Adding a White Whale to the Collection

I've always been a huge fan of 2015 Topps Strata. For the past decade I've been slowly acquiring the Shadowbox Signature set from this release. I still have seven more cards to track down for that set build. There was also another card in this release that I had hoped to acquire at some point, but with the print run being at only 25 copies I knew that it wouldn't be easily. Last month one finally showed up on eBay and I was able to land it for a decent price. Numbered 18/25, this 2015 Topps Strata Signature Patch of Joey Votto is now part of my collection and one of the best cards I own of Votto.

2015 Reds Autograph Baseball

Here's the latest addition to my autograph collection, a 2015 Reds team signed Opening Day Major League Baseball. There are 16 signatures on this baseball: Bryan Price, Billy Hamilton, Todd Frazier, Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, Zach Cozart, JJ Hoover, Manny Parra, Chris Dominguez, Anthony DeSclafani, Ryan Mattheus, Burke Badenhop, Brennan Boesch, Mike Leake, Nate Adcock and one I can't figure out. I'm hoping I could eventually have Brandon Phillips, Aroldis Chapman, Johnny Cueto and Eugenio Suarez sign this ball.This is my ninth team autograph baseball and I have a team autograph baseball from the 1950s through the 2010s. 

I Normally Don't Collect Heritage...

But I had to make an exception. When I first saw this card a few weeks ago I immediately knew that I needed to pick one up. This is the 2022 Topps Joey Votto short print variations and I just think it's an amazing card. A very nice nighttime shot of Votto in the on deck circle under the stadium lights just makes for a nice image. I was able to track down when this image was taken on Getty Images and it's June 21, 2021 when the Reds faced the Twins in Minneapolis. Cincinnati lost that game 7-5 and Votto went 2-5.

Throwback Thursday

It amazes me that after all these years of collecting I'm still discovering cards that I didn't know existed. Case in point are the 2015 Topps Throwbacks. These were included in one of every two rack packs that were sold in Target and Walmart. I guess these would be considered image variations since they have the same number on the back as their standard counterpart but the border on these are light bown. I love the old Reds pullover uniforms since I grew up watching the Reds play wearing them. Out of the 50 cards that were produced, the Reds had five of them (Votto, Frazier, Phillips, Hamilton and Cozart). While not a "short print" according to today's standards, I still think these are fantastic and I'm happy to have them in my collection. 

One More to Go!

Just a quick post today. I finally picked up a 2011 Topps Chrome Purple Refractor for my 2011 Topps Chrome Votto Rainbow. Numbered out of 499 I didn't think this would be that difficult to track down but there were only two available. One was listed on COMC for $20....no thanks. The other one I found was at Beckett Marketplace for $7.50. Needless to say, that's the one I went with. Now I'm just down to needing the Gold Refractor numbered out of 50 to complete this project. Not sure when one will appear, but hopefully it'll be soon so I can wrap this up.

Another 2011 Topps Chrome Refractor Added to the Collection

A few weeks ago this card appeared on eBay for way more than I was willing to pay. There was no "Best Offer" option on the card but I decided to add it to my watch list to see if it would eventually drop in price. A few days later the seller sent me an offer that knocked $25 dollars off but that was still more than I was willing to pay. Finally, last Friday, the seller dropped the price to $60 and I was happy to pay that price for one of the three refractors I'm missing from this project. I'm still waiting for it to arrive in the mail but, that said, I'm happy that this is finally in my collection. Now I just need to get the Purple and Gold refractors to wrap up this project.

Closer to the End of the Rainbow

Last week I received a notice on one of my eBay saved searches that I card I had never seen available for purchase in almost 10 years was finally listed. Unfortunately, it was listed as an auction and the card was graded a PSA 10. While I normally don't chase after graded cards, I knew I had to try and snag this copy since I had no idea if I would ever see one again. These 2013 Topps Orange cards are numbered out of 230 and are exclusives that were included as a pack of five cards in sealed factory sets. I'm not sure how many collectors have opened their sets but I'm sure there's a lot of people out there that choose to keep them sealed. I was fortunate enough to be the high bidder on the card and the card arrived safely this past Saturday. With this addition I now have 37 different 2013 Topps Joey Votto cards in my rainbow. Of the three cards I'm still chasing for this project, two I've never seen for sale (the 2013 Topps Opening Day Purple Toys R Us and the 2013 Topps Silver Slate Framed that's numbered out of 10) and the 2013 Topps Chrome Pink Refractor that's numbered out of 5 has only appeared once. As it stands, I've probably reached the end of this project since the remaining cards I'm chasing will more than likely never surface. But I'll still keep an eye out just in case one of those white whales were to ever surface.

