3.31.11 - Centered Set Focus Update.

Scored a good deal on a 1982 Topps Traded Set (minus the Ripken) last week and got it in yesterday. Went through it last night. Unfortunately all but one card did not make the cut, with most of them suffering the dreaded "Tilt"

Oh well, the hunt goes on...

3.31.11

Weather: Rain, low 40s
Did you walk today?: Yes
If So, how far?: 2.0 miles + 1+ hours of yard work. Both cut short due to rain
Weather During Walk: Rain
Overall Walk Performance: wet 
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: not so hot today
Fasting BG this morning?: 80

3.30.11

Weather: mid 40s, sunny, slight breeze, cool.
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles + Target
Weather During Walk: pretty ok
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: eh
Fasting BG this morning?: 77

3.29.11 - Focus Update - Complete Sets with Amazing Centering!

As mentioned in an earlier blog, i am going to be putting together hand-collated sets with Amazing Centering. Well today i got in my sheets/albums shipment, so i can now say that it has officially begun! 1981 was the first set that i decided to sheet up:



i am concentrating on 1979 to 1983 Topps issues. Here are my current completion numbers:

1979 Topps 030/726 04.1%
1980 Topps 003/726 00.4%
1981 Topps 026/858 03.0%
1982 Topps 019/924 02.1%
1983 Topps 061/924 06.7%

3.29.11

Weather: hi 30s, cold, wind, clear skies. feels like 31
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: cold
Overall Walk Performance: struggled today 
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: blah
Fasting BG this morning?: 82

3.28.11 - Graded Card Of The Day

"The Kid"'s Rookie Card



damn i miss those old BVG Flips

3.28.11

Weather: 31, real feel temp was 21. Cold, breezy, clear skies
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles + Target (who finally had Heritage!)
Weather During Walk: cold
Overall Walk Performance: tough today 
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: tiring
Fasting BG this morning?: 79

3.27.11 - Graded Card Of The Day

3.27.11

Weather: 34, cold, clear skies, strong winds
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles + Target (Still no Heritage)
Weather During Walk: cold, bright and some head winds
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: eh
Fasting BG this morning?: 80

3.26.11

Weather: Sunny, 30, COLD, windy
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: cold, windy
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: horrible
How is your diabetes today?: blah
Fasting BG this morning?: 70

My March 2011 White Plains Card Show Wrap-Up

i'd been looking forward to attending this show for about a month now. So when i headed out on the 75 minute drive, i was in a pretty good mood, curious as to what i would find at the show. This year i've been "all 80's" and was wondering what i'd find there as far as that goes.
i also started up my Complete Topps Sets, Completely Centered, in sheets/binders project this month, and was looking to see how many years before 1980 that i'd be able to start/feed-the-habbit at the show.

They actually opened the doors pretty much on-time which was a nice surprise. i walked in and right away i could tell that this wasnt going to be all that i'd hoped it would be. just a gut call from walking in, turns out i was correct. there were a lot of empty dealer tables (they did fill out a little as the day progressed).

i started out by looking up and down all the isles quickly to see what was what. then decided to dig in and see what i could see as far as 70's singles went. There werent as many vintage singles dealers as i remember there being the last time i was there. Now that i AM interested in them, figures there would be fewer dealers, just my luck.

Most of the dealers that had vintage singles were looking for near full "book value", which is unacceptable. plain and simple, this is now 2011 time to get real about what you want for your stuff. i found one seller that was actually charging good prices for his singles, and i settled there and started to dig in. started with his '79s and after looking over a few thousand of them, found 21 to my liking. then i started on his '78s, but my eyes were getting all buggy and i had to discontinue. it was shortly after that i decided that as far as the 70's go, i will attack the '79 set before moving on to others (of course if qualifying singles from the other years present themselves, i'd not turn them away).

