Card of the Day - 2014 Bowman Chrome : Clayton Kershaw Base Blue Refractor Parallel (126/250)

With Puig already acquired I only needed Kershaw for my Dodger needs when it came to my thinking of "higher" book priced players. This card didn't cost me as much as I thought it would.

Since Kershaw has become a player that people want his cards even if they are not Dodger fans as his prices have gone up the past 12 months. Book has this card pegged at $10 and while I wanted it I didn't want it that bad. Most eBay sellers were asking around the neighborhood of $5-7 and while I contemplated the $5 asking price I decided to wait it out. Hello off season (at time of this card's purchase, yes it has been in my que that long) and lower priced cards.

Finally found this copy and in the end it was had for a mere $3. That in my mind is a good purchase. Even though book is just a "guide" 70% off of it is still a steal in my eyes. Great card of our franchise player.

126 / 250

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2015 Topps : Jorge Soler Strata Autograph (4/25)

Another token (throw away bid) has netted me an autograph that wasn't a priority but I will gladly take it when it seems like everyone else was asleep at the wheel.

Other than the Dodgers, the Cubs have the best higher tier prospects in their farm system and while Bryant leads the pack he isn't the only one with great promise. Jorge here is one of the many that has already spent time with the big league team and he was on my autograph list to pick up at some point. Didn't think it would so soon but when a great deal presents itself you can't turn it away.

These Strata cards are 1 of 3 (Five Star and Bowman Chrome being the others) that I look for when it comes to autographs. They are gorgeous and thick and with a low print run can cost a pretty penny. This one did not though. When this auction ended it was 1 of 3 separate Soler Stratas ending within a few hours of each other and that probably helped my case. I put in a bid of $1 more than the current high bid with the expectation all it would do is raise the winning total to someone else. Nope, I ended up with the card at a "bargain" price and couldn't be happier. Another Cub prospect autograph off my checklist.

Not sure this can be slabbed by Beckett but I might try when they roll back in town.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2014 Topps Tribute : Ryan Braun Tribute to the Pastime Base Autograph (18/99)

I finally reacquired a reacquired autograph.

I originally had a Ryan Braun signed baseball but sold that off and then used those funds to land me a great Allen and Ginter autograph which also happened to be a 1 of 10 red ink variant for the cost of the ball. A great trade off in my opinion at the time. I never planned to get rid of that card but then I ended up doing a trade for some very limited Kershaw cards which I couldn't resist. My thinking (with input from fellow bloggers as well) was that though the red ink is indeed unique and limited it wasn't a necessity to be attached to it if I could acquire cards that are my personal collection which Braun is not a part of. I did the trade and Ryan promptly went back on my to be reacquired list. It took a little longer than I thought it would take but I finally landed me another autograph of the Brewer slugger.

Now that I wasn't looking for a limited and rare autograph of Ryan I could just focus on getting an autograph at a deal. Few months went by as I was really trying to cheap out on the cost and kept losing out on auctions but this particular copy went up for sale on eBay with a penny starting price and I put it on my watch list. Card books for a high of $25 and a low of $10. $10 ish was my ceiling as I thought that was reasonable. Well at the end of the day I only had to fork over $8.18. A steal in my eyes.

Well once again Ryan is represented in my autograph collection and hopefully I won't have to go searching again for him. Welcome back Mr.Fake 2011 MVP.

18 / 99

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2015 Topps : Clayton Kershaw Series 2 Base (CY Young Award Winner) Framed Parallel (8/20)

With the Jansen parallel in hand there were only "big" aka $$$ cards left to acquire. With 4 left I am/was looking to acquire it was just like series 1 as there are 2 separate Kershaws to hunt down. The fun begins yet again.

Unlike the 1st series I found this card right away and wasn't waiting on the sidelines for weeks waiting for another to show up. There had been two other copies of this card that sold on the bay as it went far above my set ceiling. That meant only a possible 18 more copies left to have a chance at. It must have been a good day for me as this copy was had for more than 40% less than what the others sold for. Don't know why and don't much care as I locked in 1 of the 2 Kershaws I need for my parallel set.

