2013 Panini Hometown Heroes - Homegrown Heroes

Year: 2013

Manufacturer: Panini

Set: Hometown Heroes

Card Type: Insert

Insert Set: Homegrown Heroes

Card Number: HH18

I featured Robin's 2013 Hometown Heroes States parallel last time and figured I keep with the same set and show one of the inserts I picked up from the set as well.  I was also able to find this base Homegrown Heroes insert to add to my Black Friday haul.  This insert also has two parallels, black and gold.  The card features a pretty simple design with the same awful photoshopped colors and logo removal.  But at least on this card we get to see Robin's face.  

2013 Panini Hometown Heroes State Parallel

Year: 2013

Manufacturer: Panini

Set: Hometown Heroes

Card Number: 19

Card Type: Parallel

Parallel Set: States 

I'm still working through my Black Friday pick-ups.  I consider myself a threefold collector.  I have player collections, team collections, and set collections.  Over the years my priorities have shifted as to how and what I collect, but Robin's player collection is by far at the top of my priorities list.  So while it's silly that parallels as simple and pointless as this one is they are something I look out for like a hawk.  The only difference between the base card and this card is the Wisconsin stamped on the front of the card.  I really like the design of this card.  I love the bright colors and the fact that Robin get card #19, his number.   I don't particularly like the photo used.  We don't get to see Robin's face.  And I don't like the terrible photoshop job done to the uniform colors and the logo removal.  There is one more parallel for this set, the zip code parallel. I'm still on the look out for that one.

2004 Donruss Studio Heroes of the Hall Die-Cut

Year: 2004

Manufacturer: Donruss

Set: Studio

Card Number: HH-10

Card Type: Insert parallel

Insert Set: Heroes of the Hall

Parallel: Die-cut

Card Attributes: Serial numbered

Serial number: 107/300

Still working through my Black Friday pick-ups.  Next up is the oldest card I picked up from this year's delivery.  I had to double check my master collection list when this card popped up on COMC.  The 2004 Studio set is full of great inserts and all those inserts have a ton of parallels and variations.  The Heroes of the Hall set is no different and after a quick double check to make sure I didn't already have this die-cut parallel I snagged it.  My apologies I cropped the photos a little too close up you can still the rounded edges.  That's the whole difference between this card and the base card and that it's numbered to only 300.  Like most inserts from the mid 2000's this card was designed for the relic and autograph parallels in mind.  

2016 Topps Stadium Club Black Foil Parallel

Year: 2016

Manufacturer: Topps

Set: Stadium Club

Card Number: 227

Card Type: Parallel

Parallel Set: Black Foil

I had had my eye on one of these last year around Black Friday time and it got snagged right before I went to buy it.  But in this game patience usually pays off.  Sometimes with just finding the card again, but sometimes finding cheaper too.  There were a few of us Yount fans that had an interesting discussion about this card when it first came out.  I personally really like this card.  I've posted before about the photo shoot this image came from.  Robin's 1995 Pinnacle Sidelines subset card also came from this photo shoot.  And out of all the cards in the set this is the only one that portrays the play doing another sport.  

2014 Panini Hall of Fame - Crusades Orange Die-Cut

Year: 2014

Manufacturer: Panini

Set: Hall of Fame 75th Anniversary

Card Type: Insert Parallel

Insert Set: Crusade

Parallel: Orange Die-Cut

Card Number: 83

Card Attributes: Die-Cut, Serial Numered

Serial Number: 10/25

I was able to pick up 4 of the Crusade inserts from the 2014 Panini Hall of Fame 75th Anniversary Set.  The rarest of the four was this Orange Die-cut parallel card numbered to just 25.   While there are only 25 of these, this parallel is the most common of the die-cuts.  If you read any of my blogs you know I'm a sucker for gimmicks.  So give me a die-cut chromed out card with pretty colors and I'm all over it.  Give me a great price on it and it's coming home with me.

2017 Panini Flawless Baseball Ultimate Robin Yount Checklist and Gallery

Robin has a few cards to chase in this set. And by a few I mean 85 total copies of all of the cards.  This also marks the end of the 2017 baseball cardboard season.  Leaf has one more product early next year, but it's unlikely Robin will be in it.  So here is the checklist for this set.  I'll update the card numbering when we find out what they actually are, as Panini doesn't know how to put out a checklist with the correct card designations on it.  I'll add images as I find them.

