I Am Gary...

Hey everyone, long time no talk, again. I'm going to quit making excuses for whenever I lack the motivation to blog. In all honesty, I've lost a lot of the drive I once had for writing posts and being especially involved in the blogging community. It's not you guys, it's me; I swear. Things have been busier than ever since I returned from Florence at the end of May, and the time I would usually spend writing posts is now allotted towards resting up for another day's work.

I've done a lot of things outside of work this summer though too. I went to 3 Yankees games, one of which was at Fenway Park against Boston. I saw Coldplay at Metlife Center and The Lumineers at a local festival. I added several new records to my growing vinyl collection, went to a card show, rode some rollercoasters at Six Flags, and spent a lot of quality time with friends and family. A good portion of this will be covered sooner or later.

On top of it all, I've watched a lot of baseball. The Yankees have been invigorated with energy ever since the Trade Deadline and the release of Alex Rodriguez, and it has almost become must-see TV. I normally keep tabs on most games while watching shows on Netflix religiously, but these past two months have gone the opposite direction. The difference maker, as most of you appear to know by now; has been Gary Sánchez. "The Kraken", as famously dubbed by Brian Cashman; has been a lethal weapon of mass destruction since being called up for the third (and final) time on August 2nd.

2010 Bowman Gary Sanchez Refractor Auto /500

Sánchez has been a Baby Bomber for seven years now, and was regarded as a Top 100 Prospect by Baseball America for five of those seven. He succeeded in the shadow of former top prospect Jesus Montero until the Michael Pineda trade officially made him the future of Yankee backstops.

I've been collecting all throughout that time, and I didn't own an autograph of Sánchez's... until August 6th, 4 days after the call up. A dealer had listed four or five of his Bowman refractor autographs to try and make a profit. He may have profited, but he has to be kicking himself after the tear "El Gary" has been on. This card currently sells between $250 and $300, but I had it for $40 shipped. Essentially, I played the long con for seven years and made one of the greatest eBay snipes of all time (yeah, I said it).

Sure, I hear all you nay-sayers who think this is all a hoax. Obviously, yes, the guy won't be hitting a Ted Williams-esque .400 for his entire career. But we as Yankee fans have every right and reason to be thrilled with the prospect of having an All Star caliber catcher for the first time since Jorge Posada was in his prime. Not only has his bat played a vocal part in this late bid for a Wild Card spot, but he already seems to be emerging as a leader in the clubhouse. He wants to win, and win now. And he is doing everything in his power to help the team do just that.

New Yorkers never quit. Neither will we @Yankees. Please keep coming out to support. Thank you. #YankeesDontQuit #IamGary

— Gary Sanchez (@ElGarySanchez) August 27, 2016

I love it.

For once, you're right about something John Sterling. Gary is scary.

PS: This card just recently was sent out (along with a few others) as part of a BGS Group Submission. I will be sure to share the results when they come back, unless of course they all grade terribly. I don't want you all to think I'm as blind as a bat.

Hard Work Pays Off

Hey everyone, Drew back here. I can't remember the last time I've been this involved with the hobby while also being as uninvolved in the blogosphere. I really just haven't had the motivation to blog, despite having picked up some of the best cards in my collection. I'm currently watching the youth movement take over New York tonight in Game 3 of the Subway Series, so I feel as though it's a good time I show off my own personal card farm system. 

I don't think there's ever really been a time I haven't liked Brian Cashman. Sure, I know I've questioned some of his high end signings in the past, but you really have to wonder how much the Steinbrenner's influenced those moves. Especially now, after a week where Cashman turned over a new leaf and brought the Yankees organization into the modern baseball world and temporarily gave up hopes of buying a championship. 

Fans of the team are accustomed to winning, so it is awfully risky to sell off your best assets in an effort to rebuild at the trade deadline. Cashman is not a hero because he chose to sell, since he's one of the last current GM's to do so. He's a hero because he finally held his own and did what has needed to be done since 2013. He showed his rebellious side, took some risks, and from all accounts it just might pay off. All I can say is: I have never been more excited for the future of this team.

The Yankees may boast a top notch farm system after last week's moves, but Aaron Judge still excites me over any of them. He could be an All Star, reminiscent of Dave Winfield in size and stature. He could be a bust. The risk is there, but it's worth taking. I cannot wait to see this guy don the pinstripes in a few weeks. I bought his Bowman Chrome refractor autograph (get used to reading that) for my birthday, and I may be preparing to send it in to BGS and see how it grades. But for now, it becomes one of the highlights of my card collection.

In order to make a youth movement work, you need to have someone who can grind out games at whatever position needs to be filled. Rob Refsnyder appears to be the obvious pick for that utility-man role. He doesn't do anything fantastically, but he more than holds his own. I've been impressed with what I've seen from him in the majors this year, and I hope the team continues to reward him with proper playing time.

Everyone enjoys a comeback story, let's be real. Two years ago, Tyler Austin was considered a Top 100 prospect, but injuries halted his road to the show before he got the chance to make his MLB debut. In 2016, he's batting .311 with 13 home runs and 45 RBI in AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre, and rumor has it that he and Judge could see a call up by the beginning of September at the very latest.

