Wednesday, February 5, 2025

fifty cent frenzy at the card show

after missing the last few cards shows of 2024, i made it to the monthly twin cities club show in january. i usually get there a few minutes early and am in the lobby when they open the doors. this time, i got there about five minutes after the doors opened. that made a difference.

one of the regular sellers who has some pretty good bargain boxes was there for the first time in a while, at least the first time he and i were at a show at the same time. by the time i walked to his table, there were already half a dozen guys digging through his fifty cent boxes. one of the guys had abandoned his own tables to dig, and didn't seem to mind missing out on sales while he tore through a box.

i was able to get in at a corner of the table and made sure to ask who was where in the box closest to me and i started going through. i wound up only being able to get to about half of the boxes but still came away with a lot of cards for my collection and the collections of others. the only bad thing about my approach was that once i had an unwieldy stack going, i asked the seller to stack them behind the table and told him to go ahead and start counting. this lack of forethought kept me from double checking some of the cards i had pulled, and so i wound up with a short stack of dodger cards that i really didn't need.

anyway, here's a taste of what i found from these boxes:
i had never seen the 1992 ud minors todd hollandsworth card before - it's an insert - but i was pretty sure i had the jeff shaw own the game card from 2002 and the 2017 topps chrome bellinger rookie, but i set them aside anyway. i was positive that i had the 2022 topps uk clayton kershaw insert but figured someone out there might want it. the others were all cards i needed. 

i was able to feed my vladimir guerrero collection with a couple of cards, including a 1999 upper deck retro and 2004 fleer ultra insert
the retro card is numbered to 1000.

i found a new double play card, too.
that's a 2020 topps robinson cano 1985 35th anniversary insert, blue parallel.

as you can likely infer from those scans, there were inserts, parallels, oddballs, and some base in the boxes. tons of 35th anniversary cards 
and silver pack cards 
and parallels for sure.

his boxes are usually good for at least one variation card, and this was no exception
that's a photo variation from 2016 topps update jameson taillon card.

i will bite every time i see an all aces insert - this one is from 2023 topps update
and features zack greinke, who i have a soft spot for. that is a nice looking insert set, but i am still not officially chasing it.

there were some old school inserts that i grabbed, too, like this barry bonds insert from 1996 topps chrome
a tony gwynn insert
from 1999 fleer tradition and a textured greg maddux insert
from 2000 fleer ultra

the biggest surprise i had when i was going through the cards - this was after i had purchased the stack - was this one from 2024 topps series 1
that's an umbrella parallel, or maybe a rain umbrella parallel, as there were different umbrella parallels in series 2. anyway, the card is numbered to only 10
it's a lame parallel, but still.

the next stop i made was at the seller who has dime boxes under his table. this time, there was a quarter box as well as a dime box, but there were two other people trying to get at them. i was able to join in once they were clear of the quarter box, and then i made my way to the dimes. here are most of the quarter box cards i pulled:
the only dodgers i took from that box were these jackie robinson and mookie betts cards
from 2024 topps allen & ginter.

here's some of the 190 cards i took from his dime box:
this was the first time i saw these 2024 ginter oregon zoo inserts in person. i was enthralled.

2022 topps 206 pairing of gary sheffield and gil hodges
i might have passed on these, but i just picked up a few mini ultra pro sheets so i knew these guys would have a good home in my 2022 dodger binder.

2023 topps chrome update will smith all-star game insert
after making the 2022 cards like this a priority, i slacked off last year.

2024 topps update blake treinen royal blue parallel
i will take any dodger parallel for a dime.

2023 topps chrome platinum anniversary pee wee reese
this is a base card, but it's one of the few i still need(ed) for the team set. not sure if and when the 2024 version of this set will be released.

here's a smattering of some other dime box cards
that 1995 bowman calvin "pokey" reese does look like it was signed by pokey himself, and i will help myself to a 1979 topps bump wills error card for a dime all day long thank you very much.

here's another vladdy i was able to add - 2023 topps black & white
plus a dodger stadium card from 2023 topps stadium club
this is giancarlo stanton hitting a home run in the 2022 all-star game. i get a kick out of this big moment happening while the marlins guy is looking at his phone.

two more dime box cards to show and then i will move on. this is a 2012 topps chrome orange refractor troy tulowitzki parallel
and a 2017 topps chrome dee gordon prism refractor parallel
that fit into my double play collection. bonus for ichiro running around in the background of gordon's card.

next up i stopped at a table that was packed with cards separated out by sport and many by player. i mean, when's the last time you saw raul mondesi cards tabbed out specifically? i didn't spend a lot of time but did grab four cards from this seller for a grand total of $11.50. two were keepers for me - a 2002 fleer authentix paul loduca ripped jersey insert/parallel
and a 2001 topps archives ron cey autograph
the cards were heavily discounted, so the loduca was $0.75 and the cey was five bucks. the other two cards i bought were from the same two sets just of different players/teams and i hope to hand them off to my intended recipient in person later this year.

