What Ben's Thinking About

It's no secret: my interest in collecting sports cards waxes and wanes like the cycles of the moon. But there are certain things about the hobby that pique my interest. Here they are for the week of July 28, 2013.

1. I've had another epiphany about my card collection this week: I need to cut back. I've collected sets in the past, have an extensive Red Sox and Celtics collection — I'm trying to get one card of every player on each team since their inceptions — and have a shoebox of vintage stars. But I also have pre-war nonsports cards. And lots of Topps basketball from the 1970s. And other cards I'm quite sure what to do with. The epiphany came about because we have been doing a little spring cleaning (in the middle of the summer) and have sold a few things on eBay. Some cards have left the house this way, but it isn't satisfying. Not really.

I feel like if I'm going to make big strides in completing the Soxlopedia, as I'm calling it, then I'm going to have to make some trades. So here we are. Is there anyone out there interested in trading these days? I'd be looking for Red Sox and Celtics players, and maybe a few upgrade cards for my 1965 and 1956 Topps sets. I have some vintage stars and Hall of Famers and T218s and T118s and a huge lot of 1984 Topps baseball, which I know isn't that exciting, but let me explain.

2. I've made large strides in my "Mega Master Set" idea for 1986 and 1987 Topps baseball (and even 1977 and 1978 Topps baseball, to a lesser extent). But where I've found satisfaction in those years, I've be met with a deep sense of ennui with 1984 Topps baseball. Not that I haven't had success with 1984 Topps baseball—I have. I've just found that I don't really care very much if I finish it or not. (I'm a great salesman, I know.) I'm two cards from completing the base set, and have added the 50 cards in the 1984 style from the 2012 Topps Archives set. I've also added a few original 1984 Nestle cards, plus the Larry Bird "Missing Years" card from 2006-07 Topps Basketball, plus even some Topps Tiffany cards. And a handful of the Traded cards. All in all it's about 900 cards, give or take a few. It makes for a nice starter set on the Mega Master Set, I'd say. So, if you're interested in trading for these cards, or would like to know if I can help you with other stuff, and you have Red Sox to trade, I'm all ears. By the way, if you want to see a list of Red Sox players I still need, check out this list.

3. I've been thinking long and hard about this, but 1986 Topps is my favorite set. Ever. It was my first set, and I have cards with their fronts ripped off to varying degrees from this set than any other in my possession. So if there's some sort of Tiger Beat that cares about what I like, 1986 Topps baseball is what I like...

4. Also, here's something to consider: Did you just get $75 worth of baseball cards from that box you just paid $75 for? If not, how much value do you think you got? I bet it wasn't anywhere close to what you paid, unless you count a box's anticipation markup — my name for the traditional profit-ensuring markup that plays to the expectations and excitement of the consumer towards the product. That's probably harder to determine, right? If there are 192 cards in that box (let's say you bought Heritage), then you just paid $0.39 for each card (sure, that's a steal if you get a Sandy Koufax autograph exchange card, but you're more likely to "hit" on a relic card of Raul Ibanez). So if you can get base cards on eBay for closer to $0.07 or $0.10 apiece, then you're paying an anticipation markup of anywhere from a quarter to thirty cents per card. You might scoff at this logic, but for your $75, your box probably contains $18–$25 of value in it. It's a sobering thought, especially as I look towards 2014 Topps Heritage...

5. I just finished David Maraniss' Clemente and recommend it. Actually, if you're interested in reading it, I will make it available for trade. See the linked list above of Red Sox players I'm missing and let me know if you're interested.

Harry Caray Bobblehead Trade Challenge

Forget the cards for a second. That's right, I want to trade this Harry Caray bobblehead to you. But here's what you have to do: You have to offer me a better trade than anyone else. My Keeper List is available to view (see link in sidebar at right), but don't let that hold you back. You want to trade me $80 in first class postage? How about a signed and numbered Dan McCarthy print? Or a few rare souvenir postcard folders?

Here's what I know about this bobblehead:

1) It was made in 2002 by Bosley Bobbers
2) It's still in its original box
3) The box says it's a limited edition
4) It currently retails for $79.95 on eBay (link)
5) I don't know where I got it

Here's what you should do if you want to add this bobblehead to your collection: email me with your trade idea. The best idea will get Harry and his enormous glasses, bobbling for all eternity.

Keeper trade with Cardboard Junkie

Thanks Dave! What can I send in return? Let me consult my Braves...

The Tao of Fred McGriff - Day 4

Fred McGriff was selected by the Yankees as the last pick in the 9th round of the 1981 June draft, fresh out of high school and then as soon as he started to get his feet wet BLAM! Traded to the Blue Jays with Dave Collins and Mike Morgan for Dale Murray and Tom Dodd. Drafted one summer, traded the end of the next year. That's either a major confidence booster (that another team would want him) or a huge letdown (the most storied team in the sport gave up on him enough to throw him in on a minor trade).

