Ring A Bell - No Bull

The COVID lot is non-NHL focused today...

Well, there is part of a team set for the Bellville Bulls in the cards today. When looking at minor league team sets, you don't expect super quality or great photos, but I have to say, these cards aren't too shabby. Slapshot was responsible for a number of team sets like this, and the designs are similar, but again, decent enough for what they are so thumbs up on that one.

For whatever reason, there were a few promo cards from it and here as well. As you can see, the backs are basic, with no stats, but that probably makes it easier than trying to make stats and box sizes different, etc. In this set up, everyone has a hometown, etc so it can be easy to fill for anyone.

When Topps decides to put a few minor prospects into an NHL set, they do pretty well with their picks - at least back then at times. I mean, both the Lecavalier guy and Tanguay both turned out to be pretty okay in the bigs...

On A Diet

 Oh COVID lot, how you make me want to drink...

Diet Pepsi that is. Coming out in 1992, cards could be found all over the place, associated with just about anything, including Diet Pepsi of course. A 30 card set, I have a few and these add a few more which is nice. The colours are very Pepsi with the red and blue of course.

The backs are fine as well, though I am not sure why the font was done the way it was on the stats. Surely a better font could have been used which would have taken the same space but be more legible. Definitely got more Canseco and Clark copies than I need, so some for trade, but a nice bunch of cards to pluck from the lot!

Not So Junky

 Today COVID cards are the high production variety mostly of the late 80s and early 90s.

Five keepers in the bunch, two set builders and three inserts. Those Fleer 1991 inserts don't get enough credit given being overshadowed by the yellowness of the base set.

There's an example if 1991 Fleer and a bunch of 1991 Score which had some great subsets.

Then we get into the mid 90s and the flashy designs, for better or worse, start taking over, even in Stadium Club.

Not a bad bunch of cards, just not too much here for my collection 

Legendary Help

 A nice bakerybum at TCDB saw my needs when I entered them in after going through the Christmas Timmies cards I got, and in one nice trade, filled a bunch of holes in the set.

A great set of names in the base set, Bobby and Gordie, you can't go wrong there.

Gretzky of course, not sure how that Roy guy got in there, but I guess they can't all be winners...though Eddie The Eagle is always a good one!

Happily, it wasn't just the base needs attended to, we get a number of inserts as well. Almost have the Revord Books insert set done now, just two left.

Can't do much of a better end than Manon.

Now, if I can pull of another trade or two like this, the set will be almost done!

Worldly Pros

 Even late in the game, with what is going to be one of the last football card related pulls from the COVID lot, we end up with a small complete set to talk about.

In the 1991 Pro Set release, there were inserts related to the World League which was the attempt at the time for European expansion of the NFL. This insert set is 10 helmet cards for the teams. Honestly, I love the set itself - it's akin to a logo insert set which I would always be all for - logos don't get enough credit, and that is the focus of the helmet set anyway. Toy get a nice back since it was new at the time, so not much team history to share, so why not the schedule!

There were other non-helmet cards in another insert set for the World League, and a bunch of those cards are here, though not quite all of them.

The European expansion may not have taken at the time very well, but at least we have cards to remember what it did (and didn't do).

Looking Fancy

 A bunch of cards from the COVID lot today which provide some cards from a set I have not seen a lot of, but I will say, it does at least come off as a fancy or higher end set of SPx.

Here we have 2001's SPx baseball offering. Sure, it's a bit graphically focused on the front, showing how fancy they can be, but at least it's done well, with good card stock and feels a bit premium.

The backs disappoint with the lack of full stats, but could be worse I guess.

For the bunch, there is one keeper at least with an uncorrected error on the John Olerud card. This is where he's pictured on the front as a Mariner, but logo'd on the back as an Expos. Not sure how that would have been done instead of the Mariner logo.

Rest are up for grabs but again, I look at this set and figure it's for player or team collectors to want cards, I doubt anyone is actively putting this set together now.....but maybe I am wrong.

Being Authentic

Today's COVID lot pulls are a small lot from a baseball set I don't collect - 2000 SP Authentic. 

2000 was not a year I followed baseball too closely as I was switching from high school to university and it was hard enough to keep up with everything life wise, let alone baseball. It was a shorter stint of not following much but there were a few years there I didn't follow too closely, however some of the names of course, I know well - see one Tony Gwynn.

The design is fine - coloured to the team, though a bit much on the lost space, however that generally is the case with SP Authentic sets. A small base set when ignoring serial numbered or short printed cards, etc.

The backs are fine, but again, some lost space, and selective a bit on the stats. I mean, I want to know futility too like number of strikeouts man, come on!

Well, nothing for me, but a few cards if anyone out there is collecting this one.

A Little Retro

 Every now and then from the COVID lot of cards, we get some newer cards with an older flare to them, and that's the highlight for today.

