tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-122045102024-03-18T22:36:09.799-04:00Nachos Grande: A Baseball Card BlogA blog all about baseball cards, the Cincinnati Reds, and Barry Larkin.Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.comBlogger8808125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-37984334679383745142024-03-18T08:00:00.001-04:002024-03-18T08:00:00.245-04:00A TCDB Surprise Card from mpdillard25! Today marks my first day having to go back to work after a week off for Spring Break. That's kind of rough, but at least I have a TCDB trade to show off to make Monday slightly more palatable!<div><br /></div><div>Today's trade is courtesy of Michael (aka mpdillard25 on TCDB). Michael and I have traded a few times and I'm happy to report that he recently saw a Barry Larkin relic and thought of me and purchased it. A few weeks ago (yeah, I'm behind on this posting), this beauty showed up in my mailbox:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrVHGd09XmsLwopThL1SeDGHB0zM3QO5Z-qNk5hru0uNR0vKGdxACVXAWW4weo7A64PGf8L6zKD0bcPeyO0wyUCD7oiqZ_iHliqROvR5aO3WRGKty1cdSs7L5DtGRpzr-oBv1YJSQesG9DFGFcBswAPwsCUQXaWBmzW7f2z8GbDYMvItYVWGSk/s1155/01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1155" data-original-width="929" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrVHGd09XmsLwopThL1SeDGHB0zM3QO5Z-qNk5hru0uNR0vKGdxACVXAWW4weo7A64PGf8L6zKD0bcPeyO0wyUCD7oiqZ_iHliqROvR5aO3WRGKty1cdSs7L5DtGRpzr-oBv1YJSQesG9DFGFcBswAPwsCUQXaWBmzW7f2z8GbDYMvItYVWGSk/w514-h640/01.jpg" width="514" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>That's a 2023 Topps 1988 Topps Baseball 35th Anniversary All-Stars Relic Black, serially numbered out of 199 on the back of the card. I'm on record as saying I greatly prefer the 1989 set over the 1988 set design, but I will say that the 1988 All-Star design make for some pretty sharp looking relic cards! </div><div><br /></div><div>Many, many thanks to Michael for the Barry Larkin relic! I don't know about you, but my Monday is definitely better now.</div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-17238013706998191442024-03-17T08:00:00.003-04:002024-03-17T08:00:00.251-04:00Cash for Cards 2.06: Topps Buybacks, a 2024 Relic, and a Joey Votto Rookie Card (plus more!)<p>The current stack of cards already has a relic in it, plus a bunch of other goodies. Today, I'm adding even more to the pile - a pair of Topps buyback cards. Love them or hate them, the buybacks can be tough to find...so perhaps someone out there could use one (or both?) of the buybacks I have on offer. Remember, you get the entire stack for the low listed price.</p><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Cash for Cards</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Stack cost: $10 </span>(includes shipping to US) </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>----</b></div><div><b>Stamped Buybacks:</b></div><div><b>1991 Topps: 451. Neal Heaton</b></div><div><b>2006 Topps: 324. Brandon Watson</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR3CjDjEXLKnH-QQQ1dMtUp_7i5xmxRAQ5a5Gar0j_fvu5_9p-FKEXy3WTxcM9ZutkTNUx0lMCDoc2Dtn7Q-LXs8TbhZaUjsmkcIjIZo7_VJ_iAQHJKld7sQiRtYVhXYlogR-qkNWdH8goZ4Aa8OvrTl06xYWiZmQqc9l52bQD6nfTQKpLGrSM/s1667/01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1133" data-original-width="1667" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR3CjDjEXLKnH-QQQ1dMtUp_7i5xmxRAQ5a5Gar0j_fvu5_9p-FKEXy3WTxcM9ZutkTNUx0lMCDoc2Dtn7Q-LXs8TbhZaUjsmkcIjIZo7_VJ_iAQHJKld7sQiRtYVhXYlogR-qkNWdH8goZ4Aa8OvrTl06xYWiZmQqc9l52bQD6nfTQKpLGrSM/w640-h434/01.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b>2024 Topps:</b></div><div><b>Major League Material</b></div><div><b>MLM-GC. Gerrit Cole</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg32hhuF08woSviMDRPyaalM9pCRnGQ1q8YXhzpe8Tg14jwhVxo8ym5BMqNC_XgoHXsb-9_gMKUVErv51OqHOUxtn6vYr8kyXkJVhN796Mchl_TaGEnjUCpvLzWNqm5Mve02DLeeR6_SooUejqy32_mer5avHMIpfD3icQ-5vhgNvgqnHZK6Bo9/s1140/01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="819" data-original-width="1140" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg32hhuF08woSviMDRPyaalM9pCRnGQ1q8YXhzpe8Tg14jwhVxo8ym5BMqNC_XgoHXsb-9_gMKUVErv51OqHOUxtn6vYr8kyXkJVhN796Mchl_TaGEnjUCpvLzWNqm5Mve02DLeeR6_SooUejqy32_mer5avHMIpfD3icQ-5vhgNvgqnHZK6Bo9/w640-h460/01.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b>1995 Topps Football:<br />281. Jamir Miller</b></div><div><b>292. Mike Pritchard</b></div><div><b>311. Steve Everitt</b></div><div><b>368. Pepper Johnson</b></div><div><b>Florida Hotbed: FH8. Emmitt Smith</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-P5B56SExQeAiN6Zhyphenhyphen7WhpETttT5iQxd1TOVFt3j0JRQRJA1_5B4V28zjlm17quhsqFd-HQqjkz9JwKkWuMB3VIemcpYqVVdrlnEadYzqeaJVgf2wlXAjM9CnLv1O3a-HbavSfiukjFpujd-rryfGCtZJKhbc0e27C2Epu3F-RlCupxtyHUoL/s2501/01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2329" data-original-width="2501" height="596" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-P5B56SExQeAiN6Zhyphenhyphen7WhpETttT5iQxd1TOVFt3j0JRQRJA1_5B4V28zjlm17quhsqFd-HQqjkz9JwKkWuMB3VIemcpYqVVdrlnEadYzqeaJVgf2wlXAjM9CnLv1O3a-HbavSfiukjFpujd-rryfGCtZJKhbc0e27C2Epu3F-RlCupxtyHUoL/w640-h596/01.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>2023 Topps Heritage:</b></div><div><b>315. Mookie Betts</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBxv4wMKDWbyXasKasyvJQ9VpPaFf_SGhjVp2VWwCGg0uNWxP6IZPZ7wbDWf9EpnadG7eDgcH8hvR8IrdtZn8r5BdSFv3vdRhp-mPiLwhZXmBem6NZshqY4eWdUBtZBf0lJhdmyUMuYibhvACX8j1nWSX7X9bJKIq5UAVz7ajlbPmaQATyFkH/s1151/01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1151" data-original-width="863" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBxv4wMKDWbyXasKasyvJQ9VpPaFf_SGhjVp2VWwCGg0uNWxP6IZPZ7wbDWf9EpnadG7eDgcH8hvR8IrdtZn8r5BdSFv3vdRhp-mPiLwhZXmBem6NZshqY4eWdUBtZBf0lJhdmyUMuYibhvACX8j1nWSX7X9bJKIq5UAVz7ajlbPmaQATyFkH/w480-h640/01.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b>2008 Upper Deck Timeline:</b></div><div><b>197. Joey Votto (rookie)</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzI9_mhPGP9r4W-7Lxn0Ut8MI6jNOcL3CtgGLjrrwaAfI8EchslttmotbMG2TaMLBtmrf8T-rigAL05oJ8epd8MSZ-MCMCqCUkDNwAtV_V9EzRkY3NmnveY6KNRejGJKMRYOatgWCYd1xwJinVB1vg-6VzE5njW-I74hDDc25n8ZKRlHXG_5X/s1161/01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1161" data-original-width="847" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzI9_mhPGP9r4W-7Lxn0Ut8MI6jNOcL3CtgGLjrrwaAfI8EchslttmotbMG2TaMLBtmrf8T-rigAL05oJ8epd8MSZ-MCMCqCUkDNwAtV_V9EzRkY3NmnveY6KNRejGJKMRYOatgWCYd1xwJinVB1vg-6VzE5njW-I74hDDc25n8ZKRlHXG_5X/w466-h640/01.jpg" width="466" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>2021 Topps: </b></div><div><b>274. Juan Soto</b></div><div><b>2022 Stadium Club:</b></div><div><b>286. Bo Bichette</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNbzUXSMsyzL6dUoRrbFIGwCbFJlZL9K3EXYx0-6ApdGJcvZQC-sWfGrku0Wt7iKaaLo2zSxMjqZEwGTmq9xc0gin94jjgAfesZ198jyhN8Nc2nYWlLSMQozhWRJ_atmA_biFBJ9KsCMK9_88W2fvb-yDjWmc8O1Wwz0mqAj90leua1eoSclM/s1769/01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1193" data-original-width="1769" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNbzUXSMsyzL6dUoRrbFIGwCbFJlZL9K3EXYx0-6ApdGJcvZQC-sWfGrku0Wt7iKaaLo2zSxMjqZEwGTmq9xc0gin94jjgAfesZ198jyhN8Nc2nYWlLSMQozhWRJ_atmA_biFBJ9KsCMK9_88W2fvb-yDjWmc8O1Wwz0mqAj90leua1eoSclM/w640-h432/01.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Like what you see? Leave a comment below to claim the cards (and send F&F payment to fanofreds (dot) auctions (at gmail) (dot com). Or, you can wait it out and I'll continue to add things to the stack until someone jumps in!</div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-30006314309188601162024-03-16T08:00:00.006-04:002024-03-16T08:00:00.127-04:00Barry Larkin Collection 1,008: 1992 Topps Magazine - #82 - Full Panel<b>Barry Larkin / Mike Mussina / Juan Gonzalez / Deion Sanders</b><div><b>Year:</b> 1992</div><div><b>Brand:</b> Topps Magazine</div><div><b>Card number:</b> 82 (full panel)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFR66AzxY42FxsYDToux7q04aoP_9BlZbCJQVtpufiAAHiGzTOO5nziIxA73B7dVW1x4q5h1djboGnk6iU0oh6yvg0IWDrCP-Hg1R5ZLzM7u6ZeGySHzEWGDdCeTBKbl36JSn5bDuLsUTslVoAn5dZ9mlgyL0ycSDy_GgIEPKX-55hQi1Dlq-c/s4517/Larkin-1992-ToppsMagazine-82-Panel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2577" data-original-width="4517" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFR66AzxY42FxsYDToux7q04aoP_9BlZbCJQVtpufiAAHiGzTOO5nziIxA73B7dVW1x4q5h1djboGnk6iU0oh6yvg0IWDrCP-Hg1R5ZLzM7u6ZeGySHzEWGDdCeTBKbl36JSn5bDuLsUTslVoAn5dZ9mlgyL0ycSDy_GgIEPKX-55hQi1Dlq-c/w640-h366/Larkin-1992-ToppsMagazine-82-Panel.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Back in 2022, I <a href="https://fanofreds.blogspot.com/2022/06/barry-larkin-collection-896-1992-topps.html" target="_blank">showed off the same Barry Larkin card </a>(except that one was already ripped out of the magazine - and not overly carefully at that). Today, I have a pristine sheet of cards from the magazine that includes Barry's card along with Mike Mussina, Juan Gonzalez, and Deion Sanders. I don't love the idea of collecting the exact same card twice (once ripped, once in a pristine sheet) but TCDB lists these as separate Barry Larkin entries and thus, so do I! On the bright side for this particular magazine card, I own both versions so I can call this complete (though truth be told, I would like to upgrade my "ripped" version of the card to something a little less beat up - but that's a problem for another day). For now, I can simply be memorized by all the rainbow colors on the full panel above!</div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-38234885581494571492024-03-15T08:00:00.033-04:002024-03-15T08:00:00.241-04:00Board Game Friday: BoardGameGeek's Top 100-200 Games and My Personal CollectionBack in <a href="https://fanofreds.blogspot.com/2023/11/board-game-friday-boardgamegeeks-top.html" target="_blank">November of last year</a>, I took a look at how my personal board game collection compared to Board Game Geek's Top 100 board games. More specifically, I found that I owned 14 of BGG's Top 100 games - and of those 14 games I owned, I had actually played eight of them. Today, I want to do a similar exercise except with BGG's games #101 - 200. Of course, the BGG Top Games list changes over time but I still think this is a kind of fun exercise to do (and perhaps it'll be interesting to see how my collection morphs over time as the BGG list changes)!