The Joy of a Completed Page

Now if I could only find a card shop nearby that sells pages for these things... So far I am 0 for 3, which makes me good enough to play 3rd base for the O's.


Another BIG thank you to everyone who helped me complete this set. There is absolutely no way I could have done it without making trades all over the place.



Oh, and another thing... THIS IS POST #400!

More Trades From Around The Blogosphere

Get ready for another round of great cards from across the cardblogosphere! Bye Thorzul.

First up are a couple of cards from the nocturnal nightmare, Greg, of Night Owl Cards. He has been the primary beneficiary of my Dodger pulling mojo, and as a result, he occasionally drops me a bubble mailer chock full o' Orioles.

2009 O-Pee-Chee Materials Cuddyer/Francouer/Markakis

I must say these cards are really nice looking. The design is simple, and bright, bearing a slight resemblance to the Brady Bunch intro. O-Pee-Chee was a product that I did not purchase even a single pack of, but the Markakis relics always looked really cool to me. I'm so happy to have this card I won't even complain about the other 2 guys on it.

1987 Fleer Mini Cal Ripken Jr.

I didn't even know Fleer made minis in '87. Granted, I was 6 years old at the time, but still. Also... not the greatest picture of the Iron Man. His expression is thought provoking to say the least. What's he looking at that is making him make that face? Eddie's afro? Jim Palmer in his danged undies?

If you're anything like me, and didn't know these things were around, here is another image to give you some sort of an idea of scale.

Next up are a few cards from local reader Todd, who emailed me last week saying that he had the last card needed to complete my '09 Allen & Ginter Creature mini set. It was a pretty easy trade to work out, and all Todd wanted in return was an O's relic, and a bunch of my Markakis and Brooks doubles.

2009 Allen & Ginter Creature Minis "Grendel"

I can officially say that the Creatures of Myth, Legend & Terror set has been completed. HUGE thanks to everyone out there who helped out via trade. Without you guys, I would have never been able to finish this set, especially considering they're only found one per box, and that's at best. Oh, I'd also like to thank God, for you know, being God. Isn't it mandatory to thank God?

1987 7-11 Slurpee Coins Eddie Murray

I totally remember these things! Unlike Fleer minis, Slurpees are something that 8-year olds pay close attention to. I had one of these at some point in my childhood. There was more than one "coin" of each player as well, or at least I think there is. It's all coming back to me now! Not only did I have an Eddie coin, but there was a George Brett coin floating around my house as well. Ahhh.... memories.

2008 Allen & Ginter World Leader Minis Nicolas Sarkozy

Smarmy French bastards!

1993 Topps Finest Mike Mussina

If you've read this site for any extended period of time, you know that I have issues with Mike Mussina. The walls that exist between us are slowly being broken down, and I think there's a good chance he will be accepted back into the "circle of trust" shortly. It's been years Mike, and we've got a lot of catching up to do.

1969 Topps Dave McNally

A great card of a very "clutch" player. McNally has not only pitched a shutout in the '66 World Series (sorry Night Owl & GCRL), but also hit a grand slam to lead the Orioles to another World Series game victory in 1970.

1975 Topps Rookie Infielders Cubbage/DeCinces/Sanders/Trillo

Man, Reggie Sanders had a long career.

Moving right along to a few cards from Bud, of the fabulous First Day Issue. Bud and I discussed this trade for a while before finally reaching an agreement. These two cards were sent for a couple of numbered Mariners refractors, and an Iciro relic to be named later.

2005 Upper Deck Epic Materials Willie McCovey jersey relic

Obviously not an Orioles card, but what can I say? Color me a sucker for those old-timey gray wool swatches. The fact that it was, or at least claims to have been worn by a Hall of Famer, certainly doesn't hurt it's appeal either.

2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Memorabilia Series Cal Ripken Jr.

One can never have too many Cal relics, can they? This card could admittedly look a little better. It's off-center, and the swatch is a plain shade of gray, but I like it anyway. I think Goodwin is going to be VERY cheap to pick up by the boxload later year, and with none of previews for next year looking that great, maybe I'll be able to finally finish off this set. Wouldn't mind hitting one of the redemptions either. Both the Landmarks and Entomolgy cards are pretty cool.

2005 Topps Rooke Cup Eddie Murray

Eddie Murray is a straight up bad mother, shut your mouth.

Last up to bat is just one of the many great cards sent to me by David, of the 2008 Allen & Ginter Cardscape. This one card was selected because it's yet another Markakis that I didn't yet have. Thanks David!

