Two products I have yet to purchase are Stadium Club and a new product from Topps called Big League. These products are the Odd Couple when pairing them together.

Big League is a new release catering to younger collectors. When first announced I expected it to be more like Opening Day and, for me, a throwaway (not literally – I’m a hoarder). Stadium Club, meanwhile, is a flashy product with amazing photography and super glossy stock.

After my daily trip to the post office I had to stop by Target to pick up some painter’s tape and wanted to get in on this Big League action to see what it’s all about. And since I haven’t picked up Stadium Club, I’ll grab a couple blasters. Each year I only buy a couple Stadium Club blasters. It’s not my thing, but like to check it out.

The Stadium Club boxes are adorned by….Kris Bryant! Then I opened my first box and he’s on the packs. I considered setting a pack aside for my Cubs collection, but decided to just keep an empty wrapper since this will be the only Stadium Club I buy.

And maybe if I kept an unopened pack it would have been the hit I pulled! It’s a Cam Gallagher Auto.

One Cubs Insert was among my two boxes. The set is called Power Zone and here’s the Kris Bryant.

Two Cubs rookies made the set. First is Dillon Maples.

The second is Jen Ho Tseng. This is an awesome card. It’s so simple with Tseng heading out of the dugout, and that’s what makes Stadium Club great. It mixes great images whether it be a portrait type shot to an in action shot.

A similar image was used for Kyle Schwarber in that its not your typical action photo. Schwarber is shown with a cap tip. Maybe after a Schwarbomb?

Here’s an action shot of the most unlikely subjects. Jon Lester isn’t exactly a hitting pitcher. His first big league hit came with the Cubs in 2015 against the Cardinals. Until that single he had gone 0-for-66 at the plate dating back to his 2006 MLB debut.

Jose Quintana also has a great image even though he’s just standing. The Cubs colors on Quintana’s uniform really pop on this card, and his game face look stands out.

Addison Russell is shown signing autographs at Wrigley Field. You can see the Wrigley scoreboard on the bottom right of the card and the video board in left field below Russel’s elbow.

Had to save the Stadium Club best for last. Check out the emotion of Javier Baez. That’s the look I see when I think about Baez playing the game. It bothers me that many people don’t think Javy respects the game or that he does too much “hot dogging.” Baez is so good for the game with his raw emotion and leave it all on the field play. He makes the game exciting. A game that needs this type of player and this type of excitement to attract a young audience in our era of impatience.

On to Topps Big League. I have heard varying opinions on this product. Overall, I’ve heard more positive than negative. I like this release. Its a classic design and I really like the Cubs logo in the bottom left of the card. The Topps BL logo is in the upper right and the player name/team/position in the bottom slight right all flows well. The card stock is in between what I would consider matte (Heritage) and glossy (Stadium Club). The thickness is similar of the regular Topps base sets.

I bought six fat packs and the inserts are all at the bottom of each pack. There are also variations that seem to be difficult to see, so I’ll have to check out the checklist. There are three gold parallels in each pack and I pulled a Jon Lester.

There was also a Jason Heyward Parallel and I also pulled his base card.

Ben Zobrist’s card shows him making solid contact at the plate.

Addison Russell claps on base.

Javier Baez looks to make a play in the field. I like the contrast of images used for Javy in the last three products (Bowman Platinum, Big League, Stadium Club). Of the three, surprisingly the Platinum is the most bland.

The Cubs didn’t have many league leaders in 2017, so I was surprised to find Kris Bryant on a leaders card. He was in the top three in walks in the National League last season.

And I pulled the Bryant base card.

These were fun breaks. I won’t go out of my way to find Topps Big League, but it’s definitely a nice product and I’ll pick some up again next year.

Today is July 13, and a few former Cubs are (or were) celebrating birthdays on this date.

First up is a current player who was traded away by the Cubs to the Colorado Rockies as a prospect. D.J. LeMahieu was a second round draft pick by the Cubs in 2009, and worked his way all the way up to the Major Leagues by 2011 with stops at literally every level: Arizona Rookie League, and low Class A in 2009, high Class A in 2010, and double A, triple A, and the Chicago Cubs in 2011. The two-time All Star was dealt to the Rockies on December 8, 2011 with Tyler Colvin for Casey Weathers and Ian Stewart. While Theo Epstein and company made many a splash with trades over the years, this was definitely on the losing end of the spectrum.

Bill Caudill played three years with the Cubs (1979-1981). Over nine seasons in the big leagues Caudill won 35 games and notched 102 saves. He made 131 appearances with the Cubs in his three seasons. Despite not being on the Cubs roster in 1982, he was featured in the Topps set in Cubs uniform. I chose this card because it’s my birth year.

