Trade With Lifetime Topps Project

I recently completed another trade with chuckneo over at the Lifetime Topps Project.  His blog is one of my favorites, and he has quite the ambitious project - collecting every Topps set since 1980.  My recent digging through my old cards led me to a handful he was looking for, so I was glad to do my part to bring him a tiny bit closer to his goal!

He was kind enough to send me a nice envelope of cards in return, including some Platinum Diamonds:

A few Topps inserts on my want list:

And best of all, a pair of Griffeys!:

That Golden Moments card is actually a mini - I didn't even know they made minis of those cards that year!  And I really like that Goudey style card from last year's Goodwin set.  Something about that painting-esque picture and the card design really clicks for me.

Thanks again for the trade chuckneo!

Platinum Diamonds - Another Step Forward

This week I hit up what was seemingly the last remaining "you pick" lot on eBay for 2011 Platinum Diamonds and snagged 10 more that I needed.

(Gonna have to do something about that broken scanner, this "taking pictures with my phone" thing isn't gonna cut it.)

That brings me up to 520 out of 990 for the full set.  (Not counting the Hall of Fame SPs....yet....)  Unfortunately it is becoming very clear that finishing this set is going to be a looooong-term project, and also a bit pricey.  To this point I've been able to selectively hit the "pick X number of cards" lots to get just the cards I need at around 30-45 cents per card, however now that we are 3 years removed from this set's debut those eBay listings are few and far between.  It isn't hard to find any individual card I might need, but you usually have to pay more like $1 per card for the single card listings.  There are a couple big lots out there right now but they are the "you're buying the whole lot, take it or leave it" type, and I have too many of the cards in the lot to make it worthwhile.

As always, if any of you out there in the blogosphere have some of the Platinum Diamonds I need, I am willing to trade.  :)

Trade with It's Like Having My Own Card Shop

It was a busy day Saturday, I mailed out no less than FOUR trade packages!  One was headed out to Arizona for Dan of It's Like Having My Own Card Shop.  I sent him a Chris Young diamond die cut and some other assorted D-Backs, and in return he sent me a few Platinum Diamonds:

He also sent a number of 2011 Topps Inserts I needed:

Finally, he added 4 more Griffeys to my collection:

The Looney Tunes one is probably more accurately called a Jim Abbott card, but Griffey is on it so hey, that counts!

Thanks a lot Dan!

Previous Trivia Question:

 

Which two American League teams list their Spring Training home as Surprise, Arizona?

 

Answer:  The Royals and Rangers each have their Spring home in Surprise.

 

Today's Trivia Question:

 

Who holds the record for most instances of homering from both sides of the plate in the same game with 12?

Found Cards From The Lost Collector

Things have been a little slow here at the blog the last couple weeks - too much of that darn "real life" getting in the way of baseball cards - but I hope to get back in the swing of things over the next week.  For today I have a short post of a few cards I got as a surprise from AJ at The Lost Collector.  First, he sent a nice refractor-y Griffey for my collection:

And second, he was kind enough to contribute a couple more Diamonds to my set (now over 400 cards!):

Thanks a lot AJ!

Trade with Play at the Plate

This morning I finally got to do some long overdue card scanning, several posts worth in fact.  For starters, the cards I got from Brian at Play at the Plate.  I sent him an assortment of Texas Rangers a while back, and a couple weeks later I received a nice package in return - a group of Platinum Diamonds!

This lot pushes my total Platinum Diamond collection over 400!  Thanks a lot Brian!

Previous  Trivia Question:

What is the record for most home wins in a single season by one team?

 

A: The 1961 New York Yankees won 65 out of 81 home games.  The 1975 Cincinnati Reds own the National League record with 64 home wins.

 

Today's Trivia Question:

 

Through the 2011 season there have been 107 World Series - how many were won by the National League?

A Double Diamond Post

So I'm finally back here at the blog after a 3-week hiatus!  I've been so ridiculously busy that I just haven't had time to do any updates (well, that and I haven't had much money to spend on cards the past few weeks either).  I expect to get back in the swing of things now, so let's get to it!
As the title would suggest, this post involves two different types of diamonds.  First, the non-cardboard variety - one of the things that has kept me so occupied the last few weeks is that I got engaged to my lovely girlfriend Jo.  How she puts up with me I don't know, but I'm glad she said yes. :) Thankfully she shares in my baseball card and Rock Band addictions, so that makes life a lot easier!

Now on to those other diamonds - the Platinum Diamond set that has so captured my card collecting attention this year.  I managed to pick up 2 more lots off of eBay at a good price.  As I mentioned in my last post, I was worried that it would be hard to buy lots of any size without having to take on a lot of duplicates, but I managed to get these with only a handful of doubles.  The other pleasant surprise was which players were included in these lots.  Most of the lots of 20 or more cards contain mostly the very common players.  That's fine enough as I'm building the whole set, but I was afraid that I would end up with 90% of the set completed and the remaining 10% being all the star players, and that I would end up paying a few bucks each for them.  But as you'll see, these 2 lots brought some nice star power:

Not bad at all!  In addition, I managed to add doubles of Ryan Braun, Rickie Weeks, Corey Hart, Alcides Escobar and Jonathan Lucroy for my Brewer collection.  A very nice haul for what I paid!  That brings me to 310 out of 660 for my Platinum Diamond set.

Previous Trivia Question:

On August 25, 1922, the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies set a record for most combined runs in a single game. How many did they score?

A: They combined for 49 runs as the Cubs bested the Phils, 26-23.

Today's Trivia Question:

The Common Card Man wishes Derek Jeter belated congratulations on his 3000th hit.  He was the second man to hit a home run for his 3000th (Wade Boggs is the other).  Who is the only player to hit a triple for his 3000th hit? 

