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

Hey guys, Drew back here. I'm sure, most of you are sick of me blabbing on and on about how special this show was, and how lucky I am, etc etc. But, I promise you guys that besides a few small posts I have planned, I'm just about done and ready to move on with other stuff. Trust me though, this post right here is definitely worth the read, and I could use some help! So, without any further gibberish, here is Part 6, dedicated to my awesome door prize win!

PART 6: Door Prize Success... Again?

As most of you guys who have read my blog in the past know, the White Plains shows happen to give away door prizes every couple of hours, which requires just filling out a simple card and hoping to get your name pulled. Dad, Mike, and I have had a very good strategy with them over the years, and we've been able to win some things here and there! Today was no different. I took home this beauty, as a result of somehow getting my name pulled from the box again!

This photo is truly a thing of beauty! It's a 16x20 photo of Mickey Mantle, that is signed by 29 former Yankees players! There isn't any specific time span as to the players who signed the photo, but a majority of the players on here played on the Yankees pre-1980. Not all of them played with Mantle, for example Jesse Barfield and Chris Chambliss, but all of them had been pretty solid players over the years. I was so pumped up when they announced my name, and I'm pretty sure most of you can see why. 

As far as authentication goes, the photo came along with a letter of authenticity from JSA, explaining all of the exact details of the photo and guaranteeing its authenticity. It didn't name all of the players on the photo, but it says some of the key players on there are Moose Skowron, Ralph Houk, Gene Michael, Bill Virdon, Sparky Lyle, Johnny Kucks, Horace Clarke, Ron Blomberg, and Chris Chambliss! I identified pretty much all of those without having to look at the letter, but I can't seem to find Bill Virdon anywhere on this photo. I got him through the mail a while back, so I know what his autograph looks like, and I don't see it anywhere on here.

Now here's where I need your help. I've been able to identify a majority of the autographs on the picture already, but there are still some that I can't figure out yet. Besides the Virdon (mistake possibly?), can any of you name the autographs I don't know in the comments below? I numbered each autograph, and you can just tell me, for example: Auto 2 is Moose Skowron or something. I would greatly appreciate it, because some of these autos have me stumped.

1: Phil Linz (Played 1962-1965 for NYY)

2: Moose Skowron (Played 1954-1962 for NYY)

3: Art Ditmar (Played 1957-1961 for NYY)

4: Lee Mazzilli (Played in 1982 for NYY)

5: Ralph Houk (Played 1947-1954 for NYY, Managed 1961-63, 66-73)

6: Bobby Shantz (Played 1957-1960)

7: Ralph Branca (Played in 1954 for NYY)

8: Paul Blair (Played 1977-1979 for NYY)

9: Gene Michael (Played 1968-1974 for NYY, Managed 1981-82)

10: Cecil Fielder (Played 1996-1997 for NYY)

11: Jim Beattie (Played 1977-1978 for NYY)

12: Tippy Martinez (Played 1974-1976 for NYY)

13: Don Gullett (Played 1977-1978 for NYY)

14: Chris Chambliss (Played 1974-1979, 1988 for NYY)

15: Jesse Barfield (Played 1989-1992 for NYY)

16: Ron Davis (Played 1978-1981 for NYY)

17: Dennis Sherrill (Played 1978-1980 for NYY)

18: George Zeber (Played 1977-1978 for NYY)

19: Sparky Lyle (Played 1972-1978 for NYY)

20: Dan Pasqua (Played 1985-1987 for NYY)

21: Dennis Rasmussen (Played 1984-1987 for NYY)

22: Tom Carroll (Played 1955-1956 for NYY)

23: Lee Thomas (Played in 1961 for NYY)

24: Eli Grba (Played 1959-1960 for NYY)
25: Johnny Kucks (Played 1955-1959 for NYY)
26: Horace Clarke (Played 1965-1974 for NYY)
27: John Montefusco (Played 1983-1986 for NYY)

28: Ron Blomberg (Played 1969, 1971-1976 for NYY)

29: Rafael Santana (Played in 1988 for NYY)

I was able to name 21 of the 29 autographs, but again any help with the remaining 8 would be greatly appreciated. Also, I know a lot of you guys have experimented with these large photos signed by multiple players, and I wanted to know what your take is on whether I should start to add more players to it and fill it up more, or if I should leave it as is, frame it, and call it a day. If I do decide to continue the quest for autographs, I don't think I would include current players, because they simply wouldn't really fit in. I think that majority of the players on here were born before Mantle retired, so maybe that could be a good way to arrange it by. 

