The Trading Post #54: Jaybarkerfan's Junk

As you may be aware, I am the Rockies representative in the #SuperTraders group spearheaded by Wes of Jaybarkerfan's Junk. He might be the most prolific trader in our whole community, as many bloggers quake in their boots at the prospect of a "bombing", a personalized trade package that really can't be matched, hard though you might try.

As a Rockies collector, there are relatively few overproduction cards of my team out there, other than 1993 and 1994. While I'm still buried up to my neck in cards from that era, like we all are, few of them come via trade packages. A coworker dropped a stack of at least 200 cards from 1991 and 1992 Topps on my desk at work today, and while many of the things he found when cleaning out his garage this weekend ended up in the trash, he knew he had a buddy that would be happy to thumb through some old Topps cards.

My inaugural #SuperTraders trade package, of course from Wes, had a few from 1993, but a surprisingly large portion of this shipment contained cards and sets I had never seen before.

2014 Bowman Sterling Prospects #BSP-9 Jon Gray

Cards like Bowman Sterling, a very shiny card with a basic silver background. It has sort of a cloudy appearance near the corners (much like 2016 Topps Base), and not quite the same mirror finish as Pinnacle Certified, but you could probably use this thing to tie a tie in case of emergency. It has some of Possible Future Rockies Ace Jon Gray's vital stats spelled out on the front, sort of a combination of Allen & Ginter and 1995 Fleer.

So there you go. Put 1995 Fleer, any A&G card, 2016 Topps, and 1997 Pinnacle Certified in a gene splicer, and you'll get 2014 Bowman Sterling, a new set in my collection.

2005 Artifacts Rainbow Blue #93 Todd Helton /100

Upper Deck made a ton of sets in the mid-2000s. MLB Artifacts definitely sounded familiar, and I did manage to find a lone card from 2005's release already in my collection. This Todd Helton card is the Rainbow Blue variety, with Todd Helton's initials in the background having the appearance of being carved in marble. The dark blue foil is a little hard to read, but you pretty much have to do something with the color to make a parallel, and with no border, foil it is.

2009 Bowman Chrome Blue Refractors #93 Brad Hawpe /150

A Bowman card of Brad Hawpe also gets the blue parallel treatment, though with a slightly more plentiful print run of 150. This is from the 2009 set (yes, I had to look it up), but I do give this card an extra nod for including the player's uniform number in the lower left. Few card brands do that, but it's a nice addition when not accompanied by a zillion other things. I'm looking at you, 1996 Donruss!

2010 Topps Copper #429 Seth Smith /399

The serial numbered goodness continues with this 2010 card, from Topps' 59th year of production. The left-hand curve makes this a distinctive set, as does the gigantic team logo in the lower left, something Upper Deck was not permitted to do that year. I don't remember what we agreed this set should be called (the curve set?), but to me, it's the "Lording It Over Upper Deck" set.

At first glance, you might think this is one of the gold parallels, but the border color is actually copper, an entirely different parallel set, with about one-fifth the print run. Or five times scarcer, if you prefer your math that way. I really dislike saying there is "more less" of something, which is what you're basically doing when you use a multiple with a word indicating less. No one says "My wallet has five times less money in it than it did before I did a beer and snack run at the ballpark."

Just a style preference. But anyway, /399. And it's my first 2010 copper parallel.

1995 Stadium Club #499 Andres Galarraga EC

Most of what I've shown you so far is pretty unfamiliar to me. I recognize a couple of the base designs, but there are definitely no duplicates so far. Same goes for this Galarraga card. I recognize the 1995-1996 Stadium Club logo, but never ran across an "Extreme Corps" card before. That's surprising, since I actually opened packs of this set in my first round of collecting. 1996 Stadium Club was one of the last sets I bought before I lost interest for several years.

Even more surprising is that this isn't even an insert. It's a subset. It's just a base card from 1995 Stadium Club, and I'm baffled that I never knew it existed.

So this is what a JBF bombing looks like, eh? I think I like this Super Trader thing.

1995 Finest #68 Dante Bichette

Finally, something I recognize! All those new cards were blowing my mind a little bit, so it's nice to return to normalcy for a few paragraphs.

Topps Finest was three years old by this time, and though it doesn't have the gorgeous green shade of 1994, I was still pretty blown away that a baseball card could look so much like a jewel. Then Topps turned it into one of those atrocious fractured sets, and it took a while before I started liking it again.

If there's one thing I could banish from the history of baseball cards, it would be fractured sets. Manufactured relics, sticker autographs, dozens of colored parallels, junk wax, reprints of five-year-old cards, the mind-numbing sameness of Bowman, <insert your most hated year> Donruss, and all the other things we card bloggers like to nitpick could all stay. Even short prints. Fractured sets are the devil.

