One of my most recent packages is of the large card variety:
RESOLUTION TRACKER:
1. 4/5 previously acquired.
2. 2 cards brings me to 983. 17 to go. I did decide to count these as cards despite the large size.
3. Previously achieved.
4. No progress.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Zenith 5x7 Inserts
I mentioned before that I have a lot of weird shapes and sizes coming in lately. I am in fill-in mode. There is very little still out there that is easy to acquire. The stuff that is out there is mostly larger cards or odd-shaped cards or non-cards.
One of my most recent packages is of the large card variety:
These two Zenith cards each measure 5x7 inches. They also each contained a normal-sized card. Unfortunately the previous owner (or someone else) already saw fit to slice the back open to pull the card. So there go my hopes of randomly finding the Z-Gold parallel. I do have one of these cards of Nomar Garciaparra, which was not pre-opened. As I recall the inside card was just a base card of Fred McGriff. Hardly worth cutting it open.
RESOLUTION TRACKER:
1. 4/5 previously acquired.
2. 2 cards brings me to 983. 17 to go. I did decide to count these as cards despite the large size.
3. Previously achieved.
4. No progress.
One of my most recent packages is of the large card variety:
RESOLUTION TRACKER:
1. 4/5 previously acquired.
2. 2 cards brings me to 983. 17 to go. I did decide to count these as cards despite the large size.
3. Previously achieved.
4. No progress.
Card #243: 2002 Topps Chrome Traded Refractor #T68
BRAND: Topps
SET: Chrome Traded
NUMBER: T68
SUBSET: NA
INSERT: Refractor
TEAM: Colorado Rockies
Currently, this is my favorite card of Alomar with the Rockies. Due to the fact that he only spent a couple of months with the team in the second half of the 2002 season, he appears on a precious few cards wearing a Rockies uniform. Most 2003 sets simply included him later in the year or not at all. So there is really not much to choose from. Unfortunately.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Card #242: 1998 Bowman Chrome Reprint #15
BRAND: Bowman
SET: Chrome
NUMBER: 15
SUBSET: NA
INSERT: Reprint
TEAM: San Diego Padres
I just covered the refractor version of this card a few days ago, so I don't have much to add to this one. Alomar does not really have too many rookie reprint-type cards, not that that is really much of a subcategory of its own. It is simply that there were not a lot of Padres cards of Alomar in the years since his trade to the Indians.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Card #241: 2001 Ultra Gold Medallion #24
BRAND: Fleer
SET: Ultra
NUMBER: 24
SUBSET: NA
INSERT: Gold Medallion
TEAM: Cleveland Indians
By 2001, Ultra had lost most of its luster. It was now one of the earliest sets released each year, so it did not have players updated with their new teams, as seen here where Alomar is still with the Indians instead of with the White Sox. The premium stock and glossy finish were no longer a big draw since so many sets provided that. Even the Gold Medallion parallels seemed phoned in. One year they had new photographs, not the case by 2001. It did still have some great photography though, as can be seen here with the terrific aftermath of a play at the plate.
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Top 15 Most Wanted?
Yep, my Top 10 has been expanded. Ultimately I decided to do this because there were just too many cards I really wanted that I wanted to keep track of. I am in kind of a difficult position right now. I have most of the cards that are easy to find, with just a few random oddballs still out there that I have not yet added. So I have to wait for rare cards to pop up on Ebay and other sites. There just are not enough places to find stuff because I certainly do not have much in the way of card shops or shows around here. I think about going to a national show or even to Cleveland at times to see if the rarer cards are more plentiful there. That is not likely to happen with my current homelife. You would think with the internet being so huge and all-encompassing that some cards would not be so difficult to find. But they are.
So here it is, the new list:
1. Remaining 1998 Tek cards. There are just 18 cards that I still need from this set. But most of the cards have seemingly dried up. It has been quite a while since I have added any cards from this set. There is an ongoing thread on one of the forums I go to that is dedicated to helping collectors find their missing Tek cards, unfortunately I have not had any luck with it lately.
2. 1997 Flair Showcase Masterpiece. This is one of those cards I am not sure I will be able to find. 1997 Flair was the first set with 1/1s which is why I wanted this one. Any of the three 1/1s actually. I suspect it will cost a pretty penny too.
3. 1997 Topps Stars All Stars. These were apparently quite rare, falling just one per box. I have never even seen a scan of this card. Any card involving Alomar's 1997 All Star game is noteworthy as it was a major career highlight for him.
4. 1997 Pacific Baerga Softball. This card commemorates the celebrity charity softball game that Alomar played in for former teammate Carlos Baerga in Puerto Rico. The cards were released at the game so they are exceptionally hard to find.
