30 Day Baseball Card Challenge Day 7

Day 7: A card you bought in person and the story behind it.

In an earlier post I said there were hardly any baseball cards I'd spend more than $10 for. Here's another.

2005 Topps Touch Em All Base Relics

I paid $20 for this at a card show in Houston in 2013. It's got a lot going for it. It's a Phillies card, it's Jim Thome, one of my favorite players, even before he was a Phillies, it's a base relic card, it's from the 2004 All-Star Game which was held in Houston, it's limited (one of 50), Jim Thome was in the game, and even better, I was at the game. BTW, Thome wasn't a starter but got two at bats, unfortunately, going o for 2.

I guy I knew had season tickets for the Astros and had gotten 2 All-Star Game tickets and invited me along. 

Phillies Opening Day Right Fielders

According to the April 4th edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Phillies have had 8 different fielders start the season in right field in the past 8 years. That can't be good.

2017 - Michael Saunders

Saunders is such a new Phillie that I haven't seen him on a Phillies card as yet. Saunders was an All-Star last year with a season BA of .253 with 24 home runs, a season high for him. The Phillies signed him as a free agent for $11M.

2016 - Peter Bourjos

Bourjos was only a Phillie for one year and I don't actually own any cards of him as a Phillie. He hit .251 for the Phillies in 2016 with 5 home runs. From a power standpoint, Saunders should be an improvement. The Phillies got Bourjos off waivers from the Cardinals and paid him $2M last year.

2015 - Grady Sizemore

Sizemore was in his second season with the Phillies. He was picked up by the Phillies in June 2014 after having been released by the Red Sox. He was released by the Phillies in June 2015.

2014 - Marlon Byrd

This was Byrd's second stint with the Phillies. He was their 10th round draft pick in 1999 and played for the Phillies from 2002-2005. He was a free agent signing for $8M. He hit .264 with 35 homer for the 2014 Phillies. He was traded to the Reds after the season.

2013 - John Mayberry Jr.

Mayberry was the Phillies #1 pick in 2005. He was a guy long on promise but short on delivery.  He hit .227 with 11 home runs in 2013. He was a great fielder but just couldn't hit well enough. 

2012 - Hunter Pence

Of all the right fielders in this list, Pence is the genuine article. He'd been the Astros 2nd round draft pick in 2004 and played for the Astros from 2007-2010. He was enjoyable to watch. I was sorry to see him leave Houston but happy to see him with the Phillies. The Phillies traded 4 players for Pence in 2011 and then traded him to the Giants for 3 players in 2015. In 155 games for the Phillies he hit .258 with 28 home runs.

2011 - Ben Francisco

Another good fielding, light hitting outfielder. He was a hold over from the 2009 Phillies World Series losing team.

2010 - Jayson Werth

Along with Pence, the biggest star of this group. Werth was an integral part of the 2008 World Champion 2008 Phillies team. In 2010 he hit .296 with 27 home runs. After the 2010 season he signed a $122M, 7-year contract with the Nationals. 

Born in Hong Kong

Here's something you don't see every day, a baseball card for a player born in Hong Kong.

As near as I can tell, Austin Brice is the only baseball player ever, born in Hong Kong. Too bad his Wikipedia page is silent as to how he came to be born there, or how he came to live in the US. He was drafted out of a high school in North Carolina.

Repack Bang or Bust Part 3

There was nothing new in the local target so I bought this.

4 packs, 50 loose cards and a bonus for $7.99. Through the windows on the front and back of the box we can see that 2 of the packs are 2016 Topps Heritage and 2016 Topps Gypsy Queen. 

I didn't buy a whole lot of Topps Heritage last year. There were 9 cards in the pack. I needed 4 of 8 base cards. There was one insert.

This is a Topps Heritage 1967 Stand Up. Presumably the original 1967 card was a punch out thing that made a creepy standing head. This was the only non-relic, non-auto insert from 2016 Topps Heritage I didn't have so along with 4 base cards, this pack is a bang.

