Saints of the Cheap Seats

2012 Topps baseball

2012-01-23T09:35:00.004-05:00

Haven't seen or heard much about it, but the 2012 Topps Baseball Series 1 is almost here. It should be out this week or next, according to the local shop.

There are a couple of interesting features in this year's set. First, Topps is doing a Gold Rush promo with a wrapper redemption (keep those wrappers, boy and girls!) and special Willy Wonka-esque Golden Tickets for a "gold-infused autographed baseball" of Mays, Aaron & Griffey. Hmmmm....

Second, there are all the expected hits: autos, auto-relics, relics, cut sigs, silks, patches, plus a few new wrinkles: pin cards, ring cards, coin cards, and gold-infused cards. (Are they taking the gold theme to the extreme, or what?!)

Third, the inserts are plentiful and abundant: Golden Moments, Golden Greats, Classic Walk-offs, Gold Standard, Gold Futures (more gold!), Timeless Talents, and 1987 minis. Not bad - not too many sets to collect.

The design is, um, how do you say it, um... Boring. Reminds me of Lineage. It also looks like the revenge of the parallels is back.

The special Gold Rush redemption cards are pretty interesting, with a beautifully-designed autograph card. I'd love to get the Koufax!

Here is the link to the checklist. Enjoy, and good luck!

The Greatest Card . . . EVAH!

2011-10-27T19:48:00.001-04:00

Little did I know that, when I picked the name for this blog, that I would find a set of cards that reflects my sentiments. But I did. And with a Jim Thome card, too.

Is this an awesome card. Or what! It is a foldout, and I'm leaving like it is, with poor ol' Big Jim stuck in between the seat back and the folded up seat. It's die-cut, too, so that the seat-back is just like the one you sit on at the park.

Only much smaller.

And made out of cardboard.

Don't sit on Big Jim.

Headlines that never were but should be...

2011-10-13T12:19:00.004-04:00

RED SOX PURPOSELY TANK IN SEPTEMBER

Miss Playoffs So They Can Draft Andrew Luck

Once they sobered up, realized they were in the wrong league!

Ozzie Guillen is antisemitic

2011-09-21T07:53:00.001-04:00

Ozzie Guillen did something he should probably never do again.

He opened his mouth and spoke.

This time, he didn't just insult a player, coach, umpire, owner, hot dog vendor, or MLB executive. This time the idiot insulted an entire religion and culture. Here is what he said in regards to a contract extension he desires:

"The future, only two Gods know: Jerry's God and the real God."

Jerry is Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the White Sox who happens to be Jewish. So, is what Oz-head is saying that Adonai, as Jews call God, is not "real?" That God is not the same God for Jews and Christians? I'm sorry, I need a bit of clarification, but didn't Christianity arise out of Judaism? Isn't it supposedly the same God?

Jerry shouldn't fire Ozzie. Ozzie should remove himself due to his stupidity and insensitivity.

What a frickin' dumb-ass.

A Gypsy Queen hipmotized me!

2011-04-29T15:33:00.012-04:00

I have never seen a "hot box" opened before, besides the stacked ones that Beckett gets from the manufacturers. I didn't even believe they really existed. Kinda like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and friendly border agents.

Until I opened one.

I wandered into my local shop and saw they had the new 2011 Gypsy Queen cards. I was intrigued, but he didn't have any opened to look at. The price was okay, and he said it was going to go up. So I jumped and bought an unopened box on his shelf. Joshua and I opened it up, and were surprised to get first one hit, then two, then another . . . until we had found seven hits in the box, plus a short-printed mini. The box doesn't even say how many you are supposed to get, but the word on the street is four hits per. So I don't think I did too bad, especially considering the hits I got.

First, the basic hits. A Ryan Howard jersey, and a Jose Bautista autograph. I love the fact that these are on-card autographs. Somehow knowing that the player actually sat in front of that card and signed it seems a lot better than someone signing thirty-gazillion stickers.

Next, a Nelson Cruz auto and game-used jersey. Again, on-card autograph, and a nice red jersey instead of the basic white or gray, and it is numbered out of 25.

Next, a Cal Ripken, Jr. mini relic. This is exactly like the Allen & Ginter or T206 mini relics, encased in a hard plastic shell. Gotta love getting a Ripken.

Next, a Brian Matusz cyan printing plate, 1 of 1! I think my son has pulled a 1 of 1 before, probably a plate, but the best I've done is a 2 of 3. Pretty cool! But wait, there's more...

That's right. I got a second printing plate, this one a yellow "press plate" of Ryan Kalish. These are for the gold-framed parallel set, I believe. Oh, yeah, and one more.

An A.J. Burnett stamp card, numbered out of 10. I'm not sure what Arkansas River Navigation has to do with A.J. Maybe it's a birth-year thing like Heritage coin cards.

I also got a sepia mini of Tom Seaver in a Mets uni, numbered to 99, a few black minis, four Gypsy-back minis (think "A&G-back minis"), and six gold-frame cards numbered to 999. Not a bad haul! I will probably put some or most of the hits on eBay, so if you are interested in one, let me know by Sunday evening.

Here are some more scans of the cards so you can determine if you want to buy a pack or ten of 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen. The first is the back to the Gypsy card at the beginning of the post. Not the normal witty blurb. Is this some kind of Gypsy tarot card?

Gypsy Queen

Base

Future Stars insert set

The Great Ones insert set

Gold framed parallels, #/999

Sepia mini, #/99

Black mini

Gypsy-back mini

Heritage Hits up for grabs

2011-03-26T10:25:00.005-04:00

Before I put these on eBay, I'd thought I'd give my trading partners some time to make me an offer on the two case hits that I got from 2011 Heritage. The first you saw in my review: the Baseball Flashback Stadium Memorabilia relic from Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. It is inserted at a rate of 1 per 1,175 packs! This is a fairly rare item, so I am putting a book value for trade of bv100 on it.

The second is a Darryl Strawberry '62 Mint Coin relic card. It is a good 4 mm thick, and is inserted at a rate of 1 per 236 packs. It is selling on eBay for $20 to $50, so I am looking for bv100 in trade.

If you are interested, email me at the address in the right-hand column here. Thanks.

Under the Radar Trade

2011-03-23T07:44:00.000-04:00

I picked up a cheap box of Topps 206 last year, and although I did not get any fantastic hits, so I thought, I did get some minis, one of which was a Cycle-back Cal Ripken, numbered to 99. Some of you may have seen it on The Bench, where I do a lot of trading. What surprised me about that card, though, was the book value - another reason to be skeptical of Beckett, but who am I to argue if it nets me a fantastic vintage card.

The Ripken Cycle mini has a bv of 100!

In trade, that can grab some real nice goodies, or in this case, a fantastic 1961 Yogi Berra card in near-mint condition.

Who's complaining? Not me.

Heritage and Vintage

2011-03-22T07:37:00.004-04:00

Going through my vintage cards to find and scan the Indians to put in my Picasa folder, I came across a few cards that I did not remember I had. This one especially stuck out.

Hmmm, that looks familiar . . .

Topps went for accuracy with the Heritage this year, and I'd say they did a mighty fine job of it. Another reason to love this year's Heritage. I know Chris Harris over at Stale Gum "Loves it! Loves it! Loves it!"

2011 Topps Heritage First Look and Review

2011-03-16T21:44:00.008-04:00

I'm very pleased with my two boxes of 2011 Topps Heritage. I love the design, which is based on the 1962 Topps design, wood-grain background and big bold yellow geometrical shapes. The pictures, however, remind me a bit of the misguided 2009 O-Pee-Chee, with some of them lower resolution and taken with strange-looking expressions on the faces of the players. Take these, for example:

Go figure. Maybe the pictures in 1962 were a bit suspect, as well, so they are being very true to the original design, although I would hope and expect to see improvements.

The inserts are nothing new, with the same four groups as last year, and the year before that. The relics are similar, and the autographs are of players I hardly recognize, except for the three biggies that Topps corralled this year: Aaron, Koufax and Gibson. Unfortunately, I didn't get an autograph of any of them. In fact, I didn't get any autograph at all! Two boxes, two relics. I must admit that one of them is probably a case hit, but it's kinda disappointing, anyways.

Design

Love it!

Collation

Much, much, much better than last year's Heritage or Topps Update. From two boxes, I have only 80 base to go, and I only got 73 doubles. No trips, either. That's a pretty good start on this set.

Short Prints

Same as last year, with 426 to 500 short printed. However, I did come across something unusual. There is a series of Babe Ruth cards from 136 to 144, chronicling his career. But then I pulled another 136, this one of Jackie Robinson:

It's some sort of short print, I believe. Don't you wish Topps would let us know about cards like this (Diamond star cards, anyone?) beforehand so that we don't start trading cards away without realizing it.

Chrome inserts

I could probably do without these, although if I were to pull a Pujols or Heyward or Freeman black chrome refractor, I wouldn't be complaining nearly as much. I got three per box, including one refractor of Ramon Hernandez. For comparison, there is a (funny-looking) Cliff Lee chrome.

Insert Sets

Baseball Flashbacks, News Flashbacks, Then & Now, and New Age Performers. Short printed. I got seven per box.

Hits

What you were all waiting for . . . drumroll please . . . badadadadadadadadadada . . .

. . . WAAA! WAAA! WAAAAAAAAAAAA! (muted trumpet sound)

No Koufax autograph. No Aaron autograph. No Gibson autograph. No autograph! oh-fer-two!

I did get a nice Hamilton bat relic:

I also got this Hoyt Wilhelm flashback stadium relic from Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. (I think Baltimore is haunting me this year, as the only black-border parallel I got from base Topps is the Orioles team card.) If you look at the odds, though, it is 1:1175 packs. So I guess that is a case hit. A bit disappointing, but it should bring a nice card in trade.

Box-toppers

I pulled one of the Baseball Bucks out of the first box. My shop owner was so excited to see these, then was terribly disappointed when he finally saw it:

It almost looks as if it was made on a copier! Maybe there are different ones, but this one was sure disappointing.

However, the second box made up for it, as I got two - yes, two! - box-toppers. First, a Padres team card ad panel. In addition, there was another pack with this in it:

That's right. A 1962 buyback of Ron Fairly. I think I remember him with the Expos, but that was in the 70's, I'm sure. Anyways, a nice addition to the collection, and it is in excellent condition. Check the back out (click on it for a larger view).

Overall Score: A-

I take off a point for the unimaginative insert sets and the lousy photography in some of the pictures. Other than that, and no auto, I absolutely love this set, better than the last few years of Heritage. This is a fine addition to the Heritage line. Keep up the good work, Topps, and don't be afraid to improve on a good product.

