Big Black Bears

When the Pirates moved their short season NYPL affiliate to Morgantown I decided that I would collect all cards that showcase a player in the Black Bears uniform.  This has been a fun process as only three players have received cards in the teams two year existence (Kevin Newman, Kevin Kramer and Will Craig).  All the cards are from Topps Pro Debut.  I've been hoping that Heritage Minors would make a Black Bears card, but nothing yet.

Since only a few players have been represented and Pro Debut is a relatively inexpensive set, I've been able to focus on finding parallels.  Here is a link to a page I started that shows my progress. My most recent purchases are probably the most unique.

I found most of the Will Craig parallels quickly.  Besides the 1/1's I had assumed I was done.  Most of my focus had been trying to find the guys that were in the 2016 Pro Debut set.  Then I discovered these.

 2017 Topps Pro Debut Jumbo Gold Parallel Will Craig /10

 2017 Topps Pro Debut Jumbo Will Craig /49

I knew about the jumbo 5x7 cards, but hadn't realized that Craig got the big card treatment by Topps. Both of these popped up within a few weeks of each other and each time I paid more in shipping than the actual card.  Craig's prospect status really took a hit after a bad year last year so his cards have been bottoming out.  Obviously I want him to do well, but the savings has been nice for my Black Bears project.

Do I like the jumbo cards....not really. They look fine and dandy, but they are not the easiest to protect and store. Fortunately each seller provided nice top loaders to protect the card.  I'll probably slide them in a big binder page with the rest of my Black Bears collection. 

I'm sure cards like these drive player collectors nuts. 

I'm heading to the WVU/Kentucky basketball game tonight.  Should be a fun atmosphere.  College Gameday was here this morning and we have the national broadcast tonight.  

Thanks for reading. 

Whale Hunting via Wes via Peter

So it begins.... For months Wes has been tormenting me on Twitter that he was going to devote all of 2018 destroying my poor mail carriers back. Little did I know that he also used this time to create cardboard alliances.  Peter from Baseball Every Night decided to join the dark side.

For the last couple of years I've kept a white whale list.  These are all cards I've tried to win on eBay, but have failed to secure on numerous occasions. This current list of 10 has been extra difficult, at least until Peter joined in the hunt. 

 I love this card.  More Pirate cards should have angry logos lurking over the players shoulders.  The silver spectrum parallels from 2006 UD are /99 and kind of a pain in the ass to find at reasonable prices because shipping costs dwarf actual card costs.  Thanks to Peter the hunt is over!

 Not an easy card to scan. As many of you know I love collecting Jason Bay cards.  No player is more represented in my collection that the former Bucco outfielder.  The main holes in my Bay collection are hard to find auto parallels.  I'm not sure where Peter found this 2006 UD Epic Endorsements auto, but I'm happy he did.  Always super exciting to add a new Bay card.

 This card has kind of pissed me off over the course of a year.  Bowman Chrome autos are always on auction on eBay, but yet I could not secure this one.  It was getting comical how many times I got sniped at the last second.  Peter to the rescue!  I'm a sucker for Will Craig cards since he played in Morgantown for the WV Black Bears.

Holy cow Peter, thanks so much for sending me these.  I'm sorry you are now associated with Wes, but I'm willing to let it slide.  Now I plot my revenge.....

The Wes portion of the trade will be posted soon.  In typical Wes fashion it was eclectic and hit based.  Don't think for a second I've been just sitting around not preparing for you....

Doing my Best and Showing my Best

My daughter recently started preschool which has in turn required me to change my blogging schedule. For the last few years I've been a creature of habit on when I scan, write, organize etc.  With school my daughter comes home absolutely wiped out so some adjustments are being made with her much earlier bedtime.

The main issue is scanning time.  The office area in my house is in close proximity to my daughters bedroom.  Being that she is a light sleeper I'm always a little tentative scanning more than a couple of cards after lights out.  This makes it tough to get those trade packages scanned in a reasonable time.   Time to call an audible.

