The Card of the Year!

For obvious reasons... Thanks again to all who entered the contest! Happy New Year to all!!! Oh, if anyone has spare copies of this, I would love one or twenty... troll out.

Rangers Win and So Do I!!!

Well the Rangers did it. They ended the Yankees season and they are World Series bound for the first time in their history. A-Rod whiffed to end it. Fitting. As a baseball fan I am elated. As a blogger I am thrilled for the awesome Rangers bloggers out there who have been backing this team for so long. If you want a true Rangers fan celebration check out Spiff’s blog Texas Rangers Cards or Big D’s home Hey That’s Mine OR head on over to Play at the Plate. Actually I think there are a lot of bloggers that are pretty happy about this one. Yankee hatred tends to run rampant round here…
So congrats to Michael, Ian, Josh, Vlad, Nelson and the boys from Arlington! Now onto more unfinished business, my losing bet with Brian from Play at the Plate.

He had posted this Brian Roberts X-Fractor which I wanted so when we bet on the ALDS it was what I was hoping for. Well, the Rays lost and I lost the bet, but for some reason the card ended up in my mailbox a few days later AND it brought friends! Here is what your team losing in the playoffs can net you:
Of course, the Brian Roberts x-fractored shiny goodness which I am thrilled with. I do plan on bringing back my Brian Roberts Cards blog and I have a TON of new B-Rob cards to post (mostly from fellow B-Rob fan Ryan's Memorabilia, thanks dude!!!). Roberts remains my favorite current non-Ray (other than Jonny Gomes) but his back injury really took its toll on his season. He ended nicely however I thought. He played in only 59 games, but had 64 hits, 14 doubles, 4 homers and 12 steals... Not too shabby. . Of course that wasn't all I recieved in my concelation prize, not by a long shot. Lets start with a trio of shiny BJ Upton refractors of all varieties. Very cool.
I love these cards because I love colored parallels and refractors. I also like this pic on this card. I am on the fence about Upton though. I never set out to collect him, but there are just so many cards of him! I know he has the potential to be a superstar, but he leaves us Rays fans waiting and waiting each year. This year, his 5th, he set a career low with a .237 batting average and a futility mark with 164 strikeouts, BUT he also set career bests in doubles (38) and runs scored (89) and he hit 18 homers and stole 42 bases. In 2008 he shined in the postseason. He hit 4 homers and drove in 11 against Boston in the ALCS, BUT this year against Texas he managed just 4 hits in 21 at bats (.190). Not good. Can’t figure Upton out…

He included 1 more card in the package and this one really shocked me. This is another guy that I don’t really collect, but for different reasons. It is Evan Longoria and I don’t chase him because he is expensive. I own 1 autograph of Longo and 2 relics (both multiplayers). I had a few other premium cards, but they were all LOST a while back. This year Longoria set personal bests in batting average (.294), doubles (46) and steals (15) and started the All Star Game at third base. His power numbers and run production dropped a bit, but I really couldn’t think of anyone I would rather have manning third base on MY team. Still, Longo, like Upton, forgot his bat in the ALDS. He was 4 for 20 (.200) against Rangers pitching. Over his short career he is just 16 for 82 (.195) in the postseason. I recall seeing someone holding up a sign at Tropicana Field during game 5 which said “We showed up Evan, WHERE ARE YOU???”. Sad but true. Anyway, next year is a fresh season and all is forgiven and I was THRILLED to see this card – a 2010 Allen and Ginter jersey relic of the All Star third baseman. Thanks to blogger generosity I am nearly done with this set without buying a SINGLE pack, BUT this is my FIRST relic.

Thanks so MUCH Brian!!! I hope to lose a lot more bets with you in the very near future! I mean seriously, your team crushes the Yankees and I get a bunch of sweet cards too... Win win baby!

Go Rangers! Goodnight Yankees - you are gonna need to waste a couple hundred million more next year if you want to buy your way into the Series. Oh, as a trader FYI - those are the ONLY 2010 Chrome I have so far. I NEED the Carl Crawford Rainbow. Get in touch if you can help a Troll out... Oh, Shannon Stewart couldn't be reached for comment, but the Waxaholic has 2 great reasons to be a Rangers fan! Troll out.

A Trade Post of EPIC Proportions or A Trade Post That Doesn't Suck OR The Tease is Over, This is the Real Deal!!!

Greetings Trollites! So often I tease a post and then I see something sparkly and completely lose focus. When that occurs, so does THIS. Today is different. I promised to reveal the contents of the Padrographs package and I am going to do just that… You might want to grab a beverage and brace yourself - this is a LONG one...

