Tuesday, December 20, 2011

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

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.


Monday, September 12, 2011

My Ebay Nemesis....Found?

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

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

My Ebay Nemesis

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.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

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


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











Wednesday, May 18, 2011

The Day I met the Killer

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.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

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

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.




Monday, February 7, 2011

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

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.


Wednesday, February 2, 2011

My Opinionation: Topps 2011 Series 1

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.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

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

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!