drewscards 2015 Year in Review

Hey everyone, this is Drew back here with you for one last time this year. Today marks the end of one of the craziest years of my life. After a seamless conclusion to high school, the transition to college was rocky and resulted with me transferring schools to come back home. I got out of what once was a really healthy relationship that was affected severely by the changes that took place. I started working at a local Dick's Sporting Goods store and made some really great friends in the process. And I am currently preparing to leave the country next month and explore Europe as part of my journey to start a newer, fresher beginning.

With all of these changes, I had to choose whether to keep this blog going or to let it fade away with the rest of my childhood. I remember saying last year when Derek Jeter retired that it was the final straw for me to grow up and become an adult. I've been starting to take my writing more seriously, as you saw all of last year through my occasional "Ten for Tuesday" ranking posts and my frequent opinions on trades, teams, and the Baseball Hall of Fame. Some of the articles you saw towards the end of the year were even published in my school's online newspaper. I plan to use my passion for not just this hobby but for the game of baseball itself to hopefully land an internship next year, and maybe a job down the line. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that I'm the type of person that would prefer to love what I do more than love the benefits of doing something I don't enjoy.

So, the blog continues into 2016, but I decided to brush away the rust and create something new for you all. With that in mind, I'd like to formally welcome you all to "Drew's Hot Corner". Same author, same style, but I would like to think it feels more "grown-up". One of my biggest goals in 2016 (I'll get into this more tomorrow) is to shed away the skin of the 12 year old I was when I began this endeavor and give you all a more mature representation of who I am today. I'll continue to show you all how my card and memorabilia collections grow over time, but a lot of what you'll see from here on will have to do with my thoughts on the sport itself. I'll occasionally branch into football, basketball, TV, music, or really whatever else I feel like writing, but baseball is and will always be the concentration.

I chose third base because it was the position I enjoyed playing the most in the decade I participated in baseball. I've always had the most respect for players that are capable of making the long throw to first and have unquestionably quick reflexes. Maybe had I caught during my career, this blog would be "Behind the Plate". But I think this serves me best. Evan Longoria and David Wright were my favorite players to emulate when playing third, so they accompany all time greats Brooks Robinson and Mike Schmidt on the updated logo. I hope you all have found this post well, because I did purchase a domain through Blogger. We have moved from www.drewsbbcards.blogspot.com to www.drewshotcorner.com.

But before the Hot Corner begins to spark, let's take a journey into what 2015 brought into my life.

January

- I was blessed with a Nick Offerman through the mail success.

- Cubs prolific slugger and a personal favorite of mine, Ernie Banks, passed away.

- Dad and I met Tino Martinez, Don Larsen, among other Yankee greats at MAB's Pinstripe Pandemonium (and Frankie!)

March

- I celebrated watching baseball for 10 years by creating my All Time Yankees team. (Pitching)

- TTM Success from the legendary voice of Darth Vader, James Earl Jones!

April

- I started my "Ten for Tuesday" series by discussing my 10 favorite memories as a Yankee fan!

May

- I counted down the Top 10 Sports Photos of All Time

June

- One of the most controversial lists discussed the most Overrated Hall of Famers.

- I ranked the Top 10 Greatest Yankees of all time.

- I read and reviewed Jorge Posada's autobiography, "The Journey Home"

July

- I went to an NLCS Game several months too early with my friends, Mets vs. Cubs

- My birthday brought two new signed baseballs into my collection (Panik / Brooks)

August

- I discussed moves made during the Baseball Trade Deadline

- I bought an autograph of the game's top current prospect, Byron Buxton

- Dad & I attended the East Coast National, Meeting Robinson, Murray, & Kaline

- That day, I unofficially began collecting Yankees phenom Luis Severino!

September

- I payed my respects to the wonderful man that was Yogi Berra.

October

- Victory Fine Art & I teamed up to give away one of their beautiful prints!

- I picked up a signed copy of Ray Lewis' autobiography, "I Feel Like Going On"

- I started selling on eBay and treated myself to an upgraded autograph of Giancarlo Stanton

November

- I shared the articles I wrote for my school's newspaper: "Five Ways the Yankees Can Claim Back New York" and "A Letter to the Hall of Fame".

December

- I went to my first card show by myself and met future Yankees first baseman Greg Bird

- Dad and I went to the biggest Jets game of 2015!

- I got a TTM success from Yankees top prospect Aaron Judge!

- Frankie and William hooked me up with amazing Christmas gifts!

Thank you to each and every one of you that helped make this year as great as it possibly could get. I'm fortunate to live a wonderful life with amazing influences, friends, and family, and I want it to be clear just how blessed I know I am. I hope I can continue to use all that I have to make a considerable impact on all of your lives much like you have mine. 

