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.

Oh the Times, they are a Changin'

Image Source

Hey guys, Drew back here. I hope you all enjoyed my take on which members of the Hall of Fame are overrated on Tuesday. It sparked more debate than any of my prior Ten for Tuesday posts, which is exactly what I had hoped for. The entire purpose of the weekly series is to inspire debate among my readers, and I've had a lot of fun putting the projects together; it certainly gives me something to look forward to.

If you read my blog, I'm going to assume you read Night Owl Cards as well. If you don't, you would be doing yourself a disservice. Greg is twice the writer I'll ever be, and I know I've improved from my days as a teenager in this community. He created his blog in 2008, around the same time I did. We have witnessed countless people phasing in and out of the hobby; more blogs disappearing by the day. But we've both (he especially) been able to maintain our interest in not only the hobby itself but in writing as well throughout the course of almost seven full years.

Last Sunday, Greg wrote about something that has peaked my interest ever since. He said that only two players in the Dodgers' 2008 Topps set have remained with the team up until now; Clayton Kershaw and Andre Ethier. From there, I was influenced into figuring out how many players have stayed with the same team since the birth of this blog. I technically started with Weebly in the summer of 2008, until I carried over my posts to Blogger that winter, but I will refer to the summer as the beginning point of this timeline.

This is what I was able to come up with:

American League

Baltimore Orioles - Adam Jones
Boston Red Sox - David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Clay Buchholz
New York Yankees - Alex Rodriguez, Brett Gardner*
Tampa Bay Rays - Evan Longoria*
Toronto Blue Jays - Jose Bautista

Chicago White Sox - John Danks, Alexei Ramirez*
Cleveland Indians - None
Detroit Tigers - Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander
Kansas City Royals - Alex Gordon, Luke Hochevar
Minnesota Twins - Joe Mauer, Glen Perkins

Houston Astros - None
Los Angeles Angels - Jered Weaver, Erick Aybar
Oakland Athletics - None
Seattle Mariners - Felix Hernandez
Texas Rangers - Matt Harrison*

* = Rookie in 2008

Total: 20 Players

National League

Atlanta Braves - None
Miami Marlins - None
New York Mets - David Wright, Daniel Murphy*, Jon Niese*, Bobby Parnell*
Philadelphia Phillies - Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Carlos Ruiz
Washington Nationals - Ryan Zimmerman

Chicago Cubs - None
Cincinnati Reds - Johnny Cueto*, Jay Bruce*, Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Homer Bailey
Milwaukee Brewers - Ryan Braun
Pittsburgh Pirates - None
St. Louis Cardinals - Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia*

Arizona Diamondbacks - None
Colorado Rockies - Troy Tulowitzki, Jorge de la Rosa
Los Angeles Dodgers - Andre Ethier, Clayton Kershaw*, A.J. Ellis*
San Diego Padres - Will Venable*
San Francisco Giants - Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Sergio Romo

* = Rookie in 2008

Total: 27 Players

47 Players. 13 of which, rookies. We aren't even talking about a decade of time passing by, and only 47 Major League players have stayed on their respective teams. There are 30 teams in the league, with 25 men on each team's Active Roster. That alone makes 750 total players, not to mention all of those who have been called up and sent down within that period. Only 36 of the 47 listed have played their entire professional career with one organization. It was Miguel Cabrera's first year after being traded from the Marlins to the Tigers in 2008. Alex Rodriguez's name wasn't completely obliterated, and he came off of a 2007 MVP Award and enormous contract extension. Tim Lincecum was on his way to his first of two Cy Young Awards. That old, washed up Phillies team we see today won the World Series. Oh, how times have changed.

No wonder why baseball is no longer the powerhouse it once was compared to other sports. Ever since the dawn of free agency in baseball in the 1970's, players have constantly been on the move. One of my best friends has always followed the game, but after missing most of the news from the past offseason, he was so confused from all of the player movement. How are kids supposed to grow up and love a particular team in a day of age where baseball rosters change as frequently as college rosters?

Growing up, I always wanted the newest pinstripe jersey of whoever the Yankees would sign over each winter. Looking back, a majority of those jerseys were of players who made pit stops in New York before traveling elsewhere, which meant I constantly had to get to know a new team and buy new jerseys. I know it's part of what you sign up for being a Yankees fan in particular, especially ever since the late George Steinbrenner took the helm in 1973. But clearly, my Bombers aren't the only team that makes you feel like the new kid at school every Opening Day.

