Hall of Fame Auto - Barry Larkin

Recently I posted a sweet Rod Carew auto I bought at my LCS to add to my HOF Auto collection.  I alluded to a 2nd HOFer bought during the same visit and it is time to show off that card:

Surprising Barry Larkin doesn't have that many certified autograph cards and despite the lack of a Panini license, this is one of the nicest I have seen.  The design, to me, has a nice retro feel to it with the stripes and stars surrounding the photo frame.  I like the smiling photo of Larkin and the necklace with his jersey number prominently included.  The card design left a nice large area for an on card auto and Larkin signed a nice, big auto.  The upper right shows that this card is limited to 99 copies.

Another great addition to my collection of HOF shortstop Barry Larkin.  This puts me half way to my 6 HOF Auto card goal for 2015.  I am looking forward to tracking down some more legendary cards.

McCovey Monday #74 - 2014 Ginter Minis

My favorite player of all time is Hall of Famer Willie McCovey.  I have amassed a collection of over 1200 different  McCovey cards since I started collecting him in the late 1980s.  I will show off one of my favorite cards every Monday.  Stretch was one of the most feared hitters of all time and I am excited to show off my collection.


I have had some scans of some Willie McCovey minis in my to post folder for quite some time, it is a nice looking trio of cards:

 The first card of course is from the 2013 Ginter set.  The black border looks great with the Giants card, nicely matching the hat and sleeves Willie is sporting on the card.  The other two cards are from the 2014 release with the "regular" mini and the A&G back.  All 3 of these are nice additions to my McCovey collection but a recent addition really inspired me to share some Ginter minis:

I recently saw this Flag Back card hand serial numbered 11/25 pop up on eBay with a $9.99 opening bid.  I popped a $15ish bid on it and waited my 7 days.  Luckily nobody else placed a bid and I was able to bring this fairly rare card home. The front is the same as the regular mini but this unique back is quite nice.

In addition to the 3 cards shown here, I have the black border and red border /33 cards.  Getting this card has inspired to me look for the gold border and no number minis to complete the non-1/1 rainbow. Wish me luck!

My Feelings About the Panda

I am heading out very early tomorrow morning for work trip that won't bring me home until Friday. I don't have much in the way of posts planned but I did upload some scans in case I have some time free in the evenings to write some posts.
 
I don't believe I have shared my thoughts about Pablo Sandoval's departure from the Giants and I am certain I haven't commented on his recent comments blasting most of him teammates and the organization.  I thought it would be good to clean out my scanned folder and share some thoughts from this diehard Giants fan.

2014 Topps Trajectory Relic

As the story goes Pablo passed up the same or more money from the Giants to move to the Red Sox in free agency.  At the time Pablo was gracious and said he just wanted a fresh start.  My feelings at that point were a combination of sadness and relief.  I was sad to see him go, he was a fan favorite, my kids love him and he was a hero of the past two World Series victories.  I was relieved because I feel the money he was given was too much, the length of the contract too long and was worried the long term contract would result in him gaining weight and being ineffective.

2013 Topps Triple Thread Relic 16/18

Then the Giants acquired Casey McGehee to replace the Panda at the Hot Corner.  He is a much cheaper option.  He had a pretty solid year last year and won the Comeback Player of the Year award.  He displayed virtually no power and I can't imagine that getting better at AT&T Park this year.  Overall I think it was a solid signing and it eased my mind a bit, at least we won't be trotting Joaquin Arias out every day.

2013 Topps Tier One Relic 113/399

Panda has almost left my consciousness, I had moved on.  Then his idiotic comments came to light.  I somewhat get why he would rip the entire organization's front office. He was hurt by a perceived lack of respect due to a lowball offer during the off season prior to the 2014 season.  At the time I think the offer was wise but hurt feelings would not be out of the question.  But he then ripped all of his former teammates with the exception of Hunter Pence and reveals that he was never going to resign with the Giants. I thought back to victory parade after the World Series where the fans gave him so much love and he told them he would do everything to come back. I guess that was all a lie.  And what did the rest of the Giants team do to him.  This didn't make this Giants fan feel good and made cutting any emotional ties quite easy.

2011 Topps Heritage Stamp with Justin Morneau 55/62

So what is my plan moving forward with regards to Panda cards. I am a Giants collector, I won't be going after any of his new cards other than the ones I need for my sets.  I doubt I will go after any of his past cards unless they are base card needs. If I run across a neat looking card at a very good price, I may pick it up but I don't see any active pursuit of his cards.  I will still enjoy the cards that I have in my collection and they will always bring back memories of some World Series titles.

