Sunday, November 24, 2013

199 Down, 1 To Go!

A few posts ago, I mentioned I was three cards away from completing 2013 Topps Archives. (I don't consider SP's as part of the set, so I'm only concerned with cards 1 - 200.)

Chris from Nachos Grande sent me two of the cards I needed.



Now I'm one card away! I've already had another blogger offer the last card to me, but until I have it in my hands, it's not complete yet. It would be nice to finish the 2013 Archives set in 2013.

Thanks Chris! I'll find something to send you in return as a thank you for your generosity.

Saturday, November 23, 2013

The 5 Most Influential Cards Of All Time (To Me)
Number 1 - ?????



A few days ago, I posted a contest with a hanging box of 2013 Topps Update as the prize. All you had to do was guess the card that was the most influential card of my collecting career.

The five cards that are on this countdown are the ones that have done the most to influence my life and my collection. I could have just as easily used the word "important" as well.

The previous four were:

5.) 1977 Topps Pete Broberg
4.) 1978 Topps Lyman Bostock
3.) 1978 Topps Len Randle
2.) 1979 Topps Thad Bosley

To enter, you had to guess the year, brand, player and why it was number one on my list. So that it wasn't completely impossible I gave the following clues:

Year - It's from one of my first four years of collecting (1977, 1978, 1979 or 1980)
Brand - I'll give you this one. It's Topps.
Player's Name - He is from one the most recent expansion teams at the time (Blue Jays or Mariners)
Why It's Influential - This is going to be the hardest. If you look at the previous four, most of them are "firsts". This is actually a "last" but a "first" as well.

Even after all the clues, I still thought it might be pretty hard to guess the answer. So my plan was that if no one was close I was either going to give more clues or put everybody's name in the randomizer for a winner.

But I was pretty amazed when one of the guesses was almost dead on.

Many of you picked the right team, but not the right player.

So here is the card that holds the top spot!









1980.....














Topps.....




















Rico Carty.

So why is Rico Carty at number 1?

After collecting in 1977, '78 and '79, and not finishing any of those sets (and I still haven't), I was determined. I bought a lot of 1980 Topps. I remember the first pack I bought that year. I bought it at a convenience store called Gerry's Variety in my hometown (it's still there...both the store and my hometown), and I opened it up at the bowling alley. (Yes I used to bowl...it was candlepins...and I was pretty damn good).

But anyways, that first pack had this card in it:

 
I knew it was going to be a good year.
 
So all summer, armed with money that I earned from a paper route I was doing each week, I bought as much 1980 Topps as I could afford.  I didn't have anybody to trade with that year (everybody that I knew that collected cards only did hockey), so I had to keep buying until finally I was down to one card.
 
 
This one.
 
No relic, autograph, SP, or insert has ever matched the excitement I felt when I finally pulled this card out of a pack. Not only was I excited about finishing the set, but since it was 1980, I was also done was baseball cards for the year. There weren't any card shops in my area , so I couldn't get any cards from previous years, and I don't think I realized baseball card magazines existed yet, so there was no bugging Mom and Dad to order some cards for me.
 
So congrats to Jim from GCRL, who correctly identified the year, brand and why it was number 1 on my list. A hanging box of 2013 Topps Update will be headed your way! 
 
 

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Contest Reminder

If you haven't entered my contest yet (and judging by the amount of entries you haven't), I'm giving away a hanging box of 2013 Topps Update.

Click here to find out how to enter.

Contest ends Thursday night at 11:59 EST. Good luck!

Monday, November 18, 2013

The 5 Most Influential Cards Of All Time (To Me)
Number 2 - 1979 Topps Thad Bosley

There's a very simple story behind this card. It is the card I got from my very first trade.

You always remember your first.



It was the summer of 1979, and I was on the porch of my parent's house with another kid from my neighborhood. I had found out recently that he had some cards and he brought them over for me to look at. I don't remember why I only traded for one card, it probably was that I didn't have very many at that point to trade.

I do remember that he wanted the 1978 Butch Hobson that I had a duplicate of. So we traded.

Butch Hobson for Thad Bosley.

Why Thad Bosley?

It looked so cool to my ten year old eyes.



