Saturday 31 January 2009

1990 Fleer baseball

The 2nd helping from Dayf is this 19year old pack.
There are 660cards in the base set consisting of 620 players, 7 checklists, 14 major league prospects, 10 player of the decade and 10 league leaders.
The packs had 15 cards and 1 sticker, although this pack has 16 cards and 1 sticker!

The pack:
Sticker
#20 Terry Steinbach Athletics
#40 Ryne Sandberg Cubs
#53 Brett Butler Giants
#98 Mookie Wilson Blue Jays
#129 Chili Davis Angels
#205 Keith Hernandez Mets
#298 Cecilio Guante Rangers
#301 Pete Incaviglia Rangers
#324 Jim Gantner Brewers
#310 Kevin Reimer Rangers
#346 Damaso Garcia Expos
#399 Oriel Hershiser Dodgers
#487 Jerry Browne Indians
#552 Don Carman Phillies
#581 Darrell Evans Braves
#638 Mattingly & McGwire Super Stars
Another Red Sox free pack.

Friday 30 January 2009

Trade with Dayf from Cardboard Junkie

When Dayf from Cardboard Junkie contacted me about a trade saying he had some 1980 Topps that I needed I got pretty excited. He is one of the founding fathers of the baseball blogsphere. I sent off my part of the deal and waited, every time he contacted he'd say 'Sorry I haven't posted yet but I have found some more Red Sox cards'. The contents grew and grew. When they arrived this week from Acworth, Georgia I was pretty pleased that he delayed the package because it had grown into a monster.
Dayf included;
11 different packs of cards (one being a Star Wars pack, which when my boys laid eyes on, I never saw again, another being a SUPER SIZE pack of cards),
64 1980 Topps cards added to Pursuit of 1980 Topps,
A team set of 2008 Topps Red Sox,
and these:
1982 Topps K-Mart #11/44 Carl Yastrzemski,
1982 Topps K-Mart #27/44 Fred Lynn
1982 Topps K-Mart #33/44 Jim Rice
1985 Topps Collector Series #37 Earl Webb
1985 Topps Super Size #50 Jim Rice
1986 Donruss #17 Roger Clemens
1986 Donruss #32 Bobby Doerr
1986 Donruss #47 Bruce Hurst
1986 Topps Collector Series #1 Tony Armas
1986 Topps Collector Series #28 Jim Rice
1987 Boardwalk #14/33 Bill Buckner
1987 Boardwalk #31/33 Wade Boggs
1987 Donruss #180 Bob Stanley
1987 Donruss #181 Wade Boggs
1987 Donruss #182 Jim Rice
1987 Donruss #183 Bill Buckner
1987 Donruss #184 Dwight Evans
1987 Donruss #185 Spike Owen
1987 Donruss #186 Don Baylor
1987 Donruss #187 Marc Sullivan
1987 Donruss #188 Marty Barrett
1987 Donruss #189 Dave Henderson
1987 Donruss #266 Red Sox Checklist
1987 Fleer Limited Edition #2/44 Marty Barrett
1987 Fleer Limited Edition #4/44 Roger Clemens
1987 Fleer Limited Edition #10/44 Roger Clemens
1987 Topps K-Mart #11 Carl Yastrzemski
1987 Topps K-Mart #18 Jim Rice
1987 Topps Collector Series #10/33 Wade Boggs
1988 Topps Collector Series #1/33 Don Baylor
1988 Topps K-Mart #2 Wade Boggs
1988 Topps Revco #28 Roger Clemens
1988 Toys'R'Us #12/33 Mike Greenwell
1988 Toys'R'Us #14/33 Sam Horn
1989 Fleer Heroes #2/44 Wade Boggs
1989 Fleer League Leaders #2/44 Wade Boggs
1989 Score #13 Carlos Quintana
1990 Collect-a-Books #12/36 Carl Yastrzemski
1990 Collect-a-Books #23/36 Ted Williams
1990 Topps Kaybee Kings #11 Dwight Evans
1990 Topps Woolworths #12 Dwight Evans
1990 Upper Deck #323 Roger Clemens
1990 Upper Deck #482 Luis Rivera
1990 Upper Deck #652 Mike Boddicker
1990 Upper Deck #654 Bob Stanley
1991 Leaf #BC7 Mo Vaughn
1991 Topps Stadium Club Ellis Burks
1991 Upper Deck #5 Mo Vaughn
1991 Upper Deck #41 Larry Anderson
1991 Upper Deck #43 Mike Greenwell
1991 Upper Deck #163 Tom Brunansky
1991 Upper Deck #685 Jeff Gray
1992 Score #4/18 Wade Boggs
1997 Upper Deck #279 Tim Naehring
2001 Post #3/8 Jimmie Fox
2005 Bazooka #BB-PM Pedro Martinez game used bat
2008 Bowman #BDP38 Jonathan Van Every
2008 Stadium Club #148 Clay Buchholz
2008 Goudey #29 Jonathan Papelbon mini
2008 Goudey #294 Josh Beckett
2008 Upper Deck Timelines #32 Daisuke Matsuzaka
2008 Upper Deck Timeline #186 Chris Smith
A monumental selection of oddball Red Sox cards that will fit very nicely into my card collection.
Thanks Dayf. It was definitely worth the wait. I will be opening the packs in search of Red Sox in another of my Pursuits.