2008 Topps Target Exclusive T205 Nick Markakis

The refractor version of this card has been in my collection for a couple of years now, but for some reason the regular base version alluded me.

Big thanks to Night Owl, Todd, Bud & David for the trades. It was a pleasure and a privilege to deal with each and every one of you. Even you Bud.

Cards From Night Owl Cards

A little while back Night Owl sent me a bundle of O's. As the blogosphere's greatest Gregs, we trade fairly regularly, and no one has benefited more from my year long stretch of Dodgers hits than he has. Night Owl isn't a big box breaker, so he doesn't have the crazy hits to trade away. That doesn't really matter much to me because what he does have is a lifetime's worth of cards to trade away, and every package is sure to include a couple of awesome cards that weren't previously in my collection. This package was a pretty typical Night Owl offering, and I enjoyed every minute spent thumbing through each card in the pile.

1986 True Value Hardware Eddie Murray

Holy crap this is the coolest Eddie Murray card ever in the history of time! I've never seen a True Value cards before. Before opening Night Owl's package, I didn't even know they made cards. There might not be a logo, but that is more than compensated for by the mutton chopiosity, and afrotude of Eddie.

1993 Upper Deck Randy Milligan

Mooooooooooooose! Milligan was my favorite Oriole for a little while in the early 90's. He took over at first after Eddie left town, and struggled to fill the void. I think almost anyone would ahve struggled to fill that void, so Moose shouldn't take it personally.

Night Owl also sent me a bunch of 1978 Topps cards. I've been thinking about spending most of 2010 building old team sets, and this, combined with a bunch of other cards I've received in trades, is a nice start to the '78 set.

1978 Topps Earl Weaver

1978 Topps Mark Belanger

1978 Topps Ken Singleton

1978 Topps Dave Skaggs

I would regret not making a snide comment about Dave Skaggs. Just look at him! Is there any doubt that his last name is Skaggs? He LOOKS like a Skaggs (no offense to Boz).

Night Owl always manages to include a few sweet older cards of legends that I don't already have. The Brooks below, and the Eddie at the top of this post are prime examples of how clutch Night Owl is. I didn't previously have either card, and they are both going right into the player binder.

1987 Leaf Hall of Fame Greats Brooks Robinson

1975 Topps Rich Coggins

Mr. Coggins looks pretty happy for a guy on his way to the Montreal Expos. Maybe he knew he was going to be a Yankee after a short stay in Montreal?

Closing out this trade post are a couple of Kojis. I'm hoping big things are in store for this guy next season, and hopefully those big things happen for him in the closer role. He's absolutely tailor made to be a closer at this point in his career, and has a similar skill-set to John Smoltz, who we all know was one hell of a closer.

2009 Topps Chrome Koji Uehara refractor

2009 Topps Allen & Ginter's Koji Uehara black framed mini Wow, what a great card!

Thanks for the cards Night Owl! It's always a pleasure to complete a trade with you, and as always, I have a stockpile of Dodger hits for you, and any other Dodger collector. 2009 was the year of Dodger pulls for me, as I think I've managed to pull at least 10 Dodger relics/autos from various box/pack breaks.

More Cards From Check Out My Cards

I've been at it again, and here is another example of what $20 (including shipping) will get you on checkoutmycards.com. Whenever I get the urge to pick up some new cards (which is almost a daily occurrence), instead of paying shipping for each card on eBay, or dropping $75 on a box that will most likely yield junk hits anyway, I've instead been turning to Check Out My Cards. I got all of these cards for the price of a blaster, which is most likely what I would have spent my money on when the urge strikes me. Retail is so tempting because it is so easily acquired.

Speaking of acquired, here's what I picked up this time around, and all of it once again using the "make offer" feature. Most of them were had for around half of their asking price.

2007 Allen & Ginter's Nick Markakis black bordered mini

1967 Topps Frank Robinson

Awesome! Check out that cartoon? '66 was a big year for Frank, and the Orioles alike. A World Series ring and a Triple Crown in the same season? That has to go down as one of the best seasons in history.

2009 Topps Updates & Highlights Adam Jones All Star Jersey gold parallel #'d /50

Got outbid on this card a while back, and thought it might be awhile before there was another chance for me to get one. This card was the main reason I went on another COMC spree.

These next 4 are all from the same insert set. If you happen to have any, and want to trade them, I am officially collecting the 1994 Leaf Slideshow set.

