An Incredible Secret Santa Gift

Christmas may be far behind us, but I can still get into the Holiday spirit thanks to the awesome Bob Walk the Plank Secret Santa package I received courtesy of P-Town Tom. The surprises with this package started from the moment it arrived.

While I knew I should be expecting a package from someone in the Secret Santa exchange, I wasn't expecting to find this hulking package on my doorstep(too big for the mailbox). I was thrilled when I opened it too.

Gingerbread!!! Oh yeah! To my slight disappointment, the box didn't actually contain a gingerbread house kit. It did contain a bunch of individually wrapped presents though.

It may be tough to tell from the way I arranged them for the pic, but there were 6 presents within along with a great note(which I didn't scan) that explained how all this cardboard goodness stayed within Matt's $10 limit. I briefly considered turning this into my own little advent calendar, opening one present each night, but that thought went away almost as quickly as it arrived. There was a little bit of everything in here.

First up, a blaster of a set that is about as oddball as it comes. Tom apparently won this as a door prize at a show and thought it would be a great add in to my Santa gift. I'm really appreciative that he did. It was really fun to rip into these packs!

Here are some highlights. I was thrilled to pull the Rivera and Ichiro. Take a look at how young Jayson Werth looks there! The Tino is a parallel. While it's nice to add a new Tino, it kinda hurts to see him in something other than pinstripes. The Torii is an insert and the Rios is from the rookie subset. Sadly, there wasn't a 'hit' in this box but it was definitely fun nonetheless. These kinda remind me of pogs from back in the day. Next up was a random assortments from his collection that didn't fit his PC preferences.

I didn't open much Fire so all of these are new additions for me. It's hard to pick a favorite here. I like the look of the Tanaka and it's always great to add a new DJ. I thought it was especially good timing that the Aaron Boone was in here considering he is the new Yankee skipper for 2018. The Kiermaier may win favorite of this scan though. It's a gold parallel of an insert that showcases his strong suit that has nabbed him a pair of Gold Gloves to date.

Here are some Yankees World Series heroes, old and newer. I particularly love the Jeter Classic Walk-Offs which highlights the night he became Mr. November.

I was lucky to find a few packs and a blaster of Stadium Club before it all disappeared from the shelves of my local Targets and Walmarts. I was not lucky enough to pull a base Jeter from the little I opened. The blue parallel Frazier is pretty awesome too, especially since he hasn't been traded away...yet. The pair of Didi cards represent my first experience with the rebooted a gallery product. I loved the original product and these look nice even if the card stock doesn't mimic the older product. It was pretty cool to see the base and Artist Proof parallel in this package. There was so much more than I scanned here. All in all, these were sent in a 200 count box which was a blast to flip through. As fun as this gift was up to this point, the heavy hitters were still to come!

This 1991 has been on my Cardboard Wishlist since shortly after I started this blog and remembered that I had a copy when I was younger. When I picked up my collection after a few years away, I pared it down a bit in preparation for a move to a smaller space. Shortly after I started this blog, I saw this card on Listia and was reminded how much I liked it when I was younger. I immediately went looking for it. After flipping through several monster boxes, I came to the conclusion that it must have been a casualty of my pre-move purge, along with others from the junk wax era. Once I realized I no longer had a copy, it took up residence on my Cardboard Wishlist. I'm happy to be able to cross it off that list. This gift package wouldn't stop there though.

This UD Vintage Posada comes from a time when there were so many sets available that it was really tough to see all of your team's issues and even more difficult to grab a copy of them all. I didn't know this card existed until I saw it on Dimebox Nick's blog when he was able to cross it off his Dimebox Dozen list. I immediately fell in love. The photo selection is incredible and it's a card of a member of the Core Four! Check off another card from my Cardboard Wishlist! Truth be told, I decided to add these last two cards to my first ever COMC order, but I received them in this package before my order arrived. It certainly didn't diminish my excitement at having received these. However, if there's anyone out there that would like a copy of either, I now have dupes to share. In addition to these wants, my Secret Santa package knocked out a ton of set needs. Three of the sets from my list were completed courtesy of Tom's generosity.

The last dozen needs for my 2015 Chrome set build were included.

Though I only scanned 6 of them, I received a whopping 14 of these to close out my 1993 Hostess set. Last but not least, I was able to finish off another early '90's oddball set.

I once again only scanned 6, but I unwrapped the final 8 of these 1992 Fleer 'The Performer Collection' cards that could be found at participating Citgo locations many moons ago.