<div><br /></div><div>So, how many games do I own in BGG's Tops Games 101 - 200? </div><div><br /></div><div>The answer is 17:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPZgkK_8L7h2HnxmvqH8y3nLF0QJGDsHnK9EGL3AzOoNuBn112iS_oAGByv_5JpTdcjXmBiO1FhrcwePea81iBSiM2hwmqVZDQb9RbAbTPb2VyEuZyQjv59lbaNmFY8MfjwIaHzU-euhzNGHsI5ji6hKXL9o4cLuR_oSa6OxWVPsnkqDn1t8K/s940/01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="940" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPZgkK_8L7h2HnxmvqH8y3nLF0QJGDsHnK9EGL3AzOoNuBn112iS_oAGByv_5JpTdcjXmBiO1FhrcwePea81iBSiM2hwmqVZDQb9RbAbTPb2VyEuZyQjv59lbaNmFY8MfjwIaHzU-euhzNGHsI5ji6hKXL9o4cLuR_oSa6OxWVPsnkqDn1t8K/w640-h218/01.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>The 17 games I own are as follows:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>#118: Dominion</li><li>#120: Quest for El Dorado</li><li>#130: Codenames</li><li>#135: Splendor Duel</li><li>#138: Ra</li><li>#141: Pandemic</li><li>#142: Just One</li><li>#143: Res Arcana</li><li>#147: Clank! Catacombs</li><li>#165: Undaunted: Normandy</li><li>#171: That's Pretty Clever</li><li>#172: Welcome To...</li><li>#176: Jaipur</li><li>#179: Unmatched: Cobble & Fogg</li><li>#184: Wonderland's War (I didn't have this one uploaded into my BGG account apparently)</li><li>#187: Earth</li><li>#193: Sagrada</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div>That's quite a list of games! Of the 16 games I own, I'm pleased to report that I've actually played most of them (13 of the 17). The only games on that list that I haven't yet played are Res Arcana, That's Pretty Clever, Wonderland's War, and Earth. Of those, both Res Arcana and Earth are games I've traded for relatively recently while Wonderland's War just arrived from a recent crowdfunding campaign (no excuse for not playing That's Pretty Clever, I've owned that game for a long time)!</div><div><br /></div><div>Of the 13 games that I own and have played from this list, I'd say most are deserving of a Top 200 overall ranking. I love Quest for Eldorado, Ra, and Jaipur (along with Unmatched: Cobble & Fogg). Sagrada is also another awesome game - and one that should be much higher up the list than "only" #193. </div><div><br /></div><div>On a side note, I've also played:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>#121: Aeon's End: War Eternal</li><li>#159: Ticket to Ride: Europe (I own the Anniversary Edition of this game so it didn't show up as me owning it above)</li><li>#163: Magic: The Gathering (I own a lot of Magic cards but I don't log those on BGG either)</li><li>#183: Descent: Journeys into the Dark (2nd Edition)</li><li>#186: Memoir '44 (played only on Board Game Arena)</li></ul></div><div>If you count Ticket to Ride: Europe and Magic: The Gathering as games I own, then I'm up to 19 out of the 100 games ranked #101 - 200. That's pretty good if you ask me! </div><div><br /></div><div>Now it's my turn to ask the question to you: How many games have you played in the batch of games #101 - 200? And, perhaps more importantly to me personally, which game (or games) would recommend I try out of this list?! </div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-36886881304818031452024-03-14T08:00:00.002-04:002024-03-14T08:00:00.243-04:00Barry Larkin Collection 1,007: 1991 International Playing Card Company - 6 of Clubs<b>Barry Larkin</b><div><b>Year:</b> 1991</div><div><b>Brand:</b> International Playing Card Company</div><div><b>Card number:</b> 6 of Clubs</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCustE_M6uy9waMZ30T4JkmwCQOXVVvEQRlQSGPlIe1iVqGkVl83M96EN8Nzl6vWHSKCg1g39QNLQ9LFhK4gae1B3lvTEEONj3H-szL_9X-HmEBLLrYwh4fMTVUvXJdmiIQzlfQ2R2H_DLF1cZAcveYd3ZTQO9YTKpTmuEjkrp5RScohYIGy-X/s1625/Larkin-1991-InternationalPlayingCardCompany-6ofClubs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1115" data-original-width="1625" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCustE_M6uy9waMZ30T4JkmwCQOXVVvEQRlQSGPlIe1iVqGkVl83M96EN8Nzl6vWHSKCg1g39QNLQ9LFhK4gae1B3lvTEEONj3H-szL_9X-HmEBLLrYwh4fMTVUvXJdmiIQzlfQ2R2H_DLF1cZAcveYd3ZTQO9YTKpTmuEjkrp5RScohYIGy-X/w640-h440/Larkin-1991-InternationalPlayingCardCompany-6ofClubs.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>You'd be forgiven for thinking that I've already featured this particular card in a previous Barry Larkin Collection post - but you'd be wrong because <a href="http://fanofreds.blogspot.com/2010/06/barry-larkin-collection-56-1991-us.html" target="_blank">that <i>other</i> card</a> is from the US Playing Card Company.</div><div><br /></div><div>Today's card and that US Playing Card both look exactly the same other than the copyright line. I'm sure there's some sort of story that explains the two versions (I assume some sort of copyright nonsense) but for my money this is at least a rather interesting variation (as opposed to the "missing period" or "missing asterisk" variations that are rampant with late 80s, early 90s cards).</div><div><br /></div><div>PS: As a "math guy" I feel it is my duty to wish you all a Happy Pi Day as today is 3/14 (at least with the way most Americans write the date).</div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-14234095100178492552024-03-13T08:00:00.006-04:002024-03-13T08:00:00.239-04:00Delivery Time! A Christmas Card from Bane Collectors on my DiscordLoyal blog readers are probably sick of me saying that I've been super busy lately...but it needs to be said at least one more time for today's post because I've got a package from before Christmas to show off.<div><br /></div><div>Brian, from <a href="https://discord.gg/uFqv6PU3eP" target="_blank">my Discord</a>, sent me a surprise Christmas present and it took me until earlier this week to finally send something back to him in return. My general rule of thumb is to not show off (or sort or put away) cards from someone until I've A) sent something in return (if applicable) and B) shown the cards off on my blog. Well, it may be nearly St. Patrick's Day but why not go back to Christmas 2023 one last time?</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's the card Brian sent me:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicvAbIpNnqmFJ_ffiI0m0rULrNK1zKqB7PE_PV98ctWnK2R4vUoo5x8kAxbJfFgp9PsZac8uaZIGA06KrCEnv6lTHjR4oBlddvGhFBI9yOklqN7OBNqBy2ApyrrFaQUOI9f8IcBH-e7Xxisr2KlA2IMrba2IFTVHrm_tVxKg8yoLg17Uybil_O/s1157/01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1157" data-original-width="1041" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicvAbIpNnqmFJ_ffiI0m0rULrNK1zKqB7PE_PV98ctWnK2R4vUoo5x8kAxbJfFgp9PsZac8uaZIGA06KrCEnv6lTHjR4oBlddvGhFBI9yOklqN7OBNqBy2ApyrrFaQUOI9f8IcBH-e7Xxisr2KlA2IMrba2IFTVHrm_tVxKg8yoLg17Uybil_O/w576-h640/01.jpg" width="576" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>That's a super awesome Ken Grifey, Jr. card from Topps Chrome - and the Launched into Orbit set is one that I had never seen before. You give me a shiny card that's die-cut in an interesting way <i>and</i> add Ken Griffey, Jr. to it and you've got a surefire winner in my book!</div><div><br /></div><div>Many, many thanks to Brian for the card - and I am deeply sorry it took me so long to get my act together both in terms of mailing something back and in terms of showing the card off on the blog. On the bright side, I believe I am now caught up on all packages that arrived during calendar year 2023!</div><div><br /></div><div>PS: If you haven't yet joined my baseball card-centric Discord, I invite you to do so (<a href="https://discord.gg/uFqv6PU3eP" target="_blank">join here</a>)!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-72864197047583193942024-03-12T08:00:00.003-04:002024-03-12T08:00:00.139-04:00Cash for Cards 2.05: Adding a 2024 Topps Relic to the Mix!<p>I recently ripped a pair of 2024 Topps (hobby) boxes for myself. Each box comes with a single hit - and here's your chance to get one of my hits (plus several other cards) for a cost that's much, much lower than the either box I bought!</p><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Cash for Cards</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Stack cost: $10 </span>(includes shipping to US) </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>----</b></div><div><b>2024 Topps:</b></div><div><b>Major League Material</b></div><div><b>MLM-GC. Gerrit Cole</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg32hhuF08woSviMDRPyaalM9pCRnGQ1q8YXhzpe8Tg14jwhVxo8ym5BMqNC_XgoHXsb-9_gMKUVErv51OqHOUxtn6vYr8kyXkJVhN796Mchl_TaGEnjUCpvLzWNqm5Mve02DLeeR6_SooUejqy32_mer5avHMIpfD3icQ-5vhgNvgqnHZK6Bo9/s1140/01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="819" data-original-width="1140" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg32hhuF08woSviMDRPyaalM9pCRnGQ1q8YXhzpe8Tg14jwhVxo8ym5BMqNC_XgoHXsb-9_gMKUVErv51OqHOUxtn6vYr8kyXkJVhN796Mchl_TaGEnjUCpvLzWNqm5Mve02DLeeR6_SooUejqy32_mer5avHMIpfD3icQ-5vhgNvgqnHZK6Bo9/w640-h460/01.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b>1995 Topps Football:<br />281. Jamir Miller</b></div><div><b>292. Mike Pritchard</b></div><div><b>311. Steve Everitt</b></div><div><b>368. Pepper Johnson</b></div><div><b>Florida Hotbed: FH8. Emmitt Smith</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-P5B56SExQeAiN6Zhyphenhyphen7WhpETttT5iQxd1TOVFt3j0JRQRJA1_5B4V28zjlm17quhsqFd-HQqjkz9JwKkWuMB3VIemcpYqVVdrlnEadYzqeaJVgf2wlXAjM9CnLv1O3a-HbavSfiukjFpujd-rryfGCtZJKhbc0e27C2Epu3F-RlCupxtyHUoL/s2501/01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2329" data-original-width="2501" height="596" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-P5B56SExQeAiN6Zhyphenhyphen7WhpETttT5iQxd1TOVFt3j0JRQRJA1_5B4V28zjlm17quhsqFd-HQqjkz9JwKkWuMB3VIemcpYqVVdrlnEadYzqeaJVgf2wlXAjM9CnLv1O3a-HbavSfiukjFpujd-rryfGCtZJKhbc0e27C2Epu3F-RlCupxtyHUoL/w640-h596/01.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>2023 Topps Heritage:</b></div><div><b>315. Mookie Betts</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBxv4wMKDWbyXasKasyvJQ9VpPaFf_SGhjVp2VWwCGg0uNWxP6IZPZ7wbDWf9EpnadG7eDgcH8hvR8IrdtZn8r5BdSFv3vdRhp-mPiLwhZXmBem6NZshqY4eWdUBtZBf0lJhdmyUMuYibhvACX8j1nWSX7X9bJKIq5UAVz7ajlbPmaQATyFkH/s1151/01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1151" data-original-width="863" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBxv4wMKDWbyXasKasyvJQ9VpPaFf_SGhjVp2VWwCGg0uNWxP6IZPZ7wbDWf9EpnadG7eDgcH8hvR8IrdtZn8r5BdSFv3vdRhp-mPiLwhZXmBem6NZshqY4eWdUBtZBf0lJhdmyUMuYibhvACX8j1nWSX7X9bJKIq5UAVz7ajlbPmaQATyFkH/w480-h640/01.