The Bucs Stop Here: Top 10 Cards Acquired in 2020

Time for the yearly recap of my top cards of the year! It was a great year of card collecting for me, with lots of spare time to organize, sell, trade, and add to the PC.

I've been pretty lousy at posting on the blog lately, but I've been really active with collecting which is the bigger half the battle. I've been selling some higher-end stuff and building up funds to go for some larger PC items. If I'm not posting and I'm not actively collecting, that's when I get away from the hobby and that sucks. 

I did a top ten post last year and had lot of fun with it. I probably handled more cards this year than ever before, so it was tough to narrow it down to ten, but here we go:

Number Ten

Carmelo Anthony/Ron Artest - 2005-06 Bowman Beginnings Relic

Acquried via: TCDB trade

This is definitely the goofiest card of the ten, but I really love it. I acquired this the other day via a fun TCDB trade. My trade partner sent me another 'Melo jersey card as well as Chris Paul Rookie. In return I sent a random assortment of Bowman baseball and football set needs, most of which were short printed. It was an awesome trade. I don't formally collect Carmelo cards, but he falls into the Syracuse Alum category and I have a small stash of his stuff. It's so random to see him on a card with Ron Artest, of all people. The Pacers pinstripe is the icing on the cake.

Number Nine

Bryan Reynolds - 2020 Topps Chrome Future Stars Insert Gold #/50

Acquired via: eBay Purchase

When I saw that Bryan Reynolds had a Future Stars insert, I was pretty excited. I can't remember the last time a Pirates player appeared in this set, let alone my favorite player. I was lucky to pull the base version out of a pack. If you're a regular reader, you know I had find a gold parallel. It took a while for one to show up on eBay, but when once it did I was all over it. Reynolds had a pitiful 2020 season, so his cards have become more affordable and this didn't cost much. 

Number Eight

Fernando Tatis Jr. - 2019 Topps RC

Acquired via: eBay Purchase

One of my better habits is holding onto some unopened boxes. I have a great stash of sealed boxes, and one of the gems is a pair of 2019 Topps Series 2 blasters. Their value is higher than ever, and I'm contemplating selling them. I'm still undecided, but I hate the idea of selling away a great a chance at Fernando Tatis Jr.'s true rookie. We're all hunting the next Mike Trout, and we may never see that. But, if anyone is going to close, it might be this guy. He's the real deal. To help alleviate the potential sting of selling the blasters, I made decided to buy a single. I think it was only about $30. Baseball cards are much cheaper in offseason, and his type has already died off as everyone is looking for NEXT hot rookie already.

Number Seven

Javier Baez - 2015 Bowman Chrome RC Auto #/500

Acquired via: eBay Purchase

It's not often that I hunt for an autograph for a Pirates-nemesis. The Pirates suck, so it makes the rivalry less bitter, if you ask me. I love Javy Baez's game and I wanted to add a sweet card of his to my collection. So, I did! 

Number Six

2019-20 NBA Hoops Ja Morant RC

Acquired via: eBay Purchase

I believe Morant to be the best player in the 2019-20 draft. I like Zion, and I'm rooting for him, but I think Ja is the guy. It's a crazy-loaded draft class and there are about a dozen other players that are already having great sophomore campaigns, so the best player may very well be someone NOT named Zion or Ja. Time will tell.

Back before the hobby got crazy, I opened a good amount of 2019-20 Prizm and Optic. I pulled Ja rookies from both... and of course sold them. The return seemed to be good to pass up for base cards. Well, a year later, their value has tripled. Woof.

I felt some sellers remorse and wanted a Ja rookie back in collection, but I'm wasn't willing to pay obscene prices for a base rookie. I settled for the consolation prize - NBA Hoops. Hoops is one of my favorite basketball releases, and it's become a good budget option in an insane card market. If Prizm is Ferrari and Optic is Mercedes, Hoops is Honda. Old reliable.

Number Five

Bryan Reynolds - 2019 Topps Chrome Update Gold Auto #/50 - Graded PSA 10

Acquired via: eBay Purchase

We're now over the halfway point and the cards are getting juicy. This card is about as close to perfection as you can get. It's my favorite player and it's an autograph. It's from my favorite set, and it's my favorite color parallel. To top it all off, it's a perfect 10/10. I overpaid for this, big time, but it will be a permanent centerpiece in my Reynolds collection.

