Scary Stuff and 2024 WS Champs

Quick real-life scary story for Halloween: On Monday, my wife lost her wallet on her way to work. Making matters worse: along with her driver's license and credit cards was her Passport card (featuring her SSN)-- which she normally wouldn't have with her if not for some pending work-related reason that she temporarily needed it handy. She figured the wallet popped out of her jacket pocket on the Max (commuter train) into downtown. Plenty of creeps around there and definitely not where you want to leave an Identity Theft Starter Kit for a bad person to play with. So then came the stressful exercises of placing various holds and being on high alert for fraud. After a miserable 48 hours expecting the worst under the guillotine, joy bloomed anew when my wife got a Facebook message that the wallet had been found and that a nearby convenience store was in possession of it. Aside from the cash, everything was still there, so it was pretty close to a best-case scenario conclusion to the whole ordeal.

It made for a hectic week here at Baseball Card Breakdown HQ. But yeah.. Happy Halloween!

The Dodgers won the World Series last night and I'm not exactly thrilled about it-- Remember how the Padres almost beat them! Huh?! Remember?!!-- But hey, I collect some of those guys, so I thought I'd show off some of my best cards of today's Dodgers to make myself feel better about the final outcome of the 2024 MLB season.

I got a small seat on the Walker Buehler hype train early in case he became the next Kershaw. Hasn't exactly reached that station yet, but he's at least still chugging along. While he had a shaky year overall, he's the lucky dog who got to victoriously close out the World Series for his team.

The 2015 1st Bowman parallel was a terrific card show pickup circa 2016 for like a buck, while the refractor rookie auto was an eBay pickup from early 2020. I remember waiting a few months for one to land in my price range, stubborn to hold out for a refractor rather than base. And I'm glad I did, even assuming his card prices probably haven't risen much since then thanks to all the injuries.

A few more RCs, parallels, etc. Funny how Buehler shares that multiplayer rookie card with Alex Verdugo, whom Buehler struck out to hand the Yankees their final out. Can you think of any other instances with a World Series-ending match-up like that sharing a rookie card? (I'm too lazy to dig into it, but maybe somebody else?)

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My Shohei Ohtani PC is only like 20-something cards deep, sadly, but I've at least got these pretty decent half-dozen I can proudly show off.

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I was active collecting Mookie Betts back in his Red Sox days. I fell short in my efforts to land a 1st Bowman auto (preferably refractor-- better yet, color refractor) back before he blossomed into a star, but at least I was able to score his earliest certified autograph: 2013 Panini Prizm Perennial Draft Picks, plus a nice Stadium Club rookie auto.

No auto here, but hey, got these solid 1st Bowmen (sic).

Other rookie-year Mookies of mine. Glad I got that 2014 Update RC back then, as it's become a sought-after card as he's continued putting together a HOF caliber career.

A pair of long-odds pulls here to close out the Mookie section, with a 2015 Topps "Sliding" photo variation (another cheap card show all-timer for me) and a 2015 Stadium Club "Crystal Ball" insert with a cool 3D effect going on (thiiick card), numbered 17/30.

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Ha, I almost finished the post before remembering my guy, Gavin Lux.

Another World Series ring for guys named Gavin! We've come a long way, baby. lol

Above are all my Gavin Lux autographs, all purchased before his MLB debut, I believe. (Not pictured is the "Sign Here" 1st Bowman refractor which I've shown off several times already.) The Bowman's Best card (top middle) is the card where his autograph changed. He signed his full name up to that point, but halfway through signing his 1st Bowman's Best auto cards, he dropped the first name from his signature, and has used the shorter version since (as far as I know). Not saying I blame him, just funny to notice. Oh, and those blue autos in the middle row aren't dupes (per my rules) because one is the 12/25 "Christmas Card". (Holidays just around the corner, guys!) And speaking of...

Found from a 2019 post. I did not win this card, needless to say. Geez

Sure, if I could go back in time, I might be tempted to liquidate my early Gavin Lux autos back when his top prospect status was at its peak... but oh well, I'm not in the hobby to make money, I'm in it to collect and hopefully have some fun in the process.

If I wanted to extend his post, I could dig out some of my best Clayton Kershaw cards, but I'll be lazy and not do that since he didn't pitch in the World Series. But here's an old link to my best Kershaw, a 12/25 auto, for good measure. Perhaps surprisingly, I've never really collected Freddie Freeman much, though I think I've got a few decent RCs of his kicking around. He really wrote himself into the record books this year.. wow.

