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. 

Farewell Charlie Hustle

I was keeping tabs on the Braves/Mets series yesterday when I received word from my wife's Uncle about the passing of Pete Rose. It's still a little bit of a shock, but I guess at 83 years old it was only a matter of time. Sparky Anderson, Joe Morgan and now Pete Rose. I know that the remaining members of the Big Red Machine aren't getting younger and no one knows how much longer those players will be with us. Love him or hate him, Pete Rose knew how to play baseball. I think that passion for the sport is what drew me to him as a collector. That and the fact that he was a flawed individual. He was far from perfect and a very polarizing figure. He made some mistakes and committed the cardinal sin in baseball that will probably forever keep him out of Cooperstown. I wanted to show off the last card I picked up of Pete prior to his passing. This 2010 Panini Century Collection Six Cent Stamp is fantastic. While I'm normally not a fan of Panini cards, in my opinion, this is just an amazing piece of cardboard. I don't have this card in hand yet as it's at COMC headquarters. There was a 3 cent stamp listed on Beckett that I purchased today since I had been eyeing that card for a while but hadn't pulled the trigger yet. I figured I had better grab it since a lot of the Rose cards I had been watching on eBay vanished quickly after the news broke yesterday and I wasn't sure when another copy would show up. There's nothing more I can say about the Hit King. He belongs to the ages now. People either liked him or they didn't. He was a polarizing figure before polarizing became the norm of society as it is today. But no one can argue his drive and determination to play the game hard. A game he loved probably more than life itself. After all, Pete once said "I'd walk through hell in a gasoline suit to play baseball." 

Getting Ready For The Call

In just a few short months we'll find out who will be the inductees of the Hall of Fame Class of 2025. There's little doubt that Ichiro will be a member of that class. I always appreciated his old school playing style of trying to slap the ball into play instead of trying to go yard the way most players approach the game today. I don't think we'll see another Ichiro for quite some time, if ever. That being said, I've had my eye on this card for quite some time and I finally decided to purchase one off of eBay since it seems that not a lot of them are available. This is the 2007 Topps Chrome Japanese version and while they're not numbered, their production run is definitely a lot smaller compared to the English version. According to Baseballcardpedia, six Japanese players had a short print Japanese text version of their card (Matsui, Johjima, Ichiro, Okajima, Igawa, and Matsuzaka). The Hobby odds of pulling a Japanese variant from a pack was 1:82 packs. I'm glad to finally have this card in my collection and though I'm not an Ichiro super collector, there are a few more cards of his that I'm hoping to pick up before he gets his call from the Hall. 

A Different Kind of Elly

Over the past few months the 2024 Topps design has grown on me. So much so, that I thought about chasing a rainbow of Elly De La Cruz flagship cards. That project was quickly dashed once I started looking into what it would cost to acquire just nine different parallels (and we're not talking about short print stuff either). I thought I would go after anything with a print run of 499 or greater, but after I added up the cost the project would have run me well over $700. NO THANKS! Prices have become stupid expensive for stuff that would have only cost a fraction of that 10 years ago. I feel like fanatics has built their business on a house of cards (figuratively speaking) and it's only a matter of time before it comes crashing down. It can't last, and it won't last. Enough of my ranting. Instead of a rainbow I decided to purchase something way more affordable and I'm very happy with these cards. These three Elly cards are from the Topps Flagship Companion set. I love the different images and the prices for these were reasonable. I would eventually like to add a Reds Team set card of Elly to this grouping and place the four cards in a BCW four card screw down to show them off. 

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.

Everything's Just Rosie When It Comes To This Bobblehead!

It has been a LONG time since I added a bobblehead to my collection. I really don't collect bobbleheads anymore due to the fact that they just take up too much space. I would like to eventually add a City Connect Elly De La Cruz, but they're way too expensive at the moment. Maybe I'll grab one in a year or two when the hype fades. In the meantime, my in-laws are in the process of downsizing and gifted me with this Rosie Red bobblehead that they've had stored at their place. I've thought about purchasing one of these for a while now but never got around to doing it. I guess it pays to be patient. The Reds gave these out at their June 30, 2018 game when they faced the Brewers. Cincinnati won that game 12-3. The highlight of the game occurred when Michael Lorenzen (who normally pitches) came in to the game to pinch hit and hit a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh for the Reds. 

