Extremely Capricious and Wholly Idiosyncratic: a Trade Post

This is me still trying desperately to keep up with a backlog of trade posts. Today we look at a super-generous package I received from Brian of one of the newer blogs to hit the b-sphere, Highly Subjective and Completely Arbitrary.

Brian’s package included two sealed packs of ’89 Donruss, a base set I’m compelled to build perpetually. I've finished three and have more in the works. These were a big help as you will see (gee, what could I possibly be foreshadowing?).

The cherry on the ’89 Donruss cake was this sealed set of the 1989 Donruss The Rookies set. I already have this Griffey loose in my rookie binder, so this is one seal I will be keeping intact for now. Here’s a peek at what lies within:

The Rookies logo (back for 2015, by the way), the photo, the subtly tucked-in jewelry - I love everything about this card.

There must be something in the water lately because everyone has been sending me this Griffey Gold Nuggets insert over the last few weeks. Maybe a bunch found their way into a recent slew of repacks? I don’t know for sure. I’m glad they’re finding their way to me, though, as they are hard to find in good condition. A combination of time and delicate foil paper stock has left many of them damaged. This one is very clean.

Brian put a huge dent in my ’92 Donruss Diamond Kings set. This was one of my favorite iterations of the DK art and design, and there are more than a couple players in the checklist that are not so popular and, therefore, harder to come across. Brian’s stack helped a lot, and now I’m down to just four needed to finish off the set.

He also put a hurtin’ on my 2014 Update set needs. I have yet to finish Series 2 for goodness sake. I’m a bad set builder.

Hee hee - Albert "poo-holes." Just kidding. Congrats, AP!

Finally, here are the highlights from those two packs of ’89 Donruss:

That’s right! There was a Griffey RC in there. I’ve busted five boxes of ’89 Donruss over the years and two of them had no Griffey at all, so the odds were very much against one of these two packs having it. It was collated right alongside a very sharp-looking Ron Kittle. Excited gasping commenced. I would say this Kittle has real BGS 10 potential were it worth enough to submit for grading.

Brian, do you have a copy of this Griffey rookie? If not, I’ll gladly send you one. Let me know. Apart from that, thanks for the great trade package, and welcome to the blogsphere!

An Angry Donruss Fan Lashes Out At You

Sweet broken bat, anyone?

Everybody loves to poo-poo 2015 Donruss the same way they did Panini's 2014 offering, but not me, pal. God help me, I like it. Yeah, I said it. Come at me, bro.

I like the centering, the inserts, the checklist, the parallels, the logos, the faithfulness to the brand's history - all that. And I honestly don't see why there is so much hate for this solid set of cards. I'm maybe even a little defensive about it, and, well, it's pretty much all your fault.

I mean, I like these cards. That a problem? Oh, you take issue with an Ichiro Marlins card? And Longoria's awesomely huge Brundlefly specs? And Boggs? You have a problem with Wade freakin' Boggs whose America-beard once killed Hitler and brought a puppy back to life? Because I don't.

These cards are awesome. Why don't you see that?

"Oh, I hate 2015 Donruss. I hate that they made us all believe again by giving us the classic Donruss card backs complete with full names like they used to do. That's just the worst. Waaaahhhhh." That's you. That what you sound like.

Did I mention that was meant to be read in a girly voice?

Well, it was.

How many classic brands does Panini own the rights to now? Like, 30? And because they own such a small market share while everyone buys Topps (again, you), they can't afford to bring back every brand the people want. So what do they do? They give us those brands as inserts. That is hella-clever. And how do they do it? Perfectly. Take that well-executed Donruss Elite logo off the card and what do you have? Obvious Donruss Elite cards. There's a term for that: well-played.

How does no one else seem to recognize the awesomeness going on here?

This card back is a problem? THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL CARD BACK. Yeah, caps mean yelling. I'm yelling.

