PC Overview; Cal Ripken Jr

It's been over a month since I've written one of these PC overview posts when I wrote one for Roberto Clemente towards the middle of last month.

That's not to say that I don't enjoy these posts. Frankly, it's quite the opposite; the PC overview posts allow me to go more in-depth regarding some of my player collections. 

While a top 5 cards list only highlights a few select cards, PC overviews include cards and a ton of memorabilia that I otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity on the blog.

I started this series with a post dedicated to Reggie Jackson back at the beginning of May in an effort to have another continuous series for the blog. I realized that I needed something in addition to the top 5 cards post and frankenset pages, so I began analyzing some of my player collections at a closer level.

Today is the 3rd installment in this series, and I've selected a player who I've acquired some unusual memorabilia of over the years. I'm talking about the Iron Man himself, Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken Jr.

Just like Reggie Jackson and Roberto Clemente, the actual cards make up most of my Cal Ripken Jr player collection, followed by the various pieces of memorabilia. Out of the 3 players whom I've written PC overview posts for thus far, Ripken Jr has the most cards in his player collection at 166.

Those 166 cards span just 4 decades (the 80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s), all of which are represented above. Unlike the previous 2 players, Ripken Jr played at a high level throughout the entire 1990s decade. As a result, there are far more cards available of him than most other players that I collect. 

In fact, he has the 5th most cards out of any player in Baseball history in terms of what's listed on COMC, trailing only A-Rod, Ken Griffey Jr, Derek Jeter, and Albert Pujols.

Not included in the 166-card Cal Ripken Jr are some unconventional cards that I've chosen to display on my card collecting table instead of with the other Ripken cards in my collections. My reason for this is simple; these aren't traditional cards of the 19-time All-Star. 

The cards included in the box above are metal cards from a tin that my Dad and I purchased at a card show many years ago. You can see some other memorabilia which I will get to later, but for now, let's stick to the 10-card metal set that commemorates his achievement of 2,131 consecutive games played.

This isn't the only tin with metal cards in my collection as I have similar sets for Ken Griffey Jr, Roberto Clemente, and even Mickey Mantle. While the first 2 tins on that list were produced by the same company, Ripken's tin, and metal cards strongly resemble the 10-card Mantle tin aside from the actual player featured.

Both Mantle and Ripken's tins are produced by the same company and include 10 total cards and a large box as opposed to the 5 cards and smaller boxes for Clemente and Griffey Jr. I don't recall exactly what I paid for any of these collector's items, but I can't imagine it was anything outrageous.

I'm a sucker for the design of each of Ripken's 10 metal cards, for they all feature a vibrant orange and black border and Ripken's name embossed at the bottom of the card. Each card features a different picture and highlights from his career up until his 2,131st consecutive game which he achieved in 1995. 

While I could technically count these 10 exclusive cards as part of my actual Ripken Jr player collection, it's a no-brainer for me to leave them inside the tin. If I'm going to categorize a card as part of a PC, it better be with that PC physically before I add it to the inventory.

Like the 10 metal cards, I could also count this 23KT gold card in my Cal Ripken Jr player collection as well, but I prefer to display it with my other memorabilia of the 2-time AL MVP instead. Another Baseball card show pickup, this card features roughly 17 square inches of genuine gold and has some information about Ripken's streak of games played inscribed into the card.

The front of the card features a brief synopsis about Ripken's streak after he broke Gehrig's record and achieved the world record for consecutive games played at 2,216. 

Before he willingly ended his own streak, Ripken didn't just break the record of 2,130 straight games played, set by Lou Gehrig, he exceeded the mark to earn a world record which is commemorated with these intricate designs on the back of the card. 

Among the many details is a stamp, dated June 14th, 1996, honoring when he earned the world record.

Among the numerous unusual pieces of Cal Ripken memorabilia in my collection, the most unique one would have to be the Wheaties box above, complete with a full bag of cereal inside the sealed box.

While I likely should get around to throwing out the 20+-year-old cereal and keeping the box itself, my Dad and I, somehow, acquired this cereal box at the Baseball card show and never bothered to take the actual cereal out.

We simply placed the new memorabilia with the other Ripken items along our card collecting counter, and I never thought twice about it until I started writing today's post. 

The cereal inside may be a little odd, but the box design is a special piece of memorabilia that also commemorates his legendary streak.

As much as I cherish all the oddball pieces of memorabilia, I've definitely saved the highlight of my Ripken Jr player collection for last; this simple yet beautiful plaque, again honoring his 2,131st consecutive game, which was, you guessed it, acquired at the Baseball card show.

The plaque, complete with a picture and inscription, is hung directly above the other pieces of Ripken memorabilia. I love seeing all the various Ripken items near one another, especially when so many of them honor his 2,131st straight game.

Like all the oddball memorabilia that I've featured in this post, the picture above was an inexpensive Baseball card show pickup that contributes something unusual to my Baseball card collection. 

I don't own a lot of collector's items that I can hang on the wall, so I thoroughly appreciate the Ripken plaque in addition to all the other memorabilia that I own. 

