Friday, October 15, 2010

TTM - How to get Autographs Through the Mail


This is a guest post by Troy Kozlowski. This guy knows how to pull in autographs and it's been great getting to know him through Opening Day Cards. Thanks Troy!

How to Acquire a TTM Success:

TTM stands for through-the-mail autographs. This is any easy way to, hopefully, to get your favorite player to sign your favorite trading cards. You can also take it further than just sending a trading card. If you would like, you can send a photo, baseball, football, jersey, etc. The easiest thing to send is a trading card. First what you would have to do is write a letter to the player of your choice explaining that you think that they are a great player and that you would like to get them to autograph your card. The best place to mail your card to is the stadium address for the team of that player. Let’s say that you are sending a request to Jason Motte, pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, you would send it to Busch Stadium address. This is a sample letter of something that you could send to your favorite player:

Mr. Motte,
I am a huge fan of both you and the Cardinals. I think you are an amazing pitcher and so glad that you are on the Cardinals. (You could personalize it with an experience that you had or some accomplishment that the person you are writing to has accomplished.) I was hoping that you could autograph my card for me. I have included a self-addressed, stamped envelope so that you could send it back to me. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy day to read my letter and hopefully you’ll get back to me soon.

Your #1 FAN,
And if this player takes the time to autograph your card, you could end up with the great autograph you see at the top of this post!

The most important thing to include is an envelope with your name and address so it can come back to you; but, for a chance to get a success you will have to add a stamp on the envelope coming back to you. If you are sending anything other than a trading card you must go to your local post office to check how much postage you need to put on your package so that it will come back to you. This is a great link to use to get team addresses to send your cards to: http://www.sportmapworld.com/map/baseball/north-america/mlb/.

Collecting autographs is a great hobby to get into. It is great for people that cannot get to the ballpark to get autographs from the players in person. An average wait for the return of your autographed card can be anywhere from 5 days to 3 years; but, a normal wait is usually about 3 months. Some bad things that can happen are: if you send your card to the wrong address you may get everything back with a yellow slip from the post office, which is called a RTS (Return To Sender). Also, if the player is in a hurry they could put the signed card right in the envelope after signing and it can get smudged.

If you really want to get into the hobby of collecting autographs, Harvey Meiselman creates a comprehensive book for every sport, every year, with the players’ home addresses. It is so great to use and you get the address for almost every current and retired player. The link to see how you could purchase it for yourself is here: http://www.sportsaddresslists.com/ . This is the best product to obtain retired players’ addresses and, during the offseason, current players. The Baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, NY, has recently added his Baseball Address List to the permanent collection in their library. Harvey gives updates three times a year for addresses that he found out didn’t work and gives a new current address. It is a great resource to have.


A great website to use is Nolan’s TTM, He updates his website whenever he gets a success. His website is: http://www.nolansttmgraphs.webs.com/. Another great website that is always updating their user’s success is: http://www.fanmail.biz/ and click on the tabs for any of the sports and you get to see who signs autographs. I also use this website to see what he has gotten back lately: http://www.sportsautosttm.com/.

Even though I used the above example with a baseball player, you can send to NBA, NFL, and NHL players; but, MLB has the highest success rate if sending to players. I have been collecting since last Spring Training and I have just over 100 autogtaphs and still collecting. On one website that I have come across, someone did a test to see if he will have a higher rate of return if hand-writing the letter opposed to typing it. His study showed that he had a higher rate of return if he had hand-written the letter to the player. It is a really fun hobby and it blends right in with the hobby of collecting. The most important thing to keep in mind is to not send something of value, because you may NOT get it back. The players are not forced to sign items; they just do it for their fans!

Troy Kozlowski

Sunday, October 3, 2010

The Red Sox Did Not Make The Playoffs

Well folks. The season is over. The Brewers & Red Sox are headed home early, but there's still some great baseball left. Congratulations to the NY Yankees, Twins, Rangers, Rays, Braves, Giants, Reds & Phillies.

Is the evil empire about to begin a new reign? Is the Big Red Machine back in town? October baseball, while not "Soxtober" baseball, will still be fun. Here at Opening Day Cards, it's been an honor to get to know you this year. We have some fun ideas to get us through the post-season and some excitement for the off-season as well.

Keep an eye out for some incredible guest posts, great card giveaways and yes, we've got a handful of video episodes in the works.

Enjoy the Playoffs!

Chris & Joe

Thursday, September 16, 2010

The Red Sox Will Make The Playoffs


It’s mid-September the bumbling Red Sox are 6.5 games out of the AL East and 6 games out of the wild-card. All hope is lost right? It’s been a bummer of a year – Pedroia, Youkilis, Varitek, Ellsbury, Beckett, Dice-K, etc etc they’ve spent more time nursing wounds than playing ball. But four days ago I made a prediction as you may see in the post below – I believe the Boston Red Sox will make the playoffs and the evil empire will sit this one out. Three reasons why the Red Sox will make the playoffs:


1. End of Season Schedule – Whoever laid out the schedule this year really wanted the last few weeks to count. In our final few weeks, the Yankees and the Rays play 3 more times and the Red Sox and the Yankees play 6 times. With the Rays just taking 2 out of 3 from the Yankees and the Red Sox sweeping their West Coast series with the Mariners the Sox are closing in. The Rays are dominant – they will win the AL East and while doing so, set the Yankees back a few more games and Boston will be on fire for it’s end of season series with the hated NY rivals. That final weekend series in October will be playoff level baseball and the Sox will rise to the challenge.