i wasn't 100% sure whether or not i had the cey card already, but it turned out i did not. i was aware of the large number of dodger autographs that were available in this set back in 2001 when i was chasing after the base set (the box i bought included a bob feller autograph that i now have in my hall of famer collection), but i guess i didn't seek any out on ebay which was really the only source available to me back then. i may prioritize these autos now.

one of my goals for the show was to find some 2024 topps archives singles and parallels, and i did just that when i stopped at a regular seller's table. he always has newer releases broken out for set collectors and he had archives. he listed them for sale as a quarter for loose and fifty cents for sleeved cards. i found two of each and went to give him $1.50. at that point the guy said that archives hadn't been priced yet. i showed him his sign and he said that he shouldn't have put the cards out. now, i could probably find the four cards i chose on ebay/sportlots for not much more than $1.50 but he was determined to get more from me than he had listed the cards for so i told him to pound sand. this is the same guy i ran into once a few years ago at a local target where he was pack searching. i've bought singles from him before but will probably shy away from now on.

my last stop was at one of the vintage bargain box sellers, and i wound up achieving one of my other goals for the show by adding to my 1955 bowman set build. those cards will show up in later posts as i continue to show off my progress on the set.

in all, it was a decent show and i spent almost 200 bucks which might be the most i've ever spent at one of these shows. plus, i was able to talk with brian from highly subjective, completely arbitrary at a couple of the tables, and we exchanged some cards although we didn't snap a photo of our wallet cards. i will share the fantastic stuff he handed over to me in another post.

ps - i didn't pick this card up at the show, but i've had it in my scanned folder for a long while now.
that's jeff torborg's 1978 topps card, and i made the decision a few months back to go ahead and put it in my dodgers binder since he is shown as a dodger in his playing days photo. torborg passed away a couple of weeks ago, and as one of the first former dodgers i was ever aware of, i felt an impact from the news and wanted to be sure to acknowledge his passing here.

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

i did but also did not give two rips about ginter

long gone are the days of allen & ginter dominating the blogosphere with "gintacuffs" and other widespread sharing of the latest release from topps. here we are now in late january, and i've only posted one card from the 2024 ginter set. since that post, i actually purchased another pack that included steve garvey's card which is always nice. however, i had already picked up a couple of singles of that card.

the big card that i bought from 2024 topps allen & ginter is this one:
that's one side of a double rip card. here's the other side:
freddie freeman and steve garvey have been paired up a couple of times now by topps which makes some sense. seeing them both on a double rip card, however, ups the ante. 

i've left the card alone for now. i watched a couple of double rip rips on youtube and the return was underwhelming. while that does increase the odds (very very slightly) that there is something better inside my card, i haven't been tempted to risk it. what would you do?

i also targeted a framed mini auto of garvey
and his boxtopper autograph
which is numbered to 25 and smaller than i expected. it's shorter and wider than a standard sized card.

less interesting but more plentiful is his aforementioned base card, which is shown here with with three parallels that i bought
those parallels are the hot box silver portrait, the silver foil filigree, and the gold foil filigree. i have so far avoided pursuing any of the minis out there aside from the black border, 
but i did grab his allen & ginter x card
no minis from that set yet, though.

this is the first time that garvey has been featured in ginter as a regular card after being among the short prints the last couple of years. before that, he only had a short print relic card in one ginter release. it would be nice to see him infiltrate other sets like stadium club as a base card subject.

he did make an appearance in 2024 topps 206
and i've limited myself to just adding his base card plus the autograph

as for ginter, the only other dodger i've added from 2024 ginter is clayton kershaw
but i am sure there will be others joining my collection at some point.

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

is it archives if it's not?

topps archives is one of my favorite releases every year. i will typically buy a box of the product and i really enjoy seeing new (and old) faces on random topps designs. shoot, even when archives was just reprints in 2001 and 2002 i was still all in on it.

this year i was a bit confused when i saw the first card images on the sell sheet. jackson merrill's card was one of the cards shown
it is, of course, the 1970 topps design, but with one (or two) big flaws. the text used for the name is nowhere near the cursive style of the original 1970 cards, and the position text is a lot smaller. here's a real 1970 card to refresh your memory
it's only been five years since topps trotted out the 1970 design as part of their heritage releases, and back then they stuck to the cursive font. they also maintained the same position descriptions ("outfield" instead of "outfielder") but the more recent change doesn't bother me so much.

perhaps the most ridiculous part of this is that they used another set in this year's archives that features the same cursive font!
go figure.

anyway, i mentioned in last week's post that i had pre-ordered some blasters, but then i got an email from topps about their "product drop" wherein i could try to buy a box at a price well below what they were going for from online resellers. i bit, and made the drop list and so i received a box to open the other day.
two autos and eight pink parallels, guaranteed.
no boxtopper this year though.

i will show the six packs from the lower left quadrant of the box. they were the first ones that i opened. 

pack 1:
starting with a dodger! i should have mentioned that 1961 is the other design chosen by topps. it is a bit jarring to see an action shot on the 1970 design and not have it be a super short print parallel. the insert in this pack is a take on the 1999 new breed inserts.

pack 2:
the own the game insert was originally included in 2006 topps.

pack 3:
there's our first pink parallel, and another dodger to boot.

