My secret Santa delivered overseas

I knew Santa would probably be too busy to make the trip all over to Europe, so I told him it was ok to stop near Pittsburgh instead, that the cards would find their way to me eventually. I was way too eager to participate in Matt's awesome Secret Santa to let it pass me by this year (I missed it last year because, well, my life gets quite busy with the end of the year, because books don't sell themselves and I have to be a Santa to a lot of people so they won't all end up with 50 shades of gray in their stockings). In order for my Secret Santa not to wish he'd never entered after pulling my name, Matt agreed to hold the cards for me.

So yay, more cards !

Adam from Arpsmith's sportscard obsession  got stuck with me, and from the pics Matt sent me, he did a great job !

A nice design from a fan favorite and a brand favorite

More autos !

Another nice Blue Jays auto, and a great Griffey medallion.

Metal definitely gave us some of the strangest card designs out there. This one is almost normal !

Nothing says Merry Christmas and a big thank you to Adam like a Snoopy all dressed up for winter.

The present trading is NOW

Along with the contents of our box break, Brian also sent some extras for our ongoing trading.

My very first Topps Now card ! I love the concept, but the price tag is too steep for my taste (I wonder what the shipping rates to Europe are, if there are any). I was very excited to get that one, as it doesn't get much better than that photo. A little over 800 were produced, which is a lot for Topps Now (Blue Jays cards rarely go up more than a 300 print run), but you can definitely understand the appeal to non Blue Jays collectors also. It's a great idea for a trade though ! Plus, Coghlan is flying over Yadier Molina, which makes it count double, as Molina is PC.

 A nice on card auto of a Blue Jay favorite (well, except for that contract...) on one of my favorite sets. Bingo !

Numbered parallels, yay ! I do like that Platinum one a lot.

 More Blue Jays, including my first taste at 2017 Archives and Update. I saw the Coghlan on Nick's blog (same action, different angle than on the Topps Now, the latter being more interesting IMHO as you see his face, but I do like how the umpire is included there) and instantly put it on my virtual want list, hoping very very hard that someone would send it to me. And tadah, a few days later, here it is.

I always enjoy getting football cards, as I don't buy any. I love that Bo Jackson card !

An awesome 72-73 Willis Reed !

I knew of Hughie Jennings from his days in Detroit, and did not know he'd been manager for the NY Giants. Nice addition to my Giants collection ! Brian also knows (like Bo), that I'm a big fan of athletes that are able to compete in two sports at a professional level. Such was the case with Chuck Dressen, who was also a football player. I found out, by reading the back of that Conlon card, that he was the manager who had Branco pitch to Thomson for the Shot hear 'round the world

Brian's also aware that I love great defensive players. So, even though they're part of his Twins collection, he was kind enough to send me those Buxton cards. Nice choice ! Same with former Blue Jays great Robbie Alomar. Very strange to see him in a D-Backs uniform.

More PC ! Including a Hernandez/Mattingly combo

I'm officially adding Baerga to my offical PC. Brian probably sent me 3/4 of my collection so far !

thanks a lot Brian, another amazing and thoughtful selection of cards. That Topps Now is a perfect idea !

The results are in...it's a box break !

My two partners in crime showed their end of the box break held by Brian, yesterday, and now it's my turn (I'm just fashionably late). As you know by now, Brian picked a box of 2017 Stadium Club. Caring mainly about base cards myself, needless to say that this was a real treat to me ! Now that prices have gone down, I absolutely need to net a box for myself. That set is simply too amazing to pass.

First off, the autos. I have no idea who Hazelbaker is. But that's the case with most SC autos. Brian pulled this Morales auto from another box he bought for himself, and he was kind enough to forward it to me. I didn't know they did sticker autos in SC, but it's still real cool, and there are only 10 copies of that parallel ! I was looking through my cards earlier today, and is it me, or was his first name Kendry at the beginning of his career ?

Some inserts with a world series feel to them. Well, to Seager, that is, Urias is in triple A. The Seager is one of those annoying parallel inserts.

 More parallels ! I honestly don't really see the point in these, but I guess they come with any card territory now.

 This one I like, though. Chrome is always a nice addition, plus Arenado is a player I follow closely.

