Looking Back at My Favorite Cards of 2017

2017 was the the lowest of lows to the highest of highs. From my father passing away at the beginning of the year to my son being born almost exactly 9 months later. Cards have been a big help in finding a way to escape and relax when needed.

Card-wise, 2017 was an interesting year. I purchased more new basketball hobby boxes (1) than I did baseball (0). I also bought more old hobby boxes than I did new.

However, most of my favorite cards were singles I purchased.  Opening packs can be fun (and that's why I still buy retail packs often) but it's nice getting cards I actually want.  I'm finding that more often than not, boxes are a disappointment.  Since singles were a main focus of my collection this past year, here are 5 of my favorite cards from 2017.  

2017 Topps Now

Topps Now cards tend to get into a rut whether it be blasé photos or subject matters.  This card features one of the most interesting photos I've seen and captured a crucial moment in the World Baseball Classic.  Sadly, once the regular season hit Topps fell back into the rut of walkoff this, walkoff that.  I don't think they can track all 30 teams while coming up with exciting Topps Now cards all the time.  They did try better in 2017 and I hope they can do even better in 2018.

2017 Donruss - Gray Border SN199

I liked the simplicity of base Donruss but the borders were a bland white.  I don't know why Panini didn't copy what it did for football, which was make the borders color coded.  The gray border parallel set looks better than the base.  I briefly considered putting together the parallel set until I came to my senses.

2017 Topps National Baseball Card Day Seattle Mariners

This card is from the stadium giveaway for National Baseball Card Day.  This set actually features photos from the 2017 season as evident by the 40th Anniversary patch on Paxton's arm.  The 40th Anniversary patch didn't get much cardboard love this year thanks to Seattle's sparse appearance in Topps Now.  The stadium giveaway cards are tough to find so I'm glad I found a set on eBay when I did.

2017 Upper Deck Marvel Spider-Man Homecoming - From Queens to Screen Single Autographs

I have not watched the new Spider Man nor do I plan on watching it. Hannibal Buress is one of my favorite comedians, which is the only reason I have this card. He's hilarious on Broad City and his stand-up is great, too.  I never thought I would see him on a card, let alone his autograph.  A definite score for me.

2017 Panini Black Friday - Rapture SN10

Klay Thompson is one of the best players to come out of WSU.  It's not too often WSU gets cardboard love so I tend to jump on those cards when I can.  I'm missing two cards from this mini-rainbow.  The 1/1 card, which I will probably never get and the base card, which I have never seen.  I find it curious I've seen multiple parallels of this card on eBay but never the base.  An unsolved mystery for sure.

There are plenty more cards from 2017 that I loved but I simply do not have the time to show them.  

Happy New Year to everyone in the blogosphere!

Santa's Bangin' Batch of Baseball Bits

This is my second year participating in Secret Santa organized by Matt over at Bob Walk the Plank.  Last year was a lot of fun and this year turned out to be no exception.

Who was my secret Santa this year? Let's find out!

Ah ha! It's Matt from Bubba's Bangin' Batch of Baseball Bits.  Admittedly I'm not too familiar with Matt's blog as it somehow escaped my radar.  I've rectified that error however as he is now part of my blog reading roll.  After looking around his blog for a bit I realized I did remember reading one of his posts where he bought a case of 2016 Allen and Ginter X for cheap as the seller had pulled all the autos.  Hidden among the packs though was a redemption for a Kenta Maeda autograph. How cool!  I look forward to reading more of his blog.

What did Matt send me?  As he noted, I don't really have a solid want list posted on the blog.  That's something I hope to add in 2018.  I started with a Top 5 list on the right sidebar.

Matt threw a bunch of Mariners cards my way, which is greatly appreciated! I haven't cataloged any of the cards yet but I can say with 99.9% confidence that these are all cards I do not have. Nicely done Matt!

A smorgasbord of cards from the 80s and 90s.  A lot of notable names like Harold Reynolds, Alex Rodriguez, Edgar Martinez, and Jay Buhner.

Two silver buybacks.  I forget the "rarity" tier but I think silver was somewhere around mid-tier. 

Team sets from the last three issues of Allen and Ginter X.  Very cool! I didn't have any Ginter X cards before this.

More modern cards including two rad die-cut cards.

Another first.  My first Topps Gold Label card.  Mitch Haniger too, who is my favorite Mariner newcomer.

A jersey card of none other than The King.  Solid!

It wasn't all baseball.  Matt suck in this die-cut of Rich Sherman.  I'm not really collecting football like I used to but this card will fit happily into my collection.

