tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86528839020329887642024-02-19T08:45:22.853-06:00Detroit Tigers Cards and Stuffrobbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.comBlogger272125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-43084184603070250082023-02-03T19:35:00.000-06:002023-02-03T19:35:08.856-06:00Soccer Stickers?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSbcoHUxQlxLCRtIfJkaVw4X8FdqBPznkVucjU7kQ_qz0WAbG_JQ6T9O-R0eVVmhCgrcMkR3Gu94a2ve4mSUT-9pnfyqykW6AI5pwI5rr_Ucg-E-jyTq7pBIpnrT22ZqCzzGfsNkbNZ0Lue4gSeieG_XyOymPsg1SfA1Ag1O9jI3Ol-M-WAj_Qsfuo0A/s571/41F9T5DvniL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="571" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSbcoHUxQlxLCRtIfJkaVw4X8FdqBPznkVucjU7kQ_qz0WAbG_JQ6T9O-R0eVVmhCgrcMkR3Gu94a2ve4mSUT-9pnfyqykW6AI5pwI5rr_Ucg-E-jyTq7pBIpnrT22ZqCzzGfsNkbNZ0Lue4gSeieG_XyOymPsg1SfA1Ag1O9jI3Ol-M-WAj_Qsfuo0A/s320/41F9T5DvniL.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><p><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Who knew that soccer stickers would end up being my favorite release of 2022?</span></p></span><p></p><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I never saw it coming.</p><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I’ve long been a fan of the Panini sticker releases for NFL, NHL, and NBA here in the US. I usually pick up an album and 10-20 packs of stickers each year when these come out (sadly 2018 was the last year Panini released NHL, eventually Topps took over and let it die out after a couple of years. It may be an online thing now, but I don’t know and don’t really care).</p><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I was on vacation this fall when I saw the World Cup stickers & albums (at Walgreens of all places) and picked up an album and 20 packs of stickers. When I got home I set them on the shelf and never thought about them again until the WC started play. Remembering that I had them, I got them out when I sat down to watch a game and started stickering.</p><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I was hooked.</p><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I cannot explain why.</p><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maybe it’s the crisp colorful design of the stickers complete with all kinds of info about the players. Maybe it’s fantastic album layout that basically doubles as a program/yearbook. Maybe I’m just tired of modern card collecting and just found joy in something so pure and simple.</p><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I had to go out and get more. I ended up buying 4 boxes during the course of the tournament!</p><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Even with that many boxes, I was still about 125 stickers short of a complete set (The set contains 670 stickers). Sticker collation is without a doubt the most random distribution of any card or sticker set. While you do get doubles, I never once opened a pack that had the same stickers in the same order like you find in most card releases today.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg__quhUy-Ijom9tPqkgJybZx3HmJtp8Zk60jSnog57k5i0vdBhOcPJlimBqLiO6pZmgJ6-svLXcBjQL_12X2-XkjrgwayFMb38FKt-_wfKgjLGxp218gQFP8Q3kZ_ImEm6KkagYwgmUi306duifbgFUxX67AqIK47ZorXpBrBeUW0fB5dpY_DqHmh4hQ/s4032/IMG_5783.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg__quhUy-Ijom9tPqkgJybZx3HmJtp8Zk60jSnog57k5i0vdBhOcPJlimBqLiO6pZmgJ6-svLXcBjQL_12X2-XkjrgwayFMb38FKt-_wfKgjLGxp218gQFP8Q3kZ_ImEm6KkagYwgmUi306duifbgFUxX67AqIK47ZorXpBrBeUW0fB5dpY_DqHmh4hQ/s320/IMG_5783.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Luckily I was able to get some help with some great trades from the Twitter & Discord communities (too many at this point to single out everyone by name but THANK YOU!!!) and got that number down to 24. From there I went to Panini’s website where you can order individual stickers for 40 cents each plus $4 s/h. I am anxiously waiting for those to arrive in the mail any day now.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0p_IyWbAFc9RrX5HIUOvFmZ4eQMWLIACwEvkTkpmGEMRe3w03daYqElW3m1XpPXEPud9xzptxZjrKEYAjBxFozFlGVozB3MVXT6ca78GJMoUYLHYnArxnE6GhE95YSnEHycyMjAr-e7VbkwUwNpkSwVxTszcj4CTccKwl7fJwsh70ha_Q0RhUjxS3g/s2801/IMG_E6074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2801" data-original-width="2460" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0p_IyWbAFc9RrX5HIUOvFmZ4eQMWLIACwEvkTkpmGEMRe3w03daYqElW3m1XpPXEPud9xzptxZjrKEYAjBxFozFlGVozB3MVXT6ca78GJMoUYLHYnArxnE6GhE95YSnEHycyMjAr-e7VbkwUwNpkSwVxTszcj4CTccKwl7fJwsh70ha_Q0RhUjxS3g/s320/IMG_E6074.jpg" width="281" /></a></div><br /><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Nearing completion of the set, my interest was piqued into looking back on previous years. It was in my search that I came across this amazing book that details Panini’s 60 year history of stickers for the World Cup and various European leagues. Not only is it a great look back at the evolution of stickers over the years, but it also recaps the events of seasons and tournaments as well. You can enjoy this book whether you are a sticker fan, a soccer fan, or both.</span></p><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">So then I decided that I would take a stab at the 2018 Panini World Cup sticker set.</p><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Oh boy.</p><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Immediately after digging in I noticed that something was “off” compared to 2022. After a lot of research I was finally able to piece together what was different.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPHv-xg56MpR-Ptd_kqcpgDjWCJt37HXLCHwmKIxb88ESewGdmEGksS_x2mIHcazzCri2q6ihDGQC5vouBj6U-bMhvbnoYQOtH98SOz6UHPjL6E8-Hb1HK_2zm_Q9b-SvvuWihl_Qt45rMv85wDMmn-W7SOy6Zj1gPQE_72-j0ke9gZMXa6SoVPY29Lw/s3986/IMG_E6130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2906" data-original-width="3986" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPHv-xg56MpR-Ptd_kqcpgDjWCJt37HXLCHwmKIxb88ESewGdmEGksS_x2mIHcazzCri2q6ihDGQC5vouBj6U-bMhvbnoYQOtH98SOz6UHPjL6E8-Hb1HK_2zm_Q9b-SvvuWihl_Qt45rMv85wDMmn-W7SOy6Zj1gPQE_72-j0ke9gZMXa6SoVPY29Lw/s320/IMG_E6130.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">In 2018 there were two different sets that are essentially the same set. The larger set, which has 682 stickers with black backs and was distributed in what looks like to one set of countries, and the smaller set, which has 670 stickers with pink backs and was distributed to another set of countries.</span></p><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The sticker fronts for both sets are identical. The only difference is that the pink set does not contain stickers 20-31 (these are the posters for the various cities that were hosting games) and have been renumbered from that point on. I don’t know why this was done and I haven’t been able to find anything on the webs explaining the reasoning.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV9ShOtiSxYNCLB9ZfWf8FntgI8u31Fj-iiDO7p9_Qpklw8RdA46QqO7W9U4_qoRIiNFB8tmiDA1Uuo8n_-IeZBudE1wuZxPL1L0JlwiKP8jBEFNsz55uinYHfKdgmANT57FxEX7q9e4iJOephZSL5mcnBbHrg9Sh3jXpNhX8bozHasldO5JK3E8G1iQ/s1794/IMG_E6131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1794" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV9ShOtiSxYNCLB9ZfWf8FntgI8u31Fj-iiDO7p9_Qpklw8RdA46QqO7W9U4_qoRIiNFB8tmiDA1Uuo8n_-IeZBudE1wuZxPL1L0JlwiKP8jBEFNsz55uinYHfKdgmANT57FxEX7q9e4iJOephZSL5mcnBbHrg9Sh3jXpNhX8bozHasldO5JK3E8G1iQ/s320/IMG_E6131.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4UT1KTpCkF46EHMsD2uJ3b6tpvc8UMu32U2wtmh9Mg8d0QHreTwlNIFaO_37kkdBGm0Z2epPy90Fn_cUyeyJRGPXKo2i2yRmbSO0-aQkQ5G7ExE576tw-YvKYgXLEp9Sbg8k75Q76dY_JMGI9brjpE_OYRSngIGl-GXY7qDvpBQDNGOto25E-3Cmf9g/s1325/IMG_E6132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="921" data-original-width="1325" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4UT1KTpCkF46EHMsD2uJ3b6tpvc8UMu32U2wtmh9Mg8d0QHreTwlNIFaO_37kkdBGm0Z2epPy90Fn_cUyeyJRGPXKo2i2yRmbSO0-aQkQ5G7ExE576tw-YvKYgXLEp9Sbg8k75Q76dY_JMGI9brjpE_OYRSngIGl-GXY7qDvpBQDNGOto25E-3Cmf9g/s320/IMG_E6132.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The oddity for me is the pricing of the boxes for each set. Neither appears to be in short supply looking on ebay. The makeup of the black set boxes is 50 packs (5 stickers per pack) for a total of 250 stickers box and the makeup of the pink set boxes is 104 packs (5 stickers per pack) for a total 520 stickers per box. However, the pricing for both of these boxes appear to be the same (in the $40-50 range). The only thing is that there are no stickers 20-31 in the pink boxes. But at those prices, I’d be far better off to buy pink boxes and then pick up the missing 12 poster stickers on ebay for $1 each.</span></p><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Did I mention that there are two different albums too, and probably even more? I picked up a softcover and a hardcover album for the black set since that’s the larger set and that’s the one I’m going to try to complete. I have not come across them yet, but I’m assuming there is at least a pink set softcover book and maybe a hardcover version too? (a quick check online shows that there was a hardcover version for the 2022 set as well. Doh!)</p><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Lastly, there was a cool little tin of sticker packs that were available although I don’t know which countries they were sold in. I will keep this one unopened since it has the cool European price sticker on the outside.</p><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Postscript</p><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I don’t know why I didn’t think to check there first, but TCDB.com has a great detailed explanation of the various sticker configurations. WOW! Someday I would love to find out why Panini does so many variations (especially the 2022 Swiss gold release!)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZGfdSKX4elU60rlybYugRFMY1UFIQP-P5waBdQLpIIn7WHpHaiE2VUS7R-efaUWwx-nlw0xLZOnd9RJfAXz0yMpc569qYEEVnFbXvcWCpD-ZHEXOlndmxT-7moieDp0pZw2RxoF0dWT2F5GUWjAeKWRcPDo9BVWQPdZCXTrZVKNKD6gg8kYjg5Qjig/s546/2018.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="546" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZGfdSKX4elU60rlybYugRFMY1UFIQP-P5waBdQLpIIn7WHpHaiE2VUS7R-efaUWwx-nlw0xLZOnd9RJfAXz0yMpc569qYEEVnFbXvcWCpD-ZHEXOlndmxT-7moieDp0pZw2RxoF0dWT2F5GUWjAeKWRcPDo9BVWQPdZCXTrZVKNKD6gg8kYjg5Qjig/s320/2018.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="yiv3931615155MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">But for now my first box of 2018 stickers are here and calling and it’s time for more stickering!</span></p>robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-76300068218039452242019-07-08T18:55:00.000-05:002019-07-08T18:56:26.263-05:001980 Topps Football<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYtqcb7EArsOTqooyU2dRBvu6yg0t2tn3Bb1qanKhyh9Y6mgNDvEwEQBjtjM3611eEqtfqSUDqvO-BoEE6ZburvqHPkT0V5DifRMB9SEXz2c5ay2E4BTmRdrbLy_Ii_0k_LpD1j_8wYsN/s1600/1980+cello.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="272" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYtqcb7EArsOTqooyU2dRBvu6yg0t2tn3Bb1qanKhyh9Y6mgNDvEwEQBjtjM3611eEqtfqSUDqvO-BoEE6ZburvqHPkT0V5DifRMB9SEXz2c5ay2E4BTmRdrbLy_Ii_0k_LpD1j_8wYsN/s320/1980+cello.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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I was perusing Twitter today and saw a discussion about favorite football sets. I was going to respond & post why, until so many reasons came to mind that I figured it would be easier (and more fun) to recount them in long form.<br />
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Hands down, 1980 Topps is my favorite football set. I know, it's seldom on anybody's lists of great Topps football sets, but it easily tops mine.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodHeAmULjBbxXm7TrR_8fHH4N6JtmalsGKbSwGtT9E4zzPIuoUYpx65mf6qhYOaIGuqZPRckzGqh8SXx8eTqVafYWhZg4OE-VHTc8anxz5ohViODLkJDQiGuAXSdnM-J4zCyPD_To5Cxz/s1600/1980+payton.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="270" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodHeAmULjBbxXm7TrR_8fHH4N6JtmalsGKbSwGtT9E4zzPIuoUYpx65mf6qhYOaIGuqZPRckzGqh8SXx8eTqVafYWhZg4OE-VHTc8anxz5ohViODLkJDQiGuAXSdnM-J4zCyPD_To5Cxz/s320/1980+payton.png" width="227" /></a></div>
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I was an 11 year old kid living in Rota, Spain in 1980. I didn't really get into football until a couple of years before. It was far more popular with my classmates than baseball (imagine that!).<br />
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We moved to Spain in the summer of 1978. I had just gotten into baseball & baseball cards that summer. When school started in the fall though, I soon learned about this other sport of football, and I was in.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1r8z9Q2hJkdQ-EJCWU7Uj6Wdqv4uuCrVJeaYw90X9DIeOIf_CBXSQdSh9MDXQjU3eGrpKgCIxmZBg63A8l9B5wGG84miLGcL0wZGfs2RQ9ouxyuCnEuuwMiHd383fwI-LTVoqfQNeoAV1/s1600/1980+krause.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="385" data-original-width="279" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1r8z9Q2hJkdQ-EJCWU7Uj6Wdqv4uuCrVJeaYw90X9DIeOIf_CBXSQdSh9MDXQjU3eGrpKgCIxmZBg63A8l9B5wGG84miLGcL0wZGfs2RQ9ouxyuCnEuuwMiHd383fwI-LTVoqfQNeoAV1/s320/1980+krause.png" width="231" /></a></div>
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All my classmates were either Steelers or Cowboys fans, except for the one goofy kid who was a Vikings fan. The Steelers won the Super Bowl at the end of that season, so I fancied myself as a Steelers fan.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNWYoc8DCTPN7cjdQ6Osv4KiNGtEt847NM9gRwyD0LPCACTLE2S_FZ6ZnaKmuW8gAF4xW9-q1o4fU6DRND2q0fY8v0OhxKdk_wcA_cl5CtX4ijvTpFGj82qQPTQS-og16kqDxleUroqvib/s1600/1980+stabler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="319" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNWYoc8DCTPN7cjdQ6Osv4KiNGtEt847NM9gRwyD0LPCACTLE2S_FZ6ZnaKmuW8gAF4xW9-q1o4fU6DRND2q0fY8v0OhxKdk_wcA_cl5CtX4ijvTpFGj82qQPTQS-og16kqDxleUroqvib/s320/1980+stabler.jpg" width="229" /></a></div>
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I soon learned that there was a guy who tore up the league that year named Earl Campbell. To this day I can't explain how or why, but I soon became an Oilers fan.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwS6KrY_EEcxAuunSr146UVl3r6oKG9iD6kdclM5bgx18Zv6FLJ48NTDHQQSTw96qyndEN02m8RjDNQlNojtxl4rNOB2gn2chBSdvq3FAyV5kx_eF9FsC1kKFdcjkGaAUPAsm6lD2PlBCJ/s1600/1980+sb.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwS6KrY_EEcxAuunSr146UVl3r6oKG9iD6kdclM5bgx18Zv6FLJ48NTDHQQSTw96qyndEN02m8RjDNQlNojtxl4rNOB2gn2chBSdvq3FAyV5kx_eF9FsC1kKFdcjkGaAUPAsm6lD2PlBCJ/s1600/1980+sb.png" /></a></div>
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I don't remember much about the '79 season. The Steelers beat the Rams in the Super Bowl. That's about it.<br />
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Now a little bit about living in Rota. The Navy Exchange didn't sell sports cards. I don't know why and I'd love to find out why someday, but I doubt that will be today. But needless to say, sports cards were hard to come by. New cards basically consisted of some new kid moving to town and trading with the rest of us. Pretty soon he would be in the trading collective, and eventually we would all end up with the same cards anyway.<br />
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I don't remember the exact why or how, but my Granny sent me a box of 1980 football not long after they were released. Funny the things you remember from your youth, but I can still remember opening the box and seeing all those shiny cello packs. JACKPOT!!!<br />
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My dad, being the brains of the outfit, would only let me have one pack a day. He kept them hidden somewhere that I never could find (and I tried!), but it was still a treat every morning to come into the kitchen for breakfast and see a new pack sitting at my place at the table!<br />
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I would pour over the fronts and backs of them every morning, taking them all in. I would take them to school (in my back pocket!) and show them off to all of my buddies. I'm sure they tried to trade me for them & I'm sure I refused every time. I LOVED these cards.<br />
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I wish I could add that I had specific memories or this card or that card, but I don't. I just knew that they were new, and I knew that they were mine. Hell I didn't even realize that Earl wasn't in the set.<br />
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Over time though, they disappeared, but the memories didn't. In recent years I have started to rebuild the set. My checklist currently shows that I have 127 of them. They're high on my list of commons I hope to find at NSCC in a few weeks.<br />
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My Granny passed away about 3 months ago. Twice while we lived in Spain, she sent me a box of cards in a care package. One baseball ('76 cello box in '79, a whole 'nother story for another time) and one football. When she passed, I thought back on all the memories of her in my life and this was near the top.<br />
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As far as Granny's go, she was the best.robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-39497368304109412662019-03-16T19:58:00.000-05:002019-03-16T19:58:15.243-05:002019 Donruss<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAb10pHk9X6ELKhB88E3BTbHjlDTgvVm11Pwo5i-IGAM8KzjQI_v-qokpt3Vu94NmYxFiAZ9Z0l8z5JJRu0TWm0tUNYuqiE6s0migwGSlyKzJ-MSHmOSct6Lkyt8JWR8yp6NA5rRiI-R7p/s1600/IMG_7497.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAb10pHk9X6ELKhB88E3BTbHjlDTgvVm11Pwo5i-IGAM8KzjQI_v-qokpt3Vu94NmYxFiAZ9Z0l8z5JJRu0TWm0tUNYuqiE6s0migwGSlyKzJ-MSHmOSct6Lkyt8JWR8yp6NA5rRiI-R7p/s320/IMG_7497.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Welp, I finally pulled the trigger on my first set purchase of 2019. At $45 shipped, it came in $5 under my budget of $50. (I still haven't paged last year's Donruss set, so the 2" binder I bought for $8 will only count as $4 since I will easily be able to fit both sets in it.)<br />
