Six Years in the Making: 2013 Topps Chrome Baseball Blue Parallel Set

Way back in 2013 , I chronicled my desire to build the entire 220 card set of 2013 Topps Chrome Baseball with a twist: Not only did I want to build the full set, I wanted to build it entirely of blue parallels which are numbered to /199.

I’m happy to say that I achieved that goal two years ago during my blogging hiatus when I finally hunted down Madison Bumgarner. I sat on 219 cards for almost a year before the Bumgarner card finally popped up an eBay saved search. I’m a huge fan of that eBay feature. 

Last week I pulled the set out and went through it card-by-card. Man, there are some memories in here. It was hell of a journey that took a lot of time and effort. To commemorate the journey, let’s hit on some random thoughts.

There were some cards that are a steal for the price, looking back:

• #1 Mike Trout
• #25, Hyun-Jin Ryu RC
• #65, Didi Gregorius RC
• #78, Nolan Arenado RC
• #179, Aaron Hicks RC

There were cards that I paid way too much for, looking back:

• #12, Manny Machado RC
• #57, Jurickson Profar RC – ouch
• #73, Trevor Rosenthal RC
• #138, Yasiel Puig RC – This was the most expensive of all 220 cards. I remember all the “mania’s” around certainly players when it comes to collecting (Darvish, Tanaka, Ohtani), but I think Puig-mania takes the cake. A lot of THREE of these cards sold for $7.50 on eBack in June. Brutal.
• #220, Bryce Harper

There are things about this set that make me really sad:

• #104 Roy Halladay, #88 Tyler Skaggs and #32 Jose Fernandez left us at way too young of an age.
• Christian Yelich did not have a base card in this set, only autos. It was his rookie year.

What the hell happened to:

• Evan Gattis?
• Allen Craig?
• Robbie Grossman?
• Mike Olt?
• Mark Trumbo?

There are some bonafide future Hall of Famers towards the end of their careers:

• #10, Derek Jeter
• #34, Felix Hernandez
• #68, Paul Konerko
• #79, David Ortiz
• #100 Miguel Cabrera
• #168 Alex Rodriguez

Now that the set is six years old, we have a very good idea of what these 220 players careers look like. The rookie class is strong with names like Machado and Arenado, and the Trout card has the “All Star Rookie” trophy stamp on it, so that boosts it’s value. Because of that, I sent these three cards of the Beckett for grading. Grading was never my plan necessarily -- but I guess that’s kind of the point of building a set and then holding onto it: Looking back and seeing what's changed. Digging up memories and preserving value.

I’m hoping the three cards come back with decent grades and further add to the intrigue of this set. Either way, I’m excited to place the set back in storage and pull it out in another two years.

This was a huge challenge but it's been fun and rewarding to build it up card by card through trades, hobby shops, COMC, and eBay.

What do you think? Should I try something similar again?

My Dormant Blog Comes Alive with a Topps Redemption!

Yes you read that correctly. I received a redemption from Topps! It's really possible- more on that to follow.

We all have our reasons for our week long blogging hiatuses. My reasons are no different than any you've heard or written about- work, school, significant other, other hobbies- etc. Therefore I will not bore you with monotonous details of my unexciting life. 

Although I haven't been writing, I've been actively reading and pursuing upgrades to my Pirates PC. As I've mentioned in previous posts, one of my unwritten goals for the year is to acquire a certified autograph of every Pirates player, however realistic that may be. I've made some awesome progress in the past few weeks:

First up is Gaby Sanchez from 2012 Topps GQ. I've mentioned before that I'm a big fan of Gypsy Queen auto's, mostly based on design. The blue ink on card and the fading area for the auto looks really smooth. I got this bad boy for under $5 shipped.

Gaby is currently the only true first baseman on the Pirates roster with a major league contract. He's a guy who mashes lefties (.333 in 102 AB in '13) but can't see the ball against righties (.204 in 162 AB), which evens out to a subpar .254 last year. He saw his playing time against lefties, and as a defensive replacement. Hopefully he can come around this year, as it looks like the position lies in his hand for now.

Next up is Clint Barmes from 2006 Upper Deck Artifacts, numbered to 800. Although this card is a sticker, it actually works quite well. The sticker itself is transparent and doesn't look entirely miserable on the card. It's also numbered which is always a bonus for me. This was right around $5 bucks shipped.

Clint's known as an excellent defensive shortstop with a below-average bat. He, much like Sanchez, is often inserted into the lineup in the 7th inning or later as defensive replacement. He's known as a great guy around the locker room and a true "veteran presence." If I reacll correctly, manager Clint Hurdle brought him to Pittsburgh after being impressed with Clint's character in Colorado.

Here's Russell Martin, 2007 Bowman's Best. A simple card for sure, but I don't ever mind that. I have some beef with those silver auto stickers, but it was the only affordable option for Russ. The sticker honestly doesn't look that bad because most of the card is silver anyhow. I grabbed this card for $10 shipped.

Russ is much more of a household name than the other guys, so I'll save my comments regarding his offensive ability. What I love about him most is his ability to throw out base runners. More importantly, the threat of his cannon prevents opposing teams from running on him in the first place. According to the 2013 Fielding Bible, Martin saved the Pirates 16 total runs last year. He was also runner up for the Gold Glove Award for his position. Not too shabby.