Here's one of the 21 singles that i was able to pick up initially:



it was then time to check the '79s that other dealers had. Seems (not shockingly, really) that the '79 set just isnt all that popular. That meant that there werent many dealers that had them available. Of course, some of the ones that did have singles, loved to overgrade their own stuff (shocker). i was able to pick up these HOFers (please keep in mind that these were scanned with the lid up, so they may SEEM to be "off", because they have a natural curve to them)







i was also looking for '81 Star Power, but found none worth buying. Same goes for RC's of: Ripken/Gwynn/Sandberg/Boggs/Mattingly/Clemens/McGwire... None that would make the cut

But the show wasnt a total loss..... one thing i had in mind was i wanted to pick up all those wonderful "odd-ball" sets from the 80's that i loved so much at the time. three different dealers in total landed me these sets, for a grand total of $34!!! yep, a buck a set, BAM!
These are sets that just arent something that are worth buying online because of S&H



Also of note... Zero Graded Seaver Rookies in the building, just one Ryan (a BADLY centered PSA 5). Actually, graded vintage options seemed to be less available then at shows past.

There seemed to be plenty of "shiny goodness" available, but i didnt really look as im not into them anymore.

Well, there you have it. Overall disappointing, but i did get some nice stuff that i wouldnt be able to get on eBay.

Thanks for the read,
Eric

3.25.11

Weather: Sunny, high 30s, COLD, slight wind
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: cold and breezy
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: bleh
How is your diabetes today?: bleh
Fasting BG this morning?: 79

3.24.11

Weather: Snowed overnight, coating the ground. mid-30s, cold, windy, overcast.
Did you walk today?: No. But i did 2 and a half hours of house cleaning, might walk later
If So, how far?: 
Weather During Walk: 
Overall Walk Performance: 
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: fuzzy
Fasting BG this morning?: 78

3.23.11 - Graded Card(s) Of The Day

i am going to be attending a card show this week. initially i was going to spend a good amount of my time there hunting for perfectly centered cards for my 80's sets.

Well, today i went over an '83 set that i picked up on ebay last week. i was able to find 53 (out of 792) cards that i can use for my set. thats slightly under a 6% clip. not too sexy, but it happens. that made me realize that for my 80s sets, i think that im going to be better off ripping unopened stuff myself for those sets.

at the show, i will hunt for qualifying "money cards", that should satisfy that itch.

ive also been thinking about the 70's sets, and this particular show is a good place to pick up vintage singles, so i may give that a whirl.

Here are a few years that im thinking about:














it's all about the centering when collecting raw sets. it's also a LOT more expensive to open 70's product for the purpose of set building

3.23.11

Weather: hi-30s, overcast, drizzle
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles + Target (STILL No Heritage!)
Weather During Walk: cold, drizzle
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: blah
How is your diabetes today?: eh
Fasting BG this morning?: 76

3.22.11 - Graded Card Of The Day

FIVE Hall of Famers on one card, with four of them in the 500 Home Run Club.

what's NOT to love?

3.22.11

Weather: high 30s, cold, windy!
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: cold, a lot of head wind
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: eh
Fasting BG this morning?: 78

3.21.11

Weather: Raining, high 30s
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: rain, wind, gross
Overall Walk Performance: difficult
Current Mood: blah
How is your diabetes today?: blah
Fasting BG this morning?: 81

Embarking on a new collecting adventure

Those that know me know that i change my mind a lot.

well, ive decided to embark on a rather long journey. One that is neither financially smart or sane in my opinion. But what the heck, right? lol

Staying with my 80's phaze, ive decided to build Complete Sets in sheets/binders, starting with Topps from the 80s, possibly pushing forward until 1991, when wax (and gum) packs were discontinued. Eventually working my way backwards i suppose.

That sounds easy enough Eric, wtf are you rambling about then? thats what you might be thinking.

Well, i have an added twist with this focus. i want the best centered and in registration (that means focus for those that dont know) card that i can find to represent each card in the set, and the traded set as well.

