The 2010 Topps Card Giveaway Winner Is.....

Field of Cards!

I'm not smart enough to show a screen grab, but I assigned everyone who left a comment a number and then had random.org choose one (presumably at random). Field of Cards was assigned the number five and the fates decried that the number five should be chosen. Rod, tell him what he's won!

"Well Bud. Gary is going to be walking away with a stack of 2010 Topps Base cards, an assortment of inserts and a random relic/autograph of his favorite player, team or Angel Berroa!"

Thanks to everyone who entered the contest and congratulations once again to Gary from Field of Cards. Make sure to check out his blog for a great assortment of box breaks and baseball card talk.

Catching My White Whale (And a Contest!)

Alright, that title is extremely misleading. I didn't pull a one-of-one from Topps Triple Threads (nor will I ever purchase the product) or complete any other collecting goals worthy of being compared to Ahab's tireless pursuit of Moby Dick (not to be confused with the venereal disease). However, I did pull my first 2010 Topps Gold Bordered card, a feat that had eluded me for far too long. So it wasn't exactly a white whale, more like a white fish--maybe a cod or tilapia? Something that's good with ketchup.

The gold parallels in this year's Topps fell 1 in every 14 packs--the most difficult rate I can ever remember for the gold parallels. After 10 regular retail packs and one rak-pak, I still had not tracked down an elusive gold card, and the frustration mounted with each passing day. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep and I couldn't stand the sight of another bland white-bordered card. I don't know whether it was stupidity or hubris that caused me to continue to buy Topps, but I knew I couldn't stop until I landed my prize.

Finally, after weeks of a tortured existence, the baseball card gods freed me of my overwhelming burden. Before work on Monday I had enough time to stop by Shopko and grab a few packs. The first pack yielded nothing and I began to feel myself turning from mild-mannered Bud Bareither into the green ball of rage known as the Hulk. I opened the second pack in a frenzy, ready to rip a phonebook in half if I didn't strike gold, but just like an old prospector heading out North I found my fortune--a gold bordered parallel of Luke Scott #422/2010 (the number 422 is of course significant to Scott because it is equal to his slugging percentage in 2009 minus his HR's + 2B's in 2009 minus his total hits for the Astros in 2005). I let out a long overdue sigh of relief, knowing that I would never again be haunted by gold parallels...at least until 2011.

Now, if you've managed to read through my boring account of pulling an absolutely worthless card, you're probably hoping the contest will make it worth your while. Well, it might. Since I really only continued buying packs of Topps in the hopes of pulling a gold card and I don't collect the base set, there are plenty of cards I don't need. So, everyone who comments on this post will be entered into a contest to win the 100+ base cards I pulled plus a random relic to sweeten the deal. The contest will run through Friday, 10 PM Pacific. Good luck and I pray that none of you ever suffer through what I have with 2010 Topps...I may never fully recover.

PS: Thanks for mailing it in on the serial numbers Topps.

First Day Issue's First Contest!

If you've read my blog at all, you know that I bought an unreal amount of Allen & Ginter this year. I'm talking mountains of A & G as big as David Eckstein. When opening that much of a single product it's not unusual to get doubles or triples of base cards and some inserts. What's less expected is getting multiple relic cards of a single player, but that's exactly what happened to me.

I pulled not one, not two, but three C.C. Sabathia jersey cards from packs of Allen & Ginter in the past three months. Now I don't hate Sabathia, in fact I quite enjoyed his historic run with Milwaukee last year, but now that he's a Yankee it's a little more difficult to root for him, and I certainly don't need three of the same card of him.

So I am giving my loyal reader(s) a chance to win a '09 Allen & Ginter C.C. Sabathia jersey. But that's not all, the winner will also recieve any missing base cards from their set that I can provide. All you have to do to win is post a comment and I will draw a winner at random over the next few days. The winner will be notified by email and can then send me their A & G want list.

UPDATE: And the winner is....Brian from Play at the Plate! He was chosen randomly (I would assume) by random.org. Thanks to everyone who entered, there will be more contests to come soon. Congrats again to Brian for winning the Sabathia jersey, A & G cards, plus another card to be named later!