Monday, January 31, 2011

Pull N Junk of the Month - January 2011

I always think that Junk of the Month is more interesting then Pull of the Month, So I am going to start with that:

Junk of the Month


 2010 Obak #108 Tinkers-Evers-Chance, Baseball's Sad Lexicon



First off - I am having a PC issue at home so pardon the Pix instead of Scans approach.

I actually am very happy with what I have seen from 2010 Obak.  I was a bit disappointed with the physical aspects (cereal box card  quality) of the cards, but I did like the look and the checklist of the cards.  Much better than either edition of Topps 206.

But this card made me shudder - He we have the subjects of a 1910 poem juxtaposed with the Wrigley Field Marquee - Lights added 1982.     

Pull of the Month

2010 Topps Updates & Highlights #PPA-JCA Jason Castro


Jason Castro was named the Astros #1 Prospect by Baseball America in 2010.  His debut was unremarkable, but I will be keeping an eye on him.  This card was pulled from a retail pack at my local Wawa a block from my house - Retail Mojo! 


Contenders
2010 Obak Mini #10 Hank Greenberg
2010 Obak #63 Eberhard Anheuser

As I mentioned above I am a fan of Obak - here's your proof.  I am still on a mini kick and a Mini of any Hall of Famer is a Win.  Ok, I am not a Bud fan, but if it is the only beer that they are selling at a game, I am not afraid to admit I will overpay for it.  A Hall of Fame mini and a Beer related Trading Card are your Runners Up for January 2011 Pull of the Month.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Phungo Spot the Sig! Contest - 1st Inning

Today we here at Phungo would like to welcome everyone to the Winter 2011 edition of Spot the Sig!

This STS! contest will feature 9 weeks (innings) of autographs for Phungo readers to guess the signer. Each Autograph will be given a base hit value. The reader that scores the most runs via these hits will win the Spot The Sig! Contest. As the winner you will be crowned Phungo Spot the Sig Champion and you will become part of Card Blogosphere History - And I may even toss in a bunch of those extremely valuable late 80s cards as a prize!

Before boring you to much with the particulars of the Phungo Spot the Sig! contest I will present this weeks Auto:




The contestant that correctly guesses this weeks auto will be rewarded with a Double!

These are the ground rules that I have stolen from a 2008 Tribe Cards Quiz contest:
  • Respond in the comments to THIS post.
  • Only the first correct response will be awarded the weeks Hit.
  • Only ONE guess per person, please
  • If you choose to ignore the above rule, only your FIRST answer will be taken under consideration
  • Feel free to chat in comments, but please keep it clean
  • That pretty much sums it up
Each week I will try and come up with a bonus question that is related to the Auto, Baseball, Pop Culture, or is noteworthy or (more likely) completely unrelated to anything.
The bonus will be good for minimal value - typically a Walk, this will also give a chance for two winners each week.


This weeks bonus question is....
Team Phungo attended roughly 15 baseball games during 2010 (Majors, Minors, Phils and other Teams) Name a player that hit a home Run during any of those games.

3 Notes on this Bonus
1) Only one bonus Submission per person
2) Each Player can only be picked once - any duplicate entries will be ignored
3) There can be more than one winner if Person A picks Mario Mendoza and Person B picks John Kruk and team
Phungo got to witness both players hit homers this past season then both folks get bonuses!!!
This weeks bonus is good for a WALK

For a look back at more STS! related posts click here.

2011 Topps Baseball Cards Showing up on the Bay

There are a couple of 2011 Topps Cards appearing on Ebay.  Since these are photos, I don't think that they are images yanked from Topps promotional material.



 Photo of 2011 Topps Jimmiee Foxx (SP I think)



Link to this auction - the seller as well as at least one other have a couple of cards posted. 

Also wanted to remind everyone that the Spot the Sig! contest returns tonight 9:30ish PM phungo time.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

It's Back - The Spot the Sig! Contest Returns to Phungo!

Just Like Cliff Lee, Spot the Sig! is Returning!!!

On Sunday Night (January 30th) Team Phungo will begin hosting the 4th edition of Spot the Sig!  The three previous versions of STS! have been won by 3 different competitors - PatSearcher, Card Buzz, and Trader Cracks (Run by Padrographs)



2006 UD Inkredible #I-CL Cliff Lee

The Cliff Lee Auto that started off the Fall 2009 version of STS.  It is amazing the journey Lee has had since then - He was still in the midst of a Post Season run with the Phils at the time.  Since he has been traded twice and then signed back up with the Phils as a free Agent.

