Gausman is Bowman’s No. 3 redemption card

Posted May 23, 2013 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated May 23, 2013 at 10:38 AM

Topps announced its third redemption for its 2013 Bowman baseball product Thursday, and card No. 3 will be Baltimore Orioles rookie pitcher Kevin Gausman.

Gausman, 22, will make his Big League debut today when the Orioles face the Blue Jays.  The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder from Colorado starred at LSU.He was 2-4 at the Orioles’  Double-A affiliate in Bowie, Md. In eight starts, he has struck out 49 batters while allowing just five walks. His ERA is 3.11

The card will have an on-card signature.

Redemption No. 1 was an autograph rookie card of Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu, while No. 2 was Texas Rangers rookie shortstop Jurickson Profar. There will be two more redemptions announced by Topps.

Topps previews baseball Update series

Posted May 22, 2013 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated May 22, 2013 at 11:34 PM

Here’s an update about Topps’ flagship baseball set.

No, the fact that Topps Series 2 is coming out next month is not breaking news. However, Topps provided details Wednesday on its final standard set of the season, Topps Update. And that’s breaking news.

The Update set is expected to be released on Oct. 14. A hobby box will contain 36 packs, with 10 cards to a pack. Topps is promising one autograph or memorabilia card in each hobby box, and the base cards will be a typical 330-card set. As always, the Update set will highlight trades, rookies, All-Star Game heroes and even players from the Home Run Derby. All-Star Stitches will feature event-worn memorabilia.

Topps continues its mini-card issue from the first two series with a nod to the venerable 1971 design. I can call it venerable now; it was vulnerable 42 years ago. Those of us who actually collected that series will remember how difficult it was to keep that set pristine, as it was so prone to chipping and bent, mushy corners. It’s fun now to collect cards that look like the 1971s, because the card stock is so much nicer. You’d really have to work at it to get a chipped card now.

Some of the minis will be autographed, too.

Other inserts Topps will showcase in Update include Chasing History, Making Their Mark, Postseason Heroes and Franchise Forerunners.

Some of the relics a collector will be able to find, aside from jersey swatches, are league leader pins, record holder pins and pennant chase coins (the coins are embedded into the cards). The coins, numbered to 99, also will have iron parallels numbered to 50, while steel parallels will be numbered to 10.

Each card will have seven parallels — gold, black, pink, emerald, desert camo and 1/1 platinum. Plus, there will be four printing plates for each of the 330 cards — that’s 1,320 1/1s.

An interesting chase set for the obsessive collector — and this is going to be extremely tough to complete — will be 990 blue sapphire foil cards from the cards of Series 1, 2 and the Update set. The tough part? Each parallel will be numbered to 25.

Another parallel to chase will be 100 framed mini silk cards, numbered to 50.

The Ultimate Chase subset returns with 10 cards (numbered 1/1) featuring current and retired stars. Each card will have an on-card autograph or relic, or, in the case of deceased stars, a cut signature.

If you cut your teeth on collecting Topps’ flagship set as I have, completing it is always a goal. The sets are much larger now because of the three sets, but it’s still a pleasant challenge.

Panini’s Prime Hockey will have extra treat

Posted May 22, 2013 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated May 22, 2013 at 05:28 PM

Panini America provided a tease to its upcoming 2012-13 Prime Hockey set, and if the packs seem a little bit heavier this year, there’s a good reason.

The set will be released in late August, and every five-card pack will contain a two-card Dominion pack. So, hockey fans will get a pack within a pack. And the breakdown sounds pretty special.

Here is the breakdown Panini gave for a typical pack of 2012-13 Prime Hockey: one Prime base card; one Prime Rookie autograph quad memorabilia jersey; one autograph card; one memorabilia card; one additional autograph, memorabilia or low-numbered parallel card; one Dominion base card; and one Dominion autograph patch card, memorabilia card or Engravatures insert.

Last year’s debut set was received well, but it looks like Panini upped the ante with more cards.

Prime Hockey will contain game-worn glove and skate memorabilia cards, and there will be large 1/1 versions of each. One example Panini sent, featured in this blog, is a skate memorabilia card of Lightning star Steven Stamkos.

Prime Ties and Prime Colors will return for a second year. Prime Colors cards contain huge, colorful patches. Prime Rookies quad memorabilia autograph cards will contain four generous swatches of gaem-used material, plus a player’s signature. There are jumbo patch and 1/1 NHL shield variations, too.

If you like autographs, there also is the possibility of pulling Prime, Dual and Triple signature cards. One prototype Panini sent of a Triple signature card would make any hockey fan drool: Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman and Gordie Howe. It’s a gorgeous looking card.

Those collectors who open the bonus pack of Dominion cards have the chance to pull Rookie Autograph patch cards, Engravatures and Peerless Patches.

There appears to be some good upside to the Prime Hockey set; when the set hits hobby shops, we will find out for sure.

Beckett opens weekly Wednesday chat room on Facebook page

Posted May 22, 2013 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated May 22, 2013 at 02:53 PM

f you enjoy reading the Beckett magazines, follow the company on Twitter (@BeckettMediaLLC), read and contribute on their message boards, and watch their box breaks on YouTube, then a chatroom should be the next logical step. After all, who wouldn’t want to interact with the people who are on top of the sports collectibles hobby?

Beckett junkies, rejoice.

Beginning tonight and every Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. Eastern time, Beckett media will be launching Chatter Up, a question-and-answer session with Beckett baseball editor Chris Olds. You can find it on the Beckett Media LLC Facebook page.

It will be a simple, real-time chat. Olds is a knowledgeable guy with a newspaper background (which makes him more knowledgeable in my opinion, of course ...). He has a good grasp of collecting trends and sports in general. You are certain to learn something—or just be entertained.

Beckett is even hinting at chatters winning some “cool stuff” each week.

If you are passionate about collecting, it can’t hurt to check out “Chatter Up.”

In The Game acquires Sport Kings LP

Posted May 22, 2013 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated May 22, 2013 at 01:11 PM

In The Game, Inc., and Sport Kings LP are owned by Brian Price, and until today they were separate companies. However, Price announced today that he will be merging the two into one. In his blog today, Price said the acquisition of Sport Kings’ assets would make production easier and cause less confusion.

“By making this acquisition, I will be able to continue the production of the Sport Kings brand as the consolidation of the brand into the ITG family makes it easier to move forward with future releases,” Price said. “In the past websites, marketing and sales were kept separately causing confusion in the marketplace, this acquisition removes that confusion.”

Price said he will have a Sportking set (Series F) ready in time for the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago in August..

Price said he bought Sportkings seven years ago, obtaining the right to the original set and releasing his first product in 2007. That was put out by the Goudey Gum Company in 1934 and ‘35 and paid tribute to the top athletes of the day with a wonderfully, paint-like look.

Some of the athletes Price said will sign for Series F include Shaquille O’Neal and Scottie Pippen (basketball) , Bill Parcells, and Frank Gifford (football), Fernando Valenzuela (baseball) and Kerri Strug (gymnastics). These will be on-card signatures.

Artist Jared Kelly will create the art cards, including the Memorable Moments insert. Kelly will depict 20 significant moments in sports history and create four cards for each to fit like a puzzle. One that Price depicted on his blog was the famous celebration shot of U.S. women’s soccer star Brandi Chastain.

Series F also will contain Body of Work jumbo patches, accompanied by artwork of the players.