Speaking of comebacks, we'll be hoping to see much more out of Greg Bird in 2017 than we've gotten this year. One of the biggest blows to this season came in February when out of nowhere it was announced that he would be undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder and would be out for the season. After catching a glimpse of what he is capable of doing at the Major League level, it was tough news to swallow. Mark Teixeira appears to be dragging himself out of New York after what has so far been a horrendous final season of his 8 year deal, so the job could be Bird's to take as early as next spring.

While it's good to have powerful bats in your lineup and guys capable of filling voids throughout the diamond, no team is complete without a sparkplug at the top of the lineup. Enter Jorge Mateo, who could be just that in 2-3 years when the Yankees are ready to bring him up (because if he had a say apparently, he would be well past High-A by now). Last year, he led all professional players with 82 stolen bases, and has continued to display raw speed this season. Some say he may be the fastest player in the game. It's too early to think about positional logjams, but I'm interested to see how their middle infield plays out over the next few years. For now, the job has been earned by Didi Gregorius, our best current all around player.

We close things out for now with the man who will have the final say in a large part of the team's future wins and losses. Dellin Betances has been one of the most exciting relievers in the game over the past three seasons, and I feel like some Yankee fans take his talent for granted. He's been dominant, but fans keeping asking for another Andrew Miller or Aroldis Chapman caliber player to pair him with. Now, after two big trades; Betances has the closer job and I couldn't be happier for him. He was notably disappointed seeing his friends depart to Chicago and Cleveland, but now he has the opportunity to become the 9th inning man once and for all.

Brian Cashman and I have both been working hard this summer. He's been able to bring Yankee fans hope for the future, while I have been slowly working my way back from being totally broke post-Europe. Budgeting portions of my paychecks towards the hobby have given me something to look forward to despite consecutive days (or weeks) of work. And now, I'm almost ready for the future to take off and kick into gear.

It Appears that Joemama Stole from a Pirates Ship!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Last week, my Dad was at it again, and came home with some awesome cards from a local corner store that recently restocked in cards! I didn't see any of it coming, so it made for a great surprise! Take a look at what he gave me:

First off; this card was thrown in along with the others. It's a 1999 Flair Showcase David Cone parallel of some sort numbered 97/99. I'd never seen any of these cards before, so I don't know how rare they are, but it sounds like this particular card was quite rare for the time period. It's definitely one of the neater 1990's inserts I've seen so far!

Props to Topps Finest. All these years, Topps has executed wonderfully on the Finest product line, with a few years of exceptions. This 2002 Finest Don Larsen on card autograph is gorgeous; easily one of my favorite autographs in my Yankee collection. I have many different autographs of his (ball, bat, 8x10, several cards), but this one may be one of my favorites. 

I've acquired a ton of Yankees relics and autographs over the past few years, so I find it amazing that Dad rarely ever gets a card I already had. I was pumped when he pulled this 2001 Upper Deck Yankees Dynasty dual relic of Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera; my two all time favorite Yankee pitchers! I just rewatched the video I took of Mariano Rivera entering the first game I saw him pitch in, and boy was I pumped. "Enter Sandman" still gives me chills all these years later!

I feel bad asking for what he paid on the cards, but I'm always curious. This time, well, let's just say Dad won the battle of negotiation (if there even was any to begin with)! 

Indeed, that is a 2006 Bowman Chrome X-Fractor rookie autograph of Mr. Jose Bautista; one of today's most feared sluggers. Want to guess how much he paid? Here, use these links to help you out. Okay, if you guessed $10, then you are correct! My dad paid approximately 10% price on a card that sells for $100+!

I would jump to sell this, but I'm not sure how well my heart will feel about it. I like the Pirates quite a bit, and Bautista is one of my favorite players in the game, but this could fetch a pretty penny if I played my cards right. I may consider getting it graded, because I don't see a single issue with the card! I've never gotten anything graded before so my eye may not be keen enough to make that sort of judgment, but I think it could at least receive a 8.5-9 on a bad day.

It's just another scenario where my Dad flat out dominated the store, something he's gotten pretty good at over the years. I mean, heck, he landed us in Beckett Sports Card Monthly! Thank you so much Dad for always trying to help my collection grow. You've been a huge factor in making my hobby a home run!

Do you guys recommend grading the card? How much does it normally cost anyway? Thanks!

See Ya!

Get Well Soon Ty! Recent PC Pickups

Hey guys, Drew back here! As many of you know, I recently started a new player collection; 2012 Yankees 1st round draft pick Ty Hensley! Unfortunately, the well touted prospect just recently underwent successful hip surgery, and will be out for a good chunk of the 2013 season. In order to wish him a proper get well, take a look at some of the cards I recently added of his:

I made a Check Out My Collectibles purchase about a month ago, taking home a bunch of great new cards for my collection (you'll see most of those another day). With the few bits and pieces of store credit I had left, I added a few Hensley cards to deepen my collection of his. Of course, I added the 2012 Bowman Chrome base and refractor, two pretty essential cards towards any prospect collection.

