Picked Up A Peek

I didn't think I had a shot at this one.  2018 Opening Day features some very short-print cards in an insert called Dugout Peeks.  The odds are one for every 1,791 packs.  Those are some very long odds for a set that is supposed to be an entry level set.

Search Ebay for "2018 Zobrist Peek" now and you'll find just one listed and three more that have sold.  While I bought mine on Ebay, it is not one of the four.

The seller didn't do a very good job of listing the card.   Zobrist's name wasn't in the auction title.  Thanks to that omission, there were not many eyeballs on the auction and I was able to get the card for half the price of what the others are going for.

There is one more SSSSP out there, a Kris Bryant Stadium Signatures card.  It's odds are slightly better, at 1:1572 packs, but because its Bryant, the prices are higher.  The sold ones on Ebay went for at least $50.  I don't think I'll run across a deal on that one.

So that should wrap up Opening Day for me.... 18 Cubs cards.

Gypsy Queen Over the Years

Gypsy Queen is now on its eighth rendition.

Here's a look at the designs over those eight years...

The first year was fairly true to the original cards from 1887.  Since then Topps has had to come up with something original.  The first four years they kept the same basic design for the brand name.  The shape of the picture was pretty similar too,  

The past four years have seen different designs for the brand name and different shapes of the pictures.  This year they eliminate the brand name and replaced it with initials.

For six years they kept the tradition of listing the players last name and first initial.  It was a unique feature for Gypsy Queen and a nod to the originals.  That changed last year and this year they players name is the larger than the brand initials.

2018 Gypsy Queen Cubs

The 2018 Gypsy Queen set came out a few weeks ago.  It came out around the same time as Opening Day, the Stickers, and the Factory team sets.  Of those four, it's the one I looked forward to the least.  Ginter is the quirky, fun tobacco set.  GQ is....??  So why do we need another tobacco brand?

The checklist has 300 current players.  Divide that among 30 teams and there should be ten cards per team.  That's exactly how it worked out for the Cubs - ten cards.

 

 

 

 

 

Looking Ahead to Heritage 2019

Once the buzz from the current year of Heritage dies down, I like to take a look ahead to the next year. So let's move on to Heritage 2019, or Topps 1970.

I know that there are many collectors that do not like the 1970 design.  The gray border is boring, they say.  For me, though, the 1970 design is one of my all-time favorites.  It's not for esthetics, it is for sentimentality.

While I started collecting in 1969, I went head long into it in 1970.  I spent dime after dime on the cards and the 1970 design is burned into my memory.

It should be a pretty easy look for Topps to duplicate.  The hardest part is going to be matching the font for the player's name.  I've seen different people make 1970 cards, but they've not been able to make an exact duplicate of the font.  A font called Kaufmann is what was used, but the version of Kaufmann on my computer is not exactly the same as the Topps version.

I was able to get an exact match for Kyle Hendricks, though....

I used the names from actual 1970 cards.  The K came from Don Kessinger, the yle is compliments of Sparky Lyle, and Elrod Hendricks donated his last name to the cause.

Now if only Topps would could be such a stickler for accuracy.

Cubs Topps Stickers 2011 - 2018

Since starting up stickers in 2011, Topps has not wavered from the format they've used, nine stickers per team and a logo sticker.  Because of that, I can easily make a nifty tile that shows all the Cubs from all the years.

Just one request... how about giving the Cubs the top spot on a logo sticker again.  Once in eight years doesn't seem right!

Caratini Is Now Officially A Rule Follower

By getting into the game last Friday, Victor Caratini is now officially welcomed into my rule-following autograph collection.  He has a certified card in 2018, he played for the Cubs in 2018, and the card shows him as a Cub.

He becomes the 131st Cubs player to meet that criteria and I've got one certified autograph of each of them.

There are also 14 of the current 25 Cubs that meet my rule.  I'm hoping that Yu Darvish and Kyle Hendricks will be added to the list this season.