I had absolutely no 2017 Stadium Club (maybe a contact sheet insert but that's it), so those are very welcomed. I like that red jersey, and the photo choices are good.

More Blue Jays. I think I only need a couple more for the team set (Stroman and Morales)

And now, for some favorites from what I got in the break :

 That Ted Williams is amazing, and it doesn' t get much better than those orange uniforms.

 That Gehrig card would make a great framed poster

And finally, more horizontal greatness

Thanks Brian, another great choice of boxes and another huge success !

One card and a few words

I received a PWE from my great trading partner from the Great white north, the man who always delivers on the more obscure Blue Jays sets and players : Richard . He's also a great source for me to learn about pre-war Candian players and the history of baseball as played in Canada.

In it, a single card, but a very cool one. Richard is trying to put together a complete 1994 Collector's Choice Gold signature set, so if you have any to spare, I'm sure he'd love to hear from you ! Anyway, he came across a duplicate of his favorite player and I was very happy that he thought of me to send it over. I only have a handful of those, but each time I receive one, I'm reminded at how awesome that parallel is. It's quite easy to find really cheap boxes (though for me, with shipping, a $7 box will cost me $50) which makes it interesting to try and complete at least the silver signatures set.

Thanks, Richard !

The Bob Walk Express

Well, Matt delivered. Yet again.
Another great trade package filled with goodies. There were also the results of our box break, but I really don't have anything to show but base cards of 2009 Signature Stars (you can't always win), so I'll skip that part ! Also included were a bunch of supplies (card sleeves, top loaders, magnet holders) that are always a welcomed and unexpected addition.

As for the trade aspect...

I like that card a lot. There are probably hundreds of Scott Rolen autos out there (I won't chase them all !), and I love how it's full of color and on card.

Not a prospect anymore and still a great asset to the Blue Jays ! His signature is all but spectacular, which is too bad because he's a fun player to chase.

This is a real beauty ! Simple design and on card auto on acetate. Doesn't get much better in my world.

Not every day that Matt sends me some Knicks players ! Nice trio of players from three different eras. Starks is one of my all time (goats) favorites, a player I collected and watched closely in the 90s.


And finally, the clou du spectacle / icing on the cake (we say 'cherry on the cake, in France, but what do we know ?) :

Bam ! A 1969 Nolan Ryan in a beautifull hefty screwdown holder ! My mind was blown when I saw that. And it shows that Matt was paying attention when I said I wanted one of each of Ryan's Topps base cards from his playing years, as they spanned four decades. PLUS, I collect Mets cards from that era. Perfect fit. And it's probably the type of card I'd never have chased in the first place, as it's way out of my price range. I know I'll never own his RC, because as iconic as it may be, there will always be other cards I'd rather have for that kind of money. I'm not necessarily a huge Ryan fan (too many walks, not enough control and way, way too Republican for my taste), but he is definitely one of the all time bests, and this second year card is simply and truly amazing.

thanks a lot Matt, definitely a perfect game, which puts you in a category apart from Nolan Ryan !

A box of 1995 SP

As always, I added a couple more things just for me when I shopped for our box break. Most of what I got was uneventful (8 packs of 2016 A&G with absolutely nothing in them, some Goodwin champs and a couple of packs of 2008 UD football heroes), but the other box was great in my eyes.

Because man, do I love the early UD SP products. I'll never be able to buy a box of 1993 or 1994 (the former goes for $1 700 because of Jeter, the latter for a mere $250 thanks to A-Rod's steroids), but the 1995 version was $35. Perfect for me. And it was highly enjoyable to open. First, because there are 32 packs per box and 8 cards per pack. Second, because collation was great (only a few duplicates, and about 5 or 6 cards shy of a complete 207 card base set). Third, because i love the design and photos.

Very few inserts in that product (only 2, actually, if you don't include parallels), but this one has a nice die-cut design. Nothing spectacular, but I'm happy I got Griffey and Big Hurt. Those are seeded 1:5

The mandatory parallels. Even the hologram at the back is in silver instead of gold.

 Four tribute cards to start the set.

Yay, PC ! That Griffey is one of my favorites in terms of base card. Probably because it looks a lot like the 93 flagship base card. Looks like NL teams got blue borders and AL the red ones.

The reason 95 SP cards are so cheap is because the only valuable rookie is this guy. NOMO MANIA ! Nice die-cut and foil treatment too.

