The Giambino!

Hey guys, Drew back here! The "Snowpocalypse" arrived about a week late up here in the Northeast, but nonetheless it arrived at full force yesterday. I picked up this 8x10 at the Pinstripe Pandemonium show for only $10, and while he wasn't my favorite Yankee by any sense of the term, I had no problem placing this in my autograph binder:

Jason Giambi was loaded with controversy in his 7 year tenure in the Bronx; mostly revolving around his steroid admission. He joined the team just after their late 90's-early 2000's run, and left just before their 2009 title. He did slug over 200 home runs in that time, but I was never much of a fan. I've actually gained respect for him as time has gone on though, and I think that may have been because he came out openly and honestly about his steroid use and apologized. I try to believe in the good of people, and I think he was a good guy just caught up with the wrong people in the wrong era of baseball. Either way, Giambi was a prominent figure during a controversial era of baseball, and I wanted this piece more for history's sake than anything else.

The picture doesn't have a COA, but I've worked with the seller plenty of times before and I trust each and every one of his autographs to be real. He does a lot of local signings, and I know Giambi has done some stuff locally of late, so that's really all the confirmation I needed. Plus, who would fake a picture you're selling for $10?

I don't know if any of you noticed, but I recently upgraded my new blog logo and page setup! I'm trying to condense all of my sidebar material and make the blog easier and more efficient to maneuver around for all of you. I thought my logo was a little huge, so I decided to make things more simple. Let me know what you think!

Anyway, that's all I have for now, I'm looking forward to taking a run out to Target one of these days this week to get myself a little bit of 2015 Topps when it hits stores, as I'm excited to see how it all comes out! It's almost time to mail out Spring Training TTM's, and I'm gearing up for a big day at the post office.

See Ya!

HAPPY 800 TO ME! 2 Big Pickups!

Hey guys, Drew back here! This post marks the 800th post from me in this blog's history! It's been a long journey, ever since December of 2008, when I wasn't even a teenager yet. This blog has become a part of me that can never leave me, and I couldn't have done it without you. For the first few months, it was hard to get readers, but once I did, there was no stopping me from continuing to share my new additions and thoughts on sports. Since the beginning of this, I have added probably a good 40,000 new cards to my collection, a lot of it coming from all sorts of places around the world, from you readers! And while I've had a lot of trouble getting packages ready on time because of school work, I never get the page long rants from people complaining about where their cards are, because you're all the best! I've made not only a few new acquaintances from this but also a few great friends, and yes I am talking to you Will! So, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has kept me consistent and going strong from the past 2 years in this wonderful addiction!

Anyway, I don't have anything super special to show off here, other than a few pickups of 2 players that kept me going with the blog over the past year and a half or so. First off was a nice eBay pickup I bought maybe a month ago now, but I've been waiting for this post to show it off. Nick Swisher has been my favorite player for a little while now, and even though his signature is one of the worst ones I've ever seen, I never get tired of it. A lot of people would say I have a man crush on this guy, and I guess they'd be right.

This 8x10 autograph of Nick is my 1st item larger than a card that I own of him that is signed. It was a fairly cheap piece, and I liked the photo a lot. Now my 8th autograph of Swish, and one that will certainly get hung up on the wall as soon as possible! The certificate from ACE seems to be legit, but I don't know much about the company, so if anyone knows if it's a good certification company comment and let me know.

And how about this bad boy! From 2010 Topps Tribute, a Robinson Cano bat autograph numbered only to 75! This card has quite the story, because I actually had bought it months ago and it got lost in the mail. However, some nice guy said he found the package ripped up lying around, and he shipped it to us! The seller gave us a refund a long time ago, so this was almost considered a gift. Oh, and while this card now sells for a solid $40-60, I got this for about $15 when I had originally bought. Wow. This card is now one of my favorite Canos, and at this point it could be my last auto of his for a while, due to his ridiculously high value and stock going into the 2011 MLB season.

These 2 cards are enormous additions to my 2 big PC's, and while I am soon ready to introduce the next 2 players I will try to also focus on, these 2 players are always on top of my want list.

Happy Valentines Day everyone, but more importantly, Happy Pitchers and Catchers report day! Thanks so much guys and girls, this has been a fun ride so far and this train is gonna keep rollin on and on and on and on and on...

See Ya!

TTM #26- YANKEES HOF'ER!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Yesterday, I received an 8x10 from a TTM I sent out 25 days earlier. I'm really excited to have this, check it out:

Yes, that's right, Goose Gossage signed this picture for me! This isn't the first Goose auto I have, I've gotten 2 autographed cards of his before, but this beats those 2 easily! I've always really liked Goose, and I did announce him as one of my secondary PC collection guys when I wrote about that a week or so ago. He inscribed the picture with "HOF 2008", which was awesome, because my dad and I actually went to Cooperstown to the Baseball Hall of Fame that year, so I'll always remember that Goose finally got the call that season.

I now own 8x10 autographs of 3 of the 4 living Hall of Famers that went in as Yankees. The only guy I'm missing is Reggie Jackson, someone I REALLY need an autograph of. I also own a Rizzuto 8x10 signed, and the Catfish Hunter auto on the card I just showed you guys, so I've been on a roll lately with Yankees Hall of Famers. Anyway, the picture came out absolutely fantastic signed, a big thanks to Goose, who I did send $5 to, and I can't wait to hang it up!

See Ya!