The package begins with a bunch of wrestling cards from 1991 Impel. Rod said they were solely intended as packing material and he probably should have shredded them, but I thought they were kind of neat. Honestly when I opened the box and saw them, I thought Rod had BIPPED me AGAIN, but I ended up laughing my ass off reading the card backs. Here are a couple of the highlights. First is a card of “Steiner Brothers” that shows 1 person (Steiner Brother?) and a puppy.
This card actually got me thinking about a new genre collection – cards featuring dogs. I just might do it. I like this one because the featured dog looks quite similar to my puppy, Emma. The back of the card shows 2 humans, but mentions dogs. It says “Rick enters the ring with a pit-bull terrier, a dog that will eat its way through a chain link fence just for a chance to eat somebody.” Wow. My pit bull has NEVER eaten through a chain link fence, nor has she eaten anyone. What is wrong with her? She does nap on the couch – which is totally not allowed. Anyway, I picked 2 more wrestling cards to show off. Since this is a sports card blog, I went with 2 former pro football players turned wrestlers. I should have scanned Doom, AKA Ron Simmons, but instead went with Lex Luger AKA Larry Prohl and Flyin Brian AKA Brian Pillman. Prohl played for the Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL (with Ron Simmons) and Pillman spent time with the Cincinnati Bengals and the Calgary Stampeders. Both of the cards show the featured wrestler tangled up with Ric Flair who was only 68 years old back in 1991. I wonder if Flair could throw a knuckle ball, too…
Beyond the wrestling cards, aka packing material, there was actually some GREAT stuff. There was a stack of 2010 Allen and Ginter which spanned my two-main collections – Rays cards and Negro League players as well as the oddball like a Revolving Door. I am going to save most of the Ginter cards for a MONSTER GINTER post showing off all of the A & G cards I have received this past month or so which came from legends like Night Owl, Reds and More, Padrographs and more. One card I will show today is this Baseball Sketches card of Carl Crawford as the 2009 All Star Game MVP. I have been hoping to get this bad boy for a while. I like the Allen and Ginter billboard behind him. Very cool…
There was a number of 2010 Topps Rays as well as 2010 Topps Opening Day Rays cards. I am probably pretty close to filling the team set, but haven’t got everything together just yet… I still don’t know if the Rays mascot Raymond is included in the mascots insert set. If so, I NEED that card!
He also sent along some cards from 2010 Topps Pro Debut. I have yet to see this product for sale and I think these are the first cards from it that I have seen in person. It has the same design as 2010 Topps, but with the player’s minor league team logo. I really like this idea a lot, but at the same time wonder how many cards I need of a teenaged draft pick playing in the rookie leagues… Jeff Malm for instance, was an 18 year old with 7 pro games under his belt when this card was made. He might be the future, but I don’t know if I am that patient. I do like color parallels regardless…
He also included this card of young left handed pitcher Kyle Lobstein as a member of the Hudson Valley Renegades. This kid has promise, but is still about 5 years away from a sniff at the big leagues. This makes me very curious about who else is in this set…

