It's Okay To Be Messy

 

I sometimes wonder if I should hire Chip Gaines to come through my collection and sort it, remodel it, touch it up and show me a new direction with it.

I see so many other collections that are a lot more sorted than mine and look like Chip had put his touch on it with beautiful bookcases, brand new binders, and framed pieces on the wall. Their card room looks like it belongs in the Smithsonian.

Then there is mine that looks like a three-year-old created it, sorted it, stored it in re-used binders and old binder pages on cheap plastic Walmart shelving.

But, I have come to realize, that maybe it's okay to be messy. Messy just gives me an identity in the way I collect. Everyone has one and even though mine doesn't look like others, it's okay.

Who cares how I store my stuff or what it's stored in and on? Am I still having fun, heck yeah!

And speaking of fun, a recent mail day added to my messy fun.

 

This mail day came from Too Many Verlanders blog that contained a fun variety of stuff. Because of the way I post on here and the amount of goodness he sent, I can't always post it all, so here is a stack of Giants, Allen&Ginter non-sport base (always welcome them) and a few other cards. 

Then he continued to add to my mess with...

Authentic Game Floor piece of Allan Houuuuuuuuuuuuston!

I love creative relics like this, just wished UD didn't print on the swatches.

  

Kyle Lauletta auto and relic. I don't believe I have either of these. I do have a decent sized collection of his.

I definitely don't have this auto of Jernigan. I have plenty of other autos of his, but this one is definitely new.

Auto relic of rapper Kadarius Toney. So much talent wasted, maybe he will hit it off in his music career.

  

I claimed this relic in one of Dennis's trade bait posts. Yes, I know it's not Giants but I do appreciate a nice patch card.

Any comments about it not being a Giants card and a rival Redskin/Football Team/Commanders card and I will go old man Han Solo on you.

I wasn't collecting Knicks that heavily up until last year. Now I welcome all relics and autos from any players over the years!

This is a dual-purpose card, 90's PC and Giants PC.

I have the regular Shockey, but this is a black parallel.

Ike Hilliard Flair Showcase rookie. Once again, a dual threat for my 90's and Giants PC.

Along with individual cards, Dennis tossed in some packs knowing I love to rip and can't afford to.

Here were the key cards,

(Dennis will be getting this one back)

And a rookie I needed.

Fun rip overall. 

Thanks as always Dennis! I appreciate more cards added to the mess!

These cards will probably sit in a messy box for awhile until I can messy sort them out in messy card trays to put them away into permanent messy boxes and messy binders. Because it doesn't have to be perfect. It's the way I know it. It's okay to be messy.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Don't forget you can start to nominate cards for the 2025 Coffee Card Hall Of Fame!! Cards don't have to be autographs, patch cards, super star cards. It can be whatever you think is Hall Worthy! Find details and current nominations HERE.

All The Feels

*coffee is ready, I am ready for a new post*

Have you ever been blown away by someone else's collection?

Like really blown away.

I am.

I have been following @GriffeySuper and his Ken Griffey Jr collection for a few years now and he owns Griffey cards and memorabilia I can only dream about. Like the level of dreams I had about Amy Jo Johnson and Helen Hunt when I was a kid.

Yeah, those levels (and you can just use your imagination for that)

*tries to imagine that again for a second, refocuses on a sip then on cards*

His collection has an incredible 142,000+ Griffey cards. He owns some of the coolest and rarest Griffey collectibles out there including a Pepsi soda machine. Yes, you read that right. He also has been featured in ESPN and Sports Illustrated articles about his collection and I believe a sports card one as well.

But it wasn't just his collection that got me, I was also awestruck by his story. He went through a journey to be where he is today, you can read it HERE.

Let's see if it gives you all of the feels it gave me.

*takes a sip, re-reads the article again, feels hit by the feels again*

One day he posted a huge lot of Griffeys he had just acquired which included a card I have always wanted but couldn't ever afford, so I made a comment about the card.

After a short conversation about the card, he asked for my address. I was left flabbergasted.

Along with that card, he also sent another I have been wanting for a while now.

Which is this 1997 Topps Team Timber. I remember pulling a couple as a kid, but never Griffey. It was one I had been chasing and just never landed for my Griffey PC.

Then came the card that left me floored and the one I saw in his lot that caught my eye was....

