Prior and Maddux Prime Patches

I picked up a pair of 2005 Prime Patches cards last week.  I really enjoy these cards and was excited to get both of these cards even though they are both Cubs.  The first card is a Greg Maddux dual jersey card.  This card features a piece of his jersey from both the Braves and Cubs.

2005 Prime Patches Greg Maddux Dual Jersey

The second Prime Patches card I picked up is pretty sweet too.  The card features four pieces from Mark Prior.  The pieces include a bat, hat, shoe, and fielding glove.  The hat is the highlight for me since the piece shows the New Era logo from the inside of his hat.  

2005 Prime Patches Mark Prior Quad Relic Bat/Hat/Shoe/Glove

2005 Prime Patches Larry Walker Dual Patch Card

Larry Walker was never great while he was riding out the final days of his career as a Cardinal, but I always loved watching him play as an Expo and Rockie.  Early in his career Walker was a great combination of power, defense, and average.  During his last season strike shortened in Montreal, 1994, Walker hit .322 with 19 homers and 86 RBIs.  He also lead the National League in doubles with 44.  Once he signed with the Rockies his numbers took off in the thin air of Coors.  All Rockies have a home/road split, but he wasn't Vinny Castilla or Dante Bichette where all of his damage came in the thin dry Denver air.

Walker would spend ten years on the Rockies which included an MVP award in 1997, a home run title, and three batting titles.  After the trading deadline in 2004 he cleared waivers and was traded to the Cardinals for the mighty Chris Narveson.  Tony LaRussa batted Walker second in front Pujols, Edmonds, and Rolen during their MV3 year and the team made a World Series appearance and a National League Championship Series appearance too.  His last season and a half did not met his usual numbers and he retired after the 2005 season.

Walker has a fair number of relic cards out on the market, but most of the jumbo and patch pieces are exclusive to the 2005 Prime Patches set.  Which is where my my newest card hails from:

2005 Prime Patches Larry Walker Dual Patch Card

There are a few early 2000 Fleers, but they are pretty plain.  Walker also has some autographs which can be pretty tough to find.  My two favorites are the 1997 Donruss Signature Series which features a whole card signature.  They are all like that.  I also love the Stadium Club Co-Signers with Andres Galarraga.  Both cards pictured below.

1997 Donruss Signature Series Larry Walker Autograph 

1998 Topps Stadium Club Co-Signers Larry Walker/Andres Galarraga Autograph 

Two New Nolan Ryan Cards

I've been helping a set collector I know back in St. Louis put together a couple of late 90's and early 2000's sets the past week or two and have picked up a couple new cards and a little more space in my baseball card closet.  The two of the highlights of my trading during the past week have been two sweet Nolan Ryan cards.


The first card is from the 2005 Prime Patches set and features a dual color piece of Ryan's jersey from the Astros.  I've put a few other cards from this set on my blog before and love some of the cool jumbo jersey and patch cards.  This card is half an orange and half a darker orange stripe.  The material is not right to be a patch card, but still a really nice card.

2005 Prime Patches Nolan Ryan Jersey

The second Nolan Ryan card is from the 2001 Fleer Platinum set.  Fleer probably put out fifteen to twenty products in 2001, but the Platinum set was one of the better releases.  The base set was solid and the inserts were above par.  This card is from the National Patch Time insert set and features a two color patch of Nolan Ryan from the Texas Rangers.  

2001 Fleer Platinum National Patch Time Nolan Ryan Patch

Jim Edmonds Lot

I dabble in purchasing cards.  I would always rather trade, but every once in awhile I will go down that avenue.  This past week I had a few extra bucks in Paypal and decided what I could get on Check Out My Cards.  This is a pretty good site for buying cards, but I would certainly stress patience when buying here.  First, the cards are priced using Beckett.  Don't get me started.  However, you can find some bargains if you look carefully.  So, I set out to find some Jim Edmonds cards with $20 to spend.

I am currently in the process of rebuilding part of my Edmonds collection.  I was really unhappy with him during his brief stint with the Cubs and Reds, but I have come back around during the last year since he has retired.  I checked out the autographs first, but couldn't get anything.  I moved to materials cards and ended up with six cards including two jumbos.  I had the cards shipped out and they arrived late this week.

2002 Upper Deck Connections Diamond Collection Jim Edmonds Jersey

2002 Fleer EX Behind The Numbers Jim Edmonds Jersey

 2004 Fleer Ultra Seasons Crowns Jim Edmonds Jersey

2001 SP Game Bat Jim Edmonds Bat

 2005 Prime Patches Jim Edmonds Jumbo Jersey

2005 Prime Patches Jim Edmonds Jumbo Jersey

Highlights from the Weekend

I made several trades over the weekend and will have a few more cards to show off from some awesome traders on Facebook later on in the week.  However, I did get some actually cards in my hand this afternoon from trades made last Thursday and Friday ready to get some props.  So, here are my four favorite from the weekend:

1.  2011 Topps Triple Threads Gio Gonzalez Autograph

This is my second copy of this card, so I probably go to flip one of them around this week.  We'll see what I can get for it.  

2.  2009 SP Authentic James McDonald By The Letter Autograph

Not the greatest player by any means, but I really enjoy some of the letter autographs put out during Upper Deck's final days in the baseball game.  The autographs can be a little bit shaky on some of the cards, but compared to other McDonald autographs this is pretty nice. 

3.  2011 Topps Triple Threads Evan Longoria Cards  

I got two different variations of Longoria.  The first is numbered 7/18 and the second is numbered 04/27.  Best of all I purged my collection of Cubs to get these cards.  

4. 2005 Prime Patches Jim Thome Patch 

It's just a really nice patch, but it is numbered to 150.  More later tonight.  

2005 Prime Patches Ozzie Smith Jumbo Jacket Card

Pretty sweet pick up today.  I actually had owned, for several years, a Rod Carew version of this card which I pulled back in 2005, but traded it awhile ago.  I've also seen an Eckersley, for the Cardinals, like this too, but never an Ozzie.  Some of the 2005 Donruss/Playoff products had some interesting materials cards they put out at the end of the license in an obvious attempt to liquidate their inventory of baseball materials.  I have a sweet Chad Buck card that has a piece of his glove, shin guards, chest protector, bat, and chest protector.  Chad Buck or not it's still a sweet card.  The Ozzie is a jumbo relic, which makes up for the fact that it is a jacket, and is a high serial number at 222.  I imagine the whole jacket was cut and made into cards.  Go Pack! Go To Hell Carolina!!