Junior Junkie's Generosity, Part VIII

Part I II III IV V VI VII


Today, it's still McGwire time.

1997 Donruss #270 Mark McGwire
1997 Donruss #413 Mark McGwire
1997 Upper Deck SPx #SPX38 Mark McGwire
1998 Upper Deck #150 Mark McGwire

I always finish off my posts with horizontal cards, like they're second-class or something. But I like them, there's usually just less of them. The only second-class thing about this SPx card is how difficult it is to square up with other cards to scan.

1997 Upper Deck Collector's Choice #57 Mark McGwire/Andres Galarraga
1997 Upper Deck Collector's Choice #190 Mark McGwire
1997 Upper Deck Collector's Choice #330 Mark McGwire (x2)
1997 Upper Deck Collector's Choice - Stick 'Ums #25 Mark McGwire
1997 Leaf #38 Mark McGwire
1997 Pinnacle #52 Mark McGwire
1997 Donruss Studio #8 Mark McGwire

There are 5 cards out of 1997 Collector's Choice, with 3 distinct ones from the base set. That's actually two copies of the same card in the upper right, but one has a slight dent in it that, I guess, changed the angle just enough that the scanner got a totally different color out of the shiny background. There's also studio, one of my favorite sets from when I really started collecting in earnest. One of these days I'll have to dig around and see if I have all of the 8x10s from that set. I believe I do.

1997 Upper Deck #297 Randy Velarde
1998 Upper Deck #9 Mark McGwire
1998 Upper Deck #205 Mark McGwire
1998 Pinnacle #63 Mark McGwire
1998 Topps Stars - Bronze #135 Mark McGwire #4269/9799
1998 Pinnacle Plus #196 Mark McGwire

After a McGwire cameo on Randy Velarde's card, we've made it to the Cardinal years. As you may or may not know off the top of your head like I do, McGwire was traded to the Cardinals at the trading deadline in 1997. He finished with a ridiculous-at-the-time 58 total HRs on the season, and broke the record with 70 in 1998.

Pull Tab Awareness Week

It's Pull Tab Awareness Week! That's when defgav at Baseball Card Breakdown bribes us with a contest to spread the word about a better way to send cards in toploaders. You can go read his post, or follow along as I package up a single card someone recently requested on Zistle.

First, I get the card, a penny sleeve, and a toploader. In this case we have a 1997 Studio #96 Joe Carter, and a very old toploader

The card goes in the sleeve. You know the drill. I can get away with 2 in a regular toploader, or 4-6 in a thick toploader, but any more than that and I start worrying about dinged corners.

I always put the card into the toploader upside down. That makes it so if the whole thing starts to slide apart, the card is still not exposed to any tape. I haven't seen anyone else do this, but I haven't found any reason this is a bad idea yet, so please let me know if you know of one.

Next, the classic pull tab, over the opening of the toploader. Again, the only part inside the toploader exposed to the adhesive is the bottom of the sleeve.

I don't like putting a toploader directly into an envelope, so I usually grab a sheet of 8.5x11 paper and fold it like so, into a little packet that keeps the toploader from ripping the envelope, and keeps the contents hidden a bit more.

The packet goes into the envelope, but you probably knew that. Now I just need a stamp, normally. But this one's going to Canada, so I'll be swinging by the post office to get the proper amount on it.

My Favorite Sets

Fuji asks another question, via The Daily Dimwit: What are your all-time favorite products to collect in each sport?

I only really collect baseball actively, but I've come into some cards from other sports along the way, and I figure, I have enough to pick a favorite of each. Here they are from least favorite to favorite sports.

Basketball

Since there's no team in St. Louis, my interest in the NBA peaked with Michael Jordan's success with the Bulls, and quickly dwindled as that dynasty ended. Even so, I have a few basketball cards, so let's see my favorite:

1990-91 NBA Hoops #308 Phil Jackson

I mostly love this one because it's such a cheesy shot. Phil looks like someone dared to call a foul on Michael! Thus, 1990-91 NBA Hoops wins this prize.

Football

I love watching football, but never got into the cards much. I'd say my favorite product would have to be the 1993 McDonald's GameDay set. Of course, the fact that a "pack" (really an uncut sheet) of cards yielded nothing but superstars probably made it seem pretty great. For some reason the cards weren't regulation-sized though. I remember collecting points on their products, which peeled off much like the monopoly game, but the pieces would be worth 6 (TD), 3 (FG), or 1 (PAT) points. I think it took 10 points for a sheet, and I must have managed to get 30. Usually when it came to McDonald's giveaways, I'd get some bonus pieces from my Grandpa when he'd come to our house to sneak in his unhealthy lunch on Saturdays when my Grandma wasn't aware. But, I digress. Also, I remember worrying they may not let me turn in 3 FGs and a PAT, because how could you have a PAT without a TD?

1993 McDonalds GameDay Sheet A

1993 McDonalds GameDay Sheet B

1993 McDonalds GameDay Sheet C

I actually went and borrowed a Junior Seau scan from CheckOutMyCards as I was drafting this post, but then found these in my basement. I forgot I had the complete set. I never cut the sheets because I had no idea what I would keep the cards in.

Hockey

Hockey is a new collection to me, but I've won several cool cards via SportsCardInfo's contests, and some others. I steal from Fuji on this one and choose a newer version, 2010-2011 Panini Zenith, because I won this nice 5x7:

Which, as you can see, I tore into. And I found this:

An autographed rookie of the #1 draft pick, no big deal or anything.

Baseball

This is the only one that really has a well-considered answer. The others were mostly "what's the neatest thing I've got in this sport?" I decided it needed to be a set that I bothered to complete, which led me to 1997 Studio.

I don't think I actually completed the base set, but I did get all 24 of the 8x10s. These make for a pretty cool binder to flip through, and these are the only cards I keep in a binder. I bought many packs of this product, as this was right around the heaviest of my card buying. The packs were awfully awkward since they had an 8x10 in each one. Eventually I purchased the remaining 8x10s at a Flea Market and 2 local card shops. I found 3 McGwires in my binder, so I really wonder if I lucked into my favorite player from the set, or bought multiples on purpose.

So there you have it, my favorite sets in the Big 4 sports. Also, if there were an "other" category, I'd say the TMNT cartoon cards, but I couldn't find mine anywhere to scan.