Fantastic Contest Pimpage

Pimpage for a contest over at Fantastic Catch, check it out here

Roy Campanella Bat Card

Another entry in the still needing a better name "All-Time Home Run Hitting Catchers Bat Cards" project. This time we have a 2011 Topps 60 Relic of Roy Campanella. By my list Campy sits at 10th all-time in home runs by a catcher with 239, not including 3 hit as a pinch hitter. In his short ten year career Campanella was an All-Star 8 times and the N.L. MVP 3 times. In 1953 he hit 40 home runs as a catcher, a record for the position that would last until 1996 when Todd Hundley hit 41 for the Mets. Campanella would be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1969.

Matt Miller: One of Every Rockie

Some people get excited for autographs or relics or vintage, I get excited for obscure Rockies cards. After searching Sportlots for a 2003 Fleer Tradition Update #369 for a few months, it finally turned up and I jumped on it for $2.24 shipped. This was a hard on to track down and up until today I have never even seen a scan of it. This one is the glossy version serial numbered to 100 and is the only MLB set with a card of this Matt Miller. One of Every Rockies project now up to 280 out of 316 (88.6%). Matthew Jacob Miller pitched in 4 games for the Rockies from June 27 to July 3 in 2003 as a 31 year old rookie in his 8th pro season. He would go on to pitch in 96 games of relief for the Indians from 2004-2007, finishing his career with a 6-1 record and a 2.72 ERA with 2 saves.

Custom Card: 1991 Stadium Club Tony Pena

After getting back into cardboard there have been two things I have been looking for on cards that I remember from baseball when I was a kid, one is Mickey Tettleton in his weird batting stance that I have tried to duplicate in our Slo-Pitch league. The other is Tony Pena in his one leg out crouch. I don't really remember any other catchers adopting this method (other than my dad trying it our men's league) which was meant to give pitchers a lower target. I finally got around to finding a picture and making a custom, I really like that he is in the pirates uniform for this one, something about that yellow helmet is classic.

1971 Topps Variations?: Denny Lemaster #636

In researching for this '71 variations project I have come across a lot of conflicting views on variations vs. print errors. The reason for starting this project was to gather information and make it available in one place for people to check out and make their own decisions on what is a valid variation. The 1971 Denny Lemaster would most likely be a print error, but I thought I would include it here as some are listing in as a variation and there is not a lot of information is out there. The difference between the two is on the back photo. There are versions with a black blob or splotch on his left cheek and versions without. On COMC right now 5 of the 8 cards listed do not have the blob. I have yet to see the back of the O-Pee-Chee version so I have no idea about that.

Contest Pimpage

I had no post planned for today so it's a good time to pimp a contest

Head over to "All Trade Bait, All the Time" and check it out

Marc Savard: Bruins Stanley Cup Auto

Marc Savard only played in 25 regular season games and none in the playoffs in 2010-11, but the Bruins petition to get his name engraved on the cup was successful so I am including him in this collection. This card is from the 2007-08 SP Authentic Sign of the Times set, it's a nice on-card auto and a decent looking card. Savard missed all of 2011-12 with the same concussion issues that have plagued him for three seasons, and his playing career is sadly, likely over.

1971 Topps Variations: 3rd Series Checklist #206

More 1971 checklists, more weirdness, more "is it really a variation". With card number 206, the 3rd series checklist, we have the usual Red helmet vs. Orange helmet that is recognized and designated by PSA as well as a minor variation/print error. Some cards have the card list tilted leaving a larger space between Joe Morgan and the black border. I would honestly not even mention this if I wasn't doing this card already just for the helmet colors. Going by the amount of cards in the PSA registry, the orange helmet is much harder to come by. As always the images below show it better than I can explain. According to PSA both helmet colors exist in the O-Pee-Chee set. A minor change on the OPC checklist is that card number 289 in the set is Rusty Staub, while in the Topps set card number 289 is the White Sox team card. Oh My O-Pee-Chee explains that here.

Sportlots Mailday 7/16/12

Sportlots order knocking one card off my most wanted list. There was only one 2000 MLB Showdown Kurt Abbott left on Sportlots and none on any other sites I have found so I placed the order and added a few other cards to make it worthwhile. Greg Norton and Mike Harkey are Rockies I didn't have cards of until now, the "One-of-every-Rockie" collection is now at 88.3% complete by my count. A Tom Browning for my perfect game collection and a Jeff Huson for the Expos binder. Just two football cards, a Sean Taylor I didn't have and my first Andre Carter with the 'Skins. Finished off by some 1987 O-Pee-Chee, this is the first set I bought packs of as a kid and am debating trying to build the set, and really what collection is complete without an 1987 Ed Lynch.