2. Young Studs – So you wanna play in the big leagues? The Red Sox lineup has been stocked with minor league wannabees all year and it’s starting to look like the Sox turned on their stud-finder at the right time. We’ll be seeing a lot of these guys in the next few years but they are about to leave their mark on New England with an end of season run like nobody would believe – Ryan Kalish, Lars Anderson, & Daniel Nava.

3. Pitching – These guys have stayed healthy, there’s been some Cy Young rumors all year and Lester, Bucholz, Lackey, Beckett, Wakefield, Dice-K & Paps are going to come through when we need them. There are some seasoned hurlers in that crew and the next few weeks are plenty of time to string a few wins together.

So you heard it here – an outlandish belief in the home team squd, but it's going to happen. Also keep an eye out for the unlikely hero JD Drew. The injury prone, moody outfielder is going to come through big. Enjoy the rest of the season and see you in late October! Let me know what you think - am I off my rocker, how do you feel about the Sox chances?

Monday, September 13, 2010

Episode 37 - Relics relics relics!



Hey folks - big packs here. BIG packs. Check out some of the gorgeous cards we pulled in these packs. As always all the cards you see on the show are free - request the ONE card you'd like in the comments below - first comments gets the card!

You heard it here first. I'm calling the Red Sox making the playoffs. Yankees will falter. Rays and Sox will be in. We'll see what happens, but it's time for an end of year prediction.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Speaking of brawls...



I am assuming this video will get lifted off YouTube soon, so get it while you can!

Nyger Morgan, the feistiest little man in baseball is at it again. Throwing baseballs at fans, and now throwing punches at pitchers. Check out the second punch thrown as Nyger finally gets his.

Super Fan Episode!



Welcome to a special Super Fan edition of Opening Day Cards!

As Chris and I were roadtripping across the States, one of my stops was back in the Northwoods of Wisconsin where I met up with a HUGE fan of baseball, cards, and Opening Day Cards...Bennett. This year Bennett's baseball team went an astonishing 14-0! Congratulations!

Join us as we open a few packs of Topps 2010 Series 2. As always, all the cards on this episode are up for grabs. Just leave a comment below and we will ship it out your way.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Red Sox Need a Bench Clearing Brawl


The Red Sox are in need of a bench clearer. With James Shields on the mound this evening it's a shame they let the opportunity slip by. The sox are flat. Like a coke left out over night this squad has no pop. Their outfield has struggled to bat .240 and the pitching hasn't been consistent. With 3 more major AL East series left in the season can the squad pull it together.

I would have loved to see Pedroia pinch-hit, lean into a pitch and take off after Shields to rile up a team that has dreams of October and couches.

Here at Opening Day Cards we're getting riled up as well. We've got a slew of new videos and some new sponsored goods to be giving away. It's going to be an exciting week. How's your team wrapping up the year? Is September going to be an exciting month?

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Episode 35 - Vintage Baseball Cards for Free!



Episode 35 is now live with some teeny tiny, vintage baseball cards up for grabs. Big thanks to TJ Parker a big fan of ours in Cambridge, MA who hunted down these gems at a small antique store. We're working on some exciting things hear at Opening Day Cards - some new things will be popping up shortly. Playoffs are around the corner and we hope your team is closing up the season right. Trips to the mound come with a little more meaning these days.

Play Ball! We hope you enjoy the episode.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Crazy Dance by Oakland A's Vendor



Joe and I have been hitting the road lately catching baseball games in Oakland and Denver. Beyond the baseball highlights we captured this dance on camera as well - it may be worth sharing with your friends. What's the craziest thing you've seen at a baseball game?

Again - Joe and I are road tripping around the states for a few weeks this summer so the mailing of free baseball cards is briefly delayed until mid-august. We'll be releasing details about the "all-star" card competition and publishing new videos soon! Enjoy the summer weather - playoffs are around the corner.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Episode 34 - ODC on the road! (Big contest!)



Episode 34 is a big one! We've got www.thedugoutcards.com back as a sponsor and this is an extra special episode. Check out our "commemorative patch card" and there's a contest to win it. You need to tell us the best baseball card trade you've ever made.

Yo we are living blogging on our cross-country road trip. I just left Rockies stadium where I saw Mr. Ubaldo ignoring the altitude, the hitter's park, and laying down Pirates one after another - the guy is Cy Young Quality for sure. Unfortunately Joe couldn't make it to the game, they don't like dog's in the stadium.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Cute Puppy and Free Baseball Card! #33



It's been a little while since we've given away some cards and we are storming back with Topps 2010 Series 2. Our boy Mr. Pedroia is on the box! Also fan mail from Nick! Tune in for a great episode and ya, that furry little creature is our new mascot - meet Rigby Joe's dog :)

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Winning Idea for Opening Day Cards


After an excessive deliberation, Chris and I have chosen the winner of our latest contest where you were asked to submit your ideas for what we should do next at Opening Day Cards.

Without any more delay, the winner is Josh Hudgens! Even though Josh is a St. Louis Cardinals fan, we wish him a hearty congratulations!

In a nutshell, here is Josh's idea:

Viewers comb through their collection and form an All-Star team from their cards, including a player at each position. Then you take a picture and submit it to us. We will post all submissions and YOU the viewers will vote on our site to decide the winning submission for the best All-Star team of baseball cards.

Why we LOVE this idea:

  1. It gives us all an excuse to rummage through our collection again, and that is always a good time.
  2. We love it when viewers submit pictures of their cards.
  3. We REALLY love it when viewers get to vote so we don't have the hard job of deciding who wins
  4. This idea is really cool because the winning submission will include both the best all-time greats, including a mix of retired and current MLB stars, and the quality of the cards, for example, rookie cards, relics, autos, etc.
  5. It's a contest, and we obviously love contests because they allow us to give away free awesome cards to you all!
We will be using Josh's awesome idea in an upcoming episode, so start combing through your cards now. More contest details, including the announcement of the sweet prize is coming soon!

