BGS Result Update Number Four - 2014 Topps Dynasty : Mike Piazza Autograph w/Relic Now Graded Mint 9.0

2014 Topps Dynasty

With a card being uncirculated it would seem to me that it should get a gem mint grade as it has not been handled but I have seen plenty of uncirculated cards earn lower grades. Hopefully that does not happen to mine but when I acquired this I did my research and from the pictures and with card in hand I do not see any problems here. Nice crisp signature on what seems to a perfect card. Here's hoping my one and only Dynasty card in my collection will be gem minty. 

Results and thoughts :

UGH !!!

The biggest disappointed of the whole batch. This was second on the submission post which meant I was pretty damn sure that it would grade out to gem mint yet it did not.

What I also found interesting is that the graders did not open the case that it came in. These Dynasty cards come in a sealed case and I never touched the card when I acquired it. I submitted it to BGS in the still sealed case and they did their review without breaking the seal. Interesting to say the least. 

The perfectionist in me is irked that I did not get to add a gem mint Piazza autograph to the collection but the collector in me is happy nonetheless that the card did earn an overall 9 and as expected the autograph grade is a 10 as it is flawless. 

As with all raw grades you never know what the sub grades are so you don't know how close you are to a higher grade or how close you were to earning a lower one. This like most of the cards from the submission went to BGS to get slabbed so in a month we shall see how close I was to gem mint on this one. 

Full Submission Results and Thoughts :

While I want all my cards to grade out to gem mint this one is really disappointing. When I 1st received the raw grade and found out it was a 9 I was miffed and couldn't believe this "uncirculated" card would grade that "low". Now with the full grade back I am even more ticked off.

8.5

9

9.5

10

With one of each possible sub grade it makes this card an overall mint 9 but not a strong one at that. Again, disappointing. If there would have been a little hiccup on edges I would have ended up with a near mint card of Piazza. Sigh, you can't win them all but damn if this one wasn't one that I really wanted and expected to be a gem mint or at the very least .5 from it. 

A disappointing and "unexpected" 9

At least the autograph is a 10

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

BGS Raw Card Review Submission From March 7, 2015 Update Number 3 - 2014 Topps Dynasty Mike Piazza Autograph w/Relic

With the 2 resubmitted cards done now we get to the cards that went through the BGS grading process for the first time. Piazza is up 1st :

2014 Topps Dynasty

With a card being uncirculated it would seem to me that it should get a gem mint grade as it has not been handled but I have seen plenty of uncirculated cards earn lower grades. Hopefully that does not happen to mine but when I acquired this I did my research and from the pictures and with card in hand I do not see any problems here. Nice crisp signature on what seems to a perfect card. Here's hoping my one and only Dynasty card in my collection will be gem minty. 

Results and thoughts :

UGH !!!

The biggest disappointed of the whole batch. This was second on the submission post which meant I was pretty damn sure that it would grade out to gem mint yet it did not.

What I also found interesting is that the graders did not open the case that it came in. These Dynasty cards come in a sealed case and I never touched the card when I acquired it. I submitted it to BGS in the still sealed case and they did their review without breaking the seal. Interesting to say the least. 

The perfectionist in me is irked that I did not get to add a gem mint Piazza autograph to the collection but the collector in me is happy nonetheless that the card did earn an overall 9 and as expected the autograph grade is a 10 as it is flawless. 

As with all raw grades you never know what the sub grades are so you don't know how close you are to a higher grade or how close you were to earning a lower one. This like most of the cards from the submission went to BGS to get slabbed so in a month we shall see how close I was to gem mint on this one. 

With all that said, we are 3 cards out of 15 in and I am already done with being disappointed. Yes, the other 12 range from satisfactory to downright giddy.

= )

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin 

15 Cards Submitted to Beckett For Raw Grade Review (RGR) at South Bay Sportscards on March 7, 2015

It's been a few months since I did a BGS submission and even though I knew I was going to do another batch sometime this year it is a bit earlier than I thought I would do it. I'm doing this one a tad differently though as I am only going to get raw grades at this time as I am still holding off some that I will be forgoing the raw grade and just doing the full submission in a few months. When I send those in I will also include those here I want encased depending on their grade but I expect all but one or two will make it into that order.

