Overdue Mail from John H!

Hey everyone, Drew back here. Thank you for all the kind birthday wishes; I had a nice birthday although I spent the majority of it at work. I've spoiled myself enough this summer where I didn't feel too obligated in taking my birthday off, and luckily I was off today to celebrate anyway.

About a month ago, I was randomly sent a care package from reader John H. John was one of the many who claimed a team in my big giveaway earlier this year, and ever since he and I have spoken sporadically about baseball and what not via email. Here are the highlights of what John sent along!

I will always take "vintage" Jets cards whenever given the chance. Although the 1980's and 1990's are not generally viewed as vintage, it has sure felt like forever since they have been of relevance. Sure, they appeared in the AFC Championship game twice in a row, but let's be real; they haven't been a significant threat in a long time. The days of Mark Gastineau, Joe Klecko, and the rest of the Sack Exchange are long since gone, but hopefully Gang Green will improve in 2015 with all of their substantial defensive upgrades.

John sent along some Yankees as well, including a few Curtis Granderson cards I didn't have. I have always been on the fence with Grandy. I love him as a person, but I could never get on board with his home run/strikeout approach while he played in New York. His two 40 home run seasons are missed, sure, but I'll take what the Yankees are getting out of Gardner and Ellsbury (when healthy) any day over that. It's nice seeing him on the Mets now, because I can still somewhat root for him, but I don't get nearly as angry when he strikes out another 150 times a season.

We wrap up with some cool Jorge Posada cards. Posada was on my radar early on this summer when I finished reading his great autobiography, but ever since he's faded right back to how I've always viewed him. I gained a lot of respect for the Bronx backstop, but I can't help but always view him as the "Ringo" of the Core Four (John Lennon = Jeter, Paul McCartney = Rivera, George Harrison = Andy Pettitte; tell me if you see that as well or if I'm just crazy). Regardless, I'll always gladly take any cards of his that I can get my hands on!

Thank you so much John for the random act of kindness! I'm sorry I took so long to post it, but here it is now; better late than never!

See Ya!

Celebrating My First 10 Seasons Watching Baseball!

Hey guys, Drew back here! I didn't realize until the other day, during midterm week no less, that last baseball season was the 10th year I've been following the game. It's amazing how quickly the past decade has gone, and how many memories baseball has made me. So, I decided to construct a team in recognition of this. I wanted to make a Yankees team using the best overall seasons for each position between 2005 and 2014, filling each slot with players specific to that role. Rather than stacking the bench with the superstars who just missed the cut, I wanted to keep things realistic. It may go a bit over budget, but it is the Bronx Bombers we're talking about. Without further ado, let's take a look at the results!

Catcher - Jorge Posada
Season: 2007
Statistics: .338 BA, 20 HR, 90 RBI, 171 H, 91 R

Jorge was the best Yankee catcher since Thurman Munson, and it's only fitting that we start this team with the player with the heart and soul he possessed. His On Base Percentage of .426 was not matched by anyone else on this team, and although his defensive performance wasn't always Gold Glove caliber, who could go against a team leader who can switch hit for power and average?

1st Base - Mark Teixeira
Season: 2009
Statistics: .292 BA, 39 HR, 122 RBI, 178 H, 103 R

Tex's first year in New York was much better than what would follow. Due to injuries, we wouldn't see this type of production past 2011, but he was a key player all throughout the year, and helped lead the Yanks to their 27th World Championship. He was the runner up for MVP behind Joe Mauer, and won a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger to accompany a fine season.

2nd Base - Robinson Cano
Season: 2010
Statistics: .319 BA, 29 HR, 109 RBI, 200 H, 103 R

It was difficult to choose Cano's best season in New York, but I ultimately decided on 2010. He finished only behind Josh Hamilton and Miguel Cabrera for AL MVP and also came up with Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards! Robby was the first Yankee I got to see fully develop into a star player, and it was fun watching him dominate the second base position for so long here in the Bronx. He could do it all, and we'll certainly miss that with Stephen Drew slabbed as our Opening Day second baseman in 2015.