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b>2008 Upper Deck Timeline:</b></div><div><b>197. Joey Votto (rookie)</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzI9_mhPGP9r4W-7Lxn0Ut8MI6jNOcL3CtgGLjrrwaAfI8EchslttmotbMG2TaMLBtmrf8T-rigAL05oJ8epd8MSZ-MCMCqCUkDNwAtV_V9EzRkY3NmnveY6KNRejGJKMRYOatgWCYd1xwJinVB1vg-6VzE5njW-I74hDDc25n8ZKRlHXG_5X/s1161/01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1161" data-original-width="847" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzI9_mhPGP9r4W-7Lxn0Ut8MI6jNOcL3CtgGLjrrwaAfI8EchslttmotbMG2TaMLBtmrf8T-rigAL05oJ8epd8MSZ-MCMCqCUkDNwAtV_V9EzRkY3NmnveY6KNRejGJKMRYOatgWCYd1xwJinVB1vg-6VzE5njW-I74hDDc25n8ZKRlHXG_5X/w466-h640/01.jpg" width="466" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>2021 Topps: </b></div><div><b>274. Juan Soto</b></div><div><b>2022 Stadium Club:</b></div><div><b>286. Bo Bichette</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNbzUXSMsyzL6dUoRrbFIGwCbFJlZL9K3EXYx0-6ApdGJcvZQC-sWfGrku0Wt7iKaaLo2zSxMjqZEwGTmq9xc0gin94jjgAfesZ198jyhN8Nc2nYWlLSMQozhWRJ_atmA_biFBJ9KsCMK9_88W2fvb-yDjWmc8O1Wwz0mqAj90leua1eoSclM/s1769/01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1193" data-original-width="1769" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNbzUXSMsyzL6dUoRrbFIGwCbFJlZL9K3EXYx0-6ApdGJcvZQC-sWfGrku0Wt7iKaaLo2zSxMjqZEwGTmq9xc0gin94jjgAfesZ198jyhN8Nc2nYWlLSMQozhWRJ_atmA_biFBJ9KsCMK9_88W2fvb-yDjWmc8O1Wwz0mqAj90leua1eoSclM/w640-h432/01.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Like what you see? Leave a comment below to claim the cards (and send F&F payment to fanofreds (dot) auctions (at gmail) (dot com). Or, you can wait it out and I'll continue to add things to the stack until someone jumps in!</div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-39700063223912628572024-03-11T08:00:00.001-04:002024-03-11T08:00:00.341-04:00It's TCDB Time!Happy Monday, everyone. This particular Monday is definitely a happy day for me as I'm officially on spring break for the week. Oh sure, it was snowing yesterday but I'm not going to let that damper my enthusiasm for spring! If all goes well, I should get back to some card related things this week as I'll have a bit more free time - and perhaps that means I'll be able to do some more trading over on TCDB again. Over the past few weeks, I've barely been active in terms of card trading but I did manage to complete one trade last week so all is not lost for my "TCDB Monday" post!<div><br /></div><div>I did a quick PWE trade with user nwhittin who sent me this 2023 Topps All Aces card of Steve Carlton:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRpaG2qgbek0t3gQfcsNXaXPUAxncOYiVODzqOatPCTAQ2ge6zrFa1KOFcJY_XTv3URQZruFuIcVQVzqIcT_CrnZs5Dcyt6AUbszduRD7Y4laZWbBqRY5L4gdfpCYo3Godku0BBbJv7GW2nqjqJ02V25atiip84umQgox35qa7ipCWDuApvmM5/s1143/01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="851" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRpaG2qgbek0t3gQfcsNXaXPUAxncOYiVODzqOatPCTAQ2ge6zrFa1KOFcJY_XTv3URQZruFuIcVQVzqIcT_CrnZs5Dcyt6AUbszduRD7Y4laZWbBqRY5L4gdfpCYo3Godku0BBbJv7GW2nqjqJ02V25atiip84umQgox35qa7ipCWDuApvmM5/w476-h640/01.jpg" width="476" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>I'm down to needing only one more card to complete my All Aces set (Series 1 and 2 only). For those wondering, I'm still missing #48: Satchel Paige. I know that Topps continued the All Aces set into the Update set but I think I'm going to call my set complete when/if I manage to track down the 50 cards that were spread across Series 1 and 2.</div><div><br /></div><div>That's it for TCDB trades from this past week. I do hope to get more active again trading...and since I'm going to be collecting the 2024 Topps base set, I know I'll have some potential easy trades to set up from that set once I get my cards fully sorted and entered into the database. </div><div><br /></div><div>Have a good week, everyone!</div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-75918155269753236442024-03-10T08:00:00.001-04:002024-03-10T08:00:00.240-04:00New Year's Resolutions as we Near the 25% mark of the Year 2024!<p>Somehow, it's already mid-March so why not take stock of where I'm at with <a href="https://fanofreds.blogspot.com/2024/01/my-2024-blog-resolutions.html" target="_blank">my 2024 blog resolutions</a>. I've been incredibly busy with work for the past month or so which means I'm not expecting a lot of successes yet. However, doing the occasional resolution check-in does help keep me on track throughout the year!</p><p><b>1. The Want List</b></p><p>The goal here is to get <a href="https://fanofreds.blogspot.com/p/my-want-list.html" target="_blank">my want list </a>down to 25 or fewer sets (I started the year with 28 sets on my want list). I haven't completed any sets yet this year, however, I also haven't added any sets to my want list so I'm still sitting at 28 total sets. That being said, I probably will be collecting the 2024 Topps flagship set so you can expect me to add at least one new set to my want list in the next few days.</p><p><b>2. The Great Reorganization</b></p><p>As usual, I've made virtually no progress on getting my collection fully organized. Arguably, things are worse off now than they were at the start of the year. Moving on...</p><p><b>3. Reading</b></p><p>My goal is to read a total of at least 5 books in 2024. I failed at this goal the last two years, surely I won't fail again, right?! So far, I'm actually on track for success as I've read one book. Unfortunately, while I have started a second book I can't say that's grabbed my attention at all. I might end up cutting my losses on that one and starting something else in an effort to actually finish this particular resolution.</p><p><b>4. Disc Golf</b></p><p>It's still too cold, wet, and windy to play disc golf where I live. That being said, later this week the temperatures are supposed to warm up a bit so maybe I'll get my first round of 2024 in before the week is done!</p><p><b>5. <a href="https://playingwithbricks.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">My LEGO Blog</a></b></p><p>My goal is to hit 36 posts (an average of three posts per month). So far, I've only managed to write two posts (for an average of one per month not counting March). Obviously, like most of my other resolutions, I have a ways to go with this one.</p><p>Alright, so that was a kind of disappointing look at how I've done thus far with my 2024 resolutions. That said, given that I missed posting for about half of February and I've already missed some days in March, I didn't expect that I'd have a lot of great news on the resolution front for now. Hopefully, in the near future work will settle down a bit and I'll have more time and energy to devote to my blogs (and maybe even have some time to start organizing my collection more)!</p><p>Until then, I'll plug away on what I can and be glad that I have any time whatsoever to spend on my many hobbies.</p>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-33998436862528518392024-03-08T08:00:00.048-05:002024-03-08T08:00:00.248-05:00Board Game Friday: My Board Game Arena Plays LatelyThe month of February was very quiet for me in terms of in person board game plays. However, while I may not have had the time (or people) to play with in person, I did get my game playing fix on by jumping back into Board Game Arena. In fact, between January 1 and February 29 of this year, I played (and finished) a total of 200 games. <div><br /></div><div>Here's the full list:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGlgBGNk15oax4U_exvFeBUFKp8CDYOrA5xdOm-wY90htqQvJsMZfqtwt6fVV7C-uxfgaev9WXc1VNSUjWvKBt-m5zesJESDkrdLrTYjC5Y0Hcxf3x_XljcRxa61pnh7OX360jjyTwmxzfj7kGCA2hAG20CJdXmYpNqGNskCJtUutS3L-cnMKR/s297/01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="297" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGlgBGNk15oax4U_exvFeBUFKp8CDYOrA5xdOm-wY90htqQvJsMZfqtwt6fVV7C-uxfgaev9WXc1VNSUjWvKBt-m5zesJESDkrdLrTYjC5Y0Hcxf3x_XljcRxa61pnh7OX360jjyTwmxzfj7kGCA2hAG20CJdXmYpNqGNskCJtUutS3L-cnMKR/w400-h381/01.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Of those, several were brand new to me. I enjoy trying out different games so Board Game Arena is perfect for me! For the new-to-me games, here are my quick thoughts:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>boop. </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWmkFejHPeH0K4a0jaQUKX-S8fFX4dTutjXwBKiBpmMRdCAd27hzheV-W-gugijxwGde7ca8Irtp-JwKIaZvDwCKp5gCbF62O9sUlTgfWXcLpAJyQ_Y2YF1cficWur2oYQgJNwc7F-5sp8DiZJhITKXNfq3AoPAQlIBIWWmc6oiWZDnvsXU7qO/s253/02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="253" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWmkFejHPeH0K4a0jaQUKX-S8fFX4dTutjXwBKiBpmMRdCAd27hzheV-W-gugijxwGde7ca8Irtp-JwKIaZvDwCKp5gCbF62O9sUlTgfWXcLpAJyQ_Y2YF1cficWur2oYQgJNwc7F-5sp8DiZJhITKXNfq3AoPAQlIBIWWmc6oiWZDnvsXU7qO/w400-h340/02.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>boop. is an abstract game where you try to get three cats in a row to win. There are a few neat twists to the game (for example, you start out with only kittens that you first must graduate into cats). I'd say that I'm not a huge fan of most abstract games but I did enjoy playing boop. for a solid month or so. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Beyond the Sun:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL9riwlKDOoBY-p4CrQoDOk5B0M1RvUVLVjErHW2vbICq2TkA89N1u2O7_-Cx_MajOMLgJh4bmO1rRaIFT0a32lN69PhIoSoRve_k8aRDYDzvuzcmto6k-drAk87chFtmxLpVtg90Gvh8ft24LlCKLsbjJntKKb107_1zY-ewnu87CA3jcWYA8/s249/03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="249" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL9riwlKDOoBY-p4CrQoDOk5B0M1RvUVLVjErHW2vbICq2TkA89N1u2O7_-Cx_MajOMLgJh4bmO1rRaIFT0a32lN69PhIoSoRve_k8aRDYDzvuzcmto6k-drAk87chFtmxLpVtg90Gvh8ft24LlCKLsbjJntKKb107_1zY-ewnu87CA3jcWYA8/w400-h308/03.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>This game tickled my brain in that it's got some graph theory happening with the various tech trees as well as the planet area. There's plenty of options to consider and multiple ways to win - a sign of a game that will probably have a long lifespan in my eyes. I do think this one probably works best on BGA as opposed to in person, the computer helps to keep track of all the details (plus which moves are legal or illegal at any moment in time). </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Memoir '44:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWi-y9oDucxChuslkm6hbldzn3Nkap47GvuS0O0it-VObgb7zAiW5fIPnxIyC80PI6X7qEDCDrdguU5zVtkV9YAKLQ1aZCS7FG4rezP7qkdGjUSa5khbFIx9sfLokWZeO7FDUsV8BzKgCSFMpf-9ZGGrP0xOpdrYEnQ0VMuQFSUUlIYGwQUalA/s232/04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="232" data-original-width="231" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWi-y9oDucxChuslkm6hbldzn3Nkap47GvuS0O0it-VObgb7zAiW5fIPnxIyC80PI6X7qEDCDrdguU5zVtkV9YAKLQ1aZCS7FG4rezP7qkdGjUSa5khbFIx9sfLokWZeO7FDUsV8BzKgCSFMpf-9ZGGrP0xOpdrYEnQ0VMuQFSUUlIYGwQUalA/w398-h400/04.png" width="398" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>An interesting war game that plays across two rounds (each player controls each faction for one round, the overall winner is the person who did best across the two rounds). This is a scenario based game and I do think that some of the scenarios are quite unbalanced (but I guess it's okay since you always play as both factions in a single game). I enjoyed this one but it's probably not one that I'll race out to buy.