With all of the through the mail autograph requests that I sent out for Spring Training, it's hard to believe that it's been 21 days since my last success.  Needless to say, I was thrilled to see another successful return today, especially since I'm moving in a few weeks and have concerns about future TTM returns not being delivered to my new address.

Justin Masterson, former Boston Red Sox pitcher, signed both a 2012 Topps Allen & Ginter card and a 2012 Topps Heritage card for me through the mail.  I've read that he's a great signer and was really excited to see the biblical scripture on the card as well.  I had the chance to meet Justin at an autograph signing at the Shriner's show that was put on by the Greater Boston Sports Collectors Club (GBSCC) and got his autograph on a cool 8x10 picture.  He is a very nice guy and was great with all of the fans that got his autograph that day.  It's nice to see that he signs autographs through the mail as well, and I'll have to try him again as soon as I can dig up a few of his Ginter cards from when he was a Boston Red Sox.

I'm a big fan of Justin Masterson and I hope he has a great season in 2013!  Until next time, keep collecting and reach out to me if you'd like to make any trades.

I went to get my mail today and I was shocked to see a TTM return as I haven't had the time to send them out in quite some time.  The irony is, I should have known who it was since this player tweeted out a picture the other day of him signing fan mail.  I was still shocked and happy to see it was Josh Hamilton!

Say what you want about him, but I've been a fan of Josh Hamilton since his triumphant return to the Major Leagues.  His Home Run Derby performance at Yankee Stadium (the old one) will be something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

I saw that he signs through the mail and figured I would give it a try.  I can't believe that someone at his level takes the time to sign autographs for collectors through the mail.  Truly a class act and I can't thank him enough for taking the time to sign the card for me.

Day 2 of the GBSCC Sports Card Show as jam packed full of fun!  I arrived at the show early to get a prime parking spot right by the entrance, and this allowed me to make a few trips out to my car to drop off purchases and pick up the items that I'd be getting autographed by a few of the signers.

My first purchase was a copy of the June 22, 1970 Sports Illustrated with Tony Conigliaro on the cover.  A MUST OWN for any fan of the Boston Red Sox.  I also picked up one of the 2012 Topps Allen & Ginter People of the Bible cards that I needed for my set.  Other purchases included two sets of LOST trading cards ($5 each), three boxes of 1991 Upper Deck FB Low Series ($12 for the 3 boxes) and I was thisclose to purchasing a PSA Authenticated autographed Dick Perez Mickey Mantle Postcard.  I was really bummed out about losing out on the Mantle and it negatively impacted my spending the rest of the show.

I purchased autograph tickets for Jake LaMotta (with a Raging Bull 8x10 to sign), Cecil Cooper, Fred Lynn and Pedro Martinez.  I had a 2004 WS baseball to use for Pedro's autograph, and it would be added to existing autographs from Curt Schilling (with a Reverse The Curse inscription), Johnny Pesky (with a Mr. Red Sox inscription) and Mike Timlin.  I decided to purchase a Fenway 100 years baseball for the Cecil Cooper and Fred Lynn autographs.  I thought the Fenway 100 years ball would be a great item to collect random former Red Sox players autographs on.  All of the signers were great and very friendly!  Pedro has such an amazing personality and literally lit up the room when he walked in with a huge smile on his face.  Mike Josselyn and the team at Sure Shot Promotions did a fantastic job and continue to raise the bar every year with their performance!

All in all, another outstanding show put on by GBSCC and Sure Shot Promotions!

Today was the first day of the Greater Boston Sports Collectors Club's Card Show at the Shriner's Auditorium in Wilmington, MA.  Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the show until a little before 5pm (show ended today at 7pm).  The good part about my late arrival is that the crowd was very light, so I decided to focus on hitting the common boxes in the hope of completing some sets.

The first box that I looked through contained a bunch of stuff from various years.  I was lucky enough to find 11 cards that I needed for my 2007 Topps Allen & Ginter set in a 10 cent box, and the seller was kind enough to accept an even $1 for the 11 cards.  A different table had a TON of 2012 Topps Update singles/commons for sale, so I put a significant dent in my want list for that set at that table.

Overall, it was a great first day.  I only spent one hour at the show, but I was wearing one of the t-shirts that I designed for the show to help promote my site.  One of the members of the GBSCC who designs the monthly newsletter saw my shirt and told me that he reads the site!  I was so flattered to know that there are people out there that actually read my blog and view the site.  

I'll try to post an update after my time at the show tomorrow.  It's a big day, time to get some rest!  If you spot me at the show tomorrow, introduce yourself and say hello!

Finally, I've waited ALL YEAR for this upcoming weekend.  While I couldn't make it to the National this year (or ever, actually), I've been able to attend the last few Greater Boston Sports Collectors Club (GBSCC) Sports Card and Memorabilia Show at the Shriner's Auditorium in Wilmington, MA.  Mike Josselyn at Sure Shot Promotions (www.sureshotpromotions.com) organizes the autograph signings and his team does an OUTSTANDING job.

Here is my plan for the show this weekend:

Friday November 2nd:  This will strictly be a "viewing only" day for me.  As a member of the GBSCC, I get free admission to the show so I don't mind spending a little time there on Friday to see the setup and the inventory of the dealers.  No autograph guests, so I think the crowd may be pretty small.