2005 Upper Deck Marquee Attractions Jersey #MA-TH Todd Helton (MEM)

And now we're right back to cards I've never seen before. This one happens to have the playfully coincidental card number of "MA-TH", but there's also a pinstriped swatch relic in there! The design of this UD card hides the presence of the relic like no set I've ever seen before. It took a few trips through the stack before I even realized there was one. I like it, though! It has sort of an art deco look, perhaps what a relic card would look like if they existed in the mid-20th century. And like all UD cards, it contains that reassuring hologram on the back.

2000 Upper Deck Hitter's Club #84 Ben Petrick HS

If not for a very recent Mystery Pack, this Hitter's Club card would have been another novel set to me. It has the same mint green foil as that Marlins card, but this time with a Coors Field shot in the background!

There are a few bloggers out there with Ben Petrick player collections. I don't remember much about him other than being one or two fans away from getting his autograph before he retreated into the dugout, but I didn't look into his story until recently, after wondering why a Giants blogger was so interested in the guy. Turns out, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in his rookie year. Despite that, he still hung around the Majors for five years, before having to retire at 27 due to the condition.

He remains active in the baseball world, and as an advocate for the disease. I'm not sure whether any of his cards reference this, but to have a Major League career of any length while battling that is quite amazing.

2010 Upper Deck Tape Measure Shots #TMS-20 Ian Stewart

1955 Bowman, and 1962 and 1987 Topps will always be the woodgrain sets, but there are insert sets that carry on the theme. Fleer's Lumber Company comes to mind, but not as much as this UD insert card from 2010. This year was the end of Upper Deck's presence in the baseball card market, which is unfortunate, to say the least. This is a pretty cool card, and I especially like the details of the exact date. UD has always been really good at helping collectors date cards, even if they took it way overboard with their 5,000-card Documentary set.

464 feet is a pretty impressive distance to hit a ball. That's about a 7-iron for me.

2014 Topps Opening Day Stars #ODS-7 Carlos Gonzalez

I'll close with one of the few sets I knew existed before this package arrived. I have a few cards from this 3D insert set found in 2014 Opening Day. And I should, since I bought two blasters of the stuff. Still, though the Rockies were well-represented in the Opening Day Stars insert set, CarGo and Tulo's cards have eluded me until now. I think. Unless they're in the 5,000 count box that these fifty-plus trades have been going into for the past couple years.

I have lots of binder work to do, especially since I'm now a #SuperTrader.

But not as super as Wes.

The Trading Post #40: 2x3 Heroes

I'm still catching up on trade packages received long ago. This is the third time Jeff from 2x3 Heroes has sent me cards, and I am definitely in a debt, as he's sent me football cards, hockey cards, and lots of Rockies without me having returned the favor yet. That'll soon change, but in the meantime, let's get into the cards.

1993 Pinnacle #239 Eric Wedge (RC)

Eric Wedge had a much better career as a manager of the Indians and Mariners than he ever had as a player. Over four seasons, he appeared in just a few dozen games for three different teams. He probably has more cards as a manager than as a player. However, he's fairly well known to me, since he appeared in most of the inaugural Rockies sets in 1993, my first serious year as a collector.

Joe Girardi was the face of Rockies catching those first few years, but puffy clouds and blue skies do little to diminish the hope of an MLB rookie, making his mark on a 1993 league with 50 new roster spots to occupy.

1998 Topps Stars Bronze #4 Ellis Burks /9799

Like Wedge, Ellis Burks spent most of his pre-Rockies career on the Boston Red Sox. After playing a few seasons in Coors Field, he was recognized in the Topps Stars set. This particular iteration has plenty of texture, almost giving it the look and feel of linen paper. Even better, this card is serial numbered to an ultra-rare 9,799.

Get them before they're gone, kids.

2008 Bowman Blue #119 Jeff Francis /500

This blue parallel of Jeff Francis' 2008 Bowman card is just a bit scarcer, numbered to 500. The blue border sets this apart from the vast ocean of black borders found in Bowman sets, and the fact that his name is outlined in foil makes it a whole lot more scanner-friendly.

2008 Upper Deck Star Quest #7 Matt Holliday

You've seen this card before, but in a slightly different variant. That green one, which came from The Angels, In Order, was from the First Edition set, while this is the base common in silver. The bag of sunflower seeds in Holliday's back pocket really sticks out like a sore thumb without all the rest of that green to hide in.

