106.

Blake Snell number 106 is just a red herring to make two other announcements.   

 

Announcement #1- I have not written very often in this space during the past year. I am not ready to retire this space, but I am going to take a long break from writing on The Snorting Bull. Probably a year or more. I want to work on some other life and writing projects. If you like the cards that I post on this blog space, I will still be active on Instagram. I also hope to become more active on TCDB, as I am working to better organize my card collection.  

Announcement #2- I have always wanted to do a set blog, so I started one this week on the 1999 Skybox Molten Metal Xplosion set.  It will be active and I will be posting there. You can find the blog here.  

Goal Number 1, Part 1

Way back at the end of 2023, I made a few goals for my 2024 card collecting year. My first goal was to find more Blake Snell insert and parallel cards. It's now the middle of September and I have not posted a single one of these cards. I actually worked on the goal during my blogging break this summer, but never got around to posting any of the cards until today.  

I decided to put heavy emphasis on parallels to start. I made them brand specific, which you will see as you continue reading this post and future posts about this card goal. Plus, there are tons of parallels these days and they are easy to find. I am a long-time Snell collector, but I am a little late to the party when it comes to non-autographed cards.  

For today, I am going to post several parallels I have picked up from Gold Label sets.  Always liked the looks of these cards....

First up is a 2019 Gold Label card. It's a Class 1 card, so it has higher serial numbers. I believe each class of the three classes of cards has a few different parallels, which all have different serial numbers. This card is out of /150 and cost me less a few dollars on COMC. The pictures on the card also change by class. Thinking facial hair versus no facial hair here? That's not actually a thing.  

The next three are all from the 2016 Gold Label set, which make them all rookie cards.  

All red parallels.  

The middle card is photoshopped from a Durham Bulls game.  The tall, dark blue wall is from the left field corner and the sign to the right his head is from a local orthopedic office. The bottom card is the obvious prize of the post with a serial numbered print run of just 25 copies. 

Overall, a nice start to my my first goal of the year, even if came a little bit late.  

105.

This is the 105th Blake Snell autograph in my collection.  

I have actually been waiting to add this card from the 2024 Topps Series 1 to my collection for a few months, but the price has always been outside of my comfort zone for Blake Snell autographs. Almost immediately after Series 1 hit the shelves, this card was north of $50, that includes the base (non-red) variations too. 

I waited patiently, also lost a few auctions on Ebay, but I finally found a copy at a comfortable price.  

Love that brown and gold patch-piece on the front of the card. This is a sticker autograph, but very well blended by Topps.  Serial number is in the bottom right-hand of the card, just two off his jersey number with the Giants.  

Back of the card.  

The typical "CONGRATULATIONS!" message with the usual small print.  

This Isn't Your Best Work

I have had really bad luck with scanners and printers over the years. It all started during my final week of graduate school at NC State. I had to assemble a portfolio of work from a year-long internship. I did a good job of keeping up the portfolio during the school year, but the final week a bit of a mad dash to make sure everything ended up in my file crate. Lots of emails, documents, and other assorted articles were printed and filed.  

On the Thursday night before my Friday final, my printer died. I went to the local Office Max, picked out a printer that was on-sale, and finished my work in the wee hours of Friday morning. That sale printer would last me roughly a year before dying and was replaced in similar fashion. Its replacement would also only last a year or two. 

I bought my current printer on a Saturday morning in October of 2016. My parents were in town to visit my newborn daughter.  I was taking my father to the Duke/Virginia Tech football game, needed to print off paper tickets, and could not get my printer to work.  I went back to the Office Max and bought a printer that was not on-sale. I also checked the internet for reviews and found that Canon made excellent printer/scanners.  

Virginia Tech won. 

Every card that has appeared on this blog during the past eight years has landed on the scanner of that printer and I have generally been happy with the results. 

Well, not this morning. 

This is my latest Blake Snell card.......

This is a picture of my latest Blake Snell card......

This isn't your best work, Cannon printer/scanner, but I am willing to forgive and forget. 

104

This is the 104th Blake Snell autograph in my collection. I crossed 100 while I was gone, maybe there will be a recap post coming at some point in the future. You could also check out my Instagram account where Blake Snell autographs 99-103 are all posted.  