I have some big-name doubles, so if you need any, let me know. My wantlist is up-to-date with 2011 Heritage. I would also be looking for any Indians relics or refractors. Please DON"T leave comments here, as I probably won't see them soon. Send an email - the address is in the right column.

doubles: 1, 30, 31, 32, 33, 43, 46, 48, 50, 61, 62, 64, 71, 92, 96, 98, 102, 104, 108, 116, 117, 128, 131, 138, 143, 144, 152, 153, 156, 159, 165, 182, 185, 194, 199, 202, 206, 209, 213, 238, 239, 242, 247, 260, 269, 272, 273, 274, 286, 288, 290, 300, 305, 309, 313, 322, 324, 330, 333, 337, 344, 360, 361, 370, 384, 390, 392, 394, 395, 406, 408, 421, 417, CL1, CL5, CL6

1999 Sports Illustrated Greats of the Game

2011-03-07T10:41:00.002-05:00

I am starting a new series which should get me blogging again on a more regular basis. I have been MIA after getting bored with blogging and busy with family and school, but now I need a more regular schedule to keep me focused, so this is one aspect of that.

I will be going through the 1999 Fleer series that many of you have seen, the Greats of the Game that includes photographs from Sports Illustrated. I completed the autograph set a while ago, and would like to share it with everyone.

Today's card is of Tommy Agee, the outfielder for the Mets. He started his career with the Indians in 1962, making his first appearance at the age of 19! However, he only had 31 at bats total over three seasons in the Cleveland system, and in another brilliant Cleveland trade (sarcasm dripping), was sent to the White Sox with John Romano and a pitching prospect named Tommy John (DOH!) as part of a three-team trade that brought Rocky Colavito back to the Indians from Kansas City, along with Cam Carreon. I think that the Indians front office was trying to make up for the infamous trade, and its eponymous curse, that sent Colavito to the Tigers for Harvey Kuenn.

Agee seasoned for one more year in the White Sox farm, then had his breakout season in 1966, earning him an All Star appearance, a Gold Glove, a Rookie of the Year award, and enough votes to come in 8th for the MVP award. That year, he hit .273 with a .447 slugging percentage, 22 home runs, 86 RBI's and 44 stolen bases! Not only was he a power hitter and run-maker, but he could fly!

He regressed the next two years and was traded to the Mets after the 1967 season, but found his stroke again in 1969, when he pounded the ball for an OPS of .806. He came in sixth in the MVP race that year, and followed up that year with two more years of .800 OPS.

Agee played until 1973, a rather short career for someone who had so much promise at such a young age, and showed flashes of brilliance. He ended his career with a .255 batting average, 130 home runs, 433 RBI's, 167 stolen bases and an OPS of .732.

Tommy Agee, born in rural Alabama, died in 2001 at the age of only 58.

Separated at Birth III

2011-02-15T06:00:00.000-05:00

Separated at Birth II

2011-02-14T05:58:00.000-05:00

A Big Smile!

2011-02-12T17:36:00.002-05:00

I know I haven't been posting a lot lately, or even minimally. I have no excuse, except for Life. Sometimes it intervenes.

I have, however, continued to trade and even buy and sell a few cards. Recently, I came upon a card I just had to have. Have you ever come across one of those? You know the card. A player you collect. Maybe your team. Something so incredible that money was no object, or at least you were willing to pay a little more than you normally would.

Well, I had to have this card:

I don't know about you, but it certainly made me smile.

Not only is it a Thome autograph, which I would gladly take, but it is one of the most unique patches, aside from the Cubs' bear rump, I have ever seen. How much more perfect could this card be?!!? Not only is it a larger size patch, but it is a well-designed card with a well-placed sticker auto that is not simply stuck onto the front, but embedded in the card. This one is going right into the PC.

Topps Heritage wantlists

2011-02-05T11:01:00.017-05:00

(updated 01/01/2012)

(greyed-out numbers are no longer needed)

(purple means trade is pending)

(HIGH PRIORITY are in RED)

2011 Topps Heritage
base: COMPLETE!
SP: 430, 431, 438, 439, 444, 450, 460, 461, 463, 466, 469, 472, 477, 480, 487, 490, 493, 494, 495, 499
New Age Performer: 1, 15
Jackie Robinson var SP: 135, 138, 142, 143

2010 Topps Heritage
base: COMPLETE!
SP: 430, 431, 437, 438, 439, 444, 446, 455, 456, 460, 463, 465, 466, 467, 468, 469, 473, 474, 476, 478, 480, 485, 487, 488, 490, 493, 494, 495, 496, 498, 499

2009 Topps Heritage
base: COMPLETE!
SP: 429, 432, 433, 434, 440, 449, 451, 453, 454, 462, 464, 466, 467, 473, 474, 476, 477, 484, 486, 489, 490, 491, 492, 493, 494
New Age Performer: 7, 14
Walmart Mayo (WME): AP, DM, DW, EL, JH, MR, TL, VG

2008 Topps Heritage
base: COMPLETE!
SP: 430, 435, 452
Rookie Performers: RP1, RP2, RP3, RP4, RP5, RP7, RP9, RP12

2007 Topps Heritage

base: COMPLETE!

SPs: 4, 5, 14, 31, 32, 40, 41, 50, 67, 68, 95, 103, 104, 112, 113, 121, 131, 139, 140, 149, 150, 159, 185, 186, 194, 195, 212, 213, 221, 230, 231, 239, 257, 258, 266, 267, 275, 276, 285, 293, 294, 312, 329, 339, 347, 348, 357, 365, 366, 383, 384, 392, 393, 411, 420, 428, 429, 437, 438, 446, 455, 465, 473, 474, 491, 492

SP Variations (need):

Yellow Team Name: 13, 20, 33, 52, 58, 77

Yellow Player Name: 24, 92, 101

New Age Performer: 2, 3, 4, 6, 11

2006 Topps Heritage

base (have): 1, 15, 23, 28, 47, 50, 58, 64, 80, 81, 90, 140, 148, 165, 168, 174, 175, 178, 189, 190, 198, 200, 204, 213, 219, 220, 227, 244, 267, 270, 274, 275, 278, 289, 291, 292, 316, 328, 359, 366, 382, 396, 399, 416, 422, 445, 446, 459, 479, 481, 484,

SP variations (have): 200, 475
Baseball Flashback: MM, YB, BRI

New Age Performers: AP, BB, DL, DO, GM, GS, MR, MT, RC

Then & Now (need): 1, 3, 5, 7, 8

2005 Topps Heritage

base (have): 6, 55, 111, 222, 258, 285, 286, 292, 417, 418, 431

SP variations (have): 118, 286, 389
Flashback (need): HA, LA, SM
New Age Performer (need): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14
Then & Now (need): 1, 10

2004 Topps Heritage

base: 4, 28, 47, 92, 110, 123, 124, 194, 195, 198, 200, 210, 227, 298, 364, 398, 399, 400, 404, 409, 410, 413, 414, 415, 417, 424, 425, 426, 428, 432, 433, 435, 436, 437, 438, 440, 441, 442, 443, 445, 446, 448, 449, 451, 453, 454, 455, 456, 457, 458, 459, 461, 463, 465, 466, 468, 469, 470, 472

SP/Variations: 1, 8, 10, 30, 40, 49, 60, 85, 180, 182, 200, 213, 250, 311, 342

New Age Performer: 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 14 ,15

Then & Now: 5

2003 Topps Heritage

base: 25

SP/Variations: 7, 10, 11, 30, 85, 94, 100, 128, 132, 139, 141, 150, 156, 170, 175, 190, 200, 201, 239, 250, 260, 302, 325, 340, 364, 365, 366, 367, 368, 369, 370, 371, 372, 373, 374, 375, 376, 377, 378, 379, 380, 381, 382, 383, 384, 385, 386, 387, 388, 389, 390, 391, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 398, 399, 400, 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 409, 410, 411, 412, 413, 414, 415, 416, 417, 418, 419, 421, 422, 423, 424, 425, 426, 427, 428, 429, 430

Flashback: 4, 5, 9

New Age Performer: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 ,15

Then & Now: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

2002 Topps Heritage

base: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29, 31, 32, 34, 36, 37, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 58, 60, 62, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 72, 73, 76, 77, 78, 80, 81, 83, 84, 85, 86, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 104, 106, 107, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 118, 121, 124, 126, 127, 133, 134, 138, 142, 144, 145, 149, 155, 158, 159, 160, 162, 164, 170, 173, 174, 176, 177, 178, 180, 181, 182, 183, 185, 188, 189, 190, 192, 193, 196, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 212, 213, 214, 215, 217, 218, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 231, 234, 235, 236, 239, 240, 241, 243, 244, 246, 247, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 259, 260, 261, 262, 265, 267, 268, 270, 271, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 283, 284, 286, 287, 288, 289, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 301, 302, 306, 311, 313, 314, 317, 320, 322, 323, 325, 327, 332, 333, 334, 335, 337, 339, 342, 343, 344, 350, 351, 353, 354, 355, 357, 359, 363

SPs: 364, 366, 367, 368, 369, 370, 372, 373, 374, 375, 376, 377, 378, 380, 381, 383, 384, 386, 387, 388, 389, 390, 392, 393, 395, 396, 397, 398, 399, 400, 401, 403, 406, 407, 408, 409, 410, 411, 412, 413, 414, 416, 417, 418, 420, 421, 422, 423, 424, 425, 427, 428, 430, 431, 432, 434, 435, 436, 437, 439, 440, 441, 442, 443, 444, 445, 446

Classic Renditions: 9

New Age Performer: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 12, 13

2001 Topps Heritage

base (have): 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 65, 70, 71, 73, 74, 81, 83, 84, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 92, 94, 95, 96, 98, 99, 310

Classic Renditions: 9

New Age Performer: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13 ,15

Then & Now: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Sweet!

2010-12-15T12:07:00.003-05:00

Sweet Spot, that is. Couldn't you tell that it is probably my favorite type of card? Love the autos. Love the manufactured ball or bat or glove leather. Love the designs (except for '07 and '08 - I can live without those.) Love the collection of HOFers that have signed them. Here is my latest, courtesy of eBay:

I picked this up for only $35, while I recently saw a Robin Yount Greats of the Game autograph go for over $300! I love getting the autos of players I've seen play who are now in the Hall of Fame. Molitor, Ozzie, Bench, Gwynn, Ripken. Add one more to the collection.

Found Treasure

2010-12-10T13:45:00.003-05:00

You may have read my Blog Bat-around post from several years ago on my father and his amazing autograph book. It is truly a gem, a rare piece of history. If you haven't read it, go to the link in the right column titled A Father's Tale.

Looking through it recently, I settled on the miscellaneous pieces of paper that had collected in its back pages. There are a variety of autographs, some on the back of an old song sheet, some on my grandfather's business cards. A folded up notebook sheet with some 70's Indians on it, including Jim and Gaylord Perry.

One particular piece never bothered being noticed, more than just a cursory glance, until recently. I took a good, hard look at it. What I thought was Harry something-or-other was this:

I couldn't figure it out until right then. It hit me like a thunderbolt.

Hank Greenberg.

Holy Shitake Mushrooms!!!!!!

I checked quickly on eBay to see if there were any other Hank Greenberg autographs. Sure enough, a few pop up, and there are the telltale signs. The swoopy "H" and the looped and skinny "G"!

