Monday, November 14, 2016

2016 Topps Cincinnati Reds Team Set

37 cards total in the base set and update set.

48 J.J. Hoover
59 John Lamb
176 Brandon Phillips
199 Jay Bruce
221 Ryan LaMarre
222 Homer Bailey
292 Todd Frazier
292SP Todd Frazier
328 Anthony DeSclafani
333 Keyvius Sampson
372 Zack Cozart
373 Tucker Barnhart
426 Joey Votto
426SP Joey Votto
437 Michael Lorenzen
462 Jumbo Diaz
497 Devin Mesoraco
584 Adam Duvall
585 Raisel Iglesias
609 Billy Hamilton
612 Cincinnati Reds Team Card
632 Ramon Cabrera
671 Tony Cingrani
685 Kyle Waldrop
686 Brandon Finnegan
689 Eugenio Suarez
US28 Alfredo Simon
US29 Jon Moscot
US34 Cody Reed
US34SP Cody Reed
US54 Adam Duvall
US68 Adam Duvall
US73 Scott Schebler
US216 Robert Stephenson
US216SP Robert Stephenson
US219 Tim Adleman
US246 Jay Bruce






Thursday, November 3, 2016

1962 Cincinnati Reds Autographed Team Ball

23 signatures on this baseball: Fred Hutchinson, Dick Sisler, Jim Turner, Reggie Otero, Pete Whisenant, Cookie Rojas, Jim Brosnan, Gordy Colemen, Wally Post, Vada Pinson, Don Blasingame, Joey Jay, John Edwards, Marty Keough, Gene Freese, Eddie Kasko, Don Pavletich, Hank Foiles, Frank Robinson, Jerry Lynch, Don Zimmer, Bob Purkey, Leo Cardenas.






Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Ticket to a Coronation!

In addition to collecting cards, I always like to add pieces of Cincinnati Reds history to my collection. Whether it's a piece of astroturf or stadium seats from Riverfront Stadium, or even World Series tickets from a championship year, it's always great to memorabilia of significant importance as it relates to the Reds. I've been searching for quite some time for a ticket from a game held at Riverfront on September 11, 1985 but didn't have much luck in locating one in my price range. After a lot of patience one finally appeared on eBay for a price that I thought was reasonable. I'm extremely excited that this ticket is now in my collection. So, what was special about September 11, 1985 you ask? It's the night that Pete Rose recorded hit 4,192 to surpass Ty Cobb as the leader of all-time hits in major league baseball to be crowned the "Hit King". I think this will complement my Pete Rose PC nicely.

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Aroldis Chapman Bobblehead

I recently purchased this bobblehead of former Reds closer Aroldis Chapman. This makes the 35th bobblehead in my collection and my first Coca-Cola sponsored nodder. There were 25,000 of these nodders that were distributed to fans on June 4, 2014 when the Reds hosted the Giants. For those interested, Cincinnati lost to San Francisco 3-2.

I'll admit that it's tough seeing the "Cuban Missile" in blue pinstripes. Every time I saw Chapman pitch for the Reds I was enthralled with the speed of each pitch and the radar gun registering triple digits. When the club dealt Chapman to the Yankees last off season it was a tough pill to swallow, especially since it appeared then didn't get much for him. But I learned to live with it since he was in the American League and my Reds didn't have to face him on a regular basis. You can imagine my disappointment when it was announced in the middle of the season when it was announced that the Cubs had acquired him from New York. It's not that I dislike Chapman, it's that I dislike the idea of having the Reds face their former flamethrower. Now that the regular season has wrapped up and the post season begins tonight I will be rooting for the Cubs to win the World Series. Going more than 100 years without a championship is rough for any team. Once the post season is over, I'll be hoping that Chapman finds his way back to the American League where he won't pitch against Cincinnati as much.

Friday, September 30, 2016

A Pair of Rookies for the Book

One of my projects that I started strong with last year that unfortunately has fallen by the wayside is my Rookie Book. In case you're not familiar with it, I've created a list of rookie cards that were released between 1960 and 1993 that I've always wanted to include in my collection. As of January I haven't purchased any additional cards for this project. Today, however, that changed. Here are the two latest additions for my Rookie Book: a 1983 Topps Tony Gwynn and and 1986 Topps Traded Bo Jackson



Wednesday, September 28, 2016

1993 Reds Team Signed Baseball

There aren't a lot of signatures on this baseball, but I like having this as part of my collection due to the fact that Perez was managing the Reds when this ball was signed. He only lasted a portion of the 93 season with the team going 20-24 before being fired. Not sure why you would fire a manager after 44 games with a win/loss record just below .500 but what do I know. As for the signatures on the ball, there are a total of 12 and I can make out 11 of them: Tony Perez, Tim Costo, Jeff Branson, Tom Browning, Steve Foster, Ty Griffin, Ricky Stone, Dan Wilson, Chris Hammond, Brian Dorsett, Scott Ruskin






Thursday, September 8, 2016

And Campbell Makes 10!

This card has been on my 10 Most Wanted list for over a year and I finally found one in a decent price range to purchase. It's also fitting that this is the 10th T206 card of my collection. This is one of my favorite cards because of the background. It's so much nicer than the stark yellow that's used on many of the cards in this set. I also like that it's an "action shot" of Billy Campbell instead of just a portrait shot. Even though the card isn't in excellent condition, with tobacco cards I don't mind the rounded corners or stains because it adds character to a card that's more than 100 years old.

This is my first Sweet Caporal card to enter my collection as the other T206 cards I have are all Piedmonts. I would like to eventually add as many different variety backs (Polar Bear, Old Mill, Sovereign, Hindu, etc) but I know that certain backs carry a premium due to their rarity so while it's not a priority it would be a nice bonus to my T206 team set.