Picking Up Prospects From Frankie

I completed a trade recently with Frankie from the wonderful blog "My Life In The Sports Card Hobby" when I sent him a couple relic cards of Hall of Famers in exchange for some nice Bowman Chrome prospect cards.

One of the keys to the trade was this 2014 Bowman Chrome Shimmer refractor of Clint Frazier.  I've been kind of following Frazier a bit since he was drafted.  I have a couple of his cards, and am looking to get one of his autos at some point.  He's a really good player, and I think he will be really good for the Indians when he finally makes the big leagues.  This shimmer refractor is numbered 3/25 and will be put up.  I really enjoyed the different types of refractors that were offered in Bowman Chrome last year.  I hope they continue with this, because they were really cool-looking.

Another piece in the deal was this black wave refractor of the Orioles' first pick in the 2015 draft, Brian Gonzalez.  The O's didn't have a pick in the first two rounds during that draft, since they had signed Ubaldo Jimenez and Nelson Cruz that previous offseason.  I think they would like to have a do-over when they signed Jimenez, but Cruz was a really good pickup.  Gonzalez has been pretty good, so far, for the Orioles.  He went 0-1 with a 1.34 ERA over 10 games between the GCL Orioles and short season Aberdeen.  This season, he has started 3 games for Low A Delmarva and has gone 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA.

Frankie threw in a ton of extras in the deal.  This gold refractor from 2014 Finest is numbered 50/50 and looks really sharp.  Jones has started the season on a tear, and I hope he can keep it up.

Currently batting .167 for the Frederick Keys is Orioles catching prospect, Chance Sisco.  He had a stellar season last year when he batted .340 for Delmarva.  His average is really low right now, but that is only over the course of 5 games (2 for 12).  I think he will get on track and will continue to show why he is one of the Orioles top prospects.  This mini blue refractor from 2013 Bowman Chrome is numbered 65/99.

Another highly-thought-of catching prospect in the Orioles system is Jonah Heim.  I really like him because his grandmother follows me on Twitter and Heim follows me on Instagram.  It doesn't take much to make me happy.  Seriously, though, Heim is well regarded in the Orioles system.  He was a 4th round pick in the 2013 draft out of high school.  He is only 19 (with a birthday in June) and has hit for a low average so far in his Minor League career (.204 over 83 games).  With him being so young, I look for Heim's bat to catch up; he actually is hitting .278 for Delmarva so far this season. This green refractor is numbered 65/75.

Frankie really hooked me up in this deal.  He is a really great guy, and I hope you all get the chance to read and comment on his blog.  Thanks for the trade, Frankie!  I'll keep looking for cool stuff for you so we can work on our next deal.

Another Instagram Trade With Bruce

I was contacted via text message recently by my friend, Bruce, whom I hadn't talked to in a while.  He had in his possession the above Jonah Hem 1/1 auto and was wondering if I would be interested.  Since I kind of PC Heim, I was absolutely interested, and we hammered out a deal in a matter of minutes.  We actually hammered out two deals because one of the key cards he wanted was misplaced (which I later found in the exact spot I had put it - long story), but once I got things set, we had a deal.

This Heim auto is definitely an awesome 1/1.  It comes from Panini Elite Extra Edition and is a die cut card with a sticker auto.  It looks really awesome.  I need to pick up a magnetic case for it soon.

Bruce included a bunch of Orioles cards and had a Cal Ripken that I had never seen before, so this will make a nice addition to my Cal PC.  This is from 2002 Donruss.

Speaking of Cal PC additions, Bruce included this graded 10 1993 Leaf Cal Ripken card.  Why anyone would grade one of these is beyond me.  I was talking over Skype with my buddy, Max, and his response was "Hey, I bet you that will be a unique piece in your PC...".  He is absolutely right!

Bruce also included a few 2014 Topps Chrome cards that I needed for my set which leaves me needing only 7 to finish it.

Thanks for the deal, Bruce!  I'm glad we were able to agree to a deal after all this time, and I hope there is a lot less time between now and our next deal.

