1998 Topps Diamondbacks Parallels For Trade

Several years ago I came across a 1998 Topps set in a binder at a card shop here in the Phoenix area for $10. I needed the set, so I picked it up. It happened to be the Diamondbacks parallel set. I was thrilled. $10 for a complete set...in a binder. Hard to beat that. But it get's better. Nearly half of each of the pockets had two cards in them. So I didn't quite get two sets, but close. Most of the big stars only had one card, but I have a nice stack available if you are interested in this particular parallel.

I recently came across these cards again and so I pulled a couple of the cards for my player collections.

If you have a certain player (again, most superstar players are not available) or certain teams that you are interested, let me know.

There are all different types of card collectors. Some of us are team collectors. Some people collect the hot   rookies or just Hall of Famers. Other collectors are player collectors collect anything and everything related to one particular player. Many of us are set collectors. Most of us in the blogging world collect a little bit of everything. Okay, a lot of everything. For example, I collect the Diamondbacks, although I have slowed down a bit in this area. I don't really chase the hot rookie because I don't buy a ton of packs, but I did buy some Topps Series II earlier this year hoping to pull the Luis Robert rookie card, so maybe there is some of that in me. I do love picking up cards of Hall of Fame players, especially their rookie cards. I am a player collector as well. My problem is that I collect more than one player. Couple that with the fact that I collect everything else and it doesn't leave the necessary resources to be a Super Collector of any one particular player. I also collect sets. My primary set focus is on Topps base sets from 1981 - present. 1981 because that is the year I was born. I only recall having one factory set when I was a kid. My parents got my a 1991 Bowman factory set for Christmas. Most of my set collecting as a youngster was the result of buying boxes or packs. Most of the time though, that would result in lots of duplicates and I'd still be missing a handful of cards. As an adult, when decided to collect the 1981 - present Topps sets, I just bought the majority of the as complete sets. It's much more cost efficient that way. In fact, I just used a 25% off one toy coupon through the Target app to get a 2020 Topps set. I still need several fairly recent Topps sets.

2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2018 

I am currently working on a few vintage Topps sets. 1970, 1971, and 1973. Recently Bo, of the blog Baseball Cards Come to Life, and I worked out a trade and he sent me some cards I need for my 1970 and 1971 sets. Thank you Bo!

Bo advised me ahead of time that some of the cards were "well loved", some with writing on them. That's okay with me, especially for the 1970 set because the starter set that I ended up with and the dups that came with it are not in great shape either, so these go nicely with them.

Check out some of the names that Bo sent. Wes Parker is up first at card #5. Wes has a great story and is arguably the best fielding first baseman of all-time. He is really underrated in my book and I am actually looking to collect all of his Topps cards. Similar to what I did with Reggie Jackson and Thurman Munson and what I'm attempting to do with Hank Aaron and Nolan Ryan.

Bo included a couple of checklists and surprisingly both of them are unscathed, without a single check on them. There were also several dual rookie cards in the bunch; most notably the Vida Blue rookie card! Also included were several league leader cards featuring the likes of Rod Carew, Harmon Killabrew, Reggie Jackson, and Tom Seaver. 

There were some other cards of recognizable names like Jim Kaat, Manny Mota, Al Oliver, and Tommy John.

As Bo indicated, some of the cards featured some writing on them. Some of them include the players number, like this Curt Matton card.

Others include both a jersey number and an alternate position, like this Jim Hart card.

I'm actually a little jealous of the kid that did this back in 1970. At least I'm going to assume it was a kid and it happened back in 1970.

Digging through dime boxes

This past Saturday my youngest had a baseball game that ended up being fairly close to one of the card shops that I frequent, so I convinced the family to make a quick detour afterwords. I didn't have a ton of time, but I was able to look through the dime box and the quarter, 50 cent, and $1 cases. I picked some dime cards, a few quarter cards and one 50 cent card. I spent $4 total. Take a look at what I got.

When it comes to these kinds of purchases, I expect that I will end up purchasing some dups. It's one of the casualties of not having good lists. Let's see how I did.

With the Griffey being a silver signature parallel, I actually needed both of these.

Next up are 8 different Time Salmon cards. I needed all of these as well. So far I am 10 for 10.

Four Donnie Baseball cards and I needed all of them for my Mattingly collection. I already had the Post card but that is for part of that set, so this one made its way into my Player Collection binder. 14 for 14.

Next up are three cards for my relatively new Bonds 762 quest. I ended up needing only 1 of the 3. 15 out of 17 is still not bad.

I couldn't pass up these Hot Shots for the price. I did pass on the Bonds and Nolan Ryan at $1 each from the set though.