My latest Snell follows my more recent pattern of buying older Snell cards with low serial numbers that I missed the first time around. Many are available on Ebay at much lower prices these days. 

Today, a Snell rookie autographed card from Prime Cuts that is serial numbered out to 25 copies.  

Here is the front of the card.....

That's a really young Blake Snell in the photograph, which is way too small for the front of the card. I know this is an unlicensed card and that Panini could not show Snell in a Rays uniform. Still, the word "PROSPECT" should not be the overwhelming design feature over a photograph of the player.  

In positive news, the card is older and features Snell's full signature. He only signed every letter of his name for a short period of time at the beginning of his career. The signature more than makes up for the fact that this a sticker autograph. 

Back of the card......

The back of the card is better. I like the write up about his decision to play professional baseball over college. There are plenty of high school kids that get drafted into professional baseball who are also committed to play college baseball somewhere. Kind of nice knowing the back story.

 More Snell autographs to come....

98

This is the 98th Blake Snell autograph in my collection and comes from the 2020 Topps Tribute set. I have several other Snell autographs out of this product from this same year, but not this one.  After putting together a large collection of Snell autographs, I am piecing together odds and ends in an effort to reach 100 autographs. 

Here is the front of the card.  

This is another shadowbox style card that did not come through very well in the scan. The picture in the center of the card is set back against the second picture on the right side of the card and the autograph.  I really enjoy the shadowbox style cards and I am happy to add another from a high-end Topps product. 

The serial number is in the lower left-hand corner. Surprisingly there are 99 copies of this card and I have missed out on it for the past four years.   

Here is the back of the card.   

You've got the standard "Congratulations" message, but also a nice little write-up on the bottom about Snell's first Cy Young Award winning season.  I like that the write-up digs a little into the Rays history.   

Overall, nice card that brings me closer to 100 Blake Snell Autographs.  

2024 Blake Snell Autograph Count: 7

This is the ninety-seventh Blake Snell autograph in my collection and definitely the first with the word "Pentamerous" on the front of the card. Pentamerous meaning something that is arranged in groups of five.  

After looking at the card for a long time, I cannot find anything with five groups of anything. There is a five-sided star at the top and two small five-sided stars next to the nameplate, but that's it. That's also three stars, not five.  There are not five pictures of Blake Snell, or five autographs of Blake Snell, which might have made this a really awesome card.  

Here is the front.  

I am going to stop picking on the name of this card and focus on the fact that it is really nice. My latest Blake Snell autograph comes out of the high-end 2023 Topps Five Star product. The card has thick card stock and a nice, glossy finish. The wooden looking parts on the front of the card have some nice gold foil and are also embossed.  The gold around the edges is obviously more embossed foil.  

A little lost on my scan is the fact that the center of the card is actually translucent. It's hard to tell on the front scan, but you'll see it in a second when you look at the scan of the back of the card.  

Here is the back.  

The translucent front can be seen here with the reversed image of Snell on the left side of the card, the faded portrait image on the right, and the autograph bleeding through on the bottom. The small print is still on the bottom of the card underneath the picture frame. 

2024 Blake Snell Autograph Count: 6

This is the 96th Blake Snell autograph in my collection and the card comes from the 2023 Topps Update set. This was a little too pricy for my tastes a few months ago, but they have come back down to reality. Snell was the Cy Young favorite by the time Topps Update was released and there seemed to be an uptick in his card prices for a time this fall.  Snell's prolonged free agency seems to have returned his card prices to more comfortable and familiar territory.  

Here is the front of the card.  

Pretty standard looking card for a Topps jersey/autograph. It's a decent design that does an above average job of blending the sticker autograph on the front of the card. I like the action shot of Snell pitching.  Looks like a change-up grip. The jersey piece is all white, you can find copies of this card with patch pieces, but this was roughly a $10 card.  Plain, white jersey swatch is just fine.  

Back of the card.  

The back is the standard "Congratulations" message with all the typical small print about representatives and witnesses. The serial number placed at the top, center of the card. Bit of a different location for a serial number for a Topps card. 

Four away from 100.     

2024 Blake Snell Autograph Count: 5

This is the 95th Blake Snell autograph in my collection and comes from the 2019 Topps On-Demand product "Momentum Rising", which featured cards of younger star players. The checklist included Fernando Tatis Jr., Vlad Guerrero Jr., Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and many others including Blake Snell. Each set of 20 cards, which were painted by water color artist Richard Sullivan, came with one autograph. 

