2023 National Paid Signer - Jim Thome

Jim Thome was the next paid signer insaw at this year's National. I had found this 2003 Stadium Club in the boxes I got from the old card shop and thought it would look cool in my album.  It turned out pretty nicely.

Thome was really nice.  We talked about his time in Kinston, which was really cool.  I had actually gotten to him when the line was about done, so that gave me a little more time to talk with him.

My friend, Michael went through the line with me and took some pictures while I talked with Thome.  Above is Thome's reaction when I told him I have season tickets in Kinston.  He also thanked me for coming out and shook my hand.

Congratulations To The Hall of Fame Class of 2018

Today, four new members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame were announced, and two of them I already had on baseballs.  Adding these two Hall of Famers puts me at 137 Hall of Famers in total.  I had picked up this Jim Thome at the 2016 National and blogged about it here.  Check the link for a breakdown of Thome's stats.  He was one of my favorite players in his career, and now he is a Hall of Famer.  I am really excited because he is a former Kinston Indian, and, as far as I know, the first Kinston Indian to be elected to the Hall of Fame.

Here is my Thome bobble head from a promotion back with the Kinston Indians.  I am really glad that I picked up this bobble head when I did.

I just realized that I never posted this Vladimir Guerrero signed baseball that I picked up at last year's National.  I thought I got around to it, but I guess I never did it.  I got the ball for a steal, and am glad I did.

Guerrero (b. 1975) played in the majors from 1996 to 2011 for the Expos, Angels, Rangers and Orioles.  He had 2,590 hits, 449 home runs and a .318 batting average.  He was the 2004 AL MVP while with the Angels, and was an All Star 9 times.  He was named on 92.9% of the ballots cast and was elected in his second year of eligibility.

Thome was named on 89.8% of the ballots; this was his first time on the ballot.  He and Guerrero will join Chipper Jones (97.2%, first ballot) and Trevor Hoffman (79.9%, third ballot).  Also being inducted for 2018 are Alan Trammell and Jack Morris, who were named in December by the Modern Era Committee (Veterans Committee).

Falling short were Edgar Martinez (70.4%, ninth ballot) and Mike Mussina (63.5%, fifth ballot), among others.

Both Thome and Guerrero finished their careers as Orioles, which is kind of cool, I think.

National Pickup - Jim Thome Signed Baseball

I believe the last transaction I made at the National was pairing up a Joe Torre signed baseball with this Jim Thome ball for a great deal ($125, I believe).  I had seen Thome balls at the show going for $125 alone, so, essentially, I got the Torre for free.

I have wanted a Thome ball for some time now, especially since I was right beside him twice at Camden Yards (back when he played for the Twins), but couldn't get him to sign.  I was running around the National during the final minutes of the show looking for a vendor who had cheap Vladimir Guerrero balls, but I found the guy with Torre and Thome instead.  Adding the Hall of Famer (Torre) cheaply won out over Vladdy.

Thome (b. 1970) played in the Majors from 1991 to 2012 for the Indians, Phillies, White Sox, Dodgers, Twins and Orioles.  He was a 5-time All Star who finished as high as 4th in the NL MVP Voting (2003).  He appeared in two World Series with the Indians (1995 and 1997), but never won a ring.  He retired after the 2012 season, one in which he was traded to the O's for the stretch run.  The 2012 Orioles would fall to the Yankees in the ALDS that year.

Thome had 2,328 hits, 612 home runs and a .276 batting average.  His home run total currently ranks 7th all time.  He will be eligible for Hall of Fame voting in 2018.

Trade With Joey - Vintage and More In An Easy Deal

I got a nice package of stuff in the mail the other day from my good friend, Joey.  I sent him a bunch of Red Sox cards and a Phil Niekro Sweet Spot bat auto.  In return, Joey sent me a stack of vintage stuff (mostly Bowman) that he had. This 1955 Billy Pierce might be the best card in the bunch.  I took it out of the top loader and was amazed at the shape that the card was in.  There was still a great deal of gloss on the card, and the edges and corners were really sharp.

This 1952 Bowman Gerry Staley is also in great shape.  I love the '52 design.  Once I finish my 1948 Bowman set, I may consider doing another one of their sets.  It will be really tough to decide which one, though.

This Joe Adcock card was a little rough, but still was really cool.  Adcock was a great player in his day, but is always overshadowed by his teammate, Eddie Mathews and later by Hank Aaron.  He had a really good career, clubbing 336 homers, but his other stats don't really stand out.  Doesn't matter, though, this is still a really awesome card.

