2009 Topps Gold

Much has been written about the improved photography that Topps has shown with this year’s base Series 1 and 2 offerings.  It seems as though the graphic designers realized that they could crop photos to focus on the players, rather than on the outfield grass.  I’m in favour of this policy change, it makes base Topps a pretty interesting pack to bust.

Hamilton’s base card in this set is no exception.  Its an awesome fielding shot.  It focuses completely on the player in question, and it is a bit of a non-traditional pose for the card as well.  This is the gold parallel /2009, I picked it up out of a seller’s eBay store when I was purchasing a small stack of other Hamiltons.

Question about 2009 Topps Target Retros

Are the Target Retro variations substantially more difficult to track down than the Wal-Mart black versions?  Or were these blasters  just not broken as heavily because they hit the shelves later?  I’ve been having a hard time tracking down all three Target variations that Hamilton had in Series 1, but had relatively little trouble finding the Wal-Mart blacks.

Is this just a perception thing for me, or are any other player / team collectors having a tough time with the Target variations?

2000 SP Top Prospects Chirography

For some reason, I have always been intrigued by the term ‘Chirography’ as it relates to Upper Deck’s  line of products.  I’ve never owned a Chirography autograph until this card, but they have always been beautifully designed and place almost all of the emphasis on the signature.  2000 SP Top Prospects  Baseball was no exception.  A jarringly small photograph of the featured player, contrasted with a huge area for the player to sign over a ghosted team logo.  The team logo is in black and white, so the only colour on the front of the card is the player’s photo and the blue ink used for the autograph.

This single has been on my wantlist for a while.  I thought I had a deal worked out for one early last season, but a week or so after I sent payment, my money was refunded without comment from the seller.  You win some, and you lose some.  I’m glad I have it now.

Co-Signers Autograph: Hamilton / Garbe

At one point, these 2000 Topps Stadium Club Co Signers cards must have seemed like harbingers of doom for the prospects that appeared on them.  Josh Hamilton had two cards in this set, one pairing him with Corey Myers, and one with BJ Garbe.  If only I had thought to be picking these cards up when they were probably clogging up everyone’s dollar boxes.  Of the three, Hamilton is the only one to make an impact in the majors, and everyone knows that wasn’t an easy path by any means.  There is also a dual autograph of Myers and Garbe, which was probably a hot card at the time, but would certainly be a depressing pull these days.

This finishes off the mini set of 2000 Stadium Club Co Signers cards for me.  I received the Hamilton / Myers dual autograph as a Christmas present from a friend last year, and have had my eye out for the Garbe since then.  I finally tracked one down while I had the Paypal to pay for it, and pulled the trigger.  With all of the cards Hamilton has available, I find the need to set mini goals for myself, and find it very satisfying to complete them.  It doesn’t hurt that dual, hard signed autographs are increasingly hard to come by these days.

Skectch Card Gallery featuring Josh Hamilton

Josh Hamilton

Originally uploaded by jpangan3

You can find baseball cards in the strangest places. While searching Flickr, I found this Josh Hamilton sketch card. I think this is posted by the artist, but I am not sure. Possibly, this is a 2009 Topps Series 2 sketch card, or maybe it is one of the ones that the artist kept for himself.

Regardless – it is a beautiful sketch. Probably my favourite Hamilton sketch card (and there have been a lot). The Home Run Derby is obviously one of the most memorable events in Hamilton’s career, and this drawing of him watching one of his many, many blasts that night is an amazing rendition.

Check out the guy’s photostream, as he has a bunch of other sketch cards, some of which will probably catch the eye of some bloggers out there:  I saw a Kevin Kouzmanoff, some Jeters, some Lincecums, among many others

A trip to Holland

Well, not really.  What we really have in this post is another addition to the Goose Joak set.  Today’s card is Texas Rangers rookie pitcher Derek Holland, taking part in one of my favourite traditions in baseball – making the rookie pitcher wear a silly backpack out to the bullpen with all the necessities in it.  Derek Holland is wearing Disney Princesses in this photo.

2009 Upper Deck First Edition

Josh Hamilton is back in the lineup for the Rangers tonight, after a few days off to rest a sore groin he suffered while running into the wall in the process of making a highlight reel catch.  He’s had a bit of a battle with the injury bug so far this season, but hopefully he can shake it off.

Celebrating his return to the lineup, is this 2009 Upper Deck First Edition card.  Nice and simple.  A great picture, and a simple design.  Its just a baseball card.  Its good to be reminded of that every so often.

He plays defense too….

Josh Hamilton gained most of his notoriety last season with his bat.  Since his return from the disabled list, he has shown some of that prowess again, but he is also helping out with some excellent defense.  Much to his wife’s chagrin.  She has asked him to be careful and stop running into walls.  His response?  “Honey…I want to win.”  And the Rangers are winning. The only picture I could find was a screen grab from an online video.  If anyone has a better one, shoot me a link.

MLB.com has a story (and there is video of his catch to go with it!) with some more responses from other interested parties:

• “..one of the most unbelievable catches I’ve ever seen.”  Rangers outfielder David Murphy.
• “When I hit it, I didn’t think he had a chance.”  Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick.
• That saved the game.”  Rangers manager Ron Washington.

Unfortunately, Hamilton left the game with a tweaked groin shortly after the catch, but he is said to be ‘day to day.’  Hopefully he can avoid another trip to the disabled list.

Sunday Ramblings

Just a few quick thoughts for a Sunday.  I am writing a paper for work, so my thoughts are being otherwise occupied a lot of the time.

• Adam Lind is on fire.  The Toronto Blue Jays as a whole are on fire.  Good defense, good pitching, and good hitting.  Its cool to turn on a Jays game, and see a big crowd in the house.
• It was Josh Hamilton bobblehead day yesterday, and there are already a number of them on eBay.  I haven’t picked one up yet, as I am not too sure how well it will survive the trip to Canada, and a lot of the sellers aren’t shipping to Canada.
• I bit the bullet and picked up two slots for the baseball segment of I Am Joe Collector’s Sweet Spot break.  I am hoping to end up with the Reds, either in the draw, or via trade.   Ultimately, though – I just hope to get some cool cards out of the break.
• Word Press has been acting really flaky for me lately.  I am not sure if the problem is on my end or their end.  Any delays or comments you might have been anticipating for me could possibly be chalked up to that.

Josh Hamilton News & Notes

A few quick hits on a Saturday.  Today is Josh Hamilton Bobblehead day, if you happen to be attending the Rangers game in Arlington today.  If anyone snags one, feel free to post about it in the comments, or shoot me a link to where you posted it yourself.  I’d love to see a good picture of one.

The bobbleheads are probably going to be a little bit more popular since Josh has returned from the disabled list swinging.  Three home runs and a triple will do that.  According to Yahoo, his 460 foot blast last night is the third longest in the history of the Ballpark.  He is trailing Jose Canseco’s 480 foot blast and Paul Sorrento’s 491 foot shot.

Speaking of the triple – TSN was showing highlights of the Rangers game last night, and it appeared that Hamilton almost picked off a bird with his triple down the right field line.  The little guy was sitting in foul territory and flew away just before the ball got there.

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