2019 Topps

I realize that Topps released their 2019 flagship series one cards a few days ago, so I'm a little late to the party. I do like the design of this year's set. Although there aren't any borders, the hockey stick style that's reminiscent of the 1982 design comes close to providing one. I just wish Topps hadn't included the pixel effect on the cards. There are a few Reds base cards that immediately grabbed my attention in this year's series one release. The first being Billy Hamilton with the ivy at Wrigley.

I'm still disappointed that Hamilton is no longer with the Reds. Defensively, he's a beast and has some of the greatest catches I've ever seen a center fielder make. Offensively, he just doesn't have the bat to at least get on base. Maybe he'll be able to pull it together in Kansas City. The second card I admire is Joey Votto stretching before his at bat. For whatever reason, this card reminds me of all the Leaf Pete Rose cards that show Charlie Hustle doing the exact same thing.

Finally, this Votto short print is fantastic. It's something you don't see very often from Topps in a base flagship set. Every time I look at this card I hear the same phrase repeated over and over in my head, "Damn he's smooth."

So, that's my thoughts about 2019 Topps series one. I'm already looking forward to series two as long as there are no super short prints I have to chase.

2018 Topps

It's that time of year again! Topps has just released their 2018 flagship cards and, like I've done every year for the past 10 years, I've purchased my Reds team set off eBay. Hopefully by this time next week I should have the cards in hand. Just a couple of thoughts about this year's set. First, I still miss the borders on this set. I'll always believe that full bleed photography should be reserved for Stadium Club. Second, I think there's too much going on in the footer of the card. The color swoosh and pixel disintegration are just over the top for me. Photography is decent but I'm getting tired of chasing short print cards. It's just a pain trying to track these down every year. I feel sorry for those of you that have to track down those dreaded SUPER SHORT PRINTS! Anyway, on a much lighter note, at least baseball season is right around the corner!

Adding to the Hoard!

This past weekend I was able to add more than 50 2014 Bowman Billy Hamilton rookie cards to my collection (66 to be exact). I had been watching the listing on eBay for a couple of months but the $30 price tag was a bit too much to for me to pull the trigger. Last monday I noticed that the listing had ended and I immediately jumped to the conclusion that another Billy collector had purchased the lot, but that wasn't the case. Instead, the seller had decided to list the item as an auction, probably because he needed to move the cards instead of having them take up space. With a $4.99 starting bid I decided I wouldn't go above $15.00 for the lot. I'm glad to say that for $11.05 I was able to purchase the 68 count lot. That comes out to just over $.16 a card. I guess patience does pay off. I'm now at 30% complete with this goal. With Dee Gordon out for 80 games this year, I'm hoping that Billy can finally finish the season as the NL Stolen Base leader for 2016. While his bat is sorely lacking, his defense in center field this year has been phenomenal!.

Chipping Away

I haven't made much progress tracking down vintage bowman cards to wrap up my 1948-51 Reds team sets. I was hoping to complete at least two of these sets this year but the chances of that happening are quickly diminishing. I still have four months, so it's still a possibility. We'll just have to wait and see. I have been making progress on another goal that I began this year. I'm currently up to 164 2014 Billy Hamilton rookie cards. Although it will be impossible for me to complete this goal before the end of 2015, if I can hit the 200 card milestone and have 25% of this project complete I'll consider it a great accomplishment.

A Glutton for Punishment

I admire our blogging community and the projects they set out to accomplish. Whether it's building a pre-war card set, chasing down every 1/1 that's ever been produced of a player, to owning relic cards of Hall of Fame members, we do it all. One of the projects that's fascinated me was collectors chasing multiple cards of the same issue. Gavin over at Baseball Card Breakdown has been acquiring 1990 Marquis Grissom rookie cards in an attempt to possess 1000 of the same card. While some may call it hoarding, I see it as dedication and I've decided to join their ranks. I've decided to try and obtain 800 2014 Bowman Billy Hamilton #132 rookie cards. 800 is a nice round number that I know will fit in a 3" binder. I've created a new page on the blog to track my progress on this quest. So if you have any 2014 Bowman Billy Hamilton's sitting around, feel free to send them my way :)

A Billy Bobble for the Bookshelf!

I purchased another bobblehead for my collection this past week, Reds centerfielder Billy Hamilton. These were given away last year to the first 25,000 fans on July 12th when the Reds faced the Pirates. For those interested, Cincinnati lost the game 6-5 thanks to a home run in the 11th by Andrew McCutchen. This is probably my first player bobblehead that depicts someone running instead of batting or fielding. A very nice bobblehead that I'm happy to now own.

Billy Hamilton Autographed 8x10

My latest edition to the man cave is this autographed photo of the 2014 National League Rookie of the Year (runner-up) Billy Hamilton. I love everything about this photo. Although the photo doesn't show him swiping a base, it's still a fantastic bunting shot. I have yet to watch Hamilton play in person but I'm hoping to this coming season. Perhaps I'll finally attend my first Opening Day and cross that goal off my bucket list.

2014 Topps

OK, so I'm a little late to the party. That's alright with me since I gave up busting packs years ago and instead seek out my cards through sportlots and comc. I nabbed the 14 Reds cards that Topps has released and my favorite of the bunch would have to be the Reds top prospect coming into this year...Billy Hamilton. I'm not a fan of this year's design. Essentially all the reviews that I've read this year are spot on, in my opinion. It just feels way too Bowman to me. I'm not sure what Topps was trying to accomplish this year, but I'm not impressed. 2013 was great, as was 2011, but this year's design is just a whole lot of bad. The only thing going for this set is that the wave action is a nice complement to the 2012 surfboard design. Honestly, I wouldn't mind if Topps decided to go the Stadium Club route with their future flagship releases and use full bleed photography and ax the borders. I'm sure that will never happen though.