Shortstop - Derek Jeter
Season: 2006
Statistics: .343 BA, 14 HR, 97 RBI, 214 H, 118 R, 34 SB

Jeter was 31 years old when I started watching him play, so for the average player he would've only had a few "prime" seasons left. Luckily for us, we got to see the Captain perform above average (at least offensively) until he was 39! New Yorkers feel that Jeter should've won MVP ahead of Justin Morneau in 2006, as it was one of his best seasons of his career. He also won a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger this year (catch a theme?), so not only is this offense loaded with hitting, but they could also hold their own in the field.

3rd Base - Alex Rodriguez
Season: 2007
Statistics: .314 BA, 54 HR, 156 RBI, 183 H, 143 R, 24 SB

A-Rod put up video game numbers in his second of two MVP awards he took home with the Yankees, only possible with the help of performance enhancing drugs. I would've tried to find ways around having him on this team, given how much of a head case he is, but there really wasn't anyone else qualified enough to take the hot corner. I was a huge fan of Alex's at this point in time, and I can definitely credit his enormous statistics to keeping me interested in the game when I was young enough to simply walk away (I was 8 in 2005). While most of us aren't fans of his at this point, there's no denying that he would make a perfect cleanup hitter for this roster.

Left Field - Hideki Matsui
Season: 2005
Statistics: .305 BA, 23 HR, 116 RBI, 192 H, 108 R

He was one of those guys that was taken for granted. He wasn't a Gold Glove caliber player in the field, but give Godzilla a bat and he was almost certain to make you pay. Matsui broke his wrist in 2006, breaking a total streak of 1,768 consecutive games played (1,250 with Yomiuri, 518 in NY). He was never really the same player after the injury. In 2005, however; the guy was unstoppable. He was recently named as an advisor to General Manager Brian Cashman, and Cash could not have picked a classier player to help represent playing in pinstripes.

Center Field - Curtis Granderson
Season: 2011
Statistics: .262 BA, 41 HR, 119 RBI, 153 H, 136 R, 25 SB

Grandy and I had a love-hate relationship through his four years in New York. I loved him as a person, but sometimes I couldn't take his inconsistency at the plate. Sure, he clubbed over 40 home runs in back to back seasons, but he also struck out well over 100 times both years. But his 2011 season was the best of any center fielder's in this span (sorry, Bernie), as evidenced by his inflated stat line and 4th place MVP finish. He led the league in runs scored and RBI, stole 25 bases, and played above average defense to boot. I still root for Curtis with the Mets, but his power/strikeout style isn't exactly my favorite approach to watch.

Right Field - Gary Sheffield
Season: 2005
Statistics: .291 BA, 34 HR, 123 RBI, 170 H, 104 R, 10 SB

While Jeter was always my all time favorite Yankee, Gary Sheffield was my first favorite "role" player of sorts. Sheff would've been the star of most other teams, but in New York he wasn't exactly the one selling tickets. It excites me seeing him on the Hall of Fame ballot, but I truly feel that he's just a Hall of Very Good player, despite his 500+ career home run achievement. But in 2005, he put together a Hall of Fame quality season, doing a little bit of everything. He and Vladimir Guerrero in particular were lethal weapons during their prime, and it was fun to see balls rocket off his bat (unless you were sitting in the left field field level seats, then watch out).

DH - Jason Giambi
Season: 2006
Statistics: .253 BA, 37 HR, 113 RBI, 113 H, 92 R

Giambi was a mixed bag of tricks late in his Yankees career. Often injured, with or without that weird moustache, and constantly mentioned in steroid allegations. But 2006 was his final "great" season, and he will provide an extra boost of power to a lineup that doesn't really need it, but wouldn't mind it either. He could also serve in a small platoon situation with one of the bench players, hitting mostly against right handed pitching.

Bench -

Francisco Cervelli
Position: C
Season: 2014
Statistics: .301 BA (162 PA), 2 HR, 13 RBI, 44 H, 18 R

Cervelli played with passion in his 7 partial seasons in New York, and will back up Posada when he needs rest. He can provide a spark with his bat, and while he wasn't the best defensively either, you know he will play to the best of his ability every time he's called upon.

