Unsolved Mysteries: Part 1

As I get back into the swing of blogging (semi) regularly, I'm trying to find some ways to spice up my postings both to keep myself engaged and to offer something to the readers that's more than just a look inside my binders and mailbox.  One of my favorite and least favorite parts of collecting has always been untangling the mysteries behind some of the hunks of cardboard in my collection.  I love stumbling across a card or set that I'm not familiar with and tracking down its origins.  But it can also lead to some real head-scratchers.

Over the coming weeks I'm planning to feature some of stranger, unexplored, and occasionally unanswered when it comes to the hobby.

And the first entry starts right in my own back yard.  I wrote over three years ago about an unsolved case that I came across in one of my dime box digs.  I found these two cards in a dime box at a show, and they caught my eye.  Something seemed different about them, so I tossed them in my pile and kept flipping through the box.

When I was doing my post-mortem on my show pickups, I took a closer look.  They're identical to the base cards in 2006 Upper Deck, except they lack the foil logo and player name of the set.  One reader suggested UD's Special F/X release, but those cards hard a Chrome-like finish.  These are plain, glossy base cards.

I posted on all the major forums with no leads.  I was stumped.  I looked through Beckett, Trading Card DB, and other online resources with no further luck.  There were no photo matches out there.

And then I got a bite.  Just minutes after this segment aired, a call came into our Unsolved (Cardboard) Mysteries call center.  One of my the collectors in my Team Collectors group had a lead.  The cards were part of a promotional giveaway in 2006.  As part of a kids' day giveaway, they gave out a binder with a 9 card set of Pirates inside.  I've been unable to find any of the sets available anywhere online, but have seen a few of the binders pop up for sale.  The Mariners also participated in the giveaway that year, though I'm unsure if any other teams did as well.

Join us next time when an uninvited guest gets mixed up with a high end card.  *spooky music*

It's the Big One, Elizabeth

I'm not someone who considers myself to have much of a want list.  When it comes to my team collections, it's more about finding a card I don't have at a price I like.  There just aren't many cards out there that I'm actively prowling for that very card specifically.

So the few true "wants" I have?  They're kind of a big deal to me.

In the days before half the products being high end releases, it was touch to find higher end Pirate cards even worth chasing.  Multi-player autos of multiple Pirates players were exceptionally rare.  So when I first spotted this quad auto in 2006, I just about lost it.

And then I realized that Perez and Casey were both listed playing for other teams.  Both players had been dumped mid-season (Casey on his own bobblehead day), but Upper Deck was notorious for being slow to update player movement.

Just not when it benefitted the Bucs collectors.  Somehow the team at UD managed to change the design and photos to accommodate the move to larger market clubs.  Meanwhile, they would still be releasing Adam LaRoche Braves cards two years into his Pirate tenure.  But I digress...

For years, this was a card I desperately wanted, but refused to add to my collection due to the team switcharoo.  But time and general disinterest in current products heals all wounds.  And this card shot back near the top of my want list over the last couple years.

At 25 copies, it's not the easiest to find.  But I was thrilled to find one on ebay from a Canadian seller (Bay is Canadian, and had a pretty strong collector base up north at the peak of his career), and won the auction for about $7.  Even though I'm sill a little salty over the non-Pirates, I'm thrilled to add this one to my collection.

And if snagging one card off my want list wasn't good enough, how's two?  While this looks like just an ordinary Jack Wilson card that doesn't scan particularly well, it's long eluded me.  This is supposedly the common, unnumbered version of this auto that also has a blue parallel /15 and a gold parallel /10.  But as was common with Donruss' autograph inserts, the number of cards for each player was often pretty irregular, depending on how many stickers they had available.

In the decade plus of looking for this card, I had only seen one copy.  And that one was in the collection of a fellow Jack collector.  It's "common" status was pretty misleading.

I already have the blue parallel, and still need the gold to complete the run.  But I was thrilled to land this one for just $5.  It's been slow goings adding to the Jack Wilson collection in recent years, but that just makes each new find that much more enjoyable.

