Saturday, September 30, 2017

Jim Thome card #238 2000 Topps Gallery #93

  • You can't see me.  Don't recall ever seeing a card of any player, let alone Thome, where his face is almost totally obscured by his glove.  
  • Final post of September, and with the Lawrie and McCutchen collections being complete, I've kind of slowed a bit with only 33 posts this month.  Need 120 posts over the final 3 months to keep pace with 2016.  Chances are that will not happen.
  • Bio on the back:  "finished 2nd in the All-Star Game's home run derby in 1998."  The winner that year was Ken Griffey Jr., with a total of just 19 homers over 3 rounds in Coors Field.
- Robert

Jim Thome card #237 2000 UD Ionix #25

  • I kind of like the bottom of the card, looks like movie frames only in stop action instead of seeing movement.  
  • This is the 6th card that I've posted of Jim where the card number on the back (25) is the same as his jersey number.  
  • Career home run #237 was hit 5/8/2001, almost 2 weeks after his last homer.  Kansas City's Doug Henry was the victim, giving up a 3 run shot to put the game out of reach for the Indians.  8-4 was the final, with Dave Burba winning his 5th game as the starter for Cleveland.
- Robert

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Joe Sakic card #248 1997-98 Donruss Limited #36

  • Scanned a little dark, but this is a great card in my opinion.  On the back is one of Joe's counterparts, Bernie Nicholls who at the time played for San Jose.  
  • Almost half of this set hasn't been scanned into the Trading Card Database.  Surprising for me, as this set is only 200 cards and is loaded with stars.  
  • Not a bad range for this card on COMC, 94 cents to $1.24.  The copies on Sportlots are either 25 or 50 cents.   Only saw one copy on either site of the Limited Exposure version of this card, priced at $3.  Not too bad...
- Robert

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Joe Sakic card #247 1997-98 Collectors Choice #55

  • Kind of a grainy photo, hard to believe that the card scanned this way.  Also haven't had too many cards that feature Joe in the then home whites. 
  • Bio on the back:  On the back of cards from this set, Upper Deck put a factoid under the heading "Chippy Sez".  On Joe's card there's mention of Joe winning the Stanley Cup the same year his brother Brian won the Colonial Hockey League title while playing in Flint, Michigan.
  • Nine copies of this card on COMC, ranging in price from 57 cents to $1.80.  All of them range from a little overpriced to a lot overpriced. 
- Robert

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Jim Thome card #236 2000 Skybox Metal #41


  • Take a look at the Skybox post from a few days ago. This is the exact same photo, only showing more of Jim's legs and feet than the other one.  Charge all that money for those packs and reuse the same photos; where have I heard that before?
  • I don't know how many cards I can recall that have the players jersey number on the front.  Can't be many for sure.
  • Career home run #236 was his 3rd of the 2001 season, hit off of Dave Mlicki of the Tigers.  After going over two weeks without a homer, this was his 2nd in 2 days, a 2 run shot that broke a 2-2 tie and put the Indians ahead to stay.  It was part of a 19 hit assault as the Tribe won 11-3.
- Robert

Monday, September 25, 2017

Jim Thome card #235 2000 Pacific Paramount Ruby #74


  • Was surprised to see that the front of this card hadn't been added to the Trading Card Database. That has been taken care of.
  • I still only 9 other versions of this card.  That's right, I said 9.  That includes two types of silver, two types of gold and two types of green.   Crazy.
  • This is the 2nd consecutive Thome card that mentions Jim's 511 foot home run in '99.  Happy accident; I didn't plan to post them consecutively.
- Robert

Sunday, September 24, 2017

Andrew McCutchen card #86 2016 Topps MLB Debut Bronze #MLBD-23

  • This was part of the same Sportlots order as this morning's card.  The cost was just 18 cents.  Again, can't beat that...
  • Still have to find the gold version of this card to complete the mini-rainbow.
  • Just a feeling, but I don't think that the Pirates are going to exercise the club option for $14.75 million.  I think that they'll try to sign him to a 2 or 3 year deal at a lower price, maybe 10-12 million to save a bit of money.  
- Robert

