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!!!

Baseball Card Show Purchase #6 – Inspiration For My Next Subset!!!

Baseball Card Show Purchase #6 – Inspiration For My Next Subset!!!

When I attend these monthly baseball card shows, the biggest thrill that I get is the chance to simply sift through a massive amount of cardboard.

As a kid, I used to love doing this and getting this chance once a month makes up for the other 30 days a  month that I get to shop online for them.

While at the card shows, I always find it interesting when I discover a card or set that I had not seen before.

And that was what happened when I came across these two cards:

Coming from the 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen set, the two cards you are seeing come from the ‘Wal Climbers’ subset.  I like the theme, and I love the images.

This is definitely a set that I will investigate further.  If the remainder of the cards look as good as the first two that I picked up, I will be going after the full set, for sure!!

And Finally, My 2012 Topps ‘Mound Dominance’ Subset Is Complete!!! Come Check It Out.

And Finally, My 2012 Topps ‘Mound Dominance’ Subset Is Complete!!!  Come Check It Out.

Yessir, I have completed another subset and it is time to show it off in its completed form.

The ‘Mound Dominance’ set is from the 2012 Topps release, and is 15 cards deep. 

Here it is, complete:

As for the cards, they look great!  I like the graphics that Topps used to identify the strike zone, and the added team logo on top of that graphic is a nice touch.  I also really like that every card in the subset offers a color, in-action photograph (though the Gibson, Spahn, and Feller appear to be posed-action).  I do wish that Topps used a brighter color for the ‘Mound Dominance’ headline – something that stood out more.

While I am really happy with the look and design of the set, I have to say that there are a few odd things about it that stand out for me as well.

They are:

• the set lacks consistency with the theme; from no-hitters to solid outings to dominant playoff appearances, I wish it focused on just one thing
• the inclusion of Dennis Eckersley ( a player I loved watching) is peculiar.  He is the only non-starter in the set.
• Phil Niekro’s card is celebrating his 300th career win – the only card celebrating a career achievement instead the most dominant game of the pitcher’s career.
• The set gives us Jon Lester and Armando Gallaraga, but leaves out Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro, Schilling, and others that would certainly be also called ‘Dominant’

Overall, I like the set – it looks great, and it is nice to see players like Verlander and Halladay get put into the same conversation as Seaver, Palmer, and Gooden. 

Ultimately, I would have liked to have seen multiple versions of the set, maybe in consecutive years.  If Topps broke this set into different levels while keeping the graphic components similar, with just enough changes to let them stand alone, they could have been on to something.  Imagine if we had: Mound Dominance – No Hitters, Mound Dominance - The Closers, Mound Dominance – The Workhorses, Mound Dominance – The Strikeout Artists, Mound Dominance – Postseason Heroes.  If Topps delivered something like that, it would let them bring us something that more truly represented the many ways that one can dominate from the mound.  And it would certainly let them capture more collectors as well.

Topps, do you hear me???

Tons Of Trades = Lots Of Help With The Projects I Am Working On!!!

Tons Of Trades = Lots Of Help With The Projects I Am Working On!!!

I tell you what, I have the best and most generous readers around!

Their desire to help me conquer a few new collecting objectives has left me with mail almost every day for the last two weeks.  In turn, I hope that I have been able to assist a lot of you with cards for your collections as well.

I have finally finished sorting everything.  I have documented my gains and updated my checklists.  I am a lot further along tonight than I was 10 days ago.

So, without further ado, let’s take a peek at what has stuffed my mailbox over the last few weeks, shall we?

2103 Miami Marlins parallel versions and inserts:

2012 Topps Gypsy Queen ‘Moonshots’

2012 Topps Archives ‘Cloth Stickers’

2012 Topps Archives ‘Deckle Edge’

There is some really great stuff in there, and I am so very thankful to everyone that has helped me get a little closer to knocking out these subsets and team set.

Thank you to Brian, Marcus, Patrick, Ryan, Robert, Doug, Brad, Jeff, Oscar, Q, and Rob!!

My Checklists Are Built. My Cards Are Inventoried. I Am Ready To Build More Subsets. Can You Help Me???

My Checklists Are Built. My Cards Are Inventoried. I Am Ready To Build More Subsets.  Can You Help Me???

Last week I announced that I had decided to collect a few more subsets that came from 2012 Topps releases.

Topps created some great subsets in 2012, and I look forward to going after many of them.  I am going to start with the three listed below, but something tells me that adding a few more to my roster of future subsets to collect is a guarantee.

So, I have compiled the checklists.  I have sorted what I presently own.  And I have documented all of it.

