Trade with Thoughts and Sox

I received an an e-mail about a month of so from Thoughts and Sox regarding the Rickey Henderson Wal-Mart black parallel from 2010 Topps. Since it was one of the few 2010 Topps I'd yet to acquire, I was definitely interested. .

I'm incredibly behind on my posting, however, and since I noticed that he recently mentioned my return trade, I figured I should probably post the one that started it all.


If anyone happens to have the Target Throwback Oakland A's Franchise #137, I'm still missing that one, as well as the black parallel #/59.


Along with the Wal-Mart Rickey, there were a few other Rickey's as well, along with a bunch of other A's.


Young Reggie vs. old Reggie. I like young Reggie better, but I did actually get to see old Reggie play in Oakland.


Here's Rajai Davis doing his best Rickey impersonation. Rickey has been working a lot with Rajai during Spring Training, and claims that he'll be able to steal 80 bases this year. I hope he's right!


Some of my other favorite A's from the trade.


We'll end this with an awesome Rollie Fingers card. I love the look of this years Topps Tribute, especially the cards that don't have the players name on the front, and wish that Rickey had been included in the set. Plus, the photo features an Oakland Coliseum pre-Mount Davis, which is how I'd like it to be remembered.

Cards from a Rickey Collector

Through a purchase that I made on eBay, I recently came into contact with another Rickey collector who'd been out of the hobby for a little while. We've since had a few nice Rickey-related conversations, as it's always fun discussing random errors and variations that only a die hard collector would really enjoy. In the first trade that we completed (another one is in the mail, while more will definitely be forthcoming) I was able to knock off quite a few cards from my want list. These are all "older" cards, that I've been seeking out for quite some time now.


1991 U.S. Playing Cards All-Stars Silver 11H -- I had the 1990 Silver, but was pretty excited to finally track down the 1991!




1995 Blue Jays U.S. Playing Cards 3S & 11H -- These are not the most expensive cards out there, but I just never found them at a reasonable price. Along with the 1991 Silver above, I think I now have all of the Rickey playing cards that have been produced.


1996 Select Certified Certified Blue #70 -- It's always nice to knock a mid-90's parallel off of the want list.


1997 Circa Rave #341 #/150 -- One of Rickey's earliest serial numbered parallels. now I just need to track down the 1996 Rave!


1998 Pacific Invincible Team Checklists #1 -- For some reason, Rickey's actually on the back of this checklist insert.


1998 Ultra Platinum Medallion 431 #/98 -- I didn't think I'd ever get ahold of one of these Platinum parallels. Back before eBay got real big, these were impossible to find, and they are not much easier now.


1999 Paramount Red #150 -- I'm pretty sure all of the Red parallels were retail exclusives, and I'm slowly picking them all up.


2002 Donruss Elite STAR #125 -- Basically a glorified base card.


2002 MLB Showdown #273


2002 MLB Showdown Pennant Run #59


2002 Topps Ten Die Cuts AS APP #115 -- For a fairly low end set, the die-cut parallels are pretty nice looking.

Awesome Trade to End the Year

I had this post all ready for last week, but I forgot to actually post it for one reason or another. When 2009 Triple Threads was released a few months ago, I initially set my sites on acquiring one of each of the three different variations. But, luckily for me, I've exceeded even my wildest expectations.

Following the sales of Triple Threads on eBay, I noticed that the same bidder was winning a lot of the Rickey cards. I was able to track him down, and he was more than willing to trade some of the extra Triple Threads he'd acquired, for some of the older/oddball Rickey's that I had available. We fairly quickly worked out a trade for the 6 cards below in exchange for 274 (yes 274!) different Rickey's that he needed, mainly from the 1980's and 1990's.


2009 Topps Legends of the Game Relics Yanks Bat/20 #RH2

This is the only non-Triple Threads in the trade, and also one of my favorites. With a print run of only 20 cards, I didn't hold out much home of finding an affordable one of these. But, now that I have this one, I need to somehow track down that A's jersey version that is also available.


