Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Prime 9: (Not So) Red Hot Replacement

Topps...is this your idea of giving collectors what they want? Granted, you've never had a good track record with that...regardless, you attempt to replace a popular redmption series in Red Hot Rookies with Prime 9. Why, Topps, why?!?!? Are you cheaping out to make an extra buck by making cards labled with your MLB Network Partnership? Money at the expense of a collectors happiness? They're refractors, not numbered, that include great players, but clearly aren't as good as RHR...

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Huge New Pickups



This is the 2011 Allen and Ginter N43 relic of Kevin Youkilis 24/25. It is really nice and is my first hand numbered Youk, and my second hand numbered in my entire collection with the other being my James Naismith auto. My only concern is how the card is going to be shipped to me because I am not sure they make toploaders this size. I can't wait to get this one in the mail.



This beauty is the Black Diamond Die Cut of Kevin Youkilis. These cards are only avalible through the Diamond Giveaway website, however this is a live copy. It is 56/60, and it looks pretty sweet. This is the second one I have seen on ebay, but the first one sold for $99.99, so it was out of my price range. I snagged this one for $24.99 plus shipping. It will look great next to my regular Die Cut of Youk.

I also visited Alex MVP's while I was in New York, so when I get my scanner running, I will post the results. Nothing too exciting, but it was a fun side trip.
-20youksox

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Funny Custom Card (not made by me)!


I found this card and thought I would share it with you guys. I did not make this myself, but I found it on one of the forums that I trade on.
-20youksox

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Couple New Pickups



I just bought these off Ebay the other day. The Youk relic is sweet, especially because I have been wanting a framed Youk relic since I started collecting him, and this is the first one. I also needed the Ortiz for my team set, which is coming along nicely. The weekend, I will be headed to NYC (Yes, I will be wearing Red Sox gear), where I hope to hit up a hobby shop (Alex MVP Sports Cards- reffered to by Beckett member). I really hope it isn't like my past experiences with looking for card stores on vacation, because almost every other time, I drive to the location of the store, and it is out of bussiness. There really aren't manny near me, so this is exciting for me. Hopefully they will have some nice Red Sox stuff, and I might even pick up a box of the new Allen and Ginter. Wish me luck!
-20youksox

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Ellsbury Custom


In honor of Jacoby Ellsbury being selected to his first career All-Star game, I made a Custom TPP 2011 "On Fire!" Insert.

On a side note, take a serious look at the career of Jacoby Ellsbury. This is currently his fifth year in the major leagues, all of which have been played with Boston, and he had put up remarkable numbers through the first three seasons of his career. However, last year he had a collision with Adrian Beltre in foul territory while chasing after a fly ball, and he missed nearly every game of the season with several fractured ribs. He had two attempted comebacks during the year, yet always ended up back on the DL by somehow reaggrivating it. The way he plays is an all-out style of baseball. You see Jacoby diving all over the field to snag balls that would be out of reach for virtually any outfielder in baseball, except for players such as Carl Crawford. His body takes such a beating with his style of playing that its no wonder he could never successfuly stage a comeback last year. The fans in Boston began to question his toughness and will after he sat out many roadtrips and supposedly didn't want to play hurt. His own teammates even made comments questioning his fortitude. But before he left for the offseason, he made a promise to the fans in Boston; he promised he would be back and better than ever the following year. Whether he did this for himself as a pride thing or to show the media and fans that he could still play to his full potential, we will never know. Regardless, he has came through on his promise. This year, he is batting .309 with 11 HR's and 48 RBI's and has stolen28 bases. The standard sports cliche is that you let your playing do the talking to shut other people up, and that's a cliche Jacoby clearly acts upon.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Laser Show Custom



Dustin Pedroia is officially tearing it up right now. He hit another home run yesterday, the third game in a row in which he has done so. In honor of the "Laser Show" he is putting on, I made a custom.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Collecting Something New!