5. 2002 Topps Chrome Traded Black Refractor. This is the last card of Alomar with the Colorado Rockies that I need. I have yet to actually see a scan of this card too. This is one of several teams that Alomar played just a very short period of time with. Couple with the fact that he was a backup catcher for his entire tenure with every team but the Indians and a couple of seasons with the White Sox means that he has very few cards with most of the teams he played for.
6. 2005 Topps Rookie Cup Blue. I really like the Rookie Cup set and I have most of the more common colors. The gold and silver will be very difficult to find. But the blue is numbered out of 50. It should be out there somewhere.
7. 2005 Topps Total Printing Plate. I don't care if it is the front plate or the back plate. I don't care which color it is. This is pretty much it for cards of Alomar with the Rangers other than a team issue card that will be difficult to find.
8. 2003 Donruss Rookies Recollection Autograph 1989 Rookies. There is not much in the way of Padres stuff still out there for me either. This is one of two remaining autograph cards with the Padres at this point. There are just two copies of this card ut there so it is another one that will be very hard to find.
9. 2006 Upper Deck Special FX Purple. I only need the red and purple Special FX cards. Night Owl has this card. It is numbered to 150 so it should not be that hard to find. Yet here we are.
10. 2003 Topps Chrome Silver Refractor. For reasons I can only begin to guess, the silver refractors were only available via redemption. I have a Kevin Millar in my Red Sox collection but that is the only one I have ever seen.
11. 2004 Upper Deck Going Deep Bat. This card used to be on my Top 10 but when I picked up the gold version I dropped it off. I always felt a little bad about dropping a card I did not actually receive. Because I am weird.
12. 1998 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity. I hate losing out on cards. I lost out on this one a couple of weeks ago and I still get mad about it. This is a parallel numbered to 50. It should not be that hard to find either. But I have seen only one. And I missed it.
13. Any of the Recollection Autographs for the 1991 Diamond King. I have an irrational love for the Diamond Kings from Donruss. So getting a buyback autograph of the Diamond King card is a major goal. There are three variations of this card. I just want one of them.
14. 1998 Fleer Tradition Vintage '63 Classic. I saw this card on Sportlots once. I was pretty sure it would be just the Vintage, the non-foil, non-serial number version. But I took the chance that it was the serial-numbered card numbered to 63. It wasn't. I was not expecting it to be, even though it was listed as such, but it would have been nice if it was.
15. 2004 Donruss Timelines Recollection Autograph ROY Card. There are two variations of this one. I got this idea when reading a thread on a forum talking about how happy the writer was that he got the 1987 Topps buyback autograph of Jose Canseco because the 1987 Topps card was his first Canseco. Well, the 1991 Donruss ROY card was my first Alomar. I would love to get the buyback autograph of it. Someone had it on another forum and showed it off, but he was not willing to move it.
So that is the Top 15. For now. Hopefully some day I can add these to my collection.
So here it is, the new list:
1. Remaining 1998 Tek cards. There are just 18 cards that I still need from this set. But most of the cards have seemingly dried up. It has been quite a while since I have added any cards from this set. There is an ongoing thread on one of the forums I go to that is dedicated to helping collectors find their missing Tek cards, unfortunately I have not had any luck with it lately.
2. 1997 Flair Showcase Masterpiece. This is one of those cards I am not sure I will be able to find. 1997 Flair was the first set with 1/1s which is why I wanted this one. Any of the three 1/1s actually. I suspect it will cost a pretty penny too.
3. 1997 Topps Stars All Stars. These were apparently quite rare, falling just one per box. I have never even seen a scan of this card. Any card involving Alomar's 1997 All Star game is noteworthy as it was a major career highlight for him.
4. 1997 Pacific Baerga Softball. This card commemorates the celebrity charity softball game that Alomar played in for former teammate Carlos Baerga in Puerto Rico. The cards were released at the game so they are exceptionally hard to find.
5. 2002 Topps Chrome Traded Black Refractor. This is the last card of Alomar with the Colorado Rockies that I need. I have yet to actually see a scan of this card too. This is one of several teams that Alomar played just a very short period of time with. Couple with the fact that he was a backup catcher for his entire tenure with every team but the Indians and a couple of seasons with the White Sox means that he has very few cards with most of the teams he played for.
6. 2005 Topps Rookie Cup Blue. I really like the Rookie Cup set and I have most of the more common colors. The gold and silver will be very difficult to find. But the blue is numbered out of 50. It should be out there somewhere.
7. 2005 Topps Total Printing Plate. I don't care if it is the front plate or the back plate. I don't care which color it is. This is pretty much it for cards of Alomar with the Rangers other than a team issue card that will be difficult to find.
8. 2003 Donruss Rookies Recollection Autograph 1989 Rookies. There is not much in the way of Padres stuff still out there for me either. This is one of two remaining autograph cards with the Padres at this point. There are just two copies of this card ut there so it is another one that will be very hard to find.
