The Trading Post #41: Baseball Cards Come To Life!

Bo from Baseball Cards Come To Life! "loves big trades".

1993 Leaf #120 Checklist

All the way back in April (before the Rockies drifted down the NL West standings and Tulo was still wearing the purple pinstripes), Bo and I swapped medium-sized flat rate boxes full of baseball cards. The box I sent him wasn't quite as full, but after I unpacked what Bo mailed, the cards took up two entire rows of a 5,000-count box.

So I didn't quite know how to tackle this one.

I thought about splitting up this post into Topps and Non-Topps as I've done before, but there was significantly more UD, Pinnacle, Leaf, etc... than Topps, so it wouldn't have been balanced. Instead, much like getting a heavy parcel full of cardboard, I'm just going to give this to you in one giant, heaping spoonful.

Sharp-eyed readers will notice the late Ken Caminiti in that checklist card above, and given that he was part of the monster 12-player trade between the Astros and Padres in 1994, I figured any one of those players on a checklist card would be a perfect metaphor for this trade.

It's an interesting photo, because if one didn't know the rules of baseball, one might think that Caminiti were lunging for that ball as though the championship depended on it. Unlike most team sports that feature a constant battle for the ball, when you think about it, the fact that the offense pretty much wants the ball as far away from any human (especially baserunners) as possible once it leaves the bat is quite unusual.

Of course, that card is from the well-loved 1993 Leaf set, which Bo sent over in pretty darn close to complete form. I needed around 20 cards from series 2; I probably have that half complete now.

1993 Stadium Club #458 Alex Cole

1993 Stadium Club wasn't quite as complete, but I still received at least 400 cards from it, and all in numerical order, a huge help! Of course, 1993 was the first year Rockies and Marlins started making regular appearances on cardboard, and Alex Cole, with his trademark goggles, was an easy player to spot on the field. For the same reason, so was Chris Sabo on the Reds, a player that was mentioned during the Rockies' broadcast last week.

1991 Stadium Club #81 Chuck Finley

There was plenty more Stadium Club to be found, like this great action shot of Chuck Finley from the inaugural 1991 set, when they touted their use of Kodak film in obtaining their images. The shallow depth of field focuses on Finley's delivery, but the downside is that I have no idea who's at the plate, making it difficult to date this card.

1994 Stadium Club #100 Joey Cora

Here's a bit of a different view of the common double play shot. Oakland catcher Terry Steinbach is trying to break up a double play, and you can even see the base bending underneath Joey Cora's nameplate. It's a crowded area around second base, as Ozzie Guillen is in on the action as well, just under a decade before he'd go on to manage the White Sox to a World Series win.

1998 Stadium Club #192 Dante Bichette

Of course, the Rockies are still in the hunt for their first-ever World Series win, but at least they've been there, something many other expansion teams are not lucky enough to claim.

Dante Bichette was one of the Blake Street Bombers, and here he's casually sitting around on a cart for his 1998 Stadium Club photo shoot. I always liked the embossed baseball stitching on the corner of this set, and I think this is the first year of the updated Stadium Club logo.

I am guessing that this was shot during spring training. You can see the letters "HI" on the front of the cart, probably the property of Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Arizona. Up until recently, that's where the Rockies held their spring training games, and my sister and I even made it down for a game in 2008.

That's about it for Topps, but there's still lots more to come.

1992 Classic/Best #286 Andy Pettitte

Bo included a few oddballs among all these cards, like a few from the minor league Classic brand. Most of them were no-namers that never made it to The Show. A few did, like Joey Eischen and Mark Sweeney, but there were a couple of real superstars in there, like Jim Edmonds and Andy Pettitte.

I saw him pitch at Coors Field once, back in 2002. The Yankees beat the Rockies that day in a 20-10 slugfest. Pettitte came a long way between wearing a minor league uniform and pitching the Yankees to numerous World Series wins.