2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces

The first pack from Dayf. A product which I thought was brilliant in 2007 and 2008. But will it still be around in 2009?
The set consists of 120 base cards, of which 30 were short prints.
There were many parallels included: the Black and Red were not serial numbered. The other colours were: Navy (/125), Brown (/100), Green (/75), Blue (/50), Silver (/25), Gold (/10), Light Blue (/5) and Red (1/1).
There were inserts: Stokes of Genius, Captured on Canvas-jersey, patch, patch+autograph and jersey+autograph (seriously a set collectors dream!)
There are 4 cards per pack.


The pack:

#18 Alfonso Soriano Cubs
#26 Grady Sizemore Indians
#47 Prince Fielder Brewers
#81 Ichiro Mariners
No Red Sox, but still a really nice set. Excellent choice of pack Dayf.

Thursday 29 January 2009

2008 Topps Update and Highlights

There are 330 cards in the base set.
There are parallels: Gold Foil, Gold (#'d to 2008), Black (#'d to 57), Platinum (1-of-1), Silk Collection (partial parallel #'d to 50),
There are inserts: 55 Chrome Refractors Rookie Box Loaders, 100 Sketch cards (1 of 1), 25 2009 World Baseball Classic, 58 Year in Review (#'d 121 to 178), 10 N.Y. Mets Ring of Honor, 11 WS Ring of Honor, 41 First Couples and the usual relics, autos, 1 of 1 stuff.
These packs came from bj610 Topps Blog. There are 12 cards per pack.

Pack 1:
#UH1 Kosuke Fukudome Cubs
#UH44 Ryan Sweeny Athletics
#UH52 Derek Jeter Yankees
#UH69 Chad Moeller Yankees
#UH74 Corey Patterson Reds
#UH128 LaTroy Hawkins Astros
#UH153 Armando Galarraga Tigers
#UH186 Wes Littleton Rangers
#UH233 Grady Sizemore Indians
#UH267 Gregorio Petit Athletics
#FC1 George and Martha Washington
#TCP34 Evan Longoria Bay Rays
Pack 2:
#UH42 Chip Ambres Padres
#UH73 Jonathan Albaladejo Yankess Gold 1735/2008
#UH110 Jose Valverde Astros
#UH148 Paul Hoover Marlins
#UH152 Steve Trachsel Orioles
#UH155 Jay Bruce Reds
#UH174 B.J.Carrasco White Sox
#UH192 Craig Hansen Pirates
#UH198 Andy LaRoche Pirates
#UH295 Aaron Miles Cardinals
#UH330 Johan Santana Mets
Checklist 3/3
#TCP38 Adrian Gonzalez Padres
Pack 3:
#UH71 Mariano Rivera Yankees
#UH73 Jonathan Albaladejo Yankees
#UH136 Ramirez & Pujols
#UH137 Evan Longoria Bay Rays
#UH145 Kip Wells Rockies
#UH157 Mark Hendrickson Marlins
#UH287 Chase Headley Padres
#UH289 Chris Gomez Pirates
#UH305 Ben Francisco Indians
#UH316 Ben Sheets Brewers
#RH-DC David Cone Yankees
#YR131 Mike Mussina Yankees
Ah those Baseball Gods they mock me! Not a single Red Sox. Plenty of Yankees, Yankees, damn Yankees.
Thanks to James for these great packs. I presume the last considering the Red Sox pull from the Topps Series One.

