Merry Christmas Blog Friends!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone has a happy holiday! 

To kick off this post, I thought it would be great to spoil you guys with another Fairfield re-pack rip! My oldest son and I were at Rite Aid grabbing some stocking stuffers for my wife when I spotted these 2 boxes. I really wasn’t going to buy them, but my son said, “Daddy, you should treat yourself.” For a 4-year-old, he’s pretty convincing. I decided to get them. 

Since Christmas falls on the 25th of December, I decided to show you my Top 25 cards from these 2 Fairfield re-packs. Before I get to the list, enjoy this festive photo of said re-packs. Don’t they look great next to our pencil tree in our living room?

So...what goodies did I get? Let's take a look!

25. 2017 Topps Cam Bedrosian All Star Game 2017

I guess these cards were given out at the All-Star Fan Fest back in 2017? Anyways, I got 3 of them, so I am starting this list off with all 3, so enjoy!

24. 2017 Topps Seattle Mariners All Star Game 2017

I have no idea if it's an unpopular opinion or not, but I really like all of these team cards. Some of them are pretty cool. Right now, I have 8 in my collection, and I dig 'em. I did like this photo, but not as cool as the player below...

23. 2017 Topps Buster Posey All Star Game 2017

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Catchers are cool, and what is cooler than a catcher named Buster? Nothing. 

22. 1990 Upper Deck Mike Greenwell

Was there a season this dude didn't hit for .300? Back in 5th grade I had 4 Mike Greenwell Rookies along with some other goodies and I was getting ready to trade this kid in my class named Jeff for his Joe Montana Rookie Card. During class my teacher caught me looking through the cards I was going to give away that day at lunch for the Montana and confiscated them. She said I could get them back at the end of the school year. Sadly, they were never to be seen again. I hope she enjoyed the 1967 Topps Juan Marichal and Bob Uecker cards I had in that stack. Anyways, Mike Greenwell reminds me of 5th grade. Even with such a bad memory being stirred up, I have no ill will towards Greenwell. 

21. 1994 Topps Future Star Jose Valentin

Probably an unpopular opinion, but I like Future Star cards more than the Rookie Cup cards. I have no idea why; they are just more pleasing to me. I had no idea this particular card existed as I had never pulled it before. My 1994 Topps Future Stars collection only consists of Butch Huskey and Paul Carey. Now, I add Jose Valentin. Thanks Fairfield! Also, before I move on, how many of the players featured on these Future Star cards have actually become stars? Does anyone have a clue? I may have to search the internet later for this.

20. 1989 Topps Traded Don Aase

Growing up next to my older cousins had some perks. One of them was, I was always getting taught bad stuff. When I say bad stuff, it was mostly swears. Everyone loved hearing swears when they were kids. I was no different. When I was about 6, I can remember my cousin Alan telling me this guy's last name was A$$. So, growing up, I thought that was his name and when I opened a pack of '88 Topps and I saw his name, I told my brother I got a Don A$$ card. My brother laughed, but my mom did not, and next thing I knew I was in trouble. Well Don Aase, you and Cousin Alan win this round. 

19. 1990 Fleer Stickers Pirates/Cardinals/Padres/Giants

This sticker was a surprise. It lands itself on this list due to having my hometown Pirates on it. Back in 1990, I had this sticker. I even remember where I put it. It was stuck on my BMX bike that I got for my 8th birthday. Between Garbage Pail Kids, Hockey logo stickers and Basbeall logo stickers, that red bike got a facelift by me. I loved the crap out of that bike. No one wants to mess with the kid who has a Pirates sticker and pegs on his bike, I can tell you that much!

18. 2000 Upper Deck Star Rookie Chad Durbin

Ok, I have to admit, I have no idea who this guy is. I was just pumped to see I got a Star Rookie card from Upper Deck in this thing. The photo kinda sucks, the design kinda sucks, but it's probably one of the better cards I got out of these boxes. So, enjoy my crappy card!

17. 1980 Topps Bruce Boisclair

Boisclair isn't a guy I recognize either. He lands on this list for being the oldest card received in the 2 re-packs. This guy looks like this kid I went to college with named Tyler. At the time, I thought Tyler looked like the lead singer from the band Saves The Day, so I guess Boisclair does too? I have no idea; I haven't seen that singers face in 20 years probably. 

16. 1986 Donruss Diamond Kings Phil Bradley

Confession time, I had no idea Phil Bradley was good enough to land on a Diamond Kings card. Also, he played for the Mariners? Jeez, I have no idea how I never knew this information. This may make me go down a Phil Bradley rabbit hole later to be honest. Mr. Bradley was the first card I ever put in the spokes of my bike. I had 6 copies of his 1989 card, and since it was the card I had the most of, it met its demise. This card actually has some chipping on the bottom edge. Fairfield couldn't even give me a near mint Phil Bradley Diamond Kings card. This might meet my oldest son's spokes!

