Mail Day - The Don't You Hate it When This Happens Edition

Yesterday I arrived home to find one of the worst things I can find in my mailbox:

 The dreaded Post Office Damaged Mail envelop.  I have received empty envelopes with no cards in these in the past.  I have received parts of cards and mangled cards.  I have learned to always expect the worst.  As I lifted it up I realized that there was some weight to it, so I suspected that there was something still inside.  As I extracted the PWE from the Post Office envelope, here is what I got:

 There are some tears on the front and what looks like a team bag and a toploader sticking out.  Not looking great, not looking like a total loss either.  Flip it over and...

The back is looking a little worse for the wear.  Some decent sized rips and what looks like some machinery marks.  I am still a little worried.  When I open it up, what do I see:

 It is a team back and as I recall I won two Carson Palmer Relic cards from the same Sportlots seller in some auctions.  This side doesn't look too back, flip it over:

 This side shows a dual relic card and also looks pretty good.

I pull them out of the team bag and inspect the cards.  Not only was there no damage to the cards, the toploaders look pretty good as well.  Two nice additions to the USC Football collection and a sigh of relief.  That was a close one.

I might as well finish off my mail day - it was all USC themed.  I picked up two more cards from Sportlots auctions.

 First up is a nice 2011 Panini Xtra Points green parallel of WR Steve Smith. It is numbered 18/25. 

The final mail day card is of injured and unloved QB Mark Sanchez.  This one is a 2013 National stamped card and is numbered 3/5.

Pretty nice to pick up two low serial numbered cards and of course the two Palmer relics.  Dodged a Post Office bullet this time.

McCovey Monday #40 - 2013 Topps Chasing History Gold Relic 23/99

My favorite player of all time is Hall of Famer Willie McCovey.  I have amassed a collection of over 1100 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 just realized I am closing in on 1200 different McCovey cards, I am just a handful away.  Today's card to celebrate the Giants great is a Series 2 Topps Flagship release, check it out:

This card is the Gold Parallel Chasing History relic of Stretch celebrating his 1969 NL MVP award.  If you look in the bottom right you can see a serial number of 23/99.  I was happy to pick this up, it seems like these newer release relics are starting to carry a little bit of a premium.

When relics started appearing in the hobby I preferred a jersey piece over a bat piece but my preferences have changes over the years and I seem to appreciate bat pieces more.  I was glad to see this relic contain a piece of one of the most feared hitters of all times bat.

Group Break - Padrographs - 2012 Topps Heritage High Numbers

This post is a long time coming.  I just ran across these scans and realized I never posted about this group break.  A long time ago, must have been a year or so, Rod over at Padrographs, bought a set of 2012 Topps Heritage Update cards and sold off the team sets.  I really am not a fan of these new sets Topps is only selling through their website and this was a great way to pick up my Giants.  Here are the Giants from the set:

There were only 2 Giants included but both were highly instrumental in the World Series run the Giants made last year.  In fact both earned contract extensions last off season.  I am hoping Pagan can bounce back after an injury plagued year and Marco can be a little more 2012 and a little less 2013 to help get the Giants back in Playoff contention.

 In addition to the 2 promised Giants, Rod included this group of Giants as well.  How cool is that. Got some Ginter across the top, some parallels and shiny in the middle and another trio including a Panda mini across the bottom.  I was very happy to see these in the package.

Without doubt, the coolest part of the package was this group of in person autos for the minor league Salem-Keizer Volcanoes - a minor league affiliate of the Giants.  I only recognize a couple of the names but love the addition of these cards to my Giants collection. These cards currently sit in a stack of cards destined to be in my Giants oddball binder once I uncover the box from my move that has my extra binders and pages.

Rod, I know this is about a year too late but if you happen to see this, thanks for the break and the extras!