Andruw Jones
Position: OF
Season: 2011
Statistics: .247 BA (222 PA), 13 HR, 33 RBI, 47 H, 27 R

Jones will platoon with Giambi and hit mostly against left handed pitching for this team, as he did extremely well in 2011. He batted .286 vs. left handers, hitting 8 of his 13 total home runs. Jones can also contribute as a backup outfielder, and though he was a former superstar defensive player, he won't quite bring that tool to the park as a 34 year old.

Brett Gardner
Position: OF
Season: 2009
Statistics: .270 BA (248 PA), 3 HR, 23 RBI, 67 H, 48 R, 26 SB

I would have loved to use one of Gardy's better seasons for this slot, but unfortunately according to my rules I had to take a year in which he wasn't a starter. He provided an excellent spark off the bench for the World Series team, and would eventually develop into one of my favorite current players. He'll be the preferred backup outfielder over Jones for this team, and the perfect late game pinch runner as well.

Jayson Nix
Position: UTIL
Season: 2012
Statistics: .273 BA (202 PA), 4 HR, 18 RBI, 43 H, 24 R

I always enjoyed the versatility of Nix, and I feel like most teams should have a guy capable of playing multiple positions. I could have went with Eduardo Nunez, but his versatility felt forced as he made far too many errors too often. Nix was sure-handed, and he wasn't an automatic out at the plate either.

Opening Day Lineup

1 - Derek Jeter (R)
2 - Curtis Granderson (L)
3 - Robinson Cano (L)
4 - Alex Rodriguez (R)
5 - Mark Teixeira (S)
6 - Jason Giambi (L)
7 - Gary Sheffield (R)
8 - Hideki Matsui (L)
9 - Jorge Posada (S)

Total Salary - $137,726,096
Average Salary - $10,594,315

Notable Omissions - Eduardo Nunez, Nick Swisher, Alfonso Soriano, Bobby Abreu, Johnny Damon, Jose Molina, Bernie Williams

The Yankees may have won the World Series just in 2009 since I started following the team, but as you can see, there have been so many fantastic individual seasons compiled throughout that time. I also constructed a pitching staff, and will have that posted tomorrow to complete the 25 man roster! Please feel free to comment with your thoughts on this team, as well as any changes you would consider, and if you would like to use this idea for your team on your blog, be my guest!

See Ya!

Mets vs. Braves Recap!

Hey everyone, Drew back here! Last night I decided to join my friend Matt and his family at Citi Field to take on a Mets game! I went to Citi Field for the first time last summer for the Home Run Derby, and I thought the ballpark was gorgeous! Although it wasn't quite Yankee Stadium (maybe biased... definitely biased), it definitely left me impressed. I had to go back to take in an actual game, and we drove this time, which saved us from having to take the subway and train (which didn't go very well last year if you don't recall).

The Mets took on the Braves, and the odds were clearly in the Braves favor although the Mets had won 4 in a row prior to the game. Newly named All Star Julio Teheran started for the Braves, but the Mets got to him early and he didn't end up lasting very long. I like Teheran, but it was nice to see him suffer a little after I made the mistake of trading him away from my fantasy team after not fully buying into his amazing start to the season (I traded Rendon & Teheran for Matt Carpenter and Doug Fister..). 

Curtis Granderson took Teheran deep to lead off the game for the Mets, which was ironic given my hatred for Grandy as a player. I always loved his personality and work ethic when he was with the Yankees, but I couldn't stand the amount of strike outs and low batting average. If you look in the bottom right corner of the picture above you can see me to the left of the kid in the green shirt (my friend Matt)! Granderson towered one into the second deck, and the offense didn't stop from there.

Daniel Murphy, David Wright, and Lucas Duda all stood out the most to me, but each offensive player (not including the pitcher) had at least 1 hit (hitters #1-7 all had 2 or more hits)! On top of that, young stud Jacob deGrom pitched 7 scoreless innings; striking out 11 in a dominant performance. And to top it off, Eric Young Jr, David Wright, and Daniel Murphy all made phenomenal plays i the field! The Mets took a 7-0 lead, but the bullpen made it interesting in the end, and the final wound up being 8-3. The current Braves never really impressed me, but they were especially atrocious yesterday. 

