What Does An Authentic 1988 Cal League Ken Griffey Jr. San Bernardino Spirit #34 Baseball Card Look Like?

A massive wave of new people entered the hobby over the last few years. Things that might be common knowledge for veteran collectors may not be so common for all of the newbies. Scammers are just waiting to take advantage of these naive new collectors. So many fraudsters have been exposed so far this year with many more on the way.

I recently watched someone spend over $100 on a handful of unlicensed/fake 1988 Cal League Ken Griffey Jr. San Bernardino Spirit #34 baseball cards. Its sad that this still happens.

Reinforcing the fundamentals of this hobby can’t hurt. Especially with all of the new people. Below is what you should be looking for if you’re in the market for an authentic 1988 Cal League Ken Griffey Jr. San Bernardino Spirit #34.

Authentic front

Authentic back

In the early 90’s an unlicensed version of this card began to surface. The overall layout and design is similar to the authentic version, but the dead giveaway is the different photo. As you can see there are two unlicensed cards floating around. Both utilize the same photo, but the text and placement of the text are a little different. The card number on the second example is a bit fatter as well. You never see these unlicensed fakes graded by PSA, BGS, or SGC because they aren’t authentic. The secondary market has been filled with them for years. You’ll notice they are always cheaper when compared to the authentic version. Its funny to see that one was pictured on a bobblehead in 2019.

Unlicensed front

Unlicensed back

Unlicensed front

Unlicensed back

The Top 5 Phillies Cards I’d Like To See In Topps Project 2021 & Beyond

In the realm of modern-day sports card collecting a 2020 Ichiro card limited to 1,334 copies normally wouldn’t draw that much attention.  Especially if its not a rookie, autograph, and/or relic.  The Topps Project 2020 set has completely taken that idea and flipped it around.  Print runs of that quantity are considered to be very low when it comes to this set.

Near the end of March, Topps began selling their online-exclusive Project 2020 set.  Twenty iconic Topps baseball cards ranging from 1952 all the way to 2011 will receive an artistic twist from twenty popular artists.  When the set is complete it will contain (400) cards.  Before it comes to an end, I’d like to see one of the Jackie Robinson cards picture a barge in the background dumping cases of 1952 Topps High Number into the Hudson River.  This actually happened in the late 1950s when Topps wanted to get rid of old inventory.  An artistic take on that event in card history would be neat to see.

No Philadelphia Phillies are in the mix for the Project 2020 set.  I’m hoping that if we get a Project 2021… 2022… 2023 we see at least one Phillies card.  With that being said, here are my top five Phillies cards I’d like to see used for this product.

#1 – Mike Schmidt 1974 Topps #283

Mike Schmidt’s rookie card comes from 1973 Topps where he is pictured alongside John Hilton and Ron Cey.  I don’t believe Topps would use that card because the other two players are on it.  That’s probably why they didn’t use Nolan Ryan’s 1968 Topps rookie this time around, and instead went with his 1969 Topps card.  Sticking with that train of thought, Mike Schmidt’s 1974 Topps #283 would be the most logical decision.

#2 – Steve Carlton 1972 Topps Traded #751

The facial expression alone on this card should make it worthy.  Steve Carlton’s first card in a Phillies uniform can be found in the 1972 Topps Traded subset.  I would’ve suggested using his rookie, but that has him in a Cardinals uniform and paired with Fritz Ackley.

#3 – Richie Ashburn 1956 Topps #120

When Richie Ashburn’s rookie was released in 1949 Bowman, Topps and Bowman were two separate companies.  In 1955 Topps purchased Bowman and the rest is history.  Even though Topps owns the Bowman brand now I don’t think they’ll use a Bowman card that was issued prior to their ownership.  1952, 1954, and 1955 Topps designs have already been used for Project 2020.  The Topps Living Set already utilizes the 1953 design.  I could definitely see his 1956 Topps #120 being used.

#4 – Fergie Jenkins 1966 Topps Rookie Stars #254

The Phillies aren’t the first team you think about when talking about Hall of Fame pitcher Fergie Jenkins.  He signed with the Phillies in 1962, and debuted with the team in 1965.  A year later he was traded to the Cubs.  Because his rookie has Bill Sorrell on it, I highly doubt this card would ever be used.  Nothing against Bill Sorrell, but its basically the same situation as Mike Schmidt’s rookie card.

#5 – Phillie Phanatic 2007 Topps Opening Day #206

The Phillie Phanatic is the greatest mascot of all-time.  We’re lucky he received a Topps NOW card in April 2018 celebrating his 40th anniversary.  I’d like to see him included in more Topps online-exclusive products.  A Topps Living Set card would be cool.  His first Topps card can be found in 2007 Opening Day.