There has been a Hank Greenberg autograph in my dad's autograph book for 70 years, the last dozen or so with me, and I didn't even know it! OMG!!! (Sorry, I had to throw that in there. My kids turn 13 on Monday, and I need to keep up with their lingo!)

Has anyone else ever realized that, right under their noses, lies a treasure like this?

Another HOF auto

2010-12-04T16:48:00.003-05:00

One more HOF auto that I've bought with the proceeds from that Jeter bat barrel nameplate that I sold:

Everyone know who this is, so there is no need to describe his feats, his fielding prowess, his daily backflips before each game, or his Wizardry.

Add this to the list of HOFers whose autographs I now have.

Even more bounty

2010-11-29T09:27:00.004-05:00

I keep finding autograph cards that are too juicy, too irresistible to pass up.

Another Hall of Famer autograph, had for a nice price off of eBay (about $29). He also has one of the nicest autographs out there. (I really love the Sweet Spot autographs, if you couldn't tell!)

At a recent Collectorfest, a monthly card show, two nice Italian boys showed up:

Joe Altobelli is Mr. Rochester Red Wings, having served in one capacity or another for the team (now the Minnesota Twins Triple-A affiliate), was also the manager of the Orioles the last time they won the World Series in 1983. Mr. Altobelli was the first-year manager of the Orioles, and lasted two more years, but didn't win another World Series.

Johnny Antonelli was a big-time pitcher for the New York Giants who won 21 games in 1954, culminating with a victory in Game 2 of the 1954 World Series against my beloved Cleveland Indians. His stat line for that game is interesting:

New York Giants	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Antonelli W(1-0)	9.0	8	1	1	6	9

Eight hits and six walks in nine innings, but only letting up one home run to Al Smith leading off the game. Another nail in the coffin of the Indians.

Both were very gracious and signed hundreds of autographs for $5 apiece, all going to The Wilmot Cancer Center. I was more than happy to wait for two autographs each and to chat for a minute with them. The two of them started discussing their favorite restaurants in Cleveland (which I doubt was still there when I grew up in Cleveland), although Mr. Antonelli did mention his affinity for Little Italy on Mayfield Hill in Cleveland. They both commented on what a thrill it was to win a World Series, and Mr. Antonelli had his 1954 World Champion ring on.

Johnny Antonelli still has a thick Italian accent, which I really enjoyed listening to.

More bounty

2010-10-30T11:17:00.006-04:00

My post-sale spending binge continues, with a few excellent buys of players who were the ones I wanted to be like when I was growing up in the 70's and 80's.

Carlton Fisk, Tim Raines, Paul Molitor and George Brett. Beautiful cards, all HOFers (or should be, since Raines was nearly as good as Ricky Henderson), and all on-card signatures.

My favorite was Brett, who had the sweetest swing I can remember. He once talked about his hitting and how his top hand turns over when he hits through the ball, putting topspin on it so that it skids through the infield on the concree-turf at Kaufman Stadium. Smart player, excellent fielder, leader, and when he needed to be, a fierce competitor. Most of us have probably seen one of the best rants in baseball EVER!

Monty Hall says...

2010-10-28T13:46:00.004-04:00

Let's Make a Deal!

For all you kids too young to remember that, see this link on YouTube.

My tradelist is updated here, so if you have a need for 2010 Topps, Topps Updates, Chrome, A&G, or many other sets from the 2000's, please check it and let me know what you need. Then you can check my wantlists here to see what I need. Let's make a trade!

What I did on my summer vacation...

2010-10-26T09:58:00.003-04:00

...or, What happened after I got laid off.

Yep, I was walked out the door in July, which gave me an interesting perspective on corporate management. The economic downturn hurt my company, whose initials are *@$*# (sorry, can't say them due to non-disclosure agreements) but they also made terrible decisions, lost BIG contracts, and severely messed up new contract proposals. So guys like me get a pink slip, and the management who made the missteps get bonuses.

It didn't take me long, though, to decide that I don't want to be an engineer anymore, so I am going back to school to get my certification to be a high school physics teacher. My high school physics teacher was the biggest influence on my choice of college and career, so I want to be thought of in the same way. I'm taking one course right now, but I am applying for the spring semester and will hopefully be going full-time starting in January.

I've also cut back on buying cards over the last three months since then, but recently I got a BIG shot in the arm to help me get some of the cards I've desired for a while. I finally got my asking price for the Jeter Sweet Spot bat barrel nameplate I pulled in the spring, put half of that in the bank, then have gone on a small but significant shopping spree. Here are a few of the cards that I've purchased with the proceeds:

I'm not going out and blowing money on the first one I find. I'm looking for good deals, and waiting until I find the right one. The Pujols, for example, I got for under $200, his supposed going rate for autos. The Aaron is a 1994 Topps Archive RC reprint. The signature is very nice, and probably authentic, as compared to some of the Aaron autos you see now which are sloppy and, rumor has it, are signed by someone else.

I've also got my eye on a few other classic autos, like George Brett, Paul Molitor, Tony Gwynn and Robin Yount. Any other suggestions?

2010 Topps Updates & Highlights Review

2010-10-25T08:54:00.003-04:00

Decent.

That's all.

Not great.

Not bad.

The Hits: Nick Swisher Black Bat (12/25), Joey Votto All-Star workout jersey, Ricky Romero Peak Performance autograph (redemption), Strasburg #661, Gibson SP #661, Cliff Lee gold-border.

What I like: Continuation of a good set, with some great photography and an excellent design.

What I didn't like: Too many inserts again. Redemption Peak Performance auto. Manufactured relics.

What makes me really angry: I buy the Jumbo boxes because it gives me the complete set along with a few more hits and inserts than the wax box. This time, however, I ended up about 150 cards short of a full set. I only got half of the cards! What the...! If I had known that, I would have saved 30% and bought the wax box. Now I have to trade for the rest, or buy another box. Damn!

Steinbrenner has died

2010-07-13T10:47:00.003-04:00

Love him or hate him, it is a sad day for baseball as one of the most visible, vocal, controversial and powerful owners in the history of the league has passed away at the age of 80. No report on what the cause of death was, but he has been ill for several years.

Personally, I wish he had bought his hometown Indians in the 70's instead of the Yankees.

Rest in peace, George. We know you are up there arguing with Billy!

Baseball stamps from the US Postal Service

2010-07-09T13:11:00.004-04:00

On July 15th, the U.S. Postal Service will release Negro Leagues Baseball stamps. They are two stamps that comprise a single side-by-side design. Here is the excerpt from the USPS.com website:

On July 15, 2010, in Kansas City, Missouri, the Postal Service™ will issue a 44–cent, Negro Leagues Baseball commemorative stamp in two se-tenant designs, designed by Howard E. Paine of Delaplane, Virginia.

The Negro Leagues Baseball stamp pays tribute to the all–black professional baseball leagues that operated from 1920 to about 1960. Considered the “father” of Negro leagues baseball, Andrew “Rube” Foster (1879–1930) established the Negro National League in 1920, the first successful league of African–American baseball teams. Although no longer a vital component of American baseball after about 1960, the Negro leagues led to lasting changes within the sport. The two se–tenant stamps feature a scene painted by Kadir Nelson of San Diego, California.

It is great to see the Post Office, and lately many others, paying tribute to these men who braved a great deal to play a kid's game which they loved. Some of them were eventually accepted by the Major Leagues, but most never got a fair shake or a chance. All players today owe them a great deal.

Get out my soapbox!

2010-07-09T07:13:00.003-04:00

I'm used to it. Disappointment. Heartache. Anger.

Of course, I'm talking about the LeBron James spectacle.

I grew up as an avid fan of three of the worst teams in their respective leagues. The Cavaliers were always average or below, even when they had good seasons. The little things always meant big things to Cleveland. Mike Mitchell making the All-Star Team when the game was in Cleveland. The Cavs run in the playoffs which ended well before the Championship being termed "The Miracle of Richfield." The disappointment and heartbreak of "The Shot," where Michael Jordan sank a last-second shot to beat the Cavs. No championships in the forty years of the franchise.

Now this.

I'm not mad or angry or homicidal. I don't begrudge Mr. James anything. If he wants to play with D-Wade and Bosh in Miami, more power to him. I hope he does well, just not TOO well!

I am very disillusioned with the media. Everyone seems to be blaming James for the whole circus that culminated with that silly show last night. But apart from that show, James said nothing and did nothing until then to bring attention to himself. He had his meetings in private in a hotel in Cleveland, did not invite attention or ask a film crew to follow him around (a la Bosh and Wade), and conducted his business as just that: business. The media, especially ESPN, played this up to unprecedented levels and hyped it all the way to the bank. They followed every move, took every picture, reported every rumor no matter how far-fetched, and beat that horse until it was dead five times over. In this case, shoot the messenger. Please!

The entity that I am most sympathetic to and sorry for is the City of Cleveland, my hometown. It has endured so much, given so much, laid bare its soul and emotions with so little in return, that now it has fallen so far so fast by just one decision with nothing to show for it. In fact, this is being termed "The Decision," another single-named disappointment for the good people of Cleveland. "The Shot," "The Fumble," "The Drive," "The Catch," etc. To go along with "Red Right 88" and the oh-so-close, one out from winning the 1997 World Series.

I have had a lifetime of disappointment in my hometown's sports. Literally. The last championship for any Cleveland team was 1964. The year I was born! Not one! Three championship series (two for the Indians, one for the Cavaliers, none for the Browns) in 45 years!

That's sad. And disappointing. But I'm used to it, unfortunately.

$6 Box of 1993 Stadium Club Series 3

2010-07-05T09:14:00.010-04:00

My local dealer had someone bring in "old" (in terms of my kids) shrink-wrapped boxes of cards, including two boxes of 1993 Topps Stadium Club Series 3.

24 packs per box, 14 "Super Premium" Picture Cards per pack. Real wax, but no gum. For only $6, how could I go wrong? I couldn't, as it turns out.

Pack 1:

Official 1993 Stadium Club Membership Form - for only $29.95 per year, you get the opportunity to buy more cards exclusively! Oh, yeah, they send you some special cards, too.
#665 Greg Maddux
#682 Kevin Stocker
#664 Doug Dascenzo
#686 Tim Wallach
#657 Kevin Seitzer - "Kevin puts up outstanding numbers on artificial turf." Good thing he played in the 90's and not today or the 50's.
#678 Otis Nixon
#725 Jon Shave
#644 Tony Fernandez
#722 Kevin Young
#640 Dave Martinez - "Dave is a fine leadoff hitter." How's that for a ringing endorsement!
#626 Steve Avery - "Steve is nearly unhittable through the first six innings." Too bad he couldn't make it through the 7th.
#637 Tom Henke
#746 Frank Thomas Members Choice

Pack 2

Official 1993 Stadium Club InfoCard

#611 Chili Davis - For some odd reason, here in Upstate New York, we have a town named Chili but pronounce it "Chy-lie"!!!

#719 J.T. Snow - I didn't know he was drafted by the Yankees.

