2012 Jackie Robinson Solid Gold Card has been Pulled

Well, that was quick. As most of you know, the 2012 Topps Baseball set, that was released today, features "1 of 1" 14k solid gold cards of a handful of star players. Obviously, they are not actually included in a pack, but are redeemable with a special code card. Dodgers known to be represented include Sandy Koufax and Jackie Robinson.

This morning I learned that case breaker and eBay seller BrentandBecca pulled the Jackie Robinson. They shared a photo of the redemption card. See it below.

Check pics of other high-end cards they pulled in their 60 case break of Jumbo boxes. Holy Moly! 60 CASES!!!!

(Pic Link: Twitter BrentandBecca)

BTW, do you want to see what 60 cases of inserts look like? Just inserts. Check out this pic they shared.

(Pic Link: twitter BrentandBecca img.ly)

Weekend Autograph Opportunities: Kareem and a Bunch of Dodgers

This weekend is filled to the brim with autograph opportunities. First, though, I wanted to note that the Long Beach Coins, Stamps, and Collectibles Expo is this weekend; starting tomorrow to Saturday. Go here for info. Also, This coming Saturday is the start of the Occupy Chavez Ravine: The “Blue Bum” Paintings of Stephen Seemayer at the West Covina Library. It will run to March 29. So, there is plenty of time to check it out. Go here for info.

Now, on to the autograph opportunities. This weekend Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will be having two book signings; one in LA and the other in Irvine. He will be signing only copies of "What Color Is My World? The Lost History of African-American Inventors."
Here are the details:

Saturday, February 4, 2012; 2:00 PM
Barnes & Noble
189 Grove Drive Suite K 30
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323-525-0270
Link Here

Sunday, February 5, 2012; 7:00 PM
Barnes & Noble
Irvine Spectrum Center
81 Fortune Drive Suite 123
Irvine, CA 92618
949-585-0233
Link Here

Once again, Frank & Sons will have a bunch of Dodgers signing at their weekly warehouse show in the City of Industry on Saturday. Go here for more details. Flyers for the event are below.
As always, check out my Calendar of Baseball/Sports related events, here. Also, everything above is subject to change. So, please be sure to call the promoters ahead of time to verify.

Woo Hoo! Let the Baseball Season Begin

That day is finally here. The 2012 Baseball season has officially become a reality. Why is that, you ask?

Well, today is the official release date for the first Baseball card product of the season. Topps 2012 Baseball is the flagship card set for the hobby, and you can now go to your local hobby store or Target/Walmart to get a pack.

Ohhh... What a wonderful day.

Heck, I was so impatient I decided to head to my local Target last night to see if retail blaster boxes had been put on the shelves. To my joy, they had. So, I dutifully bought a 10 pack box and opened it up like a little boy discovering the game for the first time.

Of note, this will probably be the only packs of this product I'll be opening since I recently joined a two case group break and snagged the Dodgers for myself. Rest assured, I will have plenty of Dodgers soon, and hopefully a nice Koufax autograph to add to my collection. On top of that, since I'll have plenty of the Blue Crew in my hands I'd be happy to send some away to you folks. Just ask.

Anyway, here is my bounty from my first blaster box break of 2012 Topps.

First, I'll start with a special pack (exclusive to retail boxes) that includes a Historical Stitches manufactured patch. This is a limited 25 card set that includes only two Dodgers- Jackie Robinson and Sandy Koufax. Unfortunately, neither one of those cards was hiding in my pack, but the below Don Mattingly was.
Here is the reverse of the card. This card insert is a little bland, but sure feels great when you rub the patch with your fingers. Ewwww.... like velvet!
Below are the only two Dodgers base cards I received. On the left is a great action photo of Dee Gordon completing a double play. On the right is our newest catcher, Tim Federowicz.
This is what the back of the base cards look like. I love the little interesting fact about Dee on the reverse.

"Dee sent the Dodgers PR folks rifling through the record books in 2011. He was just their second player with three hits and a steal in his first MLB start, and their third to swipe three bags in an inning."

Nice.
This year is the "Golden Giveaway" for Topps. You can get 1 code card for every 6 or 7 packs. Load in the code at the Topps website and win something cool. Their website at topps.com/golden is not live yet, but you can check out some of the potential prizes over there. As you can see I received 2 of these cards; including a diving Matt Kemp.
This card had me scratching my head. Topps... What the heck are you doing?

Just when I thought I would never have to think about Andruw Jones as a Dodger again Topps decides to ruin it for me. For whatever reason, Jones is shown on the below NL Active Home Run Leaders card in a Dodger uniform. Yikes!
Worse yet, the back of the card indicates that Jones is with the Dodgers. Noooooooooooo! The guy hit less home runs for us than any other team he has played for. BTW, this card is a Golden Moment parallel card (seeded to 1 for every 4 packs).
Here's some good stuff. Check out the Golden Greats insert card of Jackie Robinson, below.
The back highlights a game winning extra innings home run by Jackie in 1951.
Ruth and Clemente were the other Golden Moments cards I received.
Here is a group of other insert cards in my box break. The Gold Standard cards on the right are really nice looking, and would great with a autograph.
Here are a couple of Timeless Talents inserts; including a Nolan Ryan/ Jared Weaver card.
Mini's are another insert set collectors will go crazy for. It uses a vintage 1987 Topps card design.
Here are some base cards that I thought were notable. On the left, George Kottaras tags out former Dodger catcher Dioner Navarro. I love the enthusiasm shown in the Nyjer Morgan card, at center. How can I not show our former Dodgers catcher Russell Martin preparing to block the plate.
I really have to commend Topps for their photography and cropping this year. These cards look great. Check out Nyger Morgan again. He seems like the most affable person in the world. Pablo Sandoval makes a diving tag with his eyes closed. The celebratory World Series card of Chris Carpenter is just wonderful.