Busting Packs at Work

Today is an odd day at work for me.  I was actually given permission to leave early, but I had a 5:30 meeting scheduled to accommodate a doctors clinic schedule.  You could hear a pin drop in my building. It's like an abandoned building that Rick in the gang from the Walking Dead would rummage for supplies.

In order to keep my sanity I took a nice long lunch and purchased some packs of Update at my local Walmart.

While nothing too exciting came from the packs it was nice to bust packs at work.  Here are some pics of the nicer cards.  Excuse the picture quality as these were taken with my phone. Maybe 6 months down the road I'll find out that I have a photo variation like I did with Mariano Rivera in 2013 Update.

 3 of my Walmart parallels were of the All Star variety. It was cool to get Puig and Tulo.

 I guess if you are going to get a run of the mill insert it doesn't hurt to get the best player in the game.

 Heavy on the Cuban imports with the All Star Game Access cards.

 The Chris Sale gold was a pretty nice card.

 Bad picture, but it is pretty easy to spot Pat Neshek's delivery.

 Polanco rookies!

The rest of my Walmart parallels including the "Vanimal" Vance Worley.

Hope everybody has a safe and fun New Year.

A Christmas Kiner

Ever since my brother and I started earning decent livings after college we usually hook each other up with sports memorabilia for Christmas. While I'm a much bigger collector than my brother, he still enjoys accumulating memorabilia to display. This year I got my brother an Evgeni Malkin autograph puck and Antonio Brown auto 8x10. My brother surprised me with this cool piece.

A beautiful Ralph Kiner autograph bat with a nice HOF inscription. My brother really outdid himself as this may be my favorite item he has sent my way.

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You Can Still Find a Deal

Before I started blogging I would purchase most cards through eBay. Since I live in an area that doesn't have a card shop it really is the only economical way of adding to my collection. As time passed the process was starting to become boring. It seemed like I was only searching for cards out of habit and not getting total enjoyment out of my collection.  When the card arrived their was some excitement, but it was short lived and the card was filed away.

This was one of the major factors into starting up Bob Walk the Plank. My collecting needed an adrenaline shot. Now I have a way to talk about a cool card I picked up or discuss a trade. I really craved the interaction and love hearing from other collectors. The blog even facilitated a couple of my friends to reenter the hobby. The same friends that I get together once a month to open a box.

With all that being said I still utilize eBay, but now have a way I can share this gem.

2014 Panini Classics Gerrit Cole Auto Patch /10

This card was not easy to find within my normal search parameters. For one the seller listed it as "Gerrie Cole" which helped keep the price low. Also, the fact that the seller was from Taiwan probably scared some people off. After it was all said and done I won the auction for $15. A nice deal for a patch auto out of a high end set. If you haven't looked, go and check out the checklist from this set. Lots of interesting combinations.

Thanks for reading!

Trade: Catching Up With Collecting

I've almost caught up from my backlog of trade posts. The week before Christmas I received 10 blog packages in the mail, which is awesome. Normally I'm on top of scanning them the day I get them in the mail but my work schedule and holiday obligations caught up with me. I also didn't want to post some of the great cards I received the days leading up to Christmas as the blog view count would have been weak.  Bob Walk the Plank should be back to normal operating schedule.

Blog business time!

Jared from the great blog Catching Up With Collecting and I have already swapped cards multiple times since he started blogging. He makes for a good trade partner because his cardboard interests are very diverse. He likes to collect a wide variety of catchers to go along with his love of the Red Sox. I usually try to hook him up with Jason Kendall's.

The package Jared sent my way was very diverse and even include one awesome Mountaineer! Check it out.

Morgantown WV native and former Mountaineer Jedd Gyorko. Without putting a ton of effort I've accumulated a decent Gyorko collection. It will be interesting to see where Jedd will hit in the revamped Padres lineup. Thanks for the great auto Jared!

You don't see a ton of Triple Threads cards in the blogosphere because of the price. Boxes usually run in the 150-175 range so it is a high risk/high reward bust. I've opened one box in my life and while I did pretty well it was a little too nerve racking. My friends and I don't venture far from the $50 range. With all that being said it is nice to receive these cards in trade packages. If you haven't seen one in person the Triple Threads are thick and have a fancy look. Great stuff!

It has been a long time since I've seen these Cardtoons cards. Maybe Panini can take a few pointers on how to get around the licensing issue. Jay Bellhop!

 Nice variety of Cole cards.

 I really like the Al Martin card. I'm sure this is in Nick's Frankenset binder.

Some late 70's early 80's Pirates. Love the Grant Jackson card.

 Bowman rookies.

Let's end with a great oddball!

Thanks for another great swap Jared! I'll work on getting another package sent your way soon. If you haven't already please check out Catching Up With Collecting. You won't be disappointed. 

