Thursday, June 30, 2011

Two AL Cy Young Contender Pickups!

Hey guys, Drew back here. A few days ago I decided to waste my entire monthly allowance in two blows, and picked up two autos I wanted really badly for my collection. Check them out:


First off is a triple relic autograph from 2007 Topps Triple Threads of Justin Verlander, the ace of the Detroit Tigers. Verlander is posting a career year numbers wise, currently about to win his 11th game of the year against the Mets, sporting a 2.32 ERA as of before today's start! I'm so happy I picked him for my fantasy team, as my ace Tim Lincecum hit a few bumpy spots in his last couple of starts, so I had support behind him with Verlander. He also has thrown 2 no hitters in his career, one in 2007 and the other in 2011. He's becoming one of my favorite pitchers, and I got to see him face off against CC Sabathia last year:


CC ended up doing better than Verlander, but it was a good game regardless.


The next card was of Angels ace Jered Weaver, who is also in line to possibly take the American League Cy Young award, posting a 9-4 record with a 1.97 ERA. He took the league by storm in the beginning of the season, starting off with a 6-0 record, only allowing 5 runs throughout all of April. He also led the league in strikeouts last season. Weaver is a very underrated pitcher, and one of my favorites as well.

Both of these cards have a very nice design, and were fairly affordable. Both are numbered to 99 and have 3 white swatches. What do you guys think of them?

See Ya!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Don Mattingly PC!!!

Hey everyone, Drew back here. I figured it was about time to get started on the PC pages for the rest of the players I'm collecting on my sidebar, so we'll start with Donnie Baseball! Keep in mind I still will probably find plenty more laying around my house, but here's what I've managed to find so far of Mattingly:

DON MATTINGLY COLLECTION STANDS AT.......  
 188 DIFFERENT CARDS!!!

* Bold= Pictured Below Card

2009 UD SP Legendary Cuts #LM-DM2 Legendary Memorabilia Relic /100


2008 Donruss Threads #35
2008 Donruss Threads #BA-3 Baseball Americana Autograph /25


2008 UD Baseball Heroes #125
2008 UD Baseball Heroes #176 w/Wade Boggs
2008 UD Baseball Heroes #125 Retail Exclusive Relic


2008 UD Masterpieces #CC-DM Captured on Canvas Relic 


2008 UD SP Legendary Cuts #GEN-DT Generations Dual Relic w/Todd Helton


2008 UD Yankee Stadium Legacy #69 Box Set Edition
2008 UD Yankee Stadium Legacy #70 Box Set Edition
2008 UD Yankee Stadium Legacy #5201
2007 Topps Yankees Exclusive 50 Card Set #NYY27
2007 UD SP Legendary Cuts #103 Legendary Lineage SP /550