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Great Western Trail:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja90_MHU00cLUcpEqyS6XclqbiJZeyTBK5_sOG2rC05Ytc0nPGaoWq3ohFcEvD3hfwzCJ2dPVWYoh5-0hdenGfY61QjTdxQFd2EaZwponU0oqwYt6QPU34Wl3D2HzM37B0V2s4mnDKDzawP7hw5BTxWMtelCsQSm-OdUP4Lko_OVA3jiz85kXL/s232/05.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="232" data-original-width="217" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja90_MHU00cLUcpEqyS6XclqbiJZeyTBK5_sOG2rC05Ytc0nPGaoWq3ohFcEvD3hfwzCJ2dPVWYoh5-0hdenGfY61QjTdxQFd2EaZwponU0oqwYt6QPU34Wl3D2HzM37B0V2s4mnDKDzawP7hw5BTxWMtelCsQSm-OdUP4Lko_OVA3jiz85kXL/w374-h400/05.png" width="374" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>I actually own this game - I bought it for myself as a birthday present two years ago. Unfortunately, I haven't had anyone interested in playing the game with me in person so my copy is still in shrink. I will say that I've certainly enjoyed playing GWT on Board Game Arena, so much so that I'm definitely keeping my own copy!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>A Feast for Odin:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgvIKCm3PE_sk11pzTXq0nOIkOR6WJlpBujpYB3N3328KKzOQN9pcCICFwrJIHJZdeq0vvycyxuToAAFv2-3RrpXOUWwx36QV5P1cQtFM_a_GbkLWUgcRRoP5gtS1LTYmaTVlS7nWixCJbIpohHR7Htzg4McDAR_Na3C6wxJN66CAK58w04S5t/s219/06.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="219" data-original-width="179" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgvIKCm3PE_sk11pzTXq0nOIkOR6WJlpBujpYB3N3328KKzOQN9pcCICFwrJIHJZdeq0vvycyxuToAAFv2-3RrpXOUWwx36QV5P1cQtFM_a_GbkLWUgcRRoP5gtS1LTYmaTVlS7nWixCJbIpohHR7Htzg4McDAR_Na3C6wxJN66CAK58w04S5t/w327-h400/06.png" width="327" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>This is a game that I've heard a ton about and finally got to try for myself. There is a TON of different options in this worker placement game, but I'm not exactly sure how exciting those options are. I have to admit, I'm atrocious at this game in my limited number of plays - and I think this is the type of game that rewards many plays so that you can get more efficient with each action. I need to keep at this one to get a real feel for how much I'll end up liking it (or not).</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Castles of Burgundy:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJjxBVQpe_iFE-vj6snoW6pq85FYlgl7UnEDxIoSyWVkQdflRUrcPe5O44wi3aP49Lsg0aPyu3VVOJ1GzN_oYXLcZraKtnL9QwZKnjr_RzPKn0cS1y45PMDeoPQUu8LjfgXp62jcfZhaKWjN7WTb5gRXv533UdGhEu3UngbUICKf1aLW2JYgj/s245/07.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="245" data-original-width="184" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJjxBVQpe_iFE-vj6snoW6pq85FYlgl7UnEDxIoSyWVkQdflRUrcPe5O44wi3aP49Lsg0aPyu3VVOJ1GzN_oYXLcZraKtnL9QwZKnjr_RzPKn0cS1y45PMDeoPQUu8LjfgXp62jcfZhaKWjN7WTb5gRXv533UdGhEu3UngbUICKf1aLW2JYgj/w300-h400/07.png" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Another classic game that I had never played before. I enjoyed this one a lot, though as usual I need to play it a number of more times before I can say I have a great feel for it. I should also give Matt S. a shoutout for introducing many of the above games to me (and also for destroying me at most of those games, haha). </div><div><br /></div><div>If anyone out there also plays on BGA, let me know and maybe we can get a game going. I mostly play turn-based stuff given my work schedule, raising a kid, etc. but I'd love to get more game tables up and active!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-46625713851481691202024-03-06T08:00:00.004-05:002024-03-06T08:00:00.279-05:00Barry Larkin Collection 1,006: 1990 Kenner Starting Lineup <b>Barry Larkin<br />Year:</b> 1990<div><b>Brand:</b> Kenner Starting Lineup</div><div><b>Card number:</b> <i>none</i></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvs6Zz6bauFLg-onLExjPuSz6RvwYAImHLGrvMC9F8TWY9s1S5UNE_jLbE2K9bdg8Fy3QLhnAZ7fECwu8AmvvQyWiTpI0AJ1n9gfJpImYC8dNhXLbxv8HmHQcFkPclIVT0h9YroJVYNFPEcJahVwz8yYD8Ric7-CTKrVLGD1ogqFOcrpjghFji/s1675/Larkin-1990-KennerStartingLineup.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1135" data-original-width="1675" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvs6Zz6bauFLg-onLExjPuSz6RvwYAImHLGrvMC9F8TWY9s1S5UNE_jLbE2K9bdg8Fy3QLhnAZ7fECwu8AmvvQyWiTpI0AJ1n9gfJpImYC8dNhXLbxv8HmHQcFkPclIVT0h9YroJVYNFPEcJahVwz8yYD8Ric7-CTKrVLGD1ogqFOcrpjghFji/w640-h434/Larkin-1990-KennerStartingLineup.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><div>Kenner Starting Lineup figures were quite popular when I was a kid but for whatever reason I never personally got into collecting them. As such, I've had to try and track down the various Barry Larkin cards included with said figures now that I'm an old man and no longer a kid. Luckily, the cards must have been relatively mass produced as most Kenner Starting Lineup cards have been fairly easy to procure!</div><div><br /></div><div>As for this particular issue, I think the 1990 design is quite solid! I love the easy-to-read logo and nameplate "bubble" on the card front. Larkin looks a little "doofus-esque" in the photo but at least it's a candid shot that I haven't seen on any other cards before. The back gives career MLB stats along with a faux signature - no real complaints from me on this one and I'm definitely happy to now own the card (though I still won't be actively seeking out the plastic figurines).</div><div><br /></div><div>Note: Barry Larkin actually had two different Starting Lineup cards from 1990. I showed off the other one about five years ago (<a href="https://fanofreds.blogspot.com/2019/08/barry-larkin-collection-687-1990-kenner.html" target="_blank">see here</a>). For the record, I think I like the card featured today better...the black and white borders aged better than the bright yellow though the other card has a better action shot of Barry. </div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-73190274259759249222024-03-05T08:00:00.001-05:002024-03-05T08:00:00.165-05:00Box Recap: 2021 Optic (hobby HOT BOX!)Back in 2021, I opened a blaster of Donruss Optic <a href="https://fanofreds.blogspot.com/2021/11/group-break-recap-2021-donruss-optic.html" target="_blank">which I liked a fair bit</a>. That blaster was for a group break and I guess it lived in my head subconsciously as I recently picked up a hobby box of 2021 Donruss Optic for my current group break! <div><br /></div><div>The question is: Does the hobby box still hold up years later or is this a product best left in the dark recesses of my memory? Let's find out together.</div><div><br /></div><div>The box promises two autographs spread somewhere across the 20 packs (each pack only holds 4 cards). All things told, not a ton of cards for the price but at least the cards are shiny! Speaking of shiny, the Optic box ended up yielding a whopping TWENTY different serially-numbered cards. I didn't know it at the time but apparently our box was one of the advertised hot boxes (other hot boxes contain five autographs instead of the usual two). I have to say, if every box of Optic could be a hot box like ours, I think this product would fly off of store shelves.</div><div><br /></div><div>So yes, our box was very good. We pulled a serially-numbered parallel in every single pack. The serial numbering ranged from #/249 all the way to #/10. I'll start the highlights going from the most common serial numbers to the rarest.</div><div><br /></div><div>We pulled four Pink Velocity parallels #/249 to go with four Red, White, and Blue parallels #/199.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihYBcrFzu6t-o0V4JuNF3ukq-S19Kq1FHGYFo17MqAq3-xTXfB-7K9uxn_edzN3bAUA6PxIkzfWc3DvIr8r7r5NzqbxTMgndzoLse-BiVEg-wrusoFr5_qCj9dRanMY-s8omQyknKMvuznl6VPDfPXbH12WoEy4uSKb6Kps2w6Kerr6PqF5MFn/s3298/03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3298" data-original-width="2386" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihYBcrFzu6t-o0V4JuNF3ukq-S19Kq1FHGYFo17MqAq3-xTXfB-7K9uxn_edzN3bAUA6PxIkzfWc3DvIr8r7r5NzqbxTMgndzoLse-BiVEg-wrusoFr5_qCj9dRanMY-s8omQyknKMvuznl6VPDfPXbH12WoEy4uSKb6Kps2w6Kerr6PqF5MFn/w463-h640/03.jpg" width="463" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>The Dodgers spot did well with this batch of parallels (Mookie plus Bellinger) but we also pulled a nice Pete Alonso for the Mets and a Yadi Molina for the Cardinals. </div><div><br /></div><div>Next, we pulled a pair of Black Stars parallels #/149 and a trio of Orange parallels #/125. </div><div> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcYP0ySoz6A-5qCWLRkZJlg4AGv1u_X1QpiMxnqXXTX2cVcBCDaDzD9nPiALcPJkMiorLVjfkJ4FLVT4j3GIaUCWGisR98wfHm82gFXe2vj71A3QvJr-hlSvsDR7AV_Is-oOLJUlpLSaNZ0vjPfdxU-9GWK9HGP1zb-epsHj6vELgAbKqqQM4P/s2382/04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2186" data-original-width="2382" height="588" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcYP0ySoz6A-5qCWLRkZJlg4AGv1u_X1QpiMxnqXXTX2cVcBCDaDzD9nPiALcPJkMiorLVjfkJ4FLVT4j3GIaUCWGisR98wfHm82gFXe2vj71A3QvJr-hlSvsDR7AV_Is-oOLJUlpLSaNZ0vjPfdxU-9GWK9HGP1zb-epsHj6vELgAbKqqQM4P/w640-h588/04.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Kind of a bummer to get two Orange parallels of the same guy (our numbers were 082/125 and 087/125 for Daniel Johnson). The Black Stars parallels look great in hand but the Orange cards appear more Gold than Orange to me...at least, they did until I later pulled a proper Gold parallel (more on that in a moment).</div><div><br /></div><div>The remaining serially-numbered parallels were all numbered out of 100 (or fewer) copies. We'll start with a Blue Velocity of Kyle Tucker #/99 and a pair of Spirit of '76 cards each numbered out of (not surprisingly) 76 copies (Yelich & Cronenworth). We also found a lone Blue parallel of Matt Chapman #/75 and a lone Red parallel of J.T. Realmuto #/60. Finally, our rarest two parallels in the box consisted of a Teal Velocity card of Bryce Harper #/35 and a Gold parallel of Hyun-Jin Ryu #/10!