Here are the three checklists that I am going after:

2012 Topps Gypsy Queen ‘MoonShots’ – I pulled eight of these cards from a bargain bin at a recent baseball card show.  You could say that purchase helped push me to go after the full set…

2012 Topps Gypsy Queen ‘Moonshots’		Have It??
MS-AB	Albert Belle	y
MS-AP	Albert Pujols
MS-BR	Babe Ruth
MS-CG	Curtis Granderson
MS-EL	Evan Longoria	y
MS-FR	Frank Robinson
MS-FT	Frank Thomas
MS-JB	Jose Bautista
MS-JH	Josh Hamilton	y
MS-JT	Jim Thome
MS-MM	Mickey Mantle
MS-MS	Mike Stanton
MS-MSC	Mike Schmidt
MS-NC	Nelson Cruz	y
MS-PF	Prince Fielder	y
MS-RH	Ryan Howard	y
MS-RJ	Reggie Jackson	y
MS-RK	Ralph Kiner	y
MS-WM	Willie Mays
MS-WMC	Willie McCovey

2012 Topps Archives ‘Deckle Edge’ – I loved these cards as soon as I saw them.  And while I would prefer that the set only contained cards of players that played when the set was originally debuted decades ago, I still want them all. 

I am starting this set from scratch - not a single Deckle Edge card in my current collection…

2012 Topps Archives ‘Deckle Edge’		Have It??
69DE-1	Roy Halladay
69DE-2	Evan Longoria
69DE-3	Jose Bautista
69DE-4	Mike Napoli
69DE-5	David Freese
69DE-6	Ichiro
69DE-7	Joe Mauer
69DE-8	Bob Gibson
69DE-9	Juan Marichal
69DE-10	Orlando Cepeda
69DE-11	Carl Yastrzemski
69DE-12	Roberto Clemente
69DE-13	Willie Mays
69DE-14	Harmon Killebrew
69DE-15	Joe Morgan

2012 Topps Archives – ’77 Cloth Stickers – This is another one that looks great and offers a good mix of current and former stars.  I have two cards from this set already, Joe Morgan and Reggie Jackson – but they are in my player collections and  I don’t want to pull them so this is another one that I am going to start from scratch…

2012 Topps Archives ’77 Cloth Stickers		Have It??
77C-AM	Andrew McCutchen
77C-CH	Catfish Hunter
77C-CC	Chris Carpenter
77C-CL	Cliff Lee
77C-CG	Curtis Granderson
77C-DJ	Derek Jeter
77C-EH	Eric Hosmer
77C-GC	Gary Carter
77C-GB	George Brett
77C-MS	Giancarlo Stanton
77C-JE	Jacoby Ellsbury
77C-JR	Jim Rice
77C-JM	Joe Morgan
77C-JB	Johnny Bench
77C-JH	Josh Hamilton
77C-JV	Justin Verlander
77C-KY	Kevin Youkilis
77C-RJ	Reggie Jackson
77C-RY	Robin Yount
77C-RC	Rod Carew
77C-RH	Roy Halladay
77C-RB	Ryan Braun
77C-SCA	Starlin Castro
77C-SC	Steve Carlton
77C-WS	Willie Stargell

I am really looking forward to this challenge.

And if you can lend a hand, I would certainly be open to organizing a few trades that would be mutually beneficial for both of us.

So, if you have any Gypsy Queen MoonShots, Archives Deckle Edge, or Archives Cloth Stickers laying around that are not beloved parts of your collections, let me know.  I am wanting to wheel and deal!!!

Thanks for reading.  Have a great night!!

Here Is The Checklist For The 2012 Topps Mound Dominance Subset. Now, It Is Time To Collect!!!

Here Is The Checklist For The 2012 Topps Mound Dominance Subset.  Now, It Is Time To Collect!!!

I am really eager to get this new subset going.  The more that I review the checklist, the more excited I get to get this thing started.

So, I am off to get my shop on.

But first, here is a look at the full checklist:

• #MD-1   Tom Seaver
• #MD-2   Justin Verlander
• #MD-3   Sandy Koufax
• #MD-4   Jim Palmer
• #MD-5   Dennis Eckersley
• #MD-6   Bob Gibson
• #MD-7   Roy Halladay
• #MD-8   Nolan Ryan
• #MD-9   Phil Niekro
• #MD-10 Armando Galarraga
• #MD-11 Warren Spahn
• #MD-12 Bob Feller
• #MD-13 Jon Lester
• #MD-14 John Smoltz
• #MD-15 Dwight Gooden
  

That’s a pretty impressive group of pitchers right there.

I am so ready to do this!!!

New Subset Coming To Wednesday Nights!!!

New Subset Coming To Wednesday Nights!!!

The title of the post says it all.  I have a new subset to show off, and I will be doing so on Wednesday nights.

 I have really enjoyed the subsets that have debuted in 2012.  My favorite is the ‘Career Day’ set and I am in the process of building and showing that one off on Mondays.

And now, on Wednesdays, I will show off another one of the subsets that I really like.  I was able to scoop up the complete set for just $2.99 with the shipping included. 

Without giving it away, the set includes a nice handful of Hall of Famers and superstars.

And here is one final hint…

Any guesses?  I am sure that you have a few…

Next week, I will provide the checklist.  And from there, it will be time for the cards!!

Have a nice night.