Unfinished Business

This has been a week for finishing tasks left for too long. I have reorganized my collection, accounting for players and now many insert sets, hopefully leading to more trades. I have finished a puzzle that was sitting on my dining room table for six months, damn "Starry Night". And more importantly, I am completing my trade post from last week.

Mike Figga 1996 Best #34


P.J. Forbes 1992 Classic #376


Mark Leonard 1993 Score #381


Mark Lewis 1992 Ultra #51


Calvin Maduro 1995 Bowman #121


Kevin McGehee 1992 Classic #256


Sherman Obando 1992 SkyBox #10


Willis Otanez 1995 Upper Deck Minors #212


Brian Sackinsky 1993 Classic #59


Garrett Stephenson 1996 Fleer Excel #8


Pedro Swann 1996 Fleer Excel #134


Jesus Tavarez 1994 Upper Deck Minors #114

Two Months in the Majors

As part of my last trade I received a Brent Bowers autograph card. Many people have no idea who he is, and with good reason. Brent spent just over a month in the bigs with the Orioles during the home stretch of the 1996 season. He hit for a great average, /307, but was lacking in all power categories.

And what did he get for his efforts? Free agency. He landed just North on I-95 in Philadelphia. He was never able to break through to the major leagues again and with a 14 year minor league career. With limited major league appearances, Brent only has 2 major cards produced, both with the Blue Jays. He does have a Bowie BaySox card from 1996 out there somewhere, but I have yet to find one. He's been coaching in the minors, so if I do happen to find a BaySox card, I will gladly try my luck TTM.

Brent Bowers Dunedin Blue Jays Classic Best #6

What a Rip-Off!

I finally found out how to use Google Reader and actually READ the blogs I have been following and realize everyone is opening 2011 Topps. Maybe because it is 1 of only 2 baseball products on the market it is getting so much play, but I felt left out. So I am ripping everyone off and posting what I got.

I bought 12 packs over 2 different boxes and it wouldn't be Eutaw Street if I didn't start with my Birds.

My scanner software blows, so words are all you get today. I got 2 Koji Uehara, Brandon Snyder and Felix Pie base cards, coupled with a Koji Blingy Blingy one.
I am holding on to these fellas for IP Auto's when I get to the park this year.

Here is what is available:

Diamond Duos:
Reggie Jackson/Adam Jones (Orioles) #DD-JJ
Josh Hamilton/Vlad Guerrero (Rangers) #DD-HG
Justin Upton/Mike Stanton (D-Backs/Marlins) #DD-US

Kimball Champions:
Shin-Soo Choo (Indians) #KG-21
Mat Latos (Padres) #KG-23
Pablo Sandoval (Giants) #KG-41

Topps 60:
Mickey Mantle (Yankees) #T60-7
Carl Crawford (Rays) #T60-16
Shin-Soo Choo (Indians) #T60-41

60 Years of Topps:
Carl Yaztrzemski (Red Sox) #YOT-24 1975 Topps
Tony Gwynn (Padres) #YOY-33 1984 Topps
Vlad Guerrero (Expos) #YOT-51 2002 Topps
The Lost Cards:
Stan Musial (Cardinals) #YOTLC-5 1955 Topps

Have I mentioned that I hate Topps Town inserts? These are just awful to me, one per pack and pure garbage. Who wants em?
Topps Town:
Chris Young (D-Backs) #TT-11
David Wright (Mets) #TT-15
Starlin Castro (Cubs) #TT-21
David Ortiz (Red Sox) #TT-28
Ryan Braun (Brewers) #TT-30
Felix Hernandez (Mariners) #TT-34
Adrian Gonzalez (Padres) #TT-39
Carlos Santana (Indians) #TT-41
Kevin Youkilis (Red Sox) #TT-42
Hanley Ramirez (Marlins) #TT-45
Dustin Pedroia (Red Sox) #TT-47
CC Sabathia (Yankees) #TT-49

Bling Bling:
Zach Duke (Pirates) #96
Hernandez/Buchholz/Price (Mariners/Red Sox/Rays) #235

Gold Parallel #'d /2011:
Desmond Jennings (Rays) #80
Jeremy Jeffress (Brewers) #143

Black Parallel #'d /60:
Mariano Rivera (Yankees) #42

Reprints:
Joe Mauer (Twins) #340 2009 Topps
Why on earth would they reprint a card that is only 2 years old. This makes absolutely no sense to me. Zero.

Topps CMG Reprints:
Ty Cobb (Detroit) #CMGR-28

Base Cards:
2,5,5,11,12,13,26,29,30,35,36,41,41,42,47,47,49,58,59,64,66,103,104,114,121,123,124,126,128,129,131,
137,145,145,153,158,159,165,166,180,197,198,202,225,226,234,237,241,241,243,251,254,255,255,256,256,
260,261,263,268,277,279,280,281,281,289,289,295,296,300,301,306,309,310326,326,329,330

Dos Mas

I am keeping true to my word, pairing up my most recent trade. Tonight's coupling is of Spanish speaking ballplayers with minimal exposure as an Oriole.

Bobby Munoz 1995 Pacific #335
First up is Puerto Rican born Bobby Munoz. He started his career in Yankee pinstripes in 1993 before being dealt to the Phillies for Terry Mulholland. He found himself in Philadelphia over the next four seasons, gaining the most exposure of his career. When he came to Baltimore he didn't have his best stuff. Or decent stuff for that matter. His ERA almost topped 10.00 in 9 games and earned a 3 year hiatus from the majors. His swan song came in 2001 as an Expo, lasting only 15 games.

