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.

It's Not Fun Anymore

It's been a few months since I last posted to the blog. A lot has happened since then. I've been spending a lot of time finishing up some set needs on my wantlist. In fact, if things go as planned I'll be wrapping up three sets by the end of the year. All that being said, the hobby just isn't fun for me anymore. If Fanatics isn't acquiring a company or license on a given day then I can guarantee that Collector's Universe is acquiring a company on that day. I feel as though my choices are quickly becoming limited in every aspect of the hobby. I don't grade cards. I never have and I never will just because of the subjectivity that's involved in the whole process. I think it's literally a house of cards that's just waiting to collapse. There's an over saturation of graded cards out there and with stories of PSA changing grades to appease certain customers sets a bad precedent. But that's not what I'm here to complain about. There are, or I should say were, multiple outlets where I could purchase cards that now don't interest me that much. Comc use to be my go to site for purchasing singles. Apparently I missed the memo about them jacking up their shipping costs. I had a shipment of about 100 cards sent to me in April of this year for $5.99. Today I went to request a shipment of 98 cards and was dumbfounded to see that it was going to run me $19.99 for the CHEAPEST shipment which wouldn't be sent to me until February of next year. Needless to say, I'll be adding only a few more cards to this order and that will be the last time I purchase anything from Comc. Beckett Marketplace is another site that I frequent for purchasing cards but with Collector's Universe buying them, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before that site goes dark or the fees become so outrageous that it's not worth using. Finally with eBay, I refuse to bid on any cards anymore because of shill bidding. Like I said in the title, the hobby just isn't fun anymore. I'll probably keep using Sportlots to get cards for my collection, until they too are bought by Fanatics or Collector's Universe. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before this whole things implodes. The question for me is, will I still be participating in the hobby when that time comes.

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. 

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.