A Golden Great of the Say Hey Kid

While I really like the two thick insert cards Topps included in Series 1 and Series 2, the set builder in me is quite happy that there weren't similar cards in Update.  I am making some decent progress on my Update insert set after my Jumbo box purchase and a couple small lots of eBay purchases. I should have my want list posted soon.

Topps flagship Series 1 included a set called The Greats.  These were pretty tough pulls and I have been trying to complete this insert set since the product was released. I am still in need of 5 cards:

2013 Topps The Greats #TG5 Ted Williams


2013 Topps The Greats #TG14 Stan Musial


2013 Topps The Greats #TG16 Tom Seaver

2013 Topps The Greats #TG22 Hank Aaron


2013 Topps The Greats #TG26 Derek Jeter


Topps flagship Series 2 included a similar set called The Elite.  These seem to be a little easier (and cheaper) to track down but once again I need a handful to complete my insert set:

2013 Topps The Elite #TE1 Miguel Cabrera
2013 Topps The Elite #TE2 Ryan Braun
2013 Topps The Elite #TE4 Tom Seaver
2013 Topps The Elite #TE5 Sandy Koufax
2013 Topps The Elite #TE15 Willie Mays
2013 Topps The Elite #TE18 Ted Williams

If you happen to have any of these for trade, I am sure I can put together a sweet return trade package.

However my intent of this post was to share this card with you:

This is a gold parallel of a Series 1 Willie Mays The Greats insert.  As you can see it is serial numbered 80/99.  It is super think and I think this is an outstanding design that looks even better in gold than the base silver.  I was able to pick this up at a very reasonable price that was actually cheaper than I can currently find the wants on my The Greats listed above.

A Fairly Big Void in My Giants Collection

I was organizing some cards over the weekend and updating my checklist and recognized something when I placed this card on my 2013 Giants page:

This is a relic card of Tim Lincecum from the 2013 Topps Mini set.  What I recognized is that I don't have any other 2013 Topps Mini cards in my Giants collection.  I seem to recall that there was a group break or two on this product that I missed out on during my tumultuous months in the middle of the year.  One of my goals over the past few years is to try and pick up every base card released for my Giants collection. The past couple years I have gotten close but it appears this year will be quite a challenge.  I thought I would share my 2013 base wants and some other cards I really want in my collection from this year's release in hopes of drumming up some trade action.  While I don't have any Topps Mini cards to trade, I do have plenty of trade bait if you can help out on this list.

2013 Giants Base Card Wants
Bowman Chrome
2013 Bowman Chrome #20 Tim Lincecum
2013 Bowman Chrome #41 Marco Scutaro
2013 Bowman Chrome #69 Ryan Vogelsong
2013 Bowman Chrome #72 Buster Posey
2013 Bowman Chrome #74 Madison Bumgarner
2013 Bowman Chrome #85 Barry Zito
2013 Bowman Chrome #150 Matt Cain
2013 Bowman Chrome #158 Hunter Pence
2013 Bowman Chrome #176 Angel Pagan
2013 Bowman Chrome #216 Mike Kickham

Bowman Chrome Prospects
2013 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP117 Edwin Escobar
2013 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP136 Gustavo Cabrera
2013 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP171 Adalberto Mejia
2013 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP185 Joan Gregorio
2013 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP220 Mac Williamson
2013 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP154A Chris Stratton
2013 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP154B Chris Stratton SP VAR

Bowman Platinum
2013 Bowman Platinum #27 Matt Cain
2013 Bowman Platinum #28 Buster Posey
2013 Bowman Platinum #71 Tim Lincecum
2013 Bowman Platinum #93 Pablo Sandoval

Bowman Platinum Prospects
2013 Bowman Platinum Prospects #BPP44 Kyle Crick
2013 Bowman Platinum Prospects #BPP78 Gary Brown
2013 Bowman Platinum Prospects #BPP83 Joe Panik

Finest
2013 Finest #22 Pablo Sandoval
2013 Finest #30 Buster Posey
2013 Finest #84 Tim Lincecum
2013 Finest #88 Matt Cain