2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics Emerald (MAN OF STEAL)/18 #117


2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics Gold (MAN OF STEAL)/9 #117

I acquired two "Man of Steal" relics, with the crown jewel being the gold variation, numbered to only 9 copies. I now have four of the six variations (#/36, #/27, #/18, #/9), with only the #/3 and #/1 still missing, but that's considered "complete" in my book.


2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics Sepia (SB KING)/27 #115


2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics Gold (SB KING)/9 #115

I also received the #/9 and #/27 SB King relics, and along with the #/36 that I'd already purchased, I just need to track down an affordable #/18 to complete my own version of the set.


2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics Emerald (1990 AL MVP)/18 #116

Finally, there's an emerald version of the 1990 AL MVP parallel #/18. For one reason or another, these have been harder for me to come across, and this is the only one that I have. At the very least, I'd like to add the #/36 and #/27 versions, with the #/9 probably a long shot, unless I can find it for trade, as I never give up hope completely.

A Few Years of the Collection Finally Complete

I want to first apologize in advance for the qualities of the scans in this post, as they leave something to be desired. I've already put all of the cards away in the collection, or else I'd take new ones to replace these. I scanned and saved the cards the same way that I always have, and hope it was just operator error, and not a problem with my scanner. Now, on to the cards!

Up until a recent trade, the only years in which I had all of the Beckett recognized Rickey Henderson cards that were produced, were 1979 and 1980, when he only had one card released each year. But, thanks to a recent trade/sale with Ken, a fellow Rickey collector, I was able to finish off not one, not two, but three different years!



The first card in the scan above is the 1981 Granny Goose #35, which has been on my want list for quite awhile. I remember eyeing this card numerous times at card shows in the late 1980's, but it was always way out of my price range, and now it's all mine. It was also the last Beckett listed card from 1981 that I needed (I now have 15 of 15), resulting in my first completed year!

The next two cards were also important additions to the collection, with the 1984 O-Pee-Chee Sticker #327 and the 1985 Topps Tiffany #115 both completing their respective years. I'm now 39/39 in 1984 cards and 26/26 in 1985. Plus, I now have all 19 of the Topps Tiffany cards produced, as well as all 27 of the listed O-Pee-Chee Stickers. It was definitely a very satisfying trade for the completist in me!

The final cards is one that I didn't even know existed until recently. It's a promotional card put out by Z-Silk in regards to their postal cachets. There's no year listed, but based on it's design, and the cachets that they actually produced, I'm thinking that's it's probably from the 1990-1992 time period.



This next "card" is the 1987 Sportsflics Superstar Disc #14. I had never seen one of these until around a year ago, and based on the pictures, I'd always assumed that they were similar to the 7-11 discs that were also produced. But, when I received it, I was pretty surprised to learn that it was huge! The 7-11 discs are only about 1 1/2" across, while these discs are about 4 1/2" across, which due to not having a reference point in the pictures that I'd seen, I had no idea about.

This disc was also an important addition to the collection, as it was card 55 of 55 to complete the 1987 Beckett list. This year holds even more importance than the others, as it's the year that I got my first Rickey, and started collecting baseball cards. I'm not sure where they were sold, but I definitely never saw any of these lying around back then!



Next we have the 9-card 1988 Star Nova set (limited to 500 sets), the earliest of the Star sets in which Rickey was included. There were a total of 11 Star sets featuring Rickey, produced between 1988 and 1991. And as would be expected based on the pattern of this post, I finally have all 11 of them. Beckett only lists the base 1990 and 1991 sets in their checklist, and excludes all of the other versions (Nova, Gold, Silver, etc.). So, that's an additional 80 cards or so which are not listed on the main Beckett checklist.

This next "card" is one that was listed on the Beckett checklist, but until a year or so ago, I wasn't exactly sure what it was. The card is about 8 1/2" x 11", and was an insert inside copies of the San Francisco Examiner. I'm always curious as to why Beckett decided to include really oddball items like this one in their checklist, but more mainstream issues have been left off. I've e-mailed them a few times to ask similar questions, but I've never received a response.