Jesus Tavarez 1994 Upper Deck Minors #114

Tavarez has more in common with Munoz than originally thought. He also appeared in less than 10 games as an Oriole and didn't make much of his opportunity. He was unable to crest the Mendoza line and unfortunately was quite forgettable.

I for one, forgot all about him.

With a combined 17 games between them it's easy to see why no Orioles cards exist. Two more names crossed off the list.

Two By Two

I'm a hypocrite. Yesterday's post was about not trading and now I will be posting about a trade I just made, a pretty big one. In total, my trade brought home 15 new birds to cross off my list. Many of these guys don't sign well or have just fallen off the planet. It's a pretty nice haul and all I had to give up was a few Derek Jeter cards and a Buster Posey insert.

I am going to post it up in pairs over the next few days. I hope you enjoy.

First up, Curtis Goodwin. I traded for a pair of autographs because one was advertised as smeared. It's slightly smeared but looks good. I am thinking about putting it in the collection instead of the minor league card, any opinions?

Curtis Goodwin 1994 Bowman #487


Curtis Goodwin 1993-1994 Excel #6

Curtis was lightning in a bottle, or on the basepaths for that matter, when he was called up to the big club in 1995. He stole 22 of 26 bases in half a season and showed a ton of promise. He also hit .263 and scored 40 runs, a good 4th outfielder who brought a spark to the lineup. But that is all we would see in a home jersey. He was shipped at seasons end to Cincinatti for David Wells. His career never took off and after five teams in five seasons he was relegated to the minors. He retired in 2004, but made a curtain call with a SOCL team in 2007. I think that's a step above the California Penal League.

Making Some Room

Google Reader has allowed me to catch up on the blog-o-sphere. So many of you have been making a ton of trades to compliment your collections. My collection is much more narrow. Trades are difficult to make when the majority of my cards are base or inserts, not autographs.

So trades don't happen all that much and I still have thousands of cards, sitting, taking up space. Now I have started to sell off what I have. I am not getting out of the hobby, just thought I could get some scratch together for some of the bigger names I need to fill. Not to mention the National Convention returning to Baltimore next year.

So the first part is player collections. Those can be found here. Prices listed are a starting point, but I would like to sell the lots intact. You can post on The Bench or let me know here what you are interested in.

Thanks for the read.

Trade With McGilicutty

He is not a blogger just a fellow collector. We made the trade on one of my favorite sites, The Bench. I added a few Nationals autographs to give to my nephew, who is almost 6. I am not sure he cares, but I pick up autographs for him when there is nothing else I need from people. Hopefully he does.

In the midst of getting cards for him, I found one for me as well.

Damian Moss 1996 Best #55

Moss' career started off well with the Braves, finishing fifth in the N.L. Rookie of the Year voting. He had 12 wins in his rookie campaign but it was all downhill from there. His next 3 major league seasons only brought 10 total wins. When Moss played for the Orioles in 2003 he pulled in only one win in 9 starts. 2004 marked his last Major League season as he has been toiling in the minors ever since.

His career hit its low point in 2005 as he was suspended 15 games in the minors for a positive steroids test. He has bounced around since then, never cracking a major league roster again. I sent a request to him last season c/o the Colorado Springs SkySox of the Colorado Rockies organization, no avail. I have heard rumors he has retired, but nothing definitive. Anyone have any idea where he is hiding these days? I still need to upgrade to his 2004 Bazooka card, the only one depicting him as an Oriole.

Erik Bedard Addition

Man I am naive. I thought that "Mr. Personality", Erik Bedard, may have changed since leaving Baltimore. I figured a devastating injury and lack-luster performance would have humbled the former Orioles pitcher. Humbled him enough to sign TTM at my requests. I of course was not correct.

I have tried him a multitude of ways: off season at a home address, pre-season in Spring Training and with the big club during the regular season. All with nothing to show for it. When looking at 50/50 requests he is almost always left off lists of Mariners players or has a hefty price tag attached. As mentioned in earlier posts, I don't like to pay for IP autographs to be done, so my collection lacked Mr. Bedard's presence. That is until now.

Before I get peppered with questions as to what address or which method paid off, I must tell you, it was a trade. I am a cheater, I know. But I had to do it. A shout out to Greg at Plaschke, Thy Sweater Is Argyle, for hunting me down and forcing this card into my collection. I also received a LaRon Landry Autograph for the Redskins collection.

Erik Bedard 2007 Bowman's Best Blue Autograph #46

For all you Orioles Blog fans out there, I am not ripping off Ryan from The Great Orioles Autograph Project. Mine is blue. And numbered. I can now cross Bedard off the list and use some stamps on guys that may actually sign.

But just you wait. I will have to eat my words and look like an ass when I have the sole Bedard TTM success of the last 3 years in my mailbox this Saturday. What are the odds?

LaRon Landry 2007 Finest Autographs #147
At least you can tell he is #30. Not a clue what the signature actually says. Too bad. I was hoping as a rookie he hadn't already forgotten how to sign his name.

A Chance At More Free Stuff

Another chance at some free schwag. I like the prize, getting some shopping done for me would be sweet. Check it out.

http://tomahawkchopping.blogspot.com/2011/03/contest-time.html