Wednesday 28 January 2009

Trade with James from BDJ610

A big package arrived on Saturday from Des Plaines, Illinois. It was from James at bdj610 Topps Blog and it contained not only cards but 9 packs as well, Topps naturally. I will open the packs on the other side at Pursuit of Red Sox, however here are the cards James included:

1981 Topps #63 Steve Renko
1986 Fleer #346 Steve Crawford
1987 Topps #449 Pat Dodson
1987 Topps #452 Dave Henderson
1987 Topps #507 Dave Stapleton
1987 Topps #535 Tony Armas
1987 Topps #610 Jim Rice
1988 Donruss #14 Bruce Hurst
1988 Donruss #623 Edgardo Romero
1988 Topps #269 Ellis Burks
1988 Topps #377 Sam Horn
1988 Topps #573 Bob Stanley
1988 Topps #784 Joe Sambito
1989 Fleer #82 Oil Can Boyd
1989 Fleer #83 Ellis Burks
1989 Fleer #92 Dennis Lamp
1989 Fleer #97 Jim Rice
1989 Topps #2 Wade Boggs
1989 Topps #630 Mike Greenwell
1989 Topps #734 Jody Reed
1990 Bowman #21 Mike Boddicker
1990 Bowman #24 John Dopson
1990 Bowman #36 Ellis Burks
1990 Panini Stickers #24 Roger Clemens
1990 Topps #245 Roger Clemens
1991 Donruss #235 Ellis Burks
1991 Donruss #395 Roger Clemens
1991 Donruss #496 Scott Cooper
1991 Donruss #609 Tom Bolton
1991 Donruss #721 Jeff Edwards
1993 Topps #655 Scott Cooper
1994 Upper Deck CC #550 Roger Clemens
1994 Upper Deck CC #579 Otis Nixon
1994 Upper Deck CC #583 Jeff Russell
1998 Topps Opening Day #12 Mo Vaughn
1998 Topps Opening Day #162 Nomar Garciaparra
2000 Topps Traded #67 Shea Hillenbrand
2000 Topps Traded #174 Israel Alcantara
2001 Topps #271 Tim Wakefield
2001 Topps #471 Kevin Millar
2003 Topps #WSCF Carlton Fisk
2004 Topps Chrome #T60 Curt Schilling
2004 Topps Chrome #T156 Charlie Zink
2005 Topps Hot Button #76 Tim Wakefield
2005 Topps Hot Button #81 David Wells
2005 Topps Hot Button #85 Johnny Damon
2005 Topps Hot Button #89 David Ortiz
2005 Topps Hot Button #90 Manny Ramirez
2006 Allen+Ginter Dick Perez #4/30 David Ortiz
2006 Allen+Ginter #54 David Ortiz
2006 Allen+Ginter #113 Coco Crisp
2006 Allen+Ginter #229 Jonathan Papelbon
2006 Topps Opening Day #OD-RR Red Sox
2006 Topps Wal-Mart #2 Ted Williams
2006 Upper Deck #UD9 David Ortiz
2007 Topps #DS25 Ted Williams
2007 Topps #DS26 Winston Churchill
2007 Topps #HP14 Manny Ramirez
2007 Topps #OTG12 David Ortiz
2008 Allen+Ginter #10 Manny Ramirez
2008 Topps #AR110 Scott Hattenberg
2008 Topps #TCP19 Manny Ramirez
2008 Topps #TS15 David Ortiz
2008 Topps #WMDP14 Josh Beckett
2008 Topps #YR113 Jon Lester
2008 Topps Trading Card History #57 Mike Lowell
2008 Topps U&H #15 Kevin Cash 0668/2008
2008 Topps U&H #150 Jon Lester Gold
2008 Topps U&H#216 Jason Bay Gold
Time to take a breath and thank James for the huge load of Red Sox and the packs. Some cards that are new to me as well as some great inserts and numbered cards.
loved these 'Hot Button' cards and must find out more about them. Is it a game? James sent along 5 and I will be searching for more.

Tuesday 27 January 2009

2008 Topps Series Two

The set consists of 330 card base set (#'d 331 to 660)
The Parallels are : Gold (#'d to 2008), Black (#'d to 57), Platinum (1-of-1), Silk (partial parallel #'d to 50)
The inserts are: 25 Topps Stars, 25 Trading Card History (#'d 51 to 75), 55 Topps All Rookie Anniversary (#'d 56 to 110), 60 Year in Review (#'d 61 to 120), 55 Historical Match-ups, 50 Home Run Derby (#'d to 99), Usual relics, autos and cut signatures.

These are three more packs from bj610 Topps Blog. They contain 12 cards per pack.