1995 Signature Rookies Tetrad #58 Todd Helton

Like another Denver sports superstar, Todd Helton went to the University of Tennessee. He was proficient in both baseball and football, even serving on the same football team as Peyton Manning. Surprisingly, Helton is listed on this oddball card as a pitcher. It's true; he was quite a proficient closer before making the switch over to first base.

In fact, he's not the only multi-sport player the Rockies have targeted in the draft. Russell Wilson, current quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks, was picked by the Rockies and even played in the minors for a year or two. He still shows up for spring training as a Texas Ranger, but at this point, he probably ought to stick to the NFL.

1993 Pinnacle #521 Darren Holmes

Darren Holmes was much more baseball-focused than Wilson, and he leads off a few Pinnacle cards, this one from 1993. This was one of the first Rockies cards, sneaking its way into Series 2 like most of the 1993 releases. The logo on the front is from the 1992 expansion draft, while the Rockies logo on the back is an old version that was tweaked just a bit before they began their first season.

During the 1994 strike, we had a little family outing to a mall-anchor department store to get Darren's autograph. He signed several items for me, most of which I still have. The baseball is a bit faded, but the cards and 8x10 photo are as sharp as ever.

1993 Select #77 Luis Sojo

You'd think with as much as I go on about green cards, you'd have seen some 1993 Select by now, but the set just never grew on me. Somehow the green isn't as vivid, maybe because of the two-tone design they use.

I like this picture of Luis Sojo. The Angels' second baseman probably looks like I did playing second base in little league, squinting his eyes and just hoping that the baseball gods would guide the ball into his glove. While I'm sure a few liners ended up over my head, the back of this card tells a different story.

1993 Select #77 Luis Sojo (Reverse)

That might be the best snow cone I've ever seen on a card.

1995 Pinnacle #208 Bo Jackson

How's that for a sunset card? Nevermind the guy's baseball career; that is an awesome awesome Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet!

By the time this 1995 card was printed, Bo Jackson had played his last game. He spent a year with the California Angels (before all that "of Anaheim" nonsense) as a Designated Hitter. The reverse only has his 1994 and career total stats, plus a rarely-seen line of "Career Highs"—the baseball card version of those little bars that stay elevated on a stereo equalizer.

It's a very 1990s card.

1995 Ultra #155 Mike Kingery

Mike Kingery was one of my mom's favorite players during the early years of the Rockies. He was an unassuming, yet capable, center fielder. Not a Jim Edmonds by any means, but he made plenty of clutch plays in the cavernous outfield of Coors Field.

This is a play at the plate, although not the usual dusty, sliding affair we're used to. That's definitely a Giants' catcher (probably Kirt Manwaring) unceremoniously tagging Kingery on the leg for an unfortunate Rockies' out.

Fleer went a little nuts with the foil here, using both gold and silver foil, different letter styles for the first and last name, plus the team logo for good measure. The photography still works well in spite of all that.

1998 Fleer Tradition #471 Scott Brosius

Honestly, Fleer got pretty darn good with the photography in the post-strike era, although the designs always felt like they were trying too hard. They broke with tradition in 1998 and 1999, calling their flagship set "Fleer Tradition". Again, the photography is sharp and action-packed, and we even get a cameo of Rafael Bournigal, an under-the-radar Major Leaguer you've probably never heard of. His offensive stats are mediocre, but he had a stellar career fielding percentage of .988.

1996 Donruss #78 David Segui

Besides that stack of 1993 Leaf, there wasn't much Donruss in this huge box. There were a few from the 1996 set, known in collector circles as "the loincloth set" for the rather obstructive placement of the square jumble containing the logo, city, team, position, brand, and uniform number. There was no room for the player's name in all that, so we find that in a color-coded ribbon toward the top.

Almost everyone was following Stadium Club's lead by now, offering a full-bleed design with some interesting photography. This on-deck photo must be from the always-windy Candlestick Park, based on that San Francisco ad on the stadium facade.

