What Brand Was This Again?

I picked up a Kyle Seager autograph awhile ago and left it sitting on the coffee table in my baseball card room.  It made it's way to my scanner and then into one of my boxes of autographs.  Honestly, I know I bought the card off of Ebay, but I am not quite sure when it happened.  It's no longer in my purchase history, so it's been here more than 90 days.

I really liked the card when I first bought it.  The card had a cool looking texture with a raised area for the signature and a blue cut out area on the right hand side of the card and a small cut out on the bottom left hand corner.  Here is a look at the card....

After all of the time away from this card I came back to the scan this week.  I flipped through my blog to make sure I hadn't started a draft on it somewhere, but had nothing.  That's when I noticed something a little bit odd about this card.  Even though it was out of my purchase history I went back and scanned through Ebay for another copy just to make sure it wasn't something wrong with just this Kyle Seager card.  Nope, they are all this way.  What's wrong?

This card is from the Topps Supreme set, but there is nothing that identifies the brand of the card.  Anywhere.  We just have the players name, signature, name, picture, and Mariners logo.  The last two years Topps has included something to identify this brand in previous years.......

Last year......

and the year before.......

Both cards have something to identify them as being from the Supreme product.  I thought it was an odd touch and cannot think of another brand that did not have some sort of text to distinguish themselves.  Still a really nice card, but definitely something different that stuck out to me after a long break from this card.

#MyCardMonday

When I was growing up in St. Louis one of the most unique players on the Cardinals was Jose Oquendo.  'The Secret Weapon" was used all over the field by Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog.  Later in his career Oquendo mainly played 2B, but early in his career he appeared all over the outfield and infield and even appeared as a catcher and a pitcher in a game or two.  There are a few players currently in the Majors who remind me a little bit of Oquendo's unique ability to play all over the field.

The most obvious player that comes to many fans mind is former Durham Bull/Rays super utility player Ben Zobrist.  Over the years I have always been a pretty big fan of Zo's and have been pretty active in trying to add some of his cards.  This week though, I found an autographed card of another player who could be put into the super utility category.

During the 2015 season Harrison spent the lion's share of his time playing at third base for the Pirates, but also spent time at second base, and both corner outfield spots.  His offensive numbers were down from 2014 when he made the National League All-Star team, but he was still a fun player, in my eyes, to watch.  

Harrison had a limited number of autographs before the 2015 card calendar.  Some of those options were frankly a little more pricey than I would go on the signature of a utility guy.  Still a cool player, but not $30-$40 cool.  This year however, Harrison has signed for several different products and the prices of his cards have slid into the $5-$10 range.  This card cost me slightly more than $5 shipped which is a great price for an autograph out of a nice product like Supreme.  Hey, it's even an on-card autograph.  

Archers!!

It's always nice to have a few friends who are looking out for your collecting needs.  I use my Facebook page to pick up cards in different groups, but there are so many different pages and posts that it can be difficult to keep track of all of the cards floating around out there.  Last weekend I got a Twitter message from one of my best Twitter follows who gave me the heads up on a lot of Archer cards that were up for sale on one of the Facebook pages.  The post slipped right past me.

After a couple of messages I was the proud owner of four new Chris Archer cards.  Pretty sweet lot, here's a look at the new cards......

At some point I had this card and I flipped it around to a fellow Rays fan to fill in a hole in a trade.  Not a difficult find, nor an expensive card, but I still love looking at it.  We've got an on card autograph and a cool picture showing some good grit from Archer making a pitch.  Again, sharp card, and if there was one downside to this lot, it's that this card is the only on card signature in the group.  

Archer autographs from Topps Supreme?  I have a few, but they are all from the 2013 release which was actually only released in Asian markets.  Why haven't I picked up any from the 2014 release?  It was actually released in the US which made the challenge of finding and buying the cards a lot easier, but for some reason it did not happen.  Looking back over my posts on this product, it seems like I spent a lot of time and money focusing on the Cardinals.  Sorry Archer collection, I hope this is the first of many cool Supreme autographs I pick up from last year.......

Here is a card that I already own.  If you cheat, scroll down, the next card is very similar too.  So what's the deal with wanting more copies of this card?  It's nice to own Archer autographs, but I swear that Topps did not make one of these cards with an identical patch.  It's like there was a giant pile of mismatched Archer patches sitting somewhere at Topps production facility and they used every last inch.  There are a few hundred copies of these cards and I have not found two patch pieces that are the same.  

It's true that duplicate cards kind of stink to own, but not when they have al sorts of cool and interesting patches.  Really happy with this new lot of Archer cards.   

Pitchers (Catchers too)!!!

The baseball season officially started this morning for my Cardinals when camp officially opened up to pitchers and catchers.  Considering I have seen dozens of pictures this week of pitchers pitching, the Cardinals pitching coach Derek Lilliquist looking like Kenny Powers, and Jason Heyward shagging fly balls it seems like it would be more appropriate to call today the last day for pitchers and catchers to report.  Either way, I am happy for baseball.  

