.10 Card Show Pickups

A couple of weeks back, my standby card show got some new dime boxes in. Typically, this is just tons of early 90's junk, but these boxes were actually semi-loaded. It's always tough for me to say no to a numbered card or a tough parallel. Here's what $3 got me:

'04 Absolute Memorabilia 141 Hideki Matsui 0292/1349
'04 Absolute Memorabilia 169 Jason Schmidt 1111/1349
'04 Absolute Memorabilia Tools of the Trade TT-91 Mark Prior 005/125

'13 Bowman Chrome Refractor BCP180 Tyler Heineman - I will always have a soft spot for "Heiny", as he was affectionately known at UCLA. Does all the little things that go unnoticed. Hope he gets a chance to make it to The Show
'02 Fleer Genuine 113 JJ Putz 0587/2002
'06 Fleer Tradition Black and White 50 Scott Rolen
'12 Topps Heritage 476 Prince Fielder SP
'04 Throwback Threads Gold Century Proof 121 Nick Johnson 074/100

'85 Fleer Update U-43 Greg Gagne - I'm not sure if I already have this card, but I always appreciated Gagne's efforts as the glue of the Twins infield during their '87 and '91 World Series runs

'09 O-Pee-Chee New York New York NY15 Xavier Nady - I've never seen, much less heard of this insert set, but doing some research, this is a 30-card Yankee set seeded 1:40 packs.
'09 O-Pee-Chee Walk-Off Winners WK7 Johnny Damon
'08 Upper Deck X Xpotential X3-HM Hideki Matsui
'14 Topps Opening Day Superstar Celebrations SC-4 Freddie Freeman
'11 Topps Heritage Minor Tint 154 Jonathan Singleton 604/620
'09 Upper Deck Starquest Emerald Super Rare SQ-36 Curtis Granderson
'10 Upper Deck Celebrity Predictors CP9/CP10 Chris Martin Gwynth Paltrow
'01 Fleer Premium 204 Jaisen Randolph 1373/1999
'05 Prime Cuts 17 Tim Hudson 314/449
'15 Prime Cuts 2 Roger Clemens 397/499

'05 Zenith White Hot WH-1 Scott Rolen - pretty neat looking remake of the '95 Pinnacle inserts of the same name. Odds were 1:65 packs
'12 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini Gypsy Queen Back 332 Nick Swisher
'12 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini Gypsy Queen Back 91 Tim Hudson
'12 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini 235 Orlando Cepeda
'11 Topps Lineage Diamond Anniversary Platinum Refractor 105 Ty Cobb
'99 Just Spotlight JS10-AS Alfonso Soriano
'08 Ultimate Collection 44 Garrett Atkins 320/350
'05 Ultimate Signature 61 Carlos Delgado 278/825
'10 Upper Deck Supreme S-35 Cole Hamels

A Return and a Farewell

It's been five months since I last posted, but since it is the day before Thanksgiving, today is as good a time as any to get back in to the swing of things. A few weeks back, Marcus from All the Way to the Backstop sent over a few cards from his trade list, the most prominent being a 2014 Topps Orange parallel of Hank Conger.

I specifically requested this card because Hank was my favorite "under the radar" Angel. Sure, anyone can collect the big names like Trout and Pujols, but I have always had a soft spot for Hank. The hometown kid from Huntington Beach is a fun loving guy and seemed to be good for clubhouse chemistry. Many an Angels fan wondered why he never got a true shot at being the everyday catcher. Well, that is a moot point now, as after I inquired about this card, Hank was traded to the Astros. Baseball wise, I felt it was a good deal for the Angels. They got a cost controlled young pitcher and a potential future backup catcher, something that seemed to be Conger's destiny if he stayed with the club. Personally, I feel conflicted. On the one hand, Hank will get a clean slate with the Astros, but on the other hand, it feels that the Angels wasted another high draft pick. Regardless, I wish Hank the best with his new team.

Now, back to the main point of this post. As this is the time of year to give thanks, I would like to give a big Thank You to Marcus. He was the one who initially encouraged me to create this blog. Though the posts have been lacking, I have still managed to make numerous trades with members of the blogosphere world this year. Though we all have our own reasons for collecting, the common theme is that we share a strange affinity for cardboard. Be safe all and have a Happy Thanksgiving.