Friends dusting the cobwebs off of some old wantlists....

This is the continuing story of the infamous dayf and Troll trade/gift packages....

You ever think you'd see the day when a Juan Uribe card led off a show off post??? Me either. But here we are.

 Back in 2007 when I got back into cards, one of the first sets that caught my eye was this set that emulated the 1954 Topps set. Turns out it was called Topps Heritage and was from 2003. I decided to collect it. Not only collect it, but to do what I used to do, which was get the master set. All of the variations and short prints. Four years later I'm still trying to finish that set. Dayf managed to find five cards off of my wantlist, including two SP's. One of which is old Juan Uribe up there.

 As you can see... these aren't high profile players.... but damn hard to find regardless.

 I've never found anyone else who is collecting this set, so if you know someone, let them know about me. I've got lotsa doubles to swap.

 I also did my first trade on The Bench with this set. And my last trade. The trade I did involved $13.10 worth of cards. It took me forever to find a card he wanted to make up that last .10 cents I owed him. This was my re-introduction to beckett.

 Dayf also found a card I needed for the 1976 Topps set that I am very close to finishing. Only 24 more cards to go.

 Next up is a set that no human has managed to complete. The 2008 UD Timelines set. This is the set that never ends. Please sing the song softly to yourself.
A loooong time ago I gave up on the set and sent dayf as many cards as I could off of his wantlist, even from my set regardless if I had duplicates or not. I could be wrong, but I think dayf just sent back the same cards I sent him. Maybe he gave up too. It never ends.

 LOOK! A Yankee!! Without a moustache or tutu drawn on him.

 Here's Mr I run to first base when and if I feel like it.

 and a bum who held on waaaay too long...

 Some die-cut rookies

 Mr Cub. Not.

 Holy Crap! Another Yankee!

 I really, really like this set. But it can never be completed.

 Why yes Mr Towles, it is time to clean my scanner bed, thank you for noticing.

 And why not some 2009 OPC, another of my favourite sets.
Who could resist that face??????

 OPC is another set I'm doing the master set of. And I'm damn close to finishing.

 Awhile back I needed 2 cards to finish the base set. Griffey and Victorino. Four bloggers later, I now have two of each.

 Troll not only sent the Flyin' Hawaiian up there, but also two Braves for my binder.

 well, a Brave and a former Brave. He was a Brave when it was sent.

Thanks a lot guys.... a lot more to come. Next up will be either 2011 stuff or Vintage. Any preferences???

The Night Time is the Right Time

A little while ago the infamous Night Owl put up some cards on his blog from teh 2009 OPC baseball set. I love this set and have been trying to complete it for sometime now. I casually inquired (read: BEGGED) for any help with completion that he may be able to offer.

Well wouldn't you know, N.O. had the last card I needed to complete the set.

 Awesome. Owl also sent over one of the inserts I need as well. (I'm trying to complete all the insert sets also)

 32 Yankees in the picture but somehow it's Jeter that is saluting the crowd. This just in... there are other Yankees on the ballclub... and more talented ones too.....  over rated has been...

Of course Owl felt guilty sending over a Phillie and a Yankee. Who wouldn't??? So he softened the blow by including a bunch of Braves and a few random hockey cards. (I'm Canadian, you know, eh?)

Mr Murphy from that new fangled Gypsy set all the kids are talking about....

 and his friend JHey.

 Tommy Hanson about to unleash a fastball that is so fast it will strike you out. Last week. Before you even came to town.

 An old Chipper!!! You know this sucker is gettting peeled.

 A shiny of the best catcher in baseball. Odd how finally the sports "journalists" are now calling him that. I've been doing it for years.

 And a gold Frenchie! I miss Jeff. I'm glad he's playing really well for the Chiefs. I mean Royals.

 I now have the black, blue, and gold Frenchie's from that set. I only need the orange.

Among the random hockey cards was one of one of my all-time favourite players. Lyle Odelein.

I had the privilege of meeting Lyle a number of years ago. And it was a privilege. Lyle is one of those golly gee shucks kind of guys who is humbled and honoured that someone would even recognize him, let alone be a fan. Thanks for the beers Lyle.

And thanks to Night Owl for all of the cards, including those that I was waaay too lazy to scan. A return package is on the way to you.

Doubles list for trade...

2009 OPC Baseball

I still need some cards... please go here and see if you have any to help me out.

I have the following doubles up for trade;

#'s 22, 38, 48, 83, 134, 175, 192, 210, 215, 219, 265, 293, 341, 372, 407, 441, 470, 487, 505

All Rookie Team # 2, 8

Award Winners # 1

Walk Off # 10

Face of the Franchise # 2, 19

Retro 79/80 Blue Borders # 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 25, 26, 30
(ideally I would like to trade these for the ones I'm missing)

I also have a bunch of black borders and a few 20th Anniversary inserts to trade as well.

Thanks!

O-Pee-Chee Goodness

Thanks to five trades with fellow bloggers... I am a heckuva lot closer to the end of the 2009 OPC baseball set than I used to be. It's not just the base, or the DP's... oh no... it's the inserts as well. Yep. Going after a mini master set, I am.
I'll be posting my wantlist here, in a few minutes, but first hear my plea.

I need help tracking down these inserts. Especially the retro blue bordered ones. If you have any OPC baseball, and are not collecting the set, please check out my list and help me out if you can.

To Marie(a cardboard problem), Jim (gcrl), David (Long Fly Ball to Because), Jeremy(the Hockey card Blog) ... your cards are in the mail. And I thank you.
To Ed from Roll out the Barrel, yours will be leaving soon.(I hope)

What are waiting for? Go here.....

