Celebrating My First 10 Seasons Watching Baseball!

Hey guys, Drew back here! I didn't realize until the other day, during midterm week no less, that last baseball season was the 10th year I've been following the game. It's amazing how quickly the past decade has gone, and how many memories baseball has made me. So, I decided to construct a team in recognition of this. I wanted to make a Yankees team using the best overall seasons for each position between 2005 and 2014, filling each slot with players specific to that role. Rather than stacking the bench with the superstars who just missed the cut, I wanted to keep things realistic. It may go a bit over budget, but it is the Bronx Bombers we're talking about. Without further ado, let's take a look at the results!

Catcher - Jorge Posada
Season: 2007
Statistics: .338 BA, 20 HR, 90 RBI, 171 H, 91 R

Jorge was the best Yankee catcher since Thurman Munson, and it's only fitting that we start this team with the player with the heart and soul he possessed. His On Base Percentage of .426 was not matched by anyone else on this team, and although his defensive performance wasn't always Gold Glove caliber, who could go against a team leader who can switch hit for power and average?

1st Base - Mark Teixeira
Season: 2009
Statistics: .292 BA, 39 HR, 122 RBI, 178 H, 103 R

Tex's first year in New York was much better than what would follow. Due to injuries, we wouldn't see this type of production past 2011, but he was a key player all throughout the year, and helped lead the Yanks to their 27th World Championship. He was the runner up for MVP behind Joe Mauer, and won a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger to accompany a fine season.

2nd Base - Robinson Cano
Season: 2010
Statistics: .319 BA, 29 HR, 109 RBI, 200 H, 103 R

It was difficult to choose Cano's best season in New York, but I ultimately decided on 2010. He finished only behind Josh Hamilton and Miguel Cabrera for AL MVP and also came up with Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards! Robby was the first Yankee I got to see fully develop into a star player, and it was fun watching him dominate the second base position for so long here in the Bronx. He could do it all, and we'll certainly miss that with Stephen Drew slabbed as our Opening Day second baseman in 2015.

Shortstop - Derek Jeter
Season: 2006
Statistics: .343 BA, 14 HR, 97 RBI, 214 H, 118 R, 34 SB

Jeter was 31 years old when I started watching him play, so for the average player he would've only had a few "prime" seasons left. Luckily for us, we got to see the Captain perform above average (at least offensively) until he was 39! New Yorkers feel that Jeter should've won MVP ahead of Justin Morneau in 2006, as it was one of his best seasons of his career. He also won a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger this year (catch a theme?), so not only is this offense loaded with hitting, but they could also hold their own in the field.

3rd Base - Alex Rodriguez
Season: 2007
Statistics: .314 BA, 54 HR, 156 RBI, 183 H, 143 R, 24 SB

A-Rod put up video game numbers in his second of two MVP awards he took home with the Yankees, only possible with the help of performance enhancing drugs. I would've tried to find ways around having him on this team, given how much of a head case he is, but there really wasn't anyone else qualified enough to take the hot corner. I was a huge fan of Alex's at this point in time, and I can definitely credit his enormous statistics to keeping me interested in the game when I was young enough to simply walk away (I was 8 in 2005). While most of us aren't fans of his at this point, there's no denying that he would make a perfect cleanup hitter for this roster.

Left Field - Hideki Matsui
Season: 2005
Statistics: .305 BA, 23 HR, 116 RBI, 192 H, 108 R

He was one of those guys that was taken for granted. He wasn't a Gold Glove caliber player in the field, but give Godzilla a bat and he was almost certain to make you pay. Matsui broke his wrist in 2006, breaking a total streak of 1,768 consecutive games played (1,250 with Yomiuri, 518 in NY). He was never really the same player after the injury. In 2005, however; the guy was unstoppable. He was recently named as an advisor to General Manager Brian Cashman, and Cash could not have picked a classier player to help represent playing in pinstripes.

Center Field - Curtis Granderson
Season: 2011
Statistics: .262 BA, 41 HR, 119 RBI, 153 H, 136 R, 25 SB

Grandy and I had a love-hate relationship through his four years in New York. I loved him as a person, but sometimes I couldn't take his inconsistency at the plate. Sure, he clubbed over 40 home runs in back to back seasons, but he also struck out well over 100 times both years. But his 2011 season was the best of any center fielder's in this span (sorry, Bernie), as evidenced by his inflated stat line and 4th place MVP finish. He led the league in runs scored and RBI, stole 25 bases, and played above average defense to boot. I still root for Curtis with the Mets, but his power/strikeout style isn't exactly my favorite approach to watch.