Next up was the complete 1989 Fleer For the Record set. I've mentioned that I'm working on a Fleer binder with representation from all the various Fleer sets. This includes various inserts and so this pick up was perfect for the price.

Finally, a little vintage. A 1960 Topps Herb Score, 1974 Topps Reggie Jackson/Billy Williams All Star card with a bunch of creases and a 1981 Topps Coca-Cola Kent Tekulve.

So what card do you think I paid 50 cents for?

Quest for 762 Barry Bonds Cards

I've had several people ask about a list of Barry Bonds cards that I have for trading purposes and up to this point I haven't had one, but here goes. One of the things that happened as I went through the binder to make this list is that I came across several dups and removed them. I think there were 3. So as of my writing this on 10/25/20 I am at 393 unique Barry Bonds cards. *Update* as of 4/16/22 I am at 772 and am finished!

1987

Donruss #361

Fleer Baseball's Hottest Stars

Topps #320

Topps All-Star

Topps Sticker w/ Neil Allen

1988

Donruss

Leaf

O-Pee-Chee

Score

Score Young Superstar

Sportflics

Topps Mini #5

Topps #450 

Topps Pirates Leaders #231

Topps Mini

1989

Bowman #426

Classic

Donruss #92

Fleer #202

Topps #620

Topps Super Star Stickers #46

Topps Ames 20/20 Club

Score

Upper Deck

1990

Bowman

Classic #T68

Donruss

Fleer

Score

Score Super Star

Star - 1985 Season #9 of 11

Topps

Topps Leaders mini #70

Upper Deck

U.S. Playing Card Major League All-Stars King

1991

Bowman #380

Bowman #513

Classic T78

Collect-A-Book

Donruss Diamond King

Donruss

Donruss Award Winner

Fleer

Fleer with Griffey Jr.

Fleer Pro Vision from Factory Set #1 of 4

Foot Locker #3 of 10

O-Pee-Chee

Panini Sticker #20

Panini Sticker #105

Post

Post Canadian #5 of 30

Score

Score All-Star #668

Score MVP

Score The Franchise

Stadium Club

Stadium Club Charter Member

Studio

Topps #570

Topps All-Star

Topps Micro

Upper Deck

Upper Deck Pirates Checklist

Upper Deck Silver Slugger #SS5

Ultra #275

Ultra Great Performances #391

Ultra Ultra Stars

Woolworth #1

1992

Bowman Gold Foil

Donruss #243

Fleer

Fleer All-Stars

French's with Kirby Puckett #7

Jimmy Dean

Legends Sports Memorabilia

O-Pee-Chee 

Pinnacle

Score

Score All-Star #777

Score 90's Impact Player #55

Score P&G All-Star 15/18

Stadium Club #620

Stadium Club Member's Choice

Studio #82

Topps #380

Topps Gold #380

Topps All-Star

Topps All-Star Gold

Ultra #251

Ultra All-Stars

Upper Deck

Upper Deck Diamond Skills Checklist

Upper Deck Diamond Skills

Upper Deck Home Run Heroes #HR21

1993

Bowman

Collector's Choice Checklist

Collector's Choice Checklist Silver Signature

Donruss #678

Donruss MVP #MVP-25

Fleer

Fleer Atlantic Collector's Edition #2 of 25

Fleer Round Trippers #350

Fleer All-Stars

Flair #138

Leaf #269

O-Pee-Chee #1

Pinnacle #504

Post #15 of 30

Score 

Score Most Valuable Player

Score Select

Score Select Runs Scored Leaders

Score Select On-Base % Leaders

Stadium Club #51

Stadium Club #684

Stadium Club Member's Choice #747

Studio #12

Topps #2

Topps Gold #2

Topps All-Star #407

Topps All-Star Gold #407

Topps Black Gold

Ultra

Ultra Award Winners #24

Ultra Homerun King #6

Upper Deck

Upper Deck Checklist

Upper Deck Award Winners

Upper Deck Team Stars Checklist

Upper Deck Team Stars Giants

Upper Deck Future Heroes #56 of 63

Upper Deck Triple Crown Contenders #TC1

Upper Deck Fun Packs

Upper Deck Homerun Heroes

U.S. Playing Cards Baseball Aces 10 of Clubs

1994

Collector's Choice #610

Collector's Choice Silver Signature #610

Collector's Choice Home Run All-Stars #HA3

Collector's Choice Up Close & Personal

Collector's Choice All-Stars Silver Signature

Collector's Choice Team Checklist

Collector's Choice Fantasy Team Silver Signature

Collector's Choice You Crash the Game w/ Griffey

Denny's #6

Donruss Special Edition #69

Fleer #684

Fleer Lumber Company

Fleer National League RBI Leaders #8

Leaf 94 Leaf Gamers #8 of 12

O-Pee-Chee

Pinnacle Hardball Heroes #260

Pinnacle The Naturals

Post Cereal #11 of 30

Score

Score National League MVP Gold Rush #632

Select #211

Stadium Club Dugout Dirt Gold Parallel 6 of 12

Stadium Club NL West Home Run Leaders

Stadium Club HR Club

Topps #700

Topps Measures of Greatness

Topps All-Stars

Topps Black Gold

Topps Classic Confrontations

Ultra #286

Ultra Award Winners

Upper Deck #400

Upper Deck Fun Pack Checklist Silver Signature #237

Upper Deck Fun Pack What's the Call?