</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGpOXejBZFK_gIpauk8JBMhOfEo7FiN_kw_i-j9jVmy0t3OvWwdyZQyfK1tgVhCrVGD2i_Qc6-YFOZitafHdCnqonWPB-1OUTa7AH5DKO59KhqLgXCUYBYKxpUsCPwuj9xLrDaxUYJWANQ1c7P6dwlDqTQAHMTVIgWV19uvU9tPmYqw1ujrgj/s3273/01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3273" data-original-width="2342" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGpOXejBZFK_gIpauk8JBMhOfEo7FiN_kw_i-j9jVmy0t3OvWwdyZQyfK1tgVhCrVGD2i_Qc6-YFOZitafHdCnqonWPB-1OUTa7AH5DKO59KhqLgXCUYBYKxpUsCPwuj9xLrDaxUYJWANQ1c7P6dwlDqTQAHMTVIgWV19uvU9tPmYqw1ujrgj/w458-h640/01.jpg" width="458" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div>That's a lot of serially numbered goodies and it definitely made for a fun box break! In addition to the above parallels, we also pulled a ton (24!) of assorted inserts plus some regular prism parallels that I didn't bother to scan. Finally, we also did get our two promised autographs:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_HfyJjkisdLoiwxVJT-W9z0KFf5v1I9vnknoVqvHLHokFQ6xJF6pZrcJSgAN5U5XLliZFkztsUHwtOjumGXdPyeHZVs090qnpoAA8-DgASqf8Lr5-g3E5sWU8gHl2NqGPIQJiIGmcC1xNPJJge23kk-8cHM5V3hXFX11q7c15LZxBYNAHifKo/s1799/02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1175" data-original-width="1799" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_HfyJjkisdLoiwxVJT-W9z0KFf5v1I9vnknoVqvHLHokFQ6xJF6pZrcJSgAN5U5XLliZFkztsUHwtOjumGXdPyeHZVs090qnpoAA8-DgASqf8Lr5-g3E5sWU8gHl2NqGPIQJiIGmcC1xNPJJge23kk-8cHM5V3hXFX11q7c15LZxBYNAHifKo/w640-h418/02.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>The Ian Anderson isn't serially numbered but the Spencer Howard auto is a Rated Rookies Signature Black #/50 (at least, I think I have the name of that correct)!</div><div><br /></div><div>All told, we pulled 20 serially-numbered base parallels to go along with a serially-numbered autograph. You can't ask for much more than that for group break purposes - definitely a fun box rip and one I'd be happy to open again (especially if I could be guaranteed that the next box is another hot box)!</div><div><br /></div><div>As for my group breaks, if you'd like to be part of them (or at least know what I'm going to break next, <a href="https://discord.gg/TeTMNtxKpU" target="_blank">please join my Discord </a>where I post all of my group break details and sign-ups).</div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-18599352185940202982024-03-04T08:00:00.002-05:002024-03-04T08:00:00.132-05:00It's a TCDB Monday!It's Monday, and I'm finally back and able to show off the results of a couple of TCDB trades. The first trade is with user jeffburk and it was agreed to way back on February 5th. Shipping was quick for both of us, I simply haven't had the time to devote to the blog lately...hence the delay in the showing of the package! Anyhow, I've got some time now so let's see what jeffburk sent me:<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0EXRREy2pqN4nVfDpBU705X_rgJNMPplEabXdeHP4QZqOx1QcxqBJniB0-ku3CYGpdULGjaA7dxrgo8DzAPvColBqw4GnrZLB2EiiWdlXHEoHPARXJ8Jf4bfZrAWo724R50mr99oMW-_zeBlVsOz2OaxRIsLeA_rY3jg3ZnBpr_pzU5xZVMlE/s1079/02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1079" data-original-width="799" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0EXRREy2pqN4nVfDpBU705X_rgJNMPplEabXdeHP4QZqOx1QcxqBJniB0-ku3CYGpdULGjaA7dxrgo8DzAPvColBqw4GnrZLB2EiiWdlXHEoHPARXJ8Jf4bfZrAWo724R50mr99oMW-_zeBlVsOz2OaxRIsLeA_rY3jg3ZnBpr_pzU5xZVMlE/w474-h640/02.jpg" width="474" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>That's a (pointless) blue parallel of the 150 Years of Professional Baseball insert from the 2019 Topps set. I don't know why Topps feels the need to make parallels of inserts like this...nor do I know why I feel the need to trade for them but hey, it is what it is!</div><div><br /></div><div>On the bright side, that's one less card from 2019 that I still need to track down...only 109 more Barry Larkin cards left for me to track down from 2019!</div><div><br /></div><div>My other trade was much more recent as it arrived in my mailbox in the past week. This one was with user Jbhalls:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMLjPu3YyN9s-HgZNq7W9eTtjbhLNnu7P5_mZwAgafshi3ucxYV8mkOOgieINzzmdbb9yIgppHhDhsCHqD1geho5S8d79qC-aR9d901T0LSuMQFmONEFGz1cdL7K4lwvwEVs-Pzjj70piApfWM0EMhVt8NLbJ3OpJBPndYCDiDEDewA243owSY/s1105/01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1105" data-original-width="827" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMLjPu3YyN9s-HgZNq7W9eTtjbhLNnu7P5_mZwAgafshi3ucxYV8mkOOgieINzzmdbb9yIgppHhDhsCHqD1geho5S8d79qC-aR9d901T0LSuMQFmONEFGz1cdL7K4lwvwEVs-Pzjj70piApfWM0EMhVt8NLbJ3OpJBPndYCDiDEDewA243owSY/w478-h640/01.jpg" width="478" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>That's a 1998 Pacific Online Red parallel of the Reds' checklist card in the base set. I'm always happy to acquire a needed Pacific Barry Larkin card, even if Pacific Online isn't one of my favorite offerings from the brand. </div><div><br /></div><div>Considering how busy I've been with work and things lately, I'm quite pleased to have found just enough time to eek out a couple of trades...and even more happy to have added two more Barry Larkin parallels to my growing collection!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-73103559294748866282024-03-01T08:00:00.002-05:002024-03-01T08:00:00.127-05:00Board Game Friday: My February 2024 Math Trade Haul!I fully admit that I collect too many things (baseball cards, LEGO, board games, etc.) but at least I try to keep my collections in some sort of responsible manner. That is, I do a lot of trading as opposed to a ton of buying...so that has to count for something, right?! <div><br /></div><div>Today, I've got the results of the February board game Math Trade run over on Boardgamegeek. This is my sixth every successful Math Trade (I've entered at least one month where I didn't match up for any trades so I don't count that). Anyhow, in February I was able to bring in two new-to-me games for my collection.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Trade 1:</b></div><div><b>Giving: The Quest Kids (plus expansion)</b></div><div><b>Getting: Burgle Bros.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUPUL2t4CSKIrjVq-B5OXR3i-x0bDtnOgDQ1uczItXZI2hc_E3aovKmAaImuHPHxjm3sVnM06V5EXQ6mDFLiq4ov0Z5Gt4SW7wsi6v-zurSw_q9Z5nRIR3ikSJSpmIES1aqspNSe97tVKgQE9FZhEUbpWfjnUZguWMeU7HqxhmK9oqB2FaO1nq/s4000/20240223_212801.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUPUL2t4CSKIrjVq-B5OXR3i-x0bDtnOgDQ1uczItXZI2hc_E3aovKmAaImuHPHxjm3sVnM06V5EXQ6mDFLiq4ov0Z5Gt4SW7wsi6v-zurSw_q9Z5nRIR3ikSJSpmIES1aqspNSe97tVKgQE9FZhEUbpWfjnUZguWMeU7HqxhmK9oqB2FaO1nq/w480-h640/20240223_212801.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div>Burgle Bros is a cooperative game set around breaking into safes and escaping before being tracked down by security guards. It's a game that I've long wanted to try so I'm certainly happy to have it in my collection. I gave up The Quest Kids (plus expansion). Quest Kids was a game that my son <i>loved</i> as a youngster - it's basically a "baby's first dungeon crawler" where the emphasis is purely on helping other people out. It's a great family coop game but now that my son is playing more advanced games there's no way I'd want to return to Quest Kids. Originally, I thought that the expansion might help prolong the game's lifespan in our household but after a few plays of the expansion we all agreed that it simply added too much bloat to the game. Finally, because of my many, many collections I look at it as an extra bonus that I was able to to trade away two boxes and only bring back one box (and a much smaller one at that)!<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Trade 2:</b></div><div><b>Giving: Disney Villainous</b></div><div><b>Getting: Res Arcana</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4d82Bq83mJ-B1y6AWnkv4dlbhBwQoJGIHdpHsVsuv7hpZ9tX8fRbCa5keyj9f4dZtfoG8hSA80u-FDyECEkdPt_k2vozWaTBA0HS8Djlw8GNl52-ROsLUFSpWWb6MkRiWfnQIFtltkq2BsEf4EmEVw1PX9-oERQAySSXOWD3I1lc9NrfVtIGJ/s4000/20240223_212811.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4d82Bq83mJ-B1y6AWnkv4dlbhBwQoJGIHdpHsVsuv7hpZ9tX8fRbCa5keyj9f4dZtfoG8hSA80u-FDyECEkdPt_k2vozWaTBA0HS8Djlw8GNl52-ROsLUFSpWWb6MkRiWfnQIFtltkq2BsEf4EmEVw1PX9-oERQAySSXOWD3I1lc9NrfVtIGJ/w480-h640/20240223_212811.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div>I don't know a lot about Res Arcana but it's one of those games that seems quite popular with a lot of different people. I do know that I tried Disney Villainous and I simply bounced off it quite hard. To me, Villainous felt like a game where you just cycle through your deck until you find the one card you need and then you win. The art was great, the individual characters were compelling, but the actual gameplay loop was one of the most boring, anticlimactic games I've played in a long time. I can't see why Villainous is a popular line of games based on my experience...and thus, I was basically willing to trade Villainous for pretty much anything!</div><div><br /></div><div>That was my haul for February 2024! I do hope to continue to participate in Math Trades moving forward, it's a fun way to get to try a lot of games without the expense of buying lots of games. Hopefully, I'll have more board game hauls to show off in future months.<br /></div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-27970486968366930102024-02-13T08:00:00.002-05:002024-02-13T08:00:00.142-05:00Taking a Break from the BlogI am going to step aside from the blog for a few days as currently I simply don't have time to put together the necessary work needed to write posts. I'm hopeful that my absence will be short-lived but work has me swamped right now! Talk amongst yourselves while I'm gone, I'll be back as soon as I can be! Cheers.Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-62514517820617463182024-02-12T08:00:00.001-05:002024-02-12T08:00:00.240-05:00TCDB Monday: Sending Out Over 3,500 Cards!!Happy Monday, everyone. I can only hope my Monday is a happy one in that we are supposed to get a big winter storm tonight...and if we do, then I probably can't get to work the next day (believe it or not, this is the "not happy" scenario as I've already missed two out of the first four Tuesdays of the semester due to weather issues)! <div><br /></div><div>Anyhow, you aren't here for my scintillating weather talk, no, you want to see some cards. Unfortunately, I don't have any cards to show off this week. I only agreed to (and mailed out) cards for a single trade but my end of that trade still hasn't been sent according to TCDB updates. I can only hope to have the results of the trade to show off next week. </div><div><br /></div><div>Since I have no new cards to show off today, I thought it'd be a perfect time to highlight my TCDB stats for the past several years.