Contest Winnings Box Break - 2013 Topps Update

It has been so long since I have done a HTA box break. Literally over a decade ago. Back in December I won a 2013 Topps Update baseball box from Topps on Twitter. There was a shipping issue and after a little more than a month the box has arrived and it is in my hands. Time to rip and hope for some great cards either for my personal collection or trade bait.

The box within the box

Opened and ready to rip

I know some people just do the hits and show them off but since I don't know when I will do another box I will go pack by pack. There are 36 packs with each one containing 10 cards.

Pack 1 :

Right off the bat.
Yasiel Puig Base Card
John Smoltz Postseason Heroes Insert

Pack 2 :

Ted Williams Chasing History Insert

Pack 3 :

A very sparkly green parallel of Klye McClellan
Trade bait

Pack 4 :

Clayton Kershaw mini
Already have this one so this will go into the trade pile or possible future contest

Pack 5 :

Nolan Ryan / Yu Darvish Franchise Forerunners Insert

Pack 6 :

Jose Fernandez Chasin History Insert
The bearded one, Brian Wilson, in Dodger blue

Pack 7 :

Greg Madduz Postseason Heroes Insert
Shaun Marcum in green parallel form

Pack 8 :

Miguel Cabrera Mini

Pack 9 :

Hyun-Jin Ryu with rookie debut stamp
Starling Marte Making Their Mark Insert

Pack 10 :

Matt Harvey Chasing History Insert

Pack 11 :

Jackie Robinson Chasing History Insert

Pack 12 :

Kyle Gibson Making Their Mark Insert
Who? Worst pack so far.

Pack 13 :

Paul Goldschmidt Mini

Pack 14 :

Manny Machado / Cal Ripken Jr. Franchise Forerunners Insert
Jurickson Profar green parallel

Pack 15 :

Bob Feller Chasing History Insert

Pack 16 :

Nada....

Pack 17 :

Adam Jones Mini

Pack 18 :

David Ortiz Postseason Heroes Inset
Zack Wheeler Marking Their Mark Insert

Halfway through the box and even though nothing earth shattering price wise has popped up, there is nothing I can complain about. A good variety so far. Box promised one autograph or relic ( hoping for auto ) so with the next 18 packs I look forward to something really good.

Pack 19 :

Greg Maddux Mini
and what happens right after I type that last sentence?
Justin Verlander All Star Patch Relic. Lol.
Trade bait or contest material

Pack 20 :

Josh Thole green parallel
Matt Harvey / David Wright Franchise Forerunners
Another Yasiel Puig card

Pack 21 :

Johnny Podres Chasing History Insert
Wil Myers black parallel ( 38 / 62 )
That is the big hit so far value wise. EBay has past sales of over $20

38 of only 62

Pack 22 :

Nada

Pack 23 :

Jackie Robinson Mini
Have this one as well so trade it becomes

Pack 24 :

Jose Fernandez Marking Their Mark Insert
Buster Posey Postseason Heroes

Pack 25 :

Wil Myers Chasing History Insert

Pack 26 :

Chad Qualls green parallel

Pack 27 :

Another Puig card
Mike Trout Mini

Pack 28 :

Nada

Pack 29 :

Jay Bruce Mini

Pack 30 :

Yasiel Puig / Matt Kemp Franchise Forerunners
Tony Cingrani Making Their Mark Insert

Pack 31 :

Bret Saberhagen Chasing History Insert

Pack 32 :

Ronald Belisario green parallel

Pack 33 :

Cal Ripken Jr. Mini

Pack 34 :

Roy Halladay Postseason Heroes

Pack 35 :

Nomar Garciaparra Chasing History Insert

.... and now for the final pack

Pack 36 :

Yasiel Puig Making Their Mark Insert

Well the box starts of with a Puig card and ends with a Puig card. As a Dodger fan I sure received my fair share of Dodger cards in this box especially Puig cards. Thank you again to Topps for running the contest and it was blast ripping a whole box of goodness.

Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Inception : Hyun-Jin Ryu Base Autograph

Topps and Mr. Ryu finally come through as I received a package in the mail today. The redemption has been fulfilled.

Back in September as seen HERE I won this "card" in its redemption form and sent it in and waited for the past 4 plus months for my on card autograph of Ryu. I had won a Puig card and received it within a scant few weeks after acquiring the redemption card. Ryu has taken a bit longer. Must be all the singing he is doing this off season. Takes away from all the baseball activities.
= )

Anyways, I wasn't overly worried about ever receiving the card and that faith has finally paid off. Though not the biggest fan of the Inception brand I can't argue with an on card autograph over a sticker variety. The first of Ryu autographs to come and its a beauty.

State of the Dodgers : Social Rewards Part II

It's been 50K points since last I posted about my standing in the Dodgers rewards program and other than me now being halfway to a million not much has changed. I was able to stretch my meaningless lead a couple thousand and I still stand atop the mountain among the other people that play the game but I still have yet to win anything. No bobbles, no tours, no nothing. I still hold out hope that one day I can say I won something for the effort I have put into the program but till then I chug away day in and day out with the hope one day I will be in that winner's circle.

But till then I will have to be content on just being first in points.... which isn't that bad of a consolation prize.
= )

Crossed the half million mark and still climbing

Signed Ball of the Day - Chris Perez ( ROMLB 2011 All Star )

It's like striking gold when you get such a great deal on eBay. While the player isn't the biggest and nor has he proven anything on the Dodgers as of yet as he just signed, acquiring Chris's autograph on a baseball was on my to due list and checked off almost immediately.

Once the ink dried on the contract with the Dodgers I wanted to see what the market was on the bay for authenticated baseballs. I knew I would probably run across him at some point during the season but I didn't really want to "waste" a baseball if I didn't have to. Would have but didn't want to. I honestly didn't think there would be much if any to chose from as he is a reliever and it would have to be pre authenticated as well before I would purchase it. Low and behold this one was up for sale with a starting asking bid of just under $10. It is the speciality 2011 All Star baseball, has Chris's signature under the AS logo and is authenticated by JSA. Wasn't sure if there would be any traffic on the auction but in the end I was the only person to bid on the ball and within the week I received it. Time and effort, authentication process and actual ball is worth way more than $10 and acquiring all that for that low amount is a coup.

 

Card(s) of the Day - 2013 Topps Chrome : Clayton Kershaw and Carl Crawford Base

Another 2 card 2 dollar eBay special.

Continuing to put together the Dodger team set from this year's Topps Chrome and found these two at a bargain basement price of a dollar each.

Even though there is nothing special or sparkly about either one of these I still needed them both for my set and when the price is that low there is no need to wait to pick them up. One card of Kid K and another of hopefully our fourth outfielder for 2014 is welcomed home with open arms.

Card of the Day - 2008 SP : Matt Kemp By The Letter " G " Autograph ( 42 / 50 )

The beat goes on. I was out of town when this auction was ending so I had to rely on my smart phone to place my bid in as the auction neared its end. Obviously phones can be wishy washy so I had to hold my breath that I would have a reception at the time that I was to put my bid in. The letter " G " is part of my long running project. As with the " D's " the " G's " have a print run of just 50 and I need two of each to complete the project and with one already in hand this was my opportunity to finish of this letter. This was the first time I saw a " G " on eBay in the traditional auction sense. With 2 minutes left I still had reception on my phone but I was getting antsy that I might lose it so I put in my bid in earlier than normal but thankfully it ended well as I picked this up for just $13. Unlike with " D's ", I am now thankfully done with the " G's " and can work on the other letters.

G isn't this nice? 42 / 50

Card(s) of the Day - 2013 Topps Chrome : Hyun-Jin Ryu Base X-Fractor Parallel and Base Blue Refractor Parallel ( 49 / 199 )

My ever growing Ryu collection has added two more to its stable.

