Cakes

Chris over at Nachos Grande held a contest in which anyone who helped him along in his quest to complete the diamond sparkly Topps flagship set would get an entry in a giveaway. As it turns out, I won second prize, a relic card from a Hall of Fame player.

Since I am only able to hit the blogs I follow about once a week, I was blissfully unaware of my major award until it arrived in my mailbox.  I was wondering why Chris was sending me anything as our collecting focuses really don't overlap anymore. But all was revealed when I opened the envelope.

 A 2010 Topps National Chicle Jim Palmer. I am not sure if it is the idea of having a bat relic for a pitcher with a .174 lifetime batting average or the breeze blown hair in the art work, but this card is glorious.

I realize that seems a bit harsh. It isn't intended that way. Sure, there is a little bit of the kitsch about the card. But, kitsch is good.  My wife and I have a collection of drink glasses from The Kahiki, a (former) polynesian supper club in Columbus, OH. (Note: if it sounds familiar, that is because after the owners closed the restaurant, they opened a frozen foods business and you can find Kahiki products in your supermarket's freezer case.)  So, Chris, don't take my comments as a dismissal of this card.  It has already been placed in an honored position in my mojo binder, on the same page as my Robinson Cano and CC Sabathia relics.

Thank you!

2011 Card Countdown - Number 1

A drumroll please.





My favorite card of the year:



2001 Topps Archive Reserve Willie Mays Aut

This is far and away the best card I got from the Diamond Giveaway Transmogrifier.

I don't have much else to say. I sat and did the last 9 writeups in one sitting before Christmas and ran out of what little creative juices I had. My coffee cup was empty too. As you read this I will be somewhere between Columbus, OH and Saint Louis, MO making my way back home. Here is hoping you all had a safe and joyous holiday season and your new year will be a happy one.

See ya on the flip side.

Mail Call - Diamond Edition

I started today a little hungover from the joy of getting a trade package from Night Owl. This may or may not have been the scene in my front yard this morning:


But, luckily my connection (known by his nom de guerre "The Postman") delivered me some sweet, sweet cardboard. I got my final delivery of Diamond Giveaway cards. I basically got everything from 1980 or earlier. I won't show them all, but here are my favorites:




1980 and 1976 Bill Campbell. It is hard to believe, but in 1976 Campbell won 17 games.....as a reliever. And saved another 20. That was back when relief pitchers were badass. Guys like Soup here averaged around 2 innings per appearance. Indeed, over the course of 78 appearances in 1976, Bill threw 2 innings or more 42 times, 3 innings or more 23 times, 4 innings or more 9 times, and 5 innings or more 6 times. Now that is a relief pitcher. Nothing like these primadonnas today that call themselves closers. Buncha weenies compared to the fireman back in the day.


Anyways, back to the cards.


After six years of sucking at youth soccer, I tried playing little league baseball.
The first year, I played first base and pitched a little. I was tall and skinny, wore wire-rimmed glasses that darkened outside, and threw side-armed. In short, I looked exactly like a 13 year old Kent Tekulve. Except, of course, that I sucked.




Not much to say except this card is pristine. Looks like it just came out of the pack. Unlike the other two 73s in my shipment that look a little more bedraggled.






This is the very first 1952 Topps in my collection.


There is a little story here. I had originally drew a die cut Jackie Robinson a couple months back. I am not overly fond of these type of cards, so I figured I might use it to get something I wanted. But, almost immediately, I got offered two die cut cards (Tom Seaver and Bob Gibson) for the Jackie. I accepted that trade, then set about using those two die cuts as trade bait. I tried for weeks to trade them first for a 2001 Topps Archive Johnny Antonelli auto, and then for a 1952 Antonelli. My efforts failed completely. Then I realized one of my trading partners still needed a diamond die cut of a Adrian Beltre. So, I offered up the Seaver for the Beltre. Within 5 minutes the trade was accepted.

So, I am still left with the Gibson. The card is nice enough, but still really doesn't fit with my collecting priorities. If anyone is interested in it, take a look at my want lists and make me an offer.

