Free Stuff Friday: Anniversary Edition

Does anyone still care about the Free Stuff Fridays? They seem to have fallen out of fashion in recent months, but I suppose they are, or were, no different than any other trend in that regard, here today, and gone tomorrow.

Speaking of "tomorrow", tomorrow is this blog's fifth anniversary, and while it's not as impressive as some runs, it's not nothing either, and I'd kind of like to do something to celebrate. 

Ideally I would've liked to have done something where I could have given away an unopened box, or something along those lines, but with box prices being what they are these days, that option just isn't doable for me, and the only other thing that I can think of is to do a FSF, so hopefully no one will mind if I beat a dead trend.

I announced (sort of) that I'd be doing this last Friday, thinking that I'd have a week to spend looking for some better things, but that didn't work out so well, I should've known! It was discovered last Saturday morning that something was really amiss in the laundry room, a pipe leaking behind the wall was the initial thought, a pipe that probably had been leaking for months. I had my doubts about this, and instead suspected that the washer had been leaking (probably for months), with the water going under the wall. To make a long story short, some people came out to look at the situation, and to give an estimate. There estimate ended up being $1,600, and that only going to cover them ripping out part of the wall, diagnosing the problem (but not fixing it), and possibly coming back to do any non-plumbing repairs, well, that is unless the damage was too extensive (they didn't specify what would be too extensive), then it would cost considerably more.

Seeing as how $1,600 is a lot of money, I decided to try and figure out what's what on my own. I started by taking off the saturated baseboard, then removed a section of drywall that was about 6'x3', as well as some insulation. The good news was that it wasn't a leaking pipe. The bad news that it was the washer (which now that it's pulled away from the wall, can be seen dripping from multiple areas), and it has likely been dripping for awhile, meaning that it's been soaking into the wall for awhile, also a new washer is going to be needed. I've started carefully removing tiles as well, in order to check the condition of the sub-floor. The big dehumidifier from the garage has been moved in there to dry everything out, and then I can hopefully figure out just how bad it is. There is some mold, which the people that came out tried to capitalize on, you know the whole "black mold can kill you with just one look" thing, but it's not nearly as bad as it looked like it was going to be. None of this kind of stuff is my specialty, so it's probably been taking much longer to do than it would a more knowledgeable person, and since I do have other commitments (work), I've had to spend more time with this than I would've wanted (especially with trying to save the tiles), which has meant that I haven't had as much time to look for cards as I would've liked.

Anyways, I know that you didn't come here to read a rejected script from This Old House, you came here for the free stuff. Since it's a special edition and all, I did, as already mentioned, want to find some nicer things to give away, but not too nice that I'd feel uncomfortable about sending the things via PWE. Whether I succeeded or not in finding "good" stuff during what turned out to be a very limited amount of time to look, will of course be up to you. Most of the normal rules apply, although this time you will be limited to just one item, that way hopefully anyone who's interested will have a chance to get something. Although if I failed in my attempt to pick out things that people want, and there isn't much interest, I will pop back on sometime Saturday and allow folks to pick another item if they want. I also wouldn't mind if the prize hounds decided to sit this one out (hint, hint), but longtime lurkers are more than welcome to participate (c'mon, show yourself!).

Oh, and as usual, if I don't have your address, or you don't think that I have your address, please, please, send it in an email to jtef82@gmail.com, I really hate trying to track people down.

I think that about does it, so here's the stuff...

Gary Carter rookie. obviously there's a little wear, no creases though. Update: Claimed.

1998 Stadium Club One of a Kind, numbered to /150. Mike's a Brewer here if that helps. Card will be sent with considerably less dust on it. Update: Claimed.

SP Candy Cane bat variation. Update: Claimed.

2004 Fleer Greats blue SP, numbered to /79. Has some edge wear. Update: Claimed.

1995 JSW. These can be sort of hard to find.

1961 Golden Press. Joe has a small wrinkle. Update: Carl has been claimed.

1949 Bowman Emil Verban, has a few wrinkles. The '50 Bowman Al Papai has a few small wrinkles, and fellow Red Sock, Earl Johnson, has more noticeable crease to the right of his face. Update: All three have been claimed.

All three of these are in pretty good shape (the scuff on Hinton isn't very noticeable in person), please excuse the overlapping penny sleeves.

1963 Jello. Bob has a few problems. Update: Bob has been claimed.

1963 Fleer. No creases. Update: Both have been claimed.

HITZ! 2003 Fleer Hardball Round Trippers. Soriano is numbered to /228, and Berkman is to /557.

More HITZ! I can't remember which year this Heritage Real One Autograph is from. Update: Claimed.

I'm not sure this qualifies as something "good" or not, but it is a '55 Topps (white back) with no creases, so... Update: Claimed.

Teddy has a couple of minor bits of missing paper around the edge. Update: Claimed.

I don't have a lot of newer "nice" baseball, but I did find these two. The 2014 Beltran is numbered to /63 (minor edge wear), and Joc is I believe a Prism Refractor. Update: Both have been claimed.

1954 Bowman Billy Howton rookie. Has some ink on the lower portion of the card. Update: Claimed.

2014 SAGE Ed Stinson cyan printing plate.

some low numbered football. Shawn Jefferson is a 1999 Prism Premiere Date parallel. Not sure about the year on (I already put the cards away) Carlos Hyde, but he is #'d to /25. And the Payne to /50 rookie is from the 2015 Tek set.

2012 Panini Black Friday magenta Progressions (I'll keep the dust). These are limited to just five copies of each color.

1987-88 Fleer. Rally clean card, sharp corners too. Update: Claimed.

1999-00 UD Ultimate Victory Ultimate Collection parallels. Numbered to /100, these were not an easy pull way back when.

Reggie can't believe that he's being offered up for free. Update: Claimed.

2013 Panini Black Friday Score Hot Rookies black Progressions. Limited to five copies.

Low numbered 2014-15 Prizm. Hairston is to /25, and The Jet is to /49.

1933 Goudey Indian Gum. Has a few problems, including minor paper loss on front (white spots on face), and the back (doesn't interfere with the write-up), but how often does one of these come up for free? Update: Claimed.

1952 Topps Look N' See. Some corner wear, but no creases. Dolly has a small tear on the lower right of the card. Update: Dolly and Thomas have been claimed.

So what do you think, anything of interest?

And before I go, I think it goes without saying, but I'd like to say it anyway; I really appreciate anyone who's ever clicked on a post, or taken the time to leave a comment. I don't do this for me, it's all about the interaction, and if that wasn't there, I wouldn't be here. And of course to everyone who I've ever exchanged cards (and the occasional toy) with, or who I've interacted with away from the blog; it's been all my pleasure to have had the opportunity to interact with you in a more meaningful way, and I very much hope that we'll be able to continue to do so for many more years to come.

Okay, I'm done, feel free to pick a card!

Thanks for taking a moment to look at my page.