Zistle Trade #2

I have completed another trade on Zistle.  I have found it very easy to use the site so far.  There seem to be enough users so that everyone can have a trading partner.  In this trade, I picked up 6 2012 Topps Archives cards.  In exchange, I gave up a few 1980's-1990's cards, many of which were from 1987 Topps.  I honestly think we should have a giant bonfire for all collectors to dispose of our 1987 Topps cards.  In fairness, the set had some decent rookie cards.  Anyway, my haul consisted of Desmond Jennings, Todd Helton, Justin Verlander, Hunter Pence, Aroldis Chapman, and Michael Morse. 

2012 Topps Stickers Part 2

The rest of my 2012 Topps Sticker packs were relatively uneventful.  There aren't any parallels or inserts to look out for.  However, I did pick up cards of Mickey Mantle, Alex Rodriguez, and Derek Jeter.  I do have a few complaints.  First, many of these cards were damaged.  I don't know whether the retailer, Listia seller, or Topps is to blame on this one.  The cards do seem a little flimsy since they are actually stickers.  Second, there are way too many cards of team mascots.  Some of them don't even have names.  Finally, there are many cards which feature two team stickers on them.  That's fine, but don't put two card numbers on one card.  You can see the picture below.  It's confusing.  The price was right.  However, for similar money, I think I would prefer Topps Opening Day.  That's just my two cents. 

2012 Topps Stickers Part 1

I won an auction on Listia for 20 packs of 2012 Topps Stickers.  The whole lot set me back about 4400 credits, which is less than two bucks by my calculations.  You can see in the photo that the packs were marked down from 99 cents to 93 cents.  So, I would have paid 18 bucks and change in a retail store.  What a bargain!  Well, let's see what's inside the packs before declaring this a bargain.  Here's the first pack:

Nothing too spectacular.  I'm not a fan of wasting cards on team mascots like the beloved Raymond from the Rays.  I assume that fans love him.  The Ichiro is definitely the pull of the pack.  I will share the highlights of the remaining packs in a separate post. 

Who Is This Guy?

I bought this 2012 Bowman Draft Picks card of Matt Olson for less than a dime on eBay.  I'm always prone to picking up single cards from Bowman, since packs go for such exorbitant prices.  Olson was drafted in 2012 and has played as high as Single A in the Athletics organization.  Yet, he has a Bowman baseball card.  Go figure.  Check out the background of the photo, though.  I believe those might be Mets colors on those players.  Anyone have a different opinion?

Here's Some Topps Heritage

Here’s what 12 cents of Topps Heritage looks like courtesy of eBay.  On the left is a 2011 card of Jair Jurrjens.  Jurrjens is best known for his work with the Braves before injuries derailed his career.  On the right is the 2012 card of Chase Utley.  For my money, I prefer the 2011 design.  It’s a cleaner design, and reminds me of 1987 Topps.  Although 1987 Topps was the height of the junk wax era, it still brings back a good childhood memory. 

Pack Break: 2012 Topps Update

I recently opened up a pack of 2012 Topps Update.  I remember when this was called Topps Traded and it only included players who were in their first years or traded to another team.  Now there are cards for participants in the Home Run Derby and All Star Game.  That seems unnecessary.  Anyway, here is the haul.

Ryan Ludwick
Joe Mather
Matt Lindstrom
Travis Snider
Jeremy Hafner
Melky Cabrera (Gold)
Yoenis Cespedes (Blockbusters)
Weird Royals Card
Michael Saunders
Jose Bautista

Joey Devine
Jeremy Hermida
RA Dickey

The question on the blue Royals card is what happened before George Brett homered in the first at bat of his 4 for 4 game in the 1985 ALCS.  Bueller?  Bueller?  The correct answer is that Willie Wilson was caught stealing.  But, we all knew that. 

Shiny...Chrome.. Must Buy

I picked up a pair of 2012 Bowman Chrome cards on eBay recently.  I paid a total of 12 cents shipped for everything.  The cards are Salvador Perez and Kevin Youkilis.  I wanted the Perez card more than the Youkilis.  I really didn’t have any Perez cards except for one that was dinged up.  I don’t really buy much of the Bowman products, but these are some nice cards.  I don’t actively seek out Youkilis cards, but whatever.  And Youkilis was a Yankee for a brief moment. 

Pack Break: 2012 Topps Series 1

I tore open a pack of 2012 Topps Series 1 recently.  Not an exciting pack but it was good enough.  There was 1 Yankee card in Phil Hughes.  I also found 2 Twins cards in Carl Pavano (former Yankee) and Scott Baker.  The Twins have become my second favorite team.  Anyway, here are the spoils:
32 Detroit Tigers
265 Aroldis Chapman
257 Seth Smith
276 Scott Baker
254 Philip Humber
TM20 Evan Longoria (Less is More, Right?)
TT19 Musial/Berkman
42 Drew Pomeranz
313 Phil Hughes
164 Carl Pavano
157 Anibal Sanchez
86 Brett Cecil

Pack Break: 2012 Topps Series 2

Here’s a pack of 2012 Topps Series 2 Baseball that I opened recently.  It was an OK pack.  The best card is probably the Mike Trout 2nd Year card.  I also found an expired code card for the Topps Golden Giveaway, which would have been exciting two years ago.  The insert card was a Cliff Lee Golden Moments card.  Meh.  Otherwise, it was mostly relievers, rookies, and backup players. 