Terry Adams	Matt Garza	Eric Patterson
Arismendy Alcantara	Leo Gomez	Corey Patterson
Albert Almora	Tom Gorzelanny	David Patton
Moises Alou	Kevin Gregg	Carlos Pena
Jake Arrieta	Angel Guzman	Billy Petrick
Javier Baez	Jason Hammel	Felix Pie
Darwin Barney	Todd Haney	Lou Piniella
Francis Beltran	Ian Happ	Mark Prior
Milton Bradley	Brendan Harris	Brooks Raley
Roosevelt Brown	Kevin Hart	Aramis Ramirez
Kris Bryant	Jose Hernandez	Anthony Rizzo
Scott Bullett	Jason Heyward	Henry Rodriguez
Freddie Bynum	Bobby Hill	Henry Rodriguez
Marlon Byrd	Rich Hill	Chris Rusin
Jeimer Candelario	Micah Hoffpauir	Addison Russell
Victor Caratini	Cesar Izturis	Jeff Samardzija
Andrew Cashner	Brett Jackson	Rey Sanchez
Larry Cassian	Reed Johnson	Ryne Sandberg
Frank Castillo	Jacque Jones	Kyle Schwarber
Welington Castillo	Matt Karchner	Scott Servais
Starlin Castro	David Kelton	Jorge Soler
Ronny Cedeno	Brooks Kieschnick	Alfonso Soriano
Rocky Cherry	Bryan LaHair	Sammy Sosa
Matt Clement	Tommy LaStella	Geovany Soto
Steve Clevenger	Junior Lake	Steve Smyth
Buck Coats	Derrek Lee	Matt Szczur
Tyler Colvin	Jon Lester	Ryan Theriot
Willson Contreras	Cole Liniak	Ozzie Timmons
Juan Cruz	Greg Maddux	Steve Trachsel
Wade Davis	Dave Magadan	Jermaine Van Buren
Blake DeWitt	Carlos Marmol	Josh Vitters
Rafael Dolis	Sean Marshall	Todd Walker
Scott Downs	Scott Moore	Todd Wellemeyer
Jason Dubuois	Matt Murton	Randy Wells
Carl Edwards	Rod Myers	Turk Wendell
Kyle Farnsworth	Thomas Neal	Jerome Williams
Mike Fontenot	Roberto Novoa	Kerry Wood
Kevin Foster	Will Ohman	Travis Wood
Dexter Fowler	Augie Ojeda	Michael Wuertz
Kyuji Fujikawa	Mike Olt	Carlos Zambrano
Kosuke Fukudome	Ryan O'Malley	Rob Zastryzny
Sam Fuld	Kevin Orie	Ben Zobrist
Sean Gallagher	Angel Pagan	Julio Zuleta
Nomar Garciaparra	Bob Patterson

Five Random Cubs Cards

I've got 15,595 Cubs cards from 132 different brands listed on a spreadsheet. A random number generator picked five cards, one each from the past several decades.

1900s - 1970s: 1954 Topps #243 Ray Blades  In 1954 Topps and Bowman were waging war and it was cutting into the number of players they each had available.  Hence, we end up with the card of a dour-looking coach.

1980s: 1982 Team-Issued Team Card  Two things strike me as odd with this pictures... Why didn't they line the team up parallel to the wall.... Why did they remove the bleacher seats from the picture.  The 1982 was the first under Dallas Green's regime, Building A New Tradition.  They finished in 5th instead of last like the  '81 team -- a new tradition!

1990s: 1995 Donruss #519 Mark Grace  Home whites, ivy in the backgound, sunshine, eye black.... what a nice looking card!

2000s: 2001 Ovation #90 Ross Gload  Gload hit .194 in 18 games as a rookie in 2000 and he gets a numbered prospect card. That means I had to spend 40¢ for this one instead of 18¢. He spent all of 2001 in the minors.

2010s: 2016 Allen and Ginter Full Sized Relic #FSBR-JL Jon Lester  The Ginter full sized relics are not nearly as nice as the framed minis.  At least this one has a pinstripe.