And the Winners Are....

The 2013 Hot Corner Super Collectors are:

Rookie of the Year -  Derek over at Hardball shared some of his best cards for Michigan State and the King of His Collection.

Best Individual Collections

Red Sox in Nebraska with his Jason Varitek collection, and Brad's Blog for his Ryan Howard collection

Thanks for sharing guys, please email your address at bp_weber5 AT Hotmail DOTcom and I will get something out to you for your participation.

Is it really October?

Keep it Hot on the Corner, pat.

Super Size Me!

Life has kept me away and haven't even celebrated the 2013 AL Central title (third straight).  Very excited to see what is going shape out in October with the Tigers.  Looks like we'll start out in Oakland like last year to get a ring for Mr. Illich.

I have been eyeing this super odd ball collection on ebay for most of the summer, finally I pulled the trigger and got some wicked, freakin' HUGE cards to add to the Tigers Super Collection

These are some slick 1980 Topps Huge, this variation has the gray back, allegedly there is another variation with a white back.

This is size differential between the HUGE and your regular, unleaded, standard card.

I had three of these, and now the collection is complete.

Keep it Hot on the Corner, pat.

Already?

It's a celebration of sorts at the Hot Corner, the first year is in the books, and look at all the fun we've had!

RIP GATOR Sept 27, 2013

Many posts by the numbers, Tigers on the Wall has grown from just a few team sets in the fall of 2012 to eight 3,200 count boxes in the basement.

Several blogging trades (I think close to sixty trades to date), coming to be a bout five a month.

I have learned more about collecting this last year on the blog circuit than I knew existed and hope to gain a greater perspective.

Thanks to all our loyal readers and here's to another great year!

Keep it Hot on the Corner, pat.

Super Collectors Week 2

No esta aqui!

No Super Collector posts for week two.

Should you join, and you should...check out this month's contest here

Check out mine

Check out others

Remember, Wonderful, Fabulous prizes from the Hot Corner!

It Costs Nothing to Be Nice!

My favorite manager, Sparky Anderson was famous for that quote.  And it's true.

In this case, I was surprised by longtime blogging trading partner, Jaybarker's Junk with three hits!

He and I have made several swaps and he dropped these bombs on me!

Armando Galarraga RC AU Bowman Sterling

Also, Tenets of Wilson sent in a NINE NEED NOW in a slick PWE included in today's mail.

Thanks to the two of you!

Keep it Hot on the Corner, pat.

Big 44 Sent An Ace

Blogger & hot corner follower Nathan over at Big 44 Cards sent me an email like this:

"Hey I have a lot of cards that I would like to send you....is that ok?"  

SURE!!

Not only were the two Verlanders the ace of the deal, he also knocked out my entire 2012 Topps set needs.

Not too bad, two sets completed in a week.

Thanks a ton, Pirates are on the way!

Keep it Hot on the Corner, pat.

Finest Nachos

Chris over at Nachos Grande and I have been in a trade fest the past month, Reds for Tigers.  He hooked me up with his Topps Finest haul from a recent group break!  Awesome!  He has his own 7 box break going on so check it out.

Chris, more Reds heading your way soon!

Keep it Hot on the Corner, pat.

A Collector's Superstition

As you are well aware, today is Friday the 13th, and many people have superstitions for all kinds of things that they may encounter in life.

Baseball players may be the worst!  Above, famed superstition extraordinaire Turk Wendell used to eat black licorice and also  brush his teeth before each inning that he pitched.

There was good article on ESPN.com by Tim Kurkjian on the wacky superstitions for ballplayers.  You know --- chewing bubble gum, walking or not on the foul lines, various articles of attire, pre-game meals, rituals, etc.

The Hot Corner pre-game meal was two hot dogs with regular bread that served as buns and a Pepsi.

There are also some pretty superstitious collectors out there.

Do you grab the first pack?

Do you feel up the packs searching for hits?

What DO YOU DO?

Keep it Hot on the Corner, pat.