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AND, kudos to the seller for taping some of the wax box to the top of the white box. Very cool, and I've never received a set where someone has done this before. Sweet!<br />
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The base cards look pretty nice in hand. It's a shame that there are only 3 Tigers, but I blame the current Tigers "braintrust" more than I do the good folks at Donruss. I think this may be the nicest design of the Donruss rebirth. I just wish they'd dialed down the size of whatever that is going on in the bottom right corner to match the upper left corner, but otherwise no complaints.<br />
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They've stepped up the backs this year by adding a second color. Much nicer than last year's black ink only. <br />
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The DK subset is gorgeous. One Tiger, a couple who were, and one who needs to be. Hell, they ALL NEED to be, but that's another post for another time.<br />
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I love the look of the Rated Rookies too. This would've been great for the entire set design IMO. It's a shame there are only 20 of these in the set. Seems like Donruss is missing the boat by not adding more.<br />
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Again these "throwback" cards look great too. I like that this subset features mostly up and comers, prospects, and rookies.<br />
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My only complaint with 2019 Donruss is regarding the "variations" which are boring and unnecessary. If you want to work 50 more stars into the set, which I'm on board with, I would've preferred a 50 card subset replicating the awesome 1985 Donruss Action All-Stars set.<br />
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Overall I give this set a solid B+. They look much better in hand than they did when I saw the pics on twitter months ago. I think this is the best looking Donruss set since they came back 5 years ago. And for $45 delivered I saved about two-thirds on what I've spent on last year's Donruss set (which is still not complete.....if anyone wants to help. I've got plenty of dupes.)<br />
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<br />robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-29083611303602118262019-02-09T12:21:00.000-06:002019-02-09T12:21:14.302-06:00I Went To The Card Show<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last night I was deliberating whether of not I wanted to go to the twice-monthly card show here in Nashville. Even though this was the first weekend that 2019 Topps would be at the show, collecting modern has been a joyless endeavor for me for years now. But I didn't have shit else to do this morning, so I went.<br />
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There is one dealer at the show who usually opens up a quite a bit of all the baseball releases. Let's call him D1. Great guy with really cheap prices. You have to get there pretty early to hit him up because there are a handful of guys who clean him out pretty quickly. Even though I got to the show at 7:30, I was too late. There was a guy who already had picked out close to a couple hundred inserts. (Insert bloat another topic for another time....) I was able to pick through the left overs and find 6 Tigers inserts for $2 total. (Look for another blog post later in the week about the 2019 Tigers I picked up)<br />
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I asked D1 if he had any base I could look through. He was in the middle of trying to come up with a price for the guy in front of me and said that he did but it was going to be a little bit before he could dig them out. The dealer beside him, from now on to be known as D2, piped up and said he had plenty. D2 is a super nice guy too, but his prices are always too high. I usually hit him up AFTER I've picked up what I needed from D1. But I was only looking for base so I figured what the hell?<br />
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I was able to find all 10 Tigers base cards, plus a couple of inserts. When I asked him how much he said $5. Only because D2 is a good guy, I was able to stifle down "are you fucking kidding me?!?" That's a $1.50 worth of cards there tops." I didn't want to throw away 20 minutes of time spent standing there though so I handed over the $5.<br />
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I circled the rest of the show, finding nothing worth looking through, and headed for the door, still in a foul mood about overpaying. Right in front of the door though, there was a table with a couple of dime boxes that I remembered seeing on my way in. I looked down and the 1983 reprint Dylan Bundy caught my eye. I've been casually working on this set, with everything I've picked up so far coming from dime boxes. So I grabbed a chair and started digging in.<br />
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Boy was I glad that I did.<br />
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I ended up pulling 20 of the 1983 inserts, including a few decent ones.<br />
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I also found cards for several other insert sets that I'm casually working on.<br />
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Some older insert sets and parallels. Love the Sosa's and the Bruce Sutter.<br />
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Some football, WELCOME BACK KOTTER, and college baseball.<br />
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A complete set of these Fleer inserts. With Lee Smith getting in this year they are all HOFers.<br />
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<br />A nice little stack of 1975 Topps minis. I'm not working on this set so most of these will be trade bait.<br />
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A few vintage cards that are in much too good of shape to be in a dime box.<br />
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Oh yeah, there were Tigers too!<br />
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I ended up pulling exactly 130 cards for $13. I picked up a lot of needs and those I don't will go into trade piles. Needless to say, when I left the show I was no longer in a foul mood.<br />
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And it was much more fun than grocery shopping would turn out to be.<br />
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<br />robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-75490311277206567522019-01-27T11:15:00.000-06:002019-01-27T11:15:51.121-06:00$600<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hey there! It's been a while. How've you been? Thanks for asking.<br />
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Hell, I damn near forgot this thing was still here.<br />
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Well, that's something I'm hoping to improve on this year (if you're reading this I've already surpassed last year's output). Like so many other bloggers, it became much easier to post my thoughts and comments on the hobby in real time on Twitter rather than sit down and spend an hour or two writing a blog post. But every once in a while a topic is just too long for twitter. This is one of those times.<br />
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After 40+ years of building at least some kind of set just about every year, I've decided to call it quits. No I'm not leaving the hobby. I'm no longer going to BUILD sets. I'm just going to buy them instead.<br />
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Buying complete sets is not new to me. I've been doing it with Bowman and Bowman Draft since 2013, Archives since 2013, and Flagship and Update since 2016.<br />
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Like most set collectors I've grown tired of spending big money to build sets that are only worth a fraction of what I spent (and with a slew of useless inserts that are worthless too. What exactly am I paying that much money for? The disappointment of opening packs??).<br />
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With what should have been a relatively easy set last year with Big League, I'm now over $200 into it and I'm still 25+ cards short of a complete set.<br />
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Happily those days are over now.<br />
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So I've sat down and made a list of what sets I want to /collect/buy, how much I expect to pay for them, and added in for binders and pages, and came up with a projected budget for 2019.<br />
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$600<br />
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What am I hoping to get for that $600? Well, here goes:<br />
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<b><u>Baseball</u></b><br />
Topps Flagship $50<br />
Topps Update $25<br />
Bowman $30<br />
Bowman Draft $30<br />
Archives $100*****<br />
Big League $50<br />
Donruss $50<br />
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<b><u>Football</u></b><br />
Score $75<br />
Donruss $40<br />
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Binders and Pages $150<br />
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Total $600<br />
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Some of these are known expenditures while others are guesses, because I've never bought some of these sets before. For instance, I know you can get a factory sets of Flagship for $50 and Donruss football for $40. I have no clue what hand-collated Big League or Donruss baseball sets will cost. I don't even know if anybody even does them. I guess this could all make for potential future blog posts as each set is acquired to see how it's going. Yes, I purposefully left the word "interesting" out of that sentence.<br />
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*****Archives base sets can be had for much cheaper than $100. I just picked up the 2018 set for $35 shipped. But Archives is pretty much the only set where the inserts are interesting enough for me to pick up too. Plus you never know which year there are going to be base SP or not, or a really cool Tigers auto like Rusty Kuntz in 2017.*****<br />
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"But all the fun in set building is, you know, actually BUILDING the set." I agree. However, I've reached the age in life when keeping hundred dollar bills in my wallet IS A LOT MORE FUN. Or better yet, spending those hundred dollar bills building vintage sets at NSCC will be THE MOST FUN!<br />
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As I've previously posted, there are other ways to have fun with sorting and paging sets that can give some slight illusion to having built them yourself. I'm not linking to it because you can literally read that post next when you finish this one. Or you can skip to it now and come back to this one later. I'm down with whatever path you choose.<br />
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Am I going to miss set building? Absolutely. There IS a great sense of pride and accomplishment when finishing a build. But with each year it gets harder and more expensive. As someone once said, "all good things must come to an end." (The producers of LOST maybe?)<br />
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<br />robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-55966895383600622242017-05-18T19:55:00.002-05:002017-05-18T19:59:44.997-05:0012 Steps To Properly Page a Topps Flagship Set<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: medium;">For years now I've paged my Topps flagship sets with complete disregard to the numbers that are on the back of the cards. The haphazard order of these sets has always bothered me. I think of my Topps sets not just as a collection of cards, but instead a yearbook, that flows from one year to the next. I can pull a binder off the shelf and it's an orderly review of the year that was in baseball as well as card collecting. Because I absolutely love my system of paging cards, I've decided to share it in detail with the rest of the #collectfam. I hope you enjoy, and even better, come up with a system of your own to share. As you will see, I borrow heavily from the beloved method that Fleer used to organize their sets in the 80's, but with a few changes of my own. Here are 12 easy steps to take your flagship album to greater heights.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">1. <span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">DO NOT DRINK ANY ALCOHOL WHILE ATTEMPTING TO
PAGE YOUR SET. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">TRUST ME. I CAN'T FUCKING STRESS THIS ENOUGH.</span></span><br />
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</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPiq_-TookQG4kUcyy2BLHI6Ffccqh-mn91-E5Gh1Z_2SjYqcEX5kPUZNd-Q5aEm3GXGj9JVmIsIo928x7kvlFma-syQO25PvfCHiav_jg4E0S75_d-l5dyhtDPhcJ2hB9j25s19nevfcN/s1600/IMG_3834.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPiq_-TookQG4kUcyy2BLHI6Ffccqh-mn91-E5Gh1Z_2SjYqcEX5kPUZNd-Q5aEm3GXGj9JVmIsIo928x7kvlFma-syQO25PvfCHiav_jg4E0S75_d-l5dyhtDPhcJ2hB9j25s19nevfcN/s320/IMG_3834.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">2. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">Purchase </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">this</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">
binder at your local Target, Walmart, Office Depot, etc. This binder will
PERFECTLY hold a 1,000 to 1,100 paged set of Series 1, 2, & 3. It will also hold a
customizable spine so you don’t have an endless wall of blank binders
spines on your binder shelves.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7yjW82H052m12pQUp5T-hEOi1hW5tP6mrQx1alHjgbMCkVIjGyl25qg91Y3JVwEaThhh4b-s4SQxHGvzJ0Brf7o8Dz9_WTFqiraJTNYIBiwaeA19lCYSH7hoMOcHl21Ltoyj8wzdX3IJ4/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7yjW82H052m12pQUp5T-hEOi1hW5tP6mrQx1alHjgbMCkVIjGyl25qg91Y3JVwEaThhh4b-s4SQxHGvzJ0Brf7o8Dz9_WTFqiraJTNYIBiwaeA19lCYSH7hoMOcHl21Ltoyj8wzdX3IJ4/s320/3.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">3. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">I use these pages because these are readily
available at my local Target. A couple of bags will do. If you have another source of pages, I'm sure that will work just fine too. But I'm no longer responsible for the outcome if they don't. It's kinda like a chili recipe. If you want to add beans, that's on you. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcbKNkqsmZ9cuwWt78KuPb38kmcxV_ThP4_RcMCfOKfXL6BOtGcT2A8_Rud71F0VlKip8MpK98lDEGeAi4hvjQTpr1G_YZ3uOHevPDV38ojcSBGGyVSfBj8IoLoQP9PsD9EVGfHW-tGcDa/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcbKNkqsmZ9cuwWt78KuPb38kmcxV_ThP4_RcMCfOKfXL6BOtGcT2A8_Rud71F0VlKip8MpK98lDEGeAi4hvjQTpr1G_YZ3uOHevPDV38ojcSBGGyVSfBj8IoLoQP9PsD9EVGfHW-tGcDa/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">4. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">Take your SERIES 1 & 2 SETS ONLY and sort
them into teams and subsets. (Set Series 3 aside for later) In 2016, there were 4 subsets: World Series, Team
Cards, Highlights/Checklists, and League Leaders. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">5. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">Once you’ve sorted everything as shown,
alphabetize all your team piles before paging. This also works as a great
double check to make sure you don’t have an Indians card in the Twins pile.
Yes, this does happen. Frequently in fact, if you don’t follow step #1. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNol5GHky0TMplvZALiTJ9bMLakDY75o_yn7jIwJOZwEvAxC6ytL-vgM48e6BCBCk2ELzUStqJk0m4n7JUSn07O1p0-A_7FD2aUy93VMoynyLpRntVUafMslCENP48zrgF4g51NpPo6ix/s1600/page+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNol5GHky0TMplvZALiTJ9bMLakDY75o_yn7jIwJOZwEvAxC6ytL-vgM48e6BCBCk2ELzUStqJk0m4n7JUSn07O1p0-A_7FD2aUy93VMoynyLpRntVUafMslCENP48zrgF4g51NpPo6ix/s320/page+1.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">6. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">Page in the following order (all according to the previous season, in this case 2015)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->World Series winning team</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">c.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->LCS losing team with better record</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">d.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->LCS losing team with worse record</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">e.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Four LDS losing teams starting with best record
to worst record</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">f.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Wild Card losing team with best record</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">g.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Wild Card losing team with worse record</span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">h.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The rest of the remaining teams starting with
best record to worst record.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMwzM4vksBC-HsMAKxWDKdm4BSOSh2WIVOAwIVbjcui4438qwL2vWL7ObnjJ9DjOHh6JGy2XEaT42-gwTGzP9-0rR3PUKlFoHeu5yFv9PtRdVuJV6KidVo4ZXVGJ1-eOwe4wA25CQ3TrU5/s1600/IMG_3828.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMwzM4vksBC-HsMAKxWDKdm4BSOSh2WIVOAwIVbjcui4438qwL2vWL7ObnjJ9DjOHh6JGy2XEaT42-gwTGzP9-0rR3PUKlFoHeu5yFv9PtRdVuJV6KidVo4ZXVGJ1-eOwe4wA25CQ3TrU5/s320/IMG_3828.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">7. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">With the remaining subset cards, I’m fluid about
the order I put them in. To me, the whole point of paging a set this way is to
give it a nice visual continuity. Preferably, the subsets would all consist of
9 cards each so they could all be on one page, but it’s never that easy, is it?
