Keith Hernandez 1989 Bowman

Keith Hernandez 1989 Bowman

When  I picked up this baseball card of Keith Hernandez, I bought it ‘on the blind’ during a little spree on Sportlots.com.

Being the dedicated player collector that I am, I was going after stacks of cards for the new PC’s I am working on, and that list included Mr. Hernandez.

When I shop at Sportlots.com, my lone goal is ‘cheap’.  Buy what I need for a very low price and get out unscathed.  And that is exactly what I did, bringing home more than forty new cards for my collection including a healthy stack of cards of Hernandez.

And I have to say that once my cards arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to see a 1989 Bowman baseball card that featured a photo that was not a posed, head-shot!!!

Have a look:

Jim Palmer 2002 Topps Tribute – 250 Career Victories Commemorative

Jim Palmer 2002 Topps Tribute – 250 Career Victories Commemorative

I recently did a little shopping on CheckOutMyCards.com and while there I spent some time shopping for cards to add to my Jim Palmer player collection.

I scored some new stuff – and all of it was of the more rare variety.

This card is from the 2002 Topps Tribute set and it commemorates Palmer’s 250th career win.

Check it out:

I love the vintage image and I am also a big fan of the Tribute brand of cards.

This one is a great addition to my Palmer PC!!!

Billy Williams 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen – FINALLY!!!

Billy Williams 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen – FINALLY!!!

In my opinion, it took Topps waaaaaay too long to put Billy Williams back into a base card.  Yes, he has had a few relic and certified autographed cards recently, but as a budgeted collector, it has been a while since I was able to afford a ‘new’ card of Mr. Williams.

Thankfully, that all changed when he was added to the 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen checklist.

Here is the card:

I really like the image that Topps selected for this card.  It features a very young Williams, and the background is reminiscent of the early 1960′s as well.

Williams does not have a White paper or Blue paper framed card in the GQ set, so now I need to shift my focus to the minis…

Stay tuned.

Carlton Fisk 1987 Donruss – Pudge Is Pissed!!!

Carlton Fisk 1987 Donruss

I don’t know who is more upset – Carlton Fisk at the photographer for getting to close while snapping pictures or me at Donruss for using this image on a baseball card…

Time To Unveil The ‘HR Derby’ Winner!!!

Time To Unveil The ‘HR Derby’ Winner!!!

And the winner of my ‘HR Derby’ contest is – JEFF B!!!

With 25 Home Runs selected, JEFF B came the closest to the total number of home runs hit in the majors on Wednesday which was 26.

Congratulations, JEFF B!!! I will send you an email so I can get your address so I can mail out your cards.

Here is a look at how the scoring broke down:

Game	HR Tally
MIN/ATL	5
CIN/NYM	1
LAD/MIL	2
OAK/TEX	2
ARI/COL	1
WAS/SF	1
TAM/TOR	2
DET/CLE	3
CHC/PIT	0
SEA/LAA	0
NYY/BAL	5
PHI/MIA	1
BOS/CHI	1
KC/HOU	1
SLT/SAN	1
	26

And here is a peek out how the players did compared to the final tally:

Player	# Of HRs
justin	12
pat weber	14
matt w	16
q	23
jeff b	25
jared willden	27
john h	27 (out)
madding	28
ethan p	29
ag	30
sanjosefuji	31
rob	32
irondequoit36	33
superduperman99	34
john (cards)	35
tom s	36
victor	43

And one last look at the prize:

Big thanks to everyone that participated in this contest. The next one is just around the corner… Stay tuned.

I Have Completed My 2012 Topps Archives ‘Cloth Stickers’ Set And It Looks G-R-E-A-T!!!! Check it out!!!

I Have Completed My 2012 Topps Archives ‘Cloth Stickers’ Set And It Looks G-R-E-A-T!!!!  Check it out!!!

As we rapidly approach the release of the new 2013 Topps Archives set, I am very excited to announce that I have completed one of the two subsets from last year’s set that I had been working on - ’77 Cloth Stickers.

I decided to build this set just a few months ago, but thanks to some great trades and donations plus a few card show purchases, I was able to wrap this one up rather quickly.

The set features a solid mix of both vintage and current ball players, and Topps did a great job of staying true to the original design from the ’77 set.  I especially like that Topps chose age-appropriate images of the legends in the set as many of them could have been from 1977.

Here is a look at the complete set:

The set looks really, really nice.  And I am strongly considering putting this one in an album versus leaving them in penny sleeves and top loaders.  I think that showcasing the set in this manner will do the set a lot more justice this way.

I cannot wait to see what surprises the 2013 Archives set may bring!!!

Derek Jeter 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen ‘Hometown Heroes’

Derek Jeter 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen ‘Hometown Heroes’

When I found this card, I decided to take my knowledge of Kalamazoo, Michigan to the next level.

So, without further ado, here are the ‘Top Five’ things I learned:

5 – The Alligator Sanctuary
4 – Home to the Gilmore Car Museum – The Nations’s Premier Automotive History Destination
3 – Home to four casinos
2 – Caruso’s Candy Kitchen – your source for homemade candies and chocolates with an operating soda fountain
1 – Home to Yankees’ Derek Jeter!!!

Nolan Ryan 1999 Topps Commemorative Set – Card #25 – 1992 Topps Design

Nolan Ryan 1999 Topps Commemorative Set – Card #25 – 1992 Topps Design

One of my 2013 collecting goals was to complete the 1999 Topps Nolan Ryan Commemorative baseball card set. The set features a re-print of each of Ryan’s base cards issued by Topps from his rookie season to his final season.

This is the 25th card in the set, a re-print of Ryan’s 1992 Topps baseball card:

As for Ryan’s 1992 baseball season, Ryan was still chugging away at the age of 45.  He started 27 games for the Rangers and compiled a 5-9 record.  He still had the skill and velocity to strike out batters as he racked up 157 K’s in 157 innings of work, good for a 9.0 K:9 innings ratio!!!

 

Vince Coleman 1991 Upper Deck – Props To UD On This One!!!

Vince Coleman 1991 Upper Deck

Vince Coleman had wheels, and I am sure that he was able to cover a lot more ground than the average outfielder from his era.

Did that translate into Gold Glove defensive performance?  Not exactly.

But, I will give credit to Upper Deck for providing us with a card that shows another way that Coleman used his speed on the baseball diamond.

Thanks UD!!!

Did You Know…

Only two brothers have hit home runs in the same World Series Game.  During the 1964 World Series, with the Yankees and Cardinals battling for the championship, brothers Clete and Ken Boyer each launched home runs.