Ending the Year in Style

I'll be settled in watching some college football all day today.  I've never been a big New Year's guy, but there probably aren't many who are happier to see 2015 turn into 2016 than this guy.  And while this year has been a roller coaster for my blogging, including a disappearing act for most of the year, let's send 2015 out in style.

In my COMC package from their Black Friday sales, I nabbed a couple big additions to my collection.  I was able to spear a couple cards that at one point topped my want list.  And there's no sweeter feeling than that.  But first up, I may have a addition to my favorite cards.

Vlad Guerrero has long been one of my favorite players.  I still vividly remember a game against the Expos where a friend and I were sitting in the seats directly behind home plate and being amazed by how big and athletic Vlad was up close.  At his prime, I don't know that there was any player more interesting to watch in my lifetime.  He could do it all.

I've been looking for a Vlad auto for a while, but haven't pulled the trigger.  But as I was browsing through a seller's sales, I saw this card for $8.  It was an impulse buy, but one I'm glad I made.  The sticker auto doesn't look so bad on the awesome foil stock, and I'm glad I was able to get a card that pictured Vlad in his Expos road uniform.

 But the real gem?  This guy.  This Sean Casey auto is his only picturing him as a Pirate, and is insanely hard to find.  Before my Pirate collection went full scale, I was working on just getting an auto of every player who had a Pirates certified auto.  And aside from a couple high priced Heritage Real One autos, I had them all.  Except this one.

And after years and years of looking, I had only seen one copy that was already in another Pirates collector's hands.  I nearly lost my mind when I saw a copy had been recently added to COMC during one of my routine mid-week searches.  Better yet, it was listed for a whopping $1.25.

I couldn't click buy fast enough.  It may not be a huge value card, but man does it feel good to spear a card that has been near the top of my want list for a full decade now.

 While the back story isn't nearly as compelling, I added a couple of these Japan Fractors.  They just look awesome.  End of story.

 And my first Santonio Holmes auto.  Now I just need another one to turn into an awesome custom idea I have.

 And for the third year in a row, Starling Marte autos continue to be very affordable on COMC.  I was able to snag this one for about $3.  On card and Prizm?  Yes, please.

 And despite the top side damage, this is just an awesome pickup for my collection.  My first tobacco card, and an awesome WVU card to add to my collection.  Amazingly I was able to add a card that is over 100 years old for a whopping $2.  The scan doesn't do the card justice - the gold on the card really pops in person, and has a slight fleck like quality to it.

 There is no such thing as a bad PMG.

 And more Marte!  This is, to date, my only card from the 2015 Tek release.  But I can only hope there will be many more to follow.

And last but not least, another former Most Wanted card.  At one point in 2008-9, this Pedro was at the top of my want list.  He was, after all, the future of the franchise and his Razor cards were his only autograph releases.  I think they actually still are.

These cards have seen some major swings (and misses) along Pedro's career.  I think this officially counts as buying low, though.  The card cost me about $3.  At various points, they were selling for well above that.  But so the hobby pendulum swings.

So here's to 2015.  It was a year I can't say I'll miss, but I did add some great new cards to my collection.  Hope everyone has a happy and safe New Year, and happy collecting in 2016!

Can Anybody ID These Cards?

It's not very common for me to get stumped when it comes to cards.  The occasional 80's oddball or magazine insert will throw me for a loop.  And I admit I'm just about clueless when it comes to pre-war cards.  But other than that?  I can id just about any card that comes across my desk, or at least find out the necessary info from Beckett or BaseballCardPedia.  But I'm utterly clueless on this one, some hopefully the collective collecting wisdom of the blogosphere can help me out here.

In a dimebox dig at the Robert Morris show this past spring, I pulled out two cards that seemed relative innocuous at the time.  I tossed them in my stack at the time, brought them home, looked them over.  Nothing overly suspicious or mysterious about the pair.  Well, not too much.

Both cards are identical to the photos used on the 2006 Upper Deck base cards.  But the cards are missing the foil stamping on the team logo, UD logo, and position.

