Sunday, December 30, 2012

Almost a new year - Where I am, what I'm doing and where I'm going !

As another year comes to a close I sit here pondering the possibilities for 2013, while sipping coffee made in my new Christmas B&D coffee maker, thanks to my wonderful wife ! ( She also got me an awesome Cleveland Indians metal waste basket ! )

I don't anticipate any major changes in my buying, collecting or trading of baseball cards. I do want to keep better track of trades this year. I tried a plan last year that didn't last long, hopefully this year it will work better.

The very first thing on my agenda is to finish mailing out the free cards I promised. The holidays really took a toll on that project and I apologize to all who haven't yet received cards.  The list is right in front of me and I cross off each name as I send them out. I have three more ready to go and will prepare more this afternoon. It would have gone quicker, but I'm trying to include a few extra cards in each mailer that complements your want lists or fav team or player. Thank you for your patience !

I also have received packages from the following :

Nomo's Sushi Platter
The Sandlot
Nachos Grande
I't's Like Having My Own Card Shop
Brad's Blog
Dime Boxes
2 by 3 Heroes
Joe Average Card Collector

I will also be responding to each of these. Some were for cards already sent, some I owe cards.


Creating more, and better, wants lists is the next thing on the "to do" list.

At last count, I was approaching 14,500 Indian cards !
But I have one Indian card checklist that has over 40,000 listings and only goes through part of 2007.

 So I have a ways to go yet !!





Monday, December 24, 2012

Holiday time !

This has been a very busy month for me and my family, and tonight, all the work will start to culminate into a blessed time for all of us as we start the traditional Christmas celebration together.

I want to take this time to wish everyone  a very
 
 Merry Christmas
 
and
 
 
 Happy New Year !

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Good Will find, pan fried flounder, Sizemore surfer and I love baseball !

 
 
What do all these things have in common ?
 
Last Tuesday was my 62nd birthday and this is how they are all tied together !
 
First, my wife doesn't like fish. I LOVE fish but don't get it very often. But on my birthday she always make me a great fish dinner.
 
 
 
My son Josh, gave me this Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Indian surfer bobblehead.
Very cool !
 

 
My wife gave me this really neat little knick-knack.
 It's about 6 inches long and will go very nicely on my desk. 
 


 
 
On my way from work Tuesday, I stopped at  one of my favorite Good Will stores.I saw this this small bundle of cardboard sheets tied together.The baseball player is what caught my eye.Otherwise I would have just passed up this package.
 
Am I ever glad I didn't  !
 
It seems the USPS issued this set of 10, "Celebrate the Century" stamp collecting sheets in 1998/99.
The first one is the 1900's, then the 1920's, 1930's and so on. There are several baseball related stamps, which I will show in another post, but there is much more than that to this great deal. There were only 9 of the 10 sheets in this package, but each has 15 totally legal US postage stamps. The first sheets are 32 cent and the last ones 33 cent stamps. They total almost $44.00 in postage !
 
 

I paid $1.29 for the whole package !!
 
And that's why the title does make sense !


 
 
 
My baseball Christmas tree !!


Sunday, December 2, 2012

Trade with This Way to the Clubhouse


This is such a busy time of the year ! I really need about 36 hours in each day.

The parts manager at work took all last week off to hunt Bambi, so I had to take over for him. (50 + hours last week)

That, right in the middle of my trying to get cards together for my free card give-a -way.( everyone will be getting more than than one card ! ) The first few are in the mail and the others will be going out soon.

Then the holidays are starting. My wife and I do a lot of Christmas candy making.

Plus I have other trades I need to catch up on.


This trade started about a month ago.

But I love to get emails like this one :

"Hi there. So, I was going through my secret-special box of favorite vintage cards that I would take to a desert island with me, and I somehow came across an autograph card of former prospect John Drennen. It's a sticker auto from 2005 Topps Rookie Cup. Apparently it's the red parallel version, numbered 056/399. I definitely remember getting this card in a pack several years ago, but I haven't a clue how it wound up in this box. Anyhow, now I'm looking for an appropriate home for this thing...."