Christmas Package From Weston

My buddy Weston sent me a Christmas package recently that had a bunch of Orioles cards in it.  The cards were great, but the thing about the package that stood out the most was the awesome purple bubble mailer that he sent it in.  I opened the package over Skype with a few of the guys that I chat with, and each of them wanted to be the one that bubble mailer was shipped to next.

You see, I recycle as much as I can.  Partly because I work in environmental consulting, but mainly because bubble mailers cost money, and I'm cheap.  So, why buy more when you can just re-use the ones sent to you.  I haven't bought bubble mailers in years, so this has been working out for me pretty well.  So, be on the lookout, who knows who the lucky person to get the purple mailer will be.

Anyway, Weston seems to be my hookup for Orioles prospects lately.  He sent me this great Panini Elite Extra Edition Jonah Heim card, which I really like.  Heim is one of three catchers the Orioles drafted in the 2013 draft, and all three are pretty good prospects.  The other two being Alex Murphy and Chance Sisco, of course.

Speaking of Sisco, Weston sent me this card as well.  It seems like I have gotten pretty much all of my Sisco cards (except for an auto I purchased off of COMC) from Weston.  He must have a lot of luck pulling Sisco's cards.

Thanks for the Christma gift, Weston!  I really appreciate the thought and I'm always glad for our chats.

Please check out Weston's blog: Fantastic Catch

COMC Pickup - 2013 Bowman Purple Ice Jonah Heim

I wanted to show another card that I got off of COMC recently, this 2013 Bowman Purple Ice parallel of Orioles prospect, Jonah Heim.  Heim was the Orioles 4th round pick out of the 2013 draft.  He is currently playing for the Low A Aberdeen Ironbirds.

Over 64 games in the minorsfor the last 2 years, Heim is batting .206 with 1 home run and 11 RBIs.  He's going to be just fine, I think.  He definitely adds to the huge amount of catching depth that the O's have drafted recently.

This card is really awesome.  It is numbered 6/10, and according to the back of the card, Heim tries to wear uniform number 6 whenever he can, in honor of his grandpa.  That is really awesome that I ended up with this one.

June 21, 2014 Raleigh Card Show Part 5 - Orioles PC Pickups

Ok, so this is the final post from my recap of what I got at today's card show.  I got a bunch of Orioles PC needs.  I got 8 cards that I didn't even bother showing (mainly because I was tired of scanning) and the three that I included in this post.

I really like this 2013 Bowman Blue Wave Refractor of Orioles prospect, Jonah Heim.  The blue wave cards are amazingly beautiful and it helps that one of Heim's family members follows me on Twitter.  I've picked up a few of Heim's cards and this one is my favorite so far.

I found two of Manny Machado's Pro Debut cards.  I used to see these go fairly high, but the 2011 I was able to get for $2.  Not too bad.

I got this 2012 Pro Debut for $2 as well, I think, but I'm beginning to  lose track.  It still is a nice card and I always enjoy a good Frederick Keys card.

Finally, the last piece I'll show is this mint condition 1966 Orioles program/scorebook that I picked up for $10.  I almost missed out on it, though.  The guy saw me in my Orioles hat and Brooks Robinson shirt and brought the program to my attention right away.  I only had a plastic shopping bag with me, so I didn't want to buy it right away and carry it around the whole time.  I had the guy hold it for me while I made the rounds at the show.  Finally, when I made the last bulk 1959 Topps transaction, I realized that I didn't leave myself with enough money to cover the program.  Oops.

Luckily, the world we live in now has smart phones where we can log onto the internet and pay someone via Paypal while you are standing there talking to them about cards.  So, in a matter of minutes, I paid the guy electronically for the program and added on the previously mentioned 1959 Topps Yogi Berra.

Well guys, there you have it.  One of the most successful card shows I have been to in a long time.  Yeah, I spent a good bit, but I made a huge dent in my 1959 set and scratched a bit of the surface on my 1969 set.  Plus, I got a few sweet relic cards.  Oh, I also bought cards for a few friends as well.

I hope you all enjoyed these 5 posts.