I'm back.

Hello fellow collectors, I hope that everyone is doing well and having fun in collecting cards and completing your want list. I have been away for awhile now as you can see by my last post.
Cancer came back into my life right around the last time I posted on here. I underwent surgery and just recently completed chemotherapy. Between the surgery and chemo, I did not have the energy or the drive to have anything to do with sports cards.
I am feeling better now but am still dealing with the side effects from the chemo, one of them being that my hands, especially my finger tips get really numb, which makes it hard to type. So as I type this, I do so with many errors, but I am correcting them as I go along.....lol.
I really hope to get back into collecting and especially with helping ya'll with your want list. So hopefully in the near future I will message you and let you know that I have cards that you are looking for.
Keep well everyone and happy collecting,

Eli

More card shop pick ups.

I have not had much to write about recently, still working on my personal collections, as we all know, they are a never ending work in progress. I hit up my local card shop, DJ's Collectible Shoppe the other day and picked up a few cards to add to my collection.

There were more cards there that I wanted to get, but I had to limit myself, plus I forgot my list at home. I had an idea of which cards I have and don't have, but sometimes the old brain tends to forget and I'll pick up a double or two. I hope to go back to DJ's soon and pick up some more cards.

There are a few card shows lined up between now and the end of September, so I hope to hit one or two and see what I find there. Here are a few cards that I picked up at DJ's.

Vladimir Guerrero 2003 Donruss Diamond Kings #1

Vladimir Guerrero 2002 Donruss Diamond Kings #1

Ryne Sandberg 1996 Metal Universe Mother Lode 10 of 12

Ivan Rodriguez 2006 Upper Deck Ovation #74

Ivan Rodriguez 2002 SPx #21

Jeff Bagwell 2005 Topps Gallery #143

Jeff Bagwell 2003 Fleer Showcase Sweet Stitches 3 of 10

Value pack hits

Hey, I hope that everyone has been well. I have been missing in action for awhile now dealing with some medical issues. So I have not had much to write about recently as far as baseball cards go. I did have a few hits from some value packs, so I guess it's a good way to start back up on here. I am slowly getting back in a baseball state of mind, but not all the way there as of yet. I have watched a few spring training games, not too bad, but I am ready for the regular season to start up. Well here I have five cards that I got in some value packs from Target, nothing great, but it gives me something to write about.

Pictured left to right are.

2007 Upper Deck Game Materials Curt Schilling.

2007 Upper Deck Game Materials Erik Bedard.

2004 Upper Deck Marquee Attractions Preston Wilson game used jersey.

2007 Bowman Heritage Baseball Pieces of Greatness Nick Swisher game used bat card.

2005 Donruss Team Heroes Merkin Valdez sticker auto.

Card shop Vlad

I started a collection of Vladimir Guerrero not too long ago, I always enjoyed watching him play, but truly enjoy watching him at the plate, I think of him as the "man with no strike zone".

I have a few cards of his cards in the boxes of many cards that I have so I pulled them out, put them in a binder and the collection began.

I have also acquired some of his cards through a few trades with some fellow bloggers, but last week I stopped by my local card shop, DJ's Collectible Shoppe and picked up a few Vlady cards. I did not have a list with me, so I just picked up a few that I knew that I did not have. I'd like to thank Jason at DJ's for having a great shop, keep up the great work.

The cards pictured are as follows:

1999 Topps Gallery #122

2002 Topps 206 Mini #203

2003 SP Authentic #65

2004 Diamond Kings #49

2003 Fleer Ticket Studs #14

1999 Topps Gallery #11

Samuari Mike

Well here is the second autographed card that I ever pulled, it is a 1999 Upper Deck Century Legends #MS Mike Singletary. Former linebacker for the Chicago Bears and most recent former head football coach of the San Francisco 49ers. He is an intense player and expects the best from his players and that he did not get from the 49ers, so out the door he went. I think that he will be back as a head coach somewhere, perhaps in the college ranks once bowl season is over and the ax falls on college football head coaches.

Merry Christmas!

Hey folks, I would like to wish each and everyone of you and your families a very merry Christmas, please be safe and have fun.

Now, I have one question, IF Santa Claus could complete just one of your personal card collections on Christmas day, which one would you wish for? I would go with my Ryne Sandberg collection as my pick. Merry Christmas,

Eli

Randomness

Here are some 1984 Ralston Purina 1st Annual Collector's Edition baseball cards by Topps. I do not remember when or how I got these, but they are pretty cool.

They were available in Ralston cereals, Cookie Crips is the only one I remember eating so maybe that's where I got them.

The back of each card has a little personal info on each player, on Brett's card it says that he has 3 brothers (Ken, John,Bobby). Lynn was named All-American at USC. Fisk was his high school's MVP in soccer and Cooper's high school team won 2 Texas titles.

The cards are

George Brett #13 of 33

Fred Lynn #29 of 33

Carlton Fisk #33 of 33

Cecil Cooper #27 of 33

Now onto this gem. Please tell me that none of you have this sweat shirt as part of your wardrobe....lol. I don't believe it was "cool" then, much less now. What was Topps thinking when they offered this to collectors as a purchase? "High quality Puffy-lettered sweatshirt" aka, wear it to school and get punched in the face. Nice going Topps.

