Show Me The WAY!

I told myself I wouldn't TACKLE another Super PC as I did with Rodney Hampton, but, once again, fate hit and here I am.

You can now refer to me as the....CHARLES WAY Super Collector.

Why Charles Way? Well, he was another player I enjoyed watching playing in his five seasons with the Giants. He also has a tie in with Rodney as he was a fullback that blocked for Rodney his first few seasons before taking over for Rodney in 1997 when he was out with an injury. Way went on to rush for 696 yards and had over 1,000 all purpose yards that season. He played okay in 1998 but knee injuries forced him to retire in 2000. Once again a player that had potential and who knows how far he could have gone.

Regardless of that, he ended up in my collection and I have come a long ways in the last few months with it.

Also, been keeping track of my collection and stats on TCDB.

Here was the humble beginnings which put me at 8th place to start.

A few adds moved me up to 5th

Then a huge mail day jumped me up to first.

Then more...

And the domination continued....

 

And finally here is where I am at (since the typing of this four more cards have shown up)

I currently own 31.5% of all Charles Way cards out there. With a minimal 251 to chase, it shouldn't be too hard to find most. However, some are very, very expensive and some others being 90's cards will be even harder to chase down.

Here is a visual of my Way collection thus far,

 

(class 3 Black Label)

1998 Skybox Rubies)

(in-person auto that came via a friend)

(Way only has 3 autographs total)

(My first and only 1/1!)

(Rave and Super Rave!!!!)

(gold parallel /25)

(my favorite cards of them all, Legacy collections /100)

Pretty solid collection I am proud of so far. Still a WAY to go, but I will show any new additions as I go on. Maybe do a segment similar to the Rodney Hampton one.

If any of you have any Charles Way you don't see above, as the Styx sung, SHOW ME THE WAY!!!

Kerry's Cardboard:2000 Topps Gold Label Premium

It's Friday the 13th so time to strap on your hockey masks and go visit Crystal Lake looking for unsuspecting victims.

Or you can just go to sportcardcollectors.blogspot.com and come see the latest Kerry's Cardboard which will be worth the visit.

Whatever floats your fancy.

Today's Kerry is a limited edition numbered fun-ness out of 2000 Topps Gold Label.

Topps Gold Label from 1998-2000 was an incredible beautiful product. It was printed on thick plastic-type cardboard, it glistened and even had levels of rarity and parallels that matched the same.

2000 was my dark year in the hobby so I never got to experience or see the greatness that version brought. Until now. I found the latest Kerry Collins need for $.75 and $.49 shipping which is an extraordinary deal to me for a card that is numbered and from an era where numbered cards were not always easy to find.

You know it's the Premium parallel because of the left side. Unlike parallels today, Gold Label listed there's on the card.

Such a sharp card with a beautiful layout full of color.

 

and even on back of the card. This one is numbered to 1000. These parallels had no odds and fell randomly in packs.

That does it for today's Kerry's Cardboard. Time to get ready for next weeks.

Have a great Friday everyone and as for me, I will be avoiding the nearby Crystal Lake today.

Players Of My Past #3:Tino Martinez

While all other Yankee fans I grew up with were immersed in Derek Jeter, I was excited for their first baseman which they acquired in a trade with Seattle.

Tino Martinez was the guy I pretended to be when I was in the backyard with friends playing when I wasn't Ken Griffey Jr. Of course in my play with friends they were teammates. Everyone knew I was Griffey Jr and Tino in pinstripes. If only Griffey could have been a Yankee and got that much needed ring.

There was just something about Tino's play I enjoyed and the fact he had a cool name. Not to mention, he was actually a Yankee.

I always got excited when I found his cards in packs, but he didn't quite catch on collecting wise like Griffey Jr did for me. I did manage to hold onto what I did have of Tino over the years and here are my Top 5 favorite ones from then.

No surprise to me that three of the five come from Upper Deck. They were the best on the market and I bet still would be today if they had a piece of that license.

 

Upper Deck Time Capsule insert.

 Photography is always key with Upper Deck

 and it speaks volumes with a photo like this

Topps Mystery Finest were some of my favorite inserts of the time. I will never get sick of those and still have some that are unpeeled for the fun of it!

And finally, Topps Gold Label. These cards were always beautiful.

Martinez ended up leaving the Yankees after the 2001 season when they brought in Giambi instead for first base and finished his career not so spectacular with the Cardinals, Rays and back with the Yankees before retiring.

Overall though, you can't argue with a career that landed him four World Series rings, two All Star appearances, one silver slugger award, a .271 batting avg with 339 career home runs.

Tino was one of the greats for the Yankees especially in their late 90's dominance. I was glad I was able to watch him among many other amazing players in that same time frame. Especially the ones that played for my team.