Oh, a gorgeous holofoil tribute to Tony Gwynn? You gonna bitch about that now? Not beautiful enough for you? THESE CARDS LOOK AMAZING. I'm considering getting that "Gwynn 19" logo they used tattooed on my forehead. It's that classy. Tattoo classy, the highest form of classiness.

I haven't seen a jersey card this great-looking in years. Really. Show me a better-looking jersey card. Heck, show me a jersey card from the last five years that doesn't look like every other jersey card produced in the last five years. It's tough. Some relics are big, some are small - that tends to be the only difference. Panini has given us an excellent and attractive jersey card.

Don't hate. Participate.

Now I know you don't hate Diamond Kings. This was a staple of the Donruss brand. And they look good. Moreover, we get current DK's in blue and All-Time DK's in...burnt sienna (?) like this McGwire here. In the blurb on the back they liken his forearms to Popeye's. Of course Popeye was on spinach and McGwire was on something that more likely ended in the letters -one, but that Popeye reference is the kind of sparkling wordplay you can only get from Panini. Topps would have said something like, "Mark hit a lot of home runs because big. Also, huge."

Panini wins again.

They even brought back "The Rookies," same logo and everything! It's awesome! And it's a solid-looking card. Red, white, and blue against a black & white background? Oh, you don't like red, white, and blue? Maybe go back to North Vietnam, then. We're a Donruss country.

And wait, is that a Pete Rose card? A PETE ROSE CARD!?!?!?!

Think about THAT shit.

Oh, no! An homage to the classic '81 Donruss design! Now my day is ruined. PSYCH! That card is fantastic. And so is the return of Studio as an insert full of beautiful black and white portraits THE WAY STUDIO IS SUPPOSED TO BE. They even did a great job on the logo.

Why do you hate this? Not enough shiny for you? Alright:

Are you eyes okay? Or did you just get blinded by Panini's advanced proprietary printing technology? Oh, and look! Dominators are BACK. The Elite Series is BACK. Press Proofs are BACK.

The Donruss Preferred design is BACK. Some weird USA Baseball insert is ALSO HERE. Longball Leaders is BLUE.

And also THESE.

And THIS! My God, THIS! It's not just one of the regular inserts with a sticker on it. It's a whole entire new design with a sticker on it. And it looks like a million bucks! Is that an ocean sparkling with the light of a mid-day sun in the background? Probably not, but you could've fooled me. This card's magic is almost immune to scanning, but take my word for it - this is the prettiest damn auto I've pulled from a pack in years. Truly.

AND THE REST:

Yeah, yeah, you miss the logos. Because how are you gonna know what team Rickey Henderson played for without a big, cursive "A" and maybe an elephant or something on the card? I mean, it's IMPOSSIBLE, RIGHT?

I joked around a lot here, but I genuinely love this set. Yeah, I suppose the base design could have been better, but that's not enough of an issue for me to ruin the collecting experience. Ripping packs of this brand is fun and the inserts are fantastic. Panini has gotten me genuinely excited about their future offerings. 

Not to mention that it is on our best interest as collectors to have competition in the market.

Now go and give this set a chance.

Kerry Touches 'Em All: a Trade Post

Kerry from Cards on Cards sent me one very well-rounded trade package a few weeks back, and it's time you heard about it.

First up is this new-to-me gold version of a really excellent Junior from his comeback days with the Reds. Just a beautiful shot of the patented Griffey swing mid-connection. Classic Kid.

This one has the look and feel of an oddball, but it somehow isn't. Noticeably flimsy, these are tough to find in good condition. Most specimens I've come across have at least one soft corner. The one Kerry sent is stone mint. Into the binder it goes.

This thing is so long it couldn't be scanned in full. While I have the cut version of this Ron Kittle, this uncut strip is completely new. Now to find a safe way to store it...

Kerry had these to send for my set-building efforts, including a few for my rarely-touched 2013 want list. That Todd Frazier on top is one of the best cards in the 2014 set. Perfect photo.