Still Enjoy Building Sets After All These Years

Back when I started collecting in the mid 80s it was SO much easier to collect sports cards. You had only a few options to choose from and prices for a pack of cards didn't cost an arm and a leg. Donruss and Fleer never tickled my fancy, Score wasn't on my radar, and Sportflics was only available at Toys R Us (where my Mom would only take me for my birthday). That just left Topps and I was content with that. 792 cards to track down was a task that I could easily accomplish. I would normally purchase a couple of wax boxes and trade my doubles with friends to get me over the finish line. Fast forward almost forty years later and I still enjoy set building. I don't buy boxes of new product but I have started putting together some want lists of sets that I always wanted but never got around to chasing. The first is 1993 Topps Finest. I collected the entire set about 5 years ago but for whatever reason I sold it since I didn't think it fit in to my collection and I've regretted it ever since. So, once again I'm going to build it (along with the three promo cards) and hoping to have this completed by the end of the year. I'm also going to add a couple of Donruss Studio sets to the mix just because they're different and I think they're fantastic (1993 and 2003). Maybe I'll decide to chase a set or two later once these are finished, but for now I'll keep things manageable. 

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.

2001 Fleer Legacy Sean Casey Autographed Hat

When I found out years ago that Fleer released a product in 2001 called  Fleer Legacy that came with an autographed fitted hat, I knew I had to track down one of these for my collection. There are two Reds players that are included in the checklist: Johnny Bench and Sean Casey. I already have a lot of Bench autographs in my collection so I decided to chase after the Mayor. I was finally able to track one down this week for a decent price and now I'm just waiting for it to arrive in the mail. I like the black hats the team used in the late 90s and I do wish the club would wear them every now and then. I think it'll complement my autographed Tony Perez hat nicely.

Making Progress of a Pre-War Set

I haven't spent much time the past few years trying to complete some of my older Reds team sets, mainly due to the price of the cards. I still prefer vintage over modern cards but when you're talking about shelling out a hundred dollars or more on a card that's not a hall of famer then it becomes a hard pill to swallow. I haven't been able to find a copy of a 1941 Play Ball Johnny Vander Meer for less than $100. Perhaps it's due to the fact that it's a high number card in a pre-war set or that it's his rookie card. I knew that out of the four Reds cards that comprise this set, Vander Meer would be the toughest to track down. Last week I stumbled across a listing on eBay for this copy that, I feel, is in decent shape for its age. No creasing on this card and it was for $50. I finally pulled the trigger and bought it today so now I just have to wait for it to show up within the next week to place it in the binder. I'm glad to finally have a card of the only player in major league history to throw back-to-back no hitters. I'm hopeful that by the end of the year I'll be able to add the Derringer and McCormick to my collection.

Autographed "Doggie" Hat

I picked up this autographed Cooperstown Collection hat of Tony Perez for, what I think, is a decent price. While I have a lot of autograph baseballs, bats, mini batting helmets, baseball cards, mini home plate and even an autographed glove, I did not have an autographed ball cap in my collection. I love the look of this 1960s style cap and I think it'll look nice next to my other autographed memorabilia on my bookshelf. 

A Perfect Addition To My Collection!

It's been a while since I've posted to the blog. Things here have been crazy with moving back to the Cincinnati area after being in Northern Ohio for more than 20 years. It's nice to be close to family again. I'm also hoping that I can make it to a game or two at Great American Ballpark this year. Anyway, I've been looking for some time to add a ticket stub from the only perfect game thrown by a Reds player. Tom Browning accomplished the feat on September 16, 1988 against the Dodgers in a 1-0 victory for the Reds. Most of the tickets I've seen come up on eBay have been for unused tickets selling in the range of $150 or more. While it would have been nice to have one, I couldn't justify the cost. This ticket was listed last week and I was happy that I was the only bidder for this ticket AND I picked it up for a fraction of the cost of others I had seen. I'm looking forward to having this arrive shortly in the mail. Now if I can only complete one of my vintage Reds team sets before the end of the year. 

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.

Coming Soon To A Mailbox Near Me!

With the release of 2024 Topps right around the corner I went ahead and did the same thing I've done year-after-year for the past ten years or so. I headed over to eBay to find sellers that had this coming year's team set available for purchase. Normally Reds team sets don't go for that much but I had a feeling that this year would be different with Elly De La Cruz and Christian Encarnacion-Strand having their rookie cards in this release. $16 shipped is what I paid for the 12 cards in series 1. Now I just have to wait until around the end of the month before they arrive. I'm still on the fence about the design of this year's flagship set. Not sure if I like it or loathe it. I'll make up my mind when I actually have the cards in hand. Regardless, I'm glad that baseball season is right around the corner.