This post was going to cover my recent dealings with Wes from
Jaybarkerfan's Junk but it seems there is so much stuff, I am going to have to split it into two parts, Kill Bill style (definitely NOT Twilight style). Wes recently cleaned house, or at least cleaned card pile, and had all sorts of stuff up for sale, trade, and such. He also decided to run a
trade bait draft, a brilliant solution to get rid of those middle of the road cards - too nice to give away, not substantial enough to sell on eBay, not beloved enough to have been directly traded for. I decided to buy into this draft since he wisely had a complete preview of
all the cards he was going to have up for bid (a most welcome bit of organization) and there seemed to be some stuff I would want. Part one here is going to cover the draft.
This was a most deliberate process. It went round by round via lists we sent by email. I am surprised it didn't take longer than it did (which was actually quite a while). As an organizationally challenged person, I appreciate Wes' patience and thoroughness. It was quite a nice little distraction to see what cards I got and missed on. In the end, I am quite pleased. Let's take a look at what came in:
The 1952 Coogan there was my #1 pick. How can you turn down a such a perfect piece of imperfect vintage cardboard? While I don't think it was my first choice, it does fit a very specific purpose. My 1952 Topps page is mostly very well loved cards. One of them, though, was not. This specimen will fit right in with the rest of the well-loved original Topps cards and I can move the more handsome card to a toploader or to eBay. I plan on starting a series of posts highlighting my Topps pages, since these pages cover every set since 1952 (and a lot of them replace the sets I built myself). You will see the Coogan there. Also here is a Nolan Ryan insert I didn't have, in fact one I have never heard of...it is from one of Donruss' Spanish language sets. The two Reggie Jacksons here are wonderful; great contrasting images and uniforms. Plus, shiny! The Gary Carter there is actually not the 1978 Topps card, but the 2011 Cards Your Mother Threw Out insert (observant students of fontage will notice the difference). If my mother ever threw out my baseball cards, I'd disown her. The rest of the cards are all pretty predictable: a David Wright insert, a 1992 Gold Winner Met, a groovy UD Decade Gaylord Perry and a Allen & Ginter Mickey Mantle. Well, OK, that last one isn't exactly predictable, but I can't turn down A&G vintage stars, even Yankees.
On to the next nine:
Right off the bat, three Mets inserts of three of my personal favs. I looked and could not believe I didn't have that Wonder Years Mike Piazza card. I own the UD Retro Lunchbox of Piazza for crying out loud, but somehow that piece of nouvelle psychedelia missed my collection. The second row has some Sportflix Cecil Fielder goodness, a Paul Sorrento über-shiny Pinnacle card that I did not have (
click here to see why this is important), and a Joey Votto insert from last year for his player page. The last three there are: a 3D Topps insert of Ubaldo Jimenez - this set is so wonderful, plus it matches will with the Fielder above it. I have a soft spot for ol' Froot Loops, so I had to snag that Mickey Tettleton insert...after all, how many Mickey Tettleton inserts can there be? Lastly, I grabbed that Neil Walker Topps Gold card for Robert's
Insanity Set, but it turns out it is a number he already has, so it will find a spot in my
Rookie Cup collection. Oh, and these were kind of in drafting order, but I think I mixed them up for aesthetic layout purposes. I am a slave to my particular fashion.
Last batch:
First card here is a 1998 SPx Finite Frank Thomas. I was obsessed with this set when it came out. It was the first all serial numbered set and I fell for it head over heels. I bought boxes and boxes of it. It has three levels of shiny to each card and they are numbered accordingly. This is the "spectrum" level, the highest thus the lowest numbered, this one is numbered to /1750, which in 1998 was pretty damn low. Plus, the scan doesn't give it its proper blinding due. Second, there is another Mike Piazza insert I didn't have, as well as a Tom Seaver shiny insert that I didn't have. In the very middle there is a Carlos Delgado insert which I picked late, just because it is a Met and I am a completist when it comes to having all the Mets. Also picked late was that 1983 Topps ERA Leaders card. I am a sucker for league leader cards. The rest of this scan are minis, all with various destinations. The Adrian Gonzalez mini is going to Night Owl, since he is more obsessed with minis than anyone ever. The Reggie and Seaver minis are going right into my player collections. The last three are Allen and Ginter minis of various years and subject. I will probably keep them, but the McGehee might go to Thorzol when he has his "Trade Me Anything" posts. I keep oddball Brewers around for just such emergencies.
So I picked up 28 cards for about 50 cents each. How can you beat Seaver and Piazza inserts, 1952 Topps cards, and Allen and Ginter mini inserts for 50 cents a piece? Point is, you can't. Thanks again Wes for running your draft and having such marvelous cards to choose from.
Coming tomorrow: Lots from Jaybarkerfan's Junk. Lots and Lots of Lots.