2010 Bowman Sterling Dual Relic with Prince Fielder 179/199

Have there ever been two players who belong on a card together more than these two?  Sayonara Panda, enjoy Boston and try to stay away from the cream pies.

Nachos Grande Group Break - 2015 Heritage

I recently participated in a group break run by Chris over at Nachos Grande.  Chris broke a case of 2015 Heritage and a bonus box of 2004 Topps Clubhouse Collection.  I quickly jumped in on my Giants and it is time to show off the goods.  Overall I think I did pretty well - nothing epic but a solid group of Giants that will mostly satisfy my Heritage urge this year.

First up, let's check out the base, the Giants have 23 cards in the base set this year and excitedly for me, only 1 SP.  This is after the fiasco last year of 6 (and since I built the set I had to get 2 of each).

The Hunter Pence card is the SP in the set and is one of my favorite pictures.  I have no idea why the Giants have 2 players on Rookie Stars cards that share card space with dudes from other teams.  Why not just give the Giants 1 card with both guys.

Overall I got just this one team set because of the Pence SP.  I got 2 full sets minus the Hunter SP, another team set minus the Hunter and 2 shared rookies (I suspect Chris split the cards between the people who claimed each team).  I have a final set that is missing those 3 card and Juan Perez.  In addition I got a 6th card of 9 different players including Posey and MadBum.  I tell you this primarily to let you know that if you have any Giants needs, I am your guy.

On to the inserts:

I was lucky enough to get copies of all the Giants inserts.  The 2 Baseball Flashbacks were expected as the Giants had some star filled teams in the 60s.  I am surprised that the reigning World Series Champions get no current players in the Then & Now sets and only 1 in the New Age Performers. I do like the design of the New Age cards this year and the photo on the Buster card definitely works.

I was lucky enough to get one of the gum stained parallels:

It was none other that future HOFer Manager Bruce Bochy  I had heard news that these were scratch and sniff and I tried (and confirmed) it for myself.  The Beckett checklist shows that all the Giants have this parallel. If that is true these have to be fairly short printed as these are only about 1 per hobby box.

I was lucky enough to get 2 1966 Original Buy Back cards in the break:

Both cards are in really nice condition and I am super happy to have them. I recall seeing a video where one of the 3 card strips in a box topper had a Giant but I must have missed out on the random of that card.

My final card from the Heritage break was a card that excited me greatly when I saw it get pulled:

A great action variation of World Series hero Madison Bumgarner.  This is a great looking card, I love the action in any Heritage card and the Orange jersey places this card close to the top of the list.  Great card and my hit of the break!  Similar to the lack of Giants in the insert sets, there are no base relics of current Giants players - unbelievable to me.

I didn't get a chance to see the 2004 Topps Clubhouse Collection box broken so I was very pleasantly surprised to see this card in my package:

A great looking relic of Will "The Thrill" Clark (I think he is Night Owls favorite former Giant).  Will is sporting the sweet eye black as he rounds the bases after a thrilling homer to bring home a Giants win.  The Giants available to pull from this set also include Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda, Edgardo Alfonzo, Marquis Grissom and Jeff Kent.  Outside of Willie Mays, Clark would have been my choice and I am happy to have received 1 of the 20 hits from the box.

Once again Chris, another great break and I am looking forward to the next one!

The Freak

When my son and I were in Arizona a couple weeks back taking in some Spring Training games, Tim Lincecum, aka The Freak, came into our middle game in relief of Santiago Casilla who had relieved starter Madison Bumgarner.  The reaction of the crowd was by far the loudest, craziest and most surprising in the 2 games we attended. It was almost like the reaction a rock band gets when it comes out on stage.  Timmy is loved by the Giants fans and even my son and I got caught up in the excitement.

Lincecum has been hyped this year because he worked out all off season with his dad and seems to have a little of him magic left.  Despite giving up 2 runs in his 2 innings I saw, he look pretty good in striking out 5 of the 6 batters he retired.  The Giants need him to bounce back to some degree if they have any playoff chances.