1994 Leaf Slideshow David Justice

1994 Leaf Slideshow Ken Griffey Jr.

1994 Leaf Slideshow Juan Gonzalez

1994 Leaf Slideshow Tim Salmon

1968 Topps Frank Robinson game insert

Another card I kept getting outbid on at the last second. This one was less than $2.00, and looks great.

Last week I briefly mentioned completing the 2009 Allen & Ginter's base set. The last 7 cards I needed, all short prints, were purchased for a combined cost of $3.25. Here are a few of the final cards I needed:

And so concludes another post where I foolishly squander away my meager funds for some cardboard satisfaction. Hopefully you enjoyed it as much as I did. I think the next post will feature my flea market finds from yesterday. As always, it was a good day at the flea market, and great deals were had by all.

What I Was Referring To Last Night

This is Topps sent me as a replacement for the Cat Osterman autograph I had redeemed back in July, that was pulled from one of my Ginter boxes.. I'm not mad about the card I got, I'm mad I wasn't able to choose the replacement I received. Topps didn't even warn me it was going to be replaced, they simply just mailed me a package. You can't give someone a coupon for a free steak diner, and serve them chicken instead. That is exactly what I feel like Topps did here, and I don't like it one bit.
It's not that this isn't a beautiful cards, because it is, and that Mr. Louganis wasn't an excellent athlete, because he was. The trouble is that I have no way of determining this card's worth. According to Topps, this card has a "book value" of $60. Unfortunately, there are no recent completed sales on eBay to compare, but the last time I checked, Greg Louganis autographs weren't in high demand. Do you know whose autograph is in high demand? Cat Osterman's. The redemptions alone regularly sold for upwards of $50 (which is still high on eBay for a cards carrying a $60 BV). So we know for a fact what the Osterman is worth, or at least a ballpark figure that has been determined by multiple free market sales, but there is absolutely no way of knowing what the Louganis is really worth. I'd be willing to bet it wouldn't sell for much more that $20-$25.

This is only one of many issues I have with the way Topps handles it's redemptions. Other companies ask you to send in a list of your favorite players & teams when they are unable to process a redemption as promised, but not the Topps Company. They will send you whatever they, and a pricing "authority" to remain nameless deem to be an even swap in terms of value. If something sounds a little unfair, it just might be because it is.

I received a response from Topps this morning more or less telling me my opinions are not valid, and that they do not feel that the way they handled this process was flawed. The refused to apologize, but did offer to send me some complimentary product as a showing of good faith. I responded back with a less angry email, intelligently laying out the points I made above, and am waiting for a response. It's not like I actually expect anything to happen, and at this point, I'm not even sure why I sent them another email. I'm going to take my free product and shut my mouth, because at the end of the day, what can I really do about it (aside from stop purchasing their products)?

Catching Up Pt. 2

Alrighty then, here we go with another round of trades I received last week. First up are a few cards from Jay of The Mojo Hand. If you read this blog, you're already pretty familiar with Jay, and his blessed mojo hand. He has quite the collection, and is insanely generous when he pulls a card would be a perfect fit for another collector. This first card is exhibit 1A.

2009 Topps Chrome Nolan Remold rookie autograph

I REALLY wanted this card, and now I've got it. The season this kid had was b-a-n-a-n-a-s, especially when you consider that he was picked as the 7th or 8th best prospect in the Orioles organization before the season began. I don't think he'll win the R.O.Y award, but he's definitely in the conversation.

2009 Topps Allen & Ginter's Invisible Man mini

Not the last of these cards you'll see in this post. This one is probably the lamest of all, but Topps was able to make it into a serviceable gimmick. I saw an Invisible Man auto sell for over $550 last night. Now THAT'S bananas!

Next up are some amazing cards from Ryan of Card Cache fame. He is another very generous trader, and isn't shy about sending out cards he knows will bring joy to others. How else do you explain the awesome Orioles cards that he sent over?

2007 Upper Deck Masterpieces "Captured on Canvas" Cal Ripken Jr.

Oh Masterpieces, how I miss thee..

2007 Upper Deck Exquisite "The Future" Nick Markakis gold auto #04/15

This is the second low numbered Markakis autograph that Ryan has sent me. I don't know where he gets the Markakis mojo, but I'm glad he shares it.

2009 Upper Deck Legendary Cuts Cal Ripken Jr./Miguel Tejada dual relic

I have no clue what the Miggy relic actually is. It looks like maybe some sort of leather or plastic, and has some sort of glossy finish to it. We'll just go ahead and say it's either a B-12 relic, or a piece of Miguel's "birth certificate". Whatever it is, it sure looks a lot older than Cal's jersey swatch.

