Seven Nation Army of Cards in My Mailbox!

Hey everyone, Drew back here! About a week ago, my best buddy William surprised me with an excellent package of Yankees cards, new and old. I was not aware of this coming in, and needless to say it easily made my day. Let's take a look at what came my way:

We begin with some 2014 and 2015 Bowman; the one set I never seem to buy any of no matter how nice they may be. I must admit, this year's product is the best I've seen in years, and I'm not sure what it is that I love about it. The photo choices are atypical of the average Bowman product, and I particularly like the Michael Pineda card (although this copy is missing the foil "Mi" in Michael). Foil isn't always a plus, but Topps did a good job of making it work with this year's design.

My favorite of the Bowman cards happened to be of recently celebrated center fielder Bernie Williams. Bowman celebrated a 25th anniversary of the 1990 rookie class, which included Williams, Frank Thomas, Moises Alou, among others. There are regular variations, and also autographed versions, which our fellow blogger The Snorting Bull has already fully assembled (Beautiful set, by the way)!

I missed Bernie's best years in pinstripes, but have always had a high level of respect for his career(s). He was one of the more under-appreciated stars of the Steroid Era, and while it may seem off to retire his number with the Yankees, he deserves it thanks in part to others who have also had their numbers retired. It was a nice ceremony, and if you haven't heard his emotional speech, check it out.

2015 Topps Heritage hasn't done too much for me, although I have generally been a fan of the product over the years. I think a lot of it has to do with never being a fan of the 1966 Topps set, especially considering it followed up perhaps the most beautiful years of baseball card history, 1965. I do enjoy manager cards, as you saw recently with my TTM successes from this set of Buck Showalter and Ned Yost. 

I know I recently bashed Gypsy Queen for the random loopy thing on the front of each card, but the more I see of the set, the more it's growing on me. It almost reminds me of a keyhole, which as far as I know hasn't been done yet. As always, Gypsy Queen honors the legends they use, and boy, those Gossage, Parker, Cone, and DiMaggio cards are gorgeous.

... but nothing beats this one. Forever my all time favorite player. I miss you Derek.

There was quite a mixed variety of stuff in this package, as there usually seems to be. I don't know how William ends up with all these Yankees cards, but I'll always be glad to take them off your hands. I know it's hard for Panini to do without logos, but the Thurman Munson Diamond Kings card is flawless. I really hope they get an MLB license within the next few years, because I think a lot of what took me out of buying packs and boxes had to do with Topps receiving exclusive rights; crumpling Upper Deck in the process. A little competition is never a bad thing.

I've been waiting for this card for a loooooong time. The second I knew Jack White was getting a card in this year's Series 1, I wanted it in my collection. The former White Stripes lead singer and guitarist, as well a member of the talented Raconteurs, Dead Weather, and a fantastic soloist; has become one of my all time favorite musicians in a very quick timespan. I saw him perform live this past January at Madison Square Garden, and it was perhaps the greatest performance I've ever seen. White has been seen at many baseball stadiums in the last year, and a meme was even created for his dull expression at a Cubs game. I was even at a Yankee game last year that he (and Kate Upton) were at; and in retrospect I really wished I stalked him down and got a chance to shake his hand. Oh well. At least I finally have one of these beautiful cards, honoring his First Pitch at Comerica Park last summer!

Thank you so much again William! Please go check out foul bunt, but who am I kidding; who hasn't? See Ya!

Masterminds of Magnificent Teams TTM's!

Hey everyone, Drew back here! I was able to complete two of my finals today, leaving one for the semester on Wednesday morning before I'm off for the summer and finished with my first year of college! It's been a very windy road over the course of the past year, but overall I've learned an awful lot and grown up more than I could have ever expected. I'm loving my new school despite a relatively subpar schedule in my first semester, but I definitely changed it up so I won't have to suffer through 8 AM Public speaking courses any longer. 

I had been on a 51 day TTM drought, after sending almost 30 requests out for Spring Training. So, what did I do? I ordered some cards off of Just Commons, and sent even more out. Sixteen requests went out to add to what I had already sent, and I already received two autographs back from two of the more successful managers in recent history, despite no World Series championships among the pair under the helm.

Ned Yost: 1/1 in 10 Days (Received May 6th)

Yost, of the defending American League champion Kansas City Royals, was the first of the two successes! He has always been a questionable decision maker throughout his time as skipper for the Milwaukee Brewers and since he took the Royals job in 2010, but he paid a lot of dues with the Royals' fantastic, out of nowhere season. It was a lot of fun to watch them pave their way through the playoffs, and although some may deem them as a dirty ballclub, especially in 2015, they certainly have learned their own winning formula.

He signed a 2015 Topps Heritage card for me quickly and nicely in 10 days!

