Spring 2016 TTM Mailbag

Hey everyone, Drew back here! While I was away, I used this site as a platform for blog posts required for a Multimedia course I took. I don't know how many of you chose to read those, but I hope you enjoyed seeing some different material than usual.

After a few months away from our blogging community, I think it's about time I catch you all up on my collection. Now that I'm back in the states, I plan to reignite my interest in the hobby, while working with the smallest budget I've ever had. I did arrive home to six TTM successes, which happened to be six more than I initially expected to find.

Josh Hamilton: 1/1 (c/o Texas Rangers)

Every year, the Josh Hamilton story grows increasingly distant from my memory. I've always been a huge fan of his, but it's felt like forever since he was a productive baseball player. Hamilton received his second left knee operation last offseason that initially slated him to return about midway through the 2016 season. However, there was still meniscus and cartilage damage remaining that will now be operated on; thus concluding his 2016 campaign before he even took the field once. He's now 35, and while he may plan on returning next season he may not draw interest from any clubs. It's safe to say his days as an MVP and Home Run Derby champion have come to a close.

Hamilton has been one of the most consistent TTM signers in today's game over the past few years. He usually will sign during the winter and return all of his fanmail from the prior season, and it appears as though he's done it again. My glossy 8x10 copy of his Sports Illustrated cover came out awesome. Maybe next year I'll finally get him on a ball.

My Dad was able to open my TTM's for me while I was gone and send me pictures of the successes; which certainly helped me feel close to home. On the same day, I received the following two autographs from some of the game's better young prospects.

Brandon Nimmo: 1/1 (c/o Binghamton Mets)

Nimmo was the Mets 1st round draft selection in 2011, and currently ranks as their 4th overall prospect according to MLB.com. He profiles as a well rounded player that particularly exceeds at hitting for contact, and currently plays for their Triple-A affiliate Las Vegas 51s. In 40 games this season, he's batted an even .300 with a home run, 20 RBI, and 22 runs scored. It shouldn't be much longer before he gets an opportunity to shine in blue and orange.

He personalized my 2014 Bowman card and signed it cleanly in blue sharpie.

Robert Stephenson: 1/1 (c/o Pensacola Blue Wahoos)

The Cincinnati Reds are the National League's second worst team in 2016; only better than the historically bad Atlanta Braves. Over the past year, they've lost Aroldis Chapman, Johnny Cueto, and Todd Frazier while attempting a rebuild phase. This 6'2 hurler appears to be at the forefront of this movement, and has the potential to one day be the ace of the staff. Stephenson was also a 1st round pick in 2011, but has developed relatively slowly ever since. He made his MLB debut early this season and made two quality starts for the Reds before they sent him down to work on his ability to throw strikes and account for service time. We should see more of him on a big league mound later on this year.

Stephenson also signed a 2014 Bowman for my collection nicely in blue sharpie.

Shane Greene: 1/1 (c/o Detroit Tigers)

It's been an inconsistent journey for Shane Greene since he was sent to Detroit in the three team deal that landed New York their current shortstop, Didi Gregorius. Greene broke out with the Yankees in 2014, recording a 5-4 record and a 3.78 ERA in 78.2 IP. He started off strong last season with the Tigers before he struggled immensely and found himself in Triple-A. At the end of the season, he was falsely diagnosed with an aneurysm in his throwing hand but then also underwent shoulder surgery. He's currently rehabbing and working his way back up to the Tigers 25 man roster. Needless to say, I would do that trade again every time if I could.

Mark Wahlberg: 1/3 (c/o Leverage Management)

Marky Mark. Yeah, that's the one. I also forgot I sent this out, and I wish I had some way of knowing when I initially sent the request. Wahlberg has rebounded well from his mediocre rap career with "The Funky Bunch"; starring in several blockbuster films such as "Boogie Nights", "The Departed", "Ted", and one of my all time favorite movies: "The Fighter". I believe I included a 4x6 glossy shot similar to this "Other Guys" photo of the boxing classic (and "Ted" now that I think of it), but I'm not 100% sure. "The Other Guys" remains as one of my favorite Will Ferrell comedies, despite having seen it more than my fair share of times. 

Wahlberg signed this photo nicely in black sharpie. It would be cool if I could add Will Ferrell on it eventually, but I won't be upset if I don't.