pack 4:
second time this year seeing that frank thomas photo (also used in stadium club), and the ichiro is a bit of a tight crop. the "at the break" insert was originally seen in 1995 topps traded. that blew my mind back then, seeing an insert set with a traded set.

pack 5:
there's the first auto of the box. it's shoto imanaga on a new breed design. the card front is matte as opposed to the non-auto inserts which is a thoughtful touch by topps.

pack 6:
take note of josh jung's card for future reference. nice to see mickey mantle, and we also have our second pink parallel which features a familiar photo of monte irvin. the sandy koufax there also uses a familiar photo, but i had never seen the photo that was used on the back before:
the photo gives us a glimpse of dodger stadium in its early days when the dimensions were ten feet greater and the fiberglass was yet to be installed against the side of the pavilion. i might track down another one of these for my dodger stadium collection.

the one insert type that was not included in any of these six packs is the wrecking crew
which was from 1996 topps series 2. there are other, scarcer, insert types from four other topps sets but i didn't come across any of those.

here are some cards from the other packs that i took note of....

fernando tatis
just like jackson merrill's card up top, tatis' card gives a good look at the peter seidler memorial patch. i plan to stick with my original choice to represent the patch in my collection, however.

cole ragans
ragans is wearing the number 4 patch for lou gehrig on lou gehrig day. this, and the similar "21" patch worn by some on roberto clemente day, is not a memorial patch in the traditional sense, so i don't put these cards in my collection. they still catch my eye, though.

rickey henderson
this is the first rickey card i've pulled since he passed away and it was bittersweet.

paul skenes
obligatory rookie card inclusion

lou piniella
nice to see piniella as a royal. this is the first time topps has featured him as a royal on a base card in a regular (non-online) release since 2005 topps rookie cup. and rookie cup was the first time he was seen as a royal since 1974. at least from topps - the orioles issued their all-time orioles set in 1991, and piniella's card shows him as a royal.

don mattingly
this is just a classic looking card. yankees look great on the 1961 design.

ted williams
every year when i find out what designs are going to be used in archives, i think about the potential "cards that should have been" like the 1978 brooks robinson with his career stats on the back that we finally got back in 2022. maybe someday topps will put ted williams on their 1961 design to create a "final tribute"
what a missed opportunity this year though. they did give us another 1994 design george brett card
but it pales in comparison to his original final tribute.

hank aaron
like the mattingly above, this is another great looking card. of course, hammerin' hank was featured in the original 1994 set
topps did pretty well with the 1994 cards i think.

kevin pillar
pillar is back on cardboard after not getting any base cards in 2023 (he was on an insert in 2023 topps update but not a base card). his four game stint with the dodgers in 2022 didn't warrant a card, unfortunately.

elly de la cruz 
another obligatory rookie card share

i had pretty good luck with dodgers in addition to the ones shown above - freddie freeman
duke snider
fernando valenzuela
andy pages
i had a similar reaction to fernando's card as i did to rickey's.

no mookie betts base card, but i did get him as one of the pink parallels
along with ken griffey jr
here are the rest of the pink parallels from the box
the main non-auto hits from the box were a couple of numbered parallels.  this josh jung card
is a design variation red hot foil parallel numbered to 50
the design variation is the font used for the team name, which mimics the cursive name font from the original 1970 topps cards. it's pretty dumb to use that as a variation when the font wasn't used for the player names but whatever. i think the 1961 design variations moves the card number and player bio on the back to the bottom of the card and that is a worse type of variation.

here's a blue foilboard parallel of edwin diaz' card
it's numbered to 25 on the back
i also opened up a couple of the blasters i ordered. those come with a guarantee of four black parallels, and they are pretty sharp. here's mike schmidt
i tell you what. 2025 topps had better put schmidt on one of the series 1 1990 35th anniversary cards so we get him on that design with his full career stats on the back.

landon knack
was another black parallel i found. i also got a yoshinobu yamamoto new breed insert 
and a mookie betts at the break insert
so i did pretty well for dodgers but still missing a handful of their base cards.

as for the second autograph in my box, it was a 1995 fan favorites auto of dave stieb
here's the back:
stieb was featured in archives with a fan favorites auto back in 2017 (he was on a 1990 design) as well. i am going to keep this one in my "meaningful and just because" collection since i was a fan of his during his career, and he is pretty much the first guy i think of when it comes to the blue jays. after ron fairly, maybe.

i've only made one individual card purchase so far, and it was to secure steve garvey's 1995 fan favorite auto
here's the back:
this is the first time that garvey has appeared on the 1995 topps design, so that's nice. the other non-premium fan favorites dodger auto in the set this year is shawn green. green has been featured before but i may still see about picking up one of his cards - he's featured on the 2000 topps design. i am still holding out hope for a rick monday fan favorites auto someday.

so, that's archives for this year. i would say the 1961 and 1994 cards are pretty good, but the 1970 cards are merely inspired by the original topps design, which is disappointing. i count the 1970 set as one of my favorites - it was the first "older" set that i put together and the cursive names were a hallmark of the set that should have been replicated here.