So, I am actually gonna deliver on the promise that I made yesterday, I AM actually gonna post some of the cool cards that Tim the Indians fan sent to my newly operational Post Office box…
First, I want to get a few links out of the way… At the end of my last post I encouraged everyone to check out the Bradentucky Bombers facebook page… Well, I posted the wrong link, so here is the correct one… Check it out and LIKE us please!
Okay, back to baseball cards… I had mentioned that I was gonna chase 2009 Topps and was basically starting from scratch and I was looking for a kind soul to help get me started. Well, Spankee from My Cardboard Mistress answered the call and is sending nearly 200 cards towards my goal. My lists are up to date and could be found here. Lend me a hand, okay?
The cards look GREAT and it is a great foundation worthy of support... Along with the cards Tim included a note apologizing that Evan Longoria wasn’t included. Well, I have a pretty fair amount of Longo cards, but this DAV set absolutely RULED because of the guys it included who I don’t have cards of…
I seriously want to get back into the quest for hunting Rays autographs. I had gotten frustrated because there are so many people who spent a short amount of time in the Rays organization without ever getting a Rays uni-card. There are a lot of members of the Rays coaching staff who have been around forever, but never got a solo card in a Rays uniform… Yeah, that is why I LOVE this set! They are good looking cards too! I seriously never thought I would EVER see a card of longtime bullpen coach Bobby Ramos. Got that now! Also have Don Zimmer, Tom Foley, and George Hendrick… Well, just look at them!
The first 2 pages have at least 10 guys I previously did NOT have a Rays card of. I plan to have ALL of these signed before the season is up. There is one card that might be tough to get signed, the card featuring everyone’s favorite seadog Raymond. This is my 3rd Raymond card – I would LOVE to get six more and fill a page of him…The third page I am showing off has the bigger named players on it…
Nice cuz in every case I didn’t have any of these in any of my PCs. Oh, speaking of PCs – Ben Zobrist was included in this set and with this card I now have 2 full pages of Zorilla cards!
I know that seems like nothing to many of you, but I am psyched and happy with it… I trashed my old binder with my PCs of Crawford, Bartlett, Aki and Kaz (LONG story about that coming soon) and replaced it with a new binder that starts off with 13 pages of Evan Longoria!!!!
I had always said I didn't collect Longo because his cards were too pricey. Well, they still are, but I DO collect him. Keep sending them my way and I will keep collecting! Aside from Longo, the PC binder now includes Zorilla, Price, Wade Davis, Desmond Jennings, Jeremy Hellickson, Sean Rodriguez, Matt Moore, Alex Cobb, Jake McGee, Wilking Rodriguez, Raymond, Alex Colome, Shawn O’Malley, Stephen Vogt, Brandon Gomes, Alex Torres and Justin O’Conner.
Many of those guys don’t have many cards just yet and there are a few names on that list that I only have 1 or 2 cards of, but I hope to have full pages of each one of them someday soon. The binder is mostly current Rays, but there are 3 ex-Rays that I still collect… One is retired and coaching – Jared Sandberg and the other two are on the other coast, in the wasteland known as the Oakland A’s. I am referring to both Jonny Gomes! And Manny Ramirez. I only want Rays cards of Manny…
Adam from Thoughts and Sox sent me my second Manny card a few weeks back, so I just need 7 more to fill a page. Thanks for reading! Thanks so much to reader Tim for the sweet DAV cards which will be signed up soon… Oh, I just filled up my first page of last year’s Rookie of the Year. If ya don’t see it here, I don’t have it yet, so send it my way, ha!
Oh, I have been doing a bit of wheeling and dealing of late and most of my wantlists are up to date... I WILL be chasing 2012 Heritage, but doing so on a tight budget, so I NEED your dupes! Go Rays! Troll out.
I should get back on track though. This post isn't about Nick Markakis, Topps Baseball nor my inability to finish a Topps rainbow parallel, this post is about Carl Crawford and 2010 Bowman and my ability to fulfill that rainbow. 
Yep, I did it. It was one of my collecting goals for 2010 and I achieved it and I can say that I am the only Crawford collector to do it. I am probably the only one who wanted to, but still... It all started with the 
a blue border,
an orange border,
a gold border
and finally a RED BORDER! 
I like the back of the red card the best... Sweet. 
I am pretty happy with these. As I write this post CC is still in the midst of an MVP type season. He is batting .322 with 11 homers, 50 RBI, 108 hits, 21 doubles, 6 triples and 31 steals. He has scored 70 runs, has a .380 on base percentage and a .519 SLG%. Last night he had 2 hits in a loss against the Yanks in New York. Thanks for checking out my latest acquisitions... As a player collector I am on top of the world right now. Regular readers may recall that I am chasing the printing plate versions of this card-I am still stalled out waiting to find the magenta one. Now if the Rays crush the Yankees tonight I will be REALLY happy. If you have any CC cards you think I might need, drop me an email. Bacontowne at yahoo dot com. I LOVE this hobby! Go Rays! troll out.
