2 Bucks a Piece

In addition to the oodles of dime cards that I purchased and showcased in yesterday's post, I also picked up a couple of cards located in a separate bin at the card shop. As you can tell by the title of this post, each card I'll be showing cost me $2 each.

I'll be honest, I wouldn't have looked through this bin unless it was right next to the dime bins (which it was). The bin consists of 2 rows of cards that range from rookie cards, parallels, relic, and some prospect cards as well. The cards themselves range from 50 cents to around $5 each, so not too pricey. However, given the number of players that I collect, you can imagine that the price begins to add up quickly.

That's why I decided to limit myself to 3 cards total. I did not want to go crazy and buy too many of these cards. Granted, they'd all be great for my player collections, but I knew I couldn't get every card I wanted. So, I decided to go for the cards that I felt were the best of the best in terms of card design and value.

The first card I decided on was a card of Justin Verlander. His being traded to the Astros last season wasn't my favorite thing. I always thought he'd be a long-time Tiger and that he and Miggy would be teammates for the rest of their careers. However, I am happy for him that he ended up winning a ring with the Astros and judging by his start to the 2018 season, I don't think he has much to complain about.

The front of the card is at the top of this post and is numbered 4/25. Yep, that's a card numbered to 25 copies for just 2 bucks. In fact, it wasn't even the only Verlander card in the bin numbered to 25. There was another from Topps Co-Signers, I believe 2008. I chose this one from 2008 Upper Deck A Piece of History not because I liked it any more or any less than the other card. I chose this one simply because it was $1 cheaper. After all, I was trying to save money. Then again, if I cared too much about money I wouldn't let myself near a card shop.

The next card I got was also a low-numbered card of a player I collect. This player, like Verlander, deserves to be a Hall of Famer one day. However, I'm not too sure if he'll get in or not

I'm talking about Todd Helton and the card I got of him is numbered 4/5, though it's very difficult to see when scanned. The serial number is located on the little purple strip above his name. Anyway, back to the Hall of Fame discussion. Helton is undeniably the greatest Rockie to ever live, although Nolan Arenado could surpass him someday. He's a career .316 hitter with just north of 2,500 hits, over 350 home runs, and just shy of 1,500 RBI. He's won Gold Glove awards, made it to All-Star games. He truly has the credentials to make it to Cooperstown.

However, Helton played in a time when home runs were being hit left and right, even by guys who weren't taking steroids. Will his balance of power and contact hitting along with defensive ability be enough to secure his place in Cooperstown? I sure hope so. After all, he played like a true 5-tool player. 

For my final card, I chose to switch it up a bit. I still ended up getting a numbered card, but instead of a standard serial numbered card, I went for a relic. In fact, I ended up choosing a dual relic.

The dual relic is numbered out of 225 and features 2 players for the Angels; Garret Anderson and one of my favorite players of all-time, Vladimir Guerrero. I actually like Anderson quite a bit, but I got this card because it has Vladdy on it. I'm pretty sure I have other Vladdy relic cards, but this is my first dual relic of him, and one of just a handful in my collection.

A lot of times in the 2000's, certain companies like Donruss and Upper Deck would make relic cards that appeared like they should be dual relics. They'd include 2 players. 1 would have a jersey relic and the other would just have some color square right next to their name and picture. Not only is this a bad choice for a design, but it just doesn't make sense. I'd rather have a single relic than a dual one that doesn't even have the 2nd relic. That's why I was so pleased that this Anderson and Guerrero relic had 2 pieces of uniform on it. I was glad to see such a cool card not follow in the footsteps of various other "dual" relics of the 2000's.