Jackie's Gone

I traded away my Jackie Robinson Diamond Die-Cut. After numerous offers, most of which falled into the category of 'insulting', I pulled the trigger on this offer:


I will now begin entertaining offers of 1970s commons for these two cards.

Returning to the Surface

It has been a rough week since I last posted. Work has been crazy, over the weekend one of our dogs died unexpectedly, and yesterday the severe weather in Oklahoma drew a bead on Norman. In the end, the tornados that were pointed towards us died out before they got here. But, we did end up using our storm shelter for the first time. Plus, getting the various cats, dogs, and horses ready consumes a fair amount of time. So it isn't something you wait until the last minute to do.

But, there is some card news to report. A couple weeks ago, I requested delivery on 16 cards in my Diamond Giveaway portfolio and they arrived yesterday. Here is a sample of what I got.


1959 Brooks Lawrence

1961 Al Smith

1963 Joe Gibbon

Mr. Popularity

And, of course, this card:



I should note that, in addition to our pets, I took our computers into the storm shelter with us, since they contain many of our vital records and about all of our photographs. I made sure to close this card inside the laptop cover. If I was going to lose my collection, I was damn sure going to save my Willie Mays autograph card.

Lastly, during a recent trip to Wally World, I weakened and picked up another one of those $14.99 value boxes. With the two code cards, I got some crappy 1990s card and this:



They are selling well on EBay, mostly in the $60-$70 range, but as high as $119 and as low as $31. I am planning to take delivery on this and immediately put it up on EBay. However, I still have been looking at the trade offers. I almost jumped on the offer of Die-Cut cards of Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson, but I think someone else popped on the offer first, since it was gone when I went back again.

Mr. Popularity, Part 6

Just chilling in the hotel waiting to head out to the Rangers-Yankess game. Figured I might as well get this published. Delivery Request has gone live on the Diamond Giveaway site. After I return from my trip I am going to have them ship to me all the good cards in my portfolio. So, I guess this feature will be wrapping up soon. I believe this includes my first 7 card offer for Messersmith. Alas, it was 7 cards of junk. On a semi-related note, a couple of days ago I got a 144 card offer for my autographed Willie Mays card. Not a single one of the cards was anything of value. Of course, I turned it down.

194. 1973 Ted Abernathy


195. 1974 John Curtis


196. 1975 Buddy Bradford


197. 1975 Lee Richards


198. 1976 Al Fitzmorris


199. 1976 Gary Matthews


200. 1980 Johnny Oates


201. 1985 Dan Quisenberry


202. 1986 Jay Howell


203. 1987 Jim Deshaies


204. 1988 Ernie Whitt


205. 1989 Ozzie Smith


206. 1998 Robert Alomar


207. 2006 Johnny Damon


208. 2007 Morgan Enserg


209. 2007 Manny Ramirez


210. 1976 Tom Murphy and 1984 Don Money


211. 1979 Gary Matthews and 1992 David Justice


212. 1980 Gary Matthews and 1981 Brian Asseltine


213. 1980 Seattle Future Stars and 1993 Henry Rodriguez


214. 1993 Henry Rodriguez and 2009 Casey Blake


215. 1986 Bobby Valentine, 1989 Bob Knepper, and 1989 Charlie Hough


216. 1985 Billy Sample, 1988 Dave Schmidt, 1994 Richie Lewis, 1995 Dwight Smith, 2000 Jim Thome, 2007 Cla Meredith, and 2007 Jeff Salazar

No Willie for You!

So, I've been eagerly awaiting my first trade offer for this little gem I got in the Diamond Giveaway:



Today it came through:



A 1952 Less Moss (B.V. $40), 1956 Joe Frazier (B.V. $12), 1959 Bob Miller (B.V. $4),and a 1960 Bob Nieman (B.V. $4). Not that I intend to trade that Mays card. Indeed, I intend to request delivery as soon as I can. But, with a book value on that card of $200, folks are going to have to alot better to make me even think about it.

