Wednesday, September 30, 2015

I Had Fun With Stickers As A Child... And I Still Am

Some people have different opinions on sticker autographs, and I'm one of those people that hates them, unless it's on a really awesome card, such as my Maddux deca booklet... Otherwise, I try and stay away from the dreaded sticker autographs. A few days ago, I cut a relic card in half, and took the relic out. "What is Frankie doing?" You're probably asking that to yourself, but I'm just  taking a few useless cards, and having some fun with them!

It was difficult to peel the sticker off, but once the sticker was off, it wasn't very sticky.

1/1 Chris Hicks signed table! I know you want one... But what's better then a

Chris Hicks signed pug! Piece of history... How's this 

Chris Hicks signed fake sunflower that has been in my house for a decade? I'm not sure what's more valuable, the sunflower, or the Chris Hicks autograph! Should be worth a couple hundred on eBay! My favorite of the group though, is this one of a kind piece... 

The one and only...

Chris Hicks

Signed banana! Wow!!! If only Mike Trout had, "signed," this banana... Millions. I'll have to settle for a couple hundred on this Chris Hicks signed banana.
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Thoughts on sticker autographs? Do you wish you could have a one of a kind piece, like this Chris Hicks banana? How would you frame your banana?

Monday, September 28, 2015

A Few More Yankees Games To Go To

Just a few days ago, I bought tickets for the AL Wild card game, which I'm super excited about. That will be October 6th, against either the Astros, Angels, Twins, or even possibly the Indians. Just the other day, I was invited to tomorrow's Yankees game, with my two friends! Both Ryan and Joe are in my Boy Scout troop, and they are both in my grade. Ryan's father gets tickets every so often, because he works for a certain company. I don't know all the details, but I do know that he and Ryan are both Red Sox fans, so I'll be going to the Yankees/Red Sox game with two Red Sox fans, and one other Yankees fan. Most likely, we won't be staying the full 9 innings, depending on how long the game is, but I can't really complain, because the tickets are free, and I was invited by a friend! The Yankees really need to step it up in the last week of the regular season, otherwise they won't get past the Royals (or the Blue Jays) in the ALDS. They need to win the wild card first though... In the two postseason games I've been to, the combined number of innings is 30 innings, and well over 10 hours of baseball, in just two games. One of them, was the Raul Ibanez game in game three of the ALDS, the other was the Giants/Nationals ALDS game, which went 18 innings, and lasted 6 hours and 23 minutes, which is the longest in postseason history. I do know one thing though.

That Dustin Ackley will come up clutch for the Yankees...

And so will Carlos Beltran...

And so will Chase Headley.

I'm hoping for a great wild card game, and a post will be coming up next Wednesday!
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Thank you for reading!


Greg Maddux 2015 Triple Threads Deca Booklet eBay Win

So far, I've really liked 2015 Topps Triple Threads. I hated last years, and I wasn't too fond of 2015 Triple Threads, but this year, Topps really has me hooked. The design is pretty much the same, but the patches are better, there are less stickers, and the deca booklets are awesome. Last night, I was surfing eBay to check some 2015 Triple Threads cards, and I came across a few deca booklets, one of them being this Greg Maddux /10.

The bid wasn't that high, with only a few hours left, so I decided to put a max bid of ($) on this awesome card. It's numbered only out of 10, and even though that the autograph is not on card, the trifold aspect, and the patches definitely make up for that. This card features Maddux with a Cubs uniform on, and even though I'd rather have him on the Braves, this card is still really cool. A few hours later, as I was listening to the Cubs game, the bid went up quite a bit, but I still remained the highest, and I ended up winning the auction! I'm really happy with the card, and this will be the Maddux that I keep in my collection, unless I'm able to snag a better one of him in a Braves uniform. I'm just wondering where I'll be able to get a magnetic for this card, because I definitely don't want to grade it, and have the card in one of those gigantic BGS booklet cases...
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Thank you for reading!

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Sunday Boredom

Every Yankees fan hated Vidal Nuno when he was on the Yankees, no argument to be made there. So let's take a Vidal Nuno relic from 2013 Panini pastime.

Here's the card, numbered out of 125. There's nothing better then the bland, boring design of 2013 panini pastime. So now, the scissors come in play.