I have high expectations for the Cardinals this season and am hoping for big things out of a few players.  So, for today I am going to focus in on a pitcher that I am excited to see this year: Carlos Martinez.  Currently Martinez is slated to be the Cardinals fifth starter behind Wainwright, Lynn, Lackey, and Wacha.  If you have never seen Martinez pitch you are missing out on something....

"Tsunami" throws in the high 90s, has a nasty change-up, and is frequently compared to Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez.  Of course, looking like Pedro Martinez in terms of pitches and physical appearance is one thing, it's another to actually put up numbers like him.  Carlos Martinez only has eight career starts under this belt and his career ERA+ is under 100.  Plenty of strikeouts during those starts, but he rarely pitches deep into games and needs to be more consistent.  I am hopefully we will see good things out of Carlos.  

Besides being hopefully on the field, I am also going to put a little time and effort into looking out for some Carlos Martinez baseball cards this year.  I picked up a really cool one last week.  The snow and ice slowed down this posting a bit, but I am really excited to add this card to my collection.  

I am pretty sure that I had barely touched the Topps Supreme Die Cuts this past year, save for a Garin Cecchini autograph, so it's nice to finally add a Cardinals version into the collection.  This is the purple version, Prince would be proud, and is serial numbered to just 25 copies.  You can kind of see it in the picture, but I am impressed at the thickness of card stock that Topps used for these autographs.  

The Lost Die Cut

I spent a lot of time today working on sorting out cards.  I put together about a dozens sets, boxed them, and started organizing all the sets that I had previously put together by year.  I came to the conclusion today that my large metal shelf in my closet is not going to work very well with the smaller boxes I am having to use with the sets.  I have pulled boxes out and have started to search for shelving unit which will better suit my needs.  I think this is the best way to summarize my work today.....

The best part of today was sorting through some little stacks of cards.  Things that needed to go in boxes.  Single cards that filled in sets, player collection cards that I had bought off of Ebay, and some other assorted cards that were hanging around my card room for whatever reason.  I could honestly make a week's worth of posts out of the cards that I found hanging out today, but probably won't share them at this point, but you can see one in a minute.  Although it would make a good countdown post:  Cool Cards That I Lost On My Own Desk

A few weeks ago my brother in law, who now blogs about the Tigers, posted a cool die-cut Nick Castallenos autograph out of Topps Supreme on his Instagram account.

Newest pick up #nickcastellanos #tigers #collect

A photo posted by Matt Seguin (@mseguin12) on Jan 5, 2015 at 6:09pm PST

I had actually picked up a copy of a similar card around the same time, skipped blogging about it, then decided to go back and use it as a post after all.  Well, I pulled the card out of it's box and.......I guess it sat on my desk for basically the last month.  It was mixed in with a random pile of Topps Heritage inserts I traded for to fill in a set and a Max Scherzer jersey card that I had set aside in case the Cardinals sign him.  Guess I can scratch that idea off my list, but back to the die-cut.   It's a really nice looking card.....

I am not sure what will become of Garin Cecchini, but I saw him play last year for the Red Sox Triple A team and I really enjoyed watching him play.  He's not one of those players who wows you with his tremendous talent, but he works the pitchers and seems to have pretty good success at the plate.  If it never works out, well I have a really cool Topps Supreme card.  For the moment he would seemed blocked in Boston, so there is a really good possibility he will start out the year in Pawtucket and end the year somewhere.

I also tried watching the Hunger Movies while I was working today, but 80s music videos seemed to work out a little bit better for me today.  Why is Johnny Lydon dressed like Pee Wee Herman in this video?

Snorting Bull Award: Best Autograph Set

Best Autograph Set

In my opinion there were two sets deserving of this award this year.  I have not actually spent a lot of time on either set on this space, but that was more a matter of time than anything else.  Both sets were released later in the card year, but offered collectors some great autographs.  While the quantity of autographs from these two sets may not yet be in my collection, I feel like I have a pretty good gauge on the quality offered by both sets. 

Let's start off with the repeat winner Topps Five Star.  This card set has been issued the past several years, and while I do not bust open high end card boxes, the set has always offered collectors great on-card autographs in limited numbers.  This year's set is not any different.  While case busters may not like pulling cards of Livan Hernandez, that really hurts the bottom line, there are plenty of great autographs available in the set. 

 

I have been able to pick up a few Cardinals autographs, but am still looking to add a few more cards.  Some of my favorite looking cards in the set include a Vladimir Guerrero autograph in an Expos uniform, El Duque, Juan Gone as a Ranger, and Roberto Alomar as a Blue Jay.  Add in that the cards are made on really nice thick card stock and you have got a winner.  Again, I recognize the fact that the boxes do not often pan out and provide collectors value, but if you can just stick to purchasing single autographs off of the web and from local card shops, your dollar will go much further and you can pick out the autographs which will look nice in your collection. 

My other winner this year is Topps Supreme.  The one obvious drawback is the fact that the cards feature sticker autographs.  In most cases the sticker autographs are very well done, but there are some obviously huge positives for the set which have propelled it to the top of my autograph set list this year.  First, the design of the set is awesome.  Really clean design on the cards and I love the photography. 