2007 UD Sweet Spot Classic #CM-MA Classic Memorabilia Relic


2006 Topps #WM34 Wal-Mart Exclusive
2005 UD Baseball Heroes #24
2005 UD Classics #MA-MA Classic Materials Relic


2005 UD SP Legendary Cuts #LE-MA Legendary Lineage Relic


2001 Topps Archives # 83
2001 Topps Archives #166 Reprint Autograph 


2000 UD Yankees Legends #62
1996 Fleer #189
1996 Pacific Collection #376
1995 Bazooka #47
1995 Donruss #55
1995 Donruss #220 Checklist
1995 Fleer #76
1995 Leaf #303
1995 Leaf Great Gloves #10
1995 Pinnacle #21
1995 Pinnacle #295 Swing Men
1995 Score #239
1995 Score Summit #21
1995 Score Summit #181 Bat Speed
1995 Sport Flix #13
1995 Studio #3
1995 Topps #399
1995 Topps Cyberstats #200
1995 Topps D #37
1995 Topps Embossed Gold #115
1995 Topps Stadium Club #381
1995 Topps Stadium Club #212 Best Seat in the House
1995 Upper Deck #210
1995 UD Collector's Choice #510
1995 UD Collector's Choice #240 Special Edition
1995 UD Collector's Choice #100 Traditional Threads
1995 UD Denny's #15
1995 UD SP #175
1994 Donruss #340
1994 Flair #84
1994 Post Collection #2
1994 Sportflics #MM9 Movers
1994 Topps #600
1994 Topps Stadium Club #195
1994 Upper Deck #290 Homefield Advantage
1994 UD Collectors Choice #192
1994 UD Collectors Choice #355 Team Checklist
1994 UD SP #198
1993 Fleer #281
1993 Fleer Ultra #244
1993 Hostess Baseball #28
1993 Leaf #237
1993 Metz Baking Company #14
1993 Score #470 Now & Then
1993 Topps #32
1993 Topps Gold #32
1993 Triple Play #120
1993 Upper Deck #134
1992 Donruss #596
1992 Donruss Triple Play #159
1992 Fleer "The Performer Collection" #16
1992 Leaf Heritage Series #BC-5
1992 Leaf Studio #216
1992 Post Collector Series #3
1992 Topps #300
1992 Topps #300 Gold Winner
1992 Upper Deck #356
1992 Upper Deck #47 Teammates w/Roberto Kelly
1991 Ballstreet #5
1991 Bowman #178
1991 Donruss #107
1991 Fleer #673
1991 Fleer Pro-Visions #11
1991 Fleer Ultra #239
1991 Leaf #425
1991 Leaf Studio #97
1991 O-Pee-Chee Premier #77
1991 Post Collector Series #29
1991 Score #23
1991 Score #856 "The Franchise"
1991 Score Super Star #23
1991 Topps #100
1991 Topps Cracker Jack #7
1991 Upper Deck #354
1990 Bowman Art Insert #5
1990 Ames All Stars #18
1990 Colla Collection #10
1990 Collect-A-Books #13
1990 Classic Yellow #T12
1990 Donruss #190
1990 Fleer #447
1990 Fleer #2 League Standouts
1990 Fleer #626 Players of the Decade
1990 Fleer #638 Super Star Specials w/Mark McGwire
1990 Hills Hit Men #3
1990 Kay-Bee Kings #18
1990 Post Collector Series #1
1990 Starting Lineup #NNO
1990 Starting Lineup #NNO "Rookie Year" Edition
1990 Topps #200
1990 Upper Deck #191
1990 Wonder Stars #6
1989 Bowman #176
1989 Classic #106
1989 Donruss #74
1989 Donruss #21 All Star
1989 Fleer #6 For the Record
1989 Score #100
1989 Score Superstar #10
1989 Score Yankees Set #1
1989 Topps #700
1989 Topps #397 AL All Star
1989 Topps Big #50
1989 Topps Coin #43
1989 Topps K-Mart #12 Dream Team
1989 Topps Sticker Back #2
1989 Topps Sticker Back #7 (Boggs Card-Mattingly on Back)
1989 Upper Deck #200
1988 Donruss #217
1988 Donruss #BC-21 MVP
1988 Donruss #26 Diamond Kings
1988 Fleer #214
1988 Fleer All Stars #28
1988 Fleer Award Winners #23
1988 Fleer League Leaders #25
1988 Kay-Bee Superstars of Baseball #16
1988 Score #650 Game Breakers w/Jack Clark
1988 Score #658 1987 Highlights
1988 Starbrite Superstars #16
1988 Topps #300
1988 Topps #386 All Star
1988 Topps Big #229
1988 Topps K-Mart #15 Memorable Moments
1988 Topps Sticker Back #35
1988 Topps UK Mini #45
1988 Topps Woolworth Baseball Highlights #4
1987 Boardwalk & Baseball Collector's Set #32
1987 Donruss #52
1987 Donruss #23 Highlights
1987 Donruss All Star Popouts #1B
1987 Fleer #638 Sluggers from the Left Side w/Darryl Strawberry
1987 Fleer Award Winners #24
1987 Fleer Baseballs Best #25
1987 Fleer Limited Edition #26
1987 Fleer Star Stickers #74
1987 Topps #500
1987 Topps #606 AL All Star
1987 Topps K-Mart #28 25th Anniversary
1987 Topps Tiffany #606 AL All Star
1986 Drake's Big Hitters #7
1986 Fleer Limited Edition #27
1986 Fleer Star Sticker #72
1986 Kay Bee Young Superstars of Baseball #19
1986 O-Pee-Chee #180
1986 Sportflics #75 Best In Baseball w/Wally Joyner & Eddie Murray
1986 Topps #180
1986 Topps #712 AL All Star
1984 Donruss #248 Rookie Card