Right Field - Gary Sheffield
Season: 2005
Statistics: .291 BA, 34 HR, 123 RBI, 170 H, 104 R, 10 SB

While Jeter was always my all time favorite Yankee, Gary Sheffield was my first favorite "role" player of sorts. Sheff would've been the star of most other teams, but in New York he wasn't exactly the one selling tickets. It excites me seeing him on the Hall of Fame ballot, but I truly feel that he's just a Hall of Very Good player, despite his 500+ career home run achievement. But in 2005, he put together a Hall of Fame quality season, doing a little bit of everything. He and Vladimir Guerrero in particular were lethal weapons during their prime, and it was fun to see balls rocket off his bat (unless you were sitting in the left field field level seats, then watch out).

DH - Jason Giambi
Season: 2006
Statistics: .253 BA, 37 HR, 113 RBI, 113 H, 92 R

Giambi was a mixed bag of tricks late in his Yankees career. Often injured, with or without that weird moustache, and constantly mentioned in steroid allegations. But 2006 was his final "great" season, and he will provide an extra boost of power to a lineup that doesn't really need it, but wouldn't mind it either. He could also serve in a small platoon situation with one of the bench players, hitting mostly against right handed pitching.

Bench -

Francisco Cervelli
Position: C
Season: 2014
Statistics: .301 BA (162 PA), 2 HR, 13 RBI, 44 H, 18 R

Cervelli played with passion in his 7 partial seasons in New York, and will back up Posada when he needs rest. He can provide a spark with his bat, and while he wasn't the best defensively either, you know he will play to the best of his ability every time he's called upon.

Andruw Jones
Position: OF
Season: 2011
Statistics: .247 BA (222 PA), 13 HR, 33 RBI, 47 H, 27 R

Jones will platoon with Giambi and hit mostly against left handed pitching for this team, as he did extremely well in 2011. He batted .286 vs. left handers, hitting 8 of his 13 total home runs. Jones can also contribute as a backup outfielder, and though he was a former superstar defensive player, he won't quite bring that tool to the park as a 34 year old.

Brett Gardner
Position: OF
Season: 2009
Statistics: .270 BA (248 PA), 3 HR, 23 RBI, 67 H, 48 R, 26 SB

I would have loved to use one of Gardy's better seasons for this slot, but unfortunately according to my rules I had to take a year in which he wasn't a starter. He provided an excellent spark off the bench for the World Series team, and would eventually develop into one of my favorite current players. He'll be the preferred backup outfielder over Jones for this team, and the perfect late game pinch runner as well.

Jayson Nix
Position: UTIL
Season: 2012
Statistics: .273 BA (202 PA), 4 HR, 18 RBI, 43 H, 24 R

I always enjoyed the versatility of Nix, and I feel like most teams should have a guy capable of playing multiple positions. I could have went with Eduardo Nunez, but his versatility felt forced as he made far too many errors too often. Nix was sure-handed, and he wasn't an automatic out at the plate either.

Opening Day Lineup

1 - Derek Jeter (R)
2 - Curtis Granderson (L)
3 - Robinson Cano (L)
4 - Alex Rodriguez (R)
5 - Mark Teixeira (S)
6 - Jason Giambi (L)
7 - Gary Sheffield (R)
8 - Hideki Matsui (L)
9 - Jorge Posada (S)

Total Salary - $137,726,096
Average Salary - $10,594,315

Notable Omissions - Eduardo Nunez, Nick Swisher, Alfonso Soriano, Bobby Abreu, Johnny Damon, Jose Molina, Bernie Williams

The Yankees may have won the World Series just in 2009 since I started following the team, but as you can see, there have been so many fantastic individual seasons compiled throughout that time. I also constructed a pitching staff, and will have that posted tomorrow to complete the 25 man roster! Please feel free to comment with your thoughts on this team, as well as any changes you would consider, and if you would like to use this idea for your team on your blog, be my guest!

See Ya!

