The Cardboard Dugout

Troubled Times for a Player Collector (Updated)

2012-02-20T10:46:00.001-08:00

For those of you that followed my post regarding the different poses of Mark Teixeira, You'll be happy to know I added 2 more monsters to the collection over the weekend.

2011 Topps Chrome Magenta Printing Plate 1 of 1

2011 Topps Canary Refractor 1 of 1

Just one more plate to go, wish me luck!

2012 Topps Jumbo Box Break Recap and Review

2012-02-02T07:07:00.000-08:00

2012 Topps Jumbo Box Break and Recap

Troubled Times for a Player Collector. The Many Variations of a Topps Card.

2011-12-20T07:44:00.000-08:00

Being a self acclaimed hardcore Mark Teixeira Collector, I decide to shoot for something this year (2011) that I've never done before. I decided to try and complete a "Rainbow". I'm sure there's not a clear definition of what a Rainbow actually is, but here's my take: All of the colored parallels of a certain player from Topps Chrome (red, purple,gold etc..) and I completed it, in timely fashion. So I decided to go broader. This led to what I'm officially dubbing the "Pose Collection". How many different variations could I find of Mark Teixeira's 2011 Topps card in the Pose you see below (get used to those puffy cheeks). As of today I uncovered 27 different 2011 Tex Base Cards. Now, before sharing my spoils with you, let me gripe. Topps sure knows how to milk a pose. This collection was bittersweet, because although I'm proud of its completeness, it was expensive, time consuming, and just plain got annoying as other weird variations kept popping up. I'm usually not one to complain about collecting (if you hate it, why do it?) but this is just nuts. I guess any player collectors ultimate goal is to own as many different cards of their guy as possible. So does this mean I'll have to collect 30 more Mark cards in the same pose next year? I don't know, I'm too exhausted from this year. I'll decide after a long winters nap.

Below is my "Pose Collection" in ascending order by rarity. Enjoy!

Topps Opening Day

Topps Opening Day Blue Border parallel /2011

Topps Flagship base (#450)

Topps New York Yankee Team set Base (Back # is NYY6)

Topps Diamond Anniversary Factory Set Limited Edition Stamped

Topps All Star Base Card (All Star Stamped)

Topps Walmart Exclusive Black Variation

Topps Limited Edition factory set Red Border Parallel /245

Topps Flagship Gold Border /2011

Topps Diamond Anniversary Insert

Topps "Sparkle" Short Print (Check out his helmet)

Topps Flagship Black Bordered Parallel /60

Topps Chrome (#170)

Topps Chrome Refractor

Topps Chrome Orange Bordered Parallel

Topps Chrome X-Fractor

Topps Chrome Atomic Refractor /225

Topps Chrome Purple Bordered Parallel /499

Topps Chrome Blue Bordered Parallel /199

Topps Chrome Sepia Parallel /99

Topps Chrome Gold Bordered Parallel /50

Topps Chrome Red Bordered Parallel /25

Topps Update "Cognac" Diamond Parallel

Topps "Hope Diamond" /60

Topps Chrome Cyan Printing Plate 1/1

Topps Chrome Yellow Printing Plate1/1

Topps Chrome Superfractor 1/1 !

Whew, See how exhausting that was.....and I'll be forever looking for the rest of those plates.

2 Box Break Topps Tier 1 and Pete Rose Legacy

2011-11-30T07:30:00.000-08:00

I MUST BREAK YOU: 2011 Topps Tier One 5 box recap

2011-11-10T08:52:00.000-08:00

2011 Bowman Chrome Box Break, Harper? Banuelos?

2011-10-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

I Must Break You: 2011 Topps Finest Baseballl

2011-10-12T12:47:00.000-07:00

2011 Topps Triple Threads Box Break on Site @ DCS Sportscards!

2011-09-28T12:06:00.000-07:00

I must Break You: 2011 Topps Marquee. Heavy Metal?

2011-09-14T07:22:00.000-07:00

My Ebay Nemesis....Found?

2011-09-12T18:49:00.000-07:00

Well folks, for those of you following the saga (See my Previous Post) it is possible that my Mark Teixeira, Ebay Super-Collecting Nemesis has been found. My good Twitter buddy (@Kjsweetman19, who is a godsend) has been on the case since my post. Today he Tweeted me a photo bucket of a guy who collects Tex so hard that he has and hands out his own business card for people to contact him if they come across and Tex. I won't show his info for 2 reasons:

1: Umm hello, if you have any Tex, I want em....I'm not giving you this guys info
2: Well, 2 is because I just Emailed him and introduced myself amicably, instead of constantly bidding up each other, maybe we can help each other out.
Let's see if he responds.

