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Baby Shoes

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My 1961 Red Sox set showed up today and it is great. Other 60s cards I ordered that showed today were a 1963 Topps Gene Conley and a 1963 Topps Ike Delock.

Other interesting Red Sox gets were I won a lot with the 1994 Topps Draft Pick and 1994 Stadium Clug Draft pick cards for Nomar Garciaparra. I don’t remember having any early Nomar cards as a kid as I know he was pricy and I was more focused on basketball by the time he showed up in the pros. The lot of 2 was like $1.50 shipped. Also a PSA 10 Bowman Chrome David Eckstein rookie, which was as a Red Sox player. Had gotten that for I think $14 shipped.

A couple Chris Bosh rookies showed up, a Topps Chrome Rookie that I won for $20 which I expect could go up in value when he goes in the Hall of Fame, since people love that set for that draft class. Also a Fleer Mystique rookie /600 that I got for like, $5.50. I won another nice Bosh rookie last night that I will share more about when it shows up.

When looking on Bosh, I came across a BGS 8 2003-04 Fleer Platinum rookie jersey swatch of Dwyane Wade that arrived today as I thought getting it for about $25 shipped was good.

For the normal collections I post about here, the seller that I got the Mystique Bosh from, I also got a 2017-18 Immaculate standout memorabilia patch of Paul Pierce /10. It is a tri-color patch from his Clippers uniform. Another seller I got a couple Bayley Royal Rumble mat relics from 2018 (Purple /99 and Green /150), a 2017 Topps Bronze variant rookie of Bayley and a 2016-17 Prizm Purple (/75) Paul Pierce.
 

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Cool gets. I literally had to look up Eckstein and learned he was drafted by Boston in 1997 but waived at the end of 2000. I'm building up a Beckett cart (for literally the 7th or 8th time in the last 10 days probably) but I discovered there's a very awesome 2019 Topps Gold #160 Fenway Park card out there. Shit like that is also a great reason to switch to singles as you'll discover cards you literally never knew existed unless you cheated with a checklist card (who uses those pffft) or lucked into pulling it from a pack/box. Same for the 2006? Upper Deck Team Pride Curt Schilling /699 below that discusses his Bloody Sock Game 6 performance.

I threw in a 1999 Fleer Tradition Vintage '63 #9 Nomar because I'm starting to be a sucker for the modern-day "retro" card designs thanks @snuffbox :p I'm also targeting some guys like Joe Mauer, Freddie Freeman, and Manny Machado who could be dark horses for the Hall of Fame candidacy wise beyond "obvious" names like Adrian Beltre.

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Baby Shoes

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It’s funny you mention the Fenway Card. I got a 2019 Topps Fenway Park PSA 10 from a seller today for $9.99. Figured it was less than paying for grading!

Those are some cool pickups. I used to collect some Schilling stuff as he was one of my favorites on the Diamondbacks before going to my true favorite team in the Red Sox. I can’t even look at any of my stuff of him since he became a Q’Anon lunatic.
 

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I had a mid grade PSA late 50s Hank Aaron a few years ago, found up having to liquidate it due to family emergency. Wish I had it, still. Not to sell, just know that it'll probably be really difficult to replace it now.
 

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12 card Alvin Kamara/Michael Thomas BGS submission from the 3rd week of June 2020 popped last week, my guy messaged me last night with my total. There's also one of my BAS cards on the invoice (but he messages after packing so I'm not sure which BAS sub it was, yet). I'm a little uncomfortable because Week 1 and Week 2 of June 2020 have not popped yet but week 3 of June has. I might slow down on weekly subs in case they do something weird like multiple submissions done on the same day. I'll post scans once the cards arrive. One 7.5 stinker, one 8.5, the rest were 9s or 9.5s. No 10s. The 7.5 was NOT a rookie card, I might try to recoup the cost for a week or so on myslabs and Facebook but ultimately I see it finding its way to a coworker's kid.
 

