Contest #8 Results - 2014 Topps Ricky Nolasco Autograph

There were fewer entries via retweeting this time. I guess everyone was busy or didn't want or need the card but no matter there were still 32 entries overall.

Evan with 10 had the most at almost 33% of the total number with Kyle coming in second with 8. Odds would say that one of these two gentleman would win the card. Well anything can happen in random.org and for the first time in the 8 contests I've run a person with a single entry won. Valarauko was a little late to the party or just that confident that he would win that he put his comment entry in on the 27th ( the last day ) and on roll #11 ( 4+7 for Rickey's number while on the Dodgers ) he was the top dog.

Congrats to him and thank you all for entering. Since it is Friday I won't be doing another contest till Monday or Tuesday so check in then if interested in some more freebies. Who doesn't like free stuff? Have a great weekend everyone and don't forget to follow me on twitter @DodgerPenguin.

As always thank you for taking the time to read the blog. It is appreciated.

Also don't forget to DM me with your address Valarauko.

Card of the Day - 2014 Topps : Yasiel Puig Base Red Foil Parallel

With the Dodger team set in hand (multiple times due to case breaks) it is now time to focus on acquiring the blue (Wal-Mart) and red foil parallels for the set. No gold or yellow or any other color for me. Just good old "Dodger" blue and sparkly red ones for this guy.

What seems to be the norm I ended up with Puig being the first Dodger I was able to win. It seems like Topps makes more cards of him than anyone but I am sure it is equal but more people put his stuff up on eBay than any other Dodgers due to popularity (perceived or otherwise). Book value is $10 but no way was I going to spend that much so I had to zero in on one that was worth it to me. Ended up picking this one up for more than 50% off. Not too bad a deal.

First one down, many more to go.

Card of the Day - 2012 Allen and Ginter : Torii Hunter Mini Framed Autograph

With this card I am creating a new category. Reacquired autographs.

In a previous post I stated that I was getting out of the autograph ball collecting for various reasons but that didn't mean I didn't want the player's autographs that were on those balls. So now I wanted to somehow get the autographs on card ( no stickers for this category ) for hopefully less than what I sell the ball for. The first autograph to make it to my doorstep is one Torii Huner.

I sold the ball online for a little under $25 after all costs were factored in. Not too bad. I happened to find this card on the same day that I was looking for Disney pins for the wife. Well with the $25 in hand I was able to buy the two pins that she desired and got this great looking black framed mini autograph from the Allen and Ginter set of Torii and had a dollar or so left over.

I always missed Torii at the stadiums so I never got his autograph in person so the pre authenticated ball was always the back up for the collection. Even though Torii is in Angel garb this is a beautiful card. My first reacquired autograph with a lot more to come.

Card of the Day - 2014 Topps : Clayton Kershaw Photo Variation (Throwing)

As stated in yesterday's Koufax post I had picked up two eBay steals recently and the other happens to be Clayton Kershaw. The two greatest lefties in Dodger history and they are the ones I score great deals on. Ironic.

Though not as great a discount on as was seen on the Koufax this photo variation of Kershaw was still a good purchase. Clayton has two different variations in series 1 of the Topps set and this is the first one I was able to get my hands on. Book value is $12 and a lot the sales have closed for north of $8 but I found this one with the header on eBay as " 2014 Topps Clayton Kershaw". Nothing else to state what it was. Very vague. So I am sure it didn't show up on a lot of searches. And like with Sandy I won this card with minimal effort and for the low cost of a little under $4. More than 66% off.

One variation down, one to go.

Card of the Day - 2014 Topps : Sandy Koufax Black Framed Rookie Reprint ( 193 / 199 )

Oh I love it when I score a great deal on eBay due to the seller not labeling/titling his auction properly. This and tomorrow's blog post are both acquisitions because of that. First up is Sandy.

