Friday, July 31, 2015

Getting To The National!

I went to the National Sports Collectors Convention last year in Cleveland, but I was just with my parents (no offense to them). This year, I met with William and Andrew, along with a few other kids my age. But I'l get to that later, and focus on the first day of the National. The night before I was all packed and ready, and when I finally got into bed, I just stared at my ceiling for a few minutes, daydreaming about The National, and then I finally closed my eyes. Great, now I can wake up knowing I'm just hours away from The National! About an hour passed by, and I still found myself awake thinking the same thought, just hoping I could get some sleep. Waking up was the easy part; I got up, got ready, and my dad drove my mom and I to the airport. It took barely any time to check in our suitcases, and go through security and all that fun stuff, and before I knew it I was on the plane listening to Billy Joel with my Bose headphones on. I was exhausted from only getting a few hours of sleep the night before (we had to wake up at 5:00), so again, I tried to sleep on the plane. Well... That didn't really work out. Two hours later, we landed In Chicago at around 9:06, and we were waiting for the shuttle to take us to our hotel. It took about a half hour for it to come, but we dropped our stuff off at the hotel once we got there, I grabbed my backpack, within a few minutes, the shuttle dropped us off at the convention center. Finally! I felt like a little kid waiting to get into the worlds largest candy store with $100,000 to spend. 

Ah, the National Sports Collectors Convention... Now onto the first few cards I got.

One of the first cards I acquired, was this awesome Joe DiMaggio 2015 Topps tier one jersey relic /99. I saw it, and immediately asked what his price on it was, expecting it to be around $60. As soon as I heard the word $30, I whipped my wallet, and gave him the $30. I'm really stoked about getting this card, especially for the price. You can't beat $30!

William actually pointed this card out for me, which was on a $10 table. It took me a minute to decide, but I think $10 was well spent on this card, especially with it being from Topps Tribute, and of one of the best mangers of all time. It was unfortunate his life had to end the way it did. I'm really happy with what I got, and make sure to be on the lookout for many more posts to come!
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Thank you for reading!


Wednesday, July 29, 2015

The Calm Before The Storm

It's crazy that the 2015 National Sports Collectors Convention is only a day away, and that I leave for Chicago Thursday morning, which is less then two days away. I've been waiting for the National for the longest time, and I'm super excited. I'm bringing a decent amount of money, and I'm hoping to sell my Bryant 10/10 there also, which I think I could get around $600 for. As for my plan, I'm trying to upgrade my Hall Of Fame collection, and acquire these Hall Of Fame autographs, along with McFarlane figures of these players:

AUTOGRAPHS:

Dennis Eckersley 

Mark McGwire 

Sammy Sosa

Mike Piazza

Tony Gwynn

Brooks Robinson

Frank Robinson

Rickey Henderson 

Randy Johnson 

Don Mattingly 

Ken Griffey Jr

Ken Griffey

Hank Aaron

Willie Mays

Frank Thomas 

Ozzie Smith 

Cal Ripken Jr

Carlton Fisk 

Roger Clemens

Pedro Martinez

Sandy Koufax

Mike Schmidt 

Alex Rodriguez

Mike Trout

Johnny Bench

Nolan Arenado

RELICS:

Babe Ruth

Roger Maris

Derek Jeter

Lou Gehrig 

Barry Bonds

Ichiro 


There's absolutely no way I can knock off all of those players, but I'm looking to get around half of the wanted players on my list, possibly some more (The ones in bold I want most). I also plan to rip open some boxes while I'm there, but I definitely don't want to break too much, and waste a bunch of my money. I'm probably also going to get a few other players, such as Syndergaard, Schwarber, and along those lines. The bottom line is, I can not wait for Thursday to come! I'll also be meeting Manny Ramirez which should be really cool. I'm look forward to having a great time! However, on Sunday, I take a flight to Hawaii, and I most likely won't be blogging for two weeks because I'm in Hawaii. It'll be the first time that my whole family is together in a long long time.
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Thank you for reading! 

Saturday, July 25, 2015

An Awesome Gesture For A Damaged Card

A few weeks ago, I made a trade with someone on Instagram for a Mariano Rivera Leaf Q autograph /25 (The card is terrible looking), and a triple threads relic of Mantle, Yastrzemski, and Musial. I traded away a few of my cards, including the Stanton and quad patch, but I wasn't overly disappointed, since I was getting some cool cards in return. The cards were packaged really well, but as soon as I got to the actually cards in the package, there were a bunch of really bad scratches on the front of the Beckett case (graded 9.5/10 by the way) of the Rivera. I contacted him immediately, saying that the scratches were really bad, but he didn't want to trade back the cards I gave him, so he said he would send me this card in return:

I definitely collect more modern day cards, but this card is amazing. I started reading, "Baseball's flawed Genius," which is a biography on Billy Martin, and to have this card is amazing. What makes it even better, is he sent it to me without asking for anything in return, even though I eventually sent him so cards in return. Not to mention, the card is graded! Even though the trade was a little rough, the deal was smooth for the most part, and he was really easy to deal with. This card will be staying with me as long as I'm a Yankees fan!
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Thank you for reading! 

