Bo Lowered the BOom and Hit Me with a Cardboard BOmb

Aloha, everybody, 

I recently received a behemoth of cardboard from Bo, the man behind Sportscards Brought to Life. Bo came upon a whooooole lotta cards and he was generous enough to share the wealth with his fellow collector/bloggers. I was lucky enough to join in the fun and Bo was cool enough to fill a big ol' box and send it to me. 

 Check this out: 

Upwards of 650 cards of Dodgers present and past, World Series Heroes, Hall of Famers, scrubs, tributes, RCs, cards to share with you all....and more. Wow! 

I wish I could just pass the box to you as if you were sitting in the room with me, and we could both enjoy every card inside, but that's not possible, so let's enjoy some highlights.

I really enjoy these tribute cards of the early players and HOFers. I've picked up a few cards from these sets here and there, and Bo's box really expanded my collection. 

These are beautiful tributes. Great photos on classic designs...

And simple backsides with career stats. 

I had a few from this (also beautiful) set, and always wanted more. How did Bo know? 

Josh Gibson, Hoyt Wilhelm, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson. What a start. AmIright? This is just a scratch of the surface. 

I'll be presenting the different segments from this box over the next few posts, so stay tuned and we'll check out some more next time. 

THANKS for the cards, Bo. I really appreciate them all. 

Aloha! 

I Went Shopping for a Mother's Day Gift and Came Home With This (am I a bad person?)

Aloha, everybody, 

Happy Mother's Day to all of your mothers and your wives out there. May it be the best Mother's Day ever. 

As for the title of the post, don't worry folks, I also brought home the Mother's Day gift that I went out shopping for. I just happened to pick up a little something for myself as well. 

That's why we're all here, right? So let's get to it so we can all get back to the Mother's Day festivities at hand. Here's what I grabbed for myself...

In the past, the bonus I was getting in these was one of those tiny-mites (or whatever they're called) which really didn't float my boat. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box to find a new bonus inside. 

These are Topps Chips from 2015. Not bad. They look, and surprisingly feel, like poker chips. I was glad to find a Dodger...

The Dodgers part of the checklist has Ryu, Kershaw, Greinke, Puig and Adrian Gonzalez. I may have to grab another one of these boxes and see if I can snag another Dodger or two. 

The checklist includes mascots...

 Is anybody out there who collects mascots interested in ol' Gapper? All of these chips are up for grabs (as with anything you see on ATBATT), so just let me know, and I'll be glad to send it to you. 

These black bordered chips are a bit "rarer". They're seeded 1:10

I also got four packs in the box. Two of these...

And one each of these...

 Here are the cards that caught my eye...

Anybody still chasing this subset? 

 I kind of hate these Berger's Best cards because they make me think I caught the real deal, only to deflate my hopes when I flip them over. Player collectors may want these variations. 

One more insert for a player collector...

That was it for the packs. I also got 50 assorted older cards. There were a whole bunch of 2014 and 15 Topps flagship commons and these below. Speaking of something for a player collector...

I've been chasing this Hy-Grade set and it was good to get a pristine upgrade Jackie card...

Not a great box, but it was fun to open and I was able to grab some trade bait. 

Besides, I was really out shopping for something else. I got that special gift and if you'll excuse me, I'm off to reveal the surprise to the special mom in our house. 

Aloha! 

On One Hand The Card Show Was Disappointing. On The Other - SUCCESS!

Aloha, everybody, 

I headed out to the world famous Frank and Sons Collectibles show in order to find a nice prize for Al, the winner of my recent 100,000 views contest - and hopefully some other cool stuff for my regular trade partners.

Back in the day, Frank and Sons was a card collector's paradise, with rows upon rows of tables stacked high with cards, packs, and boxes of cardboard, from the shiniest new stuff opened there before your eyes, to the most vintage and obscure cardboard from just about every sport and endeavor they made cardboard for. 

It had been a couple of years since I set foot in there, and I was absolutely looking forward to slowly sauntering the aisles, enjoying all of the wonderful cards (that weren't under glass), as I used to. 

Of course, the day I planned to go was twice as busy as I wanted it to be, so I ended up screeching into the parking lot one hour before the show closed, which I knew meant a good 20% of the tables would already be closed and covered. 

And then I walked in. The show is in the same industrial-sized building occupying the same huge floor space, but at least 70% of the tables were devoted to comics, figurines, super hero memorabilia, stuffed mini-figures and who knows what, that wasn't related to sports cards. 

*Imagine me with a huge frown at this point.*

 That said, I still had a mission to accomplish, so I dove in to what sportscard dealers were still open for business. Time and choice factors were working against me, so my purchases were extremely limited.

I ended up buying just a few cards from a quarter box. Sorry Nick, there's pretty much no such thing as dime boxes out here in the LA area. Here they are...

  
One can't go wrong picking up a card from the greatest catcher ever. Anybody need/want this one? 

The next are from  a couple of subsets that I collect, so I was already partial to the designs. The players weren't too shabby either. Any takers? 

Finally, a little something I figgered Tony might like, but then again, he may already have five copies of this one...

 

Tony gets first dibs on the Yount, but if he passes, it's open to anybody else who may need it. 

Oh yeah, I also found something related to the Toronto Maple Leafs that I hope Al will dig. But I'm keeping that a secret. Here's a hint, Al - it aint cardboard. 

All in all, I found something for my primary objective, so the trip was successful. 

Even though the choices are fewer these days, I'll head back to the show in a couple of weeks for a deeper foraging. I just gotta get there early!

A note for Jeff from I Wish They Still Came With Bubblegum: I saw you wanted the Chipper from my GQ packs. All yours. My email is in my profile. Just shoot a mail to me with your address, and we'll get our (believe it or not) first trade going. 

