Joltin Joe DiMaggio Came In A Tin Case

As a Yankees collector, I get a lot of Yankee related gifts from some very generous people. One of my team collectors, I forget who at this point, sent some pretty interesting Joe DiMaggio cards a few years back. I had put them in a drawer and forgot that I had them. While I was doing some cleaning, I found the cards and took a close look at them.

Back in 1993, Score released an exclusive 30 card set of Pinnacle Joe DiMaggio cards. It was limited to 209,000 sets and comes with a certificate of authenticity. The tin these cards come in is very nice. I can see myself putting the tin on display with my Yankee statues or figures when I do put some shelves up. I really like it a lot.

When you open the tin, the first thing you see is the felt that protects the cards while they are in the tin. Then you see the authenticator lens. What you do is put the lens on the back of one of the cards and you should see the word "DiMaggio" on the bottom. Also, without the lens, all you would see is a blurred image. Score really went the fancy route with these cards.

Here's a shot of the lens, which is just a piece of plastic. Also, my certificate of authenticity. I have number 140,038 of 209,000.

And what about the cards?

There are some very nice shots of DiMaggio in all stages of his baseball career, not just with the Yankees. The top middle card is a picture of Joe in his San Francisco Seals days.

I love the picture of Joe with Lou Gehrig. When they played together in the mid 30's they were every bit as good as when Gehrig played with Ruth. Check out the color photos on these cards. There are some crystal clear shots on there.

There's are some pics of Joe with Bob Feller and Dizzy Dean. I really like the one of Joe signing autographs for the kids hanging around the Yankee dugout. I like it a lot better without the flash from my phone shining right on Joe's face though.

I love that card on the bottom right corner. DiMaggio wore number 9 during his rookie year before switching to his more familiar number 5 the following season.

Finally, you have a couple of cards that show DiMaggio sliding into home. Every time I see anything of DiMaggio sliding, I always hear Daffy Duck in my head screaming "Slide DiMaggio, Slide!"

As much as I like having these cards in my collection, I am trying to figure out what is so special about them. They feel like a normal card would in weight and size. The lettering isn't made of gold or anything, so I don't know why this set came with the fancy tin, lens and certificate of authenticity. Just knowing that this is a numbered set would have been good enough for me. I'm guessing that, since numbering was still kind of new at that time, Score made a big deal about this set and it was probably sold for a higher price at the time as well.

Even still, anytime I can add some nice Joe DiMaggio cards into my collection, I will always do so. DiMaggio was one of the greatest players to ever play the game and should be represented in any baseball collection, if you collect the Yankees or not.

Ever Meet You're Favorite Player And He Turns Out To Be A Jerk?

When your a kid,if you're lucky enough you start enjoying a sport and quickly latch on to a team that you will love the rest of my life. I was. I fell in love with the New York Yankees at the age of 5 and have had a love affair with the Bronx Bombers for almost 39 years. That makes me loyal and old!

When your a kid, if you're lucky enough to find a player who captures your imagination in a way no other player can and he becomes your idol. The guy whom you shower all your admiration for. Buy his jersey. Pick up his bobblehead, Have posters of him on your wall. Trade cards with others to have a collection of cards of your favorite player. And if your really lucky, you will get to meet him and it will be a memorable experience, one that will positively be with you the rest of your life.

I got to meet my favorite player. There's a reason why I don't really have a PC of his.

When I first started watching the Yankees, I didn't have a favorite player right away. My mom, was a massive Reggie Jackson fan, so like a good little mama's boy, I started following him. But there was something about him that didn't appeal to me. Maybe it was I noticed his fielding wasn't that great or that he struck out a lot, but I wasn't down with Reggie as much as my mom was. Don't get me wrong. I didn't dislike Reggie, I was thrilled he was a Yankees, but he wasn't my guy.