Naturally, the two-time Cy Young Award winning pitcher is likely the worst autographed card in the set. That's fine for me, because this card was dirt cheap.  

Here is the front of the card.   

I like the white card stock and border design.  

Is that a sticker autograph?  

Why, yes it is a sticker autograph signed by Blake Snell.  

How do I feel about the art work?  

I am not a huge fan of adults using water colors. 

How do I feel about water colors in general?  

My daughter really likes combining crayons and water colors. I think it's a good look. She's also in first grade, so it seems like an appropriate art medium.  

Are you being an art snob? 

Probably, but buy some oil based pants and put on a smock.  

Back of the card.  

Not much about Snell, but I did check to see if Richard Sullivan appeared on a team I watched while he was in the Minors. He never made it above Double A, so I am going to guess that I never saw him. Wish there was something more about Blake Snell here.  

I Needed Some Boxes, Maybe A Few Cards Too

I have been doing a lot of sorting the past few weeks, which probably deserves a post, but not today. Instead, I wanted to post a few cards I picked up while I was purchasing a few boxes from my local card shop this past weekend. It's a newer card shop that I wrote up a few weeks back, but I am impressed every time I stop there. Lately, it's been for boxes. 

Figured I needed to check out some cards. 

Here is a quick rundown.  

First up, is an Adley Rutshman rookie card from Bowman Chrome. I am not an Orioles fan, but I do like a lot of their young players. I saw Adley a few year back in Durham, figured I would add a few of his cards when I get a chance. This was a good starting point......

Also fairly inexpensive.  

Next, an unexpected Cardinals find. This is a 2001 Bowman Chrome Stan Musial rookie reprint. Not sure the scan does this card justice, but I really like the sepia background with the greyscale photo, all with the trappings of a Chrome card. Nice to see a good blend of some vintage and modern design elements on the same card.  

Here is the back, which includes the serial number out of 299. Not the rarest Musial card by any means, but I was not expecting to find a serial numbered of The Man when I walked in the door of the card shop.  

I also found a few Snell commons.......

My effort to collect some non-autographed Blake Snell cards also should probably be there own post, but I will wait until I have time to write about some more exciting cards. There are in the fifty-cent bin at the shop.

Next up......

A few vintage cards. The Curt Flood is probably my favorite card out of the group.  All the players have a connection to the Cardinals or Durham Bulls with the exception of Norm Cash who once tried to take an at-bat against Nolan Ryan with a table leg.  

I demad a game-used table leg card, but nobody has come through for me.  

2024 Blake Snell Autograph Count: 4

This is the 94th Blake Snell autograph in my collection and my first from a Topps Dynasty Collection product. If you are not familiar with Dynasty, it is basically a one pack per box autograph product that costs upwards of $200 dollars. The cards are generally an on-card autograph with a large patch piece. Blake Snell has signed for the product several times over the years, but I have never forked over the money to purchase one of these cards.  

Even the really good Blake Snell autographs with cool patch pieces and really low serial numbers sell for way less than $200. More common patch pieces are typically under $50. When I set out to find a Dynasty autograph, that was the top end of my budget for this card and I did not even spend it all. I have no idea why someone would buy a pack/box of Dynasty, but their loss is my win.  

Here is the front of the 2019 Topps Dynasty Blake Snell autograph card, which is encased by Topps.  

The blue is patch material and the white is jersey material, making this a Rays home jersey. Too generic of a jersey piece to figure out where on the Rays logo this was cut. The serial number is also on the front with this card having a print run of just 10 copies. The autograph is Snell's standard form and effort.  

This is the most high-end Snell autograph in my collection by product, but I am not sure it would even rank in my Top 20 in terms of style, design, and collecting appeal. It's just a card with a high SRP, that's it.

Honestly, a little disappointing now that it is in my hand. I guess it's cool to own one Topps Dynasty card, but I think this is likely my last. Although, I imagine the person who pulled this $40 card out of a $200 box of cards was even more disappointed than I might be feeling.  

I am surprised that the back does not have a huge "CONGRATULATIONS" stamped across the top. I actually like that they mention his first Cy Young, as well as Snell leading the American League in a bunch of different statistical categories. I would say the back is better than expected.  

