Comcast and Kiner

Today I decided to tackle a task I had been dreading for well over a month. I live in an area in which little competition exists for cable and Internet. I've been a hesitant Comcast customer my entire adult life. Fortunately I don't have any war stories about customer service issues as they have always shown up for appointments and helped via phone when I've needed them.  My only issue is the overall value of my service as prices have gone out of sight.

Many of my friends have long left the big cable companies in favor of streaming services. That is a logical solution for anyone that doesn't like live sports.  Unfortunately for me and my bank account I'm a huge sports fan.  So like most Icommitted to one of those 24 month plans that start out at a very reasonable rate and then shoot up a good bit in year 2. I was aware of this and was fine with it. I'm well past that committment today.

A couple months back I noticed my bill kept going up a few bucks here and there to the point where I called today. It seems that a new user fee was added to where the bill went up $15-20 a month.  I called Comcast and told them I wanted to downgrade my service and they quoted a rate I was happy with.  When I got home I noticed they had taken off more channels than what the new plan was supposed to have.  This is when it gets kind of weird.

When I got a new customer service person on the phone he said my account had been dropped to economy.  I explained to him that wasn't what I wanted and he ended up offering me a deal that was better than my current setup and roughly $50 cheaper.  I was mad and happy all at the same time. Mad that I wasted all this time on the phone, but happy that a mistake lead to someone who offered a better deal. I guess the moral of the story is to keep Comcast on the phone until they give you what you want. It was just so damn frustrating that the first customer service associate didn't offer the improved plan.  What a waste of time, but I guess it worked out for the best.  Now I can watch Game of Thrones and the NBA Network.

Now to a funny card story.

A couple days before Christmas I drove to the town I grew up in to visit a few friends and drink some good beer. The next morning I noticed I had an email from eBay that said congratulations you won this card.

1948 Bowman Ralph Kiner RC

It was one of those oh shit moments thinking I may have done something stupid.  Fortunately this Kiner is far from mint and only cost me around $30.  I had a gift card at my disposal so it turned out to be only a few bucks.  At the time of ordering I must have been more coherent and then drank enough good beer to forget the auction win. Friends don't let friends have an imperial stout tasting and order vintage baseball on eBay! 

Thanks for reading! 

Cracker Jack Research

For most people starting a blog was a way to connect to other collectors, at least that was the case for me.  I needed a change of pace from my normal routine of buying a card and sticking it in a box. I figured their were other people like me and thus Bob Walk the Plank was born.

The trading and camaraderie has been fantastic, but I really underestimated how much I would learn from blogs. Individually we may all have deficiencies in our cardboard knowledge, but as a whole we are probably as good a resource as you can find on the Internet.

For every type of card question I could imagine I'm fairly certain I could think of another blogger that I would consider capable of answering with a high amount of expertise. Several times a week I'll read something about a certain type of card I knew nothing about.  Many times this leads to a purchase.

  1982 Cracker Jack Ralph Kiner

One thing I noticed not long after starting my blog is that I really underestimated the amount of oddball releases.  I was born in 1982 and started collecting during the junk wax era. The oddballs that I was familiar with consisted of store specific sets like Toys R Us, Ames and Kay Bee Toys, cereal sets and Sports Illustrated for Kids. The Cracker Cards of my childhood were of the mini variety. Thanks to blogs opening my eyes on oddball releases I knew I needed to dig deeper.

Now my collection is full of just about every type of oddball you can imagine. From local releases to vintage Kellogs sets I've found a little of everything.  The great thing is I've only scratched the surface, but thanks the blogging I at least know these cards exist.  

You may think a post showing off a random purchase is worthless, but people pay attention. 

Cutting a Check

I've been a little slower than I like recently sending out trade packages. This really isn't for lack of trying, but many of the usual sellers I purchase from have either been taking a break or selling other sports recently. Most of my pickups have been cherry picking individual cards here and there.

Finally this past week I made a significant purchase from a seller I've never purchased from.  I gave the seller the benefit of the doubt as he had good feedback and great combined shipping charges. The seller had a ton of 2015 National Treasures. While I didn't go crazy with big names I picked up several cool cards for many of you.  Of course I had to pick up a few for me.......

2015 National Treasures Ralph Kiner Cut Auto /99

Kiner was one of those Hall of Famers that kind of flew under the radar card wise. Prices went up a tad after his death, but for the most part you can still pick up most for under $20.  This cut auto set me back $13. 

Happy Friday! 

A Slippery Slope

In all my years of collecting I've pretty much stuck to modern cards. When I was young I think I just liked recognizing the players when I pulled them out of a pack. As I got older my appreciation for baseball history starting taking shape, but I still only purchased new cards. It was my comfort zone.

My mindset began to change once I started my blog. I began to really enjoy reading blogs that focused on vintage cardboard. Soon enough I was trading with vintage master Mark Hoyle who gave me a respectable vintage Pirates collection by himself.

Recently I would find myself searching card prices on eBay.  I never pulled the trigger, but I was gaining a better understanding of the going rate for older cards I liked.  As you could probably guess I've started to pull the trigger on some cards.

1953 Topps Ralph Kiner

I ran across this Kiner last month and decided I would make a run at it. Sure enough I secured for around $10. The cool thing was the seller had a ton of Pirates vintage and it turned into a fairly significant order. I'll be showcasing a few here and there in the upcoming months.  