Buck Showalter: 2/2 in 10 Days (Received May 8th)

However, as good as Ned Yost has been, getting Buck Showalter back TTM meant much more to me. Showalter has been the manager of my buddy William's Orioles since 2010 as well, and has led them to a tremendous amount of success. While Joe Maddon is constantly hyped as a difference making manager, it is Showalter who has come away with three Manager of the Year Awards, each with different clubs. On top of it all, he was the Yankees manager between 1992 and 1995, and resigned because he was unwilling to fire his hitting coach, Rick Down. He, along with Gene Michael, had a lot to do with the personnel decisions the team made during that time, which may have involved some guys named Jeter, Rivera, Posada, and Pettitte, among others. Despite being a rival manager, most Yankee fans give him a lot of credit for their World Series dynasty teams in the late 1990's that he wasn't even a part of. After seeing the way he managed the Diamondbacks, Rangers, and now Orioles, fans can see how pivotal his presence is in turning a team in the right direction.

Buck signed a 1992 Topps as well as a 2015 Topps Heritage beautifully for my collection. I made sure to wish he and the Orioles the best of luck with the situation going on in Baltimore, and it is nice to see them playing at Camden Yards again tonight.

I don't normally get too excited about manager TTM returns, but these two were particular exceptions. I love to get player autographs over anything, but if I were to add any manager's autograph, it would be Buck's. I'm glad I have a few now!

See Ya!

Joe Panik PC Pickups from JustCommons!

Hey everyone, Drew back here! About two or three weeks ago, I made my first purchase on JustCommons.com. As many of you may know, I am a big fan of COMC.com, and I even have a store on their site (shameless plug, couldn't help it). However, I've since learned that ordering base cards tends to add up quickly on COMC, and that I could find cheaper base cards on other sites. I have heard a lot of people talk up this site, and decided to give it a shot. For about $15, I was able to acquire cards of all of my PC players, as well as some set needs and much more. The purchase netted me with 7 new Joe Panik cards, which is the subject of today's post.

I finally got a hold of Panik's first Bowman card, from the 2011 Draft Picks & Prospects set. Joe started the season struggling at the plate, but he's been picking up for that over the past week. He is now batting .281 this season with 3 RBI.

From everything I've seen of Joe's past performances, his speciality seems to lie on the defensive side of the ball. He obviously made a fantastic diving stop in the World Series to start what would be a double play after it was reviewed, but he's frequently known to flash the leather and it's impressive to watch! He appears to be a pretty one dimensional threat at the plate, but is a pretty good contact hitter at that. Panik doesn't appear to have much pop in his bat, but as long as he can get hits he'll have a spot in a lineup for years to come.

Panik's 2014 Topps Heritage High Number card is his official rookie card, whereas all of the previous cards are considered prospect editions. It is my favorite card of his that has come out so far, and I would love to get my hands on one of the autographed copies. This will certainly do for now.

Finally, we have his first card of 2015, out of Topps Heritage once again. I can't wait to see his flagship debut that hopefully will be in Series 2, because this card doesn't do much for me. It is nice to have a card of Joe in his home San Francisco uniform rather than in batting practice or minor league jerseys!

With these 7 pickups, I now own 11 unique cards of Joe's in my collection. If you have any cards of his for trade, take a look at my checklist and feel free to email me at yanks1996wsc@gmail.com!

See Ya!

Lucky Pull of the Opening Day Ace!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Things are starting to get a little bit busier in my life, which is obviously welcomed. I haven't had a whole lot to do lately with a relatively laid back Spring semester, but I just got a job and am starting to look into summer internship possibilities and even studying abroad in the future. I'm really excited for all of the future opportunities that could be coming my way, and although this may affect my time on this blog I'll do my best to stick around.

Along with the Walking Dead packs I displayed here on Sunday (excellent finale, may I add), I bought one pack of 2015 Topps Heritage to check out the new design. Heritage is still one of my favorite products despite the repetitive gimmicks, and the cards are fantastic for holding autographs. I figured with my pack I could add a card or two to send out through the mail during the season, and although that didn't work out too well in terms of consistent signers, I did much better!

In my only pack, I managed to pull the chrome refractor of our Opening Day ace Masahiro Tanaka! This is numbered to 566, and the shine is fantastic! It is easily my nicest Tanaka card to date and I was astounded that I managed to get perhaps the best non-hit Yankee card from the set!

The rest of the pack was relatively nice, but nothing came close to topping Mr. Tanaka for me. I guess I won't be needing to buy any more of this now, so I can go out on top with one of my favorite all around releases of the year! I know Topps had some problems with the Tribute product that are pretty inexcusable, but outside of that they have been improving just about everything else.

Now if only I could get my replacement cards for my 2011 Tier One set...

See Ya!