Lately, I had made a number of purchases on eBay of random grouped stuff. It has varied from Rays team sets, Topps box bottoms, favorite player relic/auto cards, some preview cards, and some Traded/Update sets. Sometimes it feels like between cards coming in the mail, getting packs at a store, and the occastional stop to a card shop, that it's nothing but cards, cards, cards in the house.
The Traded/Update card sets included 1991 Fleer Ultra, 1988 Score Rookie Traded, 1992 Score Traded, 1993 Fleer Update, 1994 Fleer Update and 1995 Fleer Ultra. With everything except for the last set, I figured they were for what I figured was a decent price, they had a handful of good rookies, and I already had 90% of the base set, so why not get the Update version?
I was randomly looking at some box bottom cards, and I kind of wanted to finish the 1989 Topps version, as it had a card of Don Sutton and Tommy Lasorda. Sutton didn't get a card in the base set, and this could've been his sunset card. The Lasorda was just cool because it was different than original version. I ended up finishing up that set (along with a double of a full sheet and some loose ones). The same lot had some 1990 cards (I wanted the Fred Lynn Tigers card), a few from the '90 Fleer set including a Blue Jays team logo, and some from Baseball Card Magazine. Those were fun because they contained cards of Billy Ashley and Brady Anderson, who are guys I collect.
Speaking of guys I collect, I have added a number of new guys in the last month or so. Mainly just Dutch guys who I didn't realize were on the team. They are:
Druw Jones- Dutch National Team member
Cedane Rafaela- Dutch National Team member
Ozzie Albies- Dutch National Team memnber
Chadwick Tromp- Dutch National Team member
Bruce Maxwell- Guy who stood up for what he believes in
Austin Martin- Guy who was born in DeLand
Sean Whiteside- Detroit Tiger who lived in Lakeland
Jurrangelo Cijntje- Dutch National Team member
Ky Bush- Kyler collection
Kyler Meccage- Kyler collection
I purchased a jersey card of Jones, Rafaela, Albies, Martin, Cijntje, and autos of Tromp, Maxwell, Martin, Bush, and Meccage. Most were from eBay, but a few are from my Sportlots order. More on that later.
I came across a few preview cards that I thought were interesting. There was a 1992 Topps Gold preview of Tommy Lasorda. The front of the card looked basically the same except for the 'manager' postion bar was missing. The back was way different. Much like a regular card, it had a bio and no stats, and the picture of the stadium was a good deal bigger.
There was also a 1995 Topps preview of Travis Fryman. I can't remember which set contained the previews, but they had a 10-card 1995 Topps preview pack. There were 9 of the regular previews, and 1 Spectra Light/Cyberstats parallel. They have the Spectra Light texture on the front, and the back were normal instead of black and blue colored. They almost look like normal cards, and an untrained eye would easily mistake them for normal cards. There was a Griffey Spectra Light preview on there that was pretty cheap if you want to get a Junior card for under value.
There was also a 1995 Topps preview of Travis Fryman. I can't remember which set contained the previews, but they had a 10-card 1995 Topps preview pack. There were 9 of the regular previews, and 1 Spectra Light/Cyberstats parallel. They have the Spectra Light texture on the front, and the back were normal instead of black and blue colored. They almost look like normal cards, and an untrained eye would easily mistake them for normal cards. There was a Griffey Spectra Light preview on there that was pretty cheap if you want to get a Junior card for under value.
The Rays team sets were where the real damage was done. The 1998 Topps Rays set is the 2nd year that the Rays appeared on a Topps set. 1997 was really nothing. Just a few team prospect combos and I can't remember if they had a Draft Pick card or not, but no parallels or Chrome cards to chase after. The 1998 Topps set was a cruel siren. There was the base set. There were versions of the complete set with both the inaugural Rays and Diamondback logos stamped on them. Those are tough to find, but I perservered and found complete sets at good prices and got those ones checked off for the team set. The regular set had a parallel found 1 in every 8 packs called 'Minted in Cooperstown'. Each Minted in Cooperstown card featured a bronze stamp that was added to the card in Cooperstown, NY. I came across a team set and jumped on it. That is a semi-tough set, but the Rays part is now finished.
The 1998 Topps set also had a Chrome version. Since they use the same design, I feel like I need to finish not only the Chrome versions, but the tough Refractor parallels. I'll list my needs below. The Chrome version is probably just a few eBay purchases from being finished, but the Refractors are a little tricky. I've picked up a few on eBay that are getting me closer, but a number of them like Bobby Smith, Miguel Cairo, Roberto Hernandez, and Quinton McCracken are priced kind of high. I feel like most guys who are commons (even stars really) should be priced from 3-5 dollars. Most of the ones I need are 7-10 bucks. The biggest problem will be Fred McGriff. There are only 4 or so on eBay, and they go from like 25-60. There have to be a number of collectors of the Crime Dog, so I'm sure if a good deal pops up online that I might jump on it.