2024 Blake Snell Autograph Count: 3

This is the 93rd Blake Snell autograph in my collection. I am closing in on 100 and am really excited about crossing that barrier later in the year. At this point, I am left trying to track down autographs with really low print-runs. Some very unique looking autographs, although they are also more expensive and the bidding can be more competitive on Ebay.  

The newest Blake Snell autograph was not on my radar until I saw it on Ebay.  

Front of the card.......

This is from the 2020 Topps set and is apart of the Commemorative Sleeve Patch insert set. It's not an actual sleeve patch, just a manufactured one with a sticker autograph. It's a nice looking patch, but it's also not really from Snell's jersey. This card also has a sticker autograph that is not very well blended with the rest of the card. I guess the important thing here is that the card is serial numbered to 10, which is why I did not own a copy until now. 

Back of the card.  

We've got the standard "CONGRATULATIONS!" back from Topps. I love the small print. We've got one small print font for the "THE SIGNING OF ALL TOPPS AUTOGRAPH CARDS IS WITNESSED" and a different font for "THE PATCH ON THE FRONT IS NOT REAL".  Topps should have written "CONGRATULATIONS" in an even larger font size.  

2024 Blake Snell Autograph Count: 2

We are four days into 2024 and I am already on my second Blake Snell autograph of the new year. I set a goal of reaching 100 Blake Snell autographs this year, and at this rate, I might hit that goal pretty soon.  

Here is a look at my newest Snell signature, which comes from the 2023 Topps Museum Collection product.    

The front of the card is a little busy, but I like the two jersey swatches and signature on the front. Nice action photo as well. It just seems like the design elements and framing around the autograph and jersey pieces is a bit much. 

I also like that the jersey swatches are from two different Padres jerseys. The white and brown pinstriped swatch on the left is obviously from a home jersey. Not sure about the light brown jersey. I feel like the Padres brown jerseys were a darker shade of brown. 

Back of the card.  

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! 

Also a bunch of small print.  

2024 Blake Snell Autograph Count: 1

My first Blake Snell autograph of the new year is one of the older Blake Snell autographs that was missing from my collection. I am closing in on my 100th Blake Snell autograph, so most of my early efforts for 2024 are going to be filling in the holes from previous years. Today's card comes from the 2016 Topps Archives 65th Anniversary set.  

Here is the front of the card: 

The 65th Anniversary set is different from the Topps Archives set. These cards were sold at Wal Mart. My main interest in them was the Bull Durham inserts, but they also featured a ton of autographs. Most of the players signing for the 65th Anniversary set were veteran or retired players, but Topps also included a handful of rookie autographs. Snell was one of those rookie autographs.  

The front of the card has the 1989 Topps design, a nice photograph of Snell pitching, and his signature going across lower half of the card.  

It's a fine looking card. The back is where this card gets messy.  

The back of the card uses the 1975 Topps back, along with all of the other autographs in the 2016 65th Anniversary Set. It just seems weird to make a set with random card designs for an autograph set using a random, non-matching card back. 

Why not use a 1989 Topps card back with the card front or a 1975 card design for both the front and back?

Still happy to own the card, which is a rookie autograph, and it brings me closer to 100 Blake Snell autographs. 

Around the Card Room, Take 14

I have been on one of my breaks from school over the past two weeks, which has signaled a bit of a slow down on blog writing. I have tried to explain year-round school schedules on here before and failed miserably, so I am not going to try again outside of saying that I am not going to work at the moment. I am getting some time to rest and relax around my house, but I am also trying to get out and do stuff around town.  

Driving my kids to school and chaperoning their field trips.  

Going to basketball games.  

Hiking.......

and like that, I have dropped all three local ACC universities in a post.

Bonus points and maybe a care package to the first person who can name all three locations and corresponding university in the comments. Two are easy, one is difficult.  

Today, I actually had to stop by work. I try to avoid doing that during these little breaks, but some times it's necessary. In this case, I ended up with a great item for my card room.

This is getting framed.        

My co-teacher works part-time for the Bulls and picked this item up for me. 

I owe him, something.   

This is the Charlotte Knights lineup card from the August 30, 2015 game against the Durham Bulls. The Knights are the Triple A team for the Chicago White Sox. While several of their players on the lineup card reached the Majors, I am a huge fan of several of the players who appeared on the Bulls side of the lineup card.  

