Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Singles Only


It's a good time to be a  card collector,especially If your a Mets fan.With the deep ,young pitching staff and up n' comers like Conforto,Matt Reynolds and Dominic Smith on the horizon ,things are looking up for fans and collectors alike.I've been fixated on Dominic Smith as of late. Alot of his debut base cards and even some of his auto's  can be had for a song.I'm not big on autographed cards,mainly because of their price point,but Smith's are fairly obtainable.I haven't gone after any of his signed stuff ....yet.I'm still trying to figure out who he reminds me of in the box ,watching clips of him batting on Youtube. I'm thinking Bobby Abreu maybe?Then there's Syndi,a guy I'm hoping can equal and surpass his 2015 success.Love Syndergaard! Plus, I'm finally able to spell his  last name right without Google having to verify It.


Not since Dave Stewart can I remember a more intimidating stare from a starting pitcher.I love the attitude Noah brings to our pitching staff,and this card conveys that perfectly. MLB license or not,I like what Panini's doing.   


Another day,another Dominic!I sure hope we give this guy a shot at first base soon. Duda won't be here forever so Smith's debut could be imminent. 

Sunday, December 20, 2015

My Favorite 9 Right Now (Updated)

One change to my favorite 9 right now.Keith Hernandez gets bumped by 2012 Topps Pro Debut Bryce Harper.


Thursday, December 17, 2015

Singles Only


I've had these two Dom Smith cards stashed ,waiting for a third to arrive from ebay to post about all three.It's been almost a month and I still haven't received that third Smith card and I'm starting to doubt that It will ever get here.It's not like the card was super expensive or anything,but If the guy's having issues shipping or If he doesn't have the card In question,then some communication would be appreciated.nothing yet.Oh well.On with "The Dom".


I remember when Dominic got the phone call that landed him In a Mets uni,albeit a minor league uni.The Mets selected Smith In the first round of the 2013 draft ,11th overall.I remember how scrawny and small he looked.He didn't look very intimidating at all.Since then he's filled out and really looks like a major leaguer.I can't really put my finger on who he reminds me of.I want to say Eddie Murray from the left side.The kid can rake.He's yet to find the power stroke but so far,in the lower minors ,he's proved that he can put the bat on the ball,averaging .290 ,10 HR with a  .357 OBP over three seasons. He plays first too,which could bode well for us If  Duda decides to regress or  end up on another team.I highly doubt the Mets will include him in any deals because of the fact that we don't have many first basemen.I'm really hoping  this kid comes through.At 20 years old he's already been named 2015 Florida State League MVP and most recently  made the 2015 All Arizona Fall League team.Plus,Dom photographs very well!

I'm enjoying the Topps Pro Debut brand. I am now hip to the cards with the  "Pro Debut" foil logo on them ,indicating the players "true" professional debut. Furthermore,they are cheap!Much more affordable than the sexier ,more popular brands.        


This Is just a nice card of  The Dom!The pronounced leg kick  combined with the stylish elbow/shin pad and slightly visible tat on the right forearm are what do It for me on this card.


With the 2013 Bowman Draft  Dominic Smith still  MIA,this 2015  Syndergaard Topps Heritage '51 Collection RC  fills In nicely.



Saturday, December 12, 2015

Singles Only (NFL Edition)


I recently picked up another Thurman Thomas card,and now I'm up to three!Of his rookie cards,this Is the one I love the most.His Pro Set rookie gets  nostalgia points because I used to have one as a kid,but this one just looks so damn pretty.A geared up , war ready Thomas ,helmet close by  with a blurred out green field In the background make this a personal favorite.Plus ya gotta love the simple but effective card design .I had alot of 1989 Topps Football cards as a kid but never pulled the Thomas rookie.   

Monday, December 7, 2015

It's A Dawg Day X-Mas!

Sometimes,bloggers take It upon themselves to perform acts of kindness ,on a whim.Angus ,over at http://dawgdaycards.blogspot.com/  ,recently did just that.Angus put out the call and prompted everyone to send him an e-mail ,stating what players/teams they collect,so that he could send them all a nice X-Mas card filled with ..you guessed It..more cards!I stated that I was currently In late 80's , 90's Bills mode In the e-mail I sent him,and he delivered!Who does that?The gesture was genuine and with the day I was having,finding a nice little white envelope with my name on It from Dawg Day put a smile on my face!Finding 90's Bills goodness inside of that envelope cemented that smile.Then I realized that I was alone and smiling a little bit too much ,and ....well, that's  just  creepy ,so I curbed the enthusiasm and got to typing (with a straight face).I love all the cards he sent over but the Thurman Thomas Is my favs.I now have two whole Thurminator cards!A special shout out  and thank you to Angus of Dawg Day Cards !Your good deed will not go unrewarded ;)

UPDATE: Quick question,Angus.Were these Superbowl XXV available on store shelves or were they exclusively available at Superbowl XXV? 