I do the best I can then to arrange them so they are not broken up across
pages. 2016 actually worked out well for this. There were 4 slots left on the
page after placing all the teams, and there were 4 World Series Highlights
cards. Well there you go. After that it flowed nicely with the 30 Team cards, 6
AL Leaders cards, 6 NL Leaders cards, and the 10 Highlights Checklists cards.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">8. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">Taking a bre</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;"></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">ak here for a
FAQ.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><b>Why isn’t the front page in alphabetical order? </b>Taking a cue from 1981 Fleer, which instead of just alphabetizing the cards by
team, more or less had the best player on the team first, working down the worst
player on the team last, I thought it would make for a great look to have the
biggest stars of the World Champs staring at me when I opened the binder to page 1. I've even altered it in recent years to have the World Series MVP be the first card in the binder. Now I could’ve
easily put those 9 cards in alphabetical order, but as long as Topps keeps
putting horizontally laid out cards in their sets, I cannot do that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I mix them up to make it visually
appealing to me. Vertical cards together and horizontal cards together. (Hey Topps! Pick one or the other!! Even if it's horizontal, which looks horrible paged!!!)</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><b>What do you do when teams have the same record?</b>
This is very easy to answer. I just pick the team l like better and page them
first. Obviously, the Tigers break all ties and the Red Sox lose all ties. The Marlins win most ties and the Indians lose most ties. You can see where I'm going with this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpf7Q66lkBn5y0zRDQjQunFqvOR5jhHSmvQpqfF4sfYOfeZIpL_bdO-dO90OfPcZuJzEEBIYyTzfG1soCUxqwFGf39XnuwG41VHE8sqDd2e7jhgEl6MgC5dMwjWH6gI2HYV_F5vXcwcBHU/s1600/IMG_3831.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpf7Q66lkBn5y0zRDQjQunFqvOR5jhHSmvQpqfF4sfYOfeZIpL_bdO-dO90OfPcZuJzEEBIYyTzfG1soCUxqwFGf39XnuwG41VHE8sqDd2e7jhgEl6MgC5dMwjWH6gI2HYV_F5vXcwcBHU/s320/IMG_3831.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">9. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">OK, so now it’s time for Series 3. This will be
short and sweet. It mostly works the same way as Series 1 & 2, but this
time paging according to the results of the current season, and not the last
one (in this case, 2016). </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span>Thinking of my flagship set as a yearbook of sorts, this method allows the binder to “flow” from one season into the next. I
put the Rookie Debut cards first as their own subset, since they are not true
rookie cards anyway that should be with the teams. Then go the Home Run Derby cards, followed by the All-Star starting lineups and the
reserves. Then the World Series winning team down to 2016’s worst team.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like breaking it up this way so that
when I’m looking at this series I can see who the big pickups were, as opposed
to mixing them with Series 1 & 2 and not being able to tell (I guess I
could look at the numbering on the back, but I’ve already come this far and
besides, I like it this way)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span>This method also allows you to go ahead and get
Series 1 & 2 paged up as soon as you complete them during the season.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioImX7e_-XLI3Cv8cAyFYV2uuOOZK_W23HTwyJfYPzfC6e1sBYdb11-m2UsygPchZGS1CXvdmNlOzV2GSr0nx0ZCP0ef4k_uJvWR8hAOmVtDCyYXBotqhd3h2hfDRHx2BTU-P_IpLawfdC/s1600/IMG_3821.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioImX7e_-XLI3Cv8cAyFYV2uuOOZK_W23HTwyJfYPzfC6e1sBYdb11-m2UsygPchZGS1CXvdmNlOzV2GSr0nx0ZCP0ef4k_uJvWR8hAOmVtDCyYXBotqhd3h2hfDRHx2BTU-P_IpLawfdC/s320/IMG_3821.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">10. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">BACK TO THE IMPORTANCE OF STEP 1. Since Topps is
hell bent on designing every card in a 1000 card set to look almost identical,
it’s very easy to get cards in the wrong piles and screw the whole thing up and
have to go back and fix it. I have not followed Step 1 in the past and have
always ended up screwing up somewhere. Case in point, with only a few pages
left to go, I found that I missed the goddamned All-Star logo on Stephen Vogt
and had to unpage TWENTY ONE PAGES to put him in the correct slot. (Note to
Topps, or any employees who might be reading: PLEASE give the subsets different
designs than the base cards. For some reason this was stopped around 2007 and
it’s AWFUL. Look how beautiful that turned out in 1983 vs. 2013. Please help an old man out here.)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBsSbp1k-nGHrp5rA6yNHTUP-COy0LDyqrX16J5UG5b5xlsqlwcEgoSSwgNZkrFbWZlsv1bP3RH2OKeiDEotrWUt5aTzmXt3JDS4ZmbdJEEmVlU4UyIJp0cJpz4x3n5xHa7ClKCwwL8YMo/s1600/1983-2013.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBsSbp1k-nGHrp5rA6yNHTUP-COy0LDyqrX16J5UG5b5xlsqlwcEgoSSwgNZkrFbWZlsv1bP3RH2OKeiDEotrWUt5aTzmXt3JDS4ZmbdJEEmVlU4UyIJp0cJpz4x3n5xHa7ClKCwwL8YMo/s320/1983-2013.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">11. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">Another FAQ. <b>What about
inserts/gimmicks/parallels? </b>Put them in a penny sleeve and a
monster box. You're likely never going to get all of these anyway, and really, a binder with empty pockets just looks bad. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6HotDJY1QWlrDerMdL7335bBq0KLjb0BM81SvNijf0XRU-_LIfa0rARNk_rtK6arOoCO-HuAMlvrwSLpEMMrNhWPlGSGVePgOP7Fetxlb2kvHgtwKaEg0J-BhKpbVrbeNX_hxiZGA-uqc/s1600/beer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6HotDJY1QWlrDerMdL7335bBq0KLjb0BM81SvNijf0XRU-_LIfa0rARNk_rtK6arOoCO-HuAMlvrwSLpEMMrNhWPlGSGVePgOP7Fetxlb2kvHgtwKaEg0J-BhKpbVrbeNX_hxiZGA-uqc/s320/beer.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">12. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;">Sit back now and disregard Step 1. You did it my friend! You can enjoy the weightlessness of being unencumbered by the arbitrary numbering
system on the backs of the cards. Enjoy looking at that first page and not
having to stare at a blank pocket in the bottom left corner where #7 would
usually go. Disregard Step 1 even more as you turn the pages of your binder and enjoy
the “order." And finally, if you are so inclined, disregard Step 1 even further, and write a
blog post about it. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
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<w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
</w:Compatibility>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:.5in;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:.5in;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:920993909;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:1957213132 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level2
{mso-level-number-format:alpha-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
</style>
-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>
<w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
</w:Compatibility>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:.5in;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:.5in;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:920993909;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:1957213132 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level2
{mso-level-number-format:alpha-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
</style>
-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>
<w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
</w:Compatibility>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:.5in;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:.5in;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:920993909;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:1957213132 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level2
{mso-level-number-format:alpha-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
</style>
-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment-->
<!--EndFragment-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>
<w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
</w:Compatibility>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:.5in;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:.5in;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:920993909;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:1957213132 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level2
{mso-level-number-format:alpha-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
</style>
-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>
<w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
</w:Compatibility>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:.5in;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:.5in;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:920993909;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:1957213132 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level2
{mso-level-number-format:alpha-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
</style>
-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>
<w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
</w:Compatibility>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:.5in;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:.5in;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:920993909;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:1957213132 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level2
{mso-level-number-format:alpha-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
</style>
-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>
<w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
</w:Compatibility>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:.5in;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
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--></span>robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-86058878508982469462017-03-24T20:17:00.003-05:002017-03-24T20:21:00.158-05:005150 + 1986 = Perfection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUvWPJz_5Yz5kZelnXSvWUZVwisiFF-IbyreaKW832teSUvlii1qrhVlp8AWrD1M2mc3BoVpgLph_VQePcrMClLDHD0QzVhNP6RXApLiIuDeGhSVKkB03DcfmGjAoTcLIrclxzAo1Cae8Z/s1600/VanHalen_5150_fcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUvWPJz_5Yz5kZelnXSvWUZVwisiFF-IbyreaKW832teSUvlii1qrhVlp8AWrD1M2mc3BoVpgLph_VQePcrMClLDHD0QzVhNP6RXApLiIuDeGhSVKkB03DcfmGjAoTcLIrclxzAo1Cae8Z/s1600/VanHalen_5150_fcover.jpg" /></a></div>
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I read today that Van Halen’s 5150 was released 31 years ago today, which got me to thinking about 1986 in general, which in turn reminded me that 1986 was truly my last great year of card collecting. I suspect several factors combine into the reason why, none of which really have anything to do with the hobby itself. OK, maybe one, just a little bit.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUWnW65DFd_uozvaOTWhvZI8KMTngV-BQG0iQsawd6WU2gWyh-JVjsijXFgM6XBxliCUWltwGPb3oBqRioXQDt6FFyxpssCh55YLA2SrfPQJBLeJ2S6MyLmpEhyphenhyphenA_Y5RpfxOWhInpcpGQ_/s1600/1986.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUWnW65DFd_uozvaOTWhvZI8KMTngV-BQG0iQsawd6WU2gWyh-JVjsijXFgM6XBxliCUWltwGPb3oBqRioXQDt6FFyxpssCh55YLA2SrfPQJBLeJ2S6MyLmpEhyphenhyphenA_Y5RpfxOWhInpcpGQ_/s320/1986.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Love Walks In</div>
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I still have such fond, vivid memories of collecting in 1986. Memories like walking a mile or so down snow covered train tracks to the local card shop on a blustery Maine Saturday morning to pick up a shiny new box of Topps (with bright red cards on the box bottom!). Or swinging by that same shop on my way to my after school job at Service Merchandise to pick up a box of Fleer (a box that had ZERO doubles!). Or walking into Grand City and finding what looked like thousands of packs of Donruss dumped into a barrel near the cash registers (the number of packs it seemed like anyways before I pulled a Canseco!).<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"></span></div>
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I’ve never been able to duplicate those memories at Target or Walmart. Luckily the memories of opening a Topps box with my buddy while his mom made us grilled cheese sandwiches never faded. Nor did buying a pack of Fleer later one afternoon and getting ALL 7 cards I was missing for my set. Nor the dizziness I felt rifling through each pack of Donruss looking at that crazy design. Who knows, maybe now there's some kid somewhere who has similar stories, but I'm not holding my breath.<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"></span><br />
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Best Of Both Worlds</div>
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I think a large part of it also has to do with the fact that I graduated high school that summer. As I went off to college that fall, discretionary spending habits changed considerably over the next few years. Schaefer, Lucky Strike, and numerous record shops started getting a lot of my money that had once been earmarked for cards. I was an avid football card collector as well, and I have no memory of buying any that fall. Probably why I still don’t have that damn Jerry Rice card.<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"></span><br />
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Why Can’t This Be Love</div>
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Obviously the brutal changes the hobby was about to undergo in 1987 played a part as well. When everybody started trying to fund retirement portfolios, my “hobby” lost some of its luster. I have continued collecting in the years following, but never again was it as much “fun” as it was in 1986. It became more like a dutiful chore.<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"></span><br />
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Good Enough</div>
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So what really happened? Basically, I grew up. Well, got older anyway. It happens. But when you think about it, is <i style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">anything</i> as good as it was when you were a kid? Probably not.<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"></span><br />
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Dreams</div>
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PS: When 5150 was released, I was working as a sporting goods clerk at the local Service Merchandise (pictured above, it's now a Chinese restaurant). One of the guys who worked in the “Sight & Sound” department hatched a plan: a handful of us each chipped in a couple of bucks, he went up to the record store and bought the cassette and a box full of blank tapes, then came back to the store and dubbed copies for everybody ALL DAY LONG. I swear I remember hearing that album ten times that day. Much to the dismay of Van Halen fans, it remains my favorite VH album.</div>
robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-76824793372211660572017-03-06T18:25:00.000-06:002017-03-06T18:32:39.214-06:001981<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> I'm always quick to tell anyone who will listen that I started
collecting baseball cards in 1978, but it really wasn’t until the summer of
1981 that it fully kicked into gear and I became a dedicated collector. 1978
was the year that I fulfilled every father’s dream and began playing Little
League. As an avid collector of Star Wars cards the year before, it didn’t take
long once I discovered they made cards for baseball too that I fell madly in love
with them. I still fondly recall getting some packs here and there that summer,
devouring the info on the backs of the cards along with the sweet pink
rectangle in each pack. I can only wish to relive the hours I spent stacking my
deck to whoop my little brother in the PLAY BALL game on the backs of each
card that we would play every day of that summer.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Unfortunately for a budding nine year old collector, at the
end of the summer we were stationed in Spain, where baseball cards could no
longer be found on every corner! Save the occasional box of cards my grandma
sent me for a birthday or Christmas, card collecting took a back seat to
comics, which were readily available at the Navy Exchange bookstore. Our cards then only came back out when a new kid moved to the base, the rest of us picking his collection over like vultures, as that would be the only supply of new stuff until the next kid moved to the base.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> But then in the glorious summer of 1981 we were transferred
back to the good old US of A! We would spend the summer in Arkansas with relatives before moving on to Florida at summer's end. The date we arrived back in the US was June 9<sup>th</sup> to be exact, and boy howdy
how I couldn’t wait to watch baseball all summer after three years without television in Spain. Well if you’ve read this far and remember any baseball history at
all, it’s pretty easy to piece together the events that happened three days later
(on my 12<sup>th</sup> birthday no less) and brought my dreams crashing down. Thankfully
though, I still had baseball cards to collect to fill the void. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> With three card companies instead of one, it didn’t take
long for my plastic card locker to outlive its usefulness, so I “upgraded” to
rubber bands and a Coca Cola crate. Despite the crudeness of my storage system,
I was extremely meticulous in my sorting and filing methods. Each rubber banded
“bundle” was sorted by team in the following order:</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Topps Team Checklist on top (marked appropriately of
course)</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Topps players in alphabetical order</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Fleer players in alphabetical order, with the manager card on top</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Donruss players in alphabetical order, with the manager card on top</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Any multi-player, record breaker, post season, set
checklists, and Fleer Checklists (marked appropriately of course) were banded
into their own bundle. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> The team bundles were then placed in the box in the
following order:</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->AL East in alphabetical order</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->AL West in alphabetical order</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->NL East in alphabetical order</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->NL West in alphabetical order</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Multi-player, etc. bundle</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> I ended up getting on a Little League team in Arkansas (McGehee Bank),
and despite the absence of Major League Baseball that summer, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>that
and collecting fixed my baseball jones. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> By 1981 I was a Houston Astros fan, solely due to my having been a pitcher for
my Little League team in 1979, the Angels. I knew Nolan Ryan was a bad ass
(with his 1978 Topps Record Breaker card as my primary evidence) and so I
became a Ryan fan. I carried on again the next year toiling with the Angels, even
though Ryan had moved on to Houston, but I never stopped rooting for him, and
by the time the Astros made their playoff run in 1980, I’d become a fan of the