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to finish writing this and get it posted, but I have to say one last 'thank you' to both Matt for organizing this Secret Santa operation and to P-Town Tom for sending an incredible gift package! Thanks to all for reading.

Just Commons - Where Have You Been All My (Collecting) Life?

I have no idea what took me so long to explore Just Commons and finally place an order on there, but I finally took the leap. Let me just say that if am happy I did! Thanks to a few recent eBay sales, I had a bit of cash that was burning a hole in my Paypal Wallet. I'd read numerous posts on various blogs out there singing the praises of Just Commons so I figured I'd see what I could find out there. Turns out I can find a LOT of cards I want out there, so I filled my cart up to just beyond the free shipping magic number of $15 and placed my order. A few days ago, the package arrived.

Let me just say, I have a bunch of 1992 UD sitting in a box, but when I first saw this Cecil Fielder from that set, it didn't seem familiar. I mean, how could you forget a photo like that? Sure enough, I went through all that I could find from that set and didn't have that awesome appearance by the San Diego Chicken on cardboard. Into the cart it went! That Bernie Williams is a pretty perfect card for me. One of my favorite Yankee players, a guitar on a baseball card, Yankee Stadium facade in the background? Check, check, check! The last two of this scan and the first two of the next scan have long been on my radar. They are the 'Limited Edition' parallels of the 2001 Yankee Team Card, World Series Champions card, and both AL Playoff series highlight cards. Apparently, these were Topps' version of Tiffany sets for the new millennium. I've been trying for years to piece together an early version of the rainbow for these cards. There are flagship, Limited Edition, Topps Employee, Chrome and Retrofractors that I am aware of. Finally, I can cross off the Limited Edition varieties from my checklist.

Keeping with the parallel theme, we shift gears to 2015 Topps Update gold. I had to pick up the Gardy since it was his first All-Star appearance. I was fortunate to pull a Mason Williams gold from a pack, so I needed the Heathcott to round out the gold Yankee rookies. Then I figured, I'd add the Rays gold rookies to the cart. I saw an awful lot of both Andriese and Mahtook while they were in Durham. It was nice to see them get a look(or two or three) in Tampa.

Next up, more former Bulls who have been pretty successful in Tampa. I hope that Cobb will return from TJ surgery as good as new and continue on his path towards becoming a top tier AL pitcher. For my money, Kiermaier was probably the most exciting player I've gotten to see in Durham in a long time! I'm really glad to see him performing so well in the Majors. I was thrilled to see his hard work pay off with a Gold Glove this season. Keep it up 'Outlaw'!

I managed a few Aaron Hicks RCs since he is the Yankees latest addition. I'm hoping to see big things from him. The refractor RC is on the left and the base is on the right. I also snagged a Bowman Chrome RC(not pictured).

Last, but not least, RCs from two of my favorite players. Here aren't just any RCs though. It's easy to see that Bo doesn't know Donruss on the left since there is that Leaf logo hanging out in the top left corner, but that Bernie looks like the base Topps RC...

That is until you turn it over. It's OPC!!! I can officially cross another card off the Cardboard Wishlist! Awesomeness! 

Wait, Bo knows French?!? Yup! With these new additions, I only need Tiffany versions of these guys' RCs and I'll have 'em all.

All in all, I picked up 25 cards. There were a few others that I didn't scan. If you're interested, a few of you may just find the others in your mailbox sometime in the near future. I just got my first order and I'm already searching the site and filling my cart once again. If you guys haven't checked out a Just Commons yet, I'd recommend doing so. It's definitely another great resource for adding to your collection. Thanks for reading!

Crossing One Off The Cardboard Wishlist - Single Card Post Sunday #4

I am rapidly approaching my one year blog-aversary. For the majority of the time I've been blogging, my Cardboard Wantlist has been mostly the same. Thus far, I've only crossed one card off that list and that was accomplished via trade. Well, I finally scan say that I can cross off card number two from that list. About a week ago, I found the card that has inhabited the second slot on the Wishlist for the majority of the time the list has been in existence on eBay.

This Bernie Williams hails from the 1990 Topps TV glossy set. That year, Topps created 5 team sets and an All-Star set that were sold in factory set form through a 1-800 number on a television promo. It is a rookie year card of one of my favorite Yankees of all time. I haven't seen many of these sets or singles floating around since I learned of their existence shortly after starting the blog. I have been watching two complete Yankee sets for months on eBay, but the cost was a bit more than I really wanted to pay. I had only seen one single previously, and the asking price on it was around $50 which is way more than I wanted to pay for this. When I found this listing a little over a week ago, it had a few days left to go and had a starting bid of $3.59 plus $2.50 shipping. I waited until the final hour of the auction and placed my best bid. As it turns out, it ended up being the only bid on it.

