Happy Birthday to Mr. Tiger himself!
Showing posts with label Topps Heritage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Topps Heritage. Show all posts
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Chopping Down the Wantlist
I took advantage of the Thanksgiving deal over at COMC to knock a few cards off my wantlist. Actually, because shipping was so cheap (instead of the pretty expensive and quick to add up that it usually is) I filled out some other wants & needs as well, but that's for another time.
For now, 36.36% of my wantlist has been trimmed down including:
#3 on my list, part of the Home Run Derby contest inserts that Topps used to run
#5: A fantastic Heritage SP
#8: The last base card I need from 2010 Topps (which may just happen to be the worst card in the whole set. I mean seriously, look at that picture.)
#10: The last base card I needed from 2010 Topps T-206
And with that, I have some serious thinking to do about how to replace these on my list. Fortunately, I've been inundated with cards lately (since when was being inundated with something good?), which means that more holes have been filled and I'm sitting on a bunch of sets where I'm just a couple cards from completion. My guess is those will be making the list--I'm looking at you 2010 Topps Gold Ryan Perry.
As always, I tend to put cards on here that are low-end, easy to find types. Just in case somebody out there happens to be flipping through their piles of cards, trips upon something on the list and feels like sending a little care package my way...
Update: And the new members of the wantlist (in the sidebar) are...
7. 2010 Topps #44 of 45 Hank Greenberg Red Back Mini (Target)
8. 2010 Topps Chrome #182 Brennan Boesch Refractor
9. 2009 Topps Heritage Chrome #CHR171 Rick Porcello
10. 2008 Topps #634 Kenny Rogers Gold Foil
11. 2010 Topps #575 Ryan Perry Gold
May the search begin!
For now, 36.36% of my wantlist has been trimmed down including:
#3 on my list, part of the Home Run Derby contest inserts that Topps used to run
 |
| 2008 Topps Gary Sheffield Home Run Derby Contest (#/999) |
#5: A fantastic Heritage SP
 |
| 2009 Topps Heritage #461 Tigers Coaches |
#8: The last base card I need from 2010 Topps (which may just happen to be the worst card in the whole set. I mean seriously, look at that picture.)
 |
| 2010 Topps Update US-24 Miguel Cabrera/Vlad Guerrero |
#10: The last base card I needed from 2010 Topps T-206
 |
| 2010 Topps T-206 #165 Ty Cobb |
And with that, I have some serious thinking to do about how to replace these on my list. Fortunately, I've been inundated with cards lately (since when was being inundated with something good?), which means that more holes have been filled and I'm sitting on a bunch of sets where I'm just a couple cards from completion. My guess is those will be making the list--I'm looking at you 2010 Topps Gold Ryan Perry.
As always, I tend to put cards on here that are low-end, easy to find types. Just in case somebody out there happens to be flipping through their piles of cards, trips upon something on the list and feels like sending a little care package my way...
Update: And the new members of the wantlist (in the sidebar) are...
7. 2010 Topps #44 of 45 Hank Greenberg Red Back Mini (Target)
8. 2010 Topps Chrome #182 Brennan Boesch Refractor
9. 2009 Topps Heritage Chrome #CHR171 Rick Porcello
10. 2008 Topps #634 Kenny Rogers Gold Foil
11. 2010 Topps #575 Ryan Perry Gold
May the search begin!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Luck of the Draw
I'm getting crushed--crushed--at work, and found out yesterday that I need to hit the road for business tomorrow and Thursday before coming back for meetings all day Friday, all while I have a major report due for a client in three weeks that will literally require all of my available working hours between now and then. So, short post it is.
I was pretty lucky with a couple of finds at the National, which just proves that persistence pays off. (I was equivalently lucky in a couple eBay finds recently, which I'll highlight in a separate post). As for my favorite:
This came from a memorabilia dealer at the national who had a small box of cards on the size of her booth, divided by player. She told me upfront: "see if there's anything you like in there, everything is under $1 and most of it is twenty-five cents." So I browsed--most of the cards were base cards or inserts that I already had or didn't much care for collecting--and then I pulled this out. It's a Heritage Chrome, something I actually collect, of Justin Verlander in his Rookie Year. I handed it over, told her that this was the only card that I was really interested in and she gave it a glance before saying, without hesitation, "$0.25."
Sold.
Considering that the cheapest you can hope to ever find a single like this online is $.99 plus shipping, I was pretty happy with the take-away. Add-in that this was Verlander's rookie year (Enjoy number 59, rook!), from a set that I actually collect, and this was as good of a bargain as anyone could ever hope for, small potatoes be damned.