Compared to Puig, Ryu can be had at a great low cost if you are willing to be patient and pick and chose what you bid on. Trying to complete my chrome ( Topps and Bowman ) parallel sets of all the Dodgers and came across these two being sold on auction by the same seller. He also had some Puig cards but I lost out on them. No biggie as I wait for those to come back down to Earth price wise I will focus on Ryu and his rookie cards. Had both of these on my watch list and put my bids in on the last day and ended up getting both for a few pennies over $4 combined. A xfractor and numbered blue bordered parallel at that low cost is music to my ears. I think Ryu's cards are under priced and will go up next year. Until then I will keep on looking for deals.

Blue and Sparkly.

49 of 199.

Card(s) of the Day - 2013 Topps Chrome : Paco Rodriguez Base Refractor and 2013 Bowman Chrome : Hyun-Jin Ryu Base

2 dollars for 2 rookies.

When you can get a rookie card of a player on your favorite team for a dollar it's a good day. When you can double the fun and get 2 for 2 then the day just got better. Seller had both of these cards on buy it now options with the price of just a buck on both. Couldn't and wouldn't pass up on that deal. 2 more cards added to the collection at a minimal cost. If only all cards could be acquired at such a low cost.

Contest time with Fellow Bloggers

Even though I am running my own contest(s) I love to win others.

Alex over at chavezravining is still running his auctions week in and week out which I finally won one.
Woo Hoo

And The Dutch Guy over at europeanbaseballcardcollector is running a great contest as well.
Take a gander and good luck enough for second as I want first place.

And to round it out Dodgers Blue Heaven is running a Frank "Big Hurt" Thomas contest HERE

Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Chrome : Yasiel Puig Base Blue Parallel Refractor Autograph ( 83 / 150 ) BGS Graded 9.5 aka eBay Bucks Quarterly Purchase

It's that time of the year once more. The quarterly eBay bucks purchase and this is a big one.

Usually with the certificate that I earn with eBay I usually buy a few things that I want/need off eBay but since this quarter is calendar timed with Christmas I knew I would have some gift cards coming my way via family. I started my search in early December for something "special". I wasn't focused on any one item but I kept circling back to a few to see what the status was on them as the month progressed. This was one of them and in the end the one that received my full attention.

I had already been able to acquire a gem mint Puig card through luck and hustle as seen HERE and in the end I might sell it off since I have acquired this beauty. Even with the pretty silver on black autograph in my collection my favorite combination is still the blue parallel autograph versions of Bowman Chrome. I had seen various auctions of this card for months now and didn't think I would be able to get my hands on a copy anytime soon but with bucks and gift cards in the equation I thought it might still be a possibility. A particular seller had this card on a buy it now auction with a best offer available. Every week or so he kept lowering his asking price and I expected someone to snatch it up but no one ever did. Days came and went and then around the middle of December it settled at a price that I thought I could negotiate down from and possibly get it. The question now was would the seller allow me to lock into a price we both agreed on and then not expect payment for close to 3 weeks?

Well it was finally offer time and when I finally sent mine in to the seller had already received 26 different offers and rejected all but one which was still pending. I had a limit of what was an acceptable selling price so I sent him an offer well below that with the understanding it would either be outright rejected or hopefully countered if not accepted. Wishful thinking on the accepting. As expected he didn't accept but thankfully he countered and at the price I thought he would which was a few dollars less than my ceiling. Asked him if I accepted if he would allow me those extra 3 weeks to get all the funds together as I would stand by my feedback that I was a man of my word and he thankfully did. January 3rd came around and with gift cards in hand, eBay bucks earned and books and balls being sold to compensate the difference I paid for my personal "holy grail" of Puig autograph cards. A week later it came in and now the only decision I have to make is do I sell of the other one or keep both? Shout out to the family who contributed to my acquisition of this fine card.

