Topps Now

Hey everyone, Drew back here. So last season, Topps introduced "Topps Now", which basically recaps all of the big moments over the course of the season. Essentially, a MUCH better version of Upper Deck Documentary; if you remember that monstrosity back from 2008. However, there was definitely one flaw. Every card in the set costs $10 from Topps' website; which is a bit high for my liking.

Yet... I couldn't resist. I was working really hard last summer and making a lot of the money I spent abroad back, and I allowed myself to spend a certain amount of my weekly paychecks on cards in order to keep myself motivated to save up. While this was happening, the Baby Bombers came to town, and I had several opportunities to capture some of their most exciting moments on cardboard. I couldn't pass up.

I resisted Topps Now all season. Until August 13th. Just after A-Rod played his final game, the kids got their chance to prove themselves. 

Tyler Austin kicked off the festivities by hitting a home run in his first at bat just inside the right field foul pole. It probably wasn't a home run in any other stadium, but who cares?

Aaron Judge followed up with what would have been a home run in EVERY stadium, a center field blast that flew 457 feet and probably still hasn't landed yet. He hit 3 more home runs in 2016, but struck out in literally half of his at bats. Hopefully he can correct those issues, because his power is scary, as we saw Friday in the Yankees spring debut. Grant Brisbee put it best.

Austin and Judge's moment was special, but Gary Sanchez stole the show shortly after for the remainder of the season. In fact, he was good enough to almost win the Rookie of the Year award despite only playing in 53 games! This card highlights his torrid 8 home run start in 19 games. Little did Topps know, there would be more to come.

On September 8th, the Rays and Yankees traded blasts all game, but Tyler Austin had the last laugh in the bottom of the 9th to win it! Austin has been through a lot of ups and downs on his way to the big leagues, so he's an easy guy to root for. Unfortunately, he was in line to be somewhat of a utility man this year but fractured his foot after fouling a ball off of it.

But back to El Gary, because, duh. My last Topps Now from the season recognized Sanchez's record home run pace. No matter how good Gary turns out, I don't think he or frankly anyone will ever be able to replicate the start he had. I don't know if there was ever a time in the regular season that I was more excited to turn on a Yankees game than I was during Gary's tear last September. It was a great sign of things to come, that's for sure.

But there was a surprise perk to spending as much money as I did from Topps. I; as well as others who bought into Topps Now, were sent a Christmas card from Topps that included a baseball card (front & back):

This card was quite the reminder of just how fun the 2016 season was for baseball fans. The Cubs won the World Series... does it get any better than that (besides a Yankees title)? Ichiro collected his 3,000th hit in this country, and Big Papi had a farewell tour after criticizing Jeter and Rivera for having farewell tours! Good times.

Sometime last week, Topps sent me yet another surprise celebrating the beginning of the 2017 baseball season!

To be fair, this Mike Trout card is more of a promotion than anything else, but it was definitely cool to get a first look at the new design. I saw people receiving the Christmas card on Twitter before I got mine, but this time I didn't expect it at all. Trout is a special player, and his career statistical comparisons to Mickey Mantle really blow me away. We need to realize what we're watching now and enjoy it for what it is. Now if only we could find a way to get him in pinstripes...

So, I like Topps Now. It's a neat concept, and I think Topps executed it really well! Unfortunately, I probably can't keep spending money on them in 2017 if they're going to be $10 a card. Even for $5, I would consider buying more of them.

What do you think of Topps Now, and how much are you willing to pay for one? Leave their thoughts in the comment section below.

I Am Gary...

Hey everyone, long time no talk, again. I'm going to quit making excuses for whenever I lack the motivation to blog. In all honesty, I've lost a lot of the drive I once had for writing posts and being especially involved in the blogging community. It's not you guys, it's me; I swear. Things have been busier than ever since I returned from Florence at the end of May, and the time I would usually spend writing posts is now allotted towards resting up for another day's work.

I've done a lot of things outside of work this summer though too. I went to 3 Yankees games, one of which was at Fenway Park against Boston. I saw Coldplay at Metlife Center and The Lumineers at a local festival. I added several new records to my growing vinyl collection, went to a card show, rode some rollercoasters at Six Flags, and spent a lot of quality time with friends and family. A good portion of this will be covered sooner or later.

On top of it all, I've watched a lot of baseball. The Yankees have been invigorated with energy ever since the Trade Deadline and the release of Alex Rodriguez, and it has almost become must-see TV. I normally keep tabs on most games while watching shows on Netflix religiously, but these past two months have gone the opposite direction. The difference maker, as most of you appear to know by now; has been Gary Sánchez. "The Kraken", as famously dubbed by Brian Cashman; has been a lethal weapon of mass destruction since being called up for the third (and final) time on August 2nd.

