One more binder AI post

I decided to try my luck one more time with creating binder labels with AI, this time for my Reds team set binders. For the background images I wanted to try and incorporate images from the stadiums of the respective years. For example, my 1909-1969 binder I wanted to use an image of Crosley Field. While it's not completely accurate, it's good enough to me. The same goes for the Riverfront Stadium images that the AI tool created. I'm happy with how these turned out and I'm looking forward to getting them printed up and placed in the spine of their respective binder.

Using AI to Spice Up My Binder Labels

 The majority of my cards I store in binders. Whether it's my sets, Reds team sets, or my player collections, binders are used extensively to store my cards. That being said, I've never been a fan of Ultra Pro's label and was thinking of how I could use something else to label my binders instead of a plain white label with my terrible handwriting. I had thought about getting a card from the set to place there in the label pocket but decided I didn't like the look of it. That being said, I decided to use AI to see if it could help me "conjure up" some images. I wanted to try and get picks of packs to use as well as some text stating what's included in the binder (Complete Set, Inserts, etc.) While the pack art that's used isn't identical to the packs themselves (not sure if it's due to a copyright issue or hallucinations) I think they turned out pretty well. Now I just need to print them up and slide them into their new home.

Pat Zachry Autograph Baseball

I recently purchased another baseball for my collection. I'm glad to own this autograph official major league baseball of the 1976 NL Rookie of the Year winner. Pat had a 14-7 record with 143 strikeouts and a 2.74 ERA that season. Sadly, Pat passed away April 4th of last year.

A Dugout Lineup Card to Add to My Collection

With the cost of baseball cards getting more expensive with each passing day, I've decided to focus more of my funds on acquiring things I had always wanted to add to my collection but never got around to doing. Case in point, this dugout lineup card that was used in the Reds 5-3 loss to the Brewers on September 26, 2019.  I didn't know it at the time but this was HOFer Marty Brennaman's final broadcasting game for the Reds. I plan on framing this and hanging it on the wall in the coming future.

Scooter Gennett Autograph Baseball

I picked up this autograph baseball of former Red Scooter Gennett last week for a really great price. The auto is from very early in his career but that's ok. I've been looking to add an autograph baseball of his for a while now and I couldn't pass up this ball for the price I paid for it. For those who might not know, Scooter is one of only twenty two Major League Baseball players, and the only Red, to hit four home runs in a game. He accomplished the feat on June 6, 2017 against St. Louis. He went 5-5 in the game with 4 home runs and 10 RBIs.

Another T206 For My Set Build

I've been some time since I've added a T206 card to my collection. For the longest time it seems like I've been sitting on needing nine cards to complete my T206 Cincinnati Reds team set. That changed this week when I found this Art Fromme Sovereign back on eBay. I'm glad to add this card to my collection not just because I needed Fromme, but this is another back I've been wanting to get and now I have one. I'd still like to track down a Cycle, Tolstoi, American Beauty and El Principe De Gales to add.

I Got a Rocket for Christmas!

Just before Christmas I was able to get a card I had always wanted as a kid, but never had the funds to acquire it back in the late 80s. When this card came up on eBay for a reasonable price I decided to finally pull the trigger and add it to my collection. Not sure if Roger will ever make it to Cooperstown, but I'm happy to now have a copy of this 1984 Fleer Update Roger Clemens rookie.

Sometimes it pays to lose

A few weeks back this card popped up on eBay for the first time in almost five years. After a week of bidding, I ultimately lost out on the card to another bidder. I was very disappointed I wasn't able to land this card since it's one of three 2011 Gypsy Queen autographs I need to complete the set (the other two being Aaron and Koufax). I thought for sure I would have to wait years again for another copy to show up on eBay; however, image my surprise when another copy appeared a week later for a Buy It Now price that was $75 less than what my final bid price was on the card I lost out on. I'm extremely happy to add this card to my 2011 Gypsy Queen set build. Hopefully this year I'll be able to add one of the other two cards to my collection. I'm still trying to decide if I want to pursue the autograph relic cards from this set that are numbered to 25 copies. Some of the players in that checklist have autographs in the standard autograph set (Frank Robinson, Roy Halliday, etc.) but there's some players that only appear in the autograph relic set that are future Hall of Famers that command a premium (Kershaw and Cabrera).  That would easily run me a few thousand dollars to put this set together and with other pre war Cincinnati Reds cards I'm trying to acquire, that would put a damper on chasing after those cards. 

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.

Sometimes I still feel like a rookie collector

I haven't made much progress lately on my wantlist as it relates to my Reds team sets. I'm still sitting at needing two more 1951 Bowman cards and one more 1941 Play Ball to wrap those two up. I had hopes of getting those three cards before the end of the year but I got a little sidetracked. I started two new projects, one being mentioned here. Since I started collecting back in 1986 I was always enamored with certain rookie cards. Rickey Henderson, Wade Boggs, Mark McGwire, Eddie Murray, Dave Winfield and Cal Ripken Jr were just a few that caught my eye. I had always wanted to own a copy of each but as a teen I never had the income to make that dream a reality. Fast forward thirty years later and I decided to start tracking down those cards that I could never afford. This 1974 Topps Dave Winfield is one of twenty three rookie cards I've managed to acquire out of my fifty card Non-Red Rookie project. I've included quite a few modern cards in addition to junk wax and vintage. I'm sure I'll add more vintage cards to the list eventually like a 1969 Topps Reggie Jackson and 1960 Topps Carl Yastrzemski. But for now I'm content with trying to grab fifty. If your curious as to what I've picked up so far you can view the Rookie Album in the Pages section.

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.