As fans it's exciting to welcome new players onto our favorite teams, but what about how the players themselves feel? It's no wonder that many reiterate to the media that it's just a business and this is the way this business works. Because what are the alternatives? You can pout, go AWOL, or grit your teeth, say goodbye to your friends and pack your suitcase for the next town.

I'm a Red Sox fan, but it's not hard to see why Brian Giles, though marooned on a terrible Padres team, wouldn't accept a trade to the contending Sox. He has a life to consider, and he's been around long enough to be afforded a choice in his future. Why would you sacrifice that?

(I've never been traded. But if I were, I bet I could bring at least fifteen head of cattle and a few bushels of wheat. Or a bag of balls.)

A Miscut Above

I've been silent lately, but I've been thinking. Is there anything more beautiful than a miscut baseball card?

As collectors, we expect certain things from card manufacturers. One is that their design and photography departments are competent enough to create cards that we will want to collect. Another expectation is that the card-cutting machinery at their printing plants work correctly. Because without proper framing, we're just collecting cardboard rectangles.

As collectors, we bring a lot to the table in our understanding of how to read a baseball card. When a card is miscut, it's no longer a card in the most traditional sense. It lacks focus, a subject, or even proper boundaries. Our approach to reading it is thrown off.

A miscut card is cast aside as a goof with no real value. And while I won't argue the monetary value aspect, I've come to appreciate miscut cards as art, and worthy additions to my collection. And the best part? Every set ever produced has had miscut cards—it's part of the printing and cutting process—so there examples out there from almost any set you can think of. A definite boon for the miscut collector.

Habit Kicked

Thanks to everyone who's emailed and helped me kick the habit! I have to wrap up the trading for the next few days. No new traders, please. Existing traders will be sent cards in the next week.

More Fun Than a Stack of Commons

Two things going through my mind today:

1. Will the Celtics be smart and offer James Posey a 3-year deal?
2. What's more fun than a stack of commons?

That's right, the Kick The Habit Trade-away is going strong, with new traders welcome. I feel like Carnegie here (though taller and without the bad Homestead karma), dispersing cards to anybody that wants them. So far I've doled out 1,500 cards... and there's plenty more where those came from.

Email me if you feel like trading, and scroll down the page to view my trade requests.

Kicking the Habit

When I was growing up I felt different from my friends. You see, I was a collector. Not just of sports cards and other sports stuff, but of books, of postcards, of stamps, pennies, stickers, geodes; pretty much any and everything I could get my hands on. And as I grew older, I felt an internal struggle take hold. Part of me loved being surrounded by my stuff, the more the merrier. But the other half of me was going minimalist, call it the voice of reason. Not wanting to become a hoarder and end up buried alive in a Collier's mansion, I scaled back.

Why I am bringing this up, you ask? Well, I've hit another wave of reason, and I've decided I'm going to scale my collection back. Shocking as it may sound, I'm really going to only try to finish those sets that interest me and trade away the rest. That's right: the rest, as in the remainder of my collection, all 150,000 or so cards of it. Stars, commons, inserts, the whole shebang. It's the logical conclusion to writing The Baseball Card Blog full-time. (Year One: Revel in the re-found love of cards; Year Two: Try to make sense of the current scene; Year Three: Find the right path in collecting/Move on).

Thanks to everyone who traded with me!

Goudey Trade-away #11: Colon for Griffey Jr League Leader

This trade comes in from Steve in Ringwood, New Jersey.

Giving: Bartolo Colon, #14 (red back)
Getting: Ken Griffey, Jr., 1998 Topps League Leader


This card of Colon is one of my favorite from the set. Why am I such a sucker for cards where the pitcher has the ball thrust at the camera? Is it because it makes him look like a little kid with a 'Look what I've got' pose? Or is it because nobody could ever look tough in a fake pitch pose? I hope I randomly pick the Carlos Zambrano card to trade, because that guy looks like he's got a score to settle. But Bartolo Colon? Eh, he's just proud that he can still grip a baseball. Look, he'll even show you...


Get something for nothing ... Trade with me!

Goudey Trade-away #10: Rodriguez for 2004 NL RBI Leaders

This trade comes in from Frederick in Lansing, Michigan.

Giving: Ivan Rodriguez, #7
Getting: 2004 National League RBI Leaders, 2005 Topps

Topps has issued a League Leaders subset at least 25 times since 1961. In 1963, cards had upwards of five guys on a card, while during the Seventies it was down to just two, and later in the Nineties they split up the leaders by league and had just one player per card.

