Thinking about starting a Lou Piniella collection...

Ahzzy

Hello all, first post! I haven't collected sports cards since I was a kid and had boxes of worthless late 80's and early 90's cards. I recently got the itch again and am looking for a more focused approach. Growing up as a Mariners and Seahawks fan I decided to pick out a player from one of the teams and try to start a collection with PSA graded cards. I'm a college student working part time and I dont have a lot of extra cash to spend so the top star players are not a likely option. I love the look of older cards and that's what drew me to this site, but those players were before my time and I cannot recognize many names.

So I came across the Phil Garner thread and that got me thinking. I could do the same thing with Sweet Lou! He was such an iconic figure that turned the M's around with that magical 95 season and brought them back to the playoffs again in 1997, 2000, and 2001 (including 116 wins). I think for now I want to just focus on the cards while he was a player (64, 68-84) as the look of the newer cards doesnt appeal much to me. I've got no experience pursuing older cards and have no idea how likely it would be to get them all in PSA 9 or 10. I have seen a few on ebay and they seem about in the price range I was looking for. Are there any cards in those years that will be hard to find in top condition and more expensive? Also, are there any sites you would recommend other than ebay for what I'm looking for?

Thank you in advance for your help. I am excited to get back into the hobby and cannot wait to build my collection. If all goes well I may expand and try Steve Largent or Edgar Martinez next!

PoppaJ

Welcome to the Boards!

I've watched Lou play during his career and now enjoy watching him manage teams to the top by
using his experience as a player.

Below is a list of some of Lou's cards that you might want to consider collecting.

Year Set Card #
1964 Topps Regular Issue 167
1968 Topps Regular Issue 16
1969 Topps Regular Issue 394
1970 Candy Lids NNO
1970 Scratch Offs NNO
1970 Supers 32
1970 Topps Regular Issue 321
1971 Coin 152
1971 Greatest Moments 38
1971 Scratch Offs NNO
1971 Supers 62
1971 Tattoos 9
1971 Topps Regular Issue 35
1972 Topps Regular Issue 491
1972 Topps Regular Issue 580
1973 Candy Lids NNO
1973 Comics NNO
1973 Pin Ups NNO
1973 Topps Regular Issue 140
1974 Stamps NNO
1974 Topps Regular Issue 390
1975 Topps Regular Issue 217
1976 Topps Regular Issue 453
1977 Topps Regular Issue 96
1978 Topps Regular Issue 159
1979 Topps Regular Issue 648
1980 Topps Regular Issue 225
1981 Donruss Regular Issue 109
1981 Fleer 85
1981 Topps Regular Issue 724
1982 Donruss Regular Issue 135
1982 Fleer 48
1982 Topps Regular Issue 538
1983 Donruss Regular Issue 335
1983 Fleer 392
1983 Topps Regular Issue 307
1984 Donruss Regular Issue 274
1984 Fleer 136
1984 Topps Regular Issue 408



Good luck!

PoppaJ

fur72

Wlecome aboard! Good luck with your Lou set. As far as sites I can point you to 707sports for the vintage stuff, they are kind of higher priced but you know you are getting the real deal. As far as modren stuff you can get some good deals on ebay in 9's.

swartz1

dont forget his 1970 photostamp...

Ironmanfan

Also the 1991 Crown Gasoline/Coca-Cola Orioles set (many people forget that Sweet Lou made his MLB debut with the birds)

Ahzzy

Thank you for the help guys! Having a list to go by will help tremendously. I checked out that 707sportscards site and surprisingly with all the cards they had I didnt see anything for the collection. I think I'll have to just surf around and see what I can find on google.

bobbybakeriv

Are you looking for raw to then submit or are you only looking for graded cards?

Ahzzy

Right now I'm going to try and find as many as I can that are already graded. A lot of them are going for the same price as it would cost to be graded. A little update, I found the 83 and 84 Donruss on Ebay graded PSA 10 and hit the BIN button. I really like the look on those 84 Donruss cards, cant wait until it arrives

bobbybakeriv

Sounds cool. If you are going to send in a sub, let me know. I will give you a sweet 77 Topps Pinella (raw) if you get it graded. This puppy is a 9 all day Saturday and twice on Sunday IMHO. I don't collect Pinella so it does me no good but I would like to know what it grades... heck, it has an outside shot at 10.

Bobby

Ahzzy

Wow that is a beautiful card! Thank you for the generous offer! I have never submited anything for grading and have no idea what it takes to get a high grade, but if you say its a 9 I am willing to take the risk and find out. The only thing that I notice is your Brett PSA 10 is much brighter in your sig below the Piniella. Is the card faded or is that just because it was blown up or a scanner issue? Let me know how much you need for delivery and I'll send you my info. Thank you again for the offer, I cant wait to see how it turns out!

mosaic

The nice thing about focusing on Lou is that his playing days came before the modern era of parallels, inserts, and other garbage; so it won't take you forever to "catch 'em all." And since they don't make a lot of that stuff for managers, his post-player cards aren't too plentiful either. Not a bad endeavor for someone on a budget.

Good luck if you decide to do Edgar.... he has a zillion cards out there. His rookie isn't expensive at all though, which is nice. A few years back, I picked up PSA 10's of his 88 Fleer, Fleer Glossy, and an auto'd 88 Fleer for under $50 total including shipping. I guess some people don't realize that Edgar esta caliente.

bobbybakeriv

<< <i>Wow that is a beautiful card! Thank you for the generous offer! I have never submited anything for grading and have no idea what it takes to get a high grade, but if you say its a 9 I am willing to take the risk and find out. The only thing that I notice is your Brett PSA 10 is much brighter in your sig below the Piniella. Is the card faded or is that just because it was blown up or a scanner issue? Let me know how much you need for delivery and I'll send you my info. Thank you again for the offer, I cant wait to see how it turns out! >>



PM me your mailing address so I can get it to you. The Brett has the best color and gloss of any card I own so most cards are gonna pale in comparison IMHO. The Pinella is not faded though. It has great color and gloss (probably a poor scan on my part). You will not be disappointed with it.