As I already had one of the framed rookie reprints in hand (Trout) there was only one left in the set that I needed/wanted. Dodger All-time great lefty Koufax. I expected I would have to spend a little as book value was set at $30 but I came across this copy with not enough proper information in the title so I made sure to put it on my watch list hoping I can snag it at the end. Minimal action with minutes left and as I put my bid in it only raised it to a little under $5. And surprisingly that is what I won it for. A great steal. A $30 card of hall of famer Koufax for under a nickel. Woo Freaking Hoo.

Black and 193 of 199

Card of the Day - 2013 Topps Finest : Clayton Kershaw Base Refractor Parallel

Onto another purchase at Frank and Sons and what better than to get a card of the current reigning Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw. Looking to fill a hole in my Finest set and saw that another seller had this refractor in his bargain bin for an asking price of $1.50. Not sure what book value was for the card at the time of purchase but for just pocket change I saw no need to hesitate and picked up another Kid K card.

Card of the Day - 2014 Topps : Mike Trout Commemorative Patch Insert

Another 2014 Trout card has been acquired. Trying to get some steam behind the pursuit of Trout cards but getting my hands on this one made me feel a little "uneasy" per se. Its the interlocking LA that bothers me. I will make sure not to get a card with him on it with the LA like that again. Being a Dodger fan it just irks me still that that team down south of the city of Los Angeles is still trying to claim the city for their own. I understand from a financial point but doesn't mean I have to like it. And yes, I know they used this logo for years back in the day but seeing it in any color than Dodger blue ( black is acceptable ) just makes me twitch.

With all that said I am still happy to own yet another Trout card. Like all the 2014 cards of the stars the prices are coming down in price with the market absorbing more. A card that once had a sale close to $20 was now had for way more than 50% off of that high. Saw an auction with a price I could live with and bought the card. Crappy LA Logo and all.

= )

Card(s) of the Day - 2013 Topps Chrome : Andre Ethier Base and Base Refractor Parallel

Off I went to Frank and Sons to acquire some supplies and thought I would see if there were any set holes I could fill for my 2013 baseball sets. I found a few that helped those needs

I am not trying to do the rainbow set for the 2013 Chrome sets ( Bowman and Topps ) but I do want the base, refractor and blue parallels of all the Dodgers. I had yet to get Andre's on eBay for any decent amount of pocket change so when I saw these two together at a table and the seller only wanted $1.50 for both I gladly dug into my pocket and gave him 6 quarters which landed me the two cards and concluded a smooth purchase. Nothing spectacular but needed none the less for my set.

Ethier and his refractor twin

Upcoming Player Appearance / Signing : Ken Landreaux @ Dr. Alex Corbin Liu's Optometry On 3.15.2014

1981 World Series Champion Ken Landreaux will be making an appearance at the Optometry Practice of Dr. Alex Corbin Liu in Rowland Heights in a few weeks.

This is a 50/50 public/private signing. Patients of the office can acquire one free autograph while there are 50 available tickets to the general public for purchase at the small cost of just $10.

I was just there for the recent Steve Sax signing and the office runs the event very efficiently. If you are not a patient my suggestion is to pre-order tickets as I am sure the 50 will go quickly. I'll be there.

For more information or questions feel free to call or email.



March 15, 2014 from 3:00-4:00pm
The Optometry Practice of Dr. Alex Corbin Liu
19735 E. Colima Rd.
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
1 free autograph for patients.
$10 per autograph for public on any item.
Only 50 public autograph tickets available.
Contact xcorbinod@gmail.com for any questions and to purchase presale tickets.

Balls, Balls, Balls, I Got Balls....

... Yeah, no. This Yasiel ball is not available for trade or purchase but I do have a lot more that are.

I have decided for the most part to get out of ball collecting for my autograph collection. Will I still acquire some in the future? For sure. I will probably focus on just these black ball as I love how the gold pops on it and will hold out for the big stars and/or retired hall of famers to go after. That means Kershaw, Hanely, Kemp, Trout, Bob Gibson, etc are still on my list. The days of relief pitchers and scrubs are over for this guy.