I live extremely close to where I work so I often come home for lunch.  Since I'm not cooking myself a Michelin Star quality meal, actual eating time is short.  Scanning problem solved! In the past I would often utilize my lunches writing the text to my posts or just reading other blogs.  Now I use the lunch hour to scan and use the post bedtime hours to do the quieter blogging tasks. For the immediate future these changes should keep me on my normal posting schedule. I envy my friends that have sound sleeping kids.

Now for some cards.

Bowman Best autos tend to sell cheap as I was able to get this lot for around $8.50 shipped. I probably saved a few extra bucks because the seller only had 10 feedback on eBay. The Taillon and Diaz are considered rookies.  Newman and Craig are both former Black Bears and first round picks so that is pretty cool too.

Thanks for reading 

Beers Beets Battlestar Galactica

My wife and daughter surprised me with tickets to the home opener of the Black Bears season. The weather didn't cooperate, but after a lengthy rain delay the good guys won the game. Big bonus of the evening was that the starting pitcher was Pirates top pitching prospect Mitch Keller who was on a minor league rehab assignment. He pitched two dominating innings as he was on a strict pitch count.

Here are a few pictures from the game.

Black Bears card time

Will Craig 2017 Topps Pro Debut Red Auto /10

This was the big one I was looking for! Only one other version of this card had been on eBay at the time I purchased this copy and it had a ridiculous BIN.  This seller put on a good price and I immediately pulled the trigger only a few hours after it was listed.

All that remains is the /99 and /25 base parallels and I consider my quest complete.  I've yet to see any of the plates or the true 1/1's hit eBay but those would just be icing on the cake.

Thanks for reading!

Quickly Making Progress

My Black Bears Will Craig quest is going well..  The extra bonus was getting the blank back 1/1 as I was the only person to bid on it.  Here is what has arrived so far.

Base Auto

/99 Auto

/25 Auto

/10  Base Parallel

Blank Back 1/1

I haven't seen any of the printing plates or the true 1/1's hit the open market yet.  I will consider my quest complete once I get the /10 auto and the /25 /99 base parallels.  The parallels are all over eBay, but I'm waiting for someone to have free shipping as I don't want to pay $7 bucks in shipping for cards that will sell for .99.  The /10 auto may be a little tricky as only one is on eBay for a BIN price of $75.  He does have a best offer option, but I haven't attempted that yet.  Hoping one hits regular auction.

Thanks for reading

Black Bears and Bagpipes

Last week I mentioned how excited I was that 2017 Topps Pro Debut was going to feature the first certified auto of someone in the WV Black Bears uniform.  Well, I had this waiting for me when I got home this evening.

2017 Topps Pro Debut Will Craig Auto

Since the autos are stickers and the fact that Will Craig hasn't done a whole lot to build on his first round draft status, prices are cheap.  I'll probably try to add a few parallels and will happily take any in trade if some of my card buddies pull some.  If for some reason one of the plates fall into my lap I may try and get the rainbow. 

Now on to Bob Walk the Plank Parts Unknown. 

This weekend my wives side of the family had a gathering at resort called Nemacolin Woodlands. It is only about 45 minutes from where I live so it makes for a nice getaway without having to spend to much time in the car.  The resort is probably best known for golf as it use to host a PGA event. I suck at golf, but my mother in law was nice enough to treat me to a round so I hacked away like a madman this morning.  I did manage a par which was a freaking miracle, but it was sandwiched between a bunch of 7's and 8's. Right when you want to quit golf forever you hit a good shot that makes you want to keep playing.  

Here is a few pictures I got. 

 The scoreboard on the 18th hole.

 A lone bagpiper was playing on Sunday night which was really cool.

 Some nice views.

 This was a nice duck dish I had.

This place must have a busy grounds crew.  

Hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day weekend. Big thanks to any of you that have served over the years. 

Thanks for reading.