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_xkE9B9CmCQqymdRBSvzWKyYgcCAkf6oeiEeIjxCVb9syZBFRrRbHoo2laZr_8JrX3drsYV2oJ0YiCfXrGra5d9_CULRBhQO_SGCUr9q4iRBarGe80Zxv1IBa0Oh9c-huH7-fJ9Hptl92vpTu_I8zpfHJDbURXeRWPqYRtEyPlJF7FKOrUi_i/s882/01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="313" data-original-width="882" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_xkE9B9CmCQqymdRBSvzWKyYgcCAkf6oeiEeIjxCVb9syZBFRrRbHoo2laZr_8JrX3drsYV2oJ0YiCfXrGra5d9_CULRBhQO_SGCUr9q4iRBarGe80Zxv1IBa0Oh9c-huH7-fJ9Hptl92vpTu_I8zpfHJDbURXeRWPqYRtEyPlJF7FKOrUi_i/w640-h228/01.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>As you can see, I make a concerted effort to trade away more cards than I bring in to my house. In total, I've traded away 1,669 more cards than I've brought in...that's definitely helping to keep my collection under a bit more control! </div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately for trading purposes,<a href="http://fanofreds.blogspot.com/p/my-want-list.html" target="_blank"> my want list</a> is now quite small - basically Barry Larkin cards plus short prints or other somewhat hard-to-find cards for my various set builds. That being said, with the release of new 2024 products now happening I imagine I'll have a bunch more "common" Barry Larkin cards that I'll be looking for, plus who knows, maybe I'll go after this year's flagship set again since I liked the initial design previews! </div><div><br /></div><div>Have a good Monday, everyone...and stay safe if you are impacted by the winter weather! On the bright side, if I am stuck at home inside tomorrow, maybe I'll be able to find some more trade partners over on TCDB.</div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-50836887039805644342024-02-11T08:00:00.009-05:002024-02-11T08:00:00.256-05:00Cash for Cards 2.04: In Honor of the Super Bowl<p>I've been inundated with school work in the past two weeks. Mostly lesson planning, but also plenty of exam writing (and then exam grading). As such, today I'm simply adding another card to the stack and hoping someone claims it. Quick and easy, exactly what I need today as I'm hoping to get my work done in time to watch the Super Bowl later tonight!</p><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Cash for Cards</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Stack cost: $10 </span>(includes shipping to US) </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>----</b></div><div><b>1995 Topps Football:<br />281. Jamir Miller</b></div><div><b>292. Mike Pritchard</b></div><div><b>311. Steve Everitt</b></div><div><b>368. Pepper Johnson</b></div><div><b>Florida Hotbed: FH8. Emmitt Smith</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-P5B56SExQeAiN6Zhyphenhyphen7WhpETttT5iQxd1TOVFt3j0JRQRJA1_5B4V28zjlm17quhsqFd-HQqjkz9JwKkWuMB3VIemcpYqVVdrlnEadYzqeaJVgf2wlXAjM9CnLv1O3a-HbavSfiukjFpujd-rryfGCtZJKhbc0e27C2Epu3F-RlCupxtyHUoL/s2501/01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2329" data-original-width="2501" height="596" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-P5B56SExQeAiN6Zhyphenhyphen7WhpETttT5iQxd1TOVFt3j0JRQRJA1_5B4V28zjlm17quhsqFd-HQqjkz9JwKkWuMB3VIemcpYqVVdrlnEadYzqeaJVgf2wlXAjM9CnLv1O3a-HbavSfiukjFpujd-rryfGCtZJKhbc0e27C2Epu3F-RlCupxtyHUoL/w640-h596/01.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>2023 Topps Heritage:</b></div><div><b>315. Mookie Betts</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBxv4wMKDWbyXasKasyvJQ9VpPaFf_SGhjVp2VWwCGg0uNWxP6IZPZ7wbDWf9EpnadG7eDgcH8hvR8IrdtZn8r5BdSFv3vdRhp-mPiLwhZXmBem6NZshqY4eWdUBtZBf0lJhdmyUMuYibhvACX8j1nWSX7X9bJKIq5UAVz7ajlbPmaQATyFkH/s1151/01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1151" data-original-width="863" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBxv4wMKDWbyXasKasyvJQ9VpPaFf_SGhjVp2VWwCGg0uNWxP6IZPZ7wbDWf9EpnadG7eDgcH8hvR8IrdtZn8r5BdSFv3vdRhp-mPiLwhZXmBem6NZshqY4eWdUBtZBf0lJhdmyUMuYibhvACX8j1nWSX7X9bJKIq5UAVz7ajlbPmaQATyFkH/w480-h640/01.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b>2008 Upper Deck Timeline:</b></div><div><b>197. Joey Votto (rookie)</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzI9_mhPGP9r4W-7Lxn0Ut8MI6jNOcL3CtgGLjrrwaAfI8EchslttmotbMG2TaMLBtmrf8T-rigAL05oJ8epd8MSZ-MCMCqCUkDNwAtV_V9EzRkY3NmnveY6KNRejGJKMRYOatgWCYd1xwJinVB1vg-6VzE5njW-I74hDDc25n8ZKRlHXG_5X/s1161/01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1161" data-original-width="847" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzI9_mhPGP9r4W-7Lxn0Ut8MI6jNOcL3CtgGLjrrwaAfI8EchslttmotbMG2TaMLBtmrf8T-rigAL05oJ8epd8MSZ-MCMCqCUkDNwAtV_V9EzRkY3NmnveY6KNRejGJKMRYOatgWCYd1xwJinVB1vg-6VzE5njW-I74hDDc25n8ZKRlHXG_5X/w466-h640/01.jpg" width="466" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>2021 Topps: </b></div><div><b>274. Juan Soto</b></div><div><b>2022 Stadium Club:</b></div><div><b>286. Bo Bichette</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNbzUXSMsyzL6dUoRrbFIGwCbFJlZL9K3EXYx0-6ApdGJcvZQC-sWfGrku0Wt7iKaaLo2zSxMjqZEwGTmq9xc0gin94jjgAfesZ198jyhN8Nc2nYWlLSMQozhWRJ_atmA_biFBJ9KsCMK9_88W2fvb-yDjWmc8O1Wwz0mqAj90leua1eoSclM/s1769/01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1193" data-original-width="1769" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNbzUXSMsyzL6dUoRrbFIGwCbFJlZL9K3EXYx0-6ApdGJcvZQC-sWfGrku0Wt7iKaaLo2zSxMjqZEwGTmq9xc0gin94jjgAfesZ198jyhN8Nc2nYWlLSMQozhWRJ_atmA_biFBJ9KsCMK9_88W2fvb-yDjWmc8O1Wwz0mqAj90leua1eoSclM/w640-h432/01.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Like what you see? Leave a comment below to claim the cards (and send F&F payment to fanofreds (dot) auctions (at gmail) (dot com). Or, you can wait it out and I'll continue to add things to the stack until someone jumps in!</div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-34865574825985662482024-02-10T08:00:00.004-05:002024-02-10T08:00:00.251-05:00Barry Larkin Collection 1,005: 1990 Fleer - #423 (variation)<b>Barry Larkin</b><div><b>Year:</b> 1990</div><div><b>Brand:</b> Fleer</div><div><b>Card number:</b> 423</div><div><b>Variation:</b> Missing period</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0GjhCJgGR9eE2WqAsHBl78ksBHI64f5SCbIujkqNOtQevaprAt38EDnl76RpYOEii1TX2TEJR-dFJmV0A2ZyD44cphFok5rSO9carG6GiZLsBLACC0o8HgjjlauaKi5pCJyybDJMuV_Sgr21RvHnQMoTDMJ-qlaQpQWlMutl3MQRz47PjjYPz/s1769/Larkin-1990-Fleer-423-variation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1151" data-original-width="1769" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0GjhCJgGR9eE2WqAsHBl78ksBHI64f5SCbIujkqNOtQevaprAt38EDnl76RpYOEii1TX2TEJR-dFJmV0A2ZyD44cphFok5rSO9carG6GiZLsBLACC0o8HgjjlauaKi5pCJyybDJMuV_Sgr21RvHnQMoTDMJ-qlaQpQWlMutl3MQRz47PjjYPz/w640-h416/Larkin-1990-Fleer-423-variation.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>The 1990 Fleer set has base cards that come in two versions, the standard base card or the variation in which the period is missing after the "A" in U.S.A on the back of the card in the copyright line.</div><div><br /></div><div>That's right, another dumb variation to track down from the early-90s. And here you thought that nonsense was relegated only to the Donruss brand. Nope, Donruss may have been the worst offender but other brands (such as Fleer) had their fair share of stupid variations as well! Of course, it's actually me who is the dumb one as I actively seek out every different version of Barry Larkin card I can find, even if that difference is <i>literally</i> only a dot or period.</div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-66276521424726693932024-02-09T08:00:00.019-05:002024-02-09T08:00:00.128-05:00Board Game Friday: January 2023 Games Played Recap!Another month has come and gone and thus it's time for another monthly board game plays recap. January kind of got split in half in terms of my ability to play board games, for the first two weeks I still had some board game playing family members around from the holidays while the last two weeks of January saw me return to work and thus have almost no free time whatsoever! <div><br /></div><div>All things considered, I think I did quite well in January as I was able to play a total of 23 different games spread across 39 total plays. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCTjl3WIp7R5Gpd4Dw8UYl0IpJCPwKAktkXINK-e8PieOkuCxhdti4gCc3h3-iTa7YwZThK_0QwI8kasG85fDFBw1OB0xusL_NE0Ws9l_41IlGIEpgiuyiGim6GbQcL8hluCTMDl5ujDJohhhU9HOe3BGPIPDVBT-v2hgBxTWILaJBWuQIR9CZ/s953/1707406417577.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="953" data-original-width="953" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCTjl3WIp7R5Gpd4Dw8UYl0IpJCPwKAktkXINK-e8PieOkuCxhdti4gCc3h3-iTa7YwZThK_0QwI8kasG85fDFBw1OB0xusL_NE0Ws9l_41IlGIEpgiuyiGim6GbQcL8hluCTMDl5ujDJohhhU9HOe3BGPIPDVBT-v2hgBxTWILaJBWuQIR9CZ/w640-h640/1707406417577.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Out of the 23 games I played, six were new to me. That list includes Paleo, Santa's Workshop, Oceans, Gods Love Dinosaurs, Overboss: A Boss Monster Adventure, and Sprawlopolis. I enjoyed all of the new games to varying degrees and hopefully I'll get each of them to the table again before 2024 is over!</div><div><br /></div><div>January also saw me return to the online website Board Game Arena with a bit of a vengeance. I started the month playing a bunch of games that I already knew how to play (Kingdomino, Isle of Trains, Martian Dice, etc.) but by the end of the month I was learning newer, heavier games (Ark Nova, Beyond the Sun, etc.). I ended up playing a total of 100 games on the site in January alone!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfFugakqSAuKawc-d5u6Sm_5GPyIkAhgAIPYB63CH-PqQOxpE9Cs2PCvlsuw4JoYg2l0-9IF5WcRDE_Mvo6AASv_r3sTj38tlM-rLwNLWGO7h2p0PK7VjSKc9hFw8yUKPy60sxGAUe7dAEXT8SO-2Y_RzlRthL5SatmctkG9kRiu5kY63tfU3R/s740/02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="261" data-original-width="740" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfFugakqSAuKawc-d5u6Sm_5GPyIkAhgAIPYB63CH-PqQOxpE9Cs2PCvlsuw4JoYg2l0-9IF5WcRDE_Mvo6AASv_r3sTj38tlM-rLwNLWGO7h2p0PK7VjSKc9hFw8yUKPy60sxGAUe7dAEXT8SO-2Y_RzlRthL5SatmctkG9kRiu5kY63tfU3R/w640-h226/02.