I have been moving back into card collecting and will focus on acquiring on card autographs from all players and I will be venturing into acquiring autographs of players on photos in person now. Don't get me wrong balls are great but even though I have them in a very minimal lighted area some are still starting to tone and that just irritates me. Plus I no longer have to worry about a player not sweet spotting and "wasting" a ball when it gets side paneled. Photos add a great variety of shots that will look great with an autograph in blue or silver.

With that said almost my entire collection is up for grabs. Since I am back into card collecting I am open to trading any and all balls but I am also open to cold hard cash like anyone else would be. Here is the list with descriptions. They were acquired in person unless they were pre-authenticated by PSA/JSA/MLB etc and in that case I bought them that way.

All reasonable offers will be considered. With that here is the list :

Jose Altuve

Chad Billingsley

Chad Billingsley ( 2009 AS ball )

Ralph Branca/Thompson ( duel signature )

Jonathan Broxton

Jose Canseco

Jamey Carroll

Alex Castellanos

Orlando Cepeda

Todd Coffey ( 50^th anniversary ball )

Ned Colletti

Roger Craig

Blake DeWitt

Scott Elbert ( 50^th anniversary ball )

Jon Ely

Nathan Eovaldi

Carl Erniske

Bob Feller

Al Ferrara

Cecil Fielder

Jennie Finch

Rafael Furcal

Jon Garland

Steve Garvey ( auto has slight fade )

Kirk Gibson ( toned )

Dwight Gooden

Zack Greinke ( auto starting to bleed )

Joel Guzman

Dan Haren

Mickey Hatcher ( 81 WSC inscription

Rick Honeycutt ( slight smear on auto )

Charlie Hough

Frank Howard ( ROY inscription )

Edwin Jackson ( no hitter inscription )

Jaime Jarrin

Tommy John

Lou Johnson

Jay Johnstone

Eric Karros ( toned )

Stan Kasten

Jeff Kent ( starting to tone )

Ian Kinsler ( side panel )

Ken Landreaux ( 81 WSC inscription )

Josh Lindblom

Evan Longoria ( side panel )

Matt Magill

Juan Marichal

Dennis Martinez ( perfect game inscription )

Ramon Martinez

James McDonald

Jack McDowell

Rick Monday ( auto has slight smear )

Wally Moon

Jack Morris

Manny Mota

Don Newcombe

Ricky Nolasco ( auto starting to bleed )

Jesse Orosco ( 88 WSC inscription )

Claude Osteen ( auto slightly bleeding )

Wes Parker

Xavier Paul

Chris Perez ( 2011 AS ball )

Ron Perranoski

Gaylord Perry ( slighty toned )

Johnny Podres

Jerry Reuess

Paco Rodriguez ( slight smear on auto )

Ruddy De La Rosa

Pete Rose ( 4256 hits inscription )

David Ross

Bill Rusell

Steve Sax ( ROY inscription )

Skip Schumaker

Justin Selers ( side panel )

Duke Snider ( slightly toned

Don Sutton ( toned )

Tim Wallach

Maury Wills ( toned )

Card of the Day - 2013/14 Upper Deck Artifacts : Jeff Carter Autograph Two Patch Relic ( 3 / 12 )

The quest for one of the hardest King cards to acquire is finally over. I finally got my hands on the elusive Jeff Carter autograph for my Stanley Cup Kings set.

I have only seen one other card ( though multiple copies ) that has Jeff in Kings gear with his autograph. That card was going for north of $100. No way no how was I spending money on that card. One day this card popped up on eBay and knew this might be one of these chances I might not get again. The card is numbered 3 our of only 12. I have never seen this card before but I knew I had to have it even though it had the hated sticker autograph.

Being a numbered card I knew it would be pricier than I normally would want to spend on a card but that didn't matter. Auction ran a full 7 days and on the last day it sat with a price of just over $12. No way was it going to go that low and with the end in sight I put my bid in higher than normal and won it for a little over $20. Someone did try to undercut me with a second left but I was able to hold on. A major card added to the collection and now my attention can turn to the last "big" name on the Kings, Mike Richards.