He wasn’t the first player I collected, that title would be shared by Steve Carlton, Hubie Brooks and Tim Raines Sr., but the difference is that I still collect Tartabull and always will. A while back I tried to have my wonderful readers choose a new player for me to collect. That ended in a tie. I guess that is appropriate because a personal collection is very personal. After the tie on the poll I went to my best friend, my Wife for advice. 
Although she isn’t a card collector herself, she supports my obsession and after the poll and all of its ensuing confusion my lovely Wifey stood out as the voice of reason. She said simply “I thought Buck O’Neil was your favorite. Why don’t you just collect him?” Well, I explained to her that when he played they didn’t make cards of him. I wanted to collect a player with some regular Topps or Bowman or Fleer issues as well as current retro cards and oddball stuff. 
I never really considered Buck for the collection because of that reason. Even though he had a long and storied career with the Monarchs as a player and a coach, he never appeared on a card. While he was coaching with the Cubs in the 60s, he also got snubbed out of a card. It really sucks. It’s deplorable and embarrassing really. Buck dedicated his entire life to baseball, but didn’t appear on a card for the first time until he was already retired. Anyway, my Wife was the voice of reason and clarity. I don’t think she realizes the can of worms that she opened though. I honestly don’t know how many cards that Buck has or how many more will be made. I know there are at least 9, so I can fill a page which is good. Like I said, there are no regular issues from Topps or Bowman or Goudey or Leaf from his playing days in the 30’s and 40s or his coaching days in the 40’s, 50s and 60s, but there have been a few cards made of him in the late 90s and 2000s. I have 5 cards now and have them randomly spotted throughout this post. 
I know the first card I got of Buck was from Wicked Ortega and is from the awesome 1994 Ted Williams set. Prior to that I didn’t even realize that he had any cards. Since then Padrographs, Reds and More and Play at the Plate have hooked me up with more Buck cards. A reader hooked me up with this Sports Illustrated autograph and I bought my new favorite card of Buck myself from an auction site. 
Buck O’Neil on a 1962 Topps card, plus it’s a REFRACTOR! I love it! Aside from the obvious reasons that I am a fan of Buck, here is my story… Like many people my main introduction to Buck was his appearance on Ken Burns’s baseball. From there I ran to the store to get his autobiography “I Was Right on Time”. 
I read the book at a rough time in my life and it really inspired me. Buck’s kindness and love of life really touched my soul. I read it and read it again. From there I tracked down more books on players that Buck referenced. I had met him briefly at autograph signings before, but never got to know him. 
In 1998 I had read that Buck O’Neil was going to throw out the first pitch at a Devil Rays spring training game in Sarasota, his home town. I was at work and during lunch my boss asked me what was wrong. I explained that Buck O’Neil was going to be at the game, but that I had to work. My boss gave me the afternoon off and I raced to Ed Smith Stadium.
I lurked around and I saw Mr. O’Neil waiting in the aisle to throw out his ceremonial pitch. I introduced myself and told him how much his life spoke to me. He said “What are you waiting for, give it up” and gave me a big hug.
I was dirty from working all day, but Buck didn’t care. That moment meant a lot to me. I watched him start the game off and waited for him when he was done. We chatted for a bit and exchanged phone numbers. I nearly had a heart attack when he called me a week later and asked if I wanted to join him for a game. From then a friendship, not just a fan obsession was born. Buck spoke a lot and I listened and hung on every last word. 
He taught me about the game. The modern game and the way things were when he was my age. He invited me to attend a reunion in Kansas City at the Negro Leagues Museum and from there I met many legends that I only read about. I am proud to call him a friend and I am not shy about calling him a hero either. Anyway, I had never considered collecting his cards, but I can’t think of a reason not to, can you? For me Buck O’Neil will live forever. . If you aren’t familiar with Buck O’Neil, the man was amazing and I am honored to call him a friend. He wrote a pair of books and I highly recommend checking out his first autobiography, “I Was Right On Time”. 
If you are in the Kansas City area, checking out the Negro Leagues Museum is also highly recommended. There is an amazing life sized bronze statue of Buck there. Thanks for reading. Buck O’Neil forever! Thanks to everyone who has sent me Buck cards already, please keep 'em coming! Thanks to my beautiful wife for the idea and thanks to Brian for the post inspiration! I also owe a thank you to Madding from Cards on Cards for the Bull card at the top of the post. Go Rays! Troll out.
Of the 100 cards it lists, many are parallels. It looks like there are maybe 20 different cards and a whole bunch of parallel versions of them. He has several certified autos out there. From 1998 Bowman alone there are 12 different variations of his card including, regular, chrome, international and refractors of each one. There are also 3 different certified autos from that release. It is good to know what I am up against and I think I can handle gathering up ALL 100 of his cards. I need to dig them all out and create a have and needs list, but I believe that I has at least 15 different Sandberg cards. I would like to add the 1983 Topps, Donruss and Fleer trio of his uncle Ryne to the binder as well. I really wanted to find someone that I could realistically obtain EVERY single card of. With all that I lost I do still do own a 1/1 of CC. It is a magenta printing plate from 2009 Goodwins. 