Andrew McCutchen card #85 2016 Topps MLB Debut Silver #MLBD-23

  • The way the border looks on this card I think that a die cut design would have been more appropriate.  
  • I remember Andrew's debut against the Mets which is chronicled on this card.  2 singles and walk, 3 runs scored.  Seems like yesterday, but it's already been 8 years.
  • This card was a part of a recent Sportlots order.   Couldn't resist at just 25 cents.
- Robert

Saturday, September 23, 2017

Jim Thome card #234 2000 Skybox Dominion #215

  • Full bleed photo.  OK sounds good.  Putting the players name/team/position right dead center of the card, well not so much.
  • Bio on the back:  "Hit the longest ball in Jacobs Field history (511 feet) on July 3rd."  With Statcast and all the advanced features we have today, you'd think we would see more items like this on cards.  Guess I'll have to take a closer look...
  • In case you were wondering, that July 3rd homer came off of Kansas City's Don Wengert.  
  • COMC has 2 copies of this card, one at 99 cents and one at $1.50.  A little pricey if you ask me...
- Robert

Friday, September 22, 2017

Joe Sakic card #246 1996-97 Leaf Limited #56


  • Oops!   Every once in a while I make mistakes like this.   I had this in the 97-98 portion of my Sakic collection.  Turns out I was a year off.   At least I didn't have a duplicate already posted on the blog.
  • Bio on the back:  "In the regular season, Joe was the NHL leader with 9 unassisted markers and tied for second with six short handed goals."  Both pretty impressive numbers to say the least.
  • 11 copies of this card currently on COMC, anywhere from 95 cents to $2.25.  Not a bad range.
  • There is also a gold parallel of this card, which I don't own as of yet.  The only copy on COMC is listed for $3.75, which the seller has for almost 2/3 off his original price.  I may have to bite...
- Robert

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Jim Thome card #233 2000 Fleer Focus #107


  • Could there be a less evil card to show than this for post #666?  I wasn't too sure how long I'd keep this blog going, but as I've gone along it's gotten much easier to keep the blog running.
  • I remember buying packs of these at the local K-Mart not too long after I moved to the US.  Not sure if I pulled this card from one of those packs though...
  • Career homer #233 for Jim was the final one of the 2000 campaign.  Jim hit it off of Toronto's David Wells, a 3 run shot on 10/1/00.  The Indians won the game 11-4 for their 90th win of the year.
- Robert

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Joe Sakic card #245 1997-98 Upper Deck 3-star selects #T3A


  • Part of a 60 card insert set, Sakic was the first part of a group of three that included Steve Yzerman and Paul Kariya.  Helluva trio to say the least.
  • Amazingly this card wasn't scanned to the Trading Card Database.   That has been taken care of.
  • I hadn't noticed until this evening the die cut of the middle star on the right hand side of the card.  As I've said many times before, it's time to pay more attention to my cards.
  • Surprisingly a cheap card on COMC, the 15 copies of this card on there range from 65 cents to $1.25.  Cheap!
- Robert

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Jim Thome card #232 2000 Pacific Aurora #45



  • I've never purchased a pack of Aurora, but like most of the other Pacific products, I enjoy this one.  The back features a sepia photo of Jim running the bases.
  • Interesting set size, 151 cards.  I guess that the Tony Gwynn sample card is counted as part of the set.  
  • I also remember Aurora being somewhat expensive, both in pack and singles form.  The only copy of this card on COMC right now goes for 95 cents.  If I remember correctly, I bought this from a LCS back when I lived in PA for a buck.   
  • Still have the pinstriped version of this card to pick up, along with the Pennant Fever insert.   Will have to try and find them both some time...
- Robert