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12 card Alvin Kamara/Michael Thomas BGS submission from the 3rd week of June 2020 popped last week, my guy messaged me last night with my total. There's also one of my BAS cards on the invoice (but he messages after packing so I'm not sure which BAS sub it was, yet). I'm a little uncomfortable because Week 1 and Week 2 of June 2020 have not popped yet but week 3 of June has. I might slow down on weekly subs in case they do something weird like multiple submissions done on the same day. I'll post scans once the cards arrive. One 7.5 stinker, one 8.5, the rest were 9s or 9.5s. No 10s. The 7.5 was NOT a rookie card, I might try to recoup the cost for a week or so on myslabs and Facebook but ultimately I see it finding its way to a coworker's kid.
Curious what the 7.5 was on as that seems low, particularly if it's a fairly modern card.
 

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In continuing my "pick up 80s/90s RCs on the cheap" I snagged a Sammy Sosa 1990 Topps #692 PSA 9 for $14.00 shipped. Sosa's ridiculously hard to gem mint for any of his 1990 RCs. People forget he was a legitimate 30/30 player in the early to mid 90s and, not unlike Bonds, became a HR beast thanks to either corked bats or PEDs.

I think he may get in via Veteran's Committee way down the road but he'll probably be the only player with 3 60+ HR seasons over a 4 year span for a long time.
 
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Killing on eBay at the moment offing my Dustin Poirier autograph cards. His stuff is never going to be more valuable than it is now. And when they fall back down to earth maybe I’ll collect them again.
 

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Curious what the 7.5 was on as that seems low, particularly if it's a fairly modern card.
I opted for no subs but I can almost guarantee I missed something surface related that's only seen in reflective light. I miss surface flaws more than anything else.
 

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Did about a $160 order through Beckett with some serial #'d Pedro, Ortiz, Manny, and Wakefield cards. Influenced by @Baby Shoes and his Bayley collection, I decided to start up a PC of both Alexa Bliss & Liv Morgan as I don't really "PC" any player but I love them both. Ordered the following via Three Stars Sportscards, Burbank, Triple I Sportscards, and Diamonds In the Rough. Almost all were $3 or less, mostly 'Base' cards to start the PC off with.

13 Liv Morgan Cards and 29 Alexa Bliss Cards. Gonna probably turn to Ebay for more Serial/Relics/Autos, etc. Have a couple binders coming so I can properly PC them separately.
 

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Very cool stuff. Love the Sox pickups too. I actually was looking at some Big Papi stuff the other day, though I deviated a little from my mostly Red Sox purchases in baseball when I got some good deals on some Paul Goldschmidt stuff, who is one of my all-time favorite non-Sox players.

Hopefully you have some good luck on the Bliss and Liv collections. Those two with Sasha tend to be the most expensive in the current market. Tons of cool stuff out there for Bliss by now, I actually just threw her Topps Chrome 1st ever card rookie in a recent order I was doing because that was 2015 Chrome and the price keeps going up. Liv doesn’t have as much stuff yet but there are a couple cool looking relics (TLC mat relic, which I think was in the 2019 Women’s Division set) and autographs (Finest 2020) that I can think of.
 

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Very cool stuff. Love the Sox pickups too. I actually was looking at some Big Papi stuff the other day, though I deviated a little from my mostly Red Sox purchases in baseball when I got some good deals on some Paul Goldschmidt stuff, who is one of my all-time favorite non-Sox players.

Hopefully you have some good luck on the Bliss and Liv collections. Those two with Sasha tend to be the most expensive in the current market. Tons of cool stuff out there for Bliss by now, I actually just threw her Topps Chrome 1st ever card rookie in a recent order I was doing because that was 2015 Chrome and the price keeps going up. Liv doesn’t have as much stuff yet but there are a couple cool looking relics (TLC mat relic, which I think was in the 2019 Women’s Division set) and autographs (Finest 2020) that I can think of.
Yeah. I'm fully aware of the priciness of both so that's why I decided to start the PC now in case it continues spiraling up (or comes down a bit if the market corrects itself). I'm also a fan of Liv's autographs with the little star so that helps things a bit.

