Roberto Alomar Collector's Thread

[banjar]

Some oddball stuff to report on today. The 1997 Baltimore Sun Orioles jumbo cards. Beckett has a 7-card checklist but it's incomplete, since I know for sure at least 3 others exist.

Most of them are 10" x 13" in size, except the "Commemorative Poster" ones which were 11" x 17", but came folded in half to make an 8.5" x 11" "card" with a picture on either side.

Last week I got one the first one, an All Star card that I wasn't aware of before. So that makes 6 cards that homeboy is featured in.

PS: Note the "Baltimore's Bashers" one. That commemorates the 1996 team which set the MLB record for HR in a season, and feature 9 (count 'em...NINE) players that hit over 20 HR. The stupid ass 2024 Rockies will probably end up with one, two if they're lucky. And there's no way one of them will be named Kris Bryant.

 

[banjar]

Since I'm kinda on a roll here, another obscure issue that maybe some PC'ers here don't know about. It's the 2004 Topps Traded & Rookies Checklist Puzzle set. I also got this one from Chris (thanks again). Prior to that, I had never heard of this one. It's one of my very favorite types of cards...a card in a card.

In that set they put out these little checklists, with the front side being a zoomed it selection of various cards from the 2004 set. The entire mosaic requires 100 cards to complete, and Robbie is featured in card #68. Only problem is there's a red version, and much scarcer blue version. This is obviously the red one. If anyone has the blue, you know who to call...

 

[nosterbor]

I love those check lists. Not easy to find.

 

[jeffv96masters]

You going just for the ones he's pictured on? Or getting into the cameo / checklist "mentions"

I ask because his name's listed on the back of card #39 and #49 of the Puzzle pieces I noticed when going thru my Clemens

 

[banjar]

No, no "mentions" in my collection. I'm afraid I haven't quite gone as crazy as @Hawk8 quite yet

 

[banjar]

No wait, I do have one. The 2012 Topps "Ever Wonder" card.

I just had to have this one. Because Robbie was a little kid hanging around the ballpark when his dad played with Ryan. And he got his first MLB hit off Ryan. And then was the final out of Ryan's final no hitter. One of those remarkable coincidences that makes MLB so damned interesting.

 

[banjar]

Another Ryan-Alomar tidbit, from SABR. During his first no-hitter, against the Royals, Sandy Alomar was his second baseman. And here's a little nugget from that game when Ryan faced Gail Hopkins...

"Gail Hopkins hit what appeared to be a seeing-eye blooper to left-center field, much too shallow for either achy-knee leftfielder Vada Pinson or centerfielder Bobby Valentine. According to Dick Miller of the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, Meoli went deep on the Astroturf to make an acrobatic “over-the-shoulder catch” with his back to the infield to end the inning.10 “Sandy Alomar told me to back up a couple of steps,” said Meoli. “If I hadn’t, I don’t know whether I would have been able to reach it.”

 

[banjar]

Got this one in yesterday from @thelesquad. The 1992 Score Promo card, cut from the 1992 Score/Pinnacle 4-card promo panel, featuring Sandberg, Puckett, and Dave Henderson. He bought a panel and cut it up for the Sandberg, and was kind enough to send me the Alomar. Thanks!!

There are no notable differences from the base card, as far as I can tell, except for the faint gray promo text running from lower left to upper right along the back.

 

[banjar]

Nice mailday today, at least by my standards. Two "Chicago Collection" stamped cards from 2003 Leaf, both numbered to 5. Card #209 was the base card, and #264 was from the "Passing Through Time" subset, which featured the same front photo but the back photo from 10 years earlier. I thought that was a really nice concept.

Overall, Alomar had 73 cards stamped by DLP at shows between 2002 and 2004 (with the cards themselves issued between 2001 and 2004). At least by my count anyway. And with these two little pickups I now have 21 of them, or a whopping 28.7%. But considering most of them were numbered to 5, with the rest either un-numbered or numbered to 25 or 1, I'm happy with the progress on this weird little side collection.

 

[banjar]

More from 2004 Leaf, an Exhibits card. Nothing special in its own right, just the "Best of Luck Left" variation, numbered to 46. But then I thought to look at my checklist, and realized I only needed 8 more variations to complete the 44 card set. And then in rapid succession three missing ones surfaced on on comc, and I snagged them. So once I request my shipment from them, I'll only have to wait 16 to 24 short weeks, probably, until they arrive. And then I'll only need only 5 more.

So that made me wonder, has anyone here completed an Exhibits run, either the standard issue or second edition?

 

[K34PuckettAddict]

I need 7 more Puckett’s, one from series one and 6 from series 2. Just don’t see Puckett’s surface much and the few that do are ones I already have. I would love to complete this run!


Sent from my iPhone using Freedom Card Board mobile app

 

[Dazed]

I have quite a few Exhibits from that set. Everytime someone lists their needs I check mine. I never have one that anyone needs.

 

[K34PuckettAddict]

Not sure if you’ve looked for me, but here’s the Puckett’s I’m looking for. Hopefully you have one I need. Series 1 - (1)
1926 Unblocked Legend (1926U)

Series 2 - (6) (7 total)
1921 American League (1921AML)
1939-46 Truly Yours Left (1939-46TYL)
1947-66 Made In USA Sig (1947-66MSIG)
1947-66 Printed By Donruss Playoff Print (1947-66PDPSCR)
1947-66 Printed In USA Sig (1947-66PDPSIG)
1962-63 No Stat Name Left (1962-63NSNL)


Sent from my iPhone using Freedom Card Board mobile app

 

[banjar]

I think I did look for you a while back, and didn't have any. Sorry!