After all, these items, along with the actual cards in the PC, help make the Cal Ripken Jr player collection what it is.

Die-Cuts and Gold Cards, Courtesy of My LCS

It's almost become a routine for me to pick up a handful of individual cards at my LCS every time I head over there to pick up supplies to store my collection. 

I appreciate having multiple Baseball card shops near my house, for they make it incredibly easy for me to purchase penny sleeves, sheets, and other supplies for the card collection. 

I've always had at least 1 LCS within 25 minutes of my house and judging by what I've heard from other collectors and bloggers, this isn't common across most of the country.

Specifically, my favorite sports card shop is about 20 minutes away from me in Framingham, MA. In addition to the typical hobby boxes that you can expect to see at an LCS, this store has a plethora of framed memorabilia, a few dime bins, and cards on display cases throughout the entire shop.

Ever since my Dad and I discovered this shop back in Fall of 2017, we've routinely visited the store to scan through the dime bins, pick out a few individual cards, ranging from 50 cents to a few bucks, and, of course, purchase much-needed supplies for our ever-growing card collection.

And on today, Father's Day, we just so happened to need some thick top loaders and penny sleeves, so we decided to take a trip to the LCS together. While we were there, we continued our tradition and searched through the various Baseball card boxes scattered throughout the store.

I gave my Dad the last say in everything that we purchased today, and we ended up with some nice cards from some recently released products as well as the needed supplies and a box of cards that he chose for himself to celebrate this day together. 

Directly next to the Baseball dime bins was a 2-row box of 50 cent cards from all 4 major sports. The box featured predominantly Baseball cards, especially cards from 2018 and 2019 sets. The sepia Adam Jones card is exclusive to Topps Chrome blaster boxes, so I'm intrigued as to how the card ended up at this card shop. 

The 2 cards at the bottom of the photo above are from the recently released 2019 Topps Finest set, a high-end product. Both inserts, to my knowledge, recreate a past Topps Finest design from the 90s Baseball and Basketball products.

Given how beautiful these chrome cards look, it was a no-brainer for me to pick up 2 awesome inserts of 2 of my favorite modern day players to collect.

Speaking of recently released sets, I selected a few die-cut cards from the brand new 2019 Panini Leather & Lumber set, another high-end product that debuted this year. 

Due to the exorbitant hobby box prices and that the set doesn't appeal all that much to me, I made the decision to completely stay away from buying packs of this new product.

Even though I'd never buy a pack of Panini Leather & Lumber myself, the die-cut cards from the hobby boxes look phenomenal, for I watched a few box breaks around a week ago. The cards above feature 2 of the game's best sluggers, Judge and Bellinger, in a design called Knot Hole Gang.

The set features a surplus of different die-cut cards, and they all, from what I've seen, have leather or wood-like finishes. The cards that I stumbled upon seemed to embody the lumber part of the Leather & Lumber product, including the Ken Griffey Jr and Yogi Berra cards above.

For only 50 cents-$1 each, I didn't hesitate whatsoever to pick up these 2 HOF die-cut cards for their respective player collections. While I appreciate the silver and yellow color combo on the Benchmarks card, I absolutely love Griffey Jr Naturals die-cut, from the font to the color combinations.

The price range for all of the cards that we purchased today was extremely reasonable, but perhaps the greatest bargain of them all was paying just a buck for this 1968 Topps team card of the Oakland Athletics, commemorating their first year in Oakland.

Not only is their '68 team card a high-numbered card in the set (#554), but the card is also from one of my favorite Topps Flagship sets of all-time. 

The "burlap" bordered '68 design ranks as one of my 10 favorites base sets ever produced, and the combination of the burlap with the purple name and the beautiful uniforms make for a winning card.

I know not everyone is as fond of the 1968 Topps set as I am, but you have to applaud Topps for taking a risk. When I see cards like this, I believe even more strongly that the gamble paid off. 

None of the cards that we purchased up until this point had been particularly expensive, and that barely even changed when we found 3 different gold cards of Nolan Ryan in another 2-row box. It just so happened that they were slightly more expensive than the previous cards that we settled on, but they were still a bargain, especially as far as Nolan Ryan cards are concerned.

I was impressed to see all 3 cards from this 1992 Bleachers mini-set, featuring gold cards of the all-time strikeout leader and the largest PC in my collection, Nolan Ryan. The 3 cards all feature him on a different minor league team, and the backs are practically identical with the same serial numbering.

I recall picking up a 3-card panel of Ryne Sandberg in this same design many years back at the Baseball card show, so I assume that these 3 cards originally came from a panel as well. 

The images, especially on the card above, might not be the most flattering, but I'm an avid collector of all things Nolan Ryan. These cards are going to help me towards my goal of having a 500-card Ryan PC by the end of the year, and now I'm inching even closer.

I had a great time today, doing what I usually do with my Dad, acquiring some individual cards for our player collections in addition to much-needed supplies. Moreover, the fact that we were able to do this on Father's Day made today's quick visit to the card shop even more special.