Topps Silk from eBay

I purchased my first 2011 Topps Silk card on eBay. The subject is Jon Garland of the Dodgers. Actually, he is technically a free agent right now. It is a card from the Update Series. The serial number is 42/50 which has no significance at all. I entered a high bid of $2.00 for the card which is a lowball bid, but that’s not unusual for me. Someone outbid me and ran the price to $2.25. I wasn’t about to get into a bidding war over a Jon Garland card. But that bidder later retracted his bid which probably caused some potential buyers to ignore this item. I wound up winning this card for $1.34! Barely enough to cover shipping. Thanks mystery bid retractor.

TTM Mailbag: Brandon Morrow

I received a TTM autograph return this week from Brandon Morrow. I sent two cards to Blue Jays Spring Training and received both back in 237 days. Both the Topps Heritage and Upper Deck First Edition cards were signed in blue Sharpie. Unfortunately, each card has a tiny smudge on the front. It is still a very nice return and my longest to date which gives some hope for some cards that I sent out during spring training. I try to send to Blue Jays players during spring training so that I can avoid sending packages into Canada. I can’t wait for spring training to start in 2012. At best, there are only 5 games remaining this season.

Flea Market Finds

I picked up three baseball cards at a local flea market recently. The first is a 1998 Topps Opening Day card of David Justice. Justice is shown in a Cleveland uniform where he spent parts of four seasons. The next card is a 1998 Pinnacle of Jason Giambi. Giambi had some decent years as a Yankee. Somehow, he is still playing. Most recently, he played with the Rockies. The final card is most intriguing. At first glance, it looks like a standard 1988 Topps card of Nolan Ryan. However, the border is actually blue instead of white. Also, the card number is “N” which is kind of odd. The card actually looks like it was cut from a sheet or possibly a box of Twinkies. It’s an interesting little mystery card. It’s a pretty good haul and a good time was had by all.

1984 Topps Lot

I recently purchased a lot of 100 1984 Topps cards at a flea market. The cards are in pretty good shape. I really just wanted the Robin Yount card which was the only visible card. The other cards are basically commons. However, buried deep within the stack of cards was a 1994 Signature Rookies Autograph of Kurt Miller. Not exactly Sandy Koufax, but not a bad find. Hey, an autograph is an autograph. Miller spent parts of five years in the big leagues with the Marlins and Cubs. Miller finished his career with a 7.48 ERA and a 2-7 record. Again, he’s not Sandy Koufax. So I got my Yount card and a nice surprise. I don’t really have much use for the other 99 cards so if anyone is interested in trading, let me know.