Card of the Day - 1957 Topps : Pee Wee Reese Base BVG Graded Near Mint 7.0

Pee Wee... the little man that could
Pee Wee... Jackie's friend and teammate
Pee Wee... Dodger great and Hall of Fame member
Pee Wee ... Part of the Penguin's graded vintage collection...finally

I have always admired Pee Wee and his career so much so that even with my liquidation of non core four players that I collect now I decided to keep my 1 of 1 Pee Wee autograph. That piece of history is a prized part of my collection and I don't see it ever leaving my possession (knock on wood). I knew at some point with my new focus on vintage graded cards I would land a Mr. Reese card and I finally did and at a bargain IMO and with the 7 grade attached to it this card is now my highest graded vintage card to date.

When I 1st came across this card on the bay I put it on my watch list but wasn't holding my breath on actually winning the card at anything that I was comfortable with. Surprisingly on the last day there was only 1 bid on it. Unsurprisingly 6 more bids were put on it in the final hour and once again surprisingly I ended up with the top bid and with it I now have this nice vintage Pee Wee in Brooklyn gear to pare up with my Pee Wee autograph.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

BGS Result Update Number Nine - 2014 Topps : Pee Wee Reese Strata Autograph Now Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Original pic and thoughts :

2014 Topps Strata

Same story as the Griffey Strata with the added bonus of seeing how BGS treats Pee Wee's autograph. Do they dock it since you can see a little of the "Reese" part of it or do they realize that is how the card was supposed to be made? Hoping I get a reasonable grader for this transaction that will realize that.

Result and thoughts :

A 1 of 1 just got even better. Yes it will always be the only one in existence but now it is the only gem mint 1 of 1 in existence. 

We have reached the point in the submissions where I expected to see some issues pop up but thankfully none have. This card being so thick made it susceptible to conditioning issues but it came back with an overall gem mint grade. I always worry about corners but even if it did score a 9 that means all the rest scored at least a 9.5. Woo Hoo.

The main potential issue I had with this card was if the grader would dock it for Pee Wee's last name not being on the card but thankfully, and rightfully if I so say myself, he graded on what was on the card and not what wasn't. Autograph scored that much needed and appreciated 10.

Unless I am hard up (knock on wood) this is one the few cards in my collection that I have no intention of letting go and that was even before it earned gem mint status. A true 1 of 1 and it being an autograph card of a Dodger great that is no longer with us who had ties to the team in Brooklyn and Jackie Robinson. Yeah, this is not available for trade in any discussion. = )

Final Submission Result and Thoughts :

Well I guess I hit it right on the dot.

When the autograph grade came back a 10 that eliminated my fear of the dreaded 9 because of the signature being "cut off". The only other worry I had were the corners as these thick cards notoriously have issues with them. My hope and thoughts were that if they graded out to a 9 that everything else would hold up and I would get my much wanted gem mint grade. That is exactly what happened.

10, 9.5, 9.5 and then there was a 9. Guess where? Corners of course. No matter as it worked out and I now officially own a 1/1 that has been fully slabbed in a gem mint grade. A prized piece in my collection that is still not available for trade or purchase. So pretty.

A golden era player in a gold banner.

Great combo

The all important 10 auto grade

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day,

-Penguin

BGS Raw Card Review Submission From March 7, 2015 Update Number 9 - 2014 Topps Pee Wee Reese Strata Autograph

Original pic and thoughts :

2014 Topps Strata

Same story as the Griffey Strata with the added bonus of seeing how BGS treats Pee Wee's autograph. Do they dock it since you can see a little of the "Reese" part of it or do they realize that is how the card was supposed to be made? Hoping I get a reasonable grader for this transaction that will realize that.

Result and thoughts :

A 1 of 1 just got even better. Yes it will always be the only one in existence but now it is the only gem mint 1 of 1 in existence. 

We have reached the point in the submissions where I expected to see some issues pop up but thankfully none have. This card being so thick made it susceptible to conditioning issues but it came back with an overall gem mint grade. I always worry about corners but even if it did score a 9 that means all the rest scored at least a 9.5. Woo Hoo.

The main potential issue I had with this card was if the grader would dock it for Pee Wee's last name not being on the card but thankfully, and rightfully if I so say myself, he graded on what was on the card and not what wasn't. Autograph scored that much needed and appreciated 10.

Unless I am hard up (knock on wood) this is one the few cards in my collection that I have no intention of letting go and that was even before it earned gem mint status. A true 1 of 1 and it being an autograph card of a Dodger great that is no longer with us who had ties to the team in Brooklyn and Jackie Robinson. Yeah, this is not available for trade in any discussion. = )

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin 

Trade with Fellow Blogger : Tony of Off Hiatus Baseball

It must be baseball season as it seems I am doing more trades and/or being contacted about potentially doing one. Fellow blogger, Tony of Off Hiatus Baseball recently reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in some unique items. While not technically a trade as Tony did not ask for anything in return as he just wanted the items to go to a loving home I am presently looking at my collection to see if there is anything he might like. While I work on that he sent the items my way and here they are.

