Help Anyone ?!?

Need some tips today. In the past I was always easily able to copy-paste the Beckett checklist into Excel including characteristics like AU, MEM, SER for Auto, Memorabilia, Serial numbered etc. I was planning to update my excel file to add 2014 to it for my key players like Glavine and Blyleven but I struggle to get the data.

Anyone have the same problem or any tips how to solve this ??

And as every post needs a card, here's my latest Blyleven, Crusade !!

Thanks !!

Trading with the Brits !

I have a couple of baseball card contacts and trading partners in the United Kingdom, always cool to be in contact with collectors in Europe as we don't have many ! Recently one of them, John from the blog Pursuit of 80s contacted me as he had some nice cards for me in store so a trade was quickly born ! His package arrived a few days ago.

John helped me put a dent in my Topps Flagship 2013 and 2014 insert needs. Still not complete but I am now nicely on my way ! First up, the best insert set in 2013, Cut to the Chase ! Curious to see if A-Rod will ever play for the Yankees again. I never really liked him so fine with me if he doesn't show up anymore and the Yankees give other people a chance !

Next up, the best insert set of Topps 2014, Before they were great ! Love this Ryan card !

John send me even more inserts. Here's Wacha and Rizzo !!!

More inserts ! Saberstars and a mini !!

Let's finish with another cool insert, Jackie Robinson

All in all a very cool package, thanks so much John !! A return package will soon be on its way !!

The Latest Dutch Yankee !!

So we all noticed Jeter retire from the game last year. But did you all notice who is likely going to try to fill his shoes (unlikely but he can try!), it's Dutchman Didi Gregorius !!

It doesn't happen everyday that a Dutchman plays for the Yankees so it's only appropriate to get one of his cards :-))

So here's my first, still in Diamondbacks gear !

Hope he does well and succeeds at the Yankees this season !! And of course hope to get my hands on one of his cards in Yankees gear !!

Thanks for visiting my blog today !

My first Dynasty !

Topps does make my life diffcult, being a Glavine collector and all. I bet they know I have the irresistable urge to collect all Glavine cards hence they apparently feel the urge to include Glavine cards in every high-end set that comes out these days !

Anyways, here comes Topps launching Dynasty with 8 different Glavine cards, all numbered to only 10. So my quest started to get my hands on some of them. Here's my first succes, meet Glavine card number  7 !!

Anyone else chasing the Dynasty cards or too high-end for your liking ?

Here's Some World Series Winners !

Quick post with two "vintage" Yankee autos. Well to be honest, the autos are not old but ther players are !! Both were fairly cheap but I think it's awesome to get my hands on an auto by players from the 50ties (depsite not having seen them play :-)).

First up, Tony Kubek who played for the Yankees between 1957 and 1965 as the short-stop. I love the America's Pastime set that Panini did last year, although I would have prefered the absence of the sticker ! Tony was Rookie of the Year in 1957 and won 3 world series !

Next up, Don Larsen, a cool addition to my Pitchers PC !! Don played for a stream of different clubs in the 50ties and 60ties and played for the Yankees between 1955 and 1959, winning two world series and even becoming a world series MVP !!

That's it for today, hope to add some more oldies to my collection !!



Thanks for visiting my blog today !

2003 Donruss MasterpieceSet ?

It's always fun to add a 1/1 to one of one's player collections. These situations don't happen that often but recently I was able to pick up a cool Glavine 1/1 !! However, browsing the internet a bit I am still not sure if this is a "real" 1/1 or that someone put on a nice 1/1 stamp to sell it for some nice money. Here's the Glavine I came across:

It's a 2003 Donruss Champions card. One the left side there is a clear "stamp" saying "MasterpieceSet 01/01". However, I have been trying to find some detail on this "MasterpiecesSet" but for now have been unsuccessful.

Anyone of you ever came across this set ?

Thanks !

What a huge difference 2 years make !

Two years ago I decided to make my Kershaw collection a more important part while I also decided to let my Verlander collection take a back seat. Why you may ask ? Did I know that Kershaw would be awesome in the next two years and Verlander would disappoint after hooking up with a certain someone (or the latter was maybe a coincidence).

Nope, no perfect foresight on my end. It was simply the costs of their cards. Getting my hands on a Verlander Auto or Relic card was way too expensive after he trew a couple of no-hitters. At the same time it felt like I was the only Kershaw collector around as I could get my hands on a cool Kershaw auto for around $25, sometimes even less.

As a result, I was able to have a lot of fun building my Kershaw collection until 6-9 months ago, ending up with 461 different Kershaw cards of which 117 different Auto cards and 105 Relic cards. Although this is still a mere 20% of his total cards (According to the Beckett database) it still feels like a great accomplishment that I have enjoyed a lot.

Although Kershaw remains my most favourite pitchers in the MLB today the prices for his cards have gone through the roof. Even a fairly simply auto card still sets one back at least $50, if not more, while any of the higher-end cards now easily go for $100+. Recent Dynasty auto cards even go for over $200-$250 (vs around $100 for HoF-er Tom Glavine). So out of my league for the moment and I have to face reality and start focus on singles (although even numbered cards have become really expensive). Here's my latest "high-end" Kershaw card, although some will claim it's crap given it's an unlicensed Panini card. I love the Americas Pastime set so I am very happy with this one !

How different is the world now for Verlander cards. I remember his auto's easily go for $100+, his printing plate the same ball-park with me skipping his relic cards as well. In the last few months I started noticing, on the back of a difficult year for Verlander, that his cards dropped off sharply. Printing plates are now like $15-20 while I feel I am often the only bidder for relic cards. Therefore, I have been picking up some Verlander cards. He will probably never be the centerpoint of my collection but I am happy to chase some of his cards for now ! Here are a few I was able to pick up in recent months ! A 2013 Relic card and 2014 Triple Threads printing plate.

I really am a bit disappointed that I have to take a back seat when it comes to chasing Kershaw cards. Luckily I have my Glavine, Blyleven and Rizzo focus as well as my other stuff, including Verlander, continuing.

Any of you ever had this experience with one of your favourite players ?