Top 5 Cards: Ichiro

There has been a lot of speculation on whether Ichiro's hits in Japan should or should not count towards his hit total in the MLB. I absolutely believe they shouldn't be. Baseball in Japan is different than it is in the United States. He faced different pitchers under different circumstances. Those hits count in Japan not here.

However that doesn't take away from the fact that Ichiro is one of the best hitters in baseball history. Despite a decline in performance as well as playing time Ichiro has a lot to offer the Marlins. His experience along with his hitting ability makes him a fan-favorite in Miami.

Today I'm going to show my top 5 favorite cards of Ichiro in my collection.

#5 2016 Topps

I will be the first to admit that 2016 is one of my least favorite Topps sets in recent years. There were only a few cards that Topps was able to pull off and that look nice in this set. This is one of those cards. The photo looks like something out of Stadium Club (which I'll get to later) and for once the smoke works well at least on half the card. The top 1/2 of the smoke looks like part of the stadium lighting. It's not the best Ichiro card I've ever seen, but it's certainly good enough to make the top 5.

#4 2010 Topps Turkey Red

Turkey Red has gone the way of many other Topps art-based brands. Gallery, National Chicle, T205, and T206 have all been introduced and then sadly discontinued. Turkey Red lasted a few years and brought us some amazing cards. The elegant frame of the 2010 set goes well with the picture of Ichiro ready to take a swing. The sun in the top right adds a nice touch to the card. To me this is more than a baseball card. It looks like artwork. It has such amazing aspects and that's why it made the top 5. 

#3 2004 Leaf Picture Perfect

(Ignore the rainbow lines from the scanner they're not part of the actual card)

The design of this card is absolutely stunning. The patters in the corners along with the great color choice helps make this card look very high-end. This insert set is definitely one that is different than the usual basic choice like "greats" or "milestones" that have been used over and over by every brand. It does something different and that along with the design makes it one of my favorites.

#2 2016 Topps Stadium Club

When I think of the entire Stadium Club brand this is the first card that comes to mind. I picked up this colorful card for a dime at a card show last year and it has instantly become one of the more recognizable cards in my Ichiro collection. The blurred out background adds an amazing splash of color to the card while Ichiro is looking confidently up at the sky. I'm also very pleased they chose the black uniform rather than the orange, because that would just be too much color. Like I said before this card is colorful and Topps made a great choice with this picture. But there is one card that's just a bit better

#1 2009 Topps Heritage Mayo

The name of the insert may be weird, but the card itself is perhaps one of my favorite modern cards in my entire collection. Black borders work well in almost every set, but the amazing quality image with such a perfect picture elevates this card to another level. The sky and tree in the background makes this breathtaking card even better. Someone please tell me what this is based off of (if it's even bases off anything), because this is just such a creative and classic styled card. If Topps made more products like this they'd see their sales soar without a doubt.

A Little Bit of Everything Part 2: Card Show Recap #2

Yesterday I went to the card show with my dad as the perfect way to end my summer. I showed the cards that I got, but today I'm going to show you what my dad decided to get.

He unlike myself went right to the dime bins. He picked up a couple of Luis Tiant cards from 1983. The odd thing is that Tiant didn't play in '83, so I assume these were made before he decided to retire.

It seems like I'm always acquiring new Rickey Henderson cards. He's one of my largest player collections with about 150 cards of him. The real interesting one is the one on the right. It's from 1998 Fleer Tradition commemorating the 1963 Fleer design. They ended up doing the '63 set as their base set design for 2003 Fleer Tradition as well.

I was very pleased to acquire cards of Dave Winfield a player I haven't gotten new cards of in a while. I especially love the 2011 Gypsy Queen. I like the set and I don't have my base cards from it, so it was definitely a good card for my dad to choose.

These 2 cards brought my Hanley Ramirez card total to around 80 cards. That's pretty good for a player whose first full season was in 2006. The one on the left is from 2009 Topps Heritage. I was able to get quite a few of these '60 set designed cards in 2017 Archives, but no more than 10 from when they were included in 2009 Topps Heritage.