2008 Upper Deck #746 Matt Holliday SH

Though his fielding has always left something to be desired, Holliday achieved what might be the pinnacle in Rockies history, NLCS MVP. Sure, there have been lots of batting titles, a near triple-crown winner in Larry Walker, a Rookie of the Year, and even an unassisted triple play, but no other Rockie has ever been named MVP of a postseason series.

You can see on his face that he knows it's something special.

2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Sliding Stars #SS-CG Carlos Gonzalez

Though Tulo has moved on to the Great White North, our other star, Carlos Gonzalez (who was obtained when the Rockies traded Holliday to Oakland), remains in the Rockies' deep outfield. I'm not just talking about the walls; the Rox have quite a bit of roster depth in the outfield.

Gonzalez is great on the basepaths, good enough to earn a spot in the well-liked Sliding Stars insert set, by far my favorite part of Gypsy Queen. It's a Coors Field card, showing the field-level suites below the right field out-of-town scoreboard. I'm not sure whether CarGo successfully stole second on this attempt, but he's clearly giving the Reds' Zack Cozart (?) some trouble.
 
Though he's already doing lots of winning in Toronto, at least you'll continue to see Troy Tulowitzki appear on this blog.

2011 Topps Lineage 3-D #T3D22 Troy Tulowitzki

Especially when he's on awesome cards like this.

I'm only a few cards away from completing the 2011 Topps Lineage base set, but this 3D insert of Tulowitzki turning two is easily one of my favorite cards from that year. I'm not sure who they're playing here—maybe the Rays—but the 3D effect is so good that I almost thought I could see deeper past the edges, like one of those portraits in Hogwarts.

I discussed pinstripes at length yesterday, so I'll simply show one of two relic cards that Jeff included in this shipment.

2008 Upper Deck UD Game Materials #UDJ-GA Garrett Atkins S.2

This Garrett Atkins relic was the specific card I claimed in a giveaway Jeff ran for his 'Tis The Season theme late last year, the rest was just a generous bonus. What I particularly like about this card is that maybe, just maybe, the swatch is from the same photo as the action. I realize that's the longest of long shots, but many relic cards don't even match the photograph.

It's good to be getting back into the swing of things in the hobby. Not to give anything away, but I'm making a trip to my LCS tomorrow to pick up a card I've had my eye on for some time.

You'll know it when you see it.

Opening Day is Here!

As I begin this post, the first pitch of the 2015 season is imminent! The Cubs are hosting the Cardinals at a recently renovated Wrigley Field in an NL Central showdown. In fact, the pennant race could be beginning already, if the buzz about the Cubs holds true this year.

As spring training was getting underway a few weeks ago, I wrote a post about the 2013 Opening Day set, so the first game of the regular season is the perfect occasion to show off some cards from a $10 blaster of 2015 Opening Day that I picked up at Target just 24 hours ago.

2015 Topps Opening Day #25 Jorge Soler (RC)

One of the Cubs' most promising young stars is Jorge Soler, who also happens to be a member of my fantasy baseball team, the Lucky Numbers. I got a look at Soler last August when the Cubbies visited Denver, and he is an exciting player to watch, especially at the plate. If this finally is the year, Soler is certain to be a reason for it.

2015 Topps Opening Day #66 Andrew McCutchen

The Cubs won't be the only team in the hunt for first place in the NL Central. McCutchen, one of baseball's elite hitters, will seek to lead the Pirates to another playoff spot. As the anchor hitter of my fantasy team, I'll be hoping for another MVP year like he had in 2013.

2015 Topps has earned much praise, and the same ripple and stucco design carries over to Opening Day, along with a good deal of interesting photography. The only differences are a printed Topps logo instead of foil, plus the patriotic-looking Opening Day banner. Most of the photos are the same as in the base set, although I have seen a few cards with different images, or at least different crops.

I haven't seen much of the 2015 base set in person this year other than the value pack I bought during release week, so lots of these photographs are new to me. I did recognize Tulowitzki's card in this blaster, as well as Hunter Pence's, and a few others from the blogs.

2015 Topps Opening Day #35 Travis d'Arnaud

2015 Topps Opening Day #2 Curtis Granderson

These two Mets were back-to-back in one of the eleven packs. I don't know how often the Mets wear these desert digital camo uniforms, but they appear to be in different stadiums, so these must be from different games. d'Arnaud had a pretty good rookie year last season, and he was awarded the Topps Rookie Cup on his 2015 card, a logo which has been a mainstay of Topps sets for decades with only brief gaps.