@Dazed I think you looked for me also, maybe a couple years ago, and also came up empty. Thanks though.

 

[Dazed]

Not sure if you’ve looked for me, but here’s the Puckett’s I’m looking for. Hopefully you have one I need. Series 1 - (1)
1926 Unblocked Legend (1926U)

Series 2 - (6) (7 total)
1921 American League (1921AML)
1939-46 Truly Yours Left (1939-46TYL)
1947-66 Made In USA Sig (1947-66MSIG)
1947-66 Printed By Donruss Playoff Print (1947-66PDPSCR)
1947-66 Printed In USA Sig (1947-66PDPSIG)
1962-63 No Stat Name Left (1962-63NSNL)


Sent from my iPhone using Freedom Card Board mobile app

I'll check!

 

[banjar]

Just a run of the mill pickup today. 1998 Tek Pattern 34. One of the three I needed to complete the run. So now I'm down to two. 36 and 52.

In a side note, the seller offered tracking on the card, but it never appeared on the USPS tracking website. After a few weeks I messaged them, and they said they mailed on such and such a date, and that USPS must not have checked it in. So after a few days more there was still no tracking info, so they sent me a refund. I said hey, thanks, and if it ever shows up I'll send you a check.

Of course I thought it was BS. Because what are the odds that USPS never checks an item in AND never scans it again during its journey across the country. More likely some issue of incompetence or dishonesty on the seller's part, right? But guess what, it eventually DID show up. Never scanned once during its journey, even when it was left in my mailbox. So I very, very happily sent the guy a check. BTW the seller's name was "yourcollectorscorner".

 

[jeffv96masters]

Odds are very high on any items where tracking starts ESUS that the trace looks weird as hell. In Vegas I keep seeing delivered yet knowing it literally was just scanned at the airport locale of 89199. Then 3 or 4 days later = mailbox.

I signed up for " informed delivery" which now shows scans of my mail pieces and the tracking on my packages . Lot more accurate than anything else

 

[nosterbor]

More from 2004 Leaf, an Exhibits card. Nothing special in its own right, just the "Best of Luck Left" variation, numbered to 46. But then I thought to look at my checklist, and realized I only needed 8 more variations to complete the 44 card set. And then in rapid succession three missing ones surfaced on on comc, and I snagged them. So once I request my shipment from them, I'll only have to wait 16 to 24 short weeks, probably, until they arrive. And then I'll only need only 5 more.

So that made me wonder, has anyone here completed an Exhibits run, either the standard issue or second edition?

View attachment 358275

More from 2004 Leaf, an Exhibits card. Nothing special in its own right, just the "Best of Luck Left" variation, numbered to 46. But then I thought to look at my checklist, and realized I only needed 8 more variations to complete the 44 card set. And then in rapid succession three missing ones surfaced on on comc, and I snagged them. So once I request my shipment from them, I'll only have to wait 16 to 24 short weeks, probably, until they arrive. And then I'll only need only 5 more.

So that made me wonder, has anyone here completed an Exhibits run, either the standard issue or second edition?

View attachment 358275

I need 1 from the standard issue and 7 from the second edition

 

[banjar]

Well, that COMC shipment left Seattle today and should be here in Denver before long. Yes, I paid extra for the faster delivery, and yes, they did ship in a somewhat reasonable time. And I will have three missing Exhibits in hand soon. But I do not rescind, disown, or otherwise declare null and void my previous vitriolic comments about COMC's shipping practices during the last 4 years. They have a long way to go to get a positive review on yelp from me, buddy.

In other news, here's another recent pickup. The 2018 Topps Update Postseason Preeminence Red /10. I really liked this card when it came out, and have been picking up parallels here and there ever since. It shows him batting in 93 world series, where he was an absolute beast. And really, despite everything that came later, homeboy did a lot of damage all through the 92 and 93 playoffs. Those Blue Jays teams would NEVER have won those rings without him. I remember watching those series at my grandmother's house...

 

[banjar]

So here's one you don't see every day. The 1990 Venezuelan Grandes Ligas sticker.



If you're not familiar with these, here's the set page on TCDB:

1990 Venezuela Grandes Ligas Stickers Baseball - Trading Card Database

If you're a PC'er, and your player was active in 1989, well, there's a good chance he's in this set. The 1990 Topps set, after which the Venezuelan stickers were modeled, had 792 cards. But the sticker set only had 363 cards, so many players were missing. However as far as the stars go, they're all there.

As far as I can tell, these things were pretty much "unknown" to the mainstream card collecting community in the US until recent years. They've been discussed on a few threads here and there, including this one on FCB:

Venezuela Sticker 1990?

Anyone know anything about the Venezuela Stickers from 1990? There’s a few on eBay right now and I haven’t seen them before. They look a little like Topps cards from the same year. Are they rare or interesting? Thanks for the help. Sent from my iPhone using Freedom Card Board mobile app

www.freedomcardboard.com

I really find this stuff fascinating. Looking through my master checklist, I see 24 different Alomar cards/stickers that were only released in Venezuela. About half of these were from Panini, who distributed stickers there, but the other half are from various independent companies. And this 1990 sticker is by far the rarest, most obscure one of them all. Might be my best mailday of 2024?

PS: Just for fun, for you PC'ers of older players, here's a website dedicated to early Venezuelan cards/stickers:

Topps Venezuelans

Topps Venezuelans

toppsvenezuelan.weebly.com