2013 Fall Classic Card Show Recap! Pt. 1

Hey guys, Drew back here! So, last weekend was certainly filled with highs and lows. I worked two very busy nights at the restaurant I've been working at, and I had to take the SAT again. Fortunately, my Dad and I had arranged a trip down to White Plains to relinquish some of that stress afterwards, and we headed down to JP's Sports' "Fall Classic" the next day! Before I get into who I got the chance to meet, take a look at some of what I picked up!

First, out of 2007 Fleer Ultra, here's a "Swing Kings" relic of Gary Sheffield! Sheffield is one of my favorite all time Yankees, so I think it's about time I add some more of his stuff into my collection. After all, he was my first favorite player. I love the way the pinstripe looks on this card.

Also of Sheff, here's a 2004 Ultimate Collection patch card of his numbered only 45 of 75! I got this card for about $7 since it was in my friends Hunter & Rich's bargain bin, and I'm really glad I found it! It's a pretty solid patch for a Yankees card, and I can guess the patch is from the interlocking NY. 

I ended up also adding this Troy Tulowitzki Ballpark Collection auto relic for less than $10 as well! I'm eventually hoping I can start a mini-PC of Tulo's, since I always seem to end up with him on my fantasy team. Despite his frequent injuries, I still believe he is the best current shortstop in all of baseball.

My dad also picked up a few things for me to open up on the ride home. The first of which was only of these relatively new blaster boxes:

 

Ever since my Dad & I got to shake Pete Rose's hand in Cooperstown this summer, we've been big fans of his. This blaster contains a set of entirely Pete Rose cards, a set that you will most likely get all of just by opening one of them. While the set isn't as exciting as Charlie Hustle was on the basepath, it's still a nice tribute to one of the most electrifying players to ever grace the diamond.

 

Oh, and did I mention that each blaster comes with a Rose autograph? You can get an autographed variation of any of the cards in the base set, and I ended up with this fitting photo of him sliding into second. Although these don't go for a lot, it's still a Pete Rose autograph and you can't go wrong with one of those (unless you're Bart Giamatti)!

One thing I've learned over the course of countless trips down to White Plains is that my Dad loves taking a gamble on mystery boxes. I really enjoy opening boxes, but I always am cautious about it due to the prices. Normally I would take buying something I like instead, just because I know I'm not going to be let down, but once in a while you have to say what the heck and take the plunge. With that in mind, my Dad also picked up one of these 2011 Just Minors Mystery Balls!

The potential was certainly there in one of these. I mean, for example, take a look at who is in the base set:

Price, Santana, Craig, Teheran, Robertson. I mean, these sets are loaded with stars, and future stars! Well, we didn't get as lucky, but we could've done worse.

We ended up with Cubs prospect Josh Vitters. Josh has been bouncing around in the Cubs farm system since 2007 now, and after a solid AAA stint this season he was promoted to the big leagues. He struggled mightily in over 100 at bats, hitting .121 with 2 HR and 33 strikeouts. Hopefully he'll be able to put it all together in the future and expose all the tools he showed off in the minors!

If anyone is interested in the ball please comment below and we can try to work something out! Despite the pull not being who we wanted, it was still fun to give one of these Just Minors products a chance! Thanks Dad for everything, you're the best! Stay tuned for the really good stuff...

See Ya!

White Plains Card Show 1/22/12 Recap, Part Five!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Now that the first half of the school year is in the rear view mirror, I can finally get back to this stuff for a few months without an extreme amount of stress. My desk is cluttered with cards and I need to get some packages out, so I better get to work! Let us now continue the card show review series, with part 5. Check it out:

PART 5: Experiences with Baseball Stars!
(Past and Present!)

This had actually been the first time ever that we planned on meeting every one of the signers attending the show!  Along with a free player, we met pretty much a player from the past, of recent, and of the future! I guess in order to do this in the correct order we are going to need to work our way back in time! 

The first player I met is a current Yankees prospect, center fielder Mason Williams! Mason is the 5th ranked prospect in the Yankees organization according to Baseball America, and he seems to have an awful lot of potential! They say he is the best defensive outfield prospect they've had in a while, and he is projected in their 2015 lineup. I've never met a younger player than him; at only 20 years old. He seriously looked like he could be a big time player in MY league right now. He was very nice, yet shy, but I could only imagine how honored he felt to sign autographs for money before he even made it big! I wished him the best of luck, and that I hope he would help bring home a World Series championship, and he really seemed to appreciate the support. 