team as well. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKyPJw_Fwqw0lMYG8k-WOt4D-JCumf_n7H_vqzsvKcpejHk3p0GuhKqFvEMn3j1zXLDCXeQOSpl4pSA_8FDL0QVBs34cQ9XjdjxGsjmGEsU4zj9NooPODbsLVVbx2t4g5RE8Ai_oVKFAKT/s1600/angels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKyPJw_Fwqw0lMYG8k-WOt4D-JCumf_n7H_vqzsvKcpejHk3p0GuhKqFvEMn3j1zXLDCXeQOSpl4pSA_8FDL0QVBs34cQ9XjdjxGsjmGEsU4zj9NooPODbsLVVbx2t4g5RE8Ai_oVKFAKT/s320/angels.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Throughout that summer, my first ever collecting goal was to finish the Topps Astros team set. Each week I'd narrow it down by a few cards until there was only one card remaining. Card #534, Dave Smith. For the rest of the summer, every time my grandma went to Walmart, I'd ride with her so I could search all the rack packs for Dave Smith. Never once did I see him. Never once did I come home with a pack that had him inside</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> At the end of the summer, we left Arkansas and headed towards our new home in Florida. On a rainy morning of Day 2 of the drive, we stopped for gas at a 7-Eleven somewhere near Pensacola, FL. I asked my dad if I could have a dollar to go in and get a Coke. I bought that Coke, and one pack of 1981 Topps baseball cards. I got back in the U-Haul truck, riding shotgun along with my crate full of cards. We headed back down the highway and I went to work on that pack of cards. I still remember freezing up as I sorted through them and suddenly there before my eyes was card #534, Dave Smith. I did it! I finally completed the Astros team set!! I was on cloud nine the rest of the trip. I must have spent hours staring at that card. I still love seeing it 36 years later. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1k5m8s0bO37ektOcCF8UtqMm4uGq-nGOc3R9CB_9ry2AaZiVnpVsUGMLYbdLXb7x5TQjIjFSSDv61QvxFBs8nk0T6pEch-P_Mk__qIbkruBGcPSzqKWvmNiokAoJxBFoRYKzyoIKN5-5n/s1600/534.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1k5m8s0bO37ektOcCF8UtqMm4uGq-nGOc3R9CB_9ry2AaZiVnpVsUGMLYbdLXb7x5TQjIjFSSDv61QvxFBs8nk0T6pEch-P_Mk__qIbkruBGcPSzqKWvmNiokAoJxBFoRYKzyoIKN5-5n/s320/534.jpg" width="228" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> To this day the cards of 1981 hold a special place in my heart for the great memories of collecting that summer, and more importantly, the great memories of life that summer. I hope that all the collectors out there have similar memories themselves. But without a $%@#$&%^ two month baseball strike for crying out loud! </span></div>
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robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-25095257030962760162013-01-03T20:42:00.000-06:002013-01-03T20:42:42.508-06:00A Farewell To Heritage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2dD2hAr87wn1FS-p8ExUWhKINynBLeNYzp830RFmC90NvYa3Dcotnt4uBxWC1GTxSoVXkYzYTel6DxcM1BegsepwhT5UN7VAnqtxl2zAuwOB9xgsF8tjeXneQ770R8RzKY3b2DjoNKbqy/s1600/kaline+heritage.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2dD2hAr87wn1FS-p8ExUWhKINynBLeNYzp830RFmC90NvYa3Dcotnt4uBxWC1GTxSoVXkYzYTel6DxcM1BegsepwhT5UN7VAnqtxl2zAuwOB9xgsF8tjeXneQ770R8RzKY3b2DjoNKbqy/s320/kaline+heritage.jpeg" width="228" /></a></div>
<br />
I wish I had a clever or humorous way to start off this story, but I don't. Around lunchtime today I started thinking about giving up collecting Heritage sets. Within an hour I'd made up my mind.<br />
<br />
I'm calling it quits.<br />
<br />
I was late <i>getting into</i> Heritage. I gave a valiant effort collecting 2001 Bowman Heritage (2 boxes) but never really came close to finishing the set. I bought a few packs of Topps Heritage in 2002, 2006, and 2007. I bought a couple of blasters in 2008 and 2009, and bought a lot more a couple of years ago when I found some heavily marked down. I also added most of the base cards from 2006 and 2007 by picking up lots on the ebay.<br />
<br />
I went full bore in 2010. I probably spent in the neighborhood of $500 that year buying packs, boxes, and SP singles, and I'm still 8 cards shy of the set. I tried again in 2011, spending around $300 that year and still coming up short by about 40 or so SP. In 2012 I just bought a base set on the ebay and spent the rest of the summer trying to hunt down the SP at shows. I'm probably short 30 SP of that set.<br />
<br />
I know now that I'm never going to finish any of these sets. So in a great moment of clarity today, I gave up. Which is too bad, because quite frankly I like the concept of Heritage. But I'm no longer going to be a slave to the execution of them.<br />
<br />
Oh, I'll continue putting together Heritage Tigers team sets every year. That's not such an enormous undertaking that it can't be completed. In fact I have almost all the base, SP, and Variations that have ever been released. I still get great enjoyment from collecting Tigers, especially those that are appearing for the first time as Tigers.<br />
<br />
I'll also continue putting together a couple of the Heritage insert sets I really dig: Baseball Flashbacks and Then & Now. I think these are the cards where Heritage shines. In fact one of the things I would've loved to have seen was for these players to have actual cards in the Heritage set, similar to how they're handled with Archives. How you can produce a set that harkens back to 1961, but not include base cards of Maris or Mantle is beyond me, but I digress.<br />
<br />
I fancy myself as a dinosaur in today's collecting world. One of last of the set builders. I came from a time when building a set was fun and more than just about collecting cards and making a buck. A set was also a yearbook. My yearbook. It marked the season before, which was chronicled on the backs of each card, as well as the season at hand, when you chased the rookie cards and blooming superstars that had never been sought after before.<br />
<br />
Now there are no more rookie cards. Only autographed chrome inserts, never pulled from exorbitantly priced packs and boxes. And by the time a player becomes a star today, there have already been dozens of cards issued in dozens of sets that have had scans plastered across the internet an infinite amount of times for all to see, so that by the time I finally got one it felt like I was just dutifully crossing that name off a list of must have cards, instead of savoring it as I had done with so many cards in my youth.<br />
<br />
It's not all doom and gloom though. In that same moment of clarity, while I reminisced about how much more fun it was back then, that I realized it could still be fun again. This time by going backwards from the cards I collected as a kid, instead of going forward with the ones I laboriously collect as an adult.<br />
<br />
I started collecting in the summer of 1978. My oldest complete set is a 1979 Topps set. Over the last couple of years, I started fishing through bins of old cards buying up nice condition cards from 1974-1978. Within a couple years, I've added a couple hundred cards from each year. So I'm off to a nice start towards building attainable sets. Sets with rookie cards. Sets without inserts. Sets without parallels. Sets without short prints. Sets without variations (some 1974 Padres and a 1979 Bump Wills notwithstanding.....)<br />
<br />
I've always had a fervor for set building. I always will. I've spent too much time enjoying it to give it up completely. I have too many memories of opening that first pack or box of that year, as well as finding that last card needed to finish that year's set. Now the time has come to make new memories by rediscovering old cards, and for the first time in a long time, I'm eagerly looking forward to collecting again. By looking backwards.robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-8826287915869270392013-01-01T16:36:00.000-06:002013-01-01T16:36:20.568-06:00Collecting Resolutions for the New Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwVvmDyNosrsG-qOrIYWcw7HOi5BoZnovLXNfAlR3MsHZAUgv4M0rJD61fWQQxyCVyKAjGVKpcIUMMVg7LhjS2F8IrwB6FVV7aLOTf6kVBEtj1-wXsQgKzLmmG4QRcTDneggwwZiWru26/s1600/90TT+Tigers.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwVvmDyNosrsG-qOrIYWcw7HOi5BoZnovLXNfAlR3MsHZAUgv4M0rJD61fWQQxyCVyKAjGVKpcIUMMVg7LhjS2F8IrwB6FVV7aLOTf6kVBEtj1-wXsQgKzLmmG4QRcTDneggwwZiWru26/s320/90TT+Tigers.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
1. I resolve to blog more. Which should be challenging since.....<br />
<br />
2. I resolve to collect a lot less 2013 product. I'm tired of paying hundreds of dollars to put together a set, only to see it listed on ebay for a fraction of the price that I spent. I'll let the rippers & flippers build my sets for me from now on. (My only exception would be holding out on Heritage and waiting to see if they hit $35 a box again by summer. My guess is yes.) I'll gladly let others pay the exorbitant prices to chase hits that I'm not the least bit interested in. I'll miss my favorite part of card collecting, set building, but that's how it goes now I guess.<br />
<br />
3. I resolve to spend more of my collecting time/resources/$$$ on the vintage sets I've been working on: 1974-1978 Topps Baseball and 1978-1986 Topps Football. To poorly paraphrase Gordy LaChance, nothing will ever beat collecting the cards you collected when you were a kid.<br />
<br />
4. I resolve to collect more 90's sets. My collection as it stands is pretty much just Topps Flagship. I'm think I'm going to add some combination of Collector's Choice, Donruss, Fleer, Leaf, OPC, Score, Studio, & Ultra to the mix. I couldn't afford ALL this stuff in the 90's. Today it's cheaper than it was then. If John Lennon were still around, I'm sure he'd agree: Happiness is a warm, $8 90's box.<br />
<br />
5. I resolve to finally get a complete wantlist compiled, printed, and published on the internet. Really.<br />
<br />
6. I resolve to finally finish all my 80's Flagship sets. I'm only about fifty total cards away from finishing at least a dozen sets. It'll be nice to pull that page OUT of my wantlist.<br />
<br />
7. I resolve to take up online trading. I'm about to get a couple underway & I'm really looking forward to it.<br />
<br />
8. I resolve to collect a lot more Tigers autographed cards. I was never a big auto collector, but I was bitten by the bug in 2012. I'd like to really beef up my collection by adding Kaline, Morris, Trammell, Polanco, Guillen, Magglio, Austin Jackson, Cabrera, Fielder, and Verlander in 2013, this year in which the Detroit Tigers will be World Series Champions.<br />
<br />
9. I resolve to go to my third NSCC this year in Rosemont. I've met a lot of great folks on twitter over the last year (you can find me @RobbyT86) and I'm looking forward to putting some faces with some names. I'm also looking forward to picking up a lot of 50's & 60's Tigers cards, 80's oddball stuff, and visiting with old friends from my old stomping grounds in the Northwest Suburbs.<br />
<br />
10. I resolve to have a lot of fun collecting in 2013 by sticking to my other nine resolutions!robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-54986476374590540752012-02-09T19:43:00.002-06:002012-02-09T19:51:57.515-06:002013 Topps Classic sell sheet (sounds amazing!)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:drawinggridhorizontalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:drawinggridverticalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:displayhorizontaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:displayverticaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:dontautofitconstrainedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">Topps Classic Set!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Classic stock like Heritage, but with an original design like Lineage.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%; ">6 Series, 180 cards per series.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Each Series will be released approximately every 8 weeks during a year.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Most Series will feature 4-6 cards per team plus misc subsets (listed below).</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Series 1 February</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Subset: Previous year award winners (MVP, CY Young, ROY, & All-Rookie team)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Series 2 April</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Subset: Players on new teams (with actual NEW photos, no photoshopped photos)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Series 3 June</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Subset: HOF Class of ‘13 (2013 HOF inductees on base cards using photos from all the teams he played for)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Series 4 August</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> Subset: All-Stars (starters, combos, highlights, and MVP)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Series 5 October</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Subset: September call ups/prospects (old-fashioned 2-3 players from one team on one card)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Series 6 November</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> Subset: Postseason Highlights</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> Subset: League Leaders</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%; ">All Series will include a few Classic Combos, HOF veterans, and managers as well as any highlights, MLB debuts, and trades that occur since the previous series.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%; ">No SP or variations. NONE! </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%; ">One insert set per series of 9 cards (approx 1:4). One parallel set numbered to that year (approx 1:1). One “hit” (approx 1:72)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Insert sets:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Series 1: Award Winner Reprints (cards of HOF players from award winning seasons)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Series 2: Then & Now (star players rookie photo and current photo)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Series 3: Hello & Goodbye (HOF players rookie and last card reprints)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Series 4: All-Time Leaders (multi-photo cards of all-time leaders)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Series 5: Artists Renditions (classic cards painted by various artists)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Series 6: Fall Classics Reprints (reprint cards of HOF players from classic postseason years)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%; ">12 cards to a $2 pack (11 base cards and one parallel, insert, or hit)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%; "><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%; ">WOW! This set sounds amazing. Pays homage to so many sets yet offers so much to so many different collectors. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%; "><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Too bad I just made the entire thing up. But I would TOTALLY collect this. Discuss. Maybe if this gets passed around the internet enough it will inspire Topps to finally come out with a great set! </span></p> <!--EndFragment-->robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-54073680917374630582012-02-07T17:57:00.003-06:002012-02-07T18:03:14.041-06:00Buyer Beware: 2012 Topps '87 MinisI was able to to put together the 50 card set of '87 minis Sunday at a show for a grand total of $11.50. <div><br /></div><div>I got home from work tonight and the cards are already starting to curl like '10 Chrome. </div><div><br /></div><div>No Tigers in Series 1, but no Prince Fielder either, which means Series 2 ought to be loaded with Tigers. I'm guessing Fielder, Verlander, Cabrera, and Avila. </div><div><br /></div><div>Topps fucking sucks. </div>robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-70403852379673399942012-02-03T18:29:00.001-06:002012-02-03T18:32:18.037-06:002012 Topps Series 1 Detroit TigersI've posted the scans on facebook for anybody who might be interested. Search for the group "Detroit Tigers Cards and Stuff." Prepare to be underwhelmed. Or just go here:<div><br /></div><div>https://www.facebook.com/pages/Detroit-Tigers-Cards-and-Stuff/303970832952316</div>robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-8517723693704078842011-10-17T21:35:00.002-05:002011-10-17T21:53:30.518-05:00Moving to FacebookAfter much deliberation, I'm taking this over to Facebook. You can search for it under Detroit Tigers Cards and Stuff. I started a page over there tonight and got more "likes" in 3 hours than I've had responses here in the last year.<br /><br />I've run out of ways to bag on the sorry state of the hobby. At least over there I've got 40-50 friends who are Tigers fans who I know will contribute to the discussion about Tigers stuff. Hopefully there will be more interaction, which is what I always wanted for with this blog. I get tired of reading my own stuff. Besides, I never learned anything about the new releases until others chimed in.<br /><br />Fear not, I'll continue to flex my acerbic wit on Facebook. C'mon over and join in.....robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-56309769560707574852011-08-24T18:11:00.004-05:002011-08-24T18:28:25.369-05:002011 Topps Lineage Part 2I'm a goddamned idiot.
<br />
<br />I've bought 6 blasters, 14 rack packs, and 8 regular packs of Topps Lineage. I've amassed over 600 cards, counting inserts. I've spent almost $250 so far.
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<br />I'm still missing cards of Francisco Liriano and Victor Martinez from the base set. FROM THE FUCKING BASE SET!!!
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<br />This is EXACTLY why I quit trying to put fucking Topps set together.
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<br />The love I first had for this set is long gone.
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<br />I'm NEVER buying a fucking pack of Topps cards again.
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<br />At least not until 2012 Heritage.....
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<br />PS: All is not lost though. I pulled this sexy little mofo from a blaster box today.....
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0K3COv3bQBSUKWMjV2L-oFw38OLgNC6YJpDLMn56Ob1XDGYehAINe4_9R20jXf40rFfG1SJGwWUDCjmhBZPdT06pcvGsmlRNWUOa-BY6n5ZT_ouaPq7JifuPEuCavuQEhyIMLvPyp-XWv/s1600/Kaline.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 189px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0K3COv3bQBSUKWMjV2L-oFw38OLgNC6YJpDLMn56Ob1XDGYehAINe4_9R20jXf40rFfG1SJGwWUDCjmhBZPdT06pcvGsmlRNWUOa-BY6n5ZT_ouaPq7JifuPEuCavuQEhyIMLvPyp-XWv/s400/Kaline.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644567429401611330" border="0" /></a>
<br />robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-72408026699755746382011-08-18T17:54:00.007-05:002011-08-18T19:08:09.782-05:002011 Topps Lineage, Topps Stickers, & The National
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2UWb8GsNMYr9ri-YibXFkghbHqBKrO-xCYoSnRFzsE6MeVhvozyRBb7SaCl_epTDkAmAG2g-3uES7rwN_BV_055OTOoAdU3qSfrOgDNrh06yPATfn7_DqM2FfySkKci5MAoB2m7QOG-7J/s1600/2011-Lineage-Verlander.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 224px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2UWb8GsNMYr9ri-YibXFkghbHqBKrO-xCYoSnRFzsE6MeVhvozyRBb7SaCl_epTDkAmAG2g-3uES7rwN_BV_055OTOoAdU3qSfrOgDNrh06yPATfn7_DqM2FfySkKci5MAoB2m7QOG-7J/s400/2011-Lineage-Verlander.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5642345548674655250" border="0" /></a>
<br />After successfully staying away from buying any packs of Topps cards since I finished the 2011 Heritage base set, I succumbed to my weakness once again. Fucking Topps. In my defense though they've actually released something interesting enough to warrant it.
<br />
<br />Topps Lineage is one of the cooler sets I've seen in some time. It's a tad bit pricy ($3 for a pack of 8 cards, $5 for a rack pack of 14 cards, and $20 for a blaster box of 56 cards and a relic card), but luckily it's a small set with no short prints, so it's reasonably affordable.
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<br />The base design isn't anything special, but it's not bad either. It looks like something that would normally be used for a regular Topps set.