This was a surprise. I've been two cards short of completing this Kay Bee Kings set for years. Now all I need is the Puckett. Good eye, Kerry. Good eye.

And a bunch of Hornets cards. We've got a playoff run brewing this year, folks! Probably not a good one, but people are excited. Personally I pretty much completely avoid basketball unless I'm captive in a bar that's showing it, but I like the cards. They are by far the sweatiest genre of sports cards to be had.

Thanks for the great package, Kerry! As usual, all my Cardinals are belong to you.

1993 Leaf: Turning Over a New…Well, You Know.

1993 Leaf #319

Some sets are just really easy to do a write-up on because I love them. Have for years. This is one of those.

There was a rebirth of sorts in the mid-90’s at that perfect moment when competition was its fiercest and the cost of high-end printing methods finally caught up with the price a company could reasonably charge for a pack. Across the spectrum of brands and sub-brands, suddenly cards started getting uncharacteristically fancy, all decked out in foil, cursive, and levels of gaudiness that would make Liberace blush. Long-time collectors with a more vintage bent spurned the change, but it was a hit with the next generation of starry-eyed young card noobs. That’s when I first came into the hobby.

Enter ’93 Leaf with one of the most dramatic design overhauls ever witnessed.

1992 Leaf vs 1993 Leaf

How does one compare these? How do you measure the change? Answer: you can’t. It would be like trying to compare a typewriter with a Macbook Air. There is no comparison. While related, they are also wildly unrelated.

Let’s start with the base cards: they’re shiny – real shiny. Full-bleed and Leaf’s first year of full-gloss, every card in this set received a big-ass gold medallion complete with blue ribbon and lovely team-colored marble texture along the bottom. The slant-tastic strip of name is decked out in even more shiny gold foil offset by a thick band of black. The entire affair has the air of a Major General’s military decoration.

THE GREAT SEAL

We should talk about that new seal, too. You know, the gigantic gold one you can’t possibly miss. It has three words on it: “The Leaf Set.” Not “Leaf,” but THE. LEAF. SET. For many of us who were born in the 80’s, this was our first introduction into perception marketing. Prestige perceived is prestige achieved. You can imagine the conversations that went on in early 1993 between collectors:

“Are you going to collect Donruss this year?”

“Eh, maybe.”

“What about THE LEAF SET?”

“Please. Is the Pentium the best microprocessor on the market? Of course. It doesn't get much better than THE LEAF SET. I just hope I can afford it. Have you seen the giant gold medallions on those things? Classy stuff.”

“I totally flip through ’93 Leaf with my pinky up.”

“Dudical!”

Note: they said “dudical” in 1993. And by “they,” I mean “I.” And by “in 1993,” I mean “to this day.”

Griffey does not feature as prominently in Leaf as in some other brands. It probably has something to do with the fact that Frank Thomas was the face of the Leaf brand in the same way that Griffey was with Upper Deck. I remember a perceived rivalry between Junior and Thomas for the simple fact that their cards were always right about the same value, and they were frequently referenced in the same breath in Beckett and on Baseball Tonight.

Anyway, Junior got a base card and shared two cards with two other players in the dual-sided Gold Leaf All-Star insert for a total of three cards. Frank made it into one more insert than Griffey (On the Fast Track) and also received his own private 10-card insert for a total of fourteen cards. That's not including the super-limited autograph cards.

The Frank Thomas insert

Each of the ten cards in the Frank Thomas insert features a large holofoil “Frank” paired with a word describing him. The backs are even cooler with a portrait of the Big Hurt framed in an aerial shot of the Chicago skyline. This is in character as ’93 Leaf has a lot of great card backs.

The first Heading for the Hall insert from Leaf

This is also the first year of Leaf’s Heading for the Hall insert, the 1995 version of which is one of my favorite inserts of all time.