2009 Topps Allen & Ginter's Mike Jacobs Bazooka back mini #08/25

This was actually won in a random contest held by Card Cache. It's already earmarked for darkship, since I owe him for all the kick-ass cards he sent me a few weeks ago.

To round things out, here are a few more Ginter Creatures that I scored from Card Cache on checkoutmycards.com. To be fair, he listed these cards without the knowledge that I needed them, but he gave me such a good deal on them, that I didn't mind having to buy them. After crossing these 3 off my want list, I am only 3 cards shy of completion. This will be a fun and interesting set to be able to show off when it's finished.

2009 Topps Allen & Ginter's Yeti mini

2009 Topps Allen & Ginter's Loch Ness Monster mini

2009 Topps Allen & Ginter's Vampire mini

Thanks for the great cards guys, and as always, it was a pleasure trading with both of you.

There's still one more trade from last week to be posted, from wickedortega of My Past TIme.... I Love It. He also sent me over some great cards, and will have his moment in the sun tomorrow.

In the meantime, is anyone else watching this Tigers-Twins game? EPIC!

Catching Up Pt. 1

This will be the first of at least 2 posts that will strictly contain cards I have acquired in the past week, either by trade or purchase. I've been quite lazy lately, in regards to my posting habits, and am going to try to get back into the swing of things this week.

Last week I received 5 trade packages and 2 eBay purchases in the mail. This post will highlight 2 of those trades, and both purchases. We'll start off with yet another package from M Ryan, of Ryan's Memorabilia & The Ripken Pursuit. Read my blog for a week or 2 and you're bound to see a trade posted between the 2 of us. For this, there is a very good reason, that reason being because we're always involved in some sort of trade. Last week I sent him a bunch of Ripkens to help further his quest, and in return he sent me over a nice little package featuring great cards of my 2 favorite current O's.

1988 Fleer A.L. Shortstops - Tony Fernandez, Cal Ripken Jr. & Alan Trammell

I remember this card! It was a good one ot have at the time. Cal is the obviously the only one who went on to have a Hall of Fame career, but both Fernandez & Trammell were pretty darn good in their day.

2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Adam Jones relic

I shouldn't even have to tell you that I love this card! I believe it's the first Adam Jones relic in the collection, but considering he made All-Star team this season, there will probably be a lot more Jones relics in future releases. The only O's card I managed to pull out of my 2 Goodwin boxes was Brian Roberts, so this Jones card is a great one to have traded to me.

2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Nick Markakis Gypsy Queen back mini

See previous blurb. Didn't already have this card yet, and am definitely glad I do now. One of these days I have to find a way to showcase my Markakis collection. It's probably about time I hop on the Zistle bandwagon.

2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Nick Markakis mini

Yeah, didn't have this one either. Woo-hoo! Thanks for all the great cards M. Ryan!

Next up are a couple of cards from the Collective Troll. Everyone seems to love trading with the Troll, and I am of no exception. He was nice enough to email me about a card he happened to spot at his local card shop. This wasn't just any card, it was one that I had searched high and low for, and one that is desperately needed for my pursuit of the Burke Kenny nona-fecta.

2009 Topps Allen & Ginter's Nick Markakis black framed mini

Yet another Markakis that had managed to elude me... until now!

2009 Topps Allen & Ginter's Burke Kenny black framed mini

You know I am psyched about this one! The Burke Kenny quest is officially down to ONE card. I just need the pube relic to complete the rainbow.

Thanks a million for thinking of me when you saw this card Marck! It really means a lot to me to know that other collectors see a card they know I'll like, and they go ahead and pick it up for me. We've really got something special brewing here, with this whole cardblogosphere thing.

Lastly, here are 2 quick eBay purchases. These were picked up with funds generated by the Goodwin Tiger relic sale.

2007 Bowman Chrome Nick Markakis Orange refractor #04/25

If you read last week's post, you already understand that all Oriole cards should be in the form of orange refractors. This is yet another great Markakis for the player collection.

2009 Bowman Chrome Adam Jones blue refractor #'d/199

Well, it's not orange, but it was cheap. I was able to add this Jones card to my player collection for a mere ninety-nine cents (plus shipping).

There you have it folks, half of what's new with me. Expect another post of a similar nature tomorrow, as I continue to catch up on trades and purchases that transpired last week. Remember to keep checking out Beardy's Baseball Blog for all of last week's news... a week later.