Ending 2018 with a very 2018 repack

I have so many fun things to show off on my blog - great blogger mailings, my awesome online marketplace find, and a gift from one of my favorite pro players. And I'll get to those soon!

Instead, I bought one last Walgreen's Fairfield repack yesterday. As noted, we had been traveling for a week. So I stepped out to Walgreen's for milk, and decided to treat myself to a repack. When I checked out the toy aisle, there were four baseball repacks, but one stood out:

New packaging! To most of us, usually these are a dark green, like this one:

Figuring these have new packaging and thus, possibly more recent cards, I took a chance. I was right. This was full of some interesting 2018 cards.

Most of the 2018s were from Bowman, including a Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw. The Harper is 2016 Topps, of course.

There was also some 2018 Finest.

I was most pleased with the amount of 2018 rookie cards, including a sweet Miguel Andujar I didn't have, and a few other decent prospects.

There were also a lot of prospect cards from 2017, including Mickey Moniak and Tanner Houck.

The Young and Lee are from 2018.

There were even some 2018 Topps team set cards!

Of course, what is a repack without Barry Bonds?

Some of my more recent repacks had some newer Topps packs, but we're back to junk wax here with a pack of 1992 Donruss. No, I didn't pull a Ripken auto.

While I didn't get a 1:4 hit, hard to complain about this repack. The new Andujar RC almost makes it worth it on it's own, plus it had a lot of star power with Harper, Trout, Kershaw, and some top tier prospects.

Not a bad way to end 2018! Happy New Year to you all. If you're going out, have a fun and safe evening!

Topps NOW 2018

Earlier this afternoon, I received my 2018 Topps NOW promo card. Topps sent one of these last year as well. I believe they go to all customers who bought one or more Topps NOW cards last season.

I always make sure to buy one or two Topps NOW cards directly from Topps so I can stay on these types of mailing lists, even though it's easier and more affordable to purchase them on eBay.

I like the looks of the card. They definitely feel different than the past two years. I'll be curious to see where Topps puts the date. I assume where the "2018" currently is.

I don't plan to buy as many as I did in the past, but I'm sure I'll pick up my fair share of Stanton/Judge/Sanchez cards this year. Regardless, thanks for the card, Topps!

Repack reward

On Friday evening, I ran a quick errand to Walgreen's. We had ordered a pizza that I was going to pick up, and on the way I stopped in the store to pick up milk and a bottle of seltzer. As usual, I swung by the toy aisle, and noticed three baseball repacks. One had Ken Griffey Jr in the window, one had David Wright, and the third had a Devil Ray I didn't even bother checking to see who it was.

I decided against snagging one, as I just didn't feel like dropping $5 that could go toward a newer release if I ever made my way to Target.

I went to check out, entered my phone number to get my Balance Rewards, and the cashier said, "Would you like to use your points?"

I asked how many I had, and she said, "You have $3 off." Luckily no one else was in line, and I said, "Uh, I'll be right back."

I dashed off to the toy aisle and grabbed the re-pack with Griffey on the front. While I didn't feel like spending $4.99, $1.99 sounded pretty good.

I know what you're thinking. That fate led me to this re-pack and it would contain something amazing.

Well, it didn't. It was a pretty standard repack, and even perhaps a bit more unspectacular than previous ones. It wasn't horrible, but contained a lot more junk wax than usual, which is saying a lot because they usually have a ton.

It only had a two Yankees, which is generally low for a repack.

Here are a few memorable cards. The Ripken is pretty neat - I hadn't seen a card from this set before.

 

 

The weirdest card was this 2013 Topps Brad Ziegler. It looks ok on the front, but check out the back.

That's not a blank back...it's a no back. It's half a card! This card clearly was never adhered to the proper back, so it's a very thin, paper card. Pretty cool!

Was this repack worth the $2? I'd say so. But I'm definitely glad I didn't drop $5 on it.

Big. Fun. Game.

Several years ago, Napkin Doon started the Big Fun Game. Essentially, it was a White Elephant/Yankee Swap type of game where one randomly guesses what is behind closed doors, or steals a prize previously unearthed by a different participant.

It was always great fun when Napkin Doon ran the game, and I'm still bitter over losing out on a 1958 Roberto Clemente. I always liked to steal to stir the pot, and that was a bitter taste of my own medicine.

Well, the Big Fun Game antics were brought to another level recently by Wes over at Willinghammer Rising aka JBF. I believe he even sought the permission of Napkin Doon for the naming rights. Wes is more of a gentleman than the Doon, so that should surprise no one.

I picked mid-pack...not usually the best place for Big Fun Game placement. I made an early steal, snagging a Mookie Wilson signed jersey that I thought was super cool. But an item can only be stolen twice before it's frozen, and that was its first steal. I figured it wouldn't hold up, and it didn't. It was stolen from me quite quickly, bring back painful memories of that Clemente card. I gathered my composure and stole the prize I ended up winning:

Sure, I don't collect Mike Trout. But a jersey relic of the best player in the game? Pretty easy choice. It's not a card I would normally buy, and I wouldn't be lucky enough to pull it in a pack. The pick held up, and that was my prize. Success!

But like Wes would every stop there. Does he ever stop there? He padded the envelope with a team bag of Yankees. I gotta show off the Tinos first, because duh.

 

And a bunch of Jeters! I'm about to embark on a Jeter organization project to see how many I have. Most of these were new to my collection. How sweet is that Skybox Thunder?

