Upcoming Player Appearance / Signing : Paul Lo Duca @ Dr. Liu's Optometry Practice On April 26, 2014

Dr. Liu is holding another meet and greet of a former Dodger in a couple of weeks at his office in Rowland Heights. This time it is 4x All Star Paul Lo Duca. If you haven't been to one of Dr. Liu's events you are in for a smooth time with fellow fans and Paul. If you have any questions or would like to pre purchase your autograph ticket feel free to contact Dr. Liu's office or email him.

• Autographs - $20
• Inscriptions - $8
• Photo Op with Paul comes with all autograph purchases 

Card(s) of the Day - 2014 Topps : Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu Base Red Foil Parallels

One righty.
One lefty.
One transaction.

Closing the gap between unfinished and completed I was able to pick up 2 of the red foil parallels of the Dodgers for the minimal cost of just 4 stamps.

I didn't want to deal with any traditional auction as this seller had both of these cards up on BIN's with a best offer option. Sent him a low enough amount for me and enough for him to accept and had these two red beauties in hand within a week. Easy peasy deals are the best.

Attended Game Recap : Giants 2 @ DODGERS 6 on April 6, 2014

This was my third game of the week but my first at blue heaven on earth, Dodger Stadium. This being a non graphing game the wife and I headed to the park about a hour prior to the game as I wanted to see the new stuff that was added to the ballpark.

First off the supposed quicker entry time for parking is still non existent. We came in through the 110 freeway exit and sat in line to enter the parking area for a good 15 minutes. Dodgers still need to work on this. Having preferred parking though made it less of a hassle once inside.

We headed down to the field level entrance along the first base side as I was thinking I wanted to try the new Lasorda restaurant but in the end all we ended up with were a couple of sodas. I did see the new "ring" displays and seeing the 1981 version I decided to take my picture with that one. That was the year I became a fan of the Dodgers at the ripe old age of 7.

It reminded me of an old ride back in the day were you stood up and controlled the vehicle with your hands. Am I just too old that no one can relate to that ride? Lol.

Close by was an over-sized replica of the Gold Glove Award that is given out to the winners every year. Out of the two I like the rings the best. There was also a giant Lasorda bobblehead but it was occupied by a big family so I couldn't get a good picture. Maybe next time.

Arrived at our new seats for the 2014 season. A great view with the overhang over us for shade.

New placement of the retired numbers.

Onto the game. The Dodgers were looking to avoid the sweep by the hated Giants and they had their 1A ace Greinke on the bump and he was up to the challenge as he threw 6 strong innings and only gave up 2 runs which happened to be solo home runs in the sixth. He was probably running out of gas by that time. No worries as Matt Kemp showed up in a big way. 2 home runs by the Bison for a total of 3 runs batted in for the big guy. The stadium was buzzing after the second one and it was 2011 all over again. One day is good but hopefully this is just not a flash in the pan and he continues on this path. Kemp is still my favorite player and I/we need to see him regain his standing among the baseball elite.

Not to be overshadowed, Hanley added his own 2 home runs to the box score. If this team can hit on all cylinders there is no stopping them. I still believe the Dodgers have about a 5 year window right now where all the needed parts for a championship run are in place. Having not seen a World Series title in 26 years me saying I think they should at least win 2 if not 3 in this 5 year period seems a little aggressive but I think this team can and should be able to do this.

The bullpen came in and closed the door on the punk ass orange team and the Dodgers finally were able to add a W in the results column for the first time this year at Dodger Stadium. The house was packed and energy was high for the most part. A great first game for me and the wife at Dodger Stadium and can't wait for the the next game in a week. That will be a graphing and early BP game and hopefully I can add some more autographs to the collection.

Card of the Day - 2013 Topps Chrome : Clayton Kershaw Dynamic Die Cut Insert

What better way to spend a dollar and some change than to use it on a great looking die cut card of Dodger ace and legend in the making Clayton Kershaw.