He came across my blog and thought I might be interested !  Might be ?!
I definitely got back to him and he graciously sent it to me.

 

 
 


He also sent this great Albert Belle patch, along with small stack of other Tribe cards.
( can't post too many pictures right now, I'm approaching my Google limit !)

Mark, from This Way to the Clubhouse , was the sender of the email.

I know this post is a little late Mark, but thank you very much and I will get a nice return package to you.



The baseball card blogging community is just so awesome  !

Thursday, November 22, 2012

A day of Thanks


So much to be thankful for !! 
 


Whatever Thanksgiving means to you, I hope you have a great day !
 



Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Free card winners !! Speak now,or forever hold your peace. There is no crying in baseball !

 
 
I really had a good time with this,
but now there is work to do.
I had 29 requests,
if my calculations are correct,
for free cards,
they are all shown below.
 
Sorry ! That just kind of came to me as I was writing !
 
But seriously, it has been a lot of fun. I added a few followers, I started following a few new (to me) blogs. I was familiar with some of you, but have never traded before.That also added some more contacts to my address book. 
 
 
 

And the winners, in chronological order (I think), are :
 
the four minis please
2012 Topps Purple Border Jordan Pacheco
Ooooh! Junk wax of Jim Thome!
I mean, may I please have the '91 Bowman Jim Thome?
I'll take the phillies carlos silva auto dont have that one
choices choices...but who can resist a non-tattooed Hamilton Minors card? Can I please have that? Thanks!
May I pick the Murray SPX please? Thanks.
Too late to claim the Jeff Kent?? If not, I'd like that one...
I think I will jump in and take the David Cone (the good Royals one, not the yucky Mets one). My collection is currently Pacific-Cone-free, and I need to remedy that.
If you're willing to ship to the Great White North, I'd love to JLarry Walker.
I am glad I waited, but only in the sense that the card I would have jumped at day 3 is something I have. So I will claim the UD Frank Howard please
Biggio
Olsen auto please.
Brian McCann super shiny refratory goodness please!
The Ludwick jersey, please.
You know I'm going to claim that Matt Hague refractor! Thanks for the card giveaway and congratulations on 4 years!
Mr. Dad, I'd be honored to claim that Dubois encased in plastic.
Happy anniversary, and congrats! I'd like to claim the Thurman auto. Thanks!
I'd like to claim that Kellogg's Dave Kingman, if it's still available. Do you still have my mailing address?
Is the Miguel Cabrera still available? Gotta go for the MVP
I need the Boggs Triple Play card for my set. I would love to claim it!
Matt Campbell Jersey! Sweet!
Being a Canadian baseball fan, I would love the Joey Votto card.
I'll take the Orioles team card gold refractor.
Brett Wallace Purple, please! :-)
I'll get my grubby little (big?) hands on that Shanks Canseco card. Thanks a ton!
OK you twisted my arm enough the 2009 Enterplay an Pack Standee Ryan Zimmerman Please.
I'll take the Santana!
Is the Utley Gypsy Queen still available? Thanks!
I am another Phillies Phan late to the party. I would like the Cliff Lee Bowman Gold if it is still available.
 
 
Let me know ASAP if you think there are any mistakes !!
 
 
Thanks to all who participated. There will only be three of us here for Thanksgiving. My wife, our oldest son Josh and myself, and I don't watch football, so I hope to get most of these done and ready to mail on Friday.
 
I do still need addresses for the following :
 
Jeff Wilk      Frank Howard
 
Matt Wilson  Ludwick jersey
 
EWS  ?    The Santana card
 
 
 

 

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Last chance ! Plus, I do use ebay

 
 
Good  Morning  AMERICA !
 
Today is your last chance to claim one of my free cards.
What ever is left after midnight EST tonight will become trade bait.
All the details are right here !
 
 
I do use ebay once in a while.Mostly just for buying hard to find cards.I don't usually post my winnings here unless I find something really exciting or something I want to use as trade bait.I do keep all of you bloggers in mind when I'm surfing through the myriad of cards available, especially when I'm viewing the seller's other auctions.
 