Thanks for all the wonderful cards Matt!

My Favorite Card of 2017

Here is my entry for P-town Tom's contest asking us to show off our favorite card of 2017.

2017 Topps Heritage High Number - Clubhouse Collection Autographed Relics

I posted about this card not too long ago when documenting a hanger box break of Heritage High Number.  My Fred Meyer is straight fire.  I think I've bought more cards at Target but Fred Meyer has been way better to me.  But whatever, buying retail is a crapshoot anyway.

Not only is this card #MyToppsMomentOfTheYear but it is also my favorite card of the year.  Coming from a retail hanger box this card has it all: a clean, on-card autograph; game-used jersey stripe; low serial number (with it being my first 1/X serial numbered card); and a pleasing design.  Plus, Kluber is a respectable pitcher who won the 2017 Cy Young Award after I pulled this card.

I didn't have any rooting interest Kluber before this card. I typically don't follow players outside my teams.  The excellence of this card though has made me a fan.

I plan to make a follow up post with other cards from 2017 that couldn't knock Kluber off his throne. Hopefully it will feature some cards I have yet to show off on the blog.

Sweet Lou

Lou Piniella is and will be for the foreseeable future (the Mariners aren't winning a World Series anytime soon under Scott Servais) the best Seattle Mariners manager of all time. He led the Mariners to several playoff victories, achieved a 116 win season, and provided plenty of amusement with his on-the-field fits.

I was browsing eBay for inexpensive 2017 Topps Archives Signature Series cards when I saw this beautiful Piniella auto on a 2009 Topps Archives card. Although it is not him in a Mariners uniform, the card was too nice looking to pass over.  Unfortunately there were no cheap cards of him with the Mariners.

Aesthetically I like how the colors are bright and the blue signature matches the design well. His penmanship is pleasing as well. As a bonus the card itself is in good condition. Not that I will be taking it out of its case.

The card set me back $13 which is pretty good considering it came out of a $40 box. This marks my first Lou Piniella autograph.

Showing Signs of Life at the Card Show

You may or may not have noticed my absence from blogging over the past few weeks.  It has all been for a very good reason.  On October 10, my wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy named Theodore.  Since then my life has been occupied with 3AM feedings, daytime naps, poopy diapers, and the occasional videogame to de-stress (Super Mario Odyssey is awesome btw).  I haven't even had time to keep up with reading blogs.

Newborn Theo

Newborns are supposed to feed at least every 3 hours so I figured I would have time in between those feedings to do card related stuff.  Nope. In between taking care of myself, my recovering wife, and making sure household chores don't pile up, time goes by quickly.

Now at the almost 1 month mark, things are normalizing somewhat.  My wife was even gracious enough to let me attend my local bi-annual card show.

The largest purchase of the day (literally) was a complete set of 2008 Upper Deck First Edition.  The big draw here was the price: $5.  The design is decent enough but the real kicker was the inclusion of a relic card.

It's not a card show without picking up a few additions for my Felix Hernandez collection.  I love picking up Topps Museum cards on the cheap ($1) considering these are from a high-end set. 

The playing window on Felix is closing soon.  He deserves the respect of being an opening day starter but next year he might be pushed back to #2.  That will be a sad day.

These cards are from this year's Topps flagship set.  Gimmicky as they are, I enjoy seeing players in their holiday/special event jerseys.  When I get several more cards of these alternate jerseys I'll have to branch them out into their own PC.

 

With the birth of my son, I've added a few players to my collection roster.  I'm collecting players who share a birthday with my son.  I plan to expand upon this idea in a separate post to come later.  Andrew McCutchen is a great player and I'm excited to start collecting him.  I don't know if this 2005 Topps Update card counts as his first rookie card but either way, it's a nice looking card.

The card on the right is from Panini's 2016 Father's Day promo set.  It is the thick stock parallel numbered to 50.  For only $1 it was an easy pick up.

Troy Tulowitzki is another player who shares a birthday with my son.  Tulowitzki had a down year last year with the Blue Jays, which hopefully will help soften the price on some of his cards.  

Typically I stay away from collecting Griffey in a Reds uniform.  I'm not upset or anything that he left Seattle, it's just that with so many Griffey cards I need some focus.  I made an exception for these cards since they feature the 2001 All-Star Game logo when it was held in Seattle.  As a bonus, this is a two-card oddball set from Ritz/Oreo.

The 2016 Panini Diamond Kings Rookie Signatures Silver is the only relic (and auto) set I plan to complete.  I have over half the set and was surprised to see a set need show up at the show.  