It is neat, I guess. I am happy to own it, but I know I will never have the other 3 one of ones from this set. Carl Crawford just is not realistic, nor is Roberto Clemente and Evan Longoria is not possible either. Of the other guys I collect like Jason Bartlett, Carlos Pena, Ben Zobrist, Akinori Iwamura, Pat Neshek and Brian Roberts; they all just have too many high priced, low numbered cards out there. 
Jonny Gomes is more affordable to a certain extent, but again he has many low serial numbered cards that just aren’t available. I thought about adding Grant Balfour, but even he has a ton of cards. 
I think I can manage Sandberg. Any player who has 1/1 cards that has more than one fan can never be affordable or attainable. I hope to someday organize my Danny Tartabull cards and finish him off. I may never be able to afford his 1993 Finest Refractor, but I can probably track down everything else. Speaking of the Bull... 
If anyone has some free time and could put together (from Beckett dot com) a complete list of his cards, I would REALLY appreciate it. Since I started the Tartabull PC when I was 10 years old and still have most of his cards, that collection is very special to me. I have been trying to think of someone else to add to my list that is actually attainable. There are plenty of players I follow, both past and present, but the main ones just have too many high-priced issues out there. Bill Mazeroski, Monte Irvin, Bert Blyleven, Rod Carew, Dave Winfield, Willie Stargell, Tim Raines, Joe Carter, Dave Parker and Larry Doby are all HOFers (or should be). 
Anyway, I am open for suggestions. I would like to add a player from the 60s or 70s, someone from the 80s and 90s and 2000s, too. Maybe a current player. Someone who has around the same amount of cards as Jared Sandberg. At least 27, not more than 150 while remaining fairly affordable that is significant to whom I collect. That is former Negro Leaguers (or family of); Devil Rays, Pirates or Orioles, sometimes even White Sox or Senators. 
Mudcat Grant, Tony Oliva, Minnie Minoso, Bob Friend (another awesome card from SlangKo!), 
Elroy Face, Don Newcombe, Johnny Sain, Donn Clendenon and Junior Gilliam have always been favorites of mine, but how affordable are they? Remember, I am looking for total completion, but ideally would like a player with at least one current relic or certified auto, too. I am strongly considering Ben Grieve and or Quinton McCracken. Billy Pierce and Steve Carlton have always been high on my list, but after losing both their rookie cards last week, I don’t think I could go back. As for the new current player-I have received a few packages from Justin G this week. Today’s included a ton of awesome Evan Longoria cards. 
Some replaced ones that I had lost; a few were brand new to me. I haven’t scanned any yet though. Last week he sent a huge package of Pirates cards. 
He also sent this Octavio Dotel Career Best jersey relic from 2009 Topps. I don’t think I will become a Dotel collector. I claimed the card to give to my little brother. He met Dotel last month, but we didn’t have any cards of him. Looking at his “career best” numbers on the back, Dotel has had a pretty nice career. The other card that stuck out in the package was this 2010 Topps Gold card of Garrett Jones. I am a sucker for Topps Gold. After losing almost all of my Rays gold cards I thought I was done with them forever, but it just took me getting 1 more to feel the urge to chase down every one I can. 
Anyway, this particular gold card is of Pirates right fielder Garrett Jones. I think that Jones is the real deal and has a few really solid seasons ahead of him. Unfortunately I am not the only one. I checked a few of the popular auction sites and his stuff is blowing up. I guess that eliminates him too. He is a great player and a super fan friendly guy. I am really glad he has finally got his shot. I guess that is it for now. All of this player collection madness was inspired by Justin G by the way. When he announced he was 
Then, later on in that miserable night (full story to come) I got a comment from Wicked Ortega that he was the official super collector of young Mr. Willis and that the blog-o-sphere wasn’t big enough for two of us. I was put off a little bit at first, but after I read some of the old posts on his blog I realized that he was a serious Dontrelle Willis fan. He had followed the guy through thick and thin, his collection was over 400 cards already and he planned to have 3000 cards in his collection by the end of the year. 
This dude seriously had me beat commitment wise. I had planned to have a jersey card of him as a Marlin and a Tiger and get an autograph. I have decided to concede my entire 5 card collection of Mr. Willis to Mr. Wicked Ortega and officially withdraw my claim to any Willis cards at present or in the future. 
I would like to thank my wife, Esther Gin N Juice for her support through this day of player collecting and most of all I would like to thank all of you in the blog-o-sphere who graciously offered me your D-Train cards. I will however have to decline those offers as I am officially no longer a collector of Dontrelle Willis cards. 
Mr. Ortega, please send me your address and these 5 beauties are all yours! Best of luck in your collecting and best of luck to you Dontrelle Willis, I am still in your corner!!! Readers of this blog: This will be the final appearance for any and all of these fine cardboard examples of this fine young pitcher. Go Rays! Troll out.