Thanks to all of you who submitted ideas, we received a TON of great ideas. Don't be surprised if we use your idea even if you didn't win. We are in the business of giving you what you want. You want free baseball cards? You got 'em!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Are the Brewers Leaning Into Pitches?

The Brewers finally got in the headlines today when manager Ken Macha made an official complaint to MLB officials about his team being thrown at. That's right, the Brewers are targets. They've been hit a whopping 47 times this year. 47 beaners, that's more wins than the Brewers have.

Leading the charge is Prince Fielder who is pictured above attempting to elbow a pitch. Elbowing should be reserved for the UFC. Prince will struggle to hit 47 homers this year but he's helping he's certainly helping his team lead the league in one category.

What do you guys think? Do the Brewers lean in or are these friendly boys from Milwaukee targets? Let me know in the comments below

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Winner of the Best Card from 2010!



Hey Folks - Great work on the contest happening over on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/openingdaycards. There are some incredible cards posted and this has not been an easy decision. We are announcing a first place winner as well as a runner up winner which will receive a prize as well.

FIRST PRIZE: Nick Shaw! You put Babe Ruth and Ryan Howard on the same card and there's not much we can do about that!

SECOND PRIZE: Todd Fee! Todd's Mike Leake 2009 Donruss Elite MIke Leake Collegiate Patch Auto RC. Even though this card is a 2009 it sounds like it was pulled this year and it is a BEAUTY!

Thank you for all the submissions and remember - there's another great contest running now with an even better prize. Do you have an idea for what we can do with this show? What we can do with this blog? Leave your best idea as a comment on the post below and you could be receiving 5 new packs in the mail for free!

Congratulations again to the two winners and thanks for all the submissions!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Opening Day Cards - Episode #32 (an even bigger contest)



Some people say we're crazy for giving away so many free baseball cards. Actually that's all we do. We mail you baseball cards for free. Word on the street is you like it? As always all the cards shown in this episode are yours for free if you're the first to comment with the card you'd like.

Even bigger news is the newest contest we are running - we're looking for new ideas for Opening Day Cards. Have an idea for an episode? Have an idea for a new direction? Have a guest that you can get on the show? Whoever comes up with the best idea wins 5 PACKS OF UNOPENED CARDS. Your choice. Pick them from our collection. If you win, we'll mail you the 5 unopened packs AND we'll actually do what you've suggested. We think this is going to be a lot of fun. So get those creative juices flowing and leave a comment below with your best idea!

PS - big props to the BIG Papi for running away with the Home Run Comp!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Big contest! Big Giveaway - Episode #31



That's right folks, in this episode you'll learn more about a big giveaway that we are doing over on our Facebook profile - http://www.facebook.com/openingdaycards. It's pretty simple. Become our friend over on Facebook & post a picture of the best baseball card you've opened in 2010. We'll let the contest go for a few days and announce the winner. The winner will have a number of unopened packs mailed free of charge to their house & we might toss something extra special in there. No we are not going to send Joe in a box to your house.

On top of the big giveaway all the cards in this episode are FREE as usual. Leave a comment with what you're interested in. Who's excited for the All Star Game?

Saturday, July 3, 2010

2010 NL Cy Young Preview


This weekend we'll find out who we all selected as the 2010 MLB All-Stars, and our future award winners will surely be in attendance in Anaheim this year.

The Cy Young Award is given out annually to recognize each league's premier pitcher, and the 2010 season has featured some amazing pitching performances. Let's take a look at a couple of candidates for the NL Cy Young Award this season.

Ubaldo Jimenez
The Rockies ace is having a record setting season. He leads all NL hurlers with 14 wins (14-1). Jimenez is just a sneeze away from leading the NL in ERA with a 1.83 ERA. He trails Florida ace Josh Johnson by 0.01 (they both have yielded 23 earned runs, but Johnson has thrown one more inning). He tossed the first no-hitter in Rockies history on April 17th on the road, against the NL best Atlanta Braves. Ubaldo has notched scoreless streaks of 25 1/3 and 33 innings. His one loss: 2-0 loss to Los Angeles Dodgers on the road where he went 7 innings and gave up just one earned run on two hits. Right now it seems pointless to even debate any other player ousting Ubaldo Jimenez for the NL Cy Young Award this season.

Josh Johnson
The Florida Marlins ace is the bright spot in an otherwise disappointing season. Johnson sports an NL leading 1.82 ERA and an 8-3 record. With 115 Ks and only 27 BBs in 114 innings this season, Josh hasn't had too many blemishes. Unfortunately the Fish can't find enough offense to thrust him into the spotlight. After giving up 7 runs in his first two starts, Johnson has gone on to give up just 6 runs in the month of May and 5 runs in all of June. If Jimenez falters, Johnson will be waiting in the wings.

Adam Wainwright
St. Louis is a tough place to win a Cy Young in my opinion. There are just always too many pitchers to compete with on one team, and that makes it hard to stand out. If the Cy Young Award was a team award, the Cardinals would have won it most years in the last decade. Wainwright is the declared ace of the staff, and he boasts great numbers. 2.34 ERA (4th), 11 wins (2nd) and 114 K's (tied 4th). Also hurling for the Cards: Jaime Garcia (who just smoked my Brewers) with a 2.10 ERA and Chris Carpenter who is 9-1 with a 2.70 ERA. Now that's a staff.