GO NAVY! BEAT ARMY!

In one of the best rivalries in collegiate football, the Army vs Navy game has to rank high among all of sports. Tomorrow brings us the 111th meeting between the two service academies, it is always a great game, with both sides giving it all they have, leaving it all on the field.

Some people do not like the style of football played by both sides, but they have to remember that the academies do not recruit football players, they recruit leaders.

So come game time, I will be cheering on my Navy team to get the victory, but as a retired veteran a part of me always cheers for the Army and Air Force academies.

GO NAVY! BEAT ARMY!

Random Pack #1 2004 Fleer Patchworks

Well since things have been pretty slow on the trading front, I figured that I would do a random pack post like some other bloggers do, plus it gives me something to do....lol.

Ok, today we have Fleer Patchworks from 2004, there are 5 cards per pack. I have never seen these cards before, at least I don't remember seeing them. I actually like the look of these cards, I especially like the black background on the left side with the team logo embossed over it.

The cards pictured are as follows:

#31 Jason Schmidt

#60 Austin Kearns

#5 of 15 Eric Gagne By The Numbers

#64 Preston Wilson

#23 Miguel Tejada

Ron Santo

Chicago Cub great Ron Santo has passed away. This is a very sad day for Cubs fans and baseball fans in general. Ron always made me laugh when I listened to the Cubs on WGN Radio out here in California. He had a great laugh and his "Awwww gezzzzz" is my favorite phrase of his. He had a tremendous passion for the Cubs and for the fans as well. It is sad to know that he was never voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame while he was alive. But knowing the politics of baseball, he will probably be voted in now. A little too late if you ask me.

But I believe that Ron's hall of fame were the Cubbies, the Cubs fans and the friendly confines of Wrigley Field, that was and always will be his Cooperstown.

Rest in peace Ron, I wil miss listening to your voice on the radio.....awwww gezzzzz.

The Brooklyn Met!

I recently received a package in the mail from Jason aka thebrooklynmet over at Clearcutcards. He got the cards pictured below in a group break, so knowing that I collect Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio, he was kind enough to send them my way so I could add them to my collection. Thank you Jason, I greatly appreciate it.

1998 Dugout Axcess #1 of 20 Double Header Jeff Bagwell

1998 Dugout Axcess #130 7th Inning Stretch Jeff Bagwell

1998 Dugout Axcess #20 Craig Biggio

1998 Dugout Axcess #19 Jeff Bagwell

Texas Ranger Rob

Hey folks, it has been awhile since I last posted anything on here. I have not pulled any great cards and do not have any trades in progress, so needless to say, my card world has been pretty quiet. But not long ago, I worked on a trade with Rob at Texas Rangers Cards , I sent him some cards for his Rangers collection and in return he sent me the Pudge cards pictured above. So my Ivan Rodriguez collection is coming along well, it's almost time to split the binder and start a new one...lol. Thanks for the cards Rob, I hope that we can trade again sometime in the future.

The cards pictured are as follows.

2003 Topps Finest #18

2003 Topps Bazooka #101

2003 Donruss Studio #125

2003 Fleer Focus Jersey Edition #133

2005 Playoff Prestige Game Worn Jersey Collection #7

2003 Fleer Avant #36

2003 Upper Deck #455

2003 Upper Deck MVP #7

More for my collection.

Well I checked my mail over the weekend only to find the usual junk mail, insurance stuff, coupons and the ever present bill, but there under all that was a bubble mailer from Chris over at Budget Baseball Cardboarding. Awhile back, I sent him a bunch of Rays cards, along with some Ichiro and some other players to add to his collection. I was not expecting a package, but I was very surprised and happy to have received it.

Chris sent me some cards for my collection of Pudge, Vlad, Biggio and Bagwell. Along with those he sent a Mike Scott and Dickie Thon to add to my Astros collection in tribute to my late father.

Thanks for the cards Chris, I hope that we can trade again some time soon.

Pictured here from left to right are the following:

Mike Scott 1983 Topps #100T

Dickie Thon 1987 Topps Tiffany #386

Ivan Rodriguez 2007 Topps Heritage #370

Vladimir Guerrero 2006 Topps 2K All-Stars #7, 2007 Bowman #136, 2007 Upper Deck TP-VG

Craig Biggio 1990 Topps #157, 1990 Score #237

Jeff Bagwell 2001 Topps #407

A little of this, a little of that.

Hey, I hope that everyone out there in the sports card blog universe is doing well. Not much going on over in my part of the world, just been busy with everyday life, but enjoying it all.

