New to the blog...

Just a shout out to check out my new page chronicling the cards I've traded away from my collection!  Gone but not forgotten...

All told it consists of 40 cards.   They're in picture format only and one day I'll take the time to make the checklist up.

Also I've updated my Lost Cards File page!

Cheers!

Nick

Lost Cards Slew!

So I didn't want to do it this way.  I had every intention of trading to get back my Lost Cards, but to be honest the offers have been very few and far between.  I even sought trades from people listing cards on ebay and was able to get back the Brooks Robinson Heritage auto this way, but mostly people are looking for cold hard cash instead of a different card to sell.

So I came up with a loop hole... you can call bull shit if you want.  Just leave it in the comments.

So here is the loop hole.  I decided to help a friend out selling his stuff on ebay and thought I'd get rid of a few items myself.  I never sold anything on ebay before but it turned out to be very easy!  One of the items I sold was a drill that sold for much more then I thought it would. 

I didn't think I'd get much for it and had no plans for the money I'd make off of said drill and decided to turn it in to Lost Cards.  So I consider it a "blockbuster" sort of trade!  I traded my drill to a buyer who then traded his money to several other buyers who in turn traded me Lost Cards.  Savvy?

Join me in welcoming home these 4 Lost Cards!

Welcome home Brooks Robinson  1993 Ted Williams Collection BR3!

 

Hey! Nice to see you too Brooks Robinson 2002 Topps Archives Reserves TRR-BR

 

Now it's a party! Come on in Jim Palmer 1994 Nabisco All Star Legends!

 

 

Last but certainly not least!

Cal Ripken Jr 2003 Sweet Spot SJ-CR

 

 

This officially only leaves 6 Lost Cards left to find.  Once they're recovered then I guess I've fulfilled the purpose of this blog, but I doubt very much I will retire it.  Too many awesome people and trades have come about from this bad boy and it's just nice to know people out there exist who can relate to the type of passion I have when it comes to this "kids" hobby.

 

Thanks for reading and all the support!

 

Till next time...

 

 

 

I almost forgot...

Something cool I added to the bar as well that I forgot to mention in the last post. 

A little old school N64!

 

I wanted to have the TV facing the other way so my "patrons" could play while sitting at the bar, but it didn't work out.  So instead who ever is playing bartender can get down on the one and only game I have left...

 

A classic title called WCW/NWO World Tour.

 

Till next time...

MAN CAVE UPDATE!

A while back I posted about my Man Cave being nearly complete.  Complete enough to show off to the world anyway!  You may recall the one thing I needed to complete was the bar top. 

I had set down a collage of cards on the bar top and glued them all down.  The only thing left was to put a clear resin coat on top and seal them in.

Those of you who follow this blog know that I am a DIY kinda guy and am glad this one time I reached out to a professional for help!

Here is a picture of the bar top pre resin!

 

About a month ago I sent it to my buddy Tom who is a true professional to put the resin top on.  I was blown away by the results and know for a fact that I could never have accomplished this on my own.

 

Check out Tom's results and my new bar top!

 

 

These photos don't do enough justice!  You can really see the light shine off of the resin top.  The results are just beautiful.

 

This is a great shot from the corner and you can really see just how nice the finish is!

 

Lastly is a view from the end of the bar looking out.  I can't boost enough about Tom and the job he did.  I could never have achieved these results on my own.  I should mention that Tom and his better half Tina went above and beyond when they had to re glue all of the cards because the stuff I used wasn't strong enough.

 

AGAIN, BIG UPS TO TOM!

 

Check Tom and Tina out at

 

http://www.whiterabbetgallery.com/

 

They do amazing work and will forever be my go to for any future framing needs!

 

Stay tuned for upcoming posts about trades in the work and potentially a Lost Card(s) being recovered!?

 

Thanks for reading!

New Collecting Goal: 2010 Topps T 206 Mini Booklet Relics

2010 Topps 206 was a fun set to collect for me and I was lucky to get a couple boxes for Christmas the year it came out.  I never pulled anything better then a Johnny Podres Caramel Autograph card (which has been traded) but I loved the set and still have it in the library catalog waiting to be organized. 

The cards I wanted to pull most in the set were the Mini Booklet relic cards.  There are 25 of them in the checklist and I'd love to complete this set.  How many do I have toward my goal you ask?  Only 1...

But if you're going to start the set and only have 1, it's best to start off with this one.

The Ruth Mantle booklet is the highest valued card in the set at $250.  Here is the list of the other 24 cards that I need to collect! If you have any of them please reach out to me and let's work out a trade!  Thanks for looking!

