CARL YASTRZEMSKI - Basic and Master set discussion...

SPCollection · May 9, 2014 1:57AM

Hello everyone,

I search from time to time about Yaz cards here and everything seems a few years old and specific to a particular card. I thought it might be fun to start a conversation about collecting his cards.

My quick backstory... I grew up in Boston and discovered baseball and baseball cards in 1977-1978. I noticed cards in '77 but didn't collect as a kid until the '78 set. In '79 the family moved to Wisconsin but I was already hooked and always stuck to my Boston roots. I met Yaz in the summer of '83 as he lived next door to my aunt & uncle. I went out for a visit of family and met him. He was kind enough to have a photo with me and signed a few cards. I've spent a little effort in the past collecting his cards and now the bug has hit me again. I'm going for 10s in '78 and newer. 9's as much as I can below that but realize that some are going to be just too tough in the basic set. Rookie will have to be an 8. With the master set, some items may be low grade just to have them. We'll see, it's a huge set.

Anyway, please feel free to post your story, why you collect Yaz or what you want/need.

Thanks everyone!
- Scott

cards651 · May 9, 2014 2:45AM

Not a big Yaz fan in spite of my 'avatar' or whatever they call that. But '69 was the first year I collected and Yaz was the key card in Boston from '69 through whenever. That was the card everyone hoped for. We cared nothing of centering, wax stains, short prints etc. Far more fun, really. Even the owner of the local market would give you a free pack of cards in trade for a Yaz card that you got. If he graded all his Yaz cards, I'm sure he would be doing well. Yaz was of course love/hate in Boston. Early '70s Sox teams could not deliver and he received much of the criticism. Popping out against the Yanks in '78 was a bummer. Obviously, '67 was incredible but before my time. While we always hoped for star cards such as Yaz, we were also real big on trying to complete the set. One Yaz card could get you a bunch of other cards that you needed. (The term 'common' was not used among us kids.) The 'set' was always primary and that's how I still collect today. - Kevin

bishop · May 9, 2014 7:44AM

I collect all Topps sets, insert sets and test sets, so to the extent he appears on a Topps product I collect it . One item I do not have and likely never have is his Topps 1966 Punch Out, which he shares with Koufax.

ejguru · May 9, 2014 12:29PM

Scott: Yaz in '83 lived in Lynnfield? My uncle was his dentist from early 70's to late 80's. Ended up having to do some wisdom teeth of his in the middle of a Sunday night. They played in the afternoon, he couldn't sleep and had my uncle meet him in the office around midnight. Yaz played the next night (or so the story was told). I know he is still pretty involved with the Sox as a roving instructor and living legend...

SPCollection · May 11, 2014 1:46AM

I've had a lot of fun buying the 'easy' cards in PSA-10. I had just found, what I thought to be, a terrific deal for a 1962 Topps Stamps Panels in PSA-9MC (Pop-3 with 3 higher). For $10.00 the price was right for me. I don't want Qualifier grades in my collection but with the Yaz Master Set is pretty big and at some point, something is going to have to give. Maybe it gets replaced someday but there is so much to fill in the set, I was very happy with my purchase.

Just picked up the 1983 All-Star Game Program Insert with 4 players on the panel and wrote in hoping they include it as part of the Master Set. They include the individual player but not the panel. My argument states how Hostess singles and panels are included in the Master Set. It is a Pop-2 in PSA-10 and for $24.99 I also found this to be worth my time.

- Scott

SPCollection · May 11, 2014 1:56AM

I picked up the 1984 Topps All-Star Glossy #11 Yaz in PSA-10 for $20.00. 4 Sharp Corners is selling theirs for $218.99. It's a Pop-3 and really feel like a got a good deal on this one.

- Scott

SPCollection · May 11, 2014 3:24AM

5 Yaz Discs came in this week and I really like them. First PSA graded Discs I've owned. I like that the size of the holder is much larger than a typical card holder. Just something different.