Front

Back

This is an advertisement card by US Cellular which features Dodger and baseball legend Jackie Robinson. It's size will make it a bit difficult to find a safe place in my collection but I am sure I will be able to work that out.

Furillo, Snider and Jackie

Erskine, Gil and Pee Wee

Now for the cool part of the "trade". All six of these admission tickets are from the 1984 National aka Sports Collectors Convention. I have gone to one of these, though I forget which one as it was sometime in the 1990's, so seeing these brought back memories of those care free days. The $3 charge for this event shows you how much prices have changed in 3 decades. Seeing all of them adorned with Dodgers just brings a smile to my face and I suspect that is what Tony wanted to hear.

There is no profit to be made with having these as that is not what this trade was about. Just having a little bit of sports card collecting history in hand is good enough for me. Obviously with the Dodger flavor it makes it just that much better.

Thank you again to Tony for contacting me and offering up these unique items. It is much appreciated and soon, I promise, I will find a little something to send your way. Till the next trade.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.
-Penguin

15 Cards Submitted to Beckett For Raw Grade Review (RGR) at South Bay Sportscards on March 7, 2015

It's been a few months since I did a BGS submission and even though I knew I was going to do another batch sometime this year it is a bit earlier than I thought I would do it. I'm doing this one a tad differently though as I am only going to get raw grades at this time as I am still holding off some that I will be forgoing the raw grade and just doing the full submission in a few months. When I send those in I will also include those here I want encased depending on their grade but I expect all but one or two will make it into that order.

With that said here are the cards that I have submitted including the one I posted about earlier today. Starting sometime next week and every other day after I will post the results. For long time readers of the blog you know that has become my usual routine. Like in the past I will go from my least confident card to most confident of earning a gem mint grade. Obviously not all we grade out to a 9.5 but in some cases I will be happy with a mint 9.0.

2013 Bowman Chrome Purple Parallel

I am 1000% sure this will not earn a gem mint grade. You can tell just from the picture it is not centered but that seems to be the only flaw I notice. I am trying to acquire the rainbow set for Corey and all I want/need is for them to be mint 9's. 9.5 is a plus but at present the lower grade is fine so using raw grade review is better here than the full submission just in case this comes in at a 8.5. 

2014 Topps Chrome Photo Variation

Another card that I am positive won't earn a 9.5. Like Seager I am still hoping it holds enough to get a mint 9. Just like his I only see one flaw with the card but I don't want to risk a full submission hence the raw review route instead. The lower right corner has a surface "smear" which I know will garner at least a 9 if not 8.5. If all the other sub grades get at least a 9 then that is fine by me. 

2011 Gypsy Queen

Now we get the 6 cards that could go either way. I expect each of them to have at least 2 9.5 sub grades if not 3 but there is one thing or another that might drop that last sub grade to an 8.5. First up is this sweet pick up I showed off earlier in the week. At 1st glance when you look at this card there is hardly a flaw you can see with the naked eye but if you slant it a certain way you can see some surface blemishes on the plastic coating. The question isn't if that sub grade doesn't earn a 9.5 but whether it can hold and earn a 9 so the other 3 can get 9.5's so the overall grade is a 9.5.  

2014 Topps Five Star

Second of the two Kershaw autos in the submission and just like the other I am hoping for the best here. The "issue" with this one is that I can tell one corner is slightly not razor sharp. Question is will that at least earn a 9 so the other sub grades hopefully earn a 9.5 so I can yet have another gem mint Kershaw autograph in my collection? Hope so.

2014 Topps Strata

A beautiful card from an ugly transaction. This was my 1st ever Strata card for my collection and I would love to have it come back in a gold banner case but as with all thick cards it really is the luck of the draw on what the final grade will be. As with the Five Star card the only real thing I see holding this card back from gem mint is a corner so as with that one I am crossing my fingers and hope lady luck is on my side.

2014 Topps Strata

Same story as the Griffey Strata with the added bonus of seeing how BGS treats Pee Wee's autograph. Do they dock it since you can see a little of the "Reese" part of it or do they realize that is how the card was supposed to be made? Hoping I get a reasonable grader for this transaction that will realize that.

2014 Bowman Chrome

The one of the six that I think are border line but the one most likely to pull out a 9.5 overall grade. I picked this up on a trade/purchase with my good friend Jesse with the intention to submitting it and getting a gem mint card of the supposed next Cub's superstar. As I told Jesse there is only one "issue" that I saw with the card but unlike the Five Star and Stratas the one corner in question is not as blatant. Thinking here is that it grades out to a 9.5 but keeping my expectations tempered.

