CONTEST! Win Some 2020 Bowman or 2020 Series 2!

**THE CONTEST HAS BEEN EDITED TO REFLECT THE NEW 16-TEAM PLAYOFF FORMAT**

PLEASE VISIT THIS LINK to see the amendments to the contest and resubmit your new predictions!

Original Post:

Welcome back baseball! We've missed you!

I've read a lot about the scarcity of 2020 Topps Series 2 and 2020 Bowman in the wild.  I too was having trouble finding any until I finally caught some luck on my most recent Target run. I grabbed some of each, and I'd like to share my luck with the blog world. If you haven't found any, this is your chance to grab some at no cost! 

I'm excited for the start of baseball season. Plus, this blog is long overdue for a contest, so let's get this going! There will be two separate components to this. One involves *some* skill and lots of luck, and one simply asks for participation. BOTH win prizes!

For the first part, all you to need to do is correctly predict as many of the 10 playoff teams that you can for the 2020 MLB Postseason. It's that simple. Whoever has the most correct predictions will win. If a tie breaker is needed, I will look to see which participant has the most teams in their correct playoff spot. With this in play, there is value to correctly picking who will win the division and who will get the first and second wildcard spots. If, for some reason we need another tie breaker, I'll randomize it. 

In order to enter, just submit your predictions on the comments section in the format below:

AL East Champion:

AL Central Champion:

AL West Campion:

AL Wild Card #1:

AL Wild Card #2:

NL East Champion:

NL Central Champion:

NL West Campion:

NL Wild Card #1:

NL Wild Card #2:

The last day of regular season games is September 28th, and I'll announce the winner shortly thereafter. Make sure to fill in your blog name with your submission so I know how to find you!

The person with the most correct answers will win themselves a factory sealed fat pack of 2020 Bowman baseball!

Now for those of you who suck at predicting the future, like me, don't worry. I'll also be entering ALL participants into a drawing to win one 2020 Topps Series 2 Jumbo pack!

As long as you submit your predictions in the comments before the end of the day on Sunday 7/26, you've earned yourself (1) entry into the drawing. 

There are two ways you can earn additional entries:

1. "Pimp" the contest on your blog - in order to qualify for this, please drop a comment on this post letting me know that you did so. 
2. Subscribe to the blog! This one is for newcomers only. If you've already subscribed, sorry! I'd really like to add some new followers. If you don't currently follow me, please do so! 

So, everyone has the opportunity to get up to two submissions, and new subscribers can get three.

The contest will close on Sunday, Sunday, July 26th at 11:59 PM EST. I will use random.org and randomize the list of entrants 21 times. The winner will be announced on 7/27.

Thanks for checking it out. I hope this adds some fun to the start of the 2020 season and hooks some great people up with some great cards. 

An Exciting Return From My Hiatus - Polanco, PC's, Pimps, and More

I'm back! It's been a few weeks since I've posted, and for good reason. As many of you have probably learned, my line of work requires me to move around quite frequently. I am excited to announce that for the foreseeable future, I have settled back in Pittsburg... just in time for baseball season! This of course means I've got a new address. If you're planning on sending anything, please ask me for my new address before sending. I've put in forward requests at all of my old addresses, so it's not the end of the world if something goes there, but I'd love to avoid that step if possible.

I've been so busy with work that I hadn't been home long enough to set up an appointment with the cable company. I finally got my cable and internet installed yesterday, so I'm up and running for the first time in two weeks. 

I'll start with some very exciting news- not just for the city of Pittsburgh- but for the sport of baseball. As I'm sure you've heard, the great Gregory Polanco has arrived on the North Shore. Even better, I was lucky enough to be in attendance.

And what a special night it was. The young man has made quite the splash for the Bucs, and the entire team has responded well. I've often heard that with him, McCutchen, and Startling Marte, the Pirates outfield should be the best in baseball and I hope that proves to be true. After the game, I went home and scoured my collection for any Polanco cards, and here's what turned up:

Not a bad lot at all. I remember purchasing the auto, of course. I grabbed it back in the fall for less than the cost of blaster. It's value has since doubled, although I would never consider selling it.

Next order of business, the newest additions to my Jason Grilli PC:

My favorite card here is the Archives gold parallel, which arrived courtesy of Gavin at Baseball Card Breakdown. He's also holding SICK contest right now, so I highly suggest you head over there right now!

