Celebrating 8 Years of The Blog With A Bang: Clayton Kershaw 2008 eTopps Auto /100, BGS 9.5-10 AU!

Today is the 8th anniversary of this here blog. Today's card is one I legitimately adore. I feel confident in already calling it my top modern purchase of 2017. I actually bought it months ago, but I'm slow. So, to celebrate the 8th anniversary of PTSiA, here's a beaut I knew I couldn't let slip by me.

Behold the centerpiece of my Clayton Kershaw PC in all of its on-card rookie autograph glory! The card is numbered 381/999 but Kersh only signed 100 of them. While not as sought after or expensive as his 2006 Bowman Chrome RC Auto, this baby is actually a much tougher card to find. I won the auction as the only bidder (or it was a BIN....this is what happens when you wait to post things).

The card itself came out in 2008 and I'm guessing Topps had Clayton sign 100 of them in 2009, hence the dual years on the Beckett label. I'm really loving the design, so kudos to the folks at Topps.

My grandfather passed earlier this year after a wonderfully long and amazing life. He left each of my cousins and I a little bit of green to do with as we pleased. He wanted us to treat ourselves to something fun, whatever that fun entailed being irrelevant to him. I decided to add something to my collection that would not only be a centerpiece but a nice reminder of my grandfather every time I look at it.

It will likely end up tied with a card I just won as my overall top acquisition of the year because I don't have to choose in this imaginary game I'm playing. As far as I know the pop on this BGS 9.5-10 AU is just 2. This will never leave me and my collection under any circumstances, which I can only say for a fraction of the cardboard I own.