Hometown Heroes
2013 Hometown Heroes #36 Tim Lincecum
2013 Hometown Heroes #168 Buster Posey
2013 Hometown Heroes #294 Matt Williams SP

Panini Cooperstown
2013 Panini Cooperstown #15 Frankie Frisch
2013 Panini Cooperstown #40 Bill Terry
2013 Panini Cooperstown #41 Carl Hubbell
2013 Panini Cooperstown #44 Dave Bancroft
2013 Panini Cooperstown #76 Willie McCovey

Panini Golden Age
2013 Panini Golden Age #45A Bill Terry
2013 Panini Golden Age #45B Bill Terry SP

Panini Prizm
2013 Panini Prizm #37 Madison Bumgarner
2013 Panini Prizm #85 Tim Lincecum
2013 Panini Prizm #88 Hunter Pence
2013 Panini Prizm #137 Pablo Sandoval
2013 Panini Prizm #148 Marco Scutaro
2013 Panini Prizm #166 Buster Posey
2013 Panini Prizm #168 Matt Cain
2013 Panini Prizm #185 Will Clark
2013 Panini Prizm #197 Willie McCovey
2013 Panini Prizm #206 Nick Noonan
2013 Panini Prizm #263 Francisco Peguero
2013 Panini Prizm #296 Jean Machi

Pinnacle
2013 Pinnacle #175 Jean Machi

Topps
2013 Topps #55B Tim Lincecum SP#Sunglasses
2013 Topps #128B Buster Posey SP/Great catch

Topps Chipz
2013 Topps Chipz #MBU Madison Bumgarner
2013 Topps Chipz #MCI Matt Cain
2013 Topps Chipz #PS Pablo Sandoval
2013 Topps Chipz #TL Tim Lincecum

Topps Chrome
2013 Topps Chrome #2 Hunter Pence
2013 Topps Chrome #200A Buster Posey
2013 Topps Chrome #200B Buster Posey VAR
2013 Topps Chrome #216 Pablo Sandoval

Gypsy Queen
2013 Topps Gypsy Queen #110A Buster Posey

Topps Heritage
2013 Topps Heritage #490C Buster Posey Color SP

Mini
2013 Topps Mini #3 Hunter Pence
2013 Topps Mini #38 Brian Wilson
2013 Topps Mini #55 Tim Lincecum
2013 Topps Mini #67 San Francisco Giants
2013 Topps Mini #69 Marco Scutaro
2013 Topps Mini #73 Brandon Crawford
2013 Topps Mini #75 Barry Zito
2013 Topps Mini #117 Aubrey Huff
2013 Topps Mini #128 Buster Posey
2013 Topps Mini #132 Ryan Vogelsong
2013 Topps Mini #154 Sergio Romo
2013 Topps Mini #189 Buster Posey/Andrew McCutchen/Ryan Braun
2013 Topps Mini #192 Javier Lopez
2013 Topps Mini #196 Ryan Vogelsong
2013 Topps Mini #205 Ryan Theriot
2013 Topps Mini #256 Madison Bumgarner
2013 Topps Mini #260 San Francisco Giants
2013 Topps Mini #284 Angel Pagan
2013 Topps Mini #298 Pablo Sandoval
2013 Topps Mini #333 Santiago Casilla
2013 Topps Mini #371 Jeremy Affeldt
2013 Topps Mini #379 Madison Bumgarner
2013 Topps Mini #385 Brandon Belt
2013 Topps Mini #393 Andres Torres
2013 Topps Mini #405 Hector Sanchez
2013 Topps Mini #455 Buster Posey
2013 Topps Mini #456 Pablo Sandoval
2013 Topps Mini #564 Francisco Peguero 2013 Topps Mini #587 Matt Cain
2013 Topps Mini #597 Marco Scutaro
2013 Topps Mini #651 Gregor Blanco

Museum Collection
2013 Topps Museum Collection #8 Buster Posey
2013 Topps Museum Collection #66 Pablo Sandoval

Opening Day
2013 Topps Opening Day #1B Buster Posey SP/World Series celebration

Turkey Red
2013 Topps Turkey Red #54 Tim Lincecum
2013 Topps Turkey Red #60 Buster Posey

Update
2013 Topps Update #US73 Buster Posey
2013 Topps Update #US116 Mike Kickham
2013 Topps Update #US143 Tim Lincecum
2013 Topps Update #US153 Jeff Francoeur
2013 Topps Update #US174 Jose Mijares
2013 Topps Update #US249 Madison Bumgarner

Triple Play
2013 Triple Play #93 Buster Posey KID

2013 Giants Non-Base Card Wants (of course I want all cards on my want list but these are the ones I want most currently)
Finest Inserts
2013 Finest 93 Finest #93FMB Madison Bumgarner
2013 Finest 93 Finest #93FTL Tim Lincecum

2013 Finest 93 Finest All-Star #93ASBP Buster Posey
2013 Finest 93 Finest All-Star #93ASMC Matt Cain
2013 Finest 93 Finest All-Star #93ASPS Pablo Sandoval

Topps Emerald
2013 Topps Emerald #189 Buster Posey/Andrew McCutchen/Ryan Braun
2013 Topps Emerald #371 Jeremy Affeldt
2013 Topps Emerald #385 Brandon Belt
2013 Topps Emerald #393 Andres Torres
2013 Topps Emerald #405 Hector Sanchez
2013 Topps Emerald #564 Francisco Peguero
2013 Topps Emerald #587 Matt Cain
2013 Topps Emerald #651 Gregor Blanco

Topps Gold /2013
2013 Topps Gold #73 Brandon Crawford
2013 Topps Gold #117 Aubrey Huff
2013 Topps Gold #128 Buster Posey
2013 Topps Gold #154 Sergio Romo
2013 Topps Gold #189 Buster Posey/Andrew McCutchen/Ryan Braun
2013 Topps Gold #298 Pablo Sandoval
2013 Topps Gold #333 Santiago Casilla
2013 Topps Gold #385 Brandon Belt
2013 Topps Gold #393 Andres Torres
2013 Topps Gold #405 Hector Sanchez
2013 Topps Gold #455 Buster Posey
2013 Topps Gold #587 Matt Cain
2013 Topps Gold #651 Gregor Blanco

Allen and Ginter Mini
2013 Topps Allen and Ginter Mini #202 Angel Pagan
2013 Topps Allen and Ginter Mini #282 Tim Lincecum
2013 Topps Allen and Ginter Mini #284 Will Clark

Allen and Ginter Mini A and G Back
2013 Topps Allen and Ginter Mini A and G Back #50 Willie Mays
2013 Topps Allen and Ginter Mini A and G Back #284 Will Clark
2013 Topps Allen and Ginter Mini A and G Back #337 Buster Posey
2013 Topps Allen and Ginter Mini A and G Back #338 Marco Scutaro

Topps Chrome Orange Refractors
2013 Topps Chrome Orange Refractors #2 Hunter Pence
2013 Topps Chrome Orange Refractors #37 Madison Bumgarner
2013 Topps Chrome Orange Refractors #51 Sergio Romo
2013 Topps Chrome Orange Refractors #67 Ryan Vogelsong
2013 Topps Chrome Orange Refractors #86 Angel Pagan
2013 Topps Chrome Orange Refractors #156 Mike Kickham
2013 Topps Chrome Orange Refractors #200 Buster Posey
2013 Topps Chrome Orange Refractors #216 Pablo Sandoval

Gypsy Queen Mini
2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini #92 Tim Lincecum

Topps Heritage Chrome /999
2013 Topps Heritage Chrome #HC20 Buster Posey
2013 Topps Heritage Chrome #HC81 Madison Bumgarner

