Blog Anniversary and CONTEST~!

Today marks the 1-Year Anniversary of my first blog post!  Definitely one of my better decisions, as it has been a lot of fun being part of the blogosphere.

I decided to mark the occasion by doing my first ever contest.  I'm taking a cue from Play at the Plate and keeping things nice and simple:  I recently pulled one of the Black Glove Leather parallels (#ed to 99) from a jumbo pack of Topps Update.  All you have to do is guess the player I pulled and you win the card, plus some cards from your favorite team/player, whatever I can pull together.

Pictured:  NOT the correct guess.

The contest will remain open to guesses until Noon on Saturday, with the winner announced Saturday afternoon.  If no one guesses correctly I'll pick a winner at random.  No, I haven't talked about this card in a previous post, so don't bother looking.  Cheaters. :)

If you post the contest on your blog you can have a second guess, just include the link to your post in your comment.

Here is the checklist for the Update series:
MGL-JD Joe DiMaggio
MGL-RJ Reggie Jackson
MGL-MC Miguel Cabrera
MGL-JW Jayson Werth
MGL-RH Rogers Hornsby
MGL-MS Max Scherzer
MGL-KY Kevin Youkilis
MGL-JM Johnny Mize
MGL-BW Brian Wilson
MGL-RHE Rickey Henderson
MGL-MP Michael Pineda
MGL-BB Brandon Belt
MGL-TN Tsuyoshi Nishioka
MGL-DD Danny Duffy
MGL-JMO Joe Morgan
MGL-NR Nolan Ryan
MGL-CF Carlton Fisk
MGL-AD Andre Dawson
MGL-TS Tom Seaver
MGL-BR Babe Ruth
MGL-TH Travis Hafner
MGL-EH Eric Hosmer
MGL-JS James Shields
MGL-ZB Zach Britton
MGL-PWR Pee Wee Reese
MGL-OS Ozzie Smith
MGL-NRY Nolan Ryan
MGL-ADU Adam Dunn
MGL-HA Hank Aaron
MGL-JWE Jered Weaver
MGL-JF Jimmie Foxx
MGL-FT Frank Thomas
MGL-RJA Reggie Jackson
MGL-JB Jose Bautista
MGL-NOR Nolan Ryan
MGL-WM Willie McCovey
MGL-BZ Ben Zobrist
MGL-LA Luis Aparicio
MGL-CH Cole Hamels
MGL-FJ Fergie Jenkins
MGL-FR Frank Robinson
MGL-AR Alex Rodriguez
MGL-PM Paul Molitor
MGL-JSA Jerry Sands
MGL-MK Matt Kemp
MGL-ARO Alex Rodriguez
MGL-JT Julio Teheran
MGL-DS Duke Snider
MGL-LB Lance Berkman
MGL-RA Roberto Alomar

Good luck, and thanks for reading!!

Catching Up on Pack Wars Part 2 - Hits Galore~!

My last post detailed some of the many autos and patches I pulled at the last couple Pack Wars events I attended, but there's still a lot more to show!  Without further ado....

2011 Topps Update Willie McCovey Leather Nameplate

I'm still not a big fan of these leather nameplate cards, but it is always nice to pull a hit of a HoFer!

2011 Topps Finest Kyle Rudolph Patch Auto

This is a sweet looking card.  Very shiny and refractor-y, and numbered to just 75.  That patch is one of the best ones I've ever pulled.  Too bad it is for one of those dirty, dirty Vikings!  :)

2011 Topps Prime Kendall Hunter Quad Patch Auto

This is another very sharp looking card.  It's nice to know there are actually 4 jersey swatches in there.

1970 Topps NY Mets World Champions card

I won this card in a price challenge.  The Amazin' Mets make a very cool addition to my collection!

2011 Topps Prime Mark Ingram/Marcell Dareus Dual Patch

Another very attractive card, and some good rookies to boot!  The Ingram patch looks like it must have comes off a jersey sleeve - always nice to get something a little different.

2011 Topps Rising Rookies Cecil Shorts Auto Patch

I love the NFL Draft patch embedded in this card.  A nice looking signature too.  Shorts was drafted in the 4th round by the Jaguars and was considered one of the better WR prospects in the draft.  Thus far he has worked mainly as a return specialist.

2011 Panini Threads Nick Fairley Jersey Letter

This is my first ever jersey letter card.  Oddly enough, this was the only card in the pack - as soon as the store owner handed it to me I knew I had something good!  Fairley was the 13th overall pick in the draft, though unfortunately he has played sparingly thus far thanks to injuries.

2011 Topps Update Placido Polanco All Star Jersey patch

It's pretty cool that Topps is able to get patches from this year's all-star game into the Update series.  The one thing I don't like is that the picture is kind of blurry.  I think Polanco is one of the more underrated players of the past decade.

2011 Topps Heritage Minor League Bryce Harper Patch

And finally, my last card is this nice pull of the hottest prospect going!

Whew!  That was a lot of scans!  I can only hope my next trip to Pack Wars is anywhere near as successful as the last two.

Previous Trivia Question:

 

Staying on the topic of Gold Gloves, Rafael Palmiero won the award at first base in 1999 in a controversial selection. How many games did he play at first base that season?

 

A: Palmiero appeared at first base in just 28 games that season.

 

Today's Trivia Question:

 

What team was the first to feature 3 players that hit 40 home runs? (Hint: it was in 1973.)