My 2 Kershaws from series 1 are already certified as gem mint 9.5's by BGS and this one has been ear marked for the same treatment once Beckett comes back out in October for another one of their raw grading events. Hopefully this makes it 3 for 3 when it is returned to me.

Eight

of

Twenty

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2000 Stadium Club : Derek Jeter Lone Star Signatures Autograph BGS Graded Mint 9.0

After all these years Derek Jeter has finally found a home in my autograph collection.

I have wanted an autograph of Jeter for years but I could never snatch one up on a ball for deal and now that I no longer collect balls I had to turn my attention to cards but I had the same luck as the balls...none.

As per the norm I had a few requirements when it came to Jeter's autograph. One of course it had to be an on card signature which minimized the market right off the bat. Two it had to be in blue ink as I saw a lot of black ink autos out there and three as time wore on it had to be graded at least a mint 9. The ones that I thought looked nice seemed to be damaged in some way. Corners frayed, surface scratches or had a fading autograph. All this made my work cut out for me hence why it has taken me this long to find one to my liking while still striking a deal.

One night just prior to going to bed I saw this on a BIN auction on eBay and almost pulled the trigger but all I did was put it on my watch list. I would sleep on it and see if I still thought it was a good deal in the morning. Woke up and now there were 11 watchers so I knew if I was going to do it it would have to be sooner rather than later. Two things made the decision easier for me. That morning I also received emails from Stub Hub that a couple of my season tickets sold and two eBay was running a 5x eBay bucks promotion for that day. Money coming in and earning extra cash made the decision a no brainer. Clicked the button and I officially acquired my first and probably only ever Derek Jeter autograph. Looks better in person and I couldn't be happier.

Mint 9

A closer look of Derer's John Hancock

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2015 Gypsy Queen : Clayton Kershaw Mini Frame Autograph Retail Exclusive (4/25)

Going to try my luck again.

Awhile ago I posted about my most recent "disappointing" result pertaining to a Kershaw autograph. I want a gem mint Kershaw autograph from each year and I had submitted a 2015 Topps Museum to BGS and I thought it might sneak in as a gem as I knew the corners were an issue. No such luck as it came back an 8.5. I cracked it open and sold it back on eBay with the intention to buy another 2015 autograph and after some searching I came away with a steal.

I thought of about trying it again with another Museum autograph but I came across this card and while it was titled properly on eBay the seller missed one important fact. Unlike other cards this could only be found in retail packs and with it numbered to only 25 that makes it a hard card to get your hands on. Beckett has this booked from $125-$250 and this seller had it up for $150 with a best offer option. It had 2 hours left till the auction ended and I was 1 of 2 watchers so I decided to send him a bid to see how bad he wanted to get rid of it. I sold the Museum card for a little over $80 so I sent this seller an offer for a little over $80 so I wouldn't have to spend anything out of pocket. He countered with an offer of $125. I politely said no thanks as others have sold for less (which they have) and moved on. Not 15 minutes later he accepted my offer as he stated he wanted to buy something else and he didn't have time to relist it again. Woo hoo.

Now with this in hand it looks to be in much better condition than the Museum that earned an 8.5 and when BGS is back out here again I will for sure be submitting this in the hopes of getting my 2015 gem mint autograph of Mr. Kershaw.

4 of 25

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2014 Topps Tribute : Giancarlo Stanton Base Traditions Autograph Blue Parallel (45/50) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

It has been a long road to once again reacquire Stanton's autograph and I am glad it is finally over as I can finally put away a small chapter in my trading history away for good.