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Out of the 100 games, I won 45 of them which isn't an overly impressive ratio. I've <i>already</i> played more games over on BGA in February than I did last month...but unfortunately my win-loss ratio isn't improving much (if at all)! That all said, I play the games because I enjoy the act of playing, winning isn't everything (and I'm super thankful for the online website as a place to play, otherwise I'd never get to play a lot of the meatier games that my family isn't interested in)! </div><div><br /></div><div>If you happen to be someone who plays on BGA, let me know as I'd be happy to start up a table with you! I'm currently playing a lot of Ark Nova (and getting destroyed) but I'm up for learning just about any game. </div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-20228652834208032302024-02-08T10:32:00.002-05:002024-02-08T10:50:14.190-05:00Cash for Cards 2.03: Mookie!<p>This is a cheap little stack that already contains a die-cut Joey Votto relic. Today, I'm adding in a 2023 Topps Heritage card of Mookie Betts. Perhaps that will be enough to get someone to bite on this stack?</p><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Cash for Cards</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Stack cost: $10 </span>(includes shipping to US) </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>----</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>2023 Topps Heritage:</b></div><div><b>315. Mookie Betts</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBxv4wMKDWbyXasKasyvJQ9VpPaFf_SGhjVp2VWwCGg0uNWxP6IZPZ7wbDWf9EpnadG7eDgcH8hvR8IrdtZn8r5BdSFv3vdRhp-mPiLwhZXmBem6NZshqY4eWdUBtZBf0lJhdmyUMuYibhvACX8j1nWSX7X9bJKIq5UAVz7ajlbPmaQATyFkH/s1151/01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1151" data-original-width="863" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBxv4wMKDWbyXasKasyvJQ9VpPaFf_SGhjVp2VWwCGg0uNWxP6IZPZ7wbDWf9EpnadG7eDgcH8hvR8IrdtZn8r5BdSFv3vdRhp-mPiLwhZXmBem6NZshqY4eWdUBtZBf0lJhdmyUMuYibhvACX8j1nWSX7X9bJKIq5UAVz7ajlbPmaQATyFkH/w480-h640/01.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b>2008 Upper Deck Timeline:</b></div><div><b>197. Joey Votto (rookie)</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzI9_mhPGP9r4W-7Lxn0Ut8MI6jNOcL3CtgGLjrrwaAfI8EchslttmotbMG2TaMLBtmrf8T-rigAL05oJ8epd8MSZ-MCMCqCUkDNwAtV_V9EzRkY3NmnveY6KNRejGJKMRYOatgWCYd1xwJinVB1vg-6VzE5njW-I74hDDc25n8ZKRlHXG_5X/s1161/01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1161" data-original-width="847" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzI9_mhPGP9r4W-7Lxn0Ut8MI6jNOcL3CtgGLjrrwaAfI8EchslttmotbMG2TaMLBtmrf8T-rigAL05oJ8epd8MSZ-MCMCqCUkDNwAtV_V9EzRkY3NmnveY6KNRejGJKMRYOatgWCYd1xwJinVB1vg-6VzE5njW-I74hDDc25n8ZKRlHXG_5X/w466-h640/01.jpg" width="466" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>2021 Topps: </b></div><div><b>274. Juan Soto</b></div><div><b>2022 Stadium Club:</b></div><div><b>286. Bo Bichette</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNbzUXSMsyzL6dUoRrbFIGwCbFJlZL9K3EXYx0-6ApdGJcvZQC-sWfGrku0Wt7iKaaLo2zSxMjqZEwGTmq9xc0gin94jjgAfesZ198jyhN8Nc2nYWlLSMQozhWRJ_atmA_biFBJ9KsCMK9_88W2fvb-yDjWmc8O1Wwz0mqAj90leua1eoSclM/s1769/01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1193" data-original-width="1769" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNbzUXSMsyzL6dUoRrbFIGwCbFJlZL9K3EXYx0-6ApdGJcvZQC-sWfGrku0Wt7iKaaLo2zSxMjqZEwGTmq9xc0gin94jjgAfesZ198jyhN8Nc2nYWlLSMQozhWRJ_atmA_biFBJ9KsCMK9_88W2fvb-yDjWmc8O1Wwz0mqAj90leua1eoSclM/w640-h432/01.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Like what you see? Leave a comment below to claim the cards (and send F&F payment to fanofreds (dot) auctions (at gmail) (dot com). Or, you can wait it out and I'll continue to add things to the stack until someone jumps in!</div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-89781183140773720782024-02-07T08:00:00.002-05:002024-02-07T08:00:00.141-05:00First Look at 2023 Stadium Club!Last week, I held my first night of group breaks for my current Breaker's Club. We opened a bunch of boxes but the one that I wanted to highlight on the blog was our box of 2023 Topps Stadium Club. Rather than do a full box review, I simply wanted to show off some of my base favorite cards from the box!<div><br /></div><div>Without further ado, here are my top 5 favorite base cards from our box of 2023 Stadium Club:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>#5: Tyler Freeman</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq8wY3kWqI0SSuCzRGiwWfJ15GBqOz_Axehwdq46LI0natFJNEM8xP2IhJyLkUySTjnQcTdaje0X4uTReZ6Gbp1wwxyW40B8RbP_3yMfWSX-qe_X-EAcamzCVkIAkFGA7BxZbRVL3zDKCBUFCn9cchx1X5MqAy8Bzulr55xz7ZUwDfmNOePP6D/s1161/01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1161" data-original-width="873" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq8wY3kWqI0SSuCzRGiwWfJ15GBqOz_Axehwdq46LI0natFJNEM8xP2IhJyLkUySTjnQcTdaje0X4uTReZ6Gbp1wwxyW40B8RbP_3yMfWSX-qe_X-EAcamzCVkIAkFGA7BxZbRVL3zDKCBUFCn9cchx1X5MqAy8Bzulr55xz7ZUwDfmNOePP6D/w482-h640/01.jpg" width="482" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div>I love cards that show enough of the scoreboard to help you figure out when the photo was taken. I also love cards that show beautiful summer days! Put those together and you get this really nice Freeman rookie card.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>#4: Tom Seaver</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84gTw5JBaRs7aHlcHi0wOa4yPUzAPXCd_lWzz_5hjuuuqA3_8wFrG2-PADlHE_i2ae2kSDdAyB3sKVjHWYDrUnBx4qZpJxzqZZzIly9dlHebJKT1nnNCcMGh7o4v_yEdpjPY4tnCkYUEA8SofeCV37dJ-U6IFbUq3nDXOlxRvunjzPcOwTVO2/s1173/02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1173" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84gTw5JBaRs7aHlcHi0wOa4yPUzAPXCd_lWzz_5hjuuuqA3_8wFrG2-PADlHE_i2ae2kSDdAyB3sKVjHWYDrUnBx4qZpJxzqZZzIly9dlHebJKT1nnNCcMGh7o4v_yEdpjPY4tnCkYUEA8SofeCV37dJ-U6IFbUq3nDXOlxRvunjzPcOwTVO2/w640-h490/02.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div>From the summer vibes of Freeman to the somber reality of pitching on a cloudy day inside an empty stadium. The photo feels like it might be a product of some Photoshop magic but I don't care, it's still a cool shot that made me pause while I went through the packs.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>#3: Starling Marte</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhztj0YhyphenhyphenB-wP4UsdFPj_iFp-q-l_3OQU1x6eIPqXIT49_upLYFxBnr4LKxGZoRp5ya3V3duM8Wt2sHNqr8L5KZwDeyjwoCeb0gAb6sAIcnF4ql2ZimvTfWYS4LIB7ZiX3MPLAN5Wrl_0KOUkz4r7EXo8qwLxuxzOb4SJai-MIL4p4YKSz1UZuR/s1181/03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="1181" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhztj0YhyphenhyphenB-wP4UsdFPj_iFp-q-l_3OQU1x6eIPqXIT49_upLYFxBnr4LKxGZoRp5ya3V3duM8Wt2sHNqr8L5KZwDeyjwoCeb0gAb6sAIcnF4ql2ZimvTfWYS4LIB7ZiX3MPLAN5Wrl_0KOUkz4r7EXo8qwLxuxzOb4SJai-MIL4p4YKSz1UZuR/w640-h466/03.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div>Cloudy skies in the evening can make for some great photos as evidenced by the Marte card. There's also a nice scoreboard shot to help you figure out when the photo was taken!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>#2: Yogi Berra</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfx0mON_R1ROmPurWPDlYCY9GjplLEi6D55bwjlei15EuHOwwZSPD6HClZEZFRzbkeS45ZGQkMKys5t9EXvjy6E0tPN8wNqPXVY2Ov05zFXHM_4mss0_F3xG0PWStqzUHbklddzZVHxddGOcJ-iuDAaHFNNdGrTnEvD98TmsYlF44YIExfDzqK/s1197/04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1197" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfx0mON_R1ROmPurWPDlYCY9GjplLEi6D55bwjlei15EuHOwwZSPD6HClZEZFRzbkeS45ZGQkMKys5t9EXvjy6E0tPN8wNqPXVY2Ov05zFXHM_4mss0_F3xG0PWStqzUHbklddzZVHxddGOcJ-iuDAaHFNNdGrTnEvD98TmsYlF44YIExfDzqK/w640-h480/04.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div>Old time TV? Check. Lounging ballplayer? Check. Giant wheeled vehicle in the back...and maybe some sort of reading lamp? Check and check. I don't have a clue what's going on in this photo but I'm loving it just the same!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>#1: Barry Larkin</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1IYou9du6DMUcv5NwEmZHyqnOC3nUcJTz_Guv4KLaZtZXenSEhrh8ChsFTMsS4b5ANjW-O-JGyIe8MO0VfUNsd1sv7jwP-t0XOlyXrfNq5urR9rLcCCXYMAUJffHoCmSl550lbpKYKNhZ7BCQwYd3u21RInkiYTNiqCqIc9j71QiYhbJxUxoS/s1193/05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1193" data-original-width="889" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1IYou9du6DMUcv5NwEmZHyqnOC3nUcJTz_Guv4KLaZtZXenSEhrh8ChsFTMsS4b5ANjW-O-JGyIe8MO0VfUNsd1sv7jwP-t0XOlyXrfNq5urR9rLcCCXYMAUJffHoCmSl550lbpKYKNhZ7BCQwYd3u21RInkiYTNiqCqIc9j71QiYhbJxUxoS/w476-h640/05.jpg" width="476" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div>I mean, it's Barry Larkin with his dogs, how can you not love this one?!</div><div><br /></div><div>Honorable mention goes out to David Wright, Cal Ripken, Jr., Andrew Vaughn, and Javier Baez who all made the short list of base cards but couldn't quite crack into my Top 5 for the box. Overall, I think this year's (last year's?) edition of Stadium Club is quite nice. It won't knock your socks off as it feels very similar to the last few years of the brand...but for a brand as nice as Stadium Club, that's not necessarily a bad thing at all!</div><div><br /></div><div>I do have another box of Stadium Club for our Breaker's Club. Maybe I'll do another Top 5 for that box? </div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-60733796632522157662024-02-06T08:00:00.002-05:002024-02-06T08:00:00.244-05:00Barry Larkin Collection 1,004: 1988 Donruss - #492 - Variation<b>Barry Larkin</b><div><b>Year:</b> 1988</div><div><b>Brand:</b> Donruss</div><div><b>Card number:</b> 492</div><div><b>Variation: </b>No period</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0mhiAZT2pkjj2oyQphe9gYbUBwDrBMTjtwbbaAUHjKoZJbrCTWy9ZIlcZsm7pBoMnep3Iw8BSffeZH2uHjMJ_mta5gUIu_zK-EMk1hC2lfJxjpxKs0pDwXvXUtR_hUHG1kn3sTkDbdicfN2sgOL69cLfp3S0bJzEsscTK8xMj-glkiLxl2tP4/s1995/Larkin-1988-Donruss-492-variation.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1131" data-original-width="1995" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0mhiAZT2pkjj2oyQphe9gYbUBwDrBMTjtwbbaAUHjKoZJbrCTWy9ZIlcZsm7pBoMnep3Iw8BSffeZH2uHjMJ_mta5gUIu_zK-EMk1hC2lfJxjpxKs0pDwXvXUtR_hUHG1kn3sTkDbdicfN2sgOL69cLfp3S0bJzEsscTK8xMj-glkiLxl2tP4/w640-h362/Larkin-1988-Donruss-492-variation.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div>You don't get to the point of having over 1,000 different cards of a player without having a few "dumb" cards in your collection. Today's featured card is a perfect example of a "dumb card" in that it's one of those asinine variations from late 80s, early 90s Donruss. In this case, the card is a variation from <a href="https://fanofreds.blogspot.com/2011/01/barry-larkin-collection-81-1988-donruss.html" target="_blank">Larkin's regular base card</a> because this one is missing the period after Leaf, Inc </div><div><br /></div><div>Yeah, I told you this one was a "dumb card." TCDB considers the different versions to be different cards, however, so I'm doing the same. If nothing else, it pads my Larkin Collection stats a bit...so here's to the next 1,000 cards (though let's hope the majority of them are pointless variations like this one ended up being)!