Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Knocking out some Topps Rays teams sets and my vacation plans

Last week I finally bit the bullet on an eBay listing of a number of complete Rays Topps sets. It had every one from 1997 to 2010, plus a few from 2011, but it was missing a few cards with Cubs on them (the guy was a Cubs collector), and a few of the Update cards. I figured I would get a number of Rays sets done with the cards, so I purchased them, and they arrived yesterday. 
I knew that I would still be short from completing a few sets, as I knew I was missing a few flagship Topps cards from Player Collection guys. Going through my Rays Wantlist, I checked off all of the cards that the lot I purchased had added, and it looks like I have the 1997, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2018, and 2019 Topps/Topps Update and or Traded sets completed. There are also a few with only 1 or 2 cards needed to complete them. I figured now would be a good a time as ever to list all of the cards needed to complete my Topps Rays run. 


1999 TOPPS/TOPPS TRADED
T19 Paul Hoover
T20 Ryan Rupe

2000 TOPPS/TOPPS TRADED

T6 Josh Pressley

T86 Rocco Baldelli

T106 Greg Vaughn


2001 TOPPS/TOPPS TRADED

362 Chin-Feng Chen/Corey Patterson/Josh Hamilton Prospects


2003 TOPPS/TOPPS TRADED

T170 Matt Diaz


2006 TOPPS/TOPPS UPDATE
568 Aubrey Huff


2007 TOPPS/TOPPS UPDATE
341 Akinori Iwamura


2008 TOPPS/TOPPS UPDATE

61 Carlos Pena HR Leaders

501 Elliot Johnson

UH124 Alex Rodriguez/Evan Longoria

UH168 Ben Zobrist


2009 TOPPS/TOPPS UPDATE

22 Evan Longoria/David Price combo

UH191 Ben Zobrist


2012 TOPPS/TOPPS UPDATE

52 James Shields ERA Leaders

US203 Fernando Rodney

US239 Luke Scott

US305 David Price All-Star


2013 TOPPS/TOPPS UPDATE

94 David Price ERA Leaders

95 David Price Wins Leaders

US26 Wil Myers Rookie Debut

US148 Ben Zobrist All-Star


2014 TOPPS/TOPPS UPDATE

336 Ben Zobrist

US6 Jose Molina

US203 Cole Figueroa


2015 TOPPS/TOPPS UPDATE

US278 Rene Rivera


2017 TOPPS/TOPPS UPDATE

US17 Chris Archer All-Star

US198 Chih-Wei Hu


2020 TOPPS/TOPPS UPDATE

98 Jesus Aguilar

305 Tyler Glasnow

406 Charlie Morton

548 Brian O'Grady

554 Mike Zunino

626 Nate Lowe

664 Yonny Chirinos


If you have anything  you can spare to help me complete some of these sets, anything would be appreciated, and I'm kind of looking to get some trades going again. It looks like I'm only 36 cards away from completing the run (perhaps it will be closer to 50 when 2020 Topps Update comes out). 


I came back from getting my car looked at today, and it was a little disappointing. I have a stick shift (everyone should drive one in their lifetime), and the car was sounding like it would stall out if I had the AC running while at a stop light. Then yesterday on the way home from work, my low tire pressure light went on. I had scheduled todays appointment about a week ago, so I took it in, and there was a recall on a coil in the engine which they thought was causing the stalling issue, and my tire originally needed a patch, but turns out it was dry rotting, so I had to get a new tire, and then they also informed me that the battery was pretty low, so it turned out to be an expensive trip instead of just a repair that I was hoping would be covered under the Kia warranty. At least it is good to drive for a while. It ran like a dream on the way home. 

I'm a little nervous about money right now just because of all of the repairs and because we have a vacation coming up. I think we'll be ok, I just can't have any major repairs come up and probably won't be purchasing any more cards for a little bit. I'll get a nice bonus check before Thanksgiving, so that will be nice. 

For vacation, we plan on leaving for North Carolina on October 15 or 16, and seeing some of my wife Karen's relatives that haven't met our son Kyler yet. After spending a few days there, we will drive up to Michigan, and see some of mine. I'm sooooo looking forward to a week plus off of work. Too much drama with coworkers, I don't trust anyone there, and the worst boss I've had since I've started working in 1999. I'm not wasting a second thinking about work when we are on vacation. Although there won't be any stadiums or baseball games this year, I am hoping to find a baseball card shop somewhere on our trip. I know I've seen one or two in Grand Rapids when we went there last year. If you are close to Grand Rapids, hit me up, and maybe we can do an in-person trade at a card shop. I'll wear my mask.


I think the best thing for me about vacations is eating at different places. There are new places to eat that are only located in certain parts of the country, and you can usually find a restaraunt in every city that is unique and has something great that makes you want to come back next year. I also love how you can just chill and don't have to rush to do anything. That is what I am all about. I am going to take my time, not have to get up at friggin 4 AM every day, and just get to hang out with my wife, son, and (mostly) decent people. Counting down the days.


Thanks for checking out my latest post.

-Jeremy

5 comments:

  1. I wish I had add'l Rays for you. They would be mixed into the monster boxes I plan to sell soon. Have a safe trip, and do forget work for a week. It's good for your mind and soul to do so.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Enjoy your vacation! Safe travels!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I might be able to help you with some of these.

    I love eating at restaurants during vacation. I'm also one of those weird people that likes staying in hotels. Nice hotels anyway.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OK, so I have just four.

      2013 US26, 2013 US148, 2017 US198 and 2020 305 coming your way.

      Delete
  4. My favorite thing about traveling is eating out. Have fun on your trip.

    ReplyDelete