PS. Can you tell that I am still tickled that the Diamond Transmogrifier saw fit to give me that card?

Mr. Popularity, Part 4

It's Sunday morning and time to update the trade offers I have received on the Topps Diamond Giveaway site for my 1973 Andy Messersmith. I was thinking about also doing this feature for the sweet Willie Mays Autograph card I unlocked yesterday, but I haven't gotten a single trade offer for it yet. I think it has to do with the fact that they have him listed as Willie Howard Mays. If I go into the trade function on the Diamond Giveaway site and search on Willie Mays, that card doesn't come up on the list. So, I am a little disappointed that I am not going to be offered a sweet 1987 Barry Larkin for it, but I will forebear. And you get stuck with Andy.

So, without further ado:

124. 1971 Bob Hoerner (I thought about this one, but given the fact that I'll be putting a 73 set together long before I get around to 71, I decided to pass)


125. 1973 Bob Montgomery


126. 1974 Bill North


127. 1974 Bill Stoneman


128. 1974 Earl Williams


129. 1974 Jim Merritt


130. 1974 Pete Broberg


131. 1974 Steve Arlin


132. 1974 Jim Slaton


133. 1974 Balor Moore


134. 1974 Skip Jutze


135. 1974 Manny Mota


136. 1974 Mike Caldwell


137. 1975 Mac Scarce


138. 1979 Ed Hermann


139. 1979 Frank Taveras


140. 1979 Ron Schueler


141. 1980 Chris Knapp


142. 1980 Texas Future Stars


143. 1983 Carlton Fisk


144. 1985 Alan Trammell


145. 1986 Ricky Horton


146. 1987 Carlton Fisk


147. 1987 Gary Carter


148. 1987 Steve Carlton


149. 1987 Padres Team Leaders


150. 1990 Tom Pagnozzi


151. 1991 Dave Gallagher


152. 1992 Eric Davis


153. 1992 Mo Vaughn


154. 1993 Alejandro Pena


155. 1995 Devon White


156. 1996 Alex Fernandez


157. 1996 Ken Caminiti


158. 1997 Chad Mottola (twice)

160. 1997 Shannon Stewart


161. 2007 Tony LaRussa


162. 2008 Kenny Lofton


163. 2009 Aaron Rowland


164. 1976 Jim Bibby and 2004 Matt Lawton


165. 1976 Jim Rooker and 1976 Ray Corbin


166. 1992 Mo Vaughn and 2008 Justin Upton


167. 1996 Alex Fernandez and 1997 Chad Mottola


168. 2001 Greg Norton and 2002 Mark Buehrle


169. 2003 Odalis Perez and 2008 Andy LaRoche


170. 1977 Rowland Office, 1979 Preston Hanna, and 1979 Barry Bonnel (Not a bad offer actually, but still turned it down since I haven't decided whether to put 1979 together yet)


171. 1992 Jose Hernandez, 1995 Greg Swindell, 1996 Andy Ashby, 1997 Alex Fernandez, and 2001 Ken Caminiti


172. 1994 Alex Arias, 1994 John Flaherty, 1994 Kurt Stilwell, 1994 Matt Farner, 1994 Dan Plescac, 1994 Larry Luebbers, 1995 Orlando Merced, 1995 Matt Whiteside, 1996 Wally Joyner

In Which My Luck Goes South

After my huge hit, I actually opened the packs I got in that value box and managed to beat the odds and score 3 more code cards. Feeling pretty chuffed, I entered another and did alright, since I may get around to putting 1972 together:


So, I tried another:


I am thinking Pokey Reese is a sign that I should maybe hold onto the remaining two codes to enter another time.

Mr. Popularity, Part 3

I guess it is about time to detail the previous week's list of trade offers I received on Topps Diamond Giveaway site for the 1973 Andy Messersmith in my portfolio.