The second reason I love the Topps Supreme set, minus the Cardinals, is the diverse names in the autograph checklist.  I was able to pick up several minor leaguers in the set which have not been available in other sets.  I am planning on posting a few of these autographs in the coming weeks, but already posted my cool Jesus Aguilar autograph.   Just like the Topps Five Star set, Supreme also offers plenty of cool veteran and retired players autographs too. 

Just like Five Star, Supreme is a product that is best picked up in singles.  I know opening boxes is always awesome and fun, but there are autographs in this set which would be duds if you spent $60 on a box of these cards.  There are plenty of cool singles floating around on Ebay and at local card shops. Overall, both of these are really good autograph sets and offer collectors some really great autographs. 

Marp in a Minute or Five.

It has been a really busy day and tomorrow is going to be just as busy.  Saturday looks at this point though.  There is nothing on my calendar, no report cards to type up, or any school work that needs attention.  So, my usual Friday Five posts, which are some of my favorites to research and type, are going to be delayed this week until Saturday.  I am still calling them Friday Five posts and they involve both Greg Luzinski and Rusty Staub this week.  What could the category be?  Come back tomorrow.  

I am at a breaking point currently with my work, so here is an autograph I picked up last week from the Topps Supreme set.

The Supreme product was only released in Asian markets and was still pretty popular in the US.  I picked up a copy of the Chris Archer autograph and had a few other cards from the set I considered.  This year's version of Supreme was released in the US and has been a huge hit with collectors.  I have added a few cards, but I am not a huge fan of the sticker autographs that Topps used for this set.  This is supposed to be a high end product?  Hmmm.  Anyway, cannot go wrong with a cool Matt Carpenter autograph.  This card is limited to just 35 copies.

Enjoy your Friday!  

Bring Me A Supreme Sprinkle Doughnut

Merry #WorldSeries! Getting game day started off on the right foot with some classic Fall #SprinklePower! #12in13 pic.twitter.com/712GmqId41
— Torty Craig (@TortyCraig) October 26, 2013

I am not always great about drawing the line with collecting cards from former Cardinals.  Sometimes when a player leaves under not so great circumstances it's really easy to cut the ties right then and there and move on to other players.  Other times, it's much more difficult.  It starts out with some sort of contemplation about whether or not to sell or trade their cards, followed by regularly checking their box scores, to just caving and still picking up some really sweet cards of that player.  

I liked Allen Craig when he was on the Cardinals.  He was a great hitter for several seasons and a really important part of the 2011 World Series team.  In Game 7 alone he hit the go ahead home run, robbed Nelson Cruz of a home run, and caught the final out.  I could make a whole post about his postseason antics that year.  So, six months after the Cardinals traded him to the Red Sox I am still sitting here adding his cards to my collection.  Two during the past few weeks.  

This card is numbered out of just 40 and features a really nice jumbo piece of grey road jersey from Craig.  While I am not thrilled that this card is a sticker autograph, it cost me just slightly more than $5.  I like the looks of the Topps Supreme cards too and I have not seen any players that I collect with this style of card.  I am going to have to go pick up my other Allen Craig autograph tomorrow and post it sometime next week.  Also a cool card.  

Juan Gone. Something Different.

A Trip Into Big D's Part 1- The Rays

Yesterday marked the beginning of the college football season.  I started my day off by sleeping in, after a long week at work, and watched my alma mater NC State take on Georgia Southern.  The game was a little bit closer than most NC State fans would have liked to see, but in the end the Wolfpack picked up a W on a nice pass play by quarterback Jacoby Brissett.

After the game ended I decided to check in at my local card shop Big D's Cards in Raleigh.  It has been awhile since I had been into the store, but Jimmy, the owner of the store, has been busy tracking down cards for my collection.  I had a pretty good stack set aside over the past month or so.  The stack was big enough that I decided to break it into two posts.  Tonight, the Rays.  Tomorrow bingo.  

I have been looking for a copy of this card for awhile, but have had a bit of a hard time tracking this down from half a world away.  This card comes from a Topps Supreme which was a release slated for Asian markets only in 2013.  It is coming to the states this year.  Each Supreme box came with one pack with two autographs in each pack.  There are some good names in the set, but the boxes sell for around $75-$80 US dollars.  While I would love to pull a pack fresh Chris Archer card, I would not like to spend $75 for a pack fresh Chris Archer card.  Cards have a cool design and a nice look.  Happy that I finally ran into one of these for a good price and in the United States.  

Next up is a Desomnd Jennings Allen & Ginter card from last year.  I believe this completes my set of Rays autographs and relics from last years set.  Next.....

This is actually an Astros card, but Zobrist is now a Ray.  I count it as  Rays card.  I already have a copy of this card, which comes from the 2004 SP Prospects set.  However, it was sold to me as part of a larger lot of Zobrist cards.  I also got these:

More Astros, but another rookie.  This is a really cool set if you have never checked it out.  Some really cool rookies.  On to some more, non-Rays Zobrist autographs.......

A Topps Tribute World Baseball Classic Autograph of Zobrist out of 50.......

another from the same set out of 35.......

and the 1/1 for good measure.