1995 Collector's Choice SE #246 Mike Stanley

I'll wrap up with a bit of Upper Deck. Here's a slightly more conventional play at the plate, with Yankees catcher Mike Stanley bracing for an impact with Tino Martinez. I thought this might have been Edgar, the other Martinez, the one who spent his whole career in Seattle, the one who has a left-field bar area named for him at Safeco Field, but no. It was the soon-to-be Yankee Tino.

1995 Collector's Choice #442 Curt Leskanic

Here's another spring training photo, similar in design to Stanley's card, but from a set entirely separate from the blue Special Edition cards.

Curtis Leskanic was a strange guy. He was a pitcher's pitcher, not quite Turk Wendell-level, but still plenty odd. He claimed that he put more juice on his fastball by shaving his right arm to cut down on wind resistance. And for all I know, that's his Social Security number on his name sticker. I hope he hasn't suffered a lifetime of identity theft due to this card. But Baseball Card Bust has a different theory.

1994 Upper Deck #399 Terry Mulholland

1994 Upper Deck was well-represented, and it'll fit nicely into an already-large collection I have of that set. But I don't think I had this card. The dugout shot makes it interesting, and I'm guessing that this was not taken on a day he started. He looks relaxed enough to know that he's not climbing the mound that day.

I remember him as a Philadelpha Phillie, partly because he was on that team at the height of the baseball card bubble, but also since he pitched in the 1993 World Series, the first I ever watched. He played for a lot of teams in his long career, though surprisingly never for the Rockies.

1996 Upper Deck #27 Gary DiSarcina

Here's a double play card, always a blogosphere favorite. While the action is great, and I have an appreciation for middle infielders, perhaps the best aspect of these is the cameo. You're sure to find a baserunner, and occasionally the other middle infielder (like in that Joey Cora card way up at the top). 2B Damion Easley is nowhere to be found here, but we do get a cameo of Chris Gomez, a Detroit Tiger at the time.

DiSarcina makes it look easy. I played second base in little league, and I could never pull this off.

2007 UD Masterpieces #8 Lou Gehrig

This has been a hugely long post, certainly my longest, so thanks for hanging in there. I know that 1990s overproduction cards aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I would have been beyond ecstatic to get a box like this in my elementary school days. Even all these years later, I'm still pretty stoked and humbled that I've found such a generous community of like-minded bloggers, and that 48 people are even subscribed to this thing.

This box included enough cards to tell a bit of a story, leading off with Ken Caminiti, and wrapping up with a humble and appreciative Lou Gehrig, from a set that was one of Upper Deck's literal masterpieces.

Thank you, Bo, for all these great cards, and thanks to each and every one of you who takes the time to read my blog.

A Less Exclusive Club

I've been adding to my vintage collection a bit lately, but don't for a moment think that I'm abandoning current cards.

Stadium Club's resurrection is back in force for a second year, and now available in convenient pack form at your local big box retailer. Last year, the high rollers in this hobby didn't think it stacked up to the overpriced insanity of Museum Collection and the like, so Topps must have figured that it wasn't quite appropriate as a hobby-store-only product.

So I tossed a pack into my red handbasket and ended up with a dozen cards of full-bleed awesomeness.

2015 Stadium Club #12 Giancarlo Stanton

They feel a little thicker than last year, and the subtle lightening under the nameplate reminds me a bit of Flair. And the top-notch photography just can't be beat. I can't quite tell who's behind the plate, absorbing pitches as Stanton bides his time to crush a monster home run. But it's a great example of an all-dirt "Tatooine" card, and we get a pretty good look at how the batters box and infield can be watered differently.

Stanton seems surprisingly forward in the batter's box, and if he tried to swing here, he definitely checked it.

2015 Stadium Club #88 Chris Davis

There were quite a few horizontal cards in this pack, but the vertical ones are typically more plentiful anytime there's a mixture. That holds true for 2015 Stadium Club, and let's be honest, Chris Davis' forearm is pretty much the focal point here. The steroid era may be over, but it still takes plenty of strength to lead the Majors in home runs. Of course, that happens the year after I picked him in fantasy baseball.