"Annoying" sticker auto but a nice two patch relic

3 of only 12

Card of the Day - 2014 Topps : Mike Trout Black Framed Rookie Reprint Insert ( 128 / 199 )

The other day I blogged about the Gold Cup Trout insert I won at more than 50% off of book but I didn't know that till after I won it as book wasn't out yet. This is another one as I won this on the same day and it also books at $40. The only difference is that I won it at almost 60% off of book. Two great buys of new Trout cards.

I saw the checklist from Topps that this insert was going to be in the new 2014 Topps set and it had two players I wanted. Koufax and Trout. I thought these looked really unique as they actually have a metal frame around it. There are three different colors of frames but I didn't need the rarest and was content with this great looking black one. Surprisingly enough there was not much action on it and I think that is because there  were a few similar auctions ending around the same time and I believe I latched onto the right auction to put my bid on as the final price was a great deal.

128 / 199

Contest # 8 - 2014 Topps Ricky Nolasco Autograph

Its contest time once again. This will be the last autograph card for a little while but next weeks will still be an autograph something. 5 bonus entries if you can guess what it is and who it is.

This weeks contest will be for the above card of Ricky Nolasco from the 2014 Topps set. I purchased the card for a couple dollars but then I won another copy in my Dodgers case break so I am passing along the goods to my readers. Same rules apply. You can earn one entry per day for a comment left on this blog entry and another for each RT on twitter each day.. Also you can earn 2 extra entries if you pimp this out on your own blog. Contest will run until next Thursday night with the winner being announced on Friday.Winner will be determined by random.org. Thank you again and everyone and good luck.

Go Blue !!!

Contest #7 Results : Paco Rodriguez In Person Autograph Bowman Card

The results are in and we have a winner.

Jesse wins another Penguin contest. He had the 3rd most entries but came out on top. He actually rolled 5x into the top stop and was 1st on the 11th roll and I thought that he would be knocked out. He was not to be denied though. Thank you all once again for entering. I will have the next contest up tomorrow and like Alex over at Chavez Ravining  it will be from the same set. Good luck to all.

Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Platinum : Matt Maggill Autograph Red Parallel ( 11 / 25 )

With the addition of this parallel I think I have gone as far as I can with the Matt Magill "rainbow" set from this year's Bowman Platinum set.

I had already acquired the base, green, blue and gold versions and with a print run of just 25 I didn't really expect to get my hands on the red version. I was wrong. With Matt far from being one of the main autograph signers in the set and also not doing all that well when he was with the big league club I picked this card up for a very reasonable price of under $10. Only a few copies have popped up on the bay for purchase and I'm glad to have gotten my hands on this one. There are two more parallels that are not 1 of 1's with them being the Atomic variant with a print run of 5 and Platinum Ice with a print run of 10. I really don't expect to see them in my collection so I consider my set complete. Of course you never know as I will always keep my eyes open.

Red 11 of only 25

Card of the Day - 2008 SP : Matt Kemp By The Letter " A " Autograh ( 10 / 50 )

The project that may never see completion sees the finish line get a little bit closer with another letter purchased. This time it is the letter " A ".

Now with 11 of the 25 letters needed for the phrase in hand I'm thinking it my actually become a reality that I can do this. Getting this one was another big step in doing that. I need two "A's" for the set and though not as rare as the "S's" where there are only 25 in the world and the need of 3 of them to finish the set, the "A's" have a print run of only 50. I have not seen a single "A" on eBay since I started this quest and once I saw this one I knew I had to somehow get my hands on it.

The seller resided in Canada and other than hockey cards I don't normally see anything I need from our neighbors up north. The auction had a surprisingly ( at least I thought so ) high number of bids. I was worried I wouldn't be the high bidder but in the end I managed to squeeze out the win. Thankfully I have added my first "A" to the collection and now looking for its twin that is somewhere out there waiting for me to rescue him.