In the 9th inning, it started to heavily rain, and the Braves were starting to put some guys on base. The wind also picked up, which caused garbage to fly all over the field. I get the feeling that people ended up throwing more on the field, because if you can see in the picture above; there was a ton of garbage on the field. Nothing more symbolic for the Mets organization than that!

Jokes aside, I had a great time at Citi Field last night! The game, the food, and the experience as a whole was great, which is all I could ask for in a ballgame. It helped me take my mind off my dreadful Yankees for a night, and while I've never been a big Mets fan, I've always been a big David Wright fan, and his diving stop at 3rd really made my night!

If you live by Citi Field and haven't paid it a visit yet, I suggest you should! I still would take Yankee Stadium any day, but I love a little variety in my life and I really had a good time! I'll be checking out another stadium for the very first time this upcoming weekend, and you better believe I'll have a post up regarding that when its all said and done!

See Ya!

2012 East Coast National Recap! (Pt. 2)

Hey everyone, Drew back here. It is now that time where I'll try to show you how I blew a good portion of my birthday money! Aren't you excited? Here goes.

First and foremost, there was a local dealer at our show that had a lot of football pictures for sale, all for fairly low prices. He was a nice guy, and although his stuff didn't have COA's, I trusted him because he told me each and every signing he got the pictures signed at. I remember Santonio Holmes having a local appearance at a Gold's Gym nearby, and sure enough, this picture I bought signed off of him was from that signing! I had a baseball game that day and missed out, but from what I've heard I didn't miss too much, as he's a bit of a jerk. However, I can't discredit him for helping the Jets big time throughout the past couple of years.

Second, we have a beautiful 2012 Topps Museum Collection jumbo relic of Curtis Granderson! It has one very visible pinstripe, as well as 2 others that are a bit cut off, oh, and it's numbered out of 35! I've loved Museum Collection from the start, and I've been meaning to acquire one of the large relics they feature. Finally, I did.

Say what you want about the ugly looking sticker autograph, but Raul Ibanez has been beyond clutch for the Yankees this year! There aren't a lot of great autographs of his out there, and for the price, I couldn't go wrong. I didn't like the signing at the beginning of the year (I wanted Damon), but the Yankees ended up making myself, as well as many other critical fans, look stupid. 

From the same vendor, I also took home this 2010 Topps National Chicle autograph of Giants phenom pitcher Madison Bumgarner! I don't follow Bumgarner a whole lot but he has a lot of potential, and I've been meaning to get his autograph off of the checklist. It's a very nice card, even though a majority of this product got a bit sketchy. Surprisingly, with all of the autographs of current players that I own, this is my first of any Giants pitcher. 

As I mentioned earlier, before this season I wished the Yankees would try to sign Johnny Damon again. But after his performance on Cleveland, leading to his release, I can see why they passed on the aging veteran. However, I loved Damon while he was a Yankee, and I needed his autograph pretty badly too. Not out of my favorite product, but it is very nice nonetheless.

I also bought this 2012 Bowman Platinum relic autograph of Rays rookie Matt Moore! Moore technically is in his rookie season, but he impressed big time in the postseason, enough to make the rotation this year. I took a chance with him in fantasy baseball, and while he started off pretty badly, he got it all together and lately he's been beyond solid. The card isn't numbered, but it really is nice for a sticker auto. Well done Bowman Platinum, well done.

The final purchase of the day just so happened to be with my good friends Rich and Hunter, and it was a 2002 SP Legendary Cuts relic of Yogi Berra! After going to his museum, I almost felt like it was necessary to buy at least one card of his at the show. With just under $20 left, and searching for just the right closing card, I came up clutch with a beautiful wool relic swatch. I'm not as big into relics as I once was, but that wool always makes me think twice. 

Stay tuned for Part 3 of 4 of my card show recap!

See Ya!

Even More Mail from William!

