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Backlash for 2012 Topps is not warranted

Posted in Newspaperman with tags baseball, baseball cards, Rally Squirrel, Topps on February 11, 2012 by Cardboard Icons

There is something I simply do not understand about the current state of the hobby. The notion that things some how were better before than they are now.

It’s simply not true.

I’ve heard people bash 2012 Topps for the last week or so, citing the recently released Skip Shumaker/Rally Squirrel short print as the latest example of “what has ruined the hobby.”

Seriously? A card of a squirrel that actually captivated the country during the 2011 World Series is the reason this hobby has fallen into shambles? The reason you are so upset about your hobby that you’re willing to spend time bitching about it in public forums? The reason that at least one collector has decided to boycott 2012 Topps?

The Rally Squirrel is a short printed card. It did not replace anything in the set. It did not keep you from completing your set. It’s not like Topps took the card #93 slot, removed Skip Shumaker all together and left us only with a card that would render most sets an incomplete project.

It’s a bonus. If you pull the card and don’t want it, you sell it on eBay and take the profit to … buy more cards. What is so hard to understand about that?

But what about the bigger picture?

Again, people cite the Squirrel’s release as an example of Topps, the only licensed manufacturer of Major League Baseball cards, not giving collector’s what they really want.

Well, what DO collector’s really want?

The basic Topps brand has been the same for years — a set released in three series and composed of more than 700 cards when completed. It documents the happenings of the previous season in Series One, some of the current season in Series Two, and then even more current season events (trades, all star game, rookie call ups, etc.) in the Update Series. I think collector’s want that.

They also want autos, relics and rookies. Topps has all three of those, too.

And believe it or not, collector’s also want the “Golden Ticket.” Like in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Whether it be in the form of the Rally Squirrel, a Pie in the Face, a Gatorade Bath or literally gold, collector’s want something to chase. Something that when they pull it, they know they’ve hit the jackpot.

What most collector’s DO NOT want is a release void of all frills. They do NOT want to go back to the “junk wax” era and feel like they are buying 1988 Donruss, 1989 Score, 1990 Topps or 1991 Fleer.

The time for that stuff has come and gone. Can collecting those sets be fun? Absolutely. But in moderation.

This hobby has moved so far forward that you’re only going to drive yourself nuts if you keep harping on the “good ol’ days.”

The hobby’s evolution has not ruined card collecting per se. What’s harmed this hobby is the collector himself. The one’s whose greed and lust for the glory cards has ruined his or her personal experience, causing them to piss and moan about how bad things have gotten.

If you buy what you like and do it in moderation, and ENJOY what you possess, then you can’t lose in this hobby. The minute you stop enjoying it, you need to take a break or change your focus.

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Thrift Treasures XXXVIII: Plastic Card Coffin

Posted in Newspaperman, Thrift Treasures with tags baseball, baseball cards, Buster Posey, MLB Showdown, rookie card, Thrift Treasures, Topps on February 9, 2012 by Cardboard Icons

Somewhere in the history of card collecting, a great myth arose: The harder the case, the better protection for your cards.

It’s a simplistic way to look at things. I mean in theory it sounds like it should work. A 1-inch thick lucite case should better protect you against common dropage than a card saver or top loader. And surely a plastic box would provide more protection than your mother’s shoe box, right?

But things are not always as they appear.

Thick screw down cases often put too much pressure on a card, causing the surface and corners to be damaged over the years. And plastic boxes mass generated for a novice collector surely are no way to protect your cardboard icons. They wind up being plastic card coffins.

The beauty, though, is that these coffins can sometimes turn out some nice treasures when they are excavated from the depths of the lowly thrift stores.

At first glance you probably see a bunch of crap. You’ve got a 1993 Score card on the left, a John Kruk 1994 Triple Play base card in the center, a few game cards that most of us don’t care.

But if that is all you see, then you lack vision.

The box has a $5 price tag, and there are roughly 700 cards in the box, so surely there has to be that much fun in here. Plus, the amount of game cards here make it worth while because … people actually do buy these things in bulk lots.

And so for $5, the coffin came with me and I became a tomb raider.

As it turned out, of the 700 cards in the box, there were FIVE HUNDRED MLB Showdown cards from years 2000-2003. Yeah, 500.

And then there were a few pretty neat 2003 Upper Deck Vintage cards. I was never a huge fan of this set — which is a total rip-off of the 1965 Topps design by the way — but I always found the retired stars in the set interesting. Yogi is a classic.

But that was not all. Here is where my location — the San Francisco Bay Area — paid off. There was 80 percent of a 2010 Topps Emerald Nuts San Francisco Giants stadium giveaway team set.

And amazingly the key card to this set was still here and not badly damaged.

That’s World Champion Catcher Buster Posey. Love it.

You can see additional Thrift Treasures posts HERE.

Putting the “loaded” Topps Value Box theory to the test

Posted in Box / Pack Break with tags baseball, Bowman Chrome, Bryce Harper, Topps on January 28, 2012 by Cardboard Icons

There’s been a fair amount of recent buzz surrounding the Topps Value Boxes, which have been on Target and WalMart shelves for months. The chatter lately has been about the boxes possibly being loaded.

There have been reports of big name superfractors coming from the Bowman Chrome hobby packs embedded within these boxes. This news has sent some people to store shelves searching for these packages.

Beckett.com recently had a piece by Chris Olds, who stated in the piece that he purchased 10 of the value boxes and pulled two autographs.

Long before this buzz I purchased a few of these and mine were hit and miss. Nothing major, but each of my Chrome packs had an insert or parallel.

But the recent talk sent me back into stores to see if there has been a new stock of these supposedly “loaded” boxes. I found five of them.

I actually recorded my break using my iPhone, but my video was 17 minutes, which is too long to host on YouTube. So I’ll spare you the time and show you what came from the boxes, specifically the Bowman Chrome packs. Definitely had some interesting pulls, beating the odds with some refractors.

2011 Bowman Chrome Refractor Nathan Eovaldi /500

2011 Bowman Chrome Blue Refractor Jean Segura /150

2011 Bowman Chrome Orange Refractor Jordan Swagerty /25

None of these is going to get someone to break the bank and make me a rich collector, but there is no arguing when you actually pull some colored refractors from just a few packs.

But do these pulls mean that these Value Boxes are loaded?

Not sure I’d say that. I mean I definitely beat the odds, but I have opened and seen my fair share of duds. Surely you have as well.

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Dennis Rodman as Superman

Posted in Newspaperman with tags basketball, basketball cards, Dennis Rodman, Topps on January 19, 2012 by Cardboard Icons

2006-07 Topps Full Court

I was clicking around my favorite site on the ‘Net the other day and came across one of the coolest cards I’ve seen in a long time. I figured it was nice enough to share with all of you.

Check out this 2006-07 Topps Full Court Dennis Rodman Photographer’s Proof card.

I don’t do much in basketball, so this five-year-old card is new to me.

Great job by the photographer capturing Rodman in mid-air, parallel with the court. Very Cool card.

Topps Diamond Giveaway Haul #2

Posted in Newspaperman with tags baseball, baseball cards, rookie card, rookie cards, Topps on January 6, 2012 by Cardboard Icons

This is the second batch I received from the Topps Diamond Giveaway. As you can see, it’s more of the same — rookie cards — but some names you might find familiar … or maybe not.

As mentioned before, I have at least one more batch coming. And yes, I will be taking delivery of some Diamond Die Cuts.