What I Took Away From The Million Card Giveaway

I did decently in last year's Topps Million Card Giveaway. I never obtained a card before the sixties, even though I tried. I traded a lot of good cards away because I wanted to make other people happy and didn't have a lot of interest in those particular cards. I was able to make a couple of decent trades for cards that I wanted.

In the end, Topps got their money from the extra packs that I bought and I had some fun and received a few cards in return. It was a fun experience, but I'm failing to recapture the same type of fun in their Diamond Giveaway from this year.

The cards that I ordered back in February finally arrived in today's mail. I only chose to get five cards delivered. I left about a dozen cards at the site, so if you get a 2005 Jermaine Dye or a 1988 Carlton Fisk in the Diamond Giveaway... you're welcome.

My first rule was to only get the cards delivered that struck a chord with me. These would include cards that I needed for my collection, vintage cards and the "what the hell, why not" factor. Three cards fit both the first and second stipulations and two cards fit the last category.

1983 Topps #274 - Terry Kennedy

This one was a last minute decision. 1983 Topps was my first pack of cards, so the nostalgic angle is there. I have come to realize that I have an affinity for catchers. I used to be a catcher and I suppose that this plays a huge part of that liking. Maybe it's the sadomasochistic way they abuse their bodies and still have to be sharp enough to know every little detail about the players on their team and any opponent that they face. The catcher is the James Brown of the baseball world; the hardest working man in baseball. Or maybe I just like catchers. It could be that I remember pulling a lot of Terry Kennedy cards when I was a kid.

1980 Topps #663 - Angels Future Stars (Ralph Botting, Bob Clark, Dickie Thon)

Do I even need to explain this one? It's a Dickie Thon rookie card! Of course I'm going to have it shipped to the house. This one has a little ding in the top left corner. Otherwise a nice card.

1973 Topps #423 - Johnny Jeter

The best card of the 1973 Topps set (for the White Sox at least). I wonder if the roller mark scalping him is giving Johnny that pained expression. Bonus: Johnny's son Shawn played for the White Sox nineteen years later.

1972 Topps #525 - Carlos May

A near perfect pose for a near perfect card. The only problem with this card is that it's slightly off-center. Another card off of my want list. Thanks, Marie!

1966 Topps #127 - Ken Berry

I traded a 1964 Braves card for this one. Normally, I wouldn't trade down on vintage, but I needed this one for my 1966 team set.

There you have it. One year's worth of tinkering and I get three vintage cards that I need for team sets, two other cards and a whole mess of cards left in Topps' possession. Not bad for a giveaway. I want to thank everyone who made trades with me. Sometimes I helped you out. Sometime you helped me out. I think it worked out in the end. It was fun. Isn't that what collecting cards is really about?

From Awesome To Meh In The Click Of A Mouse

First off, there is a selection of some of the cool things under the tree this year. The fifth season of SNL, DVDs of Lost Highway (finally in widescreen!) and Young Mr. Lincoln, the first John Swartzwelder novella, a smattering of card packs and a 2011 White Sox team calender (already rendered obsolete by the inclusion of Bobby Jenks). Other things included cologne and Blu-ray discs of The Hangover and Paths Of Glory (which I won't be able to play from the lack of a Blu-ray player, but should sometime in 2011).

In one of the packs of Topps second series packs...
A bonus Christmas gift of a code card! Cool, maybe that 2006 card of Rob Mackowiak will finally be mine. Again. Or I could hit the jackpot and get a vintage common. I've learned that I will never pull something cool, like a Pete Rose rookie or a (Topps favorite) Mickey Mantle card from his playing days. No Brewers Hank Aaron cards will ever be unlocked by me. No fifties card will ever be unlocked by me. I'm OK with that. I'm perfectly happy and surprised that I unlocked a common from 1964.

So I entered the code and...








A 1980 checklist card. Meh.

That won't ruin the good cheer and it won't taint the other gifts. It's just less than I expected from a bonus. Or it could just be karma.

Merry Christmas!!!

This May Be The Best Card I've Unlocked

I was at Target picking up a few supplies this morning. Lo and behold, a pack of Topps Updates slipped into my order. Whoopsie-daisy! When I got home and entered the code card that I had found, I was expecting to see a 2006 card of Rob Mackowiak. Instead, I see a 1964 card of Grover Powell.

Not being a die hard fan of the Metropolitans, I don't remember hearing the name Grover Powell. There's a good reason. He made his MLB debut with the Mets on July 13, 1963. He appeared in 20 games between then and September 29, 1963, which was his final MLB game. He spent 1964 through 1970 in the minors and died in 1985. In fact this was the only Topps card of Grover Powell, not including the 1964 Venezuelan counterpart. In fact, he only has five cards in the Beckett database. Three of which were issued after his playing career had ended in 1970. One of which was issued after his death.

With these parameters in play, I think it's awfully lucky that I got this card. This may truly be one in a million.

Best Laugh I've Had All Day

In case the picture turns out to be too small when clicked, let's review what someone is willing to trade for a 1952 Mickey Mantle card.