Upper Deck Top Performers Home Run Champions

Upper Deck Top Performers Most Valuable Player

U.S. Playin Cards Baseball Aces Ace of Clubs

U.S. Playing Cards Baseball Aces Jack of Aces

1995

Baseball Aces 4 of Hearts

Baseball Aces 10 of Clubs

Classic Games serial numbered 2819/4495

Classic 5 Sport #193

Classic 5 Sport Signature #S93

Collector's Choice Best of the 90's #60

Collector's Choice 5 Time Gold Glove Winner #82

Collector's Choice Traditional Threads

Collector's Choice You Crash the Game June 28

Collector's Choice Special Edition All-Star # 105

Donruss Dominators

Donruss Bomb Squad

Emotion #192

Fleer Diamond Tribute

Fleer Headlines #3 of 20

Flair 207

Flair Outfield Power

Leaf #279

Leaf Great Gloves #3

Topps

Topps All-Star

Topps Chrome #7

Pinnacle Swing Men

Pinnacle Zenith Edition #5

Select Certified Edition Checklist #6of7

Score

Score Hall of Gold #HG 16

Score Hitters Inc.

Score Big Bats

Score Summit Edition Bat Speed #179

SP #115

Sportflix #53

Sportflix Checklist #170

Sportflix Cyclone Squad #CS5

Upper Deck #335

Upper Deck Midpoint Analysis #103

Ultra #442

Ultra All-Stars #5 of 20

Ultra Prime Leather

Ultra Home Run King

Ultra All-Stars

Ultra On-Base Leaders

Ultra RBI Kings

1996

Classic Assets #4

Collector's Choice #225

Collector's Choice Team Checklist

Collector's Choice You Crash the Game July 22-24

Collector's Choice You Crash the Game June 27-30

Donruss Checklist 300 Career Home Runs #269

E-XL Defense

Finest Intimidators #146

Leaf #78

Leaf Preferred #94

Metal #241

Pinnacle

Pinnacle Hardball Heroes #260

Pinnacle The Naturals #148

Pinnacle Zenith #29

Pinnacle Zenith Honor Roll #144

Score #340

Score Board All Sport PPF #94

Select #101

Select Team Nucleus #18 of 28

Sp-X

Stadium Club Top Rated Extreme Player

Topps Classic Confrontations

Topps Chrome #116

Topps Road Warriors

Ultra On-Base Leaders

Ultra Prime Leather

Ultra Rawhide #2 of 10

Upper Deck #195

Upper Deck Season Highlights #215

Upper Deck Defensive Gems #152

Upper Deck Best of a Generation

Upper Deck Hot Commodities #HC12

Upper Deck Retail Predictor N.L. Monthly Home Run Leader

Upper Deck Run Producers #RP3

1997

Bowman #225

Bowman's Best

Bowman Chrome #69

Circa #25

Collector's Choice All-Star #225

Collector's Choice Big Shots #14 of 19

Collector's Choice Stick Um's #15

Collector's Choice The Big Show #40/45

Donruss #167

Donruss Elite #16

Donruss Interleague Showdown #438

Flair Showcase Row 2 Section 1 Seat 25

Fleer Encore #698

Fleer Goudy 1 of 15

Fleer Million Dollar Moments

Leaf #65

Metal #242

Pacific Collection #GD-213

Pinnacle Aura #192

Pinnacle Hit it Here #5 of 10

Pinnacle East meets West

Pinnacle Inside #60

Pinnacle Xpress #30

Topps Instavision

Topps '96 Season Highlights

Score #91

Score Goin' Yard #504

Score Goin' Yard #504 Hobby Reserve

Score Board

Score Board # - 6th Overall Selection -1985 #D11

Score Board Vision Signings #1

SP #160

Sports Illustrated #169

Stadium Club #15

Topps 1st Team All-Stars '96 #AS12

Ultra RBI Kings

Ultra Top 30 #22 of 30

Upper Deck 170

Upper Deck #144

Upper Deck Season Highlights Checklist #323

Upper Deck Star Attractions

1998

Aurora #40

Aurora #195

Bowman

Bowman's Best #3

Bowman International #225

Donruss Checklist

Donruss Playstation MLB 99

EX 2001

Fleer SI Legends of Today

Flair Showtime Sec 2 Row 2 Seat 36

Fleer Tradition Unforgettable Moments #577

Fleer Sports Illustrated Then and Now Art of the Game #8 of 8 AG

Leaf Rookies & Stars

Leaf Rookies & Stars Great American Heroes #14 of 20

Leaf Rookies & Stars Team Lineup Card

Leaf Rookies & Stars Power Tools

Pacific

Pacific Collection Team Checklist

Pacific Omega #209

Pinnacle #57

Pinnacle All-Star

Pinnacle Inside

Pinnacle Performers

Pinnacle Field of Vision

Score

Skybox Dugout Access

Skybox Dugout Access Double Header

Skybox Dugout Access Airlnes Frequent Flyer

SpX #125

SpX #164

Topps #317

Topps Lords of the Diamond

Topps Stars #145 /9799

Thunder #75

UD3 Power Corps #PC25

Ultra Gold Medallion #50G

Ultra Top 30 #1 of 30 T3

Upper Deck Emiinent Prestige

Upper Deck 10th Anniversary Decade of Dominance

1999

Aurora

Black Diamond Die-Cut #R73

Bowman

Collector's Choice

Collector's Choice Starquest Green

Donruss

Flair Row 3 Seat 25

Fleer Metal #89

Fleer Metal MLPD

Fleer Metal Caught on the Fly

HoloGrFx Launchers #L13

Omega #210

Pacific #378 (batting)

Pacific #378 (portrait)

