Scan Therapy

For many scanning is the bane of the card blogger existence.  While I don't necessarily enjoy it, I've always used it as a multi purpose organization tool.  The majority of my collection is accumulated via online so I receive a lot of mail week to week.  Since I always have a constant fear of mixing up trade packages, I tend to not open mail until I'm ready to scan it.  That is why many of you receive emails from me thanking you in advance for the package that just arrived as I've likely not got around to scanning and examining the contents.   Such is the case from a package I received last week from Joey aka Dub Mentality.  

This package had an extra layer of complexity as I ripped the majority of the address line when busting it open.  The contents of the package didn't have anything to ID the sender so I had to try my best to reconstruct the envelope.  Thankfully the mystery was solved and Joey confirmed that he did in fact send something my way.  

For those who don't know Joey he has become quite the Twitter force in the cardboard collecting world.  My guess is he joined forces with the Dark Overlord aka Wes to hit me. I'll forgive Joey for keeping such shady company because he sent some great cards my way.  

I love Bowman Best autos. They are such a nice alternative to Chrome for a multitude of reasons.

Cole Tucker seems to be following the recent Pirate prospect trend.
- Get drafted really high
- Get hurt
- Lose prospect ranking
- Get healthy
-regain prospect status

Josh Bell did the exact same thing.

The Pirates hat is sitting so high it looks like a top hat.

Speaking of chrome here is a nice rookie card of an established major leaguer.  Marte is looking the balance back after the lengthy PED suspension.  Don't do drugs kids.

I've stated a few times that I think Topps should just all in with seasonal cards. Maybe some Easter Bunnies, leprechauns and turkeys.

Bowman Platinum has always been a favorite of mine as it always reminds me of the crazy 90's insert sets.  Throw a few diecuts in there and my head would explode.  I couldn't buy them fast enough.

I'm pulling for Kevin Newman.  He was the star during the inaugural season of the WV Black Bears in Morgantown.  If he is somewhat productive in AAA he will likely be the starting shortstop by mid summer.

When Heritage first came out last year the Bell/Glasnow was among the hottest Pirate rookie cards of the year.  Bell had a successful rookie campaign, but Glasnow was a train wreck.  It really can't be said enough how bad the Pirates need him to be good.

I'm excited to see Felipe Rivero get some Pirate releases.  He quietly turned into a dominating reliever last year.  Plus he had one of the better players weekend nicknames.....Nightmare!! Left handed batters only had 7 hits in 85 at bats against him.  That is a .082 average.

Cue sad music....

Baseball is a cruel bitch sometimes.

One of these years I need to finally research retired players that have gotten the most modern releases. I bet Clemente would be in the top 3.

The cards of my youth.  I like the Junior Ortiz card.  He is straight mean muggin

25 times People Magazine Sexiest Man of the Year Bob Walk.  

This cracked me up.

Normally I end with Bob Walk cards, but Jose Chico Lind gets the prestigious spot today.   I wonder if it is a Hattori Hanzo sword?

Thanks for all the cards Joey!

Trust Traitors

This post is sort of an addendum to yesterday.  When I received 17 PWE's on the same day I had originally assumed that they were all from Wes.  It turns out two were from Peter Steinberg (Baseball Every Night).  I jokingly dubbed him Benedict Steinberg, but Peter's envelopes had two great cards with one being a white whale.  

1994 Action Packed has some great shots of Clemente.  These came out at a time when many people stopped collecting post junk wax era.  Add in the MLB strike and you have a perfect storm.

WHITE WHALE!!!!

My white whale lists aren't necessarily big $ cards, but can be a huge pain in the butt to find.  Big thanks to Peter for helping me with this one.  You shall be rewarded my friend.

I love collecting Pirates from the mid to late 90's.  Some really obscure parallels exist during this time so I've made it a project of mine of focusing on a set or two at a time and seeing what damage I can do.  Several of these cards including the Martin above make the white whale list because they can be sneaky hard to secure.  As most of you know parallels /150 in the 90's are not the same as they are now.

Although you have joined the dark side Peter I do thank you for helping me out here.  You are the most generous Sylvia Plath expert I know.

Thanks for reading.

A Deeper Meaning

Before I get to the three big Priority Mail boxes I teased yesterday lets discuss the first wave of mayhem I received early last week.

That is 15 envelopes courtesy of JBF and 2 from Peter Steinberg. Inside each envelop was a Willinghammer Rising numbered business card.  What does it all mean Wes?

The bottom two cards are actually from Peter Steinberg aka Benedict Steinberg.  I'll show those off tomorrow as one was big get from my White Whale list.  His envelopes arrived at the exact same time so he is guilty by association.

Below are the cards that were in each of the 15 envelopes.  I changed the order because I thought some type of demon spawn would jump out of my scanner had I recreated Wes's numbering.  I have a ton of experience with Wes so taking extra precautions is a must.

 That was a fun Super Bowl last night.  I was happy that the Eagles won, but only because they had 4 Mountaineers on the active roster.  Pretty cool to see them get a Super Bowl ring.  I also like stories like Nick Foles.

 Steelers went through a long stretch of taking multi position athletes in the draft.

 I really hope that Polanco can put a whole season together.

 Cool Pops card from UD Legends.

