My Favorite Teixeira

It's been so hectic for me as of late. With work, gym, spending time with family and friends, I haven't had the time to devote to this blog. I've been wanting to post, but other obligations have kept me away.

Tonight, I decided I wasn't going to watch WWE Raw (quit laughing, I bet some of you still watch WWE). I was going to finally scan some cards using the scanner/copier/printer I got for my birthday a few weeks back. I scanned all of my Mark Teixeira game used and certified autographed cards. I really didn't realize it was going to be a few hours for me to scan all those cards, but I finally did. Finished at 12:30 AM, eastern time.

I guess I'll show off some of my favorites:

From 2010 Topps, I have this Topps Peak Performance game used jersey. Yankee jerseys really don't have much to offer other than a piece of the interlocking NY on the chest or number off the back, so I really prefer my Yankee gamers to have the pinstripe on the jersey. This one has a real nice pinstripe, so that makes me a happy camper

I love patch cards, a lot. This Teixeira card from 2009 Upper deck SPx has a sweet piece of patch from one of Tex's Rangers jerseys. I got a sweet deal on it off ebay. Too bad I can't afford a Yankee patch.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Sweet Spot has the best autographed cards. I really love this one from 2005 Sweet Spot. I actually had this card once before. I wanted to put together this set and bought this card for 7.00 at a card show. I later realized that alot of the autos in this set were going to be a bit pricey so I gave up on it and traded this card for one that escapes my mind. When I started collecting Teixeira, I had to rebuy this card. The second time around, it cost me 25.00, plus shipping. Morale of this story, when that voice in the back of your head is screaming, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!, maybe you ought to listen to it. Unlike me.

Another beautiful autograph card. This one comes from 2005 Ultimate. I, like most of you, can't afford the high end cards, so I have to scour the secondary market for the ones I need. And besides, I'm not paying 300 bucks to pull a Josh Tole autograph and a Kyle Davies game used jersey. So, I am more than happy to pay 10.00 for this beauty.

And finally, I have this card. It combines my two loves: Autographs and patches, all in one card. To get this 2005 Reflections Dual Patch Auto of Teixeira and Hank Blaylock, I had to trade some hockey autos, but its well worth it. This card has a prominent spot in my Teixeira collection.

If you guys want to see more of the collection, I'll post the links to the buckets here:http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y89/maniabeatle01/Mark%20Teixiera%20Collection/Autograph/

and here:http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y89/maniabeatle01/Mark%20Teixiera%20Collection/Game%20Used/

Let me know what you guys think.

I still have to upload all of the base and inserts. I'm not looking forward to that. Just thinking about uploading those, as well as my Yankees, Tino Martinez and Martin Brodeur collections hurts my tummy.

2008-09 Black Diamond Martin Brodeur Quad Jersey

With yesterdays 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins, it seems like the Devils quest to make the postseason is pretty much dead. Unfortunately, the Devils horrific start was too much to over come. It's not that they're mathmatically eliminated just yet, but with about 9 games left and the Devils being 9 games behind Buffalo for the 8 playoff spot, they would have to win out right and hope for a lot of help from those in front of them to get in. It's going to take a miracle I think.

Broduer, dispite missing games due to injury, is having a solid season yet again. He is 21-23 with a 2.46 GAA and a save percentage of .902. He also has 5 shutout wins. In December, I was sure this would be his final season, but it looks like he will be back in net next year. That is good because he looks like he can play another year or two.

I managed to add this beauty to my Brodeur pc on Monday. It's an ebay win. Not numbered, but it looks great nonetheless. My Brodeur game used collection is growing and I look forward to add more to it soon.

New Adds To Marty Brodeur Collection

I recently made a few trades on Sports Card Forum for two Martin Brodeur cards to add to the growing PC. Didn't take much to add these beauties and I'm very happy to have them.

First up, is a In The Game game used Brodeur jersey card. It's my first In The Game game used card. In The Game is pretty hard to come by in the states, at least in NYC it is, so I have never busted this product. I could never understand why the cards come incased in the plastic loader. I'm gonna have to figure a way to store this in the box with the other Brodeurs.

Then I was able to trade for this 2010-11 SPx Winning Combos dual game used jersey card of Brodeur and Roberto Luongo. The card is not numbered, but it's still a pretty nice card. I had originally bid on this card on ebay and lost out at the last second, so to be able to trade for it was pretty cool.

As you can tell, I finally figured out how to use the focus on my Samsung Epic, so this pic is a lot clearer than the other. I might actually go back and re-shoot the pic of the ITG jersey card.

I have more Brodeurs coming in the upcoming days. If anyone has any Brodeurs they're looking to trade, drop me an email at yankeesjetsfan@gmail.com. Thanks.