Monday, September 18, 2017

Joe Sakic card #244 1997-98 Pacific Invincible NHL Regime #57


  • To be honest, I don't know a lot about this set.  The base set of Invincible is just 150 cards, while the NHL Regime set is 220 cards total.  I don't know if it was an insert set, or if it was sold separately.
  • The design reminds me of a cloud, almost as if you're dreaming about an image of a hockey game.
  • 4 of these currently on COMC, ranging from $1.40 to $2.  I'll be damned if I can remember where I picked up my copy, but it wasn't online.
- Robert

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Joe Sakic card #243 1997-98 Collectors Choice You Crash The Game #18A

  • Upper Deck didn't narrow down to a specific game vs. New Jersey on the card.  Colorado only played NJD once during the 97-98 season, and Joe didn't score during that game.
  • There are two other Crash cards for Joe, one Vs. Philadelphia and one Vs. the Rangers.  Don't have either of those as of yet.  The Philadelphia card is a winner, so there may be fewer of those around to chase.
  • Unlike the Crash cards from a couple years back, there aren't any variations.  Thank goodness....
- Robert

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Jim Thome card #231 2000 Pacific #137

  • I think Pacific dropped the ball here by not putting Jim's name and team on the bottom of the photo, making the card horizontal instead of vertical.  
  • There are 6 parallels of this card.  I don't have any of them yet.  5 out of the 6 have print runs of 200 or less.   It may be a while before I get any of them.
  • The Trading Card Database shows this card with the horizontal orientation.  I'll show it below and you tell me which way it should be displayed.
- Robert

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Joe Sakic card #242 1997-98 Pacific Paramount Photoengravings #7

  • Bought this not too long ago off of COMC for $1.  Wasn't too sure what I was getting when I made the purchase, all I knew is that I needed it for the Sakic PC.  Don't ask me why, but I love the card and it quickly became one of my favorite cards of Joe.
  • Also added this to the TDCB as well.  That's 2 days in a row I was able to add a card.  This will also be the 70th card I've added of Sakic.  
  • While looking at Joe's career stats, here's one that hit me.  Joe was on the ice for 2,220 goals for during his career, getting points on 1,641 of them, or 73.9%.  Wayne Gretzky was at 81.2% and Mario Lemieux was 79.6% for comparisons sake.  Steve Yzerman not too far behind Joe at 71.5%.  
- Robert

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Jim Thome card #230 2000 Upper Deck Ovation #29

  • I was very surprised to see that this card hadn't been added to the TDCB yet.   Rest assured that has been taken care of now.
  • I have always liked the Ovation design, with the front looking (and somewhat feeling) like the cover of a baseball.  Definitely was something unique back in the day.
  • Career homer #230 was hit 9/27/2000 vs. Johan Santana of the Twins.  Santana was actually pitching in relief of starter Brad Radke, who had given up the first 7 Indians runs.  Thome's HR would be the last run for the Indians in their 8-2 win that day.  
- Robert

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Joe Sakic card #241 1997-98 Leaf International Stars #35

  • Another set that I never heard about, International Stars was a 150 card set featuring mostly current starts.  The only two RCs that I saw on the checklist were Steve Shields and Vinny Prospal.
  • Nothing descriptive on the back, just an action photo of Joe battling Vinny Prospal of the Flyers.  The photo of Joe is exactly the same as the Leaf base card, just the background has changed.
  • Just a couple of copies on COMC right now, a bit pricey with one at $1 and the other at $1.23.
- Robert

Monday, September 11, 2017

Jim Thome card #229 2000 Fleer Tradition #358

  • Feels weird writing a post on a Monday afternoon.  A bit of a bonus you could say after not being sure what was going to happen in South Florida over the past couple of days.
  • Love the older looking designs, the red background of the card mixes with the red on Jim's shirt and cap really well.
  • Bio on the back:  "..riding a productive second half (58 RBI in 69 games) to his third 100 RBI season in 1999."  That's quite a pace, as it would be 136 RBI over a full 162 game season if he had kept that pace going.
  • Still need the glossy version of this card, $1.20 currently on COMC.  Still not ready to start buying dollar parallels of Thome just yet.
- Robert