A Surprise from the Dugout

I tell people "You wouldn't believe it, but this body can run!" I stole many bases in my little league days, but as I aged, my bat slowed down and became more regulated to the bench. My baseball career ended in the 10th grade as I failed at hitting benders and progressively shifted from playing Shortstop, Center field and Catcher to Fifth Outfielder and Courtesy Runner.  And to be honest I really didn't work at it either, 1994 players went on strike, I focused on football and wrestling and there you have it...

So, to say, I was a surprise out of the dugout in my high school years.

Let's fast forward to Monday, when Nolan's Dugout, sent me a PWE with a whopping FOUR cards off my NEED NOW NINE!  Two of those finished my set of 2013 Topps Heritage, thanks Kyle!

I also forgot to give credit as Kyle D also sent me my first NEED NOW cards (sorry Night Owl)

Keep it Hot on the Corner, Pat.

Hot Corner SuperCollectors: Week 1

This recap is long overdue...

• Red Sox in Nebraska shared in two parts his Jason Varitek collection, 
• Brad's Blog shared his Ryan Howard collection
• Local favorite, Derek over at Hardball shared some of his best cards for Michigan State and the King of His Collection.

Some Honorable Mentions so far have been these posts that revolve around the idea of Super Collecting

Night Owl  Sorting & Storage ( I am Not a Pack Rat)

$30 Week Habit Sakic Sundays

2x3 Heroes, he does Throwback Thursdays, and other mini (super) collections, even if they are White Sox

30 Year Old Cardboard all he does is Super Collect!

Nolan's Dugout  Shows some great collecting.

Remember the Super Collector contest runs through the end of the month.  Check here for details

Keep it Hot on the Corner, pat.

Twilight Tigers: Warren Morris

Every Tuesday the Hot Corner takes a look at stars in the game of baseball came to finish their careers with the Detroit Tigers.

Warren Morris, you say, a star?  This guy was twice a Tiger with LSU in college and Detroit.

Also, Morris hit walk off homers in the College World Series in 1996.

That summer Morris played for Team USA in the 1996 Olympics, winning bronze.

Morris was drafted by the Rangers in the fifth round of the 1996, would be dealt to the Pirates with Todd Van Poppel, make his debut in 1999, played for the Twins in 2002 and finally landing in Motown.

Morris became a starter for the Tigers in 2003 when Damion Easley was released, playing in 97 games, hitting .272 (346 AB), 6 HR, 37 RBI.  This would be the last season in the pro's for Morris.

Keep it Hot on the Corner, pat.

Absolutely Need Now!

I have probably neglected the NINE NEED NOW page the most!

I have been sorting, putting team sets into top-loaders and cannot believe I do not have this card....

2010 Topps Update Vlad Guerrero & Miguel Cabrera

You know the drill,  I will send you something slick for a nice PWE here.

Keep it Hot On the Corner, pat.

Explaining Myself!

I will explain to you, wait, explaining will take too long, let me sum up....

My West Side trading partner Daniel of It's Like Having My Own Cardshop, has a contest rolling right now, calling us ALL to the carpet....

Explain yourself!  Why does your blog exist?  How come you're the Hot Corner?

Here was my comment:

"When I joined the blogging community, I was at a crossroads, personally/professionally, I almost bought a building to open MY OWN CARDSHOP, ON THE CORNER, and suddenly HOT CORNER CARDS came to be...then I discovered the blog world, and then a year later I am here....ONE DAY, I will have MY OWN CARD SHOP, ON THE CORNER!"

I knew this day would come, EXPLAIN YOURSELF! WHY ARE YOU THE HOT CORNER?

So now you know, One day!

Keepin' it Hot on the Corner, pat.

Tobacco (cards) can be good for you!

HOT CORNER DISCLAIMER: DO NOT USE TOBACCO, EVER!

Before I have to start writing blogs to the youth of America before thinking about using tobacco.  I have been accumulating tobacco cards at a higher rate than usual.  Before September I had zero tobacco cards, now I have three.