Frederick writes: "What is better than having three stars on a single card?" He's right. There's nothing better. Well, let me rephrase that. There's nothing better when your three stars are Orlando Cepeda, Roberto Clemente and Hank Aaron (1968 NL RBI Leaders), or your leaders card features four Hall of Fame pitchers: Gaylord Perry, Bob Gibson, Juan Marichal and Sandy Koufax (1967 NL Pitching Leaders).

But what about when you get a leaders card with six guys on it and you can only recognize one of them (1970 AL Pitching Leaders), or when you can recognize all of the players, but you don't necessarily want to?

League Leaders cards are perhaps my favorite subset Topps has ever done (the MVPs from 1975 being my second favorite). This card of 2004 NL RBI Leaders will be a great addition to my collection (even if it does feature Vinny Castilla).


Trade with me! It will be fun, dammitt!

Goudey Trade-away #9: Napoli for Crosby

This trade comes in from Andy in Akron, New York.

Giving: Bobby Crosby, #17 (red back)
Getting: Mike Napoli, 2006 Bowman

Mike's facsimile signature looks like 'Mihi Nupor.' This gets me thinking...has there ever been a sports injury suffered while signing an autograph? I know about Lionel Simmons and his Nintendo Thumb, but Auto Grip? Also, do you think ballplayers suffer from arthritis at an earlier age (ostensibly from all the signings, not the crippling wear and tear from playing a sport every day) than those of us who aren't in stellar athletic shape?

One last thing: Do you think that the Oakland A's management has it written into player contracts that they must grow some sort of facial hair? I wouldn't put it past them. I've never been to a game in Oakland, but from the hair worn by the players, I'd imagine the guys selling soda and peanuts in the stands all wear sherpa packs, use carved walking sticks and have birds living in their Rip Van Winkle beards.


If you want to get in on the fun and trade with me for a 2007 UD Goudey card, email me!

Goudey Trade-away #8: Carter for Bonderman

This trade comes in from Matt in Manchester, Connecticut.

Giving: Jeremy Bonderman, #58 (red back)
Getting: "Clutch Hitting," 1987 Fleer 1986 World Series factory insert set

Matt writes: "I chose this card to symbolize my favorite baseball moment of all time." Whether Matt knew it or not, this card symbolizes one of the very worst moments of my childhood: the 1986 World Series. I can still remember walking through the living room crying after the Red Sox lost in stunning Red Sox fashion to the Mets.

I didn't get over that series for a very long time. As they say at the trial of Ted Stryker in Airplane! II: The Sequel, when trying to determine the place of death:

Prosecutor: Over Macho Grande?
Witness: I don't think I'll ever get over Macho Grande.

The 1986 World Series will always be my Macho Grande. Thanks for bringing that one up, Matt.


If you want to get in on the fun and trade with me for a 2007 UD Goudey card, email me!

Goudey Tradeaway #7: Glavine for Schmidt

This trade comes in from Scott in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Giving: Tom Glavine, #94 (red back)
Getting: Mike Schmidt 1982 Topps All-Star (wrong back)

Man, I love wrong-backs! They're the best kind of misprints, if you ask me. It looks like a card of Mike Schmidt...but...it's really...Del Unser! And a little bit of George Foster! To quote the esteemed cultural icon Flava Flav: Yeahhhhh boi-yee!

Goudey Tradeaway #6: Utley for Slaten

This trade comes in from Dave in New York, New York.

Giving: Chase Utley, #76 (red back)
Getting: Doug Slaton, 2007 Topps Chrome (red or something)

I've been trying to keep the Goudey cards random, but when Doug wrote that he was a Phillies fan, living in New York, I thought he needed all the help he could get. The stack got a little shorter and out popped this card of Chase Utley.

Not quite sure what to make of this card I'm getting in return. I've never purchased a pack of Topps Chrome, but this one looks like the maniacal Topps pressmen put this one through the Heidelberg more times than necessary. It's also the first sequentially-numbered card I've ever received in a trade, so there's something. Shit...I've already dinged a corner putting it into a page with the other trade cards. Oh well.

Goudey Tradeaway #5: Rolen & Drew for Bird & Drago

This trade comes in from our old friend Dave in Vermont.

Giving: JD Drew, #47; Scott Rolen, #91
Getting: Doug Bird, 1983 Topps Traded; Dick Drago, 1979 Topps

The funny thing about the Red Sox from 1978 to 1984 is that they had at least five pitchers who looked exactly the same from the neck up. Let's look back together: Dick 'The Dragon' Drago: white guy with a mustache; Mark Clear: white guy with a mustache; Dennis Eckersley: white guy with a mustache; Doug Bird: white guy with a mustache; Bruce Hurst: white guy with a mustache. I'll stop at five, but I haven't even mentioned Steamer Stanley.

The Bird/Dragon twofer is countered with two Phillie malcontents (Drew and Rolen). Drew kind of looks like Bud Bundy on this card.