My fingers are crossed, but my breath isn't held

I'll keep you updated

2011 Topps Chrome Box break With more REGIS and Puppy Mojo!

2011-09-08T07:41:00.000-07:00

My Ebay Nemesis

2011-08-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

So I have an Ebay Nemesis....Here's what I know about him: His Username is b***s. Yup, that's all I know about him. I like to think the "b" stands for bull, and the "s" stands for STUPID ASSHOLE. ok, I feel better. So here's where my hatred stems from. He, like me, is a Mark Teixeira Super Collector. I know this because his pockets are deeper than mine and he constantly beats me out of 1/1's and other rarities. Don't get me wrong, I get some pleasure out of driving up the price, but that comes right back around when I really want something, I end up over paying because of his BS. So here's my idea, I'd like to team up with BS. Discuss cards with him as the pop up on the bay. "Hey man, I won't bid up on this one, it's yours....I'll take the next one". Think he'd go for it? Yeah, me neither. So do me a favor twitter and blog followers, if you run in to b***s tell him I'm looking for him and I am not happy.

There's no better feeling than the completion of a Set!

2011-08-02T06:27:00.000-07:00

Ah, The Completion of a set. For months I've been checking my mailbox everyday upon arriving home from work like Ralphie from a Christmas story, except my little Orphan Annie decoder pen was a 2010 Luke Hughes Redemption auto.....That's Right LUKE HUGHES! He was the last final piece needed in my 2010 Topps Chrome Rookie Autograph set. Collectors took issue with the 2010 chrome set due to the cards being curled and wavy, I never had an issue with them. The majority of these cards were pack pulled by me personally and all of them have straightened out with the help of a magical 5 cent top loader. Many say the 2010 class was the best in recent years. Feel free to decide for yourself. Below you will find scans of the entire set. Keep in mind these scans are not all centered and show imperfections that aren't necessarily associated with the card. Not all of the cards are perfect, but I'm not a graded so to me they'll do just fine. All auto's are on card. You will see many autos of future and current greats, like Mike Stanton, Starlin Castro, Carlos Santana, Stephen Strasburg, Jason Heyward, Austin Jackson, Ike Davis, Brennan Boesch and of course..........Luke Hughes

I MUST BREAK YOU: 2011 Bowman Platinum

2011-07-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

2011 Allen and Ginter Box Break 2

2011-07-13T10:48:00.000-07:00

I MUST BREAK YOU: 2011 Allen and Ginter box 2

2011 Allen and Ginter Box Break 1

2011-07-13T09:23:00.000-07:00

I MUST BREAK YOU: 2011 Allen and Ginter Box 1

The Day I met the Killer

2011-05-18T07:24:00.000-07:00

It's not much of a story, but it feels relevant none the less. In the summer of 09' I went to Cooperstown to see my childhood hero Rickey Henderson get inducted into the Hall. If you've never been to the Coop on an induction weekend, you must, if even just to see the Legends that line the Street. Literally the moment I stepped on Main st upon arriving there was a tent that housed 5 Hall of Famers. The first being Harmon "The Killer" Killebrew. I turned to my wife, "Holy Shit! it's Harmon Killebrew". That statement was overused for the rest of the weekend, just replace the legend. Anyway, to meet these Heroes and have them sign something was about $50 a pop. I naturally couldn't afford all 5, so I only got an Auto from the 1st guy I saw when my feet hit Main st. It was a quick encounter, but one I'll never forget.

RIP Mr. Killebrew

PS. It was the only card of him I had with me, I regretted not bringing a licensed product until I handed him the card and he said, "Wow, I look good here". Indeed he did.

2011 Gypsy Queen 2 Box Recap with HUGE hits!

2011-05-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

I MUST BREAK YOU: 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen

2011-04-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

A little something I caught the other night

2011-04-18T10:55:00.001-07:00

A last minute entry in the $10 Challenge 2/26/11

2011-02-26T19:44:00.000-08:00

Upon poking around on Twitter this afternoon, I noticed a few collector friends were having another $10 challenge. Here's the quick version: Head over to your local hobby shop, spend 10 bucks, post your treasures to twitters. Treasures could be something valuable, vintage, odd, or just plain interesting. I'm not sure how many folk participated but I did notice Chris Olds scored a Nick Swisher auto #'d to 10, not only a great score but Chris is a huge Swisher fan and collector, making a card like that all the more sweet. Another follower @cardboardicons got himself a few Steve Johnson autos and some vintage game used, great stuff. Heres the best part: No one really wins or loses this contest, but it's just a cool way to see what other collectors have access to.

So here's my story and submission.

I headed over to the Flea Market today to get the wife's watches fixed, I really didn't have plans to enter the $10 challenge, but theres a little shop there, I usually don't go there cause the owner's a Dick, flat out. But, score for me, we wasn't there today! So I spent 6 minutes, 10 bucks, and came home with these guys:

Naturally, I'm going to ask you to put condition aside, but these are 2 cards I've always wanted for my collection. To me the Uecker didn't matter, I just don't have any..now I do. The Reggie, well the Reggie is in terrible shape, but the card is classic, and now it's mine.