2010-11 SPx Winning Trios Devils Triple Jersey #'ed to 50

Been a while since I last posted. Been working extra hours and taking care of some personal stuff. A lot has happened since I last posted. Knicks getting Carmelo Anthony (Yey) and the baseball world losing Duke Snider (Boo). Heck, I only sent out 10 Spring Training autograph requests this year, down from the 20-30 I usually get out. It's March now and lately the only thing that's been on my mind is baseball and my beloved New York Yankees. That's why I'm showing off a hockey card.

Got this beauty in a trade on sportscardforum.com. It's a 2010-2011 SPx Winning Trios triple game used jersey card of Martin Brodeur, Patrik Elias and former Devils Captain Jamie Langenbrunner. The card is numbered to 50 and I'm pleased to be able to added to my Martin Brodeur PC.

I have a few other trades hopefully coming back soon. For my 100th post, I will show off my prized possession.

2010-2011 Artifacts Brodeur, Elias, Parise Triple Patch

I recently added this goergous card to my Martin Brodeur PC. It's a 10-11 Artifacts Tundra Trios Triple Patch card of Marty Broduer, Patrick Elias and Zach Parise. The card is # 11/15.

I aquired this card through a trade on a site I frequent called Trading Card Central. I have been a member for years and it has some real nice people on it. The gentleman I got this from actually offered it up to me. There were a couple of card he was intrested in that I no longer had. He finally agreed to trade it for my 08/09 Ice Evgeni Malkin Autographed swatch card I had. At first, I was doubting the trade. I was actually hpoing to hold on to the Malkin for a Brodeur auto, but once I saw the card in person all my doubts erased and I'm very pleased to have it. I never would have been able to afford it if I had to buy it off ebay or something.

I have another Brodeur on it's way in. Not nearly as nice as this one, but still a pretty cool card to add to my growing Brodeur PC.

Changes are a comming!

I took some time off to step back and look over the blog. I want to write a blog that is intresting, informative and fun. I would like to grow my readership and so far, that's not happening. So, I will be making some changes to the blog.

First, I will be concentrating on coming up with a new name for the blog. Mike's Box of Junk doesnt seem like a good name. It was the best I could come up with and, quite frankly, still is. I also think I need a better banner. I'm not so great at Photoshop and that was the best of my efforts. So, I will be thinking heavily about what I call the blog or what banner I'd like to use. If anyone has any ideas, I welcome them.

Secondly, I decided to concentrate my collecting efforts to two teams; the Yankees and New Jersey Devils. I will still add Jets and Knicks stuff to the collection, but with time and, most importantly, money, at an all time low, I feel I just can't do all four sports. My love for the Yankees has been with me since I was 5 years old and watched Chris Chambliss hit them into the World Series. Dropping them was never a thought. I have been watching the Jets since 1980, the Knicks since 1982 and the Devils since 1991-92. For some reason, The Devils has grown on me and hockey is rapidly becoming a favorite sport. I will admit that my hockey knowledge is not as high as baseball. There is still alot I want to learn about the rules and history of the sport. I feel an excitement watching the game that I only feel when watching baseball. Maybe it's the hitting, the prepetual movement of the game or the feeling I get seeing Marty Brodeur stop a shot or Zach Parise score a goal. That's why I added the Devils to my collecting concentrations next to the Yankees.

Last, but not least, I need to address the lack of posts on my part. Lately I have been working longer hours. Add that to my workouts and my participating on the company softball team, it doesn't as much time as I'd like to post. Plus, when I don't have anything new to show, I kind of get brain cramps about what to write. What I'm going to do, even if it's a short paragraph about the Yankees or Devils, is I'm going to have up at least 3 posts a week. That is my goal.

I want to thank my followers for reading the blog and occasionally commenting. I want to make this the best possible blog for you guys to read and appreciate all feedback given. Keep on reading, I promise it will get better.

Martin Brodeur =$$$$$$$$$$

Anyone who knows me, knows my favorite sports star is Martin Brodeur. I have been a huge fan since his rookie year and the man crush only grew after the '95 season, which saw the Devils capture the first of their 3 Stanley Cup championships. Baseball is my favorite sport, but my favorite athlete is a hockey player. When I returned to card collecting, I decided I was going to start a player collection of Brodeur. As of today,I have 273 diffrent and unique Brodeur cards. I have magazines, pucks, posters (one of which was given to me as an xmas presentof the 2003 Championship team...signed by Brodeur), figures, bobbleheads,Tshirts, a jersey, his book and even had the chance to meet Broduer at the NHL Store here in NYC where he signed a 5x7 for me. Heck, I was even at the game he broke Roy's record for wins all time by a goalie. I called out sick from work, stood in line for hours and was able to get a pair of tickets to the game. Watching Brodeur take the record that St.Patty's Day ranks as my favorite game I've attended. I will be matting the ticket, the autographed 5x7 and the poster given out by the Devils later that season commerating the win in a frame first chance I get.