Pack 1:
#339 Troy Percival Bay Rays
#393 Michael Cuddyer Twins
#394 Mark Ellis Athletics
#426 Franklin Gutierrez Indians
#470 Tom Gorzelanny Pirates
#472 Shaun Marcum Blue Jays
#507 Mark DeRosa Cubs
#510 Justin Vaerlander Tigers
#572 Adam Eaton Phillies
#598 Bruce Bochy Giants
#602 Overbay & Wells Bay Rays
Checklist 3/4
#MM61 Mickey Mantle
Pack 2:
#351 Bobby Crosby Athletics
#427 Carlos Guillen Tigers
#494 Paul Maholm Pirates
#535 Francisco Rodriguez Angels
#569 Brad Hennessey Giants
#573 Tom Gordon Phillies
#580 Ken Griffey Jr Reds
#604 Wily Mo Pena Nationals
#610 Carlos Beltran Mets
#611 Garret Anderson Angels
#636 Rafael Betancourt Indians
#AR89 Ty Wigginton Mets
Pack 3:
#368 Michael Bourn Astros
#420 Nick Swisher White Sox
#424 Aaron Harang Reds
#428 Jair Jurrjens Braves
#431 Delwyn Young Dodgers
#475 Adrian Gonzalez Padres
#490 Albert Pujols Cardinals
#512 Placido Polanco Tigers
#541 Adam Jones Orioles
#594 Mike Morse Mariners
#620 Gary Sheffield Tigers
#TS8 Chipper Jones Braves
Not a sausage. Not one Red Sox in the three packs. I must have burnt all my luck on the series one packs. Some damn fine names among the baseball fraternity though Ty Wiggington. Brilliant.

2009 Baseball Attax

Back in December I caught this post from bdj610bbcblog and Wax Heaven about Topps Attax baseball and have had a post waiting in the dashboard.
Match Attax Football and Slam Attax Wrestling have been pretty big in the UK. If you didn't catch them. Chris from Stale Gum has busted a few packs of football (soccer) and reviewed them on You Tube and Mario did this post on the Slam Attax cards.
I think the popularity caught Topps by surprise. We are well behind the US when it comes to quantity and quality of cards about 'Our National Pastime' and the game used soccer cards are a out there but it appears primarily for the American market.
I don't know whether the newest stickers available called Topps Total Football have been in the pipeline for a while and they (being Topps) have slowly led us down the memorabilia path but they have gone all out with colour supplements in magazines and a pretty impressive television ad campaign.
Included in 2009 are 20,000 signed stickers, one player from each of the 20 Premiership clubs, signing 1,000 sticker. There are a few big names to whet the appetite. A redemption card is included in the pack to send away for the signed sticker. Sounds familiar.
Back to the reason for the post - Baseball Attax. The reason why Match Attax and Slam Attax were so popular was the price. 40pence for football and 50pence for wrestling. Boxes of the football cards, going for a reasonable £30.00 were being whipped off the shelves. These were not 1 pack, 1 card packs or even 10 pack, 10 card boxes, but 100 packs of 6card football packs. Maybe it isn't in the same league as Sweet Spot or Sterling. It did however get adults into collecting more than they had before and drew children by their 1o,ooo's into the collecting market.
What will Topps charge for the Baseball Attax cards? 99c for 4 card booster pack and $7.99 for a 34 starer pack. This is a potential product to draw NEW young collectors back into a hobby, which needs them. Why not charge 99c for 10 cards? If you have some doubles, trade them or here's an old concept 'flip them'. They only cost 99cents.

Monday 26 January 2009

Trade with Brian from Waxaholic

It may not be one of the 'Razor Presidential Cut Auto masterpiece 1of 1 encapsulated in a plastic Beckett holder', but it feels like it.
Brian from Waxaholic sent my first graded card and would you believe it but none other than Jacoby himself. As I explained to Brian, my wife is a little worried about my reaction to receiving this in the mail.
"It's a baseball card in a plastic frame!"
"Yes I know, but its Jacoby."
The little shrine is growing. Not only that, he included some more Red Sox and a set of stickers. We love stickers.
Thanks Brian. They are brilliant.

2008 Topps Series One

Everyone by now must have the Topps set of their chosen club. If you are, however a set builder, more power to you. I considered it myself, with only 330 base cards it is achievable. Then they released Series Two and then Update and Highlights, so a team set became the preferable option.
There are 330 base cards in Series One,
There are Parallels: Gold Foil, Gold (#'d to 2008), Black (#'d to 57), Platinum (1-of-1), Printing Plates (1-of-1),
There are inserts: 25 Own the Game, 60 Year in Review, Mickey Mantle Home Run, Mickey Mantle Story, 55 Anniversary All Rookie Team, 25 Trading card History, 8 Campaign 2008 and the usual variety of autos, relics, cut signatures, etc, etc.
These are the packs from the generous bundle from James at bdj610 Topps Blog. They contain 10 cards per packs, they are Target exclusive packs.