I am going to start to put together a Red Sox team set of Diamond Die Cut cards. There are 7 total, and so far I have 3. The 3 I have are Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, and Kevin Youkilis. The ones I need are David Ortiz, Yaz, Wade Boggs, and Clay Buchholz. These cards should be really cool, but I don't phisically have any of them.
-20youksox

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Book Excerpt (c) TPP Productions

A1exander Cartwright in 1846...or Abner Doubleday in 1839? These two names have become a staple of baseball lore for what they did do (or simply didn’t do) to bring the largely popular English sport called “Rounders” to America where it would quickly come to be known as
“Baseball”. Although we now know that Doubleday in fact did not invent baseball, the concept of him doing so became a myth that many sources mistakenly viewed as a “set-in-stone” fact.
Legend has it that in 1839 in Cooperstown, New York, baseball came from the mind of a decorated West Point cadet and Union General in the Civil War by the name of Abner Doubleday. The myth states that he set rules for a variant of “Rounders” called “town ball” where the children of Cooperstown would square off against those of surrounding towns.
This myth was further supported by a 1907 study from the Mills Commission, who looked into the testimony of a somewhat senile man named Abner Graves. He stated that he witnessed this happening with “his own two eyes”. Besides the fact that Graves only had one functioning eye (one was glass replacing a severely damaged eye from a mining accident), later studies showed he likely was in search of what one would call “secondhand fame”, mooching off of the Doubleday “success”. What was supposed to be a sophisticated, painstaking study by the Mills Commission turned out to be a bogus attempt to ride on the back of the Doubleday story.
Truth is, Doubleday was not the inventor of baseball in America; Alexander Cartwright was. The Hall-of-Fame seconds that idea, even going as far as to place the credit upon the plaque of Cartwright in “The Hall”. Irony at its best, considering Cooperstown was supposed to be significant because of the Doubleday story. The New York Knickerbockers were the first team to play an organized league of baseball with 90-feet base paths on a diamond-shaped infield with nine players on each side who played with a 3-strike out policy, organized by none other than Cartwright.
~

The Cartwright Rules

1ST. Members must strictly observe the time agreed upon for exercise, and be punctual in their attendance.
2ND. When assembled for exercise, the President, of in his absence, the Vice-President, shall appoint an Umpire, who shall keep the game in a book provided for that purpose, and note all violations of the By-Laws and Rules during the time of exercise.
3RD. The presiding officer shall designate two members as Captains, who shall retire and make the match to be played, observing at the same time that the player's opposite to each other should be as nearly equal as possible, the choice of sides to be then tossed for, and the first in hand to be decided in like manner.
4TH. The bases shall be from "home" to second base, forty-two paces; from first to third base, forty-two paces, equidistant.
5TH. No stump match shall be played on a regular day of exercise.
6TH. If there should not be a sufficient number of members of the Club present at the time agreed upon to commence exercise, gentlemen not members may be chosen in to make up the match, which shall not be broken up to take in members that may afterwards appear; but in all cases, members shall have the preference, when present, at the making of the match.
7TH. If members appear after the game is commenced, they may be chosen in if mutually agreed upon.
8TH. The game to consist of twenty-one counts, or aces; but at the conclusion an equal number of hands must be played.
9TH. The ball must be pitched, not thrown, for the bat.
10TH. A ball knocked out of the field, or outside the range of the first and third base, is foul.
11TH. Three balls being struck at and missed and the last one caught, is a hand-out; if not caught is considered fair, and the striker bound to run.
12TH. If a ball be struck, or tipped, and caught, either flying or on the first bound, it is a hand out.
13TH. A player running the bases shall be out, if the ball is in the hands of an adversary on the

Monday, July 4, 2011

Segment Postponed

My short series of articles is turning into a full-blown book. Expect book excerpts shortly.
In somewhat related news, happy 4th of july! 20youksox is currently at a red sox game, as well.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

1 Rack Pack 2011 Topps Series 2!


Today, I stopped by Olympia Sports to pick up a stars and stripes hat because I am going to the game on Monday. I noticed that they had some series 2 rack packs, so I decided to pick one up. This was clearly a Red Sox pack, so I was very happy with it. Highlights include base cards of Bard, Cameron, and Saltalamacchia. I pulled a diamond stars of Carl Crawford, and a gold /2011 of Jacoby Ellsbury. I also got a diamond giveaway code which landed me my first diamond die cut, Justin Verlander!
-20youksox

Youkilis Mini Leather


I finally picked one up after waiting almost 3 months. I let the first one slip past me to pick up a mini plate. The second one, was a BIN for $40, but that was too high. I checked this morning and the price had dropped, so I pulled the trigger. It is 3/10, and the front of the card has a leather texture. I really love Gypsy Queen, even though I have only opened two packs, which resulted in some nice mojo.
-20youksox