Hey guys, Drew back here! It's been a very long week consisting of illness, stress, and school work. As most of you know, those three don't mix well, at all. However, I've been still active in the hobby, sending a few TTM's and making trades, more than I've done in certainly a while. I have a lot of stuff to share with you all, and I doubt you are any bit surprised that the first order of business is that of a package from my great friend William. William cracked open three jumbo boxes of the new 2012 Topps product, and was awesome enough to send over the Yankees cards he pulled to me! Take a look at those, as well as soon other cards he was nice enough to throw in:

I really like the looks of the new Topps series from the small taste of it I've gotten here and there in the past two weeks. The design; while some people may disagree, looks very clean, simple, and does what most companies should try to do most- make the picture stand out. I feel like this is probably the most important part of building a strong overall design for a card: to focus more on the photograph than anything else. Some of the photograph selections in the past few years have been excellent, and a prime example of this is the honorary Mariano Rivera all time save leader card. It's a classy tribute to a classy player, without a doubt.

A special feature of the 2012 Topps set is that, along with the 2011 League Leaders subset, there is also the "Active League Leaders" subset, consisting of AL/NL players with the highest career batting averages; home runs; RBI's; Wins; ERA; and Strikeouts. I was kind of surprised to see that Jason Giambi has the 3rd Most RBI in the American League of any active players, with players such as David Ortiz and Paul Konerko still active. Then again, Giambi has seemed to be around forever, so I guess it's not that much of a surprise. I think the design on these cards could be improved, but they look better this year than they have in the past.

I didn't get a chance to share my opinions on the A.J. Burnett move, so I guess I'll take a little time out to do so. Well, the Yankees didn't certainly get a whole lot out of the deal, they DID get cap room, which they needed more than anything, to sign a left handed bat, which turned out to be Raul Ibanez. I'm glad to see him get an opportunity in a smaller city, because he certainly didn't shine under the New York City limelight. The Burnett signing just went to show that you have to be extremely careful before signing pitchers to big contracts. I watched the movie "Moneyball" today for the second time and without a doubt I can say that it's easy to find a pitcher to do just the job for much less money.

I really like the look of the golden parallels this year, although I do find it as a bit of a coincidence that Topps did away with the gold parallel cards the same year as the Golden theme occurred. I'm not upset or complaining though, because they were kind of just there most of the time.

This set needs to be put to rest as soon as possible. Since 2010 from what I can remember, Topps has issued a set having to do with comparing two players. The idea died after the first year it was done in my opinion. There is no need to have a card comparing Maris and Granderson. However, with the shortage of Maris cards in the market, I still like to add his cards here and there.

The last 2012 card William sent me between his two latest packages was this 1987 style mini of Robinson Cano, which will be added into my Robinson Cano collection! I kind of like this set, especially compared to the other inserts from this year's product. Cano is certainly going to be expected to have a big year, and I have no doubt in my mind that he will come through yet again. He is the best talent I've gotten the opportunity to watch on a day in-day out basis in my years watching baseball, without question.

Speaking of Cano, William also sent a few other of his cards to fill holes in my collection, both of which from 2008 Topps Finest. I don't know if I'm the only person that feels this way, but doesn't seem like Topps Finest is always just there every year? It never necessarily seems to stand out, but it's never really completely forgotten. Anyway, I needed I believe both of these cards, so thanks for the help, man.

Finally, a few of the heroes from the junk wax era, such as Dave Winfield and David Cone. It's not common for someone to send me cards of great Yankee players on other teams, so I typically need them whenever they come my way. Or I have them somewhere deep within stacks of random binders, which really is a pain to go through. And of course, the legendary Ron Davis; also known as the guy whose autograph took forever to identify on my signed Mantle photo. Can't go wrong with that!

William, you are one heck of a guy, and I really do appreciate all that you do for me! I'm going to get you back one day, without a doubt! Thanks again!

See Ya!

Mail from a New Friend, Scott!

Hey guys, Drew back here. I was really fortunate a few weeks ago to meet a kid named Scott through William! Scott is one year older than me, and is a genuinely awesome person without a doubt. William met him at one of his card shows and worked out a few deals with him, thus leading to him directing Scott over to my blog, as he always seems to do! Scott emailed me asking about a future trade, and we were able to work out a blockbuster trade as reporters would say. Take a look at some of the sweet cards he sent over to me:

I'll start with the extras I received. There were quite a few cards I needed badly, such as the Cano chrome card and the Eduardo Nunez chrome rookie. I even think I still needed the Nick Swisher Allen & Ginter card, which goes to show how well I've collected him over the past few months. The other day I was sorting out cards for a trade and found a box of Allen & Ginter laying there, still filled with all of the loose cards I already broke out of packs. I opened that box in August. Time to catch up there, Drew.