Yovani Gallardo
This is my homer pick, I'm a Brewers fan, I admit it. But Yovani has stacked up some great evidence why he should be in this conversation. 8-3, 2.56 ERA, and 120 K's (2nd). After Yo started 0-2 in his first three starts, he rebounded to go 8-1 and only yielded 20 earned runs in his last 14 starts. Definitely not putting up Jimenez numbers, but that won't keep me from talking about him.

Other Notables
Tim Lincecum: the 2008 AND 2009 NL Cy Young winner is leading all hurlers with 121 K's, but has been scuffling lately losing his last two games to fall to 8-4. Timmy better pick it up.
Tim Hudson: the Atlanta ace is having a come back season. I have seen him pitch in person twice this season (vs. the Brewers and vs. the Giants). He is a crafty vet who keeps the ball down and gets a lot of ground ball outs and double plays. He is a big reason why ATL is leading the NL right now with a 8-3 record and 2.37 ERA
Mike Pelfrey: 10-2 for the NY Mets with a 2.93 ERA, one of 3 NL pitchers with 10 or more wins.
San Diego: Mat Latos, Clayton Richard, Jon Garland, Wade LeBlanc all boast ERAs under 3.25. It's up for grabs for the NL West leading Padres.

Be sure to vote for your favorite NL pitching phenom on the right -->

Friday, June 25, 2010

Episode 30: Mail Day and Free Cards!



Little bit of mail, little bit of free cards for you.

I'll post some more info later, but for now I am off to the Giants - Red Sox game!

Enjoy!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Stephen Strasburg Rookie Card on Ebay



There is a Stephen Strasburg rookie card selling on Ebay for $260,000.00. Let me say that again… there is a Stephen Strasburg rookie card selling on Ebay for $260,000.00. That folks is absurd. This is America fanaticism at it’s finest, ride him while he’s hot this card is only going to go down in value. I came across the card on Ebay this afternoon and the highest bid was $140,000. Three hours later it’s gone up over a hundred grand. With four days left on this auction there’s no telling what it will go for.

What do you think this is going to sell for? What would you have done if you’d opened this card? So there you have it, two posts on Stephen Strasburg in a row, I’m really hoping this guy truly pulled the card from a pack and didn’t trade for it from some kid who could have paid for college and bought a house while he was at it.

Rock on folks, baseball cards are interesting again.

UPDATE - Card is now selling for over $750,000!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Stephen Strasburg - Circle Changeup



Stephen Strasburg and the magical circle change. The kid known as "the most hyped pick in MLB history" is coming through big time. Strasburg has opened the season 2-0 with 32K's in 3 appearances. Does he deserve a coach's selection for the All Star game? Check out our video discussing his first few starts this year.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Opening Day Cards - Episode #28



It's trophy day. Nothing more needs to be said. Ok we'll say this too - we give baseball cards away for free. That's right all the cards you see on this show are up for grabs. See a card you like? Leave a comment down below and we will send it to you free of charge!

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Upper Deck Victory Prizes - #27



It's been awhile since our last free card giveaway and this one was worth the wait. Speaking of long waits, our gear from Upper Deck came in the mail and we are SO pumped. Check out this episode to see our free boxes of cards, 2009 NFL rookie autographed football and other incredible gear.

Here at Opening Day Cards we give stuff away, so as always the packs of cards we open on this episode are up for grabs! Request a card each and we'll send it to you in the mail at no cost. Seriously there's no catch.

A big congrats to Roy Halladay today. Another perfect game this year, MLB 2010 it's going to be a special season. Enjoy your Memorial Day Weekend. Thanks to all those representing America overseas and here in the States we're thankful for your service. #proudtobeanamerican

Thursday, May 20, 2010

David Ortiz Quote - "You Gotta Ride With Me"


When the big man speaks we listen. He spoke up big time and he's backing it up with some solid play and some big time hits. It looks like the Boston slugger is returning to his glory days of decent eyes and steroid use.

David said - "I was mad. I was absolutely mad. If you ride with me, you're going to get two things. Either you're going to win or you're going to die with me. That's the way it is, that's the way it's been as long as I've been here. ... You gotta believe in your players. Period. You choose to have me on your roster since Day 1. You gotta ride with me."

Somewhere Dustin Pedroia is sitting back and watching the laser show with a big smile on his face.

Papi keep slugging and #redsoxnation keep the faith.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Top 3 Baseball Apps for the iPhone


The Major League Baseball season is in full swing and while we encourage you to catch as many baseball games as possible from within a stadium, how do you stay on top of scores when you’re in line at the urinal? We at Opening Day Cards have deemed it officially impossible to be in every ballpark at the same time so we’ve come to rely on iphone apps to keep us up to date on games happening around the country.

Do you know who won the Red Sox game? Do you know who’s pitching for the Royals on Sunday? Did David Ortiz really strike out 4 more times on Thursday? We used to call friends and family to find these things out but with an iphone you no longer need friends or family #thankstevejobs.


Top 3 Baseball Apps for the iPhone:


#3 - MLB LITE - This is our official “snapshot” app and it’s a free one brought to you by MLB Lite. Don’t expect any details with this app but you’ll get up to the date scores, who’s pitching and whose hitting in a snappy interface that’s perfect for a quick check from underneath the conference table at work. That said you won’t get box scores, recaps or any other information. MLB is always looking to make a buck so if you’re a free-spender check out their $9.99 app that comes with all the bells and whistles (It didn’t make our list because $10 is just too expensive).


#2 – Ball Park Envi – Imagine every MLB stadium in your pocket and then pay these guys $0.99 and actually have it in your pocket. Beautiful shots of all the MLB baseball parks in the country and a fun baseball app to keep in mind before you pick up tickets at a new venue.