I opted to not go for the early Nomar/Schilling cart stuff instead of going for Pedro/Ortiz/Wake who are more personal Sox favorites. I tend to build up my carts then empty the entire cart like 7+ times before I actually go ahead and do an order like this one because I either don't love the cards or I decide to go an alternate route instead. Down the road, I may go back to those cards but probably doubtful unless they are a throw-in to a more ideal purchase.
 

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That’s a good idea. I had thought about adding a couple to my Beckett queue but I always feel the need to close out so I don’t miss out, so I didn’t. I also had to talk myself out of bidding on a really nice Dustin Pedroia auto/relic. As much as my focus of Red Sox cards in general are, I really don’t have that many autographs, as the certified on even their role players go for more than stars on smaller market teams.
 

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That’s a good idea. I had thought about adding a couple to my Beckett queue but I always feel the need to close out so I don’t miss out, so I didn’t. I also had to talk myself out of bidding on a really nice Dustin Pedroia auto/relic. As much as my focus of Red Sox cards in general are, I really don’t have that many autographs, as the certified on even their role players go for more than stars on smaller market teams.
Yeah. I'll literally put together like 10+ cards and get a minimum for something in my Beckett, then get rid of it a few hours later or the next day after thinking it over. Unless it's a PC or players I love ala Pedro/Ortiz, I've started transitioning more to either cards that just look cool (e.g. 90s/early 00s Inserts mostly) or players that mean more to me than just the HOF hodgepodge. That's why I didn't go for the Mauer/Freeman stuff because I think they could be HOFers but I just don't care. Same even for some Pujols and Beltre stuff I had thrown into my cart before getting rid of them.

The market for Red Sox players is surprisingly pricey, especially for autographs. I've thought about dabbling in autos, see the prices, and just turn back to raw serial #'d cards out of /75 or /100 or so because they are like $20-$40 cheaper lol.
 

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I tell myself last night I‘m going to be slowing down and then I see I get 8% ebay bucks the next couple days...
 

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That’s a good idea. I had thought about adding a couple to my Beckett queue but I always feel the need to close out so I don’t miss out, so I didn’t. I also had to talk myself out of bidding on a really nice Dustin Pedroia auto/relic. As much as my focus of Red Sox cards in general are, I really don’t have that many autographs, as the certified on even their role players go for more than stars on smaller market teams.
The Red Sox cards I picked up were the following - I have a massive affinity for Pedro's 1999/2000 Seasons so I'm all over anything that shows those statistics off. Also took advantage of the fact that Nomar's real "rookie" season was 1996 & ROY in 1997. I loathe the fact that "Prospect" cards are being treated as 'True Rookie' cards. Same shit for Derek Jeter and his '93 SP bullshit get outta here people.

Nomar Garciaparra 1997 Collector's Choice #25
Nomar Garciaparra 1997 Select #106 R
Nomar Garciaparra 1997 Stadium Club #188 2000 SP
Nomar Garciaparra 1997 Topps #293
Nomar Garciaparra 1998 Topps Chrome #335
Pedro Martinez 2000 Revolution Triple Header Holographic Gold #25 SN /599
Pedro Martinez 2001 Donruss Signature Proofs #107 SN /175
Pedro Martinez 2001 SP Authentic #143 SS SN /1250
Pedro Martinez 2002 Finest Refractors #91 SN /499
Pedro Martinez 2003 Upper Deck Finite Gold #137 MF SN /199
David Ortiz 2006 Topps '52 Debut Flashback Chrome #DF9 SN /1952
David Ortiz 2011 Topps Update Gold #US166 SN /2011
David Ortiz 2013 Topps Gold #595 SN /2013
David Ortiz 2015 Topps Museum Collection Primary Pieces Quad Relics #PPRQDO SN /99
Manny Ramirez 2001 Fleer Platinum Parallel #6 SN /201
John Valentin 1998 Topps Stars Silver #92 SN /4399
Mo Vaughn 1997 Upper Deck #417 GHL SP (Griffey Jr's Hit List)
Tim Wakefield 2010 Topps Gold Border #208 SN /2010
Tim Wakefield 2011 Topps Gold #364 SN /2011

