4000! A Milestone, a Giveaway, and a Look Forward

On April 28th, 2014, my Griffey collection reached a milestone: 3000 unique cards. On August 10th of this year, 469 days later, it happened again. The unique Griffey count has skyrocketed to over 4000. Wanna see the culprit?

1996 Score Big Bats #2, my 4000th unique Griffey!

I started the last Griffey sort at 3,992, and this was the 8th new card added. That makes it super spesh.

The Contest

When we hit 3000 last year I held a giveaway, and this year will be no different. Last year’s contest was won by Jeff at One Man’s Junk (Wax) who was able to guess the number closest to the stamped numeration of card #3000. He won with Rod Carew’s jersey number of 29. As card #4000 has no numeration, this year is going to be much simpler.

Guess a number between 1 and 4000. That’s it. I ran a single randomization, and the number has already been generated with a time stamp of 8:22PM (performed on August 16th, 2015). I have a screen shot of said randomization waiting to go up on the blog no later than this time next week, so get your guesses in before then. One guess per person. I expect thousands (millions?) of entries here, so watch you don’t repeat someone else’s guess. Closest guess wins (not Price is Right rules).

The prize? 100 Griffeys of my choice from the Griffey Overflow Box. If the winner is a Griffey collector, I will try to choose only those Griffeys that person could use, provided you can get me a list. (Note: if you’re a supercollector like magicpapa or Jason from Virginia, I can’t make any promises – you may be getting some repeats, bro).

4000, though!

Now that the giveaway is out of the way, let’s talk about that landmark for a moment. Since the beginning of the year I’ve added 507 new unique Griffeys, just a bit short of last year’s pace. While I was averaging 2.67 new Griffeys per day in 2014, for 2015 I’m at only 2.23. So yes, growth has slowed, but I’ve been anticipating that for a while now. Why?

1. Inexpensive Griffeys are drying up. As I knock out all the cheap Griffeys, the holes in my collection become more expensive to fill.

2. Griffey’s HOF induction is upon us. Hence, his cards are enjoying a nice little price bump. Whether Beckett recognizes that or not, it’s happening. I’m watching it happen.

3. Former collectors are re-entering the market. 30-somethings who idolized Junior now have careers and expendable incomes. More are returning to the hobby every day. Case in point: I’ve watched the 1993 Finest Refractor Griffey I bought in 2013 DOUBLE in market price in just the last year. Those Holy Grail cards are on the brink of a resurgence as demand picks back up.

4. My tastes are getting more and more refined. The first scotch I enjoyed was regular old Dewar’s. A few years later Johnnie Walker Black was my go-to. Now it’s Balvenie Doublewood. I’ll still drink some Johnnie and the occasional Dewar’s on the rocks, but I pine for the single malts. The same is true for Griffey cards.

5. I’ve been doing quite a bit of whale hunting. In fact, the combined cost of three specific cards added this year is greater than the combined cost of every other Griffey I’ve acquired this year put together. Call me Ishmael.

I made this at the beginning of the year, and by the first week of March it
was a done deal

2014 was a defining year for this Griffey collection. It was the year we broke the 10,000 card mark (see: The Binge). It was the year of the collection’s biggest reduction in size (see: The Purge). But most of all, it was the year I made the difficult choice to truly focus on quality over quantity.

I went left

Even as the overall Griffey count nudges closer to 10,000 once more, I’m happy to report that I’ve been sticking with the quality road. This year’s acquisitions have been far more substantial with several high-profile adds and plenty of fun new relics. Despite slower growth, I have a lot more “sick” cards to show for it.

And to that point, the Top 30 Griffey Acquisitions of 2015 list is going to be a knockout come January, especially the Top 5. I have no idea how I’m going to order them. It’s a problem I love having.

A bigger problem is how I’m ever going to top it in 2016.

Thanks for reading!

