Some Singletons that Look Familiar

With all of the parallels out there in the cardboard world, it seems like a collector is bound to wind up purchasing a few cards that look familiar. That was the case with this lot of Jon Singleton cards from 2014 Topps Triple Threads. I picked them up from my usual haunt (eBay), and when they arrived I found myself saying, "I wonder if I already have those?"

So I did a quick search of my blog and found that I did indeed already have an Orange parallel in my collection, purchased at some point in early 2015. This copy is numbered # 103 / 125. It might help me out if I actually had my collection organized and uploaded into a collection-tracking utility like the Trading Card Database or the mostly-dead Zistle.

I didn't already have a copy of this Blue parallel, though, and it's the one with the lower print run. This one is numbered # 14 / 50. I like the blue color on this card.

Singleton is currently playing down at AA for the Corpus Christi Hooks, and his numbers have been pretty good at that level. It's hard to believe that he's still just 25 years old. I wonder if he'll ever be able to catch up to the MLB level and put together a few decent years on someone's roster? I guess time will tell.

Jon Singleton 2014 Topps Triple Threads Lot

Chad Qualls just went on the DL, and that opened the door for Jon Singleton to get called back up from AAA to get some playing time with the Astros. He made it as far as the on-deck circle last night in a crushing 3-2 loss where they led for much of the game. I watched the Yankees-Astros game today and he went 0 for 4 with 3 strikeouts and a pop-up. He had a chance to play hero in the 7th inning with the bases loaded, but racked up one of his strikeouts instead. Hopefully he can get something going over the next few games and keep his big-league roster spot. I have to admit that my hopes aren't very high, but a couple of home runs might help to fix that.

I can't read the serial numbers of these cards on the scans, but I believe they are numbered # / 325 and # / 125 respectively. They come from 2014 Topps Triple Threads. I got them back at the start of this year and they've been sitting in my draft queue since then.

In other news, my kids got into my NASCAR die-cast collection today and broke the hood off of one of my cars. They didn't bother with the cars that I had out in the open. They went and got the stuff hidden on a table in the back of the room. I don't think I am going to be able to replace that car as it's a fairly rare piece from way back in 2011. Just a friendly reminder that kids and collections don't mix.

Some Recent R.A. Dickey Pickups

I haven't posted for a little more than a week now, so I am trying to get things started back up by featuring a couple of R.A. Dickey cards I've picked up over the last couple of months. Dickey pitched today, throwing 7.0 innings and giving up 4 runs to the Braves on 4 hits and 4 walks while striking out 6 on the way to a no-decision in a game the Blue Jays eventually won in the 10th inning on a Josh Donaldson home run. I didn't watch that game, but I did get to watch the last half of the Mets-Marlins game, where the Mets bullpen nearly gave up a 5-0 lead in the 8th and 9th innings, barely holding on to take the game at 5-4.

This first card is an auto-relic from 2014 Topps Triple Threads, numbered # 02 / 25. I thought the black relic swatch was pretty cool. It's not something you see too often on baseball cards.

Prices on Dickey's cards have come down a lot in the last couple of years. That would be a good thing, but in spite of the favorable market for buyers I haven't really taken advantage of it. I've been a little distracted from the hobby lately, I guess, and I pass over a lot of stuff because of parallel fatigue. But that hasn't stopped me completely from picking up parallels...

...like this black-bordered card from 2015 Topps Series 1. It looks a lot like the base version of the card, except without all the colors on the edges. I probably picked it up because it had a cheap shipping cost or something. One thing that has been preventing me from bidding on a lot of cards lately is what seems like a universal $3.00 shipping fee in addition to whatever the auction price is. The $0.99 starting bid makes a $4.00 base price for just about any card you look at, and that is just too much.

This card is # 42 / 64, making it just one number away from being a jersey number eBay 1 / 1. Hopefully the Blue Jays can make a decent run this year and at least get into the postseason. But right now I hope even more that the Houston Rockets can hold on for one more quarter and beat the Dallas Mavericks in their first-round NBA Playoffs match-up.