Pieces to the Panik Puzzle

I'm beginning to notice a trend with my two main player collections. Whenever I type "Joe Panik" into eBay, I typically sift out all of the parallels and focus primarily on autographs and relics. Meanwhile, I'm collecting any licensed cards I can find of Severino. I've made an effort to add some of his lower numbered parallels when products first hit eBay, because they wind up costing much less if you buy them early. I was a little late to collecting Panik, and he was a part of just about every set Topps released last year. In an effort to make up for time lost, I've been grabbing some of his higher end cards and waiting to fill in the remaining cracks later. Here are two recent examples of such:

2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autograph RC

I've wanted this card for over a year now, and I finally made it mine after Frankie's amazing Christmas gift allowed me to sell my Bowman Panik base autograph. I simply don't have the budget to have multiples of higher end issues, so it made much more sense to sell my duplicate and replace it with a card I needed. I believe the base version of this Heritage card is considered Panik's official "rookie card", although that whole concept is extremely tough to comprehend these days. Heritage is one of my favorite Topps products, and the 1965 set the design is based on may just be my all time favorite card design. This pickup was as much of a win-win scenario as it gets.

2015 Topps Allen & Ginter Framed Autograph

Allen & Ginter has worn out its welcome. I remember being so excited to buy a hobby box every year of it, but now I only seek out singles of my team and player collections. I always enjoyed doing the annual Gint-A-Cuffs contest within the community, but the product felt so recycled that my ambition drew thin. I'll grab some of the obscure cards and try to get them signed TTM. But the excitement A&G once brought feels like its worn away. Then again, my box breaking days are just about behind me. I've taken too much interest in collecting specifics and liquifying my collection that it simply does not make sense to budget my collection around ripping wax. Stadium Club was the lone exception to this position I've taken, and that was courtesy of my Dad and undoubtedly the product of the year in 2015.

Regardless, I got a steal for a deal on this framed autograph and it looks awfully nice to me. I know if I pulled this card, I'd be satisfied, but there are very few names in the checklist I would've been happy with. I guess that's just part of what comes with getting older and taking a budget seriously.

Where do you all stand as far as buying and breaking boxes of cards go? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below! And please, keep spreading the word about the new site if it all possible. I appreciate every last bit of your help!

Really? An Autograph of a Surgeon?

Hey guys, Drew back here. I haven't been feeling up to par lately, so I've had some down time to sort some things out and work on the blog a bit. I'm not sure what the long term future of this site is, but for now I'm going to keep rolling out new material for you all as often as I can.

Along with my Jed Lowrie through the mail success that trickled in this week, I also got a success from a familiar face throughout professional sports today. However, this familiar place never played a minute in the NBA, a down in the NFL, and never recorded an at bat in the MLB. Instead, he's the man responsible for patching up injured players from all three sports and beyond.

Dr. James Andrews is the name you do not want to hear in most cases when associated with a favorite player of yours. Usually when a player needs to visit Dr. Andrews, they have a serious injury that can only be fixed through an advanced surgery that can only be done by the very best. Andrews has handled numerous Tommy John, shoulder, and knee surgeries across the sports landscape, helping athletes like Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson, and Tiger Woods recover as quickly as possible.

His name was most recently in the news when Mets pitcher Matt Harvey faced a late season innings cap that Andrews was rumored to have recommended to Harvey's GM Scott Boras after he underwent season ending Tommy John Surgery in 2014. It turns out that he never recommended Harvey pitch 180 innings in 2015, but he remained at the center of a fight between a promising playoff team and a GM who wanted his client to profit in the MLB long term.

Andrews was featured in this past year's release of Allen & Ginter, so, naturally; I picked up a copy of the card and mailed it to his Orthopedic Center to get signed. Sure enough, after about a three to four month wait, I received it back signed nicely in ballpoint pen. This autograph may never be as valuable as any of his major clients, but he's served a prominent role in the games we love for many years now and I thought it would be a unique addition.

Thank you Dr. Andrews! See Ya!