Shiny blue Puig

Great blue on card signature

9 point freaking 5 Gem Mint. Oh Yeah !

Trade with Fellow Blogger : Big 44 Sports Cards ( Trade Number One )

Now that I have had my feet on the ground for a few months back in the hobby I am able to do more trades with fellow bloggers and I recently finished one up with a new blogger ( or new to me at least ).

Nathan who runs big44cards knew I was trying to complete the 2013 Bowman Chrome set in it's blue parallel form as I knew he is trying to do the same thing but with the 2013 Topps Chrome Set. I didn't have any spare Topps Chrome to trade him but he did have a Bowman Chrome he could let me have. As he collects the Pirates I sent him a few prospects from the 2013 Bowman set which I hope he enjoys. In turn he sent me this spiffy Ryan Zimmerman blue chrome parallel for my set needs. A great first trade with Nathan. If you get a moment take a look at his blog. Thank you again.

Card(s) of the Day - 2013 Topps Chrome : Adrian Gonzalez Base Purple Refractor Parallel and 2013 Topps : "Signing" SP Variant and 2013 Finest : Matt Kemp 1993 Retro Insert

Decided to circle back to previous sets that I moved on from a couple months ago and I found 2 bargains and also another card from a retro set that I love.

The prices on the secondary market for Topps Chrome and Topps have stabilized enough for me to venture back in and see what I could find. Picked up a variant and SP of A-Gon that slipped through my hands when they were first released. The purple refractor has a book value of $6 which I would never pay but the 99 cents which I did was a steal. The seller had the variant SP from the Topps set that depicts Adrian signing autographs. This is part of a variation subset of multiple players with this Adrian version being my first acquisition from said set. Need the Kershaw one next. Book value is $12 but was able to pick up for less than 50% at just $5. To put the cherry on top the seller also had the Kemp 1993 Finest retro card for only $1.80. Another Kemp added to the collection.

A small haul but a good one value wise.

Signed Ball of the Day - Michael Young ( ROMLB Sweet Spot )

.300 career batting average.
2375 total hits.
Multi time All Star.
2 appearances in the World Series.

Michael Young has had a pretty good career and probably still has a couple years left so he will have the chance to up his numbers. He played most of his career with Texas until he was traded to the Phillies during the 2012 off season and then was traded to the Dodgers in August of 2013. For the remainder of the regular season he was decent with an above .300 average and with that was put on the post season roster for his veteran presence. And then the series versus the Cardinals happened. He made four outs with two at bats with one being the costly one in game 1. Dodger fans for the most part have hate for Michael now and do not want to see him on the team in 2014. I don't think he will be but with Ned you never know. But since he was on the Dodgers I just had to acquire his autograph on a ball. Wear the blue and I need a ball.

In September I headed out to the stadium and hoped to acquire his autograph in person but each time I saw him I was not fortunate to get him to come over. I know he signed for some people on certain days as I have seen it posted on other blogs but I was never there on that day. So with the season over I assumed I would never get it in person as I don't expect him on the team in 2014 and if he does play it will probably be in the American League where they have the DH which means less opportunities at Dodger Stadium. Not to be denied I headed to my favorite market, eBay. I haven't looked for a Young ball prior to now and noticed a lot of current auctions were buy it nows set at or above $50. There were very few traditional auctions and those had a reserve and each time I lost out as I had a set limit I would spend on Michael. Finally settled in on two separate auctions which closed within hours of each other. This one was JSA authenticated while the other was PSA. Didn't care which one I won as long as I won one. In the end I picked up the JSA one for a measly $17. A steal. $14ish for a ball, authentication process at least $20 unless you get a deal and time and effort to get this all done. Yeah, this was the easier way. While I would love to have gotten Michael's autograph in person I will take a deal like this any day of the week. A nice addition to the collection and it was nice knowing you Michael.