1984 Fleer #131 Rookie Card
1984 Topps #8 Rookie Card




Again, I still have probably a good 30 more cards laying around in my basement, so I'll try to dig them up, but that's the basic main jist of things. I have to scan a few of the bold cards still and I'm having trouble identifying a few oddball cards from the late 80's but when I get to it I'll add them as well. If anyone has some Mattingly cards for trade, I'd certainly be interested in trading for them. Email me @ yanks1996wsc@gmail.com if you want to trade! Thanks everyone, See Ya!

Monday, June 27, 2011

TTM #75- One More Indian!

Hey guys, Drew back here. Things are slowly started to come back to life here on the blog, and I love being back. Sure, I have plenty of plans coming up, but the amount of free time for me increased by so much of late. My summer goal is to clean the countless tubs, binders, and boxes, and get some lots sold on eBay to clear space in the collection, so I don't overflow my house. If anyone has any good experience selling things on eBay, please comment based on how your experience has been with the site. I've bought a countless amount of things off of there but I haven't sold anything before.

Anyway, I got a TTM back the other day, and here it is for all of you to see:



The third and final Cleveland Indian I sent to was their ace, Justin Masterson! Masterson may only be their number 2 pitcher this year to Fausto Carmona in terms of order, but in terms of performance, nobody has topped Masterson for the Tribe this year. He's had some rough starts of late, but currently he's sporting a 5-6 record with a 2.98 ERA in 16 starts. He's slowed down along with the rest of the Indians squad, but I still could see him as a solid 4 or 5 guy in any team's rotation. 

Masterson signed 2 cards for me, the first being a custom, and the second being a 2009 Topps 206 base card. The custom actually looks decent for a change, without much damage at all, and it was signed nicely with his "Phil 4:13" Bible inscription. However, my favorite was the other card because it came out sweet! His autograph is different, and I gotta say I'm a fan of it.

Thanks Mr. Masterson! See Ya!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Vintage Cards From Pop Popps

Hey guys, Drew back here. Somehow, Pop Popps still is feeding me more and more cards to add to my collection, which is incredibly awesome! He recently gave me a stack for my last quarter of school, and getting through freshman year (I think everyone deserves a crown and a throne for that accomplishment). Check out what he had in store for me the last time I visited him!


In this one, there were a lot of nice cards, but my favorite of the bunch was certainly the 1971 Topps Al Kaline card. It looks like one of his nicer all around cards! I also scanned the Sal Bando 1971 card because whether you love them or hate them, the A's certainly had some unique uniforms back in the day. Also of note, Willie Horton had an amazing moustache, and the rest of the cards feature Hall of Famers on them. The checklist from the top left corner, featuring Bob Gibson, was from 1969 Topps.

Thanks so much Pop Popps as always! See Ya!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Corner Store Pickup! Topps Archives Auto!

Hey guys, Drew back here. About a week ago, my dad, sister, and I went into our local town to get some pizza, and along the way we went into our corner store. If you may remember, I've bought a few different cards there in the past, but haven't gotten much there in a while. However, I spotted out a card one day when I walked in, and it stayed in my mind up until last week, when I decided to pull the trigger on it! Check this out:


Out of 2001 Topps Archives, its a Don Mattingly on card auto based off of his famous 1984 Topps rookie card! The moment I first saw this card I knew one day I had to add it into my collection, and as soon as I went home I eBay searched it, and found a few for an awful lot of money. I got the card for $25 total, which certainly wasn't cheap, but was worth it for me. Mattingly is a family favorite in a house with only 2 baseball fans, and he's one of my favorite players to collect.

