Gypsy Queen vs. Vintage: The Halfway Point

This post marks the halfway point in the comparison between my $40 GQ purchase and my $40 vintage purchase from Blowout.  That means you only have to suffer through 4 more of these posts and I'll be finished. 

I know you're suffering, because you're reading, but not commenting.  I think that will change a bit when we near the end. 

Gypsy Queen Pack 7

Victor Martinez, Tigers-mini.  What can you say about V-Mart?  He's probably out for the season, so we'll see how he does next year. 

Frank Thomas, White Sox Moonshots.  The Big Hurt is putting on a big gun show. 

Gypsy Queen Pack 8

Bud Norris, Astros Straight Cut mini.  He's 1-1 with two no decisions this year.  Umm...yeah, that's all I have to say about Bud. 

Craig Kimbrel, Braves Future Stars.  Seven saves already.  Maybe the future is now.


Vintage "Pack" 7

1973 Topps Ellie Rodriguez.  This is one of those crazy '73 Topps photos.  The umpire with the old-school chest protector is awesome.  The infield trying to field a bunt and Ellie about to gun down...someone.  I'm not normally crazy about pictures of player's backs, but this is just crazy enough to be cool. 

1973 Topps Ed Herrmann.  At first glance, I'm digging the huge mitt and the cool red White Sox uniform.  Then I'm completely distracted by the purplish jumpsuit on the guy in the background.  That is one bold choice sir. 

1973 Topps Dick Dietz.  Classic catcher card.  The "pose", the mitt, the 1000 yard stare.  During the 1968 season, while with the Giants, Dietz was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.  The pitcher was Don Drysdale and it should have ended Drysdale's scoreless innings streak.  The umpire, Harry Wendelstedt, ruled that Dietz hadn't tried to avoide the pitch and didn't allow Dietz to take his base.  Drysdale ended up getting Dietz and the next two batters out to continue his scoreless streak which would eventually reach 58 2/3 innings. 

1973 Topps Dave Rader.  You, Mr. Concepcion, are OUT!



Vintage "Pack" 8

1972 Mike Ryan.  Say goodbye to 1973, we're moving on to 1972.  It looks like someone used the white edges of this card to wipe the dirty face of a two year old. 

1972 Topps Chris Cannizzaro.  I guess the guy in the purple jumpsuit wasn't at camp this day. 

1972 Topps Bob Barton In Action.  Is there a more exciting play than a catcher not being able to reach a foul ball?  That security guard doesn't think so. 

1972 Topps 1971 World Series Game No. 6.  The 1971 World Series was a classic.  The Orioles won the first two games at home.  The Pirates won the next three in Pittsburgh.  Game six was a chance for the Pirates to close it out and a must win for the O's.  The Pirates struck first scoring single runs in the 2nd and 3rd.  The O's tied the game with runs in the 6th and 7th.  Still tied after 9 innings, the game goes to the bottom of the 10th. 

The Pirates' Bob Miller gets Boog Powell to ground out.  Frank Robinson walked and Marv Rettenmund singled to center, moving Robinson to 3rd.  Brooks Robinson hit a flyball to short center and Vic Davalillo threw the ball home.  Robinson comes barrelling in from third and we have a World Series play at the plate!  Robinson was safe and the Series would go to Game 7. 

The Pirates would go on to win Game 7 by a score of 2-1.  

I'm sick of this guy already

I don't know about you, but I don't even want to see his face anymore.

That's going to become a big problem for me as the collecting season goes on because Topps won't be able to over saturate the market enough. 

Oh boy. 

Why do you post the cards you pull?

Sometimes you post a nice card that you pulled just to show it off.  People will ooh and aah and you stick it in a binder or box and then forget about it. 

Sometimes you post a card knowing someone will ask for it and a trade is born.  Such was the case when I pulled a Clayton Kershaw All-Star workout jersey card out of last year's Topps Update.  I knew someone would jump on that pretty quick. 

That someone was Greg over at Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle.  Greg was a little concerned because he didn't have a Rangers hit to send back my way.  Well, I was just fine with what he sent back.

That's the 1992 Topps version of the Adrian Beltre follow through. 

Ahh, the good old days of all hitting and no pitching.  That's not a problem with the current Rangers team. 