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUX4gbEC9mq_-bHYQIUw3BlXLd0v8O7PWEY_OthQtobtcw3BvZgTx_JIl0boGuoQSvo_6fbswP90OwJkxM-u95CS-WFmY9IrvNoMwWfr-7x3qbASGQKme-TiRbuu4-pmQN2Y0vpbjGn1nS/s1600/2011-Lineage-Cobb.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 224px; height: 313px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUX4gbEC9mq_-bHYQIUw3BlXLd0v8O7PWEY_OthQtobtcw3BvZgTx_JIl0boGuoQSvo_6fbswP90OwJkxM-u95CS-WFmY9IrvNoMwWfr-7x3qbASGQKme-TiRbuu4-pmQN2Y0vpbjGn1nS/s400/2011-Lineage-Cobb.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5642345544366996930" border="0" /></a>
<br />I really like the mix of Hall Of Famers, current stars, and prospects. It seems like a quarter of the set consists of about five teams, but overall it's a decent mix. The Tiger checklist is modest for a 200 card set.
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<br />43 Victor Martinez
<br />105 Ty Cobb
<br />143 Miguel Cabrera
<br />156 Austin Jackson
<br />187 Justin Verlander
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjD8gNkBUI6N_n9PV6hCQRDFul4sutBY8eQ4-8rR6R3Fq9BFzom3jzhQosbFOipspkBVK9YQloY77trL1i7TPqr0hv3JesID53VEB20Roc6Bg8_oiWf-WIern8vs2bLhZ6ok4Pwp8HJzJg/s1600/2011-Lineage-Mini.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 191px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjD8gNkBUI6N_n9PV6hCQRDFul4sutBY8eQ4-8rR6R3Fq9BFzom3jzhQosbFOipspkBVK9YQloY77trL1i7TPqr0hv3JesID53VEB20Roc6Bg8_oiWf-WIern8vs2bLhZ6ok4Pwp8HJzJg/s400/2011-Lineage-Mini.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5642345616196202082" border="0" /></a>
<br />The big draw here of course are the '75 Mini inserts. This is a fantastic tribute to an iconic set. It's a little bloated for an insert set (200 cards, same checklist as the base set) but otherwise it's a great throwback. Hell, most of the ones I've picked up are even off-center, just like the originals.....
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<br />The cloth stickers and Venezuelan cards are disappointing. I assumed the cloth stickers would have the 1977 design and the Venezuelan cards would have one of the 60's designs. Instead both have the same design as the base cards. It's not terrible with the cloth stickers, but the Venezuelan cards are completely indistinguishable from the base cards on the front. The only difference is on the back, where the copy is in Spanish and the numbering is slightly different. Yawn.
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeSGPEvACmdFiWs3YniJAbJJGpArv_-ZwB3QUaNnPr2Rqxvqfi9Fx4Fv9Z7jZnc6Cvn6R7a-sDL5P8jFKBab_0I9S7RCmw3Q7rz_Vy1HfOaFNsWvWH3VPk_3elP59D0U8yxfmMtzwPb6xm/s1600/2011-Lineage-Cabrera.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 225px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeSGPEvACmdFiWs3YniJAbJJGpArv_-ZwB3QUaNnPr2Rqxvqfi9Fx4Fv9Z7jZnc6Cvn6R7a-sDL5P8jFKBab_0I9S7RCmw3Q7rz_Vy1HfOaFNsWvWH3VPk_3elP59D0U8yxfmMtzwPb6xm/s400/2011-Lineage-Cabrera.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5642345602274672082" border="0" /></a>
<br />I'm ambivalent towards the 3D and Pop Up cards. It's odd that the 3D cards have all the elements of '69 Topps, yet are rearranged around the card. I'd like them a lot better if they'd used one of the Kellogg's designs or even the design of the 3D cards from the mid-90's.
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFxmvXrHn9c83k0r7Rbk0VbzneIzp4xCEnkRysdi6GOskhyphenhyphenapPb0ifV0iu_B8PQG9zDCL60UqRrQ0cwrERQE-KGmK53Cs58RPPhhzFsSSGCLY2GQXrnZMI4nBTNy4M14lIuxgC-s846w0/s1600/2011-Stickers-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 191px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFxmvXrHn9c83k0r7Rbk0VbzneIzp4xCEnkRysdi6GOskhyphenhyphenapPb0ifV0iu_B8PQG9zDCL60UqRrQ0cwrERQE-KGmK53Cs58RPPhhzFsSSGCLY2GQXrnZMI4nBTNy4M14lIuxgC-s846w0/s400/2011-Stickers-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5642346021680430338" border="0" /></a>
<br />Continuing with the throwback theme, Topps has thrown their hat back in the sticker ring again, more or less rebooting the line from where they started in 1981. It's a very nice, simple, clean design (with the names on the front now! No more having to turn the stickers over to tell the difference between Kiko Garcia and Lenn Sakata!!) The set is very basic: 9 players from each team, a 9 player HOF Foil subset, and foil logo stickers. If you were a fan of stickers in the 80's (as I was) then you'll be a fan of these. A pack of 8 is $1, so this should be a fairly inexpensive set to assemble.
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<br />64 Alex Avila
<br />65 Austin Jackson
<br />66 Magglio Ordonez
<br />67 Brandon Inge
<br />68 Jhonny Peralta
<br />69 Brennan Boesch
<br />70 Miguel Cabrera
<br />71 Victor Martinez
<br />72 Justin Verlander
<br />298 Tigers Foil Logo
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAaOJ5k52VuIwUuExB5qphTJNHNU-jwyElPb2Xafica2BEb600Y5K9zlzY2BxXYqj32A-cW3TL-1O3SVTNcSm5L0A_H_c9F4_uUYXFt2ePvfJ4bqHYYv-NKZYOm_kUClIfMols2Pv-OXI_/s1600/2011-Stickers-2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 188px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAaOJ5k52VuIwUuExB5qphTJNHNU-jwyElPb2Xafica2BEb600Y5K9zlzY2BxXYqj32A-cW3TL-1O3SVTNcSm5L0A_H_c9F4_uUYXFt2ePvfJ4bqHYYv-NKZYOm_kUClIfMols2Pv-OXI_/s400/2011-Stickers-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5642346029286745730" border="0" /></a>
<br />Of course there's a sticker book that can be purchased too. As an avid collector of stickers though, it would be nice if Ultra-Pro or somebody would come out with sheets for the stickers. They are just a bit too wide to put in the tobacco sheets. (Hey Ultra-Pro! If you're reading this, how 'bout making some pages for the 75 Topps Minis and 80's League Leader Minis while you're at it???)
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<br />Finally, the National was here in Chicago a few weeks ago. No, not the awesome band, but the National Sports Collectors Convention. It was quite possibly the most disappointing card show I've ever been to. I'd guess that close to half the dealers there were peddling graded cards from the 50's, 60's, & 70's. Probably another quarter were selling high-end memorbilia such as jerseys, helmets, bats, framed/autographed posters, etc. Most of the rest were either grading services, auction services, or tables piled sky high with overpriced recent unopened boxes. I found a whopping three tables that were selling 2011 baseball singles (and a couple of those folks thought they were selling 1952 baseball singles, but I digress.....)
<br />
<br />As someone who almost exclusively collects Tigers cards, there was very little there to justify the $20 entrance fee 9without a single promo/giveaway this year) or the four hours spent walking around only to leave with a handful of Tigers cards and a bunch of $3 boxes of 80's Topps Stickers. The weekly Sunday card show in my neighborhood has more to offer me and the admission is usually free. If you're into big ticket collectibles, then the National is the place for you. Unfortunately, it's no longer the place for me. Which means, of course, that the next time it's in town I'll be back.....
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<br />All was not a wash at the National though. I added these two gems to my collection:
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd275Vn88YWA1CEbPVb0lyYvOcyijyR9CU5oO8WhS2WwRHBUyumHEuDhkOjaBM701NR1V9ii_t0wwFEEi3rLzTeJKdzIiJ2x3_W-Oz8EhqoYr-2t6IhTn88ns1LluKP3pQ_ivqou0HAX5d/s1600/Kaline-Martin.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 279px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd275Vn88YWA1CEbPVb0lyYvOcyijyR9CU5oO8WhS2WwRHBUyumHEuDhkOjaBM701NR1V9ii_t0wwFEEi3rLzTeJKdzIiJ2x3_W-Oz8EhqoYr-2t6IhTn88ns1LluKP3pQ_ivqou0HAX5d/s400/Kaline-Martin.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5642347367528228610" border="0" /></a>
<br />One last note. I've got relic cards of the Lineage '75 Minis of Andrew McCutchen (bat), Aramis Ramirez (gray jersey), and B. J.Upton (gray jersey), as well as an on card auto of Fausto Carmona (2008 Topps replica) if anybody might be interested in trading me a similar Tiger counterpart.
<br />robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-89134374035089472652011-06-26T20:37:00.007-05:002011-06-26T21:51:44.339-05:00Ramble On: Confessions Of A Sunday Afternoon Beer Drinker<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGllAT63xhtn5LlczWZQ3U7I1s4dll_pvGRGIo7ud9CgZRXyfFE0PgFpmJhedKk90aYQtIndfiZY0NsecVknQcAWOM0-cYu5FG9JhUBNAH0LLkQotDFsfuzu_iSmye_U67yBwX2UuM9oI6/s1600/kaline.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGllAT63xhtn5LlczWZQ3U7I1s4dll_pvGRGIo7ud9CgZRXyfFE0PgFpmJhedKk90aYQtIndfiZY0NsecVknQcAWOM0-cYu5FG9JhUBNAH0LLkQotDFsfuzu_iSmye_U67yBwX2UuM9oI6/s400/kaline.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622717364226890466" border="0" /></a><br />In no particular order.....<br /><br />1. I'm not usually a fan of the tobacco era type cards that Topps trots out each year, but I dig the Gypsy Queen issue. The parallel Kaline card with Tiger Stadium in the background may be my favorite 2011 card.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkKWlbptaoJhpOWo0RnB_Qjyx1KNZzdPbeZLFCtvopatwNGvNoVDeWzj9UPVYALnQ-5AGlEzb7m1ajEaDV_yFyxuImRIOiFRJqY9U0b8BQQH0-0x_BeIZVPaTrh9HvTFmGKp_TjNH8cZ3J/s1600/castellanos.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 198px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkKWlbptaoJhpOWo0RnB_Qjyx1KNZzdPbeZLFCtvopatwNGvNoVDeWzj9UPVYALnQ-5AGlEzb7m1ajEaDV_yFyxuImRIOiFRJqY9U0b8BQQH0-0x_BeIZVPaTrh9HvTFmGKp_TjNH8cZ3J/s400/castellanos.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622717367214182930" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX6Chsoedju2LcxN6Luw2jsHn6pcdwW4XxscXgaEbS5e4H1s9d0y8XwTgZy3tIlEYrIkvDc2AbpJXpwcqErJhN-Sba8EYp_XuA_6vxNFE5-GOV9SsroRVJd5LbO6xGGgTP6G8eKyqimgzc/s1600/turner.jpg"><br /></a>2A. Pro Debut is out. What a set for suckers. I saw these going for $65 a box at a card show today. I have been to two card shows in the last two days and a grand total of one dealer was selling singles. A couple of dealers I talked to who sell singles of new stuff said they aren't fooling with it because nobody buys them. I'll be surprised if Pro Debut is around next year.<br /><br />2B. Apparently Jacob Turner is in this set for the second year in a row. Apparently I don't understand what "Pro Debut" means.....<br /><br />2C. I want a Francisco Martinez card real bad...<br /><br />3. Could there be a worse issue this year than Bowman? Is there a worse issue <span style="font-style: italic;">any</span> year besides Bowman? Another year of an uninspiring design. Another year of an uninspiring player selection. And where are the Jacob Turner cards? Yes, he's in a couple of the insert series, but no base card? C'mon already! (I will admit the Bowman's Best throwback/reprint is pretty bad ass though.)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX6Chsoedju2LcxN6Luw2jsHn6pcdwW4XxscXgaEbS5e4H1s9d0y8XwTgZy3tIlEYrIkvDc2AbpJXpwcqErJhN-Sba8EYp_XuA_6vxNFE5-GOV9SsroRVJd5LbO6xGGgTP6G8eKyqimgzc/s1600/turner.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 198px; height: 279px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX6Chsoedju2LcxN6Luw2jsHn6pcdwW4XxscXgaEbS5e4H1s9d0y8XwTgZy3tIlEYrIkvDc2AbpJXpwcqErJhN-Sba8EYp_XuA_6vxNFE5-GOV9SsroRVJd5LbO6xGGgTP6G8eKyqimgzc/s400/turner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622717375876047186" border="0" /></a><br />4. I'm going to be moving in a couple of months. I've got a bunch of team lots with anywhere between 300-500 cards each that are going to be donated to the resale store down the street at the end of August. If you collect another team besides the Tigers and are up for a swap then drop me a line. There are plenty of stars, inserts, and complete team sets in these lots. Seriously folks, there is some great stuff in here and all I'm looking for are lots of Tigers cards.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8_3gL8YGmLe-axyRujvesrcg8NuYJFSbRX7EhSQDaQxKYcLt4n2In6HbZB_H9jftgszDHAMfFQfsBjaNRr6jAF-2UtcKrwqp7259pCAazoKG6NlRc_CTCjQY2NHtQvqrPe52WWgUkaR8/s1600/1993-Studio-Tigers.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 290px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8_3gL8YGmLe-axyRujvesrcg8NuYJFSbRX7EhSQDaQxKYcLt4n2In6HbZB_H9jftgszDHAMfFQfsBjaNRr6jAF-2UtcKrwqp7259pCAazoKG6NlRc_CTCjQY2NHtQvqrPe52WWgUkaR8/s400/1993-Studio-Tigers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622719979997203010" border="0" /></a><br />5. I bought an iPad 2 a couple of weeks ago and it has already become an invaluable tool in my card collecting. Instead of endless piles and printouts of checklists, I've been scanning each page of my Tigers collection and loading them into Photos. Now if I want to see what I'm missing I can pull up a photo in seconds and tell without a doubt if I have a card or not.<br /><br />6. Picked up this Mickey Lolich 1973 Kellogg's card for free at a recent show. How cool is that?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT8z5A7g5FvRhocnqd24XNBikPqzM-u3tcIOxWt2LEVu5wpGOe7s3AQxLrtoHTj36uWdNBzgnPmS8moWCLOzoK3EKDFcv-fVLo4G0DHVQtEm2MS9c-I99ldDF2HxyPQHUJeNxKYZqikN42/s1600/lolich.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 177px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT8z5A7g5FvRhocnqd24XNBikPqzM-u3tcIOxWt2LEVu5wpGOe7s3AQxLrtoHTj36uWdNBzgnPmS8moWCLOzoK3EKDFcv-fVLo4G0DHVQtEm2MS9c-I99ldDF2HxyPQHUJeNxKYZqikN42/s400/lolich.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622717380285009986" border="0" /></a><br />7. In 15 years of owning Mac computers, I had my first ever hard drive crash about 6 weeks ago. Luckily I had about 90% of my files backed up. Unfortunately I had 0% of my 2011 RobbyT cards backed up. It's really taken the wind out of my sail as I had 20+ cards already done. I'm hoping to get back into it in the second half once <span style="font-style: italic;">real</span> baseball card season dies down.<br /><br />8. The Tigers are in first place despite some mediocre play as of late. This "Just-in", Verlander's 8th inning last was fucking incredible. That was more exciting than the 9th inning of his no-hitter.<br /><br />9. The National is coming up in about 6 weeks here in Chicago. If anybody is going to be there and would like to meet up give me a holler.<br /><br />10. There is a <a href="http://www.tigersclubhousegang.com/index.php">new forum</a> where a bunch of old <span style="font-style: italic;">Detroit Free Press/World Crossing</span> Tiger fans are hanging out. Stop by and check it out. You won't find a funnier bunch of folks around.robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-71589893297909628962011-05-15T19:23:00.007-05:002011-05-15T20:20:38.889-05:00Starting Lineup Figures, Detroit Style<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim9lCrfPyE1tOMjq3D_3NWhUI5qgWUdBbHBqFYg4TjlIionPfqIsaV4sZSdfxf3ezwCml7JHrFusl9gIOtm9jUtjk6PJmQGEq6Hv28f4s3ssuGAk8gAttKPvYP858WpE-VlIVc3o9GLGx_/s1600/1996-Hank-Greenberg.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 317px; height: 371px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim9lCrfPyE1tOMjq3D_3NWhUI5qgWUdBbHBqFYg4TjlIionPfqIsaV4sZSdfxf3ezwCml7JHrFusl9gIOtm9jUtjk6PJmQGEq6Hv28f4s3ssuGAk8gAttKPvYP858WpE-VlIVc3o9GLGx_/s400/1996-Hank-Greenberg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607110944131606450" border="0" /></a><br />I came across the Hank Greenberg SLU pictured above while checking out a new card store last week near my neighborhood. I've never been an diligent collector of SLU's, but over the years if I saw one of a Tiger somewhere (and it was under $10) I picked it up. I've got a box of maybe 10 or so different Tigers in the attic at my folks' house.