I was pretty lucky with a couple of finds at the National, which just proves that persistence pays off. (I was equivalently lucky in a couple eBay finds recently, which I'll highlight in a separate post). As for my favorite:
 |
| 2006 Topps Heritage #95 Justin Verlander Chrome (#/1957) |
This came from a memorabilia dealer at the national who had a small box of cards on the size of her booth, divided by player. She told me upfront: "see if there's anything you like in there, everything is under $1 and most of it is twenty-five cents." So I browsed--most of the cards were base cards or inserts that I already had or didn't much care for collecting--and then I pulled this out. It's a Heritage Chrome, something I actually collect, of Justin Verlander in his Rookie Year. I handed it over, told her that this was the only card that I was really interested in and she gave it a glance before saying, without hesitation, "$0.25."
Sold.
Considering that the cheapest you can hope to ever find a single like this online is $.99 plus shipping, I was pretty happy with the take-away. Add-in that this was Verlander's rookie year (Enjoy number 59, rook!), from a set that I actually collect, and this was as good of a bargain as anyone could ever hope for, small potatoes be damned.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Turning Country Time into Minute Maid
aka Turning Lemonade into...Better Lemonade. You come up with a better phrase for turning a good situation into a better situation.
Anyway, that is what I am dubbing the latest development with my collection. As you might recall, I recently initiated the break-up of my Granderson collection through the sale of two cards. One of these was an autographed 1/1 printing plate that I had always kind of liked but would have spent its days in a box never to be looked at or admired. Also, it was ugly. So, I traded it.
Sure, I sold it, but it basically amounted to a trade and my return card came in the mail yesterday.
This:
For This:
I'd say I got a pretty good deal.
I also think that that card will fit nicely alongside these in my new Heritage Auto/Relic collection:
Yessss. The Plan, she is progressing nicely.
Anyway, that is what I am dubbing the latest development with my collection. As you might recall, I recently initiated the break-up of my Granderson collection through the sale of two cards. One of these was an autographed 1/1 printing plate that I had always kind of liked but would have spent its days in a box never to be looked at or admired. Also, it was ugly. So, I traded it.
Sure, I sold it, but it basically amounted to a trade and my return card came in the mail yesterday.
This:
For This:
|
| 2008 Topps Heritage High Numbers #ROA-AK Al Kaline Autograph |
I'd say I got a pretty good deal.
I also think that that card will fit nicely alongside these in my new Heritage Auto/Relic collection:
Yessss. The Plan, she is progressing nicely.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Tigers Gallery Checklist: 2010 Topps Heritage
This year's Topps Heritage comes from the bare-bones 1961 design that many people call "simple" and others call "boring." Personally, I like it, although a lot of that stems from the fact that '61 cards were the first ones that have a notable presence in my Dad's childhood collection (although the bulk of them are '62-64). I dig the colored boxes, the non-intrusive design and the big, close up pictures. No surprise then, that I like this year's Topps Heritage offering. It's got what I need--a big base set for team collectors, and a couple of cards that take a little bit of work to track down. This year Topps has also spared us the indignity of another Dontrelle Willis or Jeremy Bonderman jersey card, tacitly admitting that no relic cards are actually better than ones that we just don't want at all. The inserts, which I have not put effort into collecting in my brief Heritage-collecting life, are take it or leave it, and many claim that they are getting stale with little differentiation from year to year. How many times can we see Whitey Ford after all?
The highlight for me, and I've felt this way since my early Granderson-collecting days, are the chrome refractors, which take some effort to pick up. I'm still looking for my first one. Add on a nice Al Kaline Tiger Stadium seat relic and this is a set that is certainly worth tracking down. If nothing else, do yourself a favor and feel what a baseball card is supposed to feel like. Real cardboard.
Base Set This is the end-all for me. Some sets can get away with fancy inserts or hits and the like, but Heritage is nothing without a solid base set. Personally, I think that this does the trick. A solid team set, plus three very nice "League Leaders" cards--which look great though they screw with my gallery formatting--make things formidable. There is only one Tigers Short Print (SP) in Carlos Guillen, which makes life easier. What's more, none of the "Dice Game Back" variations or super-short prints are Tigers, thank you very much. We get the benefit of a new Tiger (Max Scherzer) but lose Granderson, Edwin Jackson and Placido Polanco to photoshopped new Jerseys. I do have one gripe though. There is an "All Star Subset" in Heritage. Am I mistaken, or did the Tigers not have FOUR All-Stars last year? And did Curtis Granderson not have the huge triple that led to the winning run? Indeed he did. I would have liked to see Topps give a little Tiger love instead of, you know, none, but what can you do, I guess. Also, get Jarrod Washburn the hell out of my Tigers sets.
