Holy Stamped Buybacks Batman!

This past weekend I spent a little bit of time opening a pair of 2015 Topps Update Hobby boxes.  I should have ended the break with 4 buybacks.  I know that the odds on the boxes are approximate and they can run a little bit hot, or cold, and sometimes as collectors we walk away with a little more or less of something.  

Well, a little more would probably not be totally accurate in terms of beating the odds on the Buyback cards in my boxes...Here's a look at my haul, 11 of them came out of one box......

and my best Buyback card has to be the best Buyback card that I have pulled.  Great card and it is in great condition too......

I have seen other collectors pull really cool Buyback cards, but I never seem to land any of them.  It appears that I finally caught up a little bit this weekend.  

Six Pack of Stadium Club Part 4

Six more really cool Stadium Club base cards from the 2015 product.  Not really a theme last night, but six really cool cards.  Here they are:

#13 Ernie Banks - Cubs

I like some of the off the field cards that Topps included in this product.  This Ernie Banks card was really cool.  I remember a few years before he passed away the Cardinals made a big push to get Stan Musial a Presidential Medal of Honor.  I did not realize that Ernie Banks had also received this honor as well.  Really cool card and awesome honor for Mr. Cub.  

#259 Greg Maddux - Braves 

If we are going to go off the field then how can you not include this great photo of Braves great Greg Maddux playing golf.  That's a great 1990s outfit in the picture too.  Are those denim shorts?  I am not sure if Maddux is in the same league as Smoltz on the gold course, but he still looks like he knows what he is doing.  Curious as to where this picture came from.....

#279 Joe DiMaggio - Yankees

This was a card that I noticed the second time I flipped through the set.  I like baseball numbers.  You say Joe DiMaggio and the number that pops in my mind is 56.  As in 56 game hitting streak.  However, the 45 is a significant number in that record.  Before DiMaggio set the mark for the longest hitting streak at 56 games, he bested the former mark of 45 which belonged to Baltimore Orioles star "Wee" Willie Keeler.  Cool card that has really grown on me.  

#282 Fred McGriff - Braves 

The Crime Dog had a really cool swing with a great follow thru.  It's not quite Ken Griffey Jr., but I would recognize this swing anywhere.  I always felt like Fred McGriff would have been a little bit more important if he had not played in the steroid era.  He was never a guy who hit 40 or 50 home runs, but he did hit 30 to 35 every year.  A bunch of those 35 home runs seasons came years before players like Canseco really escalated the home run totals.  

#290 Dwight Gooden - Mets 

Just a really cool picture.  

#298 Larry Doby - Indians 

Really cool card with Larry Doby and Jackie Robinson.  Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, but Doby was not far behind.  Really cool picture of the two of them together.  

Complete Set Project: 2001 Topps Archives Set

A few days ago I made a post about reorganizing my cards.  After several days of hard work my 2001 sets are sorted out and I am starting to go through the sets to find cards that I am missing and sets that are already completed.  I have decided to undertake a little bit of challenge to start off my project by selecting the 2001 Topps Archives set as my first set to complete.

2001 Topps Archives Ernie Banks 

The 450 card set was released in two different series with the main attraction of the set being the autographs.  The base cards are still really nice and offer a nice look into some of the better Topps cards issued between 1951 and 2001.  Basically, the reprints consist of the first year card of players and the last year issue of a player.  Every player has two cards in the set and a few also appear as highlights, league leaders, record breakers, or autographs.  I own many of the original cards in the set, but still like the looks of some of the reprints and enjoy looking at the reprints of the cards that I do not own.  The only drawback to the set in my opinion are the reprints of some of the prospect cards.

2001 Topps Archives Nolan Ryan 

For example, the Nolan Ryan rookie card in the set only appears as half of the original card and the orientation is changed.  Little bit weird to look at this card like this.  So, I have compiled a checklist for the cards that I need from the set below.  I am currently 80 cards short (17%) of completing the set.  I am also going to set the goal to add a George Hendrick autograph too.  It's the only certified autograph of the former Major League All-Star and it's the only Cardinals related autograph that I am missing out of the set.   I am not going to put a timetable on completing this set, but I will keep everyone up to date within my posts.  