Number Four

Derek Jeter - 1993 Topps Gold

Acquired via: Purchase from friend liquidating collecting

This card is a classic. A good friend of mine recently went through his childhood collection and sold off anything of value. He's not much a collector these days, and I helped him valuate some of his cards and liquidate his collection. I had wanted to add a Jeter rookie to my collection for a while and this was one of the cards he was selling. He gave me a fair deal. It's not Mint, but it's in good shape and it's one of the rare times I got buy a card off of a friend. A great memory for me.

Number Three

LeBron James/Kobe Bryant - 2003 Skybox Autographics

Acquired via: Twitter Purchase

This card is so awesome. It's technically a LeBron Rookie, and he's paired with the late great Kobe Bryant. This card features two of the three best players in the history of the game, IMO. My only gripe with the cards is the wholesomely unnecessary Skybox logo that gashes across the middle of the card.  Aside from that, it's flawless.

Number Two

Andrew McCutchen - 2005 Bowman's Best RC Gold #/50

Acquired via: Trade with Collecting Cutch

Huge, huge shoutout to Collecting Cutch for sending this my way. This card is. So. Badass.  It is the centerpiece of my Cutch collection, and no better way to acquire it than from the King of Cutch himself.

Number One

Bryan Reynolds - 2019 Topps Chrome Update Superfractor #1/1 - BGS Graded 9.5

Acquired via: eBay Purchase

Making it's blog debut, my favorite card. Yes. I did it. I acquired the card I never thought I would, Bryan Reynold's Topps Chrome Rookie Superfractor. I have been chasing the rainbow of this card, but from the jump I automatically assumed that I would never see the Super. It sold on eBay very shortly after the product it shelves. I set up an eBay saved search and I was floored when it surfaced for a .99 cent auction. There was no way I was losing. Admittedly, I paid a lot for this card. But this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I knew if I missed it I'd never see it again. 

As for the grade, it's a nice bonus. I don't understand why anyone feels the need to grade a superfactor. In my mind, grading cards is a way of separating a card from it's identical peers, if you will. But a superfractor has no peers. It's a one of a kind. Why grade it? 

Regardless, I'm extremely pleased that it came back as a Gem Mint 9.5. Even better, it has 9.5's across the board on the subgrades. I think anything less would have been a disappointment. It's also nice to have it secured and encased.

Getting this card is a big deal to me. In the past, if you asked me to pick a favorite card in my collection, it would have been tough for me to answer. Now, I can confidently and proudly answer that question.

That's all for the year 2020. Thanks so much for stopping by, and here's a great year of collecting in 2021!

So Close You Can Almost Taste It

Since the release of 2019 Topps Chrome Update, I've been chipping away at my first ever rainbow - that of Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds. I'm not sure what exactly constitutes a rainbow in the sports card collector dictionary but I'm making my own rules. I'm not looking for any printing plates (all that grey would sure dim a rainbow), and sadly I think I can write off the superfractor. It was pulled right around the product launch and immediately sold on eBay for a hefty sum. It hasn't resurfaced since so I'll infer that it has found a happy home with a big time Pirates collector. 

Yesterday in the mail I received the orange parallel (#/25). It came my way via eBay, and I believe this was the first time I've made a purchase on eBay in this fashion: The card was listed beginning at .99 for a standard 7 day auction. Interestingly, the seller had the "Make an offer" option enabled, so I went ahead and did just that - despite knowing that I would probably get the card for a lot less if I just waited out the auction. This was a risk I was willing to take. I've been looking for this card for all of 2020 and then some. This is the first time one has surfaced in over 6 months. I made a fair offer - right around what others had sold for - and it was accepted. I probably overpaid and I've never been more at peace with it!

With the addition of the orange parallel I am now just one card away from completing my rainbow. The final one is the red parallel which is numbered to just five copies.

And boy, is it elusive. I haven't seen any on eBay, ever. There also haven't been any postings on COMC and no activity on TCDB aside from it showing up on a few Wantlists. I fear that these five cards may very well be sitting inside packs inside of unopened boxes in a warehouse somewhere. And since this a retial-only product that could create even more complications. We can only hope that one of these "Breakers" out there does a massive, 100 box break and one of them makes their way to the resale market.

Weekly Additions to the Pirates Gold Room

The quest for gold bordered Pirates cards continues. This week features another pair of 2019 rookies who will play a large role in the success of the team moving forward.

Bryan Reynolds - 2016 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Chrome Gold Refractor #/50

Bryan Reynolds - 2019 Topps Update Gold Refractor Autograph #/50

With regards to the card on top, I'm bending the rules a bit for the Pirates Gold Room. The idea of collecting gold parallels was to "match" the gold border with the gold colors the you'll find on all Pirates jerseys. Reynolds was still with the Giants for his coveted 1st Bowman card - and orange sure as heck doesn't match with gold. Thankfully his almost-all-black jersey is pretty close to the Pirates colors. I'll let it slide.