Friday, July 24, 2015

The Kris Bryant Story Continues

I'm sure many of you remember the Kris Bryant redemption that I pulled back in June. After trying countless times to trade or sell it, I finally decided to redeem it, after the person that owns that sports card department at my local hobby shop, told me that someone got his in two weeks. So, I decided to redeem it, and this card came in:

It's a spectacular looking card, and my first thought was to grade it, because it looked flawless. Of course, I'm no professional grader... Well, I spent about $55, and sent it in for two day grading, so I would know the grade when I got back from camp. On Friday, my Boy Scout Troop had to leave a day early because of a sickness, and we were forced out of camp. I found out the grade on Friday night, just as I was getting home...

And I was shocked! I was really hoping for a 10/10, but I wasn't expecting it. It did not get a black label because of a 9.5 on the centering, but I'm definitely not complaining about not getting a black label. I'm going to the National in Chicago next week, so I'm hoping to sell it there, since the Cubs fans are crazy over Bryant. I definitely don't plan on keeping it, because I would much rather have a Hall Of Famer, over a rookie. 

Everything got a 10 except for the centering... Oh well! I've been thinking about a price for this card, and I think somewhere between $500-$650 would be a good estimate, since a 10/10 is about three times the card ungraded. The card sells around $200 as a redemption, and the only one live sold $275 on eBay. Any help on pricing is appreciated! 
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Thank you for reading! 


Saturday, July 11, 2015

Kris Bryant Redemption Mailday From Topps

I'm sure most of you remember the Kris Bryant redemption I pulled from the newly released Topps Finest. I was really looking to sell it at the time, since I'm usually not a fan of redemptions, but this time, I'm glad I didn't sell it. I redeemed it a little over a week ago, and just today, I got this in the mail...

This is definitely the fastest redemption I've gotten from any company. As soon as I got the card, I checked for the condition, because Topps has sent me some cards with smudged autographs. The autograph looks flawless, and so does the rest of the card. I usually never say a card will get a 10/10, but I feel like this card has a chance at that. If it does, I'm sure some crazy person at the National will be willing to be this card for a high price, but I don't want to jinx myself just yet... I'm positive that this card will get a 9.5/10, and it's numbered only out of 150. 


I don't really pay attention to the back of that card, but I had to check the back of this card, just in case their were any major scratches, or anything of that sorts. I do believe that Bryant will be an outstanding player, but I'm not sure that I would pay $200 for one of his autographs. I'll be sending this to Beckett for grading, for a 2 day submission, so I'll probably get the results back on Friday, but I'll be at camp for a week, so I will be back to my regular posting schedule once I get back from camp, which will be next Saturday. 
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Let's hope for a 10/10, and the next post will be up on Saturday! Thank you for reading as always! 

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Five Star All Stars

This was the last package of a three package mail day, and it was definitely the best one! This was another "razz" win for me, and this time, it only cost $65. I sold the other Harper autograph that I had, for $81, so I could pay for 4 spots in this raffle. Why would I do that? To be honest, I'm not really sure why, because If I lost, I would have given up my Bryce Harper Bowman platinum autograph. I took my chances, and grabbed 4 spots in the "razz." I think I made out well...

This Harper is numbered only out of 25, the autograph is very clean, and it's from five star! Five Star is easily one of my favorite products. This card will most likely go to Beckett for grading, and it will go with all the other Five Star autographs that I have. As for the grade, the surface looks fine, and the corners and edges also look good, beside for some minor damage on the corners, which is normal for Five Star. A 9.5/10 would be great, but I think a 9/10 is a solid guess for a grade. 
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Thank you for reading! 

Saturday, July 4, 2015

My Streak Refuses To End

I recently just celebrated my birthday (It's August 11th, but I'll be in Hawaii then), so I had some gift cards to a hobby shop that I always go to. The last time I bought a box, I pulled a Kris Bryant blue refractor redemption, which I'm going to redeem today since I can't seem to find anybody to take it from me. The time before that, I pulled a Mariano Rivera autograph /25 from 2015 Museum Collection, so I have definitely been on a hot streak as of late. With all the new releases, I wasn't really too sure what to get, so I decided to get 2 mini boxes of 2015 Topps Museum Collection which I've had good luck with.

The base set is really sharp looking, and I've been trying to piece together the base set, which I'm more than half way done with. It's always nice to get a card you don't have yet. 