I picked up the Ryu and Kemp die cuts previously but was still on the hunt for the Clayton's and finally found a seller that had one up with no shipping charge. Starting bid was set at 99 cents so I put it on my watch list and on the last day there was a total of one bid. Threw my hat into the mix with seconds left and I won the card for a grand total of one dollar and four cents. You can't beat that. Another Kershaw card added to the collection.

Card of the Day - 2007 Allen and Ginter : Russell Martin Autograph

Though not at the top of my list I have been on the lookout for an on card autograph of former Dodger catcher Russell Martin. There is a decent selection out there of him depicted in Dodger blue but either something else came up that grabbed my attention or the asking price was too high for my taste.

With the Pirates in the post season for the first time in ages and Russell being a part of that team it seemed that the demand was a little higher on his autograph so I waited until the off season to really look for a card to acquire due to the prices seemingly being higher. This card has a book value of $25 which in no way was I going to even come close to paying. Found a seller that had this particular copy up for sale with an asking price of under $7. That was more up my alley and in the end I was the only one to bid on it and had the card delivered to me within a few days. The autograph looks a little cramped on the small card but at least its not a sticker one.

2014 Topps Museum Dodgers Case Break

Adrian Base

Topps just released their 2014 Museum set and being a fan of last year's I wanted to get in on this new issue. Unlike last year I just bought the singles here and there. This time around I decided to get in on a 12 box case break and try my luck on some of the hard and rare cards that I could flip and make some extra cash of just pay for the break in general. Like all other sets I still want/ed to complete the base set along with the blue parallels. With the Dodgers only having 5 players in the set that meant no more than 10 cards that I would be chasing. One annoyance was the inclusion of Ricky Nolasco. Really? No Ryu, Greinke, or Kemp? We get stuck with a pitcher that is no longer with the team. Go figure. With that said the first card is the one up above which is the base version of Adrian

Within the 12 boxes I ended up with 2 base Kershaw cards. Obviously one will be for my own personal collection but the other one is up for trade and if not I might contest it out with ... 

... one of these 2 Koufaxs that were also in the case. A great one two punch and of course if I was to do that I might as well add in one of these ... 

...yeah... I didn't even want him in the set so my break gives me two of him. I am sure someone will want it though. 

Next up were two different Puigs. The base one I wanted for sure and will be on the lookout for the blue parallel but the case also gave me the copper parallel. Not sure what I will do with that as of yet. Think it holds a little more trade value rather than contesting it out. We shall see.

Also received the copper version of Adrian. This one is up for trade if anyone wants it. 

An Adrian parallel that I will be keeping though. I am glad I scored one of the blue cards so I don't have to go searching for it online.

84 of 99

Now for the inserts. Jackie is not represented in the base set but he does appear in the Canvas Collection insert set. The card has a portrait feel to it's surface and not the normal slick coating. My Jackie collection is sorely lacking and this is a welcome addition.

I just knew since I talked crap about Nolasco that my one "hit" of an autograph would be of him. I have nothing more to say.

387 / 399

Onto the first of two relic cards that were in the case. This jumbo is of Chad who I hope makes a full recovery and can rejoin our team in a month. Card has been selling for a few bucks on eBay so it won't being going there. Might keep it, might trade it. Anyone interested?

71 of 75

And now for my big hit. A quad relic of Yasiel numbered to 75. Thankfully it is of the two color variety as that will help it's resale value. This is already on eBay and previous sales have been anywhere between $50-$75 so as long as it's in that ballpark I will make my money back. 

That is all folks. I am quite disappointed with my luck on this break. Sometimes you win and sometimes you don't but thankfully I have the outlet of eBay to help me recoup the funds back. Great looking cards and I may just try one more break and see if my luck changes. 

Again, if interested in any of the card feel free to contact me for a trade.

