Two Quick Little Thank Yous

A short post today. I just wanted to make sure I properly thanks a couple of bloggers who sent some cardboard kindness my way.

 

The first thank you goes to Greg (Night Owl Cards), who included a freebie in one of our  recent Time Travel Trading swaps.

 

I haven't seen any Topps Heritage locally this year, so this is my first and only card from that particular product.  I'm still holding on to the thinning strand of hope Grissom becomes a serviceable Major League player for Boston.

 

The second thank you goes to Jim (Cards As I See Them), who generously sent me a PWE of  Red Sox cards.

 

With these in the fold, I'm down to just 1 more Red Sox card to complete the 2025 Topps team set (not including a couple of short prints of course). Another Nomar is always welcome too!

 

Thanks Greg and Jim! Kindness and generosity always come back full circle! 

Repack Haiku #425 (Tyler Stephenson)

Was first Reds' player 

To homer in first at-bat

Since 1950

 

2023 Topps #166 Tyler Stephenson

 

Stephenson made his MLB debut as a pinch-hitter on July 26, 2020. He hit the second pitch he saw for a home run, becoming the 3rd Cincinati Red to hit one in his first plate appearance, and the first since Ted Tappe in 1950.

Going Old School

I have a whole list of blog topics to write about, but not enough time to write them! As a result, posts have gotten pushed back to the point of being forgotten. I'm resurrecting one of those posts now...

 

Although I'm far from a regular, I have made a few more stops at the local collectibles shop, Old School Cards and Collectables. I've been trying to go at least once every couple of months to support the business. (Not that he needs me, his shop appears to be doing quite well!) He's a great source for dime and quarter cards, even if that particular inventory can get a bit stale at times. Still, a few months back I stopped in on my lunch break, and found a good amount of cards I needed. 

 

I found a good amount of 70's Red Sox cards I needed:

 

 

An autograph of 2006 NLCS MVP Jeff Suppan, who started his 17-year career in Boston:

 

 

Some Red Sox subconsciously inspired by Tom's 1995 Skybox E-Motion blog:

 

And a lot of random cards that just caught my attention:

 

While I was perusing,  the shop owner was going through some hockey relic cards re recently acquired. I asked if he found any Sabres, and he actually had a couple I ended up buying:

 

  

The most recent stop was back in July. I was hoping to find a few cheap cards of this year's Hall of Fame inductees, particularly of Rich Allen and Billy Wagner, the two I had a severe lack of cards to do my annual Top 5 tributes. I did find some cards that technically featured Allen, like the 1974 Topps White Sox Team Checklist or the 1975 Topps White Sox team photo, but struck out with Wagner. (I made do with what I had) Oh course in my haste those 70's cards got filed away before I got a proper picture, but I did snap a shot of the other cards I picked up that day:

 

 

By the time this post publishes, I'll be overdue for another visit.  I'm sure I'll find something worth posting about then too!

 

Progress Made!

Have you ever had a to-do list that has been there for awhile, and then out of the blue you get this burst of motivation to make some progress on it? I reached that point with my card collection earlier this summer, and the result was a Sportlots order that shook things up for me:

 

Progress Made - A Set Completed! 

 

Back in 8th Grade, I bought a box of 1988 Leaf. (Side note: I miss the days when kids could buy a box of cards, go home, rip all the packs and come out with a near complete set of cards...)  Anyway, this set has been lingering on my So Close! page pretty much since I created it, with an occasional card being acquired here and there. I finally picked up the remaining cards I needed to finish this set!

 

Progress Made - An Inset Set Completed!

 

I also picked up the lone card remaining from one of my favorite insert sets, the artistically brilliant Pro-Visions series from Fleer. Bo has been the lone hold-out for a long time.

 

Progress Made - Another Insert Set Completed!

 

If there's a set dedicated to a player on your favorite team, all from his time with that team, it's pretty much a given you'll attempt to finish that set. For me, it's the Mookie Betts Star Player Highlights set from 2019 Topps - an uninspiring set dedicated to a Red Sox legend in his last year before terrible things happened (unless you're a Dodgers fan that is). I'll enjoy this set and wonder when the Red Sox will start trading for mega-star players instead of trading them away...sigh...

 

Progress Made - Team Sets Completed!

