It all stopped. I got the autograph I wanted. Rickey Henderson. Just wish I had a better pen…

-Cardboard Hogs

***

I’m your idol the highest title, numero uno…And now, a special presentation from Special Ed…He has a frog, a dog with a solid gold bone.

Sittin’ on Chrome

Posted by cardboard hogs on December 18, 2020

Retail is crazy man, insane really. I remember not that long ago when we would all laugh and joke about spending (read wasting) a Jackson on a blaster from Topps or Panini at your local Target or Wal-Mart. We would go as far as saying, I spent $20 bucks on cards from COMC or Sportlots or eBay and got a whole bunch of fill in the blanks that I needed for my PC!!! Yeah, I was one of those guys…but something happened.

What was it?

Greed?

FOMO?

COVID-19?

Social Media?

No. It was Gary Fuckin’ Vee!!!

Well, not really. It was a bit of all of those things…(side note, I have nothing against Gary Vee or what he has brought to the hobby, any interest in the hobby in my mind is a good thing) every one of those, plus more than what I mentioned. I’m sure of it.

Crazy times ya’ll.

So with retail evolving into sneaker heads land and lines waiting for new releases or limited editions of whatever’s new, my thirst for retail has grown. Grown more out of the FOMO category more than anything else, but also just enjoying a good cheap rip once in a while. I like to open cards. I would venture to say we all do, or at least the vast majority of us…I need to do a better job of not speaking for others…I never depended on anything from Target to build a collection around, just something that was inexpensive that I could open on a Tuesday night…fill some need for instant gratification…and go on with my life. A few years ago I began hording boxes. I’d buy a box or two but not open them, you know? Just buy them.

Saving them for a rainy day.

Saving them for a day that didn’t go as I had planned.

Saving them for a long week of work.

Saving them for something to write about on a blog I abandoned.

Saving them for something cool to break.

I could pick up blasters of cards that I’m not super interested in, but like to have just to get an idea of what they look like…I like design and I like sports, so sports cards fill both of those buckets for me…but also the rip factor.

That has obviously come to a screeching halt during the past six plus months, but I have still managed to accumulate a few tasty samples from Target and Wal-Mart as well as from my LCS’s Hoody’s and The Sports Room.

The first two locales for an acquisition are great because the’re based on MSRP…no ‘flippity flip flipper-life’ markups. There’s no LCS overhead cost markup or anything else that would make the box more than they should be. Trust me (you know this too), retail boxes should not be going for these nutso upticked prices.

…HAVE YOU SEEN WHAT PRIZM FOOTBALL IS GOING FOR ON EBAY, HOLY SMOKES!!!!…

The hobby shops are a bit of a different story, there’s a markup. The great folks over at Hoody’s though, didn’t do too much for this box of Topps Chrome 2020 I picked up a couple months ago. $35 for a $20 box. Nothing too egregious I guess…?

The packs are lovely aren’t they, Mr. Pete Alonso and some honeycomb corners for the exciting Sepia Refractor Pack. Let’s see if this was worth the $35!

Here are the results of the box and the ‘bonus sepia pack’

*****

PACK ONE

Joey Gallo and Bobby Bradley

AJ Puk ’85 Insert and Luis Urias

*****

PACK TWO

JD Martinez and Austin Nola

Robel Garcia Prism Refractor and Ian Desmond

*****

PACK THREE

Archie Bradley and George Springer

Jean Segura Refractor and Trevor Story

*****

PACK FOUR

Paul Goldschmidt and Lucas Giolito

Austin Riley ’85 Insert and Jose Altuve

*****

PACK FIVE

Freddie Freeman and Nicky Lopez

Dansby Swanson Refractor and Charlie Blackmon

*****

PACK SIX

Matt Olson and Rafael Devers

Mike Yastrzemski Future Stars and Michael Fulmer

*****

PACK SEVEN

Randy Arozarena and Kevin Newman

Babe Ruth Decade of Dominance Die-Cut and Sam Hilliard

*****

PACK EIGHT…THE SEPIA PACK!