Finally, I got this quad relic card from Joey pretty cheaply since there is a good bit of damage on the card.  It is a quad bat card of Thome, Thomas, Juan Gone and Delgado.  One of the guys on the card is already a Hall of Famer and another (Thome) will be.  The other two guys could make a case for themselves, but I highly doubt they ever get in.  Oh well.  It still is a really cool card.

Thanks for the deal, Joey!  I really appreciate it and I know we will do a bunch more in the future!

A Package From James

I got a nice package in the mail the other day from James over at Chipp 'n' Dale.  In the package was a score of Jim Thome cards that I did not already have in my collection.  The above 2004 Bowman's Best Thome is really sweet and it makes me really wish the Orioles teams of the 2000s were better since the only players I can get from that set are guys I don't want.  Oh well, good thing Thome was in the set.

I was also wondering how this 2012 Allen & Ginter highlight sketches Brooks Robinson eluded my collection.  It eludes me no longer as James was kind enough to send it my way.  Woo Hoo!

Also in the package, but not pictured were several of the Orioles post cards.  He sent me J. J. Hardy, Tommy Hunter, Chris Tillman and the Oriole Bird.  Pretty awesome!

Thanks for the package, James!  If you guys haven't checked out his blog already, he is a huge Braves fan.  Stop in and say hello to him!

Box Busting - 1994 Topps Series 2

Chris and I were bored this weekend (I think Saturday night) and decided to bust a box of cards that I had stashed away in the closet.  I have a couple boxes of 90s 'junk wax' sitting around so we chose 1994 Topps as the product that we were going to bust.

I had forgotten how sharp 1994 Topps looked.  Card collecting took a major hit following the 1994 season, when baseball went on strike.  The year before, Topps released the 1993 set, a behemoth of 825 cards, but slimmed back down to the 80s-90s standard of 792 cards.

There are some good action shots in the set.  I think my favorite that made me stop and look was the above Roberto Alomar card, turning a double play on his brother Sandy.  I just like the concept of the photo.

This is a great shot of Jim Thome possibly blasting a homer.  Who would have thought back in 1994 that Thome would have over 600 homers to his name?

 We got some pretty decent inserts.  In 1994, Topps Finest was an insert set, inserted one into every 36 packs.  The cool thing was that we pulled an Oriole.  It would have been nice if it was Cal, but I will take a Chris Hoiles.

We were also lucky enough to pull a Black Gold Tom Glavine (which is up for trade).  These were one for every 81 packs (or so, I have already thrown out my wrappers).

In all, we did pretty well with our box.  Lots of good photos and a couple decent inserts.  Chris had a good time with it, so that really is all that matters.  I think I'm going to be on the lookout for some more cheap 'junk wax' boxes that he and I can bust together.

Mail From Scott

Wow what a day.  I got home late from work to find a TON of mail.  I got a box from my mom, a bunch of Nolan Reimold cards I got off of Ebay, a Brooks Robinson card from Ebay and a few 1963 Fleer for a friend of mine.  When I logged on to my blog, I found that I had increased my followers by three.  Really good day!

The biggest piece of mail I got was a box from my new friend Scott.  I met Scott at my last card show in Raleigh in December.  I sold him some relics and autos and struck up a conversation.  He has just started his own blog, which you all should follow: Mr. Baseball-Scott.

 Scott recently had the privilege of meeting Orioles Center Fielder Adam Jones and was awesome enough to get a ball signed for me.  I can't believe he was generous enough to get this ball signed for me, and I didn't even have to send him a ball!

 In addition to the ball, Scott also threw in a few cards.  I have liked Jim Thome for a long time, so this Fleer Thome is really awesome.

 Scott sent me this 2009 Topps Chrome Refractor Nolan Reimold for my Reimold PC.  I now have his Blue Chrome auto, his refractor auto and his refractor.  I am adding a bunch of Reimolds lately!

Another card Scott sent is this 2011 Topps Missing Cards 1955 Topps Bob Feller.  I like this card for two reasons, one is that I LOVE 1955 Topps. The other is that I think Bob Feller is one of the greatest pitchers of all time.  I'm more than happy to add this to my Feller PC.

Thanks so much Scott!  It has been a real pleasure introducing you to the blogs and trading with you!

Some Card Shop Packs

I hope you all like the new blog design, I thought it was a good time for a change since I have had the old design up for over 2 years (I think).  There is a lot less going on in the background, which keeps the focus on the actual posts themselves.  Also, the header picture was taken by me in Cooperstown, at Doubleday Field.  I thought it would tie in well with my pursuit of Hall of Fame signed baseballs.