So who's up for a contest?

If anybody is interested in a hanging box of 2013 Topps Update, all you have to do is guess what card has been the most influential card in my life. These aren't my favorite cards, but the cards that bring back the most memories and keep me coming back to this crazy hobby.

So let's recap the previous four and why they are so important to me:

5.) 1977 Topps Pete Broberg - First experience with airbrusing.
4.) 1978 Topps Lyman Bostock - First deceased active player I had a card of.
3.) 1978 Topps Len Randle - Thought he was missing his right hand.
2.) 1979 Topps Thad Bosley - First experience with trading.

In order to enter the contest, you have to be subscribed to my blog.

To enter please comment on this post with the year, brand, player's name and why you think it is so influential to me.

I'm also going to give you a clue about each part of the answer.

Year - It's from one of my first four years of collecting (1977, 1978, 1979 or 1980)
Brand - I'll give you this one. It's Topps.
Player's Name - He is from one the most recent expansion teams at the time (Blue Jays or Mariners)
Why It's Influential - This is going to be the hardest. If you look at the previous four, most of them are "firsts". This is actually a "last" but a "first" as well.

I'm going to run this for a few days, so whoever gets the closest to the actual card will win. If there is a tie, I'll defer to random.org to choose a winner.

Good luck, but don't spend too much time on this. It's only Topps Update, but it is free cards if you win.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Sox on Cards

It's always exciting trading with someone for the first time. Everybody has different wants, needs and likes. Sometimes it takes me awhile to put together a trade package for someone, other times I can accomplish it very quickly.

Kerry from Cards on Cards is one of the bloggers that I could put a package together fairly quickly for. I had seen a few Cardinals cards (yes, Cardinals cards) that I was interested in.

Here are the cards that started the exchange:


2013 Topps Chasing History Lou Brock. This is one of the few Topps inserts from this year that I like, and the only subset I've considered chasing.


One of the many benefits of buying cards "on the cheap", is that I can usually get a nice selection of oddballs. I've gotten a pretty decent amount of the 1987 Kmart set, but I hadn't gotten the Gibson yet.


This is card from the 1985 Topps Collectors' Series set, which I had no idea even existed. Researching it, I found out it is a 44 card set and includes Grover Cleveland, George Sisler, Cy Young, Dan Quisenberry, and Dwight Gooden among others. Sadly in 1985 I would have had zero interest in this set, but now that I'm much older and a tad bit wiser, I definitely want it.

Of course, some Red Sox were also included. This isn't all of them, just a choice few.


2002 Topps Own The Game Derek Lowe. Trading Healthcliff Slocumb for him and Jason Varitek in my opinion cancels out the much maligned Jeff Bagwell for Larry Anderson trade.


2010 Upper Deck Supreme Jason Bay


1993 Upper Deck On Deck With Roger Clemens


2011 Topps Mini Clay Buchholz


2012 Topps Opening Day Hit The Cutoff Jacoby Ellsbury. The feeling around these parts is that he will be with another team next year. The team I hear the most is Seattle. Seattle?


1997 Upper Deck Predictor Mo Vaughn. One of my favorite players from the 90's Red Sox teams. His career kind of went south after he left the Red Sox as a free agent. The scan doesn't do the card justice, it looks pretty cool when you hold it up to a light.


2012 Topps Gold Standard Andre Dawson. While I was happy to see him as a Red Sox, his signing was one of the many examples of the Red Sox paying big money to get star players at the end of their career, rather than when they were productive.


2013 Topps Cut To The Chase Ted Williams. I like this insert set as well. Plus, it's Ted Williams.


2011 Topps Mini Carl Yastrzemski. One of my favorite players as a child.


Speaking of favorite players, here's Carlton Fisk on his 2009 Upper Deck Goudy Card.


This was one of the few Red Sox cards he sent me that I already had. But it's ok, because if I ever became a player collector, I would start with Ellis Burks.


1992 Donruss Gallery Of Stars Frank Viola. He played for some very bad Red Sox teams in the early 90's. One of my most vivid memories of him is watching him throw his glove into the stands in a moment of frustration.