During that 1977 season, I started to notice one particular player who was hitting home runs and driving in runs at a more rapid pace than Reggie was. Then, one afternoon, I can't remember who the Yankees were playing or when during that year it took place, but a screaming line drive was rocketed down the third base line, sure to be extra bases. Then, out of nowhere, a diving Yankee snared that ball, got up and threw the ball to Chris Chambliss at first base, nailing the runner by a couple of steps. I remember staring at the replay, mouth wide open, wondering what in the Brooks Robinson just happened. It was the greatest play my widdle eyes had seen at that point and I knew I had found my favorite Yankee. His name, as if you haven't guess by now, was Graig Nettles.

From that point on, I was a Nettles fanatic. I watched the Yankees and hoped to see a fantastic play by the man they called "Puff". I prayed I'd see Nettles hit one out of the park. I had a couple of t-shirts made up as I grew up with the Yankees interlocking NY on the front and Nettles name and number 9 on the back. When I played ball, I was always at 3rd, wore number 9 and was diving for every ball, even if it was a routine grounder. Pretty soon, all the kids called me Nettles and it made me proud. When I started collecting baseball cards in 1979, I always made sure I had his card in my collection and traded with other kids to get his other cards I didn't have. Heck, I was player collecting before it became the thing to do.

I started going to Yankee games with my buddies who lived across the street from me around 1982. We used to go to all the giveaway games, which is why I had a ton of Yankee goodies (God, I wish I still had all that stuff). We made sure to get to the Stadium early to watch batting practice in the bleachers (I was a Bleacher Creature before....ah, who cares.) and we would go and try to get autographs when the players would leave Yankee Stadium. I remember getting some good players to sign my program or baseball cards. Players like Lou Pinella, Bobby Murcer, even a young Don Mattingly. But never Graig Nettles.

Then one day, for some reason I was walking between the buses that would take the Yankee players and staff to the airport to catch their flights when out of the corner of my eye I saw him, Graig Nettles was coming at me. It was just me and my favorite player, mano y mano. I was sure he would want to hear how I idolized him and would be glad to sign my baseball card. Boy, how wrong I was. He brushed me off without even looking at me and avoided the crowd and got in the bus. My heart was broken, yet I rationalized that he had to get on the bus and make his flight, so all was forgiven. I would get him again.

The next chance I got was at a card show, 25 years later. I attended the Long Island card show, which is held at Hofstra University. There a few other players I wanted to meet, but to me, the main event was a meeting with Graig Nettles. Now, mind you, I was just getting restarted collecting autographs and didn't even think of having him sign a photograph or baseball. I plucked down my $30.00 to have him sign my baseball card.

When I finally got up to his table, I was more nervous then when I met Gene Simmons. I started telling him how I idolized him growing up. How I used to play third base and wore number 9 and dove for baseballs and how it was an honor to finally meet him. Nettles looked up at me and said, in the most obnoxious way, "Gee, that's great kid. You must have been really popular". I wasn't sure if he was being a jerk, so I didn't say anything but thanked him for making a die hard fan's day and left the table.

After walking around and looking at a few tables, I looked at my buddy and asked him if Nettles sounded sarcastic to him. My friend confirmed this and told me the look on my face reminded him of a child who was told the last showing of Star Wars was sold out. With my fears being confirmed I decided I wouldn't actively collect Graig Nettles like I was planning. In fact, I was planning on picking up his 1969 Topps rookie card that day.

I met Nettles a couple times after to get a ball signed or an 8x10 signed for a friend and each time I barely said anything to him and he never acknowledged my presence. He would just sign the item without a word to me. If I was lucky, I might get a hello from him after I exchanged the pleasantry to him. The "meeting" would take about 2 minutes, tops. Each time, I would get less disappointed and more angry because I would always look for something that would redeem himself to me. A nice remark or a warm smile that would get me to like him again so I can start that PC of his.

It's not like I don't already have a small PC of him already:

Here's the signed card from that first meeting. I wanted to rip up the card soon after, but remembered I paid $30.00 to have him sign it.