With that said here are the cards that I have submitted including the one I posted about earlier today. Starting sometime next week and every other day after I will post the results. For long time readers of the blog you know that has become my usual routine. Like in the past I will go from my least confident card to most confident of earning a gem mint grade. Obviously not all we grade out to a 9.5 but in some cases I will be happy with a mint 9.0.

2013 Bowman Chrome Purple Parallel

I am 1000% sure this will not earn a gem mint grade. You can tell just from the picture it is not centered but that seems to be the only flaw I notice. I am trying to acquire the rainbow set for Corey and all I want/need is for them to be mint 9's. 9.5 is a plus but at present the lower grade is fine so using raw grade review is better here than the full submission just in case this comes in at a 8.5. 

2014 Topps Chrome Photo Variation

Another card that I am positive won't earn a 9.5. Like Seager I am still hoping it holds enough to get a mint 9. Just like his I only see one flaw with the card but I don't want to risk a full submission hence the raw review route instead. The lower right corner has a surface "smear" which I know will garner at least a 9 if not 8.5. If all the other sub grades get at least a 9 then that is fine by me. 

2011 Gypsy Queen

Now we get the 6 cards that could go either way. I expect each of them to have at least 2 9.5 sub grades if not 3 but there is one thing or another that might drop that last sub grade to an 8.5. First up is this sweet pick up I showed off earlier in the week. At 1st glance when you look at this card there is hardly a flaw you can see with the naked eye but if you slant it a certain way you can see some surface blemishes on the plastic coating. The question isn't if that sub grade doesn't earn a 9.5 but whether it can hold and earn a 9 so the other 3 can get 9.5's so the overall grade is a 9.5.  

2014 Topps Five Star

Second of the two Kershaw autos in the submission and just like the other I am hoping for the best here. The "issue" with this one is that I can tell one corner is slightly not razor sharp. Question is will that at least earn a 9 so the other sub grades hopefully earn a 9.5 so I can yet have another gem mint Kershaw autograph in my collection? Hope so.

2014 Topps Strata

A beautiful card from an ugly transaction. This was my 1st ever Strata card for my collection and I would love to have it come back in a gold banner case but as with all thick cards it really is the luck of the draw on what the final grade will be. As with the Five Star card the only real thing I see holding this card back from gem mint is a corner so as with that one I am crossing my fingers and hope lady luck is on my side.

2014 Topps Strata

Same story as the Griffey Strata with the added bonus of seeing how BGS treats Pee Wee's autograph. Do they dock it since you can see a little of the "Reese" part of it or do they realize that is how the card was supposed to be made? Hoping I get a reasonable grader for this transaction that will realize that.

2014 Bowman Chrome

The one of the six that I think are border line but the one most likely to pull out a 9.5 overall grade. I picked this up on a trade/purchase with my good friend Jesse with the intention to submitting it and getting a gem mint card of the supposed next Cub's superstar. As I told Jesse there is only one "issue" that I saw with the card but unlike the Five Star and Stratas the one corner in question is not as blatant. Thinking here is that it grades out to a 9.5 but keeping my expectations tempered.

2011 Allen and Ginter Bazooka Mini

Now for the six cards that I just "know" will grade out to a gem mint 9.5. Of course I've said that before and some have come back lower but on the other hand I have thought some cards would crap out on me but they received a 9.5 instead so you just never know.

This Bazooka card is numbered out of 25 and I so love these low numbered cards to earn 9.5's as if you have one chances are they can't all be perfect so you could have one of only a handful. This being Kershaw just wants me to have gold banner even more. 

2011 Gypsy Queen

My new favorite mini in my collection and what would complete my happiness? Why a gem mint grade of course. Only 10 of these cards are in existence and not one has been graded yet by BGS. I would love to have the only one to be a gem mint and I think it has a tremendous chance at that. I see no flaws so we shall see what BGS thinks.