Trade: The Card Papoy (Everyone Should Follow Him)

Hope everyone had a nice holiday. My wife and I spent ours shuffling my daughter to our families houses. I think she received about two car loads full of presents. I also received lots of cards and memorabilia that I'll showoff down the road!

Now to more important blog business....

Kevin from The Card Papoy and I have developed a nice trade relationship. I really admire his dedication to the hobby as he has many obstacles that most of us take for granted. As most of you know Kevin lives in France so he has deal with high shipping costs and long delays on a regular basis. I admire his patience and love of the hobby. If you want an interesting perspective of someone trying to collect cards in France you should follow his blog.  You won't be disappointed.

Right before Christmas I received a bubble envelope from Kevin full of great Pirate cards.

I never got around to opening any Gypsy Queen this year. I'm hoping that the price falls when it gets close to time for the 2015 version to hit stores so I can bust a few boxes. This is a really nice Starling Marte jersey. Marte is one of my favorites so I have a nice PC of the Bucs left fielder. I'm hoping he takes it to the next level as his potential is through the roof.

Rumor is the Pirates are going to try and extend Neil Walker. What a nice looking on card auto. 

A lot of people were upset when the Pirates traded Mclouth to the Braves, but the trade couldn't have worked better for the Pirates. Mclouth was at his peak value and the Pirates got Charlie Morton and Jeff Locke in the deal. The trade also opened the door for some guy named McCutchen. This is a great rookie auto of the former Bucco.

Bixler was supposed to be the Pirates shortstop of the future, but his bat never developed. I'm almost embarrassed to say how many Bixler autos I have. This was the time period when the Pirates were awful and the fans attached themselves to every prospect thinking he'll be the one to lead us to respectability.

I love Donruss Signature!

 An awesome Cutch numbered to /999

 Kevin really hit all the guys I love. This is the refractor Cole numbered /199.

A random sampling of some cool Flair and Electric Diamond Buccos.

Thanks so much for the cards Kevin. Now it is my turn! I've got some work to do finding a few more Blue Jays, but I'm got some good ideas.

Remember to follow The Card Papoy!

A 1/1 Breakdown

Gavin from Baseball Card Breakdown recently made a purchase of some autographed index cards. Instead of adding them to his collection he jazzed them up and sent them out as gifts. I was the lucky recipient of this piece of awesomeness.

The neat thing about getting a Jay Bell auto is that I don't believe he has a certified version on the market (I could be wrong). Kind of surprising considering he was a popular player on the extremely talented early 90's Pirates. After he left the Pirates he reinvented himself and added some power to his game which helped propel the Diamondbacks to a World Series victory over the Yankees in 2001. I have a perfect spot on a shelf beside an Andy Van Slyke auto that will be this gems new home.

Gavin took the time to give a brief bio of Bell and a fun disclaimer on the bottom. I even got the artists autograph!

Along with the Bell, Gavin threw in a Steve Cooke auto form Leaf Signatures and Tyler Glasnow insert from Bowman Platinum. Glasnow will be the Pirates top prospect going into this year and has rocketed up the Pirates system. I'm guessing he will be a top 10 overall prospect and depending who graduates to the big league level might even be top 5. Cool card of an up and comer.

Thanks for thinking of me when you created the awesome customs. It truly is a unique card that I will give a good home. I'll be sure to send something your way as a thank you.

Thanks for reading.

Trade: The Lost Collector

Last month when looking for Pirate rookie autos I came across a Ty Hensley that I figured AJ aka The Lost Collector might want. I took the gamble and purchased it and sure enough AJ needed it. I have had good luck recently finding cards for my NYC area buddies AJ and Zippy. With both of them collecting Yankee prospects and myself always on the hunt for Pirates, I often find sellers who hit all our needs. 

AJ was nice enough to send some return cards my way...

This was my favorite card AJ sent. I've been showing off a lot of Inception baseball lately so this fits in nicely with the theme. The picture really pops on this parallel numbered to 99. My hope is that Geno can be traded to the Rams one day so he can throw to Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey.

 Speaking of Stedman and Tavon......two nice rookie cards.

You almost have to feel bad for Daniel Moskos. The Pirates took him in 2007 because they knew he would be an easy sign. The consensus pick was the for the Pirates to take Matt Wieters, but they were cheap and avoided the negotiations with Scott Boras. Moskos never did anything of note with the Pirates and currently is a free agent looking for a minor league deal.

 Taillon might join Liriano and Cole in the rotation at some point this year.

Nice relic of Stedman Bailey. It has been nice to see Stedman getting more involved in the Rams offense the last few games. Hopefully he and Tavon can play a big role next year and finally make St. Louis respectable again.