Saturday November 3rd:  I'll be pretty busy on Saturday as there will be a LOT of autograph guests that interest me.  The full lineup includes (as of today): Ozzie Smith, Pedro Martinez, Fred Lynn, Ramiro Mendoza, Cecil Cooper, Will Middlebrooks and Jake Lamotta.  I plan on getting autographs from Ozzie, Pedro, Lynn and Lamotta.  I would love to get Cooper and Middlebrooks, but I think I'd rather use those funds elsewhere during the show.

Sunday November 4th: I'm going to try to attend on Sunday as well, but we'll see how the baby cooperates at home.  Full autograph lineup includes (as of today): Aaron Hernandez, Doug Mientkiewicz, Brooks Robinson, John Bucyk, Shawn Thornton, Ellis Burks, Troy Brown and Ricky Gutierrez.  I'm planning to get Brooks Robinson and Ellis Burks, with possibly Doug Mientkiewicz on my in-progress 2004 WS Team Ball.

Overall, I'll be looking to fill my set needs and add some cool PC items at the show.  If any dealers are reading, bring Ginter commons from past years, BVG graded cards at good prices and LOTS of Red Sox stuff.

I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that my work week will allow me time to get a custom t-shirt and business cards made to promote my site.

Check out the flyer below and email me at kevin@thesportscardguy.com if you plan on attending.  I'd love to meet some new friends at the show!

Now if I only could have bought something borrowed and something blue!  I added two new items to my Personal Collection since my last post.  I've done some "Fall Selling" of items from my collection that no longer interested me and decided to reallocate those funds (50% towards daughter's college fund / 50% towards my personal collection).

My "old" addition is a beautiful 1941 Play Ball Ted Williams card that is graded a BVG 4.  The card is beautiful, decent condition (especially for 1941) and was won in an auction format which is my preferred method of purchase on eBay.

The "new" addition is a 2012 Topps Allen & Ginter Bryce Harper rookie card.  I wrote about this card and the BGS 9.5 population that is likely to surpass past year Allen & Ginter cards.  It has the subgrades I was looking for and was at a price that I thought was reasonable.  While there is no guarantee that he'll end up in the Hall of Fame someday, it's the "must own" card from 2012 Allen & Ginter.

On July 12th, I posted a blog entry that discussed how Bryce Harper and Yu Darvish will become two of the most graded Topps Allen & Ginter rookie cards in history by Beckett Grading Services. (original post here: Bryce Harper or Yu Darvish? A New Allen & Ginter Record WILL Be Broken This Year!)

To update my previous posting, as of today (September 5, 2012), the Bryce Harper rookie card has been graded 29 times and Yu Darvish has been graded 28 times.  They are very close at this point and it's too early to tell who will take the lead in the long term, but it's interesting to see how close they are at this point.

On a similar (but different) note, it's interesting to see the difference in the quality of the cards being submitted for grading.  Bryce has 29 cards submitted and 24 of those have been graded a BGS 9.5 or better (82.8%), while Yu has 28 cards submitted and only 16 of those have been graded a BGS 9.5 or better (57.1%).  Is this a case of poor judgement when submitting or are the Yu cards harder to find in Gem Mint or better condition?

Interesting enough, no other base rookie cards have been submitted to Beckett for grading yet (excluded the two Topps Vault submissions).  Where's the love for Brett Lawrie?

Until next time, keep collecting and thanks for reading!

Two cards, that's all that really interested me.

I purchased two cards the other day from 2012 Upper Deck's Goodwin release and they were the only two cards on my want list from the release.  As a big fan of Allen & Ginter, you would think that Goodwin would have more of an appeal for me.  However, what Ginter provides in terms of a baseball release (with MLB license) with oddballs mixed in, Goodwin lacks any license and the sports players are pictured in funky outfits.  I mean, have you seen some of the outfits these guys are wearing in the pictures? 

The two cards that did pique my interest feature two athletes that you rarely see in a sports card release: Joey Chestnut and Jim McMahon.  As a life-long fan of the Chicago Bears, Jim McMahon was my favorite player as a kid and my bedroom walls had posters of him all over them.  I thought it was cool that they put a jersey card in the set and I was able to pick it up for a reasonable amount.

As a fan of the "sport" of competitive eating, I HAD to have the Joey Chestnut autograph as he's my favorite guy to watch.  Also, his autograph card in the Goodwin product cost significantly less than his past Allen & Ginter release.

I really wish I could like this product more as the card stock would be outstanding for TTM (through the mail) autograph requests, I just don't see the value in purchasing this product in a box form when I could easily just purchase the two cards I was really interested in.

What do you think of the 2012 Upper Deck Goodwin release?

History has proven that Topps Allen & Ginter is an annual release that grades very well with Beckett Grading Services (BGS).  Last year, Manny Pacquiao took the crown with 97 copies of his Allen & Ginter card being graded by BGS.  In past years, rookie cards of Evan Longoria and Daisuke Matsuzaka have been graded at high levels due to the design and quality of the cards.

This year, I am confident to say that either Bryce Harper or Yu Darvish will become the MOST GRADED ROOKIE CARD in the history of Topps Allen and Ginter.  The current list of Top Rookie Cards in the history of Allen & Ginter are:

Tim Lincecum: 114
Daisuke Matsuzaka: 91
Jason Heyward: 67
Buster Posey: 63
Evan Longoria: 56

Who do you think will take over the crown from Lincecum?  Bryce Harper or Yu Darvish?