2017 Panini Flawless Baseball Legendary Signatures #LC-RY  #/25

2017 Panini Flawless Baseball Legendary Signatures Ruby #LC-RY  #/20

2017 Panini Flawless Baseball Legendary Signatures Sapphire #LC-RY #/15

2017 Panini Flawless Baseball Legendary Signatures Gold #LC-RY #/10

2017 Panini Flawless Baseball Legendary Signatures Emerald #LC-RY #/5

2017 Panini Flawless Baseball Legendary Signatures Black #LC-RY #/1

2017 Panini Flawless Baseball Patches Black  #P-RY #/1

2017 Panini Flawless Baseball Patches  Emerald #P-RY #/3

2017 Panini Flawless Baseball Patches Gold #P-RY #/5

2005 Upper Deck Hall of Fame Plaques

Year: 2005

Manufacturer: Upper Deck

Set: Hall of Fame

Card Type: Insert

Insert Set: Plaques

Card Number: SP-25

Ah 2005.  Robin had over 1000 cards issued in 2005.  So it's no surprise when I find a card I need from that year.  Even a lowly base insert like his Hall of Fame Plaques card.  What's most surprising about this card and this insert in particular is that it has no parallels or variations.  This is it.  Every other insert set in Hall of Fame has multiple levels of parallels and relic and autograph variations.  But not this set.  Which makes me like it even more.  Add the full career stats on the back and you have a great, simple, dare I say majestic, tribute card.  This was another find for my Black Friday COMC haul.  And while I loaded up on shiny serial numbered cards this is probably one of my favorite pick ups.

2017 Donruss Retro Variations Aqueous Test parallel

Year: 2017

Manufacture: Panini

Set: Donruss Baseball

Card Type: Insert Parallel

Insert Set: Retro Variations

Parallel: Aqueous Test

Card Number: RV-43

Card Attributes: Serial Numbered

Serial Number: 47/49

Continuing from my recent Black Friday delivery.  This 2017 Donruss Baseball Aqueous Test Retro Variations parallel.  Last year Panini did a throw back insert for the 1982 set, this year they're commemorating the 1983 set.  The aqueous test back also celebrates the famous aqueous test cards from the 1990 Donruss set.  Aqueous was a coating for the front of the cards.  I'm not sure if  Donruss ended up using the coating for it's products or not, but the cards became stuff of legends.  With less than 2500 cards total believed to exist and not all players having an aqueous test card in the set they are by far some of the most expensive and sought after 90's cards.  How the test cards made it out into the public is also another great area of speculation.  If you're curious about the set a quick internet search will send you down the rabbit hole.   Robin does have a 1990 Donruss Aqueous card, but one has alluded my collection so far.

Ahem.  So here we are with the 2017 parallel.  I was able to snag a copy for a decent price like all my Black Friday cards.  If my count is right there are 8 parallels to the Retro Variations set not including the 4 printing plates.  There are only 3 rarer, the pink, artist proof, and press proof.  I do love the 1983 design.  The 82 and 83 Donruss sets are some of my favorites and probably the best designs Donruss put out in the 80's and early 90's.   Panini could have found a better photo I'm sure and the Photoshop color and airbrushing leaves a lot to be desired.  

2017 Topps Bunt Perspectives - Green Parallel

Year: 2017

Manufacturer: Topps

Set: Bunt (Physical)

Card Type: Insert Parallel

Insert Set: Perspectives

Parallel: Green

Card Number: P-RY

Card Attributes: Serial Numbered

Serial Number: 68/99

Hulk Smash!!

Another new card from my Black Friday delivery from COMC.  I was able to snag this green parallel card of Robin's Perspective insert from this year's Bunt set.  The most numerous of the inserts, but numbered only to 99, it looks like Robin's been hit by a good dose of gamma radiation.  There are 3 other color parallels to chase and 4 printing plates.  I personally thing the Bunt set is one of the best product Topps has put this year and last year.  Cheap, but the base set has a decent design, fun inserts, added value with serial numbered parallels, and there's always a chance to hit an auto. 

2016 Topps Allen and Ginter X - Mini

Year: 2016

Manufacturer: Topps

Set: Allen and Ginter X

Card Type: Mini Parallel Base

Card Number: 117

A black card from Black Friday.  Well at least from my Black Friday shipment. I picked this up quite a while ago.  Allen and Ginter X is one of those Topps.com online only exclusive money grabs that pretty much is just like regular Allen and Ginter, just with few inserts and the background is all black.  Still a Yount is a Yount and it's got a place in my collection along side it's full size counterpart.

2006 Upper Deck Epic - Epic Materials Light Orange EM-RY2

Year: 2006

Manufacturer: Upper Deck

Set: Epic

Card Number: EM-RY2

Card Type: Insert Parallel

Insert Set: Epic Material Relic

Parallel: Light Orange 

Relic Type: Jersey

Card Attributes: Relic, Serial Numbered

Serial Number: 005/155

I'll be slowly working through all the new Younts I just picked up from my most recent COMC order.  While a lot of the cards had been sitting in my portfolio there for a long time this is one of the cards I was able to snag for a really good price during the Black Friday sale.  I have one other Epic relic and it's the purple version of this card.  Robin has two cards in the series, hence the RY2 in the card designation and there are a gazillion color parallels to chase.  