Card(s) of the Day - 2013 Topps Chrome : Yasiel Puig 1972 Insert and 2013 Bowman Chrome Base

The off season is still in full swing and this is the best time to pick up cards at lower prices due to the attention being focused more on the in season sports and not baseball. So it was time for some more Puig cards.

As usual the chrome cards at the top of my list to acquire. I went back to one of my favorite eBay sellers to see what he had for sale in the way of Puig and Dodgers in general and found these two to my liking. The 1972 design is not one that I like but if I could combine it with the Bowman Chrome at a reasonable price I would take it. The 1972 card books at $15 while the Bowman Chrome books at $12. I believe both of these prices will come down by the time the 2014 season rolls around but when I was able to get my hands on both of them for a little less than $13 I wasn't going to pass on them. I had already acquired the BC Puig via trade so now this one is up for trade.

Contest # 4 : Current and Former Dodgers in Different Uniforms

2013 Bowman Mini Chrome Allen Webster who was traded for

Adrian Gonzalez shown here in Marlin colors in this 2013 Bowman Reprint

Taking a cue from Alex over at chavezravining I'm going to run this contest with the results from random.org
As with his contests you can earn up to (2) entries per day. One entry per comment on this specific blog entry and two by RT'ing on twitter my daily tweet about this contest.

Same rules apply as with past and future contests. You must be a follower of this blog and must follow me on twitter.

BONUS ENTRY OPPORTUNITY : If you refer someone to the blog I will give you one bonus entry into the contest.

This contest will run until the 14th of this month as I will have another one up running concurrently in a day or two. Good luck to all.

Card of the Day - 2013 Topps Chrome : Paco Rodriguez Blue Refractor Parallel Autograph ( # / 199 )

The redemption beast pops its head up once again. And again the featured player is Paco Rodriguez. I already have 2 redemptions in the system for Paco and neither have shipped yet and now I have gone and tossed another one onto the pile and have made it 3 and counting.

I never expected to acquire so many Paco cards but they always seem to be such a great deal when I win them each time and this one is no exception. The future card has all the wants on my checklist. Dodger, rookie card, autograph, blue variant and limited. The perfect combination. The only thing irritating is that it is in redemption card form. I think that is one reason why I have been able to pick these up so cheap as I've read a lot of people just hate the waiting game and just move on to something else. They need that instant gratification. Not me. It's all good. Won this card for less than $7 and now just wait for its arrival. Could be awhile but I am a patient man. Until then I added this lovely piece of paper promising me an autograph card.

Card(s) of the Day - 2013 Topps : Full Dodgers Team Set From Retail Factory Box

Day 2 and entry 2 of my Christmas gift from the wife.

Yesterday as seen HERE the main prize for me was the Ryu photo variation that is only found in the retail factory set. The rest of the non-Dodgers will be used for trade to bring in more Dodgers. One way or another the wife is going to be getting me Dodger stuff whether its direct or I have to hustle for it.
= )

Anyways, instead of me hunting for the individual cards of all the Dodgers I was able just to pull them out of the box and be done with looking for them on the bay. Though I have some of them already its always nice to have dups to be used for trades, contests, etc. Though there is nothing specifically "special" about the cards I wanted them all. So everyone into the pool.

Dee, Andre and Kid K

Joe " I cant believe his was a Dodger " Blanton, LL Kershaw and Jansen

Paco, Get well soon Chad and underrated Choate

Nice guy Chris, Why are you still here Josh and Mickey Mouse Adrian

2014 Comeback Player of the Year Kemp, Thank God you retired Lilly and the bane of our bullpen League

Nice blurry Pic Matthew. WTF ??

Harriston, HanRam and Part time wrestler Greinke

Ellis, Cruz and Crawford

Card(s) of the Day - 2013 Topps : Hyun-Jin Ryu Base and Retail Factory Set Only Variation

The first of two Christmas gift posts.

