Devin Gardner 2015 Leaf Trinity Inscriptions Bronze auto
Starting off with football, here's my second Devin Gardner auto, and it's a fun one from the very cool Leaf Trinity set. Leaf commissioned several variations with different inscriptions and numbering, and this unnumbered Bronze card includes Devin's passing stats from his junior season of 2013. I don't blame him for eschewing the team's forgettable 2014 numbers. By the way, Gardner added 11 more TDs with his legs! I hope this is the first of many such inscription cards.
Chad Henne 2008 Donruss Classics School Colors auto (#28/50)
One of Devin's QB predecessors is blog favorite Chad Henne, seen here on a blog favorite Michigan uni card! The School Colors line is usually associated with the Elite brand, but Classics got dibs here, and either way the result is a beautiful card that includes Chad's solid signature. Henne still leads the way with 82 football hits.
As great as that pair is, you'll see why baseball is this post's main focus:
Jason Christian 2009 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Signature Status Black auto (1/1)
I really don't see these 1/1s come up very often so I was surprised to find this Black 1/1 of a Michigan uninformed Jason Christian from '09 Elite. That'll make a very nice addition to his rainbow from the set once I complete it (I'm still trying to track down his Gold /5).
Jason Christian 2010 Bowman Chrome Prospects Printing Plates Black (1/1)
Whoa, TWO 1/1s of the fairly obscure Christian? That's an affirmative! I managed to grab this plate and another for Doug for around $15 shipped, which I definitely considered a big win. Note that the front image is reversed because this is a Chrome plate while base Bowman cards feature the normal orientation.
WAIT, IS THAT--hold on, let me bust open this stupid case. BGS grading? Yeah I totally trust that....
Jason Christian 2010 Bowman Chrome Prospects SuperFractor (1/1)
YEP! That's my first ever Superfractor, an amazing card I landed about a month ago for $20.50 shipped. Don't worry, this isn't one of those BS "proof" cards that get back-doored, it's the real deal with the "1/1" stamp on the back and everything. And yes, that means I now own three Jason Christian 1/1s, or almost a third (3/11) of what he has out there. w00t!
Rich Hill 2008 Upper Deck Premier Signature Premier Bronze auto (#17/25)
Moving on we come to blog baseball favorite Rich Hill. I have to imagine that few are as happy for Rich as I am after seeing his triumphant return to the bigs in 2015 with four strong starts for the Red Sox. Guys his age who've been exiled to the pen almost never get second chances in the rotation, but Hill made the most of his opportunity, going 2-1 with 36 strikeouts in 29 IP, including 10 strikeouts in each of his first three starts, the last of which was a gem of a two-hit shutout. Dude has a legitimate chance to be part of someone's rotation in 2016, and considering where Hill has been the last few years--including independent ball--that's crazy! He's one of the best stories of 2015 and I'm happy to see him finally get some love.
So first I present to you the "worst" card I picked up in the last two months, this Premier auto numbered /25. I'm trying to put together all of Hill's cards from that product, and while I'm missing a bunch of lower numbered multiplayer cards, I now have all four of his Signature Premier autos, including versions /53 (jersey number), /45, and /15 (Gold).
Rich Hill 2009 Topps Allen and Ginter Autographs Red Ink auto (#03/10)
Who needs cards that are so abundant that they made 25 of them? /10 is more my style, like this purdy A&G Red auto from 2009. I'd like to say a very public thanks to Greg of Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle for the heads up that this card was for sale way back in early August. It's a rarity to be sure and I was able to pounce on it for under $15 to go with the same card from the following year. Needless to say I'm thrilled at being able to knock off another toughie.
Rich Hill 2006 Ultimate Collection Printing Plates Yellow (1/1)
As I sometimes do, I saved the best for last. "Better than that Superfractor?!" you ask. Yeah, so what, another Hill 1/1 (my 14th), just another prize for my collection, right? WRONG, hypothetical person, and I'll tell you why. You might not remember this because it's been a while, but you've seen some of the other plates from this set on this here blog, and by "some" I mean the other three:
Your eyes are not fooling you--that is one complete set of Rich Hill plates from 2006 Ultimate Collection: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow. You lookin' to acquire Hill's base card from that set? I'm your guy. I am beyond thrilled that I've completed a set of four plates of my #1 PC guy, if you couldn't tell. And if that weren't enough, I can now claim 120 hits of the aptly-named Rich, plus almost 10% of his 1/1s, and that makes me pretty confident that I can justifiably call myself a Hill supercollector.
Oh yeah, and thanks to this crazy haul I now own 44 different 1/1 cards. So I'd say I'm having a pretty good day.
I still have tons of stuff to post and maybe I'll even get around to some of it before a huge Saturday matchup.
Glad you were able to land the Red Ink Rich!
ReplyDeleteAnd congrats on being able to make your own cardboard!
Yep, no way I was gonna pass up that opportunity. And thanks! How many copies should I put you down for?
DeleteGreg lead the blogosphere in assists. He has helped me out several times locating cards as well.
ReplyDeleteHoly smokes Dennis! You got your hands on some rare stuff. Superfractors, red ink, 1/1's!!!! That must have felt great. Congrats.
Greg Zawkin: the John Stockton of cards.
DeleteThanks! That's probably the most good stuff I've ever crammed into one post, now I gotta see if I can top it.