15. 1986 Fleer Update Bob Tewksbury RC

The face only a mother could love. I still remember his 1988 Topps card with the close up of his face. Poor guy. Well, at least he made the majors!

14. 2012 Topps Hisashi Iwakuma RC

Seattle has had so many Japanese imports on their teams. Iwakuma was actually pretty decent. I had him on my fantasy team in 2013 and he pitched very well for me. The next season, I tried to draft him again and he went super early to one of the IT guys that worked at my company. He ended up winning that year and Iwakuma was a big reason why winning 15 games. I saw this card and was honestly kinda pumped to have it! Pretty sweet grab in a Fairfield re-pack!

13. 1989 Topps Traded Jamie Moyer

I was a Jamie Moyer fan. I think I like a lot of boring pitchers like Kevin Brown, Andy Benes, Moyer, Brandon Morrow. Just like the Iwakuma card, I was pumped to see this Moyer card in my re-pack. I couldn't remember if this was his rookie or not, and it turns out, it is not. His rookie is actually in 1987 Topps. I think I might pick one up since I don't own one yet. 

12. 1988 Fleer The O's Brothers Bill and Cal Ripken

This card is pretty neat. I never knew it existed! A card with the Ripken brothers on it definitely will land on a list of cool stuff to pull from a Fairfield re-pack! In this photo Cal looks distracted and Billy looks bored. It's almost like the camera man caught them on a bad day or something. Who knows?

11. 1988 Topps Traded Dave Henderson

Did you ever play games of baseball in someone's yard in your neighborhood and pretend that you were on a major league team, and you were one of the players? Don't lie, of course you have! We used to do that all the time. We didn't have a lot of kids in the neighborhood, so it was always 4 against 4. Sometimes someone would have to go eat dinner or go to the grocery store with their parents and we would have "ghost men" on the bases. Well, usually when I landed on my cousin Alan's team, we pretended to be the Oakland A's because he loved Jose Canseco. Of course, he was Canseco, and he would tell someone they were McGwire and he always assigned me as Dave Henderson. I was cool with it because he always had cool facial hair and could hit somewhat well. Henderson sadly passed away in 2015 and I remember reading about it and feeling sad. RIP Dave Henderson.

10. 1993 Topps Gold Major League Managers Bobby Cox / Johnny Oates

If you read my previous Fairfield post, you would know I am a sucker for Topps Gold cards. As soon as I saw this card I was pumped! Another one to add to my collection. Pretty cool that I got a Bobby Cox Topps Gold card though!

9. 1987 Donruss Diamond Kings Charlie Hough

A Diamond Kings card of the legendary knuckleballer! Sweet deal! I had a closer look at this while typing up the post and the upper left corner of this thing is dinged. Bummer! I still think I am going to add this to the binders my wife bought me for Christmas that I didn't accidentally see in our closet in the corner where I wasn't supposed to be looking...

8. 1987 Topps Ryne Sandberg

If you made it this far, what the heck is wrong with you? There was a run of 1987 Topps cards in box #2 that I opened, and 2 cards really caught my eye. The Sandberg was one, and another might possibly end up on this list as well. If you want to continue reading you might see it. I always loved 1987 Topps. Especially the Bo Jackson Future Star card. At one point in time, I had almost the complete set, but once my nephew was 10 or so, I gave him a bunch of my stuff to enjoy. Wish I still had my Bo Jackson back, but oh well. Sandberg lands on the list because who doesn't love the wood bordered 1987 Topps set? The answer is everyone loves it. 

7. 1988 Topps Traded Jack McDowell RC

Jack McDowell is a nice guy...at least I think he might be. I wrote to him a while ago for a TTM auto and he signed it and sent it right back within a 7- or 8-day span. It was pretty awesome. A lot of guys just throw my handwritten letter and card away (I'm talking about you J.T. Snow and Pat Rapp), but not McDowell. I have plans to send this to Jack to sign, so I am very glad to have this card. It's also so weird not seeing McDowell with some facial hair. 

6. 1991 Score 1st Round Draft Pick Donovan Osborne RC

Cheesy design? Yes! Everything I love about early 90's cards! I once had a 1992 Upper Deck Diamond Debuts card of Osborne. He was signing a baseball or a card on the photo on the front (this is just from memory), but I'm pretty sure that's what was going on. This card will make only the 2nd Osborne I've ever owned and with it being a rookie (at least I suppose it is), he lands high on this list. 