Pack 1:
#16 Kevin Greg Marlins
#25 Kaz Matsui Rockies
#78 Radhames Liz Orioles
#168 Phil Hughes Yankees
#172 Chris Day Orioles
#286 Jeff Clement Mariners
#315 David Weathers Reds
#325 Jim Leyland Tigers
#AR1 Mark Teixeira Rangers
#TCP1 Albert Pujols Cardinals
#YR12 Justin Morneau Twins
Pack 2:
#9 Randy Wolf Dodgers
#129 Kevin Hart Cubs
#125 Brad Penny Dodgers
#150 Alfonso Soriano Cubs
#262 Brett Myers Phillies
#263 Nook Logan Nationals
#299 Cesar Izturis Pirates
#302 Horacio Ramirez Mariners
#330 Curtis Granderson Tigers
Checklist 3/3
#CO8-RP Ron Paul GOP
Pack 3:
#15 AL League Leaders
#52 Trevor Hoffman Padres
#53 Hank Blalock Rangers
#56 Seth Smith Rockies
#109 Joe Nathan Twins
#118 Marco Scutaro Athletics
#122 Jason Varitek Red Sox
#183 Paul Byrd Indians
#233 Jimmy Rollins Philles
#234 Red Sox (Giuliani)

Only two Red Sox, but what a card one of them turned out to be. I have seen this on a few blogs before with negative and neutral views. No one was positive about this sort of 'photoshopping'. It was nice to pull it from a pack though and now have it in my collection.

Sunday 25 January 2009

$5 Group break


Here is the premise, as mastermined by Thorzul -A $5 group break.
He asked people to share in his opening of a staggering 82 packs and 400 loose cards. Golly.
Pick a team and the cards would be yours. I was quick to choose because I know that there are many Red Sox collectors.


What did I get for my $5?

Firstly, a 14 card Topps 2007 Red Sox set plus

1984 Topps #187 Luis Aponte
1989 Fleer #344 Todd Benzinger
1989 Fleer #346 Tom Bolton
1989 Upper Deck #36 Larry Parrish
1989 Upper Deck #411 Bob Stanley
1989 Upper Deck #413 Jim Rice
2000 Upper Deck Vintage #103 Red Sox
2005 Donruss #119 Derek Lowe
2006 Fleer Ultra #71 Coco Crisp
2006 Fleer Ultra #142 Wily Mo Pena
2006 Topps Turkey Red #564 Trot Nixon
2006 Topps Turkey Red #608 Jonathan Papelbon
2006 Topps Wal-Mart #37 Curt Schilling
2006 Topps Wal-Mart #40 Manny Ramirez
2006 Topps Update #179 Manny Ramirez
2006 Upper Deck #TP-LO Mike Lowell
2006 Upper Deck #70 Bill Mueller
2006 Upper Deck #79 Keith Foulke
2006 Upper Deck #80 Kevin Youkilis
2006 Upper Deck #85 Trot Nixon
2006 Upper Deck #390 J.T.Snow
2007 Bowman #125 David Ortiz
2007 Bowman #219 Gold Nideki Okajima
2007 Bowman #BP45 Gold John Otness
2007 Bowman Chrome #BC53 Thomas Hottovy
2007 Fleer #RS-JL Jon Lester
2007 Upper Deck #76 Jon Lester
2007 Upper Deck First Edition #60 David Ortiz
2007 Upper Deck First Edition #228 Julio Lugo
2007 Topps #GN498 Jonathan Papelbon
2007 Topps Opening Day #17 Mike Lowell
2007 Topps Update #239 Mike Lowell
and he added some more cards from his own stash:

1988 Score #RT102 Brian Rose
2000 Topps #24 Derek Lowe
2000 Topps #60 Pedro Martinez
2000 Topps #561 Trot Nixon
2000 Topps #594 Troy O'Leary
2000 Topps #690 Ramon Martinez
2001 Topps American Pie #96 Jim Piersall
2001 Topps American Pie #114 Cecil Cooper
2001 Victory #150 Nomar Garciaparra
2001 Victory #159 Derek Lowe
2005 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia #26 Jason Varitek
2005 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia #79 Curt Schilling
2006 Upper Deck First Pitch #29 Trot Nixon
2008 Topps Chrome #36 Jason Varitek
2008 Topps Chrome #146 Curt Schilling

My favourite would have to be the Wal-Mart Curt Schilling, copying the 1980 Topps design.
Thanks to Thorzul for organising this. Hope every enjoyed it as much as I did.

Saturday 24 January 2009

Football for Baseball.