#639 Jimmy Key

#683 Jim Converse - The inventor of Converse Shoes. This is his Rookie Card.

#646 Joe Magrane

#624 Bud Black - "Bud looks forward to Independence Day." Huh? Does that mean he is better in the month of July?

#734 John Johnstone

#742 Damon Buford

#632 Bobby Kelly - Is this Roberto?

#659 Norm Charlton

#688 Robby Thompson

#628 Gregg Jefferies

#723 Charlie Liebrandt

#680 Mark Carreon - An unfortunate name for a journeyman player.

#732 Mike Draper - Also starred in Mad Men.

Pack 3

Stadium Club Master Photo Winner Brien Taylor

#673 Kirk Gibson - "Kirk is ready for the first pitch" 0-0 count stats: .370 avg!

#728 Todd Worrell

#718 David Nied

#662 Dan Wilson

#602 Jeff Reardon - "Jeff has always been tough when it matters most."

#668 Harold Reynolds - "Harold is a productive #9 hitter." Ahem, not a ringing endorsement.

#714 Brian Williams

#684 Barry Bonds - Back when he was reasonbly proportioned.

#630 Javy Lopez

#733 Henry Mercedes

#643 Alan Mills

#694 Kevin Mitchell

#676 Ricky Gutierrez - "Ricky sees the ball much better during the day." And he's got a great personality!

Pack 4

Stadium Club InfoCard

#661 Fernando Valanzuela - The Original Vuvuzela, 20 years earlier.

#663 Mark Gardner - "Mark likes pitching on natural grass." Not harder drugs.

#674 Steve Reed

#742 Damon Buford

#734 John Johnstone

#637 Tom Henke

#670 Al Leiter

#615 Jim Abbott - Absolutely an inspiration.

#609 Dave Winfield - One of the all-time great multi-sport athletes, along with Thorpe.

#656 Mike Harkey - "Mike has haunted Houston over the past three years." He's not dead yet!

#635 Jeff Russell

#614 Phil Plantier

#613 Mark Williamson

#748 Roger Clemens Members Choice

What I Need, from 1980 on

2010-07-02T11:39:00.076-04:00

(updated 01/23/2012)
(greyed-out numbers are no longer needed)
(purple means trade is pending)
(HIGH PRIORITY are in RED)

Topps Heritage wantlists can be found here.
Vintage wantlists can be found here.

2011 Topps, including Update
base: COMPLETE!
Kimball Champions Minis (KC): 85, 128
Diamond Duos Update (DD): 1, 22
Toppstown Series II (TT2): 42
Toppstown Update (TTU): 2, 4, 7, 9, 12, 14, 18, 20, 26, 34, 39, 44

SP variations: 20-Wagner, 80-Jackie Robinson, 90-Berra, 199-Ozzie Smith, 200-Cobb, 219-Munson, 247-Banks, 250-Ott, 405-Sandberg, 425-Mize, 435-Reese, 450-Mantle, 480-Alomar, 510-Aaron, 516-Seaver, 530-Koufax, 570-Blyleven, 630-Morgan, 640-Matthews
Update SP variations: US7-Mantle, US20-Wagner, US21-McCovey, US31-O'Neill, US42-Frank Thomas, US100-Musial, US140-Koufax, US154-Ruth, US207-Frank Robinson, US209-Campanella, US238-Strawberry, US247-Banks, US249-Ozzie Smith, US250-Ott

2011 60 Years of Topps Original Backs:
10 Juan Marichal 1961

18 Tom Seaver 1969

31 Jim Palmer 1982

32 Ozzie Smith 1983

37 Greg Maddux 1988

42 Jim Edmonds 1993

45 Mickey Mantle 1996

55 Ryan Howard 2006

57 Johnny Cueto 2008

58 Joe Mauer 2009

62 Jackie Robinson 1954

64 Mickey Mantle 1956

67 Richie Ashburn 1959

69 Stan Musial 1961

71 Duke Snider 1963

72 Carl Yastrzemski 1964

78 Tom Seaver 1970

81 Rich Gossage 1973

82 Dave Parker 1974

84 Dave Winfield 1976

89 Jim Palmer 1981

90 Steve Garvey 1982

94 Don Mattingly 1986

95 Ozzie Smith 1987

96 Dale Murphy 1988

106 Mariano Rivera 1998

107 Roy Halladay 1999

108 Chris Carpenter 2000

109 David Ortiz 2001

118 Buster Posey 2010

2010 Topps
base: COMPLETE!
SP variations: 55, 80-Matthewson, 94-Fisk, 95-Henderson, 110-Stargell, 125-Sisler, 130-Reggie Jackson, 155, 165-Morgan, 200-Walter Johnson, 250-Gehrig, 300-Sandberg, 403-Ozzie Smith, 476-Munson, 532-Murphy, 615-Ryan, 652-Mantle
Update SP variations: 25-Phi. Athletics, 45-Carlton, 50-Reggie Jackson, 58-NY Giants, 85-Dawson, 100-Roberts, 175-Sutter, 185-Palmer, 203-Gwynn, 214-Winfield, 220-Boston Americans, 225-Brooks Robinson, 276-Henderson

2010 Cards Mom Threw Out Original Back:
3 Ernie Banks (1954)

6 Frank Robinson (1957)

7 Orlando Cepeda (1958)

8 Bob Gibson (1959)

11 Mickey Mantle (1962)

16 Willie McCovey (1967)

19 Steve Carlton (1970)

29 Rickey Henderson (1980)

34 Dwight Gooden (1985)

37 Nolan Ryan (1988)

45 Cal Ripken (1996)

55 Alex Gordon (2006)

57 Tim Lincecum (2008)

58 Evan Longoria (2009)

60 Mickey Mantle 1953

62 Yogi Berra 1955

68 Brooks Robinson 1961

70 Harmon Killebrew 1963

73 Gaylord Perry 1966

74 Jim Bunning 1967

76 Nolan Ryan 1969

79 Juan Marichal 1972

83 Dennis Eckersley 1976

88 Rickey Henderson 1981

89 Steve Carlton 1982

92 Robin Yount 1985

96 Randy Johnson 1989

99 Cal Ripken 1992

101 Bo Jackson 1994

102 Babe Ruth 1995

108 Mariano Rivera 2001

109 Joe Mauer 2002

111 Ichiro/Albert Pujols 2004

115 Ryan Zimmerman 2008

116 Rick Porcello 2009

117 Eddie Mathews 1952

118 John Podres 1953

119 Tom Lasorda 1954

120 Harmon Killebrew 1955

121 Jackie Robinson 1956

122 Yogi Berra/Mickey Mantle "Yankees Power Hitters" 1957

123 Roger Maris 1958

125 Roger Maris 1960

127 Lou Brock 1962

128 Willie McCovey 1963

132 Brooks Robinson 1967

134 Mickey Mantle 1969

135 Nolan Ryan 1970

136 Steve Garvey 1971

139 Nolan Ryan 1974

140 Yogi Berra/Roy Campanella "MVP" 1975

141 Reggie Jackson 1976

142 Mark Fidrych 1977

145 Lou Brock/Carl Yastrzemski 1980

148 Wade Boggs 1983

149 Darryl Strawberry 1984

151 Paul Molitor 1986

152 Barry Larkin 1987

153 Eddie Murray "Record Breaker" 1988

156 Nolan Ryan 1991

157 Don Mattingly 1992

159 Billy Wagner 1994

160 Derek Jeter "Future Star" 1995

162 Derek Jeter 1997

164 Alex Rodriguez/Nomar Garciaparra/Derek Jeter 1999

165 Barry Zito/Ben Sheets "Draft Picks" 2000

166 Vladimir Guerrero 2001

167 Jason Bay 2002

168 Josh Hamilton/Carl Crawford 2003

169 Jim Thome/Mike Schmidt "South Philly Sluggers" 2004

170 Ian Kinsler 2005

171 Ryan Zimmerman 2006

172 Ubaldo Jimenez 2007

174 David Price 2009

2009 Topps

base: COMPLETE!
SP variations: 1-Ruth, 10-Hornsby, 30-Jackie Robinson, 44-Obama, 60-Young, 115-Sisler, 195-Mathewson, 205-Wagner, 210-Campanella, 240-Ott, 290-Gehrig, 305-Munson, 350-Sandberg, 353-Ripken, 355-Palmer, 475-Schmidt, 490-Ryan, 515-Reggie Jackson, 600-Maddux, 610-Molitor

2009 Topps Updates & Highlights
base: COMPLETE!
SP variations: UH 48-Maris, 71-Sandberg, 232-Ryan (CAL)
Turkey Red (hobby): TR 102, 116, 122, 128, 136, 146

2008 Topps
base: COMPLETE!
Year in Review: 125, 128, 131, 132, 139, 141, 144, 149, 167, 169, 172, 174, 175
Walmart Dick Perez: 21, 22, 25, 26, 27
Target T205 ("Series 400 Designs"): 8, 18, 19, 22, 27, 28, 29
World Baseball Classic Preview: 9, 12
First Couples: 15, 34, 36

2008 Topps Chrome (Joshua's)
base: COMPLETE!
Trading Card History (TCHC): 14, 31, 49, 50
T205 (TCP): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25
Dick Perez (WMDP): 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20

2010 Bowman Platinum (Joshua)
base: COMPLETE!
Prospects (PP): 20

2008 Finest
base: 125, 143
Finest Moments (any flavor): APU, AR, CH, CP, DL, DW, FH, JT, JV, MH, SS

2007 Topps '52 Rookies
base: 45, 100, 189, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202
SPs: 215, 217, 222
Debut Flashback: DF1, DF11
Black Back (have): 10, 11, 12, 87, 92, 110, DF8

2011 Allen & Ginter

base: 34, 167, 181

Highlight Sketches: 14, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

Minds That Made the Future: 1, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 18, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 28, 29, 32, 33, 35, 36

Animal in Peril mini: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30

Fabulous Face Flocculence mini (bv20/ea): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Flora of the World mini (bv15/ea): 1, 4, 5
Fortunes for the Taking mini (bv25/ea): 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

2010 Allen & Ginter

base: 30, 32, 40, 64, 66, 69, 73, 83, 95, 154, 178, 180, 186, 197, 223, 236, 275, 284, 296
SPs: 308, 312, 316, 318, 319, 324, 328, 329, 333, 345, 350
Highlights Sketches: 1, 3, 4, 11, 13, 14, 16
This Day in History: 20, 54, 55, 59
Celestial Stars mini: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Creatures of Legend, Myth, & Joy mini: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Lords of Olympus mini: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 18, 19

Monster of the Mesozoic mini: 1, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 20, 23

National Animals mini: 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50

Saltiest Sailors mini: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

World's Biggest mini: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25
World's Greatest Word Smiths mini: 5, 6, 10

