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. 

The Agony of Waiting!

I picked up this card almost a month ago on eBay, but I wasn't sure I would ever get it in my collection.  Toward the end of June I was the winning bidder of this card and the seller promptly mailed off the card through USPS with tracking provided. The first few days went off without a hitch and then it arrived at a facility in New Jersey. From there the tracking just died. The only update that was posted said that the package was delayed and it stayed that way for almost two weeks. So, I decided to open a case with USPS to see if they could locate the package or at least provide me with some information as to what was going on. Eventually, the package started moving again from New Jersey to Louisiana. From Louisiana to Texas and on to Indiana, finally making its way to Ohio. Yesterday, I received a notification that it was delivered. I wasn't sure what to expect when I opened the mailbox. I just had a sinking suspicion that I would find a mangled envelope within a USPS envelope stating that the card was lost (stolen) in transit. Luckily, everything worked out ok and I received this 2019 Topps Ichiro SSP. 

Still Finding Gems in a Junk Wax Era

For those of us who collected cards in the 80s we're all very aware of the fact that those cards hold no monetary value whatsoever. That's fine by me considering the fact that I didn't purchase these cards to make a dime off of them. Rather, I enjoyed ripping a pack of cards to see what players I got and who I still needed to complete the set I was slowly building. When Upper Deck came on the scene in 1989 I didn't have the funds to purchase a pack for a dollar a piece. I decided to chase Topps for half the price and since I had been opening Topps packs since 1986 it was a no-brainer decision. Years later, after I returned to the hobby, I was able to add the 1989 Upper Deck set to my collection at an affordable price since that set too was overproduced as well. Recently, while browsing Trading Card Database, I stumbled upon the fact that Upper Deck had released promotion cards in 1989 that they sent to dealers giving them a preview of their upcoming product. There were only two subjects for these promo cards (Wally Joyner and DeWayne Buice) but three different back hologram variations for each (a top hologram, a bottom small hologram, and a bottom large hologram). I'm not sure if I'll chase all three variations, but I have been able to acquire the bottom small hologram promo cards. 

I think they complement my 1989 Upper Deck set nicely.

Rose and the Hall of Fame

I know I'm a little late to the party on this. Life happens and I don't have as much time as I once did to post. Looking at the date of my last post, it's been long overdue for me to throw something together to put on the blog. So, about MLB's decision to reinstate Rose and the other deceased members of the Banned for Life players, I'm not really sure how to take it. I've said before that Rose played the game hard. What he did on the field was amazing. What he did off the field; however, is unacceptable. You break the rules, you pay the consequences. That's just how life works. It's hard to separate the professional and the personal aspects of an individual and that's my conundrum. Was he a great ballplayer? Absolutely. Should he be enshrined in Cooperstown now that he's passed on? I'm not so sure. I'll leave that up to the voters to decide. What I do know is that I'll still keep collecting his cards for the things he did on the field. Case in point, I just picked up this 2011 Playoff Prime Cuts numbered out of 25 for just over the price of a "blaster". I always liked these cards and if I can find one that I need at a reasonable price I'll definitely add it to my Charlie Hustle PC. 

Another Team Set Completed!

It's been a few months since I've posted, but I'm still very much active in the hobby. I'm still making progress on my 1993 Finest set and hope to have that completed by the end of this year. But that's not what this post is about. I was finally able to track down the last Cincinnati Reds card I needed from the 1941 Play Ball set, Buck McCormick. I now have all four Reds cards that are in this set. I'm happy to have finally wrapped up a Reds set that's older than myself. Perhaps I'll even be lucky enough to knock out the 1951 Bowman Reds set this year as well. We shall see.

Congrats Ichiro!

I'm a little late for this post as the Hall of Fame results were announced a few days ago, but better late than never. While I knew that Ichiro was a lock for the Hall, I still couldn't believe that he fell one vote short of a unanimous selection. Just sad that one writer felt that he couldn't vote for him on his first year of eligibility. Regardless, I'm glad that Ichiro will now be forever enshrined in Cooperstown. I spoke last month about a couple of projects that I started. The first being my Rookie book project and the second is tracking down all of Ichiro's Topps Flagship Short Prints (SPs, SSPs and an SSSP that I'll probably never own). My favorite of the bunch is this 2012 Topps Update of him bowing to the fans at his return to Seattle after signing with the Yankees. Such a great card and I'm glad to have it in my collection. I've always admired Ichiro for how he played the game. He was more interested in getting a hit than mashing a home run (similar to Pete Rose in my opinion without all the baggage). If you're interested in seeing the other short prints I've picked up you can click here or select the Ichiro Topps Flagship Short Prints Image Variations link in the pages section. Once I grab the remaining three short prints that I need then I'll consider my Ichiro collection complete. I already have his Topps Flagship rookie and a 2007 Topps Chrome Japanese variation so I think that's a nice assortment. I might chase after a Topps Chrome Rookie but I'm still on the fence about that.