The wife tries her hardest and succeeds on not buying anything Dodger related. In her words, I'm not contributing to that team. Ha Ha. But she will buy stuff that is baseball related and if it so happens to include Dodgers then it is what it is. This Christmas she figured since I reentered the baseball card hobby she wanted to buy me something in that form. She knew I liked the Topps and Bowman brand and she happened to see the 2013 Topps Factory Retail set at Target. See how that works? It includes Dodgers but it is not a Dodger centered set/gift. Again, ha ha. Anyways, the real bonus of the set is that it included a pack of 5 variations of 5 different players with one of them being Dodger Hyun-Jin Ryu. Woo Hoo.

I already have the regular card found in packs but now having it's twin I feel that it is complete. Still working on the other variation ( sunglasses ) found in packs though.

Left is the "regular" version while the right is the retail exclusive.

The regular is up for trade or I might do a contest on it. 

Trade with Fellow Blogger : Chavez Ravining ( Trade Number 2 )

Completed my second trade with Alex from chavezravining .

I glanced at his want list and sent him over some Kemp cards as seen on his blog entry HERE . I wasn't sure what I was looking for so I searched his inventory and found this great looking Kershaw black parallel from the 2013 Topps Chrome set which I needed so I for sure wanted that one ear marked for me.

34 of 100

I wanted more parallels of the Dodgers but couldn't find any more black and/or blue ones but I did see that he had a X-Fractor of Puig from the same set that he had no issue parting with so that was card two for me.

Still looking for another card to complete the trade and Alex informed me that he had just pulled a refractor parallel from the 2013 Bowman Chrome set of Puig. I had been on the look out for that card since I had acquired the base and blue versions. He said I could have it and with that our second trade was completed. He received some needs and wants and I was able to fill some holes in my collection. A win/win for everyone. Thank you again Alex.

Card of the Day - 2013 Topps Chrome : Adrian Gonzalez Base Black Refractor Parallel ( 88 / 100 )

I always pursue the blue parallels of players. Not really a fan of green, red, yellow etc. If I do see one I can pick up on a deal I won't pass on it as I can always use it as trade bait. One "color" that is not featured in every release is black. I love me some black cards. It is my second favorite behind blue. Well, Topps Chrome came out this year with a black parallel numbered to 100. A small number compared to other parallels but still doable to complete without burning a hole in my pocket.

I was lucky enough that on another eBay purchase the seller threw in the Zack Greinke black parallel as a freebie. That card was the first one that I acquired. This one is the second but the first I had to buy. Adrian is a popular enough of a player but not so much that his non autograph cards are high priced. Went looking for the best deal on eBay and found this one that the seller had at just $2. Gladly snatched that up for that price and I now have 2 cards in the black parallel set with more to come.

Love the color contrast between the black and blue.

88/100

Happy New Year. Good-Bye 2013 and Hello 2014

2013
What a year.
I made my fair share of mistakes. I had my personal ups and downs but through it all I came out on the other side of 2013 alive and well.

2013 seemed to have so much hope and promise but the year left me wanting. Don't get me wrong, I had a blast most of the time. Went to Aruba, always a great time visiting a new country with the wife. Took in a new ballpark or if that is what you can call O2 Coliseum in Oakland that hosts the A's. Saw lots of live music and watched all the movies I could to my hearts content.

Being a Dodger blog it was a so so year as the Dodgers were the closest to the World Series that they have ever been since 1988 and yet I feel a little let down. Hopefully 2014 will bring us that elusive championship banner.

The world is a tough place right now and a lot of the times it seems our country is going right over the cliff. I am going to keep an optimistic attitude though and hope that we are coming close to the end of what is going to have been a hard 8 years and realize what hasn't killed us will make us stronger.

I am healthy
I have a beautiful wife
I have a job
I have a roof over my head.
I have friends and family that love me.

In the end that is all that really matters and I wil try to remember that.
With that said, I enjoyed 2013 for the most part but am looking forward to 2014 and it being a better experience.

God Speed to all and Go Blue in 2014 !!!