Skybox Premium

SpX

Topps

Topps 1998 All-Topps Outfielders

Topps Perennial All-Stars #PA8

Topps Power Players

Topps All-Topps NL Team

Topps Hands of Gold

Topps Chrome Lords of the Diamond#LD9

Topps HD Ballpark Figures #BF10

Topps Stars #14

Stadium Club

Stadium Club Never Compromise #NC15

UD Ionix #51

Ultimate Victory #98

Upper Deck MVP

Upper Deck MVP Swing Time

Upper Deck Highlights Checklist

Upper Deck Power Elite

Upper Deck Grand Slam Record Breakers

Upper Deck Home Run Highlights

Upper Deck Textbook Excellence

Upper Deck View to a Thrill

Upper Deck Power Deck

2000

Aurora #128

Black Diamond

Donruss

EX #26

Finest

Fleer Gamers

Fleer Showcase Final Answer

Fleer Tradition

Gallery

Ovation #25

MVP Draw Your Own Card #DT3

Pacific Paramount Green

Pacific Paramount Orange

Pacific Vanguard

Prizm #128

Prizm #128 different pattern

Skybox

Skybox Dominion

Skybox Premium Speed Merchants

SP Authentic Midsummer Classic

SPx

Stadium Club Capture the Action #CA14

Stadium Club Chrome

Topps

Topps Onyx Extreme

Topps Chrome #476

Topps Opening Day 2K

Topps Stadium Club Chrome

Topps Stars Progression Yaz/Bonds/Hamilton #P7

UD Black Diamond #67

UD Black Diamond Diamond Gallery #G2

UD IoNix

UD IoNix Bio Rhythm

UD IoNix Shockwave

Upper Deck #486

Upper Deck Upper Deck's Most Wanted # MW12

Upper Deck Hitter's Club #21

Upper Deck MVP

Upper Deck Legends #72

Upper Deck Legends Legendary Lumber Bat card

Upper Deck Vintage Matinee Idols #M3

2001

Bowman #PP1

Bowman #95

Bowman Chrome #72

Bowman Heritage #13

Donruss Elite #2

Donruss Signature Series

EX #62

Fleer Authority #80

Fleer Genuine Genuine Leaders #GL 5 of 15

Fleer Platinum #109

Fleer Platinum Team Leaders #437

Fleer Platinum Chart Toppers #426

Fleer Tradition #31

Leaf Certified Materials #2

Leaf Rookies & Stars #25

MVP #238

MVP Super Tools #ST13

SP Authentic #66

SP Game Bat - Milestone Edition #68

Stadium Club Reel Time

Stadium Club Stadium Stars

Studio #2

Topps #497

Topps All in the Family

Topps Reserve #10

Ultra #182

Upper Deck Superstar Summit

Upper Deck Twizzlers Big League Challenge #10 of 10

Upper Deck e-Card

Upper Deck Gold Glove

Upper Deck 2001 Greatest Hits

Upper Deck Pros & Prospects

Upper Deck Sweet Spot

Upper Deck Sweet Spot Party Players #PP8

2002

Ballpark Idols

Bowman Chrome #73

Bowman Heritage

Donruss Elite #25

Diamond Kings

Donruss Fan Club League Leaders

Donruss Originals 1986

Donruss Originals 1988

EX 4K MVP - 1993 #3 of 4 BB

Flair #73

Fleer Focus Jersey Edition #80

Fleer Barry Bonds Careeer Highlights #2 of 10 BB

Fleer Season Crowns

Fleer Genuine Bat's Incredible #BI 4 of 25

Fleer Headliners King of Swing

Fleer Hot Prospect Co-Stars w/ Alex Rodriguez #1 of 15 CS

Fleer Franchise Players

Fleer Premium #39

Fleer Showcase Baseball's Best Jersey 

Fleer Tradition Curtain Call

Fleer Tradition Diamond Tributes #7 of 15 DT

Fleer Tradition Grass Roots #1 of 10 GR

Fleer Tradition Banner Season

Fleer Tradition This Day in History #2 of 30 DH

Fleer Triple Crown #95

Fleer Triple Crown 2001 Scrapbook #231

Fleer Triple Crown Pace Setter #266

Fleer Triple Crown Season Crowns # 1 of 10 SC

Fleer Triple Crown Season Crowns # 5 of 10 SC

Heritage ##244

Heritage New Age Performers #NA-3

Leaf #137

Leaf Certified Materials #146

Leaf Certified Certified Skills #CS-1

Leaf Rookies & Stars #230

Leaf Rookies & Stars Award Winners 1990 NL MVP

Leaf Rookies & Stars Award Winners 1993 NL MVP #271

Leaf Rookies & Stars Award Winners 2001 NL MVP

MLB Showdown Card Game 2001 On-Base 10

