Puttin Out An ABP On 3 Goudey Base Cards

Much like many of you answered the call when I put together Operation Fig Tree to complete my own Goudey base set, I need some more of you to answer this call. I'm doing my friend Brian a favor and asking if anyone out there has an extra Phil Hughes, Cristian Guzman, or Shairon Martis 2009 Goudey base card laying around out there.

Now, don't everyone rush at once to trade off your prized Guzman and Martis cards. I want an orderly line at the front door of the blog. And to be truthful I could stand to trade for 2 copies of each of these cards.

I've got a bunch of Topps U&H cards from this year listed within my trade area that someone may be interested in. Also up for grabs are any of the T206s I've either posted or will post in the coming days. Otherwise we can go the PTBNL route.

Your help and attention to this matter are greatly appreciated.

T206 Pack Break

I lied, I totally did something else today. This. A Pack Break. I think I've got approximately 10 posts that need to be written regarding trades or packs. I need to get crackin'.

Greeting me in all his Brewery goodness when I opened the pack



How I love you Hoff. I was wrong, and I admit it. You weren't old and washed up. Just old. And wow, you are a dude who keeps in terrific shape. Looking forward to another year of zeros in the 9th. And we'll need it with all the crooked numbers the starting staff is going to put up. Probably most of the bullpen too.



Little Nate McClouth action. And by the way, I'll totally trade any of my non-Brewer T206s for Brewers.

Next up is an Elvis Andrus bronze parallel.



Followed by, Joe Saunders.



And a Mickey Mantle checklist card.



One of my favorites, Rogers Hornsby.



And to close, an Old Mill mini of Garret Anderson.

If I Do Nothing Else Today . . . Trade With Democratic Roadkill

It's going to be posting my trade with Duane from Democratic Roadkill.

I sent Duane 9 A&G Code Cards from my failed attempt at the code this summer. Silly me, I thought I'd need the actual cards to pull it off, so I started pulling together some of the cards that were deemed important. Well my folly is Duane's gain. In addition to those code cards I sent over a pair of Goudey base cards to help him complete his set, a pair of A&G back 09 minis, and a pair of regular back A&G 09 minis. One of which was The Mick, who I still needed for my mini set, but I was happy to oblige Duane being that he pulled together some much needed Goudeys for me.

Here was the haul. To start, we've got 3 Goudey Heads Up cards that I needed for my set, plus 6 4-in-1s. I really do enjoy the Heads Up cards. I think the design is neat with the various stats or nicknames plastered all over the front of the card. I'm also digging the Yount and Fielder (and Schmidt and Howard) card. All Fielder needs to do is win an MVP this year and we can call that an MVP card.



There were 6 more 4-in-1s needed for my set:



And finally, for some reason, Duane had the Bill Hall Goudey Graph. Very recently I had a $1 bid rejected on eBay and I felt sad about that. I shall feel sad NO MORE. I've not got the Gallardo, Hall, and Gamel Goudey Graphs. Still yet unaccounted for are JJ Hardy and Prince Fielder. If you see either of these Goudey Graphs, please let me know.




Also, I'd be willing to take on, via trade, any Goudey Graphs you just don't want to hold onto. Even Wade LeBlanc ;)

I Knew Goodwin Champions Looked Familiar

I knew I'd seen this concept re-used somewhere before.

I didn't hit me until recently that the Ground Force and Hot Gun cards from the 1990 Score football set bare a striking resemblance to the Goodwin Champions cards.

Also, what are the chances I randomly pull 3 #11 QBs from the early 90s? And finally, what about Phil Simms 77.6 QB Rating (the stat they use on the back of this subset) makes him a "Hot Gun"?

Mat Gamel Goudey Graph

In my quest to add a pile of Goudey Graphs from this year's, I once again dipped my toes into eBay. What I walked away with is what you see here, Mr. Mat Gamel. I think he's got a nice signature and put it in a stellar spot on the card, unlike Gallardo who penned his name in blue against the dark blue Brewers jersey.

Mat had a tough rookie campaign, but I still fully expect him to fill 75% of Prince's shoes once the Brewers deal Fielder for some pitching (a man can dream). Gamel may have looked okay at the hot corner but his destiny lies at first base.

I still lament losing out on the Fielder Goudey Graph earlier this fall since I've yet to see another resurface. If anyone out there has it, and wouldn't mind parting with it, please let me know. Same goes for the Bill Hall Goudey Graph and JJ Hardy Goudey Memorabilia card.

Looking For A Good Home For Some Leftovers

I have some leftover 2009 A&G cards that didn't make it into anyone's home this summer after trying to trade for the minis, and I'm putting them up for adoption.

I'm not asking for anything in return, but if you have a few cards to throw my way off my needs list that would be fantastic. And again, totally unnecessary.