 

1995 Zenith Z-Team. What a beautiful card. Never thought I would ever hold one, not to mention own it.

STUNNED!

I had all of the feels.

I am so glad to have found @GriffeySuper on Twitter/X. Super nice guy, super cool collection, super cool story and super generous. I love to follow him to see what he adds next.

Thanks again so much for these Griffeys!!

*takes a sip before finishing up today's post*

With the 1995 Zenith Z-Team knocked down, my biggest want is now the 1996 Zenith Z-Team which features my favorite Z-Team design. Hopefully can add one of those by years end!

I should make a post of my top 10 Griffey wants in a future post.

I hope today's post hit all the feels for you and hopefully you took a minute to read his story.

Thanks for reading.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Don't forget you can start to nominate cards for the 2025 Coffee Card Hall Of Fame!! Cards don't have to be autographs, patch cards, super star cards. It can be whatever you think is Hall Worthy! Find details and current nominations HERE.

Also, check out my Ken Griffey Jr wants HERE.

The Unicorn Of Bloggers

The Unicorn; Informal definition, "the term unicorn is used to describe someone or something that is very rare and almost impossible to find".

I consider myself that when it comes to being a sports card blogger.

About 99% of the blogosphere is built up of baseball card collectors, a sport I don't dabble much into anymore other than Ken Griffey Jr, 90's inserts and a couple of NY Yankees players. I guess that makes me the other 1%.

So, when it comes to exchanging cards with fellow bloggers in the mail, things can get a bit more complicated since I don't have "that baseball team" like the other bloggers.

Despite the challenge, my latest mail day from Night Owl Cards showed that these types of exchanges can still take place despite me being that unicorn.

Just check out what he sent,

I think I made a comment about this Mondesi in one of his posts. Great 90's insert back when creativity was top shelf. These were found 1:30-1:36 packs depending on hobby or retail.

This is a nice tribute to the 1998 insert, I will take it. Volpe has also shown some bright spots.

I have the Griffey, the Frank Thomas and now own the Piazza. Such a cool looking insert. I am thinking it's set chase time. These fell 1:12 packs in 1997 Fleer.

I got quite a few of these from my father and surprisingly did not have this Piazza version. Each player has nine cards in the set.

Own The Game is a tribute to a past Topps insert line, they look really nice in hand. Nicer than the pictures I posted or ones I have seen online. I also won't ever turn away Aaron Judge cards. Love his story and his game.

Mining For Gold fell 1:12 packs of 1996 Metal Universe. It's shiny, gold nugget goodness.

I like inserts outside the usual; this is one of them. Once again, inserts in the 90's will always rule over today's stuff. These fell 1:8 packs.

 

I have always been a big Fleer Metal fan, this 1:8 insert falls into my category of a keeper.

Thanks again for the mail day Greg!

I was really happy with everything you sent and sorry for my unicorness (if this is even a word) which made your search a little harder.

I have more many Dodgers to send your way soon, just for a heads up.

Don't forget you can start to nominate cards for the 2025 Coffee Card Hall Of Fame!! Cards don't have to be autographs, patch cards, super star cards. It can be whatever you think is Hall Worthy! Find details and current nominations HERE.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

BLOG CROSSOVER EVENT 2: First Pitch

If you don't read Sport Card Collectors, you will have missed what today's post is all about. To recap quickly, I am doing a three-blog crossover event similar to how TV shows do theirs. 

Today's post is Part Two of a mail day from blog reader/friend Oren. Part One can ONLY be seen on Sport Card Collectors blog HERE and Part Three will be done on Big Blue Cardboard.

Now that I got that information out, onto your usually coffee drinking program.

*takes a sip*

I wished I had time to not only blog more, but to get my collection a little better sorted especially when it comes to my set chases.

Most I don't have want lists for and some have cards not even in the same place.

It's a mess....like the coffee I just spilled.

*gets up, grabs a napkin and cleans up the mess. throws away napkin, sits back down for rest of the post*

*takes sip of what remains*

One of the many sets I would like to complete are the Topps First Pitch sets. They were spread across a few years of Topps baseball, and I know I have quite a few spread across many non-sport card boxes.

My latest ones came in this mail day from Oren. I have no idea if I have these ones or not, so until I get them put together, I will keep taking any of them I can.