2009 Allen & Ginter

base: COMPLETE!
SPs: COMPLETE!
Crack the Code SP's: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 50, 67, 69, 70, 110, 122, 123, 135, 166, 167, 174, 179, 193, 206, 217, 221, 233, 256, 262
Minis (any flavor): 5, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 27, 28, 30, 31, 34, 35, 39, 43, 45, 46, 50, 54, 55, 63, 67, 75, 76, 77, 80, 98, 99, 100, 102, 105, 112, 113, 116, 117, 119, 120, 122, 123, 125, 126, 128, 130, 131, 132, 133, 136, 137, 140, 143, 144, 159, 160, 161, 167, 168, 169, 170, 172, 175, 179, 182, 187, 190, 192, 201, 206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 215, 219, 220, 221, 226, 227, 231, 235, 239, 240, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 253, 254, 256, 257, 267, 268, 277, 282, 285, 290, 298, 300, 301, 306, 307, 311, 316, 317, 323, 325, 331, 336, 338
National Heroes Minis: 8, 14, 19, 21, 26, 27, 34, 37
Creatures of Legend Minis: 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17
Extinct Creatures Minis: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Future Inventions Minis: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

2008 Allen & Ginter
base: COMPLETE!
Team Orange: TO9

2007 Allen & Ginter
base: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 60, 61, 63, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 91, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 107, 109, 110, 111, 113, 114, 115, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 150, 151, 152, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 188, 189, 190, 192, 193, 194, 196, 199, 200, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 231, 232, 233, 234, 236, 238, 239, 240, 241, 243, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 294, 295, 297, 298, 299, 301, 303, 304, 306, 307, 309, 310, 311, 312, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, 332, 333, 334, 335, 336, 337, 339, 340, 342, 343, 344, 346, 347, 348, 349, 350
Dick Perez Sketch: 4

2006 Allen & Ginter
base (have): 6, 10, 12, 26, 27, 33, 36, 37, 49, 58, 94, 100, 104, 116, 134, 162, 171, 182, 194, 200, 203, 206, 213, 260, 264, 279, 299, 313, 330
Dick Perez Sketch: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29

2009 Goudey
base: COMPLETE!
SPs: 201, 219
Sport Royalty SPs: 240, 242
Heads Up SPs: 268
4-in-1 (any color): 5, 7, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 23, 25, 26, 28, 32, 33, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 55, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 68, 69, 70, 74, 75, 77, 80, 85, 86, 89, 93, 95, 98, 99, 100

2008 Goudey
base: COMPLETE!
Presidents SPs: 242, 248
B&W SPs: 255, 262, 268
Sport Royalty SPs: 272, 301, 303, 304, 306, 309, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 316, 317, 318, 319, 321, 322, 323, 325, 326

2007 Goudey
Green-backs: 119, 120, 134, 137
SPs: 201, 234, 239, 242, 247, 248, 276, 278, 280, 282
Redbacks: 34, 104, 151

2009 SP Authentic (Joshua)
base: 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 109, 112, 113, 116, 117, 120, 121, 123, 124, 126, 127, 129, 131, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 141, 144, 145, 148, 150, 151, 152, 155, 158, 159, 161, 162, 164, 165, 166, 168, 169
SPs: 171, 172, 174, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 197, 198, 200
Future Watch Flashbacks: 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230

2008 SP Authentic
base: COMPLETE!
Rookie Exclusives: JT

2007 SP Authentic
base: COMPLETE!
Authentic Power: 2, 3, 14, 16, 18, 29

2008 UD Presidential Predictors
13b, 15

1987 Donruss
base: COMPLETE!
Opening Day (Purplish-red) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 166, 170, 171, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250

number template:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100
101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200
201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 300
301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, 332, 333, 334, 335, 336, 337, 338, 339, 340, 341, 342, 343, 344, 345, 346, 347, 348, 349, 350, 351, 352, 353, 354, 355, 356, 357, 358, 359, 360, 361, 362, 363, 364, 365, 366, 367, 368, 369, 370, 371, 372, 373, 374, 375, 376, 377, 378, 379, 380, 381, 382, 383, 384, 385, 386, 387, 388, 389, 390, 391, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 398, 399, 400

Recent brushes with fame

2010-06-20T12:50:00.003-04:00

This has been an interesting spring. I have had two chance meetings with two football luminaries in the past two months. (Two! Two! Two...!)

First, I was in Cleveland to visit my parents, and went to an upscale shopping village near their house. I was sitting with our new dog, Laila, outside a nice bookshop, waiting for Joshua to get out of the bathroom, when a nice looking, older, slightly husky man and his wife walk out of the bookstore. Instantly, I knew who he was.

"Excuse me, Mr. Holmgren?"

"Yes?" he replied.

Now, at this point, a fast thinker would probably say something like "Good luck with the Browns," or "May I have your autograph?" All I could manage was "Do us a favor...," to which his wife responded, as they kept walking, "No one wants to do it more than him!"

There I sat, with my dog, looking pretty flummoxed, probably. Oh, well.

Then, a few weeks ago, my family was in Miami Beach visiting my sister for a family event. On the way home, from Ft. Lauderdale airport, we were waiting for our JetBlue flight to Buffalo, when he walks up to the waiting area and watches the golf match on TV at the bar nearby. I recognize him immediately, and casually saunter over to my son to see if he has a pen and paper.

"Joshua, that is [name omitted], go get his autograph!"

Pretty cool. I spoke briefly with him regarding golf, and found out he was going to Buffalo for Jim Kelly's charity golf tournament for Hunter's Hope. (Please check out the charity. It is certainly admirable and has raised millions to search for a cure for the disease that took his son's life.)

Any guesses to the autograph? The departure point and the number under the signature should give it away.

Why I love trading

2010-06-20T12:36:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was Trade Days, the get-together at the local card shop for prospectors, set-collectors and autogamer hounds. I usually don't get involved in prospecting, the chasing of autographs of hot pre-rookies, USA team members and first year players. However, I can easily drift back and forth between the worlds of high-end autogamer swapping and set-collecting.

The pre-eminent set collectors at the trade days always sets up in the same corner One always has the same box of Topps, Bowman and Upper Deck dupes, plus a full 5000 count box of inserts from the 90's. He buys multiple boxes at a time and makes up sets, then leaves the dupes for us to peruse. The other has many grandchildren, so he makes sets upon sets for them all. He is currently working on his 10th base set of this year's Topps! Fortunately for me, he gets lots of doubles of the inserts, and even some short print doubles.

Lately, the former has been going through my box of '70's dupes, and he has picked out over bv200 in cards, so I am able to pick and choose what I need from him, but he has only a limited number of inserts to trade. The latter is indebted to the former for near bv400 for helping to finish all those base sets of Topps. So when I need inserts for Series 2 Topps, I go to the second guy, and whittle down what he owes to the first guy by relieving him of many of his insert doubles.

In addition, a newer guy to the Trade Days busted six or seven boxes of Series 2 and had hundreds of inserts to trade. He was looking for the autos and relics only, and was trading everything else. That's where some of the Sweet Spot autographs I have pulled and cut-rate autos I have traded for or bought come in handy. I was able to get most of what I needed for S2 inserts, about 80-90 cards, from him for a Billingsley Sweet Spot auto, an Ethier A&G auto, a Jordan minor league card, and one other low-end auto. Not bad!

As you can see from my wantlists, I am down to only a dozen or so insert cards left for Series 2. That is one of the great things about Trade Days. I can rely on my trading partners to help me finish some of these sets.

It's like heroin

2010-05-25T09:56:00.006-04:00

Not that I know what heroin feels like or even looks like. Honestly.

However, I know an addiction when I have one. I rarely have them. I think I was addicted to Cool Ranch Doritos once upon a time. I might have been addicted to redheads at one point, but I have been happily married to a beautiful brunette for sixteen years now.

So what is this addiction?

2009 Sweet Spot.

I can't help myself. The boxes were LOADED this year with great hits. Not just rookie autos and autos on baseball leather, but patches, bat barrels, bat autos, glove autos, and a great design. I probably have bought 10-12 full boxes of the stuff over the last eight months, at an average of $24 per pack, six packs per box, so that is almost $1500. Wow! To see that in writing scares me. The price also continues to rise, but I still quiver when I'm in my favorite store, itching to get my hands on "The Sweet Spot" auto from each full box. (That's one sure sign of addiction.)

I can guess pretty well as to where the Sweet Spot is, but sometimes get fooled. Luckily, I have only once come across a box without a Sweet Spot auto or Classic Patch. That was a bummer of a day.

I have pulled some amazing cards from 2009 Sweet Spot which have probably made up for most of the cost of all these packs, including:

Ralph Kiner Classic Bat Barrel Nameplate #1/2
Catfish Hunter Classic Patches #/27
Nolan Ryan auto on glove leather
Robin Yount redemption auto
Ken Griffey, Jr. auto on bat
Derek Jeter auto on ball leather
Dick Allen auto on bat
Tommy Hanson RC Silver auto
Tommy Hanson RC auto
Rick Porcello RC Silver auto
Ryan Perry, James McDonald, Donald Veal, David Price, Bret Anderson, Everth Cabrera, James Parr, Shairon Martis, Phil Coke and Elvis Andrus RC autos
Nate McLouth, Cody Ross, Hanley Ramirez, Ken Griffey, Sr. and Jamie Shields Sweet Spot autos

I'm sure there are a few other hits that I've forgotten about. But I've done pretty good so far. At least I thought so until last Friday.

That's when I stopped in one more time to check out the $2 autos box. However, a brand new box of Sweet Spot was sitting on the shelf calling my name. I opened five packs until I got the Sweet Spot of Nate McLouth, my second one of his. I did get the Parr RC auto and a Sweet Swatch patch of Dave Winfield. A little disappointing.

Then I spied a second box. Since I had taken five of the six from the first box, they opened the second box, and I was able to pick my pack. Luck would have it that I pulled the hit on the first try for this box. However, I wasn't expecting something as spectacular as I got:

Derek Jeter Bat Barrel Nameplate #6/6!

I nearly dropped the card. I was shaking with nerves! The owner's daughter, who is a BIG Jeter fan, immediately said, "Daddy! That's the card I want! I want that one!" Yeah, well good luck!

I haven't decided what exactly to do with this yet. I know I won't keep it. Jeter is a great player, but not my absolute favorite, and this would go a long way toward getting my some of the cards that I have on my fantasy want list. So I will let everyone know how I will be selling it, whether eBay or The Bench or private auction.

I do know, though, that this card is worth a lot. A LOT! A similar Alex Rodriguez card from 2002 Sweet Spot is on eBay for $3,000 BIN. I'm thinking that I may get near that for this card. Maybe I'm crazy, but a person knowledgeable in such cards suggested that to me. It will be worth a try. If anyone is interested and wants to preempt any public sale by offering me a king's ransom, please email me.

UPDATE: I heard from an eBayer who said that the other five have already been up on eBay and sold to collectors. That makes this the last one of the six available.

Last Gasp?

2010-04-14T07:21:00.004-04:00

Is my luck running out?

Not when it comes to 2009 Sweet Spot.

I haven't had a run of luck like this . . . well . . . ever!