What I'm Thankful For

It's crazy how this year has almost come to an end. Only a little over one month until 2023 is history and the start of 2024. The holidays always seem like a blur to me now that I'm older but I have come to realize over the years that next to Christmas, Thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday. Part of it is the food, but the majority of it revolves around the many blessings I have and seem to take for granted. The day helps me to get grounded and remember just how blessed I am. Family, friends, my health, a home, a great job are the top five on my list but I'm also thankful that I was able to watch a guy grow into a great player on my favorite team. Not only did I appreciate all the things he did on the diamond but also his involvement with the community off the field. To me, he just seemed like a very classy guy and I'm going to miss seeing him in a Reds uniform. With that being said, I'm thankful that I was able to complete my Joey Votto Rookie Album project this year. I've also decided to start one more small Joey Votto project, a 2011 Topps Chrome Votto Rainbow. There's 13 different parallel variations in 2011 Topps Chrome but I'm not chasing three of those (Red, Gold Canary Diamond, and Superfractor) since I think it'll be next to impossible to track those cards down and I don't want to pay an arm and a leg for those. If the Red ever comes up for a reasonable price then I'll consider it. For now, the ten variations I'm chasing are: Base, Refractor, X-Fractor, Orange Refractor, Purple Refractor, Atomic Refractor, Blue Refractor, Black Refractor, Sepia Refractor, and the Gold Refractor. So far I've acquired six of the ten and two (Purple and Orange) will be easy pickups for me. That just leaves the Black and Gold to track down. I think it'll look nice to display in one of these 10 card frame displays from Amazon once I complete it. If you're curious about seeing what cards I have so far, you can view the page here or over in the navigation menu titled: 2011 Topps Chrome Votto Rainbow. I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

I Never Thought I Would See Another One Again!

Have you ever gotten rid of a card only to regret, almost immediately, doing so? That was the case for me with this 2008 Topps Chrome The National Joey Votto. I had a nice collection of 2008 Votto rookies that I had amassed a few years ago but decided to get rid of them. There were a few Upper Deck rookie autograph and low number Topps Triple Threads that I parted ways with, but this Topps Chrome National was a heartbreaker. According to baseballcardpedia.com "it's believed that only 300 copies of each base card were produced for this promotion". Earlier in the week I happened to stumble across a listing for this card on Beckett Marketplace. I felt the asking price was ok and I went ahead and purchased this card since I don't know if I'll ever be able to stumble across another one again. With this purchase I now have 90 different Votto rookie cards in my collection (five 2002 Votto cards and eighty-five 2008 Votto cards). I can now mark this project as complete. If you're interested, you can view all the cards I have for this project here. 

Half empty or half full?

It's always nice to know as a collector that once you hit the halfway mark of a set or any other goal you set out to achieve that once you hit the halfway mark then it should be all downhill from there. Of course, more often than not, collecting is like running a marathon. You have to be in it for the long haul and while it can be daunting at times and seem nearly impossible, once you acquire that last card then you realize the accomplishment you've achieved. Today, I crossed the halfway mark on my Votto Parallel Universe project. I now have 45 of the 90 cards I'm chasing for this project. Card number 45 is this 2019 Topps Chrome Indigo box topper numbered out of 150. I'm not sure what number in the print run it is since I still need to receive it in the mail, but it's definitely a nice card and can't wait for it to arrive. I also don't have all the photos listed on the project page since they're currently in my COMC inventory and I don't want to use a picture with their watermark on it. I'll be content to wait until I have those in hand before I post those pictures. It's been a fun project to tackle so far and I can't wait to see what other Votto cards I can add to this.

Glad There's Only One!

For the past couple of years Topps had a tendency of including two or more Reds short prints in their series 1 release. That made it a pain to try and track those down for my Reds Team sets just because they normally set me back $20 or more a piece. That adds up after a while. Don't even get me started on the super short prints. Luckily, this year Topps only had one Reds short print included but it was a doozy since Votto has had a resurgence among some collectors and the price of his cards have gone up considerable...even for new release product. Thankfully I know have this card in hand and won't have to worry about trying to track down any more short prints until series 2 is released. Of course, the way things are going with the players and the owners right now I wonder if there will be a series 2.