The win shortens my list of Bernie 'rookie' cards that I need to the 1990 OPC and the Topps Tiffany. I plan to check those two off the list in the not-so-distant future. For now, I want to enjoy the feeling of crossing a second card off the Wishlist. I think going into year two, I'll reconfigure the list a bit to hopefully facilitate being able to cross more off in 2016. As always, thanks for reading. Happy Sunday!

A Pre-War Swap with Tony from Off Hiatus - Part 2

A few days back I posted the first part of my first trade package from Tony of Off Hiatus Baseball Cards. It was filled with tons of oddball goodness. Tony also included Yankee legends, serial numbered parallels, a few relics, and he sent the first card that I can cross off of my Cardboard Wishlist courtesy of a trade. It was quite the first impression!

Yankee legends, as promised. It's really interesting to see someone like Babe Ruth on an insert that uses the 1975 Topps design. The more I look at that card, the more I like it. In he middle we have a die cut insert of the Mick. To round out the first scan, we have Joe D. in his military uniform. I like seeing the players who served their country in THAT uniform for a change.

More 'The Streak' and 'Career Home Runs' cards of DiMaggio and Mantle respectively. I like these cards because they have a pretty detailed write up about the specific hit or HR depicted. I hadn't planned on trying to complete The Streak set, but if I keep receiving these in trade packages, I'll have the set completed without really trying. In the past few months, I've already accumulated over a dozen of these with no dupes. I don't foresee completing the Mantle set though.

Next, we shift gears from legends to more contemporary Yanks. The three Jeter cards were all new for my collection. The Kuroda is a blue refractor limited to 199 copies. Two new relics came out of the package as well. To this point, this was a tremendous trade package, but it wasn't quite done.

There were two more Jeter cards. One, an insert from A&G which was incredibly thick and the other... The Flip! As promised, this is my first Cardboard Wishlist top 10 card that I can cross off courtesy of a trade package. It highlights the incredible play that Jeter made against the A's in the playoffs. I remember watching this game on TV. I was so blown away by this play and knew right away that it was something special. It is an excellent example of the intangible things he brought to the team. This play wasn't about fundamentals, but rather instinct. Though his career is over, this play stands as a defining moment.

The back details the play. This is my second card that highlights this play, and is far superior to the other. In (not so) short, I am thrilled to have this card in my collection.

Thanks Tony. I am looking forward to our next trade...once your war is over.

My NFL-MLB Collection Connection

Once again it's Sunday. We are one week closer to the Super Bowl, which means one week closer to Spring Training. It's conference Championship weekend, but I'm not invested in any of the teams. Now that my beloved Denver Broncos are home until training camp, I watched the games just for the sake of watching and hoped for some good games. After getting thumped by the Colts last week, there is still only one man that has led the Broncos to the Lombardi Trophy: John Elway. Growing up, he was my favorite player. I struggled through his Super Bowl losses and cheered as loudly as anyone at his back to back Championships which culminated with his Super Bowl XXXIII MVP performance. As much as I loved watching him play football and collecting his NFL cards, but my favorite card of him does not show him in his Bronco orange, blue, and white. 

It is this, showing him in minor league Yankee pinstripes! I am an Elway fan. I am a Yankees fan. How could I not love this card? This beauty that marries my two sporting loves was released back in 1998 at the All-Star FanFest in Colorado. Way back in those 'old days' this was my first ever eBay purchase. It was the first card that made me wonder if there were possibly any other Elway baseball cards out there. At the time, I found only one other. That 'other' Elway Yankee card currently inhabits the top spot on my Cardboard Wishlist. It comes from his 1982 Oneonta Yankees minor league team set. It looks something like this:

...and the flip side:

This card is incredible. It isn't easy to find, and it isn't cheap. I love the black and white photo of the first sports idol of my childhood. The design is simple, front and back. These days there are a few other Elway baseball cards floating around out there, but for the moment, the FanFest card is the only one I own. I'm sure that I'll come across a few of the others at some point and I will happily add them to my collection. I have longed to own that 1982 Oneonta card for over 14 years. I'll likely continue to do so for many years to come because for now, spending the amount of money that I'd need to buy this card is just not feasible. With two young daughters, there are plenty of other things to spend that money on.

One day I will own it. The circumstances will line up just right and a copy will end up as one of the focal points of my collection. Until then, a guy can dream... Can't he?