Each pack is getting more expensive ($24 per pack, versus $18 when it first came out) and I have not been exactly getting my money's worth lately - Cody Ross, Nate McLouth, James Shields - when compared to the Hanson and Porcello autos I've pulled in the past, and especially compared to the Kiner bat barrel nameplate that I pulled last fall, which is a case hit. Each of those pulled in $100+ to fund my habit.

So, with one last ditch effort, I broke into a new box of '09 Sweet Spot. I can usually find the auto in the first pack or two, so I picked #5 first. Hmm, not bad, Schoendienst/Brock dual swatch. OK, #6 pack. Delgado relic. Meh.

#4 pack. Winfield relic. OK.

#3 pack. Carlos Lee relic. Uggh!

By this time, I've already spent $96, so I figure I might as well suffer the consequences and go all the way.

#2 pack. Granderson relic. Drats!

OK. Last pack. Tear the top open. Look in. Phew! Thick card there. Must be the Sweet Spot Signature. Pull them out. Slide the base out from in front of the Sweet Spot.

Huh!?!!?!

What's this? Not a Sweet Spot!?!??! Hey, I'm getting shafted again! No darn autogra....

Wait! What's this? A patch?!!!!!

Holy Shitake Mushrooms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A patch of Rollie ... no, wait, a patch of Catfish Hunter! Shnikeees! That's a beautiful patch! Another case hit! 18/27! Three color letter from an A's road jersey.

In fact, I think that this is actually the upside-down top of the "A" in "OAKLAND" as far as I can tell. It doesn't book in Beckett (no surprise there), but some knowledgeable friends think it will bring $250-300 on eBay, more in trade.

I think I'll give up now while I'm ahead.

Crazy!

2010-04-13T07:41:00.003-04:00

I made a GREAT pull this weekend - another Sweet Spot hit (more on that in a later post) - so I started dreaming of an Albert Pujols auto. Went searching on eBay, found a few nice, reasonable possibilities, which I didn't end up bidding on, but also came across this:

2001 Albert Pujols Bowman Chrome Rookie RC 141/500 AUTO

From the one side of this auction, I'm thinking, "Damn, I'd love to have pulled that. Seven grand for a card! Probably from a $5 pack originally. If only...." The other side thinks, "Damn, seven grand for a card? I'd rather have a car than that. Or redo my basement! Or pay off some of my mortgage! Or even buy a case of Exquisite or Black or Sterling!"

Is there another card bubble in the offing?

(BTW, for $7k, I'd at least expect free shipping!)

The Joy of a Found Card Shop

2010-04-05T09:11:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite things to do when I travel is to find a local card shop and see if it is worthy of my patronage. (Idea: database of card shops that are worth a stop. I may add that to my blog one of these days.)

I was in Boston this past weekend, visiting my in-laws with my wife, kids and new puppy (someone PLEASE remind me why I got another dog!), and had a few hours where Joshua and I were not needed at a clothing store or family event. Pulled out the iPhone, checked Google Maps for local card shops, and found one nearby in Marblehead.

I can't recall the name of it other than Baseball Cards, but it is on the main street in Marblehead village, and it is about as big as my cubicle at work. However, it was a great little store, as there are singles everywhere. In fact, it was so well organized that there were boxes from every release from every year sitting on shelves just waiting for someone to look through each and every one of them. I picked out the 2007 Heritage box, but didn't find any singles I could use after a quick glance. Then I check out the Stars box, the Red Sox box, and the Politics/Presidents box. I found all the Historical Campaign Matchup cards from 2008 Topps that I needed at only 50 cents apiece, and one of the Presidential Predictors I needed. Very cool! In the Stars box, I found one of the 1969 Deckle Edge Luis Tiant cards, for only $2. Another box helped me pick out a few 2008 Year in Review cards.

Meanwhile, Joshua picked up a few new packs of 2009 SP Authentic. That kid still has the magic touch. Out of three packs, he got an auto of Colby Rasmus and a By the Letter auto of Jordan Zimmerman. Of course, there were only three packs left, so I bought them and got . . . bupkis! (That means "a lot of nothing" in Yiddish.) Oh, well.

If you are ever in the area, check out this little gem of a store. Great prices, good selection, and singles everywhere!

Switching Allegiances

2010-03-25T16:03:00.003-04:00

No, I'm not giving up on the Indians. Not yet, anyways. They still have a few games left of Spring Training, and they haven't started the regular season yet. Once they do, though, I'll give up on them winning anything this year. As the joke goes, "Well, baseball opening day is here, and the Indians have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs!" Ugghhh!

Everyone knows I have been an Omar Vizquel super-collector-wannabe since I came back to the hobby, and I've done my best to collect as many Omar cards as I can. It just seems that there aren't that many out there. Especially the last few years, when some of the releases have seen fit to leave him out of their roster. Hall of Fame career, and he's hanging on, but so is Jim Thome, and he is still in almost every set and subset and insert set until this year. I guess that is what happens when you are a home run slugger instead of a historic-class shortstop.

Beckett list 2,225 Vizquel cards in their library, of which 136 are certified autograph cards and 282 are memorabilia cards. He has only 10 official cards this year, none of them being memorabilia or autograph cards. For 2009, there are only 36 official cards, only 5 of which are memorabilia cards, and no autographs. 2008, only 70 cards, with only 1 autograph. You get the point.

Jim Thome, who I am also a collector of, has a whopping 8,397 cards listed, with 1,661 memorabilia cards and 299 autograph cards. Granted, several thousand of those cards are the ridiculous Moments and Milestones cards from 2008 (2,032 to be exact), but even without those, there are still over 6,000 Thome cards listed! He may have only 21 cards listed for 2010, and no auto or relic cards, but for 2009, there are 285 cards, 26 of them autographed, and 92 relics. Not bad for someone who came into the league a full two seasons after Vizquel.

Which is not to say that either deserves more cards than the other at this point. It's just that there are so many more variations, SPs, inserts, autos, relics and myriad base cards for Thome than Vizquel. What is a supercollector to do?

In my case, I am switching to being a Jim Thome pseudo-super-collector. I already have almost 500 cards of his, despite starting well after I started collecting Omar cards. I am not finished collecting Omar cards, just readjusting my focus since there are so many more interesting Thome cards, and many more options to collect autographs and patches.

In fact, one intrepid ex-Jim Thome super-collector has been slowly auctioning off all of his Jim Thome cards, and I have purchased quite a few of them for reasonable prices. Most lately, I received 56 Thome cards from 2003, 30 of which I didn't have previously, for the whopping final bid of $6.25. This even included a 2003 Heritage "Old Log" variation of his, which has a book value of $8 itself. I shouldn't mention that I also bought, at the same time, the 2003 Nameplate patch card of his, for just over $20, but it is a sweet card that I've been coveting for a while now.

I have lots of doubles of his, and would love to trade them for some other Thome cards I don't have. If you have some that may fit the bill, please check the scans in my Thome collection, in the link on the right, to see if I have it already. In fact, you will have to check three Picasa folders, because one was getting too unwieldy for all the Thome cards in my collection. I split it up into a normal "bucket," a White Sox folder and a Phillies folder. Dodgers and Twins cards will go in the regular Indians folder.

As for poor Omar, I'm still working on getting a lot of his cards, but there are few auctions of such breadth, and fewer cards that have autographs and patches. There are a few nice bat cards of his, but I'm not willing to pay $295 for a bat barrel nameplate. (The Thome version is going for $895! That tells you all you need to know right there!)

First Look: 2010 Topps Heritage

2010-02-25T20:57:00.003-05:00

I broke open my box of 2010 Topps Heritage today, and for good measure another half box at the store, and came away with a pretty good impression of what to expect from this year's version of the Throwback cards.

Ho-hum.

Disclaimer: I LOVE Heritage, and everything about it. But this year's product is a bit boring, if you ask me.

Design

Great design. I especially love the short prints of the MVPs and All-Stars. Very cool. The photos are true to the originals, in the same style and the same washed-out, saturated colors. Full stats on the back are very nice.

Grade: A-

Inserts

Same inserts as other years, plus a new one for Mantle's and Maris' chase for The Babe's home run record. But we've seen it all before. The rest of the inserts are getting a bit stale, though. News flashbacks. Baseball flashbacks. Then & Now. New Age Performers. Clubhouse Collection relics. It's getting a bit tedious and repetitive.

Grade: B-

Checklist

All the stars are out in this one, as far as I can tell. King Albert is #1, and worthy. Lots of rookies, including my new favorite Indian Michael Brantley. I think that there is even a few real stars who have signed autos, like Gibson, Schoendienst and Frank Robinson. A few no-names, but not bad.

Grade: B+

Collation

Impressive. In one box plus half of another, I only got 32. However, I still need about 180 base cards, all but 12 of the short prints, and most of the inserts. It seems they were stingy with the inserts and SPs this year.

Grade: A

Hits

Don't ask.

I told you not to ask!

OK. Billy Wagner relic. Dan Haren relic. (yaaawwwwwnnnnnn)

Grade: C-

Overall, I'd say this is a very average product. If you love Heritage, you'll love it. If you love throwback stuff like Goudey, Allen & Ginter, Obak, T206, Goodwins Champions (did I forget any!?!), then you'll like it. If you are a baseball fan and want interesting cards for this year, you probably won't like it. Stick to the flagship product.

Overall Grade: B

(scans to follow in a few days)

Topps Heritage Tradelist

2010-02-14T11:58:00.007-05:00

Available for Trade

(updated 2/25/2010)

2010 Topps Heritage

BASE:1, 42, 52, 58, 65, 70, 102, 118, 137, 145, 146, 168, 177, 178, 204, 206, 226, 239, 240, 243, 244, 257, 292, 305, 326, 359, 360, 381, 390, 391, 410

CHROME: 2 - Mauer, 9 - Tillman, 41 - Fielder, 62 - Jeter, 80 - Youkilis, 88 - Johnson, 94 - Hill, 95 - McCann, 97 - Lincecum

CHROME REFRACTOR: 94 - Hill

CLUBHOUSE COLLECTION RELIC: DH - Haren, BW - Wagner

2009 Topps Heritage

BASE: 2, 3, 4, 5, 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 29, 33, 36, 37, 39, 41, 49, 50, 62, 63, 69, 75, 78, 81, 82, 83, 85, 89, 92, 95, 100

103, 107, 109, 118, 119, 126, 130, 140, 141, 142, 145, 149, 150, 154, 156, 158, 166, 168, 169, 170, 176, 177, 179, 182, 189, 193, 194, 198

206, 207, 214, 216, 219, 226, 229, 238, 241, 242, 243, 246, 249, 250, 259, 263, 265, 266, 267, 268, 270, 273, 276, 277, 281, 282, 290, 296

301, 302, 303, 307, 314, 315, 316, 321, 323, 325, 327, 333, 334, 336, 337, 339, 349, 356, 357, 359, 360, 361, 365, 368 370, 371, 372, 373, 379, 388, 390, 392