This is another base card that I don't have, so I'm slowly picking up cards that I don't have. 

The blue parallel doesn't look as good as the copper (in my mind at least), but Machado is one of the best third baseman's in the American League. 

Of course my break isn't complete unless I get a Red Sox hit. Tazawa was pitched very well out of the bullpen for the Red Sox, but their starting rotation has been worse than awful...

The first mini box was terrible (I actually opened that one second), but the next one more than made up for the first mini box. I already have this Bench, so I'll move on.

The copper parallels are great looking, and I thought about trying to complete the copper set, but it would take quite a long time. I'm still going to try and complete it, although I'm not sure If I'm able to. I do not have this Tom Seaver, so it's always nice to get a copper parallel that I don't have. 

And now for the big hit...

I've had great luck with Museum Collection, and this card is definitely up there with all my other great hits.

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1/1 laundry tag of...

Wow. Carlos Santana 1/1 laundry tag! It has the authentication sticker on it also, which is really cool. Santana isn't having a very good year this year, but he still walks a ton. Either way, this is a really cool card to have, and it's an amazing pull. This card will most likely go to Beckett for grading, but If I find an Indians or Carlos Santana fan, I may sell it to him/her. 
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Thank you for reading, and have a Happy 4th Of July! 

How Many Times A Year Does A Walrus Fly?

I usually never buy any prospect autographs, but for $40, I couldn't pass this up. Dustin Peterson was drafted in the second round of the 2013 June Amateur draft, and has played well in the Padres organization, but is now in the Braves organization. Peterson has a lot of upside, and is only 20 years old, so he definitely has a lot of time for more improvement. This is the first time I have actually bought a mid-end autograph of a prospect. 

The green refractor is numbered only out of 75, and this card is graded a BGS 9.5/10. I'm going to have to wait a few years for Peterson to get called up to a major league ball club, but It'll something fun to watch for. Sometimes it's nice to break away from the Hall Of Fame draw, and go for some prospects, but for now, my collection is still focused on Hall Of Fame autographs. On another note, Peterson is one of the few prospects that doesn't have a scribble for their signature...
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Thank you for reading! 

Happy 4th Of July

I recently joined Instagram, and over the past 2 weeks that I've been on it, I've been able to acquire some cards. I've also made a few trades, but Instagram still isn't as good as being on the blogosphere. I didn't get these two cards through a trade though (I don't usually buy low end prospects), I got them through something called a razz, which is just like a raffle. There are usually 10 spots, and the price per spot depending on the value of the card. I took 3 spots for this particular razz, and ending winning these 2 cards for $6. Not bad, but of course it all evens out when you lose! 

Gatewood is only 19 years old, and was taken 42nd overall, in the 2014 June Amateur draft by the Brewers. I'm not really big into prospects, but Gatewood is only 19, and was plenty of time to improve. This card is graded a BGS 9/10, so for $3, this wasn't a bad win.

The second card of the lot, was this Sean Newcomb 2014 Bowman chrome autograph BGS 9/10. Newcomb was drafted 15th overall in the 2014 June Amateur draft by the Angels, and he's only 22. Chances are he won't be playing with a major league team for another few years, but for $3, it's a cool card to have. Plus, it's only 0.5 away from a 9.5/10.
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Have A Happy 4th Of July 

Friday, July 3, 2015

Reacquiring A Card From Matthew

A few days ago, Matthew and I, made yet another trade. Mr. Dodger Penguin got my Tony Gwynn strata a few months ago, which I was sad to see go, but I liked what I was getting in return, so I went on with the trade. I immediately regretted getting rid of the Strata, and just about a week ago, I contacted him about making a trade. I didn't contact him about making a trade about the Gwynn though, it was originally about making a trade for the Kris Bryant redemption that I pulled. That trade never got made, so we eventually came up with a deal that we both liked.
Before I get to the main card of the deal, I'll get to the extras that Matthew was kind enough to throw in. The first one was a Bowman chrome card of Masahiro Tanaka, who took the mound for the Yankees tonight. I have a bunch of these, but it's never a bad thing to have more than one!

The next card that Matthew threw in, was this Carlos Correa 2013 Bowman chrome card. Correa is easily one of the best rookies in the MLB as of now, and should get 2015 American League Rookie Of The Year. Now onto the main card of the trade:

Finally, it's back in my collection! The picture doesn't do this card justice, but it's beautiful looking in person. The only problem that I have with strata cards, is Beckett doesn't grade them, but either way, it's an amazing looking card. Except it doesn't look very good in a magnetic...

So I took it out just for the picture, and put it on a stand. The card is absolutely amazing looking, and it is definitely on my list to be graded, if Beckett starts accepting strata autographs (which I hope they do sometime soon).
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Thank you for the trade Matthew!