#1– Sportacular – These guys do it right and they do it for free. They cover every major sport you can imagine but when spring rolls into town we recommend making those MLB scores your default setting. Here you get complete access to scores, recaps, box scores etcetera.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Fan Mail! Episode 26

Fan mail! We're pretty jazzed about the stuff jamming our mail boxes these last few weeks. A HUGE thank you to everyone who sent us stuff these past few weeks. Sorry this took so long to post, we've been busy!

Big SHOUTOUT to Randy (check out Randy's blog here), Bennett, Anthony (check out Anthony's blog here), Jason, Jesse, Nick and Coach Cantu! You guys are amazing and sent us some awesome stuff fit nicely in our Brewers/Red Sox collection! We received autograph cards, jersey cards, unopened packs, commemorative baseballs, a Brewers pennant, and even our own cards!

So, we tried to fit this video into 10 minutes so we could throw it on YouTube, but we failed. In or time saving effort we crammed in a few packs of Bowman 2009's to send to y'all.

Leave us a comment below to request your FREE* card!

*limit one card per person

Monday, May 10, 2010

Two Grand Slams in One Inning - (winner of MCG code)


Two grand slams in one inning for Fernando Tatis is a feat we don't expect to see happen again anytime soon. In fact it's more likely that A-Rod will skip across Braden's mound again before we see two grand slams in one inning. Can you believe that little fire cracker on the left pulled this of? A big congratulations to Joshua for being in attendance at this game and for winning the last code in our Million Card Giveaway competition. There were a ton of great stories and we'd also like to award an honorable mention to Oriole Way for his incredible story about Eddie Feinger - for more on Eddie we suggest you read this Sports Illustrated Post.

For those of you that are curious, Tatis's Cardinals pulled off the victory and Chan-Ho-Park's Dodgers took the well deserved loss after watching Tatis put up 8 RBI's against him in the third inning with the two grand slams.

Again a big congratulations to Joshua for taking first prize, & to our runner up "Oriole Way" we're hunting down a special gift as you endure another season cheering on Baltimore. Thanks again to Jeremy Dunson for his suggestion that we run a Million Card Giveaway episode, we'll get another in the works!

Thanks for your support and may the star on your team hit two grand slams in one inning, he'll be joining elite company - Tatis was the 2008 comeback player of the year after all!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Topps Million Card Giveaway - #25



First of all, HUGE shoutout to our buddy over at The Dugout Cards for sponsoring this episode. Check out the site, pick up a card. It's a great place to find and purchase cards online, with some pretty killer deals. Let us know what deals you found.

Second, HUGE shoutout to Jeremy Dunson, our buddy from Facebook, for hatching the idea for this episode. If you enjoy the madness of Million Card Giveaway, and you enjoy us giving them away, thank Jeremy!

Third, here's the dilly for this episode. We are on a treasure hunt for some Topps 2010 Million Card Giveaway (MCG) codes. People love this stuff. It's like baseball card gold. We have plenty of packs lined up and plan on finding a few codes for you.

The same rules apply people:

1. First to comment gets the card (click the little comment link below)
2. Limit one card per person
3. If you haven't received a card from us in the past (what's wrong with you, do you not like free cards?!) you will have to send me your address at joe@openingdaycards.com
4. Rule #76: No excuses, play like a champion!



That second code is still on the market. Here's what you have to do to get it:

Let us know the most exciting thing that happened at a baseball game that you were at in person. Leave us a comment below. The best story gets the second code. We'll pick the winner tomorrow night at 10 pm PST.

Jody Gerut Hits For the Cycle


Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jody Gerut hit for the cycle yesterday which continues to decrease the quality of the Brewers all-time list of players who hit for the cycle.

After Robin Yount hit for the cycle in 1988, and Paul Molitor in 1991, the list was looking respectable. But recent years have seen that list take a nosedive.

In 2004, my least favorite Brewer of all time, scrub catcher Chad Moeller hit for the cycle. Chad is a career .226 hitter, and he isn't exactly a defensive dynamo.

And now, Jody Gerut is the icing on the Brewers Cycle Cake. We acquired Jody in a 2009 trade where we shipped Tony Gwynn Jr. to San Diego. Let's ignore talent for a second, because I don't care who is the better player. What's important about this trade is that it said,

We, the Milwaukee Brewers, will no longer attempt to ever manufacture a run (like perennial powerhouse St. Louis Cardinals have perfected) and will wholly rely on home runs to score.

Way to go Jody. Congratulations.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Viewer Video #1 - Opening Day Cards



We are geeked about this episode!

For the past 2 months it has been a blast for Chris and I to open cards and share the excitement (and the cards) with all of you. It's great to see it has been a blast for you all as well.

One viewer, Nick Proietti from Cheyenne, WY has been a regular viewer from the beginning, and he likes what we do so much he just had to join in the fun. He made his own video and is sharing his cards with all of you! More FREE cards*

Tune in as Nick opens a few packs of cards, shares his favorites, and comment below to request a card.

You can contact Nick at sanfrancisco_giants_maniac@yahoo.com.

Enjoy!

*Limit one card per person

Friday, May 7, 2010

Dustin Pedroia - Laser Show (Quote of the Week)


Much has been made about David Ortiz's early season struggles. He used the "I can't see" and need an eye-exam excuse last year, and with steroids no longer an option people are really hating on the big guy. But Boston's biggest little man still has his back and we respect Dustin Pedroia. See what Pedroia had to say...

"David’s fine, He’s one of our teammates. It could have been me that hit into a double play. It happens to everybody, man. He’s had 60 at-bats. A couple years ago I had 60 at-bats, I was hitting .170, everyone was ready to kill me too. What happened? Laser show. Relax."