2015 Topps Opening Day Blue Foil #23 Greg Holland

I did pull a few Blue Foil parallels, which are a bit different this year. First of all, they aren't serial numbered anymore, which is a bit of a disappointment, and the actual date of Opening Day isn't listed in silver foil. That's too bad, as it would be cool to have a few cards with my dad's birthday printed on them. Holland's base card also made an appearance in this blaster, so other than the /1 parallels, I have the rainbow of Greg Holland's 2015 Opening Day cards!

That's a relief.

Pun not intended.

As I've stated many times, my favorite aspect of the Opening Day brand is the inserts, and this year's crop did not disappoint. Many of my longtime favorites made a reappearance, and Topps gave us a few pretty solid new insert sets.

2015 Topps Opening Day Stars #ODS-20 Joe Mauer

"Opening Day Stars" returns with the 3D effect from its lenticular printing, and this Joe Mauer card was the only one in the 77-card stack (including an undifferentiated bonus pack!). I've kept an eye on Mauer in recent years, as the Rockies seem to have an interest in Aging Twins Stars. They've brought over Michael Cuddyer and Justin Morneau, so it seems like Mauer can't be far behind.

2015 Topps Opening Day Superstar Celebrations #SC-07 Jordan Zimmermann

"Superstar Celebrations" makes a comeback in 2015 as well. Commemorating Zimmermann's no-hitter at the end of the 2014 season, this card wouldn't be out of place in the "Ballpark Fun" insert set of 2013. There were lots of post-game antics in that one.

2015 Topps Opening Day Hit the Dirt #HTD-03 Billy Hamilton

In addition to the old veteran sets, there are plenty of new ones this year, such as "Hit The Dirt", which features lots of gutsy baserunning. It's a lot like the "Sliding Stars" set from Gypsy Queen, and is a good showcase of speed, which again has become a more important aspect of baseball now that the steroid era has passed. A guy like Dee Gordon can be a lot more valuable if all the guys surrounding him in the lineup aren't hitting 40+ home runs per season.

2015 Topps Opening Day Stadium Scenes #STA-CP Cameron Payne

Topps has been embracing social media quite a bit recently. and that's reflected in the "Stadium Scenes" set. All its photos were shot by fans and then submitted online to Topps. This allows a real fan's perspective to appear on cards, which is unusual. I like the concept; it's a chance for a fan to be immortalized on cardboard, and documents how a fan actually sees the game, rather than someone with a press pass.

Angel Stadium of Anaheim, home of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, is the only Major League park I've been to outside of Denver. You can't see them on this card, but flanking this entrance are two giant metal baseball caps. I snapped a picture or two myself when I was there to see the Angels host the Yankees (in Anaheim, yes), and here's what those caps look like.

2015 Topps Opening Day Franchise Flashbacks #FF-08 Julio Teheran

"Franchise Flashbacks" might be the best new insert set for 2015, especially if you're a fan of throwback uniforms. There aren't many Rockies to be found in any of these sets, but the Rockies have done minimal changes to their logo and uniforms in their 22-year history (has it really been that long?).

Braves pitcher Julio Teheran appears on this card in an Atlanta Black Crackers uniform, a team that played in various Negro Leagues for a few decades in the first half of the 20th century. Nick at Dime Boxes is such a fan of this 20-card set that he bought the whole thing in one fell swoop, dubbing it the "Insert Set of the Year". I am not at all surprised that such an appellation would be awarded to an Opening Day release.

I've written this whole post without a single mention of my favorite insert set from Opening Day, which means that it's time for...

2015 Topps Opening Day Mascots #M-02 Atlanta Braves

Mascots!

I think the Braves could do way better than this. Their unnamed mascot is a blatant rip-off of Mr. Met, as the back of this card fully acknowledges. Short of calling him "Mr. Brave," I'm not sure what else can be done with a mascot wearing a Braves uniform and a baseball for a head. It's Georgia; at least make it a peach or something.

2015 Topps Opening Day Mascots #M-12 Billy the Marlin

Miami does a better job, as their mascot is simply a marlin. It's a type of billfish, which is where Billy the Marlin gets its name. With those wild eyes and gaping mouth, this mascot looks really excited to be cheering for the Marlins. I can't quite tell for sure, but that might be a Rockies catcher behind the plate in that photo. Colorado visited Miami for their first four games last year, so if this was actually taken on Opening Day, then that's Wilin Rosario with a cameo appearance in the Mascots set.

It seems like the Rockies begin most of their seasons on the road, and that'll hold true this year as well. At noon tomorrow (mountain time), they'll send a man to the plate in Miller Park, home of the Brewers. By then, the Brewers will know who they're chasing for the division lead. Unless the Cubs step it way up tonight (they're down 3-0 as I write this), then St. Louis will be the first team to 1-0 atop the NL Central.