The Triple Threads card is from 2009 as well. It's hard to tell from this picture, but the card is actually numbered 152/525. The card itself looks very simple, yet almost immaculate. The bronze background along with the black borders on top and bottom look good, but the image of Hanley completes the card. This is the first time I've received a card from '09 Triple Threads, but I hope it won't be the last.

After buying these and more from the dime bins my dad turned his attention to relics.

These Francisco Lindor and Todd Helton relics are from 2017 Panini Donruss. They were $2 each and they look good especially for unlicensed relics. Even though both of the relics are small (the Helton bat in particular) I still think these cards are a steal for $2 each.

This is not my first relic from 2003 Topps Tribute, but it's for sure my favorite. This Hoyt Wilhelm relic is from his time with the New York Giants. The jersey looks beautiful and is a great size relic for a retired player. The set looks nice, the card looks nice, and the relic itself looks nice. This really is a amazing relic.

I don't think I've ever seen a relic so focused on one color.

Red.

This relic is from 2004 Fleer Names of the Game. The little bit of black on the side along with the red and the "Ryan Express" written out makes this card look better than most. To top it all off it's serial numbered 77/79. Even though the relic is plain white that's okay. Because if that's the biggest problem with the card then I'm certain it's a pretty nice addition.

But nothing could top this. 

I rarely buy autographs online or at the show, because of the astronomical price. But Vladdy is my dad's favorite player and he couldn't resist this card from 2007 Topps Co-Signers. The sticker auto doesn't bother me in this card, because I'm so distracted by everything else going on. The black and grey go well with the little touch of red. Topps did an excellent job with this card and the 2007 Co-Signers for that matter.

This is why I go to the show more often then Target or COMC. The fun cards you can dig up in the dime bins, affordable relics, and cards that make your jaw drop. That's what makes the card show such a different experience, and one I hope I'll always be able to attend.

A Little Bit of Everything: Card Show Recap #2

My summer is sadly coming to an end as I'm starting school on Tuesday. My summer was pretty great, but it ends tomorrow and my dad and I decided to have a proper sendoff by going to the card show.

I went to this show with intentions of going straight to the dime bins and nothing else.

Well that didn't happen. One of my favorite vendors who hadn't been at the show was there today. he's a case breaker and receives all the hot new products from Topps and Panini. He had all the usual stuff today plus the releases that I haven't gotten yet.

Like Allen & Ginter.

He had bins of all sorts of individual cards from products he opens. When he's not able to form another base set to sell he puts the extras in this bin. These were 10 cents each and I was able to get all cards of players I collect.

I'm not interested in the non-sports cards in Allen & Ginter, but I am interested in these What A Day inserts. I have seen many posts with these cards and I've always thought the concept was cool, so I was more than happy to get these for a quarter each.

But it wasn't just Allen & Ginter available for cheap money.

There was an abundance of Stadium Club base card available for 10 cents as well. I haven't always been a huge Stadium Club fan especially when they began copying Fleer sets for their set design, but the pictures are great and there are so many unique cards. I was also very happy that there was a Derrek Lee card available as he isn't usually featured in products.

I'm also not usually a fan of these Stadium Club "parallels". However, I thought that the gold on the player name went so well with the Gold Jersey that it was worth it to spend 50 cents on Mr. October. 

I personally have never and probably will never open a pack of Panini Diamond Kings. These Aurora insets on the other hand are a different story. I'd love to get as many of these as I can, but I chose to get these 2 as they do the best job at covering up the fact that there is no licensing.

After looking through various stacks I decided to move on to his 50 cent bin.

There were a variety of interesting cards here. The Pujols from 2013 Topps Chrome looks amazing and the uniform makes it seem like it's actually from 1972. The other cards look classy and sleek, but my definite favorite would have to be Greg Maddux's Before They Were Great card from 2014 Topps.

He even had 2017 Topps Chrome available. I managed to pull 3 of these inserts in packs, but only 1 of a player I collect. These 3 of Cubs star players were easy choices and great additions to those 3 player collections.

There were even disc cards available. The one on the left is a 3D disc from 2013 Panini Hometown Heroes. This insert called Sportflics is something I've seen before, but I've never acquired one of them until today. That along with the Wal-Mart exclusive Betts disc from 2017 Topps Heritage were exactly $1.