Here are the lists of Chrome needs:
251 Pablo Ortega/James Manias
344 Wilson Alvarez
404 Terrell Wade
468 Rich Butler
472 Brooks Kieschnick
500 Dutin Carr/Luis Cruz
REFRACTORS:
349 Fred McGriff
404 Terrell Wade
430 Roberto Hernandez
462 Quinton McCracken
464 Miguel Cairo
466 Bobby Smith
Just 12 card away from having a true 'Master Set' of 1998 Topps Rays. Base, Inaugural Diamondbacks, Inaugural Rays, Minted in Cooperstown, Chrome, and Chrome Refractors. Maybe by the end of the year.
I just got the last items for my Sportlots box to come in, so I requested shipping. Once it arrives, I will have a ton of cards to put in my binders, and it should complete my Topps run from 1980 to 2026. I believe there are 1 or 2 missing ones, but I'm pretty confident that I will be able to hunt them down.
I got some cards that I just never had access to pack of. A few Triple Play stadium cards, some mascots, some 1993-1995 Bowman singles, some 1993 and 1994 Finest singles, a number of cards of favorite players, a few of the Netherlands flag, and a few Stetson Hatter guys.
On Tuesday, the 3 of us went to Melching Field and saw Stetson take on USF in baseball. USF has former big leaguer Daniel Schlereth as a coach, so I had to try to get his autograph. His 2009 Topps Update checklist card features a picture of him and his father together. His dad Mark, is holding a piece of paper and a plastic bag. I have always wondered what was in it, so I finally had the opportunity to ask him. He signed my 2 cards, and confirmed that the photo was from before his MLB debut, but couldn't remember what was in the bag. Mystery solved. Well, kind of.
Earlier on Tuesday, I was on lunch at work, and I decided to check out the USF roster. My friend Jim, who collects autographs, let me know before the season that Schlereth was on USF and aside from their manager who is on a 1991 Line Drive AAA card that I didn't have, there were no other guys with cards. When I checked the roster on my break, I found out that Dave Eiland was a coach at USF. I let Jim know, and we met up at the game and looked out for our autograph targets. Sure enough, Dave was there, and he signed our cards, and we reminisced about the 1998 Rays and all of the HRs that Esteban Yan, Dennis Springer, and Tanyon Sturtze gave up. A fun time was had by all, and we had a nice surprise by getting Eiland.
Earlier in the week, Jim let me know that a friend of his is going to a 'Bannana Ball' game, and will be going to a meet and greet for the teams. Some players there will be 50 HR club member Ryan Howard, Jackie Bradley, Jr., Nico Hulsizer, and a few minor leaguers I had nothing of. I gave Jim a few cards, and hopefully in a few weeks, I'll have a few more guys in my autograph collection. That's what cards are all about. Helping each other out. We will have a few more opportunities to help eachother in May, as there are 2 more dates that Stetson will be giving away their baseball card set. So far, Jim, Kyler, and I are perfect, getting the first 10-card set autographed by everyone. We are missing a guy, Angel Gomez, from last year's set. From what I've researched, I believe he is a redshirt at Stetson (not sure if he is on campus or what), and will be transfering next semester.
I have been doing some trades online, and mailed out a few care packages recently. I'm in the process of getting some stuff ready for Nick of Dime Boxes, just need a current address for him.
I was lucky enough to come in 3rd place in the Cards on Cards annual March Madness tournament. Kerry sent me a pack of '25 Stadium Club, and there were some good cards sitting in it. My favorites were the Cade Horton rookie, and the Nick Kurtz rookie. Thanks, Kerry, for the contest and the cards!
I was also a recipient of a care package from Rod of Padrographs. I got number of Marlins and Rays, AND a card of a DeJong guy in Paul DeJong. Some of my favorites are the Encarnacion autograph, the Aranda refractor, and Basabe Archives black border. Thanks, Rod, for the cards!
That's really all that we have going on and coming up. There will be a vacation coming at some point, but we are just focusing on a few doctor appointments and raising a puppy.
I will plunge into the deep dark deaths of '50's, '60's, and '70's Topps cards when my Sportlots stuff comes in. It will be a long time sorting, putting into TCDB, and figuring out if there are any gremlins and what to do for them. I hope that a few months after that, I can have all of the loose cards into binders, and just keep buying new stuff so all I have to do is put the newer cards at the back and I won't have to disturb 3-4 albums. I just have to convince Karen to buy a ton of plastic sheets, binders, and probably a bookshelf or two. All in all, life is good right now and looking up for the first time in a long time.
Thanks for checking out my latest post.
-Jeremy