Changing the Rules

With the end of the baseball season here, it's also more than likely the end of pitchers batting in the National League. I'm a purest when it comes to the game. I feel that if a pitcher wants to throw at a batter then his time will come when he's standing in the box and just as likely to get beaned. I'm not a fan of the designated hitter but I guess a lot of fans want more offense in the game. Personally I don't. I would prefer watching a pitcher's dual any day of the week as compared to teams going yard all the time. It's just not the same. Regardless, time marches on and the game changes. Speaking of changing the rules, my Votto Rookie project is getting closer to completion thanks to me changing my rules for the binder. I decided to add three 2002 Bowman Votto cards to my binder because they're "technically" Votto's rookie cards according to Beckett and the way rookie cards were labeled as such under the old school way of doing things. If you're interested in what they say about that you can read the article here. I added the 2002 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects standard card, the 2002 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects Gold foil card and the 2002 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects Chrome card to my album. With these additions I'm down to needing just five more cards to wrap up this project. Unfortunately 4 of the 5 cards I'm chasing are autograph cards. 

And then there were 9

Last week I was able to track down two more cards I needed for my Votto Rookie Album project. Those two cards are the 2008 Upper Deck Documentary standard issue and gold parallel. There are 10 each of the 2008 Upper Deck Documentary cards in each version that depict Votto on the front of the card for a total of 20 cards but I only wanted one copy of each. I also wanted the card to be the same card number AND mention Votto in the short write-up on the back of the card. Luckily I was able to identify a card in the set to chase and it was icing on the cake that the Reds also won the game the card mentions. Now I just need 9 more cards to finish up this project. 

Rainbows and Unicorns

That's what I've been chasing lately. I'm currently at 76 unique Votto rookie cards and the ones that are missing from my collection either haven't been seen in months, sometimes years, or they're so overpriced on eBay that I'm not even going to attempt to make an offer. Hopefully I can snag some more unicorns before the end of the year but prices for Votto rookies have skyrocketed ever since he passed the 300 home run mark earlier this season. As for rainbows, I've been working on putting together a fun little collection of Votto refractors for my collection. I'm looking at trying to acquire 90 different Votto numbered parallels. So far the majority of my refractors are of the gold variety so I guess you could say there is a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow. I do have an orange, a green and a couple of blues. If your interested in seeing what cards I've acquired you can hit the Votto Parallel Universe Project link in the navigation.

2021 Topps

The cards are on their way. Each year I head over to eBay and pick up a Reds team set because I don't feel like spending money busting packs trying to build a single team set. That's just too expensive and I end up with a ton of cards and inserts I don't want. Besides, there are a lot of projects I'm working on and I would rather the majority of my funds go towards acquiring cards to complete those projects instead. Luckily for me, Topps only included one short print in series one that I needed for my set, the Joey Votto card pictured in the post. That too is on it's way to my house and hopefully will be in my binder before the end of the week. I'm glad that Topps decided to include a border in this year's design. To me, the base set should have a border. Save the full bleed photos for Stadium Club. I just don't care for all the transparent boxes on the front of the card. Still feels a little too much like Bowman for me. That and the fact that there are so many rookie cards in Series 1. Maybe if the name was a little larger I would be more of a fan of the design.

Gatorade Baths

As the 2020 baseball season teeters on the brink I was reading some of the articles posted the past few months about some of the stipulations that would be put in place IF the season were to proceed. One of those included no player showers after games. I guess that's ok as long as players are no longer permitted to celebrate with the mobbing at home plate or the post game gatorade baths. Sure, it stinks "literally" but it's a different world we live in right now. That being said, yesterday I stumbled upon a couple of super short prints that I thought I would never own since they were so far out of my price range a year ago. These two cards together ran me the same price as it would if I had purchased just one of these a few months ago.

2017 Topps 288 SSP Joey Votto

2019 Topps US 50 SSP Nick Senzel

While I'm not a fan of the super short print concept, I think both of these cards are fantastic images and I'm glad that they're finally part of my collection.