Wallet Card Wednesday: Crawfish Murder Porn Edition

I know, I know: too many food-related posts on Wallet Card Wednesday; but here we sit at the tail end of the crawfish season (pun intended), the greatest of all seasons here in south Louisiana. It must be celebrated! For those of you who have never been to a crawfish boil, I can’t think of anything in the culinary world I can compare it to, but today I hope to give you a little taste of what they’re about. I brought my wallet card to every boil I went to. Here’s what that looked like.

If you’ve never had a crawfish (or crayfish according to…well, I don’t really know. Apparently someone out there calls these things crayfish), they look like little baby lobsters with tails full of delicious white meat. There’s also a little meat in the claws if you’re seasoned enough a peeler to get at it.

Yes, there is a ridge along the top-center of the tail that contains a little vein of poop similar to what you may find in shrimp. This is usually full of mud and completely harmless to eat. I don’t remember the last time I “de-turded” a crawfish.

In addition to the lovely tail and claw meat, there resides in the belly of a crawfish a delightful fatty “mustard” that can be sucked out of the carcass. I like to give the body a little squeeze when doing this which adds a small shot of juice in with the mustard. But beware: it’s a spicy cocktail of salty textures that can make you cough if you let it intrude too far into the throat.

The boil itself starts with live crawfish sold in 20- or 40-lb sacks. You empty these sacks into tubs or ice chests and give them a nice rinse with the garden hose before boiling. Some folks throw a few canisters of salt in, too, which is meant to “purge” the crawfish of any excess poop in their systems; but I don’t believe this does anything except waste salt. And yummy poop.

As you can see they start off this greenish-brown color. When they hit the boiling water two things happen immediately: they die, and they turn bright red. The same is true for crabs and lobsters, of course.

Creating the boil itself is the most important part. There are no rules as to what ingredients to use. Everyone has their own mix, but they all tend to consist of the same items in different quantities: salt, crab boil, cayenne, lemons, garlic, seasoning bags, and celery. 

Other edibles that go into the boil are potatoes (the little red ones), onions, halved garlic pods, sausage, and large segments of corn on the cob. Some folks get creative here and throw in any number of bizarre foods - things like punctured cans of peas, sweet potatoes, and Brussels sprouts (beware – these things are like little spice magnets). 

So you mix all that together, get it to a nice rolling boil, toss in the crawfish, let ‘em roll around for a while, let ‘em soak for a while, drain it (you can see an internal basket with drain holes in the picture seated in the pot), and pour it all out on a newspaper-covered table. Then everyone just kind of sits down and starts going at ‘em in whatever way they prefer. 

The peeling process has a sharp learning curve the key to which is simple practice and repetition. Everyone has their own style. Mine includes a quick snapping of the forward shell for easier meat extraction supplemented by ripping off of the crawfish’s genitals at the base. Sound hideous, I know, but the tail meat just slips right out. It’s a good system.

Having been to boils in numerous cities around the country, I can say there are some regional differences that cannot be ignored. Some places don’t put salt in the boil. Some don’t make them spicy at all. Many places (and this boggles my mind) season the outside of the crawfish. As in they pour spices and/or hot sauce all over the shells. Don’t do this.

But there are other extremes, too. One time in Texas I had crawfish so spicy that nobody at the table could eat them. Being the only person at the table from New Orleans, everyone looked to me with watering eyes as if to say, “Is this right??” I confirmed that it wasn’t. We had to send them back, a big deal since they were four bucks a pound and we had gotten 20lbs for the table. Another table even followed suit. The owner of the restaurant insisted his method was correct, so I asked him to show me what he was putting into the boil. Turned out the guy was throwing cayenne in there like a lunatic and not even tasting the juice before boiling. We ended up with "cajun" hamburgers instead (burgers + hot sauce - sigh), and hopefully the guy now makes edible crawfish.

Hey, remember when this was a baseball card blog? Anyway, crawfish. Eat them.

Wallet Card Wednesday: A Day on Bourbon Street Edition

My wife and I are kind of unofficial tour guides when someone we know is visiting New Orleans for the first time. It’s not that we’re full of interesting historical tidbits or anything fancy like that – it’s that we know the best way to get places, where to park, what order to see things in, and timeframes to make sure meal times align with certain destinations. Oh, and we know where not to go which is just as important.

