[zeprock]

1st - congrats on your 30,000 milestone!

Love your Feller cards!  He is second only to the Babe in my book.  His is the only HOF auto I have - a signed baseball.  Always wondered why he doesnt get more love in the collectable industry - I guess because he has a bizzillion auto's.  Would have liked to have met and had a conversation with him in person.

Thanks Joe.

Agree on the no love part. He was Koufax and Ryan before Koufax and Ryan and both of their cards are pricier than their contemporaries. It seems Feller should be in that same class. Had he not lost prime years to the Navy, who knows how gaudy his numbers could have been.

[zeprock]

Here are nine cards from my collection all released in 2011. 

       
2011 Prime Cuts Icons Jersey Position Prime #28 Phil Niekro/25
2011 Topps #626B Nolan Ryan SP (A veteran short print from 2011 Topps)
2011 Topps Diamond Anniversary #271B Babe Ruth SP

       
2011 Topps Diamond Die Cut #DDC153 Ryne Sandberg (I won this by redeeming points from Topps' Diamond Giveaway contest that year.)
2011 Topps Triple Threads Gold #111 Brett Wallace Bat AU (If an Astros fan wants this beautiful card, PM me and I'll mark it for trade as Mr. Wallace is not a player that I collect.)
2011 Topps Update #US18B Joe DiMaggio SP (Another veteran short print. This one from Topps Update.)

       
2011 Topps Update #US132 Jose Altuve RC (One of the most disturbing photographs I've ever seen on a baseball card.)
2011 Topps Update #US175 Mike Trout RC (Here's my Trout rookie. I pulled two of them that year and traded one here on Beckett when the value jumped up to $3. I didn't know who he was at the time and thought it was kind of fishy that a franchise whose best player in recent years was a guy named Salmon was now was all in on someone named Trout. If it was you that I traded it to, just PM me a thank you and that will make me feel better. You'll be seeing more of Mike Trout in upcoming years featured in this thread.)
2011 Topps Update #US205 D.J. LeMahieu RC (A year ago this card was valued at less than $5. Not anymore.)

[Phillies_Joe]

2011 Topps Flagship has to be my most favorite Topps product ever. Great looking cards, lots of shiney cards, stars and significant rookies galore, Topps Diamond Giveaways contests (I particularly enjoyed the die-cut cards) cards your mom threw out ect. ect. Ten years later - what an explosion in prices.

[zeprock]

I collect Pete Rose even though Pete is not in the Hall of Fame. In my opinion he was a Hall of Fame player and I would like to see him enshrined in Cooperstown but I understand why he's not. The credentials are there. A switch-hitter, "Charlie Hustle" is the game's all-time leader in hits, games played, at bats and singles. He won three World Series, three Batting Championships, two Gold Glove Awards, a MVP and a Rookie of the Year to go along with 17 All-star appearances at a record five different positions and a 44-game hitting streak. Rose took a gamble and bet on the game, even on his own team. Some would say, what is wrong with betting on your own team to win, but what does it say to the bookies on days when you don't bet on your own team to win? To date Rose is the only player ever to agree to be banished from baseball. I've already showed you several of my vintage Rose cards as I've worked my way up through the 60s in this thread. I currently have 467 different Beckett recognized cards of him. Here are nine more from my collection.

       
1968 Topps #230 Pete Rose
1968 Topps Game #30 Pete Rose
1969 Topps #424 Pete Rose AS

       
1970 Topps #458 Pete Rose AS
1971 Kellogg's #65 Pete Rose (I actually remember pulling this from a box of Sugar Smacks when I was a kid. I told my Mom who he was and she commented on his uniform matching his name as roses are basically red.)
1971 Topps #100 Pete Rose

       
1972 Topps #560 Pete Rose IA
1975 Topps #320 Pete Rose
2012 Leaf Pete Rose The Living Legend Autographs #AU34 Pete Rose

[zeprock]

I want to be clear about this. I love the acetate cards that you can see through. Here are nine different ones from my collection.