So I had to haggle with the worker to give me the Uecker for $2, so i could afford this one to complete my $10 (the can was $3). It's a 1997 Pinnacle "inside" Pack-in-a-can. The can is unopened (we'll see how long that lasts for, I've been known to bust unopenables after a few Jack and Cokes). The card features one of my faves Andy Pettitte on the outside.

So there it is, I'm down $10 but I got a few nice cards I've always wanted and can of mystery. All in all, a pretty good day.

Every Rose has it's Thorn (MFP #3)

2011-02-07T10:40:00.000-08:00

The thorn in this case is MLB licensing. Besides for that this, IMHO, is a stellar card, and clocks in at #3 on "my favorite pulls" list. Great design, nice chunk of jersey with stripe. Great photo, and Sleek card design. This card actually looks worse from the scan than it does in person.

My Opinionation: Topps 2011 Series 1

2011-02-02T10:47:00.000-08:00

Well today is the day. It's the official launch of the Topps 2011 Flagship set, and i'm like a Seal at a fish fry. A lot of collectors like to bitch about everything that is wrong with this product, well any product for that manner. Anyone that follows me knows I'm a positive guy who tries hard to live by the ole' "If you ain't got nuttin nice to say....." adage. So enjoy the next few comments and photos as I swoon over the product that got us all started.

So far I've picked up a jumbo box and 2 blasters so the cards below were snagged by me personally.

The Base Card:

I'm digging the design. It's pretty straight forward and clean, like it should be. I've been noticing a good mix of Landscape vs Portrait cards

The Parallel:

So this is a "Diamond" variation card and I'n not gonna lie.....I love it. I'm seriously considering building this entire set. Naturally there a Gold variations of the base card and even "Canary" variations which are like Gold variations of the Diamond Parallel. They may even be 1 of 1's. Awesome!

The Mini's:

That's right. This years Topps has a Mini insert set called "Kimball Champions" It's a 50 card insert set that I'm psyched about

The 60th:

Here's another insert set pretty much just depicting the 60th Anniversary. There are some great names in this subset. There are relic and Auto versions of these cards ( I have yet to get my hands on any)

60YOT (60 Years of topps)

This is a classic reprint set of some of Topps' greatest cards. Look for original back short prints with this one

The Reprints:

Ok this is the one I'm most excited about. This is a 30 card insert set of some of the hobby's most well known cards. Including reproductions of T206, Goudey, Bowman and more. I've landed 2 Babe's already.

The Duo's

This is the only thing about 2011 Topps I'm not crazy about. In my opinion this is just a recast of last years "Legendary Lineage" set. Even the design is similar.

The Manufactured Glove Leather:

I jacked 2 of these from my jumbo box. After the Hat and bat barrels from last year, a glove was the next logical step. Keep in mind these are manufactured and have not been worn by the player.

The SP's

This product promises alot of short prints including 1 of 1's that have real diamonds embedded in them. I've seen SP's on eBay that have the faintest sparkle of a diamond located somewhere not obvious on the card. And of course the retro players on new style cards like the one above.

The Exclusives:

When purchasing blasters at either Walmart or Target you can expect some pulss you wouldn't normally find in hobby boxes, including black cards, Manufactured patches and other 60th anniversary variations. I just Yanked this Yank at lunch. Welcome to the PC MR. Jeter.

I'll keep you posted of any stellar cards I pull. In other words, I can't wait to pick up some more.

The Beans Finally Pay Off...In a good way

2011-02-01T11:05:00.000-08:00

I love contests, who doesn't? I mean I never win but it's nice to have hope. So last week when someone on Twitter posted: "Follow @steinersports for a chance to win a $50 Gift Card.", I did. Honestly, I probably follow someone new or 'Re-Tweet" something 4 or 5 times a week just for the purposes of possibly winning a contest. Well I finally Won, and it was all due to my dumb twitter name (YanksandBeans). I thought it was so cool of Steiner to base a contest on something other than a random number generator. In this case it was their favorite twitter name. I've purchased many Steiner items before so these will come in handy:

Long story short kids, enter those contests, and re-tweet-away. You too could have a happy thumb!

I'm thinking about a new Hair Style. Thoughts? #collect

2011-01-28T10:43:00.000-08:00

I MUST BREAK YOU: 2010 Bowman Sterling

2011-01-27T11:15:00.000-08:00

Now that's how you announce a redemption program

2011-01-25T08:12:00.000-08:00

So a few months back I bought an uninspiring case of Bowman Chrome. My first case ever. Not only was the case disappointing but about a week after I tossed my wrappers Topps announced a redemption program. I considered dumpster diving but I was too late. Well with about 9 days to go before Topps 2011 series one drops, Topps announces the following.

http://www.topps.com/sports/news/toppsNews.aspx?news_id=369

Well done Topps!