5. 1987 Topps Darren Daulton RC

Not only did I get 1 of these, but I received 2! Merry Christmas to me! The one I didn't scan had some sort of dirt above his left shoulder and it damaged the cardstock on the front a bit. I was a fan of Daulton growing up. Dutch was a decent power-hitting backstop for the Phils in the early to mid-90's and I think he was an All-Star 2 or 3 times. Later on in his life he went a little crazy and I think dabble in occultism. I had to look this up to see if I wasn't telling you guys gollywoggles, and apparently, I was correct, and he wrote a book on the matter. Sadly, Dutch passed away in 2017 due to a battle with brain cancer. RIP Dutch!

4. 1989 Score Traded Jeffrey Leonard

My pal, good old Jeffrey Leonard shows up in my re-pack! If you haven't read my previous post on Mr. Leonard, you can read it here. 

3. 1999 Pacific Paramount Travis Lee Copper Parallel

If I'm not mistaken, I believe this is a "hit". The box does say autos, game used or parallels inserted. I did like Travis Lee back in the day. I used to get a subscription to Sports Cards magazine when I was ages 10-14. One of the issues had Travis Lee as a player to watch and I paid a premium for his Bowman rookie card. About 5 years ago, I sent it to Travis, and it came back to me that I had the wrong address. I was using the Autograph Collector's book that was a bit outdated, so once I actually get the newer version, Mr. Lee will be hearing from me again. I have that card tucked away with the handwritten letter somewhere in my office and it will stay there until I try again and will probably add this one too. 

2. 1988 Donruss Rated Rookie Mark Grace RC

 

I was pretty fired up to get this in one of my re-packs! Mark Grace was a pretty big name when I was growing up. This had to be a pretty big card back in 1988. When I was 8 or 9, his cards brought a premium in trades around school and in my neighborhood. In Grace's last season as a player, I saw him play while he was on the Diamondbacks and a drunk guy in front of my buddy and I kept yelling at him to retire. Honestly, at first it got a bunch of laughs, but after 7 or 8 innings of it, people were getting annoyed. I wish Mark could have punched this guy in the face to shut him up. If you're out there Mark Grace, I'm sorry I didn't kick that guy's butt for you that night.

1. 1990 Fleer George Canale / Kevin Maas RC

In 1990, this was a big card. Maas was a hot commodity, and his cards were easy to sell or trade. I once saw this card selling for $3-$4 at card shows. Did you know that Maas ended his MLB career with the Minnesota Twins? If you didn't, there is a crazy Maas card in Fleer Update maybe in 1995. You know, the one where it looks like the Fleer designers were on heavy doses of acid. I know I have it somewhere and I'll have to dig it up. It might be worthy of a blog post at some point in time. I am pretty sure Maas is a good guy. He signed a TTM auto for me once on his 1990 Upper Deck RC. If it was 1990, I would have had gold in my hands. I'm pretty nostalgic when it comes to cards, and things like that, so this card to me is pretty rad. If you made it this far, congrats, you just read 25 paragraphs about crappy baseball cards! Also, if you're reading this on December 25th, Merry Christmas!

I'll leave you with this...

Sorry for the hiatus

I feel bad I never finished up my “Under-Appreciated Pile” posts. I know most of you were waiting in anticipation *sarcasm*. The day I stopped doing it was a tough day. My work decided to let go more people. I fortunately was not one of them. However, I was counted on to pick up their slack. This resulted in more hours. So my day basically consisted of work for 9 hours, go pick up the kids from day care, come home, eat dinner, give them a bath, put them to bed, go back to work. Rinse....repeat. Needless to say, I'm exhausted. There was one little bright spot though in all of this extra work, we ended up getting a new cat. Below is a picture of our new family member. She is much furrier than the rest of us. World, meet Sasky! With her name being Sasky, I have nicknamed her a few things: Saskatoon Blades, Blades of Steel, Wesley Snipes, Blade Runner, you get the idea. My favorite is Saskatoon Blades. Which brings me to this post, but first here is Sasky yelling at me for no reason:

Saskatoon Blades got me thinking...do I have any cool cards of former Saskatoon Blades in my collection currently? Off the top of my head, I keep thinking of Bernie Federko, Mike Green and Devin Setoguchi. I had to rack my brain on this one. Then when I looked it up, I felt dumb. I knew a bunch of them! I just had a brain fart. In honor of Sasky, I bring you my favorite cards of former Saskatoon Blades. 

1990/91 Bowman Kelly Chase RC

This Kelly Chase card is newer to my collection. My oldest son and I took a trip up to the Dollar General one day before one of his T-ball games for some Big League Chew (you would be surprised how hard that stuff is to find around here). Dollar General seems to be the only place near us that has a steady supply of it. We grabbed a few pouches, and while we were waiting in line to pay, there were these Presstine Marketing hockey packs. They had 20 or 25 cards and were $1. I picked one up and this was the best card of the bunch. A Bowman rookie of a former enforcer now podcaster/commentator. Now that I look at this card design, it makes me want to hurl. I am pretty sure the Baseball set from this year also resembles this. Am I wrong? Well, he is a former Saskatoon Blade, and he's made a nice name for himself after his playing career, so Kelly Chase, you made my list buddy!