This is Bourbon Street, and I am extremely ambivalent towards it. It can be a lot of fun, but as locals we also kind of hate it. It’s not so bad during the day, so that’s when we bring visitors who absolutely have to go there. A little day drinking helps the whole thing go down easier.

This is the courtyard of Pat O’Brien’s, a tourist destination to be sure but also a solid first stop. The piano bar here is the one by which I measure all other piano bars, and few can compete. At night the fountain in the photo spits both fire and water simultaneously.

There are two drinks everyone wants to try when they come to New Orleans: Hurricanes and Hand Grenades. While I always get a pair of Hurricanes at Pat O’s, my wife is a big fan of their mint julep. They muddle the hell out of one massive wad of mint for each one of these, so the flavor is strong and refreshing.

Down the road is Tropical Isle where you can get your Hand Grenade on. It’s not quite as polished a place to drink as Pat O’s, but it, too, can be a blast. Here’s a pee game you can play right at the urinal. Needless to say, Tropical Isle exudes class.

This, like the photo at the beginning of this post, was taken at the Canal St. end of Bourbon which has a lot more tall buildings and “nicer” strip clubs. Strip clubs in general are just terrible, but if you have to go I recommend Rick’s Cabaret on the left there. It’s not quite as skeezy as the rest. My bachelor party was there - the girl had kind of a Sarah Palin thing going on.

As your Bourbon St. experience wears on you may find yourself in one of the many random daiquiri bars that line the street. These places are catch-alls for random drunk people. Bright colors, loud music, tacky décor – they’re drawn to it. 

I don’t know how we ended up in here – could be that someone had to pee or saw a video poker machine or just wanted to switch to beer. Shoot, it may have been me that brought us in. In any case, we were here, so we made the best of it with a few jello shots.

On our way home we stopped at the Lakefront (we were with someone who had never seen Lake Pontchartrain) just in time for the sunset but a little too early to see the fishermen reeling in specks.

My advice to you if you’re coming to NOLA is Bourbon Street during the day, Frenchmen Street at night, and always ask a local where to go and the best way to get there. We’re more than a little friendly down here, so don’t be afraid to talk to strangers; but be wary of those that talk to you. Especially if they tell you they know “where you got your shoes.”

We Need to Talk About Kevin: a Trade Post

I can only dream of having a trademark as goofily recognizable as the myriad Bieber cards and stickers that have been coming out of France for the past few months. There's no mistaking what you're going to see when the Beeb's genetically-engineered hair helmet graces the top photo of a post: a bunch of cards from Kevin Lecath....Lecathe....Papoy. Kevin Papoy.

Kevin collects Griffey cards, so it means a lot that he would send me this silver parallel from 2002 Upper Deck Honor Roll. There are only 100 of this guy floating around, and the differences from the regular base card are very slight.

2002 Upper Deck Honor Roll #8 Regular vs. Silver #/100

The regular card foil is kind of a pewter color where the parallel is silver, but the most obvious difference is the use of blue accent in the regular card. There is also a gold version out there that is #/25 that I assume uses gold in the same way the regular base card uses blue. Someday...

I'm flattered by all the Marquis Grissom love I've been getting since adding him as a PC. I was also very excited when I heard he would be appearing in 2015 Archives as a Fan Favorite. With all the Braves collectors out there I think his card would be more popular were he in an Atlanta uniform, but I love this card all the same. The '89 Topps design is a childhood favorite of mine. And there's no denying that both he and Mr. Finley here have some great-looking signatures. Quelle bonne surprise!

I'm amazed at how many King Felix relics Kevin seems to get. I think this is the third trade package in a row he's sent that had one, and they're all numbered and from super high-end sets. Where are you getting these, sir? WHERE?

Kevin, like me, is a 90's guy; and his taste in 90's parallels is...well, unparalleled. These are three of the toughest-to-land parallels from 1995: we have an Upper Deck Electric Diamond Gold, a Stadium Club 1st Day Issue, and a Pinnacle Artist's Proof. These are not dime box parallels, my friends. They are PC gems.