2015 Stadium Club #136 Reggie Jackson

I do enjoy seeing retired legends appear in the base set (as long as it's not in flagship), and Reggie rounds out a trio of HR-hitting stars. Though Davis and Stanton are both quite young, they have a long way to go before they match Jackson's 563 career dingers.

Jackson is probably most well-known among casual fans for his performance in the 1977 World Series, but as this card points out, he had quite a successful run in Oakland before donning the pinstripes.

2015 Stadium Club #35 Ryne Sandberg

Sandberg, on the other hand, was a Cubbie almost his entire career, at least until he returned to Philadelphia to manage the team that drafted him. I've seen this card on many blogs, and it's a favorite of mine, too. The sharpness of modern printing does blow me away from time to time, as the texture of Ryno's jersey and the stains on his hat almost pop off the cardboard.

2015 Stadium Club Legends Die Cut #LDC-04 Willie Mays

If you remember the hobby box of 2014 Stadium Club I bought, then you'll recall that I pulled a Willie Mays insert from one of the mini-boxes that year too. Between the card above, last year's Field Access card, and a serial-numbered rarity from Topps High Tek, I've been having awesome luck pulling Mays cards the past year or so.

Die-cut cards are hit or miss for me. Topps Chrome has been going way overboard in recent years, but this Mays is just about my speed. And the color-coding across this insert set is great, especially this copper-colored Giants card.

2015 Stadium Club #13 Ernie Banks

It's not every day that President Obama drapes a Presidential Medal of Freedom around your neck. Like Mays and of course Jackie Robinson, Banks was one of the first African-American players in the MLB. Despite the obvious challenges that remain in this country, a baseball card depicting America's first black president awarding a medal to an early black baseball player many years his senior is a positive and inspirational image, reminding us of how far we've come, yet also how far we have to go.

Other than the obvious Sammy Sosa, Banks is second all-time in Cubs home runs, so his baseball career is nothing to sneeze at, either. Unfortunately for both him and Ryno, neither ever competed in a World Series, but after the recent passing of Mr. Banks, this would be the perfect year for the Cubs to change that.

Not Mickey Mantle (Part 2: Topps)

As promised in my previous post, here's Part 2 from my recent trip to Mike's Stadium Sportscards, the same trip in which I picked up that '62 Mantle. We had a look at some non-Topps products last time, so here are some of my favorites from the hobby's only remaining MLB-licensed brand.

2000 Finest #57 Paul Konerko

This was the only Topps product I picked out of the bargain table area, a complete Series 1 short set from 2000 Finest (cards 1-100). Konerko is one of the more recently-retired members of that set, although a few are still active, like Bartolo Colon, whom I saw pitch last night in a classic Coors Field slugfest. The Mets won it 14-9, helped out by Yoenis Cespedes and his three home runs.

I'm not sure whether I'll ever find that many Topps Finest cards for less than a dime apiece again. That gigantic baseball (there, on the left) dominates the design, making 2000 Finest a distinctive product. I never really noticed the motion streaks on the right before now. I guess giant shiny silver baseballs are kind of distracting.

1996 Stadium Club #280 Jeff Conine

Most of the products from the $1 foil pack area were from Score, Fleer, etc, although I did find two or three packs of 1996 Stadium Club. Jeff Conine in his turquoise Marlins uniform wielding a tennis racket is a textbook example of what we all know and love about Stadium Club.

1996 Stadium Club Power Packed #PP3 Jose Canseco

1996 Stadium Club was one of the last products I purchased as a card-collecting kid before falling out of touch with the hobby for several years. I know the base design well, but I never ran across anything from this insert set. Confessed (and obvious) steroid user Jose Canseco appears on an eye-catching burst of color, almost as though he's playing with a Lite-Brite as a backdrop.

Maybe if I pulled this card in 1996 I would have stayed with the hobby longer.

1996 Stadium Club Mantle #MM15 Mickey Mantle, 1964

I know this is the "Not Mickey Mantle" post, but given my primary goal of the trip, this was such an appropriate pull from another $1 pack that I couldn't leave it out. There were Mantle tributes all over the place in 1996, especially from Topps. They released chrome reprints of all his base cards, and created this 19-card insert set to commemorate perhaps the most important player in postwar card collecting.