My Grilli PC has been shaping up nicely, mostly because he's not a big enough name to drive up autograph prices. Both of the autographs combined cost me less than a blaster, and the blue Tribute is numbered to 50. I also love his sig, sleek and sharp! 

Last PC addition is this 2012 Topps Jared Hughes Gold Sparkle. This is my first and only Jared Hughes card. Due to Jared's recent success, I had to jump on a nice rookie of his. He's a been a very consistent reliever for the Bucs this season.

I also splurged on a Topps S2 blaster, which I'm sort of regretting. What actually sold me was the $10 of coupons, which I figured would be nice for some future discounts. However, the coupons are relatively useless. My pulls very unspectacular, and I only one Pirate, a Jordy Mercer base card. 

I've posted all of the cards that I'm not looking to keep in a separate post, HERE! Shoot me an email if there's anything you'd like. Some PWE swaps might be fun!

Last order of business: Part 2 of "He Was a Pirate?" will up within the week. If you missed Part 1, please check it out HERE!

Thanks for reading!

2014 Topps Series 2 TRADE BAIT!

E-mail me at nsbell440@gmail.com with trade proposals! Let's make a deal!

Rippin' Retail

Christmas money = repacks. My local Target has a great selection of retail products, and I love to browse the isle whenever I have some extra cash. My selection this week was a Jumbo box retail pack made by Excell Marketing. Historically speaking, I tend to avoid these products. They're often packed with a bunch of gimmicky crap, but this one looked somewhat legit. As you can see below, it revealed a pack of 2012 Bowman Platinum. There's an identical window on the opposite side of the pack, showing 2012 Update. I also snagged two repacks of 2013 Update.

Here are all the packs within the box. Not a huge fan of Opening Day, but I was very happy to see two more packs of Topps products:

Moving on to the highlights:

One of the '13 Update packs had the Hairston emerald on the left, and the other had the Marshall. 

Same type of story from the 2012 packs.

The box was very generous with Bucco cards. Love the two Marte's.

 Aside from the four packs, there are 50 additional cards inside. Regardless of the sport you buy, the cards are typically a bunch of no names/semi-stars from the early 90's. This box was no different. Some of the cards were terribly warped, as seen above. This card almost looks like a half-pipe.

The pack of Platinum contained this very pretty Will Middlebrooks X-Fractor. The box promises a "Bonus", which must be this Albert Pujols Heritage Mini, because it was floating around the inside of the box. A nice touch, but the real bonus was inside the pack of 2012 Update...

The cardboard gods smiled upon me! The pack felt a little thick, and I was surprised it wan't a decoy. Getting a hit out of a repack is always a great feeling... even if it's a Carlos Ruiz All-Star workout jersey. 

All in all, a very successful purchase. This box alone has really changed my view on this type of product. If you haven't tried one of those retail boxes before, I'd definitely recommend it. I'm sure this wont be my last.

Everything here is for trade, like usual. Thanks for reading!

My Best Trade Yet, with ARPSmith

Back in October, I stumbled across an awesome blog - ARPSmith's Sportscard Obsession - run by an awesome blogger, Adam.

I eagerly scanned his want list, and luckily I had a few goodies for him. I shot him an e-mail and before long, a trade was born. I sent off some SF Giants for him, and asked for anything he could spare in return. The first bullet in his wantlist states, "Those who fill one of these needs will be greatly rewarded!"

..and let me assure you, this guy is not kidding.

I found myself with a stack of Pirates, and I could immediately tell that this collection was loaded with color! Parallels. Yes.

First off is a nice Jeanmar Gomez parallel from 2013 Update. I already have the emerald, but not the gold. Perfect. In the center is former 1B/3B Casey Mcgehee, from 2012 Update. To his right is his successor, looking lovely on that Emerald background. After two great years with the Brewers (and then one really bad one), he got a shot with the Pirates. It was more a less a disaster. 

Next up is a nice horizontal from 2011 Topps Diamond. I really like the look of the these cards, and specifically this very card. A great shot of Cutch, Garrett Jones, and Ryan Doumit. Any card with Cutch on it is gold to me. Doumit's Pirate career is comparable to Mcgehee's... no need to trash him too.   Garrett Jones just signed with Miami after the Pirates decided not to pay him. I'd be lying if I said I won't miss him. My favorite memory of him was back in June when he blasted one straight into the Allegheny. It was only the second time a homer went into the river on a fly. Quite impressive.