This will definitely go down as one of the best card shows, if not THE best one yet! I wasn't the only one to win, however, as my friend Mike came home with something too. I'll save that for a later post! We are so lucky, and I'm really fortunate that my Dad was able to take me to the show. It means a lot. 

See Ya!

**UPDATE: Got them all, thank you to everyone for the huge amount of help! Couldn't have done it without you all!**

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!

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

Hey guys, Drew back here. Moving along with the recap series, here is Part 4, showcasing all of our newest autograph pickups, minus the ones we obtained in person!

PART 4: Certified Auto Pickups

2005 UD SPx Russell Martin RC Auto /185

We begin with an autograph from a current Yankees playing, their starting catcher Russell Martin! I wasn't extremely impressed with Martin last year, but he did a pretty good job behind the plate. I'm not necessarily used to having a catcher hit for such a poor batting average (.237), but I guess in this day in age he's an All Star caliber catcher. Anyways, I wanted his autograph just to have it basically, and who knows maybe he'll bat a whopping .250 this year!

2011 Topps Chrome Eduardo Nunez RC Auto

I'm torn on Eduardo personally. I think he had a pretty solid rookie season, considering all of the pressure in New York for him to succeed, since he had to replace stars like Jeter and A-Rod when they suffered injuries. He could wind up being a solid player, but he won't be that player for the Yankees, because they probably wouldn't have a spot for him to do well. However, this is a pretty nice rookie auto, and trust me it looks a heck of a lot better in person. 

1997 Donruss Signature Series Bartolo Colon Auto

Bartolo was a great success story for the Yankees last year for sure. Most fans did not expect to see the aging power pitcher dominate the mound again, but he proved everyone wrong by producing solid numbers for the Yankees. I mean, think about it, he basically got hardly any money and was expected to be a minor league pitcher, but he worked his way up to the starting rotation. I give him props for that.

2006 Bowman Originals Nick Swisher Auto Gold Parallel /31

Boy was I glad to see the Yankees lock up Swisher for another year! It would've been a tragedy to let him go this offseason, because clearly there were no other right fielders available that could produce like he does. Yes, I understand his postseason stats aren't impressive, but honestly I feel like he is in for a big year. I already had the base variation autograph from this set, so being able to add a more rare parallel to my Swish PC is pretty sweet!

2007 Bowman Sterling J.P. Arencibia RC Auto

Prior to the show, I listed the 10 autographs I wanted most for each position based on active players, and Arencibia was #8 on the catcher list. I think he has a lot of potential, although he didn't hit for a very good average last year either (.219). But with 23 homers and 78 RBI, he should be one of the top catchers in the league for years to come. 

2004 Topps Blue Chips J.J. Hardy RC Auto

Similar to Arencibia, Hardy snuck onto my list of top shortstop autographs I wanted. He had a great year with the Orioles last year, batting .269 with 30 home runs and 80 RBI! His signature really looks like it just says Hardy, but who knows what these current players try to get at with their autographs. 

2008 UD Signature Sensations James Shields Auto

After his stellar 2011 season, I honestly feel that James Shields is better than David Price. Everyone made a huge deal about how good Price was supposed to be, and while he's done fairly well, he had a very inconsistent season. Shields threw 11 complete games and finished 3rd in AL Cy Young voting behind Verlander and Weaver. I'd consider that a great season! Therefore, it was probably a smart idea to pick this auto up before he becomes more well known in baseball!

2007 USA Darwin Barney RC Auto /595

Barney ranked in the top 10 autographs needed for second baseman on my list, and I'm glad Dad was able to pick one up for me. Barney had a very good rookie season last year, batting .276 with 146 hits, earning him 7th in NL Rookie of the Year voting. I think he'll be a pretty solid player in the future for the Cubs, and he has a pretty nice autograph as well.

2011 Topps Allen & Ginter Starlin Castro Auto

To go along with the Cubs second baseman, I also managed to round out the other half of the middle infield, picking up this beautiful Starlin Castro autograph. Apparently the card is a short print, so I paid a fairly high price for the card, but I think it will be worth it. Starlin is heading into his 3rd full season, after starting his career batting .300 or above both of his first two seasons. Last year, he batted .307, pounding out 207 hits and scoring 91 runs for the Cubbies. I have a feeling he could end his career with better stats than Hanley Ramirez and maybe even Jose Reyes, given Reyes' health issues.

2007 UD Sweet Spot Classic Jack Morris Auto Bat Barrel /50

I have watched a ton of shows on the MLB Network so far this year. I go downstairs, sit down and record 5-6 shows at a time on our DVR. Therefore, I watched a lot of the Hall of Fame coverage this year, and after watching all the debate, I really think this guy should be in the Hall. I mean, they voted him the best pitcher of the 1980's for crying out loud! Who cares about his stats, when he was one of the most dominant pitchers of his era? Unfortunately, after this weak class went by, Morris still didn't receive enough votes, and with the insane classes upcoming, I doubt he'll get in anytime soon unless the Veterans Committee elects him one year. Nonetheless I was able to pick up this card for 20 bucks, numbered to only 50. It's a nice one for sure.

