2009 Topps Series 1: Hamilton Preview

Apparently 2009 products will soon be upon us, so I have begun the process of organizing exactly what I will need to be chasing, and what I will only see on eBay.  I am not a huge fan of the checklists on Topps’s website, so I either wait until Beckett posts them and I can search or I head over to Magazine Exchange.

When I checked out 2009 Topps Series 1, it wasn’t that bad from a card point of view.  He has a base card (plus all the inevitable parallels), a Career Achievements autograph, and an All-Star “In the Name” letters card.   So, I should have no trouble tracking down a base card for myself.  Topps also very nicely pictured the Hamilton “In The Name” card.  Looks like these will all be 1/1s.  I love the idea, and I would love the card if I happened to stumble upon it – but that tiny little picture in the corner just kills it for me.  I’d really like to see the letters cut close, and then superimposed over a large picture of the player.  I’ll try to mock something up, but my Photoshopping isn’t going really well right now.

#196: 2007 Upper Deck Ticket to Stardom

This is card #196 for the Josh Hamilton collection.  I suppose the countdown is on now.  Four more.  I’d like to think that I will come up with something awesome for #200, but I’m thinking it is just as likely that it will be a base card or something.  Drop me a note if you have a Hamilton to trade – you might be #200!  I did a quick evaluation of my trades / pending stuff, and I have two more Hamiltons to show off (#197 & 198).  So, two more slots, with very a slim possibility that I will be doing some eBaying soon.  I don’t have a ton of free time to browse lately.  Check my lists, and let me know what you are looking for.

This card has been on my wantlist for quite a while, but I actually had no idea what it looked like.  After opening up the envelope, I was impressed.  Its an insert from 2007 Upper Deck Series 2 Baseball, but I am not sure of the specifics.  If anyone knows whether these are hobby inserts or retail exclusives of some type, drop me a note to let me know.  I picked this up in a trade via Beckett.

Seein’ Double Stadium Club Style

A couple blog world trades found their way to my mailbox this past week.  I managed to pick up two copies of Josh’s Stadium Club base card, which had been avoiding me to date.  This is a great looking base card – for all the flaws with Stadium Club, and the weird way they remade the product – Topps did manage to recapture the great photography!  Kudos to them for using a non-traditional pose.  Its nice to see something other than a batting shot, or the posed shots that permeated 2007 issues.

These cards came courtesy of Kris over at the Aardvark Trading Post and Marie at A Cardboard Problem.  I was working on the trade simultaneously.  What I really need now is to pick up another 1, 4 or 7 copies – because there is nothing more satisfying then filling up a complete row in a binder.

2008 Topps Stadium Club is my 195th different Josh Hamilton card.  I’ll try to do something cool for #200, which might be on its way, or might not be purchased / traded for yet.  I am a bit hazy on what I have incoming at the moment – it makes opening the mail really interesting.

More Hamilton Fantasy Talk

Baseball fantasy talk, of course!  A quick article on The Sports Network about Hamilton having added value in fantasy drafts based on his home ballpark.  Turns out the Ballpark at Arlington is the highest scoring ballpark in Major League Baseball.  Just something to think about when you are mulling over where to draft Hamilton or any of his Rangers buddies on draft day.

Short note:  updates have been a bit sparse on this end.  I started a new job, and they don’t have my computer account set up yet.  I don’t have as much free time to get stuff scanned and everything as well.  I have a bunch of stuff for the end of the week and into the weekend to post as a few blog trades rolled in this week.

Rangers Winter Caravan (Hamilton Signing) Report

The Fort Worth Star Telegram posted a report about the Josh Hamilton signing that took place last night.  Apparently….it was a little nuts.  People started lining up at 6 AM for one of the signing slots.  Check out the story from the link, its got some interviews with people who got in line that early, along with how and why they did it.

There’s also a picture on the sidebar.  It must be Hamilton, because of the tattoos you can see when his dress shirt pulled up at the sleeves, but I am at a loss to explain exactly what he is doing there.  It looks like he has a mic in one hand and a pair of sunglasses in the other, but that is as far as I can get for an explanation.

The signing was limited to 200 people, and that many were in line by 2 PM for a signing that started at 6:30 PM.  Those who arrived too late to be one of the lucky 200 weren’t completely shut out though.  They could still watch the event, and Hamilton signed 30 baseballs for organizers to raffle off amongst those who didn’t get to meet him.

