RAK from the BCS

 

I can't think of anyone who runs an online trading card store who is as generous as Steven and Nancy at the baseballcardstore.ca

I've taken advantage of their cheap prices on cards, especially during the pandemic. Most of the inventory won't bowl anyone over -- these are cards for the set or team collector, mostly. But I've always found stuff I like/want and you can't beat it when you add up what's in your cart and think, "is that all it costs?"

The baseballcardstore has adjusted its pricing format a couple of times, mostly due to rising shipping costs, I believe. But it remains a good deal, which I haven't taken advantage of in too long. That is about to change, though, because of what Steven just sent my way last weekend.

He's been storing up Dodgers for me again. And I just received 40 Dodgers cards, simply as a gift, a damn-good RAK. Out of those 40, all but two were needs and some of them were rather needy needs -- I mean like needs going back years and years.

I'll do a little top 10 countdown show of the cards in order of how much I welcomed them into my home.

10. Walker Buehler, 2021 Topps Archives Snapshots Tin Types

It's difficult enough to track down the Archives Snapshots team needs and now the set has what I think are inserts? Is this set even sold out in the wild in packs? Like much of what Topps does, it seems entirely unnecessary, but I like the look of the card so sucker me in!

9. Kirk Gibson, 2002 Upper Deck Piece of History, MVP Club insert

You know I stand no chance when it comes to inserts from 20, 25 years ago. There is so much to pay attention to. Most will pass under my radar with hardly a care but when the inserts are of players I grew up watching -- I will be heartbroken if I don't have them. This Gibson finally joins the Garvey from the set that I've owned since the blog's early days.

8. Cody Bellinger, 2021 Topps '52 Redux Chrome insert

Bellinger cards are still a little elusive and this particular card avoided me for too long. I am hoping that Bellinger doesn't go off against the Dodgers this weekend. Actually seeing him connect in Dodger Stadium after so many misses the last couple of years may break my brain.

7. Mike Piazza, 1996 Rembrandt

Steven found 3 of the 4 Piazza Rembrandts I still needed! All that's left now is card No. 2 and then I can assemble the Piazza Puzzle and debate whether I should tape all the cards together and frame them and gaze upon its beauty.

6. Raul Mondesi, 1995 Pacific Gold Crown Diecut insert

See what I said about the Gibson card above but multiply it. Every '90s collector loves these gold crown cards, which sometimes makes them pricey. I barely know they exist -- this is my first one from the '95 set and there are still two other Dodgers to get! Very much appreciated.

5. Russell Martin, 2007 Topps '06 Highlights autograph

Woof. Fancy. It's not my first Russell Martin autograph, I have a few (I should count up which players have the most and do another countdown show). But there's something about these Topps flagship autographs, I just like how the base set theme is continued with a twist. Back in the competition days, this is something that Topps always got and Upper Deck sometimes didn't.

4. Hideo Nomo, 2003 Bowman Heritage facsimile signature parallel

Very sharp card and the first Dodger I've gotten from this parallel set. It's weird that it's titled "facsimile signature" parallel when its main feature are the black borders -- but all the cards with the signatures do not have black borders because the sets from this time were damn weird.

3. 1989 O-Pee-Chee Dodgers

Awesome. That Orel Hershiser card at the top of the post, I thought I'd never get that thing. It's finally mine! And the O-Pee-Chee cards kept coming until the SET WAS COMPLETE! This is a super-key Dodgers set coming after the team's World Series victory (and OPC not being afraid to acknowledge it with cards).

2. Johnny Podres, 1956 Topps

There were a few cards in this RAK that I had already but collectors know that sometimes you need more than one. This is a major example as I've completed the '56 set (two years ago this month!) but I still need a separate team set for the Dodgers. This is insanity with the Dodgers checklist, but somehow I have 3 of the cards for the extra team set now and all of them are off-condition, which means NO PRESSURE and now I can't wait to see what the condition of the Robinson and Snider and Koufax will be. But I am not paying 100 bucks for a card torn in half.

 

1. Reggie Smith, 1978 Hostess

A '70s food issue beats a 1956 Topps card? Yes it does when it is the last Hostess card I needed to complete the Dodgers run. The Reggie is a short-print and it's languished on my want list for years. The person who cut this probably shouldn't have been allowed around scissors but it doesn't matter, and yes, I do need another one for the set quest.

 

Now, isn't that a great top 10?

 

But those aren't all of the cards. Here is a quick look at the others:

 

Both of these cards from last year's Panini Diamond Kings are short-prints. Good riddance and for shame, Panini, short-printing base cards.

 

 

 A shiny Select card from 2021 of the pitcher on the verge of his 200th career victory.

Still trying to finish off the master set of 1993 Ted Williams Co., and the Memories cards are the main sticking point. Crossed another off!

Assorted Panini shinies. I've seen the Panini Overdrive cards online and thought they were cool. They're less cool in hand but I'm glad I finally got to experience one.

Finally a selection of other random needs. All of them make me tingly.

It's an honor to receive these RAKs for writing a card blog after all these years (they don't come around as often as they once did).

But I can't let it go without ordering some cards from the baseballcardstore, which I'll be doing this weekend, probably. The cart is loaded up! Even found a couple of Dodgers that Steven didn't get to here.