1986/87 O-Pee-Chee Wendel Clark RC

Moving on...this next card is a card I bought when I was 8 years old at a card show at a Howard Johnson hotel about 10 minutes away from my house. I clearly remember this show in particular because Kevin Stevens was signing autographs there and asked me what cards I bought that day since I had them in my hand. Of course, the Wendel Clark was on top. I remember him kinda laughing when he saw the Clark card on top and saying "Wendel Clark hah, you're not a Leafs fan are ya bud?' I assured Mr. Stevens I was a Pens fan through and through and he liked that. Somehow, I managed to keep this card in fantastic shape over the years. I still remember watching Wendel when I was younger. He was such a competitor and was never afraid of confrontation. The guy I bought this card from sold it to me for $4. I think I made a pretty terrific buy back in 1990. Clark was a Blades legend and his #22 jersey number hangs in the rafters at SaskTel Centre where the Blades play their home games.

1978/79 O-Pee-Chee Bernie Federko RC

The next Saskatoon Blade is a NHL Hockey Hall of Famer! It's Bernie Federko! He was a legend in the WCHL (WHL) before he took the NHL by storm. His #15 jersey was also retired by the Blades. I was lucky enough to acquire his rookie card years ago in a trade. All I really remember about the trade is that the guy wanted an Edmonton Oilers SP Game Used Patch Auto in trade. It wasn't even a star or an up-and-coming prospect. I don't even remember the guy's name. I'm pretty sure he was Russian though. Somewhere on this blog, I think I wrote about it. It was a great trade for me, and the crazy thing is, the guy offered the trade to me. I don't have much to say about Bernie Federko other than I only saw him play a time or two when I was younger and it was with the Detroit Red Wings, not the St. Louis Blues. Federko is still the all-time leader scorer for the St. Louis Blues with 1,073 points! These days he is a TV color commentator for Blues broadcasts. 

1987/88 O-Pee-Chee Brian Skrudland RC (TTM Auto)

Would you believe a card from the "Under-Appreciated Pile" ends up on this list? Brian Skrudland was a Saskatoon Blades legend. His #10 jersey number currently hangs in their rafters as it was retired by the Blades back in 2003. Skrudland was the first Captain in Florida Panthers history and kept that honor for 4 years. When I was a kid, I loved NHL 95 for SNES. I played it religiously and would sometimes play a season with the Florida Panthers. Skrudland was always a guy I kept on my team and wouldn't trade away. I have no idea why, I just liked him. When I saw his RC autographed on eBay, I had to have it. I snagged this thing for a couple of dollars and was happy with the purchase. I love through the mail autos. I used to do a lot of that, but I haven't had to time to write the handwritten letters and send them out. It's time consuming, but super fun! Back to Mr. Skrudland, he currently is the director of player development for the Florida Panthers. I'm glad to see he stuck around with them. 

2005/06 Hot Prospects Mike Green White Hot RC /10

I had an eBay alert for this card for 11 years......11 YEARS! A few weeks ago, one finally came up for sale. I almost couldn't believe it! I was also surprised I was the only bidder. This thing cost me less than $25. Not a bad price for a card I have been wanting for a very long time. I just love the Hot Prospects White Hot cards! Mike Green was one of my favorite fantasy hockey players that I had on my keeper league team. It was so upsetting once his career was winding down and I had to cut him loose, but he served my team well. My Yahoo fantasy profile shows that he was a part of 4 of my 6 championship teams. Not too shabby for a guy who doesn't even have a Young Guns rookie card! Upper Deck accidentally mistook the Mike Green who was a rookie defenseman with the Washington Capitals with a Mike Green who was a Center who played 24 games the year before splitting time between the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers. So, Mike Green's first Upper Deck card ended up being just a regular base card due to this error. Whoops! I used to have 4 or 5 of them a long time ago, but I think I gave them to a young kid along with a lot of other goodies. I'll leave you with a Saskatoon Blades fact about Mike Green. In his last year with the Blades, he played in 67 games and almost averaged a point per game with 66 points! Pretty impressive!

2015/16 UD The Cup Duncan Siemens Black Auto RC 1/1

I left my biggest Saskatoon Blades card for last. When I purchased this card, I was at my nephew's hockey game (he was 10 at the time) and he was playing a very aggressive team. During the first intermission I saw the seller had accepted my $100 offer on this card and I paid right away. I actually thought Siemens might become a fun player to watch, but it never really happened. He had such a mean streak to his game and in the WHL. He could skate and make a great first pass. I think once he made it to the AHL he focused more on fighting than he did actually handling the puck. Add in injuries and his career just never got off the ground like it should have. This is a guy I really wanted to succeed and that is the truth. Once he did get an extended look in the NHL (7 years after his draft year), I actually got to see the game where he scored his only NHL goal and had his only NHL fight vs the Calgary Flames in 2018. He fought Tanner Glass and Glass ended up breaking Duncan's nose. Later on in the 3rd period, he scored his first NHL goal on an empty netter. After he scored his goal, it looked like his teammates were really pumped for him too. You could tell they were really pulling for the guy. After the 2018 season, the Avalanche cut Siemens loose, and he signed with the Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL and then faded into obscurity. A sad ending for the 11th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft. If you're out there Duncan, I'd love to interview you for this blog!