Collecting Broduer is a tough task. As I mentioned before, I have 273 of Broduer's thousands of cards. Most of them came from participating in box breaks,trades, card show pick ups or gifts from friends and other collectors. About 90% of my collection are base and inserts. I have maybe 10 game used cards and just 3 autographed cards. Maybe it's the fact that he holds every record a goaltender can own or his 3 cups or the fact that he may go down as the best goalie ever (Roy fans will beg to differ, I'm sure). Whatever it is, Brodeur is an expensive player to collect. A search on ebay showed me that while his base cards are still pretty reasonable, his game used cards are creeping up in price. I have seen a lot start at $9.99, 29.99 and even 49.99 for sticks from Between The Pipe. If there is a patch, that's extra. Autographed cards are even more. Most signed Brodeur cards start at 50.00, going up past 100.00. For someone who's on a budget, that's a bit much to spend on cardboard.

I made a decison a while ago that if I was going to have a nice collection, I would forgo the autos and game used stuff unless I was either getting it through a trade or find a steal on one. I have been able to get some gu cards for under 10 bucks dlvd. I also supplement the lack of premium cards by going after the non-card Brodeur collectables, which I plan to display once I have the room. My collection may not be the largest, but I'm pretty proud of it. Here are some of my favorite pieces:

06-07 Hot Prospects Hotagraphs. This is one the few autographs I have of his.

Brodeur's first McFarlane. I had this figure when it was first released, but I managed to lose it. Had to pay 40.00 at a comic con for it. I just need the Team Canada figures, The box sets and the variant to complete the collection.

This is a SGA from 2003. I love the classic pose bobbles and AGP did a great job on this one. Plus, the cage on the mask lifts up.

I love that my collection is a hodgepodge of diffrent things. As much as I drool over the 500.00 patch auto, picking up really cool pieces makes me feel better about thelack of autos in my collection. Who knows? Maybe one day I will be able to afford the stick or jersey he wore in a game. Until then, I'll just admire the awesome collection I have now.

Bobbles, Bobbles and More Bobbles

Well, since my last bobblehead update, I managed to add 7 new bobbleheads to the Growing collection. All, with the exception of one, were ebay purchases. I gotta tell you, I loved going to the post office and having the clerk behind the counter give me a box with my latest treasure securely inside amist the packing popcorn, bubble wrap and newspaper. Let's see what I got:

This is a Bernie Williams retail bobble head made by American Global. This was sold in 2001 and has him decked out in the Yankee home uni on a green base. The likeness was ok on this one. Not as good a likeness as on my next bobble.

Bernie Williams SGA bobble. This was given away in 2002 and it was sponsored by Land O'Lakes. The bat is held with his left hand, as opposed to his right on the retail version. Also, he's holding his batting helmet and his skin color is a more lighter tone. The facial features are more in line to what he actually looks like.

This Martin Brodeur bobble is also a giveaway. It was given out during the 2002/03 season at Continental Airlines Arena and was sponsored by JP Morgan Chase. The visor on the helmet flips up to show his face. I love that this bobble is in the classic pose and has Marty's old style helmet design, which I never thought he should have changed.

This was a SGA bobble of Reggie Jackson. It was given away in 2004 by the Columbus Clippers, who at that time was still the Yankees Triple A affiliate. I love the cheesy grin on Reggie's face here. The glasses are awesome as well. One of my new favorites.

Here's another of my new favorites. Lou Gehrig. No Yankee collection is complete without a Gehrig in it. This is actually one that I feel looks just like him. I seen a few Forever bobbles that didn't capture the facial features that this one does. It was also given out by the Clippers in 2004 and shows him in his classic swing, no doubt knocking in another run. If you haven't seen Pride of The Yankees, I strongly urge you to.

Another classic Yankee in from the 70's got a SGA bobble as well. Catfish Hunter is in his set pose decked in classic Yankee home uni. Another of the Legendary Yankees bobbles that was given away by the Clippers in 2004.

Finally, there's this little guy. This is Scooter, the Holy Cow. He is one of three mascots of the Yankees Single A short season affiliate Staten Island Yankees. This is a mini AGP bobble, which I believe was a SGA. I had wanted the full sized bobble ever since I saw it on display at the ball park. I asked my Ticket rep where I could get one and he showed up at one of the games I attend with Scooter. I have actually seen a diffrent verson of Scooter on ebay with his hands out streached. I placed a bid , but alas was outbided at the last minute. Don't you hate when that happens? I'll keep looking for the other mini, as well as the full sized Scooter.

I have another bobble coming in, as well as 2 possible pick ups within the next few days. I'll post pics when I get them.

Friday, Baby!!