The First Auto of the 2011 STS! Contest will be presented shortly before 9:30 on Sunday Night.  The format will remain basically the same.  There will 9 innings each consisting of a mystery auto and a bonus question.  Each auto will have a different base hit value.  Whomever scores the most runs in the 9 innings will win the Winter 2011 edition of Spot the Sig!

for more in depth info on STS! click here.
 

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Happy Trails Rocco Baldelli

Rocco Baldelli never really got to have a chance to have the career that he could have.  His career cut short by a rare neuromuscular disease.  He was one of the Rays I can remember from back when they were the Devil Rays.  One of the few guys one could name from those terrible pre-Longoria pre-Price days.
    

2011 Phungo #5 Rocco Baldelli

Team Phungo has been very lucky to see a couple of big moments in Baldelli's career.  The photo on the Phungo card above was taken shortly after Baldelli hit his last career Home Run off Orioles reliever Mike Gonzalez. 

I also got to see Baldelli's final post season At-Bat.  A Game tying Home Run in the7th inning of the 5th game of the 2008 World Series.  Fortunately Pat Burrell and Pedro Feliz would got a pair of key hits in the bottom of the inning to retake the lead and clinch the Series.


Baldelli will always be one of my favorite non-Phils and I am glad that I got to see some of his big moments.  I am glad to hear he is staying in baseball and hope he can help out the Rays in his new roll as a member of their front office.  
  

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Dick Perez interview on PCN

A local cable network PCN (Pennsylvania Cable Network) recently broadcast an interview with Baseball Hall of Fame and Baseball Card Artist Dick Perez.  Perez lives in Pennsylvania now and is also the team artist for the Phillies.



Here is a link to the interview.  You have to scroll down the right hand side of the page below all the inauguration and political stuff.  There are a series of dark blue boxes - Perez is in the one titled "PCN Profiles Episodes"  He is the interview dated 1/23/2011.     

It is pretty interesting, covers Perez personal life, lots of baseball history, and includes some of Perez's paintings and some cool photos of great ballplayers.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Phungo Travelblog: Moscow

Editor's Note:


I had composed this post over the weekend for publication tonight.  I could not foresee the terrorist attacks at Domodedevo Airport in Moscow earlier today.  I don't know much about what happened, but my fiancee has several colleagues and knows students that pass through the arrival terminal frequently (we were both in that terminal within the last year).  Thankfully, As far as we know none of our friends were flying to or from Moscow today.

For the record there was some ethnic violence while we were in Moscow, but in general I never felt as if I was in danger.  In general other then the language barrier I felt as safe and comfortable in Moscow as I would in any major city. 

Ok onto today's regularly scheduled posting:  
 
If you have been been reading Phungo for a while you may know that my fiancee works and studies Russian.  Her career path took her to Moscow for almost half of last year.  I was fortunate enough to spend a few months of that time on the road with her.

In two months abroad you get to see a lot of things and I cannot really sum up our adventure in a single blog posting but I will try and cover a few highlights here.

Of course Traveling gives Team Phungo the opportunity to take lots of Photos for Phungo Cards.

2011 Phungo #31 St Basil's Cathedral

One of Russia's most iconic structures is St Basil's Cathedral.  The Cathedral is one of the significant tourist attractions that make up part of Moscow's Red Square.  The landmark is easily identified by the onion domes of Russian architecture.  The blue and white onion on the left is the one that is most quickly recognized when viewing photos of St Basil's.

2010 10 29 Lenin's Tomb 

This is the outside of Lenin's Tomb.  We did not visit the tomb on one of the few days that it is open.  Quick Russian Language - first the backwards N is not an N at all it is actually an I the two 'H's are 'N's and the upside down V is a Russian L.  There you have it LENIN.


2010 10 29 Kremlin Clocktower  

This is the most famous of the Kremlins many lookouts and towers.  The Kremlin, Lenin's Tomb and St Basil's are all part of Red Square.

Team Phugo of course had to take in some sports while in Moscow. We got to catch a Hockey Game between CSKA and the Moscow Dynamo.  The Dynamo won the game 3-2.


2010 12 12 Moscow Dynamo Honored Numbers 

I don't really know much hockey and didn't recognize any of the names in the Dynamo Honored Numbers list.  There certainly were a lot of them.  For more on the game check my original game report from last month.