As is typical, Rod-rograph included a number of cool Negro League cards from 1993 and 1994 Ted Williams. Sadly, I was too lazy to scan these and you will have to wait for another day to see them. I did scan a couple of cards that he sent from the 1986 Larry Fritsch Negro League Baseball Stars set (wantlist coming soon!). Rod had sent me a starter set of over 100 of these cards back in January. I am chasing this set, so get in touch if you have dupes! This set isn’t of the highest quality, BUT has some AWESOME players in it who just don’t have any other cards. I scanned a couple of stars from the set. First is Piper Davis, an amazing hitter who could play all 9 positions and manage, too. He was also the first African American player signed by the Red Sox organization. I also scanned this card of one of my fav players of all time, Luke Easter who is shown wearing a Padres jersey… Very surprised a Padres fan would give up this one!
Since I am running out of time before work I am going to fast forward to the BEST CARD IN THE PACKAGE… A card so awesome that I can’t believe I own it, I really can’t believe another blogger sent it to me and I totally didn’t expect to find it sandwiched between a bunch of wrestling cards in this surprise package. This is a card that I have bid on soooo many times, but never went above twenty bucks on the bid and therefore never won it. It’s a card that another blogger might call an “Unpossible Autograph”. Yeah, I just couldn’t believe it when I saw it. The card is from 2001 Fleer Tradition, it is part of the Stitches in Time insert series that features autographs of players like Ernie Banks, Joe Black and Buck O’Neill. It is easily one of my favorite sets of all time because of the great players it includes. The card that Rod soooo generously included features and ON CARD AUTOGRAPH of Artie Wilson. Holy freaking crap!!! I can’t believe it! Artie Wilson is a player who is in the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame, but BELONGS in the MLB Hall of Fame. He was the premier shortstop of the 1940s where he played for the Birmingham Black Barons. He was the starting shortstop in the East West All Star Game 4 timed from 1942-’48 and his BBB won 3 League Championships. He batted .402 in 1948 making him the last player to top .400 in a Major League. He was a legend in the Pacific Coast League (AAA) playing for teams like the San Diego Padres, Seattle Rainers and the Oakland Oaks and winning 4 batting crowns in the process. In 1950, with the Oaks, he batted .311 with 31 steals and scored 168 runs!!! Over his 10 year minor league career he topped the 300 mark 6 times and owns a career average of .312 with 1609 hits, 780 runs scored and 160 steals. He did get a shot at the big leagues in 1951 with the Giants. He made the team after a fantastic spring, but played sparingly and only stuck with the team till May of that year. When he returned to AAA his roster spot was taken by young centerfielder Willie Mays, a player that Wilson had mentored since Mays was a teen.
I do honestly believe that Artie Wilson is a Hall of Fame caliber player. He was the top shortstop in all of baseball in the 1940s. Great defense, speed and an awesome pull hitter who acted as a sparkplug for his team’s offense. Had the call to the Big Leagues come when Wilson was in his 20s I think his Hall of Fame argument would be back with legit big league stats. Now he will have to rely on the memories of those he played against. I would love to see Wilson get the call to Cooperstown while he is still around to make his acceptance speech. This card is immediately one of the cornerstones of my collection. It is NOT up for trade and I will treasure this awesome card and the stories it tells for years to come. For everything from the Roller Derby book to the crazy wrestling cards to all of the great Ginter cards to all of the stuff I posted here, I owe you a HUGE thanks Rod!!! If you have not yet become a follower of the Padrographs blog, I would suggest you fix that right now. You will see not only that he is a skilled writer, but a passionate fan, a great collector and trader and he has one of the coolest blog header logos out there… If a tee shirt exists with the Padrographs logo on it, I want it!!! Thanks SO MUCH Rod! Oh, if you didn't already figure it out, this was NOT A BIP... Before I sign off I must mention that the must read blog Play at the Plate is celebrating its one year birthday/blog-a -versary today. Be sure to wish him (it) a happy day! Go Rays! Troll out.

My First Look at 2010 Allen and Ginter...

A lot of bloggers have been writing lately about being in a collecting funk. Maybe not a lot, but more than one AND you can add my name to the list. So much going on that is pushing me further away from my cards and my computer. Sucks because blogging about baseball cards is the ultimate therapy to me. Anyway, today the Gint-A-Cuffs winner was announced. Congrats to Play at the Plate on winning it all and thanks to Mark aka the Commish for running it so well. I ended up being a dead beat on the Gint A Cuffs thing and feel bad about it. I still have yet to rip a single pack of 2010 Ginter, BUT that doesn't mean I don't own any. I have recieved three packages that included a bit of 2010 Ginter goodness... This was my first look, courtesy of Shellie Bee, AKA The Middle Child. Anyway, I think that EVERY single card from this set has been posted twice by now, but feeling left out I am gonna post up a few that she sent me. Here is card #243 of a player I am proud to know. Jim "Zipper" Zapp. Next up is card #291 of a player I wasn't too familiar with, Ron Teasley and finally the last 2010 Ginter gem in the package, card #104 of Newark Eagles infielder Mahlon Duckett. His name ROLLS off the tongue, I love it! Duckett is heavily involved with the Negro League Baseball Players Association and is a walking history book himself. Thanks so much Shellie! Negro League cards are ALWAYS welcome here in Trollville. Oh, shipped 3 more packages for the group break today. I STILL need a few more addresses... Go Rays! troll out.

Allen and Ginter Mania!!!

Ginter mania, Ginter fever, everyone has it. I have yet to see a single pack or card in person and the anticipation is killing me. I know I have a lock on all of the Rays cards because I have my slot reserved in the Long Fly Ball to Because... super amazing group case break. Yep, Tunguska is ripping a CASE and splitting it up team by team. I am fairly certain that I will be getting a rip card and an Evan Longoria autographed cabinet card, but there are probably cards of your favorite team as well. Unbelievably there are still 11 team slots available in the break. The Red Sox, Indians, White Sox, Royals, Twins, A's, Angels, Pirates, Mariners, Reds, Astros, Brewers, Giants, Rockies, Padres, D-Backs and the Brewers are all STILL AVAILABLE. I am really anxious for this break to get going, so PLEASE go check out this link. Slots are very fairly priced and this is 2010 Allen and Ginter so get on it! I might sneak in another post today, but tonight you can find me at the Trop watching the Rays destroy Boston and witnessing Matt Garza notch his 10th win. Hell yeah! Go Rays! Troll out.