       
1993 Classic Four Sport Acetates #9 Alex Rodriguez (This is the first acetate card I ever acquired. I pulled it out of a dollar box at a card show. It originally was an insert in 1993 Classic Four Sport foil packs.)
1995 Stadium Club Clear Cut #CC12 Kirby Puckett (Cards from this set were inserted one in every 24 packs of hobby and retail Stadium Club.)
1996 Clear Assets #52 Barry Bonds (This is from a 70-card multi-sport set.)

       
1996 Pinnacle Essence of the Game #7 Ken Griffey Jr. (This insert set utilized a micro-etched print technology to display color player cutouts on acetate cards studded with stars.)
1996 Studio Stained Glass Stars #4 Greg Maddux (These inserts featured color player images on a genuine-look stained glass background and were printed with a clear plastic, die-cut technology. Reminds me of church.)
1997 Ultra Home Run Kings #8 Mike Piazza (Cards from this 12-card set were seeded one in every 36 packs of series one hobby and features ultra crystal cards with transparent refractive holo-foil technology.)

       
1999 Finest Peel and Reveal Hyperplaid #5 Nomar Garciaparra (Along with Sparkle and Stadium Stars, this rather uncommon Hyperplaid was one of three Peel and Reveal inserts found one in every 60 packs. You had to peel off a protective coating to see which version you got. This card does have a light sparkly plaid design in the background that just won't show in this scan.)
2008 Stadium Club Beam Team Autographs Black and White #JP Jonathan Papelbon (I think Papelbon was an idiot. He certainly couldn't write his own name. However this is a pretty cool-looking card. The non-black and white cards, of which this is a parallel of, are colorful and look like the stained glass cards.)
2014 Topps High Tek Spiral Bricks Disco Diffractor 50 #HTTGW Tony Gwynn (In recent years Topps has resurrected the Topps Tek brand that was first introduced in the late 1990s. This Gwynn card is serial numbered to 50.)

[Phillies_Joe]

I want to be clear about this. I love the acetate cards that you can see through. I see

I see what you did there!

[zeprock]

Today's post would certainly get a comment from former member Nolan5000. It's been about five years since Jason left his Ryan collection behind and moved on to meet his Creator. Ryan's name popped up next on the randomizer. Nolan is the all-time leader in Strikeouts, Bases on Balls issued, No-Hitters and is tied with Bob Feller for the most one-hitters. The consummate fireballer who regularly threw more than 100mph, he is one of only five pitchers in the Hall of Fame that has more strikeouts than innings pitched. His number has been retired by three different teams. He won his only World Series ring early in his career with the Amazin' Miracle Mets in 1969. After a lengthy career that spanned parts of four decades, Ryan took on executive roles with both the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros. As of this posting, I have 1467 unique Beckett recognized cards of the "Ryan Express". In addition, I probably have another 50 or so that Beckett doesn't recognize. Like Pete Rose a couple of posts ago, I've already shown you lots of my Ryan cards throughout this thread. Here are nine more that I've scanned in.

       
1970 Topps #197 NL Playoff Game 3/Nolan Ryan (Contributing to the Amazin' Mets 1969 World Championship.)
1975 Topps #500 Nolan Ryan
1976 Topps #330 Nolan Ryan

       
1993 Finest #107 Nolan Ryan AS
1993 Pacific Ryan Limited #9 Nolan Ryan/Seven No-Hit Games
2003 Fleer Fall Classics Legendary Collection Memorabilia #NR Nolan Ryan Jsy

       
2005 Leaf Sportscasters 25 Green Leaping-Glove #33 Nolan Ryan
2006 Upper Deck Epic Materials Light Purple #NR2 Nolan Ryan Jsy/155
2015 Panini Cooperstown Golf Classic #38 Nolan Ryan

[zeprock]

2012 was a year of loss for me. My dog passed in February, my favorite Uncle in September then a long-time friend and then a co-worker and finally my Mom to cancer, something that I grieved about publicly here in the forums at the time. I sat at her bedside and read to her from her Bible up until the afternoon she passed. Along with my faith, my cards have always been my sanctuary to take me away from the concerning things going on around me. Here are nine of my cards from 2012.