Sunday, September 10, 2017

Andrew McCutchen card #84 2017 Donruss Retro Variation #RV-26


  • I've mentioned this before, I really would have liked to see the entire Donruss set done in the retro variation.  I might have actually chased it some day.  
  • The black jersey is my favorite.  Eventually I will have one for myself with Cutch's name on the back.  
  • Bio on the back: "On April 26, 2016, McCutchen slammed 3 home runs in a 9-4 win at Colorado for his second three-homer game.  He joined Ralph Kiner, Willie Stargell and Roberto Clemente as the only Pittsburgh players with two."  Doesn't get much better than that for Pirates history, does it?
  • This is it...for now.  This is currently the last McCutchen card in my PC.  I have a few that will head my way from a couple of sources, but for now this is the last one I have in my binder.
- Robert

Andrew McCutchen card #83 2017 Donruss #135

  • Dig the high socks on Andrew!  Love this photo how they managed to seamlessly airbrush the "P" off the helmet and the Pirates off the chest.
  • I like the 70's style gold jersey, but the pants are something from the 70's that are best left back there.
  • Bio on the back:  "Jumping from eighth to fifth on Pittsburgh's all time home run list in 2016, McCutchen finished the season with 175 HRs, one away from tying Barry Bonds."  I'm not sorry to say that I'm glad he's passed Bonds on a Pirates records list, and I hope that he's ahead of Barry on all of them when it's said and done.
- Robert

Saturday, September 9, 2017

Joe Sakic card #240 1997-98 Score Golden Blades #125

  • It would have been much better if Score had made the foil on the front gold instead of silver.  Or, name the set silver blades?
  • Been a while, but I was able to add this card to the Trading Card Database.  They hit the 2 million mark for scans not too long ago, so congrats to the site!!  The countdown to 3 million is on....
  • Golden Blades is the much more affordable parallel of the two; there's 7 of these on COMC priced between $1.15 & $1.75.  The Artists Proof? One at $15, the other at $18.25.  Down the road on the AP for sure....
- Robert

Joe Sakic card #239 1997-98 Score #125

  • This weekend is a 2 a day post weekend.  Will have one of the parallels for this card tonight, and then 2 cards for McCutchen on Sunday.
  • Love the intensity on Joe's face as he readies for the faceoff.  I don't think any of the other 3 sports have as many officials on their cards as hockey does.  How many cards in your baseball PC's feature umpires?
  • Pay attention to the checklist:  The first 50 cards of the Score set are goalie cards.  Will have to keep an eye out just in case I'm missing a few of the low numbers for my goalie frankenset.
- Robert

Friday, September 8, 2017

Jim Thome card #228 2000 Pacific Vanguard High Voltage #16

  • Another insert that I own before the base card.  There's also 4 parallels of this card, green, gold, silver and red.  Good ol' Pacific.
  • That being said, Pacific did have some creative ideas for inserts, and I do like the high voltage insert myself.
  • The cheapest Vanguard base card on COMC is actually 50 cents higher than the cheapest High Voltage insert.  Weird.
- Robert

Thursday, September 7, 2017

Andrew McCutchen card #82 2017 Topps Opening Day Superstar celebration #SC-9

  • Bought one rack pack of Opening Day.  Pulled this card.  Worth it for me.
  • Funny how things come back home.  Seeing Sean Rodriguez on this card would have been disappointing for the first 3 months of the season, but he's back in Pittsburgh now and playing just about every position except for pitcher and catcher.
  • Love how the back of the card points out the date of this celebration, 9/7/16 over the Cardinals.  One year ago today.   Perfect.
- Robert

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Joe Sakic card #238 1997-98 Leaf #35

  • The sunburst design on the front is one of those take it or leave it designs for me.  I probably would leave it...
  • Card detective:  I'm only able to do this one because I recognize the design on the left sleeve of Joe's opponent.  That's the old Phoenix Coyotes design, and #26 was worn by Jeff Finley, a defenseman who played 708 games over parts of 16 seasons in the NHL.
  • Interesting range of prices on COMC, the cheapest being 39 cents (very cheap) to the high of $1.75 (a bit much).
  • I still need the Fire on Ice insert from this set, but the only copy on COMC is listed at $28.  That ain't happening...
- Robert