Brad Marchand: Bruins Stanley Cup Auto

Part of a recently COMC order, 2011-12 Panini Crown Royale Premiere Date Autograph numbered to 99. In his first full season in the NHL Marchand played a big role in the Bruins Stanley Cup season as a player that pretty much everyone but Bruins fans hates. His 11 goals in the playoffs as a rookie is tied with Jeremy Roenick for second all time behind the 14 that Dino Ciccarelli scored in 1981. Marchand starred in the finals scoring 5 goals with 2 assists in Boston wins including 2 goals and an assist in Game 7. His 7 points in the final round was tied for the team lead with Mark Recchi. He might be best remembered for punching one of the Sedins in the face a couple times (gif below)

COMC Haul

Destined to be lost in the swell of Ginter posts just showing off some cards from a recent COMC order. First some auto's, Current Oakland Athletic and member of the 2007 National League Champs Seth Smith, followed by prospect Tyler Anderson, probably the worst looking auto in my collection and left handed specialist Mike Munoz rounded out with bat cards of Andres Galarraga and Matt Holliday. I think this is the only "relic" card of Galarraga with the Rockies.

David Krejci: Bruins Stanley Cup Auto

New eBay pickup, a recently released 2011-12 Panini Titanium Reserve Autograph David Krejci. Decent card design, the photo could be bigger with the graphics smaller and it's a sticker auto, but the price was reasonable. Krejci led the playoffs in goals with 12 and points with 23 in leading the Bruins to the 2011 Stanley Cup, including recording a hat trick in Game 6 of the Eastern Finals against Tampa Bay.

1971 Topps Variations: 4th Series Checklist #369

Back to the long ignored 1971 variations with another checklist. Card number 369, the 4th series checklist comes in at least three variations including "Red Helmet, No Line", "Red Helmet, w/ Line" and "Orange Helmet". The most noticeable difference is the black line on the helmet above the batters ear is missing on and the black squiggle near the back of the helmet is smaller on the "No Line" version. There is some confusion on the "Orange Helmet" versions as PSA doesn't designate the "Line/No Line" on the Orange, below there are examples of Orange with line and Orange without line, but nothing mentioned on the grade designation, in addition to graded versions with no designation at all. All three variations are readily available and none really demand higher prices than the others. As with all the helmets the color variations are not easy to spot and I am going off PSA designations for these. According to the PSA registry all three variants appear in the O-Pee-Chee set.

Trip to the LCS: Part 2 '71 Ryan

As well as the packs of Prestige I picked up on the weekend, I saw something in the display that caught my eye, the beautiful black borders of a 1971 and the Royal Crown advert in the background of a young Nolan Ryan. It has always been a toss up between this card and the '71 Munson for my favorite card of all time. Went my Dad gave me his old cards there was one of these in there, but this one is in a little better shape, but no mint by any means. There is just something very cool about Nolan Ryan as a Met, even though I am not really a Ryan collector of a Mets fan. When I asked the card shop guy if I could look it at and turned it over to see that bright yellow back, I was sold. A 1971 O-Pee-Chee Nolan Ryan, for only 20 bucks, I will take that every day even though I already had an OPC and a Topps copy. This card made the trip worthwhile for me and even in well loved condition I think 20 bucks was a steal.

Trip to the LCS: 2012 Prestige Football

This weekend I made a very rare trip to the local card shop, and I use the term local loosely. The nearest card shop is about 150 km (about 100 miles) of Saskatchewan prairie away, so I get most things through mail order. I needed some card boxes for storage and to aid in an upcoming move so I stopped in while I was in the big city. Being a baseball collector in a hockey obsessed country is not easy, the Walmart only has base Topps blasters and hanger packs and the LCS had packs of 2012 Topps series 1 & 2 as well as a box of 2012 Bowman, both sets I am not collecting. I asked if they got any Gypsy Queen this year and the guy asked if it was even out yet. I can't blame the guy, he has to bring in what sells and baseball doesn't sell here. There was something that caught my eye and that was 2012 Prestige football. I try and stick to baseball just to stay in my budget, but I felt like a douche just buying supplies so I picked up 5 packs of Prestige just to feel out the product (as well as another purchase I am saving until tomorrow). I was blown away at how nice the design was and have covered it before on here with some custom baseball designs. Here is what I pulled.