Another Contest Over At Chavez Ravining

Alex over at Chavez Ravining just completed a contest and is back at it again with yet another.

This time it is an autograph card of former Dodger farmhand that never amounted to anything with the team and was traded to the Pirates where he is trying to get his career back on track. He made his major league debut last year as a September call up. He is still only 25 so maybe he can be a decent bench player. Good luck to him.

This card is from the 2014 Topps set that was released last month and features Andrew in what looks to be a deer caught in the headlights face. = )

Good luck to all.

Signed Ball of the Day and Player Appearance Recap : Jack McDowell ( ROMLB Sweet Spot ) @ Harry's Dugout on 2.16.2014

To finish off the weekend the wife and I were off to one of my favorite places for meet and greets with former players. Once again Harry's brought in a player that you don't normally see on the autograph circuit. Sunday's guess was Jack McDowell. Jack is a former CY Young winner and that would be enough for me to want to acquire an IP autograph but Jack was just recently hired by the Dodgers to be a pitching coach in their lower minor league club the Ogden Raptors. Welcome to the Dodger family Jack.

We arrived at the store and no one else was there so we were at the front of the line. I approached Jack and handed him a ball and had some small chit chat and welcomed him to the Dodgers. Jack unlike some other former players was very pleasant and nice to talk to. After signing for me I asked if he would mind a photo and he said no problem.

Jack and I

Said my thanks and moved to the side so others can get their autograph. Thank you again to Jack for appearing and meeting fans and thank you to Eddie and the group at Harry's Dugout for another fine event. Keep them coming.

Signed Ball of the Day and Player Appearance Recap : Steve Sax ( ROMLB Sweet Spot w/ROY Inscription ) @ Dr. Alex Corbin Optometry on 2.15.2014

After the poor experience at Frank and Sons for the Bo Jackson signing as seen HERE I was ready to head home but I looked at the clock and noticed it was close to 2:00 and the optometrist office was a mile or so away. Even though I have always wanted a full signature of Steve I wasn't planning to attend this event but I am glad I did.

Drove into the parking lot and hopped in line and there was about 20-25 in line and I was happy that it wasn't too long. At first I didn't notice my buddy Jimmy and his wife Michelle just a few people in front of me but once I did I soon joined them. We ended up talking for awhile as we waited for Steve as he was running late. My other buddy Franz was also coming from Frank and Sons as unlike me he was acquiring more than just one signature and by the time he arrived he was at the back of line which grew to at least 60. Happy to be up front.

Steve arrived around 2:15 and started signing for the fans and since this was a meet and greet and pictures were welcomed the line was slower but that was OK as we all knew we would get the chance for a photo op. Right prior to me getting to the table, Dr. Corbin recognized me from the blog and introduced himself to me. It is always nice to meet new people as I have met many through here. It was a pleasure. Learn more about his office and practice HERE . This is the first time they have held a Dodger signing and I hope it is not the last. After that I finally got to meet Steve as I haven't had the chance as I have always been busy or out of town. Gave Steve a ball and after he signed it he asked if I wanted him to add any inscription but I informed him that I didn't pay for any and he said no worries and put his 82 ROY inscription. Thanks Steve for the addition. Of course after the autograph I asked for a photo and Steve was more than happy to oblige.

Steve and I

I was heading out and while talking to friends the Dr. stopped me and asked if I wouldn't mind if I posted Steve's business card up here. By all means, why not. I am always happy to help out when and where I can. Steve is now ( not saying he wasn't when he played baseball ) a motivational speaker. I will be looking into his website soon myself.

To say this signing was better than the Bo Jackson one would be an understatement. Old friends, new friends and a great new autograph for the collection. It just can't be beat. Thank you again to Dr. Corbin for hosting the event and thank you to Steve for appearing. 