To the left is a Starling Marte RC from 2012 Topps. Just a gorgeous card. The gold sparkle bodes so well with the Pirates black and gold jerseys. To the right is Cutch from 2013 GQ with a nice white border. 

In the center is, allegedly, a Jose Tabata "Future Stars" Insert. There are several strange things going on here:

1) Is "Future Stars" not the most played out term for inserts? Ever!?

2) Jose Tabata will most likely never come close to star status

3) ...that's Ronny Cedeno.

I poked around the internet, and I don't think Ronny Cedeno had card in 2011 GQ. A very interest error card. Cedeno's a short stop, Tabata a right fielder. Poor editorial work here, but a cool card nonetheless!

Lastly, a nice 2013 Topps Chome orange parallel of Mr. Russel Martin. I already have the Sepia and Black Parallels... do I see a rainbow in the future?

Below it is a wonderful bonus that Adam was willing to send my way. I'm actually a big fan of Jonathan Dwyer. He was drafted by Pittsburgh, and he's been with the team for three years now. He was actually cut during pre-season cuts, but then re-signed after several injuries at the runningback position. He's a power back, something that the Steelers have been lacking lately. My favorite aspect of this card is Dwyer's number. He wore 21 in college, and wears 27 now. Not sure where the 41 came from.

Adam, thanks so much these awesome cards. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined such a complete and exciting package.

If you'd like to check out more of my Pirates PC, it can be seen HERE!

Thanks for reading!

Need your help! 2013 Topps Cut to the Chase Set Update

Hello again friends. If you haven't already read it, I'm working to compete a set of the 2013 Topps "Cut to the Chase" inserts. I'd love to make some trades and try to obtain some more of these cards. To see what I need/already have, please click HERE.  

As far as what I can offer in return, there's lots of options. I have lots of cards from Topps baseball- 2012. 2013, and Gypsy Queen. I also have a mix of other cards.. please see HERE for that. I have a pretty large collection, don't hesitate to ask about a favorite player, team, etc. I'm a generous trader! My e-mail is nsbell440@gmail.com. Let's chat!

RIP

Who likes die cuts?

I like die cuts. Alot. Especially when they're shiny. Who doesn't love shiny things?

Because of my passion for die cuts, things that sparkle, and Topps baseball cards, I've decided to attempt to complete a set of the Topps Cut to the Chase inserts. These cards were inserted into both Topps 2013 Series 1 and Series 2. 48 total cards. Here's what they look like if you need a quick refresher:

This is a PSA to those of you who have any of these lying around! I'll list the ones I already have at the end of this post. If you have any of these that I don't already have, I'd love to trade with you! To see what I have available for trade, please refer to my "List of additional cards" page, here. I also have tons of base cards, parallels, and inserts from Topps 2013 and Topps 2012. Or, if you have a favorite player or team, don't be afraid to ask me about that too! You can reach me at nsbell440@gmail.com.

As always thanks for reading!!

CTC's I have so far:

CTC-2 Ken Griffey Jr.

CTC-6 Carlos Gonzalez

CTC-7 Stan Musial

CTC-11 Yu Darvish

CTC-13 Brett Lawrie

CTC-14 David Price

CTC-19 Mike Schmidt

CTC-21 Andrew McCutchen

CTC-27 Ralph Kiner

CTC-35 Chris Sale

CTC-38 Prince Fielder

CTC-39 Yeonis Cespides

CTC-40 Cal Ripken Jr.

CTC-41 Stephen Strasberg

CTC-42 R.A. Dickey

2013 Topps Basball Series 2 Jumbo Pack Break

Yesterday's routine stop at Target meant I had to grab a retail pack. I went wit a jumbo pack of 2013 Topps Series Two:

Since the pack was bought from Target, it guarantees 3 Red-Border parallel cards. A nice throw in. The highlights:

I pulled a total of five inserts. Above is three Chasing History inserts, which are sexy cards. As a Buccos fan, the Clemente card nearly made me faint. That's dramatic. But it's no every day I see him in a modern pack. The Strasburg Making Their Mark Insert is solid..

 Top left is another nice insert, Anthony Rizzo WBC. I had no idea he was from Italy, and it turns out he was born in Florida. His parents are from Sicily so I guess that qualified him. 

Those are the the three red parallels. No big names, but still, nice cards!