This is my first blog entry on the Justin Duchscherer Collection. I might as well start off by discussing the foundation of the collection.
I was born in 1982 (29 years old) and I am a lifelong Oakland A's fan. My father had season tickets back in the late 1980's, so I was fortunate enough to go to Games 3 and 5 of the 1988 World Series, Game 3 of the 1989 World Series, and Game 3 of the 1990 World Series. Those were some of my earliest memories, and they are special ones.
Rickey Henderson was (and is) my favorite player. But, he was long gone by the time the "Moneyball" A's took baseball by storm in the early 2000's. My brother and I would head out to the Coliseum and sit amongst 50,000+ roaring fans (when are those days going to return, and will it be in Oakland, San Jose, or another city?). Quickly, Justin Duchscherer became our favorite player. The crowd would roar "Duuuuuke" as he came trotting out of the bullpen, and he would proceed to dispatch hitters with his cutter and big curveball. He made the All-Star team in 2005 and 2008, once as a reliever and once as a starter, something only a handful of players have accomplished.
I collected Duchscherer cards off and on starting in about 2009 when I made a return to the hobby. I started taking the collection more seriously at the beginning of the 2011 season. Goals are an important part of the collection, and I quickly decided that my goal would be to collect every non-1/1 card of Duchscherer. For me, he is the perfect combination of a good player at reasonable prices. He was good enough to have his own cool, unique cards (Triple Threads, Superfractors, etc.), but he pitched in relative obscurity out here in Oakland, so his cards are rather affordable. I have had a blast pursuing my collection goals. I only wish I had decided to go this route sooner because I missed out on a lot of cool Duchscherer cards that may or may not surface again.
Anyways, this past Saturday was an excellent Duchscherer collection day. I received the 2009 Bowman Chrome Red Refractor /5 from a trade I made with Kevin on "SportsCardFun", an individual in Taiwan. The Red Refractor completed my 2009 Bowman Chrome Rainbow, which was a nice accomplishment for me. Also, I worked out a deal with Richard on "SportsCardForum" where I will be receiving a 2009 Bowman Magenta Printing Plate 1/1, a 2009 Topps Yellow Printing Plate 1/1 (my first two printing plates), a 2009 Topps Black and a 2008 Topps Update Black. Four collection cards in one trade! Further, I agreed to a trade with Scott on "Beckett" where I will receive the 2009 Topps Silk /50. The cherry on the sundae was winning the 2009 Bowman Red Unnumbered on eBay for a few bucks. I need to locate the 2009 Bowman Red 1/1 to complete the Double Rainbow for 2009 Bowman. All in all, an excellent day!
I was born in 1982 (29 years old) and I am a lifelong Oakland A's fan. My father had season tickets back in the late 1980's, so I was fortunate enough to go to Games 3 and 5 of the 1988 World Series, Game 3 of the 1989 World Series, and Game 3 of the 1990 World Series. Those were some of my earliest memories, and they are special ones.
Rickey Henderson was (and is) my favorite player. But, he was long gone by the time the "Moneyball" A's took baseball by storm in the early 2000's. My brother and I would head out to the Coliseum and sit amongst 50,000+ roaring fans (when are those days going to return, and will it be in Oakland, San Jose, or another city?). Quickly, Justin Duchscherer became our favorite player. The crowd would roar "Duuuuuke" as he came trotting out of the bullpen, and he would proceed to dispatch hitters with his cutter and big curveball. He made the All-Star team in 2005 and 2008, once as a reliever and once as a starter, something only a handful of players have accomplished.
I collected Duchscherer cards off and on starting in about 2009 when I made a return to the hobby. I started taking the collection more seriously at the beginning of the 2011 season. Goals are an important part of the collection, and I quickly decided that my goal would be to collect every non-1/1 card of Duchscherer. For me, he is the perfect combination of a good player at reasonable prices. He was good enough to have his own cool, unique cards (Triple Threads, Superfractors, etc.), but he pitched in relative obscurity out here in Oakland, so his cards are rather affordable. I have had a blast pursuing my collection goals. I only wish I had decided to go this route sooner because I missed out on a lot of cool Duchscherer cards that may or may not surface again.
Anyways, this past Saturday was an excellent Duchscherer collection day. I received the 2009 Bowman Chrome Red Refractor /5 from a trade I made with Kevin on "SportsCardFun", an individual in Taiwan. The Red Refractor completed my 2009 Bowman Chrome Rainbow, which was a nice accomplishment for me. Also, I worked out a deal with Richard on "SportsCardForum" where I will be receiving a 2009 Bowman Magenta Printing Plate 1/1, a 2009 Topps Yellow Printing Plate 1/1 (my first two printing plates), a 2009 Topps Black and a 2008 Topps Update Black. Four collection cards in one trade! Further, I agreed to a trade with Scott on "Beckett" where I will receive the 2009 Topps Silk /50. The cherry on the sundae was winning the 2009 Bowman Red Unnumbered on eBay for a few bucks. I need to locate the 2009 Bowman Red 1/1 to complete the Double Rainbow for 2009 Bowman. All in all, an excellent day!