Yes this low-end collector picked up some high-end cards. 2017 Topps Inception is notoriously stunning, yet notoriously expensive. That's why I couldn't resist getting these 2 of players I collect, because there really can't be a bad card in this set.

Then I found the rookie cards.

This 2010 Topps Chrome rookie of Jake Arrieta is the only original card I have of him on the Orioles. The card itself isn't really this dusty it's just the case. Anyway this card was $3 and there was no way I could pass it up.

I also couldn't pass up these 2 Benintendi cards. The first is a prospect card from 2016 Bowman Platinum and the second is his actual rookie card from 2017 Topps Allen & Ginter. Since Benintendi had has such a great season thus far I couldn't resist these cards for $2 each.

But for me the greatest deal at the show was this card. This card for only $1.

This card from 1967 is of Donn Clendenon and Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Stargell. The condition isn't even that bad especially for such an old card. But even if it was in worse condition I wouldn't mind. It's an original Stargell card for just $1.

I was able to get all of these amazing cards for less than $30 dollars. This included old, new, high-end, rookies, chrome, and so much in between. That's the beauty of a card show, and nothing can really beat that.

Top 5 Cards: Ron Santo

When people think about the great Cubs teams from the 60's and 70's a few names immediately come to mind. Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, and Fergie Jenkins are all Hall of Famers who played for those historic teams.

But there's one other Hall of Famer who is forgotten when people think about those spectacular Cubs teams, and that forgotten player is none other then Ron Santo.

Santo played 3rd Base and he was amazing defensively as well as offensively. He was a 9-time All-Star and hit a solid .277 career. He had over 1300 RBI'S and over 2250 hits. He passed away in 2010 and was finally elected to the Hall of Fame by the Golden Age Community in 2012.

Now here are my 5 favorite cards of Ron Santo.

#5 1974 Xograph 3-D Super Stars 

I love 3D cards and I have been able to accumulate a decent total of them over the years. This is one of my favorite 3D card sets I've ever seen. From the classic looking yellow banner to the uniform they chose for the card it's really just a great card. It even had a fake signature which I don't usually like, but it's so faint that it really works. I like this card, but I prefer classic Topps vintage cards which is why it's not higher on the list.

#4 1968 Topps

This is one of the best and most distinctive photos in any vintage Topps set. Sometimes the photo can be really bad and blurry, but not this photo. The uniform looks great and the glove in his hand truly completes the card. But for me the best part of the card is the set design. Controversial as it is 1968 Topps is is truly recognizable. This semi-action shot of Santo is simply an amazing card and that's why it's one of my favorite cards of Santo.

#3 1965 Topps

The small pennant on the 1965 Topps cards is my favorite part of the set. I love how they snuck the Cubs logo on the pennant which they also have on the amazing powdered blue uniform. The classic blue and red combination on the card really looks nice while the stadium background on the card makes the card even better. The set is great, the uniform is great, and the photo is great. What more could you really want on a vintage card.

#2 1974 Topps

There are always a handful of landscape style cards in Topps sets. They appear far less then regular cards, so I always try to appreciate when I see one of a player I collect and that's the case for this card. 1974 was Ron's last year with the Cubs and Topps gave him a proper sendoff with this card. aIt shows Santo at what I believe to be Spring Training along with a few other Cubs in the background. There are also a few fans watching in the stands which makes this such a great photo. However, my favorite part of the card is the pink banner. The Cubs have a long history of getting pink borders or banners on Topps cards and I love it. It really ties the card together and gives it a nice pop of color.

#1 2015 Leaf History of Baseball Cut Signature

(This card is encased, so I couldn't get a scanned image of it sorry)

This is such an amazing example of non-Topps sets going above and beyond. This 2015 Leaf set gave you 1 card per box which guaranteed to be a cut-signature of a Hall of Famer. I was able to get this card at a card show for just $20 which is an absolute steal. The best part is that it's numbered 4/10. It can be so hard to get autographs of Hall of Famers especially is they've passed away. So between the price, beautiful signature, and the player I was able to get it of it's no question that this is my favorite Ron Santo card.