BGS Raw Grade Update 4 - 2013 Topps Five Star : Sandy Koufax Now Slabbed a Gem Mint 9.5

THE card that I just wanted/needed to grade out to gem mint 9.5. I found out at the raw grading event that it did just that but now that I received it back in slabbed form I see that it was a strong 9.5 with even a 10 on corners! Anyone that collects thick cards like these know that corners are a major problem with them getting bent or frayed. When I first acquired the card I thought I had one of the better versions and was confident that it would get a 9.5 on corners. Guess I wasn't confident enough. = )

All the other sub grades graded out to a 9.5 which makes the overall grade of 9.5 a strong one that is not "weakened" but a 9 somewhere in the sub grades. Once again I couldn't be happier and this now is my new crown jewel in my Dodger autograph collection. I have an overall crown jewel which still hasn't seen a blog entry ( someday it will as its not a signed ball as it's a graded card ). 

I replaced my crown jewel which was a signed Koufax ball with a now graded autographed Koufax card. Value wise this is better. I still would love to compliment this with an IP autograph of the great lefty. Someday. 

Well that ends the week on a bang with the graded cards. Hopefully when BGS comes out again for a raw grading event I can strike gold again. I have a Bryce Harper autographed Bowman Chrome rookie card just itching for a gem mint grade. 

1 of only 2 in the world.

Gem Mint autograph grade

Trade with Dr. Liu Part 19 - Matt Kemp Signed Jersey

After almost 3 weeks of daily posts we have reached the final item of the trade. A heads up though, I just completed another trade with the Dr. so more posts are a-coming.

This jersey along with the Puig and Kershaw autographs are the big gets for me from the trade. No matter what Kemp is still my favorite player even if his on field performance is lacking. There are too many other factors that make it still enjoyable to watch him play.

With all the autographs I have of the Bison I have never owned a jersey signed by him. Even though I haven't really collected jerseys that is still surprising to this collector. Well that hole in my collection has now been filled with this clean signature.

Even though I would have been happy with the signature being placed anywhere I am happy it is on the number 7.

So that is it from my biggest trade ever with one person. Thank you again to Dr. Liu for all the great stuff in the trade and I look forward to more in store signings at his office.

Contest Over At Big 44 Sports Cards

Nathan over at Big 44 Sports Cards is hosting another contest.

Nathan loves his Pirates and I have done one trade with him so far with me needing to send him cards to finish up a second one. A trustworthy guy and a fun blog to check in on everyday to see what he has acquired. If you get the chance, take a look at this blog and not just for the contest.

Winnings from the contest are a random assortment of 4 cards and would be nice trade bait.

Upcoming Player Apperance / Signing : Dee Gordon @ Harry's Dugout On April 26, 2014

Current and surprisingly Dodgers second baseman Dee Gordon will be making an in store appearance in a few weeks at Harry's Dugout.

Dee is one of the nicest and most personable players on the team as I have met him a few times already and have seen how he interacts with fans and other players. A class act all around. Signing is only for a hour so get there early so you don't miss out. Any questions or to pre purchase tickets feel free to call Harry's.

• Baseball Cards - $10
• Flats up to 11x14 - $20
• Baseballs, Minis, Hats and Flats up to 16x20 - $25
• Jerseys, Bats and Artwork - $35
• Inscriptions - $10

Photo of the Day : Don Drysdale 8x10 JSA Autograph

My first reacquired autograph that happens to not be a card.

Don is Dodger royalty and not having his autograph represented in my collection was not a possibility. He was part of the signed baseball purge but I knew going in that a signed card might not be a possibility. Due to his untimely death he was not around for the on card autographs that Topps releases nowadays. I could have gone the cut autograph route but I am not really a fan of those. I also could have acquired one of the old Topps card from the 60's that Don signed and then PSA authenticated but I thought Don was a good subject to get on a photo since photos and cards are what I am collecting now.

eBay here I come again and for the most part all the pre-authenticated photos had an asking price of at least $80. Wanted Don but not at that price. I did have a lot of wiggle room with the ball sale and found this JSA photo with an asking price of $45. Very reasonable but with a best offer you know I was going to haggle. 2 days later the seller and I agreed to a price and Don became the first reacquired autograph in my collection that happens to be a photo instead of a card. Nice crisp autograph from a Dodger great. Welcome back Don.