It's difficult to think of a way to go about fixing this dilemma. It appears that the business revolving around the game is in too deep, and that it would take a substantial amount of energy and effort to market players who are always in flux. With the Core Four retired, Alex Rodriguez is now the longest tenured Yankee, and I have to be honest, it can be boring to root for them at times. My favorite players now come from all over the league, because I have since learned not to grow too attached to anyone on my own team in fear of losing them to the next team willing to cough up hundreds of millions of dollars on them. My huge Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher collections now collecting dust can attest to this fear, without question.

It's really sad. I love watching old documentaries and hearing about those "classic" teams; the ones where people could rattle off the entire Dodgers and Yankees rosters, position by position; without worrying about accidentally naming someone who is no longer a part of the organization. But, they make me jealous. Very jealous.

I know it's an old school opinion and approach to a game that is trying so hard to adapt to newer technology and innovations; but I still wish something could be done. At least we've had Yadier Molina and Chase Utley to count on being donned in red.

What do you all think? Has free agency negatively affected your interest in your team?

See Ya!

Dad Strikes Again (Show Recap Part IV)

Hey guys, Drew back here. I've been pretty busy lately, but I'm back, with Part 4 of the show recap, the one where dad buys everything in. Take a look!

PART 4:
DAD ATTACK

So, while I bought my things and waited in line, dad bought quite a bit of stuff. He requested a copy of my wantlist and really helped do some damage to it. Check out his set list attack:

First of all, the rest of the 2010 Allen & Ginter set, except 1 card. He accidentally missed card #75, so we need that. This isn't all though, I'm expecting a few more needed cards in some trades coming up. But, yeah, a ton of the cards I needed for Allen & Ginter, which isn't as nice as 2009 but is still great nonetheless.

Also, he knocked off a majority of the 2010 Topps Series 2 Legendary Lineage cards. I really like the looks of these, and they look awesome side by side.

Also, he raided the .10 cent bin, and found a nice lot of Yankees goodies, including 4 Bernie Williams rookies, and a Marcus Thames rookie, which I needed for my Yankees rookie card collection. Nice!

A sweet chrome card from 2010 Topps Heritage of Mariano, numbered 1227/1961.

And a ton of other rookies, including:
- 1984 Fleer Don Mattingly
- 2000 Bowman Chrome Adrian Gonzalez
- 2001 Topps Justin Morneau
- 2003 Bowman Chrome Sergio Mitre
- 2006 Bowman Chrome Jeremy Hellickson
- 2007 UD SP Rookie Edition Tim Lincecum
- 2007 Bowman Tim Lincecum
- 2007 Bowman Phil Hughes
- 2008 Donruss EEE College Ties David Price/Brett Jacobsen /1500
- 2009 Topps Magic Mark Sanchez
- 2010 Bowman Gold Austin Jackson

A really sweet lot! My favorite is the Hellickson, then probably the Rookie Edition Lincecum, but they're all awesome.

Then onto some hits!

2009 Sweet Spot Josh Hamilton Jersey

Josh Hamilton has evolved into one of my favorite players in baseball, because I like how he got through all his troubles and became an MVP candidate this year. I loved his display at the Home Run Derby a few years ago, oh, and did I mention he was on the Renegades, my minor league team? I may start a small collection of Josh, so be on the lookout for a future announcement regarding that.

2007 Topps Joe Mauer Bat Card

Well played, Mauer. A very nice bat chip of former MVP Joe Mauer, another non-Yankee favorite of mine. I've always respected Joe and he seems like a cool guy, plus he's a great batting average hitting catcher, something we don't see often.

2007 Topps Ryan Howard All Star Jersey

ANOTHER one of my favorite non-Yankees, Ryan Howard. Ryan has had a nice little career so far and I really like this card. Except it says patch for the whole set, which isn't right. Plus, black jerseys are cooler than white/gray jerseys, more unique.

2010 Donruss Elite Santonio Holmes Jersey /135

Another awesome card, haven't gotten much 2010 football cards yet, so this is a nice start. Also, it's a black jersey again, which is awesome too, and it's numbered relatively low. Santonio is gonna be a monster once he gets out of his 4 game suspension, and the Jets are going to need him down the stretch.

2010 Topps Heritage Evan Longoria Bat Relic

Look who decided to show up again? It's Mr. Longoria and he found his hat it looks like, which is good. Here's a nice little sliver of his bat for you, a very nice card indeed. I like these relics, even though this is probably one of the top 3 cards in the set, which isn't really impressive.