It ain't over til it's over

It's been a year and a half since I've been able to add another card to the 2013 Topps Votto Rainbow. Patience definitely pays. I was surprised last week to see this black printing plate pop up on eBay. I already have printing plates for Opening Day, Chrome and Topps Mini but I had yet to find a printing plate for the base Topps. On top of that the other three printing plates I had were for different colors: yellow, cyan and magenta. Luckily I was able to come out as the high bidder and I'm now anxiously awaiting for it's arrival in the mail. With this pick up I'm down to just needing five more cards for my rainbow: 2013 Topps Factory Orange numbered to 230, 2013 Topps Wrapper Redemption Silver Slate numbered to 10, 2013 Topps Opening Day Toy's R Us Purple parallel, 2013 Topps Chrome Camo Refractor numbered to 15 and 2013 Topps Chrome Pink Refractor numbered to 5.

2019 Topps

I realize that Topps released their 2019 flagship series one cards a few days ago, so I'm a little late to the party. I do like the design of this year's set. Although there aren't any borders, the hockey stick style that's reminiscent of the 1982 design comes close to providing one. I just wish Topps hadn't included the pixel effect on the cards. There are a few Reds base cards that immediately grabbed my attention in this year's series one release. The first being Billy Hamilton with the ivy at Wrigley.

I'm still disappointed that Hamilton is no longer with the Reds. Defensively, he's a beast and has some of the greatest catches I've ever seen a center fielder make. Offensively, he just doesn't have the bat to at least get on base. Maybe he'll be able to pull it together in Kansas City. The second card I admire is Joey Votto stretching before his at bat. For whatever reason, this card reminds me of all the Leaf Pete Rose cards that show Charlie Hustle doing the exact same thing.

Finally, this Votto short print is fantastic. It's something you don't see very often from Topps in a base flagship set. Every time I look at this card I hear the same phrase repeated over and over in my head, "Damn he's smooth."

So, that's my thoughts about 2019 Topps series one. I'm already looking forward to series two as long as there are no super short prints I have to chase.

2018 Topps Cincinnati Reds Team Set

35 cards total for this year's Topps Reds team set (including the short prints and the Votto super short print). I'm still on the fence as to whether short prints should be included in team sets. Honestly, I would be content if Topps went back to producing their flagship without including short prints in the product. Rather, save that gimmicky stuff for Stadium Club or Heritage. Here's the list of players that make up the team set:

14 Amir Garrett
55 Tyler Mahle
57 Zack Cozart
68 Billy Hamilton
68SP Billy Hamilton
95 Eugenio Suarez
137 Scott Feldman
153 Brandon Finnegan
207 Scooter Gennett
209 Michael Lorenzen
301 Jackson Stephens
331 Raisel Iglesias
352 Cincinnati Reds Team Card
354 Robert Stephenson
450 Joey Votto
450SP Joey Votto
450SP Johnny Bench
450SSP Joey Votto
452 Tucker Barnhart
504 Scott Schebler
543 Luis Castillo
574 Jared Hughes
581 Jesse Winker
589 Adam Duvall
589SP Adam Duvall
596 Keury Mella
601 Jose Peraza
694 Anthony DeSclafani
US28 Alex Blandino
US49 Eugenio Suarez
US74 Joey Votto
US87 Thunder & Lightening (Votto & Hamilton)
US135 Sal Romano
US145 Scooter Gennett
US238 Matt Harvey

Never Say Never!

Back in June when I was talking about 2018 Topps I mentioned the various Reds short prints that are included in the release. One of those cards I spoke about was this particular Votto Super Short Print. At the time, these things were going for more than $50 a piece and I made the comment that this card would probably never enter my collection with the steep price tag these cards were commanding. Well, fast forward two months later and I was able to snag this card off eBay for less than $30 shipped. Is that still a lot to pay for a card that was produced this year? You bet. However, when you factor in that odds for pulling a SSP is 1:866 packs I think it's a fair price to pay for the card. There are still two SSP cards that I don't have but maybe one day I'll be fortunate enough to add those to my binders as well. The first is a 2017 Votto Gatorade bath and the second is this 2013 Topps Teddy Kremer.

Teddy, who has Down Syndrome, is a huge Reds fan and was an honorary bat boy for the Reds. He was recently honored this past year with his own bobblehead. There were only 1000 bobbleheads produced and distributed on July 20th.