 

I also knocked out some Topps base set cards that allowed me to complete all of the Red Sox from those years. I now have all of the Red Sox cards from the 1983, 1995, 2001, 2005, and 2010 Topps base sets!

 

Progress Made - Team Sets Closer To Completion!

I bought a lot of base set cards. Although these ones don't finish out any particular year for me, they get me much closer to that goal. With these purchases, I'm getting to a point where my Missing Sox page is going to need to expand beyond just the Topps base sets from 1975 onward! Hopefully I'll have a nice revision before the year ends.

 

Progress Made - Golden Sox!

After the Red Sox won the World Series in 2018, I decided I would commemorate the victory by picking up the gold parallel of every Red Sox card in the 2018 Topps base and update sets. Over the past few years, I've stagnated on completing it. (It may never get complete due to that Rafael Devers rookie card!) Still, I decided to at least make a little progress by adding these two cards of J.D. Martinez.

 

Progress Made - Collecting Someone I'm Not Related To!

 

There's only one person in MLB history with the same last name as me. Bob Keppel pitched for 3 teams between 2006-2009, and according to the TCDB, he has a total of exactly 100 cards. I made it a goal of mine to be the #1 collector of his cards on the TCDB. Before this order was entered in, I was in a multiple-person tie for 48th place with 2 cards. I'm now in 3rd place with 9, just 5 cards back from the #1 spot. 

 

  

Progress Not Made - Just For Fun!

 

These cards don't knock out any particular wants other than their Red Sox cards I found pleasing to the eye. The Spring Training card was one of my top Red Sox cards from 2020. The Bogaerts is from the 2019 150th Anniversary parallel, an insert set I've considered chasing. Loretta is one of those random players you often forget were All-Stars. The rest just caught my attention!

 

I'm going to have to redo/update my other blog pages after this one! 

Repack Haiku #424 (Jeff Robinson)

In span of three days,

Threw immaculate inning,

then hit big home run

 

1988 Topps #244 Jeff Robinson

 

On 09/07/87, Robinson became the 21st player ever to throw an immaculate inning. Two days later, he hit a tie-breaking home run off Hall of Fame closer Lee Smith in the top of the 9th inning, earning the win when the Cubs failed to score in the bottom of the frame.

Red Sox Frankenset: Choosing Cards #25-27

It's time to take a look at a few more cards and see which ones deserve inclusion in my Red Sox Frankenset. Just a refresher, I'm going through my Red Sox doubles and picking the best at each number for the Frankenset. Let's roll! 

 

#25

Favorite Card: 1994 Collector's Choice #25 Trot Nixon (FRDP, RC)

My Choice: same

I'll admit, this one was a tough one. Although Raffy and Nomar are solid choices, I kept going back and forth between Mo and Trot. Ultimately, I felt the simplistic shot of Nixon with the cloud background was the best choice.

 

#26

 

Favorite Card: 2015 Topps #26 Bryce Brentz (RC)

My Choice: same

I'm not a huge fan of either of these cards to be honest. Clemens is a better player, and the card notes one of the many highlights from his amazing MVP season. However, this card design is ugly! Brentz is the opposite - He only played in 34 MLB games, but I really like the design on the 2015 Topps set. Since a Clemens card from this set has already made the Frankenset, I went with the lesser known Bryce Brentz.

 

#27

Favorite Card: 2016 Topps Gypsy Queen #27 Craig Kimbrel

My Choice: same

No other options but to go with Kimbrel for the final spot! At least it's a good looking card from the All-Star's time with Boston! 

 

With these selections, I have completed the third page of my Frankenset! 

Not bad, there's a nice mix of Hall of Famers, very good players, and some lesser knowns. I couldn't help but notice the first column is mainly poses, minor action in the middle column, and cards with the most movement in the rightmost column. 

What say you, good readers? Did I make the right choices with the bottom row? Now that the full page is before you, any changes you would make? (Feel free to review choices #19 -21 and #22-24!) Let me know in the comments!  

 

In case you're interested...

 

Page 1 (#1 - 9)

Page 2 (#10 - 18) 

Repack Haiku #423 (Donnie Hill)

He's ambidextrous!

Not only a switch hitter,

Threw with both arms too!

  

1988 Donruss #87 Donnie Hill

 

He's spent the past 30 years as a golf instructor. I'm guessing he can do that from either side too!