The Kimbrel Collection

As many of you know, most of my card collecting is focused on player collections and adding cards to them through the baseball card show and other places. And while I have many players who I acquire cards of fairly often, I don't have 1 player that I would say is the main focus of my player collecting.

Well, that's about to change today as I am creating The Kimbrel Collection. Obviously, this is me saying that I am going to become a super collector of Craig Kimbrel, quite possibly the best relief pitcher in baseball.

The Red Sox got Kimbrel back in late 2015 from the Padres for a handful of prospects including Manny Margot. Kimbrel was decent in 2016 but went on to thrive in 2017 and ended up winning AL Reliever of the Year. And with one year left on his contract, I am seriously hoping the Sox bring him back.

Many things drove me to choose Kimbrel, but one of them is the teams he's played for. The Red Sox are obviously my favorite team which is the main reason I chose him but given that he also played for the Padres and Braves means the cards of him on those teams will be cheaper. His cards on COMC start at 31 cents each, which is an absolute steal considering how good he is.

Currently, I only have 20 cards of Craig Kimbrel, but that will change soon. 

Of those 20 cards, 6 of them show Kimbrel on the Braves where he began his career. I really like the cards I have of him on Atlanta, especially the bright colors in the Spring Fever card and the well-designed Gold Futures insert set from 2012. 

The other 14 cards in my Craig Kimbrel player collection show him on the Red Sox where he had arguably the best season of his career. He seems to be included in nearly every set by both Panini and Topps which I am pleased with. However, it also means that it will be even more challenging to collect him, but it will definitely make for a more fun collecting experience. 

But the thing I like most about Kimbrel is his sheer dominance. He came within 2 strikeouts of striking out half of the batters he faced, which is nearly impossible. He comes in clutch when needed which you need to do as a reliever. And he's very well-liked by the city, the fans, and his team. I know I'm going to have fun super-collecting Craig Kimbrel and I can't wait to start.

I'll try to post a list of the cards I have of him on the top of my blog page soon. If you have any cards of his you'd like to trade, don't hesitate to let me know.

My Top 5 Cards From 2003 Topps Gallery

I'm doing a spin on my usual top 5 cards posts and doing the top 5 cards from a set rather than from a player collection. A few days ago, I opened a box of 2003 Topps Gallery and came across some incredibly-designed and extremely stunning cards. Today, I've found my 5 favorite base cards to do a post about. I chose the base set only because I think it gives the best possible look at the set. With that being said, here are my 5 favorite cards from 2003 Topps Gallery; Museum Edition. 

#5 Mike Mussina

My favorite part of this card would have to be the background and how much detail was included in it. I really enjoy the orange, blue, and red colors that make up the people in the crowd at Yankee Stadium. It takes a background that is usually pretty standard in cards and adds details to it to make it unique. Not to mention how great the Yankees uniforms look on these cards, even though I'm not the biggest Yankee fan. This card has a lot going for it and even though Mike Mussina isn't a favorite of mine, I had to put this card on the list.

#4 Ivan Rodriguez 

Because Ivan Rodriguez spent just 1 season with the team, there aren't that many cards that show the Hall of Fame catcher on the Florida Marlins who he helped lead to the franchise's 2nd World Series. But that's not the only reason why I like this card. Lots of attention was paid to this card just like the Mussina card, case and point the color choice in the background and the excellent shading of Rodriguez's jersey. It's almost weird to see him in a Marlins jersey considering how short of a stint he had there, but this card was excellently created by Topps, which is something I cannot ignore.

#3 Ryan Klesko

It's not very often when a baseball card gives a close-up look at an outfielder attempting to make a catch, but that is what was done in Ryan Klesko's card from the set. The Padres outfielder is shown getting ready to make a catch in the outfielder and as soon as I pulled the card, it instantly became one of my favorites. The fine details of this card were executed finely and well to ensure the card would pull off what it was going for, and it sure did do that. I appreciate that this provides a typically unseen look at what goes down before a catch, which is what put this card in at #3. 

#2 Drew Henson

The Drew Henson card seems like an upgraded Mike Mussina card as it features many of the same things that caused me to put the Mussina card on the list. It does a brilliant job showcasing the classic pinstripes and also features a stunning stadium background, this one includes mainly red and blue. What I like about this card more than the Mussina is how it's more focused than the Mussina card. it provides a close look which helps the overall card and allows the collector to be able to see all of the well-done features even better.

#1 Miguel Tejada

Perhaps if I had acquired this card before creating my top 25 A's cards list, this card would have a good chance of making the cut. The card shows Tejada in a throwback Athletics jersey while choosing 2 nearly-perfect colors for the card background, yellow and black. Each color compliments the jersey very well, and the jersey itself looks fabulous. It reminds me of something I enjoy a lot about collecting which is getting cards with throwback jerseys on them. And despite it becoming more of a rare variation as of late, at least I have this card to remind me of those times. 