Clayton Kershaw: 1/1 (c/o Los Angeles Dodgers)

We wrap my comeback post up with a success from Sandy Koufax Clayton Kershaw! Just when you thought Jake Arrieta and several of baseball's rising stars would begin to compete for the "Best Pitcher in Baseball" moniker, this guy started doing things even he hasn't yet done. This month, he's thrown 3 complete game shutouts (no typo), bringing his current line to 7-1 with a 1.95 ERA and 95 strikeouts. I've seen Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, and Greg Maddux pitch before, but since they weren't in their prime at that point of their careers I can definitely say that Kershaw is the best I've ever seen.

Kershaw, like Hamilton; is a top notch TTM signer. He signs usually every February if you send to the Dodgers stadium address. I would take advantage of this opportunity while you can, because at this rate we won't be able to afford his John Hancock for much longer. He also included a note about "Kershaw's Challenge", his organization that encourages people to use their faith to make a difference in the world. There isn't a single bad thing I can say about this guy; he's as classy as they come.

I hope you all enjoyed my return to form, and I would please like to encourage you all to spread the word about this site. I don't know if everyone has caught on to my new stomping grounds here at "The Hot Corner", but now that I'll be getting back to posting regular content I would like for those of you in the community to at least have the opportunity to read my material.

Thank you so much to every one of you for helping make this site possible. Ciao!

Ten For Tuesday - Favorite Yankee Memories

Hey guys, Drew back here! I know I'm a bit late to the parade, but Happy Opening Day to all of you baseball lovers out there. I spent the day watching games all day long, the way it should be, and other than the Yankees it was an entertaining day! As I've stated previously on this blog, this will be the 11th year I've actively followed the Yankees, and with that I'd like to wrap up my first decade with a celebration of the best moments I've embraced while loving the most hated team in the game. This will run in chronological order, as it is simply too difficult to rank so many memories I'll never forget.

10 Favorite Yankees Memories

1 - My First Game: May 1st, 2005

I was 9 years old when my Dad, Uncle, and Grandma took me to my first baseball game. My Aunt got us beautiful box seats and it was Bat Day; Yankees vs. Blue Jays. Although the Yanks dropped this one, 8-6, I'll always remember thinking infield pop ups were home runs. I learned what power truly did look like when Gary Sheffield went deep, and he became one of my favorite players for his intense batting stance and hard swings.

2 - May 26th, 2007 Yankees vs. Angels

My dad, best friend Mike, and I got to our seats in the old Yankee Stadium, and realized we were sitting in the highest row in the entire ballpark. After a few innings, we were returning to our seats with food when one of the Yankees security employees was nice enough to move us from the top seats in the section all the way to the front row, where nobody ever showed up. Again, the Yankees lost the game, but it was such an amazing gesture and I never forgot how excited I was to see my favorite players even closer up than before. Oh, and we thought it was the coolest thing when Ron Guidry waved to us while paying a visit to Monument Park.

3 - 2008 MLB All Star Game at Yankee Stadium

I didn't get to go to any of these events like I did in 2013 when the Mets hosted the All Star Game in Citi Field, but I'll never forget watching the Home Run Derby and the Game itself. My dad and I watched Josh Hamilton drive ball after ball into the dark Manhattan skyline, and he became one of my favorite players in the game that night. The going away party, including all of the final game ceremonies and Derek Jeter's speech were also special memories that I wouldn't forget either.

4 - July 30th, 2008 Yankees vs. Orioles

I had been excited to go to this game with my Dad for a while, but things got even more interesting when my best friend Mike called me one day, inviting me to the same game! He ended up taking another one of our close friends instead and sitting across the stadium, but we all took the train together and couldn't wait to watch the game. We used our binoculars to wave from where we sat in the left field bleacher section to the right field section, and we saw Joba Chamberlain take the hill for the Bombers. The game was a slugfest for New York, as A-Rod hit a solo shot and Bobby Abreu clubbed two over the fence, and the final score was 13-3. What a way to go out of the old Stadium.

5 - July 19th, 2009 Yankees vs. Tigers

Ah, another memory, another glimpse of Joba Chamberlain's mediocre starting pitching career. However, this game was memorable for just about all of the other reasons, as the Yankees took this game by a final score of 2-1. It was Old Timer's Day, and while I had seen a ceremony in person before in 2006, this one felt more meaningful to me as I actually got to watch them play the game and the weather was much better. After assembling one of the best teams in baseball over the past offseason, signing CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Nick Swisher, and Mark Teixeira; this Yankees team became extremely fun to watch, and success would soon follow.