#MBR1 Albert Pujols / Ryan Howard #MBR2 Prince Fielder / Ryan Braun #MBR3 Evan Longoria / David Wright #MBR4 Ichiro Suzuki / Albert Pujols #MBR5 Joe Mauer / Johnny Bench #MBR6 Hanley Ramirez / Jimmy Rollins #MBR7 Adam Jones / Nick Markakis #MBR8 Tim Lincecum / Zack Greinke #MBR9 Grady Sizemore / Ichiro Suzuki #MBR10 Tim Lincecum / Roy Halladay #MBR11 Ian Kinsler / Gordon Beckham #MBR12 Chase Utley / Ryan Howard #MBR13 Shin-Soo Choo / Grady Sizemore

#MBR14 Miguel Cabrera / Prince Fielder #MBR15 Justin Upton / Matt Kemp #MBR16 Carlton Fisk / Ivan Rodriguez #MBR17 David Wright / Jose Reyes #MBR18 Matt Kemp / Andre Ethier #MBR19 CC Sabathia / Andy Pettitte #MBR20 Hanley Ramirez / Dan Uggla #MBR21 Dustin Pedroia / Kevin Youkilis #MBR22 Hunter Pence / Josh Hamilton #MBR23 Prince Fielder / Pablo Sandoval #MBR24 Joe Mauer / Brian McCann

Lineage Update. Help Wanted!

So with my most recent trade I can say with confidence I'm more than half way to my goal of getting every mini relic.  As far as the subsets and parallels for the base card, I've got a ton and they're organized and not going anywhere.  I'll hit card shows in the next dozen years to try and accomplish that task.

The mini relics I want to get done sooner then later.

Here is an updated list of what I need.

Let's get some trades rolling!  I've got some new stuff and old stuff I'm ready to part with to get the job done.  Hit me up!

GOLD LEVEL
These will be the hardest to find for sure.

Babe Ruth
Mickey Mantle
Sandy Koufax
Honus Wagner

Silver Level
These I assume are second tier cards and were tougher to pull

Andre Dawson
Bob Gibson
Cal Ripken Jr
Carlton Fisk
Duke Snider
Fergie Jenkins
Hank Aaron
Jim Palmer
John Smoltz
Johnny Bench
Johnny Mize
Mel Ott
Mike Schmidt
Ozzie Smith
Reggie Jackson
Stan Musial
Tony Perez
Whitey Ford
Willie McCovey

And the Bronze Level a mix of common stars and super stars

Adam Dunn
Alexie Rameriez
Andrew McCutchen (bat and jersey)
Carlos Gonzalez
Chipper Jones
Clay Buchholz
Clayton Kershaw
Dustin Pedroia
Edinson Volquez
Felix Hernandez
Grady Sizemore
Ike Davis (bat and jersey)
Jason Bay
Joey Votto
Johnny Cueto
Jose Bautista
Jose Reyes (bat and jersey)
Justin Upton
Justin Verlander
Kevin Youkilis
Miguel Cabrera
Nelson Cruz
Ryan Braun
Starlin Castro
Stephen Strausburg
Tim Lincecum
Yovani Gallardo

I'm Baaaaack... (kinda)

Hey everybody!  Long time no post!

It's official... I'm a daddy now!

On May 11th at 12am on the dot my wife and I welcomed our daughter Julia Ruth Malone in to the world and our family.  As I write this post my wife and daughter are currently taking nap together on the couch and I can say that I am officially a changed man.

Hopefully my love of baseball and collecting cards will bite my daughter one day as hard as it bit me when I was an 8 year old boy.  It's not impossible anyway.  Only time will tell!

In my hiatus from posting I did acquire some cool new stuff.  Of course I broke fast and posted about the Cespedes card because it was a huge pull and is still sitting on ebay.  If it doesn't sell I will almost undoubtedly trade it away.  I have a friend that used to work for the Baltimore Orioles and I may be able to get some legit memorabilia from him.  We'll see!

I also pulled off a lineage trade.  It's slow going building this set as I knew it would be and of course my interest has waned slightly but this was a great trade for both parties involved and I enjoy helping another collector with their pursuits.

I previously had this beautiful Reggie Jackson in my collection...

It is a card that is hard to find apparently and I was lucky to have it in my collection for as long as I did, but am happy to send it to an even better home.  A collector contacted me who is trying to not only get the entire mini relic set but all of it's variations and for the Reggie Jackson that included at least 3 all by itself including this one.  For him it was a must have and he cut me a deal I couldn't refuse.  Yes, I loved this card, but would be just as happy to get an all yellow swatch added to my collection and have seen them readily available on ebay.  I'll get Reggie back, maybe just not this sweet green and white swatch. 

I did get 5 needed cards in return including a big ticket mini relic.  Check them out!

Up first are Elvis Andrus and Ricky Romero

Followed by Marlon Byrd and Brian McCann. 

 

Here was the corner stone of the trade for me!