Here are some of my favorites of his throw ins. I absolutely love the Thurman Munson cereal box chrome refractor, which has alluded me for a few years now. The Vazquez purple refractor is numbered out of 599, and while he wasn't necessarily effective as a Yankee during his two stints, it really is a gorgeous card. I also really like the Josh Hamilton propaganda card. Hamilton has undergone a bit of speculation over this offseason with the whole "couple of beers scandal", which I find absolutely ridiculous and blown up. He still remains one of my favorite players, so nice try media.  

We now arrive to the meat of the trade, which begins with this very nice 2008 Upper Deck Spectrum relic card numbered to 99 of Curtis Granderson! Curtis has become a favorite in New York after his enormous 2011 season, and while it may be hard to repeat, he may be one of the only players in baseball that has the talent to be able to repeat it. Granderson is part of my secondary player collection list, and I'm always looking for cards of his I didn't already have. 

Next was this 2008 Allen & Ginter relic of Mark Teixeira. There isn't much to dislike about Mark, besides his often slow starts and occasional painful to watch playoff performances. He's a great clubhouse guy, as well as perhaps the best defensive first baseman in the league, and a very good power hitter. Sometimes his streaks irritate me but for the most part I like the guy a lot. This card is awesome too, even though Tex hardly played for Atlanta. Any red relic is uncommon to find, and as soon as Scott offered it to me I jumped right on it!

The final relic of the three he included in the trade was for my 2011 Topps Tier One relic set, this being of Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels. Hamels is one of the newer players on the checklist, and while most people wonder how he shares a card in the same set as the Great Bambino, I find it kind of cool to have a solid variety of players. Hamels will probably never have the career statistics to put himself in such an elite set, so I guess he should enjoy his time to shine now while he has it. This makes the 11th card of the 50 card set for me so far, which is great considering I started the set just a couple of months ago!

However, we aren't quite done here yet! Scott informed me prior to mailing his package out that he was going to be attending a dinner event with some current major league players, and offered to try and get me an autograph! I gladly took up his generous offer and sent over 2 customs cards, one for him and one for me, of one of the players attending the dinner! 

Scott didn't promise me an autograph by any means, but the fact that he was willing to try meant a lot to me. Sure enough, however, he came through in the clutch, landing me an Adam Jones autograph! Normally I don't tend to go for many Orioles cards/autographs, mainly because they typically don't stay in my collection all that long. In my opinion though, Jones has to be their best player nowadays, and I thought it would be cool to at least have his autograph. He inscribed his number 10 below the autograph, and I love the way it came out! Scott had a great experience meeting Jones, Willie Bloomquist, and a bunch of current prospects at the dinner event, and you can take a look at his recap here. 

Thank you so much Scott for everything you did for me! I really look forward to extending our friendship more and more and making more deals in the future! Everyone please be sure to check out his blog when you get a chance, even though he is... a Red Sox fan!

See Ya!

Nice Yankees PC Add!

Hey guys, Drew back here. As I get into midterm week for school, things are going to get busy. But that doesn't mean I can't still have a little fun! On Sunday, Dad, my friend Mike, and I are going down to the White Plains show, to meet a few awesome players! The following Sunday I'm going to an autograph signing, but you guys are going to have to wait and see who it is of! I'm going to try to get around posting it all as soon as I can but if I don't, I'll get to it when I have the time. Sophomore year has been really difficult this year so I'm definitely going to have some studying to do. Anyways, here's a new card I was able to add to my Yankees collection (and 2 player collections!):

Out of the new 2011 Bowman Sterling product, here is the dual relic box topper featuring a jersey swatch from Curtis Granderson and a bat relic of Robinson Cano! Not only is this an absolutely awesome looking Yankees card, but it features 2 of the 4 current Yankees I'm collecting! It's a win-win-win for me for sure. I love the design of this card and it really has a nice shine in person. Hopefully I'll be able to add more cards like this in the future because this is pretty darn sweet!