Fernando Tatis Jr. Refractor

Aaron Civale Refractor

Orlando Arcia Refractor

Luis Arraez Refractor

*****

All this writing reminds me of one of my favorite all-time MC’s, MASTA ACE! Here’s Sittin’ on Chrome…the namesake for today’s post. Enjoy the jeep thumping mid-90’s bass heavy joint.

Opening Day…a couple of days late

Posted by cardboard hogs on April 5, 2017

The last few years i’ve taken the…sort of MLB opening day of Monday off. I already get Sundays off, so it’s not really necessary to take that day off. It’s Monday’s that i like to not be at work. Plus, who likes working on Monday’s. They tend to suck don’t they? Take ’em off i say. The only problem though was that i am drowning in a mess of a deadline at work…so that time could have been better spent working than watching baseball…but life goes on.

Normally, i take this time off to be with my kid, but he’s in school until 3pm and i saw that as a time in the day to open up some packs of cards from my local Target. Why Target and not my LCS…well, Brian was apparently out that day…he must have taken opening day off too.

I’m not typically a pack buyer or box buyer unless i plan on putting the set together, but i do like to pick up a pack or two of new releases. A couple reasons, it helps me replenish my team card lots as well as adds star cards to my personal collection…which unfortunately ends up living in a white box in my basement. Let’s take a look at what i picked up.

Just a couple of battery mates from the city by the bay. MadBum and Posey. Both of these cards are fantastic examples of how Panini should make cards with none…or at least very minimal photoshopping in order to get a proper non logo’d image. Plus some cool action photos

Next up is a couple of Longo cards that just so happened to be back to back in the fat pack of Donruss. Longoria was one of those guys that I had added to my PC a few years ago…but never really followed up on him. I kinda feel bad for the guy. He’s a great player on a mediocre team…they’re not bad, but playing in the AL East is tough…plus, not too much fan support in Tampa for their baseball team.

17 DO Andrew McCutchen

Cutch is a player that i’ve waffled on adding as a “guy i collect” but never seem to actually getting it done. Instead, i think i’ll just add this card to my non official collection of him…again, in the white basement box.

17 DO Gary Sanchez

Ok, this guy. Mr. Sanchez will most likely be a “guy i collect”. I’m already building up a little stack of his cards so far…would like to get an autograph of his at some point this year. I’ve never been overly fond of catchers though…cept for Posada of course!

17 DES Madison Bumgarner 96:249

Last card from the Donruss pack was this shimmery bit of sexiness. A Madison Bumgarner ‘The Elite Series’ serial numbered card of 96/249. It was the only hit of the day for me…very nice though.

Next up was a few packs of Gypsy Queen. GQ is something that i get excited about each year, but never really seem to get that much in to the set. I saw a few samples on the other blogs and was quite impressed with the cards this year though. My trip to Target yielded single packs only. I had high hopes of getting a blaster, but that wasn’t in the cards for me…so i had marginal expectations for the packs i picked up and was definitely not let down…or lifted up? Pretty cool to get a couple Bronx Baby Bombers though.

Rizzo, because he’s a champion of the world with the Cubbies. Also, JaCoby Jones…not the receiver from Super Bowl fame, but JaCoby Jones that appears to be doing something that should not be done on a baseball card, but maybe i’m just a perv…

17 GQ Trea Turner

Trea Turner. I watched the Nets game Monday morning and couldn’t get over how smooth Trea seemed out at short. He’s quite the talent at such a young age and he rocks the 7 like he owns it. Can’t wait to see what kind of player he becomes.

When i first saw this card, i thought it was some kind of error card. NO WORDS! I’m rich!! Well actually it’s an introduction card from last season of a clean shaven Evan. Maybe he’s working to get back in my PC box.

17 TOD Adrian Beltre

Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus are buddies and should totally make a buddy cop movie.

17 TOD Elvis Andrus

A former Nat in a Sox Jersey. Not sure Adam Eaton was worth giving up on Giolito…but Rizzo is a better baseball GM than i am and so maybe i should just trust the process and see what Eaton can do this season.

