Sunday Edition

First and foremost, a huge congratulations to The Great Tim Raines.  Today his is day, and it's one that is well deserved and long over due.  I've never been happier to see a player get into Cooperstown.

I'm currently recording the Induction Ceremony.  I tried to watch it live, but when Harold Reynolds opened the show by saying Selig would "steal the show," I decided I better DVR it and watch later.  There's only so much B.S. I can tolerate.  For half a second I thought Reynolds was trolling Selig, and referencing to the boo's and jeer's he'll no doubt receive from the hoards of Montreal fans there to see Raines.  He wasn't.  He was serious.  Just as Raines represents the happiest I've ever been to see some one inducted, Bud Selig sits at the opposite end of that spectrum.  I don't think I've ever been angry to see someone get in.  I've raised eyebrows or disagreed on merits, but inclusion doesn't upset me.  It's omissions that get me upset.  Until now.  Selig's induction in a blackeye for baseball, and an embarrassment for Cooperstown.

While I wait for the recording to finish, let's look at some recent cardboard pick-ups:

These first ones are some 2008 Topps from Jim of Elgin, IL.  Jim has probably sent me eight envelopes of cards in the last two months.  He's been chipping away at my Topps need list from 2008-15 three teams at a time.  I'm guessing he sorts his cards by team.  Thank you very much Jim.  Your generosity has not gone unnoticed.

With this batch of 2008 Topps, my current need list is below.  Feel free to send me a link to your 2008-17 Topps needs.  I'd be happy to try to work out a trade.

2008: 1, 6, 13, 14, 18, 20, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 35, 45, 48, 51, 53, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 65, 72, 75, 80, 90, 96, 99, 104, 105, 117, 122, 124, 128, 129, 130, 134, 136, 137, 138, 144, 145, 148, 149, 151, 153, 155, 156, 157, 166, 173, 175, 176, 178, 182, 188, 197, 200, 209, 211, 216, 218, 226, 229, 232, 233, 234, 236, 238, 240, 251, 256, 258, 259, 268, 281, 285, 287, 288, 289, 296, 297, 298, 300, 303, 313, 317, 321, 329, 348, 356, 357, 363, 378, 382, 393, 403, 410, 418, 426, 428, 434, 437, 439, 443, 446, 457, 460, 461, 463, 469, 476, 481, 489, 498, 505, 518, 534, 535, 538, 540, 541, 550, 556, 558, 569, 585, 587, 589, 591, 593, 598, 602, 607, 608, 614, 615, 618, 621, 623, 625, 631, 632, 636, 643, 644, 652, 653

As some of you are probably aware, I have a side-project blog, "Adventures in 1952 Topps."  For the last nine years I've been trying to put together a run of the first five series of 1952 Topps from card #'s 1-310.  With this recent haul above I'm now four cards away from that goal.  A good number of those are duplicates, but only two are duplicates and not upgrades.  In any event, I'll take any chance I get to show off these 1952's.  

The '53 Bowman Joe Nuxall came with the Joe De Maestri that it's next to in the photo.  I didn't buy it.  The seller included it as extra packaging.  Usually sellers use the likes of '91 Score to do this.  I prefer the '53 Nuxall.

Above are three new basketball pick-ups.  I am now three cards shy of  completing the 1986-87 Fleer set.  It may not sound all that surprising to younger collector's to hear this, but it's certainly surprising to me, but the last three needs are Jordan, Bird, and Magic.  The Jordan is expected, but I never considered the Magic or Bird to be tough finds.  I was indifferent to them.  That was fueled mostly by the fact that they weren't rookie cards.  When I was younger, my collection was focused on RC's, not sets.  So I hunted down all the big rookies in this set.  Clyde Drexler, one of my all-time favorites, ended up being the last one to fall (obviously, not counting Jordan).  I'll probably have to track down a second copy to display outside of the set binder, because I really like that card.

My patience in seeking out a Scottie Pippen rookie paid off.  Twenty years ago or so, I believe it may have been the most expensive card in the set.  A set that included rookies of John Stockton, Reggie Miller, and Dennis Rodman.  The idea of a Pippen rookie costing more than a Stockton always seemed absurd to me.  Granted, I wasn't a Bulls fan, so I never felt a burning desire to own one, but still.  Pippin over Stockton?  I'm glad I waited, not just on principle either, the market has since adjusted now that most collector's consider Jordan a sneaker more than a player and don't remember his lil' sidekick Scottie.  I picked that Pippen up for less than the price of a movie ticket.  

Here's where I stand with the inaugural three Fleer Basketball sets:

1986-87: 9, 53, 57

1987-88: 1, 3, 9, 11, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 48, 49, 52, 54, 56, 59, 60, 61, 63, 68, 69, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 83, 84, 85, 89, 92, 92, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 105, 106, 109, 112, 113, 118, 123, 130, 132 

1988-89: 5, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 18, 21, 22, 25, 30, 31, 33, 34, 39, 40, 43, 45, 49, 53, 57, 64, 68, 70, 82, 85, 89, 92, 93, 95, 96, 108, 109, 114, 115, 116, 121, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 129, 132

My last recent pick-up to show off is this lot of '53 Topps.  Many of the 1952's above came from the same seller I purchased these from.  It's in it's infancy, but I've decided to start a 1953 Topps side-project blog once I finish with the '52 blog, which is now a matter of when and not if.  1953 Topps is a very managable 274 cards in size, numbered to 280, but six cards were never made due to disputes with Bowman (where's that "Memorable Moments" insert card Topps?).

I've already done a test post for the '53 Topps blog.  If you're interested, here's a link, but I reserve the right to make changes to the format.