My Loot from the National

Well, I bought a lot of cards. I also got a few gifts from other bloggers that were far nicer than anything I bought for myself. I picked up a bunch of missing base cards and some inserts that I didn't bother scanning because it's stuff you have all seen before.

I picked up some minor league Tri-Star cards of Manny Banuelos, Jesus Montero, Mike Trout, and an Adam Lind that I think I was missing. I grabbed a few 2011 Topps gold parallels, and some Ginter inserts because I have no intention of purchasing any 2011 Ginter.

Ok enough talk, here is the loot.

I couldn't find either green version, the regular or the serial numbered however I was happy to grab the red.
A cool assortment of Manny Banuelos
Jesus!
The Machine.
This was one of the Heritage redemption cards offered by Topps for opening 5 packs. I missed all the others, especially the Ackley card which was the one I really wanted. Oh well.

Michael Pineda Topps Heritage

2011 Allen & Ginter Pujols N43
2010 Celestial Stars SSP Pujols. This card was actually given to me by PineTar, a member of Freedom Cardboard. He heard a rumor that I collected Pujols so he said I could have it. Talk about a nice guy. He collects all gold refractors regardless of player so if you have any you want to just get rid of, send them his way.
The variant mini of Robbie.
These are not even close to as cool as the die cut versions, but I still needed them.


This was in a bargain bin for $10... Not sure it was exactly a bargain, but I didn't have it and I have never seen it before.
The next two game used cards I got from the same dealer and they were two for $15. Again no idea why I bought them because I hate GU jersey cards that are white and have no dirt or colors. I also don't remember coming across these before.

I have the patch version of this card and I saw this one for $5 so I had to grab it. You can see the stripe going across the top of the Cano swatch (love that it's horizontal, really).
Suzy and I bought a box of 2004 SPx for $55 and this was one of the autos. I happen to love Joe Mauer so I got to keep the on card Mauer auto which is inscribed with his number.
I couldn't resist a decently priced Cano auto numbered to /25. Welcome home, Robbie.
This card has been quite slippery... I have tried to make offers on eBay on a bunch of these and I tried bidding on a few but always lost or got declined. I probably paid about the going rate on eBay but I am way more likely to spend that kind of money at a show when I can actually see the card and the condition of the edges and things.
I won the Carmen Electra auto at the Freedom Cardboard meet-up.
Finally!!! A Phil Rizzuto card to hang out with my Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle's. The card isn't in the greatest condition but the price was right. Eventually I may try and get an upgraded version of the card and sell this one, but for now I love it.
The next two cards I bought out of a bargain bin and they looked like they were in decent condition. I had them graded for protection purposes only. I couldn't care less how they graded because they are for my PC not for sale.

The Holy Grail. The 2003 Topps Heritage Robinson Cano RC AU. I have wanted this card for years and never pulled the trigger. Actually, I never had to pull the trigger. I was walking around the show with one of my friends from Freedom Cardboard and we were talking about this card. He stepped away to make a phone call and when he came back he handed me a box to put my cards in... I heard something rattling in the box, I opened it and there was my card. It was a raw card that I graded for protection. Talk about a great guy and generous person. I should note I tried giving it back several times but he wanted me to keep it. Thank you Brian =)
The next two cards should look familiar to most of you. They were sent to Stale Gum from Topps. I knew he had gotten them a while back but never had anything to trade him for them. He decided that he was just going to give them to me because I would like them and he doesn't. Eventually I will pull something that he actually wants.
1/1 PRINTING PLATE-JO!


All in all, I got some kick ass pick ups at the show. I still think I got better cards from the guys than I actually picked up for myself. It will probably take me until the next National to log in all these cards.

My trip to the National

I had planned on blogging during the week while we were at the National, however I had no internet connection for my iPad so you all had to live in suspense or follow my tweets for sneak peeks of what was going on.

One of my favorite parts of the National is getting to see friends that I talk to all the time but live far away. Another favorite is getting to meet new friends that I have made since the last national. I had a blast going to Wrigley Field with the David from Long Fly Ball to Because (@LongFlyBall), his wife, and the guys from Freedom Cardboard. Somehow me and Wes ended up walking out onto to Wrigley Field.



Long story short, Wes was told that we could watch the guys in the cage in the outfield... Next thing we know, we are being roped off and waiting with a bunch of little league kids, coaches and parents. So we just tried to blend in and go with it. I got dirt on my pants, but it blew off before I could make National worn pants cards of myself.

I also got a whole mess of cards from other bloggers and even people I had just met. The generosity of the collecting group is one of the most humbling and amazing things about making so many good friends. We all need to remember to pay it forward when we get something of value before putting it on eBay that there may be a friend of ours that would love to have it but maybe can't afford it or just wouldn't go out and buy it.

We saw a dude that looked dead on the subway, except we are pretty sure he lived once the ambulance (pronounced: am-ba-lance) arrived. He definitely looked dead. I hope he is okay.

Freedom Cardboard held it's first annual (at least I think it's going to be an annual event) meet-up at a bar in Chicago and it had a great turnout, looked like about 60 people. They had a ton of prizes to give away and I even won two of the prizes. One was a hobby box of 2010 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects and the other was a National exclusive bubble mailer from Leaf with a signed card inside... The card was 4/5 and this was what it was:


I already flipped it on eBay to recoup some of the money I spent this week. There were plenty of boxes and autographs given away at the event, and there was even a foot race between two moderators in the parking lot after the event.



We drove in circles a lot, we got lost on the subway a few times but all in all we had a ton of fun and some good laughs. I will post my loot from the National later tonight or tomorrow morning, it's pretty awesome. If you have a post with your loot let us know so we can check it out.

Photo gallery from the National Sports Collectors Convention