Odds and Ends

Odds and Ends will be for all of the new stuff I acquire that doesn’t get it’s own post.

2021 Topps Heritage Real Ones Autographs – Jose Abreu and Yermin Mercedes – I got these for a very good price, especially the Abreu. Real Ones autos are usually pretty pricey, so I was happy to get a pretty good deal.

   

Speaking of Mercedes, I also picked up a 2021 Topps Chrome Rookie Autographs Refractor, also for a very good price. For all I know, Yermin may never play in the majors again. But I’ll always love him for the joy he brought Sox fans in early 2021.

I wasn’t a big Nick Madrigal fan, but I was still very upset when he (and Codi Heuer) were traded for Craig Kimbrel. I thought that was too high a price even if we got good Kimbrel. Instead we got bad Kimbrel, which made the trade that much worse. I still pick up cool Madrigal autographs when I get the chance. And this 2021 Stadium Club Chrome Autograph is definitely cool.

You probably remember that I got a bunch of items signed by Luis Aparicio at a recent signing in Venezuela. Well, there was a round 2 of that signing. I was still broke from the first one, but I couldn’t resist getting this 2015 Stadium Club card done. I really love Stadium Club cards from the last 10 years or so.

I was able to pick up a few semi-tough autographs from some 70s Latin players. Acosta and Romo were from PastPros, and Torrealba was from a signing with Five Tool Signings.

       

I also picked up two Allen & Ginters I needed. I am still trying to get all White Sox A&G cards signed, though that is now an impossible project to complete. Both of these came from PastPros.

   

And finally, in addition to the cards of his that I got signed through a recent private signing, I also picked up this 2014 Topps Tier One Acclaimed Autographs Albert Belle card.

Jose Abreu Private Signing

BM Authentics recently held a private signing with Jose Abreu. This was Abreu’s first signing in quite some time. It was a pretty expensive signing, but I was still excited to send in a few items. I sent in 5 cards and a jersey.

Some of the items turned out great. Unfortunately, some of the items turned out less than great. As you can see in the pictures (click the images to see the full size image), two of the Allen & Ginter cards bubbled fairly badly. The third A&G also bubbled slightly, but it isn’t very noticeable.

I contacted the promoter, but unfortunately they were not willing to do anything. The owner of BM Authentics proved to be very difficult to deal with, so I doubt I’ll be doing further business with them, and I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone else either.

Luckily, the jersey turned out well. The two rookie refractors turned out nicely, though the Topps is too dark for the signature to stand out.

I’m pretty happy to add most of these to the collection. Other than the two $100 (each!) busts, of course.