THAT is where My Focus will make it challenging. Because of course, everything after 1985 Topps is readily available and pretty affordable and for the most part, under two cents a card delivered. its just a matter of finding the best copy that will make the final cut.

so yes, i am crazy, but what the heck right? only live once.

i spent an hour last night going over my '82TT set (i have one without a Ripken or Smith) and was able to find 13 cards (out of the 130 possible) that were able to make the first cut. Since this is the first time im doing this, i know i'll go over those 13 cards again sometime in the future.

Here's my own personal guideline that i am using for the '82s



a labor of love for sure. but when a set truly is done, it's gonna be a keeper!

3.20.11

Weather: 42, windy, cold, feels like 32
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles + Target
Weather During Walk: cold
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: ok
How is your diabetes today?: ok
Fasting BG this morning?: 74

3.19.11 - Graded Card Of The Day

There's an old saying "Buy the card, not the holder." Well that couldnt be more true when it comes to todays GCOTD.

1968 Topps is known as The Home of Nolan Ryan's Rookie Card. Well, there's another Big Shot in the set as well, and its a damn shame that he doesnt get the hobby love that he deserves. That man is Johnny Bench.

i won this card on eBay many years ago now, clocking in around $30 because of the "bad" grade of BVG 4

i was happy to win it, because i never could own one as a kid, and the price range was awesome for me. Well, this one here is one of the "old" beckett graded cards, as they still handed out the sub-grades when they slabbed this one. Those Sub-grades
are as follows:

Centering: 9
Corners: 3
Edges: 8
Surface: 8



that all adds up to affodable AND amazing eye appeal in my opinion.

3.19.11

Weather: 42, sunny, breezy
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: cold, sunny, some strong wind
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: eh
Fasting BG this morning?: 75

3.18.11 - Graded Card Of The Day

1983 Topps Carl Yastrzemski

Both Yaz and Johnny Bench decided to call it quits after the 1983 Season. The 1983 Topps Set clocks in with an amazing TWELVE members of the 3,000 Hit Club that were active during the 1983 Season. Simply Incredible. i really do love the '83 Topps Set.

3.18.11

Weather: 51, sunny, light breeze
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: very nice
Overall Walk Performance: good
Current Mood: not feeling well today
How is your diabetes today?: see above
Fasting BG this morning?: 79

3.17.11 - Graded Card Of The Day

Hey, it's St. Pattys day, so lets go with a green refractor. ive been a C-Gone fan for a long time now. nice to see him doing well.

Online Cost Efficiency: Buying Hand Collated Sets vs Vending Boxes

Lets face it, we as collectors, when we want to sell something, want as much as possible. i think thats normal.
On the other hand, when we buy, we want it for as little as possible.

What i am currently putting together are pre-86 Topps Raw Sets in sheets/binders. Not just complete as in i have all
the cards on the checklist, but i have them with perfect centering and registration. i realize this is a difficult task, and
that i am going to have to have patience and go through a LOT of cards to find the one that makes the Final Cut.

Heck, its as easy as hitting BINs or bidding high to just go ahead and have a whole run of Topps Sets from just about
any year, but thats not what im after.

Why stop at 1985 you may ask? great question. Reason being is because 1985 was the last year that MASSIVE MASSIVE
MASSIVE overproduction did not occur. when cards are readily available for a penny a piece (or less) delivered, there
are a lot of them out there.

Once you get earlier then 1981, all forms of unopened material get costly. when it comes to those years, i think i
will be better off trying to buy full sets or bulk lots of singles, and piece them together like that.

From 1981 to 1985 there are a number of options depending on what you want to spend. Naturally, i want to
spend as little as possible! lol That being said, Vending is the most cost efficient. i realize buying a hand collated
set MAY be cheaper per card, but with them you have a few things going against you... the set has been handled at
least a few times... the cards will not be properly packaged when they are mailed to you... the "better" cards were
not included in that particular hand collated set ar ethe things that come to mind immediately.