Some Nettles Game Used Cards

Some Nettles autographs

Obviously, my personal feelings about Nettles hasn't stopped me from getting stuff signed by him or adding his Yankee cards to my Yankees collection. I just never started a separate binder for him like I have for Tino Martinez, Mark Teixeira, Mickey Mantle and Derek Jeter or wanted to for Paul O'Neil. I have toyed with the idea of just letting bygones be bygones and starting a PC for Nettles, but I could never bring myself to do it. As I get older, the anger in me has subsided and I can see myself starting one in time. I just don't think that time is soon. I already have too many player PC's going and to start another may put my collection in even more chaos than it already is in. Maybe after I get my cards in order and I have some Nettles doubles, I will open up a binder for him.

I would really like to remember him for the plays at third base than my encounters with him. I would prefer to remember how he litterly stole Game 3 of the 1978 World Series from the Dodgers with the plays he made at the hot corner or how I used to argue that Nettles was just as good as Brooks Robinson and he should be in the Hall Of Fame (Naive of me. That .248 life time average will keep him out of the Hall Of Fame). Maybe one day I can fully forgive and forget my meeting with him and instead remember how he capture my imagination and helped a young boy fall in love with a game that after 39 years, the love still burns stronger than ever.

My First Sign Of Spring Is Here. 2015 Topps Yakees Cards!

For those of you poor, unfortunate souls who live in the northeast like I do, you are looking for any glimmer of warmth from the cold winter we have been experiencing. It seems like when the calendar switched to 2015, old man winter turned down the thermostat and proclaimed, "I'm back".

I have been looking for anyway to beat the cold. Staying indoors, drinking lots of coffee, layering, anything. But today, my first real sign that the cruel winter will soon be over arrived in the mail today. No, it wasn't the head of old man winter staring at me when I opened my package. It was my 2015 Topps Series One Yankees cards that I got in a team break my team collector group recently held.

I had been holding off picking any packs of this up because I knew my group would be breaking the product. But, like a drug addict jonsing for his fix, I would wander into Target, looking at the card section in hopes of grabbing a rack pack or two. Then I remember that I have the absolute worst Target in the free world when I see no 2015 Topps. No 99 cents packs, no rack packs, no blisters, no nothing. I guess it's a good thing I didn't pick any up because when my package arrived, I tore into it like I tear into a Big Mac.

Let's take a look at the goods...

First off, I really like the design of this year's set. It's not the same, boring designs Topps has used in the past. I like how the Yankee colors are blended in the border and of course, the photography is top notch. Not Stadium Club top notch, but good enough for this collector. Love that Jeter card. The picture was taken during his last game at Yankee Stadium, right after he hit a walk off single to win the game in his last at bat. That's an image I will carry with me the rest of my life.

I get my Teixeira card for the Tex binder as well as the Jeter short print card. My only beef is there isn't a Betances card or a Chase Headley or a C.C. Sabatha card in this set. I understand that there need to be some players for Series Two, but come on. We couldn't have included Bryan Mitchell or Shawn Kelley in Series Two so we could get the missing stars in this series?

Ah, the inserts. I maybe one of the few collectors who don't complain about Topps bringing out so many inserts. I love inserts and I think Topps did a great job with the inserts in this set. I love the look of the Free Agent 40 cards. The Gallery Of Greats is a pretty classy looking card and I got some of the classier players you can find in Jeter, Rivera and DiMaggio.

Another nice looking insert set in this set is the Archetypes set. Love the way the gold and blue of the card blends in with the image of the player featured. I also got the only Yankee card in the Inspirations Duels set, which will also go into the Teixeira binder. I think Donnie Baseball will like it in there.

Finally, we come to these awesome insert cards, the Highlight Of The Year set. As you can probably gather, Topps takes a particular year and player and gives you a highlight of that year from the particular player chosen. I actually thought I had these cards in order by year when I took the picture. Embarrassing...

