Timing is Everything

2016 Elite Extra Edition Glasnow/Reyes Dual Patch /10

I'm always amazed when sellers pick the absolute worst time to put a card on eBay.  Take this dual patch as a very good example.  Both Glasnow and Reyes are two high end pitching prospects. The problem is that Glasnow got demoted a couple months back and Reyes is out for the season with an arm injury. Those facts make for a very nice buyers market.  

Normally I avoid these type of cards unless they come dirt cheap.  I already have a nice sampling of Glasnow autos and really have no interest in Alex Reyes.  Turns out my low ball bid of $8.99 was enough to win the card. I'm sure once Reyes is healthy I could sell it for a little bit of money next season, but I'm happy to add it to my Glasnow collection.  My guess is he'll eventually work his way back to the MLB at some point this season.  

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Retail Only 1/1

2004 Donruss Team Heroes Craig Wilson Auto 1/1

This card popped up on eBay while I was at the beach. It was a straight BIN of $20 and I pulled the trigger. I'm guessing I slightly overpaid, but it wasn't enough to risk losing a 1/1 auto of a player I really liked. My guess if the card was on auction it would have sold in the $10 to $15 range, but you just never know on the rare cards.  

Team Heroes was a retail only set that featured an eclectic checklist.  You had stars like Arod and Randy Johnson, but since the set was so big (465 cards) you would find players like Craig Wilson. I love how the text on the back of the card said "success has come in streaks for the Pirates." I think that was Donruss's way of saying the Pirates are very shitty at this point of time.  

I can't remember the last time I added a Craig Wilson  so this was a very welcome addition to the collection. Long live obscure players!  The thing about Wilson is that I always thought he played about ten years too soon.  I think his skill set would have played better today being that he could play multiple positions (including catcher) and was a very high obp guy.  He still managed a 7 year career so I guess things worked out either way.  

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Freese Warning

2017 Diamond Kings David Freese Auto/relic /15

Once I found out this card existed I had to have it.  The bad thing is that the prints runs on this card are super low so prices have been surprisingly high. Thankfully after a little back and forth with a seller it was mine for around $11. 

I'm always excited when role players get their first auto or relic with the Buccos.  Obviously David Freese signed a lot as a Cardinal (and this may be a sticker dump from that time), but I don't care. This card says Pittsburgh so it counts! 

Freese signed with the Pirates during Spring Training right before the 2016 season. It turned out to be a very important signing for the Buccos as injuries at third and poor production at first lead to a ton of playing time for Freese.  He played so well that the Pirates gave Freese a 3 year extension.  That deal also turned out to be very important with Jung Ho Kang's legal troubles. 

Freese's auto is pretty interesting.......

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Beach Cards

I've spent the last 5 days in North Carolina doing the family beach thing. All in all it was a pretty good trip since this was my daughters first long car trip. I'm a night person so I just drove doing her normal sleeping hours and thankfully we avoided a car meltdown.  We weren't too worried though as she has already conquered an airplane ride, so if you can do that you should be able to handle the car. I'm also thankful for modern technology. Tip of the cap to my parents who were stuck with three boys beating the hell out of each other every trip.

It was cool seeing my daughters reactions to the aquarium. I enjoyed the pier beer immensely.  If I was president I would mandate that one afternoon beer should be consumed for the good of the country.  Vote Walk!

I did open one pack of cards doing my time off and pulled a Pirate!!!

Vintage stock team card /99.  I'm a sucker for these cards and I have accumulated quite a few parallels so this was an extra nice pull.

It was nice getting back in town and having today to get life back in order. The bad thing is I'm back on the road for a work retreat Saturday.  Maybe I'll find some cards, 100% chance I find a beer.

Thanks for reading.

We Love Oddballs

Oddballs are universally loved in our little community.  While not as prevalent today, if you look hard you can still find some regional food releases and team issued sets.  I know a few local food makers in the Pittsburgh area still release cards.  I featured this Jack Wilson a couple years back. That card is still one of my favorite additions in recent memory. Not to many obscure donut cards being released today! 

Below is a lot of Pirate cards featuring the Pirates Charities logo.  I'm not sure how these were distributed so I'll get Brian from Collecting Cutch to comment below as he is the one who sent me these. Pirates Charities hold a ton of events in the area so it wouldn't surprise me if these were given out as prizes during some of their races or possibly an opening of one of their many Miracle League Fields. 

I featured the Gaby Sanchez first because he is the most obscure player featured.  Nothing to fancy about the cards themselves, but sometimes less is more. Thanks a ton Brian for the new oddball addition. Hope you can shed a little more light on how they were given out.

If you love oddballs please follow Tony's new blog Collecting the 1980's.  It is an awesome read from a man who has given me a ton of fun oddballs over the years in trade.  He knows his oddballs!

Thanks for reading.

Kicker U

WVU has a nice tradition of producing some good kickers that would go on to have NFL success. Pro Bowlers such as Pat McAfee, Todd Sauerbrun and Mike Vanderjagt come to mind. The only issue is there might not be a worse position in sports to play in terms of cardboard.  I imagine not too many people open a pack of cards and proclaim it would be nice to pull a punter relic. 

When I'm looking on COMC these are exactly the kind of players I'm looking for. 

 2004 Bazooka Pro Bowl Jersey Mike Vanderjagt

I've had this card in my shopping cart for quite sometime and finally pulled the trigger. Let's all just take a look and appreciate a kicker relic!!!!  

1999 Pacific Platinum Blue Mike Vanderjagt /75

Obscure parallels of kickers actually carry a good value.  You rarely see eBay auctions so you are stuck waiting for sellers to lower outrageous BIN prices.  Fortunately the seller on COMC negotiated a very fair price and it was mine.  

Thanks for reading! 

Chicle Proof

2010 Topps National Chicle Zach Duke Artist Proof /10

I have a weird fascination with sets that come and go after only one or two releases.  Not so much the high $ hit based, but the releases that are priced right but never catch on with collectors.  Sets like 2010 National Chicle are a good example. 

From what I remember the release was well received by set collectors, but the lack of quality "hit" cards likely caused the downfall.  It is so hard for card companies to make a set that makes everyone happy.  I've always been a sucker for painted cards so I was a fan of this set.  The problem is if people are going to gamble $60 to $100 on a product they will want to at least have a chance for a big card.  Whether you think that is the right train of thought or not, it is the box busting thought process of many collectors. 

This artist proof autograph came courtesy of Brian from Collecting Cutch.  It features Zach Duke and the picturesque Clemente Bridge outline. The card itself is signed by the artist Chris Felix. There was a fair amount of backlash that this set had too many artist proof cards in it.  Box busters claimed that they didn't hold enough value. Maybe that is the case, but I'm happy to own a unique Pirate card courtesy of the craziest Cutch collector in the blogosphere. 

Thanks for reading!