When I first saw them at the show, I assumed they were from Upper Deck First Pitch, the retail red-headed stepchild of UD's flagship release.  But unlike previous years, First Pitch had a completely different design from UD Flagship in 2005.  No other release from that year seems to fit.

But wait, it gets more confusing.  The Capps card is numbered 357, identical to his number in the base Upper Deck set.  Sean Casey's card is numbered 135.  And Casey is number 135 in UD Series 1.  But the card looks like this.

Casey would be included in UD Series 2 with the photo seen at the top of the post, but the card was number 760.

I'm at a loss.  The cards don't seem to match any sets released that year.  I don't recall any stadium giveaway team sets that season, and if there had been I would think the set would have been renumbered, not skip numbered.  Plus in 2006 there definitely would have been a Jack Wilson card included in a team set, which I would have added to my master checklist.   And I don't think it could simply be a printing error, because the areas where the foil stamping should be would be blank, not filled in with color text and logos.

So there you have it.  Maybe the dime box diggers, retail rippers, and collecting minds out there can give me some kind of direction here.  I can honestly say this one has me stumped.

Snowed In

Looks like my New Year's break is going to be stretching a few days longer, since my meeting this morning was cancelled because of the snow we got.  But it's not all bad - Kate is off since she worked New Year's day, so it's a nice quiet morning and maybe braving the sub zero temperatures later today.

And cold pretty much sums it up.  That's certainly what the hot stove season has been for the Bucs this winter.  So in honor of doing absolutely nothing this off season, let's take a look at the top 5 "well, at least we didn't do that" signings from this century.

5) Ryan Church

Church managed to swing a $1.5M contract with the Bucs before the 2010 season to be a backup outfielder.  Coming off a down year, his solid average and on base skills seemed like they would be a good fit if his power returned.  Instead Church slashed .182/.240/.312 before being dumped midyear on the DBacks.  And then retired after the season.  Oops.

4) Ramon Vazquez

Coming off two solid seasons as a backup infielder for the Rangers, Vazquez secured a 2 year, $3.875M contract with the Pirates in 2009.  See the thing is...he put up career bests the previous two seasons at age 30 and 31.  In Texas.  Which is kind of like saying I can jump really high.  In space.

Pirate fans suffered through 204 at bats of .230 hitting with no power or defense to speak of in 2009.  That 2010 contract?  Well, just consider that a donation to the "hope you enjoy life after baseball, Ramon" fund.  Isn't it nice when someone will pay you money to go away?

3) Sean Casey

After years of killing the Pirates while playing for the Reds, Pittsburgh native Sean Casey returned home to play for the Bucs.  The all-star should sure up first base, while adding a solid bat to the lineup.  Right?  Right?

Oh.  Oops.

Instead, Casey was traded to the Tigers midyear.  On his bobblehead night.  Welcome home, Sean.

2) Derek Bell

Wait, Operation Shutdown isn't number one? 

1) Raul Mondesi

Mondesi signed with the Bucs before the 2004 season for $1.5M, taking a pretty hefty paycut from the $13M he made the year before.  But unlike the others on this list, Mondesi actually played pretty well.  in 26 games he slashed .283/.355/.424.  The thing was that Raul seemed to decide pretty fast that Pittsburgh wasn't the place for him.  Unfortunately he got the memo a little bit late that you can't just put in your two weeks when you play major league baseball.  So instead Mondesi left the team on May 11, citing a family emergency.  The team released him a week later when he failed to communicate when or if he planned to return. 

Fortunately for Raul, that family emergency resolved itself pretty fast.  He signed with the Angels on May 30.  Mondesi managed to play in 8 games before tearing his quad and ending his season.  Karma's a bitch.

Pirate Autograph Project: The Mayor

I think I may have finally found a new favorite autograph in my collection.

The Pirates have a "guest bartender" during Friday home games.  This basically consists of a former player sitting at a bar area signing autographs for an hour or two.  It's always great to meet Pirate legends, though most of the attendees are the same group of players that live in the area.