Mason signed this 8x10 out "To Drew", and it came out pretty sharp! The funny thing is, he was a very good player on the Staten Island Yankees, who I've seen play my local Hudson Valley Renegades too many times to count. I'm almost positive I attended a game between the two last season, so I possibly got to see him. I'll have to look back and check. His stats for Staten Island were impressive: .349 batting average with 94 hits in only 68 games! Maybe he'll keep up those stats all the way to the big time!

Next up was one of my personal favorite Yankees I ever got to watch, Gary Sheffield! You know, over the years, I've been fortunate enough to meet some great players that have came through the majors. However, I never felt as much of a personal connection to any of these players as I did with Sheff. Yeah, he's not necessarily a fan favorite, although fans loved seeing his crazy foul ball swings that could kill a person, but it felt really cool to get a chance to meet someone I watched when I just started getting into baseball. I still find it bizarre that he got to 500 home runs, and I doubt he'll make the Hall of Fame due to his steroid admission a while back, but nevertheless, he was my favorite player in about 2005/06, and I'll always remember wearing my Sheffield jersey to Yankee games. It was a special moment, for sure.

As excited as I was to meet Gary, I had no clue what I wanted to get signed by him. I figured I'd do something awesome like a photo for example, but the 8x10's the dealers had to offer really weren't my favorites by any means. Just when I began to get desperate, I spotted out the 16x20 photo above, and immediately fell in love. It wasn't cheap, but I didn't care, because as soon as I saw it I knew it was what I wanted. He signed it perfectly, "To Drew, God Bless, Gary Sheffield", with his very slick autograph to cap it off. I got it authenticated by JSA and was extremely pleased with how the piece came out. Without a doubt it's going up on the wall after we re-paint my room soon!

I doubt many people even need me to say who the next person I met was. I mean, the mustache pretty much gives it away (and his name is right behind him in the picture)! It's none other than Yankees Hall of Fame reliever Rich "Goose" Gossage! I always admired Goose from all of the Yankees highlight footage from the 1970's and 80's, because he seemed fearless and confident in his ability! I've been able to already add quite a few cards and autographs of his over the years, so I wasn't sure what I wanted to get signed next. Then I realized that I still needed him for my "Hall of Fame Heroes" custom set! Sure enough, that is what I got signed, and it came out awesome!

Goose's signature will never ever disappoint, as it has to be one of the nicer ones in the Hall of Fame! One thing I regretted was, although he did charge for inscriptions, he asked me if I just wanted the autograph or if I wanted anything else, and I just said the autograph, being the truthful person I am. Now, I want to smack myself for not getting the HOF inscription, but eh, I'll be okay in the long run. It still looks sweet! It was certainly a fun experience getting to meet him, especially since Dad talked hunting with him for a little while. Goose told me I should get into it because it's a lot of fun, and he told us about how he always loves to hunt with his sons. He was a genuinely nice guy, and I was thrilled to have the chance to meet him!

The final player Mike and I got to meet on this already amazing day was former Mets pitcher and 1973 NL Rookie of the Year, Jon Matlack! Matlack was the free signer for the day, and even though he was a Met, I figured it's never a dumb idea to add another former ROY winner to the collection! He actually was a very solid pitcher in the 70's, although he finished his career one game below .500, at 125-126. One other pretty cool accomplishment of his was that his performance in the 1975 All Star Game was good enough that he shared the All Star MVP with another player I've met, former Pirate Bill Madlock! The last fun fact I have to share about Matlack was that he gave up Roberto Clemente's 3000th, and tragically, final hit. 

I was able to print off 2 customs I made of his the night before the show, one for each of us, Mike and I. They both turned out awesome in my opinion, because as much as I can't stand most of the Mets, I will have to admit their colors are pretty sweet! Dad was able to get an 8x10 signed as well, since we all were eligible for 1 free autograph a person. He figured why not have it, because it would be a wasted opportunity not to. It looks pretty sharp, and while I definitely won't be hanging it up in the near (or distant for that matter) future, I'm glad to have it! 

All in all, the day couldn't have gone any more perfect... or could it? I guess you'll have to wait and see!

See Ya!