Aloha!

Deciding What to Collect - AND Trade Bait

Aloha, everybody, 

Since the beginning of the year I've been thinking about the reasoning behind my collection and the meaning of this blog.

One of the beautiful things about our cardboard community is that we hold a rich variety of collecting philosophies. Some of us want every card ever produced for one team, or one player. Some of us focus on autographs and limited edition, high end product, while others chase rookies and pre-rookies.

The last time I blogged about this, I referred to myself as a shotgun collector, with fairly open interests. Since then I've made the decision that 2016 will be the year I work on collecting vintage Dodger team sets - from 1957 until 1980.

 Certainly I understand it's impossible to complete that task in a year, or perhaps over a lifetime of collecting. But we all know, it aint about completing the task, it's about the juice we get from the chase. 

That's where you all come in. I'm humbly asking that you consider my wantlists for these team sets (updated last week) whenever we trade. A few of the checklists are impossibly long, but I'm close to completing a few. With a little help, I should be able to close those out this year, while chipping away at the others.

Of course I'm still happy to receive cards from the other scattershot angles to my collecting, but I'm hoping some of you out there have some older cards that fit these new needs. 

I've got extras of a (small) few of these cards, so I'm hoping that might serve a need or two for you vintage set collectors out there. 

That said, here's some trade bait that's looking for new homes (with more to come over the next few days)...

 2001 Upper Deck Hall of Famers Robin Yount bat relic. These had a hobby pull ratio of 1:24.

1968 Topps Killebrew. 

And a wildcard throw in...

Who loves Pac-Man? 

Aloha!

Trade Me almost Anything: Mil-Walk-EEE Brewers (Our New Masters)

Hey everybody,

Despite the Dodgers having yet another outrageously bad weekend, mine was pretty darn good. 
The highlight was meeting up with a few of my fellow bloggers at the card show on Saturday. 

Last week I wrote about Clayton Kershaw being an almost guaranteed winner every time he takes the mound.  However, with what this year's Dodger squad has devolved into, I now feel the only way Kershaw wins tonight against the Brewers will be to pitch a perfect game....

...and even then, we might end up being tied 0-0 at the end of 9, and (insert burned-out Kenley Jensen or just plain burn-out Brandon League's name here) will come in and immediately give up a walk off homer in the 10th.  It would not surprise me in the least.  *sigh*

On a positive note...here comes Brewers trade bait for ya!

************************************************************************************************************************************************
Here's how it works:  In each post I'll offer cards from one particular ballclub.  I'm starting the offer at 9 cards, since 9 is what fits onto my scanner plate, and I can comfortably shoot 9 cards to you in a PWE. 

What do I want in return?  I'll accept whatever and however many cards you want to shoot back. It doesn't have to be 9 cards in return and they don't have to be all Dodgers.  My only request is you check out my "What I collect" or "Sets I'm chasing" pages here and use them as guides.

Once again, you don't have to match me for numbers of cards or perceived monetary value.  Say I send you 9 cards and you send me 1insert or vintage card.  Cool!

The intent here is simply to  TRADE, BABY, TRADE!
************************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Thanks

 THANKS for stopping by, everybody!

Topps 2013 Hits My Walmart, And I Hit A Hit!

Hey everybody,

So I heard Topps 2013 was hitting the stores, and I decided to stop by my local walmart and grab a quick pack.  I probably won't chase the set, but I was excited for some new product hitting the shelves - which also, by the way, usually means discounts for remaining 2012 stuff.

I bought a jumbo 2013 pack  (and a discounted 2012 pack) - got to ripping as soon as I got home, and was pleasantly surprised!  I don't know how the collating is gonna play out over the long haul, but I was pretty happy with what I pulled today.

I know lots of bloggers are gonna pack rip and write proper reviews of the product.  That's not my intent here, as you other guys do a much better job than me of breaking down the details o' the cardboard.  I have no idea of whether or not Topps used the same shade of blue in the actual cards as they showed in previews. As Clint once said, "A man's got to know his limitations."

However, since I'm dropping quotes, I'll drop one more; as Lux Interior once sang, "I don't know about art, but I know what I like." - and there was lots to like in the cards I pulled...

Here's the first of the inserts I pulled.  These Chasing History cards have a very nice bluish mirror (refractor?) finish. These are seeded 1:4

Walmart jumbo packs each have 3 blue border cards.  My cardboard luck was running hot today, so I managed to pull a Dodger!  Not a bad photo.

I almost never pull Dodger cards, but besides the blue card, I also pulled a base version of a Dodger. 

Since the Card Gods were with me today, I pulled a second Chasing History card, and it's a guy I collect!

Speaking of pulling cards from guys I collect, here's a nice one - a '72 miiiiiiiinnnnnnniiiiii Kershaw! Awesome! These are also seeded 1:4
 

 

You want inserts? We got inserts! Here comes another -Calling Cards - Seeded 1:8

I'm presuming this is one of the emerald foils.  These are very nice looking.  Shiny and sparkly beauty.  Seeded 1:6


We're not done yet...I also hit an auto :)

Here we have one of the Chasing The Dream Autos.  Apparently this insert set is made up of the young guns in the game today.  There are 20 players on the checklist (Dee Gordon is the Dodger's representative in the set), and Cardpedia has no info on the seeding for these.  It's a secret?
 

Finally, I pulled this baby.  An invitation to play in Topps' Million Dollar Chase game.  I'm unsure exactly how this works, but apparently I get to pick a (different?) player every day during the season.  As long as the players I pick keep getting hits, I keep building a hitting streak.  This eventually leads to prizes.  Sounds like fun.

None of these cards alone would take our cynical, jaded breaths away, but taken as a whole, I'm pretty darn stoked about my first pack of 2013 Topps.

THANKS for reading!