Some new Ebay purchases

Here is some cards I recently won on Ebay auctions:

Chico Carrasquel 1951 Bowman rookie.  The first ever Hispanic to make a start in the All Star game. Plus first in a long line of great Venezuelan shortstops in MLB history(could be an upcoming post).

my first rookie of Tigers second ace, Max Scherzer.  The favorite to win the AL Cy Young this year.

and Clayton Kershaw UD Timeline rookie and of course the NL favorite for the award.  I wanted this card of Kershaw because the back of the Timeline cards shows the picture of Dodger Stadium.  For me part of the enjoyment of collecting, is seeing some of baseball history on cards.  Currently, Dodger stadium is the second oldest NL park and many great moments have occurred there.
And I would love to attend a game there one day. Eat a Dodger dog, maybe run into current announcers Vin Scully or Fernando Valenzuela, owner Magic Johnson or season ticket holder Alyssa Milano.

latest pulls from packs

Sorry for not blogging of late. I am have been busy purchasing packs instead of writing lately. So, I am going to share some highlights of the cards I pulled from packs recently. Here is the some of the  rookie cards:

One of the top young superstars of the game. Not sure what I think of the Panini Hometown Heroes set. I bought 2 packs, not sure if I will purchase more.

Gold parallel rookie of one of the top rookies in National League

Topps Chrome rookie of one the St Louis Cardinals young guns and post season hero

Topps Update rookie of a young Cleveland Indian pitcher who has a bright future.

Topps Archives rookie of one time Tiger prospect. Will be interesting to see who will have the better MLB career among Tiger OF prospects. The one they traded away(Garcia) or the one that they kept (Nick Castellanos)

and an OPC rookie card from a repack package from Target. He is probably my favorite player currently on the Texas Rangers

There you go, some nice crop of young players in the game. I promise I will blog more. I have some posts in the hopper.  Made a trade with a fellow blogger, some Ebay purchases and one from Justcommons.com

New Tiger Acquisitions. A couple starters and a HOFer

Here is a few Detroit Tigers that I have acquired over the last week.  First, rookie cards of couple Tiger starting pitchers

2009 Topps Tribute

2005 Upper Deck Update

And I pulled out of a pack of 2013 Panini Cooperstown. Hall of Famer Harry Heilmann. This the matrix parallel numbered to 325. It is a pretty slick set. I like the line scores of games played by the hall of famers.

Happy Birthday Big Daddy!

Today Cecil Fielder turns 50.  For this celebration, I will show you my most prized Cecil Fielder card.

1986 Topps

His Topps rookie card is my favorite Fielder card not because it is his rookie card, but because of a more sentimental reason.  A good memory coming from a bad situation.
It was my freshman year in college as I was watching "The Simpsons" Halloween special in my dormroom, the phone rings.  It was my mother calling me saying that our house was broken into.  The thieves took just about everything valuable in the house according to my mom.  She also said that none of my baseball cards were stolen.
On my next trip home for a weekend-probably for some home cooking and/or laundry use, I accessed the damage.  I told my mom that some of my baseball cards were indeed stolen.  She asked if anything was of value.   I told her of some boxes and nothing major was gone. Only specific item I mentioned was my Cecil Fielder rookie card.  This, I should add, all occurred the fall after his first season in Detroit-his 51 home run season.

Fast forward almost a year later, I go home once again for the weekend. It was also soon after my mom and stepdad returned from a trip from Florida. One of the first things my mom did when I got home was hand me the Cecil Fielder rookie card.  Somehow, somewhere in Florida she bought it. I never asked for it nor hinted to her to do so.
Out of pure coincidence, that day of getting my Fielder rookie back, it was also Cecil Fielder's birthday.  And during that night's ballgame, Fielder hit a home run also.
Now, when I look at my Fielder Topps rookie card. I think of my mom, the phone call, Fielder's homer and how a fond memory can happen from a bad incident.  

A vintage traded set and a mini box

Latest purchases from the local card shop or more like a baseball card thrift buys. A 1991 Topps Traded set for a whopping $3. Included in the set are rookie cards of future MVPs Jason Giambi, Ivan Rodriguez and Jeff Bagwell. Not bad really.  I had the Giambi already, so if anyone wants it, let me know.
But another rookie card in the set is of somebody else that I was a big fan of:

Yep, Charles Johnson, the former Florida Marlins catcher.  I always liked him and thought he would develop into a better hitter. But defensively, he was quite good.  4x Gold Glover, caught 3 no-hitters and once went through an entire season without committing an error.
My other $3 purchase was a box of 1986 Topps Mini. It's a nice little vintage set. Not worth much but is nice to look at:
Here is Ryne Sandberg:

 

Don Mattingly:

 

and my favorite photo from the set. Jack Morris:

 

 After I busted the packs, I was hoping for two complete sets, but I failed. Oh well. Got a whole bunch of extras. Any of you other collectors interested in any?

 

Finally! Pittsburgh

I haven't posted much in last couple days because I have not bought any new packs or made any trades. Plus, I am waiting on an Ebay purchase to hit the mailbox.  So, I am coming up with a theme to showcase some of my baseball cards.
Since the Pirates officially clinched a winning season for the first time in twenty years this past week, it gives me excuse to show you some of my Pirate cards.
Well, the star of the current team and NL MVP candidate is Andrew McCutchen. Here is the mahogany parallel to his Bowman Heritage rookie card:

The last time Pittsburgh had a winning team, Tim Wakefield was part of the rotation. Yes, to the younger audience, he was a Pirate. After failing to make the big leagues as an infielder, he became a successful knuckleball pitcher. For me, he is my all time favorite knuckler as I consider him the consummate teammate and professional and all around good guy. Here is his 1992 Fleer Update rookie:

And a trio of Pirate Hall of Famers:

Willie Stargell(1975 Topps Mini). Pops was the leader and star of the 1979 World Series team.

Roberto Clemente(1972 Topps). The superstar and great humanitarian was the MVP of the 1971 World Series

Bill Mazeroski (1962 Topps). Author one of the most famous home runs in baseball history and hero of the 1960 World Series championship.

There is some of my Pirates in my collections. Hopefully, I will be adding a Ralph Kiner card to it. Plus rookie cards of Dave Parker and Manny Sanguillen.

My Oldest Card

Collectors usually look for the most limited rookie or autograph cards of the most popular players.  I do cherish and love to have these cards, but I do not seek them out for my collection. I like finding a little diamonds in the rough. For example, rookie year cards that are not as popular but maybe a little harder to find than the usual rookie card.
I also like getting a rookie card of some forgetten players of the past.  They were stars from their era, but for whatever reason, most fans have no knowledge of them. One such player is Tommy Bridges

1933 Goudey #199

I recently picked up his 1933 Goudey rookie card.  It is not in the best of conditions and thus was not very costly.  Bridges was the ace of the Tigers pitching staff in the 1930s & 40s.  He won 20 games in a season three times, led AL in strikeouts twice and was among the league leaders in strikeouts and ERA on several occasions.  He also made six All-Star teams and along with Hank Greenberg, is the only Tiger to be on four World Series teams. 
If he was pitching today, he would be a household name and his rookie card would be wanted more.  But, he is forgotten mostly and I am proud to have this card as a part of my collection.