1971 - Clarence Gaston
1976 - Bobby Valentine
2005 - Carl Pavano
2006 - Brandon Webb
2002 - Mark Grace
1968 - Jack Fisher
1972 - Elrod Hendricks
1989 - Kirby Puckett
1972 - Ted Ford
1986 - Fred Lynn
1972 - Lee Richard
2002 - Glendon Rusch
2001 - Ivan Rodriguez

That's thirteen cards! The person holding the 52 Mantle in their Topps account will be overwhelmed by the generosity of the person offering the thirteen cards (from between 1968 and 2006) and be starstruck by the numerous superstar names, that the Mantle holder will automatically hit the trade button because they will be getting such a wonderful deal.

Or that's what the person offering the embarrassment of vintage commons and overproduced stars is hoping will happen.

Oh, wait. A couple of those vintage commons became successful managers. Well that changes everything.

Good luck with that one buddy.

A Sure Sign Of Rejection

You really want my 1973 Roger Metzger? It's that important to you? Then please don't insult me by offering a 1988 Eddie Murray. While Eddie Murray is completely bad-ass, I'm not going to trade a 1973 card for a 1988 card. Not gonna happen. You really want it? Offer me an older card. I don't care who it is. It can be any year up to 1972.

As for the people trying to wrestle my 1972 Carlos May away from me...

This is a card I really want in my collection. Only one person has offered me anything that gave me slight pause. That happened yesterday, when someone offered a 1972 Lee Richard card for my 1972 Carlos May. I didn't have any intention of trading away Carlos May, and if I didn't already have the Lee Richard card, I may have been tempted further. I traded for this particular card of Carlos May and it would take a card of some substance to pry it away before I redeem it. I can safely say that the card will be eventually securing a spot in my binder with the rest of the 1972 White Sox cards.

As for the Roger Metzger card? I don't care if you offer me two 1988 cards (as someone already did), it will take an older card than 1973 for me to trade it away. Keep those offers rolling in.

Just A Hunch

Whoever just unlocked the 1980 checklist must be feeling gypped. Unless that's the one card that they needed to complete the set.

Somehow, I doubt that feel good scenario.

Another Code, Another 70s Card

Hmmm. Is Topps telling me something by giving me the previous record holder for consecutive batters retired? Jim Barr set the record of 41 back in 1972, which was equaled by White Sox closer Bobby Jenks in 2007 and bested by White Sox starter Mark Buehrle in 2009, when he retired 45 consecutive batters, highlighted by his perfect game.

Miles To Go And All I Got Was This Doc

I've been extremely busy lately. A friend's mother passed away on Valentine's Day. My car needs the excess carbon forced out of the engine to pass emissions, which was the perfect excuse for a mini road trip to drop off the Twitter contest winnings to the winner. I also seem to be the on call tech for all of my friends' computer problems.

Yeah, there's been a lot going on this week. At least one of my problems requires me to venture out on the road and drive really fast while listening to Pearl Jam, Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath. It sounds like less of a problem and more like a solution.

While I was out buying a few items to help cleanse my car of its carbon problem, I snagged some more Topps packs. I received another code card (Ichiro) and it produced a card of Doc Gooden.

I'm no complainer. This is a card of a former superstar. Someone I've actually heard of that wasn't on a Chicago team. This kid was awesome in the eighties. A once promising career was derailed by drugs. It got so bad that Doc found anonymity in Tampa Bay for part of the 2000 season. I had no idea it had gotten that bad.

This card was ten years after what I would have wanted. It doesn't even show Gooden pitching. Just another pitcher wandering the base path, hoping not to be fooled by the hidden ball trick. It's bad enough that Ozzie Guillen was fooled by that lame play at least three times.

Tampa Bay in 2000 is easy enough to miss. I barely remember Wade Boggs or Jose Canseco on the Devil Rays in the early days of that team. How on earth did I miss Dwight Gooden on the Houston Astros????

Registered And Redeemed At Topps

I could have watched the Jersey Trilogy from Kevin Smith, in the time it took to register, then redeem four stinking cards. That is absolutely ridiculous!

Did I get any White Sox cards? No. Was I stuck with a bunch of junk wax? No. Was it worth the time and effort. Not really. Was it still cool? Yeah, kinda.

It's always a little cool turning insert cards magically into regular cards. Let's see how I fared after nearly six hours.

A picture featuring a 1963 Bob Gibson....

Magically turns into a 1987 Tony Gwynn!

Not an upgrade but a nice card of a Hall of Fame player.

A picture of a 2001 Ichiro...

Poof! Turns into a 2005 Mariano Rivera!

Not exactly an upgrade, but a great player in exchange for a great player!

A picture of a 1969 Mickey Mantle...

Shazaam! Turns into a 1971 Playoff card featuring Bob Tolan!

Vintage for vintage is something I can believe in!

A picture of a 1985 Mike Schmidt...

Kablooey! Turns into a 1966 Ralph Terry!

OK, I was fearing the worst, but I think I did pretty good. Not great, but pretty good. A Hall of Famer, a potential Hall of Famer and two vintage cards. Not too shabby!