Monday, August 23, 2010

Wrapping Up My Cards From The National

It only took just over two weeks, but here are the rest of the cards that I purchased at the National.  This is a random group.



First up is a Robin Roberts signed Hall of Fame plaque card.  Robin is a former Oriole, and a HOFer, so that makes this double awesome to me.  He is wearing a Phillies hat on his plaque, so that makes it a little less cool, but it was still a great pickup. Unfortunately, Robin passed away earlier this year. The dealer hadn't yet bumped up the cost after his death, so I grabbed this for only $10.

I can't recall if I have ever mentioned that I collect signed HOF plaque cards.  But I do.  I certainly don't focus on it the way I do on Orioles autographs, but if I can find them for a decent price, I always like adding them to my collection.  There have been some amazing players in the history of baseball and I have no delusions about ever having a complete collection of these things, but I like to add one here and there as it might work out. 

I had to pick up this Showalter auto for only a buck.  Haha.  Even if it's smudged and he's wearing an eyesore of a uniform, it was still worth it.  I would've paid $2-3 for his autograph on a D'backs or Rangers card, but since he was just named the O's manager the week before the show, I was happy to add this to my collection.


Somehow, I was never able to get Juan's autograph while he was coaching/managing for the O's.  He was a tough autograph compared to most coaches I have seen.  I don't particularly collect managers' & coaches' autographs if they never played for the O's, but at under a dollar, it seemed right to add him to my collection.  And talk about a snappy looking card, I can barely describe the gloriousness of this bumblebee color scheme.



Completely moving away from the Orioles, I found this great Josh Johnson autograph for only a couple dollars.  This "Clear Path to Greatness Signatures" card is one of those cards that you can see through.  Clear Path/see through, get it? In retrospect, I should've taken a picture of this in my hand so you could tell that it was clear. 

Anyway, Josh is one of those players that I don't collect, but I have a fantasy baseball crush* on since he helped me bring home the title in my most competitive fantasy league last year.  This is a sticker autograph but the clear sticker/clear card combination makes it pretty hard to see. 
*If you don't play fantasy sports, I would describe a fantasy crush as a fixation on a certain player who has performed very well for you and/or helped you win a title.  You tend to try to keep these players or draft them again, even as the get older and less productive.  Don't let me down Josh.

5 comments:

Drew said...

Awesome stuff, great Josh Johnson auto, I bought that card for $5 once at a card show. He's a fantasy crush of mine too, have had him 2 years in a row and he doesn't let me down often.

Dodgerbobble said...

Nice pick-ups!

I love the Juan Samuel auto. Even though he didn't have any great years in LA, he was still one of my favorite players.

kasliwi said...

"I had to pick up this Showalter auto for only a buck"

Good one :)

Paul Hadsall said...

Nice autographs. I keep meaning to pick up a Josh Johnson card for my own collection, but I keep passing because I either don't like the card or I don't like the price.

Orioles Magic said...

Drew-Agreed, I hope he can keep it up too.

DB-Good to know, I don't remember him too well as a player, but remember him mostly as a Dodger.

Sliwi-Thanks!

Paul-I liked the card and the price of this JJ auto, but probably would've been reluctant to pull the trigger if they both weren't right.