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Wow. Some really cool pickups and stuff that I will need to look into for myself. The John Valentin pickup really popped to me as that is not a name you see often. Valentin and Mike Greenwell are probably two of the most overlooked guys based on being on the Red Sox primarily in a dark period. Although now I want to go find me some nice Greg Blosser cards.
 

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Wow. Some really cool pickups and stuff that I will need to look into for myself. The John Valentin pickup really popped to me as that is not a name you see often. Valentin and Mike Greenwell are probably two of the most overlooked guys based on being on the Red Sox primarily in a dark period. Although now I want to go find me some nice Greg Blosser cards.
Yeah, there's a lot of great little cards out there on Beckett especially if you know what year you're aiming for, e.g. 'Nomar Garciaparra 1997' or 'Pedro Martinez 2002' can pull up a lot of stuff. John Valentin's one of those guys I've gained a greater appreciation for, especially since he had a better overall season than Mo Vaugh in 1995 but Mo won the MVP that year. He really had a good run from 1993-1999 and a great callback with Mike Greenwell (finished 4th in ROY voting in 1987 and 2nd in MVP in 1988(!)

Part of what hurts those 90s Red Sox teams is that you basically had Wade Boggs in the early 90s then Mo Vaughn/Nomar. Then you got into FA signings like Jose Canseco (1995/1996), Jose Offerman (1999-2002), Carl Everett (2000/2001), and Dante Bichette (2000/2001).

The "long term" guys either sucked, had like 3-5 year 'runs' ala Troy O'Leary or Brian Daubach or Mike Stanley, or were in the system but made their names in the mid-2000s ala Jason Varitek, Trot Nixon, etc.
 

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That’s the math on it. If you invested $10 in October, you get $26.50 return now. Which is a nice and fast turnaround and you assume there will be a good handful of people who bought multiple shares. But even when the card market regresses, that’s not a card that I foresee losing a ton of value. If it was a Zion card, sure, take the money and run now because there is a lot of career left for value to tank - but MJ, Kobe, Lebron, those ones will stay high.
 

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Bigger mail day than I realized was happening. The big COMC order I did New Year’s Eve showed up, some of the Hank Aaron cards I ordered the other day, a Bayley card I had ordered in December that was coming internationally, so a few things that have been pending.

Some of the highlights:

- 1969 Topps Hank Aaron
- 2019 Diamond Kings DK Materials Holo Blue (/10) Willie McCovey game-used bat relic PSA 10 - I got this for about $25 shipped
- The USA Lebron James I mentioned the other day
- 2017 Optic Hall Kings Pink (/25) Jerry West - won this for $5 shipped

The COMC order was mostly a bunch of Bayley and Paul Pierce cards, mostly serial numbered things, with a couple odds and ends I stumbled upon like a couple of Antoine Walker and Tim Tebow’s 1st Bowman Chrome baseball card. One of the bigger shockers to me is one of the Pierce cards I picked up for less than $2 was actually serial numbered to 24! This was one I just thought was a fun and random one but being the low production number being found once it was in hand, I was extra excited.
 

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One of the bigger shockers to me is one of the Pierce cards I picked up for less than $2 was actually serial numbered to 24! This was one I just thought was a fun and random one but being the low production number being found once it was in hand, I was extra excited.
Curious which card this was. Depending on the brand (and player), I've been able to get some cards /25 for $3 or less on Beckett but it usually involves more luck.
 