These come from the 1909-11 American Tobacco Company (mine are not nearly this crisp)

I have already shared this card twice, this makes three

The big fish is the HOF Sam Crawford graded to 2 that I may just have to somehow acquire.  These are fun to come across every so often and compare and admire.

for Night Owl

OLD minnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnni's!

KEEP IT HOT ON THE CORNER, PAT

Tigers at Fenway

A couple of good bits of information gained this last series with Boston.  Two major landmarks within the park have Motown Kitty ties...

One ---- the longest Home Run hit at Fenway park was by Teddy Ball Game, Ted Williams at 502 feet, that pitch was served up by Fred Hutchinson of the Tigers.  The Detroit reporter stated that Manny Ramirez crushed a homer "possibly farther", but the official recorded the homer at 501 ft.  Can't beat Teddy Ball Game

There is a single red seat in the right field bleacher where the ball hit a fan.

Two --- I already knew this but wanted to share that Johnny Pesky played for the Tigers following his famous run with the Sox and his foul pole in the Right bears his name.

Keep it hot on the corner, pat.

Nothing But Tigers - Page 4

I've been raving about my Nothing But Tigers Frankenset lately, but have yet to blog about any page completions since March!

There have been many pages completed since then, but haven't found the time to muster up a post.

For all you readers out there, the wait, is over.

This may be the fourth page that I completed, but it is page 1 in the binder

1 - Kirk Gibson - 1986 Donruss Diamond King: What a way to start this binder off with a slick DK Gibby, all the fire for some great Tigers teams.  Loved him as a player and glad he's managing in Arizona.  He was a brutal commentator in the early 2000s, but then again not many people were watching!

2 - Miguel Cabrera - 2011 Topps Heritage League Leaders: The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be....three straight batting titles? Another triple crown? Only two other Triple Crown winners led only one category following the tripe feat!  He's good, real good.  I have tried to avoid these multi player cards, but it's Cabby.

3 - Cecil Fielder - 1991 Donruss Diamond King Fielder could have easily slid in at No. 2 as well, the bulk of my 1990s cards have Fielder all over them, ranks fourth in my player collection, close to 200 overall cards.  Another slick DK.


4 - Alan Trammell - 1988 Donruss Diamond King Ok, this guy, was great!  Featured in another DK in 1982, which you will most likely see later.  I am completly biased, but I cannot wait for Trammell to make it to the Hall (only two years left)

5 - Jack Morris - 1982 Donruss Diamond King Another guy that was great, winning 3 World Series as the Ace with Detroit, Minnesota, and Toronto, won the most games of his era, what more does this guy need to do to make it to the Hall (last year on the ballot)?

6 - Miguel Cabrera - 2011 Bowman Platinum A little change in pace, but Cabby makes another appearance, did you see the stretch where he hit 6 Home Runs in 5 games?  Off a guy named Mariano Rivera?

7 - Scott Aldred - 1991 Upper Deck The next big thing, ala Jeff Robinson, Greg Gohr, CJ Nitkowski, Justin Thompson, Cade Gaspar, Jeff Weaver, Matt Anderson,  and on and on.  Too bad there was not much talent fielding or hitting around Aldred and company.

8 - Mark Fidrych - 1981 Donruss The Bird!  My mother in law signed her kids out of school and the note to the school was they were out "Bird Watching" for the day.  I need to read the biography on the Bird, a tragic end professionally and personally.

And your classic #9 Hitter

9 - Danny Worth - 2010 Topps Update: Jim Leyland said of Worth that if he could hit he would play (he spent all of 2013 with Toledo)

Keep it Hot on the Corner, pat.

Twilight Tigers: Hideo Nomo

Here at the the Hot Corner we take a look at stars that played for the Detroit Tigers at some point in their career.

Not really the end, but in between --- Nomo Mania struck the Motor City in the year 2000.

Detroit would be Nomo's fourth team (LAD, NYM, MIL) spending 2000 with the Tigers.

Nomo would go 8-12 with 4.74 ERA, striking out 181 in 190 IP.  Nomo would head to Boston in 2001 and lead the AL in strikeouts, back to LA to spend 3 more season with the Dodgers, then finishing out his career with Kansas City and Tampa Bay.

