All Star Stitches

Relics don't really have the same appeal they once did to me. There have been so many controversies in regards to where the "game used material" comes from to the point where I'm generally driven away from buying them. I'm even at the point where I'd rather add a colorful parallel of a player I collect over having a piece of their bathroom towel or socks or whatever Topps and Panini are using.

One of the best relic sets every year to me is the All Star cards in Topps' annual Update Series. I like some diversity in my player collections, and typically most of the jersey swatches placed on their cards look pretty similar. But the All Star ones can be bright and on the complete opposite end of the color spectrum from what they typically don throughout the course of the regular season. I recently added two cards of this nature, the first on Check Out My Collectibles and the second from eBay.

2013 Topps Update Prince Fielder All Star Stitches

I've had a few of these cards on my want list ever since they came out in 2013. I was lucky enough to attend that year's Home Run Derby and watch my favorite sluggers duke it out in Citi Field. Prince Fielder was a favorite to win, and was one of my favorite players at the time (still very much up there). He didn't make it as far into the competition as we hoped, but the power display Yoenis Cespedes provided Queens that night was enough to make up for it. It's pretty cool in retrospect to think that just two years later Cespedes helped lead the Mets to the World Series.

I highly doubt this was the jersey Fielder wore during the Derby, but it's close as it's going to get for me. That was one of the best days of my life, and I'm glad I have another token to remember it by. This cost me maybe $2.

2015 Topps Update Joe Panik All Star Stitches

It's hard to believe that a player can make such a quiet splash into the league. Joe Panik helped lead the Giants to an unforgettable World Series victory in his rookie year, and followed up by making the All Star team the next season. I hope this is the first of many for Joe, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was. I talk him up a great deal because we rarely get major league quality talent in my neck of the woods, but he really is evolving into one of the best second basemen in the National League. If he can put together a full, healthy season, I feel like he can bring in some hardware.

Most fans don't get much out of the All Star Game, and I understand why. The game means too much for the World Series but usually isn't as thrilling as the stakes would entail. On top of it all, interleague play is so common that it's not as exciting to see these players face off. I still enjoy seeing the players I've admired for years honored annually, and I hope that feeling stays with me for a while. 

Beautiful 8x10 TTM Successes!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Over the past few months I've been sparsely adding to my collection, although I haven't put much money into the hobby. Luckily, the best thing about the Through the Mail hobby is that you invest early and your results tend to trickle in as a nice surprise later down the road. I sent to these two players during last year's season and figured I'd have to be patient if I wanted to get a success. Sure enough, both players caught up on their mail during the offseason and I ended up receiving two gorgeous signed 8x10's! Check them out:

Josh Hamilton was kind enough to sign this picture of him participating in the 2008 Home Run Derby for me! I've been a big Hamilton fan since that night, and I'll always remember sitting on my living room couch with my Dad in utter awe of his performance. So far Josh hasn't really panned out in LA, but he still has time to make up for it and I believe he's still capable of being a productive player for one of baseball's better offenses. I sent this picture to him during last Spring Training and received it back in December, and it was well worth the wait!

A week ago today I also got back this signed Clayton Kershaw 8x10! I had gotten both Kershaw and Hamilton on cards last year, but I felt like having a signed photo of the best pitcher in baseball was well worth the cost of postage! Rather than dig into all the statistics, I figure those of you who know Kershaw know how great of a pitcher he is, and he really does speak for himself! Now a 2 time Cy Young Award winner, the Dodgers signed him to the biggest deal of all time for a pitcher this past offseason. If anybody in baseball currently deserves the money they've been given, it's Kershaw, who's certainly carried an often inconsistent Dodgers rotation and given them opportunities to win in the postseason! I'm excited to watch him more as the years go on and it's crazy to think that he's just entering the prime years of his career. I love the personalization he gave me on the photo and I'm looking forward to putting it on display while he's on the road to Cooperstown. 

Who else got Kershaw or Hamilton back? Did they make it worth your wait? Let me know in the comments below! 

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!

Robinson Cano: Quiet but Classy

Hey everyone, Drew back here. So, I have a feeling that some of you are surprised I didn't get to posting anything about Robinson Cano's epic home run derby victory over Adrian Gonzalez, but I've been very busy doing all sorts of things lately. So, let me start off by saying congratulations to my man Robby on winning the derby! I watched the entire thing and he was incredible all night. After Gonzalez dropped 11 in the final round, while I had a lot of confidence for one of my favorite players, I thought he had no chance to top that. But, like he tends to do often to me, he completely shocked me, blasting 12 balls over the fence at Chase Field.

I learned something about Robinson Cano that night however. Even as a diehard Yankee fan, I never really got to know the real Cano. When he won, he said to the media that he wished to cut in half his trophy so that he can share the other half with his Derby pitcher and father Jose Cano. Cano has been very outspoken in his short 7 year career, and you never see him getting interviewed following a game unless he's about to get pied in the face. Honestly, I barely knew anything about him except for the fact that he hits the heck out of the ball season after season and may be the best second baseman in baseball today.