2010 11 25 Neva River St Petersburg

We spent Thanksgiving week in St Petersburg, the northernmost city of over 100,000 people on the planet.  This is ht Neva river at night - here you can see it partially frozen over. 

2010 11 25 Team Phungo hangs with Ozzy.  

I question the veracity of this autograph - but if it is real we at our Thanksgiving dinner in a wine bar where Osbourne once dined.

There were several other highlights, iconic places we visited were Red Square, the Bolshoi Theater, Gorky Park, and the Hermitage.  There were many other lesser known museums and parks and we also got to dine in a variety of restaurants featuring cuisine from across the globe.  Moscow is huge city and there are more things to check out then anyone can see in a few months or even a year. 

It wasn't always fun or easy.  Living in a foreign country speaking a different language can be complicated and sometimes scary.   But if you have the means and the right temperament, I think it is a very worthwhile experience.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

2010 Pull N Junk Playoffs: Best Pull Finals

We are down to the Final Four of the Phungo Pull of the Year competition.


Here are the four Finalist, one from each quarter of 2010.


2009 Topps T206 #138 mini Elvis Andrus (SP)/Base


2008 UD Baseball Heroes Copper #10 Brian McCann (#d100/149)




2009 Goodwin Champions Yogi Berra




2010 Topps Chrome #192 Chris Heisey

A good collection of choices, oddly no Phils made the list.  The choices show some of the things I found exciting in 2010, notably Minis.  The Two minis are both Short Prints - The Andrus is an alternate variation.  The Yogi is a nice black bordered mini.  The Chris Heisey card gets in as a local player making it big.  


There you have it, No Autos, No Relics, just a couple of minis, a serial numbered card and a local fave.

Help Team Phungo pick the first pull of the year card by voting at the pull on your right.


Thursday, January 20, 2011

2011 Phungo Cards - Jayson Werth

I tend to work on the Phungo set sporadically throughout the year.  I sort of have an idea of what the card design will look like early in the year, but the subjects don't really fall together till close to press time.  In some cases I know that the players will be on different teams by the time of my targeted January Release.  But these cards are typically too good to pass up.
 
This is the case with Jayson Werth
 
 
2011 Phungo #28 Jayson Werth
 
I really liked Werth's early season stoner-caveman look.  The clean shaven Jayson Werth that showed up at the Nats press conference last month looks like a little kid. 
 
Despite is long slumps and occasional baserunning lapses, I have always been a fan of Jayson Werth.  Players that are found cheaply on the Major League scrap heap who become stars are easy to like.  He was also a favorite of the Future Mrs Phungo and has always been subject of much banter in the Phungo household - My jealous quips are often along the lines of "I'm telling you there is no way Jayson Werth can make better French Toast than I do"
 

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Thorzul Group Break Swag

Over the Holidays, I got involved in a couple of Group Breaks hosted by Thorzul.  I enjoy the Thorzul breaks because they are generally reasonably priced and with interesting products.  If your interested Thorzul is having last call for His January Break right now - I am particularly looking forward to the 05 Topps Pristine break. 

Here are some of the Highlights from last months break. 

Phillies 


 Jim Bunning, Lefty, Former Phil Matt Maloney, and Richie Ashburn

The HOFs are from SP Legendary Cuts.  The Maloney card is from Bowman Sterling.  

Cubs

Prior, Sosa, Zambrano, Cubs Quad, Castro, Sandberg, Hornsby, Soriano

For a second break the Phils already taken so I took the Cubs.  Some interesting stuff here - The Prior Card is an X-Fractor.  I am a fan of both the Goudey cards.  Always liked the Heads up cards.  Rogers Hornsby is from this years Vintage Legends set.    


Annoying Card

2010 Topps Tales of the Game #MTOG-3 "Seven Touchdowns"

This cards which came as part of my Cubs bounty commemorates the Cubs beating the Phils 26-23 on August 25th 1922.  When I think of high scoring Cubs v Phils games I prefer to remember the game on May 17th 1979.

Thanks Thorzul and looking forward to the January Break. 

Saturday, January 15, 2011

2010 Pull N Junk Playoffs: Best Pull - 4th Quarter

We are down to the final Quarterfinal for 2010.  I was on the road for most of the quarter and didn't open many new packs here are the contenders.   


October Pull of the Month
2010 Topps Chrome #192 Chris Heisey
Heisey is from back home area and Team Phungo has been keeping tabs on him.