Sy Berger, the father of modern cards, said as much on the back of this Mantle card, admitting, "In no small measure did Mickey's cards help to put the company on the map."

2015 Topps First Pitch #FP-02 Jack White

2015 Topps First Pitch #FP-04 Eddie Vedder

A half-century or so later, Sy Berger's product has now evolved into something quite different, offering a little something for everyone. In wandering around the card shop, I found a 5,000 count box of 2015 Topps, from which I picked out a few cards from the well-received First Pitch insert set. I still say Bill Murray should be in here, but a couple music legends will do.

2015 Topps Gold #438 DJ LeMahieu /2015

Though the Rockies got clobbered last night, Nolan Arenado and his infield counterpart DJ LeMahieu made a few great infield plays, which takes the sting out of it a little bit. So did wearing my Arenado jersey to the park, especially when Nolan crushed one out to left center. Until this year, I hadn't gotten much into team apparel beyond hats, although I am seriously considering getting a Toronto Blue Jays jersey of Tulowitzki. That would get a few comments, for sure.

I do miss the gold serial numbers on the gold Topps parallels, a practice they ended several years ago, opting to just go with a plain black. But a double play card of DJ with an Alex Gordon interleague cameo is a winner in almost anyone's book.

2015 Topps Framed #72 Jordan Lyles /20

I've seen the metal framed parallels from 2015 Topps on numerous blogs, but this is the first one I've seen in person. Unlike Leaf Steel, it is not magnetic, although I'll bet not as fragile either. It's a hefty card, and almost has the dimensions of an early iPhone. Serial numbered to just 20, it's one of the rarest cards in my collection.

And after this trip, I now have a new oldest card.

1953 Topps #77 Johnny Mize (DP)

I picked up four 1955 Bowman cards at a card show last year, but this one beats it by a couple years. This is from 1953, incidentally the year that Mize won the last of his five consecutive World Series with the Yankees. Clearly Mantle was not the only vintage Yankee card I'd pick up that day, nor the only Hall-of-Famer.

I never knew this about Mize, but he went by the "Big Cat" nickname long before Andres Galarraga was even born. He didn't get a card in 1954, so this is his "sunset" card, to borrow Nick's term.  And he's now the oldest in my small but growing collection of vintage Yankees cards.

All in all, I'd say it was a successful shopping trip.

Not Mickey Mantle (Part 1: Not Topps)

Even when I make a special trip to my local card shop to pick up the new centerpiece of my collection, I'm always up for some low-priced goodies. The beauty of a well-stocked LCS or card show is that there's something for everyone, so in addition to a half-century old Mickey Mantle card, I was sure to pick out some $1 foil packs from the mid 1990s.

1994 Leaf #395 Paul Molitor

I know most people probably think of Paul Molitor as a Brewer, but he was a member of the 1993 champion Toronto Blue Jays, which was the first World Series I watched (or at least remember watching). I saw so many cards of him that year in a Toronto uniform, so it doesn't seem that unusual to me. The same goes for Bob Welch as an Oakland A.

If I've learned anything about this hobby from all my fellow bloggers, it's that the first cards you were exposed to seem to set a pretty strong benchmark by which other eras are judged. Night Owl is a huge fan of the mid-1970s, but some strike-era glossy, full bleed cards with more than a little gold foil is right up my alley.

Especially for a buck a pack.

1994 Leaf #269 Kent Hrbek

I only knew Kent Hrbek and many of the not-quite-superstar AL players only from their baseball cards. 1994 was long before the days of MLB.TV, and even a few years before my family ponied up for cable television. I saw Matt F. mention Hrbek's Twitter account not long ago, when the slugging first baseman followed him, so why not throw him in here?

By the way, if you're a fan of podcasts, Matt from Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius and Dave from Card Junk get together once a month or so and discuss the latest in the card collecting hobby. I'd say it's worth a listen if you want to branch out from the blogs or Twitter for some card discussion. And Dave's movie reviews always leave me chuckling.