2014 Bowman Chrome Draft Black Parallel

As with Seager I have taken on the project of acquiring the 1st year Bowman Chrome cards of Urias in rainbow form and hopefully have them all in gem mint form. Realistically that probably won't happen and 9's will be fine but with that said I see no flaws on this card other than maybe it is slightly off centered but that shouldn't stop it from a 9.5. 

2014 Bowman Chrome Draft Blue Parallel

Same card, different color. The reason I have more confidence in this blue one than the black one is that this one does not look off centered to me. I still believe both will gem mint but this one I am more sure of. 

2014 Topps Dynasty

With a card being uncirculated it would seem to me that it should get a gem mint grade as it has not been handled but I have seen plenty of uncirculated cards earn lower grades. Hopefully that does not happen to mine but when I acquired this I did my research and from the pictures and with card in hand I do not see any problems here. Nice crisp signature on what seems to a perfect card. Here's hoping my one and only Dynasty card in my collection will be gem minty. 

We come to the last of card of the "traditional" raw grade review cards for this submission. Traditional? More on that in a minute. 

2013 Bowman Chrome Black Parallel

We started this batch with a Seager card and now we end it with a Seager card. 

Unlike the purple parallel I think this black parallel has a decent chance at a pristine grade. Centering is almost 50/50, surface looks clean, corners are extra sharp and the edges look problem free. I have only had one card come back in pristine condition and this would be a great second one but if not I can not see this getting anything less than a strong 9.5. Either way me going this route for a gem mint grade of this card is better (cheaper) than the one I missed out on earlier on eBay. 

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Now for a couple of cards that I will be submitting once again and hoping for a different (higher) grade. I have heard and seen stories of cards that were only .5 from a higher grade getting resubmitted and getting bumped that extra .5. This is where the perfectionist in me comes into play. Some things are subjective and some are not when grading cards. I have a few that only need a .5 bump to get a higher grade but that sub grade happens to be on centering which is not really subjective. Centering is a numbers game and you can't change numbers to get a better grade on that. With these cards it comes down to the other three sub grades. Some people might ask why I would do this and I say because I want that gold banner. At worst if it grades out the same as the 1st time I now have it out of its case and I can sell the card and get a similar one with the funds from that sale to pay for the new one and try again to get another card of the player. Here are the cards that I am resubmitting. Knock on wood and hopefully I get a better result.

First up is Yu Darvish 

Card ungraded back in the day

The problem I have with this card is not the overall grade which can't be improved but the autograph grade. The reasons that BGS normally downgrades an auto is if it streaks, smears, is faded or runs to the edge of the card. None of that is happening here and I think the grader made a mistake. I am cracking this open and expecting/hoping to bump up the auto grade with someone other than the original grader. A 10 holds a much better value than a 9 (obviously) so if I ever wanted to resell it help. If I don't get my desired grade then I will hold onto it in ungraded form.

And the other card is Miguel Cabrera 

Ungraded form.

Unlike the Yu card there is nothing wrong with Miguel's autograph but his card here is only .5 from earning a gem mint grade. Now common knowledge is that corners are hard to bump up to another grade on a resubmission but I am going to take that risk. The good thing about this card is if it comes back as a 9 again I will end up selling it and using those funds to buy another Cabrera autograph in gem mint form at no extra charge. 

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2014 Topps Dynasty : Mike Piazza Base Autograph w/ Relic (9/10)

A new set hit the market in 2014 with a price tag that was/is outrageous and in each box there is exactly one card. Imagine plucking down $350+ and coming away with a $50 card? Yeah, I would be pissed beyond belief. That is why other than Bowman Chrome I do not buy boxes anymore. It just seems like a waste of money and any card that is in a set you can probably acquire for a lot cheaper on eBay or other sites. Once I looked at the checklist for this product there was exactly one card that I wanted to acquire . . . and this is that card.