I am not necessarily counting on Lincecum but could sure use some solid stats out of him in my fantasy league.  We have a very deep (12 teams with rosters of 40) keeper league where every player remains on your team year to year with 2 chances to draft - preseason and midseason.  I traded for Lincecum a couple years back hoping for a bounce back and getting very little production.  We are finalizing our draft right now I have decided to take a flier and hold onto The Freak, just in case.

Lincecum's cards have dropped significantly in price over the last few years in parallel with his performance decline.  I didn't record the price of these 4 relics I am sharing in this post but I am certain that none of them cost more that $5.  There was a time when his rookie base cards couldn't be found at that price.  I have filled many of my base card gaps for his rookie year but still needing his 2007 rookie cards from Bowman Chrome, Bowman Chrome Draft, Bowman Heritage, SP Rookie Edition (card #214), Topps 52 Chrome and 3 UD Elements cards.

I have a couple Timmy Autos in my collection but I am thinking it may be time to seek out those rookie cards and a few autos for my collection with the prices down just in case.  You never know, if he bounces back to Cy Young form the Giants could be dangerous.

Hall of Fame Auto - Rod Carew

One of my favorite parts of my collection is my Autograph collection of Baseball Hall of Famers.  I love thumbing through the cards and reflecting on the baseball history the guys who signed the cards (or stickers) represent.  I set a goal this year to add 6 new cards to this collection and so far I have just shared 1, HOF Reds and Tigers manager Sparky Anderson.  I decided it was time to show off my 2nd pick up of 2015.

I have 2 LCSs that I frequent and I am pretty excited because one of them has started picking up some nice singles. He lists them on eBay at around book value but will sell them to me at or slightly lower than the best offer that he has received.  If there have been no offers, he will look at past sales and give me a good price.  In comparison, the other shop always lists at book value or above and rarely gives much of a discount.  So shop #1 gets my single card buying business.

When I set my goal for 6 new HOF autos, I set up some eBay notifications so I could start tracking what the prices are going for to make sure I get a solid deal.  One of those players is the feature of this post, former Twins and Angels 2B/1B Rod Carew.  Carew is a member of the 3,000 hit club and I remember him most for his time with the Angels.  For some reason though I am always drawn to him cards with the Twins.

When I saw this card in the display case I was very excited as it hit on several of my likes in a good auto card.  First it is an on card auto.  I also like the gold ink used although the thickness of the pen makes it look a little sloppy, I still like the gold.  The design is quite nice, Five Star is a high end Topps product and this card would not disappoint if pulled out of a high end pack.  It is numbered 21/25 which is cool, I never complain about low numbered cards.  And probably the best thing to me is that the photo is a great looking picture of him in the 1st half of his career as a Twin.

This card originally carried a $50 or $60 price tag in the display case but I was able to get it and another HOF card I will show off later for just $60 total. I am pretty happy for such a high end card of a HOFer for just $30.

The Joy of a Completed 1950s Giants Team Set

I finally did it!  I finished a Topps Giants team set from the 1950s, granted it is the latest of the decade but that doesn't dampen my enthusiasm one bit.  As is customary with my Giants team set posts, I will share the last few cards I picked up then show off the team set as a whole.  Enjoy, this is one of my favorite Topps vintage sets.

 I have no idea why this card was one of the last 4 for me to pick up, it just never made it into a bucket or eBay search.  I do dig the flattop hair cut.  The blue with the Giants logo doesn't look too great but still a decent card.

 This was actually my final pick up.  My only real criteria was to get a team card with no writing on the checklist on the back.  It ended up being tough to find one what wasn't graded and I didn't want a graded card because these belong in the pages as a team set.  I finally scored it off of COMC for a pretty solid price and had a small batch of cards delivered just to have this in my hands and finish off the set.

 One of two Giants Sporting News All Stars, the Baby Bull Orlando Cepeda.  Pretty crazy that a rookie would come up the following year and supplant Cepeda who was only in his 3rd year.  The Giants tried that rookie, Willie McCovey, in the outfield and did the same to Cepeda but ultimately they traded Orlando to the Cardinals.  These All Star cards are great looking.

The final card in my quad to finish the team set is another wonderful Sporting News All Star card of the best all around player of all time, Willie Mays.  This card is off center right to left but not as bad as the scan makes it.  A am a huge fan of this card, one of my favorite Mays cards in my collection.