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Jim Thome card #227 2000 Upper Deck Ultimate Victory #16

  • Thought that this was a parallel for the Victory set.  Turns out I was wrong, as Ultimate Victory base cards were blue bordered.   I had forgotten this.
  • Scanned a bit blurry, just as if you were watching a baseball game in the 70's and the rabbit ears on your TV weren't pulling the picture in 100% clear.
  • Career home run #227 broke a 17 day homerless drought for Jim.  It was hit off of Oakland's Tim Hudson, a solo shot to bring the Indians back to 3-1 down.  The tribe would score 4 in the 5th and 2 more in the 6th to win 7-5, making a winner of Paul Shuey who threw a scoreless inning of relief.
- Robert

Monday, September 4, 2017

Joe Sakic card #237 1997-98 Donruss Priority #208


  • I hear that the cost of a 1st class package is going up again at the USPS.  Anyone else heard this?
  • Interesting concept for a card, making the background look like a package tied with string.  For me, it's OK, but I've seen better.
  • Don't see any copies of this card on COMC, but I did find some stamps cards on the site with bronze, silver and gold versions.  There's also a direct deposit version as part of the Donruss Priority set, which would remind me more of banking than the post office.  No matter, it just means more cards for me to chase...
- Robert

Sunday, September 3, 2017

Andrew McCutchen card #81 2017 Topps National Baseball Card Day #18

  • Big thanks to my buddy Kaz for thinking of me when he pulled this card.  I doubt that there's a lot of people that know I collect Cutch.  
  • As I mentioned this morning, I prefer this card design over the 2016 NBCD version.  I've always enjoyed arrows (don't know why though) and use them a lot when I take notes at work instead of bullet points.
  • Very surprised not to see any of these on COMC yet.  I know that they just came out recently, but I thought I might see a couple on there to see what the prices were like.  Headed over to eBay where there were several copies, mostly in the 99 cent to $2.50 range.  
- Robert

Andrew McCutchen card #80 2016 Topps National Baseball Card Day #8


  • The design is OK, I'm not a big fan of it but it'll do for something different.  I much prefer the 2017 NBC day design which will post tonight.
  • Cutch is now my 3rd largest PC, passing Brett Lawrie.  I've barely scratched the surface with his cards though.  I'd love to have a PC of him the size and status of Collecting Cutch's blog, but that likely will never happen.   Nice to dream though.
  • Looked up prices on COMC for this card; there are currently 8 copies, 7 of which are priced between 98 cents and $1 (very fair).   There's one dreamer who is asking $3.25.  Makes me wonder if people do research on prices before they send their cards off.
- Robert

Saturday, September 2, 2017

Jim Thome card #226 2000 Fleer Ultra #184

  • Not as good with the full bleed photos as Stadium Club is, but Fleer didn't do too bad with this card.
  • Bio on the back:  "Jim hit a titanic 511 foot home run..."  Don't think anymore needs to be said after that.
  • Don't have the Gold Medallion version as of yet.   Looked at the card on the TCDB, and I definitely prefer when the entire front of the card was gold, rather than just the players name.  But that's just me...
 - Robert

Friday, September 1, 2017

Joe Sakic card #236 1997-98 Donruss Priority #17


  • I get to play detective again.  This one is pretty easy, just as the Richard Smehlik one was the other day.  #23 for the Flyers in 96-97 was none other than Petr Svoboda, who played just over 1000 NHL games in 17 seasons.
  • I can honestly say I never bought a pack of Donruss Priority in my life, but I do like this design.  Also like the fan in the background with his hand on his chin, studying the play intently.  
  • One of the few PC cards that I could not find on Sportlots for the 18 cent minimum.  There's only 3 copies on the site, and the cheapest one is a quarter.  COMC's cheapest copy is 64 cents.   Big difference...
- Robert