2017 Bronx Baseball Bonanza Signing Recap!

Hey everyone, Drew back here for the first time in well, too long. I can't believe how long its been. I usually begin each post talking about how long its been, but this post gap crushes any of the previous ones. I've been around, as many of you have seen me on Twitter and Instagram amidst my absence. But to the rest of you, I hope you had a wonderful Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/etc., and New Year! 

I have quite a bit to share with you all, and I really don't know how I'm going to do it. I haven't put time towards the blog in any way, but I decided to renew it anyway in January in hopes that I would end up posting again. Hopefully I can try to take the next few months to give you some sort of idea as to where I've been. Similar to Michael Jordan, I took some time to explore some new ventures, realized they weren't quite as appealing (not drugs, I swear), and returned to what I thoroughly enjoy. Yeah, I just compared myself to MJ, have at me.

First; however, I wish to share this past weekend's adventures in New Jersey. Dad and I made the trip for the third consecutive year to the Hilton Doubletree Hotel in Fort Lee, where MAB Celebrity organized another fantastic Yankees autograph show. The lineup was stacked as usual, with 12 players from the 1977 World Series team in attendance on Saturday (and Ralph Macchio!). I used some of my Christmas funds to add some desperately needed names to my Mona Lisa; the Mickey Mantle 16x20 I've previously showed off.

If you've read this blog in the past, you may know about my affection for Roy White, former Yankees left fielder from 1965-1979. I met him at a local Holiday Inn card show when I was probably only 8 or 9, and he was the first player I ever met. I was probably the most excited kid in the world all throughout that day; knowing I had an autograph of a former big leaguer, and better yet, a Yankee. 

I've since met him several other times over the years at various shows, and he's always been very soft spoken but kind and courteous. The last time I met him, he signed an 8x10 copy of the picture of he and I (see here). This time, I finally had him sign the project I've been working on for about 5 years now. Dad brought up that I have pictures with him that really show me growing up, and White seemed bummed that I didn't have them on me to show him. I certainly plan on meeting him once more just to show him those. He's as classy as they come.

Next, we had an unexpectedly bizarre experience with "Louisiana Lightning" himself, Ron Guidry. Guidry is not a frequent signer in the Northeast. I believe he still lives in Louisiana, which is part of why I've never had the chance to meet him. 

Anyway, before we went up to shake his hand, we stopped at our good vendor friend Joe's table to catch up. He wanted to enhance our moment with Guidry, so he pulled out an old check of Guidry's from a box for me to give to him. The check emerged inside a lot of memorabilia Joe had purchased in the past, and it contained Guidry's Social Security number on it. It probably wasn't a good thing that his check was floating around, although Joe wouldn't have done anything to harm Mr. Guidry or his family.

Dad and I eventually got through the crowd and up to Guidry, and I told him exactly what Joe wanted me to tell him. He took the check, glanced at it, and then turned to his son, befuddled by the odd surprise. His son looked at the writing on the back of the check, and noticed it was his mother's, and they both grew concerned that their personal information could've been in anyone's hands. They were both appreciative of us and of Joe for giving it back to him, and he awarded me with being able to fit his signature into a noticeable gap on my Mantle project. 

At that point, Dad and I wondered just how this could get any better. Several minutes later, we found out exactly how when we met one of the three perfect Yankees pitchers, David Cone! I've always been a big fan of Cone, especially because I've grown up listening to him contribute to a lot of YES Network content. I was a toddler during the 1990's dynasty run, but watching highlights of those teams certainly helped me become the baseball fan I am now.

When I passed my picture over for to Cone to sign, he said "wow, that's impressive, it looks like you've put a lot of effort into this". I thanked him for the compliment, and told him his signature would make it even better. He responded by saying he was honored to have his name on my picture, and thanked me. And when we gathered around the table for a picture, he picked up my project and showed it off for the shot, as you see above. 

The final player I had a ticket for was the best one, in my opinion, with no disrespect to the greats who came before. Don Mattingly, for the first time in a long time, was back to do a local signing. It hasn't been ideal for the former Yankee captain and MVP to make the journey north for signings considering he's been managing in Los Angeles and Miami since 2011. I actually met him once back in 2010 in White Plains when I was only 13, and I frankly don't remember much from it.