2009 OPC math...

I know you've been in a panic to know how the collation went in the two boxes of OPC baseball I just broke. I hope that you got a little sleep at least.
No Marie, I have not yet mailed the black border Pujolies. Settle down.
If you're late, and haven't seen the breaks, scroll down. I'll wait.

Okay, here we go. I'm sure you're all familiar with the cards and subsets, so no pics for now. Just the facts ma'am. These are numbers for the two boxes combined. No calculators were harmed in the computation of these statistics.

Base Cards - 249 - no doubles. SWEEEEET!
Black border inserts - 72 - no doubles
'79/80 retro - 2 - no doubles
New York New York - 2 - no doubles
Walk Off - 2 - no doubles
Midsummer Memories - 3 - no doubles
Highlights and Milestones - 3 - no doubles
Award Winner - 3 - no doubles
20th Anniversary BS Waste of Space - 12 - no doubles
All Rookie Team - 1
Mini Black Border - 2 - no doubles
Autographs - 1
Faces of the Franchise - 6 - no doubles - however, the collation was a little weird. Box One had #'s 16 / 17/ 18 and Box two had #'s 24 / 25 / 26 That could lead to odd duplication if busting multiple boxes

Double Prints. You've heard my arguement over these NOT being SP's.... here we go.
I got 72 of these, one per pack. 28 DOUBLES!!!! Short print my ass.

Let the trading begin.

2009 OPC Box Two

for those of you seeking refuge from the barrage of Allen & Ginter posts, I say Welcome. As usual I'm fashionably late to the party.
Here is box two of my 2009 OPC baseball break. Box One is HERE, or just scroll down.
the last base card of Lefty?

a double print rookie of Jordan Schafer. (I like the way this rookie subset looks)

The '79/80 retro (one per box)

the black border, and black border mini (one per box)

and a one per 6 box autograph!

Good looking card. I had three packs left and was lamenting that I didn't get a triple jersey card like I did in the hockey, and *BAM* a little piece of yellow falls out of the wrapper....

Base Cards - 124 - no doubles

Black border - 36 - no doubles

DP's - 36 - no doubles (remember, I told you these are not SP's)

Faces of the Franchise - 3 (Roberts/Gonzalez/Zimmerman)

Gold Glove Award - 1 (Mauer)

Walk Off - 1 (Ruiz)

Midsummer Memories - 2 (Jeter/Morneau)

Highlights and Milestones - 2 (Zambrano/Lester)

All Rookie Team - 0

'79/80 Retro - 1 (Utley)

New York New York - 1 (Joba)

20th Anniversery BS Waste of Space - 6 (who cares?)

Mini Black Border - 1 (BRIAN FREAKIN' MCCANN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Triple Jersey - 0

Autograph - 1 (Span)

Again, perfect collation. I got what the box said I was supposed to get. No damaged cards. Almost all with decent centering. A very good box.

Now I'll put 'em together and see how well they fit together, how many doubles, etc....

Remember what I said about them being double prints, not Sp's....

that's called foreshadowing kids.....

Irony - Box One

I've learned to appreciate the irony that a Canadian is the last one to see the new 2009 OPC baseball in person. You've seen the cards, so I'll make the break brief and to the point.

Oh momma. I've been waiting for you....
The base cards....

one of the many insert sets, the All Rookie Team. I really like the looks of these cards...

the retro card (one per box) done in the '79/80 OPC hockey style)

the black border inserts, one per pack, and the mini black, one per box.

Base Cards - 125 - no doubles

Black Border - 36 - no doubles
Double prints - 36 - no doubles (if anyone calls these SP's, I will personally beat you with an abacus. )

Faces of the Franchise - 3 (Bruce / Tulowitzki / Gordon)

Gold Glove Award - 2 (Sizemore / Suzuki)

Walk Off - 1 (Lowrie)

Midsummer Memories - 1 (Teixeira)

Highlights and Milestones - 1 (Shoppach)

All Rookie Team - 1 (Fukudome)

'79/80 Retro - 1 (Griffey Jr)

New York New York - 1 (Jeter)

20th Anniversary waste of space - 6 (who cares)

Mini Black Border - 1 (Kelly Johnson ... YEAH BRAVES!)

Triple Jersey - 0

Autographs - 0

Awesome collation... way too many inserts to chase. It was nice to get a mini of a guy I collect. I will definately go after this set with guns blazing. I may even go after a master set. (except for the black borders.... too redundant.)

And I'm not sure if anyone has talked about the Hi# cards yet. Cards 501 to 600. They are, according to Upper Deck, short prints. Found only one per pack. Excuse me? Short prints?

Let's take a look. Sp's are a 100 card set, found at one per pack. Regular base cards are a 500 card set and found at a rate of 3.47 per pack. (125/36=3.47...)

So the chances of me finding a Jordan Schafer rookie (#597) are 1:100 or 1%. The chance of me finding a Jo-Jo Reyes base card (#308) is 3.47:500 or 0.69%.

It's the base cards that are short printed...

Box two results coming up tonight...

I'm so stressed...

I just got my boxes of OPC today, and A&G is out, and my boxes are (assumably) on the way... I have so much wax, so little time. All this after not busting any wax in months...

My trade lists will be out tomorrow for OPC. So let the trading begin.

At least I got a black bordered Pujols out of the first box. Now I can make Marie sit up and do tricks.

Good girl.


Box busts will be posted tomorrow.