6 - 2009 World Series Victory over Phillies

The 2009 playoffs were magical for my Yankees, and it was fun to see them sweep the Twins and knock off the Angels en route to the Fall Classic. This matchup was a battle between two of the higher payrolls in the game, and it was a fun one to watch. Cliff Lee pitched a gem in Game 1, but long-time foe Pedro Martinez couldn't get it done in Game 2. The Bombers out-slugged Philadelphia in Games 3 and 4, but Chase Utley put the success to a temporary halt until Game 6, when Hideki Matsui's 6 RBI brought home the championship to the city that never sleeps. I missed out on the dynasty era by a few years, so 2009 was the only year I remember fondly. And what a year it was.

7 - July 18th, 2010 Yankees vs. Rays

Andy Pettitte vs. David Price. Two of my favorite pitchers in baseball went head to head in this one, and it wasn't a pitcher's dual by any sense of the phrase. The Yankees won this one 9-5, and Alex Rodriguez was a key contributor in the game. Pettitte left very early in the game with a groin injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season after starting the season better than he had in a significantly long time. His injury was extremely upsetting, but it did not get in the way of the day. Dad and I went to the team Museum for the first time, and we sat in the front row of the right field bleachers on field level! Nick Swisher was one of my new favorite players to watch, and we practically got to hang out with him, interacting between innings frequently. And to top it off, just a few feet from our seats was the Yankees bullpen, where I watched Pettitte and Mariano Rivera warmup right before my eyes. We have since sat in these seats on two other occasions, but the first time will always mean a lot to me because I was practically in baseball heaven.

8 - Derek Jeter's 3000th Hit (July 9th, 2011)

I watched every pitch of this game on my TV, highly anticipating baseball history. Jeter came into the game two hits shy of 3000 for his legendary career, and facing David Price, he started the game with a single. In his second at bat, he homered in Hollywood fashion for his 3000th hit, and he wasn't even done. He recorded a double and two more singles to follow, including a tiebreaking single in the 8th inning. This was one of the best single player performances I have ever had the pleasure of watching, and easily the most impressive of anyone in a Yankee uniform.

9 - September 21st, 2011 Yankees vs. Rays

Once again, here we were in the right field seats I spoke of previously, which could only mean we were in for a treat. CC Sabathia faced off against Jeremy Hellickson, a pitcher I once watched pitch for the Hudson Valley Renegades without even knowing it. The Yankees already clinched playoff berth earlier that day in Game 1 of their doubleheader, but Jorge Posada wanted to finish the deal and clinch the AL East. Posada wasn't in the lineup, but pinch hit in the 8th inning and delivered a tiebreaking, two run single that went on to win not just the game but the division! Robinson Cano crushed a home run earlier on that landed two rows behind us, and we managed to be on television for a few seconds and hold the baseball for a picture! This was one of the better games I've seen in person, and the Cano home run made it a lock for this list.

10 - Derek Jeter's Final Home Game at Yankee Stadium (September 25th, 2014)

The final moment on this list comes again by way of our former captain, Derek Jeter. Last fall, I went through a lot emotionally being away from home at college for the first time. I had a floor meeting the night I knew Jeter would be playing his final game at the Stadium, and I decided to fake being asleep just to see the game. At first, I didn't miss much, as the Yankees appeared to be ready to win the game 5-2 with reliable righty David Robertson coming out of the bullpen to close things out. Robertson coughed up two home runs, and the Orioles tied up the score, but this was a good thing. I wanted one more Jeter at bat, as he was 1-4 at the time with a relatively lackluster performance. He got that opportunity, and he drove in Antoan Richardson to win the game! Watching my all time favorite player jump for joy as he faded into Yankees lore was perhaps the most surreal moment of my life, and it took away from some of my pain I felt being away from my family.

Some other key moments that just missed the cut:
- My second Yankees game, which was more memorable for an embarrassing accident in the bus bathroom than anything else.
- The Yankees signing of Johnny Damon in 2006
- Receiving TTM successes from Yogi Berra and CC Sabathia
- Meeting Whitey Ford, Goose Gossage, and Don Mattingly, among others, over the years
- The two biggest spending sprees they have made in this timeframe that got me excited; 2009 and 2014.
- Raul Ibanez's epic 2012 playoff highlight reel (so hard to keep this off the list)
- The few times my Grandpa Walt brought me to Yankee Stadium before he passed away last summer.
- Taking my girlfriend Victoria for the first time in 2014

The point of this post isn't to brag about my life and how lucky I am, but instead focus on thanking all of those who have made these 10+ memories happen, particularly my parents. My mom and dad have spent a lot of time and money helping me live a special 18 years, and even though I missed the best years in recent Yankee history, I still have seen plenty of greatness. It has been a mostly enjoyable, yet often painful 10 years, but I wouldn't trade my love for the game for just about anything.