 

This Nolan Ryan relic is not only my first Ryan memorabilia item, but was a must have.  I just love the seam in the middle of the swatch!  Couldn't beat this trade!

 

Not a bad deal for both parties!

 

That's all from me for now!  Stay tuned for an update on my finished bar top!  I recently took it to a friend who is doing the finish on top of the bar and should be ready before Memorial day!  Can't wait to show it off!

 

Till then... time to change some diapers!

SELL OUT WITH ME TONIGHT

So this is a first for yours truly.   Kinda...

As you know the reason I started this blog is because a long time ago I was forced to sell off what was the best of my collection at the time to float me and my wife.  It is the only time i've ever sold cards.

Till now.

I'm selling the Cespedes.

Check it out!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-Topps-Gypsy-Queen-Yoenis-Cespedes-Mini-Wood-Parallel-5-5-ebay-1-1-/161019765112?pt=US_Baseball&hash=item257d86a178

HUGE PULLS!!! Big Time Gypsy Queen MOJO

Pardon me while I take a break from Radio Silence for this awesome and unimportant update!

Today is the day my wife was due to have our daughter and needless to say she is late.

Not surprised... most women in my life are consistently late... she's just following in her family's foot steps.

Long story short... we may be waiting another week or it could happen tonight.  She's already running shit.  And I'm not the least bit surprised.

So naturally the wife and I were alittle disappointed in this and we decided to get out and clear our heads since we've been nothing but headcases the last couple weeks thinking about her impending arrival.

I took my sweety out to lunch to cheer her up and she took me to the baseball card shop in return.  I had an option...

I could've bought one pack of 2013 Topps Tribute at $45 for a single pack

OR

I could purchase 8 packs of 2013 Gypsy Queen at $5 a pack for a total of $40.

Of course I could've pulled a huge hit from Tribute, but if I'm being real... Haven't been impressed with it so far this year.  Sticker autos??  Serious bro?

So I decided on the bigger gamble and got the 8 packs of Gypsy Queen.  I took the chance I didn't get to pull a single thing except some inserts, but I came out on top!

I did good fellas.... really fuggin good!

However, before I detail what I pulled in those packs let me tell you what I've pulled since the last time I posted first.  I've been getting a bunch of retail lately... just rack packs and have been successful for the most part.  Normally I stick to HOBBY packs only, but recently haven't had time to make it out to the shop so I hit Target, Walmart, Kmart and so on and so on.  Check it out!

 

From a couple retail 2012 Topps rack packs I pulled this money Josh Hamilton Golden Moments Jersey and this Ubaldo Jimenez Mound Dominance Jersey numbered 16/50.

 

This Ian Kennedy Clubhouse Collection is hand numbered 94/99 and came from a single pack of 2013 Heritage retail.

 

I got on a hot streak with 2013 Topps Series 1 and pulled the following Chasing History of Evan Longoria, Yovani Gallardo, and David "Big Papi" Ortiz.  Only to be followed up by my biggest pull (till I picked up my Gypsy Queen)...

 

A sweet ass Mike Trout Chasing the Dream bat card as well as former rookie of the year himself Neftali Feliz.  I was sooo stoked when I pulled the Trout card.  Again... all from retail packs.

 

The next frame will show 4 different pulls.  3 of them come from retail packs and 1 is from my 8 pack haul from the Hobby shop.  Check it out!

 

Another Gallardo jersey card as well as a sweet Paul Konerko jersey card with a seam going through the top right.  Lastly from retail I pulled the Mini relic of Brandon Phillips.

 

When I started breaking the hobby packs the Adam Jones relic came last and was basically my icing on the cake.  I doubt it has a ton of value, but as a die hard Orioles fan I love this card and come to think of it I think this is the first Adam Jones card I've ever pulled.  The real gem is below...

 

Nope... it's not this "Captain" Kirk Nieuwenhuis autograph.  Although it was sweet to pull this card... it was this card that I pulled in the VERY SAME pack that made me a real winner today!

 

THAT'S RIGHT BABY!

 

Yoenis Cespedes mini bat parallel!!!  What's the big deal you ask?

 

This...

 

5/5 BABY!

 

This card falls 1 out of every 594 packs or roughly 2.5 cases!

 

Luckily I was able to find one that just sold on ebay.  It was number 4/5 and went for $190!

 

Huge pull guys.  I couldn't be happier.  I'm fairly certain I wouldn't have pulled anything this nice from a single pack of Tribute... but I'll never know anyway.  I'm just happy I went the way I did.

 

Oh yeah... by the way...

 

It's available for trade.  If you're an A's fan I think this is a must have.  Just make sure it's a good offer!

 

Thanks for reading...

 

RADIO SILENCE BACK IN EFFECT!

 

Talk to ya'll after my baby comes!