As always AJ thanks for the nice mix of Mountaineers and Buccos. I'll keep my eye out for some of your PC guys when I'm shopping on eBay.

Thanks for reading.

Trade: Brad's Blog

Recently Brad from Brad's Blog showcased some cards he picked up at an area card show. One scan immediately got my attention as it featured several Pirate hits. Before I could even inquire about them they were at my door. This was an awesome continuation of a blind trade Brad and I have going.

Hard to beat Finest. I don't like Bonds, but I think he should be in the Hall of Fame. This picture was early enough in his Giants career that he was still built like a normal human being.

When Brad posted about this card he mentioned it was nice to purchase an Inception auto without buying the box. I couldn't agree more because I buy up Inception autos like crazy.  Anybody that follows my blog knows I went crazy picking up all the Polanco variations (some which included Hanson) this past year. Fun set!

Blue parallels were hard to come by this year out of Chrome. Really digging the Liriano. The Pirates just recently resigned him to a three year deal for a very fair price. Maybe now he'll get an auto in a upcoming set.

Willy Garcia was an international sign in 2010 that flew under the radar. The Pirates received a lot of publicity when they signed Luis Heredia that year, but Garcia is the one who continues to climb the system. The pirates liked him enough to protect him this year from the Rule 5 draft. He figures to be a starting outfielder in AAA this year. I guess the only bad thing you can say about him right now is that his auto leaves something to be desired. 

Another awesome blue parallel. Pedro Alvarez looks to receive the bulk of playing time at first this year. The Pirates just signed Corey Hart in case Alvarez falters against lefties but all signs show that the Pirates are giving him most of the at bats.

As always Brad you find great cards to send my way. I'll be sending more your way soon so we can continue our trading into the new year.  

Thanks for reading. 

2014 Stadium Club Set Needs

Just like 2014 Donruss, I'm on the home stretch with Stadium Club too. I've been spending some extra time sorting all my sets and trying to put to bed the ones that are close. Here is what I need for the Stadium Club base set.  Let me know if you can help and I'll be happy to trade for anything that is missing.  I'm also going for the insert sets so if you have any extra let me know.

# 7 Adrian Gonzalez
# 26 Elvis Andrus
# 33 Tony Cingrani
# 35 Brian Dozier
# 42 Jackie Robinson
# 48 Jacoby Ellsbury
# 49 Michael Choice
# 73 Matt Carpenter
# 111 Duke Snider
# 112 Albert Belle
# 114 Bob Feller
# 116 Andrelton Simmons
# 134 Carlos Beltran
# 137 Julio Teheran
# 139 Koji Uehara
# 149 Mike Piazza
# 151 Sandy Koufax
# 154 Chris Sale
# 159 Mariano Rivera
# 162 Jose Canseco
# 168 Adam Wainwright
# 178 Greg Maddux
# 180 Ian Desmond
# 197 Cal Ripken Jr

My brother is treating me to the Penguins game tonight so lets hope for some good action.  Maybe they will put on the foil....

Lets Go Pens!

Trade: Too Many Verlanders and Manninghams

Dennis is one of my favorite people to trade with because he always hits all spectrum's of my collection. Our last few trades have been blockbusters where we have sent dozens of hits to each other. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking on all these great cards.

I miss the Sweet Spot sets. The variations in this set were awesome. The parallels were represented by different types of helmets for the Mountaineers.

 One of my favorite Madlock autos. Nice on card signature and a cool logo and uniform shot.

Jose Guillen was a little confused on this card, but it is still awesome. The Pirates really stunted his development by bringing him up too early to the majors.  Still one of the best outfield arms I've ever seen.

 The "joker" Joe Randa!

Alen Hanson is the Pirates only upper level middle infield prospect. I'm guessing we may have to trade some of our outfield depth to get some high end infield talent. Hanson has a good bat, but the defense has been shaky at short. Most seem to think his long term position will be second.

Some Cobra vintage is always welcomed.  This card was in beautiful shape too.

 Marc Bulger is a personal favorite. Always cool to see some of the early Pacific autos.

Kris Benson was supposed to be the next big thing, but health prevented him from being a superstar. He had a long career, but is probably known more for his crazy wife Anna.

The real gem in this bunch is the Dustin Nippert on the bottom left. Dustin was a former WVU pitcher who had a handful of seasons in the majors as a relief pitcher.  This gem is numbered to /199

 Pops Vintage!

Dennis actually threw in a nice Brian Giles Finest encased refractor, but the scan was piss poor. 

Thanks for all the great cards Dennis. It has been a pleasure trading with you so much this year. I'm working on a return package in which I hope a few cards will be new to you. I have some time off coming for the holidays so my hope is to have it to you for New Years.  

Thanks for reading and have a good weekend.