9 of 10

As shown yesterday I finally reacquired Piazza's autograph in the form of an old SPx card. While it was sufficient enough for me at the time I held out hope that I could get a better autograph of the former Dodger in a more current issue but the requirement was that it had to be an on card autograph and in a Dodger uniform. 2014 brought about many new Piazza autograph cards but most were of him in a Mets uniform and the couple Dodgers ones had sticker autographs... till now.

The cards is stamped 9 of 10 but that is a bit of a stretch as Piazza (and all players for that matter) have multiple 9 of 10's in the set. On the Dodger side there are eight 9 of 10's so I had 80 to go through. The first item of business was to create some funds for the future acquisition and that came in the form of me selling off the SPx card. I also added a months worth of comic codes and then I was off to the races and looking for a copy of this spiffy card.

I have heard that this card looks better in person rather than pictures and I can now attest that I agree with that comment. The card comes in a sealed magnetic one touch case and I have yet to take it out. I don't want to mess it up.

The signature really pops against the darker background of the card. Since this card is "uncirculated" as it's has been sealed since it was created you would think that it is minimum a gem mint card if it were to be graded by BGS. Well I am going to find out as I will submit it to them in the coming month to see what they think. Either way though this is a fine addition to my collection of the former Dodger catching great.

Man, I remember those 3 years fondly.

In final, I can never see myself paying that much on a pack of card(s) on the "chance" of getting a great card but these Dynasty beauties are nice indeed and I wouldn't mind adding another to my collection at a reasonable price.

Have a blessed day and thank you for reading.

- Penguin

Card of the Day - 1996 SPx : Mike Piazza Die-Cut Hologram Autograph

One of the most important autographs to reacquire on my checklist has finally been secured and is now in hand and damn if it wasn't a long time coming.

Even though Mike will most likely enter the Hall of Fame at some point it will be with a New York Mets hat on the plaque. He still has resentment towards the Dodger organization and I don't blame him. It can be argued that his best years on the field were with the Dodgers but he meant more to New York when the city needed him and I am okay with him going in with the Mets logo. His autograph though had to be as a Dodger and more so I wanted it to be on card and not a sticker.

Having Mike's autograph while in Dodger blue is hard enough. Being an on card variety is near impossible as I believe this is the only one that fills those requirements. Looking at releases from multiple years Piazza's autographs are always shown with him in Mets gear. Well a few 2014 releases have finally shown him in Dodger gear. I went to look at the selection but they are stickers not on card. I was bummed but that was going to be my back up plan. I then saw that he was going to be featured in Five Star which is on card and I hoped it would be of him in a Dodger uniform. Found out he wasn't.

Well with plan B as an option I went searching for the one card I knew that he was in Dodger blue and the autograph being on card, this one. One big obstacle was that this card's autograph at times can have streaking and/or fading issues. There was a BGS 9.5 one up for sale but that ended up going for $200. Didn't have enough in the til for that one. I was okay with minor streaking but fading would not be acceptable. Picky much? This one came up one day as a BIN with a best offer attached. I sent the seller 3 offers and each one either was rejected or never responded to. A pet peeve of mine, please respond don't just ignore. Anyways, the auction closed and I moved on but then I saw it pop up again on a traditional auction with a starting bid of LESS than my offers. Uh...okay. Anyways, back onto the watch list it went and as the auction was coming to a close there were no bids so I put mine in and won the card.

With the "funniness" of the auctions I wondered if the card would arrive and if it would be in good condition. A week later it did and no harm was done to the card. I knew there would be minor pen streaking and that is okay.

Finally able to add Piazza back into my collection and its a beautiful card of him in glorious Dodger blue,

Book Review : Long Shot by Mike Piazza



As with most Dodger fans of the 1990's Mike Piazza was one of if not my favorite player on the team. I still liked Eric Karros a lot who also was Mike's best friend while on the team. Mike's tenure with the Dodgers was cut prematurely and I would say most of that was the fault of the ownership at the time. This autobiography with help by Lonnie Wheeler sheds light on that topic and a lot of others that people have always wanted answers to.