The top two cards are Promo cards from the Star sets discussed above, with each set getting its own Promo card. These are the only two that I currently have, with the 1990 Star Gold Promo (print run of 300) on the left, and the 1991 Star Nova Promo (print run of 100) on the right.

The second row of cards features two parallels that I've been chasing for awhile. On the left is the 1997 E-X 2000 Credential (#/299), with the 1997 Pinnacle Certified Mirror Gold on the right.



Last but not least is 5 more parallel cards, with the first and last ones being my favorite of this lot. The first card shown is the 1997 Score White Border Artist proof, the last of the Score Artist Proofs that I needed.

This is followed by the 1999 Pacific Prism Mirror Blue (#/80), and then the 1999 Pacific Paramount Opening Day (#/74). Pacific went crazy with their parallels during this time period, and it's always nice to cross a few off the list.

We next have a 2000 Stadium Club One of a Kind (#/150) which didn't scan very well (even worse than the others), but looks much nicer in person. Finally, we have 1994 Collectors Choice Gold Signature #510, which as might have been expected, is the final Collector's Choice Gold Signature that I needed.

Overall, I was able to 24 cards to my collection via this trade, almost all of which I've been chasing down for quite some time now. So, I can finally cross all of these off my "priority" want list, but there's still plenty more to take their place. And the search continues!

Surprise Package from Wax Heaven

This post is about a month overdue, but I knew I had to get it up before the 2009 A's trades start rolling in. I received this package from Mario about a week before Christmas, and it was definitely a nice early present!


We'll start with some base cards that I needed, a few 2007 Danny Putnam rookies, and the first A's card I've received from the new 2008 Timelines set, which I'm really starting to enjoy.



Next we've got a few cards from 2007 Elements, including a nice serial numbered Travis Buck.



This Zito card from 2007 Sterling is definitely one of my favorites from the package. You don't see Barry batting on a card very often (nor should you), but it really is a sweet looking card, and I believe the only Bowman Sterling card I currently own.



Mario also sent a few card from his 1997 Bowman Chrome break, including this Eric Chavez rookie card. I was pretty excited to add this card to my collection, as despite his recent injuries, Chavez is a pretty solid player, and a really great guy.

Last, but not least, Mario included a stack of cards featuring the A's most recent addition at the time, Matt Holliday. They all feature him in his Rockies jersey, and I'm looking forward to cards with him as an Athletic later on in the season.

Thanks again Mario!

Package from Thoughts and Sox

A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from Adam at Thoughts and Sox, asking for my address so that he could send over a stack of A's that he'd accumulated. He sent a nice stack of base cards, as well as the two inserts below, which were definitely my favorites.



I've been wanting this Chavez card for awhile, as it's actually been pretty popular among online A's bloggers. Not too long ago dayf had one for trade, and he ended up having a "Fake Tony Gwynn Card Contest" to determine the winner. I decided against challenging PunkRockPaint to "Paint-Off," but now I have a version of my own!



This is the second version of Thomas' 2008 Allen & Ginter that I now own, and neither one is the base version. The first one, the Allen & Ginter back parallel, I actually pulled from a pack. I thought that the one that Adam sent over was the base, until I realized that there was no number on the back!

Thanks for the cards Adam, there's some Red Sox on their way to you as we speak (well, not literally, since today's a postal holiday, but they should be there shortly).

Christmas and a Trade With Heartbreaking Cards

I hope everyone had a great Christmas, opening presents and spending time with family, I know I did. Santa was nice enough to leave me a few packs of cards, a tradition that has continued for many years. I used to get my first packs of the new Topps release in my stocking every year, and couldn't wait to see what the new cards looked like. But, due to the 2009 products now being released until January (which does make sense, since it's not 2009 yet), this is no longer possible. But, any cards are better than no cards!