The card is absolutely awesome looking in person, and it makes the 3rd autograph in my collection of "Donnie Baseball"! Thanks for reading and as always, See Ya!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

TTM #'s 73 & 74- Rookie of the Year? Plus a Failure

Hey guys, Drew back here. First off, SCHOOL'S OVER! "No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks!" I've got an unbelievable summer ahead of me, and the thought of not having to be in a classroom until September is a blessing in the skies! So, like last week I got these 2 TTM's as well as a failure, and I still wasn't able to post them. But here they are now, check them out:



First is Mariners phenom rookie pitcher Michael Pineda, who signed 2 cards for me in only 9 days! Pineda has emerged this season as a candidate for the Rookie of the Year award, so far being 7-4 with a 2.53 ERA in 15 starts. He's been overwhelmingly consistent for the Mariners, almost as much, maybe more consistent than their 2010 AL Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez! 

As you can see, the cards, in particular the bottom card have been EXTREMELY damaged, even though the autographs are great looking. I have no clue why this is all happening again, and it's been ruining my attempts at having nice looking autographed customs in my collection. Normally the Stars of Tomorrow cards don't get too damaged since most of the card is black, but for some reason this one came out horrible. I'm still planning on just hanging on to them, since his autographs are hot right now, and I definitely wanted one. It's a shame, but I'll still take it!


The second success came back from now Padres second baseman Orlando Hudson! "O-Dog" has had a fairly successful career in 10 years, mostly acting as a defensive player. He won 4 Gold Gloves, in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009. His best season was probably 2006, when he batted .287 for the Diamondbacks, with 15 home runs and 67 RBI's. 

The custom he signed, of course, came back damaged, with a noticeable circle marked over his face, as well as some damage over the Padres logo. It certainly doesn't look horrible but again it could be better. He's got a very nice looking autograph, and he inscribed his #1 for me. 


Lastly, I got a failure from back in Spring Training, from Neftali Feliz. A lot of the Rangers have recently returned these preprint autographed "cards", such as Elvis Andrus, Feliz, and Adrian Beltre lately. It's a bummer, but at least it's better than nothing. He also left a note that said:

"Thank you for writing to me. I am so grateful to all of my fans and appreciate your encouragement. Due to the amount of fan mail that I receive, I am unable to sign the items that you sent. I hope you enjoy one of my cards.

I wish you all the best (translated from Spanish),

Neftali Feliz"

At least it's better than nothing! Does anyone have any ideas to help me with my custom damage? Thanks again guys. See Ya!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Grandpa Roy Column!


Hey guys, Drew back here. With one more test to go, this school year is just about in the books for me, and I can't wait until I'm able to leave the madhouse that will be my Geometry Regents exam. Anyway, Grandpa gave me a question recently, and I wanted to see if any of you knew the answer? Here goes:

Throughout the history of Major League baseball, teams frequently change stadiums and cities. This makes it difficult to hit a lot of home runs in the same ballpark for so many years. Which hitter has the most home runs of all time in one ballpark? Name the player, ballpark, and number of home runs if you can! 


Player: Mel Ott
Stadium: Polo Grounds
# of HR's: 323

Alright everyone, you know the drill! One guess a day, and please try to limit your uses of stat websites, unless its extremely necessary! Good luck, and See Ya!

Monday, June 20, 2011

Revealing the Mysterious Binder... A Little at a Time... Is This a Dream?

Hey everyone, Drew back here! I've been waiting a long time to post this, because I had originally planned for this to be the last post of the series. However, things got in the way, and I haven't had much of a chance to add to the series, and it's been months since I first got the binder. Since then, dad has picked up more tubs off of them and I haven't even gotten into the hidden treasures in them! So, without further ado... just enjoy, perhaps the greatest part of my entire collection!


Yes, this post, is dedicated to the one and only baseball icon, one of my all time favorite players, Mickey Mantle! The moment I opened up the mysterious binder, peeking beneath the first page, was a card of his, one that you'll see in a moment. First off however, are the least valuable of this group. 

The top card, from the 1961 Topps set, a set I've taken on the challenge of attempting to complete, reflects when Mantle hit a 565 foot home run, known as the "Tape Measure Shot"! An arrow points from home plate to beyond the outfield bleachers, outside of Griffith Stadium! The bottom card, from 1965 Topps, has to do with his clutch home run to win Game 3 of the 1964 World Series against the Cardinals. Both cards don't have the aura to them, like his regular cards, but they capture some of the greatest moments in one of the greatest baseball player's career!