2003 UD Yankee Signature Series Paul O'Neill Auto

One of the reasons why this show was so big for me was because I was able to make some significant strides in my collection! Paul O'Neill's autograph was one that had been haunting me for quite some time, and Dad was able to buy me one, which was really awesome of him! I've watched a lot of the games from the 90's dynasty years, and I can tell if I wasn't 4 or 5 years old, but the age I am today as a fan, O'Neill would've been one of my top 3 or 4 favorite players on the team. He was indeed a warrior in every way, and he inspires a lot of people to really give their all on the field and have no regrets when leaving the ballpark. You have to love having a guy like that on your team.

1996 Leaf Signature Series Andy Pettitte Auto

The final, and in my opinion, best autograph pickup from the show was most definitely this card. Anytime you are able to manage to add an autograph from one of the "Core Four", I would consider it a success. Dad also bought me this card, and I can't begin to tell you how lucky I am to have him so interested and helpful in my hobby. He is always willing to take me to signings and shows and always wants to try and make me happy! At this point, he uses my wantlist more than I do, which is crazy. Andy Pettitte is one of my favorite pitchers of all time for sure, and it was awesome getting to watch him pitch for them the past few years. His autograph is a rarity, but I'm glad we finally locked him up in the collection. Three down, now only Rivera to go! Wish me luck!

Thanks again Dad for all of the help! These posts wouldn't be close to as impressive without you! Part 5 coming up next, and be sure to check that one out because it features my experiences with the awesome autograph signing lineup they had at the show!

See Ya!

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

Hey guys, Drew back here! So, continuing on the series, here is Part 3, which features all of the relics we purchased between Dad & I at the show! Check it out:

PART 3: Relic Additions

This is where the show began to get out of control for us, as we picked up a ton of nice new cards to add to the collection! We'll start with all the jerseys, including our Tier One set additions, and then work our way to the autos. Lets get started!

We lead off with a 2010 Allen & Ginter relic of the reigning NL MVP, and possible PED-user Ryan Braun. Braun was starting to go up the ranks on my favorite non-Yankee player list, but I think he's starting to creep back downhill a bit. I think for the sake of baseball he should give the trophy back, whether he is truly guilty or innocent. It would show a lot of class for him to admit himself being wrong. Why should he worry about giving it back though? If he really thinks he didn't use PED's and he just had a great season, he might as well go back out and try to win another MVP award next season! Anyways, I got this card for free from a vendor because I bought two fairly expensive autos from him, and I liked the color of the swatch more than anything else on the card.

Speaking of PED's, here's a Jason Giambi patch card numbered to 45 from 2008 UD SPX! I've never really been a big Giambi fan, mainly because when I was getting into baseball, he was on his way out of baseball. Also, I got into the sport not much before the Mitchell Report and the Steroid Saga was underway, so it didn't give me a whole lot of reason to like him. But, like A-Rod, I dealt with him being in the Yankee lineup. I got this card only because the patch is just awesome all around! I see 3 different colors on the patch and a neat design, as well as a pinstripe sneaking onto the card in the corner of the swatch! Pretty neat for sure!

These two Robinson Cano relics kind of went hand in hand for me, as Dad got them for me from the same vendor as a lot. The vendor I bought these from is definitely one of my favorites at the show, and he's there every time working at the same table as Hunter, another one of my favorite vendors at the show who I've mentioned before. Anyways, I needed both of these 2007 Topps Highlights jersey and 2009 Legendary Cuts jersey cards for my Cano PC, and it's even cooler to see that they both have pinstripes!

Next was a pretty sweet dual relic from again, 2009 UD SP Legendary Cuts! This card features jersey swatches from both Bo Jackson and Albert Pujols. I don't really see the connection between the two, but I like both of them a lot so it's pretty cool for sure. I'm not a fan of the Pujols signing in LA but I still have respect for him because if he hasn't done steroids or PED's, he's one of the best players of all time. 

Along with the Pujols/Jackson card was another sweet dual relic of two of my favorites, Reggie Jackson and Josh Hamilton! Both of them reside in my Secondary Collections group, and it's only fitting that I would eventually add this one to the collection!


The final three relics I was able to add to my collection last Sunday were needed for my Topps Tier One relic set I'm working on! Going into the show I had 5 cards total from the 50 card set, along with 3 that were incoming from trades and eBay. As well as the incoming pickups, Dad was able to help me add 3 more at the show! 