Would you trade

3 this for this 4
Luckily for me I have made contact with two collectors very keen on cards I am able to obtain easily.

I sent two packages out:

First to Andy at Attic Insulation a Tottenham Hotspur supporter in Parma, Ohio,

Second to Chuck at Chuck's Used Cards a fan of all things football in Florida.

I am excited about these trades because I have almost cleared out all my older baseball cards in previous trades, there isn't a great deal of baseball floating around in the UK at the moment, well decent stuff anyway and I have really enjoy trading. Long may it continue. If you are interested in football (soccer) drop us a line, you never know we may be arrange a trade as well.

Friday 23 January 2009

Trade with Night Owl Cards

I appear to have a Dodgers magnet in me somewhere and cards are attracted to it. I pull a fair amount of Dodgers from packs and recently when a bought a blind auction on e-bay looking for Red Sox, it seems as if the collector was a closet Dodgers fan, there were more Dodgers than any other team. That's OK though, because I know that Greg at Night Owl will appreciate them. We may be forming a mutual admiration society but I look forward to receiving these packages from Greg.
Recently Greg posted this selection I sent to him on his Blog Night Owl Cards. It is fast becoming one of the most followed baseball card blogs and it is easy to see why, professional, well written, interesting and funny. A gauntlet has been thrown.
Here is the return selection from Night Owl.
1980 Topps #160 Eddie Murray Orioles 'WOW'
1982 Donruss #134 Bob Stanley
1984 Fleer #389 Luis Aponte
1986 Donruss #616 Bruce Kison
1988 Fleer #347 Dennis Boyd
1989 Baseball Card Magazine #34 Ellis Burke
1989 Bowman #19 Lee Smith
1989 Bowman #20 Tom Fischer
1989 Bowman #21 Mike Boddicker
1989 Bowman #22 Rob Murphy
1989 Bowman #23 Wes Gardner
1989 Bowman #24 John Dopson
1989 Bowman #25 Bob Stanley
1989 Bowman #27 Rich Gedman
1989 Bowman #29 Luis Rivera
1989 Bowman #31 Nick Esasky
1989 Bowman #34 Mike Greenwell
1989 Bowman #25 Dwight Evans
1989 Bowman #36 Ellis Burke
1989 Donruss #37 Carlos Quintana
1989 Fleer #79 Todd Benzinger
1989 Fleer #86 Steve Curry
1989 Fleer #87 Dwight Evans
1989 Fleer #93 Spike Owen
1989 Score #508 Dennis Lamp
1990 Fleer #269 Ellis Burke
1990 Fleer #272 John Dopson
1990 Fleer #280 Dennis Lamp
1990 Score #15 Marty Barrett
1990 Score #49 Carlos Quintana
1990 Topps K-Mart #19 Wade Boggs
1990 Upper Deck #441 Kevin Romine
1991 Donruss #9 Roger Clemens
1991 Donruss #41Phil Plantier
1991 Donruss 250 Rob Murphy
1991 Donruss #369 Jeff Reardon
1991 Donruss #531 Tom Brunansky
1991 Fleer #91 Scott Cooper
1991 Fleer #95 Jeff Gray
1991 Line Drive Pre-Rookie #360 Mark Meleski
1991 Line Drive Pre-Rookie #371 David Walters
1991 Score #356 Time Naehring
1991 Score #586 Jeff Gray
1992 Donruss #758 Stephen Lyons
1992 Fleer #42 Dennis Lamp
1992 Fleer #43 Tony Pena
1992 Score #58 Jeff Reardon
1992 Score #138 Danny Darwin
1992 Score #156 Greg Harris
1992 Score #420 Kevin Morton
1992 Triple Play #252 Mike Greenwell
1992 Upper Deck #252 Tony Pena
1992 Upper Deck #664 Wayne Housie
1993 Donruss #GS6 Frank Viola
1993 Donruss #459 Matt Young
1993 Fleer #558 Mike Gardiner
1993 Fleer #564 Phil Plantier
1993 Score #100 Mo Vaughn
1993 Score Select #344 John Valentin
1993 Sports Card Magazine #73 Andre Dawson
1993 Topps #103 Jody Reed
1994 Donruss #449 Scott Fletcher
1995 Score #580 Gar Finnvold
1996 Topps #332 Aaron Sele
1996 Topps #359 Lee Tinsley
1997 Fleer #31 John Valentin
1998 Pacific #39 Nomar Garciaparra
1998 Pacific #49 Mo Vaughn
2000 Topps #332 Darren Lewis
2000 Topps #356 Troy O'Leary
2005 Topps #731 World Series '04
2005 Upper Deck #319 Abe Alvarez
2006 Upper Deck #390 J.T.Snow
2006 Upper Deck #535 Alex Cora
2008 Baseball Heroes #22 Manny Ramirez
2008 Topps #YR106 Manny Ramirez
2008 Topps Chrome #180 Hideki Okajima
2008 Topps Chrome #ARC16 Hideki Okajima
2008 Topps Chrome # ARC23 Dustin Pedroia
Great stuff Greg. An awesome 1980 Topps card, 'It's Eddie Murray'. I was missing so many of the Red Sox from 1980 -1995 it was unbelievable and I think I am becoming a little like Mario, I am being drawn to all things shiny! Oh Dear.
Thank you my friend I really enjoy trading cards with you.