I've always wondered how the major card companies make their relic cards, so I decided to take my scissors, and cut the card in half.

I took the relic out, and I noticed that the white part was sticky. The relic was easily pulled off though.

I'm pretty sure It was one piece, but I accidentally cut it in half. It's not very strong fabric, and can easily be ripped in half, so I'm not sure what piece of his uniform it came from, if it did come from an actual piece of his uniform.

Here's the finished project... Some may say it's stupid, others may have fun with it. I had a great time with this mini project!
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Thank you for reading!

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Dime Box Galore!

While I was at The National, I spent a lot of my time digging through dime boxes, hunting for certain prospects, from 2014 Bowman draft. Here are the Dodgers hot prospects that I found:

First up, is Grant Holmes. After a while, I stopped picking out his cards, only because there were much better prospects in the box that I'd rather have. Holmes was drafted 22nd overall, last year, and for 10 cents each, it definitely wasn't a bad buy. 

Next up, is the #4 prospect in the MLB, Julio Urias! There were almost half a dozen, 4000 count boxes, filled with nothing but 2014 bowman draft paper base, all for 10 cents. I managed to pick up 17 cards of Urias, for $1.70. I'm not a big prospector, but maybe once Urias gets called up, I can get more then 10 cents per card, which I'm pretty sure I could do before the call up. 

17...

The final Dodgers prospect that I picked up, who is now in the majors, was Corey Seager, brother of Kyle Seager. I managed to pick out 16 cards of the highly touted Dodger prospect, who is now thriving in the major leagues. The big question is, is who do you start in the postseason? Jimmy Rollins or Chase Utley, who both have postseason experience, or the hot rookie? I would choose Rollins no doubt, but who knows what Mattingly will do...

16, for $1.60. Not bad.
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If you're interested in any of these cards, they're only available for Nolan Arenado cards. Thank you for reading!

My Complete Nolan Arenado Collection

In 2013, Nolan Arenado made his major league debut, at the age of 22. His defense was sparkling, but the offense wasn't exactly there. In 2014, Nolan Arenado started the year off with a 28 game hitting streak, and would end the year with another gold glove award, 8 more home runs, and his average was 20 points higher. In 2015, Nolan Arenado leads the league in RBI's, and is one home run away from 40 home runs. Not to mention, his stellar defense at third base. Yes, he does play in Colorado, but his home/road splits, are almost even, and he hits more home runs on the road, then he does at home. Over the past three years, I've really enjoyed watching Nolan Arenado play, and when I got into baseball card collecting, I slowly started a collection of the gold glove third baseman. 

First up, is a regular old base card from 2015 Topps Stadium Club. The design is so simple, but so complex at the same time. The photos from stadium club are amazing, and this one is no exception.

I'm not a huge fan of the design of 2015 Allen And Ginter, but either way, it's Arenado.

Here's another from 2014 Topps Archives.

2011 Topps Heritage.

I was a little skeptical of the design of the 2015 Topps flagship design, but the chrome looks great as always (yeah, I know it's pretty much the same thing, but there's something about topps chrome). 

I payed $1 for this 2013 bowman chrome black wave refractor, which was, and still is, a great deal.

2013 Bowman Platinum purple refractor, not numbered.2

2012 Bowman chrome insert.

The one numbered, non autograph, I have of Nolan Arenado, is this 2015 Bowman Chrome purple refractor /250.

Now onto the autographs. I'm not a fan of sticker autographs, but when it comes to Arenado, I don't mind as much, since he doesn't sign a whole lot. I have three 2013 Bowman Sterling autographs. 

Here's #2...

And here's the final sterling.

Out of the 11 Arenado autographs I have, Topps chrome is my favorite, mostly because it's on card. I've been wanting a bowman chrome autograph of Arenado, but for now, I'll have to settle for Topps chrome. I'm hoping his prices will drop a little in the offseason.

Here's my second base autograph from Topps chrome.

This is the only Arenado autograph that I've pulled. A refractor /499.

Topps chrome black refractor autograph /100.

I have two 2013 Topps Finest autographs, one being a regular refractor, the other being a green /125.

Here's the green /125.

This one isn't numbered, but it's from 2013 Bowman platinum.

