Showoff: Day 7

NUMBER 4

Joe Mauer ‘02 Bowman Chrome RC AU

As of right now, this may or may not be the most valuable card in my collection. However, when this man makes it to the Hall, it may well end up being the most valuable card that I’ll ever own. The last ungraded version of this card went for just a little over $80 on the ‘bay. I purchased mine at just a little under $80. Beckett would have me believe that I got a steal with its high value currently set at $120.

So why, besides the fact that it’s JOE FRIGGIN’ MAUER’S AUTOGRAPHED ROOKIE CARD, is this card ranked so high? I’ll tell you right now, it’s not for its looks. The pubescent Mauer looking sternly into a cornfield with nothing but a big ol’ tree behind him is not the stuff of legends. The boring box-y, stripe-y blue border with some kind of Star Trek yellow font is pretty much the definition of the opposite of interesting. Okay, okay, so maybe it is because it’s JOE FRIGGIN’ MAUER’S AUTOGRAPHED ROOKIE CARD.

Most of you player collectors out there would agree with me that the absolute holy grail of a player collection would typically be that player’s RC AU–so long as it’s their TRUE rookie card, anyway. For instance, Francisco Liriano’s true rookie card is also from the ‘02 Bowman set, but Topps released a RC AU for him in the ‘06 Topps Chrome set. It even has the "Rookie Card" logo on it. Even though Topps would tell you that his ‘06 card was his RC, his ‘02 beat it out by four years. But Mauer put his little blue sharpie directly on that card (and NOT on a sticker, thank you), and as fate would have it, he turned out to be already one of the greatest catchers this game may ever see.

Even if I weren’t a fan of the Twins, I would still recognize the value in this card, and would still consider it one of the centerpieces of my current collection.

Look What I Just Bought!

I’m Officially a Home Owner!
(…as opposed to a Ho Moaner)

Alright, I’m going a bit off topic today, but I feel it’s warranted because… WE JUST BOUGHT OUR FIRST HOUSE! Yep, and she’s a dandy. It even has pink shutters!

I kid you not.

We got a helluva deal on it, too. It’s about 1800sqft, 2 bedrooms up, 1 bedroom/office down, formal dining room, living room and kitchen (of course), 1 full bath up, 1 full bath down (except the plumbing doesn’t work in that one), family room down (which will eventually be converted into a Media/Theater room), a pimpin’ 70s wet bar complete with mirrored wall and a gas line… for something… indoor grilling perhaps (which will be converted into a mini-library/reading nook), and an ENORMOUS 2-car garage. It has some good bones to it, but it needs some good ol’ TLC to bring it up to our standards. It’s not exactly a money pit, mind you, but it’s also not exactly turnkey.

And what, pray tell, did we pay for it? Under $100K, that’s what. And, check this out. Our APR? Locked at 5.35%. IT’S RIDICULOUS.

I cannot WAIT to completely remodel the downstairs bedroom/office. It’s going to be my baseball card sanctuary. Yeah, it will also be the family computer room and office, but I’m planning on getting some customized shelving and displays in there so I can finally show off (to myself) some of my best cards and memorabilia. I feel so bad owning the stuff and having it all tucked away into a tote in a closet. Seriously. If my Puckett RC isn’t out on a shelf collecting dust, what good is it doing?

Droppin’ Deuces

I Just Dropped a Deuce
(and I almost crapped my pants)

Thanks to Charlie of Hawk to the Hall, I just completed my second blog-to-blog trade. And, holy crap (pun definitely intended), what a trade! This is by far one of my favorite trades to date.

Charlie, being the big Andre "The Hawk" Dawson and Billy Williams fan, asked if I would design and assemble custom cards of each. In return, he sent over this bad boy…

WOW
That’s a word that doesn’t do this trade any justice, nor does it adequately describe the joy that I, a big Twins fan, have in not only having this card, but in acquiring it through a trade! As some of you may already know, the cards that I’m most after are current roster Minnesota Twins certified autographed rookie cards and Joe Mauer 2007 SP Authentic By The Letter Signature cards. Charlie happened to have a combination of the two and was generous enough to offer it up for trade for two freshly-designed, hot off the printer custom made GameDay Graphers. WAY generous. Seriously, I feel like the trade was definitely in my favor.

Oh, but that’s not all!
Did I mention yet how generous Charlie is? Yeah? Well, double that. No, triple it. Quadruple it! Hell, sextuple it!! That guy is a giving machine. He packed the trade with a bonus card, too!