I've learned something about myself as a collector: I don't mind collecting cards that picture my favorite player on their former teams. Ideally all of my Pirates cards would have the guys in Pittsburgh jerseys, but if they came via trade, I'm perfectly fine with them donning another team's threads. Even the Yankees... *eye roll*

How about you - will you collect your favorite players wearing their former team's colors? Or do you want your PC cards to only display your teams' logo?

Both of the cards above came to my attention through one of my eBay saved searches, which is about as broad as they get: "Bryan Reynolds Gold." I'm a huge fan of the saved search option on eBay.

The listing was for three cards total - it included both of the Reynolds cards above - but it had two copies of the 2016 BDPP Chrome! It was a Buy It Now, and the price seemed a little low to me. The price would have been fair if it were for just these two cards, so the extra copy of the 2016 BDPP seemed like a real bonus. I jumped on it just hours after it was listed. It might have flown a little under-the-radar since the cards were in a "lot." I've read that eBay sellers that are looking to maximize profit should avoid selling in lots since high-value cards in the group can get watered down by the rest of the cards. I'm thinking I may have been on the right of the the deal!

  

Cole Tucker - 2014 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Chrome Gold Refractor #/50

Gold refractor, or mustard yellow refractor? 

It seems that some time between 2014 and 2016, Topps changed their definition of gold. The two Reynolds cards seem to shine and pop a little brighter than gold refractors back in 2014. Not complaining, this card is still a beauty and looks better in-hand than on the scanner.

I wrote a bit about Cole Tucker in my previous post when Gavin hooked me up with my first Tucker auto - he's a first round draft pick and should be the Pirates shortstop of the future. It's kind of crazy to think that this card is already six years old, and Tucker is only 23 years old and made his MLB debut last year. When this card was printed, Tucker had just turned 18 and just graduated high school. I can't imagine being printed on baseball cards a few months after I graduated high school. On the other hand, it's also hard to fathom grown men paying lots of money for those cards, and yet here we are!

Thanks for reading.

Additions to the Pirates Gold Room

I often struggle to understand my identity as a collector. Wether its on the blogs or on Twitter, I feel like I often come across collectors who are very specific and intentional with their collections. 

Sure, I collect the Pirates. Yes, there are certain players that I prefer over others. Yes, there are cards I stay away from and cards that I'm drawn towards.

At the end of the day, I'm not too specific. I don't have a favorite player. I rarely build sets. 

However! If there's one thing that I love above all else, it's Pirates gold refractors. I've been making a point to acquire gold refractors as often as possible. Typically, Topps gold refractors are serial numbered /50. That's a good sweet spot for me. Only 50 copies makes it decently rare - but not impossible to find. Prices can get steep, but I haven't seen anything too outrageous.

Here are some of my recent pickups:

2019 Bowman's Best Mitch Keller Rookie - Gold Refractor #49/50

2019 Bowman Chrome Prospects Ke'Bryan Hayes - Gold Shimmer Refractor #40/50

2017 Bowman Chrome Tyler Glasnow Rookie - Gold Refractor #46/50

2019 Topps Update Bryan Reynolds - Gold Refractor #/50. This is the latest addition to my  Bryan Reynolds rainbow. I'm only missing Orange #/25 and Red #/5.

I've really enjoyed chasing after these. I feel like it's given me some purpose when it comes to "what to chase," and as we know, the chase is half of the fun. 

Christmas Came Late

I was really jealous when I saw a bunch of bloggers busting 2019 Topps Holiday Boxes back in December. I think it's safe to say that this product is universally well-liked - I couldn't find you a collector that has anything bad to say about it.

I don't normally shop at Wal-Mart, but I started to make some Wally World pit stops once these hit the shelves, and I was lucky enough to stumble across a box in December. My plan was to open it around Christmas day. I ended up doing a lot of travel around the holiday, and then forgot that I had the box stashed away. 

I finally got around to opening it today. Merry Christmas to me!

Several of the rookie headliners showed up and I'm pretty pumped about that. I think Austin Riley might just have the best career out of these four. Don't @ me. 

If there is one Pirates card in the set that I was hoping for, this is the one. It's nice to add the base card to my collection. I already have the sparkly snowflake parallel which I highlighted as my #9 favorite card in my top 10 cards of the year. That came my way via a PWE swap with Matt at Diamond Jesters.