Inserts I'm not sure how I feel about Heritage inserts. Sometimes I like them (the Kaline jumping shot), some times I appreciate them (Ty Cobb memorial card), and some times I just don't get them (two Whitey Ford/Justin Verlander cards? Why?). I pretty much feel that way every year and am actually yet to pull the trigger on collecting the inserts. I'll probably take the stance I usually do: if I can get them cheap or package them in with shipping or get them in trades, then I'm happy to have them, but I won't break a sweat over them. Then, once I get enough, I'll probably start pursuing them. Still, base cards and SPs get all my attention first. Still, with not many Tigers in this year's set, they're a pretty easy addition for those who feel like picking them up.
Chrome Parallels I'm putting these in a special category because I love them. They are a partial parallel set of the base cards, chrominated and refractorized into awesomeness. I'm actually never thrilled with how the Chromes turn out but the Refractors are a sight to behold. They are numbered to 561 copies each and are shown below. Not shown, the regular chrome versions (#/1961) or the black refractors (#/61).
Stamp Cards Well, these are new. For Heritage at least. They are, in fact, quite old. You see, stamps of players were released back in 1961 and Topps has decided to recreate the concept here (and insert some of the original stamps as 1/1 cards--not sure what Tigers, if any, are included). Player stamps are either green or brown and paired with no apparent rhyme or reason and put into a single card numbered to 50 copies. They are fiendishly hard to pull and are going for nice amounts on ebay. What's more, with no numbers on the cards, I'm having a hard time finding what is actually out there, and whether players have multiple cards. As such, I'll show what I've seen, and if anyone knows of some more Tigers (and has pictures to prove it), just let me know.
Relics & Autographs We are spared? Heritage is notorious for churning out rather crummy relic cards, and it appears as though the Tigers were mercifully spared of this in this release. At the same time, we get the benefit of an Al Kaline Tiger Stadium seat card--again--which I will continue to be a fan of until the day when the supply of Tiger Stadium's old wood seats is entirely exhausted. Keep 'em coming. Also on the list? A super-rare Kaline and Roger Maris Dual Relic card numbered to 10 copies. When I see one, you'll be the first to know.
From what I can tell, there are no Tigers autographs in the set that I've seen, but I'll continue to keep my eyes out.
Box Toppers Every year there are box-toppers, called "Ad Panels" that show three cards from the set, with some random combination of players and a description of the set on the back. I do not care about these. They are cumbersome and difficult to store and even more difficult to track, considering they aren't numbered and a Tigers player could be on one or many of these cards. So, I'm not going to worry about them and will not include them here (unless I can find a reliable checklist of Tigers cards). Just know that they exist. What I WILL include are new this year--team Stamp Books, which large, cumbersome box toppers, but with a different design and a nice team description on the back. Here's the Tigers one:
Neat, right?
With that, I'll sign off on 2010 Topps Heritage--I've got some cards to track down.
The highlight for me, and I've felt this way since my early Granderson-collecting days, are the chrome refractors, which take some effort to pick up. I'm still looking for my first one. Add on a nice Al Kaline Tiger Stadium seat relic and this is a set that is certainly worth tracking down. If nothing else, do yourself a favor and feel what a baseball card is supposed to feel like. Real cardboard.
Base Set This is the end-all for me. Some sets can get away with fancy inserts or hits and the like, but Heritage is nothing without a solid base set. Personally, I think that this does the trick. A solid team set, plus three very nice "League Leaders" cards--which look great though they screw with my gallery formatting--make things formidable. There is only one Tigers Short Print (SP) in Carlos Guillen, which makes life easier. What's more, none of the "Dice Game Back" variations or super-short prints are Tigers, thank you very much. We get the benefit of a new Tiger (Max Scherzer) but lose Granderson, Edwin Jackson and Placido Polanco to photoshopped new Jerseys. I do have one gripe though. There is an "All Star Subset" in Heritage. Am I mistaken, or did the Tigers not have FOUR All-Stars last year? And did Curtis Granderson not have the huge triple that led to the winning run? Indeed he did. I would have liked to see Topps give a little Tiger love instead of, you know, none, but what can you do, I guess. Also, get Jarrod Washburn the hell out of my Tigers sets.