Jack Aker was born on July 13, 1940 and appeared with the Chicago Cubs for two seasons (1972 and 1973). It was the tail end of his career after making his major league debut on May 3, 1964 with the Kansas City Athletics. His final season was with the Mets in 1974. Aker’s 1973 Topps card is a beauty. The Wrigley Field ivy in the background on one of the most classic Topps baseball card designs of all time.

Clarence “Footsie” Blair played in 246 games with the Cubs from 1929 to 1931. The infielder had a career .273 batting average. Blair appeared in the 1979 TCMA Diamond Greats oddball set.

Gene Packard had an eight-year Major League Baseball career that included two years with the Cubs (1916, 1917). He won 10 games across those two seasons. Packard set a record in 1918 while playing with the Cardinals that would stand for 90 years. He gave up 12 runs, but did not suffer a loss. That feat was not accomplished again until 2008 when Scott Feldman did the same with the Texas Rangers. Cubs connection: Feldman was signed by the Cubs as a free agent in 2012 from the Rangers. He was later traded to the Orioles with Steve Clevenger for Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop. Packard doesn’t have a true Cubs card, so I improvised and made one with the Rookies App.

Finally, Frank Hiller went 18-17 with a 4.16 ERA with the 1950 and 1951 Cubs. Hiller also played with the Yankees, Reds, and New York Giants in his seven-year career. I used a 1950 press photo for this custom card.

Happy Birthday to those celebrating this Friday the 13th.

Today’s trade review comes from a package that I received last week. Since I caught a case of Bowman Platinum fever this post was put on the back burner.

Steve from Tennessee is my trade partner this go around and it’s our third deal, with a fourth already in the works. We typically swap between 800-1,000 cards each time with me getting the Cubbies, and I send off Red Sox his way.

Steve even outfitted this trade with a box topper featuring Andre Dawson (who celebrated a birthday yesterday).

In Monday’s blog I mentioned my deeper appreciation for Kerry Wood cards. It didn’t really start until I ramped up my trading with the One Million Cubs Project. Additionally, I’ve met Kerry a few times as I attend his annual fundraiser at Harry Caray’s held the first night of the convention. He walks around and is always available for a quick chat. Kerry saved my phone from red wine at the 2015 fundraiser. A glass was spilled on the bar where I had my phone plugged in and charging. Kerry quickly grabbed my phone and a bar towel and wiped it dry. And then he posed for a fun picture.

In January 2017, right after the World Series, I was in a booth chatting with Dorothy (Jaegermeister Dorothy) about the suite Jaegermesiter put her and friends in at Wrigley Field during the World Series after her FOX interview.

I received a tap on my shoulder and a voice asked, “Can I talk to Dorothy?” It was Kerry Wood.

I get goosebumps thinking about the World Series. It never gets old, and neither do the baseball card reminders.

This is probably one of my favorite cards of the other half of Bryzzo, from 2015 Bowman.

Remember Collect-A-Books? My memory of this Jerome Walton Collect-A-Book was a Wal-Mart shopping trip in Geneseo, Illinois. My mom bought me this box set, and I opened it while eating lunch at Hardee’s. It’s odd some of the things we remember.

I don’t really remember Topps Attax cards, but I wasn’t collecting cards in 2011.

Another new junk era card for the collection, though I may have this complete set somewhere. It’s a 1994 Classic Best Rookie Express Jon Ratliff. He’s pictured with the Daytona Cubs.

There are a few Drake’s oddball cards in my collection, but here is the first from the 1988 edition featuring Rick Sutcliffe.

The last newbie for the collection is from 2016 Topps’ 100 Years of Wrigley subset. I thought I had all of these, but don’t recall having this Ronald Reagan card. President Reagan has always been a sentimental 80’s favorite growing up as a kid in that decade. He was also raised just 30 minutes from where I grew up, and I’m fond of Johnny Carson’s impersonation (I watch old Carson episodes before bed each night – the moment I fall asleep my wife changes it to Golden Girls – I guess we’re true 80’s kids).

The 80’s were great. 1988 Topps…not so much. However, 1988 Topps Traded is an absolute classic and here are three more Ty Griffin Team USA cards.

Another Classic set was 1989 Donruss, and its Diamond King set is probably my favorite of the entire run (though 1984 is also up there in my book).

Here’s a Lee Smith rookie.

Yesterday I mentioned an autographed Ty Griffin baseball is among my first ever eBay purchases. Another is a signed game used at by Manny Alexander.

Here’s a 1999 Pacific Manny Alexander.

Triple Play was a pretty awful set when released in 1992. I hate the red, orange, and yellow border. But some of the images are great. For example, this Hector Villanueva closeup with his mask on. Truly awesome, and Villanueva was a Cubs legend in the early 90’s.