I also added these two parallels from the regular Bowman set; the orange and blue ones in particular. The orange is numbered 208 of 250; the blue numbered 390 of 500. I'm not the kind of collector who would chase multiples of the same card; I've always liked just having one of a card. I'm not against it though, so if you guys have any of these cards for trade I'd love to take them off your hands.

I bought this one off of eBay for less than $10 delivered, the Bowman red ice parallel numbered 1/25! It's a beautiful card; easily one of my favorites in the small but ever growing collection. I was surprised it didn't go for more than it did, because of the scarcity and the whole "eBay 1/1" spiel, but I'm definitely glad it didn't.

I've been selling quite a bit on COMC (although I've hit a dry spell of late), and I was able to fund enough $ to buy this sweet Hensley magenta printing plate! It's been a while since I've been able to add a 1/1 card to my collection, but after selling my Torii Hunter SP Legendary Cuts 1/1; I felt like I should replace it with something I liked more. 

But wait! There's more! I also happened to stumble upon the Cyan plate on eBay, and I got it for $10 less than I paid for the magenta. It was a great price, and my opinion, the better of the two!

Despite the injury, I'm still confident that Ty will be able to rebound and get to the majors one day! I'll definitely be rooting for him when he does! Get well soon!

See Ya!

Bowman Chrome Contest?

Hey guys, Drew back here. My good buddy moe over at My 2008 Topps Set Blog is running a contest for a box of 2010 Bowman Chrome! All you have to do to enter is to have a registered Blogger account and click the "Follow" button on his blog! It's that simple! Well, get over there already! Strasburg is waiting...

See Ya!

Goodwin Blaster and some packs

Expect a better review of Goodwin soon, as for the blaster, so so. I have a tradelist put up for them, but I may decide to keep the legends to get signed in the possible future. Most will be for trade, but I also am keeping the Yanks. All of the Allen & ginter are for trade, and the O-Pee-Chees are also for trade, but I may want to save the Pujols because I really like it. Lastly, all of the Bowman Chrome other than the Chien-Mien Wang are also for trade. See Ya!

Opinions on New Sets...

Hey guys, Drew back here. It's now time for the new product reviews. Here they are:

2009 Topps Ticket To Stardom Baseball: Well, not as nice as expected, but it has its ups and downs. The autographed relics look fantastic as Mario said, and so do the base. Many people are hating on the product but I only only have 2 problems: 1) the World Baseball Classic cards of non current MLB players, like some random guys that will never play in the bigs. Maybe a Pedroia, Jeter, Tejada, Cano whatever jersey from it would be OK but random guys from Team Puerto Rico won't cut it. 2) The price. When it goes down I may consider buying a box, but $80 for 3 cheapish hits- not gonna happen. But the great things, the auto relics, the base, the tickets, the parallels, and more! Non-in my collection grade: B+

2009 Bowman Chrome Baseball: Well, it's definitely not my type. I like to know the players in my packs, although I opened a pack a while back of 2004 Bowman and pulled a Brian McCann, Hanley Ramirez, Dan Haren rookies, and more! So, it's a fun one for those prospecters, and although I'm not a prospect guy I think the product looks better in Chrome. Plus, the on card autographs are pretty nice! Non-In my collection grade: B

2009 Upper Deck Ballpark Collection Baseball: Again, not too shabby. Better than last year, but after watching a few boxes on Youtube I did notice the collation is horrible again. The quad relics, 6 ways, 8 swatches don't really go together. The design is nice, the Upper Deck Spokesmen cards are nice, and the player timelines are cool too. Overall, a ripoff for the price, but if it was lower I think it could be a fan favorite: Non-in My collection grade: B

2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Baseball: See my review here Non-In my collection grade: C+

2009 Bowman Sterling Football: Some guys will love this set, some will hate it. From what I've seen so far, it is a complete waste of $219.99 dollars. Topps/Bowman needs to remember if they run high end products, that rookie jerseys are pieces of garbage. They aren't even used in games, they put them on at the Rookie Premiere! Practice jerseys would sound better, or maybe college jerseys, but at an Event. I dont think so! More autographs, less jerseys, and this would be nicer. The design is great by the way! Non-in my collection grade: D

2009 Absolute Memorabilia Football: Very nice design, but yet again, football companies shouldn't even consider the rookie photo shoot jerseys to be in $100 + boxes. If you know someone that actually likes these please let me know, because they are completely ridiculous. As for the other hits, this is a great product and is much better than Sterling. Be prepared to come close to getting your money back. Non-In my collection grade: B-

2009 Topps Chrome Football: Not too bad, really like the Topps design this year, and they did a good job with this set. Nice on-card autos is always a plus, and the refractors look fabulous. There isn't much to say about this set, but overall it is a nice cheap, fun break. Non-In my collection grade: A-

Thanks for reading, and be sure to chime in and share your opinions! See Ya!