Picked up:
1976 MCA Sports Discs - Blank Back / PSA-10
1976 Safelon Discs / PSA-10
1977 Detroit Caesars Discs / PSA-10
1977 Holiday Inn Discs / PSA-10
1977 Zip's Discs / PSA-10

They mostly all have the same fronts but the backs have a logo to support that particular add. I'm also picky about the holders. I want the holders with the disc shaped circle holding the disc, not the open square holders that are also used. That's just my OCD at work in my collection...

SPCollection · May 14, 2014 12:43AM

Not a 10 but this showed up in the mail today to put towards the Yaz collection...

tsalems1 · May 14, 2014 8:12AM

I have some difficult high end Yaz cards available.
If interested, let me know through PM

Tom

1980 O-Pee-Chee

[/URL]
1980 Topps 5x7 "White Back" Pop 1 none higher! Difficult card

[/URL]

SPCollection · May 15, 2014 6:32AM

This week's pick-ups...

First up we have a 1975 SSPC #409 Yaz in PSA-10. Some of these cards I have I had in the past raw from just collecting and it's always good to see them again. I've never had an SSPC card in my hand until now. The most simple of design yet it looks great.

1981 Donruss #214 Yaz in PSA-10. This one comes in the new slab design. I like it. I also love the look. In '81 I was buying Topps, Fleer and Donruss at the local stores and it's great to hold in my hand something I used to have from the past.

1982 Fleer #633 Yaz - 3000th game in PSA-10. I love this card as I also have an autographed copy. When I met Yaz in '83 I was 14. I had a binder of his cards and asked him which one he wanted to sign. He picked this one and the '80 Topps record breaker with he and Brock for their 3,000th hits. Very cool.

1984 Fleer #640 Bench & Yaz Retiring Superstars in PSA-10. I had this in 10 in the past, sold it and now have it again. I think I'll keep this one a little longer.

DanBessette · May 17, 2014 10:44PM

I'm excited to see a Yaz thread started in this forum! Much overdue. Wow, you've really done alot of work on your collection in a short time! Very impressive, congrats!

Yaz has been my favorite player since the early 80s. Growing up, my dad raved to me about his triple crown and the impossible dream. We got a VHS from Stop n Shop: "Yaz: From Fenway to Fame." I wore it out. When my dad and I played catch, I was Yaz, and I asked him always to throw it away from me or over my head so I could make diving, tumbling catches.

I was late to collecting and my first pack of cards was 1988 donruss. Didn't get my first Yaz until 1990 donruss. Then Starting during my senior year of HS I stopped collecting for about 6 years. Got married and found my old cards while moving the last of my stuff out of my parents' house. I got the itch and I've been collecting ever since (about ten years). For most of that time I was collecting primarily vintage and game used relic cards, with an emphasis on Yaz, but I wasn't what I would call "focused". It was only about a year ago that I really became super focused on his cards, and I only got my first graded cards 4 months ago. So my master set linked in my sig is very much in the beginning stages. It will be slow going, because my monthly budget only allows me to pick up a few raw cards and one graded per month, on average. But I'm having a blast and by the end of next year I should have 20+ graded Yaz items, which by my standards is pretty darn good.

Again, thanks a million for starting this thread!

SPCollection · May 17, 2014 11:28PM

Dan, thank you for joining in the conversation! I'm typically more of the lurker type with forums but really felt that I needed to share my Yaz collecting. I'll buy in bunches and then have to sit it out for a while. It all depends on the month. I have to give you a huge compliment on the cards in you collection (that I saw in the registry). I had a '60 Topps Yaz rookie about 5 or so years ago, it was a PSA-6. I don't know why I sold it. I really want an 8 because a 9 is impossible for me. The 8's were around $450 a year or so ago and now they all seem to be $600+. I'll get an 8 as soon as I can. I'm impressed with your cards because they are the older cards with a lot of character in my opinion. The '80 and newer are terrific too but there's something about a '60s league leader card that just stands on it's own. I've been going the 'cheating' route by getting as much PSA-10 as I can and that means 80's Fleer, Donruss, etc. I see the '76 Topps PSA-10 out there but $3,500 isn't going to happen. I've been watching the '68 Topps PSA-10 but ~$1,800 isn't going to happen either. When it's time for my '68, I hope for a 9. We'll see as it's not a race.