The next two cards are the same, but its certainly not a bad card to get 2 of! From 1968 Topps, this is a "Super Stars" card with Mantle, joining legends Willie Mays, and recently deceased Harmon Killebrew! This is truly an unreal card, between these three players are 7,784 lifetime hits, and 1,769 home runs! I absolutely love the card, but with finding two of them, I was wondering if any of you would be interested in making me an offer for one of the two cards. What I ask for in exchange is a Mickey Mantle card that you own, that is NOT also in this post. I don't know if I'll get any offers, but I would love to make more of a variety in my small Mantle collection. 


Next, from 1963 Bazooka, a very mini sized card of Mantle. This is a neat little card, which I've never seen before, but I like it. It may not also carry the value of these next three, but any Mantle card is a Mantle card!


This was the first Mantle card I caught my eyes on, and it is by far my favorite of any of these cards. The 1968 Topps Mantle card may be his second to final issued Topps card, but it may just be one of his finest. Mantle, portrayed in his lefty stance, shows his injuries finally wearing him down. Also, just to point it out, other than a slight centering issue, the card is in very nice shape! 


Turning back the clock a year brings us my next Mantle card, this being his 1967 Topps card. It seemed as if Topps tried their hardest to make Mantle's card the greatest looking year in and year out, and they seemed to succeed. This isn't Mantle's coolest card by any means, but it's very valuable and nice all around!


The last, but not least (hopefully) card of Mantle was this one, from 1961 Topps! This was the main reason I decided that I could attempt this set, because I was able to knock off perhaps the most valuable card in the set for free. It's not in good shape surfacing wise, but it looks better in person than it does on the scan. Sometimes wear can be a nice thing for vintage cards, just to assure you it's not a reprint, and it can have interesting stories behind them, of the times where people bought baseball cards for the sake of having baseball cards, and not to have eBay in their back pocket, ready to let loose of their valuable items.

I wanted to finish this post by saying that it's hard for me to make this out to seem like a regular, nonchalant kind of deal. These are cards that I never thought I could even DREAM of owning, and now, not only do I have one, not 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, but 8 cards of Mickey Mantle from his playing days is absolutely unbelievable! I'm not one of those collectors that spends money, looks at the card once, and never again. I look at, cherish, and hold memories with a lot of the cards I own, and these will certainly be some of them.

This won't be the final binder post yet, as I want to highlight the rookies and other stars I found in there. But nothing can top "The Mick", especially in baseball card lure.

See Ya!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

2011 Topps Wrapper Redemption Pack!

Hey guys, Drew back here. First off, yesterday, one of the tests I took was an online engineering test for my Project Lead the Way class. It was a college level test, and if I passed, I would be elligible for college credits! My teacher called me up last night and told me I scored an 82, so I was elligible for the credits! After having the longest and most terrible day of the year, that was some bright news and I was excited to hear it. Anyways, a few weeks ago I sent in all of my packs from my 2011 Topps box to do the wrapper redemption program, which gives you 1952 Topps diamond parallels and a chance to pull autos from original players in the 1952 set! Here's how I did:


You get 5 cards in each pack, and I think I did fairly well, pulling Ichiro, Ubaldo Jimenez, Joey Votto, Prince Fielder, and Mark Reynolds! The cards look absolutely awesome, my favorite being Votto because he's turning into another one of my favorite players. The Reynolds will be heading out soon, but if anyone has any Yankees from the set I would love to take them off your hands in exchange for one of these! 

Thanks Topps! See Ya!

Friday, June 17, 2011

Mail from This Blogger's Best Buddy!

Hey guys, Drew back here. After a long first week of 4 tests, I have 2 more tests this following week until I'm free from the tortures of school for two months! I'm so excited as I've mentioned just like 600,000 times to you all, but anyways, a few weeks ago I got my first package from a blogger probably since the last time he sent me one. As you all know I've taken a major break with trading, but will hope to pick it back up throughout this summer. However, William from foul bunt managed to come through yet again, to not only make my day but give me some awesome additions to my collection that he bought for me!