What does Sasky think about this blog entry? Well, let's ask her....

It looks like she's smiling at least!

Thanks for reading guys!

The “Under-Appreciated” Pile: Scan 26

I couldn’t wait to put the kids to bed tonight so I could put on some preseason hockey. After about 8 mins into the 2nd period of the Penguins vs Red Wings game, I got disgusted and shut it off. The Red Wings had scored 3 straight goals, and I just wasn’t into seeing my favorite team lose tonight. Today was a tough day of work. All I did was deal with problem reports. My production numbers were awful, and right now I could use a Sam Adams beer. 

Hey Bryan, this blog isn’t about beer, it’s about cards! Tell us about Scan 26 man! Ok, well, Scan 26 was a card I had in my COMC cart for well over a month and when I made a sale over $10, I decided to throw out an offer to the seller of $10.31, and it was accepted! The guy on this card had probably one of the most gruesome leg injuries ever in the NFL. I remember watching it sometime in the 90’s at one of my dad’s friends houses. My dad’s friend knew how into sports I was, so any time I came over to his house with my dad he always wanted to show me sports from the 80’s he had on video tapes. After I saw the injury I remember getting sick to my stomach. I was probably 8 or 9 years old. Some tidbits about this guy that you might not know: 1. He was drafted in the 39th round of the 1971 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins. 2. Also, in the same year, he was drafted in the 4th round of the NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. 3. Instead of playing for the Dolphins, he decided to play for the Toronto Argonauts for $50,000 per season. 4. His rights were traded by the Dolphins in 1976 to the Washington Redskins for their 1st round draft pick. This is all stuff I never knew about this guy. Pretty cool! I know just about everyone reading this knows who I’m talking about. I think I got a great deal on this thing. It’s in great shape!

1975 Topps Joe Theismann RC 

Verdict: Appreciated. I had set this in a pile of stuff waiting to be scanned for my PC, and looks like it got mixed in with the misfits!

The “Under-Appreciated” Pile: Scan 25

Well, today I responded to everyone’s comments on my blog posts. It felt good because there were a bunch. Today I almost bought a card. A buddy of mine told me a card I had been wanting was on COMC. I did take a gander at it, but it was a bit overpriced for me. After work today, we danced with the kids and read some books. It was nice to have a calm night after a mess of a work day. My wife had a client tonight at 7, so I had the boys by myself, and I got them to bed without any hiccups. 

About this scan…well, as I said previously, I love Bowman Chrome Red Refractors. One Sunday night, my wife had her friend from high school over (who I am not particularly fond of). While they were upstairs with the kids, I was downstairs on eBay looking at Red Refractors. I wasn’t sure who this guy was, but I bought it anyway. It was actually kind of cheap for being graded and autographed. This is a card I do regret purchasing. On to the scan (sorry the scan sucks..my laser printer scanner has a hard time with graded cards).

2008 Bowman Chrome Carlos Gutierrez Red Refractor RC Auto /5 BGS 9.5

Verdict: Not appreciated. If anyone wants to trade me the 2008 Bowman Chrome Josh Vitters RC Auto /5 I need for the rainbow, hit me up!

The “Under-Appreciated” Pile: Scan 24

Well, I thought I would be able to get a 2nd post out yesterday, but I fell asleep at 9pm. Sorry guys! Yesterday was a rough day. First, I had to coach my son’s t-ball team. Only 4 kids showed up, and to make matters worse, the 3 1/2 year old on the team had a meltdown after the first inning and checked herself out of the game. My 40 year old butt had to play the field along with a few other parents. I was so thankful for their help. The coach from the other team was a nice girl I went to high school with. We gave each other a big hug and talked for a few minutes, so that was pretty cool. The game, however, was dreadful. Thankfully it only took 1 hour and 22 mins to get through the 3 inning game. To make matters worse, the field was kinda muddy. So, I need to clean out the Subaru when I have time. After the game, I came home to find out my youngest son had peed on his dresser. How does that even happen? My wife had no answers. The last thing that happened was we did a Target pickup for a few last minute groceries and my pretzels were out of stock! Haha. Actually, not a bad day, I just had to vent. Also, thank you guys for all the comments. Once this month of blogging this pile is over, I promise to get back to each and every one of you!