1996 Rockies Fleer #3 Ellis Burks

Of course, podcasts lack the benefit of the visuals we can include on our blogs and in our tweets, so I'll stick to writing for now. How else would you get a look at one of the Rockies' three 30/30 club members, and his 1995 commemorative Coors Field patch?

This card of Ellis Burks came from a 1996 Fleer Rockies team pack, an item I see quite frequently in the Denver area. It's a 20-card team set, and the cards come 10 to a pack. What's unusual about them is that they have a glossy finish, unlike Fleer's 1996 and 1997 base sets, which had a delicate but distinctive matte finish. These have a plain silver foil, unlike the parallel Tiffany cards, which had a rainbow foil. I had these misfiled for quite some time until I took a closer look.

1994 Score Rookie/Traded #RT32 Brian Harper

The giant rack of dollar packs was pretty full of football, so I had to dig pretty deep to find a dozen packs to my liking. Three were from Score's 1994 Rookie/Traded set, one that I think reminds us all of 1990 Donruss. And few of us want to be reminded of 1990 Donruss. To be honest, I thought these were of the 1994 base set until I opened them. I chose one of the traded veterans to scan, because the names on the rookies are almost completely unreadable. That's quite a trick without using any foil.

1994 Score Rookie/Traded #RT131 Norberto Martin

See what I mean?

1997 Score #7 Ryan Klesko

By contrast, 1997 Score doesn't really struggle with readability problems. Other than a widely spaced, all lower-case, sans-serif font that really stretches itself out on horizontal cards, it's fine. What isn't so fine is that in just ten cards, I got two duplicates and two checklists. So if you want a card of Ryan Klesko at the bat rack, let me know. I can spare it.

Overall, these non-Topps packs were about 50/50. I'll open mid-1990s Leaf all day long, but the Score products were scraping the bottom of the barrel a bit.

Let's move on to a more interesting section of Mike's Stadium Sportscards, the unnamed center table bargain area with 4/$30 pricing. Which happens to decrease to 4/$25 when you're in the store for 1962 vintage.

This LCS is absolutely packed to the gills with cards and memorabilia. Mike, myself, and three other customers were practically climbing over each other for 45 minutes trying to move to different sections of the store. The bargain area has quite an assortment, ranging from stacks of junk wax to plaques to hardcover books. I found a copy of Harry Caray's Holy Cow! for a Cubs fan coworker. But what I really went for in this area were the complete sets.

1994 Sportflics #146 Will Clark

It's no secret that lenticular cards don't scan well, but Sportflics did an interesting take on a traded player here, depicting Will Clark with a Giants cap, then a Rangers cap following an off-season trade. They don't line up perfectly, but it's a clever idea, and Clark has the same half-grin in each photo.

Mr. Clark came along with 192 other Sportflics cards, a complete 1994 set that I found in the large plastic bins underneath the bargain table.

2004 Upper Deck #549 Paul Lo Duca

I also found a few sub-100 card small sets, and I had to consult my Completed Sets page in-store to check whether I already had various Fleer Update and Topps Traded sets.

This Paul Lo Duca, in another unfamiliar uniform, is from the 2004 Upper Deck Update set. Unlike most other brands, UD numbered these 50 cards consecutively with the 270-card series 1 and 2, something I wish Topps would do. But then that would mess with their card #661 gimmick.

1992 Pinnacle Rookies #14 Monty Fariss

Even smaller, coming in at just 30 cards, was 1992 Pinnacle Rookies. Though they don't have the same cult-classic design as the 1992 base set, I believe they mark Pinnacle's first foray into gold foil. It's unusual that they left the logo alone in the upper right. Usually that was the first thing to get the gold treatment. There's also a bit of gold foil on the back, which may have been an industry first.

I really couldn't tell you much about Monty Fariss, but I do appreciate a good broken bat card on a set that's new to me. It was even packaged in its original box with that same card-sized styrofoam padding Pinnacle liked to include.