I picked up some packs as we passed by the card shop the other day while out shopping.  I had gone to Staples to pick up some sheet protectors and a small binder.  I am going to keep all of my COAs and LOAs in one place, instead of filed away in various manila envelopes, folders and my 1920s Phillie Blunts cigar box (a remaining relic from my great-grandfather, jeez, I should post that sometime...)

Anyway, we bought several packs of Topps Lineage, Bowman Chrome, Bowman Platinum, Draft Picks and Prospect and Topps Chrome.  The above Jameson Taillon is one of the highlights of the Bowman Chrome.

I pulled this Jonathan Schoop (pronounced SCOPE, apparently) out of the Bowman Platinum.  He is fast becoming one of the Orioles' best prospects, behind Dylan Bundy and Manny Machado.  I hope he lives up to the billing, because the Orioles haven't produced a legit position player from their system since Nick Markakis (not a knock on my favorite, Nolan Reimold, at all. I'm hoping he busts out this year and stays in the majors.  No one is pulling harder for Nolan than I am).

This Topps Chrome Heritage insert came out of the Topps Chrome pack that I bought.  I really missed the boat on Heritage.  I only busted one box of it.  I would have done more, but money was tight at that time and now the boxes are pretty much gone.  Oh well.  I like this card of Thome, whose career is winding down.  He should be a lock for the Hall of Fame.  I think so, at least.  Who knows these days.  I do wish he would have signed my baseball for me in 2010 when I was mere feet away from him.  I might try him TTM once Spring Training gets closer.

I really like this Topps Lineage '75 mini of George Sisler.  I don't have near enough Browns cards or memorabilia.  I might need to add some to my wishlist for the coming year.  Sisler was a really good ballplayer.  He doesn't get much recognition these days, since there were some bigger names playing when he was active, but until broken by Ichiro, Sisler's single season hits record stood for 80 years.

Finally, I pulled this relic out of Topps American Pie.  Since my wife was with me, she and I both picked up a couple packs of American Pie.  She is a big movie buff, so I thought she would get a kick out of the cards.  They were ok.  Kind of like Upper Deck's 'Piece of History' from a few years ago.  I'm not sure if I'll get any more packs of them, though.  As for the Valderrama relic?  Well, I'm definitely not a fan of That 70s Show, I always found it to be dumb (just my opinion).  Also, I'm really glad it wasn't Ashton Kutcher.  Because, well, he is probably my least favorite actor.  Ever.  Valderrama, he's ok, I guess.  I can probably sell it at a card show, which works out for me, at least I'll get a couple bucks out of it; or I can trade it, if any of you are interested.  I'll add it to my for sale/trade page.

By the way, please do check out that page.  I plan on adding some stuff to it to make it easier for people to see what I have that is available at the right price and/or offer.

Congratulations Jim Thome

Jim Thome finally collected his 600th home run tonight. I'm really glad he reached that plateau. He became the eighth player in history to reach the 600 mark. I was almost able to get Thome's autograph last year in Baltimore, but he wasn't signing. I was able to talk to him, though. He's a real classy guy.

I hope this erases any doubt that he will get into the Hall of Fame once he retires. Thome has always been a great player.

A Busy Day

Whew. I packed so much into yesterday, its hard for me to believe everything I did. Add that to everything I have done on this trip and it seems like I worked my tail off on this trip... and it's supposed to be my vacation.

First things first, to my surprise, the Orioles activated Brian Roberts before the start of yesterdays game. That was really awesome, so, now I can say I was at the game that turned the Orioles season around. I really feel like Roberts' absence from the lineup is one of the main culprits for the disaster which has been the 2010 Orioles season.
Roberts went 0-4 in his return, but he worked the count in all of his plate appearances. Something the O's hitters didn't do in the 5-0 loss the day before.

I acheived one of the goals I set out on when I left Greenville, and that was to meet MASNSports.com's Roch Kubatko. I have followed Roch since he was a reporter for the Baltimore Sun. Now, he reports and blogs for MASNSports.com. I read his blog daily, and it is the best source for Orioles news.

I met up with Roch at the press box and talked O's baseball with him for a good 20 minutes. He was really gracious to let me intrude in his daily routine. We talked everything from Roberts' return to Nolan Reimold to minor league ballparks. This was a huge highlight in my trip.

We also did the Camden Yards tour. I did the tour once before in 2005, but we had time to kill and decided that for $9 it was well worth it. Boy, was I right...

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There wasn't time for a photo op and I had my baseballs and pen buried in my backpack, so when we walked by the radio booths and saw Bert Blyleven standing there, I wasn't able to get an auto or picture. It didn't matter, though, I shook his hand, told him he should be in the hall of fame. He asked me my name and where I was from. He was really nice. I wish I had been able to at least get a pic with him, but I realized he was busy. He thanked me for stopping by, and we continued on our tour.