Thank you to every single reader out there. Even if you just take the time to click my link, it allows me to continue to bring material out for you. 2015 was an enormous comeback year on the blog for me, and I hope to ride out this hot streak well into 2016 and beyond.

Until next year, so long, and goodbye. Rest in peace, drewscards. It was fun.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Cub

Hey guys, Drew back here. I ended my Friday night with some pretty difficult news to swallow. Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks, passed away at the age of 83 in Chicago.

Over the past year or so, I've used all of the great experiences I've gotten from fans, stadiums, and players to become a more well rounded baseball fan. I can say today that I am a fan of baseball as a whole even more than I am a Yankee fan, which doesn't mean anything against my Yankees but gives respect to all of the other legends who have came and went in this great game. One of the trailblazers for my newfound love for my favorite game was Mr. Banks, whose personality stood larger than life and made his actual baseball career an afterthought. It takes a pretty special man for their heart and passion to surpass his credentials; which include 14 All Star selections, 2 NL MVP's, a retired number at Wrigley Field and a plaque in the Hall of Fame.

I've been meeting current and former players at sports card/autograph shows for over 5 years now with my Dad. We've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to players' attitudes while signing for the fans. We've seen players openly tell their fans they have to leave to catch a flight, and players spend entire experiences with fans while talking on their cell phones. For every great experience we've had has come about 3 average ones and 1 below average one. But nobody I've met has ever been as down to Earth and lovable as Ernie Banks was to my Dad, my best friend Mike, and I on August 20th, 2011. And I'm truly convinced that nobody I've met ever will carry themselves quite like the Cubs hero. He made a steeply priced autograph ticket worth every penny to the three of us, and provided entertainment to everyone in the building, even staying well past his scheduled signing time to accommodate to each and every person in line (Click here to read about my time with Mr. Banks that day).

Some people got to spend a great amount of time with Ernie throughout his life. I only got a few hours, but those few hours were filled with memories I'll never forget as long as I live.

Let's Play Two. Rest in Peace.

Inside Look at the Plaque Room of the Hall of Fame!

Hey guys, Drew back here. Well, the Cooperstown trip is almost a wrap! I've done quite a bit since the trip, and have a lot to show off, but I suppose those posts can wait. There's nothing better than having too many things to write about!

The last baseball related event we went to on Hall of Fame Weekend was visit the Hall itself, as you may have seen yesterday. I covered the vast majority of the Hall yesterday, but I figured the actual "Hall of Fame" part deserved its own post. As you can see, not every plaque was present that day, as some were still on their way back from the Induction Ceremony. 

There is no better place to be as a baseball fan than the Hall. Similar to my feelings towards the Honus Wagner card, I feel like I'm walking into a church when I see the walls of plaques. William & I both removed our hats as a respectful gesture, and though I'd already been there in the past, I felt like a completely new baseball fan. Last time I went, I was a young inexperienced baseball fan, and since then I've been able to say I've met over 10 Hall of Fame players! The Hall carried more appreciation this go round to me than it did last time.

There isn't a whole lot that needs to be said about this part of the Hall that hasn't already been explained. Well.. there was one thing. It just so happens that we were there at the right time. As we were observing plaques, suddenly a part of the room was sectioned off for family members of this year's inductees! The family members of Deacon White, Hank O'Day, and Jacob Ruppert rolled in a little at a time, and we got to see the plaques go up on the wall from a distance! Here's a snippet from the awesome event:

 

On top of that, we got to speak to Deacon White's great grandson Jerry Watkins, the same man who gave White's acceptance speech earlier that day! We told him he did a great job and he thanked us, and he allowed us to take this picture of him. It was actually pretty cool!

As I've stated over and over again, the Hall of Fame is a place where every baseball fan needs to go. If you're feeling out of touch with the game like I was at the time, it helps rejuvenate that passion for you. In a weekend loaded with Biogenesis and A-Rod, it was nice to wander off to baseball heaven and get to meet some of the guys who did it the right way (besides Pete Rose- but that's a debate for another day)! And to be able to do the whole trip with some great people made the experience even better. It was a special trip and I don't think I'll ever forget it.

While the actual trip recap is over, I still have a few other select pickups and experiences to share as time goes on. Be on the lookout for those, along with some more recent events! I've got a lot planned to show off before the conclusion of my summer (which is coming to the final stretch)!

See Ya!

August 20th White Plains Card Show Review Part 4

Hey guys, Drew back here! Time for you guys to see the 2 big Hall of Famers I added to my custom Hall of Fame set! Take a look...