Now, Topps Opening Day is not something i buy much of if at all. Just not really in to the cards. I wish they would do something different with the cards rather than just copy the base design…but, it’s a cool and inexpensive little set each year that i like to get a few packs from.

17 TOD Trea Turner

Last card of note is Turner again. A nice kitchen mitten action photo. That’s how i look chasing my kid when he takes the spatula from the kitchen when i’m making fried eggs on sundays.

So that wraps it up for me tonight. Deadline wraps up next week…not sure i’ma make it but there’s always another deadline…Oh yeah. One odd story. At the end of last year, i received an email which i initially though was just some spam email. Turns out it was legit. Someone from a book publisher had reached out to me as they came across an image from my blog a few years ago (2013 no less!). They wanted a copy of an image i did not produce, but scanned and wrote about…as we all do. The image they wanted was the one shown below. Adam Dunn’s 2013 Topps Series 2 card #647.

Baseball Meat Market

I was slightly confused because…it’s not an original image of mine, just a scanned one. I was concerned about sharing the image, but figured it wasn’t in my court…it was their book. Nevertheless, the book is out and i read through a couple pages and it’s quite a fascinating take on some of the biggest, recent trades and how each team benefited or not from the deals. Kind of excited to read a little more soon…plus an “image of mine” has been published…not really, but you know what i mean…

Today’s music video is brought to you by Evidence from Dilated Peoples. It’s a great one!!!

Bowman and Snowman

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 10, 2017

So, it’s snowing again. This time though, it’s a little different. I have a feeling this one is gonna be a little more than what we’ve had recently. I left work today at 5pm when it started snowing and got home around 6pm…and it hasn’t stopped snowing. Really hate snow right now…but i’m going to make the most of it and act like a 9 year old boy tomorrow morning, assuming of course that my back will cooperate.

Luckily i have some scanned cards of this years Bowman Chrome. They were a bit of an impulse purchase from Brian at the ‘ol LCS down the street. But i truly enjoyed opening the mini boxes in the shop. I don’t typically do it that way because i’m shy. Normally i like to be in the safety of my humble abode. I thought this time though, opening the box in front of the watchful eyes of a man that opens a ton of boxes would lead to some great hits…in order to save us all some time, i’m just show you my hits.

…but first…Sooz had a card chat Tuesday discussing where (and why) people buy their cards. One of the questions “How much do you buy retail compared to hobby” was a great one for me because over the past couple of years my retail luck has been terrible…horrible actually. I rarely get a hit, not much to write about at least…no John Smotlz, you know. But my last retail stop at Target (before the holidays) i pulled this beauty! Aaron Northcraft 1st Bowman Autograph! On a Sticker!!! Yes, there is a bit of sarcasm there, but also, there isn’t sarcasm. Actually, this is one of the best “hits” i’ve ever received from a Target pack or box in a really long time. So, i’m not complaining. I’m just saying. The card is pretty sharp, the high leg kick. Intense look on the face and that sweet sweet beard. Just wish it wasn’t a sticker auto, but hey, it’s retail and i’m quite happy with this potential momentum shift of hits.

16-br-aaron-northcraft-232250-auto

Lets get back on track now. I’m a man of order over chaos. Uniformity over randomness. Rigidity over flexibility…actually, that’s my dad, not me. I’m right in the middle of all those antonyms. That said, i am posting the cards in the order in which they were pulled so you can share in the moment that Brian and i had a few weeks ago.

16-bc-blake-snell-96499-auto

First on card autograph is from Blake Snell. The young Rays pitching prospect has seen a few big league hitters in his 19 career games started and appears to have a somewhat bright future in the majors. Although not stellar, he has shown some early strikeout potential with 9.9 K/9 in his first year. No idea what his future holds, but if I start to hear his name mentioned more frequently next year, i’ll check him out.

