1st Edition Education

When it comes to collecting I really don't give myself any rules. I just like to have a well rounded collection while trying not to overspend for any one card. During some searching for cards of more obscure Pirates I came across a parallel I knew nothing about.

2014 Topps 1st Edition Francisco Liriano

When these popped up I went to Cardboardconnection.com to educate myself a little more. It turns out that the 1st edition cards were a prize in the Spring Training Access in 2014 Topps Series 1. Each collector that found a Spring Training access pass was given a complete set of the 1st edition cards. Only 10 sets were made of the over 600 card set!

Needless to say a handful of these sets were broken up and put on eBay. Of course big names like Trout and Harper went for huge bucks. Deals could be had on the lesser know guys.  This is where I come in. 

The seller I bought the Liriano from must have been breaking up close to an entire set as he had a slew of Pirates for sale. Being that many of them had low bids, I started bidding on all the Pirates. While I didn't get any of the star Buccos I did end up doing pretty well. 

The big win for me was the Wandy Rodriguez as it was my favorite Pirate card from 2014 Series 1. It had fun cameos of Marte, Harrison and Burnett. I don't remember how much I spent as this auction was won around the holidays, but I'm guessing most of these went for less than $5.  I remember putting an aggressive bid on the Cole, but still came up short. 

In the end the cards I did win better suit my style. When it comes to parallels I really only like to spend money on the silver frames and acetates. For me it is always fun to find rare cards of Buccos that don't get much love on cardboard. 

So if you are ever on eBay and come across one of these 1st edition cards, snag them up. It might be a cheap way to get a card with only ten in existence. 

Thanks for reading! 

A Christmas Gravedigger

Julie from A Cracked Bat sprinkled quite a few Christmas cards in the blogosphere recently. I too was a lucky recipient. Check out the awesomeness that was inside!

When I originally opened the Christmas card I only saw the Lambo and then put the card aside. When I went back to scan the cards I saw this beauty. What a nice on card signature of the former Bucco. 

The gravedigger reference in the title had to do with the write up on the back of the card. It states that Hebner earned the nickname Gravedigger as he use to dig graves for his families business. The funny quote was that Hebner said "I like to tell people I'll be the last person to ever let them down."

I may be a default Andrew Lambo collector as he is featured in every Topps set. This is another nice on card signed in dark blue from Tier One. I really don't know what is in store for Lambo this year. The outfield is full and Pedro Alvarez is going to man first. Since Lambo is left handed he can't be part of a platoon as Gregory Polanco, Travis Snider and Alvarez are all left handed as well. It may take a new team for him to find playing time.

Thanks for the two great cards. Hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday! I'll be sending some more cards your way soon.

Thanks for reading!

Daydreaming

It's funny how some things never change.  Back when I was in college it was easy to get distracted in class. Sometimes I was just sit there thinking about where I was going to drink beer that night or do a crossword puzzle in the school newspaper. Normal college stuff.  Really hot college girls didn't help with attention span either....

Today I was sitting in training discussing pertinent issues to my job. One speaker in particular was incredibly boring. I found myself daydreaming about cards and crap I needed to do when I get home. Must be something about crappy Powerpoint presentations that can put my generation to sleep. You would figure subconsciously you would become more engaged as you get older, but sit me down in a group of 50 people listening to presenters talk about cost sharing and I'm ready to sleep or thinking of better ways I need to organize my collection.

Here is the type of stuff that keeps my intention

Right before I left for Houston I received these two Donruss Series 2 autos in the mail.  I actually stole the images off of eBay as I didn't have time to get them scanned before I left. For some reason Topps and Panini both included a ton of Andrew Lambo autos in their products this year. Even high end sets included him. Lambo really hasn't been a prospect for quite sometime. He had a chance to earn time at first base this past year, but struggled in spring training then got hurt in AAA. It's hard to imagine a situation where he finds the field for the Pirates this years as well.

Starling Marte is one my favorite Pirates. When healthy he is a 5 tool player. He had a monster second half this past season and accumulated almost 5 WAR. If Marte continues to build on the second half of the season he will be an All Star caliber outfielder. The young Pirate outfield is very exciting. 

The seller that I purchased these autos from had a ton of Series 2 autos that went off for a great price. I purchased as many as I could and will sprinkle some to my blog friends in the next few weeks. His auctions didn't get much action as they ended the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. 

Thanks for reading!