My Personal 2018 Hall of Fame Ballot

Now that 2018 has begun and since free-agency has continued to bore every baseball fan, I suppose it's the right time to talk about who I believe should be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame's class of 2018.

Firstly, I'd like to say I'm fully against players who were accused or convicted of using steroids joining the Hall of Fame. The Hall is home to the greatest players to play the game because of their pure talent. That should not be tainted by the likes of Barry Bonds and especially those proven of steroid use like Sammy Sosa. 

With that being said, I believe there are 6 players that should be inducted this year. Of course, that won't happen because 6 people can be understandably way too many for some voters to put on their ballots. Instead, I've divided the 6 I believe should be inducted into 2 different categories. Here is the first one.

No-Doubters, players who should get in this year or next without a doubt.

Vladimir Guerrero

The fact that Vladimir Guerrero wasn't elected to the Hall of Fame on his first ballot is a shame, but the good news is there is hope for 2018. Guerrero received 71.7 percent votes last year and considering he needs a little over 3 percent more votes, that shouldn't be too hard. Especially when you look at Vlad's incredible career stat line. He ended his 16-year career with 449 home runs, and if he had come up earlier he could've been in the 500 club. Guerrero also hit .318 in his career which ranks just outside the top 50 all-time. Add 9 All-Star appearances and the 2004 AL MVP and it's clear that Vlad belongs in Cooperstown (and should be inducted as an Expo). 

Trevor Hoffman

If Trevor Hoffman had played in a giant baseball city like Mariano Rivera did, people would be giving Hoffman the credit he deserves for being the 2nd best relief pitcher of all-time. His 601 saves ranks 2nd all-time as those 2 combined to destroy the past record during the 2000s. Hoffman also has been a 2-time Cy Young award runner-up which is difficult enough, let alone as a relief pitcher. Not to mention his 1133 strikeouts and 2.87 career ERA. All of these stats are hard to accomplish, so the fact that Hoffman accomplished so much proves that his 3rd time on the ballot will be the time he gets elected. 

Chipper Jones

To be a stand-out hitter without using steroids during the steroid era is impressive enough, but Chipper Jones did more than stand-out in his 19-year career. He became one of the most feared hitters in baseball, even winning the 1999 NL MVP. While spending his entire career with the Atlanta Braves. He's 30th all-time in career doubles and has made 8 All-Star appearances and won 2 Silver Slugger awards in a time when the competition was stiff. He's a first-ballot Hall of Famer for sure, however, it's a toss-up for the next guy on the list.

Jim Thome

Any player with 600 home runs that was steroid free throughout their career should join the Hall of Fame first ballot, but because Jim Thome spent a lot of his career at DH, that may or may not happen.   With that being said, his 612 career home runs are a historic number and considering that every steroid free member of the 600 home run club has gotten into the Hall of Fame no problem, so I'm very optimistic about Thome's chances, I'm just not sure if his time will come this year or next. 

Possibilities, players who may get in this year, but it seems more probable to be elected in the years to come.

Edgar Martinez

Other than Tim Raines, Edgar Martinez had the highest increase in Hall of Fame votes last year with a 15.2% increase. Unfortunately, he has just 2 years left on the ballot and still needs 17% more votes to make the Hall of Fame. However, Martinez has proven that he is deserving to join the class of 2018 throughout his career. He had a career .312 batting average and hit over 500 career doubles. He was one of the great performing players of his time and whether or not he gets the recognition he deserves is yet to be determined, but Edgar Martinez was a fan-favorite with a lot of talent that merits a place in Cooperstown. 

Omar Vizquel

Omar Vizquel is on his first ballot this year, but it's going to take a few years for the 11-time Gold Glove award winner to find a place in Cooperstown. Despite being one of the best defensive players to play the game, Vizquel lacked the offensive power that many voters look for to put on their ballots.   But where he lacks in power, he provides efficiency. He finished his career with 2877 hits 404 stolen bases. He was a quick hitter, almost an upgraded Dustin Pedroia, and was such a unique player at a time when most players were hitting for power, he was hitting simply to hit. Vizquel should find a place in the Hall at some point, after all, he has 10 years to do so.

One More Holiday Card Purchase

Happy New Year everybody. I'm incredibly happy and excited to deliver my first of many posts in 2018. My vacation ends today and I have to say that I had a really good time. I spent time with my family, was able to relax and was able to watch sports for a few day. One of the best parts of my vacation was being able to open and acquire new baseball cards together. We always enjoy opening packs together no matter what the set is.

That's why we decided to do one last holiday card purchase and get a box of 2003 Topps Gallery; Museum Edition.

