Archive for cards

I got a “Gift” from Topps!

Posted in Newspaperman with tags , , , , , , , , on July 18, 2009 by Cardboard Icons

2009ToppsWBCGiftNgoepe1It’s here! It’s here! It’s finally here! After waiting five friggin’ months, my 2009 Topps WBC card of Gift Ngoepe is here! Someone alert the press … or make that restart the presses.

I arrived home Friday night to find an envelope from Tri-Star Fulfillment — Topps redemption distributor — and within the package was my Gift. Not exactly the most anticipated card of the year, but no doubt one I’d been waiting seeing as how the Topps Web site has stated “card has been shipped” for nearly a month.

So imagine my anger when I opened the package and saw this crap. Is the front of this card really off-center 20-80 left/right, and 20/80 up and down? Yep … and the back is the same way.

2009ToppsWBCGiftNgoepe

Is it that hard to make sure that a redemption card is at least centered OK? I understand that not all cards can be perfect, but you’d at least expect them to be in passable condition. I mean where the hell was Inspection Checker 23 on this one?

Looks like Gift Ngoepe is the gift that keeps on giving. This garbage is headed right back to Topps for a replacement. It’s not about value right now, it’s about principle.

And a quick birthday shout out to South Africa’s former President Nelson Mandela, the Nobel Peace Prize winner who turns 91 today (July 18).

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Card of the Day: 2001 Fleer Platinum Chart Toppers Randy Johnson

Posted in Card of the Day with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 13, 2008 by Cardboard Icons

Ask most baseball fans these days what a WHIP is, and they’ll instant blurt out it’s the ratio of walks and hits per innings pitched. But in 2001, before the major boon in fantasy baseball, apparently few people knew what it was, and Fleer set out to tell us.  

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Card of the Day: 2004 Sweet Spot Signatures Ichiro autograph

Posted in Card of the Day with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 11, 2008 by Cardboard Icons

I’ve finally netted myself an Ichiro autograph. The card featured here, 2004 Sweet Spot autograph, has been in my collection now for four days and I am still in awe staring at it. Since Ichiro broke into the Big Leagues in 2001, I’d always wondered if one day I would own one of his signatures. He’s a great player with a world-wide fan base, and because of this transcontinental love fest for Ichiro, the prices of his collectibles are nearly higher than anyone else. And when it comes to autographs, we’re talking a whole different ballgame, which makes this acquisition of mine even finer. Ichiro had an exclusive autograph deal with Upper Deck during the early years of his MLB career. Neither Topps, nor Donruss, nor Fleer could produce an Ichiro card baring his signature. Continue reading →

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Card of the Day: 1989 Upper Deck Mark McGwire

Posted in Card of the Day with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 9, 2008 by Cardboard Icons

In 1989, Upper Deck released the first pack-issued ultra premium baseball cards. These cards were different than their cardboard counterparts. The surface was smoother, the stock was brighter and seemingly stiffer, and on the back was an embedded anti-counterfeit device, the almighty hologram. Even the packs were different. No more wax. Now we were going to rip open “foil” packs, which further solidified this brand as the product to have. And while the best card in this set has, and always will be, card No. 1 (Ken Griffey Jr.), it is this Mark McGwire card that caprured my attention as a youth. Continue reading →

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