I paid about $9 for the card, which wasn't bad at all. I have a few more eBay posts to come but I'll do them when the cards come in. 

See Ya!

The Most Recent Package from William!

Hey guys, Drew back here. Yes, I'm still alive. Laziness is definitely the worst disease for a writer, especially a writer stuck in school all day. Yippee! Anyways, continuing on my attempt at catching up, here are some cards William recently sent me for my Yankees collection, to go along with 2 new ball cubes he sent me for some of my non protected autographed baseballs!

First were some base cards of some of the newer releases, in Chrome, Lineage, Pro Debut, and Update. Fortunately, he's kept me up to date this year, with a few Yankees cards thrown in here and there from most of Topps' releases. I haven't bought close to anything pack/box wise this year, so I really can't say much about Topps this year. I do like the feel of the 2011 Chrome product though, CC being the first one I've gotten from the set thus far.

Next were a few mixed Yankees, including 2 of the 2011 Topps 60 players, Mark Teixeira and Jorge Posada. The Mattingly and Jeter cards are part of the 60 Years of Topps set, and the Jeter is an original back. I could definitely use some of these cards to fill holes in my Yankees need lists!

He also had more inserts for me, including a gold parallel of the Curtis Granderson 2011 card! In fact, he has now sent me that card and Granderson's diamond parallel card, so he's certainly helping my little chase for Granderson cards! Who knows what his chances at MVP are, but he'll certainly finish in the top 5 in votes when its all said and done. Also, some of my favorite cards of the package were the three Kimball Champions minis of Gehrig, Berra, and Mattingly. I love the look of these cards, and if I was to be crazy enough to collect any of the insert sets from this year, that would be the one I'd do.

The final piece of the package was this sweet 2011 Topps Robinson Cano relic card, to join my growing personal collection of the reigning Home Run Derby Champion! Speaking of the derby, stay tuned really soon to see another recent pickup that has to do with Cano's big night! Anyways, this card really just looks great. I like how the jerseys are matching and the photo chosen is perfect for the card. It says he led the league in hits from 2005 to 2010 for a second baseman. Really? How much more do you need to narrow down stats just to see how they can fit Robby in the checklist! Go Topps!

So, thanks so much dude as always, you're the best! I'll have some stuff for you coming soon in a mailbox near you! (Hopefully it's your mailbox and not your neighbors) Anyways, See Ya!

Mail from William... Yet Again!

Hey everyone, Drew back here. So, I'm sure a lot of you are wondering where I've been the last week. Well, I've been here, but have been getting used to the enormous 10th grade workload and have had trouble finding time for the hobby of late. I'm going to try to be here a little more often, but I really can't promise too much, because, as always, school comes first. 

Getting to the point of this post, once again, the basically monthly package from William this time around was a great one. Well, they always are, but this one was extremely unexpected and he went way out of the way to make me happy! Take a look and you can see why:

First off was this card of Joe DiMaggio that I've never seen before. It looks like an oddball card, as it doesn't say anything about the company on the back. Still pretty cool for sure. 

Next was this 2006 Flair Showcase "Wave of the Future" card of Curtis Granderson. Again, I didn't have this one, and he certainly has been a huge wave into baseball, especially this season!

After that were a few rookie cards of Yankees pitching prospect Dellin Betances! Betances is now in my opinion the top prospect in the Yankees organization who hasn't been called up yet. I'm really excited for when he gets the call, because I think he has pure talent and is going to be great.

The highlight from this package is without a doubt these 22 cards from 1961 Topps he sent me, all of which I needed! While a majority of the cards are of semistars and commons, every bit really makes a difference and I can't express how much I appreciate this help! These cards push my set total up to 165 out of 587, which is about 28 percent of the set. Some of these may be a little too rough for the set pursuit, but for now a few of them will be great filler cards until I can replace them. 

So thanks so much again William, you're the best. You really didn't have to do all this, and I'm gonna have to try and get you back soon! 

See Ya!