I originally had Stanton on a signed ball but like everybody else that I had I sold it back in 2014. I found a great looking Five Star on card autograph to replace it for my collection and assumed I was done. That was until I did a trade with a person that may or may not be in Canada in which I acquired a sweet looking Griffey autograph, She had stated she would only do the trade it I included my Five Star copy of Stanton. I reasoned with myself that I was trading away a card of a current star that there were 333 copies and getting an autograph of a future Hall of Famer. That Griffey autograph went on to get graded gem mint by BGS so all in all it was a good trade card wise. For long time readers you know how that trade and that person turned sour real fast with me and loads of other people. I thought with 333 copies of the Five Star card I would be able to land me another in short order. I was wrong.

When I went looking for another copy they just weren't to be had. Either the price was much higher than I was willing to spend and/or the autograph itself was not up to my standards. I loved the photo on that card so I kept trying to find one but it never happened. I tried the graded route before this one but each one I came across either I didn't like the look or the asking price was too high. When this one showed up on the bay though the auction started at a penny and it looked great.

My problem was that I would be in a movie theater at the auction's end. Don't think people would like me bidding on an item in the dark while the movie was playing. When the lights went off in the theater I put my bid in and crossed my fingers that in 2+ hours I would find out that it held and I was the winner. Movie was good and the auction result was the same. My bid held and I finally welcomed Stanton back into the collection for a second time.

Mmm . . . minty

45 / 50

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2015 Bowman : Alex Verdugo Base Chrome Blue Twitter Refractor Parallel (10/10)

With the same parallel of Jose De Leon in possession I have been on the lookout for the 3 remaining Dodgers left that were in this Bowman Twitter special. Jose was one of the two big names along with Julio Urias so I expected the other two to be easier. Verdugo here fit that bill to a "T".

With only 10 copies there would be only so many chances to pick this up but at the same time even though it is limited if the player(s) are not hobby hot it doesn't make a difference and they can be had for cheap. With that said I expected to pay a little more than I did for Verdugo here. While he isn't the biggest name he is no scrub on the aftermarket. Check on eBay for sales of his autographs from Bowman Chrome. Not cheap my friends. A couple of these had already been sold so I had a rough idea what I was willing to fork over to pick this up. I wasn't expecting $4.30 that's for sure but that is all I had to send over to acquire this nice blue beauty.

Once in hand the card looks to be in great condition. To grade or not to grade that is the question.

Ten

of

Ten

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2014 Topps Tier One : Jeff Bagwell Acclaimed Autograph (44/50)

The long journey to reacquire this Astro great has finally been completed even though I never thought I would see this particular card.

Jeff fell under the to be reacquired banner as I had a signed ball by him but sold it and have been on the pursuit to replace it with an on card autograph of him. To make matters worse there are just not that many of him to be had. He doesn't seem to sign that much for Topps and Tier One was the only brand I found multiple copies to try to pick one up of at the time.

Book has this at a $60 value and a lot of the sales ended up for at least $40 so I was always out of the picture on those as I am/was trying to score a deal. I finally was able to win this one for well below book and I attest that to it being from a seller that resides in Japan. I have scored many of deals with foreign sellers but this is the 1st time I actually had a problem with one. I completed the transaction and he shipped out the card within a couple of days. 4 weeks later I still had no card. Tracking said it was in the U.S. but no one could state where it was. USPS said they delivered it but it wasn't to my address. I contacted the seller and told him to time constraints that I would be contacting eBay to receive a refund. He also initiated a process with USPS to have himself also covered. I got my money back and he wasn't out anything as well. I moved on and starting looking for another Bagwell card but never could find one to my liking. Thankfully I didn't as 3 and half months later this card finally made it to me.

I have no idea where the card has been but when I opened up the package it still looked in great shape considering how long its been M.I.A. So even though I waited give or take 15 weeks I ended up with a free autograph of Mr. Bagwell. Another win for the Penguin.

44 of 50

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2015 Bowman : Scott Schebler Base Chrome Blue Refractor Parallel (90/150)

Once again wanting to check off some cards off my need list but not wanting to play the bidding war I looked at my 2015 Bowman needs and cross referenced it with eBay BIN auctions and came away with only one that fit those requirements.