Have any memories you wish to share? Feel free to leave them in the comments below!

See Ya!

Mailday - Welcomed PC Additions from John!

Hey guys, Drew back here. Yesterday, I shipped the remainder of the #FreeStuff packages, and the only teams remaining to claim are the Kansas City Royals, Washington Nationals, and Cleveland Indians. If you're interested, please comment or email me (yanks1996wsc@gmail.com) and I will get them out as soon as I can. I didn't ask for anything in return for the cards, as I was initially just trying to clear out a bin of doubles that was taking up space in my collection. However, one of my readers, John, claimed two teams and wanted to reciprocate for what I sent him. I received a package from him a few days ago, and I was pleasantly surprised by how many holes he filled in my PC's!

John started off with cards of some of my favorite Yankees. He actually added 2 new cards to my Robinson Cano PC, the 254th and 255th unique cards in the collection! I'm beginning to warm back up to Cano, but I'd prefer to stick with collecting his Yankees cards (though I'd take the Mariners ones too). I just wish Topps would realize that the facsimile autograph they put on his cards matched his actual autograph; it's not even close.

Next, he sent a bunch of cool older Johnny Damon cards! I don't have enough of his pre-Yankees cards, and after meeting him at a card show I've grown to like him more as a player and person. He still hasn't announced his retirement because he thinks he's still got the talent to play in the big leagues. I admire that.

Finally, John sent along a bunch of non-Yankee cards that fulfilled some of my smaller player PC's. Nick Swisher used to be one of my main collections, but collecting him got a little boring after a while and I've slowed down. Believe it or not, this was my first card of him in an Indians uniform. I really hope to see Hamilton recover from his recent relapse, because he's easily been one of my favorite players to watch growing up.

Thank you so much again John for all of the great cards! You really didn't have to!

See Ya!

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!

2012 ECN Recap! (Pt.3) Gypsy Queen Break!

Hey everyone, Drew back here! At last weekend's show, Dad and I needed an alternate plan for pictures, because I accidentally left home without my camera. We ended up stopping at a grocery store along the way to pick up a disposable Fujifilm camera to use for meeting players. My mom just got the pictures done and is at work for now, so we're going to skip that until tomorrow, and continue on with our recap.

It has certainly been a while, but Dad, rather than buying singles for me at the show, decided to buy a box of 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen for us to open together! As I've mentioned, Gypsy Queen is definitely my favorite product of the year, due to several factors that I'll explain as I go through the recap. Every box contains the standard 24 packs, with 10 cards per pack, one being a mini card. Rather than having a box topper, every box contains a little 10 card exclusive mini pack featuring assorted minis you wouldn't find in the regular packs. To go along with all of this, there are 2 relics and 2 autographs per box on average. So, without further delay, let me proceed to reveal what we pulled out of our box!

We'll start with what came out of the mini pack, which we actually pulled 11 cards in. I was wondering why all of the cards didn't fit into the holder, and then I realized we were given one more than the average pack! All of the players were fairly big names; the biggest probably being Roy Halladay, Mark Teixeira, and Ryan Braun. We also pulled mini inserts of some, ya know, solid names- Josh Hamilton, Derek Jeter, and Dustin Pedroia. Not too bad!

The base cards feature a very elegant, yet intense design. The photos of the players are edited to have more of an artsy look, and I think they came out fantastic for the most part! Since I really enjoy a nice autographed card, I always look at how well the cards would come out signed, and well, a lot of these would look beyond awesome with an autograph across them!

Like I said when I opened a couple loose packs of GQ at the show, I absolutely love the variety as well. Many older players got themselves a card in the checklist, guys who are much more deserving of a card of this caliber than some lower level rookies Topps may have included a few years ago. I honestly can't see myself getting rid of any of these cards, they're just too nice!

Unfortunately, Topps had to throw in one of their relentless gimmicks to knock the set down a level, by including short printed cards featuring different photos than the regular base card has. I pulled six from what I could tell: Sabathia, Boggs, Weaver, DiMaggio, Strasburg, and Granderson; all being players I like. I also realized that the difference in the two DiMaggio cards is that the base card is zoomed in on him a little more. That's it. 