I am so glad the weekend is here. It seems that as I get older the weeks get longer and longer. Going to the movies tonight to see Iron Man on IMAX , card show tomorrow and Yankees game on Sunday (Please dear God, don't let Mitre start, PLEASE!!), so it will be a busy weekend for me.

I spent a lot of the week making a list of the Mark Teixeira cards I already own. I should be finished with it sometime this weekend and will figure out a way to post it on here in case anyone has anything I need and wants to make a trade. I was gonna make of list of the cards I need, but gosh, it's a long list. He has over 5,000 cards and I don't even have 200 yet, lol.

I took a break last night and was started to organize my Jets cards. Looking them over, I had to admit to myself, I love cardboard. I love collecting, I love trading and I love looking them over, like precious jewels. As much as I love the base, I think I love inserts even more. Card companies can be creative in making inserts. I think they add a certing oomph to a card collection.

I love the look of these two. Both will be in my player PC's for life. I also think that they make a plasyer pc stand out more. Sure, you can go for Rookies, Autos and game used, but depending on the player (in my case Brodeur), the autos can be very expensive. Chasing inserts, I believe, not only helps grow your collection, but makes it quite unique. I guess I'm kinda old school in the way I think. I may be one of the few people who loves 90's sets for all those inserts.

I recently discovered a blogger who goes by the name Waxaholic. Great read. If you haven't read his blog, do so. You won't be sorry you did.

Ok,I screwed up....

I had wanted to show off my bobblehead collection on this post. I had gotten in another bobble to show off tonight with the rest of my collection. However, like an empty headed sap, I left the bobble on my desk at work. So I guess I can show it off tomorrow with about three others as I will be dropping by a guy who is on the Spawn forums as well as a bobble forum I recently joined. He's selling me some Yankee bobbles for the collection so, I can show off all of my treasures then.

Until then, I wanted to show off my player collections one card at a time. I collect four players, two of them I am trying to build a serious collection of and that would be Mark Teixeira and Martin Brodeur. I also collect Tino Martinez and David Lee. With Tex, I currently stand at 172 cards and Marty at 223, I think. I will get the exact number tomorrow. So what I will do each day is to show off one card of Brodeur and Teixeira each to keep the blog moving. This helps to keep the blog moving so there is something new to see,especially if there is no mailday. Yes,I know I'm cheating, but I really want to put effort into this blog and I work long hours and then work out after, so my brain goes into zzzzzz mode at night.

First off, is this beauty:

2009 Topps Mark Teixeira Yankee Stadium Inaugural Season Patch Card. I do realize it's manufatcured, but I really like the way these look. They add variety to a player collection, I think. Bought it off ebay for about $7.00 delivered.

I don't have very many Brodeur autos in my PC. I have only three. His is an expensive auto, averaging about $70.00 and up. I was lucky to have been able to buy this 2002 Hot Prospects Hotgraphs auto card for about $35.00. Not cheap, but compared to some of his other autos, It is pretty darn affordable.

That's all for tonight. Thanks for reading.

12/2/2009

Hey everyone,

Sorry I have been off a bit. I haven't actually gotten anything recently, plus I have been a bit sick this week. Just wanted to show off some recent gets:

Former Flyers Great Bobby Clarke signed 2 custom index cards and a Puck for me. The cool thing was Clarke actually took the time to seperate my items in diffrent envelopes instead of just shoving everything into one envelope. The "Bob" part on the puck got a little smudged, but the effort was much appreciated. I wish alot of athletes were this thoughtful

NBA Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens signed 4 custom Knicks index cards for the Knicks PC. Wilkens is the only HOF'er in as both a player and coach. Great TTM'er.

I managed to snag a autographed card from of former Knicks coach Red Holzman off ebay for a pretty good price. I do hope it's a legit auto. For what I paid, if it turns out it's a fake, it won't be too big a deal.

I also added two new Marty Brodeur cards to the PC. Was able to make a deal with a SPAWN forum boardmember from Canada for two of the 2009-10 McDonalds cards.

Also managed to snag a Roberto Luango signed 8x10 from a group break of UD Portraits. I had the Devils and Canucks as my teams and will frame this bad boy and hang it up.

Last note, was saddened to hear of the passing of former Yankee great Tommy Henrich. From what I was told, he was to the Yankees of the 30's and 40's what Paul O'Neill was to the Yankees of the 90's. The man came through in big situations for the Yankees. He batted a career .282, , was a 5 time all star, 5 time world champion with the Yankees. In game 4 of the 41 series against the Dodgers. He swing and missed a full count breaking pitch, but Dodgers catcher Mickey Owens missed the ball, allowing Henrich to reach first and keep the inning going. Dimaggio singled, Keller doubled and Gordon doubled in 2 more runs and the Yankees had a 7-4 victory and a 3-1 series lead, which they would win.

He was 96 when he passed. God Rest his soul.