PART 4:

HALL OF FAMERS

This has been a post I've been dying to write for months now, because I couldn't wait to talk about my story of meeting these former greats to you all. We all had to wait quite a long time because, considering its one of the biggest card shows in the country and many people were there, a lot of people were in line to meet these guys too. 

The first Hall of Famer I met that day was former Cardinals All Star shortstop, "The Wizard", Ozzie Smith! Smith, known for his trademark backflips and incredible defensive plays, was larger than life back in his playing days. Fortunately, throughout his popularity and fame, he hasn't changed his personality one bit, as he was by far the nicest and most down to Earth player I've ever met. Before us in line was an older guy with his little son, holding a little toy when he shook hands with Smith. Smith proceeded to have the kid pose on the table while he held his little toy for a picture, and it looked like it was a cool memory for those people for sure. 

I came up to Ozzie and greeted him, and did the usual "I made this card of you on my computer, in your honor" deal, because it's always the shy guys way out of being loud and obnoxious to players. He responded by saying that I'm a really creative young kid, and it meant a lot for me to hear that from a guy who was certainly a unique baseball player:

So, I got him to sign my Hall of Fame card and we posed for a picture. Following that Mike did fellow blogger William a favor and got his baseball signed for him by Ozzie, giving him a chance to meet "The Wizard of Oz". We both strongly feel like he was the nicest baseball player we've ever met, and it was a great opportunity and memory for both of us.

My autographed card came out good, and my only complaint is that I didn't reprint it before I got it signed because the printer started to run low on ink as the card completed. You can tell by looking at the color comparison on the far right side of the card. Otherwise, the autograph, plus his Hall of Fame inscription came out awesome, and I'm extremely psyched to add it to the set! Before I get to the other guest we met, here are a few pictures of some of the other signers at the show:

Ralph Kiner

Fay Vincent

Mets Rookie Justin Turner

Mets Rookie Dillon Gee

Anyway, the second autograph guest was none other than "Mr. Cub", Ernie Banks! When I saw that Banks was on the lineup, I knew for sure I wasn't going to get a whole lot of "gifts" for my birthday, as I instead asked for money so I can save up to meet the legend! I eventually compiled the money, made his card, and went off to wait in line for him in the afternoon. Boy was he slow at signing autographs! It took Mike and I over 2 hours to wait in line just so we could make use of my autograph ticket. Mike ever so kindly stood in line for me since he was done buying stuff and had nothing better to do, as I ran out to buy more before the show ended and I came back with more money than I hoped to have had. The show was about a half hour from ending, with many more people still to go, Banks already having been way past his time allotment, and he decides to get up, and walk around a little bit...

I swear, I have absolutely no idea how I felt at this moment. I thought it was absolutely hilarious some of the stuff he was saying, and the fact that he decided to get up and personalize with a lot of the people still waiting for him, but on the second hand I was worried that he wouldn't finish in time and I ended up losing the price of his ticket! Fortunately, he soon finished joking around asking who was married and who has considered divorce, murder, or suicide, and finally returned to his signing table. (PS, turn up the volume on the video above, so you can hear him!)

So, about a half hour later it was FINALLY our turn to meet him. His price was $90 an autograph, so I guess he was trying to make it worth every penny! The lady in front of us worked in the media section for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and she decided to have a long conversation with him about the old Pirates teams, etc etc. I'm standing there, right in front of Mr. Banks, while he's holding my card and about to sign it, while not having said one word to me yet and continuing the conversation with that lady. He finally turned to me and I said hello, and the usual, custom card deal, and I asked him to inscribe his Hall of Fame year on it. He responds to me by saying, almost as if he was in awe, "You made that?", and I said yeah, and he told me he was really impressed. He finished signing my card and the 3 of us, dad, Mike, and I, all went around the table for a photo opportunity. My dad decides to be the funny guy he is and says "See that kid there (pointing to me)? He's 15, married, and murdered his wife!" Banks turned and stared me down for a good 5 seconds with his jaw dropped until dad said he was kidding and that I would never do that. Banks knew and just said he was going with the joke basically. What a hilarious and memorable meet with "Mr. Cub"!

Overall, Banks really made my day, and it was definitely something I'll never forget. He seemed like a real gentle giant, and had one of the better personalities I've came across in a long time. The autograph came out beautiful and is easily my favorite of the set so far. You can't get a whole lot better than a 14 time All Star who slugged 512 home runs, winning 2 MVPs along the way!

So, my advice is this. If you ever see one of these guys, Smith or Banks, coming around your area for a signing, don't miss out! Both of them are complete gentlemen and class acts, and it was a day I'll never forget...

See Ya!