As stated earlier, every pack also comes with a mini, to go along with the box topper pack. I think Topps could've done better with this product if they didn't include the minis in the packs, and just had them as box toppers. They would be more limited, therefore increasing its value. All of these minis above are just the regular minis, but don't worry, Topps didn't forget to make things more complicated to set collectors.

What did I tell you. To go along with the exclusive box topper pack and the regular minis, Topps also threw in 4 red "Gypsy back" minis as well as 4 "Straight Cut" minis. Each are one in six packs, and while we pulled some solid names, I really don't see why these subsets are all that necessary. People may say Topps is trying to preserve the nostalgia; well, if they really wanted to do that, all the cards would be minis. Beautiful cards, yes, but with a lack of importance, they knock the set down a bit. 

Sorry everyone, but I'm not done with minis. We now have: the exclusive box topper pack, regular minis, Gypsy back minis, Straight Cut minis, black minis, AND green minis of every player in the set. And we wonder why this hobby has been dying down of late. One big chase for collectors is for all of a certain player or team's cards, but with the amount of cards of each of them out there today; those collectors will go broke on JUST the base and inserts. Topps, please, take notes, I'm preaching to a choir over here. 

Our final mini was this sepia toned mini of Aramis Ramirez, numbered 94 of 99. I like Ramirez, and this is kind of a cool idea, however, wouldn't they be so much cooler as rare throw ins in the exclusive mini pack? Personally, while the pack on top was cool, if they featured some semi-rare things like these, I would have enjoyed opening it a little more. 

Now, we go on to the concept subsets: Sliding Stars; Moonshots; and Glove Stories. I have a feeling the sliding stars idea wasn't really an idea, just Topps employees having fun with the program they use to edit the cards and making a fairly pointless set of it. I mean, these won't sell for much more than the base, considering I pulled 8 of them in my box. Again, great looking cards, but seriously, is this needed?

I think all of you know what I'll say here, and on the next insert, so I'll just show you what I pulled between Moonshots and Glove Stories.

Okay cool, now onto the good stuff! We pulled two of the blue framed parallels, Ian Kennedy and Josh Hamilton; both numbered out of 599! Hamilton is one of my favorite players, so I was so pumped to pull his insert out of a pack. I think Topps did a really good job with these parallels, because you only get a few a box, and they remain relatively rare. I think after years and years of parallel experience, Topps should have a good idea of how to get their cards to sell or not. This is one way that works. Oh, and by the way, these are the nicest looking cards we pulled in the box.

Finally, our 4 hits. First and foremost, we pulled this gray relic of Tim Hudson. Normally, I'd complain, as a swatch of Tim Hudson isn't a whole lot to write home about. However, the card looks sweet, and if I were a Braves fan, I'd be picking this up in a heartbeat. It is for trade, since I don't really have a use for it, but it wasn't too bad of a pull.

Also for trade is our second and final relic of the box, this framed one of Yovani Gallardo. I like the variety in the relics; how you get one framed and one basic relic per box.  Gallardo isn't a terrible pull either, and the relic has a cool feel to it, however I don't have much of a need for it either.

We didn't do too poorly in the autograph department either, the first being of Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland. Any chance you get to pull a Ranger is a good chance, since it's almost a given that they'll still be around come October. It'd be cool to have pulled this and then watch Mitch come through in a clutch spot this fall. As for the card itself, well, besides for the sticky note yellow card back; it's awesome. Moreland has a solid autograph compared to most others, and the white fade look really makes the auto stick out well. 

The final autograph pull was a pretty nice one, being of Reds ace Johnny Cueto! I've always liked Cueto, as I mentioned a few weeks ago when I picked up an auto of his from the new Tier One set. He doesn't have as nice of an auto as Moreland- in fact, he only signs his first name, but it is an upgrade from when he was a rookie back in 2008. For now, I think I'm going to hang onto both, as he's currently looking like a major Cy Young candidate. However, if you make an offer I can't resist, I'll consider!

Overall, I'm a big fan of Gypsy Queen, no matter how many gimmicks try to knock it off its throne. I think the minis can be blended into one more universal set, with the sepia parallels coming one per box as a mini. The insert subsets I can live with, but they don't really seem to fit with the set idea very well. I'll give it an A- as a final grade, only because the minis tend to be a tad bit confusing to understand. Then again, after years of dealing with it in Allen & Ginter, most collectors are used to Topps' weird ways.