2011 Allen and Ginter Bazooka Mini

Now for the six cards that I just "know" will grade out to a gem mint 9.5. Of course I've said that before and some have come back lower but on the other hand I have thought some cards would crap out on me but they received a 9.5 instead so you just never know.

This Bazooka card is numbered out of 25 and I so love these low numbered cards to earn 9.5's as if you have one chances are they can't all be perfect so you could have one of only a handful. This being Kershaw just wants me to have gold banner even more. 

2011 Gypsy Queen

My new favorite mini in my collection and what would complete my happiness? Why a gem mint grade of course. Only 10 of these cards are in existence and not one has been graded yet by BGS. I would love to have the only one to be a gem mint and I think it has a tremendous chance at that. I see no flaws so we shall see what BGS thinks.

2014 Bowman Chrome Draft Black Parallel

As with Seager I have taken on the project of acquiring the 1st year Bowman Chrome cards of Urias in rainbow form and hopefully have them all in gem mint form. Realistically that probably won't happen and 9's will be fine but with that said I see no flaws on this card other than maybe it is slightly off centered but that shouldn't stop it from a 9.5. 

2014 Bowman Chrome Draft Blue Parallel

Same card, different color. The reason I have more confidence in this blue one than the black one is that this one does not look off centered to me. I still believe both will gem mint but this one I am more sure of. 

2014 Topps Dynasty

With a card being uncirculated it would seem to me that it should get a gem mint grade as it has not been handled but I have seen plenty of uncirculated cards earn lower grades. Hopefully that does not happen to mine but when I acquired this I did my research and from the pictures and with card in hand I do not see any problems here. Nice crisp signature on what seems to a perfect card. Here's hoping my one and only Dynasty card in my collection will be gem minty. 

We come to the last of card of the "traditional" raw grade review cards for this submission. Traditional? More on that in a minute. 

2013 Bowman Chrome Black Parallel

We started this batch with a Seager card and now we end it with a Seager card. 

Unlike the purple parallel I think this black parallel has a decent chance at a pristine grade. Centering is almost 50/50, surface looks clean, corners are extra sharp and the edges look problem free. I have only had one card come back in pristine condition and this would be a great second one but if not I can not see this getting anything less than a strong 9.5. Either way me going this route for a gem mint grade of this card is better (cheaper) than the one I missed out on earlier on eBay. 

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Now for a couple of cards that I will be submitting once again and hoping for a different (higher) grade. I have heard and seen stories of cards that were only .5 from a higher grade getting resubmitted and getting bumped that extra .5. This is where the perfectionist in me comes into play. Some things are subjective and some are not when grading cards. I have a few that only need a .5 bump to get a higher grade but that sub grade happens to be on centering which is not really subjective. Centering is a numbers game and you can't change numbers to get a better grade on that. With these cards it comes down to the other three sub grades. Some people might ask why I would do this and I say because I want that gold banner. At worst if it grades out the same as the 1st time I now have it out of its case and I can sell the card and get a similar one with the funds from that sale to pay for the new one and try again to get another card of the player. Here are the cards that I am resubmitting. Knock on wood and hopefully I get a better result.

First up is Yu Darvish 

Card ungraded back in the day

The problem I have with this card is not the overall grade which can't be improved but the autograph grade. The reasons that BGS normally downgrades an auto is if it streaks, smears, is faded or runs to the edge of the card. None of that is happening here and I think the grader made a mistake. I am cracking this open and expecting/hoping to bump up the auto grade with someone other than the original grader. A 10 holds a much better value than a 9 (obviously) so if I ever wanted to resell it help. If I don't get my desired grade then I will hold onto it in ungraded form.

And the other card is Miguel Cabrera 

Ungraded form.

Unlike the Yu card there is nothing wrong with Miguel's autograph but his card here is only .5 from earning a gem mint grade. Now common knowledge is that corners are hard to bump up to another grade on a resubmission but I am going to take that risk. The good thing about this card is if it comes back as a 9 again I will end up selling it and using those funds to buy another Cabrera autograph in gem mint form at no extra charge. 

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2014 Topps : Pee Wee Reese Strata Cut Autograph (1/1)

The hunt is over.
To be exact two different pursuits were satisfied with the acquisition of this plain yet beautiful card.

Since I re-entered the hobby in 2013 I have seen and heard about 1/1 cards. While I can stake my claim to various one of one's in the graded world as I have a few gem mint cards that are the only ones in existence that doesn't mean sometime in the future another person might earn that same grade on the same card. What I am talking about is a card that is serialized 1/1. I have never been lucky enough to pull one out of a pack nor did I ever think I would acquire one as they can go for a pretty penny (or at least the ones I am interested in). So time went on and look at what I found . .