I recall Nomo's entrance into MLB and paved the way for more stars to come over from Japan.  His signature windup and delivery were classic.

For what it is worth, I only had 4 Nomo cards, none with the Dodgers! 3 Tigers and a Brewer.

We had this guy?

Keep it Hot on the Corner, pat.

The SuperCollector in ME!

My collection as most people reading this blog know, centers around the Detroit Tigers.  I have taken great pride in collecting each team set over the past year.

Individual Player - Alan Trammell

Number 3 was my favorite player as a kid.  1984 World Series MVP, great shortstop, good dude.  I believe my mother rented the 1984 highlight video and I would relive the moment time and again as a young fan.  To make the story greater he had an equally outstanding second baseman in Lou Whitaker that made a unbelievable duo for almost two decades.  Trammell's career spanned my entire adolescence and there is nothing to me like finding a new Trammell.

In my collection, I have 250 different cards.

1/1 - One (a dual auto w/ Miguel Cabrera on the back!)

This card is the only one that resides outside of the main collection as it sits alongside our wedding announcement frame, a couple of antiques, some awards from college, a fitting tribute for the two greatest Tigers of MY lifetime.

Autos - Five

Memorabilia Cards: Four

Starting Lineups: Two (need some upgrading)

Graded: Two (including a 7 PSA Rookie Card)

Team - Detroit Tigers

By the numbers, I am sitting at 7,492 Detroit Tigers.  There is no doubt the last several years of success the Tigers have endured more than likely got me back in the habit of collecting.

Two cards that stand out to me within my collection are the 1910 Standard Caramel Jim Delehenty

2013 Topps 1/1 Black Printing Plate of Avisail Garcia RC -- no longer a Motown Kitty, but my favorite new rookie --- 2010 #1 pick Nick Castellanos will have to do in meantime.

A FrankenSet of Tigers in order from 1 - 802 (so far only 67% complete)

I have three of these binders, my LCS won't part with them

42 Autographs (9 #/d including 5- Alan Trammell,  2- Denny McLain, 2- Willie Horton, and Ernie Harwell.

Memorabilia Cards: 38 (when did these things start coming out, I think the earliest one I have is a 2000ish Carlos Pena Upper Deck)

Of all my players in my collection, the top 50 are individual players --- I have at least 40 cards each ---  who played for the Tigers. Ken Griffey, Jr is the first non-Tiger to hit my top 100 at 40 cards.  Griffey Jr was my favorite player of all time that did not wear No.3 (wait I think he did for the dreaded pale hose)

Seven 3,200 count boxes with organized by year and team set, all cards in top loaders. I guess one of these boxes holds about 1,500-1,600 cards in this fashion.

My Card Corner :
Four boxes across the table and the middle row has three more

A 1,600 count box with refractors, mem cards, autos, team set rack packs, cards that need completed team sets. Another 1,600 count box with odds and ends of cards that organized by year need team sets to be completed about 3/4 full. Finally a 3,200 & 1,600 count boxes of dupes (Tigers fans please trade with me!)

My only other graded card --- that also is my only GEM 10, is a Brandon Inge/Joe Crede Fleer RC

Two Tigers binders from 1995-2002 most from the Spectacular Spend (starting to bite me) and another binder of all my Trammell dupes.

Other items of interest: Ty Cobb black & white picture, Justin Verlander "Fastball Flakes", two Autograph baseballs of Tigers team, Bless You Boys book by Sparky Anderson on the 1984 season, several T-Shirts, Magglio Ordonez jersey, scorecards, rally towel from 2012 ALDS Game 3, ticket stubs, rain check tickets, among others.

By no means does the quantity come close to any of the Super Collections mentioned in the Beckett, but the quality to me makes this Super Slick to me.

I love baseball, I love the Tigers, collecting brings me closer to each one.  Another thing that collecting for me is keeps a running history of the team, the highs and lows, the greats, the great hopes, and the bums.

Please share you Super Collections this month and enter the Hot Corner Contest here.

Keep it Hot on the Corner, pat.