MLB Showdown Card Game 2001 On-Base 9

MLB Showdown Card Game 2001 On-Base 14

MLB Showdown Card Game 2001 On-Base 13 

Opening Day #100

Opening Day Race to 73 #73

Ovation

Playoff Absolute Memorabilia #124

SP Authentic #68

Studio

Sweet Spot #68

Topps #500

Topps All-World Team #AW-2

Topps 206 #238

Topps Season Highlight 500th HR

Topps Season Highlight All Time Single Season Home Run Leader

Topps 2001 League MVP

Topps Chrome

Topps Hobby Masters

Topps Own the Game

Topps Superstar Summit

Topps Race to 73 #8

Topps Race to 73 #9

Topps Race to 73 #28

Topps Ten #62

Topps Ten Home Run Leaders #31

Topps Total 2001 Award Winners

Topps Total Topps Total

UD Authentics

UD Vintage Sandlot Stars

Ultra

Upper Deck Honor Roll #52

Upper Deck 2001 Year of the Record #727

Upper Deck Season Highlights Checklist #739

Upper Deck Chasing History

Upper Deck 1989 Flashbacks

2003

Bazooka #100

Bowman

Bowman Chrome #100

Donruss #375

Donruss Champions #224

Donruss Diamond Kings #20

Donruss Elite #152

Donruss Signature Series

Donruss Studio Big League Challenge Home Plate Relic

Finest

Fleer Authentics Ballpark Classics

Fleer Hot Prospects #63

Fleer Platinum #1

Fleer Platinum Guts and Glory

Fleer Platinum Heart of the Order

Fleer Tradition Banner Season #475

Fleer Tradition Milestones #21 of 25 MS

Fleer Tradition Tale of the Tape

Fleer Tradition Lumber Company #25 of 30 LC

Fleer Splendid Splinters #2 of 10 SS

Fleer Splendid Splinters Family Ties

Leaf Slick leather

Playoff Absolute Memorabilia #2

Playoff Prestige Award Winners 2001 NL Most Valuable Player

Topps #396

Topps Chrome #245

Topps 205 #1

Topps 205 Mini w/ hat Polar Bear back

Topps 205 Mini w/ batting helmet Polar Bear back

Topps Own the Game

Topps Hit Parade

Topps Total 2002 Award Winners

Tribute

UD 40 Top 40

UD Classic Portraits

UD Game Face

UD Patch Collection #95

UD Play Ball

UD Polar Bear w/ Jason LaRue

UD Polar Bear w/ Nick Johnson

UD Superstars #210

Ultra Double Up w/ Jason Giambi #6 of 16 DU

Upper Deck #200

Upper Deck Honor Roll #33

Upper Deck Honor Roll #34

Upper Deck Season Highlights Checklist

Upper Deck First Pitch Season Highlights Checklist

Upper Deck Twenty Five Salute #s4

Upper Deck Superior Sluggers

Upper Deck Vintage Stellar Stat Men #246

Victory

Victory Solid Hits

Victory Run Producers

Victory Winning Formula

2004

Donruss

Donruss Team Checklist

Donruss Elite Series

Leaf

Leaf Team Checklist

Leaf Passing Through Time

Topps Traded #T221

Upper Deck #200

2005

Bazooka #135

Opening Day #139

Turkey Red #1

Topps Barry Bonds Home Run History

3, 7, 13, 27, 29-31, 37, 38, 47, 50-51, 54, 58, 62, 65, 66, 80, 88, 93, 97, 98, 105, 110-111, 123, 145-146, 148, 150, 171-172, 178, 184, 190, 194, 196, 202, 206, 210, 226, 231 232, 241, 243, 248, 254, 262, 266, 267, 273, 282, 288, 290, 297, 304, 332-333, 354, 367, 374, 378, 382-383, 392, 420, 425, 432, 441, 455, 470, 476, 494, 505, 542, 560, 563, 587, 608, 612, 620, 649, 659, 661--678, 679-721, 724-734, 736-737, 739, 742, 747- 749 751-752 (715 Commemorative card)

2006

Heritage New Age Performers

Topps Walmart Exclusive #WM50

Topps Update and Highlights #UH176

Topps Hit Parade

Topps Rookie of the Week

2007

Bowman Heritage Foil #2000

Topps All-Time Home Run Champion 756 #HRK

Topps Hit Parade RBI

Turkey Red #30

My First Bonds Jersey Card