BGS Raw Grade Update 3 - 2013 Bowman Chrome : Manny Machado Now Slabbed a Gem Mint 9.5

Of all the cards this and tomorrow's subject were the ones I really wanted to grade out to gem mint. I was very worried about the edges having an issue but it received a perfect 10. Now the surface grade was the weakest with just a 9. Maybe BGS considers the lower part where I believed to see some fraying as a surface problem not an edge problem. Don't know and don't care as what I wanted was a gem mint grade and didn't care how it was achieved.

I believe Manny here will have a very good career and I wanted to have a Bowman Chrome autograph card of him in gem mint condition and luckily I have done just that with good eyes and a little luck.

Not as rare as the previous two cards but currently still one of only 39 in the world

Trade with Dr. Liu Part 18 - Damian Jackson Signed Jersey

With the photos done I move onto the final two pieces of the trade with Dr. Liu. It was jersey time. Tomorrow's jersey was the one I wanted but when I got to his office he informed me he threw one into the trade even though I didn't ask for it.

Damian was technically a Dodger but never took the field with the team as he was cut prior to the 2007 season after being signed as free agent in the off season. I don't know much about Damian but as you can see from the jersey he was a member of the Red Sox for a year.

A nice clean signature. Thank you for the freebie.

Card of the Day - 2014 Topps : Mike Trout All-Rookie Vintage Gold Cup Insert ( 22 / 25 )

I don't see many parallels of insert sets but this thick card falls into that category. Really trying to add some big Trout cards to my collection and this is one of the bigger ones that is not an autograph. The regular card is numbered to 99 and features the current version of the ROY trophy. This one though shows the old aka vintage trophy and is numbered to only 25. A hard card to acquire for sure.

I have only seen four of these sell on eBay and with book at $80 most of them flirted with the $60 mark. Trout cards tend to hold their value which makes it hard to get a bargain.

A seller had this card up on a best offer auction with an asking price of $60. Nope, not going to happen. A lot of back and forth for a day between him an I and we finally agreed on an acceptable price for the both of us. Soon enough this card made its way to my house. Great looking and the corners while one was a little rounded ( which is to be expected with these thick cards ) were nice and sharp for the most part. Important to get as many Trout cards prior to the season before his prices explode again.

Another thick Topps card of Trout

22 of only 25

.

Vintage trophy of Trout's well deserved ROY award.

BGS Raw Grade Update 2 - 2013 Bowman Inception : Hyun-Jin Ryu Now Slabbed a Gem Mint 9.5

Next up on the BGS update posts is Mr. Ryu. The pitcher with a 1-0 record but should be 2-0 as the offense did not show up and support him in San Diego this past Sunday.

Unlike the Puig card I was a little worried about the corners and had to hope the other three sub grades would grade out 9.5 with the thinking that the corners would receive a 9. It played out exactly like I thought it would. The corners did get a 9 as expected and the others received at least a 9.5 with surface getting a 10 to obtain the overall gem mint grade of 9.5.

Ryu is set up to have a great year and this card can only become more valuable. Great addition to my graded card collection.

Like Puig yesterday, 1 of 4 in the world.

Trade with Dr. Liu Part 17 also Photo of the Day - Clayton Kershaw Signed 8 x 10

The final post of photos in the trade with Dr. Liu. Tomorrow starts a two day posting of the other items but this is the prize of the photos. My Cy Young himself, Clayton Kershaw.

I have plenty of Kershaw autographs but have yet to have one on a photo and even if I wasn't getting out of collecting signed balls I still wanted one in my possession. Clayton is one of the few signed balls I am keeping at the present moment. Once I get one on a black ball then I will trade/or sell that one but for the time being it stays with me.

