3 Years of PK

I found a book of all my tickets to games that I went to in the late 80's to mid 90's. I wish I would have kept everything from when I was really young because my grandfather took me to a few Cubs game in the mid 80's back before I was even really into it. I didn't realize just how many minor league games I went to back then. Every off-season, I say, this year I'm going to go to more minor league games (we have a local team, although it is the Cubs), than the season rolls around and I never go. Anyways, it was cool going through all those tickets again. Reliving the old days.

Today's post is a Tier 1 player that we've seen a bunch of lately. I've actually changed the way I've been purchasing on Sportlots. I was going through player by player but sticking to my budget. So I would get to certain players and I would hit my budget after going through only 1 or 2 years of that player. So I end up with a ton of posts of one player. So I've changed and I go through 1 year of that player, than move to the next player and do a year of his cards and just keep moving on until I reach my budget. That way, on the next round of posts, we'll have a little more variety in the players I show. I still have to find a way to mix in White Sox team sets and maybe some Vintage in there as well.

But on to today's post. Here I went on about mixing it up and I just looked and you haven't seen him since the end of January, except for his birthday post earlier.

This is the Topps portion of 2007. The Finest is a nice looking card. The Bowman is the gold version and obviously, the Allen & Ginter is the mini. The Topps is actually the Red Back version (I didn't think to scan the back) and the white copy is Opening Day.

Oddly enough, all the Upper Deck's I got from 2007 were horizontal cards. A couple of inserts and I dig the die cut SPx at the bottom.

These are all from 2008. Another Bowman gold as well as the Xfractor version of Topps Chrome. Another Finest and instead of a mini A&G, you get the Home State version. You also get a Sweet Spot and a X-ponential insert from the Upper Deck side of things. I do like both of the Upper Deck's, the Sweet Spot with no borders and the colorful insert.

Hey look, another Bowman and it's not gold. The bronze version of the 206's and the die cut X is cool, I already had the 2008 version. Another A&G mini and the only non-parallel of the group of 2009's is the 1960 look-a-like Heritage.

As you can see, the Konerko collection is still going. I purchased all these the same time I did the last group, they just didn't make it to my Sportlots box before I shipped so they were delayed another month. Don't worry though, I have more of PK to show with this grouping.

Happy Birthday - Paul Konerko

Hey, I remembered. Look at me!

Paulie was born in 1976 which makes him 45 today.

MLB Debut - September 8th, 1997 (Los Angeles Dodgers)

Years Active - 

• Los Angeles Dodgers (1997-1998)
• Cincinnati Reds (1998)
• Chicago White Sox (1999-2014)

Rookie card w/Dodgers

Cincinnati Reds card

1999 Chicago White Sox card

Cards listed on TCDB - 4,530

Cards I have - 698 (4 not listed on TCDB)

not listed - both Rediscover Topps

not listed - playing card set and a 1 of 1 with the Special Olympics stamp

Where they came from - 

• Sportlots (220 cards)
• Unknown (80 cards)
• Ebay (77 cards)
• 2x3 Heroes (65 cards)
• Too Many Verlanders (50 cards)
• Just Commons/Card Barrel (37 cards)
• Sluggo (23 cards)
• Baseballcardstore.CA (20 cards)
• Box Breaks (19 cards)
• Things are Funner Here (15 cards)
• Thoughts and Sox (14 cards)
• COMC (10 cards)
• Nomo's Sushi Platter (10 cards)
• Card Shows (8 cards)
• JayBarkerFan's Junk (8 cards)
• Blue Batting Helmet (6 cards)
• the Diamond King (5 cards)
• Night Owl Cards (5 cards)
• the Sandlot (5 cards)
• BA Benny's Baseball Card Buffet (4 cards)
• the Adventures of Napkin Doon (4 cards)
• All Tribe Baseball (3 cards)
• Kevin (reader) (3 cards)
• North Carolina (3 cards)
• Number 5 Type Collection (3 cards)
• Spoke Bait and the Game (3 cards)
• Tim (reader) (3 cards)
• All Trade Bait, All the Time (2 cards)
• Cardboard Connections (2 cards)
• Collecting Cutch (2 cards)
• Garvey Cey Russell Lopes (2 cards)
• the Lost Collector (2 cards)
• Media Madhouse (2 cards)
• Morgan (reader) (2 cards)
• My 2008 Topps Blog (2 cards)
• Potch Wheeler and the Cardboard Heroes (2 cards)
• Ron (reader) (2 cards)
• the Daily Dimwit (1 card)
• Jan's Sportscards & Comics (1 card)
• My Cardboard Mistress (1 card)
• Nachos Grande (1 card)
• S Mack Talk (1 card)
• Topps (1 card)

That section took a lot longer to build than I was expecting.

I've only got 6 post career cards. I doubt they make a ton of him in the future either. He wasn't really well known when he played, I don't expect that to be different now.

I have 3 auto's of PK.

I also have 14 different relics.

PK is my favorite player of all time so it's only right that I have more cards of him than any other player.

Gold Pudge

Yesterday, you got a catcher that nobody likes (except White Sox fans). Today you get a Hall of Famer that a lot of people liked. I don't really know that but it goes with what I typed in the first line.

Just one card today. As I mentioned before, Fred is going through a lot of 90's cards. He brought me another small stack today but this card he brought me awhile back. I had the base, I did not have the gold version so here it is. This is my 188th card of the original Pudge.

Twins cards on here?

A quick post before I head to bed. I just watched Michigan basketball team play like the football team did last season. I'm just going to forget that game happened, hopefully they can before Thursday.

I picked up a lot of this guys cards before he played for the Sox.

I picked up this 2002 Fleer Ultra of AJ, I kind of like this close up of the catcher's gear.

The Topps section of 2002. The color of those flagship never did grow on me. Love the concept of Total but I wish it wasn't an online purchase thing like it is now.

Also picked up a couple of Upper Deck in 2002.

Next up we have 2003's. I do like those Donruss cards at the top, probably the lack of a border.

A couple of 2003 Fleer. Another no border card and an action shot you don't see often at that.

A couple of Leaf cards. The scanner kills the Certified Materials, it's a better looking card in person.

As is this card. This is from Playoff.

Last but not least, the Upper Deck section. 

I picked up so many cards from 2003 that you'll have to see the Topps portion in the next AJ post.

Sorry for the quick post, but I'm sleepy and heading for bed.

Fred comes through with Maize and Blue

I'm not doing a very good job at my Birthday posts. I've already missed 2. I don't look at my calendar on the weekend because I usually have nothing going on so I've missed 2 on Saturdays. I notice them coming up and tell myself, oh yeah, I need to do that this weekend. Then I forget.

Even though baseball is back, this post is not about baseball and it's a team collection post so you should be able to figure it out.

Football is a little shaky right now. After last season it can't get worse can it. This Derrick Alexander is my 13th card and he's before I started collecting Michigan players so all 13 are in the Maize and Blue.

This is my 7th card of the former fab fiver. I loved watching this team play, they are the reason I became a Michigan fan. Back then, I watched basketball more than anything.

I liked receiving these as Tractor Traylor was supposed to be the next big thing, literally. I only had 1 card of him before these 2 and it was an autograph. The card on the left is a die cut, all the white between the rim and the bottom of the card is all cut out. It's a pretty cool card.

All of these came from the guy at work who's been bringing me cards as he goes through his. He gave me a couple more White Sox cards today that you'll see at a later date.