It wasn't an easy year for Mattingly, as he lost his ace, Jose Fernandez, in the tragic boating accident back in September. However, he was in good spirits on Saturday, and we really enjoyed getting to talk to him for a little while. I wished him good luck in Miami next year, and we gave our condolences to him for the tough loss. He really seemed to appreciate what we told him, which was a satisfying feeling for sure considering he's one of our all time favorite players.

Here is an update on my Mantle project as it currently stands. With the additions of White, Guidry, Cone, and Mattingly, I now have 62 total autographs gracing the photo. I won the picture in a door prize at a White Plains card show with 29 signatures already on it, and have since added 33 of my own. Four Yankees captains and 8 Hall of Famers (including Tim Raines, who finally got his call to the Hall) are among the many gathered around "The Mick". I don't believe I'll be able to fit many more signatures, but there are a few guys I've saved some room for.

If you look closely, you can see Mattingly's small autograph to the right and above Dave Winfield. I wanted to make sure the two former sluggers would be close to one another. You can also find Cone's signature right above Don Larsen. Because Mattingly signed so small, I have enough room to try and get David Wells too to complete the perfect game trio!

On this picture, you can see White's signature to the right of Goose Gossage's and below Bucky Dent's. Also, you can see the small space Ron Guidry squeezed into between Rickey Henderson and Goose.

Once again, this show was a major hit for Dad and I. We've had some great experiences with Yankees past and present greats through MAB, but I do wish the room was bigger. There are multiple vendors inside the already small room, and people end up crushing each other trying to get towards the front of the pack to meet the people they bought tickets for. The show organizer kept telling people to make room for others, but the only way we could was by getting in the way of the vendors and their tables.

In addition, there was a point where Reggie Jackson, Don Mattingly, David Cone, Luis Severino, and Willie Randolph were all signing. If you're going to hold a show in such a tiny room for a large audience, I wouldn't suggest putting all the headliners at the same time. If they were spaced out, perhaps it wouldn't have felt so cluttered and uncomfortable. If I didn't have to go to this show, I probably wouldn't, but the lineups have been so good I can never resist. Luckily, the players made up for any of the issues and were as respectful and classy as can be.

I do have one more thing from this day to share with you guys, but I'll make a separate post of it. Don't worry, I won't be disappearing for 3 months again, at least for now I can assure you.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day! Spread the word baby, because...

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!

A Trip to the Yogi Berra Museum!

Hey guys, Drew back here! So, as I mentioned in the last post, the day following Jets camp was quite busy as well. My family went over to Hoboken, New Jersey to check out Carlos' Bake Shop, where the show "Cake Boss" is filmed. I don't really watch the show, but my sister does, and she wanted to see if she could meet anyone on the show. Sure enough, she did, and we came home with a lot of good pastries that won't last very long! But, since this is a sports blog, I'd prefer to go into what we did after visiting the bakery.

About 20 minutes out of Hoboken, on the campus of Montclair University, there stands a museum dedicated to one of the greatest baseball players of all time! In 1998, Montclair officially opened the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center, right next to their baseball field, which was named "Yogi Berra Stadium". Not only is it the home of the Montclair team, but the Canadien-American league New Jersey Jackals as well. Fortunately, we were able to visit the museum on our trip, and I'm going to try to take you through a bit of it.

As I said, the entrance to the museum is right next to Yogi Berra Stadium, and the gate was open to the field. It was just about empty, despite a few people taking care of the field, and let me tell you, it's a beautiful park. I wouldn't have minded catching a game there, but it was a little too early for all of us to wait for one, and well, I'd be the only person interested.

Also on the outside of the museum is this statue of Berra kneeling, with the famous #8 on the back of his Yankee jersey. To put the size into perspective, I'm 5'11, so, it's a pretty good size. 

The building has a very nice lobby, which eventually leads into the actual museum. A good majority of the beginning of the exhibit had to do with Yogi's personal life with his wife Carmen and his 3 sons, including Dale Berra, who played in the Majors in the 1980's. He wasn't quite his father, but he was good enough to make the big leagues as well. 