On top of that was a refractor from the first year of Topps Chrome showing one of my favorite shots of Marquis Grissom looking kinda pissed. The man was known for his speed, but did he just get called out at second? Check out the cloud of dirt in the background - you know there must have been some serious sliding going on just a second before this was snapped. I have to believe he was safe here and just looks like that.

That Javy is a great example of early die-cutting and from fancy-pants Flair, no less. I've never owned one of these. And below that is a great-looking, numbered beast of Jay Buhner being his congenial self. I need to go bar-hopping with that guy before I die. When I do, I'll bring this card and a sharpie. The space below his name is begging for some ink.

Now honestly, Kev. How on Earth did these end up in France? This was not by chance. Somebody's been doing some personal shopping, am I right? Well done. I absolutely love 'em. I'm pretty certain they're going to end up in top loaders stored with my very best cardboard.

In case you were wondering, "boo-dro" and "clo-teal."

I'm happy to report that in my most recent trade package, I did not need to check the spelling before writing your real last name. I think we're approaching a level of familiarity that can be appropriately classified as "Bieber Buddies." Thanks a ton, Bieber Buddy!

Building a New Card Room: a Macro Organization Post

Everything is changing down here at JJHQ. Frankly I don’t even know where to start.

The first change? I have to completely vacate my card room.

My old card room the way it's been for the last three years, gone forever.

There are three bedrooms in our house, one master and two, um, regular? Anyhoo, we refer to the two regular rooms as the “guest bedroom” because it has a bed and the “the office” since it has a desk. Both rooms have always pulled double-duty, the guest bedroom as a media room for my CD/DVD/VHS collection, and the office as the card/collecting room.

Well, that time is over. For reasons that will become clear in the near future my wife and I have come to an agreement, and it’s time to start de-stuffifying. Sadly, I no longer get two rooms in which to run wild with my collections and possessions – I only get one, and it must be the guest bedroom. I must condense and condense hard. There will be a garage sale, eBay auctions, lots of donations, massive trash days - the whole deal.

My old card room today

Where most of my organizational posts are micro in scale, dealing with sets and stacks all the way down to individual cards, this time we’re going macro. Everything had to come out one room and into the other: team boxes, complete sets, binders, my entire Griffey collection, and all the furniture where I store those things. Even the giant steel security cabinet I keep the good stuff in had to go. And on top of that, I had to get rid of most of this stuff.

The Griffey cabinet in its old place

For three straight days I swapped furniture, built shelving, moved things to and from the attic (no basements in NOLA), packed and unpacked boxes and bins, and made some tough decisions on what would stay and what wouldn’t. I even made the difficult decision to get rid of my entire Mystery Science Theater 3000 VHS collection (120 tapes take up a LOT of space). When it comes to getting rid of clutter, that collection has made every cut for the last 17+ years. Now, for the first time, it’s boxed and waiting to be picked up by a stranger.

After three days, I decided to take a night off from the project. Last Wednesday was my first night in my new cardspace. Everything was set up just enough that I was able to sit at my desk and do real card stuff for a little while – a little writing, answer e-mails, make some PWEs and trade packages, etc. It felt good to be back in action.

The very next night I was back at it, moving media to shelves, boxing up donations, and hanging things on the walls including my beloved framed Upper Deck super jumbo auto.

On Sunday evening, exactly one week after I began this massive move, I could finally say my new card room was complete. It turned out even better than I was hoping. Wanna see?

I was able to keep the desk (that hutch is invaluable when it comes to card stuff), but I got rid of the old printer cart I was using as a stack table in favor of an old-style school desk with a built-in cubby. The smooth surface is very card-friendly and the cubby fits longboxes perfectly.

I used to store complete sets in a closet, but now I have a brand new bookcase on which to store all my baseball card goodies. I even designated the top shelf as the “Griffey Shelf.” It filled up far faster than I was expecting.

I was able to wire together a floor lamp, two small accent lamps, and a glitter lamp to a single switch. Now all of that turns on with a single button by wireless remote. I don’t know about you, but I hate direct lighting. I’m a big lamp guy.