Relax, fingers crossed for that laser show.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

#23 You Won't Believe What My Mom Did



Free Baseball Cards ladies & gentleman. Did we mention we give away baseball cards? Today is an extra special, first edition episode of "You Won't Believe What My Mom Did". We're keeping this strictly focused on baseball cards and there are some sad stories out there. If you have a story of what your Mom did with your baseball cards leave a comment below and perhaps we'll feature you next!

We're tearing into some Topps Heritage packs, and maybe just maybe, our friend Bill will find a few replacements for the treasures his Mom took care of for him. Check it out!

PS - Rumor has it people like "Million Card Giveaway Cards". Is this true? If you're a fan you'll want to keep an eye out for a crazy episode where we're giving away million card giveaway codes. We'll be announcing the date for that show shortly!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

1st Fantasy Power Week Results

Two weeks ago we launched our first ever Fantasy Power Week with some simple rules and some pretty cool prizes. Thank you to everyone who participated.

Special congratulations to a few winners:


1st Place:
Bennett, 12 points (Albert Pujols, Rick Ankiel, Tim Lincecum)

2nd Place:
Travis, 11 points (Rafael Furcal, Nick Markakis, Tim Lincecum)

Bennett wins 2 packs from our Fantasy Power Week episode, and Travis wins the other pack we opened up. We will also include a special mystery card from their favorite teams.

We kept track of the results each day, and you can check the full standings by visiting our Google Spreadhseet. For those of you wondering what the best team would have looked like, it was a combination of Bennett and Travis' teams: Rafael Furcal (5 points), Rick Ankiel (5 points) and Tim Lincecum (4 points).

Since this was our first time offering the Fantasy Power Week, we would love your ideas on how to make it even better next time. We have already received the suggestion to include strikeouts for the pitchers to make up for the fact that they may only pitch once a week. What other great ideas do you have to make this contest even better?

Thanks for your feedback and congrats again to Bennett and Travis!

Monday, April 26, 2010

Winner of the Nolan Ryan Card!

So we had some great "best/worst strikeout" stories submitted throughout the last week but we had to choose just one winner. That winner will receive the Nolan Ryan "mother's cookies" limited edition baseball card. This thing is one of a kind and we know we're sending it to a good home.

The winner is.... Drumroll... CHRIS GULDRY! Take a chance to read his story below and feel free to comment with a congratulation. Now come on everybody, be good sports no hate :) only love. Congratulations Chris!

Here's my story: 10 yrs old (Bronco League back in the 70's). I had not struck out once all season. Much like never mentioning a no-hitter during a game, Dad and I never talked about the streak, but he did point to the "0" in the column in the stats after each game. So, last game of the reg season, 2nd at bat and the pitcher is the only girl in the league. She got 2 strikes on me and lobbed a "change-up" toward the plate. No need to spell out the outcome. Dad never let me forget that lone "K".

Watch out for those change-ups and enjoy the MLB season!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Free Baseball Cards! Opening Day Cards #22



Four free packs today and a Baseball Term of the Day to boot. Speaking of boot, did you see the Sox blow that lead today? Dream Cards are back in action, will Chris pull a Tim Wakefield? Will Joe be blessed with a Joe Mauer?

Big week of live baseball for us! Joe is at Miller Park today back in the dairy capital of the world - Wisconsin. He’ll be waking up at 4AM to milk the cows in his suburban back yard and Chris is hitting up two Giants games in San Fran this week.

What games have you been to so far this week? As always, all these cards are up for grabs including the Derek Jeter, ya better watch the episode to discover the rest.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Free Cards and more Fan Mail! Episode 21

Episode 21 from chris andrew on Vimeo.

Welcome back to Opening Day Cards, where everyday is Opening Day.

Today we are opening up some more mail we have received in the past few weeks, and more importantly, we are opening up some new packs of baseball cards and giving them all away for free*.

First the fan mail: A big thank you to Troy for sending us some TTM autos of Mike Cameron and Jamie Moyer. A big thank you to the USPS for saving Troy's letter to us.

Next, the free cards* for you: We each open up a pack of 1992 Upper Deck Denny's Grand Slam holograph cards. Tune in to see the two players we opened. We also open packs of Topps 2009 Updates and Highlights. Does Joe get his Edgar Renteria dream card, or Chris his Mike Cameron?

Last, a special surprise: a Mother's Cookies Nolan Ryan 5000 Strike Out card, still sealed in the original package (thank you Nils!). To make this card yours, you need to leave us a comment with your best strike out story. As a hitter, did you strike out in the last inning of a huge playoff game with your team down one run? As a pitcher, did you sit down the league's best slugger in a clutch situation? Leave us a comment with your best strikeout story and this Nolan Ryan is yours!

*limit one card per person

Monday, April 19, 2010

Fan Mail! Episode 20

Episode 20 from chris andrew on Vimeo.

Right now, at this moment as I type this, Chris is running the Boston Marathon. His goal was 2:40, and last I checked his pace was 2:46...so he better pick it up!

So while Chris is running, let's watch a new episode. This one is a shout out to our viewers who have been AWESOME and sent us some mail. Every once in a while I open the mail box and lose my mind to find some baseball cards in there...I hope the same thing happens to you.

If you sent us something and it doesn't appear in this episode, don't worry. We got it, we are just REALLY LATE in releasing this episode. In fact, we already filmed another Fan Mail episode and will release it later this week...plus we have more fan mail we haven't even opened.

Mail is FUN!

Thanks everyone!

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Mystery History Contest



We are starting something new at Opening Day Cards.

Introducing... Mystery History Contest!

Be the first to guess the baseball player we post and we will send you a free Mystery History card.

