Saturday, June 30, 2018

A sweet addition to my collection!!!!

So I am getting away from the 'What I have done so far' posts, but for really good reason. While I really don't do ttm autograph requests much anymore, I still like to get autographs to add to my collection. If I see one at a good price of a player I like, I've been known to get some at card shops, and I love to try to get autographs at games.
A few weeks ago at work, a coworker and I were talking, and we got to the subject of baseball. I mentioned that I love baseball, and how I collect baseball cards and stuff, and she mentioned that she has a neighbor whose late husband loved baseball. She is trying to get rid of alot of the stuff in her house, and she gave my coworker a bunch of stuff that she no longer needed or wanted, including some of her late husband's baseball stuff. My coworker mentioned that she had no use for the baseball stuff she got, and that I could have it if I could find some use for it. I told her sure, and a week or so later, she got my address, and showed up at my house with a box full of some '90's-era Yankee steins. I'm not a big stein (or Yankee) guy, but they were unique, and I was happy to get them, and I now have them up in a little display section in our house. On her way out, my coworker mentioned that she also had a book of Mickey Mantle with an autograph in it that she would get to me when she found it. I didn't get my hopes up, and I figured it would be a pre-print anyways, but a week or so later (today), I show up to work, and she has 2 Mickey Mantle books for me, one with this inside the front cover!!!
A nice autograph of The Mick!!! Complete with a notation of when and where it was obtained (in 1972 in West Haven Connecticut at what looks like a minor league ballgame. I don't know if Mickey was a coach there or if he was scheduled to make an appearance, but that's where the signature was obtained. The book was from 1966, so that also backs up its authenticity. I'll have to look at BBref and maybe see if I can find out anything about the 1972 West Haven Yankees. I'm leaning towards it maybe being an appearance by Mickey at the game (why would anyone bring a random book of Mickey Mantle to a minor league game?), or perhaps Mickey made frequent appearances at the ballpark as a retired instructor?  Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

This was a nice surprise for me. Never in my life did I think I would get an actual autograph of Mickey Mantle in my collection. While doing research on the value, they really aren't too terribly expensive (compared to what I figured it would be worth), at anywhere from $150 and up, depending on what kind of item it is on, so I say if you have the money and are a fan, to definitely try to get one, but try to get one that's been authenticated, or a certified pack-pulled one if you can. I am hoping to add a cheap memorabilia card to go along with it (maybe one of those 'shirt' relics from the '07? Topps complete sets). Not sure if I will add Mantle to my Favorite Player Collection, but after getting this autograph, it sure is tempting. Thanks for checking out my latest post.
-Jeremy

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

2000 Topps: What I have done so far

Well, I managed to get two posts in a row done. The way the rest of the week is looking, that may not be the case for the next 7-10 days or so. It is going to start getting crazy at work any day now, and will be like that through the 4th, and we also have some of my wife's family coming to town from like the 1st through the 7th or something like that, and unfortunately for me, they are the kind of people that want to do something with you like every day that they are here, so for me, that means get home from work, get everything prepared for the next day/clean, and then waste the rest of the night with them. I usually get home from work around 2:30 in the afternoon, and have free time from then until about 4:15 when my wife comes to get me and we get our son from day care (kind of our daily tradition). I usually try to change clothes, let the dogs outside, check my garden to see if anything grew, make my lunch for the next day, and work on customs. I think I will be coming home later and later every day until July 4th is over with, and really the only other time I have to make customs is Tuesdays (my usual off day), and Sunday afternoons after church (which will probably be spent with guess who? My wife's family!). I was really hoping to get through this set of posts by the end of the week, but I guess it might now happen. On the bright side, though, Big Brother starts tonight, I am going on vacation on July 29th (where I will finally see my Detroit Tigers play at their home stadium in Detroit), and that first day of vacation I will be hitting up a card show. I will probably end up posting about the show sometime in August when we get back, but that will give you something to look forward to in a month or so. Now that you got through all my whining and complaining about the next week of my life, here are some 2000 Topps customs to make you happy again.


 Willie McGee by Richard
 Buck Showalter Manager by Richard



 Darryl Strawberry by Richard





 Bobby Dews Coach by Richard


 Albert Pujols/Shane Victorino/Brandon Phillips Prospects by Richard
 Josh Beckett/John Lackey/Colby Lewis Prospects by Richard







































 Bud Selig Commissioner by Richard




 Bank One Ballpark by Richard
 Bobby Cox Manager by Richard
 Billy Williams Coach by Richard
 Wrigley Field by Richard
 Coors Field by Richard
 Pro Player Stadium by Richard
 Javier Vazquez by Richard
 Orel Hershiser by Richard
 Eddie Murray Coach by Richard
 Tim Wakefield by Richard
 Jim Rice Coach by Richard
 Fenway Park by Richard
 Rod Carew Coach by Richard
 Alan Trammell Coach by Richard
 Ron Gardenhire Coach by Richard
 Joe Torre Manager by Richard
 David Ortiz by Richard
 Don Zimmer Coach by Richard
 Ken Griffey, Jr. by Richard
 The Ballpark in Arlington by Richard
 Shawn Green by Richard
 Skydome by Richard
 Jeff Kent Season Highlights by Richard
 Nomar Garciaparra Season Highlights by Richard
 Robin Ventura Season Highlights by Richard
 Pedro Martinez Season Highlights by Richard
 Edgardo Alfonzo Season Highlights by Richard
 Sammy Sosa Season Highlights by Richard
 Mark McGwire Season Highlights by Richard
Houston Astros Season Highlights by Richard


I went ahead and worked on the 2000 Topps Reference Page, and went ahead and listed every team that I had on the checklist, and every team that was finished. I think this could be a good system in the future, and eventually, I want to do this for every set page that I have. For now, I will try to update each one as I work on them, but I really do hope to get them more uniform, and eventually to have every one completed. Thanks for checking out my latest post.
-Jeremy