Now that everyone is mesmerized by the adorable baby (Henry is 5 months old, and seemed to love his first Christmas), it's on to business. I'm a little behind in the posting of my "recent" trades, but I hope to catch up before the end of the year. I sent Matt over at Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius some Royals (and a few players with horseshoe mustaches) back in November, and he sent me a great package of A's in return. I've just been a bit slow in posting the results.



To begin, he sent over a great stack of older Rickey cards. I've always enjoyed the older Topps stickers (why don't they do anything different anymore?), and the 1991 Upper Deck with 3 Rickey's in one has always been one of my favorites.



He also sent some greater cards of newer A's, some of which I didn't even know existed. The Daric Barton Topps from National Baseball Card Day s pretty sweet, as is the Mike Piazza insert, which was exclusive to Wal-Mart (well, as exclusive as Wal-Mart can be). The Matt Murton is also the first A's card that I've received from this years Topps Update & Highlights set.



The top cards are two serial numbered parallels, with the Barton (#/149) being either Brown or Bronze, I'm not quite sure (anyone know?). The Haren and Chavez are minis from 2006 Bowman Heritage, and are the first ones that I've scene, but I definitely wouldn't mind getting more!



Also included in the package were various vintage A's cards, which are always fun since I didn't start collecting until 1987. Although more recent, you can never go wrong with a Fleer sticker.



The next card is from a pretty neat little insert set, featuring the programs from past World Series. This one is from the 1989 Battle of the Bay, where the A's (and Rickey!) handed it to the Giants. Unfortunately, this is also the last time that the A's have won a World Series.



We finally have a few 2008 Moments & Milestones, featuring Frank Thomas and Nick Swisher. I already had an Eric Chavez from the set, and although I know there are a ton of parallels, I now only need a base card from Jack Cust and Huston Street to have a card from each A's player included in the base set.

Trade With Night Owl

I sent Night Owl a stack of Dodgers about a month ago, and I got back a nice stack of A's not to long afterwards. I've been way behind in posting my trades, but I hope to catch up before the end of the year. Below are some of my favorite cards from the trade.


The Harden Topps Opening Day was the only card that I still needed for the 2008 set, so it is now complete. Night Owl also sent over two Allen & Ginter mini parallels of Joe Blanton, a black border (the only one I have), as well as an A&G back.



These are the first 2007 Topps Heritage base cards that I've received, and I really like them. I have a few Heritage rookies from last year, but the card design is different than from the base. I also got three Topps Opening Day cards that I needed, with my favorite of course being Stomper. It's not too often that you see cards of the teams mascots.



Last, but certainly not least, is this assortment of older A's cards and inserts. I love the Rick Monday "Rookie Cup" card with the Kansas City A's jersey, which is also serial numbered to 299. The interesting thing about the Chavez card, is the lack of fans in the stands. I know the A's don't draw like the Yankees, but those are premium seats down the 3rd base line, and are always full. My guess is this was taken sometime during warm-ups, but who knows.

Trade With Boxbusters

A few weeks ago I contacted Will at Boxbusters, asking if he'd be interested in an A's for Cardinals trade. I sent him about 50 cards, and he sent me the same in return.



The first half of the pack contained some 2008 A's that I still needed. I was actually a fan of the 2008 Topps design this year, but the Chrome versions look even better (although not when scanned)! I had the refractor parallel of the Chavez already, but now I have the base card to go along with it.



The Chavez card from Upper Deck Update is my favorite of this next batch. I love the picture of him snagging the liner out of the air. It almost looks like he's stretching for the ball at first base, but considering he's a third baseman, and the A's bullpen is behind him, I know that's not the case. Plus, there's no base to be seen.





The second half of the package contained some great older A's cards. I've always liked 1992 Stadium Club, with my favorite part being the picture of the players Topps rookie card on the back.



Finally, we have some 1987 Donruss, a single 1991 Score, and a stack of 1991 Donruss. I started collecting in 1987, and purchased a lot of Topps, but I don't think I got a single pack of Donruss for some reason. I've always been a fan of the early Score inserts, as you always got something interesting in every pack.