The Year of the Base Card is off to a Strong Start

Once I decided to focus my 2015 collecting on base cards, I set out to devise a strategy to maximize my collecting dollars and the number and quality of cards I wanted to add throughout the year.  I looked through my vintage want list to identify a few of the cards I wanted to chase and saved some searches on eBay.  I decided to look through the daily email reminders and look for some good deals.  Right after that I hit Justcommons.com and filled my shopping cart with Giants cards from the mid 2000s, a time in which I was collecting but not yet focused on the Giants.

Justcommons provides free shipping on orders over $10 and you can get a 10% discount on orders over $50.  I decided to go for the $50 mark and ended up securing 188 Giants cards, almost all base cards.  I don't have the time/patience to scan that many cards and you don't have the attention span to look at that many so I am going to scan a sampling and list out how many of each I received so I have a nice record on the blog.

I added 9 2004 Bowman, 2 2004 Bowman Chrome Draft, 2 2004 Bowman Draft, 2 2004 Donruss Elite Edition, 1 2004 National Pride, 2 2004 Playoff Honors, 1 2004 Skybox LE, 1 2004 SP Authentic and 7 2004 Topps Chrome cards

There are a lot of Jason Schmidt Giants cards during this time frame.  The right handed pitcher was the ace of the Giants staff and for a couple of years when Barry Bonds wouldn't allow any cards made of him, Schmidt was the go to guy in the smaller sets that needed a Giant or two.  I was real happy to score the Matt Cain Bowman rookie card for a very low price.

I added 20 2004 Topps Total, 5 2004 Ultimate Collection and 3 2005 Artifacts cards

For most of this post I am just scanning one card per set but I was really excited to find these numbered Ultimate Collection and Artifacts cards on justcommons.com.  The trio of HOFers looks great.  I didn't have many 2004 Topps Total Giants but did some quick research and found that buying them as singles was more cost effective than buying the team set on eBay.

I added 4 2005 Bazooka, 1 2005 Bowman Chrome, 1 2005 Bowman's Best Green, 7 2005 Diamond Kings, 4 2005 Donruss Elite, 1 2005 Fleer Showcase, 2 2005 Leaf, 2 2005 Leather and Lumber and 1 2005 Playoff Prestige cards

It is funny how your mind can shift and impact much of how you look at your hobby.  I purchased a Bowman's Best base card of Barry Bonds but was sent a green parallel that is serial numbered /899 and was actually upset.  A card that is more rare and worth more used to make me happy.  The Prestige card of Vizquel somewhat bothers me since he is wearing an Indians uniform but he is listed as a Giant and it has the Giants logo so I have to pick it up.

I added 1 2005 Reflections, 3 2005 SP Legendary Cuts, 3 2005 Sweet Spot Classics, 10 2005 Topps Chrome, 20 2005 Topps Total, 2 2005 UD Baseball Heroes, 1 2006 Bowman, 5 2006 Bowman Chrome and 2 2006 Bowman Chrome Draft cards

Here is another Topps Total set that I was able to score quite a few of my Giants needs.  Giants playoff hero Travis Ishikawa makes a rookie appearance from 8 years back, what a path he has taken.  The SP Legendary and Sweet Spot Classic cards are great looking sets.

I added 2 2006 Bowman Chrome Prospects, 5 2006 Bowman Heritage, 1 2006 Bowman Draft, 2 2006 SPx, 3 2006 Topps '52, 3 2007 Bowman Chrome, 1 2007 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects, 5 2007 Bowman Chrome Draft, and 1 2007 Bowman Draft Prospects cards

Shortly before deciding to go all in to collect Giants, I started a Brian Wilson player collection and the rookie card in the middle of this scan was crazy expensive.  I didn't ever pick it up and got this one for under a quarter.  BTW, I stopped the player collection and just decided to incorporate his cards into my Giants collection which worked out well as his Dodgers cards add no joy to my life.

I added 1 2007 Bowman Heritage, 1 2007 Topps '52 Chrome, 1 2007 Topps Opening Day, 1 2007 Upper Deck Spectrum, 2 2008 Bowman, 3 2008 Bowman Chrome, 1 2008 Bowman Chrome Prospects, 1 2008 Bowman Draft Prospects and 1 2008 Donruss Elite Extra Edition cards

The Fred Lewis Chrome parallel was a nice pick up.  He has a ton of cards from his not too long stint on the Giants.  As a Trojan, the UCLA card of Brandon Crawford is a little unnerving but he came around to the good guys and just signed his contract to reup with the Giants so he is okay in my book.

I added 1 2008 Bowman Prospects, 1 2008 Donruss Threads, 1 2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes, 4 2008 Upper Deck First Edition, 2 2009 Bowman Chrome, 1 2009 SP Authentic and 1 2009 Upper Deck First Edition cards

This group is all pitchers and catchers although I never remembering hearing Klimas' name as a real Giants prospect.  The two Lincecum cards are probably my favorites, the Bowman one in particular.  It is a good looking design and a great picture.

I added 3 2014 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospect, 3 2014 Bowman Draft Prospects and 2 2014 Topps Heritage High Number cards

Finally some 2014 cards to help out on the most recent year of base cards.  The 2 Heritage High Numbers actually started this shopping spree.  I was sad to see Morse go but understand why they let him.  I am optimistic that Panik will continue to improve and will have a solid year in 2015.

There you have it, some representative scans of the first big purchase in the Year of the Base Card.  I am looking forward to finding some more creative ways to secure some large lots of needed base cards.