Greg nailed it when he sent over two cards from my wantlist.  You can't go wrong sending me Senators these two from 1961 can now be checked off.  You know, when I get around to updating the list again. 

You have to take my word for it that John Schaive and Gene Woodling played for the Senators.  You sure can't tell from those caps. 

Greg, anytime you want to send me Senators, you go right ahead!  Thanks for the trade. 

Gypsy Queen vs. Vintage: Round 3

Let's move along with round 3 of my $40 worth of GQ vs. $40 worth of vintage posts. 

So far, vintage is winning this thing 2-0.  I don't expect that'll change much. 

Gypsy Queen Pack 5

Matt Holliday, Cardinals.  This is starting off like Pack 3.  Grrr...
Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies. 
Felix Hernandez, Mariners.  That's not a pretty face.

Dee Gordon, Dodgers Sliding Stars.  Cool insert, but it needs more play at the plate pics. 

Shaun Marcum, Brewers.  I thought he still played for the Blue Jays. 

Ernie Banks, Cubs Hallmark Heroes.  I've noticed that some of those packs come with two inserts like this one.

Gypsy Queen Pack 6

John Smoltz, Braves.
Evan Longoria, Rays. 
Willie McCovey, Giants. 
Jackie Robinson, Dodgers.  That's a good counter for that Giant. 
 

Melky Cabrera, Giants regular mini. 

Felix Hernandez, Mariners SP.  That's a good assortment of legends and an SP. 

Vintage "Pack" 5

1974 Topps Manny Sanguillen.  We start off with a card I couldn't get anyone to trade me on the Diamond Giveaway.  Well, the jokes on you suckers!  I got one!!

1974 Topps Dave Rader.  A little BP in the background.  Nice.

1974 Topps Bob Stinson.  It looks like the conference on the mound isn't going well. 

1974 Topps Bob Boone.  The great Bob Boone.  Look at the size of that catcher's mitt!


Vintage "Pack" 6

1974 Topps Bill Freehan.  The last '74 is a really nice one.  I've got a nmber of Bill Freehan's now.  Maybe I'm a Freehan super collector. 

1973 Topps Ted Simmons.  We're moving on 'down' the list to the '73s. 

1973 Topps Steve Yeager.  That backstop must be a helluva long way back behind him.  A passed ball could score a guy from first!

1973 Topps Bill Plummer.  Well, doesn't he just look terrible happy.  Maybe practice was over and he had to stay out for his picture.  So sad. 

That wraps up Round 3 of the GQ vs. Vintage battle.  I should have the next round up Monday.  That will finish off our first battle and our first blaster of GQ. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend

Cardboard is my Crack

It's highly likely, if you're reading this, that you're addicted to cards.  Oh sure, it's something you could kick pretty easy if you wanted too.  You just keep telling yourself that.

My latest "hit" comes courtesy of a trade with Mark over at Collector's Crack.  Mark is better known as Cynical Buddha, but no matter what name he goes by, he always sends great cards.

David Murphy is one of those players who never has a secure job.  The Rangers made him ride the pine when Josh Hamilton was in leftfield last year, but since Hamilton is primarily playing center this season, Murphy is getting more playing time.  He's a solid outfielder and does well enough at the plate.  I like him.  I like this 2009 UD Inkredible auto too.  You can barely tell it's a sticker. 

I just showed the 2010 A&G Hamilton jersey I got yesterday and now it's the Nelson Cruz version.  For a couple of Hawaiian shirt themed cards, these aren't bad.  Too bad they couldn't find a full piece of jersey left to actually fill the window. 

The spark that got this trade going was CB's Heritage box break.  He included a bunch of Heritage Rangers in this package. 

This was the card that started it all.  Fortunately for me, CB is a Brewers guy so he was willing to deal this Nelson Cruz Clubhouse Collection locker room used cloth napkin.  Hey, I kid!  I think I have two of the Rangers CC relics now.  I guess it's time to clean the scanner because the card does not have a spot on the bottom edge like the pic shows. 

I was not expecting this card at all.  This is my first color swap or photo switch or whatever they're called short print.  I don't think CB posted this one so it was a nice surprise. 

Mark, thanks for another great deal.  I'm sure we'll be making another trade before too long. 

2012 Gypsy Queen vs. Vintage: Round 2

Welcome back to round 2 of the GQ vs. Vintage BATTLE ROYALE!!

