Another Chavez Contest Opportunity

You don't want to miss this one guys! Alex over at Chavez Ravining is holding another awesome contest. There are some awesome prizes on the line, so get check out! 

Three Random Cards for Your Viewing Pleasure

Salvador Perez. Ever heard of him? Well I hadn't until a few days ago. I was reading an article about the KC Royals, and how they had a real breakthrough season last year- very similar to my Buccos. 

I heard very little about KC here on the east coast, probably because they get so little national media coverage. From my reading, it seems like the team's made up of some real gritty blue-collar type of guys. My kind of players. One of them is Salvador Perez, who is probably one of the most underrated players in the entire MLB.

After some reading, he's what I'd learned about this guy:

-23 years old

-He was never a top prospect, or regarded as a realistic MLB talent 

-His first mjaor league homerun was off of Max Scherzer (nice) and in that same game, he was a triple away from the cycle (figures)

-He's a career .301 hitter. ........ .301

-2013 All-Star and a Gold Glover

...So I had to have a card of his. eBay presented me with this, for $12 shipped:

Shiny! And numbered to 15! 

For some reason, WBC cards are generally very affordable. I've got to assume it's the lack of MLB logos, jerseys, etc. Maybe it's just a cheap product overall? I've never dabbled.

Either way, I couldn't care any less, I've landed this beauty! Next up...

A Pirates PC addition of course! For $7, I was able to get my hands on this Travis Snider Rookie auto. Travis is currently competing for the right field position, which is as wide open as the Grand Canyon. Seriously. You could probably walk on and try out for the spot. 

Unlike Perez, this guy was once a highly touted prospect (back in '07), which is probably why a fellow collector sent this to be graded. He's struggled to find his niche in the majors since. I'm not one to collect graded cards, but it was the bang-for-my-buck Snider auto out there, so I pulled the trigger. Welcome home, Travy!

Last is the most random card ever. Over the weekend I hopped in a group break of Panini Titanium because why the hell not. I was randomly assigned the Cavs, which was exciting because of the Kyrie Irving potential. Instead I landed this. I'm not complaining, because group breaks often leave us with nothing. The swatch is purple because it's from Bynum's days as a Laker. Lol.

For whatever reason, I just start laughing hysterically and maniacally when I see this card. I have no idea why. I guess that's just the affect that Andrew Bynum has. Aside from comic relief, I have noooo use for this card. So if anyone wants to trade for it, please speak up!

Thanks for reading, as always.

Topps Comes Through With Yet Another Redemption

You read that right! Topps was gracious enough to fulfill another one of my redemptions, and pretty quickly too.

I've actually had great success with Topps redemptions. I've heard all of the nightmare stories of course, and I'm incredibly thankful that I haven't encountered any issues. I've only redeemed three codes, but so far I'm 3 for 3, and none of them have taken more than 3-4 months:

 Hopefully you're aware of this by now, I'm laboring to complete a 2013 Topps Chrome Blue Parallel Set. It's been a hell of a project, loaded with challenges... most of which pertain to my wallet.

I've decided to take out the big guns first- which now that I think about- is probably pretty stupid for cost reasons. I've knocked off some of the more significant rookies, which of course are the most costly. I've got Puig, Machado, Myers, Ryu, and Arenado so far.

Fitting into that class of star rookies is Jose Fernandez. While combing over eBay, I found an interesting auction. It was for the card I needed, but with it a redemption for Fernandez's 2013 Chrome base auto. It was OBO, so I threw out what I felt was reasonable offer. It was accepted. I pondered selling the redemption card, but after seeing on the Topps Redemption Update Blog that Jose had just signed his 2013 Chrome cards, I decided to redeem it.

*** Note --- If you haven't checked out the Topps Redemption blog, I'd highly recommend bookmarking it. It's Topps' attempt at improving customer service for redemptions, and I must say I've found it useful on several occasions. ***

Here's the card:

Cool, right?! I really like the sig. Simple, but not so simple that it sucks. For example:

Seriosuly, Wil?! Really?

Thanks for reading!

My New Favorite Card, Period.

I splurged. I've been browsing eBay for years for the right Andrew McCutchen auto, I've learned one thing. They're expensive as hell. I probably shouldn't have waited until after his MVP season to pull the trigger... but as they say, hindsight is 20/20. 

The important thing is, I bought my first goddamn McCutchen auto! And it's a friggin' beauty.

Judge for yourself:

2005 Topps Chrome. Pretty, right? Here's the back:

And in and effort to better capture the refractor aspect:

If you don't like this card, you're high. Or you just don't like it. That's fine too. What I love about this card:

-It's a rookie. What's not to love about that?

-The design. It hits most of my criteria for a perfect card: A nice theme of team colors, the team logo is displayed well, and the player's name is very distinguished.

-It's a refractor! Better yet, it's serial numbered- which is where my fetish lies when it comes to my PC. It's 220/500... which is, in way, Cutch's jersey number! (22) Nice little touch.

-Since it's a rookie card, it's from back when Cutch used his "extended" auto, if you will. Nowadays, since he signs a million autographs, he uses a more abbreviated autograph:

He's been penning the shortened version for a while now. I still love the new sig, but I also love that it used to be different. It's just another quality that makes my card unique!