First, before I show what he sent me, I'll say it as long as I live, PLEASE, go check out foul bunt if you've never done so before. You will probably never meet a nicer and more generous trader than William, and he's an all around heck of a guy.

Now that I gave William a well-deserved plug, here's what he had in store for me this time around!


First off were a few random inserts and rookie cards, all of which I needed for my collection, minus perhaps the cool Lou Gehrig card. There's a Topps Total rookie of Granderson in there, a nice add to my Granderson collection for sure! Also, the Jeter in the bottom left is an Opening Day parallel numbered to 2010, and the Jeter to the right of that is a factory set exclusive card, which I've never seen before! Lastly is a 2011 Topps Brett Gardner gold parallel!


Next are not one, but two rookie cards of one of my favorite players, Robinson Cano! Both cards, the base card, and the mini variation, are from 2005 Bowman Heritage, which wasn't his earliest year his cards were produced, but it was from the year of his MLB debut. I like the look of the cards, and I'm glad I was able to kill 2 birds with 1 stone!

However, the next two cards are the true reason why he sent me this package!


The first card is from 1966, however, while it looks like a Topps card, it is not my friend! In fact, this Hector Lopez card was part of the Topps Venezuelan set! According to William, these cards are fairly rare and hard to find, and it made sense to me, since I've never seen or heard of this set before. The texture of the cards are much different from the regular Topps card stocks, and it doesn't have the small amount of gloss that the old Topps cards always seemed to carry a little bit of. Lopez was never a great player, but he was part of a few of their great championship teams in the early 1960's.


The last card he sent is one of my new favorite cards in my collection. Sure, it isn't exactly in mint condition, but this 1953 Topps Allie Reynolds is the first card I have from the beautiful set Topps released that year! All of these cards are painted photos of the players, and it's perhaps the second most famous Topps set ever produced (to its predecessor, 1952 Topps)! Reynolds, known as the Chief, was a 6 time All Star and 6 time World Series champion with the Yankees in the 1940's and 1950's! Of course, the one thing Reynolds is recognized most for is being the 1st American League pitcher to throw 2 no hitters in the same season. But he was a great pitcher, and this my friends, is an awesome card! 

All in all, thank you so much William for once again making my day, I really appreciate it as always, and again, please check out his blog if you haven't already!

See Ya!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

TTM #'s 71 & 72- Cleveland Indian Style!

Hey guys, Drew back here! This week I got overloaded in... yep.. once again, damaged custom cards. I have been using my new glue, which has been working perfectly, but the customs have been getting uglier and uglier as they arrive home in my mailbox. Without a clue of what to do, I'm pretty much going to end the non Yankees or Hall of Fame custom sets, at least for the time being, until I can figure out what's going wrong. Without further adieu, lets show off some of the recent successes I've gotten, this being the Cleveland edition:


The first was one of their once hot pitchers this season, Josh Tomlin. Tomlin started the year on an absolute tear, even earning a spot on my fantasy baseball pitching staff. Sadly, he's struggled big time with his command lately, pushing his ERA from a 2.41 on May 21st to a now 4.14. I still think Mr. Tomlin has a good future, and these last 4 starts have just been a bit of a flunk.

Tomlin signed 2 cards for me, a custom, and a 2011 Topps base card. He inscribed his number on each card, to go with his incredibly small signature. Both his and the next guys cards returned signed in 18 days. Just for that, here's success number 2:


None other than their closer, Chris Perez! Perez not only is a very good closer, notching 16 saves for the 2nd place Indians, but he is also well renowned in the card hobby, after purchasing the famed booklet card featuring all of the 1927 Yankees starting lineup, as a gift to himself after a new contract! Perez is having what will be a career year, unless barred by struggle or injury (knock on wood). He may not have the most famous beard in the closing world, but he earns a close second. 

This card came out more damaged than the Tomlin, as you can see by the gray and black marks around the left side of his body. There is certainly worse to come, so I'm fortunate these came back semi-ok. 

Any ideas about all the damage? I don't know where to go from here.

See Ya!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Pirates Future All Star Pickup!

