Kershaw Card of the Day: 9.5 eTopps Rookie Auto

I had been after a graded version of this card for quite some time, and it finally showed up as an auction on ebay.  With a 9.5 graded population of 5, this was a special one for me, and I'm super happy to be able to add this to my Kershaw collection. 

BTW, how about Grandal coming through in the clutch last night?!  The Dodgers really needed that win, especially with the red hot Giants continuing to put the pressure on them.  It seems like the Gnats never lose, but I would think at some point they hit a cold streak...right?  I mean, maybe?  Fingers crossed!

Time to Hit the Panic Button?

A lot of fans sure think so.  I personally feel like it’s too early to write off the season, but things do not look good.  Rather than focusing on the negative, let’s take a look at the positive.  The young guys are really starting to make an impact, ie. Seager, Thompson and yes, even Joc (in the field anyway).  I have also been pleasantly surprised with Adam Libertore, who I wanted DFA’d earlier in the season.  The emergence of Julio Urias is also extremely promising, even though he only has about 70 innings left this year, before they shut him down.  This brings me to the possible secret weapon.  We are all eagerly awaiting the arrival of Montas.  The guy throws in the upper 90’s, and he is sure to make a big impact, even if they decide it’s out of the bullpen.  What puzzles me as well as the rest of the Dodgers fans is why this team has been so horrendous on the offensive end this season.  They have no fire, and they just look like losers up at the plate.  Take last night for example; bases loaded with one out and Kike Hernandez up at the plate.  It was painfully obvious that he was going to strike out, and well, he did.  What happened next...do I even need to say it.  0-12 with runners in scoring position!  YIKES!  This is becoming a broken record for this team.  I’m getting so sick of watching this team fail time and time again.  I am loyal though, and I will always support my boys in blue.  I can’t stand bandwagon fans!  Yes, the Dodgers are boring, but you have to stay true.  We are The Dodgers are only a few players away from being a major contender, and I believe that even though we may not catch the Giants, we can at least secure a Wild Card spot.  Only time will tell.

Card of the day is a steal from ebay that I got last year in the $70 range.  Not too shabby for a Heritage auto:

 

Topps Tier One Gallery and Kershaw card of the day

The new Tier One is a mixed bag, with some really nice autos, and some not-so nice autos.  In years past I collected every single auto parallel of Kershaw that I could get my hands on, and this year will likely be no different.  I got a decent jump start yesterday, when I purchased the bronze ink auto /25 via BIN.  I may have slightly overpaid by 10 or 20 bucks, but I've seen how some of the other players bronze ink autos turned out (not good), and I wasn't going to take any chances.  Here it is

KOUFAX AND OTHER THOUGHTS...

Before adding this to my PC, I was sitting on two Koufax autos for quite a while.  I have said it before, and I will say it again.  Five Star has always been one of my favorite Topps releases.  When this Koufax auto turned up at auction I decided to go for it against my better judgment.  I hate to use the word “waste,” but let’s be honest; buying autographed baseball cards is a huge waste of money.  I just can’t get enough of them though.  I suppose this is no different than being addicted to drugs, but at least I’m not hurting my body or other people.  The only thing I’m really hurting is my wallet.  I won the ebay auction and I'm happy to have another Koufax in my Dodgers PC.  The pick is a bit blurry, but the card itself and the autograph are flawless.  I'm no professional grader, but this has 9.5 written all over it...
 

Kershaw Gypsy Queen 2016

After adding the orange auto /25, I really wanted to snag a red /5, but I figured it would be impossible.  Lucky for me, someone ended up listing a red, and although I figured it would be a long shot, I ended up winning the auction, and best of all, I paid only slightly more than I had for the orange.  The card is definitely not 9.5 material, but I've noticed that the Gypsy Queen autos in this years product have had a lot of imperfections and corner dings.  I'm starting to feel like Topps purposely does this!  The card itself is really slick, and IMO it looks better than his auto card from 2015 Gypsy Queen.  Overall it's a nice addition to the PC, and I'm happy to have it:

Kershaw Rarity Finally Attained

When Topps 2013 Archives was released, it seemed like all Dodger collectors wanted to get their hands on this card, and I saw people paying prices north of $200.  That seemed a bit high to me, and I decided to wait it out.  Unfortunately, the wait for this card ended up being years.  I figured I would never see one of these on the market again, because of the limited run /10.  So imagine my surprise when last weekend this card popped up on ebay.  I submitted my best offer and asked the seller to give me priority since I had purchased Kershaw's from him before.  5 min. later my offer was accepted, and I am now the proud owner of this awesome throwback.  I hope everyone has a nice weekend.  It's feeling like summer!