To facilitate all the storage we used to have in the former office, I removed a pair of sliding closet doors here and installed a second 90-inch shelf (which I have yet to paint as you can see). This approximates the storage space we had in the two small closets of the old room.

Here's my Griffey cabinet in context with the desk. You can also see the small school desk to the right of the cabinet that I now use as my stack table. See the longboxes in the cubby? They fit perfectly!

Pretty much out of wall space now.

For now the former card room is really just an eBay/garage sale staging area and furniture storage room, but it will only be that way for a few months. We have big plans on the horizon. <sigh> Big, little plans.

Adulthood lingers.

2000 Fleer Impact: Planet Bland

It seems that for a while there in the late 90’s through early aughts, all brands were trying to fill every niche of the market with something - anything - and no one did this more unapologetically than Fleer. These guys put out a brand for every price point, and this here is their low-end offering (you can tell, right?).

The base card design is very simple with a transparent, team-shaded border and some thin border lines. I nodded off twice while typing that description. Hey, why is the verb “describe” and the noun “description?” Why not “descripe?” Or possibly “describtion?”

Notable inserts from 2000 Impact include a set of team tattoos, an extremely limited checklist of batting glove relics, and an Autographics insert with a parallel. None of those include Griffeys, though. Moving on…

2000 Fleer Impact #100

The Kid is fully extended here, trying to give that ball as much height as possible and get it over the wall. I hope he didn’t pull something – not for this mediocre, blurbless card, at least.

2000 Fleer Impact Mighty Fine in '99 #33

Here’s another with Griffey in full extension. This insert card actually has some foil on it and a not-so-bad-I-guess polka dot background. A surprisingly attractive insert, but nothing to write home about.

2000 Fleer Impact Point of Impact #1

This die-cut beauty almost makes up for the blandness of the overall set. I like the addition of numbers in the backdrop to suggest a 1980's Ronald Reagan Star Wars Program-style satellite targeting system. The only drawback here is the bizarre geography of the planet below which, I hate to tell you, is not Earth.

I assumed at first (as most Americans probably would) that we were looking at the U.S, and the southern wedge shape was Texas, but the coloration is wrong, the Texas wedge is far too big (unless a Texan designed the card, of course), the land just ends south of what would be Texas so Mexico does not exist on this planet, and there appears to be another land mass jutting out just east of Galveston. Not to mention the total lack of Great Lakes or New England.

So, I thought that maybe the wedge shape could very well be India and we were actually looking at the bizarro side of the globe - the side that doesn't have cheeseburgers. But that can’t be right, either. Again, the color of the land is way off, India is way too big, and that land mass to the right of it shouldn’t exist.

It gets weirder when you look at the back of the card where it’s a mirror image of the front. This orientation makes a little more sense if we’re looking at the U.S. The coloration is mostly right and there’s a bluish watery area around where the Great Lakes would be. Of course there’s no Alaska, that mystery land mass is still there by Mexico, and the curvature of the western shore is all wrong.

We may never know what planet that is, but despite the similar die-cutting, I know what planet it's definitely not:

The cold, unforgiving hellscape that is Planet Metal

Since there are only three Griffeys here and they are all inexpensive, this is one of those rare sets for which I have every Griffey there is to get. I suppose it could be argued that I need the team tattoos for the Reds and Mariners, but they’re not really on my radar. Stick a fork in this one.

You would think the idea of a big-brand base set that resembles an oddball could be charming, but that’s not how this one played out. Fleer dropped the ball with a sub-par base set and extremely limited relic pulls. The inserts help (Fleer inserts tend to be pretty good), but most of what you got out of packs was just a bunch of bland base cards. They're not especially ugly, but they're also utterly forgettable. And I cannot deny that the lack of a Griffey hit is disappointing.

This one is kind of a lame duck as low-priced sets go and could have taken a lesson or two from Collector’s Choice: skip the relics and just make cool cards. It’s no wonder Fleer Impact was a one-and-done.