I also got a gold border parallel Derek Jeter short print and what I believe are Rainbow foils of Jeter, Ellsbury and Martin Prado.

My hit is this Career High Hiroki Kuroda autographed card. I have been trying to get a Kuroda autograph in my collection since he first joined the Yankees. I tried TTM to Steinbrenner Field during Spring Training and Yankee Stadium during the season. I tried in person at Yankee Stadum, but to no avail. No, I finally have a Kuroda autograph in my Yankees collection. I hope he does well in Japan for what may be his final year as a professional ball player.

I am really happy with this year's Topps release. I'm so glad I got in on the group break, I have just about every Yankee card in this series with the exception of Ellsbury Robbed card, the Babe Ruth Gallery Of Greats card. I didn't get any of the First Home Run cards or Babe Ruth Story cards, which I think are Target exclusives. The Coin And Stamp cards are case hits, so if I want any of those as well as the other autograph cards, I will have to go though eBay or trades with other collectors.

Regardless, I am quite pleased that I was able to add a near complete set of Yankees cards into my 2010 to 2019 Yankees Topps Flagship binder. Whenever I get new Yankee cards around the time Spring Training begins, I usually start to get my Yankee t shirts and jerseys ready because spring, and more importantly, Yankee baseball is just around the corner.

Recent Mailday. Yankees, Yankees And A 1/1

Recently I participated in a group break of 2014 Topps Minis. It's not a product I normally pick up as mini cards are kind of difficult to protect. Recently, I have seen pages that can hold mini cards, so my Allen and Ginter mini's can now be displayed in my A&G binder. Knowing this, I decided to take grab the Yankees spot in the group break and I'm very glad I did.

When I opened the mailbox, I was excited to see another package with my group break scores. It was the Mark Teixeira card I recently picked up off eBay.

I grabbed this 2007 MLB Artifacts Awesome Artifacts Quad jersey card numbered to 50 for a steal. I have a Derek Jeter bat card from this same subset and I put in a bid when I saw this card. I was pretty shocked when I won as  put in a $2.00 bid on it. I am very pleased to be able to add this to the Teixeira PC. This is game used card number 66 for the PC. The march towards 100 continues.

Then I opened up the bag containing my Yankees cards. My buddy threw in a couple of extras for me to add to my various collections.

A  Roger Maris Manufactured Patch Card for 2012 Topps Series 1. Me likey.

2013 Bowman Blue Border Mark Teixeira numbered to 500 for the Teixeira PC

2014 Allan & Ginter Lou Gehrig mini that I needed

A couple of the 2013 Topps Cut To The Chase inserts. I love these cards. I have to make sure I don't already have these two.

A 2012 Topps Derek Jeter Short Print card, which I am stoked to have in my Jeter PC.

And a couple of cards of El Capitain that I needed for my Jeter PC.

Now, on to the main event. To be honest, I think the Topps minis are actually pretty nice. They are just the regular flagship cards, shrunk down. They are going to look pretty sweet in their pages next to the regular flagship cards once I get the complete set done.

I have some Jeter and Teixeira cards to pull out for their PC's, but other than that, I will be putting them in the Topps flagship binder soon enough.

I got a few nice gold border cards in the batch. This Tanaka was the best of the bunch. This is numbered to 63. Not sure why Topps picked that number though.

And this pink bordered CC Sabathia card numbered to 25. Not sure if I'll chase after the set of these. Probably depends on how much the cards go for.

I also got a huge pull from this break. I was shocked when it was pulled and it's going to become a permanent part of my collection until I leave this life.

A yellow printing plate of Derek Jeter

Yup. A 1 of 1 card. My first 1 of 1 Jeter card. I am very happy that I could add this to my Jeter collection and will cherish it for life.

I am very glad I decided to participate in this group break. I actually almost passed on it. I can only imagine how I would feel if I saw that Jeter slip through my fingers. I might have given up on collecting cards all together. OK, not true, but I would have made sure I was involved in every single break going forward.