And finally, his first autograph, from 2009 Donruss elite /844. It's not much, but it's a solid start. By the end of 2016, I'm hoping to have all of his base cards, and insert cards up to date. It'll take a while, but it will definitely be a lot of fun to try and do. I also get to see Arenado every once in a while, since my sister lives about 30 minutes from Denver. Let me know if you have any Nolan Arenado cards!
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Thank you for reading!







Friday, September 25, 2015

Friday Package From William

Fridays are always awesome, but Fridays are even better when you receive a package from William. As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of Nolan Arenado. A few weeks ago, William broke a box of 2015 bowman chrome, and pulled a few Nolan Arenado cards, and asked if I had wanted them. My answer, was of course, yes. I still need to send something his way, but for now, here are the cards that William sent me:

First up is this base card of Arenado from 2015 bowman chrome. I really like the design of the 2015 bowman chrome base, but not the autographs. I know, it's pretty much the same, but the base design is so much simpler, which makes the player really stand out.

The next card in the package, was this Nolan Arenado 2015 bowman chrome purple refractor /250 that William pulled. The purple refractor really stand out, and in my opinion, is the best looking colored refractor, besides the superfractor. 

Another Arenado from Allen and Ginter. This is another Arenado card I do not yet have!

One cannot have enough Arenado...

William also included two relic cards, one of them being of Alex Rodriguez! This card is from 2001 Upper Deck, and even though the design is very plain, I've never seen this card. My first Rodriguez relic!

My favorite card from the package, was this 2008 Yankee Legacy relic, of Paul O'Neil! I have a few autographs of O'Neil, but this is my first relic.
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Thank you for the package, William!



Kurt Stillwell TTM...?

I don't remember sending to Kurt Stillwell, and I'm not sure I would send to someone I didn't even know about. I still have no idea who Kurt Stillwell is, but it's still a success I guess. Anyways, here're the cards:

First up, "I sent," this 1992 fleer, which Stillwell kindly signed for me.
The second card is this 1989 Upper Deck, which Kurt also signed. Again, I don't remember ever sending to him, so these cards will remain unknown...
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Thank you for reading! 

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Two Small Investments

When it comes to baseball card collecting, I usually don't like prospects, unless the player is in pinstripes. Every now and then though, I'll make a little investment in a young prospect, and hope for the best. I got a deal, which consisted of these two cards, that I couldn't turn down.

First up, is this Tyler Kolek 2014 bowman draft blue wave autograph /10. I do not have these cards in hand, because I just had the person ship right to Matthew for the BGS submission. Kolek was drafted second overall last year, but hasn't lived up to his expectations thus far. He's only 19, and hasn't has that much experience, so he still has a lot of time to prove himself. 

The second card of the deal, is this Julio Urias bowman chrome refractor autograph /500. Julio Urias is ranked the #4 prospect in baseball, and he's also only 19 years old. He's definitely proven himself, but now it's just a matter of when he gets the call to the majors. Both are heading to BGS with the one and only Dodger Penguin, and I'm hoping for 9.5's on both of them! The Kolek is a little streaky, but it could go either way, a 9, or a 10. The Urias has one questionable corner, but overall, it looks good, and I'm hoping for a 9.5/10.
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Thank you for reading!

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Goodbye, Yogi

Today shouldn't be a sad day, but a happy day. Not over the death of Laurence Peter "Yogi" Berra, but because of the great life that he lived. 10 world series rings, 3 MVP awards, 15 time all star, Hall Of Famer, he was a war hero, and probably a dozen other great things that I missed. He lived until the age of 90, which is a great age, and had a great attitude about life. He also had a great personality, and a great sense of humor, and lived every day like it was his last. He's not known by Berra, or Yogi Berra, he's known by simply just "Yogi." You don't need a last name to identify him, unlike "Ty Cobb," or, "Pete Rose." Someone could say, "Cobb," or "Rose," and be talking about corn on the cob, or a rose in the garden. If everyone could live the life that Yogi did, then the world be a perfect place. He's not only one of the most iconic Yankees of all time, he's one of the most iconic players in MLB history, and he's known by every baseball fan. You don't even have to be a fan of baseball to know him.

Rest In Peace Yogi