Thursday 22 January 2009

Trade with Ryan from Trader Crack's

A while a ago Ryan and I completed another trade. Here is the selection sent to Canada.
While the computer was down there was a return package from Ryan. True to his regular form a real variety of Red Sox cards awash with all things shiny. My favourite was the card shown above - Invincible Steve Lomasney. Its plastic, see through and has a pensive Steve looking through a brick fence, neatly parted by two bats. To top that he is referred to as the Red Sox 'Receptor'. Is this the Canadian version of the Pacific set or was this a Canadian exclusive ? Either way it is a beauty.
Also included were:
1992 O-Pee-Chee Premier #1 Wade Bloggs
1992 O-Pee-Chee Premier #105 Roger Clemens
1993 O-Pee-Chee Premier #18 Andre Dawson
1999 Bowman Best #103 Dernell Stenson
1999 Bowman Chrome #218 Dernell Stenson
1999 Fleer Tradition #U61 Wilton Veras
1999 Topps Finest #207 Jose Offerman
2000 Bowman #324 Cesar Saba
2000 Bowman Chrome #299 Sun Woo Kim
2000 Fleer Focus #179 Jose Offerman
2000 Fleer Tradition #73 Mike Stanley
2000 Fleer Tradition #121 checklist
2000 Fleer Tradition #338 John Valentin
2000 Fleer Tradition #437 Pedro Martinez
2000 Topps #398 Pedro Martinez
2000 Topps #399 Pedro Martinez
2000 UD Black Diamond #26 Carl Everett
2000 UD Vintage #100 Derek Lowe
2001 Topps American Pie #141 Cecil Cooper
2001 Upper Deck #65 Stefan Bailie
2002 Topps #157 Carl Everett
2002 Topps #288 Joe Kerrigan
2002 Topps #313 Freddy Sanchez
2002 Topps #322 Eric Glaser
2002 Topps #T263 Justin Sherrod
2002 Upper Deck #37 Frank Castillo
2003 Fleer#291 Cliff Floyd
2003 Topps 206 #320 Shea Hillenbrand
2003 Topps 206 #341 Pedro Martinez
2003 Topps 206 #391 Cliff Floyd
2004 Topps Chrome #T8 Doug Mientkiewicz
2008 Bowman Chrome #BDP12 Chris Carter
Great cards Ryan. Thank you.

Wednesday 21 January 2009

Back to Trading

Many apologises. My computer decided to have a late Christmas holiday and wouldn't stay on for longer than 1 to 2 minutes.
The technician said it was dust. It was worse than a hoover. Poor bloody computer.
Anyway....
A number of packages arrived while this was occuring, The $5 group break from Thorzul, a beauty of a selection from Night Owl, a cracking selection from Trader Cracks, a bunch of 1977's from Dan and the last scrappings from a retired collector.

Monday 12 January 2009

Wants Lists

It has been quiet over Christmas in the trade department. I sent out a few packages, which I hope will be arriving soon.
I have taken about 10 days to look through the wants lists on different Blogs to try and start some more trades. It is very time consuming and I realised that I had neglected my own blog.
I was contacted by a couple of collectors interested in Football (soccer) cards, which has been interesting. These are easier to obtain than baseball so I sent off a selection of packs and I am hoping that some baseball cards will arrive in Westgate in return.
A fellow collector here in the UK decided it was time to pack up the card collecting hobby, sighting money and time as the factors. He put his entire collection up on e-bay. A little drastic but assured us that he kept some of his better cards. He was primarily a Hockey collector, in particular Jeff Carter, but had amassed cards in football, basketball and baseball. Luckily for me I bid and won his baseball collection which include some fine game used and auto cards. He was not very detailed in his description, but knowing him they will be great cards in excellent condition. As I have said before quality baseball cards do not come up very often on e-bayUK and I always bid.
I cannot wait for them to come. It is like being a child at Christmas again.