Now, I look towards 2015 Topps Series 1. Can't wait to break some of that.

Oh, Those Yankees To Be Chased

Last week Topps released the check list for their upcoming 2015 baseball release. After perusing the check list, I was pretty impressed with the Yankee that will be in Series 1. In case, you haven't seen the list, your buddy at the Sports Room has you covered, or specifically, the dudes at Cardboard Connection have you covered. You can check the list over here:  http://www.cardboardconnection.com/2015-topps-series-1-baseball-cards

For me, these are the only cards I am concerned with:

Base
1 Derek Jeter - New York Yankees
17 Brian McCann - New York Yankees
21 Brett Gardner - New York Yankees
45 Carlos Beltran - New York Yankees
142 Masahiro Tanaka - New York Yankees FS
152 Michael Pineda - New York Yankees
224 Bryan Mitchell - New York Yankees RC
225 Jacoby Ellsbury - New York Yankees
278 David Phelps - New York Yankees
302 Martin Prado - New York Yankees
304 Shawn Kelley - New York Yankees
307 Mark Teixeira - New York Yankees
319 Derek Jeter - New York Yankees BH
343 Shane Greene - New York Yankees

Archetypes Set Checklist

A-2 Mariano Rivera - New York Yankees

A-10 Babe Ruth - New York Yankees

A-12 Derek Jeter - New York Yankees

Archetypes Relics Set Checklist

AR-DJ Derek Jeter - New York Yankees

AR-MR Mariano Rivera - New York Yankees

Archetypes Autographs Set Checklist

AA-MR Mariano Rivera - New York Yankees

Archetypes Autographed Relics Set Checklist

AAR-MR Mariano Rivera - New York Yankees

Birth Year Coin and Stamp Set Checklist

CS-07 Lou Gehrig - New York Yankees

CS-10 Reggie Jackson - New York Yankees

CS-11 Derek Jeter - New York Yankees

CS-17 Babe Ruth - New York Yankees

CS-22 Masahiro Tanaka - New York Yankees

Career High Relics Set Checklist

CRH-MTA Masahiro Tanaka - New York Yankees

CRH-RC Robinson Cano - New York Yankees

Career High Autographs Set Checklist

CH-DB Dellin Betances - New York Yankees

CH-HK Hiroki Kuroda - New York Yankees

CH-JPO Jorge Posada - New York Yankees

First Home Run Set Checklist

FHR-04 Robinson Cano - New York Yankees

FHR-05 Derek Jeter - New York Yankees

FHR-28 Don Mattingly - New York Yankees

FHR-40 Deion Sanders - New York Yankees

First Home Run Medallions Set Checklist

FHRM-DJ Derek Jeter - New York Yankees

FHRM-DM Don Mattingly - New York Yankees

FHRM-DS Deion Sanders - New York Yankees

FHRM-RC Robinson Cano - New York Yankees

First Home Run Relics Set Checklist

FHRR-DJ Derek Jeter - New York Yankees

Free Agent 40 Set Checklist

F40-3 CC Sabathia - New York Yankees

F40-5 Goose Gossage - New York Yankees

F40-11 Reggie Jackson - New York Yankees

Free Agent 40 Relics Set Checklist

F40R-CS CC Sabathia - New York Yankees

F40R-RJ Reggie Jackson - New York Yankees

Free Agent 40 Autographs Set Checklist

F40A-CS CC Sabathia - New York Yankees

F40A-RJ Reggie Jackson - New York Yankees

Free Agent 40 Autographed Relics Set Checklist

F40AR-CS CC Sabathia - New York Yankees

F40AR-RJ Reggie Jackson - New York Yankees

Future Stars Pin Manufactured Relic Set Checklist

FS-07 Masahiro Tanaka - New York Yankees

FS-08 Dellin Betances - New York Yankees

Gallery of Greats Set Checklist

GG-3 Derek Jeter - New York Yankees

GG-19 Mariano Rivera - New York Yankees

GG-21 Joe DiMaggio - New York Yankees

GG-22 Babe Ruth - New York Yankees

Gallery of Greats Relics Set Checklist

GGR-DJ Derek Jeter - New York Yankees

