2009 Topps Silk: Emilio Bonifacio

I purchased another 2009 Topps Silk card off of eBay. This one is an Emilio Bonifacio card #ed 25/50. I paid $2.49 including shipping which I think is pretty cheap. I know this isn't exactly a Albert Pujols card but still, it's a numbered Silk card for only a couple of bucks. Bonifacio is currently a speedster with the Marlins organization. He played a handful of big league games earlier in the year although he is currently with AAA New Orleans. I really like the design of the Topps Silk cards, but I don’t understand why the backs of these cards are blank. Oh well, they are still cool cards. I should start buying some 2010 Silk cards.

Where have you gone Topps Turkey Red?

I miss Topps Turkey Red. These cards were great. The design was simple and had that retro feel that reminded you of the original Turkey Red cards. The card surface had those barely noticeable ridges on them. Best of all the surface had no gloss, which is great for us autograph hounds. But alas Turkey Red was reduced from stand alone set to insert. I purchased the two 2006 Turkey Red cards above for a total of 12 cents. I picked up the Hafner card just because. But I picked up the Anderson Hernandez card because I did not have any Red cards in my collection. The card is essentially the same as a regular card except that it has a red border. I'm a sucker for parallels. I think Hernandez is somewhere in the Nationals system these days. At least I can now say that I own a Red Turkey Red card.

Contest Winnings Part 2

These are the rest of the winnings that I received from BA Benny's Baseball Card Buffet. I received a bunch of Yankee cards including a 2007 UD Elements Autograph of Sean Henn. It’s a good looking autograph. Once upon a time Henn was a serviceable long reliever for the Yankees. These days he is playing in the Toronto organization. He has a career ERA of 7.56. He is playing for AAA Las Vegas and hanging on for dear life.

Included among the other cards were Kei Igawa, Don Mattingly, and Bernie Williams. Igawa is another guy who is hanging on at AAA. He is playing in the Yankees system at AAA Scranton. What a waste of money Igawa turned out to be. Anyway, thanks for the cards. I now have an urge to buy tickets for a AAA game.

Contest Winnings Part 1

I received my prize from the contest hosted by BA Benny's Baseball Card Buffet today. I also received a bunch of cool Yankee cards in the package but I’ll save them for another post. So what was my prize? It was a 2009 Topps Finest Refractor Autograph of Kila Ka'aihue #23/75. This is my first letter patch card. The patch is manufactured just for the card. It was never used in a game or for any other purpose it would seems like. However, the back of the card clearly states this fact, so nobody is being misled. The card itself is really neat looking. I’m not sure how anybody could sign their name on the letter but it was done successfully. Ka'aihue has received limited playing time this year with the Royals. You would think the Royals could experiment more with different players in the lineup. I mean they’re not going anywhere this year. What do they have to lose? Anyway, much thanks for the contest and the cards. I will be showing off the rest of the swag shortly.

eBay Mailbag: Conor Jackson

I recently won an eBay auction for 4 Conor Jackson game-used jersey cards. I only paid two bucks and change shipped. I'm not really a big fan of those USA jersey cards but I suppose they can be sold or traded. I like the 2005 Bowman card because 05 Bowman was the first box I ever bought. But the 04 Bowman is my favorite just because of the design of the card and color of the jersey swatch. I would call it a ruby red. Notice how Conor's "signature" is squeezed next to the swatch. Right now, Jackson is working his way back to the majors after yet another DL stint. At least he didn't have valley fever this time. It was only a hamstring.

Delmon Young Times 6

No, that's not the name of a new band. I'm now the proud owner of 6 2005 Bowman Delmon Young Jersey Cards. The cards actally feature Young's Futures Game jersey rather than his Ray jersey. The truth is I only wanted one, but I was able to pick up all 6 on eBay for $3.99. It was a good deal so I took it. I may sell or trade some of these. I like 2005 Bowman. I bought a box back in 05 and was satisfied. It's interesting how I ended up with 3 different color jersey swatches. Maybe I'll just keep the orange ones. I don't have too many orange jersey swatches. Young is no longer a Ray. He was traded to the Twins for Matt Garza and others. That trade was equally beneficial to both teams which is a rarity in a trade.