Sure, wax is great, but the cost per card goes up quite a bit. id love for rack packs to be an option, but sealed cases
of those years are not easy to come by, and when you do, they aint cheap either. Cellos are so hit and miss.

i realize the downfalls that vending entails. But i am really wondering if all-in-all, that they are the way to go.

3.16.11 - Graded Card Of The Day

1982 Topps Traded Ripken.
Why? Why Not?!?! kidding. Well, i am thinking of upgrading it for a PSA 9, but i just am not sure. im mulling it over

3.16.11

Weather: low 40s, overcast, not much breeze
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles + SAMS/Target Run
Weather During Walk: overcast
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: blah
How is your diabetes today?: blah
Fasting BG this morning?: 74

3.15.11 - Graded Card Of The Day

i am starting a new, raw card (gasp, because i know you want to) focus. in honor of that, todays GCOTD is a set that i love more and more every day

3.15.11

Weather: Dunno
Did you walk today?: No, babysitting
If So, how far?: 
Weather During Walk: 
Overall Walk Performance: 
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: tired
Fasting BG this morning?: cant remember

3.14.11

Weather: walked at night today
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 1+ miles
Weather During Walk: cold
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: blah
How is your diabetes today?: eh, been better
Fasting BG this morning?: 79

3.13.11

Weather: Sunny, low 40s, light breeze
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: good
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: eh, been better
Fasting BG this morning?: 83

3.12.11 - Graded Card Of The Day

1994 SP Alex Rodriguez

i feel that "ARod" is going to have a big year this year. just a gut call.
His SP Rookie took a huge hit money wise when the whole steroid thing happened.
i think that now is a good time to be buy this card.

3.12.11

Weather: Sunny, 44 clear skies
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: sunny, not too cool
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: eh
Fasting BG this morning?: 81

3.11.11 - Graded Card Of The Day

1982 Topps Rickey Henderson.

i have pretty strong memories of this card. i was 11 at the time, and had a copy of this card on my bedroom window shelf. it was there for a long time, i remember that because it was eventually "faded" from exposure to the sunlight for many hours.

3.11.11

Weather: high 30s, overcast, cold, no wind really, threat of rain
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles + Target
Weather During Walk: overcast and cold
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: eh
Fasting BG this morning?: 78

3.10.11 - Graded Card Of The Day

In honor of me winning a sweet three box case of 1988 Topps Rack Packs today for $20 i decided to go with Jefferies 1988 Topps Rookie Card for today's GCOTD.

OH YEA, Topps fucked this one up! Still having a hard time forgiving Topps 23 years later, can ya tell? :)

Donruss, Fleer and even the new kid on the block, Score ALL had Jefferies in their line up. Hell, Topps didnt even put him in the 1988 Traded Set. Grrr. oh well.

So todays GCOTD is Jefferies' mega-amazing 1988 Donruss Rookie Card, in a nice nine jacket. This card was all the rage back in the day.

3.10.11

Weather: high 30s, Overcast, cold
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: cold, not much breeze, threat of rain
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: eh, just not feeling it today
Fasting BG this morning?: 78

3.9.11 - Graded Card Of The Day

1984 Fleer featured both Yaz' and Bench's Last Base Cards as active players. Even though they retired after the 1983 season, Fleer was the only Brand to get it right and include base cards of them in their annual release.

3.9.11

Weather: high 30s, clear skies, sunny, cold
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: cold, brisk, not much wind
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: blah
How is your diabetes today?: ok
Fasting BG this morning?: 77

3.8.11 - Graded Card Of The Day

I'm thinking about picking up a rack case of '84 Topps. Because of that, lets go with a classic 1984 Topps Card. Donnie Baseball's Topps Rookie Card.

3.8.11

Weather: high 30s, cool, breezy, pcl
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: cold, not too windy
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: eh
Fasting BG this morning?: 78

3.7.11 - Graded Card Of The Day

Yes, 1989 Topps AGAIN! but with good reason... today i was able to win a SIX box rack case. i know i want to stick to 3's, but this 6 was a "good" buy at $48 imo.