Thanks for another great trade Steve. I’m always looking to do more trades. In the next week I’m going to try and get some football team lots sorted. I have a half case of Allen & Ginter due in the end of next week. It is my favorite break and holds some cherished memories from recent years past which I’ll be blogging about before the new product hits shelves next Wednesday.

As stated many times before, Ty Griffin’s 1989 Topps #1 Draft Pick card began my obsession with Cubs baseball cards.

Since the late 1990’s I have loosely collected Ty Griffin cards and any memorabilia I can find (I can’t find any).

One of my first EBay purchases (back on my old webTV in 1998) was a signed Ty Griffin baseball. It’s still a part of my collection.

Since then I’ve added autographs here and there, bought small lots as well as oddballs that I was missing. Mr. Griffin is also a great TTM signer. In fact, my favorite return is an autographed version of the card that arrived in my mailbox today.

The 1988 Topps Traded Team USA Ty Griffin card. It’s probably 1B to the ’89 Topps among my sentimental favorite Cubs cards.

The Team USA cards were so hot in 1989 with Andy Benes, Jim Abbott, and Robin Ventura in their red, white, and blue USA uniforms. Those were super hot cards. It took a while before I added the Griffin to my collection.

As I was perusing my Ty Griffin eBay search last week I stumbled upon a gem mint PSA 10 version of this cherished card. For $5 shipped it’s now a part of my collection. Now I’ll be chasing other Griffin PSA 10’s!

If you find any PSA 10 Griffin’s at a reasonable price let me know. Also, I would love to add any memorabilia of Ty Griffin to my collection.

Four packages welcomed me home on Monday afternoon. That’s a great “case of the Monday’s.”

The packages were almost exclusively autographs, mainly from eBay purchases. One such package was not an eBay purchase, and it’s my favorite of the mailday.

Ethan Roberts was the Cubs 4th round draft pick out of Tennessee Tech this past June. Ethan was also the first of a few draftees that reached out to me expressing interest in a custom draft card of themselves. I had a few made up and asked him to sign a couple for me and keep the rest. His signed cards came back today, and he had a great signature. Thanks, Ethan. It will be fun to follow his career in the organization!

Another autograph was inspired by my recent trade with P-Town Tom. He’s a Dan Vogelbach super collector. I was never a big Vogelbach fan when he was in the Cubs system, probably because I knew he was just trade bait. He was, and I’m glad because the Cubs return was Mike Montgomery. I have an awesome Montgomery store from a late night at the Cubs Convention that I would love to share, but will keep that conversation to myself (and the few friends I was with). Anyway, back to Vogelbach. I felt I should add something Vogelbach into the collection (other than a signed baseball and a bunch of base cards). I found an Archives Signature Series 2015 Bowman Chrome 1/50. Bonus for the number one, and I got it on the cheap. By the way, Montgomery had a better batting average in the season of the Cubs/Mariners trade than Vogelbach had in Seattle…

Another auto I grabbed is a 2016 Bowman Chrome Eddy Julio Martinez. He’s one of the Cubs top prospects, though it seems as though he’s not as ballyhooed as of late.

The final package was loaded and this is where all of my eBay bucks were spent. As a bonus, the seller sent some extra Cubs including some beautiful Heritage.

These autos and relics were all had for roughly $0.99 each on eBay auction. Great deal! First is Julio Zuleta Royal Rookies numbered to 4,950. Zuleta reminds me of high school when he had a good season in Chicago. One of my friend’s dad was also a die-hard Cubs fan, but had a penchant for mispronouncing player names and Zuleta was one of them.

As I’ve received more and more trade packages I’ve kind of fallen back into the Wood/Prior days. I think 2016 cured me of blocking out those days of disappointment.

Another numbered /50 autograph here from Kevin Hart. Not the comedian. This is a 2008 Upper Deck Premier 3/50 rookie auto.

Sticker autos get a bad wrap. Sure, they’re not as good as on-card, but they can look okay. Some are definitely better than others. Topps Chrome did a nice job with sticker autos in 2007 as seen on this Scott Moore card.

While I wasn’t surprised to snag some Kevin Hart, Scott Moore, and Julio Zuleta autographs for a buck, it did take me aback to grab a Carl Edwards Jr. on the cheap. This is a 2014 Bowman Sterling.

My new favorite auto set might be these 2006 Upper Deck Clear Path to Greatness signatures. It’s also a sticker auto, but such a cool card of Freddie Bynum.

Brooks Kieschnick was a hot prospect in the 1990’s. He did spend quite a bit of time in the big leagues and came back as a pitcher for the Brewers. At one time he was also a fantastic TTM signer.

