2018 Piece of the Game Baseball Authentic Masterpieces by Monty Sheldon

This just might be the greatest Baseball product ever conceived.

No, seriously! This is incredible! Unbelievable! It's fantastically rare and wonderfully artistic. Heck, it's hard to believe any product could ever get better than this. Unfortunately, you have to be filthy rich to buy it. In fact, this product is geared towards the box-breaker phenomenon - so as to share and alleviate the hurt a complete box would cost you.

Featured here is the 2018 Piece of the Game Baseball Authentic Masterpieces that consist solely of one-of-a-kind game-used and autographed painted Baseballs by noted artist Monty Sheldon. There are only 15 total boxes being made and each box consist of 10 painted Baseballs. So, there are only 150 Baseballs available for the collecting public. Go here for a complete checklist. You can also check out more pics here.

2017 Topps Transcendent Collection - The Monty Sheldon Painted Dodgers Baseballs

On Friday I briefly introduced Topps 2017 Transcendent Collection brand by showing off the Corey Seager hand-drawn baseball created by sports artist Mayumi Seto (link here). As you know, this super premium set -- of which there are only 87 boxes/cases in existence -- includes one original artist drawn card or baseball. Of the artistic Baseballs four feature a Dodger, and three of those four were created by friend of Blue Heaven blog, Monty Sheldon.

Over the weekend, Monty was kind enough to send along pics of the three Dodgers' painted baseballs for everyone to enjoy. Check them out below -- Clayton Kershaw, Cody Bellinger and Yu Darvish. He was also kind enough to share a group pic of a bunch of the baseballs he painted for this set. You can see that at the very bottom of this post.

Authentic MLB Baseball Sketch (#/1)

#Clayton Kershaw                         #Cody Bellinger

Blog Kiosk: 3/31/2015 - Dodger Links - MLB15, Gypsy Queen and Yasiel Puig

Guess what officially came out last night. 

MLB 15 is now available in stores and Yasiel Puig was one of the first to get a copy.  He tweeted out the above photo about an hour before the official midnight release.  BTW, Yasiel Puig and Dodger Stadium are featured prominently in the intro to the game.  Check it out directly below.

Video Link:

Below are some links to check out:

• The Dodger Blogger Softball Tournament is scheduled for April 11th, and there are still spots open for those who want to hit the diamond.  Go here for information.  Unfortunately, I will not be attending.  I do want to point out that the fellow putting it all together at Left Field Pavilion blog, in benefit of the Los Angeles Mission, is doing yeoman's work.
• Via u/Snaaaaaaaaaake on Reddit, "How to be a dodger fan in 42 easy steps."

42.  This is, the final step. You ready? Cut yourself (metaphorically). See what color you bleed. By now you should bleed dodger blue. It serves as a reminder, both good days and bad, that we're all a dodger inside.

• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Growing up: Puig now letting play do talking."

Via Don Mattingly: "I think it's just part of his maturity as a player. Last year was his first full season in the big leagues, and he's still very young [24]. All we look for is him to get a little better every year."

• Famed Baseball artist Monty Sheldon shared some of the original artwork he created for Topps' 2015 Gypsy Queen set on his Facebook.  Check them out here.  On the right is an Yasiel Puig art/relic card he made that can be found in packs.  (Hat Tip: Sports Card Info)  BTW, I had the pleasure of interviewing Monty Sheldon for this blog a couple of years ago.  You can check that out here.

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A Blue Heaven Interview with Baseball Artist Monty Sheldon

Yesterday, I shared with you Monty Sheldon's most recent artistic creation - a painted Artball® of Yasiel Puig.  Check out that post here.  When I first came across that painted ball I immediately reached out to Monty to see if he'd be willing to answer some questions.  Thankfully, he was happy to oblige.

As you may already know, Monty Sheldon is an artist who primarily paints about Baseball using a baseball as his canvas.  He has also drawn sketch cards that have been used by Helmar Brewing and Topps for their card sets.  Feel free to check out his facebook page that includes hundreds of photos, and his website.

Below is my interview with Monty Sheldon.

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Monty, thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for me.  I’ve admired you work for several years and have always wondered what inspired you to paint on a Baseball? 

MS: Ernest, Thank you very much for the kind words and for taking the time to ask me about my art!

One day while visiting the Tacoma Dome memorabilia show near Seattle back in 1997, a good friend and dealer at the show, Mark Macrae, asked me if I had ever thought about painting on a baseball before.  Mark knew that I was an artist and that I worked for Dark Horse Comics at the time and he thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask.  He mentioned that a couple of tables over were examples of another artist (Eric Black) and that I should go check it out.

Now at that time I had many different passions in life, none of which really crossed paths with each other.  When I looked at Eric’s baseball art I can honestly say I had an epiphany.  With that one object I realized I could combine my passion for baseball, art, and collectables.  Over 570 baseballs later and I still feel the same way.

Check Out Monty Sheldon's Painted Artball® of Yasiel Puig

Following up on a tradition made famous by George Sosnack and emulated by our very own Mitch Poole, I share with you the newest Artball® creation by Baseball artist Monty Sheldon.  He is undoubtedly the preeminent sports artist working on Baseballs as a medium today.

He recently unveiled his painted ball of Dodger sensation Yasiel Puig, and it is awesome.  See photos of it above and below.  You can also see more photos of it on his facebook page, here.

I have an interview with Monty Sheldon ready to share with you, so stay tuned.  I'm planning on posting that up tomorrow.  In the meantime, check out his Puig ball, and his facebook page that has hundreds of other photos.  His website can also be accessed here.