<br /><br />After picking up the Greenberg I realized that I've never seen a complete checklist of Tigers anywhere, so I searched around the internets and tried to compile one of my own. As I'm sure I probably missed a few here and there or maybe got a year wrong, I would love some input if anybody has anything to correct or add to the list, which looks something like this:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitgEYqrpK9PLxWN8o-NboaxuE1pCfwcyYwUn3-VJt_OyUvOoyFAD5yUEjqqltE8gpHWM8Y3K_4aNjm5MxT_Ona88jF1j6bOT55XOBmVhfutXnS7B3BPp89mMCMDu7mPkuNzs1wamQ55QzO/s1600/1988-Team-Lineup.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 374px; height: 155px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitgEYqrpK9PLxWN8o-NboaxuE1pCfwcyYwUn3-VJt_OyUvOoyFAD5yUEjqqltE8gpHWM8Y3K_4aNjm5MxT_Ona88jF1j6bOT55XOBmVhfutXnS7B3BPp89mMCMDu7mPkuNzs1wamQ55QzO/s400/1988-Team-Lineup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607110939752201282" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1988</span><br />Willie Hernandez<br />Jack Morris<br />Matt Nokes<br />Alan Trammell<br />Lou Whitaker<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1989</span><br />Tom Brookens<br />Matt Nokes<br />Luis Salazar<br />Alan Trammell<br />Lou Whitaker<br />Alan Trammell - Jose Canseco "One On One" combo<br />Team Lineup<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1990</span><br />Kirk Gibson (it must be noted that his figure is a Dodger, but his prominent card is of him with the Tigers)<br />Matt Nokes<br />Lou Whitaker<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ7aPbkqKk50zP5aUyg_MKm1JALPziBUKurvVRbM7Knn9IuWh2e6xi7rWyuXOjLL7CC29ELqXlBv21oDnVaPzpQFgLYu_uX0CzmP1JoMRzzFen2PA7jB0OEQdetIl1c6UbWxeNwMJngbkJ/s1600/1992-Cecil-Fielder-Headline-Collection.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 352px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ7aPbkqKk50zP5aUyg_MKm1JALPziBUKurvVRbM7Knn9IuWh2e6xi7rWyuXOjLL7CC29ELqXlBv21oDnVaPzpQFgLYu_uX0CzmP1JoMRzzFen2PA7jB0OEQdetIl1c6UbWxeNwMJngbkJ/s400/1992-Cecil-Fielder-Headline-Collection.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607110931105852658" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1991</span><br />Cecil Fielder<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1992</span><br />Cecil Fielder<br />Cecil Fielder Headline Collection<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1993</span><br />Travis Fryman<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1994</span><br />Ty Cobb<br />Cecil Fielder<br />Tony Phillips<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1995</span><br />Mickey Tettleton<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4p2EDJ0pU7OFkFzHfjKpbEpBLrgsU46Jp4GJoyvI0YpuicrflARSDdYjWLjZ5FjGVHyz8sbVd1bqLqqiwmBgISH4myAFPTjseLyzxOWCVZdgMyM0RLdRr8fyhamlkcgbo5-RBVUxaL1bi/s1600/1996-Ty-Cobb.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 347px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4p2EDJ0pU7OFkFzHfjKpbEpBLrgsU46Jp4GJoyvI0YpuicrflARSDdYjWLjZ5FjGVHyz8sbVd1bqLqqiwmBgISH4myAFPTjseLyzxOWCVZdgMyM0RLdRr8fyhamlkcgbo5-RBVUxaL1bi/s400/1996-Ty-Cobb.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607110926840499858" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1996</span><br />Hank Greenberg<br />Ty Cobb 12"<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1997</span><br />Tony Clark<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1998</span><br />Bobby Higginson<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1999</span><br />Tony Clark<br /><br />It's a testimony to how bad the '89 team was that Tom Brookens and Luis Salazar have figures. It's shame really that the Tigers were so bad during the era that SLU's were produced. I'd love to have one a Team Lineup of the 1984 or 2006 teams.<br /><br />I really like the Team Lineup set from 1989 though. Where else can you find Gary Pettis, Alan Trammell, Chris Brown, Lou Whitaker, Jack Morris, Fred Lynn, Matt Nokes, Keith Moreland, and Chet Lemon all immortalized in one collectible of one of the worst Tiger teams in their history?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ebQMpW1blQwuXfdHF97UPIaxaCg3t1HCpifmfCxvdr-rLL_m5OXRpVTwHpP-SyJgC-AJXOL5ORUfDY7iCdjZCbr10SlHXDA58ASKqbqkJt_JcQ-XZ_OgtuzLFr4jMd8R7v6ZCsK-Xq5t/s1600/1997-Tony-Clark.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 316px; height: 350px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ebQMpW1blQwuXfdHF97UPIaxaCg3t1HCpifmfCxvdr-rLL_m5OXRpVTwHpP-SyJgC-AJXOL5ORUfDY7iCdjZCbr10SlHXDA58ASKqbqkJt_JcQ-XZ_OgtuzLFr4jMd8R7v6ZCsK-Xq5t/s400/1997-Tony-Clark.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607110935310703122" border="0" /></a><br />I think my personal favorite is the 1997 Tony Clark with him wearing the awful BP jersey from that era which is identical to the first Tigers jersey I ever picked up.<br /><br />Researching these led to me looking up info about the subsequent McFarlane figures too, which I'll delve into in my next blog entry.<br /><br />Anybody got any good SLU stories?robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-20427578135936803242011-05-04T17:53:00.004-05:002011-05-04T18:03:11.518-05:002011 Topps: Miguel Cabrera<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxwicUjtH18dDrHoFEf48OfCn4bqAMrFMLMIjbqdyNeJzYUx3asqWKGuqidkOzvSiXovt-HLVOzxqutldZKcJOIRyIIYcB5zm_rSy-d-GB7e_i18Y8Ja8VMCLs8otMR5APtVsfYS-WNr4l/s1600/2011-Topps-Cabrera.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 295px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxwicUjtH18dDrHoFEf48OfCn4bqAMrFMLMIjbqdyNeJzYUx3asqWKGuqidkOzvSiXovt-HLVOzxqutldZKcJOIRyIIYcB5zm_rSy-d-GB7e_i18Y8Ja8VMCLs8otMR5APtVsfYS-WNr4l/s400/2011-Topps-Cabrera.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603000036194741010" border="0" /></a><br />By my count Topps has released 5 issues so far this year:<br /><br />1. Series 1<br />2. Opening Day<br />3. Heritage<br />4. Blister Pack Team Sets<br />5. Gypsy Queen<br /><br />Pictured above are Miguel Cabrera cards from 3 of those 5. (This year's blister pack team sets also include separate sets of AL and NL All-Star teams, which is where the last card comes from)<br /><br />I didn't even bother to include the parallels, which makes the case even worse.<br /><br />So tell me again why it's a good thing that Topps is the exclusive manufacturer of baseball cards? Or why the hobby is going in the shitter due to lack of interest?robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-69408243442188348142011-02-19T19:24:00.004-06:002011-02-19T21:16:35.128-06:002011 Topps<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtGbYSfcVAsTibo84wGKfK1RXHnGkHwrfY5dcaQ89mBLVWibqHQaKEUQq5rt54-PTp0JHqYnzq8x6RrBxjiQIWX5Odd4T0jqoXwvIQpC_sqsiTdTcLtfkIbPsmRQDnJ7DA_AYslfDRYelJ/s1600/2011toppsraburn.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 221px; height: 312px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtGbYSfcVAsTibo84wGKfK1RXHnGkHwrfY5dcaQ89mBLVWibqHQaKEUQq5rt54-PTp0JHqYnzq8x6RrBxjiQIWX5Odd4T0jqoXwvIQpC_sqsiTdTcLtfkIbPsmRQDnJ7DA_AYslfDRYelJ/s400/2011toppsraburn.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575601467236366162" border="0" /></a><br />The 2011 Topps Series 1 cards are here and I have a few opinions and observations. (Don't I always?)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Base Set:</span> Absolutely beautiful! I thought 2010 was the best looking Topps set of the last 20 or so years and they have blown those away this year. I love the the Old English D over the baseball. I love that the elements of the design are very minimal, yet effective and easy to read. My only knock with these cards (hey, you know it as well as I do....) is the continued use of foil stamping on base cards. It adds nothing to the card. I think the cards would look even better if they replaced the foil with the contrasting team colors. I'll look forward to seeing what they do with the Opening Day series, which in my opinion ALWAYS looks better than the regular series base cards because of the lack of foil stamping. But again, major kudos for an otherwise outstanding design this year.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiu03Is-7sCdNvPwEs6DK2gMI30MfXLCP6QZrA-BNRHpAxye9Z4Fg396xnR5ds9hvEdLUWgxyhfuAh9wTOhjwaoFhbQnGlHbVeC9qY9rKYCyJBypm4T908DqsnBdMjg-A72bwA3rbd_8wm/s1600/2011toppsgreenberg.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 223px; height: 313px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiu03Is-7sCdNvPwEs6DK2gMI30MfXLCP6QZrA-BNRHpAxye9Z4Fg396xnR5ds9hvEdLUWgxyhfuAh9wTOhjwaoFhbQnGlHbVeC9qY9rKYCyJBypm4T908DqsnBdMjg-A72bwA3rbd_8wm/s400/2011toppsgreenberg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575601465249688146" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Variations:</span> Who doesn't love these? For years I have wondered why Topps doesn't just do these as a part of the regular set. To me, these are about the only cards worth chasing the last three years. Hmmm....maybe I just answered my own question. (I am a little more excited this year, as the Hank Greenberg card pictured is the first Tiger variation that I've added to my collection. I'm on the lookout for the Ty Cobb variation. I have 2010 variations of Walter Johnson and Steve Carlton, and a 2009 variation of Duke Snider if anybody is interested in a trade....) I also like that the baseball on the front of the card has a sepia/yellowed tint compared to the white baseball on the base cards. Subtle, and very nice.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiewBIFen59aWcYHsKgRqPREfPQurgZ_tnTsahiHhvPtTPpCRl6dTknHLwTrvJhMjXYju2E8NblhCCgBqBbmr6d07PeTa11yg7_wkMH-E_ucblBP3UxbWLjACkRC_ll2y1k5nO3ikDoKS9S/s1600/2011toppsdiamond.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 224px; height: 313px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiewBIFen59aWcYHsKgRqPREfPQurgZ_tnTsahiHhvPtTPpCRl6dTknHLwTrvJhMjXYju2E8NblhCCgBqBbmr6d07PeTa11yg7_wkMH-E_ucblBP3UxbWLjACkRC_ll2y1k5nO3ikDoKS9S/s400/2011toppsdiamond.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575601352700337122" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Parallels:</span> The gold cards are gold cards. The diamond cards are nice and sparkly. That's about the best I can do. As a one year thing, the diamond cards are slightly interesting, but if they never return to future Topps sets I won't be heartbroken. They kinda remind me of the 1994 Topps parallels with the funky varnish pattern over the player photos. I'm not too sure about that Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull thing replacing the OED though.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9nIA2oxYf-fDeYhfYWJ2LjxqnDhrqI1Sz4GZ5WnTI646KVUYsTB1HAxEwBdoFKjnRTy2cHyBTzJZZsFvD_gu8kt-mPSyXheMABGZkqSx_qBZF1fxblcHYbVYCpdwE4is_jWzG0eUb6qd1/s1600/2011toppsreprint1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9nIA2oxYf-fDeYhfYWJ2LjxqnDhrqI1Sz4GZ5WnTI646KVUYsTB1HAxEwBdoFKjnRTy2cHyBTzJZZsFvD_gu8kt-mPSyXheMABGZkqSx_qBZF1fxblcHYbVYCpdwE4is_jWzG0eUb6qd1/s400/2011toppsreprint1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575601368315646786" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Inserts, Part I:</span> I'm going to divide this up into two groups. Part 1 is going to be about the reprint cards. If I were to subtitle this even further, it would read something like: <span style="font-style: italic;">Enough With The Fucking Reprints Already</span>. Let me preface this by saying that <a href="http://detroittigerscards.blogspot.com/2010/10/2010-state-of-blog-address.html">I have held true to the vow I made last year to not purchase any more packs of baseball cards</a>. 2011 Series 1 has come and gone and I've managed to find all the base cards and almost all of the inserts at the local card show circuit. I found the two Tigers pictured for 25¢ each. No big deal.<br /><br />I can muster a little love for the reprints that date back before 1980. I suspect that's why Topps continues to do this. But if I was still buying packs and trying to build sets (and I was not a Tigers fan) it would piss me off to no end to pull an insert card that's a reprint of a card that was issued just five years ago!!! Crap like this is exactly why I have given up trying to build sets (Ok, along with a lot of the other insert offerings.....and the fact that you have to buy $100 worth of packs to finish one series when you can spend $50 for a factory set in August.....but I digress......).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Lfh4tkbBgBo7UalAYJyq43lcQBhZ1Cjx94MyfExjxMZ1ASFlt4GeIeD3sgEgjSP0mmszOQvY3F06oXE3DKVcLvtCWXMgZRDGQ-JGdTgPPndXdxFs0snzCsTjPXW0Yqh00bomna7BQso0/s1600/2011toppsreprint2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Lfh4tkbBgBo7UalAYJyq43lcQBhZ1Cjx94MyfExjxMZ1ASFlt4GeIeD3sgEgjSP0mmszOQvY3F06oXE3DKVcLvtCWXMgZRDGQ-JGdTgPPndXdxFs0snzCsTjPXW0Yqh00bomna7BQso0/s400/2011toppsreprint2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575601364708718930" border="0" /></a><br />Giving credit where credit is due, I dig the "pre-Topps" older cards that have the designation with which I have no clue what it stands for (CMGR = Cards My Grandpa Rolled smokes with?). I'm not a huge fan though, mostly due to the abundance of Tobacco era related cards in the last few years anyways like T206, Turkey Red, Chicle, etc......but I can dig pulling cards of HOFers AS OPPOSED TO REPRINTS OF PLAYERS FROM SETS THAT ARE ONLY FIVE YEARS OLD!!!!! It may be time for me to grab another beer, and to move on from reprint cards......<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhutoMvWhGuP5LQvYF2LOeD1bzI-kH9Qh0PvZlSYKhq-h-CxCVPVskyEFpgAxmZGNbdfbw6Us9svFAVJxkEkUsq-HL3452b3IcIhmPKMNYdLQdoPpGV25gJNYBkXe2OVmalh7eGZcxzvooo/s1600/2011toppsDD.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 314px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhutoMvWhGuP5LQvYF2LOeD1bzI-kH9Qh0PvZlSYKhq-h-CxCVPVskyEFpgAxmZGNbdfbw6Us9svFAVJxkEkUsq-HL3452b3IcIhmPKMNYdLQdoPpGV25gJNYBkXe2OVmalh7eGZcxzvooo/s400/2011toppsDD.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575601359881304786" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Inserts, Part II:</span> There is nothing noteworthy here. Just a lot more bloated, uninteresting sets. Diamond Duos = Legendary Lineage. Nothing more, nothing less. At least Legendary Lineage sounded cool. As for Topps 60, I don't even really get the point? The random statistical categories assigned to these make these humorous at best. Miguel Cabrera: 2008 American League Home Runs? I would be much more interested if it read Miguel Cabrera: My Top Ten Favorite Brands of Scotch. Who knows, maybe that's in the works for Series 2.....<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgeMxOLSRYqNCxyOnG-NqIiU19kLNjYtRlvOTA5y7RAolQnE-tFnrBjyLW8BqP-It8UnYiB-qxpQS4spFDXdhi0Z3WdWA1a9HQcQgt7hIX0H7mn_TBuQxP1ml6AobYfTVTJV1zfCMIprlf/s1600/2011topps60.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 222px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgeMxOLSRYqNCxyOnG-NqIiU19kLNjYtRlvOTA5y7RAolQnE-tFnrBjyLW8BqP-It8UnYiB-qxpQS4spFDXdhi0Z3WdWA1a9HQcQgt7hIX0H7mn_TBuQxP1ml6AobYfTVTJV1zfCMIprlf/s400/2011topps60.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575601354743206658" border="0" /></a><br />IN CONCLUSION.....I have nothing but high praise for the base cards. It's a magnificent looking set (even if the Tiger selections for Series 1 are pretty sketchy.....I know that by that end of the year there will be cards for everybody....). But Topps has missed the mark on all of the insert sets. Again.