Another Kevin Hart! This is from 2008 Upper Deck SP Authentic. A couple years ago I bought about 10 boxes on Blowout’s Black Friday. I didn’t pull much, and opening a box of this product takes as long as a box of Topps series one or two. It took me months before I finished opening my boxes. At any rate, I didn’t pull any autos from my boxes, so here’s a rookie auto/relic (with a pinstripe) numbered to 749.

Here’s another Mark Prior relic from 2004 Fleer Showcase.

Base Baez! I love me some Javy cards. This is a great in action image of Baez from 2014 Bowman Sterling.

Felix Sanchez didn’t spend too much time with the Chicago Cubs, but did appear on a 2003 Donruss The Rookies. This auto is numbered 644/1000.

Bat relics are extremely underrated in my opinion. I don’t think Max Ramirez was ever underrated, though.

Nic Jackson was a top prospect in the early 2000’s. His signature was always great.

Arismendy Alcantara had a lot of ink a few years ago. I was so excited to pull an Alcantara auto from one of my first breaks I participated in a few years ago. Now you can find them in the dollar bin.

A great mailday! I’m just waiting on one more card from my eBay shopping spree. It will be a fun one to blog about, and it has also inspired an additional saved eBay search for another side Cubs collection project. Stay tuned.

For the past week, the One Million Cubs Project has asked followers (and new followers) to retweet our tweet for a flat rate box giveaway.

Tonight is the night we announce a winner. The box includes a 2015 Bowman Draft complete set, an unopened box of Topps Stickers, several unopened packs, a Brewers bobblehead, Mark McGwire starting lineup, two Shohei Ohtani rookie cards, and even a couple 100-count packs of penny sleeves.

And the winner is…

Congratulations to @pintandrew

On Friday my local Wal-Mart was fully stocked with Bowman Platinum. I bought everything they had, but left one of the $80 value boxes.

After a run to the post office this morning I returned to Wal-Mart just to see if the other box was there. It was!

So, why not. I bought it. In my other value box I pulled a Gleyber Torres autograph /150. I listed it on eBay for $99.99 or best offer. It sold for $99.99 in less than 20 minutes. I wondered if I priced it too low.

Then, I opened today’s box. Can you believe I had a better pull than that Torres? Oh, yes I did.

Another Gleyber Torres autograph. This, a Prismatic Prodigies Auto 50/50. Wow! I did yell out a couple obscenities after I pulled this. It will be going to eBay as well.

Bowman Platinum hit Wal-Mart stores this week. It’s sold in three different packages: value boxes for $79.99, blaster boxes for $19.99, and packs for $5.99.

It seems as though demand is much lower for the product this year than in previous years. The 2017 product was hot because it was the first in-pack rookie card of Cody Bellinger. And of course Aaron Judge hysteria was at a fever pitch.

This year we have Ohtani mania, but since he spent some time on the disabled list his cards have not been as hot. Plus, Topps and Panini have saturated each product with Ohtani cards, so they are readily available. Additionally, Wal-Mart is selling Platinum on their website meaning production is up.

At any rate I love Platinum and wanted to check out Wal-Mart on my lunch break Friday. There are three Wal-Marts in my area, with one just 10 minutes away (the other two are about 20-30 minutes). The nearest store the past couple years has been a desert for baseball cards. Typically, you can find Topps series 1 and that’s about it. However, things have changed in 2018 and I’ve found Bowman and Heritage long after it dried up everywhere else.

I went in thinking I’d find an empty shelf. Boy, was I wrong. The baseball card shelf was fully stocked. I loaded up with one value box, five blasters, and seven packs.

The wait was killing me, so I squeezed one box break in on my lunch break. I pulled a Javier Baez! As much as I love Baez cards I’m a bit disappointed with the Platinum. Javy is such a fun and flashy player, yet the photo used is really boring.

The second Cub pulled was Jon Lester. More of an in-action shot and I love the Cubby bear logo on the hat.

Through my breaks I pulled plenty of Kris Bryant. Three base cards and the Platinum Presence Insert.

One Cubs player in the prospect portion of the set is Thomas Hatch. Hatch was the Cubs first selection (3rd round) in the 2016 MLB Draft out of Oklahoma State.

And the top prospect by many publications is Adbert Alzolay. Unfortunately he’s out the rest of the season with an injury. I pulled his base prospect card, the Parallel, and Prismatic Prodigies Insert.

Overall, I’m not a fan of the 2018 Platinum design. I can get over the bland photos, but the design has me left wanting more. More on the images: there are several shots where team logos, etc are either blocked or hard to see making it look like a Panini unlicensed card. I may head to one other Wal-Mart today just to see if there are any more out there, but I won’t be ordering any online feeling I had my fix. Now the decision is what I’m going to do about Allen & Ginter, one of my favorite products. It releases in a couple weeks and I have yet to order.