I kept a keen eye out for SPs, which come aplenty in this set. Some are subtle, and some are incredibly obvious, like Carlos Correa holding a giant candy cane. It's easy to hit big league pitching when you know what pitch is coming - but no word on the ease of swinging a giant peppermint stick.

Each box promises an autograph or memorabilia card. I have yet to see an autograph on the blogosphere, relics only. For a plain white relic, I think this is pretty much best case scenario. Very happy to add this to my collection. 

Who out there is building this set? I remember reading a few blogs that were going for it, but can't recall. I'd be happy to send out set needs to fill holes where I can. 

Thanks for reading!

The Bucs Stop Here: Top 10 Cards of 2019

I’ve seen several of these types of posts on the blogosphere over the past few days and I have really enjoyed the recaps. It was tough for me to rank these, but I wanted to join the fun and highlight the Top 10 cards that I acquired in 2019.

It was hard to pick just 10 (let alone rank them), but I managed to make it work. Check out my top 10 below with some commentary included.

We'll start with some Honorable Mentions:

Number Ten:

2019 Topps Chrome Update Michael Chavis Pink Parallel

Acquired via: Secret Santa package from Jim (TCDB)

This card was the big find in one of the four 2019 Topps Chrome Update packs that were in included in my Secret Santa package from Jim. I absolute love when parallel colors blend well with team colors and logos, and pink goes great with the Sox. This card is a special to me because of Jim’s thoughtfulness when putting together a Secret Santa that he knew I’d love.

Number Nine:

2019 Topps Holiday Bryan Reynolds Metallic Snowflake Parallel

Acquired via: Trade with Matt at Diamond Jesters

My very first Bryan Reynolds rookie card came in a PWE thanks to Matt. I’m trying to get my hands on as much Bryan Reynolds as possible, so I quickly inquired about this card when I saw it pop up in Matt’s 2019 Topps Holiday Box break. He was generous enough to get in the mail to me quickly. 

Number Eight:

2015 Bowman Chrome Kevin Newman Auto Refractor BGS 9.5

Acquired via: eBay Buy it Now (Best Offer Accepted)

I picked this up on eBay way back in June when Newman started to get hot. It cost me a little more than the price of a blaster. It’s one of very few Newman autos that I have and I couldn’t be happier with it. He’s part of the young core for the Pirates that needs to perform in order for the team to contend.

Number Seven:

2019 Panini Contenders Oshae Brissett Auto

Acquired via: Trade with Doug at Sports Cards from the Dollar Store. 

A great add to my Syracuse basketball collection. Brissett was a very big part of Syracuse’s offense over the past two years before declaring for the draft this summer. I loved watched watching him in college and I’m hoping he’ll stick in the NBA.

Number Six:

2016 Topps Chrome Jose Berrios Auto Refractor #/499

Acquired via: eBay Buy it Now 

A few Berrios cards made their way into my collection this summer, and this is my favorite of them all. I started collecting his cards when he was having a ton of success for my fantasy baseball team this year. I really believe he could be a top-of-the-rotation, perennial all-star type of player. I look at him as a future ace, so I’ve been taking a buy-low approach with his cards and trying to build up a small collection.

Number Five:

2017 Bowman Chrome Shane Baz Auto #/499

Acquired via: eBay Auction

This was an interesting pick-up for me because I rarely/almost never outright buy former Pirates cards.

You may not have heard of Shane Baz yet (pronounced bozz), but you will. He’s the piece of the Chris Archer deal that is flying waayyy under the radar. The marquee players in the trade, Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow are major leaguers who have both made a splash with the Rays and therefore stole the spotlight. Meadows especially, making his first all-star game in July.

Don’t sleep on Baz. He was drafted 12^th overall by the Pirates in 2017 and he’s only 20 years old. He’s the sixth ranked prospect in a Tampa Bay Rays system that also has the top prospect in baseball. I love Boz’s potential. This card hit the market over two years ago and has depreciated quite a bit, so I was happy to grab this for less than the price of a blaster.

Book this page for a nice “I told you so” in 2023. 

Number Four:

2018 Panini Prizm Minkah Fitzpatrick Pink Parallel Auto

Acquired via: eBay Buy it Now (best offer accepted)

The Steelers 2020 First Round draft pick! When the Steelers acquired Fitzpatrick I immediately wanted to add one of his autos to my Steelers PC. I picked up this Rookie parallel for under $10. Can’t wrong with Prizm.