Anyway, just wanted to say thank you for adding to the thread as I'd love to see a lot of input, not just my weekly or monthly pick-ups. Then it's only for me and that gets old.

Enjoy those cards!
- Scott

PS... I'm above average when it comes to tech but I can not for the life of me figure out how to put my own avatar by my name when I post. Any ideas?

DanBessette · May 18, 2014 12:23AM

<< <i>I have to give you a huge compliment on the cards in you collection (that I saw in the registry)

I'm impressed with your cards because they are the older cards with a lot of character in my opinion. The '80 and newer are terrific too but there's something about a '60s league leader card that just stands on it's own. I've been going the 'cheating' route by getting as much PSA-10 as I can and that means 80's Fleer, Donruss, etc.

I'm above average when it comes to tech but I can not for the life of me figure out how to put my own avatar by my name when I post. Any ideas? >>

Thanks for your kind words. If you're interested in back stories, here is a link to a thread about the 1967 sticker you saw in my set. If you like perusing awesome Yaz items, here is a thread from a while back by Manny, owner of one of the top 2 registered Yaz master sets. Hope you enjoy!

Yes, I decided to obtain 60s and 70s cards first because I figured the 80s stuff was affordable enough that I could get it later. Plus I have nice enough raw copies of most of the donruss and fleer and a couple of Topps that I could sub tomorrow and get a slew of 9s. I just would rather spend my limited budget, at least for now, on buying graded 60s cards than subbing my 80s cards. Speaking of subbing, I will be sending in a small sub in a couple months (September?) that includes a 1962 Yaz that I think is easily a 5 and a 1971 Yaz that is at least a 7. So those will help.

Regarding avatars, I never figured that out, so I picked mine from the library of ones that had already been loaded. I like it because I pick up those 59 Williams cards here and there and my 10 year old son just gave me this exact card, "the Williams grip", last Christmas.

DanBessette · May 18, 2014 12:27AM

I meant to add that I love your 62 stamp panel and the 75 SSPC. I'll be picking up a nice raw copy of the latter soon, hopefully, as there's a board member selling her Yaz collection and I want to buy a few pieces (if she ever gets back to me).

SPCollection · May 18, 2014 11:12AM

The '83 All-Star Game Program Insert and this '83 Donruss Diamond King showed up this weekend...

SPCollection · May 19, 2014 1:37AM

I've never owned any of the Yaz coins and I saw some of them go by last night. They all looked great. I just missed out on the 1965 Old London in PSA-9. Did anyone get in on these?

- Scott

DanBessette · May 19, 2014 4:06AM

Not me. I'm leaving the coins until later. The set composite list is so large I decided to work on it in stages.

I just checked out your master set. You're 8 spots ahead of me. There's some great stuff in yours! Nice mix of old and new. I didn't realize how low pop your stamp panel is, that's really cool. And you just had to one-up me on the 76 Kellogg's! Haha

Did you check out either of the threads I linked?

Edited to add: I'm close to a deal to purchase a small lot of Yaz cards, including one for the PSA master set, plus an on-card auto and a couple of raw cards. I'll post pics once I receive them. I hope others chime in on this thread! Might have gotten more eyes on the main sports card forum, but that's ok.

SPCollection · May 19, 2014 4:25AM

And now you have me looking at the '67 Yaz Sticker. I don't need that in my head! I love the story and love the look of it. I need to cool off on some of these things but there's so much out there.

- Scott

SPCollection · May 19, 2014 4:32AM

When I was 8 in '77 I noticed baseball cards but didn't collect until '78. With Yaz being my favorite, I am thrilled to have this cello pack graded in PSA-9. I got this in the past year and it's a favorite item of mine. I'll watch the graded Yaz cellos when they pop up. Favorite player, first year collecting and it's unopened. It's just like being a kid again. Maybe I'll ask if they can include it in the Master Set. (Then good luck getting yours :-)

- Scott

DanBessette · May 19, 2014 5:19AM

There's a second Yaz sticker in the same set: "Yaz for Mayor." The one my dad stuck to the door as a kid were the Yaz I have, plus petrocelli, lonborg, Reggie smith, a team logo and 1 or 2 other players. Thanks again for starting this thread, and thanks for checking mine out!