When I decided to go after 762 unique Barry Bonds cards and publicized it on Twitter, Scott of the blog Sports Cards Ate My Brain reached out and we worked out a trade and I added 37 Barry Bonds cards to my collection. A couple weeks later Scott sent me a care package. I've been "showcasing" the contents of the care package in my last few posts. The final card from Scott is this 2002 Fleer Showcase Baseball's Best Barry Bonds jersey card.

This is my 394th Barry Bonds card. This set has some quality control issues with the foil at the bottom. Most of the cards are either all good or they are completely blacked out. This one has the top portion of Bonds name and position showing. It almost looks like someone took a black marker and colored over the foil. 

Out of the 394 Bonds cards I have, this is just my third relic card of Bonds and my first jersey card. I have a bat card and a card featuring part of home plate. So thanks again Scott for all the cards, but specifically my first Bonds jersey card.

How it started - How it's going

A week or so ago I started noticing a trend on Twitter, How it started vs. How it's going. I'm not sure where this started, but Scott from Sports Cards Ate My Brain sent me two cards that fit this perfectly.

How it started                                                How it's going

I have the rookie card already, but I will happily take multiples of this card. The 2020 Topps is new to me though and much appreciated as well.

Let's take a look at the differences. The biggest difference is that he's on different teams. You can't tell from the cards, but Goldschmidt changed numbers when he moved to St. Louis. 44 was taken by pitcher Luke Gregorian, who had a 7.11 ERA in 12.2 innings in 2018, the year prior to Goldschmidt joining the Cardinals. 45 was retired by the Cardinals in honor of the late Bob Gibson, so Goldschmidt opted for 46. The other difference from the front of the card is the helmet. At some point Goldschmidt moved from a traditional helmet to the one he is wearing currently with the face mask. This may have occurred after being hit in the head during Spring Training in 2018.

If you look at the back of the cards, the difference is an inch and 5 pounds. The curious part is that it appears Goldschmidt has shrunk from 6'4" down to 6'3" and increased from 220 to 225 pounds. 

So how has my Goldschmidt collecting changed between 2011 and 2020? I remember watching Goldschmidt during his MLB debut against the Giants getting a hit in his first at bat and watching him hit a home run in just his second game off of Tim Lincecum. During his rookie year, the Diamondbacks made the playoffs and Goldschmidt hit a grand slam against the Brewers, even though the Brewers ended up winning the series because they had Ryan Braun who was on steroids at the time.

I was hooked on Goldschmidt from his debut on and the fact that he is one of the humblest and nicest human beings on the planet made it that much easier to make him the focus of my collecting from that point. When he was traded to St. Louis I decided I would continue to collect him, but only focus on his cards as a Diamondback. I only have a few cards of Goldy in a Cardinals uniform. A couple have been pack pulled and I have one or two from dime boxes. I've gotten a couple bloggers, including this 2020 Topps card. Thanks again Scott!

A post on Post and Cap'n Crunch

I got 4 cards from the 1990 Post Cereal set in a recent package from Scott of the blog Sports Cards Ate My Brain, and am now down to needing just 2 cards for the 1990 Post set. I remember getting cereal and pulling these cards from it. not these particular cards necessarily, but cards from this set. I can't say that about all of the oddball sets that I'm trying to build.

Thank you Scott!

