Ginter Code was cracked

By Nick Jacoby once again! You can see just how he done it here. Nice job, Nick! I have to admit that Topps was quite clever this time. After having to examine a bunch of confusing parallels last year, a code breaker didn't really need to look at a single card this year. The code, a checklist and Baseball-Reference would suffice. In honor of this feat, I'm going to hold a special contest just for Topps. Introducing...

THE JUNKIE CODE

Here are the instructions: All Topps has to do is crack my special near-impossible-to-decipher code, follow the instructions in the code and they win! The prize: A bunch of boxes of junk wax doubles I've got cluttering up my basement. Topps can try to build their own set of 1989 Topps, or they can give them away on the Transmogrifier! Topps will have to earn it though. Ok, don't look now, but.... HERE'S THE CODE

INGBRAY

ACKBAY

OPPSTAY

OTALTAY

Get crackin' Topps... you'll need your finest minds working on this one...

Guessing time

Ok, I got this here out of a rack pack tonight.

I have amassed a small pile of codes now, enough so that if the '50s switch is ever thrown again I might be able to snag one or two. Since I haven't redeemed a code in months I'm going to redeem this one sometime after midnight and before 8:00am. Depends on when I fall asleep, really.

If anyone can guess which card (year & player) I pull out of the transmogrifier I'll send you a prize. If no one hits it on the nose, I'll consider a lesser prize if someone gets the player or the year. Winner gets a random autograph, a card of the player they picked, a card from the year they picked and some assorted detritus I want out of my house. If no one is even close, you'll get nothing and like it. Start guessing.

Dangit Topps, we do not need to bring book value into this

I've been pretty quiet about the Topps Yo Momma Code Transmogrifier lately. One reason is that after I figured out that Michael Eisner can throw a switch any time he wants that will cause it to spit out all '70s, '60s or even '50s cards I decided there was no reason to enter in all my codes immediately. I pledged to only enter in a new code if there were no late '80s Hall of Famers on the "Recently Unlocked Cards" list. The criteria were very specific - Hall of Famer, 1986-1989. I have checked the site at least twice a day most every day. By strictly following my criteria, I still have not redeemed a code in several weeks.

The other reason is that I am up to some trading shenanigans. I'm working toward a goal and I didn't want to announce it until it was completed. I'm still offering up random trades for players I like though. Today I made an offer for a 1989 Mark Lemke rookie using some cards I picked up from Spastik Mooss in a trade. When I was asked to confirm the trade I saw a very disturbing message:

Topps. Oh Topps, Topps, Topps. I like you Topps. You and I Topps, we're good pals, we are. We've been good pals for a long time, Topps. Since we're such good buddies, I'm willing to overlook some faults. That's what friends do. And since I'm your friend I'm gonna tell you this. Do not try to tell me the value of a Mark Lemke rookie card. That card is valuable to me and I'll trade what I bloody well please for it. We do not need to bring book value into this. The entire concept of 'value' when we're really talking about insubstantial pixels on a computer screen is actually pretty damn silly. Ok, I see why you're putting that warning on there... so n00bs don't end up trading all their really good cards from the '50s and '60s for some junk wax scrub. That's fine. But don't you tall me the value of a Lemmer rookie. That sucker is priceless as far as I'm concerned.

Someone kick the Transmogrifier

The Code Transmogrifier at Toppscards.com got hopelessly stuck on late '80s Hall of Famers yesterday again . Don't believe me?

I have 7 more screencaps of this, don't make me post them all. 


Luckily, Eisner looked up momentarily from counting all his money and gave the machine a swift kick. Perhaps too hard...

It didn't help much, but after a couple of hours a '60's card finally broke through:

Wait a minute... am I reading that right?

I guess I am reading that right. How have I never heard of Dick Lines before?? Someone alert Great Sports Names Hall of Fame. It's back to crap again now though. I guess I'm going to be sitting on these three codes I have for a loooong time at this rate.

Virtual Trading

As opposed to real trading, which I am hopelessly behind in right now. So instead of answering e-mails and getting packages together, I'm trading virtual bits of cardboard over at the Yo Momma Card Code Transmogrifier. This is the oldest card I've gotten out of that one armedbuttoned bandit:

Hooray! 2010 Topps Heritage! I don't mind pulling a '61 Topps card but I think I can flip it for something better.

I made offers to some other folks for some cards off my Braves want list. I targeted one card off my list for each year from 1957 to 1964. What year do you think I'll get? Will I get anything? If you want this card for for very own personal virtual Topps card bit bucket, better make an offer quick. See? it's a ROOKIE. Don't all offer at once, now.

My haul from the weekend '70s Code Madness

Apparently Topps' Code Giveaway Transmogrifier got stuck this weekend and kept spitting out cards from the '70s. Pretty much any old slob could enter a code and get a '70s card. I had a few bucks in my pocket, which turned into a few packs from Target which turned in to this:
 

Yaz - RCq$Fg7JS

1973 Bill Bonham

No Congratulations image because I tried to get the redemptions on video and my entire machine locked hard. '73 Cub, could be worse.

Campy - Mg5xrTpP?

1975 Bobby Valentine

More '70s at least. What the heck is up with the all-green border? Something's not right.

Ichiro - %!5?rZtCM

1973 Gagliano

Another '73. I'm still not crazy about the set but I can't complain. At least it wasn't mid '00s weekend. I've got some trade bait for sure. Speaking of trades, I turned this:

into this:

Can you believe someone offered me that trade?? Hell, maybe I should start offering my Wendell Magee Jr for '53 high numbers... you never know, it just might work.