Let’s look at the Griffeys:

1993 Leaf #319

The action on Junior’s base card is kind of weird. It looks like he just gave that swing a whole lot of follow-through, but he doesn't seem to be in a hurry to start running. You could say it was a guaranteed home run and he was enjoying the aftermath, but he isn't looking as high up as I would expect this soon after the swing. Griffey’s swing did not produce a whole lot of line-drive homers. He was more about the optimal-angle ball launch. I guess what I’m saying is that I think this is a single at best.

On the flip side ’93 Leaf has some of the best base card backs in history. It’s not just my own emotional connection to the Space Needle (my wife and I ate at the rotating restaurant there the night we got engaged). It’s the perfect carryover in design from front to back, the stats oriented with the marble slant, the holofoil team logo hanging in the sky like a supermoon above the cityscape, and Junior looming larger-than-life above the whole thing. I can’t think of a better card back off the top of my head. I’m not saying there aren't any, but there certainly aren't many.

1993 Leaf Gold Leaf Stars #7 (w/ Andy Van Slyke)

The Gold Leaf Stars insert features two players, one per side, a great insert logo, and little else. It’s a fun red, white, and blue spin on the signature ’93 Leaf slant layout, but there’s not much to this insert apart from the photos. I like this shot of Junior about to make a save at the wall, but I suspect it’s staged. This was not the only time Junior would appear on a card opposite Andy Van Slyke.

1993 Leaf Update Gold Leaf All-Stars #8 (w/ Marquis Grissom)

This expansion of the original Gold Leaf Stars insert was included with the ’93 Leaf Update set. It’s the same idea but with known All-Star players. This shot of The Kid is definitely not staged, but the best part of this particular card is the fact that Junior is paired with a PC of mine, Mr. Marquis Grissom. They, too, would share cardboard again in the 90’s.

I’d like to be able to say that there are ten more Griffeys the way there are ten more Frank Thomas cards, but there aren't. Fortunately the following two Leaf sets would be equally dudical and chock full of inserts featuring The Kid. I know a lot of folks are crazy for the 1990 design, but in my opinion ’93 through ’95 was Leaf at its base design best.

Framing a Giant Baseball Card

There are no top loaders for cards that are 18" by 25" by 1/2", so I had to bite the bullet and get this guy proper framed. Armed with a clutch of Michael's gift cards (a perpetual item on my Christmas and birthday want lists) and impeccable taste (kinda), I brought it to my framer who I am lucky to be great pals with.

At the framer

I always let her tell me how she would do it, then tell her what I had in mind, and we meet in the middle. We tend to have pretty comparable taste, so this process is a lot more fun than picking out what color paint to put in the bathroom with my wife (which can be stressful until I simply give in). My framer will usually let me do whatever I want within the limits of taste and reason.

She had suggested matting it normally, covering up some border to create focus on the image. That's what we normally do with posters and such, but I wanted to preserve the overall "cardiness" of it, so we landed on a flush mount in a thick shadowbox. Homegirl made it happen. Hard.

She picked out the perfect mat, too: a grassy green number that almost feels like Astroturf. She also told me she would line the inside of the frame with the stuff. It looks amazing from every angle.

Witness the thickness

That's actually two frames put together, what framers call a stack. We were originally going to go with just the black shadowbox, but I wanted a little bit of gold in there, too.

The card appears to float on top the mat and a half inch under the glass which is of the UV-resistant Masterpiece variety. All the materials used are archival, so this card should stay looking new for years to come.

It's super-thick, too, as you can see.

Here it is hanging on the wall in my card room/office.

And here it is in perspective with the stuff that's around it. That Star Trek poster is going away soon, though, to make room for something else completely awesome and Griffey-related. I should have it up next week.

Thanks for reading! Also a big thanks to my always-excellent framer, and again to Upper Deck's Random Acts of Kindness for this insane gift! Ever grateful...