Thanks Dad for getting me the box again; I really enjoyed opening it up with you! Part 4, dedicated to all 6 players I met, coming right up!

See Ya!

White Plains Card Show 1/22/12 Recap, Part Three!

Hey guys, Drew back here! So, continuing on the series, here is Part 3, which features all of the relics we purchased between Dad & I at the show! Check it out:

PART 3: Relic Additions

This is where the show began to get out of control for us, as we picked up a ton of nice new cards to add to the collection! We'll start with all the jerseys, including our Tier One set additions, and then work our way to the autos. Lets get started!

We lead off with a 2010 Allen & Ginter relic of the reigning NL MVP, and possible PED-user Ryan Braun. Braun was starting to go up the ranks on my favorite non-Yankee player list, but I think he's starting to creep back downhill a bit. I think for the sake of baseball he should give the trophy back, whether he is truly guilty or innocent. It would show a lot of class for him to admit himself being wrong. Why should he worry about giving it back though? If he really thinks he didn't use PED's and he just had a great season, he might as well go back out and try to win another MVP award next season! Anyways, I got this card for free from a vendor because I bought two fairly expensive autos from him, and I liked the color of the swatch more than anything else on the card.

Speaking of PED's, here's a Jason Giambi patch card numbered to 45 from 2008 UD SPX! I've never really been a big Giambi fan, mainly because when I was getting into baseball, he was on his way out of baseball. Also, I got into the sport not much before the Mitchell Report and the Steroid Saga was underway, so it didn't give me a whole lot of reason to like him. But, like A-Rod, I dealt with him being in the Yankee lineup. I got this card only because the patch is just awesome all around! I see 3 different colors on the patch and a neat design, as well as a pinstripe sneaking onto the card in the corner of the swatch! Pretty neat for sure!

These two Robinson Cano relics kind of went hand in hand for me, as Dad got them for me from the same vendor as a lot. The vendor I bought these from is definitely one of my favorites at the show, and he's there every time working at the same table as Hunter, another one of my favorite vendors at the show who I've mentioned before. Anyways, I needed both of these 2007 Topps Highlights jersey and 2009 Legendary Cuts jersey cards for my Cano PC, and it's even cooler to see that they both have pinstripes!

Next was a pretty sweet dual relic from again, 2009 UD SP Legendary Cuts! This card features jersey swatches from both Bo Jackson and Albert Pujols. I don't really see the connection between the two, but I like both of them a lot so it's pretty cool for sure. I'm not a fan of the Pujols signing in LA but I still have respect for him because if he hasn't done steroids or PED's, he's one of the best players of all time. 

Along with the Pujols/Jackson card was another sweet dual relic of two of my favorites, Reggie Jackson and Josh Hamilton! Both of them reside in my Secondary Collections group, and it's only fitting that I would eventually add this one to the collection!


The final three relics I was able to add to my collection last Sunday were needed for my Topps Tier One relic set I'm working on! Going into the show I had 5 cards total from the 50 card set, along with 3 that were incoming from trades and eBay. As well as the incoming pickups, Dad was able to help me add 3 more at the show! 

The first relic was of one of my PC players, Don Mattingly! This card is absolutely awesome, with a nice crisp photo and a solid overall design. The Yankees are pretty well represented in this set, with Babe Ruth; Lou Gehrig; Joe DiMaggio; Mickey Mantle; Reggie Jackson; Thurman Munson; Mattingly; and Paul O'Neill. One of the main reasons why I decided to collect this set was because there were a lot of Yankees relics I needed to add that were included! I've already got plenty of Mattingly but I can never get enough of one of the top players in all of baseball in the 1980's!

Card #2 just so happened to be a bat relic of one of baseball's most legendary hitters, in Tris Speaker. Tris is very often overlooked by some of the heroes in the game from his time period (1907-1928), such as Cobb; Wagner; Ruth; and a young Jimmie Foxx, but he was by far one of the best hitters to ever pick up a bat. He retired in 1928 with a lifetime batting average of .345 and 3,514 hits. When he retired, only Cobb had more hits than him, and to this day he still ranks 5th all time. To now own a piece of his bat is something special, even if its just a small part of what he used to get himself to an elite level of baseball skill.