Though I felt that $4 was a tad much for this card as it books for $6 and I always try to at least get 50% if not 60-70% off of book I just wanted a "win" on this particular day so I hit the BIN button and sent over my 400 pennies and a few days later I had a plain white envelope aka PWE arrive with this blue parallel tucked in between 2 pieces of cardboard. Since it was free shipping I won't bitch about it being in a PWE for an eBay transaction as that is a pet peeve of mine.

90

of

150

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2014 Bowman Draft : Grant Holmes Base Chrome Black Refractor Parallel (46/75)

Slowly but surely I will get all these black and blue parallels from last year's Bowman Draft set and with this Holmes black refractor now in hand I can check off another box on the list.

I am working backwards with Holmes as I 1st picked up his autographed blue refractor and now the "harder" black parallel compared to the blue parallel which I am still trying to hunt down for a reasonable price. With only 75 copies of these it was more important to get this now than later as the blues have 399 copies so I am sure I will find one sooner or later.

Book has this card valued at $10 which is more than I believe it's worth but the $2 plus change I did pay for is more than reasonable. I won it on a traditional auction with minimal effort. Now to find that blue one.

46

of

75

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

8.20.15 Dodger Penguin #walletcard Contest Update and Standings

Contest just started but I wanted to give an update plus how future updates will come about.

I will post the pictures that were used in the contest here in a "timely" manner and show who earned the point or points for said picture so there is no discrepancy on the winner. IF for some reason there is and you think you have a claim to a point that was assigned to someone else please bring it up to my attention and I will look into the matter. At the bottom of this post will be the continuously updated standings.

Obviously this post is pretty bare for now but by the end of October it will be full of pictures. Once again, good luck to all and have fun.

1.8.15 :

5 points earned by Jesse for his blog post as seen HERE
5 points awards to Caitlin for her blog post as seen HERE
Caitlin's points have been forfeited due to deceiving and fraud

1.9.15 :

5 points earned by The Dutch Card Guy for his blog post as seen HERE

1.20.15 :

5 points earned by Greg for his blog post as seen HERE

1.25.15

5 points earned by Alex for his blog post as seen HERE

2.13.15

1 point awarded to Alex
1 point awarded to Jesse
1 point awarded to Derek

Couple days ago I was trying to win a pair of glasses for my wife and these 3 good friends/supporters tried to help out by liking my FB post and even though I didn't win (as I stated I would award a point to each person that helped out if I won) I am going to award a point anyways. Derek stated just give his point to Jesse (which I did) but I still think he deserves one so he gets one anyways. Thank you again guys.

2 points awarded to Aus

When I do my post in a couple weeks showing off the autographs that will be in the contest there will be another added to the pile. A total of 8 now. Aus picked up an autograph at Dodger Fanfest but didn't want it so he donated it to the contest so I have given him an extra 2 points for his generosity. No I am not playing favorites, if you want to do the same I will award you the same amount.

2.17.15

2 points awarded to Luis

Going forward and until the end of the contest I will award 2 points to anyone that does a trade with me whether it was initiated by me or you. An extra little bonus for everyone. I like do trades so please contact me if you see anything you like in my trade bait or collection and have something you think I might like or need.

6.23.15

I had forgotten to hand out the 2 points each trade I have done since February so this is just me catching up. Sorry about that everyone.

2 points awarded to Tony L. for our trade from March 8
2 points awarded to Gabriel for our trade from March 24
2 points awarded to Nolan for our trade from March 31
2 points awarded to Frankie for our trade from May 8
2 points awarded to Gavino for our trade from June 18
2 points awarded to Alex for our trade from June 23

7.2.15

2 points awarded to Frankie for our trade from "today"

7.20.15

2 points awarded to Frankie for our trade from "today"

8.18.15

2 points awarded to Kyle Brown for our trade from "today"

1.8.15

Kershaw and I at Del Taco

1 point awarded to Jesse

1.10.15

Kershaw and I at 3rd St. Promenade 

1 point awarded to Alex

1.14.15

Kershaw and I at Staples Center taking in the Devils vs. the Kings

Like the Kershaw the Kings were not focused

2 points awarded to Jesse

1.17.15

Kershaw and I at Howard Hughes to take in American Sniper

2 points awarded to Jesse

1.25.15

Spider-Man's clone Ben Reilly dies in this issue

1 point awarded to Aus 

1.28.15

1st Dodger Dog of the year at the Stadium Club Restaurant at Dodger Stadium

1 point awarded to Aus

1.31.15

Alex answered correctly with Alex. Appropriate I would say.