1992 Donruss #153 Kevin Maas

For a mere $6.25, part of my haul was a complete 1992 Donruss set. Especially on the card backs, Donruss had been giving us pretty much the same card ever since their inception in the early 1980s. By 1992 at least they saw fit to shift the elements around a bit to make room for a headshot.

1994 Donruss #436 Reggie Sanders

Gold foil made its inevitable appearance by 1994, and they finally did away with the practice of including the player's full name on the back. After a dozen years of "Ronald Maurice Darling, Jr.", it was long overdue. I found the complete series 2 in the bargain area, a perfect complement to the series 1 already in my collection. We're going to need a bigger box.

1992 Upper Deck Gold Hologram #183 Chris Hoiles

Last of all for the non-Topps portion of this two-post series is another factory set, 1992 Upper Deck. Kevin Maas makes another appearance just a couple cards down (I swear that was an accident), but this time he's sporting Yankee pinstripes in a cameo on Chris Hoiles' card in a great play at the plate shot.

Preceding Upper Deck SP by one year, the 1992 UD factory set cards are slightly differentiated from their pack-based cousins. Flip these over, and you'll find a gold hologram on each one of the 800 cards. I've run across these a few times before, but they do take a bit of an eagle eye to spot on their own.

It's definitely not counterfeit.

The card I've always wanted and now I have it. I rule!

I'm paraphrasing Lester Burnham only slightly.

At the end of yesterday's post, I alluded to a special purchase I was about to make at my local card shop. To be honest, it's a bit of a drive, so it's my "most local card shop", but the trip down was well worth it.

I follow Mike's Stadium Sportscards on Facebook, and when he put a particular card on offer Monday night at a not-completely-crazy-price, one that's been on my wishlist for many years, I asked him to hold it for me and promised I'd be by within 48 hours.

So, you ask, just what is this mystery card?

I won't keep you in suspense any longer.

1962 Topps #200 Mickey Mantle (PSA 3)

I got a chill down my spine captioning that scan.

I've mentioned my desire for this card to several dealers over many years, including my regular vendors at my monthly card show. It even occupied a special section of my Eight Men Out want list that I called the Cloud Nine card.

I've always had a soft spot for 1962 Topps. Before today, my biggest cash outlay for a single card was from that same set, Al Kaline's #150. I'm not much of a vintage collector, but I have four cards each from both it and 1955 Bowman.

You'll notice that those are both woodgrain sets. 

For the first decade of Topps Heritage, I was counting down the years until 2011, when the '62 design was due up. And there's plenty of that in my collection.

But I'm sure the reason I love woodgrain sets so much is because my first pack ever was 1987 Topps. When you're three years old and baseball cards have a woodgrain look, then darn it, that's how baseball cards should look. Topps disappointed us with yet another white border in 2012, breaking the 25-year cycle I hoped would continue.

The card back is pretty great, too. The write-up mentions both Mantle's 1956 Triple Crown and his role in the 1961 home run race, and we get a little cartoon showing The Mick in his legendary post-swing pose.

1996 Topps Mantle Finest #12 Mickey Mantle 1962 Topps (Reverse)

That's from a reprint (of course I have reprints of this card), since the real thing doesn't scan so well inside the slab.

I can't imagine that I'll make a thing of buying cards like this. In fact, it's the only graded card in my entire collection. But it's a real Mickey Mantle card, a name so synonymous with the hobby that Topps retired his number 7, my dad's favorite player when he was growing up in Queens, and a design that looks how I think a baseball card should look. How could I not have wanted it all these years?

Of course, this was a trip to the card shop, so I was sure to pick out some other stuff from the more affordable areas of the store, everything from mid-1990s $1 packs, to a few parallels and First Pitch inserts from 2015 Topps, and even a book for a friend. But all that I'll save for another post.

This card is special enough to stand alone.

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.

