One Card Closer...

When I got back into baseball card collecting in 2008, it was the Goudey set that took hold of me and wouldn't let go. I am still chasing the complete set. My initial goal was the entire thing, mini's, memorabilia cards, auto's, Hit Parade, the whole enchilada. I gave up on most of it. Just way too dang many parallels. I decided to complete the base set, the short prints, and the Goudey Graphs set. There is a Sport Royalty autographed set, but only a collector with a name like Trump could possibly complete it. Today, my Graphs set is one step closer to completion.

Interestingly, this Chad Billingsley card was one of the toughest cards to get in this set. Why? Well, because it was a late addition to the set and is a redemption card. On the official UD website checklist, this card is not listed. Last year, I saw a couple of these pop up on eBay. Puzzled because it was not on the official checklist, I sent an e-mail to UD asking about the card. I thought maybe the cards were bogus. I waited...and waited. Nothing. No reply from UD. I reached out to Chris at Stale Gum. His blog was one of the first ones I frequented when I returned to the hobby, and he seemed to have connections. He contacted someone at UD and confirmed for me that the Billingsley was indeed a part of the set. My hunt for one of these was on. The few that had popped up went for over $100 bucks. Too much I thought for a decent pitcher, but he's no superstar. Then, not a one of these hit eBay for months, maybe over 6 months. This week, I spot one with a BIN of $25 bucks! Bang! PayPal gun fired. My only bit of concern was the lack of a scan of the back of the card in the listing and no mention of a card number. I figured the gamble was worth it. It was.

I am now 2 cards away from the whole set. The white whale Jeter, and oddly, Fred Lynn (of which I have never seen in any venue, eBay, CheckOutMyCards, Sportlots, no where).

I love this hobby. It's stuff like this that keeps me going.