As dominant as Speaker was for all of those years, the best relic we were able to pick up was of Dodgers legendary lefty, Sandy Koufax. This is the dual relic version, numbered 41/99. Sandy is a rarity in today's hobby, but thanks to his contract signing with Topps over the past year, collectors all around the world have been able to add his autograph and memorabilia to their collections! Koufax doesn't have the raw career stats that would put most pitchers in the Hall of Fame, but his level of dominance in about a 5 year span was great enough to put him in Cooperstown with ease. Being able to own a part of his jersey is unreal, and I'm really grateful for my dad to be able to help add cards like these to my collection!

Thanks again Dad for all of the awesome cards you got for me! The autos will be on the next post, and following that will be able 2-3 more posts until I complete the in-depth recap of one of the best shows I've ever been to!

See Ya!

TTM #79- One of My Favorite Players!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Yeah, I've still got a lot of stuff to show you all, so I might as well get going on that! A few weeks ago, I received one of my favorite TTM returns I've ever gotten, one that came out of absolutely nowhere. I've sent one TTM request since June, which is pathetic but unfortunately true, so when one of the older requests come back I'm always in complete shock! He didn't sign my custom I sent him, but he did sign the other card I included, and it looks pretty darn nice. Check it out:

The return was from Rangers All Star outfielder Josh Hamilton! Ever since that one summer night in 2008 in Yankee Stadium, Hamilton has been my favorite non-Yankee player. His performance in the Home Run Derby that year may be one of the most unreal moments I've ever watched, clearly something I'll never forget. From that point on, I researched him and learned about his story, and immediately gained a lot of respect for him because he came back so strong after going down a dark path. He suffered emotional issues for many years due to his drug addiction, but he was able to recover from the addiction  in order to play baseball again. The Rangers traded Edinson Volquez for Hamilton following the 2007 season, and boy has he worked out for them. While he's suffered some injury issues, he did win the 2010 AL MVP award after posting up big numbers: .359 AVG / 32 HR / 100 RBI! I really enjoy watching him play and I'm so happy he signed my card for me! 

I sent the card out on January 7th of last year, and got it back in late December of 2011. I didn't think I'd ever see the day it would come back, but I guess he decided to catch up on his mail, and I was one of the lucky fans to receive an autograph! Thanks so much Josh! 

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Inheriting A Collection: Part 2

Hey guys, Drew back here. So, I've had this stuff sitting here for literally months, and I've never gotten around to getting it all sorted it out, scanned, and posted. But I finally have managed to scan the highlights of the "continuation" of my holy grail. As most of you know, back in March, my dad bought me a huge lot off of Craigslist, which was once the collection of a now deceased local guy, which was sold by his kids. This lot contained the "mysterious binder", that I've posted out of occasionally over the past couple months, showing off all sorts of very valuable and beautiful vintage cards!

Well, there was more. A lot more at that. Just a few weeks later, Dad found another Craigslist ad, and he went to check it out. While the location and people were different, the cards and autographs were clearly both from the same guy, so each of his kids must've sold different parts of it. After the ridiculous rush that went through me in the first tub, you could imagine how I must've felt when he walked home with 3 more tubs of the same size. While a lot of the stuff was junk wax from the late 80's and early 90's that all of you have seen hundreds of thousands of times, there were some big highlights as well to show off. I guess for every good thing you get 2 or 3 bad things, but its always worth it for the good thing! Take a look:

While there wasn't necessarily a vintage binder in this lot, there were a few scattered vintage cards, such as these 5 early 60's baseball cards. The highlight of these 5 is most definitely the 1961 Topps Eddie Mathews card, which knocks off another star off my quest for the entire 1961 set. Also the other 2 Milwaukee Braves cards of Chuck Dressen and Don McMahon were needed for the set. Not too shabby.

In this lot, we found all sorts of vintage, including these 1967 Philadelphia cards of Charley Taylor, Sam Baker and Bobby Mitchell. Also we found 2 1966 Topps cards of Wayne Hawkins and George Blanda. These are my oldest football cards now, and I'm glad to add them to the collection, especially of such good players like Blanda, Taylor, and Mitchell!

There was also some basketball vintage in there too! I barely know any basketball players, but these are from the 1971-1972 season. The Carolina Cougars, Baltimore Bullets, and Texas Chaparrals really stuck out to me, because I've never heard of those teams. Guess that's what happens when you don't follow basketball all that well.