Ok, enough of the life of Bryan, on to the card! The guy on this card was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays first draft pick ever. However, he never made it to the major leagues. I had this card put away at my parents house and when I was searching for that Jeff Leonard card from the previous post found here (insert shameless self promotion), I also found this card. It took me a while to figure out how I obtained this card, and then it came to me. When I was in high school AP English, I did a report on draft picks made by expansion teams. I touched on every sport and I bought a few cards of guys that didn’t pan out and used them as visual references. It was the year 2000, and they seemed like a good idea at the time. Anyways, I bought these cards from an old local LCS that has since closed its doors. The owner of that shop always loved talking with me and would always hook me up with a deal or two. I sure do miss that guy. For the life of me, I cannot remember the other cards I used as a reference. I may have to go search my parents filing cabinets where they kept my school work throughout the years (yes, my mom kept my stuff - even from high school). Since I don’t really have any more to say, here is the card from the scan…

1997 Bowman Chrome Paul Wilder Refractor RC

Verdict: I’m kinda on the fence on this one. On one hand, it gave me a good memory from my high school days, but on the other hand, what the heck am I doing with this now? We will just say “semi-appreciated”.

The “Under Appreciated” Pile: Scan 23

I owe you guys an extra entry from the day I had a migraine, so I will try to sneak in 2 blog posts today. First off, thank you to all the people who have been reading, reading and commenting, or just stopping by and realizing that they stumbled on a card blog and not something that has to do with actual cardboard. This blog of mine is actually coming up on 15,000 reads! Never in a million years would I think that people would actually read this thing. If you are a frequent reader, I apologize if you aren’t into the “under-appreciated” pile entries, but good news, they’re almost done.

This card was in this pile because I actually planned on scanning this for a blog entry that would be coming up when I had more time on my hands. I will go into a deeper dive on this card in that post, I promise. All I can tell you about this card is that it was stolen from me once when I was a kid, and returned to me when I was a teenager. Like I said before, the whole story will unfold in that entry. Well, I will post the card now since I have a t-ball game to coach today. Enjoy your Saturday my friends and enjoy Scan 23!

1985 Topps Mark McGwire RC

Verdict: Appreciated!

The “Under-Appreciated” Pile: Scan 22

Today was a really tough day. My company laid off a bunch of staff that including people I have worked with for over 15 years. It really made my day turn to absolute crap. At 5pm though, the kids put a smile back on my face. After we ate dinner together, we danced to some Koo Koo Kangaroo videos, and then the boys took a dip in the bath. For the 3rd night this week my youngest didn’t want to sleep. Instead of taking him for a drive, we let him figure it out in his crib, and eventually he calmed down and went to bed. Right now, I just sat down for the first time since dinner, and I put on some Ghost Adventures as some background noise.

Ok, scan 22. Well, this card was once previously owned by me. When my wife and I got married, we quickly built a new townhouse. The builder asked us for 10% down so they could get building. They gave us 15 days to do so. So, after we did the math we were $1,200 short. I ended up selling off some of my PC items and raised the money we needed. The card in this scan is one of the cards I let go. Fast forward 9 years later, and I see it hit eBay. It was listed for a 7-day auction, so I just waited until the last few seconds and put a large bid in. I won it for a fraction of that bid and 5 times less than what I sold it for. Pretty awesome win for me. This was one of the cards I did regret selling, so I’m glad to have it back. Here it is, yet another USC quarterback…

2003 SPx Carson Palmer Spectrum Jersey Auto RC /25

Verdict: Very much appreciated and was missed by me. Back to the PC you go!

The “Under-Appreciated” Pile: Scan 21

22 days without buying a single card. Wow! Not searching for cards has given me a ton of time to do other things like decorate my office with wall art, hang up my game worn jerseys in the basement, add some shelving on the outside wall of my office, etc. It’s crazy the amount of time I wasted looking for cards. Today I danced with my kids to Danny Go! songs on YouTube and then I gave those boys a bath. Someone purchased us this organic bubble bath stuff and I was forced to use it since we ran out of Mr. Bubble. The bubbles in this organic formula only lasted a minute or two, so Mr. Bubble is back on my shopping list. My youngest was pretty restless tonight, and at around 8ish I put him in the car and drove around a bit. I have a usual path I take and I will put on The Refreshments album “Fizzy Fuzzy Big and Buzzy”. After 4 songs, he is usually out, but tonight we made it all the way to “Banditos”. Also, I drove past our old house twice. Sometimes I do miss living there just due to memories like my son learning to walk and talk. Well, there is your look-in on the life of Bryan.

