The Best of the Best From Cleveland. National Recap Part #7

After over a week of recapping my thrilling times at this years' National Sports Collectors Convention, I've officially reached my final recap post. After this, my attention will go towards putting all my new cards away while, of course, still posting almost daily.

Speaking of putting cards away, I've also begun an organization overhaul in which I am transferring all cards from retail or hobby boxes into 2-row boxes with labels rather than stacking up tons of blasters and other boxes. This not only gives me more space but also allows for me to locate cards in an easier way. I also purchased some storage containers to keep recently acquired cards in until they are ready to be put away.

Anyways, I can save the organizational stuff for another post. Now, it's time to show off the highlights, the best of the best of what I brought back from The National. Yes, this means it's autograph time, starting with 2018 Topps Chrome.

I spent the better part of half an hour searching the booths of The National for retail blaster boxes. Sure, there were plenty of vendors selling hobby, but I didn't want to pay those prices, not yet anyway. After wandering for a while, I discovered a booth selling blaster boxes, so I paid $20 and picked up a blaster of the brand new 2018 Topps Chrome. 

On my 6th of 7 packs (pack #8 being the sepia refractors), I ended up pulling this beauty.

Needless to say, I was absolutely speechless. Never in a million years did I expect a hit like this out of a retail product. A player as talented as Gleyber Torres comes along pretty rarely and even though he hasn't been swinging a hot bat lately, the Yankees know exactly what they're doing with his progression. On top of that, the card is from Topps Chrome, a very collectible set, and is a purple parallel numbered to 250.

As you can tell, I jumped right into the Beckett grading line after pulling this card for a number of reasons. I knew it was valuable enough to be worth getting graded and that Topps Chrome is a set that gets damaged easily. By the time the drive home was complete, I'm sure the condition would've been way worse if the card hadn't already been graded

Moving on. 2 days go by and it's Saturday, the final day of The National for me as I have to leave the next morning. As a way to end the trip the right way, I splurge and test my luck with Topps Chrome again, this time with a 2-auto hobby box. Going into it, I knew very well I wasn't going to get something as good as I got in the first box, and I was right about that.

Somehow, I ended up getting something even better.

Apologizes for the slightly unclear images, but that is a gold parallel autograph of Phillies phenom Rhys Hoskins, numbered 24/50 on the back of the card. Just like the Gleyber Torres, my jaw dropped to the ground as soon as I pulled this card and also like the Torres auto, I instantly went to the Beckett grading line because I felt this card was worth getting graded for the same reasons as the first one.

Now, I got the card graded Saturday which was also my last day, so I had them mail the card back home to me. That's why I waited until today to show it off because it just arrived at my house a couple hours ago.

These couple of Topps Chrome autos may not have been expected at all, but I still have 2 autographs that I planned on getting prior to The National, both on the same photo. In case you didn't know, those 2 players are Bob Gibson and Al Kaline.

I'll show the entire picture soon, but I'd first like to start by sharing how and when I got each auto, beginning with 2-time Cy Young award winner Bob Gibson. Because I got a Tiger and a Cardinal to sign the same photo, it's pretty much guaranteed to be from the 1968 World Series. During the '68 season, Gibson maintained a 1.12 ERA through over 300 innings pitched, earning him NL Cy Young and MVP honors. I got his autograph on Friday and was able to shake his hand before heading on my way.

On the other hand, Kaline's 1968 season wasn't really like the rest of his career. Although he still hit .287, his 10 homers and 52 RBI were a bit low for his standards. Then again, so were his 327 at-bats, meaning he likely missed around half of the season due to injury. I got Kaline's autograph on Saturday after pulling the Rhys Hoskins card. Now that I'm home, I intend on having this photo framed in a couple months, maybe by the time my birthday comes around. 

There it is! The crown jewel of my entire trip to The National. This 16x10 picture signed by 2 Hall of Famers and legends in their cities. One of the greatest Cardinals and one of the greatest Tigers of all-time signed this iconic photo from a memorable World Series. That one word does a great job of summing up my trip to The National. Memorable.

I'm glad I got to share all of this with you. If' you've ever thought about going to The National before, go for it. Next year, it's back in Chicago, and I guarantee you'll have the time of your life.