Paul Janish Auto

Did you know that Paul is currently a coach on his alma mater Rice Owls? He played a total of three seasons for the Reds from his call up on May 14, 2008 through the 2011 season.

Gookie Dawkins Auto

I picked up this 2000 Fleer Showcase Gookie Dawkins auto for a few bucks last year on COMC. Did you know that Gookie won a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games? He's currently the manager for the Daytona Tortugas.

Raisel Iglesias Auto

I picked up this 2018 Topps Finest Iglesias auto last year on COMC and just now posting about it. Did you know that Iglesias attempted to defect from Cuba in September 2013 but was caught. He was successful in November of that same year. Iglesias is currently with the Braves.

Lurking in the Shadows

As luck would have it, a few days after I acquired the Piazza and Thomas shadowbox cards this Freddie Freeman card appeared on eBay with a Buy it Now/Best Offer. I submitted a reasonable offer to the seller and he accepted. This is my 15th shadowbox signature card from 2015 Topps Strata and I'm now down to needing only 9 cards to complete the set.

It Pays to be Patient

 A year ago I saw a listing on eBay for a 2015 Topps Strata Frank Thomas Shadowbox Signature card for $250. At the time, I was tempted to purchase the card to add to my set Shadowbox set build but I decided to hold off until I took care of some of my other collecting goals first. Needless to say, I waited too long and the card ended up selling a few months later. I guess that was a good thing because last week another 2015 Topps Strata Shadowbox Frank Thomas popped up as well as a 2015 Topps Strata Shadowbox Mike Piazza COMBINED for less than that first Frank Thomas card I saw listed a year ago. Check them out!

With these two additions I'm down to just 10 more cards from this set build. The Ichiro is going to be the tough one to chase. Regardless, it's nice to add two Hall of Fame autographs to my collection

Just as good the second time!

Today I was able to finally cross off another project on the blog, for a second time. I've completed once more the 2015 Topps Update All Star Stitches set and this time I won't be getting rid of it. I'm still kicking myself for selling this set a few years back. I think Topps did a great job with incorporating the Palace of the Fans design since Cincinnati hosted the mid summer classic that year. I would still like to add a seat from that stadium to my man cave sometime in the foreseeable future. Glad I'm finally able to put this project to bed.....again.

Passing the 500 card mark

Today I was able to meet another goal I had wanted to complete before the end of the year. I finally crossed the 500 card mark for my Pete Rose PC. While I no longer hold the #1 spot on Tradingcarddb for Rose cards in my collection, I am happy with the progress I've made in acquiring his cards. I know it's a bit premature, but maybe I'll be able to hit 600 by the end of the year. Onward and upward, unlike my Reds who are sitting in the basement in the NL Central.