Anyways, congrats to the Dodgers and their fans. :/

Greatest Gavins 2021 Recap

It's that time of year again that I try to do these annual posts checking in with the lesser-known active players I collect. I did the 2021 season recap for guys who went to my high school back in October, now I'm getting around to the guys who share my name.

Gavin Lux is still looking for his breakout year, but he's an important part of the current Dodgers team. His season was up and down (all the way down to the minors for a while), but he bounced back from a forgettable 2020 to hold his own. Defensively versatile, he played everywhere but 1st base and catcher in 2021. With Corey Seager leaving via free agency, he might be given more opportunities for steady playing time in 2022 as he looks to establish himself in his age 24 season. [This post is written under the assumption baseball will be back with a full season next year, though I personally wouldn't put too much faith in that.]

(I haven't gotten any new Lux cards this year, so figured I'd revisit this auto/patch/Christmas Card I've had for years. Unlicensed Leaf stuff like this doesn't really go up in value much, but still kinda cool when you can pick up a card like this for a good price. The rest of the cards in this post are recent pickups.) 

Meanwhile in the AL, Gavin Sheets became just the 4th player named "Gavin" to play Major League Baseball when he debuted June 29, 2021. All told, he got into 54 games and impressed with a 123 OPS+. Topps gave him 4 or 5 cards as a "call-up" in Topps Now, but withheld his "RC" designation until next year, so expect to see his rookie cards flood Topps products in 2022 (though technically he exceeded rookie status already). He turns 26 in April, so there probably won't be a ton of investor hype with his cards. But yeah, hopefully he keeps performing well.

Gavin Cecchini followed Gavin Floyd as the 2nd "MLB Gavin" years back, and while it looked like the former first-rounder's injury-plagued career had come to a close last year after struggling in Indy ball, 2021 saw him resurface in the Angels organization. He ended up batting .288 in triple-A, so who knows, there might be some life in his career yet. I'd love to see him get another gasp at the top level.

Before we take a trip down to the farm, one more mention is due. With the Negro Leagues now considered Major Leagues for most intents and purposes, there's technically a new Major League Gavin.

Just one career appearance for this player known only as Gavin: an inning pitched for the Brooklyn Eagles in 1935 where he gave up 4 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits and a walk. He may possibly have played in other games that've had their stats lost to the winds of time (along with the rest of his name), but at least he got his foot in the door for a baseball-reference page. Can't really add him to my card collection-- a very simple custom with no picture would be the best I could do; hardly seems worth it-- but figured I should at least give the man a head-nod here on the blog. Even assuming it's just his last name, still a true pioneer for Gavins everywhere!

Minor League Gavins

Man, we've hit a dozen active Gavins trying to crack the bigs. 

Gavin Collins (2014-2021)

The 2021 Columbus Clippers (AAA, CLE) included not only a guy named Gavin, but also a guy who went to my high school (Trenton Brooks)-- a team tailor-made for my fandom! Collins struggled to hit but was solid behind the dish, focusing only on catching after splitting time at the hot corner in years past.

Gavin Collyer (2019-2021)

20-year old Collyer pitched well for the Wood Ducks. (I'm going to keep most of these short.)

Gavin Conticello (2021)

Conticello, a 3rd baseman, is was a 2021 8th round pick by the Diamondbacks out of high school.

Gavin Hollowell (2017-2021)

Hollowell pitched well in the depths of the Rockies system.

Gavin Jones (2019-2021)

Jones is an infielder in the A's org.

Gavin LaValley (2014-2021)

Ah, a guy I've got a lot of cards of! LaValley was released by the Reds after the 2020 minor league season was cancelled. He found himself with the independent Kane County Cougars in 2021 and had a solid season, batting .270 with 12 home runs in 79 games. I'm rooting for ya, Gavin!

Gavin Sonnier (2017-2021)

Baseball-reference is counting college stats in their active years here, which is kind of confusing. Anyways, Sonnier is an undrafted player who pitched for an indy team after college.

Gavin Stone (2018-2021)

Stone is a starter in the Dodgers chain who pitched well in 2021.

Gavin Stupienski (2014-2021)

Oh wow! After not being in affiliated ball since 2017, Stupienski resurfaced in the Royals organization in 2021. Good for him! Got a nice TTM return from him with an assist from his cousin, former cardblogger "Bubba" (Matt) years back. After looking good in high-A ball, Gavin made it up to AA for a game.

Gavin Tonkel (2021)

The Phillies' 9th round pick of the 2021 draft, Tonkel is an outfielder out of high school.