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The PSA 9 Sammy Sosa RC I had ordered via Ebay User captain.lou arrived today but it was a BGS 9 (9.5 Centering, 9 Edges, 9 Surface, 8.5 Corners)?!? I'm satisfied with the card itself anyway in the BGS Slab (especially the 9.5 Centering. Great on both front/back) but just weird since he has over 3,000 feedback. May have simply been an honest mistaken shipment since he does have the BGS 9 Listed Same $9.99 + $4.00 Shipping Price in his store.
 

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Don’t know if this is for anyone but me. But the UFC and Topps are no longer in business together. Panini takes over the license and their first series comes out in April.
 

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Don’t know if this is for anyone but me. But the UFC and Topps are no longer in business together. Panini takes over the license and their first series comes out in April.
Damn... Panini's taken over a lot of sports. As bad as it was in the late 80s/early 90s with a bunch of distributors it's arguably just as bad when a Panini has such a stranglehold on a sport but releases a bunch of products under its umbrella instead. Panini also has exclusive deals with the NFL, NBA, and NASCAR.

Panini plans to use its popular Prizm brand to kick off the new deal, with a product set to release in April. Panini will also produce 2021 UFC releases for its Select (July), Chronicles (September), and Immaculate (December) brands.
 
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I’ve been out of cards for a bit. Wasn’t really sure how people thought about Panini. The people in the Facebook trading group I’m in are mostly positive about it because the last couple Topps releases weren’t great. The last one was downright lazy with Topps just seemingly unloading every sticker auto they had left in stock.
 

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Just picked up the below Ken Griffey Jr. PSA 9 1990 Upper Deck #156 for $19.99 (plus $3.00 Shipping). To me, it's a way cooler looking card than any of his 1989 Rookie Cards and actually has his rookie season stats on the back, which is a bonus. As a big "stats" guy and somebody who enjoys reading the backs of cards, I hate when "rookie cards" are really just "rookie year" cards. Both my Kirby Puckett and Craig Biggio rookie cards actually show their MLB stats and I think the cards are more legitimate for it as opposed to me having to either know the stats off the top of my head or look them up. It's that NFL/NBA thing where Jordan's iconic 1986-87 Fleer card actually has the stats from his 84-85 AND 85-86 seasons on the back.

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I have a budget of $1000. I'm buying any and all cards for 2021 Baseball HOF inductees. :p
Real discussion, I'm trying to figure out if anybody actually makes it in the 2022 Baseball HOF either.

Bonds & Clemens are believed to be the two probably going in as it'll be their final year but I could see writers being petty and keeping them out. A-Rod has no chance on the 1st Ballot and may be a guy who gets held to his 10th-year situation. Ortiz probably has the best chance of the 1st year ballot players but he has the PEDs hanging over him along with the 'DH' stigma and I'm not sold it doesn't take him until Year 3 or 4 to get in.

Vizquel now has the domestic abuse allegations over his head. Sheffield & Kent & Sosa & Manny aren't making it at this point. Wagner & Andruw Jones probably won't make it unless it's a 9th or 10th-year situation. Rolen and Helton got boosts but I think they're 2-3 years away. Torii Hunter's a dark horse to eventually make it ala Harold Baines (Veteran's Committee) but I wouldn't hold my breath.

A super deep dark horse to make it possibly on a 1st Ballot? Jimmy Rollins. Media loved him as a player. Has over 1,400 Runs, 2,400+ Hits, 200+ HR, and 450+ SB. Has an MVP, World Series Ring, and 4x Gold Glove at SS. I could legitimately see him getting 60-70% of the vote in Year 1 and making it in Year 2. Wouldn't shock me at all if he actually makes it Year 1.

A.J. Pierzynski will probably also surprise in the percentage of votes he gets but he played Catcher, won a World Series, was considered mostly a "leader" in the clubhouse, and has over 2,000 hits.
 
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