75. 1973 Jim McAndrew


76. 1973 Mike Corkins (twice)

78. 1973 Rich Morales


79. 1974 Bill Stoneman


80. 1974 Jim Wohlford


81. 1974 Ken Rudolph


82. 1974 Paul Lindblad


83. 1974 Rick Auerbach


84. 1974 Skip Lockwood


85. 1979 Dennis Martinez


86. 1976 Dave Roberts


87. 1977 Andy Messersmith


88. 1977 Pete LaCock


89. 1977 Ken McMullen


90. 1978 Manny Mota (twice)

92. 1980 Gary Mathews


93. 1980 Tippy Martinez


94. 1984 Highlights


95. 1986 Dwight Gooden


96. 1986 Fernando Valenzuela


97. 1987 George Brett


98. 1987 Mike Schmidt


99. 1987 Mike Scioscia


100. 1987 Pete Rose (twice)

102. 1987 Terry Puhl


103. 1990 Dave Gallagher


104. 1991 Shawn Boskie


105. 1993 Cal Ripken


106. 1993 Barry Bonds


107. 1997 Pat Hentgen


108. 1997 Kevin Gross


109. 1997 Steve Finley


110. 2000 Roger Clemens


111. 2006 Aaron Rowland


112. 1978 Ed Figueroa and 1986 Rickey Henderson


113. 1979 Indians Prospects and 1992 Reggie Jefferson


114. 1989 Tracy Jones and 1992 Tim Wallach


115. 1995 Don Slaught and 1997 Phil Nevin


116. 1992 Todd Hundley and 1993 Willie Randolph (three times)

119. 2003 Odalis Perez and 2006 Damaso Marte


120. 1994 Jose Guzman and 1994 Dan Plesac


121. 1979 Tom Hume, 1979 Steve Renko, and 1979 Dodgers Checklist


122. 1990 Ron Robinson, 1991 Gary Templeton, 1992 Andy Mota, 1992 Terry Steinbach, and 1995 Craig Shipley


123. 1993 Mike Moore, 1993 Rafael Pameiro, 2003 Shawn Green, 2005 Wade Robinson, 2006 Geoff Bloom, and 2008 Ross Gload

Mr. Popularity

I've got a total of 16 cards in my Diamond Giveaway portfolio, including one card each from 1958, 1960, and 1969, and 6 from the 1970s. However, now that trading has gone live, one card has emerged as the most popular: A 1973 Andy Messersmith.

So far, I have been offered:

1. 1977 Doug Rader


2. 1979 Dave Cash


3. 1979 Manny Sarmiento


4. 1980 Larry McWilliams


5. 1980 Andy Hassler


6. 1985 Mike Moore


7. 1986 Craig McMurtry (twice)

9. 1986 Lou Whitaker


10. 1987 Don Sutton


11. 1987 Tom Seaver (twice)

13. 1987 Mets Leaders


14. 1987 Mike Schmidt


15. 1987 Tony Gwynn


16. 1988 Robin Yount


17. 1988 Tony Gwynn


18. 1993 Ben McDonald


19. 1996 Mike Greenwell


20. 1977 Andy Hassler and 2007 Gil Meche


21. 1980 Jim Essian and 1989 Dennis Eckersley


22. 1976 Doug Rau, 1987 Toby Harrah, and 2007 Grady Little


Since I will eventually be putting the 1973 set together, I am quite unlikely to let this one go for anything but a lopsided trade (in my favor, obviously). But, I am fascinated with the interest in this card. Messersmith had some great years with California, Los Angeles, and Atlanta from 1969 through 1976 including four All-Star games and three Top 5 Cy Young finishes. But, the card only books at $2.00 and nice looking versions are available at COMC for less than a buck. So, I wonder if the interest has to do with Messersmith's role in bringing down the reserve clause and ushering in the era of astronomical player salaries?

Added Later: 9 more trade offers:


23. 1975 Bill Parson


24. 1976 Biff Pocoroba


25. 1977 Rick Baldwin (twice)

27. 1980 Ed Glynn


28. 1980 Larry Parrish


29. 1980 Otto Velez


30. 1997 Rex Hudler


31. 1977 Mario Guerrero, 1980 Angels Future Stars, 1988 Chuck Finley,1994 Curt Stillwell