These weren't the first baseball cards I remember getting from cereal though. My first cereal related baseball card memories revolve around 1989 from Cap'n Crunch. I was a big fan of Cap'n Crunch back in the day and remember discussing the baseball cards I would pull from those cereal boxes with some guy friends of my sister who were at our house one day. I was 8 and they were in high school and they were collecting the Cap'n Crunch cards as well. Everyone collected back then because you could find cards everywhere. 

I need a bunch of cards from the 1989 Cap'n Crunch set because the ones I pulled from cereal boxes ended up getting thrashed over the years and I must have discarded them. I need 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21. Let know if you have any of these to trade.

Here are my Post baseball card needs.

1990 - 13, 23

1991 - 1, 6, 9, 10, 14, 15, 24, 28, 30

1992 - complete

1993 - complete

1994 - complete

1995 - need the whole set

2001 - 2, 3, 5, 7. 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15 16

2001 500 Home Run Club - 3, 7

2002 - 3, 12, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30

2003 - need the whole set

Kmart: Icees and Baseball Cards

There was a Kmart less than 2 miles from the house I grew up in and I remember going there often. I don't recall a lot of specifics, but I do remember getting Icees from the snack bar and I remember looking at baseball cards. If I am remembering correctly the baseball cards were initially near the entrance and then they were moved to toy section. Can anyone else confirm that? 

To be honest I don't recall actually purchasing any specific baseball cards from Kmart, but I must have. I do know that I never actually purchased any of the Kmart boxed sets from Kmart, but I've been very familiar with the various sets for a long time.

Scott, from the blog Sports Cards Ate My Brain, recently sent me a care package with a bunch of great cards, one of which was this 1990 Kmart Super Stars Mark McGwire card. Not only was this card the last card I needed to finish off the 1990 set, but it was the last card I needed to complete the 5 Kmart sets (1982, 1987 - 1990). Huge thank you to Scott for this and the other cards you sent, which will be shared in future posts.

Let's take a look at the 5 sets.

1982 Kmart 20th Anniversary - Kmart paired up with Topps to produce this 44 card set paying tribute to the American and National League Most Valuable Players for each year; 1962 - 1981, which coincides with the 20th Anniversary of the Kmart store. Each card would feature a Topps card of the play who won the MVP award from the year that they won the award. The problem would be that there was one player who didn't have a Topps card for the year they won the award. The second card in the set commemorates Maury Wills winning the 1962 National League MVP award. Maury Wills would not have a Topps card until 1967 due to Topps not initially thinking Wills had a shot at the big leagues and then Wills signing an exclusive deal with Fleer. Topps would also create a 1975 Topps card for Fred Lynn since his 1975 Topps rookie card features 3 additional players. There were 3 MVPs in 1979 and Topps included 3 additional highlight cards for Don Drysdale, Hank Aaron and Pete Rose to finish off the 44 card set.

1987 Kmart 25th Anniversary - Topps and Kmart would not pair up again until 1987. This time to commemorate Kmart's 25th anniversary. This 33 card set is titled, Stars of the Decades and features cards of stars from the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's.

1988 Kmart Memorable Moments - This 33 card set features players with memorable moments from the eighties and the cards are numbered alphabetically by last name.

1989 Kmart Dream Team - This 33 card set starts with the first 11 cards being devoted to rookies from 1988. The remaining 22 cards feature other rookies from the 1980s.

1990 Kmart Super Stars - The final Topps Kmart set features 33 Super Stars. Most of the players included were in fact Super Stars, with 10 players and 1 manager making it to the Hall of Fame, but there are some head scratchers among the rest. Players like Jay Howell and Jeff Ballard come to mind.

How many of you have one or more of these Kmart sets in your collection? Which one is your favorite? What memories do you have from Kmart?

I had a cardboard epiphany!

Have you ever had a cardboard epiphany? I had one the other night after opening up a care package from Night Owl. You see, Greg sent me a package that was heavy on the Barry Bonds cards and specifically on the Topps Barry Bonds Home Run History set. I think there were around 70 of them. 

When I decided to pursue a card for each of Bonds 762 home runs, I thought about just going after the Home Run History set, after all the 762 card set chronicles each of his home runs. I had about 40 cards from the set already, but after looking on eBay I determined that it would be pricey and difficult to complete that set. Plus I already had 230+ other Bonds cards that I would need to find something to do with, so I decided to just go after 762 unique cards. I think my initial stack of 272 Bonds cards included around 200 unique cards. I've found a few additional Bonds cards going through my collection and I've had several people send me Bonds cards. With the addition of the Bonds cards from Night Owl, I now have 393 different Bonds cards, so I passed the half way point.