16-bc-connor-sadzeck-auto

Next card, another pitcher. Connor Sadzeck, pronounced \sad-ZECK\, not sad sack…which would describe the scribble autograph on his 1st Bowman card. If I was a future prospect i think i would spend some time working on my sig…but to be honest i don’t know how you write all those odd letters together. the D, Z and E alone are tricky. Connor is tall as hell, 6′ 7″ and was drafted in 2010 and then again in 2011. Doing some quick research on Lone Star Ball, he sounds like he may be someone to watch this season…so watch him, this season if you’re in to the Rangers.

16-bc-cornelius-randolph-auto

Cornelius Randolph is the next player. He hits balls rather than tosses them. This card is a bit outdated at this point. He’s now a Washington National, which is cool because i like the Nationals. He’s also the first hitter from the group i’ve pulled. I don’t do much prospecting with baseball players, but when i do, i prefer hitters. Feel like they have a better option with succeeding. There’s no real basis with that theory, it’s just some illogical conclusion i’ve come up with through the years. Pitchers get injured too easily.

16-bc-victor-alcantara-195499-auto

Back to the pitcher autographs. Victor Alcantara. A 23 year old prospect from the DR. Really excited about this autograph. I took a peek at his scouting report on Inside the Halos and he sounds like a true stud pitcher, possibly a bullpen guy, maybe a potential closer?

16-bc-willie-calhoun-auto

Last card, Willie Calhoun from the LA Dodgers. A second baseman ranked #11 in the Dodgers organization going in to last season and was part of the futures game as well. He looks to have some pop in his bat as he tagged 27 home runs last year, his OPS is a respectable .788 as well. Not sure if he has a chance to make the Dodgers roster this season, but i’ll keep an eye on him in Spring Training.

Thanks for reading!

Tonight I watched President Barack Obama’s farewell speech and there were moments that made me realize how proud i was to be in our country. It’s far from perfect and we have a lot of issues to deal with throughout the nation, but it’s a pretty great place to be if you ask me. I’m gonna enjoy a snow storm with my family tomorrow and cherish the moments with my beautiful wife and mischevious boy…if you have people you love and care about, you should let them know and give them a hug.

Mile High Hogs

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 2, 2017

When i travel to a new destination I like to pick up a few packs or a blaster from the local Target or Wal-Mart. It’s kind of a souvenir. A souvenir that matters to me and hand a greater level of value than a cheesy shirt (although i love an odd shirt now and again…). The cards serve as a little reminder of the town I was in, an artifact from a past vacation. In the past, the trips have been via automobile and the cards were a little easier to handle since i could always see where they were and keep them safe and sound. The last couple of trips though have been via airplane…the friendly skies! When traveling, i’m always concerned about the safety and security of the cards and tend to open them up when i get home. Not this time though, i wanted to join the mile high club! Well, i wanted my cards to join the mile high club…of sorts. So i did it on a plane earlier this week!

16-bp-packs

Since we card people don’t like damaged cards, getting these guys on the plane safely was a bit of an emotional journey for me. Going through security and boarding a plane is difficult enough! My first concern was the lovely TSA folks that can be a little handsy with people and peoples stuff. The only thing worse than the disinterested cashier man-handling (woman-handling…? person-handling…?) the cards and dropping them 18″ to the bottom of a plastic bag is definitely getting them through TSA. They pick up bags and boldly ask “THIS RED ONE YOURS SIR!”, why, yes. The red bag that i was about to grab is mine…definitely my bag. The surly looks that follow…them, not me…i’m nice. Half the battle has been fought, but the war has not been won. I still need to get these unprotected packs boarded and loaded on a flying tube with an ever increasing shortage of personal stowing space. Done deal. Packs located gently on my fold away tray until i am told to hide my fold away tray. See the photo above (and now below) that was after we reached our cruising altitude…so no foul there although my phone was not in airplane mode.

16-bp-packs-2

Normally when i’m opening a pack of cards i like to have space to lay them out and sort them as i go through the cards. Kinda particular about those sorts of things, you know. It’s nice to have a little layout space and a clean surface to boot. In hindsight this plan would have been better if i had a more sturdy box to put them in afterwards. Enough with the long winded build up. Here is what was pulled.