SPCollection · May 23, 2014 2:06AM

I promised myself to put this aside for awhile but more are on the way and will be posted soon!

DanBessette · May 23, 2014 2:11AM

Same here. I'm getting
1964 Topps Giant PSA 8
1975 SSPC. Raw, but sub-worthy
And a SP Authentic Yaz autograph serial numbered out of 50
When I get the package I'll post pics and also get you the info of the seller, who is breaking up a large Yaz collection.

SPCollection · May 23, 2014 4:12AM

I've been buying 'affordable' 10s where possible.

I picked up:
'81 Donruss Yastrzemski #94
'81 Topps Sticker Yastrzemski #45
'83 Drakes Yastrzemski #32
'83 Fleer Yastrzemski / Eckersley / Clear #629
'84 Star Yastrzemski #10
'84 Star Yastrzemski #15

Photos as they come in.

DanBessette · May 23, 2014 6:08AM

Cool. Have they been added to your master set yet?

SPCollection · May 23, 2014 6:13AM

Yes I added them to the set. If nothing else, and this is a weird reason, it gets me to #19 which means I don't have to look at the top 20 and then click on the link to get to where I was at, #21 or lower. It's all about convince and saving that one frustrating step.

SPCollection · May 23, 2014 6:18AM

Just looking at my master set, there are a few fun things I've seen that are true today but will change in the future.

Items I have that are PSA-10 with populations less than 10.

I have:
1 PSA-10 at a pop 9
1 PSA-10 at a pop 8
2 PSA-10 at a pop 3
1 PSA-10 at a pop 2
1 PSA-10 at a pop 1

Over time this will change but the pop 1, 2 and 3s are very cool to see.
- Scott

DanBessette · May 23, 2014 8:23AM

Which one is the pop 1 ??

SPCollection · May 23, 2014 8:27AM

1984 Star Carl Yastrzemski #10 - Major League Records

Pop 1 in PSA 10. (There'll be more soon enough I'm sure).

DanBessette · May 24, 2014 11:31AM

I'm in Cooperstown for the weekend and today I spotted a shop called Yastrzemski Sports. I don't remember the store being here 5 years ago and I'm curious where it got its name. I'm planning to check it out tomorrow.

SPCollection · May 27, 2014 6:32AM

This arrived today.

1984 Star Yaz #10 - Carl Yastrzemski - Major League Records.

I never collected the Star Yaz cards when they came out. I don't even remember them being out, otherwise I would have been all over these.

This card is a Pop 1 in PSA-10

SPCollection · May 27, 2014 6:33AM

Also arriving today was this:

1984 Star Yaz #15 - Carl Yastrzemski - The League Leader II

Pop 3 in PSA-10

DanBessette · May 27, 2014 12:41PM

OK, now my turn to show off!

The person I bought them from is selling off a large Yaz collection. If you want the contact info, pm me.

SPCollection · May 29, 2014 1:38AM

Some new additions arrived today in the mail.

1977 Pepsi-Cola Carl Yastrzemski Baseball Stars PSA-10

I really love the discs. I didn't collect them when I was young and didn't realize that the same disc is used dozens of times by different companies for their ads. The only disc I used to have as a kid and want to find is a Papa Gino's disc. Anyway, this pepsi disc looks great and I'm glad to have it!

SPCollection · May 29, 2014 1:49AM

1981 All Star Game Program Insert
Otis / Rice / Winfield / Yastrzemski
PSA-10

Really happy to have Jim Rice on this as well as Yaz. Growing up, I was the Yaz fan and my sister was a big Jim Rice fan. Maybe the basic Rice would be a fun collection sometime too. Fisk and Evans have crossed my mind also.