Sounds like it was a wild event.  If anyone attended please feel free to comment and let us know how it was for you.  And if you can shed some light on what Josh is doing in that picture, I’d appreciate it.

Josh Hamilton Bobblehead – May 16/09

I’m on a roll finding other blogs that are announcing Josh Hamilton type things.  It would be nice if I could find them myself, but there are lots of people out there who do a lot of the leg work and keep things up to date for a wide variety of topics – and that makes it possible for me to cull the Hamilton specific items and post them here.

The most recent event – Waiver Sharks has gotten ahold of the Rangers 2009 Stadium Giveaway schedule, and found a Josh Hamilton bobblehead day on.  As you may have guessed from the title – its May 16, 2009 when the Rangers take on the Angels.  The first 20 000 fans get a Hamilton bobblehead.

Hamilton has a minor league bobblehead – it was issued when he played in Durham, and I run across it quite frequently in my eBay searches.  There are white and grey variations of that one.  No word on any variations with the Rangers version yet.  Waiver Sharks speculates on the possibility of a tattooed and un-tattooed version.  I’d hope they don’t go that far with it.  Hamilton may hate his tattoos, but they are a part of who he is.  Plus, most bobbleheads all look the same – at least the tattoos would make his stand out a bit.  My suggestion for a variation – the more common version should be a Rangers uni, and then the limited (say 10% of the run) version should be him in his Home Run Derby jersey.

In the middle of May, I will likely be scoping this out on eBay to add to my collection, depending on how it looks.  An untattooed version would lose major points with me.

2008 SP Authentic

Just a quick post today.  Partly because LOST starts in an hour, and partly because I am insanely busy because I started a new job this week.  I think everything has been ironed out, but every few hours it seems my supervisor shows up with another “Well…..”  I’ve been reclassified a couple times, but I think I am good to go now.  Maybe.  Nothing changed except my title, but its been kind of weird.

Today’s mail was from a quick trade I did on Beckett.  I don’t remember what I gave up, but I know it wasn’t anything I like better than the card I have now.  SP Authentic always has a really nice, clean base card design.  So, here’s another addition to my collection.

Josh Hamilton Autograph Signing: January 22, Arlington TX

While perusing the weekly list of free autograph signings posted over at Bad Wax, one name popped out at me.

• Josh Hamilton – baseball – 6:30pm – 8pm – Academy Sporting Goods, 1100 W Arbrook Blvd, Arlington, Texas

Just a heads up for any Hamilton fans or collectors in the Arlington area.  I have no idea how big this might be, but it looks like there are several Rangers and Astros signing there at the same time.  Check Bad Wax’s list under the January 22 heading to get the complete list.  Good luck to anyone who goes!

Dinged Corners Sketch Card

A few days ago I showed off the first part of a package I received from Dinged Corners which finished off my A&G set.  I also alluded to a second part of the package which deserved its own post.  Since you all have been waiting with bated breath, here is that post.

Besides the A&G base cards, there was a Gretzky from 99/00 UD Gold Reserve Hockey, which I didn’t scan because my scanner hates the Gold Reserve sets.  I on the other hand, love them.  And Gretzky is always awesome.  I like to remember Gretzky’s 2002 Olympic team, and not the crappy team he put together in 2006 (I hate Todd Bertuzzi).

I also got a nice letter from Lucy and Patricia (I love getting letters, but it is always weird to see someone signing my name at the bottom of one).  And I got my first Josh Hamilton sketch card.

I was going to post a sketch card I drew for comparison, but the people from the internet called and specifically requested that I not share my artwork with the world.  Suffice to say, I struggle to draw a straight line.  I’m not sure which member of the Dinged Corners family drew this card, but they did a fantastic job.  It looks like it is modeled off his 2008 Topps A&G card.  Thanks very much to Dinged Corners for this card (and the others).  Its an amazingly unique and awesome card to have.   I think its great to have bloggers out there who are willing to share their talent and time to add to other’s collections.

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2007 Topps Chrome Refractor

I made a small trade with Sooz from A Cardboard Problem a few days ago.  A minor trade, but one that helped out both sides.  I sent a Halladay / Jeter Marquee Matchup insert from SP Authentic, and as you might have guessed from the title, I received a 2007 Topps Chrome Refractor.  It was just one of those cards that I hadn’t gotten around to picking up yet.  I can’t say that 2007 Topps is my favorite design, but Hamilton makes it look good.