While I picked up a lot of really low numbered cards in my last shipment this was the only Yount relic I pulled the trigger on.  You gotta love when you find a seller who actually wants to sell some cards on COMC.  Plus it's always nice to get a swatch with a little color.

2014 Panini Hall of Fame - Crusades Purple

Year: 2014

Manufacturer: Panini

Set: Hall of Fame 75th Anniversary 

Card Number: 83

Card Type: Insert Parallel

Insert: Crusade

Parallel: Purple

Card Attributes: Serial Numbered

Serial Number: 12/50

I just got my COMC delivery earlier this week.  In the package was about 20 new Younts for my collection.  Not all of those cards were actually bought on Black Friday, but I did manage to find a few good deals.  I went on a small Yount Crusade if you will.  I ended up picking up a nice stack of 2014 Panini Hall of Fame cards including 4 Crusades.  The whole set is a complete mess with incredibly confusing parallels and variations.  I put together a checklist back when the set came out just to try and keep it straight, but it's still fairly confusing.  But the Crusade cards are pretty straight forward as far as parallels go.  There are seven Crusade cards to chase with all six color parallels being very low numbered.  I think the unnumbered base card, which will be featured in the future, is my favorite with the blue and yellow color scheme.  All the Crusade cards are of this chromey-prizmy type and really pop in hand.  They also all feature a yellow right side, so the color variation is on the left. The parallels are all serial numbered on the back and this purple variation is numbered to just 50.

2017 Leaf Q Base Autograph Blue Parallel

Year: 2017

Manufacturer: Leaf

Set: Leaf Q

Card Type: Base Autograph Parallel

Parallel: Blue Foil

Card Number: BA-RY1

Card Attributes: Autographed, Serial Number

Autograph type: On Card

Serial Number: 6/15

It's been well over a year since I last purchased something off of ebay.  I stopped selling about a year ago, because I had to pack up my scanner and most of my cards to begin the process of selling and buying a house.  This June that finally all came together and I was able to start unpacking and reorganizing my collection.  So a couple months ago I started listing a few things on eBay to pare down the inventory and to give myself a little fun money to play with.  

I've been watching current Yount autos for the better part of a year and for some reason prices seem to really have dropped off. Not totally, but for the unlicensed stuff it's been really noticeable.  Leaf Q came out about a month ago and I've been watching a lot of Robin's cards and noting what things have been going for.  I decided to try my luck and was able to snag this auto for less than the price of a blaster.  That's pretty insane and it's by far the lowest priced Yount auto I've ever added to the collection. And that includes my super ugly 2008 TriStar auto. Not that I'm complaining at all.  Brian Gray really likes to use a lot of foil on his cards and this set has plenty.  These blue foil parallel autos are numbered to just 15 and the autograph is on card to make it even sweeter.  Sure I'd love a logo on that batting helmet, but it's still a very pretty card in hand.

2002 Fleer Greats of the Game

Year: 2002

Manufacturer: Fleer

Set: Greats of the Game

Card Type: Base

Card Number: 66

The early 2000's marked a time where card companies were starting to cash in on the Hall of Fame and retired player marked.  Fleer's Greats of the Game was just one in a long line of products to fill that niche.

Robin has a base card in the set and a bunch of relic and auto cards to chase.  But here's something unique, and maybe it's just early in the trend, but this set has no base parallels.  I do love the full career stats on the back.  Plus the card has a nice feel to it.  And I actually me the feel you get when you touch it.

2017 Rediscover Topps 1988 Gold Foil Stamped Buyback

Year: 2017 sort of

Manufacturer: Topps

Card Number: 165

Card Type: Buyback

Card Set: Rediscover Topps - Gold Foil

It's rare that I find a card of Robin's that I don't already own at my LCS.  I stopped in the other day having not set foot in Don's Sportcards in a couple months.  I really just wanted to say and hi and maybe pick up a few cheap cards if I found anything that piqued my interest.

While looking through the 50 cent boxes I came across this guy.  I'm not big on these buybacks.  And I'll be damned if I'm going to pay the crazy money some people want for these.  This exact card is up on COMC with a price of over $20!  But for a couple quarters I couldn't pass it up.  Plus it's the Gold Foil parallel of the buybacks.  There are 5 levels of rarity with Gold being the middle level.  

2005 Upper Deck SP Authentic Base

Year: 2005

Manufacturer: Upper Deck

Set: SP Authentic

Card Type: Base

Card Number: 82

What do you say about this card.  I'm torn, because I love the photo.  While not the most flattering, it shows Robin, most likely, at shortstop like the card lists his position.  He's crouched ready to pounce in his classic Brewers powder blue uniform and sweet glove logo hat.  And those flip up shades scream 80's! I'm just not a fan of the cropped out image.

The back only has 5 years of stats, but they bookend Robin's 2 MVP seasons.  

The Robin also has two relic parallels of his base card in this set.