My Ashburns..Then Stick it out the window! (MFP #2)

2011-01-18T10:06:00.000-08:00

Here's the 2nd card in my ongoing series of MFP = My Favorite Pulls. Again, these aren't my best cards but they're cards I personally pulled from packs and will probably never get rid of. Enjoy today's submission:

This is from 2010 Topps Tribute. If you haven't realized already from MFP #1, I'm a sucker for vintage material. I'm a Yankees fan, but even I can admit it's nice to see pinstripes of a different color once in a while.

I pick things up then put them down..... (MFP #1)

2011-01-13T12:48:00.000-08:00

.......Put them down into my PC that is. This is the 1st in a long list of MFP (My favorite pulls) I'll be showcasing some of my favorite cards that I'll probably never get rid of. So why not start with the man that started it all:

This is from 2006 UD Epic. I love that the card is #'1/25. If you all could only see this one in person that material is so old it feel like it's just going to turn to dust in the cut-out. The back says it's from his pants. Feign all you want over his 206 card, I'm content with this legends pants. (I realize how that sounds......I'm cool with it)

I MUST BREAK YOU: 2010 Bowman Platinum

2011-01-11T15:49:00.000-08:00

Picked up a box of 2010 Bowman Platinum from my fave hobby shop DCS Sportscards

Allen and Ginter TTM Success!

2011-01-11T15:33:00.000-08:00

So I'm not a big TTM guy. I Like it but it's a hassle. So about twice a year I get in the mood and I send out about 20 cards. This year I sent out a bunch of the Allen and Ginter Non-baseball cards. I had some luck with like the worlds greatest juggler or whatever, but todays mail day topped them all. I honestly forgot I sent this out and who would have thought that is came in today, day 1 of the new Blog:

Pretty sweet right? At 1st I didn't realize what the 0's in 2008 were, I thought it was just written weird but a second glance revealed that the 0's are actually the Olympic rings, making it one of the coolest Auto's ever!

The old Blog

2011-01-11T13:27:00.000-08:00

Heres a link to my previous Blog that I never kept up with. Theres some OK content, but I was never happy with Tumblr. My New Years resolution is to maintain the Blogspot. Let's see how I do. Here's the old one: http://yanksandbeans.tumblr.com/

It's a new Day, It's a new Blog, It's a new post. And I'm feeling good

2011-01-11T08:45:00.000-08:00

So let's get right into it. As my description says I consider myself a Mark Teixeira Super-collector. I have over 500 unique Tex cards ( not counting dupes). About 40 of those are Auto and about 65 are game used. I have rainbows, refractors, bats, shoes, on-card, stickers.. you name it.

Many ask why I collect Tex, I mean he's a great player but he comes off as a dick sometimes. Well my answer is simple, I always wanted to play first base for the New York Yankees, this guy's got my dream job. But it's more than that. 1st off Tex is a switch hitter which automatically doubles his stance photos on cards. He's played for 4 great teams (Rangers, Angels, Braves, Yanks) This gives way to all sorts of different colored game used and card designs. To me he's a perfect subject to collect.

I figured the best way to start my new blog is by showing off some of my collection. So please enjoy my top 10 favorite Mark Teixeira Cards:

10) #'d to 25, this card has a sweet patch coming right through the #3, and the card itself just looks so Regal

9) This card has a huge chunk of shoe bursting out of it, and a piece of scratched up glove.. Awesome

8) The Pie Face. OK, I recognize how gimmicky this card is and I'm totally cool with it. Plus I remember the moment it happened

7) Nothing too special about this one, I just love the patch. It appears to be from the middle of the star patch on the arm of the jersey in the photo

6) I personally don't care too much about printing plates but this is my only official 1/1, and the pose is perfect, complete with his signature exhale

5) Here's my other 1/1, it's not an official card but damn it's on hell-of-a sketch. I picked this up on the 'bay and it was quickly one of the cornerstones of my collection

4) My 4th fave Tex card is here just for aesthetic purposes, I think this card and the auto are just perfect.

3) Now this card is almost the same as above, only with much more sentimental value. It might be hard to tell from the scan but the colors in the Mantle GU are just nuts

2) #2 is easily my fave Tex auto I own. It is a hand #'d buyback that includes a separate Cert card. The auto is flawless

1) And finally, you can't call yourself a Teixeira collector without his official rookie auto card. This is the crown jewel of my Tex collection

Well I hope you all enjoyed it, and I hope you like the new blog. Stay tuned for box breaks, recaps, and basically just my take on the hobby. I hope to have some more of my "top 10's" up later this week.