TTM Returns and a MEGA TRADE

TTM Returns!

I knew I had a boat load of PWE's waiting for me at my return address. I also knew 90% of them were donation requests from the Tig's. I will post about that another time. Within these Tiger let downs were a few really great returns! Check it out:

Spencer Turnbull was the first Tiger player I ever pulled from a pack of draft pick cards. I have high hopes for him and hope to see him dominate next spring and make a run at a spot on the team.

The bow-tied bandit Ken Rosenthal hooked me up. There are a lot of TV personalities I change the channel on but Rosenthal knows his stuff and is a delight to watch. Have you ever seen MLB Whiparound?! Nick Swisher and Dontrelle Willis make me wanna throw my TV out the window. I don't have regular cable so this is the only sports show I can watch specific to baseball. Sometimes I'm watching it and it seems like an SNL skit its so bad.

BOOM! Lance Parrish threw some sharpie down on his '78 rookie card for me through the mail. I wish I could have gotten it in person but at least I am one more away from my '78 Rookie Project. With Trammell signing publicly and locally later this month I should be able to put this baby to bed. I can always pick up another Parrish RC and hold on to it for an in person signature and replace this one. I sent him some details about the display I was making. He probably could care less. So great of him to sign for me.

SUPER-ULTRA-MEGA TRADE!

I don't have a lot of high dollar cards and if I did I would probably keep them if they were PC or sell them safely on ebay to buy something I liked. I usually only trade low dollar and junk wax so that I don't get taken (which happens when I trade with non-bloggers). But, I had a Justin Verlander MLB authenticated sweet spot signed ball I bought back in 2007 for $40 at Comerica Park and a lot of guys on a local facebook group were looking for one. Apparently they are relatively rare. So I decided I have a JV ball I got signed at a game that means more to me than the one I bought so I would put it out there. I found a buyer quickly but he was unable to come up with the funds. I stuck with him as he was in the midst of buying a house and moving. I watched him try to sell many items on the facebook group to get the funds to buy my ball. Finally, he offered a trade for this Verlander book. I have a ton of signed baseballs. They all sit in a rubbermade tub stacked in their cubes because I have a toddler and a dog that would love to play with them and they take up way more room to display than cards. At one point I actually thought about quitting cards and only going after balls. But balls don't age well. The ball itself can get age marks or the signature can fade. There are too many variables. Anyway, I decided to trade the guy my ball for this book. I am still glad I did. This book is gorgeous and represents JV for me more than that ball did. It is probably the most valuable card I own now. I love it.

Accidental collection: Sweet Lou by the hundreds! & 1978 Tigers Rookie Project Update, Plus: My Hungry Mailbox

Sweet Lou

About 10 years ago I got addicted to Ebay...bad. I was away at college with financial aid refund checks burning holes in my pockets every semester. Back then my "financial advisor" at the school said, and I quote; "always take the most aid offered." Aid mind you for me was loans NOT aid in anyway since I am an average white male. So, every semester I pocketed a couple grand extra when I took out student loans. It royally effed me for life financially but at the time I built a nice little baseball card collection. One of the purchases I forgot I even made until recently was a lot of Lou Whitaker cards. By "lot" I mean both definitions; one large LOT of LOTS of them. I received literally hundreds of his cards. I now own over 100 different Lou Whitaker cards. Much like many of the Detroit faithful (those who aren't bandwagon fans cursing the current team because we remember when it really was bad) I love Sweet Lou. I remember being at my first Tiger game as a kid and hearing the crowd yell "Loooooouuuuuuu" when he came to bat and asking my dad why everyone was booing him. Anyway, if anybody has some Whitaker holes in their collection I have upwards of 50 doubles for some of his cards. He's not one of my PC guys but I always end up picking up more of his cards. I always think "well if you're going to have so many you may as well have all of them." There are a lot of players who's cards find me for some reason. For example; Kevin Youkilis. I once pulled two memorabilia cards of his from one pack. His cards just find me. Lou was a different start but seems to have become the new Youk for me.

'78 Detroit Tigers Rookie Project

That brings me to my 1978 Tiger Rookie Project. I am still in need of Tram and Parrish autos to complete the quad. I made a rustic looking wall piece to display the cards when I complete the project. I still need to reshape the plaque a little to look more like a bat, find decent card holders to attach, and put '78 Rookies in a cool retro script in white on it. Here is where I'm at on it:

My Mailbox is Hungry

It has been a few weeks since I have received anything good in the mail. I'm getting kind of depressed coming back from the mailbox with bills everyday. I have a lot of prospective trades in the works and am trying to build more. If anybody is bored and wants to swap some crap let me know! I have some goodies going out Friday and hopefully I can double this stack before then.

Sweet Lou!

I finally got one of my '78 Detroit Tiger rookie cards signed. Lou Whitaker was signing at a mall and my finacee was awesome enough to go while I was at work. Now I need to track down Morris, Parrish and Tram.