You Know What’s Cool? Little League Pins That Look Like Packs Of 1954 Bowman Baseball Cards

With the cancellation of the 2020 Little League World Series, I’ve been looking around for some alternative sources to obtain new pins this year.  eBay has always been an option, but the Little League Pin Traders Club group on Facebook can be an equal or even better source.

Everyday collectors are posting pictures of their pins looking to trade.  Upon joining, I came to realize how many pins I didn’t know existed.  That’s the thing about Little League pins.  You can go many years without knowing that certain pins exist.  There is no official release date and/or checklist.  In addition to that, the quantities are all different.

Did you know there are some Little League pins that look just like packs of old baseball cards?  Organizing a trade using one of my Sports Card Info pins, I was able to obtain (2) pins that look like packs of 1954 Bowman Baseball.  One of them is green, and the other is red.

These pins aren’t small either.  They’re made of metal, and are about the size of a normal pack of cards.  High-quality and very heavy.  I had no clue they existed until I joined this group.  Other baseball card pack pins I’ve seen include 1952 Bowman Baseball and 1963 Topps Baseball.

Its interesting when the sports card hobby collides with the pin collecting world.

Your 2020 Topps Now Design Looks Like…

The 2020 Topps Now design has officially been unveiled.  Some Topps Now buyers have received this Mike Trout promo card in the mail containing a coupon code on the back.

Here’s What Your 2019 National VIP Badges Look Like

I wonder if they’ve ever given any thought to randomly including autographs, relics, or vintage cards in these badges?  Honestly, people would probably complain “certain” people were getting the special cards.  Less than two weeks to go until the greatest show in the world celebrates it’s 40th anniversary.

Topps, Leaf, Upper Deck, and Panini all have VIP sets.  Don’t forget to check out my tips on how to get your name on the list to attend the Topps Q&A.

Good luck to everyone going!

Is Topps Returning To Basketball? – Sure Looks Like It

Athletes and celebrities showing off cards on social media that they recently signed for upcoming products isn’t anything new.  But one image has been floating around the internet this week which has a lot of collectors talking.

Former Kentucky Wildcats guard Tyler Herro posted a video which shows three stacks of cards he signed.  What has people all in a buzz is that they seem to be Topps cards.  Topps Chrome to be exact.

Topps hasn’t produced a basketball product since 2009-10.  Panini currently has an exclusive NBA and CLC license.  These cards obviously don’t have any licensed team names and/or logos.

By the looks of it, Topps is working on an unlicensed basketball draft picks Topps Chrome set that features autographs.  With all of the hype around Zion Williamson, Topps seems to have decided to get back into the basketball card business.

Its very possible that a company like Topps could sign Zion Williamson to an exclusive autograph agreement even though they currently don’t have an NBA and/or CLC license.  Upper Deck has done this with Ben Simmons and Michael Jordan in the past.

When the Topps Industry Conference was held earlier this year, rumors were flying around that Panini is deathly afraid that something like this might happen with Zion Williamson.  It doesn’t look good when the exclusive NBA licensed card manufacturer (Panini) can’t strike a deal with the #1 draft pick.

We don’t have any specific details yet.  These cards could be distributed in a number of ways.

COME TO TOPPS ZION!!!

“Pin-Up” of the Week: Green Bay Packers Thumbs-Up “Like” Pin

This pin isn’t rare, expensive, or that hard to find.  But I do enjoy this line of pins that feature team logos on the famous Facebook thumbs-up “Like” button.  Most of the pins I’ve found are for NFL teams, but there are a few MLB ones.

Why I Like BuyBacks

Between this year and last year, I have paid a lot more attention to Topps Heritage.  Maybe because I like the old school look or perhaps its the Phillies cards commemorating their World Series accomplishments.

One thing I like the most are the buyback cards that come as box toppers inside each box.  I’ve always liked the idea of pulling original vintage cards from new products.  Most of the time collectors will pull commons that aren’t worth too much even though they are from an old set, but sometimes you can get lucky and pull a Hall of Famer.  If your really lucky you might even get a rookie card of a Hall of Famer.  Vintage cards of great players are good targets for counterfeiters and usually force collectors to purchase the card they want after it has been graded.  Sure it ads some authenticity to the card, but it can also increase the amount you have to spend and not all collectors have room to store those bulky holders.  With the buyback cards, Topps simply places their foil logo on the card and thats that.  I think its a great alternative for those collectors looking to purchase a raw vintage card of a popular player.  I’d like to see Topps do this more with other products.

Collect What You Like

There are so many people that collect things just because other people do.  If you enjoy sports card collecting, you should collect what you like, not whats popular with everyone else.  For example, many people like to open packs and boxes of Bowman products which usually is prospect oriented.  After they open the product they are always in a hurry to see if they did good.  People rush to message boards seeking other people’s opinions on what is good and bad.  It is important as a collector to think for yourself not rely on others.