Let the fun begin with this young sprite!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Free Fleer Baseball Cards - Episode 19



Almost two weeks into the MLB season and we have a treat for you at Opening Day Cards.

We are kicking back, drinking some Miller Lite, talking baseball gloves, David Ortiz, our favorite players to collect, and of course, baseball cards. Today we open a couple packs of Fleer 1984, from the year of Joe's birth. Flashing back 26 years allows us to have some real Dream Cards. Fortunately for Chris we pull some great former Red Sox. Tune in to find out who we pulled, and while you are at it, request a free baseball card.

If you are new, trust me, we send out whatever card you request, absolutely FREE*. Just leave us a comment below and we will ship it to you.

*limit 1 card per person

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Fantasy Baseball Power Week: Episode 18 Opening Day Cards



We are mixing it up this week. Still FREE cards, but if you want to win these cards, you need to pick the best 3 player team in our first ever Power Fantasy Week. Here's how it works:
  1. Pick one infielder, one outfielder, and one pitcher from the cards we opened (see below for lists)
  2. You get 1 point for each win, save, home run, and RBI that your players record from Wednesday, April 14 through end of day Wednesday, April 21
  3. Post your picks in our comments
  4. The viewer who's 3 player team has the most points wins 2 of the 3 packs we opened (Joe's pack and the extra pack)
  5. The 2nd place viewer gets Chris' pack of cards
  6. We will find an awesome way of settling any ties, don't worry
Here are the players (note they may have changed teams in the offseason, you are selecting the player on whichever team they are on now):

Infielders
  • Russell Martin, C, LA Dodgers
  • Brian Buscher, 3B, Minnesota Twins
  • Micah Hoffpauir, 1B, Chicago Scrubs
  • Greg Dobbs, 3B, Philadelphia Phillies
  • JJ Hardy, SS, Minnesota Twins
  • German Duran, 3B, Texas Rangers
  • Adrian Beltre, 3B, Seattle Mariners
  • Jerry Hairston Jr., SS, Cincinnati Reds
  • Todd Helton, 1B, Colorado rockies
  • Albert Pujols, 1B, St. Louis Cardinals
  • Rafael Furcal, SS, LA Dodgers
Outfielders
  • Rick Ankiel, OF, St. Louis Cardinals
  • Nick Markakis, OF, Baltimore Orioles
  • Cody Ross, OF, Florida Marlins
Pitchers
  • Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals
  • Jared Burton, Cincinnati Reds
  • Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
  • Kevin Gregg, Chicago Cubs
  • Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay Rays
  • Jonathan Sanchez, San Francisco Giants
  • Bobby Jenks, Chicago White Sox
  • Justin Hampton, San Diego Padres
  • Ramon Ramirez, Boston Red Sox
Good luck!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Free Baseball Cards: Opening Day Cards Episode 17


Welcome back baseball fans to Opening Day Cards. In today's episode we bust open some Topps 2009 baseball cards. The best part, all these baseball cards are FREE* baseball cards.

The first series of the MLB season is behind us. The Milwaukee Brewers won their first series taking two of three games at home from the visiting Colorado Rockies. Joe is pleased.

The Boston Red Sox dropped two of three at Fenway to the visiting rivals, the New York Yankees. Chris is bummed.

Back this episode is the Dream Card and Baseball Term of the Day. Does Chris get his Dustin Pedroia Dream Card or Joe his Tim Lincecum? And as always, FREE* baseball cards! Be the first to comment and the card of your choice will be mailed to your door.

Due to the incredible response to FREE* baseball cards (and why wouldn't there be an incredible response to free baseball cards) we have changed our policy to limit it to one card per person per episode, so choose wisely.

Thanks for tuning in!

*limit ONE card per person per episode, while supplies last

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Episode 16: Opening Day Cards


Hey everybody, we're back in action with some rare finds.

Chris knows a lot of people, and a lot of people know Chris, including a guy over at Know Knew Books in Palo Alto, CA. Chris stopped in one day and struck up a conversation with Bill, the owner (striking up conversations is one of Chris' finest talents...pronouncing baseball players' names...notsomuch). But Bill from Know Knew Books gave us some pretty cool cards. He had a complete set of 1988 Donruss, and an unopened box of 1990 ProCards AAA Minor League Baseball Cards.

Check it out as we each open a pack of these old school cards. Let us know if you know any of the players we opened. Did they make it to the bigs? Did they play for your team? Do you want their card? Are there any horse socks? Is anybody listening to me?

Thanks for tuning in!

Monday, April 5, 2010

A Big THANK YOU!

When we sat down just over a month ago to start a baseball card blog we were excited, excited like little kids opening our first packs. We wanted to share that feeling of opening a fresh pack with anybody who had a few minutes to waste. Better yet, we wanted to give those cards away because getting mail rocks. Getting a letter from Grandma is cool but getting free baseball cards in the mail, well that will make your week. The response to our amateur effort has been huge. We’ve made new friends, we’ve gotten boxes of cards, jerseys, packs, and thank you cards in the mail. Best of all we get to talk baseball & baseball cards with awesome people.

A week ago we found ourselves in a social media “best blog” contest. We reached out to our fans, to our families, to our old high school and college baseball teams. We kept pumping out content for our blog, we kept giving away baseball cards and we even found time to swing by Fenway to be part of the #openingday hooplah - sox win! We also chose to stay out of the drama. From day one there was buzz about whether or not such a recent blog should be included in the voting and there was even a YouTube video questioning whether or not our “television show” was even a blog.