2010 Upper Deck Mariano Rivera Jersey Relic

This is a card I've bookmarked before, because it's so nice! And now it's mine, honestly, I think it may be my 1st Mariano Rivera jersey card, which is kinda unimpressive. Mariano is a legend, and I really really like him, he seems like he could be any man's best friend. And 500+ saves? 1st ballot Hall of Famer all the way. Cool Card!

2006 UD Future Stars Boone Logan Auto

Well, Boone has emerged as a top reliever for the Yankees this year, after starting off slow. He came back however, and replaced Marte as the left handed specialist. It's nice to have his auto, and it's a RC auto so I guess I can count it in the RC PC too.

2005 Bowman's Best Michael Bourn RC Auto /974

This guy is becoming a pretty good player, and I like him. He steals a lot of bases, doesn't do much else, but he's fast, and I like speed a lot. No, not the drug, fastness, running hard, that stuff. 44 steals so far, nice!

Thanks so much dad! You da man! See Ya!

Show Shopping (Show Recap Part III)

Hey guys, Drew back here. Not much of a shopper typically, but when it comes to cards, I go crazy. You can tell this by the amount of cards in this purchase. Well, I'll let you see them now, let's continue with the show review.

PART 3:
FINAL PURCHASES (FOR ME)

1:45 PM
Around 1:45, we wrapped up our meetings with players and started really shopping. As you saw before, I didn't attack the way I always did, yet. Now that the show was a few days ago, I'm starting to forget what order I bought these in, so I'll just give you some rapid fire pictures and stories about all the rest of my buys.

First was this Goose Gossage 8x10. You all know what I'm gonna do with this, but just in case I'll explain. I'm sending it through the mail to Mr. Gossage with a $10 bill to try to get it signed, to get me 8x10 Yankees autos of: Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Roy White, Chris Chambliss, Cecil Fielder, Dwight Gooden, Phil Rizzuto, Goose, and Brian Bruney. (yep, we all know who doesn't deserve to be in this group) So, wish me luck on that.

This was actually my last pickup of the day, bought it for $13 or so, a 1965 Topps Mel Stottlemyre! I love picking up cards of players that I've met, and I saw this, it was in nice shape, so I got it!

This scanned horribly, should've done a picture of it, but anyways, for $10, a 2008 Bowman Sterling Armando Galarraga auto. Compared to other prices, this is a nice price, and I know I could've done better with these $10, but Bowman Sterling has always looked nice, plus I admire the fact that Armando handled the situation he was placed in so well. I feel so bad for the guy, this was the least I could do.

I think this was either $5 or $10, a 2008 Topps Moments and Milestones A-Rod Yankee Stadium Wall Relic. I always wanted a big chunk of dirt from the old stadium, call me weird, but I always thought it would be cool to have a piece of Yankee Stadium in my room. Instead, I settled for this nice piece of the home run wall. I think the facade is part of the design of the card, not part of the relic piece itself. I never remember there being a facade on the stadium wall, but still an awesome card nonetheless.

From the never ending 2008 SP Authentic set, a letter "G" auto of Nick Swisher. The G is supposed to spell out Chicago, which is a really dumb concept, but would look nice put together. The auto is pretty hard to see in person, but it's signed in gold and numbered to 75. For $10 or so I thought it was a cool pickup, my 7th Nick Swisher auto in my collection.

Another $10 pickup, this nice 1999 SP Signature Edition autograph of Bobby Abreu. Abreu missed out on our 2009 World Series run, and went to the Angels, where he did well. This year, however, is not the same Abreu we always saw. He's put together a nice career though, and for the price I felt like I should get one for the collection.

This is a really nice one. From 2009 Topps 206, a Curtis Granderson framed auto. Curtis has been disappointing for the Yankees this year, but he's finally breaking out and should continue for the rest of the year pretty consistently. Kevin Long and Grandy worked on some things and now he's hitting the ball better than ever this year. It was for sale for $20, but I got it for a solid $15. My 2 certified autos of Curtis now are Allen & Ginter and 206, both framed!

Also for $15, got this beauty from 2010 National Chicle, a Thurman Munson game used card. The painting of Munson is really nice, and the pants piece is nice! Only problem is I can't stand why Topps put the most feminine colors next to the swatches, I mean, really! Pink and purple! Topps guys, paint your daughters rooms these colors, not your cards. Whatever, still an awesome card of the Captain.