Highlight of the Year Set Checklist

H-1 Lou Gehrig - New York Yankees

H-2 Babe Ruth - New York Yankees

H-3 Babe Ruth - New York Yankees

H-11 Roger Maris - New York Yankees

H-12 Roger Maris - New York Yankees

H-24 Derek Jeter - New York Yankees

Highlight of the Year Relics Set Checklist

HYR-DJ Derek Jeter - New York Yankees

In the Name Relics Set Checklist

INT-DB Dellin Betances - New York Yankees

INT-DJ Derek Jeter - New York Yankees

Inspirations Duals Set Checklist

I-3 Don Mattingly - New York Yankees
Mark Teixeira - New York Yankees

Inspirations Dual Relics Set Checklist

IR-TM Mark Teixeira - New York Yankees
Don Mattingly - New York Yankees

Inspirations Dual Autographs Set Checklist

IA-TM Mark Teixeira - New York Yankees
Don Mattingly - New York Yankees

Inspirations Dual Autographed Relics Set Checklist

IA-TM Mark Teixeira - New York Yankees
Don Mattingly - New York Yankees


MLB Silhouetted Batter Logo Pin Manufactured Relic Set Checklist

MSBL-14 Masahiro Tanaka - New York Yankees

Robbed Set Checklist

R-3 Jacoby Ellsbury - New York Yankees

Strata Cut Signatures Set Checklist

SCS-DZ Don Zimmer - New York Yankees

SCS-JD Joe DiMaggio - New York Yankees

SCS-PR Phil Rizzuto - New York Yankees

SCS-RM Roger Maris - New York Yankees

Strata Signature Relics Set Checklist

SSR-CS CC Sabathia - New York Yankees

SSR-MR Mariano Rivera - New York Yankees

The Babe Ruth Story Set Checklist

BR-6 The Home Run King New York Yankees
BR-7 MVP in '23 New York Yankees

BR-8 Murderer's Row Member New York Yankees

BR-9 The Called Shot New York Yankees

BR-10 The Babe becomes a media star New York Yankees

So, this list actually impresses me as a Yankees collector. There are a lot cards for me to chase this year and this is just Series 1. The past couple of years, there wasn't a lot of Yankees cards released in the Flagship brand, especially relics and autographs. This season, I have a few cards to chase. 

I definitely want to get my hands on the dual Don Mattingly/Mark Teixeira cards. If only for my Teixeira PC a well as the Jeter cards for my Jeter PC. But, if I could get my hands on a cut signature or two, I would be one happy Yankees fan.

Every year I want to try to try and get every single Yankee card Topps releases, especially in the Flagship brand, but I always find myself falling short every year. I'm going to try my best to complete the Yankees run on Series 1, 2 and Update. 

If you want to check out your team or the complete checklist, click on the link above. Series 1 is set for release on Feb. 4th, 2015. Happy hunting.

My Haul From The Westchester County Sports Card Show

To tell you the truth, I wasn't really planning on going. My emotions were in the toilet in the days leading up to the show and I was prepared to just stay in my jammies, watch my Yankeeography DVD's and eat copious amounts of junk food while washing it down with some frosty Blue Moon. Then Saturday arrived and something in me grabbed my collar, slapped me a couple times and changed my mood rather quick.

Once I got there, I went into "card pickup" mode. My game plan for the day was to grab some vintage Yankee cards for a cheap price, so I knew grabbing the stars would be out of the question and get the free autograph, which was Gaylord Perry, on a 8x10 of him in a Yankee uniform.

I think I did pretty well.

Quite the haul, eh? I actually didn't spend too much for all of this either. I'm rather proud of myself to be honest.