Retail relics from 2008 Topps. I love 2008 Topps. 

At the last card show I found a WSU Cougars Smokey set.  As luck would have it, I found another set at this show.  Since the cards are unnumbered I wasn't sure if I found the complete set or not.  Unfortunately, after checking the Trading Card Database, I discovered I am one card short: Drew Bledsoe.

It will be difficult to find that card available as a single so I might have to purchase a complete set.  Bummer.

That wraps up my card show for this year.  It was a nice feeling to get back into cards! Thanks for reading!

Finding Gold in a Burlap Sack

On the hunt for a Bellinger rookie, I purchased a hanger box of 2017 Topps Heritage High Number.  I have his Topps Chrome rookie, which won't cut it.  I much prefer the design of Heritage of regular Topps. 

No Bellinger cards were found.  Instead, I found a few other nice rookie cards and one amazing non-rookie.

Asuaje, along with Manny Margot and others, was acquired from the Red Sox in the 2015 offseason in exchange for Craig Kimbrel.  He was promoted from AAA at the end of June this season and became a fixture at 2nd base.  He didn't much for power with only 4 home runs and 14 doubles in 89 games.  However, he had a respectable .270 batting average and .334 on-base percentage.  Asuaje also played well defensively this year.

Starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery pitched his way onto the Yankees' ALDS roster after going 9-7 with a 3.88 ERA this season.  He was a back-end starter this year and I doubt he will make a start in this first round.  Tanaka pitches Game 3 and I'd be shocked if Severino does not start Game 4.  Corey Kluber is scheduled to start Game 5 for the Indians so the Yankees might send Gray back out on the mound.

One of these cards is not like the other.  Actually, I'm not so sure.  Vogelbach is obviously Photoshopped into Safeco Field.  At first glance I thought Haniger's background was legit but now I'm not so certain.  Even if it is, the background looks much more realistic than Vogelbach's.

Haniger started off the year red hot, slashing .342/.447/1.054 through 21 games.  That was until he suffered an abdominal injury.  Upon his return, showed little signs of life, slashing .203/.303/.618 through 37 games.

Haniger suffered another injury, this time taking a Jacob DeGrom pitch to the face.  After coming back from that injury, he posted a slash line of .318/.344/.923 for 38 games.  A weird turn of events if you ask me.

Vogelbach on the other hand, he doesn't have a good excuse for his limited performance in the big leagues.  Granted he has a grand total of 44 plate appearances in the majors.  Sample size beware.  Still, it's clear the Mariners do not consider him a long-term solution at 1st base.  

I really like the look of these playing card inserts.  Trey Mancini is rightfully overlooked due to the likes of Judge and Bellinger but he was still a solid contributor for the Orioles. 

Finally, we have a non-rookie card that is something beyond what I would ever expect to pull from a retail box...

An on-card patch autograph of the likely 2017 AL Cy Young award winner, Corey Kluber.  The card is serial numbered 1 out of 25, which is even better.  There is something nice looking about having serial number 1.  The jersey stripe is also well appreciated.  Looking at the checklist for this insert set, I could have only done better by pulling a Derek Jeter. 

I'd normally be disappointed about not getting a Bellinger rookie but I think the Kluber autograph is a nice consolation prize.

Day 12: Returning to Normal

30-Day Challenge: Day 12

Now that I'm down stirring up trouble with Panini, it's time to return to the 30-Day Baseball Card Challenge!

• Card: One of your favorite cards from the 1980s
• 1989 Topps - #647 Randy Johnson
• Music: A song from your preteen years
• Rosenshontz - Crazy for Dinosaurs (1988)

My affinity for 1980s cardboard is not that high.  I was not a collector during that era.  Any cards I received were after the 80s ended. 

I selected this card because it's a Randy Johnson rookie card.  Although he was traded away from the Mariners far too early, I will always remember watching him pitch for Seattle. 

A song from my preteen years?  It is really hard to think back that far and remember what I was listening to.  The only thing that sticks out in my mind is Rosenshontz.  Rosenshontz was a children's music duo from the 70s and 80s.  I had (and still have) a couple of their tapes while I was living in New Hampshire that I listened to regularly.

The music and lyrics are obviously kid friendly.  At the same time, the songs are not so obnoxious that adults' ears would bleed.  The songs range from are a mix of folk and rock.  The song above sounds like it could be a Van Hallen song.

This song doesn't have it but sometimes it sounds like Bob Odenkirk is singing. Unfortunately, that's not the case.