It's weird to me, because while Yankees fans love Cano, and he is respected a lot through baseball, I still feel like he's underrated. In a way, while I'm super happy for him to be on the Yankees, I feel like he'd make a bigger name for himself by going to a different team. He outplays Jeter, A-Rod, and several other star Yankee players, yet isn't as highly popular and touted as them. One day, if he keeps up this incredible pace, which is the most hits for a Yankees player at his point of his career minus Joltin Joe DiMaggio, he could have a plaque in Cooperstown.

I started collecting Cano almost 2 years ago, and have acquired almost 150 different cards of his. It's nothing spectacular, but I was lucky to invest in him before everyone else soon realized how good he really is. Not that I plan to sell any of his stuff that I own, but knowing that the cards I spent a good amount of money on went up even more is so nice to see for me.

All in all, while collectors spend a good $30-40 for his autographs now, I've got a solid 6 to hang on to, and I'm glad I took advantage before he got to superhuman status. Robby seems to be a player that kids can look up to, including me. As a ballplayer myself, I like to stay quiet, and be a leader in the best ways I can without being ultra loud and obnoxious.

So through his epic finish in the Home Run Derby, I was not only proud to be a Yankees fan but incredibly proud to have known that one of my favorite players proved just how good of a person he truly is, and made me look good for liking him in the first place!

Here's to many, many more accomplishments Robby! See Ya!

P.S. We may very well have a guest post coming soon from someone that may have attended this awesome event!

Swish and Cano: News

Hey guys, Drew back here. Yeah, I'm talking about my lovely Yankees again, just some news about the guys I collect.

First off, Robinson Cano has decided to participate in the 2010 Home Run Derby next week. Cano is helping to represent New York for the first time since 2003 when Jason Giambi was in the competition sporting a Yankees jersey. Cano is putting up MVP like numbers, a .337 batting average, 16 homers and 55 RBI. His average has been declining steadily throughout the last month, but he's still performing for the Bronx Bombers. I don't know whether I like or dislike this idea, because many past home run derby participants have ruined their swing in preparation for the derby (aka Bobby Abreu). The Yankees can not afford to lose their biggest bat in this way of all possible ways. But, it's also going be more enjoyable watching the derby for me and other Yankee fans this year due to this. Cano is still 27 years old so while he's young, it may be easier to fix the swing. I wish Cano luck, and I really hope he does well!

As for Swish, getting into the All Star Game seems to be much harder to do then we all expected. Swisher has been a deserving candidate for the All Star team this year, but so have many others left on the sidelines. Fortunately Andy Pettitte made it onto the team due to Clay Buchholz's injury. Swisher has had a very consistent year for us this year, a .292 batting average with 13 homers and 47 RBI. Even I'll admit that Konerko or Youkilis should deserve the final vote a little more, due to stats, Swisher hasn't made an All Star team yet and has had some very good years in his short career. It sure is tight right now, but Swish is in the lead for now. Help Nick make the team by going to mlb.com and voting for him in the final vote! He needs your help!

Who Will Win???

Who do you predict is going to win the 2009 MLB Home Run Derby (tonight at 8:00 est.)?


1 >2>3>4

5>6>7>8

NATIONAL LEAGUE
1: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals, 1st Base: .332 BA, 32 HR (leads league), 87 RBI
2: Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers, 1st Base: .315 BA, 22 HR, 78 RBI
3: Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres, 1st Base: .250 BA, 24 HR, 52 RBI
4: Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies, 1st Base: .257 BA, 22 HR, 67 RBI

AMERICAN LEAGUE
5: Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay Rays, 1st Base: .228 BA, 24 HR (leads AL), 58 RBI
6: Brandon Inge, Detroit Tigers, 3rd Base: .268 BA, 21 HR, 58 RBI
7: Nelson Cruz, Texas Rangers, Right Field: .263 BA, 22 HR, 53 RBI
8: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins, Catcher: .373 BA, 15 HR, 49 RBI

So, who will win?

Here is my prediction:

1st Round Eliminations: Inge, Mauer, Gonzalez, Cruz
2nd Round Eliminations: Pena, Howard
3rd Round Elimination: Fielder
Winner: Pujols
Why?: Pujols has the best advantage out of these players in the derby. He is at home, with his fans cheering him on. Inge, Mauer, Gonzalez, and Cruz have never been in this, and I don't think they have the power to do so. Pena on the other hand does have that power, and you could argue about Gonzalez, but I have never watched Gonzalez play before, and I see Pena crank em' out against the Yankees all the time. I think Prince Fielder will find a way to sneak into the finals, but will lose to Pujols.

Some interesting things about this year's derby:
1- 5 out of the 8 contestants in the show are 1st Baseman (All 4 are in National League)
2- No huge name team player (Yankees, Red Sox, Mets)

So, thanks for looking, and I want to know what you think. You can simply tell me who you think will win, or do what I did. Imagine if I got that bracket exactly right! See Ya!