Tyler Glasnow – Pittsburgh Pirates | Alex Bergman – Houston Astros

Dee Gordon – Miami Marlins | Cole Hamels – Texas Rangers

Brian McCann – New York Yankees | Tyler White – Houston Astros

Kenta Maeda – Los Angeles Dodgers | Gleyber Torres – New York Yankees

Javier Guerra – San Diego Padres | Jorge Mateo – New York Yankees

Kolby Allard – Atlanta Braves | Lucius Fox – San Francisco Giants

Not a bad pack, no real jaw droppers. I do like the three Yankee cards and the Alex Bergman is nice as well as the Maeda card. They all have a nice little shine to them as well. My wife, sitting in the miserable middle seat (love ya babe!) was particularly fascinated by the shiny-ness of these cards which the cabin lighting made a little extra sexy! Here’s pack two!

JP Crawford – Philadelphia Phillies | Austin Meadows – Pittsburgh Pirates

Raul Mondesi Jr. – Kansas City Royals | Byron Buxton – Minnesota Twins

Eddie Rosario – Minnesota Twins | Joey Votto – Cincinnati Reds

Matt Carpenter – St. Louis Cardinals | Billy McKinney – Chicago Cubs

Tyler O’Neill – Seattle Mariners | Conner Greene – Toronto Blue Jays

Brady Aiken – Cleveland Indians | Francis Martes – Houston Astros

Each of the cards made it home safe and sound, no dings, no dents, no errors. Twenty Four shiny cards to sit and wait on now…will they become stars or not…!

So there you go. That was the very first time i’ve ever busted a pack on a plane, in the air above the United States of America. Hope you enjoyed the show!

***BIG PIMPIN***

Now it’s time to do some contest pimpin’ for Collector’s Crack and his annual NFL playoff contest!

Almost the Easiest Super Bowl Contest on the Web

Since i don’t have to deal with the emotions of having my team in it this year, i’m free to pick a SB matchup that will hopefully be closer to reality…and so should you! So, hit that link and sign up! But first, in honor of CB’s contest i thought i’d post a couple of videos in line with all the pimpin’. First is one of my favorite UGK songs and the other is an interesting documentary on Pimp C that i haven’t quite gotten through yet. It’s by Mass Appeal, so you can’t really go wrong though.

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.

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!

$13 BB Yordano Ventura Refractor Auto 79:500$

My GQ Post

Posted by cardboard hogs on April 10, 2013

Each year when Gypsy Queen comes out, I get a little excited about the cards…but it’s always tempered. I think the cards look great and the photography is really nice, but i don’t love them. Don’t hate them either. Kind of indifferent I guess. My annual buy in is maybe a few hobby and retail packs, possibly a blaster or two from target, but that’s about it. I think my aversion to the cards is the lack of statistical information on the back…or it could be the overly ornate border? As an architect, i’ve been trained to have a dislike for ornament and decoration so i guess that has carried in to my hobbies as well. The celtic-like border is nice, just not my cup of tea.

One thing that i really do like about GQ is the inclusion of age old veterans in the base set. Topps does a nice job with these and making them blend in nicely with the other modern players. Rarely do the players appear dated and they are never irrelevant to current collectors. PLUS, i always think it’s great to include HOF’ers and past great players so the young kids can learn a little history about the game and have a card from someone their parents or grandparents enjoyed watching play.

I also do enjoy the inserts that GQ comes up with. The two cards below are a great example of this. It’s nice to have the a highlight reel play represented on a card. We all remember the Trout catch last season as it was shown incessantly on the MLB network as well as the mothership.

Mini’s. Can’t go wrong with minis and you can’t go wrong with these two guys. One thing i enjoy about the mini cards is that i can put them at my desk at the office for a little while to enjoy the new pieces of cardboard. How great was Eddie Mathews? When people talk about the all time greats, i feel like he is always forgotten. Imagine if he played in New York how much more popular he would be? And just look at Lou Brock…chillin…total GQ pose…the other one.

Not overly excited about these inserts, but both pitchers are/were pretty great and the photos capture their intensity well.