<br /><br />PS: 2011 RobbyT Cards are in the hopper. I'm just waiting on some spring photos to start rolling in. I saw a really great looking mugshot this week to use as my first one.....<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhutoMvWhGuP5LQvYF2LOeD1bzI-kH9Qh0PvZlSYKhq-h-CxCVPVskyEFpgAxmZGNbdfbw6Us9svFAVJxkEkUsq-HL3452b3IcIhmPKMNYdLQdoPpGV25gJNYBkXe2OVmalh7eGZcxzvooo/s1600/2011toppsDD.jpg"><br /></a>robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-49773101005617176762010-11-05T18:16:00.005-05:002010-11-05T19:54:25.609-05:00RIP Sparky<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizn4pK2agjg18hhm8dZhUhCvCQuSFDG3aoc-V3bF4tUHZgdsbP_Ook7S4pOUqz05L6O0OKJwzfrNk5lp5Btz3UrUi3do0iAlkk56G13S_QjXctfI0tf85IewgAnqoggWjuul4jkxAtGj3m/s1600/86tsparky.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 279px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizn4pK2agjg18hhm8dZhUhCvCQuSFDG3aoc-V3bF4tUHZgdsbP_Ook7S4pOUqz05L6O0OKJwzfrNk5lp5Btz3UrUi3do0iAlkk56G13S_QjXctfI0tf85IewgAnqoggWjuul4jkxAtGj3m/s400/86tsparky.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536216628881553298" border="0" /></a>I guess it's somehow fitting that the Skipper of the Tigers has passed away in the same year that the Voice of the Tigers passed on too. Sparky Anderson and Ernie Harwell were easily the most iconic Tigers of my youth and two of the game's great men. It's a shame that Sparky is not in the Hall Of Fame as a Tiger, especially since it stems from a tiff with ownership over refusing to manage the replacement players in the spring of 1995. Sparky was the only one in the game to have sense enough to refuse to be a part of that nonsense, and for that he should always be recognized. In fact Mr. Ilitch, it's far past time that a statue went up at Comerica Park to honor Sparky. This should have been done when he was well enough to have a day of his own. Do it now.<br /><br />The images of Sparky are everlasting. Heaping praise on the next big prospect, only to ship him out three weeks into the season. Yelling at Kirk Gibson that Goose Gossage was not going to walk him before one of the most memorable HR in Tiger history. Talking to the media in that "aw shucks I don't know nuthin" persona he carried even though he was usually the smartest man in the room. It seems hard to believe he walked away from the game fifteen years ago and never once looked back. Baseball coulda used a lot of Sparky since then.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyS93aG3hX4wpw8GNsPv8eQ6fdoU_dFlOucpqTWxgZTvtYu9hVObSWheU_U4S1Z2vXlcH0pvJDKhz3zcAmgv6g-N8a38rtIQNmjISDgKFLmIlPKKQOuxGC42yCo2EvjXjt8qgUlfwlbtkf/s1600/81Dsparky.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 197px; height: 279px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyS93aG3hX4wpw8GNsPv8eQ6fdoU_dFlOucpqTWxgZTvtYu9hVObSWheU_U4S1Z2vXlcH0pvJDKhz3zcAmgv6g-N8a38rtIQNmjISDgKFLmIlPKKQOuxGC42yCo2EvjXjt8qgUlfwlbtkf/s400/81Dsparky.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536216614780592994" border="0" /></a><br />I have a couple of pretty cool pieces of Sparky memorabilia. One is a life sized cardboard cut-out of Sparky that was part of a Fantastic Sam's promotion from some time in the 80's. I picked it up at a card store in Memphis for $1. I used to have it set up in a two bedroom apartment I once lived in. The way it was placed in the room it was the first thing you saw when you exited the bathroom and I can't count the number of people who jumped back startled when they saw ol' Sparky standing there. I still laugh thinking about it.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik7onD2rAB3VYpLoeT30mBbNizoeKZUtKrjqe42QaCizd1ZdbNwmKmgmUM6sI9HP3YBYxfpNzQuQHYgCvlhWyXOtutapDAdrFeU5eVjxZxgUkA2DZS96DLK5eX_srRSvHirc_Niwl-ZwM7/s1600/FSsparky.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 232px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik7onD2rAB3VYpLoeT30mBbNizoeKZUtKrjqe42QaCizd1ZdbNwmKmgmUM6sI9HP3YBYxfpNzQuQHYgCvlhWyXOtutapDAdrFeU5eVjxZxgUkA2DZS96DLK5eX_srRSvHirc_Niwl-ZwM7/s400/FSsparky.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536216612879368882" border="0" /></a><br />I also have a game program from 1984 that I got Sparky to sign that summer at Tiger Stadium. My friends and I went to many games that summer and we would always sit in the lower deck right field bleachers so that we could cheer for Kirk Gibson. On several occasions we were the first ones in line when the gates opened, but there would always be this guy already sitting in the stands listening to a boom box and chatting with the players on both teams. (When I got older I figured out that the must have been the official Detroit dope dealer to the visiting A.L. players....)<br /><br />This particular day was in the fall, when it was apparent that the Tigers would be making the postseason. The guy was badgering Gibby about getting him some Series tickets. Gibby told him he'd see what he could do. The guy then asked Gibby to get Sparky for him. Gibby put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly at the Tiger dugout and waved his arm. Immediately Sparky came trotting out to the right field fence. There were only a handful of us standing there as the guy begged Sparky for Series tickets. I walked up to the fence and held my program and pen out to Sparky. He grabbed it and signed it without ever looking up. He told the guy he'd see what he could do and then trotted back to the dugout. To this day I'm more amazed that hippie got Gibby to get Sparky to come out there and talk to him about Series tickets as anything I've ever seen in baseball.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjQ6mrXvbJYIJBVHXaCui4RiUPyPW62166k7GxooVh9p5M8K8CSkwoDbAMgQXAuqiBs1yJ4iaESlJ2f3UIagiXZXPy8HzFPIgx47UNd8HWZcVviPn6Ses8FnSk2gfY_ZC2Nn8T4Ur9nU5x/s1600/84Tsparkyabbott.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjQ6mrXvbJYIJBVHXaCui4RiUPyPW62166k7GxooVh9p5M8K8CSkwoDbAMgQXAuqiBs1yJ4iaESlJ2f3UIagiXZXPy8HzFPIgx47UNd8HWZcVviPn6Ses8FnSk2gfY_ZC2Nn8T4Ur9nU5x/s400/84Tsparkyabbott.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536216623954227026" border="0" /></a><br />My other favorite Sparky story is the one that never happened. Earlier that summer, my family from Arkansas came to visit us. My uncle grew up with Glenn Abbott, who was a Tiger pitcher at the time. My uncle was hoping to be able to say hi to Glenn at the game, which my 15 year old brain took to mean that I was going to get to go into the clubhouse before the game and meet Sparky and all the players. I had visions of getting a ball signed by all the players and getting to sit in Sparky's office with him and discuss the great summer of Tiger baseball that we were both enjoying.<br /><br />Well, we went to the game that night and Abbott was nowhere to be found. We looked high and low for him and never saw him once. I sat and brooded for the rest of the night while we got swept in an old fashioned twi-night doubleheader against the California Angels. My dream of getting to meet Sparky was crushed. The next morning when I got up, my dad handed me the sports pages and showed me where Glenn Abbott had been released the day before we went to the game. And so it goes.....<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO8E78HaZSl7BYax8leoE1YDBNztRDhYIFSKHeu-4LUF8KJm65l9G3tbNKLgNQ26psBX8F7NXntZORpask-gPH-BIBeK9XsjGko3zB47cBUgq0qOuSHhjMcrbAUUw2-m33ToEGzDduM0hp/s1600/85Fsparky.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 277px; height: 198px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO8E78HaZSl7BYax8leoE1YDBNztRDhYIFSKHeu-4LUF8KJm65l9G3tbNKLgNQ26psBX8F7NXntZORpask-gPH-BIBeK9XsjGko3zB47cBUgq0qOuSHhjMcrbAUUw2-m33ToEGzDduM0hp/s400/85Fsparky.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536216626385404274" border="0" /></a><br />Luckily I did get the autograph from him later that summer. But whenever I think about Sparky, I always think about the time we never got to meet and hang out. Hopefully, a long time from now of course, we will be able to spend that time together and catch up on baseball after all. We'll have a lot to discuss.<br /><br />Rest In Peace, Sparky. You were the best. Bless you, boy.robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-85272413983811017092010-10-25T18:35:00.003-05:002010-10-25T19:31:13.326-05:001986 1987 1988 Topps Mini League Leaders<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRvxV7Va7x8MFdGtExU7EtIV5Z523PBpUTeV__KmAyoMWNLxrWETDEuxBdzlFgbOq7RY8wvdQfHvXszS4ZI6fVt4P1ir5pdR3j0kU_Ux-gHRpwEfBC7PJJpO7_jAQoZUcAYZJs3crVgtRR/s1600/86TMLL.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 289px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRvxV7Va7x8MFdGtExU7EtIV5Z523PBpUTeV__KmAyoMWNLxrWETDEuxBdzlFgbOq7RY8wvdQfHvXszS4ZI6fVt4P1ir5pdR3j0kU_Ux-gHRpwEfBC7PJJpO7_jAQoZUcAYZJs3crVgtRR/s400/86TMLL.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532144092561056594" border="0" /></a><br />The first of a two part series called <span style="font-style: italic;">"Things Topps tried to revive in the 80's that would not catch on until years later....."</span><br /><br />Here a couple of months back I came across a <a href="http://www.dacardworld.com/sports-cards/baseball-cards">website</a> that had a lot of cheap wax boxes from the 80's. I remember messing with these a little bit way back when, but I don't think I ever collected full sets. Since the boxes are cheaper now than they were then I went ahead and picked up a box from each year. Hell, a box of these are about the same price as one rack pack of 2010 cards and these were chock full of HOF.<br /><br />I'm on a quest to collect all of the 80's oddball stuff and these rank up there among the best. An obvious throwback to the '75 minis, as the name suggests this set is composed of the the statistical leaders of varying years. They are smallish sets (66 cards the first year, 77 cards the following two years) and Topps produced these for 5 years before giving up on them. As per usual with Topps, distribution within each box is awful. I got two of some guys and seven of some others. But I got a complete set out of each box and that's all I was after. Even though the design is minimal, I really think that's a positive thing coming from the 80's.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoF7ydDDnrSoo-BU0lapp0bz3Cg7zY5eM_tRcgu1j9h_7dRykmBC_rPqI89WSogc83iGXCShGN7H9Dj9ZMKoCbesX9lfbrkFfy5x_NLBigoUy41cdqvyYI-uHG7QNQrFPFjmdwbCyEwGwn/s1600/87TMLL.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 293px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoF7ydDDnrSoo-BU0lapp0bz3Cg7zY5eM_tRcgu1j9h_7dRykmBC_rPqI89WSogc83iGXCShGN7H9Dj9ZMKoCbesX9lfbrkFfy5x_NLBigoUy41cdqvyYI-uHG7QNQrFPFjmdwbCyEwGwn/s400/87TMLL.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532144087149110482" border="0" /></a><br />There's a mostly great representation of Tigers in these sets, Walt Terrell notwithstanding (Walt ranked tied for fourth in shutouts in 1985 with 3, hence his inclusion). Anyways.....<br /><br />The 1986 Topps Mini-League Leaders Detroit Tigers:<br />13 Darrell Evans<br />14 Jack Morris<br />15 Lance Parrish<br />16 Walt Terrell<br /><br />The 1987 Topps Mini-League Leaders Detroit Tigers:<br />53 Kirk Gibson<br />54 Willie Hernandez<br />55 Jack Morris<br />56 Alan Trammell<br /><br />The 1988 Topps Mini-League Leaders Detroit Tigers:<br />10 Darrell Evans<br />11 Jack Morris<br />12 Alan Trammell<br />13 Lou Whitaker<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRwrR-GSpvB0DHbh1VCcLAgcljXhZi4zPf2UHpv5j3qYdFvAPIakfgmtqEJKtGiAtEh9qSCVjyOjESBs1YcIZXCNxZh715t90Pgo6Cb6NJMGOl7FVU-Y7UTi2Ejip_ptEwjS_vGatX3MvJ/s1600/88TMLL.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 289px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRwrR-GSpvB0DHbh1VCcLAgcljXhZi4zPf2UHpv5j3qYdFvAPIakfgmtqEJKtGiAtEh9qSCVjyOjESBs1YcIZXCNxZh715t90Pgo6Cb6NJMGOl7FVU-Y7UTi2Ejip_ptEwjS_vGatX3MvJ/s400/88TMLL.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532144082483189730" border="0" /></a><br />Nowadays the tobacco card inserts that are roughly the same size are pretty popular. They are much harder to get of course, but these cards are available for a fraction of the cost and are pretty cool sets. It's a shame these never really caught on, but it seems like none of the oddball wax products that came out in the 80's were that popular.robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-52514768373596261492010-10-04T18:02:00.006-05:002010-10-04T21:13:18.924-05:002010 State Of The Blog Address<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgSZ7Snnpwg45DBjZBEqiI-JzHvXfDR6h1MidYDSG7gXWC73ngL1XXhtDVp3HpvwcRP0hDKKE7B_Pz_tjdJMIHs9gLxbr7ViPOOqSR5zch5-vZQHiODRP32-6gbupt15UimVhzbvrKJkn7/s1600/2010TVLCcobb.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 275px; height: 199px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgSZ7Snnpwg45DBjZBEqiI-JzHvXfDR6h1MidYDSG7gXWC73ngL1XXhtDVp3HpvwcRP0hDKKE7B_Pz_tjdJMIHs9gLxbr7ViPOOqSR5zch5-vZQHiODRP32-6gbupt15UimVhzbvrKJkn7/s400/2010TVLCcobb.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524349935623454994" border="0" /></a><br />It's been a slow summer blogging about Tigers cards. The Tigers collapse after the All-Star break put a damper on the baseball season, but it did not put a damper on collecting. Overall it was a good year of collecting, with many hits and just a few misses. I have fully incorporated something old <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> something new as collecting tools this summer, as well as made some decisions on what I will and won't be collecting from now on. Hopefully I can tie everything up into one well written essay on my card collecting experience in 2010, but chances are I will just end up with several empty beer cans. In either case that'll be good enough for me.....<br /><br />First off: <span style="font-style: italic;">The death of the Topps base set.</span> I finally finished off my 2010 Topps base set about a week after the factory sets hit the stores. Sadly, this will be the last year I put together the base set by hand. It just doesn't make sense anymore. I probably dropped a couple of bills on packs and boxes this year. I still came up about 20 cards short of the set, while ending up with a couple hundred crappy inserts that I don't give a damn about. I was able to flip most of the inserts on ebay, but the whole process is far too cumbersome to continue anymore. In 2011 and beyond, I will just wait until August and pick up a factory set for a fraction of the price that I spend on trying to put one together myself. (And this year I would've gotten a Strasburg RC, plus variations of Austin Jackson and Brennan Boesch. I may <span style="font-style: italic;">still</span> end up buying that set before it's all over with....)<br /><br />I have been pretty outspoken in my disdain for the plethora of inserts that riddle the Topps base set. But one cool discovery led to another, which led to me <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> never wanting to pick up a pack of Topps base cards again. The local card show circuit.<br /><br />I found a cool website this summer that lists quite a few <a href="http://www.festivals-and-shows.com/baseball-card-shows.html">card shows across the country by state</a>. It turns out that I live about 10 minutes away from both Bloomingdale and Schaumburg, which between the two have a show almost every Sunday afternoon. Since I found the link, I have been to just about every one of them. They're not huge, ranging anywhere from 5 to 15 dealers a show, but I've come to know a few of the dealers from my frequent attendance and it's been fun to actually talk to guys who do this as a weekend hobby.