Mike talks about his unique climb from learning his trade in his basement at home to not being good enough to play on a major college team to reinventing himself as a catcher. The Dodgers took a flyer on Mike mostly to Tommy's Lasorda's persistence. More or less it was a favor and the Dodgers never thought Mike would amount to much. Once under contract which was a process of its own, Mike had to deal with the constant roadblocks and the non belief of Dodger management through the minor league system. If Tommy was not with the Dodgers Mike probably would have never seen the majors with the Dodgers and possibly anyone. By the time he made it to the big show he had a chip on his shoulder and it showed when he played. It was deserved as he brought so much to the team that drafted him but when it came time to pay him what he was worth they played head games with him. He touches upon what he thought was Vin Scully persuading the general public to turn against him but it is not as bad as other people have stated though it does come off as a little petty on his part.

You have this young man in his early twenties, living in a high end beach community and is the star of the team who also happens to be Italian. That is not a knock against Italians but they have the reputation of having "fiery" blood in their veins. I personally think that helped his drive to achieve what he wanted to do. If he was brought up any other way by his parents, who stood by his every step up the baseball ladder and helped him through the hard times, or had less drive I don't think we would be ready about the story of Mike Piazza the baseball player. That chip that helped him be at the top of this game in Los Angeles also helped him out of the city as well. Though he deserved the money he fought back when he felt he was attacked in someway. He had his supporters but there were more people that he didn't see eye to eye with.

The Dodgers have always had a great history with international players and while Mike was on the team the starting pitchers were from five distinct and different cultures. Japan, Korea, Mexico, Dominican Republic and the U.S.A. That is one heck of a crock pot of personalities and as a catcher he had to deal with each one of them. For the most part he got along with all them but while on the team and through his career he also had a riffs with baseball players that came from a Latin descent. He respected their talents but obviously the cultural differences created a gap between them.

Once the contact negotiations deteriorated the new Dodger ownership traded Mike to the Florida Marlins who promptly traded him to the New York Mets. He always felt that it was never about the money but a lack of respect by the team for him. As evident as the Dodgers paid Kevin Brown that off season the money that Mike was asking for. Mike was in his prime and while Kevin was a good pitcher he was closer to the twilight of his career. It would take til the past couple of years that the Dodgers have had a cornerstone player that they could build the team around. The Dodgers did right this time by locking up Matt Kemp in his prime to a great contact that is well deserved. One that should have been preceded by a contract to Mike Piazza.

His adjustment to New York was rocky to say the least in the beginning and at the end of the first half season he played there he was unsure if he would stay. There were even rumors of him coming back to the Dodgers. In the end he decided to sign his long term contract with the Mets and proceeded to give them their moneys worth those first few years topped off by a World Series appearance against the New York Yankees. That series was showcased by the non Mike Piazza/Roger Clemens fight. In hindsight Mike believes he was being attacked as there was a history between the two with Roger beaning him in the head earlier in the year and now his was apparently throwing a broken bat at him. Though they never came to blows there was always tension between the two. In an odd twist he was thrown at by multiple Latin players in the following years that he went after and their response was why didn't he attacked Roger like he was doing them. More evidence that he felt that Latin players just did not like him much.

9/11 like most people in America change Mike and his life. Prior to that year his career with Mets was statistically great as he accomplished a lot for himself. 9/11 occurred and rocked us all to our core and he looked at life differently and his on field play was just not up to his expectations after that fateful day. The first game played in New York city was highlighted by his winning home run and that connected him with the city forever. The years that followed in New York though were not so good. While still very good for less talented players it was far below what he normally produced and what was expected by him and the team. He played out his contract amongst tension with the club on how he was being treated and used but honored his obligations to them nonetheless. As his career was closing with New York the fans cheered him more and more and even though he knew he wasn't coming back it forged a bond with him that continues to this day.

He played a couple more years in San Diego and Oakland and even made the playoffs one more time but his best years were behind him and he knew it. What helped him accept that his playing days were coming to an end was him meeting and marrying his soul mate Alicia. She has been the rock that has calmed his soul and given him two wonderful kids. He played his last year in Oakland and he knew it was basically the end and if this happened a few years earlier it would have been harder but having his family now helped him realize that there was more to life than baseball.