412, 413, 416, 425

SP: 481

BASEBALL FLASHBACK (BF): 1, 3, 10

NEWS FLASHBACK (NF): 3, 7

THEN & NOW (TN): 4

2008 Topps Heritage

BASE: 15, 48, 74, 157, 241, 461, 695

BLACK BACK: 370

2007 Topps Heritage

BASE: 3, 15, 18 21, 23, 28, 33, 36, 37, 38, 39, 42, 47, 51, 62, 66, 69, 70, 74, 75, 78, 79, 81, 82, 88, 90, 92, 99, 100

128, 132, 133, 134, 136, 153, 156, 163, 166, 172, 173, 182, 199

202, 206, 208, 209, 211, 215, 217, 219, 234, 241, 242, 253, 255, 265, 272, 277, 290, 292, 297, 298

301, 306, 309, 319, 325, 336, 337, 341, 343, 344, 352, 354, 360 364, 370, 377, 381, 386, 394, 397

407, 412, 415, 416, 417, 431, 443, 453, 454, 458, 460, 461, 466, 468, 471, 478, 484, 485, 486, 493

SP YELLOW TEAM NAME: 35, 78

THEN & NOW (TN): 3

2006 Topps Heritage

BASE: 475

2005 Topps Heritage

BASE: 95

2004 Topps Heritage

BASE: 3, 8, 11, 24, 35, 37, 41, 43, 49, 63, 65, 74, 87, 89, 94

108, 119, 129, 144, 145, 151, 153, 154, 158, 173, 174, 183, 184, 190, 192, 193

207, 216, 220, 236, 238, 242, 245 248, 249, 252, 253, 254, 255, 257, 267, 282, 284, 294, 295

308, 314, 315, 332, 340, 342 348, 351, 359, 366, 369, 375, 382, 384 387, 393

2003 Topps Heritage

BASE: 26, 72, 90, 100, 101, 104, 106, 124, 127, 135, 137, 139, 140, 153, 176, 208, 209, 210, 241, 248, 249, 260, 264, 297, 308

2002 Topps Heritage

BASE: 120, 123, 132, 152, 153, 160, 234, 258, 264, 330, 358

Tradelist

2010-02-14T08:49:00.016-05:00

Available for trade

(updated 28 October 2010)

2010 Topps Updates & Highlights

BASE (US): 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 26, 27, 28, 31, 32, 34, 37, 40, 41, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 51, 52, 53, 55, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 71, 74, 75, 76, 78, 79, 81, 83, 84, 85, 89, 90, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 99, 101, 104, 105, 108, 109, 111, 112, 114, 117, 118, 119, 121, 122, 123, 124, 126, 133, 134, 136, 139, 140, 143, 147, 148, 149, 154, 156, 157, 158, 160, 162, 164, 165, 168, 170, 172, 173, 176, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 188, 189, 190, 191, 193, 194, 200, 204, 206, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 216, 219, 221, 223, 224, 225, 226, 228, 229, 230, 231, 234, 236, 237, 238, 240, 242, 243, 245, 248, 250, 251, 252, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 261, 262, 264, 265, 269, 270, 271, 273, 274, 275, 277, 279, 280, 283, 284, 286, 287, 289, 291, 295, 296, 297, 298, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 307, 309, 310, 311, 315, 316, 317, 319, 322, 323, 325, 326, 329, 330
#661 Strasburg
GOLD BORDER: 20, 65, 73, 77, 87, 91, 115, 124, 146, 227, 277, 290, 292, 300 (Cliff Lee), 323

AUTOS/RELICS/INSERTS

Joey Votto All-Star Game Jersey #AS-JVO
Ricky Romero Peak Performance auto redemption
Cliff Lee gold border #US-300 (0502/2010)
John Ely (Dodgers) Peek Performance auto #PPA-JE

MANUFACTURED BAT

Nick Swisher Black Bat #MBB-47 (12/25)

INSERTS

CARDS YOUR MOM THREW OUT ORIGINAL BACK: Lou Burdette, Billy Wagner
MORE TALES OF THE GAME: 1, 3, 6
TOPPS ATTAX: Longoria, Kershaw, Youkilis, Pence, Jones, Pujols
VINTAGE LEGENDS: 31-Ruth, 38-Gehrig, 42-J. Robinson, 47-Foxx
TURKEY RED: 120, 134, 143, 150

2010 Topps Chrome

BASE: 3, 11, 18, 25, 26, 31, 39, 46, 51, 52, 68, 74, 76, 80, 103, 106, 112, 114, 116, 127, 130, 133, 135, 139, 142, 143, 145, 150, 151, 162, 163, 166, 171, 177, 179, 190, 192, 194, 196, 200, 201, 214, 215, 220
REFRACTOR: 2, 12, 21, 25, 65, 74, 75, 80, 85, 92, 108, 113, 121, 139, 162, 163, 164, 166, 170, 199, 205, 206, 219
BLUE REFRACTOR (#/199): 175 (S. Sizemore RC)
AUTO: 172 (Anderson, Cardinals), 179 (Ely, Dodgers), 188 (Burnett, Twins), 204 (Ross, A's), 211 (Santos, White Sox)
REFRACTOR AUTO (#/499): 191 (J. Donaldson, A's)

2010 Topps

BASE: 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 40, 45, 48, 49, 55, 60, 62, 64, 65, 69, 71, 72, 73, 74, 76, 78, 80, 87, 88, 90, 91, 93, 102, 103, 104, 105, 107, 114, 115, 117, 118, 120, 121, 124, 130, 135, 136, 139, 141, 145, 146, 148, 151, 152, 153, 157, 163, 164, 167, 171, 172, 175, 177, 182, 183, 185, 183, 188, 189, 192, 194, 196, 197, 198, 200, 204, 205, 206, 209, 212, 214, 215, 216, 219, 226, 231, 235, 236, 237, 238, 240, 241, 242, 244, 248, 253, 256, 260, 261, 263, 273, 274, 276, 280, 288, 292, 293, 295, 296, 300, 301303, 304, 309, 312, 314, 319, 321, 326, 327
TARGET THROWBACK BASE: 82, 94, 97, 158, 201, 252, 257, 279, 311, 325
WALMART BLACK-OUT BASE: 3, 6, 80, 85, 177, 216, 223, 251, 264, 269, 296, 325
GOLD BORDER: 225 - D. Price

AUTOS/RELICS/INSERTS

Dustin Pedroia Peak Performance GU Bat #PPR-DP
Glen Perkins Peak Performance autograph #PPA-GP
Adrian Gonzalez Silk Collection (03/50)

PATCH (will only be traded for a Grady Sizemore logo hat patch)

Kevin Youkilis Boston Red Sox Hat Logo manufactured patch #MHR-127 (86/99)

INSERTS

CARDS YOUR MOM THREW OUT: 9, 20, 25
HISTORY OF THE GAME: 19
TALES OF THE GAME: 11
LEGENDARY LINEAGE: 12, 14, 27
TOPPSTOWN: 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 16, 18, 19, 12, 25
TOPPSTOWN GOLD: 22
TURKEY RED: 6, 8, 10, 19, 26, 31
WHEN THEY WERE YOUNG: Beckham, Damon, Martin

2009 Allen & Ginter

BASE: 19, 42, 44, 60, 73, 116, 118, 148, 174, 176, 200, 269, 270, 284, 289
CODE PARALLELS: 159, 184
HIGHLIGHT SKETCHES (AGHS): 22
NATIONAL PRIDE (NP): 52, 56, 65
MINI: 24, 29, 62, 86, 110, 115, 155, 162, 199, 216, 346
MINI A&G BACK: 147, 195
MINI BLACK BORDER: 273
MINI WORLD'S BIGGEST HOAXES (HHB): 18, 20

2009 Bowman Chrome

BASE: 21, 24, 27, 31, 38, 40, 46, 47, 50, 58, 62, 63, 66, 70, 72, 75, 115, 120, 143, 159, 176, 195, 211
GOLD: 94
Chrome Prospects (BCP): 136, 137, 138, 140, 141, 142, 143, 147, 150, 152, 154, 156, 161, 162, 168, 171, 180, 196
WBC (BCW): 23, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 41, 43, 50, 51, 53, 57, 60

2009 Goudey
BASE: 1, 7, 10, 12, 14, 19, 25, 36, 38, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 56, 57, 65 67, 69, 80, 84, 91, 93, 94, 96, 101, 110, 117, 120, 122, 123, 125, 128, 135, 137, 143, 147, 153, 156, 159, 160, 161, 164, 171, 172, 173, 176, 177, 182, 183, 184, 195, 197, 200
SP: 253
4-in 1: 17, 91

2009 Icons
BASE: 3, 11, 16, 19, 24, 30 34, 43, 46, 49, 50, 55, 59, 61, 66, 71, 73, 82, 87, 88, 91, 93, 95

2009 SP Authentic

BASE: 4, 5, 8, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 36, 37, 39, 41, 42, 44, 46, 48, 49, 50, 55, 60, 64, 68, 69, 72, 74, 75, 81, 82, 83, 85, 87, 88, 91, 92, 93, 98, 125, 156, 163
GOLD (#/299): 35 - Hamels, 67 - Granderson, 143 - Mills
Copper (#/99): 120 - Peña

2009 SP Legendary Cuts

BASE: 18, 23, 24, 26, 29, 39, 49, 51, 53, 73, 78, 81, 83, 84, 85

2009 Sweet Spot

BASE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100

2009 Topps

BASE: 16, 61, 66, 143, 194, 206, 262, 265, 282, 284, 299, 336, 357, 361, 436, 461, 474, 483, 486, 521, 543, 588, 608, 630, 632, 642, 644, 660
TARGET BLACK-OUT BASE: 11, 15, 31, 33, 40, 45, 55, 59, 105, 115, 126, 151, 156, 158, 159, 160, 189, 195, 198, 207, 236, 237, 242, 249, 262, 289, 294, 312, 323, 329
GOLD (#/2009): 508, 572, 611, 639

INSERTS
CAREER BEST LEGENDS (LGCB): JR, TS
LEGENDS OF THE GAME (LG): 10, AR, WB
LEGENDS OF THE GAME UPDATE (LGU): 5, 7, 10, 21, 23, 25
RING OF HONOR (RH): 16, 81, 91, 93
METS RING OF HONOR (MRH): DG, DJ, KH, KM, RD, RK
TOPPSTOWN SILVER (TTT): 3, 7, 8, 15, 19, 20
TOPPSTOWN GOLD (TTT): 26
TOPPSTOWN BLUE (TTT): 26, 30, 32, 33, 38, 41, 47, 53, 75
TURKEY RED (TR): 6, 29, 138

2009 Topps Unique

BASE: 15, 18, 33, 47, 91, 92, 104, 105, 106, 107, 115, 139, 166, 196

2008 Allen & Ginter

BASE: 8, 26, 73, 74, 88, 122, 136, 165, 260, 291, 346
USA: 10, 33, 36, 47, 48
MINI: 37, 206
MINI A&G BACK: 6, 48, 91, 95, 163, 166, 178, 189, 194, 219, 279
MINI BASEBALL ICONS: BI-5
MINI WORLD LEADERS (WL): 2, 13, 37

