Finest Redemptions Arrive

Sort of...

Well, not really "sort of." They ARE here. Most of them anyway. It's just that, and I hate to sound ungrateful considering I wasn't convinced I'd EVER see them, they're kind of the wrong ones. Not completely. I'm not even sure if they're MOSTLY wrong. But they definitely aren't 100% right. Follow me on this.

I redeemed 4 Finest cards last year in May and June. They are:

1. Dexter Fowler AU Rookie Letter Patch Blue Refractor

2. MLB Rookie #8 Red Refractor

3. MLB Rookie #7 Gold Refractor

4. MLB Rookie #10

Seems simple enough, right? (I can't wait to see that red refractor. That thing will be the cat's ass!)

Here's what I got:

#7 Nolan Reimold Refractor 121/199

OK - #7 was supposed to be a Gold Refractor. I think those are numbered to 50. I love Nolan, and I know a certain hairy deviant that may be interested in a trade. So, I'm happy to get a refractor, but it was supposed to be the gold one. I hate to complain but...

#8 Neftali Feliz Gold Refractor 7/50

Again, it's the right card. But it's the wrong color. The red refractors are numbered to 25, I believe. So again, Topps kind of screwed up. And in the wrong direction.

Again...

Dexter Fowler Blue Auto Patch 7/25

This is the right one. And it's awesome. Topps kept sending me emails asking if I'd like a card of equal Beckett Value. I held out, and I'm glad I did. (Although, maybe I wouldn't have done too bad if I'd exchanged it.) I'm never in a big hurry to get my cards so waiting didn't really bother me.

The last redemption has yet to arrive. It's just a regular base card so if Topps screws that one up I have no place to go but up. I guess we'll see what happens.

To sum up, I did get a Gold Refractor, just the wrong one. That's OK by me. The only thing that bums me out is I have a regular refractor instead of a Red refractor. And the Red was the one I was looking forward to the most.

So what should I do? Should I just say eff it? Or should I contact Topps to see if they'll fix it? I'm leaning towards contacting them, so if someone could help me out with advice on the how to get the best results I'd appreciate it.

Ma ma ma My Redemption

Got my redemption from Upper Deck. In September, in a box of 2007 SP Authentic I pulled a dual auto Chirography of Hanley Ramirez and Stephen Drew. I was pretty excited. I redeemed it immediately. Today, just 12-16 short weeks (or 25) later my card arrived in the mail. Here it is.



I don't know what this card is but it sure isn't Hanley ramirez. Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis dual auto. I guess it's pretty comparable. Ya know, Miguel Cabrera or Jose Feliciano, ya got no complaints.

I would have liked to see that Hanley Ramirez though. I don't hold this against Upper Deck. I know nobody likes redemptions, but what the hell are they supposed to do if the player doesn't sign?

What I'm most disappointed about this card is the Willis auto. I like Dontrelle. Everything I've heard about him is that he's a good guy. He sure was exciting a few years ago. But c'mon, what the hell is up with that sig? Oh well, I still hope he can put it back together this year.

Upper Deck was also kind enough to send a bonus pack due to my long wait.




Here it is. A pack of 2007 Masterpieces with 4 WHOLE CARDS! Can you believe it? That's like a card for every month it was late! Thanks Upper Deck. You really shouldn't have. I feel like I should send you a check for $1.34. I'm getting away with robbery here.

I especially like how it's clearly marked "BONUS" so that when I'm enjoying opening my pack I don't forget for a second that they did it out of the goodness of their heart.

Might as well open the pack and see what's there.




Look at Josh Hamilton with those tattoos. You know he used to do drugs. Turned his life around. Now he regrets EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM. Don't believe me? Just ask Joe Buck.

All in all, not a bad surprise to find in the mail after work today. The dual auto is a nice card even if it isn't the one that I expected. And, I like Masterpieces so that was nice too.

Maybe the best part was the nice note they sent me that included the following: "We hope you enjoyed this exchanged item and hope it finds a cherished place in your collection". As cherished place in my collection? Who says that? I thought it was pretty funny.

Now I'll see if there's any way I can turn my nice new Cabrera/Willis auto into a Sizemore auto. That would be the bees knees. I would cherish it.

Sweet Redemption

Last night I busted a box of 07 SP Authentic. It was a good time and I like the set. I think I like the SP Rookie Edition better, though. It is more interesting to look at and is much cheaper. I guess Authentic costs more due to the better pulls. I figured I'd share with you what I got.


This is the first signature card I got and it is by far the thickest damn card I've ever seen. Don't know much about Matt Cain but his stats look pretty good on baseball reference. I guess the point is to collect all of the letters and then display them in a row. Descent idea. I wonder if the /40 means there are 40 cards for each letter or 40 cards total? Either way, I've got nothing against Cain, but this card will probably end up on ebay when I figure out how that whole thing works.




The second "pull" is Andy Laroche. This is a By The Letter Rookie Sig, which is apparently slightly different. I spent the first 5 minutes after pulling this card trying to figure out why I keep thinking his name is Adam. Don't worry, I figured it out. The crazy thing is they're now BOTH on the Pirates. Does the back of their uniforms have both first and last names?

This card too will probably end up on ebay. I've got neither the time, nor the desire to track down the 3 other cards required for Matt Cain, much less the longer Adam ...err... Andy LaRoche.

Now, make a Jarrod Saltalamacchia and that's just ridiculous enough to try. Not that I feel strongly about Jarrod one way or the other. I just think you would get a tremendous feeling of satisfaction from completing something of that magnitude. Don't you?







The most exciting thing I came across was my second redemption card ever pulled. The first was from '94 Pinnacle and would have been Rob Nen. I barely missed the cutoff by 13 years so my collection remains Nen-less, as far as 94 Pinnacle goes. Oh well.

This Authentic card does sound pretty sweet. It's a /75 Chirography Duel Sig of Hanley Ramirez and Stephen Drew. I've looked up other Chiropraphy cards and they look pretty nice. Mine should have one of the most exciting young players in the game, a cornerstone around which you can build an entire franchise for years to come. AND, some guy named Ramirez. I hear he has potential as well.

I went straight online and put in the code. It said it should take 12-16 weeks. This one, I think I'll keep for a while as it will probably be the best card I have. You know, aside from Chuck Finley playing air guitar bat.