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.

Forgotten Treasures

Found these cards the other day, whilst organizing my collection (finally). The first 3 are graded, and were hanging out in a drawer somewhere, collecting dust.

Why would someone send in a regular ol' xfractor to be graded? I have no earthly idea, but it was a PSA 10 Markakis for $1, so it seemed like a good pickup at the time. I've got a few copies of this card now, but this is the only one that is graded.

I got this card, and the Adam Jones auto below, as payment for a business card design I did for Mike Smeth, of The Cardboard Connection. The money would have just gone towards buying more cards anyway, and I like to cut corners. This was the perfect solution.

This is the only Adam Jones auto currently in my collection. He only has a few that are certified, and most of them sell for decent coin. It's only a matter of time before his autographs are flooding the market just like everyone else's. In the meantime, I will enjoy the one I've got. Thanks Mike!

This next little gem was mixed in with my Orioles cards for some reason, and obviously shouldn't have been. It's always nice to stumble upon a Hall of Famer autograph you forgot you had.

2005 Leaf Century Collection Red Schoendienst stamp auto

If the signature wasn't half cut off, this would be one of the sweetest cards I've ever seen. This card made me excited for the 2009 Century Collection release that ended up not happening. Now, instead of using awesome, old vintage stamps, Donini resorts to Stamps.com for it's newer incarnations of this design. Total cop-out if you ask me.

2008 Allen & Ginter #363 Tris Speaker extended mini

Not long before starting this blog, I was fortunate enough to pull an Alex Rios rip card from some loose hobby packs of 2008 Allen & Ginter. When I ripped it this mini was tucked inside. At the time I was disappointed that it wasn't a wood parallel or red ink auto, and mindlessly tossed it into a stack with the rest of my minis. Obviously, I was being a total Joe Collector, and failed to appreciate the true beauty of this card.

Normally, this is where I would remind you to vote for me in the 2009 Gummie Awards, but my once large lead has turned into a sizable deficit. It's not looking like I'm going to win, so I won't bother telling you to get your arse in gear and go vote right now. Did you see what I did there? Did it work?

There Are Too Many Hall of Famers

As the world awaits the final tally of this year's Hall of Fame vote, I figured what better time than now to weigh in and share a slightly different opinion than the ones Ive seen on other blogs.

I DON'T THINK ANYONE ON THE BALLOT DESERVES TO GET IN. PERIOD. At least not this year anyway.

This is not a knock on Alomar, The Hawk, Larkin or Blyleven. I feel that the "Hall of Fame" has been compromised. It's become the Hall of Pretty Good, the Hall of Above Average, and is no longer a place where ONLY the true greats of the game are enshrined. In my opinion there are already too many players enshrined in Cooperstown, and a large percentage of them may not deserve the honor which was bestowed upon them.

Given that the so-called "golden age" of baseball has all but disappeared in the rear-view, I think it's time for a criteria change. You should have a record-breaking career in order to be elected, or you should have had to have been one of the top 2-3 players at your respective position for the era in which you played. Using this criteria, I think everyone on this year's ballot is not worthy. Not that they all weren't good, or even great players, I just don't think they were the best.

Take Barry Larkin for example. He was not among the top 2-3 shortstops of his era (Ripken, Yount, The Wizard), nor did he put up particularly outstanding numbers. He did however have a very nice, solid, long career. Is that enough to make you a Hall of Famer? In my opinion, no. If there were a Hall of Very Good, Larkin is a first ballot inductee, no questions asked. I feel the same way about both Dawson and Blyleven.

About the only player on this year's ballot that I can make a case for is Alomar. I have him as the third best second baseman of his era, behind only Sandberg and Biggio (who isn't yet eligible) . Alomar was solid both defensively, and at the plate, but to me, his career numbers aren't mind blowing. What gets Alomar in to the Hall in my opinion is the fact that there weren't a whole lot of players better at the position than he was for his time. What I do not think however, is that Roberto Alomar is a first ballot Hall of Famer. He deserves to get in, and most likely will at some point, but this year, I think there shouldn't be anyone elected.

If you think I'm being too rash, and my criteria isn't detailed, or complicated enough, so be it. I would love to hear your reasons why I am wrong, and why you think I am an idiot. Peter Gammons said the best way to decide who is in and who is out is simply first impression, without having to look at numbers. If someone walked up to you and said "Do you think Andre Dawson should be in the Hall of Fame" I think most people's first instinct would be to say "No". I encourage you to do that with everyone on the ballot this year, and if there is anyone that immediately jumps out at you as an obvious "Yes", please state your case. I would love to hear it.

Flea Market Finds- Hall of Fame Alert!

Budget: $40
Mission: Good deals & player collection finds
Results: See for yourself

2008 Bowman Sterling Joe Flacco blue refractor

Total cost: $8.00. It's probably worth less than that after last night's stinker. Thanks to New Card Smell, I now know where this card comes from. Until spotting this one at the flea market, I'd never seen one like this before.

2008 Topps Finest Nick Markakis green refractor #'d /199

Total cost: $2.00. One step close to the rainbow. I now have the green, gold and black variations of this card.

2005 Upper Deck Classic Fantasy Team Dennis Eckersley

Total cost: $1.00. It's a card of a Hall of Famer, and it's made out of wood. For a dollar? No brainer.

1973 Topps Hank Aaron

Total cost: $5.00. My first Aaron, and it was found in the five dollar bin.

1951 Bowman George Stirnweiss

Total cost: $4.00. I mainly bought this cards cause off this guy's nickname. It's my first '51 Bowman, and aside from the staining there on the bottom, is in pretty good shape. Oh, and that tape spot there on the back. It could be worse though.

1934 Goudey Charlie Grimm

Total cost: $10.00. My first '34 Goudey! It's only one of the most iconic sets of all time. That white spot on the back is part of the price tag that I didn't remove from the penny sleeve.

1955 Bowman Eddie Mathews

Total cost: $10.00. I was pretty thrilled to see this in the ten dollar bin. There was a '59 Topps Mathews in there as well, but it was in slightly worse shape than this creased up '55 Bowman.

Once again, the Dundalk flea market has yielded some great cards, and sweet deals. Needless to say I'm pretty psyched about being able to add all of these cards to my collection, but especially that '34 Goudey, as beat as it is.

I have officially edited the Beard-O-Meter, due to popular demand, and also have hereby accepted the term Beardometer as an acceptable alternative.

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.