2010 Bowman Gary Sanchez Refractor Auto /500

Sánchez has been a Baby Bomber for seven years now, and was regarded as a Top 100 Prospect by Baseball America for five of those seven. He succeeded in the shadow of former top prospect Jesus Montero until the Michael Pineda trade officially made him the future of Yankee backstops.

I've been collecting all throughout that time, and I didn't own an autograph of Sánchez's... until August 6th, 4 days after the call up. A dealer had listed four or five of his Bowman refractor autographs to try and make a profit. He may have profited, but he has to be kicking himself after the tear "El Gary" has been on. This card currently sells between $250 and $300, but I had it for $40 shipped. Essentially, I played the long con for seven years and made one of the greatest eBay snipes of all time (yeah, I said it).

Sure, I hear all you nay-sayers who think this is all a hoax. Obviously, yes, the guy won't be hitting a Ted Williams-esque .400 for his entire career. But we as Yankee fans have every right and reason to be thrilled with the prospect of having an All Star caliber catcher for the first time since Jorge Posada was in his prime. Not only has his bat played a vocal part in this late bid for a Wild Card spot, but he already seems to be emerging as a leader in the clubhouse. He wants to win, and win now. And he is doing everything in his power to help the team do just that.

New Yorkers never quit. Neither will we @Yankees. Please keep coming out to support. Thank you. #YankeesDontQuit #IamGary

— Gary Sanchez (@ElGarySanchez) August 27, 2016

I love it.

For once, you're right about something John Sterling. Gary is scary.

PS: This card just recently was sent out (along with a few others) as part of a BGS Group Submission. I will be sure to share the results when they come back, unless of course they all grade terribly. I don't want you all to think I'm as blind as a bat.

Christmas Gifts from William & Frankie!

Hey everyone, Drew back here! It is the last day of the year, and I just realized how many different things I'd like to accomplish with the blog today. So we're going to start this final day with a bang and show a few awesome gifts I received from two of my closest friends in the blogosphere.

William led off this year with a package filled with PC cards I've been in desperate need of.

This Luis Severino card technically does not fit in my PC because it isn't a licensed issue, but I never said I wouldn't welcome any other card of his. He also included the same Onyx insert of Greg Bird.

I didn't have as impressive a year as I would have liked with the Joe Panik PC, but I think collecting Luis Severino was partially to blame. With Severino being on the rise in New York, I've felt it is necessary to grab as many cards of his as possible before they become unaffordable. Meanwhile, Panik has already been named an All Star and his card prices have seemed to hit their peak, so it may be possible to grab more down the road for cheaper costs.

I needed all three of the Panik cards William sent along, including this 2015 Allen & Ginter mini.

Oh, Robby Cano. I've been missing our former star second baseman ever since he left New York, even though his years in Seattle have been mediocre at best considering the contract he is playing to. I still do collect any Cano cards, so feel free to keep on sending them along. They're all reminders of great times that have come before.

Speaking of great times, is there any product from 2015 that captured the inner essence of baseball quite like Stadium Club? The Mariano Rivera card is possibly my favorite non-hit card of my Rivera mini PC; showing him celebrate the final out of the 1998 World Series. The David Cone gold foil card (as Night Owl mentioned recently, I didn't notice the gold until I peeked at this scan).

I've been looking to add this Bowman Inception Severino auto ever since I sent one to Frankie for his birthday. I've added some of the higher end, serial numbered Severino cards from Inception in the meantime, but I still had to take it back to the basics. Inception is definitely one of this year's most underrated, although the amount of autos in the market make their top prospect autographs somewhat too affordable at times (to the point where you could question the card's long term sustainable value, but hey, we're not all in this for the money, right?)

My favorite card in the package was definitely the Jeter relic. I do not have enough cards of my all time favorite player, and that is something I hope to change in 2016. I've never really understood using a road jersey for a card featuring players in home jerseys, or vise-versa, but the amount of gray on the card makes this one aesthetically pleasing enough to pass my standards and keep me satisfied!

Frankie caught me totally offguard this year, although I was beginning to suspect something when I received a random text asking if I'm still collecting Joe Panik. Sure enough, a few weeks later I found a package in my mailbox that contained what now is my best card of the Giants All Star second baseman. 

I'm very excited to see what the future holds for Gary Sanchez. Sanchez was our top prospect for a considerable amount of time after Jesus Montero made his debut in pinstripes (and was subsequently traded to Seattle for Michael Pineda) until the recent core of young studs flooded the farm system. After Judge, Severino, Bird, and Mateo found their way towards the top of the Baseball America lists, Sanchez became a bit of an afterthought.