Stuff from Mike Pelfrey Collectibles

Hey guys, Drew back here, with some nice mail today, from Anthony of Mike Pelfrey Collectibles. But, before I get into it, first I wanna say R.I.P. Ralph Houk, who died yesterday at the age of 90. I wanted to get TTM but it was too late unfortunatelt. Houk was a great manager and he will be missed. I also wanted to say that I'm going to skip showing the videos sadly. I don't really have time to do a ton of work for just one post, so for now I can't really show them. I wish Blogger was better at uploading videos though, I mean, they were a minute long! Anyway, moving on to the mail.

Anthony was having an online yard sale of his entire collection, because he's grown bored of the hobby and wanted to move on and try something new, which in his case was War Memorabilia. So first, if you have any of that, go to his blog and let him know. His sales were great, and he negotiated with me really well and I feel like both sides made out well. I'm pretty sure he forgot one of the cards in the package, so I contacted him about it and he said he accidentally did forget about it and will ship it soon. So, here's what was in today's package!

Yes, he did write on the bottom right card. He says he has like 50 of these cards, so he figured he'd send some my way. I do enjoy collecting cards of players that aren't on the Yankees, as you will see more of in this post. I like Mike Pelfrey, although he's struggled a bit, he's a good pitcher and I'm happy to own a few of his rookies.

I got these from Anthony because they're two favorites of mine that don't play for the Yankees. Morneau was completely under shadowed by the Pujols and Ichiro phenomenon but has turned out to be a great MVP caliber player. Longoria was brought up on a local team that I occasionally go to games with, and in 8 games with that team, he hit 4 home runs. I also really like Evan's talent and it's a nice card to have.

Now for vintage, I got an Oscar Gamble 1977 Topps since I didn't have it, and the Andre Dawson rookie card. I've wanted Dawson's rookie ever since he was elected to the Hall of Fame last year, and even though it's not mint condition, I really like the card.

Here's the 1st of 2 Sheffield relics I got, a 2005 Cracker Jack "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" relic at that. It's really nice, smaller than a regular card but bigger than a 2007 Goudey card I'd say. Sheff as you may know used to be my favorite player, until he left NY on a bad note. I still like him and I'll try to add some of his better cards to my collection from time to time.

The second Sheffield is from 2006 Topps Heritage, another bat card. I must say I like the one above this more but this is nice too.

The final card here is a rookie jumbo jersey from 2006 Sweet Spot of Giants pitcher Matt Cain. Cain has been very good so far in his career, but is very unpopular due to Tim Lincecum being the star pitcher in San Francisco now. This may be the biggest relic on a jersey card I have, and I like the simple design. Plus, it's numbered out of 299.

All that plus one more nice relic for $15. Thanks for the great deal Anthony, go check out this link to see if you like anything, Anthony needs to get this stuff out of his collection! See Ya!

Mail from the Priceless Pursuit!

Hey guys, Drew back here, with a very cool mailday from the great Joe S. of The Priceless Pursuit! Joe and I have always been good buddies, but this is the first trade we have ever done! So, let's get started!

According to a few sources, Joe has been very sneaky in including junk wax goodies in his packages he ships out. These Baseball Rub Downs I haven't tried yet but they look pretty cool, and I'm definitely putting a Mario Soto tattoo on my arm!

In my opinion, this was the coolest of the 3 throw ins, a George Brett 3D Baseball Star. I would have preferred a Yankee over this guy, but it looks really cool the way it pops out of the card. You can even tell from the scan how much it pops out of the card. Very cool!

Before we get to the actual "trade", Joe also included these 2 cards for my 2010 Topps Series 1 set. The Johnny Bench actually finished off the History of the Game set, so I'm happy about that. I need like 2 cards from the Peak Performance (the first 50, need a lot from 51-100).

This was a very epic relic trade, and this was the first one. For the Yankees PC, a nice 2009 Sweet Spot Curtis Granderson relic. Curtis has been struggling a bit lately, but I'm sure he'll pick it up eventually.

The second relic was of possible future Hall of Fame pitcher Roy Halladay. I've always liked Halladay, and this is the second relic of his that I own now. The blue swatch made the card without a doubt for me and once I saw it I knew I needed to get a hold of it.

The last relic in this trade was of my former favorite player, Gary Sheffield. I always really liked Gary in my beginning of my baseball passion, when he was a Yankee. This Masterpieces card is truly a Masterpiece, except the frame is extremely off center. Other than that though, since it's PC, I could care less, it's a great card.

Thanks so much Joe, I really look forward to trading with you more in the future. See Ya!