Classic Cole

I got six trade packages out today! I've been struggling lately finding time to get some cards in the mail. The good thing is by sending these cards out it forced me to organize my work space which in turn helped me locate some more cards to send! Hopefully I get get back to my early spring trading habits when I was getting double digit packages out at the same time.

2014 Panini Classics Gerrit Cole 1/1 Patch Auto

Not one of my favorite cards in my Cole collection, but it was a good enough deal to add a premium card.  Panini Classics was set that I actually liked, but mainly for the pre war player checklist.  The Pirates were well represented with the likes of Honus Wagner and the Waner brothers to go along with current Buccos like Cole. 

I was disappointed when Panini cut the cord after one year of Classics.  One of the main issues is that it was priced like a premium set and nobody bit. I ended up opening a few boxes when the prices dropped over 50% last year. It seems like Panini should stick to mid tier sets as they seem to struggle with high $ baseball boxes. Off the top of my head only National Treasures has seemed to work over the years. Not too many people want to spend $100+ on no license and stickers.  

I'm hoping that some of these discount boxes show up again as they made a nice bust for my box break with Brian and Kevin. 

Thanks for reading! 

Walk, Papoy and HSCA Collaboration #9

This month Kevin and I expanded our box opening empire to Minnesota by inviting Brian from HSCA to join the fun. All three of us have different collecting styles, but have similar feelings about the hobby in general so it made a good fit. Hopefully we can have even more future expansion, but lets not get too far ahead of ourselves.

For my choice I picked 2014 Panini Classics. This set was well over $100 a box at release, but has been plummeting the last few months. This set makes a great group break choice as it hits many key aspects we look for in a box. First, you get four guaranteed hits which is nice considering one reason we do the box breaks is to accumulate trade bait. Another key is the checklist. This was a key factor for me was many pre-war players are represented including many in relic form. Just last week I showcased this triple relic. The last reason this is such a good set is that it is made by Panini and I like to torture Kevin with Panini products.

In cased you missed it Brian showcased his portion of the box this morning.

As a whole the box was mediocre at best. Probably the coolest aspect of the box break was pulling a Twin for Brian. Here are the highlights of my box....

Always nice to pull a Hall of Famer. From the boxes I've seen retired relics seem to fall about one a box. It was probably some kind of cosmic justice that I did pull a Cardinal since I talked shit on them the entire playoffs.

This insert is a little weird, but any card of Big Poison is a good thing.  



Ugh, this card did not want to scan. Numbered parallels fall about 2 a box and that is what we got. Herman finished his career as a Pirate, but is remembered as a Cub.

Obviously the modern base cards have their flaws. Having black and gray as primary color uniforms helps some with the license issues, but their is always room for improvement. When you buy Panini products you are well aware of the base card issues so you just move on.

Now this is where Classics sets itself apart from most sets. The amount of retired players is staggering. You have to love that Honus Wagner card. 

I actually want to open another box of this, but not sure if I'll make Brian and Kevin do it again. Either way it is very much a value buy now, so if it interests you the price is right. I believe at the time I ordered this in October it was around $65-70 on Steel City. 

Thanks for reading! 

Window Shopping

One of the perks, albeit sometimes an expensive perk, is the ability to read other blogs to discover unique cards. I usually do a pretty good job reviewing checklists of newly released sets, but I still tend to miss quite a bit. So when something catches my eye on the blogs I usually jot myself a note to checkout the set in more detail.

Such was the case last year when Julie from A Cracked Bat opened a box of 2014 Panini Classics. The set peaked my interest early because it had one of the better checklists of the year featuring many pre-war players. When she was showing off the contents of the box she pulled one of the more unique Pirate cards I've seen the last couple of years and I knew I had to have it.

It was such a unique card that Julie planned on holding onto her copy so I went on the hunt.  A couple weeks back I finally tracked it down.

2014 Panini Classics Greenberg/Kiner/Herman Triple Bat Relic /99

What makes this card so unique from the Pirates perspective is that both Greenberg and Herman only played the 1947 season for the Buccos. Ralph Kiner said on numerous occasions that his success as a power hitter was due to Greenberg taking him under his wing during that season. All 3 would eventually make the Hall of Fame. This may be the most unique combination of players featured on a relic card that I have in my collection. 

It was fitting to show off a Kiner card as his birthday was yesterday. 

Thanks for reading! 

Classic Cutch

2014 Panini Classics Andrew McCutchen Auto /149

I've mentioned a lot that Cutch hasn't signed much of anything since he evolved into one of the better players in the league.  Probably just the result of demand skyrocketing. Several years back I was relentless in my quest to find his auto releases. For the most part I consider my collection fairly complete as I have most of his non parallel releases. The only card I feel that I really need to have is the Bowman Aflac rookie, but it is very expensive. 

With all that being said a few newer Cutch autos have found their way into Panini sets thanks to sticker autos. I'm not as against sticker autos as some as it helps lower the cost. If this auto was a standard Topps on card auto the price would probably be in the 75-125 range. This Panini Classics ran me $43 shipped.  Still a pretty high price, but put into context of what a normal Cutch auto costs I'll take it. 

I'll be back to a more normal blogging schedule Saturday.  I'm flying back home tonight and will be attending the West Virginia Black Bears first game tomorrow. I'm very excited for that. 

Thanks for reading!

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!