Now the entire set all together:

McCovey Monday #73 - 2015 Topps Highlight of the Year Insert

My favorite player of all time is Hall of Famer Willie McCovey.  I have amassed a collection of over 1200 different  McCovey cards since I started collecting him in the late 1980s.  I will show off one of my favorite cards every Monday.  Stretch was one of the most feared hitters of all time and I am excited to show off my collection.

It has been a few weeks since I posted a McCovey card maybe due to the lack of new cards coming out.  I have 3 binders full of his cards but I have been too lazy to pull them off the shelf and scan some cards.  Willie only had 2 cards in the Series 1 Topps 2015 release, a relic that I don't have yet and this insert:

This card if from the Highlight of the Year insert set and celebrates McCovey's 3rd career pinch grand slam.  I find it hard that there is nothing else from that year that tops this highlight but I am very glad Topps picked this accomplishment to celebrate. My Willie Mac collection extends beyond his time with the Giants, since he is shown as a Padre, I only needed two copies of this card (one for the McCovey binder and one for the set) and have been able to add them already.  The design of the front is solid, the year is very prominent but since there is only 1 card per year and there is a focus on the year for the set That makes sense.  The big baseball in the background looks pretty cool and the photo of the player is big enough for me.  I just wish this was a new photo.

I decided to scan the back as well, I haven't seen many of these insert backs featured on other blogs.  I think it is appropriate to have a little bigger write up on the back with a little more info about the event.  The baseball follow to the back and looks good.  I am so happy Topps went back to numbering the inserts instead of initials, makes it so much easier for us set builders.

I hope to see Willie in some more releases during 2015.

A 2015 Topps Card You Maybe Haven't Seen

About a month ago I posted about the SP cards Topps releases that are parallels to the regular base cards.  We had a variety of opinions in the comments and I expressed my mixed interest depending on the theme/topic of the SP.  When the checklist came out for 2015, the Giants had 4 base parallel SPs listed, 3 Sparkle Parallels (Bumgarner, Pence and Posey) and 1 parallel to Bumgarners base card - Bumgarner Batting.

I quickly decided that if the Sparkles fell into my hands, great, but the only card I wanted to pursue, assuming a reasonable price, was the Bumgarner Batting parallel.  For about $8 delivered from a Sportlots auction, I was able to secure this:

I think this is a perfect theme for a parallel with the hitting prowess MadBum exhibited during the 2014 season.  Bumgarner hit .258 with a .755 OPS, 4 Homers and 15 RBI.  Two of those homers were grand slams and he won the Silver Slugger award as the top hitting pitcher.  While some pitchers look like t-ball players trying to swing a bit, Madison looks like a "real" hitter every time he is up.

This is an SP card I am very happy Topps produced and even more happy I have in my collection.

1971 Topps 49er Team Set

Time to show off another 49ers team set - this time from the year of my birth 1971.  I was able to pick up the entire team set in one purchase which is always nice.  This is the 2nd team set featured on the blog and brings the count of 49er cards featured on the blog to 21,

This isn't the most inspired design with the baby blue borders but I do like the font used for the team name and the football comic character in the bottom left corner.  The 49ers had 3 players designed as All-Stars by Topps and these cards have a smidgen of a 1975 Topps baseball field with the dual color border.  The red works for the 49ers I guess

Once again I used the pursuit of these 49er cards to gain some knowledge about the pre-80s 49ers, the teams of my youth.  The comic on back shares that Jim Johnson and Olympic champion Rafer Johnson are brothers, while I have heard of both I never knew of the relation.  Boy how the kicking game has changed.  Gossett is referenced as one of the most prolific and effective placekickers in pro football yet is career long in 7 seasons is 49 yards. Someone who can't make a 50+ yarder probably doesn't make an NFL team these days.  Even though I understand the inflation of today's stats, it is always amazing to look back and see that Brodie was the NFL MVP with fewer than 3,000 passing yards and Willard led the 49ers in rushing for 6 years (5 of them All-Star years) with only once cracking 800 yards and never 1,000.

The second group of 5 cards from this team set features the 3rd All-Star and 4 defensive players including fairly recent HOF inductee Dave Wilcox.

I love the stat line featured on the back of Charlie Krueger's card, a ton of zeros with one "1" slipping in for an interception in 1969.  The 49ers had quite a few personal accolades for their players with Bruce Taylor winning Defensive Player of the Year in addition to Brodie's MVP and all the All-Pro selections. The 49ers had a very good season finishing 1st in their division and going 10-3-1 in the regular season.  They won a playoff game against the Vikings then lost the conference championship game to the Dallas Cowboys.

