Welcome to DocHoloday.com, an original, old-school blog, going strong for over 10 years. Originally started in 2000, and after numerous host changes, a server fire or two and multiple CMS systems, we arrive at where we are today. A happy little corner of the internet devoted to writing, commenting and complaining about anything and everything that crosses my mind. Thanks for stopping by, please feel free to take a look around. Enjoy!

Tristar Post 3 of 6 – Trade Bait

So, my main goal at the show, once I realized the sorts of cards I was going to be buying, switched from “buy a couple cool cards” to “completely clean out the $0.25 box”. Well, technically there were multiple boxes of varying amounts of money, but the point is that I gobbled up just about every Red Sox card I came across. I ended up getting 120+ refractors and base cards. That little bit of “personal collection” I’ll save for part 5. This post is about something else all together.

Tristar Post 2 of 6 – the Box

So, if you remember back, one of my goals for the card show was to buy a hobby box of something. I didn’t know what I would find there, so I kept my options open. I was hoping for a box of Upper Deck X but never found one. There ended up being plenty of stuff to choose from. It was the end of the day, I only had $100 left and I knew I couldn’t afford something crazy like a box of Triple Threads or anything. So, I was trying to decide between the cheaper products and two caught my eye. A box of 2006 Upper Deck Future Stars and a box of 2007 UD SP Authentic. I had participated in Sam’s group break of Future Stars so I was familiar with it. Five rookie autos were the selling point and from a personal perspective I really liked the look of the cards, especially the autos on the clear plastic. The SP Authentic was familiar, but I didn’t have any 2007 personally (just 08 and 09) and I knew there were at least two of the the Letterman patches in there. It was also on sale, so that helped. I almost decided to skip the SP Authentic and get 3 jumbo boxes of regular Topps base (09 and 10 I think) but I convinced myself that a) I didn’t really give a crap about the base b) there were no guaranteed hits and c) Letterman patches were cool. So, SP Authentic it was.

Tristar Post 1 of 6 – the Show

While I’m waiting for the scanner to warm up, I might as well get the ball rolling by talking about the actual show itself. I figure I’ll break up the posts and scans into multiples so that you can just read what interests you the most (hits, trade bait, my personal collection, etc).

The show itself was actually a little smaller than I had pictured, but in retrospect, if it had been any larger I think my back would have given out from all the stuff I bought and crammed into my backpack. I had driven in with Sam and had some breakfast at a nearby Taco Cabana while we waited for the doors to the show to open. He had VIP tickets and could get in early and take a look around, which I would imagine helped him get his pile of autograph vouchers in order, but I’ll let him tell you about that. I had to wait outside with about 200 football fans until the doors opened to the general public a half hour later. The waiting wasn’t really an issue, but the organization for the event certainly could have been a little better. There was just a huddled mass around the doors and no one really in charge so it got a bit chaotic once they started letting people in.

Final Post Before Tristar

By the time this posts I’ll be on my way to the Tristar Sports Collectors show in Houston. I plan on feasting on massive amounts of penny boxes and cheap, worthless hits. I will gorge myself on cardboard, foil and sticker autos. I will, to borrow a phrase, “make it rain”… Actually, that’s a lie, I’m there for a deal. I’m going to slow play the whole day, like a poker player waiting for a big bluff. Either way, I’m probably not going to post again until at least Tuesday. Sunday will be a return trip to buy up whatever I didn’t get on Saturday. Monday will be for scanning and recovery. Check back on Tuesday for some of what I walked away with. Wish me luck!

2012 Products

With 2012 Baseball cards about it kick off with Topps Series 1 here in a week or two, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at some of the products coming down the pipe in 2012. Taking a look at the lineup, I’m actually only excited about a couple products. Of course, to each their own, and everyone’s tastes will be different. So, what’s on deck for 2012?

Mail Day – Trade with Plaschke

Well, technically Plaschke Thy Sweater is Argyle. Plaschke, the person, is Bill Plaschke, a sports writer for the LA Times. Argyle Sweater is a blog run by Greg, who is an awesome guy, and as far as I know, not Bill. That works out well for me since Bill Plaschke probably doesn’t collect cards, and Greg does. See where this is going?

Since I posted my trade bait a couple month back, Greg and I had been working on a trade for a couple cards he was interested in. He got most of my Dodgers hits and in return he sent a nice collection of Sox stuff.

Goals for Tristar

Sam posted his “Goals for the Tristar Show” yesterday and I thought I’d do the same. They’re not quite as lofty as his (collect the signatures of an entire baseball team), but I think this show is a perfect opportunity to make great headway in a hobby I’ve really come to enjoy. These aren’t ranked in any sort of order of importance. I would love to accomplish them all, or at least make a dent in them, but just buying a couple really cool cards this weekend is going to make me tremendously happy.

1. Finish off current sets – I have a fair number of random sets that I need less than 10 cards to complete, many less than 5. I’d love to pick up those cards and finish off some team sets. Everything I need is base, so I can’t imagine it would even put a dent in my budget, but it’ll be the time consuming part of the day.
2. Double my auto/relic collection – I have no doubt it’s possible, but the really question will be how much it will cost me. I’ve never been to a card show before, large or small, so in my mind I’m picturing boxes and boxes of “hits” for $1. That’s where I’ll be. I want as many sub-$5 hits as I can find. With a collection as small as mine, having just started collecting last year, I’m going for quantity at this show. Quality will come later. I’m sure I’ll come across some nice triple autos or trifecta, holy grail, uber-cards at the show for $100 a pop, but I’d much rather get 50 hits than 1 super hit. Just this once I want to feast on the cheap cardboard.
3. Find a 1980 complete set – I know, it’s stupid. 1980 was a terrible card year. I get it. It’s also the year I was born. I just want this one, for me.
4. Buy a hobby box – As insane as it sounds, I’ve never opened a hobby box. I’m too cheap. I’d normally rather buy discount blasters. For once I want to see what all the fuss is about. Sub Goal – If I finish Goals 1-3 with money to spare, maybe buy a couple boxes and host a break.
5. Refill the trade bait – I’ve made some really awesome trades with some great guys over the past couple months, and I’m very glad I did. I got some really cool cards in return and I’ve come to recognize the true generosity that exists in the baseball card blogger community. I’ve also realize how important it is to have some non-personal collection stuff available if someone wants to make a trade. I’ll keep my eyes open for anything cool that I think you guys might enjoy, and I’ll definitely be posting a whole lot of new stuff after the weekend.
6. Enjoy the show – As I mentioned, I’ve never been to a show before. I’ve been to literally hundreds of other trade shows before, so I know the atmosphere, but I’ve never gone to a show to BUY anything before. I want to wonder through boxes of $0.01 cards, I want to browse the super hits, I want to see it all. Most of all, I want to have a good time, open some packs, find some hits and hang out with my friends

That’s about it. It’s Thursday, just two more days. I can’t wait! Also, if anyone is actively looking for anything that they might have at a show like this, let me know in the comments and I’ll keep my eyes open while I’m there.