The Trading Post #39: Bob Walk the Plank

I don't know where he gets them all, but Matt from Bob Walk the Plank seems to have an endless supply of relics and autographs to send for a trade. His previous trade included the most unusual manufactured relic I've ever seen, a miniature batting helmet. There was nothing quite like that in this shipment, but I still got to add to my rapidly growing collection of Rockies autographs.

2009 Upper Deck Inkredible #JB Jeff Baker (AU)

I'm woefully behind on this blog, as I'm pretty sure this package showed up sometime in March. Still, like many of you, I have dutifully set my incoming trades aside to ensure I give them proper credit, even if it's a bit overdue.

With the recent trade of Troy Tulowitzki and LaTroy Hawkins to Toronto, none of the players who were on the Rockies for their historic and memorable 2007 playoff run remain in Denver. Jeff Baker was on that team, and while he came through with a few key hits, you don't see too many cards of him, let alone autographs.

This is a dreaded sticker autograph, but this is the first one I've really seen an issue with. The sticker was affixed at a slight angle (perhaps to ensure the actual signature was on straight), and there's a little bit of wrinkling on one of the sticker's corners, which I only noticed upon removing it from its top-loader to scan. Regardless, it's one of only a few Jeff Baker cards I own, and certainly the first autograph.

2005 Throwback Threads Throwback Collection Material #33 Larry Walker /500 (MEM)

Pinstripes are a bit of a rarity in baseball uniforms these days, particularly among expansion teams, and especially on a road jersey. I don't go crazy for swatch relics, but when I do, I always enjoy pinstripes. One of my first relic purchases was a Josh Beckett uniform swatch, which had a turquoise pinstripe.

2002 Sweet Spot Swatches #S-JBe Josh Beckett (MEM)

The (Florida) Marlins of the time kept just bit of turquoise in their uniform, but thankfully dialed it way down from the retina-searing batting helmets of their inaugural year.

1993 Stadium Club #554 Orestes Destrade

They were a strange team, those early Marlins. They used an odd red clay or something in the warning track at Joe Robbie Stadium, and their grounds crew gave us perhaps the most entertaining rain delay in baseball history. But hey, they have two more World Series titles than their fraternal twin Rockies, so what do I know?

2002 E-X Behind the Numbers Game Jersey #9 Todd Helton (MEM)

Longtime hometown favorite Todd Helton was well-represented in this trade, and I quite like the design of this relic card. There's a healthy amount of Rockies purple, not too much foil, and a taken-quite-literally theme of "Behind The Numbers", as they framed a swatch of alternate purple jersey behind Helton's now-retired #17.

2002 Playoff Piece of the Game Materials Bronze #POG-82 Todd Helton Bat /250 (MEM)

Matt threw in a Helton bat relic, as well. Design-wise, I like the jersey card more, but this one has some interesting stuff on the back. For one, a serial number, but this Donruss brand took authenticity quite seriously, including a photo of the actual relic used to create the card.

2002 Playoff Piece of the Game Materials Bronze #POG-82 Todd Helton Bat /250 (MEM) (Reverse)

Though it doesn't really prove anything, at least they saw a decade down the road when collectors seriously started questioning the authenticity of their relic cards. And it's more than Topps gives us these days, as their lawyers happily assure us that the relic "is not from any particular game, event, or season."

Collectors that buy enough product always seem to have a knack for pulling one particular player. When it comes to autographs and relics, for me that player is...

2003 SPx Young Stars Autograph Jersey #YS-JA Jason Jennings /1295 (MEM) (AU)

This is at least third time that I've gotten a Jason Jennings autograph or relic in trade, though it's the first with both types of "hit" on one card (and a serial number that I only noticed after scanning).

Jennings wasn't even a Rockie for all that long, which is a shame, because it's no secret that our pitching is pretty atrocious. A gem like Jennings or Ubaldo Jimenez only seems to come along once or twice a decade.

Speaking of that, the Rockies best hope for a decent young pitcher in the next 3-4 years is expected to make his MLB debut tomorrow.

2015 Bowman Chrome Bowman Scouts Top 100 #BTP-19 Jon Gray

Help us, Jon Gray. You're our only hope.