Number Three:

2019 Topps Chrome Update Bryan Reynolds Blue #/150, Purple #/175, X-Fractor #/199, Refractor #/250.

Acquired via: eBay Auctions

I cheated here. #3 isn’t just one card, but a group of parallels.

I have yet to show these off, so here we go! These are the newest additions to my Bryan Reynolds PC. Reynolds had a breakout year for the Pirates, hitting .314 in just under 500 ABs as a rookie. He cooled off in the last two weeks of the season, but in mid-September he was in the .330’s and jockeying with Anthony Rendon for the NL batting Title. He’s quickly becoming one of my favorite players.

Dare I say it – but I think I’m going to go for…. THE RAINBOW. (Well, kind of. It’s likely to be more of a poor man’s rainbow).

Topps Chrome Update didn’t go crazy with parallels. There are a lot, but it seems reasonably attainable: Super 1/1, Red /5, Orange /25, Gold /50, Green /99, Blue /150, Purple /175, X-Fractors /199, Refractors /250, Pink (Hanger Packs Only). 

Right off the bat, let’s punt on the Superfractor. It’s already been sold on eBay for $500 OBO, therefore it’s probably in the hands of super-collector. Either way, too rich for my blood. There are also four 1/1 printing plates which I’ll be skipping. So I’ve already got four of the nine parallels, plus the base to go. The red, orange, and gold could hurt the wallet a bit, but prices will drop over time. Wish me luck!

Number Two:

2019 Panini Flawless Collegiate Benny Snell Jr. Patch/Auto

Acquired via: eBay Buy it Now (best offer accepted)

This was by far the biggest add to my Steelers PC this year and possibility ever. This card was an absolute must-have for me after seeing the Citrus Bowl patch. Kentucky football fans will quickly tell you about the 2018 Citrus Bowl and how much it means to the fanbase. For a University that’s always been dubbed a “basketball school,” it was a HUGE deal to see Kentucky playing in a New Year’s six bowl. They also won – over Penn State nonetheless – for one of the biggest victories in program history.

When I saw that they put the Citrus Bowl Patch into cards, I knew I had to get one. This card checks all the boxes for me: Serial Numbered, rookie, on-card autograph. I also love how the patch is visible on Benny’s jersey in the picture on the card. I’m fully aware that this was undoubtedly an “event worn” jersey, but let me dream and pretend Benny was wearing this when he ran for 144 yards and two touchdowns.

Number One:

2016-17 Panini National Treasures Malachi Richardson Booklet

Acquired via: Trade with Doug at Sports Cards from the Dollar Store. 

I’ll just let this beauty speak for itself. My first ever booklet and my first ever logo card. It’s not a star player by any means, but this card is just so sweet. It’s also ranked up high due to Doug’s generosity. I never expected him to send this my way via trade, and he didn’t think twice about it.’

That wraps up the highlights for 2019. Thanks so much for stopping by, and looking forward to another great year in collecting!

Minkah Fitzpatrick is Really Good

And I'm happy he's on my team. For the first time in a long time the Steelers have a respectful defense. This is due to a variety of factors. Bud Dupree is emerging as a viable starter, T.J. Watt continues to look like a perennial Pro-Bowler, and the secondary has quietly done their part.

Most importantly the addition of Minkah Fitzpatrick has really boosted the defensive unit. Simply put, Fitzpatrick has been a total game changer since his arrival. In just eight games he has: Forced a fumble. Recovered a fumble. Snagged five picks. 

Oh, AND he's scored TWO touchdowns. 

Upon hearing of the trade back in mid-September I was immediately looking to add a Minkah auto to my collection. Considering that he's only one year removed from being drafted #11 overall and has been a consistently good pro, I was pleasantly surprised to see that his autos were pretty affordable. 

I'm always hunting for numbered parallels so I was hoping find one for a decent price. The highest number out there for 2018 Prizm is #/199. This is for red parallels which were running $15+ and that's just too steep for me.

I settled for a Pink parallel for less than $10. Not numbered, but it's some variety past just the silver base card so I'll take it!

While we're here, I'll show off a Pirates PC pickup. Bryan reynolds had an incredible breakout season in 2019. His cards were few and far between until 2019 Topps Update. I'm still looking for his base cards (both Update and Chrome Update) and I'll wait to get those through trade. 

I can wait for the base cards, but I couldn't wait any longer to grab an auto. This is my second auto of his and the first one in a Pirates uniform. This cards also goes against a few of my collecting principles: It's not numbered, and it's a sticker auto. But this is the first Reynolds autograph card as a Pirate and I just couldn't wait.

Thanks for reading!