Also, we found some "pin ups" from 1967 Topps, two of the bigger names being Harmon Killebrew and Roberto Clemente, but there were many other great Hall of Famers as well. These are pretty neat, but I have to find out what exactly to do with them. 

There were also some football pin ups as well, the two highlights being Jets Hall of Famer Don Maynard and Bears HOF'er Gale Sayers. Always awesome to get some Maynard stuff!

Folded up and hidden beneath the books and what not were these 2 1968 Topps posters of Frank Robinson and Ron Santo. These are absolutely huge compared to the size of a regular card, and flattened out I bet they would look really cool hung up on the wall. 

There was also this 1970 Topps poster of Willie Davis, also inserted into packs that year. Definitely a neat concept Topps used back in the day. 

Next were a few 1964 "Topps Giants" cards, basically a different set involving larger cards. They're not worth as much as the flagship Topps set that year, but they look extremely nice in person. Of course, I'm super happy and thrilled to land the one in the top left corner, the card of Mickey Mantle. Just add that to the growing list of Mantle cards I own!

I'm not really sure what these were, but there were many nice color photos of several former Yankees and Mets. I chose one from each team for the picture, but there probably 25-30 of them to choose from.

Again, I'm not sure what these are either, but there was a set of photos, many of them being either Cleveland Indians or St. Louis Cardinals. I'm sure these would look great for autographs, even in the black and white. 

Also we found an envelope stuffed with these 1966 Topps Rub-Off Stickers, including these 10 Hall of Famers. Sorry guys, but I consider Pete Rose a Hall of Famer, gambling or not. I pretty much found one of every great player from that time period, as well as many team stickers, which was really cool!

Another cool odd ball part to the tubs was that they were overflowing with these parts of Coke caps from 1967 of Yankees and Mets players. Apparently you could buy a Coke then and collect all sorts of players, even Mickey Mantle, who I found one of on this page full of them. Again, no idea what to do with them, but they're definitely neat.

Continuing in the New York sports spirits, here are a few actual newspapers from many of New York sport's bigger events in the past, such as Willie Mays' 600th career home run, the Rangers winning the Stanley Cup, a preview to the year the Jets won the Super Bowl, and a headline from a Mickey Mantle injury, one of many. Kinda cool to have the stories with me about some great things, when they were fresh and exciting stories!

Obviously this guy was a pretty big Don Mattingly fan, as this was just some of the stuff he had of his. It's pretty cool to have his old Starting Lineup figure, as well as some old posters and cards. Always nice adds to my own personal collection of Mattingly. 

Sitting underneath everything were these 2 baseballs, first, the stamped baseball from the 2001 World Series Yankees team. The story of that team was incredible, and while Arizona got the last laugh, it was a memorable event in Yankees history, as they brought the entire country back up from the 9/11 disaster. Next is a baseball dedicating Nolan Ryan's 300th career win and his achievements. Definitely keeping these two balls.

The final thing in this post, the first of 3 in this mini series, was a new binder I found. Most of the players never made the big leagues, or even if they did, they didn't make much of an impact, but there was one player in there that I found that really made my day!

The binder was filled with Hudson Valley Renegades cards, my local minor league team. A few team sets from the late 90's were included, and many of the cards were signed.  Most of them aren't worth noting, but there were a few notables.

The first notable was Jorge Cantu, who has been a bit of a journeyman since his early days with the Renegades. He's played 8 seasons with 5 different teams, and has a lifetime average of .271. This next player absolutely trumped him though...

Before I flip out on here, here was my initial reaction when I found this binder:

Drew: (opens binders) Oh ok, its just Renegades cards. They're signed but pretty useless unless they're actually good players. 

Dad: Yeah, well look through it anyway.

Drew: (looks through binder) OH MY GOD JOSH HAMILTON! 

(Drew and Dad flip out)

Anyways, yeah, this guy was lucky enough to get 2 signed cards by the then troubled Josh Hamilton. Hamilton was drafted by the Devil Rays in 1999 and after playing 56 games in Princeton that year, he joined the Gades' for 16 games, and batted .194 in that stretch. This was during the time that he started to get in trouble with the law and hurt himself in many ways with his drug addictions. Of course, most baseball fans know that his story has so far been a success story, as he's won an MVP award and is an All Star. 

Words cannot describe my face when I saw these sitting in the binder, and I definitely am planning on keeping them. Hamilton was already one of my favorite players in baseball so it was so sweet to land these 2 cards.

What do you all think of these new additions to my collection? There's more to come! 

See Ya!