 |  | |
#13 Ramon Santiago | #42 Mauer/Ichiro/ Jeter/Cabrera | |
 |  | |
#48 Hernandez/Sabathia/ Verlander/Beckett | #50 Verlander/Greinke/ Lester/Hernandez |
 |  |  |
#51 Detroit Tigers | #67 Brandon Inge | #83 Rick Porcello |
 |  |  |
#95 Miguel Cabrera | #112 Adam Everett | #171 Justin Verlander |
 |  |  |
#192 Gerald Laird | #223 Jim Leyland | #232 Max Scherzer |
 |  |  |
#251 Jarrod Washburn | #285 Wilkin Ramirez | #317 Brent Dlugach RC |
 |  |  |
#340 Magglio Ordonez | #392 Jeremy Bonderman | #407 Ty Cobb |
 |  | |
#425 Marcus Thames | #448 Carlos Guillen (SP) |
Inserts I'm not sure how I feel about Heritage inserts. Sometimes I like them (the Kaline jumping shot), some times I appreciate them (Ty Cobb memorial card), and some times I just don't get them (two Whitey Ford/Justin Verlander cards? Why?). I pretty much feel that way every year and am actually yet to pull the trigger on collecting the inserts. I'll probably take the stance I usually do: if I can get them cheap or package them in with shipping or get them in trades, then I'm happy to have them, but I won't break a sweat over them. Then, once I get enough, I'll probably start pursuing them. Still, base cards and SPs get all my attention first. Still, with not many Tigers in this year's set, they're a pretty easy addition for those who feel like picking them up.
 |  |  |
#BF9 Al Kaline | #NF10 Ty Cobb | #NAP13 Miguel Cabrera |
 |  |
#TN3 Kaline/Mauer | #TN7 Ford/Verlander |
 | |
#TN9 Ford/Verlander |
Chrome Parallels I'm putting these in a special category because I love them. They are a partial parallel set of the base cards, chrominated and refractorized into awesomeness. I'm actually never thrilled with how the Chromes turn out but the Refractors are a sight to behold. They are numbered to 561 copies each and are shown below. Not shown, the regular chrome versions (#/1961) or the black refractors (#/61).
 |  |  |
#C25 Rick Porcello Chrome Ref. (#/561) | #C47 Justin Verlander Chrome Ref. (#/561) | #C64 Max Scherzer Chrome Ref. (#/561) |
Stamp Cards Well, these are new. For Heritage at least. They are, in fact, quite old. You see, stamps of players were released back in 1961 and Topps has decided to recreate the concept here (and insert some of the original stamps as 1/1 cards--not sure what Tigers, if any, are included). Player stamps are either green or brown and paired with no apparent rhyme or reason and put into a single card numbered to 50 copies. They are fiendishly hard to pull and are going for nice amounts on ebay. What's more, with no numbers on the cards, I'm having a hard time finding what is actually out there, and whether players have multiple cards. As such, I'll show what I've seen, and if anyone knows of some more Tigers (and has pictures to prove it), just let me know.
 |  |
Guillen/Harden (#/50) | Verlander/McCutchen (#/50) |
 |  |
Cabrera/Hernandez (#/50) | Ordonez/Oswalt (#/50) |
 |  |
Cabrera/Reynolds (#/50) | Francour/Guillen (#/50) |
 |  |
Scherzer/Hill (#/50) | Porcello/Allen (#/50) |
Relics & Autographs We are spared? Heritage is notorious for churning out rather crummy relic cards, and it appears as though the Tigers were mercifully spared of this in this release. At the same time, we get the benefit of an Al Kaline Tiger Stadium seat card--again--which I will continue to be a fan of until the day when the supply of Tiger Stadium's old wood seats is entirely exhausted. Keep 'em coming. Also on the list? A super-rare Kaline and Roger Maris Dual Relic card numbered to 10 copies. When I see one, you'll be the first to know.
From what I can tell, there are no Tigers autographs in the set that I've seen, but I'll continue to keep my eyes out.
 |  | |
#FSR-AK Al Kaline | #FSDR-MK (?) Maris/Kaline (#/10) |
Box Toppers Every year there are box-toppers, called "Ad Panels" that show three cards from the set, with some random combination of players and a description of the set on the back. I do not care about these. They are cumbersome and difficult to store and even more difficult to track, considering they aren't numbered and a Tigers player could be on one or many of these cards. So, I'm not going to worry about them and will not include them here (unless I can find a reliable checklist of Tigers cards). Just know that they exist. What I WILL include are new this year--team Stamp Books, which large, cumbersome box toppers, but with a different design and a nice team description on the back. Here's the Tigers one:
Neat, right?
With that, I'll sign off on 2010 Topps Heritage--I've got some cards to track down.
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