2012 Topps Archives Cloth Sticker Kevin Youkilis. Ahh yes, my twin. Although nowadays the resemblence is not so apparent, as I've trimmed down the goatee and grown a beard.

Should you fear my beard? Only if you are afraid of gray.


2013 Topps Archives Mini Fred Lynn. Another one of my childhood favorites, and I love the late 70's uniforms. He was also a left handed batter, so I used to mimic his batting stance.

 
2002 Upper Deck Pedro Martinez WS. I never got to see him pitch in person. It seems every Red Sox game I attend, I get to see the fifth starter. Here's an example...the photo for the background of this blog was taken on June 15, 2007.
 
The starting pitcher?
 
Julian Tavarez.
 
Great selection of cards, Kerry! Thank you, and looking forward to trading again!


Thursday, November 14, 2013

Trading Thursdays - Baltimore Orioles Edition

As I've mentioned on this blog before, one of the things I enjoy most about the blogosphere is trading with other bloggers. I don't make it to too many card shows, and it's often times very tough to find the cards I need to complete the sets I'm working on.

I've gotten closer to some sets thanks to the trading I've done, and hopefully I've been to help other bloggers with their collecting goals as well. So I've been thinking for a while about how I can help initiate some trading with other collectors/bloggers that I may not have connected with yet. Of course, I'm certainly up for trading with collectors/bloggers that I've traded with before.

So every Thursday I post a collection of items representing a specific team. It will generally consist of mostly cards from that team, but it could also include a media guide, a yearbook, a pack of cards with a player from that team on the wrapper, etc.

If you are interested in it, either comment on the blog or email me at swingandapopup@gmail.com, with what you want to trade for it. No reasonable offer will be refused, however it does have to be off of my want list. I need to finish these sets! Trade me a dozen cards, trade me a hundred cards, trade me one card, but help me finish these sets!

I only have a small percentage of my "wants" uploaded. This is a huge work in process, and I am adding new want lists up weekly. I also keep track via a sidebar on my blog letting readers know what lists have been added in the past week. There are also some "junk wax" sets on there that I haven't finished. I know some of you are sitting on some '88 Score, 92 Leaf, etc., and this could be a chance to unload some of it to someone who needs it!

This week I feature the Baltimore Orioles.

So here's what up for trade this week:


1979 Hostess Jim Palmer


2013 Topps Update Manny Machado ASG


1993 Donruss David Segui


1992 Score Gregg Olson


1986 Donruss Fred Lynn


2004 Topps Rodrigo Lopez


1977 Topps Fred Holdsworth
 

2007 Fleer Ultra Kris Benson


1990 Upper Deck Dave Johnson


1992 Topps Mike Flanagan


1988 Sportflics Eddie Murray


2010 Topps Update Jake Arrieta


2010 Topps Vintage Legends Eddie Murray


2007 Upper Deck MLB Artifacts Miguel Tejada
 

2010 Topps The Cards Your Mom Threw Out Eddie Murray


 1993 Topps Gold Cal Ripken


2012 Topps Gypsy Queen Hallmark Heroes Frank Robinson


2013 Topps Update Chris Davis HRD


1973 Topps Don Baylor


1996 Circa Cal Ripken


1984 Topps John Lowenstein
 

2003 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Classic Earl Weaver

So if you are interested in trading for all of this, either leave a comment or email me at swingandapopup@gmail.com with what you wish to trade. First person to contact me wins the entire package of Orioles.

Don't forget to check the sidebar to see what other team packages I have available for trade. Click on the team and it will take you straight to the posting!

Thanks for reading and let's trade!

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

A GCRL Trade (Gibson, Cahill, Reed, Listach)

 My first trade with Jim from GCRL consisted of...



wait for it....




a pile of Dodgers!


Dodgers trade well on the open market these days, and I was fortunate enough to land these cards in return:


Almost thirty cards from 1984 Fleer.


One more closer to in my quest to complete my 1989 Donruss set.


He also sent about twenty from 1994 Collector's Choice.



How about seven from 1996 Collector's Choice...


 
...and four from that dang 2010 Topps set.
 
 
We'll close with an offering from 2013 Topps Archives.
 
Thanks Jim, for such a fantastic trade!