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-tA688wONTbI_oqoZGhMqA-UmJLNjcpsoynYmdIRG3r3GftX5BTUYYOMDdXND3X-JS9JXgGTZUT02NCeyU9L91crc83a68NoxLK7MR3sJjq3fBGn4O9bXuzK3qWELVQ3Ehjo7BRWylhmf/s1600/2010TNCgreenberg.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 201px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-tA688wONTbI_oqoZGhMqA-UmJLNjcpsoynYmdIRG3r3GftX5BTUYYOMDdXND3X-JS9JXgGTZUT02NCeyU9L91crc83a68NoxLK7MR3sJjq3fBGn4O9bXuzK3qWELVQ3Ehjo7BRWylhmf/s400/2010TNCgreenberg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524349954580329474" border="0" /></a><br />The first show I attended was a pretty good sized one. It was there that I noticed at least a half dozen tables covered with Topps base cards and inserts. At almost every table I saw the inserts weren't priced any higher than the base cards (10¢ each). It completely makes sense since there are so many inserts. The thing I really like about it though is that if there is ever a cool insert set that I like, I can likely pick it up for next to nothing.<br /><br />Given that I have come to loathe inserts, it only reasons that this year Topps would put out an insert set that is <span style="font-style: italic;">totally</span> cool, and that's the Vintage Legends. They have taken 25 HOF players and put them on cards from years that they weren't originally on. (The Ty Cobb pictured above, Nolan Ryan on a '52, George Sisler on an '88, Jackie Robinson on a '76, etc.) The concept is not new by any means, but these look outstanding, and I was able to get almost all of them for 10¢ each.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnSg1w2JBe1pQ9jSi-YH-tNRhqeD6U3cXzpk7859yabl1wSSlpBinTEz-4c7Tz4jJyApOELPSzH2oAwQRjcCA8kK-F8IxJJmW6jQg8qF9O480ZtX4KqpUuWsb3AxxfoFMT_M5XwTT2c1Wt/s1600/2006THpolanco.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnSg1w2JBe1pQ9jSi-YH-tNRhqeD6U3cXzpk7859yabl1wSSlpBinTEz-4c7Tz4jJyApOELPSzH2oAwQRjcCA8kK-F8IxJJmW6jQg8qF9O480ZtX4KqpUuWsb3AxxfoFMT_M5XwTT2c1Wt/s400/2006THpolanco.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524349941482386146" border="0" /></a><br />I was able to finish my set of Vintage Legends from a website I found called <a href="http://www.sportlots.com/">Sportlots</a>. I'm sure this is not new to a lot of people, but for set builders and team collectors like me, it is solid gold! I have absolutely fallen in love with this site for having the hard to find commons needed to finish my old sets. There must be millions of cards listed with the majority of them selling for 18¢ each. I am surprised at the quality of cards you can get for that price. I pretty much assembled all the base cards for 2006 and 2007 Topps Heritage Tigers for that price. I finished out the Vintage Legends set as well. And....I finished out a set that I never thought I would.....<br /><br />2010 Topps Heritage! (Well, sorta.....) This was my first year to try and put a Topps Heritage set together. I was still 100 something cards short when I hit the card show circuit, but within a month I'd completed the <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">base</span> set. (There's the catch...) I do however have 40 something of the 75 <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">SP</span> cards and every time I place an order on Sportlots I try and pick up one or two more. Hopefully I can finish off the entire set before the 2011 cards come out next year.<br /><br />I've really enjoyed collecting Heritage this year and I plan on this being the set that I will collect by hand going forward. It's always the best looking set of the year, it's not overloaded with lousy insert cards, for the most part the insert cards included are ok, and it's not a huge set to put together vs. the cost involved to assemble it. I probably have spent three bills to get what I have, but it sure seems like I have a lot more to show for it than I do with the Topps base set.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvK65ETGZaGObY0_rFOFvhL37jrIfA82PxlcbRGJwMCWG2BqHKAWnBdoEFqN1-kwxzvEuvNLLdZs3s2jKyoSrK5IsGPnwt9kCPOUcGT5F3Q6OuRxyE8MkUZ-i8tUHw_aEVsHvaLuZEy_fU/s1600/2010TAGjackson.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvK65ETGZaGObY0_rFOFvhL37jrIfA82PxlcbRGJwMCWG2BqHKAWnBdoEFqN1-kwxzvEuvNLLdZs3s2jKyoSrK5IsGPnwt9kCPOUcGT5F3Q6OuRxyE8MkUZ-i8tUHw_aEVsHvaLuZEy_fU/s400/2010TAGjackson.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524349934563598370" border="0" /></a><br />As for the rest of it.....it's been a slow summer for new stuff. The Allen & Ginter and T206 cards do nothing for me. Hell, they look like the same cards every year. Same with Finest. The National Chicle cards were ok, but nothing to write home about. I dig the Pro Debut cards (where the hell is the Jacob Turner card?) but their player selection is atrocious. The only Tiger with a remote chance of being something someday is Casper Wells, and he's already been featured on a Bowman card. I sort of get the feeling that this set is Bowman's illegitimate brother, primarily made up of the leftover minor leaguers who weren't good enough for inclusion in Bowman.<br /><br />Speaking of Bowman, I have noticed a trend that really pisses me off, has pissed me off for some time, and yet nobody has been able to give me a reasonable explanation for it. The RC logo. I have noticed many dealers selling cards with the RC logo at a premium, despite that fact that none of these cards are true rookie cards!!! I refuse to pay $1 for an 2010 Austin Jackson RC that is not a RC. Even worse is asking a dealer why it's priced more and he looks you in the face and tells you it's a RC. C'mon guys. Let's cut it with this stupid fucking logo that is nothing more than a tool for card buyers to get ripped off.<br /><br />As for Upper Deck, I can't say I will miss their mediocre product, but I dug last year's O-Pee-Chee and I'm disappointed that it won't be continued. I hate that Topps has the monopoly on the baseball card market, but if they continue like they did this year of only releasing a product every 4-6 week I could learn to live with it.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGw2JO2E9qsEk6m5Hv75_mO737tIhSBrEv_fD3knukB1KYUGBS1y9CQDTndGPfbNLWnC4Uzu-4B3n9dGn_LYeTNz9rNxGSbLMybqgvhzUmvBie0w1WXv0USAOSoyE9c8Zj4-AXiuUJzzMU/s1600/2010TPDwells.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGw2JO2E9qsEk6m5Hv75_mO737tIhSBrEv_fD3knukB1KYUGBS1y9CQDTndGPfbNLWnC4Uzu-4B3n9dGn_LYeTNz9rNxGSbLMybqgvhzUmvBie0w1WXv0USAOSoyE9c8Zj4-AXiuUJzzMU/s400/2010TPDwells.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524349944060750418" border="0" /></a><br />I am anxiously awaiting the release of the Updates & Highlights series this month. I'm looking forward to the cards of Boesch, Rhymes, Wells, Oliver, Valverde, Raburn, Kelly, St. Pierre, Peralta, Galarraga, and Avila, just to name a few.<br /><br />One last note before I wrap it up. I spent a whole week this summer dividing up about 15,000 doubles into teams, so if there are any team collectors out there looking to deal, please drop me a line. I broke up several factory sets to take Tigers cards out of, so there are many complete team sets of stuff included.<br /><br />Happy collecting everybody! (Only 4 empty beer cans......)robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-50009732082513947422010-07-26T18:02:00.005-05:002010-07-26T18:22:40.110-05:00Will The Real Brennan Boesch RC Please Stand Up?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvKJx4HQinPglo8j-z2uAG9fbPPc69KES6nC9cjLwxvI3jJsUM_aEcIFMfHWqoMxltFvs8ttWSeWMqqfendKPrnDkcCtZa3rCnsTsIpeKe__zTMTrA7l9KqjguQeEF4yPoUWZ4XVaEU9lZ/s1600/07BHboesch.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvKJx4HQinPglo8j-z2uAG9fbPPc69KES6nC9cjLwxvI3jJsUM_aEcIFMfHWqoMxltFvs8ttWSeWMqqfendKPrnDkcCtZa3rCnsTsIpeKe__zTMTrA7l9KqjguQeEF4yPoUWZ4XVaEU9lZ/s400/07BHboesch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498358081910976034" border="0" /></a><br />Go to ebay and type in "Brennan Boesch RC" to see what pops up. There seem to be three different cards that make up the majority of the search results, which leads me to one obvious question: Why is a 2008 card listed as his RC by so many people when there are TWO 2007 cards of Boesch? To top it off, all three cards are Bowman cards. Are people that desperate to make a few bucks that they'll flat out lie to do it? <sarcasm>Hell, who am I kidding.......<br /><br />WARNING: DISHONEST BRENNAN BOESCH RC BELOW!!!<br /><br /></sarcasm><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8jihPxgYXnZxpw9B5SBC0TAv-YnAzvbLZE8wcstOLIMdS70pP8m7Pkv7MmR9laeuy74mVKKoTEG206EJKyqWb8JT4FHsvqY05kf-vSt9oOmi8xVHlqEdVhPPJWTXlKJ_Shs9axxi5Ocyc/s1600/08Boesch.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 319px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8jihPxgYXnZxpw9B5SBC0TAv-YnAzvbLZE8wcstOLIMdS70pP8m7Pkv7MmR9laeuy74mVKKoTEG206EJKyqWb8JT4FHsvqY05kf-vSt9oOmi8xVHlqEdVhPPJWTXlKJ_Shs9axxi5Ocyc/s400/08Boesch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498358092428103522" border="0" /></a><br /><sarcasm>Of the two remaining candidates, there is a HUGE oddity with one of them. Boesch is pictured wearing a Padres uniform. Huh? Boesch has never suited up for the Padres. It's readily apparent that this is a Topps Photoshop job, but why? And why the Padres? As far as I can tell there is no corrected version/variation. I don't get it. I'd love to hear from somebody who knows. This would explain why it's not in the team set I bought back in 2007<br /><br /></sarcasm><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDXI8rhkHdoV7caZ-FXXNFrrMOgECAwB8FnLMhrXl4ofr1LWh0sNeDBFrGTMfPOIrhyTKTv9YPf_U6cXLl-FtSNZvMFN_xJUhkSd3_-c9oWNzt3wZU8bCvG7NMTsDbChz2imeUvUH-2s2K/s1600/07Bboesch.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDXI8rhkHdoV7caZ-FXXNFrrMOgECAwB8FnLMhrXl4ofr1LWh0sNeDBFrGTMfPOIrhyTKTv9YPf_U6cXLl-FtSNZvMFN_xJUhkSd3_-c9oWNzt3wZU8bCvG7NMTsDbChz2imeUvUH-2s2K/s400/07Bboesch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498358076024383442" border="0" /></a><br /><sarcasm>Based on the above, I'm going with the 2007 Bowman Heritage as Boesch's RC (pictured at the top). Actually, my basis is on the fact that it's the only one of the three I already own......<br /></sarcasm>robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652883902032988764.post-84731561791445556472010-06-04T17:01:00.007-05:002010-06-04T20:17:08.113-05:00Armando Galarraga<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRhptSNhNxlSJV2NYUybLZ50DZuMmn50rixaAK0dlp-jIZn140SB3nt-1wTPGlvHpQn793iubAZQ_wv0a0FtDaxnVR9BLi7PjUTFpH298aT4jIqQFtxKUZw9yPAlptOfeZFRAEiF_gQVQ0/s1600/2010-RobbyT-Highlights.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRhptSNhNxlSJV2NYUybLZ50DZuMmn50rixaAK0dlp-jIZn140SB3nt-1wTPGlvHpQn793iubAZQ_wv0a0FtDaxnVR9BLi7PjUTFpH298aT4jIqQFtxKUZw9yPAlptOfeZFRAEiF_gQVQ0/s400/2010-RobbyT-Highlights.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479063610217027218" border="0" /></a><br />Everybody has seen it, everybody has formed an opinion about it, and most everybody has moved on from it. For the record, my two cents are that no matter what MLB/Bum Selig decide to call it (or not call it), I don't think there is a Tiger fan around that doesn't consider it a 28 out perfect game and that's good enough for me. So many perfect games have been forgotten over time, but this will live up there with Don Larsen and Harvey Haddix as one of the most memorable ones ever, as it should be. Congrats Armando!!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyrQT1GOpvXEdE-jwgg6i-GLs7C1IYbOGt2Edhorjz9QuLbZbNs12GHprXuUWqr7XFaa09hDzpyLnGhjlmR_rEoNFWwHOg2KC3eN8NSpbVGflY8x9_WuPvbRdo-oHrZduovFwyZBAfcdyG/s1600/10-galarraga.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyrQT1GOpvXEdE-jwgg6i-GLs7C1IYbOGt2Edhorjz9QuLbZbNs12GHprXuUWqr7XFaa09hDzpyLnGhjlmR_rEoNFWwHOg2KC3eN8NSpbVGflY8x9_WuPvbRdo-oHrZduovFwyZBAfcdyG/s400/10-galarraga.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479063601172555522" border="0" /></a><br />Since AG was the Tiger story of the week (it's a shame Austin Jackson's catch in the 9th was lost in all the hubbub....), I thought it would be fun to showcase a few of his memorable cards as a Tiger, as well as show off a couple of his 2010 RobbyT cards as well (if there is one thing we don't lack for around here it's self-promotion......)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVcqmY-eNnPOeCYo4mqCG5LO1b31ZuvrBSq8ClnIvB1xISdYszIq-tvPYl2N5bp3La6_w_NOiGoXBcL1-BQ86_zq-ECaI0kDqtWxTASCzs-3wNUH4WSqgPGY3uJNWN8ubPrECvlG1nkn6v/s1600/08Tagjersey.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVcqmY-eNnPOeCYo4mqCG5LO1b31ZuvrBSq8ClnIvB1xISdYszIq-tvPYl2N5bp3La6_w_NOiGoXBcL1-BQ86_zq-ECaI0kDqtWxTASCzs-3wNUH4WSqgPGY3uJNWN8ubPrECvlG1nkn6v/s400/08Tagjersey.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479063597129714242" border="0" /></a><br />Easily the biggest one in my collection would be the 2008 Topps Update & Highlights jersey card insert. I just picked up this card in the last year when Meijer was having their blow out sale on these blasters and was lucky enough to get it as one of the inserts.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA4YQu3RIU-i8tTUMVQlLBADymq5pGM1zkaEnlosxbUDEw8EurWvVq7wwD6N-slX_re_f_rP9v_UwleIHoQe6Ung69ZyBRdufS2RU3KC5xYWzRsypHNrdpHnSCv7PJhmHcWlzSqp5DvcHX/s1600/08TSEag.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 317px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA4YQu3RIU-i8tTUMVQlLBADymq5pGM1zkaEnlosxbUDEw8EurWvVq7wwD6N-slX_re_f_rP9v_UwleIHoQe6Ung69ZyBRdufS2RU3KC5xYWzRsypHNrdpHnSCv7PJhmHcWlzSqp5DvcHX/s400/08TSEag.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479063589212561378" border="0" /></a><br />Two others of note are his card #50 from the 55 card Detroit Tigers special edition team set and a Bowman Gold card, both from 2008 as well. I'm leery to call these his RCs despite the designation on the front of the cards, simply because anybody in the know realizes that designation doesn't mean shit most of the time.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkL2YHspkubZegJNOjzGV1BdPg7EApQjaGjskS2cqSDjTNcmSZAFn6p_wFNorm82ivPAhlpIKpu9YcDWiz3Qii9aGzkrUhzdlVZRNcMh6NWVMvk0KBbta8m81wMcllxbRjXyArbuTIVdgr/s1600/08Bag.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 317px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkL2YHspkubZegJNOjzGV1BdPg7EApQjaGjskS2cqSDjTNcmSZAFn6p_wFNorm82ivPAhlpIKpu9YcDWiz3Qii9aGzkrUhzdlVZRNcMh6NWVMvk0KBbta8m81wMcllxbRjXyArbuTIVdgr/s400/08Bag.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479063584539800018" border="0" /></a><br />As luck would have it I got to see AG pitch a couple of weeks ago at Dodger Stadium (his only loss so far this year) and he's scheduled to pitch in Chicago next week a game that I'll be attending. Here's a pic I took at the game in L.A.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKWozqBUKxDVg2nJN604Ii2Kxqbpsp9WJOJ_SQSz9n32wQIUqOjBZY2t9k345R8XhJrKB5AAIHlziemdWtJRF-jNyiO2hKwE8IowRJ5ui-GhVnFA9bIOIB8jTriaDYoz5Z4OQic95aq85Q/s1600/IMG_2957.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKWozqBUKxDVg2nJN604Ii2Kxqbpsp9WJOJ_SQSz9n32wQIUqOjBZY2t9k345R8XhJrKB5AAIHlziemdWtJRF-jNyiO2hKwE8IowRJ5ui-GhVnFA9bIOIB8jTriaDYoz5Z4OQic95aq85Q/s400/IMG_2957.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479065599805166418" border="0" /></a><br />Kudos to AG on one of the most amazing games pitched in baseball history!robbythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812977178607548991noreply@blogger.com3