3.7.11

Weather: 40s, cold, clearing skies. not as windy as yesterday
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: cold
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: eh
Fasting BG this morning?: 77

3.6.11 - Graded Card Of The Day

George Brett. Simply an Amazing Baseball Player. One of my all time favorites. Such a competitor. Winner. Hall Of Famer. Remember when guys would top 20 triples in a season? Yep, Brett was one of those guys.

3.6.11

Weather: 51, overcast/rain, cool breezy
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles + SAMs run
Weather During Walk: rained for about half of it, windy
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: eh
Fasting BG this morning?: 76

3.5.11 - Graded Card Of The Day

"Pops" Rookie, 1963 Topps



the "other" big rookie card in the 1963 Topps set, but the highest priced "HOF"er.

Pops hobby love is nowhere where it should be. i hope he's not becoming a forgotten hero in the eyes of todays internet generation

3.5.11

Weather: high 40s, overcast. quite nice actually. some breeze, a little cool
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: head and tail wind
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: ok
How is your diabetes today?: ok
Fasting BG this morning?: 74

3.4.11 - Graded Card Of The Day

UNFORTUNATELY that case of 89 Topps Racks that i mentioned yesterday fell through. ::sigh:: the search continues.

in the meantime, time for todays GCOTD:

lets roll it back one year, to 1988



ahhh 1988 Topps. the true "bastard" of all Topps Sets, possibly EVER, but definately of the years 1952 through 1989. Some might argue that 1986 is worse, but with their black tops, those win because of the toughness of grading, rendering their wax more popular for that and other reasons.

1988 Topps produced one (future) Hall of Famer Rookie Card, Tom Glavine. While 1988 may not have lived up to the test of time, they still ARE Topps Baseball Cards afterall :)

3.4.11

Weather: 42, cold, sunny
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: brisk, cold
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: blah
How is your diabetes today?: blah
Fasting BG this morning?: 73

3.3.11 - Graded Card Of The Day

1989 Topps.

Today i ordered a factory sealed three box case of 1989 Topps Rack Packs.
My intentions with it are to rip it, find the guys i want slabbed, see if
they are worth slabbing, and then submit the ones i feel are.

1989 Topps is NOT a "money set", in fact the three box case was $25.
so this is not a thing that is done for money, it is done for love of
the hobby, plain and simple. :)

3.3.11

Weather: 32, WINDY! single digits with the wind factor. clear skies, sunny
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: bitterly cold. strong strong head winds
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: tired
Fasting BG this morning?: 76

3.2.11 - Graded Card Of The Day

i decided today that im going to be a little more "forgiving" of rookie card slabs not named PSA. Truth be told, i've got some fantastic rookie card slabs that are not "FineNines" OR in PSA Slabs. Some might find that shocking, but those that have known me for some time know all the different phases that i went through over the last 6 years of collecting this crap :)

that being said, todays Graded Card Of The Day is none other then a fantastic example of George Brett's Topps Rookie Card. i've owned this for a long time now, cant even tell you how long its been, but id say at least 3 years.

is it a "FineNine"? No, it's not. and im ok with it as it was very affordable. That's another thing that i have to always remind myself about when it comes to collecting cardboard... there will ALWAYS be someone that will have better (whatever it is you collect) then you do. that's life. cant let it get to you too much. sometimes sure, but not too much, ok? lol

i guess what im getting at is that i want my rookie cards to be slabbed "FineNine"'s, but that cant always be the case (wallet be damned! lol), and i have to be happy with what i can grasp, and move on to the next needed slab :)

3.2.11

Weather: 42, sunny, windy, cool
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: cold, windy, but not as bad as yestreday
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: tired, did not sleep much
How is your diabetes today?: eh
Fasting BG this morning?: 71

3.1.11 - Graded Card Of The Day

3.1.11

Weather: 41, sunny, cool, very windy
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: STRONG head winds, cold because of it
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: ok
Fasting BG this morning?: 69