One thing you can point out immediately is that it wasn't just all about Yogi. He featured a lot of other player's autographs and memorabilia, such as Jeter, Jackie Robinson, and of course, the Bambino you see above! The signed Ruth ball is definitely one of the nicest ones I've seen, and I've seen at least 4 or 5 in person in my lifetime.

What is a museum of the most quoted baseball player ever without a little fun? There were a few TV's set up with commercials featuring Yogi and his "Yogiisms", which I found very entertaining. I don't think I have a particular favorite quote of his, but I mean, he didn't say everything he said; so that made it a bit more difficult to choose. 

Also on display were 2 of his 3 MVP Awards, the ones from 1954 and 1955! He had a few of the best seasons ever by a catcher in those years, first batting .307 with 22 home runs and 125 RBI in '54, and .272 with 27 home runs and 108 RBI in the following year. Not only was he beloved by baseball fans, but he was a pretty darn good ballplayer too. 

He was good enough to receive two of the biggest honors you could get in baseball, a Hall of Fame plaque and his number retired by the Yankees organization. Here are a few momentos he took home from those special events, that found their way into the museum. 

One of the biggest features of the museum was his display of World Series rings. Whether he played, coached, or was an honoree to receive a ring, he deserved every one of them, and went down as the player with the most rings in MLB history!

I figured it would necessary to capture the Maris newspaper photo because of how involved I've been with the 1961 Topps set over the past year or two.

These are indeed, Berra's jersey and glove that he wore during Don Larsen's perfect game in 1956! The tour guide there told us that Berra confirmed the right glove is indeed here, not in Cooperstown, and boy was it nice! Apparently they have the jersey on a loan as of now, because it was recently bought for $600,000! The Larsen jersey is currently in an auction now, and people expect it to sell for over $1,000,000!

Speaking of Perfect Games, here is the hat David Cone wore during his special game, signed and inscribed with the date. Of course, the special thing about Cone's perfect game was that it was on Yogi Berra Day at Yankee Stadium, which made the perfect game turn into an odd but incredible coincidence!

This picture will most likely end up being the most perfect picture of all time (pun intended). It is all 3 battery mates from the Yankees Perfect Games: Larsen/Berra, Wells/Posada, and Cone/Girardi! Not only that, but everyone is in uniform, and I believe it was taken at the 2008 All Star Game if I'm not mistaken. That would be a cool picture to have signed.

After Yogi's firing as manager of the Yankees, he swore he'd never step foot in Yankee Stadium again. That is, until George Steinbrenner came to this museum and met up with Yogi to publicly apologize. As part of a welcome back present, Steinbrenner gave Yogi the 1951 World Series banner that used to fly in the old stadium. Here it is, now as part of the theater room, which was used to showcase rare Yankees footage, including of Babe Ruth.

And for my card collecting readers out there, I didn't forget about you! One wall in the exhibit featured cards of Berra from all of the major issues during his career. I had 5 of the cards, and if it weren't for the binder Dad got from a yard sale a year ago, I'd have none. 

One day, his 1948 Bowman rookie card will be mine. Just saying. 

Finally, as we exited the museum and headed back into the lobby, we were greeted by a giant cow, signed by hundreds of Yankees players, including Jeter above. I didn't quite get the reference somehow, until I saw Rizzuto's signature with the "Holy Cow" inscription right above the horns.

Unfortunately, Yogi wasn't there the day we went, so this will have to be the closest I'll get to a picture with him for now. I downloaded a Bucket List app today for my iPod, and one of the first things I added was to meet Yogi Berra and shake his hand. Hopefully it can come true one day. As for the museum, well, my whole family, including my sister enjoyed it, which really meant it was good! It was a great experience and I highly recommend it to anyone in the area that hasn't gotten to check it out yet!

Thanks Yogi! See Ya!

Another Picture Perfect Yankees Pickup!

Hey everyone, Drew back here. This summer has not been even close to what I thought it would be for me in terms of the hobby. I haven't gotten a chance or wanted to write any through the mails (thanks damage), I have barely made any trades, but one thing I have done is learn how to spend money. Here's my most recent acquisition off of eBay, this being of a fan favorite in New York, a great leader, and a perfect pitcher:

Out of the 2003 Upper Deck Yankee Signature Series product, a set released for the 100th anniversary of the most successful baseball team in history, this is a hard signed David Cone autograph! Cone was truly a great for both the Mets and Yankees, pitching for either of the teams in 13 of his 17 big league seasons. He won 194 games, including several very clutch games in the postseason. I was a little late to catch Cone, as he retired the year before I started following baseball, but he seemed like a major leader for the Yankees team, who was counted on to say all the right things in press conferences and speak for the team. 