The only downfall is that the auto is a sticker. But as far as I know, Cutch doesn't have any hard-signed rookie cards. I'm not a fan of stickers in general, especially the big silver ones that Topps favored for a while. 

Thanks for checking out my new baby, and thanks for checking out the blog!

Trade Bait Update - All Baseball Auto's and Memorabilia Cards

Call me a horder. You'd be spot on. I used to have a fetish for jersey cards. I still really like them, but they're not as exciting as they used to be. The bottom line here is that I have too many that don't fit anywhere into my collections. I also have some autographs that I have no use for. 

Here's what I'm hoping. I'm hoping that there are some collectors out there that can give these cards a good home. If you see anything here that you really like, please drop a comment or shoot me an e-mail at nsbell440@gmail.com. If you're looking for details about any of the cards (some are numbered on the back and such), I'd be happy to fill you in.

Many of these cards carry some good value. I'm not just passing out charity, but I am generous trader. Again: If you see something you like, please reach out! Everything here is available. 

These images will also be posted onto my trade bait page.

I have tons of basketball and football memorabilia cards as well; stay tuned for posts on those!

Catching Up On Some Recent Trades

I've been getting a ton of mail lately, far too much to keep up with on the blog- but here are this week's highlights:

All five of the cards above are from CynicalBuddha over at Collector's Crack. He's a huge baseball fan,  and has some really interesting collections. Definitely worth checking out his blog!

I was very pleased with everything he sent me, particularly the Grilli gold border. I love Grilli's S1 picture- It sums him up well. Buddha was kind enough to throw in a bunch of other cards. Next up, an auto...

Sent to me by Mr. Judson Meeks over at My Cardboard Habit. If you don't know Judson, you probably blog on a different planet. Judson runs a very entertaining blog, and he's an incredibly generous trader. I think I've established myself as Judson's "Pirate Guy," which I am more than OK with. 

I'm not in love with the design of these Trajectory auto cards, but I am in love with a rookie auto from a current Pirate. My thoughts on Lambo are pretty well documented.

Thanks to both of my trading partners, and thanks to you for reading!

My Dormant Blog Comes Alive with a Topps Redemption!

Yes you read that correctly. I received a redemption from Topps! It's really possible- more on that to follow.

We all have our reasons for our week long blogging hiatuses. My reasons are no different than any you've heard or written about- work, school, significant other, other hobbies- etc. Therefore I will not bore you with monotonous details of my unexciting life. 

Although I haven't been writing, I've been actively reading and pursuing upgrades to my Pirates PC. As I've mentioned in previous posts, one of my unwritten goals for the year is to acquire a certified autograph of every Pirates player, however realistic that may be. I've made some awesome progress in the past few weeks:

First up is Gaby Sanchez from 2012 Topps GQ. I've mentioned before that I'm a big fan of Gypsy Queen auto's, mostly based on design. The blue ink on card and the fading area for the auto looks really smooth. I got this bad boy for under $5 shipped.

Gaby is currently the only true first baseman on the Pirates roster with a major league contract. He's a guy who mashes lefties (.333 in 102 AB in '13) but can't see the ball against righties (.204 in 162 AB), which evens out to a subpar .254 last year. He saw his playing time against lefties, and as a defensive replacement. Hopefully he can come around this year, as it looks like the position lies in his hand for now.

Next up is Clint Barmes from 2006 Upper Deck Artifacts, numbered to 800. Although this card is a sticker, it actually works quite well. The sticker itself is transparent and doesn't look entirely miserable on the card. It's also numbered which is always a bonus for me. This was right around $5 bucks shipped.

Clint's known as an excellent defensive shortstop with a below-average bat. He, much like Sanchez, is often inserted into the lineup in the 7th inning or later as defensive replacement. He's known as a great guy around the locker room and a true "veteran presence." If I reacll correctly, manager Clint Hurdle brought him to Pittsburgh after being impressed with Clint's character in Colorado.

Here's Russell Martin, 2007 Bowman's Best. A simple card for sure, but I don't ever mind that. I have some beef with those silver auto stickers, but it was the only affordable option for Russ. The sticker honestly doesn't look that bad because most of the card is silver anyhow. I grabbed this card for $10 shipped.

Russ is much more of a household name than the other guys, so I'll save my comments regarding his offensive ability. What I love about him most is his ability to throw out base runners. More importantly, the threat of his cannon prevents opposing teams from running on him in the first place. According to the 2013 Fielding Bible, Martin saved the Pirates 16 total runs last year. He was also runner up for the Gold Glove Award for his position. Not too shabby.

Lastly, a redemption came through from Topps- Gerrit Cole 2013 Bowman Platinum, Jersey and Auto /199. I actually bought this redemption back in the fall, and it came through in only four months, which I am NOT complaining about.  I picked up the redemption card for around $30 dollars, which seemed like a good deal at the time- and I have no regrets.

As for the card itself, it's nothing amazing. The jersey swatch is a simple plain white, and the auto is a sticker (boooo). I love the fact that it's a blue parallel numbered to 199, giving it some rarity. I also like how Cole is wearing number 75, which was his minor league number. He's been wearing 45 in the majors and most likely will continue to do so for the remainder of his career. Overall, a nice card.

Thanks for reading! 

Nate