Hey everyone, Drew back here! Recently, to go along with my other purchases, I picked up another future All Star's autograph on eBay! Check it out:


From 2010 Bowman Platinum, an Andrew McCutchen autographed jersey card! It's the refractor version, even though it doesn't look anything like a refractor, and it's serial numbered out of 740. Although he's only been in the league since 2009, he looks like he could be one of the top 3 or 4 center fielders in the game several years from now, if he's not already. He contains all 5 necessary tools, and is one of the only hitters in the Pittsburgh lineup that can provide any life at all throughout every game.

This season, McCutchen has batted .284 with 10 home runs, 37 RBI, and 11 steals. I haven't gotten too much of an opportunity to see him play but he looks to be one of the most colorful and exciting young players in the sport. I'm definitely going to follow him for a while, and I hope he turns out to be worth the $10 investment!

As for his autograph, while its not pretty by any means, it sure isn't the worst I've ever seen! This card will now sit next to the extremely similar Jose Bautista autographed relic I own from this set, so it's in very good company.

What do you guys think of McCutchen?

See Ya!

Friday, June 10, 2011

TTM #70- Finally!

Hey guys, Drew back here. Well, my classes are now over for the summer, with only finals seperating me from the sweet summertime! I can't say I won't be busy though, with a few vacations scattered throughout the summer, as well as 3 amazing events. First on that agenda, we just learned about, is that we got tickets to see Paul McCartney's On The Run Tour in Yankee Stadium on July 15th! I couldn't believe it when I heard the news about this, and I absolutely can't wait to go! Next, I'm going to a Yankee game in August, and I'll be hitting up the White Plains Card Show most likely, featuring some awesome autograph guests! So, I've got a lot to look forward to, but I can't let those things affect me over the next 2 weeks. Oh, I did say I wasn't going to post for a weeks, HA! Yeah, who would've thought I'd be right back here again? Typical me.

So anyway, it took a few tries, but I recently got a semi-success from my TTM miracle! Check it out:


None other than Stan "The Man" Musial sent me his autographed postcard! After numerous tries of getting him to sign a custom, I gave up hope and requested one of these, which are normally given to you when asked. I'm sure that these were pre-signed, because unfortunately Mr. Musial, at 90 years old, isn't getting any younger. Recently, Dad bought me an autographed baseball of his off of Craigslist, and even though the autograph wasn't beautiful, it was worth it, because the guy was a legend.

Just by reading off his list of accomplishments on the card, 3,630 hits, 6,134 total bases, 24 All Star selections, and a lifetime average of .331, makes you feel like he's in the top 10 at least for greatest hitters the game has ever seen! For absolutely no cost, I was given this nice little commemorative autographed card of his, and I'll always cherish it! He has a beautiful signature, and is a true hero of baseball! I'm so glad I was able to add a new piece of his to my collection. 


This video truly shares how great of a person this man is. Here's a salute, and a major thank you to Mr. Stan Musial, may I wish you all the best in the future!

See Ya!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

TTM #69- Yankee Killer!

Hey guys, Drew back here, and yeah I'm really behind. I've got plenty to post about, just the time and motivation I have for doing so has been pretty pathetic. Finals start next week and I'm hoping and praying that I'll be ready for them, so I know for sure that I'll probably have to take most of the next 2 weeks off of here to focus more on whats gonna really get me somewhere in the future.

While I've got some spare time on my hands, check out one of my most recent successes, that of a former Yankee killing legend:


None other than Arizona Diamondbacks star Luis Gonzalez signed a custom card for me! The card took about 14 days to come back signed, and it sure looks great! Gonzalez was a great player, best known for his dramatic World Series walkoff hit against the greatest closer of all time, Mariano Rivera, but he also had a very good career. Not Hall of Fame worthy in my opinion, but great enough to make a lasting impact on the game. He retired following the 2008 season with a lifetime batting average of .283, with 2,591 hits, 354 home runs, and 5 All Star selections! He quietly put up great numbers throughout the steroid era, but exploded in 2001, hitting 58 homers, leading his team to the top!

Overall I'm really happy to add his autograph to my collection!

See Ya! For a few weeks, wish me luck!

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Gypsy Queen Retail Rush!