A smattering of 2000s cards here. For those not in the know, the Pacific Complete was a set unto itself, but Pacific was "smart" in essentially putting part of the cards as inserts in a number of different products so you essentially had to buy each product to collect the set in any real manner. Of course, you could look to trade for them otherwise. I think it's a pretty neat idea, but would work better with a fantastic look and feel to the set - this one is just too plain/basic to me.

We do get into some Topps Heritage though which have a classic look.

Add in some Fleer Greats of the Game set cards and you get a bunch of golden oldies for players, and some throwback design. We end with one more throwback design...

The Topps C55 set which has a number of base card variations (including the Zetterberg keeper above). I get the card numbers on the front, but would have been fine with those going onto the back the way they stick out given the yellow background.

I have no idea how easy to get these C55 cards were - anyone out there actually have or collect the set?

Hitting Repeat

 Well, sometimes buying card lots can result in some duplicates of cards. Not saying that's a bad thing, I'd take 5 copies of a Leaf or Jays card easy, but here are many, I don't need the duplicates for...

May not be a fan of most things Be A Player set related, but I will say the world player cards, with the name and flag done on the side, isn't the worst design choice. Player selection is hit and miss on these, but I can be okay with the design. Not collecting the set, not keeping any, but still, can appreciate the effort on the subset.

Some star power cards from 1991-92 Score. A mix of some American and some Canadian. If you know the sets, the subset card fronts aren't different, but the regular base are purple (Mario in the middle) for the American version while red and blue for the Canadian - but then it's for both the English and Bilingual Canadian versions, so in all cases, the backs need to be consulted to get the right set.

We end with some 1998-99 Upper Deck MVP which is old enough we have seen the design more recently as a throwback design....sigh....however it does provide my personal highlight for the cards today, two more copies of Sundin, though I had one before...now I have three!

A sspeegle of a Trade

 Another trade share today, this one with TCDB member sspeegle who sent a bunch of Jays my way.

I am getting close to my Jays base team set for 1999 Topps, just a card left I believe, and the 2022 Topps Chrome are more than I had before this trade.

So one thing that makes me sad is - the Vladdy Bowman card is the only Jay card in the base set. Sure, that's only 100 cards because Bowman is all about the "insert" draft picks and prospects, but still, even with 100 cards, that would average to three cards per team or so, and the Jays just have the one. At least it makes it easy to collect the team!

As for the 2023 Heritage set, really like that Cimber card, very stretched out for good use of the horizontal design.

As always, a great TCDB trade and good help for the collection.

Mehler It In

 A small PWE trade with TCDB member MMehler30 today, which brings some interesting packaging.

No, I did not trade for 12 Kiefer cards....and interesting choice of packaging.

What I did trade for was the second of two Blue Jay cards from the 2023 Topps Chrome set, the two inserts of Jays in the 1988 Topps Baseball glory.

I also received the lone Toronto card from the 2023 Panini Prizm insert set Three-hole.

Even with that said, I really like the scanned look of the X-Fractor Varsho, they can scan very pretty like this. It's my first from the insert set, but would love to trade for more!

My Felly Tullyelly

 As we get into the heart of my busy season....mid February until about 2030 the way things have been going....I kid.....until end of April, it's nice to be able to share quick trade posts. Easy to show, easy to highlight the why and what I got, so thank you tullyelly from TCDB for these...

A nice start in getting the two missing Jays from the 1988 Fleer Baseball's League Leaders set, so another set knocked off as complete. According to my long list, that's team set 480 for my Jays.

The bash brothers is a second copy because of the duplicate copyright on the back - counts as an error to me.

We get some other newer Jays help including a snazzy Vladdy and one of the MANY error cards from 2022 Topps - I mean, who knows the difference between wins and average? Apparently not these guys...

We end with a couple Chipz of Jays, and that rounds out another great trade. Starting the year strong, but not going to be doing much for the next couple months...need to let work do it's thing. THe hobby will still be fun, and I will be here, but work sure makes things busy and harder to balance this time of year.

Player Spotlight

 Like yesterday, but a little more focused, we have many cards of two baseball players from the COVID lot today - first up being Phil Plantier.

Phil was a bit of a journey man with a career spanning from 1990-1997 in the majors. He played in Oakland, Houston, Boston, St. Louis and San Diego during that time. Stat wise, what he earned in offsive WAR< he gave up defensively being an "on average" overall player.

Not to say he was "bad" in any manner, but he floated around because he solidly filled the gap for teams that needed a serviceable leftfielder.

The other player today is Javy Lopez. Javy is more along the lines of Tim Salmon - maybe not his entire career with one team, but close to it with Atlanta. His successes were with the team as that's where he won his only World Series ring. He played in the majors from 1992 through 2006 and was a catcher (or DH for all of that time, save for a couple innings at first base for Baltimore in 2005.

Similar to Salmon, he earned less than 1% of the Hall of Fame voting on his first and only ballot, but was a solid player who did well for his team and had a lengthy career. Not all great players are Hall of Famers, and that's okay.