Gavin Weyman (2017-2021)

An undrafted pitcher who has played for Indy teams in recent years.

Grant Gavin (2014-2021)

Honestly I was thinking about not doing this post this year, as I've got plenty of other stuff in my mental "to blog about" list and with so many active Gavins out there now compared to only a few years ago, this annual exercise might have run its course. But then I saw the recent news that Grant Gavin had been selected by the Padres in the minor league Rule 5 draft and I got pretty excited that San Diego has their first Gavin (even if a last-name Gavin isn't quite the same, but hey, close enough). Grant pitched well this past season, with his K/9 rate of 11.1 ranking fifth-best in the Triple-A East league (minimum 70 innings). Hope to see him take the mound at Petco Park before long.

So there you go. Best wishes to all Gavins everywhere!

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.

Cards and a comic from Rod

Rod from Padrographs popped over one of the past weekends and kindly handed me a box of random cards as he's done several times before. I'm very lucky to be his neighbor!

There were a lot of fresh 2021 cards in there, mostly Heritage, which I was happy to see since I don't rip current product much anymore. Lots of PC needs for me.

And all the young dudes.

Haha.. More cheesy Cal Ripken Holiday Inn cards among the HOFers.

Here we've got a couple spare Padrographs, including a custom of Paul Quantrill (Cal Quantrill's pop), plus a nice pair of Gavins. That's my first non-sticker autograph of John Gavin. The holiday Lux RC was a very welcomed sight too.

Fun assortment of non-sports.

Happy 4th of July!

And Rod gave me one non-card item...

Nocterra comic book. Very cool, but what's really cool about it...

Glows in the dark! This will be going on display in my Glow-in-the-Dark Museum (basement bathroom).

Big thanks as always, Rod!

Card show adjacent

I got covid-19 vaccinated today (1 of 2) with a leftover dose that might've gotten thrown out otherwise. The story there is my mother-in-law is a recently retired medical professional who has been volunteering at vaccinating events. My wife and I were totally fine waiting till whenever, but her mom was really pushing to get us on the stand-by list for any leftover doses. We got a call in the late afternoon letting us know that there were some spots open if we could get our butts down to the place ASAP, and knowing that her mother wouldn't let it go until we finally got it, we hopped in the car and headed down. Everything was winding down for the day by the time we got there. I'm not great with needles, but the whole process was completely painless and I thought the guy was joking when he said he was done, as I was expecting a nasty pinch that never came. (My arm might be sore tomorrow, but it's fine at the moment.) We heard them say they still had like 9 doses left after us, and I only saw like 2 or 3 other people bringing up the rear behind us, so I'm glad we didn't take a dose away from any more deserving folks, rather we just took doses that would've been wasted otherwise because the stuff doesn't have a very long shelf life and wouldn't be usable tomorrow.

Now we just gotta wait a month to get the 2nd shot and we should be good. After that, I think I'll be confident enough to venture back to the card show for the first time in a year. From what I hear, Portland's monthly card show has been as packed as ever lately and great bargains are getting harder to find thanks to the sportscard bubble pumped so big these days. So I might have to be a bit more restrained with my purchases, but the lure of thumbing through fresh cards again is strong. My wife is more excited about returning to the gym again.

Oh, anyways, when I came home, I opened a package of cards from fellow Portland-based card collector Kenneth of the blog Cardboard Hogs (which is active again after being dormant for a while and you should be sure to check it out if you haven't recently).

Ken attended the little blogger meet-up I helped organize a few years back and it's cool bumping into him at the card show once in a while. I feel bad that he had to pay postage to mail this recent package rather than a free hand-off at a show, but hopefully we're running into each other again in person soon.

Stamps and stickers?! Impressive.

Nice bunch of Gavins here, especially the bottom two, both new to me. I have a ton of pre-rookie Gavin Lux cards but almost no rookie cards of his, probably because I didn't buy much 2020 cards (or trade that much last year either)... so this one is extra appreciated.

An assortment of Padres plus a Hoyt.

And finally, some '75s for my setbuild. Nice! J.R. Richard was a need and the others are upgrades. I've become a bit disheartened about vintage setbuilding recently (think I'm gonna have to pull the plug on my short-lived run at 1959 Topps, for example, as unless there's a big bubble burst coming up, the likes of the Mantle and Bob Gibson's RC might be too much of a financial commitment for me to sign up for under current prices).. but at least '74 and '75 Topps shouldn't be too hard to wrap up one of these days. Ninety-six 1975 cards remaining for me, and I've got both big rookies already.