I have now posted cards that demonstrate that I am over 1/5th of the way to my 2015 goal but in actuality I believe I am around 3/4 of the way.  I may have 1-2 more team sets I can share then I need to decide if I am going to wait to complete team sets to post exclusively or if I decide to share some singles.  I am very happy I decide to pursue this goal, so far it has been fun and educational.

Trade Post - A Trio of PWEs

Wow, I don't think this has happened since I started this blog but with this post I am now up to date with all the packages I have received from fellow bloggers and readers of the blog.  If I missed anyone I apologize and there isn't much I can do as I have filed all my cards away.  I am going to finish this off by sharing a trio of really nice PWEs I have received over the past several weeks.

First up is regular PWE'er Jeff at 2 by 3 Heroes.  I have lost count on how many PWEs Jeff has blessed me with but as you can see, he hooked me up with a nice variety of quality cards as usual:

The Juan Marichal card goes back to the first year Topps put out Tier One and happens to be the only year that the product included base cards.  They were numbered to 799 as you can see but for a team collector like me that doesn't chase many high end hits, I wish there were base cards in this product.  The Velez Rookie Debut card wasn't on my checklist and want list - I don't recall ever seeing a card of this design and I am happy to add it to my collection.  The Cut to the Chase cards are amazing and while this Cain is a dup, my 7 year old was VERY happy to have it in his collection - proof that some die cutting and a little shine attracts the younger audience.  The 72 Bryant In Action card was a dup to the Giants collection but now rests in my working set.  It reminds me that I need to focus a little of my card funds towards the vintage sets.  Finally a pair of Busters - the 2015 face of MLB.  Great group of cards - thanks Jeff!

Next up is a trio of needs form Jusdon at My Cardboard Habit.

I think this trio of cards from Judson arrived quite some time ago as I believe these are all from last year's series one. I do know that both Power Players were needs towards the Giants set.  The Romo photo is pretty spectacular for a closely cropped shot.  I always thought this Buster card would have been perfect for a sparkle variation with the sparkle right on his teeth.  The Verlander was a set need from a set I am still trying to finish. I am down to one card on my want list that is from 2014 Topps Update to finish off the 89 Mini set (after I plunked down $8 dlvd for a Jeter from Series 2 - the card was almost impossible to find).  I need to pick up the Roy Halladay and finish that set off.  Thanks Judson and sorry it took forever to post.

Finally a PWE from Robert at $30 a Week Habit:

The fact these are 2013 cards is a little embarrassing as I am pretty sure Robert shot these my way during the 2013 collecting year.  I do know I was super excited to get the gold parallel of the batting average leaders featuring Buster Posey.  It helped finish off the set and was the card Robert promised to shoot my way.  The Emerald All Star of MadBum was a great throw in - I actually miss the full color parallels from the past couple years (can't believe I admitted this).  A belated thanks Robert!

I am all caught up on packages and have committed to stay on top of them moving forward.  No more apologies or embarrassments.  I truly value all the generosity that oozes out from my fellow collectors and appreciate the new life the blogosphere has pumped into my hobby.

Trade Post - The Chronicles of Fuji

In the last few weeks I have received 2 super cool PWEs from Fuji of The Chronicles of Fuji.  It has been a while since I have sent any cards Fuji's way and I am looking forward to putting a return package together soon.  He has a pretty wide ranging collection and I am hoping I can plug a few holes.

The first card in the first package was none other than an autographed card of Mr. Fuji himself.  I love these cards and now have a trio in my collection.  I have a page in my misc. binder devoted to cards from fellow collectors and this card will have a prominent place next to his brothers.

The rest of the PWE contained 2 cool autographed cards.

First up is a Signatures Rookie autograph from former Giants super prospect Dante Powell.  Powell never fulfilled his potential but this is a really nice looking swing on a sharp looking card.  I love how these 90s cards were "limited" to 7,750 copies - imagine how sore his hand must have been after signing that many cards!

Fuji also sent me another prospect auto but this one is of someone who had a solid career in the majors, Ben Petrick, and happens to be a player I collect.  Many of my player collections are of higher end players, it is super cool to get a certified auto card of a guy I collect in a just because PWE.  I don't think I have ever fully explained my inspiration for my Petrick collection, I need to go back in old posts and see, but it is related to his fight against Parkinson's Disease, a fight my Grandmother lost a number of years back.