Finished product

ROY Inscription 

Card of the Day - 2014 Topps : Mike Trout All-Rookie Gold Cup Insert ( 46 / 99 )

Here I go again. Bidding from the hip as the prices weren't released on Beckett when I won this beauty of a card. As it was on its way to me Beckett put up the price of $40. With that assigned value to the card I realized I got a good deal. A tad over 50% off of book no matter what it is, is a good thing.

The card arrived and even though I knew these manufactured relic cards are thick as I have a few, this for sure is the biggest one I own now. With all my inventory of supplies I still didn't have an acrylic case big enough for it. Back to the store for me to find one. Another numbered card of the best everyday player in baseball. If Trout ever hit the open market he for sure would be the first 300 million player.

End of the day another great acquisition for my collection. Boo Angels but Go Trout.

46 of only 99

Trade with Fellow Future Blogger : Big L

This is for sure my most interesting trade I have down so far.

I am running a contest as seen HERE which by the way ends tomorrow. So a new person to this blog left a comment to enter the contest. Normal enough but was out of the norm comes from the picture I took of Paco as seen at the top of the blog entry. Big L's comment on the blog was that was him in the picture at Paco's table as I was waiting in line a few people back. Of all the people at Fan Fest and of all the blogs he happens to stumble upon this blog and notice himself in the picture. Funny stuff.

Anyways, he is thinking of starting a blog soon so keep an eye out for it.

He noticed my project for the complete blue parallel of 2013 Bowman Chrome and stated he had one card that was still on my hit list and I was welcome to it. Said great and asked if he had any 2014 Topps which he did not. So I packaged up 7 cards and sent them to him. Maybe he will show those off someday when he gets his blog up and running. I received the card a few shorts days later. A very smooth transaction.

Thank you again for reaching out and helping my set needs Big L and hope you enjoyed your cards and look forward to seeing your blog.

Card of the Day - 2013 Topps Five Star : Adrian Gonzalez Base Autograph ( 144 / 333 )

My first foray into the Five Star brand which is made by Topps. This is a high end product and there is just no way I am paying for a box or case of it. The boxes run north of $350 and in that box you are only getting 5-6 cards. Granted you are guaranteed autographs but that is way too rich for my blood.

But picking up some autographs of current Dodgers on the cheap is still a possibility as this card can attest to. Other than base cards of the few Dodgers that are in the set there isn't much to look for Dodger wise, though I did notice that Adrian had an on card autograph contained in the set. I already have 2 Adrian autograph cards but one is a sticker version so I wanted to get my hands on another. This card looked great on the computer screen with its eye popping blue autograph. There was no book value on the card as it was newly released so I had to bid from the hip. Ended up winning the card at what I thought was a very reasonable price and within a week it showed up at my house. I didn't know it was going to be this thick though and had to get a bigger holder for it. Card looks better in person and I'm happy that I won it.

Nice clean autograph.

144 of only 333

Signed Ball of the Day and Player Appearance Recap : Bo Jackson ( Black ROMLB Sweet Spot ) @ Frank and Sons on 2.15.2014

Another year and another meet and greet for me with Bo Jackson. Last year Frank and Sons held a Raider Fest that I attended for the sole purpose of acquiring Bo Jackson's autograph on a baseball as seen HERE . I was one of the few there that was a Bo baseball fan and not there as a Bo football fan. It was a black and silver sea.

One day I was going through my collection of signed balls and I noticed that the ink of the pen that I had Bo use for the autograph ( I have since switched brands ) was bleeding out on the ball. Irritating. Wasn't sure if and when I would be able to replace the IP autograph but late last year I found out that Bo was returning to Frank and Sons for another Raider Fest so I could get another shot of a good autograph. Had a different idea in mind this time but first things first as I sold last years ball for almost what I paid for it originally. With those funds I pre-purchased an autograph ticket for Bo but this time I decided to go with a black ROMLB and brought a gold paint pen. It worked wonders on my Puig ball so I assumed it would work for Bo as well. Off to Frank and Sons to put my theory to test.