There are 40 base cards:

10,21,31,42,43,44,52,65,70,77,87,88,89,94,97,110,113,120,134,158,165,172,180,186,190,223,226,228,227,234,241,243,245,249,251,258,262,270,277

The bigger baseball names are Youkilis, Utley, Cano, Crawford, Hill, Markakis, and Helton.

There are 7 National Pride cards:

NP35 Manny Ramirez, NP48 Jorge Cantu, NP49 Max Scherzer, NP59 Miguel Cabrera, NP60 Stephen Drew, NP61 Mark Teahen, NP71 Josh Hamilton

Nine code cards from my failed attempt this summer!

#69 Loney, #52 Hill, #77 Liriano, #215 Lowrie, #62 Uggla, #59 Reynolds, #70 Ankiel, #1 Bruce, #147 Crisp

And finally 2 SPs in Dominique Wilkins and Curtis Granderson.

1986 Topps Traded Jim Leyland

That must be what, at least a 10 gallon hat, if not 12? Whoa boy Jimmy!

So how did one get Topps Traded cards back in the day? Were they available in packs? I've got not clue where this one came from, but I found it while combing through yet another box of mid-80s cards rescued from the depths of my parents basement.

I'm also intrigued as to why Topps made the red backs nearly a fluorescent pink on the back of the Traded series.

Thrift Store Binder

Anyone else have this binder from back in the day?

I came home from a happy hour with some good friends to find my wife had purchased this binder for $0.70 at a thirft store.

The funny part is I'm pretty sure I owned this binder at some point in time, but I can't remember for sure, or where I'd have gotten it from.

I think I'm going to use it for my PCs starting with Jim Palmer. Afterall, he is featured on the cover of the binder.

Recently, I started posting on some of your blogs that thrift stores are great places to get cheap 3 ring binders, and this only backs up my claim. Although this one is much cooler than the ones I usually get!

1981 Amos Otis Fleer "Series Starter" (What the heck is a series starter)

This is likely to be just another post in a long line of "look what I found" posts, but I have a serious question for any of you early 80s collectors.

What the heck does "Series Starter" mean on this Amos Otis card? I found this card amongst many 1000s of cards I have tucked away in those 3,500ct cardboard boxes from my youth. Based on the condition of the 20 or so 1981 Fleer cards I have, I can assume I bought some random packs in my teen years of what I considered "cool old wax".

What I mean by this is the Otis card is in pristine condition, so I know immediately this card is suspect. Why, you might ask? Because this guy carried his early baseball card collection, dating back to no earlier than 1982 Topps, in a suitcase.

Yup, a suitcase. This giant 70s green monstrosity. I remember it had one elastic pocket in the top part of the suitcase. This is where I kept the "good cards" and the rest were left to toil in the base of the suitcase, destined to end up like this 1982 Carlton Fisk card.



To this day, regardless of actually scarcity, I view any cards from 1982 to 1986 as scarce. Anything prior to 1981 I consider myself lucky to have.

Back to the Fisk card. This was 1 of only 3 1982 Topps cards I found within the 3 large boxes I sorted through this weekend. I know I have a pile of really beat up 1982 Topps, and I'm looking forward to finding them all.

I remember this Fisk card from my childhood and it's in remarkable good condition for my collection in this era. My 82-86 cards routinely have rounded corners to the point of fraying, creases, or have otherwise been damaged somehow. This Fisk card, documenting his first season as a member of the pale hosers, sticks out in my memory. I'm not sure if it's the dopey look on his face, the bizarre green and purple colors, or the off-center cut, but I remember it well.

Here are the two other '82 Topps I found:

Atlanta Braves Future Stars. Two of the three didn't have bad careers either.



Bedrosian did come in 7th in the RoY balloting in 1982, was a one-time All-Star in 1987 saving 40 games for the Phillies, and compiled a 3.38 career ERA over 14 seasons.

Brett Butler racked up 2,375 hits and stole 558 bases in his 17 year career. He's probably most remembered for his years with the Giants and Dodgers during the late 80s and early 90s. He also made one All-Star team with the Dodgers in '91.

Larry Owen was already 27 when this card was produced and hadn't really shown much promise even in the minors up to this point, so I'm not sure why he was included. But if I had to guess, based on what happened to the Braves throughout the 80s, I'd say the cupboard was probably pretty bare. Larry toiled away in AAA for 7 more years getting a few cups of coffee with the Braves and Royals.



This last card is of the 1981 Yankees Pitching and Hitting leaders. I wonder what two stats they'd choose today to represent the best hitter and pitching from each team? They've picked AVG for Mumphrey and ERA for Tommy John during the strike shortened 1981 campaign.

I've scanned the back to show the team checklist for the 1981 American League champs.

More Jim Palmer: 1973

I took a break from posting some of my Jim Palmer collection to try to string it out a little bit.

What we've got here is the 1973 Topps card. This card depicts a nice high leg kick from Jim on the front, and shows his back-to-back-to-back 20 win seasons on the back.



Anyone ever see him pitch during these seasons, 1970-1972? Just curious.