EBay Addition: Chone Figgins

The second card in the Ebay lot, was Chone Figgins. I remember Figgins from his time with the Angels. Another great addition to the collection.

EBay Addition: J.R. Towles

I just picked up three more Signed 2008 Allen and Ginter cards for our collection off of EBay. The first card I will show is J.R. Towles. The seller had two of these cards, one in red ink and one in black. I really liked how the red ink looked and the sharpness of the autograph so I chose this one.

TTM Return First of 2012

After a long wait, the first TTM Return of 2012 arrives. This one is from Juan Pierre. He added a biblical chapter, Psalms 37. I would paraphrase the chapter, but I will allow those who are interested to check it out on their own. Like most of the Psalms, it is a nice read.

This return originally was sent to the White Sox, and came back "return to sender". So the speed of return is misleading.

Thanks Juan!

First signs of Ginter - Pack 3

I am just going to wrap up here. This is the last pack I picked up in my first Ginter purchase of 2012. My first pack already produced my first Diamondback for the set. Future purchases has continued to be as kind in that respect.

Aroldis Chapman - Base - 70

Matt Joyce - Base - 83

Al Unser, Sr. - Base - 237

Jayson Werth - Short Print - 302

Jose Valverde - Base - 151

Austin Jackson - Black Bordered Mini - 238

Like others, I am not a fan of the new black bordered mini designs. They do scan nice, but they need to have a more defined or solid edge. After it was all said and done, I really like this years set and I will attempt to complete it. I also want to get all of the Diamondback relics and autos, and maybe the Angels as well.

First Signs of Ginter Pack 2

Moving on the the first retail pack. Also, I will acknowledge that this is very "late to the party", and not filled with "uber hits". That however will not stop me from sharing. I would have said, "slow me down" but I can't have been much slower.

Joe Benson - Base - 144

Derek Jeter - Base - 274

Zach Britton - Base - 63

Willis Tower - World's Tallest Buildings - WTB4

Derek Jeter - What's in a name - WIN52

Igor Stravinsky - Musical Masters Mini - MM14

I am not a huge fan of the "What's in a name" inserts, they feel like they just lack something. The "world's Tallest Buildings" are not bad, but I think my favorite inserts this year will be the "Historical Turning Points".  I really like the Mini's this year, "Musical Masters", "Man's Best Friend, "People of the Bible", and "Giants of the Deep". Too bad I haven't found a good way to store the minis with out using binders.

First Signs of Ginter Pack 1

This post has been waiting to be written for a while. The scans were scanned, edited, and uploaded, but the writing of it was a long time coming.

I had seen people busting packs and boxes of Ginter this year but my local Target was slow getting the product. I checked each morning before heading in to work and finally I was rewarded. I actually got there before the pack searchers (ran into him the following day). I grabbed one rack pack, and two regular retail packs.

I grabbed the rack pack because I noticed a Diamondback cap on one of the front cards. I will show this pack first

Daniel Hudson - Base - 132

Hunter Pence - Base - 26

Erick Aybar - Base - 127

Brett Pill - Base - 192

Jon Lester - What's in a name - WIN70

Josh Johnson - Base Mini - 43

I love the design this year. I saw that others had mentioned that they look better in person than in the scans. They are correct, the scan can make the borders look a little overwhelming. In my opinion, this years Ginter design is one of the bests, ranking up there with 2006-2008. I was very happy with the score coming from the top of the rack pack. Love the Hudson, getting a Diamondback as my first card of 2012 Ginter was a perfect way to start.

J.J. Hardy - Base - 194

Ryan Vogelsong - Base - 152

Jackie Robinson - Base - 31

Kyle Farnsworth - Short Print - 304

40 Wall Street - World's Tallest Buildings - WTB8

Kurt Suzuki - Base Mini - 69

All in all, a nice start to my 2012 Ginter experience. The Jackie Robinson, was by far my favorite. That and the Hudson card made my extremely satisfied with my first pack opening.

Ebay Pickups - Hudson, and Olympic goodness

I haven't had much time to do much of anything in the way of this blog recently. No cards going out for TTM, no trades, not even a blog post about not posting. What I have found time for was to browse EBay looking for a good deal. Here are a couple pickups that I got for a song (and if you ever heard me sing, the reward is to STOP singing)

2012 Topps U.S. Olympic Team & Olympic Hopefuls

Mary Whipple - OR-MW

2011 Topps Marquee - Acclaimed Impressions

Daniel Hudson - Dual Relic Auto 224/400 - AID-46

2011 Topps Gypsy Queen

Daniel Hudson - GQA-DH

Angels at home

I didn't plan on writing this post. It is a follow up on my last offering, taking my sons to the ballpark. I had mentioned how the sensory experience was overwhelming and put out the question, "How do you turn down the sensory volume of the ballpark to manageable levels?"

The following weekend after the Father's day Angel's game, we "attended" another baseball game. It was the Angels vs the Dodgers. This time we attended at home. The theory was to get the kids used to the different elements of the ballpark at home in comfort. Hopefully making the experience a little more familiar and eliminating the unexpected.

First we set the scene. We had a row of fans behind us (stuffed animals lined up, on top of the couch). We also had a row of fans in front of us (more animals lined up on the floor). The boys got ready, dressed in full Angels gear. The hats and t-shirts that were purchased the weekend before were now worn and both boys had their baseball mitts.

We played out the scenes. First arriving at the parking lot, or as reality would believe: started in a back bed room. Gave tickets to a park employee, then climbed a couple flights of imaginary stairs to finally arrive at our seats. The stadium seating was so tight, we had to turn side ways and shuffle down the couch to our seats, apologizing to the poor bear that had to get up to let us pass. Side note, I think he actually got bumped and fell to the field level. He was cool about it though, actually he didn't say a thing.

When the game broadcast started I had to get up and stand in line getting hotdogs. Reality looked more like me heading to kitchen to make two hotdogs and wrap them in foil. Both boys where really into it for the first inning, but then it started to turn south. The oldest continued to stay in the atmosphere, even adding his own play acting in there. A couple fans in the front row apparently were Dodger fans and cheered loudly when the Dodgers scored. The younger one however started to find this exercise as a reminder that he was NOT at the game. He lasted longer at the park, than he did at home. He constantly asked to go, "There!" pointing at the television. I am hoping to get a couple more of these "games" in before attempting another Big "A" outing.

I must say that the food and the parking was much cheaper this way though. Although, they did plow through so many snacks they almost had "tummy-aches".