Lastly, a redemption came through from Topps- Gerrit Cole 2013 Bowman Platinum, Jersey and Auto /199. I actually bought this redemption back in the fall, and it came through in only four months, which I am NOT complaining about.  I picked up the redemption card for around $30 dollars, which seemed like a good deal at the time- and I have no regrets.

As for the card itself, it's nothing amazing. The jersey swatch is a simple plain white, and the auto is a sticker (boooo). I love the fact that it's a blue parallel numbered to 199, giving it some rarity. I also like how Cole is wearing number 75, which was his minor league number. He's been wearing 45 in the majors and most likely will continue to do so for the remainder of his career. Overall, a nice card.

Thanks for reading! 

Nate

Atomic PC Additions and Some Topps Series 1 Previews!

I haven't posted in forever. That's a fact. I feel bad too, because I was having some great interactions and building somewhat of a following. However, even when I'm not posting I'm constantly reading and browsing blogs, and you guys have provided some excellent reading material. 

I've also been neglecting eBay and COMC somewhat, but I was able to sit down the other night and put together a few orders. Here's what I hauled in:

I actually stumbled across these by accident, in a way. I was searching eBay for 2013 Topps Chrome atomic refractors, which are numbered to 10. I absolutely love the "cracked ice" look to these parallels, but the 2013's are generally way too expensive, being so rare.

 In my search I learned that in 2011 Topps, the atomic refractors are exactly the same design, but numbered to 225. Boom! There were several of each of COMC, so I was able to pick and choose. The best part is, the Liriano is 47/225, his jersey number! I absolutely hate when eBayers use this gimmick to jack up prices, but that wasn't the case here. Happy to have it!

I'm still looking for this same card, but of Pedro Alvarez. Please let me know if you see one!

Next up:

This baby. What to say here. This is more or less a case of, "Whoa. Shiny. Must. Have." It also satisfied many of my conditions for buying a single:

Price? The price was right. Really right (I think). The same card has gone on eBay for waaayy more than I bought it for, although the grades were higher.

Rarity? Somewhat rare. It's an X-fractor RC, at least.

Value? People f**kin' love this guy. I'm sure the 9 brings the value down. 

Unique? I've never owned a graded card! Plus it's a just a beautiful looking card all-around.

That was enough for me. I guess this is technically for trade if there are any Harper super-fans out there that are dying for a card like this. I'd need a great offer though. 

Moving on: How about 2014 Topps Series 1?! Who's excited?! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. I'm definitely a bigger fan of S2, Update, and Chrome... but the novelty of a new product is always exciting to me. I've been avoiding the card isle all week and WallyWorld in an effort to save up for some packs of S1. I may even consider a blaster. Thoughts? Anyone out there buying a hobby box? Joining a group break? I'd love to hear some opinions. 

I've been keeping up with Topps' updates throught Twitter, and here are some of the cards that have caught my eye:

All of these autos are pretty damn nice. I've seen a ton of complaints about all of the autos being stickers. I actually don't mind the stickers for S1 and S2, because it means that other Topps products with on-card autos will remain higher end (Chrome, Gypsy Queen Five Star, etc). It also cuts down on redemptions, I believe.

A few quick housekeeping items; I 've updated my Trade Bait. There are over a dozen 2013 Topps Chome sapphire blue refractors /199 on there, as well as tons of other goodies. Check it out! I'd love to get some trades going.

Also, if you haven't checked me out on Twitter, please do so! @big44cards

Thanks for reading! Nate

An Ambitious Set - Call Me Crazy

Thoreau once said,

"We must walk consciously only part way toward our goal, and then leap in the dark to our success.” 

I'm not really sure what the hell that means, and I know he wasn't referring to collecting cardboard. Nevertheless, I'm going to leap into the dark and try to complete a set of 2013 Topps Chrome Sapphire Blue Parallels. Why these specific cards, you ask? Here's my reasoning:

1) Topps Chrome is my favorite set of the year. I love everything about these cards.

2) 2013 has been the most significant and exciting baseball year of my life and I'd like to commemorate it.

3) These cards are numbered to 199, and I have a fetish for numbered cards. 199 is high enough that the cards are affordable and attainable... in most cases.

I want to shoot high here and go beyond the regular base set. I've already got 31 cards, which brings me to a whopping 14% completed.

I know that I'm going to face some serious challenges here, the main one being the "prodigy" himself, Yasiel Puig. Puig has been a pain in the ass for set collectors and this situation is no different. The cheapest Puigs on eBay range from 45-60 bucks, although some have gone for as low as $25 in .99 cent auctions. Thankfully I already own the Jose Fernandez card, which is a big plus. Manny Machado will likely be the other wallet-breaker.

Call me crazy, but this is my new project... and I would LOVE YOUR HELP! If you see any good auctions or better yet want to trade, give me a shout. I've got tons of stuff up on my Trade Bait page so please check it out. I'm willing to be generous and creative here. PWE's, bulk trades... you name it, I'm game. Drop a comment or shoot me an e-mail at nsbell440@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading!