Three at Third for the Hot Corner!

Hey everyone! This is my attempt at trying to get back into routine blogging. I've picked up a lot of higher end cards this summer, including a bunch of the Bowman Chrome refractor autographs you've seen lately. Though I have fallen for the shine of the refractor, I've acquired some other big cards as well. And no card represents the Hot Corner more than this one...

2013 Topps Triple Threads Wright/Longoria/Machado Triple Autograph Relic 11/36

If you scroll back up to the top of my blog, you should come across two poorly Photoshopped photos of David Wright and Evan Longoria on the right side of the blog banner. Early on in high school, I learned to play third base and I tried to follow in both of their footsteps. Both had been proven leaders and strong players offensively and defensively at that time. 

In 2016, Wright hardly played thanks to a nagging neck injury that eventually required surgery. It will be interesting to see if he can rebound, but if he doesn't I can see him retiring and being considered the Mets equivalent of Don Mattingly (both excellent players and leaders whose careers ended abruptly thanks to long term health issues). He is a lifetime .296 hitter with almost 1,800 hits and 250 home runs, and of course was named the 4th team captain in Mets history. 

However, while Wright has taken some steps back; Evan Longoria is close to completing his best season since 2013, when he finished 6th in AL MVP voting. Despite his Rays playing last place baseball and hitting in one of the weakest lineups in the American League, Longo is batting .285 with 31 home runs and 83 RBI. He is on a similar career path as Wright's, but is 30 years old with no signs of slowing down. There were talks during the Trade Deadline that he could potentially be traded to a contender such as the Dodgers, and for his sake I sort of hope it happens. He may be a division rival and a lifetime Yankee killer, but it's hard to root against a guy that plays for such a miserable team.

Longoria has continued to build on a successful career, but another reason he does not get much attention is because of the recent changing of the guard at the third base position. Perhaps the finest of them all is Baltimore's Manny Machado. I have been a huge fan of Machado's ever since his call up, but especially after I acquired him as a throw in piece in a blockbuster trade in my main fantasy baseball league. The league is a keeper league, so I have been able to retain him this season and plan to for the foreseeable future as long as he keeps playing excellent baseball.

Third base is such a deep position these days. You could make a valid case for Machado, Josh Donaldson, Nolan Arenado, or Kris Bryant as the best in the game. If I had to have one, I'd take Manny in a slight edge over Arenado, but at that point it's really splitting hairs. This is my first autograph of the Orioles star, who I believe could one day suit up in pinstripes if he isn't awarded a record breaking contract extension before 2018. Fingers crossed.

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!

Home Run Derby Recap!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Today, I'm celebrating my 17th birthday, but before all of that gets underway, let's wrap up the story that's been dragging on and on. I hope you all have enjoyed these past few posts!

They were ready. We were ready. Finally, it was the moment we had been waiting months in anticipation for. Sure, Fanfest was exciting in its own way, but this was the Home Run Derby, the event I've watched since I first heard of its existence!

What better way to kick off the festivities then have Pitbull start the party! If you couldn't tell, that's about as sarcastic as it gets. The sound system and speakers were extremely quiet from our seats, but perhaps that was for the best. My friend Matt proved me to me later on that he lipsynched the whole time, and it was really a joke of a performance. But, he is a pretty big name, so I had to at least snap a picture.

Seven of the eight participants were ready, except for Robinson Cano apparently, who I later realized wasn't in the picture. Representing Cano's team were sluggers Chris Davis, Prince Fielder, and Yoenis Cespedes (the lone non-All Star in the competition)! On David Wright's National League team, he chose Bryce Harper, long time friend Michael Cuddyer, and a last minute replacement in Pirates power hitting third baseman Pedro Alvarez!

At this point, the bets were on. We did a snake draft choosing players to win the competition starting from oldest to youngest. Dad chose Bryce Harper first overall, and Mike followed by taking 2 time reigning champion Prince Fielder. I went with Chris Davis, and then Vinny chose the captains back to back. I took Cespedes, Mike took Alvarez, and my Dad ended up with Cuddyer. We put a little $ in on our players, which only made the competition more intense!

Mets legend and future Hall of Famer Mike Piazza was on hand to throw out the first pitch. He got a huge hand from the crowd, as he deserved. Considering there isn't any evidence against him, I predict that he should make the Hall of Fame in a year or two.

Prince Fielder kicked off the contest with 2 huge bombs, one of which taped out at 483 feet! However, he "only" hit 5 moon shots, and would not advance to the second round.

Underdog Michael Cuddyer took his cuts next, and he impressed tremendously, knocking out 7 bombs in Round 1! I've always thought he was a class act player but I wasn't quite sure why Wright picked him for the Derby. He definitely impressed me though, and although he wasn't one of my picks, I rooted for him the whole night.

However, Cespedes stole the show, bopping out 17 balls in the first round, including multiple to the third deck at Citi Field, which projected to fly almost 500 feet each! My picked player dominated the first round, which resulted in some great bragging rights.

Alvarez was next, and he hit 5 home runs as well, which was a little disappointing considering the amount of power I knew he possessed. We met a guy on a bus in the city who knew "El Toro" from his childhood, and Pirates fans really lobbied to get him in the competition. He didn't do awfully by any means, but he left a lot to be desired. 

Chris Davis looked like he was taking it easy all night, and didn't seem like he was even trying that hard. But, with his effortless swing, it's easy to point fingers and judge the guy. "Crush" certainly lived up to his nickname, advancing to the second round after 8 first round dingers.

In case Cespedes didn't impress enough, we got the treat to watch 20 year old Bryce Harper showcase some of the tremendous power he possesses! Everything about him popped- the spiked up mohawk, the cleats, and most importantly: the ball off of his bat! He rocketed most of his home runs right down the line in right field, and the ball just flew off of his bat. He finished with 8 first round home runs, and advanced along with Cuddyer, Davis, and Cespedes, coincidentally, my Dad & I's two picks!

Robby Cano disappointed for the second straight year unfortunately, knocking out only 4 balls. I couldn't stand the Mets fans booing of the Yankee All Star, considering they never really had a reason to, other than being part of a team they aren't even rivals with anymore.

David Wright got the biggest hand I've ever heard in my life that night, but I showered in a few boo's, just in response to Cano being boo'ed as hard as he was. I have always respected David Wright, but I thought it'd be only fair to boo another player for absolutely no reason. Fortunately, he was eliminated after hitting 5 home runs, and a good portion of the crowd left afterwards.

Those people were ridiculously stupid though, because two of the young phenoms in baseball still had an awful lot in the tank! Cuddyer and Davis were eliminated in Round 2, leaving Cespedes and Harper for the final round: my dad's pick, and my pick! Money was on the line as the slates were cleared and the home run counter started from zero once again! Harper put another 8 on the board, finishing with 24 home runs on the night. However, Cespedes finished it off with one HUGE blast, going 455 feet off the wall in center field below the scoreboard! Here's the swing, in case you didn't see it already:

I won the bet, and the extra money, which I used to buy off a ball that Vinny hadn't used for future signings and what not! Despite my winnings, everyone enjoyed the derby as much as we expected to- if not more, and I believe the tickets were worth every penny spent. However, our night wasn't even close to being over...

Well, it turned out that the train we needed to take in order to get back to Grand Central was down. There was a fire on the track, so we had no choice but to wait in line for a different train, that came back and forth in longer time intervals. We had no choice but to wait in this enormous mob of possibly 20,000 people for over an hour. People started to get hot and the drunks began to yell at the cops. We were honestly one more idiot away from a riot breaking out. Dad told us to keep our cool, and we did, and I made great use of the free towel they gave away. It was chaotic, and by the time we got to the front of the mob for the train, the other train was back up and running. We ended up turning around and going to that train, which successfully took us back to Grand Central. 

After we got on our train at Grand Central around 1:00 in the morning, we thought we were in cruise control. However, as our stop approach and we could see my dad's SUV in the parking lot, he realized that the train wasn't really slowing down. Fortunately the train stopped and we all laughed at him on our way to the exit door. We didn't make it much farther. It turned out that our car door was sealed shut, and by the time we realized the door wasn't opening, the train left for its next stop! A few curse words were chanted throughout the train as we were all outraged at the circumstances. However, Dad got us a cab to pick us up at the next stop, and we moved to a bigger exit area to ensure we would actually get out. The cab picked us up, and then dropped us off without even leaving the parking lot because he technically wasn't supposed to pick us up. Another taxi strolled into the parking lot, and although he had no clue who we were, he gave us a ride regardless. Just about anything that could've gone wrong following the Derby did, and it was quite the mess. But looking back in retrospect, it will be a day I will never forget, despite the ups and downs along the way.

Thanks so much to Dad for treating me to this incredible day. I'm glad we all laugh about how unlucky we were on the way home now, because that wasn't meant to ruin the awesome day. With that being said, I don't think I'll be heading back to Citi Field anytime soon, because its train system really isn't that organized. I don't think I'm the only fan who said that after that night. Oh well, it was a great time.

I hope you all enjoyed and got a kick out of our story! We arrived home at 4:00 AM, which made the day a whopping 23 hours long for us. But with 6 signed baseballs and memories to last a lifetime, I'd do it all over again if I could.

See Ya!

The Wright Kind of Purchase!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Well, it was supposed to be baseball season, but apparently Mother Nature doesn't agree all that much up here in the Northeast. However, we've started some indoor open gyms for our Varsity team, and I've been working towards getting ready for my 2013 campaign. As a third baseman, over the past couple of seasons I've been trying to follow the examples left by 2 particular professional players at the position: Evan Longoria and David Wright. I really like the way both of them play the game, and have tried to emulate their playing styles on the field.

Last week I was able to find this beautiful 2009 Topps Tribute David Wright auto relic numbered to 99 for a relatively low price. I'd been wanting to add his autograph to my collection for a while, and that day finally came! Despite not being a big advocate of sticker autographs; I've always had a soft spot for Tribute cards. I've never been a fan of the Mets, but Wright is one of those guys that it's very difficult to not root for. I'm glad they locked him up long term this past offseason.

What do you guys think of David Wright? See Ya!

Check Out My Cards via Check Out My Cards!

Hey guys, Drew back here! So, school is in session once again, which normally means something along the lines of a semi-hiatus on the blog. I hate doing it, but I have to do it, especially due to the difficulty of junior year. But, the homework load was light tonight, and I didn't feel like getting ahead of myself, so here are a few cards I got in from Check Out My Cards the other day!

First, out of the new Topps Tribute, I got the Robinson Cano base card. I figured with the extra bit of store credit I had, I'd knock this one out considering it's rare for a blogger to send out Tribute cards in trades. Who could blame us, they look incredible?

Please, don't judge. Over the years, you've seen me post stuff about Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, Aerosmith, and a lot of other old bands. However, my music taste is very diverse, and it does indeed extend to rap. Jay-Z is obviously one of the biggest rappers to ever exist in the industry, and his older music definitely was influential to a lot of young rappers today. I'm not a Lil Wayne fan, and don't get me started on Nicki Minaj, but Jay-Z, along with 2Pac, Biggie, Eminem, and a few others I definitely am a fan of.  

Getting back to baseball, here's a 2002 Donruss Team Heroes autograph of current Yankees closer Rafael Soriano! It's been weird seeing somebody other than Mariano Rivera close out games, but for the most part, he's been just about untouchable. I guess Brian Cashman really did know what he was doing by signing this guy a couple of years back. I find it funny that I picked this card up for about $3 when he was first signed by the Yankees, and I didn't ship it until just now. Oh, the joys of store credit. 

Well, I had to get these for the Tier One set. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bought them. I do like David Wright, and I'm glad to see he's having a solid year again. I love the black Beltran relic though, despite not being a big fan of his. He's ok, I guess.

THIS guy was just a bit better than ok! I absolutely love the look of the Johnny Bench relic, and I'm glad I finally picked this one up. Now, the only card remaining in the set that I need is the Babe Ruth dual relic, which I plan to ask for this Christmas! If I get it then, it would be one year total since I started the set, which is a relatively quick time for a rather expensive set! 

The final two cards from my order happened to both be of the Jets variety, and it's only fitting that I show them after their beautiful butt-whipping of the Bills yesterday, 48-28! It was the most points they ever scored in an opening season game, and Mark Sanchez looked terrific! I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, but it was certainly encouraging.

As for the card, this one was out of 2011 Topps Inception, a Bilal Powell rookie relic autograph numbered out of 75. Rex Ryan is a big fan of Powell for his quickness and agility, and I hope he has a fairly decent role on the team this season. Shonn Greene bores the light out of me, so maybe this guy could get a few more opportunities!

This guy, on the other hand, doesn't need any introduction! Out of 2011 National Treasures, this Darrelle Revis Pro Bowl relic certainly was a great way to cap off my purchase! Revis played a good game yesterday, having an interception early on. Unfortunately, his day ended after Bart Scott's cleat happened to fall towards his head, and he received a mild concussion. I hope for the best that Revis is ok, and that he'll be ready to go by next Sunday, especially since we're playing the Steelers. The card here is numbered only 30 of 99.

Like I said before, no promises on how often I'll be around in the coming months, but I'm going to make an effort to check in once in a while! Thanks everybody!

See Ya!