As you can see, I got a pretty nice photo of Gaylord Perry in a Yankees uni for the PC. He wasn't adding HOF to his signature, that would be extra. I didn't mind as he didn't make the HOF based on his time in the Bronx. Let's see what else I got.

At one table I was able to score this 1961 Topps Bill Stafford card for a buck. The card is actually in pretty good condition. I needed him for the 1961 team set, so I grabbed it.

Another addition to the 1961 Topps team set was this Ryne Duren card. I paid buck for it also. I probably should tell you that unless I tell you how much I paid for a particular card, I paid a buck for it.

For the 1960 Topps team set, I added these cards of "Bullet" Bob Turley and Johnny Blanchard. I absolutely love the 1960 set, with the small picture on the left and the larger on next to it. The team logo and dual color lettering. I snatched the Blanchard because I love Yankee Stadium backing him up in the main picture.

From the 1959 Topps set, I grabbed this Sporting News Johnny Blanchard Rookie Stars Of 1959 card. It was the best from a pile of vintage I was looking through. I'll have to pick up an upgrade on it at a later date.

Yes, there's that Blanchard again. This time, I grabbed his 1965 Topps card. Really, it was between this one or the Tony Kubek card from the same set. I was going with the Kubek until I noticed a huge chunk of card missing from the left side. Blanchard came home with me by default.

I knew I was not getting a Mickey Mantle vintage Topps card unless it was a reprint. So, I took home two oddball cards to add to my growing Mickey Mantle PC. I added the 1975 SSPC and the not so vintage 1982 Authentic Sports Autographs cards to my collection, happily. I will add some vintage Mantle Topps to my collections someday, even if the card is torn and hanging on for dear life.

I also snatched this 1961 Fleer Allie Reynolds to my Yankee collection. This is the first card I have from this set. I did see other '61 Fleers, but the condition wasn't the best, so I left them behind. I know, the cards are only a dollar each, I should expect some issues, and I do. But that doesn't mean I am still not going to look for cards that is as close to mint as possible.

This card was the vintage pick up of the day for me. A 1964 Topps Giant Whitey Ford. I have been wanting to pick up the Yankees in this set for sometime now and I'm glad I was able to knock out one of the big guns for next to nothing. The sticker price was $6.00, which I was happy to pay. It was half off what I usually see this go for on eBay. But when I went to pay, the dealer told me it was $3.00. I tried not to cry as I gave the man the three crisp bills. He did have a Mantle, but was asking $60.00 for it. I passed.

I also finally picked up a signed Tino Martinez OMLB for my Yankees signed ball PC. I have been after a Tino signed ball for a while now. I had missed opportunities to meet him in the past and I was, unfortunately, going to miss his appearance at the show the next day. While I cruised the floor, I came across a dealer that had a signed Tino ball, with JSA Authentication. He was asking $80.00 for it. I said thanks, but no thanks and continued on my way. Later, I came back when the show was about to close for the day. The dealer asked me what I was willing to pay for the ball. Without thinking, I said $40.00, never thinking he would accept a price that was half off what he was asking for. Surprisingly, he agreed and I finally had Tino's autographs in my ball collection. The ball is #47 in the Yankee collection.

Putting it into perspective, If I was able to meet Tino, his signature was starting at $99.00. Then I would have to buy a ball for anywhere from $18.00- $20.00, so I saved a nice chunk of change on the signature. I will get to meet Tino one day. I just won't get him to sign a ball.

And that was my day. Yes, I probably spent some cash that I shouldn't have. But it was money well spent. Not for the cards and autographs, but happiness and confidence. Being out on the card show floor made me forget my problems for a few hours. I got to talk to a bunch of fellow collectors, spotted a few fellow bloggers on the floor (and yet, I won't go up to them to introduce myself and say hi. I'm bashful.) and added some very cool Yankees cards and autographs to my collection. I guess it's true what the ladies say. Shopping is therapeutic.