These cards shot me right back to my childhood! 











I've been looking to put this mini card album to use.I am now a collector of  Thurman Thomas ! My goal Is to have this album filled up by summer time :)






Monday, November 30, 2015

Junk Wax Banter

Lucky me!Privileged to have grown up in the junk wax/steroid era.I was 12 In 1989 ,and by that time I was a full blown baseball card collector.I had some Fleer and Donruss,but mostly Topps and Score.In 1989 ,Topps could be found just about anywhere ,and with my favorite player, Canseco,adorning the retail boxes,spotting them In the wild was a cinch. I think the chase card from that set at the time was card number 648, Future Star  Sandy Alomar. Packs of 89 Topps were cheap.Less than 50 cents a pack,45 cents to be exact.A kid my age could swing that easily.Between lawn cutting and sofa change,I had more than enough money to come away with most of that set.Fleer and Donruss were  easy pickings as well,just not so high on my want list.Then the world of baseball card collecting would be introduced to two new brands of cardboard- An incredibly sexy and hologrammed out Upper Deck and the homey ,over sized,facsimile autographed Bowman.Both dared to be different.Upper Deck's counterfeit proof holograms were too cool,reminiscent of those old 80's Transformers faction stickers.It was almost like you were getting two cards in one because the backs of them had an equally stunning hi-res action photo  of the player portrayed. Upper Deck taught me how to carefully hold a baseball card.








 Bowman was equally beautiful In It's own,vintage way.The players stood out on the elongated card fronts with a facsimile auto across the lower half.The card backs had an interesting design as well,sporting players individual stats against each American or National League team. Because of that,every time the A's played Texas,I wasn't going out on a limb by telling my buddies that Canseco would rake In that series, thanks to the all informative  Bowman card backs.








These two new card brands were great,but pricey.I think that's when pack buying slowed down for me .Upper Deck was pushing a buck a pack and I'm pretty sure Bowman was more expensive ,too.I never accumulated many 89 Upper Deck cards,In fact the three you see above are what's left from my childhood collection.That Bowman Canseco Is the same one I had more than 15 years ago.Look closely and you can see a nice crease running down the middle :) So,yeah,my era might have been the Junk Wax Era,but It was still MY era.And I loved every minute of It!

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Kenji's Korner

Once again,MLB's best Japanese born hitting katcher,Kenji Johjima!He may be gone from the states and MLB,but I'll see to It that he Is not forgotten ;)





Saturday, November 28, 2015

A Pack Of 2012 Pro Debut From Cuz!

My uncle's In town from the sunshine state,and this time he had a pack of 2012 Topps Pro Debut for me,a gift from my cousin.My cousin and I are damn near 40 but still act like where 10 whenever we get to visit each other from out of state.As kids we collected everything.Whatever was hot at the time,we had.Even now we'll sit and talk for hours about past collections we had as well as the way things currently are In the world of collectibles and adult gaming.It's funny because those talks will then spill over into politics, the state of the world and then regress back into Star Wars and G.I. Joe.Insane ,right?The important thing Is that we get each other.So I get home to crack open the pack and realize that the top card had been damaged!A crease on the lower right hand corner of  a Kevin Pillar "Pro Debut", UGGHH!I saw that the rest of the cards had a slight warp to them but no creases,so that was cool.What's even cooler Is that the  back card was of  2015 MVP Bryce Harper!You gotta be shittin' me!Before opening the pack,I told my girlfriend how I would love to pull a Harper and the hobby gods must have been  listening. I can buy 5 packs of something and not get the card I want,so pulling a Bryce Harper out of a pack of 8 cards ain't too shabby.The good thing was that Old Brycie had a slight warp on the lower right hand corner but no crease.So I let It sit in between a couple of  heavy card boxes overnight and slabbed It this morning.Like new ;)Oh,and I also got a Profar,so,not bad!A big shout to my cousin for hooking It up :)


Excuse the nail polish.My daughter likes to do her nails on our computer desk :/


This Lee cat was a prospect at some point,I'm sure of It.Don't know what he's up to these days.

Score!Love this card!

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Random Cardboard Awesomeness!

George Brett "Inaction" since he's not really moving In this shot.Still a great card!


The kid!


Murray had the best sideburns,man!


1987 Topps Pete Rose

1987 Topps Pete......hey wait a minute...





This Sierra has always been a personal fav,but someone In design completely overlooked the fact that this card should have been stamped with the Rated Rookie logo.
Guerrero was a player I never got to see enough of back In his playing days.A Youtubing of P.G. AB's Is In order.  

Edgar was such a good hitter,he should have been a lefty.

I loved Delgado as a Met but alot of Met fans blamed his decline In N.Y. on his first born baby,lol!I know It's highly insensitive but ya gotta call a spade a spade.Post bambino ,Delgado stunk It up. 


Walk off walk,I guarantee It.