It's Been Real, Roy

Today marks the end of an era in my collecting life.  I am saying goodbye to a player collection.  I am saying goodbye to Roy.

Oswalt.

No, I'd never stop collecting Roy Halladay!  Don't be silly.  After all, the blog is named after him (or a quote by him), and he is my favorite player of all time.

The Oswalt PC was nothing short of completely unimpressive.  I had no autos, I don't think I had a rookie, even.  Maybe I did, but I never cared enough about it to try to get any big chase cards.  I had a bunch of serial numbered cards, and a handful of game used jersey cards.  Completely unimpressive.

I sold the entire collection of around 182 cards on eBay for ten bucks.  That's about what it was worth. Plus, I got even more value out of the several 9 pocket pages I now have available to put other cards in.

Where does this leave my PCs?  Roy Halladay is static.  I am also starting to collect autos of Phillies prospects, specifically Jesse Biddle, an up and coming pitcher. I try to get my hands on any affordable Manny Machado card I can find.  Same with Dylan Bundy.  Cliff Lee?  Strasburg? Ryan Zimmerman? Those collections remain, but they aren't very active.  My Joe Flacco collection is active, however, as is Ray Rice.  I've grown more and more to like football cards as I have been watching them opened in group breaks at Layton Sports Cards.

My collecting has changed drastically.  I am not buying much retail--in fact, I cannot tell you the last blaster I purchased.  I am really into group breaks and have so much fun watching big hits be pulled.  Mostly they aren't pulled for me, but sometimes they are.

Take, for example, THIS big hit I saw pulled:

Why yes, that is a Panini Flawless Damian Lillard 1/1 diamond card.

Perhaps a Kyrie Irving patch card is more your style?

 An even nicer Chris Paul emerald patch, #/5.

 I've seen Shaq make an appearance, too.

Not sure I showed this card on my blog, but this is the hit I got from the Flawless break I took part in.  A Bob Lanier three color patch auto.  I think the old time players have signatures that are leaps and bounds above the newer players.  It is like they actually care.

I don't know how this post went from the death of my Roy Oswalt player collection to me showing off Flawless hits, but it has.  Sometimes the posts take on a life of their own.

Later Roy O.  It's been real.