Okay, so let's get back to my cardboard epiphany. I have my Bonds collection in a binder sorted by year, so since the Home Run History set started in 2005, that is where I have them. It was driving me crazy that the Home Run History cards were out of order, but in order to do that I would need to rearrange multiple binder pages any time I got additional Home Run history cards. Then the idea hit me, put the Home Run History cards in order and then once I get to 762 cards, fill in the blanks of the Home Run History set with other Bonds cards. 

So here is what it would look like. Home Run History card #3 in the 3rd spot with other cards filled in around it. If I had Home Run History card #7 and #8, they would be in those spots.

I'm pretty excited about this idea. In fact it makes me want to get more of the Home Run History cards so they can be spattered throughout the binder, but always in order.

Night Owl sent me a few other cards including this Ben Petrick card. Impressive that Night Owl remembered that I am a Petrick fan and collector because I don't think I've mentioned him on my blog in a while.

As eager as Greg was to get rid of his Bonds cards, I know he was just as eager to get rid of these D-Backs cards.

So thank you Night Owl for the Bonds and other cards as well. The Home Run History cards led to my cardboard epiphany and will direct my Bonds collection going forward. 

What was your last cardboard epiphany?

1970 Topps Booklets

I've been organizing my collection quite a bit recently and much of that has been going through cards from a couple of different collections that I bought last year. 

One of the collections had starter sets of 1971 and 1973 Topps. It also included 23 out of 24 1970 Topps Booklets, but not a single card from 1970 Topps. The one missing card, I mean booklet, was #24, Willie Mays. 

One of the other collections that I bought contained a starter set of 1970 Topps, so these will go nicely with that set once I finish it.

I know it's only a 24 card set, but I can't recall ever finishing off a set with the last card from the set.

Lots of big names like Reggie Jackson, Ernie Banks, Orlando Cepeda, Pete Rose, Bob Gibson, and Willie Mays, but there are lots of other lesser known players like Wally Bunker, Denis Menke, Deron Johnson and Bob Moose.

I wanted to document each booklet in its entirety, but the binding makes the last two pages nearly impossible to scan or even photograph effectively without causing significant damage. 

My question for you is, what were the first Topps inserts? The furthest back I am aware of is the 1965 Embossed cards. Was there anything earlier?

To build, or not to build...that is the question.

At what point do you decide to collect a set? I know certain collectors complete the same sets year after year, whether that is the Topps base set, Allen & Ginter or others, but I'm not talking about those types of collectors. I'm talking about when you buy a box of cards or get a stack of cards from a certain set and decide to collect the set for no other reason than you have have a certain percentage of the set.

What is that percentage for you? 33%? 50%? 75%?

Like most of you out there I went several months without even seeing any baseball cards in the retail environment. So when I finally found some I splurged and bought a box of 2020 Archives at Target. It contained 16 packs and 131 cards. I got 9 inserts, so that leaves 122 base cards.

There are 324 cards in the set, so 122 is 37.7%. Now if I exclude the short printed Nickname Posters and 1976 Topps Traded cards, there are only 300 cards. Since I pulled three Nickname Posters and two 1976 Topps Traded cards, that brings me to 117 out of the 300, which moves the percentage up to 39.0%. I'm tempted to build the set, but I don't have a good reason for doing so other than it was fun to open the box. 

I put the cards in order, but haven't actually put together a list of the cards I need. Maybe I'll come to my senses and decide that it would be a bad idea. 

In the meantime, if you see any insert cards you want and have base cards you want to trade me, let me know.

The Lizard is numbered 05/25 and I have it up on eBay right now hoping to recoup the cost of the box.

The Bellinger is numbered 122/175.

Trading is not always a fruitful proposition. I'm confident I can pick up the base cards from a dime box and maybe even a 15/$1 box, so when I trade cards and spend $4 on shipping, I could have bought between 40 - 60 cards. So if you are looking to trade, it needs to be worth it for me. Sorry if that comes across rough, but my collecting funds are tight right now. I also realize that most of the cards I have to trade aren't worth a whole lot, so it goes both ways.

2020 Topps Archives Needs

3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 18, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32, 33, 35, 36, 39, 40, 43, 44, 46, 48, 49, 51, 52, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 67, 68, 77. 78, 80, 82, 85, 88, 91, 92, 93, 95, 101, 103, 104, 108, 115, 119, 121, 124, 126, 132, 133, 136, 137, 140, 142, 145, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 162, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169,172, 174, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 185, 186, 187, 191, 193, 194, 196, 197, 198, 199, 201, 209, 210, 212, 213, 214, 215, 217, 221, 223, 224, 227, 230, 232, 233, 235, 238, 241, 242, 243, 244, 247, 249, 250, 252, 255, 258, 260, 262, 263, 264, 266, 267, 269, 272, 275, 277, 279, 280, 282, 283, 284, 285, 288, 289, 290, 292, 293, 295, 297, 298, 299, 300