All Star Stitches

Relics don't really have the same appeal they once did to me. There have been so many controversies in regards to where the "game used material" comes from to the point where I'm generally driven away from buying them. I'm even at the point where I'd rather add a colorful parallel of a player I collect over having a piece of their bathroom towel or socks or whatever Topps and Panini are using.

One of the best relic sets every year to me is the All Star cards in Topps' annual Update Series. I like some diversity in my player collections, and typically most of the jersey swatches placed on their cards look pretty similar. But the All Star ones can be bright and on the complete opposite end of the color spectrum from what they typically don throughout the course of the regular season. I recently added two cards of this nature, the first on Check Out My Collectibles and the second from eBay.

2013 Topps Update Prince Fielder All Star Stitches

I've had a few of these cards on my want list ever since they came out in 2013. I was lucky enough to attend that year's Home Run Derby and watch my favorite sluggers duke it out in Citi Field. Prince Fielder was a favorite to win, and was one of my favorite players at the time (still very much up there). He didn't make it as far into the competition as we hoped, but the power display Yoenis Cespedes provided Queens that night was enough to make up for it. It's pretty cool in retrospect to think that just two years later Cespedes helped lead the Mets to the World Series.

I highly doubt this was the jersey Fielder wore during the Derby, but it's close as it's going to get for me. That was one of the best days of my life, and I'm glad I have another token to remember it by. This cost me maybe $2.

2015 Topps Update Joe Panik All Star Stitches

It's hard to believe that a player can make such a quiet splash into the league. Joe Panik helped lead the Giants to an unforgettable World Series victory in his rookie year, and followed up by making the All Star team the next season. I hope this is the first of many for Joe, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was. I talk him up a great deal because we rarely get major league quality talent in my neck of the woods, but he really is evolving into one of the best second basemen in the National League. If he can put together a full, healthy season, I feel like he can bring in some hardware.

Most fans don't get much out of the All Star Game, and I understand why. The game means too much for the World Series but usually isn't as thrilling as the stakes would entail. On top of it all, interleague play is so common that it's not as exciting to see these players face off. I still enjoy seeing the players I've admired for years honored annually, and I hope that feeling stays with me for a while. 

Mail from It's Like Having My Own Card Shop!

Hey everyone, so much for a grand start to the year. With all of this constant planning for my European adventure about to set sail in less than 2 weeks, I haven't had much time to blog. Thankfully, my buddy Daniel of It's Like Having My Own Card Shop randomly asked for my address and sent along a whole lot of Yankees cards I've never seen. Daniel is one of the mainstays our blogosphere has enjoyed the company of for several years, and has fantastic Diamondbacks collections.

I absolutely love the occasional care package, especially when I get to pick through dime box quality inserts and parallels. Daniel gave me that chance, but I didn't even have to choose between cards or get my wallet out!

There appears to be a difference between the material released today versus ten years ago. It seems like there are a never ending influx of insert cards that came out in the early to mid 2000's that I've never seen. I wasn't much of a collector until 2005, when I first got into baseball. So being able to add various inserts of the Yankees I grew up watching as a kid that I've never seen is always enjoyable.

Many of the cards Daniel sent over were short printed. My favorite obscure parallels were the 2003 Donruss Black and White Exhibit cards of Mike Mussina and Jason Giambi. The Mussina is numbered 30/63 copies, whereas the Giambi is 14 of only 46 in existence. They're unique cards of two players I got to know really well over the years. Here's to hoping Moose makes it into the Hall of Fame one day.

The final card I wished to highlight from Daniel's care package was this awesome Eric Chavez 2013 Topps camo parallel numbered 61 of 99. 2013 was the first year Topps brought camo parallels to their flagship baseball sets. In 2014, they did something very similar, and in 2015 went with the "Snow Camo" look. This is my first of any of the three, and I really like it! Granted, Chavez won't be known for his Yankee years, but he did have a few noteworthy moments in pinstripes.

Thank you so much Daniel for a really fun package! I'm going to do my best to return the favor before I leave!

Tuesday TTM from the ToddFather

Hey guys, Drew back here! It's been a while, but I finally received another TTM, and it was one I didn't expect to see!

Todd Frazier: 1/1 in 587 Days c/o Cincinnati Reds

I thought this Todd Frazier 2013 Topps card was long gone, but sure enough it found its way back into the middle of nowhere! Frazier is becoming one of the premier power hitters in the National League and had a breakout year in 2014; smashing 29 home runs and driving in 80 runs for the mediocre Reds team. One interesting fact about Frazier is that his little league team in Toms River, NJ won the Little League World Series in 1998, and with that he got to run out on the field at Yankee Stadium in the MLB World Series. It turns out he was a shortstop at the time, and stood next to former Yankee captain Derek Jeter for the national anthem. Last year the two reunited at the All Star game, and it made Jeet feel pretty old. 