Topps Heritage Purple Refractors
2013 Topps Heritage Chrome Purple Refractors #HC20 Buster Posey
2013 Topps Heritage Chrome Purple Refractors #HC59 Marco Scutaro

Opening Day Blue /2013
2013 Topps Opening Day Blue #67 Marco Scutaro
2013 Topps Opening Day Blue #119 Angel Pagan
2013 Topps Opening Day Blue #212 Pablo Sandoval

Topps Update Emerald
2013 Topps Update Emerald #US73 Buster Posey
2013 Topps Update Emerald #US86 Chad Gaudin
2013 Topps Update Emerald #US116 Mike Kickham
2013 Topps Update Emerald #US143 Tim Lincecum
2013 Topps Update Emerald #US153 Jeff Francoeur
2013 Topps Update Emerald #US157 Marco Scutaro
2013 Topps Update Emerald #US174 Jose Mijares
2013 Topps Update Emerald #US249 Madison Bumgarner

Let me know if you can help out and want to make a trade. I can go small with a  PWE or we can go bigger with a bubble mailer.  Let me know.

McCovey Monday #39 - 1967 Topps Venezuelan

My favorite player of all time is Hall of Famer Willie McCovey.  I have amassed a collection of over 1100 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 is very challenging to knock a card from the 60s off my Willie McCovey want list.  The cards I need are pretty rare, and I consider all of them as oddballs.  Some are Topps inserts and test issues, some Bazooka items and a few Topps cards that were produced in Venezuela.  After this new purchase, I am down to 2 League Leader cards of the Venezuelan variety.  Check it out:

I am not a mint condition junkie but I do typically try for cards in as good of condition as possible.  I have learned when it comes to Venezuelan cards, good condition isn't typically available and when it is prices are outside my range.  On the front you can see a stain near his face.  It also appears the card has been trimmed.

While the card fronts are typically the same on Venezuelan issues, the backs are usually quite different as you can see here.  I could probably try and translate this using my 3 years of high school Spanish but I haven't taken the time yet.  You can see the stain from the front coming through.  There is also paper loss.  Many of these Venezuelan issues have paper loss as it appears many were pasted into notebooks.

Despite its flaws, I am very happy to have this in my collection and to knock a card from back in 1967 off my McCovey want list.

A Baseball Card Done Right

Yesterday I received a card in the mail that I picked up off Sportlots auction site. It cost me under a dollar plus a buck or two in shipping. Some might say that I overpaid, even at that price. To me it was a great purchase and this card is one of the most attractive cards (of the non-vintage variety) I have ever laid eyes on.  I will share the front and back of this card and the reasons I enjoy this card.

1. A great photograph, it looks late 50s or very early 60s.  The colors are beautiful and I love the crowd scene in the back.  It appears that Orlando is posing for a picture but for someone else and for some reason that appeals to me.
2. The area surrounding the picture is nice and shiny, it really pops in person.
3. The gold foil for the Tribute logo, the team name, player name and number looks fabulous.
4. I love that it highlights his uniform number, the brand is called "Tribute" and this is all about a tribute to his uniform number.
5. Only includes his last name, if we are paying tribute to a famous ball player, should we really need his first name.

6. Moving to the back, we get clarity that the tribute surrounds his uniform retirement and it even includes the year.
7. Another picture on the back and it is a different one - always a plus.
8. I like how the stats are broken out, we get his Giants status and the overall career stats.
9. The back has a nice write up that includes a few different facts.  Very informational.
10. The card stock is great.  It is solid and a little thicker than a typical card but not as thick as today's Tribute cards.

10 great reasons that this card is great.  My only small complaint would be the lengthy copyright info on the right side of the back but that is just being nit-picky.  I have a McCovey from this set but haven't taken a look at it for a while.  There are also cards of Mays, Marichal, Ot and Hubbell in this set and I am going to have to go after then.  If they are anywhere close to as nice as this card, they will be great additions to my collection.