Hey everyone, Drew back here. So, last weekend, I took a trip to the mall, to go see Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. I must say that it was a really good movie, and if you haven't gone to see it yet, you really should make some time for it! Also, in my mall we have a Target, one of the greatest homes of retail wax. I've bought an awful lot there in the past, but try not to anymore. But, from what I've seen, retail 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen has been a major "hit"... literally. Hobby boxes are finding missing autos, and I wonder if the retail cards had anything to do with that! With that in mind, I purchased 4 single packs and a rack "value" pack with 3 packs and a bonus pack of green parallels. Let's see how I did:


This has been my first taste of this product of yet, and I easily chose it over 2011 Bowman, in my mind the most boring product of the year, year in and year out. That product is only fun when you pull anything of Bryce Harper. Other than that, I would choose literally anything to get away from Bowman. 

The base cards in this product are very sweet, and have never been done before, so its pretty fresh. The pictures has used a sort of photoshop trick to them, which makes them almost look like a painting. Out of the base cards I pulled, I really liked the A-Rod card as well as the Babe Ruth card, even though he's pictured as a Red Sox. 


Something that has been used almost too much is the mini concept. In every pack, you get one mini card, and I got my share. The Drew Stubbs and George Sisler minis are the red back versions (pointless gimmick), and the rest are base minis.


 I pulled a lot of insert cards as well. The inserts are fairly different, as they divide a lot of guys in the product into different groups, such as: Wall Climbers, Sticky Fingers (what kind of name is that?), The Great Ones, Future Stars, and Home Run Heroes. I pulled at least one of each, and by far my favorite insert was the Thurman Munson "The Great Ones" card. Sure, the photo has been used a lot for his cards, but it still looks great!


The bonus 3 green paper parallel card pack didn't really disappoint, as I ended up pulling Ubaldo Jimenez, Andre Dawson, and Kevin Youkilis. I love the Dawson card, can care less about Ubaldo, and can't stand "Youk", so please note that if you're curious in trading for these. They aren't numbered but they look great!


In the packs I also pulled this Carlos Santana copper paper parallel numbered to 999, which was a pretty cool pull. It's for trade if anyone wants it.


Finally, I did indeed pull an auto, that of Chris Sale, reliever for the White Sox. Could've been a lot better, but then again, I could've not pulled an auto at all. My goal was to pull an auto and that's exactly what this is. He is 4-1 this season with a 3.40 ERA and 6 saves as the "next in line" closer for the Sox. He's been highly touted as a prospect, so I'll wait and see how the hype goes. But if anyone is interested, please shoot me an email to yanks1996wsc@gmail.com and offer me an auto in exchange.

That goes for all the non Yankees cards I pulled as well. If anyone is interest, send me an email. Other than that, everybody have a good Saturday!

See Ya!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

TTM #68- Yankees All Star!

Hey guys, Drew back here. A few weeks ago I suddenly remembered about the fact that one of the Yankees best, if not the best, current performer is a fairly good through the mail signer! Granted, he won't sign what you send him, but you still will get an autograph nonetheless, so I couldn't miss out on the opportunity. He was one of my 1st successes before he was a Yankee, and ever since has been traded to the Bombers and has become one of my favorite players!



 He is Curtis Granderson! Granderson has done nothing but dominate for the Yanks thus far into the season, already with 17 home runs and 41 runs batted in. He is well on pace to surpass his single season career records, and he has been very exciting to watch this season. The thing I enjoy about Granderson is that he can do it all. He can hit for contact, power, he's very fast, and he's an outstanding centerfielder. He also has an incredible attitude on and off the field, and has been really great for his fans.

His specially designed custom card is about the size of an index card, though maybe just a bit smaller. It has a simple design on the front but the autograph looks very nice on the card! The back is also simple, but states some interesting facts about Granderson, including that his favorite meal is Thanksgiving Dinner, and his favorite band is OutKast. He'd definitely be one of the first players on my list for guys I'd like to have an interview with, considering that he seems to be one of the best guys in baseball.

Overall I'm really happy I was able to add my 4th Granderson autograph to my collection, and this does truly make up for the big crease on the 1st card I got him on. Thanks so much Curtis!

See Ya!