His most famous moment came on July 18th, 1999, on a typical Yankee miracle day, in which they honored Don Larsen and Yogi Berra for Larsen's perfect game in the World Series back in 1956. Berra caught the 1st pitch from Larsen and passed his glove to Joe Girardi, who preceded by catching Cone's perfect game. I've watched the game before, and it was so cool, and like Yogi says "deja vu all over again"! 

I really like the looks of this card, and I'm glad I'm able to add him to my collection! See Ya!

When A-Rods Collide...

Hey guys, Drew back here, and I am off ALL next week! WOOOOOO!!!! I'm really happy, and I also know that I can't slouch here because I have piles of cards just waiting to be posted. Let's start things off with some A-Rod and others. Dad picked these up for me for $10 last weekend and I swear he is more addicted to the hobby than I am! It's crazy how much he gets for me, and I really appreciate everything if you're reading. This is what it looks like when MANY 1990's A-Rod inserts collide:

The 90's seemed so confusing. I'm curious to know if these are inserts anyway, due to the crazy base designs. It's all a blur, but there were some sweet looking cards back then and that's all I care about.

Here's just a few more, just horizontal ones. I have a pet peeve of scanning horizontal and vertical cards in seperate scans. I have several pet peeves, but I can't get into that now.

The "highlight" of this crazy assortment of A-Rod is this one portraying the old school Upper Deck designs. It's numbered to only 4000 copies! Now that is one limited card! Why not just put 0000000001/a lot on the back of the card! It's a really nice card but serial numbering was pretty pointless in the 90's. I basically ignore it. There were also a few more cards in this lot and here they are:

So I got lazy in this scan with the crookedness. Don't mind me being tired. So there are some Musial's, some Reggie's, a Cone and 4 Mickey Mantles. Nice! I've never seen the picture that is on the 3 Mantle cards, but it's nice. I wish we had more pictures of players, many guys are sick and tired of seeing that Ichiro pose over and over again ya know? It was pretty funny, the Cone was stuck inside the penny sleeve so I had to tug it to get it out. Thank god for chrome!

Last are 2 more numbered cards. I'll start with Coney. It's from 1998 Topps Gallery I believe, and it's some sort of parallel numbered to... 125! That's pretty low I'd say. It's got a canvas feel to it similar to Masterpieces and is a nice card overall. Next is a 1998 Diamond King Andy Pettitte I believe. Or is that David Ortiz? I think the skin tone is just a little dark here, and it's kinda creepy looking. Don't get me wrong the design is nice and the picture would be nice, but Donruss, Andy's face is almost pure white!!! This is numbered to only 10,000 copies! Lovely.

Thanks again Dad and I'll check yall later! See Ya!

Stuff from dad

Hey guys, Drew back here again, just as the Jets are getting their butts whipped. Anyway, my dad gave me some cards out of random yesterday, here they are:

Forgot-what-year Johnny Damon Minor League Action Packed RC
Sweet card to start it off. Damon is awesome, and hopefully we can re-sign him. Who would've though he would go from this:


to this:



Those Red Sox pics still give me goosebumps!


1987 Donruss David Cone RC
This is another awesome card! I recently watched the Yankeeography on him, and his story is pretty good. To be able to pitch a perfect game the same day Yogi Berra caught the 1st pitch from Don Larsen is remarkable. Great card for me!


1993 Bowman Andy Pettitte RC
Aw man, this is so much better than the 1st Pettitte rookie I have. He's had a brilliant career, and honestly, he could have Hall of Fame consideration although I don't think he'll get in. Getting an RBI in the World Series is something too!


2000 SP Top Prospects CC Sabathia Minor League RC
This one is awesome. CC has had a very good career and happy to have 2 different rookie cards of this guy. Overall, these are some pretty sweet cards!

Thanks dad for the cards! See Ya!