But occasionally you get a fun surprise.  Like this past weekend, when ex-Red Pirate Sean Casey was signing.  Casey is a Pittsburgh guy, and though he spent most of his career in Ohio, he made it back to the Steel City in '06, before a mid-season trade to Detroit.

The Bucs were playing the Reds, so it was a fitting guest, and sadly there were more Reds fans in the very short autograph line than there were Pirate fans.  The recent bandwagon jump-ons aren't particularly well versed in franchise history.

The line was only 5 or 6 people deep, and when I got to the front of the line Sean was all smiles.  I handed him my 8x10, and mentioned that I had been holding onto it since he attended Piratefest right after he signed with the Bucs prior to the 2006 season.

Sean was only signing on Friday of the 3 day event, back when Piratefest was still held in early January.  I had been in his autograph line, which was promptly cut off two people in front of me.  At the time, I was crushed.  Casey was the latest, greatest great 1B savior to come to the team, and by far the best track record of any player on the club.

So into my box of unsigned 8x10's it went, waiting.  And waiting.  And waiting.  Sean appeared at Piratefest two years ago, but never made it into the season ticket holder section.  Last year, I was at Redsfest.  But Sean wasn't.

As I told Sean the story - a far more brief version - he laughed and said I should have just grabbed him.  He was super friendly, and lived up to all the great things I've heard about him over the years.  As he was signing, I noticed him adding something extra.  But I was caught up in the moment, and didn't really give it a second thought until we were in the ballpark and I was putting away the signed cards and 8x10.

And then I took a look at the photo.

Sean hit the first homer at PNC Park in 2001 during the opening series against the Reds.  Obviously he wasn't playing for the Bucs at the time, but if a non-Pirate player had to hit the first homer in the park, I couldn't think of a better guy.  And the photo goes perfectly with my inscribed John Wehner photo of the last HR hit in Three Rivers.

The game inside didn't go so well.  But until the blown save in the 9th, I had a grin on my face from my experience with Sean during the entire game.

Back to Basics

Since moving back to PA, the sudden lack of card shows is leaving me feeling way out of touch.  One of the few benefits to being in Ohio was the regular access to card shows.  With a large show every month in Dayton and even larger shows in Columbus every few months, most of the commons from a new release and with some luck a decent number of the parallels would find their way into my collection within weeks of the product hitting the streets.

There is a show in November.  Other than that, there is not a single show, mall show, awkward little hotel show, or anything else between here and 2014 in all of western PA. 

That's the long way of saying I know 2013 A&G came out.  But I don't know a damn thing about it, except that the design doesn't make me want to drive 5 hours to go buy them at a show (and yes, I am overlooking the far more rational and cost effective option of just buying the things online).

As I've started adding my Pirate collection to binder pages, it provides an awesome opportunity to view my collection from a new perspective.  Up until now, my dozen or so monster boxes and shoe boxes were organized as such: commons by year and set with dividers marking each year, inserts/numbered cards/rarer parallels in their own box(es), a shoebox of certified autos, and a couple monster boxes of ip/ttm autos organized alphabetically.  Of course there were the odd boxes of cards still in need of sorting as well.

Point is...I could never really see all the cards from one release in one place without either pulling a bunch of cards from different places or the magic of photoshop.

So when I gathered all the cards together and put them on the page...



Oh my. 

Maybe the skies didn't open, the clouds didn't part, and it wasn't one of those ah-ha moments the way it is seeing the Sistine Chapel or Roman Coliseum.  But it sure felt like it.

2006 Allen & Ginter was a thing of beauty.  Each card appeared to be a masterfully crafted piece of artwork, enhanced by the dirtied, heavy card stock.  Slap an autograph on there, and there are few things more aesthetically pleasing in this hobby.

I could complain about the decline in quality in more recent A&G sets.  The lack of care with each and every base card.  Cookie cutter design, creating "retro" sets that are no longer based off of an actual historical set.

But I really don't care.  Just look at those cards!  Ok, maybe I could do without the spring training jerseys in each photo.  But what is art if not for our enjoyment and criticism.