1 point awarded to Alex

2.8.15

Keith answered correctly with the Cubs winning the World Series according to Sporting News.

Yeah, that's not happening.

Up to six people with earned points. Everyone as of now still guaranteed an autograph

2.12.15

JBAutgraphs correctly answered that it was Barry Melrose Legends night at Staples yesterday.

1 point awarded to him and we are up to 8 people.

Everyone still guaranteed an autograph

2.15.15

Alex answered correctly with 24 Hour Fitness.

1 point added to his total.

2.19.15

Dodgers Play Ball from IG answered correctly with General Patton's Museum

1 point and another new entry into the contest

2.20.15

Jesse answered correctly with Chase Field and also answered the bonus question of what restaurant I was eating at.

2 points added to his total.

2.28.15

Alex answered correctly with "Fishbone".

Wife and I saw them in Redondo Beach and that concert ended at 1 in the morning on 2.28

We then traveled to the RWB in Coachella and saw them again at 7 in the evening.

Headliner and opening act in the same day.

3.8.15

Bernardo aka T3XASK1N6 on IG correctly answered with The Kite Festival at Redondo Beach

Lots of great kites.

Another new player in the contest.

3.15.15

Yet another newcomer to the contest, Al Kawamoto, correctly answered Robopocolypse.

4.11.15

Austin chips away with a one point for guessing correctly "King's Hawaiian"

4.16.15

Austin earns two more points for the right city location answer . . .

. . . but Jesse earned two points to offset that by guessing the right place.

4.17.15

Keith answered correctly with Combine City in Canyon Texas and earned 1 point.

4.25.15

Jesse earns another point with the correct answer of "The Prohibition" in San Diego

5.9.15

Austin earns yet another point in his quest for 1st with "Churros Caliente"

Great sweets if you've never been.

5.15.15

One of the rare times that the correct answer wasn't given right away.

After over an hour, Austin finally correctly guesses section 124

5.30.15

Austin earns the point with the correct answer of "Lost Highway" festival

Austin earns another point along with Jesse to the fact that since the wife and I 

were drinking and having fun we were suckered into laughing at their

back and forth online. Makes us laugh and you might earn points. Ha Ha.

5.31.15

Jesse "guesses" right with section 306 with the help of the internet.

Mr. Nocal calling out us Socal for not knowing our seat locations.

Challenge accepted.

5.31.15

This post sat on the blog for 9 days before anyone saw it or cared to try for the point.

Alex grabbed the point with a "correct" answer of both fought in World War II

Not really what I was looking for but I was too vague in my post so his answer is good.

I was looking for "they both were in the Weapon Plus program"

6.19.15

Jesse strikes again as he correctly guesses my cat's name, Jade

He widens his lead with another point earned.

7.7.15

Jesse somehow "guesses" 250K within a few seconds of me posting this.

7.19.15

Keith gets 1 point for correctly stating the wife and I were at the OC fair,

7.24.15

Jesse earns 3 points for what he deemed "nerd-tastic" question

Standings :

23 Points for Jesse
13 Points for Alex
11 Points for Austin
6 Points for Frankie
5 Points for Greg
5 Points for The Dutch Card Guy
3 Points for Keith
2 Points for Kyle Brown
2 Points for Gabriel
2 Points for Gavino
2 Points for Luis
2 Points for Nolan
2 Points for Tony L.
1 Point for Al Kawamoto
1 Point for Bernardo
1 Point for Derek
1 Point for Dodgers Play Ball
1 Point for JBAutographs