I bought even less of 2016 Topps Gypsy Queen. There were 4 base cards in the pack and I needed 3 of them. The 4th card was an Astro I don't mind getting a dup of. There was also a mini card as expected. And then there was this.

An on-card autograph card. I can't say I knew who this guy was even though he played 3 years for the Astros (2011-2013) and finished last season with the Phillies. He appears to be an extra outfielder who doesn't hit. But an autograph is an autograph and I didn't have any of these from 2016 Gypsy Queen. This pack was a total bang.

The two hidden packs were 2015 Series 1 Topps. Not promising since I already have the whole set. These two packs were a total bust. Not even a card I didn't mind having a dup of. There was one insert in each. Both were the Topps Highlight of the Year cards. 

Fernando certainly had a great year in 1981. I remember his 8-game winning streak to start the season. I also remember that his first loss was to the Phillies. I remember listening to the game on the radio. I had to look it up to get the details. The Phillies beat the Dodgers 4-0 in LA that night. Marty Bystrom, of all people, got the win.

Another great pitcher but of whom I have no personal memories.

Of the 50 loose cards I needed 22 of them. I usually figure if I get close to 50% needs on something like this I'm ahead, especially if I get some players I collect that I need. So the loose cards are also a bang. Nothing especially exciting however.

A relatively early A Rod card from 1997 Upper Deck.

1994 SP. Two cards I needed that are on foil board, which I hate. I wonder why Cone is wearing a green hat. Spring training game on St. Patrick's Day perhaps? I know the Phillies have done such a thing.

1994 Bowman's Best. Utilizing Topps' still new 'Chrome' technology, this is way better than foil board.

I guess Greg Luzinski's son seemed like a good bet. The Dodgers made him their #1 draft pick in 1992. He was a catcher in their minor league system at the same time the Dodgers had some guy named Mike Piazza. Ryan played in the minors until 1999 but never was able to crack into the majors.

And the bonus? 

I think this thing is called a Teeny Mate. It's made by Topps. I bought a few and have gotten a few in this type of repack before. I've 8 of them now sitting in front of my computer monitor.

All in all, mainly based on the autograph, I'll call this repack a bang.

Random Cards from My Collection #82

Card #5,407: 2003 Upper Deck #1 John Lackey

Lucky was the Angels #2 draft pick in 1999 and made his debut in 2002. He was 9-4 with a 3.66 ERA.

Card #8,698: 2000 Fleer Greats of the Game Retrospection #9 Steve Carlton

Card #9,032: 1992 Topps Kids #200 Lenny Dykstra

Ha ha, I always liked this set.

Card #27,407: 1987 Donruss Opening Day #58 Robin Yount

I bought this 272 card set for $16 in 2003. The big deal of this set is that some of the Barry Bonds cards have Johnny Ray on the front. The set I bought actually had 2 Bonds cards in it (and was missing another card) but neither was the error card.

Card #26,026: 2002 Topps #634 Josh Beckett

Beckett was the Marlins #1 draft pick in 1999 and made his debut in 2001. He was 2 and 2 in 4 starts.

Card #22,224: 2003 Upper Deck Victory #70 Brett Myers

This was a horrible set. It has just about everything I dislike: abstract backgrounds, rounded corners, a game and multiple colored parallels. 

Card #39,544: 2009 Topps Heritage #405 Robinson Cano

I liked this set and bought a lot of it.

Card #17,098: 1993 Select #236 Tim Raines

For some reason, I've always had a soft spot in my head for this set.

Card #27,371: 1994 Collector's Choice #305 Todd Zeile

Good photographs on both sides of the card.

Card #4,039: 1995 Topps Embossed Golden Idols #120

Topps Embossed was an idea that never really caught on. The player on the front was raised. This is a parallel. There was a silver version as well.