I also really like the holder on this one better than my 1983 All Star Game Program Insert. I like a holder that's made for the item, not an oversized one where the card is loose inside. I won't collect the discs unless it comes with the round holder inside. I just can't get into the oversized square holders.

SPCollection · May 29, 2014 2:06AM

1981 Donruss #94 Carl Yastrzemski in PSA-10

This simple card is fun because it took a few weeks to pop up. (And as I say that, there is another one available). I know it's not a tough card but in the basic set, right now the 83 Fleer #200 and 81 Fleer #638 haven't been available. There's a million of them out there but just not for sale right now. So getting this simple 81 Donruss Yaz made me happy.

SPCollection · May 29, 2014 2:09AM

1981 Topps Stickers #45 Carl Yastrzemski in PSA-10

I really love the look of this sticker. I would have never thought of collecting the Yaz stickers until going for the Master Set. It's a terrific batting photo, simple white border and looks great in the PSA holder. I was casual about going for the stickers but I may put more attention towards them now.

SPCollection · May 29, 2014 2:13AM

1983 Drake's #32 - Carl Yastrzemski
PSA-10

I don't remember the Drake's cards but here's another terrific batting photo of Yaz. I always liked the 'fake' autograph printed on cards too.

SPCollection · May 29, 2014 2:16AM

1983 Fleer #629
Red Sox All-Stars
Eckersley / Yaz / Clear
PSA-10

Fun card that I remember collecting in 83.

DanBessette · May 29, 2014 2:56AM

<< <i>I like a holder that's made for the item, not an oversized one where the card is loose inside. I won't collect the discs unless it comes with the round holder inside. I just can't get into the oversized square holders. >>

I agree. I almost didn't buy my 64 Topps Giant for that reason. But the price was too good to pass up and I'm glad I bought it, because it turns out that the card doesn't move around in there at all. That's good, but I still prefer the holders that are fitted to the card.

MiniDuff · May 29, 2014 6:40AM

I wasn't aware that PSA had started grading Star cards again. I'd expect those pops to run quick once folks know they can sub them.

SPCollection · May 29, 2014 6:45AM

I would welcome that. I didn't mean that I need to have a pop-1. It could be a pop-100 and I would just be glad to have one. The same for the rest of the set. There are a good amount that top out in 9 right now and many of the 10s are already owned.

Thanks for joining in and sharing!
- Scott

SPCollection · May 30, 2014 1:44AM

It's a good day when a 1975 Topps #280 Carl Yastrzemski shows up in the mail.

What a beautiful issue and I'm thrilled to have one in this grade. I've always loved the '75 cards. So very happy to add this to my collection!

DanBessette · May 30, 2014 3:18AM

Nice card. My 75 Yaz cards are rough and I don't have the mini. Do you have the mini?

bishop · May 30, 2014 3:20AM

Some tough Yazes

SPCollection · May 30, 2014 3:25AM

- I don't have the mini... yet!

- Those are some terrific Yaz items you have. Keep 'em coming!

bishop · May 30, 2014 3:44AM

DanBessette · May 30, 2014 4:29AM

Bishop, what's the head shot with the black background? Not familiar with that one.

bishop · May 30, 2014 6:20AM

Uncut sheet with full Topps 1967 Disc set, from Topps Vault

DanBessette · May 30, 2014 6:55AM

2 questions:

1. Why does it look like the sheet is metal?
2. Still wondering what that black piece with the Yaz headshot is.

bishop · May 30, 2014 7:41AM

The sheet is cuttable silver colored cardboard like stock.

The other is one of 24 Topps 1967 Stand Ups, an unissued test set. Along with the 68 Topps 3Ds, one of my favorite Topps sets. They can be found in proof form or in final perforated for cut out form. The perforated cards include a cut out stand to hold the cut out card

DanBessette · May 30, 2014 7:45AM

Wait I thought the green and yellow one was the topps stand up.

CARL YASTRZEMSKI - Basic and Master set discussion...

Comments