On to the scan! I meant to scan this thing a long time ago, but the night I planned on doing it, I had 16 eBay orders. It was rather overwhelming that day. The player on this card was the #1 pick in his draft year and is a player I had on my fantasy team this past season. Sadly, I came in 5th place. Can win it every year, am I right? This player is from Switzerland and was the first ever Swiss player chosen first overall at the NHL level. Pretty cool! At the time of the 2017 NHL Draft though, my Brandon Wheat Kings fandom took over, and I boo’ed the Devils pick because they passed on Wheat Kings forward Nolan Patrick. How things have changed! Well, let’s get to it..here is a beauty!

2017/18 UD The Cup Gold Nico Hischier RC /24

Verdict: If this was 2017, I probably wouldn’t appreciate this, but now, definitely appreciated!

The “Under-Appreciated” Pile: Scan 20

I know, I’m a day behind, and will eventually catch up once I have the time. Tonight, my wife and I took our sons over to the playground across the street. My youngest loves going down the smallest slide, but tonight he turned sideways and bumped his nose. That was the end of our playground excursion. Once they finally went to bed, I had to take out the garbage. I live such an exciting life! 

Scan 20 is of a player who’s college career I followed like a hawk. My friends and I back then were all big USC fans. Anytime they were on, we would get together at my old condo and have some beers and snacks and enjoy ourselves. Sometimes I wish I wouldn’t have taken those days with my buddies for granted. Now, we are all 40 or older with kids or fiancés, and we no longer live near each other at all. After the player on this card was drafted, a bunch of us bought his jersey. I still have mine, I just text my buddy to ask if he still has his, and he does too! Pretty awesome! From what I have heard, this guy on this card now is collecting sports cards! Pretty cool. I wonder if he had this one:

2006 Leaf Limited Phenoms Gold Spotlight Matt Leinart Jersey/Auto RC /10

Verdict: Appreciated! This card was for my PC and I planned to scan before I put it in a box.

The “Under-Appreciated” Pile: Scan 19

Sorry for my absence yesterday. After work I had a massive migraine that put me out for the count, so after putting the kids to bed (because I was still on “daddy duty”), I threw up and went to bed. Too much information, I know. I just wanted to be honest. 

Scan 19 like the previous post was another Green Prizm that came from the blaster my wife bought me from Target. I have heard this guy’s name before, I’m just not 100% sure if he is any good. This is what happens when you’re wife worked a lot of Sunday’s and you have the kids to yourself. In the past 3 years I have maybe seen 8 or 9 football games. Most of those games were due to us being invited to Steelers parties by our family and friends. Sorry for rambling, let’s get to this card. I will actually have to look at it again, but my scan looks to show a huge print line going down the card. With Panini, this doesn’t surprise me. Maybe someone can tell me if the guy on this card is good, or is going to be good. 

2021 Panini Prizm Green Rondale Moore RC

Verdict: Not very appreciated. I’m not even sure who this guy is…

The “Under- Appreciated” Pile: Scan 18

Today my sons felt better. I guess it was a 24 hour bug that they had. Thank goodness that they did feel better, as we had a lot of running around we had to do today. First, we went to Lowe’s for a door knob for our sunroom. The contractor working on our house asked us to do that this morning. Then, we headed over to Petsmart to look at some cats. My cat and my wife’s passed away within 3 weeks of each other in November. I am not ready yet for a new cat, but my wife is. We didn’t find any cats we liked at Petsmart though. Then, we had to grab some groceries for this upcoming week. 

Well, there is the look-in on my day, so here is the story on the scan. This card was the best of a blaster if Panini Prizm my wife bought me. I had set the stack of cards in one of the storage areas on my computer desk, forget about them, then grabbed this card, sleeved and toploaded it and set it in this stack  I don’t collect this player, but someone out there probably does. I’m sure it has value elsewhere, and will more than likely sell it at some point. Here is scan 18:

2021 Panini Prizm Green Michael Carter RC

Verdict: Not-Appreciated. It will probably find its way to a Jets fan at some point.

The “Under-Appreciated” Pile: Scan 17

I have to kinda keep this one brief. We have 2 sick kids at home right now. Both have fevers, and are miserable. Today was a rough day. My oldest didn’t make it to his t-ball game, my wife and I didn’t make it to the Oktoberfest party we were invited to, and we ran out of Children’s Tylenol. Luckily, I grabbed the last one from Rite Aid near my house. Awesome day.

I’ll just cut to the chase on this one. A guy that followed me on social media a while back posted this thing for sale for a low price. It was early in the morning, so I just clicked the “Like” option on his post, so I could circle back sometime after work. Well, I ended up forgetting to do that because “life” happens. Fast forward to 3 weeks later and he posts it again for a little bit cheaper. I jumped all over it. This is for my PC. I like the player (had him on my Dynasty team when I was really into fantasy football). Here is Scan 17 (sorry it was brief guys!):

2016 Panini Prizm Silver Tyreek Hill RC 

Verdict: Appreciated. A PC card I intended to scan.