Ok, simmer down a little.  As Captain Canuck so eloquently pointed out in the first post, the outcome of this "battle" is really not in doubt.  These posts actually just give me an excuse to show off $40 worth of GQ and $40 worth of vintage at the same time.  Actually, I shouldn't say "worth", but rather "cost".

It was a pretty easy first round for vintage. If you missed it, feel free to go check it out and come back.  Let's get started with round two.


Gypsy Queen Pack 3

Melky Cabrera, Giants--blech

Lance Berkman, Cardinals--Man, did they airbrush him skinny or what?
Jaime Garcia, Cardinals

Ok, so far that's a Giant and two Cardinals in this pack.  Not exactly the way to win over a Rangers collector. 

Jesus Guzman, Padres

Domonic Brown, Phillies--black bordered mini 1:12 packs. 

Nelson Cruz Moonshots!  Finally, a Ranger, but still not enough to overcome the early riff-raff of this pack. 


Gypsy Queen Pack 4

Victor Martinez, Tigers--Too bad he's out all year. 
Mark Trumbo, Angels

Ian Kinsler, Rangers--Finally a base Ranger. 
Ivan Nova, Yankees--Coincedence that a Yankee got beat in the pack by a Ranger?  I think not.

Jackie Robinson, Dodgers.  Gypsy Queen back mini.  Jackie Robinson is too big a figure to be on a mini. 

Jered Weaver, Angels-SP.  Not a bad end for that pack of GQ.


Vintage "Pack" 3

1976 Topps TSN All-Time All-Stars Mickey Cochrane.  Winner!

1976 Topps Ray Fosse.  The lady in the front row seems to think Mr. Fosse is funny. 

1976 Topps Jerry Grote.  Old-school catchers are cool.

1976 Topps Bob Montgomery.  The last of the '76s.

Vintage "Pack" 4 

1975 Topps Barry Foote.  Rookie Cup!!

1975 Topps Joe Ferguson.  Normally I'd give you the breakdown on a nice play at the plate like this, but you can check out Night Owls take on his 1975 Topps blog right here.  If you missed that blog when it was being written, set aside a few minutes every day until you can read all the posts.  It's worth it. 

1975 Topps Ray Fosse.  A nice companion to the '76 above and a nice "attention to detail" moment for tops with the pairing of the A's uniform colors with those border colors. 

1974 Topps Gerry Moses.  We wrap up this edition with a Yankee, but we'll let it slide since he's A, a catcher and B, not ARod or Teixiera. 

Alright, that's 1/4 of the way in so let's do a quick mental toteboard...vintage is kickin' GQ's butt.  Stay tuned for more packs soon. 

Prizes Beyond Oceans

It's been a month or so now, but Martyn and Tony from Cards Beyond Oceans were holding a little contest.  Little as in three prizes and the big winner got an autographed Duke Snider card.  Pretty sweet.

Well, I won third prize and it included some unopened packs and a few of my favorite Rangers.  These weren't your typical unopened packs and I can honestly say I've never seen these at my local stores.

This is your Topps Attax variety, only instead of baseball, we have soccer...I mean futbol.  I just had to open some to see if I could get a Pele card.  He was a futbol player right?  Hey, I'm only kidding.

Sort of. 

Seeing as how I have no idea who these guys are, I just picked a couple of random cards to show.  This is Theo Walcott.  I think he was the oldest son on the Cosby show. 

This is a Golden Moment Chris Sutton insert.  I wonder if these are as popular as the Topps baseball Attax cards. 

Tony and Martyn were kind enough to include some cards that fit really well into my collection. 

I'm 100% sure I didn't have this 2004 UD SPX Joe Mauer.  He looks so young in that shot.  Of course, that was 8 years ago.  Ugh, where does the time go.

How about some Allen & Ginter greatness?  This is one of the very popular mini framed relics.  Josh Hamilton is having another great year.  Who would you rather have on your team, Hamilton or Kemp?  I'm just trying to stir the pot a little.

Artificially scarce parallels are the bane of team and player collectors.  This 2009 Piece of History Josh Hamilton Timeless Moments is #30/75.  More importantly, it commemorates Hamilton's amazing showing in the 2008 Home Run Derby.

Tony and Martyn, thanks for the great contest and the prize.