Thanks again, Ken! Much appreciated. I'll try to round up a return for you soon.

Birthday/Christmas Cards

Birthday post! I've got a few 12/24 and 12/25 cards to show off that I've added to my collection over the past few months.

Here's a nice one to kick off with. 2014 Topps Tribute Xander Bogaerts auto. There's no "RC" logo, but it is in fact a rookie-year auto, for what that's worth. Wish the signature was on-card, but beggars for 12/24 cards can't be choosers. Got a good deal on this from eBay a while back. Bogey's a fun player to watch and collect.

I don't know anything about Dakoda Armstrong, but this 12/24 autograph popped up with a low opening bid and I ended up winning it for a few bucks.

Serial-numbered on the back.

I also don't know anything about Mac Guscette, but again, ended up scoring this 12/24 auto for a good price. Looks like he graduates high school in 2020 and has committed to become a Florida Gator. I'll store this one away with my other 12/24 cards and check on him in a few years, hoping he's eventually the next Mike Trout. LOL

Newman! He had a solid 2019, one of the few bright spots for the Pirates last season. Kevin attended Poway High School, same as Tony Gwynn. (Update: Whoops, I mean Tony Gwynn Jr!) The Archives sticker label got a little messed up on this encased card, but I don't mind too much. It was a good price, likely kept down by the wrinkled label.

Topps Archives Signature are good products for finding 12/24 cards since their buybacks are typically numbered out of random quantities, depending on how many Topps has bought back and gotten signed. Sandy Alomar had a very respectable career; happy to add an autograph of his to my collection.

A closer look at the Xmas Eve numbering.

Now we're moving on to the 12/25 cards. I forgot to show off this Gavin Lux when I posted my Lux PC a few months back because it was stored with my Christmas Cards, not my Gavins. That's the problem with "double bullseye" cards like this for me.. sometimes I can't decide which subcollection to store them in, and I'm not consistent about it. But anyways, in addition to the festive numbering, this seems to feature a "g" from "Dodgers" ("g" as in Gavin! eBay 1/1!) and an on-card autograph of baseball's #2 prospect.. Sweet.

Another Gavin Christmas Card. I already had this orange ice parallel in my Gavin LaValley 2014 Bowman Draft rainbow (only missing some 1/1s), but didn't have the 12/25 orange ice parallel. But now I do!

I believe it was a COMC find.

Michael Conforto 12/25 patch card (if this piping counts as a patch). Another card from my latest COMC order.

We're coming to the end now, and here's a girlie card auto that Zippy pointed me too. Honestly I don't really hunt down Benchwarmer Christmas Cards too often because that could get out of hand quickly. There are a lot of /25 parallels, and so, a lot of 12/25 cards out there. I've got a few, but I don't need them all. But I put in a bid on this one and won it. I don't know much about Andrea Lowell. Looks like she's been in Playboy and on VH1's The Surreal Life. Cool.

Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman takes us home. I was very happy to score this framed 2019 Ginter X mini auto. I've got a couple Hoffman autos from his playing days, but this is my first post-career autograph of his. As a Padres fan, I really love this card. I think it ran me about the price of a blaster on eBay. Not too bad.

That'll do it. Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Sign Here (and here and also here)

Despite being a double bullseye for my collection, here's one "Gavin Christmas Card" I will never own. Geez, that's a lot of cash! I was watching the auction for a while, but it quickly jumped up to too rich for my blood territory, before ultimately ending up in are you fucking kidding me?! territory. Gavin Lux has been bumped up to #2 overall on some recent MLB Prospect lists (behind Wander Franco), and he's been holding his own in his September call-up with LA as a 21-year old, so his cards are trending steeply upwards. At this point I've probably been priced out of adding any more nice Lux cards to my collection any time soon.

But at least I can feel smug in the knowing that while there are 25 copies of that above orange card, there's only one "sign here" variation of his 1st Bowman:

I showed off this oddity in the Gavin Lux PC retrospective post earlier this month the day he got called up. And it got me curious about other "sign here" cards for sale on eBay, and well, I ended up snagging a couple more for a few bucks each.

Ben Grieve 1999 Bowman's Best - Rookie of the Year "Sign Here" non-auto

Eric Chavez 1999 Bowman's Best - Rookie Locker Room "Sign Here" non-auto

Not sure what happened to the "S" on the Chavez, but perhaps there was a piece of paper or sticker partially covering the card.