On to PWE 2 that was just received this week.

 This Clear Path to Greatness card is an acetate card and looks great in person. The Orange in the background matched up to the Giants colors is sweet. The only thing that makes this card better would be losing the sticker auto and making it on card but even with this flaw it is a great looking card - makes me miss Upper Deck.

 This card looks better in person, the shiny doesn't come through well in the scan. I am a sucker for players in catchers gear and add in the cool Giants patch on the sleeve and this is a nice looking card.  Again a sticker auto but this is a little better hidden.

Finally my favorite card of PWE 2 - a nice Fleer Inscribed Merkin Valdez auto serial numbered 232/750.  I can't pinpoint why but I really enjoy this design.  Valdez didn't do too much in the majors but I feel like I have quite a few of his autographed cards.  On Beckett he shows 431 total cards with 117 autos. Seeing what percentage of his cards I have may be a fun side project one day.

Thanks Fuji for the great cards and the great writing on your blog! I love your flea market finds and the great posts on your blog.

Trade Post - The Most Generous Blogger Strikes Again X 2

I have consistently referred to Wes of Jaybarkerfan's Junk as the most generous blogger and with a couple fairly recent packages he has proven me right again!  Let's get to the goods.

I was super excited to see one of these cards in the middle of one of the team bags.  They have popped up in a few posts around the blogosphere and I am now the proud owner of one:

While I primarily collect SF Giants, I do hold onto cool 49er cards and Wes has started tossing in a few which are greatly appreciated.  I sometimes wonder if some of the cards he sent my way inspired me to collect vintage 49ers in 2015, I can definitely say it didn't hurt.

Very sad 49er news that Patrick Willis has decided to retire.  Even with his short (9 year) career, I think he has to be a Hall of Famer.  His leadership and accolades are as good as any linebacker over a similar stretch.  I have heard some commentators say he won't be too challenging to replace but I beg to differ.  Maybe his production can be matched but his instincts and leadership will be sorely missed.  With this announcement, the Niners go straight to rebuilding mode.

Here are a couple of hits that came my way from Wes.  Steve Holm has quite a few autos as a prospect for the Giants but ended up with only 91 At Bats for the boys in Orange (along with 17 with the Twins).  He was picked up and released by both the Rockies and Marlins in 2012 and according to Baseball Reference hasn't been heard from again.  This card is great looking, even if Holm didn't make it to stardom, I am loving the catchers gear, the kinda crazy design and the jersey/auto combo.  JT Snow, on the flip side, had a nice long career and is one of my favorite all time Giants.  Both of these cards were needs in the Giants collection and greatly appreciated.

These are some other random needs from the first package.  That trio of players on the Pinnacle insert set has to make some wonder how the Giants never won a World Series in the 90s once Bonds came aboard.  The Wilkins is a cool looking parallel.  The other cards are all great additions as well and every time I see a Stadium Club card, I am in awe of the photography, that Buster card is pure perfection.

Here are some cool veteran adds from the 2nd package Wes sent my way.  I was about to say Hall of Famers but Thomson is not a HOFer, just the hitter in one of the greatest moments in baseball history.  The Mathewson Coca-Cola cards is great and one that wasn't on my checklist. I love finding cards that are new to my checklist and fit my Giants collection.

More 49ers!  I am sad that Frank Gore is on his way out, seems like nothing but bad news for the 49ers these days.  Outside of Boldin, the rest of these guys are indicative of the 49ers struggles to add impact skill players over the past decade or so.  With the talk of taking a WR in this year's draft, I hope they have learned some lessons.

Not as cool as getting Bipped but I got Bud Blacked in this package.  One more would have filled the screen wonderfully but getting 8 of these glorious yellow bordered 1991 Fleer Bud Blacks is super cool!

Finally a few more needs from the package.  I am noticing Royce Clayton was in quite a few insert and prospect sets early in his career and I was happy to add these two.  The Documentary card is one of the few parallels I have of the set.  I bought the entire base set on eBay a couple years back and it takes up way too many pages in my 2008 binder.  The Posey tattoo was missing from my checklist so I am super happy to have it.  Lincecum looked fairly good at Spring Training (he gave up 2 runs but struck out 5 in two innings of work) and I am glad to have this gold parallel.

Thanks for some more great cards Wes!  I am working on a nice package to send back your way, get ready to add to your certified auto collection.