It’s an ‘08 UD Goudy Morneau SP parallel numbered 24/34! I don’t have ANY of these cards yet, so it is great to finally get a start on this set. You, sir, are the man. Charlie also left a note claiming that this is "easily the coolest trade I have ever made." My sentiments exactly! Two custom cards for a Gomez RC BTL? That’s freaking amazing, sir. Please stop by Charlie’s blog, and by all means, set up a trade with this guy. I promise, you won’t be sorry!

Showoff: Day 6

NUMBER 5

Joe Mauer ‘07 UD SP Authentic By The Letter Signatures "U" 25/25

You’ll notice that the middle of the lineup here is very Mauer-centric. Well, why not? He’s a hell of a player, and he’s the hometown hero.

Number five on my list is the first (and so far only) Mauer BTL that I own. I always knew that these cards were manufactured and were not game used or game worn or any other superfluous term card companies like to bandy about in order to boost sales, but I was still in awe. For one, that’s a giant swatch–manufactured or not. Secondly, it has Joe Mauer’s signature on it. Also, Mauer’s ‘07 BTLs were redemption exchanged only and not found in packs, boxes, or cases. That, to me, adds up to a pretty special card. The only thing that would make it more special is if that letter patch were from an actual jersey that Joe actually wore. Guess I’ll have to look to Topps Sterling for that sort of coolness.

That’s not to say that this card isn’t its own type of cool. The moment I got this card in-hand, I knew that it had to become my mission to complete this set. This set is set A. The letters in this set spell out M-A-U-E-R. Set B spells out M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A. I’m not terribly concerned with spelling the name of the state for which he plays. I’d rather see his signature on the letters that make up the name found on the back of his jersey. Perhaps if the back of his shirt said "MINNESOTA" I might consider going after that set.

I paid just a little bit over "book value" for it, which I normally wouldn’t do. Cards like this, however, sometimes warrant that type of spending. As you can see, I don’t like to spend that kind of money on single cards that often. Though I am on a mission to complete his name, I am still stuck on one letter. I’m not sure I would ever pay more than book value on any of the other cards, though. I suppose it would all depend on such factors as my mood, my wallet, and if that poor old "U" starts to tell me that it’s lonely. I did see on eBay once that someone was auctioning off the entire set for $300. That’s $50 more than book. Obviously, I passed. I guess I would rather try to trade for the rest of the letters. Or, ya know, receive them as gifts. *wink wink, nudge nudge*

What do you think of the By The Letter sets? Do you collect them? Do you feel they’re an affordable and suitable substitute for actual game used letter patches?

Showoff: Day 5

NUMBER 6

Joe Mauer ‘07 UD Artifacts Jersey 194/199

You might think I’m crazy for ranking this higher than the Morneau bat and the Puckett quad jersey. Normally I would agree with you. Trust me, normally this card wouldn’t even be sniffing my top ten. Thankfully, it’s also far away from sniffing my bottom ten. No one should be sniffing my bottom ten. Especially Joe Mauer.

So, why on EARTH did I decide to rank this card in the middle of the pile? Is it the design? Uh, no. Is it the shiny, silvery foil stamped numbers? You’re getting warmer. Is it the tiny helping of fabric worn by one of my favorite Twins of all time? You’re starting to boil! Is it the front-and-center placement of Upper Deck’s logo? Whoa, now you’re getting colder. In fact, the real answer does have a little bit to do with the type of card it is and who is featured on it. Give up yet?

This particular card is the very first (and so far only) Twins "hit" that I have ever pulled. With as cool as it is to own all of these other cards that you’ll see above and below this card within the ranks of this top ten, none of them will hold the same quality as this plain looking card with a small swatch of "game used" Joe Mauer jersey. It’s too easy to just go to a card shop, card show, or eBay for that matter, and scoop up whatever card you like. Actually pulling a hit featuring one of your favorite all-time players from your favorite team, especially pulling that first hit, is a feeling that cannot be duplicated.

It was pulled from a box of Artifacts that I bought in mid-summer of ‘07. It was that time of my collecting return that my eyes were still glazed over at the prospect of pulling and owning anything with any amount of jersey in it. That sort of a pull is just too common nowadays, and thus nowhere near as cool. It was also at that point in my collecting return that I only opened one pack out of that hobby box per week. I no longer have that type of patience or willpower. Or naivety. Back then, I thought that each pack would bring something special and would be worth the wait. This is just plain stupid thinking. Especially in that particular product. Now that I’m a bit more seasoned, I just go right for the jugular and get it over with.

If you have an experience similar to this, I’d like to hear about it. Please share!

P.S.
I never noticed how ugly the Upper Deck logo was until they updated it in 2008.