 
Here are a few Tribe cards I recently received.
 

 I miss the '90's ! There were so many different choices and some really great looking cards.
The Leaf 50th anniversary cards were some of my favorites.


 1994 Leaf Gold Leaf Rookie Manny Ramiriz. A very dark card and hard to look at,even in person.


2010 Bowman Josh Tomlin Gold


And back to the 1990's ! 1994 Score Hall of Gold Eddie Murray.They were right, he was headed for the HOF.
 
1995 Pacific Collection Manny Ramiriz.
Will he make it ?
He certainly has the numbers, but a storied career to go with them.
What do you think ?


Saturday, November 17, 2012

Baseball cards in Amish country and free card update !

 
Good Morning everyone !
 
Actually it's almost noon here but I've been up and around for about 5 hours. I've been going over the Free Card post comments and have determined that at least 23 people are reading my blog and are interested in one of my free cards.
 
 
 
 
 

 
This is the list I have so far unless someone else has commented in the last hour.
Everyone else has the rest of today and all day tomorrow to request a free card.
On Monday the remaining cards will become trade bait if anyone is interested.
 
 
 
 
As I mentioned, my wife and I took a trip to the Amish country yesterday.
The basic area is a little over an hour from here. Berlin,Ohio claims to be the largest Amish community in the world. And that place was busy !! People everywhere.
 
The main point of our trip was the store called "Tis the Season".  A huge Christmas shopping experience. The store is much larger than it looks, it has three levels. After that, we stopped at Cindy's Diner for a late lunch. That's where the cards come into play. The diner is under the same roof as a very large antique mall. After a great meal we needed to walk around for a while, and even though the words "antique mall" usually means "flea market with Sax of 5th  Ave prices". we decided to look around. I did see a few baseball items here and there, a few old gloves that looked interesting but way out of my price range. Then finally, clear in the back of the second story, I found a vendor with some baseball cards!
 
 

 
1985 Topps 3-D
 
4 1/4 x 6" , vacuum formed baseball "photo" as it's called.
 
If any of you remember the old Mattel VAC-U-FORM , they could have been made with it !
 
I have a couple of these around somewhere but I never had a wrapper.
Now I do ! $2.00
 
 
Then he had a box with a mixture of smaller stuff to search through.
 
 
 
 
1992 Topps Kids.
Once again, I have some of these cards but never had a pack. Unfortunately, the vendors are not always there so they have to have a sticker on each item, which a clerk removes so the proper seller gets credit. Well the sticker removed part of the wrapper with it, so I'll be looking for an upgrade on this one.


I always liked this card set. It seemed like something that would appeal to kids. After all, I like it ! Actually, I've been saving the ones I find. Don't know if I will ever complete the set, as I don't actively collect it, but who knows.

 
I really liked these cards where they put a face on a caricature body like this Ozzie Smith on steroids ! I had never seen the gum before either. Clever to put it in a regular gum wrapper to protect the cards.  50 cents for a pack.
 
 
 

There were also two packs of these. 1990 Starline cards sponsored by Long John Silvers and Coke.
They were given away with a purchase  at Long John Silvers. There were 8 different 5-card sets with most players having more than one card. Not a single Tribe card in the whole set !



I got set numbers 5 and 8.
 
 
 
Finally there were some Awesome All Stars packs.
99 different sticker cards aimed at the younger set.
Some of the cards are slightly funny, but someone at Leaf had a really demented sense on humor !
 
 



 
I do need some help on these.
 
There are no dates on the cards or wrappers.
 
When were they issued and do the different colored wrappers denote anything ?
 
I'm sure someone out there knows !!
 
Thanks !
Gotta' get back to the free cards now.
 
 


Friday, November 16, 2012

Is that your final decision ?

 
Well, the big day is here!
 
Four years ago this site popped up in the blogosphere.
I've had a lot of fun with it and gained a lot of new cards for my collection.
I've also sent out a lot of cards to others and made a lot of friends along the way.
So now I'm giving back a little.
 