Honorable Mention

2010 Topps Chrome Orange #7 Mickey Mantle
Parallel Mantle Cards cannot be dismissed - This card is ticketed for BA Benny as soon as I get my trade hat back on.   


November Pull of the Month
2008 Topps #533 Kyle McClellan
How the heck does a 2008 Topps Series 2 card get into the Pull of the year Playoffs?  First off you have to be building the 2008 Topps Set and down to your last couple of cards.  Secondly you have to travel half way around the world to visit your fiancee who is working abroad, and finally she has to be thoughtful enough to have purchased a few packs of cards for you before she left. 


All these things happened!!! and the pack she got me had one of the two cars I needed to finish the set.  Coco Crisp Your Next! 


There you have it.  Your 3 choices for the last quarter final of 2010 are:
A) Chris Heisey
B) Mickey Mantle
C) Kyle McClellan


Please Vote in the Comments.

There is still time to vote in the other Pull of the Year Quarter Finals: 

1st Quarter  2nd Quarter   
3rd Quarter

Friday, January 14, 2011

2011 Phungo Cards - JIm Thome


2011 Phungo #25 Jim Thome

Here is Jim Thome and his trademark pre-swing stance.  Thome does this prior to every pitch and I have seen him to it many times in many different uniforms - Indians, Phillies, White Sox, and the Twins.

This photo was taken on the 19th of June when Thome came to pinch hit with a couple of runners on.  At the time I really didn't mind - I was sitting in the best seats I ever had at the Phils new ballpark, and the Phils were enjoying a comfortable five run lead in the 9th inning.

Then Thome hit one of his most majestic Home Runs.  The shot cleared dead center by a good 30 feet.  Later in the inning Joe Mauer would hit a 2 run dinger to tie the game.  In the end it wasn't the Phils day as they lost 13-10 on a very sultry day.

It was a tough loss but we were enjoying a Saturday with good friends and some adult beverages so it wasn't all bad - plus I got a couple of nice shots for the Phungo collection.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

2010 Pull N Junk Playoffs: Junk of the Year!

Congratulations to the 2010 Junk of the Year Winner:


2009 UD Piece of History - Historical Moments #177 Microwave Oven Invented

The Microwave Oven won the 2010 Junk of the Year in a landslide.  For me it wasn't even close, easily the worst card I drew in 2010. 

To check out my original junk of the Month posting on the Oven click here.

Thanks to all who voted - picking Junk of the Year is a truly fun activity.



Wednesday, January 12, 2011

2010 Pull N Junk Playoffs: Best Pull - 3rd Quarter

For the 3rd Quarter of 2010 we have a couple of Hall of Famers a future Hall of Famer and a bunch of non-baseball cards.
July
2010 Allen & Ginter #73 Avery Jenkins

I am a frisbee fanatic so Mr Jenkins makes it into the playoffs.



2010 Allen & Ginter World's Wordsmiths mini # WGWS8 John Milton



Milton was a bit of a literary hero for me and my mates when I was younger and gets a shot in the Pull of the Year playoffs.
 

 2010 Allen & Ginter World's Wordsmiths #WGS1 Homer


If you blogging about Baseball you got to love a Writer named Homer.

2010 Topps Peak Performance #PP-60 Mike Schmidt


Phils HOF insert Mojo!
2009 Goodwin Champions Mini #112 Robin Roberts


More Phils HOF Insert Mojo.  I always enjoy minis and was very happy to pull this one of HOF Robin Roberts from a Blaster


Other qualifiers from September



2009 Goodwin Champions Black Mini Yogi Berra

 2009 Goodwin Champions Relic Chipper Jones


There you have a very competitive field from the third quarter of 2010.  Please vote in the comments.


A) Avery Jenkins
B) John Milton
C) Homer
D) Mike Schmidt
E) Robin Roberts
F) Yogi Berra
G) Chipper Jones


And Looking back there is still time to vote in the 2nd Quarter and 1st Quarter Best Pull playoffs.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Bill Lyon Column on Dallas and Christina Taylor Green

Bill Lyon is a semi-retired columnist for the Philadelphia Inqurer.  He is a gifted writer and I have always enjoyed his articles.   

Today Mr Lyon had a special column dedicated to Dallas and Chrstina Taylor Green: 

A Grandfather's Unfathomable Loss

About a decade ago in a rather fuzzy post college era of my life I was really close friends with one of Lyon's sons.  I don't know if the son that Lyon refers to in the article is the one I knew - we pretty much lost touch after that crazy summer. 