I had a signed ball of Pee Wee but like all others it got sold in the ball purge and he was one of the most important autographs to reacquire but the problem was that there are not that many on card autographs as he passed away before that became the norm. Sure there are authenticated cards with his signature which at one time was where I planned to pick up his autograph again. Then there was the photo option but I didn't really want to go that route. Then the option that became my focus, the cut autograph. It was never really a pursuit but with this acquisition I have my first cut autograph as well. These are usually for big name players from the golden era of baseball that are no longer with us so companies find autographs of said players and cut them down to fit into their cards.

I do love me some thick cards and this is now my second strata autograph. The first was one of Ken Griffey Jr. that I acquired on a trade with Caitlin as seen HERE and I fell in love with them. Well I knew this card existed for some time and even saw it on eBay on a BIN auction with a best offer option attached to it. It sat there for months and I never gave it a second thought as the asking price was way too high for my tastes so I just continued to look for a Pee Wee autograph somewhere else. That search bore no fruit and this card was still on my watch list. Well I had enough in my PP account with a lot of recent comic sales so I had some play money to work with and eBay was running a two day promotion where buyers earned 4x as many eBay bucks during that time.. I decided to send the seller an immensely low ball offer that I assumed he would reject. Hell, I assumed it would auto reject but that didn't happen so I just had to wait to see what his answer or counter would be. I thought I might have a chance of working some deal out as the card was on eBay for at least 7 months. A few hours went by and I received an email from eBay about the card. The seller accepted my offer...

Could . . . not . . . believe . . . it

About 7 days later I received the card and opened it to see this 1 of 1 beauty. I finally got Pee Wee back into the collection and better yet I now owned a one of a kind card. I know some people might not like it as it doesn't include his last name "Reese" but that is fine with me. He is and always will be Pee Wee.

Upon further review I will be submitting this card to BGS for raw grading. While I would love a gem mint grade we all know thick cards are tricky but I am thinking it at least earns a mint 9. What will be interesting is the auto grade. If you look closely at the far right you will see part of his last name. Will BGS downgrade the autograph to a 9 or just focus on the name that is in the middle and give it it's deserved 10 grade? We shall see.

One of freaking one

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.
-Penguin

First Look at Pee Wee Reese and Roy Campanella Bobblehead

This upcoming July 12th when the Dodgers host the Padres they will be giving away this great looking bobblehead. The pictures have just been released and this is one fine looking figure.

The bobbles just get better and better in detail and quality. If I was still into collecting these this one would be one of my favorites. Too bad both these great men have passed away as it would have been nice to have them present when this is released.

Signed Ball of the Day : Pee Wee Reese ( ONL Sweet Spot PSA Graded 7.5 )

I thought to finish off the week I would discuss the third Dodger in a row that had ties to Brooklyn. There was Koufax but he was a mess in Brooklyn, there is Drysdale who was good but excelled once the team moved to Los Angeles, you had Jackie Robinson who was the catalyst, you also had Duke Snider who was the bourough's favorite son but the heart and soul of the team is none other than Pee Wee Reese.

His statistics were never eye popping evident but him being elected to the Hall of Fame by the veterans committee and not the writers. Everyday though he was out there on the field doing what the team needed him to do. He amassed over 2000 hits, sacrificed part of his career to fight for our country, stood side by side with Jackie Robinson through his journey of crossing the color barrier and countless other accomplishments. He was with the Dodgers through all their heartbreaking losses to the Giants and Yankees and with them when they won their first and only title in Brooklyn. He was the cog on the team that made everyone else able to do their part. It takes a team to win the championship but I think if the Dodgers never had Pee Wee they would have left Brooklyn without the 1955 title.

I always wanted Pee Wee's autograph but it has always been hard to find a good condition baseball that hasn't been thrashed or spotting with a decent looking signature on it as well. Most of the ebay auctions are buy it nows and the price was always too much for my taste or I didn't have the extra funds to acquire the ball. I finally found an auction that wasn't a buy it now and kept my eye on it. It was a PSA authenticated one and looked decent enough. Surprisingly there was not as much bidding on it as I thought there would be. On the last day the auction's top bid was still only $50 and I was hopeful. As the auction neared it's end I put in my bid at a little over $80 and suprise suprise I won at the exact price that my bid was. Lucky guessing on my part. A week later I received the ball and couldn't be happier.

Months later I got that itch to get some off my autographed balls graded by PSA and I chose this one amongst some others. This one got the most disappointing grade. Had better luck on others which I will show another time. This one came back a 7.5. Are you kidding me? It got an 8 for the condition of the ball which I can accept and was expected to a point. Toning issues are common with older balls, but then it received a grade of a 7 for autograph. Really? Minimum I would have given it a 8.5. Can anyone notice why it got the low grade? Maybe something I'm not seeing. I have considered resubmitting it but I want to acquire more autographs before that. Either way though I am a proud owner of Pee Wee Reese's autograph regardless of the crappy grade.