 

Wes also threw in a cool Yogi managerial card, which will go in Joey's binder, as well as some other '90s releases.

Lastly, I'll show a very low numbered Andrew Miller refractor. Would look mighty nice with a signature on it...just sayin'.

JBF, thanks for your generosity and reviving the game.

The Arizona Fall League

I sent out a few TTMs to some Arizona Fall League players, as the season starts today. My successes c/o the AFL have been pretty hit or miss, but I want to remind everyone to swing big. You never know what you're going to get.

In 2011, I took a chance on Mike Trout in the AFL, and I'm glad I did:

See? You just never know...

Sketchy-ness: A humbling experience

The other day, I drew Derek Jeter and Mike Trout sketch cards, each highlighting an amazing catch they have made in their career. I don't know why, but I feel like these types of moments aren't captured on cardboard very frequently, although Gypsy Queen has been doing a good job with their Wall Climbers and Glove Stories inserts. No qualms there. Credit where credit is due.

There are some amazing sports artists out there who make a living drawing and painting. I've always been envious of their skill. So, I did something I've never done. I put these cards on eBay.

I didn't expect big bucks. There are far better sketch/painted cards that don't even fetch much money. I'm talking very beautiful masterpieces. There are some very established artists that churn out sketch cards pretty frequenty, and do sell for $30-$40 each. Not bad. Being unknown, I figured mine might sell for a few bucks each.

The Jeter went for just north of $5, while the Trout went for a little over $3.

I don't have much of a right to be disappointed since I was expecting much. It's a humbling experience. Gratifying to know that someone would fork over a few bucks for something you created from scratch, but also a bit disappointing that it was "only" worth a few bucks.

Will I keep doing this? Maybe. I know I'll never make much money doing this, it's not why I do it. But it is a nice way to add a few bucks to the Paypal account while doing something I enjoy. Mostly, I just need practice so I can improve my skill. I love drawing and painting, and while painting is currently something that takes a lot of time and space, sketch cards don't. It helps my relieve my artistic itch.

LCS visit - vacation style

Last week, I vacationed with the in-laws in New Hampshire. We had a few cabins on a lake nestled nicely in the mountains. The first few days were great weather-wise, but as the week went on, rain and cold temperatures moved in. We weren’t able to enjoy the lake or anything outside for that matter. Add in the fact that we had an 18-month-old boy holed up in a small cabin, and well, the days started to grow a bit frustrating.

On Thursday afternoon, I decided I needed to get out by myself for a bit. I knew there was a Walmart nearby, and figured maybe I’d go pick up a few packs or a blaster. Before I left, I decided to type “baseball cards” into Google Maps on my phone to see if I was missing the opportunity to visit a LCS. Sure enough, a red pin popped up on my map about 7 miles away in Laconia, NH called “All Sports Cards”. Bingo.

I called to make sure they were open and it wasn’t an old location, and sure enough they were open for business. I couldn’t get in the car fast enough. After about a 12 minute drive, I was there. It was tucked nicely into a small strip mall next to a Subway restaurant. The smell from Subway was strong as I entered the shop, but luckily went away after the door was closed. You know that unmistakable smell.

I immediately struck up a conversation with Brian, the owner. Other than his Red Sox shirt, he was a great guy. We talked a lot about the hobby and what I collected, as well as his patrons. I asked about business and how long he had been there (over 20 years!). He said business was a bit slow, but tends to pick up in the summer when vacationers are in the area, which makes sense. He has a few repeat customers every year who are seasonal guests.

Brian also talked about his disdain for collectors only interested in big hits and graded cards. He often gets patrons who try to talk him down on a price because the card would “only grade a 6.” Oy.

I was hoping to find a nice dime box to go through, but I didn’t find one for baseball. There were some bargain boxes of football, basketball, and hockey though. The store was large and didn’t feel cluttered like most card shops, which was nice.

I asked Brian if he had any vintage, beat up Yanks I could look for. He pulled out a few stacks from the ‘60s and said I could look through them. He also plopped down a binder of 1975 Topps that I could leaf through. He had just picked it up at a yard sale to help out the local football team. Most of the good 1975’s had been plucked out, but I grabbed this Lou Piniella. Also, there were a few pages of 1975 minis. If I had half a brain I would have pulled up Night Owl’s want list and seen if I could have helped him out. Instead, I pulled out one very miscut Mel Stottlemyre, as I actually don’t own any 1975 minis.

I also grabbed three packs of Series Two, as I hadn’t gotten anything yet. I didn’t pull anything too special. 

I asked if he had any 2013 Bowman Yankee Prospects, and he plopped a big box of 2013 cards on the counter that he hadn’t yet sorted. I pulled out a few cards for myself, and found this Dutch Oven card for NapkinDoon, as well as two Josh Willingham cards for my buddy Jaybarkerfan. 

Lastly, I found $1 grab bags that were buy one, get one free. I didn’t know what to expect, but grabbed two of them, hoping to at least find an interesting card or two for Listia. I didn’t expect to pull an autograph! If I had opened these at the shop, I probably would have bought a bunch more, and maybe even held a contest for one of them on this here blog. 

Brian gave me all of the above for $10, which was generous of him. The three Series Two packs alone were $2 each. I gladly paid and felt very good about my experience at my VCS…vacation card shop. If and when I return to New Hampshire for a future vacation, I’ll definitely stop back. If you’re even in or near Laconia, NH, I strongly recommend taking a trip to All Sports Cards.