Now for my 2 big boys of the day, both got for $30 each. First is this 2002 UD SP Legendary Cuts game used of Roger Maris! I watched HBO's "61" movie, and I gained a ton of respect for Roger. I never really was a huge fan of his, because I didn't know much about him, and I also preferred The Babe to be the Home Run King. After watching that movie though I give him a ton of credit and I'd love to get more of him. This was a great 1st big card of Roger, with a beautiful pinstripe down the middle.

My 2nd to last pickup (bought the Stottlemyre last), and the last card that I bought that I haven't shown yet, a 2008 Stadium Club Evan Longoria RC Autograph! I got this for a steal, it was expensive, but $30 compared to this card on eBay is a crazy steal, the next lowest BIN I saw was $45, ranging up to $75! It's in mint condition, and a RC auto of the guy that beat out A-Rod for the starting spot on the All Star team this year. I bought this mainly because I've wanted a Longoria auto for some time, and when I asked for a price I expected higher, but as soon as he finished saying "$30" I said I'd take it. Evan played 8 games for my local minor league team, the Hudson Valley Renegades, a fresh crop of Rays players, and in those games he had 4 home runs and a few other hits as well! So, I thought I made out well on that one!

What do you think? How did I do? Don't worry, my dad provided even more excitement to the day, and you'll see why in the next post!

By the way, yesterday I received my box of 2010 TriStar OBAK baseball, and I'll be opening it tonight. The box review will come immediately following my card show posts, followed by contests and other maildays!

See Ya!

Stuff from Mike Pelfrey Collectibles

Hey guys, Drew back here, with some nice mail today, from Anthony of Mike Pelfrey Collectibles. But, before I get into it, first I wanna say R.I.P. Ralph Houk, who died yesterday at the age of 90. I wanted to get TTM but it was too late unfortunatelt. Houk was a great manager and he will be missed. I also wanted to say that I'm going to skip showing the videos sadly. I don't really have time to do a ton of work for just one post, so for now I can't really show them. I wish Blogger was better at uploading videos though, I mean, they were a minute long! Anyway, moving on to the mail.

Anthony was having an online yard sale of his entire collection, because he's grown bored of the hobby and wanted to move on and try something new, which in his case was War Memorabilia. So first, if you have any of that, go to his blog and let him know. His sales were great, and he negotiated with me really well and I feel like both sides made out well. I'm pretty sure he forgot one of the cards in the package, so I contacted him about it and he said he accidentally did forget about it and will ship it soon. So, here's what was in today's package!

Yes, he did write on the bottom right card. He says he has like 50 of these cards, so he figured he'd send some my way. I do enjoy collecting cards of players that aren't on the Yankees, as you will see more of in this post. I like Mike Pelfrey, although he's struggled a bit, he's a good pitcher and I'm happy to own a few of his rookies.

I got these from Anthony because they're two favorites of mine that don't play for the Yankees. Morneau was completely under shadowed by the Pujols and Ichiro phenomenon but has turned out to be a great MVP caliber player. Longoria was brought up on a local team that I occasionally go to games with, and in 8 games with that team, he hit 4 home runs. I also really like Evan's talent and it's a nice card to have.

Now for vintage, I got an Oscar Gamble 1977 Topps since I didn't have it, and the Andre Dawson rookie card. I've wanted Dawson's rookie ever since he was elected to the Hall of Fame last year, and even though it's not mint condition, I really like the card.

Here's the 1st of 2 Sheffield relics I got, a 2005 Cracker Jack "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" relic at that. It's really nice, smaller than a regular card but bigger than a 2007 Goudey card I'd say. Sheff as you may know used to be my favorite player, until he left NY on a bad note. I still like him and I'll try to add some of his better cards to my collection from time to time.

The second Sheffield is from 2006 Topps Heritage, another bat card. I must say I like the one above this more but this is nice too.

The final card here is a rookie jumbo jersey from 2006 Sweet Spot of Giants pitcher Matt Cain. Cain has been very good so far in his career, but is very unpopular due to Tim Lincecum being the star pitcher in San Francisco now. This may be the biggest relic on a jersey card I have, and I like the simple design. Plus, it's numbered out of 299.

All that plus one more nice relic for $15. Thanks for the great deal Anthony, go check out this link to see if you like anything, Anthony needs to get this stuff out of his collection! See Ya!