Clayton is on course for a hall of fame career and I attended his first game back in 08 when he faced off against the Cardinals. Like now he had minimal run support that day but he wasn't saddled with the loss. Anytime I can get my hands on yet another autograph of Kershaw I am going to do it and lucky for me Dr. Liu had one to trade and I gladly welcomed it with open arms.

After 17 days the photo portion of the trade is over. All quality autographs. Thank you again for all of them and look forward to more trading ( which by the way we are working on trade 2 as we speak ).

Card of the Day - 1998 Stadium Club : Nomar Garciaparra and Eric Karros Autograph

Went into the way back machine to snatch up this card. 16 year old card from a long ago set called Stadium Club. This was another of those pricey brands I collected back in the 90's. The pretty vibrant pictures popped well on these cards. I never acquired an autograph from this brand back then but now that I have reentered the hobby I final have one that I can call my own.

This card falls under the reacquired autographs needed from the signed balls I am unloading but what is great about this one is that it is a 2 in 1. Nomar and Eric fall under the category of not looking for an investment card when trying to obtain their autographs but more of the bargain basement type.

I was actually searching for a Nomar autograph when this one popped up with Eric also on the card. Oh yeah. Can knock off two off the list of autographs needed in one card/transaction. Another one of those best offers was attached to this card and the negotiating began. Not too much back and forth till the card was mine. Two down with many more to go.

Nice dual autograph card.

Eric Karros

Nomar Garciaparra

BGS Raw Grade Update 1 - 2013 Bowman Sterling : Yasiel Puig Now Slabbed a Gem Mint 9.5

Last month I went to a BGS raw grading event at South Bay cards and came away ecstatic with the results. I ended up with 4 out of 5 9.5 gem mint cards. Considering I knew the other one I submitted would not be a gem mint I will chalk this up as a 4 for 4 transaction. The one thing that you don't know with the raw grade is the actual sub grades that make up the final grade. Now with them back I can see how close or how far I was from a 9 or a possible 10.

One a day posts for the rest of the week with the surprising and biggest card on Friday to end off the week.

First up is the 2013 Bowman Sterling Puig card. When I first submitted the card I felt out of all of them it was the surest to receive a gem mint grade. It received the gem mint grade but I was a tad surprised on the corners grade. Everything received a 9.5 ( with edges getting a 10 ) but the corners only received a 9. Corners looked crisp to me but I guess not crisp enough. But in the end I still got my gem mint grade so no harm was done.

1 of only 4 in the world at this time.

Trade with Dr. Liu Part 16 also Photo of the Day - Yasiel Puig Signed 8 x 10

After 15 daily posts about the signed photos portion of the trade with Dr. Liu we get to the second to last photo. For those that have read each one you probably ( or maybe not ) have figured out I went from least favorite to my favorite among the photos. Some people would say that Puig here would be the prize of the batch and it sure is great looking in silver pen but with just one year under his belt he has a ways to prove he can live up to all the hoopla.

That said this is a great action photo of the young Cuban and looks great next to my other autographs of Mr. Puig. If not for tomorrow's subject this for sure would have been the prize of the photo litter.

A side note with Yasiel. It's nice to get him on a photo as placement is not an issue. On balls unless you pay or really are in with him he will side panel you. Annoying. One of the two main reasons I have moved away from signed balls.

Card(s) of the Day - 2013 Bowman Chrome : Base Blue Refractor Parallels ( Multiple Players )

A new day, a new lot of blue refractors from 2013 Bowman Chrome

For the most part I am just picking up the non stars at the present moment as they are the easier ones to acquire and can be had for less than a dollar each and in some cases a lot less than a dollar. These five fall into the later as all of them were bought from a seller that was running a special and they cost me hardly anything.

Another small dent in in my quest to get all 440 cards in blue form.

Brandon Phillips. Tommy Milone and Mike Morse

Austin Jackson and Coco Crisp