       
2012 Bowman Red #141 Dustin Pedroia (This 1/1 was a gift sent to me from my trading friend in the Los Angeles area. I'd sent her lots of Dodgers cards throughout the past years and she would always surprise me with packages and this was in one of them.)
2012 Leaf Inscriptions #ILB1 Lou Brock
2012 Panini Cooperstown Signatures #40 Carl Yastrzemski/75 (This was another gift from a grateful member here that I designed a signature for.)

       
2012 Panini Prizm #50 Mike Trout
2012 Sportkings Autographs Silver #ADWI1 Dave Winfield/50
2012 Topps Allen and Ginter Mini #390 Reggie Jackson EXT (I believe this was pulled out of a rip card, not ripped by me.)

       
2012 Topps Chrome #144 Mike Trout
2012 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini Straight Cut Back #336 Mike Trout
2012 Topps Heritage #207 Mike Trout

[zeprock]

Here is another current player that I am collecting. I believe Clayton Kershaw is Hall-bound as an eight-time All-star, three-time Cy Young Award Winner with a pitching Triple Crown, a MVP Award and a no-hitter to his credit, and now that he has a World Series Championship on his resume, he's probably a no-doubter. He's led the NL in Victories and Strikeouts three times each and in ERA five times. He's been honored for his humanitarian work as well as his excellence on the mound. I currently have 585 different Beckett recognized cards of Kershaw including these nine.

       
2008 Stadium Club #107a Clayton Kershaw RC
2008 Topps Allen and Ginter #72 Clayton Kershaw RC
2013 Topps Mini Gold #81 Clayton Kershaw/Johnny Cueto/R.A. Dickey

       
2015 Topps Career High Relics #CRHCK Clayton Kershaw
2015 Topps Tribute Relics #TRCK Clayton Kershaw
2016 Topps Vintage Stock #125 Zack Greinke/Clayton Kershaw/Jake Arrieta LL

       
2018 Topps Heritage '69 Bazooka All Time Greats #69BG8 Clayton Kershaw
2019 Panini Prizm Profiles #10 Clayton Kershaw
2019 Topps Heritage Clubhouse Collection Relics #CCRCK Clayton Kershaw

[zeprock]

Today I am going to share nine cards that I sent away to have autographed. These were all obtained by me.

       
1988 Pacific Legends I #15 Robin Roberts Autographed (I sent two cards to Robin Roberts and he sent both of them back signed along with a request for a donation to a charity he supported.)
1988 Score #583 Jeff DeWillis Autographed (Jeff was a rare case where a ballplayer actually contacted me. He came across my website and emailed me wanting to buy any cards I had of him. I had a couple and went on a hunt to trade for more and ended up finding a couple dozen that I sent to him for free in exchange for one signed by him. Jeff only had two MLB cards and they were this 1988 Score and the Glossy version of the same card. He was working as a baseball coach in Texas and we shared several pleasant emails.)
1989 Pacific Legends II #172 Ernie Harwell ANN Autographed (This is one of two cards the legendary Ernie Harwell was kind enough to sign and return to me.)

       
1999 Paramount #48 Mark Grace Autographed (Mark Grace was my first successful "through the mail" autograph. I sent him two cards and he promptly returned them both to me signed.)
2003 Topps Gallery HOF #40B Lee MacPhail Red Tie Autographed (Hall of Fame executive Lee MacPhail signed this card of his on the back instead of the front. It does show up better on the white but I wish he's signed the front just the same. I had included one of my Zeprock business cards which he also signed on the back and returned to me.)
2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites #97 Johnny Pesky Autographed (Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky signed this card that I mailed to him just a year or two before he passed.)

       
2005 Upper Deck Classics #86 Sparky Anderson Autographed (I showed the Tigers card of Sparky that I'd sent in to be autographed earlier in this thread. This Reds card is the other card I sent him at the same time.)
2007 George Kell Pocket Calendar Autographed (HOFer George Kell signed both of the cards I'd sent him and included two of his own personal pocket calendars along with my cards which he had also signed. I showed one of the calendars earlier in this thread. Here is the other one.)
2007 Topps #29 Pat Neshek Autographed (Pat advertised on his website that he would sign any cards mailed to him. I sent in the two cards I had of him at the time and gave one to my son. Pat sent them back along with a minor league card of himself which he had also signed.)