The modern cards will probably always be my passion, but I do like browsing the vintage auctions. They just seem to have more character. Plus when the card features a more obscure Pirate I enjoy reading the Baseball Reference and Sabr pages. Easy to get sucked in for a couple of hours. 

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! 

Trade: Off Hiatus Baseball Cards

Tony is one of my longest tenured trading partners. Not long after I got going with my blog we started exchanging and haven't looked back. It is always fun to see a package in the mail from Tony just because of the wide variety he sends. This time around the package was much larger than normal. Tony gave me a Ralph Kiner hint, but I would have never guessed this......

A very nice 8 X 10 of Pirate Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner! Tony told me that he got this from the guy that runs his local card show, and that he likes the fact that he promotes his show so much on his blog. He passed this Kiner along to Tony with the hope of him finding a good Pirates home. I'm very happy it was sent my way. While the Kiner was cool enough by itself, the card show promoter passed one more gem to Tony.

One of my favorite cards of Manny Sanguillen that is autographed! This is exactly how I picture Manny in my mind with that big smile. Another great surprise. It is my hope that Manny will get a certified auto one of these days. Seems like a good candidate for a Fan Favorite auto.

Last, but not least is this ultra shiny McCutchen Bowman is Back inserts from Bowman Chrome. Hopefully Cutch will get going with the bat. Thankfully the team is winning despite his lack of production.

Thanks for the wonderful surprise Tony. I hope you are preparing yourself for the JBF onslaught. If you need pointers, don't look at me. He is the unstoppable force.

I have a huge stack of Brewers that I will be sending out this week!

Thanks for reading!

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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Ensemble Signatures

If you were a Pirate team collector in the mid 2000's Jason Bay was your guy.  He showed up in every set and was usually the main focus for any auto or relic card.  I don't have an actual tally, but I would be willing to guess that I have more Bay cards than any other Pirate. I probably have 6 months were of posts that I could dedicate to the former Bucco outfielder.  Here is one of my favorites...

2006 Ultimate Collection Ensemble Signatures /25

I know for some Bay kind of ruins this card, but I still love it.  Bay was one of the few reasons to pay attention to the Bucs during this time frame.  Hopefully he becomes Prime Minister of Canada or starts dating someone famous.  I will be in business value wise.  

The Buccos exercised their LA demons by taking 3 of 4 from the Dodgers.  It was the first time they have won a series in LA since 2006.  Hopefully this gets them going.  

Back on Track

Nice to see the Pirates remembering how to win a game this afternoon.  We are a little snake bitten right now.  Jason Grilli, Russell Martin and Wandy Rodriguez are all on the disabled list.  Hopefully the bats wake up and we can keep our head above water until everybody heals up.  Lots of time to right the ship,

Here is a nice Ralph Kiner auto from 2007 Triple Threads numbered 3/3.  Hard to get a good picture of this card as it has a shiny backing.  The Pirates are commemorating Kiner this year with a number 4 patch on their uniforms.  Looking forward to watching a special on Kiner that is going to air in the next week.  Really interesting guy who dated a lot of Hollywood stars when he was playing.  Should be entertaining.

Kiner and Duke

2005 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Dual Signatures Duke Snider and Ralph Kiner 13 of 15

This card was purchased during the great buying extravaganza of 2005.  I had just started my first "real job" so I had money to spend.  Snider and Kiner individually are very affordable, but the dual autos from from this set carried a bit of a premium.  I don't recall exactly how much it was, but remember it not being cheap. I'm thankful the signatures are holding up as sometimes these Sweet Spot autos can fade over time. 

Kiner passed away earlier this year at the age of 91.  The Pirates are wearing a patch of his number 4 to commemorate him this season.

Thanks for checking out the blog.  

RIP Ralph Kiner

Ralph Kiner passed away today at the age of 91.  The Bucco legend and Hall of Famer was one of baseball biggest sluggers during its Golden Era.  During an 8 year stretch he averaged 44 homeruns and 115 rbis. 

The Forgotten Pirate

Ralph Kiner is often the forgotten man in Pirates history.  After an up and down rookie season in 1946 Kiner received some guidance from legendary slugger Hank Greenberg whom the Pirates convinced to stay on one more season.  With this knowledge Kiner blossomed into the games most feared slugger.

The sad aspect of Kiner's career is that he never played for a winner.  In fact most of the Pirates teams he played on were the worst in franchise history.  It was said fans would leave Forbes Field once Kiner had taken his final at bat as the rest of the team was not worth watching.

A fun footnote to Kiners career is that during a contract dispute with then GM Branch Rickey, Rickey told Kiner "we finished last with you, we can finish last without you."  Kiner was then traded to the Cubs, but injuries slowed down his career and was out of baseball by the age of 32. 

Kiner's offensive peak was so strong that he still was elected to the hall of fame in 1975. Take a look at the numbers.

The scan is a little shaky in this card as the silver causes a nasty glare.  This is a triple auto from 2005 Donruss Signature featuring Frank Robinson, Reggie Jackson and Ralph Kiner.  Kiner autos are very affordable as he has had a long career in baseball after retirement as an announcer for the Mets since their inception.  This has allowed him to be an active signer and is featured in many sets the past 10-15 years.