I realized I never set a time limit on this so I will let you pick free cards through Sunday night.
By Monday night I hope to have all the chosen cards marked with red lettering and then all cards that are left will become trade bait.
 
Once again, if this is your first trip here, all the details and rules for this free card give-a way can be found here !
 
I hope everyone has enjoyed this and can find something interesting you'ld like to own !

UPDATE !

All cards with RED descriptions have been claimed !! 
 

1981 Topps Scratch-Offs (all three still attached)
Lance Parrish
Mickey Rivers
Jim Palmer


1989 Bowman Jim Abbott ROOKIE


 2012 Pannini Triple Play Wade Boggs


2012 Topps Gypsy Queen Gold Border Chase Utley


2012 Topps Gypsy Queen Tony Gwynn


 2012 Bowman Platinum A.J. Cole


2012 Topps Chrome Refractor Brian McCann


2012 Topps Purple Shaun Marcum


2012 Topps Chrome Refractor Matt Hague  ROOKIE


2003 Upper Deck Masters of the Game  Torii Hunter


1999 Topps Finest  Craig Biggio

1990 Score Young Super Star Kenny Rogers


1980 Kellogg's 3-D Dave Kingman


Two cards - One Choice !
2006 Ultra Zack Greinke  Base and Gold


2012 Topps Golden Greats Joe DiMaggio



2012  Topps Purple Brett Wallace


2012 Topps Blue Colby Lewis


2012 Topps Opening Day Fantasy Squad Jose Reyes


2012 Topps Opening Day Rob a Home Run Jose Bautista


2012 Bowman Gold Cliff Lee


2012 Bowman Gold Ike Davis


2012 Bowman Platinum Paul Kornerko


2002 Topps Pristine Uncirculated Refractor Jason Dubois  1304/1999


2009 A&G Ryan Ludwick jersey


2006 Topps Certified On - Card auto Scott Olsen


2001 Leaf Certified Materials Fabric of the Game  Larry Walker jersey


1996 Best BEST Prospects  Mike Thurman on - card auto


2003 Upper Deck USA Baseball  National Pride Matt Campbell jersey


These cards are 2 separate choices
1980 Topps Bert Hooten
1982 Topps Dave Righetti


These cards are 2 separate choices
1980 Topps Bud Harrelson
1980 Topps Chris Chambliss


These cards are 2 separate choices
1982 Topps Career Highlights Pete Rose ( didn't notice until I started to list, has creases in
             upper right corner  and waves down through card)
1978 Topps Butch Metzger


These cards are 2 separate choices
1977 Topps Dave Moates (crease in both right corners)
1977 Topps Paul Splittorff


These cards are 2 separate choices
1974 Topps Wayne Twitchell
1973 Topps Ron Bryant


These cards are 2 separate choices
2004 Bazooka Kaz Ishii
2007 Topps Turkey Red Andruw Jones


These cards are 2 separate choices
1997 SP Kenny Lofton
2004 Upper Deck National Trading Card Day Hideki Matsui


These cards are 2 separate choices
1983 Donruss HOF Heroes Hank Greenberg
1983 Donruss HOF Heroes Johnny Mize


These cards are 2 separate choices
1983 Donruss HOF Heroes Josh Gibson
1983 Donruss HOF Heroes Walter Johnson


These cards are 2 separate choices
2012 Topps Archives Larry Doby
1979 Topps Rick Manning


2011 Topps The Lost Cards 1955 Topps Bob Feller


These cards are 2 separate choices
2008 SP Authentic  C.C. Sabathia
2012 Topps Archives Asdrubal Cabrera
 
2010 Topps Chrome Carlos Santana ROOKIE
2010 Topps Chrome Carlos Santana ROOKIE


 

 

                                                   2012 Career Day Joey Votto

 
1991 Upper Deck Jim Abbott
 
 
Well, I hope everyone has enjoyed this.
 
I'm waiting for the comments tonight.
Especially from the ones who already made their choices !!
 
I know a lot of the cards are not real exciting to all of you, but they are free !
 
Remember to email your mailing address if you haven't traded with me before.
If you have, I should have all the info in my email contacts.