Donovan Bailey is a retired once World Record breaker Canadian Sprinter. Guess it explains why he is doing his First Pitch with the Blue Jays,

We all know that she loves rock and roll and so don't we. I was quite excited to add this Joan Jett one.

Luke Donald was once the world's number one golfer. He looks like in this picture that maybe he knows how to throw a baseball as well.

*takes final sip before closing up today's post*

I will add these three to the non-sport box for now until I can find the time to gather all of the ones I have to see what I need and make a list. In the meantime, I will continue to hoard any of the ones I acquire.

Part Three of this Blog Crossover Event is tomorrow! See how this mail day ends on Big Blue Cardboard right HERE.

Thanks again for reading and having some coffee with me.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Coffee Break: 2025 Topps Series 1 Easter Egg

Happy Easter everyone!

My coffee is ready, and I am ready for a new post!

I know I am way behind the rest of you when it comes to breaking Series 1, but to keep up the tradition yearly for myself, here it is. 

Despite my decreasing interest in baseball cards.

But a tradition is a tradition.

*takes a sip, begins to.....crack?....then rip?*

There are 59 cards in every egg and each one comes with one special insert. The egg tins run for about $15 each.

59 cards in a tin is a lot to post and since many of you have seen plenty of Series 1 already and probably broke the yolk on some yourself,  I am just showing off the key cards in my break. Which is what most people come for anyways for any kind of break posts.

This was the highlight base card find for me, well besides some guy named Ohtani. There weren't any rookie card names I recognized.

There is one name that stands out on this list, yes, it's Judge if you had to ask. Beautiful parallel.

And here is a second one I pulled.

My third parallel is what I believe they call a Pastel. These look pretty cool too, if only they were shiny.....you all know me and shiny.

I won't even talk about this card; everyone knows I can't stand these types of inserts.

 

Call To The Hall. Kind of a lazy design.

And wow, a third Judge in this tin. Awesome! And this year's Stars Of The MLB design, superb. It's different than the last couple of years and really stands out.

And that's it. 

One thing I like most about these special edition cards such as holiday and this spring/Easter one are the parallels. Those are the main chase for me regardless of player.

*takes a sip before finishing up today's post*

I just wanted to finish up today's post with a moment to thank Jesus for everything in my life and for his resurrection. Today He Has Risen!

*says a prayer*

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Too Much To Post, Such Little Time

Last year, my biggest concern with blogging on here was not having enough content, this year, it's having time to post. With 35+ drafts waiting on me, I need to start to find some time to get these posted up.

Especially since I have some really cool mail days from friends to share.

So, grab a coffee (or your preferred beverage that should be coffee) and check out this massive ten PWE trade with blog reader and friend, Oren.

This is actually two separate trades we pulled off, I just didn't have the time to post the first one, so I combined them.

The first trade, 2 PWE's, had a variety of fun.

Die Cut Ivan Rodriguez. I haven't seen this card before.

I have seen one of these before. Another nice die cut.

I believe this is my first Diamond King like this. This is from 1995 and has quite the snazzy, jazzy 90's feel.

Another insert that I hadn't seen before. Oren must be digging deep to find these.

This was when Fleer Metal started to become the coolness it is known for now.

I do have a few of these, I think this card is lacking in shiny. The design looks nice but add some shine to it and it kicks it up some.

Then came some non-sport fun,

 

(other than one autograph, this is the only Family Guy card in my collection. which is sad because Family Guys first few seasons I loved)

The second mail day was a record breaker for not only us, but for me in general as it was my first 8 PWE trade. 

A couple more American Pie. I really need to finish up this set as I only have 10 or 11 more to go. I think I have both of these, but that's okay, I collect dupes from this set.

Next up was a TON of Skybox Marvel Metal. I hadn't seen any of this and didn't get to open any.

This will make the start of a great future set chase. I still need to work on gathering my set numbers first for all of my sets to update on here.

Thanks goes out to Oren for our latest trade! Looking forward to the next!

Well, this knocks down one post. Many more to go.

Thanks for coming out to read this one and hope you bring a cup of coffee (or your beverage choice which should be coffee) for the next one.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Don't forget you can start to nominate cards for the 2025 Coffee Card Hall Of Fame!! Cards don't have to be autographs, patch cards, super star cards. It can be whatever you think is Hall Worthy! Find details and current nominations HERE.