Happy Birthday - Cal Ripken jr

 

Cal was born on this day in 1960, making him 65 today.

MLB Debut - August 10th, 1981 (Orioles)

Years Active - 

• 1981-2001 (Orioles)

Cards on TCDB - 29,289 cards (2025), 27,678 cards (2024), 25,301 cards (2023), 23,322 cards (2022), 21,815 cards (2021)

Cards I have - 1067 cards (2025), 1005 cards (2024), 949 cards (2023), 895 cards (2022), 659 cards (2021)

PC Rank - #1 (#1 overall)

TCDB Rank - #57

Where they came from -

• Too Many Verlanders (246 cards)
• Sportlots (222 cards)
• F&G Sportscards (186 cards)
• Ebay (161 cards)
• Unknown (74 cards)
• Sluggos (60 cards)
• 2x3 Heroes (52 cards)
• Just Commons/Card Barrel (16 cards)
• Card Show-Michigan City (12 cards)
• Card Show-South Bend (11 cards)
• the Diamond King (8 cards)
• Hollister's (5 cards)
• Just Cards (5 cards)
• Fred Sawyer (4 cards)
• All Trade Bait, All the Time (3 cards)
• Card Show-Elkhart (1 card)
• Card Show-Kalamazoo (1 card)
• Card Show-Mishawaka (1 card)
• Collecting Cutch (1 card)
• Man Cave (1 card)
• Media Madhouse (1 card)
• Packs (1 card)
• the Sports Stash (1 card)

Happy Birthday Cal!

Happy Birthday - Cal Ripken jr

 

Cal was born on this day in 1960, making him 64 today.

MLB Debut - August 10th, 1981 (Orioles)

Years Active - 

• 1981-2001 (Orioles)

Cards on TCDB - 27,678 cards (2024), 25,301 cards (2023), 23,322 cards (2022), 21,815 cards (2021)

Cards I have - 1005 cards (2024), 949 cards (2023), 895 cards (2022), 659 cards (2021)

PC Rank - #1 (#1 overall)

TCDB Rank - #47

Where they came from -

• Too Many Verlanders (232 cards)
• Sportlots (222 cards)
• Ebay (161 cards)
• F&G Sportscards (143 cards)
• Unknown (74 cards)
• Sluggos (58 cards)
• 2x3 Heroes (52 cards)
• Just Commons/Card Barrel (16 cards)
• Card Show-Michigan City (12 cards)
• Card Show-South Bend (10 cards)
• the Diamond King (8 cards)
• Hollister's (5 cards)
• Just Cards (5 cards)
• Fred Sawyer (4 cards)
• All Trade Bait, All the Time (3 cards)
• Card Show-Elkhart (1 card)
• Card Show-Kalamazoo (1 card)
• Card Show-Mishawaka (1 card)
• Collecting Cutch (1 card)
• Man Cave (1 card)
• Media Madhouse (1 card)
• Packs (1 card)
• the Sports Stash (1 card)

Happy Birthday Cal!

South Bend recap

A couple of Saturday's ago we did the monthly South Bend show. It wasn't a great show which means I had too much time on my hands and wandered around which means I bought stuff.

These 8 cards came from Fred who I work with. He came to the show and while shopping around for himself, he picked me up these cards. The bottom 3 are all numbered Michigan cards.

I picked up these 3 from Nick and Jackson of Bockaj's Best Ball Cards who are friends of ours. I paid $10 for these 3, the Vaughn and Wynn were $1 cards and he had $15 on the Nwogu auto, it's numbered to /99.

A dealer I didn't know down from us had a small $1 box where I found all 3 of these. The Hutch is base but the other 2 are color/holo parallels.

There was a guy that I had seen before that had oddball stuff so I went over to look at his stuff. I picked up the Avisail Garcia auto helmet and a Seaver figure for $6. I wouldn't have picked up the helmet as he's not someone I normally look for but he only had $5 on it so I couldn't turn that down.

These didn't technically come from the show as Kevin brought them to me from his sorting at home but he gave them to me the same day as the show so I'm throwing them up here. Along with the 2 Haskins at the top, you'll see all current Wolverines.

Some more former Wolverines up there as well. That Houstan is the base and I just added the pink (I think) parallel to my PC a week or so before I got these.

He gave me the top 3 cards of Hutch and I paid for the bottom 3. 

A couple of Tier 3 cards. The Carter is the Retrofractor parallel.

Some inserts and parallels for Tier 2 collections.

Kevin even threw in some Tier 1 cards with these 2 PK's and a Seaver insert. It seems like I've picked up quite a few PK's in the last couple of months.

Lastly, he found some modern team cards to add to my PC's as well.

It may not have been a great show but I did come home with some great cards.

Buchanan pick-ups

A couple of weeks ago, we did a show with T-Dog Breaks hosting in Buchanan, MI. It was his first show and we committed because we like him and his family. It ended up being a pretty good show and he's already scheduled his next show with an autograph guest - Ron Kittle. Sign me up!

I flipped through when I saw some 2024 parallels which is where I got the Holiday Vaughn and the rainbow foil Robert. I happened across the Buehrle prizm which I love and the Robert insert and the Abbott is the refractor. These 5 were in $1 box but I only paid $3. I pulled out my wallet and counted my ones and I only had $3 so he said he'd take that. I had more cash, that was just my ones but he said he was cool with it.

I decided to search the hosts tables when I saw he had a .50 cent box, mainly because I knew he was a breaker so I figured he might have some decent stuff in there and I was not disappointed with the above.

And the below.

I was shocked to see these cards. I definitely picked them up when I ran across them in that $.50 box.

Kevin also bought out a box of cards from another dealer and I grabbed all of these out that so these were free to me. Some former Wolverines, some White Sox and even a shiny Maize and Blue card.