Series One

52 Luis Tiant 6575 Dennis Eckersley 7686 Joe Adcock 52103 Dom DiMaggio 53117 Jim Wynn 77119 Gus Bell 64122 Bobby Richardson 66132 Eddie Mathews 68133 Joe Pepitone 73137 Bob Gibson 75139 Frank Robinson 75147 Dick Allen 76155 Willie Horton 80156 Mickey Lolich 80162 Reggie Smith 83171 Vida Blue 87173 Reggie Jackson 87174 Hal McRae 87175 Carl Yastrzemski 83187 Jim Kaat 83189 Gary Carter 93192 Dave Winfield 95197 Don Mattingly 96198 Joe Carter 98201 Walter Alston MGR 56203 Sparky Anderson MGR 71209 AL Batting Leaders LL 65220 "Pride of the NL" 63221 Whitey Ford WS 63 Series Two236 Johnny Sain 52247 Tug McGraw 65248 Don Newcombe 56249 Herb Score 56250 Clete Boyer 57254 Larry Bowa 70262 Dean Chance 62264 Whitey Ford 53267 Rico Carty 64268 Tommy John 64269 Phil Niekro 64275 Fergie Jenkins 66286 Bert Blyleven 71287 George Foster 71288 Al Hrabosky 71289 Cecil Cooper 72290 Carlton Fisk 72301 Jack Clark 77302 Mark Fidrych 77306 Kirk Gibson 81318 Satchel Paige 53320 Carl Furillo 56326 Ralph Branca 52330 Pee Wee Reese 58335 Richie Ashburn 63338 Early Wynn 62344 Jim Bouton 68346 Don Drysdale 69362 Al Kaline 74363 Lindy McDaniel 75365 Jim Perry 75370 Ralph Kiner 53372 Larry Bowa 85381 Willie Stargell 82382 Johnny Bench 83387 Whitey Ford 67388 Tony Perez 86395 Maury Wills 72399 Phil Niekro 81400 Red Schoendienst 62404 Gil Hodges 63405 Bucky Dent 84407 Dan Quisenberry 90409 Rick Reuschel 91413 Jack Clark 93428 Chuck Tanner MGR 72429 Earl Weaver MGR 71431 AL HR Leaders LL 66432 NL HR Leaders LL 60441 Baltimore Orioles TC 70446 Whitey Ford WS 62

George Hendrick Autograph 

Facebook Trade

It's been a busy July and my trade volume has been down this month due to vacations, trips, and the beginning of the school year.  I still had time to complete a trade two weeks ago with Jeremy, a collector from Arkansas, who runs his own Facebook Trade Group.  His group is one of the better and trusted groups around on the internet.  If you are looking for a good place to trade you cannot go wrong there.

I posted a few Nolan Ryan cards last month and had a few other nice Ryan pieces I have been sitting on for a trade.  Jeremy is a big Nolan Ryan collector and had plenty of cards to offer up for trade.  I ended up getting five nice cards in return for my lot of Ryan memorabilia cards.

First up, is a 2004 Flair Albert Pujols patch card.  This is a two color patch featuring a large piece of yellow and a small strip of blue.  The yellow is clearly part of the bat from the front of the Cardinals uniform.  While Pujols is not a Cardinal anymore, it is still a great addition to my Cardinals collection and I was really happy to get the card.

2004 Flair Hot Numbers Albert Pujols Patch

I also received a sweet 2009 Topps Sterling Ernie Banks 5 piece relic in the trade.  I have traded for several other Topps Sterling cards over the past few months.  The cards always look great and they are a fantastic way to get an affordable premium relic card of a Hall of Fame player.  This card is serial numbered to 25 and has two pieces of pin striped jersey, one white piece of jersey, and two pieces of bat.  

2009 Topps Sterling Ernie Banks 5 Piece Relic 

The other three cards were also very nice.  I received a Topps Tribute Ozzie Smith bat card, a Triple Threads Evan Longoria Triple Bat Card, and a Topps Heritage Carlos Beltran bat card.  

2002 Topps Tribute Ozzie Smith Bat Card

2010 Topps Triple Threads Evan Longoria Triple Bat Card

2011 Topps Heritage Carlos Beltran Bat Card