Saturday 10 January 2009

2008 TOPPS Heritage High Number Series Blaster

After receiving some of these packs from Texas Rangers Cards. I bought a blaster for myself. It arrived in the week (the Pound is very weak at the moment, so this will be the last blaster from the USA for a while).
Read this for details of the 2008 Topps Heritage High Numbers.
Pack 1:
#501 John Danks White Sox
#511 Jair Jurrjens Braves
#549 Jeremy Sowers Indians
#641 Omar Infante Braves
#650 Evan Longoria RS Bay Rays
#702 Gabe Gross Bay Rats
#UH57 Ramon Castro Mets
#UH203 Joe Crede White Sox

Pack 2:
#524 Hiroki Kuroda RS Dodgers
#543 Greg Smith RS Athletics
#557 Dallas Braden (black back) Athetics
#620 Cristian Guzman Nationals
#639 Mike Redmond (black back) Twins
#710 Eric Hurley RS Rangers
#UH189 Micah Hoffpauir Cubs
#UH317 Brian Buscher Twins
Pack 3:
#506 Takashi Saito Dodgers
#596 Cliff Floyd Bay Rays
#637 Tim Redding Nationals
#664 John Buck Royals
#674 Paul Maholm Pirates
#703 Matt Stairs Phillies
#UH20 Justin Masterson Red Sox
#UH123 Matt Joyce Tigers


Pack 4:
#RP12 Hiroki Kuroda Dodgers
#537 Checklist Toronto Blue Jays
#549 Jeremy Sowers (black back) Indians
#593 Nick Blackburn RS Twins
#634 Manny Parra Brewers
#655 Angel Berroa (black back) Dodgers
#UH194 Gary Bennett Dodgers
#UH215 Josh Hamilton Rangers



Pack 5:
# 563 Doug Mientkiewicz (black back) Pirates
#600 Miguel Tejada Astros
#617 Gregorio Petit RS Athletics
#624 Scott Olsen Marlins
#670 Joakim Soria Royals
#680 George Sherrill Orioles
#UH190 Manny Ramirez Red Sox
#UH284 Curtis Thigpen Blue Jays
Pack 6:
#C262 Adam Kennedy Cardinals 0935/1959
#566 Bryan LaHair Mariners
#621 Jeff Samardzija Cubs
#630 Ryan Ludwick Cardinals
#640 Joe Crede White Sox
#660 Dioner Navarro Bay Rays
#UH56 Roy Halladay Blue Jays
#UH296 Gabe Gross Bay Rays

Pack 7:
#541 Jon Rauch (black back) D-backs
#578 Carlos Gonzalez RS Athletics
#553 Brandon Lyon D-backs
#580 Kosuke Fukudome RS Cubs
#590 Brian Wilson Giants
#610 Kerry Wood Cubs
#UH98 Denny Bautista Pirates
#UH Robert Andino Marlins
Pack 8:
#C254 Brett Gardner RS Yankees
#512 Ryan Sweeney Athletics
#544 Sean Gallagher Athletics
#565 Dana Eveland RS Athletics
#574 Mike Pelfrey Mets
#605 Greg Reynolds RS Rockies
#UH39 Jose Molina Yankees
#UH104 Omar Infante Braves


Only two Red Sox from the 8 packs. Plenty of Athletics and Dodgers. I always wonder whether I try to collect the wrong team.

Saturday 3 January 2009

1993 Studio

You can see that they are trying really hard with set of cards. Big colourful glossy pictures, heavy card stock, border less pictures superimposed over the team name or logo, silver signature. Really nice looking cards.
There are 220 cards in the base set.
There are inserts: 12 Studio Heritage, 10 Studio Silhouettes, 10 Superstars on Canvas, 5 Studio Thomas.
The pack:

#134 Mo Vaughn Red Sox

#98 Tony Fernandez Mets
#102 Jeff King Pirates
#116 Ed Sprague Blue Jays
#169 Kevin Seitzer Athletics
#158 Dave Hollins Phillies
#190 Harold Baines Orioles

#206 Todd Hundley Mets
#8 Steve Buechele Cubs
#75 Kevin McReynolds Royals

#87 Joe Carter Blue Jays
#149 Ramon Martinez Dodgers


Nice looking cards. Very glossy which would have made collectors pretty happy in 1993. The use of the logo in the background impressive too. This set is missing two important things action shots (hence the name 'studio') and statistics, there is some up close and personal information, but no in depth RBI, SO, AB that I for one love to read.
One Red Sox, Big MO looking mean and brooding. Not bad.