And then you have the usual photography...

Remember when efforts were made for card backs to be also attractive ?

And finally, I was very happy to pull one of these, seeded 1:75. I could've done much worse also player wise, with a 48 card checklist. My 1995 Beckett tells me it's worth $80. It must be true, then !

A box break can sometimes be a blown save

It was my turn for our Transatlantic triple break with Brian and Matt (we need to find a cool jingle, Community-style like Troy and Abed). Boxes from this year have been out of our price range (thanks Aaron and Cody) so I looked into older boxes. And I don't know why, but I always get suckered in by early 2000s checklists, even though odds are against me. Maybe we're spoiled today with our guaranteed hits per box, I don't know. I picked 2002 Leaf, and the result was far from spectacular. Most hits went to my friends, but I have to admit the inserts were kinda cool. Far from what they had going in 97 and 98 (you lazy people), but still way above the base cards.

My sole 'hit'. Yeah, sorry, it's blurry, but it's actually quite shiny !

At least I got a couple of PC cards. I think the cards were designed in about 3 minutes, and the photos chosen in 30 seconds. Some are actually blurry for real.

 This one I needed for my Blue Jays collection

I always find it annoying when a player is shown in his old uniform, but the card bears his new logo. You never know where to put those : Mets or Tigers binder ?

So *cough* yeah, that's all I can show from the break. I open boxes because it's fun. I really (really) never care about resale value (I've never sold a card in my life) or about hits. My problem with 2002 Leaf is that it wasn't that much fun. Not much excitement at all. And I've found it's the case with a lot of products from the early 2000s. I really need to stick to the 90s and cards from 2015 onward. But there are so, so many sets I don't know about from 2000-2008 that I can't help but be a little curious. But it's always come back to bite me so far.

Anyway, a couple of days later, I received my COMC order. A lot of great handpicked stuff in there if I may say so myself !

I'm not that far from having all of Griffey base cards from major flagship brands. Those I added because of The Junior Junkie's posts. I'll never own any of Griffey's rarer cards (too expensive for me and not committed enough) but when base cards are as cool as those, it still makes me very happy.

Most of the cards I picked up next are numbered inserts of PC guys. Ironically, a lot of Donruss/leaf in there too. 1997/1998 were crazy years for card collectors. Too bad I missed out on the action, as I lost interest in 96.

I've read here and there that Andruw was a waste of talent and an overhyped player in the 90s. Maybe for the hype (I wouldn't know, living in France far from Atlanta and the internet in 95 and 96), but I still think he put up great numbers, even in his declining years. I love that die cut job on the UD3

That Leaf card on the left is made of plastic. A fractal materials die cut Plastic X axis to be exact.

A well known insert from Leaf, and I'd never had one in hand. It feels great ! The creative minds at the time were really working full time. I wonder if it'd be considered way too expensive today to conceive that type of card, or the ones that felt like bases, or the ones on wood...

This one I got on Ebay for around $10. I love that retired autograph set !

More Ebay pickups, all from the same seller. The card I really wanted was the first one. I added the others to soften the shipping rates per card. The Matt Harvey has a really cool patch and Chris Sale seemed an interesting pick for just 99cts (the Harvey was $2)

Another Vizquel auto ! I was surprised that my $3 opening bid was enough to secure that card

 You can't collect Bo cards and not own that one. There's a gay-friendly theme to it, undeniably.

More from the Donruss/Leaf masterminds ! The Frank Thomas is all clear acetate and looks great. I was a little disappointed by the Knothole gang. I love the idea, but I don't know, there's something missing.

The banner season Leaf insert of Pat Hengen is one of the cheaper you can find. I feel sorry for those who pulled it from packs. Such a rollercoaster for them. And how can I possibly still be missing Carter inserts ?

This is definitely one of the strangest cards I've ever seen. My very first Pacific Invincible. It's mesmerizing. It's as ugly as it is beautiful. Quite a feat.

Finally, some numbered Jose Cruz Jr inserts. The great thing about Jose Cruz is that he was the new face of the Blue Jays around those years and a very hyped rookie. Which means he was in all those crazy inserts from the late 90s. And considering the career he had, needless to say that those are very, very affordable. Still great cards !