A Rainbow of Griffeys on a Black Friday

Yes, I realize that this is two Fridays in a row that I've used color(s) in the title of my post...is that a crime? Anyway, I recently finished a project I've been working on for close to a year--the 2008 UD Heroes Ken Griffey Jr. rainbow. It's the first rainbow I've completed (two more are in the works) and it's fitting that it would be of my favorite player. It looks great in person (you can get a better look at it by enlarging the picture) and I've got to give a big shout out to Ed at Roll out the Barrel who traded me the purple variation (I haven't seen a single one on eBay since) way back when. Thanks Ed! Now, marvel in beauty of a Griffey rainbow:

eBay Grab Bag: Mariners and More

2007 Bowman Draft Michael Saunders Future Game Jersey: When Ken Griffey Jr. retired, Michael Saunders became my favorite Mariner. He's shown signs of improvement at the plate this season and I hope that he can grab the left field role full-time next season. It's always nice to see a home-grown guy succeed.

2009 SP Authentic Michael Saunders Silver RC #33/59: See above.

2008 UD Heroes Felix Hernandez Jersey #56/125: A jersey card of King Felix for $3 with shipping? Sign me up! He's got a shot at the Cy Young this year, but baseball voters are idiots so they'll probably choose A.J. Burnett.

2009 Bowman Draft Luca Panerati Red Refractor #2/5: Though I normally can't stand WBC cards, I got this red refractor for only 5 bucks, so I figured why the heck not? Panerati is a native of Italy currently in the Cincinnati Reds system. He's only 20-years-old so you just never know what might happen. For five bucks, I was willing to gamble.

2007 Just Stars Michael Saunders Auto #/100: It's Sunday and I'm trying to watch football. I've got nothing interesting to add. Sorry.

2009 UD Signature Stars Michael Saunders RC Auto: Though it's a sticker auto, you can barely tell as it fits nicely into the design of the card. I haven't seen too many of these on eBay, and with Upper Deck's demise in baseball, it's crazy too assume that this card is relatively short printed. Now if Saunders would only start hitting...

Card of the Week: 2008 UD Heroes Ken Griffey Jr. Jersey Logo Patch #24/25 (Shamwow!!)

Trying to say anything about this card is worthless. It's beyond description...but feel free to tell me how cool it is.

Box Break: 2008 UD Heroes (Case Hit)

I opened this box about a month ago, but for reasons outside of my control (i.e. death of a computer), have been unable to share the results of my break until now. I got a good deal on this box during a Blowout Cards weekend special and was happy with what I pulled, especially considering that there are quite a few duds in the autograph checklist (I'm looking at you Tom Gorzelanny). It's a fun box to open with an insert in almost every pack and a bevy of serial numbered parallels. Here's the goods:

Al Kaline Sky Blue Parallel #32/49: You're guaranteed one "low" numbered parallel in each box and I was glad mine was of a Hall-of-Famer. Love the old-school crew cut.

Randy Johnson Yankee Stadium Legacy Jersey: You might have wondered why there was no exclamation point after the "case hit" part of the title of this post. Well, this card is why. Don't get me wrong, I love the Big Unit, but they're are quite a few other players from this set I would rather have (or at least a pinstripe). It's up for trade if any of you Bronx Bombers want it.

Andre Ethier Jersey #179/200: The design of the jersey cards is one of my few qualms with the set. I'm tired of companies being too lazy to design a separate concept for game-used cards, and instead just throwing the swatch onto one of the base cards. Panini/Donruss has a terrible habit of this. At least Ethier is a good player.

Cole Hamels Jersey #73/200: Another ho-hum jersey, this one would have benefited greatly from a nice red pinstripe. Phillies fans are hoping that Hamels bounces back from a poor 2009 season, though truthfully I could care less.

Chad Billingsley Jersey Auto #20/50: Well, here's the hit of the box, and quite a nice one it is if I do say so myself. The auto is on a sticker but you can barely tell as it blends into the card well. Billingsley has flashed enormous potential during his time with the Dodgers but has yet to put it all together. Once CB does, he has the chance to be one of the best in the NL. Same story as last time; not sure if I want to trade this card, but if I do, it will be to Night Owl.

Overall Thoughts: This is a great box to bust if the price is right with three guaranteed jerseys and a guaranteed autograph. With tons of inserts there is rarely a dull pack (other than those with YSL cards) and with UD now out of baseball, collectors will find this as a nice alternative to Topps' pedestrian 2010 releases. Loved opening the box and was satisfied with my pulls. Send me an email if you are interested in any of the cards. Thanks for reading.

The King and I (Directed by Ryan's Memorabilia)

I recently acquired the crown jewel of my King Felix collection, this beautiful 2008 UD Heroes Jersey Autograph #21/25, in a trade with Ryan's Memorabilia Blog.

He busted a great box of Heroes that also contained a Tim Lincecum patch and Roger Clemens YSL, and was generous enough to part with the Hernandez for about 30 Ripkens to add to his amazing Ripken library.

This is my second Felix autograph (he's got an amazing signature doesn't he?) and fifth jersey card, but the first card I have of the Mariners' young ace with both. I have extremely high hopes for Hernandez in 2010 (a Cy Young isn't out of the question).

He's got a ton of great cards to trade, so if you've got some Ripkens that he doesn't have on his Zistle page, let him know.
You could walk away with a gem like this!