The Platinum Diamond Quest Continues

My past experience in building sets has led me to the conclusion that if I'm going to be successful in building a complete 990-card set of Platinum Diamonds I'm going to have to shell out for some big lots now while they are still readily available.  If I wait too long the big lots will no doubt become few and far between as collectors move on to Football cards or other Baseball sets.

With that in mind, I managed to score a nice 76-card lot of Diamonds off of eBay for $45.  It was mainly lesser players, but there were a few stars, including a nice Ichiro checklist:



The big lots are something of a double-edged sword though, because now that I kickstarted my Series 2 collection with 76 cards it will probably be hard to find another big lot that won't include a lot of doubles of ones I already have...

As always, I welcome any trade proposals to add to my collection. I may be buying a box of Series 2 soon, and I know a lot of you out there will be looking for the Kimball Champions cards.

Previous  Trivia Question:

Who threw baseball's only (known) LSD-assisted no-hitter?

 

Answer:  On June 12, 1970, Pittsburgh's Dock Ellis no-hit the San Diego Padres.  Years later he admitted to being high as a kite on LSD for that game.  Here's a funny animated video of Ellis recounting the game:

 

 

To steal a line from a book I'm currently reading, it was a fitting accomplishment for a man whose name can be written as "Ellis, D."  :)

 

Today's Trivia Question:

 

On August 25, 1922, the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies set a record for most combined runs in a single game.  How many did they score?

 

Big Trade With Crinkly Wrappers

A few weeks back Ted over at Crinkly Wrappers posted that he was looking for the Short Print parallels from the last couple Topps sets.  He said he was willing to trade big for them.

He wasn't kidding.

In return for my 2010 Topps Jim Palmer and Tris Speaker SPs he sent back a card bonanza!  It started with 2 of my missing cards from Topps Chrome, but went on to include a handful of 2011 Heritage...

...a few 2010 Topps Magic Football and 2010 Topps Baseball Inserts...

...a whole slew of 2011 Topps Inserts....

...some nice Brewer cards, including several of Braun and Fielder...

...5 more cards for my Platinum Diamond collection...

...and last, but certainly not least, a couple more Griffeys for my collection:

Thanks Ted!  Awesome trade!!

Previous  Trivia Question:

What player is famous for recording a hit while playing for two different teams in two different cities on the same day?

 

Answer: On August 4, 1982, Joel Youngblood hit a 2-run single as a member of the New York Mets during a day game at Wrigley Field.  He then left the game and was traded to the Montreal Expos, and he rushed over to join the team in Philadelphia.  Just hours later he entered the game as a pinch hitter and smacked another single.  Both hits came against future Hall of Fame pitchers (Ferguson Jenkins and Steve Carlton).

 

Today's Trivia Question:

 

Who was the first player to reach the 3,000-hit plateau?

Diamonds are Forever

I managed to give my Platinum Diamond collection a big boost last week, snaring 62 more cards for about $21 off of eBay:

This lot brings me just short of the halfway mark for Series 1, I have 156 out of 330.  It's clearly going to be quite a challenge to pull together a whole set of 990 cards (I assume there will be an Update Series again this year), but I'm still in it for the long haul.

I also came across this neat card while flipping through the $0.25 bin at my LCS:

Ivan Rodriguez "License to Skill" from 2000 Fleer Showcase

I'm a huge fan of James Bond (I own all of the movies), so when I saw this card I couldn't pass it up.  Of course, I immediately had to go online to see if a certain other player was represented in this insert set....

You better believe this one will be showing up in my collection very soon!!

Previous Trivia Question:

Robin Yount is one of 4 players to win an MVP award playing 2 different positions (in 1982 as a shortstop and 1989 as a centerfielder).  Who are the other 3?

 

Answer:  Hank Greenberg (1935 at 1B, 1940 at LF), Stan Musial (1943 at RF, 1946 at 1B), and Alex Rodriguez (2003 at SS, 2005 & 2007 at 3B)

 

Today's Trivia Question:

 

What team owns the worst won-loss record in baseball history? (Hint: this goes waaaaay back!)

First Batch of Topps Wrapper Redemptions

I got my first batch of wrapper redemptions in the mail this week.  Thanks a lot Topps...now I have 60 more Platinum Diamonds to collect!!  :)

I especially like the CC card with him looking off into the distance.  He'll always have a special place in my heart for that magical half season in a Brewers uniform in 2008.

Awesome.

Previous Trivia Question:

What dubious distinction is held by pitcher Ken Johnson?

 

Answer: He is the only player to ever throw a complete game no-hitter and lose, when his Houston Colt .45s fell to the Cincinnati Reds 1-0 on April 23, 1964.  The winning run was scored in the top of the 9th inning by Pete Rose via an error, a groundout, and another error.

 

Today's Trivia Question:

 

Carroll Hardy is the only player to ever do what?

Trade with Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius

I recently completed another trade with Matt over at Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius.  I sent him some Topps Kimball minis, and he helped me get a little closer to my Platinum Diamond goal:

That brings me to 93 out of 330 for the Series 1 Platinum Diamond set - it's definitely looking like a long-term proposition if I'm going to get them all.  Thanks for the trade Matt!

Previous Trivia Question:

What Hall of Fame pitcher tossed the only Opening Day no-hitter in baseball history?

Answer:  On Opening Day of the 1940 season, Cleveland's Bob Feller no-hit the Chicago White Sox.

Today's Trivia Question:

I actually didn't know this until just yesterday when I went looking for Opening Day trivia, but my boy Ken Griffey Jr. is the co-record holder for most home runs on Opening Day with 8.  What Hall of Fame outfielder is he tied with?