A closer look at the Bulls lineup......

Mikie Mahtook, Ryan Brett, Richie Shaffer, Joey Rickard, and Luke Maile have all appeared on at least one post on this blog over the past decade. Taylor Motter, Hak Ju Lee, and Blake Snell have all appeared on multiple posts and are players I collect.  

Snell is obviously the most important player on this lineup card and also the winning pitcher in this game, as the Bulls beat the Knights 4-2.  This was Snell's fifth Triple A victory of 2015 and his 14th overall between Triple and Double A.  

Snell would end up winning both the Baseball America and USA Today Minor League Player of the Year Award for 2015. It was the last full year Snell played in the Minors.  

After I get this framed and hung up in the card room, I will post an update as a part of a future card room post. While I will eventually run out of interesting items and stories about the things in my card room, but I think I can squeeze another year out of these posts. 

Blake Snell Pink Card Count: 1

I am starting to run out of "normal" Blake Snell autographs to collect. Normal meaning that the card is not serial serial numbered to 5 or costs $300 on Ebay, because it has some crazy patch piece. If you collect a player, it's one of the worst feelings. I have been there before with my Ray Lankford collection. However, there are other places I can go with my Blake Snell cards, especially when I consider how I have not really done anything to collect his base or relic cards.  

I am likely going to spend a good chunk of time working on Snell's base cards in 2024 and will be posting that as one of my collection/blog goals for the new year in the coming weeks. I will dabble with relic cards, but the majority just don't really do anything for me as a collector.  

There are a few exceptions and I found one earlier this week on Ebay.  

A pink Blake Snell card.  

The card is not actually pink, it's the green parallel from the uber expensive Topps Definitive product. This is one of those three hundred dollar boxes of cards where you get two autographs, two relics, and a parallel card.  This green relic parallel is numbered to 15 copies. Someone pulled this card and was probably really pissed off they only got a $20 card out of the pack. The large pink object on the card is actually a patch piece from a Padres jersey.  

I know, the Padres wear brown, but their Nike City Connect jerseys are pink, teal, and yellow. Here is a photo of Blake Snell pitching in one of these uniforms.  

The pink piece on the card is a patch piece, so it's from the word "SAN DIEGO" on the front of the uniform, as the pink sleeves are just pink fabric. 

If this had been some piece of white or gray jersey, there is zero chance that I buy this card. I just could not pass up a pink jersey swatch with a low serial number. This is a unique card that will look great in my Blake Snell collection.  

Back of the card.  

The standard back. Nothing too interesting.  

Overall, a great looking card.  

2023 Blake Snell Autograph Count: 15

Sunday afternoon was relaxing. My son and I attended our first NC State basketball game of the year. The women's team defeated two-time Missouri Valley Champions Illinois State by roughly 20 points. 

 

We spent a little time walking around campus after the game. Went by the College of Education, which has the worst building on campus. The building is currently closed due to high levels of metals and toxins found in the building.  

I blame the smokestack in the neighboring parking lot.  

Sunday evening also marked the end of an Ebay auction on my latest Blake Snell autograph.  I am really excited this card. I honestly did not expect to land this autograph when it came up for auction on Ebay during the past week. There have been several copies that have been listed as "Buy It Now" for prices north of $50. I was not willing to spend north of $50 for this card and I figured that number would be the ceiling used as people were bidding for the auction this past Sunday. 

I was wrong.   

The card landed well short of $50, not even half that amount for a 2023 Topps Update 1988 Topps Silver Pack Autograph of the former Padres and Rays pitcher. 

Here is the front of the card......

  

I love the Silver Pack cards, so shiny. I also love the 1988 Topps design. The photo leaves a little to be desired. However, I am really interested in the placement of the sticker autograph on this card. Typically, the sticker autographs run parallel to the top and bottom of the card. Someone at Topps decided to place this sticker autograph at an angle where it is parallel to the name plate.  

I really like the change here and it looks like Topps made this change on all the Silver Pack autographs in Topps Update.  The regular 1988 Topps autograph inserts have the typical sticker alignment.  

Back of the card.  

We've got the 1988 Topps back with the serial number in the top right-hand corner of the card. 

Where do you think Blake Snell will play next year?