I began enjoying Topps Gallery when the art-based set was revived earlier this year and produced as a  retail product. I bought a few rack packs and grew to enjoy the set. I didn't have or know a whole lot about the original Gallery sets, but my dad and I did a bit of research on this set before deciding to purchase a box of it for the holidays.

The cards are modeled after paintings and are created to look as such. The surface of the card feels like a canvas which is something I wish Topps would've incorporated into the 2017 revival. The main focus is obviously on the image, so there isn't much else to the card besides the team and player name on top along with the players' last name and the Gallery logo on the side. 

The first 167 cards of the set are veteran base cards that include the stars of 2003 such as Luis Gonzalez and Carlos Beltran.

While cards 168-190 of the set are the prospect cards. This includes the best prospects of that time. Some prospects like Joe Mauer and Adrian Gonzalez went on to have pretty great careers. Others like Rocco Baldelli leave baseball fans wondering what could have been. They take on the same design as the base cards but aren't quite as common so most of what you get is the veteran base cards.

The final part of the base set is the 10 retired players included on the checklist. These are all players who played in the 70's-80's and feature some of the greatest players to ever play the game in some fantastic artwork. The first 2 I pulled were of Reggie Jackson and Mike Schmidt which is great considering I collect both of them. However, I feel like an opportunity was missed by not putting Mr. October on the A's. Seriously, how cool would that be?

The other retired player card I got was of Tony Gwynn. Gwynn is the player I feel most strongly about starting a player collection for, but I don't usually see cards of his at the show or at the card shop. Still, he's one of the greatest hitters ever, so I think I'll start one up and see what cards I have of Tony Gwynn cards.

Another staple of the 2003 Topps Gallery set is the fairly-common rainbow refractors. These cards ditch the canvas cardstock and instead create a chrome card that is much thicker and a nice inclusion in the set. I'm not a huge fan of these, but it does switch it up from seeing base cards often, so I'll give Topps credit for that. However, I'd much rather have more base cards with the fabulous canvas feel.

The next part of this set is the Baseball Bucks promo cards. These cards weren't just made because they looked nice, but were used for the artwork selling of the Gallery set that would take place from late 2003 to early 2004. The artwork was apparently for sale on eBay, and you could use Gallery Bucks to pay for it. And while I may be 14 years too late for the artwork promo, it's never too late to get a new card of Willie Mays.

The other inserts in this set are the Gallery Heritage inserts. These were replicated in 2017 Topps Gallery, but, like the base cards, they didn't use a canvas cardstock. These Gallery Heritage cards not only use the canvas stock which I appreciate but also meticulously recreate past iconic cards of superstar players. The 1975 George Brett and 1983 Tony Gwynn were the cards I pulled which could possibly be a sign that I should collect Gwynn. After all, I've pulled 2 cards of the retired player in a set that includes mainly current ones.

And then there were the hits of the box. Each hobby box of this set guarantees 2 relics and 1 Currency Collection relic that includes a coin relative to the country a player was born in. Cool concept right?

Well, let's just say the player I got wasn't my first choice, to say the least. I know the Cubs pretty well, after all, they are my 2nd favorite team. But I have never heard of Hee Seop Choi. He played just 4 years in the major leagues and hit .240 with 40 homers and 120 RBI. The South Korean currency is pretty cool, and he is on the Cubs so there are a few good parts. But considering that the checklist included players like Pedro Martinez and Vladimir Guerrero, I wasn't very impressed.

I was, however, impressed with the design of the relic cards of the set. In particular, the bat relics.

The first of the guaranteed relics I got was of 5-time All-Star outfielder for the Atlanta Braves, Andruw Jones. He, along with Chipper Jones and Brian McCann, was players that I enjoyed watching on some very talented Atlanta Braves teams. I like Andruw Jones a fair amount, and I love the design of this relic card. I'd love any player on a relic card that looks this good, maybe even Hee Seop Choi.

The next relic was just as spectacular as the Andruw Jones but was a jersey relic instead.

The next relic I got was of Dodgers pitcher Hideo Nomo who also played for the Boston Red Sox for a year. The silver on this relic and the image looks absolutely stunning and is truly what I enjoy most about Topps Gallery. It's able to make cards of semi-stars look fantastic, which is quite an impressive thing to do.

And with one pack to go, I was ready to see what other base cards I could get and possibly another Gallery Bucks card. But then, I got this...

another relic.

Like I said, these bat relics make any players' card look phenomenal, even Alex Rodriguez who has been quite controversial over his career. I don't dislike A-Rod, because of how talented he was before and after being suspended for steroids. He had some great steroid-free seasons and he had some excellent cards made of him, including this one. Plus, it's a bonus relic card, how on earth can you say no to that.