Regardless, it goes without saying that noone should ever have to suffer through such a tragedy, whether it is a relative or friend, someone you haven't seen since in 10 years, or someone you never met who happened to once be a manager of your favorite baseball team.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

2011 Phungo Cards - #42 Retired Number Series

For 2011 We here at Team Phungo are proud to announce the premier of a brand new insert set that we are very excited about.

2011 Phungo Retired Number #42-PHI


The first card in the debut edition of the Phungo #42 Retired Number Series is dedicated to Jackie Robinson whose number was retired across baseball on April 15th 1997.

This is Robinson's Retired Number at the Phillies Home in Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

The #42 Retired Number Series is a continuity series.  I envision adding cards to the series each year until I get tired of making Phungo Cards.  The inaugural issue consists of 3 cards.   Going forward I anticipate adding five cards to the set each year.

The cards will eventually feature as many stadiums as I can attend.  Jackie Robinson's number is retired by all 30 Major League Clubs, therefore it is likely we could feature a Robinson card for the insert set every year for some time.

In honor of Jackie Robinson all cards in the series will start with the prefix #42 followed by the card number which will reflect the team/ballpark and the players Number.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

2010 Pull N Junk Playoffs: Best Pull - 2nd Quarter

The Best Pull Tourney Turns the page to the best pull of the 2nd Quarter of 2010.  Here are the candidates.

April
Two Topps Heritage Inserts make the cut for April 2010.   

2010 Topps Heritage Chrome #C90 Troy Tulowitzki (#d 288/1961)

2010 Topps Heritage Then & Now #TN10 Shutout Leaders Whitey Ford & Roy Halladay

click Here to find out more about these cards. 

May
May features a trio of entries that came out of UD bargain packs I picked up this past spring.  


2008 UD X Xponential 2 #X2-JT

2008 UD Baseball Heroes Copper #10 Brian McCann (#d100/149)
 
2009 UD 20th Anniversary #638 Steve Carlton

A couple of favorite players and a serially numbered McCann Card. 

For More Info on the May Cards click here.

June

1988 Donruss #539 Greg Maddux

Even Junk Wax can yield a Pull of the Month.  This is a Pre-Cy Young Greg Maddux.  At the time of issue Greg Maddux had a career W-L record of 8-18, He would go on to win 347 more games.

More info here

Vote

Please Vote for your favorite Phungo Pull of the 2nd Quarter in the comments:

1) Troy Tulowitzki
2) Roy Halladay/ Whitey Ford
3) Jim Thome
4) Brian McCann
5) Lefty
6) Greg Maddux

Friday, January 7, 2011

2011 Phungo Cards - Black Frame Inserts: Morneau and Mauer

Each year the Phungo Set has included a small insert set of cards.  This years Black Frame Insert Set consist of 5 Cards.

2011 Phungo BFI Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer

I love this card.  You really can't ask for much more than a photo capturing two of the teams biggest stars signing autographs.

The BFI cards remain simple for 2011 - I added some dots to the L and R side of the frame to create a studded effect.  The font for the text is different and larger.

 

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

2010 Pull N Junk Playoffs: JUNK FINALS!!

We are ready for the Junk of the Year 2010 Final.  I would like to thank everyone who has voted in the preliminary rounds, and semi-finals.  Thanks to all of the wonderful Phungo Readers we have two worthy contenders for 2010 Junk of the Year.





2009 UD Piece of History - Historical Moments #177 Microwave Oven Invented


I don't think the Microwave Oven needs any further comment

The other Challenger for 2010 Junk of the Year is this fine example of the lameness of 2008 Topps.

 2008 Topps #500 Chipper Jones

I have a poll set up to the right -->.  Please take your time to vote for Phungo 2010 Junk of the Year.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

2011 Phungo Cards - Aroldis Chapman

 2011 Phungo #54 Aroldis Chapman

There are always a lot of Phils cards in the Phungo Set - They are my favorite team and my local team so I get to see a lot of their games.  

Getting snapshots of out of town players is a bit trickier.  

First off I get to maybe 15 games a year - while this is a fair amount, it likely means I will only get to see about a dozen of the 30 MLB teams.  I also have to know the players that I am taking pictures of, or else I may end up with a memory card full of batboy photos.  

I sort of model the Phungo Checklist off of the 100 card sets that mix upcoming prospects with Veterans.  I have always been a fan of the two UD Masterpieces Releases and like the mix of Superstars, Prospects, HOFs and Non-Baseball Icons.  This approach also fits into a manageable set size for team phungo. 

