Christmas Kindness - The Tardy Edition

It's cold here in beardyland today, and Rookie of the Year is on cable. I had totally forgotten that Busey is in this movie, and until looking it up in imdb.com just now, had no idea it was directed by Daniel Stern. Anyway, These cards should have been up at least a week ago, and there is absolutely no excuse for my slackitude.

The first one comes from Sharpe, of Sharpe Since '92, who just sent this card out of the kindness of his great big heart. I wasn't expecting it, and he insisted on not accepting anything in return. Griffin puts me just ONE card away from finishing the Creatures of Myth, Legend & Terror mini set. I still need Mr. Grendel, who is hopefully on the way soon via another trade. Does anyone else out there think that Griffin is mis-spelled? I always thought it was Gryphon, which looks a whole hell of a lot more mythical than Griffin.


Next up is the gift I received from A Rookie (Baseball) Card Collector's Secret Santa thingamajig. This is not only a Markakis I don't have, but it's also one I wouldn't have gone out of my way to purchase. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that you wait a year to add cards like this to your player collection, or you'll end up overpaying for it. It's quite a treat to have this card now, and I have admittedly lost out on a few auctions for it in the past. So a big thank you to whoever it was that got me this fabulous card.


I hope everyone is having a terrific Tuesday (alliteration bitches!). Stay tuned for some cards I found while organizing my collection. It's amazing what you forget you have when you let things get out of hand. There's also a few trades to be posted, so be on the lookout for those as well. If you'll excuse me, I'm off to the Post Office.

Thank You Topps!

I'm going to warn you that this post contains extremely positive commentary on the only company currently licensed to produce MLB trading cards in 2010.

I'm sure we all remember the unfortunate announcement made a few weeks ago that Topps was not going to be producing the 2009 Allen & Ginter's Cat Osterman relic or autographed cards. Well, a lot of people were upset by the fact that Topps, instead of telling people in advance, and working on individual solutions that would keep collectors happy, instead sent out random cards they claimed to be of equal book value. I held an autogrpah redemption, and out of the blue received a Greg Louganis autograph, which while quite nice looking, was not a card I wanted, and certainly was not one that I had asked for, nor was it worth what the Osterman redemptions had been selling for on eBay, prior to the news that it would not be produced.

Well, I fired off an angry email to Topps about it, and heard back the next day. In my first email I may have been a bit to upset, and actually went as far as to call Topps liars, for promising me a Cat Osterman card, and sending something else entirely, without warning. I emailed back and forth a few times with their VP of customer service, and with a much cooler head was able to explain my frustration in a way that Topps must have been able to relate to. They had asked me if they could send me something that perhaps might make me feel better about the whole thing. I replied that they could send me whatever they'd like, as long as it came with an acknowledgment that they understand how they handle certain redemptions is unfair to their loyal customers.

I was absolutely blown away with what arrived at my door yesterday, and must admit that Topps went above and beyond here to satisfy a customer and a collector. I want to say thank you to Topps for not only sending me some incredible cards, way more than I would have ever asked for, but also for hearing me out, and taking the time to explain their side of the story. At the end of the day, it's nice to know they care enough to do something about it.


Here's what they sent:

A nice start.

Getting warmer. This one has a nice patch, and is the only '09 Triple Threads card currently in my collection.

I'm not a basketball collector, but thought these cards always looked cool. Now I have one, and they are cool, but would be much cooler with a hard signed autograph. Any Maggette fans out there who need this card?

Oh my! A real 1959 Topps card with a real autograph signed directly on the card. Now we're talking! Oh, did I mention it's also of a Hall of Famer? Did I mention this is also my favorite set of all time? Did I mention he was also an Oriole? This is one of those cards that would look like a fake on eBay. If it didn't come directly from Topps, I'd think this one was fake too.

Ummm... HOLY MARY MOTHER OF MATT WIETERS!! Another Hall of Famer autograph on a real vintage card, only this time numbered out of 10! Topps, you are too kind!

Yeah, the Brock totally made my jaw drop to the floor when I flipped it over. Once again, thanks to the Topps Company for hearing me out, and doing what they felt was right to satisfy a consumer. I never asked for anything, so to receive a package as awesome as this in the mail was quite a surprise.

Wish List Card #9

Yes, I know that's a 2009 Triple Threads card. The set might be terrible, and a total ripoff, but this card is frickin' sweet! It's a Frank Robinson jumbo patch booklet thingy, and I really like it. I think Triple Threads always delivers top notch relic cards of retired players. I don't think there are many of us who care for the gaudy rainbow sticker autos found in this set, and thankfully this card is auto free. Look at the size of that patch!

This Frank Robinson card sold on eBay yesterday for $255.00. It was listed with a BIN/Best Offer price of $500. See the completed auction here. It looks like this is yet another card that will forever remain on my wish list.

Triple Turds isn't so bad when they don't screw it up with sticker autos and a checklist full of bums. This card should serve as an example to that point.