2008 SP Authentic

BASE: 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 45, 46, 47, 50, 51, 52, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 61, 62, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 77, 79, 82, 84, 85, 86, 87, 90, 92, 93, 94, 95, 97, 98, 100
AUTHENTIC ACHIEVEMENTS (AA): 5, 19, 20, 49
MARQUEE MATCHUPS (MM): 3, 6, 7, 8, 16, 39, 48
ROOKIE EXCLUSIVES (RE): GS, JB, LC, MP, RA

2008 SPx

BASE: 3, 18, 30, 42, 51, 54, 75, 87, 90

2008 Sweet Spot

BASE: 2, 12, 21, 23, 38, 39, 53, 63, 68, 74, 83, 89

2008 Topps

BASE: 1-660 (just ask)
UPDATE BASE (UH): 1-330 (just ask)
GOLD (#/2008): 92, 111, 220, 292, 385, 459, 633, UH196

INSERTS

FIRST COUPLES (FC): 38
HISTORICAL CAMPAIGN MATCHUP (HCM): 1848, 1952
WALMART DICK PEREZ (WMDP): 1, 4, 7, 8
YEAR IN REVIEW (YR): 18, 58, 74, 99, 151, 157
SERIES 400 (TCP): 35, 38, 39, 40, 43, 44
STARS (TS): 17
OWN THE GAME (OTG): 18
FUTURE STARS: FS1 - Uzuki
TRADING CARD HISTORY (TCH): 46, 62, 67

2009 Topps T206

BASE: 15, 28, 51, 83, 146, 152, 172, 181, 241, 243, 256, 292
SP: Sisler
GOLD: 142, 286
MINI: 272, 273

2008 UD Baseball Heroes

BASE: 4, 10, 17, 19, 24, 26, 36, 43, 44, 49, 55, 58, 88, 98, 103, 118, 120, 124, 125, 139, 145, 153, 155, 169, 170, 172, 176, 191

2008 UD Masterpieces

BASE: 1, 4, 6, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 30, 34, 35, 36, 38, 41, 42, 43, 47, 50, 58, 63, 69, 72, 77, 79, 80, 81, 84

2007 Bowman Chrome

BASE: 8, 10, 40, 72, 220
PROSPECTS: 131, 135, 136, 167, 206, 210

2007 Goudey
BASE: 4, 5, 7, 9, 14, 16, 17, 18, 24, 25, 30, 35, 37, 38, 40 43, 48, 49, 51, 54, 55, 56, 59, 72, 75, 78, 87, 95
105, 107, 108, 114, 115, 117, 121, 124, 131, 132, 134, 138, 139, 141, 142, 145, 147, 148, 149, 156, 158, 164, 166, 169, 172, 173, 174, 177, 182, 188, 192, 193, 196, 197
RED BACK: 2, 3, 5, 9, 11, 15, 16, 19, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 33, 36, 40, 41, 43 45, 48, 49, 55, 58, 59, 61, 63, 70, 72, 73, 78, 79 86, 87, 89, 93, 96
105, 107, 114, 122, 123, 124, 125, 129, 131, 133, 134, 138, 141, 143, 146, 147, 149, 153, 154, 155, 157, 158, 162, 164, 167, 169, 172, 173, 177, 179, 180, 182, 187, 188, 192, 193, 194, 200
2007 SP Authentic

BASE: 10, 17, 35, 44, 48, 88, 96, 100
AUTHENTIC POWER (AP): 31, 34
AUTHENTIC SPEED (AS):6, 31, 34, 42, 45

2007 Topps

BASE: 29, 34, 53, 57, 71, 76, 78, 84, 86, 91, 96, 103, 104, 113, 114, 122, 143, 147, 154, 167, 171, 181, 182, 196, 198, 204, 212, 213, 235, 240, 256, 259, 268, 272, 279, 285, 288, 295, 307, 315, 320, 358, 370, 386, 388, 402, 412, 418, 424, 426, 431, 443, 447, 448, 449, 480, 493, 502, 512, 530, 538, 540, 543, 558, 559, 575, 580, 652
UPDATE & HIGHLIGHTS BASE (UH): 7, 13, 14, 15, 20, 24, 25, 28, 46, 47, 50, 51, 52, 53, 79, 84, 85, 91, 92, 93, 94, 100, 114, 117, 118, 120, 125, 127, 130, 131, 133, 148, 154, 181, 187, 192,207, 224, 231, 234, 241, 251, 255, 262, 263, 270, 274, 280, 281, 287, 293, 295, 297, 303, 306, 308, 313, 317, 320
OPENING DAY BASE: 10, 19, 23, 73, 79, 94, 114, 136, 186

2007 Topps '52 Rookies

BASE: 5, 19, 23, 41, 51, 56, 66, 77, 80, 95, 101, 104, 111, 114, 115, 126, 150, 159, 162, 164, 169, 191, 193, 203, 204, 207
DEBUT FLASHBACKS (DF): 8

2007 Turkey Red

BASE: 2, 54, 65, 86, 122, 129, 133, 140, 161, 176, 180, 184

2007 UD Masterpieces

BASE: 3, 4, 6, 19, 21, 23, 24, 29, 32, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 50, 52, 60, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 73, 79, 80, 86, 88

2005 Past Time Pennants

BASE: 2, 5, 9, 10, 13, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 31, 32, 34, 39, 40, 43, 44, 46, 47, 52, 53, 54, 55, 58, 60, 63, 65, 68, 70, 75, 76, 79, 82, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90

2005 Upper Deck Pros & Prospects

BASE: 2, 3, 5, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 26, 29, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 41, 44, 47, 49, 51, 53, 59, 62, 63, 65, 69, 70, 74, 75, 76, 77 80, 81, 82, 83, 88, 89, 90, 93, 97, 100

2003 Topps

GOLD: 57, 83, 111, 151, 195, 282,309, 422, 446, 536

2002 Upper Deck Ballpark Idols

BASE: 6, 20, 21, 24, 47, 51, 52, 101, 115, 125, 127, 141, 149, 151, 153, 167, 175, 177, 179, 188, 193

1999 SPx

BASE: 28, 38, 71, 74

1991 Conlon Collection

BASE: 1-330

200x Template

BASE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100

101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200

2010 Topps Review

2010-02-11T08:01:00.003-05:00

I have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for my Jumbo Hobby box of 2010 Topps to come in. It finally did on Tuesday, and my son and I opened it last night. Hmmm, I have a few opinions on this year's edition of the only licensed MBL product.

Design: B

Not bad. Not great. This may be one of those Topps designs, like 1972 or 1975, that grows on you after a while and becomes a classic. On the other had, the use of foil is becoming a bit annoying. Topps should not use it for the names and logo, in my opinion. But the size of the names and the team name and logo are good. Makes it easy to read, especially for my old, failing eyesight.

The backs are pretty good, too. The numbers are easy to read and all situated the same way. Complete batting and pitching records are listed, and a nice second picture is there, too. Good job on the obverse, Topps.

It's also good to see that Topps has finally gotten over their A-Rod infatuation and put someone else in the #1 card slot - Prince Fielder - although it is a strange picture!

Photography: A

Like last year, the photography is a strong point, although I don't have any of those stupid Yankee pie-in-the-face cards. Thank goodness! But there are some really nice photographs. Randy Johnson's falling-down-while-throwing-to-first-base photo comes to mind.

Inserts: C+

WAY TOO MANY!

There are just too many insert sets to collect, and that doesn't even include the variations. Not only do the base cards have variations, but the Cards Your Mother Threw Out has variations, too. I pulled the Albert Pujols 2002 All-Topps Rookie card, and it has the original back on it, not the CYMTO back! (If anyone is interested in trading for it, make an offer.)

Do I really need Turkey Red again? Why is there Tales of the Game AND History of the Game? Two sets of ToppsTown, gold and silver? C'mon!

As I count it, there are TEN different insert sets this year for Series 1. Lord knows how many more they will bring out for Series 2 and U&H. There could end up being 12 to 15 different insert sets this year. Dial it down, Topps!

Collation: A-

Very good, for the most part. In the Jumbo Hobby box, you get the entire set plus inserts, plus about 50 base doubles. However, I did get four Turkey Red doubles, out of 10 cards. Not good. Other than that, though, the variety is excellent.

Hits: B+

This is where I did well this year. The first hit is an autograph of Glen Perkins. OK. It looks like the signature was rushed. Very messy compared to the Sweet Spot I had.

Second was a bat relic - thank goodness, again, for no plain jersey relics - of Dustin Pedroia. I do like the design of the Peak Performance inserts, and the autos and relics are nicely done.

Third I got one of the manufactured hat patches of a Red Sox logo, for Kevin Youkilis. Nice card. I'd rather have an Indians logo, though, so if you read this and you have the Grady Sizemore version, I will trade with you. In any event, it's a good-looking design, and better than the partial, can't-figure-out-what-it-is patches from last year.

Fourth, as a bonus, I got a silk card, numbered to 50, of Adrian Gonzalez. Again, nice card, didn't make me jump up and down, but it is good trade bait, so if you are interested....

Value: B+

From what I understand, the price of a hobby box is quickly escalating, according to my dealer. Jumbos are up to $90-something, and wax are up to the high $60's. It is a hot product so far. If you haven't bought yours yet, you may want to wait until the price comes down again.

As for me, though, I preordered at $75 for the Jumbo Hobby box, and I believe that I got good value. Four hits is nice, and the cards look pretty good.

OVERALL GRADE: B/B+

I couldn't make up my mind, so I'm waffling. However, this is a strong set for Topps' first exclusive. They deliver good value, so that help boost the grade, but those inserts! As Charlie Brown would say, "AAARRRRRRGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!"

I'm really looking forward to Heritage. I hope it is not as difficult to collect as this one is.

FOR TRADE

HITS

Dustin Pexroia Peak Performance GU Bat #PPR-DP
Glen Perkins Peak Performance autograph #PPA-GP
Adrian Gonzalez Silk Collection (03/50)

(this one will only be traded for a Grady Sizemore logo hat patch)
Kevin Youkilis Boston Red Sox Hat Logo manufactured patch #MHR-127 (86/99)

Turkey Red
6 - Upton
10 - Papelbon
19 - Ripken
31 - Ott

Gold-border
8 - LL Mauer-Ichiro-Jeter
24 - Maine
33 - Moore
70 - Hamels
84 - Robertson
102 - Twins
140 - Holliday
173 - Morales
214 - Kemp
227 - Thole (not Thome)

Base: 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14, 16, 24, 29, 42, 45, 48, 49, 55, 60, 64, 65, 69, 70, 72, 74, 78, 80, 87, 105, 107, 114, 117, 120, 130, 135, 136, 145, 152, 153, 164, 167, 171, 172, 177, 185, 188, 196, 197, 198, 216, 226, 237, 240, 241, 248, 256, 260, 261, 274, 280, 288, 293, 300, 303, 304, 314, 321, 326