There are 21 Teams Represented in the 2011 Phungo Master Set.  I try to produce a card for each team, but inevitably teams get left out especially from the AL West who the Phils rarely see.  I also try and pick out cards that will interest the folks with whom I frequently trade, but there are always omissions.  Teams that got bypassed this year included the White Sox and Padres - sorry to both Steve and Rod, but I think I was able to create some  cards that will interest both of you.

The Reds were among the teams that I did get to see this year and it was a good thing.

Aroldis Chapman was one of the many big name rookies to debut in 2010 and I was extremely happy to get a nice photo of him prior to Game 1 of the NLDS.  This is one of my favorite cards in the 2011 Phungo Set, Unfortunately the final product didn't come out quite as good as this one.  There is always some degradation of the Photos when I sent them off to get printed, probably due to excessive MS-Paint work that goes into creating the cards - this year the fuzziness is worse than usual and the cards are really dark. 

Anytime I can get an action shot (even just warming up as with Chapman above) I am happy.  The presence of the Baseball in the Photo along with capturing Chapman facing the camera make this card a winner in my book. 


Note - I didn't notice the misspelling in Chapman's last name until I actually posted the card.  ugh.



Monday, January 3, 2011

2010 Pull N Junk Playoffs: Best Pull - First Quarter Final

Ok now that the Junk Playoffs have reached the Finals We will start up the Best Pull Playoffs.  These aren't quite as much fun, and I will hopefully run through them much quicker then the Junk Playoffs.
We have four cards from the first quarter of 2010
January
2009 Topps T206 #138 mini Elvis Andrus (SP)
The first mini is the SP, the latter card is the Base, shown here for reference.  I like Andrus and this SP mini is even cooler after the Rangers got into the World Series. 

For more information on these cards click:
February
1963 Topps #318 Gene Mauch
I actually just traded this card away MCG tradeathon over at Play at the PlateI still have 2 codes to redeem - and meant to prior to the tradeathon closing but haven't gotten around to it.  
The 63 Mauch is a great vintage card from my favorite team, but in the end I couldn't justify the cost of shipping the card.  
PATP running the Tradeathon is a great idea.  To me this is what the cardblogosphere is about - We share a common interest and can join together and get a couple of really great cards rather than a walking away with nothing.       

For more information on this cards click:
March
2010 Topps Opening Day #13 Shane Victorino (#d 0782/2010)
2010 Topps Heritage #61RM-13 Maris Chase '61 13th Homer
For more information on these cards click:
There you have our four contenders for the first quarter of 2010.  Please vote in the comments.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Announcing 2011 Phungo Cards!!!

Team Phungo is very happy to announce the third edition of Phungo Cards.  

The honor of the #1 card for this years set goes to Roy Halladay, featured here pitching on the evening of his NLDS No-Hitter.  
It was a crazy year at Phungo HeadQuarters.  We at a lot activities going on - producing the set probably just added to the chaos - but was usually an enjoyable and welcome diversion from all the issues that life throws at you.  

I am basically happy with the set.  Despite the advanced age of the camera I am dealing with and mostly attending night games this year, I ended up with many good photos to draw from.  I experimented with using a Black Border for the base set this year - ultimately this proved to be a failure.  The cards came out much darker then I would have liked.  There is a serious drop off from the digital version to the photocards I got back from the winkflash.  That was my only disappointment, but it is significant blow. 

I was happy with the 56 subjects that made the final cut.  The 2011 Phungo Set features 47 players and coaches from 21 teams.  There are 19 Phils cards in the set.  We were able to produce cards of both 2010 MVPs (Joey Votto and Josh Hamiilton) as well as NL Cy Young Award Winner Roy HalladayTeam Phungo was on the road a few times this year and there is a fairly interesting variety of subjects from outside of Baseball.

Black Frame Insert Cards also return in 2011 - This years BFI set consists of 5 cards plus 2 very special DUAL BFI cards.    

Team Phungo is also introducing a new Continuity Series Insert in 2011 - I will tease the new Insert set by mentioning that the inaugural installment features three Hall of Fame players.

Keep checking in at  Phungo over the next couple of weeks as there will be a heavy dose of 2011 Phungo Cards - let me know what you think whenever a card pops up of your favorite player or from your favorite team.

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to All  - and please take a moment to vote on the junk of the year semi-final - poll to the right -->

a thousand words

a thousand words
2008 World Champions