What the hell? I arrived at Frank and Sons and waited among all the Raider fans and soon was in front of Bo for the second year in a row. I had brought my paint pen and Bo said no that it was too thick and proceeds to bust out the gold pen next to him and proceeds to attempt to sign as he had to stop twice as you can see the pain was dry. WHAT THE HELL !!! This so did not come out like I wanted or deserved so now I have flipped the ball on eBay and I will wait till next year and try for the third year in a row to acquire an acceptable Bo Jackson autograph on a baseball.

Left Frank and Sons with a bad taste in my mouth but since I was still in the neighborhood I decided to do another signing which was a complete 180 from Frank and Sons. More on that tomorrow.

Card of the Day - 2008 Bowman : Ralph Avila Autograph

Finally acquired a "Dodger" autograph that is not of an actual player. There are a few that fall into this category but this is the first one that I got my hands on.

Ralph was a long time scout for the Boys in Blue and I can honestly say that I did not know who he was when he came up on a search for Dodger autographs on eBay. I had to look him up and was educated of all the contributions he made for the team and baseball in general. Oops, my bad. I guess you learn something everyday and this was another instance of that saying.

I have seen this card for sale multiple times but the sellers always wanted at least $4 for it and considering it wasn't of a player I didn't want to spend that much. Guess I was cheaping out on Ralph here. One day a seller has this particular card up for a mere 50 cents and with shipping added to it the total was less than $2 delivered if I won it. No action on the auction and with a hour or so left I put my bid in for 50 cents. No more, no less. I won shortly there after. A unique buy for sure but still Ralph was attached to the Dodger brand so it is loved as such.

eBay Auctions

I have decided to adjust my collecting habits a tad. I have been collecting pre authenticated autograph balls of players for a few years now but that is changing now. I will only collect pre authenticated ones of either players that have passed or ones that have some connection to the Dodgers. Anyone that does not fall into that category such as Pujols up here I will either wait to acquire them in person or look for on card autograph from Topps.

I need to make some space but at the same time I will love some extra cash for eBay purchases which these balls will get me. Some of them I am already waiting on delivery of an on card autograph ( Machado ) and others I will continue to look for. So obviously that means I will have cards now that do not have Dodger colors on them. The horror. Ha Ha.

So if you have a moment or have any interest in buying a ball or two please take a look at my auctions by either clicking on  the little eBay crest on the front page of this blog or searching for my name on eBay which is : SKORPNIX.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Card of the Day - 2008 Allen and Ginter : Matt Kemp Autograph

I am still not a fan of most Allen and Ginter cards ( 2013 version is good though ) as a lot of the borders have colors I am not fond of. This card also has an odd border to me but with Matt Kemp being featured on it I couldn't pass it up.

I have lots of Kemp autographs and whenever a new one comes up for sale that I don't have I keep an eye on it and see if I can acquire it at a reasonable price. With Kemp's health still in limbo his cards continue to be had at a very low price point. This card was no exception. There were 8 different bids on the auction but I won it and it didn't even hit double digits. Another hit for me. Though not visually appealing as other Kemp cards I'm still happy that I was able to acquire it.

Another Kemp for the collection

Card(s) of the Day - 2013 Bowman Chrome : Cory Seager, Paco Rodriguez and Hyun-Jin Ryu Base Refractor Parallels and 2013 Finest : Adrian Gonzalez and Hyun-Jin Ryu Base X-Fractor Parallels

5 for 5

Can't beat that amount for cards that you need to complete a couple of sets. Went back to one of my favorite sellers on eBay to see what he up for sale pertaining to sets I still need to complete. He usually has the cards I need for a buck ( 99 cents to be exact ) a piece and he happened to have these 5 on this particular day.

Nothing too special about any of the cards but getting parallels of rookie Ryu, Seager, Paco and Gonzalez was just too good a bargain to pass up. A small dent in my ever growing collection needs.

