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!

Radio Silence

I'm still interested in this blog damn it!

I've got about 10 or 11 relic cards i've pulled lately and want to share with you...

BUUUUUTTTTT.....

My wife is due to have our baby girl any day now and it's all I can think about these days.  I've never been more distracted.

Case in point...

I'm not looking forward to anything new coming out this year.  For the first time in god knows how long I find myself not on the edge of my seat with a wish list of what cards i'd like to pull.

Shits crazy....

I just can't wait to be a Dad.

I'll be back on the blog in due time... and when I do...

Lets just say you bess do some eyeball training.


Talk with ya'll sooner than later.

Long time no talk

Radio Silence...

Sorry bout it.  My wife and I are expecting our little girl in the next 2 weeks.  She is measuring well ahead of that and in all reality could come any day.  That fact combined with the fact that my wife is an accountant and has been in the middle of tax season while nearing the end of her pregnancy has left me little time for blogging or baseball cards.

Gypsy Queen came out... bought none of it.

Tribute came out... bought none of it.

I have watched some box breaks on the youtube and have lived vicariously through other collectors.  But thats about the extent of it.

The coolest thing I can say as of late is I bought a couple rack packs of 2013 Series one and hit a Mike Trout Bat card.  I'll post an update of all new hits I acquired in the last couple months.

The one cool thing i've done lately is to have the bar top get resin coats.  My buddy told me he'd have it for about a month.  Can't wait to see the final product!  Expect some pics.

Next time I write you can be assured I'll be a Daddy.

Thanks for reading!  Sorry for the lack of writing.  Till Next Time.