 This was probably one of the more sought after rookie Pirate cards of the late 90's.

 Pirates top prospect!

 One of many guys that failed for the Buccos during the early 2000's.  Love getting Pacific cards from this time frame.

 Young still helps with player development in the Buccos association.

 One of the better sets ever produced.

My favorite card of the PWE avalanche was this rookie card of former Mountaineer great Marc Bulger. Marc is in a lot of fun sets, but being that he shares a rookie year with one Thomas Brady.....they are very expensive sets.

I'm not sure what the end game is with the numbering Wes, but I did enjoy the content.  You truly are a madman.

Thanks for reading.

This will take a while to sort....

I planned on taking tomorrow off just to chill out at home and hopefully sort some cards.  Well..... I got this in the mail yesterday from professional troll Wes.  He had been threatening me all week that a reckoning was coming. The man likes to torment me, but you have to respect the flair.  On the bright side I probably have 2 months worth of blogging material inside. It is also possible that the three boxes contain only Gary Redus cards.  You just never know.....

I think I heard my poor mail lady throw out her back when she was delivering these.

Contest Winners

Very nice turnout for the contest.  Thanks for taking the time.  The top 4 are the winners.  I'll do a little personalized shopping for each of you. 

There were 54 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. section 36
2. angus
3. Dennis
4. mark hoyle
5. bru
6. henry blanchette
7. tshenson
8. Fuji
9. nick
10. arpsmith
11. gcrl
12. collecting Cutch
13. john sharp
14. sumomenkoman
15. jeff jones
16. Jon
17. red cardboard
18. kevin papoy
19. mark Aubrey
20. corky
21. trevor p
22. matt
23. Julie owens
24. mike matson
25. rob
26. brett alan
27. ptown tom
28. tony lehman
29. billy kingsley
30. jaybarkerfan
31. adam kaningher
32. the angels in order
33. al kawamoto
34. jayp
35. b man
36. jedijeff
37. ketchupman36
38. john miller
39. dma
40. once a cub
41. john
42. bo
43. defgav
44. ko rob
45. jafronius
46. jasongerman9
47. adam sanders
48. the lost collector
49. sport card collectors
50. scribbled ink
51. peter Steinberg
52. nachos grande
53. greg zakwin
54. dions ip autos only

IP: 73.236.110.176
Timestamp: 2018-02-04 03:30:15 UTC

Don't use this service for video giveaways! Use Multi-Round Giveaways instead

You have randomized this list 3 times.

Congrats to the winners (Section 36, Angus, Dennis and Mark Hoyle) Looks like I'll definitely be buying some Red Sox cards! All familiar trade partners too which is super cool.  

Finally!!!!!

2017 Topps Archives Postseason Signature Manny Sanguillen /99

I recently just talked about this card when I showcased a Tony Pena and Tony Womack from this set. Just a few days after that post I won this bad boy on eBay.

This is Manny Sanguillen's first certified auto. Knowing that Manny has some of the better cards out there, I'm far from done searching these out.  I had hoped that the prices would calm down a little, but I think other Pirate fans shared my enthusiasm.  81 Topps does a good job capturing Manny's trademark enthusiasm and smile.  

Happy Friday folks. I had planned on closing my birthday contest, but the response has been really good.  I'll keep it going another day.  Join here.... Thanks so much for all the kind words. 

Thanks for reading! 

I Unknowingly Did a Case Break

Last chance to join my birthday celebration contest.  Click here.  I'll probably end in tomorrow. 

Around the holidays Doug from Sportscards From the Dollar Store busted a case of Topps Field Access football.  The appeal of the set is the huge auto checklist that includes some big names. It also boasts some unique photos that you don't often see on cards. Click the link to Doug's site and check out his posts. 

As many of you know, Doug and I are active trade partners.  He really knows my collection and has a good memory for WVU alums.  Since Field Access has a big checklist some of the more obscure WVU guys got featured.  Doug set them aside for me! 

Alford was a 7th round pick in 2015 and has balanced around a handful of practice squads.

This card would have been considered a nice hit in 2015.  Obviously White's career has been riddled with devastating injuries. I've been picking up a good bit of his cards recently.

Sims only played one year at WVU, but you could definitely see his game translate to the NFL. His excellent pass catching skills made him a perfect 3rd down back.  That has essentially been his job since being drafted by the Bucs.

Some base cards.

As always Doug threw in some extras.

I'm rooting for the Eagles in the Super Bowl because they have 4 WVU alums.

A very Canadian Gregory Polanco.  Really pumped Doug sent this my way.

I think Doug has provided two thirds of my Sidney Crosby collection.  Love the bottom Score card.

Doug must have the Fleury card already for his mask collection.   Thankful he sent the extra my way.  Pretty cool watching him have so much success in Vegas.

Some baseball to finish things out....

Sets of my youth.  I'm pretty sure I have a Mike Dunne Starting Lineup Figure. Bidding starts at 50k.

I probably should come up with an official top ten list of the most Pittsburgh(y) things.  Being that I'm not from Pittsburgh makes this list unbiased and totally legit.

1. Bob Walk
hmmmmmm

I really couldn't think of anything else.

Thanks for thinking of me when you were busting your case Doug.  I'll be hitting you back soon.

Thanks for reading.