As of late, I have not been motivated to mess with my cards, football season is upon us and I am ready for it to kick in full tilt. I did pick up some packs over the weekend, a mix mash of this and that, I won't post all the cards I got, just the one's that I consider a little bit more special than the others. It always feels great to bust open some packs, new or old. From left to right are,

2007 Topps DS29 John F. Kennedy Distinguished Service card.

2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes 127 Joe DiMaggio

2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes121 Yogi Berra

2008 Upper Deck Yankee Stadium Legacy YSL 1979 Allie Reynolds

2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes#18(Black) Frank Robinson

2008 Upper Deck Yankee Stadium Legacy YSL 2004 Yogi Berra

2005 Upper Deck ESPN GU-JE Jim Edmonds game used card.....one of my favorite players, great hustle.

2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes #178 Pujols/Musial

2005 Upper Deck ESPN BH-21 Mike Schmidt........one of the best third basemen/player to ever play the game.

Well there you have it, not great, but not bad I guess. I plan on picking up some packs this weekend, hopefully I'll find something good.....take care.

80's Astros

Hey, I hope that everyone is well out there in the baseball blogging universe. Yesterday I received a package from blog reader Tim in Ohio. He sent me some Bagwell's, Biggio's, Ryno and Pudge cards to add to my collection of those players, but I wanted to focus on the cards I have pictured here.

They are all of Houston Astros, my late father's favorite team. I am putting together a binder of cards of the players on the 1976-1987 time frame Astros. These are the players that I remember on those teams and that I remember watching on TV with my father.

A lot of these guys are not big name players, a few are, but for the most part they are just forgotten names, but to me they are reminders of those times when my father was still alive and cheering on his Astros. In a way this is just a small tribute to him and to those players that made up the team that he so loved very much.

Pictured here are Jose Cruz, Enos Cabell, Joe Niekro, Terry Puhl, Bob Knepper, Alan Ashby, Ray Knight, Mike Scott and Dickie Thon.

Legit or fleas?

Does anyone know anything about these jersey cards? I can't seem to find much on them. Just wondering if they are legit jerseys or flea market specials. The card pictured here is a 2003 Upper Deck Rickey Henderson. Any information on these would be helpful, thanks.

The Middle Child

I received a package over the weekend from ShellieB from The Middle Child sports cards, check out her blog and work out a trade with her, you won't be dissapointed. I recently sent her some Big Mac cards, Albert Pujols and Chipper Jones cards along with a few others that I hope she will like. Here are just a few of the cards that she sent to me in exchange.


Pictured above is a 1995 Upper Deck Final Tribute Ryne Sandberg #447 along with a couple of Craig Biggio cards, a 1997 Score Artist Proof PP35 and a 1998 Pacific Paramount # 169. The scan does not do justice to the Biggio Artist Proof card, it is a great looking card.

Here a a few of the Pudge cards that she sent over, a 1998 Sports Illustrated 12 of 12, a 1998 Pinnacle Mint Collections #20, Topps 2005 Opening Day #30 and a 2006 Upper Deck First Pitch #69. Great cards to add to my Pudge collection.

Also include were some Vlad cards, he is new to my collection, but thanks to ShellieB, my Vlad collection is growing rapidly. The surprise card here is the 2005 Fleer Platinum Diamond Dominators DD/VG jersey card, I was not expecting to receive this great card. I also received a 2007 Fleer Ultra #85, a 1997 Topps Gallery and a 1998 Donruss Hit List # 346.

Thanks for the trade ShellieB, I hope that we can trade again in the future.

Another trade

I recently completed a trade with blog reader Tim from Ohio. He does not have a blog himself, but he does manage to read trading blogs and work out some trades. I sent him a package not long ago filled with some Expos, Nationals and Indians to add to his collection. In return he sent some Ryno, Pudge, Biggio and Bagwell cards. Along with those he included some 70's and 80's Houston Astros cards. They were my late father's favorite team, so I am working on putting together some cards of the players that were on the team when he would watch them on television. Here is sample of the cards he sent my way. Thanks for the cards Tim, hope to trade with you again.

Clear Cut Trade

I recently completed a trade with Jason over at Clear Cut Cards http://clearcutcards.blogspot.com/ I sent him a bunch of Piazza and Olerud cards along with some other players to add to his collection. In return he sent me some Ryno, Pudge, Bagwell, Biggio and Vlad cards to add to my collection. These are just a few of the cards he sent my way. Go check Jason out and trade with him, he is very cool.

Here are some Ryno and Pudge cards that I was missing, gotta love the Ryno TR #312.

Biggio and Bagwell two of my favorite players, gotta love their dedication to one team, very rare to see players do that these days.

And finally some Vlad, the greatest swing in baseball, the man with no strike zone....lol. I really like the UD #47 A Piece of History.

Jason, thanks again for the trade, I look forward to more in the future.

Topps Ticket To Stardom 2009

I picked up a box of old packs over the weekend at Target that contained a pack of these cards, 2009 Topps Ticket to Stardom. I have never seen or heard of these, but don't look too bad, kind of plain looking in a way, but sometimes minimum is better. I did notice however that three of the cards, Garko, Pujols and Penny are missing a little something. Look closely and you will be able to tell right away? See it? Notice the black looking bar? It's actually silver foil, it reads from left to right, position-name-card#:.
As you can see now, the three cards I mentioned are missing the silver foil. If I angle the card properly, I can see where the foil was supposed to be and can just barely see an imprint of the words position-name-card#: on there. Someone must have fallen asleep when the silver foil ran out or taken an extra long smoke break. I can see getting one card like this, but three in one pack? What are the odds....lol