This is what he wrote about the Yasiel Puig Artball®:

Here it is, my recently finished Yasiel Puig rookie Artball®!

This is only the second time in 15+ years of painting on baseballs that I have painted a major league player during his rookie season. That first player? Ichiro Suzuki back in 2001. Considering that I have painted 570 Artballs® to date, that makes these "rookie" Artballs® vary rare indeed.

This Puig Artball® is for sale and comes with a special offer. The person who purchases this ball will also receive another Yasiel Puig Artball® that will be finished at the end of this year. That Puig Artball® will include his final season statistics as well as any highlights/awards he may collect by the end of his regular and post season. N.L. Rookie of The Year? NLCS MVP? World Series MVP? The sky's the limit for this kid. I'm certain he will be as much fun to watch as Ichiro has these past 12 years.

This two-for-one offer only pertains to this Yasiel Puig Artball®. If interested, please send me a personal message through this FB page or contact me through my website: montysheldon.com

Thanks for checking it out!

The asking price for this Puig ball and the promised second ball at the end of the season is $2,500.00. Considering the artistry, I don't think that's too bad.

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Monty Sheldon: 1955 Brooklyn WS 55th Anniversary Art Card Set

I've been a big fan of the artwork of Monty Sheldon for some time now, and was thrilled to find out back in April that he was selling Sheldon’s Sketch Card Champions "1 of 1" art cards on eBay. If you haven't seen some of his work before check out this site for more. His painted Baseballs are very impressive.

Now, Monty is tackling the 55th Anniversary of the Dodgers first and only World Championship in Brooklyn. Check out the press release below.

Artist Monty Sheldon has been creating Sheldon’s Sketch Card Champions during the past two years, and in addition to the 2010 regular set, he will be releasing a sub set that will acknowledge the 55^th anniversary of the World Series Championship achieved by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1955.

Sheldon’s sketch cards are made available weekly through E-bay auctions, and starting with card no. 106 and continuing through card no. 112 he will be auctioning off a 55^th anniversary set of the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers, who won their only World Series Championship in an exciting 7-game series versus their World Series nemesis, the New York Yankees.

Sheldon will be providing a sketch card that will correspond with each game played of the 1955 World Series. Included in the set will be Dodger team members that played a pivotal role in each of the games and each card will be signed and finished 55 years to the exact day that World Series game was played, making this a true 55th anniversary set.

Included below is a player checklist and the auction end date for each card. The scheduled eBay 7-day auctions will all take place at 19:55 (10:55 PM eastern, 7:55 PM pacific) and you can find Sheldon’s auctions by searching with his eBay seller ID -- rube77 .

Tuesday, SEPT 28 (game 1) - Jackie Robinson & Carl Furillo (card #106) - auction ends 10/5

Wednesday, SEPT 29 (game 2) - Pee Wee Reese (card #107) - auction ends 10/6
Thursday, SEPT 30 (game 3) - Roy Campanella (card #108) - auction ends 10/7

Friday, OCT 1 (game 4) - Clem Labine (card #109) - auction ends 10/8

Saturday, OCT 2 (game 5) - Duke Snider (card #110) - auction ends 10/9

Sunday, OCT 3 (game 6) - Jim Gilliam (card #111) - auction ends 10/10
Monday, OCT 4 (game 7) - Gil Hodges, Sandy Amoros, Johnny Podres (card #112) - auction ends 10/11

Go here to see the first card available for auction on eBay. Every day over the next week each card in the set will be placed up on eBay.

Topps National Chicle's Are In

The set that was panned by collectors when examples were made public several months ago is finally out. The 2010 Topps Chicle Baseball set is now live and numerous examples can now be found all over the internet. For more detailed information regarding this set go to sportscardradio.com.

The set is throwback to a vintage mid-1930's football card set called "National Chicle" that featured painted drawing of that era's players. They were originally done in an art deco design with bold coloring and unusual color schemes.

The 2010 Baseball version does it's best to emulate that old style and I think they did a good job of it. Previous complaints from the hobby were very premature. At least 12 different sports artist were commission to do the drawings; including Monty Sheldon, who I wrote about briefly yesterday.

There are a whole bunch of Dodgers, both current and old, so I've decided to break this up into a couple of different post. I'll start with some of the inserts first and then follow up with a post in the next few days of the base cards in the set. Before we see some of the drawings, though, check out this very limited Jackie Robinson patch insert card numbered to only 50. Apparently, only one patch card is found in every 1600 packs, so it is very scarce.
Below are 3 relic cards of Dodger players that include either a game-used bat or uniform piece embedded within it. A checklist I had seen previously indicated that Matt Kemp also has a relic card, but I have yet to see one.

Pee Wee Reese

Manny Ramirez

Andre Ethier

The next 3 cards are a part of the cabinet series insert set. One card is found in a large over-sized pack in each box. I don't have the exact dimensions, but they are much larger than the average Baseball card and only slightly bigger than a postcard. The Jackie Robinson card is my favorite, so far.

Pee Wee Reese

Jackie Robinson

Roy Campanella

Monty Sheldon Hand-Drawn Cards

Monty Sheldon is one of the better known modern Baseball artist in the hobby. He is best known for his painted baseballs, but also has drawn cards for Topps. Previously, he completed 27 drawings for Topps National Chicle Football set, and has 35 drawings included in Topps new National Chicle Baseball card set.

Now, he has created a very limited "1 of 1" hand drawn pencil drawing set called "Sheldon's Sports Card Classics" that will consist of 250 different cards. He is selling them exclusively on eBay. Below are the Dodger players.

eBay Auction Link:

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