These two were won from different sellers, but funny how they're both A's autos from 1999 Bowman's Best, and they seem to be "signed" by the same Topps representative. Perhaps this guy has sticky fingers and played a part in backdooring these cards onto the secondary market, while Topps' Quality Control protocol would surely call for them to be destroyed. But whatever.. I'm happy to have them, and may occasionally do a search to see if any other reasonably priced "sign here" cards pop up that I can add to this quirky little minicollection.

Gavin Lux is the 3rd Gavin to crack the majors!

Gavin Lux is batting eighth and playing second base at Dodger Stadium in his debut tonight.

He'll be just the third person named Gavin to play in the MLB, following Floyd (2004) and Cecchini (2016).

And it's a trip for me because I've been collecting the kid's cards since he was in high school. I generally don't collect such cards, but if you're named Gavin (or go to the same high school I did) and you have baseball cards on the market, I might pick up a few for my collection.

I first posted about him here on December 1, 2015. About 7 months later he was drafted by the Dodgers in the 1st round, which I didn't see coming. From what I read, he was considered a surprise pick going so high, but turns out the Dodgers knew what they were doing.

Anyways, it's very cool that this guy I started collecting in high school because he shared the same first name as me has made it to the major leagues. As a Padres fan, it's a little weird rooting for a Dodger, but I hope he does great. Hey, for one thing, if he becomes a star, those cards I bought in his early days are gonna go way up, which is always nice.

Let's take a look at how my Gavin Lux PC looks today, the day the inscription on the above card came to pass.

These 3 are from 2015 Leaf Perfect game. Base refractor, blue refractor (/25), and red refractor (/5). I really wanted to get a card with the Twitter handle inscription, which is how I hunted down that red one. Kinda cool that it has his autograph both printed and cursive.

And that blue refractor isn't just any blue refractor....

 Christmas Card Alert!! 

A couple more 2015 Perfect Game autos, these of the acetate variety. The card on the left is a thin unnumbered base auto. The card on the right is a thick "glass" card and is numbered 2/4.

Moving into 2016 now. This and the card at the top of this post are from 2016 Leaf Trinity. Neither is numbered, but the top one has the cool inscription, and this one features a pretty terrific piece of laundry tag.

1st Bowman auto, baby! It's just an unnumbered base, but still an important card for any Lux collection. The First Impressions card from Bowman's Best is numbered 28/50. You might have noticed those signatures look different. Yeppers!

Kinda funny that Gavin Lux changed his signature. And we can pinpoint exactly when it happened: while signing his 2016 Bowman Best autos. About half of them have his full name (as he signed up to that point), other half of them have just his last name (how he's signed since). pic.twitter.com/eCoEWaY68f

— Baseball Card Breakdown (@breakdowncards) September 2, 2019

The cards in the tweet aren't mine, but this one is. (BTW, I'm sorry that many of these photos turned out so dark.)

2016 cards here with a Pro Debut and a pair of Bowman Platinum parallels (blue and ice).

2017 Bowman: base, Chrome, and Holiday.

2017 Bowman Draft: base and orange parallel. And not just any orange parallel...

 Christmas Card Alert!! 

This 2017 Bowman blue refractor is probably my best Gavin Lux card. I just looked on eBay, and wow, it's hundreds of dollars now... whoo! Glad I snagged it when I did (for $46.84 in March 2017). Dodgers always look good on blue parallels.

It's the "James Bond eBay 1/1", numbered 007/150.

Gotta admit it makes me happy that I have several Gavin Lux autos and zero of them are stickergraphs-- all on-card!

But my nuttiest Gavin Lux auto isn't actually signed by him...

"Sign Here"! It's the card the Topps representative used to show Gavin where to sign his cards. I guess either it accidentally got put in the stack of signed cards, or perhaps it was "backdoored" and ended up on eBay. It cost me the most out of all the cards in this post, nearly twice as much as the Bowman blue refractor auto. But you gotta admit it's a unique addition to the collection! One of the coolest, quirkiest "eBay 1/1" type cards I own.

And it's a refractor, numbered 310/499. Seems dumb that the Topps representative chose a refractor to use as his example rather than an unnumbered base card.

Trade Bait Dupes! Any Dodger fan want to talk about a deal for that blue Leaf auto? It's numbered 03/25, and expendable for the right offer for me since I also have the 12/25 card in the print run. But holding onto it is cool too.

So there's that. Congrats, Mr. Lux! May you have a long, successful MLB career!