The “Under-Appreciated” Pile: Scan 16

I can’t believe I made it over 2 weeks without buying cards. This is pretty unbelievable. Today we had 2 people out at work so I was busy all day, and had no time to even think or search for any cards. Staying busy definitely helps. Today when my oldest son came home from school he said he had a headache, so we had a chill night with the kids. He ended up going to bed shortly after his little brother, and I had 20 minutes to do some dishes! Now that you had your daily look-in to my life, on to the scan!

This card is a 1992 Topps Gold card that was in a lot I purchased from a guy on social media that I had previously talked about here. Since I have such a love for 1992 Topps Gold cards, I figured I was going to keep this, but after some thought, it is headed to my buddy in Kansas with the Chris Sanders Zenith Rookie Rising card. I feel like he would appreciate the both of these cards more than me. Most of the time when I have a card I think he might like, I will throw them his way. Back to the card, this particular card is of a player I completely forgot about. He was the #1 overall pick in his draft year by the Colts, and due to injuries his career got cut short (6 years, 50 games). When he was drafted I was 10, and I don’t remember that much about him. The most memorable thing in my mind was when I was a teenager, and my friend Doug started a collection of him. From what I can jog up in my memory, he traded a ton of Brett Favre cards to a buddy of mine for this exact card. My memory is foggy, but that does kinda stick in my mind. We were always making wild football card trades back then. I miss those days. Anyway, I really have nothing else to say about this card, so I’ll get to the reveal. Here it is my friends:

1992 Topps Gold Steve Emtman RC

Verdict: Sorta-appreciated by me, but more appreciated by my buddy.

The “Under-Appreciated” Pile: Scan 15

I got to start 2 hours late at work today which meant I did not have to rush this morning to pack lunches, and get the kids dressed like I do every morning. We actually woke up at 6:42AM. It felt so good to get some extra sleep for a change. My wife and I planned to go to Target for a few things for an Oktoberfest party we are attending on Saturday after my son’s t-ball game. Should be a fun-packed Saturday. However, I didn’t make it to Target. With us sleeping in, it disrupted our plan, and after taking our time with our tasks this morning and finally getting the kids out the door, my entire 2 hours were burnt up. Tonight, I read a bunch of books to my youngest and gave the kids a bath and they both went to bed no problem. 

In 2013, I read a story that can be found here. I was so saddened and moved by the story that I started a mini-PC of this player. I only had 6 cards as of 3 months ago, so this one made 7. A friend of mine spotted it on Beckett Marketplace a while back and clued me in on it. I ended up grabbing it for $1.50, which I thought was a steal. The last time I saw one for sale on eBay for auction, it ended while my wife and I were at a bonfire, and I totally forgot to check my phone. Anyway, that one on eBay ended for like $6.75 or something like that. Normally, I would give a little info about the player, but for this post, I will just refer you to the story at the beginning of this paragraph. Go and read it, it’s totally worth a read. This guy was on a path to greatness. 

Here is Scan 15:

2001 Bowman Chrome XFractor Brian Cole RC

Verdict: Much Appreciated. Read the article…seriously.

The “Under-Appreciated” File: Scan 14

I cannot believe it’s only Wednesday. This week feels long. Our contractor who is building our sunroom and deck showed up today after a 2 week hiatus to work on the deck. He actually made decent headway today and got some of the materials off of my grass. So, after picking up the kids and eating dinner I decided to cut the grass. Now, my wife and I just sat down and decided to throw on some episodes of The Office. Hopefully these entries aren’t getting stale. 

This scan is of a card that I am actually sending to Kansas tomorrow to a buddy of mine. I bought a lot of football cards from a guy on social media who wanted to get rid of a bunch of his stuff from the mid-to-late 90’s. There was a Curtis Martin RC in the lot that I really wanted, so I jumped at the price of $3. Always nice to get a card you want along with a bunch of cards you’re buddy would like. The card in the scan is pretty awesome. Dufex technology I think is what they call it…right? Back in 1996, my mom asked what I would like for my birthday and I told her I would like a box of 1996 Pinnacle Zenith football. At the time of my birthday the cost was around $89.99, so I had to pour it on pretty thick with my parents to cave, but my mom eventually did. Once we got home, my brother and I ripped open the packs within minutes. The coolest card I thought in the box wasn’t the Z-Team Steve Young I pulled, it was the James Stewart Rookie Rising Insert. Right now, looking at this card, I still treasure the crap out of it! Here is my James Stewart that has been in my collection since 1996:

Seriously…so cool. Anyways, in the football lot I purchased there was another card from this set in there…a certain Houston Oiler….no, not THAT one. Here ya go, Scan 14:

1996 Pinnacle Zenith Chris Sanders Rookie Rising Insert

So cool so will even show you the back!

Verdict: I appreciate the set, not the card since it’s headed to my buddy. Enjoy it Chad!