3 Jumbo Boxes of 2014 Topps Dodgers Break Number Two

Same seller, different results.

After my great break from an eBay seller as seen HERE I went back to the well again to try my luck. While not terrible it just wasn't like the first break. One good thing though is I paid a lot less for this break so maybe the eBay Gods thought since that was the fact then I shouldn't get as much good stuff. With that said here are the results of my second and not last break of the year :

Obviously with another 1500ish cards within the 3 boxes I was going to get a lot more of the base Dodger cards. Anybody that needs a team set or a player or two feel free to contact me on a trade.

The last box break I didn't receive any Power Play cards but this time I acquired three. At the moment these have no real value but during the season I might pick up a few more goodies if they do well. Knock on wood.

3 more Future is Now cards. Didn't need the Puig and only needed one of the Ryu but at least now I don't have to go searching for singles on eBay. The ones I don't need are available for trade.

The Past, the present and the future. Only picked up 2 minis from all the boxes but I can't argue with the 2 I did get. 

Like the minis and power play cards I didn't get any red foil parallels in the first break but received my fair share this go around. I always planned to get all the Dodgers in these red foil cards so this is a great start. 

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and the big "get" of the boxes is :

Yasiel once more. Puig has one base card found in the set but two different photo variations with this being one of them. It is a different photo and has the words future stars on the front. Always planned to get his one and with sales on eBay hovering around $7-10 its nice that I don't have to buy this one. Now to get that other variation.

So with that I have now done 2 different box breaks totally 6 boxes. Had a blast and can't wait to do the same thing for 2014 Bowman that will be out in late April. 

Card of the Day - 2014 Topps : Clayton Kershaw Rookie Class Ring Insert

With the rest of the Dodgers in the this particular insert set already in hand thanks to my lucky draw in the box breaks from a couple weeks ago seen HERE I only needed to get my hands on Kershaw to complete the Dodger trifecta.

For Trout I went after the gold parallel version but for Kershaw I was content on getting just the base silver one as the Koufax and Jackie ones from the box break were also silver ones. Thankfully the price had dropped considerably since the first few days after its release and the acquisition was reasonable with the cost way under $10. Another Kid K card added to the collection. I just love these thick cards.

Signed Ball of the Day - Hyun-Jin Ryu ( ROMLB Sweet Spot )

. . . and after over a week of signed balls we come to the last and the highest priority on my list at Fan Fest. Yes, I bought Wilson's session first as I thought that would draw more attention than Ryu but Ryu was the more important one to me to get my hands on.

As I struck out during Spring Training last year in Arizona and prior to the regular season I went on eBay and bought a sweet spot signed baseball of Hyun-Jin for a great bargain compared to sales now that close near $100 at times for a PSA authenticated version like the one I bought. Even with that one in my collection I am always on the look out to get an IP autograph to replace any eBay purchase of any particular player. Last June when the wife and I were in San Diego for a Dodger game Hyun-Jin starting signing for fans prior to the game and he looked at me and motioned to toss him a ball and I more than happily did. He tossed it back but he side paneled it. Ugh. I was happy for the autograph but not the placement. I sold the ball a week later on eBay for a couple of blank balls and continued my pursuit of an IP sweet spot from Ryu. It never happened for me last year.

Saw that he was going to sign at Fan Fest and there was no way I was going to miss out. This time around I put the ball in a ball jacket and hoped that he didn't move it ( Puig and Fernando do that ). It's kind of funny as fellow autograph seekers have told me that he always sweet spots for them. Guess I was an exception. Got up his station and handed him a ball and no jacket movement whatsoever and within a few seconds I finally owned my first IP sweet spot autograph of our number one Korean. Thank you again for signing.

This completes my successful  run of autograph balls from Fan Fest. I did acquire one last autograph but that is on a card which is featured in a contest running now seen HERE.

Slimmed down Ryu walking towards the table

Ryu turning right

A little drink prior to the onslaught of fans

My first and hopefully not last sweet spot from Ryu