We kept our heads down and stuck to our social strategy, heck we both work in social media in Silicon Valley. We had viewers of our blog contact us with strategies that included getting their little league baseball teams to vote, getting their families to vote and getting their Facebook friends to vote. The support has been awesome, and honestly that’s what social media is about – connecting one-on-one with real people. We started by finding people to vote for us, we energized our most loyal fans and we didn’t waste our time trying to figure out how to game the system or belittle the competition. We saw some pretty awesome activity: tons of comments and tweets, over a hundred cards requested last week and even a few sent to us (thanks!), and ultimately over 1000 votes. Thanks to all of you!

We’re thankful for the opportunity UD created which has driven a lot of buzz about the card community online. Getting the most votes doesn’t mean we’re the best baseball card blog. It means we put together a social media strategy we are proud of and worked hard for votes one by one. We didn’t even know you could vote everyday, we just hustled and discovered that there were about a dozen of our fans who decided they were going to bust even harder than we were. For us this competition has been about establishing a deeper relationship with our viewers. You guys are the judge of our success.

We know we're not like other card blogs. We don’t know cards like many of these other blogs do. We’re approaching things from a different angle; we’re shaking it up.

Other blogs have accused us and belittled what we do, and we’ve found it a bit silly. We focused on baseball and baseball cards, we focused on having fun with our viewers and we focused on opening day. We’re still giving out free baseball cards, we’re still spitting sunflower seeds and we still have a ton to learn.

We’re sorry it became necessary to address all the drama and accusations with a written post. But after reading a few things that were said about us, we felt compelled to say something.

Thank you to everyone who cast a vote for Opening Day Cards and a big thanks to some crazy fans out there who hunted down voters for us. Enough with the banter we’ll be back with more baseball & free baseball cards to celebrate tomorrow.

Hang onto your baseball caps there’s a TON of excitement coming your way from www.openingdaycards.com.

Thanks!

Chris & Joe

Friday, April 2, 2010

Free Baseball Cards: Episode 15


There's less than 2 days to go. The excitement is pretty ridiculous. Opening Day is upon us.

What's a good way to keep things rolling...how about giving away some free cards*? Yeah, that sounds goooooooood. Watch us open a couple packs of Upper Deck, but check us out on Facebook to see the FOUR FREE PACKS* we opened on today's show. They are all there at www.facebook.com/openingdaycards and they are all FREE*. While you are there, friend request us. We are always looking for more friends to share the MLB excitement with!

And if you like Opening Day Cards, give us a vote for the Upper Deck Social Media Awards for Best Blog. With your awesome support we have been able to compete in this thing, but we need you now more than ever. Tell your friends, tell your mom, tell your grandpa, tell your gym teacher, tell your parole officer, we NEED YOUR HELP!



And just to remind you, if we win, all the cards (like usual) are going to be given away FREE on this blog. That's just how we do things.


*limit 2 cards per person, while supplies last

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Best Blog Button

We've been nominated for Best Blog in the Upper Deck Social Media Awards, thanks for the nomination, we're geeked!


If you like this blog and want to vote for us, click this button:






Thanks to Randy Medina for the sweet logo!

Brewers Pitching Rotation Preview - Episode 13


Joe walks you through the Starting Pitchers for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2010.

Even this close to the season there are a few question marks for Ken Macha and the club. Who's going to be the number 5 starter? Good new is we don't need one until April 14/15, and Jeff Suppan may be on the 15 day DL.

Here's how its looking:
1. Yovani Gallardo
2. Randy Wolf
3. Doug Davis
4. Dave Bush
5. Chris Narveson OR Manny Parra OR Jeff Suppan (boo)

For more info, check out this article from MLB.com.

For an extensive breakdown on that last number 5 spot, check this out.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Upper Deck Awards


So there's been a decent amount of buzz about these Upper Deck Social Media Awards.

Chris and I are honored to have been nominated for Best Blog.

When we first started this thing we weren't out to win any awards, just the hearts and time of passionate baseball fans like yourself.

We thought we were on to something when we first received a piece of mail: two baseball cards sent to us from a fan.

It's always fun to get mail, especially when its not a bill. But opening up that mail box and seeing a yellow padded envelope or a stamped letter is even better. And when we opened it up and there were baseball cards inside...we flipped!

We love baseball, and we love baseball cards. For us, its not always about finding the most expensive card or collecting the whole set. We don't even know which cards are the most expensive. We geek out over opening a pack and making your day by mailing you the cards you love. We know what it feels like, don't act like it's no big deal. Chris almost wet himself the first time we got a card in the mail.

Since we started we have given away almost all the cards we have opened, and that won't change. If you think that makes us a pretty cool blog, we'd love your vote:

VOTE HERE

If we win, all the cards are going to you. The autographed football is going to get auctioned to charity.

Even if you don't vote for us, thanks for tuning in. Check out a video. Request a card. We'd love for you to open your mailbox next week and see an envelope with a stamp and some handwriting on it, and a small piece of cardboard heaven inside. That's assuming you aren't at the ballpark, because next week is Baseball Season!

Red Sox Rotation Preview - Episode 12



Chris weighs in on the Red Sox starting five. Some exciting changes for the Red Sox this season, including the addition of John Lackey.

Here's how it looks right now:


If you're dying for more (like we are so close to Opening Day!), check out the MLB.com write-up on the rotation here.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Baseball Cards for Free: Episode 11


This episode is a challenge to you.

We are sick and tired of offering FREE* baseball cards, and having only some of them requested. We DARE you to request them all. There are only 12 cards in a pack of Topps 2010, that means we need 24 cards requested.

It's getting so close to Opening Day, that we are losing our minds. We get some pretty sweet cards in here, but they are all up for grabs. Absolutely FREE*.

Thanks for tuning in!

*For a limited time only, limit 2 cards per person, while supplies last