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Just being able to say I met and shook hands with Bert Blyleven is really cool.

I can now say that I have met and shook hands with: Brooks Robinson, Bert Blyleven, Chris Hoiles, Tippy Martinez, Nolan Reimold, Brandon Waring and Brandon Snyder. Each of those guys was really cool and stopped long enough for me to have a brief conversation with them.

I will post about the game itself when we get home later today, but the Orioles actually did win, which was so cool. I almost forgot how a win in person felt.

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After the game, we waited be the parking lot to try one final time to get Jim Thome's autograph. While we were waiting, Brian Matusz came out, I spoke to him for a second, but he said he didn't have time to sign right now. Then, Thome and Mauer came out together. I was unable to get Thome to sign, either. Dang. Oh well. I did get John 'T-Bone' Shelby, only after he complained about it. Someone later told me that he always complains to give fans a hard time, and usually doesn't sign. Well, he signed my ball, so I guess its a win for me. Its not like I harrassed the guy.

I had an awesome time on this trip and accomplished all but one of my goals (getting Thome to sign). I would say I was really successful.

2010 Allen and Ginter Thoughts

I broke down the other day and bought 3 boxes of 2010 A&G. I wasn't going to get any because I thought the Stephen Strasburg mania was going to drive the prices waaaay up and I also thought that with the hype, no boxes would be available when I got to the shop.

Well, there were boxes at the shop, so I decided I was going to get two. I then texted Max to see if he wanted to go halves on a box, which he did, so I ended up getting 3.

I busted one box at the card shop with my brother Andy, then went to Max's place on Monday and broke the other two.
I really like this year's design. I was pretty disappointed in last year's offering. The roll marks really pissed me off, so that pretty much killed it for me. You can see that I'm still working on 09 A&G. I'll finish it eventually. This Reimold is pretty sweet.

Here is this year's Roberts. I want to try to get as many versions of him as I can. I have a bunch of his other A&Gs, so this year will be a nice challenge as well.

I'm really satisfied with this year's Allen and Ginter. I got some sweet autos (which I will post later) and a rip card (Yunel Escobar). I let Max rip the card since he hadn't ripped one before and we got a Pablo Sandoval exclusive mini. I let Max keep the ripped Escobar and the mini Sandoval.

A couple things now:

• The release of A&G marks the anniversary of how I met P.A. I met him as I was busting 2008 A&G. So, here's to you, P.A., you're a good man, I'm glad we have become friends!!!
• Head over to Max's and my blog and see that he has POSTED, finally! Give it a read and leave him some comments!!!
  
  

Trip to the Greenville Card Shop

I went to the card shop yesterday while my wife decided to go to Kohls to shop. Ugggh. Glad the shop was nearby. I picked up a few things:
I went through a stack of 2009 UD Signature Stars and got this Brian Roberts.

Also picked up this Nick the STICK.

Pulled this relic auto from a pack of the Signature Stars. Don't know who the kid is, but its a cool card anyway.

I also picked up a few Dodger cards out of the shop's stack of Signature Stars for... someone... Jim Thome. Yeahhhh. He's the man!

I kind of like the Signature Stars, but there really aren't enough cards in the packs. I hate having to spend $5+ for 3 cards. Lame. I bought the last 2 packs they had and still pulled the relic auto, so I think I did pretty well.

Just to let you all know, I should start having some mail coming in over the next few days, so I should have some blogs coming; however, my huge exam is on Friday... gonna be a tough week!!!

Topps Unique Thoughts

I picked up a few packs of Topps Unique on my trip to the Greenville card shop the other day since my shop I help at didn't get them. I have heard some slightly negative comments about Unique, and was very curious as to what I would think of them once I saw them in person. The scans I had seen don't really do the cards justice.

I really liked this card because i have a tremendous amount of respect for Jim Thome. I also am partial to the Dodgers due to me being so close to Max. Obviously, this card went to him right away. I really thought it was cool to get one of Thome in the Dodger uniform, even if he played for them for a month or so...

Yaaay, another Reimold. I didn't pull this from a pack, I got it from the shop's loose card bin for a cheap price.

Awesome, ANOTHER Reimold. I also got this one from the single card bin. I'm a big Reimold fan. I hope he does well this year!!!

Overall, I like Unique. I'm not 100% convinced its worth $6.50 a pack, but I think the design is sharp. I was hoping I would pull a sweeet Button relic or something, but alas, I did not.