He retired as the greatest hitting catcher in the history of baseball. He still holds records to this day. His one main regret was that he didn't stop and "smell the roses". He played and played and never let himself enjoy the game he grew up playing for fun. It took its toll on him. He and I both believe he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame even though he is tainted by the steroid era that he played in even though he states he never took an illegal drug and never tested positive for anything. If he ever makes it in he wants to go in as a Met. Even though the Dodgers gave him his chance it was New York that he had the strongest bond with. I think if he stayed with the Dodgers he would have won a World Series with them but New York was where he needed to be and that is where God placed him to accomplish what he did.

A great player with a hot blooded temper changed the way we looked at offensive minded catchers and this book is a great read of a young man who once couldn't get a chance to even suit up to play in a minor league game because the manager didn't like him to producing a Hall of Fame quality career. He showed if you put your mind to it you can overcome almost anything but at the same time if you go through life thinking everyone is against you, you will never truly enjoy life as you will always be on guard or defensive. I wish as a Dodger fan he would have made his Hall of Fame career here but I am happy I got to see him play and that he achieved what he did even though it was not in blue.

Signed Ball of the Day : Mike Piazza ( ROMLB Sweet Spot PSA Graded 8.5 )

The first few days of this week I want to discuss a few trades that should never have happened. I've been a fan since the 80's and while there have been many questionable trades by management there are a few that really stick out and to this day irritate most Dodger fans. One of the most recent ones is Carlos Santana being traded for Casey Blake which is still too early to be determined if it is as bad compared to the others. Since Carlos is also a catcher and since Mike Piazza was recently in town for a book signing we look at the Dodgers favorite 62nd round pick.

As most people know Piazza was family favorite of Tommy Lasorda and after a lot of twists and turns in Piazza's baseball career ( read the book for more details ) he was drafted by the Dodgers which was considered a courtesy pick and was never expected to do anything meaningful in baseball. A few years later and Mike is up in the big leagues and lights it up and becomes Rookie of the Year for the Dodgers which is the first award of many that he will go on and win during his career. During his years with the Dodgers he had set up himself up to go down as one of the greatest Dodgers ever and should have been allowed the oppurtunity to do that but in 1998 during the Fox owned years Mike and the ownership didn't see eye to eye on a new contract and with Fox wanting to prove a point traded him in his prime to Florida which promptly traded him to the Mets in New York. The Dodgers received a few players headlined by Gary Sheffield which had a decent tenure with the Dodgers but the trading of Piazza tore the heart out of the team and the city of Los Angeles. Piazza was the most popular player at the time but ownership stated he wanted too much money and wanted to move on from him even though months later they give Kevin Brown the first 100M contract. A fine pitcher in his own right but not worth the contract. Needless to say this trade should have never happened and to this day Piazza holds a grudge against the team and most of it is deserved. On a side note, he should not knock Vin Scully on any level though as I have heard that he has done in his new book which I just started reading and haven't got to that part yet. It might have been blown out of proportion but I will see what the book reveals.

So obviously with one of my favorite players growing up I wanted to acquire his autograph on a ball and since he is never in town doing any type of autograph appearances I knew it would be difficult to acquire his autograph in person so off to eBay as usual to hunt for another elusive autograph. Since he played recently most of his signatures are of good quality but I am also a bargain hunter as I did not want to spend north of $100 as almost all auctions were set up as. So I had to bide my time and found one that started at a penny so the bidding war began. Back and forth for a week and in the end I won it at a little over $80. I thought it was a great looking autograph and a steal at that price. As with the Pee Wee Reese autographed ball I decided to have this one graded as well and just like that one I was highly disappointed but for different reasons. It graded out a perfect 10 on condition but a lousy 7 on the signature. The signature might not be perfect but a 7? Come on. Like they say it is an "opinion" but I for sure think it was low ball grade. What do you think? But in the end like all graded balls, even if you don't like the grade you still have a realize you have a great autograph that has been added to your collection like what I have with this ball. Good hunting everyone.