This year, he proved that he was just as worthy as the newcomers at sitting atop top prospect lists. In 58 games in AA, he batted .262 with 12 home runs and showed improvement behind the plate too. He was called up to AAA, and was even more successful there (.295/6 HR/26 RBI in 146 plate appearances). But he stole the show in the Arizona Fall League, making a run for MVP of the off-season league. It was a good year to be Gary Sanchez.

Tyler Austin and Mason Williams go hand in hand at this point. Both prospects have been highly touted at times for their athletic ability and skills, but neither player has been able to put it all together. Austin batted .240 between AA and AAA in 2015, far off what he had contributed in the past. He did perform better in the Arizona Fall League, and is still only 23. Williams made his major league debut in 2015, and showed some flashes of brilliance before a shoulder injury ended his 2015 rookie campaign.

The Yankees have proven to be excellent at finding pitchers like David Phelps and Adam Warren. These long reliever/6th starter type pitchers are valuable because they can help keep the bullpen rested when starting pitchers have to exit early, and they are often more than capable of starting games when other pitchers get injured. Phelps was included in the deal with the Marlins that brought Nate Eovaldi to the Bronx, who I would personally much rather have. I did miss Phelps in 2015 though, and I absolutely love this Gypsy Queen autograph of his.

My mouth dropped when I first saw this card. Joe Panik's best rookie autograph.. graded a 9.5? Is this real life? I don't often collect graded cards, but you won't catch me complaining about having a card this monumental for the Panik collection slabbed by Beckett. I already had the Bowman autograph, but have already sold it for a different Panik (that I have already bought). This one blew it out of the water, and I'm so fortunate to Frankie for sending it my way.

Thank you both for such awesome gifts! I hope you enjoy yours as well (which are well on their way by now)!

Later today, I plan on outlining the fantastic year it's been, before revealing a big change effective tomorrow. Be on the lookout for a big finish to drewscards' comeback year!

See Ya!

Mail from my buddy Andrew!

Hey guys, Drew back here! It's been a very busy month for me, maybe not so much on this website but in all other aspects of my life, time is flying. Sophomore year is coming down the home stretch, and before I know it I'm going to be awaiting junior year while soaking up the sun on a cruise over summer vacation! All is going well here, and I'd like to once again thank each and every one of you readers for taking out the time to check what I've got to say. I just received surpassed 100,000 page views (not including my own), and it is something that really does mean a lot to me, not because of the number, but because I'm proud of how I've made somewhat of an impact towards other collectors. The goal all along was not only to show off what I've been able to add to my personal collection, but to share my love of the hobby in hopes to spread the love of the game of baseball.

One thing I've always enjoyed doing in this hobby is trading, and although I haven't been on top of my trades very well of late, my new good friend Andrew has certainly tried to bounce me back into my flow. We worked out our second trade a few weeks ago, and this was what I got in exchange for a Cardinals autograph:

Here are a few of my favorites of the Yankees cards he sent. I love the 2012 Dellin Betances Topps rookie, and I'm definitely going to have to pick up a few more to stockpile up on him. He's not doing very well in the minors from what I've heard, but he has a heck of a lot of potential. I didn't have the A-Rod starquest surprisingly enough, but I'm glad Andrew sent it my way. Also, that Eric Chavez gold parallel is pretty nice as well. 

Next are a few well known Yankee prospects, in Gary Sanchez and Ben Gamel! Sanchez has perhaps the most potential in their entire farm system right now, and because of that, they thought dealing Jesus Montero would be a smart move. I understand that thought process, but I really think we could've done better than Michael Pineda with what we have to offer. I'm very disappointed in Pineda thus far, but he's extremely young with a lot of potential so I'm just going to give him some time first before making final decisions. Gamel, on the other hand, has bounced around quite a bit in his few years in the Yankee system. He had a very good 2011 season in the Staten Island, so hopefully he can carry that into his 2012 campaign.

Finally, some Kimball Champions topped off the deal! I've made this very clear on here before, but I'll say it again: I LOVE these inserts. Why? I really don't know, they're just appealing to me. I probably have these same three minis somewhere in my basement, but I'll take every single one you guys have! Maybe one day I'll go after the whole set. For now, here are the Ruth, Berra, and Sabathia minis.

So, thank you so much for the trade Andrew, I really appreciate all the attention you've given towards my collection the past few weeks. Everyone please go out and give his site a look, because believe me, everyone loves a new blog to read, right?

See Ya!