9. 2006 Upper Deck Special FX Purple. I only need the red and purple Special FX cards. Night Owl has this card. It is numbered to 150 so it should not be that hard to find. Yet here we are.
10. 2003 Topps Chrome Silver Refractor. For reasons I can only begin to guess, the silver refractors were only available via redemption. I have a Kevin Millar in my Red Sox collection but that is the only one I have ever seen.
11. 2004 Upper Deck Going Deep Bat. This card used to be on my Top 10 but when I picked up the gold version I dropped it off. I always felt a little bad about dropping a card I did not actually receive. Because I am weird.
12. 1998 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity. I hate losing out on cards. I lost out on this one a couple of weeks ago and I still get mad about it. This is a parallel numbered to 50. It should not be that hard to find either. But I have seen only one. And I missed it.
13. Any of the Recollection Autographs for the 1991 Diamond King. I have an irrational love for the Diamond Kings from Donruss. So getting a buyback autograph of the Diamond King card is a major goal. There are three variations of this card. I just want one of them.
14. 1998 Fleer Tradition Vintage '63 Classic. I saw this card on Sportlots once. I was pretty sure it would be just the Vintage, the non-foil, non-serial number version. But I took the chance that it was the serial-numbered card numbered to 63. It wasn't. I was not expecting it to be, even though it was listed as such, but it would have been nice if it was.
15. 2004 Donruss Timelines Recollection Autograph ROY Card. There are two variations of this one. I got this idea when reading a thread on a forum talking about how happy the writer was that he got the 1987 Topps buyback autograph of Jose Canseco because the 1987 Topps card was his first Canseco. Well, the 1991 Donruss ROY card was my first Alomar. I would love to get the buyback autograph of it. Someone had it on another forum and showed it off, but he was not willing to move it.
So that is the Top 15. For now. Hopefully some day I can add these to my collection.
Card #240: 2001 Topps Traded Gold #T1
BRAND: Topps
SET: Traded
NUMBER: T1
SUBSET: NA
INSERT: Gold
TEAM: Chicago White Sox
I think the 2001 gold parallels are my favorite. The foil was textured and just looked so striking when compared with the base set's green borders. Alomar appeared in the Traded set snce he jumped ship to the Indians rivals in the South Side of Chicago. Seeing Alomar in a White Sox uniform took some getting used to.
Friday, March 27, 2015
Oddball Fever
Today is the first in what will likely be a number of days receiving random, strange-sized and shaped oddballs. I have a few more of these coming in the next few days, but here is today's haul:
The first card is the Stadium Club Master Photo from the 1993 Murphy set. It is just a photo on a frame background. I don't really know the purpose of it, nor do I really care. It is an interesting item, but it is pretty big. The disc-shaped card which is cut off in the scan is a Windwalker disc. This was supposed to be part of a mobile type item and features Dave Parker of the Brewers on the back. Finally, there is a normal sized and shaped card, the 2001 MLB Showdown 1st Edition. Some kind of interesting items here.
RESOLUTION TRACKER
1. 4/5 previously achieved.
2. 3 cards, 19 to go to 1,000.
3. Previously achieved.
4. No progress.
RESOLUTION TRACKER
1. 4/5 previously achieved.
2. 3 cards, 19 to go to 1,000.
3. Previously achieved.
4. No progress.
Card #239: 1997 Pinnacle Totally Certified Platinum Red #12
BRAND: Pinnacle
SET: Totally Certified
NUMBER: 12
SUBSET: NA
INSERT: Platinum Red
TEAM: Cleveland Indians
Apparently Totally Certifed was a parallel brand to the Pinnacle Certified brand similar to the Topps Chrome sets. The design is basically the same except that the cards are printed on etched foil and the photos are different. There is no base version of these cards. This is the most common version, the Platinum Red. This card is serial-numbered out of 3,999.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Card #238: 1998 Bowman Chrome Reprint Refractors #15
BRAND: Bowman
SET: Chrome
NUMBER: 15
SUBSET: NA
INSERT: Reprint Refractors
TEAM: San Diego Padres
I really like this card. It is a reprint of Alomar's 1989 Bowman rookie card, although it is the standard size instead of the taller size that the 1989 set was known for. In addition, this is a refractor card of the insert set. It is just a nice-looking card.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Card #237: 2001 SP Game Bat Edition Piece of the Game #SA
BRAND: Upper Deck
SET: SP Game Bat Edition
NUMBER: SA
SUBSET: NA
INSERT: Piece of the Game
TEAM: Cleveland Indians
This was my very first relic card of Sandy Alomar Jr. I have mentioned a few times in other posts that Alomar does not really have a lot of relic cards out there, certainly not compared to his brother. I am a little surprised that Alomar is shown with the Indians on this card. Particularly since he has a triple relic card with the White Sox from the same set.
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