Frazier is a great player and leader in the MLB today, and I'm really glad to have this card signed of his. Thanks so much Todd for teaching me never to write off any of these TTM requests!

See Ya!

Mail Catchup!

Hey guys, Drew back here! For the second day in a row, we have a snow day here in "upstate" New York, which has been nice for me as I'm trying desperately to get somewhat organized before the holidays. I think it's about time I get some of these cards off my desk and loaded into binders, so take a look at some of what I've gotten in from my buddies William, Scott, and Andrew over the past few months!

We'll kick things off with William, who; although I've had a hard time keeping in good touch with this year, still treats me better than anyone else in this hobby. I can't begin to express my gratitude for his friendship and I always appreciate the random care packages! He always catches me up on the products I don't buy (which is basically every product at this point) and sends me the Yankees, and once again he came in clutch and really helped me out. I really like the Panini Cooperstown product and I like how they chose some pictures that aren't used as commonly. It's a nicely designed product and maybe one day I'll buy a pack or two!

I always have checked out Allen & Ginter, so it really says something about my interest in investing in packs that I hadn't bought a single pack this year. The Berra & Cano's were really appreciated, as well as the Jeter insert! It's going to be weird remembering Cano isn't a Yankee anymore but I'm still going to recognize and honor the 9 great years he put towards the Yankee organization and highlight him in my collection.

He also sent me all of the Topps Update Yankees he pulled, which was awesome of him too! I hardly opened any of the flagship product this year, and I actually really liked it. I've been spending my hobby money elsewhere, such as improving my Mickey Mantle 16x20 project and I've also had to allocate that money towards real world stuff such as gas and food. I've always enjoyed the update product though, because I'm the type of fan that really enjoys seeing how GM's can upgrade their teams and a majority of the cards in this set are the small names that Brian Cashman needed to make the most out of what was a pretty bad 2012 season. Lyle Overbay was solid all season, however Kevin Youkilis was injured most of the year. You win some, and you lose some, I guess.

Andrew surprised me one day with a PWE containing this sweet Mariano Rivera 2013 Bowman purple refractor numbered out of 199! I really appreciated that he went out of his way to give me this card for nothing other than being a good friend. Everyone go give his blog some love if you haven't already!

But that wasn't all that Andrew had to offer. I also recently participated in his group break of a box of Topps Update, and I ended up with the Yankees and Mets. I got all of the big base cards from each team including the Mariano Rivera inserts, the Home Run Derby cards, the Harvey card, and the Wheeler rookie card!  

On top of that, I got a few nice inserts, my favorite easily being the Mariano green parallel. While this past year wasn't very good for the baseball team, honoring Mo's legacy did make the season somewhat more of a success than it would've been! I also really like the Mussina "Chasing History" insert. I really hope he does well on the Hall of Fame ballot this year, because I think if he can survive the heavy classes of the next few years, he'll eventually get in.

Last but certainly not least, I made my first trade in the past century with my good friend Scott over at Mr. Baseball. He and I have made some trades in the past, but nothing major was ever moved between us, until now. I finally gave up my David Ortiz Stadium Club auto in exchange for all of these goodies, because while it held a significant memory in my hobby experience, it fit much better in Scott's Ortiz PC. I got a bunch of nice inserts in the deal, including the Jeter red parallel and the Cano silver ice out of Bowman. 

In addition to the inserts, I managed to pick up this Andy Pettitte relic with a pinstripe out of 2008 Upper Deck Timeline. Many people overlook the fact that Andy didn't play his entire career in New York, but he had some of his best seasons for Houston in the mid 2000's. He capped off his brilliant career last year, and he'll certainly be missed in the Yankees rotation next season. However, as Pettitte exits, enter a possible new era, as this guy could be vying for a spot next year:

Numbered out of 199 from 2011 Topps Chrome, the newest big addition to my collection is this Michael Pineda blue refractor autograph! Pineda has a ton of potential, some of which he's already shown in the majors during his rookie season. He played very little last season, all in the minors where he was recovering from his shoulder surgery he underwent. He currently has an opportunity to take a spot in next year's rotation, but Yankee fans haven't gotten their hopes up. He's still only 24, so there's a lot of time left before considering the near 2011 Rookie of the Year a dud. If he ends up working out, I'll be very proud to have this card, but if he doesn't, that's part of the risk you have to take with cards like these.

So, I want to thank all three of you for everything, you all went out of your way to improve my collection and it means a lot to me!

See Ya!

One from the Museum Collection!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Finals week is underway, as I was required to take a written final for Gym today to kick off the 2 weeks of torture. The test was a complete joke, and I was very aggravated for having to come in for Gym. Oh well. I picked this card up the other day from the new Topps Museum Collection!