The first relic was of one of my PC players, Don Mattingly! This card is absolutely awesome, with a nice crisp photo and a solid overall design. The Yankees are pretty well represented in this set, with Babe Ruth; Lou Gehrig; Joe DiMaggio; Mickey Mantle; Reggie Jackson; Thurman Munson; Mattingly; and Paul O'Neill. One of the main reasons why I decided to collect this set was because there were a lot of Yankees relics I needed to add that were included! I've already got plenty of Mattingly but I can never get enough of one of the top players in all of baseball in the 1980's!

Card #2 just so happened to be a bat relic of one of baseball's most legendary hitters, in Tris Speaker. Tris is very often overlooked by some of the heroes in the game from his time period (1907-1928), such as Cobb; Wagner; Ruth; and a young Jimmie Foxx, but he was by far one of the best hitters to ever pick up a bat. He retired in 1928 with a lifetime batting average of .345 and 3,514 hits. When he retired, only Cobb had more hits than him, and to this day he still ranks 5th all time. To now own a piece of his bat is something special, even if its just a small part of what he used to get himself to an elite level of baseball skill.

As dominant as Speaker was for all of those years, the best relic we were able to pick up was of Dodgers legendary lefty, Sandy Koufax. This is the dual relic version, numbered 41/99. Sandy is a rarity in today's hobby, but thanks to his contract signing with Topps over the past year, collectors all around the world have been able to add his autograph and memorabilia to their collections! Koufax doesn't have the raw career stats that would put most pitchers in the Hall of Fame, but his level of dominance in about a 5 year span was great enough to put him in Cooperstown with ease. Being able to own a part of his jersey is unreal, and I'm really grateful for my dad to be able to help add cards like these to my collection!

Thanks again Dad for all of the awesome cards you got for me! The autos will be on the next post, and following that will be able 2-3 more posts until I complete the in-depth recap of one of the best shows I've ever been to!

See Ya!

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

Hey guys, Drew back here! Now that we're underway with the card show review, I'm just going to let it continue. Check it out!

PART 2: 1961 Topps Pickups

The 1961 Set has been moving quite slow of late for us, but every show Dad and I tend to at least chip away a few cards from the set. We've knocked off a majority of the star player base cards, except for Bob Gibson, Carl Yastrzemski, Sandy Koufax, and Roberto Clemente, however there is still a long way to go until the set is be anywhere close to complete! I officially announced that I was collecting the set last spring, so within the year, to be able to track down 1/3 of the set is not bad at all! Anyways, let's get to the new additions to the set:

Some may consider this set extremely boring, but honestly I think there's something about them that I really like. It's a very classy set, and while it doesn't contain the flare and fantastic design that many modern sets have, I still value the photo more than anything else. There are some classic shots in this set for sure. My favorite of the 8 above cards is definitely Ted Kluszewski, who was known for being the muscular home run hitting guy who cut his sleeves off on his jersey. Unfortunately, while the card is nice, it doesn't show his hot abs!

Next up are all of the remaining League Leaders cards I needed for the whole set! Honestly, I think these cards are the ugliest part of the set, but that's just my opinion. Of course, there is nothing ugly about the top card, featuring Mantle and Maris! Anyways, there are some solid players displayed on these cards without a doubt, but I'm not a big fan of the overall design. Still, they are part of the set, which means I'm obligated to obtain them. I'm glad to have them all out of the way!

In my opinion, the top pickups (besides the Mantle/Maris leaders card) were of these 4 players: Warren Spahn, Brooks Robinson, Bill Virdon, and Harmon Killebrew. While clearly Virdon may not fit with the other 3 Hall of Famers, I like him a lot and it's a nice card. I got him through the mail a while back and he also was a Yankee manager so I'm a fan for sure. Besides Virdon, I've been really meaning to add Brooks' card for a while now. Not only do I think it's one of the nicest cards in the set, but I knocked off a majority of the first 50 cards, and he was the biggest card I needed to get. Also, Dad originally bought a Richie Ashburn but then realized we had it, went back and exchanged it for the Warren Spahn you see above. I didn't have much in Spahn, so I'm glad he was able to get that one! Lastly, the late Harmon Killebrew's card is pretty nice as well, showing him while his hair was still a full strawberry blonde/brownish color. 

So, that will do it for the 1961 portion of my card show gatherings! Thanks a lot Dad for all of the help as always! You're the best! If anyone has any 1961 Topps cards you wouldn't mind trading, please take a look at my list of what I have under the first headline of the sidebar! Thanks guys!

See Ya!