This just happened to be sitting on one of the boxes on one of the dealers next to us who we are friends with, so I grabbed it. It's only my 2nd from that set, both Wolverines.

Next up is my real find. I saw it early on at the show but I wasn't sure I wanted to drop the money on it. So I told myself if it was still there at the end of the show, then I would pick it up. I kept finding myself looking over at the table to see if it was still there. Finally I was like, screw that, you obviously want it, go get it.

I was really awkward walking back to my table. It's been years since I walked around with a liquor bottle. I love this and it looks great up on my shelf. He had another once that I picked up from my brother as well. Although, he'll probably drink his.

More sorting goodies

I went to post this and realized 2 posts ago was number 2,500. Yay me! 

Sluggo and I set up at the Shipshewana show today which was extremely busy. It's a pretty big show, the biggest one that we do on a regular basis. We have customers come up later in the day all the time and say, "I tried to get up to your table earlier, but it was packed." That's always a good thing. Today was no exception, great show. I only spent $15 but I'll get to those later as I'm still playing catch up.

These are the cards I picked up while sorting a couple of weeks ago. I have more sorting cards but I haven't logged them all in on my spread sheets yet. I got them on TCDB, just not my sheets. I will probably take care of that next weekend since I have another show tomorrow.

I grabbed 1 team card from sorting, it's not technically an MLB team card but I never really said MLB so I'm keeping it.

Obviously this is team USA from Stars & Stripes. This gives me 322 team cards which is way more than I thought I had.

Next up, White Sox collection.

This scan are all the young guys and a couple of older ones. I put the Sheets with Wake Forest in just in case I decide to PC him. That's also why I'm showing Crochet and Colas. The only way I'd PC Burger is if he came back to the Sox but I liked him when he was here. I was mad when they traded him. Plus, I showed the Scotty Pods who is intregal in the 2005 Championship plus Eddie Collins.

• Gavin Sheets = 46 cards
• Garrett Crochet = 37 cards
• Jake Burger = 39 cards
• Oscar Colas = 14 cards
• Scott Podsednik = 34 cards
• Eddie Collins = 6 cards

More White Sox cards but this batch are former Sox players who I have quite a few cards of.

• Tim Anderson = 242 cards
• Lucas Giolito = 158 cards
• Jose Abreu = 285 cards

Next up are Tier 3 player's.

Both newer cards which since so many sets are doing that now, I'm constantly having to pick up even more of guys who haven't played in years.

• Steve Carlton = 232 cards
• Cal Ripken jr = 988 cards

A couple more Tier 3, at least the Strawberry is from his playing days.

• Johnny Bench = 241 cards
• Darryl Strawberry = 166 cards

Next up, Tier 2.

Always great to see more LueBob come in since he's about the only great player we had last year. Maybe somebody can step it up this year.

• Luis Robert = 217 cards

Look how young Eloy looks. The last 2 from Tier 2. I thought I had the Larkin but apparently not.

• Eloy Jimenez = 222 cards
• Barry Larkin = 754 cards

Last but not least, some Tier 1 adds.

Always great to see new Konerko's as he's my favorite player. That Prism means he also has 500 more color parallels to get. That Boyhood Photos card is from Heritage Minors.

• Paul Konerko = 767 cards

Next up is some trade cards but wait until you see the next sorting post. Since I didn't have a show last weekend, I did a lot of sorting and ended up with a lot to add to my PC's.

Until next time.

Circus Cards

Get a quick post out here before I head to bed. I got a big show on Saturday and another one on Sunday so I probably won't get any posts in this weekend, unless there is a birthday and I'm a week behind.

These are all pick-ups from the Circus Specatular show a couple of weeks ago, so apparently I'm 2 weeks behind.

These first 2 I picked up from Jackson who is a friend of ours and was set up next to us so I looked through his cards while I was watching his tables so he could do some shopping. I grabbed these 2. Probably nothing I would have picked up at anybody else's table but I knew he'd give them to me cheap. There was a 3rd card but I ended up already having it. I ended up paying $5 for the 2 since the 3rd I already had.

I skimmed tables as I walked around. This guy told me everything was half off his tables so I grabbed this up, he had $5 on it which was a little high but $2.50 was just fine. It's actually my 5th autograph of his out of 26 cards.

I hit up another table that had college cards and they were in team order so you know I'm going to hit that. I didn't want to check my lists so I just grabbed some color stuff (I still ended up with dupes). I think all the dupes I grabbed, Dennis needed so that was good. I paid $10 for all the cards but I only ended up keeping the 7 so it was a little more than I wanted to pay but it was still a good deal.

One other table had a few Michigan cards and I scanned and grabbed this card and another but the other I already had but I asked what he could do for both and I basically paid for this card and the other one was free, which worked out since I already had it. I saw the Ronnie Bell on Dennis' site of the cracked ice with the yellow so I was happy to see this one and snatched it up. I paid $3 for it.

Remember at the last South Bend show where I said there was a breaker set up, he opened up a couple blasters of Stadium Club and gave us all the cards that he didn't want? Well at this show, he bought a jumbo box of 2024 Topps and gave us what he didn't keep for himself. With all the White Sox cards up there, that leaves me with only needing 1 more to complete the Series 1 team set. Luis Robert. I will look for it this weekend. As you can see, I also grabbed the Cronenworth and a Ripken insert and didn't pay a dime.

Kevin picked up this in a lot of cards he purchased. It's the Red Zone parallel. I have him $5 for it even though I probably wouldn't have had to but I also got all those 2024's so I just think of it as $5 for the lot.

That's everything I picked up at that show, I believe I have more sorting pick ups next, after a birthday post for tomorrow. See you on the flip side.