I was watching some YouTube box breaks of the new product one day, and someone came across one of these beautiful quad relics featuring 2 young stars and 2 legends from Oakland and Pittsburgh! The Pirates are undoubtedly my favorite National League team, and Andrew McCutchen is one of my current favorite players throughout all of baseball. The A's are another one of my favorite teams, and you know how much I love a nice Reggie Jackson card when I see one! So, immediately following the YouTuber pulling this card, I jumped onto eBay and added one to my own collection for around $20 give or take. It's numbered out of 99 and has 3 jersey swatches and a beautiful 3 color patch on the McCutchen! I didn't expect to see a combo with 4 players I really like, so it was a nice addition for me for sure.

What do you all think of the new Museum Collection? Better/worse than past years?

See Ya!

March 24th White Plains Show Pickups

Hey guys, Drew back here! So, on Sunday, Dad and I took a quick trip down to White Plains! I didn't bring as much money as I usually do, but I still had a good time and got some nice deals. The main reason I wanted to go was because some personal favorites of mine were signing autographs, and I wanted to add them into my signed baseball collection. You'll get to see all of that tomorrow, but for now, take a look at what I was able to pick up!

A little while into the show, I found a younger guy selling a bunch of prospect and star autographs, which is usually what I look for at these shows. Over time, I've composed a list of my Top 100 favorite players, and my goal is to eventually have an autograph of all of them (I have 66 of the 100)! However, this Ty Hensley autograph from the new Bowman Sterling stood out first to me, since I had the refractor version already. He wanted $8 for the card, which was a bit much for this one for me, so I tried to see if he could work with me. 

I then saw this sweet Zack Greinke autograph from 2004 Topps, and decided to ask the price on it. He said it books between $20 and $30, but then said he'd give me the two cards for $20! I couldn't pass up that offer, as Greinke had been an autograph on my list for a while now. However, I decided to keep looking and make sure there weren't any other cards I wanted. 

Well, there was one more, this sweet 2006 Upper Deck F/X Matt Cain autograph! Again, I inquired on the card, and he said it books around $30, but he'd give it to me for $10! I hadn't seen a Matt Cain autograph for around $10 in ages, so I pounced at the 3 for $30 offer he gave me! Cain and Greinke were two of the top pitchers I've wanted, so it was awesome to knock them both off in one swing. I don't believe that Greinke is deserving of the fattest contract for a right handed pitcher ever, but I guess he showed up to free agency at the right time.

Then, Dad & I went to a table ran by two girls that usually have the nicest new cards in the building. They have all sorts of rare 1/1's, printing plates, and parallels of prospects, you know; the stuff all out of my price range. However, they also had some mid-end stuff, including this beautiful Tyler Austin Bowman Chrome autograph! Austin's prices have skyrocketed since he became the Yankees 2nd best prospect according to many lists, so I've had a hard time getting a hold of this one for a solid price. Fortunately, I paid $30 for this one, which is certainly fair according to eBay value. The last time I spent $30 on a prospect autograph it was of Manny Banuelos, who proceeded to get injured directly after the purchase, crushing his stock. Hopefully that doesn't happen this go round.

My Dad decided to treat me to a sweet card also from the same girls, this 2006 Topps Finest Robinson Cano autograph! I can never add enough autographs of my favorite semi-affordable player, and Dad understood that by helping me out here. Now the 9th Cano autograph in my collection, this one is up there as one of the shiniest (go grammar!) of his that I own. However, this is already an old autograph in my Cano collection... and you'll see what I mean in a few days. 

Before Dad and I left the show we also picked up a jumbo pack of 2013 Topps! I haven't gotten to open any of it yet but made it a priority to do so at the show. I really like the design, and I think a lot of them would look great signed TTM. I counted about 8 cards in the 50 card pack that will probably be going out in the mail once the season starts, so hopefully I'll get a few of those back as well. It's amazing to see how clear and visually appealing Topps' flagship products have gotten over the years. I'm definitely impressed, even though I'm not exactly a huge Topps fan thanks to their poor customer service.

Fortunately, I did awesome on the inserts, although I didn't get a hit in the pack. I don't think I'd trade any of these, except for the Lowe emerald which will probably go towards William's set chase. By the way, if anyone has any of those emeralds laying around, be sure to go check out his blog and see if you can help with his daunting task! Final thoughts: the Calling Cards seem pretty pointless but I love the die-cuts and '72 minis! I tried the Million Dollar Chase and it is pretty lame. If anyone wants Desmond Jennings (who went undrafted in my 8 team fantasy draft) for their Topps team let me know.

Thanks again to Dad for taking me to the show and for the Cano! I've got a whole lot of awesome things to come; be on the lookout! See Ya!