</div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-1912391507830413802024-02-05T08:00:00.011-05:002024-02-05T08:00:00.133-05:00Another Monday, Another TCDB Trade!It's Monday which means it's time to dip into the mailbag for the past week! As has been normal lately, the mailbag is nearly empty...but not totally empty for the week. In fact, I only managed to complete a single TCDB trade but at least it was a good one that netted me a few needed cards!<div><br /></div><div>This week's swap was with user MHLayton. Thanks to the trade, I was able to grab two of the last three 2023 Allen & Ginter box loader cards that I needed for my set:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_FYbhwRIXEHNvk_2F91CzVIYhlBrw82XVglrRFcDRaGdEdj-XDX-7dNEF0ev-KX_LF_xfUIi9f-n9Ak0sZBKteBj9w0g7MOmX-kellBl4HBvWF83Bn6eiqyqta7-lViM7X0OzOh1EhJfj8APmE8lGh5LJcDsX2s-xNxtXupFivrTKTWFdR2hq/s2546/01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2009" data-original-width="2546" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_FYbhwRIXEHNvk_2F91CzVIYhlBrw82XVglrRFcDRaGdEdj-XDX-7dNEF0ev-KX_LF_xfUIi9f-n9Ak0sZBKteBj9w0g7MOmX-kellBl4HBvWF83Bn6eiqyqta7-lViM7X0OzOh1EhJfj8APmE8lGh5LJcDsX2s-xNxtXupFivrTKTWFdR2hq/w640-h506/01.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>With Verlander and Harper now in hand, I only need the Shohei Ohtani box topper to complete my collection. There are a few of Ohtani's listed on TCDB so I guess it's time for me to make some trade proposals!</div><div><br /></div><div>In addition, I was also able to acquire this Barry Larkin card from 2022 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghY2pWUhnIdVuOQrTv5UAOiTYtCYqTQ4BDHCpKQPc9eM1H6DWzHL5WNQ0fkcipZHaimW8xk9z8K0EvIPp5m5f6go3ROf8IawhO4Ve2ZY8vxCCZssOYZ1JL6OOr5E_AbclYg2MTWDN6pmYmy2MxpGE2fdYDPuTipn2gIIzr72M-9oTC9ofPmv49/s1149/02.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1149" data-original-width="873" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghY2pWUhnIdVuOQrTv5UAOiTYtCYqTQ4BDHCpKQPc9eM1H6DWzHL5WNQ0fkcipZHaimW8xk9z8K0EvIPp5m5f6go3ROf8IawhO4Ve2ZY8vxCCZssOYZ1JL6OOr5E_AbclYg2MTWDN6pmYmy2MxpGE2fdYDPuTipn2gIIzr72M-9oTC9ofPmv49/w486-h640/02.jpg" width="486" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>That's a Red Atomic Refractor #/100 - and it's certainly a nice addition to my growing stack of Barry Larkin cards from the 2022 Topps Chrome Platinum set! Speaking of that stack, here's the full list of what I'm trying to collect in terms of Barry Larkin cards from the 2022 Topps Chrome Platinum set:</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>2022 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary Barry Larkin Wants:</b></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><ol><li><strike>Regular base card</strike></li><li><strike>Refractors</strike></li><li><strike>Black & White Mini-Diamond Refractors (Lite only)</strike></li><li><strike>X-Fractors (Hobby and Lite only)</strike></li><li><strike>Prism Refractors (retail only)</strike></li><li><strike>Blue Prism Refractors (retail only)</strike></li><li>Gold Prism Refractors (retail only)</li><li>Red Prism Refractors (retail only)</li><li><strike>Aqua Lava Refractors (serial-numbered to 299 copies)</strike></li><li><strike>Yellow RayWave Refractors (serial-numbered to 250 copies)</strike></li><li>Blue Mini-Diamond Refractors (serial-numbered to 199 copies)</li><li><strike>Platinum Toile White/Blue Refractors (serial-numbered to 199 copies)</strike></li><li>Speckle Refractors (serial-numbered to 150 copies)</li><li><strike>Blue Atomic Refractors (serial-numbered to 100 copies; retail only)</strike></li><li><strike>Fuchsia Atomic Refractors (serial-numbered to 100 copies)</strike></li><li><strike>Platinum Toile Cream/Fuchsia Atomic Refractors (serial-numbered to 100 copies; Hobby only)</strike></li><li><strike>Red Atomic Refractors (serial-numbered to 100 copies; Hobby only)</strike></li><li><strike>Green Wave Refractors (serial-numbered to 99 copies)</strike></li><li>Platinum Toile White/Green Refractors (serial-numbered to 99 copies)</li><li><strike>Platinum Toile Cream/Rose Gold Refractors (serial-numbered to 75 copies)</strike></li><li>Rose Gold Refractors (serial-numbered to 75 copies)</li><li><strike>Rose Gold Mini-Diamond Refractors (serial-numbered to 75 copies)</strike></li><li>Gold Refractors (serial-numbered to 50 copies)</li><li>Gold Wave Refractors (serial-numbered to 50 copies; Hobby only)</li><li><strike>Platinum Toile Cream/Gold Refractors (serial-numbered to 50 copies)</strike></li><li>Platinum Toile White/Orange Refractors (serial-numbered to 25 copies)</li><li>Orange Refractors (serial-numbered to 25 copies)</li><li>Orange Wave Refractors (serial-numbered to 25 copies; Hobby only)</li><li><strike>Autographs</strike></li><li>Autographs Refractors (serial-numbered to 199 copies)</li><li>Autographs Aqua Refractors (serial-numbered to 150 copies)</li><li>Autographs Blue Prism Refractors (serial-numbered to 99 copies; Hobby only)</li><li>Autographs Platinum Toile Cream/Blue Refractors (serial-numbered to 99 copies)</li><li>Autographs Gold Refractors (serial-numbered to 50 copies)</li><li>Autographs Orange Refractors (serial-numbered to 25 copies; Hobby only)</li></ol></div></div><div>I now have 18 of the 35 cards (remember, I ignore any cards with a stated print run of less than 25 copies). Over halfway done...though I imagine the second half of this collection will be much, MUCH harder to complete as compared to the first half!</div><div><br /></div><div>Many thanks to MHLayton for the trade - and if anyone else would like to trade with me here's a link to <a href="https://fanofreds.blogspot.com/p/my-want-list.html" target="_blank">my want list</a> (or <a href="https://www.tcdb.com/Profile.cfm/NachosGrande" target="_blank">find me over on TCDB</a>)!</div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-18220613732480034702024-02-04T08:00:00.013-05:002024-02-04T08:00:00.252-05:00Cash for Cards 2.02: A Joey Votto Rookie Joins the Stack!<p>Today, I've got a good card to add to the stack - a die-cut Joey Votto rookie card SP from 2008 Upper Deck Timeline. The UD Timeline set was a beast of a set to put together with several tiers of rarity and the SP-inspired design cards were some of <a href="http://baseballcardpedia.com/index.php/2008_Upper_Deck_Timeline" target="_blank">the rarer cards to find</a> (that subset was seeded 1:6 packs, with 25 cards making up the subset)! </p><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Cash for Cards</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Stack cost: $10 </span>(includes shipping to US) </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>----</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>2008 Upper Deck Timeline:</b></div><div><b>197. Joey Votto (rookie)</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzI9_mhPGP9r4W-7Lxn0Ut8MI6jNOcL3CtgGLjrrwaAfI8EchslttmotbMG2TaMLBtmrf8T-rigAL05oJ8epd8MSZ-MCMCqCUkDNwAtV_V9EzRkY3NmnveY6KNRejGJKMRYOatgWCYd1xwJinVB1vg-6VzE5njW-I74hDDc25n8ZKRlHXG_5X/s1161/01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1161" data-original-width="847" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzI9_mhPGP9r4W-7Lxn0Ut8MI6jNOcL3CtgGLjrrwaAfI8EchslttmotbMG2TaMLBtmrf8T-rigAL05oJ8epd8MSZ-MCMCqCUkDNwAtV_V9EzRkY3NmnveY6KNRejGJKMRYOatgWCYd1xwJinVB1vg-6VzE5njW-I74hDDc25n8ZKRlHXG_5X/w466-h640/01.jpg" width="466" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>2021 Topps: </b></div><div><b>274. Juan Soto</b></div><div><b>2022 Stadium Club:</b></div><div><b>286. Bo Bichette</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNbzUXSMsyzL6dUoRrbFIGwCbFJlZL9K3EXYx0-6ApdGJcvZQC-sWfGrku0Wt7iKaaLo2zSxMjqZEwGTmq9xc0gin94jjgAfesZ198jyhN8Nc2nYWlLSMQozhWRJ_atmA_biFBJ9KsCMK9_88W2fvb-yDjWmc8O1Wwz0mqAj90leua1eoSclM/s1769/01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1193" data-original-width="1769" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNbzUXSMsyzL6dUoRrbFIGwCbFJlZL9K3EXYx0-6ApdGJcvZQC-sWfGrku0Wt7iKaaLo2zSxMjqZEwGTmq9xc0gin94jjgAfesZ198jyhN8Nc2nYWlLSMQozhWRJ_atmA_biFBJ9KsCMK9_88W2fvb-yDjWmc8O1Wwz0mqAj90leua1eoSclM/w640-h432/01.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Like what you see? Leave a comment below to claim the cards (and send F&F payment to fanofreds (dot) auctions (at gmail) (dot com). Or, you can wait it out and I'll continue to add things to the stack until someone jumps in!</div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12204510.post-13047909637158507412024-02-03T08:00:00.001-05:002024-02-03T08:00:00.134-05:00Barry Larkin Collection 1,003: 1995 SP - #32 - Special FX<b>Barry Larkin</b><div><b>Year: </b>1995</div><div><b>Brand:</b> SP</div><div><b>Card number:</b> 32</div><div><b>Insert set:</b> Special FX</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXCbQoaJscv1mlGWu7ojiSfKmCPogyzhYj7I7hiMoQDqID2yaKm_uaIucCSuMYD3JHMWjCctJHaIhV_Zdg87Flj2YehYi1YHo0gr91oP8MuSJoY6y4ecRvag8dgHa5CyoXZLTCRrJwMBY2iwFYcJH14vNFiBiCXendqlCg6zU83czTTKYd0EaZ/s1693/Larkin-1995-SP-32-SpecialFX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1137" data-original-width="1693" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXCbQoaJscv1mlGWu7ojiSfKmCPogyzhYj7I7hiMoQDqID2yaKm_uaIucCSuMYD3JHMWjCctJHaIhV_Zdg87Flj2YehYi1YHo0gr91oP8MuSJoY6y4ecRvag8dgHa5CyoXZLTCRrJwMBY2iwFYcJH14vNFiBiCXendqlCg6zU83czTTKYd0EaZ/w640-h430/Larkin-1995-SP-32-SpecialFX.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>The 1995 SP set had a 48-card Special FX insert set which were seeded 1:75 packs! The Special FX cards don't scan particularly well but I promise they look quite nice in hand! I'm a big fan of both sides of the card - the front has a nice shot of Larkin in the field (plus the hologram looks great). The back has an action shot of Larkin fielding plus a small blurb about Larkin finally unseating Ozzie Smith as the NL Gold Glover at shortstop. This is the type of insert that feels special, so the fact that they were seeded 1:75 packs is quite fitting and appropriate! I'm definitely happy to have this one in my personal collection!</div>Nachos Grandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911007368272468591noreply@blogger.com1