Friday, October 30, 2020

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.




Wednesday, October 28, 2020

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?

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

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

Monday, October 26, 2020

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.

Sunday, October 25, 2020

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!

Saturday, October 24, 2020

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

Friday, October 23, 2020

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?

Thursday, October 22, 2020

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?

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

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?

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

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