Here is a ‘hit’ from the rack pack i bought. It’s Jacoby Ellsbury. He’s pretty big here in Portland since he played at Oregon State and from Madras…but he’s a Red Sock, so i’m not too excited about him…he is pretty great though. Love that they mention how great a player he is when he’s healthy.

And the best has been saved for the very last. Mr. Cano donchaknow. Pretty cool to get the base and a retail white border card in the same rack pack of a player you collect. Wonder why Topps removed teh vertical portion of the elegant border on the left and right sides as well as the name panel on the bottom?

Heritage Box Break Update

Posted by cardboard hogs on March 24, 2013

So I finished breaking the boxes of Heritage last night while watching ESPN’s 30 for 30 on Jimmy V and the 1983 NC State team. If you haven’t watched it yet, you really should. I’m one of those people that can’t get in to much of what ESPN does and haven’t watched Sportscenter since Olbermann was pushed out. I feel like their programming is only slightly above MTV these days. The guys at Grantland and Bill Simmons have done a phenomenal job on the 30 for 30 series though and i never miss an episode, including the shorts on the Grantland site. Opening packs of cards and watching sports on TV way past your bedtime is a little treat for me these days. Our 6 month old boy is really moving around a lot these days and requires a ton of attention and love during the daytime hours. I have no problem doing, but it’s nice to have a break at night. PLUS i have an amazing wife who gives our son tons of love and unfortunately is tasked with the onerous responsibility of getting him to sleep at night.

As i mentioned in the initial review post of this years Heritage, i am a big fan of this set and love putting it together each year. In the past couple of years, Heritage has fallen out of favor due overproduction and too many SP’s which makes getting the base cards somewhat easy but difficult to complete the whole set. The boxes i opened were pretty nice and i noticed quite a bit of SP’s that i may post in the future, but i wanted to show off the hits that really caught my eye. I’ve heard that Heritage was going to add more autograph hits this year and i was lucky enough to pull 4 in the boxes i had. Not only did i get 4 cards, but i got a good haul of quality players. Nothing jaw dropping, but nice cards no less.

And there they are…

The first one is David Freese, and he looks as if he is about to get his DMV photo taken.

Next, Mr. Paul Goldschmidt of the Arizona Diamondbacks. When i was looking at graduate schools i was trying to decide between the University of Oregon and Arizona State. This was around the time the D’backs won the World Series and i thought it would be great to live in a major league city, but just couldn’t deal with living in a dessert since i grew up in hot, humid San Antonio for so many years. So i chose Oregon. Had i chosen ASU, i would probably be a D’backs fan and be super excited about this card. But, i am only excited. He is one of the young up and coming stars and could be a big home run guy in the future.

Next was Lance Lynn. My second Cardinal. Honestly, i would have missed this card were it not for the hand numbered 43/64 in the top right. The red ink auto pretty much disappears into his glove and with my color deficiencies, i can barely make out the Topps Certified Autograph Issue on the name stripe at the bottom. This could have been done better Topps.

The last autograph is pretty awesome. Maury Wills. The auto is nice and placed in a great spot on the card. You can tell this was done by a professional, someone who has signed a million autos in his lifetime. This autograph is actually a long time coming for me. I believe in 1989 i went to a show in Austin, TX where he was supposed to be signing autographs for a small fee. This was around the same time when i was doing the through the mail autos and thought it would be great to get a veteran player added to my collection…but he never showed up. I was pretty upset, not Sheldon Cooper vs. Wil Wheaton upset, but upset no less. I had an 8×10 and baseball all ready for him to sign. I never found out why he didn’t show up, but attempted to mail the baseball to him a few months later and never recieved anything. Chalked to experience up as a failure and moved on with my life. Now we have come full circle.

The next few cards are the annual jersey cards from the Clubhouse Collection series. There were significantly less cards that i pulled than in years past. Which i am ok with as these cards seem to be uninspired and a little boring. Here’s hoping Topps does something different with these next year and maybe does larger swatches or better photos? I don’t know, but something different would be great.

that’s all, thanks.

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.