Tales of Former Yankees

I picked up a 2012 Gypsy Queen card of Phil Hughes on eBay recently for a mere 6 cents.  Hughes is in Minnesota so the Yankee premium no longer exists.  He is actually having a decent year.  Why didn't he pitch like this when he was in New York?  But, I digress.  I rarely will pass up a Gypsy Queen card at this price.  And the fact that this is a former Yankee in a Yankee uniform is icing on the cake.

Pack Break: 2012 Topps Chrome

Here’s a pack of 2012 Topps Chrome.  The pack only contains 4 cards.  The score of the pack was the Ricky Romero Refractor.  The base cards were pretty decent too.  I got Paul Goldschmidt, Matt Cain, and a Tsuyoshi Wada rookie.  I am still left with a feeling that I got ripped off.  I get that feeling whenever I open a pack containing 3 or 4 cards. 

Pack Break: 2012 Topps Update

I opened up a pack of 2012 Topps Update that was laying around from a repack.  I did pretty good.  I received three inserts and parallels.  I was also happy to see the Dozier and Hefner cards.  Here are the proceeds. 

Scott Elbert
Chris Iannetta
Troy Patton
Jeremy Hefner
Christian Friedrich
Elian Herrera (Blue)
Brian Wilson (Gold) #1331/2012
Edgar Martinez (Golden Moments)
Brian Dozier
Tim Byrdak
Joe Wieland
Gio Gonzalez

Matt Cain Card or Checklist?

I picked up a lot of 5 2012 Topps Update cards of Matt Cain on eBay.  Somehow, I only paid 16 cents shipped for the entire lot.  This is a checklist card that features Cain’s perfect game.  I typically don’t like checklist cards.  Checklists have a segregated binder away from my “real” cards.  However, these cards are only half-checklists, so they will earn a spot in my Giants binder. 

The Gypsy Princess

I picked up a pair of 2012 Gypsy Queen minis on eBay.  They should be called Gypsy Princess.  ( Ha Ha)  I paid less than a dime for each one.  The cards feature Nelson Cruz and Ricky Nolasco.  Nolasco recently went to the Twins.  Cruz is a free agent.  I have always liked the Gypsy Queen cards.  But, these mini cards are starting to grow on me. 

White Sox Potpourri

I picked up 6 2012 Topps White Sox cards on Listia for only 27 credits.  The Chris Sale card is an Opening Day but the rest are from the base set.  I tried to win the Yankee lot but it didn’t work out.  According to the Listia/Dollar exchange rate (not a real thing), I paid less than a dime for the whole lot.  For that money, I couldn’t resist. 

Aubrey Huff Times Five

I bought 5 2012 Topps cards of Aubrey Huff on eBay.  Why did I do this?  I can’t say.  Maybe it’s because the purchase only set me back a grand total of 11 cents shipped.  Maybe it’s because Huff recently retired to become an announcer.  Maybe it’s both.  Actually, Huff didn’t play last year, so he really was retired after 2012.  Aubrey just didn’t realize it.  I wonder if Bernie Williams has retired yet. 

eBay Mailbag: Kelly Johnson

I picked up a 2012 Topps card of Kelly Johnson on eBay.  I have been accumulating 2012 Topps for some reason.  I didn’t buy much back in 2012.  Johnson is a bit of a journeyman.  I forgot that he was a Blue Jay.  I mostly remember him as a Diamondback and Brave.  Johnson was a Ray this year and will probably play for other teams before he retires. 

eBay Mailbag: Liam Hendriks

I bought a 2012 Topps card of Liam Hendriks on eBay for just a dime.  Hendriks is probably best known for his through the roof ERA.  He had a 6.85 number in 2013.  I best remember Hendriks for getting hit in the head with a line drive in a spring training game in Fort Myers in March of this year.  It looked worse than it was but Gardenhire still took him out of the game. 

Teixeira Times Five

I don’t have many cards of Mark Teixeira wearing a Yankee uniform.  I now own 5 more and they are all identical.  I won 5 copies of Teixeira’s 2012 Bowman Platinum card for just 45 credits on Listia.  The card is quite a beauty.  And it was a good deal for a recent Yankee card.  Maybe I will put one of the cards up for bids on Listia to get some of my credits back. 

Play at the Plate (Not the Blog)

I picked up this 2012 Topps card of Jacoby Ellsbury on Listia for just 12 credits.  It has such a great photo on it.  It shows a play at the plate against the Mariners.  The catcher’s helmet has already been knocked into the air.  The dirt is still flying.  It looks even cooler in landscape format.  I think the catcher is Miguel Olivo.  This card was certainly worth the credits.